On The Road Again

Two States Between Here and There Home...


OK, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to head back to work this morning.

In my usual displaced professional beach-bum manner, I personally will be a day late arriving back in the 9 to 5 grind adjacent to the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River, but any way...

Let's take a look at the score card and tally up the successes of this year's Fourth of July holiday.

1. Gutters and Roofs on the house and two out buildings...

CLEAN

2. Increased Global Warming caused by frivolous discharge of weapons of varying caliber's and descriptions...

ACCOMPLISHED WITH GLEE!!

3. Turbo Pup worn out chasing rogue Coyotes and Captive Catfish...

CHECK

4. New 32" RCA LCD HD TV installed in Mom's Den...

ACCOMPLISHED (but not without having to return one TV that was dead on arrival here at the Rogers compound.)

And for those of you anti-gun and otherwise squeamish anti-hunting individuals out there that think people like me with guns are a scourge on society, be advised that not a single feather was ruffled, not a single deer or other warm blooded animal other than a couple of Armadillos was disturbed by my adventures over the past four days.

I did manage to scare the heck out of one Armadillo, probably dispatched another one to Armadillo Heaven, and I severely reduced the population of turtles hanging around our dock which decimate the fish egg and fingerling population every year.

Regarding the Coyote reference, Pat and Missy the Tubo Pup did actually have a pre-dawn encounter with a couple of large Coyotes within 50 feet of the house on Friday morning, and I'd have blasted both of them into oblivion given the chance because like the Armadillo they are recent immigrants to this part of Alabama and they're a scourge in the life of livestock farmers and homeowners everywhere.

Time to clean the guns now...bother me at your own risk...

I've Got A 22 Caliber Semi-Automatic Chain Saw

Obvious Redneck Solutions To Life's Problems...


So I'm sitting here after the fourth of July in LA (Lower Alabama) having intentionally not purchased any fireworks in favor of spending $75 on of all things, AMMUNITION for my guns, and I was starting to get desperate for things to shoot.

Then Mother Nature came along and dropped a couple of inches of rain on the area while we were at dinner in an adjacent city, and when we got home there was a big branch on a pine tree by the pool deck hanging down half broken.

When I got up this morning I realized that I was probably going to have to drag the extension ladder out of the storage building and do some climbing with a saw.

Then I had another thought, involving my Dad's 1950's vintage 22 semi-auto rifle.

Forty five shots later and the tree branch was lounging comfortably on top of a compost pile on the edge of the property.

I've yet to crack out the 30-06 rounds yet, but thus far I've wasted a good deal of 12 gauge shotgun ammo along with some 22 magnum casings and a bunch of 22 long rifle rounds.

Trespassers beware...

About One Year Ago

Has It Already Been That Long?


About this time of the morning on July 5th last year we lost a good friend.

Our old friend Bucky (Dartmouth Class of '42) passed away early on a Thursday morning, having witnessed over 85 years of changes to his beloved Long Island, the New England region, and balance of the country he defended as a member of the Corps of Engineers in WWII.

Pat and I have made significant changes to our lives and lifestyles in the months since Bucky moved away from our little Island to live in Assisted Living in a place closer to his own family-- adding Missy the Turbo Pup to our pack and seeing me re-enter the Engineering profession after an eight year hiatus-- but he is missed as much here today in Southern Alabama and on the banks of The Mighty Tennessee River as he is in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

They don't make 'em like that any more...

Stranded In Internet Pergatory

DSL Slower Than Christmas Nothing?


Yes, I'm still alive, although technically I'm living in the stone age, brought to you this morning by Centurytel DSL Internet.

Stone age might be a complement...who in their right mind has to "log in" to their own network, has the wireless features of the modem/router disabled--all courtesy of the people in "technical support" (and I use the word technical loosely) at your Internet Service Provider.

I hate coming back home to Alabama a few times each year to find out what the so-called professionals have done to my Mother's computer and network.

It looks like I'm stuck in her bedroom with her old Compaq laptop until I can untangle the mess they've made here.

Wish me luck...if you will.

True Back Then...

Nearly Forgotten, But Still True Today...


Ladies and Gentlemen, I just don't know how anyone can take this Obama character seriously.

Apparently, a number of people are (taking him seriously...that is.)

In my mind, I say that these have to be ignorant or otherwise TOTALLY STUPID people...

people that were educated in the current editions of our Government Schools that apparently teach propaganda and Green BS instead or readin', writin', and 'rithmatic with a good dose of accurate World and American history thrown in for good measure.

Take the speech he delivered yesterday in Independence, Missouri, the transcript of which is available here via the Washington Post website.

For someone running for president, Mr. Obama sure has a weak grasp on the historical details of the documents on which our Nation was founded. When considering someone for the office of President of the United States I expect his prepared public statements to be accurate and his staff to precisely fact check the content even if the candidate insists on writing his own transcripts (something I seriously doubt happens in the Obama campaign.)

Case in point, here is a sample of one of the points made several minutes into yesterday's campaign process:

"I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, listening to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I remember her explaining how this declaration applied to every American, black and white and brown alike; how those words, and words of the United States Constitution, protected us from the injustices that we witnessed other people suffering during those years abroad. That's my idea of America."


Sorry Mr. Obama, but the first lines of The Declaration of Independence read as follows:

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

Now I know that I'm picking nits here, but that paragraph does in fact contain "the first lines of the Declaration" followed in the SECOND PARAGRAPH with the lines referenced by the Senator's speech.

I, personally, say that it is in fact the lines that follow these famous words that matter more in today's world, in today's perverted, mutated version of my beloved nation:


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Interesting stuff, right?

Let's look at the sentences of that paragraph that the good Senator failed to address in his political pontifications:

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it."

Can you say "US Civil War?"

Oh yeah, that's right, although it was good enough for the founding fathers in 1776, in the ninety years following between then and 1886 things changed a good deal on the political landscape.

People started down the long path to ignorance and stupidity that we're still perfecting today.

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes."

Light and transient causes?

What about government involvement with everything from "health care" to "gun laws" to "Gay marriage" to taxing the ass of 1/3 of the population to pay the cost of living, retiring, and dieing for the other 2/3's of the population?

What about talking about abolishing the electoral college and the effects of the direct election of Senators by the electorate--leaving the individual states unrepresented in the Federal governmental process?

Oh, yeah, that's right...serious stuff that people are too ignorant and/or stupid to take care of themselves.

We need GOVERNMENT to do it for us...

And finally:

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

I guess rather than staging a revolution or Civil War the old dudes wearing the powdered wigs actually meant electing the likes of YOU, Senator Obama?

YOU, an empty suit, progressive, product of Government Schools and the "Ivy League" that is highly educated but knows nothing of value to me, my family, and my peers in society.

Finally, Obama delivers this gem of a historical mis-statement:

"As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted."

Try not to be confused, it must be a function of some kind of new math...2008- 1776=400 years plus, not 232 years in Obama's world.

Historically, politicians--especially Democrats-- rarely let the real numbers and facts get in the way of an idea...just like Obama inflates his own experience and credentials when it comes to being even remotely qualified to be the leader of the most powerful Nation on Earth.

Can you believe this CRAP made it into a speech in a Presidential campaign?

Don't expect to hear it from the lamestream media outlets, I would have missed it if it weren't for the guys over at Powerline.

How in the world can you overlook things like this and other serious errors in the good senator's oratory and still consider placing him on the world stage as your representative and national leader?

(I know, your busy working to pay for gasoline and the War in Iraq...don't bother you with DETAILS. )

End Of An Era

Times Are A Changin'...


I was laying there half asleep this morning when one of the commercials came on TV admonishing people to get ready for the February 2009 conversion of our national broadcast TV network from the old analog system to digital.

I guess if you've been living in a cave or under a rock you haven't heard by now, and leave it to the government to set up a "program" to subsidize or give away the boxes they mandated when they also forced the broadcasters to change the way they use the "public" airwaves.

While this milestone won't affect our household on a daily basis, I guess that I may end up picking up one of the boxes after the dust settles because my Dad left us a number of old tube type antique TV sets in his shop that he had collected back in the 1950's and 60's. I'd like to be able to turn on the power to one of those old "portable" wooden cabinets and watch a grainy picture on a little bitty round picture tube.

Then I had another thought...and as a result I thought that I would offer my own Analog TV reception enhancement kit to assist all of you out there who still get their evening news and soap operas using a pair of these:



Simply send me a large self addressed manila envelope or other appropriately sized packaging and I'll send you this high technology package:



If you're under about age 25 you probably won't know what to do with this elaborately designed signal reception enhancement kit nore will you need it's technology.

For the rest of you...

"Your welcome...I'm happy to remind you of where we're all coming from..."