Diamondback

Yesterday Youngest Son and I got up at 5:30 AM (after being out until after midnight watching the Bulls game, see post below) and headed out the door at 6:00 AM. Our destination; the Diamondback in the North Carolina mountains.

This event was attended by members of the Carolina chapter of the Mustang Forums. Youngest Son and I left Franklinton under cloudy and threatening skies, so the top stayed up until we got to Hickory.

In Hickory we met up with the occupants of four other Mustangs, introduced ourselves and lined up for the drive to Love's Travel Stop in Marion NC. Two more cars joined us there, giving us a group of fourteen people and seven cars.

We left Love's at about 11:00 and proceeded up the mountain. We went up NC Route 126 to 126A to Little Switzerland where we made a stop for pictures and souvenirs. We got on the Blue Ridge Parkway from there, stopping once at Deerlick Gap Overlook for more pictures.

We left Deerlick Gap heading south on the Blue Ridge once more until we got to NC Route 80, which we took back into Marion. After a lunch stop at Moondoggy's we cruised down US 70 to Lake James State Park where we enlisted the aid of a willing photographer to take a group photo.

After the group photo we all went our separate ways (for some of us those ways were parallel for a bit more of the trip). Boy went to the skating rink and I went home for some much needed rest.

There is talk of scheduling a trip to the Tail of the Dragon sometime later on, perhaps this fall.

Mustang Night With The Bulls

Friday night Youngest Son and I went to a Durham Bulls ball game with the Heart of Carolina Mustang Club.

Since it wasn't a car-type event, and since the rain clouds were threatening, and since it was Durham after all, I left the Mustang at home and took the Baja instead.

We had group tickets to the Miller Light Corral, complete with a spread laid on by the ball park. We had a pretty good group that showed up to watch the hometown Bulls get roundly defeated 17-2 by the Norfolk Tides (who used to be the Tidewater Tides when I lived in Virginia Beach the first time).

There was a rain delay in the third inning, and afterwards there was a fireworks show, so it was after 1 AM by the time Boy and I got back to the house. We then got up at 5:30 AM to be on the road by 6:00 AM to drive the Diamondback with the Carolina chapter of the Mustang Forum (see post above).

It's been a busy weekend, and my parents are in Roanoke visiting Sister now, so they will be here next week. I have to go back to work tonight so that I can rest up.

As is usual for the panoramic views they are fuzzy on the page but they clear up when you click on them.

Keep Moving

Space shuttle launch yesterday, the very last one. Durham Bulls game last night, with rain delays and fireworks show we didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning. Up at OMG:30 to go to Marion NC to drive the Diamondback. Pics of everything except the space shuttle launch when I get a chance.

Letting It All Hang Out

UPDATE to add this WARNING: Some of the links have nekkid boobehs.

Apparently it is completely legal in New York City for the fairer sex to go around sans upper body clothing.

A couple of women have tried it out, and aside from some low-level nagging from officious personas, nothing happened.

I particularly liked this statement from the second linked story: "Because we live in a fascist police state, it wasn’t long before two of New York’s finest stopped and questioned her..."

(She apparently was not ticketed in this episode, so the fascist police state has some ground to make up in order to become the sort of fascist police state that we can all be proud of. But I digress.)

The longer third linked story (all four pages of it) told the story of how a young woman wandered around Central Park unencumbered by the weight of top-hamper sails, so to speak, and no one raised much of a fuss.

I tell you all of this so that I can get to the point that in Virginia the members of the national OpenCarry.org internet group regularly carry openly, much to the dismay of some of the second amendment supporters and concern trolls. It happens other places as well, but since I live close to VA I hear more about it from there.

There is much discussion whenever open carry is brought up as to whether it is better to carry openly to get the public used to seeing it or to carry concealed so as not to upset the soccer-mommies and alert the criminals.

I carry concealed mostly because I am a bit self-conscious about carrying openly, but now that I have been carrying for a while I'm not so much anymore. I have a friend who regularly carries openly even though he has a concealed permit, both because there are places you can actually carry openly where concealed carry would be illegal in NC (financial institutions being the most common) and to get the public used to it.

And just because I don't think I have strayed far enough afield yet, here is an article that explains the issues involved in a self-defense case. USCCA has a new program called Self Defense Shield that seems like it would be a good idea to have. I'm planning on upgrading when I have the coin to do so.

UPDATE: I have just been informed via email that there is a quarterly payment plan in the works for USCCA's Self Defense Shield, so getting the coin is going to be getting easier very soon.

What say you?

Cleaning Up

Yesterday as we drove home from the camping trip it rained on us. It rained into the night as well, so this morning we had a truck full of soaked camping gear.

We unpacked, unrolled and laid everything out to dry. I took the opportunity to repair the tent where one of the tie-down rings had torn out of the side (it was the third time the tent had ever been set up, and it's a Coleman tent). After an hour or so we flipped everything over to dry both sides. Lather, rinse, repeat.

After a few hours everything was dry, so we re-rolled, repacked and stowed everything in the shed for the next time. This took long enough that I was late getting ready for work.

As I was running around like a madman I couldn't help but remind myself that I only work three days this week and I took two of them off. Why I didn't take tonight off as well I will probably never know.

Tomorrow I get to take Eldest Son back to the doctor, he's still not feeling well, so the adventure continues.

Happy 4th of July!

We have spent the entire weekend at Gatewood Campground in Pulaski VA with Eldest Sister and her hubby. We did not take the Mustangs.

We took one of Youngest Son's friends along. We also took Boots the dog along.

Youngest Son caught a 9 inch yellow perch and his friend caught a nice catfish. Boots the dog did not like the boat.

It rained like crazy Sunday afternoon, but the rest of the time was hot and sunny. All in all, everyone had a great time.

You Buy Books

Even better, buy a signed copy.

You can thank me later, you will be busy reading now.

The Rules

Rule number one: ALL guns are ALWAYS loaded.

Rule number two: Don't point the gun at anything you do not want to shoot.

Rule number three: Keep your booger-hook off of the bang switch until you are ready to fire

Rule number four: Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

Violation of any one is a cause for concern, violation of two or more will result in a really bad day.

Smashing!

Yesterday was quite the day.

First one of my unofficial children (I seem to collect them wherever I go) had someone pull out in front of him. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the car is likely a total loss.

As I was driving to work I saw a van that had been torn up pretty bad sitting on the side of the road. The only emergency vehicle was the state troopers and I didn't see a driver. It looked like the van had just run off the road, but given the damage on the side I wonder if there was another vehicle involved that had not stuck around.

When I got a bit closer to work I noticed a van sitting in a yard. I didn't think much of it until I saw the furrows dug into the grass and realized the van had just spun out into the yard. It couldn't have been any more than a few minutes before I got there because the driver was still in the vehicle.

On the way home this morning I saw the state troopers at yet another accident site where again there was no driver. This one looked like the driver lost control in the curve and spun up into the trees.

I certainly hope the wreck bug has been satisfied.

Out And About

Yesterday I rented a Rug Doctor and we went over the carpets. Red juice stains do not come out of tan carpet, but it took the dog stains right out.

Today the Mustang Forums, Carolina chapter, had a get-together in Charlotte. It was rather sparsely attended, but as it was the first of its kind hopes are high that the next ones will be better populated.













As I was driving home I ran upon the tail end of a cruise-in and got a few pictures of that as well.













Tomorrow it's back to work, but it has been a productive and fun weekend.

You Would Think

that if you handed out the highest award that can be given to a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine to the only living recipient since Vietnam that you would at least remember his name.

You would be wrong.

HT: LC Jackboot at The Rott

Blood In The Streets!

Who's the sad panda?

Not me!

One down, two to go.

Issues

Youngest Son has been having some behavioral problems lately, and last night we had it out a bit.

It seems as if he feels guilty about not being home when Mom collapsed, not that there was anything he could have done about it. He was off with Sis at the time and he feels like he should have been here when she needed him.

He has been doing stupid things and then telling his friends about it, knowing that they will tell Sis so that he would be caught and punished for it. His need to be punished is due to the guilt he feels for not being home.

It was kind of rough at times, but I told him a bit about the anger and helplessness that I felt over Mom's sickness at the time so that he would know he wasn't the only one who had these issues. I let him know in no uncertain terms that there were no excuses for the behavioral problems and that those would have to cease immediately, but I think he knows now that he can talk to me about it.

I also made it clear that he was not off the hook. Actions have consequences, I told him, and he will have to work at gaining back the trust he has thrown away, both with me and Sis. He says he understands that, but I'm sure there will be hard times ahead before it's done.

I'm not a psychologist by any means, and the sad fact is that when the professionals get involved it sometimes creates more problems than it cures. I am hopeful that the discussion I had with him last night will be the beginning of the end of the problems, if not we may have to get the professionals involved whether we want to or not.

If it were easy everyone would do it, I guess.

Dog Days

Summer is upon us. Today is officially the first day of summer, the longest day of the year.

Not that it matters much here. It's been summertime in the South for a couple of months now.

47

Happy Birthday Boo.

Changes

Last night as I drove through the gate at my defenseless victim zone - workplace, that is - I noticed two things.

The first thing that I noticed is that they are pulling down the fence around the parking lot. It looks like they are re-locating the fence to the street. Several months ago they removed the arms of the entrance gate so that it was no longer necessary to badge in, but the fence was still there. Now all that remains is the posts.

The second, and most interesting, was the absence of the "This is a Defenseless Victim Zone" signage. The smoking prohibition is still in place as evidenced by signage, but the anti-self defense signs are gone.

I don't know if this will be a permanent change or not, but perhaps they see the handwriting on the wall.

Moving Day

The good Professor has moved. Check out the new digs, and be sure to update your address book.

Happy Father's Day

Call your Dad today if he is still with you and tell him Happy Father's Day.

Even if you don't get along very well, do it anyway. If these are to be the last words that pass between you, let those words be "I love you" instead of anything else.

If he is not, take a moment to remember him.

Happy Father's Day to Dads everywhere.

Time

Wednesday I got up early to take Eldest Son to the doctors. Then I went to work.

Thursday the AC guy was here (the new AC isn't cooling the house very well, but it's working as it should and it's a bigger unit. Quite the mystery here) and Youngest Son got out of school early (it was the last day of the school year) so I was up early again.

Friday was Youngest Son's graduation (he is now officially in Jr. High), and as is normal for the private school he is in I got drafted as the official camera-man.

Yesterday was spent carting Eldest Son from urgent care clinic to ER for endless tests to find out they can't find anything wrong with him. That will be $350.00 please, and we will send you the remainder for the ER visit at a later date.

Please note that work, school and ER's are all unarmed victim zones, so I have spent most of the week unarmed. It's a surprisingly uncomfortable and naked feeling for someone who has not actually been carrying all that long.

I'll be glad to go back to work tonight. I need the rest.

Wings

I went out and got a new fryer the other day and ended up with this one.

The reason I wanted another fryer is because I had a hankering for wings and the little fryer will only do a few at a time. The kettle does a dozen a pop, and it will also cook stews and rice. It's a multi-talented little unit.

As a serendipitous discovery, this is a great wing sauce. Good flavor and just the right amount of heat.

Definitions

Dicknose.

Definition II:

Doubling down on dicknose.

Definition III:

Full of win.

Yes, I am just trolling about the interwebtubies today, why do you ask?

Questions and Answers

Jennifer is asking, in her head, how all of us became gunnies.

I grew up in a household that had guns. My Dad had a .22 Marlin (strangely similar to the one I have, they didn't change much) and a 12 ga pump shotgun (his has wood furniture and mine has plastic, otherwise again strangely similar...you stick with what works I guess), he also had a semi-auto pistol that looked like, and may have been, a Luger P08 and a .38 snubbie.

UPDATE: The semi-auto in question was a High Standard Model H-B .22 semi-auto.

We used to go hunting with the long guns but really didn't do much with the pistols. Dad didn't carry one and we really didn't fool with them much. I think my brother has all of the above mentioned firearms now, I'll have to ask him about the semi because now I'm curious.

While I was in the Navy I had a buddy that owed me some money. Instead of paying me cash he gave me a Taurus .357 revolver. I shot it a couple of times at the base shooting range and kept it for several years until I found out he had stolen the gun from his mother-in-law. I gave it back to her when I found out.

After I had retired from the Navy I had a co-worker that was a gunnie. That is when I really became interested in becoming a gunnie myself, because of his enthusiasm. A bit later he fell on hard times and had to sell off some of his collection, and he offered them to me at a good price.

I bought an EBR (in Saiga form, not AR-15), the Marlin and the pump shotgun from him and looked at a Glock 36. He told me I would have to have a pistol purchase permit to buy the gun in NC, even from an individual. I thought that was outrageous, that one would have to ask the Sheriff for permission to buy something. But, that is the law here.

(Side note here, my state Senator has introduced a bill to do away with pistol purchase permits. Please do notice the "D" after his name. Blind hogs and acorns.)

He also said if I had a CWP I would not need a pistol purchase permit, and then I could buy as many as I wanted with no questions asked. This sounded more reasonable to me, so off I went to class for a day with the borrowed Grok.

When the permit came in I bought the Grok and a holster and started carrying it. I wasn't sure at the time that it would become standard practice, but since then it's something I don't even think about; when I get up in the morning and get dressed the Grok comes out of the safe and goes on my belt (unless I'm going to my unarmed victim zone...I mean workplace).

Since that time I have become more and more aware of gun related issues. I didn't intend to be a gunnie, but slowly and surely I have become one, if only in a small way (so far).

So that's my story. What's yours?

Reviewing the Tuck N' Go

Last Tuesday I finally became the proud owner of a Galco Tuck N' Go holster.

Even though I have only been using the Galco for a couple of days now, I have to say that I am pleased with it. Two of my concerns were that the holster would ride too high and that the J hook would not function adequately. I'm very happy to say that my concerns were unwarranted.

The J hook works extremely well. First off it is very nice to be able to tuck the shirt without having to bunch it around the belt clip, although the tight fit between the J hook and the leather means you have to work at getting the shirt into the gap. This might change as the leather softens a bit.

What I really like about the J hook though is how it fits behind the belt. I was a bit hesitant at first, worried that the weight of the holster would pull my waistband down and make the belt ride up. Since the hook is usually in the vicinity of the beltloop this is not an issue, but what is really nice is the way the J hook hooks under the belt and does not allow the holster to ride up.

The Uncle Mikes holster would occasionally ride up and detatch itself from both pants and belt, and then the holster with the gun inside would try to fall out of my waistband. With the Galco Tuck N' Go J hook this is no longer an issue because the belt clip goes behind the belt and has a tab that hooks underneath it, preventing it from riding up and off of the waistband.

My concerns about the holster riding too high has actually turned out to be a feature instead of a bug. The concern mainly came about because of the Uncle Mikes unfortunate tendancy to fall off of the belt, but since the J hook prevents this it is no longer a concern. What is nice is that the butt of the gun now rides a bit tighter to my side and closer to the arm, meaning it conceals better.

I would eventually like to try out a Crossbreed Super Tuck, but until that day the Galco will be my regular carry rig.

Dear Judiciary II Committee Member;

Today I almost became a criminal.

It started innocently enough. I went to get my car washed, and since it was a nice day I ended up being a couple of cars back so I had some time to spend. I thought that I would go get something for lunch. The nearest restaurants were a Sonic fast food and an Olive Garden. Deciding that I wanted some pasta I walked over to the Olive Garden.

Just as I grabbed the door handle two things occurred to me. The first was that Olive Garden served wine, and the second was that, as is usual since I have a concealed weapon permit, I was carrying. Two steps is all that separated me from being a law abiding citizen and becoming a criminal.

I know that the intent of the law is not to keep law abiding people from enjoying a pasta meal, but that is the effect. Even though I had no intent of consuming alcohol (which is also prohibited while carrying) at the restaurant, the mere fact it was available prohibited me from entering.

At least the ice cream at the Sonic was good.

HB 111, "Handgun Permit Valid in Parks and Restaurants" has been stalled in your Committee since April. Please remember that our neighbors in Tennessee and Virginia have already passed essentially the same legislation. The "blood in the streets" fears of the anti-self defense crowd have failed to materialize. Don't you think that North Carolinians deserve the same measure of trust that citizens of these other states enjoy?

Statistics show that concealed handgun permit holders are among the most law abiding citizens in North Carolina. It's time to stop treating them as if they will suddenly start ignoring the law if they happen to be eating at the local Applebees. Calling a committee hearing for HB 111 is the right thing to do, so please do it immediately.

V/R
Larry P. Card
Franklinton NC

HT: An NC Gun Blog, who has been tirelessly tracking the legislation.

Added note: I have also now become a member of Grass Roots NC. Is this how one becomes an activist?

UPDATE: Wow, that was quick! H111 and H650 both get their hearings on Tuesday.

RICE

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

Long story short, taking the dog out this morning, stepped in a low spot.

Looks like I won't be doing much this weekend.

Gunleather

I had ordered a Galco Tuck N' Go several months ago and it finally arrived today. Apparently Galco had to wait for the cow to die naturally of old age before they could get the leather.

At any rate, delivery times aside, the holster itself fits the Grok rather well, a little tight but that is to be expected right out of the box. Galco uses a patented J hook design for concealability, I don't know how well it will work but I will be finding out soon.

I have been using an Uncle Mikes nylon holster and I like it just fine, but you have to tuck your shirt around it so it can look sort of odd. I wanted something that would allow an actual tuck, and I thought I would like something in leather. The Galco looks like it is going to ride a bit higher than the Uncle Mikes, I don't know if that will end up being a problem or not. I think I will end up liking the leather a bit better, time will tell.

I was told when I started thinking about getting my concealed carry permit that I would end up with a box full of holsters. It looks like I'm well on the way to doing that.

Stock Galco Tuck N' Go photo from Galco Gunleather

Random Thoughts

Carpe Diem is how the Romans expressed the idea that it is better to live with scars than regrets.

D-Day

The beginning of the end.

Sixty-seven years ago today.

Thank you, gentlemen.

SYNC

One of the options on the Mustang is called SYNC.

With this option one of the things you can do is pair up your cell phone for hands-free operation.

I had not attempted to do this until this past weekend, and trying to get the cell phone and the car to communicate with each other was an exercise in frustration. All of it due to operator error, I hasten to add.

I finally got it all to match up, downloaded my phone book and made my first call to Eldest Son while I was on the road.

This is not such a great option in a convertible, for what it's worth.

Once Upon A Time

INTP

And it would work just fine if you would leave it alone.

HT: Ambulance Driver

Contacts

An old Navy buddy that Laura considered a brother has made contact via Facebook.

I had to tell him the bad news. We had not talked to him in many years.

I think he summed it up well when he said "I just can't believe she's gone."

Neither can I, Ope.

Essential Personnel

Youngest Son and I are in Florida. We are traveling to Bushnell today to lay flowers for Laura and her mother.

A couple of months ago I conceived of this trip, and had originally planned to make it alone and un-announced. Flying without a flight plan, as it were - which is completely legal, by the way, as long as you don't cross any international borders. I was just going to jump in the car and hit the road, leave the cell phone off, take the computer and check my messages when I got to the hotel.

Many years ago (a bit over seventeen and a half, to be precise) I might have been able to get away with this, but those days are long past. These days my kids would have the National Guard out looking for me (oh, look...helicopters!) before I even cleared the NC/SC border.

Back in the days when I could have done such a thing I had no attachments closer than a half-continent away; all the family I had was in Iowa and I didn't have to make a set schedule or check in with anyone. These days I have to plan my trip in advance (this one was only a day's notice, so it's not all that bad) so that those along my route can arrange for visits and keep track of me so I don't get lost.

I was planning on stopping in to see Pop all along, but I didn't plan on going through Jacksonville so I wasn't going to stop at Eldest Daughters. When I plotted the course, however, I saw that the shortest line between Raleigh NC and Bushnell FL goes right through Jacksonville, so I had to stop in and say hello at least.

As far as going alone, that wasn't going to work for one reason - Youngest Son. He stays with Sis for the week since she is also his school teacher, but on the weekend he comes home. She would have kept him for the weekend I'm sure, but it wouldn't have been fair to her. No doubt he would have been upset with it as well.

It's funny how we complicate our lives as time goes on. It grows out of the desire to make a lasting impression on the world, I guess. I complain about it, but it's nice having people to care about me.

One

It's been one year.

The bed gets made in the morning and stays that way.

I haven't had to open the hood of any of my cars for any reason more serious than checking the oil.

I don't get scolded for not going to get stitches when I cut myself.

I would trade it all back in an instant.

Memorial Day

Thanks.

Headrests

One of the few gripes I have with the Mustang is the headrests that came with the car. They are canted forward at such an angle that I found them to be uncomfortable.

The problem is the Federal safety regulations that decreed the headrests (actually they are head restraints, not head rests) should be no farther than 1" from the back of the seat occupant's head. I don't know who's head the Ford engineer designed these for, but the only way I could halfway comfortably sit in the seat was to pull them up to the top of their travel and lay the seat back, but that was not a comfortable angle for me to drive.

I ended up taking them to a local machine shop, they were able to bend the bars on them so they stood upright a little more. This was better, but still not optimal as I still had to lay the seat back farther than I liked to be able to comfortably drive the car.

A quick check of the Mustang message boards reveals that I am not the only one. Older model cars (2005-2009) with similar seats have aftermarket headrests available that are adjustable in tilt, but the 2010/2011 do not.

Until now.

Mustang Racing Technologies has released a version of their tilting headrests for the 2010/2011 Mustang, and they have them with black stitching to match the GT/CS. I ordered a set and they came in a couple of weeks ago.

My first impressions weren't very favorable, the MRT headrests are physically larger than the stock ones and look kind of bulky. Also the grain of the vinyl is finer on the MRT units when compared to stock. Overall they are well made, but the differences in size and style kind of threw me off for a bit.

Then I put them in and tried them out. The difference in the comfort level is like night and day, even though I had taken my old headrests to a machine shop to have them bent they still don't stand as upright as the aftermarket units. The MRT headrests have a four-position adjustable tilt, so no matter how bulbous or flat the back of your head is there is an angle that will fit you comfortably.

I've had them in for a couple of weeks now and I can't imagine ever having a situation where I would want to put the stock units back in.

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.