More MOB photos

More pics from the car show last week:

Mustangs of Burlington Car Show

Eight little Mustangs from the Heart of Carolina formed a line and went to Burlington NC today to participate in the car show there. Many great cars of all different manufacturers, perfect weather and a good time was had by all. These are but a few of the pictures I took, the rest can be found here.

Enjoy!

FWIW

As a general rule Muslims don't wear turbans. Muslims wear keffiyeh.

Sikhs wear turbans. They are definitely not Muslim, and they aren't Arab either.

The Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan are Muslims who wear turbans, but the majority of turban wearers are Indians.

Good!

Anniee is back!

Go over and say hi.

grrr

So Blogger went down for almost 2 days.

In the meantime one post I was working on was lost without a trace. I had the misfortune of working on it and hitting the publish button just as the site went down.

Also, three comments that I had published, along with my replies to them, were inexplicably deleted. My email record says they were published, but they are not here. Sorry PBJ, I swear to you I did publish them, really I did.

Ah, well what do you expect for nothing, I guess.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my three daughters who are now all three mothers.

That's New

I have grapes.

I don't know what kind of grapes they are, I just know that the vine has been back in the woods behind the house for quite some time now. A web search reveals that Muscadine grapes are native to North Carolina, but they are only supposed to do well in sunlight and these are in the shade.

This morning I pulled the vine out of the thick leaf covering and today I'm planning a trip to the local home improvement box store to get something that can be used as a trellis. I don't know what will come of it, if anything, but I figured I would put the vine up on a trellis and see if it will produce.

I'm expecting them to be the wild variety of Muscadine grape which stays green throughout it's growing cycle, but we will see.

The Good And The Bad

I paid just over $50.00 to put just under 13 gallons of gas into the Banana Boat this morning. 87 octane, not the high grade stuff.

The pump asked me if I wanted a car wash. As it was raining at the time, I declined.

They should be offering a reach-around instead.

On a good note though, this has arrived and I have my weekend plans all set.

Well Done

Tagged and bagged by US Navy SEALs and buried at sea so his grave can't become a pilgrimage site.

I don't think I have to tell you how proud I am of my Navy today.

Troubled Times

I work nights, so the night before my scheduled work nights I force myself to stay awake so that I can sleep the next day. During those efforts I get my household chores done, but I spend a lot of time surfing the interwebs.

This morning I ran across something that unexpectedly tore off scabs I thought had healed at least into scars. It's been almost a year, but every once in a while I am forced to acknowledge that the raw aching pain of it is not far beneath the surface even now.

As I read Matt's words I was reminded of the helplessness, of the anger, of the despair. The worst part is knowing that there is nothing that you can do, time will run its course and have its way with all of us in the end, but watching it happen to someone who holds your soul in their hands is surely worse than having it happen to you.

In the end she knew, but she did not tell me. She did not want anything to change between us, and she always got what she wanted. Cancer may have killed her, but it never beat her.

In the end none of us know how long we have on God's earth, so we have to make the most of what we have. No matter if it is one year or a hundred years be sure to tell those you love that you do love them, because one day it will be your last chance to do so, and that day comes and goes in an eyeblink.

In the end, as the song goes, you have to live like you're dying, because you are from the day you are born.

And finally, in the end, just as surely as there is pain in this world there is peace beyond. I have that on very good authority.

My prayers are with you Matt. God bless.

Farewell

It looks like one of my blogrollees has gone off the air.

Purely Politics can no longer be found. It has been deleted from it's host, and therefore edited off of the blogroll, gone but not forgotten.

Annie, if you ever take another step back into the interworld shoot me a line and I'll link you back up. Until then, fare you well in whatever you are doing, until we meet again.

The Countdown Starts

In one more week "Hard Magic" will be out.

I'm just wondering if Amazon will get it delivered before I can no longer resist the siren song from the local bookstores.

We will find out starting next Tuesday.

UPDATE: I got the email today, it's on its way! Looks like it will beat the bookstore out by a day or two, if all goes well.

Happy Easter

I hope it was a good day for everyone.

Grand Boy

He's been awake and bushy-tailed most of the day with the occasional nap after feeding. He's not a fussy kid at all, which should be a great comfort to his mom.

It's funny watching Middle Daughter with him because she's never been the kind to cuddle with the babies, she has never really had an interest in them at all.

I guess it really does make a difference when it's your own though, because she is certainly cuddly with this one.

Not that I can blame her.

It's A Boy!

Damien Ray Mickelson, born by C section because the docs figured 20 hours of labor with no dialation was quite enough torture for poor Mom.

He was born at 5:17 PM, he was 6 lbs 5 oz and 18", baby and Mommy are doing fine.

He has red hair, just like his Grandma and Uncle. He was bright eyed and bushy tailed until he got some chow, then all he wanted was a nap.

Sorry for the poor quality image, the picture was taken with a not-very-good cell phone camera in low light. I had the camera in the Mustang and of course I took the Baja to the hospital.

Better pictures when I get a chance to take them.

Thought of the Day, April 22

It takes a special sort of scumbag to dig through the rubble of someone else's life to see what you can steal.

Burning in hell is too good for them.

One To Go?

So as not to be upstaged by Cousin Baylee, it looks like Damian Ray may be making an early appearance. Middle Daughter's water broke tonight while she was at work and they are now in the hospital waiting to see what happens.

A Few Repairs

The hibiscus in the Memorial Garden did not survive the winter. It's probably my fault, I didn't do anything to prepare it and it most likely needed some sort of preparation for the cold weather.

Today the boys and I piled into the Baja and went to Lowes where we got a rosebush, in pink because that was her favorite color, and ten bags of rock. Eldest son helped me pull the hibiscus up and plant the rosebush and Youngest Son helped me spread the rock around.

We also put some edging stones up and took out some weeds, and we had an ant problem that we treated while we were at it. The results are very nice, and the rosebush should be able to tolerate the weather swings a lot better.

I think she would like it.

Welcome

Youngest Daughter in Wyoming delivered her third daughter this morning at 5:01 AM (7:01 AM North Carolina time, which means I had not even left work yet).

Baby Baylee now has the dubious honor of sharing a birthday with Youngest Son, who turns 12 today.

Edited to add the photo, shamelessly stolen from my daughter's Facebook page.

This Day In History

Schoolhouse Rock - The Shot Heard Round the World by Missing-Pieces

It was on this day in 1775 that the Shot Heard Round the World was fired.

HT: Crunchie at The Rott

Saturday Storms

For those of you that might have wondered, here at the Refuge we got a lot of rain and wind but nothing serious. The bad stuff happened south and east of us.

Twenty three North Carolinians were killed in Saturday's storms and over 130 were injured. Governor Perdue has ordered the flags flown at half-staff until Thursday to honor them, and also to honor the responders who have worked long and hard to minimize the human cost.

Our prayers go out for those who were injured that they make a swift recovery, and to the families of the dead that they might find comfort.

Friday Funtime

Today I did two things that I had been planning to do and one that I had not been.

First was to get the Firefly washed and waxed. Originally that was to be done because of the air show, but it got canceled. I still had the appointment and it needed to be done, so at noon we were at the Auto Spa.

Afterwards I went to see the movie Atlas Shrugged, Part 1. I don't want to give anything away, but I can lay at least some fears to rest...it does not suck.

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand's momentous work, has been named one of the most influential books of the 20th century.

Ayn Rand is a wordy cuss, she sometimes takes entire chapters to say something that could be said in three sentences or less. The good thing about that of course is that there is plenty that can be cut for the screenplay without damaging the essence of the story.

John Aglialoro and Brian Patrick O'Toole did a fantastic job with the writing, and even though some characters and scenes (including one of my favorites, but no spoilers!) were sacrificed everything that is needed is there and nothing that was essential was left out.

The movie covers the first part of the book, from the sense that everything is falling apart to the disappearance of Ellis Wyatt. Unlike the book, the action in the movie is fast paced and moves along well.

Taylor Shilling plays Dagny Taggart exceptionally well, Grant Bowler nails the part of Hank Reardon, and Micheal Learner's Wesley Mouch is so slimy you want to take a bath after
you meet him.

In fact, the only character I did not think was played well was Jsu Garcia's Francisco D'Anconia. His performance seemed rushed to me, as if he was in a big hurry to speak his lines in case he forgot them or something.

All told it was a very well done movie. The only things I didn't like was the (to me) sub-par performance of Jsu Garcia and the fact that the movie was set in modern times. I think it would have been much better if it had been set sometime post-war, but that is mostly because the book was set in that period and I like steam engines. Setting it in modern times, however, gave the movie a certain poignancy that I don't think it would have achieved otherwise. I can't wait for parts 2 and 3 to be released.

With the planned festivities out of the way I took a side trip to the State Capitol grounds to have a peek at the Tea Party rally that was held there today on the south side of the square.

The first (and before today, only) Tea Party rally that I attended was in 2009, and this one seemed to be comparatively sparsely attended. The energy was there, though, as was the news - a marked departure from the 2009 rally when only a single van from any of the news crews managed to show.

Also in attendance was the morning crew from WRDU 106.1. Carmen (6th picture) was zany, Chrissy (5th picture) was effervescent, and KC (4th and 5th pictures) wondered why he even bothered to show up since everyone wanted their pictures taken with Carmen and Chrissy anyway. Also in attendence was Steve Sedahl, but unfortunately I did not get his picture.

Chrissy was worried that her picture wouldn't come out well. Gentlemen, I ask you, does she look like she could take a bad picture? I thought not.

I didn't stick around for the whole thing so I didn't hear Jason Lewis speak.

One thing that was similar to the 2009 rally were the bored policemen. The Tea Party crowd was reserved and well behaved, so they didn't have much to do besides watch the show.

As I drove away I noticed a castle like structure being built on the northwest corner of the Capitol square, I have no idea what it was for but it appears in the last picture.

All in all it was a busy and fun-filled day.

Canceled

I was supposed to be going to the unfortunately named air force base in Goldsboro with the local Mustang club so that we could display our cars at the air show on Saturday. The club is going down Sunday as well, but I have to work Sundays so that day is right out for me.

Unfortunately it looks like the weatherman can get the weather right from a week out. They have been calling for rain on Saturday all week long. I was hoping the forecast would change, but it looks like it will be raining as predicted so Saturday's display has been canceled.

I guess that means I don't have to get up on Saturday morning, so I can go to the late showing of the movie Friday night.

That's Done

The IRS sent me two letters in separate envelopes to let me know that they were allowing all my deductions, so I don't owe them any money. Happy Day!

Also, John Edwards from the FBI has sent me two emails. I have a feeling that someone wants to make me rich!

Does it get any better than this?

It Figures

Yesterday afternoon I looked at my weather channel bug and saw that it was supposed to be clear and dry until Tuesday afternoon.

I pulled the cover off of the Mustang and drove it in to work with the top down, expecting that I would be able to drive home the same way.

This morning is drizzly and wet, the kind of rain that can't even be bothered to form full drops but instead falls as sort of a mist.

These jackasses can't even get the weather right 12 hours in advance, but we are supposed to believe they can predict what the climate is going to be like in another hundred years?

Yes, I know. There is a difference between climatology and meteorology.

(Meteorology is based on actual science.)

Video

Yeah, it's Hanson. Bite me.

The Blues Brothers tribute is a nice touch.

Bonus points if you can name the guy on the tamborine.

Baby Shower

Sis held a baby shower for Youngest Daughter yesterday afternoon.

She had been planning it for a while and managed, with Son-In-Law's help, to keep it a complete mystery.

Eldest Sister came down from Roanoke and brought her two daughters along, and everyone seems to have had a good time.

Links

I reciprocate links, so if you have a link to me and I don't have one to you let me know in comments so that I can add you.

Welcome, in no particular order, to Matt from Troublesome Times, Good Times; Jordan from Generation Patriot; and AmyLynn from PBJdreamer. Welcome to the Refuge blogroll, glad to have you aboard!

My blogroll is getting big enough that it takes a lot of time just to peruse links. I think I need some more hours in my day.

UPDATE: Welcome to the blogworld Quizikle! And for your sins, you are now added to the Refuge blogroll. May God have mercy upon your soul.

Thought of the Day, April 7th Edition

I find it not humorous at all that ensuring welfare payments get sent out is a higher priority than making sure our servicemen and women get paid. I think we should tie all government paychecks together, that way if one USG employee doesn't get paid none of them do, including the politicians. I'll bet it would never get used as a political bargaining chip again.

Thoughts of the Day, April 6 Edition

It is somewhat humorous to me (in a gallows humor sort of way) that the government's idea of compromise is reducing the amount of money they are going to spend on one thing in favor of spending it on another.

At no time is either party discussing reducing the amount of money they are going to forcibly remove from my pocket. Appropos of nothing, I suppose, the amount of money I pay in a month to state, federal and payroll taxes exceeds the amount of money I pay in a month to my mortgage holder.

Also, if the much-dreaded government shut-down is only going to affect non-essential services, why is the government providing such services in the first place?

There's an idea for places to swing the budget cutting axe for you...

Defenseless Victim Zones, Part II

This one I didn't see myself, I saw it on a post at An NC Gun Blog:

Playmakers Restaurant, Raleigh NC

Go on over and take a gander at the owner's opinions. Then make plans to eat somewhere else.

Thought Of The Day: Voter Registration

I have been trained, background checked, cleared by local law enforcement, fingerprinted like a common criminal, and paid my fees so that I can legally exercise a Constitutional right. I have no problem with flashing an ID card to exercise the PRIVILEGE of voting.

Edited to add the video.

April Fools

Today is that holiday dedicated to pranks. So far I've escaped the full attention of both my sons, a rare occasion on this day so I'd better enjoy it while I can.

Today we had our first taste of sunshine in almost a week. It has been wet, miserable and cold for the past ten days or so and last Monday morning we even got a little snow.

One year ago Youngest Daughter got married, although we didn't have the actual formal ceremony until the 3rd.

Today one year ago my little Firefly rolled off of the Flat Rock, MI assembly line on her way to Butler, NJ.

Tomorrow is Eldest Son's birthday, I'm going to turn in early so I'm up to get everything ready for it.

Thieves

Yesterday I got a call from my bank raising questions about some charges on my check card.

Today I logged in to my account and over $40 has been charged to I-tunes.

As of now that card has been canceled and I am making other arrangements for some orders I had placed on that card. The bank is making a claim for the charges and is reimbursing me for them.

It is nice having a bank that pays attention. It's one of the many reasons I am still with them even though I have to drive fifty miles to the nearest branch.

As this is for my secondary account the disruption is minor, but I sure would like to know where the thieving bastards got my number so I know not to go there anymore.

Perfect

On the drive home today it started to snow.

It was the perfect end to the day that I have had.

I'm going to bed now.

How About That

I learned two things today as I was cleaning out the pantry.

One - sauerkraut has an expiration date (and expired sauerkraut is nastier than "good" sauerkraut).

Two - condensed milk turns into a thick paste that does not thin out with hot water.

Remember to check the expiration dates on your canned goods, folks.

Defenseless Victim Zones

It's kind of funny, I didn't realize how much my attitudes would change when I got the carry concealed permit. I find that I notice things now that I didn't before.

One of the things I notice, of course, is the Unarmed Victim Zone signs posted here and there. I guess that I didn't notice them before because they didn't apply to me, but now they do.

This morning I got into the Scooby to come home and found the right rear tire nearly flat. I had to get gas anyway, so a quick trip to the gas station got me a fill up of both gas and air, and off to the house I went.

This afternoon I went back out to check on the tire, and sure enough it was down again. I pulled the tire off and put it in the trunk of the Mustang, and off to the tire store I went.

I took the tire in to the store and told them of my problems and they set immediately to fixing it. I had them give me an estimate on tires for the Mustang that I won't need for some time yet (245/45-19, but Ford will buy my tires under warranty for the next two years) and wandered around the showroom while I waited.

When I looked at the window I noticed, underneath a poster advertising tires, a sign similar to the one above. I was, of course, carrying. I took the Grok out to the car and locked it away while I continued to wait.

When they brought the tire out I paid the bill, they thanked me for my business and told me to come on back when I needed tires. I informed them that this was the last transaction we would be able to have, and when they asked why I pointed out their sign.

"I have been background checked and fingerprinted and vetted by local law enforcement" I told them, "and yet you see fit to let me know I am not to be trusted. I don't do business with people that insult me."

They quickly explained that it was company policy, and I replied that was fine. I don't do business with people that insult me.

So I have decided to post a listing of Defenseless Victim Zones, to be periodically updated whenever a sign is seen. This will be the standing policy of Last Refuge of a Scoundrel. Any business that displays any signage indicating that they do not want my business will be informed of the result of their decision and they will be added to the list.

The first on the list is:

Just Tires, Wake Forest

For what it's worth, Goodyear Eagle GT's for the Mustang would have been almost a thousand dollars out the door. Hoplophobia has just cost Just Tires a grand every other year just for the Mustang, and whatever else for the Subaru.

As a side note, the jack that I bought for the Subaru did not have a jack handle, nor did the tool kit that I bought for it, so I'll be making a trip back to the dealer soon.

A Failure To Communicate

Remember when I said if I wanted a Congresscritter to take my money and otherwise ignore me I already had that?

Looks like I still do.

Thought Of The Day

From 3 Boxes of BS, by way of a link from An NC Gun Blog:

Frankly, I’m tired of the “it is only property” argument from the anti-rights cultists.
It isn’t.
It is an invasion of our homes.
It is a disruption of our lives.
It is an assault on the fiber of our society.
It is time we stop saying “it is only property”.
It is time we sent a message to thugs like this who think they can prey on others — Stop.

To which I would add - a robbery is much more than a deprivation of your property. It is an assault upon your very being, and the act is the robber's way of saying "You are worthless, in my opinion you aren't even a human being."

If you will not defend yourself against that, the robber is right - you are not even a human being, and therefore are not worthy of defense.

I am worthy of defense, as are those I love. This is why I carry.

Dyno Day

Note: I don't know why the panoramic views look so fuzzy, but if you click on them they get better.

UPDATE II: Find all the pictures here on Photobucket!

The day dawned bright and clear, and wonder of wonders warm enough to put the top down from the beginning of the trip at 7:30 AM. It stayed down the rest of the day, in spite of what the weatherman had said (low 70's) the temperature got up into the high 70's. The highest I saw on my dashboard display was 78 degrees.

We met up at a local Mickey D's and then headed out as a group to Piedmont Custom Motorsports in Raleigh NC for the dyno pulls. There were a lot of cars in attendance, and if one was observant one might think Piedmont does a lot of Mustang work.

Of course I left my camera at home so I had to spring for a new one, a Fujifilm AV100. That wasn't all bad though, this one has a panoramic option that works out pretty well. Also, it was on sale so I only shelled out fifty clams for it, so it was a pretty good value.

At any rate, I was near the end so I got to see lots of cars put on the dyno. The high HP winner for the day ended up being a supercharged 2010 Camaro SS and the low HP winner of the day was a stock 04 Mazda RX8.

The Firefly posted numbers of 357.8 hp and 337.71 foot pounds of torque through it's automatic transmission, which when you take into account the estimated 16.5% drivetrain losses for the automatic (15% for the manual) puts the crankshaft numbers right at 428.5/404.4. Ford's estimated numbers are 412/390 respectively, and the only thing I have put on the car is a bit over 15,000 miles (it turned over 15K today on the way to the dyno), so that's downright pleasing.

There were 5 other 2011 5.0's there for comparison, the highest numbers came from a stick car with exhaust, cold air intake and tune at 390/374. The lowest numbers for the 5.0 came from another automatic with only 6K on it's clock. It turned in a 344/326, which is still right in the ballpark and will very likely get better when the first 10K is put on it.

I also heard a Borla cat-back exhaust on one of the new 5.0's (the only other 2011 convertible) and I have decided that is the sound that I want. When I get around to modding this car it will get the Borla cat-backs, some sort of cold air intake and a tune. That should put me well above anything I will ever need (notice I did not say want). As it is the car is far more capable than her driver, so all in all I'm pretty pleased with the day.

The other convertible left before I could take this picture, but here are all the other 2011 5.0's in a row. You will notice one other GT/CS, also in Race Red. The highest powered 2011 5.0 was the Ingot Silver one on the far end. The Kona Blue one was the other automatic.

UPDATE: Added more pictures and the video, the Firefly is on at 5:15 but those numbers are wrong. The numbers displayed are for the glass-top GT/CS.

Running The Coyote

Saturday I'm taking the Firefly to the dyno to see how many of it's advertised 412 horsies are making it to the pavement.

Given a standard 15% loss through the drivetrain I should be getting right around 350 or so.

I'll be sure to post the results.

UPDATE: 357.8 hp, 337.71 ft/lbs. I'm happy with it.

The fortune cookie tag was posted on the door, I thought it was appropriate.

Japan

There has been much furor over the natural disaster in Japan. If the news reports were to be believed Japan would become the next Atlantis, submerged in the depths and lost to humanity forever.

One of the biggest stories is their nuclear reactors ZOMG!!!!eleventy!!!! ARE!!! MELTING!!! DOWN!!!!

My reaction was "Eh, why don't they just scram the reactors and be done with it?"

The answer turns out to be "They did, and the danger, while present, is small." The reaction has been shut down, now the issues are due to cooling as the residual heat bleeds off.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever cracked open a Japanese car motor or dealt with any Japanese engineers. They over-engineer everything, and they have a contingency plan for every eventuality. That's why it was so mysterious to me why everyone is in such a tizzy about the nuclear reactors.

The answer of course is the whole "Nuclear" word.

It should be noted that it is impossible for this type of reactor to "go Chernobyl" because of it's design. In fact, the worst thing that could happen to this reactor has in fact happened. Four of the cores have lost cooling water and are now molten balls of slag. The cooling water is needed to get rid of the residual heat as the reaction dies down. No cooling water means meltdown, which does not mean explosion, it just means those cores are now permanently out of commission.

Here's the report. Bottom line, it's bad but everything is under control. You may now all relax.

HT: Larry Correia on Facebook

UPDATE: Jackboot over at The Rott, who was one of those weird blackshoe guys what lived amongst the glowy things "down below" and was far removed from us normal aviation-type guys that populated the sunny climes of the flight deck, puts us some knowledge. His take: chill the f'k out already, ignore the blow-dryed teewee peoples and worry more about the poor folks caught without shelter due to the earthquake and tsunami. It's Ma Nature who's the bitch here, not the nuke plants.

Awwww...

Last night, after trying many times to come to an agreement with the Democrat lawmakers who had fled the state rather than do their jobs, the Wisconsin Senate separated the collective bargaining piece of the budget bill and passed it.

The new provisions require union members to pay more towards their own health and pension plans and strips the collective bargaining option from benefit negotiations. This will save the cash-starved state about $300 million over the next two years while still giving the public sector unions better benefits than most everyone else gets (including Federal employees, who also cannot collectively bargain for benefits).

This morning the Union supporters showed out their butt-hurtedness on the State Capitol. Usual Suspects Jessie Jackson Sr. and Micheal Moore have weighed in as well. Democrat lawmakers have finally decided to come back to work now that their ploy to hold the legislative process hostage has failed.

Now we get to see how well the "new civility" lasts.

Women And Children Hardest Hit

In yesterday's local fish wrap was the story with the headline "Job market is shrinking for Hispanics in N.C."

From that headline you would expect the story would be all about how the Raaaaacist Evil Business Owners are discriminating against People Of Brownish Color.

But gosh, when you get to this paragraph, it is all explained:

"Many of the ones who are leaving are in the country illegally... Because of changes in the law, they can no longer get driver's licenses, which makes it nearly impossible to work. And they worry about getting caught, arrested and deported, earning criminal records that would make it even harder to ever get legal papers."

Another telling line: "It was hard for them before, and now the jobs they were able to get are being taken by [Americans], who are now willing to work at those jobs when they weren't willing to before."

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/05/1030765/job-market-is-shrinking-for-hispanics.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1FqbMQeYn

The problem isn't that North Carolina is prejudiced against Hispanics. The problem is that we have quite enough unskilled labor as it is, much of it home-grown. Being here illegally just adds to the difficulties.

Oh No You Don't

Do.

Not.

Touch.

The.

Statue.

HT to cmblake6, cause I was suffering from low blood pressure this morning.

Life In The Fast Lane

So far I've had an opportunity to interface with government at local, state and federal levels in the past two days.

First, the IRS sent me a little note explaining that the information I sent off proving my grandsons lived with me during the 2008/2009 school year was not sufficient, so they were disallowing them as dependents, and yeah by the way since you didn't send the information we didn't ask for for Christopher, we're disallowing him, too. Please remit payment for $4700 within fifteen days to avoid penalties.

So I called them to find out just what they needed. We got the requirements worked out, which necessitated a visit to the local school (that's where the local government figures in).

The school wanted to know, among other things, where the boys' mother was. "What the hell difference does that make?!?" I asked, having gone round the flagpole for several minutes with them at this point. "You don't have to swear at me" was the huffy reply.

"No," I explained, "We're not steering the conversation away from what's being said because you don't like the way it's being said. Back to the subject." Finally I got it dragged out of them that since I wasn't asking them to make anything up, lie in court, or do anything that would otherwise be illegal, immoral, unethical or fattening they could make a copy of the ALREADY EXISTING RECORD that had all the information I needed as long as it was given to their dad, my son. Which is all I wanted in the first place.

Finally, since we were out anyway, we went to the DMV (here's where the state government makes it's appearance) to get Eldest Son an ID card and get my driver's license renewed. Just as we were getting settled in their computer system went down. Fortunately it only took a half hour or so for the problem to be resolved, so that was actually the least painful transaction that took place.

I hate dealing with government on any level. Even when I was with the government I hated dealing with them.

On another note, I have not had internet at the Refuge since Sunday and my cohabitants failed to let me know about it until Wednesday night. I put the trouble call in Thursday morning, the tech showed up today at the scheduled time (wonders never cease) and determined my 5 year old cable modem was the problem. The phone guy had told me it might be an issue the day before, so I went out Thursday evening and got one. We put it on today and the Refuge is now back online!

It's been a fun couple of days. Now I have a motorcycle to take apart.

Fair Winds

Steamboat McGoo is hanging up his blogging shoes.

Aardvarks and Asshats has been a favorite since I first discovered it, whenever that was. Science, snark and a bit of "otherwise" from time to time, it has certainly been an entertaining ride. If you are going to say goodbye you had best do it now, because after the week is up the chance to do so is over.

Fare thee well Steamboat, we hardly knew ye!

UPDATE: Edward Von Bear has taken up the A&A mantle. Steamboat may have sailed off into the sunset, but his creation lives on. Well done and thank you Eddie.

It Makes Me Wonder

Today the temps are in the mid seventies and the sun is shining.

I have seen model airplanes flying and motorcycles humming along the roadways.

I have seen groups of people out fishing and riding horses.

I have also seen people out and about in convertible cars.

Only three of those cars, including mine, had their tops down.

Apropos of nothing, I suppose, all three were Mustangs.

Be Prepared

Yesterday there was a message on my phone from the Sheriff's Department. My CWP was ready to be picked up.

This morning I put the Grok in it's plastic case, put the case in the back of the Baja under the Ozzbros cover, and went to the Sheriff's Department.

After getting the permit in hand and placing the Grok in it's holster I went to the gun store to see if I could find another holster for IWB carry. Florida's laws are such that any exposure is a violation, so I needed something to carry to Eldest Daughter's house.

They had an Uncle Mike's IWB holster that fit the bill, so I've been carrying with it all day to get used to it. It should do the trick quite nicely.

It has also been a beautiful day, temperatures in the seventies and partly cloudy. Right now the sky is clear and blue and it's 72 degrees. I fired the grille up and did some burgers and steaks.

And so with supper out of the way, I think I'll go for a ride.

Mundanity

This morning I finally made an appointment to get my eyes checked. I'm probably going to need the kind with lines on them, so that's something to look forward to.

Nothing planned this weekend, no running off to Roanoke like we have done the past couple of weeks. This weekend we will just hang around the Refuge. Bob is probably breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Roberta X had a post about how if the balloon went up most of us were done for. I was reminded of it as I was cooking supper, most of what I was doing was mixing up pre-packaged ingredients. She's probably right on the money, most people living in the US today have never really known hardship and don't know how to do things from the ground up like our grandfathers did.

My mother was a good cook and usually prepared everything from basic fresh ingredients, but these days it's much easier to open a can, jar or bottle and mix it with browned hamburger, or combine it with the contents of the powdered spice package...you get the idea. Home-cooked has certainly taken on different meanings since I was young.

Fortunately the chances of things really going sideways are vanishingly small, but small scale natural and "man-made" disasters are always a possibility, and time and again political and financial systems have crashed and burned, leaving strewn wreckage in their wake.

I don't really know what I would do, but I'm far enough out that I could probably get going farther if need be, I have firearms and a fair bit of electro-mechanical skills that would end up being useful when the immediate danger was over and some sort of effort at rebuilding was being made, but things would certainly be dicey for a while. Hunker down and remain in place or run for the hills, that is the question. The answer would likely depend on the situation.

But for now this is just an exercise in brain-stretching, luckily I have nothing pressing on my schedule, the lights are on, and we are all warm, dry and well fed. Things could change in an instant, and you never know if or when, so the best thing you can do is be prepared as much as you can, pray for the best and plan for the worst.

So for today we are having a bit of the mundane life, there are kids to be picked up from school and groceries to buy. I checked out a new grocery store that has just opened and they have my brand. I also picked up some of this, I'm not usually too fond of lagers but I do like the redheads.

And since we don't have anything planned this weekend I think I'll have a few.

Range Report

A preliminary report can be found here, but it's scarce on details.

The first thing that was done was a sighting in at 25 yards, just to make sure everything was close enough to mark the paper. The Arisaka shot slightly high and right, about the same distance high as right, but close enough to get on the paper (or so we thought at the time).

The Saiga was also high, but slightly left. Once again, it was determined to be close enough to get on the paper.

We set the targets up at the 200 yard line and prepped the rifles. Five shots out of the Arisaka and ten out of the Saiga, and a peek through the spotting scope revealed that...

Actually it revealed that the spotting scope wasn't strong enough for 200 yards, so we had to hike the distance back to the targets. The Arisaka was high and right enough to be off the paper and on the cardboard, the Saiga was high and slightly left.

Back on the firing line the Saiga got it's sights adjusted, and we decided to fire one rifle at a time and check shot placement after each magazine (the ulterior motive was to make sure all the ammo would feed out of each of the Saiga magazines since I had some trouble with one or two of them before). Each round of firing required a 200 yard hike to the target and 200 yards back.

Since the Saiga had more capacity we started with it. By the time we were through the third magazine we had it sighted in fairly well, so the fourth magazine grouped right in the middle where it should have been. The group was in a pattern about eight inches or so across (32 rounds in each magazine) scattered evenly around the X, so not bad for iron sights.

Next we attempted to sight in the Arisaka. Attempted I say, because the tool we used on the Saiga did absolutely nothing for the Arisaka. We put 20 rounds through it total and it consistently shot about eight to ten inches high and eight to ten inches to the right, but the grouping was pretty good at about 4 to 5 inches for a 5 round magazine (once again, iron sights).

I don't know how the elevation problem is going to get resolved because there is absolutely no adjustment for elevation, but with the proper tool I should be able to get the azimuth dialed in. There didn't seem to be any performance differences between the 129 grain and the 140 grain bullets, the original Japanese rounds were 139 grains so I'll probably stick with the 140 grain rounds unless I get a good deal on something else.

We have also decided that 100 yards is a good enough distance, and since the spotting scope is good for 100 yards it would cut down on the hiking time.

Next we moved over to the pistol and shotgun range. I pulled the plug out of the Franchi and wanted to see how it did. With the plug out the magazine holds 4 rounds, two more than with the plug in. To load 5 rounds you have to first load the chamber and then load the magazine, which is kind of a pain in the nether regions due to the way the semi-auto feed system works. The grouping with a modified choke installed (the Franchi has screw in chokes, unlike the pump-action Mossberg) was pretty good at 25 yards, so it would be a good duck gun (with the plug in, of course).

I then shot about 75 rounds through the Glock and made a big hole in the middle of the paper at six yards, so I'm happy with that. I had absolutely no feed issues this time, not like during quals when I had one stovepipe on me. It may have been something to do with the ammo I purchased from the range, the ammo I had on hand did just fine.

After all was said and done and the toys were put away I said something about getting a Mosin Nagant to play with since it would be cheaper to feed than the Arisaka. As luck would have it my range buddy just so happened to have one, along with enough ammo that I should be able to pass it down to my grandkids. Russian surplus, so I'll have to get some good cleaner for the bore, but plenty of it.

So now my gun safe is multicultural; I have two Russian rifles, one Japanese rifle (the older Russian and the Japanese rifles might have either faced each other or served side by side, they are about the same age*), one American rifle and one American pump shotgun, one Italian semi-auto shotgun, and an Austrian pistol. I have rifle calibers in .22, .223, 6.5 x 50 and 7.62 x 54R so all my bases should pretty well be covered. Both shotguns are 12 gauge and the Glock is .45 so I'm pretty well equipped there, too. I'd like to get another .357 before I'm all done, maybe a 9mm and a .380, but by now I have the "needs" covered and so I'm down to "wants."

The next thing I need to do is find the proper sight adjusting tool for the Arisaka (and more ammo for it), then I will take it and the Mosin out to see how they do.

*EDIT: The Mosin and the Arisaka are not, in fact, about the same age; the Mosin is forty years younger. The Arisaka T-30 was produced in a four or five year span right around 1900 and the Mosin was made in 1943.

Good Things Come

To those who wait.

Science Channel.

Sunday, March 6th.

Eight PM EST.

In the correct order, and in HiDef.

Since I work Sundays the DVR will be programmed and ready to fly.

A tip of the hat to BruHa. Man wears a hat like that, you know he's not afraid of anything.

Image credit: Sidney Baldwin

The Teachers Are Revolting

My heart bleeds little pink polka-dots for them as our military works longer hours for less money per year with no three month break over the summer.

My heart bleeds little purple unicorns for them as they take a sick day and march, knowing that if I pulled any such nonsense as that I’d be looking for a job the very next day.

My heart bleeds baby blue lightning bolts for them while our children still can’t read and a large number of them graduate without being able to locate their home country, much less their home state, on a map of the world.

The sad thing is there are many talented and dedicated teachers in our schools, both public and private, that don't get the credit they deserve because their slacker co-workers are protected by the same union. One bad apple spoils the entire barrel, and there is a lot more than one bad apple in that particular barrel.

Fire all the slackers and replace them with returning veterans (Troops to Teachers Program). At least the vets are aware of what happens outside their own little insular world.

And by the way, while we are discussing who needs to be fired...

Mission Accomplished!

Youngest Son and I finally got out on the Blue Ridge Parkway all by ourselves today. Sister had to work but you can be sure the new convertible went with her!

It was a bit cold even though the sun was shining, so the top stayed up. Youngest son even managed to drag me down a trail or two. The scenery was spectacular.

I guess I'm going to have to do more of this, if for no other reason than to make sure I can.

He's Going To Kill Us

The plan was simple; take the Firefly out on the Blue Ridge Parkway and have a fun couple of hours in the sun.

As we were heading towards the Parkway, Sister noticed a bright red 2009 Mustang convertible in a used car lot. "Let's go in and look" she said, "I don't want to buy it, I'm happy with my car (2000 Mustang convertible), but I'm curious."

The next thing I know she's trading in the 2000 for the 2009. The funny thing is, seven or eight months ago she was signing papers for the 2000, and once again it was one that she had noticed while riding in my car. It was like deja vu all over again.

Brother In Law is never going to let me visit ever again.

Living With Women

Yesterday was beautiful, but today is going to be phenomenal with temps in the mid seventies. Topless weather for sure, and where better to be topless than on the Blue Ridge?

Youngest son and I loaded up the Firefly last night and went to Roanoke with the intent of driving the Blue Ridge, north this time towards the Shenandoah Valley. Of course we stopped off at Sister's for the night, she isn't at work today so she is coming along for the ride.

As I stepped into the shower this morning I was overwhelmed by the sheer femininity of it. Sister has two teen-aged daughters and poor Brother In Law is the lone male, living solo amongst all that fluffery. It's a wonder he still has his man-parts.

For Christmas this year I'm going to go to the man-store and buy Brother In Law shampoo that smells like gunsmoke, soap with lava in it that smells like motor oil baking on hot metal and will take the first layer of hide off, shaving cream that smells like race car exhaust, and after-shave that smells like wood smoke. That should hold him over until the girls go to college.

After Action (Preliminary) Report

The Arisaka shoots high and to the right, the Saiga has been pretty well sighted in, and I have a new (well, new to me) rifle that I have yet to put anything through. It's a Mosin Nagant purchased from the same friend that provides range time.

All told it was a pretty good day. I am presently in Roanoke VA and tomorrow we will be cruising the Blue Ridge for the day with the top down.

I hope your day was a good one as well.

Concealed Carry Forums

I tried to register at carryconcealed.net and got bounced for being a spammer. When I attempted to contact them, apparently their computer system doesn't like the answer "John Moses Browning" for "Who invented the 1911" and I couldn't figure out what answer it wanted for "What is CCW" either. I'm thinking that's also the reason they tagged me for a spammer.

I was going to send them another message, but decided "to hell with it." At this point I'm thinking it's not worth the effort. That's a hell of a way to improve your membership.

So here's the deal for my gunny type readers out there, are there any concealed carry forums that are worth getting into, and what is the general opinion of USCCA? Worth the price of admission or no?

I could just troll the boards, I guess, but it's not as good if you can't ask questions.

Train Lover's Day

Last Saturday was Train Lover's Day at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, so youngest son and I hopped in the Mustang and went to Roanoke.

Chesapeake and Ohio 4-8-4 number 614 was on display along with the usual Norfolk and Western locos. She was missing her piston rods, but otherwise she looked pretty good.

Of course I also had to take a peek at the most beautiful steam locomotive ever made while I was there, in all her black and red glory. That's her on the left in the picture.

The museum also hosted the local model railroad clubs, there were displays of N scale, HO scale, On3 scale and Lionel three-rail trains as well as a few items for sale. I picked up a LifeLike F-7 in Pennsylvania livery to go with the fleet of Bachmann Spectrums I have on hand.

All together it was a good day, and of course it is always good to see Sister.

Scheduled

A range session has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Planned festivities are to see how the Arisaka does with two different weights of ammo (I have a feeling the heavier bullets are going to work better with the shorter carbine), sight in the Saiga (it was shooting a bit high, but that might have been the shorter range that we were using), and get some much needed practice with the Glock.

I will be filing an after-action report on the Arisaka soon.

Happy Valentine's Day