Family: ‘Wonderful’ Crystal Lake man killed in Colorado shootings - Chicago Sun-Times

Family: ‘Wonderful’ Crystal Lake man killed in Colorado shootings - Chicago Sun-Times

What a sad loss . . .

Crystal Lake family can’t reach son who was in Colorado theater - Chicago Sun-Times

I do not remember it taking more than 24 hours to know who the victims of the NIU shooting were.  This has got to be heart-wrenching beyond comprehension for this family:

Crystal Lake family can’t reach son who was in Colorado theater - Chicago Sun-Times

Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, step in to help stop shootings - Chicago Sun-Times

Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, step in to help stop shootings - Chicago Sun-Times


Minister Farrakhan and his followers chose to do something really useful. Yes, the violence in Chicago is bad enough to gain national attention, enough that people from out-of-town want to try to help.

Hell certainly waits for the person who killed a little seven-year-old girl named Heaven.

DARPA's Fire Suppression Demos

This article has links to videos:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/darpas-fire-suppression-system-extinguishes-flames-with-sound/

The researchers turned to physics, not chemistry for their breakthrough technology:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/07/12.aspx

New Fire Fighting Technology Research from DARPA

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is an often over-looked, relatively small U.S. government agency, responsible for some of the world's coolest inventions. Its origins go back to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik (Cпутник-1) in 1957, which was one of the loudest wake up calls ever in the United States. To compete against the bad old Commies, the United States ramped up education in math and sciences and invested in an endless number of technology projects. The U.S. government created the forerunner of DARPA, ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1958 in response to the Commies beating America into space with Sputnik.

Anyway, the folks at DARPA are currently researching fighting fire with sound:

http://news.investors.com/article/618331/201207161838/fighting-fire-with-sound-.htm

Forget the word "impossible" with anything coming out of DARPA. For over fifty years, the scientists there make the impossible, possible. Can a robot run at 18 m.p.h.? You betcha!

H.T. LF

Campus security plans fall through the cracks

For anyone wondering where Roy Garcia is now . . .

Campus security plans fall through the cracks

Man charged with killing NIU student at off-campus party - Chicago Sun-Times

Man charged with killing NIU student at off-campus party - Chicago Sun-Times


DeKalb and NIU have had enough of this kind of nonsense.


Some folks in town are talking about having midnight curfews for students--they are that fed up. Of course, the bar owners will not go for that.

Cautionary turkey tale: Mount Prospect man deep fries own leg - Chicago Sun-Times

Cautionary turkey tale: Mount Prospect man deep fries own leg - Chicago Sun-Times


Sure, dry turkey is nasty but these things are dangerous.

Fashion vs. Function: Police Stations in Niles and Skokie

I was in Niles and neighboring Skokie for a couple of days recently. Both have fairly new police stations--I took at look at them while I was there. The Niles Police Station looks like it was more than a bit pricey:

http://www.dewberry.com/Architects/PublicSafety/Police/APresenceforPublicSafety

http://www.aianei.org/honor_awards/2005/NilesPoliceStation.html


The building appearance of the Niles Police Station just jumps right out of the environment--I am not sure how to describe it. It looks like it was built to impress and attract attention. If something like that got built for DeKalb, it would be labeled a "Taj Mahal."

Neighboring Skokie's Police Station is new:

http://www.skokie.org/NewPoliceFacility.cfm

http://triblocal.com/skokie/2011/07/05/new-skokie-police-station-wins-green-certificate/

The appearance of the Skokie Police Station fits in with the neighborhood and it looks more functional. There is a sizable Holiday Inn and Convention Center almost kitty corner from it right on Touhy. Having Skokie's Station a half block off Touhy places it on a road that would be safer to exit in an emergency.

Niles employee accused of faking stabbing, robbery of village money - Chicago Sun-Times

Niles employee accused of faking stabbing, robbery of village money - Chicago Sun-Times


What was this guy 'allegedly' thinking . . .

Man fleeing cops runs into police training session in Joliet park - Chicago Sun-Times

Man fleeing cops runs into police training session in Joliet park - Chicago Sun-Times

This story has karma written all over it.

911 Response Time Slow on Chicago's West Side

http://watchdogwall.bettergov.org/2011/03/01/is-help-on-the-way-for-citys-troubled-911-system-were-still-waiting/

I met these nice but fed up people at the Better Government Association's training in the Austin neighborhood.

I waited 35 minutes once for a police response to a 911 call, and I am still angry about it. It was *not* the City of DeKalb. They respond faster than that to non-emergency calls!!

Cats Rescued with Oxygen in Skokie Fire

http://triblocal.com/skokie/2011/02/18/firefighters-gave-cats-oxygen-in-house-fire/

I saw video footage of the cats receiving oxygen on the news the other day. I have not forgotten that DeKalb firefighters have oxygen masks for pets, and saved one kitty already a while ago. It is a great idea--pets are like family.

House Deals for Detroit Police Officers

Sent to me by a long-time DeKalb resident:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/08/michigan.foreclosed.homes/index.html

Dogs can run at county park with yearly tags :: Neighbors :: Post-Tribune

Dogs can run at the county park, unless they are pit bulls. I caught this article about dog parks in Indiana from Google Alerts, which e-mails me when there are news items with "Lincoln Highway" in text:

Dogs can run at county park with yearly tags :: Neighbors :: Post-Tribune

The article also mentions annual passes for dogs. Petey from "Our Gang" was a pit bull, but that was decades ago, before morons started breeding pit bulls for violence.

iPhone App for Heart Attacks

Sent to me via e-mail from Lynn Fazekas:

http://inhabitat.com/fire-department-iphone-app-could-save-heart-attack-victims/

I do not own an iPhone but this looks like a good idea to me!

Police sensing crime before it happens - Chicago Sun-Times

Police sensing crime before it happens - Chicago Sun-Times


Hey, whatever it takes to get Chicago's crime down . . .

I wonder if Police Superintendent Weis will be able to "sense" who will win the Chicago mayoral election and if that means he will need to go find another job . . .

Great Dane ‘corners’ sex assault attempt suspect - Chicago Sun-Times

Great Dane ‘corners’ sex assault attempt suspect - Chicago Sun-Times


Good dog!

NIU student's body identified. - chicagotribune.com

NIU student's body identified. - chicagotribune.com

Best of luck to all those involved in the investigation in gathering more evidence . . .

Death penalty ban passes Illinois House on second try

Death%20penalty%20ban%20passes%20Illinois%20House%20on%20second%20try


I agree with the former FBI agent's quote.