Tippecanoe

With‎ ‎the‎ ‎final‎ ‎ruling‎ ‎by‎ ‎the‎ ‎Police‎ ‎Merit‎ ‎Board‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎story‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎last‎ ‎few‎ ‎months‎ ‎seems‎ ‎to‎ ‎have‎ ‎come‎ ‎to‎ ‎an‎ ‎end‎.‎‎ ‎A‎ ‎quick‎ ‎recap‎:‎‎ ‎An‎ ‎anonymous‎ ‎email‎ ‎alleges‎ ‎misconduct‎ ‎by‎ ‎several‎ ‎West‎ ‎Lafayette‎ ‎police‎ ‎officers‎ ‎following‎ ‎an‎ ‎FOP‎ ‎sponsored‎ ‎trip‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎mysterious‎ ‎author‎ ‎implies‎ ‎excessive‎ ‎drinking‎,‎‎ ‎abusive‎ ‎behavior‎,‎‎ ‎drunk‎ ‎driving‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎a‎ ‎cover‎ ‎up‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎subsequent‎ ‎investigation‎ ‎apparently‎ ‎uncovers‎ ‎enough‎ ‎real‎ ‎evidence‎ ‎for‎ ‎the‎ ‎chief‎ ‎to‎ ‎recommend‎ ‎harsh‎ ‎punishments‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎including‎ ‎the‎ ‎dismissal‎ ‎of‎ ‎one‎ ‎officer‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎Police‎ ‎Merit‎ ‎board‎,‎‎ ‎in‎ ‎all‎ ‎four‎ ‎cases‎,‎‎ ‎greatly‎ ‎reduced‎ ‎the‎ ‎severity‎ ‎of‎ ‎punishments‎.‎

I‎ ‎think‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎safe‎ ‎to‎ ‎say‎ ‎that‎ ‎the‎ ‎community‎ ‎at‎ ‎large‎ ‎holds‎ ‎law‎ ‎enforcement‎ ‎officers‎ ‎to‎ ‎a‎ ‎higher‎ ‎standard‎.‎‎ ‎However‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎West‎ ‎Lafayette‎ ‎police‎ ‎organization‎,‎‎ ‎including‎ ‎the‎ ‎Merit‎ ‎Board‎,‎‎ ‎seems‎ ‎to‎ ‎instead‎ ‎expect‎ ‎much‎ ‎less‎ ‎from‎ ‎its‎ ‎force‎.‎

I‎ ‎have‎ ‎sympathy‎ ‎for‎ ‎Chief‎ ‎Dan‎ ‎Marvin‎,‎‎ ‎since‎ ‎he‎ ‎now‎ ‎has‎ ‎to‎ ‎try‎ ‎to‎ ‎lead‎ ‎a‎ ‎squad‎ ‎that‎ ‎knows‎ ‎the‎ ‎Merit‎ ‎Board‎ ‎will‎ ‎not‎ ‎back‎ ‎him‎ ‎on‎ ‎serious‎ ‎issues‎.‎‎ ‎

The‎ ‎‎‘‎good‎ ‎old‎ ‎boy‎ ‎network‎’‎‎ ‎lives‎ ‎on‎.‎

These are the things bouncing around in my head:

Why don't hotel rooms have a normal thermostat?

I've been in business class, luxury, and budget hotels, and they all have that knob labeled 'Warmer' and 'Cooler'. It would be much easier with a degree scale.

I'd like to strangle that Honey Bunches of Oats lady

ARE YOU HUNGRY??

What's with people still wearing mullets?

We all know they are a joke. Does the 21st century mullet wearer think that he/she looks good? That he/she is not one of those people that everyone else makes fun of?

Shouldn't there be a limit on the number of magnetic ribbons per car?

I saw a car with 6 the other day

A guy at work asked if I thought a certain co-worker was attractive

Without thinking I replied, "Yes, in a 'prettiest girl in the trailer park' kind of way." Feel free to judge my sexist and/or elitist attitude.

I hate it when the only two TV shows I want to watch on a given night are on at the same time.

The Office and CSI

I set up the Skype software on my PC last month, and ‎bought a new USB headset to use with it. (The pictured user on the headset box didn’t seem to ‎be nearly as satisfied as the microphone model.) Here’s the problem: I have no one to talk to!‎

Isn’t that sad? I’m not trying to be needy; I mostly want to try out my latest toy. I thought I should ‎talk to friends and relatives about using Skype instead of the telephone, but I’m realizing that I ‎don’t use the phone very often. It rings quite a bit, but the call is never for me.‎

So far, my contact list consists of three people. My neighbor is the one that told me about it, so I ‎added him. We’ve only had one call while I tested the previously mentioned microphone. I ‎bugged my son to install it so that I could test from work, but he never runs it. The only contact ‎I’ve ever seen online is the Skype Test Call. She is always there for me, although the ‎conversation is always short.‎

I need to find software that will help automate something I actually do. Let’s see – web surfing, ‎TV watching, napping. How would a virtual nap work?‎