"Bro! Don't be breakin' into houses in Texas! Dey gwine shoot you daid!"

As I've said before, it takes time for news to filter its way up to us, here in the headwaters. Agent 17 has just now sent us a lead on an incident that happened in Texas a year and a half ago. The story is so encouraging to those who believe that a man's home is his castle that it's worth posting, even at this late date.

According to a report on NBC's Dallas channel, a homeowner heard a noise inside his resident at about 4:15 PM on 13 February 2013. The noise was made by someone climbing through the window, so the homeowner shot him, as you're allowed to do in Texas, which is a Castle Doctrine state, which means that a Dallas grand jury will determine whether or not the homeowner will face any charges. Dallas Police Sgt. Calvin Johnson affirmed the homeowner’s right to defend his home. "They don’t actually have to retreat once someone comes in their home. You have the option of using deadly force if you believe your life is in danger."

The would-be burglar was identified as 33-year-old Deyfon Pipkins, aka BJ, pictured here. When police arrived, following the homeowner's 9-1-1 call, they found BJ's body lying lifeless in the window. His mother, Catherine, arrived on the scene not long after the cops, having been called by her daughter-in-law. Ms Pipkins said "Yeah, it's something he would do.... Somebody called her [her daughter-in-law] and told her he had got shot. She said, 'Momma you need to sit down, they said BJ just got killed.' That's the reason I'm here."

NBC reported that Pipkins had a lengthy criminal history, including numerous charges for theft, trespassing and possession of a controlled substance. All the same, according to True News USA, Pipkins' family thought the homeowner should have given BJ a warning, or something, before shooting. "He could have used a warning," said Lakesha Thompson, Pipkins' sister-in-law. "He could have let him know that he did have a gun on his property and he would use it in self-defense."

Comment from the sideline (elsewhere on the Net):
That's certainly true, Lakesha. He could also have invited him in and given him a beer, then helped him cart the TV out to the curb....
For that matter, Lakesha, you could have warned Deyfon. Why didn't YOU tell him, "Deyfon, yo' needs to quit breakin' into those peoples' houses and stealin' they shit. Someone is goin' to pop a cap in yo' ass!"

In light of the steadily increasing cost and rising scarcity of ammunition, a warning shot is a frivolous and unnecessary expense. In this case, a substantial savings of taxpayer money was a side result: no investigation expense, no jail time awaiting trial, no expense of a trial, and no prison costs after sentencing!

Don't you just love it when things work out right?!

Warning to Windows XP users

Walt is not an early adopter. If I get used to something, it takes me a long time to let go of it and try something new. Thus I am still using Windows XP. It does all I need, I know how to use it reasonably well, and I see no reason to change.

That is not to say that Windows XP is not without its bugs, flaws and faults. Every couple of weeks, it seems, Bill Gates sends me a new patch or service pack which I dutifully install. But just as fast as MS trots out the fixes, hackers and other Bad People seem to find or invent new problems.

From time to time, Yahoo News runs articles by a computer geek named Christopher Null. (I wonder if his partner is Cosmo Void.) The blog is called "The Working Guy". Today Mr. 0 gives us fair warning of a newly-discovered problem with XP.

If you're running Windows XP, be sure to read "Don't press F1". Here's a quote: "Microsoft is warning of a brand new exploit that can cause computers running Windows XP and using the Internet Explorer web browser to become infected with malware at the push of a button: Specifically, the F1 button."

Every so often someone sends me an e-mail warning of some terrible virus. I usually turns out to be a hoax or a myth, and I would pass on any such without checking it out through snopes.com or some other reputable source. But this looks like the genuine article (forgive the pun) so keep your finger off F1 until Bill sends the fix.