A Day at The Range

Just got back from taking a "Skill Builder" pistol course at my local range. Seven students, some *very* new, and some quite experienced, with two outstanding instructors, Edmund and Fred.
Two hours of classroom, followed by two hours on the range. We did a variety of close-range and "7 Yard" shooting, shooting after moving, tactical/administrative, and emergency reloading drills, and got to sharpen our skills. This was a very abbreviated, 4-hour version of the 14-hour "Tactical Pistol I" class they offer at the range. I've taken "Tac-I" before, and I'm going to be taking it again in March.

Make your alter-ego

HAH! Thanks to Breda for this one.....
http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

The funny thing is....I actually kinda look like that!

Another Brain-Dead Bill.....H.R. 45

DUH! WHEN are these people going to realize penalizing regular citizens will do NOTHING to keep guns out of the hands of criminals?
Bill like this are a waste of paper and tax-payer resources.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:1:./temp/~c1117889qL::

If you go to the site, and hit a dead-end, do a manual search for H.R. 45
Seems it been changing, and sometimes the link gets stale.

SIG!

Well, I finally broke down and bought a SIG P226 in .40S&W. When I decided to get back into firearms after too many years away, I wanted to get a SIG P220, based on the 10,000 round ( ! ) test I read about. I wound up with a Kimber Custom TLE II as since I'd grown up with 1911's, I just felt more comfortable with one. Still, I always admired the fit and finish and "seriousness" of the SIG pistols. That and the fact that Fox Mulder carried one! Since my local purveyor of pistols was running reeeealy low on stock of anything capable of projecting lead downrange, I popped for the SIG while he still had it. Since it hadn't been 30 days since my last handgun purchase out here in the Republik, I could only put down a deposit to hold it. I'll be able to pay it off "In Full" and do the DROS on the 16th (President's Day!), and then pick it up on the 27th. It's interesting to note that although our brilliant minds in the State Government of The Republik out here demand that you wait "30 days" between purchases of handguns, it actually winds up being FOURTY days because of the additonal 10-day wait after you do the DROS.
So now that I have several handguns, and a couple of long guns, does this mean I have an "Arsenal"? Seems like anytime somebody has more than ONE gun, the lamestream media goes into a hissy fit and screams "They had an ARSENAL!" at the drop of a hat.

An Oldie

A friend sent me this quite a while ago. I know it's been around since dirt was invented, but I think it's more timely today than when I first got it.


IN GOD WE TRUST

A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

A Trillion Dollar TURD....

And we all have to take a bite.
I feel sorry for my son, and his children if he has any.
I wrote both my congress critters, and HRH Obama.
I was polite.....
I did not rant......
And I don't expect to hear back from any of them, as what do "The Little People" know?
After all, if I knew what was best for the country, why I'd be in the government!
Depressing, but as of Sunday morning, it still hasn't passed.....

HCR 0006 GO NEW HAMPSHIRE!

Looks like new hampshire has a good idea!
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/HCR0006.html

H/T to Mikechurch.com

Template Tinkerin'

Trying to find one I like, that displays the text and sidebars in a way that I find "appealing".
Looks like I'll have to dig out the HTML books and start turnin' the adjustment screws down inside the code...haven't *quite* found anything that really trips my trigger.

Rain, Hot Rods, and Memories....

YAAAAY! It's been raining most of the day, and do we ever need it! According to my rain gauge we've received .36" as of 6:30 tonight, for a total of 3.98" for the California rain season, which starts July 1st. We're still around 3" under "normal", so hopefully we can pick up another couple of inches before February and March pass by.
It's supposed to rain some more tonight, and most of the weekend, clearing Sunday, and then another front passes through Monday night.
When I lived back in Northern Illinois and was going through my Hot Rod phase, it *always* seemed to start raining on Friday night, and clear by Sunday, ruining the Weekend Cruise Nights. We'd still hang out at our haunt, but it was a "Beater Night", and we all drove our grocery-getters or parts-chasing vehicles. Even though I don't care for Springsteen's politics, every time I hear the line in "Jungleland" about the "Barefoot girl sittin' on the hood of a Dodge, drinkin beer in the warm summer rain", the memories come flooding back. The closest I ever came to that was seeing a barefoot girl sittin on the hood of a buddies Chevelle drinkin beer under the warm summer skies (no rain that weekend!), and then everybody realizing she had on STUDDED jeans.....ARRRRGH!
When she did her coy little slide off the hood, she took about $500 worth of paint with her, and was never welcome back to the group I hung with. I seem to remember her going over to the 4-wheeler guys, most of who had trucks too tall for her to climb up onto the hood.
Mostly we listened to Arrowsmith, Foghat, Thin Lizzie, Sammy Hagar, and others groups like that. I was the older one, so I introduced the younger guys to Pink Floyd (You mean they had albums BEFORE "Dark Side of the Moon"??), and the girls to Steely Dan. "Hey 19" was popular, but the first time some little sweetie asked me "What's Cuervo Gold?" I felt old. Still it always impressed them that I knew all the words to "Your Gold Teeth" (1 AND 2!), and "Bodishatva".
Plus, I had the fastest street-legal Trans Am in the territory......

More Radio

Just got home from work, and I'm going to try and finish doing a good cleaning job on the copper-plated chassis of my Drake R-4B. One of the things I've found works quite well is bore cleaning patches. Soft, absorbent, and very flexible. WAY better than paper towels wadded up into little pads, and they last longer than Q-Tips or other swabs.
After that I have a few more mods to do, clean the PTO shaft and carefully lube it, and I'll change out the old, crusty line cord for the new one. I'll have to open up the hole in the chassis for the new bushing, but that shouldn't be too hard. The do the alignment, and she'll be ready to go, just waiting on getting the case shells redone. Ummmmmm...POWDER COAT, and by the same company that painted them for Drake back in the 60's.
Then on to the transmitter!

OPB's

Or "Other People's Blogs" for the acronymn challenged.
Geez, every time I visit some of the blogs I follow, I'm amazed at the creativity, passion, and scope of subjects covered. I wish I could write as well as they do, but unless you want a first-class Technical Manual or set of instructions on how to operate something, I think you might be better off reading some of the people I follow!
Maybe I should get a little pocket note-taker so I can record some of the random thoughts I have during the day, and then expand on them before I commit them to the bits, bytes, and electrons this medium offers.
Great job, everybody!