I'm tempted to send geico a bit of spittle in the mail

Watching Gettysburg on the history channel. Geico commercial comes on with the gaggable cave man as a civil war "re-inactor" (sue me, my spelling sucks).

caveman goes off on the other participants by the campfire for their lack of authenticity..wearing crocs, a snuggy, ordering delivery pizza. Not funny, or even slightly amusing.

When is geico going to get rid of that ad campaign?

At least they didn't go so low as to put him in a rebel uniform.

fuckers

The bird watch is on again

We have about 12 soffit vents along the back of the house. A few years ago, one of the lazy cable guys routed a cable up the back of the house and punched a hole through the screen over the vent to get the cable into the attic. An enterprising pair of black birds found it and moved in. At least one of the chicks falls out of the nest each year. Last year, the fallee was fully feathered and hid next to the fence for the better part of a day. Mom and Dad sat on the fence and fluffed feathers and chased other birds away until they decided that more direct action was in order. I did not know that birds would do this, but they grabbed the youngster and put it back in the nest.

Today, we came home to find another soffit hole challenged chick next to the patio.

We covered the cat door in the back door to retain the gastronimically challenged feline. And now the watch is on, to see if the parent birds come and get this one.

Belle checks frequently to see if the chick is still there. I just don't want the cat throwing up feet and a beak on the laminate floor.

Bats in the Belfry

Well okay, really we're talking about birds in the attic.

Every year, for the past 10 years or so, we get these black birds that nest in our attic.  We keep meaning to put up metal, rather than the existing screen covers for the vent holes once the birds are gone for the winter,  but we keep forgetting to do it.

This year is a must do.  I am tired of baby birds falling out of the nest.  Sometimes, momma bird finds her chick and takes him back to the nest, sometimes the baby dies.

Today, there is one that has fallen out of the nest, I've covered the cat door so that Miss Kitty can't get out and kill the poor thing, but I worry that momma isn't going to make it in time to save her chick.  It's sad to see something so defenseless, so scared and lost.

The right thing to do in these situations is to just leave it alone because mom and dad will get the their baby and also because of the balance of nature and all that.

It still makes me sad and I'm tired of being sad about baby birds.  So, this fall when the birds leave, we are definitely taking care of the problem.

Memorial Day

I saw this video linked by Dave Blount over at Moonbattery. I am far too ineloquent to write a post that expresses how much this moves me. So, I will simply link to Lizzie's youtube video.

To all the men and women of the armed services, past and current...Thank You.

Brain Teasers

Al Fin posted about brain teasers over at his place. He's got links to all kinds of puzzle sites and IQ test thingies.

Me? I'm still trying to figure out how my long weekend of kicking back and perhaps some fishing turned into hanging doors. I don't like to hang doors. Nobody told me I'd have to hang doors. We haven't had the bi-folds on that closet at the crik-house for 15 years. Nobody told me why it was imperative that we have the doors hung this weekend. I still don't know. But, we did it nonetheless.

If you want a brain teaser, buy the hardware for a pair of bi-fold doors and the four 12" wide hollow core door panels and have at it.

The most important part of setting up this brain teaser is; you must follow the directions exactly.

Instructions say: measure the clear height of the opening. Having some experience (commonly known as "fail") in this department, I measured the height at both jambs. I get 79" at one and 79 1/2" at the other.

Instructions say: cut the door panel height to 1 5/8" less than the clear opening height. Remembering fail kicks in. I know that the top and bottom rails of these hollow core doors are not quite 1 5/8" high. Cutting 1 5/8" from one end of the door will result in a door with a hollow core at one end. So we split the difference and take half from top and bottom.

Dad has a brand new power saw complete with headlight and laser guide. I guess the engineers that engineered the saw figured with the laser, a decent sight line to the blade from the left side of the saw was not necessary. I could see the blade as a began to place the edge of the kerf on the line. In short order as the saw moves away from you, this sight line to the blade is gone. Standing up, I see the wonderful laser line only to realize that it is justified to the wrong face of the blade. So, I stopped the cut and turned that fool thing off. But...I digress.

Instructions say: Place the top and bottom hinges for each pair of door panels about 6" from the top and bottom of the door. Place the center hinge at the "center" (duh). So far so good. hinge locations marked.

Instructions say: position door panels such that there is a 5/16" gap between the faces when installing the hinges. Remembering fail, I knew this was an important dimension. So we put some tapered wedges back to back and adjusted until the faces were zactly 5/16" apart and clamped with a man sized kung fu grip spring clamp. Now we are on a roll. First pair of panels joined with three hinges.

I am not convinced.

I decide we need to test this pair of panels before moving on the the second pair. In opening the panels we find that the hinges bind just short of allowing the door faces to lay out flat. Much head scratching ensues.

The instructions said 5/16" gap. We must have the centerline of the hinge barrel off somehow. What followed was a repositioning of the hinge, redrilling, rescrewing, shifting the hinge centerline this way and that to the same result each time.

By the time we came to the determination that the instructions were wrong, the edge of the doors in the vicinity of the hinges looks like we used a 410 shotgun to tap for the screws. Ah, no worries, nothing a little wood filler won't cure.

I can see the game show host now: " Oh..no, so sorry. 5/16" is not the correct answer. The correct answer was a fat 5/16, also known as 3/8".

Hey Belle, What's for Dinner??

Only this:

My better half's favorite.  Of course I don't make it very often, but right now, he's in chicky-bird paradise.

The ultimate comfort food.

The first time I fried up a yardbird for the hubby, I ate one piece, he ate the rest of the whole chicken.  He loved it.

Top Shot Season 3??

Does anyone out there know when Season 3 is scheduled to start?  I can't seem to find that info anywhere, not even on The History Channel's site.

Governor Good Hair for President?

God help us.

Apparently Governor Good Hair (Rick Perry) is considering a run for the White House.  I hope that yahoo doesn't get the nomination, what an embarrassment and he would never beat the Queen.

Leaving the light on for friends

For more than a decade, we have had little friends living behind our house number sign.  They're little geckos and I have basically adopted them.

One year, there was one gecko that I spotted in the flower pot, his back was broken and a spider was on top of him trying to make a meal out of him.  I did away with the spider, then set a large stick in the pot so that the gecko could make his way out.

His back legs were paralyzed but he made it out of there.  He lost his tail so I called him Stubby.  Stubby healed up just fine and eventually got the use of his back legs again.  He also, of course, grew another tail and lived on to make many babies, some that survived, some that didn't but nonetheless, Stubby's family is alive and thriving to this day.  If you sit very quietly, sometimes you can hear them make their cute little noises.

I was beginning to worry about my little buddies because I haven't seen them appear, until last night, that is.   If you click to enlarge the photo, you can see him behind the top portion of the sign peeking out.  I don't think he cared for the flash of my camera, but oh well.

 You see, I always leave the porch light on every night for them.  It's not because they're afraid of the dark, but because the light attracts bugs and my friends eat bugs.

It's now June Bug season and my friends will come out in droves to grab up those tasty morsels.  It's funny to watch them .  They sit very still until an unsuspecting bug lands close by and then they attack, so fiercely and swiftly you would think that they were at the top of the food chain.

So what about Stubby?  I'm not really sure.  His new tail came in and it was a smooth color, not spotted like the rest of him but I think that Stubby has probably died by now, though I do look for him.

At any rate, I love the summer season because I can smile at my little friends and from what I understand, they're also good luck, and well, I could always use a little good luck.

So now, for the rest of the summer, the porch light will stay on all night long and my visitors will be quite content and happy with plenty to eat.  Life is good if you're a gecko at the Belle's house.

Juxtaposition and music seem to be the meme for the evening

A song written by Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett while they were at my alma mater. I had never heard of them till I graduated, but apparently they graduated..or left, just before I got there. Robert Earl claimed he held the record for probation at A&M. The first video is his version of the song. It was the version I heard first. In the background, you can hear Bryan Duckworth, his road band mandolin and fiddle player. I heard Robert Earl say he'd know Bryan since third grade.

In the midst of this live version, Robert Earl tells the story behind the song.

I've seen both Robert and Lyle live. Lyle I've seen up close and personal with a three piece drum set, him with his guitar, and a cellist (A cello is a really big violin for my Texas brethren). He was incredibly good. There is a big difference in style and musicality between the two. I like both versions a lot. But then, I've been to, and know of all the places they speak of in the song.

I've also personally heard Robert Earl describe his singing voice as something akin to a buzz saw. So, if you are new to Robert Earl, I suggest waiting through the first video so you can hear the story behind the song, and then skip to Lyle's version. If you are a Robert Earl Keen fan, as I am, then...enjoy!

postscript: this Saturday, I'll be driving over the Brazos river not far from the delta. The song lyrics say the Brazos always runs muddy like she's done all along. When the Brazos runs clear and blue, Texas is in a serious drought. I'm hoping for muddy water.

Watching Family Guy and listening to this

It's a really strange juxtaposition. I was searching for this when I posted "Screw You, We're From Texas", but couldn't find it at the time. Funny how I always manage to find something when i quit looking for it, or when I start looking for something else. It's almost as if my preconceptions about where the "something" should be cloud my vision and perception. I found "it" while looking for a youtube video of a Todd Snyder song I wanted to post about. So, I guess I'll have to look for something else to find the Todd Snyder song. In the meantime, here is the Ray Wiley Hubbard song I was looking for, before...

I think I almost wrote a "Yogi'ism"

I really am my father's daughter

I've written a story here about my dad and his love of a good practical joke.

In the past few days, I have set up the sprinklers to start up on a timer, different zones on different days and times.  This morning, the rainbird sprinkler goes off at 6:50am in the backyard.

So, Miss Kitty was outside on the back porch doing her usual stalking of birds and enjoying being the queen of her territory, while I sat in side the house, watching the doggie door waiting for the sudden burst of kitty that was soon to fly through it.

Finally, I hear the 'click' of the timer which is the release of the stopper inside timer which allows the sprinklers to come on.  Bingo!

I quickly look at the door and sure enough, Miss Kitty scrambles through it at record speed and she is not too happy.  Apparently, the sprinkler was pointed straight at where she was sitting when it started up so she got all wet.

Now she's on top of the table, looking out the window, giving the sprinkler the stink eye.  I've been laughing my fool head off.  God I love a good laugh, I really am my father's daughter.

On the other end of the spectrum

Sitting here watching "Dancing with the Stars" with the Lovely Belle for no other reason than she likes it.

The Black Eyed Peas were the guest musical group for the Tuesday show. I have one or two of their older songs on my Ipud. I have no idea who their music producer and manager are, but they had better fire those guys really quick. They have fallen into a major vortex of suck.

For a better music listening experience, please refer to my previous post.

this guy rocks, Thanks Sabra

Sabra posted about Hayes Carll over at her place.

If you like Robert Earl Keen's darker side, or Steve Earl, or just like good driving music, this will get you going about 85.

The video is a studio session. You can tell they nailed it long before it's done, and certainly by their reaction at the end. As Ray Wiley Hubbard put it, he's got a little band that is hotter than a rocket.

A postscript:

After watching the video 4 or 5. Ok, ten times, one of Sabra's comments came back to me. If you are "overly patriotic" as she puts it, the lyrics might put you off. For me, the context for the song resonates from the Vietnam days, from which I just missed the draft by a year or two. I thought that war would never end. I grew up with it. A song with a similar sentiment, Steve Earl's "Copperhead Road" strikes a chord in my heart on several levels.

Personally, the lyrics don't upset me. I interpret music as it suits me.

I hear the voices of the greatest generation, many of which felt the same way, scared, thinking what the hell am I doing here? But then, I'm a WW2 history junkie..and I choose to interpret music as I see fit.

Man that is going to be one screwed up kid

This would be funny reading if the result weren't going to be so tragic.

It is a quintessential profile of a pair of moonbat parents - California, of course...

Parts of it made me laugh out loud, "unschooling?" really?

In less than two decades, I predict a child with gender identity issues, attention deficit disorder, and poor impulse control at a bare minimum.

Is it too late to abort the parents?

I think the Supremes should have some skin in this game

The LA Times reports "Supreme Court orders California to release tens of thousands of prison inmates"

In a sharp dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia warns 'terrible things are sure to happen.

Ya Think?

I think everyone working at the ACLU should be required to take two or three of the scum about to be released into their homes, and the rest should be shipped to half-way houses in the neighborhoods of the Justices voting in the majority.

I'm sick of these ivory tower SOBs doing this to us.

Hard Afternoon's Work

Yesterday, my better half and I worked in the yard.  He mowed, raked and trimmed, but in addition to that he fulfilled my desire to plant some veggies, well not veggies, they're actually considered fruit.

We planted 2 cherry tomato plants, 2 "big boy" tomato plants, 2 cucumber and 2 bell pepper plants.  Much to my hubby's dismay and I haven't broken the news to him yet, but I am seriously considering planting some strawberries.

I'm hoping that they will grow and produce for me, the price of these particular produce items are going up, no doubt due to rising costs of fuel.

If this year's garden is a success, I see another one next spring but to include lettuce, onion, okra and various melons.  Also on the agenda is to plant a lemon and a lime tree as well.

I hope that this year's garden goes well.  It's hard to say because they're planted in the ground and around here, our soil is clay.  Of course hubby dug pretty deep and we back filled with good soil, manure and peat moss humus but a raised bed is the best way to go here in my area.

We'll see how it goes.

The Sweet Smell of Victory!

Last night, I played a dart tournament and oh what a good time it was.  I drew the top professional player in the Texas Region, and when he goes to Nationals he ranks easily in the top 5.

Donnie and I go way back and in a blind draw tournament, he is the one that you hope to draw.  The beautiful thing about him is that he never gets mad when his partner misses and he always has something nice to say.  He is truly a class act.

At one time, I was the female shooter that everyone hoped to get in a blind draw.  Since I've taken time off from darts, it's hard getting back to the skill level that I used to be, but I'm getting there.

My first game that I threw with Donnie, I did not have the appropriate serum level of aiming fluid and so I was forcing my darts to the board rather than letting them flow.

Once I finished this:

I was much more relaxed.

Now THAT's a beer.  I set the lighter down next to it as a point of reference on how big this thing is.  It's a Dos Equis draft and in the glass is about 4 limes.  Mike's Ultimate  has the coldest draft beer in the neighborhood and unlike Miller Lite or Bud on draft, Dos Equis doesn't give me a hangover.

You gotta love living in a place where you can order up a Big Ass Beer and they give you just that!

So, like I said, once I finished that beer, I was much more relaxed and I began to throw much better.  It was a great night and I took first place and won a little money.  I just love darts and dart players.

Here are a couple of photos from way back that I took of my darts that when I walked up to the board to pull them and I saw what had happened, I was dumbfounded and had to get a picture of it.  It's a couple of those times where you just scratch your head and say, "How did THAT happen?"

This first one is a classic Robin Hood shot.  The funny thing about this is that the dart stuck inside the flight of the previous dart thrown.  Even funnier still was that that Robin Hood shot won the 501 game.

Okay, this shot is a really good one.  In plastic tip darts, on the shaft, there is a little hole that you put a tool into to tighten them down.  I was playing a cricket match and I threw the triple 20 to close the number, then I pointed up on the single and the third dart I missed just above the double (outside ring) and it bounced and the point on my dart went through the hole in shaft and it stuck there.

Yes those are pot leaves on my flights, but my previous flights ripped and that's all the bar where I was playing at had in stock.

Oh darts are so fun.

Overheard on the couch..

Kx59:  The Dalai Lama is resigning.  They're getting a new Dalai Lama or something like that.

Me:  He can't retire, he's the reincarnation of previous Dalai Lama(s).

Kx59:  Well I found it on Drudge and it wasn't another blog link it was a news article.

Me:  Let me do a quick Google.  No dear, the Dalai Lama is still the Dalai Lama, he's just resigning as Tibet's political leader.  He will be the Dalai Lama until he dies.

Kx59:  Okay, I didn't say that I had it completely right.

By the way, the Chinese government says that they have to sign off on the next reincarnated Dalai Lama and approve him for the job.  I just wonder how they will know whether or not an INFANT will grow up to buck the Chinese government?

I hope that Tibet is independent before the current Dalai Lama passes on.

Tiring but a job well done....

Well, today was our first official swim meet and it was a good day.  I'm tired and my feet are killing me, but the meet went relatively smooth and I didn't make any kids cry.

I did get really tickled though during the last few events of the meet, the free style relays.  The 7-8 year old girls were swimming their relay and the cheering that was going on was really amazing.  Usually, the loud cheering goes on during a close race but only for the older kids.  This was a close race, but the cheering that went on was phenomenal.

I laughed at all the mayhem and then I got a little choked up with tears.

The older kids crack me up though, the kids that are in the side lanes ALWAYS do their best to splash the referee when they dive in at the start.  It's actually refreshing and my 15-18 year old boys always seem to forget that I don't mind the splash, which results in disappointment on their end.

All in all it was a good day.  Soon my better half and I are going to the garden center to try and find some veggie plants.  It's going to be tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.  YUMMY.

No One Ever Said Criminals Are Smart

Well this is pretty funny.  Some guy dialed a wrong number and set up a drug deal, too bad the wrong number happened to be a cop's cell phone!  Can you say, "Oopsie!"

Read the full story here.

WTF are the Chinese doing?

This one I can not figure out. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Perhaps someone can 'splain this to me.

The Lee County Conservative posted about the perfect storm brewing in China.

My comment was that China has a much bigger conundrum in that they hold a massive amount of U.S. debt, and when we go down, their market goes bye-bye, and the U.S. paper they are holding becomes worthless.

To confound China's situation, for some inexplicable reason, they are building cities like there is no tomorrow.

heeey, wait a minute. No that can't be it.

This is no small thing. China is consuming roughly half the cement and steel production of the world, to produce empty cities. I've seen a few random news articles, and certainly heard about the Chinese driving up the cost of building materials in my line of work, but to see it is startling for me.

Al Fin has it, go RTWT and watch the video.

Al Fin: China: "An Unsettling and Unending Vista of Emptiness?"

The Chinese Autocracy has lost its ever loving mind.

[edit] Wait, I figured it out. The chinese have been toying with capitalism in localized spots for some time now. They are trying to figure out how to create an economy as robust as the US economy used to be. Yeah, they're not gettin it so much. The economic impact from the development of real estate is huge. It's why the eeeconomisissts watch housing sales and new construction starts so much. The chinese are using the underpants gnomes approach. Step 1, steal all the underpants. Step 2 ???. Step 3, profit.

Let's hope they don't experiment with subprime mortgages lest they call in our loans...

And here I was thinking I'd mow the lawn Saturday...

Apparently the end of the world is at hand. May 21, 2011, according to the prophet du jour's extensive calculations is the day Jesus returns to earth. Although the prophet professing such has a shaky track record, this time he got it right, so he believes.

As noted by the Christian Post

"Camping also made a previous judgment day prediction, saying there was a very high likelihood that the world would end in 1994. Despite the failed prediction, several still sold their homes, quit their jobs and spent their savings in anticipation of May 21, 2011."

What this means of course is that our suspicions regarding the community organizer in chief are correct.. Some how I expected more. I am not alone.

Jefferson101 commented over at POWIP some time back:

"And here I’ve been expecting the Antichrist to be charismatic, eloquent even without a teleprompter, and very popular. If Barry is the best that Satan can do, I’ve been profoundly overestimating him for these many years.

Have we really become so hopeless that we get a low-rent and second class Antichrist? I’d be almost disappointed if that proves to be the case"

If this doesn't pan out for Camping, I bet we hear from him again in November when the big rock passes inside the lunar orbit. I'll be decked out in my track suit, new k-mart tennis shoes and bowl haircut. Hale-Bopp!

ps. it's official:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/19/dc-department-transportation-tweets-rapture/

Rant of the Day

Once again, An Ordinary American brings it.

My only issue with what he says is #4 and #5.  I'm not keen on the government (federal or state) having DNA records on any human being whose only fault is to have been unfortunate enough to have been born out of wedlock.  I think that's just asking for trouble and it's a slippery slope that I don't wish to slide down.  I don't want to create an atmosphere where the government, regardless of the reason, can demand DNA from any individual without probable cause.

His #5 I take issue with because the involuntary sterilization of any person is not okay.  Rather than take that drastic step, offer them the choice, but with the understanding that if they refuse any future babies born out of wedlock will not equal a pay raise on their welfare check.  Why pick on unwed mothers on welfare?  What about individuals who are married, on welfare that keep having babies they can't afford?  You can't single them out, it goes against my idea of individual liberty.

He is very correct in that the welfare system needs an overhaul.  His #1 is a good idea but before that can be implemented, we need to change the Constitution.  Currently, a child of an illegal alien or a child of a legal resident alien who is born in the states is automatically a citizen.  This is how illegals end up getting a free lunch.  We need to change the Constitution to reflect that a child who is born on US soil must have at least one parent that is a citizen of the US.

As far as dead beat dads go, he hits that right on but I will say that currently in the State of Texas, if a woman is on welfare, medicaid or food stamps, the state requires that the mother disclose the father of the baby (if known) and the state goes after the dad for child support and the dad will have to pay for the kid's medical insurance so that they can get off of medicaid.

He had a good rant over there though and I encourage you all to go and read it.

Ridiculous

Okay, so once again I'm watching the *cough cough* news and once again The Governator's affair is talked about over and over again.

The question they keep asking is, "How could he have kept this secret when the mother of the child was a part of the household staff, for a decade?"

I want to scream at the TV, "HE IS AN ACTOR! a bad one, but DUH!"

More importantly, "WHO CARES?!"

Remember how the MSM screamed that the Lewinsky/Clinton affair wasn't any of the public's business?

Like Clinton, it was no secret that Arnold was a horn dog, so get over it already so that those involved can work through the issue one way or another.

Sponge Bob, Newt and McLame

My favorite quote regarding the newt

" If he had strapped on a suicide-bomber’s vest and pulled the detonator as he was waddling onto the Meet the Press set on Sunday, he couldn’t have taken himself out of the race more effectively"

To reiterate my previous post regarding newt. Please STFU and go away.

From David Kahane to which I found my way from Cold Fury.

Barbed wire wrapped snark of the day

"Whatever it takes, that’s what, up to and including sucking the barbed cock of Satan and declaring it has a “delicious, refreshing, minty flavor, with just a hint of coconut.”

This is Cold Fury's last comment in the post. The part leading up to it is here.

Herman Cain to announce for Prez May21

In Atlanta, Georgia at 11am. He's going to make his announcement as to whether he's going to actually run or not. (why do they always have to do these things when working people can't go?)

I nominate Borepatch, being as he's now in the locale, to go and check it out.

Unless he's 818 miles away in his second home, Austin on that day.

I'm liking this.

Blogger Headline of the Day

An Ordinary American has it here.

Newt Gingrich Is A Penis Wrinkle


God that is just way too funny to pass up!  Well done AOM!

Making Grandpa Look Young

I just saw this commercial on TV and thought it was just too cute!

those little girls are so cute!

Gotta Love Good Ole' Texas Boys......

Texas cowboy helps New Yorker by roping runaway steer

From The Houston Chronicle 

GALWAY, N.Y. — It took a Texan to rope a runaway steer in an upstate New York field, but the cowboy lost some skin in the process.
Greg Way tells the Daily Gazette of Schenectady that he was unloading a pair of recently bought steers at his farm in rural Saratoga County earlier this month when the cattle bolted and escaped.
One of the steers was back within a couple days, but his 700-pound companion remained on the lam for a week.
Last Saturday, John West took a break from his horse training duties in Saratoga Springs to lend a hand capturing the wayward steer. The 44-year-old Texan mounted a horse and eventually roped the steer, but was pulled from his saddle and dragged along the ground for a spell.
West, whose hometown wasn’t available, suffered only minor scrapes and scratches.

Apparently steer roping isn't exactly his forte' considering he got pulled from his saddle, but hey, he got the job done so it's a win.

The Governator Can't Keep It In His Pants

Is this really news?  Seriously?

It's been headlined several times on GMA this morning.

It's not even like this is a surprise.  I seem to remember when he was running for Governor his whoring ways were exposed back then.  The fact that he fathered a child 10 years ago out of wedlock is not really a surprise, nor is it really news.

Behind Enemy Lines

I like to get my news (for a lack of a better term) from various sources so that I can have some variety and so that I can have an informed (again, lack of a better term) opinion regarding politics.

This morning, while conducting my daily job search, I had Good Morning America on the tube and political analyst Democratic media puppet, George Stephanopolis was talking to another puppet about the choices for a Republican candidate for 2012.

It was said that with Huckabee and the Donald out of the picture that there is no one left to fire up the base.

Seriously?

I don't know what 'base' they are referring to, but Trump only fired up the birthers and even then, many of the birthers were skeptical.  Huckabee isn't what I would call someone who could fire up a BBQ pit, much less a voter base.  He's not what the 'base' is looking for.

I just their perception of the voter base is way off and it would be laughable if it wasn't so damned insulting.  Of course with shows like 'Swamp People' on the History Channel, I guess I can understand why they think that we're all a bunch of hicks who will fall in line with a buffoon like Trump.

We are looking for a fiscally conservative, pro liberty, pro individual choice candidate.  I stick by Ron Paul and Herman Cain, maybe Bachman, the jury is still out on her.

So, Belle was looking at the stats on her blog....

The search keywords:

lon horiuchi distance shot

no idea on that one

0.85 lunar

tin foil hat asteroid post

0.85 lunar distance

asteroid post again

bells a ringing

might have been me from work

bells a ringing blogspot

?

bells a-ringing

?

cat getting old snoring

snoring cat post

dual survival

last season post

how do you know when your cat is getting old

snoring cat post

and the winning search keywords are.. drum roll please

iranian men pee pictures

(I did not make that up)

So full of win and hilarity

My better half stumbled on The Adaptive Curmudgeon's 'about' page.  It is the funniest thing that I've read in ages.  I really enjoy his blog but this statement,
"As we all know, blogs are commonly used only to help restrain an author’s illogical desire to stand curbside spouting unrequested opinion."
It just really tickled me.

2012 Candidates Thus Far........

The Lee's Summit Conservative has a good insight on some of the candidates, go and check it out.

Personally, I like Hermain Cain and of course Ron Paul.

More drunks with pointy things

Belle twisted my arm yesterday until I agreed to go out and play the dart tournament at one of the local "pubs". You can find a dart tournament at many of the bars on the northwest side on any given Friday or Saturday.

I used to play in the local dart league with the lovely Belle. I even worked my way up to the top division, but that was long ago. She still plays in the top division. Might be twelve years now.

In the tournaments you play male/female pairs, selected by a blind draw.

My partner last night, was still nursing a hangover at 8pm from the previous night, so she was drinking water. (noooo, it was not Belle)

Now it is a well known fact that at least three containers of aiming fluid, also known as beer, are required to get your mojo going to throw well. It is precisely three, one less or one more and you go out of the zone. (sounds reminiscent of the holy hand grenade). Maintaining just the right serum level of aiming fluid throughout the night becomes a challenge.

Being that my partner was not consuming aiming fluid, and I haven't thrown in a long time, we did not do so well. We were in the losers bracket after our first match, and we were out of the tournament after our first match in the losers bracket.

Nonetheless, we had a good time.

Soft tip dart players are an interesting breed. Everyone gets knuckle bumps when they come off the line, regardless of how well or how poorly they threw. Noobs get encouraged by better throwers, and frequently get coaching if they are receptive to it. Partners offer strategy advice, if you are open to it. Sometimes, competitors offer strategy advice, and actually don't sandbag you.

If you throw a lights out round, your competitors will tell you "good darts", even if it takes them out of the tournament. Occasionally some jackass will get all pissed off at his partner. Those are always the noob dart players that think they are gods gift to darts. They either get a change of heart, or they don't play in the tournaments for long. Arrogant a-holes aren't encouraged to stick around.

There is something about playing competitive darts that transcends daily life as we know it. When you are playing a league match, or a tournament, for a few hours, there is only one race, "dart thrower". Perhaps it is just the character of the people that gravitate to the endeavor. You compete against yourself as much as your opponent. There is no one else to blame if you throw poorly. I guess folks that can not deal with that move on to other things. Those that remain tend to be of good character.

For the remainder of the night, I watched Belle and her partner play until they got taken down. It always makes me smile to watch her walk up to the line and throw a hat trick, three darts in the bullseye. She came back smiling and said she'd probably duff her next attempt. Then she walked up, put two more in the bull and the third just outside of it. That's five darts in a row in the bull.

Sometimes, when she and I throw a round, she let's me win. She's nice that way.

Repost - From Each According to his ability

I posted this back in January originally and thought I would re-post it today with Atlas Shrugged being out in theaters.  It's, I think one of my better political posts.  I hope you all enjoy it.


From each according to his ability...........

....to each according to his need.

Those are the most evil words that can be spoken in an economical, political or a philosophical arena.  Right now, I am in the the process of reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  It's the fourth time that I've read this literary masterpiece and it certainly won't be the last.

This book is an insight on what can happen when government places its boot on the neck of those who produce in society.  When government insists on regulating business for the sake of power, for the sake of some crazy 'greater good' the producers of the world will simply stop producing.

I can not understand how it comes to pass that people can not see that the achievement of man is not outside of nature, but very much within it.  Man is of nature, not outside of it and as a part of the natural order, our achievements are just as natural to it.

Nature itself has its way of recovering from any harm that an accident may cause (the deepwater drilling incident in the Gulf which turned out to be pretty much a non-event, but not caused by private industry but caused by an over-regulatory practice forcing drilling so far off shore in the first place) and nature has a way of righting itself when it's disturbed.

The greatest evil that a person can do is not live up to his/her potential.  To sit idle while living off the backs of those who are productive is unimaginable.  The Soviet Union tried the 'great experiment' of Communism and look what happened?  Even China learned a lesson and has somewhat of a mixed economy, though the middle class is non existent, as there are only the wealthy and the impoverished.  They buy equipment but have no one competent to run it.  Why should anyone learn and produce when the state will take care of them?

In order for Communism to exist, the severe violation of individual rights has to occur.  There can be no freedom  because in freedom there is an acknowledged right to one's property.  The only way that a communist government can exist is by force because people will never choose to work simply for the sake of others without some sort of return on their earnings.  That my friends, is a basic human right, to earn a living for your sake and your needs according to which abilities you choose to nurture and take of advantage of and it's your choice to spend your money in ways that you personally value.

I realize that this comes somewhat out of left field for me, but hey, it's my blog so I'll write what I choose!

HA!!

Seriously though, when you hear the phrase, 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need,' ask yourself this:

Who determines ability?  By what right?
Who determines one's need?  By what right?

The only person that has the right to determine these things is the individual himself.

**  note, I use the terms 'man' and himself or his in a non-gender meaning.  Of course all of this applies to the women as well!

This is just too stupid to even say anything.....

AOM says it all right here.

We have got to start making more noise about the federal government butting into our business here in the states.  I'm tired of those jackwagons.

It's too early to be up on a Saturday!

It's 6:40am and I'm awake this morning and the sad part is that there's isn't a rod and reel in my hand.  Nope, instead I'm about to go and put on my uniform that allows me to make small children cry.

Today are time trials for the swim team and so we have a practice meet.  I would rather be sleeping today but no big deal.  I'll get out there in my uniform and my whistle and send the little sweeties off the blocks.

Until the last weekend in June, my Saturdays belong to the swim team. Go team go!

So OBL had a porn stash?

I thought that was forbidden for devout muslims.

And certainly, if anyone was devout, it was osama. Oh well, they were probably infidel women, so that makes it ok.

Tomorrow is National Turn Signal day

Where we encourage foreigners from other nations to actually use theirs.

Well, not really. It's only a national holiday for kx59. Lucky for me it occurs on a Saturday.

The beater van

is in need of repair (again).

The turn signal is a multi-switch, including the turn signal (duh), the cruise control, the delay wipers, the ok now it's raining wipers and the holeymoley it's raining wipers.

After 21 years, gravity and abuse have taken their toll on the multi-switch. (that sounds a lot like me...)

Feast your eyes, that is a 1989 Chevy Astro Van. At least 148 horse power and only 4500 lbs. of curb weight.

Fortunately for me, the turn signal only requires a fish wire and some electrical tape to replace.

I thought I was going to have to do this again.

That was the tilt steering column tear down due to the wobbly steering wheel. Having a steering wheel that wobbles 1/2" on every axis makes for an exciting drive home. I took the next day off from work to deal with that one.

So, Happy Turn Signal Day!

Asteroid 2005 YU55 will pass within 0.85 lunar distances from the Earth

Whew! that's close. Wait...what?

If it's .85 lunar distances, that means it's .15 lunar distances from the lunar ... I mean Moon!

The path of this rock cuts inside the lunar orbit. Nasa has an animation that shows the moon going "shit!, shit! shit!" as it skirts out of the way. Click the image at the Nasa page to see the animation.

I hope those guy's calcs are right. It would not take a direct hit on this dirtball of a planet to do us in. All that would have to happen is a collision with the moon. Maybe the Mayan calender isn't bs after all.

Where's my tinfoil hat, my head is cold.

update: Oh here's an encouraging footnote on the Nasa page I missed.

Although classified as a potentially hazardous object, 2005 YU55 poses no threat of an Earth collision over at least the next 100 years. However, this will be the closest approach to date by an object this large that we know about in advance and an event of this type will not happen again until 2028 when asteroid (153814) 2001 WN5 will pass to within 0.6 lunar distances

Thoughts on conceal and open carry....

At this point in time, I do not have a license to conceal carry, in fact, I don't even own a pistol just yet.  Most of you out there know that I had not fired a weapon for around 15 years before recently taking up shooting again.

The Tokorev sat in my closet close to a decade before I really took interest in picking up a gun again.  Why did I stop?  Well, the fact of the matter is that I had only one rifle, a .22 but sold it to a friend because I was paranoid having it in the house being a very young (19) and new mother and all.  I regret selling that gun, but I digress.

I never bought a handgun of my own because quite frankly, I couldn't afford one.  I lived paycheck to paycheck for most of my adult life and so I spent my money on other things, such as food and clothing for my daughters, a roof over our heads and other things that were more important at the time.

One thing that I have found, as I look back over the years, had I just not bought things that were bad for me, such as cigarettes or beer, or gone out dancing as often as I did, I could have easily saved up the money to buy myself a pistol and would have much better skill with it than I do today.  I was young and had other things on my mind.

Now, while finances are tight since I left my job and we have two kids in college at the moment, as soon as I am back to work and settled in, I will buy that pistol that I've wanted for oh so long.  The question is, will I try to get my CHL?  Do I really want that responsibility?  When exercising such a right, one takes on an enormous amount of responsibility.

I do know that I would never conceal a gun in my purse.  That's just asking for trouble.  I mean, if someone snatches your purse, your gun is snatched with it.  Just what we need is another gun in the hands of another criminal.  Also, god forbid I were to have to actually defend myself, reaching into my purse for my gun is not my idea of efficient or fast, especially considering that my purse is always full of.....  stuff.  No, I would keep my gun concealed on my body so that I can easily access it if need be.

One thing that I have noticed is that I am becoming more aware of which businesses in my area allow licensed gun owners to carry in their establishments.  I've found that it's more than you would think.  The sign on the grocery store where I do my shopping states, "The unlicensed carrying of a firearm on the premises is unlawful," which tells me that yes you can carry as long as you're licensed.

So what about open carry?

While I completely agree with HB2756, on a personal level, I believe that it's unwise to open carry the main reason being explained in the next paragraph.

Why attract attention?  Have you ever noticed that the person that runs around town showing off and bragging that they are 'unbeatable' at something, always ends up getting challenged?  To me, open carry, while may keep some at bay, may also entice someone to try and take that weapon from you and use it against you.

Now, I'm not worried about scaring old ladies and small children if I have my gun in open view, guns aren't dangerous in the hands of the responsible.

It's more about not making myself a target.  I have always been proud of the fact that I am not, nor have I ever been what they call, "easy prey".  I'm always aware of my surroundings and I carry myself well, I do not make myself a target and I wonder if having a gun in plain view would change that.

This of course brings me back to the question of whether I will be obtaining my CHL once I buy a pistol?  I don't know the answer to that question.  The Libertarian in me says, "No way!  I will hold out for a Constitutional Carry bill to pass in Texas, it shouldn't be too far behind."  The other part of me says, "most definitely because you never know when you may need to defend yourself or those whom you love and cherish."

I guess I will find out that answer for sure after I get a pistol.  Whatever I decide to do, I know that it will be the right choice for me.

We're back!

Apparently, Blogger has been having issues, and of course a whole day's worth of posting and some good natured commenting are now lost.

I seem to recall someone calling the hubby 'sister'....   ha ha.  That thread gave me a good laugh.

Anyway, Blogger is back online and am glad to no longer feel so disconnected!

You know your cat is getting older when..

You can hear her snoring before you can spot her.

I'm sitting here commenting on my favorite blogs and I hear a small snore, one I've heard before, and I knew it was her. She's come to be more affectionate after her foot injury. I guess she's reached that stage of life where she's come to realize she's no longer bullet proof. She's even been trying to cozy up to the current dog.

The current dog is suspicious. She's had her ass chased around the house by a cat that has three times her body weight way to many times to believe this recent change of heart.

As for me, I'm happy to see this change of heart. I'm a cat person. This one has been far to aloof for far too long.

OBL's last facebook post

BRB

Please, would somebody!

Tell Newt Gingrich to STFU and go away. He is the John "fight with me" McCain sequel If I've ever seen it.

A previous employer of mine, a self made man, and a man I respected told me "people never remember the good things you've done, but they never forget the bad things."

Newt is unelectable and as big a target a Palin.

I will grant you, he's not as big a pussy as McCain, but he's going to drown in the shit storm.

I might tell you how I really feel in the comments....

What is he smoking?

Apparently Obama is high or stupid or a liar, most likely it's the last two.

He was in El Paso today and stated that the boarders  borders are more secure than ever?  Seriously?

The sad part is that many people are stupid enough to believe him.

Mother and daughter at the range

It was a nice morning with my oldest (but shortest) daughter at the range today.  I was able to fire off a box of ammo in the Tokorev.  For some reason that gun does not like to fire the soft point rounds but rather it likes FMJ and does not jam up at all when firing them.  I started out with the box of FMJ rounds and it was 'shooty goodness' but when I switched to the others, after the first round it immediately jammed up.

I didn't feel like hassling with it today so we packed up Natasha and headed over to the pistol range to shoot my daughter's Springfield XD-9.

It's a nice gun but I do prefer the XDM 9mm and I think that I've pretty much decided that the XDM is the gun that I'm going to get when I'm ready to buy.

I had a bit of an off day today at the range and for some reason I was shooting low and left and I can't figure out why.  I'm sure that I'll work it out eventually, I know for a fact that it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.

So, without further ado, here are a few photos of our trip to the range today.

This is me with the daughter's pistol.

This is my lovely daughter.

This is me with the Tokorev.

Funny story about today.  We were at the rifle area and I had just fired off the first few rounds in the Tokorev and asked my daughter if she wanted to give it a go.  She said yes and sat down and picked it up.  She couldn't get comfortable with it and really couldn't get it seated properly and when she did have is seated into her shoulder, she couldn't really reach well enough to get a decent shot off.

She did the smart thing though, rather than pulling the trigger anyway, she laid it down and turned it back over to mom.  I think that she was afraid of hurting herself, which is smart, but amusing considering that she's so tiny.

Over all it was a good morning, my daughter enjoyed herself and so did I.  I look forward to the next time we venture out.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a gun for my birthday, but hubby says I have to get a job first, which is probably the wise course of action.  Until then, I'll just have to be happy with shooting the Tokorev.  Of course, admittedly, Natasha is pure heaven.

Ubuntu 11.04 some further feedback

So Ubuntu has this swoopy new interface. I have to say it's not the ubuntu linux I knew back at the 8.04 release. It seems they are trying hard to make linux for snookie.

I'm finding it to not be the barebones operating system I came to love.

I have a column of icons to the left of my screen and a little wizzywig in the upper left hand corner, and I'll be damned If I can find a menu command or icon that will get me to the system preferences.

8.04 was pretty straight forward. I could get to where I needed to be and tweek the system without having to hunt all over the freaking place. I managed to completely bone a long post I was writing because my lazy right thumb drags across the touchpad. I managed to convert the post to text with a shitload of html code in it.

I miss MSDOS.

Man, South Carolina has some Bulbs, don't they?

So, South Carolina is butching up to the federal beauroweenies over the incandescent bulb ban.

They are working legislation through the system to legalize production of incandescent bulbs in the state, for sale only in the state of South Carolina. I see an email in my near future to my state senator. This is Texas damnit, you let those S.C. boys upstage us?

I found my way to this tidbit via IOTW, which links to The Foundry.

Aside from South Carolina taking its own bulbs into its own hands, my favorite quote regarding cfl bulbs is:

And they’re more expensive. But that’s all right, says the Department of Energy, because they use less energy than incandescents and last longer. Although, as I mentioned on C-SPAN last week, studies have shown that the energy savings from CFLs aren’t as great as initially purported. California utilities have spent nearly $550 million to subsidize CFL bulbs for its consumers, and these utilities were eager to see what kind of savings they were getting to subsidize bulb purchases. It turned out that the savings weren’t nearly as high as the electric utility PG&E thought they would be.

but..that's all right, it's a feature, not a bug.

There's a missing bit of info in the article. If you break an incandescent bulb it implodes and sucks some of the C02 out of the atmosphere. (take that algore) Ok, so I made that part up.

If you break a CFL, you must immediately evacuate your domicile while holding your breath, don tyvek bunny suits with HEPA breathing filters, call in a HAZMAT clean up crew, and dutifully remove the contents in a ziplock baggie to your nearest big box hardware store for disposal, due to the mercury in the curlycue bulb. Following which, big box hardware store will dutifully dispose of it in the nearest landfill. (ok ... I made that part up too, it actually gets exported to Nicaragua where convenience store owners build their mansions)

The other buzz that's been rounding the interwebs for quite some time are the led bulbs. I've had lighting consultants pushing led lighting for the better part of a decade. Even now they are very expensive. They always get cut from the lighting budget. It's gotten to the point where I just want to tell them not to waste my time with trying to sell the LED fixtures.

LEDs are amazing technology to be sure, but energy efficient, meh, not so much.

If you run the numbers on the individual LEDs they look astounding with respect to energy consumption.

There is one little problem. It's known as a transformer, which is needed to drive the LEDs. Mister transformer is not so efficient, and as a by product wastes a great deal of energy generating heat.

I was completely on the LED bandwagon until recently when I had one of my lighting consultants admit that the LED lighting he was proposing was less energy efficient than the less expensive metal halide fixtures that were the alternate. The magic just isn't there any more.

Yes, I've seen all the test data, but the fact of the matter for both CFLs and LEDs is that the energy savings comes from producing less light. The argument that the color temperature and brightness of the CFL and LED lamps compensate is just plain bunk. This I can see with my own eyes.

A post that makes me go..Hmmmm.

An Ordinary American has the down low.

I've been waiting for the same bloggers that debunked the Bush document that took down Dan Rather to get ahold of the manchurian moonbat's birth certificate. AOA's post brings some interesting inconsistencies to light.

Nobody, particularly anyone as self serving as bho spends 8 million to keep their personal records sequestered, only to finally go...oh, well ok then, here it is!

But then, the ivy league pricks think they are the smartest guys in the room.

heh, and double heh....

and furthermore...heh

Off the grid...

I've been quiet the past several days due to the process of job hunting, and house remodeling down at the creek house.

The job hunt is a little slow going but I've had some leads so we'll see if anything pans out. Anyone know someone who needs a bookkeeping, A/R or A/P person in Houston? Heck I could even work remotely if need be.

The remodeling project is about finished. The main part of it is done, now it's just clean up and there are a few rooms left to paint but those will get done in phases this summer.

I had a great time with the in laws, but the poor hubby was stuck in Houston working out his computer issues at work. Poor guy, it's been hell for him these past few weeks. The upside is that he has managed to post to the blog and keep it going. I'm so glad to have him contributing.

Starting this upcoming weekend, I'm going to be doing swim team every Saturday morning so I will not be leaving town again until July. Fun fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to the gun range with my oldest daughter. She recently purchased a Springfield XDM 9mm and so we're going to go and shoot it along with shooting the Tokorev.

Funny thing, my daughter is very short, she's only 4'11" and that Tokorev is almost as tall as she is! We'll see how she handles it. I'll be sure to post photos of our trip to the range tomorrow.

Road Testing Linux Ubuntu 11.04

I am no computer expert by any means, and definitely a Linux noob, but I thought I'd share this.I had Ubuntu 8.04 on the old Toshiba laptop that I drowned with a beer. I liked it a lot. It was a very lean operating system, and the opera internet browser was quick.

I replaced that laptop with a cheap compaq loaded with Windows 7. I found windows 7 to be just fine and had no plans to install linux on this machine. Until...

We got a rootkit virus on the network at work which, amongst other things, infected Buffalo Terastation network accessible storage devices. Our virus protection software was ineffective at removing it and every malware/spyware app I could get my hands on failed to remove it, including Kaspersky and Sophos boot disks. Not having the technical expertise to root it out of the boot sector, in desperation I searched for a brute force approach. A parallel installation of linux on a laptop and a 2 terabyte external hard drive was the answer. I enabled FTP access on the terastations and found an FTP client called Filezilla. Sixty some thousand files in god knows how many folders later, one terastation was backed up. Thankfully, Filezilla duplicated the folder structure on the fly. The next step for the terastations is to reformat the drives

Ubuntu has several .iso files for 32bit and 64bit platforms at www.ubuntu.com. I tested the OS via an Ubuntu Live CD iso that I downloaded from the site. The computer boots from the cd, bypassing the windows OS installed on the hard drive. Once I was relatively sure it was going to work on the laptop I had at the office, I got Ubuntu's windows installer and set it up parallel to Windows xp.

After working with the 32bit version, I got the 64bit "live" version to test on my home laptop. The 32 bit version is small enough to fit on a CD. The 64bit version is just a bit too large and required a DVD.

So far, Ubuntu 11.04 is working pretty much flawlessly on the 32bit laptop at work. It's working pretty well on my 64bit laptop, but I need to update some drivers I think. It's having a bit of a problem with my wireless mouse. I am running Ubuntu for workstations on both laptops. They do have notebook versions as well.

This is the malware/trojan/virus that infected our network. Yes, it has all three types of malicious software as its payload. It propagates via windows shares across the network. If I were President of the US, I would create an antimalware department, with the ultimate malware removal tool for the source of said malware.

You're worried about Global Warming Climate Change?

The Telegraph notes: "Giant Asteroid Heading Close to Earth"

"The rock, which is quarter of a mile across, will pass between our planet and the moon in November and will be visible with small telescopes"

"If it were to hit the earth, the asteroid, named YU55, would have an impact equivalent to 65,000 atom bombs and would leave a crater more than six miles wide and 2,000ft deep"

I'm in agreement with The Daily Bayonet:

"Keep your fingers crossed that NASA’s calculations went nowhere near Jim Hansen or Gavin Schmidt’s desks. And wake up Bruce Willis."

- good thing East Anglia doesn't model this kind of thing-

If you are in need of an antidote to the tripe spewed by climate change moonbats, head on over to The Daily Bayonet. Good, and good for you.

The link is in the blogroll.

Reality Cable TV

So I got toxed on Hannity drooling over the rhino candidates pretty quick and switched channels.

I find myself viewing a show named "Sold!" midstream.

The camera crew is interviewing the old couple that owns the business. They are hoping to get enough money to build their mansion in Nicaragua.

The next camera shot is of a convenience store in the middle of east bumfuck nowhere.

The next scene is the host / auctioneer trying to sell the whole kit and kaboodle for $125,000.

No takers, so they go to auctioning the contents of the store.

The thing that compelled me to post was the interview with one of the auction attendees, who said he bought a deer head and five quarts of oil.

I am laughing my ass off as I type..here it comes...that word

REALLY?

and so, the shows ratings went up by .00000000000001% because I stopped to look and my brain went "you're shittin' me..."

As the news media milks OBL's demise...

My reaction is...

about time. mission accomplished. the Navy Seals rock. Well done gentlemen. not interested in the lame stream media's mental masturbation.

that is all.

Watching the republicrat prez candidates debate on fox

Belle is out of town. We are chatting and watching the debate.

The unelectable one, Ron Paul, makes the most sense in the debate. I'm liking Herman Cain.

Belle suggested a ticket of Cain / Paul which I thought was good.

Then they showed the other candidates not at the debate, which reminded me of Ms. Bachman.

So I'm thinking Cain / Bachman.

What say you?

Ladies who belch

Yes I know what you're going to say, "Ladies do NOT belch, at least not loudly in public."

Last night, that statement was proven to be untrue tenfold.

I was playing a dart match against the woman from the other team and her partner, and my partner and I were winning by a fairly wide margin. I walk up to the line to shoot and as I'm taking aim, I hear a loud, long, "BUUUURRRRPPPP."

I turned around and looked at the woman, who I've known for years and is usually the very quiet type and asked, "was that you?"

She grinned and said, "why yes it was!"

I said, "I'm shocked!"

So I stepped back to the line and took aim again and a fleeting thought of two of my three daughters and their uncanny ability to belch louder than I've heard any grown man belch and had developed this talent when they were 8 and 4.

Of course once that thought came over me, I began to laugh and once I start laughing, sometimes it's hard for me to stop. One place that you do not want to be when I begin to laugh is in the vicinity of a dart board when it's my turn to shoot. Granted I did eventually hit the board but totally missed my shot.

First dart, I took aim at the triple 20 and launched it into the single 12 (waaaay off). I laughed even louder as I brought my second dart up to aim and dropped it over my shoulder onto the ground... oops it slipped.... so I picked it up and launched that one into the triple 5 (closer that time).

Now, you have to understand that while all this is going on there are various cute and funny comments going on in the background which is not helping my situation at all.

Finally I launch the third dart and hit the triple 18 which technically was still a miss, but hey, it was a good miss!

Thankfully, we were playing 501 so all of those darts thrown counted and that round was worth 105 points. (The other team was not happy considering those were lucky darts, of course, they know me well enough to know that I rarely throw lucky darts, I have a fair amount of skill and rarely get lucky in a miss)

That just goes to show you that every now and then, even a blind squirrel will occasionally find a nut.

Pussyfooting Around

This past Thursday before I left for the Creek House, I noticed that Miss Kitty's right-rear paw had a slight injury. She seemed to be okay and wasn't, at the time, favoring that foot.

Friday, my brother stopped by the house to feed Miss Kitty and my dog Penny and noticed that she was had a slight limp and that her paw seemed to be a little swollen.

Saturday, by the time I got home, the vet was closed and poor Miss Kitty's foot was really swollen and she was limping really bad. I knew the poor thing didn't feel well because she was uncharacteristically cuddly. She wanted to be close, which is not even close to normal for her.

I put Neosporin on her foot which she almost immediately licked off but it was better than doing nothing for her.

On Sunday her foot looked a little better but it was starting to ooze blood and goo. At this point, I knew she had an infection or an abscess but the color of her gums were still nice and pink and her nose was still cold and damp.

Yesterday morning I called the vet first thing and got an appointment for her to be looked at and treated. Her appointment was in the afternoon so that gave me time to develop a plan of action so that I could get her to the vet without incident.

Miss Kitty was laying on top of a table in the living and luckily the cat carrier was not in its usual place but was close enough by that I could sneak the carrier to her before she could get away.

Miss Kitty has figured out long ago that the carrier means either a very long car ride to the creek or a trip to a place where they stick needles in you, put foreign objects into your ears and worse yet, into your ass.

So, I sneak up on Miss Kitty with the carrier as quietly as I could but of course, when I opened the carrier, she was clued in and tried to hobble away. Thanks to her injury she was unable to escape and I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck to avoid being clawed and bitten, and put her into the carrier.

She immediately starts meowing that poor, pitiful, get me out of here meow and I picked her up and carted her off to the vet.

Miss Kitty is terrified of the vet and typically she will sit on the exam table, ejecting fur and drooling. Yes, drooling. Yesterday, rather than drool, Miss Kitty simply sat there ejecting fur, looking wide eyed because I think deep down she knew that she was about to go through something humiliating.

So after weighing her in at 11.5 pounds, the doctor comes into the room and the vet tech picks her up by the scruff of the neck, supporting her backside, so that the doc could examine her foot. It's at this point that Miss Kitty begins spitting and hissing and giving this really deep, "Don't fuck with me" growl.

They took her to the back to soak her foot in medicine and clean it up so he can have a better look. They also ran a Feline Leukemia and FIV (feline AIDS) test on her. I could hear her back there screaming and hissing and the occasional 'ouch' coming from an unsuspecting technician.

When they returned Miss Kitty she was wrapped up in a towel like a burrito and she was PISSED OFF! They put her on the table again and she sat there giving me the stink eye. Thinking that the ordeal was over, Miss Kitty began to settle back down again and I was petting her and she began to purr.

I felt bad for her as they had shaved her foot and squeezed some of the blood and goo out of the wound, which as I suspected, had abscessed and of course she got an injection of a nice, strong antibiotic. Things were calming down and Miss Kitty was getting calmer and calmer, then the doctor remembered that he forgot something......... to take her temperature.

At this point, I can imagine Miss Kitty laying there thinking that she managed to escape the vet office without having something shoved up her ass, and just as she thinks she's escaped that humiliation the vet raises her tail.

It was then that my cat stopped sounding like a cat and started sounding like a Tasmanian Devil. He raised her tail and she gave off this awful sound, he sticks the thermometer in and the sound suddenly becomes higher pitched. She starts hissing and spitting until it's over with.

After that, I put her back in her cage so she would have no doubt that it was all over with. $269.00 later, Miss Kitty is well on the mend and we know that she is Leukemia and FIV free.

She goes back in 2 weeks to get her shots, she's due anyway. Something tells me that I will have to figure something nice and tricky out to get her into her cage again. Should be fun.

Corpus Christi Bay.....

I just love this song.  Robert Earl Keene is one of my favorite singers.

I worked the rigs from three to midnight
On the corpus Christi Bay
I'd get off and drink till daylight
Sleep the morning away
I had a plan to take my wages
Leave the rigs behind for good
But that life it is contagious
And it gets down in your blood

I lived in corpus with my brother
We were always on the run
We were bad for one another
But we were good at having fun
We got stoned along the seawall
We got drunkand rolled a car
We knew the girls at every dancehall
Had a tab at every bar

If I could live my life all over
It wouldnt matter anyway
Cause I never could stay sober
On the Corpus Christi Bay

My brother had a wife and family
You know he gave them a good home
But his wife thought we were crazy
And one day we found her gone
We threw her clothes into the car trunk
Her photographs her rosary
We went to the pier and got drunk
And threw it all into the sea

CHORUS

Now my brother lives in Houston
He married for the secound time
He got a job with the union
And its keeping him in line
He came to Corpus just this weekend
It was good to see him here
He said he finally gave up drinking
The he ordered me a beer

CHORUS X 2

Keywords: H. S. Precision rifles, marketing fail, Lon Horiuchi, shot Vicki Weaver

Linky, just cuz BP asked

The unabridged backstory:

The executive summary:

During the firing of these two shots, Lon Horiuchi managed to quite neatly shoot Vicki Weaver (neither an adult male nor observed with a weapon) in the face -- while she was holding her baby daughter in her arms -- killing the 42-year-old mother graveyard dead.

Some years later, the firearms firm of H-S Precision decided to include a testimonial in their catalog in which the author praised H-S Precision products.

That author was Lon Horiuchi.

From the Law Dog

Bad form H-S Precision, Bad form...

ps. even if the internet doesn't remember, Alésage Patch will.