More on Primitive Firearms Season

When I opined earlier that the new Primitive Firearms regulations seem to include a .357 magnum Handi-Rifle, Old NFO responded, in comments:

LOL, good 'read' of the regulations, but I'm betting some DNR folks will argue that point with ya...

Actually, old buddy, Louisiana has very liberal regulations concerning what can or cannot be used to hunt whitetail deer. The basic regulation says that:

It is illegal to hunt or shoot deer with firearms smaller than .22 caliber center-fire or a shotgun loaded with anything other than buckshot or rifled slug. Handguns may be used for hunting deer.

In Louisiana, we can hunt deer with a .22 caliber centerfire and lots of deer are taken each year with .223 or .22-250. Perfectly legal, if not perfectly ethical. Still, it's done. One buddy of mine was very good with his custom .22-250 and used to take his deer every year with it. Making eyeball shots. Bang-flop, drag your deer out.

Louisiana started letting hunters use primitive firearms back in the early '80s with what we called the muzzleloader season. It began a week before the standard gun season and gave us an extra week to hunt deer. Originally, the regulation called for a muzzleloading firearm with an exposed hammer, using flint or percussion, no less than .45 caliber and using black powder or an approved substitute and iron sights only. Lots of us went out and bought Hawken replicas and used them very successfully. My rifle is a .54 T/C Renegade and I've taken several deer with it. During my poor-folks years, when I couldn't afford ammo, I hunted deer with it during the regular season. One shot, bang-flop and I never felt under-gunned. There is still a lot to like in a big slow bullet.

Later, Louisiana started watering down the regulations, and allowed things like (gasp) inline muzzleloaders and then, later (gasp) optical sights. Then, in 2008, they threw the season open to certain centerfire firearms that they classified as primitive firearms. As it turned out, the modern Handi-Rifle was on the list, because it is almost an exact copy of a rifle that Frank Wesson made in the 1870s. Go figure. Nowadays I hunt the primitive firearms season with an H&R Handi Rifle in .45-70. I haven't scoped it yet, preferring to use iron sights on that rifle.

However, it's not a stretch to think that the .357 magnum Handi is legal.  That seems to be the intent of the new law and in the proper hands, that caliber is very capable to taking our smallish whitetail deer.

Primitive Weapons Season

Louisiana has a Primitive Firearm Season that, charitably, does not require primitive weapons.  During that two week season, hunters can use modern firearms that mimic primitive weapons.  And, it is being continuously modified.  Last week the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced new changes regarding caliber.  Now, hunters can use .35 caliber firearms. 

The new definition of a legal firearm for the primitive firearm season will now include: single shot, breech loading rifles, .35 caliber or larger, having an exposed hammer that uses metallic cartridges loaded either with black powder or modern, smokeless powder.

Interesting. I guess that a .357 magnum Handi-Rifle will now be legal for the Primitive Firearm Season

What's Today? Wednesday?

I'm not in uniform this week, and with a holiday on Monday my internal calendar is all screwed up.  I've got a list of chores that I'm working off, and the lawnmower was on top of the list.  It's 8+ years old and right now it's fixed.  I don't know how long it is going to stay fixed, but that little chore is done.

Next comes fence maintenance.  For those of you who don't live in hurricane-prone areas, you probably would be amazed at what 100 mph winds can do to a wooden fence.  Thankfully, here in central Louisiana we don't often get 100 mph winds, but we do see 50+ mph winds when a hurricane rolls ashore, heads north and batters the hell out of us as a tropical storm.  My privacy fence has been through three of these things in the past eight years and parts of it are getting pretty wobbly. 

I started, after the lawnmower repair, punching holes in the back yard so that I can install wooden 4X4 posts to supplement the metal poles that hold the fence.  Wood flexes, while metal posts bend and crimp.  The combination of the two makes for a very sturdy fence.  I'm only going to install a half-dozen of these things, so it doesn't justify renting a power auger.  My old fashioned post hole digger will suffice.  However, punching holes in the ground in 90 degree heat takes a lot out of an old, fat man.  I'll get it done, but at my pace, with lots of iced tea breaks.  Which reminds me, I need to go buy some concrete.

Riser's Amendment

Louisiana is very gun friendly. We've got a long, rich cultural history of hunting, fishing, shooting and our laws reflect that rich culture. One of our state Senators, Neil Riser, has proposed an amendment to our state Constitution that would enshrine the right to keep and bear arms in Louisiana. The text of the proposed amendment is as follows:

 Section 11. The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.

The amendment, under Louisiana law has passed the full legislature and has been approved by the Governor. It goes now to the people for passage during the November election.  This amendment is notable because it invokes the legal doctrine of strict scrutiny.  This is interesting because strict scrutiny requires a compelling government interest, narrowly tailored, with the least possible restriction before the law will pass constitutional muster.  It is the highest legal standard that a court can apply to protect freedom and prevent government intrusion.

Opponents of the bill say that this amendment will pave the way to nullifying many of the gun laws currently on the books, such as the ones that restrict carry on campuses, churches, and government buildings.  

I predict easy passage when the bill goes before the public.  Louisiana takes another step toward becoming a free state.

Lean

Have you ever heard of Lean?  It seems to be a new recreational drink, composed of Arizona Watermelon fruit drink, Robitussin, and Skittles.  Evidently, you can get high on it, and maybe not coincidentally, two of the three ingredients were found on Trayvon's body the night he was killed. 

One of the recipes for “lean” calls for using Arizona Iced Tea Co.watermelon fruit juice cocktail as the beverage of choice, and Skittles candy… the items found on Trayvon Martin’s body the night he was shot by George Zimmerman.

Interesting, that. The Last Refuge has a mega-post up about the street concoction and how it might affect a person. Some say it gives a mellow high, but if you don't get the ingredients just right, it becomes "poor man's PCP". Whether or not Trayvon was stoned the night he became a bullet-stop is inconsequential to this post. What is consequential is that you can make a street drug from fruit juice, cough syrup, and candy. That's interesting to a school-house cop and hopefully to many parents who might be reading this posting.

Gendercide

Did you know that there are some Planned Parenthood clinics that are counseling women on how to obtain an abortion depending on the sex of the child.  If so, there is something sick, vile, and degrading in the culture of Planned Parenthood.  You wanna talk about a War on Women?  Go to the link.  Watch the video. 

Disgusting.

Lawn Mower Maintenance

The wonder of the internet.  Look around for awhile and you're bound to find an expert in any given field.  You can download parts manuals, test procedures, just about anything you'd like if your Google-fu is strong.

Here in the family, we call this machine the Magic Information Box.  Ask it a question, it'll spit out an answer.  Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but if you keep at it, you'll get an inkling of where you need to look next.  No, I'm not going into particulars, but I'm a whole lot further along than I was a daylight today.  Hopefully, this is an easy fix.

The Draft

There's a piece at Time, which argues, if not for the draft then for a discussion of compulsory service.  Okay, lets talk about this.

I remember the draft, compulsory military service.  It touched my life as a high school student because we were in the throes of Vietnam.  Arguing about whether or not we should have been there in the first place still causes a huge divide in my age group. I also remember the day that President Nixon ended the draft, the sense of relief among my age group was palpable, euphoric, liberating.  I later volunteered and served alongside draftees, the vast majority of whom served well, honorably, some staying in the service until retirement.

Imbecile!

Evidently, there's this imbecile, Chris Hayes at MSNBC, who claims that calling our fallen "heroes" makes him uncomfortable.  You don't have to watch the clip, but I've embedded it below.  I've also quoted the relevant words.

I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.

This guy is obviously an idiot who has no idea what it's like to pull your boots on, get on a boat, or a plane, or a truck and go to a place where folks want to shoot at you.  He's also uncomfortable calling the folks who do these things hero.  Today we remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to our country.

I would recommend to Mr. Hayes that he immediately resign his position at MSNBC, hie himself down to the recruiting offices and sign up to serve. Once he's heard shots fired in anger, and once he's helped haul is wounded buddy out of the zone, then maybe he'll be fit to proffer an opinion about who is a hero and who is not.  Until then, he needs to shut the hell up and be grateful that there are people who go in harm's way on his behalf.  At this point, I consider him an ungrateful coward, unfit to scrub the toilets of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who go in harm's way.

People like Chris Hayes really, truly, piss me off.

EDIT** The video ran at opening and was aggravating as old Billy hell, so I culled it.

Cry Havoc!

This is interesting.  It appears that someone at the Weather Service got caught with their hands in the till. 

Jack Hayes, the director of the National Weather Service, stepped down Friday in response to an investigation that top officials at the weather service had misappropriated $43.8 million by giving bonuses and extensions to contractors without proper justification.

It is my considered opinion that most weather-related science is bullshit.  Pure unadulterated bullshit.  Until the Weather Weenies can tell me whether or not, in three days, it will rain on my acre, they're full of crap.  I can give a generic weather report for three days out.

Clear to partly cloudy for the Deville, LA area, hot, in the mid-90s with 80% humidity.  Chance of a mid-afternoon or early evening thunderstorm.

That, ladies and gentlemen is the forecast for most of June-thru-September in my area.  The weather service can't do any better than that, and the idea that they're stealing from me galls me to no end.   It is my considered opinion that most of what passes for meteorology is hocus-pocus science, akin to reading tea leaves and sheep entrails.  There is no more science there than exists in a shaman's incantation, and until they can tell me, to a certainty, when it will next rain on my acre, they have no claim to my tax dollars, and certainly no claim to be a scientist.

Put the thieving bastards in jail.  Not just the ones caught stealing, but all the ones who claim to be "weather scientists".  They've been stealing from us for years.

Sunday Morning Dawg

A quick YouTube video of Milady feeding the dog flour tortillas.  When we go to a Mexican joint, we always bring the dog a few tortillas.  He seems to like them.



Watching him eat tortillas always cracks me up.

The Poppies Blow

Every year about this time the VFW has a fund-raiser and gives little red poppies as thanks.  I always stop when I see the guys, roll my window down and drop whatever money I have in my pocket in their bucket. This morning I acquired a nice little collection that I've hung on my rearview mirror.

The poppies, of course, remind us of that great battlefield poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae who was killed in the second battle of Ypres during the First World War.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 It is the Memorial Day weekend and PawPaw is going to be busy, remembering, laughing, being with family.  If you happen to see the VFW guys on the side of the road, stop and drop some money in their bucket.   Get yourself a poppy and hang it from your rearview mirror.

Super Soaker

It looks like some fools are turning Super Soaker water guns into shotguns.  This one found in Fresno had a barrel and a 20 gauge shotgun shell.



Apart from the obvious law enforcement concerns, I'm wondering how that plastic water gun would handle the pressure?  It might turn a plastic toy into a hand grenade.

Dipping Powder

I sat down at the bench today and found what was left of an old can of IMR 3031.  I had a box of Hornady 150 grain bullets #3035, round nose for the .30-30, so I decided to load what was left of that can of powder.  For years I had a mantra for loading the .30-30.  Quoted simply, it is: Thirty grains of 3031 for the .30-30.

I didn't want to set up my powder measure for such a small quantity of powder, so I decided to get out the dippers.  Lee's been selling dippers for as long as I've been reloading, and I've got a full set, so I got the chart out and got the scale out, and in just a few minutes I learned that the 2.2 cc dipper would throw 29.2 grains of my 3031.  Dipping powder is an easy way to measure it and with just a little practice it's easy to dip charges that are very consistent.  In just a few minutes I had dipped 20 charges and found that I was out of powder for that old can.  It's done and I have to buy some more 3031.

I don't remember when I bought that particular can, but I think that IMR quit putting powder in cans several years ago.  However, the Hodgdon still lists my load as acceptable in terms of their criteria.  We'll see how they fly, and I'll have to pick up another can of 3031.

Now, I need to find a dipper load for the .30-30 using IMR 4805 powder. I've got a good dipper load for cast bullets, but I've never tried that powder and jacketed bullets.  We'll see.

Ann Romney Loves Horses

That's what I get from the LA Times article, that Ann Romney likes horses.  From what I read of it, they're trying to slant it to be a particularly expensive hobby, and if I had Ann's millions, I might have spent more money on my horses, but the basic consideration is that Ann is an equestrian.  As was I, as are millions of Americans.  Ann rides dressage, an Olympic sport.  I rode cattle ponies and let the kids show them in 4H clubs and shows.

Are horses expensive?  You betcha, although millions of middle-class and those not yet in the middle class can afford to ride.  Some of the best horsemen I knew never seemed to have two nickels to rub together.  Nobody needs a horse these days, but some of us love them. 

According to the article, Ann started to ride seriously when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  Riding horses is good therapy for lots of things and I'm sure that riding helped with the MS.  It takes muscle to ride, and coordination to blend your movements with the horse.  For any that doubt it, go get a horse and ride for an afternoon.  Give it four solid hours.  You'll feel muscles you never thought you had, and you'll be sore in places that you didn't know were places.  Riding is good exercise.

Ann has dressage horses, and I had cattle ponies.  We both love horses.  I bet that Ann would have done just fine on my cattle pony, and her well-trained horse would surely have picked up the basics of herding cattle.  It's a horse, by God, not a machine.

That's just another reason to vote for Mitt.  His wife likes horses.

Gridlock Eases in Metro Areas

USA Today reports that traffic congestion is easing in many metro areas.

Traffic congestion dropped 30% last year from 2010 in the USA's 100 largest metropolitan areas, driven largely by higher gas prices and a spotty economic recovery, according to a new study by a Washington-state firm that tracks traffic flows.

That's an upside, I guess. You have to find good news wherever it may be, but I don't think that those folks who don't have jobs or can't afford gasoline will see it as good news.

Graduation

They're graduated. Ninety-something of them walked across the stage tonight and they are now OFFICIALLY not my problem. Two especially troubled children walked tonight. I'm sure that I'll see one or both of them in an official capacity. They'll probably make someone a good trustee one of these days. Still, they're done. Good riddance.

Alberto

The first storm of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto is hovering off the Georgia/South Carolina coast.  It isn't expected to make landfall, but the season is upon us, about 10 days earlier than the traditional June 1st kickoff date.

The first project I have for the summer is to re-inforce my backyard fence. That's normally the first thing a tropical storm will take.

Shaped by Religion

I see that the New York Times is running an article on how Mitt Romney was shaped by his religion.

In the pursuit of fairness, I'd like to see an article on how President Obama was shaped by Black Liberation Theology.

By a Neck

I'll Have Another, by a neck.

Belmont Stakes, anyone?  The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed, in 1978.  Lots of near-misses since then, but no Triple Crown

On Education

I work in a High School. A good high school, a high school that regularly achieves honors and students that excel in a number of academic endeavors.  However, we also have those low-achievers.  Not the student that can't learn, but the student that refuses to learn, refuses to be engaged, refuses to try.  High schools are judged on their graduation rate, or more particularly, on their dropout rate and the administration has tried different tactics to save what I call the "reluctant scholar".  They try things like "remediation" and "content mastery" in an attempt to bring the reluctant student around.  Some of the instructors, I'm sure, resort to grade inflation, allowing a student to pass when he should have failed.

An article at Pajamas Media talks about such things, albeit at the college level. 

The unteachable student has been told all her life that she is excellent: gifted, creative, insightful, thoughtful, able to succeed at whatever she tries, full of potential and innate ability. Pedagogical wisdom since at least the time of John Dewey — and in some form all the way back to William Wordsworth’s divinely anointed child “trailing clouds of glory” — has stressed the development of self-esteem and a sense of achievement.

And that is the problem. At the college level and at the High School level.  Kids think they will trail clouds of glory, when in most cases they're simply trailing smoke.  Foul, odorous smoke that lingers in the hallway and taints the rarefied air of excellence in education.  For success, there must be failure.  For excellence, there must be drudgery, for brilliance, there must be darkness.  These things are identifiable simply because they contrast.  Without one, you cannot have the other.

Most of what passes for education today, at least at the high school level, is simply bullshit. Go read at the link above to see fresh thinking at the university level.  Many of us are thinking the same thing at the high school level.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Yesterday was a lazy Saturday afternoon, after a hectic morning putting in a door.  The dog took the opportunity to relax on the porch, chilling with the family.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Putting in Doors

The project this morning was at my son's house.  Taking out an old sliding glass door and installing a new French door. Getting the old sliding door out was only a ten minute job, but prepping the hole to accept the new door took a little longer.

Installing the door in the hole. Shimming, squaring, making sure everything fit.

That looks a little bit better, doesn't it? He forgot to buy locking hardware, but that's an easy fix. I left shortly after this picture was taken.

The IPO

So, what happened to Facebook yesterday? The little company that had started in a college dorm room, had become a dominant player in the internet, had become a powerful icon of social media, went public yesterday after a couple weeks of hype and glamor.

The Initial Public Offering, where anyone could buy shares, was a huge event, characterized mainly by fizzle. That's the market at work, my friends and that's the way it is supposed to work. Investors took a look at the company, went through the analysis and decided that it wasn't worth what the hype said it was worth. From what little I'm reading about it, Morgan Stanley had to prop up the share price to keep it from going below the starting price of $38.00. Which means that Morgan Stanley bought a bunch of $38.00 stock that might not be worth $38.00.

It's a fairly easy initial analysis as I learned it in grad school. Take the net worth of the business, divide it by the shares of common stock, and you've got the supposed worth of one share of common stock. Investors buy and trade stocks based on a number of factors and their reading of the business climate. Sometimes a company is uniquely positioned to take advantage of a situation that would influence the selling price of a share, sometimes a company is in such a position that buying the stock is a bad idea. Sometimes an investor can make money on a stock, sometimes he'll lose his butt.

What happened to Facebook yesterday? The market decided what the company is worth. That's what the market is designed to do.

On Recording the Police

It's a fact of modern life that everyone who has a cell phone has a video camera.  It's also a fact of life that when you're out in public, you're apt to be recorded.  I know when I'm at work on my beat, there are about 14 different cameras that are running all the time.  And all the students have cameras, most especially those kids in the videography class.

So, when I see the police complain about being recorded, I wonder what they're thinking.  Of course you're going to be recorded.  Some states have passed ordinances against recording the police and I think that's a very bad idea, from a number of perspectives.  First, we're public servants.  Everything we do should stand legal scrutiny.  We work for the people and they have a right to make sure that their servants are doing a good job, doing it properly, and preserving their rights.

Some agencies seize recordings when the public is recording the police and I can appreciate the need to preserve evidence.  I routinely seize video of crimes being committed, capture it for its evidentiary value.  I certainly don't seize cameras and I give everyone a receipt for their evidence.

The Justice Department has come out with a letter that says that citizen filming of the police is okay and within their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. 

The right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties was essential to help “engender public confidence in our police departments, promote public access to information necessary to hold our governmental officers accountable, and ensure public and officer safety,” wrote Jonathan Smith, head of the Justice Department’s Special Litigation Section.

I concur with Mr. Smith in his assessment. If any of my badge-bearing brethren has a problem with being recorded in the performance of their duty, they should probably re-read the Constitution.

Celebration

Tomorrow I'm doing something I haven't done in nine years.  Taking a day off that has nothing to do with hospitals or illness.  I'm going to watch my son graduate from the POST academy in Baton Rouge.  I've been there for every other graduation;  High school and when he got his BS degree.  I'll be there tomorrow for his induction into law enforcement.

He's a Probation and Parole Officer, the same job from which I retired in 2000 and I'm sure that I'll see faces I remember, those guys who stayed in the field and are running the show nowadays.  His boss is a guy I helped to train and with whom I've kicked a few doors.

He and his wife, after graduation, are going to slip down to New Orleans to celebrate their anniversary, so we'll bring the grandson home from graduation and he'll spend the weekend with us.

I've got to be suitably attired for graduation and for such an event, it's incumbent on me to carefully choose my accessories.  I'm thinking slacks and boots, a nice 5.11 polo, my barbecue gun and retirement badge.

Yeah, that'll be about right.

Interesting

Fox News is reporting that the medical records of George Zimmerman indicate that he had multiple injuries consistent with taking an ass-whipping.

Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

That's interesting. What is also interesting is to consider the non-fatal wounds that Trayvon Martin's body revealed.

Local station WFTV also reported Tuesday that an autopsy report showed the only injury Martin had -- aside from a fatal gunshot wound -- was broken skin on his knuckles. The injury noted in the autopsy report could support Zimmerman's claim that Martin punched him in the nose before slamming his head on the sidewalk.

Oops. It looks like maybe, just maybe, Zimmerman was convinced that he was in danger of death or great bodily harm when he shot Martin. Sounds like a self-defense claim to me. Sounds like a convincing self-defense claim that medical records support.

If Same Sex Marriage is a Good Idea, why does it lose at the Polls?

That's a great question.  Same-sex marriage seems to do great in every survey, but it loses big when people have to go vote on it.  Why is that?  Well, some pundits are crunching numbers trying to explain it.  Go read if you must, but I think it's a lot easier to explain.

Let's say you call PawPaw on the phone and ask me if Same-Sex marriage is a good idea.  I don't much care what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms.  Not any of my business.  Just don't give a damn.  Likewise, what I do in my bedroom is nobody's business, either.  So, I get polled as supporting same-sex marriage.

When I get to the voting booth and see an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, I'll pull the lever for the YES vote.  They're different questions.  Do I care if two men get married?  Not particularly, in the abstract.  Do I believe that marriage should be properly defined as between one man and one woman?  Yes I do.

Aggravating, isn't it?  That's the nature of the American voter.  You've got to be careful how you frame the question, or I'm liable to answer both sides of it.  In the abstract, I don't care what you do in California, except that when they put the question to California voters, they turned down same-sex marriage as well.

Y'all are asking two different questions, linking them in your minds.  In my mind, they aren't linked at all.  My opinions reflect that position.  Call me a hypocrite, call me narrow-minded, but don't call me late for supper.

Ordering Bullets

I needed to make an order for bullets and I've been ordering most of my reloading supplies from Midway USA.  The problem with Midway is that the shipping costs have climbed over the past couple of years and the component prices aren't what you can find anywhere.  So, this morning I decided to look elsewhere and clicked on Powder Valley.  This is a little firm in Kansas that has supplied powder and primers to me in the past when I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else.  Surprise, surprise, Powder Valley beat the Midway USA prices on bullets and says that they'll figure the shipping based on the weight of the package.

About an hour ago, I got a shipping label notice from UPS.  So far, great service.  We'll see how their shipping costs align with Midway, but I'm betting that they'll meet or beat them.

Powder Valley has the PawPaw seal of approval.

**UPDATE**  I just checked my bank, and shipping was $9.95 for an 8 lb box through UPS.  The last order from Midway was about the same size and shipping, handling, etc was $13.55.  I saved money on both the basic merchandise and the shipping.  As far as I'm concerned, this is a win-win.

I've also used MidSouth, but they were out of stock on my order this morning.  I've used Graf's in the past and like them as well.  Still, this morning, Powder Valley came in with the lowest price when I looked at individual stock numbers for like items.  Just for the record, I ordered Hornady bullets, all .30 caliber.  150 grain SST's, #30302, 150 grain RN .30-30, #3035, and 130 grain spire points, #3020.  If you're a .30 caliber shooter and haven't tried that #30302, you're missing out on one fine bullet.  It's billed as a hunting bullet, but it is very accurate in a number of my .30 caliber rifles.

RIP, Mitch

Mitchell Guist, a cast member on the TV show Swamp People died today.

"We are extremely saddened to report that our friend and beloved member of the 'Swamp People' family, Mitchell Guist, has passed away earlier today. Mitchell passed on the swamp, doing what he loved. We appreciate your respect for the Guist family's privacy and hope you join us in sending our thoughts and prayers to his brother, Glenn, and the rest of the Guist family," the History Channel said in a statement.

I'm going to miss him.  He and his brother Glenn were some of my favorite characters on the show.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's Mother's Day and if there is one person the dog loves, it's Milady.  She saved him from the kennel and brought him to a home where he has full run of the place.  In his eyes, Milady is the resurrected God.  If she's in the house, he's next to her, or looking for her.

Milady got out of his sight, so it's time to go find her.

Y'all have a Happy Mother's Day.

Whiskey Chasin'

It's been a rainy day, working in the shop, now it's after five o'clock and I've got a toddy in my hand.  Milady is cooking pork chops, peas and rice with a cornbread in the oven.  Life is good.



This afternoon, I don't have any troubles.  Listening to Joe Stampley.

Dumbest Crook

This idiot gets caught trying to sell is counterfeiting operation to the Pawn Shop.  Seriously.

Kenny "Boom" Smith was busted by the U.S. Secret Service for making and passing counterfeit money. Smith must have thought his funny money skills are pretty good because he attempted to sell both his counterfeit cash and his counterfeiting machine to a pawn shop. Not just any pawn shop, either.
American Jewelry and Loan is where the hit TV show "Hardcore Pawn" is shot. The store near 8 Mile and Evergreen roads has become a destination because of the show.

I'm sure that he's re-thinking his whole operation.

Rainy Saturday

It's a rainy Saturday and I'm piddling around the house.  Tomorrow is Mother's Day and we're going to church where I'll hug my mother's neck, then we're going to Jena, to see Milady's mother.  Several of the family are gathering at her house and I'm bringing Italian Beef.  It's a great recipe and everyone who samples it seems to like it.  Slow cooker, beef, au jus, what's not to like?

In this recipe as in all others, presentation is everything, so why not post a picture?

That is a great looking sandwich, isn't it?  You can click on the link above for the full recipe.

Friday Fiddlesticks

Back in the old days, Cajun music was all acoustic.  There was no electricity for amplifiers, hell, there were no amplifiers at all.  Nor light bulbs.  Folks made music with what they had, and if you had a good fiddler in the community, maybe someone who could pick a guitar and a washtub, you had everything you needed to make music.

One way of making rhythm was the fiddlesticks. These willow wands, or knitting needles were used to provide a rhythm when drums weren't available and they provide a subtle counterpoint that some folks can't readily identify.  Below, we have one of the best cajun fiddlers, Dewey Balfa, playing a fiddle accompanied by a young musician on the sticks.



Hat tip to my boy.

That Figures

My step son came over to borrow the pickup truck, and as is my habit, I went under the front seat and took out the Super Blackhawk that resides under there.  I'll loan my truck but not my revolver.  If something happens to the truck, I'll be okay, but if something happens to that revolver, I'll be upset and aggravated.

Good thing I took the revolver out.  I found some rust on the backstrap and as I was checking it prior to cleaning it, there was no ammo in it.  I remember that I let someone shoot it and I never reloaded it.  So, I went to the ammo shelf and found that I am nearly out of .loaded .44 ammo of any stripe.  Just Damn!  It's time to get out the bags of brass and load some .44 ammo.

I have just exactly two loads for that pistol.  My .44 Special load, which is good for about 95% of the shooting I do with that revolver, is what I call my Skeeter load.  First proposed by the late Skeeter Skelton, it's 7.5 grains of Unique under a 240 grain cast bullet.  That load runs out at about 970 fps, considerably more snappy than the anemic .44 Special factory fodder.  I really like that load a lot and I believe that if more .44 Special folks used it, they wouldn't feel the need to use magnums.  There is a whole lot to like about a 240 grain cast bullet traveling at 970 fps.

The second load for that revolver is a standard .44 magnum load, proposed by both Skeeter and Elmer Keith.  I use 19.0 grains of 2400 under that same 240 grain cast bullet.  That gives me 1350 fps and knocks the living hell out of anything I've shot with it.  Both of those loads are lit with with Winchester Large Pistol primers.  I've never seen a need for magnum primers in any handgun.  2400 lights up just fine with a standard primer.

On Senators

I believe that Senators and diapers should be changed often, for the same reasons.  Lots of folks are cogitating about Dick Lugar's comeuppance in Indiana yesterday, and it was long overdue.  As Michael Walsh explains: 

In the name of “democracy,” the “progressive”-era amendment fundamentally upset the balance of state-fed power that had been built into the Constitution, tipping it inexorably in favor of Washington. Unmoored from state or region for a minimum of six years — and more likely, twelve or 18 — the senators now form a club without a purpose except for their own reelections. Far from enhancing democracy, the very nature of the office now mocks it. 

As a matter of public service, I'd like to propose an amendment to the US Constitution. That any person, lawfully elected, could serve 12 years in the US Congress. They could split that up anyway they liked, but a maximum term of 12 years in either the House or the Senate or a combination threreof, and we'd send them home to wherever home might be. Also, that they would be forbidden from working for the government or lobbying the government for a term of 20 years past their government service.

Here in Louisiana we have both Diaper Dave and Katrina Mary as our Senators. We are so proud.

That Pesky Law

Why is it that people don't think that the handicap parking law doesn't apply to them?  That they're entitled to park in that blue-lined spot, if they are "only going to be a minute"?

I am taking it as my mission to disabuse them of the notion.  I bet that I ran a half-dozen people out of that spot today, and tomorrow I'm bringing my ticket book.  I've had a gut full of people parking in that spot.

I've never been a ticket-writer.  I'm simply not fond of traffic citations and will generally give a warning rather than write the ticket.  Luckily, my bosses have always supported me and haven't insisted I write a ticket when a friendly warning will suffice.  All that might change, tomorrow.

Breda's Back

In a new guise.

Welcome back, girl.  I've missed you.

A Tale of Two Bullets

I've been playing with a Ruger Model 77, an old tang-safety rifle, built in 1971.  The rifle is in .25-06 and I've been piddling with loads.  Several years ago I put together a load using Reloder 22 and the Sierra Gameking bullet.  I've shot it in my son's rifle and it shows good accuracy, under an inch, so I loaded some of those for my rifle and took it to the range.

Sure enough, those went into 0.752.  Certainly capable for the deer woods  But, I wasn't getting quite the velocity I wanted, so I loaded it up one grain, to 51.0 grains of Reloder 22.  That opened the group up considerably.

One extra grain of powder and the group opens up to almost two inches.  That ain't good, the extra speed isn't worth the loss of accuracy.  However, I've got some 117 grain Hornady SST's which are pretty good bullets in other calibers.  I had loaded some of those with the same powder charge, so I let the barrel cool, then settled down on the bench and let fly.

That's a pretty good 3-shot group, and my manuals tell me that it should be running just north of 2900 fps.  I also loaded each bullet with 52.0 grains of RL22, which my manuals tell me is a max load.  As I've found with max loads, the groups opened up to the point where I don't want to share them.  This does illustrate that when you change one component, you change everything.  In this case, one grain of powder and a change of bullets made a huge difference.

That Gameking load is a proven load in two rifles, it's always shot under an inch in either of the two.  However, that bug-hole group with the Hornady bullets has my eyes open.  It might be worth it to load another dozen or so and see if that group is an anomaly, or if it will continue to be a good load.

Spam Comments

Just so everyone knows, and a reposting for those that don't.  I own the comments on this blog.  It's my blog and I've never deleted a comment that disagrees with me, nor deleted a comment that takes issue with any point I might like.  I know how to take criticism and honest criticism is manna for a writer.  I do my best work when I'm criticized.

However, those comments who link to a commercial site, who are rude or condescending, or otherwise outside the bounds of polite discussion are deleted immediately.  This is my house and the rules of deportment are simple and direct.  If you can't say something in my living room or on my back deck, you damned sure can't say it here.  I'll delete those comments in an instant, with no more aforethought than I would slay a pissant.

I live for comments, I love comments, but I won't tolerate rudeness.

Now, that's enough about that.

The Death Spiral

I don't know if you remember, but in 2008, James Hansen said that the Arctic was in a death spiral, and the Arctic Ice was decreasing to the point where life on earth was at risk.  

Since the same date in 2008, Arctic ice has increased by more than 15%. Global sea ice area is fifth highest on record for the date. The breathtaking ignorance of the experts is indeed breathtaking.

Heh!  The death spiral of the climate experts is the big news these days.  Those bozos demonstrate time and time again that they don't know whatthehell is going one.

Educator Bias

I see a study from the Journal of Educational Psychology, reported on in Science Daily, that shows that educators might be doing minority students a disservice by failing to challenge them.

A major study, led by Rutgers-Newark psychology professor Kent D. Harber, indicates that public school teachers under-challenge minority students by providing them more positive feedback than they give to white students, for work of equal merit.

Whenever you challenge a person, they either rise to the challenge or they fail.  That's what school is about, rising to the challenge.  You can't educate anyone without lessons and tests and assessment.  All those things require challenges to be met.  Those teachers that challenge students and fail the ones that won't rise to the challenge are the best teachers in the profession.  It doesn't matter what the race of the student might be, minority students can fail just like white kids.  Let 'em fail, then challenge them to improve.

Most of the problems in the current educational system is that the system is horrified when someone fails.  I think that we do students a great disservice by letting them believe that they won't fail.  

Sunday Morning Dawg

With the warm weather, we're spending more time outside on the decks, near the pool.  The dog is also spending more time in the sun.

One never knows which grandkid might drop something edible, so the dawg has to always be alert for snacks of opportunity.

Goblin Count

I don't normally do goblin counts, but feel-good stories like this deserve to be trumpeted. My friend Termite sent me this one.

JACKSONVILLE, N.C.– Two Camp Lejeune Marines returned home early Sunday morning to find two men in their house. The intruders didn't make it out of the house alive. 33-year-old, Maurice Skinner and 33-year-old, Diego Everette were identified by police as the men killed in the burglary attempt. Both men are from Jacksonville. Skinner and Everette were pronounced dead at the scene, but according to Jacksonville Police Chief, Mike Yaniero it is unlikely that anyone will be charged in the shooting. "The investigation is ongoing, however at this time there is no evidence to suggest that criminal charges be filed."

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.  Breaking into Marine's houses isn't generally a good idea.  Unfortunately, it was the last idea these two goblins had.

I'm going to go outside and do a happy dance.

All these Things

Back in 1966 a little band from north Louisiana hit it big on the Billboard charts with a song All These Things.  Joe Stampley and The Uniques were a staple of the dance and honky-tonk clubs when I was a youngster and while the band broke up later, Joe continued to write music and make a living singing his songs.  I used to listen to Joe at a place called Curl's Club in Mansura and he'd play concerts and dances all over this great state.



When Milady and I were dating, Joe was playing at the Homecoming in Jena, LA a small concert in the park.  Milady and I went to listen and wound up dancing to that song under the stars.  When the song was finished, we realized that we were the only ones of several hundred people there who felt the need to dance.  Evidently, dancing in public is verboten in some places.  That would explain why all those folks go to honky-tonks in towns that aren't dry.

Tonite, Joe's playing at the casino down the road.  Milady and I have tickets and we're going to see him.  We might even dance.

Ya Can't Tell the Players without a Scorecard

It looks like an occupier went on a shooting rampage today, killed four people then ate his gun.

Initial reports say that he's a Neo-Nazi, Minuteman, and the mainstream press is chirping crickets over his Occupy ties.  It seems that the Occupiers spent yesterday planning to blow up bridges, causing general chaos, and tore up a couple of cities, but the Tea Party is the real threat to the American way of life.

Say Uncle is all over the story, as is Gateway Pundit.

I'd love to stay and play with you folks, but I've got to pull my boots back on, strap on the duty belt and head back to the school-house.  Duty calls.

In The Mail

A Sirchie Porelon Pad.  This thing is old-school for taking fingerprints and it frankly amazed me to learn that Sirchie is still making them.  It's probably the first pad I ever used to take a fingerprint and it's the one that I carried in my briefcase when I had to fingerprint people when I didn't have ink and roller available.

I've got to take a bunch of fingerprints for my family, those that took the Concealed Firearms Course last month.  I've got the pad, now I need to go by the office and get a stack of fingerprint forms.

In the Mail

The Brady Bunch sent me a flyer with a survey and a business reply envelope, along with a request for a donation.  Ha!  I filled out their survey, then stuffed the return envelope.  I'll take it back out and put in the mailbox later.  Make them pay for return postage.  I had to trim the latest MidwayUSA sale flyer, but I got it to fit.

When they open the mail, they can see a sale on Bushnell Elite 3200 scopes.  That oughta make them cringe.