E-MAIL: trajectory1780@gmail.com

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Got Busted

Actually it's more like I busted myself. Due to the temperature I was wearing an unzipped jacket yesterday morning when I visited the local paint ball field and shop. A young guy behind the counter commented that he liked the printing on the front of my T-shirt, so I opened the jacket farther so he could get a better look. He then said "I like that too". "Is it a Springfield?" Damn! I just about always keep my shirt over the gun whether I wear a jacket or not, but not Saturday. Thankfully no sheep were put into panic.

Time to Test it

Today I spent several hours getting my paintball gear in order. It's a great sport that I haven't been able to participate in for about 1-1/2 years due to physical issues. I now have a brand-spankin-new hip, and a leg that is OK for just walking around. I can go for about 2/3 of a mile on flat surface before the leg gets fatigued. This coming Saturday I'll be joining some co-workers at a local paint ball field. I wonder how the leg is going to hold up.

Just a Nuisance

The US has not declared war since WWII. So what about Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan? They sure seemed to be wars to me. So much for the constitution, that document that has become nothing more than a nuisance to the big government.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Historically Not So Much

Yesterday the Boss mentioned that the world is in such terrible shape. Fighting in North Africa and nearby combined with earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, nuclear reactor failures, oil platform explosions and global economics has her in a funk. Fighting among the Arab states and their neighbors has been going on for centuries, so as far as I'm concerned, that one can be marked from the list.

The others are certainly things to consider, but things aren't so much worse than the history of my life. I remember, as a child, doing school drills in case of a nuclear attack. People were building fallout shelters and personal compounds in the boonies for survival. There were intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads pointed our way just waiting for the push of a button. And then I'm not sure there's been a decade in my life when our military hasn't been fighting somebody somewhere.

The difference today is that we know so much more, so much quicker than in anytime of history. I'm not so sure the world is in worse shape now than in the past.

Under The Knife

It's now official. The Boss will be under the knife some time around April 8. Along with 3 bulging disks, she has arthritis growing into the canal housing the spinal cord thus applying pressure to the nerves. This surgery should relieve her constant pain, and help keep her from becoming permanently crippled.

The Doc. will be cleaning away the bony growths and trim the disks if they need it. She's been instructed to do basically nothing but take care of herself for at least 3 weeks after surgery. Looks like I'll be the bread winner and the house wife for a while yet.

I may have to tie her to a chair to keep her from overdoing it.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Little Joy This Weekend

I spent the weekend cleaning out gutters, picking up fallen tree limbs (large and small), cleaning trash from along the road and creek, and replacing worn plumbing fixtures. No fun at all.

Well not a whole lot of fun anyway. The 15 year old adopted grandson did quite a bit of the work for me. I'm still not all the way back from hip surgery. He's the typical "non-human" teenager but he's nice to have around.

He's also the occasional shooting and paintball partner. Unfortunately no time this weekend for those enjoyable activities.

Again to the Rescue

Over 100 cruise missiles and counting, with long range and carrier launched bombing. At least this time not all the costs are coming from US tax dollars. I certainly don't question the need to blow the hell out of those folks, but why in the hell can't the Arabs take care of their own for a change? If the Arab League wanted this done, then they should do it. Why do we always seem to be helping those that don't like us before and also after we help?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Oil in The Hills ??

According to the local rag, some oil company(s) has invested $1 billion in buying leases here in Ohio. Obviously somebody thinks there's oil and/or natural gas here that can be harvested for a profit.

It was also said the the state government is looking to open state forests and parks for drilling. And naturally this has the tree huggers all in a dither.

Several years ago I took 3 trips to hunt deer in northwestern Pennsylvania. I was hunting near Titusville and Oil City where the oil craze first started. In the old days all the timber was harvested to build derricks. When I was there, decades later, you couldn't tell the hill sides were ever stripped bare. The only trace of the oil rush was the occasional tank, rusted pipe and non-working pump. Mother nature took care of things.

Today's technology would leave basically no trace of mans harvest of oil or gas within a few months.

As additional testament, when I was in Alaska, along the pipeline, I found that wildlife was actually helped by the big and long pipe. Plant life flourished and so do the animals.

I love the outdoors as much as anyone, but I also live in the real word, not some fantasy land. The tree huggers need to go pound sand.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Carry Guns

I've mentioned before that I have 3 carry guns. My personal choices are a 3" 1911 (45), Kahr PM9 (9mm) and Keltec P3AT (380). My preference as to which I carry is also the order listed. I wish they were all single action, but I'm not made of money.

I've never fully understood why anyone would prefer to shoot pistols with the long trigger travel found on most of the newer designs. Give me the trigger on a stock 1911 or just slightly modified HiPower any day.

I have 3 because they all serve different purposes as far as concealment versus cartridge effectiveness. There are times where the 45 is too large, so I go to the Kahr, and then more rarely I carry the Keltec in a pocket.

I think it was Jeff Cooper who called anything smaller than the old 45 as a mouse gun. Here's an article on mouse guns that may interest.

Left Handed Better

The last time I did any shooting was about a month ago. I've been able to do some hand gun work 3 times since September, just before surgery. Before hip replacement surgery last September I was working on improving my left handed marksmanship, mostly with my Buckmark target 22. Because of weather I've only been able to do hand gun work indoors, once each of the last 3 months.

The last time out my left handed accuracy was surprisingly better than my right hand. I'm right handed. I was very surprised since last summer the left wasn't even close to being as good as the right. Today at 10 meters I was shooting 5 rounds right handed followed by 5 left handed. After a total of 100 rounds I couldn't tell the difference in accuracy.

I even ran a few magazines through the little Kahr PM9 at a half sized silhouette target using one hand then the other. I don't shoot this miniature 9mm as well as a 1911, even 2 handed, but all rounds hit the black and fairly well centered.

So why practice one handed, even wrong handed? Because it just might, one day, save my life or the life of another. Besides it's hard to do well. I like a challenge.

Right-On

Sent to me via -email.

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald in Waco, TX on 11/18/10

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self-esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self-esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

Alfred W. Evans, Gatesville, TX

AND while you are on Government subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Government welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.



"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

Ronald Reagan's first Inaugural Address January 20, 1981


-----
Now if you'll excuse me I need to gather some gear and get ready to leave. I'm meeting a friend at the range for a little trigger time.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Union Worker

The eldest has informed me that Ruger is marketing a new gun called The Union Worker.
It doesn't work, and you can't fire it.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Oil Shortage ??

Via e-mail comes this gem.

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country.
~~~
Well, there's a very simple answer.
~~~
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
~~~
We just didn't know we were getting low.
~~~
The reason for that is purely geographical.
~~~
Our OIL is located in:
~~~
ALASKA
~~~
California
~~~
Coastal Florida
~~~
Coastal Louisiana
~~~
Coastal Alabama
~~~~
Coastal Mississippi
~~~~
Coastal Texas
~~~
North Dakota
~~~
Wyoming
~~~
Colorado
~~~
Kansas
~~~
Oklahoma
~~~
Pennsylvania
~~~
And
~~~
Texas
~~~
Our dipsticks are located in DC
~~~
Any Questions? NO? Didn't think So.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Stupid People

About 5 miles from the house is a small community of homes that sits along a river. As a child it would flood almost every spring as the thaw, combined with rain swelled the river. And every time the homeowners begged and received government assistance.

At some point tax payer money was used to build a small levy between the homes and the water. So now they get flooded every few years, and they still call for government help to rebuild.

I get very tired hearing about the money stolen from me, going to those that won't help themselves. Any rational human would not live in a documented flood zone.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Big Mommy Strikes

Looks like the Chevy Volt isn't doing so well in sales. So the Fed government is pushing the Volt as either a saver of the atmosphere or a way to get away from fossil fuels. Since regulations, federal, make it next to impossible to build nuclear power plants, where do you think the electricity comes from? Fossil fuels.

I understand they're also subsidizing the cost of production. The only economic reason to do that is the cost of the vehicle has zero or negative payback versus the electricity used. Then again road performance may have something to do with it.

That's not the only circular policies from the big mommy in DC.

Get less dependant on foreign oil, but restrict or ban drilling of our own large supply. Also make it cost prohibitive to build or improve our refineries.

Subsidize ethanol as a fuel because it's not economic viable. Spend our tax dollars to use more corn and at the same time increase food costs.

Destroy our economic future by borrowing big for the short term.

Require all to purchase some kind of health insurance that has the immediate effect of increasing health costs and driving health professionals out of the business, which will increase costs again.

And those are just the ones that come immediately to mind. One would think that our elected leaders are intent on destroying our way of life, our country.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

It Sucks To Live In Ohio

Comparatively speaking at least. Freedom-wise we're OK, but economically we've been circling the drain for years. Historically businesses have been leaving for greener pastures. As they go, so must the workers. The state population has been dropping for decades, and our taxes have been increasing. The socialists have been running things for far too long. With luck and hard work, maybe the new Gov and law makers can turn it around.

So why am I still here in the Buckeye state? Because the Bosses family was here, until recently I've had good jobs, our immediate family is here, and the father-in-law is dependant on us. When her father goes, we might leave the state like so many others have done. Employment opportunities are slim and taxes are high. I should have left years ago.

Domestic Threat

I guess it's been a couple of years now since some nut-job from Illinois introduced a federal bill that would require all gun owners to register themselves as gun owners. In essence, all gun owners would be required to have a card, and the card would be required to purchase ammunition or guns. Basically the same as the state law of Illinois.

I must commend the Illinois state police for refusing the state attorney general.

When I told my eldest son about the proposed federal law, he simply looked me in the eye. He then said that he will not be registered like a steer. Part of the reason he spent time in the Marines was to protect and preserve liberty. He also said that technically he was living in violation of the oath he took when entering the service. In order to be compliant, he would have to attack D.C., the domestic threat.