It had been a stormy night, as I headed out that Fall morning. I walked out, alone, Browning in hand, with errant thunderstorms lingering, perhaps scuttling any plans I had to hunt without getting wet. The deer might well be hunkered down. Yet, as clouds broke into dawn drenched laughter, I could imagine one nice little buck poking his head out at...

20 of the above. UT-15 Urban Tactical AR's with quad rail features (empty)The carbon body of a American made 2007 Shelby Shelby Mustang Funny Car. A full grown trophy pronghorn antelope What do they all have in common? They all weigh about 140 pounds.The amount of sugar the average American consumes in 1 year. In the interest of health, HOTR is go...

The small house stood on an even smaller lot, among a cluster of homes that went up when the War ended and so many young men came home to marry and start a family. There were dozens just like it, neat and ordered, awaiting those that survived to light their rooms with freedom. The house stood there, 60 years later, most of its kind gone. The small...

"A people who mean to continue free must be prepared to meet danger in person..."Representative John Randolf 22 Dec 1790Danger - meet my little friends.One can never have too many friends. Thanks J.for the reminder....

I have a new EeePC and I'm blogging live from I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you some hotel in a large city where I'm not leaving my hotel after dark. It seems all the cool kids have one of these and when I saw this one for sale for $239 I snagged it. It's pretty much a huge blackberry as opposed to a small laptop, but for the road, where I...

Last month in Dublin, I had dinner in the Temple Bar district at a wonderful restaurant named Gallaghar's Boxty House. Excellent food and friendly service in a cozy and warm establishment that filled up as quickly as there were empty seats to be had. I had mine with a side of colcannon (potatoes mashed with cabbage) and a filling of creamed chicken...

It was one of those sticky days in early September,when the thought of another day of play was tickling my conscious like a pilfered cookie. From my room I could hear the siren call of those last bronze days of summer, moving like music, flowing like honey in bright sunlight that danced against my window. I was in grade school and it was time to se...

News at 11: "In Pakistan anti-American protesters set a Kentucky Fried chicken restaurant on fire. The protesters mistakenly thought they were attacking high-ranking U.S. military official Colonel Sanders.”World Traveler and Blogger Old NFO and I go back a ways. I was a young pup, piloting a transport and he caught a ride to get back to his bas...

"Tell Me, What is Happiness"Iain M. Banks Use of Weapons (prologue)I learned to read and write at a very young age, books being an essential part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was lucky to have two parents raised post depression, whose poor, but motivated Moms made sure they got a college education after they both lost their fathers ...

.."How come the bad guys get all the good stuff ?"-Kowalski - The Penguins of MadagascarA day off after working some weekends lately. Bacon Waffles . Coffee. The Penguins of Madagascar. Yes, I AM a big kid.But, I'm a big kid that realizes that sometimes the good guys DO get all the good stuff....

I have to say, the food on my Ireland trip was incredible. It ranged from some surprising pub food at this establishment to some gourmet food at a four star hotel up North. Seated up by the bar, I expected the usual bland tavern fare. What a surprise. Venison Stew in Red Wine Gravy under Puff Pastry. It was incredible, though the smell of the Lam...

I am the Sword of my Family and Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn all that you love, and kill every one of you.- Star Wars...

I woke up in a hotel last week, in a spot called "Earth City", named for the landfill which seems to be the focal point of the town. When I woke up, I looked out the window. There, over the landfill, was a beautiful sunrise. With my smaller camera, perhaps not the best photo, but the colors were spectacular and I'd have missed it completely if I'd...

Cheese is the best trap for mousetraps.I don't have mice in my house, (other than that one that snuck in during the night and ate the last scoop of Schwanz malted milk ice cream) but having lived in the country most of my life, I've learned they can be a nuisance.Dad used to set mousetraps under the kitchen sink. One day, I heard the SNAAP and wen...

For my hunting buddies, Mycroft Holmes, Og, Rangebuddy. And to Frank, who shares the bounty of his land. Thanks for the times, the patience. The memories. - Love - Brigid I'm sitting in my hotel room, with Arthur C. Clark's 1984: SPRING, A Choice of Futures, Heinlein's Glory Road, and the USA Midway Hunting Gear Catalog to read. Looking at various ...

I've written many times of my preference for steel old and blue. I've never purchased a Glock for personal use, preferring Mr. Browning's amazing 1911, a Sig, Taurus or an assortment of revolvers and lever action rifles. Yet I'm becoming more interested in the variety of self defense pistols out there of the polymer variety, instead of a traditiona...

As you head out to drive to work, the sun might be shining, but what will the weather be like when you come home from work? What if your car slides or is forced off the road due to another driver that leaves the scene. There you are, stuck in a ditch or broke down in an isolated area as the temperature slides quickly to zero or below?More times t...

It seems we have had more snow this winter then in all the years I've lived in Indiana, as if the state is purposely thumbing its nose at Al Gore. Perhaps it just seems that way as this year I'm having to shovel regularly, with the house for sale and the Realtor needing a place to park and walk. Myself, I'd just put the truck in 4 wheel drive ...

As the saying goes, I have to go see a man about a horse. I'll be back in a day or two for that Range report on the XD9. Until then, maybe a story or some thoughts from the road to come up....

Yeah right - that will stop the UPCOMING ICE AGE global warming."Vegan Mondays." Those are just some of the proposals put forth by the Cambridge Climate Congress, an entity created in May 2009 to respond to the "climate emergency" plaguing the Massachusetts city.All I can say in response isMOO, MOO, MOOAdd some mushroom/onion gravy and you have a r...

You can clean, you can repaint. Still there are those things around the place that will make the average yuppie Realtor shudder. My friend, shooter and reloader, Midwest Chick, and I had a laugh recently talking about some of the stuff we shooters have in our homes when it's time to sell and we had a few ideas. . . .It's a lamp. I'm telling you, i...

I walk through a stand of trees, gauging as to where a good place would be to set a tree blind next year. The woods are chilly from a passing cold front, the air violent and raw, snow piled on the ground, with only small bits of green able to come up for air. I savor the crispness of the air, the breeze surging through the woods, its floor littered...

This weeks upcoming Range report - The Smith and Wesson XD9 Tactical. Something doesn't have to be humongous to be a classic. Like these, a simple cupcake, hardly more than three or four bites. But those are bites that count.Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Hazelnut FrostingI made these over the weekend as I felt like baking Sunday. If you ...

This weeks upcoming Range report - The Springfield XD9 Tactical. A friend let me try one to see how I liked it. I did. Something doesn't have to be humongous to be a classic. Like these, a simple cupcake, hardly more than three or four bites. But those are bites that count.Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Hazelnut FrostingI made these over t...

This was a "what can I make with what's in the freezer and cupboard" dish that started with a couple of cans and NO recipe but turned out really good. It's basically chili but with the corn and black beans and consistency, serves up more like a gumbo and it was awesome over some rice, with cilantro and sour cream and cheese on the side.How does i...

Cupid has upgraded from a bow and arrow, look out.Personally I'm going to stay home at the Range, watch "Kill Bill", eat popcorn and have a beer on the 14th. But for those of you with someone special of the female variety that you wish to buy a gift for, here are a few ideas that I posted last year and some of you asked to see again.Some women do l...

photo h/t Mark in AKWhat I remember of those mornings camping under the wing was the smell of woodsmoke mixed in with the smell of aviation fuel.Alaska, a river far up, towards the Brooks Range. A small float plane and darkness that only flirted with me, while stars as hard as flint sparked something in the sky.I was never one for the organized cam...

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I HATE shopping. Truly. I own more guns than pairs of shoes. Guns and ammo, books, music, home improvement stuff, now those are things I'm happy to shop for. But shopping for the stuff some women seem to want to amass and collect bores me to tears. And I hate stores and crowds. Clauswitz would be proud. I...

1960's trouble2010 trouble Division of Wildlife Agent: "D. speaking, how can I help you?"Me: "Yes I'd like to inquire as to when bayonet season is?"Agent: "HUH. . . . did you say bayonet?"Me: "Yes, I'd like to take a deer using the bayonet on my Mauser "Agent: " Wait. Miss. Did you say a Mauser? No. Firearm season is long over with. You can't tak...

The land is violently green and it is raw, morning breaking with a crash of spray against a sea cliff, days stretching longer than the beaches that lie quietly in wait for a footstep to make an impression on them.There in the sand, small bits of history, small stones, a piece of bone that appears to have been carved, a perfect, pristine shell, bot...

Come away, O human child: To the waters and the wild with a fairy, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. William Butler YeatsOne last day....

The surprising thing. I can go dressed like this into the local store or bank and no thinks - (1) I'm going to rob itor(2) I'm something other than a Celtic Catholic lass....

After the narrow roads, everyone driving the wrong way and the sheep speedbumps, I'm supposed to worry about falling off of sea cliffs?Be careful, or you'll need one of these places afterwards. Cliffs of Mohr And a earlier trip to the cliffs south of Portrush. This could be a book. Assuming I make it down :-)...

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"Why are you going to Ireland in the winter". . they say.You can find places like this, with no other tourists. That's why....