I've looked all over the internet and have tried to figure out how to embed a Google Earth map from a .kmz file into a webpage and haven't quite been able to do it.
I've tried and tried and can't quite figure it out.
The meeting is open to the public, so let's show up and give Jordan a piece of our minds.
I'm going to try to show up. I'm working up sign ideas, so if you have any, let me know.
Tell everyone you know. Let's have a strong showing.
Also, he might not show up. He did chicken out of showing up at the march, after all. If he doesn't show up, I will make a complaint with the Louisiana Bar Association. I think their office at 601 St. Charles Ave. would be an EXCELLENT location for a second march. It's right next to a park with plenty of lawyers within earshot to help put pressure on the bar association.
Meeting: Monday, February 12, 2007 City Council Chamber 1300 Perdido Street Time= ???
A bunch of guys at work were passing this around. It scares the living shit out of me. There are SO many locks of this type we all depend on. To suddenly find out that that people can crack them in seconds? It's shocking.
It works by causing the pins to jump up and if you rotate the bump key just right, you'll get an instant skeleton key to 95% of locks out there on the market.
According to one source, lock bumping has been around since at least the 50's. I'm shocked the lock companies haven't done anything about this before now.
I'm really wondering how many of the HUGE number of break ins and home invasions in the Marigny and Quarter might be the result of a single criminal who knows lock bumping.
One good piece of news is they are a lot harder to manufacture than you think. The bad news is you can buy them online.
Here's what you can do: * First off, a short-term fix is to inject WD-40 into the keyslot of your lock. That will cause the pins to reset faster and make it harder to bump. * Cheap locks are actually less likely to be bumped than some of the more expensive locks. Instead of being bumped, they'll just break. * There are some really elaborate "bump-proof" locks out there, but they're extremely expensive. There are electromagnetic locks, high tech mechanical locks, and others. * Get a cheap lock to keep locked when you're at home. Something that can only be operated from the inside. Like this one
I plan on changing a bunch of locks soon, and I promise I'll share my solution.
Chicago Crime. Mapping system that uses Google Earth. They have it set up right. First off, the incidents never "expire." Most major cities that have crime maps purge them after so often. The other thing that makes this effort special is they got direct access to Chicago's police database. They wrote a script that automatically took every police report filed by the city and made it into a sortable map.
I'd love to set up something like Chicago Crime in New Orleans. I'm not going to hold my breath on Riley to cough up the reports, though. It'll be a chilly day in hell before we get that kind of cooperation from NOPD's brass.
If you download the .kmz files, remember to click on the icons for detailed descriptions.
Oh yeah: Total murders to date (Orleans and Jefferson Parish): 22. That does not include the body dump in the lower 9th ward that was tacked on to last year's total or the fetuses found on the West Bank.
Not nearly enough people have read this series by the Times-Pic. It's one of the few pieces of investigative journalism they've ever done. It's excellent. I don't have the time right now to go through it in detail, but I plan to in the future.
I compared the dots on the overlay with the crime mapping I've done to date and here are my conclusions:
The Following areas are more crime ridden over the past few months than in 2003: * The French Quarter * Central City (and it wasn't a exactly safe then!!!)
Decrease in Crime: * Lower 9th Ward * St. Bernard Housing Project Area * Lafitte Housing Project area
Everywhere else had about the same crime.
I know there are some major flaws in this analysis (like charting only 2003 murders vs. all violent crimes in 2006/7), but I think it has some validity.
My personal favorites are the Mayor who used the city credit card to pay for strippers, the 'little-tyke stripper pole' toy, and the head of the FCC caught "in bed with lobbyists."
Orleans Parish: 1 in the Black Pearl 1 in Hollygrove 1 in Lower Garden District 3 in Mid City 4 in Central City 1 in the Iberville Housing Project 2 in Marigny 1 in 7th Ward 2 in 9th Ward
Orleans total: 16
Other deadly incidents: Robber shot and killed in NO East Fetuses found in sewer line (I'm not making this up...) Body dump in Lower 9th Ward that was tacked on to last year's total
There's also a rumor floating around NOPD shot a guy near MLK and Claiborne a few days ago and used their cell phones to keep it off the police bands (and away from the media's prying eyes). If it did indeed happen, I don't agree with it, but I understand why they called it in that way.
I'm sure if you ask Warren Riley, he'll say that there have been no murder in New Orleans in 2007. He'll say it's a media conspiracy. It's really spontanious explosions of heads and chests resulting from eating too much fatty food. Damn you, media! Why won't you warn people about the dangers of spontaneous human explosion!!!
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright. The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light. And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out.
A few more days, a few more murders. There's been a HUGE slowdown, though. I'd say the march put some pressure on Riley, but most of the downturn, I credit to weather. It's been bitterly cold (at least by New Orleans standards) and that keeps people indoors.
