Clarification

I'm not ANTI NRA.

Just the opposite, in fact.

But the current board and the current bureaucracy is not the NRA that was there when I became aware of WHY we need an NRA and why I joined over 25 years ago.

I'm a Life Member. A Firearms Instructor.

The NRA no longer serves it's core mission, but rather serves the NRA....and now we find out that the NRA served, to a limited extent, the board members instead of the rest of us.  .
In other words, the NRA uses our money, not to serve the members of the NRA, but to enrich the(some of) the board members, and to enlarge and employ a bureaucracy that doesn't have the members needs,wants,and issues as the primary reason for existence.In fact, I believe that the current management simply sees the NRA members not as a reason to exist, but simply as a source of cash. 

There have been many questionable decisions by the current NRA management. Many that were, in my opinion, wrong. This does not change the fact that they for us, and with us, are a very powerful right organization.

I am, a member of the NRA. I think they are an important part of the shooting community....

But we need some housecleaning. Some sanity. Some reasonableness and some better guidance. Simply some better management. Yes, I'd like to see WLP gone. I've said that for years. I don't know, however, who to replace him with....

The current issues can be fixed....If the Board gets it's act together and removes the people responsible and chooses to fix it.

If not, our most important advocate for our rights will fade away.

I think that the board is failing the  members of the NRA.

Who'da thought that this would be the result???

I mean, just because Gillette spat upon it's customer.

Told him how bad he was.

Told him he should be ashamed to be male and behave like a man.

Who'da thought that this would happen??

Great forecasting:

If one can't get the details correct 12 hours into the future, how can one forecast trends 10 or 20 or 50 or 100 years into the future?

Forecast was for "blizzard Conditions" from 2 pm to 8 pm on Saturday.

Not so much. The freeze line apparently went farther north, so we got a few flakes (and some snow) and mostly rain.

I'm glad I didn't have to pull out the snow shovel, but still, pretty mediocre forecasting there. 

I ain't the only one...

That tangles with power machinery and has been lucky enough to only do damage that heals, rather than remove major parts of limbs and/or digits.

Via email from Jon S. (posted with permission)

Four inch angle grinder with a carving blade.

I said to myself “have to put the guard on”, did not.

Took about a half a second. 

Put my hand in my armpit to as a first reaction, when I took it out and looked and could still see that everything was attached.

I relaxed. 

I can still count to 10.

Not real damage, got really, really lucky.

He's got those gloves hanging in his garage as a reminder of his luck that he is still able to count to ten. And, of course, a reminder that one cannot push one's luck too many times. 

This is pretty good

And pretty funny too:

So...

Since when some right wing nutjob does something bad it is the cause of either the NRA or Donald Trump or some non-left wing publication....


Can we blame the California Synagogue shooting on THIS cartoon which is blatantly anti-semitic that was run in the New York Times?

Personally, I blame Chuck Schumer for this, but then again, that is as logical as blaming the NRA for all the shootings of young black men on street corners in Democrat-led cities on any given night....

No NRAAM

I just wasn't enthused enough about going to take the 2-1/2 hour drive each way, plus finding parking, to go.

I'm kinda disgusted with the NRA lately, Their Training Division has pissed me off enough that I am no longer teaching NRA Basic Pistol or Basic Rifle classes, and I am disgusted by the shenanigans coming to light about the Board and their financial practices with our donated money. I'd probably find the wrong person and not keep my mouth shut and get kicked out or something....

And, while I would like to see the new products,  I don't plan on buying anything new this year, so that motivation too went away.

Plus Midwest Chick was kinda undermotivated as well. So we ain't goin'.

I will miss seeing my friends from across the country who will be there, but what with the forecasted late spring Blizzard conditions (6 inches of snow at 3 inches an hour and 25 mph winds with gusts above 35) at home this evening (when I will be returning) I decided there wasn't enough reason to go.

Sorry y'all, I won't be seeing you this year.

innit interesting:

When thre is an incident including Muslims and/or folks of middle eastern ancestry and death or violence, the "Authorities" always claim that there is no indication of terrorism or that it is too soon to determine if there is any link to terrorism.....

But when it is not a Muslim/Middle Easterner, as in the case of Isaiah Peoples, there was an INSTANT declaration of "Domestic Terrorism".

Now, maybe it was indeed a case of attempted murder. Maybe not. Mr Peoples claims not, of course....But why do we have this disparity in when and/or how quickly a determination can be made?

Strange, isn't it?

Equal protection under the law???

This could get pretty ugly:

“I’d like to know why Ms. Clark is being treated differently than Jussie Smollett,” asked Cook County Judge Marc Martin. “It’s a disorderly conduct case [false] reporting — a lot less egregious than Mr. Smollett’s case. I have a problem with it. Why is she being treated differently?”

And that is exactly the issue: Why is ANYONE being charged with any similar crimes.....and the open question: How long before the prosecutors CAN charge anyone with similar crimes?

It's not like Mr. Smollett was charged and tried for his crime but got a light sentence....the charges were DROPPED...so why is the County of Cook charging anyone?

Just in case you aren't sure....

I do these things so you don't have to experiment on yourself......

11,000 rpm 4 inch grinder (without the safety guard, of course...because I'm a guy) with an 80 grit flap disc...
skin on knuckle
0.0000004 seconds of contact time.

Skin gone.

But it is clean and should heal rapidly.

YMMV.

Now you know, just in case you were wondering. 

Flew Sunday.

Went to have a bit of Easter Celebration with Midwest Chick's sister and her husband.

Now, normally, this is a 3 1/2 hour drive....

Or a 1.2 hour flight.

So, we could go, have time to see each other, break bread, etc. and still return at a decent hour, rather than spend more time travelling than celebrating together.

This is why I learned to fly and own a plane.

1.2 each way, and 3 landings.
Weather was frikkin' perfect. Clear skies, 6 mph winds at 7500/6500, and fairly smooth until the final approach back home.

Happy Easter

Please, remember WHY it is a holiday.

Remember:

Today was the day when some colonists chose to stand and fight their government over control....When that Government wanted to take control of the Colonists means of defying the heavy hand of government......And when a government learned what can happen when a pissed off citizenry with arms has had enough. There are those that say (with good reason) that that day, 244 years ago, was the real beginning of the United States of America.  (one wonders what those folks might think of the current residents of those lands today, what they have become....I think they'd spit on those resident of Massachusetts today) (look up the battles of Concord and Lexington if you aren't sure what I am talking about)

Also, 26 years ago today, we have the anniversary of the day when our Government went berserk in middle Texas and killed 76 men, women, and children who were holed up and simply resisting arrest. Killed 'em with fire and gas.
And when that happened, the rest of the citizens sat around and watched it on TV.
And we didn't hunt down and kill those responsible because the folks they killed were a bit strange and were portrayed by the Media as Religious Extremists.
So we watched our Government and their employees kill those folks AND LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.
After all, Janet Reno is still breathing.....which is a shame, really. As are her commanders on the scene. A further shame. You and I and our fellow citizens watched 'em commit murder on live TV.

And you know......

If it doesn't happen this time, I am sure that soon (like a generation or three, at most) it will happen eventually.

I  mean, is there anyone who didn't think, even for a moment, that the fire was just possibly a bit of arson by a proponent of a different religion?

There is a history of building Mosques on the sites of Churches (and vice versa).

Too soon to tell

And we may never know.
(And it may be that even if there is a connection, the "authorities" won't tell us)

Notre Dame Cathedral may be total loss.

The cathedral holds no special significance to me, I'm not a very devout Christian, The artworks, however, are priceless. The Stained Glass and murals are irreplaceable, as are other artifacts.

And there is this to consider:
Twelve French Churches vandalized in past week

At least one is definitely arson. Perhaps, now, another as well.
And perhaps it is just an accident.

But there is the fact that to some other religions, religious icons or artworks not of their religion are anathema and should be destroyed...

Heh:

Another lesson on Saturday

More instrument stuff....Partial panel this time.

1.7 hours. and it was stressful. I was wiped out at the end of it.

Plus intersections. Having 2 VOR's is a nice thing.
As is an autopilot while finding the intersection and VOR info. Plus my first approach using the GNS430.

One landing only 'cause 2 chicks had a stuck mike and we ALL had to listen to the coaching while they did 3 touch and goes..NORDO....and then chattered all the way to out of radio range. No excuse for that, I am sure there are 2 radios in that 172....
(Hint: If you think your radio is broken, stop the lesson and either land and have it looked at or stop the lesson and return to your home airport...and turn it off if you think it is't working!). If they would have broadcast a tail number (they didn't 'cause they thought their radio was broken, so no position calls, nothing) I'd have found out who owned the aircraft and called or something and given them an earful. No excuses for that.

So I only did one landing 'cause there wasn't any way for anyone else to hear me...

The endless chatter slightly marred what was otherwise a great flight.

A great crosswind landing and the stall horn came on JUST as the mains touched. Not even a chirp, just a rumble. I wish I could do that every time.

Filled up the tanks and put it away.

1.7 and one.

It appears, after checking the records for 20+ hours of flight, that I am burning 11.6 GPH in cruise flight and 13.4 GPH in pattern work and climb out.

You should read this:

Some, at least, understand....

I’m sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of Democratic candidates calling for policies to “fix” the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around. I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook’s, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we’ve become completely blind to it. Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose. These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don’t give them a second thought. We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty. One. Times. Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, “An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity.”Never saw American prosperity. Let that sink in. When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I’ve ever heard in my 26 years on this earth.

Read the rest

There is hope. 

Why don't they want those folks?

I fail to see the objection that these folks have to the suggestion that CBP/ICE should deliver the criminals apprehended at the southern border to Sanctuary Cities for a release to await the adjudication of their case. 

What, exactly, are the objections? Since Sanctuary Cities "welcome immigrants with open arms" why should they object? Since they claim that these illegal immigrants are a net gain to the economy, why should they not want thousands of that sort of people to be delivered to their cities? Since they claim that these people are more law abiding than the average American Citizen, one would think that they would have no objection?

Or is it that these "progressives" are lying? That they know that these folks are a net drain on the communities where they reside....That they commit crimes at about 3 times that of the average American Citizen.....that they are, in the end, detrimental to the localities where they congregate? 

I fail to see why delivering illegal border crossers to these cities should be met with claims that the Trump Administration is "Targeting" these cities. If they don't want these people, then why do they support the rest of the country having to absorb them? Or do they just want us to take our "Fair Share" of the problems they wish to inflict upon the country instead of taking that burden themselves?

Put up or shut up, Liberals. 

Back laterer

.

BTW: Why does every test pattern have an indian in a ceremonial  headdress on it?

Closed...for 4 days

Over what? a half cc of mercury? If even that much?

How many man hours over a "broken mercury thermometer"?

How many dollars wasted?

Really, this is totally stupid and unnecessary.

Chicago school loses for cleanup after broken mercury thermometer

If these folks don't know enough to determine a reasonable response, they shouldn't be in the positions of authority they are in. 

Irony

So I went to a seminar today.

We were gonna fly to the seminar, but the forecast on Aviationweather.gov called for clear skies at our departure time (which they were), but ceilings getting very low, down to 1100 feet at our return time and winds 220 7 gusting 22, with a high probability of showers.

So we drove. Met at the airport and carpooled.

One of the topics was on aviation weather and the much improved forecasting for weather .....increased reliability for said forecasts. Hah.

As we departed our home airport, after getting back to our cars, the ASOS said "skies clear and winds calm".  Not even close to the forecast.

Sadly,we drove an extra hour each way when the weather was excellent for flying. Pretty much perfect, in fact.

It's still perfect an hour later. Broken at 6000...170 at 8. No, 3 pilots didn't misread the forecast. We are getting the weather they promised.....8 hours late.

So much for forecasts.

And we are supposed to believe that these folks can predict the climate 50 and 100 years into the future when they can't predict weather 8 hours into the future?

Isn't this discrimination by gender??

Discrimination is discrimination.

If it wrong one way, then the reverse is also wrong.

I mean, choosing NOT to hire someone simply because they are male....

And announcing it.

Bad enough that there is a 7 year record of not hiring any males for members of her coaching staff.....

But to announce this in a news interview....

Premeditated gender discrimination. Because male.

I smell lawsuits. 

38 new hunters

Did a Hunter Ed class today

38 young men and women. Hopefully, some of what we taught them sticks with them, and they will be safe hunters, considerate of their game, considerate of property owners, and help conserve our animals for future harvest.

A pretty nice bunch of youngsters, really. Respectful, but eager to learn.

Some people

Just need to be beaten daily for the rest of their lives for the pain they cause others

"it's not him!"

So some cheesball shows up and claims to be a kid from the greater Chicago area who was kidnapped (or who disappeared) 7 years earlier.

Turns out it isn't him, but some asshole who, for some reason, claimed to be Timothy Pitzen.

Imagine the joy his family must have felt, upon learning that Timothy had surfaced.

Now imagine the pain they must feel, having the old would reopened when they are informed that this asshole isn't Timothy.

This asshole (I won't use his name) should be beaten daily for the rest of his life for this. With barbed wire. Dipped in vinegar. And salt.

Good advice:

.

Well, that was challenging

So yesterday was my first Instrument Flight lesson.

Took off at 15Z runway 18 headed south ish to the "practice" area.

put on the foggles and did a slow climb to 3500ft at a heading of 240. Not a big deal.

2 minute turn at that altitude. Easy Peasy.

Climbed at 500FPM from 3500 to 4000 at a steady 90 knots. Not a an issue.

Turning while climbing at a steady airspeed and a standard rate turn.
Yeah, that's an issue.

integrating it all was tough. like juggleing cats while standing on a beachball.

2 out of three? Ok, three out of three? Gonna take some practice.

Plus, I never realized how much those small visual cues....the sight of the ground in my peripheral vision.....were a part of my flying.

And we won't even talk about my scan. It broke down when I had to do turns AND climbs AND at a constant speed. Really easy to fixate.

1.2 hours simulated instrument time.  and it was WORK.

Gonna take some more practice and some more time. Lots more work.

One landing with a nearly perfect 45 crosswind. 12 gusting 22. 'Twasn't bad, but could have been better.  Saved the brakes and rolled out to the end.

Put it back in the barn.

Hopefully, more on Friday.

Depends, of course, on your viewpoint:

Was talking with an acquaintance (not a friend) about some stuff, and one of the subjects was the FBI and the fact that they haven't been trustworthy for MANY years, not just the recent debacle with Trump and the "Collusion" farce.

"Since I graduated High school (likely before, but I wasn't paying attention before that), The FBI has been a joke as far as the Fidelity and Integrity part of their motto. See also: the debacle with Randy Weaver"

"Weaver was a racist" (nice diversion there)

"No, Weaver was a "Separatist" big difference. Still, the FBI was pretty bad, even back then."

"He chose to live away from black people. That makes him a racist" (doesn't wanna talk about the FBI)

"Oh, so YOU are a racist, then, also?"

"How can you say that?"

"You too are a separatist.....You live in a VERY "white" area. What, 3% "African American"? Yet not 15 miles away is an area with much higher black and latino population. Like 25%. Go another 10 miles and you are in an area that is 80+% black. And it is closer to where you work. Cheaper property values there too.... Yet you choose to live in an area that is, essentially, all white , a longer commute and cost more to live.....Why is that?...Don't wanna live with the crime, the rudeness, or deal with the cultural issues? Or is it some other reason that you don't live near many black people?...Are YOU racist?"

So the subject was changed...sharply. But made him think.

Odd, innit, how people cry "racist" and such, yet separate themselves if only by the simple method of cost of housing...and then claim they are "holier that thou".

SJW types really irritate me.

April One

So you get this: