Leaderboard

I just moved a half ton of topsoil in 40 pound bags, packed them, placed them, cut them open, dumped them out, raked them out, then seeded and raked in the seed. The US Army Jeep was rated at 1/4 ton capacity. I figure the civilian model is about the same, and I had mine loaded to capacity for two trips. Y'see, we had just over two inches of rain in just under two hours' time. It was low at the back corner of my house, which placed a minor lake hard up against my foundation, running along the south wall of the foundation and trickling down into my basement sump. Two pumps running and I was 5/8 inch from overflow. This morning I fell back on basic EMT training's early lesson: "Treat the Cause." I got dirt, I placed dirt, I filled in where it needed filled, I seeded it well with intent to turn dirt into sod and keep water away from my foundation. I'm paying the price. Right now we're waiting for the oven to preheat. The wife wants pizza. When last I got up from my easy chair, I realized my back was telling me it was less than happy with my morning's exertion. I did tend an important detail over and above this: I called dear old Dad -- the one who just had his pacemaker replaced -- and told him Thank You. I named specific things -- "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I won't remember, involve me and I've GOT IT!" -- how he involved my brother and I, how we knew fractions before we started school because he involved us with a carpenter's ruler and the Useful Rules of Architecture; how we knew decimals, because he involved us with a micrometer, a machinist's ruler and an engineer's tape measure, how he taught us to solder precisely and cleanly, to use the right cleaner and the right PVC glue, how he taught plan and layout and measure twice cut once. I told him I used his many lessons many times, but particularly installing two pumps in the basement sump, how with our catastrophic rainfall, my basement did NOT flood, and that the many lessons he'd taught, still bear fruit. It's important for the Grand Old Man to know his boy actually listened. He reports he has almost no pain, he's under his own roof and he just took laundry out of the dryer, and he agrees with my professional medical observation that a man heals better and faster under his own roof. He turns 90 next month and he laughed and said he flirted with every last one of the nurses that took care of him. Right now pizza is in the oven, timer is set, and I think I might pursue some anti-inflammatory. Something tells me I'm going to need it!

I have a solution to this problem!! Add to that the mistletoe on my shirt tail and the third finger of each hand directed skyward for Ford and these sorry government entities!!

Archie Bunker?

Every time I tried to thank my dad he would say something like, "I guess you turned out alright." And change the subject. I think he knew it. Later in life when we worked side-by-side on projects - be it electrical, plumbing, carpentry or whatever - we were the consumate team. Often times we barely spoke. We just knew what needed to be done and did it. Something I'll never forget: When something wasn't perfect - or a "skosh" off, as he would say - he would stand back, consider tearing it out and doing it over, then proclaim, "Only you and me will ever know and I'm not telling anybody."

Gomez & Morticia Addams as parents.

Someone did that. Return mail had a picture of handcuffs.

Mike Baxter

This guy is a riot! And clean!

I just got off the phone with the surgeons office. First eye will be August 20th and the second on September 3rd. I am going for the mid-grade toric lens @ $1500.00 an eye. Wish me luck.

Look before you leap...... This is from a respected automotive publication The Drive UPDATE 7/31/2024 @ 3:30p ET: After publication, Ford reached out with a statement to clarify that the idea “is specific for application in law enforcement vehicles, such as the Ford Police Interceptor, and it’s a system that would automate a capability that law enforcement already have in use today, except this would utilize the built-in system and sensors in the vehicle. This patent does not state that driving data from customers’ vehicles would be shared with law enforcement, which is what some media have incorrectly reported. And note, patent applications are intended to protect new ideas but aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans.” That said, the document does leave the door open for the technology to be applied to non-police vehicles “operated by various types of agencies,” including ambulances, government fleets, and private security cars. The rest of the story continues below. The application, which arrives to us by way of Motor Authority, contains a flowchart on page six explaining the logic that would govern the system. As illustrated, a vehicle would constantly be gathering speed data of surrounding traffic, using radar or lidar. If a particular car is determined to exceed a “threshold speed limit” (whether this would be a posted legal limit or otherwise isn’t decided), it would then switch the camera on and begin recording. It would also “determine one or more identifying features of the second vehicle,” to generate a record that may help authorities find it. From there, the data would be sent to additional connected monitoring devices and/or the police, and it’s up to the latter to determine whether to pursue the offending speeder or not.

Cartoonist had NO clue how a weather vane works.

Homer Simpson???

Ummmmm. Don't think so. Her left eye is not in line with the sights. I believe her "patch" has a small aperture sort of like a peep sight to restrict her view to the sights.

Step one: Create the method for government control. Step two: Patent it. Step three: Lobby for legislation requiring it.

When I began cowboy shooting, a close friend (named Snakebite) told me that before long I would need to decide if I wanted to be a CAS "Competitor", or be a "Participant". He explained the difference, including the cost and commitment, but I think it all went on through my brain without sticking. Both my wife and I went through some stages in making (or evolving) that decision. First, We found ourselves in the living room almost every night, decked out in leather, guns loaded up with snap caps and sticky note targets hanging from the mantle and walls. Then, every chance we had, (dozens of days) we were at the range wearing ear protection, timing and videoing each other in live fire transition drills, then analyzing the results and working on stick points. In between those sessions, I spent countless hours and dollars sitting, pulling the handle on a 650XL, until I literally developed shoulder tendinitis. As the component costs escalated, the hours at the loader became VERY expensive, but still we practiced every chance we could find, either at the Club range or up at our ranch. That went on for years! Although Snakebite's words remained in my memory, the game was gradually revealing to me that I do not have the speed and dexderity to progress very far beyond a mediocre "Competitor". (But both of us are fine "Participants"!) My stage times on difficult stages remained between 20 and 30 sec, which is simply not fast enough to win buckles and accolades at big matches. As my age has stretched out to 75, it has become evident that I am slowing down, rather than speeding up. But I really think that is OK. Would I like to have spent less time practicing, case cleaning, reloading and working at our club range? Possibly --I dont really know. I have enjoyed all of that a great deal, but I do get a lump in my throat looking at my backpack, or pulling out my big tuna reels and realizing I may never have a chance to feel them in action again. For a decade, I have done little else besides cowboy shooting, drifting away from other shooting sports, fishing, and a host of hobbies. Now time is passing faster. Weeks seem to go by in hours. Both of us still shoot, but we've laid off of 90% of the practice, realizing it was a huge time investment that was not producing fruit. We've gotten back into backpacking, road trips, fishing, and a wider range of activities. We both still love our club events, comeraderie, and the competition, but we just want more breadth from the time we have left together. So if you seek to be a top "Competitor", then realize it won't come free or easy. Make sure it is what you really want. Our lives have a lot to offer. Just some food for thought. I didn't catch this big girl, but I had a lot of fun trying (and posing beside it. ) Again--- life has a lot to offer.

Before you can attempt to answer the question - you would first need to define "Win". A local category win? A monthly overall? Annual category win? Annual overall? State, Regional, National, World category win? State, Regional, National, World overall? Each of the above include the word "Win" - and each of the above have incredibly different admission prices. And when attempting to correlate number of rounds fired to performance - there are three very important points to consider. 1. Quantity of practice. 2 Quality of practice. 3. Quantity of quality practice. The quantity of practice (rounds fired) is meaningless (or even detrimental) IF the quality of practice is poor. Now there are some that will tell you ANY trigger time is beneficial and "practice makes perfect" - these people don't know what they are talking about. Practice makes PERMANENT. Only PERFECT practice makes perfect. Your practice MUST be geared toward doing things correctly - and a competitor MUST be willing to continually assess where they are lacking or exhibiting a limiting factor and address those points. EVEN when addressing a fault may require them to take a step backward to correct something that could/ will limit their growth in the future. This is QUALITY practice. THEN and only then does the quantity of quality practice come into play. The best shooters can tell you how many hours of dry fire and how many rounds they spent (of quality practice) preparing for major matches to win their championships (at whatever level). The shooter not utilizing quality of practice but only quantity (simply burning a "number of rounds" or wasting time) may shoot 1000's upon 1000's of rounds and NEVER see the podium - because if they are doing something incorrectly; doing it wrong 5000 more times won't make it better. And sadly; this is reality. Even if you know how to do it; how to prepare for it and how to practice for it. Even if you can do it EVERYTHING right. No matter how much you want it to happen. That doesn't guarantee you anything. The folks that win almost always have additional intangibles that cannot always be quantified on a spreadsheet labeled "How rounds needed to win". Winners have the drive to put in the time, the intelligence or mentorship to recognize paths to improvement, the finances to ensure quality of equipment (and quantity of rounds) and discipline to maintain their physical and mental focus. Some of these shooters may have physically superiority with better eyesight, fast twitch muscle fibers or faster reaction times. If it were as simple as X number of rounds downrange makes you win - a lot more of us would have World Championship buckles.

I am extremely honored!! This is awesome! I am so blessed to be a part of such a great group of friends!! Congratulations to Cowtown Scout, I thoroughly enjoyed shooting with you as well! Thank you all!

Dikec Yusuf, who only recently took up shooting after a particularly heated argument with his ex-wife, credits his success to his newfound passion for seeing his kids and a relentless drive to prove his ex wrong. "I never thought I'd be here," Yusuf said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I was just aiming for a weekend with the kids." The 52-year-old, who works as a mechanic in a small garage in Istanbul, first picked up a gun during a particularly frustrating divorce mediation. His unorthodox approach – no specialty gear, no training regimen, and a wardrobe consisting of his everyday jeans and a T-shirt – has baffled professional shooters. "He just shows up, shoots a near perfect round, and then asks if there's a smoking area nearby." After winning silver, Yusuf stood emotionless on the Olympic podium and declared, "Sharon, if you're watching this, I want my dog back."