At the Auction

Milady and I went to the auction last night.  She was pressed into service as the clerk, as the normal clerk is on vacation.  We did well.

They were selling .22LR ammo and the bidding quickly went way beyond what I thought was reasonable, even in these shortage times, so I let them walk.  Next up was a couple of boxes of centerfire pistol ammo and I threw my paddle in the air.  Got them both at pre-shortage prices.  Not a bad deal for good, clean, reloadable factory ammo.

A few items later, and the block held a trombone.  We have a grandson that plays trombone seriously.  He'll probably go to college on a music scholarship.  He's already been offered a couple of scholarships and he's not yet in his senior year.  So, when Milady saw the instrument, she decided to bid on it.  If nothing else, it will make a good "extra" trombone in the event he needs another. 

I admit, I know nothing about trombones, and we didn't have time to research this particular model, but Milady won it at an extremely attractive price.  Really, extremely attractive price.  I figured that the case was worth more than she paid for the whole lot.  When we got home, I researched it.  It's a Holston TR602, a student trombone, but evidently one of the better student trombones.  Granted, it's used, but it isn't rough.  And for the price Milady paid, she got one heck of a screaming deal.

Brother-in-law wanted a squirrel feeder, and sure enough, we found a squirrel feeder to bid on.  And won it.

So, last night we bought handgun ammo, a squirrel feeder, and a trombone.  There's no telling what you're going to find at a good auction.

Tiger Butter

I recently introduced grandson #6 to a recipe that I've been making for a hundred years. (Well, not quite a hundred years, but you get the idea.)

Tiger Butter.  That's peanut butter with just enough cane syrup mixed in to jack the sweetness up to diabetic coma levels.  It's a great grandkid pleaser.  Ultra sweet peanut butter on fresh white bread.  It's a great late-afternoon snack.

I'll take him to his dad in another half-hour. 

Dianne, if you're reading this, get Trey's kids jacked up on Tiger Butter, then take them home.  Their parents will thank you later.

Friday Fooling About

Friday is a laid-back day at PawPaw's House.  After coffee I mowed the back yard, a chore that takes about a half-hour to accomplish.  Not much of a task, but that was on my work list today.

Milady is making meat pies, assisted ably by a grandson who insists on helping.  These pies will be frozen for frying later.  We've got a big gathering planned for July 27th.  Milady's clan will be here that day to celebrate their mother's birthday.  Meat pies are on the menu and Milady will have several batches by then, all frozen, and I'll fry them that morning.  Easy Peasy.

The dog is at the groomer's.  Quiet around here without him under foot.  He'll be properly trimmed for the Sunday Dawg.

We'll be at the auction later this afternoon.  Milady is clerking tonight, so I'll be there until the closing gavel.  The doors open at 5:00 and bidding starts at 6:30.  Not a bad way to spend a Friday evening.

Zen and the Art of Lawnmower Maintenance

PawPaw's got an old Sears riding mower with a 42" deck.  I've had this mower since the spring of 2004, and it's a good lawnmower.  Change the oil once a year, put belts on when necessary, use non-ethanol gasoline, and it starts every time.  I think it has the original spark plug.  I don't recall changing it.  It's on its third battery.  This has been a great lawnmower for my little acre.  Normally, it takes me about two hours to cut the grass.

Not today.  I crawled on the lawnmower at 7:00 and just got off.  We had mechanical problems.  I had just begun cutting the front yard when I smelled rubber and the blades quit turning.  Well, hell, but that belt is three years old.  So, I went up the road to the small-engine place and got a  belt.  Came home, put it on, no problem. Started mowing again.  Smelled rubber.  Before I could shut it down, the belt broke.  Just Dammit.

Rode the mower into the garage, started removing the deck.  Of course, those little pins were rusted in place, hard to get out.  Finally got all the pins loose and the blade engagement spring removed.  Slid out the deck.  Started looking, found that something called the brake arm spring braket had rusted through, turned loose, then the spring ran int to the new belt.  Cussed like shipwrecked sailor.  Threw the parts in the truck and headed back toward the small engine shop.  Bought another belt, talked to the tech guru on lawnmower decks. Listened carefully. 

Went home, greased everything while it was out, commenced installing the deck.  Got it all installed, double-checked everything.  Checked it again, just for giggles.  Got on lawnmower, commenced mowing.  Looked back, only one blade cutting grass.  What The Hell?  Went back into garage, jacked up lawnmower.  Blades loose. Little bolt, not even finger tight.  What the Hell?  Cussed some more.  Took off blades, cleaned all mounts.  Re-installed blades. 

Started mowing grass.  Looked back at cut.  What the Hell?  Scalping grass down to dirt.  Mower set too low, all the way down.  Must have bumped the deck height adjustment.  Re-adjusted deck.  Finally finished mowing grass. 

This mower is on it's 10th season.  It might be time to start thinking about a new lawn mower.  Or spend some bucks reconditioning the deck on this one.  It's been a good lawnmower, but I can't do this every week.

Index Page

I'm still playing with my Archive page.  I decided to add a category for recipes, and I put up two favorites.  I also put up an old article I did in 2008, talking about the .30-06 and my experiences with it.

The Archive page is here.

Retrainer - Day 3

Today we showed up at the training classroom for a day of fun, frolic, and classroom activities.  We talked about upcoming training requirements, what to expect next year.  It seems that the POST council is getting a larger online presence and much of the training, as in all other fields, will be online.  Even instructor-driven courses will have an online presence and by 2015 each law enforcement officer in Louisiana will have to maintain an online account with POST.  That ought to be interesting.

We also talked about defensive driving, as most of the traffic accidents logged by police officers occur during normal driving activities.  It's not pursuit driving, but normal patrol activities that destroy automobiles.  We talked about trends in law enforcement, particularly threats that are evolving, and we talked about how to spot those threats.  Then lunch.

During the lunch hour, I walked down to the rifle range and put a few shots through the Ugly Rifle.  Just a few, to verify zero.  After being in air conditioning all day, it was nice to get out in the sun.  However, before that hour was over, it had gotten darn hot, so I went into the range shack and bullshitted with the guy that runs the rifle line.

After lunch was Taser re-certification.  About an hour-and-a-half, and we were done.  PawPaw is now duly recertified for another year of active law enforcement.

Retrainer - Day 2

We got to the range this morning, and promptly began our annual qualifications, using the Louisiana POST course.  PawPaw qualified easily with his service pistol, then after the targets were scored and recorded, the range master asked if anyone wanted to shoot with other handguns.  I qualified in the second order with my Kimber 1911, several points higher than I qualified with the service pistol.  In the third firing order I was out on the line with my J-frame, and I dropped enough points with the snub nose that I didn't qualify.  After that order, we cleaned the range and broke for lunch.  The firearms instructor asked if anyone wanted to qualify with patrol rifles, and of course I posted a target and headed to the line.  I qualified easily with the AR, and early in the afternoon we were released for the day.

I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong with the J-frame.    A little practice and the qualification should come easily, but I haven't shot the Airweight as much as I have the other pistols.  For those interested, the Louisiana POST handgun course is online here. 

For the record, it was hot out there today.  I'm soaked in sweat to my skivvies, and shortly I intend to remedy that situation.

Retrainer - Day 1

Every year, every cop in the US is required to go through a retrainer, normally three days of  re-training, to bring us up to speed on the latest techniques, make sure that we're still competent, and to make sure that we have the basic qualifications to do the job.

Today was Weapons Retention.  A very good subject for a street cop, and an especially good subject for a school-house cop.  The instruction was very good and we got plenty of opportunity to practice techniques.  It was good training.  Now I'm a little bit sore, and a little bit tired.  I'm also bleeding a little bit, but that's not the fault of the instructor.  PawPaw is on blood thinners and any little scratch tends to bleed all out of proportion to its size.  I got a little bitty cut on my wrist from being scraped with a front sight post, and you'd have thought that my sparring partner had gotten into a major artery.  Blood everywhere.  PawPaw's okay, but I've got a bid ole bandage on my wrist.

Tomorrow, firearms qualifications.  My favorite part of the retrainer.  I'm gathering off-duty and backup guns.  I intend to qualify with as many as they'll let me shoot tomorrow.  I'll make sure I have plenty of water for hydration, and plenty of band-aids in the vehicle.

Sunday Morning Dawg

With moderate temps this week, the dog has spent most of the week on the back patio.  Yesterday we hosted the bi-weekly family gathering, so on Saturday morning, I got up, moved all the patio furniture, swept and hosed off the concrete. 

Our biweekly gathering moves from one house to another.  Every two weeks someone hosts it, and you never really know if they'll all be there, especially this time of year with vacations and short weekend trips.  Still we carry gamely on.  Generally, two dozen people show up, from four generations.  It's quite the gathering, and we all look forward to it.  The hosting house cooks the entree and the visiting houses bring the side dishes. 

Still, the dog is enjoying the patio, and no, he didn't get a haircut this week.  The holiday got in the way of the planning.  Maybe this week.

He's wondering if there are any leftovers from last night.  No luck, pup.  They ate it all.

Saturday Stuff

Recently, I ordered two Safariland 6378 ALS holsters from Cops Plus.  They came in yesterday.  In today's mail came a package from Amazon.com that included some of Safariland's ALS Guards.  This ALS Guard is a little device that shields the ALS lever and increases the holster from Level 1 to Level II..  I just installed them and I'm going through the familiarization on them, with both my SW M&P and my 1911.  So far, so good.  I'll review them at a later date, but once I get the hang of these little devices I believe I'll like them a lot. 

Anytime you can increase the retention level of your holster, and you can do it intelligently, that's a good thing.  The one thing to watch for is that you don't make the pistol too hard to get out of the holster.  A pistol that's stuck in it's holster is almost worthless.  Still, these devices seem to be very well made, ergonomic, with good affordance.  With the ALS Guard in place, the holsters work a lot like the Model 6360 that I carry on my duty belt, with the same muscle memory for releasing the firearm.  That a good thing as I don't have to learn another system.

In other news, I've got a brisket cooking for the family's bi-weekly gathering tonite.  The patio has been swept, folks are calling asking what they can bring, and all that's left to do is to clear the refuse off the dining room table so that we can entertain.

It's just about time for a nap.  Y'all have a great Saturday, and I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

Pulled Pitch

An interesting article at Slate about taking your leave from a gathering, focusing on the terms we use to depart from that gathering.

Just ghost.

Ghosting—aka the Irish goodbye, the French exit, and any number of other vaguely ethnophobic terms—refers to leaving a social gathering without saying your farewells. One moment you’re at the bar, or the house party, or the Sunday morning wedding brunch. The next moment you’re gone. In the manner of a ghost. “Where’d he go?” your friends might wonder. But—and this is key—they probably won’t even notice that you’ve left.

The author goes on to describe the various ethnophobic  terms we use to describe such behavior, and I would propose that we mustn't be ethnophopic.  We can use terms from our military that take no liberties with heritage.  For example:

Pull Pitch.  When a helicopter pilot is doing his thing and decides to depart, he pulls on the collective, increasing the pitch of the blades, lifting the helicopter from the ground.  He departs.  Usage: "Where's Danny?  I think he pulled pitch."

Wheels Up.  Another aviation term.  Early in every flight, after departing the runway, the wheels become extraneous.  In retractable aircraft, the astute pilot will raise the wheels to decrease drag.  Usage:  "Where's Julia?  I believe she went wheels-up."

Saddle Up.  Equestrian reference, when one wishes to depart an area, it's wise to put a saddle on the horse.  Usage:  "Where's Lisa?  She saddled-up about twenty minutes ago."

Beamed Up:  A classic Star-Trek reference:  Usage: "Where's Tom?  He had to beam-up.".

These are four references that came to me in seconds.  I'm sure my vast readership has others.

Encyclical

It seems that Pope Francis has issued his first encyclical.

ROME, July 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In his first encyclical letter, released this morning, Pope Francis has reiterated that marriage is a union of one man and one woman for the procreation and nurturing of children.
This lifelong pledge is possible only in the light of a greater plan for marriage, he said: “Promising love for ever is possible when we perceive a plan bigger than our own ideas and undertakings, a plan which sustains us and enables us to surrender our future entirely to the one we love.”

Well, of course.  I would not have expected otherwise.

The Ugly Rifle

Termite asks, in comments

Which rifle will be your "go-to" this year?

Probably the Ugly Rifle.  I haven't made meat with it yet, and I'd like to do that before one of the grandkids absconds with it.

You can read all about it here.   The Ugly Rifle

Enjoy.  It's about time for me to fire up the pit. 

The Beer Locker

I don't drink much beer, but when I do, I like variety.  So, every three or four months, I'll go down to the local package store to see what's in the back room.  The proprietor has broken six-packs that he can't sell, and he makes me a good deal on a case of mixed beer.  It clears out his stockroom, it gives me an opportunity to sample something new, and it comes at a very attractive price.

Let's see what we have there.  We've got some Tecate, some Sam Adams, some Blue Moon, and some Dos Equis.  There's Killians, there's Guiness Black Lager, and there's Beck's Sapphire.  I even think that there's one Hard Lemonade, one Red's Apple Ale, and one misplaced Coors Light back there.

The family is coming over on Saturday for our bi-weekly gathering.  That should suffice for the beer palates.

July 4th

On this day in 1863, General Robert E Lee gathered his army and moved south.  His invasion of Pennsylvania had come to its frightful conclusion and Lee decided to move south, to cross back into Virginia, where he'd stay for most of the next, bloody year.

Several hundred miles away, on the bank of the Mississippi, Confederate General Pemberton surrendered his Vicksburg garrison to Ulysses Grant after a long siege.  The Mississippi river was once again in Union hands.  Before long, Grant would be recalled to Washington and Grant would release his arsonist to begin the march toward Atlanta.

It's odd how important, historic things seem to congregate on specific days, whether through planning or happenstance.  Still, this is the birthday of our nation, and all Americans everywhere should celebrate another year.  This is a resilient nation and even in the midst of anguish and agony we find time to celebrate her birthday.

Holster Retention Levels

I've been working on a big post on Holster Retention Levels.

It's really too big for this format, but you can read the whole thing over on my website.

Holster Retention Levels.

You can comment here, or by email.  You're welcome

HTM (What?)

I've been playing with HTML since it got too hot to work outside.  I used to be fairly good at coding web pates, but I've been trying to make columns, using the DIVcommand, and I'm having a bit of a problem with justification.  I'm trying to make an archive page for some of my writings, and I just can't seem to make it do what I want it to do.


Let's just say that my brain is fried.  Coding has always been hard for me, and I don't enjoy it a bit.  Which is why I use blogger instead of some of the other blog engines.

Deer Lease

I mailed a money order today for my membership on the deer lease. I've been a member of this lease for about six years, and it's a great club.  Local boys, salt of the earth, they're all local folks and at 40 miles, I've probably got the farthest to drive of any other member.  Except maybe Bobby, who grew up near the lease and drives down almost every weekend.  He's got a house nearby that he keeps for a place to sleep when he's in town for the weekend.

Still, my membership is paid for another year, and I'm gettinng ready for deer season.  We've only got about ninety days to get ready.

Tragedy

In memory of the Hotshot crew from Prescott, AZ. Good job, guys, rest in peace.

Hat tip to the Holgate Volunteer Fire Department for the artwork.

Snowcone

A snowcone is an easy treat on a summer afternoon.  Nothing but shaved ice and flavoring, the snowcone stand is ubiquitous around the South.  Today after lunch, the boy-o and I decided to trek to a snowcone stand for a tasty treat.

His favorite flavor?  Watermelon, while PawPaw opted for the Blue Bubbegum.  Milady, as always chose a local favorite, Tiger's Blood, which has cinnamon overtones.

With temps in the low nineties, a snowcone is a welcome relief.  Of course, brain-freeze is a constant threat.