Happy New Year!

As I look back on the past year I can only say that I am stunned at the response I have had here. I have met many fellow bloggers both in real space and by phone. I am simply amazed at this. 

I live in a small town and social interactions are limited in this physical space. They are surely not so in this Blog space. I am truly thankful for this outlet and humbled that anyone would stop by here to check on my pedestrian activities. 

So for all my friends, if I have not met you yet in person yet I look forward to it this coming year. 

Several Bloggers were instrumental in keeping me here. I was freaked out starting out almost two years ago. I must say that I count Brigid as one.

After casually watching Dick Clark's show tonight I was approaching my "get off my lawn" stance. So I thought I would throw this link up for my blog mother. +1 for the bib overalls and again for the perfect words I think to describe my friend. 







Happy New Year everyone!

As for tomorrow? Well, none of this is going to shoot itself!

Range is open tomorrow!  I felt bad in WV as everyone is all about running the long gun. I think I comported myself well when asked to shoot one, but I am after everything is said a pistol person. It is what I teach and shoot most. 

 

Stupid Kindle Tricks

Besides all the blather about it not being an iPad (well duh), I have found several useful tasks for it. See all this?

Instruction manuals for oh, about everything. If it is on line I get the PDF file, if not, I scan it into a PDF and throw it up to the Amazon Cloud. Another bonus is if you get a manual like the ones that came with my camera that are printed on proprietary disintegrating rice paper making them virtually useless, you can transform them to this:

Being able to take to your workspace helps and the bigger print and no bookmarks are just more perks! 

So for the first time the camera was converted from a PhD (Push here Dummy) camera and after some experimentation:

 














I was able to make the camera do what I wanted it to do:

(Teaser for upcoming review post)

They also have VNC clients for the Android platform. I guess I need to unlock the thing. That would make work a bit easier! 

Changes in North Carolina CCH Law

Here is the PDF from the NCDOJ outlining changes to NC Statutes Effective December 1st of this year as they pertain to CCH (click to enlarge).

Smith and Wesson Highway Patrolman

Otherwise known as the Model 28-2.

Shhhh.... She's soaking in it! 

Break Free that is! Will reassemble and go shoot this weekend with a full write up as well. Waiting on the Standard Catalog of S&W too for reference. Heaven forbid I get anything wrong about this gun! Tam would be all over me if I did that! 

She's not real pretty, but in good shape (uh, the pistol, not Tam. I assume she is all sweetness and light)! 

US Navy Speak....

"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," said a spokeswoman for the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated." 

Translation? "Come get some!"

Record Gun Sales

For the past two months in a row! CNN article:"

Two days before Christmas, NICS ran 102,222 background checks, which was the second-busiest day in history. The one-day record was set this year on Black Friday, the big shopping day following Thanksgiving, with 129,166 searches. 

Good news! 

In the same article a bit of delusion as well: "The research we've seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns," said Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "All the trends indicate the number of Americans who own guns has declined."

Uh, right. 

Music Meme Redemption!

Well I hope anyway! From the iPod to this:

Anybody know how to play a pump organ? Its been restored and ready to go I am told. All I can do is to play "When the Saints go Marching in" one handed on it. 

I would pay real money for someone to give it a workout! 

Music Meme

Tam started it and I must say I don't jack the iPod into the car much. Without further disclamers here is what is reported for my top 15 on that media:

You will have to ask what the records were for line in tracks. I promise they are different! They were imported from 45RPM records.

Retro Tuesday- Smart Phone

Version 1.0-

Comes with two apps:

1. Listening

2. Talking

This is what happens.....

As soon as Gecko45 takes the day off, this happens. Where's food court team six when ya need em?

Mall of America ramps up security after massive fight

Merry Christmas!

I again wish all a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Before I ramble on about my events today, others that are of the cloth have remarked on the import of this Holiday much better than I. Rev. Paul and Bayou Renaissance Man do it with style and passion. God Bless them!

  "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7 

It was great to see friends and family. I am now back at stately manor awaiting local friends. I seem to be a pressure relief valve for others. 

First this (click to,well, you know)! 

The tech gap here is wide! A 1955 Lionel boxed train set. More on it later. You just don't see that much anymore! On top of that a Kindle Fire.  

So I go to see my Curmudgeon yesterday. He and his wife had a traditional Holiday meal prepared. Ham, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, greens (with BACON!), deviled eggs, candied yams, corn bread, and other stuff! Some made it back here for some wonderful leftovers! 

Before we got to that though, Curmudgeon wanted to check the operational status of these:

Top to bottom: Smith and Wesson Model 28-2 in .357 Magnum, Colt Peacemaker in .22LR and .22WMC, and Browning BDA-380.

So we went to shoot yesterday. The S&W lives up to the press. Wonderful pistol! The Colt is just as wonderful, just needs some TLC. The Browning? Great! 


So after returning the Winchester Model 100 to my friend he determines that it was good enough to hand me this for the same treatment. It has to be good because it was wrapped in this, right?

I was not disappointed. A Remington Woodsmaster Model 742 in .243 cal. 

Bonus points for the Weaver scope mounting rings with a K-Mart scope! 

For my friend that lives far away a gift:

I think a former NRA youth rifle competitor will like that. 


Have a great evening!






For my Curmudgeon, I gave the Firefly DVD's. He is a Browncoat, he just does not know it yet, LOL!  

If Ma is not happy, nobody is!

I talked to my parents tonight for last minute preparations for Christmas. My Mother asked if I had the train that "Santa Claus" brought me was running. I told her, "What, you mean the train y'all got me in the hobby shop under Thalhimers Department store?" I was rebuffed. "No it was Santa Claus". She asked if it still smoked and made noise. I assured her it did. 

A "uncataloged" set. A mutt of the breed if you will amongst collectors of Lionel trains. The owner of the shop appears to have scrounged up some spare cars, a much derided "Scout" engine and tender. It is all O-27 scale. The smallest transformer that was on the books. A battery powered whistle control. 

The train survived my parents moving and sat in the garage there for many years.   This train will never hold the attention of collectors.

For me however it is priceless. After cleaning and repair of some minor stuff that really was not needed it now rides around here this Christmas and holds a place of honor in my living room the rest of the year.

I know how much it must have cost then. Especially for a painter and mill worker. Lionel was never cheap on any level. I am proud to have this here.

And once again I feel the wonder of the season and the love that parents have.

I will post on how you can do this under your tree soon. 

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Eve.....1968

From NASA: "Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. Lovell said, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth." They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis."

For everyone that comes here by I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.