Hobby of peace

Make no mistake, flying model airplanes is a peaceful pastime, and those who corrupt it will be swiftly denounced by the true practitioners of the hobby.

SAN ANTONIO -- On the eve of the largest remote control model airplane event in South Texas, hobbyists denounced a Massachusetts man's plan to use model planes as weapons against the United States.

According to court documents, 26-year-old Rezwan Ferdaus planned to pack five pounds of plastic explosive in military jet replica model airplanes, then fly them by remote control into the Pentagon.

...

Jim Rice, who has been flying model airplanes since he was a boy, said the actions of Ferdaus in no way reflect the interests or intentions of model airplane enthusiasts.

"What he does is not reflective of what we do at the flying field, trying to enjoy ourselves and have fun. That's abhorrent behavior in my mind," said Rice.

(from KSAT-12)

Someone who thought it out thoroughly

If you want to succeed in some form of criminal endeavor, it might help if you look like you know what you are doing, and that you belong in that place at that time.

BOERNE - Brazen car thieves drive off the lot in a Dodge Challenger as employees watched, not realizing anything was wrong. Sheriff's deputies say some time Wednesday night, burglars stole the key lock boxes off four vehicles at the Boerne Dodge Chrysler Jeep dealership. Then they returned at about 8:30 Thursday morning.

"Several individuals pulled up to the dealership in a white pickup and jumped out of the bed of the pickup and had the keys to one of the Dodge Challengers, which happened to be up on one of the risers," explained Lt. Shad Prichard.

He said the two men had the keys to the Challenger, got in and drove it off the riser and off the lot, with a little help from the two men in the white pickup.

...

Several employees witnessed the theft but didn't realize anything was wrong until the car was driving off the lot.

"One of them (the thieves) had on a shop shirt, like he was an employee of the business. Because they had the keys, it didn't raise any suspicions that maybe they were doing something wrong. Everyone assumed they were doing something they needed to be doing," he said.

(from WOAI-TV)

It's apparently a pretty successful technique, because this is not the first time someone has absconded with valuable merchandise by acting like he was supposed to be there, and it probably won't be the last. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Car crashes into house

The autos have been quiet lately. But that has changed with a new assault upon a domicile and its protective barrier.

SAN ANTONIO -- A Northside couple was rudely awakened Sunday morning, when a car crashed through the fence around their home, and into their garage.

Mike Messenger said he woke to the sound of the crash, and walked into his garage to see the damage.

He said his wife had to convince the driver to stay at the scene. The driver was taken to police headquarters on suspicion of DWI, but was not immediately charged with a crime.

(from KSAT-12)

Dismantling a newspaper

Someone is taking apart the Express-News.

SAN ANTONIO -- In what has been a bizarre week for the San Antonio's only major newspaper, Friday saw more shake-ups at the San Antonio Express-News.

Just days after Editor Bob Rivard and Managing Editor Brett Thacker left the newspaper, sources at the paper confirmed that two of San Antonio's most recognized columnists are leaving.

Cary Clack has been with the newspaper for 17 years; Scott Stroud has been with the paper since 2004.

(from KSAT-12)

I've heard the Houston Chronicle has a hand in this, and that the Express-News will be reduced to a shell of itself, a Southwest Texas extension of the Houston paper. Perhaps that's hyperbole, but these recent losses of major figures suggest that it's not.

First, it was chupacabras ...

... now it's UFOs!

It was over a week ago Mario Vallejo of southeast San Antonio claims he spotted an Unidentified Flying Object, or a UFO. Regardless of whether you believe him or not he’s quickly gaining a lot of attention on-line.

“I was pointing that way and I saw that object traveling that way, going east,” said Vallejo. “First of all no navigational lights that’s what got my attention at first. Then I started zooming in and I started seeing the different configuration of the lights.”

Vallejo will even be the first to admit he sees aircraft fly by his home often, but claims this was different.

“All the time I see aircraft going in and out, in and out, helicopters, jets, I see commercial aircraft going around and none of these seem to be that,” Vallejo.

(from KENS-5)

Yep, the Alamo City has its share of aliens, too. You know, to keep the goat suckers company. (Or maybe that's really WHERE ALL THE CHUPACABRAS ARE COMING FROM!)

But the really big disappointment is a journalistic failing here ---- there's no link to the video in the KENS news story!

So, to keep you informed, I present the video to you here:



UPDATED: Now there's a link to the video on KENS.

Someone who should have thought a little more

Or at least paid more attention when they were teaching writing in school. Because if he had, he might have gotten away.

Police arrested Tito Hernandez, 30, Saturday on a charge of robbery.

...

The affidavit stated a bank teller told detectives Hernandez walked into the bank and said he wanted to make a withdrawal.

The teller told police that Hernandez handed her a note, but she was unable to read most of it because of his handwriting, the affidavit stated.

Hernandez then yelled at the teller and told her to hand him the money, the affidavit stated.

(from KSAT-12)

See? You should have listened to your English teacher back in school. Poor writing skills will sink your career, even if you're a bank robber.

Gettin' western on San Pedro

I've seen dudes fight. And I've seen girls fight. But I don't think I've ever seen both at the same time.

In the same fight.

A fistfight broke out overnight in a convenience store parking lot right next to a KENS 5 news truck, and one of the two combatants was later arrested.

San Antonio police had to use a taser on a transgender individual who had been involved in the heated fight in the 800 block of San Pedro early Monday morning.

Investigators said the suspect hurled a shoe at them after their conversation reached a boiling point.

(from KENS-5)

I don't know what they were fighting about, but the KENS-5 photog got some pretty good footage, which you can see at the link above.

Not strange in San Antonio

Actually, it's pretty cool. But, sadly, you will find almost no news stories on this accomplishment. In fact, you can barely find it on the KENS-5 home page, given that it's buried under a mountain of high school football coverage and other news.

"S.A. Missions sweep Arkansas to become 2011 Texas League Champs"

Forgetting that the youn'uns don't know

So, I had WOAI-TV on the kitchen television while I was preparing dinner tonight, just letting it play in the background and listening to the news. And I heard Elsa Ramon reading off a story about how White House party-crasher and reality star Michaele Salahi has just left her husband for guitarist Neal Schon.

Except she pronounced it "SKAWN".

Wow. Am I that old, or is Ms. Ramon just that young that she has never heard of Neal Schon? Or is it both? Heck, I wonder if she's even heard of Journey.

"Man sprays garden hose, gunmen spray back"

There's all kinds of weird going on here.

The attack happened after midnight Thursday in the 1300 block of Wooded Knoll. According to detectives, a man in his 60s was approached and shot by two men while watering his lawn.

The victim told police the men demanded money and made threats. He responded by squirting the men with his garden hose, police said, which prompted the men to fire several shots.

The victim was treated at the scene for a single gunshot wound to his right arm and is recovering in the hospital.

(from KENS-5)

Lawn watering after midnight, a demand for money from an old man in his yard, squirting at gunmen ---- I wouldn't know where to start.

"Fire Destroys Nail Supply Warehouse"

When I first saw this headline, I thought, Oh no, what are all the builders going to do now without anyone local to make their nails?

And then I read this:

San Antonio Fire Department battalion chief Patrick Zepeda said when fire crews arrived, the warehouse was fully engulfed, causing them to take a defensive stance against the flames.

Once inside, Zepeda said palettes of nail polish were on fire, creating fears the fumes and smoke could be toxic. [emphasis added]

(from KSAT-12)

Oh, oh, oh. I see. Fingernails.

Would it have killed you, KSAT, to include the word "finger" anywhere within the news article? As it is, a reader has to get to the fifth paragraph before fully realizing exactly what kind of nails the warehouse provides supplies for.

But now, I'm clear, and I think, Oh no, what are all the beauty salons going to do now without anyone local to make supplies for their nails?

Not raising children

At least, not they way they're supposed to be raised.

SAN ANTONIO - There are myths and legends about feral children -- supposedly raised by animals. Here in San Antonio, an attorney believes five children have been raised this way.

Carla Morrison says the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has removed five children from their home because of severe neglect. According to Morrison, the children might have what is known as Feral Child Syndrome -- a condition where the child has been isolated from human contact starting at an early age-with little or no human care.

The siblings range from ages three to 11 years old and they do not speak. The oldest child is the only one who has been potty trained.

(from WOAI-TV)

The descriptions in the story get worse after that, though there are, understandably, few other details. I don't know much about the realities of feral children, but one thing I do remember is that many of them never learn to speak a human language, even after rejoining society. Some linguists posit that there is a brief window very early in a person's development where learning languages is easy, and if a child misses that window, they can never fully grasp the concept of language. They are forever cut off from adequate communications with their fellow humans.

If that's true, it may be too late for these children.