graveyard tonite

im tired as hell and i still have to work a 12-8:30AM shift tonite. Dang im tired.

That is all.

Yes Iran really is that stupid

And they have proved it by exploiting the female hostage they have illegally taken. Methinks this will lead to large explosions and lots of flying lead. Again.

Flashback-Life on a farm can be gross

Flashback time. I havent done one of these in a while. This one just popped back into my head after reading a thread about childbirth on gunsnet.

About age 13 or 14 i was by myself on the farm, mom and dad having decided to spend the evening in town at a hymn sing. Its calving time and i have a couple hiefers ready to pop so im checking them every two hours or so. About 6 PM one of them goes into labor and i put her in the head gate and get set up to pull the calf. Except its backwards. No go. Then the cow decides to quit pushing and lay down. And promptly deceided to die.

Ordinarily a heifer keeling over is no big deal. The exception being when they have a live calf worth about 750 bucks in the birth canal. Backwards.

The only large scale cutting implement i had withing running distance was a chainsaw. Yes, a chainsaw. I wont go into the gory details of the operation but i will say i was glad to have the foresight to put on goggles and a dust mask before i started. I had the calf out, unharmed and alive in about 60 seconds.

Dad and mom came home to the sight of me cleaning the remnants out the barn with a fire hose. The chainsaw was a total loss and mom refused to let me in the house until i shaved my head under the garden hydrant. I cant say as i blamed her.

I am STILL sick

Still hacking up lung butter, high fever and muscle pain all over. the sawbones said its viral and unless i want to spend 17k for a full course of cipro i just have to ride it out. About all i do is work, eat and sleep. if im lucky i get in bath to try to loosen up my sinuses. I maybe get 30-40 min per night on the comp before i play out. When i get a bit better ill try to do anoth GGP

And a quick thank you before bed

To those who stop on occasion and those who show up on a regular basis, i thank you for reading. I was a writer in my younger years before the internet showed and i quit due to lack of readership. thanks to blogging and forums i can wirite and get responses and see whos been reading. To actually see someone pay attention and maybe enjoy what you do makes it all worthwhile.

A few things we should all remember

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.During my second month of college, our professorgave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious studentand had breezed through the questions until I readthe last one:"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen thecleaning woman several times. She was tall,dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?I handed in my paper, leaving the last questionblank. Just before class ended, one student asked ifthe last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,you will meet many people. All are significant. Theydeserve your attention and care, even if all you dois smile and say "hello."I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned hername was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the RainOne night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African Americanwoman was standing on the side of an Alabama highwaytrying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car hadbroken down and she desperately needed a ride.Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.A young white man stopped to help her, generallyunheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The mantook her to safety, helped her get assistance andput her into a taxicab.She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down hisaddress and thanked him. Seven days went by and aknock came on the man's door. To his surprise, agiant console color TV was delivered to his home. Aspecial note was attached..It read:"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highwaythe other night. The rain drenched not only myclothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.Because of you, I was able to make it to my dyinghusband's bedside just before he passed away... Godbless you for helping me and unselfishly servingothers."Sincerely,Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember thosewho serve.In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop andsat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water infront of him."How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked."Fifty cents," replied the waitress.The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket andstudied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.By now more people were waiting for a table and thewaitress was growing impatient."Thirty-five cents," she brusquely repliedThe little boy again counted his coins."I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill onthe table and walked away. The boy finished the icecream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitresscame back, she began to cry as she wiped down thetable. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,were two nickels and five pennies..You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he hadto have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on aroadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see ifanyone would remove the huge rock. Some of theking's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came byand simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed theKing for not keeping the roads clear, but none didanything about getting the stone out of the way.Then a peasant came along carrying a load ofvegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, thepeasant laid down his burden and tried to move thestone to the side of the road. After much pushingand straining, he finally succeeded. After thepeasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticeda purse lying in the road where the boulder hadbeen. The purse contained many gold coins and a notefrom the King indicating that the gold was for theperson who removed the boulder from the roadway. Thepeasant learned what many of us never understand!Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improveour condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at ahospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza whowas suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her onlychance of recovery appeared to be a bloodtransfusion from her 5-year old brother, who hadmiraculously survived the same disease and haddeveloped the antibodies needed to combat theillness. The doctor explained the situation to herlittle brother, and asked the little boy if he wouldbe willing to give his blood to his sister.I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking adeep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it, if it willsave her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay inbed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then hisface grew pale and his smile faded.He looked up at the doctor and asked with atrembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"Being young, the little boy had misunderstood thedoctor; he thought he was going to have to give hissister all of his blood in order to save her.

Just thought id give you a bit to think about

Yes im STILL sick

i woke up this morning with 102.7 fever, a severe migraine headache, and a sore throat to the point i cant swallow anything but water. this blows.

that is all.

DC gun ban ruling

Yes, we're all celebrating in the streets. I dont blame you. Im withholding my glee until the SCOTUS hears it and rules in our favor. I have a whole case of 5.56mm waiting for that day. Conversely if they rule agaisnt us, i might need that 5.56 for something else.

The way things work

This post http://neanderpundit.com/?p=1365 By Og got me thinking. You know that book "the way things work"? I wore one out by age 8. Total tatters. I actually called the publisher to report two spelling errors and one factual mistake at age 7. But i digress. The book inspired me at a young age. I grew up on a farm. Anyone whos read some of my flashbacks knows that. I knew from an early age that things had alot of work behind them that doesnt show up in the finished product.

Example: Go buy a pound of beef from the grocery store.
Some butcher had to slaughter that cow and grind the meat.
Some farmer raised that cow from a calf,.
Some worker at a factory produced the tractor that fed that cow.
Some tech a pharmceutical company made the drugs that kept that calf alive.
Someone at a refinery made gas that ran the tractor that fed that cow.
Some truck driver delivered the cow to the sluaghterhouse.
And on, and on, and on.

Betcha you didnt know that a worker at a tractor plant came to your table everytime you had a burger did you?

How many of you readers know how a TV works? No? Maybe a simple AM radio then. I can make one out of a paper clip, razor blade, some wire and a TP tube. Can you?

How many of us know how to make simple auto repairs or lay carpet or build a garage? How many of us could stich up a bad cut or know the correct dosage amount of injectable anti-biotics to give someone? We are at a point in out world where specialization has taken over to a frightening degree. the advent of the 24 hour customer service line and the clickable "help" button have made far too many people saw "fix it" to someone else. Those kind of luxuries didnt exist just 20 years ago. Sure if your car broke down there was a repir shop. But usually your uncle Ed or neighbor Bob had a look at it and usually they could set it right without too much fuss.

Im 27 years old. Ive been alot of things in my life. Beekeeper, Diary worker, ASE certified auto tech, tractor mechainic, AC tech, and i even worked at a Nursing home mopping floors for a few weeks in between other jobs. I currantly am a DENR certified water treatment plant operator. I can drive a tractor, a bulldozer and probably an airplane or helicopter in an emergency. I can fix almost any mechanical object made given a littel time.

I recently had my yearly evaluation at work for raises and advancement. I found out (by accidetn i think) that i was the second highest paid worker at my plant because of my abilities in fabrication and my ability to quickly assimilate info regarding my job. Case in point; Recently we did some reapirs on an old military forklift we have out here at the plant. The seat we put on was about eight inches taller that the old one and you banged you head on the rollover cage. The manager and superintendent were wondering who they could have rebuild it as they didnt want ot spend a bunch of money. I said i could. Bring me out the torch, arc welder and cut-off saw and ill make it myself. Then we dont have to pay anybody else. They looked at me like i had a hole in my head. The general manager didnt think anyone outside of a machine shop could fix it. All i needed was the aforementioned tools and the steel. About two hours worth of mockup, a quick prototype and a short production run of spacers and it was done. Just as strong or stronger than factory. The manager was dumbfounded that i could do all that work with simple metalworking tools and my hands. Appreantly they had contacted a machine shop about doing it before they mentioned it to me and the machinist had told them he needed plasma cutters and bed mills and a bunch of other tools to make them strong enough.

A quote from Heinlen applies:
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein, Lazarus Long

My wife is a teacher. Thats all she knows. She could probably make a passable secretary or maybe a waitress but that's it. She knows next to nothing about how things work or more importantly WHY they work. I'm no techno geek like some guys. I couldnt tell you the first thing about what makes a computer chip work. I can't do math above about a 10th grade level. But you ask me any of the basics and i can rattle it off. Ask the guy at radio shack how to chop down a tree or overhual a generator and you'll get the idea.

Someday when all the techno goodies cease to function and the grocery store is empty, There will be hordes of techies and office staff that know tons about living but don't know jack about staying alive. And there will be little old me. With my furnace made from old 55 gal drums and a rabbit over the spit shot with my AK i built from parts. Cushy? No. Alive? Yes.

What category do you fit?

Yes im still here...

And sick as a dog. Head cold, sinus infection and to top it all off i have a minor bladder infection. Trying to swallow sulfa pills with a sore throat makes me think just letting it go would be less painful.

note to commentors

For some reason all comments are being rejected. i have no idea why. if you wish to comment, e mail me and ill post it. im still working with the blogger staff on this problem and we'll try to have it fixed.

I got this now computer see.....

Me and the wife picked up a tohiba laptop lst night and ive been busy seting it up and fidling so i havenbt had much time of late to blog. Im putting together a video GGP for next week ( i hope). Should be spectacular.

I just had a hell of an idea

Instead of giving poor and homeless people checks in the mail, Why not open work centers? Places where you can come and go as you please but if you want three hots and cot you do a days work. Picking veggies, cleaning graffiti, or hauling garbage, whatever. No work, no chow, no bed. Give em' a littel coin to jingle in thier pockets and a little pride too. And they would be for citiczens only. Screw the illegals on welfare. Cut all thier checks and let em' starve. There would be an allowance for disability when decided by a doctor and proper medical facilities available. It would be hell to get set up but tell me why it wouldnt work?

Enterprise, Alabama vs. NOLA

We watched with trepidation and sorrow as they carried the bodies of dead and injured youth out of a fallen high school. We watched with anger as the media harrased and belittled a mayor who was under an amount of stress that would have leveled most good men. And we watched as nieghbors rolled up thier sleeves, dug in and started to clean up, rebuild and bury the dead.

Nobody went looting.
Nobody went and "borrowed" anything they "needed" from Caddy dealers and unsuspecting citiczens.
If you needed help, it was there before you asked.
People opened thier slightly or un-damaged homes to those with no place to stay, no questions asked.
Nobody blamed Bush.
Nobody blamed FEMA.

Contrast that with the Katrina disaster and you see the polar opposite to the above items. Now im not saying Katrina and the recent tornado's were anything alike. The tornados damaged at most a dozen square miles or so. Katrina leveled thousands.

And don't come whining to me and say it was because most Katrina victims were black and Enterprise is all white. BS. Enterprise is about 26% black and a few percent other minorities as well.

Where i come from if someone is hurtin' you do what you can to make it right. Whether it be a 50$ bill or a hot meal or a place to sleep for a few nights. It doesnt matter if they're white, black, red or purple. Its all about the KIND of people and how they treat others.

THe Katrina "victims" expected a handout from uncle sam the minute they had something go wrong. When the storm clouds abated, the people from Enterprise got up, looked around, and got to work. They didnt need a government man to say go here, do this. They just did what needed to be done.

Bad shit happens to good people. That's life. If it ever happens to me and mine, i hope i can be as good a person as the folks from Enterprise are.

Not only is she a sexpert...

But a sniper too!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/doctor/drruth.asp

DAYUM!

GGP: Hi-Point Hi-jinks

Ah the venerable hi point. Probably the most bashed and most vehemently defended firearms on the planet. Bottom dollar, basic firearms for the masses. Need i saw more?

995 chrome carbine


C9 compact w/ 10 round magazine


C9 comp w/ 8 and 10 round mags


995 oblique shot


C9 and my favorite background


ETA: Video of my old Allard alloy frame .45 HP
Allard .45

Mousegun shooting league

via WWJWD

Mousegun shooting league

Not a bad idea. postal matches would be a hoot.