Spent part of the afternoon under the bathroom sink installing a new faucet, drain, and supply lines. 3 days ago we had "Bathtub King" come out and resurface the sink and counter top. They were the "Cultured Marble" type (read: "PLASTIC") and over the years the basin had deteriorated to the point it was cracked and pretty fugly. They did a great job, so to go with the "new" look, I decided to put a new faucet on. Actually I have to back up to the day previous, as we told them I'd have the faucets and drain removed for them when they got here.
WELL....the shut-off valves didn't, so I had to shut the water off to the entire house to avoid flooding the bathroom. Thankfully, the guy across the street is a *real* plumber, and showed me how to connect a hose _between_ the outlets of the old valves until I got new ones, so I could turn the water back on to the house. With that out of the way, "Bathtub King" proceeded to grind out and "Bondo" (he actually used something else, but everybody knows what "Bondo" is) the damaged area. Then he sprayed the new finish on, and left for lunch while it cured. 3 hours later he came back and sprayed the clear overcoat on, at which point we had to wait 72 hours for it to fully cure.
Back to the valves.....The plumber and I don't "talk" the same when it comes to tubing (measured by OUTSIDE diameter) and pipe (measured by INSIDE diameter), so I bought the wrong size valves....TWICE! He finally said he'd get the right ones, and when he came back the next day, we had the new valves installed in about 15 minutes. This afternoon the finish was cured, so I put the new faucet, drain, and supply lines on.
It looks beautiful, and now the GF sees why I didn't want to just clean up the old faucet and drain and reinstall it.
Last month we pulled all the appliances out of the kitchen, and tore up the old linoleum. Two of the guys that live in the apartment building I was living at are expert tile guys, so the GF and I went to Home Depot, and bought the tile, baseboard pieces, and the (matching!) grout. She wanted the tiles in a "brick" pattern, rather than just a "square" pattern, so it took him a couple of extra days because he had to custom cut a LOT of the tiles. It also looks beautiful, but between the backer board, mortar, and thickness of the tile, the floor is now about 1/2" thicker, and the dishwasher would NOT fit back under the cabinets! Took me two days with a belt sander and a 40-grit belt to *carefully* remove enough of the wood under the countertop so the dishwasher would slide back in.
The "Tile Guys" also reset a bunch of the brickwork in the front porch that had settled over the years, resulting in a lot of loose bricks and cracked mortar. I was stunned how fast they did it. I figured it would take them at least a day to do it, but having the right tools, and experience, makes a big difference. They just knocked all the loose bricks out, used their tile saw to cut the old mortar off, and had all the bricks reset in about two hours!
Earlier this year we had all the windows replaced, the roof replaced on the house and garage, and painted the exterior. A lot of this was "Deferred Maintenance", and things that she'd just let slide, due to some family issues, but the house is pretty spiffy again.
Our next "project" will be to build an addition off the back of the house for my workshop/radio room, and get the electrical service upgraded.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Governator Signs Ammo Bill!
Stock up now, if you can!
I just ordered some more from Cabela's and Midway. Cabela's has stated they'll no longer sell to Kaliforniastan, but Midway hasn't made any statement I'm aware of.
Since this POS "legislation" doesn't take effect until July 2010, I'll be ordering more over the next 8 months.
I pretty much buy my practice ammo at the range (if they have it) as it helps support them.
I'll see what they have in stock later today when I stop in today to pick up my Remington 1100 TAC4.
Yep, "mini" Range Report will be coming!
I just ordered some more from Cabela's and Midway. Cabela's has stated they'll no longer sell to Kaliforniastan, but Midway hasn't made any statement I'm aware of.
Since this POS "legislation" doesn't take effect until July 2010, I'll be ordering more over the next 8 months.
I pretty much buy my practice ammo at the range (if they have it) as it helps support them.
I'll see what they have in stock later today when I stop in today to pick up my Remington 1100 TAC4.
Yep, "mini" Range Report will be coming!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Please Call To Oppose AB962 and SB585
We only have a few days to call the Governor and let him know we DO NOT want these bills passed.
I've sent emails, faxes, and written letters to express my opposition to these bills.
SB585 is the ban on gunshows at The Cow Palace
AB962 is the ominous "Ammunition Bill" that will place insane restrictions on buying, selling, and even GIVING ammo away TO YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS!
Today I called, and I urge you to do so, too.
Here's how:
1) Call 1-916-445-2841
2) Press 1 for English (no comment!)
3) Press 2 to comment on a bill
4) Listen for AB962 option
5) Press 2 to oppose (VETO) the bill
Do the same for SB585
It might take you a while to get through, as the line is busy quite often, but please, KEEP TRYING
I've sent emails, faxes, and written letters to express my opposition to these bills.
SB585 is the ban on gunshows at The Cow Palace
AB962 is the ominous "Ammunition Bill" that will place insane restrictions on buying, selling, and even GIVING ammo away TO YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS!
Today I called, and I urge you to do so, too.
Here's how:
1) Call 1-916-445-2841
2) Press 1 for English (no comment!)
3) Press 2 to comment on a bill
4) Listen for AB962 option
5) Press 2 to oppose (VETO) the bill
Do the same for SB585
It might take you a while to get through, as the line is busy quite often, but please, KEEP TRYING
Sunday, October 4, 2009
First Aid Training
In all of our talk and blogging about being "independent", I see lots of writing about things like food storage, weapons training and storage, how to dig your own latrine, grow your own food, and keep the lights on, but I don't see much advice on getting some PROPER First Aid training.
This subject came up as I was yakking with one of my Ham Radio buddies, who was relating to me the story of his wife's recent medical emergency, and how he was glad he'd taken some basic First Aid training as part of his Amateur Radio Emergency Communications training.
I've had a ton of training provided by my current (for now!) employer. Basic, Advanced, First Responder, CPR, Emergency Defibrillator, Blood Borne Pathogens, and numerous other courses, including basic firefighting. Being on a ship with 240 other people, thousands of miles from nowhere, is a really good reason to have every crew member "ready for action"!
While it's important to know the other things we usually blog-on about, please take the time to find some First Aid training in your area. You just might save the life of a loved one, or critical crew member.
The American Red Cross is a good place to start, and they offer both local classes, and online training.
This subject came up as I was yakking with one of my Ham Radio buddies, who was relating to me the story of his wife's recent medical emergency, and how he was glad he'd taken some basic First Aid training as part of his Amateur Radio Emergency Communications training.
I've had a ton of training provided by my current (for now!) employer. Basic, Advanced, First Responder, CPR, Emergency Defibrillator, Blood Borne Pathogens, and numerous other courses, including basic firefighting. Being on a ship with 240 other people, thousands of miles from nowhere, is a really good reason to have every crew member "ready for action"!
While it's important to know the other things we usually blog-on about, please take the time to find some First Aid training in your area. You just might save the life of a loved one, or critical crew member.
The American Red Cross is a good place to start, and they offer both local classes, and online training.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Differences In Outlook
Sent to me by a good friend.
Pretty much says it all.....
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, then no one should have one.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his
enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly lives his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.
If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, he sees himself as independently
successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of
government protection.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal wants any mention of God or religion silenced.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for
it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.
Pretty much says it all.....
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, then no one should have one.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his
enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly lives his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.
If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, he sees himself as independently
successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of
government protection.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal wants any mention of God or religion silenced.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for
it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wikipedia Veers To The Left....AGAIN
After seeing this cartoon over at Obama Cartoons, I decided I didn't know who Hannah Giles was, so I Googled for her.
Imagine my surprise when I found this heading on her Wikipedia entry:
"This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.
Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's entry on the Articles for deletion page.
Feel free to edit the article, but the article must not be blanked, and this notice must not be removed, until the discussion is closed. For more information, particularly on merging or moving the article during the discussion, read the guide to deletion."
Now, I've generally only trusted the Wikipedia for Scientific and Technology items, things that can be somewhat easily verified by other sources, particularly our old friends BOOKS. I give their other entries the grain-of-salt weighting that I give other sources that I can't verify myself.
I find their Deletion Policy to be pretty open-ended, subject to interpretation, and pretty arbitrary, which of course is their right, since they run the website.
The thing that struck me about this particular entry was not that it was flagged for editing, but flagged for deletion.
There's tons of pages on there that deal with public personalities that get flagged for editing, but this is the first I've ever seen flagged for deletion.
And I use Wikipedia A LOT.
Very interesting....
Imagine my surprise when I found this heading on her Wikipedia entry:
"This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.
Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's entry on the Articles for deletion page.
Feel free to edit the article, but the article must not be blanked, and this notice must not be removed, until the discussion is closed. For more information, particularly on merging or moving the article during the discussion, read the guide to deletion."
Now, I've generally only trusted the Wikipedia for Scientific and Technology items, things that can be somewhat easily verified by other sources, particularly our old friends BOOKS. I give their other entries the grain-of-salt weighting that I give other sources that I can't verify myself.
I find their Deletion Policy to be pretty open-ended, subject to interpretation, and pretty arbitrary, which of course is their right, since they run the website.
The thing that struck me about this particular entry was not that it was flagged for editing, but flagged for deletion.
There's tons of pages on there that deal with public personalities that get flagged for editing, but this is the first I've ever seen flagged for deletion.
And I use Wikipedia A LOT.
Very interesting....
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The RNC
Man, I'm REALLY getting tired of these people calling me. Thank God for caller ID! The last time I talked to them, I told them I was NOT giving any more money to the Republican National Committee until they changed their policies.
When I see them getting back to more conservative values, I *might* give them another donation. In the meantime, I'll spread what little "wealth" I have to individual candidates that I feel are closer to my values than The Party Line. I like Chuck DeVore and wish there were more like him.
We NEED:
Less big government
Recognition of individual RIGHTS
Elimination of unnecessary, wasteful programs
Tax reductions
A strong national defense policy
Supreme Court candidates that support The Constitution
For that matter, we also need elected representatives that support AND FOLLOW our Constitution!
CLOSE THE DAMN BORDERS!
I'm sure there's more I could list, but I think you get my drift....
When I see them getting back to more conservative values, I *might* give them another donation. In the meantime, I'll spread what little "wealth" I have to individual candidates that I feel are closer to my values than The Party Line. I like Chuck DeVore and wish there were more like him.
We NEED:
Less big government
Recognition of individual RIGHTS
Elimination of unnecessary, wasteful programs
Tax reductions
A strong national defense policy
Supreme Court candidates that support The Constitution
For that matter, we also need elected representatives that support AND FOLLOW our Constitution!
CLOSE THE DAMN BORDERS!
I'm sure there's more I could list, but I think you get my drift....
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Gun Safes
Gun safes are one of those things that I never really thought about much until recently. Since I'll be moving in with my girlfriend shortly, it's time to buy one, and wow, the choices are overwhelming! I was even surprised to see them at Home Depot in the "Tools" section, but I think I'd rather spend a little more and get one from more of a name-brand kind of place than my local lumber/wallboard/tool emporium.
The first question is How Big? I don't own a lot of firearms (yet!), so I don't need a safe big enough to arm a platoon, but I do need one big enough to handle any future purchases.
Then there's What "Level" Do We Buy? Some of these things look sturdy enough to require a small tactical nuke to break in to. The fire rating changes with the level, which is nice to know, but I'm more concerned with things like ease of installation (Reinforce the floor? WHAT!?), ease of opening, and physical security.
Which brings up What Type Of Lock? By this I mean do we want a dial-type lock, or a keypad-type lock? I kind of favor the keypad, but I want to look into if they have a connector for an external battery in case the on-board battery dies. It would be a real bummer to not be able to get into my own safe!
Next is Where Do We Put It? I'm looking at "closet safes", as we have a closet in one of the bedrooms that's not used for much, and it would be out of sight.
I already have a pistol safe that pops open with just a touch of the finger pads (yes, I practice with that just as much as I practice with my pistols!), and I'll keep that in the bedroom with my 45 inside it. I can't be running off to the other bedroom if something goes bump in the night, or the Goblins start prowling around outside. I just hope I never have to use my pistol to fight my way to my shotgun!
And finally, What About Shipping? These things are heavy, and I doubt if I could just slide one in the back of my Jeep to get it home. I'll probably rent a small trailer, and take the girlfriend's "#2 Son" with me. He's a weight-lifter, and helped the other night when we brought all the floor tile home for the kitchen remodel. I was struggling with a single box of tile (ever pick up a box of 12x12 floor tiles?), and was lugging in THREE of them! He's also been to the range with us a few times, knows The Four Rules, and is a damn fine shot with my Kimber.
I found several places that are fairly local, like "Homeland Security Safe Company", and "Patriot Safe Company". Some of the others offer free shipping, but that means somebody has to be home to accept delivery, and I'd really like this to be low-key, as I don't want a big truck pulling up, and all the neighbors seeing a brand-new GUN SAFE being delivered.
Ahhh...decisions, decisions. Next time I go to the range I'll ask the guys there. It's where I bought my little pistol safe, and they always know the answers to my sometimes arcane questions.
Comments are welcome, especially your experiences with gun safes.
The first question is How Big? I don't own a lot of firearms (yet!), so I don't need a safe big enough to arm a platoon, but I do need one big enough to handle any future purchases.
Then there's What "Level" Do We Buy? Some of these things look sturdy enough to require a small tactical nuke to break in to. The fire rating changes with the level, which is nice to know, but I'm more concerned with things like ease of installation (Reinforce the floor? WHAT!?), ease of opening, and physical security.
Which brings up What Type Of Lock? By this I mean do we want a dial-type lock, or a keypad-type lock? I kind of favor the keypad, but I want to look into if they have a connector for an external battery in case the on-board battery dies. It would be a real bummer to not be able to get into my own safe!
Next is Where Do We Put It? I'm looking at "closet safes", as we have a closet in one of the bedrooms that's not used for much, and it would be out of sight.
I already have a pistol safe that pops open with just a touch of the finger pads (yes, I practice with that just as much as I practice with my pistols!), and I'll keep that in the bedroom with my 45 inside it. I can't be running off to the other bedroom if something goes bump in the night, or the Goblins start prowling around outside. I just hope I never have to use my pistol to fight my way to my shotgun!
And finally, What About Shipping? These things are heavy, and I doubt if I could just slide one in the back of my Jeep to get it home. I'll probably rent a small trailer, and take the girlfriend's "#2 Son" with me. He's a weight-lifter, and helped the other night when we brought all the floor tile home for the kitchen remodel. I was struggling with a single box of tile (ever pick up a box of 12x12 floor tiles?), and was lugging in THREE of them! He's also been to the range with us a few times, knows The Four Rules, and is a damn fine shot with my Kimber.
I found several places that are fairly local, like "Homeland Security Safe Company", and "Patriot Safe Company". Some of the others offer free shipping, but that means somebody has to be home to accept delivery, and I'd really like this to be low-key, as I don't want a big truck pulling up, and all the neighbors seeing a brand-new GUN SAFE being delivered.
Ahhh...decisions, decisions. Next time I go to the range I'll ask the guys there. It's where I bought my little pistol safe, and they always know the answers to my sometimes arcane questions.
Comments are welcome, especially your experiences with gun safes.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
"I Am A Shooter"
Brigid has really out done herself this time, at least IMHO! She hits the nail on the head, and describes things that I feel, and know, but can't put into words.
Please go check out her latest posting, "I Am A Shooter". It's a worthy read.
The blogosphere is very lucky to have such an eloquent spokesperson.
Oh, and her recipes are great, too!
Please go check out her latest posting, "I Am A Shooter". It's a worthy read.
The blogosphere is very lucky to have such an eloquent spokesperson.
Oh, and her recipes are great, too!
Tick, Tick, Tick......
Well, all 35 of us received our "Official 60-Day Notice of Impending Layoff" from the mothership on Friday. Then we went across the street to a little hole-in-the-wall bar for a "Pink Slip Party". The Company is really trying to relocate those who want to stay with The Company to other jobs, and several of my friends are going to do the TDY thing at various locations around the U.S. for the next few months. They had one location I was interested in, down in Ajo, Arizona working on the systems for the Virtual Border Fence that's being installed. It sounded pretty neat (and pretty cush, too!), but I really don't want to be out in the middle of nowhere for 3~4 months. *Maybe* if I could carry my sidearm (lots of "vermin" out there, I hear), AND convince the girlfriend it was a Good Thing, I'd go, but I think I'll use this 60-day period to finish moving in with her, get settled, and do some upgrades on the house. I'm a bit burned-out from all the travelling I've done in the last 5 years (I was gone 19 weeks last year), and looking forward to some R&R. Besides, my previous employer has told me "Just let us know if/when you'd like to come back", so as long as they don't mind waiting a while ( I don't lose my severance package, which you lose if you accept ANY employment before the 60 days is up), I'm perfectly happy to be "Semi-Retired"!
Friday, September 11, 2009
A Moment Of Silence, Please
For all those who lost their lives eight years ago today........
Thank you.
I can't hope to come close to all the other remembrances posted on the Web today, so I won't try, but here's my little story.
I was working the night shift at the uplink for the #1 satellite TV broadcaster. Night shift was a combination of tedium and boredom. We set the schedules up on the video servers and compression equipment for the coming day, made sure all the transmitters and amplifiers were working correctly, made our "meter readings", and did our part for upgrades at the station, like pulling in new cable, moving equipment racks, cleaning tape decks, and stuff like that. Usually pretty quiet. The intercom burst to life from the Main Control Room, and we expected that it was for something that had failed, and needed to be put back on-line ASAP. The BOSS (Broadcast Operations Shift Supervisor) was yelling "TURN ON THE NEWS!!!", so we flipped the monitor wall to CNN, BBC, FOX, etc.
It was horrible.
Working at a Broadcast Center is neat because we have access to all the "Raw Feeds", and the stuff the on-the-scene satellite trucks are uplinking back to their respective networks. It's where you'll see the reporters in the field doing their "Air Checks" before they go live. Sometimes it's hilarious because of the comments they make that you don't see at home when your'e watching TV. Reporters with perfect hair, nice suits and ties, and then you'll see them wearing old ratty jeans and shoes when the camera pulls back.
Not today.
I ran out to the main control room, set up some receivers, and started swinging some of our "Wild Feed" dishes around to the satellites I knew would be carrying the live traffic from the field. Within a few minutes we were getting live on-the-scene traffic, and the BOSS patched it to all the 'local' TV sets on-site.
Utter pandemonium. Nobody knew what was going on, the reporters were in a daze trying to get info, and doing their best to fill in with what little was known.
Then the second plane hit.
Thirty-four minutes later the Pentagon was attacked.
Twenty-two minutes after that the South Tower collapsed.
Twenty-nine minutes after that the North Tower collapsed.
So far I've lived through three of those historic "Where Were You?" moments in time.
President Kennedy is assassinated
We landed on the Moon
9/11
I'm not very religious, but I hope and pray we never have to go through an event like this again.
Thank you.
I can't hope to come close to all the other remembrances posted on the Web today, so I won't try, but here's my little story.
I was working the night shift at the uplink for the #1 satellite TV broadcaster. Night shift was a combination of tedium and boredom. We set the schedules up on the video servers and compression equipment for the coming day, made sure all the transmitters and amplifiers were working correctly, made our "meter readings", and did our part for upgrades at the station, like pulling in new cable, moving equipment racks, cleaning tape decks, and stuff like that. Usually pretty quiet. The intercom burst to life from the Main Control Room, and we expected that it was for something that had failed, and needed to be put back on-line ASAP. The BOSS (Broadcast Operations Shift Supervisor) was yelling "TURN ON THE NEWS!!!", so we flipped the monitor wall to CNN, BBC, FOX, etc.
It was horrible.
Working at a Broadcast Center is neat because we have access to all the "Raw Feeds", and the stuff the on-the-scene satellite trucks are uplinking back to their respective networks. It's where you'll see the reporters in the field doing their "Air Checks" before they go live. Sometimes it's hilarious because of the comments they make that you don't see at home when your'e watching TV. Reporters with perfect hair, nice suits and ties, and then you'll see them wearing old ratty jeans and shoes when the camera pulls back.
Not today.
I ran out to the main control room, set up some receivers, and started swinging some of our "Wild Feed" dishes around to the satellites I knew would be carrying the live traffic from the field. Within a few minutes we were getting live on-the-scene traffic, and the BOSS patched it to all the 'local' TV sets on-site.
Utter pandemonium. Nobody knew what was going on, the reporters were in a daze trying to get info, and doing their best to fill in with what little was known.
Then the second plane hit.
Thirty-four minutes later the Pentagon was attacked.
Twenty-two minutes after that the South Tower collapsed.
Twenty-nine minutes after that the North Tower collapsed.
So far I've lived through three of those historic "Where Were You?" moments in time.
President Kennedy is assassinated
We landed on the Moon
9/11
I'm not very religious, but I hope and pray we never have to go through an event like this again.
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