Wishing everyone out there a most Merry Christmas!
May 2013 bring you joy, prosperity and good health!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
The World Was Supposed to End Today
For the past year and a half or so, we've been hearing plenty about how the Mayan calendar was suggesting that the world was going to end today. The History Channel was running programming on this topic from time to time (and even today, giving us a welcome break from the other non-history programming they show) and these past few days there seemed to be this buildup. Just one week ago I learned that Shock Top brewing was selling this special "End of the World" brew (I tried some.....and liked it).
I remember when Mark was telling me two or so years ago about how some folks were saying that this was really it; the world would end on the 21st of December in 2012. I responded jokingly by saying "that ought to be about right". Last week someone was saying that the earth's magnetic poles would somehow reverse positions and someone else was saying that the sun would go out for three days, and both of these someones were serious......they were sure it was going to happen.
For the past several months my theory about the Mayan calendar was that they ran out of room, and thus stopped. I developed some other theories this past week. It could have been that whoever it was who was doing the calendar reached the solstice for this year and said "the hell with this, I'm not working on this stupid calendar any more!" Or it could have been that the Royal Chieftain of the Mayans told the guy "you've worked long enough on this calendar, we now need you to help us build some pyramids". We don't know.
But as for them picking out the date of the solstice, and how they were able to do that.....well we've had people studying the stars for 5000 years or so and my thinking is that some sharp minds figured out that the sun rose at its northernmost point in June while rising at its southernmost point in December. They figured out that the midpoints were in March and September. If you're an astronomer/astrologer some thousands of years ago and your king thinks that the stars foretell the future and charges you with figuring it out or have your head chopped off, you're going to spend a few years figuring out where the sun rises each day of the year. You're going to know which constellations appear in the evening for each month. You're going to keep track of the moon and the observable planets. Point here is, is that it shouldn't surprise us that the Mayans knew when the winter solstice would be.
Civilizations may have used the winter solstice to determine when the year started. They may have used one of the equinoxes. A year doesn't have to start on January 1. It can start on any day that you want it to. Choosing a solstice or equinox is a more recognizable reference point than the other days. A year ending on the winter solstice isn't really a bad choice......the days start getting longer after that for the next six months.
As for those few who really got fixated on this.....who bought into this........who really thought that this was it.........
..........they need professional help.
I remember when Mark was telling me two or so years ago about how some folks were saying that this was really it; the world would end on the 21st of December in 2012. I responded jokingly by saying "that ought to be about right". Last week someone was saying that the earth's magnetic poles would somehow reverse positions and someone else was saying that the sun would go out for three days, and both of these someones were serious......they were sure it was going to happen.
For the past several months my theory about the Mayan calendar was that they ran out of room, and thus stopped. I developed some other theories this past week. It could have been that whoever it was who was doing the calendar reached the solstice for this year and said "the hell with this, I'm not working on this stupid calendar any more!" Or it could have been that the Royal Chieftain of the Mayans told the guy "you've worked long enough on this calendar, we now need you to help us build some pyramids". We don't know.
But as for them picking out the date of the solstice, and how they were able to do that.....well we've had people studying the stars for 5000 years or so and my thinking is that some sharp minds figured out that the sun rose at its northernmost point in June while rising at its southernmost point in December. They figured out that the midpoints were in March and September. If you're an astronomer/astrologer some thousands of years ago and your king thinks that the stars foretell the future and charges you with figuring it out or have your head chopped off, you're going to spend a few years figuring out where the sun rises each day of the year. You're going to know which constellations appear in the evening for each month. You're going to keep track of the moon and the observable planets. Point here is, is that it shouldn't surprise us that the Mayans knew when the winter solstice would be.
Civilizations may have used the winter solstice to determine when the year started. They may have used one of the equinoxes. A year doesn't have to start on January 1. It can start on any day that you want it to. Choosing a solstice or equinox is a more recognizable reference point than the other days. A year ending on the winter solstice isn't really a bad choice......the days start getting longer after that for the next six months.
As for those few who really got fixated on this.....who bought into this........who really thought that this was it.........
..........they need professional help.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Some "New" Bachman-Turner Overdrive is out!
My copy of the the latest BTO release arrived in my mailbox a week ago. It's called "Bachman-Turner Overdrive 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". It's a two CD set, and contains not only two previously unreleased songs, it also has the complete "Japan Tour - Live" album on it with two bonus tracks from their Japan Concerts that were not on the vinyl release of 1977......and that release was only available in Canada.
The two until now unheard songs are "Rough Ride", a Fred Turner composition that didn't make the 1984 album, and "West Coast Turnaround" which was recorded in 1975 for the Head On album, but didn't make that one. Also is a rehearsal version of "Another Fool".
As a longtime fan it's great to hear "new" material, even if that material has been languishing in the vaults all these years. It's also great that the well known songs are on as well, even if "Madison Avenue" didn't make this one.
I must also comment on the "Japan Tour Live" material. I first got this album in 1979 as an import, and couldn't understand why Mercury didn't release this one stateside. I also couldn't understand why this one never came out on CD. When Robbie Bachman had his board up, we asked him about this one, and he told us that the master tapes to this one had been lost or accidentally destroyed. For a long time this was the "holy grail" of BTO material; unobtainable on CD. It finally made the CD format last year but you had to order it from England, and a snippet of one of the songs was missing.....not to mention that it sounded like a bootleg (the bass was lacking).
This new anthology collection brings us "Japan Tour Live" complete, and with it adequately capturing the bass.
If you're into BTO, you'll want to get your copy as that these days CDs don't seem to stay in print as long as they used to.
Some odds and ends.
Work has been going well, and I've had the full weekends off again. I'm not sure how much longer that will last as that I'm being asked about my willingness to work overtime again next year. 2013 will be very busy for us, and my sense is that we'll be busier than we were last year.
These days, that's a good thing.
With some sadness I have to report that the April Wine official website has taken their forum down. From what I can gather all interaction between the band and us fans will be via Facebook from here on out. That's a shame, as that I won't do the Facebook thing, and Myles Goodwyn came out of his shell to start interacting with us in the final six months of the webforum.
I hope that they'll decide to bring back the forums. I wasn't much of a participant there this year but I sure had fun getting to chat with the fans, as well as with Myles and Brian.
Weather in southern Arizona has been gorgeous these past few weeks! I take this as an indication that we're in for a milder than usual winter. I think we're in for some rain next weekend though.
That's going to be it this evening. My sinuses have been killing me this weekend, and I'm turning in early for some rest.
I'll need it; I'm in for a busy week.
The two until now unheard songs are "Rough Ride", a Fred Turner composition that didn't make the 1984 album, and "West Coast Turnaround" which was recorded in 1975 for the Head On album, but didn't make that one. Also is a rehearsal version of "Another Fool".
As a longtime fan it's great to hear "new" material, even if that material has been languishing in the vaults all these years. It's also great that the well known songs are on as well, even if "Madison Avenue" didn't make this one.
I must also comment on the "Japan Tour Live" material. I first got this album in 1979 as an import, and couldn't understand why Mercury didn't release this one stateside. I also couldn't understand why this one never came out on CD. When Robbie Bachman had his board up, we asked him about this one, and he told us that the master tapes to this one had been lost or accidentally destroyed. For a long time this was the "holy grail" of BTO material; unobtainable on CD. It finally made the CD format last year but you had to order it from England, and a snippet of one of the songs was missing.....not to mention that it sounded like a bootleg (the bass was lacking).
This new anthology collection brings us "Japan Tour Live" complete, and with it adequately capturing the bass.
If you're into BTO, you'll want to get your copy as that these days CDs don't seem to stay in print as long as they used to.
* * * * * * *
Some odds and ends.
Work has been going well, and I've had the full weekends off again. I'm not sure how much longer that will last as that I'm being asked about my willingness to work overtime again next year. 2013 will be very busy for us, and my sense is that we'll be busier than we were last year.
These days, that's a good thing.
* * * * * * *
With some sadness I have to report that the April Wine official website has taken their forum down. From what I can gather all interaction between the band and us fans will be via Facebook from here on out. That's a shame, as that I won't do the Facebook thing, and Myles Goodwyn came out of his shell to start interacting with us in the final six months of the webforum.
I hope that they'll decide to bring back the forums. I wasn't much of a participant there this year but I sure had fun getting to chat with the fans, as well as with Myles and Brian.
* * * * * * *
Weather in southern Arizona has been gorgeous these past few weeks! I take this as an indication that we're in for a milder than usual winter. I think we're in for some rain next weekend though.
* * * * * * *
That's going to be it this evening. My sinuses have been killing me this weekend, and I'm turning in early for some rest.
I'll need it; I'm in for a busy week.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
The Invention of Counterfeiting
(This is part III of a series I'm doing on money)
It is safe to say that shortly after the Lydians began making the world's first coins, that some enterprising fraudsters got into counterfeiting. These were very likely practicing criminals who were adept at fraud and innovative in discovering new ways to commit it, and once money in the form of coins began to circulate it undoubtedly had to occur to them that a means of fleecing the honest folks had appeared and they were determined to take advantage of it. For their product, they would have had to use some amounts of gold and silver, which were used to plate the base metals making up the bulk weight of the counterfeit coins.
To get the gold and silver that they needed, they would shave the edges of the real coins. This had two effects on their criminal enterprise. One, they were able to get the raw material that they needed, but two, if the person that they were passing off the shaved coin to was not aware that the coin was not a full coin, that coin became accepted as such and thus any merchant who accepted the coin at its stated face value was defrauded.
Coin clipping became prevalent in the early years of coinage and persisted for centuries. Not only was it practiced by criminals, but kings themselves practiced it in order to increase their own wealth. This would have course, introduced inflation, as that once the public became aware of this debasement then prices would rise. That one gold coin that might have purchased twelve sheep would then purchase eleven as that a clipped coin wasn't really worth what the king said it was worth. And even if the king wasn't debasing currency, counterfeiting would and could introduce inflation depending on its prevalence.
Coins of course, were not the only money that was counterfeited. Once paper money began to circulate, it also became a target of counterfeiting. Counterfeiting banknotes was an easier endeavor than striking a fake coin in the sense that the raw materials for this type of forgery were more readily available. I think that's one reason why counterfeiting for many centuries was an act punishable by death, and that death penalty was meted out when counterfeiters were caught. Banknotes printed by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin had the warning "To counterfeit is death". That kind of penalty for counterfeiting might seem harsh by today's standards, but let's look at it from the viewpoint of medieval authority for a moment.
Say that you're a king. Your government is issuing money to be used as a means of commerce. You want strict control over the treasury and you want your people to have confidence in the money that they're using as that confidence in your currency is a form of confidence in your rule. After all, your portrait is on that coin. That money that is issued by your state has your guarantee that it is going to be worth a set value, and not only do you want your money being used by your people, you also want that money to have the reputation such that it can be accepted by those foreign merchants you're dealing with. If your money is more widely accepted than that of your rival kingdom, then you have a wider influence. You wouldn't want anyone messing around with debasing your money (unless you're the one doing the debasing, which I will cover in a future posting). You want anyone who does it to be caught, and to be put to death.
Likewise if you're a king, you might want to employ counterfeiting your enemy's currency if you're at war with that enemy. During the Revolutionary War, Great Britain was counterfeiting colonial currency in an effort to destabilize the Continental Currency that was issued by the Continental Congress. The Union government counterfeited Confederate banknotes in order to destabilize the South. Adolf Hitler's regime was working on a plan to counterfeit the currency of the Allies in 1944. And in more modern times, North Korea is reported to be counterfeiting American hundred dollar bills ("superdollars") in large quantities. One pound coins issued by the United Kingdom are also being counterfeited, and from the images of those that I've seen they're really good fakes.
Counterfeiting is going to be with us as long as there's a human race. It's no longer confined to money, as that there are vast amounts of fake consumer goods being counterfeited. I can walk across the border into Nogales and locate fake Rolex watches rather easily. My employer has to worry about being stuck with counterfeit computer chips.
Counterfeiting is not the only means of debasing currency. I will discuss this more in a future posting, but I think I'm also going to post a story about a guy in New Jersey who counterfeited nickels. Stay tuned.
It is safe to say that shortly after the Lydians began making the world's first coins, that some enterprising fraudsters got into counterfeiting. These were very likely practicing criminals who were adept at fraud and innovative in discovering new ways to commit it, and once money in the form of coins began to circulate it undoubtedly had to occur to them that a means of fleecing the honest folks had appeared and they were determined to take advantage of it. For their product, they would have had to use some amounts of gold and silver, which were used to plate the base metals making up the bulk weight of the counterfeit coins.
To get the gold and silver that they needed, they would shave the edges of the real coins. This had two effects on their criminal enterprise. One, they were able to get the raw material that they needed, but two, if the person that they were passing off the shaved coin to was not aware that the coin was not a full coin, that coin became accepted as such and thus any merchant who accepted the coin at its stated face value was defrauded.
Coin clipping became prevalent in the early years of coinage and persisted for centuries. Not only was it practiced by criminals, but kings themselves practiced it in order to increase their own wealth. This would have course, introduced inflation, as that once the public became aware of this debasement then prices would rise. That one gold coin that might have purchased twelve sheep would then purchase eleven as that a clipped coin wasn't really worth what the king said it was worth. And even if the king wasn't debasing currency, counterfeiting would and could introduce inflation depending on its prevalence.
Coins of course, were not the only money that was counterfeited. Once paper money began to circulate, it also became a target of counterfeiting. Counterfeiting banknotes was an easier endeavor than striking a fake coin in the sense that the raw materials for this type of forgery were more readily available. I think that's one reason why counterfeiting for many centuries was an act punishable by death, and that death penalty was meted out when counterfeiters were caught. Banknotes printed by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin had the warning "To counterfeit is death". That kind of penalty for counterfeiting might seem harsh by today's standards, but let's look at it from the viewpoint of medieval authority for a moment.
Say that you're a king. Your government is issuing money to be used as a means of commerce. You want strict control over the treasury and you want your people to have confidence in the money that they're using as that confidence in your currency is a form of confidence in your rule. After all, your portrait is on that coin. That money that is issued by your state has your guarantee that it is going to be worth a set value, and not only do you want your money being used by your people, you also want that money to have the reputation such that it can be accepted by those foreign merchants you're dealing with. If your money is more widely accepted than that of your rival kingdom, then you have a wider influence. You wouldn't want anyone messing around with debasing your money (unless you're the one doing the debasing, which I will cover in a future posting). You want anyone who does it to be caught, and to be put to death.
Likewise if you're a king, you might want to employ counterfeiting your enemy's currency if you're at war with that enemy. During the Revolutionary War, Great Britain was counterfeiting colonial currency in an effort to destabilize the Continental Currency that was issued by the Continental Congress. The Union government counterfeited Confederate banknotes in order to destabilize the South. Adolf Hitler's regime was working on a plan to counterfeit the currency of the Allies in 1944. And in more modern times, North Korea is reported to be counterfeiting American hundred dollar bills ("superdollars") in large quantities. One pound coins issued by the United Kingdom are also being counterfeited, and from the images of those that I've seen they're really good fakes.
Counterfeiting is going to be with us as long as there's a human race. It's no longer confined to money, as that there are vast amounts of fake consumer goods being counterfeited. I can walk across the border into Nogales and locate fake Rolex watches rather easily. My employer has to worry about being stuck with counterfeit computer chips.
Counterfeiting is not the only means of debasing currency. I will discuss this more in a future posting, but I think I'm also going to post a story about a guy in New Jersey who counterfeited nickels. Stay tuned.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
I'm in the Mood for Some Music Tonight
I'm taking tomorrow off by necessity. When driving my truck yesterday my clutch slipped, which means that it's up on the rack tomorrow getting fixed. So tomorrow is going to be a vacation day, and since I don't have to be at work tomorrow I get to stay up later than usual. I may post an entry tomorrow, I may not, but when you have a day off you may as well make the most of it......and that includes the evening before the day off.
I like good tunes, and am partial to some of those more obscure tunes that aren't exactly fixtures on the radio but are, in my mind, some good tunes. So I'm going to present a selection of some favorites and I hope that you will take to the time to listen to them.
The first tune this evening will be from April Wine. You may have heard this one before. It broke back in 1981.
What makes this one interesting is the bridge, which is preceded by "I Don't Care" times three. The drumming is especially good in the bridge, at 1:39 into the song.
All Over Town
The next tune is from Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's a fun one to play on guitar. It's from their second album, Bayou Country.
Song #3 is from the Smithereens, from an album released in 1986.
Groovy Tuesday
This next tune is off of one of the best albums ever recorded, American Woman by The Guess Who. When several original members reunited for a tour in 2000, this song was in the set.
Talisman
You remember those old vinyl LPs, don't you? If this were an LP this would be the last song on the A side, which was sometimes song #5, or song #4. This evening it will be song #5.
This one is track #5 off of Foreigner's debut album, which is called Foreigner. The lyrics in this one, in my opinion, are amazing.
The Damage is Done
Now we're on the B side of what this "album" would be if this were an album I was playing for you.
My Canadian readers may know this song while my stateside readers likely won't know it. I wouldn't have known about this had it not been for April Wine covering this song. It pointed me to a jazz/blues band out of Vancouver that I hope to see one day. That band is the Powder Blues Band, and I've got a few of their records that I picked up when I visited Vancouver in 1988.
Doin' It Right
This next song has been a longtime favorite of mine for over 30 years. It's a song that was written by Fred Turner, and I've had a chance to discuss this one with him when we were talking after a BTO concert in 2001. It's been a longtime favorite of other BTO fans as well, and believe you me, we begged Fred to place this into the setlist.
Fred told me that it wasn't as well known as the other BTO songs, and the promoters only wanted to do the better known songs. Thus, it never made it into the setlist.
I've been known to make ladies that I've contemplated getting serious with to listen to this song.
I consider it to be one of the best songs ever recorded. I hope you feel the same way about it.
Madison Avenue
We're going across the pond for this next tune. It's from Emerson Lake & Palmer, and it's an instrumental (for the most part) from their Works Volume I album. Joe Walsh makes a guest appearance on guitar (and vocals towards the end).
L.A. Nights
Here's a song that has some road trip memories for me. I heard it on the radio while I was in British Columbia in 1990, and I'm going to guess that I was on TransCan 1 in/near Abbotsford and that I was listening to an FM station out of Vancouver. CFOX?
I think my next ime on Amazon, I'll be ordering the CD that this one came off of. Kim Mitchell has been growing on me as of late.
Patio Lanterns
Deciding what the final song for a post such as this can be difficult, but that wasn't the case this evening. I knew before I started this post what the last song of the evening would be. It's one of the best songs ever recorded, and if I were to be in a local band here I would insist that this one be part of the set. It's from Deep Purple.
Space Truckin'
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
I like good tunes, and am partial to some of those more obscure tunes that aren't exactly fixtures on the radio but are, in my mind, some good tunes. So I'm going to present a selection of some favorites and I hope that you will take to the time to listen to them.
* * * * * * *
The first tune this evening will be from April Wine. You may have heard this one before. It broke back in 1981.
What makes this one interesting is the bridge, which is preceded by "I Don't Care" times three. The drumming is especially good in the bridge, at 1:39 into the song.
All Over Town
* * * * * * *
The next tune is from Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's a fun one to play on guitar. It's from their second album, Bayou Country.
* * * * * * *
Song #3 is from the Smithereens, from an album released in 1986.
Groovy Tuesday
* * * * * * *
This next tune is off of one of the best albums ever recorded, American Woman by The Guess Who. When several original members reunited for a tour in 2000, this song was in the set.
Talisman
* * * * * * *
You remember those old vinyl LPs, don't you? If this were an LP this would be the last song on the A side, which was sometimes song #5, or song #4. This evening it will be song #5.
This one is track #5 off of Foreigner's debut album, which is called Foreigner. The lyrics in this one, in my opinion, are amazing.
The Damage is Done
* * * * * * *
Now we're on the B side of what this "album" would be if this were an album I was playing for you.
My Canadian readers may know this song while my stateside readers likely won't know it. I wouldn't have known about this had it not been for April Wine covering this song. It pointed me to a jazz/blues band out of Vancouver that I hope to see one day. That band is the Powder Blues Band, and I've got a few of their records that I picked up when I visited Vancouver in 1988.
Doin' It Right
* * * * * * *
This next song has been a longtime favorite of mine for over 30 years. It's a song that was written by Fred Turner, and I've had a chance to discuss this one with him when we were talking after a BTO concert in 2001. It's been a longtime favorite of other BTO fans as well, and believe you me, we begged Fred to place this into the setlist.
Fred told me that it wasn't as well known as the other BTO songs, and the promoters only wanted to do the better known songs. Thus, it never made it into the setlist.
I've been known to make ladies that I've contemplated getting serious with to listen to this song.
I consider it to be one of the best songs ever recorded. I hope you feel the same way about it.
Madison Avenue
* * * * * * *
We're going across the pond for this next tune. It's from Emerson Lake & Palmer, and it's an instrumental (for the most part) from their Works Volume I album. Joe Walsh makes a guest appearance on guitar (and vocals towards the end).
L.A. Nights
* * * * * * *
Here's a song that has some road trip memories for me. I heard it on the radio while I was in British Columbia in 1990, and I'm going to guess that I was on TransCan 1 in/near Abbotsford and that I was listening to an FM station out of Vancouver. CFOX?
I think my next ime on Amazon, I'll be ordering the CD that this one came off of. Kim Mitchell has been growing on me as of late.
Patio Lanterns
* * * * * * *
Deciding what the final song for a post such as this can be difficult, but that wasn't the case this evening. I knew before I started this post what the last song of the evening would be. It's one of the best songs ever recorded, and if I were to be in a local band here I would insist that this one be part of the set. It's from Deep Purple.
Space Truckin'
* * * * * * *
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
Monday, October 29, 2012
I Have to Praise Wal*Mart on this one....
Depending on your point of view, Wal*Mart is either this evil corporate multi-headed firebreathing monster exploiting the toiling masses of the lower classes or they are the greatest discount retailer that's ever been on the face of the earth. I'm not either pro-Walmart or anti-Walmart. I don't personally like it when they open up a store in Benson (population 4600) or wanted to open up an outlet off the freeway exit in Portland where Ken & Gillian live (the locals were able to stop them), but I'm not going to waste mental energy hating them either.
Every now and then, a situation emerges where I will be in one. One such situation emerged yesterday, when I needed to purchase an item from them that I could have gotten at Target. I don't know about your area, but the Target closest to my house has exceptionally bad service, and I just won't go there. I'll drive the extra few miles to Walmart in order to get certain items.
I was in there, and not only found my item, but they also saved me several shillings with the annual obligatory purchase of Halloween candy. In years past I have made those purchases at Safeway while there for other food items, but I happened to notice that Walmart had better prices and so I ended up getting the candy too. The express lane was open (which doesn't happen at Target) and so I was out of there quickly. For me any visit to a store is a military mission. Get in, get it done, and then get out. Walmart lets me do that.
As I was walking back to my truck in the parking lot, something suddenly hit me.
The cashier at Walmart didn't hassle me about whether or not I had a "rewards" card or wanted one. Think about it for a minute. Most other places you go, they want you to sign up for a rewards card, provide your email address so that they can flood you with spam about their rewards card deals, and in some cases they insist that you sign up for a Rewards Card Credit Card Rewards Cash Back Card, with points redeemable for frequent flyer miles valid for places like Rawalpindi or Blagoveshchensk exclusive of holidays and days that end in "y".
Walmart didn't do that to me. They don't bother with these rewards cards. They pass along a low price to you in the first place, and you're out of there quickly most of the time (days like Black Friday excluded, of course).
I have to give them praise on that one.
Every now and then, a situation emerges where I will be in one. One such situation emerged yesterday, when I needed to purchase an item from them that I could have gotten at Target. I don't know about your area, but the Target closest to my house has exceptionally bad service, and I just won't go there. I'll drive the extra few miles to Walmart in order to get certain items.
I was in there, and not only found my item, but they also saved me several shillings with the annual obligatory purchase of Halloween candy. In years past I have made those purchases at Safeway while there for other food items, but I happened to notice that Walmart had better prices and so I ended up getting the candy too. The express lane was open (which doesn't happen at Target) and so I was out of there quickly. For me any visit to a store is a military mission. Get in, get it done, and then get out. Walmart lets me do that.
As I was walking back to my truck in the parking lot, something suddenly hit me.
The cashier at Walmart didn't hassle me about whether or not I had a "rewards" card or wanted one. Think about it for a minute. Most other places you go, they want you to sign up for a rewards card, provide your email address so that they can flood you with spam about their rewards card deals, and in some cases they insist that you sign up for a Rewards Card Credit Card Rewards Cash Back Card, with points redeemable for frequent flyer miles valid for places like Rawalpindi or Blagoveshchensk exclusive of holidays and days that end in "y".
Walmart didn't do that to me. They don't bother with these rewards cards. They pass along a low price to you in the first place, and you're out of there quickly most of the time (days like Black Friday excluded, of course).
I have to give them praise on that one.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
I've Got Some Catching Up to do......
Well now, I know it's been a while since I've last posted. One of my goals for my blog this year was to be a more prolific writer than I was last year. We can pretty much throw that one out the window, though maybe with the cooler weather about to set in I might make some more time for this.
As you might have guessed, I have pretty much remained a busy guy these past few months. Things at work are on the intense side as we try to meet aggressive schedules with limited manpower, and I've had to stay late on some nights and go in on weekends. This is my first full weekend off since......crud, I can't remember when, and when I was having full weekends off before things got busy the weather was either really nice and/or I was busy doing yardwork as that the condition of the yard was irritating me. My yard still irritates me, but not as much as it was before, although I still have three diseased prickly pear cacti to dig out as well as that damnedable desert verbena which is growing around my palm tree in the front. Fortunately I have one healthy prickly pear and I can harvest some pads off that one and get some new prickly going where the older ones were removed.
I haven't forgotten about that "money" series of posts that I had started, and the next two articles will need some further research on my part before I post them. I do hope that you find them interesting reading when I post them. There will be at least two more articles after that that will be money-related. Meantime, let's move on to the odds and ends.
I never thought I would ever hear myself (read myself?) saying this here, but I'm going to announce my formal endorsement of Mitt Romney for President. Yes, I have had serious misgivings about him in the past, but as I have watched him and his campaign, I'm going to admit that he's won me over.
I was all prepared to vote for one of the third party candidates, but Mitt captured my attention when he named Paul Ryan as his running mate. I would have been tempted to bet half my coin collection that he would have picked someone like Rob Portman, but he didn't. When the speculation was building, Mr. Ryan's name came up, and I was thinking, that's the guy he should pick. Paul Ryan knows more about the budget process than most folks on the Hill, and plus, I think the biggest national security issue right now is government spending. We are fast approaching a point where the interest on the national debt will overcome defense and entitlement spending. At that point it doesn't matter squat if you have government-provided health care as that when your debt goes past the $20 trillion limit the government's going to have a hard time financing the debt as that the credit ratings are well down the commode.
But there have been a few other considerations coming into play here. Mitt Romney is coming across to me as a class act. I read an article in the American Rifleman some time ago which examined Governor Romney's stance on the Second Amendment. Massachusetts firearm laws are draconian when compared to most of the other states, and I read details of some needed reforms to those laws that he was able to get into place while Governor.
Mitt Romney's also has several years experience in the private sector. I personally don't have a problem with him being in charge of Bain Capital. I see that as an asset. I also see his experience with the Winter Olympics as being an asset. Now there are some out there who might have an issue with him being a Mormon, but personally I would rather have a Mormon in the big chair as opposed to someone else who worships himself as his own God.
But what's really driving my endorsement of Mitt Romney is this: we can't afford four more years of Obama. He ran on a promise of cutting the deficit in half and he failed miserably in this. Sixteen trillion dollars of debt greatly concerns me. We have to do something about it. Step number one is getting people back to work, and increasing tax collections by adding taxpayers as opposed to adding taxes.
One pursuit that I have enjoyed years past has been songwriting. After I got married in 1991 I stopped writing lyrics and upon moving to Arizona in 1999 after my marital breakup, I found that I had writer's block and couldn't write lyrics anymore, and my ability at musical composition had gotten away from me too.
I think that's about to change. I have spent the past few months on and off working on a new song, inspired of course by life, which will be called "Get Me Out of Here". As is the case with some songs as well as this one, I have found myself going back over and over again trying to get the lyrics where I want them. When it comes to writing lyrics and music, you either have something put together in ten minutes or you find yourself putting a year into it.
Last Sunday I finally got the lyrics polished and refined, and just maybe tomorrow I might pick up the guitar and start working on a chord structure. I see this one as being a rocker.
I also want to write a waltz sometime, and I've already got the title of that song picked out and I've thrown down some lyrics. I'm not going to give away what that song will be about, but it will be a funny song.
That's going to be it for now. Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat. This will do you more good than you think.
As you might have guessed, I have pretty much remained a busy guy these past few months. Things at work are on the intense side as we try to meet aggressive schedules with limited manpower, and I've had to stay late on some nights and go in on weekends. This is my first full weekend off since......crud, I can't remember when, and when I was having full weekends off before things got busy the weather was either really nice and/or I was busy doing yardwork as that the condition of the yard was irritating me. My yard still irritates me, but not as much as it was before, although I still have three diseased prickly pear cacti to dig out as well as that damnedable desert verbena which is growing around my palm tree in the front. Fortunately I have one healthy prickly pear and I can harvest some pads off that one and get some new prickly going where the older ones were removed.
I haven't forgotten about that "money" series of posts that I had started, and the next two articles will need some further research on my part before I post them. I do hope that you find them interesting reading when I post them. There will be at least two more articles after that that will be money-related. Meantime, let's move on to the odds and ends.
* * * * * * *
I never thought I would ever hear myself (read myself?) saying this here, but I'm going to announce my formal endorsement of Mitt Romney for President. Yes, I have had serious misgivings about him in the past, but as I have watched him and his campaign, I'm going to admit that he's won me over.
I was all prepared to vote for one of the third party candidates, but Mitt captured my attention when he named Paul Ryan as his running mate. I would have been tempted to bet half my coin collection that he would have picked someone like Rob Portman, but he didn't. When the speculation was building, Mr. Ryan's name came up, and I was thinking, that's the guy he should pick. Paul Ryan knows more about the budget process than most folks on the Hill, and plus, I think the biggest national security issue right now is government spending. We are fast approaching a point where the interest on the national debt will overcome defense and entitlement spending. At that point it doesn't matter squat if you have government-provided health care as that when your debt goes past the $20 trillion limit the government's going to have a hard time financing the debt as that the credit ratings are well down the commode.
But there have been a few other considerations coming into play here. Mitt Romney is coming across to me as a class act. I read an article in the American Rifleman some time ago which examined Governor Romney's stance on the Second Amendment. Massachusetts firearm laws are draconian when compared to most of the other states, and I read details of some needed reforms to those laws that he was able to get into place while Governor.
Mitt Romney's also has several years experience in the private sector. I personally don't have a problem with him being in charge of Bain Capital. I see that as an asset. I also see his experience with the Winter Olympics as being an asset. Now there are some out there who might have an issue with him being a Mormon, but personally I would rather have a Mormon in the big chair as opposed to someone else who worships himself as his own God.
But what's really driving my endorsement of Mitt Romney is this: we can't afford four more years of Obama. He ran on a promise of cutting the deficit in half and he failed miserably in this. Sixteen trillion dollars of debt greatly concerns me. We have to do something about it. Step number one is getting people back to work, and increasing tax collections by adding taxpayers as opposed to adding taxes.
* * * * * * *
One pursuit that I have enjoyed years past has been songwriting. After I got married in 1991 I stopped writing lyrics and upon moving to Arizona in 1999 after my marital breakup, I found that I had writer's block and couldn't write lyrics anymore, and my ability at musical composition had gotten away from me too.
I think that's about to change. I have spent the past few months on and off working on a new song, inspired of course by life, which will be called "Get Me Out of Here". As is the case with some songs as well as this one, I have found myself going back over and over again trying to get the lyrics where I want them. When it comes to writing lyrics and music, you either have something put together in ten minutes or you find yourself putting a year into it.
Last Sunday I finally got the lyrics polished and refined, and just maybe tomorrow I might pick up the guitar and start working on a chord structure. I see this one as being a rocker.
I also want to write a waltz sometime, and I've already got the title of that song picked out and I've thrown down some lyrics. I'm not going to give away what that song will be about, but it will be a funny song.
* * * * * * *
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Very Busy These Days
I'm taking a short break from the "money" series here to provide an update as to what I have been up to. I hope to resume that series with the next entry. I need to do a little more research on the next two topics that I have in mind for this. I was originally going to combine them but have since decided that both merit an individual entry.
I have been seeing some overtime at work. This has been my first full weekend off in about a month or so. I was involved in supporting an upgrade to an electronics package that we provide to several customers, some of them overseas, and also helping to resolve some issues with another package of electronics that was upgraded a few years back. On that one I was turned loose to start an investigation on that unit and fortunately, I've come to enjoy that task.
I had really wanted to get away for a road trip to southern California but the cards weren't dealing me a good hand as far as that one goes. I had a campground near San Bernardino picked out but they're full up. Another one in San Diego County was being considered but weather forecasts for the area I wanted to visit were not amenable.....high wind gusts, not conducive to BBQing. Now that I'm not going there the weather has improved.
So, no road trip for this summer, but I'm not bitter about it in any way. I'll get away when the time is right.
No deer hunting trip this year either as that Todd will not be available. Last time I talked to him he is back in the workforce and doesn't have vacation time accrued for such a venture, and as it is, family obligations come ahead of that. When the monsoon season is passed we might get out for some fishing. I haven't gone fishing yet here in Arizona and the thought of going out to score some trout sounds very good!
I have a renewed interest in buying silver coins. Some ten years ago I was buying pre-1965 U.S. silver coins back when you could get them for 3.5 times face. Spot silver prices now have these at twenty times face and then some as that these coins are now commanding a premium. I'd like to add to my collection of silver dollars, but as it is I've been buying the silver Eagles instead. They're beautiful coins, and although those are commanding premiums over spot I'm buying these to hold on until retirement.
What can I say about the Supreme Court upholding Obamacare? I find the reasoning behind Justice Robert's ruling bizarre, for lack of a better term. Now Congress has the "right" to force you into buying anything at their whim, Constitution be damned.
The establishment Republicans of course, had their hand in this. The Republican National Committee went out of their way to ensure that my district elected a Democrat, even though there are more Republicans in my district than there are Democrats. The state of Arizona is pretty much the same way. I can't help but wonder how many Congressional districts were flipped by the RNC because the Establishment simply didn't like the candidates that the voters chose in the primaries.
The RNC is hellbent on making sure that the next Senator elected will be a RINO. (Google that term if you want to know what the abbreviation stands for.) I'm so disgusted at them that I find it tempting to vote Libertarian this time around. No, I am not a member of the Libertarian Party, but I agree with some (but not all) of their positions.
Regardless, I'll be voting my conscience, even if the person I vote for has no chance of winning.
One thing that the RNC didn't count on was the possibility that Mitt Romney might actually win the election. Oh, they won't have a problem with his going to the White House, but they really wanted Obama to win, and I'll tell you why.
If the Republicans were to win the White House and the Congress, then they'll be expected to do something. They don't like that. They're much more comfortable being the minority party, sniping at the Democrats when politically expedient because that's so much more easier than being in a position of having to make tough decisions.
I do believe that the Mittster honestly wants to win, as that he's running a better campaign than the Senator who won the nomination four years ago. If Mr. Romney does for some reason end up sitting in the big chair, he'll make some changes here and there but I don't believe he'll rein in the exploding deficits and out of control national debt.
What we'll get is a national debt that will be only a few trillion dollars less than it otherwise would have been.
And that my friends, will be it for this evening.
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
I have been seeing some overtime at work. This has been my first full weekend off in about a month or so. I was involved in supporting an upgrade to an electronics package that we provide to several customers, some of them overseas, and also helping to resolve some issues with another package of electronics that was upgraded a few years back. On that one I was turned loose to start an investigation on that unit and fortunately, I've come to enjoy that task.
* * * * * * *
I had really wanted to get away for a road trip to southern California but the cards weren't dealing me a good hand as far as that one goes. I had a campground near San Bernardino picked out but they're full up. Another one in San Diego County was being considered but weather forecasts for the area I wanted to visit were not amenable.....high wind gusts, not conducive to BBQing. Now that I'm not going there the weather has improved.
So, no road trip for this summer, but I'm not bitter about it in any way. I'll get away when the time is right.
* * * * * * *
No deer hunting trip this year either as that Todd will not be available. Last time I talked to him he is back in the workforce and doesn't have vacation time accrued for such a venture, and as it is, family obligations come ahead of that. When the monsoon season is passed we might get out for some fishing. I haven't gone fishing yet here in Arizona and the thought of going out to score some trout sounds very good!
* * * * * * *
I have a renewed interest in buying silver coins. Some ten years ago I was buying pre-1965 U.S. silver coins back when you could get them for 3.5 times face. Spot silver prices now have these at twenty times face and then some as that these coins are now commanding a premium. I'd like to add to my collection of silver dollars, but as it is I've been buying the silver Eagles instead. They're beautiful coins, and although those are commanding premiums over spot I'm buying these to hold on until retirement.
* * * * * * *
What can I say about the Supreme Court upholding Obamacare? I find the reasoning behind Justice Robert's ruling bizarre, for lack of a better term. Now Congress has the "right" to force you into buying anything at their whim, Constitution be damned.
The establishment Republicans of course, had their hand in this. The Republican National Committee went out of their way to ensure that my district elected a Democrat, even though there are more Republicans in my district than there are Democrats. The state of Arizona is pretty much the same way. I can't help but wonder how many Congressional districts were flipped by the RNC because the Establishment simply didn't like the candidates that the voters chose in the primaries.
The RNC is hellbent on making sure that the next Senator elected will be a RINO. (Google that term if you want to know what the abbreviation stands for.) I'm so disgusted at them that I find it tempting to vote Libertarian this time around. No, I am not a member of the Libertarian Party, but I agree with some (but not all) of their positions.
Regardless, I'll be voting my conscience, even if the person I vote for has no chance of winning.
* * * * * * *
One thing that the RNC didn't count on was the possibility that Mitt Romney might actually win the election. Oh, they won't have a problem with his going to the White House, but they really wanted Obama to win, and I'll tell you why.
If the Republicans were to win the White House and the Congress, then they'll be expected to do something. They don't like that. They're much more comfortable being the minority party, sniping at the Democrats when politically expedient because that's so much more easier than being in a position of having to make tough decisions.
I do believe that the Mittster honestly wants to win, as that he's running a better campaign than the Senator who won the nomination four years ago. If Mr. Romney does for some reason end up sitting in the big chair, he'll make some changes here and there but I don't believe he'll rein in the exploding deficits and out of control national debt.
What we'll get is a national debt that will be only a few trillion dollars less than it otherwise would have been.
* * * * * * *
And that my friends, will be it for this evening.
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The Invention of Money
When The Man With the Money made his appearance, we not only did not know his name, we also did not know where the money came from. We didn't at that time care where the money was coming from, as that it was being handed out to us free of charge. I think even in the realm of the conscious we don't care where the money we get comes from, as long as it comes out of someone else's pocket and finds its way into ours.
Have you ever stopped to consider where money comes from? Well, some of you will tell me that it comes from the mint, and/or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing if you're resident stateside. Others are aware that it is issued by banks, and others will say that you get it by working. There are all sorts of answers to the question "Where does money come from?" and I think that you will also get several answers if you ask the question "Just exactly what is money, anyway?". I think in order to get a grasp on how to answer these two questions, we need to examine just how it was that money came to be invented.
It is commonly accepted that as of this writing, we have had 5000 years of civilization.....maybe 6000. Well, let's split the difference and say that civilization itself was invented 5500 years ago, OK? I think it's safe to say that 5500 years ago the human species were speaking languages, organized into families and tribes, and that the prime function of your average human being was day to day survival. Survival would have come from learning how to harvest food, learning how to hunt for it, and also in the domestication of livestock in order to get food and clothing. Somewhere along the way some trades emerged, as that people were figuring out how to make bricks and cut wood. They were figuring out how to dig ore out of the ground and to convert it into metal. Various occupations were beginning to emerge.
The thing of it is about specializing in an occupation, is that if you're a builder, what you build isn't something that you can eat. So what you do is you build a house for somebody, and that somebody gives you some food, or maybe some livestock with which to turn into food. What you have now is trade. In this simple example, trade is done by the barter system. There isn't any money involved since no one commodity has yet emerged as a common commodity to trade or to use as a reference in fixing a value onto something or some other commodity.
About 3000 BC or thereabouts, the Egyptians were aware of gold. It was first used as a form of adornment but it also emerged as a measure of wealth. It wasn't the only measure of wealth. In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 13, Old Testament patriarch Abram, as he was then know, is described as being very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. What this is telling us is that wealth, at that time, was viewed in terms of two precious metals and livestock. Any one of these commodities could be traded for any of the other two commodities, as well as for any other commodity. Thus, we already have a system of economics in place, and although it was still based on barter, gold and silver start to emerge as a convenient medium of exchange. I guess that you could call this "money" in a somewhat loose sense, but if you're defining money as "coins" of a uniform standard or of a common currency (cigarettes and whiskey have been known to function as money) we're not quite there yet as far as money being invented.
Around 600 BC, that began to change. The historian Heredotus credits the Lydians of Asia Minor as being the world's first producer of coins. They were made out of electrum, a gold-silver alloy that flowed to them out of a nearby alluvial plain. They found that these were convenient units of exchange, and they also found that those they traded with to obtain their goods also liked these units of exchange. Coins quickly spread to being used by the Greeks, and later on, the Romans, as well as other kingdoms.
With the invention of coins, some other things were invented too.
That will be the subject of my next entry.
Have you ever stopped to consider where money comes from? Well, some of you will tell me that it comes from the mint, and/or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing if you're resident stateside. Others are aware that it is issued by banks, and others will say that you get it by working. There are all sorts of answers to the question "Where does money come from?" and I think that you will also get several answers if you ask the question "Just exactly what is money, anyway?". I think in order to get a grasp on how to answer these two questions, we need to examine just how it was that money came to be invented.
It is commonly accepted that as of this writing, we have had 5000 years of civilization.....maybe 6000. Well, let's split the difference and say that civilization itself was invented 5500 years ago, OK? I think it's safe to say that 5500 years ago the human species were speaking languages, organized into families and tribes, and that the prime function of your average human being was day to day survival. Survival would have come from learning how to harvest food, learning how to hunt for it, and also in the domestication of livestock in order to get food and clothing. Somewhere along the way some trades emerged, as that people were figuring out how to make bricks and cut wood. They were figuring out how to dig ore out of the ground and to convert it into metal. Various occupations were beginning to emerge.
The thing of it is about specializing in an occupation, is that if you're a builder, what you build isn't something that you can eat. So what you do is you build a house for somebody, and that somebody gives you some food, or maybe some livestock with which to turn into food. What you have now is trade. In this simple example, trade is done by the barter system. There isn't any money involved since no one commodity has yet emerged as a common commodity to trade or to use as a reference in fixing a value onto something or some other commodity.
About 3000 BC or thereabouts, the Egyptians were aware of gold. It was first used as a form of adornment but it also emerged as a measure of wealth. It wasn't the only measure of wealth. In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 13, Old Testament patriarch Abram, as he was then know, is described as being very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. What this is telling us is that wealth, at that time, was viewed in terms of two precious metals and livestock. Any one of these commodities could be traded for any of the other two commodities, as well as for any other commodity. Thus, we already have a system of economics in place, and although it was still based on barter, gold and silver start to emerge as a convenient medium of exchange. I guess that you could call this "money" in a somewhat loose sense, but if you're defining money as "coins" of a uniform standard or of a common currency (cigarettes and whiskey have been known to function as money) we're not quite there yet as far as money being invented.
Around 600 BC, that began to change. The historian Heredotus credits the Lydians of Asia Minor as being the world's first producer of coins. They were made out of electrum, a gold-silver alloy that flowed to them out of a nearby alluvial plain. They found that these were convenient units of exchange, and they also found that those they traded with to obtain their goods also liked these units of exchange. Coins quickly spread to being used by the Greeks, and later on, the Romans, as well as other kingdoms.
With the invention of coins, some other things were invented too.
That will be the subject of my next entry.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Man With the Money
Way back when I was in the fifth grade, the 1968-1969 timeframe, I had a dream one night that I remember well to this very day. There are a few others from my childhood that I could reminisce about, but this particular one seems to stand out from the rest, and also seems to have a relevance to our current events that no other dream from that time period has. It might have inspired an episode for the Twilight Zone, or a short story, but it did neither of those. As that I have been thinking on and off about that dream a lot lately, it is inspiring a blog post. I'm even going to give this dream a title. The title of this dream is "The Man With the Money".
In this dream, The Man With the Money came to our fifth grade class. He was wearing a short sleeve blue shirt, red bow tie, white pants, a straw hat, and he wore a smile that would have caused the CrackerJack Man some intense jealousy. He was in his mid 50s or something like that, cleanshaven, white/gray short hair, with radiant blue eyes to match his smile. The Man With the Money didn't tell us his name. We never knew what it was nor did any of us ask. It didn't seem to matter. He was The Man With the Money. The Man With the Money seemed to have an unlimited supply of money, and he was giving it to us.
The Man With the Money gave me a fifty dollar bill. He also gave me a few twenties, tens, fives, and ones. He handed me a half dollar, which was also neat because when I was a kid you just couldn't get a Kennedy half dollar. The Man With the Money not only gave me a shiny new half dollar with Kennedy on, he also gave me some quarters and some other change.
The Man With the Money also gave away money to the other kids. He had a lot of it. It seemed that once you got done looking at the money that he gave you, that you could go back to him and he would give you even more money. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. The Man With the Money had this endless supply of the dough and he was willing to give it away! And more importantly, he wasn't going to run out of it either.
Needless to say, The Man With the Money was very popular with us. We loved him. We were glad that he came to us! I mean, this guy was better than Santa Claus. Forget about the toys or our other wants. Forget about what we needed. The Man With the Money was visiting our school, and he was going to make sure that we had all the money that we wanted!
As what happens with all dreams of this nature, it came to an abrupt end. I found myself in my bed. I was so sure that I had some money that I looked under the covers for it. I asked, "where did my money go?" It was gone! It had disappeared!
I remember feeling cheated. I had had, in my possession, a whole lot of money that had been freely given to me, and all of a sudden, it was gone.
OK. So why did I post this? Where am I going with this?
Stay tuned.
In this dream, The Man With the Money came to our fifth grade class. He was wearing a short sleeve blue shirt, red bow tie, white pants, a straw hat, and he wore a smile that would have caused the CrackerJack Man some intense jealousy. He was in his mid 50s or something like that, cleanshaven, white/gray short hair, with radiant blue eyes to match his smile. The Man With the Money didn't tell us his name. We never knew what it was nor did any of us ask. It didn't seem to matter. He was The Man With the Money. The Man With the Money seemed to have an unlimited supply of money, and he was giving it to us.
The Man With the Money gave me a fifty dollar bill. He also gave me a few twenties, tens, fives, and ones. He handed me a half dollar, which was also neat because when I was a kid you just couldn't get a Kennedy half dollar. The Man With the Money not only gave me a shiny new half dollar with Kennedy on, he also gave me some quarters and some other change.
The Man With the Money also gave away money to the other kids. He had a lot of it. It seemed that once you got done looking at the money that he gave you, that you could go back to him and he would give you even more money. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. The Man With the Money had this endless supply of the dough and he was willing to give it away! And more importantly, he wasn't going to run out of it either.
Needless to say, The Man With the Money was very popular with us. We loved him. We were glad that he came to us! I mean, this guy was better than Santa Claus. Forget about the toys or our other wants. Forget about what we needed. The Man With the Money was visiting our school, and he was going to make sure that we had all the money that we wanted!
As what happens with all dreams of this nature, it came to an abrupt end. I found myself in my bed. I was so sure that I had some money that I looked under the covers for it. I asked, "where did my money go?" It was gone! It had disappeared!
I remember feeling cheated. I had had, in my possession, a whole lot of money that had been freely given to me, and all of a sudden, it was gone.
OK. So why did I post this? Where am I going with this?
Stay tuned.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
A Flurry of Activity
On Wednesday evening the 18th, longtime friend Franz came to visit. He arrived at the airport around 9:00 PM. The next day we went out for breakfast, and then spent a few hours at the Pima Air & Space Museum. After that we made a run down to Tombstone.
The next day, after breakfast, we headed for Phoenix metro where we spent some time with my cousin Todd. We were up there for two nights, with the second night having Todd's neighbor come over with his brother-in-law and Annette's nephew Bob.
We didn't spend time solving the world's problems, as most adult males are prone to do whenever gathered around barbecuing chicken and adult beverages. Instead we were listening to some tunes. On Sunday we left and returned to Tucson, enjoying an evening meal at a favorite Thai place of mine called Bai Thong, which is on Speedway.
Franz returned home the next morning. I took that Monday off from work. I relaxed some, but did do some painting on the outside.
At work we are having a salsa contest. Teams of three each have been formed. Each of the three on my team is bringing in a recipe. The one nice thing about salsa is that you can do that a zillion different ways, and most of them are good.
Here's my recipe:
1 1/2 fresh tomatos
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 squeezed lime
fresh cilantro to taste
~ 3 teaspoons of salt? (to taste)
1/2 yellow onion
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1 fresh jalapeno
1 fresh serrano
1 large clove of garlic, or two small cloves
Chuck all of this into a blender and hit the on switch. When what you have in there looks like salsa, then turn the on switch off.
This will have some zing to it, and if you want it milder then substitute some green pepper for the jalapeno. If you want rocket fuel and/or want nightmares that night, substitute habanero for the serrano.
I've spent some time this afternoon doing some more painting. Today it was the wood trim around the garage door, after which I finished the trim on the east side of the house.
I originally wasn't going to do the garage door. I did touch up a couple of spots when I was off last Monday, and when it dried I noticed that the patched areas looked fresher. So, I decided to do the whole trim.
I'm rather pleased with the results. I mean, it looks new! The house faces north so it's not like I've got the sun wearing down my paint in that area, but now that I've done it I'm going to make the argument that the trim needed painting.
That's all I have for today.
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
The next day, after breakfast, we headed for Phoenix metro where we spent some time with my cousin Todd. We were up there for two nights, with the second night having Todd's neighbor come over with his brother-in-law and Annette's nephew Bob.
We didn't spend time solving the world's problems, as most adult males are prone to do whenever gathered around barbecuing chicken and adult beverages. Instead we were listening to some tunes. On Sunday we left and returned to Tucson, enjoying an evening meal at a favorite Thai place of mine called Bai Thong, which is on Speedway.
Franz returned home the next morning. I took that Monday off from work. I relaxed some, but did do some painting on the outside.
* * * * * * *
At work we are having a salsa contest. Teams of three each have been formed. Each of the three on my team is bringing in a recipe. The one nice thing about salsa is that you can do that a zillion different ways, and most of them are good.
Here's my recipe:
1 1/2 fresh tomatos
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 squeezed lime
fresh cilantro to taste
~ 3 teaspoons of salt? (to taste)
1/2 yellow onion
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1 fresh jalapeno
1 fresh serrano
1 large clove of garlic, or two small cloves
Chuck all of this into a blender and hit the on switch. When what you have in there looks like salsa, then turn the on switch off.
This will have some zing to it, and if you want it milder then substitute some green pepper for the jalapeno. If you want rocket fuel and/or want nightmares that night, substitute habanero for the serrano.
* * * * * * *
I've spent some time this afternoon doing some more painting. Today it was the wood trim around the garage door, after which I finished the trim on the east side of the house.
I originally wasn't going to do the garage door. I did touch up a couple of spots when I was off last Monday, and when it dried I noticed that the patched areas looked fresher. So, I decided to do the whole trim.
I'm rather pleased with the results. I mean, it looks new! The house faces north so it's not like I've got the sun wearing down my paint in that area, but now that I've done it I'm going to make the argument that the trim needed painting.
* * * * * * *
That's all I have for today.
Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Bachman & Turner play Arizona!
Yesterday four of us from Tucson went up to La Encanterra Golf & Country Club in San Tan Valley to attend the Good Life Festival. The main reason for going was that Bachman & Turner were making their first appearance in Arizona since re-uniting in 2009, and I wasn't going to miss this! I also wanted to spend some more time visiting with Fred Turner, which I was able to do since we arrived some six hours before their concert so that we could sit in on their sound check.
I knew beforehand for several weeks about this, but didn't publicize it. I was working with band member Mick Dalla-Vee (whom I owe a great debt of thanks to!) to arrange for a private audience with them, which after the show happened in the form of a brief backstage visit where I got to meet Randy Bachman. It was only the second time I've gotten to meet him; it was for about ten minutes at the most. He was tired from fighting the flu for the past few weeks and he may have been heading back to Vancouver that evening, after flying in that very same day. He was very nice and it was neat getting to thank him for the many years of entertainment that they've provided me.
Fred is doing very well! He's lost quite a bit of weight since the last time I saw him. He told me that he's been spending the past three months wintering at his place in Florida, though he is returning to Winnipeg to take care of some things there. He's been busy doing some songwriting and he told me that he wants to continue doing that for a while. I meant to ask him about his Corvette restoration projects and that new six-string bass guitar he was playing (that looked like one prime piece of hardware). Maybe I'll email him later today about that.
I told Fred that I want to see another show later this year, and that if I end up attending one of their gigs back east somewhere or in the midwest that I'd let him know beforehand. I'd let Mick know too, as well as my forum buddies. I am looking at a show this summer in Washington state, and St. Louis is tempting too, but I'm thinking that I should make a little vacation out of this and go see them somewhere in Canada....a part of Canada I've never been to.
Anyway, here's a photo of Fred and myself.....I'm the one with the Cardinals baseball cap.
I knew beforehand for several weeks about this, but didn't publicize it. I was working with band member Mick Dalla-Vee (whom I owe a great debt of thanks to!) to arrange for a private audience with them, which after the show happened in the form of a brief backstage visit where I got to meet Randy Bachman. It was only the second time I've gotten to meet him; it was for about ten minutes at the most. He was tired from fighting the flu for the past few weeks and he may have been heading back to Vancouver that evening, after flying in that very same day. He was very nice and it was neat getting to thank him for the many years of entertainment that they've provided me.
Fred is doing very well! He's lost quite a bit of weight since the last time I saw him. He told me that he's been spending the past three months wintering at his place in Florida, though he is returning to Winnipeg to take care of some things there. He's been busy doing some songwriting and he told me that he wants to continue doing that for a while. I meant to ask him about his Corvette restoration projects and that new six-string bass guitar he was playing (that looked like one prime piece of hardware). Maybe I'll email him later today about that.
I told Fred that I want to see another show later this year, and that if I end up attending one of their gigs back east somewhere or in the midwest that I'd let him know beforehand. I'd let Mick know too, as well as my forum buddies. I am looking at a show this summer in Washington state, and St. Louis is tempting too, but I'm thinking that I should make a little vacation out of this and go see them somewhere in Canada....a part of Canada I've never been to.
Anyway, here's a photo of Fred and myself.....I'm the one with the Cardinals baseball cap.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spring is almost upon us....but it snowed today!
It isn't often that I get to write about snow. Living in southern Arizona doesn't usually give you a reason to, and if I were to live in some place like Montana or Wyoming I probably still wouldn't write about snow as that it would be a much more frequent occurrence there.
But, yes, it did snow today in Tucson. It was coming down at where I work shortly after noon. We see hail here maybe two or three times a year, but snow is much less frequent.
I think this might be only the third time I've seen it here. Maybe the fourth.
In 1999, it snowed here on Easter Sunday. In January 2007, we got some snow. And then today.
I've seen it plenty of times at the higher elevations. We're surrounded by mountains here, and a few times each winter we have snow-capped peaks. It's a beautiful sight. And it doesn't seem to stay very long either.
As for today, I don't understand the weather. Just last week we were in the lower 80s in the afternoon, and yesterday morning it was downright cold and nasty and it was that way this morning too.
I'll have to check, but I think tomorrow is the first day of spring. We either start getting our springlike weather in early March, or we transition from winter directly into summer.
I guess this year we had to have one last hurrah.
But, yes, it did snow today in Tucson. It was coming down at where I work shortly after noon. We see hail here maybe two or three times a year, but snow is much less frequent.
I think this might be only the third time I've seen it here. Maybe the fourth.
In 1999, it snowed here on Easter Sunday. In January 2007, we got some snow. And then today.
I've seen it plenty of times at the higher elevations. We're surrounded by mountains here, and a few times each winter we have snow-capped peaks. It's a beautiful sight. And it doesn't seem to stay very long either.
As for today, I don't understand the weather. Just last week we were in the lower 80s in the afternoon, and yesterday morning it was downright cold and nasty and it was that way this morning too.
I'll have to check, but I think tomorrow is the first day of spring. We either start getting our springlike weather in early March, or we transition from winter directly into summer.
I guess this year we had to have one last hurrah.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Happy Leap Year Day! 2/29/12
Well now.....we only get this once every four years.....Leap Year Day, the 29th of February!
I have tried to remember these days as they come along, trying to burn them into my memory. In 1972 I was in junior high school and home sick that day. In 1976, I was in San Jose, and it was an overcast day. In 1980, I can't remember what happened on that day, nor can I for 1984.
On Leap Year Day 1988, I became a satellite engineer. It was day one for getting to do something I had wanted to do: work on a communications satellite. It was one of your more advanced ones too, and I could not have imagined just how much I would end up learning about satellites. Years later a ham radio club asked me to do a presentation on satellites and I really had a lot of fun doing that.
I can't remember much of Leap Year Day 1992, 2000, 2004, or 2008. They must have been non-descript. I do remember the one in 1996. I was still a satellite engineer but this time I was in my first week at a new employer, and soon would be boarding a plane for Japan to meet the customer.
This year? Well today I guess would be non-descript. I went to work, attended some meetings, ended up getting more work dumped on me, and put in a longer day than usual. The longer day was by design as that I don't want to burn PTO for my PT appointment on Friday.
Anyway.....Happy Leap Year Day everyone! Make the most of it!
I have tried to remember these days as they come along, trying to burn them into my memory. In 1972 I was in junior high school and home sick that day. In 1976, I was in San Jose, and it was an overcast day. In 1980, I can't remember what happened on that day, nor can I for 1984.
On Leap Year Day 1988, I became a satellite engineer. It was day one for getting to do something I had wanted to do: work on a communications satellite. It was one of your more advanced ones too, and I could not have imagined just how much I would end up learning about satellites. Years later a ham radio club asked me to do a presentation on satellites and I really had a lot of fun doing that.
I can't remember much of Leap Year Day 1992, 2000, 2004, or 2008. They must have been non-descript. I do remember the one in 1996. I was still a satellite engineer but this time I was in my first week at a new employer, and soon would be boarding a plane for Japan to meet the customer.
This year? Well today I guess would be non-descript. I went to work, attended some meetings, ended up getting more work dumped on me, and put in a longer day than usual. The longer day was by design as that I don't want to burn PTO for my PT appointment on Friday.
Anyway.....Happy Leap Year Day everyone! Make the most of it!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Thirteen Years in Arizona
Last Thursday, the 24th of February, was the 13th anniversary of my arrival in Arizona. I was leaving behind a rather adverse collection of circumstances in California, which I will not get into right now (nor am I likely to get into in the future). I think the words "divorce" and "layoff" are sufficient to describe that.
It was a beautiful day when I crossed into the Grand Canyon state. The sun was shining, the desert sky its characteristic blue, and a new chapter in life was beginning to unfold. As I was leaving California, I said to it "enjoy your new governor" (a reference to the recently elected Gray Davis who was subsequently recalled) and upon seeing the sign that the Grand Canyon State was welcoming me, I think there may have been a few tears of joy. I stopped the truck, said a prayer, and then continued on my journey. My cat Sylvia was with me; she wasn't enjoying the trip....she was the only companion I had with me when I made the crossing.
Later that day, which was a Wednesday, I arrived in my newly-leased townhouse in Tucson, near the Sabino Canyon. I didn't have much with me aside from clothing and my collection of CDs that I wasn't trusting with the movers, and a mattress pad to sleep on since I didn't own a bed when I arrived. I was really starting all over again. That day Arizona became the seventh state in which I was a resident of.
Two days later, the movers arrived. I still didn't have much. I had visited the nearest Wal*Mart to get some pots and pans and a starter set of dishes and silverware. The movers brought my microwave and stereo equipment. I immediately commissioned the stereo and started playing some tunes as I was unpacking.
The following Monday I started my new position at my new employer. I was no longer a satellite engineer; I was instead helping to test out some specialized electronics that were being developed for production. I was no longer living in the land of milk and honey as that I was instead now living in a desert.
When I arrived, I wasn't sure then how long my stay would be. I was in the process of being bought out of my share of the house back in California, and was going to wait a year or so before buying in Tucson as that I wanted to get to know my new city before selecting a neighborhood to live in. And, there was the business of having to make some new friends, which happened quickly, and I'm glad to say that the first friends I made here are still my good friends. Also, I wanted to explore what was around Tucson. The border town of Nogales was a little over an hour away by interstate. Tombstone about 75 minutes away. The Desert Museum some 45 minutes to the west. That was what I knew about. I was later to find out that we had wine country down by Sonoita. A national park nearby. A great collection of Mexican restaurants. Steakhouses too. And most important, a lot of friendly people here.
I always thought Arizona was a neat state even before I had set foot here. I would read about the desert when I was in the third grade back in Florida. I had a fascination with the plants and animals that were here, and I really wanted to see it. I could never have imagined that I would get to live in the desert.
My arrival in Tucson, thirteen years ago, interestingly enough was not my first time here. I passed thru on a road trip in July of 1986. On the return leg of that trip, I saw northern Arizona, and was amazed at how we had so many different types of scenery here. The Grand Canyon comes to mind, as well as the forests outside of Flagstaff, and the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. When I had gotten the phone call that someone down here wanted to interview me, I was elated as that Tucson was where I really wanted to land when I was blasting out resumes.
Thirteen years already. It's been that long now.
I hope to be here for a lot longer than that.
It was a beautiful day when I crossed into the Grand Canyon state. The sun was shining, the desert sky its characteristic blue, and a new chapter in life was beginning to unfold. As I was leaving California, I said to it "enjoy your new governor" (a reference to the recently elected Gray Davis who was subsequently recalled) and upon seeing the sign that the Grand Canyon State was welcoming me, I think there may have been a few tears of joy. I stopped the truck, said a prayer, and then continued on my journey. My cat Sylvia was with me; she wasn't enjoying the trip....she was the only companion I had with me when I made the crossing.
Later that day, which was a Wednesday, I arrived in my newly-leased townhouse in Tucson, near the Sabino Canyon. I didn't have much with me aside from clothing and my collection of CDs that I wasn't trusting with the movers, and a mattress pad to sleep on since I didn't own a bed when I arrived. I was really starting all over again. That day Arizona became the seventh state in which I was a resident of.
Two days later, the movers arrived. I still didn't have much. I had visited the nearest Wal*Mart to get some pots and pans and a starter set of dishes and silverware. The movers brought my microwave and stereo equipment. I immediately commissioned the stereo and started playing some tunes as I was unpacking.
The following Monday I started my new position at my new employer. I was no longer a satellite engineer; I was instead helping to test out some specialized electronics that were being developed for production. I was no longer living in the land of milk and honey as that I was instead now living in a desert.
When I arrived, I wasn't sure then how long my stay would be. I was in the process of being bought out of my share of the house back in California, and was going to wait a year or so before buying in Tucson as that I wanted to get to know my new city before selecting a neighborhood to live in. And, there was the business of having to make some new friends, which happened quickly, and I'm glad to say that the first friends I made here are still my good friends. Also, I wanted to explore what was around Tucson. The border town of Nogales was a little over an hour away by interstate. Tombstone about 75 minutes away. The Desert Museum some 45 minutes to the west. That was what I knew about. I was later to find out that we had wine country down by Sonoita. A national park nearby. A great collection of Mexican restaurants. Steakhouses too. And most important, a lot of friendly people here.
I always thought Arizona was a neat state even before I had set foot here. I would read about the desert when I was in the third grade back in Florida. I had a fascination with the plants and animals that were here, and I really wanted to see it. I could never have imagined that I would get to live in the desert.
My arrival in Tucson, thirteen years ago, interestingly enough was not my first time here. I passed thru on a road trip in July of 1986. On the return leg of that trip, I saw northern Arizona, and was amazed at how we had so many different types of scenery here. The Grand Canyon comes to mind, as well as the forests outside of Flagstaff, and the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. When I had gotten the phone call that someone down here wanted to interview me, I was elated as that Tucson was where I really wanted to land when I was blasting out resumes.
Thirteen years already. It's been that long now.
I hope to be here for a lot longer than that.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Some Odds and Ends
For a long time I have been reading the columns authored by economist Dr. Thomas Sowell. His most recent two of them, I think, make for some interesting reading.
In this link, he accurately comments on the Florida smear campaign engineered by the Republican Establishment. Although I'm no fan of Newt Gingrich (I have reservations about him) the Republican Establishment has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that their character is much worse than that of Newt Gingrich.
In today's column, he discusses the planned high speed rail link being proposed in California. I wasn't aware that the People's Republic was thinking about a bullet train, although it's possible I heard about it and then quickly forgot it.
What strikes me as ludcicrous is the notion that people in Bakersfield want to go to Fresno, and that the people in Fresno want to go to Bakersfield. The only logical explanation is that Governor Moonbeam wants to give some union workers employment so as to thank them for their support. But why can't he instead widen I-5 to four lanes between L.A. and Sacramento? That freeway was built in 1968, and even though California's population has more than doubled since it was built the interstate remains fixed at two lanes.
I think I know the answer to that.
Widening I-5 isn't "green", but building a bullet train is.
Bullet trains make sense in Japan, where I used them when I was there, but the bullet train that the Governor wants isn't going to take traffic off of I-5 or CA 99.
He has to know that, but he doesn't care.
If such a train were really a good investment, then Wall Street would be involved with asking permission to build one. Believe me, they would be forming a consortium to provide this, with Donald Trump and Bill Gates bankrolling the effort.
I recently renewed my passport, and decided to also apply for a "passport card", in case I resume making visits to the border town of Nogales. The State Department on their website suggested that it might take four to six weeks unless I wanted to pop a few more shillings to expedite it. I declined.
The new passport arrived two days ago, some two weeks after mailing in the renewal. My old passport and fee went to a P.O. Box in Philadelphia. The new passport was mailed to me from Portsmouth NH.
There was no passport card, nor my old expired passport. Instead there was a flyer telling me that both of those would come separately, and likely in two different mailings.
I don't know if I can call this efficient.
It's like getting the combo meal at Burger King, getting your Whopper first, and then having to make separate return visits to the counter to get your French fries and your drink.
(if you think that's bad, wait until the government takes over your health care......)
I had PT today, and the news is good. I am making a good recovery and they've now got me squeezing a tennis ball. I'm still shuttling between three different splints. My range of motion is continuing to improve and I'm getting my strength back.
I may get to cut down to one visit per week beginning next week!
I'm going to pass on watching the Super Bowl this year.
I just flat out don't care who wins this one.
I suppose I'm curious as to whether or not there's going to be a set of commercials between each down, thus lengthening the game to six hours, but I don't think I'll turn on the tube to find out.
Finally, I'm gong to admit that I was in something of a funk over Kathleen's passing this past weekend. The memories were especially hitting me hard Saturday night. We sure had a lot of them together, though not for well over two years.
I have received several condolences, for which I am grateful.
She got away from us too soon.
In this link, he accurately comments on the Florida smear campaign engineered by the Republican Establishment. Although I'm no fan of Newt Gingrich (I have reservations about him) the Republican Establishment has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that their character is much worse than that of Newt Gingrich.
In today's column, he discusses the planned high speed rail link being proposed in California. I wasn't aware that the People's Republic was thinking about a bullet train, although it's possible I heard about it and then quickly forgot it.
What strikes me as ludcicrous is the notion that people in Bakersfield want to go to Fresno, and that the people in Fresno want to go to Bakersfield. The only logical explanation is that Governor Moonbeam wants to give some union workers employment so as to thank them for their support. But why can't he instead widen I-5 to four lanes between L.A. and Sacramento? That freeway was built in 1968, and even though California's population has more than doubled since it was built the interstate remains fixed at two lanes.
I think I know the answer to that.
Widening I-5 isn't "green", but building a bullet train is.
Bullet trains make sense in Japan, where I used them when I was there, but the bullet train that the Governor wants isn't going to take traffic off of I-5 or CA 99.
He has to know that, but he doesn't care.
If such a train were really a good investment, then Wall Street would be involved with asking permission to build one. Believe me, they would be forming a consortium to provide this, with Donald Trump and Bill Gates bankrolling the effort.
* * * * * * *
I recently renewed my passport, and decided to also apply for a "passport card", in case I resume making visits to the border town of Nogales. The State Department on their website suggested that it might take four to six weeks unless I wanted to pop a few more shillings to expedite it. I declined.
The new passport arrived two days ago, some two weeks after mailing in the renewal. My old passport and fee went to a P.O. Box in Philadelphia. The new passport was mailed to me from Portsmouth NH.
There was no passport card, nor my old expired passport. Instead there was a flyer telling me that both of those would come separately, and likely in two different mailings.
I don't know if I can call this efficient.
It's like getting the combo meal at Burger King, getting your Whopper first, and then having to make separate return visits to the counter to get your French fries and your drink.
(if you think that's bad, wait until the government takes over your health care......)
* * * * * * *
I had PT today, and the news is good. I am making a good recovery and they've now got me squeezing a tennis ball. I'm still shuttling between three different splints. My range of motion is continuing to improve and I'm getting my strength back.
I may get to cut down to one visit per week beginning next week!
* * * * * * *
I'm going to pass on watching the Super Bowl this year.
I just flat out don't care who wins this one.
I suppose I'm curious as to whether or not there's going to be a set of commercials between each down, thus lengthening the game to six hours, but I don't think I'll turn on the tube to find out.
* * * * * * *
Finally, I'm gong to admit that I was in something of a funk over Kathleen's passing this past weekend. The memories were especially hitting me hard Saturday night. We sure had a lot of them together, though not for well over two years.
I have received several condolences, for which I am grateful.
She got away from us too soon.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Kathleen has passed away
Late last night I got a phone call on my cell. The Caller ID indicated it was incoming from Kathleen. I haven't been in contact very much with her since we broke up and the last email I got from her was nine months ago. I answered the call, and when the caller started speaking and it wasn't her, I knew that I was in for some bad news.
The caller was the mother-in-law of her daughter Kerri, and she was asking for me. I knew before the news was broken to me what had happened: Kathleen had passed away. She had had a massive stroke, and died on Saturday, the 21st, at the age of 51.
I was at a loss for words, and I still am. The news has numbed me and has brought some memories, both joyful and painful, back to the forefront of my consciousness.
Kathleen's memorial service was this morning. I was not able to make it due to conflict with my PT appointment. She will be interred in Pennsylvania, next to her son, who died tragically in an accident several years ago near Philadelphia.
I am very saddened by this, but also at peace. She was a believer and I'm sure I'll see her again on the other side.
The caller was the mother-in-law of her daughter Kerri, and she was asking for me. I knew before the news was broken to me what had happened: Kathleen had passed away. She had had a massive stroke, and died on Saturday, the 21st, at the age of 51.
I was at a loss for words, and I still am. The news has numbed me and has brought some memories, both joyful and painful, back to the forefront of my consciousness.
Kathleen's memorial service was this morning. I was not able to make it due to conflict with my PT appointment. She will be interred in Pennsylvania, next to her son, who died tragically in an accident several years ago near Philadelphia.
I am very saddened by this, but also at peace. She was a believer and I'm sure I'll see her again on the other side.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Miscellaneous Stuff, 1/17/12
Do you remember that one entry that I made where there was a botched robbery? The one where I happened to catch the scanner traffic in real time?
I had forgotten all about that until I read this.
The one issue I have with the sentencing is that the multiple sentences are being served concurrently rather than consecutively.
I left work early yesterday so that I could go to physical therapy for my hand. The swelling has come down in my finger but it is still sore. The good news is that my range of motion is coming back, although not 100% of what it used to be. I return for more PT tomorrow and again on Friday.
In a twist of irony, the young lady (who is also my next door neighbor) who drove me to the hospital last night is one of the therapists!
On the way home from PT I decided to stop off at Second Amendment Sports in order to get some more ammo for my deer rifle. I came out of there suffering from some sticker shock as to what ammo prices have done. I hadn't bought any for quite some time and as I was looking at the sticker yesterday I decided it was time to get into re-loading my ammunition.
Re-loading is something that I've always wanted to do, but never took up since I don't target shoot at the rate that I used to. I have kept all my brass (spent shell casings) in the event that I do take this up.
I have done some cursory research into this. There are three well-known manufacturers of reloading equipment. They are Dillon (based here in Arizona), RCBS, and Lee Precision. I'm sure all three make quality equipment and I have personally seen a Dillon progressive reloader in action.
I don't think I need a progressive as that I am not planning to turn out lots of rounds. I think a single stage press is what I need, with dies for my deer rifle and for my handguns. I plan to start out loading rifle rounds so that I can save some good money on factory ammo.
The research has been interesting thus far, and I'm going to have to carefully select my press and dies. Some dies, interestingly enough, are for where you are using one handgun (or rifle) exclusively for your reloads. Others will accomodate different handguns that have the same caliber. I own more than one .357 and more than one .38 special, so I need that kind of press/die setup.
I don't think I'll reload for my 9mm, as that the European guns are built with tighter tolerances and they don't do that well with reloads. My Glock gives me excellent groupings when I shoot it anyway, and with my revolvers....well, I need more practice.
I have read where your really serious hunters prefer to make their own rounds. These guys know their ballistics, and are of the opinion that the rounds they make are more accurate than factory ammo.
I have several rounds of factory ammo designed for hunting, and if I ever have occasion to use them then I might have to make my replacements.
Either way I slice it, I like being creative and building things. I think I'll come to enjoy reloading.
I happened to catch part of the Republican debate last night. I didn't watch all of it as that I had to take care of life. The field has narrowed down since I last mentioned politics and I think it will narrow down some more.
I was impressed by the performance of Newt Gingrich and also of Mitt Romney. No, I don't like Mitt Romney and I personally think that he is a conniving bastard who will say anything in order to get elected.
What I'm saying here is that Mitt Romney talked a good game. He did stumble badly when Rick Perry challenged him on releasing his tax returns.
Newt made a classic remark invoking Andrew Jackson. "Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about America's enemies: Kill them."
I am at this point in time, still a registered independent, but I am considering re-registering as a Republican so that I can do my part in stopping Mitt Romney. I don't like any of the candidates but only one is backed by the Republican Establishment and that's Mitt Romney.
The inevitability of a Romney nomination is indeed a frightening prospect. I think it would be most interesting to see what would happen if the rank and file voter would somehow rebel against the Establishment and veto Mitt Romney in favor of someone else. We would, in that instance, see one of two things.
One: the Republican Establishment actively campaigning for President Obama.
Two: the Republican National Committee engineering a "brokered" convention, where the will of the Republican voters is overturned by a fiat declaration that Mitt Romney is indeed the nominee since they know what's best for us and those who disagree are too stupid to know when something is for their own good.
Either way, I am currently suffering from the belief that the Republican National Committee really doesn't want to win the White House this year.
I think they would much rather see bad things happen during Obama's second term (even if it's the Iranians detonating a nuke here on our soil). It's much easier to be a minority party in that kind of situation and snipe about things and to not offer an alternative solution.
They have to know that Romney can't win this year, yet they are blindly marching off the same cliff that they did four years ago.
I had forgotten all about that until I read this.
The one issue I have with the sentencing is that the multiple sentences are being served concurrently rather than consecutively.
* * * * * * *
I left work early yesterday so that I could go to physical therapy for my hand. The swelling has come down in my finger but it is still sore. The good news is that my range of motion is coming back, although not 100% of what it used to be. I return for more PT tomorrow and again on Friday.
In a twist of irony, the young lady (who is also my next door neighbor) who drove me to the hospital last night is one of the therapists!
* * * * * * *
On the way home from PT I decided to stop off at Second Amendment Sports in order to get some more ammo for my deer rifle. I came out of there suffering from some sticker shock as to what ammo prices have done. I hadn't bought any for quite some time and as I was looking at the sticker yesterday I decided it was time to get into re-loading my ammunition.
Re-loading is something that I've always wanted to do, but never took up since I don't target shoot at the rate that I used to. I have kept all my brass (spent shell casings) in the event that I do take this up.
I have done some cursory research into this. There are three well-known manufacturers of reloading equipment. They are Dillon (based here in Arizona), RCBS, and Lee Precision. I'm sure all three make quality equipment and I have personally seen a Dillon progressive reloader in action.
I don't think I need a progressive as that I am not planning to turn out lots of rounds. I think a single stage press is what I need, with dies for my deer rifle and for my handguns. I plan to start out loading rifle rounds so that I can save some good money on factory ammo.
The research has been interesting thus far, and I'm going to have to carefully select my press and dies. Some dies, interestingly enough, are for where you are using one handgun (or rifle) exclusively for your reloads. Others will accomodate different handguns that have the same caliber. I own more than one .357 and more than one .38 special, so I need that kind of press/die setup.
I don't think I'll reload for my 9mm, as that the European guns are built with tighter tolerances and they don't do that well with reloads. My Glock gives me excellent groupings when I shoot it anyway, and with my revolvers....well, I need more practice.
I have read where your really serious hunters prefer to make their own rounds. These guys know their ballistics, and are of the opinion that the rounds they make are more accurate than factory ammo.
I have several rounds of factory ammo designed for hunting, and if I ever have occasion to use them then I might have to make my replacements.
Either way I slice it, I like being creative and building things. I think I'll come to enjoy reloading.
* * * * * * *
I happened to catch part of the Republican debate last night. I didn't watch all of it as that I had to take care of life. The field has narrowed down since I last mentioned politics and I think it will narrow down some more.
I was impressed by the performance of Newt Gingrich and also of Mitt Romney. No, I don't like Mitt Romney and I personally think that he is a conniving bastard who will say anything in order to get elected.
What I'm saying here is that Mitt Romney talked a good game. He did stumble badly when Rick Perry challenged him on releasing his tax returns.
Newt made a classic remark invoking Andrew Jackson. "Andrew Jackson had a pretty clear-cut idea about America's enemies: Kill them."
I am at this point in time, still a registered independent, but I am considering re-registering as a Republican so that I can do my part in stopping Mitt Romney. I don't like any of the candidates but only one is backed by the Republican Establishment and that's Mitt Romney.
The inevitability of a Romney nomination is indeed a frightening prospect. I think it would be most interesting to see what would happen if the rank and file voter would somehow rebel against the Establishment and veto Mitt Romney in favor of someone else. We would, in that instance, see one of two things.
One: the Republican Establishment actively campaigning for President Obama.
Two: the Republican National Committee engineering a "brokered" convention, where the will of the Republican voters is overturned by a fiat declaration that Mitt Romney is indeed the nominee since they know what's best for us and those who disagree are too stupid to know when something is for their own good.
Either way, I am currently suffering from the belief that the Republican National Committee really doesn't want to win the White House this year.
I think they would much rather see bad things happen during Obama's second term (even if it's the Iranians detonating a nuke here on our soil). It's much easier to be a minority party in that kind of situation and snipe about things and to not offer an alternative solution.
They have to know that Romney can't win this year, yet they are blindly marching off the same cliff that they did four years ago.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Getting Ready for Deer Season
This may seem like a very odd title for a posting in January. North of the equator, deer season is a fall thing, with some seasons starting in September and the last of the seasons wrapping up in mid-December. If anything, deer season is a fresh memory for those who were just out late last year. So why the title of the post?
It's like this.
Ever since Todd and I had a long talk about what we wanted to do this year, I've been thinking about how this year I really want to bring home a venison harvest. In previous years we were out there and we saw some deer....not any bucks, just does....not legal to shoot (nor would I want to shoot a doe). We used techniques that Todd has developed over the years with his previous deer hunting outings, combining them with my knowledge of the back roads of southern Arizona. Looking back, we did a lot of things right, but also in looking back I couldn't help but wonder if I myself needed to be better prepared.
I think I needed to be. Our last time out, we were in a great unit with not very much hunting pressure. We saw more wildlife on that outing than we had in years previous. Our disadvantage was that we had not made any scouting runs to that unit and so we were going out in unfamiliar country. That was mistake number one.
Mistake number two, for me, was that I had not spent enough time sighting in my deer rifle. Yes, I had been to the range with it, and yes I knew I stood a chance of hitting a target at 200 yards, but how much of a chance? The way it is, you might only get one opportunity to get a shot at buck. You're not going to have a great deal of time in which to take that shot either. If you're lucky you might spot one grazing and have time to put the crosshairs on him, but my gut feeling is that it won't be very much time at all.
As I was driving back from Todd's place I was pondering all of that. I made a determination to be better prepared for my next time out. And in being better prepared, I decided that the time for getting ready for deer season is now.
Two weekends ago I made a run down to Willcox to scope out the area south, and to re-visit the area where we were before. I did not go too far off-road as that with my injured finger I am still wary about slipping on a rock and taking another fall. I wanted to make sure that I could find that canyon again, which I was able to. I plan on making more runs down there but I also want to check out the area near Cascabel. In my conversation with Todd earlier this evening, we both want to check out Cascabel Road in the early afternoon to learn where the public land is and where we can hunt. We may also return to that one canyon in the late afternoon to get a better understanding of how often or likely we will see some deer there. If we could get in ten or twelve scouting runs, that would be great, though I'd be happy if we pulled off four.
In the other area of preparation, I spent some time at the range today sighting in my rifle. This time I decided to take some time between shots, using more mental discipline than I have in the past. That meant really taking the time to dwell on the bullseye, waiting until I was ready to take the shot, and then squeezing the trigger. I did lose a few shots due to a form of "nervousness" but after three shots I found myself settling in and getting some good groups at one hundred yards. I had two sessions, each with a different target, and I had a much better grouping in the second round than I did in the first.
I learned that I need to tweak my scope just a bit as that the grouping was about one and a half to two inches left of the bullseye. I wanted the group to land one inch above the bullseye, and elevationally the rifle is fine. At one hundred yards your bullet is still climbing, and if you can group one inch above bullseye at that distance then you should be elevationally even at two hundred yards. I figure that I stand a very good chance at getting off a good shot when it's time to do so in the field, yet I also figure that I should get in some more range time before then. It will take one and possibly two more range visits before my scope is dialed in to where I want it to be. After that, I should still go, mainly because practice makes perfect as they say, and I would very much want a perfect shot if I manage to get a buck in my crosshairs later on this year.
Driving home from the range, I was realizing a few things.
I had forgotten how much fun target shooting is! Sure, I've shot plenty since moving here to Arizona in 1999, taking advantage of the public hands here where I can do that. Plinking at a soda can is fun, but I found that trying to zero in on a bullseye at one hundred yards is also fun. It requires a mental discipline and a presence of mind that you're not going to be aware that you will need unless you decide to try it.
But I hadn't been out shooting for quite some time, and once I get in the range visits in that I need to sight in my rifle I plan on shooting again with one of my handguns. I've got a .38 special revolver that I need to try, and it's been a while since I've shot one of my .22s.
The other thing is how much I enjoy the outdoors here.
I definitely want to get out there more often this year.
It's like this.
Ever since Todd and I had a long talk about what we wanted to do this year, I've been thinking about how this year I really want to bring home a venison harvest. In previous years we were out there and we saw some deer....not any bucks, just does....not legal to shoot (nor would I want to shoot a doe). We used techniques that Todd has developed over the years with his previous deer hunting outings, combining them with my knowledge of the back roads of southern Arizona. Looking back, we did a lot of things right, but also in looking back I couldn't help but wonder if I myself needed to be better prepared.
I think I needed to be. Our last time out, we were in a great unit with not very much hunting pressure. We saw more wildlife on that outing than we had in years previous. Our disadvantage was that we had not made any scouting runs to that unit and so we were going out in unfamiliar country. That was mistake number one.
Mistake number two, for me, was that I had not spent enough time sighting in my deer rifle. Yes, I had been to the range with it, and yes I knew I stood a chance of hitting a target at 200 yards, but how much of a chance? The way it is, you might only get one opportunity to get a shot at buck. You're not going to have a great deal of time in which to take that shot either. If you're lucky you might spot one grazing and have time to put the crosshairs on him, but my gut feeling is that it won't be very much time at all.
As I was driving back from Todd's place I was pondering all of that. I made a determination to be better prepared for my next time out. And in being better prepared, I decided that the time for getting ready for deer season is now.
Two weekends ago I made a run down to Willcox to scope out the area south, and to re-visit the area where we were before. I did not go too far off-road as that with my injured finger I am still wary about slipping on a rock and taking another fall. I wanted to make sure that I could find that canyon again, which I was able to. I plan on making more runs down there but I also want to check out the area near Cascabel. In my conversation with Todd earlier this evening, we both want to check out Cascabel Road in the early afternoon to learn where the public land is and where we can hunt. We may also return to that one canyon in the late afternoon to get a better understanding of how often or likely we will see some deer there. If we could get in ten or twelve scouting runs, that would be great, though I'd be happy if we pulled off four.
In the other area of preparation, I spent some time at the range today sighting in my rifle. This time I decided to take some time between shots, using more mental discipline than I have in the past. That meant really taking the time to dwell on the bullseye, waiting until I was ready to take the shot, and then squeezing the trigger. I did lose a few shots due to a form of "nervousness" but after three shots I found myself settling in and getting some good groups at one hundred yards. I had two sessions, each with a different target, and I had a much better grouping in the second round than I did in the first.
I learned that I need to tweak my scope just a bit as that the grouping was about one and a half to two inches left of the bullseye. I wanted the group to land one inch above the bullseye, and elevationally the rifle is fine. At one hundred yards your bullet is still climbing, and if you can group one inch above bullseye at that distance then you should be elevationally even at two hundred yards. I figure that I stand a very good chance at getting off a good shot when it's time to do so in the field, yet I also figure that I should get in some more range time before then. It will take one and possibly two more range visits before my scope is dialed in to where I want it to be. After that, I should still go, mainly because practice makes perfect as they say, and I would very much want a perfect shot if I manage to get a buck in my crosshairs later on this year.
Driving home from the range, I was realizing a few things.
I had forgotten how much fun target shooting is! Sure, I've shot plenty since moving here to Arizona in 1999, taking advantage of the public hands here where I can do that. Plinking at a soda can is fun, but I found that trying to zero in on a bullseye at one hundred yards is also fun. It requires a mental discipline and a presence of mind that you're not going to be aware that you will need unless you decide to try it.
But I hadn't been out shooting for quite some time, and once I get in the range visits in that I need to sight in my rifle I plan on shooting again with one of my handguns. I've got a .38 special revolver that I need to try, and it's been a while since I've shot one of my .22s.
The other thing is how much I enjoy the outdoors here.
I definitely want to get out there more often this year.
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