It's a Thursday Three day!

It has been more than 2 years since the last Thursday Three and every member of the Axis of Weevil has been mourning the loss of this meme ever since. But today, in celebration of one AoW member's upcoming birthday, in complete surprise to everyone on the internet, there is a T3 post at Possumblog! Hurray!

Terry's questions?

ANYwho--since we’re coming up on Thanksgiving, answer me these nonqueries:

1. What one person are you most thankful for this year?
2. What one thing are you most thankful for this year?
3. What one event are you most thankful for this year?

AND, as a big fat bonus unquestion:

4. So, how’s it going? How’ve you been lately?

Now the hard part- I need some answers to these questions. Lemme see...
1. Excluding the BSU, who would be just too easy to put at the top of the list, I have to really think about this one. I think I might be most thankful for my brother Mark for his listening and following when he heard a calling to become a minister. It was a real privilege to hear him preach a few weeks back and to see how loved he is by his congregation. I'm also very thankful for our pastor, Susan and all the people at St Peters that have made us a part of their church family.

2. The one thing I'm most thankful for? I suppose that would have to be Fish Slayer, my aged but very capable boat that I was able to purchase this past summer. I have really enjoyed the hours I've spent fishing with friends in this humble boat. It's great therapy and stress relief for me to be on the lake fishing with friends.

3. A single event that I'm most thankful for? Another toughie. I think it must be the vacation trip we took to the midwest last May to see our grandbabies. We had a wonderful time playing with them after such a long absence and we are already planning our next visit. Additionally, the BSU and I got to see my mother and grandmother over Mother's Day and attend church with Mom. That weekend was pretty special.

And the bonus question? Well, it's really going well, thanks. My family is healthy and happy, I'm pretty close to healthy except for my back that has been acting up again lately and I've lost 20 pounds over the summer. My grandkids are smart and cute. I did loose a beloved cat this summer to unknown reasons but I believe we will be adopting a new kitten tomorrow to add a little spark to our household. I'm working and glad to be even though friends all around me are retiring. So thanks for asking.

How well can you eyeball "close"?

Everybody's heard the "close enough for government work" axiom before, right? And probably everyone has had the opportunity to eyeball a straight line or the center of a circle sometime in the past. Now you can see just how good you are at eyeballing some simple geometric figures with this Eyeballing Game.

This is fun so give it a try. You have to play through each example 3 times to see your score and how you compare to all the other players across the internet. My best score, so far is 5.90. How well can you eyeball?

Why I love the internet and cookies!

In spite of what the fear-mongers whould have you believe, the nicest people on earth live on the internet. As an example, meet Diane a fellow member of the Axis of Weevil and fellow follower of PossumDad, Terry. Anyways, a couple weeks back Diane had a "uncloaking" contest at her blog to get some of her regular readers to actually leave a comment. And from the commenters, she chose 1 name at random out of a hat and offered a prize to the winner- which was me.

I won! It's a major award! Diane graciously offered me a couple of dandy handmade choices and I voted with my tummy. She made me a batch of delicious ginger snap cookies and included a pound of her favorite coffee beans from her local and favorite coffee joint. The package arrived today.

The cookies taste terrific and the coffee beans smell wonderful. I'll be enjoying both treats over the coming days. Yumm!

Thanks Diane for the very nice treats. Can I offer you a racoon pelt suitable for making a Daniel Boone cap from in return? I may have a couple in a few days.

My tacticool, single shot, lever action, antique replica, 22LR, urban sniper rifle-

I'll bet you've never seen a sniper rifle like this one before-


That is my Stevens Favorite replica rifle with a VistaLite bicycle light strapped to the side. I'm going to use it and the Colibri subsonic ammo I bought yesterday to dispatch the masked bandit raccoons in my backyard. I had to put the light back and to the side so that it throws some light on the front sight which I treated with a silver Sharpie for better visibility. My initial plan to mount it under the barrel lit up the target zone beautifully but I could not see the front sight at all, hence the unusual location on the left side.

The bandits are coming to the bait I'm setting out but I realized that unless they run across the roof like they did the other night, I won't know they are out there. So I'm going to install a makeshift motion sensor, wired to a light inside the shop. With that I'll be able to sit inside until the light comes on alerting me to bandits.

The Colibri ammo I purchased doesn't penetrate clear through a 1" pine board but I figure a raccoon skull isn't as thick as a pine board. And the sound of the bullet striking the board from 20 feet is louder than the discharge of the shell being fired so I don't think I am going to alarm anyone.

As always, click the thumbnail to see the full size picture.

It's National Ammo Day today!

I have been so remiss this year, I didn’t even get the National Ammo Day logo up on display this year, so apologies for that. But it is 19 November, the day we celebrate our right and opportunity to clean the dealer’s shelves of the ammo of our choice. Your obligation is to get out and buy at least 100 rounds of the ammo you favor, just because you can.

 

Foolishly, I forgot about the holiday just yesterday afternoon when I visited Impact Guns and bought myself 50 rounds of Colibri 22LR ammo so I guess I will have to redeem myself with another purchase at Saturday’s gun show…

 

The Colibri 22LR ammo I did buy is entirely powered by primer charge- there’s no gunpowder in the shell and the bullet is just a 20 grain pointed lead projectile. The sound of the bullet hitting a 1” pine board is louder than the shot! They don’t penetrate that same board either but I am pretty certain they will be just perfect for my purpose.

 

It's about time to start feeding the birds in my backyard-

The cold weather has moved in with a vengeance since last weekend and we received a significant snowfall last Saturday. This is about the time of year that I start keeping my Wasted Electrons World Headquarters backyard bird feeder filled for the wild birds that live in the surrounding trees and bushes throughout the cold season. Typically I keep the seed feeder full and put out suet cakes for them too.

 

Before I start the buffet for this winter, I have to remove some unwelcome varmints from the neighborhood…

 

Last night while I was sitting in my shop smoking a cigar and reading my email, I heard a weird, scrabbling sound move across my roof- twice. It almost sounded like ice buildup slipping down but I was certain that wasn’t the problem. I stepped outside my shop, shined an LED flashlight down the gap between my shop and the neighbor’s garage and was rewarded with 4 yellow eyeballs reflecting back at me from the back of the property.

 

Raccoons! At least 2 of the masked bandits were back there on Leonard’s cinder block pile. Before I start putting out bird food, these thieves must be dispatched. I need a brighter flashlight. I also need to decide if the air rifle will be suitable for the task of if I need to break out the Stevens and my stash of subsonic ammo.

Bob Ross and I had something in common?

Apparently we both retired from the USAF as Master Sergeants. The coincindence had to be military related because I'm certainly not capable of painting happy trees as Bob did on public television for so many years.

I found the link on Boing Boing dot com.

On a related note- my 10 year retirement anniversary is rapidly approaching. Time is sure fun when you're having flies!

The Wizard of Oz- On the Big Screen!

Tuesday night I'm going to do something I have never done before- I'm packing up the BSU and we are going to see The Wizard of Oz on the big screen at our local cineplex. The film is 70 years old this year and I can't remember the last time I watched it on tv but it's been a couple of decades at least since I last watched it.

Kenny is bringing his lovely spouse and I've invited another couple from church to attend the event with us too. I can't convince Kenny that the best way to attend this movie is in costume- he says he is not going to do it, even though I suggested that he would make a terrific cowardly lion.

But there's still time for you to make your plans to see it Tuesday night too so check out the link and see where it might be showing in your neighborhood. I'll bet you've never seen this classic in a theater and now is your chance so make some plans, invite your friends, hire a babysitter, rent costumes and head over to the mall to share this special event.

It should be a really fun evening!

Pirate Radio-

Rock & roll, baby! We went to see this terrific movie tonight and I have to tell you that it is a hoot! The story is about a rock and roll radio station that broadcast from international waters outside of Great Britain during the 60s- the heyday for British rock and pop music. The government owned the legal airwaves and didn't like the popular music and so a motley bunch of DJs set up shop on a ratty freighter and piped in the music outside of the government's control.

Mayhem ensues.

The story is profane and funny. The characters are flawed but earnest and the soundtrack is awesome- remember, this story takes place in 1966 so the music is chock full of great pop and rock hits from the time. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays the part of the only Yank on board and he bumps egos with the Brit superstar DJ until they play a scary game of chicken that leads to shared injuries and respect.

We both loved this movie. If you grew up with rock and roll during the 60s, you may get a real kick out of this show just like we did.

I do love hanging out with my buddies-

and tomorrow, 4 of us are going to Cabelas! My buddy Loc has never been to the store just an hour's drive south and so we have decided to make a day of it tomorrow. Kenny is going and Jack too. We are having breakfast together on the way and then we are going to go hit the store to browse and shop with no restriction on our time.

I'm hoping they have the seats and parts that I need for Fish Slayer because I have some money in my pocket!

So tomorrow is Veteran's Day

Give a vet a hug or a sandwich or a donation to the retirement home near you to help make their lives better. It still seems strange to call myself a vet, though I am. But in my eyes, those real vets are the guys older than me, those World War II or Korean Conflict veterans that supported our country's ideals under incoming enemy fire. I never had anyone shooting at me during my service and for that reason I suppose, I don't see my service to have the same weight.

But honor the veterans tomorrow, (and every day)that you know or that live near you.

What a nice weekend!

It's been terrific here with much too warm temperatures for November but it has been beautiful. Yesterday was a perfect "man" day- breakfast with friends at Cracker Barrel, a trip to the gun show and shopping at Harbor Freight. COuld it be any better?

I blew, vacuumed and sucked up leaves from the front yard in the afternoon until there were 2 80 gallon trash cans full. I covered up the boat motor and my engine crane with tarps and inherited a lawnmower project from my neighbor. It runs but not steadily so I saved it from an ignomious end in the dumpster and I'll figure it out over the winter.

Today was a great day at church and our pastor has asked the BSU and I to consider participating in our diocesen search convention for a new bishop. That might be an interesting challenge! We have decided anything yet but maybe it is something we could do.

I've also got the money I need for new seats for Fish Slayer! I decided a couple weeks ago that maybe I would sell my black powder pistols and so this evening I listed them on KSL to see if I could sell them. It took 20 minutes for the phone to ring! The guy that called came up from Salt Lake so it took him an hour to get here but he bought the guns! That was cool. On Wednesday when I go to Cabelas with my buddies, I think I'll be able to buy my seats. Sweet!

Now if the weather would just turn and start sending snow our way, I can start thinking about ski season!

I didn't do it...

Train derails in SLC

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8562187

It’s not my fault, really!