December 31, 2009

What a decade….

Wow, 10 years. I remember when I was younger wondering what it would be like when we hit the year 2000, and here we are getting ready to roll into 2010.

In the last 10 years,

  • I’ve had 2 kids (actually my wife had them, I just… never mind….),
  • bought a house,
  • changed jobs 6 times,
  • lost 2 grandparents,
  • lost a brother,
  • parted company with some friends,
  • gained new friends, some of which are like brothers to me,
  • gained a bunch new in-laws and a ton of nieces and nephews,
  • watched as we were attacked on our soil and wept at the sight of American’s jumping to their death,
  • wondered more than once what the hell was wrong with us as a country,
  • looked at other countries and knew what was right about us,
  • watched with pride as my children grow up, how proud of them I am even on those days they push my patience to its limits,
  • brought 2 dogs into my house, and managed to keep one of them,
  • realized I was well on my way to financial ruin if I didn’t make some changes,
  • paid off all my debt with the exception of one car and my house without the help of a bailout from anyone,
  • remodeled a bathroom,
  • taken some fun vacations,
  • finally found some hobbies that I really enjoy,
  • and managed to not run off my wife in the process of it all (she’s obviously a keeper and must think I am as well).

Some of these events I’ve handled better than others, but I’ve learned something from each of them, but not have they always been fun lessons. Through it all, I feel that God has blessed me very generously. I may not have all that I wanted, but definitely have had all that I needed, and I cannot ask for any more than that.

Anyway, I wish all of you a happy 2010, thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Years!

December 23, 2009

I like guns

I have no idea how I stumbled across this…email, someone’s blog, general wandering across Al Gore’s intertubes, who knows….. I just don’t remember. But thanks if it was yours :)

December 22, 2009

Ray Stevens on ObamaCare

December 19, 2009

Back home again in Indiana

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December 5, 2009

A day well spent

I met up with my hunting partner yesterday morning at a nearby commuter lot to head out for a day of deer hunting. I’d be starting my new position on Monday, and today also coincided with anniversary of my brother’s death. It seemed as good a day as any to sit in the woods, clearing my mind and spending a little time reflecting on life in general.

A few hours in the car and we were rewarded with a beautiful little stream that ran through the Robert M White Conservation Area.

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I’d like to say that I had some momentous revelation while out in the woods. But I didn’t. I still miss my brother, but the sharpness of that day is long gone. It’s been replaced with a longing to see him that will not be filled in this lifetime. I can accept that now.

Through all of this, I’ve gained an appreciation for my true friends. They know who they are, some of them read this blog, some don’t know it exists. These are folks that have stuck by my family as we’ve learned to adjust with this tragedy. They’ve given us the space we’ve needed and the support necessary to heal from it when others didn’t.

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We spent the morning hunting the northern end of this area. After sitting down by the creek for a few hours, we had hoped to come back through this field and possibly drive out any deer that may have bedded down under the cover of this tall grass but out in the open sun. It wasn’t a warm day by any stretch. Mid 20’s with a nice wind, I appreciated the long hike we had back to parking lot for lunch. It kept our blood moving and we stayed fairly toasty under all the layers. We were mostly rewarded with a bunch of cockleburs stuck to our clothing, but did see one deer who was too far out to reach out and touch.

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So no opportunity to put some meat in the freezer…..yet. Rifle season is over, but thankfully archery season doesn’t end until mid January. But it doesn’t matter. There will come a day when I can put a deer in the sights of my rifle, and be an active participate in the food chain. In the mean time, it’s great way to spend time with friends, and time quietly by myself, out in the handiwork of our Creator. All of which make for a day well spent.

December 2, 2009

New adventure

Those who are close to me know that I have long been bored with my job. Several years worth of bored in fact. It’s a been a good job, it pays very well, and has allowed us to pay off a great deal of debt. It’s an incredibly freeing thing to watch those chains shrink and disappear, something I intend to continue working at until we are completely debt free. That’s one of the reasons I’ve stuck with this line of work as long as I have.

An opportunity fell in my lap a few weeks ago. Without going into too many details, I’ve been offered a position to manage a group that I have been working with as a contractor for the past few years. I’ve tried a time or two to move in this direction at other companies, but it seems that I do my job a little too well. Yes, I’ve been told that. While this job may not sound exciting to anyone, keep in mind, I have NO (and by “NO”, I mean zero) formal management experience. Sure, I’ve managed small projects and small groups of developers, but nothing like this. I don’t know if I’ll like this job, or if I’ll even be good at it. The technical aspects, I can handle without issue, and have for many years, it’s the management stuff that has me a bit perplexed. I don’t even know, what I don’t know.

So, in a market where jobs are tight, and salaries are dropping, a company comes along, offers a job to someone with no experience but a willingness to try anything once, without taking too big of a pay cut plus gaining paid vacation and holidays…. Sign. Me. Up.

It’s going to be an interesting ride…..

November 30, 2009

What Huckabee should have said

instead of “Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State.”

Rather, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pardoned him in the first place.” would have more appropriate.

Seriously, who commutes 108 years of prison sentences??? Don’t you think that might have been a clue that someone thought Clemmons was dangerous and that he might have a past violations which warranted such a sentence??

And just so you know Mike, should you read this…. this is not about politics. It’s about 4 dead cops.

Idiot.

Ok, I know it wasn’t just Huckabee involved in all this. There were parole boards, etc. It’s just that almost every year since my brother died, I’ve attended a memorial service for all the police, fire and EMS personnel who died while on duty in Indiana and Kentucky during the past year, knowing what those families are going through. In some ways it’s easier to rationalize why a fireman or EMS personnel dies in the line of duty when it’s because of some sort of accident. But when a cop is gunned down, and especially when it’s by a known felon, you just want someone to stand up, look those families in the proverbial eye and say “I’m sorry, I could have prevented this.”

November 22, 2009

Deer 1, hunter 0

This weekend I was fortunate enough to go deer hunting with a good friend. I’m a noob when it comes to hunting whitetails, so I was especially grateful for the opportunity. We were blessed with great weather and clear skies. And while there were lots of signs of deer, none were shot by us this weekend.

I would have loved to have harvested my first deer on this trip, however I’m secretly glad that I didn’t have to drag it from way down there:

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to all the way up there:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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I’m just kidding of course, I’d have done it in a heartbeat, giddy as a school girl!

No matter, we had a good time hanging out in the woods and hiking along the Black River. There’s something very satisfying and calming to the soul when you camp as we did this weekend. Sitting around the camp fire, you realize that you are experiencing all that a man really needs in this world: real companionship from friends and family, a place to lay your head no matter how primitive, and food in your belly. If you have those three things, everything else is just a desire. While there is nothing wrong with “wants”, but when they overwhelm your “needs”, then you need to re-evaluate your priorities. Definitely an important thing for me to remember as I weigh a potential job opportunity this week.

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I’m glad that there are still a couple months left in deer season here in Missouri. I can hardly wait to get back out into the woods again!

November 22, 2009

Biplane crash

I was saddened to hear that one of my favorite planes, which regularly flies over my house, crashed this afternoon. Thankfully, the pilot and passenger were able to walk away from the crash. Pictures of the crashed Stearman can be found at the above link.

Here is one of the plane in 2004. My daughter and I stumbled across an open house at this airfield and were able to snap some pics of this Stearman with the US Army Paint scheme, and the other done up in the yellow US Navy paint scheme

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There is something so distinct about the noise of that engine… kinda like how you can tell a Harley by its rumble. I would know when that plane was about to pass over head.

It’s a sad loss from our skies and I’m sure gonna miss hearing it fly over….

November 8, 2009

Gear check

So deer season is upon us, and I’m getting my gear ready. Silly season started at the range a few weeks ago with everyone dragging out their deer rifles. I had finished my load selection a few months ago and wanted to load up a few more rounds, check my zero and call it good. I meant to do it a month ago, but got lazy about it.

I had decided on using Sierra 180gr GameKings in my .30-06. I bought my box earlier in the year, and I haven’t been able to find them since. Cabela’s has been out of them, as well as my local reloading shop. I loaded up the 19 I had left, plus 5 Sierra 180gr ProHunter’s. I mistakenly bought the box of ProHunter’s a while back, so thought I’d just try them on top of the same load I was using for the GameKing’s just for grins

The GameKing’s have always shot well enough for me, but I would always throw one or two shots out of the 5 shot group, but generally would stay within a 2″ group. Good enough I suppose, but we all know that the jagged hole is like a hit of crack. So after I get everything zero’d for my chosen load, I pull out the 5 Game Kings.

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All 5 in a one inch circle at 100 yards. Thank you Mr. Crack dealer.

In case you’re wondering:
45.7 grains Varget
CCI Large Rifle Primers
Remington Cases
180 gr. Sierra GameKing ( or ProHunters in this case)
OAL: 3.340″

Use at your own risk……. If you blow up your gun….it’s your own fault.