Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Stolen cartoon

Stolen from Rural Revolution is THIS....(I think I posted it before myself, but I am too lazy to look for it, and she had this handy link and brought it back to the forefront of my attention)....Take time to read all the text in the cartoon...and note the date on it!

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it"
George Santayana

Y'know

This whole federal budget issue would be funny except for one thing:

The man who was elected to be the leader of the United States can't seem to figure how to lead.  He's great at giving speeches, running for office, spending other peoples (future) money, handing rewards out to his cronies and supporters, and blaming others for the shortfalls of his governance and the mess he has made of our economy..

But he can't lead the other lawmakers in resolving the latest "budget/debt crisis". The first real leadership issue he has been faced with (except, of course, "the beer summit") and he fails. Miserably.

It'd be funny, except for the implications.

She's right

As Tam says "If you only read one blog post today..."


SHe's right. 


Go


Read.


Think.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Retribution:

you knew this was gonna happen..

Face it, the guy had balls....and he's getting the shaft.

Chances are, he'll have an actionable claim against the government. But we taxpayers will end up footing the bill for his damages. Should be the management at ATF who pays the bill.

One wonders.....

So are these "mobs" of "teenagers" in the larger (and, coincidentally, run by liberals) cities a new thing? Sure seems so. Perhaps we are just hearing about it more than we used to. It is now a daily occurrence in Chicago and Philly and such....But they are happening in ever smaller towns....I mean, they're even playing Peoria!

The press seems to be working mightily to never describe them as black, or African American...but every once in a while the truth seems to slip out..

The incidents of "wilding" were, as far as we knew, isolated incidents and in parks after dark and such.... and few and far between....These "mobs", however, appear to be something else.  Broad daylight, public...and in affluent neighborhoods.....

If there are, as it seems, an ever increasing number of these "mob" attacks by "teens", and they are happening in more and more cities....One would wonder:

Is there a coordinator? Someone who is encouraging these attacks? Perhaps describing how to use the available social media or technology in order to coordinate things? Perhaps to teach how to avoid the Po-Po and to know when (and how) to disperse... ?

'cause most of these folks involved don't seem smart enough (or forward thinking enough) to figure things like this out on their own.

Yeah, yeah, I am a racist. But the truth is what it is.

You wish

that you had been with me and Midwest Chick as we hosted Brigid for the weekend.

And had you been there, you'd have spent an afternoon with Og and fambly too.

And likely your blood pressure would be down 25 points and your spirit would be much more settled.

It were a great weekend. Food shooting, wine, beach walks.... beer, breakfasts...

Life like that could make me live longer.....

Sadly, we all had to go back to work today. 

Friday, June 24, 2011

Once again we find out

Who can take charge of their destiny, and who cannot.

Summer storms have been exceptionally violent and windy this year. My area had HUGE straight line winds. Chicago has had some severe thunderstorm (maybe tornadoes, the Weather Service hasn't decided for sure yet).

But the point I am trying to make here is that when these storms happen some folks lose power. The power company employees work long and hard to restore as man folks as possible, as quickly as possible. They actually do a great job, most of the time.

But many of their customers cannot handle a day or two without power. Cannot deal with even one night without electric lights, nor have any idea how to keep their food in their assorted cold boxes from spoiling if their electrical supply should fail for even 10 hours. Rural, cities, it really doesn't seem to matter any more. (perhaps it is all the city folk moving out here, I dunno) But folks can't seem to muster any willingness to take their fate into their own hands.

If your life is somewhat dependent on electricity (and lets face it, ours way of life does depend on a steady supply of electrons to our homes) then you should be able to acknowledge the fact that it will be interrupted occasionally, and have plans in place to deal with that interruption. Inverter/batteries, genset, whatever...But have a plan of some kind. Planning on taking your stuff to your neighbor is NOT a good plan.

A decent 5kw generator can be had for less than $800.00 for Ahura-Mazda's sake! And that same genset will run not only your fridge and deep freeze (which in our home generally contains MORE than $800 bux worth of assorted dead cow flesh and/or ice cream). One use of the genset for a few hours can more than pay for the loss....And provide you with lights/cell phones/tv (and, for our lady readers, even run your blow dryer/curling iron).....And might run your AC too. (if not, buy a gennie big enough to do so). And will run yer heater in the winter when that big ice storm hits every 7 years or so.

Many of the rural folks need a generator in order to have water...... Not so much for showers, although they get ripe after day 3 or four, but in order for them to be able to flush toilets....'cause no one can conserve, or use the big outdoors for a potty for a day or so....

But do most people, city or rural think about things like this? Nope....They just bitch about the fact that they have no electricity.

It really isn't that hard to have a genset and 10 gallons of gas for emergencies like storms or ice in the winter. Of course, this assumes that they would not be too lazy to rotate out their fuel every 6 moths or so....or make sure that they had oil and such...or even bother to have the thing serviced after each use...

In the cities, you can accept that most apartment dwellers are screwed. No place to put a genset or store fuel. But homeowners have no excuse except laziness or stupidity.

And god help most folks if there is a CME anytime soon that does serious damage to the grid...In the latest round of outages in my area, people were getting hotel rooms JUST TO SHOWER, 'cause they had no well pump. And others couldn't live in their house 'cause the bathroom "just got too smelly".

Me? We have a diesel genset. Should run for thousands of hours with little maintenance. I stock in excess of 250 gallons of fuel at all times. It burns less than 1 gallon an hour even at full (10kw) load...General load (without AC) is more like 3000 watts, so it burns less than 1 quart an hour much of the time that it is running. With AC on in the house I burn a little over 1/2 gallon an hour. I do have to choose between AC and electric dryer, but other than that, we can run for somewhere around 600 hours at normal load without getting fuel delivered. We have more options than most people do...By choice.

But seriously, if you don't have a genset, then think about getting one. If you think you don't need one, then find out! Pull your main breaker in your home for 24 short hours. See what works for you and what doesn't. See if you can deal with just those 24 hours.

If not, then think carefully about your needs. And make sure that you have a backup to the power company.
Become the master of your own fate, don't depend on someone else. 'Cause if something serious hapens to the juice supply, yer gonna have more time to react.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Great.....?

TSA unionized under AFL-CIO.

So now we get unprofessionally undermotivated folks who really didn't care about those they are supposed to serve.....With new added union attitude...

Likely all this will do for us is add in increased delays while they strike for even better union provided benefits and add even more money to the declining union's coffers.

How can this end up in any way a Good Thing?

I am once again so very glad that I don't have to fly often.

didja ever notice that unions almost always represent the workforces where a High School diploma isn't necessary???? 

Whut he sayed

No, seriously...What he said.

He's right. We have been apathetic. It is not that the left has won the battle, but rather that we haven't  bothered to take the field.

So we get what we got because we chose to let it happen.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Choices

and their consequences.

And the fact that when bad choices don't hurt, no one learns the hard lessons, and never has any incentive to change their behaviour.

I have said it before. Seems that others get it too.

Now if we can only get the liberals to understand. 

Protect and serve

Another day, another search that leads to the death of the searchee.

Tactics that kill. All in the name of good.

"its for the children!"

Or something.

69 years old. Walks with a cane. Likely his response was the same as mine would be at 10 am on a Saturday. door breaks open and men in military(ish) garb rush in? You betcha. Cordite and fire and flying lead.Bad for everyone. On both sides.

And, of course, an unnamed "informant".  Who may or may not exist. Who will likely never be identified or questioned.

Look: I know not the answer to this mans guilt or innocence. But break down the door of a mans home and NOT expect an armed response is foolish.

You want in my home? Have a warrant? KNOCK. For your safety and mine. Wait for a response. I'll answer the door. maybe with a firearm. Show me a badge and the warrant. I'll cooperate.

Kick down my door if I don't respond fast enough for you? Trouble. For both of us. You gotta give me more than 15 seconds to answer the door. Safer for all of us. For gods sake officers: THINK before you act.

I really don't want to kill a cop. And I really don't want him to try and kill me.

But cops aren't invaders. Stormtroopers. And good cops knock and wait until you answer the door. And are polite but firm.

No-Knock raids might be necessary...But this wasn't a no knock warrant.

Yet they acted like it was, and man is dead because of it.

Read all the links. Think. Get angry.

How many more will we allow? When do we say ENOUGH! ?

"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within."
– General Douglas MacArthur

Glowbal cooling

Killed the vikings in Greenland. Long before AlGore ever heard of CO2.

Hard to make a living when your growing season keeps getting shorter and shorter. Perhaps we should think about our food supply in the future, and buy (soon to be) farmland in the desert southwest? 

Mayhaps Jimmeh C. was right when his folks predicted global cooling...Their predictions actually seemed to predict where we are right now...

VDH

He is right.

Now we need to get a few other folks to understand.

Do you?

Or are you too comfortable to care?

You'd better understand. And soon.

What you do after that is up to you.

More thoughts HERE

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

"Your Papers Please"....

No, not Gestapo....

TSA.

Seems that they are invading bus terminals in unwarranted searches and (if they can get away with it) seizures of cash and such...

Checking for immigration status of travellers too. (wasn't this a bad thing when Arizona wanted to do that????)

No worries about that pesky 4th amendment either.  While there may be some small argument that in order to get onto an airplane you have to enter federal property and therefore the TSA has the right to search  you upon entering (not that I really buy that argument, but that is the one they seem to be using?) I see NO way for them to justify searching people in a semi-public place with no warrants or other probable cause.

Now you know why I don't take publik transportation. Or fly.

'Cause sure as shit, I'd get arrested. For resisting....or "disturbing da piece" or something like that.



HT: WRSA

"But I'm a government official!"

One of the businesses I operate occasionally has to do business with the state. The details really don't matter, but the conversation that I had this morning with a man who works for the government does...

Last night, around 5, I got a call from one of my employees. She had an issue and needed guidance. The local  government wanted to purchase a service from my business. Normally this is worked out beforehand, usually with a phone call or a fax....., but in this case, a person with whom I had never had  prior contact needed wanted those services fairly quickly and outside of "normal" channels. And was insistent. And threatening....So she called me.  (now, note that I have worked outside of normal channels in the past, with people who I have done business with before.....Sometimes things CAN happen with just a phone call....if the relationship is there beforehand)

He wanted me to accept a "voucher". It has been my sad experience that the "vouchers" are not worth the paper they are written upon, unless the person issuing them is willing to fight to see that I get paid. I have enough unredeemed "vouchers" to paper the walls of my office

Ergo: we don't accept "vouchers" for payment. We do accept purchase orders drawn on a government account, as I will EVENTUALLY get paid. Or checks on a government account... I suggested the check as an alternative to the unacceptable "Voucher". Alternatively, I suggested a credit card, either government issued or private, until the issue could be better resolved when all parties were available during "normal" business hours. He didn't like that idea..... He didn't get his services. And I thought that this issue was over...


Not so. Complaint after complaint have rolled into my office, and forwarded complaints from the corporate people (it is a franchise). He is pissed that going outside of channels didn't work for him.

Basically, his issue is that:

A. I did not let him do what he wanted..I did NOT cooperate.

2. I did not want to take a government voucher (which is not a legal document, and not a promise to pay, and not a purchase order, and not worth the paper it is written upon unless someone decided to see that it is paid at some later date.....).

AND:

III.  (and I quote here) "I am a government official and you have to do what I say" .

[Pause to let the laughter and jeers die down] But I must say that when he stated that, I passed nearly a whole cup of (extremely hot) tea through my nose.

Yeah, right. I have to do what some small time county (and not even the county in which the business resides)
government clerk says. I have to provide services with no payment (or promise to pay). Just take HIS orders. With no documentation except a (many times) photocopied form with an illegible signature.

Except that I don't. And I didn't. And I won't.

The sad part is that he was totally serious. He really believed that he had the right to demand goods and services. Demand. Just because he is an "acting" head of XXXXXX

 "You are lucky that I did not get the police involved last night......You'd have gone to jail".

I really really tried. And tried again. I even took the time to count to 10....Once forwards and once backwards.

Then I suggested that he examine the limits of his petty office....And that he show me where his office had the right or authority to compel goods and services from a private business. And suggested that perhaps next time he involve the police. Perhaps from the beginning. And bring friends. And a lunch...

I did try very hard not to call him a sniveling little nincompoop...and a tiny pissant with delusions of power. I tried to keep the derision out of my voice as I explained to him how little I cared about his office

I tried. Really, I did.

He found out that he isn't that powerful....And that there are limits to what he can and cannot do

I don't think that he is happy right now.

But I find his attitude somewhat disturbing.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Product review

On a whim, we bought some of the Off Clip-On mosquito repellent devices.

I gotta say that they work. And work Really Really Well.

We have mosquitoes the size of small birds, and in numbers that make the Mongol Hordes seem to be sparse. .

And they are HUNGRY. Very. Very. Hungry. They attack as soon as you step out the door, and they feed until you feel faint. Seriously. I turned white last week. Thought I was gonna need a transfusion.....And they hurt. A lot.

It makes working outdoors difficult. Painful. And to do any exacting work requires smelly bug repellent.

Until today, I was resigned to having to live smelling like bug repellent.

I really really like this new device. Clip it to your belt. Turn it on. Give it a few minutes (like 2), and it works!

It isn't perfect. If you move around a lot, or move too quickly, you can move away from the cloud of repellent.

But working in the yard, I got zero bites. It'll be great if you are sitting around barbecuing or shooting the breeze...Drinking beer with friends.

I doubt if it'll work well in a strong breeze.

Having said that, I would recommend that you purchase this product.

It's better than the spray, and it WORKS!. And when you no longer need it, you can turn it off. And you don't have that "outdoorsy" smell afterwards.


FTC disclaimer: I got nothing for this endorsement....Nothing. I paid for the items myself. So go pound sand.

But I like 'em.

You will too.

Worth the money.

Dads day

Once again, it is Fathers day. (and my Dads birthday).

My father taught me much. Many times he was working way too hard to put food on the table and clothes on my back, and to provide shelter. Much of the time when I was growing up, he wasn't there when I wished he could have been.

I didn't appreciate the sacrifices he made bu not being there in order to provide for me.

But the times he was there, he taught me many things. Many of the lessons I didn't even know I had learned until later in life.

Likely, I will never be father. Never have the opportunities to pass those lessons on to a son of the same name (he's a junior, I'm a third). I am sure that he is disappointed by that.
But I do my best every day to be an example of what he taught me to be. He and his father as well.

He is (and, in the case of my grandfather, were) mighty men. Men of character, and resolve, and hidden strengths. And I am but a shadow of them. I will find it hard to surpass them (or even match them) in deeds or strength or resolve. I live a better life because of the help my father gave me and the foundation he laid during those too few times when we were together during my formative years.

Thanks, Dad, for being my father. Hope I can match your example when I am your age. I am often amazed how wise you become, the older and more experienced I get.

I love you.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Amen brother

Preach it, my man.

"you are free to go your own way and prove your worth in the marketplace as you see fit"

Read the whole thing. 

Hey, It's a start

Now go after all the other tax breaks for business (that are mostly social engineering gone crazily wrong).

First Ethanol, then the others. Bet you can name a few right off the bat that are either useless, outmoded, or just plain wrong. 

Let the market decide. If something is good, the people will buy it. If it isn't, then all the tax breaks won't really make the product any more accepted.

As it is, there is still a government mandate that we have to use 10%  (soon to be 15%) ethanol in our gasoline. There is a government mandated market for the product, with a tariff on imported ethanol.

Someone like me, who was cynical, might wonder how much it cost to purchase persuade those Congressmen that this was a good idea in the first place....

Friday, June 17, 2011

Nah, we'd rather those jobs go overseas

Instead of (gasp) have them be NON UNION!

Is there any doubt that the DNC is (at least partially) controlled by the unions?

I really don't see where the federal government has any standing in this matter anyway, and I applaud South Carolina for doing what it can to BRING JOBS TO THE STATE, and a good, caring government should.

If these folks on S.C. want to unionize, there is no law stopping them.....But if they'd rather be non union, then the state law allows that too.  Betcha they will choose the non union way....and the union loses out of all that money.

So they (the unions) are crying to their bought and paid for oh so helpful Democratic legislators for help. 'cause without dues, you know, there might not be campaign contributions and speaking fees.

DNC: The best government money can buy.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Yep, they are our friends

Suuure they are....

and they had no loyalty to OBL....and they knew nothing about him being in Pakistan....He musta snuck in.

Yep, that's why they are rounding up everyone who even looked at the CIA folks who were surveilling the compound where OBL lived for a few years.

Yeah.

Know how to tell when a Paki is lying?

Same way as when Obama is.

Any time his lips are moving.

Were it me they'd never see a bit of foreign aid again. And I'd do my best to fuck with their economy.

Good thing I am not the prez. I might actually do some ass kicking.

Clarification:

I'd like to clarify something here:

After my last post, I was accused of being anti-cop.

Perhaps I am, but I don't mean to be, and if I come across that way, then I apologize. I actually support most policemen. They have a shitty job, They deal with the bottom 10% of our society's citizens, and they sometimes forget that their interaction with the rest of us should not be colored by that 10%.However, I am not anti most police officers. I actually respect them and the job they do.


I am anti-police state. Pro constitution. Pro citizens rights. Anti Bully...Anti "we are the police and you will cower" .

Sadly, the bad attitude of police towards civilians is becoming pervasive. Perhaps it is the training. I really don't know. But it is wrong.

I am also anti-militarized police. Their uniform need not be the same as the guys in Iraq or Afghanistan. Few cities are war zones (yet). Dressing up like an "operator" is not making for better policing of our streets. Really, there are few opportunities for the police to use an AR-15 (or M-16) short barrelled rifle.  No more than the opportunities to get to use a tank for policing.

I am also anti-SWAT team. While I do think that there are reasons for a police department, or a sheriff's department to have a team of specially trained folks, who have worked together, for special situations. But to use these folks for warrant service? When there are other alternatives? When the people being served with search warrants have absolutely zero records of violence? I realize that it can be seen that if the special units are not used, then they may be defunded. But these tactics have caused people to be killed by these Swat teams. Tragic accidents do happen. But they should not happen with the frequency that they do when SWAT teams are involved with situations that can and should be handled in other ways. SWAT may be "sexy" but it generally gets people killed.

So no, I am not Anti-Cop. I am anti militarized police, and I am anti overuse of SWAT. I am anti-Immunity for police who screw up. Police who fail to do their jobs properly, or who overuse force. Police who fail to remember that they are there to be police, not overlords, master or jackbooted stormtroopers. .

I actually respect the average police officer. They do, as I said, a good job with shitty people.


Hope this clarifies things

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

No suprise here:

Pima County gets the seal of approval on the murder of Jose Guerena.

Good thing I am not a family member of his:

Now, knowing the names (from the above letter) of at least some of these officers, were I a vindictive sort, I'd no doubt visit them in order to "counsel" them on their behavior. Personal, private "counseling". Serious, intense "counseling".

But I am like that. Always wanting to help.

H/T: WRSA...Follow all his links. Especially the last one. Think.

You might think that I am overreacting, but think about it: If they can do it to us, why cannot we return the favor? We are, after all, greater in number (and skill), and if the law will allow their actions to stand, then why should we honor it? Why should we follow the letter of the law when it is twisted to allow such actions to be justified? What kind of a society have we wrought when the enforcers of the law can perpetrate such crimes with impunity? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

What would you do were it your brother, or son, or father who had been murdered by a gang of policemen?

You should, perhaps, decide now, so you will know later. For the time is coming. And apparently sooner that we wish.

Think of THESE words. The time may be nigh.

It is a good thing

That dueling has gone out of style in this state lately...

Else one of us would be injured or dead right now.

Instead, I just walked away. Sadly, in this state, it is unlawful to shoot someone, even if they REALLY REALLY deserve it.

ETA: If dueling were legal, I doubt people would mouth off so often, or so loudly...or so fearlessly.

Stars and bars

Today is Flag day

Thursday, June 9, 2011

somedays

I actually accomplish something.

Other days, I play Whack-A-Mole.

Guess which category today was?

Fookin A

About damned time that they decided to stand up and be heard. Sometimes I wonder about the legislators in my state.

Now if they'll just pass some legislation to codify things, we'd be all set. 

H/T: Unc

Ya know, he's got a point

About the fact that, while we as legally armed individuals have always been perceived as a threat by (many, if not most) of the police officers in this country, we as citizens have, more and more, every reason to perceive police officers as a threat to our safety.

And he's right. It ain't gonna end well for any of us.

And I find that sad. When I was but a lad, and into my earlier years as an adult, I knew many police officers. Many were, quite frankly, complete screaming assholes. I did not like them, and they did not like me. But I respected them, as they were what I believed a police officer should be....Sheepdogs. Guardians of the herd, if you will. People as well as officers, who were respected in their community and generally didn't need to create that respect with force. Officers who used their authority carefully. Many of those "assholes" would have been the first people I would turn to for help. Sadly, more and more, there are fewer and fewer officers of that caliber in our police forces today.

But today there are too many instances where the police force their authority (or what authority they think they should have) with violence and firearms. And they get away with it too often. And they hide behind the "blue wall". Which makes them, in the minds of many of the citizens which they are supposed to protect, just another gang, only one with badges. And they lose, by their behavior, the respect that they need in order to do their jobs effectively. 

Many of those officers who I once knew are gone now. But I think that they would shake their heads and spit at the incidents that happen today.

More thoughts HERE

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

short term thinking

Best statements HERE...

And while I agree with the "First Amendment!" cries, I also think that a gentleman acts like one, and not an ass....

Myself, I think that ASM826 has the best idea. Write to his advertisers. Take away (or damage) his source of income. (which is likely why he did the deed, to raise his traffic numbers). First amendment rules, but let his wallet make its feelings known.

Then again, in the old days, we'd just whup his ass.

No links to the offending blog, why drive traffic to him?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Bummer

Thought I had the .22 challenge tied up...Both divisions. 

I came in third in the Iron Sights portion.

Next time. (Maybe....If I have as good a day as I had a few weeks ago)

I still had a good day with the scoped 10-22.

Now if I could only do it when there are, you know, monetary prizes....

Pickdog and YOF: those are some nice targets....

Light blogging

Am dealing with the aftermath of a windstorm we had here. 120+MPH winds. Lots of storm damage.

Cleanup of broken/uprooted trees will likely take weeks. Took a half day off work and cleaned trees away from houses for 6 hours so that the power company folks can work their magic to return the flow of electrons to the homes for fridges and freezers and AC devices...and lights and phone chargers and well pumps and entertainment boxes and such. But mostly AC. Chainsaws and a tractor to haul broken trees. I'd rather be running the tractor, but Midwest Chick drove and I handled the chains and saws and tree tongs. 

And it had to be the hottest day of the year (so far). I drank a little over 1.5 gallons of assorted fluids in 6 hours and moved about 5 tons of wood. Literally. Gatorade is your friend in this heat and humidity, friends.

Dinner, bed and more tomorrow. If I can get out of bed.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Today

Was D-Day.

You either understand, and know what to do, or you don't.

Simple as that. If you don't understand, then I feel sorry for you.

I have watched

Over 400 people drive up to a VERY well signed and coned barricade on a closed road (due to storm damage), and enquire to the personnel manning it if they could make an exception just for them.

I mean, seriously. There is a lighted sign informing them that the road is closed 1/4 mile before the actual barricade, then 2 large yellow power company trucks (with flashing yellow lights), about 40 square feet of signage in yellow and red, then about 40 cones.

Yet people persist in driving up to the barricades just to see it the roadblock is really for everybody.

Makes one wonder.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Windy here....

Straight line winds damaged a LOT of homes and trees. Cleanup will likely take several days. I'd bet the affected area got 5 inches of rain in 30 minutes.

My business was damaged, and is running on a generator so we have limited power. Likely be a day or two before everyone (me included) gets power back.

But all in all, while some folks have some damage, there is at least something to be rebuilt, unlike other areas in the country. We were actually lucky that the damage was as small as it was.

It took 2 hours to go what is normally a 17 mile trip. Dodging trees and power lines and telephone wires and their associated poles which were blocking the roadways. And I nearly ran out of fuel for my truck..I was gonna fill it tomorrow. ..I almost had to break into my emergency 5 gallon can. Once again, I relearn the lesson that Murphy is always waiting to stick it to you. Don't give the SOB the chance. Always prepare, always plan for him.

hey, all you lucky gunner shooters

Who are women (and/or pussy-whipped/girly men) and who were so terribly offended by the (apparently) cute "ammo waitresses"....


If yer that offended that you have to whine talk about it online, then why did you continue to shoot free ammo and demo firearms instead of leaving? You could have made a point, you could have left in protest. But ya didn't....Why not?

Thought so. Free is good isn't it? Good enough to keep you there.

Now, respectfully, shut up about this.


(this post was approved by Midwest Chick, so stop thinking misogyny, OK?)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Range report:

Here is a target from the range day with Og and friends.

This rifle, that I bought at the Nappannee gun show:

Savage 112 with a Weaver Classic scope.


Notice the two distinct groups: It seems that after 5 shots, things move a bit and the point of impact changes (I'll take credit for the flyers). This was observed over several targets, so I find it hard to believe that the change in point of impact is all mine....I'm gonna remove the action from the stock and see if there is a place where it binds on the barrel somewhere. There is no other reason for that much POI change with that heavy of a barrel.

Having said that, I believe most of the group(s) size is mine. EVERY group has at least one outlier.

Even with that, however, there is no reason that this rifle should shoot this large of a group. Even shooting Lake City ammo and not the load worked up for this rifle by the previous owner, the 4" groups are terrible. Should be half that, or less.

However, I am happy with the performance of this rifle on our first outing together. I was shooting from a rest, but not a lead sled, nor was I shooting from a sandbag. And yes, I had had WAY too much coffee with breakfast. I was chasing my heartbeat taking these shots. So that likely accounts for half the group size. Bad operator on the bang switch. This rifle deserves a better person.

But, I'd bet that with a bit of work, I could cut the grouping of the first 5 down to 1.5 inch. Maybe with a bit of work at the reloading bench I could get down to 3/4 inch. Gee, what a bummer....More range time.

Again, thanks to Og (and friends) a good Day At The Range.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Another excellent day

This makes 2 in a row. Likely a new record for the year, as lately the days where it doesn't suck have been few and far between.

But I have been blessed with 2 in a row. Both different, yet both calming to the soul.

The first was yesterday, a morning at the range. While a bad day at the range beats a good day at work anytime, yesterday was excellent.

Today, I go to get up early and road trip with my father and brother to pick up my Dads newly painted and restored Cadillac. A '26.

But picking up the car was only a part of the trip. The best part was the journey. My brother drove my truck, pulling my Dads trailer. And for 3 hours we had time to enjoy each others presence, and discuss things as equals and friends...And that made the trip worthwhile.

The car is work of art.  Still work to be done, and a lot of parts to be found but as you can see in the pictures below, it is a thing of beauty already.









Still, picking up the car was only an added bonus to spending the day with my brother and father.