Another online test

Cool, although I am a tragic character. I usually don't do these things, but liked the format of this one.
I AM MAXIMUS!
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
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Priorities

Back in 1981 I moved to Bayou Derbonne, LA, a small agricultural community in Natchitoches Parish, LA. Over the years, the road, the physical blacktop road deteriorated to the point where it was gravel in some areas. The local police jury, lacking the funds to repair it, actually came in with plows and graveled a large section of that road.

Natchitoches Parish is a poor parish. Some of us who lived on that road knew that without help we would never be able to drive on a standard road, so we began writing letters and putting together a coalition and trying to get help to fix eight miles of bad road. Eight miles. Two lane road. Nothing fancy. Just some asphalt so that we could drive to work and home without potholes and gravel dings on our vehicles.

Because our road is the back door to a major federal preserve (the National Red Dirt Wilderness Area), we got a pledge of assistance from Senator Mary Landieu and actually recieved funding. We got the pledge for funds in the year 2000. Then 9/11/2001 came along. I got a letter from Senator Landrieu explaining that other priorities had been foisted upon us and that our funding for our little eight miles of bad road had been taken for more pressing issues. We understood. We still understand. And we still drive on bad road.

Our experience is not unique. Lots of small communities all over the United States share the same frustrations. In North Louisiana, for example, Morehouse Parish wants to spend $4 million for a Livestock arena. $4 million is a drop in the bucket, but the people there would like some of their tax money to support their own people. With the horrific destruction of south Louisiana, Morehouse Parish probably won't get their livestock arena. They probably understand.

After a lot of soul-searching and a lot of arguing with people I respect, I have come to the understanding that we need to rebuild South Louisiana. We should grant the resources and the money to getting those people back on their feet. It is the right thing to do, culturally, economically, and from a humanitarian prespective. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I understand it. I support the effort.

This opinion from the Alexandria Daily Town Talk represents the frustration a lot of folks in North Louisian feel when South Louisiana needs money.

Lawmakers also feel awkward as they try to ask the rest of the state to chip in to salvage New Orleans, a city that has been larded with preferential treatment forever. Already we are hearing complaints from North Louisiana legislators on things like cutting the $11 million slush fund to help plug the hole in the state budget levee.

The feeling of frustration has been building for years. New Orleans has long gotten preferential treatment from the state legislature. Sure, the lions share of taxes comes from there, and sure, a whole lot of people live there, but the perception exists that New Orleans is almost a state unto itself.

I still support the effort to rebuild South Lousiana. I agree that it is the right thing to do. During the worst of Katrina and Rita, the citizens of North Louisiana opened their doors and hearts to the citizens of south Louisiana that needed us. We worked long, hard hours in shelters and spending scarce resources so that lives could be spared and the trauma could be reduced.

We understand that the ports and the infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. We understand that levees and marshes have to be restored. And we are being asked to contribute, to put aside our own wants and needs until that restoration is complete. We are being asked to put aside our infrastructure needs until the people south of I-10 have what they need to prosper.

Can you understand the frustration and resentment? Even when we admit that the work must be done, we have heard it all before. New Orleans needs a superdome. New Orleans needs better roads. New Orleans needs to upgrade their ports. New Orleans needs a new convention center. We need the Superdome to be remodeled for the tourist industry in New Orleans.

We don't have the voter base that New Orleans has. When we need 8 miles of road fixed we have to compete against all the little tiny needs of all over the state. When New Orleans needs something, half a million voices speak.

Yeah, we're frustated. We did the best we could for New Orleans, and now we are being asked to do more. Our needs are being pushed aside so that we can make Louisiana a better place.

What would be a big help is if the New Orleans lawmakers would band together and commit to helping North Louisiana at some identified time in the future. If those lawmakers would agree that... say... from 2008 to 2012 they would not ask for a single dime from the legislature and that they would get behind all the little projects that we in Louisiana need so desparately.

It seems sometimes like north Louisiana is being asked to be part of the team, yet never gets to share in the victory.

I still need 8 miles of basic road.

San Francisco Gun Ban

For all you right minded patriots in San Francisco, if there are any of you left, leave now. Pack up and leave. Let them have their little laws.

Actually, this law (or is it an ordinance?)was passed by a vote of the people. I think we should respect that. Let them use this as a Great American Experiment. I feel certain that within just a year or so, they'll see that it was a great mistake.

Silly bastards. I hope they enjoy lawlessness.

Willie Peter

For reasons that only the anti-war crowd will understand, someone started the rumor today that we used white phosphorus against the combatants of Fallujah. They also stated that WP was illegal. I saw an article quoted to that effect. Google it yourself.

White Phosphorus munitions are not proscribed under the various conventions dealing with land warfare. We aren't supposed to use WP against personnel, but against property targets. For example, we can shoot WP at equipment or supply dumps. The people in the supply dumps are just screwed. Can't help it. As for the veracity of the claim that we used WP munitions, I don't doubt it. WP munitions are common and are used as a military expedient against property targets, but the pictures I have seen don't tell the tale.

The articles claim that one of the tell-tale signs of WP is that the deceased are burned, but their clothing is not. Bullshit. WP catches fire and burns with a flame. Clothing catches fire. This quote from a NATO emergency medical manual.

"Many antipersonnel weapons employed in modern warfare contain white phosphorus. Fragments of this metal, which ignite upon contact with the air, may be driven into the soft tissues; however, most of the cutaneous injury resulting from phosphorus burns is due to the ignition of clothing, and is treated as conventional thermal injury."

The article also claims that the skin takes on a leathery appearance. The skin of the deceased will also take on a leathery appearance if not recovered immediately and allowed to lie out in a low humidity environment like a desert.

The referenced article is preposterous from every angle. It is the biggest piece of bullshit I have ever seen. If my anti-war friends want to debate the political ramifications of the Iraqi experience, then they should do so. This country welcomes contemporaneous, spirited, political debate.

But don't believe everything you read. This is now officially debunked.

This should please

the Oyster. From the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, dead tree edition. I couldn't find it online anywhere: My transcription:

Congress Backs Funds for Louisiana Hurricane Shield
Congress bolstered the outlook for building Louisiana's Hurricane protection system to defend against major 5 storms after a water and energy conference committee agreed on a major spending bill Monday.

The conference report includes a provision calling for the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an analysis and design of a new, stronger storm protection system at FULL FEDERAL EXPENSE, said Adam Sharp, a spokesman for US Senator Mary Landrieu. Sharp said the committee agreed to spend $8 million for the analysis and design project "significantly more than a study".

It went on to say that this lets us move faster to construction than just having a study done, and shortens the timeframe by several years. Sharp said it was encouraging that the same lawmakers who would be asked to approve construction funding moved quickly to authorize a multimillion dollar design phase.

Good for New Orleans. Hopefully, good for South Louisiana.

Gimme a break

With Louisiana facing the most damaging budget shortfall in recent history; with Hurricane victims all over the state and the cleanup barely begun; with the Louisiana Legislature meeting to decide how best to respond to the dual crises that affect our general welfare, we get this little blurb out of the Washington Times:

Louisiana will spend $45 million on sports and livestock facilities and other new projects in spite of a looming deficit, frustrating some officials who say the frivolity reinforces the state's history of political patronage.
"We're in Washington with our hands out asking for $2 billion plus, and rather than holding on to the money to see what the needs are, they're spending it on local projects financing goat shows and lawn-mower races," says state Sen. Robert Barham, Oak Ridge Republican.
Supporters of the $4 million Morehouse Parish Equine Center say it will give a much-needed boost to the economy.

Actually, Senator Barham, it is more like 200 billion plus.

When the Queen Bee gets rational about cutting the budget, then maybe someone, somewhere will take us seriously.

Some have noted that I am conficted about the use of Federal Money to rebuild Louisiana infrastructure in South Louisiana. I admit it. I am extremely conflicted, but with FEMA here, the money has already started to flow. I think flooding is a local problem, especially if the affected know about it in advance, and I think that should be true whether one person is affected, or 100,000. My view is decidedly in the minority, so while I am convinced in the correctness of my opinion, I have to bow to the collective view in the short run.

The help we get from Washington will be decided in Washington, and rightfully so. We shouldn't have any sports or livestock facilities in the budget at all. Blanco should cut fat with a draconian knife, and decide what is truly important for the short term survival of Louisiana. Maybe when the Fed sees that we are serious, Bush will send some of his Drunken Sailor money our way.

Which will piss me off even further.

Okay, Now I understand

I've got it. I understand the problem. When an American city floods, everyone should come to help. The Fed should build levees, everyone in the nation should drop what they are doing to be a part of the recovery effort.

Sounds reasonable to me. Until you understand that I've been flooded out three times. 1981, 1987, and 1991. A little country lane in southern Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana is prone to flooding. It is in a low area, crossed by a bayou and sloughs. About forty families live there. We know the risk.

The first time I was there was 1981 when the area experienced unseasonably heavy rains. The water supply for Natchitoches is Sibley lake and the lake was in danger of breaching the spillway, so the Mayor ordered the floodgates opened. Natchitoches was saved, but almost 100 square miles of the parish were flooded. I had to evacuate my house and we couldn't return for three days. Then we moved back in and cleaned up.

The second time was in 1987. The Fed had built I-49, which was basically a large levee across the southern part of Natchitoches Parish. We got unseasonably heavy rains again, and guess what? The interstate held the water. We were screwed again. FEMA? Ha! Flood assistance? You must be high! Oh yeah, that infrastructure was really great. It held water like a sunuvabitch.

1991, same deal. Flooded three times in twelve years, we moved back in, cleaned up, and continued our lives. The folks that wanted to live there, lived there. Those that didn't moved on. The Fed did finally come and put a couple of culverts in so the water would drain. We really appreciated that.

While I am being righteously indignant, don't get me started on the poor folks who live on Black Lake, near Campti, LA. Black Lake drains into the Red River, which is one huge infrastructure debacle. The Corps of Engineers had to raise the pool stage of the Red River so that it could be navigable. Now, anytime the Black Lake area gets unseasonably high rains, the water has no place to drain and the houses along the lake flood. But those are just country folks. They aren't worthy of assistance.

If you live on Bayou Derbonne, in southern Natchitoches Parish, you know the dangers and the risk. Property value is stagnant. You are in danger of flooding. Of course, the people who live on Bayou Derbonne aren't really people. They're country folks. Amish-type. It's just farmland and small holdings. Not really worthy of assistance. At one point I had my property on the market for eighteen months without a single bite. Not one. We lived in a floodplain.

If you live in New Orleans, that's different. Sophisticated city types that understand concepts of leverage and the time value of money. Simple country bumkins couldn't begin to understand the sophistication. So, when they flood, we should all come to their rescue. When Bayou Derbonne floods, fuck 'em. I appreciate it.

Thanks a lot.

Good Point!

I find this in comments.

j said...
Pawpaw, if we eliminate "handouts to individuals" we should also eliminate handouts to corporations. Didn't your fellow Republications just hand Exxon-Mobil several billion dollars?

Isn't it a handout when the government pays farmers not to farm? Isn't that the same as paying someone not to work?

Good point.

Fiscal responsibility cuts both ways and I won't be one to say that a handout to one person (or corporation) is okay, while another one is not. A handout is a handout, and we shouldn't be guilty of preferring one over the other.

I dont' think I have ever covered it on these pages, but I am opposed to farm subsidies, too. Farmers grow our food, true, but I think that the market would do a better job of managing commodities than the government does.

One of the reasons that many Repubs, myself included is angry with Bush and Company is because of fiscal irresponsibility. He is spending money, frankly, at a rate that would make a drunken sailor blush. I am also disenchanted with our Congress as a whole for the same reason. Those guys are all for cutting pork, unless it is Their Pork.

There has to be a place in our budget for assisting the needy. I am not opposed to helping someone who is in dire and necessitious circumstances, but I am hard-pressed to show you where in the Constitution it is allowed. Therein lies the quandry. I am also hard pressed to show you where in the Constitution we got the idea that the Government could pay for anything except defense.

I know we need roads and bridges and levees and all manner of things that contribute to our common good, yet I am stymied as to the reasoning of those that would hold that the Government should provide everything for everyone. There must be some rational way to rein in out-of-control spending, and I wish that our Republican delegation in Congress would make dramatic inroads at cutting fat whereever it is found. Is that not what the Budget Committee is for?

Commenters are welcome to help me come to some rational conclusion here.

Scope views

I decided to play with the digital camera and the scopes on the bench this morning. The views through the scopes appeared quite illuminating.

Here is a view through the Tasco 4X from my bench. You are looking up the road at a major intersection hidden behind bushes. The road sign is visible and is about 200 yards from my bench. Yes, I know that the crosshairs aren't level. The scopes are resting on my vise as I took the pictures.



Next, the same view through the Weaver 6X scope.



You can see the full size pictures if you want to look. The Tasco is here. The Weaver is here.

Remember, the Tasco is ancient and well-used. The Weaver is brand new, out of the box. I did't do anything to the scopes prior to taking the pictures, except running a lens cleaning cloth across both of them.

Whaddya think?

It just keeps getting better

You have to read this report from Atlanta.

It seems that three men were found to be in a local hotel, and were found to be in possession of drugs. Not much of a story there, until you learn that they are from New Orleans, and how they got their rooms.

When officers asked the three men how they could afford to stay at the hotel, they responded that they obtained free hotels rooms easily just by displaying a Louisiana identification. One of the men, 20-year-old Michael Joseph Sanson, stated that he had a fraudulent i.d. card, according to police. He also had $600 that he said was obtained from the Red Cross.

That's not all. They think they deserve it.

A second suspect, 23-year-old Gary Lee Leonard, told authorities he had two hotel rooms and one home in Stone Mountain. He said he supported his $20-a-day drug habit with money from FEMA and the Red Cross but that he needed the money to "start over." Leonard stated that he and others like him deserved the money because they are from New Orleans.

This is another failure of the Great Society.

They think they deserve it. I'm about to have a RCOB minute, here. They deserve nothing. Nothing at all. The very fact that they think they can get something for free, because they are from Louisiana is a disgrace to Louisiana, to New Orleans, and to their neighborhood, and to their Momma.

Yeah, their Momma. She obviously did a piss-poor job of raising them. They think they deserve something for nothing. Piss-poor parenting. They ought to take their Mommas out and whip them.

I bet they're Democrats. It sounds like Democrat talking points. Throw their asses in jail, strip them naked, and let them earn everything they get, including food. By the time they start earning three squares a day and have earned socks, underwear, and a prison jumpsuit, maybe they'll start understanding they don't deserve anything.

And you wonder why I say the Great Society was a failure?

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin.

The Preamble, the Supremes and the Gvernment.

I was talking informally with some students last week about current events, and they were talking about the government response to the hurricanes and their take on the whole hurricane experience. Our school district still has a goodly number of Katrina evacuees and the experience, on the whole, has been positive.

Then, of course, I read the blogpsphere and read the postings and comments that the Government should have done this, or the Governmnet should have done that. I am especially pleased with the Porkbusters initiative from the bloggers and I support those efforts.

Then of course, we have the nomination of Judge Alito, and the recent confirmation of Justice Roberts, and I am wondering what that means for the state of the Supremes.

All three of these topics are gelling in the back of my mind, and the ideas I am getting are pretty radical, so I have to go to the dictionary to look up the word PREAMBLE:

A preliminary statement, especially the introduction to a formal document that serves to explain its purpose.

My thesis is simple. What if we suddenly find that we have enough justices on the Court to make a conservative majority, and they decide to uphold the Constitution. What is the Governnment supposed to do? What, in itself is the business of Government. What should the Government provide?

So then, I go to the Preamble of the United States, which serves to explain its purpose, and certainly gives a good summation of intent. We read:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Bold words. But what to make of them? Let's fisk it, shall we?

We the People: That's us. We decide what our government can and cannot do.

In order to form a more perfect union: It isn't perfect, but we can keep trying.

establish justice,: without justice then nothing else works. We have to have Courts and the Constitution will provide for those courts.

insure domestic tranquility,: we want to live in peace and raise families, pursue business and not be bothered by nonsense. Especially government nonsense.

provide for the common defense: we have to provide for a standing Army. A good Navy helps, and in this age of airplanes, an Air Force might be handy. Of course, when this was written, the US Marine Corps already existed, they should be included in the provisioning.

promote the general welfare: These are interesting words. The general welfare. I would imagine that this subordinate clause is all about the general welfare of the people. It sure doesn't sound to me like any specific welfare, no handouts to individuals. This deals with the general good of the people. No Great Society here. Maybe we should just come out in favor of everyone working and saving and taking care of themselves. That would certainly promote the general welfare and be a whole lot more inexpensive than what we are doing now.

and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,: this clause seems to mean that we intend to remain free and to pass that freedom along to our progeny.

The Constitution goes farther, in fact, and whole libraries are printed to hold the words that try to divine the intentions of the founders. The preamble seems to me to be fairly simple and easy to understand. Would that the Supreme Court, and the Congress, would take the words in the Preamble strictly to heart.

As a matter of fact, the only things I see in this Preamble that the government is supposed to provide are the Courts and a common defense. I don't see bridges in Alaska, or walking parks in New Orleans, (or levees, for that matter). There is a whole lot of fat that we could be cutting, if we return to the words in the Constitution.

Scopes

Most of my regular readers know that I eschew the use of scopes on rifles. More correctly, I prefer to use iron sights when I can, but I am not so backwards that I decry the use of telescopic devices on every rifle. The beater rifle that I use for deer has iron sights, the Sharps has iron sights, the Renegade has iron sights.

My .22 sports a scope and the Savage has a scope.

The one scope that I use most is the one that sits on my workbench in the garage. It is an old Tasco 4x that was taken from a pawn-shop rifle and placed on the shelf. As it turns out, it is convenient when I see something down the street I want to look at. A crash at the red light? I'll pick up the scope before I call it in. The neighbor lady weeding the flowers in a bikini, I'll pick up the scope. Some kids arguing in the street? I'll pick up the scope. It is also useful for birdwatching and squirrel spying. That old Tasco is a good scope. The bell is dented but it works. It is clear and fine and I can see anything I want to look at.

Nowadays we see very few fixed power scopes of any quality on the local store counters. Fixed power scopes don't sell. I think they are the best value in the market. Most folks don't really use the variable feature on a scope. They set it at some arbitrary magnification and leave it there. Consumers like those features, though, and those features sell scopes. Things like target turrets, variable magnification and huge objective lenses make a scope more salable. Many times nowadays the cost of the scope alone will be equal to or greater than the cost of the rifle. That seems extravagant in my opinion.

Not one rifleman in ten can hit a three inch target at 100 yards, from field positions. Not one in a hundred can hit a 10 inch target at 500 yards.

I'm not so curmudgeonly to say that we shouldn't buy a $1500 scope. It is your money. Spend it anyway you want to spend it. Some of the low-end variables are good values for 99% of the hunting public.

That said, I recently purchased a Weaver scope, the classic K6. It is a 6 power fixed magnification scope. I have not yet mounted it on a rifle, and I had to buy it online because not one local shop stocked it. Paid $135.00 for it. It was a purchase I made to pamper myself. I have always wanted one and I bought it just in case it becomes unavailable in the future. I might mount it, or I might just leave it on my bench.

It'll make that bikini so much more viewable. I guess I need to buy a good binocular.

4.1 Million Customers

I was sitting at work yesterday morning, doing a little surfing, when I noticed we had lost internet service. I went to find my tech guy and discovered that the problem was outside the building. I shrugged it off and devoted the rest of the day to actually doing my job. I checked on the internet a couple of times the rest of the day. Nada.

On the drive home, listening to the radio, I learned that some bozo had cut a main line with a backhoe, killing internet service to most of Rapides Parish Louisiana. The radio station did some digging and found the particular bozo and the particular backhoe and broadcast the location so that irate citizens could drive past and give the guy the finger.

When I got home, I found that I didn't have internet service at home, either, so I called my ISP (Cox Communications) and asked them about it. The customer service rep at Cox told me that the cable belonged to a telephone company and that every ISP in the area was affected, but that Cox had 4.1 Million Customers affected in three Louisiana parishes. The affected parishes were Rapides, Grant and Natchitoches.

I call bullshit. There aren't a quarter million people in those three parishes. According to the latest census data, Rapides has 128,000 residents, Natchitoches has 39,000 residents, and Grant has 19,000.

So, if everyone has two accounts, one for business and one for residential, we still can't have more than a half-million customers affected. I am assuming, for the purposes of this little exercise, that customers are people.

Geeze, Louise, you would think that Cox would know that the same internet they provide could be used to fact-check their asses. They must count customers like the Democrats count votes. I guess the dead have Cox internet service in their coffins.

Computational devices

The home computer died tonite. We'll look for another one tomorrow.

It was a 3-year-old emachine. In rapid order (6 hours), the on-off switch broke. I cobbled that back together then the keyboard wouldn't respond, so I ran to Wally-World and got a keyboard, then the system wouldn't recognize the monitor. The same monitor that has been on it for three years. I hooked up another monitor, that didn't work either.

Milady then tired of me cussing and advised me that we would shop for one tomorrow. When she finds one she likes we'll bring it home. Then I get to configure it and turn her loose on it.

Fine.

Senator Vitter responds

Well, I'll be damned. David Vitter responded to my email from October 20th. That was almost two weeks ago, so he needs to raise a little hell at his staff. Two weeks is half a monthly archive in the blog game. He needs to get a grip on the speed of the web.

Not that I believe for a minute that David saw my email. Yeah, right.

However, he does respond to email, and he says he understands where the dollars originate. The whole text of the response:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to wasteful government spending. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

Like you, I take serious issue with government waste of tax dollars. The money the government spends is not the property of anyone in Washington. It belongs to the hard working citizens of our country. I am working to bring Washington's spending problem under control.

You'll be pleased to know that I helped pass a federal budget that cuts the federal deficit in half in five years while addressing many of our nation's top priorities, including strengthening our Armed Forces, improving our homeland defenses, and promoting economic opportunity with pro-growth tax policies.

I will continue to work to root out wasteful government spending and trim big government, and you can count on me to be a watchdog to protect against these things. Please rest assured that I will remain fiscally responsible when making decisions about government spending.

Once again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,

Compare and Contrast

I've been putting off writing this post, but there seems to be a weird dichotomy working in Louisiana right now. There are the citizens of the state who believe that we can complete any task we set our minds to, and the set of citizens who believe that someone else should be held responsible for everything.

The difference between the two is never more apparent than in the two blogs Mostly Cajun, and Your Right Hand Thief. Both appear on my blogroll.

Your Right Hand Thief is a blog centered in New Orleans, and moderated by a guy who calls himself Oyster. I have no problem with anonymous blogs, and I am semi-anonymous myself. Anyone with even a modicum of Googling ability can figure out who I am. YHRT, and the Oyster, by default, is a blog by a fellow with Democratic leanings.

Mostly Cajun, on the other hand, is a blog centered around Lake Charles, LA. The moderator of Mostly Cajun is a self-professed native who leans more toward self-sufficiency. The Do-It-Yourself attitude rings through the writing there.

Both of these fellows lost everything during the twin disasters that were Rita and Katrina. They both lost everything within a month of one another.

I'm a frequent commenter over at YRHT and I commented on this post, where the Oyster decries the lavish spending of Texan contractors who were down in New Orleans working. In comments, I asked the questions:

The question becomes, why is it necessary for the Texans to be there? If New Orleans had business handled, the locals could squeeze out the transients. The followup question becomes, who is doing the rebuilding, and why aren't New Orleans residents taking care of it themselves? Home Depot doesn't much give a damn who it sells sheetrock or shingles to. If you're not willing to do it yourself, why are you bitching? New Orleans has to be rebuilt and the guys with the hammers are doing the rebuilding.

Oyster responds that Texans shouldn't be there, that " I believe the guys I was drinking with were feeding off limited or no bid fed contracts."

Then he tells me that:

There's almost no rebuilding going on. It's quaint that you think we should just buy some nails and wood and raise the roofbeams Amish-style, but some of us don't wish to take a crippling insurance loss on our homes. We're waiting on inspecters and adjustors, (Flood, household, SBA...) and checks. Most of the affected have evacuated and are in dire financial straits. But I'll pass along your tip about Home Depot. That should help out a lot of folks.

Well, yeah, I actually thought it might.

I have always believed that the proper education of a well-raised boy should include framing a house, putting on a roof, stringing electric wire and completing a basic circuit. He should also be able to float drywall and pour a slab. Then, there is shooting and processing meat, growing a vegetable garden and cleaning fish. He should also be able to solve a quadratic equation and write a sonnet. Some might include piloting a small aircraft. There is no sense paying someone to do something you can do for yourself.

More importantly, and perhaps my barely passable writing skills need some work, I was asking where are the contractors that are based in New Orleans? If Texas contractors are there doing the work, then have the Lousiana contractors abandoned the field? I doubt it. They probably have more work than they can do for the next two years.

My son is in Lake Charles, roofing houses. The contractor he works for is local, but his crew is led by a roofer from Michigan who brought a helper with him. The crew is rounded out by two men from Oklahoma and two men from Louisiana. They are going to be gainfully employed for a long time. Why aren't the contractors from New Orleans doing the same thing?

Both of these guys took crippling losses. Both of these guys are without a home. Both of these guys are living in less than optimum conditions, yet the one in Southwest Louisiana is making plans for the future, while telling the world as gently as possible about the good people of Southwest Louisiana. The other is complaining about the lack of FEMA response, the lack of Federal funding, and his perception of President Bush and the Republican Congress.

I feel badly for both of these guys. They took a loss that would try many of us. They are both still on my blogroll and I will visit their work daily. I hope to visit with the both of them in person, eventually.

I personally don't think New Orleans will ever be the same, and as I mourn that fact, I wonder if it isn't for the best. New Orleans lost a hell of a lot, both in property and people during the Katrina episode and the unthinkable happened. I blogged about the worst case scenario back in June, and it fell on deaf ears. I'm blogging about it tonite. Katrina wasn't the worst-case scenario. Katrina was basically a near miss with a Cat 3 surge. If a Cat 4 or Cat 5 storm hits the area, the Big Easy will be decidedly screwed.

New Orleans is going to change, for better or for worse, and it seems to me that the folks that are left there had better decide quickly how much of the change are they going to influence and how much of the change are outsiders going to influence? It is time to get to work and start digging out. Sure, work with your insurance company, but don't wait for someone else to get the jump on you. The news cycle has passed you by and the face of New Orleans will be decided on the ground. Make what you will of it, or let someone else make of it what they will.

I'd hate to see it become something else. I'm not worried about the folks in Lake Charles. They're gonna be fine.

Pawn Shop Cruising

I went back today to look at the .44 mag levergun I alluded to in the below post. I asked the counterman if he hadn't told me about a .44 lever?

"Yup" he said. "Sold it. You waited too long."

No matter. Turned out, it was a post-64 Winchester 94. Not SRC, just the 20" carbine. Nothing special at all about it. There will be others. He let it go for $250.00, which is more than I would have been willing to spend.

One of the benefits of crawling pawn shops is that you get some pretty good deals sometimes. Other times you miss out, which means you keep your hard-earned cash and wait for a better deal.

This isn't the best time to buy a gun, anyway. Anytime right after Christmas till the end of February, the pawn shops are going to load up with guns that folks need to sell to get through the winter. Maybe it seems like taking advantage of other folks misery, but I've been there, and didn't begrudge someone getting a good deal when I got the cash I needed.

I'll keep going to the pawn shops, but I'm probably not going to buy any firearms till after the New Year. Now is the time to be buying jewelry, which pleases Milady. Christmas is coming, after all.

Damn!

I was just over at Leverguns, cruising the forum, and I remembered a conversation I had with my local pawnshop counterman the other day. I was in there looking at the rack and he mentioned three times that he had a good levergun in .44 magnum.

I'm not really in the market for a .44 mag levergun, but he did mention it three times, and he is pretty aware of what I look for in a used gun. Good mechanical condition and priced below $150.00. It might be a pre-64 in 90% condition for $75.00. Doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

I really need to go by there tomorrow afternoon after work. I guess I should look at it. I don't have any guns right now in that caliber, but I do have reloading dies and a bunch of brass for it.

Wouldn't hurt to look.

Monday night

Junior wants to play with reduced loads and is thinking about a squirrel load for the .30-30. Reloaders know that even .22 rimfire ammo costs money, and when you have a bunch of components on your bench already paid for, the cost per round can come down to where it is almost as cheap as .22 ammo.

Paco Kelley, world renowned lever gun expert says the following about reduced charges in the .30-30 Winchester. He starts off talking about the Lyman 311440 bullet and says:

19.5 grains of 4759 will give close to 2000 fps..recoil is nothing and over 1300 lbs of muzzle energy. Good deer load for the younger shooters, or those that can’t take recoil. 4 grains of Bullseye will give around 1000 fps...it’s a better squirrel load than any 22RF...cheaper too. You can shoot right up thru a branch a squirrel is laying on...he’ll come off and right down into your game bag. The 311041 is a 170 grain flat nose that can take the above fast powder loads, and it kills better and is one of the most accurate I have used in my 30 caliber rifles...nice gas checked bullet that flies very flat.

Let's see? 4 grains of bullseye comes to less than a penny a pop, and a primer costs two cents. Bullets are almost free if you cast them yourself. So, for under three cents, you can have a squirrel load that fires from your deer rifle.

That is interesting.

Dick Lee says, in his Modern Reloading (p 94 says)

Very light loads called squib loads are always loaded with fast burning powder. The object is to use the lightest bullet with the smallest charge that will move the bullet completely free of the barrel. Light cast bullets or buckshot can be used. It may be necessary to size the bullet to fit. A little case sizing lube or Liquid Alox on the bullets, will keep your barrel lead free. The two hazards are a bullet getting stuck in the barrel and an excessive powder charge. Remember that a little too much of the fast burning powders can be dangerous. Charges as little as one grain of Bullseye can be used.

And that, folks is about as close to the horse's mouth as you can get.

If Dick Lee and Paco Kelley says it will work, then we are on firm practical ground. As it turns out, I have a ordered a custom 6-hole mold for the 311041 bullet. I expect it to be delivered sometimes around Christmas. This might be a lot of fun. Squirrel loads through the beater rifle would certainly make the season more interesting.

Why do I even own a .22?

Telephones

During a past life (college) I came to be employed at South Central Bell, as a janitor. My Dad was a telephone man and wrangled a job for me to keep me in spending money while attending classes. My boss wanted the job done during hours that didn't interfere with my class work, and because it basically didn't matter when the floors got swept or the trashcans emptied, I was free to do the job on a flexible schedule. It worked for us.

About three months into my janitoral career, I was introduced to the labrynth of the Bell supply system. Phones at that time were made by Western Electric, and we were just entering the touch-tone phase. No one had heard of a cordless phone, no one even dreamed of wireless technology or cellular service. If you wanted to talk on a phone, it had to be connected to a wall, and likely as not, you didn't even own the phone in your kitchen. It was leased from Ma Bell and you paid a small monthly fee for the privelige. (Ma Bell is a cheap mother.)

The deal was, the phones worked, or some lineman or installer was out in the middle of the night making damned sure they worked. Back in the days of One Phone Company, the professionals that served our communication needs were large strapping men who climbed wooden poles with spikes on their boots and dangled precariously above us, so that we could draw dial-tone. Fairly simple technology, with Tip on one side, Ring on the other, it was a basic three-wire communications system. What was the third wire for? Aaah, power. If the light company couldn't keep the lights working, you could still call it in, because your Mother Bell had her own power system.

Back to the story. I was introduced to the Bell supply system. One of the duties of the Stockman was to make sure that the trucks had phones on them before they rolled out each morning. The big seller was a phone that sat on the counter, or desk, and worked. It worked just fine. It worked every time. I don't recall if it was a black 500 or a black 535, but it was a basic set. No answering machine, no fancy ring tones, no flashing lights or buttons to confuse. It had a handset and a keypad and you could call anywhere in the known world.



You can buy one here.

For the basic installation fee, the phone man would even ask what counter or desk you wanted the phone to sit on. He would then string the lines so that your phone would be properly installed in that location. He would also, for a small fee, install jacks in any room of the house, where ever you wanted them.

It was a different world.