After the shootings of the police officers across from my church on Jackson Avenue in Ogden there was a bunch of stuff left by people as a memorial or something. It was left on the steps on the church property that lead down the hill to the road. It was candles and plants and so forth. The candles burned down to a bunch of wax. Some of the glass containers broke and broken glass was all over. The plants died and they were just pots of ugly dead plants left behind. The stuffed animals got wet and dirty and frozen. They didn't belong to anyone, so no one took them home.
It is winter time. The stuff got frozen to the ground and made a hazard for those who use those stairs.
I am not sure who left this stuff, but I am guessing it was people that are not from our neighborhood. I know they wanted to do something because they felt bad, but they came into our neighborhood and left stuff for us to clean up.
The candles and plants did not make me feel better, but the trash that was left that our neighborhood had to clean up made me feel worse.
The stuff was left on private property and the owners of the stuff took no responsibility for them.
I can appreciate that people wanted to do something nice, but I don't understand littering as a gift. If you want to leave something nice, then come back in a few days and clean up the mess.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Police Shot on Jackson Avenue, Ogden, Utah January 4, 2012
We are almost into the fifth week of CSI being up at the house at the top of the hill from us where a police officer was shot and killed and several other injured Wednesday January 4, 2012.
My entire family had been downstairs in our basement hanging out. Our two youngest children decided to go upstairs to play. They immediately came back down and said there were police cars in front of the house. We slowly went up to see what the deal was. People get traffic tickets every so often in front of the neighbors house and people fly down the hill to the stop sign near our house, so we figure it was something related to that. Although, there have been several break ins in the neighborhood over the last three years we have lived here.
We even had a guy run through our back yard after stealing a car stereo one year. A police detective came by after that to talk to us about what we had seen. We were in bed at the time. I think my eight year old son had said that he had seen someone moving in the back yard. We have cats and dogs roaming all over the place, so I told him to go back to bed, since he said they were gone. I installed security lights shortly after that.
On the night of the shootings when we got upstairs we could see the police cars and it appeared there were more at the top of the hill to the south of us. A moment later we heard what I thought could've been firecrackers. I don't deal with firearms much, so the sounds are foreign to me and fireworks are the only frame of reference I have. We have people in our neighborhood being loud with fireworks on occasion, but it is generally localize to around Pioneer Day and the 4th of July, since if it starts a little early and goes a little long. With as many police cars as there were I figured it was probably gun fire, but I couldn't get my head around it, since I have never been around something like this.
A few minutes later what sounded like more firecrackers, but with a steady pattern. I was pretty sure that was definitely gun fire.
I texted people in my church congregation who live on nearby streets to let them know what I was seeing and hearing. They said they were seeing stuff being reported on TV. One of the people in my congregation gave me the address. It appeared that it was the house right next to another member of our congregation. I called the father in the family to see if they were ok.
He said they were hunkered down in the basement, staying away from windows, but wasn't sure what was happening. I asked him if he had ever had trouble with the neighbor, whose house the action seemed to be coming from. He said that they had not. I figured they would be being flooded with calls, so I quickly got off the phone with him.
A guy from church stopped by after work to check on us and watch the excitement.
The police had blocked off Jackson Avenue just south of Chatelain. But they did not block off Goddard, which is the next street to the south and right at the crime scene. Cars were coming into the area and the police had to turn their back on the crime scene where gun fire was happening to get the cars safely out of there. It seems like they should've blocked all of the streets around our church, which was right next to the action. The police were using the church's parking lot as a base of operations, so not sure why they didn't block the streets. We had tons of police spectating from in front of our house. It seems like they could've been mobilized to block those streets.
A friend from church a day or so later said that he worked for KSL and his colegues were looking for neighbors to interview. I told him to have them give a call as to when they wanted to do it and I would be willing. They called while we were hiking in the mountain and said they were at my door. I told them I would be home in a couple of hours, but wasn't sure that would make their deadline. She said that it would not meet their deadline and they had talked to several people. She asked me a few quick questions on the phone to assess if there was anything different that I witnessed.
My entire family had been downstairs in our basement hanging out. Our two youngest children decided to go upstairs to play. They immediately came back down and said there were police cars in front of the house. We slowly went up to see what the deal was. People get traffic tickets every so often in front of the neighbors house and people fly down the hill to the stop sign near our house, so we figure it was something related to that. Although, there have been several break ins in the neighborhood over the last three years we have lived here.
We even had a guy run through our back yard after stealing a car stereo one year. A police detective came by after that to talk to us about what we had seen. We were in bed at the time. I think my eight year old son had said that he had seen someone moving in the back yard. We have cats and dogs roaming all over the place, so I told him to go back to bed, since he said they were gone. I installed security lights shortly after that.
On the night of the shootings when we got upstairs we could see the police cars and it appeared there were more at the top of the hill to the south of us. A moment later we heard what I thought could've been firecrackers. I don't deal with firearms much, so the sounds are foreign to me and fireworks are the only frame of reference I have. We have people in our neighborhood being loud with fireworks on occasion, but it is generally localize to around Pioneer Day and the 4th of July, since if it starts a little early and goes a little long. With as many police cars as there were I figured it was probably gun fire, but I couldn't get my head around it, since I have never been around something like this.
A few minutes later what sounded like more firecrackers, but with a steady pattern. I was pretty sure that was definitely gun fire.
I texted people in my church congregation who live on nearby streets to let them know what I was seeing and hearing. They said they were seeing stuff being reported on TV. One of the people in my congregation gave me the address. It appeared that it was the house right next to another member of our congregation. I called the father in the family to see if they were ok.
He said they were hunkered down in the basement, staying away from windows, but wasn't sure what was happening. I asked him if he had ever had trouble with the neighbor, whose house the action seemed to be coming from. He said that they had not. I figured they would be being flooded with calls, so I quickly got off the phone with him.
A guy from church stopped by after work to check on us and watch the excitement.
The police had blocked off Jackson Avenue just south of Chatelain. But they did not block off Goddard, which is the next street to the south and right at the crime scene. Cars were coming into the area and the police had to turn their back on the crime scene where gun fire was happening to get the cars safely out of there. It seems like they should've blocked all of the streets around our church, which was right next to the action. The police were using the church's parking lot as a base of operations, so not sure why they didn't block the streets. We had tons of police spectating from in front of our house. It seems like they could've been mobilized to block those streets.
A friend from church a day or so later said that he worked for KSL and his colegues were looking for neighbors to interview. I told him to have them give a call as to when they wanted to do it and I would be willing. They called while we were hiking in the mountain and said they were at my door. I told them I would be home in a couple of hours, but wasn't sure that would make their deadline. She said that it would not meet their deadline and they had talked to several people. She asked me a few quick questions on the phone to assess if there was anything different that I witnessed.
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Law at DC Auto in Clearfield Utah Noon 11-14-2011
November 14, 2011 12:10pm
I just saw four law enforcement vehicles at D C Auto in Clearfield, Utah. I think they were David County Sheriffs. At least one of the vehicles had their emergency lights on. They were behind the building and appeared to be doing something with a black pickup truck and a man and a woman. I saw something on the ground behind they truck. It could have been a car seat, but it appeared to be bigger with blankets or something on or around it.
There was a tow truck next to the black pickup truck, but I could not determine if it was part of the situation or if it was just one that was at D C Auto, because they do towing.
I do not have any information on if there was an arrest being made or something else. It just caught my eye that there were four law enforcement vehicles there with emergency lights on.
I would be interested if anyone knows what was happening.
Below are some pictures of the scene.
I just saw four law enforcement vehicles at D C Auto in Clearfield, Utah. I think they were David County Sheriffs. At least one of the vehicles had their emergency lights on. They were behind the building and appeared to be doing something with a black pickup truck and a man and a woman. I saw something on the ground behind they truck. It could have been a car seat, but it appeared to be bigger with blankets or something on or around it.
There was a tow truck next to the black pickup truck, but I could not determine if it was part of the situation or if it was just one that was at D C Auto, because they do towing.
I do not have any information on if there was an arrest being made or something else. It just caught my eye that there were four law enforcement vehicles there with emergency lights on.
I would be interested if anyone knows what was happening.
Below are some pictures of the scene.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Amish Shunning
My wife mentioned some movie on Amish and their practice of shunning, that she wanted to watch. It made me remember back to when I was a kid and my parents rented a house on this farm property surrounded by other farm properties.
There was a couple of sisters that lived up at the top of the hill from us. They had chosen to have electricity installed in their house, due to the fact that one of the sisters had a medical condition that required some sort of electric machinery in order to survive. I had been told that the Amish community had shunned them. From what I was told that meant that they weren’t supposed to talk to them or give them support of any kind.
I don't know if all the facts are accurate, but that is how I remember it from when I was very young.
I also remember being told about an Amish guy that would go borrow his neighbor's telephone. We were on a party line, which meant that everyone shared on line, even though we had different numbers. If someone was on the phone no one else could use the phone.
This Amish guy would pick up the phone and someone would be on it. He would bang the phone and make a bunch of noise until you got off.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Glass on the Ipod/Iphone
I am listening to the commentary on Steve Jobs and Apple after his death. One point they keep beating on is that Steve Job could not live with plastic on the IPod/IPhone. Steve Job wanted glass. They are saying they would not want an IPhone at this point without the glass.
I, on the other hand, find this to be a failing of my IPod. I see a big market for companies that replace the glass as it gets smashed as it gets bumped or dropped. I recently got a replacement for a broken IPod. The problem was with the power or the battery or something, not the glass, but it had little fractures in and scratch on the glass.
I also have seen many people walking around with smashed screen glass. I don't know if plastic is what I want, but there needs to be something more durable for the screens on these devices. They are carried in our pockets. They are used in our hands. They are carried in our hands, while we are holding other things.
I, on the other hand, find this to be a failing of my IPod. I see a big market for companies that replace the glass as it gets smashed as it gets bumped or dropped. I recently got a replacement for a broken IPod. The problem was with the power or the battery or something, not the glass, but it had little fractures in and scratch on the glass.
I also have seen many people walking around with smashed screen glass. I don't know if plastic is what I want, but there needs to be something more durable for the screens on these devices. They are carried in our pockets. They are used in our hands. They are carried in our hands, while we are holding other things.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cutting in Line
In American society, it is unacceptable to cut in front of people who got there before you and have been waiting in line for things like the grocery store or the theater. How is it that we find it acceptable to cut in front of people waiting in line at a traffic light?
The Gambling Lane
There are many places where there are two lanes at a light and one is clearly ending within a few car lengths past the light. In these situations I often find cars lined up in the lane that is not ending and a car or two with slide ahead of that line into the lane that is ending. Then at the light cut in front of those in line. Many times just to go slowly in front of them due to traffic, thus making those who have waited in line wait even longer.
If there is someone in the lane that is ending and they can't get out in front of everyone they try to slide to the second or third spot. When the person in the second or third spot refuses to let them in, the person trying to cut will often get angry with them, as if they have the right of way. Let me repeat this, the person who is trying to cut in line; a behavior, if done in a store, would likely result in an altercation; is upset because someone is saying no they will not tolerate their rude behavior. This sounds very much like when a smoker gets mad at a no smoking sign. The person that wants to be rude is mad that the people around them have said no to the rude behavior.
I admit, I have fallen tot he temptation to use that lane to get ahead of traffic I assessed that would be slow to get moving, but it is a gamble. When I use that lane and I get cut off by the people I am cutting ahead of that is the price I have to pay. I gambled and lost.
Two Single Opposite Lanes to Two Lane Running Together
Another situation I have noticed with cutting in line is where you have a single lane on one side of an intersection that has a left turn arrow and a single right hand turn lane with a red light on the other. This is in a state where you may turn right on red after coming to a stop. These two single lanes converge into two lanes going in the same direction. If I understand traffic law correctly, when you make a turn you are to stay in the lane closest to you and then if you need the other lane, signal and change lanes, once you have completed the turn.
What I have noticed at one particular intersection is that the left turn arrow people mostly swing to the right hand lane, thus cutting off the right turners from the other direction. They do this because they want to get on the interstate which entrance is on the right. The right turners just sit there and wait for the light to change, as if the left turners have the right of way in the right hand lane. Some of this is fear of collision and some of it is because most of them want to get on the interstate via the entrance on the left. Neither of them seem interested in getting out there and negotiating a lane change after they turn. They both want to change lanes while they are turning, which I am almost certain is illegal. I don't believe you are allowed to change lanes in an intersection.
When I have been the right hand turner I have nudged my nose out there showing my intent to go and the left turners stay over and I proceed. So long as they see the behavior that everyone is going to yield to them, they are going to keep cutting in front of the right turners.
There is much behavior that comes about when driving that would never be tolerated and no one would ever consider doing if they were secluded inside a vehicle.
The Gambling Lane
There are many places where there are two lanes at a light and one is clearly ending within a few car lengths past the light. In these situations I often find cars lined up in the lane that is not ending and a car or two with slide ahead of that line into the lane that is ending. Then at the light cut in front of those in line. Many times just to go slowly in front of them due to traffic, thus making those who have waited in line wait even longer.
If there is someone in the lane that is ending and they can't get out in front of everyone they try to slide to the second or third spot. When the person in the second or third spot refuses to let them in, the person trying to cut will often get angry with them, as if they have the right of way. Let me repeat this, the person who is trying to cut in line; a behavior, if done in a store, would likely result in an altercation; is upset because someone is saying no they will not tolerate their rude behavior. This sounds very much like when a smoker gets mad at a no smoking sign. The person that wants to be rude is mad that the people around them have said no to the rude behavior.
I admit, I have fallen tot he temptation to use that lane to get ahead of traffic I assessed that would be slow to get moving, but it is a gamble. When I use that lane and I get cut off by the people I am cutting ahead of that is the price I have to pay. I gambled and lost.
Two Single Opposite Lanes to Two Lane Running Together
Another situation I have noticed with cutting in line is where you have a single lane on one side of an intersection that has a left turn arrow and a single right hand turn lane with a red light on the other. This is in a state where you may turn right on red after coming to a stop. These two single lanes converge into two lanes going in the same direction. If I understand traffic law correctly, when you make a turn you are to stay in the lane closest to you and then if you need the other lane, signal and change lanes, once you have completed the turn.
What I have noticed at one particular intersection is that the left turn arrow people mostly swing to the right hand lane, thus cutting off the right turners from the other direction. They do this because they want to get on the interstate which entrance is on the right. The right turners just sit there and wait for the light to change, as if the left turners have the right of way in the right hand lane. Some of this is fear of collision and some of it is because most of them want to get on the interstate via the entrance on the left. Neither of them seem interested in getting out there and negotiating a lane change after they turn. They both want to change lanes while they are turning, which I am almost certain is illegal. I don't believe you are allowed to change lanes in an intersection.
When I have been the right hand turner I have nudged my nose out there showing my intent to go and the left turners stay over and I proceed. So long as they see the behavior that everyone is going to yield to them, they are going to keep cutting in front of the right turners.
There is much behavior that comes about when driving that would never be tolerated and no one would ever consider doing if they were secluded inside a vehicle.
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Royal Wedding
The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was today. In America it was the wee hours of the morning and still I saw several people got up to watch it on their televisions here. To what end? What is the allure? We don't know these people. We probably even know them less well than we know our own leaders or celebrities.
Are people so unhappy with their own lives that they have to live through a royal family.
There is a movement to continually give to the American Indians because of the wrongs done to them by certain people in this country many many years ago. The entire nation is called to pay for those things. The British Empire also did vile things to the American people many many years ago. They sent troops over here to kill our nation in its infancy. Yet, we hold the family of the man that did it to us up to such high respect and esteem?
I do not feel the British Empire or the royal family owes us anything, but I am using this as an illustration to give some perspective.
Now let's set that soapbox behind us and look at the people involved. Put the pomp and circumstance aside. This is two people trying to start their life together. They want to celebrate their love. This goes beyond a celebration and is well into a spectacle. Do we not remember what this young man's mother went through with being in the spot light.
When you get married you should be able to invite YOUR friends and YOUR family and not have to invite whoever is needed to to make a statement. Nor should your guest list make anyone think that you are making a statement by not inviting them.
Let's leave the fairy tales and carriages and big dresses in the story books. Let's let Prince William and Kate Middleton have their own life and let us have ours.
Be happy with who you are. Live your own life to the fullest possibly can and set the distractions and unimportant things aside.
Are people so unhappy with their own lives that they have to live through a royal family.
There is a movement to continually give to the American Indians because of the wrongs done to them by certain people in this country many many years ago. The entire nation is called to pay for those things. The British Empire also did vile things to the American people many many years ago. They sent troops over here to kill our nation in its infancy. Yet, we hold the family of the man that did it to us up to such high respect and esteem?
I do not feel the British Empire or the royal family owes us anything, but I am using this as an illustration to give some perspective.
Now let's set that soapbox behind us and look at the people involved. Put the pomp and circumstance aside. This is two people trying to start their life together. They want to celebrate their love. This goes beyond a celebration and is well into a spectacle. Do we not remember what this young man's mother went through with being in the spot light.
When you get married you should be able to invite YOUR friends and YOUR family and not have to invite whoever is needed to to make a statement. Nor should your guest list make anyone think that you are making a statement by not inviting them.
Let's leave the fairy tales and carriages and big dresses in the story books. Let's let Prince William and Kate Middleton have their own life and let us have ours.
Be happy with who you are. Live your own life to the fullest possibly can and set the distractions and unimportant things aside.
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