About THem Hogs

Couple of weeks ago, we were talking about feral hogs and the problem that they have become in the South.  Wherever there is a problem, there is also opportunity, and some folks are trying to help make a living while eradicating feral hogs.

I fell down a rabbit hole watching this guy catch hogs.  It's been a few years since I have hunted and I'm surprised at how high-tech this has become.  Hogs are still a problem, but an industry has sprung up around the problem, selling traps and cameras and gear to try to manage the problem.  Folks like the fellow in the video are providing a service to landowners.

She's Baaack!

You remember Susan Rice.  She is the Obama apparatchik who was ambassador to something or other and made the rounds at the Sunday talk shows telling everyone who would listen that the Benghazi uprising was all about some silly anti-Muslim video.  Yeah, her.  Yeah, that same uprising where Hillary wouldn't send support and the Muszzies overran the consulate and killed an ambassador.  That Susan Rice

In the continuing effort to reward failure and the worst attributes of government incompetence, Biden has appointed Rice as his Diversity and Inclusion czar.  Because, you know, Diversity is more important than  actual competence.  In support of this hypothesis, I cite Janet Yellen, Mayor Pete,  Lloyd Austin, the Binder Lady and a host of other incompetents appointed by Biden.

I'm sure that Rice will begin filling the ranks of the bureaucracy with Diversity appointees who are chosen based on identity politics rather than actual achievement.  We used to call these Equal Opportunity hires, but now we simply call them government workers.

The Forbidden .22LR SMG: American 180

Surfing around the intertubes this morning, I come across this video about an interesting bit of kit.  The American 180.. It was a shoulder fire, blowback submachinegun chambered in .22LR.  It fed from a complex pan-style magazine that sat atop the receiver.

It was designed in the 1960s by Richard J. Casull and produced by the Voere Co. With a cyclic rate of 1200 rounds per minute, that gave you 20 per second.  The magazine held 180 rounds. With a weight of just under 6 lbs, that gave you a whole lot of hate in a small, easily controlled package.

At any rate, it's an interesting footnotein American firearms design.  Enjoy the video.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 

Hanging out in the shop, waiting for the heaters to take the chill off.

Saturday Lunch

 It's that season again, andd Belle sent me to the boiler's for a small ice chest full of crawfish.

Mighty tasty, and now my belly is full of crawfish, corn and potatoes.  Belle peeled a few and offered them to the dawg.  He gobbled them down, then headed to the water dish.  Evidently the seasoning is a bit much for his sensitive palate.

Range Time

 Some of the shooters called and asked if they could come over for a few hours after work.  Helly yes, that what I built this place for.

We did a little shooting, a little coaching, a little laughing, and spent a nice couple of hours hanging out together.  Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon.

The Water Is Fine

 That's the story, anyway, from the East Palestine, OH, tests that the EPA conducted.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) challenged EPA Administrator Michael Regan to drink a glass of tap water in East Palestine, Ohio, after the agency claimed the water supply was safe despite the small town’s recent Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical disaster.

Here's the deal, and Belle and I were talking about it over coffee.  We no longer trust the federal government.  Not since Ruby Ridge, not since Lois Lerner, not since the 51 intelligence spooks.  Every word from Joe Biden is a lie.

Every fourth commercial on my TV is about a Camp Lejune water problem that they had back in the 60s.  Are the folks in East Palestine supposed to believe that those chemicals did not get into the water supply?

With the weaponization of the IRS, the weaponizing or the FBI, the continuing lack of transparency from the Biden administration, the continuing inability of the Justice Department to hold people accountable and the full realization that we now have a two-tiered justice system, it is no surprise that many of us no longer trust the federal government.  They have wrecked their credibility.

Those Balloons

 It seems that one of the balloons shot down last week may have been launched from a hobby club  in Illinois.  I shit you not.

UFO Shot Down Over Canada Probably Belonged To Hobby Group From Illinois

They are a hobby group.  They launch little $12 balloons.   Put a tracking device in them, then track them as they fly, It's something to do on the weekend.

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade spoke with Aviation Week, which says the circumstantial evidence is strong that it was their balloon shot down by NORAD, a partnership between the U.S. and Canada to monitor the skies that’s perhaps most famous for tracking Santa Claus. The U.S. was on heightened alert at the time, after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted by civilians in Billings, Montana before it crossed the entire continental U.S. and was finally shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

Heh.  NORAD spent $400K to shoot down a club balloon.  Oops.  Much more at the link.

Playing with a Dash Cam

Second son gave me a dash cam for Christmas, and after a while I started to play with it.  

It's fairly fool-proof, as I can attest.  Basically, when you plug it in and start the car, it starts recording.  When you turn off the car, it quits recording.  That is just exactly what I wanted it to do.  It saves little one-minute videos on an SD card.

It records audio, but I turned that off for the purposes of this video.  Y'all don't need to hear my running commentary against the talk radio show I was listening to.  I'm dipping my toe into dash cam use, but I think this thing may be a lot of fun.

RIP, Raquel

 It seems that Raquel Welch has died at age 82.  She was an actress, icon, sex symbol and all-around class act.  The younger set may not recognize her name, but in the 60s and 70s there was not a bigger name in Hollywood.  

Dereliction

 We learn today from PJ Media that the US Supreme Court will decide whether or not to hear a case about the duty of elected leaders to safeguard the electoral system.

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will consider for a second time whether to hear Raland J. Brunson v. Alma S. Adams, a case that alleges Congress had a duty to investigate claims of fraud and impropriety in the 2020 national election, and that member votes against doing so amounted to treason. While some of the reasoning and suggested remedies in the complaint seem hyperbolic, it is aimed at accountability for those in leadership positions who are derelict in their duty to protect the American electoral system from manipulation.

This might get interesting. 

Something Going On With Blogger

 Something is going on with Blogger.  It's not giving me normal paragraph spacing or blockquote spacing.

We'll work through it and see if we can fix it.

7.62 x 51 vs .308 Win

Widener's has an article talking about the differences between the venerable .308 Winchester and the much beloved 7.62 x 51 NATO cartridge.

I've been a big fam of the .308 Winchester for many years.  And a big fan of the military variant.  It's a great cartridge, and I consider them interchangeable.  The differences can be most accurately attributed to small manufacturing issues than it can to design differences.

I did chuckle when I read this:

Though you can safely shoot 7.62×51 through modern .308 rifles, it’s wise to have a gunsmith check the headspace in your 7.62 NATO rifle before using it to fire .308 rounds. Many newer rifles probably won’t have an issue. But, as they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The .308 Win was designed in 1952 and the 7.62 was adopted in 1954.  I don't think we'll find any antique rifles chambered in either of these cartridges.  Hence, they are all modern rifles.

I do recall that back in the early 80s the government released a batch of 7.62 into the surplus market.  It was made by Lake City in 1968 and we soon learned that it was spectacularly uniform. Wonderfully accurate, we simply could not build or buy bett3er ammo than Lake City 68.  It was magnificent, and fairly cheap.  We bought as much as we could carry.

What Was It?

 The F-16 pilot who took down the object over Lake Huron says he wouldn't call it a balloon.  According to t the Daily Mail.

'I wouldn’t really call it a balloon': Cockpit audio reveals F-16 pilots who shot down octagon shaped object over Lake Huron did NOT know what it was - as Pentagon says $400k Sidewinder missile that missed target landed 'harmlessly' in water..

 I don't know why they haven't come out with the gun camera footage.  That might answer a lot of the public's questions.  This administration doesn't want to answer questions.  Transparency means nothing to them.

Those Balloons

 It's been a bizarre couple of weeks.  First, a citizen happens to notice an object in the sky over Montana.  He takes pictures, sends them to the local news outlet, and suddenly we have a Chinese spy balloon.  Biden catches hell for it, and they decide to shoot it down near Myrtle Beach, He's embarrassed about the whole scenario.

This week we shoot down three more.  What's up with that?

Well, evidently, NORAD cranked up the sensitivity on their radars.  Now they are finding the damned things everywhere. And, the Air Force is taking war shots over the North American continent.

Cranking up the sensitivity means they see a lot more stuff.  Like Canada geese, or the Snow geese that come down from the north each winter.  Some of those geese have been spotted at 29,000 feet.  Well in the range of commercial aviation.  Which is probably why the sensitivity was low in the first place.  Geese fly with the airplanes.  They squawk, sure enough, but they don't have transponders.

The job at NORAD just got a whole lot tougher.

US shoots down third 'object' after initial Chinese spy craft

This makes four.  Myrtle Beach, Alaska, Yukon, now Lake Huron.  Four times in eight days.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He finally made it to the groomers this week, but naturally a cool front came through,.  He was shivering like a frozen dawg, so Belle put a sweater on him.

Minute of Mae: U.S. "Enfield" 1917

History aside, my experience with the 11917 Enfield came in the 1980s.  My first father-in-law had one that survived the war and was sporterized later when the rifles came out as surplus.  The rear sight was removed, the upper handguard went away.  It was drilled and tapped for scope mounts and the stock was chopped down.  Whoever did the work did a good job, because I had a bit of trouble identifying it until he told me what it was.  The bore was excellent and he took his deer with it, along with the occasional varmint.

When he died, it was passed down to a son, and I hope that it is still serving the family.  While we tend to cringe at such things today, the fact is that thousands of these rifles were released into the civil markets after the war and served as deer rifles for the greater public.  I once passed on a sporterized 1903 Springfield on the side of the road.  We were hunting and a guy stopped his truck and offered it for the sum of $75.00.   I didn't have that much cash in my pocket, and he drove off with it.  Probably heading to a pawn shop.

Third 'unidentified object' shot down over North America

A third one?  Jeez, is everyone launching balloons?

This Is Why

 This is why I built an indoor range.

After two days of beautiful weather, it's going to rain on us today.  But, the range is indoors and we'll be okay.

Another Object Down

Fox News is reporting that the US Air Force has shot down another "object" over Alaska. Yee-Haw.

I wonder if the Air Force is giving credit for shooting down balloons?  Does it count for Ace?

Prepping

 We will be prepping today for the club's first ever jackpot shoot.  Many of our shooters are retired rodeo cowboys and they understand a jackpot match.  Everyone throws money into a hat and winner takes a portion of it.  The club decided to divide the jackpot where the winner gets half, second place gets 35% and third place gets 15%.  The club will not cut the pot, and that means we are doing a full payout.

It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.  We have two shooters in town from Nevada and they want to shoot, and we have three shooters coming from our parent club in Texas, so we can claim shooters from three states.  Not too shabby for a piddling little club shoot.  The club members are excited about it,

There is not much going on in CFDA during February, with the big matches beginning in March.  This will be a good warm-up for the competition season.  If it is successful, we might make it an annual event.

I Didn't Watch It

 It seems that Biden's TV rating for his SOTU speech were really bad.

It looks like Americans just aren’t that into watching Joe Biden speak. A mere 27.3 million people bothered to watch his second State of the Union address on television, which is “the second smallest audience for the annual event in at least 30 years,” according to Nielsen.

That’s a drop of nearly 28% from the 38.2 million tuned in to his State of the Union in 2022.

For comparison, according to Nielsen, Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address in 2019 received 46,789,000 television viewers.

The speech was entirely predictable.  If his lips are moving, he's lying. I didn't watch it.  THe clips I"ve seen were enough to convince me that I made the correct decision.

Nord Stream 2

 Did Joe Biden order the US Navy to blow up the Nord Stream 2 pipeline?  Lots of people think so.

Tucker Carlson talks about it here.

The article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh is here.  It's a pretty good read.

The White House says it never happened.  Sure.

Shortages Continue

 Belle and I have noticed that there seems to be a shortage of bagged cat food.  Last week, the Dollar store had very little, as did Wally-world.  Really?

An hour ago, I was at the grocers and they had no instant mashed potatoes.  Don't feel sorry for me, I know how to make mashed potatoes, and there were plenty of spuds in the produce aisle.  But, instant mashed potatoes can be used for lots of things, and I try to keep a box handy.

It seems like for the past two years we've been dealing with localized product shortages of one kind or another.  We can blame it on a lot of things, but over the past two years, the one constant has been Joe Biden and his lackluster cabinet officials.  These are Joe's shortages.

For lunch today, I intend to serve smothered hamburger patties with mashed potatoes.  So, it's time to peel some spuds.  If you will excuse me.

State of the Union

 What can Joe say about the state of the union tonight?  What success can he trumpet?  Let's review, shall we?

Gas prices -  The last gasoline I bought under Trump was $1.97.  It's hovering around $3.00 now.  Utter failure.

Inflation - Under Trump, less than 2%.  Under Biden, over 6% and we're looking at recession.  Utter failure.

Our Military - Disastrous Afghan withdrawal.  And now he is raping our war stocks to send to Ukraine.  Utter failure.  Lloyd Austin is still in charge.

National Security - Chinese spy balloon.  Utter failure.

The Southern Border. - Utter failure.   Montana is reporting cartel incursions.   Unbelievable.

Transportation - Supply shortages.   Mayor Pete.  Need I say more?

In short, Joe has nothing to brag about.  The state of the union is scary under his watch.

When “The Balloon” Comes South

Feral Hogs

 Some folks are waking up to the fact that feral hogs are a problem.

I've known this for years.  Feral hogs have been a problem in Louisiana for years.  Hunting camps routinely shoot any pigs that they see, in an attempt to control the numbers.  Depending on what they have been eating, feral pig might be a fine meal.  The hogs we find in our piney woods normally eat a lot of pinecones, and they taste like pinecones.  I won't eat a piney-woods rooter.  If I wanted my meat to taste like turpentine, I'd use it as a baste.

The thing that most folks don't realize is that a big pig might be considered dangerous game.  A big pig will hurt you, given the opportunity.

Some folks might also wonder what the best caliber for big pig is.  While most deer-caliber cartridges are suitable, you want something that penetrates.  All that having been said, the biggest pig I ever took (he bottomed-out a 350 lb scale) was taken with one shot from a .22 LR.  It was a one-shot kill and the hardest part of that hunt was loading him in the truck.

I'm just sayin'.

Doomsday

 Turning our eyes from the drama of the Chinese balloon, we turn to more mundane matter.  Flooding.  Anyone who has lived through a flood knows how devastating it can be, but it seems that some are worried that Miami might flood.

The Miami-Dade County government has some clever mapping tools to help people visualize the impending climate risks—rising seas, swelling groundwater, flooded buildings. But too much detail can distract from the bigger picture: Miami is drowning.

There is that problem, but people are not nailed to the ground.  They can move, and many folks like living in Miami.  We face the same problems here in Louisiana.  New Orleans, for example, is below sea lavel.  Much of the time it is below the level of the Mississippi river.  They choose to live there, much like the folks choose to live in Miami.

For years I lived in a flood zone.  I chose to live there.  I loved it there.  The middling threat of flooding was outweighed by the other attributes of the land.  Eventually, my life changed, and I moved from there. Nowadays, I live atop a tall ridge.  If this place floods, there will be a lot of people around treading water.  That would be a disaster.

People, generally, will do the right thing, based on their own unique circumstances.  Some folks like living in a swamp.  Others don't.

Transparent Failure

 So, now that we have watched the epic failure of the Biden Administration over the drama of the spy balloon, we need to ask a few questions.  Its remains lie across the ocean bottom off the Carolina coast, reportedly in 45 feet of water, and the Navy will soon be sending a salvage crew out to gather the wreckage.

No one told us about it until a citizen in Montana happened to notice it and took some good photos. The Biden administration was like "Yeah, we knew it was there.  We've been tracking it for a while."  Yet, they didn't bother to tell the rest of us.  Very transparent.  Joe told reporters that he ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down, but they wanted to wait until it was over water.

From what I've read, it came in over Alaska, then traversed western Canada, thence into the lower 48.  A quick check this morning tells me that Elmendorf AFB still has planes.  Why was the balloon allowed to get this far?

The Chinese say that the balloon was a civilian weather balloon that strayed off course.  Sure it was.

We do know that the CCP has paid Hunter a lot of money, with 10% for The Big Guy.  So, it is fair to assume that Joe has already been paid for his silence.  We can add this drama to the long list of military failures under Biden's watch.  The larger question is whether this drama was an accident, or by design?

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Low resolution, taken at dusk.  He has a grooming appointment for Tuesday, and we'll be able to tell one end from the other.

Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean

Looks like it is coming down off the Carolina coast.  It will be interesting to see if we can recover the sensor package.

Explosion

People are reporting and the government is silent about what sounded like a large explosion in the skies over Montana late yesterday. 

Did they shoot it down?

Edit and Update**  Whatever the explosion was, it wasn't the spy balloon.  Fox News is reporting that the spy balloon is currently loitering over Missouri.  I'm sure that it is hoovering up lots of data.

Spy Baloon?

 Evidently, there was a balloon drifting over Montana.  A Chinese balloon.  Whut?

WASHINGTON – A Chinese spy balloon has been spotted drifting over the northern United States, and Pentagon officials have considered shooting it down, Defense Department officials said late Thursday.

Okay, so why not just shoot it down?

 The decision not to shoot down the balloon was made because of concerns that debris could injure Americans on the ground or destroy property, according to a senior Defense Department official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity

 Okay, this story is officially weird now.

Deployment

 Belle and I went to Quinton's deployment ceremony this morning at Camp Beauregard this morning.  His outfit, the 3673d Support Maintenance Company is headed to Fort Hood for February and heading downrange early in March..  

This will be our last opportunity to see him before he goes wheels-up.  His grandma wanted one last hug before he left.

Godspeed 3673d.  Watch after our troops.

Groundhog Day

 This morning, as is tradition, Puxatawney Phil emerged from his burrow on Gobblers Kob to predict the weather.  He saw his shadow, and we're in for another six weeks of winter.

He wouldn't have seen his shadow in my front yard.  Three days of miserable, misting, cold weather have everyone in a grand funk.  Belle  and I have to get out today, to attend a military ceremony.  Grandson Quinton's unit is taking the first step on a deployment.  They are leaving Camp Beauregard to meet the main body at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, thence to Fort Hood for pre-deployment training. Eventually, heading to Kuwait.

I am more concerned about him being at Fort Hood during February than I am about him going to Kuwait.  Fort Hood can be miserable this time of year.  Still, he is off on a grand adventure and I wish I were going with them.

Still Winter Storm

 On this first day of February, I got out early as I normally do on the 1st.  I took a non-driving buddy to do his banking and some shopping.  The weather is miserable, rainy, drizzly, with temps in the 30s.  According to the weather-weenies, it will remain so all day long.  Thankfully, no ice in the forecast and this morning the roads were wet, but passable.

Watching weather videos, I feel sorry for my friends in central Texas.  I hope y'all stay warm and safe.  Likewise my buddies in Arkansas.

While running errands this morning, my friend wanted to stop by the smoke shop. While there I noticed a bottle of whiskey I have been wanting to try.  Redbreast 12.

It is what they call a Single Pot Still Irish whiskey, and I understand that it is delicious.  That will have to wait until the weather moderates and I am able to give it a fair assessment.  This morning, I'm sipping hot cocoa and pondering lunch.

Is The US Food Industry Under Attack?

There is an old saying, "The first is bad luck, the second is coincidence, the third is enemy action."

There have been a lot of US food infrastructure going off-line over the past year.  Some of us are starting to wonder why.

Rumble video here.  I can't get it to embed.

Let's not forget that Joe Biden promised us food shortages.

Winter Storm

 It's miserable outside by central Louisiana standards.  Several days of rain have left the ground soggy, mud prevails.  Right now it is misting rain with temps in the high 30s.  We're not under any threat of ice or snow, but it is miserable outside.  I have run my errands and will stay hunkered down for the rest of the day,  trying to keep dry and warm.

Looking north a hundred miles, those folks are under the threat of ice.  Bless their hearts.  I hope everyone stays safe out there.

It's days like this when I believe that God is saying "Take a break."  I intend to do so.

Memphis PD

 I'm sure that you have all heard, by now, about the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis.  Five officers are indicted in his death.  Details are still unclear, but it appears that Nichols was stopped for reckless driving.  At some point a foot chase developed, and when Nichols was apprehended, he was beaten by the officers.  Nichols later died.

Nichols was black, the Chief of the Memphis PD is black, and the five officers indicted are all black. This inconvenient fact has not stopped some from claiming that "white supremacy" played a role in this tragedy.  That is patently ridiculous, as most of these claims are.  "White Supremacy" has become the great bugaboo of this century, used to explain everything from failing schools to covid deaths.

I admit that racism has, in the past, played a part in the culture of the United States. That is history.  But, lately, "white supremacy" has become a convenient argument to explain the inexplicable.  Like the monster under the bed, when you shine a light on it, it seems to disappear. It's there in the dark recesses of your mind, but it cannot explain the present.

The truth is deeper than that.  And more complex.  Five black officers with bodycams beat a suspect. That suspect later died of his injuries.  That is what happened.  We can debate why it happened, but sometimes it is impossible to explain the inexplicable.  We can talk about police culture, and we can talk about the recent history of the defund movement and what that means in the broader sociological sphere, but we may not be able to explain why it happened.

Passing On Information

 Grandson Lucas gets off the school bus at our house every day, due to the schedules and routes of the school bus.  His dad meets him here, and we generally chat for a bit before he goes home.  You never know what question he is going to ask.  Lucas is 12 years old.

Lucas is a shooter in his school's rimfire team.  His dad built him a Ruger 10/22 and from all reports, he is doing well with it.  Today he wanted to know about bullet speed and RPM and barrel twist rates, so we went down that rabbit hole.

It still amazes me, and I know the match, about how fast a bullet spins when it comes out of the tube.  The basic equation is here.  He's a budding gear-head, so we had to relate that to engine rpm.  He is amazed that a CCI mini-mag spins at lot faster than a small block Chevy.

Passing on the information.  That's my job as a grandfather.  I wonder what he is going to ask me about tomorrow?

Stuck Kubota

 They do get stuck, occasionally.  We're in the wet season now, and we'll have to be carful where we take the tractor.  It's out now, and grandson Lucas is learning basic vehicle recovery.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 I don't know how he sees with all that hair in his face.

Mobile Protected Firepower

It looks like the Army is considering a new armored vehicle to supplement the infantry.  Something called Mobile Protected Firepower.  All the details have not yet been ironed out, but think something between the Bradley and the Abrams.

As a young Cav trooper, I trained on the M5551 Sheridan and I liked it. It could not go head-to-head against a main battle tanks, but it offered good firepower and mobility.  We called it the ACAV (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle) and we knew its limitations.

I'm glad to see that the Army is thinking about a vehicle like this. It might give a good, hacy punch to the light infantry and would be an asset on the battlefield.

Getting Ready

 We haven't had a club match since October, and the first for the 2023 season is tomorrow.  I am prepping the range for the match, checking targets and electronics and making sure that all is well for when the club gets here tomorrow and we draw the first round.

This year we have decided to do a buckle series.  At each match, the shooters get points toward the series depending on their placement in the match.  At the end of the year, we'll total up the points and the high points winner will get a trophy buckle.

It's going to be a lot of fun.  Ten matches for 2023, and we start tomorrow.

Pore Ol' Adam

As we all know by now, pore ol' Adam Schiff has been kicked off the House Intel Committee by speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Adam made a name for himself, revealing secrets and lying to the American people. He had absolutely no business on the Intel committee because he used it for purely political purposes. Russian collusion, yada, yada, yada.

Now, he is off the committee.  He f*cked around and found out.  Most of us learn this lesson much earlier in life. I'd say that Schiff found out at level seven (7).  At level eight (8), folks show up to whip your ass.  At level nine (9), you wind up in prison.  At level ten (10) people look around and wonder where you went, but no one ever files a Missing Person report.  

The video below explains the matrix, but it is not safe for work.

That Axios Truck Article

 So, Axios wrote an article on pickup trucks.  Big, heavy, fuel burners.  Like that is a bad thing.

I've been driving trucks since I started driving.  Normally, the wife would drive the family sled, and I would drive the truck. For a time I was in the cattle business, and we abslutely needed a truck, for towing trailers, for hauling feed, for hauling fuel.

The Axios article complains that folks who drive trucks don't normally use then for truck things, like hauling or towing.  They are normally used for commuting or running errands.

With jumbo trucks, you’d think people were hauling and towing more than ever — not so. Survey data from vehicle research firm Strategic Vision shows a third of today’s pickup owners rarely or never use their truck for hauling, while two thirds rarely or never use it for towing. So what are people using their trucks for? Shopping, errands, commuting and Sunday drives.

Uuuh, yeah.  If I need the truck once a week for towing or hauling, then those other days I"m running errands, shopping, or commuting. Even in my cattle-business days, most of the hours I spent in that truck were not related to the business.  Such is the nature of owning a pickup truck.  

I still own a tuck, but I am fortunate that I also own other vehicles and the truck is only used when I need a truck.  I keep the battery hot and the oil changed.  I don't need it today, but I might need it tomorrow.

C'mon, Mike!

 We learned yesterday that our former vice president, Mike Pence, had classified documents in his home in Indiana.  Pence is a guy who is so squeaky-clean that he wouldn't have lunch with a woman who was not his wife.  It's called the Pence Rule

Evidently there is so much classified information floating around the halls of power that it is impossible to avoid it.  And that does not bode well for an open society.

I always wondered when I would attend a classified briefing, exactly which part of the information was classified. Too much of our government wants to keep secrets.  Like, for instance, why some documents from the Kennedy assassination are still classified.  

Maybe it is time to start looking at how we classify documents.  There are some secrets that we need to safeguard, but I suspect that most of classification protocols are simply over-reach.

Rainy Day Tuesday

 It's raining out there today, and the weather-weenies tell me that it will keep raining for most of the rest of today.  We can't do anything outside, so the dog and I are in the shop.

I cut up a little chuck roast and we're making a beef stew.  Good beef, a roux-gravy, with onion, carrots and potatoes.  I'll wander past the stove and stir it occasionally, and when we get closer to lunch, make a pot of rice.

I had a chance to visit with grandson Quinton yesterday.  He's preparing for deployment with the Louisiana National Guard.  They are leaving here in early February and heading to Fort Hood for a couple of weeks, then going to Kuwait.  The eventual destination is some place called Camp Buehring.  From what I can see online, it is an American Army base in Kuwait.  He's a young, single E-4 and this should be a grand adventure. His grandmother is heartily relieved that we're not in a shooting war right now.  He tells me that they had to do some cultural sensitivity training and he's talked to folks who have been there.  The one thing he thinks he is going to miss is bacon.  Evidently they don't import much pork into Kuwait.

I better go stir the stew.

Louisiana Governor's Race

The Louisiana governors race is heating up.  We vote in the fall.  Our senator, John Kennedy was considering a run, but has decided against it, which throws the race open.  So far, our AG, Jeff Landry has announced that he is running, and this gal Katie Bernhardt, is throwing her hat in the ring.

Katie is a Democrat, but that don't mean nothing in Louisiana.  For the past two terms, Louisiana elected a radical Democrat, John Bel (hack, spit) Edwards.  Louisiana needs closed primaries, but the folks who benefit from them most are in office so they won't change our voting system.

Right now, Louisiana leads the race to the bottom, with a struggling education system, a hostile business climate, massive out-migration, and a host of other problems.  Why Louisiana can't simply take a few pages from the playbooks of states like Texas, Florida, or Tennessee to improve our state is beyond me.  Less government, lower taxes and more personal freedom seem to be a winning message.

At any rate, Katie has joined the fray.  I'll never vote for her.  She is a Democrat.

Seriously

 On the way to the Mardi Gras ball last night, we learned that the Feds have found some more documents at Joe's place.

Bob Bauer, Biden’s newly acquired personal lawyer, said the Justice Department took six documents marked classified and some of Biden’s notes during a Friday search that lasted 13 hours.

Newley acquired personal lawyer? That is an interesting choice of words, which leads one to ask a number of questions which will probably never be answered.

But it is easy to see that Joe takes classified documents really seriously.  Like he takes border security very seriously.  Which is to say, not at al.  And, I'm wondering what happened to Joes's other lawyers that he had to "newly acquire" another one?  All sorts of scenarios come to mind.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He's asleep in the shop at the scoring table.  This is where the scorer sits during a match.  I've tried to teach him to score, but he can't read or cipher, and he doesn't have any thumbs.

Sloppy Joes

 What sounds good on a rainy, cold Saturday?  I found a couple of pounds of ground meat, chopped an onion, and made some sauce.  Sloppy Joes.  You can pour the sauce out of a can, or make it yourself.  Either way works, and your taste might vary from mine, so suit yourself.

I didn't have any burger bus, but I did have hoagie buns, so there you have it.

Belle dolled hers up with a little jalapeno relish.  I should have put a couple of tablespoons in the sauce, but I forgot.

Getting Ready

 Tomorrow night, Belle and I are invited to a Mardi Gras ball.  She has her decided which of her gowns she will wear and is trying to decide on shoes.  Choices and decisions.

For myself, it's a simple matter of putting on a tux.  Standard black tuxedo, it's clean and hanging int he closet.  After the ball, I'll take it to the cleaners, and it will be ready for the next time. The shoes are shined, and the shirt is white.  The only real decision is whish vest I will wear.  There are several available, and I must be sure not to "clash" with her gown.

Belle and I do not belong to a krewe but are a perpetual guest.  So once a year, we dress up and go out to let the ladies sparkle.  It's a good time.

Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter over 'Rust' shooting

Fox News and others are reporting that Alec Baldwin is being charged with involuntary manslaughter over the incident on set of the movie Rust.

Davos

 As the world elites descend on Davos this weekend, the rest of us wonder what the big deal is?  Evidently, it's all about global warming climate change.  Net carbon, yada, yada.

It's hard to get a firm number.  Somewhere between 1700 and 200 private jets.  Those guys spew carbon worse than 99.9% of the world's population.  Yet, they talk like spewing carbon is a bad thing.  Hypocrisy at its finest.  I don't begrudge them their private jets.  If I could afford one, I'd fly it right into bankruptcy.

It's not the jets so much as them telling me that my diesel engines are going to kill the planet.  That my gasoline lawnmower is bad for the planet.

I am somewhat amused to learn that hookers are also in attendance.  Evidently, the world elites cannot get laid the old-fashioned way.  Then again, I don't think like an elite.  I had a rich uncle once tell me that "If it floats, flies, or f*cks, you are better off renting it."

It's not so much that the global elites get together at Davos that bothers me.  Good for them.  It's the arrogance and hypocrisy.  When they start acting like it's a problem, I might start believing it's a problem. 

Old Stories

 Back in the early '70s, Brother-in-law Bill was dating a gal from Quebec.  Yeah, that Quebec.  She and Bill were visiting in Jena, LA and stopped to get gas.

A fellow noticed the license plate on the car and asked Bill, "Kew-beck?  Where is Kew-beck?"

Bill deadpanned.  "Up north of Monroe."

The fellow nodded his head and went about his business.  Bill was right, of course.  Quebec is north of Monroe.

Egg Prices

 Last week I was listening to a podcast about egg prices.  Evidently, they are up.

Past weekend, the ladies in the family were talking about egg prices.  They are definitely up.

Belle sent me to the store this morning.  I paid $5.33 for a dozen white, large eggs.  Not the brown, free-range eggs.  The standard white eggs. Five dollars and thirty-three cents.  Before tax.

Evidently there has been an outbreak of avian flu in the egg laying population.  Fewer chickens, fewer eggs.

Down the Front End Loader Rabbit Hole

 Couple of weeks ago, I bought a tractor.  It's a low-hour Kubota L3400 with a front loader.  It's at my son's house right now, because he is an equipment guy, an ace mechanic, and he needs to do some dirt work around his place.  He will use it until the spring moving season, then we'll trailer it out to the family property.

I was remembering some tractors from my youth, and those that had loaders were often accessorized to make it more convenient.  Chain hooks and clevises were the two most often seen, but I've been watching YouTube videos and it seems that a receiver hitch might also be a useful accessory.  Now I have to figure out what I want and how I want to mount it.

Welding directly to the bucket is always an option, but I've seen other guys wend the hooks to plate steel, then either bolt or burn the plate to the bucket.  Choices and decisions.

While watching YouTube videos, I saw something that intrigued me.  That big ol' steel tube that reinforces the loader is wasted space.  That might be a capital place to store chain.  There are a couple of hacks to make this space useful and keep wasps out of it when the tractor is not in use.

If I could find an end-cap to fit that hole, that might be just the ticket.  Other guys have made a sliding drawer from PVC pipe to use that space.  Options and decisions.

Oh, and that tiny tool box that Kubota put behind the seat.  Yeah, we need to do something about that too.  I'll need a place for a handful of hitch pins, a couple of crescent wrenches, and a screwdriver.

CRAZY GUY Picked The WRONG GUITAR CENTER To Mess With

If more retail stores dealt with problem customers like this, there might be a few fewer problem customers.  Getting physically taken to the floor, then dragged out to the curb sends a message to people who don't comply with customary etiquette.

The video is making the rounds.

Daddy's Name

 So, we all know that Huter Biden knocked up a stripper in Arkansas.  This is not news.  He's paying child support.  He wants it reduced because he is a sleaze bag.

The mother of the child wants the child to take and use the Biden name, as is customary in cases where the Daddy knocks up the mother.

Hunter is resisting, because he is a sleaze bag.  As far as I know, paternity is not at issue. By every social convention that is right and proper, the child is entitled to use the Biden name.  Even if Daddy is the ultimate sleaze bag.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Harassing the cat.

Another Question

 It appears that Biden's lawyers are still finding classified documents in the house.

That question aside, do Biden's lawyers have the appropriate security clearance to be looking for these documents?

Lest We Forget

 Joe Biden admitted yesterday that he kept classified documents in his garage, his locked garage, where he keeps his 'Vette.  He admitted that live to Peter Doocy.  That is not a place to store classified documents.

When I was a soldier, we had a special, heavy filing cabinet that met the requirements for storing FOUO and SECRET documents.  It stayed in the S-2 (Intelligence) shop.  It was purged regularly and there was a huge paperwork train that went with even opening the cabinet.  We were not allowed to keep TOP SECRET documents in that cabinet.

Careers have been wrecked over the mis-handling of classified documents.  Trump was wrong, Joe is wrong, and that simply is the way it is.  Trump does have the defense that, as a sitting president, he has the authority to declassify documents.  Joe does not have that defense.  Joe did not also have a SCIF, which can store those documents.

But, we must remember that we cannot indict a sitting president.  We couldn't indict Nixon, we couldn't indict Clinton.  Nor Bush, nor Obama, nor Trump.  We cannot indict Biden as long as he sits in the chair.  This is purely a political issue at this point, and Joe has to reap the whirlwind.

Classified Documents

We're learning that ol' Joe has been leaving classified documents lying around the house.  Stored in the garage with his Corvette. 

Joe is an old white man who has been making noises about running again for President.  Old white men don't do well in the Democrat party.  Ask Andrew Cuomo.  The younger generation wants to have a shot, and as long as the old white men hang around, well.... you know.

Merrick Garland (bless his heart), rather than sweeping this under the rug, is appointing a special counsel.  Sitting presidents don't normally fare well when a special counsel is sniffing around.

Is this a slow-roll coup?

Ban On Gas Stoves??

 Evidently, the rocket scientists in the Biden administration are considering a ban on gas stoves.  Yeah, really.

A federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves amid rising concern about the health risks associated with indoor air pollution from the appliances, particularly among children.

Hih!  The use of gas vs electic stoves has been a long source of contention between me and Belle.  She liked electric stoves.  I prefer gas.  She wins   She wins when the appliance is technically a stove.  I win when the appliance can be defined as "outdoor".  Our two stoves are electic.  The griddle, the fish cookers, the big burner I use to boil crawfish are all gas.

The fed agency in question is the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  This bunch of regulatory fascists are the same ones who make it impossible to pour gas out of a can.  This is pure regulatory overreach, and a pox on them all.

Now What?

 

Stolen from wirecutter.

Another Computer Glitch

 Coming on the heels oof Southwest Airlines disaster last week, it seems that another computer glitch grounded aircraft all across the US this morning.

A critical Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system suffered an overnight glitch, grounding flights across the US.

I'm glad I wasn't flying this morning. 

That Houston Robber.

I'm sure that everyone has beard by now, about that robber in southwest Houston wo went into a taco shop and started robbing people at gunpoint. Until one patron took our his own gun and ended the robbery.  THe bad guy is dead and the customers at the store are all okay.  That seems about right to me.

Colion Noir breaks it down for us.

Abolish the IRS?

 It seems that there is a bill pending that would abolish the IRS, repeal the national income tax, and replace it with something called a consumption tax.  Fox Digital reports:

Republicans in the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), eliminate the national income tax, and replace it with a national consumption tax.

This is a debate we need to have.  I'm not sure what a national consumption tax will look like, but we knew that the IRS targets conservatives.  Ever since Lois Lerner was allowed to take the 5th before Congress and slip into  retirement,  we have been aware that the IRS is a corrupt organization.  I have no reason to believe that they have amended their practices.

However, I am a bit leery of what a national consumption tax might look like.

This bill is probably doomed in the Senate, and I doubt that Biden would sign it into law, but it is a discussion that we need to have.

The Power of Prayer

 You don't have to convince me about the power of prayer.   I've seen it, I've lived it, I believe it.

I don't follow football.  I couldn't name many teams in the NFL, much less any players, but last week I was shocked to hear that a player, Damar Hamblin, had suffered a heart attack on the field.  Like many of you, I lifted up a prayer of hope and healing for the young man.

I do remember when Tim Tebow was mocked and ridiculed for offering prayer on the field, but I am heartened to lern that Hamblin is doing well, and that players everywhere are offering prayers for his spedy and complete recovery.  More importantly, offering these prayers publicly, on the field.

The unconvinced tend to mock us for prayer, but many of us have seen it work in our daily lives. I believe that God works in mysterious ways and perhaps the travails of Damar Hamblin  are part of God's plan.  I do not presume to know the mind of God, but I am heartened that prayer is once again part of the NFL.

Go Ahead, Herky-Bird

 Is there anything the C-130 can't do?

“The Chinese military is reportedly alarmed by a new tactic being employed by the US Air Force. During a live-fire exercise over Norway, the service showcased the ability to deploy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) from cargo aircraft, such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, via the Rapid Dragon Palletized Weapon System. . . . Along with allowing the US Air Force to initiate attacks from outside of dangerous areas, it means cargo aircraft can be temporarily repurposed as standoff bombers, a cost-effective measure.”

If the C-130 alarms the Chinese, we need a lot more C-130s. 

Pure Grady

Sunday Morning Dawg

 He needs a grooming bad.  The grooer we have used for a while recently learned that she is allergic to dog dander, which required that she close her shop.  Bad for her, and bad for us.

The cat doesn't seem to mind, though.

Finally

 Reported everywhere, Kevin McCarthy was sworn in this morning as Speaker of the House. Lots of political drama, lots of wrangling, but he finally got it done. I suppose it is fitting that he was sworn in on January 7th.  January 6th is, as you know, a day that will live in infamy.  A day when a great boisterous crowd visited the Capitol.  It is also the day celebrated in Christianity as the day that Jesus was manifested to the Gentiles.  I find a great deal of irony in the conjunction of these two anniversaries.

Cajuns celebrate epiphany by the baking of King cakes.  A sweet pasty, often braided before baking, into which a small figurine of the Christ is hidden.  We will eat King cakes until Lent.  Many diets will be wrecked, and pounds gained because of these things. The season ends at the stroke of midnight on Fat Tuesday, beginning the season of repentance and fasting of Lent.

Kubota

 Taking charge of the family property, I knew we would need a tractor to pull a mover (bush hog, shredder, whatever you call them).  So, I started looking around and found a fairly low hour Kubota on a tractor lot.  With a loader.  It's a 2010 Kubota L3400 with less than 400 hours on the clock.  I talked to some tractor folks I knew who said the price was decent, so I pulled the pin on it.

That is second son, tying it down.  Grandson on the operator's chair.  Second son is an ace mechanic by trade.  He owns a mini-hoe and has some dirt work to do around his place, so he will use it until he is done, and is able to make sure that everything is tight and right.  Then we'll move it to the family property when the spring mowing season arrives.

I haven't owned a tractor for over 20 years, and the ones they are making today sure have a lot of bells and whistles.  My old tractor was a Yanmar with a geared transmission and served me well.  This Kubota has a hydrostatic transmission.  That will take a little getting used to, but I feel like I am up to the challenge.

The Whip

 I bet that both the Democratic Whip and the Republican Whip are busy critters this morning.

Insty reports that the Democrat members have to ask permission to leave the floor during a vote.

Louisiana's very own Steve Scalise is the Republican Whip.  I can't imagine the conversations that he has been having lately with Kevin McCarthy.  Twenty holdouts who refuse to move in lockstep with the rest of the caucus.  Some are pissed off personally at McCarthy, some are asking for change that they don't feel McCarthy can offer.  It's hard to run roughshod over a fellow one day and expect for him to support you later.  That takes a delicate political touch, and I don't think at this point that McCarthy has that ability.

I get it.  There are people I will never vote for.  McCarthy is going through a rough time right now, and I suspect it is of his own making.  These decisions are not made in a vacuum, and the longer it goes on, the greater the change that McCarthy will have to make.  Both compromise and conciliation requires time, and trust.  The conciliation should have been done a long time ago.

Thursday Notes

 The bank that has held my mortgage for the past 20 years has lost their damned minds.    The over-corotational mindset of the organizational hive is killing us all.  It used to be I could walk into a bank, talk with an officer, and get a problem solved.  Not any more.  Call 1-800-EAT-SH*T.

I'm buying a little piece of land. It's heir property and I an an heir.  I am conflicted about it, but the majority of the family wants to close this deal so that it won't become an issue later.

Because I'm buying the land, I'm buying a tractor, too.  About to close a deal on a clean, used Kubota with less than 400 hours on the engine.  That will let me mow the place, which is mixed meadow and timber.

The US House still has no Speaker.  I am conflicted about this.  As long as the Congress is crippled, they can't hurt us.  But, that lets the executive branch run wild, and there are no adults in charge.

This morning I started planning the state championship that I host every year.  It's in July, so we're not in a crunch for time, but the closer it gets, the crunchier I will get.

Wednesday Ramblings

 The US House is still squabbling about who is going to be Speaker.  This isn't a good look for the Republicans, but it is a process, and it is sometimes messy. At some point, they will figure it out and we can move forward.

The Russian military is blaming its troops for unauthorized cell phone use that prompted the Ukrainians to drop a HIMARS strike on them.

Moscow's defense ministry said late Tuesday that the unauthorized use of mobile devices allowed Kyiv's forces to identify the soldiers' location via phone signals. It also raised the confirmed death toll to 89 from the weekend strike on the base at a school in Makiivka, a town in a Russian-occupied area of the eastern Donetsk region.

That is a fairly sophisticated use of cell data.  They were watching cell data, saw a concentration, and loosed a rocket at it.  There should be a lesson there for all of us.

The Speaker

 Well, Kevin didn't make it on the first ballot.

Until we have a Speaker, gridlock ensues, and chaos becomes inevitable.

It is interesting to watch. What I think is interesting is that the Speaker administers the oath to the other member of the House, and until there is a Speaker, no one is sworn in.  They are all Representative-elect until the Speaker gets the gavel.

At this point, Kevin doesn't have the votes.  I think that he knew that going in, so what is the endgame? If he can't get the votes, why is he in the race?

Speaker

 The question becomes:  Who is going to be the Speaker of the House?

It seems that Kevin McCarthy has enough opposition in the Republicans party to keep him away from the gavel.  So, the next question is:  If not McCarthy, who?

Tomorrow may get interesting in the US House.

Familial DNA

 The use of DNA evidence in criminal investigation is fairly well accepted.  Each person has a unique DNA signature that tends to eliminate the rest of the human species.  It's really specific.  As evidence goes, it's just about the gold standard.  Of course, there may be many reasons for one person's DNA to be in the vicinity of another person, not all those reasons are nefarious.

So, the investigators still have work to do, but it appears that the suspect in the Moscow, ID murder case (and I will never use his name) might have been identified through the use of familial DNA.  The closer a suspect might be to a family member, the more closely they will share a DNA signature.  While the suspect may have been unknown to police and the police were unable to precisely match his DNA in a database, there might have been a family member who had given a sample that closely matched his.

This case is becoming truly interesting from a number of perspectives.  The suspect himself was a doctoral student of criminology.  On the face of the case, this seems to be his first run-in with police.  That flies in the face of other mass murderers, who often work up to this sort of crime.  One wonders what set of circumstances led us this point.  Are there other murders out there?

We'll be studying this one for a while.

Last Day

 It's the last day of 2022, and I'm not sorry to see it go.  This year has been a wild ride.

Belle always celebrates the New Year with a traditional fest.  Pork, cabbage, and black eyed peas.  Cornbread.  Because it falls this year on Sunday, we aren't sure who will show up, but we never know who will be here on Sunday.

Today, she is at a funeral in her hometown of Jena, LA.  An old classmate died.  I stayed back to get some stuff done, and while I was at it, I made a gumbo, because lunch will be here soon and that turkey we smoked for Christmas needed to be used up.  It seems like Christmas was a month ago.

The changing of the calendar is a time for reflection, and I remember wondering during the millennial celebration if I would live to see 2020.  But, I hope each of my readers has a happy, prosperous 2023.

That Sounds About RIght

So, this tow truck driver in Detroit goes to buy a junk car, but it's a set-up and he is approached by a thug with robbery on his mind.  Not so quick.  The tow driver was armed.

Detroit has its problems, but one less thug ain't much of a problem.  

Suspect in Custody

 Fox News is reporting that a suspect is in custody for the murder of four students in Moscow, Idaho.

MOSCOW, Idaho – Authorities have a suspect in custody in the Nov. 13 murders of four University of Idaho students, a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital.

That is good news. I know that this case was complex, requiring the resources of several agencies, and I'm glad that it is closer to resolution.  Perhaps as we learn more, the families will begin to find closure.

Russian Generals

 Evidently, 2022 has been tough on Russian generals.  They are resetting the actuarial tables. Insty notes the latest casualty, some guy who ran a tank production plant.

Wiki has a page that details the list of unfortunate Russian flag officers who met untimely or otherwise mysterious deaths this year.

One might wonder if Putin is practicing Arkancide.

Freedom Of Speech

The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution says:

 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 seems rather straight-forward, but even in the most straight-forward of ideas, people get confused, so we have to have lawyers sort it out.  It seems that the Ninth Circuit is asking the Supremes to limit speech.

Ninth Circuit Judge Urges Supreme Court "Not to Give Any First Amendment Protection for Racist Hate Speech"

I know that no right is absolute.  There is an old canard that you can't shout FIRE in a crowded theater.  I've heard that all my life, and wondered if the theater was actually on fire?

First World Problems

 There is no doubt that the commercial airline industry is a complicated, highly automated industry that generally provides service to a wide range of customers all across the US.  It is also true that it is highly dependent on the weather, If one hub shuts down because of weather, the ripple effects are felt everywhere.  If several hubs shut down, it becomes a catastrophe. That is where we have been over the past week.

Not to fear though.  The Biden administration is on it.

  “Thousands of flights nationwide have been canceled around the holidays. Our Administration is working to ensure airlines are held accountable,” Biden tweeted, urging customers who were affected to visit the Department of Transportation’s website to see if they are entitled to compensation.

I would not, for the record that old Joe is currently sitting his scrawny ass in St. Croix.  He flies private on our dime. As does Pete Buttigieg, our current transportation secretary.  Pete has proven his deep understanding of incompetence several times.  He demonstrates it regularly, from the problems last year, through the supply chain problems, during the impending rail strikes, Pete embraces incompetence at every golden opportunity.

Commercial air travel is a complicated, highly automated industry  composed of thousands of different vendors providing hundreds of discrete products and services, all of which has to mesh perfectly for even one plane to get off the ground.  When it occasionally works as advertised, it is a testament to the unsung labors of thousands of people, from the pilots who fly to the guy who pumps out the latrines. When the weather conspires against us, people start calling in sick or unable to get to the airport, and schedules start slipping, the hole thing grinds to a halt in short order.

It's a first world problem.

Internal Calendar

 I have to keep reminding myself that it is Tuesday.  My internal calendar is all screwed up and for some reason, I think it is Monday again.

Christmas is over and we approach the New Year, which will be here pretty quickly.  I admit that I am approaching it with some trepidation.  It is filled with opportunity, and hope,   I'm fixing to bail off into some family duties that I'm not sure I want to be involved with, but which by necessity must be done.  A wise man (I think it was Sam Clements) once said that "There is not much education in the second kick from a mule", and that's where I think I may be headed.

God's will be done.

Yo-Yo Ma, Alison Krauss - The Wexford Carol (Video)

Christmas Morning

 As is our tradition, Christmas morning is quiet here on our little acre.  Belle and I hosted a big celebration yesterday so that family can spend Christmas day with their kids.  We cooked big, with turkey, ham, dressing sweet potatoes, pies, cakes, candy, etc.  The one thing we forgot was the green bean casserole, but no one asked about it.

By my count, we fed 22 yesterday.  My Mom showed up, and we were proud to see her.  She is 89 and still getting around.

This morning, Belle and I are reveling in our sloth.  I have some yeast rolls proofing and the turkey carcass is in the stock pot, prepping for a gumbo later this week.  Closer to moon, I will get out the leftover ham and dressing.  I'll pop the dressing into the oven, and pan-fry the ham to heat it.  Belle will make some sliders with the yeast rolls and ham.

I hope all of y'all had a very Merry Christmas.

Sunday Morning Dawg

 Waiting patiently for leftovers.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon (Official Music Video) [HD]

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Low Recoil Hunting Rounds

 Surfing a bit this morning over coffee, I found this article at the American Hunter on low recoil hunting rounds.  Of the list, I have some experience with three of these rounds.  I agree with the author in his evaluation of the rounds I know.

.30-30 Winchester.  Once considered a whiz-bang flat-shooting cartridge, in the late 1800s, it was soon eclipsed by other cartridges.  Even so, it continued to serve American hunters. Pushing a 170-grain bullet to 2200 fps, it was the cartridge against which all others were measured.  It was chambered in light lever rifles like the 94 Winchester and the Marlin 336.  I still have a couple of .30-30 carbines.  My youngest grandson hunts with one I gave to his Dad many decades ago.

7mm-08 Remington.  In 1980, Remington standardized a wildcat cartridge that was a favorite of the metallic silhouette game.  It was a 7mm bull3t stuffed into a necked-down .308 Wim case.  I owned one in the late 80s in a Remington Model 7.  Fantastically accurate, very manageable recoil, For some reason, that barrel like the 139 grain Core-Lokt bullet, so that is what I fed it.  I lost that rifle during a divorce and I still mourn for it.

,25-06 Remington.  Wildcatted by Adolph Neidner in the 1920s, it was not standardized until 1969.  It's a necked-down .30-06 and pushes a .25 caliber bullet.  My load pushes a 117-grain bullet to 3000 fps.  I have called the .25-06 the best cartridge in North America for medium game, and I still believe that.  Every rifle I have shot in this caliber is capable of MOA accuracy if the nut behind the trigger is does his part.  My family has four of these rifles, two Savages and two Ruger 77s.  It's a great cartridge and certainly deserves to be in this list.

6mm Creedmoor.  A relative newcomer, it is necked down from its larger brother, the 6.5 Creedmoor.  I have no experience with this cartridge, but from looking at the ballistic charts, I have no idea what this one would do that the .243 wouldn't do.  The answer might lie in barrel twist.  The Creedmoor uses a 1:7 twist while my old .243 has a 1:10. The Creedmoor will stabilize heaver bullets.  Out past 300 yards that may help, but I won't shoot at fur over 300 yards.

.350 Legend.  I don't know what Winchester thought it was doing when it blew out a .223 case and fit a 9mm bullet to it. It was designed for those states that don't allow bottleneck cartridges for hunting.  It shoots a light-for-caliber 9mm bullet at 2200 fps which seems rather anemic.  Until you look at the .30-30 Win.  It will fit in an AR platform, which has a certain appeal.  It would also make a dandy ultralight bolt action with a low power scope, for stalking the woods and brushy lanes around my home range.  I admit I want one but have so far resisted the urge.

What Manner of Bullshit

 What manner of bullshit is this?

The Army, Navy, and Coast Guard effectively de-emphasize gender in an integrated environment,” the academic report from the University of Pittsburgh says. “Instead of saying ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir,’ recruits in these Services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. Gendered identifiers prime recruits to think about or visually search for a drill instructor’s gender first, before their rank or role."

I admit that when I was a recruit, I addressed my drill instructors as "Drill Sergeant" and any officer as "Sir".  Female officers would be addressed as "Ma'am"" but like unicorns I didn't actually see a female officer until long after I myself was commissioned.

When I ran a training company, I still referred to my Drill Sergeants as such.  They had earned the right to wear the hat, and deserved that modicum of respect.  But, I would never allow a junior enlisted person to address me as any way but Sir. I seldom worried about that because my NCOs maintained a level of discipline that brooked no such nonsense.

Perhaps it is good that I am long since retired.  I doubt I could stand the level of bullshit that exists today in my Army.

Oh, Canada

I'm not sure how old this video is, but it popped up on my feed, so here we go.

It seems that our neighbor to the north, the dominion of Trudeau, has banned a number of firearms. Very dangerous firearms.  Including "one" called the Buttmaster.  I put that word in scare quotes because there is only one.

Tucker explains.

Brrr Cold

 The polar vortex made it down here in the early hours and the temps started dropping precipitously.

The rest of the county may be accustomed to these temps, but we in central Louisiana are not.  We will survive it, like we survive everything else.  Right now, it's Brrr Cold out there.

On Bond

 It's being reported everywhere that Scam Bankrupt Fried has been released from a US Court on bond.  $250 million bond.  His parents had to put up their home as security,   He has been ordered to live with his parents, surrender his passport, and obtain mental health treatment among other things.

That's fair, I guess.  He is ignorant innocent until proven guilty and is certainly eligible for bond. His momma can cook him vegan meals.

His butt-ugly girlfriend has turned states evidence.  His investors are mightily pissed.  He would do well to stay indoors, listen to his lawyers and maintain a low profile until this whole thing blows over.  And, I suspect it might well blow over.  He's too politically connected to have a single-tired justice system put him away for a long time.  This one will be interesting to watch, but he is out of jail for the time being.

Christmas Prep

 Family is coming in from out of state, and we're in our semi-final prep.  Is anyone truly ever ready?  

Juvat asks in comments:

I want to try that gumbo recipe. It's just the Mrs and I. How many servings does that make?

I'm not sure.  Eight or ten, depending on your serving.  But, the thing about gumbo is that it freezes well.  Many of us believe that it is better on the second day.  Justin Wilson used to recommend that  you let the whole gumbo cool, put it in the fridge and re-heat it on the second day.

At any rate, we're prepping for the holiday and blogging might be spotty at best.  I'll check in when I can.  Y'all have a Merry Christmas.

 

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