Robots

My son is obsessed with robots. We buy the robot 'kits' from Hobby Lobby, and he loves assembling pre-made 'tin can' robots and 'sweeperbots'. They move with a simple battery pack, and entertain him to no end. He loves 'em. Invariably, though, he tears them apart to scavenge pieces for his "latest invention" (his words), and brings forth a ball of servos, tape and wiring that does nothing. We encourage, he is crestfallen, wash, rinse, repeat. For a year, we have been putting pieces of disassembled robots in a box in his room.

For the last two days, he's been obsessed with a 'drawing robot', and has been frantically building.

I'll be damned.

My 5-year-old built a robot.

Picnic Day

March Encampment

I finally got back to a reenactment today. I'm too bushed to go into detail, but I had a blast.

Here's a photo of my reenacting family sharing a meal at the end of the day. Sorry for the quality, time was a cell phone pic, hastily snapped indoors, with no lighting.

Lundi Gras (Fat Monday)

Lundi Gras is a relatively new tradition in the celebration-soaked New Orleans. The term was coined some time in the 70's or 80's, referring to specific riverside festivities that occurred the day before Mardi Gras in the Big Easy.

In Cajun country, the southern central part of the state surrounding places like Eunice, Mamou, and Ville Platte, traditional Mardi Gras is still observed with couriers riding the countryside, begging foodstuffs from the locals so that a community gumbo can be made at the end of their ride.

Lundi Gras is a day that the couriers drink, enjoy each other's company, eat heartily, and try to form a loose plan of the routes that various groups will use, so as not to ask the same farmers 8 times for chickens. In a way, Lundi Gras is the courier's celebration. Make no mistake, while Mardi Gras is fun for the couriers, 15 hours on horseback can be grueling. On Mardi gras, the couriers work.

In honor of the upcoming Louisiana state holiday, today, on Lundi Gras, I made a gumbo, and bought a King Cake from the store. We dined on the finest of Louisiana delicacies, and listened to Cajun music.

By the way, if you've never heard Dewey Balfa play fiddlesticks, you have NO IDEA what Cajun music is all about.

Enjoy your Mardi Gras, however you choose to spend it.

Range Bag

A few weeks ago, my dad found a good deal on range bags. He bought 4 of 'em, 1 for him, and one each for me and my brothers. That's the way my dad does birthday presents, finding something we'd like, and buying it, with little regard if it's actually anywhere near our birthday. One of my brothers had his birthday in February, but me and my oldest brother got early birthday gifts. I won't expect anything from my father in July, but the old man hit it out of the park with my early birthday present, anyway.

I've been using a Dewalt tool bag as a range bag for a few years, and as a improvised bag, it's worked great. It's big, carries a lot, and definitely won't be confused with anyone else's on the line. Everything ends up in the bottom, though, and there's no good way to organize at.

My new bag has tons of pockets and dividers, with dedicated magazine pouches (one of which is an excellent place for a multi-tool, BTW). It carries tons of ammo, you can put 4 handguns in it in different places so that they don't rub and scratch each other.

Verdict? You did great, pop! Thanks for the bag!

New Wheels

Picked up a 2000 model Ford Ranger last night. It's 14 years old, but only has 76000 miles on it. The engine is very clean, with very little buildup under the oil filler cap, and the transmission fluid is bright with no debris in it.  The couple selling it is moving to Japan in 3 weeks, so I got it for a song.

The list of negatives? Well, they're mostly nit-picky stuff, but:

Passenger side bed rail the clear coat is flaking.
No cruise control.
Bad cabin light switch in passenger door.
Small leak in power steering reservoir.

Plusses?

Low mileage
New tires
Extended cab, 4 door
Low mileage
Great price
V-6
Low mileage
Well-maintained
AND
Low mileage

I'm going to the DMV probably tomorrow to finish filing the requisite paperwork, but I'm happy to have a clean little pickup again.