Middle Son to Youngest Son: I made a treasure map for you!
Youngest immediately grabs the popgun.
Middle Son: You don't need a gun!
Youngest: There might be bears.
Middle: There aren't any bears on the map!
Youngest: There are woods on the map.
I'm so proud.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Global Warming/Climate Change, what have you.
I see a lot of people claiming that climate change is horrible and a lot of people claiming it doesn't exist.
I claim it doesn't matter.
Let's look at the facts of my little corner of the climate:
1. We have had one year in the last fifiteen that had a normal amount of precipitation.
2. Even though we have set a record for snowfall staying on the ground this year, we are still behind in total rainfall, snowpack, etc.
3. Pine beetles have been killing the shit out of trees around here for the entire drought and it's worse this year than in any in memory.
4. It takes a long time to grow a nice tree around here, in the wild, fifty plus years is normal.
5. With dry trees that are dying, fire is big deal, even for city dwellers. I've still got a pretty defensible fire perimeter, but a really bad year, or water rationing in the city could change that, fast.
After fifiteen years, it's time to make plans like things might not get better. I'm not talking cap and trade or any of that kind of crap. If you are going to spend money on something, it should be of econmic benifit all on it's own. Say, drought resistant landscaping, low flush toliets, water disipline while brushing your teeth. All of these things do one very important thing, they reduce my costs of home ownership. Just like CFL bulbs make it cheaper to light my house, and LCD monitors lower the cost of my computer habit.
They also have a second effect, they help the environment. I really care about the land around me. I don't dump motor oil on the ground, I use it to heat my garage. When I wander into the woods, I don't leave anything behind that would let someone know I was there. That allows more people to enjoy the woods and keeps the woods nice for my kids.
Cap and trade assumes that there is no economic reason for companies to reduce their carbon footprint outside of some artificial market. Carbon footprints go down as energy gets more expensive. Energy gets more expensive every year. Energy efficiency will happen automatically, if you want to to show up faster, drop some money on R&D instead of implementing a new tax.
If you want to know the real reason we are in a recession you really don't have to look much further than the huge spike the energy prices took a few years back. Sure, there were lots of nasty bad things happening in the banking industry, and housing was out of control. But nothing kills an economy faster than high energy prices. High energy prices effect every part of every day of the entire world. Transportation gets more expensive, making food more expensive, it costs more to heat the house, so you've got less money to spend on that food that now cost more. Oh, and that max leverage mortgage you took out to buy that 'investment grade' house has left you without any extra income to afford those higher energy prices. It's a vicious cycle that only really has one solution, use less energy.
In short, make your life more efficient and leave some slack in your budget. And remember, not even taxes are sure, only change is constant.
I claim it doesn't matter.
Let's look at the facts of my little corner of the climate:
1. We have had one year in the last fifiteen that had a normal amount of precipitation.
2. Even though we have set a record for snowfall staying on the ground this year, we are still behind in total rainfall, snowpack, etc.
3. Pine beetles have been killing the shit out of trees around here for the entire drought and it's worse this year than in any in memory.
4. It takes a long time to grow a nice tree around here, in the wild, fifty plus years is normal.
5. With dry trees that are dying, fire is big deal, even for city dwellers. I've still got a pretty defensible fire perimeter, but a really bad year, or water rationing in the city could change that, fast.
After fifiteen years, it's time to make plans like things might not get better. I'm not talking cap and trade or any of that kind of crap. If you are going to spend money on something, it should be of econmic benifit all on it's own. Say, drought resistant landscaping, low flush toliets, water disipline while brushing your teeth. All of these things do one very important thing, they reduce my costs of home ownership. Just like CFL bulbs make it cheaper to light my house, and LCD monitors lower the cost of my computer habit.
They also have a second effect, they help the environment. I really care about the land around me. I don't dump motor oil on the ground, I use it to heat my garage. When I wander into the woods, I don't leave anything behind that would let someone know I was there. That allows more people to enjoy the woods and keeps the woods nice for my kids.
Cap and trade assumes that there is no economic reason for companies to reduce their carbon footprint outside of some artificial market. Carbon footprints go down as energy gets more expensive. Energy gets more expensive every year. Energy efficiency will happen automatically, if you want to to show up faster, drop some money on R&D instead of implementing a new tax.
If you want to know the real reason we are in a recession you really don't have to look much further than the huge spike the energy prices took a few years back. Sure, there were lots of nasty bad things happening in the banking industry, and housing was out of control. But nothing kills an economy faster than high energy prices. High energy prices effect every part of every day of the entire world. Transportation gets more expensive, making food more expensive, it costs more to heat the house, so you've got less money to spend on that food that now cost more. Oh, and that max leverage mortgage you took out to buy that 'investment grade' house has left you without any extra income to afford those higher energy prices. It's a vicious cycle that only really has one solution, use less energy.
In short, make your life more efficient and leave some slack in your budget. And remember, not even taxes are sure, only change is constant.
New Holster
At the beginning of December I ordered a new holster from Side Guard Holsters for my Kel-Tec PF-9. I already had a pocket holster I liked, and an IWB holster that was OK, but didn't fit with the Armalaser attached. I decided that what I really wanted was a basic, OWB holster that would fit my gun with the laser attached. There didn't seem to be anything off the shelf that really got the job done. So I order this one. I got mine with a 15 degree FBI cant as I like to wear my gun right behind my hip, say about 3:30 to 4. The farther around behind your hip, the more important the cant of the holster becomes, without tilting, the butt of the gun ends up sticking out an printing no matter how heavy your cover garment is.
The above the belt nature allows me to wear a shirt or sweatshirt that doesn't really look like it's to long for me. It also reduces the chance that I'll flash my gun when reaching for my wallet.When the gun rides this high, the muzzle doesn't get pushed on by your hip, which in turn doesn't push the butt into your side. Great for comfort, not so great for concealment.
Erik told me that the belt slots on this holster are critical for a good fit and concealment. It's very important when ordering a holster that it match your belt width, otherwise the holster will move around and the gun won't be exactly where you expect it when you need it. In the case of this holster, it's doubly important. Erik also told me that it would be seven weeks before he could make my holster. I have trouble waiting seven hours got new toys. I'd rather pay extra to go pick it up today. I resolved to forget that I ordred the holster at all.
Seven weeks passed like lightening. Not really, I was actually sure that the end of the world would come first. On first examination the holster is really a piece of industrial art. There is no unnecessary leather, the stitching perfect, the boning is enough to hold the gun securely and yet no nooks for my shirt to hang up on. Initial comfort was pretty good. It took about two days for the leather against my side to soften up enough to feel like it was a part of me. The gun rides beautifully tight. The butt rides just under my rib cage, the muzzle rides even with the bottom of my belt. No part of the muzzle protrudes below the bottom edge of the holster. This holster is everything I wanted and needed in an OWB holster. Recommended. Next, a IWB model, tuckable I think....
The above the belt nature allows me to wear a shirt or sweatshirt that doesn't really look like it's to long for me. It also reduces the chance that I'll flash my gun when reaching for my wallet.When the gun rides this high, the muzzle doesn't get pushed on by your hip, which in turn doesn't push the butt into your side. Great for comfort, not so great for concealment.
Erik told me that the belt slots on this holster are critical for a good fit and concealment. It's very important when ordering a holster that it match your belt width, otherwise the holster will move around and the gun won't be exactly where you expect it when you need it. In the case of this holster, it's doubly important. Erik also told me that it would be seven weeks before he could make my holster. I have trouble waiting seven hours got new toys. I'd rather pay extra to go pick it up today. I resolved to forget that I ordred the holster at all.
Seven weeks passed like lightening. Not really, I was actually sure that the end of the world would come first. On first examination the holster is really a piece of industrial art. There is no unnecessary leather, the stitching perfect, the boning is enough to hold the gun securely and yet no nooks for my shirt to hang up on. Initial comfort was pretty good. It took about two days for the leather against my side to soften up enough to feel like it was a part of me. The gun rides beautifully tight. The butt rides just under my rib cage, the muzzle rides even with the bottom of my belt. No part of the muzzle protrudes below the bottom edge of the holster. This holster is everything I wanted and needed in an OWB holster. Recommended. Next, a IWB model, tuckable I think....
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