Nom de plume: Rivrdog

Coping with gun-related shortages

You really needed to have planned for this, but in case you didn't, here are some strategies for maintaining your proficiency in the face of gun-ralated shortages. Crank some Foghat, and consider your options:

1. Use .22 LR guns. You should have, at the least, one .22 rifle and one .22 pistol. Using them at the range gives you every bit of training except recoil management. .22 will always be more available than centerfire (except 9X23, for some reason, everyone seems to have that caliber about now).
2. Use dry firing. Get snap caps for your various calibers. Practice your draw-and-present drills for handguns, your mount-and-fire drills for shoulder guns. Practice clearing drills with some spent cartridges to make smokestacks. Have a buddy load a maggy with snap caps and a dummy and practice those drills (the old "ball and dummy" drill). Chances are that you don't do enough of them as it is.
3. Get heavier on gun maintenance. If you pull everything from the safe twice a year and clean it, up that to every other month. 
4. Inventory your ammo, so you know what it is your priority to spend your time hunting down. You might find enough of one caliber to have a range day with no consequences. You DO have your minimum inventory levels set, don't you? You don't go below those levels, you stop shooting first.
5. Instead of range, take some instructor classes. Most don't involve much shooting, if any.
6. Above all, keep your gunny mind-set. You might need it soon.

All else being equal, and God willin', the creeks don't rise, there will be ammo in time for next hunting season. The era of 1,000-round range days are probably behind us for some time, and forever if Obama has his way, but hopefully, we can get enough ammo to at least keep our edge, and in the meantime while there isn't any ammo, we can keep sharp on the other gunny things that count, such as exacting our political pound of flesh from all politicos who weasel on the 2A.

It's 0038

...what are YOU listening to?

Here at Schloss Rivrdog, I just turned off Leno, then listened to the chorus of coyotes, one from the up-creek clan and one from the clan 100 meters away, tell each other how much the female 'Yote wants the male 'Yote's babies. Of course, once they start this up, it can go on all night...

NPR on Christmas

NPR has a valid purpose: project the Christian culture. They do a very good job of it on Christmas with two liturgical pageants, one fron Temple Square with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and one from Luther College with their excellent symphony orchestra and 470-voice choir, which is really a collection of smaller choirs which sing well together. My favorite sub-choir is the "Norsemen" a male choir composed of mostly baritones. Good stuff, lets me celebrate being a WASP & Christmas at the same time.

Omen?

Some believe in omens, for me, I'm not so sure.

Today, I had a longish nap, and awoke at 1530 to take a shower. After the long, hot shower I got out and dried off, then happened to glance out to the East from Schloss Rivrdog, a second-story window, and saw this:

Yep, that's a double rainbow. It seems that a herd of Unicorns had just ridden the stormy skies, and farted. Cue "Ghost Riders"

Is it significant?

You tell me. It's less than two hours to the Grate Dee-Bate.

No matter, I'm prepared, as you can see Adam, the M35A2 lurking out there, ready to take me and my selected load to wherever the HELL I want to go, and yes, it might be that very place.

Does the Devil's herd ride tonight? Vaugn Monroe, sung by Burl Ives

If it does, are YOU prepared?

Okay, one more: Marty Robbins

Some history: The Ghost Riders, US Navy Attack Squadron VA-164, flew A4Ds during the Vietnam war (same airraft flow by "Viper" in the movie Top Gun)

Wotta setta pipes!

For a 7-year old!

I wonder if she'll be able to sing at an old aviator's funeral...

Oh, and she doesn't do too bad with the National Anthem, either.

H/T to the T-Bone out in MT. Keep your wits about you, Tom, Parole & Probation is one of the most dangerous CJ jobs out there...

Liturgical music

If you've ever studied music, you know that in Western Civ, there is a wealth of music that was composed to Praise the Lord. In fact, until the Renaissance, most music had that purpose, because music with other purposes (i.e., to please the ear NON-religiously) was considered a sin.

In those days, if you were gifted enough to be able to write (poetry or prose), compose music, or render images in any art form, you did your work in the Name of the Lord. When you did, you were broadly supported by the wealthy and powerful members of whatever society you were a member of. The aristocracy took it as their duty to support the arts, and by doing so, they also supported the clergy and the spreading of God's Word.

Not so much anymore. Today's liturgical music is a small niche of popular music. Christian music attempts to cover all the bases, venturing into every genre from rap to rock and roll, and I've even heard of Christian Punk (but I haven't listened to any). Some current Christian music is quite traditional, some is even historical (Gospel music which originated within groups of black slaves, for example).

It all has it's place, and today and tomorrow is the main place for it.

In Portland, we have listener-supported Classical music on FM radio and streamed on the Internet. I awoke to my Eton S360 radio some post-Medieval liturgical music this morning, and I will play it most of the day. It just suits the Holy Holiday, it seems to me.

You can listen with the Rivr Family, right here. I hope you have a decent sound system that you can connect to your computer. I only have that in my office, so I will listen to the FM presentation on my home-theater set-up (formerly known as a "stereo") on FM 89.9 mhz.

At some point during the evening today, I might even turn the TV to Oregon Public Broadcasting, which traditionally plays the Yule Log, an endless video loop of a fire in a huge wood-burning fireplace (one of the three massive central fireplaces in the central lounge of Timberline Lodge).

Liturgical music is a part of me, I used to sing it during my private school's Christmas Pageants (they don't have them now, not PeeCee to celebrate Christmas, even if you are a private school). I've listened to it forever.

Liturgical music represents the Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men that the birth of Christ is supposed to represent. Listen to some as you prepare for your family's Christmas celebrations.

Thursday Thud #13

...that's correct, there will only be one Thud heard today, because the Thud illustrated here is really the only one you ever want to hear, if you are a warrior, and if you're not one now, you probably will be in times to come.

That Thud! of course, is the sound your mortal enemy makes as he falls at your feet, vanquished by your last, best, finally victorious, blow.

Winning your last battle, the battle you went into knowing either you or your enemy, but not both, would come out alive, is what my presentation today is about.

There's music which was written to inspire those fighting this last battle, to bring the Union side of that battle to victory. It's called, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, it is sung here by several school choirs, and presented by the owner of the website you are linked to. If your sympathies stood with the other side in that conflict which ended, lo these 146 years ago, I feel your pain when you hear this music, written as it was to stir the wrong side to victory. None the less, the music accomplishes it's goal, and in a Nation Re-United, but now, sadly, falling rapidly from it's former grace, it needs to be heard again, it needs to be taken to heart, and it needs to inspire yet another generation of Americans to arise from their slumbers, throw off the yokes we have been burdened with unjustly, and smite those blows which will vanquish our oppressors and restore the former glory of our God and our Nation. When we do, we get to hear that rarest of sounds, that Thud! signifying that we've won.

The music is all about fighting with the inspiration of a resolute God, and stout fellow-soldiers at your side, all of whom take inspiration from that resolute God.

In the Bible, the words are in Romans 13:4

I have one small complaint about this music, as it is usually sung today: In the second-to-last stanza is the line, "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,". This line is changed a bit in a politically-correct way now, and is usually sung, "As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,". This seemingly-small change dilutes the entire purpose of the music, which was to get the soldiers singing it or listening to it to overcome their fear of death on the battlefield, and to put forth their very best effort to win the upcoming battle.

I can find no provenance that tells me that this change is an accepted one by the heirs of the composer, Julia Ward Howe, so I state firmly that it is an improper change which badly distorts the music's purpose, and should never be repeated. Sing the lyrics correctly, please.

BTW, this is the 150th Anniversary of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Miss Howe wrote it in 1861.

BTW2, this post is dedicated to two of my greatest inspirations in life, Miss VikkiLee and the Patriot Padre.

Question of the Day

If Herman Cain has such morality-driven baggage that he can't continue in his quest for the White House, how come all those other wannabes are kissing his butt to get his endorsement?

Is there some filter at work here such that having dropped his campaign, all of a sudden the moral affronts which caused him to fall are forgiven, so the endorsements would be wholesome support?

What part of History Revisionism does the GOP think is acceptable to the Right, anyway?

If Slick Willy dries off that member, puts it back into his trou and smiles, have we forgiven him?

How about if Jerry Sandusky rehearses well and puts on a smiling denial of pedophilia for the camera?

If "Lennon read a book of Marx", does that make Marx less of a leftist?

Too many shades of gray.

Life itself has been "photoshopped"

Protocol Officer

Our Yacht club is having a Veteran's Day Dinner next Friday, 11-11-11, and I am the Protocol Officer, and Head Dishwasher.

Had to get back into the Ceremonies Manual for Indoor Retreat, but I think I have it down now.

We'll use these three US Army Band recordings, first Retreat, then the National Anthem, then Mess Call (evening).

 

Download Retreat

Download TheStarSpangledBanner_BandOnly

Download MessCall

Next, I wrote a script for the ceremony, and sent it to the party host:

 

"OK, for Indoor Retreat, we'll assemble & present the Colors out on the Dance Floor and say the Pledge of Allegiance, and next, the stereo will play, first, Retreat (bugle call), then the National Anthem. These are audio from the US Army Band, and are the exact tempo played at Ceremonies on military posts. Protocol: The MC will ask that all stand and face the Colors, and face the flag only during Retreat, but on the first note of the National Anthem playing, come to attention and either render the hand salute (new choice for non-uniform military and veterans) or place right hand over heart, remaining that way until the last note dies away. Some wag will probably shout "play ball", but that can be ignored...then, one more bugle call, "Mess Call" (i.e., the Let's Eat call)"

Then the caterers (myself and my son) serve the meal, chow line style, and we eat. The evening will conclude with "Jeopardy" type game of military trivia, which I intend to win.

BMX, ultimate version

Danny MacAskill, of course.

If you think you  are a BMX rider, don't even let the words out of your mouth until you've seen this Red Bull Productions film. Excellent videography, and the musical accompaniment isn't half-bad, either.

Tip o' flight helmet to the Auld Colonel, he flew everything from P-51s (USAAF) to helos and trash-haulers, and even did some work in Rocket Science. When that wasn't enough, he put down a full career as the first "civilian" Police Dispatcher in my county, then wrote a book about it all, publishing it himself. One of three fliers I know to have gone the double-career route in the air and in police work...