Airplanes!

MOAR PLANES!

Fly In

We have had a busy morning. Boy-o and I went to a fly-in and breakfast hosted by the local aviation club this morning. There were plenty of beautiful birds, and even a ( I think) Blackhawk from the local military base came by to show off. My pop met us there, and even bought breakfast. Thanks, pop! It was a helluva time, and watching that military boy show off was really something. He knew how to put that helicopter through it's paces.

Bug Day

After the air show, I met my sister and her boyfriend and his kids at a local venue that was hosting a bug day. It's a chance to expose children to the insect world, and Boy-o really seemed to enjoy himself. We are now back home relaxing and washing clothes, waiting on sister's boyfriend to come by so that the kids can play on the slip-n-slide.

WHEW! It's been a busy morning!

.357

To regular readers, it should come as no surprise that I am an outspoken, unabashed fan of the .357 Magnum. Loaded hot, and shot from a rifle, it can almost match performance with the venerable .30-30 Winchester. Using it's smaller brother,  the .38 Special, it can be loaded light and can be easily managed by novices with the smallest and lightest of handguns. The .38/.357 family of cartridges is one of the most versatile. Loadings can be readily tailored to suit any need from plinking to defense to harvesting game. It's even relatively easy to make shot she'll loads for the .357, although they are admittedly of little use beyond a few yards.

Few individuals outside of war zones (and some within them, I'd bet) feel under gunned with a .357 revolver on their hip. Mine has ridden hundreds (thousands?) Of miles tucked between the seats of my vehicle. A .357 revolver on a dark road, standing next to a broken down truck is a comfort when waiting for a friend to arrive with a tow-strap.

It is also comforting to know that your rifle is up to the job when hunting deer in the thicket-clogged woods I live in. Unless you are on a pipeline, 100 yards is a long shot in North Central Louisiana. A light, short lever-action with iron sights is perfect for stalking white-tails. It is comfortable to carry, rugged, and perfect for snap shooting. If you choose your bullet loading with care, you can place 158 grains of lead, traveling at velocities within 50 f.p.s. of a .30-30 hunting load, into a 6 inch circle at 100 yards. That is easily sufficient to make meat.

If ever I am faced with a need to bug out, circumstance may dictate which of my guns I can bring, and which I'd have to leave behind... but even if I was walking, with nothing more than what I cold carry on my back, I know two firearms that would definitely make the trip.

Clean Livin'

For the last few weeks, I have been thinking about my lifestyle. I have multiple things in my life that are bad for my health. I drink beer daily,  I smoke a pipe,  I eat what I like with little concern for it's healthiness, and I live a sedentary lifestyle. You see, since I got out of police academy, where I dropped 2 pants sizes, I've been relatively the same size. That was 2 years ago. I noticed the other day that my pants are a bit snug. Not uncomfortable,  but unchecked they will be in 6 months.

I decided that I can't give up smoking at this juncture, and if I had to change my diet I would be miserable. My choice made itself. Staying in my current pants size and possibly even trimming down is worth giving up some beer and starting exercising again.

Last week, I told my wife my plan. She was kinda shocked. I'm not exactly a health nut, so this is big for me. The plan is, Monday through Thursday,  run a mile, increasing by 1 block a week, followed by an exercise routine including push-ups, burpees, crunches, jumping jacks, bridges, and other stuff. It will vary slightly weekly, and reps will increase over time. Monday through Thursday I will also abstain from alcohol consumption.

Today starts the second week, and it's beginning to become a natural part of the routine. I don't exactly look forward to it, but I am becoming used to it.

This is the first time in my life that I've voluntarily exercised,  for no other reason than I wanted to for my health. It's also the first time in my adult life that I've voluntarily curbed my drinking. Now, I have no problem going weeks without drinking, and have plenty of times, but this is the first time that I've made a conscious decision to not drink (x) number of days a week.

I'm hoping that because this is voluntary,  and I actually WANT to do this, that it will stick. Get healthy, lose weight, all that jazz.

And, ya know, I'm feeling pretty optimistic about my success in this endeavor.

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.