"Are those guns registered?!"

This goes back years ago when I was at the State Game Lands rifle range.

Someone that just plain looked out of place there came up to me, looked at my two rifles and asked, "Are those guns registered?"in a demanding tone.

There was and is no registration laws in PA.

"Of course not," I replied. "I don't have to register them because I am a convicted felon and I'm not allowed to have them. If I registered them it would be self incrimination and violate my 5th Amendment rights regarding self-incrimination."

Of course his jaw dropped. Finally he asked me what I had been convicted of.

"Someone asked me if my guns were registered so I shot him," I replied. I noticed the guy on the shooter's bench next to me had his hand over his mouth trying not to bust out laughing.

Then I said, "You gonna call the police on me? Get me put back in the joint? That's not fair! I just got OUT of the joint!"

He turned and walked off rapidly. The guy next to me (after he stopped laughing) asked what that was all about and I told him I didn't have a clue. I resumed shooting.

A few minues later a couple of police officers showed up and started questioning people. They got near me and someone told the officer that some guy had been bothering me.

The officer came by and asked me what happened and the shooter next to me verified I had made no threat expressed or implied to the little dweeb after I told the cop what had happened.

The two cops shook their heads and walked off.

Every so often I recall the incident and try and figure what the idiot was thinking. Probably some liberal dip$hit do gooder that decided to check things out at a range.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

He's retired now and I miss him.

He was a local cop that I miss.

I used to save all my bull$hit for him.

One day I handed him a tag I cut off of a pillow and asked him somewhat belligerently what he was going to do about it.

He was a great cop. I thought he'd wet his pants laughing.

One time I handed him about 10 cards I printed up from a Monopoly game. He glanced at them and said, "Don't you hand me a 'get out of jail free card!"

"Nope. I like you bums. Read it."

The card said 'Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200'

His face lit up. "Now that I can use!"

He truly hated busting people but did what he had to do.

Occasionally he would share with me a story about an idiot that forced his hand and MADE him have to arrest them.

Good cops hate taking a citizen's rights and freedom from them. He was one of those guys and I miss him.

He had common sense, compassion, and  a great sense of humor.

I miss him.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

How the hell did a pebble get into my shoe?

It wasn't in it when I wore them last night but there it was when I put them on this morning.

$hit like that happens to me often and I can never seem to figure out how it does occur.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I live with a cat

which is the most miserable species God ever cursed the planet with.

Out of the species, orange cats are the absolutely most miserable and that's my room mate.He licks my nose as soon as I hit the rack.

OTOH maybe he keeps my antibodies up and running which is a pretty good deal.

The ONLY time I get sick is when I get something like a flu shot because I get nagged into  it by Mrs Pic.

Something must be wrong (or right) with me because I would not have it any other way.

Yeah. Something's wrong with me. I love living with a first class PITA.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Things are arriving in dribs and drabs

The insurance company took a list of what I lost and sent it to some vendor outfit to replace the actual stuff.

This is actually a pretty good deal when you look at it in a certain light. A big fat check means I have to go out and buy a lot of this stuff which is a pain in the ass. It also means that if you are married that there is often a discussion over every single item being purchased, depending on the nature of the spouse.

Besides, I don't really want a pile of cash. I simply want my stuff back. I can't mow the lawn with money. I need a lawn mower.

Anyway, I was mildly surprised to find out that neither the insurance company or the vending company has cheaped out. The things that are arriving are about par with what I lost. Where possible it is a very duplicate is offered and that's fair and reasonable.

The other thing, too is that prices have gone up and if I got what I paid for something I would lose and this makes it fair. After all, I didn/t, for example, lose $129.95 plus tax when my air compressor got burned up. I lost an air compressor.

I would imagine that it also cuts down on fraud. When someone is told to get themselves a new lawn mower and send in the reciept the first thing Karen or Ken does is go out and buy themselves the $2500 Cub Cadet that they always wanted to replace the $250 mower they bought 10 years ago.

I am actually making out on this because I was 100% honest. I actually put down the price I paid for things. "One Craftsman lawn mower, push style I paid $40 for on Craigslist." My loss sheet actually had stuff like that written on it. I imagine the adjuster had a couple of WTF moments looking through it.

Actually the last item read something like this: "Ahh, yes. The obligatory priceless and irreplacable 13th century Ming vase. No suburban claim is complete without one on it. I think I paid $2.98 for mine at Walmart. Seeing at how irreplaceable it is, don't bother trying to replace it. I've wanted to get rid of it for years."

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I'm not in a very good mood this morning

because I am at a crossroads and am waiting on someone to make a choice before I can continue.

I think I'll do a few things in the bathroom today and then when that's up and running I'll go back into the front bedroom and continue there.

There is a lot to do so I guess I'll just plod away.

The insurance company took a list of what had been fried and is replacing it in kind which is pretty good because when you think about it, I don't want the money so much as I want my stuff back.

I know what would happen if they simply gave me a check. I'd have to go out and repurchase my stuff and then that would open up YET ANOTHER can of worms.

Anyway, yesterday Homeless depot started the ball rolling when they delivered a chain saw and a pair of tin snips.

They were pretty good with what they delivered. I feared a delivery of Chinese junk but the saw was a duplicate of what I had and so were the tin snips. Fair and reasonable!

I also have a pair of lawn mowers coming and I am interested to see what they send me.

Actually it's a long list of stuff.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

On a certain board I posted once that

I wanted to go on one last retirement blowout, a real bender and I asked which one of the strip clubs was the cheesiest.

A few people said they wanted to tag along.

Most of the readers have never met me face to face. Those that have probably know that the last place I'd want to go is a strip club. I worked in one once and consider them to be a joke.

The thread got a few laughs and slowly petered out and in another month or so will wind up in tha archives.

Anyway, a few days ago a couple of guys I know that read the thread were sitting around and the lines that came out were hilarious.

One guy said he ought to write that the bender took place and he was dragged along with it. The other guy said "I could picture that!"

Then the proposed lines of the yet to be written by them tale came out and they were hilarious.

''Then when we were getting thrown out he sucker punched the bounced and laid him out and everyone went into shock. He looked at everyone and shouted 'Now there's nobody to kick us out! Let's PARTY! That's when things really got cookin'!"

or "When the cops showed he grabbed a pair of skinny strippers, charged through the back emergency exit with one squealing, giggling stripper over each shoulder and vanished into the darkness..."

"I woke up as sick as a dog in a house being remodeled on a sanded hardwood floor facing a half-bath, tried to puke and went downstairs to find Piccolo cooking breakfast. The odor made me nauseous. I dragged myself home and stayed in bed for two days..." 

"I came to on Pic's couch smelling like with glitter all over me and reeking of cheap pperfume. I don't have a clue as to what happened."

It was fun making up such bull$hit.

Now, of course, most readers would simply read it, chuckle and know it's a crock but there are more than a couple of gullible readers that would believe every word of it.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

the guy across the street

was headed out to his car to get something and I said, "Forget something?" 

This is not out of line. We have a good rapport. He and his wife understand sarcasm. 

"Bedtime story book," he replied. I laughed.

"Bet I could tell them a good bedtime story." I said.

"You probably could. I'm sure you have quite a few but I want them to sleep tonight." he replied.

"Yeah. There was this big sea serpent... I was sailing the Seven Seas..." I shot back.

"That's all I need,"he grinned.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Set it and forget it.

A lot of money is spent on 'features' which cost money and don't really do a hell of a lot.

Later today I will install a new shower faucet with special features allowing me to control not only volume, but pressure! An amazing valve that works wonders in shower comfort.

In reality I am going to turn both controls up to max and simply let all but the on/off switch corrode in place.

The faucet/valve/whatever the hell you want to call it was chosen by someone else who was all worked up and excited over the amazing new revolutionary features that don't really impress me even a little bit.

There's also a shower head that comes with this amazing set that was designed by some world famous designer but that's getting put in the closet until we sell the joint because I already know what it is going to be like. I can tell just by looking at it. Instead I am reusing the old shower head. I like it.

It's one of those water savers that I gutted the water saving part out of and it works just fine. Gives a pretty good shower and that's all that matters.

Cars are full of all kinds of fancy, expensive features that most people either ignore or simply set and forget. Back in 2009 I crawled out of the dark ages and bought a pickup with air conditioning mainly because I had no choice in the matter. I seldom use it, preferring to simply roll down the window and get some fresh air. 

I'll admit that I use it a couple of times a year when I get sruck in traffic but the truth is over the years it has been a pain in the ass because if you have something you have to keep it up and the AC has cost me over a grand over the years in repairs.

There's also all kinds of adjustments and doodads I either never use and some I'm probably not even aware of. 

I'm just a retired working stiff and the pickup is just that. It's a simple pickup that does what I want it to. It gets me around and hauls my stuff around. As I type this it is loaded for a dump run tomorrow morning when the dump opens.

I just spoke with a guy that got a new pickup a while ago and he confessed that there's a lot of things he doesn't use and added likely he doesn't know about which didn't surprise me.

I'm actually not anti technology as I really liked some of the useful features I found on the rental I rented in Florida recently. The built in GPS and backup camera were supurb and quite useful as was the head's up display in the windshield that not only was couples with the speedometer but also with the GPS. 

My current GPS is an ancient Suzie Garmen which still does the job but the GPS in the rental Mazda was fantastic. As was the backup camera. Mine is a tacky aftermarket that I installed myself.

Useful features are one thing but there are a bunch that I have little or no use for.

Don't get me started on an ICOM 7300 transceiver. THAT thing has a BOATLOAD of stuff I will never use!

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Someone asked me if it bothers me to be camping in the living room

and while it does mildly annoy me to a certain degree it really doesn't bother me a whole lot.

After all, I have heat, air, running water, gas and electricity. The roof doesn't leak, the kitchen is up and running and my bed is rather comfortable.

In the FWIW department I have lived with no electricity or running water for over a decade in years gone by.

Most important, the cat is comfortable, too.

I'm on the air with my favorite transceiver, eating well and enjoying the cat.

Fact is even though I am camping in I am living a LOT better than a lot of people on the planet and I should be grateful for that.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Another day.

The tile guy is starting to finish up and he'll be done Monday sometime which is good. I'll let everything sit for three days or so before I use it.

I think I'll buy a Sunday paper to cover everything up with while I paint. Actually I still have a little sheet rock taping pick up stuff to do so I'll tape adn paper the place before that.

Actually the entire place needs a MAJOR field day as all sorts of stuff has been tracked all over the place, not to mention the sheet rock dust.

Today it's clean up the basement.

The insurance company has an interesting way of doing things. They have a subcontractor that replaces the actual thing that was burned up with the closest model to what was lost. They're doing that with about half of my stuff.

I have put off the delivery to keep some room to move but have procrastinated long enough.  It's time to get the stuff and that's why the big push is on to get the garage ready.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

When are you going to give me some grandchildren?

my mother asked me once and I replied "I'm probably not."

Much to her credit, she never asked me again (although I attribute that to having four other siblings).

Still, the other day I had one of my younger friends ask me when he was going to get married and give her some grandchildren.

I calmly told her it was none of her business and none of mine, either. I almost went off on her, but I didn't.

Parents have no right whatsoever to pressure their kids to marry or supply them with grandchildren. 

None.

It's their job to live good, responsible lives and that's about it. It's their choice to reproduce or not reproduce.

How can someone be so selfish as to demand such a thing?

Several years ago I really went off on a couple over that one.  They said that they had demanded that their married son give them grandchildren as soon as possible. 

The other thing is when parents insist on their children's careers. Often that's just plain stupid. Why does a parent want his child to make his career running the family business when he has absolutely no aptitude or desire to do so? If the kid wants to, fine. If not let him go his own way.

I've heard stories of kids running away over things like that. Most generally don't fare very well. 

I have heard one story of a kid that returned home after a couple of years and told his parents he was in an electrician apprenticeship. 

Military recruiters often have stories of enlistees that were doing the equivilent of running away from home and enlisting. One former recruiter I know from back in the day remembers asking me to write one of his enlistees while he was in boot camp. I did. The kid was basically a runaway.

These are success stories. The horror stories outnumber the success stories.

Push them to produce excellence in whatever they do, let tehm decide what to do and if you do that they will amaze you.

Demand excellence.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I just worked 4W1A, a station in Timor Leste

which is an island out in the exact center of nowhere in he South Pacific.

It turned out to be one of those things in life. I was in the pileup on 20 meters the first day and know I would have broken through but life interrupted and I had to drop what I was doing which I did.

Of course, when I got back propagation was gone and I had to start chasing it again. I had a limited time because it was a DXpedition and they were only going to be there for ten days.

I did the propagation chart thing and hoped but it looked dim.

A few hours ago I clicked on the rig and spun the dial and lo and behold! 4W1A with a workable signal. He was working a split and I set the rig up for that and BINGO! Third try and I was in the log.

I opened their clublog page after about a minute's wait and there I was on the online log. I ordered my QSL card and I'm happy now.

Someone commented on ham radio communication being obsolete and to a point it is. However it is the only form of short and long distance communication that doens't rely on infrastructure of any sort.

My black box in Pennsylvania communicated with his black box in Timor Leste, black box to black box. No internet, phone company or other middleman.

During Sandy I forwarded 5 messages from Puerto Rico to worried families concerning a loved one. It was the only form of comunication from PR to Stateside.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I remember the time someone told me how to turn a Karen into a pistol packin' mama.

He said the fastest way was to rape her.

Instinctively I was kinds stunned and thought it was a terrible thing to say until I thought it through. He was probably right.

Later on when the local gun club held a women only self defense course I ran into the instructor and asked her how many in her class had been crime victims.

She replied that there were quite a number of them.

This doesn't apply just to women but it strikes me that the best way to avoid being a crime victim is to prepare ahead for it.

Then again there are so many people that just don't want to face the realities of life.

My classic situation was when I suggested to someone that they put a fire extinguisher in their kitchen. The response I got was from the wife who said, "But they're ugly."

So is a kitchen fire. In fact a fire is a LOT uglier than a fire extinguisher.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I jus got offered some kind of linear amp for my station for a song

and didn't bother.

I LIKE running a barefoot station. (no amp, 100 watts on base station, 30 watts portable on a PRC320)

One of the things I like about myself is I pretty much like what I have.

My proudest moment was busting through a pileup for an island that hadn't been on the air in 20 years and was being assaulted by the Big Guns running 1.5 KW.

I was running 30 watts with a wire in a tree antenna.

The story of my hobby life is doing big things with little tools to work with...

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Well, the tile guy is working here.

That's a plus.

Once the shower is up and running I can unhook the sprinkler from the laundry sink and use it for the lawn and take a shower in a civilized manner.

Actually when you look at things in another light even the way things are I live better than a HUGE percentage of the world.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Whoops! Missed a day.

Sorry, boys and girls.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Another sub is due in today

The bathroom tile guy which I find unnecessary but the wife insists on.

Being a simple soul I wanted a basic fiberglass tub surround because it is easy to maintain. You can leave it unmaintained for years and then hit it with a hosedown of Zep degreaser and a quick scrub and it will look pretty damned good even after 25 years.

Hell, a quick coat of was after a good cleaning and it will look brand new.

BUT it is what it is.

Every few years I'll have to dig out the caulk and recaulk it unlike fiberglass.

Anyway, in a few days I'll be able to finish the bathroom which has been a royal piss me off.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

The new baby! The new baby! The new baby!

The womenfolk were all babbling about the new baby because someone recently brought an infant home from the hospital.

"Did you get a good trade-in on the old one?" I asked the mother.

The other two women looked confused (as usual) but not the mother.

"No trade-in," she replied. casually. "We're keeping them both."

I like her. She has a good wit. Some lucky bastard out ther has a pretty good wife. 

Another day in the life of a professional smart ass.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

George Carlin once did a piece one time on swimming in the Hudson River as a kid.

He was talking about swimming in raw sewage and it was hilarious.

He pointed out that his immune system and those of his friends got built up. Polio was going through the area at the time and Carlin said that polio didn't have a chance against their immune systems. None of his swim buddies got the disease.

During Covid I watched countless mothers scrub and sanitize everyone and everything they could lay their hands on which actually had the effect of weakening their kids immune systems.

I pointed this out to a few mothers and they looked at me like I had three heads, although one woman that had a biology degree agreed with me wholeheartedly.

Right after WW2 the Jesuits sent people into the jungles of Southeast Asia and those that 'went native'got sick as hell for a couple of months to the point of knocking on Heaven's door. After a while they simply got over it and many reported not having a single sick day for at least a decade after they returned Stateside.

I've been blessed with a good immune system which I attribute to a decade of living without running water and electricity. I'm grateful but I also attribute it to a lifestyle 

One other thing is that I see that people that live with an animal tend to have stronger immune systems, also.

I once posted a picture of a cat sleeping on a bodega shelf in New York and commented that cats were back in stock.

One woman got all uppity and said she'd never shop at a store with an animal in it. I pointed out that likely she'd starve. If you don't have a cat you generally have vermin and from her reply it was another person that could not accept reality.

Then I pointed out that my cat licks my face practically every night when we nestle down to sleep. I think that completely distorted her brain.

I maintain that the human body's immune system, properly beefed up by exposure to the out of doors surroundings can easily fend off the bulk of the illnesses we run into daily.

*****************************

I saw a meme I wish I could find of a small farm kid drinking out of the same trough a horse is drinking out of. It was pointing out that farm kids generally have pretty good immune systems.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Pro tip.

When you rob a bank or something leave your damned cell phone at home.

Or better yet, leave it somewhere you'd be expected to be.

Take a piece of gum and stick it under a church pew or slip it under the mattress in a whorehouse. Whatever your nature is.

But don't bring it with you when you decide to commit a crime.

Google tipped their hand long ago when they started asking me to endorse places I have visited. When they asked me about the tile store I went to it occurred to me that I should not have it with me if I decided to rob a bank.

Google: Was your trip to the Third National Bank satisfactory?

Me: No they didn't have enough cash on hand to make it worth robbing.

Ossifer Smith: Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Is Quasimodo still at Notre Dame?

Because if he isn't there anymore and they need a new hunchback tell them to give me a call.

Old men should not even look at a piece of sheet rock much less help hang it. I feel like I belong in Notre Dame pulling a bell cord..

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Signs on lawns that include 'Science is real'.

It's actually correct but not in that context. 

What their signs should read is 'junk science is real' because generally what they want you to believe in is something that is junk science.

The recent vaccination debacle that we have been through with Covid is a prime example. The vaxxers have screamed 'science is real'.

The anit-vaxxers have pointed out that honest science is real and that junk science is not.

For sake of argument here I am not going to get into the actual effectiveness of the jab. It's open for discussion all over the web.

What I AM going to get into here is science as we know it in the world as it is.

People are fast to scream "The CDC says..." and yada yada yada.

Of course they are saying the CDC--- the CDC that said nothing about the dangers of cigarettes even though they knew it wasn't good for one's health. I'm old enough to have seen the ads for cigarettes that said, "Nine out of ten doctors recommend Camels."

Even John Wayne shilled for Camels at one point.

Yet the CDC said nothing.

Of course point  that one out to people and it doesn't register. That or they refuse to believe it because the CDC is run by the government.and is to be trusted. (Ha!)

Scientists are human beings. They have bills like the rest of us and have wives and kids to feed and support. This takes money.

Let's put it this way. If the grant or whatever is in danger of disappearing unless a certain result is achieved then it's pretty slam dunk that at the very least there's a temptation to fudge the results becaause if they don't it's the bread line for everyone involved in the project. In short, people can be bought.

Cancer is a nasty way to go. I'm not too sure if thay do or do not have a cure for it. If they do it's not out there and my guess is the reason for this is it's more profitable for people to suffer from the disease than it is to cure it.

To follow corporate science is simple. Instead of the science, follow the money. If there's any money or financial pressure involved then science is probably not real and those with the signs on their lawn are either gullible or have their finger in the pie somehow.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I just made a QSO with some Turkish chick in Croatia

which is no big deal. Apparently she got the OK from the Croats to use her Turkish callsign and prefix it with the Croation nationality designator. Her call was 9A/ TAXXX.

This is not unusual but what is interesting is that she also had a ham rig she can run from some cell phone app which doesn't surprise me very much. Remotely run stations have been around for some time.

Sometimes I can't but think that there are a lot of things out there that are just another case of technology for technology's sake.

Then again, that's me.

What's next? A virtual Camp Perry where you can sit in your living room and compete?

If you want to set your entire life to live it from a damned cell phone that's your business.

I'd rather get out in the world on my own.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Expecting another sub to show today

The sheet rocker coming today is a given. He's got the garage overhead to do and he has to start taping the sheetrock that's up.

The guy I'm expecting today is the tile setter because nothing will do but we put tile in the bathtub which is a pain in the add in my opinion because it is more bathroom bull$hit.

As far as I'm concerned a bathroom should be a big one piece fiberglass drop in consisting of a toilet, a tub/shower, a sink, a pressure washer with a soap dispenser and a floor drain.

To keep it clean one simply drops their dirty laundry, walk in and spray the entire thing down with soap and then pressure wash everything and let everything run down the drain. Done.

Why womenfolk make such a to-do over a bathroom is beyond me. I spend fifteen minutes a day there for basic body maintenance.

I've never heard of anyone having a party or family reunion in a bathroom. It is what it is. 

While we're at it, a kitchen is nothing more than a workshop to prepare food in. Don't get me started on that one.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

One of the things I did at a strip joint I worked in years ago

was that I got tired of drunk tough guys punching a hole in the sheet rock about the urinals.

So I cut a piece of it out and reinforced the space between the studs with a piece of 3/4 inch plywood under the sheet rock.

Broke 'em of that habit fast! 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I am beginning to question the medical/insurance community

which is something I probably should have started doing decades ago.

Simple answer: Follow the money.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I was ringing steel at 200 yards the other day

with a 10/22 and it felt pretty good. I don't recall any misses after my first shot.

We had a service rifle match a while back I entered with a different 10/22. It was a basic stock guy with Tech Sights on it and really wasn't too accurate. It was a plinker.

Still I managed to keep all my shots inside the scoring rings which under the circumstances wasn't too awful bad.

It's a 200 yard match with reduced sized targets for the 3 and 600 yard part so I bet I can keep my shots in the black if I do my job.

We shall see what we shall see.

Still, a day of ringing steel at 200 with a .22 was a pretty damned good day if you ask me.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I had to listen to someone carrying on about buying a new mattress.

Which to me is a joke.

For the past ten ot fifteen  years I have been sleeping on one I got as a contract over run from a prison contract.

I sleep quite well on it.

As I write this I had a thought.

That's just one more reason a life sentence becomes less of a deterrent as I get older. I can sleep comfortably in jail.  

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Nextdoor unwritten comment

Someone asked for an old tire to use for a whatever.

I INSTINCTIVELY wrote "I'm saving all of mine for the Annual Greta Thunberg Tire Fire on July 4th."

I'm on thin ice there so I'm saving the boot for something epic.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Busy today.

Gotta hide out thie morning.

Maybe get with you later today.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

Curiosity overwhelms me.

Some one of youse guys make some kind of comment if you will.

I'm wondering if comments (or even the whole shooting match) has been shot down.

Kind of like a radio check, someone pleas comment with a simple 5x5 or something. You don't have to post the Gettysburg Address.

Thanks,

Pic

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

It's starting.

For the first time since Day One the Hash has faced censorship.

I just got an email stating that a couple of my previous posts have been deleted.

Actually I am somewhat surprised that it hasn't happened a lot earlier.

I don't know if it was AI or someone reported me. I would tend to think it was the latter because the subject was Karens and Kens and how to deal with them.

Anyway, IMO this is a case of making things disappear and rewriting history and the usual assorted Commie game.

It's kind of sad because the server of this has let me run on relatively unrestricted for well over a decade and now something has happened and things are changing.

We shall see what we shall see.

*********************************

In other news yesterday I tried out a pretty good heavy barrel Ruger 10/22 and spent a couple of hours plinking away.

It was satisfying ringing steel at 200 yards with the little peashooter and I think I am going to take it with me to enter a local 200 yard high power match.

I did this once before with a basic 10/22 I had installed Tech sights on and managed to keep all 50 of my shots in the scoring rings. With this souped up little peashooter I ought to be able to keep them all in the black if I do my job.

You may wonder how I get the OK to shoot a .22 in a highpower match. It's a local club service rifle match and I shoot out of competition. My scores don't count for anything.

The club doesn't mind at all because they get another shooter and a match fee. 

Years ago the club used to have an annual 200 yard .22 rifle match which was fun. Instead of the 10X NRA decimal targets we'd shoot the old WW2 type 5V targets.

Actually we used to have two 5V target matches a month and we figured that scores didn't drop a whole lot when we put down the service rifles and shot .22s.

Then again, we agreed that scores certainly would have noticibly dropped had we been shooting NRA targets.

Anyway, shooting stuff is fun so I had a good day yesterday. 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

A level! We need a level! I watched a YOUTUBE VIDEO!

And the tile setter guy says the tub has to be PERFECTLY LEVEL!

This ought to be good.

NOTHING in this house is level or plumb because it was build in 1949 as a tract house got GI Joe to buy on his GI Bill. 

The framing lumber came from a shipyard that built LSTs as Navy surplus. While it's dimensional, it's not current dimensional. The boards are a little wider and thicker but are actually reasonably close.

The studs are mostly somewhat warped and bowed out of shape. They used them anyway and the plasterer made everyone involved look pretty good in the end.

A level is used not so much to see it something is level, but to find out how far out of level it is. A square is used for the same reason.

Enter the woman that just watched a damned Youtube video and now knows it all...or thinks she does.

Basic carpentry is somewhat of a science. Remodeling/repairing an old house is an art. There's a difference, a big difference.

Several years ago I installed a couple of windows in an old house and took my time to make damned good and sure that they were evenly out of level like the rest of the windows.

Needless to say, the womman of the house said, "I have a LEVEL and I'm going to check every single one of them."

Needless to say, I had to reset the windows and afterwards when she went outside and saw they didn't match the old windows. The looked crooked. I had to come back and reset them the way I had the first time.

I got paid three times for that job. Doing it right, undoing it and doing it wrong and undoing it and doing it right.

I see a real horror show in the offing.

There is nothing worse that a person that watches too many Youtube videos and thinks she know what's going on.

It's gotten to the point where my doctor has a sign posted in his waiting room.

"You Google search does NOT trump my medical degree."

Update. There actually is one thing that is level in the house. It's the bathtub!

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

I left my hometown and main haunts fifty years ago come late May and

it just hit me that 'You can't go home again'.

I was looking at the rebuilding of the local railroads in the area and thought about getting off it at the nearest stop to the old family manse.

Then I realized I'd just be another old man that would probably be lost even though I still know my geographical way around town.

It's been fifty years and everyone I knew has either died or moved other than one or two people that may/may not still be around but even that is questionable.

About 10 years ago I went down the old street and nature called. I saw the old thicket that was still there and started to make a mental checklist. Paper? Check. I had paper towels. Then things went 'click' and I realized I wasn't a youngster anymore and the liklihood of getting caught was higher that it used to be and people are certainly less forgiving so I made a beeline for the Dunkin' Donuts a couple of miles away and answered nature's call there.

Change is inevitible. Progress is not.

I'm not going to judge if the old neighborhood has progressed but I would he a fool to say it hasn't changed.

Ten or fiften years ago driving past the old manse would have been kind of a nostalgic thing. Nostolgia isn't what it used to be so now it would be more of a curiosity if I drove past the place.

Fifty years is a paradox in a way. It's either the largest part of a lifetime or it's a fleeting minute. To me it's now both.

As for a trip to the old manse via railroad? Why bother. I'd just be getting off the train as a faceless old man and have to grab an Uber or something to get around. It's not worth the time or the money.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY