Sunday, December 31, 2017

Dress right, winter's not such a beast

Twenty-five degrees on the mountain this morning. Forecasters say it should be around 13 this time tomorrow. 

Glad I've added to my winter clothing line the past couple years, especially since I'm spending more time where there's more than an outsider random risk of deep freezes, snow and ice over winter.

Here's a run down of some of the things I've come to depend on, or have recently bought to stay warm outside in wintertime (Not a complete rundown, but it should highlight most critical areas): 

Been wearing Henley style thermal long-sleeves under button-up shirts most days since fall's colder weather set in. And I'm not embarrassed to say I've grown accustomed to long-john style drawers as well for cold days.

I don't care much for the long-john bottoms found in most retail stores. Some are a cotton and poly mix, and I prefer to eliminate as much cotton as possible in deep cold, especially if there's any chance of getting wet. There's polyester base layer stuff for sale at some sporting goods stores, but those I found were a tad to clingy to be a favorite. Upon discovering military surplus drawers of the LWCWUS variety a couple years back, I became a fan. Not as cheap as two years ago, but often still a good buy can be found if you go looking online.

And I wear wool socks year round, they seem to keep my feet cooler in the summer, warm in the winter. They wick moisture. My feet are  happier.

My wife bought me a name-brand polyester-nylon coat last winter that's not much for warmth on its own, but with a couple layers underneath, it's pretty awesome down into the mid-20s. For really cold days, I drag out my M-65 Field Jacket  (bought at a thrift shop over a decade ago) with a fleece liner.

I picked up a polyester Ushanka style hat off Amazon, and it's doing a super job of keeping my head warm on really cold and wet days. Cost about 12 bucks. If it gets wet, I toss it in the dryer, and it's ready to go again in no time.  I also found what seem to be a nice set of insulated waterproof boots on big box closeout right before Christmas, but I've not had opportunity for any field testing yet. Gloves, for now, are Thinsulate lined leathers work gloves picked up at Walmart.

I've found winter's really not such a beast if you have the right attire. Even if the roads are closed by snow or ice and you have to walk off the mountain.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Charlie Daniels says...

Via Twitter:


Last Caturday of 2017...

Be careful out there.


Thursday, December 28, 2017

Well, huh...

Just cuz this will drive Democrats and other Trump-haters up the wall:


Worth a read. What anti-Trumpers call "resistance" might also aptly be described as "civil war."

"The new civil war is being fought by lawyers in blue or gray suits not with bullets, but with bullet points... It’s still a paper civil war. For now." - Daniel Greenfield

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Streaming, eh?

 LA Times:
Even with 'Star Wars' surge, moviegoing could hit 22-year low. Blame bad sequels, rising ticket prices and streaming
Is it ticket prices or streaming that's hurting movie box office more, or is it the off-screen push by Hollywood celebs advocating progressive politics?

Thursday, December 21, 2017

What's the end result of one-way tolerance?

We're constantly chided to be tolerant, but to what extent should we extend our tolerance to those who preach hatred and intolerance of us and our traditions?

Via Memri:

BIRMINGHAM-BASED (UK) ISLAMIC "EXORCIST" ABU IBRAHEEM HUSNAYN: WE MUST HATE CHRISTMAS, VALENTINE’S DAY, DIWALI, AND HANNUKAH

Yes, WORSE than Watergate...

Rand Paul's on to something here.


Nixon used a small group of White House insiders for his attempts at dirty tricks. What happened last year appears to have used politically weaponized federal agencies (or at least powerful insiders willing to use their agencies as cover) in collusion with one campaign to target another.

Monday, December 18, 2017

"Dangerous," he says

CNN talking head says Fox News sounds "dangerous." 

CNN feeling uncomfortable when a competitor expresses viewpoint counter to its own?

Guess what? First Amendment applies to Fox News as much as CNN. And it's my distinct impression that CNN has had to retract, correct, or clarify far more stories than Fox in recent months.

Something to think about as the week begins...

Yes, it's political.

And it comes from Twitter:

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Does he know something we don't?

Via Twitter:


I'm not sure anyone in power wants to remove Mueller at present.

His team is inflicting the damage on itself, just let 'em continue until all credibility is gone.


Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Trump-Russia collusion narrative is being unmasked for what it is

An excellent assessment of how we may have arrived at where we are today...

Via Twitter:

Friday, December 8, 2017

Where'd this come from?



Last night's weather forecast said we'd get some mid to late morning snow showers.


No mention of anything overnight. No mention of accumulation.

And I wake up to this...

The only road up and down this mountain is narrow, steep, and has a tremendous drop off.

Looks like I'm staying put for the time being.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

The Jerusalem shuffle

Democrats are especially quick to criticize President Trump's decision to move the U.S Emabassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Take note how senate Democrats voted when the move was approved as legislation in 1995:

S. 1322 (104th): Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995

December 7 remembered. And a photo from December 8, 1941...

Friday, December 7, 2012

One more Pearl Harbor remembrance photo

Never forget 2402 American lives were lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A Marine rifle squad fires a volley over the bodies of fifteen officers and men killed at Naval Air Station Kanoehe Bay during the Pearl Harbor raid. These burial ceremonies took place on 8 December 1941, the day after the attack. U.S. Navy photo via NHHC.

Tainted

At the very least, tainted in perception. Very likely tainted in actual undertakings. 

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Glitchy game

Must've been a huge online audience for Saturday's SEC championship game. The CBS online stream we're forced to watch at the cabin (no access to cable, and trees preclude a dish) kept choking, freezing, and rebuffering.

We ended up listening on radio, and watching the defective delayed stream as snippets of after-the-fact highlights.

We enjoyed the Dawg's radio commentary more than that of CBS.

BTW, CBS stream quit glitching as soon as the game ended, so it appears it was an overloaded server, bandwidth, or some such problem during the game.

One more thought: If viewership of a football game can choke online television, what might happen in the event where a panicked audience piled on in a national emergency or some such thing?

Online TV is great, but it seems it's still got some bugs in it.

Record Black Friday gun sales

Don and I took a stab at some analysis on last Friday's program.

But the idea that Black Friday 2017 again delivered record gun sales took us both by surprise.


Among my thoughts: Where the heck are people putting all these guns they keep buying?

How many of the guns bought in the past few years have yet to be taken out of the box and fired?