Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Economic Decisions, too late?

We all know about the tough economic time everyone is having. Our country, the states, individuals, banks and corporations all have been facing the gun. Arizona is taking some fairly radical steps to alleviate some of their dollar woes. My question is...why did they wait 'til they were broke to do it? Every dollar earning entity should practise fiscal responsibility before they're broke. It should be a way of life which will keep you from the steps of the poorhouse. Georgia is taking the bull by the horns and will have a law by 2010 that will require the state to accept only gold, silver and 90 percent silver coin as payment. They will also direct banks to create gold, silver and silver coin accounts. Georgia seems to have lost the liking for our debt backed paper currency and wants to return to constitutional money.

A whole lotta dealin' going on

On this day in history.......I was born! Cherry Pie is taking me to my favorite Mexican joint tonight where I'll have the Mexican chili over rice. MMMM goood.
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Well it seems the fix is in for the senate version of the healthcare bill. A few Senators have been bought off with massive funding going to their states in the name of health care. I'm only talking a 100 million here and a 100 million there. Oh, abortion is back in the bill now. All of a sudden, there are democrats calling foul and other senators going "where's the funding for our states?". One senator is urging an investigation and another is talking a law suit over the deals. So much for hope and change. Some much for clarity and light. We're still hoping for change and it's still dim and dark. And I must say... all LIES! The House and the Senate are filled with lying bags of feces. They wouldn't know a truth if it smacked them in the face every morning.
I really liked the quote the douche bag Nelson from Nebraska made about his sweet deal. It distilled down to this ...I wouldn't have voted for this bill if they hadn't offered me that deal. How sweet is that.? Admitting on camera that he was holding out for the pay off. One good thing has come from all this. Democrat Senator Parker of Alabama is now a Republican. Yep, he changed party over the bs in the healthcare bill and the bs the democratic party has become.
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The weather guessers are hard at it here in the KC area. One Guesser finally said we won't know about Thursdays weather until it gets here. Way to go! Hell I can do that. When Thursday gets here I'll look out the door and know what the weather is doing. I can probably look out Wednesday evening and look at the moon and know whats going to happen in the next 12-24 hours. I don't need no stinking computer model.
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I have been hearing on the TV that the economy is coming up. They say this because home re sales have come up 7 percent. They fail to mention that new home sales are down by 13 percent. I would imagine the home re sales are sales of foreclosures or emergency sales to get out of a house payment. Hell the unemployment situation here is Missouri is so bad that it takes 3-4 weeks to get an decision on your unemployment claim. I ran out of unemployment on November 22. I received a letter on the 23rd saying I was eligible for the federal extension. I called to verify that I had to do nothing further to receive the federal claim. The conversation led me to some other questions so I called back a day or two later and spoke with another person who told me that I didn't need the federal extension as I had a whole new claim to receive. I still have not been cleared for an unemployment claim 30 days later. I was told just yesterday it would be another 3-4 weeks. Turns out the hold up is from the temp agency that placed me for the power plant project I ran last year. When the job was over the temp agency had no further work for me in the area I have experience in. A few weeks later they called me asking me to work in ST. Joseph Missouri (over 50 miles away) for a couple hours a day 5 days a week. I declined as it would only pay my gas and no more. So now we come to this new claim. The temp agency is saying I quit so I have no claim! What bullshit is this? They never placed me for any other job from which I could take home a salary. The only thing they offered was a gas money job. That's it, gas money only. No money for my time, no money for the house payment, no money for groceries. It would only pay for my daily travel expenses i.e. gas, oil, etc. So they say I quit. Come to think of it gas was approaching 4 dollars a gallon at the time. I was driving 50 miles to the power plant and was going through 75 dollars in gas every three days. So that pretty much destroys the 100 dollar a week job they offered. Now if they offered a 10 dollar an hour job within 15 or twenty miles we could get by with that but not with a 100+ mile round trip.
What kinda bullshit is this any way?

Monday, December 21, 2009

The gauge rules!

Wow, have we been busy lately. Dinners at relatives, shopping, small jobs, it goes on an on. I might be accepting a small job as property manager/maintenance manager for an old apartment building. As they say...anything to get the coon.
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I have been working on a shot gun for a friend and recently did another shotgun. In my talks with the owners and others, it seems that everyone has pretty much the same opinion that I do in regards to the shotgun. There ain't 'nuthin' like a gauge. When it comes to portable firepower, decisive putdown and pure intimidation you can't beat a shotgun. For home defense a 2 3/4 inch load of #4 buckshot will certainly put the hurt in any intruders day. Come to think of it it, a load of your favorite bird shot at room ranges will do the trick. No, it's not like on tv where you point in the general direction of the target and the target is destroyed. You have to actually aim the thing. That's right, aim it. And like any other gun you need to practice with it on a regular basis. A 12 gauge is perfect for home defense but if you are recoil sensitive a 20 gauge will do just fine. And the best part of a shotgun is the fact that right now, the ammo is widely available, unlike some of those other cartridges.

Here's what I like to depend on... the Mossberg 590.




For those of you with a more traditional mindset there's nothing like double barreled goodness.

And if it wasn't for that whole strictly regulated, enforced by prosecution and jail thing, these are simply badass. But don't go there with out the required paperwork and fees.


These versatile, inexpensive tools have filled several roles through out the ages, from food getter to man getter to target getter they have done it all.




Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Water every where and not a drop to drink

After a summers rain, do you let your kids play in the mud puddles that are left? Do they go wading in the overflowing ditches and streams? If you do then you could be promoting trespass on government property. That's right, the US Government is changing the wording on the law that gives the ownership of all navigable waters in the US. That change would be the removal of the word navigable. And adding a few like all, waters, including, seasonal ponds, puddles, pools and on and on. So, in effect, if you're thinking of drilling a well you may be stealing a Government commodity. Drive your truck through a puddle in the pasture? You could be polluting Government waters. Where are these illegal government actions going to to take us? They think they own every drop of water that falls or rises or appears? What kind of gods do they believe themselves to be? Will they next claim ownership of the water that is in your body? I mean we do have a lot of water in us. Just think, they just declared the gas that comes out of our mouths to be a poison! A poison that plants depend on for life. What kind of idiots are running this country? We have to stop them before it's too late.
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A friend called me and wanted to know if I wanted to do a little job for him. His son just got back from a deer hunt in Texas and had a deer that need to be butchered. I said yeah, I'd do for 50 bucks and supplies. I got the deer cut up and all the steaks and such packaged and had a tub of meat ready for grinding. I went to make sure I got the cooler closed and found ........ another deer. I called and asked if he knew about a second deer. He didn't. Son was so exited talking about the buck he got he forgot to say anything about the second deer. So, another 50 bucks coming my way. It seems there are no shops in this area that will butcher a deer any more. The last time I heard of anyone taking a deer to a butcher it cost them nearly a hundred dollars!
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Deep Freeze. .gov lies. Lawn tractor wealth. 200 Huundred Meeelion

We are back in the deep freeze. Last week we had single digit nights and days in the high teens. Then, we had a warming trend of 1.5 days. All the way up to the high 40's. Monday morning we woke up to 4 degrees and a high of 16. Today it was warmer, a whopping 9 degrees. We have the Sun Heat electric furnace going of course but with the temperatures we have now and a little wind the gas furnace still comes on with an alarming frequency. I hate to see what this gas bill is going to be. Especially since we have been on a single income for the last couple of weeks.

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I while back, as in when I had a job, I bought a John Deere model 111 with no motor or mow deck from my brother. This past weekend my uncle gave me an 18.5 horsepower motor that I can shoehorn into this little yard tractor. This combo should make a neat little snow plow unit. All of a sudden I'm lawn tractor rich. A Cub Cadet 1330 that I bought last spring, a Wheel Horse B80 that a neighbor gave me then this John Deere. Of course they all need work now.
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The .gov still says that jobs are beginning to appear, that money is out there, that we have climbed out of the pit of recession. Well I say bullshit. Every month we still see at least 300 to 400 thousand jobs lost, we hear of more states unemployment funds being drained, we see the federal government stepping in to make those unemployment payments, banks are still refusing to make most loans. So I ask, what has improved? I am going to rob my retirement fund to pay for some training in a niche job that caters to construction and facility management. Hopefully this will result in a job for me. At this time there are plenty of opening in this field. Of course when I took my OSHA 30 course there were plenty of safety openings. Now, if you can find one, they require a college degree or years of safety experience.
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My son was sent to the Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada for a couple of weeks. It's near Lake Tahoe. When he arrived it started snowing and kept snowing. When he called us they had shut down all flight operations and sent most crews home due to 8 inches of snow and blizzard conditions. I think they are still restricting flight operations at this time. I'll have to find out in the next call.
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200 million is a big number , right? Well the Department of Homeland security has ordered 200 million rounds of .40 Smith and Wesson. The ammo is to be made by Winchester and delivered over 5 years. That's 40 million rounds a year! What are they going to do with 40 million rounds a year. That's a whole lotta practice. Maybe they are expecting a war in this country? I dunno, but 40 million a year is a lot of ammo for a department that has relatively few armed employees. And some of them get prosecuted if they actually shoot someone so why do they need that much ammo?
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Friday, December 11, 2009

Missouri Firearms Freedom. Bad cop, bad.

FINALLY! Missouri State Representative Cynthia Davis has pre-filed the Missouri Firearms Freedom bill for the 2010 session. In essence this bill is the same as the ones introduced in Montana and Tennessee. Only in Missouri the guns will have to be stamped "Made In Missouri" . Of course. Hey, I can hardly wait for the bill to be passed and The Show Me State to get their letter from those fun loving boys and girls down at AY TE EF headquarters saying even though the US Constitution says you can do this we say you can't. Such naysayers. I can already hear the gears clanking in the new factories busily turning out AR15's, 1911, and other such goodies. It's too bad none of the various bills of this sort attempt to proclaim state sovereignty of the full auto spectrum of firearms rights. Imagine the jobs that would be created by this sort of law. HOORAH!
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My brother told me a story today that is very interesting. He lives in the county, OUT of city limits. He had a small fire going to burn up some stick and leaves. A town cop left his jurisdiction to order him to cease his dangerous activities. My brother informed the cop he was out of his jurisdiction he had no enforcement powers effectively making him an ordinary citizen. Brother then went on to order the trespassing "citizen" off his property. Local Po Po proceeded to place his hand on his sidearm at which point my brother called for his wife to call 911 and report an armed intruder on the property and asked his son to bring the shotgun out. When the County Sheriff arrived he found my brother holding a 12 gauge on the cop and the cop with his hand on his sidearm. The Sheriff ordered the local cop to remove his hand and place both hands on the car! My brother safed his weapon and let the County Officer examine the gun. Sheriff proceeded to order the local off the property with the warning that he had already delivered a lecture on this kind of activity to the entire PD of Holt Missouri and the one cop in particular.
Kudos to the Clinton County Sheriff. The local cop in question is no longer employed by Holt.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Winter's here. On the go. A soupy mix. Gun work.

Winter has well and truly arrived. Yesterday we woke to a coat of frozen slushy snow topped with a layer of crystalline snow with a temperature of about 11 degrees. The temp finally maxed out at 16 or 17. Today we woke to a frigid 3 degrees, looking for a high of 15. Yesterday Cherry Pie, after an extend bout of ice scraping and snow clearing, left for work and returned 20 minutes later. She had called her boss and told her she would most likely be late as the traffic was not moving. Good boss lady that she is, told Cherry to turn around and go home. I've said it before, she's a good person to work for.

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I had comment earlier that Cherry had preparations to allow her to stay overnight comfortably at work. I didn't say anything about her car preparations. In the car car she keeps a pair of tall cold weather boots, a long down coat, a rain coat, gloves, a hat and flashlight and a blanket.

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Last night I made a nice chunky vegetable soup with cubes of.............ribeye steak in it. Potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn and rice made up the body of the soup then I added some water, tomato sauce, Lea and Perrins as well as some Heinz 57 sauce and Kitchen Bouquet. Man was it good. We had left over biscuits with it.

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I got the wood on the FIE I'm working on reshaped, sanded and stained yesterday. I like to apply a reddish walnut stain over walnut wood. Today I will apply a few coats of a satin clear poly. Yes, that's right I'm forgoing a traditional hand rubbed oil finish on this one. I treat the poly the same way I do the oil, rub a coat in, let it dry and steel wool it then add another coat, let it dry and add another coat. Three coats makes a very nice looking, durable finish. There's another guy in town that wants me to reblue his sons Savage rifle. I'll probable use Brownells Oxpho Blue for this one. He also wants me to polish the sides of the slide on his stainless P89 Ruger. For this one I'll start with a fine grade of automotive type black sandpaper and take that all the way up to 1500 grit or so and finish with a sheet of felt impregnated with Flitz. All sheets and felts will be layed on a piece of aluminum plate to keep things nice and flat.

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A chrome WHAT? The AY TE EF.

I started working on a singleshot shotgun today. The original stock was broken at the wrist and the owner wanted it replaced. I found a stock for this FIE brand shotgun(finally) and received it today. I went to the shed this afternoon and after 4.5 hours of shaving, scraping and cutting wood the darn thing is on with a near perfect fit. WAYYY better than the stock item. I got the wood to metal fit nice considering I can't touch the metal as it's, gulp, CHROME plated! That's right a chrome plated single shot 20 gauge FIE shotgun. In the morning I'll get the sanding done and start rubbing a little color and linseed oil into it. I sure wish I could find a busy gunshop that needed an apprentice gunsmith.
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In addition to running all over town and working on the shotgun, I also cooked a delicious chuck roast with potatoes and carrots. MMMM Good! What I really need to open is a diner with a gunshop next door. I would open a gunshop but I've dealt with the ATF before and I don't think I'll trust 'em again. When I last had my FFL their line was "if you buy or sell more than a few guns every year you need to have an FFL to protect your self." Three years later their story was, "If you have an FFL you are in business and as a business you need a Federal Employers ID number and a state tax number and a local business license." HAHAHA. "Oh, you don't have those things? Well, turn in your FFL and send all your 4473 forms to this address and we won't turn you in to the IRS, your state and your local government." This was during those wonderful Clintonista years. If I remember correctly about 186,000 other FFL holders were done the same way in one year. I can't believe after that BS I'm considering getting a C&R permit. That's a collectors permit for any thing that was produced over 50 years ago or is a curio or relic. I must be out of my mind. We'll see.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Motorcycle adventures

I was over at Tams place this morning and she had a comment on a m/c accident she had and that immediately transported me back to 1983 Corpus Christi Texas. I was working for a company installing slip liners in the sewer system of Corpus Christi. I was car pooling with a great big Hispanic coworker, neighbor and friend, Bobby Hinojosa. He showed up one morning on a Honda Goldwing. Great! I jumped on the back seat and away we went. Things went good for a couple of days and then IT happened. Coming down the other side of the harbour bridge the rear tire blew out. Bobby kept that bike and us up when it tried to go down 3 times but it finally got the best of us. As it went down I kicked off from the back seat, interlocked my hands behind my head and landed on my back, sliding down the highway. I got my ankles crossed and was riding my wallet and one boot heel when I hit a crack or something and then I was tumbling over and over. All I could see was all the traffic behind us with smoke coming off their tires and brakes, headlights flashing back and forth as the swerved to miss us and each other. WHAM! I smacked into the concrete divider, Bobby hitting it 15 feet further down. Both of us jumped up and started running hard. The traffic all came to a stop and we crossed back across all three lanes to the other side. After catching our breath and thanking the Lord for that salvation we picked up the Honda, pushed it to the next exit and over to a warehouse dock. We used the phone inside to call the mechanic at work who picked us and the bike up. We delivered the Goldwing to a bike shop and picked it up that evening and motored on home. Ahh, the resiliency of youth. If that happened today it would take me 3 or 4 days to get all my parts working in sync again. Back then I put in a 10 hour day at hard labor and thought nothing of it.
I also used to ride those dangerous to youth, three wheelers. I took many trips to Wynoka Oklahoma to the sand dunes. On one excursion I was leading the pack, following the perimeter road when I crested a small rise at high speed the bike did a slow roll over to the rear. My full face helmet acting like a plow in the sand, filled my mouth and nose with the grit, the three wheeler recovered and proceeded to drive over my back, leaving black marks on my t-shirt. I sat up spit out the sand, cleared my eyes, started the 250R ( similiar to this one) and off we went again. My brother in law and I used to jump over the crests of the bigger dunes. I earned the nick name of Wally (as in Shirah) and brother in law became known as Oscar (as in Meyer). We would approach the steep back side of a dune at around 65-70 mph in 5th gear. About half way up we would downshift to 4th and blast over the crest at about 55mph. I could fly that 250R over 150 feet down the shallow side of the dune. What a ride! I hate now feeling all the wrecks, fights, accidents and stunts I had as a young man. Every morning I have to stretch, flex and take a hot shower to get moving. Then take glucosamine and some over the counter pain pills then anoint my self with analgesic pain relieving creme, Knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hips. And I'm just 45. My orthopedic surgeon, after looking at some film of one of my knees wanted know how old I was and what the hell I had been doing. I told him just playing.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

I found him! No jobs. TOSITPC. weather guessers

I have spent the day cooking and designing one thing or another. Breakfast was some of my abuwonderful breakfast burritos and, as the weather has turned cooler with a light snow, Cherry wanted some chili. So, you know how that works...she asks, she gets. We did get to finish the evening meal off with some of her spectacular peanut butter cookies.
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A short time back I encountered and old "friend"that I haven't "heard" from in quite a while. I found him on the web several years ago and unfortunately he retired from his longtime blog. He is now on blogtalk radio. You may have read his blog in the past at http://www.theothersideofkim.com/ . He can now be heard at http://www.kimandconnie.com/. Tune and listen to Kim's own brand of conservatism as well as the intellectual input of his wife Connie.
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So far nothing in the job search. I send in resumes and receive nothing back. No thank you, no please come in, not even a kiss my ass from anyone. The funny thing is I keep seeing the same job positions being advertised over and over. Are they really hiring? I'm starting to think not. I do have one option in mind but I will have to dip into the retirement to get the training for this kind of job. It's still in the construction industry but in the form of a specialized type of inspection that requires training. And the best part is this niche is looking for people now.
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The One Sitting In The Presidents Chair says jobs may come back around 2012, just in time for the election. That's a pretty powerful card to hold in your pocket. I think when he decides to play it, it will be far to late to help him or us. This man has the worst administration I have ever seen. He is a fine orator but can't seem to remember what he says from day to day. I guess the lies are hard to keep track of. He has a staff of tax cheats, liars, incompetents and moral felons. I really believe they don't have the combined sense to pour piss out of a boot if the directions were printed on the heel. One of these days ask me how I really feel about this...this...this...arrrgggghhhh!
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It's still snowing lightly and the weather guessers are calling for even a little freezing rain so we'll see what morning brings. Cherry Pie has a 100 mile round trip to work. If it's bad she doesn't go in. If it gets bad while she's at work she has plans and supplies to stay over night in her office, clothes, toiletries, food and a sleeping bag. She also has a very understanding boss lady. If it's imperative that she gets to work I am always at her disposal as she is not only my Cherry Pie but also my Queen.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Big Gun in Town.

If I've got a big stick are you going to get a bigger stick? The EFF BEE EYE thinks that's the way it goes. At least that's the only reason I can come up with for them to order a couple of giant honkin' 20mm sniper rifles. Is it because too many people are buying the relatively inexpensive 50 caliber rifles now and the G-Men feel rather, er, inadequate? Really 20 mm rifles for the domestic investigative police. Normally, the 20mm cartridge is used against vehicles, trucks, airplanes, light armour and buildings. Is the FBI expecting the need to punch through a building? I'm sure they already have 50 caliber rifles so what's the need of the 20mm guns unless it's just to have a bigger stick than we have. Take a look at this comparison of the 20mm round against a belt of 50 caliber cartridges. What do you think of that? Here is the solicitation order to Anzio Ironworks. My other question is, why order them with non firing bolt assemblies?


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I'm going to a gun auction in the morning. I don't have any guilders to spend but there is a time to look at everything before the auction begins. From what I've seen of auctions in general and gun action in particular, you might as well buy a new gun for the price of some run of the mill guns at an auction house. I may be fun though to see folks spending way too much for everyday stuff.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Navigation and 22 elation.

After Cherry's unplanned excursion into, uh, questionable territory, which resulted in her desire to get a concealed carry permit, she also decided to get a GPS unit for her car. It showed up today and it is cool. It's made by Magellan and has quite a few neat features. We plan on trying it out in the morning. Like maps and other navigation devices, a bit of common sense must be used. The unit even has a warning on the entry screen that says if the machine tells you to go somewhere you know not to go, DON'T DO IT. Common sense always prevails.
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After getting the Caddie repaired I drove it quite a bit today and all seems well. It just needs a good wash and undercarriage cleaning so we are off to the Squeaky Clean Car Wash tomorrow.
I hope this is the last of the auto repairs for a while.
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My Son is off to the desert Saturday for the ...Navy. That's right the Navy has bases in the desert. Lots of wide open spaces to train in and experience desert type operations. He says he'll be there for a couple weeks and then back home to Oceana NAS.
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After watching Cherry shooting last weekend I sure want to get out more but with my limited income at this time, I don't know. I do have a LOT of 22 rimfire available and I do have several items that digest that kind of fodder, sooooo...
I have a Ruger 77/22, one of the nice ones with an actual walnut wood stock, I got years ago and plan on keeping for ever. It is the most accurate 22 I have ever used. I kept a small target in my wallet for about a decade as proof of its accuracy. A one inch square of black paper with the center shot out. 30 shots in less than a half inch space at 50 yards. This thing is wicked in the squirrel woods. I usually just find a place to sit and wait for the sun to come up and the tree rats to start moving and then I shoot, wait, shoot, wait so on and so forth until my limit is filled. I watch the squirrels fall and then place a piece of stick pointing in the direction of my quarry. After I'm shot out I follow the direction of the sticks and pick up my tasty little rodents. Fried squirrel, mmm.
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That brings me to this...with a good 22 rifle one can provide quite a bit of tasty fair for the household. Small game, birds if the local law allows it all make a nice meal. I have even known a couple of guys that have used a 22 rimfire on deer. They would shoot the deer in the lungs with one shot and wait. They claim the deer would flinch, then calm down and after a few minutes, drown in their own blood. I know in most places that's not legal and in all places should not be even considered on ethical grounds but they did it anyway and always kept their family in venison. Used properly, a 22 can even be used defensively. If you have only a handgun in 22, a triple tap to the eyes/nose triangle of your assailant should suffice. If not, try it again. And again if needed. At longer range a 22 rifle can be used for accurate aimed fire to the ear/eye/temple areas of an assailants head. I personally have a 10/22 with a folding stock, 2- 10 round mags and 1- 30 round magazine and a decent BSA Cat Eye scope that is my "travel" rifle set up. I would really like to have a Twunty Too with a "can" on it. Now that they are legal in Missouri, I may see about getting that particular stamp, acquire a suppressor and get a rifle barrel threaded for it. That would be my ultimate survival rifle, accurate, deadly and quiet. And could you imagine the pleasure of shooting without getting deafened. They should be mandatory for the health benefits alone. I have seen video of 10/22 rifles with suppressors on them and the loudest thing you could hear was the bolt clicking back and forth. Just what me and my impaired ears need.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

A summit. We struck oil! On the dole. Papers and brothers.

The One Acting As President had a "job summit" today. Not with people that actually provide jobs but with top donors to his campaign. Every speech this guy makes sounds more and more phony. He's broken pretty much every campaign promise he made and done everything he said he wouldn't do. This government needs a real fixin'. Get a whole new party in office, people that will do what they say they'll do. If the new guys continue to run a government that continues to steal from the people and lie about everything then it'll be time for a different kind of change. Bring back the Constitution to the governing of the country, bring back a currency backed by something of meaning and substance. Put the power of the States back in the hands of the States. 'Nuff said.
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I took Cherry Pie's Caddie to the funshow last weekend and the darn thing started spewing oil. I had to put 2 quarts in when we arrived and when we got home it was 3 quarts low. I took it to the shop today and they found the oil sending unit pukin' oil like a derrick out of control. Sixty Eight dollars later we are back in bidness. I do need to wash the oil accumulation off the back of the car tomorrow.
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I received a letter from the Unemployment Office saying I qualify for the federal extension of 13 weeks. I called to confirm I didn't need to do anything different than I had been doing and the individual I spoke to said a check had already been cut for me. Great! I checked the website the next day and it said my claim was denied! I called them back and got a different person after 17 attempts. This person said I still had a regular claim to be utilized! OK, great. I checked the website the next day and found they had me down to claim the extension AND a regular claim! WTF? I checked a couple days later and they have it cleared up...I think.
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A short time ago a friend if mine asked if I would serve some papers on one of his deadbeat tenants. He got the paperwork filed for me to be a special process server and I did the deed a couple days later. He was at court today on this issue and he called me from the courthouse. A woman he met there wanted my name and number as she has some deadbeats of her own and needs some papers served. This could turn out to be a pretty good deal as I charge WAY less than the Sheriffs department does so maybe this will make me a little money. I don't generally have too many issues with people. I'm 6'2" and 275lbs. A bearded biker looking dude, but I have a lot of HR type training and have dealt with upper management types for a long time so my appearance usually stops the bs and my demeanor gets the job done professionally.
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Oh lordie, what am I going to do on Tuesday evenings now? The Sons of Anarchy ended their second season this week. Man, was it a good one! Last weeks episode was good too. I'd join a club if it wasn't for all the prospect bullshit. A guy I know joined a local club at the age of 50 and after a few years he became their enforcer. They got in a squabble with another club and his brothers said you're the enforcer, take care of it. He went over to take care of business and got his ass handed to him while his "brothers" stood and watched. He has since quit them and is going to head up a chapter of California club that is moving to KC. I wonder what he's going to do with all those tat's of his old club? And the bike that had to be painted in his old club colors? And all the that club jewelry he so proudly wore? Nothing like having brothers to get your back.
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Monday, November 30, 2009

Book Review and Library Additions.

A couple of weeks ago I received my copy of James Talmage Stevens latest issue of "Making the Best of Basics Family Preparedness Handbook". The cover announces that this is the 11Th version of this guide. First published in 1974 and continually updated until 2009 this is a must have book for any ones survival library. The 27 chapters cover pretty much everything one needs to do to have a well set up home that will endure through any foreseeable disaster or calamity. There are chapters that cover recipes, food types, inventories suggestions, calculation tables, nutrition, water needs, book lists', financial information and lots more. Using the tables that are supplied you can calculate the nutrition needs for your family using a simple mathematical formula. The tables should be copied to maximize their usefulness. Of course the book does come with a CD that will allow you to print these tables if you want to. I was impressed with the amount of information that was provided but found that for my needs it had too much emphasis on recipes. If you don't know how to cook with basics though, this might be just what you need. Mr. Talmage has the opinion that your house should be your personal convenience store where you can find pretty much anything you need. Pick up a copy at any of several vendors, like this one, that carry it or even from the source, as this is a valuable addition to any complete survival library.
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I picked up some books that I hope will not be needed. I still think they are a good addition to my library. These include military manuals FM 21-76 Survival, TM 31-201-1 Incendiaries and TM 31-201 Improvised munitions handbook. Like I said, these are books that have information that I hope I never need to know. I did also pick up a fresh copy of the Bluebook of Gun Values.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Funshow! A family gathering. Support your local gun dealer

I just got back from the funshow in Columbia, Missouri. It was a small event with lots of guns and gun stuff. I think the best deal of the day was the bargain basement CMMG Mfourgeries at $599. The rest of the collection was well, overpriced. "Inexpensive" derringers at $250, a well used marlin 22 mag rifle sans magazine $175. I did see a Smith and Wesson Second Model revolver in 38 S&W for $258. I have wanted to acquire one of these and it was in very nice shape, I just don't have the bucks at this time. All I brought home was some military manuals and a new copy of the Blue Book of Gun Values. I saw a couple of decent, not nice, just decent pump 22's but everyone thinks they are better than decent, lots better. I also saw beat up 30 carbines of no particular importance, selling for new AR-15 prices. I did get to see alot of guns though including one I fell in love with. A SIG P238 with a slide in rainbow titanium. Gorgeous! I gotta have one.
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Tomorrow we are off to my Dad's for the second round of Thanksgiving. And a little shooting. My favorite...food and guns, Yahooo! Cherry will try out a couple of 22 pistols to warm up and then move on to the 9mm to see how she likes that. We went on a gunshop tour yesterday. 3 in a row. We did see a lot of stuff we liked, awful nice stuff. I fell in love with a special edition Ruger 10/22. Ruger made a run of them in nicely figured walnut stocks with a straight english style wrist and schnabel tip forearm with attractive carving on the wrist and forearm. Beautiful.
Another find was a 22 caliber 1911 pistol that will be going out the door at $299. What a deal!
Check out your local gunshop as there is some really neat stuff coming out right now.

Friday, November 27, 2009

27 years. More to come. It's a feast!

Yesterday we all had something to be thankful for. I had something else to to give thanks for. Thursday marked 27 years of wedded bliss with Cherry Pie. Thanks babe, for the best years of my life. You're my wife, partner, confidant, lover and best friend. When I'm ready to tear down someones world you are there to calm me down. Thanks for all you have done.
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Well I finally got through to the unemployment folks and I'm all set for another 14 weeks but it seems the government is saying the unemployment situation won't improve until 2012. Any bets? 2012? WTF? I thought all those trillions being pumped into the economy (RIGHT NOW) were going to make everything all right. Oh that's right, all the money went to the big banks who bought other failing banks and then spent the rest of the money on what? Oh that's right its a SECRET! A great big fat secret. A secret that has produced NO jobs. Thanks for nothing Washington. Oh, sorry about that, thanks for the extra 14 weeks of unemployment insurance. I'd rather have had a job instead of another 14 weeks on the dole.
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Well the Big Feast was everything I'd hoped for. Lots of food, desserts, drinks and family. And plenty of Jeff Davis Pie. I do need to mention one other thing, Cherry Pie makes the best pecan pie in the world. The deep fried turkey came out great, crispy skin, moist meat and and tender.
Gallons of sweettea were poured, potatoes and gravy by the pound were consumed. MMMMMM.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

They'll Just Take It. Jeff Davis Pie.

I was speaking with some good friends of ours this afternoon about one thing or another and we got to the topic of the coming economic collapse and she made the statement that it didn't make any sense to store food as that would make you the target of people with out food. My thinking is, when the economic collapse comes and people can't afford food so the stores quit ordering more and the hungry masses raid the store and the warehouse workers quit for lack of pay and the trucks quit running for lack of loads due to lack of orders...what are you going to eat if you don't have it stored? Sure, go hunt down a deer or two...along with every other man-jack that needs to feed a family. How long will the deer in your locality last with everyday depredation by the hungry locals? How about small game? I have seen local areas basically hunted out of small game or the small game moved due to excessive pressure from hunters. It's my firm belief that every family must have at least a year of stored food, preferably more. Hell, how many of your grandparents kept a root cellar full of canned goods and kept a deep freeze chock full of every thing they could cram in it? And no one thought it strange. Why do people question it now? This lady is 60 and comes from a rural area so she should have a little knowledge of what I'm speaking of.
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We have about 14 family members coming over for Thanksgiving dinner so I'm giving the house a top to bottom cleaning. I have to get the dining room, kitchen, and utility room cleaned tomorrow and set up the hallway for the kids to eat in. I was looking at the menu and we are having a FEAST! I can't wait, my mouth is watering for my bi-annual Jeff Davis Pie. I have one on Thanksgiving and I have one on June 3, President Davis' birthday. Occasionally I get one on Christmas too, but not always. Want the recipe? Respond via comments and I will give it to you.
Since my dad can't travel, we're going up there on Saturday to have dinner with his other family and we're having another family treat..Angel Delight. MMM GOOD! Ask me for that recipe too. I can almost guarantee there will be a little shooting up at Dad's place. Not that kind! I'll have to keep the felonious brothers away from the guns though. Cherry Pie fell in love with the Ruger P89 DAO and wants to learn to shoot it and use it for her carry in the car and office gun. I can see a new purse coming up for that.
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Monday, November 23, 2009

Hey, it was my anniversary on the 21st. One year of unemployment. Whatta day to commemorate. I keep hearing that the job situation is getting better, as Missouri's slogan goes...show me. Local job openings are geared towards people that have no responsibilities like house payments, utility bills, insurance, car payment, etc. Meaning most of the local jobs are filled by the countless teenagers closely followed by the retirees looking to augment their meager SSI or pension payments. In this town we have Sonic, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Arbeys, Applebee's, KFC/Taco Bell, Subway, Quizno's mostly staffed by teeny boppers. The local Wal Mart and Orschelins rarely hire. The local seat factory is laying people off and the pasta plant isn't hiring. Driving outward for a job is not really an option now as the offered 7-9 dollars an hour for most available jobs scarcely covers the gas to commute. What a world we are living in now when unemployment pays more than actual jobs.
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Have your heard about the 1918 type flu that has hit the Ukraine? The network news isn't saying a damn thing about it. Parts of Croatia are fully quarantined due to the virulent nature of this bug. It is a hemorrhagic type of infection that destroys the lungs. Gee, I guess no one really needs to know about this bad boy of flu bugs even if there are suspected cases in Iowa. So take precautions. Wash your hands frequently, doe up on P51 Oil of Oregano, take you vitamins, stop all that hand shaking. Read up on how to avoid the flu and follow those guidelines religiously.
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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Missouri mayhem, AH AG Holder

Missouri has had concealed carry for a couple of years now and there have been no problems to speak of with the new law other than sheriffs complaining about the cost and trying to milk the system for all they can, cities trying to exempt themselves from the law, business' throwing a fit about it and the usual naysayers predicting a bloodbath. As a result of all the wrangling, all a business has to do to prevent you from carrying a concealed weapon is post a sign on the door stating no weapons allowed. If we look at open carry, there is a stranger set up. Missouri allows open carry by law, but the State allows cities to enact ordinances that override State law when it comes to carrying a gun openly. So you can carry a concealed firearms and other than a few places like schools, churches and state and federal offices no one can say boo about it except any business that wants to strip your state right from you. The open carry law lets you carry openly except for in any town that decides to prevent you from doing that. Can you see any problem here? For conceal carry I say carry on, after all it's supposed to be concealed, right? And if it's concealed, why do you need a permit? You don't have to have training or a permit to carry openly but, you have to have a 100-250 dollar class and a 100 dollar permit to carry concealed. Is this screwed up or what? The town I live in has no exception to open carry except for the Chief of Police saying that his officers will put you down every time a person makes a report of someone carrying a gun. Isn't that false arrest, harassment, illegal detainment? If I had the bucks I'd open carry to see how may charges I could direct at the city, the police and the chief himself. Way to go Excelsior Springs! What a crew!
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In response to the Fort Hood terrorist attack, Attorney General Holder reveals his true feeling on gun ownership. Register them all. That's his idea. Just violate the Constitution to make all those liberals feel better. Just think, a whole administration full of asshole like this.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Applebee crap. Audit the Fed. Palin

Some friend took us out to dinner this evening at the local Applebee's. I have always liked Applebee's restaurants. When the announcement was made that one was coming to our town I thought...great! Well, Applebee's decided to change the format of their new stores and the new ones going into small towns were the lucky recipient of the new CRAP restaurants. Bright, white, diner-ish with a reduced menu. Then staff it with half- assed employees and my enthusiasm for this chain has burnt out. The steaks are tasteless and they try to hide that fact by covering them with CHEESE or some other stuff that has no place on a steak. No more for me. Not even if friends are buying.
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Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve Bank has gotten all the traction it needs it seems. You have to keep in mind the Federal Reserve is not a Federal institution but a privately held bank with a board of directors from all over the globe. And they control our currency. And have never been audited by the Federal Government. I wonder what kind of shenanigans will be found it those books.
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Sarah Palin has got to love trouble. Every time she raises her gorgeous head, the liberals go crazy. With the publication of her new book, "Going Rouge", she has hit the trail promoting the book and getting on all the talk shows to face belated quizzing about the past Presidential campaign where she made her stunning nationwide appearance. Neither right or left has much to say about the book but they both have all kinds of stuff to say about the campaign.Hell, even "I'm Not Taking Sides Opra" , who actually took sides, had her on. I hear the liberals that did no fact checking of MaoBama's books are hiring extra folks to rip into Sarah's book. On the liberal side they will believe everything that was written by the Great Imposter, no matter how much evidence there is that he didn't actually, you know, write the damn things. Or even question some of the commentary in them. But if a Right Wing goddess pens a memoir they will attack it like a pack of great white sharks after a bloody seal.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Food for the long term.

Another week of nothing. No sun, no job, no money. I ain't got nothin' but love. Actually the sun is out a little today and more to come say the weather guessers.
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I did an inventory of our stored foods and then looked up a food calorie chart. After adding, dividing and carrying the ones I found we have 1,288,800 calories stored. That's enough for two 1500 calorie daily diets for 429 days or, we can live a little fatter at 2000 calories each and have enough for 322 days. Now that's a pretty bland rice and beans diet with some pasta, and olive oil thrown in. We also have some small quantities of powdered milk, rolled oats, egg noodles and macaroni. I did find that we don't have enough fats stored. So I plan on ordering some canned butter, stocking some tuna in oil, and some canned cheese. The canned butter and cheese as well as some different meats, legumes and grains can be ordered at www.internetgrocer.com . I also want to order some freeze dried pork chops from www.freezedryguy.com . You can also get grains and legumes from this place, Honeyville Grain. Between all that we should have enough fats in the diet and stretch the days out to well over 600 with the addition of a little more rice and beans and adding some corn and wheat to the mix. We do have some spices, seasonings and bullion put by but at this point, I want to add some more variety while extending the amount. I organized the room this stuff is in and will add a small one room a/c unit to control the temperature this summer. I'm in the process of actually making that "room" a room, as in with a door. Currently it's a 3 sided space. This summer I will try my hand at canning some vegetables to keep in the basement. That will really stretch out the "fooddays". That's like puttin' sunshine in a jar. I think the very next thing we will order is some gamma seal lids for the buckets. In the event of a societal breakdown, if the power stays on for a while we do have many days of frozen food to consume first. The way things are looking a break down of society is the first concern we should all have. People losing their jobs, houses, families, savings, retirement and hope will eventually lead to a societal collapse.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Happy Birthday Dad!

65 years ago today my father came to this world. 19 years later he helped bring me into this world. Even though our minds didn't always agree, our hearts did. Dad, thanks for all you have done for me and all you have taught me.
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More rain and cool weather today so none of the stuff I planned to do outdoors is getting done. So, I called my brother last night and we agreed to drive to Dad's this morning and see him on his birthday.
The weather guessers say this kind of weather will continue most of this week. We'll see how winter is going to shape up. It is said that the date of your first measurable snow is the number of snows you will get over the winter. Today is the 17th. We had measurable snow this morning. So....16 more?
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I want to get a duty type holster for my XD45 as the XD gear holsters, while quite handy, are not for everyday use. I think I will finally settle on a Blackhawk Serpa. I will put that on a duty type belt with a double mag carrier, communication pouch, flashlight holder and maybe some other crap and use it for my quick response set up and kept in the bedroom along with the Mossberg 590.

Monday, November 16, 2009

SSSC, That old gun of mine. Those animals

Yesterday, I did...very little. Surfed, showered, shopped and cooked. I made pancakes, of course, for breakfast. We sat around and read a while, I blogged and looked for a job. Cherry Pie left to go work on the Fireworks committee parade float and I went to the grocery store. At Cherry's request, due to the cool, rainy weather, I made another batch of outstanding chili. Toned down for Cherry's delicate palate. Later on we watched TV, read some more. Of course I HAD to get a gun or two out just to look at.
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When I can get some of those ever elusive dollars gathered up I want to install a thumbhole stock on my old 30/06 and put some better glass on it, maybe a better trigger. For a cheap version of the Winchester model 70, the Ranger 670 I've had for years is capable of some outstanding accuracy. I can put 3 of my custom loads in to a group of less than 1/2 inch at 100 yards. In light snow with a light gusting wind, over the side of a pickup, while walking barefoot to school, all up hill. Really, it is very accurate. This gun has accounted for over 50 deer at ranges of 10 yards to over 350 yards, all one shot kills. After over 20 years of service like that I think it's about time to dress it up a little. I like this stock. In this version of laminate. Or maybe this one.
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Speaking of working on guns, I find it asinine that one has to have an FFL to legally work on other folks guns. You're not selling anyone a gun, you're selling a service and parts. But in the jaded eyes of the BATFE you are delivering a firearm to a person when they pick up their repaired gun. I can understand having the license if you are making a gun to sell someone but not just to repair and modify guns. Maybe I'm wrong on this as I haven't read up on the law of it but I have looked into gunsmithing schools and they all have a section about acquiring your FFL. I wonder when you will have to have a permit to write this...guns, guns, firearms, machine guns, any other weapon, destructive device, short barreled rifle, gunsmithing. Hows that for snarkiness?
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Cold and rainy again this morning, 39 and raining. The dogs won't even go outside to do their business. They'd rather hold it. Which is crazy as both of these dos are made for cold weather, a Shih Tsu and a German Shepard. Both have long outer hair and soft woolly under hairs all guaranteed to keep them warm. Oh well just because I'm an animal doesn't mean they have to be. This is the kind of weather I love, just add in some freezing rain or some other winter stuff to make it better.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

In an effort to get a job...I took that test for the local electric utility company yesterday morning. It's down to 41 of us vying for a few positions. I'm somewhat nervous about my performance but then, so was everyone else given the hallway chatter. The tutoring class I took for this and the sample tests I have been taking covered this big test nicely, except for the MATH. Remember in high school doing math that the teachers said would be valuable in the future? Well 27 years later the future arrived. The sample test and the tutoring class didn't cover ANY of the main part of the math test. I haven't seen or used algebra since my sophomore class. It sounded like no one else had either. We'll see.
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I went over to my friend house to give the gun cleaning class. Boy was I surprised. In addition to the run of the mill guns, he produced an 1890 Winchester pump in 22WRF, a Winchester 1901 lever action 10 gauge shotgun, a jazzed up sporterized Carcano, I think. And a Winchester model 92 with octagon barrel in 32 Winchester special. He also had a gun I have never seen, a Rossi garrucha side by side .22 pistol with double triggers and double hammers. I told him if he ever need money I'd buy that one. You never know what your going to run into.
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After last nights cleaning class, I got up this morning and organized all my cleaning supplies and made a list of stuff to replace or stock up on. I need some more patches in various sizes, more BreakFree CLP, and a can of good 'ol WD40 would be nice as well as some plain 'ol nitro solvent. Oh, some 4 aught steel wool and some gunstock wax. A couple of good bronze .22 brushes and jags would be nice, too.

Friday, November 13, 2009

How long do you think the trial for the mastermind of 9-11 will last? 2,3,4 years? What a farce, trying people, that have declared war on us, in civilian court. After we milked every little bit of info out of him, he should've been stood in front of a firing squad and shot with pork bullets while a wet wash rag was placed over his face.
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Absolutely nothing has been done to improve the economy and job situation, at least from my viewpoint. One year on unemployment, hundreds of resumes distributed, job search classes at the unemployment office, a job skills class given by the same office, 2 negative responses to resumes and hundreds of no responses whatever. Like Hank said, oil is up and the stock markets down, you only get mugged if you go down town. Well I've been mugged by the economy.
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I have my father-in-law and his significant other coming over tonight to feast on my Kick Ass Chicken Sandwiches. I think I have everything I need to do this with. Chicken breasts, bacon, swiss cheese, peppers, onions, olive oil, lemons, sourdough bread, and my sooper seecrit seasoning mix. Yep, all there.
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The non shooting gunowner friend of mine that wants me to teach him to shoot, now wants me to come over and teach him how to clean guns, too. And identify some of his bangsticks.
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I take my big 4 hour test for the utility company tomorrow morning. We'll see how this all shakes out. If I get an interview, we'll see how me and my really bum knee fair in the physical ability test.

Have a good weekend and try to get something done on your preparedness list.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

We have another state that wants to join the 10Th amendment club. Kentucky has a bill, HB87, scheduled for the 2010 session that will address the commerce clause and firearms issues. This thing is really catching on. I like where it's going too. If the States keep asserting their rights as the Constitution specifies, then we will soon be closer to a version of the original United States. One where the States made most of their own laws and decisions and the USG provided defense, trade, post offices and roads, things like that. I know that's a very simplistic way of looking at it but that is how it should be...simple.
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The One Sitting In The Presidents Chair has said that he doesn't want to take your guns. He has said that several times, right? Come to find out he really doesn't want to take them, he wants the UN to take them. Since we lost Ambassador Bolton in the administration change, we no longer have a staunch supporter of American law and the American Constitution speaking to the UN. Instead, we have Hillary Clinton speaking to the UN and she's ready, with Barry's blessing, to make the US fall under UN law concerning small arms. This would be a disaster for the American gun owners as well as the American firearms manufacturers. The US has no need for the UN and no need to make it's citizens subservient to UN treaties and laws.
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I went to the Big Box Store of Goodies(Sam's Club) yesterday. I got some meat for the freezer and some (18lbs.) rolled oats for the storage plan as well as general grocery stuff. I need to get the oats and the powdered milk in buckets.
They had Angus 90/10 burger for $2.10 a pound in a 10 pound roll. I don't know why, but Angus meat tastes so much better than other beef. I'll take the 10lb. roll and break in down into 1lb. packages and stack it in the freezer. If you put the burger in Ziploc freezer bags you can smash it into 1lb. patties that stack like playing cards in the freezer. The thin patties freeze faster and defrost faster. The rolled oats came as two 4.5 pound bags to a box. I'll just remove the bags from the box's and place 'em (all 4) in a Mylar bag and purge the air and seal it up and bucketize it. I think the next thing we'll get is some gamma seal lids to use on the buckets we open up. The gamma seal lids have a snap on ring and a screw in top that allows you to access bulk food and still keep the remainder sealed up. I mean you really don't want to eat 40 pound of beans right away, do you? Anyway they make things a lot more simple.
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I receive an email telling me my copy of James Talmage's book, Making The Best of Basics - Family Preparedness Handbook, has finally shipped. Evidently James added a lot more info to the book at the last minute and it delayed printing. Any way, it's on it's way. After I read it, I'll review it on this site.
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Thanks for looking at all my advertisers! Keep up the good work!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Barry speaks, Daley blows and some good stuff.

Apparently, Barry doesn't think jail time for uninsured folks is quite right but fines and taxes are AOK. What a guy! NOT! The government has no authority to require anyone to purchase anything. That is a right that is reserved to the states as it is not an enumerated power in the Constitution. And don't hand me that "general duty clause" crap. Speaking of the Socialist Health Care mandate, the Dimocratic Senators are meeting with the headman of head (heheheh) Bill Clinton. As the county and western song goes...behind closed doors. That's right, the party that promised an open and fair government is having another meeting about something that will affect every one in this nation and those that that will be born in this nation, behind closed doors. Without any Republicans in the room. Is Bill giving the Dimocrats the "word"? A verbal spanking? Bribes? Or maybe tips on scoring with the staff. What ever this is , it is spelled w- r- o -n- g.
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A blowhard anti gun mayor from an anti gun city says that the Second Amendment is behind the shooting at Fort Hood. That's right Mayor Daley of Chicago, blames a constitutional right on a terrorist attack. By a radicalized Muslim jihadist. What else could we expect from the head windbag from the windy city? Can we pick Chicago up and drop it next to Los Angeles?
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Take a look at the latest version of the ubiquitous Ruger 10-22, the sr-22. Is that cool or what? Take a 10-22 action, cram it into an aluminum casting and wala! A totally tacticool 22 rifle. I might have to have one of these.
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Cherry Pie asked me to teach her to shoot and now a friend of ours, who has guns but doesn't shoot, wants me to teach him also. I can't think of anything better to do....well OK, I can think of one. Hehehehehe.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Hasan Quizz

I'll give you one guess as to who has been trying to contact Al Queda recently? That's right! Our bad boy Hasan. Now for the hard part. Guess who knew all about this and has been watching good 'ol Hasan. That's right! Our Government knew about his attempts to contact terrorist organizations and still he was able to massacre 13 people and injure dozens more. And yet we are willing to cede more and more control of our lives to them.
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Another state has declared their assertion of the 10th amendment. Welcome to the club Ohio! Let's keep the ball rolling until we have at least 45 states on board. The NE seaboard states probably won't go for it but the Southern, Midwestern and Western states have certainly taken hold of this idea.
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We went to my Dad's place yesterday for a cookout and while there my half brother and I layed the carpet in the living room I renovated. After the carpet was down and cleaned everyone pitched in and moved all the furniture in and then stood back and admired the results. For dinner we had grilled burgers, ribs, hotdogs, chicken, porkchops, deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni and cheese and beans. After the obligatory after dinner sit down and talk, my wife and I went to leave and as I got up I threw my back out. Great. This happened once before about 3 years ago. This time I took some Alieve and started doing pelvic tilt exercises. When I went to bed I adjusted my side of the Sleep By Number Bed to a nice firm 90. This morning I feel much better. A little stiff but definitely much better.
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Every one is exclaiming at the nice weather we are having in November. I do remember the last several years being like this in November. Many deerhunts in t-shirts and that's in the second week of November here in Missouri. But then, I have waded through knee deep snow in negative temperatures during deer season also.
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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Healthcare...in a mandatory sort of way

Well, much to my disgust the Dimocratic controlled House passed the Socialist Healthcare Reform bill last night, 222-215 so it was a very close vote. One RINO (Representative Joseph Cao) voted for the bill and no actual Republicans voted for this piece of crap. I heard this morning that the bill will require you to have health insurance. Not insurance you can afford, but insurance that an Insurance Administrator says you will have to have. Failure to buy insurance can result in a fine of 4.5 percent of your gross income. Further failure to comply can result in a fine up to 250,000 dollars and/or jail time. The government is going to force you to have healthcare? WTF? Break out the hammers and sickles, join your appointed commune, Socialism has arrive in full. If the asshats do start fining for lack of coverage and forcing the issue I say hunting season is open. We can only pray that the Senate has more intelligence than the House does and either rejects this bill or decides to break out the carving knives and trim this monstrosity to some thing we can live with..even if we have to gag a little.

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Due to some car related issues we have not done anything for preparedness the last two weeks. Unless you count having a dependable running car as prepared. We put new brakes and rotors on Cherry's car. This week it gets a used sway bar installed as the original one BROKE. Her car also got new tires. My truck got one new tire. All of that eliminated the possibility of laying in stores of anything. We haven't even went grocery shopping except for anything we are completely out of such as bread and milk. The main stuff is in stock.
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I spoke with the sporting goods manager at Walmart a couple of weeks ago and she assured me that they are getting all the ammo they order. But their ammo shelves are very empty. An employee told me that Wallie World is only ordering the ammo they think you should have. He also said that WM is eventually going to do to ammo what they did to firearms. Remove it from the inventory. As in quit selling it. We'll see.

Later!

Friday, November 6, 2009

A local murder and a national tradgedy

A terrible tradgedy has occurred in the town I live in. A young woman, mother of 2, trying to get her life straightened, out was abducted by 3 scumbags that she knew, beaten, thrown in the trunk of their car, taken to the country and murdered. Prior to this she had been on the phone with one of the murderers and then told her brother that they were coming over to see her and she was frightened of them. She asked her brother to go outside with her and he declined saying she'd be OK as he would watch from the window. So much for that plan. What is he feeling today? Ladies, if you are frightened of someone do not go outside your home to meet with them. Do not meet with them at all. Let a RESPONSIBLE person, someone you can DEPEND on, know of your situation. Let the POLICE know if the assholes show up at your house. I repeat, DO NOT GO OUT TO MEET THEM! Men, If your sister, wife, cousin, neighbor lady is afraid of someone do not allow them to endanger themselves in this manner. There are not many women that can stand toe to toe with a man and come out the winner. Factor in a group of 3 and an untrained, unarmed woman has not a chance. I do give credit to the Excelsior Spring Police Department, the Clay County Sherrifs Department and the Ray County Sherrifs Department for bringing this to a quick resolution. We'll see what a jury will do for these murdering bastards.

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Screaming ALLAH AKBAR, A US Army Major named Nidal Malik Hasan open fire on his fellow soldiers, killing 13 and wounding 29. The immediate Army reaction is that this is not a terrorist act. My immediate reaction is, the hell if it isn't. Hasan has posted anti US and anti military comments on some blog and was upset to be ordered to Afghanistan for duty against his fellow Islamic extremists. As if a Medical Corp phyciatrist will actually go into combat. So to show support for his brethren of Islam he killed his brothers in arms. I predict this will be a one in a series of such acts we will see and Islamic sleepers will make them selves known. You might wonder, how can this happen on a military base with all those soldiers there? Well, in the Military's infinite wisdom, soldiers are not allowed to be armed on base unless they are receiving arms training or they are are on guard duty. Some base commanders aren't even happy with personal ownership of firearms. Some of the restriction imposed on servicepeople regarding gun ownership is ridiculous.
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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Still kickin'. Odd Jobs and a couple of bills.

I'm still here. I've just been somewhat busy and somewhat lazy. My sister-in-law asked me to paint the cabinets in her rental house. So I went over and removed the hardware from the top cabinets and took the doors to the basement and painted them. The next day I reinstalled them and then performed the same process for the lower cabinets. Today I re-installed the lower doors. I also adjusted all the doors for her so that they all close nicely. Yesterday I came home about 2:00 and took the new tires for Cherry's Caddie to a friends shop where we installed them. Today I got them balanced and washed the car so it looks nice when I return it to her. The new tires are quiet and ride really nice. Coming home, I thrashed a twisty rural highway and found that they corner nicely also. The tires are Falken S/TZ04's that we got from http://www.highperformancetires.com/ .

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Pelosi delivered a health care bill that had something like 1990 pages and now there's word that she wants to add an 800 page amendment! The GOP has penned a health care bill that only has 230 pages. That's more like it. What do you bet that it gets no time on the House floor? Based solely on page count, which would you rather read and pass?
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I checked out a new toy store in the area called Midwest Gun Exchange. Pretty heavy on semi-auto rifles, pistols and shotguns with a good representation of revolvers, pump shotguns and bolt action rifles. Prices were reasonable but no barn burner deals. They have a decent inventory for a new shop too.

Later!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Trick or Treat! Or lack there of.

As Halloween was on a Saturday this year, we loaded up on candy for all the Little beasts to collect at our home. Kiddy time came, kiddy time went. Teenager time came and teenager time went. We had a grand total of 11 kids come to the door. 11.In years past we have had over 100 show up. We live in an older neighborhood in a town of about 12 thousand.. As a matter of fact the corner of our lot is the bus stop. 11. I read the local paper and found out what was going on. All sorts of "safe" places to take your kiddies to for their goodies this year. What's safer than taking them to the folks you have known for years and years? I see this as another example of overprotective parents. Good intentioned folks that don't realize they are raising panty waisted kids that grow up into panty waisted adults. Come on parents get your kids used to the real world. Let them meet people, have a little fun. You don't have to kick them out the door and say be home by 9 baby. But, you can take them on a stroll of the neighborhood. These are the same kids that won't ride a bike, except in their own yard. Won't develop any kind of adventurous desire. Let's all go to Jimmy's house and play PS3. That'll be fun! Let's have some soda and chips while we waste 4-5 hours looking at a stupid freaking device! Parent's this is your time to shine. MAKE the little buggers get outside in the sunlight. Ride, play, work, whatever.
Be the big person. Be the parent.
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Speaking of ranting...the Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest had a comment on good ol' Spam. Check it out at here. I kinda got a kick out of it 'cause I've had a craving for Spam lately. I've had a series of fried Spam sandwiches for lunch over the last week. Slice some Spam into 1/4 inch slices. Sprinkle some of your favorite seasoning on the slices, both sides now. Place in some preheated oil of your choice. Fry to a slightly crisp crust. Place two slices on a piece of lightly toasted bread, add a thin slice of onion, a slice of American cheese and a squeeze of good old yellow mustard and top with another slice of toast. MMMMM! My son likes to cut the Spam into "fingers" and deep fry them.
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Hey, more banks got shut down. Nine this time around. This tells more about it. That brings the total to something like 115 banks closed this year. It doesn't sound like the recession is over to me. I know that bank closings don't mean a recession but when you add in the total amount of money in circulation, the low interest rate, the unemployment rate, all the companies that are posting massive losses in the 3rd quarter and the massive dollar sell off as well as the massive dollar printing I don't see how we cannot have a recession or even a depression.
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It looks like Atlanta is poised to elect the first minority as Mayor in many years. A white woman! I guess the white flight has reversed and now a person not of color may be elected.
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I know I don't like him and I don't know how you all feel about him but here's a link to Glen Beck doing a good, simple explanation of the economic crisis. By the way, I found this over at www.survivalblog.com . Click on the link to get there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0huZG3OWsl0

Friday, October 30, 2009

A few thought on Government

This country has a great and wise document to direct the people on the operation of the Republic as it was. We no longer have a Republic but a Democracy, something that was dreaded by all founders of this nation. The document I refer to is the Constitution. The Constitution tells the government what it may do. In modern parlance that's a permissive code i.e. it tells what you may do. If it's not in the list you may NOT do it. In this particular code, rights not given to the government are reserved to the States or the People.
One right that the Constitution recognizes is the right to form a new government. In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence it states...
"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Here's what Abrahan Lincoln said in his first inaugural address about that particular right.
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it"
Lincoln also stated..."any people whatever have a right to abolish the existing government and form a new one that suits them better."
Of course a few years later he completely ignored the Constitution and his statements and went to war against a portion of the country that did exactly as Lincoln said they could.
Noted columnist of the time, Horace Greeley, said "...when a section of our Union resolves to go out, we shall resist any coercive acts to keep it in. We hope to never live in a Republic where one section is pinned to the other section by bayonets."

Daniel Webster, wordmaster of the time, said in his Capon Springs speech in 1851... "The Union is a Union of States founded upon Compact. How is it to be supposed that when different parties enter into a compact for certain purposes either can disregard one provision of it and expect others to observe the rest?...A bargain broken on one side is broken on all sides."
Webster also had this to say in the U. S. Senate..."If the Union was formed by the accession of the States then the Union may be dissolved by the succession of the States."

That gives you an idea of the sentiments that went into the Constitution and the sentiment of the day. For decades we have had Government that tries to wring any possible meaning out of the words instead of just operating as it is written. Working in that manner we have gotten ourselves to a point where the Republic that was guaranteed by the Constitution has been shredded and cast out with yesterdays trash and replaced with the scourge of all free men, a Democracy. We have a population of government benefit recipients that can't see any other way of life other that the monthly check from Uncle Sam. To top it off we have a whole class of politicians that are willing to give them whatever they ask for.

"Jefferson Davis said in his 1861 Farewell Address to the US. Senate...
"Then, Senators, we recur to the compact which binds us together; we recur to the principles upon which our government was founded; and when you deny them, and when you deny to us the right to withdraw from a government, which, thus perverted, threatens to be destructive of our rights, we but tread in the path of our fathers when we proclaim our independence, and take the hazard. This is done, not in hostility to others-not to injure any section of the country-not even for our pecuniary benefit; but from the high and solemn motive of defending and protecting the rights we inherited, and which it is our duty to transmit unshorn to our children."

We have a government that has interfered in private industry, interfered in gun ownership and interfered in our freedom of speech. They have imposed harsh laws and rulings on industry and private citizen. We have an alphabet soup of beauracracy to monitor and restrict our every move. And we the People have allowed it to happen for decades. We watch football, baseball, soap operas and we can recite statistics of the millionaire ballplayers yet we don't have the knowledge to know when our rights are being usurped, when we are being used as the cash machine for a crew of thugs, liars and convicts and thieves. We have judges that have used their bench to create law, judges that have broken out the lemon squeezer to evaluate a Constitutional right or phrase. Educate yourself by reading the Constitution and educate your family and friends by giving them a copy too.
Get a pocket size copy of the Constitution from https://secure.heritage.org/PocketConstitutions/?src=first

Remember, Thomas Jefferson said in 1823..."On every question of construction(of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one which it was passed."

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Firearms training

I completely forgot to to include some great information in my post about XD pistols. Training! If you are looking for some first class firearms training check out http://www.frontsite.com/ . Take the course and get an XD free. FREE. Free is good. While at their site check the box to receive the weekly reports they provide. Another place to get outstanding training is from http://www.gunsite.com/
This facility was started by noted gun guru Jeff Cooper. Mr. Cooper is no longer with us but his fine instruction continues at Gunsite.
For you folks in flyover country i.e. the Midwest check out http://www.midwesttraininggroup.net/contact.htm

Before you spend a considerable amount of your hard earned dollars at any training facility make sure of what your getting. Ask for references and check with those references 'cause training of this kind ain't cheap.

A quick perusal of your local phone book or an Internet search will turn up firearms training closer to home and cheaper on your budget. If you are anywhere close to Utah check out http://www.madogre.com/ for contact information to inquire about his training of all sorts.
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It's rainin' again. Oh, well.

The town I live in is being overrun with squirrels. I mean it's dangerous for a man to go outside. So the city leaders have hired a team of crack troops to deal with these terroristic tree rats. Here's the results of their first raid on a den of the little devils. Score One for the good guys!














Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Springfield Armory XD pistols


I have been a 1911 shooter for many years and have depended on JMB's creation for fun, and defense of family and home. At the urging of my Glock shooting son I entered the modern world and bought a polymer framed high capacity handgun in the form of the Springfield Armory XD 45 Tactical. I got a great deal on the slightly used gun, all the XD gear (poly holster, poly double mag carrier and mag loader) in the case, a spare recoil spring and guide rod and 6 magazines.

My first impression was that the grip angle is similar to that of the 1911. A trip to to the range showed flawless performance and decent 15 yard accuracy. I would like to upgrade the sight from the stock 3 dot set to a set of tritium sights or even a set of adjustables to make the most of the 5 inch barrel of the Tactical model.

For a 1911 fan the safety in the trigger took some getting used to. I mean putting your finger on the trigger to access the safety violates a lifetime of gun safety training. After a few hundred rounds I'm very pleased with this full size shooter.

Here is some information about the XD family of firearms. The XD's are made in Croatia by the HS Products Company. In it's XD form it is known in Croatia as the HS2000.

The XD won the Firearm of the Year award from both the NRA and the Academy of Firearms Excellence. The XD's are polymer framed and striker fired. Magazine capacity ranges from 9-16 depending on the model. The XD45 of mine has a capacity of 13 rounds. The safety as mentioned before, is similar to that of the Glocks in that the main safety is part of the trigger. The XD goes an extra step and includes a grip safety. It is possible order an XD with a frame mounted safety also. The sights are dovetailed front and rear and are windage adjustable only. These guns have a loaded chamber indicator also. The poly frame has an abbreviated accessory rail with two notches. The newest form of XD, the XDM has a different grip and includes interchangeable grip inserts to custom fit it to you hand as well as a more rounded slide profile.

If you're concerned about the color of your handgun the XD has it covered for you. You can get them in Black, OD Green, Dark Earth, Stainless and Black, Stainless and OD Green and of course Stainless and Dark Earth.

Depending on the model you can have barrels that are 3, 4 or 5 inches in length. Chamberings include, 9mm, 40 S&W, 357 SIG, 45 GAP and 45 ACP.

The take down procedure is similar to that of the Sig Sauer's. Remove the magazine, ensure the chamber is empty. Make sure again, that the chamber is empty then point the gun in a safe direction and pull the trigger to uncock the hammer. Next, move the slide rearward to align the take down notch with the take down lever. Swing the lever upward and the move the slide forward and off the frame. To remove the barrel, compress the recoil spring to the front of the slide and lift the barrel from the frame. That's all there is to field stripping the gun. Assemble in in the reverse order. I say this again, before disassembling the gun make sure it is EMPTY.

Take a look at these fine, dependable arms at http://www.springfieldarmory.com/ . Then go to your local gun range and try one out or buy one new or used. I gotta say again, coming from the 1911 guns the 13 plus one capacity is GREAT. In carry form I have 2, 13 round mags in the double carrier and one 13 round mag in the gun and well as one in the chamber for a whopping total of 40 rounds! I don't need to carry this many but I find the double set of loaded mags counters the weight of the pistol.

Monday, October 26, 2009

The stuff I like. Oh, yeah that's what I like

I made my 4 week report to the authorities(unemployment office) this morning. If you get up at a decent time you can beat all the slackers and be in and out lickety split. November 21 will be an anniversary for me. It will be officially 1 year of unemployment. What a sucky anniversary.
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I spent the rest of the morning and into the afternoon getting the outside stuff done so let the cold blow and the snow fly. I put the grill away, picked up my "I'll put it away later" stuff, and stored away miscellaneous things in their proper places. Tomorrow I'll see about getting the Wheel Horse project undercover.
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I have a wide array of interests and have had several hobbies until I had to trim the hobbies down to spare the budget. Here's some of my interests:
Guns
1911's
antique auto pistols (I've had my eye on some Savages lately)
side by side shotguns, old, new, plain or fancy I like 'em all
22 rifles (I have more than a few)

Motor Vehicles
El Camino's ( I'm on my 4th)
Corvettes ( I had a hard time choosing between a new Harley and a used "Vette)
Harley Davidson's (the Harley won the coin toss. Literally)
Any other motorcycle
old lawn tractors
big lifted 4 wheel drives (oh how I wish I had that '79 Bronco back)

Stuff
Knives of all sorts but especially auto's
flashlights, just ask my wife
blackjacks, if they have a provenance in law enforcement
old guns with a story

Activities
hunting ( for many years all my substantial vaca time was used for hunting)
fishing(one hobby that had to go)
motorcycling
driving way over the speed limit (ask me about the 100MPH summer)
watching women
reading (nearly anything)
carpentry
welding and fabrication
camping
ammo reloading
gun shows

Does any of this stuff interest any of you? Want me to write about any of it? Any way, a while back on Day One I told you who I am, now I told you what I like.

Thanks for reading and please visit my advertisers.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Let's see...haircut, trimmed my beard(which I had grown to a nice length), showered, shaved, dressed nicely. All ready for a job prescreening yesterday promptly at 1:00pm'ish. This was a mass screening, 50 or so people at this one, some of who didn't understand the written instructions in the letter that was sent out. Instructions like..be there promptly at 1:00, bring all of the indicated paperwork with you, you know the basics like that. Anyway, while waiting for copies to be made of our "papers" the rest of our day was explained to us. Take this test and this test and test. De Ja Vue! I explained that I had taken those tests months ago and asked if those were applicable to this situation. Yes they are, just step into the hall and fill out this application please and thanks for coming today. Over a thousand people have applied for these 3 positions.
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Worked on Cherry's car today. I found out that the problem wasn't really brakes but a busted sway bar causing the issue. So that's another problem to deal with. Have I mentioned that I really appreciate the visits to the advertisers on this site? If enough of you keep visiting the various adverts I may one day get a little check from them. So keep up the good work, THANKS and click on.
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So there's a congress critter that wants a tax exemption for your pets. That's right your pets. Hey, the way I see it they get the same care that we gave our son. Food, water, a home, medical treatment. They just aren't as obnoxious as a teenager. What are your thought on this?
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You should see the maple tree in front of our house this year. Folks are stopping to take pictures of it's gorgeous mass of flaming orange leaves. Since they have started to fall we now have an orange carpet over the yard.
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The .gov wants everyone to take an H1N1 shot or spray. I guess they can't count because there aren't enough vaccines for the folks that actually WANT the stuff let alone for the entire population. So much for that example of government health care.
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There has been so much good stuff come up at the local garage sales and auctions but we don't have the funds to buy them. Tools, generators, home furnishings, real estate, homes. It's terrible to see what people are divesting themselves of to try and make a little cash. I don't see to many deals on firearms though. Huhh, who woulda thought. I'm seeing more and more houses in this area with no lights and no evidence of habitation. The mainstream news finally made the announcement that the commercial real estate sector will be the next big failure to rear it's ugly head. The blogosphere has been talking about this for a couple of months.

Friday, October 23, 2009

My dream home.

On 2 occasions my wife and I have had 5 year plans to be out of this old house and into a different house. Economics always interfered with these plans as they required INCOME. So given those two plans I have put a lot of thought into what I want in a home.
The first requirement will be an all brick ranch style structure with a full undeveloped basement. An attached garage and a detached garage/barn all sitting on 2-15 acres of land with room to plant some large gardens and raise some small stock.
The unfinished basement will get a concrete gun vault poured into one corner and one end will be walled off for storage purposes. A concrete stairwell will be constructed with steel doors at top and bottom. The basement will get a small kitchen and bathroom installed and will be set up to accommodate several people if need be. I want all the bedrooms located at one end of the home with a central hallway leading to them and the restrooms and stairwell to the basement. All windows will have a security film applied to them and functional shutters will be hung.
A standby generator will be installed and solar panels will supplement everyday power needs.
All of these things are not readily available on the local real estate market but I can come close. Everything that is missing I can add myself.
Each end of the house will have small walled "gardens" and a spanish style courtyard would be constructed at the rear of the home.
Of course, after this last job loss I found my ideal home. Located on 15 acres on a hilltop surrounded on 4 sides by timber and bordered on two side by a creek. The house had an all brick lower level and a wooden second story all sitting on a full basement. This whole package was less than 145,000 dollars. A beautiful place a few miles out of town. And me with no job. I'll keep looking, keep drawing homes and have hope that one day thing will turn around.
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A few days ago our neighbor told me his dog was loaded with fleas. Great. A couple days later our dogs started itching and biting. Today I washed them with Miracle II soap and the little dog was LOADED. The soap killed the fleas, then I applied some Front Line to both dogs. I also applied a permethrin based insecticide to the yard and sprayed their kennel with a permethrin kennel spray. As a precaution, I salted the carpets too. Tip...fleas in your carpet will eat the salt and die, just vacuum a couple day later and reapply the salt and vac again a couple days later. All their blankets and towels are in the wash with more Miracle II soap. What a pain in the ass this has been. Hey, I discovered last night that Dollar General has salt 3 for a dollar. Great for storage and it never goes bad. Check out Miracle II soap. I use it for soap, shampoo, dog soap. and occasional laundry use.
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For this weeks preparedness updates I want to buy 2 blue 5 gallon kerosene cans and fill them and store them for use in the lanterns and lamps as well as the kerosene heater. That'll give us a little over 15 gallons of kerosene. The heater will run all day on about 2 gallons. If you just use it in the evenings it will give 3-4 evenings of heat on 2 gallons. I also want to get some replacement chimneys for our lamps. We have 3 lamps and one Dietz lantern for emergency light as well as a case of long burning candles and a couple of L.E.D. lanterns.