Not sure about the name of this amber-colored variety of roses, but they are very nice. These roses are our centerpiece on the dining room table this week.
Waiting — Again
Thanks to the State of California, we’re on the 10-day wait for a new Remington 870 Express shotgun. All but a handful of states have no waiting period for shotgun purchases, and many of those do not require registration for shotguns either. Not good old moonbatty California, though.
Image: The Remington 870 Security Shotgun waiting in the vault for us.
Not only do we Californians have to jump through all the aggravating hoops, but then have to go to extraordinary steps to even keep guns in our home. The Attorney General’s description of “acceptable” gun safes looks like a specification for an airlock on the International Space Station — this many tumblers, that many bolts, this minimum thickness and so on. Safes that meet the specifications are easily out of the price range of many folks who deserve home protection.
Another point — if a sudden home invasion were to occur, how quickly can you get your safe open and have the weapon loaded and ready to use? What if the safe is on another floor — upstairs and you’re downstairs or vice-versa.
Three Strikes Out
We put up a silhouette target at the range today. We personified it a bit by sticking on some adhesive target patches we brought along. We then each discharged five shotgun rounds, taking photos before, after I shot five 20 gauge rounds and again after Cap’n Bob shot five 12 gauge rounds. The target was at about 25 yards from where we stood. Earlier, we peppered a couple of pistol targets with rounds from Cap’n Bob’s .357 Magnum and my 9 millimeter (both S&W). The shotguns we use are Remington 870 Express, 20 and 12 gauge sizes.
We had a lot of fun at the range today.
Comet McNaught Visible in Broad Daylight
This may be a once in a lifetime celestial event for Earthlings to witness. A sun-grazing comet, McNaught, is visible to the naked eye in broad daylight! If you have clear skies, you should step outside today and try to observe the comet.
SOHO also “sees” the comet, but it’s so bright in the sky it badly blooms the image.
Image: SOHO LASCO C3 view of McNaught.
Read more about how to observe this spectacle from SpaceWeather.com:
Winter Geraniums
Unusually cold overnight temperatures didn’t seem to phase the geraniums growing in the south flowerbed where sunlight is available most of the short winter days. The little buds seen here will emerge in this almost-indecent shade of red within the next few days.
No Castles for California
UPDATE: As of February 2007, castle doctrine lives in California. From the California Department of Justice:
No license or permit shall be required to possess keep, or carry a handgun openly or concealed in one’s home or place of business, including temporary residences and campsites.
You now can defend yourself using a firearm in your own home, at work or while encamped; there will be NO charges brought for using a weapon, as long as it’s registered. However, you better have a good lawyer because the perp’s family will likely sue you.
For historical purposes, the original article appears below.
“A man’s home is his castle,” is a metaphor often used to describe the way people feel about their domiciles. Whether you are the owner or are renting, you should be able to feel safe, comfortable and secure in your own space. You should also expect to assume the responsibilities to keep it that way. For example, you should be prepared to deal with any number of breaches to comfort and security — if the roof leaks or something breaks, you should be prepared for that — or — if there is an intrusion into your space by forced entry, you should be prepared to defend your property as well as your life.
In California, we can have hammers, drills, saws and wrenches to maintain our comfort by fixing most problems around the house. All you have to do is go the the home improvement center and purchase what you need. In California, it’s a completely different story when it comes to protecting your home with a pistol or shotgun. Our anti-gun legislature and left-leaning elected officials will not allow the honest law-abiding homeowner to go to the firearms dealer and get a weapon to maintain the security of the castle unless he or she endures a myriad of abusive procedures, delays, rules and restrictions. Moreover, even if we go through all the painful process to get a firearm, we aren’t protected from frivolous litigation if we use it to protect our home – which is NOT a castle in California.
Sadly, the left-coast demographic here will probably not vote the anti-gun politicians out of office. Because of that, the likelihood of a “Castle Doctrine” in California is virtually nil.
Fortunately, for many other states, Castle Doctrine progress is being made.
Tulip Season
The local flower emporium offered these nice tulips last weekend. They’re looking very pretty on our coffee table. I plan to get other colors for floral accents as this winter season goes on.
