Blogroll Additions

So, I have a couple blogroll additions.

Top of the Chain, A man with opposeable thumbs

and

Keep Texas Zombie Free

TotCh left a nice comment and led me on through the rabbit hole to KTZF. Gotta say I like the way these guys think.

The inmates are running the asylum

So, I'm in Austin visiting and on the news this morning was a report that the Austin Fire Chief had ordered that Fire Engines responding to emergencies could not exceed the speed limit and must come to a complete stop at all intersections. The firefighters union was fighting this and had won some concessions. Is this person INSANE? Their reasoning is that, it is for the safety of the public to prevent accidents while responding to emergencies. I will admit that this does happen but it is a rare thing. Most emergency vehicle operators follow state law which requires that they exercise due regard when running code. Most are even better than that and are actively looking for the idiots out there who are too self absorbed to be bothered to move out of the way safely. While there are some exceptions and collisions do occur due to the EVO not paying adequate attention or more likely some dumbass not yeilding when they should because they are more important that anything the emergency vehicle may be up to, the answer is not to make the emergency vehicles slow down and stop.

This would be like banning lawful gun ownership because someone may have an accident with them or some dumbass does something stupid and shoots someone else.

Oh, wait, never mind.

It would be like modifying cops guns to have stupid heavy trigger pulls like the old double action revolvers they used to carry instead of training the officers to keep their finger off the trigger till they are ready to shoot.

Oh, wait, never mind.

Todays mini rant brought to you by the words "dumbass" and "oh, wait, never mind."

Having operated emergency vehicles, namely Fire Engines and Ambulances, since 1980, I can say with all authority that this has got to be one of the stupidest over reactions I have ever run across. Austin Fire is staffed with some of the most professional and safest operators out there and they have a very good program of training new operators so the idea that they have to limit them in their response to "protect the public" is just insane.

Of People Past and History

12 years ago this week, my Mom called me in the middle of the night to tell me that they just admitted my Dad to ICU. Colon Cancer caught too late and Chemo had torn him up. He passed that morning. My sister just called to say they were admitting my Mom to ICU. Stupid high fever and low O2 Sat of unknown cause. This is not good Deja vu. Gotta go home and pack.

FRIDAY AM UPDATE:
Drove over this morning. She's still in PCU/Isolation. Double Pneumonia with another currently unknown infection. They're doing all kinds of bloodwork to try and identify. Meanwhile, she's resting and we are sitting around in gowns and gloves waiting.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE:
So, Isolation is over. They are no longer worried that she is infectious. It is amazing what two days of O2, IV Antibiotics and Steroids can do for someone. She's still not anywhere near getting out but not anywhere near critical either. More tests and x-rays and we'll see how today goes.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON:
One step forward two steps back. She regressed last night and they are trying to get a line started again. SubClavian or a PIC since normal sticks are just blowing out. Main reason they really want to get this line established is that they are now working on Congestive Heart Failure! Cardiologist should be in in the morning when they do an echo cardiogram. I probably should not have left and come back home.

Range Goodness

Yesterday was Beyond the Basics. As an added treat, we had Dave Re of DR Performance (IPSC Grand Master) out to help. He brought along with him some of his poker card practice decks. This is a set of playing cards that have practice drills on them so you can randomly select drills to work on. That way you do not focus too much on stuff you are good at and avoid stuff you should really be practicing. It also adds some randomness to your practice to make it more interesting and help you learn and ingrain skills better. I picked up a set and have looked through them but have not had a chance to go out and practice with them yet. Give m a break I just got them yesterday after teaching all day. I have to say I am looking forward to going out and trying them. The drills look interesting and simple enough to setup and may even help get me back into competing instead of just teaching.

We shall see ..............

Random Aircraft Sightings

So, at lunchtime this beautiful YAK 18 showed up at the airport. At quitting time they were moving it and tying it down for the night. My cell phone picture does not do it justice. Especially the paint. This thing glows!

Hold the Pig Steady - Part DUEX

So, it has been asked about what is inappropriate and to whom. Well, the short answer is me! No overt hate racism, rape, anti-cop, etc., is the road I will not let this go down.

There are some good entries and another on the way. Can't wait to see what else pops up.

So, go there and put in your entry. Even if it is not a complete song but just a few lines. Play off something someone else has already started and carry on with an idea or thread.

Monster Hunter International

Just to let y'all know, I am a huge fan of not only MHI but Larry's past writings on THR. MHI is definitely in the top tier of my book collection. To qualify that last statement, here is a picture of one of the five bookshelves in the library at casa de gungeek. Yes that is a Monster book of Monsters on the shelf above the MHI books. It's misbeHaven's!

So, if you haven't already, GO BUY THE BOOK! This is one story that will suck you in and not let go till you are through it. Then it will beckon you back when you least expect it. If you want an autographed copy, go to Larry's site and order one from him directly.

Hold the Pig Steady

In honor of Larry Correia and the published release of Monster Hunter International, with Larry's blessing, I am having a contest to write the words to "Hold the Pig Steady". Prizes to include, Eternal Glory and MHI Lore Fame. A group effort may work as people can feed off each others creative juices. So, run free in comments and let's have a good time with this. I have a band lined up to perform the song as well as composers for the music, just need words. Larry has final rights to approve the finished product so it needs to kick in the end.

ROCK ON!

EDIT TO UPDATE:
If you think the voices in your head are telling you to write something that might be inappropriate, send them to me directly. john at krtraining dot com and I will have a look. Anything in comments that IS inappropriate will get deleted.

UPDATED UPDATE:
see part DUEX for more on the inappropriate.

Evacuation Orders

Well, there is a chemical fire north of town and the evacuation orders keep expanding south. While they haven't reached us yet, the border is the north limit of the airport grounds and the designated shelter is on the primary route home. So, I'm bugging out early and taking alternate route that goes south first. Wheeeeeeee. misbeHaven is supposed to be driving to Austin this evening which means driving west on Hwy21. Which is where the fire is and the road is CLOSED. Not going tonight even by an alternate route.

UPDATE: The entire city of Bryan TX is under an evacuation order and the cloud is drifting south into College Station. 10 people in hospital so far and we shall see where things go. Fortunately we are far enough out of town that it should not be an issue for us here at Casa de Geek.

Called a friend earlier that works out by the chemical plant that is burning and lives in the evacuation zone. He's in Vegas at a conference!

The entire county is mobilized and the decision is to let it burn. They can't get people in to fight it because of the chemicals involved and the location so they are waiting it out and letting the plant burn. Have to wait and see how long this drags on. University may be closed tomorrow from the way they are talking on the TV at the moment.

Serious Dweeb Geek Humor

So, in searching for a Laser Surface Deflection Measurement Device at work, I came across this publication titled Rotation of Microscopic Propellers in Laser Tweezers. You gotta be a serious photonics or nano-machinery geek like I am to really enjoy it, but just the title was enough to set off my gigglebox.

Media Bias Rant

Last week, a liquor store owner was shot and killed during a supposed armed robbery. Big news this morning was that the local PD had found the van used in the getaway and were still searching for the gun taken from the store during the robbery(sic). No mention of the search for the sub human piece of trash who murdered a good man over a few bucks. The concern was to get that gun off the streets not get the crap sack who has no respect for others lives. What is wrong with peoples priorities? (Don't answer that)

Defensive PIstol Skills

Saturday was all range goodness. We did a Defensive Pistol Skills 2 class and tried not to cook any students. IT was a long hot morning but everyone made it through with just a couple taking time out to catch back up on hydration and rest. Shooting on the move and effective use of cover were big topics of the day among other things. Running stages at the end of class where students can put it all to use showed people need to practice more to get these skills ingrained. We dump a lot of different skills and drills on them and it is up to the student to carry on with practice so they can get the skills down.
A good day on the range!

Random Aircraft Sighting

Last night, a Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian was at the airport late and was still sitting here this morning. Then at lunch today, this EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry showed up and disgorged work crews and equipment. The Guardian is inside one of the hangers behind where the Sentry is parked so it seems pretty obvious the Guardian had issues and they flew in a maintenance crew to deal with it. I really think these mini-hurcs are cute. I wonder if they grow when watered?

Defensive Long Gun

So, Saturday was Defensive Long Gun class. While many schools specialize classes to shotgun or carbine, we approach it from the attitude that the task at hand is the same regardless of what you are armed with so you need to deal with the situation as appropriate with your weapon platform. The drills are run with the various guns on the line so everyone has to solve the same problem and learn the same skills. It also allows everyone to see the various ways of dealing with the problem and the advantages and disadvantages of the various guns in various situations.

Hot it was. Students showed up mainly with AR's but there were a couple shotguns as well as pistol caliber carbine. Despite the heat everyone stuck it out. Good class. Scenarios went well too. One student made themselves so small behind the bed that the bad guy had to step way into the bedroom to get any kind of sight picture and by then he was shot to pieces. Bonus points to the student for getting that small and out of sight.

One lesson learned, even when it is dead calm out, when you put out a portable shade stand, anchor it down as if a hurricane is coming. A freak gust of wind / down burst strong enough to blow over steel targets and barricades yanked the stand up and carried it over the berm to the next shooting bay! All of this in clear sky with blinding sunshine.

Otherwise, it was off to home to recover and paint. More on that as it happens, just think Peach. Even with only a small portion of the kitchen painted it is already much lighter in there. Can't wait to finish and get the lights changed out.

Life Gets in the Way

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Remember that generator bearing failure? Well, things spiraled out of control from there. After getting the generator back and new main bearings installed we had to run double shifts to try and catch up. That meant taxing other systems harder than normal. Let's just say we found a few things that had weak spots in them. Finally we had two days this past week where nothing major went wrong. That was nice.
On the home front, there is always stuff to do here. Like closing in that cased opening between the kitchen and formal reloading room. Getting the house in some sort of presentable shape for a series of out of town visitors. Still trying to get stuff moved in from storage as we get various rooms finished remodeling. It just goes on and on. Need to get the new bed in the guest bedroom situated for the visitors.

Did I mention the promotion at work? Longer hours and more responsibilities, YEAH! And of course, I am now back to being exempt from having a life. I was exempt at one time and went back to hourly when we moved here. Now I'm back in an exempt position. Should be an interesting time.