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Showing posts from September, 2020

To Mask or Not to Mask

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Brother Dick and his bride Holly are staying with us for a few weeks, we're headed out west and they've offered to watch Peanut... score! I almost titled this "Weekend in Cali", but ...  I can't get over the mask issue. This is my second time flying during the Wuhan Virus BS, and dealing with the mask in airports and on the planes.   Basically, from the time you enter the airport to the time you exit the destination airport, they want that mask on you to include while in the air.  Now, you have to remove it to eat and drink, but apparently between bites they want it back on.  Sorry; nope.  As soon as I sat down in the terminal or the plane, I was taking mine off until 'reminded' to put it back on ... then .. repeat as necessary.  But what really got me was what I saw in California once on the ground.     This trip was to visit our daughter in SoCal for her birthday.  We booked a Marriott property as always and she was our chauffeur for the extended weekend

Gun Facts ....... Live by Them!

 On Oldie but Goodie!!!  Had to share out there for the world Some words to the wise. Shooting Advice from various Concealed Carry Instructors. If you own a gun, you will appreciate this. If not, you should get one and learn how to use it:   ●Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians. ●It's always better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. ●Cops carry guns to protect themselves, not you. ●Never let someone or something that threatens you get inside arms length. ●Never say "I've got a gun." If you need to use deadly force, the first sound they hear should be the safety clicking off. (I prefer the sound of a round being chambered when you load a shotgun) ●The average response time of a 911 call is 23 minutes, the response time of a .357 is 1400 feet per second. ●The most important rule in a gunfight is: Always win - cheat if necessary. ●Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets . . . You may get killed with your own gun, but he'll have to beat yo

Dodged Bullet #4

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 This is a record year so far with Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.  Think I read somewhere that it's been since 1919 since they've had this many?   And, we've got another 40 days or so to go!  Year 2020 has been .. interesting  ... to say the least! I wrote about the other Three Bullets a few weeks ago.    This past week, we had to deal with Tropical Storm Beta.  Wait....Beta?   That's a first, running out of names that I can remember in my lifetime.  Though we didn't get a direct hit on the Island of Galveston, that ocean waters were a churning and did a lot of damage on the beaches.  The city has spent millions and millions the last few years on the east side of the Island restoring beaches. I have no idea if that work was affected or not, though I assume so looking at what happened on the west side (where I live) of the Island.   This video gives an overview of the restoration several years ago.   The bad news is .. we just lost about 6'

"Dreams List"

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Going through my file cabinet yesterday and came across a folder I'd forgotten about labeled "Financial Blue Print".  Over the years, especially around the my last few years in the military I read a lot of books on Finances and on Investing.  More than a few motivational books as well.  This is a few years before I stumbled across David Ramsey and his ideas.  One of the things many of them do is have you put your ideas on paper to give you a target(s) to pursue.   Well, there in the folder were two lists.   I apparently made them at different times since they overlap.   My hand writing is as shitty as it was back then ...... still ....  I'd forgotten about these. Rereading them all brings back of rush of memories.  They aren't dated but I'm guessing they were written in the early / late 90s based off a few items....    The Dreams List 1. Beautiful House paid for 2. Nice Wardrobe 3. Corvette 4. Own my own business 5. Sharp car / paid off 6. Large retirement fun

Cherokee got some new mocassins

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Back in '99 ... picked up a '00 Grand Cherokee.  Was on a budget so didn't get the version I really wanted.  Drove that a 100k miles but ....  always 'wished' I'd gotten the model with the leather interior.  The sunroof.  The V8 motor. Still for the next several years we drove that sucker pretty much everywhere .. then... traded it off. '80 CJ5, '00 TJ Sahara, '00 Grand Cherokee Decade later picked up a '14 Grand Cherokee Outlander model.  But this time....   Hemi V8.  All leather.  Sunroof.  Then ripped out the exhaust and had an X Pipe setup w/ dual mufflers. Damned that sounded bad-ass.  And, over 20mpg on the highway doing 80mph w/ the cruise.   Yes! '14 Loaded As we came up on 50k miles, we got a wild hair up our asses and traded up to a  '17 Grand Cherokee Summit model. Pretty similar to the previous, but white instead of black.  Few more options since this was the top end luxury model .. but essentially the same. Icing on the cak