Some days you eat the bar…

I wonder if it will help CCW spreading with all the bear sightings happening in *towns?   

A few pets snatched up in front of the family while walking the dog, or a few close encounter scares, face to face.  Then the subsequent inability for 911 to instantly swoop in and solve the problem because that is impossible, and even upper middle class white ladies that were normally anti-firearms of any kind might see some occasional utility of they, or, better, someone else very nearby, having a gun to hand.  

"Oh, don't hurt Yogi, but do scare him off.  This whole can of anti-grizzly pepper spray barely made him sneeze, but maybe shooting into the air will do?  What?  Well, yes, I will stop voting for people that want to ban guns, just hurry!  I don't think Fluffy my Labradoodle can hold him off much longer."

(*I swear I composed this post before seeing Tam's link to a bar in Indy.  Serendipity, synchronicity, whatever.  Ahem.  Bearthread.)

Internet Movie Firearm FB Censorship

Let's say you were chatting with a buddy on Facebook, and the subject came around to Police sidearms from 1965, and she was wondering what that was.  "I think that paleoconservative Ward Bond, playing Bert the Cop, tried to plug George Bailey with it in that holiday movie, too... and heck, that was the 40s."

"Why, it's the model 10!  Lemme get a link from imfdb.com for you.  And from It's a Wonderful Life, as well! Good eye!"

Then FB rudely informs her this:

Well, raise my rent!

How dareth they censor my speech.  Poor innocent little imfdb.

Careful, Zuckerburg, Bezos just deplatformed the liberal Right Wing Watch on youtoobs to look like he played fair with both sides so there is no need to break up HIS monopoly.  This month of all months when the idea of knocking Big Tech down a peg is buzzing around Congress.   [Update:  too much heat and Google backed down on Right Wing Watch...]

If an angel ever comes round to show you what the world would be like if you were never born, Zuckerburg, don't take him up on it.  It might have been a much better place.  And that'd be kinda depressing, no?  At least you have a swimming pool full of money to swim in to cheer yourself up.  Mad jelly!

I have many vices

But this vise is amazing.

This.  This guy.  To do what he does.  His patience, his knowledge, his skill, his skill with Olde Timey methods and his skill with new fangled methods to fabricate a complex shape with a CADCAM CNC mill...

To have been at this level I'd have ad to start at 13 and work hard at it and by 40 be kinda satisfied with my tools and skills.  THOUSANDS of dollars poured into the hobby every year.

Then I could have enjoyed what he is doing right here.

Plus... a fractal machinist vise is cool all by itself.  

If you speak Engish

Your chances of seeing a UFO go WAY up.

The paranoid style of politics. pic.twitter.com/pBl8b0P4SP

— Duncan Reyburn (@duncanreyburn) June 25, 2021

Secret replaced our regular coffee with Folgers crystals...

Gonna hang out with some work friends I don't see face to face at work, normally, over in the 'Dena today.  One of em knows I am sick.  Lessee if the others notice.  

Folks at work I DO see have made remarks.  I look pale, apparently.  Low bloodcells and hemaglobin.  I am self treating that with more steak in the diet. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't, but, still... Steak.  

Bone marrow biopsies are a piece of cake.  Erryone told me they hurt, but naw.  Unless you are fatter and have to go to a more extensive surgical procedure to get down to the bone.  That might suck more.  

If I do bone marrow extraction (for replacement later) like in a donation.. That is supposed to hurt, 'sposedly.  I'll report back if it is true or not, if and when.    

Seriously?

Does this dude realize if he makes all meat eating Americans allergic to beef a significant subset of those will go to eat HIM to teach him a lesson?

BIOETHICIST SUGGESTS RE-ENGINEERING HUMANS TO BECOME ALLERGIC TO MEAT

WTF did I just heard? Please listen until the end. pic.twitter.com/bk0iIn6uI4

— Spinte.HODL ∞/21M 🍯🦡🌋☀️🌊 (@spinte8) June 22, 2021

Why are the ethicists of the last 30 years such awful people? No matter. With this one we can be awful right back.

The Second Amendment ALWAYS had limits

Correct, Joey B.  The 2A always had limits, from day one.

It always had limits on you, pally. 

You could indeed own a cannon, tho.  You are wrong about that.  Or hell, a whole warship full of em.  And people did.  

I kinda want a drill index

A real one.  I have a shop full of tools, but nowhere near a proper drill index.

But my shop full of tools is focused on handtool wood working.  

And the cancer has robbed me of the stamina to do much with even the tools I have.  Not like I should expand into a metalworking shop at this late date.  Spendy, huh?  Not really that bad.  I'd spend that kind of money on myself now, anyway.  What with how short life can suddenly get.   

No, at this late date, if my back and stamina issues went away I'd probably concentrate on barrister bookcases.  They are modular.  I have most all the tools for it now.  I have a pile of walnut, enough for ten shelving units or more.  And I got the books to put in em.  

"What do you mean most of the tools, T-Bolt?  What woodworking handtool tool are you missing?"

Ah.  Not really a hand tool.  Remember the stamina problem?  Even at full energy it is a piece of work to thickness four quarter walnut to 5/8ths.  I can and have done it.  But things can go faster with one screaming beast.  I eschew most all other electrical tooling, normally.  Well, except a bandsaw.  Same reason as the thickness planer.  It's a LOT of work resawing or ripping a board.  

But a good drill index IS a thing of beauty.

Gun Control Compromise

Our side really misses an opportunity by not offering compromise gun bills with the gun banners.  

"Ok, this bill prevents our state police forces from ever cooperating with federal law enforcement when they are attempting to enforce federal gun laws, but to compormise with Moms, Everytown, et al, the bill also grants constitution carry to everyone in the state over the age of 18.  We'll call it the Protect the Wee Bairn Act of 2022."

If they balk we act dumbfounded.  "Why are you against compromise?" "We are trying to protect children, why do you want to endanger children?" "Look, we went along with you back in 1994 and 1986 and 1968 and 1934, it's time we came up with stuff for you to compromise on for a few decades, as it is only fair.  Why you gotta be unfair." and:

"Fine, we'll add an amendment that the state has to subsidize the purchase of a self-defense handgun for anyone over 18 that can pass a NICS check, are you happy now?  Compromise!"

Like a piece of cake?

On this date

80 years ago...

American and British commies stopped loving the Nazis and started hating them again.  Almost a 2 year love affair, that.

Oh you didn't know about the kissy-kissy love affair between the Reds and the Nazis?  Well, Stalin wouldn't want you to remember that little more than a year and a half when both genocidal regimes were bosom buddies.  It's a shame they both couldn't have lost the war, somehow.

Fauci

If Fauci says people that are vaccinated shouldn't be concerned about the Covid variants.

And, we no longer trust a word coming out of that fame-hungry fabulist.

Does that mean vaccinated people should be REALLY worried about variants?

Personally I'd not worry about variants that can be construed by lefties as somehow being 'racist'.  Like:  South African Variant, the Dehli Variant, the Lisbon Variant.

I'd worry about the ones with politically correct nomenclature.  The Delta Variant!

Happy Father’s Day

When a popular Media organ

 Starts out with "this scientific study says..." brace yourself, you are about to be lied to.  Especially if it is trying to poop on something pleasurable.

I remember the article telling me processed meats were going to give me bowel cancer.  I don't remember the counter article telling me that first study was really sketchy.

And other people were running with it on the first saying there should be a health insurance surcharge for anyone that eat more than one hotdog and 4 slices of bacon a year.  As I was dining on scrapple and corn beef hash every week.

Your local journalist knows as much about journalism as I know what Passenger Pigeon tastes like.  The last time I trusted a 'science' article that told me something pleasurable was bad for me was when they said cigarettes might be unhealthy.

---

"But T-Bolt, you got that counter-factual about baloney science popular media organ from another popular media organ!"

Quiet, you!  (also, get it?  'baloney' science?  snerk!)

Smoking and Covid

There are actual studies that smokers were impacted less than non smokers.  

I won't speak to how reliable the study was.  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Been wary of  'science' even outside ignernt Newsweek articles espousing it.

And if I was still worried about catching Covid I wouldn't take up my Lucky Strike habit, again.  Fought too hard to bat that down.

But I might smoke a pipe at my desk and dare management to say boo about it.

(I've been disappointed with management and how they reacted to the pandemic from day one of this thing.  But for them to say anything to me about smoking a pipe indoors they'd have to actually come into work where I have been since the damn thing started.  Those chickenshits.  Paid more than me to stay home for a year and a half and mismanage me for much longer.) 

Oh, I need this

And a bargain at five grand!  A proper computer workstation for the home.

That would make gaming possible again.  I can't sit at my computer, still, for more than an hour.  An improvement over last month's 15 minute limit.

My bed is still comfortable enough.  So is the TV La-Z-Boy.  On bad days I can watch DVDs or whatnot.  Been last interested in TV by myself the past decade.   

I gave the chiroprocter the ol' college try.  My Brain Surgeon said "Try it, it can't hurt, and it might help."  The help was marginal, but not worth the 6 hours and $120 bucks I was spending doing it.  Did it for 2 months, just in case.  Adjustment, TENS, heat, decompress, Neuropathy-Laser.  

Meh.

I don't think acupuncture would be much better, but heck, I'd try.  If I found one the doc liked.  

Toldja T-Bolt

Nothing to worry about!  Texas has it wired down.  Constitution Carry is now a thing there, not half an hour after you fretted about it in a post.  You worry too much.  

Good.

Gov Abbot and Constitutional Carry

Constitution Carry often runs into last minute hold ups.  Abbot said he would sign it into law, but you never know...  He might dance out some excuse.  

Ooops, not DANCE dance.  That's not what I meant.  And if I was gonna bet money I'd bet he'd sign it.  But pessimism on this is always there.  

Not like the Austin shooter cared about any type of Carry beside "C"CW.  Criminal Carry Weapon.

I wish the Cartel would hijack a .45 truck

They are too cool to use .45 AARP caliber.  And I want .45 to get less than fiddy cents a round.  I bet they'd sell for that!

Well, I want 9mm to be less than fiddy, each, too, actually.  I don't need any 5.56.  So just another ammo case of green tip for less.  Less than now.  

But, yeah, ammo is showing up more and more, just waiting for a bit more dip in pricing.

And praying there actually IS a dip in pricing.

---

"Pretty sparse blog fodder, T-Bolt."

Yeah, I know.  Working on it. Mail me some inspiration, would ya?

Cartel Heist

So the Mexican Cartels hijacked an ammo truck.  And came away with mostly .22lr.  A round they have no 'use' for in normal criminal operations.

But the Cartels are nothing if not businessmen.  I imagine they will figure out a way to get that .22 to US consumers over the border and make a profit on it.  Especially in today's inflationary market.  

Oh, God

 The CHICOMs are harvesting Uighur organs.

Yeah, I don't know....

 I guess if you have a round in the chamber and the firing pin back the 'trigger' is protruding?  That's be a tell and you might not open the knife to cut your apple and maybe put a .22 through the Granny Smythe.

"For Automobilists!" If your car breaks and axel you can put it out of its misery?  1922 carjackings?

"Absolutely safe" I really dunno...

I can see a trapper use this for his trapline if one of his fur bearing animals is not dead, but...  There are better knives for knifing and a .22 revolver isn't that bulky.

No Mask

Biggest plus about not having to wear a mask at work?  I don’t have to do laundry every week to clean my five favorite masks.  I have more than 14 pairs of socks and underwear and workshirts.  

Yeah.  I AM that rich.  14 suits of clothes.  My great great great great grandfather would be so proud.  Well, I am proud of YOU for coming back alive with Napoleon from Moscow.

Combat Aircraft Info

I consumed a LOT of coffee table sized books about military aviation in the 1980's.  Remaindered books, less than $10.  Loved them.  A snap shot of history, now.  

And back when the history channel had history, they'd sometimes do similar stuff, but ad-laden and light on detail.

Well YouTube solves the lack of detail, and scratches that itch I still have.

For instance, I knew what the Blinder was, but I had no idea it was a vodka truck.  The coffee table book missed that and the History channel was too busy selling me hand lotion and cellular plans.

---

The channel is still kinda new.  So now is the time to get in on the ground floor.

My County and Ghost Guns

My county passes lots of stuff that get overturned by pre-emption.  For instance, mail order ammo was only illegal in MY county back in 2007, but within a year or two that was pitched.  CheaperThenDirt even knew not to send me a box of .22 while the law was in effect.

No my county is panicking over 'ghost guns' and gone further than the state has.  But before the state has a crack at it "Hey WE make the gun rules, see?!" my state's CCW Shall Issue advocacy group is suing their sorry ass.  Get em!

That's Awful!

 But, you know....

pic.twitter.com/dLdugNchHj

— Louis vil Le Gun ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ (@LouisvilleGun) June 10, 2021

Assault Weapons Ban

So, a District court judge overturned the AWB in California, the State should have to lift it by the 4th of July.

I full expect the 9th Circuit to put a stay on this ruling, then rule against it.  So nothing comes of the ruling in the near term.  Maybe this has already happened as of today, Wednesday morning.  No hurry, 9th, you got til the 3rd.

Eventually it gets to SCOTUS.  Then is depends on Roberts.  Prolly a lotta foot dragging before then to run out the clock.  Maybe a conservative justice will lead the bend and President Susan Rice can nominate a new one.  

The ruling isn't bad news, but it's not the good news I would prefer.  My curmudgeonly pessimism has taken the reins of late, for some reason.

---

I'm trying not to dwell on the negative.  It is the CORRECT ruling, of course.  

Rx

My internet friend and colleague RobertaX is getting eye surgery.  

She dreads it.  And for good reason.  Eyeballs that work are kinda important.  Especially for those of us that are voracious readers.  Plus the actual procedure is kinda squick-inducing.  Some people don't mind eye docs getting all up in their peepers, others would rather eat a big plate of cicada stew.  (Them bastard are on my mind for some reason...)  Rx is the latter kind of person.  I have no idea but I bet her response to people who suggest "Hey you should get contacts!" over the years has been, "HELL, no."

But I wish her every convenience and happy outcome.  

All this started

With back pain.  My chief complaint.  First back pain,  Then the numb feet.  I figured the lumbar issues were causing the numbness issues.

They'd found SO many other things.  And tried SO many other things to try to fix it.  Including the unwelcome lymphoma diagnosis.

I just wanted my back to hurt less.  

I gotta get a second opinion.  From a miracle worker for backs.  I'll be patient.  Wait til the weekend. No improvement I am pulling the trigger and calling on Miracle Max.  

---

If Maryland became Shall Issue I'd be SOL.  Hanging a holster off my belt for CCW inside the wasteband would be painful.  

Monday Bupkis

I got no blog ideas, so you are getting a health update.

So, whining about back pain the past year, here, which may or may not be cancer related.  Nothing permanent provides relief.

"Whadaya mean by permanent, T-Bolt?"

Well, steroid shots work good, but fades after a week or two.  Get's the pain from a 3,4,5 out of ten down to a 1,2,3.  (5 is 'Bees?' and 6 is 'BEES!').   Oxycontin works even better, but I don't need to tell you the downside of long term use.

Last week I got Radio Frequency Ablation.  Essentially, the nerve are zapped and don't transmit pain signals as much.

My verdict?  Meh.  It helps, yes.  My legs definitely feel stronger now.  I did a long drive to Fredericksburg and back a day later and tolerated that much better than I would have.  I was hoping for more, tho.  The pain isn't down to 1,2,3, but more like 2,3,4.   Drat.  

D-Day Blog Post Placeholder

Huh.  I usually have something new and interesting to say about this day, 1944.  Been a little distracted and I am away from home right now trying to have fun.

I saw bits of a reaction video to Saving Private Ryan not long ago.  Some Millennial, first time watching.  "I need to learn more about history, I don't even know where this cemetary might be." At the beginning and the end of the movie.  

No worries, you can see it from space!

See it?

How bout now?  It's easy with the labels.  But if you don't know where Normandy is and you just followed the North France coastline you'd see this little bit of US territory overseas.

You can almost make out the stones.

You definitely can here.

Literature

In lots of English fiction from 100 years ago, a handgun is called a revolver.  Doesn't matter if it is a revolver or one of them fancy new semi-autos from Colt or Savage or imported from Belgium.

(And being when it was, those semi-autos were invented by...?)

Which bring us to our second point.  In France a pistol was apparently call 'Le Browning', no matter what it was. 

I found this interesting.

Battles

Saw this meme on the internet:

 

I've a degree in history, and I like war stuff.  I should be able to think of a bunch and... oh crap.  I can't.  Not a bunch.  Two leap to mind.  Tours with Charles the Hammer in the 700s turning back the Muslim Horde, and Agincourt in the large 1300s where Henry the Vee had long bowman make pin cushions out of the flower of French chivalry.  

That’s as good as I can do with dates.

Now I have to think.

Right!  1066 and all that.

Longshanks at Bannockburn. 

I could DuckDuckGo, and I will when I give up.

----

CRAP!  Agincourt was in the early 1400s

Reiteration

Multiple Myeloma.  BAD bad.  Stop putting all that money into a 401k and don't buy any green bananas.  Pick out a playlist for the funeral.  (Mine would have been Pop Goes the Weasel on loop.)

Lympho Plasmacytic Lymphoma.  You can linger for decades with this.  Don't give away all your guns to worthy friends and relatives.

I have the second one.  Was only briefly scared I had the first.

Mr. Brightside

So, for that week when the diagnosis was "No WAY you see 60, buddy, the myeloma will carry you off before that" what are the upside to the death sentence?   (It's not, to keep things in clarity.  It is NOT myeloma this week.  It might have been myeloma a few weeks back for exactly one week.  It is just a flavor or non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  Myeloma is being on fire, Waldenstrom is a sun burn.)

Thought process then: Well, I don't have to worry about going senile.  The rest of the T-Bolts are normally known for long lives, and old age dementia is a part of that.  (Still might dodge this one. ) 

I wouldn't  have to worry about saving enough for retirement if it was myeloma.  In fact, I shoulda changed my 401k contribution to something less than 20% already.

I wouldn't have to do much clothes shopping, going forward.

My roof just got replaced.  Check that off the list of things to worry about if less than 60 was gonna be it.

I wouldn't have to watch the long slide into weakness that the PC Marxists are dragging our civilization.  You youngins should learn Chinese.  Freedom?  What is that?

Bucket List

"Ok, so, you are not long for this world, T-Bolt.  What's on the ol Bucket List?  Things you wanna do before you kick the bucket."

I was already thinking on this.  And there isn't really anything...  Comes from being kinda satisfied with my lot in life.  

• Lounge on a boat on Lake Como near Tuscany?  Naw.  I'm not into travel.  I've seen pretty places.
• Jump out of an airplane?  A perfectly good airplane?  Naw.  Parachuting is cool and all, but I don't need the thrill.  Even if I had good ankles and knees
• Fire off a machinegun!  Did it.
• Safari?  Naw.  It'd be cool to eat a whole different set of ungulates, and I'd be less afraid to go after a Cape Buffalo, now, but...  the travel thing really is not my bag.
• Step in front of a charging Houston tiger to save a complete stranger?  Hell I'd do that if my life expectancy was guaranteed to be age 90+.   I guess if it happens now I'd be less afraid. 
• Sex with a Hong Kong hooker.  Already done it.
• I'd like to attend a baseball game at every major league ballpark.  Nope.  That's impossible.

See?  

"You wasted all that time being a slug-a-bed."

Naw, it was delicious.  No ragerts.

No regrets on lotsa stuff.  No big ones.  Little things.  Stuff where I causes someone pain.  I'd take some of those back.  Sure, a mulligan here and there'd be nice in some specific instances.  But they sorta made me who I am, and I wouldn't want to change that.  

"But what if you could go back and start again from the beginning?"

You mean like take up shooting earlier?  Restrict myself to the core handful of boomsticks I like with a tight purchasing discipline?  Choose a different college, or learn to be a watchmaker instead?   Major in something else?  Not waste my time and join the Navy to have the Cold War just end?  Again, doing all that stuff the way I did made me who I am.

Wait.  I'd be better at math. How's that?

I get to do this joke for YEARS

"Give yer Uncle T-Bolt a hug, this is probably his last Christmas!"

Video of me at work this week

Ima Hulk....

Cuz General Triester had the Cansker!

Health Blog

I know I have been putting up boring health stuff.  Whining "Oh, my back!  Oh, my numb extremities. Oh, woe is me!"

Well, it's about to get a little more exciting.  The doc finally found the reason.  It's the Cansker!  

Don't you just hate it when the doc says a word with 'Oma' in it?

Well, I'd blog about my chemo journey for the next 3-5 year then die, but, despite the back pain the good news is it isn't myeloma...  a death sentence.... like we were first worried about a couple weeks ago.  It's merely Waldenstrom's disease.  Which is Chronic as opposed to Lethal.  A form of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

---

Ok, wha happa?

Part of the whole neurological stuff involved extra fancy blood-labs.  Be sure it wasn't Lyme disease causing my trouble up to now, plus a whole bunch of other stuff.  Semi-uncommon checks.  One of them is for something like Immunoglobulin M. High normal for that is 175 units or so.  I was at 2700.  Huh.  That's funny.  (the other out of normal items was mostly me being fat and at high normal, but not way out of range.  I don't have the Diabeetus.)  

So, off to the Hematologist.  Blood doc.  And he's also an Oncologist, but no one told me that...

That's the guy that said the oma word.  Myeloma. A form of bone marrow cancer.  Which jibed with back pain.  But the PLETHORA of MRIs I have had recently show no cancerous voids in my spine.  Which is good.

"Sheesh, T-bolt, that really sucks, otherwise."

Naw, it's just lymphoma,  Just 'watch it for a while, see what develops, and THEN we have a chance to attack it with treatments'.  That's where we are after even FURTHER blood workups.  So... Phew.  Keep treating the back pain with anatomical interventions.  It might be wholly divorced from my lymphoma.

Here is one thing. My grandmother and her brother?  They were about my age when they died.  I was told lung cancer, but... it was lymphoma.  Well, dang.  Shoulda mentioned this sooner, Ma.

But no chemo, now, like I thought.

"Don't act so disappointed, T-bolt."

Naw, naw...  it's just that... that would provided a bit of blog fodder.  Plus a 3-5 year life expectancy for a week really focuses the mind.  I tell you what.

---

"Aren't you worried about privacy, T-Bolt?"

This is a BLOG.  No one reads these.  I've already informed my family.  No one at work reads this.  Maybe 8 people that read this post know me in real life, and they are all cool.  Or they better be.

"Do you need any help, T-Bolt?"

Naw.  If and when chemo starts I won't even need a ride.  And I got insurance through work.

"So what will the progression be like?  What symptoms do you have now?  How long have you had it?"

Shrug.  The Doc doesn't even know that.  The symptoms now are similar to what getting old feels like.  

The neuropathy in my extremities is probably due to it.  Lacking energy is another one, probably.  My feet get colder, easier than they used to.  For a while I just seem to feel older than my cohort peers, but that could just be me whinging.  But Immunoglobulin M is a BIG ol molecule and that is the why extra IgM is an issue.  Clogging the works.  I don't seem to bruise a LOT easier yet, nor have I gotten extra infections or nosebleeds.  My spleen may eventually be a goner.  But not today.

----

This also means all y'all gotta wear a covid mask whenever I get within 100 feets of you.  So you don't kill me since I have a compromised immune system.  ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!!

Just kidding.  I'd kiss you on the mouth.  Today, or 9 months ago.  Pucker up, Ima comin'!  Like an unsupervised Joe Biden!