Happy New Year.

To each and every one of you who read and comment on my blog.

I wish you happiness and prosperity in the upcoming year.

Hows that Multiculturalism and immigration working out there for ya?

Sweden Government police say "women should not go out after dark, never go out alone, or should use taxis".

Seems that since all those Middle Eastern "children" (male) immigrants are kinda changing the society in Sweden....

And the police, of course, say Women have to change their ways rather than the immigrants. Because MultiCulturalism.

Were I living there, I'd start buying rope and looking for sturdy lampposts for some political attention.....And I'd be making a list of each government official, elected or not, who approved the invasion of my country. And, of course, investing in rope suppliers.

Forgive my ignorance, but...

Can't the Phone Companies do something about the increasing use of spoofed phone numbers? Especially in "SWAT"ting cases like the one I wrote about 2 posts below this?

I mean, it is bad enough that they allow "Suzy from Credit Card Services" to spoof their telephone number...no one gets hurt, only annoyed. But "SWAT"ting and other crimes like this should lead to jail time. Murder charges if someone killed...There should be penalties for this behavior.

But people have been injured and killed by cops that thought they were arriving on the scene of a murder, or a hostage situation (which doesn't excuse the injuries or shootings, IMO, but does lead to some leniency due to the situation). The telephone lines used, be they land lines or cell lines, have specific connections that should not be untrackable. The Phone Companies SHOULD be able to fix this.

Why don't they?

Perhaps the NSA needs to step in and tell us who is responsible....

(I'd bet I could put together a lynch mob for the telemarketers though....if I cared to....)

Right to a speedy trial???

Or is the Justice Department simply hoping that we, as a country, will forget? That we aren't watching?

Awan Brothers trial date, delayed twice, now simply GONE from calendar.....

Were I a suspicious person, and an untrusting soul, I'd have to wonder if, having had access to MANY senators sensetive emails due to their control of the Email servers....DO they have enough dirt on some of those Senators to be able to blackmail their way out of a trial????

We all know that that would never happen, right? All those DNC and RNC folks are as clean as the driven snow and all that.....right?

SO is this Murder?

Is it the cop that did the murder? (The cop that shot an unarmed man answering the door to his house when the cop knocked?)

Or is it the fault of the dude who called in a false report of a hostage situation and gave the cops the cops a false address in an attempt to "SWAT" a rival?

Either way, a cop shot an unarmed (and innocent) man last Thursday. And it looks bad for the cop.

Sad, all the way around.

Luck

So the shower faucet in the master bathroom was dripping.

Not that big a deal, except that it was there when I moved in 20 years ago, and I haven't ever had it apart...and it is a "no name" faucet. Not a name anywhere, not the faucet nor the escutcheon, nor the knob....nothing.

Now, I never had a reason to do anything with it, or the most interesting and thought provoking valving arrangement for the water supply in this area of the house....until now.

Oddly, the faucet came apart with a bit of gentle persuasion and a bit of heat and some more gentle tapping and a few other tricks that most of us who work on shit know. I actually didn't twist the faucet off...which is what generally happens in these cases.

Which was a good thing, because the previous owner did a most interesting install of the faucet valve. To replace it was gonna require that I pull the tub surround off, as the faucet was installed from the tub side, not the backside....so just cutting a bit of drywall on the other side wouldn't have gotten me there. (who uses carriage bolts and lag screws to install a faucet???)

Plus the tub is, apparently, non standard, at 54 inches long and 23 inches wide. Menards/Lowes/Home Depot don't carry anything even close to that size.

But, for once, the locking ring moved and nothing twisted too badly, and lo and behold, not only was the faucet a chinese copy of a Delta faucet, Delta replacement parts fit!!!! Ball, cups, springs, o-rings are all close enough to actually work. It's a GOOD copy of a Delta faucet. 

This saved me from having to find a replacement tub/surround from, I am told, a mobile home supplier (Where this size is apparently standard) but a whole bunch of wall work and such. (Plus the tile floor, which was put in after the tub was installed, so would have had to be pulled up and replaced).

Once in a while the Gods smile upon me.

I'm just not sure what to sacrifice to whom now.

Wow, CBS thinks they can rewrite history.

Watching the blurbs from this show, it is interesting to see the outright lies they state regarding the Waco standoff and the events leading up to it (and the members of the church and David Koresh himself).

One wonders why they feel the need to bring it up at all at this late date, much less the twisted version of facts and innuendo and half truths that they are peddling? I mean, we all know that the ATF version of the story was to cover the ass of the folks in charge of the operation....

Can you spot the outright lies, the half truths, the partial bits of the story, and the bits they fail to mention?

Again, WHY NOW?

HAHAHAHA

Ha.

Questions for the engineers:

Not the pilots, the engineers. Powerplant engineers, specifically. (I am not an aviation powerplant expert, so bear with me).

I was flying today. The air temp was a balmy -4 degrees F at the surface....Neg 10 at altitude. Farking cold for the preflight, especially when I spilled avgas all over my hand.

The flight instructor warmed me on taxi to "be careful and make sure my power adjustments, especially power reductions, were done slowly and smoothly so as to prevent "shock cooling" of the engine". (ETA: Apparently "shock cooling" causes issues with the heads and cylinders...cracking and/or other structural issues)

Now, as I said, I am not an aviation powerplant engineer, nor any sort of powerplant engineer.....I have, however, an engineering degree, and I have lots of thermal management experience under my belt....further, I used to service all sorts of air cooled small engines when I was in college for rent money.

Therefore the theory of "Shock Cooling" an aviation engine simply by closing the throttle quickly sounds fishy to me. Shutting down an already overheated powerplant? Maybe. Immersing it in water (or filling the cowling with a firehose?) maybe...but probably not.  But a gas engine that is still running should not be able to be cooled fast enough to damage it simply by slowing down the engine. What happens to an engine in flight when the airplane flies through a rain shower? Mist? heavy rain? snow?  All these should lead to significant cooling of the engine in a very short time. Water conducts heat better, plus evaporation. Faster cooling. Yet I don't hear of Lycomings or Continentals (or Rotaxes (Rotaxi?)) suddenly shedding cylinders or valves because of rain.

I would think shutting the engine off after use would do more damage (due to sudden changes in cooling vs heat) than closing the throttle suddenly.  Or unloading the prop with quick attitude changes (say climb to level to dive)....And, of course, the sudden dimensional changes in temp due to starting the engine at all......

Again:  not an aviation powerplant expert. But have more experience than most on thermal issues.

Does anyone with real knowledge have some input? Is there something to it, or izzit just some myth carried forward by folks who are pilots but not engineers?

Yep. He's right

Damned Skippy.

Read THIS. Tell me where he's wrong? Seriously,  if you think so, feel free to comment as to why. Be sure to be specific.

Now, you gotta understand that I have met and had a beer with "Mad Mike" a few times at blogmeets over the years (sadly not for a few years though). I like the guy, and if I could, I'd spend more time with him. If we didn't live a few hours apart, we might (maybe) be friends.....Dude is a tiny bit nuts and a whole lot of good sense all rolled into a package that is, among other things, a great writer and a great commentor on life and people in general.

An oldie but a goodie. How to explain tax cuts with beer:

True meaning of socialism and why capitalism wins everytime its tried: (Or how it works that TheDonald's Tax bill helps the Rich:)


Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100… If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7.. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that’s what they decided to do.. The ten
men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20”.

Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they ubtracted that from every body’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.

But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!” “Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!” “That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!” The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

And the shoppers are going crazy already

Seems that they expect the crowds to be even greater than the shopping crowd at Black Friday.

Supposedly there are bargains to be had on this day.

I cannot save enough money to make fighting those crowds worthwhile.

Merry CHRISTmas

To each and every one of my readers.

Please, no matter what your religion, remember why this holiday exists.

For some, the birth of their savior, for others the end of one season and the beginning of another: Then end of the transfer to greater darkness, and the beginning of the transition to greater light.

And really, at one scale, there isn't that much difference, is there?

Even a stopped clock....

So for years, my youngest brother (who doesn't get much right, IMO) has been extolling the need for every car to have heated seats and a heated steering wheel.

Yeah, right, I says to myself, what kind pussified man who doesn't live above the arctic circle need a heated seat and a heated steering wheel for, really? ....Especially on a TRUCK? (Note: My car has heated seats as part of the package, but I never use 'em....)

So my new Ram Laramie has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. And I never used either because (see above) I'm not that much of a wuss and it isn't that cold.

Then the other day, I started the truck remotely, with the key fob, to let the engine warm up for a few. Unbeknownst to me, the default for the remote start includes the heated seats and the steering wheel heater to activate below 30 degrees F.

Kinda nice when one is cold.
I may have been wrong about this....
Or, it could be that I am just getting old and weak. 

So where does the UN get off?

Telling the US what they can and cannot recognize as a country, or it's capitol, or where we can put our embassy?

Just who the hell do they think they are? (yes that was Rhetorical)....I know that they think they can run the US...but Barry is gone, so that ain't the case no more....

I am pleased by Nikki Haley's response. And I would LOVE to see the US cut Foreign Aid..... Pretty much everywhere, but especially (and first) to all those that think that they are entitled to an opinion as to how and where the US conducts it's business.

Fuck 'em.

A meme for California Democrats:

"If at first you don't secede,
Try, try again."


Please,please,please,please.

Just GTFO

Reposting 'cause I think it is important that the women see this. They are the only ones that can stop it from crashing and burning.

This Sexual Harassment witch hunt is going to backfire on you ladies.
Badly.

I'm not talking the Matt Lauers or the H. Weinsteins (although Weinstein appears to have paid his debts to the women who used him for advancement with sex...they got movies and screen tests and such See also Uma Turman in "Kill Bill"), I'm talking all the other "Mee Too" whines from women against every man they can find to complain about. Just so those women can feel like part of the victimhood club.

I guarantee that every man is evaluating this...Every single one.

The lesson he is learning today is that every single joke can have consequences, even 20 or 30 years down the line. Even if HE didn't mean it in a naughty connotation, it is how the WOMAN perceives it that matters. No matter how innocent the remark, it is how she takes it that matters. Like "Coded Racism" even if you have to look for it, it is there. If she is looking for it.

If he mistakes interest from a woman, and asks her out to lunch to see where it might go, and he is wrong, it might come back to haunt him when he is successful later in life.

If she declines, but doesn't say "no" ("I can't today") and he asks again a week or so later, then she might write it down and use it against him 15 or 20 years down the road. Especially if another woman suggests that she was "harassed" by him also.

And it is a fact that women are attracted to power and money and flirt with those men who have it. Even if they aren't serious about it. And he will be required to know when she is and when she isn't serious.... And if she is, and he isn't interested, that can come back and haunt him too......'Cause "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".

So, the lesson being learned here is that women are unable to defend themselves (and aren't strong enough to say "No"), but rather will fester resentment and hate for years. And when she gets the chance, she will do her best to drive a stake through his heart, especially if she can find a sister or two to help her .

And, the real lesson is that it is best to not to hire women, or interact with them in the workplace. Ever. So women, who are just starting to become part of higher level management and higher level engineering and such, mentored by men, will suffer. Because they won't ever get a chance. Attorneys, managers, financiers, engineers, bankers, etc. They will not be let into the club, won't ever interact with men (or will have fewer opportunities to network  and be mentored) and will, ultimately, be hurt because the women in the previous generation couldn't say "no, I won't go out with you"....or couldn't say "if you ever touch me again, I will break your balls" or "I don't find that joke funny, please be more considerate next time"....or who couldn't go to the police when something worse happened.....Or just couldn't deal with life and interactions with people, especially males, in the workplace. Because they were cowards and Fragile Flowers. ( Real Women know how to handle things and still be ladies and engender respect...not so these women)

So, ultimately, women in the next generation, who are just now entering the workplace, will have fewer chances to advance, grow, learn and gain skills.

***And it is happening. Men now refuse to work with women at gyms, Attorneys won't meet with women without another woman as a witness. I will be willing to bet that there will be fewer hirings of women for internships and fewer lady clerks for judges. Fewer women will be hired for Engineering internships next summer (and the women already cry that there aren't enough STEM positions for women). And there will be fewer opprotunities from this day forward.

So VP Pence was a Victorian and a fool because he won't meet with a woman alone......

*********************************************************************************
And we're back to "Women shouldn't be let out without a keeper, either their fathers or another male family member" because they can't defend themselves. Or even make decisions that they won't regret later and use against the male....

"I am Woman, Hear me roar" my ass.

Hope it is as it appears:

Judge declares mistrial in Bundy case. 

I'm not sure they are innocent, but the .GOV sure screwed this one up by the numbers....both in the handling of the issue and the trial itself.


ETA: It is, apparently, true.

Of course, the FedGov drones get to try again in February. So it ain't over yet.

I think I'm getting there.....

So my IP pulls the throttle about midfield on the downwind. Says:

"Engine failure, hit the 1000 foot marker don't land short, don't land long".

I make the trim, do the turn, line up final, trim, add flaps as I cross over the fence, and hit the marker in the first 20 feet ON Centerline.... greased it too. 

"Didn't hit the center of the marker".

"you didn't say the center of the marker, dude...., you said "The marker". I Hit The Marker"


2 weeks ago I'd have been lucky to hit the marker, and likely woulda been off center.

Aim small, miss small.

Not there yet, but improving.

Who knew?

Here, all along, I thought a Pedometer was for finding those terrible folks who like small children in a not so savory way.....

Perhaps SIG heard my cries:

SIG Sauer to offer limited run of commercial version of M17.

(Or perhaps they are finding that folks want a Safety of some kind. I dunno.)

Have to wait and see on pricing too....

I really want an M18 version anyway. Plus I am not a fan of Flat Dark Earth.

Have to wait and see what happens. 

Scientists have varying opinions:

You'd think, if it WAS a disabled spacecraft, that it'd be calling for help already.

HERE. 

Livin' the word

And walkin' the talk.

Guess who fed and watered all those folks at Atlanta Hartsfield airport while they waited for power so they could get out of there?

Yep, "Hate Chicken". Funny how those types of folks always step up, and the other side......doesn't.
Odd, that. 

Make Liberal heads explode:

Buy one of these.

Use it often.

 Especially at places like Starbucks (if you can stand their "Coffee".

Now THAT was exciting.

Went up today, for pattern work. Did 8 decent landings, just not all in a row. 2 bad, 2 go arounds mixed in there.

The highlight of the day was when I had just done a Go Around after a bounce. Climbed out, did a call for crosswind, then left downwind runway 18. Then called the base. Hear another call "Arrow XXXX is base runway 18......". Which is where I was.. Called and asked him to specify his position...Immediately. . "Base,18".  I looked but couldn't find him, and hadn't heard any other  position calls for him.  My instructor heard the same thing and looked and couldn't find him. Heads on a swivel looking....

Then his instructor came on and called CROSSWIND 18.  He'd just departed the runway with a call about a Cessna departing, so I am not sure WTF was going on (Cessna is like an Arrow, right???). He was, however behind me in the pattern.

Whew.

Kinda skary for me and my instructor there, for a few.

You'll notice that they don't show

The "normal" light photos of the area..... At least not current ones....
Just the "false color" infrared.

Wonder why that is.??? Perhaps they hadda use Infrared because they could barely tell in "Normal" imaging that anything had been there?

And, of course, one must realize that this is a VERY small area out of how many MILLIONS of acres? about 6 soccer fields out of 13 Million acres.

Hit piece by the Noo Yawk Thymes on one experimental well drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 30 years ago. 

It may possibly have inconvenienced one Caribou. Maybe. for 5 minutes. 

I remember the terrible cries that the Alaskan Pipeline would destroy the Caribou herds and such. Didn't happen.  Was gonna kill the Tundra. Didn't happen. Destroy the wildlife. Didn't happen.

But environmentalists will believe anything if it sounds like it could be bad....and is presented to them in a manner that tugs their heartstrings. 

When the enviromentalists start walking to work, and using only wool and cotton (picked by hand, and carded and woven without mechanical means) for clothing, and stop using any synthetic fibers (produced from oil) and eating only food that is grown, picked and transported by muscle power, not electrical or oil based energy,.....and when they stop flying from coast to coast, and stop using anything made of or using plastics (including their Apple products) and drinking their organically grown coffees that are transported in ships that use oil for propulsion (and trucks too) then they can talk to me about the environmental impact of sites such as the above. Until then they are hypocrites. 

Remember this?

I bet it makes you smile as soon as you see it.



I'm off to the gunshew to sell raffle tickets for the next gun giveaway.

Last two years I sold two of the three winners.

2 of them to bloggers right here in the sidebar.

Enhance your chances. Buy from me!

Better

Didn't make the trip to the class D airport today. The conditions were as forecast.

Stayed and did more pattern work. And did 3 landings the right way. "Do that every time". Greased all three. Even with the crosswind. I think I am understanding better the energy at roundout.

Then did some stall and slow flight practice.

Then did one more and back to the barn. Got blown off the centerline a bit at the end, but not too far before correcting.

Finally, some progress.

I'd get mad, but what's the use?

'Twon't change nuthin'.....

Seems lately when it is clear, it is windy with fierce gusts. And when it ain't windy and gusty, it is snowing or foggy with terrible visibility.

Therefore not much flying taking place. Hard to learn to land with 15 knot winds GUSTING TO 35....

or IFR conditions. .

Now, after we had cancelled due to snow and 1-1.5 mile, then the snow cleared up 3 hours later and it was light and variable winds and 10 mile visibility...of course, my instructor wasn't available then....I checked.

Frustrating.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to fly again. TAF currently says:
FM150900 26009KT P6SM BKN025
  FM151400 28015G22KT P6SM SCT025 BKN040

And I am supposed to fly at noon (1800Z). 

Damnit. 

Except when there is a metal detector

Or a scanner, like at airports

So innunedo won the day

So lies, mudslinging, and innuendo sufficed to change an election.

The press colluded with the DNC to damage Moore.

Not too much, just enough that Jones won.

Odd, I thought that "Collusion" was bad. Or is it only when russians can be accused of it.....and Republicans.

(Not sure if the accusations against Moire are true or false. The timing of them was suspicious, plus the payments to the accusers damaged the credibility.)

But the election was swayed and the voters of Alabama once again showed their intelligence....and they got the Senator they deserve.

Yes, that last was sarcasm.

It is a shame

That SIG doesn't sell the M17 (actually I'd prefer the M18) version of the 320.


I might have bought myself a Christmas present if they had.

I'm old school. I want a manual safety.

I currently carry a Para 3" LDA for daily carry. Love it. But, sadly, it is wearing out. I'm shooting it less, as I cannot get parts (Remington promised to support the platform when they bought Para, but no, they really don't). If Para was still in business, I'd buy another, but I have to find a daily carry pistol...one where I can get parts for the pistol. . There are lots of "true" 1911 actions out there, but few make a compact that is truly reliable. Not even the vaunted Kimber is really reliable. (to be fair, the Paras went back to the factory 3 or 4 times until I was satisfied).

I have a full size 250 that is a great pistol (but too big for carry, really), and have shot about a hunnerd rounds through a 320 at the range, but I still want at least at thumb safety on my carry gun. (I'd like to see a grip safety too). I don't care for the tabbed trigger safety. Yes, I know they are great. Don't care. Hate the brake being on the gas pedal. It would seem that most of the "AD while reholstering" issues are from Glocks or other similar triggers. Few from 1911 type systems.

Yep, I'm a 1911 guy, but a full 5 inch 1911 is harder to carry concealed. Plus heavy. The 4" versions don't gain much in weight loss or concealability. Plus they are not common (or reliable) in .357 SIG, which is a caliber that interests me.

So I guess I wait for SIG to choose to offer a safety on the 320. Or for someone else to do so. No I won't ever go back to the XD. Reasons. Never ever buy a Springfield gun again.

Not just some poor downtrodden folks (Link works)

You can help only the APPROVED people. ?

'Cause other wise we will fuck up your business so bad you'll never recover.
Then shoot the corpse.

How dare you help, you know, just anybody?

At what point do decent folks get out the axe handles and the Louisville sluggers and the 5 irons and just go to town on these SJW assholes? Seriously.

ETA: Mostly the link works, if not, copy/paste then it seems to.

www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/12/09/liberals-attack-doughnut-shops-good-deed-what-in-sweet-name-santa-claus-is-wrong-with-them.html

Probably true

Check out this restaurant:

People are so stupid, and gullible.

"Turnabout is fair play" and all that

So it would seem that the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife wanted to do a survey of amphibians on some land belonging to Larry and Amanda Anderson.

Yeah, Gotta love that. I'da just said "no". But some folks are poets.


Here is most of their response:

Dear Mr. Niemela:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding accessing our property to survey for the yellow-legged frog. We may be able to help you out with this matter.

We have divided our 2.26 acres into 75 equal survey units with a draw tag for each unit. Application fees are only $8.00 per unit after you purchase the “Frog Survey License” ($120.00 resident / $180.00 Non-Resident). You will also need to obtain a “Frog Habitat” parking permit ($10.00 per vehicle). You will also need an “Invasive Species” stamp ($15.00 for the first vehicle and $5.00 for each add’l vehicle) You will also want to register at the Check Station to have your vehicle inspected for non-native plant life prior to entering our property. There is also a Day Use fee, $5.00 per vehicle.

If you are successful in the Draw you will be notified two weeks in advance so you can make necessary plans and purchase your “Creek Habitat” stamp. ($18.00 Resident / $140.00 Non-Resident). Survey units open between 8am and 3pm but you cannot commence survey until 9am and must cease all survey activity by 1pm.

Survey Gear can only include a net with a 2″ diameter made of 100% organic cotton netting with no longer than an 18″ handle, non-weighted and no deeper than 6′ from net frame to bottom of net. Handles can only be made of BPA-free plastics or wooden handles. After 1pm you can use a net with a 3″ diameter if you purchase the “Frog Net Endorsement” ($75.00 Resident / $250 Non-Resident). Any frogs captured that are released will need to be released with an approved release device back into the environment unharmed.
As of June 1, we are offering draw tags for our “Premium Survey” units and application is again only $8.00 per application. However, all fees can be waived if you can verify Native Indian Tribal rights and status.

You will also need to provide evidence of successful completion of “Frog Surveys and You” comprehensive course on frog identification, safe handling practices, and self-defense strategies for frog attacks. This course is offered online through an accredited program for a nominal fee of $750.00.

Please let us know if we can be of assistance to you. Otherwise, we decline your access to our property but appreciate your inquiry.

Sincerely,
Larry & Amanda Anderson

No word on the ODFW response to that. 

Y'know

This Sexual Harassment witch hunt is going to backfire on you ladies.
Badly.

I'm not talking the Matt Lauers or the H. Weinsteins (although Weinstein appears to have paid his debts to the women who used him for advancement with sex...they got movies and screen tests and such,,, See also Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill"), I'm talking all the other "Mee Too" whines from women against every man they can find to complain about. Just so those women can feel like part of the victimhood club.

I guarantee that every man is evaluating this...Every single one.

The lesson he is learning today is that every single joke can have consequences, even 30 or 30 years down the line. Even if HE didn't mean it in a naughty connotation, it is how the WOMAN perceives it that matters. No matter how innocent the remark, it is how she takes it that matters. Like "Coded Racism" even if you have to look for it, it is there. If she is looking for it.

If he mistakes interest from a woman, and asks her out to lunch to see where it might go, and he is wrong, it might come back to haunt him when he is successful later in life.

If she declines, but doesn't say "no" (I can't today") (which isn't, BTW, "No") and he asks again a week or so later, then she might write it down and use it against him 15 or 20 years down the road. Especially if another woman suggests that she was "harassed" by him also.

And it is a fact that women are attracted to power and money and flirt with those men who have it. Even if they aren't serious about it. And he will be required to know when she is and when she isn't. And if she is, and he isn't interested, that can come back and haunt him too......'Cause "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".

So, the lesson being learned here is that women are unable to defend themselves (and aren't strong enough to say "No"), but rather will fester resentment and hate for years. And when she gets the chance, she will do her best to drive a stake through his heart, especially if she can find a sister or two to help her .

And, the real lesson is that it is best to not to hire women, or interact with them in the workplace. Ever. So women, who are just starting to become part of higher level management and higher level engineering and such, mentored by men, will suffer. Because they won't ever get a chance. Attorneys, managers, financiers, engineers, bankers, etc. They will not be let into the club, won't ever interact with men (or will have fewer opportunities to network  and be mentored) and will, ultimately, be hurt because the women in the previous generation couldn't say "no, I won't go out with you"....or couldn't say "if you ever touch me again, I will break your balls" or "I don't find that joke funny, please be more considerate next time"....or who couldn't go to the police when something worse happened.....Or just couldn't deal with life and interactions with people, especially males, in the workplace. Because they were cowards and Fragile Flowers. ( Real Women know how to handle things and still be ladies and engender respect...not so these women)

So, ultimately, women in the next generation, who are just now entering the workplace, will have fewer chances to advance, grow, learn and gain skills.

A point about the shooting:

The one 2 below this one. You know, the one about the SWAT cops in Mesa AZ killing a scared kid they forced to CRAWL down a hotel hallway for the crime of......something.
Turns out it he was innocent of any wrongdoing except not obeying fast enough.

And so they killed an innocent young man. Shot him 5 times at close range. For no reason.

Yet at the time of the shooting, there was no rioting by white people.
They didn't burn down their neighborhoods. They didn't loot the stores in their neighborhood. They didn't trash their neighborhoods.

Odd that. If the kid had been black, I guess the entire city would have burned. (See also Baltimore, St Louis, and other inner cities).

This kid was innocent. Maybe that is it. No riots unless you have a record of arrest a yard long. And, of course, are black.

Must be something different about white people. Something wrong. For some reason, we don't riot. Not at the time of the police crime, nor at the end of the trial.

I will say, however, that it would be best if I never come face to face with ex-Mesa police officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford. I don't think it would end well.

One wonders

Would she have gotten off with probation if SHE had been white and her victim black?

Teen who livestreamed beating and torture of mentally disabled white kid gets PROBATION.

Is it any wonder the South Side of Chicago is a hellhole? They don't even punish for crimes of this magnitude.

They go after other races (except, perhaps Hispanic people and Muslims (yes, I know Muslim is not a race)) for lesser crimes than this as Aggravated Hate Crimes.....Getting longer/stronger punishment. Why probation here?

Where is Justice?

We don't need cops like this

Seems a jury found his actions justified. 

I cannot see how. 
(WARNING: Graphic scene of a man being shot to death by cops)

There were a LOT of ways the cops could have handled this that were better....that would have resulted in the kid being restrained, the cops all being safe, and the kid not being shot in the hotel hallway following the (stupid) instructions to crawl forward. They couldn't handcuff him where he was laying? Or did they just have to prove who was in charge and the situation simply got away from them?

I see manslaughter. I see murder, really. Plain and simple, I see a cop shooting someone for no valid reason.

If the cops can't do better than this, then there really isn't any reason to interact with them except shooting, if only to save your life. If they are that stupidly deadly, then really, why not?

Were I on that jury, the cop would not have walked free. No matter what other evidence or testimony might have been provided, the cop with the camera and the rifle shot a kid in, essentially, cold blood. Every other cop on the scene was complicit in his death as well.

Being a cop can be dangerous. But that does not excuse this behavior.

Not to police officers: If, as a cop, you are that afraid, then find another profession.
Seriously.

(Is it something in the water in Arizona that makes cops psychotically overreact? Or are they trained to like shooting people and leave them to die?)

Good point

It's true though......

Overheard:

"I was gonna go to the range today, but it was cold and windy"

"You think when it is time to go hunting blue helmets that it will always be a sunny day?"


I just kept walkin' past. 

Prediction:

If History can be a guide:


Since National Carry Reciprocity is coming up for a vote (which I actually oppose, because I believe it violates the 10th amendment), I fully expect a mass shooting or two to take place in either a school or a venue where firearms are prohibited.

Police response will, predictably, be slow and uncoordinated.

You can pretty much expect it to happen.

Yes, there are folks vile enough to kill people to make their agenda happen.

Never, ever, forget

Pearl Harbor.

Never forget the Japanese treachery.

The Army's bureaucratic idiocy.

The failures of incompetence by the diplomats.

The Navy's failure to remember that they were supposed to be ready to fight a war.

Never forget.

Collateral Damage

Now, make no mistake, one has to wonder why these women waited so long to come forward.....And, if it was that terrible an experience, why did these women wait so long? Some of them worked for YEARS after the alleged incident. I mean, leaving all those other women at risk and all....

Having said that, seems that the DNC sexual harassment push against Conservatives has, again, netted one of their own.

My brother (a liberal) asked me "why they only found democrats that were harassers". I said because the press had been doing their jobs and rooting out and cleansing the Republicans for many years, but had allowed the DNC folks a free pass time after time. Until now, that is. At the slightest hint of impropriety, they swarmed after any conservative, but they left the liberals alone. 

Huh

Whoda thunk it?

Russians cheated at olympics. 
Doping of athletes and a further cheating of drug testing.

Shocking. Truly shocking.

This is my shocked face.

dunno if it is true or not

(via Wirecutter)

(And I am not a big fan of forced reciprocity, believing, as I do, in the 10th).

But it seems like the sort of shenanigans that our politicians play.

Reciprocity bill is really a gun control bill.

I dunno. Might be worth you taking the time to check yourself and make those calls to your Senators.

Trust NO politician. Ever.

question:

Why is it only Conservative type folks who get in trouble for "lying to Federal Investigators" and/or Congress, and not DNC types?

I mean, if lying under oath were valid reasons for incarceration, Hillary,  Huma,  and all their minions would be in jail so far that they'd have to pipe in daylight.

Gusty

So I had to travel all the last half of the week last week, so no flying.

Then Monday, it was 18 gusting 28 (Pretty much a perfect crosswind to all runways, both at my local airport and the others around us), so we passed.

Today, 25 gusting 48. So not today either.

The only good news is that these winds have moved most of the leaves off the trees. So, when it warms up a bit, I can do the last leaf clean-up of the year.

Probably another 6 tons of leaves. 

And, maybe they ARE draining the swamp

Seems the DOJ is investigating the upper tiers of the FBI.

Maybe, we shall see. I appears that there is a LOT of rot in the FBI, at the upper levels. One does not make a movement. But it is, at least, a start. 

Lying to the FBI is a crime

So why, when the FBI lies to the public, is that not a crime?

Why aren't each individual associated with this coverup not under indictment? Why are they still in positions of power at the FBI?

Why aren't the folks responsible for the witch hunt for the whistleblower also under indictment?

Above all, why are the folks responsible for the failure of the FBI to maintain it's integrity still a part of the FBI? They violated their oaths as Federal employees and as FBI agents. Ultimately, they have destroyed the FBI's integrity and reputation. I can no longer believe anything the FBI tells me, nor can I find anything they say, about anyone or about any investigation to be credible.

(and it isn't limited to the FBI...the Secret Service and the IRS are in the same boat....None of them as an agency, have any integrity.). The fact that each FBI agent (as well as the others) is still employed (by choice) with these agencies tells me that every FBI agent still working sees their association and position with the agency as merely a job, and each one of those agents has no integrity any more either. They are simply following orders. We saw this at Ruby Ridge, where the US Marshalls and the FBI HRT never questioned their orders, and again, at Waco, where, again, the agents (both FBI and US Marshalls as well as ATF) simply did what they were told.

Any agent who chooses to still be employed with any of these agencies no longer has any integrity nor any credibility in my eyes. Once, Duty and Honor mattered. No more.

Cool. they passed a tax bill

Now, y'all gotta do a matching spending bill that cuts spending by at least 10%.

And I liked Democratic complaint: "How can you pass a bill you haven't read?"   Really? Go back 8 years to find out how that happens.

There are some folks

Who just need Bitch Slapped.

And the only thing keeping them from getting what they deserve is the law.

6 tons of leaves

Yeah, that is what I took off the lawn last weekend. (seriously, at least 6 tons with the leaf vacuum and the leaf blower....The vacuum holds about 1800 pounds per load and I took 8 loads of leaves to the dumping area).

Yet, to look at the yard today, I didn't do anything at all.

I LOVE having giant oaks, but not at this time of year. 

One wonders

Chicago area Representative Luis Guiteierrez won't seek reelection.

Odd, that. He pretty much is guaranteed a job, enjoying great support from the Chicago political machine and having a district that is chock a block full of (and gerrymandered to make sure of that) progressive liberals and hispanics who LOVE his policies of wanting open borders and other liberal policies  that benefit Hispanics. (Plus he's anti Trump). He pretty much had a job for life.

Yet, suddenly, he chooses to "not run for reelection".

One wonders what dirt (and who has it) on him. 

Nighttime:

A different experience when aviatin'.

Landings weren't a biggie. I had no issues on the approach or touchdown (other than my normal flare issues, which are getting better). Everyone told me how hard it was, landing at night,  but I didn't find it any more difficult than a daytime landing.

Flying without the ground reference was a bit more challenging, but that is what they make altimeters and artificial horizons for. Really that wasn't an issue....so far. I (generally) don't get vertigo as long as I have a horizon reference, at least so far in my life. If on a boat, as long as I stay on deck I'm fine. It is below deck where my eyes and inner ear disagree that I get vertigo and the resultant nausea. Really, as long as I have even a glass of water to give me a horizon, I'm ok. Other than having to use the field as a reference instead of landmarks (which I should be doing anyway, right?) I had no issues in the pattern.

My only real challenge was the fact that 04N is down with a Nav light issue (again), so I was in 3HA, which, while  a 172S, is a Garmin 1000 instrument panel, as opposed to Steam Gauges. I don't like the altimeter and airspeed tape display, and if I had the panel brightness to where it didn't interfere with my night vision, it caused issues in reading the two tapes. If I had it bright enough to be able to clearly read the two tapes for altimeter and airspeed (kinda important), I caused issues with my night vision. This may not be an issue during the day, but it is at night.

I think I prefer the steam gauges. Easier and faster to scan, and easier for an old guy to read.
When I buy my own plane, I don't think that a Garmin panel is gonna be a selling point.

6 more landing. 2 flat, 4 good (one really smooth, and not by simple chance). I'm getting there.

I think the night landings actually helped. Better perspective.

I won't get to fly again until Monday, so we will see what else I learned and what I forgot.

Yep

2 truths

HERE

Remember those 4 young black kids?

who beat and kidnapped and tortured the mentally disabled white kid on Facebook while screaming racial epithets ...back in January? The ones that were charged with torture, kidnapping and hate crimes?

Well, according to reports, the racial charges have been quietly dropped. No more "Hate Crime". Just aggravated kidnapping and ransom.

Care to take bets as to how this would have been handled if the races had been reversed? If a group of white kids had done this to a back man or kid?

Look, I think racially motivated crimes are terrible, no matter what the mix. Black/white. black/hispanic, Hispanic/white, White/black, etc. All bad. Any racially motivated crime deserves extra punishment. (Or at least special scrutiny come sentencing, at a minimum)
But lets keep it equal. No special privileges for folks just because they are poor black kids. (Nor rich white kids either).

These kids, by their own actions of the video, did this, in part, because of race. That should matter, if only 'cause it matters in other cases.

Prolly a good idea he cancelled, anyway.

A man who believes the Earth is flat and was ready to launch himself from a rocket in Amboy Saturday afternoon to prove it has canceled his plans. At least for now.

Not having the required federal permits plus mechanical problems with his "motorhome/rocket launcher" have forced self-taught rocket scientist "Mad" Mike Hughes to put his experiment on hold.


I tried hard not to laugh, especially when I read the descriptions of him and his efforts in the rest of the article. 

The media must be biased

They must be censoring the stories of white folks going apeshit and fighting and brawling and otherwise acting uncivilized at the Black Friday sales........

I mean, every single one of the stories shows black people acting like animals, never white folks, or asians. Come to think of it, I didn't see and hispanics either. Nor muslims nor Hindus.

Odd. Why don't they show those others brawling and fighting?

Must be the same conspiracy that only shows the Muslims as mass murderers with a religious motivation.

Or, we could accept that they are showing us what is the only thing that is happening, and that the other races aren't acting like animals in a crowd. That the other races act like civilized people. 

'tis interesting

There are those who claim to actually believe the accusations against Roy Moore.

And a great deal of those women say they believe the accusers because there are more than one.

Yet those same folks, oddly enough, failed to believe (actually attacked the accusers) those women who accused William Jefferson Clinton of his assaults....Even though there were more than one accuser.

I don't know if the accusers of Roy Moore are real or made up by the Post newspaper organization. I do know that they paid for the accusers to come forward and "Tell their Story" (I don't know for sure that William Clinton's accusers were telling the truth either, BTW). But I do know that there is a double standard in how the Media chooses to cover these stories. How they are slanted and how they are reported (if they are reported at all). Was William Clinton guilty? Probably. Did he get away with it because he was approved of by the media establishment? Likely.

And there is the rub. Moore's accusers lack credibility, but are being given a platform for their accusations. Clinton's accusers did not lack credibility, but were pretty much denied a platform for their stories to be heard.

Odd

I received my Student Pilot card from the FAA/DOT.

Oddly, the picture on it looks like Orville Wright.

Heh

Gotta love people, ya know?

I especially like the Whole "Set an example" bit. Great advice for folks who wish to judge others.

Whut?

What a terrible coincidence:

"He said authorities have no reason to believe Suiter’s killing was connected to his pending testimony." (watch the video, he even keeps a straight face)

(And yet)

"Davis also said that Suiter is believed to have been killed with his own service weapon, which was fired at close range, and that there was evidence of a struggle before the shooting."

Axxidents happen., yah know.
"Snitches get stitches".

Does anyone believe that cops are immune to large amounts of money? I mean, thery are human, after all. Plus, this is Baltimore. Always honest cops in cities like that, right? I mean, it isn't like LA (Rampart) or N' awlins or Philly or something, ya know? 

Happy Thanksgiving

Be safe, enjoy the time you are spending with Friends or Family (may you have the option).

And for those standing a post or taking the duty somewhere away from said friends and family, you have my respect and thanks.

54 years ago

The US President was shot and killed by a Magic Bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was later killed by Jack Ruby.  

There are those who believe that the whole thing happened in the manner accepted by the Warren Commission. Then again there are those who still believe that Santa Claus lives at the north pole and brings eggs to kids every year at Easter or somesuch too.

I still wonder who had him killed, and why....and how they got so many folks to believe that the story that was postulated was, in fact, the Real and Honest (tm) Truth. (And part of me REALLY wants to know how they did it, just as an intellectual exercise)

Then again, I see all these folks in power get away with so many things, and the Media and the Law Enforcement folks just let 'em....and eventually we good sheep citizens forget about it enough to let things go back to Business as Usual.

But if you believe that Oswald did it (or at least all of it) then you either haven't bothered to look at the details or know nothing about ballistics or even basic physics.


But then again, that is most of the folks who watch the news, innit? 

In conversation in the car today:

"If the folks in front of me knew what thoughts were going through mu head right now, they'd be driving better or get out of my way"

Just sayin'. 

Depends on how you define it, I suppose

"Sixty percent of women have "experienced sexual harassment"".

Then again, 28 percent of "modern" women thing a wink by a male towards them is harassment. Or commenting on her appearance is harassment (depends though, on who is doing the comment,, innit ladies....If it is the "right" guy, the one you were trying to garner interest from, then it is ok, right girls?).

Oddly,  most older women don't think that much of that is harassment. Of course, real ladies know how to handle such things, it is only the Millenials and the last half of the Baby Boomer women who can't handle a wink or a compliment. Real Women know how to shut it down before it starts, but there are few Real Women left in this world.

This shit is getting out of hand.

Ladies, I think it is time you grew up a bit. For at least the past 20 years, you've had the upper hand when it came to complaining to HR.  If you didn't do anything about it then, then it must not have been that bad....

Seriously. Grow.The.Fuck.Up. Y'all aren't 9 years old, stop acting like you are. If it is "I am woman, hear me Roar" then learn to deal with male attention. Else men are gonna think that those chauvinists and religious fundamentalist are correct, and you shouldn't be let out without a keeper until you are married ('cause, apparently, y'all are too frail to deal with an unshielded world alone), and then, once married,  you are your husband's problem. What happened to "women are equal to men"? Either you are, or you ain't, ladies.

AAAAND again, we are all gonna die

Or something.

Bird Flu. Again. and this time with a 40% rate of death for those (few, so far..) infected.

Wait. And see....

Got preps?

Y'all need to read (Link fixt)

this:

When I ask this of any people who are not steeped in politics, their answer seems to be “because in South American countries there are the rich and the starving and nothing in between, and we’re becoming like that.”

We are?  According to whom?  Sure, the vaunted 1% has a lot more than the rest of us, but where are the starving multitudes who are in need of a crumb to eat, while billionaires circle the world in jets?  Where are the ragged children starving in the streets, while we party?
Nowhere, that’s where.  Sure, there’s need in America, but that need is more often than not the result of individual choices, of a need for drugs or alcohol, or simply an inability to plan. 

Read the whole damned thing.

If you are nodding your head afterwards, then we can be friends, you and I.

If you disagree, then we can't.

Trying to figure out why I should care

The Media keeps telling me I should...that I should care that Charles Manson is dead. I cannot figure out why.

I care more for the squirrel dead on the road than this. 

Bleg:

So years ago, I had a waffle maker that made wonderful, crispy, fairly  thin, yet fluffy waffles. It had 2  square plates that were removable for washing. They were extremely hard surface. And no, as this was a late 50's era wafflemaker (I bought it at thrift shop in the early 90's), they were not nonstick nor were they stainless or otherwise rust resistant.

And there is the rub.
I had never done more than clean em with a washrag and soapy water, then rinsed and dried with a towel and then put back into the wafflemaker proper and briefly turned it on so as to heat the plates, and then spritz a bit of bacon grease or other oil to keep 'em from rusting......They required bit more care that a teflon lined plate, but not much...

And they made really, really excellent crispy waffles.

So my cousin comes to live with me after a really bad domestic issue in another part of the country. She's afraid he ex is gonna track her down and kill her when he gets out of jail....so she asks if she can stay with me for a while.

Sure, why not, I got a spare room. If he shows up half a country away, I think it shows intent, so no worries about defending the homestead and all that. So she moves in. And, of course, as women are wont to do when they move in, began cleaning my bachelor pad......

Now my cousin had, as part of the domestic issue, a significant head injury and was on several medications that kept her....functional, but had odd side effects, some of which were that she failed to connect cause and effect sometimes.

Like in the case of the wafflemaker.

First off, in an attempt to "clean" the plates, she SCRUBBED OFF THE SEASONING (which should be a legal excuse for a particularly heinous murder, IMO) but then, to compound the issue, took the waffle iron plates and RAN THEM THROUGH THE DISHWASHER....twice. (She meant well, she really did).. See, they rusted the first time through, so she scrubbed 'em and ran them through again.

Thus the demise of the wafflemaker. The plates, once pitted by rust, would not release a waffle, once one was made upon them. Simply too much mechanical "bite" no matter how much oil one used. I even left the waffle on the plate and let it burn, hoping the carbon would fill in the holes....nope, no joy.

Which sucked, 'cause my Mirro brand wafflemaker made waffles that people praised. Stuff of legends and all that. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.

I've scoured Ebay for a working replacement, searched thrift shops, etc. No joy.

I've purchased many new wafflemakers, and while some are good (most are crap) none get hot enough to make that crispy texture. Cheap ones, mid range, incredibly expensive ones.......no joy. Domestic, imported, european, cheap Chinese....not what I am seeking. None of them seem to get hot enough to make crispy waffleses. I've bought used "Vintage"  ones from EBay, and some do a ok job (Some are as pitted as the old wafflemaker)  , but few last, as they are all 50+ years old and then have to get shipped and I think the vibration kills 'em, so they break quickly. . I've bought commercial ones, cheap ones, expensive ones and everything in between. NONE of the new ones get as hot as the "vintage ones", and they just don't make good waffles.

So, to the BLEG:

Anyone got a suggestion for a (NEW) wafflemaker that meets my specs? I'd prefer square rather than round, but if I can find one that gets hot enough to make crispy waffles rather than the soft ones, I'd buy it. Prefer thin waffles rather than thick as well, but CRISPY instead of soft is the key. I'm tired of spending bucks on used crappy Ebay irons that are pitted and don't work or don't last , or new ones that don't heat properly (but most of those I can return)...


Cause I miss me my crispy thin waffles on Sunday morning. 

Yet, they cannot connect cause and effect here

Read this NYTimes article.

Notice anything missing?

Like the cause of the cost changes? Like the reason it costs so much more? Like the fact these poor folks listed in the article are subsidizing those other, "less Fortunate" folks, who make bad decisions and have little to show for them? You know, the "poor"...The ones that can't afford health insurance but can afford the latest fashions....Cant pay for birth control, but sport a brand new Tattoo that cost what a used car does? You know, the "poor".....The ones that get tons of Free Shit. Now with Free Health Insurance.

Notice that the article fails to mention the fact that most insurers are pulling out of areas where they have to eat much of the cost of insurance, despite the Federal subsidies through the "Affordable" Care Act because they have to offer plans and they just can't make a profit to offset the risk?

I mean, yes the NYT is a shill for Dems, and yes, the ACA was a DNC creation, and yes, it does make some folks get less expensive health care insurance to the detriment of others, and yes, costs are rising just like the ObamaCare opponents said they would.....

But the Times fails to mention all that, just how bad it is for folks who, you know, work and make good decisions in life. You know, the productives, not the Free Shit Army.

Welcome, my friends to Socialism.... the Show That Never Ends. How do ya like it so far? 

Interesting

Was installing lights at the range Friday, and one of the guys helping me brought his new pistol, a Rock Island Arms/Armscor double stack 1911 in .22TCM.

Interesting cartridge. Almost no recoil, but a lot of flash. 2800FPM velocity with the 40 g bullet.

I'm not sure what it is good for, but it is a neat cartridge. Fun to shoot. If they'd make it with low-flash powder, it'd be great. I could have a lot of fun with one of their single-stack models. I bet it is a bitch to reload for though.

I mean, a 1911 with a .22 barrel with the round moving at warp speed. What's not to like?

I always wanted a 1911 in .357 Sig or .400 Cor-Bon. This might have to go on that list of "When I have money to burn" as well.

If you get the chance, try one.

"cause it worked so well in Europe.....

Federal Reserve president says country needs more immigration to save economy

You really need to read the above link. Immigrants are the economic answer. Unless you let them destroy your country like the EU has....

Swimming pools, too

Public ones, at least...

Skydiving....Same.

Organized shooting....Same.

Spending time on the beach....Same Same.

Seems that anything that requires groups to be outdoors are Racist and "too white". 

I think, however, that it is not that they are exclusive of minorities, (especially blacks) but that they choose not to participate because it is too different from their cultural norms as to how to recreate.

No one ever mentions the fact that it requires folks to want to participate in such activities. My experience hasn't been that folks of color are barred from, nor are they discouraged from, participating, but that they simply choose not to.



As an aside: Despite available scholarships (free ride, at that), my flight school's only black students are foreign exchange students from the local University. No locals, despite the great employment opportunity for African American commercial pilots. Pretty much all local African American s have to do is show up and do the coursework.....Yet no takers. Odd, that. 

Either gonna be a cold winter, or a warm one.

The Buffalo News can't seem to decide if it is gonna be a warm one or a cold one.

Remember, these are the people taking money to tell us they can assuredly forecast the climate 20 or 50 years from now....And that we are all either gonna die by drowning (gonna happen soon, forecasts say as much as 30 meters....in a few years!) as the sea level will soon rise and inundate us, or we will all die from drought. Those rainy years and cold spells are just "weather", the drought and warm spells are "climate"). Or something...as long as the research funding continues, anyway.

7 G 21

Yeah, 7 knots, occasional gust 21.

But out of 160/170, so I chose to try today. I have a runway at 18, so it wasn't too bad.

MUCH better timing on roundout. I still need to flare more, as I tend to land flat, or at least not fully on the mains ....

Or, I balloon, so there is that.

My slips are ok, the gusts caught me a time or two, but I stayed on the runway. 18 is 75 feet wide.

The one gust was kinda interesting. I landed, was on the mains, the gust hit, I was airborne, I landed again, and the gust hit again and I got real light....but I did bring the nosewheel down and stayed on centerline, mostly. Flaps up and around again.

Progress is slower than I like, but it is forward progress.

Better landings

So at least I'm not beating up the aircraft. Not good, smooth landings, but at least they are getting better.

I figured out part of my problem.

The seat wasn't always at the same height. Which makes a significant difference in perspective when using the cowling as a reference. Therefore every time I got into the aircraft, my perspective changed according to who had used the plane before me. I only noticed because whoever used it just before me had cranked the seat all the way to the floor. I now realize that the seat had been at slightly different heights each and every time I got in.

I think I will start raising the seat all the way then crank it down 5 turns, so that I ensure my perspective at the roundout is the same every flight.

Now it is just learning the finesse in control to be smooth.

I thank each and every one of you who commented or offered advice via Email. Your help and suggestions were invaluable and has helped immensely. 

Innit interesting

How the DNC types seem to think that there is any credibility to all these "ladies" coming out of the woodwork JUST BEFORE an election that they are (currently) destined to lose.....and all these "ladies" are accusing Mr Moore of an action that occurred 40 years ago....and, oddly, none of them could, or did, say anything until now? Where have they been for the past 35-40 years?

Are you able to see a pattern here? Character assassination is now a preferred tactic of the Democrats.

Are you that gullible that you think these women have any credibility? Seriously?

Judge Bork
Clarence Thomas

How many others that roused the ire of the apparatchiks  of the DNC?  Or were simply in the way of their candidate?
\
Or simply said things that the folks in power didn't like...
(See also, Bill Cosby).

I wasn't sure what to think at first, but at this point, I doubt that I would believe any woman unless she had photos or video and a certified transcript.

ETA: (06:55 11/15) apparently others are noticing this too

Better

wind 260 at 4-8 knots. About as calm as it gets here this time of year.

Better on the roundout, still overcorrecting though.

But 5 good 2 marginal. Unassisted.

More tomorrow  (Tuesday). Wind is supposed to be 180 at 14.

If the ceiling is high enough.  Might not be.

Inn-Deed.

Yeah, here is the truth.

Read.

Of course, few women want to admit it. They chose Womyn's Studeez because it was easy, and chose to NOT go STEM because, lets face it, engineeering or Chemistry or Physics or other STEM shit is really Really hard (I know, I am an engineer). If the math doesn't get ya, then the math will get you. Or the physics, or the Thermogoddamics will, or the calculus, or the Diffy Calc.


So they take the easy way, where they can be with their sisters and study with a coffee or a glass of wine and bitch about the Patriarchy.

And then they find that their degree won't even qualify them for a job at a Starbucks. While their brothers with a STEM degree start at $75K a year and go up from there.

But it is, of course, the White Male Patriarchy that is keeping them down. Every time.

America!

Dodge Demon heads to dealers.

840 HP

Hell yes. America!

Stuff like this is why many other cultures hate us.

Fuck 'em.

1 million

I turned a million pageviews this year yesterday.

Thanks for your support. 

WOW

I gotta say, the NRA could take some real lessons in how to treat their members from AOPA.

Contacting them was easy. Getting to the right department was even easier. Getting linked into the appropriate webpage was easier yet once the person I spoke to told me how to get there.

No bullshit, no issues, and folks who wanted to help.

They have the NRA beat all to hell in service to their members.

The AOPA is to it's members what the NRA promises, but fails, to be.

Thanks

Thank you to all veterans, for your service.

I really don't care what you did , thank you for your service.

Some of us appreciate it.

For the rest y'all, Remember Veterans Day , mmkay? Say "thanks".  

Well, shit

So I am set to fly at 2 (1400). Got lots of good advice from several folks to try.

I get the call at 1 pm: "Hey, we got an issue.....04N has lost both mags and is deadlined until at least Saturday".

Bummer. And the other 2 Garmin equipped (which I hate) 172's are both booked.

"We can put you in a 150, if you want". I confer with my CFI, and we decide not to go that route.

So no flying until Monday.

I was all feeling sorry for myself, until I found out that the issue cropped up when a dude was trying to start the plane for a checkride. And there was another checkride scheduled after that.

All I lost was some pattern work.

Still, 'twas a bummer.

Gone, but not forgotten

42 years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. 7:10 PM.

I knew a dude whose older brother was lost on the Fitz.

He hated Gordon Lightfoot.

I'm thinkin' I gotta go to the bank...

and get a whole shitload of 20's and do THIS, then turn 'em in for more.


HAHAHAHAHA

HA.

Today

Say "Happy Birthday" to each Marine you know.

Just FYI. They've been protecting your country since 1775

I am told there comes a time when you just "get it"

Sadly, I have not found that time yet.

I still can't land for shit.

Fly? Yep. Airmanship? Getting there, but am adequate right now.

Correcting for wind? Easy Peasy.

Navigating? Not that hard, really.

Pilotage? Meh, a breeze.

Pattern? Not that difficult.

Not beating the plane up trying to return to the ground? Yeah, That's a challenge still.

Were it not for landings, I'd have soloed by now.

Of the 31 landings I have done, 2 were good by skill, 5 more were adequate due to skill. The others were hard, or drifting, or not centered, or too fast, too early, too late, too hard, etc. Any other good ones were, at best, luck.

Tomorrow promises steady winds at 8 from the east. I shall try again to get my "Aha" moment.

Remind me never to buy a plane that has been owned by a flight school.  

Not dead

Just bizzy.

Plus, I got nothing to say.

Go read the folks on the left. They are smarter and more insightful than me anyway. 

Thoughts and prayers

For all the folks (and survivors) of the church attack in Texas.

Antifa "day of rage" fail

Seems to have been a "Fizzle".

Rumor has it that it was because the new IPhone was released the day before, and the Antifa participants were too busy figuring out the new features on their new phones to participate in their special day.

Just FYI

I shop at both Home Depot and Menards. Often, Menards has an 11% rebate, which makes their pricing somewhat more competitive...However, also, often the quality of Menards products is....lacking compared to items sold at Home Depot.

Did you know that Home Depot will price match? And that Home Depot will give you an 11% rebate that matches the rebates offered by Menards?

Yep. It is true. If the Menards in your area is offering an 11% (or any) rebate, then the local Home Depot will do the same.

And, the best part? You can apply for it online.

HERE

No paper form and finding an envelope and a stamp.  The rebate come faster, and on a gift card rather than a paper form like Menards.

One wonders why the Home Depot folks don't advertise this...they lose business to Menards every time there is that (well advertised) 11% rebate at their competitor. 

HEH

Yep, that they did.

HERE

He fails to realize

That it ain't the Amish...

It isn't the Jews
It isn't the Bhuddists

Not Koreans
Nor Thailanders
Nor Canadians (except recent immigrants)
It isn't the South Africans
It isn't the Australians (except recent immigrants)

'Taint the Russians (except those from predominantly Muslim Countries)
It's not the Hindus
Not the Chinese (except those from Muslim areas)

Not the Latinos
Not, mostly Christians (in all their various flavors)

Nor the Native peoples from North America, nor even the poor Mexicans who are invading the US....

It is one group that does this. Not all of them, but predominantly from one group. Islam. (I am just glad they all seem to be so terribly inept, so they aren't able to kill more of my countrymen, of whatever culture/race/religion)

Yet the mayor of New York wants, somehow, to vet people so this sort of attack like the one perpetrated on 1/1/17 in his city doesn't happen again......but he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feeling, either:
“There should be very, very careful vetting of anyone where there is an indication of concern, but not because of their religion or not because of their country of origin,” he said.

And he is hungry for an Omelette, but he doesn't wanna break any eggs either.

NY is lucky

Terrorist Driver (Won't name him again) could have used the materials available at the Home Depot where he rented the truck to ......Fortify, as it were, the front end of the truck,,,,which would have allowed him to do much more damage for a longer time.

It isn't like he was gonna get his damage deposit back anyway.

A drill, a set of bits, some 4 x 4's and some carriage bolts and an hour or so would have made the front of the truck much more substantial.

It's a good thing he either couldn't do it or didn't think of this.

(I'm posting this only because I think the likelihood of a Jihadist/AlohaSnackbar type being a follower of my blog is very low, and if they are, then they are smart enough that they've already considered this)

I'd tell em to go somewhere else to worship.

So some folks feel unsafe because of a plaque.

Fuckin' Snowflakes.

Fuck 'em.

It is history.

“The plaques in our sanctuary make some in our presence feel unsafe or unwelcome," leaders said, a reference to the fact that Washington was a slaveholder.

Christ, what has our society become? Is it all Goodspeak/Badspeak that runs our society anymore?
Y'know, George Orwell wasn't supposed to be a prophet. 

Rhymes with "Aloha Snackbar"

So folks have finally figured out that a truck, with lots of mass and an engine with lots of power, can be used as a weapon. (Not that anyone who has driven a truck like that hasn't figured that out).

Sadly, it was used on a bike path in Central Park in New York.

Amazingly only 6 dead.

It would appear that the terror that has happened in Europe has indeed come here, even if on a smaller scale. Plus the dude did cry "Aloha Snackbar!".....or something which sounded like that.

I expect to see calls for limits on horsepower on trucks. No one needs 400 horsepower in normal use . There is no sporting use for 400 horsepower 6000 pound trucks. Drivers of such trucks should be specially trained and licensed. Nobody needs that kind of horsepower to haul 2 x 4's or drywall.

(Please note that in New York this is a BIG TRUCK. In "Flyover Country" this is normal truck, driven daily for farm or construction use.....or just because we like 'em).  And, oddly, few of those thousands of trucks go on a rampage. It is, of course, the user, not the tool.

My thoughts and prayers for the victims and those affected by this.

ETA: the suspect, Sayfullo Saipov is reported to be from Uzbekisan. His photo makes him look like a fundamentalist.

I am surprised that they admitted that it was terror and that it was a muslim, especially so quickly. 

Well, that was interesting:

I had to go to a court today, to testify as to someone's whereabouts in a murder case from 4 years ago.

Sitting, waiting, outside the courtroom for 2 hours was...interesting.

I, being white, was in the minority. Being a male...dressed well, also made me a minority. Hell, having shaved that week did so.....

Lots of nice people there though, (I listened to a lot of stories waiting) most of whom just got crossed up because they can't follow the rules of society, or have impulse issues. Most were willing to do what was necessary to stay out of trouble, they just COULDN'T do it.

Things like show up at court, pay their fines, register their car, stay sober, not steal, etc. Couldn't afford their car registration, but had $300 sneakers. (Sneakers in court?)

Some took the time to dress well, or at least try. Some ladies wore what was obviously their best attire, even though it was not suited for a courtroom, but more for a club....At least they tried.

Lots of men who obviously didn't bother. Weren't willing to try and impress the judge at all. I look better than that when I am working in the yard. I wondered, for a while if it was just because it was Halloween....

And, as I said, I was a minority, race wise. Only folks who looked like me were the clerks and attorneys.

Yes, I know, pointing this out makes me a racist.

And security was a joke. If you can smuggle a cell phone in (and there were LOTS of those), you can smuggle a fairly big knife or a small pistol. Ask me how I know.....