Gun Nut take 2

Thinking about how I became a gun nut for the last post has got me thinking about the ride in general and how it has changed me . . .


As I said in the last post my trip to a Northeast Blogger shoot is probably what got me really into being a gun nut. It was a very interesting day. I packed up the guns I had and some ammo and headed to this shoot. . . probably a bit nuts but I did it. I didn’t know where I was going in the woods of NH, didn’t know any of the people I would meet, and I did know they would all have guns. . . . what was I nuts or something???

Anyway it was a great time and I met a bunch of great folks. The best part was not the guns (but that was fun!) The best part was the friends I made and that they challenged my thinking on many things. Up until this point I did not carry a gun, I had my permit to but didn’t. I had also not really thought too much about buying more guns beyond what I had.

All this changed that.

These folks were mostly into carrying, and they had good reasons to – self protection, protection of the family, and support of our rights. . . .

This started me on a new way to look at many things. Now I have a second degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and I have spent years studying other martial arts as well, I never thought I would need a gun. Then I went to a blogger dinner. Again great people, thoughtful conversation on guns, hobbies, family and politics that made me think more. Then on the way to my car I attracted the attention of a bunch of teens hanging out late night . . . I gut lucky and ignoring them worked but it made me think – 5 on 1 was not good, and even with Karate I was going to get hurt or loose that one. . . . . ever since I have been carrying whenever I can.

But I have been saying they make me think. . . . and that has changed many things.

As we discussed politics and gun rights with these folks I found that they were looking at a much bigger picture than I was. Gun rights are great on their own, but they also show you where a person stands on many things. These folks were pro gun but they also made a good solid argument that to support our right to bear arms against the liberals we also had to support all of the Constitution from government infringement, not just the Second Amendment. This was a new idea to me and lead to much thinking on my part.

I rather quickly realized that they were right. I could not pick and choose what rights I would support out of the Constitution or all would be lost. This lead me to shift from being rather conservative to being more of a libertarian/Constitutionalist. I went from being against things like Gay Marriage to saying I had to support their rights and protect the Constitution. If I supported the government getting into Gay Marriage then what else would they get into? I took a new look at what the government was doing on the drug war, and how they were treating our kids in schools with No Tolerance rules and laws. . . and I didn’t like what I was seeing.

My eyes were starting to open as to what the Constitution said and what the government (both Parties) were actually doing. I could see how they have for years been slowly moving away from our Constitution and our founding fathers ideal of what the USA was and pushing us toward bigger and bigger government, more and more government control of our lives. I could also see how this was a big contributor to the mess we are in now.

Big government, more control of our lives, more taxes, more jobs lost and more jobs moved over seas. . . . More spending on welfare, more lack of any personal accountability or responsibility. More poor, more division between have and have not. None of this was good and we have to get involved, vote, and make sure our elected officials know we are watching them and we want our country back – No, we are taking it back! They work for us, not the other way around.

Another change in me from the gun nut exposure is I am now more aware of what is going on around me all the time. I no longer wander through life lost in my own thoughts. I pay attention to what is around me. This has changed many things down to what I put in my pockets on the way out the door. I now won’t leave the house without my knife, a flashlight and my dad’s old lighter. I also carry a multi tool and a gun when I can. I have tools on me in case I need them. I no longer assume all is well so it will stay that way. I prepare for what if’s. I can’t tell you how handy that knife, light and multi tool have been.

And I blame all of this on becoming a gun nut. It has made me a better person and a better citizen. And I credit this on the gun nuts I have meet – some on line and some in person - who have shown me how to be that better person. . .

Road Trip

I just got back from a quick overnight in TN.  It was a successful business trip but opened my eyes a bit to.  Now I normally carry a gun when I am home, I always have at least a knife on me.  For this trip, due to the short time and need to do quick transfers I didn't take anything I couldn't carry on the plane.

Than means I spend almost two days in Memphis with nothing on me for weapons.  I didn't think this was an issues at the time but it felt weird when I was there.  I felt like something was missing, I was missing something. . .

It is strange how we become so accustom to having tools on us that we don't notice when we have them, but we sure do notice when we don't. . . .

Merry Christmas To You All

Here is hoping that you all have a happy and Merry Christmas. I hope you get to spend the day safe and warm with your family and friends.

And to all the troops out there that won't a very speical THANK YOU for making it so my family is safe and warm! May you come home safe and soon!

Masons

Well I got my notification this week, just have not had a chance to blog it yet. . . .. I got accepted in to our local lodge. Training starts next week.

I am excited about this for a few reasons - and no the national treasure or world domination are not them . . . . but would be nice = )

No actually I am psyched because my grandfather was a Mason and he crossed over when I was a kid, no more than 13 on my birthday. I was close to him as he lived with us. I think he is where I got my insane want to be an engineer from. . . .

anyhow I think it is cool to be following in his footsteps so this should be a great adventure.

I also like the fact that they do lots of good charitable work and it is all behind the scenes. You probable know about the Shriner's Hospitals that are Masonic. They also do a lot to help the local community from the schools and local families on up. All in all it is a way to give back some for all the good luck I have had in life.

I also have one friend in the Lodge that is pushing me to try it and telling me about all the great folks he has met so that helps too.

Home Sweet Home

Well I made it. Survived my week in NJ on business. Now that I am home I can relax a bit. We were going non stop all week. Did a full day of work then my boss knew the area and where the good food was so we were off to dinner . . . usualy did not get back to the hotel til about 8 and stufffed to the gills with food. . . .

I got to see the important shows like NCIS and LOST but I have to admit I was going through History/Military channel withdrawal. . .

But now I am home and happily watching a show on the battle of Fredricksburg in the Civil War.

Yes, my name is JD and I am a geek. . . .

Masons

Have you ever gotten the feeling you are just supposed to do something?

I have been thinking about trying to join the Masons for a while now. I almost joined last year but bailed due to work and not being able to get to the meetings without killing myself trying to get home. . . .

Well now I have a new job and I can get home in time for the meetings. One of my friends who is a member gave me an application and I filled it out and sent it in. I didn't hear anything for a few weeks. Even my friend was surprised I had not heard from them.

Well, yesterday I not only got contacted about the interview to join, but my Mom also found my Grandfathers Mason's ring that I thought was lost along with a bunch of his Mason stuff like tie tacks and cuff links.

Sometimes you just have to think things happen for a reason. . .

Ostara! Ya Hoo

Happy Spring folks!

as of 7:44 EST. . .

we made it through the winter!

Mom with 8 babies needs OUR money

See it HERE on CNN

Well I hope no one is surprised here that we are supporting this woman who is now $50K in debt. She claimed she was not on welfare but the word is now out. . . . she is getting all kinds of aid in Bankrupt CA. . .

And she thinks she will get through school and get a job and all her problems will go away. Now? is she nuts? With the economy in the tank how can you think you will walk out of school and have a job pay you enough to support 14 kids? You can't and she knows it. She will stay on state aid. . . .

I don't know what we can do for welfare cases like this but I don't see why we the tax payer should get stuck with all her bills when she CHOSE to get pregnant and have all these kids.

Can the state put a lean on her pay so when she does get a job we get some money back? How about a lean on any house she may have or get? Maybe the laws can be set so if you have more kids while on welfare you don't get more money. Hell folks it's not like we don't know what causes kids now. . . .

I hear she is in hiding now. I was disgusted when I heard her interview and how she is so self centered. No one has the right to have kids and make someone else pay for them. You have every right to have kids, and you get the bills for them too.

The mentality of this woman is scary because she is not alone. We have a whole generation of folks that think the government owes them. NOT. Government money is not free you twit, it comes out of my pocket, and my families pocket. How about if I want to spend my money on my own kids?

I hope they can find some legal way to punish her and possibly anyone involved in this for the reckless way it was handled. This should never have happened on the tax payers dime. You want 14 kids, get a job that can pay for them.

Nope, she is unemployed, single mom with now 14 kids. Anyone else think we will be seeing these kids on state support for years to come and possibly in our courts at some point? These kids are already starting off behind the 8 ball (no pun intended) and she is not helping them. This woman must have some kind of mental issue or something but she sure as hell is not thinking of her kids best interest.

What a weekend

Still recovering. . . . Am I sore. . .

Cleaned the driveway once on Saturday and twice on Sunday. Lucky for me the second time was just before the rain hit. Now my driveway is clear but a nice sheet of ice. . . .

They say we may get up to 27F here today so it ain't gonna melt either. Love that global warming, where is my 70 deg day?

And after all this crap it is supposed to get to the mid 40's on Wednesday and rain just so we don't have a White Christmas. I think we earned the White Christmas this year . . . . .

well, welcome to winter . . . .

Hope you all had a good Solstice yesterday and Happy Hanukkah to you all today. . . .

Christmas Song worms. . .

Just wandered through production and they had "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra going on the radio. . . Now I can't get it out of my head. . . And I am not a Christmas person. . . ask my family, they all got me a grinch shirt and pants to wear on Christmas every year. . . .

This day in History

One of the most famous mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle started today:

At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.

Boston Globe

Readership down anther 10% over the last year. . . . maybe folks are getting sick of partisan news reporting after all. . .

It would be nice if they actually ran like news with facts behind it but that is so old school. . ..

Another "Stimulus" package

I don't see how this will help, and it puts us more in debt. . . .

on the other hand, I am sure I am not the only one that could use a few extra bucks to buy a gun or two before Obama tries to outlaw them all. . . .

Weekend

Has anyone else noticed that the weekends seem to be getting shorter?

I had all sorts of great plans for this weekend, clean the shop, drain the pool, finish sighting in the Enfield, Go to Plymouth to see the WWII aircraft that were visiting Plymouth Airport. . . . maybe clean parts of the house. . .

What did I do? well, I got the pool drained,now I can take it down (yes, it is a small above ground thing) and I swept part of the floor. . . .



ARRRGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I need more time in my weekends. . . ..

We are Nuts

Has anyone else heard these ads on the radio? “Folks think they can’t get a mortgage or there is not money available. . .. We have plenty of mortgage money to lend and we will give you a loan with other bank’s won’t. Everyone should be able to get a mortgage. . . “

Is this nuts or is it just me? We don’t care if you can afford the mortgage we will give it to you anyway? How the hell do you think we got into this mess with the housing and foreclosures in the first place?

Now I am all for everyone being equal and not discriminating against folks but when it comes to a loan either you make enough to pay it back or you don’t. That seems rather simple, basic and non discriminatory to me. If you can pay the loan you get it, no matter what you look or sound like.

Seems we have learned nothing and are still well on our way of suicide by political correctness folks. . . .

Clue The Game sold out

In order to better fit into our brave new liberal world of happy pink fluffy bunnies they have made a few changes:

Gone – Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum. We don’t want military or scholarly folks I guess. . . . they are now Jack Mustard the Football Star and Victor Plum billionaire video game maker. . . we need pop culture in here I guess

Also changed around are the weapons used to knock off the deceased. . . . They got rid of the wrench, the revolver and the pipe. . . . I guess they were just too bloody and old fashioned. They have been replaced with more humane ways to kill off the subject – use of Poison, a dumbbell or a trophy. . . . .

Way to cave guys. . . . I still don’t think you are going to win against a Wii with the kids but at least you got better looking to the hippies and lefty yuppies . . .

Weekend Update:

That was a good weekend. . . I hope you all had a good weekend. We started off the Fourth with a trip to the Hingham Parade and had a great time. It was good to see all the folks out there with red, white and blue. After the parade we took a quick ride over to the cemetery to pay our respects to my Dad. His birthday was on the fourth so we went by to say Happy Birthday to him. The rest of the day was spend getting the house cleaned up and ready for the cook out on Saturday. It was nice to start getting the place cleaned up after all the construction we have been dealing with for years now between my addition and Mom’s apartment add on.

For Saturday we had a nice informal cookout with a bunch of friends that ran from late afternoon to well into the night sitting around the fire pit and just hanging out and talking. It was nice to see everyone and just hang out for a while. Seems like once you have kids the time just flies by and you never see your friends as much as you want to. . .I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all. We also managed to fit in a few games of horse shoes and pool too so I have to say I had fun.

Sunday came way to fast and we spent most of it just taking it easy and putting away some of the cook out stuff – chairs, tables and the like. We won’t even talk about Monday being here already. . .

Jack Photos

I hope to get some time tonight to put up some new Jack photos here and on the family web page for those of you interested in seeing the little monster. . . He is getting big at 11 mo old now. He is doing the furniture walk about the house and crawls all over. He has been real excited now that the warm weather is here and he can go outside. He loves it. I got a swing set up for him last weekend and you should have seen the look on his face - His first time on a real swing and he loved it!

Gotta run, lots going on today. . . . check for pics tomorrow. . . .

Vacation mission, Dad's workshop

OK, we will see how well I do bloging over the next week. . . . going to take a week off to get my workshop in order. I should say my Dad's workshop since it is his stuff I will be moving in.

He crossed over over two years ago and I have not touched a thing in his shop. . . well, I may have touched some stuff but I put it right back where I got it. Now Mom has her apartment done, and is getting ready to move in with us. That means it is time to get the house on the market and all Dad's tools moved. He had a ton of stuff, he was a great woodworker and loved to do wood carvings too. I may have to start carving again, we wills see.

Anyway it is going to be a hard week on me. While he was sick he kept telling me all that stuff would be mine some day, and now that it is hear it is a bit weird and hard to deal with I must say. But we will get it sorted out and moved with the help of a friend or two over the next week.

More later, lunch is over and I gotta run to a meeting. . ..

Bumper Cars

It’s official, the Braintree Split sucks. . . . it was a good commute until I got to the split and became part of a car sanwitch. . . Some guy was not watching and hit the girl behind me mashing up her car and bumping mine and pushing me into the girl in front of me. No damage to my car or the one in front of me but the one behind me got a good wack on the back passengers side and they munched the front of his car. Almost made it into the split and WHAM. . .

Some day they really need to fix the split but that will probably never happen. We can spend BILLIONS on the big dig but we can’t fix our roads or the split. . . makes me sick.