Marlin Model 60

It's hard to find a more common .22 rifle than the Marlin Model 60.  In production since 1960, the things have been made for over 50 years and Marlin has made over 11 million of them in various guises.  They're all pretty much alike, but the one thing they all share is that they are simple, dependable, rugged, durable rifles that are found almost everywhere.

PawPaw has bought several over the years as training rifles, once the kids and grandkids got old enough and practiced enough to get away from the single-shot .22s.  The Model 60 is a good introductory rifle to the semi-auto realm and PawPaw is always on the scout for a good deal.

Today I stopped by my favorite pawn shop to look at guns, and sure enough, he had one Model 60 on the shelf.  It just came out of pawn, and this one is the Glenfield Model 60 that Marlin built for sale in hardware stores.  Same rifle, different roll marks.  They're simple to work on, easy to disassemble, and parts can be bought at lots of online places.  The fact that they're accurate little rifles doesn't hurt things a bit.

We haggled for a few minutes, and I asked for a 4473.  If it matters, I gave the guy $50.00 for the little rifle.  It's rough, but it's solid and with just a little work it'll be a nice rifle.  The stock is birch, and with pressed-in checkering.

I took the rifle apart and gave it a good cleaning.  I dount that it had been cleaned since it was first taken out of the box.  The insides were filthy, mainly with dust and old oil.  If you've never disassembled a Model 60, Junior has a good tutorial at Castbullet.com.  I've got a nice Nikon 4X rimfire scope set aside for this rifle, which will make it just peachy for the squirrel woods.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll sand the stock and give it an oil finish.  I believe that the litle rifle will clean up quite nicely.

**UPDATE**  Scope installed.  6 lbs, 13 oz,

I didn't figure it would be that heavy, but there it is.  Still, it's awfully handy.

Remington Moving?

I don't know how trustworthy the source is, but Yellowhammer is reporting that Remington Arms Company is opening a new facility in Alabama.

High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

New York isn't very gun friendly these days, and smart companies are looking at alternatives.  Labor, capital, and creativity are mobile.  If a political climate is toxic to a business, it makes sense to move to a place that is welcoming the jobs and paychecks.

We'll be waiting for the announcement on Monday.

Hat tip to The Gun Counter.

St. Valentine's Day

Milady and I were talking earlier this week and we recognized that we haven't "cut loose" in quite a while.  It's been a tough winter with lots of family obligations and we needed a little recreation.  As the calendar conspired to make last night St. Valentine's Day, we decided to go out and have an evening of couple-time.

We reviewed options and decided to go down to the local indian casino.  It's small and has been open barely a year, but they put on a really nice seafood buffet   We got to the casino at about 6:00, and the parking lot was packed.  Evidently we weren't the only ones with the idea to enjoy a seafood feast.  So, I got one of those little call-buzzers and visited with folks I know while the restaurant found a table.

After a very pleasant meal, (they bring in crab legs with a forklift, and shrimp by the bushel-basket) we sat for a while, playing video games (it is a penny arcade, after all).  We kind of lost track of time what with all the pretty lights and fellowship.  I looked at my watch and realized that the calendar had flipped, so we came home and fell into bed.  I awoke at 9:00 this morning, not being able to remember the last time I slept till that late hour.

Assessing my liquidity, I am surprised to learn that the machines didn't hurt me a bit last night.  All the coinage is accounted for, with a little surplus.  That doesn't happen often and I'm relatively pleased with the outcome.

Finally Friday, More Winter Edition

Regular readers will know that PawPaw missed a few days blogging, and we can blame Suddenlink Communications for the lack of service.  A month of so ago, PawPaw took on a bundle with Suddenlink, our local cable provider.  I've got HDTV, internet, and phone, all wrapped into one seamless bundle.  

On Wednesday, we had a little ice storm.  A piddling little quarter-inch of ice, and Suddenlink went belly-up.  No service at all.  PawPaw couldn't watch TV, nor surf the internets, or even make a phone call on the bundled service that Suddenlink provides.  Calls to the service center were amusing.  They'd tell me that we were having an outage (which I knew) and that we were having an ice storm (which I also knew).  What they couldn't tell me was what, exactly, the problem was and when I could expect a restoration of service.  The Suddenlink call center in Tyler, TX is worthless.  PawPaw was out of service from daylight Wednesday until sometime today.  Several calls over the course of two days always had the same answer.  We were in an ice storm, and our service was out.  

While I was at work today, I googled around and got the name of the Regional Vice President for this area.  I wrote him a two page letter telling him that they suck at customer service and that their managers here have their heads firmly up the fundament.  If I were he, I would take a buggy-whip and proceed to the Tyler call center, where I'd whip everyone in attendance and send them fleeing up the road.  He probably won't go that far, but a wholesale firing would certainly be in order.

But it seems like we have service restored for the moment.  Hopefully it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

More Winter

It's gotten winter again in these parts, and while we're not going to get hammered as hard as some folks, the school administrators got cautious and cancelled school today.  So, PawPaw is home.  Here's what Accuweather is telling me.

It is cool outside and the wind is whipping, which makes it feel cooler.  They're saying we have a chance of sleet tonite, but it looks like it might move north of us.

That's the Wundermap for the state, and I don't see anything that's likely to run over us.  But, I've been wrong before.

Just so today wouldn't be a total waste, I went to my bench to do some reloading.  It's been two years since I reloaded .30-06, so I took the time to prep some brass and refill my stocks.

The standard blogging reloading shot, with a box of ammo.  That happens to be loaded with Reloder 19 powder and Hornady's pretty little SST bullet.  I honestly don't care how pretty a bullet might be, but I like the way the Hornady's fly.  And they fly very well.

Epic Fail (or not, depending)

It seems that this military expert in Badhdad was giving a class on suicide bomb construction when he accidentally set it off.

BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.

Lots of damage to the class.

 Twenty-two ISIS members were killed, and 15 were wounded, in the explosion at the camp, which is in a farming area in the northeastern province of Samara, according to the police and army officials. Stores of other explosive devices and heavy weapons were also kept there, the officials said.

I'd bet that the guys on the front row got the worst of it.  Those in the back of the class, not so much.  Still, I bet that the training calendar is seriously screwed up.  I'd bet that there are a lot of bolos in that class

My .30-06

In 2006 I decided to give an old caliber a chance, and was smitten with the idea of a 100 year old cartridge so I went in my local gun store and asked if they had any rifles in .30-06.  They did, a Savage 110, the standard hunter model with the tupperware stock.  I put it on layaway and got it out several months later, then got about the business of building ammo for it.  It shot well enough, for a standard rifle with a flimsy stock, but I was never really impressed with it.

Later that year I dropped it out of a deer stand, and broke that tupperware stock at the wrist.  So, I put it aside and started casting about for a stock.  I found one several months later at Brownell's and bought it, then spent considerable time and effort at my bench, tweaking the stock to just exactly what I wanted.  I measured the stock every way possible, took off wood where necessary, went slowly and had the action out of the stock numerous times until I had it like I liked it, then bedded the recoil lug.  Then, I took the rifle to a gunsmith to install a nice recoil pad, and I set the length of pull at 13 inches, which suits me just fine.

Nothing fancy, nothing fancy at all.  And, it's not a tack-driver.  It's a 2" rifle, with its standard barrel and its home-whittled stock.  But, it will consistently, boringly, stack bullets into a 2" circle all day long.  Regardless of whether I'm on my belly or on the bench, it's a 2" rifle.

In this day and age of 1 minute rifles, it seems that the 2" rifle has lost its cachet, and I admit that I'm one of those guys who likes accurate rifles.  I put this one aside for other rifles, and although they shot accurately, they simply didn't have the intimacy that this rifle seemed to have.  Still, it languished in the safe while I favored other rifles.  Until today.

This morning, preparing for a range trip with the grandkids, I put away the .308 that is slated to be given to a grandson and took the .30-06 out of the safe.  It felt like an old friend.  When I got to the range, I was a few minutes before the rest of the party, so I dug out a cartridge, chambered it, and threw the rifle up to my shoulder.  The crosshairs settled nicely on the hundred-yard gong, and I let fly.  The stock bucked my shoulder and the gong rang, and I remembered why I built this rifle.  Not for tack-driving accuracy, but for hunting.  Snap shots, woods stalking, sitting in a tree stand.  And, the rifle felt like it belonged in my hands, probably because I spent so much time working it to the point I liked.  Thinning the forend, working the wrist, floating the barrel, this stock is set up to fit me, not some factory's idea of the average rifleman, but me.

This is my rifle.  There are others like it, but this one is mine.  It's fitted to me, and while Savage has built tens of thousands, this one is particularly mine.  The grandkids will get the other rifles in the safe, but my children will have to decide who gets this one, because I'm keeping this one until I'm gone.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We didn't get him to the groomer's this week, it was busy around PawPaw's House, but the weather was cold enough that we decided to hold off until it moderates.  The long hair doesn't seem to be slowing him down much, as you can see when he's playing chase with the cat.

It's good to be a dog on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The Name Game

Courtesy of Mostly Cajun, who likes highlighting names, we come to this heartwarming story about crime in Milwaukee, where a violin was stolen.  Not just any violin, but the Stradivarius belonging to the concert master of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Known as the Lipinski Strad, after one of its early owners, the violin was stolen from Mr. Almond as he left a chamber concert performance on Jan. 27. As he reached his car, someone attacked him with a stun gun and grabbed the instrument, driving off in a minivan as Mr. Almond screamed out: “They got the violin! They got the violin!” The instrument case was found hours later, dumped a few miles away.

The goblins, of course, were later found and arrested.

On Thursday, officials identified two of the suspects as Universal Knowledge Allah, 36, a local barber who is being accused of providing the stun gun used against Mr. Almond; and Salah Ibin Jones, 41, whom the police described as their primary suspect.

Evidently the getaway driver is identified as Latoya Atlas.   Mostly Cajun calls this a trifecta.  With names like Universal Knowledge and Salah Ibin, I'm wondering if they weren't adherents to the Religion of Piss.

Heh!

Mechanic-ing Today

Today I'm going to learn something, how to change sparkplugs and coil packs on a Ford modular engine.

I've been changing spark plugs my whole life, but evidently there are a few little tricks that have to be learned on these newer engines, like finding the spark plug in the first place.  Luckily, my second son is an ASE certified mechanic, trained by Ford on Ford engines.  He's going to stand over my shoulder while I do the job, to make sure that the old man doesn't screw up something that can't be fixed.  The easiest thing would be for him to do the job, but then I wouldn't know how.  Knowledge is power.  Lately, I've been plumbing the depths of the ODBII codes, which makes trouble-shooting a whole lot easier.

Coil packs are expensive, but spark plugs are still relatively cheap.  The difference between the economy plugs and the top-line plugs are just a few cents.  He did caution me to buy Motocraft plugs for this job, because Ford plugs work best in Ford engines.  Oh, and I'm amazed how inexpensive auto parts are when you buy them from places like Amazon.com, vs buying them at the parts house.

Hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll be a better shadetree mechanic, and Grandma will get a grandkid fix while we work.

**UPDATE**  That's done.  Found the problem, (a loose connector) but learned how to change a coil pack.  The check engine light is off and a test drive shows no misses.  AND, I changed the oil on the pickup.  The next time that oil needs changing, the truck will have 201,000 miles on it, and it's still running strong.

Knock First

We need to talk about this in the hope of averting future tragedies.

It seems that a Burleson County (TX) deputy was shot and killed while serving a search warrant.  The Grand Jury in that county declined to prosecute the offender for the charge of shooting the deputy.

WASHINGTON COUNTY A Burleson County Grand Jury declined to indict the man who shot and killed a Burleson County Sheriff's Deputy who was serving a search warrant in December.

As tragic as it sounds, that might be the correct result.  It seems that the deputies were executing a no-knock search warrant, looking for drugs.  They executed the warrant during the early morning hours.

 Sowders said he thought giving Magee notice would be, quote, "dangerous, futile, or would inhibit the effective investigation." A Burleson County Judge approved the warrant on December 18, 2013, and in the early morning hours of December 19, a SWAT team made the entry into Magee's home.

Tragically, Deputy Sowders was killed during the entry.  I mourn for Deputy Sowders and his family.

Before I proceed, let me say for the record that I am a serving law enforcement officer.  I've been in police work for almost 34 years, I've been assigned to a SWAT teams and I've commanded a SWAT (SRT) team.  I've done entries and I've served warrants, and I've had the living hell scared out of me several times.  Dynamic entries are dangerous, violent, and intimidating.  I don't like no-knock entries, I've never liked no-knock entries.  I know how to do them, I've been trained in their use, but I still dislike them.

In this case, from all I can understand, Deputy Sowders had acquired information that Mr. Magee had drugs and weapons in his home and that there was a likelihood that if they knocked, Magee would have time to destroy the drugs, so they made a decision to make a dynamic entry into the residence during the early morning hours.

During the entry, Magee shot and killed Deputy Sowders.  These facts are uncontested.  Magee's defense claimed that Magee didn't realize that law enforcement officers were entering his home, but thought that the people in his residence were there for nefarious purposes and intended to harm him or his pregnant girlfriend.  He fired in self-defense.  Evidently, the Grand Jury believed his defense and declined to prosecute Magee for that offense.  Magee still stands charged with other counts, including growing marijuana in the residence.

Again, I mourn for Deputy Sowders and his family.  Dynamic entries are extremely dangerous, fraught with unforeseen circumstances.  I won't second-guess a brother officer, but I will caution everyone to think twice, then think again before doing a dynamic entry, and make sure that it is appropriate for the circumstance and the facts of the case.  There might have been a better way, and we need to think about those better ways to preserve evidence and effect arrest without endangering ourselves and the accused.

I mourn for the family.

Tales from Sochi

As those of you that care (and I don't) get prepped to watch the Olympics this week, some early stories are coming out.  First, from NBC.  The minute you fire up your cell phone, tablet, or laptop, you're hacked.

"As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned, and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim, it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked. And as Richard Engel found out upon his arrival there, it's not a matter of if, but when," reports NBC's Brian Williams.

And there will be no privacy, even in your hotel room.

 Engel says, "The State Department warns that travelers should have no expectation of privacy. Even in their hotel rooms. And as we found out, you are especially exposed as soon as you try and communicate with anything."

And, the water is bad

. My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous."

I'm sure that "dangerous face water" will be a twitter tag before long.  No wonder the Russians drink vodka.  And, people walk into your hotel room in the middle of the night.

It sounds like these Olympics are going to be just lovely.

Send Me A Dawg!

We were discussing this just the other day.  The scenario is simple; I or one of my brethren pull over a vehicle for a routine traffic stop.  Something simple, like a broken tail light.  During the course of the stop, we have a hunch that illicit drugs are being transported in the vehicle.  The Supreme Court says that we can detain a motorist for a reasonable time, and when I'm in such a situation, my first instint is to get on the radio and have the dispatcher send me a dog, a trained police K9 with a handler to conduct a sniff-test around the vehicle.

So, if I have to wait on the dog to come to me, and I can hold a driver for a "reasonable period of time", the question becomes; What's reasonable?  Luckily, we have the internets to answer such questions and lawyers to ponder those questions.  It seems that the esteemed Orin Kerr has tackled the question and provides us with a "sorta" answer.

But as of yesterday, the simple (if simplistic) answer to the question might have unusual mathematical precision, at least if you accept the lower court cases as correct. The Constitution allows the police to extend the stop without suspicion for eight minutes, but not a minute longer.

You can go to the link for the full answer, but it seems that one Court has held that eight minutes is reasonable, but nine minutes is unreasonable.  That sounds reasonable to me.

That Darned Rat

A little palate cleanser, just because we need it,  It seems that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning and we're doomed to six more weeks of winter.

Yep, good sunshine behind the groundhog, and Phil couldn't miss his shadow unless he was wearing a welder's hood.  So, now we have the prognostication of Punxsutawney Phil, which is at least as good as the weather-weenies.  Phil predicts weather patterns six weeks in advance, while the weather-weenies are only good for a three-day window.

Y'all go enjoy Sunday.  Say a prayer, watch a football game, and pray for Spring.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's pleasant outside, but the dog was playing "Don't Look At The Camera" this morning.  Of course, after editing the photos, I'm not really sure if he can see at all.

Pretty shaggy, huh?

Yeah, he needs a haircut.  We'll see if we can get him to the groomer's this week.

Reloder 15

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Alliant's Reloder 15 as a medium rifle powder.  It's my go-to powder for the .308 Winchester, and I find it useful for the .223 Remington as well.  It's a great medium rifle powder, and I normally buy it in 5 lb jugs.  I keep a 1 lb bottle on the bench and refill the smaller bottle from the larger.

I was reloading some .308 Winchester this morning, and using powder from the smaller bottle.  After finishing 100 rounds, I was tidying up the bench and noticed that the 1 lb jug was almost empty, so I reached up on the top shelf to get the larger jug.  It felt fairly light, too, so I poured what was left of it into the one-pound bottle.

It's not much of a problem, because my stocks of loaded ammo are good, and I've got just enough in that smaller jug to give me a little planning time, but it's becoming apparent it's time to buy powder.  A quick inventory shows me that I'm down to my last pound of IMR 4895, another medium rifle powder that I like a lot.

I hate paying the haz-mat fees, but I guess it's time to start looking for good deals online.

Finally Friday

It's Friday again, and we've actually thawed out.  All the bridges are open, all the traffic is moving, and the temps warmed up to the 60s.  Today at noon, I put my jacket in the car and wandered around with shirt-sleeves the rest of the day.

After work, I drove to Academy Sports because my daughter wants hot-pink shooting muffs for her birthday.  I found those then went to the counter and asked about .22LR.  The guy gave me two 50-round boxes.  Remington Thunderbolt .22LR at $2.29 per box.  That's just over 4.5 ¢ per shot, not bad at all.  All those guys who bought all they could buy at exorbitant prices, and hoarded it, are learning that .22 ammo is a commodity, and the price rises and falls with the market.  Just like speculating in gold, or land, or diamonds,  the price rises and falls based on supply, on demand, and on manufacturing.  We still can't buy bricks of it at the local hardware store, but it's available.  I walked past the centerfire counters and they were well stocked as well.

Ih another hour, Milady and I are heading to the auction.  The owner of the auction house got his license problems sorted out, and tonight is the first auction since before Christmas.  I'm looking forward to it.  We'll see what is on the block.  I love a good auction, and I'm not looking for anything in particular, but it's always fun to see what he's put up for sale.

Comes the Thaw

It looks like we're thawing out.  I was surprised to be off work today, the major bridge across the river was still closed and before daylight, many of the bridges were treacherous.  I talked with my lieutenant, and stayed home, as the schools were closed.  At about noon, I declared cabin fever.  I haven't moved off this acre in three days and I was getting squirrely, so Milady and I at noon ventured forth to find sustenance at a new eatery that has opened across the river.

As we approached the bridge, the ramp to the interstate was still closed, and traffic was limited to one lane, that put us off downtown.  We moved along the city streets, ate lunch, then headed back toward our side of the river.  Just as we approached the bridge, we noticed crews working removing barricades.  Traffic was flowing cautiously over the river and everything seemed to be getting back to normal.  I'll be at work tomorrow, after having been off those three days.  It appears that the interstate highway over Alexandria is now open and regular commerce commences.

Hopefully, the snowpocalypse of 2014 is over and we can get back to more rational weather patterns.  Snow around here is a once in a ten-year event, and we've been shuttered twice in the same seven days.

Cool Commercial

It looks like Budweiser released it's Super Bowl commercial a little bit early.  If you like horses and puppies, you'll really like this one.



You gotta love any commercial with pups and horses.

Hat tip to my sister, Frannie, who led me to it on Facebook.

Snowpocalypse

It looks as if temps might warm up to the over-freezing mark today, but here in central Louisiana the temps are still in the 20s.  We're starting to thaw out and traffic is starting to move.  PawPaw is off work today because the schools are closed, but Milady went in to work because patients need care.  The layer of ice covered by a layer of snow is being especially resistant to thawing.

Hopefully we've seen the last of this for awhile.  My windshield has a good coating of ice, and I'm chagrined to learn that I don't own an ice-scraper.  That's something I'll have to remedy soon.  For many years I kept an ice scraper in every car, but in recent years I've gotten out of the habit, because we haven't needed them.

Milady's vehicle is kept in the garage, so de-icing it isn't necessary, but PawPaw's ride lives in the driveway.  That's the way the pecking order works.

Sleet

Now is the winter of our discontent.- Richard III, Act 1

The weatherman has been spot-on with the forecast.  I awoke this morning to signs of freezing rain, in that my car was frozen shut when I went outside to retrieve the blood-pressure meds that I picked up at the pharmacy yesterday.  Just about daylight the sleet started.

Some poor soul is creeping along, trying to get home.  That haze you see in the photo is tiny little balls of ice, falling from the sky.  The black asphalt road is white, and everything is slicker'n monkey-snot.  Milady is trying to decide if she needs to go to work.  She's a medical professional, and she'll call her doctors as we get closer to the workday.

There are those of us who don't get to stay home on wintry days.  Police, firefighters, doctors and nurses, soldiers in their foxholes and sailors on their ships.  Utility workers, the guys who keep the power coming, all those folks report for duty.  Work has to go on, and for those folks I am truly grateful.  PawPaw once had a job like that, rain or snow, or hurricane, the duty day rolled along.  I'm glad I'm beyond that duty schedule.

**UPDATE** Ten minutes later, the snow has started.  So far, the weather-weenies are spot-on.

Those white streaks in the photo are snow flakes.  Just frikking lovely.

**UPDATE II ** At 10:00 a.m., it's coming down heavy.

Jane is home, after her Docs closed the clinic.  We're hunkered down and ready to ride it out.  I've taken some meat out of the freezer, and later I'll be making a big pot of chili.

Bohica.

It looks like we're in line for another winter storm event.  The Polar Express continues, bringing freezing precipitation to Central Louisiana.  From NOAA.

Tonight A slight chance of rain before 1am, then a chance of freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday A chance of freezing rain before 7am, then sleet likely between 7am and 1pm, then snow likely after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 28. Northeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Tuesday Night Snow likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%

They've closed Rapides Parish Schools on Tuesday and Wednesday, mainly because they believe the bridges and overpasses will still have ice on Wednesday morning.  In addition to Rapides Parish, most of the parishes to the south of us have closed schools.  They're expecting ice along the I-10 corridor, which doesn't bode well for south Louisiana.

PawPaw went to the grocers and stocked up on supplies.  I think that as far north as we are in the warnings, we're in pretty good shape, except that all the roads and bridges are going to freeze.  I"ll sit home and watch the weather for the next couple of days.  We'll get over this one, too.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The big story this week was the snow, which is a once in a decade event for us.  I have a 30-year-old daughter-in-law who has never seen snow, and several grandkids who have never seen snow, so a snowfall of any magnitude is huge news in these parts.  The dog has also never seen snow.

And, he wasn't really sure what to make of it.  It didn't scare him, but he was curious.  He also learned quickly that it is colder than he likes.

Hopefully, we've seen the last of snow for a while.  I know I've had my fill.

Just Wrong

My good friend Jerome Scott sent this one to me.  He tells me that he spewed Dr. Pepper when he saw it.

That's just wrong.

Snow Update

It looks like we got two or three inches of snow, and it's gotten light enough for some photography.

The dog's not sure what to make of it.  He's okay with it, but thinks it's strange.  He's right.  Snow in these parts is really strange.

Of course, folks are starting to drive, and Louisianans are totally screwed while driving in snow.  Mud or rain?  Yeah, we're good at those, but snow is outside our experience.  Just up the street from our house is a red light, and the entrance to the highway.  That highway is four or five feet higher than the parish road, so there's a slope.  Lots of folks charge up to the light, then get stuck on that little slope.  Like this guy.

See the little red light beside the bush?  Some guy is on the roadway, but his tires are spinning like crazy and he can't make that little incline.  He spun his tires through an entire cycle of the traffic light then decided to back down the hill, turn around and go home.  Don't be that guy.  Stay home till the snow melts off the roadway.

We're gonna get over this.

Snow

Here in the Deep South, snow is truly an event.  I've got grandkids who have never seen snow, and I'm certain that the Dawg has never seen snow.  I just now walked outside and found an inch or so on the ground and on the vehicles.  This is a once-in-a-decade event..

Schools, of course, are closed, and from my view of the highway, no traffic is moving.  Central Louisiana is shut-the-hell-down until this stuff melts.

Friends and family from the Frozen North might think it is strange that a small dusting of snow will shut us down, but most folks have no idea how to drive in this mess.  For myself, I'll be content to stay home today and take pictures.  I might not see this again for another ten years.  If glowball warmening kicks in, I might not see it again in my lifetime.  This isn't going to last long.  Temps tomorrow are predicted to be in the 50s.

Sibling Rivalry

I've been following a post on The Firing Line forum about the relative advantages of the .30-06, vs its offspring, the .308 Winchester.  So, the title of this post isn't really about siblings, so much, as about offspring.  This discussion has filled internet forums, and circulated around campfires since the .308 Winchester was standardized, back in 1952.

I admit that I'm a fan of both cartridges, and the intent of this little discussion is not to get involved in the parentage or lineage of the .308 Win.  I know that it came from the original  T65 cartridge, and I know that Winchester standardized it as a sporting cartridge before NATO adopted it as a military standard..  I also know that for all practical purposes, the military's 7.62X51 cartridge is a virtual substitute and that SAAMI says they can be used interchangeably.  That's not the purpose of this discussion.

I also know that I'm a fan of both cartridges.  The old .30-06 Springfield has been around a long time, and lots of military and sporting arms have been chambered for it.  Likewise the .308 Winchester, which to my paltry attempts at research, the shorter cartridge seems to be supplanting the older, longer cartridge in popularity.  So, when we talk about which cartridge is best, we have to ask; "Best for What?"  There's the rub.

Which leads me to this article, written by German Salazar, a noted NRA competitor.  In the article, he looks at the argument, and tries to decide which cartridge is best for his purposes, which is NRA prone Highpower competition.  He uses identical rifles and accumulated data over the course of several years, and he comes to some interesting conclusions.

In the Long-Range matches, the spread between the cartridges is a little bigger, reflecting the increased importance of ballistics when the range gets stretched to the maximum. So even with the same shooter firing all the rifles, the differences become more pronounced. Many modern-day competitors look down on the .30-06 as a long range cartridge, but I'll definitely say that if you want a good shooting cartridge with excellent barrel life and a huge choice of components, you can't do much better than the .30-06 for all around use.

I'm not a high-power competitor, nor do I shoot F-class, or any of the long range games.  I'm a hunter, plain and simple, a guy who can't see farther than about 250 yards on his deer lease.  Yet the campfire discussions continue. Which cartridge is better?  And I admit, I've got both of them and use both of them.  I've come to know and trust them both.  Yet, after all the discussion, with the newer powders and better bullets that we're blessed with, I really think that the difference between the two cartridge is the difference between Eenie and Meenie.  For most practical purposes, it just doesn't matter.  I don't think that a whitetail deer, nor yet a mule deer, nor even a bull elk would be able to tell the difference at 300 or so yards.  So, for the practical sportsman, what's the difference?

Not a whit.  It's only in the rarefied air of serious competition, or military sniping that the difference comes into play, and even in those situations, the two cartridges under discussion are always being supplanted by newer, more whiz-bang cartridges designed by folks who make money at such things, or for whom the difference matters.  We sportsmen are a fickle lot, and we'll jump on the new bandwagon whenever it rolls by.  Reference the success of such cartridges as the .260 Remington, or the 6XC.

I'm sure that in this puny blog post, I'm contributing to the debate, but I'm scribbling here more to link to Salazar (who has another great article here), more than anything else. I'm convinced that American sportsmen today are living in a golden age of riflery.  We're blessed with factory produced rifles that are more accurate, more durable, and more affordable than anything that was available 20 years ago.  It really doesn't matter which cartridge we use, simply because the rifles, the powders, and the bullets we have available to us today are so much better than the same equipment that was available to our fathers.  Every thing else is either an intellectual exercise, or marketing.  Use the rifle you've got, practice, take time to lay on your belly, or squat on your haunches and learn to shoot the rifle.  It'll do what you want it to do.

Gumbo

Gumbo is a Louisiana staple, a savory stew of local meat, fish, or fowl, a good gumbo is Louisiana comfort food.  I've eaten gumbo in many locations, to include Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and even had friends from Chicago make gumbo for my sampling. I've eaten gumbo made by Minnesotans. I've eaten gumbo in almost every town in Louisiana, and when I go to a new restaurant and view the menu, if there's gumbo available I'll ask for a cup as an appetizer.  I love gumbo in all its regional varieties.

The most common restaurant gumbo is chicken and sausage.  It's a staple, and it's easy to judge chicken and sausage gumbo.  I've eaten good gumbo and I've eaten bad gumbo but today I sampled a truly wretched concoction that was billed as gumbo.

A buddy of mine was stepping out for lunch and asked if he'd like me to pick up something.  As I'm tied to my duty post I appreciate the effort to keep me fed and when he told me that he was going to a local drug store that also has a lunch menu, I was intrigued.  He told me that gumbo was on the menu today I gave him some money and thanked him for his continuing efforts to keep me nourished.

I should have saved my money.  The roux was "green", not properly prepared, the chicken was full of gristle, that must have been the oldest rooster in the pen.  The sausage was cheap, they should have saved a few more pennies, and simply cut up hot dogs to add to the mix.  The rice was lumpy.  The seasoning was very poor, with little flavor and even less onions, bellpepper, or celery, all of which are described in Louisiana cooking as The Trinity (which should give some indication of their importance).  They were only notable because of their absence.

All in all, it was was the most horrific rendition of gumbo I've seen in many years, truly execrable, with no redeeming features except to serve as a benchmark of truly horrible Louisiana cooking.  The gumbo at the Missouri State Fair was better, and that's saying something.

The chef at that establishment should be pilloried.  That was the worst gumbo I've ever eaten.  So there.

Diaper Dave Running for Governor

I see that our disgraced Senator, Diaper Dave Vitter has decided to run for governor.

Sen. David Vitter’s announcement Tuesday that he will run for governor of Louisiana in 2015 marks the latest chapter in a remarkable comeback story for a politician who was once embroiled in a high-profile prostitution scandal.

In the rest of the country it might be a remarkable comeback story, but here in Louisiana, no one of any weight wanted to run against him, and here in Louisiana, sexual scandals don't get the air time that they might in other parts of the country.

Dave's problem is that he'll probably have two heavy-hitters running against him in the primary (which, in Louiisiana isn't really a primary at all).  I'm told that our current Lt Governor, Jay Dardenne is running, and it wouldn't surprise me if state Treasurer  John Kennedy threw his hat in the ring.  Both Dardenne and Kennedy are smart men, strong politicians with good name recognition.

The Democrats will probably field a few candidates as well.  I hear that state rep John Bel Edwards is running, but Mitch Landrieu is also a strong contender from the New Orleans side of the house.  Mitch, or course, is the brother of our other US Senator, Katrina Mary Landrieu.  We hope to send her packing next year.

Louisiana elects a governor in the autumn of 2015, and our current governor Bobby Jindal is term-limited.  This should be an interesting electoral season in Louisiana.

Daddy's Stuff

We lost Dad in 2007 (Has it been that long?), and recently during a move, Momma came across some stuff she thought I might like, so I went today to see about it.  Scouting memorabilia, mostly, with some odds and ends that we all collect when we live a full life.

One piece in particular caught my eye, and when Momma showed it to me, I wasn't sure what to make of it.  It looked old, last century old, and for the life of me I couldn't figure it out.

It's a scale of some sort, but a brief examination didn't tell anything about it.  I got it home to my bench and looked at it under the loup.  It's marked H.Boker & Co, Germany, and it's calibrated from 0-50.

But, I couldn't figure out why it had so many hooks.  Then I flipped it over.  Another calibration scale on the other side was calibrated from 0-400.  I'm assuming that the calibrations are in pounds.  It's riveted construction, and is marked Not Legal For Trade.

So, I went to the computer and started Googling around.  It's an H. Boker Buffalo Hide and Fur Scale, marketed during the late 1800s to trappers and hunters who wanted to market their hides.  The smaller hooks, obviously are for the smaller weights and the larger hooks for weighing bulk hides.  Ingenious little device, because the spring gets thicker through the bend, so that it can be used for both ranges.

Still, I wonder what the old man was doing with it?  Mysteries abound.

The Ebay asking price is $100.00, and AuctionZip tells me that one sold recently at auction for $50.00.  No matter, this one's not for sale.

Hamburgers

No pictures of this one, but you've all seen a hamburger.  This morning early, I decided that I was hungry for a good hamburger, and it's Sunday, and the kids were coming over for lunch, and the weather was beautiful, so I decided to fire up the charcoal pit and cook burgers.

So, I made a list and headed to the grocers.  Buns, lettuce, tomato, some cheese for those who like it, and hamburger meat.  Good hamburger meat.  I was feeding ten people, kids, grandkids and Milady and I.  So, I bought 5 lbs of good ground chuck 80/20.  Got home and hand-flung those burgers, then coated them with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  That was it.  The burgers averaged 1/3 pound.  I cut up the tomato, and an onion, then started the fire. Let it burn for an hour, to get a good bed of coals.  Then, just about noon, I put that meat on the grill.  Closed the lid, watched the smoke pour out of it.  After about 10 minutes, raised the lid, flipped the burgers, closed the lid again.  Ten more minutes, then lined the kids up to get a burger.

Those who wanted to experiment decided to put a slice of cheese on the burger while it waited the last minutes on the grill.  We had American and Provolone.  I'm told that melted provolone is really good on a hamburger.

A good bun, fresh veggies, and good meat, cooked on a hot charcoal fire.  Nothing on the meat but salt and pepper.  A nice handful of potato chips, and I opened a cold beer.  That was the best darned hamburger I've eaten in a while.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We've been through the cold snap earlier this month, and today is a beautiful 50F outside. Milady was commenting yesterday that it's about time for the dog to get a grooming, but I'm wondering if he can wait another couple of weeks.  We've got February to live through, and getting a hair-chop might be cold on the mutt.  Of course, as long as he can play in the sun, he'll be warm enough.

After reviewing that picture, it might be time to call the groomer.  I'll try to remember to get him an appointment.

Happy Dance Time

This joyous news out of Alabama.  It seems that a goblin came into a Dollar Store, threatened to shoot everyone, then started herding them into a break room.  A brave citizen decided he had gone far enough, drew his firearm and shot the goblin in the chest.

Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman Jr. told WSFA-TV that the gunman held a cashier and customer at gunpoint, forcing them toward a break room area. It was at this point that the customer reportedly drew his firearm and shot the suspect one time in the chest. The entire incident took less than five minutes, police say.
The gunman was pronounced dead on the scene.
The sheriff said the customer is not currently facing any charges over the shooting death, however, investigators are working to confirm he had a valid concealed carry permit. Open carry is legal in Alabama, but a permit is required to carry a concealed handgun.

That's all we need to know about that.  A citizen stopped what might have been a terrible tragedy, and one less goblin is wandering the streets.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside to do my Happy Dance.

Blogger = Press

Interesting opinion coming out of the 9th Circuit, where they held that blogging is entitled to the same protections for libel as traditional journalists.  The opinion is here.

The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just assembling others’ writings, or tried to get both sides of a story. As the Supreme Court has accurately warned, a First Amendment distinction between the institutional press and other speakers is unworkable: 

It seems that Greener's Law applies here, and some wags have suggested updating the old quote for the digital age.  Don't pick a fight with someone who buys bandwidth by the gigabyte.

Let Freedom Ring.

.44 Special / .44 Magnum

Those of you who read this little blog know that I'm a fan of the .44 Special.  I was over at this forum, discussing the .44 Special and Uncle Nick sent me to the SAAMI drawings of both the .44 Special and the .44 Magnum and pointed out something that I had never noticed.

According to the SAAMI drawings of both cartridges, the loaded maximum length of the .44 Magnum cartridge is 1.610 inches, while according to the drawing for the .44 Special, the maximum length of that cartridge is 1.615 inches.  The Special is longer than the Magnum by 0.005 inches.  That's interesting, because the Special case is shorter than the Magnum case by 0.125" (1.285-1.160).  That's interesting because the Special case is shorter, but the maximum allowable COAL is longer.

I had never looked at the drawings side by side and compared them.  This brings all sorts of questions to my mind, and I'm going to have to ponder on this for a while.  Is it possible that there's more powder space under a Special cartridge than there is a Magnum cartridge?

Salmon Croquettes

Today I had a yearning flung on me, so on the way home I stopped to pick up the fixings for one of my favorite foods from my childhood.  Salmon Croquettes.  Momma used to fix these occasionally, and I loved them then, I love them now.  They're fairly easy.

Salmon Croquettes
1 can pink salmon - 14.75 oz
1 roll Ritz crackers
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 large egg
Salt and pepper, of course

In a large bowl, crush the whole roll of Ritz crackers.  Powder them.  Add the salmon, the chopped onion and the egg.  Salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.  Divide the mixture into six portions and form into patties.  Fry in a flat skillet with a little oil until golden brown.

I'm going to serve them tonight with potatoes au gratin and steamed broccoli.

Friends from the PacNorWest might turn their noses up at canned salmon, but it's easy to find here, inexpensive, and with just a little preparation makes a darned fine meal.

The New School

Glenn Reynolds, of Instapundit fame has written a book, The New School, which talks about education, from K-12 through college.  I haven't read it, nor bought it, but The Blaze gives us some quotes about the book.  I think that this quote is remarkably interesting.

there are a lot of people who benefit from keeping teens infantilized. That includes people in our ever more expensive K-12 education system. What’s more, as we’ve increased the amount of money going in, there’s been no corresponding increase in learning. One reason for that is that a disproportionate amount of money has gone into administration, rather than teaching. [According to a report titled The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools] “Between 1950 and 2009, the number of K-12 public school students increased by 96 percent. During that same period, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school employees grew by 386 percent. Of those personnel, the number of teachers increased by 252 percent, while the ranks of administrators and other staff grew by 702 percent — more than 7 times the increase in students. These education administrators don’t teach; if anything, they create excess paperwork for the people who do…This is one reason more money hasn’t improved things: it’s not going to teaching but to paper pushing.” (pg. 67)

That matches my experience exactly.  In the ten years I've been in the school system, there has been a noticeable increase in administrative personnel, who tend to put more work on the teaching staff.  

I may have to buy Professor Reynold's book and drop a copy on the superintendent's desk.

Old Man Car

Last March, I bought a car to save miles on the truck.  Literally a brother-in-law deal, I bought a 2001 Mercury Gran Marquis from my brother-in-law.  It served them well for several years, and suddenly became an extra car.  I was looking for an extra car, so I made the deal.

Almost immediately, the Check Engine light came on.  I went by Auto Zone and got it checked.  Something about insuffecient coolant temperature.  So, I flushed the radiator, got all manner of nasty coolant out of there, and re-filled it with good antifreeze.  It ran, it started, it did everything that a car was supposed to do, but it had an annoying miss, and the engine temp gage stayed way down in the cool range.  So, I asked around, did my research, and found a mechanic that several friends vouched for.  Just before Christmas I took it to him, and he checked it, told me that a couple of sparkplugs were misfiring.  I told him I'd bring it back after the first of the year.  Sure 'nuff, on January 2nd, I pulled it into his shop.  He said he'd call me later that day.

He called in the late afternoon, found another problem.  The valve cover gaskets were leaking, and throwing oil into the coil packs.  I needed to change the valve cover gaskets, so I told him to go ahead.  Evidently, that's a major job because he gave me a major estimate.  A little Googling and I found that changing the valve cover gaskets on a Ford 4.6L engine ain't like it used to be.  It used to be a 20 minute job on the old engines I once worked on.  Now, you've just about got to disassemble the engine, or all the crap on top of it, just to get to the valve covers.

Okay, I told him.  Do it.  About two days later he called back, asked me to come by the shop.  I went by the shop and he showed me that when he took the valve covers off, the timing chain was loose.  Very loose.  The guides were gone.  Decision time.  I gritted my teeth and told him to continue.  New chains, sprockets, guides, tensioner, everything is brand new in the front of the block.  I cried, paid him his wage, and brought the car home.  Running fine.  Took Milady out and the Check Engine light came on.  And the water temp gage on the dashboard was way down to the cool side.

Well, hell.

I took it back to him today, and he put his little code reader on it.  Insufficient coolant temperature.  The thermostat is stuck open.  The engine never really gets to operating temperature.  He commences to telling me how easy it is to replace the thermostat.  Ten minute job.  Any fool can do it.  Then I notice that there is an auto parts store 50 yards from his shop.

"Look", I says.  "You gave me a good screwing on that last job.  How about a reach-around on a thermostat?  I'll buy it, and you install it.  It's an easy job, remember?

"Yeah," he says. "We can do that.  Go buy a thermostat."  One 10mm socket, ten minutes later, we were done.  The engine temp gage got nicely in the middle of the range and stayed there all the way home.

Hopefully, my car is fixed.  I love that car.

Sunday Morning Dawg

With the end of the temperatures in the teens, the weather has moderated a bit, and just yesterday, PawPaw was wearing a tee-shirt on the back porch.  Saturday morning temps were in the low 60s and the sun was shining brightly.  The dog decided to play chase with the cat, and they were all over the place.

Up and down, across the porch, out in the yard, and across the deck.

 Tag!  You're it!

It's Over

Not completely, but the hunting season is just about over.  The stuff that normally goes to the woods is out of the truck and the rifle is soon to get it's ritual cleaning.  Not that I understand why, because I didn't fire it  once this season.  The barrel is as clean now as it was the first week of November.  However, not all is lost, because when hunting season is over, the shooting season commences.  I was just looking at my bench and I've got a fairly large number of blem bullets to load for the .308 for plinking.  I'm about out of loaded 25-06, so that needs to be done.  I'm woefully low on handgun ammo.  I'm down to my last two hundred rounds of .38 Special, and .45 ACP.  I've only got about 80 rounds of .44 Special, and I'm plumb-out of .44 magnum.  I haven't shot the .30-06 at all since June, and it's time that it got the chance to go to the range.

I'll have to start checking with the USPSA club and see when they've got the next matches planned.  Hunting season mught be over, but shooting season is right around the corner.

I need to get busy.

Aliens Exist

A little palate cleanser for a Thursday evening.  I don't know how I missed it, but a former Canadian defense minister is on record as saying that he knows aliens exist and walk among us  Video at the link.

.“[I’ve] been getting from various sources [that] there are about 80 different species and some of them look just like us and they could walk down the street and you wouldn’t know if you walked past one.”

Really?  If that's so, where do they come from?

 The segment then ventures into the incredulous when Hellyer begins to list where they’re coming from. It turns out that our alien visitors come from near (one of the Saturn moons) and far (the Pleiades and Zeta Reticuli star systems). Oh yeah, and they get here via a portal in the Andes mountains in Peru.

 I knew that there was something about those Andes mountains.  A portal there.  Yeah.

I'd say that's a definitive answer to a question we've all wondered about.

Is It A Good Idea?

I've got to admit, I've got a lot of mixed feelings about Colorado's experiment with legal recreational marijuana, both from a law enforcement perspective and a libertarian perspective.  I've been a cop for 33 years and I've enforced the marijuana laws without rancor or prejudice.  I've arrested people for possession of marijuana, among other things, and I'm not sure what the long-term implications are, either as a legal matter or a social experiment.

However, I'm reading all I can about what is going on in that fair state, and I'm wondering about the implications, both from a tax standpoint, a black market standpoint, the social costs involved.  How are the cops going to deal with intoxication?  What are the ramifications?  I have to admit, I don't know.  However, that's one of the beauties of this great country, that a state can decide to do something revolutionary and the rest of us can watch a bit and try to see how it works out.  That's Federalism, and I'm all for federalism.

This is going to be interesting.  Hopefully, we can learn something from this experiment.

Bloomberg Giving Up?

That's the question that Hot Air asks.  It seems that with the Senate midterms coming up later this year and the House being fully roiled every two years, the Democrats have decided that having an outfit like Mayors Against (Some) Illegal Guns targeting Democrats who are squishy on gun control is a bad thing.

Halperin added that, while there are many Democrats in the Senate up for reelection this year, they all enjoy some advantages; including strong fundraising, weak Republican challengers, and incumbency itself. These incumbents, he insisted, may hang on in November in spite of six-year midterm headwinds, but attacking these Senate Democrats from the left could imperil them by reducing the base’s enthusiasm.

The Dems are asking Bloomberg to hold off on Dems in red states (Like our own Senator, Mary Landrieu, who enjoys a good rating from the NRA), go silent for now on the gun issue, and try to keep the Democrats in their seats.   So, it's a political consideration.  Keep the Dems in power and hope for better headwinds on gun control later.

I don't think for a minute that Bloomberg is giving up on gun control.  However, I'd like for someone to ask him if his bodyguards are armed.  Bloomberg's not against guns, he's just against my guns.

Compromise

Dick Metcalf (bless his heart) is whining about double-crossing us.  Yeah, really.  You remember Dick?  He used to write for Guns and Ammo magazine, and got handed the pink slip in November.  Fox News reports that he's feeling a little bit banished.

Metcalf, a longtime writer on firearms and U.S. gun culture, saw his association with Guns & Ammo terminated in November -- he also had a T.V. show co-produced by the magazine -- after he wrote a column titled, “Let’s Talk Limits: Do certain firearm regulations really constitute infringement?”

Yeah, well, when you write about increased firearm regulations in this time of a massive push for regulation, you're liable to feel a little backlash.

The New York Times covers it too.

His experience sheds light on the close-knit world of gun journalism, where editors and reporters say there is little room for nuance in the debate over gun laws. Moderate voices that might broaden the discussion from within are silenced. When writers stray from the party line promoting an absolutist view of an unfettered right to bear arms, their publications — often under pressure from advertisers — excommunicate them.
“We are locked in a struggle with powerful forces in this country who will do anything to destroy the Second Amendment,” said Richard Venola, a former editor of Guns & Ammo. “The time for ceding some rational points is gone.”

They're all "whaa-whaa" about the thought that one senior writer would get handed his papers for suggesting that gun rights aren't absolute.  We know that they're not absolute, we're painfully aware that gun rights aren't absolute, but then we come to the crux of the matter.

“Compromise is a bad word these days,” he said. “People think it means giving up your principles.” 

Oh, please, Dick.  You know better than that.  In a compromise, I give a little and you give a little and we come to a working agreement.  Then it's over, and we get on with our lives.  We live within the agreement and it never again becomes an issue.  Tell me what the other side of the argument is willing to cede, Dick, and maybe we can talk about compromise.  However, my side giving up things, over and over again, isn't compromise, it's incrementalism.  If Metcalf is too stupid to understand that, he's too stupid to write for a magazine that I'll read.

You want to compromise, Metcalf?  What are you willing to give up?

Pork Loin Roast

This has to be the simplest recipe I've ever stumbled across.  Pork Tenderloin Roast.  I tried it during New Year's and it came out so good, I cooked another one this morning for the church.

Pork Loin Roast

Ingredients:

1 10 lb pork loin

Tony Chachere's Original

Water.

Seriously, that's the whole ingredients list.

Prep.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cut pork loin in half, into two 5 lb pieces.  It makes it easier to handle

Put each piece in a pan (I use steam-table pans)

Sprinkle liberally with Tony's (both sides)

Add about 1/3 cup water to each steam pan

Cover well with aluminum foil.

That's two five-pound pork loins sprinkled with Tony's, ready to be covered.  Seal with aluminum foil.  You want that water to steam, and keep them from drying out.

Cooking.

Slide them into a 350 oven for 3 hours.  Don't look at them.  Try not do drool on yourself while the roasts cook.

Remove from oven after three hours.  Slice into serving pieces.

That's the same two roasts, sliced and ready to take to a church pot luck.  Serves about 25-30 people.

This is the easiest recipe I've worked with in a while, and it is very pleasing to those that like pork.  Very pleasing indeed.

Here It Comes

I awoke this morning and wandered outside with my coffee, as is my habit.  Not bad, temps in the 50s, but high clouds moving overhead.  Then I came in and checked AccuWeather for Pineville, LA.  Here it comes.

Not too bad today, but tomorrow the wind will be biting.  RealFeel of 5F?  Holy-moly, I'd better get out  the long woolies.  I feel bad for you guys up in the Frozen North, and we're going to get a taste of it down in sub-tropic Louisiana.

Sunday Morning Dawg

It's cold out there this morning.  Cold for Louisiana, cold for the rest of the nation.  The dog has heard about the tribulations of the family members in the frozen north, and gives them the following exhortation.

Hunker down somewhere warm, near your water bowl and your food dish.  Stay safe until this weather passes.  This  is not the time to be playing outdoors.

Stadium, or Couch

That's the question that this article is asking, and one I've talked about with friends, family, and associates.  Should we pay the toll to watch a game in person, or sit at home (or in a local sports bar) and watch the game?

In the latest evidence that the sports in-home viewing experience has possibly trumped the in-stadium one, ticket sales were slow for the first week of the National Football League's marquee stretch of games.

Well, yeah.  It's a no-brainer.  Let's talk about the choice.  The only real experience I have with big stadiums is with my beloved LSU Tigers, but I'd rather sit at home than go to the stadium.  Why?  It's simple.

I have to drive to the stadium, a 100 mile drive, then I have to find a place to park and walk a mile to the stadium, then I have to stand in line with my expensive ticket.  If I have nose-bleed seats, I have to crawl up into the top of the stadium, brave the weather, and watch the game through binoculars.  If I want something to eat, a hot dog is $5.00 and I'm going to buy one for everyone in my party.  It's easy to drop $100.00 on concessions at a Division 1 college ball game.  Then, after the game is over, we do the whole thing in reverse, crawl down from the stadium, walk a mile to find the car, then drive home 100 miles.  Yeah, I want to do that several times a year.

Or, I can sit home on the couch, or at my local bar, watch the game free-of-charge, and enjoy the company of like-minded friends and family, with magnificent front-row seats and instant replays.  The company is great, the seats are magnificent, the climate is controlled, and do you know how many hot dogs I can make for $100.00?  It's a no-brainer.   I don't care if I ever go into another stadium for a big football game.  It's not worth the time, money, nor effort.

Now, if college (and NFL) ball, get the tickets down to $5.00, with a dollor hot dog, I might fhink about going to their overpriced, inconvenient stadiums, but until then, if I want to sit in bleachers, I'll go to the ball park and watch my beloved Bolton high school.

Arctic Chill

The big news nationwide is the arctic chill that's settled on the nation.  My brother in Vermont is facebooking about sub-zero temps with windchill in the -25 range, and my ex sister-in-law in Minnesota is complaining about a predicted ice storm with sub-zero temperatures.  It's damned cold in the frozen north.  I feel for those people, and I'm glad that I have a warm house in sub-tropic Louisiana.  Then Milady cautions me about our near-range forecast, and I click on AccuWeather to find this joyful forecast.

Oh, joy, we're expecting lows in the teens next week.  With possible showers one of those days.  Now, I admit that AccuWeather can't seem to read a clock, and I'm never sure what day they're talking about when the low temp is published.  But, I see Sunday, low 22, Monday, low 17, Tuesday, low 24.  If we get rain anywhere there, the bridges will freeze over and all traffic will come to a screeching halt.  Louisiana doesn't react well to icing simply because we only have to deal with it once every decade.  We haven't had any wintry precipitation since before I put the pool in, in 2007.  It's been seven years or longer since we've dealt with icy conditions.

To my loved ones in the Frozen North, I pray for your sanity.  I'm glad I wnterized the pool last week.  It looks like the next few days are going to be quite a ride.

Magpul Moving

I see that Magpul has finally announced their move.  From the press release, it looks like they're moving manufacturing to Montana, and corporate to Texas.

The company is relocating manufacturing, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Magpul is leasing a 58,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution facility during the construction of a 100,000 square foot build-to-suit facility in the Cheyenne Business Parkway. The Wyoming relocation is being completed with support from Governor Matt Mead, the Wyoming Business Council and Cheyenne LEADS.
Magpul is moving its corporate headquarters to Texas. Three North Central Texas sites are under final consideration, and the transition to the Texas headquarters will begin as soon as the facility is selected. The Texas relocation is being accomplished with support from Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

When Colorado passed the ban for standard magazines, it made Magpul's continued existence there problematic, in that they couldn't sell their product to the residents of the state where they were located.  I do notice that the Colorado that banned standard magazines is also the same Colorado that recently legalized recreational marijuana use.  Interesting juxtaposition, that.

Remington Pistol R-51

Surfing around this morning, I see that Remington Arms is introducing an updated design of an old pistol, the R-51.  The old Model 51 was a Pederson design, made from 1918 to 1927, in .32 and .380 ACP.  The new R-51 is an updated design and is rated for 9mm+P.  It looks to be a slim design, and thoroughly de-horned.

Yep, it's a single-stack 9mm and it looks like it's fairly slim.  You can read all about it at The Fiream Blog, where the blogger got a chance to wring one out.  The most interesting item on the little pistol might be the MSRP, which is set at $389.00.  Under $400 for a new single-stack?  That's amazing.

The Hunting Hat

A proper hunting hat is a very individual sartorial choice.  Based on individual needs, climate, terrain, and temperature, the hunting hat might simply be a billed baseball cap, or it might be a fur-lined cap with ear flaps, made of natural or synthetic materials.  For years I wore a standard baseball cap, but learned that I needed a brim that would keep rain off the back of my neck.  (Yes, folks, it rains in Louisiana.)  While I'm not apt to be out in the driving rain, I might certainly find myself in a sudden shower, or more likely in a misting rain.  I don't like ear flaps, generally because as I've approached my dotage, I've become increasingly more deaf.  I don't hear things that I used to hear, and I don't need anything covering my ears.  If it's that cold, I'm going to build a fire.

However, several years ago I found a hunting hat that suits me to a tee.  Right down to the core.  It keeps my head warm, is fairly stylish, and sets the proper tone for an old man in the woods.

It's some sort of outback hat, but the manufacturer's tag is lost to the ages.  It's in some sort of camouflage, which I don't find absolutely necessary, but which seems to be de rigeur for hunting hats.  Still, I wish I knew who made it, because I'd order a half-dozen in various colors or camo patterns.  Still, I understand that the hunting hat is a very individual choice.  For me, that outback is the proper hat.