going on I suppose I ought to enter the fray.
A lot of fools want the minimum wage raised and I've already pointed out that that is no good and I won't repeat myself here.
A lot of people gripe that CEOs make too much money or are overpaid. I don't think so.
Listen to this.
"The damned overpaid CEOs make too much money," babbled a liberal a while ago.
"They're worth it," I countered.
"How do you figure that?" the liberal answered.
"The shareholders vote to pay it. If the guy wasn't worth it the shareholders wouldn't pay him that kind of money." I answered.
"Yeah, but...." he stuttered.
"Look, the CEO of GM keeps 219,000 people working not including the God knows how many subcontractors they have making stuff outside of assembly lines. How many people do you pay weekly paychecks to?" I interrupted.
"Uh, I work for someone," he said.
"None. You don't have one single employee to keep busy. Not one. Yet the CEO of GM has 219,000 paychecks to write every week. He's responsible for that. He's worth every dime he gets." I said.
"How do you figure that?" he asked again. Looks like we're going around twice.
"He has agreed to work for that amount of money and the shareholders have agreed to pay it," I said. "Sounds fair to me. Just like in your case. You get paid what you do because you agreed to work for it and your boss agreed to pay it."
"Yeah, well, I'm underpaid," he said.
"No you're not. If you were you would be working somewhere else," I replied.
"Jobs in my field are hard to come by," he said.
"Because the market is flooded," I explained. "If you chose a different major in college you would be making more money. I just watched a young girl graduate and start off at about $75K last spring. She chose her major wisely."
"It's still not fair," he said.
"Look, you're worried about what the CEO of General Motors is making and you don't have any right to say a damned thing about it because you're not involved in any way. You're just running your mouth," I said.
"What do you mean by that," he snapped, indignantly.
"You have nothing to do with GM whatsoever except maybe you drive one of their cars. Nothing. You're just sticking your nose into someone else's business."
"Why isn't it my business?" he asked.
"Because you don't own a single share in General Motors. If you did you would be able to go to the stockholder's meeting and suggest the rest of the stockholders vote the CEO out and replace him with someone that would do the job for $75K a year," I said. "Then you really should sell your shares after you do that because your stock investment is going to tank pretty fast. Good leadership costs good money."
"But...but," he stuttered.
"But if you don't like what the CEO of General Motors is making then buy stock in the company, form a consensus among other stockholders and can him. It's as easy as that. If not that stop whining," I shot back.
I suppose he didn't like that very much but that's not my problem. The CEO of a large corporation earns his money with his skill, talents and drive just as the guy working at a minimum wage job earns his.
There is nothing stopping the guy flipping burgers from finding something else more profitable to do. A lot of pretty wealthy people started their working careers doing something like that and decided to do something better.
The differences in our incomes is actually a product of our talents, drives, skills and ability to market ourselves. Personally I'm fairly content where I am because if I wasn't I'd be doing something else.
I know I do not have the talents to run a major corporation and that's OK. I found a niche where I am content. I pretty much have what I want. If I didn't I'd have likely found a way to get it.
I suppose someone is going to say the Feds ought to put some kind of cap on someone's income. That's pretty stupid because if they do the people that are worth it will take their skills somewhere else and start clobbering us from overseas.
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
Monday, May 12, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
About 8 or 10 years ago I saw an interesting
gun transaction take place.
The buyer was an old man and he was buying an Arisaka, a Japanese WW2 bring-back from the Pacific. The gun store actually had three in stock.
The older guy was a veteran of the Pacific and wanted one to make a hunting rifle out of. He was a retired machinist and over the years had made a number of them for some of his grandchildren to hunt with.
One of his grand daughters wanted one so he decided to build her one. We got to talking and he said he was going back home with his new purchase and offered to show him one of the hunting rifles he had made out of one of the Japanese bring-backs.
Normally I am no fan of butchering historical military rifles but this guy was an exception and had talent as I found out when I followed him home. He showed me a beautiful hunting rifle in caliber .308 and unless you saw the Japanese markings on the receiver you would have had no clue that it was an Arisaka.
He had stripped the rifle to the bare action and gone from there, reworking everything and turning a basic WW2 souvenier into a fine unting rifle. It was simply amazing.
He said this was going to be the sixth one he had built.
Most shooters think that the Japanese Arisaka was a piece of junk and in many ways they are probably right. Still what they do not know is after the was the Army ran tests on several and found the action was exceedingly strong.
An ordinance officer ordered a 6.5mm Arisaka chambered for the American .30 cal cartridge and test fired. A 6.5mm bore is about .256 in diameter and the .30 bullet the American army used has a diameter of .308.
They expected the Arisaka to blow up. It didn't. They fired several more rounds through it before the bolt locked up too tight to open. The internal ballistics must have been horrendous.
The old man knew of this which is why he wasn't afraid to turn the old Japanese riflles into modern hunters.
Maybe it was a year later I was in the same store and was talking to the owner. I asked if he had heard from the old guy that built the hunting rifles out of Arisakas and he grinned.
The old timer brought his finished product in and was looking for another Arisaka to build yet another hunting rifle for a grandson.
The rifle he had built was a thing of beauty according to the shop owner. Having seen his work before I could just imagine.
He had also taken another Japanese rifle and reworked it for another shooter to use in a military bolt action rifle match at Camp Perry. He had just polished up the parts and did a trigger job on it.
The shooter had taken it from there and it was reported he did fairly well with it. He had made brass out of 30/06 casings.
The reason I wrote this is because the subject came up the last time I went to the gun store. Apparently he is still doing gun and machine work and spending time with his grandkids.
It strikes me that spending time with a grandparent actually doing something with him or her is rare and one of those things we ought to see more of.
It's kind of nice watching someone retired do something useful.
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 buyer was an old man and he was buying an Arisaka, a Japanese WW2 bring-back from the Pacific. The gun store actually had three in stock.
The older guy was a veteran of the Pacific and wanted one to make a hunting rifle out of. He was a retired machinist and over the years had made a number of them for some of his grandchildren to hunt with.
One of his grand daughters wanted one so he decided to build her one. We got to talking and he said he was going back home with his new purchase and offered to show him one of the hunting rifles he had made out of one of the Japanese bring-backs.
Normally I am no fan of butchering historical military rifles but this guy was an exception and had talent as I found out when I followed him home. He showed me a beautiful hunting rifle in caliber .308 and unless you saw the Japanese markings on the receiver you would have had no clue that it was an Arisaka.
He had stripped the rifle to the bare action and gone from there, reworking everything and turning a basic WW2 souvenier into a fine unting rifle. It was simply amazing.
He said this was going to be the sixth one he had built.
Most shooters think that the Japanese Arisaka was a piece of junk and in many ways they are probably right. Still what they do not know is after the was the Army ran tests on several and found the action was exceedingly strong.
An ordinance officer ordered a 6.5mm Arisaka chambered for the American .30 cal cartridge and test fired. A 6.5mm bore is about .256 in diameter and the .30 bullet the American army used has a diameter of .308.
They expected the Arisaka to blow up. It didn't. They fired several more rounds through it before the bolt locked up too tight to open. The internal ballistics must have been horrendous.
The old man knew of this which is why he wasn't afraid to turn the old Japanese riflles into modern hunters.
Maybe it was a year later I was in the same store and was talking to the owner. I asked if he had heard from the old guy that built the hunting rifles out of Arisakas and he grinned.
The old timer brought his finished product in and was looking for another Arisaka to build yet another hunting rifle for a grandson.
The rifle he had built was a thing of beauty according to the shop owner. Having seen his work before I could just imagine.
He had also taken another Japanese rifle and reworked it for another shooter to use in a military bolt action rifle match at Camp Perry. He had just polished up the parts and did a trigger job on it.
The shooter had taken it from there and it was reported he did fairly well with it. He had made brass out of 30/06 casings.
The reason I wrote this is because the subject came up the last time I went to the gun store. Apparently he is still doing gun and machine work and spending time with his grandkids.
It strikes me that spending time with a grandparent actually doing something with him or her is rare and one of those things we ought to see more of.
It's kind of nice watching someone retired do something useful.
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
Getting greedy seem to be the norm in this country.
It seems that every time I hear a story about someone that had a good thing the story ends with "Then they started getting greedy..." and then a story of success turns into one of epic failure.
It's true in the criminal world and it seems to be true in government.
I'm not going to get into details but I know the brother of a guy that had a pretty good thing going with being able to sell some leftovers from jobs. His boss was letting a couple of the guys sell unused materiel from jobs and over time the two guys were making a pretty good chunk of change on the side.
This would have gone on for years as things likely would have panned out.
But then they started getting greedy and started ordering more than they needed to do the job and they got caught. The boss not only fired the pair of them but he filed charges against them and they were convicted of theft.
I think the same thing is happening in Colorado after they legalized the sale and use of cannibis.
One of the things that convinced the Colorado government to legalize cannabis is that it would likely take a bite out of illicit marijuana sales.
Most likely it would have but then they started getting greedy and slapped a 25% tax on the stuff.
So you now have a $200 bag of legal pot and after the tax is added on it's now $250 and that's before sales tax.
The sales tax in Colorado runs between 2.9 and 10.4% depending on locale.For sake of argument let's call it 5%.
Your $200 bag of pot is now $260 and that leaves a lot of room for illicit sellers to undercut the legal sellers. When you consider that dealers will deliver to regular customers it means that not only does a user get their pot tax free they also get it delivered to theri door.
Colorado might have gotten away with charging a 1-5% tax but they got greedy and seem to be losing a lot in tax revenue as a result.
Same seems to hold true in New York with cigarettes. They want over $10/pack.
Enter the cigarette smuggler and he's likely making a killing and every smoker just loves him. I'd bet that a pretty good sized chunk of the NYPD buys their smokes from smugglers.
Moonshiners have stayed in business simply because they don't pay taxes on their illicit product.
Incidentally people that are not in the know think that moonshine tastes something like gasoline. I suppose some is pretty rotgut stuff. Still, several yars ago at deer camp one of the guys showed up with a jar and passed it around.
It was a lot smoother than a lot of legally distilled liquor on sale in stores. It was some damned fine hootch.
I'd be soley tempted to buy a jar or two but it isn't worth the risk this far down the line. Besides, I don't know the shiner.
The reason moonshiners are in business today is simply because Uncle Sam got greedy and slapped too high of a tax on liquor.
Or to paraphrase what I have said before, "Then Uncle Sam started getting greedy..."
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
Friday, May 9, 2014
We are going broke
because of all of our wonderful social programs and the fact that so many people are out of work.
I suppose there is a solution and it's going to be pretty painful but over time it will work.
Eliminate ALL federal social programs and allow the states, counties, towns or even neighborhoods to implement them if they so desire.
Social Security and Medicaid should be phased out over the next two or three generations and welfare should be phased out over the next few years. All of it. Every single dime.
Social Security should be phased out because Congress has proven too many times that they are not responsible to handle people's money. They have a history of reaching for every pile of money thay see and stealing it.
Social Security was stolen from the public in the sixties to finance the Vietnam war and the Great Society programs. Both of these were a waste of time, money, and lives.
Eliminate the minumum wage so as to make it easier for businesses to start up. Reduce taxes on small businesses so as to help then get started, up and running and be successful. Money paid in taxes can not be used to hire help and build an economy.
Reduce unemployment benefits from their present two years and this will force people to take jobs. As it is now two years of sitting around waiting for a job that was as good as the one you lost is a joke. People are just going to have to get over the fact that they have to start over again.
One of the things government does is to do their best to create a defeated mindset. They probably have to to justify their existance. It is a divide and conquer mentality.
What we have to do is realize that we don't need government to try and help us out because they are really incapable of helping us out. They're generally not the solution, they're either the entire problem or a big part of it.
One of the things I notice at certain travel plazas are people from all walks of life, of every color and nationality simply getting along together and being polite to one another.
My guess is it won't be long before Big Brother appoints a political officer to make us know how different we are and make sure the burgers are sold in the proper order to make sure everything is fair.
Right now I picture the poitical ossifer telling some poor slob trying to order lunch something like "Ya can't order a bacon burger until we sell them at least two more Jews and three muslims. It wouldn't be fair because they don't have their fair share of the available bacon."
You'll play hell trying to get a ham sandwich anywhere with rules like that. Still,it sounds exactly like something the government would do under the guise of trying to be fair.
You may get lucky some time. There very well may be a Jew or Muslim that will take your money, buy the damned thing and hand it to you just to piss the political officer off. Don't plan on it, though.
Besides someone will likely gripe that THAT isn't fair and Congress will pass a 'you buy it, you eat it' law just to keep that from happening. After all, can't allow the people to work and help each other out, now, can we?
Of course the Republicans are not a whole lot better because ever since they teamed up with the so-called Christian coalition they seem to be spending more time worrying about making sure penises only enter vaginas for the purpose of reproducing. It would be a damned shame if someone did it for fun once in a while.
Barry Goldwater once said that when the Republican party let the Christian coalition in it would be the end of it and it looks like he was right.
Needless to say, the TEA party decided to add the Christian coalition values to its plank and they went down the tubes almost as soon as they started. The original plank of financial responsibility got watered down as a result of it.
We now have one party that thinks abortion is a holy sacrement and the other that wants to force rape victims to carry their assailant's child to terms and keep women in the kitchen.
How about simply telling the Christian coalition to take a hike? Tell them that it isn't the job of the government to get involved in personal matters and that it is between a woman, her physician and her maker.
Sure the Christian coalition will likely bellyache and moan a lot but you can most likely bet they're still going continue to vote conservatively. Besides, when abortion was illegal it didn't stop anyone from getting one that wanted one. Just like the laws on drugs have not stopped anyone from getting drugs.
Of course, drug laws have done nothing to solve the drug problem. They haven't even created a drug problem because if they had then getting drugs would be a problem. Truth is, there is no drug problem. Anyone can get any kind of illegal drug they want. No problem there!
The truth is that we ought to throw both sides out on their respective asses and start all over again with the original Constitution and add a few more things to it to limit the powers of government.
They should also make damned good and sure that the additions to the original document keep the government from opening the treasury doors for the purpose of buying votes which is exactly what FDR and Johnson did and created this mess. Government should just go back to doing what they were designed for and do things for the people that they can't do for themselves. Things like international airports, Interstate highways and supply us with an honest, inflation free currency and insuring the states don't rob the people of their individual liberties.
If they do that and stay out of our hair you can bet that the people will most likely take care of themselves which is what we were supposed to be doing in the first place.
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 suppose there is a solution and it's going to be pretty painful but over time it will work.
Eliminate ALL federal social programs and allow the states, counties, towns or even neighborhoods to implement them if they so desire.
Social Security and Medicaid should be phased out over the next two or three generations and welfare should be phased out over the next few years. All of it. Every single dime.
Social Security should be phased out because Congress has proven too many times that they are not responsible to handle people's money. They have a history of reaching for every pile of money thay see and stealing it.
Social Security was stolen from the public in the sixties to finance the Vietnam war and the Great Society programs. Both of these were a waste of time, money, and lives.
Eliminate the minumum wage so as to make it easier for businesses to start up. Reduce taxes on small businesses so as to help then get started, up and running and be successful. Money paid in taxes can not be used to hire help and build an economy.
Reduce unemployment benefits from their present two years and this will force people to take jobs. As it is now two years of sitting around waiting for a job that was as good as the one you lost is a joke. People are just going to have to get over the fact that they have to start over again.
One of the things government does is to do their best to create a defeated mindset. They probably have to to justify their existance. It is a divide and conquer mentality.
What we have to do is realize that we don't need government to try and help us out because they are really incapable of helping us out. They're generally not the solution, they're either the entire problem or a big part of it.
One of the things I notice at certain travel plazas are people from all walks of life, of every color and nationality simply getting along together and being polite to one another.
My guess is it won't be long before Big Brother appoints a political officer to make us know how different we are and make sure the burgers are sold in the proper order to make sure everything is fair.
Right now I picture the poitical ossifer telling some poor slob trying to order lunch something like "Ya can't order a bacon burger until we sell them at least two more Jews and three muslims. It wouldn't be fair because they don't have their fair share of the available bacon."
You'll play hell trying to get a ham sandwich anywhere with rules like that. Still,it sounds exactly like something the government would do under the guise of trying to be fair.
You may get lucky some time. There very well may be a Jew or Muslim that will take your money, buy the damned thing and hand it to you just to piss the political officer off. Don't plan on it, though.
Besides someone will likely gripe that THAT isn't fair and Congress will pass a 'you buy it, you eat it' law just to keep that from happening. After all, can't allow the people to work and help each other out, now, can we?
Of course the Republicans are not a whole lot better because ever since they teamed up with the so-called Christian coalition they seem to be spending more time worrying about making sure penises only enter vaginas for the purpose of reproducing. It would be a damned shame if someone did it for fun once in a while.
Barry Goldwater once said that when the Republican party let the Christian coalition in it would be the end of it and it looks like he was right.
Needless to say, the TEA party decided to add the Christian coalition values to its plank and they went down the tubes almost as soon as they started. The original plank of financial responsibility got watered down as a result of it.
We now have one party that thinks abortion is a holy sacrement and the other that wants to force rape victims to carry their assailant's child to terms and keep women in the kitchen.
How about simply telling the Christian coalition to take a hike? Tell them that it isn't the job of the government to get involved in personal matters and that it is between a woman, her physician and her maker.
Sure the Christian coalition will likely bellyache and moan a lot but you can most likely bet they're still going continue to vote conservatively. Besides, when abortion was illegal it didn't stop anyone from getting one that wanted one. Just like the laws on drugs have not stopped anyone from getting drugs.
Of course, drug laws have done nothing to solve the drug problem. They haven't even created a drug problem because if they had then getting drugs would be a problem. Truth is, there is no drug problem. Anyone can get any kind of illegal drug they want. No problem there!
The truth is that we ought to throw both sides out on their respective asses and start all over again with the original Constitution and add a few more things to it to limit the powers of government.
They should also make damned good and sure that the additions to the original document keep the government from opening the treasury doors for the purpose of buying votes which is exactly what FDR and Johnson did and created this mess. Government should just go back to doing what they were designed for and do things for the people that they can't do for themselves. Things like international airports, Interstate highways and supply us with an honest, inflation free currency and insuring the states don't rob the people of their individual liberties.
If they do that and stay out of our hair you can bet that the people will most likely take care of themselves which is what we were supposed to be doing in the first place.
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
Thursday, May 8, 2014
One of the coolest things I have ever seen
was a guy meet up with his estranged daughter.
Apparently the wife basically moved out of state and spent the next two decades telling the daughter what a jerk her father was and how he never paid a dime of child support.
The first meeting was in a public place and the daughter was very cold and made it clear she didn't want a whole lot to do with him. He handed her a thick scrapbook and told her she ought to read it and he would be be at the same restaurant at 0900 the following morning. She coldly took it and walked off.
When he walked into the restaurant at 0845 he saw his daughter waiting and when he approached he she broke into tears and said, "I never knew!"
The scrapbook he handed her had clippings from the local newspaper of every little thing he could find that she had done while growing up. It also had every single reciept for child support he had paid since Day One, given to him from the court because he had opted to pay his child support through the court system.
There were also college tuition reciepts in it. He wasn't liable for these but had quietly paid them anyway. He had put her through school and hidden in the background.
I suppose the wife figured she had gotten revenge with him for divorcing her by turning the daughter against him and leaving the state but that changed in an instant. She became her father's daughter in an instant.
All it took was the truth to come to light
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
Apparently the wife basically moved out of state and spent the next two decades telling the daughter what a jerk her father was and how he never paid a dime of child support.
The first meeting was in a public place and the daughter was very cold and made it clear she didn't want a whole lot to do with him. He handed her a thick scrapbook and told her she ought to read it and he would be be at the same restaurant at 0900 the following morning. She coldly took it and walked off.
When he walked into the restaurant at 0845 he saw his daughter waiting and when he approached he she broke into tears and said, "I never knew!"
The scrapbook he handed her had clippings from the local newspaper of every little thing he could find that she had done while growing up. It also had every single reciept for child support he had paid since Day One, given to him from the court because he had opted to pay his child support through the court system.
There were also college tuition reciepts in it. He wasn't liable for these but had quietly paid them anyway. He had put her through school and hidden in the background.
I suppose the wife figured she had gotten revenge with him for divorcing her by turning the daughter against him and leaving the state but that changed in an instant. She became her father's daughter in an instant.
All it took was the truth to come to light
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
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
One of the last cool things I did with my mom
was when I was sailing my boat from Kodiak to Friday Harbor, Washington.
We agreed to meet in Vancouver, BC and go through the Expo Mart together. It proved to be a pretty good time.
Dad had been gone a couple of years and mom had accepted it and decided to do a few things. She flew into Vancouver, BC and I met her at the airport. We went there to my boat where I simply threw a sleeping bag at her and pointed to a rack and said it was hers. She laughed and shook her head and made her rack up.
I think dinner that night was fish and chips from a stand on the docks about 50 feet down the dock.
We both agreed that full days at the Expo would be a burn-out so we made plans to see it between about 9 and 3 and then spend the late afternoon and evenings doing local stuff.
It worked out pretty well because the area around the Expo Mart was commercialized heavily and overpriced. Even something like a simple hot dog was a pretty penny.
Instead after seeing the sights of the Expo Mart we'd scout out little shops and places to eat. I remember one little Italian restaurant that looked like a quaint scene out of a movie and the meal cost very little. It was excellent.
I told my mother "Order the veal. It's the best in the city." She laughed and asked me where she had hear that said before.
When I told her it came from 'The Godfather' she smiled and said, "Oh, I remember!" and shook her head.
The little place was one of those places that had daily specials of one sort or another and when I asked my waiter he told me what was fresh that day. I wound up with a seafood plate of some sort. Mom had the same.
We wandered through the streets of Vancouver and stopped off at a little place near the docks full of fishermen and had a drink before returning to the boat. Ma asked about my shipmate, Ari. Ari was a recently discharged Israeli para that was traveling through the States. I had met him in Kodiak and offered to take him for a sail.
He jumped at the offer because he was an adventurer at heart.
When we were on the docks again I briefed Mom on toilet facilities and where the showers were and a few other things.
I also warned her that my shipmate was likely to pop in during the middle of the night and not to be alarmed. He had agreed to try and crash somewhere else if he could but agreed if push came to shove he'd always have a rack.
That part of the conversation was pretty funny.
"If he drops in, he most likely will be half in the bag," I said.
"Where's he going to sleep if he's not at the boat?" asked Ma.
"He'll likely use his charms and find himself a warm bed somewhere," I replied.
"I don't like to put anyone out," she said.
"Don't worry about it," I replied."If he doesn't find a place he'll slip in and grab the quarter berth."
The next morning Ma asked me how the shower worked. I told her to grab her clothes, towel, soap and the ship's bag of quarters and head on up and she did, returning cleaned up. When she returned I grabbed the bag of quarters and noticed it was heavier. That figured. Then I grabbed my shower kit and went and got cleaned up.
Then we cooked breakfast and took off for the Expo Mart. On the way we met my shipmate, Ari. Mom was concerned and asked him where he had spent the night. I interrupted and told Ma it was really none of her business. Ari was a little red so I knew I had saved him from hemming and hawing.
After we did the second day at Expo Ma wanted to go back to the dock area and do a little shopping. I had some boat work to do so that was fine. Mom returned with some groceries and went below after telling me she was trying some sort of a new recipe. She told me to try and find Ari and have him in for dinner.
I went up to the bar at the top of the dock and told the barkeep to send Ari to the boat if he saw him and he said he would. I went back to the boat and went back to my splicing.
Suddenly a hatch opened and her hand stuck up and threw a handful of fish skins over the side. When I saw that I knew she had adapted and shortly afterwards dinner was ready.
About 5 minutes before dinner Ari appeared out of thin air and looked at me. "What, Kapitan?" he asked. I told him he was invited to dinner.
We ate and after a respectable time passed Ari retured to where he had come from. Ma and I talked and then turned in fairly early.
It was pretty late when I heard the hatch slip open and Ari started to ghost his way into the salon. Ma heard it, too.
'What's that?" she asked.
'Ari," I answered.
"Oh, good," said Ma.
"Not good," I said. "He's half in the bag and being chased by a jealous boyfriend. I'll be up all night with the shotgun standing guard."
"What?" she asked in a worried tone.
"Go back to bed, Ma," I said.
She laughed. "You two characters," she said and inside a minute she was out like a light and started sawing wood.
Ari was in the quarter berth and out like a light in an instant, too. He needed no lights to get to bed.
The next day she announced she was getting a room and would do so every other night. On the first late afternoon I borrowed her tub for a long soak. We grabbed a fast light supper togetherand caught a movie and laughed ourselves silly. It was "Crododile Dundee."
Ari and I holed up together on the boat and Ma would be there as we crawled out and she'd board and cook breakfast.
The three of us spent a day together and went for an afternoon sail in the Fraiser River. We kind of got fogged in and for about an hour as it was getting dark and it was touch and go as huge freighters passed us by.
I remember Ma looking up at a huge moving wall of steel thirty feet away from us and looking scared.
We got back in OK and tied up.
All in all we had a pretty good time and spent a week together.
She remembered that trip until the end. According to a number of people the memories of it were one of the last things Alzheimer's took from her years later.
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
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Kodiak wasn't all fun and games.
I had to deal with a fisherman's wife's worst nightmare more than once. This one comes to mind.
The boat had gone down. That was already established. I walked into my bar-room office and found out that one of the bodies had been recovered which wasn't all that common.
Fisherman more often than not went down with their boats.
Bill was dead and she had been notified and was sitting face on the bar passed out. She was a mess and I can't say as I can hold it against her.
Her husband had been good to me and so had she. I'd done a couple of odd jobs for them and they had paid me well and had given me a few odds and ends and now it was time to repay the favor.
I just walked over to Louise and threw her over my shoulder and put her face down in the bed of her pickup, went through her bag for the keys, fired the rig up and took her home to her kids.
Then I hauled her in, parked her in her bed face down and gathered the kids. I told them that their father's body had been recovered and would be brought back to town in a couple of days for burial. Then I put the oldest one in charge of his mother to insure she didn't vomit and choke on it. He was maybe 12 years old.
I looked at the other two and decided to make sure they were fed and headed over to the refrigerator and opened it. Pretty slim pickin's but I knew I could make do.
As I was figuring out what to make those kids there was a knock on the door and I recognized a woman I knew named Jinka. We were friends of a sort. A couple of years earlier her ex husband had tried to publicly humiliate her. I stepped in and left him the humiliated one.
Jinka was carrying a casserole and most likely saved those kids from the hideous fate of my slap-up cooking.
While Jinka and I were feeding the kids I handed her some cash and asked her to run down to Kraft's and get some bacon, eggs, spuds and pick me up a couple of packs of Camels. She was back in a half hour with the goods and a bottle of brandy. "The brandy is for you," she said. "You ought to spend the night here. Camp on the couch."
"Jeez, Jinka, This town can be vicious. I can't handle somme jerk like Joanne starting dirty rumors," I said.
Jinka thought for a second. "Joanne would do something like that. She hates you after she humiliated herself at the raft race. She blames you but everyone knows better."
Small town problems.
"Look, Pic. I'll overnight here, too. There's one couch and you take first watch." She got up made a couple of phone calls and that was that.
I wandered over to the window and opened it and lit a Camel. Bill had been a smoker so this was not an issue.
"Jinka, I gotta have a talk with Louise tomorrow morning and let her know her first responsibility is to those kids," I said.
"I was thinking the same thing," she said. "We'll both take care of it tomorrow morning. It was pretty decent of you to scrape her up and make sure she got home OK. Your friend Blaine let me know you had her taken care of."
Over the next couple of hours a few other people showed bringing the obligatory gifts of food. One person brought over a bottle which I immediately put in a cabinet. Louise didn't need any more booze that night.
We left the bedroom door where Louise was open and told her son to get the other kids together and clean up the place. It really didn't need it but we figured we ought to give them something to do. The youngest one climbed up on me and held me.
Jinka poured me a brandy and I sat there with a kid falling asleep on my lap as I had a drink and smoked a Camel. It was one hell of a way for a kid to doze off but when she was asleep I put her in her bed.
For a few hours Jinka and I took turns checking on Louise and around midnight I started to hit the hay. As soon as I laid down the youngest came out of nowhere and climbed onto the couch with me. There really wasn't enough room so I threw a pillow at my feet and the child slept head to feet with me until I woke up to pee. Then I returned the child to her bed.
I woke to a start at about 0300 for no reason and saw Jinka crashed out on a Lazy Boy. I started to get up and Jinka heard me. "She's OK," she said. "Go back to sleep."
About 0630 the kids slowly began to stir, one by one. I started breakfast and made coffee. When the coffee was brewing Jinka entered and poured herself a cup and commented that it was pretty strong. We agreed to let Louise sleep in, of course.
Then we fed the kids and made the command decision that they would go to school that day based on the reasoning that they should stay busy. The littlest one wasn't of school age yet so we parked her in front of the TV as best we could and waited for Louise to stir.
She woke up foggy but ravenous and wolfed down the breakfast we put in front of her. I was never able to figure that one out.
After breakfast we both had a serious talk with her about what was going to happen over the next few days and we both knew the drunkeness displayed the day earlier had passed. It wasn't likely to be repeated. She knew the kids came first.
I left, Jinka hung out a while longer and the next time I saw Louise was at the funeral. She was very grateful to Jinka, myself and all the neighbors that had helped her along.
This was not the first funeral or memorial service I attended in Kodiak nor was it to be the last. During my decade in Kodiak I went to about fifty of these and only went to three or four weddings. It was one hell of a way to live.
There is a fisherman's memorial in front of the harbormaster's office. To get your name on it you pretty much have to have been born in Kodiak. Every year a couple more names get added to it.
It doesn't cover the majority of fishermen that are lost fishing out of Kodiak. It omits the summer kids, the resident non-locals, the part-time residents and others.
Aftermath.
Jinka instantly put word on the street that I had been good to Louise and had taken care of the kids when she had been notified of her husband's death. A lot of people looked at me in a different light after that and I found myself being brought into a circle of friends that were not just barflies.
Joanne tried to make a dirty comment about me a couple of weeks later and was instantly rat-packed by a large number of fisherman's wives and fishermen coming to my defense. She faced a lot of well deserved vile language. She steered well clear of me the rest of my time there.
The children always were grateful to me for the rest of the time I lived on the Rock. A couple of years later my kindness was repaid by the oldest when he told his neighbor how I had helped his mother. The neighbor was selling a Dodge pickup and knocked $300 off the price. I got it for $100. He also found me some teak and mahogany when I was setting my boat up for open ocean crossing.
The littlest one always gave me a hug when she saw me.
Almost twenty years later I got a phone call from someone out of the past. We chatted and in the course of conversation I found that the oldest son had followed his father's footsteps and became a fisherman. He was lost at sea and left a widow and three small kids. He was 29.
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
Monday, May 5, 2014
Another bar story.
I was pretty close to broke and had nothing to do one day and was feeling kind of bored. I decided that I really didn't feel lie doing a lot and decided to get a little toasted.
I mulled over a few ideas and decided to simply start a small party at my bar-room headquarters at the time. I figured on setting a small trap of some sort that would be triggered by human nature. I didn't know what yet, but figured something would come up.
I started walking down towards the bar and one of my pards stopped alongside and told me he had caught a couple of halibut earlier that morning and offered me a chunk. I accepted and hopped into his pickup and we went to my digs where I took the fish and instantly iced it for dinner.
While we were cutting the fish up I had a brainstorm and carved the eye out and wrapped it in a piece of paper. I told my pal to swing by the bar later on and see what I was up to.
We left and he dropped me off. I entered and promptly put the nasty old eyeball into the coin return of the pay phone located just inside the main door, went to the men's room, washed my hands and sat down at the bar.
I ordered a Vitiman R and told the barkeep what I had done. He scowled.
"It'll start a party," I said.
He scowled. "You a$$hole," he said. Then he looked thoughtfully. "You're probably right. The town seems bored enough. Broke, too."
"There's always money for beer," I said.
I had been sitting there about fifteen minutes when Blaine walked in. "Whaz happenin',Pic?" he asked.
"I just put a halibut eye in the coin return of the pay phone and someone's gonna see if there's a quarter in it and get a finger full," I replied.
Blaine instantly sat down next to me and ordered a beer. He hooked his thumb toward me. "And get him one," he said.
We sat there keeping an eye on everyone that came in and along came Steve. "Whaz happenin', guys?" he asked.
"Pic put a halibut eye in the pay phone coin return slot and we're waiting to see who gets a finger full of nasty old halibut eye,"said Blaine.
Steve sat down, ordered a beer, hooked his thumb toward us and said, "And get them one."
Along came Jim who sat down next to us, got briefed and ordered a beer. "And get them one," he added.
As people trickled in they saw the crowd and stayed.
The unspoken rule is that the guy that started the party drank for free which meant I wound up sitting there all afternoon drinking beer for nothing as I had been the guy that started the party.
It was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and nobody was paying a whole lot of attention to the phone anymore when we heard a cry of angry outrage and looked up. Sure enough Red Mallory had stuck his finger in the coin return and got a fingerful of halibut eye. The entire place burst into applause for a few seconds and the party kept on keepin' on.
I was a lot younger and tougher then and it was about 945 pm when I left the joint pretty toasted. I left then just in tie to catch the last ferry to Dog Bay, got home and cooked up part of the halibut, ate it and sacked out.
The rest I had for breakfast.
I had partied all day in the bar for a total cost of about $2 and in the process Steve paid me back $20 I had loaned him. I had partied all day and woke up richer than I had before I started.
Not a bad investment for $2 and a rotten nasty old halibut eyeball.
The next day I wandered through at opening time looking to see what was going on. I was looking for Blaine.
"Have a coffee on me," said the bartender, holding up a cup and a bottle of cognac. "We had a pretty good day yesterday for such a dead time in town."
I sat down and had a coffee with Couviosier in it. I was a little rough from the day before and it helped. A couple of hours later I was back at it hauling shingles up onto a roof I would start in on the following morning, sweating the toxins out.
I actually felt pretty good.
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
Sunday, May 4, 2014
I once dumped a date by picking up a hooker.
Strangely enough there ended up being a lot of people that thought that was one of the coolest things they had ever seen.
It all began when I made a date with some pretty good looking chick I had met floating around downtown. She seemed OK when I met her so I asked her if she wanted to grab some ribs and see a movie. She accepted and we were to meet at the watering hole that served as my headquarters at the time.
Life then in an Alaskan town was pretty good. There were no real secrets and everyone knew everyone else's business. It was one of those rare places where you could sit between the City manager and some sheepherder type.
I once saw the chief of police walking arm in arm with the madam of the town bordello at the Buskin River Raft Race. I don't know what they were talking about but they seemed to be on pretty good terms.
Anyway my date to be showed up and we started talking over a quick drink before we went over to the rib place and it wasn't long before she brought the subject of cocaine up. It didn't take me a long time to figure out where this was going. She was simply another cokehead trying to get me to finance her habit in exchange for a little romp.
I decided to bail and looked around for some kind of excuse and saw a hooker that I had played cards with occasionally. Every Alaskan bar had a cribbage board and when things were quiet and I had nothing better to do I'd play a few games with whoever was there and as bored as I was.She played cribbage as well as anyone else.
We were on friendly terms and when I saw her, I saw my out.
I got up from my soon to be dumped date and headed straight over to her. I tuned up my best Bogart voice and said to her, "Hey, Shistah, let's take a walk. I'll make it woith your while."
She looked kind of confused for about a half-second. She knew I wasn't into hookers as a vice. She replied, "I can do that."
"Thanks, Schweethaht," I replied.
She got up and we left through the side door and headed down the mall to the bar two bars down. When we arrived I bought her her usual non alcoholic beverage and she asked what I wanted.
"I just dumped my date and I wanted to be seen leaving with you," I said. "What do I owe you?"
"We're even," she replied. "Remember when I said I wanted to talk to you about how to fix the coffee table leg? It really wasn't broken. I wanted to get away from that pig Lefty Davis."
"Cool!" I answered.
"Hey, I've got a date in about an hour or so. Can you give me a ride?" she asked.
"Sure," and we got up. We got into my pickup, I fired it up, took her home and dropped her off and laid low the rest of the evening.
The next day I returned to my bar-room headquarters. The bartender saw me and grinned. "Class act dumping your date for a hooker," he said.
"Yeah, well, my date tried..." I started.
"To get into my pocket for coke," he said, finishing it for me. "I know what happened and that was about the classiest dump-a-date I have seen. She was really humiliated over it. Plan on a horror show next time she's in."
It was late afternoon and the bar was pretty full and in walked the dumped date. She saw me and I saw the blood in her eye.
"You dumped me for a whore!" she shouted.
"Highly skilled professional hooker. Cheaper than the 8-ball you wanted to charge for what's likely pretty shoddy workmanship," I answered, dryly. The place chuckled. "Instead of a third rate quickie poke I got fully serviced and at a third of the price."
The place was now in stitches.
"You think I'm some kind of a whore?!" she demanded.
"Your price was an 8-ball of coke," I answered in a matter of fact tone. "Her's was a lot less than that."
She turned purple and stormed off.
Mary Ronstandt came up to me and sat down next to me.
"Did you dump her for Sue?" she asked.
"Nah, I just took Sue down the line a couple of doors and bought her a drink. She owed me a favor so she bailed me out and helped me ditch that little coke whore. SHE doesn't know that, though."
"That's funny!" said Mary and I knew she'd let spread the story because it was funnier yet that it was just a ruse.
I got a few drinks bought for me over the next two weeks and a lot of people grinned when they saw 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
Saturday, May 3, 2014
A few comments
I just heard that in 1934 the first Soap Box Derby was supposed to be for boys only. A pair of girls snuck in and one of them took second place.
Pretty neat!
When the race was over and she removed her helmet her blond curly locks gave her away.
I don't know why that makes me grin but it does.
It's probebly because I picture the little girl taking off her helmet exposing corkscrew curls and a big smile looking like the spitting image of Shirley Temple.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It has been my observation that there are people out there that just ought to get their ass kicked severely just because of who they are.
They ought to be pummelled to beyond recognition and after they heal up we'll see if the process should be repeated or not by the way their attitude has changed.
Bill Maher comes to mind when I say this but he certainly ain't the Lone Ranger.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
In addition to the people out there that need a good hammering there are also a lot of people that just need a good, swift kick in the ass.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
If ya got nothin' interesting to do, google "Piccolo's Butler".
Back in the day there was some kind of contest where you could win the services of a school trained butler for an entire year.
I was living in a camper/trailer in Alaska at the time.
I was at the post office ready to drop my application in the mail but decided to be careful of what I asked for and threw the application away.
The butler stories are a compilation of what would have likely happened had I won the contest back in the day.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Back in the day I often had high friends in low places.
I found out that knowing some drunk floating around town was generally more useful than knowing one of the city fathers.
Unfortunately these days, sadly enough, I have connections with neither but I suppose if I had my choice it would not be a city father.
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
Pretty neat!
When the race was over and she removed her helmet her blond curly locks gave her away.
I don't know why that makes me grin but it does.
It's probebly because I picture the little girl taking off her helmet exposing corkscrew curls and a big smile looking like the spitting image of Shirley Temple.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It has been my observation that there are people out there that just ought to get their ass kicked severely just because of who they are.
They ought to be pummelled to beyond recognition and after they heal up we'll see if the process should be repeated or not by the way their attitude has changed.
Bill Maher comes to mind when I say this but he certainly ain't the Lone Ranger.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
In addition to the people out there that need a good hammering there are also a lot of people that just need a good, swift kick in the ass.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
If ya got nothin' interesting to do, google "Piccolo's Butler".
Back in the day there was some kind of contest where you could win the services of a school trained butler for an entire year.
I was living in a camper/trailer in Alaska at the time.
I was at the post office ready to drop my application in the mail but decided to be careful of what I asked for and threw the application away.
The butler stories are a compilation of what would have likely happened had I won the contest back in the day.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Back in the day I often had high friends in low places.
I found out that knowing some drunk floating around town was generally more useful than knowing one of the city fathers.
Unfortunately these days, sadly enough, I have connections with neither but I suppose if I had my choice it would not be a city father.
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
Friday, May 2, 2014
One of the things people do not understand is a concept called liberty.
I once commented that LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act for the wrong reasons and that it went too far.
He asked what I meant by that and I told him that LBJ was a power hungry politician that signed the bill after making the comment "After I sign this bill, we'll have those ni&&ers voting Democrat for the next 200 years!"
That's the wrong reason to sign a bill. He signed the bill strictly for political reasons. He wanted to seal the black vote and I suppose he did.
Truth is Johnson was no real friend of black Americans. If you dig through history it was the blue dog Democrats that fought every piece of civil rights legislation that came down the pike if it involved giving blacks equal rights. Look up his voting record if you don't believe me.
It is also interesting to note that Martin Luther King was a Republican.
It is probable that the Republicans were no real friends of black America as such. Maybe they simply believed in liberty and justice for all.
On the other hand, maybe they didn't. Maybe they believed that if the black community had the same rights everyone else did they would be less of a burden on society.
Truth is it is the duty of government to insure that all governmental entities treat all Americans properly.
Fact still remains that Ike's administration laid out the ground work for the Civil Rights bill when he sent troops into Little Rock.
The other thing I explained is that it should have been legislated that it effected government and public sector monies only and NOT private enterprise. Private enterprise should not be restricted.
If a guy wants to run a restaurant and limit his business to include or exclude certain groups for whatever reason it's his business. It's none of the government's affair.
Of course I got called a racist.
I'm not. It's just the fact that the person I was talking to didn't understand the concept of liberty. I believe it was Jefferson that said that if it neither broke my leg nor picked his pocket he was good with that.
I am simply one of those people that thinks the governent should mind their own business and let things get settled on either a state, local or personal level.
There isn't a law out there that can change a man's heart. That has to be done on a more personal level.
Governmental set-asides and minority preference laws do nothing good for race relations and only serve to add resentment.
They also cheat successful minorities out of the satisfaction and respect they deserve for being successful when they do succeed.
As far as restaurants and other public accomodations go, most things should be up to the proprietors. Pennsylvania seems to have the right idea over the smoking in bars issue. They let the owners decide. Some proprietors run smoke-free, a few let their patrons puff away.
There's a joint near where I live and it has a sign outside proclaiming it to be a smoking bar. I don't see a problem. If you don't want to sit in a cloud of smoke, go to the next joint down the line. The beer tastes the same there. Stop whining.
Yes. It really is as simple as that.
Liberty's a bitch and as much as it can be an inconvenience it can be a joy.
I am one of those people that will fight like hell for ANYONE to have their rally for their cause. If the Klan or any other group want's to hold a rally, fine. Let them. I won't deny the Klan the right to set up a stand and spew their hate.
Then again you will probably be surprised to see me in the crowd of spectators booing and hissing them and disrupting their hate speeches.
I will spend Monday fighting City Hall to see to it the the most despicable group in the world is insured their right to assemble. I would also spend Tuesday at their rally booing, hissing and making life miserable for the same people I fought for the day before.
Liberty's a bitch.
A while ago I read where the mayor of Boston wouldn't let the Chick-Fil-A people open shop in Boston. The person that proudly told me about it is a Boston area resident and liberal.
The Chick-Fil-A people apparently apparently have religious values and close on Sunday and are not supporters of same sex marriages. It's their right. It's their business.
It's the right of the people to boycott the place, though.
It seems to me that the people of the City of Boston are allowing the government to do their bidding for them and that's just plain lazy. They have given up a part of their liberty. If you are a big supporter of same sex marriages, then don't eat there.
Incidentally I read the Chick-Fil-A's mission statement or whatever you call it and it is to serve people with dignity no matter what their race, creed, color, etc, or sexual orientation.
It is the only time I have seen sexual orientation in a corporate mission statement. However I will admit I don't go around reading corporate missions statements.
Personally I would laugh like hell to see the Chick-Fil-A people come to Boston, open a store and see it boycotted. I don't care if the boycott is successful or not. I'd just like to see a little liberty in action.
I'm a fan of the bus boycott started by the Rosa Parks incident. The black community boycotted the bus company and brought it to its knees. They whacked the bus company where it hurts. Right in the wallet. They formed car pools, whatever.
It should also be noted that many of the people that supplied transportation during the boycott were white.
Personally I think the lunch counter sit-ins were a waste of time and bad strategy. They should have taken a different tack and simply opened a lunch counter down the street. (open to everyone) The secret weapon there would be Bubba Johnson's grandmother's ribs or something along those lines.
Someone could have done two things in one fell swoop. They'd likely taken a chunk out of bigotry and made a few bucks while they were at it.
It really doesn't take a whole lot to out-cook a department store lunch counter. One taste of Grandma Johnson's ribs and it's adios department store lunch counter. It wouldn't be long before the department store would be screaming for anyone's business and the Jim Crow signs would have disappeared.
Good food tends to overcome bigotry. Smart marketing makes money.
Personally I don't eat at Chick-fil-A because I don't really like too much fast food in my diet. As for same sex marriages, I differ with the Chick-Fil-A people there, too, but that's OK.
I simply wish the government would go out of the marriage business entirely and award civil unions to any people that wanted one. I suppose I'd limit a civil union to homo sapiens, though. Marrying out of species seems a little too strange for me.
If you want to get married, go see the appropriate religious people to marry you. Hell, see me. I'm a minister. (From the government's point of view, it would simply be a civil union.)
Truth of it is, I'm a person that thinks the government doesn't solve problems. I think it creates them,
It's not too much to give a person liberty and then allow them to take care of themselves and go as far as their talents and deterination take them.
It's not too much to ask a person to take care of themselves and keep their hands out of the government coffers. Taking government money is picking my pocket.
Besides, carrying the poor doesn't seem to be working out very well. It's driven us deep into debt. It reminds me of the 'Don't feed the bears. They will become dependent on people and not be able to feed themselves.' signs in parks.
Ben Franklin opined that the best thing to do for the poor would be to leave them to their own devices. He said that making life difficult enough for them would make them find a way to get out of poverty on their own.
Another one of the founding fathers comented that the government that governs least governs best.
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 once commented that LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act for the wrong reasons and that it went too far.
He asked what I meant by that and I told him that LBJ was a power hungry politician that signed the bill after making the comment "After I sign this bill, we'll have those ni&&ers voting Democrat for the next 200 years!"
That's the wrong reason to sign a bill. He signed the bill strictly for political reasons. He wanted to seal the black vote and I suppose he did.
Truth is Johnson was no real friend of black Americans. If you dig through history it was the blue dog Democrats that fought every piece of civil rights legislation that came down the pike if it involved giving blacks equal rights. Look up his voting record if you don't believe me.
It is also interesting to note that Martin Luther King was a Republican.
It is probable that the Republicans were no real friends of black America as such. Maybe they simply believed in liberty and justice for all.
On the other hand, maybe they didn't. Maybe they believed that if the black community had the same rights everyone else did they would be less of a burden on society.
Truth is it is the duty of government to insure that all governmental entities treat all Americans properly.
Fact still remains that Ike's administration laid out the ground work for the Civil Rights bill when he sent troops into Little Rock.
The other thing I explained is that it should have been legislated that it effected government and public sector monies only and NOT private enterprise. Private enterprise should not be restricted.
If a guy wants to run a restaurant and limit his business to include or exclude certain groups for whatever reason it's his business. It's none of the government's affair.
Of course I got called a racist.
I'm not. It's just the fact that the person I was talking to didn't understand the concept of liberty. I believe it was Jefferson that said that if it neither broke my leg nor picked his pocket he was good with that.
I am simply one of those people that thinks the governent should mind their own business and let things get settled on either a state, local or personal level.
There isn't a law out there that can change a man's heart. That has to be done on a more personal level.
Governmental set-asides and minority preference laws do nothing good for race relations and only serve to add resentment.
They also cheat successful minorities out of the satisfaction and respect they deserve for being successful when they do succeed.
As far as restaurants and other public accomodations go, most things should be up to the proprietors. Pennsylvania seems to have the right idea over the smoking in bars issue. They let the owners decide. Some proprietors run smoke-free, a few let their patrons puff away.
There's a joint near where I live and it has a sign outside proclaiming it to be a smoking bar. I don't see a problem. If you don't want to sit in a cloud of smoke, go to the next joint down the line. The beer tastes the same there. Stop whining.
Yes. It really is as simple as that.
Liberty's a bitch and as much as it can be an inconvenience it can be a joy.
I am one of those people that will fight like hell for ANYONE to have their rally for their cause. If the Klan or any other group want's to hold a rally, fine. Let them. I won't deny the Klan the right to set up a stand and spew their hate.
Then again you will probably be surprised to see me in the crowd of spectators booing and hissing them and disrupting their hate speeches.
I will spend Monday fighting City Hall to see to it the the most despicable group in the world is insured their right to assemble. I would also spend Tuesday at their rally booing, hissing and making life miserable for the same people I fought for the day before.
Liberty's a bitch.
A while ago I read where the mayor of Boston wouldn't let the Chick-Fil-A people open shop in Boston. The person that proudly told me about it is a Boston area resident and liberal.
The Chick-Fil-A people apparently apparently have religious values and close on Sunday and are not supporters of same sex marriages. It's their right. It's their business.
It's the right of the people to boycott the place, though.
It seems to me that the people of the City of Boston are allowing the government to do their bidding for them and that's just plain lazy. They have given up a part of their liberty. If you are a big supporter of same sex marriages, then don't eat there.
Incidentally I read the Chick-Fil-A's mission statement or whatever you call it and it is to serve people with dignity no matter what their race, creed, color, etc, or sexual orientation.
It is the only time I have seen sexual orientation in a corporate mission statement. However I will admit I don't go around reading corporate missions statements.
Personally I would laugh like hell to see the Chick-Fil-A people come to Boston, open a store and see it boycotted. I don't care if the boycott is successful or not. I'd just like to see a little liberty in action.
I'm a fan of the bus boycott started by the Rosa Parks incident. The black community boycotted the bus company and brought it to its knees. They whacked the bus company where it hurts. Right in the wallet. They formed car pools, whatever.
It should also be noted that many of the people that supplied transportation during the boycott were white.
Personally I think the lunch counter sit-ins were a waste of time and bad strategy. They should have taken a different tack and simply opened a lunch counter down the street. (open to everyone) The secret weapon there would be Bubba Johnson's grandmother's ribs or something along those lines.
Someone could have done two things in one fell swoop. They'd likely taken a chunk out of bigotry and made a few bucks while they were at it.
It really doesn't take a whole lot to out-cook a department store lunch counter. One taste of Grandma Johnson's ribs and it's adios department store lunch counter. It wouldn't be long before the department store would be screaming for anyone's business and the Jim Crow signs would have disappeared.
Good food tends to overcome bigotry. Smart marketing makes money.
Personally I don't eat at Chick-fil-A because I don't really like too much fast food in my diet. As for same sex marriages, I differ with the Chick-Fil-A people there, too, but that's OK.
I simply wish the government would go out of the marriage business entirely and award civil unions to any people that wanted one. I suppose I'd limit a civil union to homo sapiens, though. Marrying out of species seems a little too strange for me.
If you want to get married, go see the appropriate religious people to marry you. Hell, see me. I'm a minister. (From the government's point of view, it would simply be a civil union.)
Truth of it is, I'm a person that thinks the government doesn't solve problems. I think it creates them,
It's not too much to give a person liberty and then allow them to take care of themselves and go as far as their talents and deterination take them.
It's not too much to ask a person to take care of themselves and keep their hands out of the government coffers. Taking government money is picking my pocket.
Besides, carrying the poor doesn't seem to be working out very well. It's driven us deep into debt. It reminds me of the 'Don't feed the bears. They will become dependent on people and not be able to feed themselves.' signs in parks.
Ben Franklin opined that the best thing to do for the poor would be to leave them to their own devices. He said that making life difficult enough for them would make them find a way to get out of poverty on their own.
Another one of the founding fathers comented that the government that governs least governs best.
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Thursday, May 1, 2014
The new lieutenant gets gets broken in.
I served under a new lieutenant once. Unlike most shavetails he came to us in pretty good shape right out of the box, fresh out of West Point.
He seemed to be a pretty practical, down to earth and in general pretty squared away from the beginning. He was smart enough from the beginning to let his NCOs run things and I often saw him eat lunch with Top. I knew he was often seeking counsel from the old First Sergeant.
I had been called by Top to come to the orderly room for some reason or another. I have a vague memory of it having something to do with a piece of broken equipment of some sort or another.
Back in those days, First Sergeants were addressed as 'Top' which was an Old School abbreviation for 'Top Sergeant'. It was a title that was carried with pride.
He was a man somewhat short on formal education but quite long on raw native intelligence. He specialized in booby traps that were set up and activated by the victim. He could make just about anyone $hit and fall back in it.
Although we saw this happen very seldom, sometimes at formation he would act like the stupidest, most confused person in the world. It was downright funny watching him act like a dumb hillbilly was trying to figure something out. The entire battery would be fighting to keep from breaking out into laughter.
Of course, when he put that act on we all knew that somewhere along the line someone or maybe all of us were in for pretty serious trouble. He only did that when he was really angry about something.
It's a shame they don't have colorful characters like that in the service anymore. They served as a wonderful example of people that had taken their talents and run with them and succeeded.
I was outside and notice the lieutenant in there and waited for whatever business he had there to be taken care of. I do remember the lieutenant talking to Top about some problem one of the guys had and it was clear that the lieutenant was trying to get the man taken care of. I made a mental note of that. It was evidence that he was going to be a good officer.
During the course of the conversation the lieutenant mentioned that he kept a diary and a scrapbook. He asked Top if he had kept a scrapbook of some sort about his army career.
The First shirt's face lit up. I grinned and peeped around the door. I knew I was probably in for a rare treat. I didn't want to miss this one at all.
"As a matter of fact, Sir, I have." He then stood up, removed his shirt and peeled off his T-shirt exposing well over half a dozen scars.
He started point them out. "Got this one in Korea. Here's another Korea. Here's where I got hit in Vietnam. This damned thing I got in a jeep wreck back in '62." He went on until he covered them all.
The lieutenant stood there both embarrassed and amused watching Top go on describing the cause of each individual scar.
When he was done, he pulled his T-shirt back on and started putting his shirt on. While he was doing this my mouth ran away with me.
I stuck my head in the orderly room and looked a the lieutenant.
"Lieutenant, when I grow up I want to be just like Top!"
The battery clerk snarfed out a mouthful of coffee. The lieutenant blushed.
Old Top looked at me warmly and beamed. "Why, Thank you, Specialist. That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me!"
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The best $10 I ever spent at sea
was for a can of Top rolling tobacco, 400 cigarette papers and a little hand roller. It was a few years ago and the can is still in the generator room and about half full.
It's still there in case it's needed. I suppose the tobacco is pretty dried out but a small slice of apple dropped into it would likely freshen it up a bit.
I think the last time anyone dipped into it was about a year ago and that was a guy that had run out of smokes an hour before we were relieved to go home.
The story behind it is that I had gotten called in a few days early to relieve my mirror because he had something come up and there was a checkout on board that wasnot being hired. He didn't fit in because he couldn't take care of himself.
Of course, he was a heavy smoker and of course he had almost run out and of course he was broke and so on.
Anyway, it took me about ten seconds to figure out which way this was heading. I simply handed a $20 to a shoreside inspector and told him to snag a can of Top, some papers and a roller. He did and handed me my goods and $10 in change.
I took the man aside and told him that he was not to bum from anyone and that if he needed a smake he could damned well roll his own with the Top I had bought.
He was grateful and after he was put ashore one of the guys asked why I had done this.
I told him that for ten bucks the peace was worth it because I didn't want to watch the cycle of bumming to begging to stealing to fighting take place.
The guy that had questioned me told me that he understood and asked me why I had not just simply laid the law down.
Truth is that when you are dealing with addicts they are only interested in feeding a habit and the liklihood of obeying an order to stay away from a supply of whatever isn't likely to be obeyed. The guy was leaving and we'd be done with him.
Sometimes it is a lot wiser not to have to bring out the whip in the first place, especially when you are talking about using it on someone that has nothing left to lose.
Besides because it was my tobacco I had control of the man. All I had to do was threaten to take it away which is what the government does to keep the people taking government money in line.
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 still there in case it's needed. I suppose the tobacco is pretty dried out but a small slice of apple dropped into it would likely freshen it up a bit.
I think the last time anyone dipped into it was about a year ago and that was a guy that had run out of smokes an hour before we were relieved to go home.
The story behind it is that I had gotten called in a few days early to relieve my mirror because he had something come up and there was a checkout on board that wasnot being hired. He didn't fit in because he couldn't take care of himself.
Of course, he was a heavy smoker and of course he had almost run out and of course he was broke and so on.
Anyway, it took me about ten seconds to figure out which way this was heading. I simply handed a $20 to a shoreside inspector and told him to snag a can of Top, some papers and a roller. He did and handed me my goods and $10 in change.
I took the man aside and told him that he was not to bum from anyone and that if he needed a smake he could damned well roll his own with the Top I had bought.
He was grateful and after he was put ashore one of the guys asked why I had done this.
I told him that for ten bucks the peace was worth it because I didn't want to watch the cycle of bumming to begging to stealing to fighting take place.
The guy that had questioned me told me that he understood and asked me why I had not just simply laid the law down.
Truth is that when you are dealing with addicts they are only interested in feeding a habit and the liklihood of obeying an order to stay away from a supply of whatever isn't likely to be obeyed. The guy was leaving and we'd be done with him.
Sometimes it is a lot wiser not to have to bring out the whip in the first place, especially when you are talking about using it on someone that has nothing left to lose.
Besides because it was my tobacco I had control of the man. All I had to do was threaten to take it away which is what the government does to keep the people taking government money in line.
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
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
I have been pretty busy lately and have not had much time to make a decent post
for a few days.
I have taken a 75% pay cut for this.
Of course, 75% of nothin' is nothin' because I don't get paid for doing this at all. It is just a way of me keeping my sanity and venting a little.
Anyway in the next couple of days things are due to slow up a bit and I can continue ranting and raving.
Stay tuned!
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 have taken a 75% pay cut for this.
Of course, 75% of nothin' is nothin' because I don't get paid for doing this at all. It is just a way of me keeping my sanity and venting a little.
Anyway in the next couple of days things are due to slow up a bit and I can continue ranting and raving.
Stay tuned!
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
Monday, April 28, 2014
Do YOU know how to do this?
It really doesn't matter what it is but there is always someone out there that's being critical of someone doing something they can't do themselves.
It could be anything.
Quite often someone will jump in and comment about something that is in the rough stage and start telling you what you're doing wrong even if they have no idea what you're trying to get done.
I generally stop and ask them if they know how to do this work.
It generally stops them and reduces them to hemming and hawing.
It doesn't generally take a whole lot to shut someone up.
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 could be anything.
Quite often someone will jump in and comment about something that is in the rough stage and start telling you what you're doing wrong even if they have no idea what you're trying to get done.
I generally stop and ask them if they know how to do this work.
It generally stops them and reduces them to hemming and hawing.
It doesn't generally take a whole lot to shut someone up.
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
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Went to a ham fest and a gun show earlier today.
I bought a backpacker's pup tent at the hamfest for $15 and a slingshot for $2 at the gun show.
FWIW there wasn't a whole lot of .22 LR for sale. The little I saw there was grossly overpriced.
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
FWIW there wasn't a whole lot of .22 LR for sale. The little I saw there was grossly overpriced.
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
Saturday, April 26, 2014
I shot today and did OK.
393 -14X out of a possible 400 points.
My X count sucked and I dropped 5 in a single shot when a piece of hot brass went down my neck a nanosecond before my shot broke. That made me send one straight into the 5 ring which ruined my day.
Then I dropped two more by shooting a pair of 9s.
Still, I think I was high scorer though which means nothing because it was a bring anything match.
It was funny watching a small woman shooting a big Garand, though and she did pretty good with the venerable old work horse.
Still, the worst day shootin' is better than the best day working any way you slice 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
My X count sucked and I dropped 5 in a single shot when a piece of hot brass went down my neck a nanosecond before my shot broke. That made me send one straight into the 5 ring which ruined my day.
Then I dropped two more by shooting a pair of 9s.
Still, I think I was high scorer though which means nothing because it was a bring anything match.
It was funny watching a small woman shooting a big Garand, though and she did pretty good with the venerable old work horse.
Still, the worst day shootin' is better than the best day working any way you slice 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
Friday, April 25, 2014
Update. My quest for the return of my birthday.
I have obtained the proper army personnel form and filled it out. I am requesting the return of my birthday which my First Sergeant took away from me many years ago. It has been mailed and likely is in the Pentagon now as if has been a few days. We'll see how that one goes.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Seeing we're talking about the army today I seem to recall another stupid incident involving a female second lieutenant that was salute happy.
I passed her from a distance and she tried to reprimand me for not saluting her. I approached her and when I got to the appropriate distance I saluted and explained that the rules said salutes should be exchanges from a distance of 6 paces or closer and that I had been about 15 paces away.
She grumbled a bit and walked off in a huff.
Part two.
A month later I was detailed to take a young private named Linski to be out processed on a Chapter 11 or some damned thing.
Linski was being administratively separated and was eager to get out.
I was required to be armed for reasons I can't fathom.
I made it clear to the higher-ups that I had no intention of shooting a dumb 19 year old kid that was only guilty of not liking the Army. I was surprised when my battery commander told me that my attitude was the reason I got the job. He told me that he agreed with me and that the reason I got the job is because he knew I wouldn't do anything stupid.
I drew an M-16 and carefully cleared it to make damned good and sure it was unloaded and stuffed the (loaded) magazine into my back pocket and buttoned it. Twenty round mags fit nicely into a fatigue back pocket.
I took the rifle and my 'prisoner' and I headed off to the admin building.
When we cleared the battalion area I threw the rifle at my prisoner and told him I had no intention of lugging it all over hell and that if he wanted to get out of the army then HE could carry the damned thing.
He shrugged and took the rifle and we walked along side by side.
Every time we saw someone that looked an officious clown he would get behind me and hold the rifle at port arms with a serious look on his face like he was ready to shoot me if I stepped out of line.
Then we passed the female lieutenant I had crossed sword with a month or so earlier and she asked why we hadn't saluted.
Linski popped to attention and told her he was on a guard duty detail and not supposed to salute officers and that I was a prisoner and therefore was not permitted to salute officers. She nodded.
Then she asked Linski what I had been charged with.
"Disrespect for an officer, Ma'am. He's facing a General courts-martial. He failed to salute an officer." The stone-faced way he said it made someone know it just HAD to be true.
She looked at me. "I recognize you," she said. "Looks like you're getting what you have coming."
Linski looked at her and said," By your leave, Ma'an. I have to get the prisoner there riki-tik."
We left and as soon as we got out of sight of her I snatched the rifle from him and said, "Give me that damned thing!"
I carried it the rest of the way.
When we got there I hung around until he got squared away and then we returned to the battery. I turned the rifle in and returned to duty.
A couple of days later I got sent somewhere else to do something I have long forgotten what. I crossed paths with the lieutenant again and because I was inside the proper radius I saluted. It was returned by her and in a condescending tone of voice she asked me how I had fared in my recent court martial proceedings.
I told her the case had been thrown out because I had three witnesses on my behalf and that the officer that had preferred charges against me was now being charged with issuing a false report.
From that point on she stayed the hell away from 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
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Seeing we're talking about the army today I seem to recall another stupid incident involving a female second lieutenant that was salute happy.
I passed her from a distance and she tried to reprimand me for not saluting her. I approached her and when I got to the appropriate distance I saluted and explained that the rules said salutes should be exchanges from a distance of 6 paces or closer and that I had been about 15 paces away.
She grumbled a bit and walked off in a huff.
Part two.
A month later I was detailed to take a young private named Linski to be out processed on a Chapter 11 or some damned thing.
Linski was being administratively separated and was eager to get out.
I was required to be armed for reasons I can't fathom.
I made it clear to the higher-ups that I had no intention of shooting a dumb 19 year old kid that was only guilty of not liking the Army. I was surprised when my battery commander told me that my attitude was the reason I got the job. He told me that he agreed with me and that the reason I got the job is because he knew I wouldn't do anything stupid.
I drew an M-16 and carefully cleared it to make damned good and sure it was unloaded and stuffed the (loaded) magazine into my back pocket and buttoned it. Twenty round mags fit nicely into a fatigue back pocket.
I took the rifle and my 'prisoner' and I headed off to the admin building.
When we cleared the battalion area I threw the rifle at my prisoner and told him I had no intention of lugging it all over hell and that if he wanted to get out of the army then HE could carry the damned thing.
He shrugged and took the rifle and we walked along side by side.
Every time we saw someone that looked an officious clown he would get behind me and hold the rifle at port arms with a serious look on his face like he was ready to shoot me if I stepped out of line.
Then we passed the female lieutenant I had crossed sword with a month or so earlier and she asked why we hadn't saluted.
Linski popped to attention and told her he was on a guard duty detail and not supposed to salute officers and that I was a prisoner and therefore was not permitted to salute officers. She nodded.
Then she asked Linski what I had been charged with.
"Disrespect for an officer, Ma'am. He's facing a General courts-martial. He failed to salute an officer." The stone-faced way he said it made someone know it just HAD to be true.
She looked at me. "I recognize you," she said. "Looks like you're getting what you have coming."
Linski looked at her and said," By your leave, Ma'an. I have to get the prisoner there riki-tik."
We left and as soon as we got out of sight of her I snatched the rifle from him and said, "Give me that damned thing!"
I carried it the rest of the way.
When we got there I hung around until he got squared away and then we returned to the battery. I turned the rifle in and returned to duty.
A couple of days later I got sent somewhere else to do something I have long forgotten what. I crossed paths with the lieutenant again and because I was inside the proper radius I saluted. It was returned by her and in a condescending tone of voice she asked me how I had fared in my recent court martial proceedings.
I told her the case had been thrown out because I had three witnesses on my behalf and that the officer that had preferred charges against me was now being charged with issuing a false report.
From that point on she stayed the hell away from 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
Thursday, April 24, 2014
I am not a professor of languages
but being on the air with people from all over the world is interesting.
The language of international radio communications is English unless the two communicators speak another common language.
I suppose an example of this is when a pair of South American hams speak Spanish to each other, yet as soon as they are through the one that is host station will switch straight back to English for the benefit of everyone else.
One of the things I have noticed that seems to show up a little more among Arab hams is that there are a lot of people out there on the air that speak true unaccented American English.
The other day I made contact with a Saudi ham that I would have sworn was an American in Ohio except for the fact that he had a Saudi callsign. I have spoken with Kuwaitis that are in the same boat.
English is a gold plated sonuvabitch to learn to begin with and when you add the American idioms to it that are constantly changing it is nothing less than a miracle that someone with a different native tongue can learn to speak it much less sound like a native.
I recently spoke with a young girl in China that spoke American English like an American and marveled at that.
Incidentally after I QSO'd the Saudi I listened a while and he mentioned that he also spoke several other languages.
While I do not know how well he spoke the others I will say that if he speaks them half as well as he speaks English he's fluent in them.
It humbles me to realize that American education left me able to speak English and High School Spanish.
High School Spanish is worthless anywhere but in American high schools. When I tried to order a steak and fried spuds in Mexico once the waiter brought me a baked stuffed elephant and all the trimmings.
There is also a Russian ham I communicate with from time to time and I listen to him jump from one language to another with seemingly no problem.
Sometimes I think our educational system is a travsesty when I see people from other places. We graduate from our schools without even learning how to so much as count and the fact that this country is so far in debt is proof positive of 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
The language of international radio communications is English unless the two communicators speak another common language.
I suppose an example of this is when a pair of South American hams speak Spanish to each other, yet as soon as they are through the one that is host station will switch straight back to English for the benefit of everyone else.
One of the things I have noticed that seems to show up a little more among Arab hams is that there are a lot of people out there on the air that speak true unaccented American English.
The other day I made contact with a Saudi ham that I would have sworn was an American in Ohio except for the fact that he had a Saudi callsign. I have spoken with Kuwaitis that are in the same boat.
English is a gold plated sonuvabitch to learn to begin with and when you add the American idioms to it that are constantly changing it is nothing less than a miracle that someone with a different native tongue can learn to speak it much less sound like a native.
I recently spoke with a young girl in China that spoke American English like an American and marveled at that.
Incidentally after I QSO'd the Saudi I listened a while and he mentioned that he also spoke several other languages.
While I do not know how well he spoke the others I will say that if he speaks them half as well as he speaks English he's fluent in them.
It humbles me to realize that American education left me able to speak English and High School Spanish.
High School Spanish is worthless anywhere but in American high schools. When I tried to order a steak and fried spuds in Mexico once the waiter brought me a baked stuffed elephant and all the trimmings.
There is also a Russian ham I communicate with from time to time and I listen to him jump from one language to another with seemingly no problem.
Sometimes I think our educational system is a travsesty when I see people from other places. We graduate from our schools without even learning how to so much as count and the fact that this country is so far in debt is proof positive of 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
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Match rifle is now good to go.
I tried out my recently built long range match rifle the other day with a few handloads left over from another rifle.
It shot pretty good with the new trigger I installed.
There was a recall on the rifle over safety/trigger group issues. Instead of sending the rifle back I simply replaced the safety/trigger group with a match grade trigger that I should have done anyway.
There is a slow fire match coming up this coming Saturday and I think I am going to shoot it.
The new trigger is on the borderline of being scary good. It breaks like glass and surprises me when it goes off. That is a good thing.
It shoots the handloads pretty good, a little under a minute of angle and that's good enough for the win at Saturday's match.
It was also good to get a GOOD focus on the scope. You really have to have the rifle out and a place to steady it to get it truly focused. It's not an expensive scope, but has a reputation of being a damned good deal for the money.
There were no Fudds at the range, thank God as the Fudds generally have no clue as to how to check handloads for accuracy. I generally reset the scope so the rounds impact to the right or left of where I hold the crosshairs. I'm not interested in hitting the center of a target. It's the shot group size that matters.
The Fudds, meaning hunters seldom know the ins and outs of match shooting and run their mouths and I have to explain what I'm doing. Sometimes they still don't understand.
For those of you that do not understand why I do this it is simple. I do not want to tear up my point of hold. The more you tear it up the harder it is to get a decent sight picture.
After you have shot your groups all you have to do is reset your sight and you are dead on.
Anyway, the rifle shoots pretty good and I'm ready for the upcoming match.
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 shot pretty good with the new trigger I installed.
There was a recall on the rifle over safety/trigger group issues. Instead of sending the rifle back I simply replaced the safety/trigger group with a match grade trigger that I should have done anyway.
There is a slow fire match coming up this coming Saturday and I think I am going to shoot it.
The new trigger is on the borderline of being scary good. It breaks like glass and surprises me when it goes off. That is a good thing.
It shoots the handloads pretty good, a little under a minute of angle and that's good enough for the win at Saturday's match.
It was also good to get a GOOD focus on the scope. You really have to have the rifle out and a place to steady it to get it truly focused. It's not an expensive scope, but has a reputation of being a damned good deal for the money.
There were no Fudds at the range, thank God as the Fudds generally have no clue as to how to check handloads for accuracy. I generally reset the scope so the rounds impact to the right or left of where I hold the crosshairs. I'm not interested in hitting the center of a target. It's the shot group size that matters.
The Fudds, meaning hunters seldom know the ins and outs of match shooting and run their mouths and I have to explain what I'm doing. Sometimes they still don't understand.
For those of you that do not understand why I do this it is simple. I do not want to tear up my point of hold. The more you tear it up the harder it is to get a decent sight picture.
After you have shot your groups all you have to do is reset your sight and you are dead on.
Anyway, the rifle shoots pretty good and I'm ready for the upcoming match.
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
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