Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Youngest Son's 13th birthday, tomorrow is Baby Grand-boy's birthday.

Yesterday I got in some shooting first thing in the morning and then I took YS to get his birthday present. Later on we went skating.  I went out on the floor and stayed on my feet and he met a girl and came home with stars in his eyes.

Today we had their party. There were hamburgers on the new grille, presents, and of course...

CAKE!!!

mmm...cake...

Also today:

The bad news is, all repairs are now on my dime.

The good news is, nothing I do from this point on will void the warranty.

I think I'll do this first...

Let the fun begin!

I Feel The Need

for RECOIL THERAPY!!!

UPDATE: It's good to know people. Especially the kind of people who have access to firing ranges.

They Just Don't Make Them

The old dryer churns away in the laundry room, it usually needs two cycles these days to complete a drying job. It would most likely regain its full efficiency if I were to pull the ductwork apart and clean everything out of it.

The washer and dryer were bought soon after we purchased the Refuge, seven years gone now, the most time I have spent in one place in more than 25 years. They are cheap versions of a brand name that is made in great quantities in a factory overseas, bought more for their price in a time when we thought they should be adequate for the three of us for a few years.

From two adults and one child, three or four loads a week, they have gone to as high as six adults and four children and twenty or more loads a week. I replaced the mixing valve on the washer a couple of times, but since the water filter went in I haven't even had to do that. Not bad for a cheap set of appliances we only expected to have last for 3 or 4 years.

My dearly departed Rampage served me well for ten years and over 200,000 miles, that from a disposable vehicle that was barely expected to make ten years and 100K in it's lifetime. It was a cheaply made Dodge Omni variant built during a time where Detroit's cars were generally regarded as junk straight off of the assembly line. Between the Omni and the much-maligned K-car they brought Dodge back from the brink of insolvency in the late 70's and early 80's. Not bad for throwaway cars.

It was almost 20 years old when I bought it and it had over 100K on the clock then. By the time it went on to its final resting place in the boneyard it was almost 30 years old and had over 300K on it. I let it go because, heartsick over loosing a wife and having had more than enough with fixing TDP, I didn't feel like tracking down the persistent vacuum leak that was causing its carberator problems. I wish I had kept it now, it would have made a great Lemons car if nothing else.

I hear it all the time, how "they just don't make things like they used to" when we talk about cars, or railroad locomotives, or washing machines, or the myriad of other labor-saving devices that we use on a day to day basis. I've always thought that such talk was rubbish, that the machines we so casually dispose of these days are junked not because they have reached the end of their service lives, but because there is something newer and shinier, or more up-to-date, or trendy to replace it. We don't have throwaway machines as much as we have a throwaway society.

I guess that makes me an odd duck, driving a shiny new Mustang automobile but preferring wooden stocks on my WW1 and WW2 firearms. My old Chevy pickup waits patiently in the back yard for its restoration work to get started, and my old Harley sits in the shed waiting less patiently for the same. Maybe one day when I'm not the answer to so many peoples problems I'll have the time, cash and room to get them done. They each gave good service, and if restored would continue to do so.

They wait until then. They never failed me, I hope that I will not fail them.

Hunting Safety

I spent my Saturday in a Hunter's Safety course rather than out and about in 75 degree weather with the top down.

I haven't been hunting in many many years, but a co-worker has a patch of land down south of Raleigh that he has invited me and another co-worker to go hunting on.

I don't know if we will bag Bambi (the other co-worker is an experienced hunter) but it should be a good time anyway.

Deer season opens in October.

New Links - MOTM

Notice the new button on the sidebar, just under Project Valor IT and just above the Gun Blog Black List.

I told you about it here, and now we have a website.

Hmm, their header pic looks awfully familiar...

Anyway, go on over and have a look, it's kind of sparse but we're new at this.

Mustang Day

This morning Youngest Boy and I got up and went for Cars N Coffee at Brier Creek in Raleigh. This occurs every first Saturday of the month and always has a lot of neat cars show up. Today was no exception...OK, maybe just one...

This afternoon we met with the Mustang Forums folks at Char Grill on Atlantic Avenue for the Char-Grill Classic Cruise-In only to find out that it has been moved from the first Saturday to the second Saturday of every month instead. We filled their parking lot up with Mustangs and then a few folks that had not gotten the schedule change word showed up as well.

Later on the Forums folks cruised on over to Shanes Rib Shack for our first-ever Raleigh get-together where much good food was consumed and laughter was had.

A good time was had by all, and the best part is I didn't have to make a 3 hour drive each way to get there.

More Of The Same

Underlying damage behind the bumper cover, more $$$ for me to pay out in repairs, oh yay. It is all done, the body shop is buffing and polishing and cleaning today and the pony should be ready for pick up tomorrow. I went by and had a look at it this morning and the work, as expected, is excellent.

I had my session in Doctor Jekyll's Little Shop of Horrors (otherwise known as the periodontist) for a deep, deep, deep cleaning. Now that the local is starting to wear off the ache is setting in and I'm spitting up enough blood to make me think I've opened an artery or something. I'm told it will be better tomorrow but I'm anticipating a pleasant evening. Topical rinse and antibiotics will be the order of the day for the next couple of weeks, at which point my pearly whites should be reverting to their previous solid-in-sockets state.

Rain tonight into tomorrow, but by tomorrow evening the rain should scamper off to the east over the Atlantic and trouble us no more. Cool tomorrow, but mid to upper 60's for Saturdays meet and greet with the Forum folks.  Drop on by if you are in the area.

And that's it for today folks. I'm off to self-medicate.

A Day In The Life

The pony went to the body shop today to get its bumper cover fixed and it is Eldest Son and Twin Nephews birthdays today.

And that is about all that is happening in my little corner of the world. Hope all of you are having a great day.

Oh Lord

Now I just gotta get that Glock 19 so I can get one of these for it.

Don't blame me. I got it from Tim Ellwood's comment at Tam's.

And on that note...Happy April Fool's Day!

Mustangs On the Mountain

This little internet group that started out with only three cars showing at our first event not even a year ago has gotten to be quite a growing thing.

We have scheduled a run to Deals Gap to drive the Tail of the Dragon for the second time as a group on the 28th of April, but this time we are holding it as a charity event to benefit Wounded Warriors (at the link select "Motorcycle and Car Event" for event type, 04/28/2012 for event date from/to, and NC for event state).

Check us out here (April 28), and if you want to join us check out the Mustang Forum post and let us know to expect you!

Steel Wheels

One of my hobbies is model railroading.  Yep, I'm a train geek. I've blogged about it here occasionally, but I've long since established another place for it.

But it's worse than that, oh yes. Rather than model in a reasonable scale I'm one of "those people" who go for the small stuff.

Not the smallest stuff there is, by any means, but the small stuff just the same.

My name is Larry, and I am an N scaler.

But wait, there's more.

Not contented with the small stuff,  and being a big fan since boyhood of the East Broad Top Railroad, I had to go one bigger (smaller?) and get into Nn3 as well. Narrow gauge, N scale on 1/4" gauge Z scale track using Z scale locomotive mechanisms as the basis for my N scale narrow gauge locomotives. The two on the top in the center of the photo are narrow gauge consists, surrounded by standard-gauge trains.

 (Note on scale and gauge: gauge is the distance between the rails, scale is a designation representing the size ratio between the model and the real thing. N is 1:160, Z is 1:220, standard gauge was 4' 8 1/2" with narrow gauge being anything below that, usually 3' in North America.)

Five locos and counting; one American built from a standard gauge N scale Bachmann locomotive, one Mogul and three Mikados built on Marklin Z scale chassis, with two more Z Mikes in the box awaiting sufficient materials to convert them from German BR41 Z scale locomotives to East Broad Top Nn3 locos.

Most narrow gauge modelers, regardless of scale, model the western railroads like the Durango & Silverton or the Denver & Rio Grande, so most of the modeling supplies and equipment are geared towards that end of the country. I'm one of the crazy persons select few that model roads east of the Big Muddy.

It only goes downhill from there.

Not satisfied yet with being a niche modeler in a niche scale, I had to go one even further and set my sights on a long defunct never completed railroad in Perry County, PA.  This gets problematic for a couple of reasons, the primary one being that research materials for a tiny railroad that went out of business before the second world war are kind of hard to come by.

Imagine my delight in finding a new book from the Perry Heritage Collection about the Perry County railroads. It got here today, it's nice and thick, and I am going to sit down and look through it.

I'm torn, though. It's a beautiful day, high 70's, perfect top-down weather.

Maybe I'll sit in the car and read it...

The Rest Of The Story

Lots more details have been released since we first heard about the Z-man/Martin affair. This morning the hosts of the morning show on the local news talk radio were talking about a police report that lists no less than six witnesses and a conversation with 9-1-1 in progress as the attack began.

I have not been able to find a link to the report, but Sean has a link to the report, along with some other information, and it has been referenced on several news sources I've seen by way of a google-search.  Funny thing is, most of the news stories are still trying to condemn Zimmerman even as they grudgingly admit to the things that are coming out.

It seems as if there will be some of us in the blogosphere with egg on our faces. I'll admit to a bit of a yolkish color myself. And once again, big surprise, the race baiters are on the wrong side of the story. I should just take the opposing view to the usual suspects as my default position, it seems to be a pretty good direction to go.

I still think getting out of the truck showed poor judgement, but the more I learn the harder it gets to be critical of this guy.

As Usual

Tam says it better than I did.

RCOB

I don't watch a lot of TV. There isn't much on that is worth watching in my opinion. I DVR the zombie show and a couple of others, but by and large I'd rather read than watch TV.

I was watching my zombie show and the DVR screwed up. It's been doing that lately and the only way to recover it is to unplug it and let it boot back up. Having already done that once today I decided I didn't want to mess with it, so I just turned on the regular TV to see what was there.

It came up with  TruTV's program "Most Shocking" where they were showing armed robberies. The episode in question was at a restaurant where the announcer said everyone lived because they were compliant.

BS, I thought, they lived because the scumbags didn't feel like killing them. The only thing that happens when you don't fight back is you die like sheep.

The next clip was a convenience store where the clerk fought back. The uniformed weenie spokesman said "We don't recommend you fight back, blah blah blah..." but the convenience store guy wasn't hurt and when the real cops finally showed up the perp was arrested.

The third clip was a young lady being brutally attacked with a hammer. She lived only because she was able to fight her way free and run to a house next door for help, but the perp walked away and the store is closed now out of fear that he will return.

The message that was conveyed in all of the stories was don't resist, don't fight back, the best you can hope for is to give them what they want and escape if you can. I say if you are going to die, die on your feet and make the bastards work for it.

Yep, I was right. Nothing worth watching.

The world has bad people in it. Be prepared.

You Gotta Be S*&#ing Me Files, Item 201548

Never saw this one coming.

According to Jalopnik, the Dodge Rampage (and I'm assuming the 83 Plymouth Scamp as well) is number 5 on the "Ten Desirable Used Cars That Are Impossible To Find" list.

And to think...I just gave mine away...

War Stories

McThag tells a tale about falling off of a tank and finding a neat pair of boots. Other than the grievous bodily harm it's rather an amusing tale and I admit I laughed like a maniac as I read it. He's mostly healed up so it's funny now.

It puts me in mind of the time I fell off of an aircraft carrier. It was at night (I've worked the night shift most of my life, I prefer it) and I was walking backwards inspecting an aircraft and all of a sudden the ship just wasn't there anymore. My work crew said they watched my flashlight bob along beside the aircraft and then all of a sudden it just disappeared.

I ended up not in the catwalk...oh no, that would be too normal...but on one of the antenna platforms with no railing between me and the deep blue sea, right where the red box is in the picture. That's the ship (USS George Washington CVN-73), and even the right CAG (CVW-7) so I might have been on the ship when this picture was taken...but I digress.

 Funny thing is, there is a railing along the ship side of the platform, for reasons no one can explain, and as I stepped off of the deck edge my foot went between this railing and the side of the ship. I found myself dangling, flashlight in hand (believe me, you do NOT want to lose tools in Naval Aviation!), by one knee from this railing. I was able to kick myself free and stand on the platform. It was then I noticed the lack of outside railing.

They say the flashlight reappeared twice as quickly as it had disappeared. I was a lot younger then. Lighter. More nimble. Quicker. Today I'd probably just hold on to the inside rail and bawl like a stuck calf until someone pulled me back up. Of course today the only way I'll be on a carrier deck is as a tourist, pierside.

For those of you who would like to poke fun at my misfortune (like you think you're the first one to do that? Puh-leaze. I've been married. Twice. Once to a soul-less ginger redhead who would describe to me, in great detail, how she would spend my SGLI if I should off myself foolishly) here's some added fodder; I managed to fall off the ship and miss the water completely.

Ah, yeah. Good times, man. Good times.

Fail

Zimmerman got out of his car.

Put as much window dressing on that as you want to, you can't get around that one fact. If he had stayed in his car, where he damn well belonged, he wouldn't be wishing he had stayed in bed that morning.

I don't care if the teenager was handing out an ass whooping. You chase some kid down just before dark and you might just run straight into one.

I don't care that he had a glass bottle, and if he had been shoving it up Zimmerman's orifices I couldn't care any less.

I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.

The most important thing you learn in a concealed carry class is how to de-escalate bad situations, not escalate them. One of the ways you do that...is not to start them in the first place.

Zimmerman got out of his car.

I don't see this ending well for him.

The worst part is that the rest of us (meaning, the entire "gun culture") are being judged by his actions.

UPDATE: Miguel adds some detail. He's absolutely right, now that Z-man has lawyered up and shut up we will likely never know what really happened. Not even a change in venue will get an impartial jury now, the case has already been tried in the court of public opinion. My prediction: no criminal case but the Z-man will be sued into the poorhouse through wrongful death suits (no wrongful death suits if there is no criminal case in Florida, that is a plus in my book).

UPDATE II: I don't think Zimmerman is guilty of anything more than douchebaggery in the first degree, which is not punishable by law. He didn't use his head, he didn't de-escalate, and he let his situational awareness get so out of whack that a kid was able to jump him from behind. This is all part of responsible weapons carry, yep bad things can happen to anyone (and often do), but there were many ways to not shoot this kid...starting with not getting out of his car.

UPDATE III: Had to add the video.

UPDATE IV: Well. Don't I feel sheepish.

Body Work, Part 1

Thanks to a fellow Mustang Forum member I was able to score the rear valence for a pretty good price, and it will cost me right at 5 bills to have the bumper cover removed, repaired, painted and reinstalled with the new valence. A bit painful, but a new bumper cover would be around $450 from Ford and would still need to be painted, so I think I'm getting it done at a good price.

It goes in the first Monday in April and I should have it just in time for the Raleigh meet-up on the 7th. They did an excellent job with the hood, so I'm expecting similar results with the other end of the car.

If anyone near north Raleigh needs a body shop, I highly recommend Pete's in Creedmore.

Elf Box Funtime

This morning...well, afternoon...I got up to call the insurance company. To do so I was going to log onto the website and check the messages so that I could get the claim number.

The laptop was off, and I did not shut it off.  This is not good.

Firing the lappy up, the HDD light stayed on for a while (also not good) but eventually stopped flashing. I opened taskmanager to see if any unusual processes were running but did not find anything.  I thought maybe the power blinked and the computer shut off, but since the battery was well charged that didn't really make sense.

Sure enough, after about 20-25 minutes of running it shut off, and then wouldn't stay on long enough to boot up.

It does this every 3-4 weeks, and every time it is the same. Boot up in the limited mode, check everything and find nothing, run a virus scan and it's clean, do a system restore and all is well for another 3-4 weeks.

This time it wouldn't boot up after a system restore and had to do a startup restore as well, which I had never seen. I don't know what the problem is but I do know it's irritating. For now it's back, but for how long no one knows.

Anyone have any ideas?

Grips

I finally got tired of waiting for the Falcon grips I had ordered from glockstore.com, so I went through Amazon and got some of these instead.

They have been installed and I am now awaiting a range session to check them out.

First impressions: they are easy to install and certainly do help to improve the grip, of that there is no doubt. They feel kind of like the non-skid that you get for your wooden ramps going up into sheds and such, like a fine grain emery cloth. The only problem I can foresee is with my left hand wrapped around the right the fingertips of my right hand are pressed rather uncomfortably against the rough grips on the left panel. It may take some getting used to for it to be comfortable to shoot.

I'm hoping that it will solve some of the grip issues I have, given that it is a lightweight gun and a large caliber it tends to twist a bit in my hands and I think it may be contributing to the FTF/FTE problems I have with it. Of course the G-36 has a somewhat unsavory reputation regarding this type of failure, with much discussion having been had about it.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Well, damn.

I went to Virginia Beach today for a retirement ceremony. I kind of wish I hadn't, because while I was there I was backing out of a parking spot and backed directly into the front bumper of a Dodge truck.

Yes, I was driving the Mustang.

One rear valance, one rear bumper cover, plus a shiny new chrome bumper for an 06 Dodge Ram.

That sound you hear is me beating my head against the desk. I really didn't need this on top of everything else.

Really?

Apparently they are going to turn Cousin Orson's* book into a movie.

This sort of thing seems to be going around.

When are they going to make movies out of these?

HT: Tam

*I don't know that we are related, but we do share a common surname so we could be.

Yeah.

What he said.

Frabulous Day

Last night I got a couple of hours overtime in.

Normally that wouldn't matter for anything, but this morning I was up at 0630, range bag in hand and Middle Daughter in tow, heading for the shooting range.

Not for me, for Middle Daughter. Her idea.  How awesome is that?

Between Range Partner and myself we had a variety of toys to play with, most of them his. I brought the G36 (which she has fired once and didn't like) and the High Standard. He brought a 22 conversion Glock, a G17, and a KelTec in 9mm for semi-autos and a .357 revolver just because.

We went over the Four Rules and talked a bit about sight picture, grip and stance. Once she had that down we loaded up and commenced to peppering targets. She started out on the High Standard and quickly moved up to the Glock, putting a lot of .22 caliber holes in the 9 and 10 rings.

Then we broke out the G-17. Ho-ley moley! It was like that gun was made for her, and she for it.

The large-ish hole where the bottom of the X ring used to be was where the first magazine went through. The rest of them were from the .22's. She put another magazine through the top of the X ring, and then she shot the KelTec and quickly decided she did not like it. She then put a couple of rounds through the revolver and decided she didn't like that, either. After that she was tired and the holes were going all over the paper except where she wanted them to, so it was time to quit.

I put a few rounds through the G36 and started having quite a few FTE/FTF issues, which I used as an opportunity to show her what to do about them. I also practiced some mag changes and was pretty satisfied with how it went. Clearing the malfunctions gave us a chance to discuss the importance of not quitting, clear the malfunction and get back into the fight. This prompted her to remark "That's when you charge them and hit them over the head with it, right?"

Please do note that she said nothing about running away. No back-up in this one, she is her mother's daughter. This makes me proud...and a little afraid...

Range Partner and I recommended a few web sites for her to look through, and then we packed up and went out for lunch. This is where we found a dish starring this handsome fellow and a few of his friends (please forgive the overexposure, it was snapped on a cell phone camera).

Y'know, someone had to be the first one to look at that and say "Hm, wonder what that tastes like..."  I'm guessing that there may have been fermented drinks involved, maybe a dare, and possibly a "Yes, this is a delicacy in our country (lets see if the tourist is gonna fall for this...oh gross, he ate it!)"

In the afternoon I got to go to the periodontist because I have a tooth that is persistently loose no matter what kind of brushing and flossing I throw at it. The good news is I get to keep it (I still have all of my molars, too, a fact which has surprised many a dentist), the bad news is false teeth would be cheaper. Looks like my tax return will go to dental work instead of toys. FML.

The day was bright and warm so the top stayed down all day, and hamburgers on the grille finished it off.

Tired

Today I took the Scoobytruck down to the tire store. It has been pulling to the left and has had a vibration in the wheel since Daughter and S-I-L took it to Florida, and I suspected it had a bad tire.

It did, on the right front, which is where I thought it was. My tire-fu remains strong.

I had an open carry lunch to do first, and afterwards we went back to the tire store where we got four new tires and an alignment for about half of what it cost for the Mustang.

I was happy to see that Merchants Tire has an alignment rack.

I was happier to see what Merchants Tire does not have.

I think they will be getting my tire business from here on out.

On another note, TDP rides again, and this time I didn't have to spend a single thin dime on it.

Pet Peeve

CLIPS!!!

MAGAZINES!!!

Some magazines are internal, BUT ARE STILL MAGAZINES!!!

NOT THE SAME THING!!!

Load bullets cartridges on to CLIPS (thanks AZfederalist!)

CLIPS load MAGAZINES

MAGAZINES load guns.

M1 Garands use an en bloc clip to load their internal magazines and the clip stays in the magazine until it is empty, but CLIP still loads MAGAZINE, MAGAZINE loads gun.

You do not have to use a CLIP to load a MAGAZINE, but you will ALWAYS use a MAGAZINE to load the gun*.

Any questions?

I really don't know why this bothers me so much, but it does.

(*You revolver shooters can save the wise-assery for someone else.)

Moving On

Guffaw has moved out of the trailer park into new digs.

Go say Happy Blogday!

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless falls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor eer eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high, untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Fair winds and following seas Captain.

New Month, New Header

Continuing in the Mustang theme, and with high hopes for spring, this picture was taken nearby on one of our more beautiful days. You have seen a similar picture here, it is of the same subject and taken at the same time. It will be the header picture for the month of March unless I see one I like better.

Enjoy!

Reflections

The lovely and talented Ms X has had a bit of a tiff with He Who Named The Blogosphere over the meaning of the word "civility" and all of it's varied and sundry effects.

I won't go into the details here, the links are there for your perusal if you have to know all the gory points and counterpoints. My point is that I have occasionally had an unkind word or two regarding certain members of the species, and Roberta's observations gives me a summat uncomfortable feeling round about the collar area over it.

We've heard all about the only thing necessary for evil to triumph and looking into abysses, but for all of the words we hear and read the lure of the abyss is certainly tempting once in a while. Observing rule number four, rhetoric and hyperbole are wonderful tools to use in the justification of cattle cars and large smoky bonfires but it also serves to obscure the real target somewhat.

In short, it's not the people that are the root of the problem it's the philosophy. And when your philosophy dictates that I can be killed at random because mine doesn't perzachary line up with yours we are going to have...issues.  Doesn't matter where you hail from, where you live now or how many bullets you have in your phallus comparison collection, when we forget that "the other" is also a human being with his or her own thoughts, ideas and dreams we start the wander down a path that's best left to the brambles.

Shame that Bill doesn't see that.

Winning!

If this Moron ends up needing a job because of this incident, someone should snap him up immediately.

Notes Of The Day

Danica Patrick joins the ranks of women who were more attractive before they spoke (but of course the news was about what Rush Limbaugh said, not about the fact that Patrick is just another statist).

Speaking of Rush, he is also being raked over the coals about his comments regarding the Georgetown law student who wants other people to pay for her contraceptives.

I keep getting invites to join NAPW.  I wonder what they would say if I turned in my application?

It's in the 70's and I'm running out of daylight. Rain tomorrow.  I'll blog then, since I won't have anything better to do.

RIP

Andrew Brietbart, conservative activist, has died. He was 43.

Also gone, of a heart attack, is Davy Jones from the Monkees. He was 66.

The saying is they go in threes.

Wha???

I just got a message in my email spam filter with the title of "I Love mcthag.blogspot.com!" that said "My name is Spammer McDumbass and I recently stumbled across your blog mcthag.blogspot.com. I work for a company, Blog Services Inc., that connects bloggers with advertising partners. I currently have clients that are interested in sponsoring a few posts. This helps them with brand awareness and is a great opportunity for you to make some money from your blog."

Fail in so many areas it isn't even funny.

But, the good news is that McThag has fans, so he has that going for him.

QOTD

"I don't exactly live life on the edge, but regardless of the risks, I am going to sniff my rifle from time to time."

Compensation

I am on the book of faces primarily because Youngest Daughter in Wyoming posts pics of the grandkids there.  I do have other contacts, however, and one of them opined thusly:

"I'm quite certain that many more innocent people are killed by the guns owned by people who have them for private protection than are saved ."

To which I replied, "The stats would prove you wrong."

To which she replied, "No they would not. Quite the opposite."

To which I replied, "Show me yours and I'll show you mine..."

She will not believe, of course, and nothing I can say will change her mind. Having traveled this path before I know this to be true; there are none so blind. Anymore I don't even waste my time trying.

I made the mistake of reading upthread and of course I found the usual drivel about how carrying big bad guns makes us gun nuts feel all large and threatening because we have tiny boy parts and, obviously, self-issue problems (sorry ladies, I don't know what all of you would be compensating for).

Rather than continue the "debate" there (since it seemed like it would be like trying to teach a pig to sing  - you just waste your time and annoy the pig) I would like to make my statement here.

I carry a gun because I'm compensating.

There. I said it.

I'm compensating for the fact that I am likely twice the age of my would-be assailants. I'm compensating for the fact that I am carrying 50+ pounds more than I should be. I'm compensating for the fact that as I have gotten older my eyesight has suffered and my reflexes have slowed.

I'm compensating for the fact that things hurt now that didn't before. I'm compensating for the fact that I am all too convinced of my own mortality. I'm compensating for the fact that no matter how much I have, I still won't have enough for some SOB to steal. I'm compensating for the fact that my life, and the lives of those I love, have value far beyond what little worth there is to a punk.

I'm compensating for the fact that I'm too old to fight, too fat to run, and too young to die.

I'm compensating for the fact that I will not be a victim, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Third Time's A Charmer

Once again my little corner lot in the trailer park of the Interwebs has been awarded the Liebster Blog, which means that apparently there is someone...or more precisely, three someones...out there that think my inane scribblings are not only worth reading once in a while, but passing on as well. I am humbled and somewhat amused. (Perhaps bemused would be more accurate. Bewildered and confused, that's me.)

This time the award comes from the Flying Sekrit Skwirrel herownself, Brigid from Home On the Range (where you really should be checking in regularly, and if you aren't you missed out on a decadent brownie recipe the other day). Previous awards came from blogson Quizzikle and from inside Jennifer's head. Thank you all three for popping in to check up on me and for considering my place worth referring. That in and of itself is the real honor.

So, once again, The Rules:

1. Copy and paste award on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.
3. Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received an award.
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

The nominees are:

1. Erin, from Lurking Rhythmically. Little Sis has been burning up the interwebs lately, and she makes me larf and larf and larf. Go help her buy a Glock 19.

2. Angus McThag from The View From Under The Desk. It looks like that link bypasses the warning, I haven't seen anything there to warrant it. He put the warning up hisownself, so the link has been corrected to reflect that.

3. Robert from Robert's Gun Shop. I left Iowa to run off and join the Navy, but he's still holding down the fort there. (Two and three would have been nominated last time, but I ran out of nomination spots.)

4. Co-bloggers Mr. Bingley and his Tree Hugging Sister from The Coalition Of The Swilling. They may be over the 200 followers limit, I'm not good at this so I couldn't tell. I think that only counts for one...

5. Aggie Sith from Sithy Things. I usually see her stuff on H&B but the stuff at her site is different and excellent. She was not previously on the blogroll, but that oversight has been corrected. (We are Sith.)

Now I'm off to let the nominees know.

Judged By Twelve

One of the most welcomed of the new laws here in North Carolina is that of Castle Doctrine, which holds that you do not have a "duty to retreat" when met with thuggery.  Until that time if someone was kicking your door in you could actually shoot them through the door, but as soon as they were inside they could rob you blind as long as they were not physically threatening you.

The new law holds that if you are somewhere you are legally allowed to be and someone else is not, you may assume that they mean you no good and you can act accordingly. This extends beyond your property line to your car, or even to a public place in the defense of yourself or others.

So far we haven't noticed any increases in sanguinity in the rivers, streets, storm drains and streams. But I digress.

Way back West in my state of birth Robert tells a tale about a man who ended up in jail for the crime of defending himself. Fortunately a jury of his peers decided there was no way he should have ever ended up in jail but before that happened he spent 112 days in the can, he was evicted, his stuff was left for the scavengers, his guns were confiscated, and he lost his job. That's a pretty high price to pay for being right. Fortunately he has his guns and his job back, but he's just starting down the road to recovery.

Sean picked up the story soon after and asked about how we can help. Here's the answer.

So here's my challenge to you, the gun blogosphere. It has been said that the gunosphere is made up of the most generous and supporting people in the whole world, and time after time we have proven it to be so. That time is once again upon us.

I'm not a rich guy, and I'm relatively new to the whole gun owner/nut scene, but I'm scraping my nickels and dimes together this payday and I'm sending along as much as I can. I'm sending it in the form of a check, because as Sean has pointed out there is nothing cooler than seeing tons of paper with postmarks from around the country pouring in to show our support.

I don't have a fancy name, and I don't have outrageous prizes to award. I have only a brother in need. I have only a challenge to be met.

And I will meet it, because there but for the grace of God, go I.

"The church, which already has arranged a used laptop and “just a big care package” for Lewis, is now setting up a fund to assist Lewis. Donations should be sent to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4114 Allison Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50310. Include a note or write on a memo line that the donation is to be used for “Jay Rodney Lewis.”"

Tagged

As I was scrolling through my regular blog-roll read to see what was new I saw that I have fallen victim to been invited to play the newest gun-blog game.

I think it got it's start here, JayG made it viral, and A Girl has infected me with it given me the chance to play.

So here's how it works:

 "I will write down 5 things that indicate, to me, that a gun owner or shooter maybe is an honest one; I say 'maybe' because I have known some seemingly honest gun owners to tell some really tall tales. Then I will tag 5 other gun owners who are also bloggers and I hope each will play along, each listing, in their blogs, at least 3 things that are indicative a gun owner is an honest one, then sending the challenge of this meme on to 5 other gun owner who are also bloggers."

(I find it interesting that the 3 has not been changed to a 5 yet, but there it is.)

So here goes:

1. They are always willing to learn things they don't know, even from a newby.

2. They are always willing to pass along things that they do know.

3. They won't make fun of you for the things you don't know.

4. They won't put an overpowered firearm in the hands of an inexperienced shooter for amusement (check out YouTube, some of these guys need a good beating).

5. They always make sure the wounds are superficial before they laugh their asses off at you for being an idiot.

And for the next five victims players, I nominate:

1 Grumpy Bastige, because it's all his fault that I'm into shooting to begin with (and for number 5, but we don't have to get into that)

2. Sean, because he perpetuated the madness, and because if you aren't reading his blog you are missing out

3. cmblake6, just to see if he will play

4. Jennifer, cause she's so darn awesome (and to return the favor)

5. Brigid, because it is better to live with scars than regrets.  Oops, MSgtB already tagged her. Looks like he got all of the Indy girls. Oh well, let's see then...

5. Erin, cause she did such a good job of taking this guy to the woodshed. (Do goths have woodsheds? I'll have to ask...) And because she shoots a Mosin, which is always cool.

So there it is, thanks A Girl for your continued patronage!

Beautiful Morning

Today I wanted to make some magnets, so I went out to find some suitable supplies. I had planned on making several stops to accomplish this, but as luck would have it the very first place I went had everything I needed.

The weatherman said we would have warm and clear weather until about noon, and he was right. The dashboard thermometer said 75 degrees and climbing, so instead of going home I went for a drive instead.  I just kept turning off the main roads to see where the blacktops lead and ended up driving for four hours across four counties.

When the clouds started rolling in I went on home.

Who Is "Them"?

Over at SayUncle was a post about a local law enforcement agency looking to buy armor. Not the kind you wear, the kind you ride in.

Mark of a Free Man took exception, in comments, to the statement of one commenter who said "Look, 99 percent of the cops are good guys..." with some pithy comments of his own, ending with "I don’t think I’ll *ever* trust cops with this kind of equipment."

In that comment he mentioned the case of ex-policeman Harless of Canton OH, pointing out that his fellow officers and superiors were complicit in his guilt since they knew about him and did nothing (what is it that is necessary for evil to triumph? For good men to do nothing).

Another commenter, a policeman, has engaged him in debate (and I don't mean this tongue in cheek, there is an actual reasoned debate and not accusatory bomb-throwing, which is refreshing) over at his own place. Do go over there and read the linked posts, especially the comments sections.

I have often commiserated that modern law enforcement seems to not be familiar with the works of Sir Robert Peel.  To say I am following this exchange with great interest would be understating the case.

I can only hope that the boys in blue are following it as well.

On a related note, Sean over at An NC Gun Blog has a link to a post from a California policeman about the incorrect (and sometimes fatal) assumption that the police are able to protect you. "Buy a gun" he says. "Get a bat. Own some weapon and have enough skill to use it to save your own life and the lives of your family members. DO NOT RELY ON THE POLICE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOU."

Good advice, and no I have not missed the irony of a California policeman advising citizens to engage in the sort of behaviour that would attract the interest of law enforcement.  I can only hope that he has not missed the irony, either.  I left a comment (yet to be published, but I have faith) noting that it is not so much that the common average citizen is uninterested in protecting his/her own life as (s)he has been trained not to.

This is changing.  Sometimes change is good.

Miscellany

I got a letter today from my friendly neighborhood tax assessor. The good news is the value on my property has gone up $24,000. Of course that means next year's tax bill will be higher as well.

Today was 75 degrees and the sun was shining down. I had the top dropped and was All. Up. Innit. (for all you new folks, mine is the red one in the center of the header pic)

Eldest Son is busy at work on TDP.  The number 4 bearing was definitely spun.  The good news here is I didn't have to foot the bill for the repair work, although it is spread out all over my driveway.

The more things change...

Oh, I See

THIS is what FAIL looks like!

UPDATE: I was wrong. THIS is what FAIL looks like.

First Event

We have finally had our first snowfall of the season, such as it is.  The ground is warm enough that it didn't stick to the roads (which is a very good thing) and it is expected to reach 50 today so it won't stick around anywhere for very long.

Saturday was mid sixties and sunny, Youngest Son and I had the top down in the Mustang. By Saturday afternoon the clouds had moved in, but it was still 62 degrees at midnight. It just got colder from there, Sunday night brought rain and snow mix, and this morning there is a scraggly covering of white here and there.

Thursday will be 72. It's been an extremely mild winter for us here in the Southeast.

I think next winter is going to be a rough one to make up for it.

Want Vs Need

My bank generously extended the limit on my credit card.  Now I have as much space on it as I was going to force myself to pay down to before I bought another gun.

I don't need a Glock 19. I just want one real bad.

The card is not paid down to the dollar amount I had set in my head, so I'm still forcing myself to wait until it is.  But the inner child in me is laying on the floor kicking and screaming and throwing a fit.

That little brat needs a good paddling.

Gone Silent

Troublesome Times has gone off the air.

Fair winds and following seas Matt. Sorry to see you go.

This Is News?

Man does what he does to make a living, big story. Why?

I have nothing against Whitney Houston, but lord I will be glad when she is peacefully laid to rest. Hopefully then we can get off of the whole All Whitney All The Time news cycle.

At least it hasn't been as bad as the All Micheal All The Time news cycle was.

Some Days

you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you.

I went to the range today to sight the Mosin in, after the last range session I dropped it and the front sight just managed to catch the stool sitting at the bar and almost came all the way off.

I found some scribed marks on the front sight, so I moved it back to line the scribe marks up. To my delight it put the rifle right back at zero.

Ten test shots at 25 yards then three 5 round volleys at 100 yards and I was satisfied with the results (25 rounds total and no need for the assistance of dimensional lumber).  The first set of five was done with the blade sight all the way down, the next two were at the first click towards the 100 meter mark. As you can see I was pulling off to the left with the second and third sets; the first set was done with the bipod and the second two sets without. The rifle is much more accurate than her shooter is, so I'm pleased with the results.

According to what I've read here I'm supposed to give her a name. Range Partner asked if I had picked one out and I had to admit I have not.  Perhaps I will call her Ivana, meaning "God is gracious" because the first time I shot her I said "Good God - this thing has a kick!"

I did, by the way, manage to get the bayonet to slip on and off as it should. I haven't shot the rifle with the bayonet attached, but I have the option now if I want it. Plus, if I ever see a Nazi I can stab him with the bayonet instead of having to shoot him, which I'm sure would be much less punishing on my shoulder.

As we were finishing up another gentleman showed up on the range with a unique little rifle. It looked just like a Mosin carbine, but when he pulled the trigger back there was just a cute little pop instead of the massive shock wave of a 7.62x54R going down range.

It was a Polish WZ48 .22lr trainer, something that I had never heard of (not that that should come as a big shock, there are lots of things I have never heard of). It looked like he was having a great time shooting it, he said his next door neighbor wanted to learn how to shoot a rifle so he was checking it out to make sure it was ready to resume performing its intended purpose. Range Partner eyeballed me sideways and commented that I was probably going to be adding another entry to the "Guns I Want" list.  Maybe.

After the rifle shooting we moved over to the pistol range where I put about 50 rounds through the Grok. I did OK, I guess, no big holes right in the middle but lots of little ones spread all around.  While we were at the pistol range there was a guy that had a pretty big collection of Glocks, including a G-26.

I told him I was still on the fence deciding between the 26 and the 19, so he let me put a mag through the 26. I think it has pretty well convinced me that the 19 is the way to go.  Nothing wrong with the 26, it just doesn't fill the hand like the G-36 does, even with the extensions on the magazine. The G-19 fills the hand quite as nicely as the G-36 with it's mag extensions, and it uses the same holsters.

He also had a G-17L, which is a long-slide version of the G-17. He let me put a magazine through it as well, and it is a sweet gun.  I did a lot better with grouping my patterns with the G-17 and the G-26 than I did with my G-36, I'm hoping the addition of the grips (if they ever get here) will help with that. I'm pretty convinced that I need a europellet slinger though, just because.

At any rate, I had a pretty good day at the range. Again.

Gun Control Advocates

John at No Lawyers, Only Guns and Money had a link to this article.

In it the author discusses the seven varieties of gun control advocates. The Fearful is the one I run into the most.

No exerpts. Go read.

And now it's off to the range with me to sight the Mosin back in.

Eagle One

Last night I got a FB message from a guy I hadn't seen in a while. We were in the USN for a while together, I retired and he moved on to Maryland and then back to Raleigh where he was from.

Today we met for lunch and then went to make some smoke and noise at the indoor range at Eagle 1 Supply. It was a nice little range, pistol and shotgun only, max of 25 yards. I did pretty good today, I got to shoot a couple of Brian's guns and he popped a few off with mine as well.

He has a Ruger LCP that has a laser sight on it, I didn't care for the mile-long trigger pull but otherwise it was a nasty little gun to shoot, very light and so it had as much kick as my .45 and only made .380 size holes. But if you are looking for something that you can just slip into a pocket that is the one, and with the laser installed you don't even have to worry about aiming the damn thing, put the dot where you want a hole and start pulling back on the trigger. Sometime in the next hour or so it will eventually go off, by that time the bad guy will have either run screaming away from the laser dot or beat you to death, one or the other.

His other gun was a Beretta 92FS, what a sweeeeeeet gun! Loved it! A bit heavier than my Grok, but nice and balanced with a smooth and crisp trigger (but whadda I know from triggers, right? I think the Mosin shoots just fine), it put the holes right where I wanted them with a minimum of fuss. I did have to put the front sight over the top of the aim point rather than put the aim point on top of the front sight blade, but once I got that correction made it was an excellent shooter.

I also got to finally put my paws on the Glock 26, it even had the magazine extension so I could see what that felt like. I'm going to have to go fondle the G19 one more time, but I think I'm leaning toward the 19.  It just feels more like the G36 with +1 extensions, the G26, even with the extension, did not fill the palm quite so well. I might even be tempted to go for the Tigerswan G-19 if I have the coin for it.

I am also still waiting on the Falcon grips I ordered a couple of weeks ago, it was supposed to have shipped via UPS over a week ago and they are not here yet. The shipping number never did register with UPS, so it looks like I'm going to have to make a phone call, I think.

Right now I'm massaging my bayonet with a file to try to get it to go on the Mosin without the use of a punch and hammer. Getting it off is another exercise in fun. I've been reading Erin's experimentation with her mad black Russian Crazy Ivan, and I've just about decided to put the bayonet on and see if it has any impact on my shooting. I don't know that it will, the gun is still much more accurate than I am.  She certainly does like her Mosin!

All in all, a pretty darn good day.

Spam!

All of a sudden I have spammers posing as real people trying to leave comments.

This, by the way, is one of the reasons I moderate my comments. All spammers must die. Horribly. By fire.

I'm beginning to like this Jason spambot, though. His latest offering:

"Louis Vuitton bag, a pioneer in more tard."

I couldn't agree more.

UPDATE: Is nothing sacred???!!! I get one comment to approve on this post and it's a $&^$#%# SPAMMER!!!

NO comment for you Anthony...or should I say...SPAM-thony!  Ask not for whom the fire burns...it burns for thee...

Happy Valentines Day

As planned I stopped by Starbucks on the way home to show them a little gunny love.

I didn't see anyone else carrying, but then again I was concealed so no one saw me, either.

Since I have to get up and go to work tonight I'm wondering if I should have got the decaf so I can sleep today...

Nah!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Guns I Want, Latest Addition

Brand spanking new M1 carbine from Auto Ordnance!  Less than seven bills!

Want!

This one goes on the same line as the M1 Garand or M1A/M14; any (or all!) of the three would suffice.

UPDATE: After looking a little deeper I am going to have to remove this one from the list. I thought it was chambered in the same 30-06 round as the M1/M1A, however it is not. I already have one rifle that I can't just walk into my local gunshop and buy ammo for, no need to have another. It's still a nice looking gun, though.

Starbucks Boycott

I don't think I've ever had a cup of Starbucks coffee in my whole life.  That's about to change.

On the 14th of February the anti-gun group Gun Victims Action Council (no linky for anti's) is going to stage a protest against their favorite vendor of overpriced over-cooked caffeinated beverages.  The schadenfreude in that action alone is enough to trigger the gigglebox, but the reason why really kicks it over.

You see, Starbucks chooses to honor local laws regarding gun control, concealed carry and the like rather than have a set corporate policy for all of its locations.  Since most of the patchouli smelling hemp shirt wearers are anti-gun for us menial plebes, that annoys them somewhat.

As is our wont, we on the pro Second Amendment side are having our own sort of protest. A buy-cott.  Our plan is for Starbucks to see an economic advantage in supporting the individual state laws regarding firearms rather than have a corporate anti-gun policy. They don't have to be pro-gun, neutral is enough for us.

I submitted a comment to Starbucks corporate headquarters on their website and got a reply that I'd like to share here.

To: Starbucks Coffee Company, Public Relations

SUBJ: Corporate social responsibility

I have never been into a Starbucks before, nor have I ever bought any Starbucks products, but I will be stopping into my local store on the 14th of February to show my appreciation for your support of the law.

I am one of the over 228,000 (Sean informs me that the number is closer to 250,000 as of the end of the year) North Carolina residents to have a Concealed Carry permit. While I understand that your company policy is not specifically pro-carry, it isn't anti-carry, either, and for that you will have my support while others boycott you.

Thank you for supporting the individual laws of each state.

The reply:


SUBJ: Thank you for contacting Starbucks.

Thank you for your feedback regarding Starbucks' policy on open carry laws. I am truly happy to hear that you support and appreciate our gun policy!

At Starbucks, we deeply respect the views of our customers and recognize that there is significant and genuine passion surrounding the issue of open carry weapons laws. We comply with local laws and statutes in the communities we serve. Our long-standing approach to this issue remains unchanged and we abide by the laws that permit open carry in 43 U.S. states. Where these laws don't exist, openly carrying weapons in our stores is prohibited.

As the public debate around this issue continues, we encourage customers and advocacy groups from both sides to share their input with their public officials. We are extremely sensitive to the issue of gun violence in our society and believe that supporting local laws is the right way for us to ensure a safe environment for both partners and customers. (emphasis added)

Hope to see you in our stores on February 14th! Thanks again for your support and have a beautiful day!

If you have any further questions or concerns that I was unable to address, please feel free to let me know.

Christina M
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company

 Where there are so many companies who will voluntarily restrict essential liberty for the illusion of safety, it is refreshing to see one that will not. Please join me on the 14th of February, and show a little love to Starbucks on Valentines Day.

Anti DVZ Signs

And no sooner do I pen (type?) the last post than I read this in Jennifer's head.

I love these stickers! If I had a business I'd have one. Or a dozen. Of course I'd have trained and armed employees, too, but that's just me. (Think about it...if all of your employees had concealed carry permits you would have the most law-abiding employees in the nation!)

I tried to put a picture of the sticker here, but apparently it's on a clear background...so it didn't show up so well.