Seems I woke up last night an irregular heartbeat. Things did not improve, and I ended up spending the night at a hospital in a nearby city. I'm back home now, but very weak.
The good news would be I will have some extra time to blog this week. Depending on how well I feel, I will try to post a few things that have been on my mind.
I posted on my post election visit to the Winston Salem Gun show back in January, during the buying panic when everyone was trying to corner the market on ammunition and standard capacity magazines for their AR or AK. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I once again traveled to the Camel City to see how things were going in the war on our civil rights.
Things have improved, in some areas improving greatly.
First, a few comparisons. On my prior visit, on the last Saturday in January, I'd had a difficult time finding a place to park, and been surprised at the long lines and the number of people wishing to buy anything for sale. Ammunition was selling at an incredible rate, and evil black rifles commanding a premium price. This time, although attendance was still heavy (especially for a holiday weekend) finding a parking place was easy, and only a few people waiting in line to get in. I noted last time very few people were smoking in line, this time, most of the folks hanging around outside had a smoke- most of them cheap, nasty ones. I guess we can thank the tax-everything-that-moves crowd in Raleigh for that, our friends who smoke can no longer afford a premium cigarette, so they're buying the nasty stuff.
Once again, everyone was incredibly polite. I only mention this for the wandering hoplophobe who stumbles here, those of us in the 'gun culture' know that as a group, we are the most law abiding, decent people in the United States. Those who get distorted views of our demographic from the major media outlets- especially the major TV networks, that are blatantly in the tank for the messiah- think all gun owners are mental cases waiting to go postal. If you fall into this category, please, do yourself a favor and attend the next gun show in your area, and prepare to be enlightened. If the thought of that is too frightening to you, please, seek professional help. Email me and I'll try and help you over come your irrational fear.
The best news from this show was seeing things getting somewhat back to normal. Ammo was abundant, cases of XM-193 stacked neatly in front of several tables, and no line to purchase. A friend and I split a case of one thousand priced at $400, and could have bought more at several other tables at the same price. I wasn't looking for any rifles, so I didn't watch prices that closely, but they seemed a bit more reasonable than last time. I did see a few SKS's priced way over retail, but no one was buying- the free market will take care of that soon.
I managed to spend a bit more money than usual, but I found a few things I'd been looking for and felt a bit like buying. Another Olight flashlight, this time the T-30, I really like what has been happening in the technical area of flashlight designs of late. (I grew up with rolled steel tubes, yellow filament bulbs, and carbon batteries. Might as well used flint and dried grass.) A couple of special purchases in mind for Father's Day, (no hints here, dad reads the blog daily..) and the usual impulse buys- spicy peanuts, gun safe pistol rack, pistol hangers, etc.
All in all, a great day having fun with nary a hoplophobe in sight. Best thing, however, was the continued determined attitude I saw in every face there. We all know the fight is not over, and the recent back downs from the current administration on AWBII, surplus brass disposal, and other draconian laws shows that they know they have stirred up a hornets nest- and they are leaving it alone, for now. We know they will be back. And we are going to be ready when they do.
If you are lucky enough to have your mom with you today, be sure and give her all the love and respect she deserves.
I was lucky enough to have a Godly mother, who raised a wild, impulsive, hot-tempered son along with three sisters, half the neighborhood kids, along with countless dogs, cats, turtles, snakes, and even the occasional pet skunk and possum.. (now there's a story... but I digress..)
Thanks for everything, mom. God love you, and keep you, and bless you. You are the best.
Let me introduce you to a bit of history here. I currently work in the electronics repair field, where technology keeps going faster, better, and more complex. But once in a while, a veteran from long ago comes in for some R & R, and you just can't help but marvel at how things used to get done. Introducing just such a device, from General Electric Corp. (back when GE was the biggest kid on the block)
I have no idea who sent this in, or where it has been working, but it's a wonder of engineering for the day. Best I can tell, late 1940's to perhaps mid 1950's manufacture- bakelite and steel frame, hand wound coils, clockworks balanced and still working.
Oh, what does it do, you ask? Not much- it's a time-delayed breaker, sort of like the one in your home's distribution panel. Except this one has multiple taps to choose the current you want to trip out at- from 0.5 amps to 2 amps- and a hand-set time delay, from 0 seconds up to 7 seconds. Just enough time for the motor or light or whatever to get over inrush current and settle down before we go and set off the overcurrent alarm and shut things down.
Yeah, I got it fixed- problem was a broken bakelight terminal strip where someone had overtightened a screw. I made sure to do it right, too. This one deserved good treatment, after so much time on the job. I hope one day- a long time from now- when the old girl is finally retired, they have the decency to give her to the a museum or at least send her home with someone who cares. They don't make 'em like that any more.
Today is the National Day of Prayer.
I tell you this so you'll know, since the Anointed One has seen fit to ignore any mention of prayer not directed to him.
If ever our country needed the power of prayer, it is today. I urge each and every person reading this to take a few minutes today, find a quiet spot, and ask God's forgiveness for our sins, as individuals, and families, and as a country.
Ask God to give us guidance in these difficult days, and to help us to turn back to him.
Only then can God bless us as a country, and restore us to the nation we once were.
Rumor is that the good folks in Raleigh are burning the midnight oil tonight to try and get the NC gasoline tax- already the highest in the southeast, and 3rd highest in the continental US- raised again. Not only that, they want to change the maximum tax allowed to become the minimum tax. Next time you fill up, try and look for the sticker on the pump that tells you how much you pay per gallon to the Feds and the state for gas, and figure out how much gas would be without that tax. Oh, and let us not forget: that is the tax levied on the final product. That doesn't include the hundreds- if not thousands- of hidden taxes along the line. You know, taxes on the equipment that drilled it, on the wages for the workers, the pipleline fees, corporate taxes (US corporate tax rate is the second highest in the world.) Highway taxes on the tankers that delivered it, on the drivers salary that pumped it, and even the poor underpaid clerk behind the counter. Yep, you get to pay all of those. And it's still not enough for those greedy pigs who do nothing but pass laws to look good and steal us blind. Have you noticed the roads are a bit rougher lately? That bridge that's been looking a bit old getting worse? Don't look for it to get fixed anytime soon. Not to worry, though: I'm sure Gov. Beverly won't notice in the taxpayer paid helicopter, or the limo. They ride pretty nice.
Me, I'm still buying my gas across the line in Virginia, just like most folks in Charlotte wander down into SC once a week to fill up cheap, and buy some fireworks. You see, when you overtax things, people buy less of it, or buy it somewhere where it isn't taxed so much. Apparently, some of the great wise leaders in Raliegh missed economics 101. Perhaps next election cycle we can help them find some spare time to take a make up class.
