The Wandering Minstrel

Apparently, a local financial firm that includes the word ‘liberty’ in their name, is doing a media blitz to entice folks into their tax-preparation program. We saw three of these costumes today when we took a round trip to the in-laws place. One of them was actually a female in the costume, but the other two were swarthy-looking dudes with black mustaches. Sort of a ’señorito de la libertad’ thing going on.

I hope the finance firm does a better job with their tax-preparation services than they do at recruiting would-be lady liberty impersonators. Otherwise, picture a bunch of little ‘Tim Geithners’ running around as a result.

When I looked at the photo below, I thought it had a sort of feng shui, you know, a calming effect - a metaphorical balance between wind and water, or a pleasing arrangement of objects.

However, a closer look at the geometrical symmetry made me rethink the symbolism. It is more like Yin Yang . . .

The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the ’shady place’ or ‘north slope’) is the dark area occluded by the mountain’s bulk, while yang (literally the ’sunny place’ or ’south slope’) is the brightly lit portion.

Well, whatever. I still feel calmed when I have one (or both) close at hand.

I wondered why one of my Remington shotguns has a choke while the other doesn’t. Not being a hunting enthusiast, I was only vaguely aware that different chokes are available for various game options. The security shotgun, which has no choke, doesn’t require one because of its generally close range application.

I Googled ’shotgun chokes’ on the web and found out a few things about them:

A choke is a constricting device inserted in the end of the shotgun barrel. It forces the shot pellets together just before they exit. The idea is to have a dense pattern at the range of the target.

Improved Cylinder Chokes are for close shots, usually under 20 yards. A Modified Choke is for 20-30 yards, and is the most common. The Full Choke is for 30+ yards.

Most Remington shotguns come with a Modified Choke, and there should be no reason to change it unless you need a Full Choke or an Improved Cylinder Choke for the type of sport shooting or hunting you will be doing.

If your shotgun has a choke, you should remove it for cleaning and lube after each shooting session.

UPDATE: We made the Roundup again!

That the Washington Post is biased?

Byron York in National Review’s “The Corner:”

In 2001, during the confirmation of John Ashcroft to be attorney general, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee forced a one-week delay in the committee’s vote on Ashcroft, saying there had not been enough time to answer all the questions about the nomination. On January 24, 2001, the Washington Post reported the story under the following headline: Vote On Ashcroft Is Delayed A Week; Democrats Cite Need for More Review. Yesterday, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee did precisely the same thing for the nomination of Eric Holder to be attorney general. Today, the Washington Post is reporting the story under the following headline: Republicans Obstruct Holder’s Path to Justice Department.

Update: I originally had AP as the culprit for this - however the Washington Post is to blame for this specific instance of bias. AP is still a biased bunch of liars as well.

The better half told me that ‘cargo pants’ and ‘cargo shorts’ were in style, so we went out to one of those deep discount stores that sells all that imported Chinese shit and bought a few pairs. I couldn’t give a rip about ’style,’ but I found that they are pretty handy when I need to carry ‘Fat Man,’ ‘Little Boy,’ ‘Jerry Lee,’ two shotguns and a crap load of magazines from the cleanup area to the safe. With the six roomy pockets, I can take all the stuff in one trip.

Hint: when cleaning the guns, do not wear light colored pants like those shown; gun residue and cleaning fluids seem to be attracted to the light colors.

Below: ‘Fat Man’ in the starboard cargo pocket.

SCORECARD FOR DAY ONE:

Here’s something to think about . . .

This is a picture of the lineup extending out of the door at the local Department of Motor Vehicles. This is not an unusual occurrence for this government-run facility. Lines like this are also not unusual at the post office, the social security office and many other government-run bureaucracies.

Just imagine going to a state-operated health care facility after Democrats finish putting their “health care for all” under government control.

I sent a silhouette target a distance of about seven yards downrange today and tried the one round per second on the nose drill. The idea is to aim for the nasal cavity and squeeze off a round and repeat within a second. I managed to get all 10 rounds in the black. One was a trifle low and came close to giving the target a tracheotomy - it was the only round that missed the headbone.

I used the isosceles stance, shooting right-handed with arms almost fully extended with the long axis of the Glock 30 (Fat Man) in line with the right forearm. I practice this drill in hopes that someday I will be able to get all 10 rounds within a three-inch circle of the nose at seven yards. I have a ways to go, but I’m not discouraged.

UPDATE: Thanks to Liberty Sphere for the Roundup link back to this post.