I’m home.  Not feeling too bad.  Had to spend an extra night in the hospital for pain management, but that’s under control.

It’s been 25 years this month since I last saw you.  You and my mother had been apart for three years, and that was the first time you spent any time with us.  My brothers and sisters and I spent a weekend at Grandma’s, and you came over for one afternoon.  You gave us some money and sent us to the arcade so you could visit with your mother.  Since then there hasn’t been a peep.

In all that time, I’ve grown up, had children, travelled the world, and become a better man than you could ever hope to be.  My children never wonder if they’re loved, and they never feel forgotten or unwanted.  They have never had to worry about where they will sleep, or where the next meal will come from.  They have never had to line up for a spanking when I come home from work, and they have never heard “I know you did something to deserve this.” come from my lips.  Even though I was a complete moron when it came to marriage as a young man, I never took it out on them.  They always knew that they came first in all things.

My children know you exist, but will never meet you.  You will never be Grandpa to them.  Other, better men have lined up to do that.  You will never take them fishing or hunting.  They will never wake up in your home for Christmas.  You have become and will forever remain just a name on our family tree.

So I hope you enjoy your birthday next month, father.  I also hope you have many more without me and my children.

The Family, 1977

I’m alive. Lots of good meds and great staff to keep me comfortable.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Fox News is reporting on a little piece of technology that is aiding a small police force in Mississippi:  clip-on video cameras.  Basically, a police officer activates the camera when he is interacting with the public, and it documents both his actions and the actions of those he is speaking with from very close to his perspective.

For police, this gives evidence of anything a suspect does or says during such things as traffic stops, serving warrants, or arrests.  It also protects them against false charges of being unprofessional and abusive.  This would be especially useful when used in conjunction with dashcams, and provides a record when the officer is away from his cruiser.

For those who interact with the police, it gives them a recording of those interactions.  If a policeman is out of line, his own recording will hang him.

The current technology has a removable memory chip that is used to store any video taken.  My guess is that an officer activates it when he or she is doing something with the public, and turns in the memory chip at the end of their shift.  I would improve on this in two ways.  First, the camera should be on for the duration of the officer being on duty, with no way for the officer to turn it off without physically destroying it.  The camera should have enough battery and memory capacity for 24 hours without recharging or emptying the storage chip.  Second, the camera should use mobile broadband to stream the audio and a lower resolution version of the video to a central location in addition to using local storage.  This will take care of situations where there are technical issues with the memory chip, as has been seen with dashcams where the tapes stop working just in time to record a traffic stop where the police are accused of abuse.

I could see this being used not only by beat cops, but by all government officials that are in positions where a record of all of their actions would come in handy, including military personnel walking patrols, prison guards, and TSA agents.  If a TSA blue-glove knows that he, along with all of his co-workers, is recording the pat down of a 95 year old grandmother, with no way for him to tamper with it, maybe a little more professionalism and common sense will start to sprout.

Well, it’s only taken 34 years since the first time a doctor said they should come out, but I’m finally having my tonsils removed.  By the time you read this, I’ll be under the knife.

I’m not going to be posting for a couple of days, but I’ll be back.  Some of my first posts after surgery may be a little…. muddled.  Hey, my doctor promises to keep me ‘comfortable’ for the first week or two after I come home.  If I piss anyone off, just drop me a note and I’ll do an edit/delete once I’m back in my right mind.

Or maybe I’ll take the best of these, publish them, and be the next Hunter S. Thompson.  Man made an entire career writing about what happens when you’re stoned.

Anyway, I’ll see you guys in a couple of days.

I started Independence Day and the last day off I will have all month doing my favorite thing:  I took Girlie Bear to the range and let her blow through a box of .22.  A steady rain for the first 45 minutes we were there pretty much melted the cardboard target stands we used, but they still showed enough of our targets that we could get some practice in.  She’s getting good enough with the Rossi and the 10/22 that next time I’m going to back her target up about half again as far as it is now.

After she didn’t care for the 20 gauge last time, I bought her a recoil pad for her shoulder.  She tried shooting my black powder rifle, and said she liked that a lot better.  Not sure if it’s because the Omega doesn’t kick as much as her Rossi in the shotgun configuration or if it’s the recoil pad.  Probably a little of both.  I’m going to start looking in earnest for a good used black powder rifle for her to use this fall.  She’s ready.

As for me, I shot the 10/22 a few times, then shot the Garand.  Nothing says “Happy Independence Day!” like shooting an M1 Garand.  Then, of course, it was time to shoot the 1911.  I did cheat a bit and shoot Tula ammunition through it.  I also started working on figuring out how to accurately shoot the Smith and Wesson .357 that I bought just prior to Knoxville.  It’s got a very light single action trigger, and I’ve started to learn where on the front sight works best. Double action is also very smooth, but I need to do a bit of dry fire before that evens out for me.

After clearing the range, Girlie Bear and I headed over to the local purveyor of fireworks and geared up for tonight.  I gave Girlie Bear a budget of $20, and to her credit, she bought an armload of explodey goodness for $19.56.

Once we got home, I got the charcoal going and prepped dinner.  Our menu included smoked turkey, roasted potatoes and onions with garlic, fresh corn on the cob, and Dutch apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  I have to say the hardest thing I did today was leave the turkey alone after I brought it in from the smoker.  There was about 45 minutes while the potatoes were on the grill, and I just sat and thought about how good that gobbler smelled.  Everyone feasted well, and I can honestly say it was one of the better meals I’ve made lately.

After dinner, Girlie Bear and I prepped the area for fireworks.  Boo came out after his bath and watched me set off “wockets” and “sparkles” for him.  I tried to keep it low key out of consideration for the neighbors, but as soon as it got really dark, three of them started setting off mortars.  Oh well, something to remember next year.

I hope y’all had a good 4th of July and had a chance to celebrate!