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I Shot A Really Big Gun Today

Last night was the first night I didn't need any heat.

Day started out fairly uneventful. Ran to town to get some roofing nails with Axel saw Dave and Bee outside the hardware store and we visited for a while. They have been down here for about 3 weeks now and love it. Just had their well put in 270 feet is the depth. Anyway they will do fine if they don't kill each other in their 10 x 12 cabin!

Got back did some roofing work and put down the cheap carpet I picked up yesterday in Colorado Springs. It is that indoor outdoor stuff and I put it on the decks. The dogs love it and it absorbs heat. I have to run a line of staples around the outside to keep the wind from taking it.

Ran down to the Hermits place early afternoon to pick up my two 104 gallon collapsible rain barrels that UPS had just delivered. He actually has one of those fancy government registered addresses where things can be delivered. Plan on putting the barrels on either end of the cabin to catch the gutter run off. That is a dedicated 208 gallons of water for the chickens and garden. If they work out I may grab a couple more cause I think they would make great heat sinks this winter. Now we just need rain. Last May was cold and rainy the entire month but this year nada. Not that I am complaining but I need the water.

Chickens are laying again. I have no chicks...that damn rooster may be firing blanks. I think their estrogen had to level back out from brooding before they would start laying. Fixed a couple for breakfast and honestly didn't enjoy them. Way to many eggs this winter and I think I am sick of them. Plenty of people to give them too.

Ruby had her first visit from Aunt Rose last week and I can tell you that it was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. Had to cover everything in plastic. I am not mentally equipped to deal with this type of problem. I feel bad yelling at her "Dammit Ruby stop dripping on the good couch" she just looks at me like I am stupid. I thought about a diaper but couldn't bring myself to get close to the thing.

She is going in to the vet next Tuesday, I am putting a stop to this nonsense. I was actually going to have her spayed last fall but the vet was called out on an emergency and I never rescheduled. I may be traumatized for life over this. At least she didn't start this when we were cabin bound for 3 months.

So I was out walking the dogs and kept hearing this cannon going off. Now this was not a regular rifle or shotgun it was a huge deep boom like I have never heard before. I went to investigate. Ended up over at the Hermits. He was standing in his driveway looking through these binoculars at the mesa Ken, a new neighbor in the valley, was laying on the ground with this huge gun pointed at the mesa. Of course I wandered up.

Ken just got out of the Marines where he was a competitive sharp shooter and now is building a place over on the mesa above the lake. He was sighting this gun on a rock some 1700 yards away at the top of the mesa. It is a big gun I can't remember what exactly but 50 caliber like. It was one of those big guns with legs. When he shot the it you could see the concussion wave shoot out in a circular pattern from the gun.

Ken asked me if I wanted to shoot the thing, he said it was easy to shoot and didn't have much of a kick. I laid down behind the beast and sighted a rock on the side of the mesa near the top. Now I am not accustom to shooting from this position or firing a cannon so when I pulled the trigger I dropped my head slightly and that with the kick smacked the scope back into my forehead. Let me tell you that my idea of a kick and a Marine sharpshooters idea of a kick are not the same.

Now I have this half moon imprint on the fat chunk between my eyebrows...well worth it...but I think I missed the mesa.

After much thought I have decided that the best way to defend yourself against a sharpshooter is to sneak up on them while they are sighting their gun and club them with your 22.

It was a fun day.

Long Hard Winter

Three months cooped up in the cabin with limited internet access and broken truck. Let me tell you it was a long hard winter. Although I did learn alot about myself and the difficulties of true self reliance and isolation.

All Ok

Thanks for the concern and I am fine. I am working on a couple of other projects that are occupying most of my brain. I will get back to blogging here soon.

Thanks Big Bear

Coyote

I can usually tell when there are predators around the house. My oldest dog Axel does this thing where he covers his pee with snow or dirt when something bad is in the woods. Well last night and this morning not only was he covering his pee but he was following Conway and Ruby around burying their urine.

About 2 this afternoon the dogs started barking like crazy. I figured it was a deer. This coyote was standing between the front door and the truck, about 10 feet from the house. The dogs were raging but the coyote just stood there looking at them. When I started yelling the gray devil turned and trotted off down the driveway not a care in the world.

This worries me somewhat. The coyote should have taken off when the dogs first started barking and especially when I started yelling. It is possible that he is really hungry or maybe sick. Need to keep my eyes open.

The People Are Irrelevant

The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

By a 5-4 vote, the court on Thursday overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for their own campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.

Unlimited corporate spending on campaigns means the government is up for sale and that the law itself will be bought and sold. It would be political bribery on the largest scale imaginable. This issue transcends partisan political arguments. We cannot have a government that is bought and paid for by huge multinational corporations.

The Supreme Court ruling mandates that the American people push an Amendment to the United States Constitution removing person-hood from corporations or completely submit to the Corporate/Government complex.

Missing My Guns

I am not a violent person nor do I ever really have violent thoughts that being said...

I Had a scary dream last night. I was over at the lake ice fishing it was dark. A couple fishing buddies saw this guy walk by and warned me about him. They said he was crazy. I get back to the cabin and head to bed. I noticed a truck go by real slow. It turned around at the end of the road and drives back past. I just figured it was kids out joyriding.

A few minutes later the crazy guy I had seen at the lake kicked in the door and starts towards the bed. The dogs were out back for some reason. Jumping out of bed I grab my practice rifle, a little semi automatic .22, which was a couple of steps from me. As the crazy guy is walking towards me I bring it up, cock it and pull the trigger...click...nothing happens.

Reaching me he pushes the gun aside and walks past. I swing around and cock the gun while pointing it at him. He laughs and says the gun ain't loaded then grabs the barrel and puts it to his throat. I pull the trigger and like before nothing happens. He is laughing hysterically now saying he will kill me for stealing his woman and that god is protecting him. With the barrel against his throat I cocked the little .22 once more and pulled the trigger. The gun fires knocking him backwards he is laying on the floor gasping with a small red hole in his throat. I empty the magazine into his head. Then wake up.

Strange thing, I always keep Mossberg 500 Tactical shotgun within arms reach of the bed but a few days back, after some target practice, I stored it with my other guns. I also keep a small .22 pistol on the night stand but placed it on top of the shelves next to my bed after practice. Subconsciously I must have been worried about the zombie bikers coming to call.  The pistol is back on the night stand and the shotgun next to the bed. Both are loaded with a round in the chambered ready to go.

I never have really thought about having to shoot someone. I could do it but honestly the only thing I have ever killed was that 20 foot rattlesnake last summer that was trying to wrap around the house. Four shots it took to kill that monster. Couple of times I had to fire a few rounds into the air to scare the bears away from the compost pile and once I used it to run off some coyotes but that's about it.

I started keeping the gun by the bed because I worried about a bear breaking in at night. I was already in the habit when we had the weirdness last year with the people disappearing. It is just odd that my mind would conjure up such strange imagery to remind me that the gun goes next to the bed. 

Local Banking Local Currency

After posting record profits and issue massive bonus in the banking industry for 2009 the American Bankers Association said today that if Obama imposes a fee on banks to recoup the bailout cost the banks will stop lending.

I say fine.

It is time for each state to create a state run bank that actually serves the needs of the public not massive corporate profits and bonuses for its executives. Nebraska has a state ran bank and guess what...the people of Nebraska are still able to get loans and the state is in the best economic health in the nation with the lowest unemployment rate. The model obviously works.

Take it one step further. The states should start issuing their own currency which is perfectly legal. Local currencies help keep the money in the state stimulating local economies and building local business. Many American communities issue local currency for just this purpose. Local merchants simply need to sign onto the program and accept the local money usually discounting products purchased with the local currency or better charge a premium on goods bought with the unstable U.S. dollar.

State authorized and controlled localized currency would cut the strangle hold that the privately owned Federal Reserve has on our economy and greatly reduce their influence over our elected leaders. It also reigns in the "to big to fail" banks that trashed the American economy in the first place.

If the Federal government is unwilling or unable to fix the problems with out economic system and bring the Federal Reserve under the control of the people then local communities must band together to protect their citizens and ensure their freedom.

The Dogs Love Global Warming

Super nice here today it has been incredible here all weekend. About 1:30 and the thermometer is reading 62.5 degrees. Many parts of the country are still experiencing deep cold fortunately most of that has missed me. A couple of days last week it got a little cold at night down around zero but all in all not that bad.

I have been up cutting wood on the ridge and dogs have spent the day playing and sunning on the deck. I think they were hunting either a mouse or rabbit in the picture. They have been out there all day. Was able to open up the house past couple of days and air out the dust and general stink I create.

Last year January through April were really warm with little snow. I am hoping that the trend continues this year. Some people like the cold and snow...I don't. The low humidity here in the high desert means that even temperatures in the 30's can be short sleeved days.

Global warming does not mean we won't have cold winters...winters are supposed to be cold. Global warming simply states that overall temperatures are slowly increasing globally and have been over the past 130 year...which is the truth.

A Simple Plan

With the coming Supreme Court ruling that will dismantle any campaign finance restriction on corporations it is only a matter of time until our lives and our money are completely controlled by corporate America. The mandatory health insurance fiasco disguised as reform is only the tip of the iceberg. Now it is simply a race to see which politicians can write the most lucrative legislation for their corporate overseers on the backs of working Americans.

Here are a few things you can do in 2010 to minimize your value as a corporate commodity and continue providing for your family.

Eliminate Debt - If you are in an upside down mortgage walk away from it as soon as possible. One of the first thing Congress will take up after the 2010 elections is legislation that will allow banks to recoup losses on negative equity mortgages that are defaulted. Right now all a bank can do is take the house. After Congress "reforms" the mortgage industry financial institutions will be allowed to reclaim losses through garnishment or indentured servitude in a corporate debtors prison. The percent they can claim will be determined by a corporate controlled Congress so expect it to be high. The same will be true for credit cards and car loans. If you cannot pay off your debt now walk away from it and use the money to minimize your life.

Grow Food - China is not going to be happy with a defaulting United States and will demand first pick from the bread basket. Receiver counties will demand food for payment of our debts. What ever is left will be divided among the starving American public. Grow your own garden and encourage your neighbors to do the same. But do it quietly because mega corporations like Monsanto are already buying legislation to make feeding yourself illegal.

Stop Buying Crap - Focus your remaining finances on securing a minimized life. Buy a old used travel trailer and vehicle to pull it...pay cash. Build up long term food stores and items that will help transition to growing your own food such as canning and gardening implements...pay cash. Warm practical clothing and solid footwear is a must...pay cash. Pick up a chain saw, splitting maul and small wood stove for your trailer...pay cash. A hunting rifle and some ammo would also be handy...pay cash.

Learn A Cash Trade - Learn a skill that can by traded for cash or bartered for necessary items. Here are a few use skills; food caner, chain saw sharpener, booze maker or auto repair. Stay away from construction work there are millions of out of work construction workers. Find a niche that is necessary and can be traded. 

The end is here! Corporations are going to pick the American carcass clean to the bone...then sell the bones to China.