A very cool SR-71 Blackbird story "How a Pilot Risked His Life To Spy On Libya" "With the Libyan coast fast approaching now, Walt asks me for the third time, if I think the jet will get to the speed and altitude we want in time. I tell him yes. I know he is concerned. He is dealing with the data; that's what engineers do, and I am glad he is. But I have my hands on the stick and throttles and can feel the heart of a thoroughbred, running now with the power and perfection she was designed to possess. I also talk to her. Like the combat veteran she is, the jet senses the target area and seems to prepare herself." Great read.
The only woman ever to make me consider a career as an internet stalker, Brigid at Home on the range, has a good post today about a topic you've heard me talking about here recently-
She had another good post on personal protection ammo the other day- Home on the Range Advice of the Day "If you're going to have just one bullet.
Make it hollow point." Hard to argue with a professional.
It's incredible the amount of damage the human body can sustain and keep on going. That's good if it's YOU who need to keep on going, but not so good if it's the bad guy. Over the years, I've seen quite a few folks with gun shot wounds (GSW) come through the ER who, according to Hollywood standards, should have been very dead.
Dead ringers through the chest and even head shots and they were still very much alive and potentially dangerous. Short story to illustrate- A few years ago after a long police chase, a young guy placed the butt of a 12gauge shotgun loaded with #7-1/2 birdshot on the ground in front of him. He then leaned his chest right on the barrel and pulled the trigger. Entry was just below and on the left of the sternum angled a bit up and to the right. Yep, right into his heart. This happened way the hell out in the sticks and it took 20-25 minutes to get him to the hospital ER. He was still alive when they pulled up to the door of the ER where he crumped out. It took the cops and EMS a couple of minutes to subdue him at the scene and it was a good thing he didn't decide to shoot at them or have another weapon in his pocket. His heart was shredded but he still lasted all that time. Ya just never know.
Many years ago there was a BoyScout who got to close to the Archery Range and came in looking just like Steve Martin-
Yep. Right through the friggin head. He was awake and alert and not complaining much at all. For a kid that had an arrow right through his head anyway. We sent him to the BigCityHospital and he's probably a Lawyer or Politician now.
Heard this on the way home from work a few minutes ago. Hadn't heard this in years and forgot just how much I loved this album & how damn good James Brown was.
Brings back a lot of memories. When I was just a young teen, 13 or so, I had a poster of JB on my wall. It blew MyOldMan's mind. Growing up where we did, the radio was full of great music on the AM dial. That's about all there was back then and when FM came on, that made radio even better.
I've mentioned here before how much influence my older brother Shop Teacher Bob had on me music wise. I'm pretty lucky to have had a guy with his shit together buying all the records and picking the radio stations when I was a snot nosed kid.
OK, long crappy day in the ER today and I need to shower and de-funkify my ass after dealing with multiple variations of The Toxic Avenger or some such shit. Never seen so much concentrated MRSA in one place. Ugh! I almost stopped at the car wash on the way home and paid to have MY ass scrubbed clean. Surprisingly enough, MethHeads seem to have a lot of MSRA. Who would'a thought?
Friday Night Music............. Listened to the Dave Mason Song in the post below again and got on a YouTube jag of old songs. Figure I ought to share a few with ya.
First off, another Dave Mason song from that same great album -
That lead me to an old Bob Welch tune from his time with Fleetwood Mac-
Which lead me to Todd Rundgren.
The Runt was such a good song writer ought to have another from that album-
Saw these guys live one time. One of 2 shows I went to that ended up in full blown riots-
Gotta have this one. Spirit-
The OTHER show that turned into a full blown riot-
World in Changes.......... Woke up with the old song by, Dave Mason by that title in my head this morning. Bound to be the EarWorm for today. Could be worse.
Went to sleep and it was raining like hell out. Woke up this morning to snow on the ground. Changes indeed.
That's a whole lot of things there that'll get your mind moving. We all know that the brain never sleeps like the rest of our body does and I should expect a bit of weirdness during sleepy time I suppose after ingesting all that.
OK, lots there for ya to read and digest yourselves. I got work to do outside.
Here's Dave Mason for ya singing the song that was in my head this morning-
"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night"............. Actually, it IS a dark and stormy night out there. A cold rain is falling, but for February it could be snow so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Not much going on here at the Compound today and I got nothing for ya. Sorry about that just one of those days.
"A measure filed by State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) would allow any law enforcement agency that has custody of an illegal immigrant to take the illegal to 'the office of a U.S. Senator or Representative' and leave them there.
1200 WOAI news reports the measure also allows county sheriff's deputies or city police officers to 'request an agent or employee of the United States Senator or United States Representative to sign a document acknowledging the release or discharge of the illegal immigrant at the senator's or representative's office." -H/T - Roger
As MyOldMan used to say- "That'll go over like a Turd in the punchbowl". This shit would be funny if it wasn't so damn serious. The Federales in DC who refuse to secure the border and continue to block efforts by the states to do so are gonna be in for a surprise one of these days.
Oh well. Honey Badger, he don't give a shit.
And neither do I anymore. All of those RatBastard Commie SunzaBitches can rot away and die of ass cancer as far as I'm concerned. The sooner the better, too.
"Cleanup On Isle 5................" Another cold and damp day out there today so I decided to do some long overdue cleanup in and around the barn.
I've been putting this job off for a long time and it depressed me every time I went out there. Since I'm out there at least once a day you can see how that may effect a guys mental hygiene some.
Made a hell of a dent in that mess so far. Not done by any means but hot damn, Skippy, if it doesn't look a hell of a lot better already. Since it rained all day yesterday and has been snowing on & off today, it seemed like a good time to burn some brush that's been piled out that way too. My carbon footprint has gone up some as a result and that makes me happy. Al Gore can kiss my skinny old ass, thank you very much.
I'd have burned a couple of old truck tires today but I'm saving them for Earth Day.
Cold and Wet Monday......... The forecast on Saturday said it was gonna be in the high 40's-low 50's today and tomorrow. Not so much. High tomorrow is gonna be around 35 or so.
Three days and that big of a change in the forecast. That's ok, I understand that mother nature doesn't always play fair. But we're supposed to believe these same people can predict how Global Friggin' Warming is gonna kill us all in 10-20 years if we don't accept GreenPower! and Cap and Trade NOW!!! Color me skeptical.
"(CNSNews.com) - The federal government has borrowed an additional $29,660 per household in the United States since President Barack Obama signed his economic stimulus law two years ago.
That brings the total national debt to $125,475.18 per household.
At the close of business on Feb. 17, 2009, the day Obama signed the $787-billion law, the national debt stood at $10.79 trillion ($10,789,783,760,341.41), according the Bureau of the Public Debt. At the close of business on Feb. 16, 2011, the national debt stood at $14.13 trillion ($14,129,889,690,377.50)—an increase of $3.34 trillion (3,340,105,930,036.09"
"an increase of $3.34 trillion (3,340,105,930,036.09"
Holy Shit. Do you realize Just How Much Damn Money That Is? Follow that link for an eye opening graphic on just how damn much that is. It's really hard for the normal person to visualize a Trillion. 12 Zeros big. Amazing. We are so Boned.
I've been out cleaning up and generally farting around outside today and there are nonstop flocks of Cranes going over. Hundreds and hundreds of them all headed North and making those goofy noises they make.
There is an audio player at the link above that gives you an idea of how goofy they sound. Check it out it's kinda cool. I always get stoked about the arrival of the Cranes even though it means my labor output is gonna go way up. No problem.
I'm gonna have to get organized here pretty fast and get things rolling so I don't fall any further behind than I am already.
Global Warming is the Shit............ Took a nice ride on the BigBluePlasticMotorcycle yesterday afternoon. WooHoo! It was friggin' beautiful. Around 65 degrees with partial sun. A bit on the windy side, but that's ok. I need that wind to dry my damn driveway out. It's turning into quicksand again and is gonna suck a car in like it did last Spring if it doesn't dry out.
So wind is good. We had a ton of wind all day today. Not much sun and not quite as warm, but for February? I'll take it. It'll probably snow next week again, but Spring is definitely on it's way.
I'm thinking that Punxatawny Phil may have been right this year. Everyday this week I've been hearing the Sandhill Cranes in the fields around here and that's a pretty solid sign that warm weather is coming on to stay.
I'm getting the seeds started for the Tomatoes and such tomorrow. I'm gonna get some lettuce & Spinach going in containers because the price of fresh greens and fruit are Gonna go through the roof real soon.
Better stock up now on frozen and canned goods before the price jumps. You may wish to Start Paying Attention to Folks Like This Lady too. Go hit her site and just get after it. She's been out there in front of this for a long time.
Here's my Go To Girl when it comes to frugal feeding of family and critters. I'm not shy and ask her questions frequently. She's got a nice search function for her site too.
Better get with it, Kids. This could be a difficult year. I know that I'm expanding the garden again this year to include more for both us and the critters.
If you've never gardened or ever though about starting a garden or, G-d forbid, you are one of those suckers who bought one of those overpriced, "Survival Seed" packs in a can thinking you'd just crack it open and shit would start growing on it's own? Yeah, now would be a good time to test out that green thumb. I've been growing stuff for years and the learning curve can be a bit tough at times. Better start now before TSHTF.
It's very fun and rewarding. It's also a lot like work when you are starting from scratch. It looks like this year would be a good time to get going.
If you have limited space, Try Container Gardening. It'll amaze you how much you can grow in buckets, etc.
"This is Not The Job You're Looking For"............ Or something like that.
Went to the Big City Hospital today for an interview. It went something like this-
Yep. Got there and found out that what they were offering me wasn't what I had applied for. Not that it's a total deal breaker, but there were a couple of other things that, when added all up makes it unlikely that I'll be going to work there.
Oh well. We'll see how things go and re-assess as we go along. The good news is I have a job and don't have to take just any job.
The drive into the place is one major drawback and may limit a lot of other potential jobs. Who knows, maybe I'll have to just suck it up for awhile longer where I'm at. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment, too. Could be worse and definitely have been a time or two over the years. Time will tell I guess.
It's supposed to be damn near 60 degrees tomorrow and if that's the case I'm gonna get some saddle time on the BigBluePlasticMotorcycle. That's what I really need right now.
Gratuitous Picture for a Tuesday night- Unfortunately, not enough people realize this potential.
I went to the front door a few minutes ago to have a smoke and heard the coyotes off in the distance howling. Being hearing impaired, I stepped out onto the porch to get a better listen and........... nothing. Just like always they shut right up.
It amazes me that even though they were obviously a good distance away (at least 800+ yards) they shut right up when I step outside. I can stand there with the door open and they'll keep right on yelping even if they are right across the road.
Just as long as I don't step outside.
Damn things are smart, that's for sure. Of course, I've never owned a night vision scope either.
I'm ok with Coyotes as long as I remember to lock up the Chicken House at night. They have a hell of a knack for coming by on the nights when I do forget to close things up.
On days when I'm not working, I alternate letting the 2 flocks out to forage during the day. They'll go in an roost when it gets dark and it's up to me to then secure the doors for them. All ya gotta do is forget once and you'll go out in the morning and find nothing but lots of little piles of feathers and maybe a foot or 2.
In the last 10 years it's happened twice and it always hurts. Losing critters to predators is just part of what happens out in the country, but being stupid and losing all of them at once sucks.
Last week, I opened the front door and let the dogs out to fertilize the yard and there were 2 Coyotes standing in the front yard not 40 feet from me. Those stupid Boxer dogs didn't even see them when they ran out to water the bushes and the Coyotes just trotted off across the road into the dark like ghosts. Smooth SOB's.
I do like to listen when a bunch of them are carrying on though. Stirs something primal in a guy and makes you want to read a Jack London book or something.
Job interview tomorrow at the Big City Hospital. Wish me luck, say a prayer or sacrifice a goat. Whatever you think appropriate.
Monday Night Thinking......... I had a big post all written up and decided to flush the whole thing because I have a bad attitude today and sometimes it's just better to hold off and post something tomorrow.
So That's the way it is for today.
Gratuitous Videos for a Monday Night-
Yep. That kind of mood.
Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Night- Some things just seem to go together.
What Time is It??????? It's now officially Beer30.
I've been working on that Oak tree and the general woodcutting mess all day. And my old ass is officially wore the hell out. But that's a good thing.
Still working my way back into some semblance of physical fitness after the surgery last Fall. It's not like I was in great shape to begin with, but a 2 month layup of enforced inactivity was the last thing my spongy ass needed.
Today was one of those days where it became pretty obvious. Now, all things considered it's a good thing for me to have my ass kicked by a day of hard work. That's how it'll get fixed, getting out there and using all those muscles that are tired right now. Didn't get as much as I wanted done, but I made a damn good dent in things. Everything is topped out and cut up with only the bole/trunk of that big Oak left to be cut up & then getting everything into one nice pile for easy splitting later.
Oak has a distinctive smell to it when cut. Some folks don't like it but I do. Smells like money to me.
Overslept this morning and got the day started behind the curve. Oh well. Must have needed the extra sack time.
Got a date with a big ass Oak tree that I dropped yesterday. Gotta limb it out and start cutting it up. Dropped a big Black Gum tree yesterday and got it all cut up, but I still have to clean up the mess from the small limbs, etc.
So there's a full days work to be done and I'd best be getting after it. See ya later.
The Cold Breath of Al Gore................... Blows across the land. Chaos, Havoc and Death ensue. Film at Eleven! Remember,Global Warming causes Blizzards. Or so says, Al Gore yesterday.
Today, a much friendlier and arguably more intelligent Rodent, Phil from Pennsylvania, claims that we will have an early Spring this year.
Phil's scientific model, based entirely on chance, receives no government funding and has no political agenda, (unlike that other Rodent, Al) is entertaining at least and makes more sense than Al's too.
And the followers of Phil don't make claims like This list of Bullshit (Check that list out for a good laugh).
All seriousness aside, things here at the GrumpyUnk Command and Control Bunker are looking good. We are just far enough South to have avoided the bulk of this storm and other than being cold and windy, it's just another cold ass day in February. But let's all hope that Punxsutawney Phil got it right this morning and Spring is indeed gonna get here soon! So stay warm and be safe out there.
Today is a good day to sit around and think about just what to do with the garden this year. My Genius Brother has a couple posts up about making an Apple Grinder and Cider Press and he linked to THIS GUY who has a ton of interesting & helpful things for around the house and garden. The thing that caught my eye was The row cover system. If it works like I think it should, it would eliminate a whole bunch of problems that I get every year. Looks simple and pretty cheap for the raised beds I plan on using it on. Here's a picture from his site of what I'm talking about - If it works, I will probably expand it into some of the row crops. Hell, if I'm ordering the cover material, I may be better off just ordering extra now. We'll see.
Anyway. If you garden, You may want to check out his many different sites as there's a whole bunch of info. I just scratched the surface so far today and I'm pretty sure there's a lot more.
Ordered seed corn this morning and that's about all I have to order as far as seeds go this year.
I've got a bunch of seed already and have been working on actively saving more. I think that Seed Saving is gonna become a necessity before long and is a skill all of us gardeners should be working on.
Spring is coming soon and it won't be long before it'll be time to get those Tomato seeds started! I'm ready.
Gratuitous Picture for a Tuesday Afternoon-
Spring is coming, just don't be- "This Guy". Riding a motorcycle is like Bowling - Stay in your own lane.
A sheet of ice all over everything this morning. Slippery as hell out there, but I can't complain. Looks like just North of here has an inch or 2 of ice and that's gotta be bad.
Ice makes tree limbs break & that knocks out power for folks. Not good. The big wind that blew through here a couple of years ago (remnant of hurricane WTF) took care of a lot of the weak trees around here and the power company spent a lot of money having crews go out and clear things up along a whole lot of lines. So we're probably in as good a shape as you could ask for around here.
I fired up the generator yesterday and made sure I got some more fuel if we needed it. So far so good and we'll be fine no matter. Can I get another round of applause for Mr Woodstove?? Thank you.
Like the Boy Scouts say - "Be Prepared". Living out where we do, we aren't real high on the priority list of things to get fixed if the power goes out all over and ya just have to have the means to be able to hunker down and rough it a bit for as long as necessary. Fact of life when you live in the country.
But it still amazes me that most folks don't plan for this sort of thing at all even though it happens fairly regular out here. You figure it out, I can't.
I don't have to go anywhere so that'll be one less Doofus out on the slippery ass roads.
We have 2 refugees from up North here now. My Niece and 1 of her college classmates came in late last night after the college closed everything up. Took 'em 6 hours to make a 2 hour drive.
Yep, it's Nasty North of here. So far we've dodged it and that's just fine w/ me. You all stay safe out there.
