Musings on a stormy, rainy day after Christmas

So, did everyone have a good Christmas? Was Jesus Christ honored in your home? I hope so!

Well, it is now the day after Christmas, so THAT madness is over with for a good while. I've written a few posts about that the last few weeks, so 'nuff said.

You know, as crazy as most holidays are, you just gotta love the day after ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas that involve lots of food. Leftovers, baby! Leftovers! No real cooking necessary for several days, if done right. Yeehaw!

OK, moving right along. I am not a believer in the whole "global warming" hullabaloo, at least the stuff about man-made "greenhouse" gases destroying our climate. I do believe that climate is cyclical, with long periods of warming and cooling. Shoot, we're probably overdue for an ice age. But, I digress. What I have noticed, as even a hermit like me cannot avoid noticing, is that our winters have been warmer lately. Here it is a few days from New Years Day, and it is in the 50's outside and in the middle of a day-long thunderstorm. Forecast is for four to ten inches of rain between last night and Monday night, seventy-two hours or so, accompanied by record-setting flooding. Yikes!

I tend to follow these things fairly closely, so I was kind of surprised to just now finding out about a new attempt by our Federal Gubmint to circumvent our constitutional rights. This time in the form of a bill proposed ten days ago by Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, called the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2015". I can't believe I'm just now hearing about this! Normally, something like this would be all OVER social media! But, I guess everyone was too busy posting cute Santa pictures and stuff. Anyway, here's a link to the actual bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4269/text

I HOPE it never passes! If it does, what little is left of our country's historic rights will go right down the tubes. Please read this, then contact your local Representatives and demand that they make this abomination go away!

I have had an account on YouTube for quite some time, so that I can subscribe to various channels and comment on videos. About a week ago, I began making and uploading some of my own videos. So far there are only three, because at this point I am just learning how to film stuff and edit the clips into something watchable. But I hope to really start putting up some serious content very very soon. Mostly outdoors-related stuff about camping, so-called "bushcraft", gardening, and the like.

This one features Daisy and Stempy, put together from a couple of short clips on my phone from almost a year ago.

This one features Daisy and Gidget, again from a couple of short phone video clips from this past spring.

And the third is actually a short slideshow of pics from a summer day at the park with the Debster and Tyler. Regular readers will recognize the pics from an older blog post, but in the video I did some editing and added a sound-track. It was a lot of fun.

If you happen to like what you see, I'd appreciate your "thumbs up", your comments, your subscriptions, and even sharing with your friends. Just like this blog, I don't make any money at all, and do it for the sheer pleasure I get from doing it.

One other new thing I have started doing, is a sort of journal or pocket diary, where I am just jotting down ideas, random thoughts, and so forth. I had on hand a mini-composition book, 4-1/2" by 3-1/4" with a few pages ripped out, and have begun with that, just because it was handy. But the more I think about, the better I like the small book. It fits in any pocket, so it's always handy. And, the small size pretty much forces me to be concise. As we all know, given the time and space, I can get pretty darn wordy!

I have other things on my mind, but the Debster doesn't want me airing family dirty laundry. So even though I can say what I want to say as general commentary about life, without naming names, she still has fits. So, I'll that all slide.

Well, I've rambled on for too long as it is. See ya next time!

God bless you all
Ron & the Debster

Scattered thoughts ....

Congratulations to the good people of the State of Colorado! This past Tuesday, Colorado voters voted to recall two of their state senators, Democrats Angela Giron and John Morse, who was also the President of the state Senate. The recall campaign was seen as primarily a referendum on anti-2nd Amendment gun control laws for which these two voted. Even though their districts have a majority of Democratic voters, it seems pretty obvious that the citizens of those two districts are pro-2nd Amendment.

A lot of pro-gun-control legislators have definitely sat up and taken notice. Let's keep this ball rolling! The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right of any free people, and is codified as such in our Federal Constitution. The word is spreading fast: If you as a law-maker want to mess with our fundamental rights, your job is on the line!

......

Heard a good joke the other day:

A blind guy on a bar stool shouts to the bartender, “Wanna hear a blonde joke?”
In a hushed voice, the guy next to him says, “Before you tell that joke, you should know something.
“Our bartender IS blonde, the bouncer is blonde. I’m a 6′ tall, 200 lb black belt. The guy sitting next to me is 6’2″, weighs 225, and he’s a rugby player. The fella to your right is 6’5″ pushing 300 and he’s a wrestler.
Each one of US is blonde. Think about it, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?
“The blind guy says, “Nah, not if I’m gonna have to explain it five times.

.....

(Photo copied from their Facebook page)

Have you ever heard of the band, Madison Rising? They have an unbelievable beautiful rendition of our national anthem. Here is a link to it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical when I was first told about it. Nothing burns me up more than someone taking liberties with our beautiful National Anthem. But I will say this. Although their version is not "traditional", it is well done in a very respectful manner by young people that truly seem to love their country and all it stands for. I think it says something in their favor that a lot of veterans organizations, VFW halls, and so forth have asked them to play at their functions. So give this a listen. I'll bet that by the time the song is over, you will be up and cheering, and just may have a tear or two in your eye. It is that good!

....

I have an old 3-burner propane camp stove that runs off of one- or two-pound cans of propane, the kind that you would use on a propane torch. I am going to see if it will also attach to a larger propane tank, the size that is used on gas grills. If it doesn't, I'm going to try to find a way to adapt it to do so. Propane is much cheaper to buy that way, and the stove could run off the same tank as our grill. That way, if we ever have a situation where our utilities go down for any length of time, we will still be able to cook fairly easily without resorting to a campfire in the back yard. I'll let you know if and when I get this figured out.

Until next time ....

Ron