Not So Small Blessings

Copied verbatim from the article at Fox News:

Map Timeline: Bank Robbery, Chase and Gunfight

Staff Writer

February 11, 2009

Monday's bank robbery, high-speed car chase and gunfight played out like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster; not something usually seen in Greensboro.

Here's a timeline and map (above) of the events as they transpired. All times are approximate.

4 p.m. -- Driver carjacked near apartment complex At 4 pm. Monday, near an apartment complex at 419 S. Booker St., police said Dimarkchrisy Majors carjacked a driver in a black Taurus, holding him at gunpoint and threatening to kill him. After driving the man around, the victim is released unharmed.

5 p.m. -- Suspects drive car to Wachovia bank Around 5 p.m., the suspects drove the carjacked car to a Wachovia bank branch on High Point Rd., where they entered the bank with guns, jumped over the counter and began taking money from the safe and bank tellers, police said.

A man in the bank parking lot sees what is going on and calls 911. He gives police a description of the suspects and their car.

5:15 p.m. -- Suspects drive Taurus to dead end on Cedar Fork Rd. After leaving the bank, the suspects jump back in the stolen Ford Taurus and drive to a dead end on nearby Cedar Fork Rd, where they get into another car.

5:20 p.m. -- Suspects exchange Taurus for green Infiniti At the dead end on Cedar Fork Rd., the suspects ditch the Taurus and jump into a green Infiniti.

5:25 p.m. -- Police chase suspects in Infiniti down Holden and Patterson Police spot the Infiniti on Holden Rd. and try to pull the suspects over. The suspects continue and a 3-mile high-speed chase ensues.

5:30 p.m. -- Traffic stop attempted Police spot the suspects' vehicle and attempt a traffic stop, but the Infiniti fails to pull over and a high-speed chase ensues.

5:30 p.m. -- Suspects begin firing at police Police said the suspects begin firing at them when they turn onto Patterson St. Police begin firing back and make decision to stop car before it gets onto Business 40.

5:32 p.m. -- Infiniti crashes into minivan after attempted pass Suspects try to pass a minivan on the on-ramp to Business 40, but end up crashing into it and driving across the grass to the northbound ramp.

5:32 p.m. -- Suspects drive across median to get back on Patterson going north Suspects drive across median to get back on Patterson going north

5:35 p.m. -- Suspects stopped and gunfire exchanged Police said the Infiniti heads back north on Patterson St., but tries to turn around to avoid "stop sticks" deployed by Officer Matt O'Hal.

Officers exchange gunfire with the suspects, and O'Hal is injured by the suspects' vehicle. Both suspects and O'Hal are injured, and one suspect, Dimarkchrisy Majors later dies from his injuries.

Copyright © 2009, WGHP-TV

Related links

• 1 Suspect in Bank Robbery Dies After Chase, Shooting
• Map Timeline: Bank Robbery, Gunfight in Greensboro Video

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This bank is across the street from Borders where I used to work and this was our bank. I used to go there at least once a week before I started sending change orders out with the armored car that picked up our deposits. After that I went over only once every few months to pick up deposit bags. I'm soooooo glad I don't work on that corner anymore. From what I learned from a friend and former coworker, the store wasn't directly affected, but that's too damn close for comfort. I highly recommend listening to the 911 call linked above--this guy's lucky he didn't get hurt, but I'm impressed by him.

Oh, and all those applications and resumes I put in at banks last year? Here's why I'm not sorry I didn't get those jobs.

At the Water Hole?

Or as we call it, the Fountain.

The twins discovered the wonders of drinking from the sink faucet one morning a couple weeks ago at the same time. Cheetah slurped from the top of the stream and Velcro sipped from the bottom near the drain. This is the first day I've been able to get a good photo of them.

Velcro's on the right--she tends to put her whole face under and gets her whiskers, cheeks and even the back of her head wet. Sometimes she wets her paws and licks them instead. She even tries to bite the water and pull it backwards. Cheetah's more fastidious and just gets her tongue under the water. Velcro is particularly spoiled now--every time I go into the bedroom, she asks me to turn on the fountain in the little bathroom.

I am not looking forward to my next water bill. :-)

Knitty Things--A Cottage Industry?

I haven't shown any of my knitting projects here in awhile, but I've certainly had them! I even have time built into my weekly schedule now for knitting or other craft projects. It doesn't take time away from school, from James or even from sleep, but I have approximately 15 hours per week that I spend on projects now.

Okay, truth be told, the time is already devoted to our geeky pastime. James and I are both longtime tabletop gamers, particularly Dungeons and Dragons. Neither of us worships Satan or forgets whether the battle with orcs or goblins or dragons was real or fictitious, so I don't think anyone needs to worry about our involvement in this hobby. Yet this is the majority of our social life, as it gives us the opportunity to see our friends who are gamers as well. At our house it also includes a certain gourmet aspect, as I long ago used this night as an excuse to cook fun foods. As others also bring appetizers and desserts, I generally provide the main course and we all indulge in good food and conversation for an hour or two before we get down to serious dungeon crawling.

As of this month, though, I officially play in 4 separate games. Two are at our house on alternating Fridays; I run one and James runs the other. Of course, the setting is the same, and some of our characters can participate in both nights. We split the game for a practical reason: our living room was just too small to accommodate 10 people at once. Everyone seems to have fun this way, too, as everyone participates more. Every Saturday, James and I go to a game run by a former coworker; actually, he has my old job and Taliface's old job smooshed into one. (Poor guy.) Recently he started a second game to include a couple people he met at school and I agreed to play then as well. As it happens, this game runs the same week that I run ours at home.

So where does the knitting come in? Well, I can't sit still and do nothing with my hands for hours. I don't even like to just sit and watch TV; I will fold laundry or organize something or craft or work on something on the computer. So I have given my idle hands something to do while we play, and these days that's something crafty. The only game that prevents me from this is the alternate Fridays when I'm running it. Still, that means two nights per week of knitting or cross stitching or something productive.

Here's some of my recently completed projects. Almost all of the work was done during game sessions.
I've been wanting to make a purse for awhile, but I thought it would take more skill than I had. So I studied several patterns and in the end followed none of them exactly. I still need to felt this one and attach a button to close it, so it isn't actually finished.


This is my favorite so far! I actually started it while I was in Pennsylvania at my step-mother's house but I had to take it all out and start again. The first few inches were actually completed at my sister's house. I love the yarn and I have two more skeins and I'll likely make them into scarves, too, possibly using this same pattern.


I liked the pattern so much that I made another of my growing collection of dishcloths using it. I think I'm up to 6 cloths right now. What better practice is there than making something small yet practical?

So I got to thinking: I can't find work right now, but I have this skill that is improving all the time. Perhaps I should continue to work on things like this so I really can sell them? I've already had 2 people offer to take things to school with them to sell--a teacher and a student from different schools. Besides, I have a healthy stash of yarn and other craft materials, so I don't have to worry about expense. So why not?

Well, first things first, I had to get better organized. I long ago put all my cross stitch thread in a box with the threads wound around cardboard squares to keep them untangled. Last summer I made a small needle case so I wouldn't get stuck with sewing needles when I went into this thread box. I also have a small flannel bag which I use for holding yarn and my current projects so they won't get tangled or attacked by cats. But all my other knitting and crafting supplies were hanging out together in a doubled-up plastic grocery bag that could hardly contain anything anymore for all the holes. So I got together the materials to make two things: a small zippered bag to hold things like pins, the needle case, stitch markers, papers with patterns on them, etc., and a needle case for my knitting needles and crochet hooks. I started the latter first:

And I even have it tied up with a cord I knitted. Of course, the needles are still sliding out the top, so I'm not finished. Plus the zippered case won't be complete until I actually buy a zipper to sew in. But it's already an improvement.

As to upcoming projects, I have no shortage. I'm almost finished a cross stitched bookmark of the god Horus (inspired, of course, by my recent Egyptian adventure). I have started practicing for my first creation on circular needles, a small drawstring bag. I'm carrying enough cotton yarn in the bag for at least 4 more dishcloths. I also have at least a half dozen other cross stitch projects and a plastic canvas needlepoint that isn't coming out to my satisfaction. That's just what I'm carrying in my craft bag.

As of Saturday, though, I have two big projects to do: blankets. Our host on Saturdays keeps his house chillier than some of us like, and the two blankets on the sofa are quickly claimed. While watching two of our friends try to share a blanket that is just big enough for one, I decided to make them one that may actually cover them both. Then James played the husband card and said he gets his first. So today, on my way to the game, I'm going shopping for some yarn for the first time since last March (in my pre-layoff days). I have some old wool that I'll probably use for the other blanket, but I have a particular color in mind for him. And, aw shucks, it's an excuse to play at the yarn store.

New Life for Classic Favorites?

Webbie gave me some news today that I never thought I'd ever see. I'm giddy with excitement--and I hope I'm not disappointed.

He sent me a link about an old favorite show that has been in one of those "will we make a movie or not?" loops ever since it went off the air: Red Dwarf. If you aren't familiar with it, imagine your basic futuristic science fiction tale of space travel and turn it on its ear. The only survivors of a terrible catastrophe, and the only remaining people alive, are the dregs of society--and their cat. It's wonderfully silly and a source of some of my favorite quotations over the years. Well, apparently the creator of the show has given up on the movie but is bringing the show back to the small screen!

From this article, was a link with another surprise. One of my heroes died a decade ago with quite a legacy but with a decidedly negative ending to his most famous work. From what I understand, Douglas Adams regretted ending his celebrated trilogy with the conclusion of Mostly Harmless, but it's no secret that he also held the title of World's Best Procrastinator, so he never had the chance to follow it with a more cheery story. Until now. In typical Adams style, the sixth book (longest trilogy in history? or at least the biggest stretch on the definition) is now scheduled to be published next year! Of course, it'll be written by a different author, Eoin Colfer, whose claim to fame is the Artemis Fowl series for boys. I have read his books, and I think he's up for the challenge.

I never expected to see new material for either of these. Now I'm on pins and needles! Guess who's going to be checking on BBC and Amazon regularly for the next year of so?

Trained Professional

I have to give this meteorologist credit for maintaining his demeanor, in spite of the unexpected visitor who showed up on his set one day.



The cat is perhaps looking for a new career?

Thanks to Cute Overload for this link. The meteorologist is German, but the newscaster does relay the story in English.

Nephews

My nephew Nathaniel called me yesterday with an urgent question. "When your cats get out, how do you and James catch them?" I don't remember telling him they were indoor only.

"We call them by their names." This is a simplification, but they do respond to their names and to hands held out for them. Neko once got outside and camoflaged himself inside a bush (good trick for a mostly white cat) until James called him. Aries has gotten out the most over the years but we know exactly where to look: under the nearest parked car. With the exceptions of the day he got into the crawl space at our old house and the day that he and super-ninja Neko got out and James and I were both away, he always goes under our car. Our big black butch tom cat is afraid of the great outdoors.

"What are there names?"

"Neko, Aries, Bailey, Velcro, Cheetah..."

"You have a cat names Cheetah?" He laughed.

"Yes, we do. We also have one named Zebra," I said, using Hephzibah's nickname. I figured that'd be easier for him to understand.

I love talking to 3-year-olds on the phone.

Looking good with those shades, Nat!

L to R: Noah (not really watching), Luca, Ben, Oliver (kneeling), Nat. I love how Luca has his hands clasped behind his back while they're watching the tigers.

(I'm not the great photographer in the family, but I like these two. If you want a good clear portrait, though, you can get 'em from my sisters.)

A Bit Beyond My Budget

I haven't done justice to the wonder that is Wegman's. This store had multiple deli counters, including a kosher one, multiple bakeries, an olive bar, a sit-down restaurant with cuisine from fresh salads to Thai and Indian, and a counter in the produce area where you could ask for recipes and then have the staff assemble the ingredients. One aisle stocked books, another pots and pans, another with a huge floral department. But among the cookbooks, Cuisinarts and fancy cutlery, there were two items that really blew my mind.

1) Saffron. I know this is expensive stuff, as only three or so strands of it can be pulled from each flower. But $549.33 per pound? I've never seen a price tag in a grocery store this high. Except perhaps. . .

2) Black Truffles. These were locked up in the produce aisle. I've never seen these in a store before. Their price tag? $799.99 a pound.

I think I'll wait 'til I am employed again. And then until I'm wealthy.