We both attended a Utah CCW Permit class today that included shooting and a classroom session. That delayed our planned BBQ and due to ripple effect we’re just not going to be able to do anything except post one of the pictures I took today while were waiting for the truck to be serviced. Yes, this view was driving distance from the dealer.
Taken from Point Vicente Interpretive Center, Palos Verdes, CA.
Not much time to blog today, we had to go shopping, fill the tank ($75), sit in the patio and hang out with ‘Bear.’ Tomorrow, the truck to goes for periodic maintenance to the service department and we take the training for our Utah CCW permits.
Our vacation next month will take us to places where the permit is valid, so the maintenance for the truck and the CCW training are mandatory, as far as we’re concerned. Bear is happy for us, as you can see.
I just read a pretty good editorial in the Orange County (CA) Register. The title, “You Can’t Ride a Polar Bear to Work”, intrigued me and so I read the item (hat tip Opinion Journal). So, I thought I would pass it along here. Plus, it gives me another chance to post this silly polar bear picture.
The article starts with this news item about the reversal of John McCain’s attitude toward offshore drilling:
Republican presidential candidate John McCain this week reversed his position and drew environmentalists’ wrath when he came out in favor of lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Mr. McCain apparently realizes he needs motorists’ votes more than environmentalists’ endorsements. Better late than never.
And concludes with this encouragement for McCain to similarly reconsider drilling in ANWR:
We hope that even if it’s only a crass appeal for votes, Mr. McCain rethinks his opposition to drilling in ANWR and also pledges to overcome Democrat opposition to leasing interior federal lands that may contain 1.8 trillion barrels of oil in solid shale rock, which a RAND Corp. study estimates could be enough to meet U.S. energy needs for centuries.
The U.S. realistically can’t become energy independent, but it can become energy self-sufficient by drilling closer to home, reviving shunned technologies such as nuclear power and by encouraging private companies to seek new technologies and approaches in support of that goal.
There are a lot of good points made in between the start and finish of the article. Take the time to read some interesting things about energy consumption and production in our country.
You have to admit that most guys would avoid taking a picture of their guns on a pink towel in the laundry basket. This little baby goes with me everywhere, even when I do the laundry.
I think she’s pretty with her red rosewood grips and shiny black frame.
Damsel takes a lot of pictures. When she’s not taking photos of flowers, she just might be capricious enough to arrange nineteen rounds of 9mm +P+ hollow points into a heart-shape and take some pictures of the resulting ‘sculpture.’
As for the rounds themselves, I picked up a box of 50 Winchester SXT 127 grain Luger +P+ rounds to keep in the Glock 26 magazine for home protection. The box warns not to use these rounds in pistols not rated for +P+ loads, since they produce about 25 percent higher pressure when discharged.
I selected these rounds because of the greater stopping power it provides my backup home defense pistol. Damsel selected them for the photo for being shiny and photogenic.
We’re sort of a left-brain, right-brain complimentary pair. 🙂
In the garden, the green beans are growing. By the weekend, we will most likely have enough to serve as a side dish for our traditional Chicken Fried Steak entree.
Each spring for the past several, I planted ‘Kentucky Wonder’ green beans in the garden. Most years they produce enough beans for us and our neighbor who gladly accepts the excess beans.
Image: Kentucky Wonder Bean Buds.
About Kentucky Wonder beans:
This old-time country pole bean with brown seeds is a favorite. Beans are approximately 6″-8″ inches long, slender and stringless. Will produce heavily if harvested diligently. This bean has been popular since the mid 1800s.
We prepare the beans according to a recipe we both like a lot.
Chop the beans into one-inch pieces, bring them to a boil in an inch or so of water in a large pan. After boiling for three or four minutes, strain the beans and set aside.
In the same pan, render a couple of slices of chopped bacon until almost crisp. Next, add a couple of cloves of garlic and a quarter of an onion finely chopped. When the onion becomes carmelized, add the beans back to the pan. De-glaze the pan with a tablespoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar or sweetener of your choice.
Thoroughly stir the beans to re-heat and coat with the pan drippings and then serve.
I’ve had this old shotgun for over forty years. There were periods during those years where it didn’t see much use. A few years ago, Damsel and I bought some guns and started shooting regularly. Shortly after, I took the old gun off the shelf and cleaned it up. It really needed a lot of elbow grease to get the fine layer of oxydation off of the metal parts and the stock and fore-end needed a little scrubbing and oil. Now the old Ithaca gets to go to the range two or three times a year.
I took it today and put just five rounds through it. The Remington 870s pump action guns sort of spoil us because you load the chamber and the magazine and crank out five or seven rounds. This old gun, in contrast, requires you break the chamber open, load a round, cock the hammer, point and shoot.
The newer guns make me lazy, I guess, and I don’t shoot the old gun very much just because it’s tedious. But, my old Ithaca is fun to shoot once in a while just because it’s an old friend to me.