Last Day

 It's the last day in September, a turning point in the seasons.  I just finished mowing the yard, and it's a point of debate whether I'll be forced to mow grass again this year.  The weather has moderated considerably this week, and it seems that the grass has entered a dormant phase.  Whether that is the weather or the lack of rain we have had over the past few weeks is still open for discussion.

Squirrel season starts tomorrow and folks are heading to the woods.  They will have nice weather, although the leaves on the ground are as dry as corn flakes.  Still, squirrel camp is a big deal around here.

The seasons are changing, and I'm glad to see it.

Not Likely, Joe

 Our inept, fumbling president was on TV the other day, saying words to the effect that Hurricane Ian might be the deadliest hurricane to ever hit Florida.  Not likely, Joe.  Weather weenies keep records, and those records are easily available.

The Lake Okeechobee hurricane in 1928 killed over 2500 people.  The Great Labor Day storm in 1935 claimed over 400 folks.  Just to name two.

I am not discounting the devastation that Ian has rained on Florida, and any life lost is too many.  I am highlighting how easy it is to get information on hurricanes.

Some of the talking heads on the left are trying to tell us that hurricanes are getting more intense due to climate change.  And, no, a quick review of the records doesn't show that either.  There have been lots of Cat 4 hurricanes to come ashore, and even if they upgrade Ian to a Category 5 storm, that doesn't prove that climate change had anything to do with it.  Cat 5 storms are statistical outliers. A more valid argument might be made that climate change has lessened the number of named storms.

Again, none of this discussion is meant to diminish the horrific loss that Florida has experienced.  It's not Florida's fault, they just happened to be in the way.  I live in Louisiana, a state known for absorbing hurricanes.  I've seen the damage that strong storms can do, and I've experienced the aftermath.

Don't listen to creepy Joe, or to idiotic Don Lemon. They don't know what the hell they are talking about.

Jambalaya

 Cool temps, pleasant weather, and I had to make a run to the grocer's anyway.  So, I decided to make a big jambalaya.  Nothing fancy, just chicken and sausage, with plenty of trinity (onions, peppers, and celery).  The basic recipe is here.

Jambalaya is a one pot meal,  Historically a way to use leftovers, with spices and rice, it has evolved into its own dish. The funny thing about jambalaya and most Cajun cooking, is that we can agree on what it is, but we can't agree on how it is cooked.  Everybody does it differently.  I've seen jambalaya with pork, or seafood, or fowl.  Or all three.  I've seen it brown, or white, or red.  The one common ingredient is rice.  Everything else is based on the cook's individual taste.

I made jambalaya once for some Yankee friends, and because they had sensitive palates  (Don't make it too hot!), the only seasoning I used was onions and a little black pepper. I thought it bland and uninteresting, but they wanted milk with it.  Go figure.

Fuel

 This morning I threw the gas cans in the truck and headed down to Holloway General where I get my small engine fuel.  They are one of the local stores that sell non-ethanol, and they are just up the road, so it's convenient. Nine gallons of non-ethanol cost me $34.55, which ain't too terrible.  4.5 gallons of diesel cost me $23.00.

The midterm elections are coming up pretty soon, and ol' Joe is doing everything he can to lower fuel prices.  I don't think it is going to do him any good.

I remember what fuel cost me on the final day of the previous administration and as far as I am concerned, one penny over that price is total failure for a sitting president, all things being equal, and all things are not equal. Fuel is up, crime is up, food prices are up,   The stock market is in bear territory.  This country is in a helluva mess, and it is the Democrats fault.

Good News

Two men found safe after plane crash.  They put it in the tree and walked away from it.

Tuesday Monring

 I awoke this morning to cool temps, in the lower 50s on my back porch.  

Mostly Cajun commented on my post from yesterday.  He is able to get liquor shipped in, and I admit I was surprised.  I've tried in the recent past to get hooch shipped in and was told it was illegal.  So, I went to some other sites and liquor can be shipped to Louisiana.  Okay, I stand corrected.  Some ship to LA, some don't.  Odd.

Hurricane Ian is the prime focus on my news feed right now.  The storm keeps wobbling and will right up until the time it makes landfall.

I got a little movement on a long-term project yesterday.  I own a Smith and Wesson Model 38.  Mine was originally nickeled, but over the years the nickel had started flaking off and needed to be re-finished.  I had stripped it to the frame, and was considering who I would get to do the work.  The project has languished for a couple of years.

Grandson Zach recently went to work for a gun manufactory that builds AR rifles from the ground up, and he is their powder coat and cerracote guy.  He took the frame in, bead-blasted the frame, prepped it, and put a nice black cerracote on it.

I'm going to leave the cylinder and crane nickeled for a two-tone look.  This old revolver will go back in service.

Hurricane Ian

 I'm trying to get a handle on (now) Hurricane Ian, but everyone else is too.  It's going to hit Florida as a strong hurricane, but no one is really sure where it's going to make landfall.

The thing about hurricanes is that they are so big.  Tropical force winds can stretch out 200 miles from edge to edge, and the exact point where the center of the eyewall crosses from ocean to land is kind of irrelevant. A big chunk of Florida is in the danger zone.  Storm surge is the real killer in storms like this, and the surge is always wort on the eastern side, and all of Florida is on the eastern side

I'll be praying for the folks in Florida.

Labs

 I had to get moving this morning, go to the Doc's place and give him some blood and urine.  It's time for my semi-annual visit, so he can tell me that I'm becoming an old, decrepit man.  I don't mind, so much.  I actually like my Doc.  He seems to be a good fellow, and we normally talk about fishing, or whiskey, after he has done his duty to my health.

I'm his last patient today, and I'm thinking about bringing him a sample of a fine, American single malt that someone else introduced me to.  They can't call it Scotch, because it is not a product of Scotland, but they make it in Colorado.  Every Scotch drinker I've talked with thinks that it is a very good representation of a single malt whiskey.  Stranahan's whiskey.

We can't get it in Louisiana (or at least, I haven't found it yet) and Louisiana's laws don't allow then to ship it to me.  It is confounding.

Gestapo

 Breitbart and other are reporting that an FBI team used upwards of two dozen agents to arrest a Catholic pro-life protestor in Philadelphia this week.  It's a harrowing tale:

Mark Houck, the founder and president of The King’s Men – a group that helps men overcome pornography addiction – was arrested at his rural Pennsylvania home on Friday for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act during his regular sidewalk counseling outside of an abortion clinic in 2021. Speaking with LifeSiteNews, Houck’s wife, Ryan-Marie, said that around 25 to 30 fully-armored FBI agents stormed their property early Friday morning, aiming their rifles as the children screamed in horror.

Over my career, I conducted hundreds of arrests.  Many of these pursuant to a warrant, at a front door.  This type warrant requires no more than two officers. Having three officers is a surplusage.  Having four officers approaches Gestapo tactics.  What was the reasoning behind two dozen armed agents?  It's simple.  The FBI is sending a message that dissent will not be tolerated.

At one point, I tried to defend the "hardworking, sincere, reasonable" FBI agents.  I can no longer do that.  The FBI has gone rogue as an American institution.  It's time for the good agents (if there are any left) to resign, or transfer to another agency.  Honest, hardworking cops cannot serve a corrupt agency.  At some point, it becomes about honor, and if you serve an agency with no honor, you lose your honor.

It's time for a huge change in that agency, and it starts with the honorable field agents saying Enough.

Still Arguing

 I guess the gun writers need something to write about.

Shooting Illustrated talks about the 9mm vs 45 ACP debate.

Meh.  I got over that "debate" in the '80s.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Four Storms

 It's not every day that we see four named storms on the same NOAA map.  Fiona near Nova Scotia, Gaston churning away in the central Atlantic, Hermine popping up suddenly off the coast of Africa, and Ian forming in the Caribbean.

Ian is the one that concerns us in the short run.  This morning, the warning cone covers pretty much the entire state of Florida.  This will firm up in the coming days and may change considerably.

Hurricane season ain't over yet.

Eleven Cords

 A reader from Alaska comments on an earlier post.

Well, I’m almost 73 and I’m still splitting and stacking wood here in Alaska. I do have a tractor to move it and a powered splitter to split it. We do buy log length cord wood for part of our needs but I’m glad we have 11 full cords of dry firewood in the wood shed with the prices on fuel oil and propane what they are. We do live off grid and a grown daughter does heavy stuff like hauling water!

Eleven cords.  Wow!  When U was cutting firewood, I could make it through the winter with two cords, but I suspect a winter in Alaska lasts a bit longer than a winter in Louisiana. 

On the Labor Day weekend, my son had a work day at his deer camp, and they cut and stacked 8 cords of wood, but they knew it was over-kill.  They were cutting up a storm damaged tree, and the yield was 8 cords.  They have plenty of wood for a couple of years.

Here locally, from my perusal of the ads, it seems most firewood these days is sold by the rick.

Tropics Watch

 We are keeping an eye on that tropical nastiness forming in the Caribbean.  What they are calling Tropical Depression Nine is going to shake off the wind shear and become a named storm withing the next 24 hours.  Then, turn north and after intensifying, enter the Gulf of Mexico.  Below, a screen grab from this video.

This thing may still go anywhere, and we'll keep an eye on it.

Energy, Crime, Economics

 Back in the 80s, I was raising a family on a small hobby farm.  We would be sustainable. I had a wood lot for fuel, a pasture for livestock and a garden for produce.  It was a great idea, and we managed to do just fine.  Cutting wood for winter was a great source of exercise.  Dragging logs out is good for the legs.  Swinging a splitting maul is good upper body exercise.  Stacking split firewood is good cardio.  In short, it is hard work.

Decades later, the kids are raised, I'm becoming an old man, and central heat is a blessing.  I adjust my comfort not by a log on the hearth, but by a switch on the wall.  I am past my firewood cutting days.

Germany is back to cutting firewood.  The national energy policy is not to develop their own resources but to buy it from Russia.  Now, in the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia has turned off the gas and the Germans have to get ready for winter.  Many European countries in one degree or another are faced with the same conundrum.

Here in the US, we are facing the same conundrum, if to a lesser degree.  Energy is more expensive thab it was two years ago.  Whether it's the gas in your car or the gas that heats your home, or the electricity that powers your computer, it costs more.  Couple this with rising crime in every major city, unrestrained immigration, and what economists call uncertainty and we are seeing another migration, unrelated to the southern border.  

Joh Galt is shrugging.  There is a migration occurring.  Things are changing, and it's all on the Democrats.  They can't blame it on Republicans or Trump.  They instituted green energy policies, unrestricted immigration policies, and soft-on-crime policies. People are noticing, and they are moving.

Tropics Watch

 On this, the first day of Autumn, the tropics are getting kind of sporty.  That little area off the northern coast of South America is getting better organized, and NOAA has upgraded it, giving it a 70% chance of doing something cyclonic.

Lest we forget, it was about this time of year in 2005 that Hurricane Rita stormed ashore in Calcasieu parish.  RIta was a devastating storm that caused plenty of damage across several states.

It's not time to panic, because this little red X isn't a named strom yet, but it certainly demands that we keep our eyes open.

Novak Rants

Mark Novak is ranting about the future of gunsmithing, and it's a pretty good rant.

Gunsmithing, like many specialties is becoming more specialized.  A guy who is a good AR tech, may not know anything about 1911s, or pump shotguns. The best single-action revolver guy I know is my age, and we're not getting any younger.  Fortunately, this guy enjoys teaching and sharing his craft and he's trying to build new gunsmiths.

All the trades, from auto mechanics to metal fabrication, to agriculture is more reliant on computer technology than ever before.  Technology is great, but I think that the reliance on technology will never replace the age-old artistry of an apprentice at the elbow of a master craftsman.

Maybe I'm barking at the moon here, but I am still allowed to bark at the moon.

Here We Go

 With tomorrow the height of the statistical hurricane season, the Atlantic basin gives us some things to watch.  Hurricane Fiona is island-hopping, and newly named tropical storm Gaston is doing it's thing in the mid-Atlantic.  The one we're interested in is that little amber X toward the bottom of the mpa.

If you listen to the local weather weenies, that little X is going to organize into a Cat 5+ hurricane, turn north into the Gulf and ravage the entire southern seaboard.  It's a panic moment.

Well, it might, or it might not.  We'll see.  I will make sure that the propane bottles are filled, and I'll lay on some extra gasoline in case we need it.  I'm about out of lawnmower gas anyway.  But, pardon me if I don't panic.

Refreshing

 Make a pitcher of tea.  Stir powdered lemonade into it.  Pour over ice into a tall glass.  Or in my case, a red Solo cup.

The story is that legendary golfer, Arnold Palmer invented this drink.  I'm sure it would taste good on a golf course, or in my case, after working in the yard.

No recipe here because none is necessary.  Add stuff to suit your taste.  It's your pitcher.  Dolly Parton has a line in Steel Magnolias; "Iced tea is the house wine of the South."  I've had a lot of iced tea in my life, and no two houses make it the same.

Cutting Grass

 When Belle and I bought this place, I promised her I would cut the grass.  She hates cutting grass, and I promised her that she would never again have to sit on nor walk behind a lawnmower.  

Looking at the grass this morning, and realized that it had been over two weeks since that mower was started, so I checked the oil,  filled the tank, and got busy.  Two hours later I was done, but I'm not sure if my mower, in its present configuration, is going to make another season.

I run an old Skag Wildcat that I bought used several seasons ago.  It's what I call a Franken-Skag.  The original 33-horse motor is long gone.  It has been replaced by a 25-horse Briggs that was long in the tooth when it was installed.  The mower itself is solid, an industrial model.  The problem is the engine. It starts just fine, but has very little power.  It burns oil like a tar-bucket.  If I can get through this season I'll probably pull-the-pin and buy a new engine this winter.

Hurricane Fiona Could Become a Major Hurricane with 125 mph Winds

Like many folks, I keep up with hurricanes.  I found this channel recently, and I really like this guy.  No, I don't always watch the whole thing, but he has lots of very good information.

About another month and hurricane season wll be almost done.  But, we still have that month.

Remodel Done!

 The bath remodel is done, and I have to admit that it was relatively painless and almost seamless.

We used Custom Bath and Shower, Inc.  Initially, I was skeptical, but once I started dealing with the reps, my fears were eased.  They kept us informed, the installers were professional, and they completed the work on-time and on budget.

Of course, Belle and I had to clear the work area of furniture and other incidental clutter.  Today will be spent putting stuff back where we like it.

We haven't used it yet, the installers cautioned us about suing it for 24 hours to let the sealer cure.  Belle didn't want a glass door, preferring the shower curtain to the hassle os cleaning a glass door.  So, there you have it.

A Dubious Distinction

 Fox News is reporting that New Orleans has taken over the lead as the murder capitol of the US, displacing St. Louis for the honor.

After decades of Democrat mismanagement, New Orleans is the third-world hellhole of Louisiana.  It's a shame, too.  It was once a beautiful city that we loved to visit.  N longer.

Californians Adjust To New Life In Texas

I don't think we've had any Californians move into my neighborhood.  I did have a friend over recently, and he saw my EDC piece.  He asked if I was expecting trouble.

"No," I replied.  "If I were expecting trouble, I'd have more friends, and rifles.

Patches

 I found an odd-looking envelope on my desk today after grandson checked the mail.

Opening it, I found a bag of police packages, along with a nice letter from a long-time reader.

Thank you, sir.  I got it.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Relaxing in the shop beside Belle.

Home Improvement

 We have a major bathroom remodel starting this morning.

Need I say more?  Gloom, despair and agony on me.

Privacy

 This headline:

Facebook reportedly sharing private IM conversations with FBI as "leads"

If you think that anything that happens over the internet is private, I really don't know what to tell you.

Watching Fiona

 Here in the middle of September, we are approaching the peak of the hurricane season, and today we are watching Tropical Storm Fiona.  She is approaching the Caribbean but looks like she may make a turn toward the north.

This storm is something to keep an eye on as we come into the weekend.

Migrant Relocation

It seems that a busload of migrants was dropped off in front of Kamal Harris' digs in Washington.  So much for that whole "secure border" thing she has been talking about.

And, it seems that Ron DeSantis sent a planeload of migrants to Martha's Vineyard, much to the distress and disbelief of the uber-liberal residents.

Well played, gentlemen.  Well played.

Is Accuracy Final?

 My apologies to my regular readers, but the CFDA is considering a rule change that I think is bone-headed.  Read more, below the fold.

The Polls

 It seems that progressives and jounalists (but then, I repeat myself) are concerned that the national media polls don't accurately reflect the will of the people.  Well, they have been wrong before.

I remember going to bed one night, thinking that Hillary Clinton would be our president, but waking the next morning to learn that Donald Trump had won decisively in the race. Lots of folks were shocked at that result, and they haven't gotten over it yet.  Then, there is the old Dewey beats Truman example.

The Republicans can't get cocky.  They have to run right up to the finish line.  But, we're seeing some weird stuff this cycle and the only poll that matters is the one that takes place on election day.

I am no analyst, but I've seen the polls wrong before.  Stay the course.  Run the race.

Busy, Busy

It's been one of those days where you start off busy at daylight and stay busy until dark.  I did get one project completed, and I think that the club will like it

Shooting CFDA is a lot of fun, but hitting the target is a lot harder than it looks, and when you are missing the plate, you are never really sure what went wrong.  So, I set out to enlarge the plate.

Getting that done makes it a good day.  Now, for a sport of bourbon before I lay these tired bones down.

Do We Hate Woman?

 Sandy Cortez, the ditz that represents part of New York City, says that Americans hate women.

No, Sandy, we don't hate women.  We love women.  Strong, capable, educated women.  We laugh at dumb ditz women, but we don't hate them.  We find them amusing.  

You, Sandy, on the other hand, are simply stupid.  I don't hate you, but I do wish that you would quit seeking the limelight, illuminating your ignorance for the world to see.  You are not the dumbest member of Congress, but you're one of the more irritating.

An Interesting Anomaly

 Conversation on the interstate in St. Louis.  Belle:  "Look!  There is the arch!"

Me:  "Ain't that interesting?"

There were several gateways to the west.  Just west of here, Fort Jesup funneled settlers into Texas prior to the revolution.  Shreveport was a prime jumping off point after Texas was independent.  Farther north, Fort Smith was instrumental in opening the Oklahoma Territory.  St. Louis played its part and helped out, and now they have a big arch commemorating that fact.

It would have been cool if they had spanned the Mississippi with the arch, but they didn't, and now I've seen it.

We're Back

 We got in last night, after a seven-day vacation.  We left headed north into Arkansas, driving through to Missouri to visit with family. Then we headed east across Illinois and Indiana into Kentucky, where we shot fast draw for three days. We left Kentucky on Sunday, headed south into Tennessee and across Mississippi to home late last night.  It was a good trip.

I stayed mostly unplugged from the internet for the whole seven days. I did check email and things like that, but basically, I was unplugged.

Queen Elizabeth died.  England's longest reigning monarch, she was Queen before I was born.  By all accounts, she was a sincere, steadfast monarch who dedicated herself to her country and her people.

Joe Biden is still an asshole. Quite the opposite of the British monarch, everything he does is for short-term political gain. Or, his own personal enrichment.   He doesn't give a crap about the American people.

I did get to see the arch in St. Louis.  Impressive. Gateway to the West, and all that.  For some reason, I had lawys believed that the spanned the Mississippi River, but it doesn't.  The Mississippi river is not nearly as wide in St. Louis as it is down here in Louisiana, but the feat still would have been impressive.

I found something called a tenderloin sandwich in Missouri.  A pork tenderloin sliced thin and hammered flat, braded and fried.  I admit that I had never heard of such a thing, but the result is quite tasty, although I do believe that I can improve on it with a little Cajun ingenuity.

Out Of Pocket

 Belle and I are traveling, first to Missouri to visit family, thence to Kentucky to participate in the Kentucky State Championship.  We'll be back on or about the 12th.

I have two young men living in the house, so I'm not worried about that.  I'm pretty sure that there will be nothing left in the pantry when we get home.

The 21 Fatal Plane Crashes of August - God Bless The Broken Road.

My buddy Termite (who is an aviator) turned me on to Dan Gryder, who is pushing something called ATP for General Aviation.  I am not an aviator, but my brother is.  He lives in Vermont, and when he is not working his day job (what he calls the "salt mines"), he is out at the local airport teaching students to fly airplanes.  When l'il brother was in town last month, I talked to him about this channel, but we were catching up after several years.

Anything we can do to reduce the number of fatal crashes in general aviation is a good idea.

Loss of Pressurization Citation Crash Baltic Sea 4 Sept 2022

Jackson

 I have two sons who run water districts.  One for a small town in Louisiana, one for a large manufacturer in New Mexico.  They both know how to do the maintenance, run the tests, effect repairs, and keep water flowing to their customers.

There is nothing more vital to basic human civilization than access to clean water.  The Etruscans knew that, the Babylonians kew that, the Aztecs and Romans knew that. Access to clean water is the basis of human civilization and the most basic necessity of human life.

A successful government does not defer maintenance on a water system.  There is nothing more basic. Yet, the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi forgot that. Young, progressive, some say radical.  In his quest for social justice and equity, he forgot that clean water is a basic human need.  Under his watch, the water system has collapsed, unable to provide water.  They have no timeline for repairs.

This should be a cautionary tale to mayors everywhere.  Listen to your folks down at the water treatment plant.  Buy the pumps and the pipes and whatever else they need.  Everything else a mayor may want to do is secondary to providing clean water.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

NY Governor Says Her Rights As Governor Trumps Constitutional Rights To ...

Some Guy Steals Plane.

A Modest Gift

 A club member dropped by yesterday to present me with a gift.  A cartreidge box.

Cut from one piece of solid mahogany, it's a beautiful little box, especially when we open it.

Routed and drilled for 30 CFDA cartridges, it's a cartridge box that any shooter would be proud to own.

A Dark Hour

 I watched it this morning on CSPAN.  Last night, our President gave a primetime speech.  It was dark and disturbing.  Lit by blood red floodlights, with uniformed Marines in the background, Biden railed against half of America.

Evidently, MAGA Republicans are a huge threat to democracy.  Biden claimed to be the president of ALL Americans, excerpt, you know, for those MAGA Republicans.

It was bizarre. 

Not Chili Weather

 It's 92 degrees out there, and the wind chill is 104.  And I was hungry for chili.

So, I made a pot.

This ain't Texas chili.  I don't live in Texas. However, once upon a time I did eat a bowl of white chili in Texas, and it was full of beans.  White beans, sliced jalapenos, and finely chopped pork.  Great stuff.  I may make a pot of that when the weather cools off in late November.

That Staged Photo

 With the legal basis for the raid on Mar-A-Lago crumbling like a stale cracker, the DOJ knows that the public is turning against them.  SO, they staged a photo of all the kinds of docs that President Trump had stored in a box.

When I saw that photo, I was horrified.  Recalling my training on classified document handling while I was in the Army, I saw that the FBI had hoist themselves on their own petard.  If President Trump had not declassified those documents, and those pages were in fact still classified, taking a photo of them is itself a crime. We don't photograph classified documents.  It's against the law.

I understand that there will be a hearing today to determine a number of things, to include whether a special master will be appointed to oversee these documents.

PJMedia has a full rundown of the DOJs arguments.  It's a doozy.