The Wandering Minstrel

Perhaps the whacko hoplophobes in the Kalifornistan Legislature realize that a complete ban of open carry would result in litigation from the likes of CRPA, the NRA and the 2AF. Nah! They will go ahead and test the waters regardless of how much it costs the taxpayers over there.

We are glad that we made the move to a Constitution-observing state. We still have to go to the L.A.area to visit family and tend to our property. If open carry is our only option, then so be it.

From Gun Owners of California:

8/30:AB 144 sent to the inactive file in the Senate….making it 99% dead for 2011!!

Just the day before the above report, GOC reported the following regarding AB 144:

In the Senate, regarding AB 144, Assemblyman Portantino’s ban on open carry, rumors are that it will probably not be heard until sometime during the last week of the session (next week) but we’ve heard that before. Scuttlebutt is that the Assemblyman is trying to put together some sort of a press conference which would seem to indicate that he is definitely planning on having Senator Kevin de Leon (surprise, surprise) jockey the bill in the upper house soon.

De Leon is always at the center of anti-gun issues in the legislature.

Why didn’t these idiots just go to BATFE instead of destroying private property? I’m sure that in a border state like Kalifornistan, they would be happy to run a few more guns out on the streets.

From The South Bay Daily Disease Breeze . . .

CERRITOS - Someone slammed a Chevrolet van into a Cerritos gun store today in what sheriff’s investigators called an unsuccessful attempt to steal firearms from the shop.

Image - facsimile shown (this is not the actual van in question)

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the Ammo Bros. store at 15979 Piuma Ave. at 4:40 a.m., and found a blue and white 1984 van crashed into the front doors of the shop. The crash, however, didn’t cause enough damage to the gated front entrance allow the suspects inside the store, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

“Due to the nature of the crime, where the suspects were presumably targeting firearms, detectives are actively investigating the incident,” said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Harpham.

Detectives were searching for two or three male suspects. Sheriff’s officials said a gray sedan and champagne-colored Ford Excursion may have been used as getaway vehicles.

I happened to come across this Garmin GPS video at Gulf Coast Avionics. This is a high-end integrated avionics package with a multi-functional display for general aviation aircraft. This system is reminiscent of some of the military avionics packages that I worked on at the aerospace mill about fifteen years ago.

This system virtually replaces everything in your avionics COM/NAV stack. You can have one installed in your aircraft for only $18K.

Here’s a blurb from the Gulf Coast website:

The New Garmin GTN 750 from Gulf Coast Avionics is the pilots choice for affordable, feature rich, and quality GPS/NAV/COMM multifunction display systems. The GTN 750 has huge 6 inch tall touchscreen display that allows for large, easy access menu options, quick and effortless navigation, and high detailed graphics. With features such as terrain mapping, graphical flight planning, in depth geo-referenced charting, air traffic display, satellite weather and tons more this system is perfect for any aircraft.

This morning, I contacted our congressman using the NRA-ILA Elected Officials contact webpage. I urged the congressman to support a bill coming before the House of Representatives. The bill is the Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) bill H. R. 822, The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act Of 2011.

Using the contact really simple - you just input your zip code and select State or Local politicians. When the next page comes up, you can choose your legislator and get on to the contact page where you can compose your message. You can choose “email” or “send a letter” options.

Now, why not just get your representative tuned in to the fact that National CCW is a good idea, starting with support for H. R. 822?

The Better Half and I are one step closer to obtaining our Arizona CCW permits. We went to the training class this morning which consisted of firearm handling and shooting safety, firearm parts and their operation, ammunition and its function, shooting fundamentals and firearm selection, cleaning and storage. They also briefed the class on Arizona firearms laws and interfacing with law enforcement for the last hour.

I asked if the reduced CCW training requirements would affect reciprocity with other states. The answer was it would not affect reciprocity for either states with formal agreements or states that informally honor Arizona permits. They admonished us to check the laws every time we venture into other states since things can change.

During the class, the staff called individuals to a podium where we got fingerprinted. We got all the forms and materials needed to mail to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. All that goes into the USPS on Monday. And then the wait begins for the permits to arrive.

I went out to walk the dogs, Scratch ‘n’ Sniff, at about 3:30 this afternoon and casually snapped this image of our patio digital thermometer. But it’s a dry heat.

We had to head down US 60 today to the Valley Metro Area. Every once in a while, we have to leave our little enclave here in the country to go and get some provisions from the big city.

We had a list of things that we needed to get plus we scored a few other things to re-stock the freezer in the garage. I bought a pork loin and some pork baby back ribs. I divided the ribs into two slabs and packed them into vacuum freezer packs for later consumption. I carved the loin into several chops, a couple of thicker chops for stuffed pork loin and another couple of petite roast chunks for making pulled pork sandwiches or carnitas burritos at a later time. As it is, we don’t need to go there again for a while, although next week we may go and look at some furniture for the office.

We pity the folks that abstain from pork. And, we pity even more those that abstain from meat.

The Better Half took this (clickable) image of a classic old 1973 Buick convertible while I went into check the PO box. The interior of this nice ride is very comfy-looking brown leather. It warms my heart to see that someone still drives these big heavy cars with the big engine under the hood.