Back atcha Keads

A little modern day Bluegrass from Robert Earl Keen Jr., one of my favorites.

Sometimes..crow is palatable

Topshot.

So I thought so many times what a dick George was. Then I made the one line post about what a prick he was.

I just watched the replay of the aftershow and saw that he didn't just intentionally miss one shot, but two. On one hand, I'm glad Chris got the $100k, for his kids. After reflecting some, I'm disturbed that George didn't take it.

This is only the second season for the show? I'm not sure. We picked up on it in the previous season. I recall a comment by BorePatch from last season about how much he disliked one of the competitors.

One piece of advice I have for the producers of the show is that they had better figure out who their audience is pretty quick. I suspect that their audience is not folks that get their panties in a wad if Snooky's tramp stamp shows through her overly low cut white see through dress.

We are coming up on the next season for the show pretty soon. If I see the same middle school drama amongst the competitors again, that may be it for me.

Stack 'em up, let them shoot, weed them out and let's see some really remarkable shots.

So, I got sucked into the drama as well. I've seen a common thread through two seasons. Three establishes a pattern. So I might bail on the shown, calling bullshit.

End of rant.

PS.

OR, We could just all have a good time with soap opera aspect of it. After all, I did have quite a good time in the live blog of the last episode

A Somber Homecoming

There is something about the salt air that is really good for me.  My better half likes to call me a salty-dog because as soon as I am close to the coast, I relax instantly and after that calm relaxation spreads over me, I'm invigorated.

I've been working the past two weekends at the creekhouse, which is close to the coast, remodeling the kitchen and painting.  It's been hard work, but well worth it.  I only have one more weekend of this, the clean up and finishing touches.

This morning when I got up, I checked the blog to find my better half's post about our neighbor, Nicki's brother who was killed in Afghanistan.  I am heartbroken for her because I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a sibling.

When I turned on our street and I saw all the American Flags in the lawns of all my neighbors, I felt proud of my neighbors and my heart was warmed and tears of gratitude for not just Nicki's brother and what he sacrificed for liberty but for everyone who has served and who is still serving.

Most of the time, when I see our men and women in uniform, whether it's at the airport or at the grocery store, I, if given the opportunity, will thank them for their service.  I do the same when I have the opportunity to speak to a cop or a fireman, I thank these men and women for putting themselves in harm's way to ensure that my live can be lived in freedom.

To the families of those same men and women, their sacrifice is not less important and I thank them for the love and support that they give so that their loved one can do a good job.

I'm glad to be home today and I count my blessings, but I can help but to think of what has been lost.

Fox news has a story here and names the victims brave men and woman (only one female killed) who were killed in Kabul.

Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi declined comment Saturday, saying the joint investigation by the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and the Afghan government was still under way. 

In a statement issued late Friday, the U.S. Defense Department identified those killed as:
—Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., 37, of Knoxville, Tennessee.
—Maj. Philip D. Ambard, 44, of Edmonds, Washington.
—Maj. Jeffrey O. Ausborn, 41, of Gadsden, Alabama.
—Maj. David L. Brodeur, 34, of Auburn, Massachusetts.
—Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II, 40, of New Haven, Connecticut.
—Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, of Hockley, Texas.
—Capt. Charles A. Ransom, 31, of Midlothian, Virginia.
—Master Sgt. Tara R. Brown, 33, of Deltona, Florida.

I am pretty sure that her brother was Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, may they all rest in peace and their families are in my thoughts.

A small American Flag

Perspective finally arrived in my chinese finger trap brain.

I've had a particularly bad three weeks. Details would be pointless in comparison. It took until now for it to sink in. Wrapped up in my own crap, I haven't even remembered to mention it to Belle, who is out of town at the moment.

Last night when I got home, my neighbor across the street asked somewhat timidly if she could put a small American Flag in my front yard. I immediately responded, "yes, of course". Then I asked why. A neighbor down the street is the sister of one of the airmen killed by the Afghan pilot in Kabul. My neighbor told me that she was at the airport to meet the casket as we spoke.

As bad as the past three weeks have been for me, they are mere inconvenience in comparison. It is so easy to lose perspective.

Every yard on the block has a flag. Our prayers are with you.

Tornados, Droughts and Weddings, Oh My!

All of those folks in the southern states who have lost their homes and family members, my thoughts are with them.  What an awful mess and more than 200 dead?

Of course the MSM is focusing on the Royal wedding.  What's with all the ugly hats?  This morning on the news, they spent an hour talking about freaking hats!  Ugly hats!

Texas is in its own mess right now with the fires and the drought.  Apparently there was a grass fire along the highway, I must have just missed it because I travel on that road on the way to the creek house.  Also, there are a lot of power outages going on in coastal areas because the salt air corrodes the transformers.  It's usually not a problem because the rain washes the transformers.

A refinery in Texas City lost power causing toxic chemicals to be released into the air, folks in TC were told to shelter in place.  Texas City is of course on the coast.

Fire Season........ In Texas

We really need the rain..   There's a massive wildfire going on just north of  Huntsville Texas.

We saw one on the way to San Antonio a couple of weeks ago on the side of the road.

I'm not used to seeing wildfires in Texas, that's usually California's gig.

Just in........ Obama Provides Birth Certificate

I've always held the opinion that the Republicans (and now the Donald) had bigger fish to fry. Lots of reason to not like the Queen.

And as usual the Queen is attacking the Republicans for focusing on his birth. He conveniently forgets that when Bush was in office, they focused on his possible drug use, etc. etc.

God what a hypocrite, I wonder if the MSM will call him out on this? Of course not.

He says that we have better things to do, other things to do than focus on this 'silliness'.

That begs the question did this birth certificate issue interrupt a much needed wanted vacation again?

Top Shot -The after show

So... did George throw it or not.

the miss with the pistol at 25 feet, with the largest target he could chose, to put Chris back in the running?

I really hate it when my preconceptions get proven false.

As Colby said, "what just happened?"

Thank you for stopping in......

The live blogging was so much fun, thanks to the participants, we had 114 comments (including our own of course).

It was great fun and will most likely do it again the first show of the next season.

What a blast and I am so glad that Chris won.

Live Blogging Top Shot

Join the feeding frenzy in the comments. I don't really like any of these jackwagons. I just want to see George lose.

A serious lack of character in this group...

This is too cool

I was over at Jumblerant's place and he posted this video.  It's pretty amazing, really, though not sure the wisdom in taking a giant puppet to a school, scaring small children.  Of course, who am I to talk, I referee swim meets and make small children cry.

Anyway, here's the video and when you get a chance, go check out Jumblerant's cool blog.  He has one of the toughest jobs on the planet, Law Enforcement/Security in Israel would not want to mess with that guy!

Top Shot......

My better half wants us to live blog during Top Shot tonight, so I hope that folks will join us. Should be fun....

16 minutes and counting till showtime!

Just how big IS Texas?

I always laugh when people speak of an hour non-stop commute somewhere to be 'too far' of a drive.  

Growing up in Texas, an hour's drive is nothing, though it won't get you very far across the state percentage wise.

How big is Texas?  Well let's not get all caught up in square miles, etc. etc. etc.  Allow me to speak of it in terms of driving.

If you start out in Jacksonville Florida on I-10 and let's say that you want to drive all the way to Los Angeles, CA, when you hit Houston Texas after about a 13.5 hour drive, you are a little more than half way to LA.

Now, suppose that you stop in Houston and now you're heading West on I-10 your halfway point to LA is now El Paso, Texas, which is another 10.5 hour drive or so., then from El Paso to LA is 11.5 hours.  

If you drive on I-10 from the Texas/Louisiana border to El Paso, you will be on the road for about 12 hours (if you drive straight through).

Now, going from Brownsville, Texas (the very south most tip of Texas) to the northern most Texas town, Perryton, you will be on the road for close to 14 hours.

Now, remember, the speed limit in Texas is for the most part 70mph....   that's pretty far....   Texas is huge!

I Love A Good Yodeler

Being a classic country music fan, I simply love a good yodeler.  There are so many out there from times past.

One of my favorite female singers is Dolly Parton, man she has a set of pipes on her and is such a sweet and 'real' person.  She makes no bones about how she looks and doesn't take herself too seriously.

This is one of my favorite songs by her, she does a little yodeling in it.

Then there is this amazing bit of Yodeling by Jewel of all people, which was a nice surprise.  The video quality isn't great, but the sound is fabulous.  I developed a lot more respect for her after looking at this.

And then there's this person that I had never heard of but wow, she can really yodel!



And last but not least, there's this classic from Patsy Montana, the original female yodeler!

Okay, this kind of music isn't everyone's cup of tea, I get it; however, even the most unseasoned musical ear, you have to admit that a voice that is an instrument as beautiful as these ladies' is quite a remarkable thing.

Back to you regularly scheduled program.

Man I'm in a pissed off mood tonight

Let not my congenial visage in that photo disabuse you.

There is a back story to this that I cannot post for quite some time yet. It has a direct relationship to what Borepatch does for a living.

This isn't an exact match, but it's close enough...and a good song to boot when you've been pushed around by some pissant.

Another of my favorite blogs

Al Fin is so smart, so prolific, and presents his topics so well, I'm not entirely sure he's actually one person.

Al has a post today concerning the situation in Mexico. We have a ubiquitous news black out here in the US on the drug war going on in Mexico. Al posts a link, that I've seen before, and lost track of.

http://www.blogdelnarco.com/. If you don't read Spanish, hit the translate link.

We are not getting any of this news north of the border. The northern part of Mexico has turned into Beirut.

This shit has been spilling over the border into South Texas for quite some time now.

And meanwhile, governor Good Hair (Perry) and president Obumble fiddle.

Make no mistake about it, Perry is still in office as governor only because we didn't have a better choice. The field jacket is a hollow crust, and there are no Balls in those tight fittin jeans.

The ten gallon hat might as well have mayflies in it.

The RRRRoyal wedding

man is the news picking its nose over this.

I guess if you hang on snooki's every tweet, you're watching this tripe.

My only comment is...yawn, whatevah.

There's that word again.......

REALLY??!!

I'm watching the Travel Channel about the best resorts in Mexico (as if I'm traveling to Mexico any time soon but that's a whole other post) and they are talking about this hotel that is shaped like a pyramid in tribute to the Mayans.

The Mayans who, according to the narrator of the show, built their pyramids emulating the Egyptians.

Do I have to say why this spawns the word, REALLY?!!

Did the Mayans even know that the Egyptians existed?  I think that's highly unlikely.

Really big numbers

The Adaptive Curmudgeon muses on mind boggling numbers and national debt. My comment over there started to get rather lengthy, so I thought I'd just post it here.

Thinking about the size of the numbers associated with the national debt elicits an "uuuh huuuhh..right, I'll get back to you on that" response from the higher math functions in my brain.

The Curmudgeon notes:

Humans count in their head like this; one, two, three… a whole shitload.

So this morning, I decided to find a frame of reference for numbers like one billion and one trillion.

Being a shade tree grease monkey I wondered if I ran my engine at 2500 rpm, how long would it take to get to one million revolutions, or a billion, or a trillion.

At 2500 rpm it takes:

400 minutes to reach 1 million revolutions.

400,000 minutes to reach 1 billion revolutions. That's 6,666 hours or 277 days, nonstop.

400,000,000 minutes to reach 1 trillion revolutions. That's 6, 666,666 hours or 277,777 days or 763 years.

When I substitute the word "dollars" for "revolutions", it puts a hitch in my side.

Disclaimer: I have not had to use exponential notation since high school chemistry, in the days when a slide rule or an abacus were the only calculators available. So, feel free to correct my math if I've added or lost zeros somewhere.

Some further commentary:

400 minutes to reach 1 million, well ok, I can burn 400 minutes driving from Houston to Kerville, TX. That's no big deal.

6,666 hours to reach 1 billion. The aforementioned mind boggle kicks into gear here.

Putting this closer to the context of real life driving, using my average round trip commute of 2.5 hours per day, it would take 2,666 days. That's 7.4 years. I can't drive my car non-stop at 2500 rpm on my daily commute. But just for the sake of conversation, let's say the average rpm was 1250. That pushes the billionth revolution out to just shy of 15 years. What this boils down to is that your car is going to fall apart before your engine crankshaft rotates one billion times.

763 years to reach one trillion revolutions. uuuh huuuhh..right, I'll get back to you on that.

The Honeymoon is over.....

As my better half informed you all, Miss Kitty ran off Romeo when I went outside the other night.  Because my man was not there, he could not give you the funnier details of the whole thing.

I was sitting on the couch surfing the web when I could hear the growling, hissing and spitting going on outside in the back yard.  At this point, I know that either Romeo or Casanova was outside once again trying to woo Miss Kitty.

I peeked out the window and sure enough it was Romeo, in the grass looking up at his Juliet on the table top which is attached to the grill.  His Juliet was none too happy at this annoying, horny Romeo bothering her, yet again.

I decided that the best way to intervene was to open the back door and chase Romeo off, what I didn't expect was Miss Kitty to leap her Rubenesque (Miss Kitty weighs 15 pounds) body over the grill, into the grass and end up hot on his heels.

The chase was on, Romeo whom I've decided is none too bright, ended up trapped in front of the shed, by the rose bush.  Not even a second later, Miss Kitty was on him, claws out, fur flying.  Poor Romeo didn't know what hit him.

Eventually, Romeo broke free and hauled ass up and over the wood fence.  Miss Kitty was standing guard growling that low, don't fuck with me growl, Romeo no doubt shaking in his puss'n boots.

Isn't love grand?  Ha!   I think it's safe to say that the honeymoon is over.

Cat Pee

Belle told me that Romeo was in the back yard again, yesterday or the day before. She walked out back and found Miss Kitty holding the high ground on the grill in an eye lock with Romeo on the ground. The diversion of Belle's arrival was all that Miss Kitty needed to get the upper hand. Romeo turned and ran. Miss Kitty was hot on his heels chasing him up and over the fence. She sat at the fence and growled until Belle called her inside.

It is common knowledge that male cats mark their territory. Unless you've spent a lifetime with cats, it is less known that female cats, under certain circumstances will mark their territory as well.

In the powder room (not where the ammo is stored) downstairs we have a guest approved fuzzy rug in front of the lavatory, and another around the WC. This evening, I went into said powder room, and while occupied with the business at hand, my nose began to sniff. Then my eyes began to water. Business done, my first reaction was to turn the fart fan on. A little later, I returned to check the air change progress. Fail. So I relocated both the rugs to the laundry room and noticed an immediate improvement.

I told you that, so I could tell you this.

When my brother and I were grade school, we would walk to my grandmother's apartment after school every day. She had a white persian male cat that was dumber than a box hammers, not neutered, and sprayed everywhere.

If you think a skunk smells bad, you've never experienced cat pee heated in the pan below the coils of an electric stove burner in a one bedroom apartment.

My grandmother was born just before 1900, was raised on a farm, road in a horse drawn buckboard to town, had seen men with six guns on their hip in the general store, lived to watch a man land on the moon, and gagged like a dog that ate a tampon when her male persian cat's pee reached critical temp. She was going to make us a snack after school. Instead, we all opted to evacuate the premises.

The thought of it still makes the inside of my nose burn.

Dual Survival in it's last season

So I'm watching Dual Survival on the Discovery Channel. Two episodes back to back.

In the initial season it was interesting to watch. The barefoot, gaia loving hippie paired up with the still thinks he can run with the young bucks former Army sniper guy.

In the first episode I watched tonight, they just "happened" to run across a fully functional flintlock rifle, musket balls and dry powder in the "middle of nowhere". He showed how to start a fire with the flintlock, and how to a cauterize a self inflicted knife wound with black powder.

Really? ( I can't seem to use that word enough these days)

I'm pretty sure if lost in the middle of nowhere, I would not self inflict a knife wound.

In the next episode, they ran across a massive bee hive. My first inclination would be to move on. But NO, Army sniper guy was determined to get the honeycomb out of the hive. Barefoot hippie thinks this is a bad idea.

SO, he takes his special forces knife and makes torches, smokey torches to subdue the bees. Fortuitously, he has a bag at hand that has a poly tarp and mesh netting with which to make a "beekeeper" suit.

Oy Gevault! Pardon me while I kvetch.

That time of year again

Tonight I get to attend a recertification class.  You see, 6 weeks out of every summer for the past 11 years, I get up early on Saturday mornings to go to swim meets and referee.

Two of my daughters were on the team when they were younger, but for the past 3 or 4 years, I have not had a kid on the team.

So why do I do it?  For the kids.  The age groups range from under 6 years old to 18.  I have watched the older kids grow up over the years so it makes it all the more nice.

Naturally, my inner curmudgeon surfaces during this time period and I grumble about having to wake up so early on a Saturday, but honestly?  I really do love it.  I guess it's just my little way of giving back to my community, heh, who says that Libertarians are heartless?

When life hands you lemons..........

Yesterday was a really bad day at work for me and I resigned from my job.  I'm now job hunting, which is always fun but never the less, one door closes and another will open up (hopefully sooner rather than later).

My better half, Kx59 was very supportive and I can't thank him enough.  So now it's time to dust off my resume' and get back into the hunt.

cold fury

He covers more ground in two posts than I can blog read in a day. He actually has a category named "fucking morons".

Take a deep cleansing breath and go read

I find myself compelled to read faster than I actually can.

Watching Top Shot with Belle

George. Man what a prick that guy is.

This is funny, Bite me

Found this on Borepatch's site, thought I would do it here

Created by Oatmeal


So how long would it take you???? go see

Watch out for the Donald

So, Trump is stumping for president. I smell another Ross Perot. It's very early in the election cycle, but so far our choices range between sucks, sucks more, and sucks copiously.

Let not your convictions be divided. Keep your powder dry.

That is all.

Letter from the Alamo

Travis' letter is memorialized in front of the Alamo. Knowing how the 12 day siege turns out, and having the benefit of historical hindsight, I find myself humbled by Colonel Travis' courage. I could go on and on about how this same story occurred before, and after the siege at the Alamo. History has a very nasty way of repeating itself. As I read the plaque though, I felt a certain connection between Colonel Travis' circumstances and our own as a Nation. We are surrounded from within. We have no choice but to stand our ground. This time however, it's not 188 against 1800. The odds tilt the opposite direction. Stand your ground.

Colonel Travis wrote:

To The People of Texas and All Americans In The World --

February 24, 1836

Fellow citizens & compatriots --

I am beseiged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country --

VICTORY OR DEATH

William Barret Travis

Lt. Col. Comdt.

P.S. The Lord is on our side -- When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn -- We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves --

Travis

I've no doubt those men prayed many times during those twelve days. They didn't just delay Santa Ana, they reduced his siege forces by a third.

There are a series of bronze plaques inside the alamo, listing the name of every man that died in its defense. I've been to the Alamo several times from childhood on. This time I read every name. They fought to the last man. Santa Ana technically won, but at great expense. Weeks later at San Jacinto he lost the remainder of his army, in 20 minutes. 700 dead, another 730 or so surrendered. The remainder scattered into the woods.

The Texians lost 9.

Texans and Texians are not the same thing. As Texans, we have a strong connection to our Republic, but the men that fought for Texas independence came from every part of this country.

Find your inner Texian. Stand your ground.

Trip Photos

Fun was had by all.

That is our beloved Alamo.

Scooter happily posing by a cannon used to defend the Alamo.

The Alamo Barracks in the background, in the foreground is the well.

Me leaning over with Scooter while she feeds a dolphin.

Scooter excited over the dolphin taking the food from her.

This is just too cool not to post.

Shamu jumping.

Shamu giving us a nice view.

toward the end of the day, flamingos feeding.

The Steel Eel.

One tired scooter being carried by Kx59.

It was a long hard day, but oh so much fun.  We have loads of other photos but not going to bore you all with all of them.

From the Road

Mounted up and headed back to Cypress. Belle's behind the wheel. Scooter's in her booster seat watching Lion King on her DVD player. Sarah McLachlan serenades us from the CD player. I'm hooked to the interwebs via the mobile hotspot. I guess we could fire up the gps and get every bit of technology we have on hand running. Gotta love it...

I'm blog reading and snapping random pictures out the window now and then. As I look up I see we are 11 miles from Flatonia, Texas (I did not make that up)

My favorite quote so far today, from the Curmudgeon:

Before I hang up my charts I’d like to clarify my thesis. Obama and Bush have both performed so spectacularly awful that their combined efforts are a duet of suck

update:

The remainder of the trip was uneventful, except for the part where I discovered I could say the phrase "Watch Out!" three times in under one second.

Upon return to the Casa de Campana, our initial review of the reconnaissance photos showed we'd captured the illusive Shark with Lasers!

The Way It Should Be

What a wonderful morning of sunburn and leg muscle soreness it is!  We spent the whole day at Sea World yesterday and what a day it was.

One thing that took me back a little was that before they open the gates to start letting people in, they silence the crowd and point everyone in the direction of the US Flag and play the National Anthem.  I was surprised and pleased.

San Antonio has a couple of military bases near by and so I figured that was why (saw lots of airmen there yesterday) so I asked the security guard checking our bags before going in, "Does every Sea World play the Star Spangled Banner before they open?"

His reply was a big smile and simply, "Yes ma'am, every one."

I really like that.

I do have to say that places like Sea World, while they make a load of cash off of the animals, etc., they do raise awareness of sea mammals and the more that we learn about these amazing animals, the better off the animals are in the wild.  I don't think that it's any accident that since these types of parks and shows started opening up that awareness and concerns have been raised about the welfare of those mammals in the wild.

It was an amazing day and I will post photos when we get back home.  Scooter and I enjoyed ourselves and Scooter will remember her experience for a life time.  (she got to pet a dolphin)

Today is our last day here.  I'm waiting on Scooter and Kx59 to wake up and then we'll go get some breakfast and go for a walk to down the river a ways and go explore La Villita de San Antonio.

It's 11:10pm

We were at Sea World from open to close today. The girls, Belle and my granddaughter Scooter are down for the count. Me, I'm listening to Dire Straits "Boom Like That" and sipping a cheap beer. It's been a while since I've been in the Hill Country. I'd forgotten how arid it is. I feel like I've been salt cured and smoked. We couldn't have asked for better weather though. It was sunny with a cool breeze all day. I'm sure Belle will post up some pictures when we get back to Cypress. I'd be doing it now, but we don't have the cable for her camera. So, I'm going to crack another brew and listen to some more music in a vain attempt to forestall the end of my mini vacation.

Here's what's on the Ipud right now:

Quote of the Day

From Tam's Place referring to a movie review of Atlas Shrugged.

"Shut the hell up, you useless relic, there are grownups talking here. I understand Shirley MacLaine's on the publicity circuit again for some reason or another; go hump her leg."

God that was funny!

I love staying in hotels..... not

We are in a hotel on the Riverwalk in beautiful San Antonio.

Between my better half flopping around in the uncomfortable bed (we have a tempurpedic at home so the bed is less comfortable than we're used to, plus you can feel every movement your other half makes) and the drunks down the hall coming in using their outside voices at 2:30 this morning, I am one sleepy woman this morning.

It's nice being awake early though because my beautiful granddaughter is sleeping on a roll-away bed close by, no doubt dreaming of peeling cows.  (haha)

If you don't know what I mean by peeling cows go here and read it about it.

Yesterday was a nice drive in, I love the drive between Houston and San Antonio, it's really pretty.  Check in at the hotel was a bit crazy.  My uncle and mom are also on this trip and so a lot going on at the check in kiosk.  Unfortunately, I did a HUGE boo-boo.  I left our the hubby's rather expensive camera sitting at the kiosk in all the confusion.  He was is totally pissed off at me and I feel bad about it.  Naturally no one turned it in, so someone at this fancy hotel has a nice camera.

We went to the Alamo yesterday, been there a gazillion times, but hey, you can't go to San Antonio without going to the Alamo.

Today is Sea World where Scooter and I will have a dolphin encounter.  We'll get to pet a dolphin and have it do a couple of tricks.  Scooter will get a kick out of it.  I will post photos when we get back to Houston.  She is going to be one happy little granddaughter today.

Well, time to wake up the sleepy heads.

Some of my favorite blogs

The Daily Bayonet is about to take a break, but lays down some epic skeptic snark on the way out the door. Funny, you get a warmer feeling the farther you read into this week's Round Up.

The Adaptive Curmudgeon writes of the joy of pineapple and reminds me of the salty soggy goodness of canned vegetables. From a comment by ASM826 I learn that chickens actually have brains.

Borepatch provides a timely and useful tip on firearm finish.

Van Helsing explains how to get your boon from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The only question remaining is where did the other 4 billion that Obama extorted from BP go?

Friction causes conflagration over at IOTW.

Al Fin's blog is so interesting I can't pick a favorite post today

Aretae is so smart, he occasionally thinks about thinking. My IQ increases every time I read.

Kids say the darnedest things

The hubby and I have our granddaughter tonight because we're taking her to San Antonio tomorrow to celebrate her 5th birthday.

A couple of months ago, we bought new leather furniture and to protect the love seat from Miss Kitty's claws, we bought a cow hide, with hair and all, to cover it.

Granddaughter is feeling the softness of the hair on the hide and this was the conversation:

KX59:  Do you like that, Scooter?
Scooter:  Yes Paw-Paw!
KX59:  That's a real cow skin, it came from a real cow.
Scooter:  Why did you peel a cow?

Out of the mouth of babes.  Once I stopped laughing, I immediately logged on to make this post.  Classic!

I'm sick of this crap

I really wish the government would have shut down last week.  I think for about 2 years would do the trick.

Yesterday the president Queen said that it's time for higher taxes and he won't take no for answer.  WHAT???  He won't take no for an answer?  Who the HELL does he think he is?

We are in the middle of a recession and our national debt is unsustainable.

I would be willing to pay more taxes if I knew for a fact that government would, oh I don't know, TIGHTEN ITS BELT.  Government spends OUR money as if it's their own money.  Our president Queen has decided that government is entitled to what we earn.  That we are now subjects not citizens, we are slaves not free.

I am  not a slave and I am not a subject, I am a free citizen and it's time to vote these fuckers out of office.  We started this past election now let's bring on 2012.  It's not until every last one of these assholes are replaced that the rest will be shaken up enough to actually LISTEN.

It is not my job to be my brother's keeper.  It is NOT my job to make sure that old people (except for MY old people aka. mom and stepdad, uncle and father in law) are taken care of as they get into their much later years.  It's NOT my job to make sure that everyone has health insurance.  When did everyone's welfare become everyone else's responsibility?

The American Dream is NOT from each according to his ability to each according to his need.  No, that philosophy is evil at its core.

The American Dream is about living in a free society and having the opportunity to achieve and prosper however you see fit.  The American Dream is about self determination, about following your own path, it's about living your own life and taking care of  your own.

Unfortunately, I fear that dream has been forgotten.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the only three things that we, thanks to our creator (whatever that is), are entitled to and our US Constitution was created to secure those three entitlements.   Let's keep our eye on the ball folks.

Improving.

Back from the range.  I started with the Springfield XDM and decided to just stick with that one today.  I really do like the way that gun feels in my hands and the results are good as well.

A vast improvement over my last time though my higher shots weren't so good.  Either way I am quite pleased.

On another note, I held one of the 4th generation Glocks and that had a nice feel to it.  They didn't have any to rent at that place, so I might have to try somewhere else but I'm interested in that as well.  Glock has such a great reputation for reliability and they're very easy to fire.

Decisions, decisions wonder if the hubby would be too upset if I just got one of each?  Ha!  I think that would be a given. 

Memories

There are certain things that I do that take me back to when I was growing up and things that make me feel my father's presence.

Playing golf is one of those things.  When I get out on the course, I always feel close to dad, but I only play golf once a year maybe twice but I do enjoy it, I just don't take the time.

Recently, I've discovered that being at the range reminds me of dad and makes me feel close to him once again.  I used to go to the range with him when I was a little girl, he was the one that bought my first rifle for my 10th birthday.  It was a sweet little Daisy .22 semi automatic.  I sold it when I had my oldest daughter because I was paranoid about having a gun in the house with a baby (dumb on my part, I'd give up the Tokorev to have that gun back now).

The Tokorev was originally my uncle's then given to my dad and when dad passed away, mom gave it to me.  So I guess the reason that I've been so enthralled with that gun lately is that not only is holding and firing it like having a piece of history at my fingertips, but I've been in awe of that gun ever since I can remember.

My dad used to take it and shoot it at the very gun range where I took it and shot.  I felt him there with me that day and it felt pretty good.  It's really strange how something that's viewed (by idiots) as violent (guns) can be comforting to us in a small way.

I never really realized that when I took that gun out on the range that I would feel that closeness to my father.  Now that I know this, I know that I will go there much more often and I can't wait.

As for today, I'm going to the pistol range again range fees are 1/2 price today starting at 3pm.  I'm going to fire both the M&P and the XDM again.

Aftershock

Funny when you haven't used a set of muscles in years how you can feel sore when they're put to good use.

Yes, I'm a little sore from shooting yesterday.  I'm not bruised which is a good sign that I didn't forget how to properly hold a rifle. (kidding)  Actually, it's just like riding a bike only better.

Range Report from the Belle

All I can say about the Tokorev is wow!

She is a fabulous weapon.  The recoil wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be.  I wish that I would have had better aim, but I didn't do so bad considering it's been more than 15 years since I've fired a long gun.

In my usual style, though I have got to spend a little time describing the experience at the range today.

I can not describe to you the laugh that I felt in my gut when I took that Tokorev out of her case and laid her on the bench.  What was even more delightful was the look on the faces of the people around me.

Admittedly, having all eyes on me while I loaded the magazine was a little unnerving.  I was thinking to myself, "god I hope that I don't do something really idiotic here and make a fool of myself."  No worries there.  I loaded up the magazine and popped it in, pulled the bolt back and released it, the first round now in the chamber.

The wind, of course kicks up as I take aim, my heart was pounding because I had no idea exactly how hard it was going to kick.  Firm grip, stock tightly against my shoulder, deep breath, exhale slowly, shot lined up, pull the trigger, instant shooty goodness.

I did have some troubles with the magazine again and I'm not sure why.  What I've found is that if I only load about 5 rounds in it, she does just fine.  I fired off about 30 shots today and I can feel it a little in my shoulder but I seriously doubt that I'll bruise.

So as I'm shooting my precious Natasha, folks are laying down their AR15s or whatever "assault" rifles they were shooting and gathering behind me and watching.  They were teenage boys ranging from about 17 to 19.  While I would reload, they would come over and of course ask questions which I would answer.

The beautiful thing about it was that I offered them to take a shot if they wanted but they were genuinely surprised and happy that I asked.  Only one of them took me up on it, the range marshal.

Anyway, like I said, I wish that I would have shot a little better today, but I suppose that like anything else, it takes practice and practice I shall.

Click on the photo to zoom it and see what I bad shot I was today.. LOL.

Yes I do need practice.  My shots are on the bottom.  the E target.

Not so good, but the range marshal didn't do much better.. heh.

Staying out of the doghouse

The gun show was really cool.  Lots of great stuff there.  Many temptations but I held strong.

Good news is that nothing wrong with the magazine for the Tokorev, possibly just a human error.  I am going to go tomorrow after I get off work to try it out again.

Will let you guys know how it goes.

Lead me not into temptation......

Temptation is exactly where I'm going today.

I'm going to a gun show this morning to try and find a replacement magazine for the Tokorev.

KX59 will simply kick my butt if I come home with a gun today.  (I think he's making me wait for my birthday in June)

I will be strong.  I will conquer my urge to bring home a pistol.  I will survive.

If not, I'll be blogging from dog house to be sure!

me too!

I'd include formerly great britain, but I just spent the night there because korean airways stranded my ass by jamming the plane into the gangway and they wouldn't let me step across the 12" wide gap to catch my connection.

visited 8 states (3.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World

visited 19 states (38%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Range Report - Tokorev SVT40

The lovely Belle is quite disappointed.

After waiting two weeks for the rifle to be checked out and cleaned by a professional and a mission abort last weekend due to circumstances beyond her control ( otherwise known as kx59 being too freaking tired to mess with it) we went to the the range to shoot her beloved Natasha as first order of business today.

We paid our fee and headed to the 35 yard part of the range. It's been a long time for both of us since we've fired a long gun. I don't know what Belle's expectations were, but my plan was to just get reacquainted with a firearm. It's been so long for me that I couldn't recall what the recoil from a shotgun felt like.

Belle decided I should go first. I think she wanted to observe how much whiplash ensued from shooting this 70 year old rifle. So, I loaded up and sighted in on the target.

The Tokorev is a fairly heavy rifle. The recoil was minimal compared to what I

was expecting. Muzzle rise was nonexistent. We had a slight breeze from left to right, and I noticed a puff of dust off to the right of the target after I squeezed off the first round I've fired in 20 years. In the back of my mind I'm thinking well, whatever, it's been a long time. I assumed I'd missed the target entirely. We don't have a spotting scope, so I brought along my digital camera with a 12x zoom. I could see with my naked eye assisted with my high tech bifocals the second shot to the left of target center on the lower target. The other two I could not see, and assumed a major fail on my part.

Round one is in the top target just low of dead center. Round two is left of center in the bottom target. Round three is top center in the bottom target.

And then, the gun began to jam. Ten rounds in the mag. Fired three with everything functioning perfectly, and the reload for the fourth round caught in the breach, deforming the nose of the bullet. I cleared it and tried two more times with the same result. So, we aborted mission and gave the three deformed rounds to the gun range to dispose of.

My suspicion is that the spring in the mag is worn out

I shot well in my younger years, but from my short experience with the Tokorev, I believe if it could have driven itself to the range, it would have done just fine without me. That rifle just absolutely rocks.

The lovely Belle is now on a quest to find additional magazines in good working order, and pissed that she did not go first.

To quote Borepatch, that was Shooty Goodness. Now that I think about it though, even on a bad day, is there any other kind?

No shut down after all.

My pocketbook is still screaming.

The good news is that 38.5 billion has been cut from the budget.  The bad news is, only 38.5 billion was cut from the budget.

Considering how bloated the budget is, it would be like me cutting sugar from my coffee from my budget.  Doesn't really amount to much in the grand scheme of things.

The good news is, I'm off to the range to give Natasha a run.  I will be back with a range report in a while.

UPDATED........


Borepatch has a brilliant rant on this very topic.  Go check it out.

Too cool

Admittedly, my travel is quite limited

visited 17 states (34%)
Create your own visited map of The United States


Though this is almost embarrassing.  I've never been overseas.....  :(

visited 3 states (1.33%)
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I fully intend to remedy that once we get the kids out of college!!!

Must read

Over at The Lee's Summit Conservative, there is a good opinion piece about the possibility of the government shutting down.

I tend to agree with him.  Maybe we SHOULD let them shut down.  We are over taxed while they over spend.  I want fiscal responsibility from my government.  I'm tired of toting the load for those who aren't inclined to do better for themselves.  I'm tired of my tax dollars being used to fund the Queen's numerous vacations and parties.

Please, shut the government down.  Our pocketbooks could use a break.  Maybe it would stimulate the economy.

heh.

Just because

For those of you who are serving, and more importantly, sacrificing or have sacrificed so that I can have this very blog, thank you. I can't express to you enough how grateful I am. God bless.

At the salon....

When you use the same hair dresser for not only your hair styling needs, but also your leg and bikini waxing torture sessions, you tend to get to know your beautician pretty darn well.  I mean, waxing is a rather up close and personal ordeal, which, I might add, requires a couple or three martinis before subjecting oneself to such fun (ha ha).

Anyhow, during a trip to the salon, your hairstylist will sometimes tell you really bizarre things.  My stylist is from Honduras and she's really fantastically interesting and has a really good sense of humor.

So today, she colored and styled my hair and waxed my eyebrows. The waxing of the eyebrows brought to mind my last leg/bikini wax session (this past Tuesday) and how unusually painful it was this time.  I informed her that my better half, with great admiration, informed me that I have heuvos for braving a bikini wax.

Hairdresser tells me a story about this man who would have her wax his whole body.  He was a body builder who would pay her very good money for waxing him.  She said that when you do a Brazilian  or bikini wax on a woman, it's no big deal, but men have 'extra parts' to deal with and it's quite embarrassing.

She said, "moving his junk around was just really crazy, but I get used to it"
I said, "I would have made him at least buy me a drink first."
She said, "he pay very good money so no problem.  I was just happy he don't get excited"
I said, "Yeah, that would complicate matters, I'm sure."

So we were laughing about that for a little bit while my eyebrows were getting waxed, then we went over to the chair and I sat down and she's about to start blow drying my hair when she begins to pump smoothing gel into her hands.

Apparently, the conversation excited the smoothing gel because when she pumped it, it shot all over the place, including on my foot.

Now, by this time, I was laughing so hard that I was crying, and she is laughing saying, "I know what you thinking, you are too funny!"

I said, "Was it good for you?"

She saw the gel on my foot and wiped it off and said, "Oh my god, I have this friend back in Honduras who tell me the last time I see her, 'I am so tired of my husband only wanting to make love to my feet'."

They could probably hear us laughing at the nail salon across the street.

You can't make this stuff up.

That translates to.............

Kx59's computer is FUBAR since he spilled a beer on it last night.  He was going to post about his mishap and well....   you saw the results.  Needless to say, he's getting a new computer.

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Dive bombed.......

I had pulled into the neighborhood on my way home from work today when I saw this poor cat walking along the sidewalk being dive-bombed by a nesting mockingbird.

Mockingbirds are the Texas state bird, not sure why we chose the mockingbird, other than they are, by nature ornery and very territorial.

That poor cat was trying to get away from the diving bird and all I could do is laugh as it reminded me of a time I had with my dad.

My father loved a good prank, he pulled numbers on everyone.  If you knew dad, there was no escaping a prank from him.  Even if you were a cat.

My mom's cat, Corkey was walking across the street and was getting dive-bombed by, you guessed it, a mockingbird.  Dad and I were in the front yard sitting in lawn chairs, laughing as poor Corkey was trying to escape the birds.

Finally, the cat makes it to cover, which unfortunately for him, was under my dad's lawn chair.  With a twinkle in his eye and a wink, daddy got Corkey out from under the chair and hauled him back out to the street and ran away laughing.

Poor Corkey had to escape the bird again.  At least he was smart enough to go under the car instead of dad's chair.

My dad was a character, but before you think that he was a mean person, just know that he was an amazing man who loved his family and loved his friends.  I cannot think of a single person that knew my dad that didn't like him.  He passed away in 96 of cancer and there's not a day that passes by that I don't miss him.

Gave up for today.....

Well, I'm a little bummed out.  Had to give up on the prospect of taking Natasha out to the range.  KX59 promises that we'll go next weekend.  No range report on her until then.

The upside to this is that the yard looks good and I can now settle down for a Mojito.

The other good news is that for the next three weeks, I have every Friday off from work.  Oh yes, life is real good.

I think I found my soul mate.........

Well, other than KX59.  He's the true deal.

Seriously though, I went to the range today and fired a Smith & Wesson M&P and a Springfield XDM.  

I really liked both guns, but the Springfield felt really good in my hands, a very comfortable gun to shoot.

I need all you gunnies out there to let me know your opinion on the reliability of those two guns.  Both were nice to shoot and I did enjoy the Glock 19 from Monday night.

What I didn't like about the Glock was the way the grip felt in my hands.  It was boxy and bulky and more difficult to control, though not uncontrollable.  I have heard a lot of good things about the Glock as far as reliability is concerned though.

The Smith & Wesson M&P felt really nice and was easy to control.  I shot well with it which is important and I was totally comfortable at the range today.

The Springfield, however, was love at first shot.  I know you all can relate to what I mean.  Sometimes you pick up a weapon (this goes for darts as well) and you shoot it and it just feels right.  This is how I felt with the Springfield.  I'll be doing a little research on the gun but I really would like some opinions on the reliability of it.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to convince the hubster to come with me tomorrow to take Natasha out for a run at the range.  I really don't want to fire her alone for the first time.  Maybe y'all can help me out and tell him that a good husband takes a couple hours out of his day to take his wife to the range.  (Maybe he'll buy that, yeah that's the ticket).

Movie Review

We rarely go to the Movie Theater to see a film. It's gotten rather expensive, and If I have little else, I do have the patience of water.

Belle mentioned that Black Swan was on pay per view ($4.99). Having the most basic of cable TV, and a penchant for Natalie Portman, I agreed we should watch the movie.

The disclaimer:

If you saw "The Piano", or "Brazil" (many years ago) and did not like either, you won't appeciate this movie. Actually, you'll switch over to "Swamp People" in a heartbeat, cussing the five bucks you just wasted. I'm not diss'ing anyone, Swamp People is one of my go to shows on cable right now.

The actual review part:

Ultimately, Black Swan is about a slip into psychosis. The cinemaphotography is outstanding. In all respects the movie was done very well. It is one of those movies I will watch again. Not because it was a great thrill ride, but because after it was over, I said to myself...what? , I suspect there were nuances I missed.

The progressive message:

However, there is an undercurrent in the movie that runs strong. In simplistic terms, it says that sexual repression (oh!, and striving for a life long goal) leads to psychosis. (So, don't work so hard.) Natalie's character does not fantasize about a rugged handsome man, but rather about a competing female dancer. So to spell it out, if you are female and represssing sexual feelings about other females, it will make you crazy.

Well, that summation was a bit kludgey, but I didn't want to spill the whole plot in case anyone is inclined to watch the movie.

Like "The Piano", "Black Swan" is a disturbing movie. Before my 24 hour pay per view fee runs out, I'll probably watch again.

Your's truelly

Kx59

a higly educated, and licensed, Redneck