Along with a bunch of stuff I had to take care of in the yard, a friend needed help with some fence damage from the winds a few days ago. Which involved the use of that torture device known as post-hole diggers. Add to that the front that just came through today and every joint from my knees up aches. And I either got really chilled or caught an edge of something because I otherwise feel crappy, too.
No more typing for the night.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Latest word from the son
Called his grandparents today and talked a while. They've been worried about him since the day he said he'd decided to enlist, so it doesn't bother me at all when he calls them instead of me or his monther.
Today didn't seem to work out all the well, though. Among the "I'm back at X, all's well, nothing I need," he- apparently thinking it would reassure them about his area being fairly safe- told the about the RPG that hit a humvee a short time ago. Hit the cupola, but since the gunner had dropped down to do something just before it hit, some relatively minor vehicle damage and nothing worse than ringing ears for the crew.
Did I mention that they worry?
This did not have the effect I think he was hoping for: when I spoke to them, his grandma sounded like she was, let us say, 'stressed' and on the verge of tears. Not good to hear.
He should have leave soon, so hopefully his coming back for a visit will help a bit.
Today didn't seem to work out all the well, though. Among the "I'm back at X, all's well, nothing I need," he- apparently thinking it would reassure them about his area being fairly safe- told the about the RPG that hit a humvee a short time ago. Hit the cupola, but since the gunner had dropped down to do something just before it hit, some relatively minor vehicle damage and nothing worse than ringing ears for the crew.
Did I mention that they worry?
This did not have the effect I think he was hoping for: when I spoke to them, his grandma sounded like she was, let us say, 'stressed' and on the verge of tears. Not good to hear.
He should have leave soon, so hopefully his coming back for a visit will help a bit.
Uncle notes another "Oops! Wrong address!"
this time by ATF:
MIAMI --
Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives barged into a South Florida home Wednesday only to discover they had the wrong address.
The ATF agents were supposed to conduct a raid at a home in the 2600 block of Northwest 49th Terrace in northwest Miami-Dade County, but they were off by one block. They entered a house on Northwest 49th Street instead.
Philomaine Silvain and her 3-year-old son were among the innocent people inside the home when the agents came in.
...
Her back window was also broken from where federal agents fired canisters into the apartment at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The agents left the tear gas cans in the house, and Silvain kicked them out and into the street before dumping them into the garbage.
So, among other things, there's at least one kid in the house and they can't even pick up the damn gas cannisters before they flee?
No one from the ATF would speak to NBC 6 on camera, but a representative said over the phone that it was an innocent mistake, agents apologized on the scene and ATF would repair any damages.
And if they'd managed to injure or kill one of those innocent people, what would we hear? You know damn well, the same thing that's been heard in too many 'wrong people/wrong address' raids: "The officers were following departmental policy for a raid of this type. It is a tragedy, but it was an innocent error, therefore no action will be taken against the officers involved."
And let us note just how this kind of crap fits into Sir Robert Peel's principles, as noted by Lawdog:
There are times, though, when I am forced to wonder if some of my fellow Peace Officers have even heard of the Peelian Principles.
And I guaran-damn-tee you that a whole bunch of politicians and police administrators (but I repeat myself) have never heard of #9.
Amen
MIAMI --
Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives barged into a South Florida home Wednesday only to discover they had the wrong address.
The ATF agents were supposed to conduct a raid at a home in the 2600 block of Northwest 49th Terrace in northwest Miami-Dade County, but they were off by one block. They entered a house on Northwest 49th Street instead.
Philomaine Silvain and her 3-year-old son were among the innocent people inside the home when the agents came in.
...
Her back window was also broken from where federal agents fired canisters into the apartment at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The agents left the tear gas cans in the house, and Silvain kicked them out and into the street before dumping them into the garbage.
So, among other things, there's at least one kid in the house and they can't even pick up the damn gas cannisters before they flee?
No one from the ATF would speak to NBC 6 on camera, but a representative said over the phone that it was an innocent mistake, agents apologized on the scene and ATF would repair any damages.
And if they'd managed to injure or kill one of those innocent people, what would we hear? You know damn well, the same thing that's been heard in too many 'wrong people/wrong address' raids: "The officers were following departmental policy for a raid of this type. It is a tragedy, but it was an innocent error, therefore no action will be taken against the officers involved."
And let us note just how this kind of crap fits into Sir Robert Peel's principles, as noted by Lawdog:
There are times, though, when I am forced to wonder if some of my fellow Peace Officers have even heard of the Peelian Principles.
And I guaran-damn-tee you that a whole bunch of politicians and police administrators (but I repeat myself) have never heard of #9.
Amen
Well, if you had any real doubt of how Obama thinks,
it seems he slipped and let it out. In public, instead of "Kirsten Powers admits that there are some things that liberals say to each other when "among friends" that just don't play so well in Wilkes-Barre or Beaverton."
as Ace notes.
I hadn't heard about this till this morning, when I hit roundups on this at Insty here and here. As someone points out, this is how socialist liberals actually think, they just don't usually say it in public for the great unwashed to hear. Revealing, very. And about what I lot of us expected him to let slip at some point.
Wonderful when a politician actually says what he thinks, isn't it?
as Ace notes.
I hadn't heard about this till this morning, when I hit roundups on this at Insty here and here. As someone points out, this is how socialist liberals actually think, they just don't usually say it in public for the great unwashed to hear. Revealing, very. And about what I lot of us expected him to let slip at some point.
Wonderful when a politician actually says what he thinks, isn't it?
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Kim's place took a hit last night,
pictures here. Friend of mine in Haltom City wrote me to speak of being awakened by the tornado sirens, sitting in front of the tv checking weather, damn near being levitated by a couple of lightning strokes that shook the whole house, and- upon going back to bed- finding the dog trying to fit under a pillow.
Same system that caused their problems came through here mostly as heavy rain, though some damage from either high winds or a small tornado did occur in eastern OK. My rain gauge shows about 3.5", but a lot of areas got more. Some a lot more. So there's been flood warnings all over the place yesterday and today.
And, this being April, the rain was followed today be 25-35 mph winds, with gusts of 50, today, so not a day I'd have wanted to be on the highway on a bike.
At least it waited until after the fair.
Same system that caused their problems came through here mostly as heavy rain, though some damage from either high winds or a small tornado did occur in eastern OK. My rain gauge shows about 3.5", but a lot of areas got more. Some a lot more. So there's been flood warnings all over the place yesterday and today.
And, this being April, the rain was followed today be 25-35 mph winds, with gusts of 50, today, so not a day I'd have wanted to be on the highway on a bike.
At least it waited until after the fair.
And next in tonights list of horsecrap,
we have a friggin' idiot at the LA Times:
There he sits in elaborate Army regalia, four stars glistening on each shoulder, nine rows of colorful ribbons on his left breast, and various other medallions, brooches and patches scattered across the rest of the available real estate on his uniform. He even wears his name tag, a lone and incongruous hunk of cheap plastic in a region of pristine gilt, just in case the politicians aren’t sure who he is… Memo to Petraeus: When you’re making the case for more patriotic gore, go easy on the glitter.
I realize this brainless twit will never read this, but since the 'editorial' doesn't have a link for comments that I see, I'll say it here: Dumbass, how stupid do you have to be not to know that there are rules on how someone in the military service wears their uniform? Among other things, that 'cheap plastic' is a part of that uniform, and he HAS to wear it. Right on that spot.
You see, he actually worked his ass off for every one of those decorations and badges, a concept you may not be familiar with. At the very least, being a big-time journalist type, you might consider finding out what the hell you're writing about BEFORE you put your ignorance up for all to see.
There he sits in elaborate Army regalia, four stars glistening on each shoulder, nine rows of colorful ribbons on his left breast, and various other medallions, brooches and patches scattered across the rest of the available real estate on his uniform. He even wears his name tag, a lone and incongruous hunk of cheap plastic in a region of pristine gilt, just in case the politicians aren’t sure who he is… Memo to Petraeus: When you’re making the case for more patriotic gore, go easy on the glitter.
I realize this brainless twit will never read this, but since the 'editorial' doesn't have a link for comments that I see, I'll say it here: Dumbass, how stupid do you have to be not to know that there are rules on how someone in the military service wears their uniform? Among other things, that 'cheap plastic' is a part of that uniform, and he HAS to wear it. Right on that spot.
You see, he actually worked his ass off for every one of those decorations and badges, a concept you may not be familiar with. At the very least, being a big-time journalist type, you might consider finding out what the hell you're writing about BEFORE you put your ignorance up for all to see.
Richard Warman, that miserable little fascist-at-heart,
just keeps causing problems. Because the little bozo has a bunch of politically-correct-at-any-cost fellow fascists* on his side in the person of the Canadian 'Human Rights(but only for the politically correct; screw everyone else) Commission'. Five feet of fury, one of the people the coward is after, has a roundup of the current situation here; and Insty has a bunch of links here.
And just think, if the socialist PC weenies down here have their way, there'll be a whole bunch ofWormmansWarmans running around doing the same crap here. So do us all a favor: post something appropriate about this clown and all his little buttmonkeys in the HRC. From what I've read he likes to search around to find people saying unkind things about him so he can wet his pants and foul his nest in terrorclaim victimhood and threaten people; so causing him to fill his diaper should be considered an act that gets you closer to a seat at the Round Table.
*I don't usually use this word, but if this bunch- using the power of government to screw people over for having incorrect thoughts and opinions- doesn't count as a type of fascist, who does?
And just think, if the socialist PC weenies down here have their way, there'll be a whole bunch of
*I don't usually use this word, but if this bunch- using the power of government to screw people over for having incorrect thoughts and opinions- doesn't count as a type of fascist, who does?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
It's me chest, matey
Thought I’d show my treasure chest/cash box. Put this together a few years ago when I was doing several fairs a year and decided that A: the metal cashbox I had was pretty ratty and B: I wanted to try making something like this.
Body is made of 1x6” pine. The lid ends are pine, the top boards are sections of 1x2” with the sides beveled on Dad’s table saw. And getting the angles right was a pain. The body was glued and clamped, then drilled & pegged after the glue dried. The top was assembled by getting the pieces cut, then clamping all in place while each was drilled into the side piece, then glued and pegged. After the glue was set, all was sanded smooth, then stained, then hit with several coats of paste wax.
The hinges are pieces of steel strap 1” wide and about 3/32” thick. Shaped the hinge ends, then carefully bent the strap to fit the body and top, then drilled through and used 3/16” carriage bolts to lock them on so it looks like rivets from the outside. The bolts all had the company markings on the heads so I chucked them in a drill and used the belt sander to cut them down smooth, then hung them in acid to remove the plating, rinsed them and let them hang until they rusted smoothly, then wire-brushed to remove the rust and waxed; gave a nice appearance. The hasp is the same material, drilled and cut a slot in the top piece and used a piece of 1/8” round stock to make the shackle. The hard part there was setting the shackle in and riveting the ends to lock it in place.
All the hinge and hasp pieces were wire-brushed to clean them off, then given a couple of coats of paste wax. That keeps them from rusting and gives a nice look to them.
The thing was sized so I could use the tray from the old box, just glued & screwed a piece of thin wood on each end of the box to support it.
I ever get time, I’d like to make more of these. Maybe a big one.
Body is made of 1x6” pine. The lid ends are pine, the top boards are sections of 1x2” with the sides beveled on Dad’s table saw. And getting the angles right was a pain. The body was glued and clamped, then drilled & pegged after the glue dried. The top was assembled by getting the pieces cut, then clamping all in place while each was drilled into the side piece, then glued and pegged. After the glue was set, all was sanded smooth, then stained, then hit with several coats of paste wax.
The hinges are pieces of steel strap 1” wide and about 3/32” thick. Shaped the hinge ends, then carefully bent the strap to fit the body and top, then drilled through and used 3/16” carriage bolts to lock them on so it looks like rivets from the outside. The bolts all had the company markings on the heads so I chucked them in a drill and used the belt sander to cut them down smooth, then hung them in acid to remove the plating, rinsed them and let them hang until they rusted smoothly, then wire-brushed to remove the rust and waxed; gave a nice appearance. The hasp is the same material, drilled and cut a slot in the top piece and used a piece of 1/8” round stock to make the shackle. The hard part there was setting the shackle in and riveting the ends to lock it in place.
All the hinge and hasp pieces were wire-brushed to clean them off, then given a couple of coats of paste wax. That keeps them from rusting and gives a nice look to them.
The thing was sized so I could use the tray from the old box, just glued & screwed a piece of thin wood on each end of the box to support it.
I ever get time, I’d like to make more of these. Maybe a big one.
In a comment on the fair, Fire said
...having to do about 50 things before you can settle in. That sucks.
Understatement.
A lady who works under the business name White Pavilion, making and selling clothes(dresses, shirts, pants, hats, etc.) comes to Med-Fair, and I usually try to help her set up on Thursday, and break down on Sunday. She arrives in her big Dodge van, packed to the roof, and has to do the following:
Unload the tent canopy, poles, ropes and stakes.
Set up the canopy(she can do it herself, but it's a big tent so an extra pair of hands helps).
Unload the tent walls, display stands, clothing racks, etc.
Depending on weather, sometimes has to put the walls on right now, otherwise can leave them down while assembling a lot of the racks, etc.
Unload the merchandise. In good weather can set it out on a tarp while finishing setup; in bad weather, has to put it either in the tent and work around it, or cover it with another tarp.
If didn't earlier, put up the walls. Then start hanging up the stuff, draping the changing area, etc.
That's the basic, not counting setup each morning before people come in and cleanup/rearranging/etc. each evening.
Now it's Sunday, after three busy days. Now all the remaining merchandise has to be appropriately cleaned off(if needed, some days are pretty dusty) and then bagged or boxed. Then the stuff has to be set out of the way, walls taken down, racks disassembled, tent taken down(stakes pulled, ropes coiled, poles collected, etc.) and everything loaded back into the van in proper order. So saying this isn't a lot of fun before you can go eat and get some sleep- or starting the drive home some times- is understatement. Usually I or my daughter can help her set up, and daughter often works for her during the fair. Happily, some of her friends are usually around and will help in breakdown and packing, which gets her on the road to her motel room or the highway home at least a couple of hours sooner than doing it alone.
But it's still not a whole lot of fun.
Understatement.
A lady who works under the business name White Pavilion, making and selling clothes(dresses, shirts, pants, hats, etc.) comes to Med-Fair, and I usually try to help her set up on Thursday, and break down on Sunday. She arrives in her big Dodge van, packed to the roof, and has to do the following:
Unload the tent canopy, poles, ropes and stakes.
Set up the canopy(she can do it herself, but it's a big tent so an extra pair of hands helps).
Unload the tent walls, display stands, clothing racks, etc.
Depending on weather, sometimes has to put the walls on right now, otherwise can leave them down while assembling a lot of the racks, etc.
Unload the merchandise. In good weather can set it out on a tarp while finishing setup; in bad weather, has to put it either in the tent and work around it, or cover it with another tarp.
If didn't earlier, put up the walls. Then start hanging up the stuff, draping the changing area, etc.
That's the basic, not counting setup each morning before people come in and cleanup/rearranging/etc. each evening.
Now it's Sunday, after three busy days. Now all the remaining merchandise has to be appropriately cleaned off(if needed, some days are pretty dusty) and then bagged or boxed. Then the stuff has to be set out of the way, walls taken down, racks disassembled, tent taken down(stakes pulled, ropes coiled, poles collected, etc.) and everything loaded back into the van in proper order. So saying this isn't a lot of fun before you can go eat and get some sleep- or starting the drive home some times- is understatement. Usually I or my daughter can help her set up, and daughter often works for her during the fair. Happily, some of her friends are usually around and will help in breakdown and packing, which gets her on the road to her motel room or the highway home at least a couple of hours sooner than doing it alone.
But it's still not a whole lot of fun.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Charlton Heston (updated)
I saw something Sunday about his death. He was a fine actor who demonstrated many times that he was willing to stand up for what he believed, no matter who it pissed off. I remember an interview with him after his disease was announced in which he showed a pair of pistols that had originally belonged to Thomas Jefferson; I always wondered if Heston ever fired them.
I think one of my favorite things he did(outside of movies) was the one speech he made at an NRA convention when Bill Clinton was President: can't remember the exact words, I think it was "Mr. President, we don't trust you with our daughters, and we damn sure don't trust you with our guns!"
I always thought two things:
First, it took an amount of nerve to say that, and
Clinton must have shit a brick when he heard about it.
Updated:
Steve had this to say:
They ought to bury him with a sidearm, so he could smile down from heaven at his enemies and say, "No, not even THEN."
Amen
I think one of my favorite things he did(outside of movies) was the one speech he made at an NRA convention when Bill Clinton was President: can't remember the exact words, I think it was "Mr. President, we don't trust you with our daughters, and we damn sure don't trust you with our guns!"
I always thought two things:
First, it took an amount of nerve to say that, and
Clinton must have shit a brick when he heard about it.
Updated:
Steve had this to say:
They ought to bury him with a sidearm, so he could smile down from heaven at his enemies and say, "No, not even THEN."
Amen
Liberal PC idiocy continues in Canada,
but people ARE standing up to it.
Short version, this guy wrote an article on the " 'Free speech' means you can't say anything we don't like" idiocy from the 'Human Rights Commission'. Richard Warman, the jackass who Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant and others have written of, takes note of it and, finding a couple of errors, does he ask for a correction? Say "You messed up"? Hell, no, that's not nearly good enough:
At the same time, he requested "that the McGill Tribune remove this article immediately from your website. Further, that a full retraction and apology in language to be agreed from Mr. Tau and the Tribune appear in the next hard-copy edition of the Tribune with the same prominence and location of the original article. Also, that this same retraction and apology be placed in perpetuity on the Tribune's website in place of the original article. Lastly, that the Tribune issue DMCA notices to all others reposting the article in order to prevent further dissemination of the libel."
Happily, this guy and the paper are standing up to the threats. And making some noise about it, which is all to the good. About the only thing that'll fix this in the long run is enough people telling the clowns to piss off, and standing up to them, and it stirring up enough people to cause real problems for the clowns.
Short version, this guy wrote an article on the " 'Free speech' means you can't say anything we don't like" idiocy from the 'Human Rights Commission'. Richard Warman, the jackass who Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant and others have written of, takes note of it and, finding a couple of errors, does he ask for a correction? Say "You messed up"? Hell, no, that's not nearly good enough:
At the same time, he requested "that the McGill Tribune remove this article immediately from your website. Further, that a full retraction and apology in language to be agreed from Mr. Tau and the Tribune appear in the next hard-copy edition of the Tribune with the same prominence and location of the original article. Also, that this same retraction and apology be placed in perpetuity on the Tribune's website in place of the original article. Lastly, that the Tribune issue DMCA notices to all others reposting the article in order to prevent further dissemination of the libel."
Happily, this guy and the paper are standing up to the threats. And making some noise about it, which is all to the good. About the only thing that'll fix this in the long run is enough people telling the clowns to piss off, and standing up to them, and it stirring up enough people to cause real problems for the clowns.
That was a loooong weekend
Another Medieval Fair is over. This time the weather worked out nicely: some storms blew through Thursday night but it stayed partly cloudy and cool-to-warm Friday through Sunday*. Which meant neither mud to slog through or hot temperatures to sweat through. And a good time was had by all.
Did demos on the forge all three days, spaced through with "Can you fix this?" and "Can you make this?" Ran into the people I only see at fairs, Fenris & humans came by to drink out of the quench bucket as usual, and got a bit sunburned. As usual. By Saturday afternoon you can see all the women who come out in low-cut blouses and push-up bodices- or just plain skimpy attire- who forgot sunscreen; some of them must practically glow in the dark. And you do see some of the people who caused Jeff Foxworthy to announce "Spandex is a privilege, not a right". Yeesh.
Today, I'm achy in joints, tired, and really could have used about another hour of sleep. However, since they're talking about rain I had to unload the truck, put tools & metal away, mow, do laundry and, since there's a big trash pickup this week, pull together a bunch of tree limbs that had been cut up and set aside and carry them around front. And soon as that's done, put away all the stuff in the living room floor. THEN I can catch up on things.
*Weather at this fair has ranged from damn cold and sleeting to 80's with strong, gusting winds: pouring rain to dry and dusty. I have on some weekends moved the walls on the tent around each day because the wind had changed direction each day..
Did demos on the forge all three days, spaced through with "Can you fix this?" and "Can you make this?" Ran into the people I only see at fairs, Fenris & humans came by to drink out of the quench bucket as usual, and got a bit sunburned. As usual. By Saturday afternoon you can see all the women who come out in low-cut blouses and push-up bodices- or just plain skimpy attire- who forgot sunscreen; some of them must practically glow in the dark. And you do see some of the people who caused Jeff Foxworthy to announce "Spandex is a privilege, not a right". Yeesh.
Today, I'm achy in joints, tired, and really could have used about another hour of sleep. However, since they're talking about rain I had to unload the truck, put tools & metal away, mow, do laundry and, since there's a big trash pickup this week, pull together a bunch of tree limbs that had been cut up and set aside and carry them around front. And soon as that's done, put away all the stuff in the living room floor. THEN I can catch up on things.
*Weather at this fair has ranged from damn cold and sleeting to 80's with strong, gusting winds: pouring rain to dry and dusty. I have on some weekends moved the walls on the tent around each day because the wind had changed direction each day..
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