We're getting a little ice, but the ground is not frozen, so it is not sticking. The power is on, so we are warm and have light. I've talked to all my kids and they are okay. We are weathering the storm.
The weather radar has lots of pretty colors.
We're hanging in there. This too will pass later today.
We shot our January monthly match at the clubhouse today. Yes, there is a winter storm coming, but it ain't hare yet. We decided to have some fun.
We had eleven (11) shooters this morning, not a bad turnout when you figure the weather.
The worst of it is supposed to roll in here later today, mainly in the form of ice and sleet, not so much snow. Many of the churches are closed tomorrow, and the news is saying that the state will close the Interstate (I-49) later today, mainly because so much of it is elevated across Alexandria.
Belle and I are hunkered down, with everything we need to ride this thing out.
The big news this weekend is the winter storm that is going to hit us over the weekend. Yesterday there were lines at gas pumps and propane filling stations. From all accounts, we are going to be on the southern edge of the storm, so how bad it may get is a matter of which weather app you are using.
The temps are all predicted to get into the mid-to-lower teens, so the temps will be there. The question is how much precipitation we are going to get, and in what form. Snow, sleet, freezing rain are all in the mix.
I think we are ready, though one never really knows. The gas cans are full, the generator is ready, the propane tanks are filled. Now it's just a matter of how closely the reality matches the forecast.
We will see.
The big news is the Ice-mageddon we are going to get this weekend. Lots of folk in panic mode.
For myself, younger son came by this morning and we went to Academy to look at scopes. Picked out a nice Vortex Crossfire for the Winchester. Mounted it, life is good. We didn't go shoot simply because it rained all day, and I'm not ford of being in the rain. When I was in the Army, the mantra was "If it ain't raining, we ain't training", but I'll wait for less precipitation.
The weather-weenies are prepping us for a huge ice storm this weekend. I'm ready, but I am not yet convinced. What concerns me is the insanely low temperatures they are talking about. Louisiana does not need temps in the teens. It ain't right.
Tomorrow, it is supposed to rain some more. The menu in the shop tomorrow will be chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and cream gravy. I may heat some english peas to go with that. We'll see.
My younger son came in for a visit today. He'll be here for a week. Belle and I picked him up at the airport and his brothers met us at the shop.
Stories were told, lies were explored. At some point the conversation turned to optics. I happened to have a rifle in the rack with an old Bushnell scope. It will be upgraded tomorrow. the boys took that scope off the rifle and began to disassemble it, exploring the mysteries of the internals of common optics.
That was interesting, and we concluded that young Philippine grills are better qualified to disassemble cheap scopes than middle aged rednecks from Louisiana. They probably have specialty tools. At one point, a pipe wrench was used in the disassembly, probably not something we would find in a technical manual. This was redneck gun-smiffing of the worst kind. No alcohol was involved in this evolution.
For the record, the reticle was found in the second focal plane.
We'll go get a new scope tomorrow and see how the rifle shoot. It's a push-feed Winchester Model 70 in 257 Roberts. More to follow.
Just for giggles, let's take a look at the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
That is fairly broad and well stated.
Turns out, a bunch of Somali backers invaded a white church in Minnesota on Sunday, protesting and raising hell. Nobody got hurt, but it disrupted the service. Don Lemon, the disgraced CNN guy was there with a camera crew, supporting the disrupters. So, what we have is a collision of free speech and free exercise of religion. It's a good question where the boundaries lie.
You can see Don interviewing the pastor here.
Interestingly though, there is this thing called the FACE Act, a Clinton-era law that makes it illegal to
"intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with, or attempting to injure, intimidate, or interfere, any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship."
Oops. Don and all those protesters may be in violation of federal law. We note that journalism is also protected under the First Amendment, and this should further complicate an already complicated legal exercise.
Those of us who grew up in the 20th century knew what a fifth of whiskey was. One fifth of a US gallon. A US gallon holds 128 ounces, so a fifth was 28.6 ounces. Nowadays we buy our hooch on the metric system, and a 750 ml bottle, we still call a fifth, but that holds only 25.36 ounces.
A jigger of whiskey was commonly known to be 1.5 ounces. One of the legends ascribed to the game of golf was that the course standard of 18 holes was based on the fifth of whiskey. If a gentleman limited himself to one jigger per hole, he could finish the course with fifth, retaining a wee bit to toast the course after the game.
Lately I have seen some of the online whiskey gurus saying that they didn't know why a 750 ml bottle is sometimes called a fifth. Now, the education is complete.
You are welcome.
I haven't really been following it, but I have been noticing this whole Greenland kerfuffle.
President Trump seems to think that it is strategically important, Denmark owns it, and President Trump is making noise about buying it.
It seems that a NATO military contingent has gone to recon it.
Thirty-seven (37) is barely an overstrength platoon.
