Back to the Salt Mine…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Fun times are over, so back to the salt mines tomorrow…


And back on the diet (I swear they were trying to fatten me up for the slaughter), and I must have put on five pounds!


BUT…


It was a good four days, other than a few minor excursions…

Well, yesterday morning, I waded along the edge of a lake, escaped from wild dogs in the heavy brush, marched up and down several rocky hills, tood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and jumped away from an aggressive rattlesnake.
I’m just a LOUSY golfer…

It truly helps if you play twice a week or more vs. once in three months… sigh

And I was stupid enough to do that TWICE!!!

Got to see a good football game last night, Carolina vs. Clemson, and the officiating is REALLY bad in both the SEC and ACC this year (between the uncalled face masks, offensive ‘holding’ (holding hell, it was out and out tackles), and ‘missed’ interference calls) I was wondering if the refs had bets on the game; real problem was we didn’t get back to the house until almost 0100! LEO friends were saying they’d be out all night corralling the drunks and idjits…

And I finally wangled the recipe for an outstanding Sweet Potato Casserole (hey, it IS the South, okay?)

3 cups mashed fresh cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 stick butter (melted) 
1/2 cup real milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well, pour into greased baking dish

Topping

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped fresh pecan halves
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 stick butter (melted)  
Stir together, sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

Get out the riot gun to control the mob…

This was the ONLY dish that was doubled up, and it was the first dish that was gone…

A Little Humor…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
An attractive blonde from Cork, Ireland, arrived at the casino. She seemed a little intoxicated and bet twenty thousand dollars in a single roll of the dice.
 
She said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I feel much luckier when I’m completely nude.” with that, she stripped from the neck down, rolled the dice and with an Irish brogue yelled, “Come on, baby, Mama needs new clothes!”
  
As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down and squealed… “Yes! Yes! I won, I won!” 

She hugged each of the dealers, picked up her winnings and her clothes and quickly parted.


The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asked, “What did she roll?” The other answered, “I don’t know – I thought you were watching.”


MORAL OF THE STORY

Not all Irish are drunks, not all blonds are dumb, ….. but all men… are men!
 
Global Facts About – Sex    At any given moment:

FACT: 79,000,000 people are having sex – right now.
FACT: 58,000,000 are kissing.
FACT: 37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex.
FACT: 1 old person is reading emails.
 
You hang in there, sunshine! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013

As the holiday season kicks off tomorrow, take a moment and step back from the sales, hoopla, family dinners/arguments/loony Uncles etc. and think about how lucky we are to live where we do…


And have the freedoms that we have, both due to our country and our ability to EARN a good enough living to be able to feed the crowd, travel to family, and the other things that we take for granted…


Having spent a number of Thanksgivings and Christmases out of the country over the years, I truly count myself lucky to be able to enjoy these holidays with family and friends.  I know many scoff at the food in the military, but I will tell you that Thanksgiving and Christmas the mess halls/chow halls, the field kitchens, the mess decks on the ships and subs ALL go out of their way to fix a traditional meal, literally soup to nuts (and everything in between) for those servicemen and women (and on shore bases the families) of our military.  


This is from the 646th ADC in New Jersey (in 1956).





This is from the 71st Transportation Battalion in Vietnam in 1967



A bit of history…  From Plimoth Plantation living history museum

What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu?
Little is known about the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plimoth Colony in October 1621, attended by some 50 English colonists and about 90 Wampanoag American Indian men in what is now Massachusetts.
We do know that the Wampanoag killed five deer for the feast, and that the colonists shot wild fowl—which may have been geese, ducks, or turkey. Some form, or forms, of Indian corn were also served.
But Jennifer Monac, spokesperson for the living-history museum Plimoth Plantation, said the feasters likely supplemented their venison and birds with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, and wheat flour, as well as vegetables such as pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas.
“They ate seasonally,” Monac said in 2009, “and this was the time of the year when they were really feasting. There were lots of vegetables around, because the harvest had been brought in.”
Much of what we consider traditional Thanksgiving fare was unknown at the first Thanksgiving. Potatoes and sweet potatoes hadn’t yet become staples of the English diet, for example. And cranberry sauce requires sugar—an expensive delicacy in the 1600s. Likewise, pumpkin pie went missing due to a lack of crust ingredients.
And the whole food coma thing?  Well, that’s yet another myth…
It’s not the tryptophan in the turkey, it’s the booze, the amount of food (those second and third helpings of Granny’s sweet potato casserole and the pumpkin pie), and the sheer relaxation (other than the family fights/looney Uncle) and not having to work the next day…

And please, when you do sit down for your Thanksgiving, say a prayer for all our men and women serving in the military wherever they may be, and remember too our LEOs, Fire and EMS folks that are on the front lines here at home every day.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours…


I ‘did’ have another post in mind, but drjim beat me to it 🙂

DC Area Blog Shoot…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Murphy over at Lagniappe’s Lair has found us a range that will host a shoot on 3 Dec, it’s over in WV, but still within driving distance for most of us…


 I’ve been working on the idea for a local blog shoot for some time with a few other gun blogger stalwarts–Old NFO, Keadsand Proud Hillbilly to name three–and I just cinched exclusive use of a pretty decent new range in, of all places, Berkley County, WV on Saturday, Dec. 3rd. So if you’re a local gunny or even one who lives a ways a way and feels like a road trip, here’s your chance to come join with some other great gun folks and get some shooting in, hopefully followed by some decent eating, drinking and socializing.

Exact times are still being worked out, but the range will be open for use by all with handguns, rifles and shotguns, to include some five-stand shotgun shooting for those interested. Right now, I’m putting together a rough count of those expected to attend, so if you’re interested, please shoot Murphy and me an e-mail at [email protected]. I can’t promise that Murphy’ll be there, but I will be, and so far, the above-mentioned celebrity bloggers are expected as well.

Let me know how many you’ll be bringing and what type of firearms that you’re planning to shoot. Anything but full-auto is ok. (Drat! No M60!) When I get your e-mail, I’ll send you all of the info about the shoot, including directions, as they become finalized. Some ammo will be available for purchase at the range but your own is also welcome. And yes, WV is concealed-carry friendly but check to ensure that your own state has reciprocity before coming down.

If you’re a reader of this blog or those above and a shooter, you’re definitely welcome to come.

Donations will be accepted to cover the range fees, and anything collected in excess will be donated to Wounded Warriors.


Let’s get together and have some fun!!!

AAR- Hog hunt 2011

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Alternate title- Skunked…


Third title- That’s why it’s called HUNTING, not KILLING…


AD was kind enough to invite me to participate in the 2011 Hog Hunt down in Texas, which I truly appreciated. In attendance were Ambulance Driver, TOTW, JB and the Limey (not a blogger). Having not met JB nor the Limey, I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out, but they are both outstanding folks 🙂


Anyhoo…  Murph posted a comment on the previous post that kinda says it all…


Karmadillo…


It jumped up and bit us… Turns out that was the ONLY damn thing shot the entire weekend (other than paper while sighting in)…


The weather was a prime factor, going from ‘chilly’ and windy, to HOT (81 deg) and windy (and gusty).  What this meant was unless we wanted to hunt between oh, about 0200 and 0400 when the wind laid down for a bit, it was fat chance in hell of getting a hog (I slept in till 0430).  


I worked primarily from two locations, and everybody else basically did the same thing…  


Location 1



Down on the creek…



Pretty well camouflaged 


Location 2



94 yards, big feeder, and nada… fresh corn on the ground, not a hog to be seen or heard (of course they showed up between the time I left Friday night, and the owner’s wife got out there Saturday morning…


We even tried a second flush yesterday afternoon, based on where the owner had seen hogs earlier. AD was the designated shooter, and I was his BUG, further down the creek. After we’d figured out our safe shooting angles, we set up on the edge of the creek and proceeded to wait for the ‘beaters’ to flush the hogs.


EXCEPT, the ONLY thing that flushed was a @#^& skunk!


It was a ‘big’ one, and it came across the creek just below AD (ignoring him of course), and I see movement out of the corner of my eye; about the time the skunk sees me at about 10 yards, it throws its tail straight up and flares it (NOT a good sign).  I’m crouched down, gun is NOT up, and I’m trying to back up the creek bank without looking, and trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing… Thankfully, it decided to swim across the creek and go it’s own way.


Last night, nothing (other than a good steak on the grill, thanks JB)…


This morning, nothing, other than a skunk that looked at me though the crack in the blind (and thankfully decided to go his own way).


Some of the others had close encounters with deer, and other assorted things, but I’ll let them post on that 🙂



So effectively, these were the only things killed in any numbers this weekend 🙂


Fun times, good friends, meeting new folks, and a recharge on the personal battery.  Well worth it as far as I’m concerned!


And yes, the steer with the butt ugly toupee is STILL there…

Here piggy, here piggy…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Sitting in a blind in the middle of nowhere Texas, ain’t seen the first hog…

Sigh…

So far my ‘score’ is one armadillo shot (during sighting in), one skunk, not shot. AD and I tried a flush along the creek with no success, I got stuck in a briar patch and had to reverse out of it, crossed the creek and we finished the flush; only thing flushed was an owl!

Realized I’d lost me cell, backtracked and sure enough, it was in the briar patch… Dammit…

I’m out waiting on AD and breakfast…

Going Around Congress, again…

Posted on by March 6, 2013


On the radio this morning I heard a piece about some new legislation being pushed by the Administration…


This time it’s the DOI, they apparently have ‘draft’ legislation barring shooters from public lands for target practice and hunting; potentially impacting millions of acres of BLM land under new rules in draft by the Interior Department. 


Their rationale? Because “urban dwellers” who visit public lands apparently “freak out” when they hear shooting on those public lands (even if it is on marked ranges or designated hunting areas) which are published at the entry points.


This appears to be the key paragraph- “When the authorized officer determines that a site or area on BLM-managed lands used on a regular basis for recreational shooting is creating public disturbance, or is creating risk to other persons on public lands; is contributing to the defacement, removal or destruction of natural features, native plants, cultural resources, historic structures or government and/or private property; is facilitating or creating a condition of littering, refuse accumulation and abandoned personal property is violating existing use restrictions, closure and restriction orders, or supplementary rules notices, and reasonable attempts to reduce or eliminate the violations by the BLM have been unsuccessful, the authorized officer will close the affected area to recreational shooting.” 

e.g. they could close ranges for spent brass…



 I think this is the first big move by the Obama administration to impose limits on firearms without ‘bothering’ Congress with those ‘little’ issues…


Apparently at least some of the hunting and shooting organizations are fighting back, and more power to them…


Edit- Guffaw has a post up HERE with an article link…

Super Committee, Super Failure…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Sequestration IS the elephant in the room, and this one isn’t a Republican…


Every thing I’m hearing is the Dems congresscritters are going to fail on purpose to effectively gut the military (this has LONG been the Dems dream) since there aren’t any votes in the military and the military budget take $$ away from the ‘entitlements’ the Dems know and love. 


SECDEF Paneta was apparently on the Hill today but his comments and brief were NOT well received. The reality of sequestration is that it WILL gut the services; cutting personnel, equipment (which is worn out after 10 years of war), stop new development, and leave us in worse shape than where we were under Carter.


Our military is already stressed to the breaking point, spread way too thin and totally frustrated by the lack of support from this administration. When this mess happens, we will have even more problems just trying to maintain a presence in various places…


If you think Mogadishu was bad, that will be nothing compared to what can (and probably will) happen.  The kids on the pointy end will not give up, and they will fight to the death, sadly because there won’t be any backup within a reasonable distance…


And the Chinese have vowed to push us out of Japan, etc. all the way out to the second island chain (Guam); it’s been in the world media, but not the US MSM (gee, no big surprise there)…


From this report- Oddly enough, from Air Power Australia


“China’s new ‘Second Island Chain’ strategy aims to develop the capability to project power beyond the ‘Second Island Chain’ , ie the arc from Japan through Guam, Northern Australia and Indonesia. Air power plays a critical role in PLA strategic thinking. To implement the ‘Second Island Chain’ strategy the PLA is investing in its first aircraft carrier, the Varyag, with an air wing of  J-15 (reverse engineered Su-33 Flanker D), and is developing a cruise missile capable bomber force.”

And when you add in Arab Spring, lack of support for Israel, Russia coming back into power, the ‘pending’ failure of the EU, the administration’s lack of support for historic allies…

Well, it just doesn’t bode well in my mind…

For those of you with friends/family members in the military, I truly hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right, they WILL need all our thoughts and prayers…

Home… FINALLY… for one day…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Finally got home, overall good trip, and productive in a couple of ways…LOL


One image from my trip for y’all. This is the view from my hotel room at Haneda Airport, it’s LITERALLY in the airport, and the view is  of the check-in counters…



At least I didn’t have to go out in the rain to get there…LOL


And in the ye Gods and little fishes category, one more price from Tulsa.


$225,000 for a shotgun…


Not just ANY shotgun mind you, but an unfired 1930’s Purdy BEST Grade double in .410!!!


Anyhoo, I got my M-1 NM back, and it turns out the ejection problem was, of all things, a kinked spring holding the ejector!  So now the safe is full again 🙂



Left is my 1953 HRA, right is my Springfield Type 2 NM.  Now I just have to be home long enough to actually SHOOT em…


Sigh…  Y’all have a good week!