Sunday, September 30, 2018

Triggered....

I'm still not sure if she really felt threatened or if she was just trying to make trouble....or was truly batshit.

So I am in Home Depot shopping for supplies for an improvement project at the shooting range this weekend.....

My shopping list is on the back of a used NRA 50 foot Slow Fire pistol target (hey, I needed paper, and if there is one thing that a range has plenty of, it is used targets, right?)

This woman is walking down the aisle, sees the target and asks if it is a "gun target".

"Yes, ma'am.". I reply.

"Are those BULLET HOLES!!!!(eleventy)?"

"Yes, Ma'am"...."it's a used target.....recycling you know"...

She actually complained to management...that I (or the target, at least) made her feel "unsafe"... Who were very unsupporting of her "feelings" (and polite to me),  but who did assist me in finding everything on the list to get me (and really, I think, her) out of the store as quickly as possible.

I was tempted to ask her if the fact that I was carrying a pistol under my shirt was important to her, but the poor employees at Home Depot were stressed enough from dealing with her, so I didn't let her know...although it would have been fun to see if her head exploded from anxiety or something....... Plus that could be taken as "brandishing", so I didn't......

But really...A paper target makes one feel threatened? 

Saturday, September 29, 2018

50 BILLION

So in the last weeks of fiscal 2017, assorted government agencies spent the last money in their budgets.

50 Billion dollars. In less than 2 weeks. If they don't spend the money, they lose it. So they spend it.

Fifty Billion in arcade games, unneeded autos, shuffleboards, advertising, Fidget spinners and paddleboards.

Even TheDonald's office flushed their budget before they lost it.



Remember that next time they claim budget cuts will destroy their ability to do their jobs. 

A thought:

Re: the Kavanaugh "investigation" by the FBI.

What can they come up with, and write a report about, in a week? (what can they really investigate, period, that hasn't already come out and been testified to?

And the biggest issue: Can we trust a politicized FBI to be fair and honest and truthful? If we could say that about the FBI, and trust them, Hillary would have been in jail before the election.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Remember:

In Chicago the motto is "Vote Early, Vote often.

Early voting has started.

Expect busses to be lining up at cemetery entrances soon....

lunch flying

So, the dude who let me fly his '66 182 is 82 years old and has been having issues rolling the plane up the ramp into his hangar some days. (the 182 weighs 1600 lbs empty and, while it rolls easily, can be a bit of a chore to move up the ramp when full of fuel)

So, when I was talking with him after we had put the plane away, he said he wished he had a method of hooking his towbar to the front of his garden tractor that he uses to mow the grass around his hangar so he could let the tractor do the pushing (apparently, he told me today, he slipped last winter and banged himself up pretty good in the fall)

"Not a problem" I said. "Lets see the tractor".

So I got a tape measure and measured the front frame rails and made a sketch and went back to my shop.

I made him a plate to fit the front frame rails and a bar he can hook to his towbar which will allow him to use the tractor to push the plane up the ramp. Simple to cut a bit of scrap metal and tack it together with the welder. I figured it was the least I could do since he wouldn't let me pay for the fuel we used last time.... I'm a pretty good fabber if you don't mind that it ain't pretty....

Today, he was at the hangar, so I was able to meet him out there to test fit the plate and mark some holes in the frame so I could finish it up and full weld it together. A pretty nice piece of design, considering I made it from the pieces I had available, if I do say so myself.

As it was about 11:30 when I got there and it took about 40 minutes to mark the holes and fit everything else, he asked me if I wanted to have some lunch.

"Sure, where would you like to go?"

"Rochester" he replied. "I know a place". (About 55 miles away from where we were)..."Up for a flight?"

Since I didn't have any plans that afternoon that I could not change, I agreed.

We pushed the plane out of the hangar and preflighted and I started to get into the right seat.

"You don't wanna fly?"

So I climbed into the left seat and started the engine.

Winds were 210 so we used 18 and I flew us to Rochester. about a 30 minute flight. I've been there before, so it was a sorta familiar route. He has a Garmin 430 and an I-Pad with ForeFlight, so navigation was easier than paper charts. First time I have simply taken off and flown without a real flight plan though.

3500 feet and MAN that is a nice, easy to fly airplane. Climbs at over 1000 FPM with just the two of us, and cruises at a bit over 140 knots (He is still breaking in the new powerplant, so we didn't cruise at over 65%).

Winds at RCR were 180 at 12 gusting 15 so I chose 110 as the runway (110/290) and I did a straight in approach as there was no one else in the pattern. Did a nice, if not great crosswind landing and taxiied to park on the grass near the restaurant, which is near, but not on the airport property.

Lunch was good, and we walked back to the plane, preflighted, and taxiied back to the end of 11.

Took off and climbed to 4500 feet and set course back to home.

AWOS said winds were 250 when we were 20 miles out, 240 at 10 miles out, so I began setting up for a downwind for 27, but then were at 220 at 5 miles, so I instead entered the downwind for 18 and did a bounced landing due to a slightly late roundout and gusty wind at touchdown. Added a bit of power and stabilized and then set it down....Not my best landing, but not too bad either. Not a hard bounce, but still, a bounce.

Taxiied in and pushed the plane into the hangar.

Since everything fit right the first time, I will finish welding the pieces and do a bit of grinder work on the edges and such and then paint it this weekend. He will have a towbar and a more or less permanent hitch to hook it to. No more slipping and falling on a slippery ramp when he is by himself....at least not when pushing the aircraft back into it's hangar.

I should have it done when he gets back from his trip next week.

He still won't let me pay for even my share of the gas though. I did buy lunch.

As Aaron puts it....1.1 and 2.

I gotta find one that I can buy.


Not without a keeper

So, despite trying to NOT watch the Ford/Kavanaugh debacle, the media has pushed it into my face.

Radio, TV, even the internet.

However, if there in one thing that this debacle has shown it is that at lest some of the women who inhabit the DNC are exactly what many men think they are. Helpless, tiny, foolish, easily controlled, and duped creatures who should not be allowed out without a keeper to make sure they are safe......




Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Formation training

The Geese are forming up into Vees, teaching the adolescents how to formation fly, and retraining those older members as well.

'Tis a month or so early, but they seem to know something....Perhaps we are in for an early winter. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Y'know

I wish the media could learn the difference between "Flood" and "Flash Flood".

The flooding in the Carolinas due to the rain from the hurricane is not a "flash Flood". It is a "Flood".

Flash flooding is when the water rises rapidly in a f=riverbed or other waterway due to accumulation of rainwater from a large area funneled through a very small waterway or streambed....generally with a downhill component. mostly caused by a thunderstorm or downpour, often miles away. Water can rise by FEET in a matter of minutes.

A flood, like the folks in the Carolinas after this last hurricane, is cause by too much rain falling faster than it can drain off. This water does not rise at nearly the same rate.....and it is, generally, predictable. Often, it is hours or even days to rise to flood level. I strongly doubt that anyone with more than three working brain cells is surprised at the areas that are flooding in the Carolinas....further I doubt that the rates were anywhere close to more than inches per hour.  If you are trapped by the flooding there, then you are apparently not paying attention.

But, to the news folks, any flood is a "Flash" flood.

But there IS a difference. 

Have ya noticed?

The Left, when talking about Kavanaugh, keeps using the term "Reproductive Rights" when they mean "Abortion".

Why can't they say the word? Are they afraid of it? Afraid of turning women off by using a word that mean "Killing Babies"?

Look: I think that Roe V Wade was bad law.

No, I don't think abortions should be illegal. Not at all, although I don't like them....I do believe in a woman's right to choose. The right to choose whether to be a mother or not and care for a child for 18+ years.  (Now lets make things equal, and let MEN decide whether they want to be a father and support a kid for 18 years as well.....But that is another argument for another time....)

But it was bad law, because the Supreme Court should have sent the decision back to the States (that whole 10th amendment thing, you know....).
But it is law, and I really doubt that the Supremes will do anything to change it.

I really believe that the Left is afraid of Kavanaugh for other reasons.  The abortion fearmongering is just a tool to influence women's emotions against him.

And they will do nearly anything to keep him off the court, as we have seen.

I think it is just the beginning

Monday, September 24, 2018

Is he guilty? Or being framed?

I dunno.

Sex with a minor? Bad. If true.

And, oddly, this seems to happen to people who get crossed up with the Feds.

Just like if the local police can't find anything to hang you on, but they are sure you are guilty, they "find Kiddie porn on the hard drive on his computer" after executing a search warrant.....(odd how that is always easy to find and un-encrypted, isn't it?)

Sadly, after all the other things our Federal Law Enforcement have done lately, I don't trust them anymore when they say a high profile person is guilty of anything. 

And that's the point:

Every survivor of an attempted rape can tell you the exact date, time, persons present, etc., when the rape or attempted rape happened. They can tell you the color of the carpet, the drapes, the walls....

Yet Ford can't remember..... Anything. Odd.

Read

Friday, September 21, 2018

I find it interesting

That so many women are willing to rally behind a person with a claim of a crime 30 years ago, simply because she, like them, is a woman.

While I don't know what happened 35 (ish) years ago (I say (ish) because we don't have an exact date because the  accuser is (so far) hazy on the date of the alleged incident), and neither do you. I find it interesting that they are all so quick to pre-judge the people involved.... simply because one is a woman.

I don't know either of the persons involved....I can't make a judgement. I can say that this appears to be agenda driven, and very similar to other somewhat dubious and shady claims put forth previously against other judges that the Democrats have opposed....a person comes out of nowhere at the last minute making an accusation that cannot be proved (and therefore, since it is hard to disprove a negative, is difficult to disprove).

Is Kavanaugh guilty of that which is is accused? I dunno? Is Ms Ford lying? Again, I don't know.

Her timing and 30+ years of silence seem.....suspicious. That does not, however, make her a liar.
Having said that, Kavanaugh has 65 women willing to testify as to his exemplary behavior.....and, as we have been told over and over, that many women don't lie about such things....

I do know that the double standard of the folks on the Left is a glaring issue.


Thursday, September 20, 2018

Credibility:

Even women (and even LIBERAL WOMEN, at that) don't find Ms Ford credible.

Even the Huffington Post's OWN POLL finds this lack of credibility (Page 9).

I mean, if the Dems can't carry the Huffpo crowd.....

Death threats

She claims she has received them.

Maybe she has.

How? Telephone? Emails?

Carrier pigeon?

If the first two, then there is a record and those folks can be traced.

Is the investigation happening? Are the local Police checking her story? Are the checking the phone and/or internet records and traffic? Can anyone verify her story?

'Cause it seems like every time someone claims that they are getting "Death Threats" that no one ever follows up.

Odd, innit? 

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

When all else fails...

You can "Bork" the candidate.

And, if that doesn't work, You can, you know, use the "Thomas" gambit.

I think Peter has the right of it though......Where has this woman been for the past 30+ years? Why did they not come forward when Judge Kavanaugh was nominated for previous judgeships in lesser courts?

This is politics at the dirtiest level. 

It wasn't even worth the $29.00 per day....

Back from my trip. 'Twas an enlightening and educational trip, if not terribly productive...
But, I drove a thousand miles in a Nissan Versa.
Jesus, how can a car company make such a pile of Suck and Fail fit into a compact car?

I mean, I knew I was renting a small car....and I expected it to be somewhat underpowered.

And I got what I paid for in that regard.

The nice parts that I can say about the car is that the doors did open and close and the engine did start every time I turned the key...It did come with 4 tires that rolled.

The locks, however, seemed to choose to lock the doors at random times and under random conditions. We never left the car without having the keys in hand or at least one person staying in the car to make sure we were not locked out.

The seat? There was no place in the adjustment envelope where I could find any comfortable position. I mean, seriously, the ergonomics of the entire car were terrible. I seriously doubt that they could have made it worse if they had tried. My riding mower has better ergonomics, both in the seat and in the controls. Even the front passenger seat was torture after a half hour of sitting.

The acceleration, when the transmission computer chose to shift the gears in a sequential manner  was...adequate. Notice I said "shift in a sequential manner"....this did not appear to happen most of the time...

The suspension and steering seemed to have been designed to allow both understeer at high speeds and oversteer at low speeds....My Kubota tractor handles curves better.

One wonders how they can sell these cars if they allow the buyers to test drive before purchase. 

Friday, September 14, 2018

I'm thinkin' I would have peed myself just a bit....

Notice her tiny voice when she is informed of her issue.  I'd probably have been even less calm at that point in my training.....

She was scared but handled it pretty well.

I'd probably have pissed my pants. I give the young lady pilot credit for her composure. Once the initial shock wore off, she was pretty calm.



And whoever owns and maintains that aircraft,,,,be glad it was a 17 year old girl. I'd have beaten 'em for renting me an aircraft where the MAIN GEAR was in that bad of shape....Beaten them badly.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Just as an FYI

If you have a Menards in your area, and shop there because of their 11% rebate, but prefer to buy from Home Depot, or if Menards does not have what you are looking for..

Anytime that Menards (or, I am led to understand, any competitor) offers a rebate, Home Depot will give you a gift card for that same 11% if you make that purchase at a Home Depot in the same area as the competitor.

I often buy lumber from the Home Depot instead of Menards because the quality is (generally) better.....And since HD will match the rebates.....

Just though some of y'all might find this info useful. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Yep, that's the one

Flew a 1966 182 yesterday. Airframe was nearly as old as I am.  Owner was a friend of my latest CFII.

I LIKE it.

Pretty sure that's what I am gonna buy. Still looking, but.....

Decent load, decent fuel consumption, fast enough (who doesn't want a faster airplane?) but also pretty decently low approach speeds. Feel was not too heavy (Much lighter than the Arrow) and yet the heavier airframe made it feel smoother too.

Cruise was about 137 (at ~5000 ft), approach at final with 20 degrees of flaps was 70 knots. (And, I think, with practice and more flaps, that could could be a LOT lower). Feel at cruise was really smooth.

I flew it for a while, just getting the feel for it, then went an airport that has very little traffic...Normally. ...
5 planes in the pattern when we arrived!..... I entered at the end of the downwind after circling a bit to let one plane land and leave some space in the pattern for me, then followed the other four planes in and did a low pass just to get the feel of it at approach speeds. Back around the pattern and then I did a really nice landing (wind was variable at 4 so it was fairly easy) and then a taxi-back and takeoff.

Stayed in the pattern and did a second landing just like the first. Was gonna do a crosswind landing, but there wasn't enough wind to make it worthwhile, so we went back to the home airport, where the wind was 220 at 5 so I landed on 18, with another greaser (hard not to with that airplane in those wind conditions).
Put the plane away and the owner, who is 85, wouldn't let me pay for gas or anything....("do this for some other "kid" when you buy a plane") so I took him to lunch. He does want a towbar  and a bracket for it for his small tractor, so I might just weld one up for him....

All in all, I liked the 182. Decent speeds, decent approach, and (with trim) I did not find the nose to be too heavy on final or flare. Yes, you need more trim than a 172 or even an Arrow, but very, very doable. More flaps might have helped, but I was following the advice of the owner, who was sitting next to me.

And, guess what? My latest issue of Trad-A-Plane just arrived last night!



Tuesday, September 11, 2018

DO you remember?

I do.

I remember the day.

The carnage.

The....not fear, but horror. The deaths of innocents.

Do I blame ALL muslims? No
But I do realize, that there are those of that religion that hate the West. And others of that religion that support those that would kill me and my fellow countrymen simply because we are not Muslim....Unbelievers.....And believe  that any muslims who would associate with us are as bad as we are....

I will never forget.
I especially will never forget those in power who would have us forget, or who try to minimize the act, the attack....

But, in the end, I will live and simply remember.




Sunday, September 9, 2018

I've asked this question

Just not as well, nor as clearly:

Where is the crime?

How long is the Fishing Expedition gonna go on?

Especially without a real crime to investigate and, especially, PROSECUTE. ('Cause that is what Mueller is, a prosecutor).

Expect the Liberals to cry "Kenneth Starr!!!!". But there, there was an actual crime that was being investigated. Not so here, just a bunch of innuendo in this case. 

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Gunshow todae

Prolly be bizzy all day.

I expect attendance to be big, as it is a rainy dreary day.


Friday, September 7, 2018

If you used to wear Levis

And are tired of their SJW posturing.....

I highly recommend Texas Jeans Company as an alternative.
Good Jeans. Well made. Wear well. Comfortable. Priced fairly.

And MADE IN AMERICA. (Oddly, in North Carolina)...which no other major brand (not even Carhartt) is anymore.

I moved from Levis a few years ago..... while I liked Levis, I grew tired of their Social Justice Posturing.  So I switched. And I've been happy with my new brand.

Yer big boys and girls, buy what you want....But if you are considering switching, check out Texas Jeans Company. 

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Bandit has passed.....

Burt Reynolds has died .

To me, he will always be the actor in "Smokey and the Bandit".....Of course there is "Deliverance" and "the Longest Yard" as well. 

I always figured the next epidemic

to spread across the world would be "Airborne".

'Twas, apparently not that big of a deal this time.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Another endorsement

I now hold a "Complex" endorsement.

I did it with a Piper aircraft. Which flies OK, it just isn't the aircraft I would choose to buy.

"Complex" isn't really that big of a deal, actually. Just more to do at takeoff, climb, descent and landing. Pretty simple though.

Damned fast, that Turbo Arrow, what with no gear and no struts causing drag. 

Said no man ever:

So I am at the Dr's office. I like my doctor, I really do....

I had an issue which caused a bit of pain, and we discussed the level of pain it caused.

She said that women experience pain and deal with it better than men, so a 10 for a man is like a 6 for a woman

"Not true", says I.  "While we may handle it differently, men simply deal with it". Women can't handle the pain of a fight, or an injury as well as men". Putting a number on it isn't a good comparison. Most women can't handle the level of pain that men can and keep going.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "explain"....."Women handle childbirth...a greater pain than you can ever imagine".

"I cannot ever experience the pain a woman undergoes giving birth, but it can't be that bad, either."

"how do you figure?" she asked.

"Women often choose to have another child after their first one....it can't be as bad as say....getting kicked in the....er....jimmies."

"how can you compare the two?

"Well, again, women often choose to have a second, or third or even more children...If it were as bad as you say, after the first birth experience, no man would ever touch you again......But you often choose to have another child."

"So?" she asked

"No man ever stands there and says "Gee, I think I will ask someone to kick me in the testicles again"

We moved on to other areas of discussion after that.




Tuesday, September 4, 2018

The more I fly Piper products...

The more I like Cessna's engineering.

So I have flown a Warrior and 2 different Arrows....One Turbo and one not.

And I gotta say that there is no one thing that is terribly bad on any of 'em, but SO many things, switches, electrical busses, controls, fuel selector (WTF is wrong with a "Both" position?), etc. are just....less than ideal, at least in my mind. Kinda half assed, if you will.

They fly ok, but I don't like the "feel", especially on approach. And I HATE the way they sink when the power is pulled back.

But hey, to each their own. Some folks like'em. I think, however, that I will start with a Cessna.

I mean, this is like Glock V 1911 (1911 for me)....pretty much a preference thing. 

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Odd:

The press that couldn't wait to trash him, denigrate him and dig up dirt on him when he was running for president against their chosen lightbringer candidate now cannot wait to praise John McCain now that he is safely dead.

But hey, he has good attendance at his funeral, if only so most of the attendees can check out his corpse and make sure he is really dead.


Hopefully you can backorder them....

O'Reilley's auto parts

HERE.

I have 2 on order, but they are backordered until 1985. October 27th, I believe.



Someone has a sense of humor