Profiles In Courage: Bayley Judah

Here's one for all the millennials out there. Bayley Judah represents who you are, or at least how the rest of us see you. But it's not because we're wrong that we see you as spoiled kids who are looking to score big without any effort. The older, wiser among us might shake our heads, but other millennials will see this story as proof that you've got it all figured out.

If You're Going to Kill Your Mom and Her Friend, Invest in Gun Maintenance

I wonder if it's the heat down here, but it seems there are a lot of folks in the area who kill their own family members. That's cool. I'd rather violent people take it out on their own families than mine. However, a recent matricidal rampage ended with a daughter getting beat down instead of inflicting her full fury on her mother and her mother's friend, and it seems to be the result of a poorly operating firearm.

Is It OK To Kill Geese With Your Car In Jacksonville?

A Nextdoor post got a lot of heated debate recently, and I decided it was a good idea to weigh in on the issue. The initial post said that someone accelerated into a flock of geese, killing at least one goose. People angrily responded. Some mentioned it was a federal crime to kill geese. Others just said it was wrong. Then a couple of guys got into the discussion with their opinions that it was OK to do, or at least there's nothing any of us can do about it.

Frank White Would Strengthen The Death Penalty--What's That Mean?

Florida has the death penalty for murder, capital drug trafficking, armed kidnapping, and some felony crimes when there are death or sexual components to the felony charge. While I assume we've only executed people for murder, the other offenses do qualify. I also assume that life in prison is an option that sometimes is chosen, based on recommendations from the jury, based on whether or not the murder had certain aggravating factors. Then, once the jury decides death is the best course of action, the judge has to agree.

A Good Day to Play Baseball in JAX

I've written about playing baseball before, including the night after an awesome defensive game I had a few years back. Since an offensive explosion for me is 2 for 4 with two singles, defense is where I can help a team. Tonight, I got to play a "perfect" game at third base for the Bold City Kings that included one really good play, so it was a good day.

My Solar Score In Milwaukee Is Higher Than In Jax

This one is hard to compute, but I've used the tools on two different websites that came up with similar results: my Milwaukee house has a higher solar energy potential than my Florida house. Let's take a look at how that can possibly be the case.

Nerd On Nerd Crime Huge News In Jacksonville

The local Jacksonville news channels exploded after the mas shooting at The Landing. Granted, two people were killed, and nearly a dozen more were injured, so it was a big deal, but I'm wondering what captures our attention so much when it comes to this particular shooting, so much that the news channels had continuous coverage from when the event happened through the 11pm news time. Keep in mind, this shooting happened two days after a shooting at a local high school football game that involved all local people, killing one and injuring two.

Local Companies Rush to Barricade Classrooms For Profit

I was discussing the school shooting issue with a friend of mine who invented a Chromebook Case that we hoped might also be bullet proof. He told me he wasn't sure about the ballistic properties of his creation, but we did both see the potential profit in marketing a veritable shield. Neither of us wanted to do it, but it only makes sense, right? Local door and window companies are jumping in to make some money, just as the manufacturer of bulletproof backpacks made a run at the market last year. So, will all these upgrades make schools safer or just businessmen richer?

Over 25% of Duval Safety Assistants Turned Away--I Wonder Why

I have to wonder why over 25% of applicants for Duval school safety assistants were disqualified. Basically, the job is armed security guard, and I assume people applying realize what they are getting into. We're not talking about people who blow it at the interview here, I assume. Actually, it should worry all of us that 25% of the people who are trying to get into our schools don't qualify, and it makes me wonder just a little bit about the other 75%, too. Let's take a look at a few of the job requirements to see if we can identify what kind of past or present resulted in the downfall of 1/4 of the applicants.

Probably Only In Florida: Melissa Howard

Would people from other states actually falsely claim to have a college degree, then get busted, then take a photo with a diploma, then get busted again, and finally say it was all fake news? Maybe, but it's almost expected in Florida. The story didn't surprise me at all, and that means I'm now officially a Floridian.

Voting For Philip Levine Will Be The Best Thing I Ever Do?

Almost every summer of 2018 political ad is either pro-Trump or anti-Trump. Donald Trump is a lightning rod, but he has nothing to do with most local elections in Florida. I don't care if some Moody lady sued him for fraud or if Jeff Greene got into a shouting match with him at Mar a lago. The latest Phil Levine ad I saw attacked Trump a little bit, but it mostly just promoted Levine for something he did for Puerto Rico, ending with the mayor of San Juan telling me that if I vote for Levine, it will be the best thing I ever do. Uh, I hope not.

LOL JAX Film Festival: Irony or Not?

I'm not totally sure whether or not there's a legitimate film scene in Jacksonville. I tried to find a meetup group, but that didn't work out (not that it worked out much better for me in Milwaukee). I suppose there's probably a film school at UNF with the purpose being to move somewhere else to produce the movies. And we undoubtedly have artsy-fartsy folks, willing to attend sketchy film festivals in the hopes they can be there at the genesis of the next Steven Spielberg or even Michael Bay. Like how I saw Modest Mouse and The National as openers for REM back in 2008. So I can go see a dozen local short films done by local filmmakers, and check out local comedians, along with the chance of being there for something really special. Sounds good, right? Let's do some recon first.