Some random thoughts...

I was going to post a picture of another of my rifles tonight, but after getting it out of the safe and finding a suitable place to photograph it, I realized my camera battery was dead... and I don't know where the charger is right now. Bummer.

I finally jumped on the Apple fanboy bandwagon and bought an iPhone (once the price had dropped to $100). It's frikken great! I had no idea what I had been missing, just using a $15 gophone (with my sim card in it) for the last year. Wow - way much more than a phone! All my music is on it, there's a sick amount of "apps" available - I have a bunch of games on it as well as a GPS, "I heart radio" and even a bible in various translations! One HUGE drawback - since I got the phone, I have not read one single book... which is saying something coming from a guy who used to read 2 or 3 a week... I am going to have to address that at some point, but not right now. I have a high score to beat on Battlefield 2.

Today was an especially interesting day for me in the blogosphere. I found a pretty inspiring story about open carry in California over at Say Uncle, which was written in a neutral/positive manner. Pretty refreshing to see a reporter actually report on gunnies objectively. Over at Joe Huffman's casa, I found a link to the state of affairs back in Blighty, which is pretty depressing (and would be even more so if I still lived there). I swear, whenever I get down about the latest stunts our lords and masters in Washington are planning to inflict upon us, I see stories like this which correct my perspective and make me truly thankful that I live where I do. These stories also, however, show us a taste of what's to come too, should we slip in our vigilance.

This year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous has me all tingly. There's going to be a lot of folks going that I'd love to finally meet in the flesh, and it sounds like there are a lot of neat events planned too. It's great that they pushed it up from October to September, so in a perfect world, I could attend and still go hunting. However, it is not a perfect world, and like everyone else, my funds are stretched pretty tight right now. My wife and I have shares in a points-based timeshare thingy and they happen to have a resort in Reno less than half a mile from the Silver Legacy, where the Rendezvous is being hosted. Since I could use that for "free" (notwithstanding the thousands of dollars we paid up front to actually purchase the shares) I wouldn't have to sweat the $300+ a hotel room would set me back and I'd only have to deal with gas there and back... I could possibly swing that... unfortunately, the Reno resort is fully booked, so I'm on the "first tier" waiting list to snag anything that comes up should someone cancel... it looks like that is the only possible way I'll be able to attend, worst luck... well, fingers crossed...

Build party...

Having finally scored my citizenship, I decided to celebrate by making a new gun purchase. But... not just any gun, oh no...

I got me the beginnings of an EBR!

My friend came over tonight with his, and we set about assembling our AR15 lowers...

Voila!

Thirty minutes of grunting, cursing, hammering and chasing parts across the shop, we finally put together the finished product.

That unsightly lump above the magazine is a bullet button, a device that makes it impossible to remove the magazine without a tool - something you want to have in California to stay within the limits of our laws here.

For those who care, that is a LAR Grizzly-15 lower, with a CMMG parts kit and a Magpul p-mag configured to take 10 rounds only (another California requirement).

Although I'm heartily satisfied with tonight's work, obviously it is not yet complete without the upper assembly... well, that costs a wee bit more, and thanks to current "gun" market conditions, there's somewhat of a wait...

Soon, my precious, soon...

Today...

I turned in my voter registration form at the Registrar of Voters. This is one of the rights I've been eagerly anticipating.
I have never voted before. I moved to the States when I was 17, and the UK voting age is 18, same as it is here. I received a voter form for the UK in the mail, but never got involved. I was young, didn't much care about politics in Blighty (or anywhere at that time, for that matter) so I never voted. In the last few years this right is one that has become more important to me, especially as I have watched the changes around me that I have had no say in. I cannot wait to finally make my voice heard.
Heck, I even want to serve on a jury!

Yosemite

A few shots of Yosemite for your viewing pleasure...

Random shot of the valley floor. Well, not so random I guess - my wife loves ferns...

My Little Princess and her cousin, with the entire valley as a backdrop.

Sasha found the only shade available under our truck, plopped down and wouldn't move. She actually looks dead in this picture...

Yosemite Valley floor, as seen from Glacier Point. That's a LOOOONG way down...

Half Dome, seen from Glacier Point.

Bridalveil Fall...

Number One Son and his cousin fishing the Merced River.

The view from our room's patio...

I am an American Citizen.

Yesterday, I stood up with 2701 other new citizens in the LA Sports Arena and took the Oath of Naturalization. I cried throughout the whole thing. Aside from my wedding, and the birth of my two children, I'm hard pressed to find a day with more significance in my lifetime.

It's been a crazy last few days. The ceremony was scheduled smack in the middle of our planned trip to Yosemite, but I wasn't about to reschedule something I'd been waiting on for so long... so, Wednesday we drove up (380 miles) and got settled in to the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal (great place, by the way - our rooms overlooked the Merced river - but the crappiest staff I have encountered in a hotel in a LONG time).
Thursday we drove into Yosemite, up to Glacier Point - amazing vista - and tooled around for a while, then back out to the hotel for dinner and a celebratory toast with the family, before I headed out on the road again at 9pm to get back into LA. Got to my brother-in-law's place in Long Beach around 4am and crashed on his couch for about 3 hours.
Friday I got up at 8:30 am, fretted around for a couple of hours getting ready before I made my way to the Sports Arena. Got in line, got herded around like cattle, completed the oath ceremony, listened to President Obama say a few words (videotaped of course) and filed out to pick up my certificate of naturalization. Saw sunlight again at around 3pm where I met up with a couple of my church friends who had come out to support me, grabbed a quick bite at Denny's with them before heading back up to Yosemite AGAIN. LA traffic by this time was absolutely abysmal and added a good two hours to my trip. I didn't see my hotel room until midnight.
Got up this morning, packed up, took the 120 East through the valley and came home down the Eastern side of the Sierras, via 395. We pulled in to the Kingdom at 9:30, and now I'm looking forward to my bed. I have driven close to 2000 miles these last four days. I'm tired, as is the rest of my family (although they didn't accompany me down to LA) but elated at finally possessing proof of US citizenship. Now to switch out my red passport for a pretty blue one and register to vote. I'll be getting started on both of those Monday.
Bitchen pictures of Yosemite to follow...

UPDATE: I just learned by reading Say Uncle that yesterday was also the first anniversary of the Heller decision! June 26th will forever be doubly auspicious for me! Gun blogger taking the Oath of Naturalization on the anniversary of the Heller decision. Way cool!

Happy Father's Day

Dad,
I want to say thank you.
Thank you for giving me an example of how to be a good husband and father.
Thank you for all the sacrifices you've made over the years for your children.
Thank you for the wisdom and advice you've passed on throughout my life, even in those times when I was too dumb to heed it.
Thank you for all the work you endured, in all the crappy places around the world to provide for your family.
Thank you for bringing us here to the United States to chase our fullest potential.
Thank you, Dad.

Citizenship....

May finally be happening!  I have an appointment to appear at the LA Sports Arena on Friday June 26th to take my naturalization oath.  Wow!  This has been a LONG time coming - and its not over yet, but the end is in sight!  Going to celebrate with my family tonight...

Ruger jumps on the AR bandwagon...

Imagine that...
The SR-556. Small print states that it may not be available in all states. That means no Ruger AR for you, California...
With an MSRP of $2K, I wouldn't be in the market for one anyway, I suppose.

In case you had any doubts...

...whether our elected representatives made staying in power a higher priority than principles, hopefully Senator Arlen Specter's behavior this week cleared that up for you.
Facing a trouncing in his upcoming Republican primary (judging by the polling data), Specter decided to switch his party affiliation to Democrat, mere weeks after affirming that he would stay Republican.
This man is obviously much less concerned about giving one party a filibuster-proof majority than he is about personally losing all (well, most; he still scores a lifetime retirement check for his "service") the perks associated with being a US senator.
Here's the money quote: "I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."
Get that, Pennsylvania Republicans? He doesn't answer to YOU, you filth. Who the hell do you think you are?

Another sign of the apocalypse...

Funny...yet sad... pretty much confirms my opinion of humanity as a whole...
I am so very thankful this technology was not available during my partying days...

Jackhammer Gardening

My friend and I dug four of these today, getting ready to plant some citrus trees. I started off the day renting a two-man auger, but it was useless - just bouncing around on top of the ground. We went back to Home Depot and traded it out for a jackhammer...

It did the trick, but man that's some work!

The holes are about 2-3 feet wide and 3 deep, and that white stuff you see in the picture is granite. Hopefully there will be enough drainage towards the front of the holes for the trees... guess we'll find out.

I'm going to bed now. I am very sore.

How was your Sunday?

Tea Party for lunch...

First. Protest. Evar!

My darling wife and I spent our lunch break today attending the Riverside, CA Tea Party. On the way in, I stopped by a store to grab my protest flag.

I was a little hesitant about this, figuring it might be just a half dozen or so folks, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout - I would say 100-150 people maybe.

The rally wound its way through downtown Riverside in a very orderly, civilized manner - staying on the sidewalks, obeying the traffic signs etc. There were no cops in attendance, with the exception of a couple of Sheriff's deputies who came out of the courthouse to see what was going on.

Everyone in the protest was very friendly - pretty low-key, not a lot of shouting or hectoring, just a bunch of people walking together,holding signs and chatting amiably. Quite a few made positive comments about our choice of banner.

There was one guy, out in the Farmer Boys parking lot, who asked with a sneer, "Aside from everything, what exactly is it you guys are protesting?", to which I replied "The size of government; the loss of liberty". Yeah, a big talker I am not...

Well, we did a circuit of downtown, and the march wasn't stopping. They continued on to do a second lap. Wifey and I looked at the watch, then at each other, and decided that we had to split. We had to go back to work - taxes to pay, y'know...

Want a copy of the Constitution?

You should look these guys up. I ordered 10, to give out to my friends/family. Just got them today. Single copies are free, multiple copies run you $10 for 10, $25 for 50. Pretty good bargain for some essential education...

Hmmm

The Joy of Sex is currently riding at number 69 on the Amazon bestseller list...

Puerile, I know...

Long time....

Well, I hope all y'all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - I know I did... although I spent the first few days of the year back in Georgia since my dad had been hospitalized. It was good to see my folks and my sister and her family, but I would have rather it had been under different circumstances.
My dad's home from the hospital now, but he'll be going back in for more surgery very soon I believe. Hopefully this time will be the last. Like my dad said to me, "It's a bugger getting old".

So, two days after I get back, my loving wife heads out to Miami for a week of seminars relating to work. Just me and the kids fending for ourselves right now... so far so good - have not yet had to resort to take-out...

The pimping of the Ruger continues apace... I topped it with a 8-32x44 AO scope, and this week installed a Power Custom hammer and sear kit to lighten up the trigger pull. Almost done, I think, with the exception of installing sling mounts on the stock - hopefully without jacking up that beautiful wood. Pictures to follow...

Obama

Judging by the Electoral College counts that I'm seeing on TV, McCain pretty much got his ass handed to him tonight. We've just witnessed a very powerful demand for a change in direction for this country, and to be honest, much more of a majority than I expected to see. The Democrats are poised, with the presidency and strong majorities in both houses, to pretty much do as they see fit with impunity for at least the next two years. Interesting times indeed.
I have to give it to the man - he is an incredible speaker. I can only hope that his talk of uniting the country and working together is not so much hot air, but I fear that there is really no incentive or need for him to do so with the mandate he's been handed.
The Democrats have the reins of power now. Whatever happens in the next couple of years will be entirely their responsibility - they will have to own it. I will pray that they use that power wisely.

Pimp my Ruger

Since that rifle match I took part in a few weeks back, I've been filled with a desire to "hop up" my plain-jane Ruger 10/22 in an attempt to coax possibly more accuracy out of it. So, patiently biding my time on several gun boards out there, I managed to pick up a clean laminated Fajen stock for $40 plus 100rds of 7.62X39 and a Green Mountain sporter barrel for $65 shipped.
Well.... the barrel came in Friday afternoon and I finally got an opportunity to make the switch today...
Before:

My bone-stock Ruger 10/22. Not much more to say, really...

15 minutes and one bottle of Hornsby's Crisp Apple Cider later:


I know the pictures suck - the lighting was suboptimal - but that stock is frikken beautiful.
Here's a close-up:


I am an absolute sucker for pretty furniture...
Here's a closer shot of the new barrel:

Now just to add a decent scope, take this bad boy down to the range and see if the setup will shoot as advertised...

I'm not down with that

As you all know, the election is coming up on Tuesday. Here in California, voters will also be asked to vote on several propositions on the ballot - an attempt at government by direct democracy rather than having the legislature do its job.
One such proposition is Proposition 8, which would change the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Since the courts here pretty much gave a green light to gay marriage, this is probably the last weapon in the arsenal of those who oppose gay marriage.
I have a huge problem with this.
My understanding is that a constitution is written up to limit the power of government.
What we have here is an attempt to amend a constitution to restrict the liberties of the people.
See the difference?
Whether you care for gays getting married or not, using a constitutional amendment as a bludgeon to smack down folks you do not agree with can NEVER be excused.
That way lies peril.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness does not come with an "only if you're straight" qualifier.
I am a married Christian man who finds the concept of attraction to a member of my own sex incomprehensible, but that gives me no right to use government to discriminate against homosexuals. They do me or mine no harm by existing, and they certainly do not violate the sanctity of my marriage. Given current divorce rates (especially amongst Christians!) us straights are doing that just fine all by ourselves.
As for it being taught in public schools, well there are choices - this is America, after all. We can send our kids to private school, or even home school them ourselves if we dislike the curriculum enough. Better yet, as parents, since we are the primary influence in our kids' lives,we can teach our children and show by example ourselves the life lessons we want them to learn.
You may not agree with the homosexual lifestyle. You may not like it. You may even hate it. What you must do though, is think very carefully about using the power of the government to restrict the liberties of a particular group in our society, if only because the next one up on the block might be yours.

Pomegranate baseball

....sounds like fun, don't it?

Well, there was a series of poor choices made yesterday afternoon...

Number one, probably the worst; I decided that I could trust my kids and their buddy to get on with their homework unattended while I took care of some stuff online (OK I was surfing...)
Not so. Bad dad.

Number two; my kids opted for play first, THEN homework... they know better than this, or at least I thought they did...

Number three; my kids hopped the fence to our next-door neighbor's yard to take some pomegranates from their tree (my neighbor's moved out and the house is vacant at present, and they had told us to feel free to come over and take whatever fruit we wanted - they have a lot of fruit trees - however, I don't want my kids going over there without a grown-up, something that I hope now is VERY clear).

Number four; since they couldn't find a baseball, the kids decided that these round, red, somewhat OVERRIPE fruits that they had just taken from next door would make an excellent substitute. That's right; batting practice in my backyard with pomegranates. Notice the plural - pomegranates do not survive more than one contact with a baseball bat, so yes, they used multiple pomegranates...

Last night, right before we were to leave for football practice, my daughter's conscience got the better of her and she spilled the beans. I walked up the drive into the back, surveyed the carnage, and told them to pick up the larger pieces... in a rather large OUTDOOR voice... since we were pressed for time, I left it at that for the time being.

Tonight, before they get to do anything fun, EVERY LAST SEED shall be removed from my backyard...

And yes, it was quite hard to keep a straight face throughout. I was a kid myself too, once...

This one time - in deer camp...

Deer season opened up October 4th this year in the zone we like to hunt, which is X1, all the way up in Siskiyou County by Mt Shasta. I got to work on Friday the 3rd at 6am, got off at 3, got my crap together and headed upstate.
13 hours and 720 miles later I pulled into camp right at 6am where my buddies (who had come up the day before) were getting ready to go out. I had just enough time to change into some warmer clothes and grab my .308.
Saturday rained all day, so we spent a lot of time in my friend's truck, just cruising the lonely dirt roads way back in the forest. Saw plenty of does and fawns, but no legal bucks.
The next few days the weather cleared up so we could break out the ATVs and the Rhino - much fun!
I stayed till Tuesday, but struck out as far as deer are concerned. No matter - the Shasta-Trinity forest is incredibly beautiful and the company was great. I heartily enjoy my forays into California's northern forests, and look forward to these trips every year.
The highlight of my trip...
My friend Shane and I were walking along a remote road, looking for sign of deer. I was ahead, looking into the trees on our left, when Shane let out with:"Bear!"
Since this guy is a jokester, I turned back towards him to say something like "Yeah, very funny," when he pointed past me with a stricken look on his face.
Sure enough, there was a middlin' sized Black Bear ambling down the road towards us about 80 yards distant. The bear turned into the trees on our right, still ambling along at an easy pace, until he drew about even with us. Finally he caught sight of us and took off running. You don't see that every day, at least not down here in the brown valley...
OK - some pics...

A gap in the forest from up high - the trees go for miles and miles. Fantastic. I think this was Saturday, because it looks a bit gloomy.

Mt Shasta through the trees. You have this vast green carpet of trees with a stark white cone sticking up out of the middle of it all. There's snow on there year round, I believe.
Some of the "ATV militia" on the prowl...
Motor pool back at camp...

Dew-dusted trees...

Mt Shasta from the McCloud gas station on the way back home...