Carter? Seriously?

I'm not calling Mitt a liar, really I'm not. I have seen video today where Romney was asked if he would have ordered the hit on Fishbait, and he replies that even Carter would have ordered it. Some how, I doubt that Mr Incompompetent the First would have authorized the strike. Heck, we know gaffer joe Biden wouldn't have, he said as much.
Carter? Seriously? Nah!
Personally, I believe that if Romney was in the White House, and they called him for permission, He would have replied, You need to ask? What kind of General are you? Thats a given, call me when its over.
Could be wrong.....

Fire damage

Just a quick update, here are two pics of the front of my house showing what the wild fire did. A couple more minutes, and there would have been serious problems. There have been several fires since I bought the property. Kansas pasture is tinder in the spring, especially during February and March when things are dry. the ranchers burn off pasture to rejuvenate it. It clears out the old stubble and also gets rid of junipers and sumac which can choke out grass in a matter of a few years. Grass fires are a common site in spring.

To be clear, I burn every year, that's not what I mean when I say fires. I mean the unplanned variety. Several of them were investigated, and tossed cigarettes were the culprit in two of them including the one that got my siding. I hate to say it, but I see several every year along the roads that were clearly caused by a smoker.

Clearly not Standard

The year was 1949. most of our soldiers had returned from Europe and Japan. Most were settling back into civilian life. One of them was not William Ruger. Ruger had contributed to the war effort. His designs for guns equipped our soldiers with cutting edge tools of war. now the war was over, and he continued to design guns. his first civilian project was dubbed the Standard. it was anything but. A simple knock off of the famous Japanese Nambu design, it was a unique weapon for its time. Ruger lacked money though, but to the rescue came an enterprising fellow, Alex Sturm. Sturm knew a good thing when he saw it, and he saw great things in the Standard. So great, that he plopped down capital to launch the pistol that launched the most successful firearms compant in America. Am I exagerating? I don't think so. The standard, also known as the Mark I, is the most successful target pistol in the world. It has undergone only a few changes. The Mark I is in fact not the same as the Standard. The Mark I is the first target version of this fantastic plinker.

The Ruger has a distinct look and appeal to it. When it was first intorduced, many people thought Ruger was a spelling error in the ads, and that it was in fact a new Luger. While looks are close, and feel is similar, this is by no means a German engineered weapon. Its America through and through.
I aquired my Standard in 1981. A quick glance will confirm that it is a newer one, not an early copy. I cannot tell you how many rounds I have put through it. I have worn out several magazines in the years of shooting I have enjoyed with it. Its not easy to wear out a magazine, let me assure you of that. The original models lacked a last round bolt stop. A modified follower took care of that, if you wanted it. Since the bolt closes as soon as the mag is withdrawn, I found them to be a waste of time, an extra round was much prefered. The MkII upgrade solved that issue.

One of the few drawbacks to the Standard thru MkII was the mag release. It was situated at the bottom of the grip, and could be a bugger to operate, expecially in cold weather. the new MkIIIs solved that problem.
Ruger offers many lines of guns. From competition rimfires like the Standard to cowboy action  shooting to home defense and Police lines, they touch every niche of firearms, all from a company that started in 1949.

The Standard remained virtually unchanged for 33 years. That, coupled with sales in excess of two million will confirm that Bill Ruger had a winner. It wasn't a standard, it set a NEW Standard.

Busy busy

While I would like to post several articles each day, it is rare for me to make that happen. That is why I admired Don. He had a tough schedule, but always had things for people to read. What I aspire to be, and what I am are two diffrent things though. When I am tired, its hard to get motivated to write something. I have seen several articles this past week that tripped my trigger, but I didn't manage to put a pixel on the screen.
I live in rural Kansas, and we have two realities here, tornados, and praire fires. I purchased the land where my house sits over fifteen years ago. It is a nice rolling property with woods, open pasture, a nice valley, and a hill top with a tremendous view. That is where my first wife wanted to build the house. I wasn't too enthused, but when wife number two picked the same spot, I agreed. Well, while we were building, we had a twister pass through. It leveled my neighbors garage and removed wuite a few shingles from his roof. When I drove up to mine, it seemed every shingle on the west side was standing straight up. We had to redo it. I am reminded of the horror movies where a couple moves into an old house. as they wander about, a voice utters "Get out"! They stay, and mayhem follows.
Suprise suprise. I have replaced the shingles three times. The last time, I opted for a steel roof. its holding.....So far.
Siding is another matter. The Chapman tornado also hit Manhattan. it passed just south of my place. I lost the siding from the west side to that cool breeze. About sixteen months ago we had a grass fire, It was caused by a cigarette thrown into dry grass. The bottom three feet of siding on my south and east sides caught it. Melted and runny. Vinal and country living do not mix. My yard has no large trees. makes for a great view, but a bit windy.
Now that my divorce is final, I am residing the house. This time its with cement board. Thats why I'm so dogone tired and not much to say here. We are striping whats left of the vinal and getting it done.
Maybe I'll put up pictures later, we'll have to see.

Surber Retired

yesterday was crazy. When I went to check in at Don's place, it was articles from last week. All day, it was crazy, then last night I checked facebook, and he said he was quitting blogging. Its our great loss. Don had one of the most informative small blogs out there. The commenters were a gret bunch, and we had several resident drools err tools of the left.
His message said his health wasn't worth it, and I can agree with that. If you don't enjoy something, you have to weigh the reward and the cost. For Don, it was too great. I guess he had a tough job keeping people in line. He always had a steady stream of articles through the day. He will be missed.
Best wishes to you Don, you were a great blogger. and a wonderful host.

The war on terror is over

That's the announcement from the State Department. I say great, Now disband the Teams of Sexual Assailants and all the other crap from the Patriot Act and let us live like Americans.

Seriously, this bumbling fucked up administration couldn't beat a band of babies in bassinets, let alone win. The only other option is they are giving up. Its logical. They ushered in the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Libya, are supporting radicals in Syria, and cowering from Iran. What other possibility is there?

Talk about inflation

A 1792 penny is worth over a million bucks today. Wow! The rare cent is being auctioned, and the bids are enormous. The same coin last sold in 1974 for a measly $105,000, so the take this time will be in excess of ten times its purchase price. In 38 years. Fuel is arround 8 times the price, so The coin has only kept pace with inflation. Any one have one of these silver centered suckers they'd care to trade for a shiny new one?