Happy New Year Ya'll

I'm taking care of this right now, cuz it's not likely I'll be up for the turn of the year.
It is a damp and drizzly day at the BAR Corporate HQ.  Suits my mood for the coming year perfectly.
Upside is that the house is less likely to catch on fire from fireworks this evening.
This neighborhood lights up in a major way when fireworks go on sale. In years past I was a major contributor to that, but my youngins are all growed up and up to mischief of their own tonight.


New Year's Eve festivities queued up for this evening are likely to be mostly old and foreign films on netflix.  Well, hoppy beverages will be included I'm sure.

I've already started.  "Zulu" produced by Joseph E. Levine.  One of my favorite actors, a very young Michael Caine, is in this flik.  I pointed this out to the Lovely Sick Belle as she is chatting with friends.
She was underwhelmed.

Ja, Belle ist krank nun auch.

Mother Mother Ocean

A bit of music for our snow bound blog friends from more tropical environs.
This happens to be Belle's favorite Jimmy Buffet song.  I like it a lot too. It always makes me think of Uncle Jay, who is currently up to mischief down under.  Go, have a look. The pics will take the chill out of your bones.

krank und schlecht

"Krank", my father's favorite German word for sick.  Ich bin krank.
Sore throat morphing into a chest cold.
There are some things that should not be thought, much less said.  I've regressed my way back to the inception of this cold; the week before Christmas.
"Wow", thinks I, "I didn't realize I had that much "paid time off" left.  I must not have gotten sick much this year.  I think I'll take off the week between Christmas and New Years."

What a dumb, dumb think to think.

Obviously, I had used up the vacation days.  Only the sick days were left.

what a buzz kill

So I'm writing a post about how much I enjoyed my Christmas. The dog is cozied up to Belle on the couch. The Cat is laying between us purring, slowly encroaching on my mouse pad.
Life is good.
I nudged the Cat to get her off my mouse pad.  She has been getting a bit to big for her britches lately.
Cat went into feral attack mode, bit and clawed, and summarily got bitch slapped off the couch.
This time, she opened a vein on the back of my hand.

She is now on the back of the other couch getting the hairy eyeball from me. She also has a smudge of my blood on her forehead.  A little reminder, courtesy of kx59.

This is the second time in a week.  I now have cat attack scars on both hands.

She is now no longer allowed within the kx59 wingspan of my person.

For her own safety.


I am a cat person. I grew up with cats. All my previous cats have been very loving and affectionate.  I like cats a lot. This one, less and less.  Ok. truthfully, not at all anymore.

The Christmas Spirit

I think I found it again. This is not a small thing.

We spent the evening with Belle's side of the family the day before Christmas Eve.

We spent Christmas Eve at my sister's with my family.

We spent Christmas Day with our "dart league" family.

I have had the most wonderful, wonderful  Christmas.

My Christmas gifts:

My Children.  My Grandchildren.

My Dad, My Mother-in-Law, My Sister. My brother. My niece. My nephews.

Our friends.

I spent time with my grown children, that I do not see much of these days.

I got to tilt a few beers with my brother, whom I do not see much of these days either.  Apparently, he and I are the Abbott and Costello of the family (when we've been drinking)

I know there is no one else on the planet that can make me laugh like he does.  The interesting thing though, is that the late teen and twentysomethings always gather when kx59 and uncle Mike retire to the patio.

Merry Christmas Everyone

.

The next high tech breakthrough in air conditioning

Frozen chickens.

Superior to Freon or Glaciers in respect to heat absorption.

took the bird out at noon today. It is now 6:32 pm give or take.

Bird is solid as a rock...still.

Left over stew or a frozen pot pie is looking more viable right now.

The Cat

Sleeps with a Gat under her pillow Paw.
I suggest not startling her.
If her groups are anything like the marks her claws leave, you are in deep shit.

Subconscious Conservation

I stay out of stores as much as possible during the Christmas season, particularly as the Day draws near.
From what I'm reading out there in the blogosphere, the shelves are running dry of "evil black rifles" and ammunition.

In compliance with the BAR Corporate Headquarters employee handbook for blog contributors, we shoot weekly.  Saturday is usually the day.  We were at my In-Law's yesterday for the Christmas gathering on that side of the family, so no poking holes in paper.

This morning I woke up and thought, "I want to go shoot."  
Brain immediately says,"Yeah, uhm....no."
"The up close and personal attack deterrent ammo is running a bit low."

.

Dangerous actions

Subtitle, "Love at first sight"

The Southern Belle and I met at work, had the unsanctioned elicit office romance and wound up married.  14 years now.

The two of us talk, now and then, about how we met and our whirlwind courtship.  9 Months.
We've talked about his many, many times over the years. Both divorced twice before, swore we'd never get married again.

We got to talking about this again for the eleventieth time tonight.

In the course of this repeated conversation, I drilled down to the moment that I fell.

I did something that could have brought a sexual harassment suit against my employer and gotten me fired in a heartbeat.

I've mentioned before that I am not a trained IT professional, but play one in real life.  I was at The Lovely Belle's desk helping her with a computer problem, side by side, nearly head to head.

I happened to glance to my right and saw three or four strands of long blonde hair hanging down as she was looking at the computer screen.

Somehow, the world stopped for me.  Why I felt bold enough to take my index finger and tuck those strands up and over her left ear, I cannot explain.

The rest is history. I was informed this evening that another employee witnessed this event, which I did not know.

Sometimes the risk is worth it.

Ok, look you guys, stop

This is embarrassing.

It was just a post about one of the complications of concealed carry and the fact that I've gotten older and fatter, and I found a holster I like for my Ruger.

Borepatch found my brainfart footnote at the bottom of the post about an EBT card amusing and linked to the post.

The Patch-alanche has resulted in 497 page views on the post.  I apologize for your disappointment.  It was certainly not a post deserving of that many page views.

Divemedic's comment made me laugh my ass off though.

Buying your way into Heaven

Just write a big fat check to the Lord Almighty.

"Rabinovitch says that similar checks previously 

placed in the wall have bounced."

No kidding. Huh, who would'a thought. I mean, really, some of them came from Nigeria.

.

The "Holiday for the Rest of Us"

If you've ever wondered where to get a "Festivus" pole, wonder no more.

I stumbled across this while looking for railing components.

I've specified Wagner railing components for a couple of decades now. This was the last thing I expected to find.  Gave me a chuckle.

Capitalism Rocks.

.

Oh, yeah...almost forgot

Tomorrow's the end of the world.

According to the Mayans.

So either we can kiss our collective asses goodbye, or I'll see you at the same BAR time, same BAR place on 12/22.

I'm prepped. I have a beer in hand.

8001

I'm just not much of a club guy, but I've been thinking about this for a while.

Now I'm a club guy.

.

Soon as them taters is done, I'm eatin

Meals cooked in a single pot are some of my favorites.

Chili, Ham n Beans, Stew, Homemade Chicken soup, etc.  Good rib stickin meals that warm your soul.

As the temperatures rise though, these tend to drop off the BAR menu.

We are having a dearth of winter down here this year.

This is Winter.

This is "Still Summer"

I got tired of waiting, so I've got a pot of stew on the stove.

Time for fatter boy pants

I've managed to grudgingly hold the line at a size 38 waist for quite some time now, but it's denial really. I've been working on a dunlop for a while, as in "Ma belly done lopped over ma belt".   Essentially a groove around my midsection in which my waistband and belt snap just perfectly.

The holster I ordered for my Ruger finally arrived today from N82 Tactical (Nate Squared). It's an inside the waistband molded polycarbonate paddle holster with suede backing.  The Ruger slides right in and the trigger guard clicks into a detent bump molded into the plastic. A gentle twist towards the body and the pistol comes out no problem.  Their "professional" model.  No break in time. Works right out of the box.  Made in 'Merica!  Damnit!

But, sigh, I'm  either going to have to get tactical slacks or drop an inch and a half off my waistline, whichever comes first.  I'm betting on the fatter boy pants frankly.




N82 advertised that the holster would ship in 5 to 6 days via USPS.  It did and kx59 is a happy camper.
I have received no financial remuneration for the above plug and paid $70 plus $3 shipping for my own damn holster. I didn't even use my EBT card. Not that I have one. As far as you know.

These People

Are seriously fucked up. As in mentally deranged.

Westboro Baptist Church.

Planning to protest at the Sandy Hook Funerals?

What exactly is the Christian message they are trying to get across?

The Progs succeeded in getting rid of State Mental Institutions and turned the crazies out on to the streets.

They've gravitated to the Westboro Baptist Church apparently.
Instead of gun control, I think the national conversation should be about reinstatement of the State Mental health system.

lock em up.

Things not to get your Grandchildren for Christmas

The Redneck Engineer's comment on my "Revenge"post brought this to mind.  Something about "one upping last year's gift"

  Playschool Pirate Ship. 

A gift from my parents to my, at the time, 3 year old son. At the time, this was a $90 toy for preschoolers. Some assembly required.  Don't get me wrong, this toy was way cool. Cannons, Sails, Pirate flag, Rigging, cannon balls, it had it all.
I am good at following directions. I have rebuilt entire brake systems, fuel systems and a GM 700R4 transmission. But assembling this preschool toy pirate ship took 9 hours on Christmas Day.  It was not really the way I wanted to spend the day, but we got 'er done down to the last sticker.  (no part left behind is my motto)

Within two weeks or so, the pirate ship was stripped down to a bare hull. All sailors lost on the Berber  Carpet Sea.  Occasionally the relic of a cannon was found under foot. (I know, I know, at least it wasn't a lego...)  I still have no idea what happened to the bulk of the 400 parts that made up that toy. Although, now that I think about it, my Ex did have serious sewer problems some time after.

As the next Christmas approached, I looked my Father in the eyes and requested he never do that again.
I was the middle child.  The good one. Always followed the rules. Never got in trouble**. So I'm chalking this up to Dad wanting to get his Grandson a really, really cool gift, versus REVENGE!

** As far as they knew. (but that's another series of posts)

Another behind the curve movie review

Watched
The Bourne Legacy
and
Batman Rising  The Dark Knight Rises
today for  5 bucks a pop on pay per view.

Wow! No really, Wow!

They both sucked.

Revenge

I'm getting the other half of this conversation second hand but the story goes like this:

Oldest Daughter  (hereafter refered to as OD because augh is hard to type) and Belle were emailing and texting earlier today about what the Grandchildren wanted for Christmas. Scooter is 6ish, Alley Cat is 3, Little Man is so young he doesn't know he's on the planet yet.

OD's FIL is getting the girls Nintendo DS game players. ( I neither confirm nor deny that I know what those are... specifically)

Belle had asked for a wish list from OD. OD texted to get them games for the DS. Belle explained that their side of the family was getting together for Christmas...a week before Christmas ** and the girls would know what was upwitdat.

Belle and OD got into a short but heated discussion. Belle swears it was because OD was too lazy to bother with writing an email listing said wish list.

Do not mess with the Zohan Belle.

Belle looked at me after ending the call.

Momentarily, I thought I was in trouble. Much to my relief Belle simply stated that she was going to buy a drum set for both the girls.





** Holidays are complicated for those of us with multiple divorces, remarriages, extended families,  and kids. For the adults it is a logistics nightmare. For the kids it is boon where gifts are concerned.

Ham n Beans

Depression era dirt farmer food.
My first exposure was as a child at my Grandmother's house.  She made it with a ham hock that had damn near been scraped clean. If you found a morsel of ham in your bowl, it was a bonus.  She made it with Great Northerns.  God Almighty it was good.

My mother carried on the tradition, with a bit more ham.  Groodles after Thanksgiving or Christmas always included a massive pot of Ham and Beans, with the back half of a pigosaurus ham in it.

Around the Holidays, I buy hams on sale for the sole purpose of making a washtub pot full.

Bought a cured ham around Thanksgiving with that thought in mind.  Work has been insane for the past two months. Dinner planning nonexistent.

Yesterday I got past the deadline.

Left work early today and after settling in I thought "Ya know, I'm going to cook that pot of beans".
I'm tired of being too busy, too rushed, too tired.

It might be 1am before those Great Northerns and that Ham are ready to eat, but wtf, ya know?
I've got enough in that pot to last at least through Tuesday.


As a footnote: I am blessed in that I do not have the usual digestive reaction to eating copious amounts of beans.  Granny Smith Apples are another issue.

God did not make Women Equal with Men

Physically.
Second oldest Daughter empowers herself with the equalizer.
Her first time to shoot pistols.
Not bad groups at all.  By the end of the session she was loading mags by herself.


























As a footnote, I am not short.  She is that tall.

What She Said

"There’s a reason for the weak arguments and hypocrisy. These activists aren’t actually interested in reducing crime, they want more government control over our lives. That’s precisely why the Founding Fathers enshrined our right to keep and bear arms in the Constitution."

Emily Miller - Washington Times

"Obama said he wants more laws restricting firearms ownership because, in his hometown of Chicago, “there’s an awful lot of violence, and they’re not using AK-47s, they’re using cheap handguns.”

Well duh. I mean who would use an AK 47?

Oh. Wait. Uhm, never mind

More from Ms. Miller on Bob Costas and Illinois State Senator Trotter attempting to board a plane with his loaded training bra  .25 cal.

If I actually had a ten gallon hat, I'd tip it to you Ms. Miller

hey, aren't guns illegal in Illinois?

And, What is Bob Costas' area of expertise?

.

The Four Seasons

Early Summer
Summer
Late Summer
Christmas

Late Summer is running a little long this year. Usually we are in the Christmas Season shortly after Thanksgiving.  The Christmas Season will officially start shortly when I navigate to Amazon to shop gifts for the Grandchildren.

I bought two new winter coats a short while back, something a bit more stylish and urban than my traffic yellow ski parka.  Obviously wishful thinking.

The ski parka? That's so the ski resort rescue team can more easily find me.

No, it is not global worming. It was like this in the 70's when the doom and gloomers were telling us we were headed into another ice age.

tears my heart out

"A man's handgun went off while he was holding it..."

From an AP news story - not sure who wrote it, but that statement is all kinds of wrong. The gun didn't just "go off". He failed to keep his freaking finger off the trigger.

In fact he breached each of the four rules in sequence as if running a checklist to ensure catastrophic failure.

He will live in his own personal Hell for the rest of his days after shooting his own 7 year old son.


7 years old. The word "tragic" just isn't sufficient.

.

Truth in advertising

Friday sucked

Saturday and Sunday will be good.
Shooting both days.  Sunday with one of my daughters. She's stoked and so am I.
Her first time. 

Anniversaries............

As well all know, today is Pearl Harbor Day.

December 7th 1941 the Empire of Japan awakened a sleeping giant and quickly learned that as a Nation, though at times we are divided within, we always will come together to beat back a common enemy.

Those were the days of the Greatest Generation.  People didn't think twice about sacrificing and rationing for the war.  They were asked to do it, and they did.  They banded together and old, young, male or female, everyone worked together.

Survivors of the Great Depression, their generation had gumption.  I was fortunate enough to have been the grandchild of 4 such people.  Survivors...    my grandparents all had grit and knew what it was like to struggle.

After 911, we as a country were able to pull together and rise to preserve our freedom, our way of life.  The difference is...  it didn't last long.  Soon after, when the next election rolled around, the country became divided once again.....   Now, we have a group in Washington that want nothing more than to bring down our way of lives.  To take away as much of our freedom as they can get away with.  They want us disarmed.  They want us to be subjects not citizens.

All I have to say to them is 'screw you!'  I will NOT just bend over and take it simply because you think you know what is best for me.  I will NOT allow you to destroy that in which my grandparents sacrificed and fought to preserve.  I a law abiding citizen will NOT be disarmed simply because some scumbag, in some city, some where might use a firearm for evil.  I will NOT allow my country to succumb to complete control over our lives, I will NOT allow my rights to be taken away when there are men and women out there who fight so hard to defend those very rights, families who continue to sacrifice every single day to preserve that freedom.

So today, remember Pearl Harbor and if you see a veteran, shake their hand and thank them for their sacrifice to preserve our way of life.  I do that frequently no matter what day it is, but I know that they always appreciate hearing that simple 'thank you'.

On a second note....   On this day, 14 years ago, Kx and I got married.  Today is our wedding anniversary so to my darling other half, thank you for all the years.

I may have mentioned this before, but the Justice of the Peace who married us said, "This isn't the first war that's started on this day!"

I guess sometimes, like any marriage, it's been like war.  You make sacrifices, you fight, you struggle, but all in all, I think that we have done pretty okay.

I love you my husband, happy anniversary!
 

This is hilarious!!!

Remember the good old Candid Camera tv show?

This prank is from a Brazillian show and it's hilarious.....