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"I love radio. I was just singing about how, at one time in life, radio was an art form and you have generations that don't even know that. And I was singing about the vanishing human voice." (2002) -Tom Petty

Monday, 10-30-17: Bye bye power.
The weather is pwning us right now. It is 0752, and we just lost our power. What a bunch of crap! The winds are extreme right now; forecast gusts are up to 60 and I think we've hit 50+ already. According to WLBZ News Center there were close to 300,000 power outages across the state. Southern Maine has been hit the hardest, and right now at this very moment it is our turn to get crushed. Gods damn it!

A tropical storm got infused with another low and a front, and it all is bombogenesing on New England. Thankfully it is moving through fast, but the wind is supposed to be strong all damn day so going hunting this afternoon seems unlikely. Screw being in the woods when a tree might fall on my loser ass. I do still plan to go down to Mom and Dad's at some point this afternoon, assuming none of the rental properties take on damage that I have to deal with. Given the current conditions it could happen.

Okay we are getting regulated on. I just moved the truck because it was way too close to a big maple out front. I don't expect the tree to fall down, but why take the chance? I have never seen winds like this before. Great, Gavin just texted me that siding is blowing off my building where my gym/office is located. What a bunch of crap! He said shingles are blowing off his roof all over the neighborhood. I gotta head over there shortly to assess the damage, but right now I'm content here at our house. I have a 0930 appointment at my Bangor duplex, but I expect that to be cancelled. However, I have no way to confirm for sure so I think I'll just go over there anyway. I need to make the rounds to all the bootleg properties regardless to inspect for damages. You would think a tenant would tell me if things were going bad, but earlier this month a tree fell onto one of my properties and was there for a couple days before a tenant texted me to let me know. What a bunch of crap!

I guess I am getting off this turd for now. I'm gonna conserve some of my precious... precious battery and get ready to go make the rounds. It is actually unsafe to be outside right now so I think I won't go far. What a bunch of crap!

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Sunday, 10-29-17: Bowhunting success!
I bowhunted Friday night from my tree stand, but I didn't see jack shit. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, that is what I deserve after blowing it the week prior when I shot a spikehorn that I never recovered. Hopefully he is still alive; I haven't seen him on the trail camera photos since then. However, it is only one week's worth of photos and if I were him I would never come back to that spot, ever.

So last night I decided to hunt my ground blind at "Supertree." Supertree is only about 60-70 yards away from my tree stand, and I can see my tree stand from my Supertree blind through the underbrush. Supertree is like a whole different hunt despite the fact that it is so close, though. Supertree is still loaded with red crabapples so I know that will be a draw for deer well into November. The apple tree by my treestand did have some good green crabapples on it last week, but now most of its apples have fallen so my treestand isn't as good now as it was earlier this month.

The weather was good last night, sunny and a tad above the daily norm with a high in the low 60s and a SE breeze. During my hunt the temp dropped through the 50s, but it never got cold. The breeze died down as well. Just about perfect! I did a series of bleats and grunts at 1640 and 1715, and at 1735 (sunset 1730) I did three bleats. As soon as I finished my last bleat I thought I was pwned because I heard crashing. I thought I scared off a deer that I hadn't seen. I've done that before, and 1.5 weeks ago it happened when I was in my tree stand. When you are supposed to be hunting and you scare off the deer that is a bunch of crap!

I had looked all around before I bleated and I didn't see any deer, but sometimes they can sneak up and blend right in. Thankfully the crashing I heard was just a squirrel so I did two more soft bleats. Almost immediately after that I saw another squirrel chasing the first one that I heard, and then I saw him. Flashes of brown with bits of white through the underbrush maybe 50-60 yards away. A deer. Oh Jesus, hell ya! Even better the deer was heading towards my blind and Supertree. As the deer got closer I saw small antlers and thought I was looking at a spikehorn. However, I knew it was not the same deer I shot last week because this one was a tad bigger. The two playful squirrels actually worked to my advantage because they were making a lot of noise, and I saw Mr. Deer look over at them once or twice and then dismiss the noise as no big deal.

When I hunt my ground blind at Supertree I face another apple tree that usually does not produce much fruit. That tree is 27 yards away, and Supertree is 29 yards away and off to my left. With Supertree at my 3-o'clock position (base of the tree) I can get a great right-handed shot. Often, but not always, I have seen deer come from the direction of that smaller tree, and that was the case last night. The deer seemed to be in no huge rush so he stopped for a minute, turned some so he was nearly broadside to me, and he looked back. I thought maybe he had the company of another deer, but I didn't see or hear anything else. The old me would have taken that chance to draw on him and maybe take a shot because at that point he was about 25 yards away from me. However, it was not a GREAT shot opportunity so I just let the play develop. I figured if he didn't come closer, or if he winded me and ran off, oh well better luck next time. Taking rushed Rambo shots sucks. I fail at them. Always.

^When I take shots at deer that are in less than ideal conditions I deserve the Fail Trophy because I do suck!

The wind was in my face and I sat perfectly still. I didn't stare at the deer; I aimed my eyes down and tried to mostly watch him through my periphial vision. Deer seem to know when they are being watched; I've learned that the hard way over the years. He got closer and closer and closer and then finally he was at Supertree, but bonus for me he was on my side of the tree and only about 17 yards away. I know these distances well because I have a range-finder, and I had just ranged a few trees at the beginning of the hunt as a refresher since it has been almost a year since I hunted that spot. Mr. Deer stood broadside right there, but I sat frozen until he gifted me the best gift that a deer has ever accidentally given to me. Once again he turned his head and faced back, but he did it so his own body blocked his head and he could not see me. Awesome! I didn't see any other deer so I raised my bow, I drew back, and at first I was almost screwed. A part of my leafy-wear hood was blocking my view a little, but then I got him in my sights, I took my time, I felt great, and I launched my arrow.

Whether I hit the deer or not was never in question. I knew he had been hit, and so did he because he took off running like a rocket. However, he was hit so hard that he could only run about 20 yards before he went down. He struggled to get back up only briefly and ended up kicking around on the ground, but then he was still. I waited a minute, I texted Kat to let her know I just shot a deer, and then he flopped around once more. At first I thought he was still alive, but then he was still and I could see he was dead because I could see one of his eyes. I felt badly, I always feel badly, but I was also excited because I got a deer!

^A 4-pointer and not a spike. He's in my freezer already.

My shot was nearly perfect, the best shot I have ever taken with my bow on a deer. The arrow passed right through his vitals, and then it actually hit him in the neck and opened up a huge gash that caused him to die especially fast. When I first walked up to him I saw the gash on his neck and was confused. I thought maybe when he thrashed around he cut his own neck on something, but then I realized that neck wound was deep and I thought I shot him in the neck. For a brief moment I was mad at myself for screwing it up, but then I realized what had happened when I saw the hole in his torso. Both entry and exit holes on his body.

I'm no sleuth, but it was obvious enough to see how it all happened. He was standing broadside to me, but because he had his head craned around the arrow passed through his body and went right into his neck. A perfect scenario for me that all but guaranteed he was going to die fast when I shot him like that. I may never ever have another deer do that again so I am thankful for it.

^Two holes, one in the body and one in the neck.

I do think my bleat call influenced that buck to come near my blind. He might have come anyway, but I think the bleat gave him a little extra incentive to head my way. Good thing for me because I shot him at 1740, 10 minutes after sunset. I normally quit my bowhunt 20-25 minutes after sunset when I am in the woods because taking low-light shots with my bow = I get fail trophy pictured above! Low-light bowhunting has never ever worked out well for me. At the edge of a field is different, and same for when I rifle hunt, both of those scenarios usually keep me waiting for the full 30 minutes past sunset that is legally allowed.

The drag out sucked. A lot. It is 1/2-mile to where I park, and I have to cross a gully and going up the steep side of that gully was definitely the worst part. Thankfully his antlers were just big enough to use as a handle, but barely so. In hindsight I should have dragged him from his rear legs because his neck-hole got blood all over my jeans and boots. What a bunch of crap!

My deer hunting season is not over yet. My goal this year is two deer so I tagged this 4-pointer with my $34 expanded archery tag. That means I can go rifle hunting still, and as an added bonus I have a doe tag to use with my 30.06. Oh Jesus, hell ya! I'm leaving tomorrow to go hunt with Jason and Dad for a couple days down in Warren. If I get another deer great, but if not that is okay because we have deer meat in the freezer to last us a while.

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Thursday, 10-26-17: Office cleaning and a video from nearly 12 years ago that we watched yesterday.
I spent yesterday morning cleaning my bootleg office at the building where I lived with both Doug and various friends/roommates for about 14.5 years. Now it seems like a lifetime ago, but it really has "only" been 4 or 5 years since I lived there. My office needs a lot of cleaning and organizing. A LOT. I worked on some cleaning last week for an hour or so, and yesterday I spent a couple hours in the office making some good progress. I'd say a few more hours would get the office in tip-top condition, but for this year I'll simply settle for organized and not shit-show-looking. Having a bootleg and cluttered office = what a bunch of crap! The office will always be bootleg, but the clutter is unacceptable.

I'm not a slob by nature. The office was never disgusting to the point of stench and total squalor. I still had some ceiling tiles down from where Bruce ran new PEX line for the apartment above one year ago, I had random paperwork everywhere, and there was a lot of dust. A LOT. I never spend much time in my office anymore so keeping it 100% tidy has not been a priority. Seems I have other things that pull me away. The weather has been so dry and nice that I have felt compelled to tackle more outdoor projects and to go hunting. However, I failed at hunting and am shut down until tomorrow, and we're getting epic rains. Tropical downpours all day yesterday and tropical downpours all day today. Inches of rain total. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, it does give me an excuse to do the office cleaning since I can't be outside if I want to stay dry.

^After Bruce finished the heating upgrades the office was a total shit-show. That photo is a year old, but flakes of that wood were still all over the place in nooks and crannies. What a bunch of crap!

During my cleaning and organizing yesterday I dug out a few old homemade DVDs including one from December, 2005 called My Awesome Apartment. I filmed the bootleg thing about 10 months after I bought the building, and wow what a trip down memory lane that was. Back then Walt and Phil lived with me in apt 2, and Doug, Cassie, and Tommy lived across the hall in apt 1. The building was a lot more ghetto back then. A LOT. Our old landlord, Ron, was essentially a scumlord who did nothing more than the bare essentials for the place. He was not the worst landlord of all-time, but he didn't pack the gear to make it long-term as a landlord so that worked out great for me when I was able to buy the building from him.

^Our bootleg kitchen nearly 12 years ago. The table was nice, but everything else was ghetto. I had a package of deer burger thawing out for my 1300 meal, and in the cupboard was some Honey Teddy Grahams and of course Hamburger Helper (Lasagna flavor!) Back then I worked a late afternoon/evening part-time schedule at FedEx Ground. I'd start work around 1500, and I'd get out 4-5 hours later. When I'd get off work I'd usually eat a lunch-ish meal so I normally had my main "supper" meal before work in the early afternoon.

^Our living room complete with a bootleg rug and bootleg furniture. I had just recently bought that huge big-screen TV from Jason's good friend and roommate at the time, Jimmy. I remember they brought the TV, speakers, and all the accessories up on a Friday evening and then they partied with us that night. I think I paid $1800 for the TV and all the stuff, and years later it was a pain in the ass to get rid of it because plasma and now LCD TVs have made the old box-style of TV a joke.

Flower couch, yellow chair, and a dusty N-64 on the floor with Mario Kart loaded and ready to play. Good god I used to love playing Mario Kart. It is a great game, but I have not played it in years.

^Our bar that we bought used for $90 from a graduating UMaine student, $30 apiece plus a few more bucks for the bar-top shallack to give it a nice sheen. After a couple years I hauled on that bar and built the one that is there now. Thankfully the current tenants take great care of the apartment so the bar there now still looks pretty good.

^From 2007 just after I finished the new bar. By then I believe Phil had graduated and moved out, Doug was divorced and in AZ, Tommy was back in Waterville, and Gavin was staying with Walt and I for a while.

^This was a 4x6 photo that I had on my bootleg bedroom wall for a number of years. According to my commentary on the video and going from my own foggy-at-times memory that photo was actually taken in the late 90s not long after I had gotten out of the Navy. Even worse, that was Zima pouring all over my tee shirt. ZIMA. What a bunch of crap!

So I was 30 years old when I made that 42-minute My Awesome Apartment video. However, in many ways I was still in my early 20s mentally. I had my work ethic on lockdown, but emotionally I was not even close to successful. Back then I didn't even care... whether or not I cared about a great many things. I had no girlfriend, and I was pretty content staying that way. Now I look back and think to myself that it was a great, mostly fun time in my life, but I would never want to go back and relive it. I do miss playing AOEII and hanging out with the guys, but my life is a lot better now that I have an awesome wife. Awesome wife = awesome life!

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Sunday, 10-22-17: Almost time for a wedding expo.
Kat and I are going to a wedding expo today here in Bangor. She rented a booth for $200, and we are going to be vendors for her DJ business. Neither one of us has ever done anything like this before so it will hopefully be a fun and rewarding experience. She made some nice brochures and flyers, and we plan to do a mock setup and hopefully line up some wedding clients for next year's wedding season. In general (but of course not always) people get married in the spring, summer, and early fall. Winter is the slow season because who the hell wants to get married in a frozen tundra? I guess some winter enthusiasts might think it is a great idea to get married at Sugarloaf or something, but most "normal" people wait for warmer weather and the chance for a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony. This is the time of year when many engaged couples are in the planning phase of their upcoming wedding so hopefully we get a lot of passers-by today.

^If you think getting married in winter when weather like this can happen then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more.

We do not know if any other DJs will be at the expo looking for business, but we expect at least some competition. There should be florists, bakers, photographers, rental places, etc. there as well. Hopefully our setup really stands out as compared to any others so people are intrigued to come take a closer look and to have a conversation. Kat has a really nice-looking wedding setup; she works very hard to do right by her clients. I try to do a good job representing her business, too. However, the reality is she is a diamond and I am a lump of coal. I am decent at sales so hopefully today I can talk some people into signing up for the best DJ in the world.

Kat has a major left knee replacement surgery scheduled for Thursday, November 9th. Less than three weeks away now. She expects to miss several Friday night karaoke shows at Jester's so one of her friends who has some prior DJ experience will be filling in for her. If her friend does not fill in then that is a bunch of crap because I am plan B, and plan B is that aforementioned lump of coal.

Kat is also all done working at Jester's on Saturdays because the Cap's DJ will be running those karaoke shows until Cap's reopens. Last we knew the owner of Cap's wanted to be open by the end of November, but as of a couple days ago the walls were not even framed yet so that might be a lofty goal. It can be done of there is a huge team of carpenters working long days, but if not no way. Once Cap's does reopen we don't think the owner of Jester's will want to do karaoke there on Saturdays anymore since a lot of the former Cap's regulars will return to their old/new favorite bar.

I have no major projects to tackle for the apartments so that is a great feeling. Yesterday I took care of a few smaller things, and this coming week I plan to work around the house and to shoot my bow so I am less of a failure as a hunter (I shut myself down from hunting from my tree stand for a more days so I can get my shit together.) The weather has been way above average so it has been nice working outside. It has been very dry, but we do have rain coming Wed-Thurs so that gives me tomorrow and Tuesday to build a lean-to on the side of the house for our new snowblower and for our firewood. The snowblower should make our lives easier this coming winter. Maybe? Hopefully. I don't mind shovelling to a point, but we got a couple big storms last year that made shovelling the entire driveway a huge job.

^I bought a Troy-Built 2410 at Lowe's a couple weeks ago. As an added bonus it was on sale for "only" $520. Oh Jesus, hell ya! The Giblets at the store still had the $599.99 price posted all over the place, but it rang in at the expected $520 price. Thank you lowes.com for that correct price listing because it got my ass motivated and into the store.

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Friday, 10-20-17: I failed again at hunting.
I had planned to go on an evening hunt today here in Brewer, but we bivouaced relatively early last night, and we were both up way too early this morning (0400 what a bunch of crap!) so I decided to just do a morning hunt. The weather was great for it and I have plenty of morning action on the trail cam so why not? I was actually excited to go because there is something awesome about being in your blind or stand when it is mostly dark and seeing the night turn into day within the span of about a half hour.

I jumped some deer where I park, and I jumped some deer on the way in, but I didn't think that would mess up my hunt because it is 0.53 miles to walk in so of course I am likely to spook something on the way to my stand in the early morning. A half-mile to my stand it pretty far, but it is well worth it because I see more deer per hunt back near "Supertree" than I have ever seen anywhere else in this bootleg hunt-fail state that we live in. I love Maine (except for winter F Maine from Dec-Mar), but the whitetail deer hunting here kinda sucks when compared to other states in the USA. I watch hunting shows and guys pass up 8-pointers because they would rather shoot a 10 in the midwest. Hell, around here just seeing deer is a win and I shoot just about anything. What a bunch of crap!

There were no deer to be seen at my stand at the best time, the first hour. However, there was a huge grey owl that flew by my ass extremely closely, and it landed on a branch a mere 10 yards or so away. He looked at me like I should be a corpse, but thankfully he decided to fly to another branch and then a short time later eat a squirrel or something. I'm not sure he really ate a squirrel, but after he did a dive to and from ground-level from a branch nearby all the squirrels STFU for a while so I think maybe those loud-ass squirrels lost lost a compadre and I nearly saw it happen. Owl 1, squirrels 0.

^The owl kinda looked like that, and damn it was close. It looked at me and I totally felt judged. Yeah I don't go to church but please don't take it personally and try to eat my face. The owl above is a spotted owl so I don't even know if those exist in this state, but based upon what I saw this morning I would say most likely they do.

I didn't see any deer during my hunt, and I was getting close to quitting, when at 0800 I saw a deer. Oh Jesus, hell ya! It was the same deer I shot at and missed two days ago, this guy:

That spikehorn came from the "Supertree" area, and he did not seem to be in a huge hurry to be anywhere. I watched him for several minutes, but he was way out of range so I patiently waited. I saw him from time to time through the brush a good 60-70 yards away, and he appeared to be hitting the road. However, at the last minute he turned and headed right towards my apple tree. Oh Jesus, hell ya! I told myself I would only shoot if it was the perfect opportunity, and not long after that he was standing a mere 20 yards away eating apples. I lined him up, I shot, and my arrow hit him well. Or so I thought.

My shot felt great, but it looked like I hit him too high. After my arrow passed through he ran off, but he did not act like he was dying. I saw him milling about for a bit maybe 60-70 yards away through the brush and then after a minute I did not see him anymore. I was mightly tempted to start tracking him down, but F that I decided to be smart so I hauled my ass the hell out of there and went home for an hour or so. I've tracked wounded deer before, and it never ends well because a deer can run seemingly a friggin' mile in about 30 seconds. I wanted that deer to just hang out right there, lay down, and die. Seems cruel but hey I want steaks gods damn it.

When I went back to look for Mr. Spike I did not have high hopes. I had a feeling my shot was too high, but the arrow passed right through and there was a blood trail. Unfortunately, the blood trail died out after a bit and there was no dead deer. What a bunch of crap! I looked all over the place, but all I found was a whole lot of nothing and some other hunter's climbing tree stand way back in. Up here you can't escape other hunters, but when you walk a half-mile to get to your spot you avoid the majority of them.

I failed. I shot a deer, I made it bleed, and I have no steaks in my freezer as a result. What a bunch of crap! It is embarassing. However, I plan to learn from it. I realize that when I hunt from my tree stand and shoot at deer (or anything) I am shooting too high. I tried to practice from the roof of our own house, but that is not the same because of the angle, etc. The deer today gave me the PERFECT shot opportunity, too. 20-ish yards, broadside, no obstructions. There simply is no excuse for failing except for the following: I SUCK.

I feel like a turd. I smelly oily fish-turd. I do not even know what a fish-turd is, but it seems gross so that is me. Shooting that deer and not getting it messed up my karma for the rest of the day. It was a weird day. Now I am half in the bag and about to head down to Jester's. Poor Kat, she didn't even get any sleep today so I know she is exhausted. Good thing we don't have a lot to do tomorrow so we can recover and actually sleep. No deer hunting for me tomorrow. My dumb ass is DENIED until I do it right. Game over, man. Game over. The end.

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Wednesday, 10-18-17: First deer hunting fail story of the season.
I went hunting this morning in my treestand not far from "Supertree" in my favorite hunting area not far from the house here in Brewer. I've hunted that stand three other times so far this season, once each of the past three Fridays, and each time I have only seen birds and squirrels. However, this morning I had some deer action. It was a nice morning, not too hot and not too cold (48-ish degrees with a light breeze), and I am glad I went despite the fact that I epic failed.

I just had a good feeling about this morning's hunt. I have had plenty of deer activity on my trail camera there in the mornings, and I was able to get to my stand and be set up for the hunt at 0619, six minutes before the start of legal hunting time. As soon as I was set up some birds and squirrels nearby started their morning routines so the woods were far from quiet. However, at about 0650 I heard some more faint noises not far behind me that did not seem bird or squirrel-like in nature, I snuck a peek, and there was a small spikehorn deer. Oh Jesus, hell ya! He was close, too. 20-25 yards away. Unfortunately, there was no shot opportunity behind me, not with my bow, and I was afraid he would catch my scent or see me move. Fortunately he did not spook, and eventually he slowly meandered right where I wanted him to be. Broadside, 20 yards away at 0655. There were a few small branches almost in the way, but I had a clear lane. I had been contemplating not shooting him because he was not a big deer, but F that the majority of the time hunting around here yields jack friggin shit except for some peace and quiet in the woods if you enjoy that sort of thing, which to a point I actually do. So I decided to take the broadside shot.

^I think, but am not certain, that is the same deer who was in there this morning. However, there are two different spikes in there so I am not 100% sure on that. The one I did see this morning was close in size to the one in the photo, but part of me thinks the one there this morning had smaller antlers by a bit. Siblings perhaps? I did see them both in there together on my trail camera earlier this month.

I let the arrow fly, I thought I had a good hit, but he only bounded about 10 yards away before he stopped. Uh oh. A definite miss. What a bunch of crap! Even worse, he was 10 yards too far away for me to get a good second shot. He meandered about for a while more before slowly leaving the area. He did stop broadside at about 30 yards away for a while, but I decided not to shoot because there were some small branches and brush in the way. I waited a few minutes as I watched him slip away before I decided to try a couple bleat calls. Two calls did not draw him back so I waited about five more minutes and bleated twice more. Again, DENIED.

^Gods damn it I epic failed. However, I was not done failing yet.

After about 15 more minutes it seemed highly likely that he was out of there like a fat kid in dodge ball. He had been spooked by my miss, but not to the point of run, flee, escape. I decided to get a little more agressive with my calls in case he was still interested in a possible return so I did three bleats, two grunts, and two more bleats. No sooner had I finished the last bleat when I heard crashing off to my 4-o'clock, behind me. I turned, and I saw the rear end of a bigger deer hauling its ass the hell out of there. OMG I SCARED OFF ANOTHER DEER BECAUSE I AM A GIANT DUMBASS. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!

Normally when I bleat and grunt I look all around for deer before I move at all to get the two calls out of my left pocket. However, I did not look because I was still looking for the other deer that had disappeared in the other direction. I had heard a little noise in behind me, but the friggin' squirrels were making all kinds of noise all around me so I thought it was the same pesky squirrel back there. In hindsight that was a very unwise assumption because I am pretty sure I got busted by an even bigger buck. I can't be certain, but I know for a fact it was a pretty big deer and it was flying solo. I figure my first two bleats that I did about five minutes apart drew another buck in, but he was smart and being sneaky on his way to the party. Unfortunately, he saw my dumb ass moving in my stand when I was doing that last round of calling, and he was only about 20 yards away so he definitely knew there were no other deer in the area who were having fun without him.

OMG I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT UP UNTIL THE DEER SHOWED UP THEN I WAS A GIANT NINCOMPOOP AND I DID IT ALL WRONG. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! I did hunt for another hour in the hopes that some does or other deer would stroll through, but there was no action. Seems I had already spoiled all the fun under that apple tree. I blew it! After I climed down from my stand I looked for my arrow, and I found it quickly. Thankfully it stuck up a bit because half the time they nose-dive under the leaves never to be seen again. Unfortunately, my broadhead was hopelessly lodged underground and into a root so oh well that is what a deserve for failing at life. I figure the reason I missed is I shot low. I thought he was 20 yards away, but he was closer to 25 yards away. I suck!

I can't help but wonder if that bigger deer was this guy:

Of course I cannot be sure of that, but the speculation is fun. I'm a little bummed that I missed, but I am glad that I didn't wound another deer that I may never have recovered like I did in early November of last season in that same spot.

The shot felt good. I just misjudged the distance. What a bunch of crap!

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Sunday, 10-15-17: Our new bedroom floor.
I worked all day on Wednesday last week here at our house installing a new bedroom floor, and the end result is pretty good. Much better than the old carpet that we had in there. Both Kat and I woke up early so she went to the gym and I was working before 0700. I had "help" from the dogs and cats at first, but then they were in the way so I sent them packing for the rest of the time.

^Tiger Lily getting in the way, but because I love her so much I let it slide until it was time to start the new floor. Gotta love the fact that there were old puke-green vinyl tiles under that carpet and pad! The house was built in 1955 so perhaps those tiles were installed way back then when the place was new? I'm not picky about flooring colors and decor, but OMG those things are FUGLY. I don't even know what FUGLY means, but let's just assume the F makes it FRIGGING UGLY. What a bunch of crap those things are. Thankfully they came up relatively easily because I assume the glue that once held them down was over 50 years old and pretty much useless.

An outlet on that side of the room has never worked since I bought the place, and I could not figure out why the wire feeding the thing is dead so I just fished new wire up from the basement and installed two new outlets on that wall. I tied into an existing 20-amp line with 12-2 wire so hopefully whatever was already on that circuit can handle a little more. I'm guessing it can. Okay, I'm hoping it can. When you run wires on guesses and hopes you are definitely not qualified to be called anything more than a hack. What a bunch of crap! All we have plugged in is a fan, the TV, and the DVD and cable box. Nothing that draws too much juice. So far so good.

^The new floor, the same "Khaki Oak" by Allure sold at Home Depot that we used for both the downstairs room and Katherine's bedroom a couple months ago. I love that Allure flooring, and I have used a lot of it in the past 1.5-2 years. So far the stuff has held up well, and I hope the same can be said for it several years from now. It costs about $1.79 per square foot so it's middle-grade overall. It is very easy to install so that is my favorite feature. If more than two people ever read this shit-show of a site I could solicit Home Depot for the free product plug.

I had planned to take two full-ish days to do that floor, but I got it done Wednesday and Thursday morning I only had to do a little trim caulking, some trim white, and a few other small things that took less than an hour in total. Oh Jesus, hell ya! The "to do" list for things here at our own house continues to dwindle, but I still have plenty left to do in the next couple months. My next project that I will hopefully get done tomorrow is installing a new microwave oven in the kitchen.

The Patriots are playing the Jets right now, but I am going to wait and watch it when Kat and Katherine get back from watching the new Kingsman movie. I was going to go, but Katherine wanted to spend time with her Mom solo so that works for me. I got the dogs to the park, and I lifted some weights. After this I will attempt to go for a jog.

Okay turds, all two of youz, I jogged a mere one mile today. My cardi is piss-poor. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, I'm not that concerned because I have done plenty of work in my gym, and I have also played a lot of racquetball lately.

Yesterday I went down to the midcoast to bowhunt with both Dad and Jason. We hunted at the prison farm, and I fell asleep a little bit while in the "corner blind." What a bunch of crap! When you are bivouaced in your ground blind you never see deer. I did see a porcupine at least. None of us saw jack friggin' shit, but the odds were stacked against us because it was nearly 70 degrees. Would have been better to be 20 degrees cooler, but I can't complain too much because winter is just around the corner and come January I'd shit a golden brick just to hit 70 here even for a minute. (I think the all-time high temp in January here is in the 50s, but I don't even care... whether or not I care to look it up.)

I've been looking at the instructions for this new under-cabinet microwave oven that we bought last month when we got our new fridge. It's been sitting in the box here since then, and it needs to get installed. Our old one still works, but it makes funny noises. I have never installed an under-cabinet microwave before. It looks like it would be kinda easy, but not really because the one there does not vent so I have to deal with that. Venting will suck. A lot. Oh well, that is not my concern right now. I'm out of here to do a few other little things before my awesome wife gets home and we watch the football game from the DVR. Right now the game is in the 3rd quarter (I'd guess), but I am not going to check the score because that would defeat the purpose of watching it from the beginning in a half hour or so.

Goonies never say die!

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Friday, 10-13-17: Time warp already?
Okay, somehow it is 2230 already. Past taps by a half-hour if I was still aboard the USS Carl Vinson. However, for a good chunk of time that I was sailor aboard CVN-70 I worked the night crew so the concept of taps was moot. Man, that was a lifetime ago and then some. 1994-1998 four years stationed aboard that warship. I was so ignorant to the ways of the world back then, and now I ain't no certified G but I have a lot of things figured out. I couldn't imagine even being a fly on the wall and looking back at my pathetic self way back then. I was 18 years old when I requested permission to board that ship in Alameda, California in 1994. No cellphone, no internet, no friends there at all. Strange times indeed but somehow I made it work. Now the world is filled with $1000 I=Phones and seemingly unlimited wifi, and I wish I could just be on some farm off the grid half the time.

Just kidding. Sorta. Being totally off the grid would suck. A lot. I still want to watch the Patriots, the Red Sox, and catch up on the latest news. Local on the 8s? Oh Jesus, hell ya! However, modern things like Failbook = what a bunch of crap! Seriously, fuck that thing. Sme applies to the Twitter, which should be renamed the Shitter. Our loser-ass president gets on that Shitter-thing, and he makes comments that are horrible. He is a turd, and he is also an epic fail. hey Trump, I gots somethning for ya:

^EPIC FAIL. YOU SUCK. STAY OFF YOUR TWITTER MACHINE YOU 2-PUMP CHUMP.

I have the Yankees vs. the Astros on the TV tonight. Game one of the ALCS. The Red Sox washed out of the playoffs like a turd washes down a Mansfield toilet, and as a reward for that failure their manager, John Farrell, got these words of discouragement from the owners: YOU'RE FIRED! I don't care that he got fired. I didn't care one way or another whether or not he got to stay, but probably good riddance because he was not that great. Just mediorce, and a team like the Red Sox deserves great.

Before I put on the game I was watching a hunting DVD, but then I got interrupted by drunk family members so I turued it off. It is a DVD that came with my grunt and bleat calls that Kat got me for X-mas last year. I already had some calls, but these ones are better. Plus I have some antlers for rattling thanks to my awesome wife. The goal this year is to get two deer. yeah, TWO. Can I do it? Yes if I go all-in, but no if I don't hunt that much. This year I plan to hunt a lot more. I plan to go with Dad and Jason tomorrow, but maybe not depending on my bootleg truck. That thing. It stalled twice tonight. TWICE. After I got $40 in gas ($2.42 a gallon not horrible.) The thing did not start for a couple minutes. What a bunch of crap! Plus earlier it stalled on 395 just before the left turn onto Odlin Rd and the gym for R-ball. I can't have that shit happening if I am going to drive 65 miles one-way tomorrow to go to the midcoast so hopefully I can get it fixed. However, it is already 2248, I still have to drink more, and it will be a late night so maybe tomorrow will suck.

I am all done. Fin. It is time to go to Jester's. Next time I will hopefully post photos of our new bedroom floor. The Yankees are losing 2-0 in game 1 in the 8th inning in Houston. Oh Jesus, hell ya! Goonies never say die!

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Thursday, 10-12-17: Tree falls, guy has to do stupid shit so he does not have to pay for removal.
On Monday evening one of the tenants at my Chamberlain duplex sent me a text message letting me know that a tree fell against the back side of the building. I thought no worries, that tree was growing towards the building with some of the upper limbs touching the back side roof, but no big deal. My bad. I arrived Tuesday morning to this shit-show:

^Tree definitely fell. What a bunch of crap! Thankfully there did not appear to be any major damage to the building... yet. Roof intact, siding okay. That is a big tree, too. Removing big trees is dangerous. The problem was compounded by the fact that all the weight of the tree was supported by the building so I had to worry about my saw blade pinching, and I had to worry about the cut pieces hitting my worthless ass once they were cut. Taking it all down at the base of the tree at once was not going to work so I had to do it in four larger sections.

Thankfully for me Phil was planning to come up to visit so I had him just meet me at that property so he could give me advice, help a little, and we could catch up. I had the easiest of the four main pieces cut down when he arrived, and I am glad he was there to help me with the last three because when he arrived I was about to call a professional tree taker-downer. That probably would have cost my ass $500, but it would have been worth it if I didn't have help because on my own I would have screwed it all up and possibly died. Seriously.

Phil is epic smart. He gave me some good suggestions, and we got two more sections down without dying and without damaging the building. The final piece, though. That one was a dick to us.

^The largest and most difficult final chunk of mystery tree. Ash maybe? It cuts softer than hardwood like apple, oka, or maple. I hope it burns well in the fireplace because we are getting a lot more wood now, at least we will have once I finish cutting it all up.

I took that picture after I had already climbed my non-Rambo ass up onto the roof to cut away a lot of the top. I had to dangle over the edge, and I give thanks to the gods that do not really exist that my wife did not stop by to see how I was doing at that moment or for sure she would have shut that shit down. In hindsight it was one of the most dangerous things I have ever done, but hey while I was doing it I was thinking of all the money we were saving by not having to hire out the removal!

I was going to cut that last piece of tree on the right side from my stepladder away from the base, but Phil and I agreed it was really too dangerous. Too much of a risk that it would fall more towards the ladder and do major damage. So he talked me into going to Aubuchon Hardware to buy 100-feet of sturdy rope.

^We used my truck to pull on the remaining tree, and Phil used the chainsaw to take some out of the base. It took a bit of work, but we finally got it to fall. However, it got stuck before it fell all the way down. Fail! So it was back onto the extension ladder for me with my running saw in hand. I cut the final piece that was jamming up the works, and in hindsight that was also extremely dangerous. Once I cut the final piece I thought I might die because the remaining tree went flying to the ground, and unfortunately on the way down my precious... precious siding took on some damage.

^What a bunch of crap! Oh well, I'm not that worried about it I'm sure even a professional removal-person might have had that happen. (Okay maybe not but it helps me justify doing stupid shit to save a few hundred bucks. Psychology 101, beotches!) I'm guessing that is "only $25 in siding damage, but it will take some time to do the repairs. A couple roof shingles did take on some damage as well, but that was caused by the tree falling and not by my non-Rambo ass.

I think next time I have something like that happen (hopefully never!) I will call a pro because it was very dangerous. Trees are fuckin' heavy, and if they land on you the end result is all bad. I look at the photos and wonder what I could have done differently, and I don't think there is too much differently I could have done. No way I could remove it from the top down because of the angle. I guess it would have been nice to not stave up the siding, but oh well I can live with that.

Kat stopped by to see the damage just as Phil left to go have lunch with his brother. I didn't finish cutting everything up Tuesday, and yesterday I went BEAST MODE here at our own house doing a new bedroom floor, so today I am heading over there to cut up some of that brush. Thankfully none of the debris is in a driveway. It's just sitting in the small back yard, but it is an eyesore and it needs to go. Cutting it all up will take a few more hours so I'll pick away at it today, tomorrow, and into next week if needed.

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Tuesday, 10-10-17: Bye bye Red Sox.
The Houston Astros beat the Red Sox yesterday afternoon, and now the Red Sox are eliminated from playoff contention. What a bunch of crap! The Sox can blame their starting pitching more than anything, but the Astros were just a better team and that showed in the AL standings.

^Thanks, ESPN.

The Astros and the Indians both had incredible seasons. The Red Sox had a good season and took first place over the hated Yankees, but sadly the Yankees are still alive in their playoff series. They beat the Indians yesterday to tie that best-of-5 contest to 2-2. Now I will mainly follow the MLB playoffs to root against the Yankoffs.

Today is forecast to be 76 degrees. Awesome! It was hot last night and muggy, and I slept like a turd. Do turds sleep? I think not, but if a turd did sleep it would be a restless slumber down the sewers to hang out with Mr. Hanky. It took me forever to fall asleep, and then my ass was awake early. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, hopefully I can make up for it tonight when it will be cooler and I will be more tired.

I have a few things on the list to take care of today, but near the top of the list is prepping our bedroom for a new floor. My plan is to rip out the old, bootleg carpet in our bedroom tomorrow morning and to replace it with a floor that looks exactly like this:

^The downstairs basement remodel that I finished in August. However, I didn't really finish it because I drove a finish nail right into a pex heating line to I had to fix that on Monday 8 days ago. What a bunch of crap that was! I just put all the trim back on Sunday down there so now *I hope* it really is good-to-go.

I'm hoping to get our bedroom floor done in two days. One day would be awesome, but I doubt I can pull that off considering I still will have to rip out the old carpet, remove trim, move furniture, etc. If the room was totally empty then that would speed up the process of course, but that is not a feasable option. The new flooring installs quickly, but the prep always takes the longest. Hopefully I don't have to put down any plywood as a subfloor. I don't think I will have to do that, but I won't know until the carpet gets hauled on.

I had a tenant text me yesterday evening from my Chamberlain duplex telling me a tree fell on the back of the building. What a bunch of crap! I don't think the tree actually fell, I think it is just growing into the building a bit, but I have to head over the check it out shortly. I noticed earlier this year that tree branch will be needing to go so hopefully it is no big deal. If it did fall into the house and cause damage then I guess our bedroom floor ain't getting done tomorrow...*

The new Star Wars movie trailer is going to air on The Today Show in 3 minutes. Part 8 I believe? Sadly Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) died so she will not be in part 9, but she dit film her roles for part 8 before she passed if I recall. RIP Carrie Fisher. They killed off Han Solo in part 7, those mudda fuckas, so now Luke is the only one left who was in the original trogy from the late 70s and early 80s, not including the ones in costume like Chewbacca and the robots, etc. Maybe Lando can make a cameo! I always thought he was a great character, and he more than held his own in the best of the Star Wars movies, Return of the Jedi.

^If you don't think this is the best Star Wars movies and one of the best movies of all-time then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more.

*Okay turds, all two of youz who read this bootleg site, I looked and a tree definitely fell on that building. It is a mess, too. What a bunch of crap! I'll post photos and a rant about that next time.

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Saturday, 10-07-17: Needs more Tom Petty. Oh, I failed at carpentry bigtime.
I'm listening to Tom Petty's Learning to Fly. I don't think I will sing it at Jester's tonight, but maybe I will. Right now according to the boss the place is packed. Business is booming for a Saturday night, and that is often the case after an IWE show down there. We used to go to almost all of the IWE shows a decade ago, but the world has moved on and now I have gone to I believe only one in the past 5-ish years. What a bunch of crap! Back in the day IWE was awsome when Eric ran it, but now I just don't know most of the wrestlers.

^From 2010 when "Mark Moment" had a falls count anywhere match. Was that the one where Spike Dudley spilled my beer and bought me a replacement? It just might have been...

I uploaded some random photos that were on my digital camera. First is the hallway closet door that I finished a couple weeks ago:

^Hello, Tiger Lily. I am glad I made a closet out of that area because it keeps things looking tidy. Plus I have a space for my hunting gear as well as some tools, wood for the fireplace, etc.

^Tiger Lily (left), and Copper (right) during a morning a week or so ago. The dogs are so fired up in the morning that I often have to put them out 2-3 times in the first hour so they don't stomp all around the house and wake up Katherine in the basement below the living room area.

We have a lot of pets. I took this picture a few days ago:

^Sometimes there is simpy no room for me on the couch. What a bunch of crap! Two dogs, three cats (four including my awesome "Kat" wife. Hehehehe. We are okay with the animals getting onto the furniture because, fuck it. Not like we live the fancy high life half our friggin furniture came from Marden's. Shoulda bought it when we saw it at Marden's! Oh wait, we did. Hehehe.

Finally is this image of my epic fail as a carpenter. This fail happened nearly two months ago when I was finishing up the remodel in the basement. My brad-nailer that Jason got me for Christmas is a great gift. However, it does turn me into finish-work-Rambo, and as a result this happened:

^OMG I DROVE A FINISH NAIL RIGHT THROUGH SOME 3/4" TRIM AND DIRECTLY INTO THAT PEX HEATING PIPE. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! It did not leak at first because, I can only assume, we were not using the heat. However, once we started using the heat it started to leak and I was pwned. That sucked. A lot. I had to remove all kinds of trim just to find that leak. My bad. I had three different leaks to fix on Monday, and by far that one was the worst. I had to go buy a "Sharkbite" fitting and cut that pex pipe. It was not in an easy-to-access part of the house either. Gods damn it! Then I put on the "Sharkbite" and did a test run and it leaked all over the place worse than ever. My bad. I did not have the Sharkbite installed all the way so I made another mess. Water was everywhere and I sucked at life. Thankfully I fixed it in time to go for a jog, but then during my jog I pulled my right hamstring so gods damn it I epic failed.

Into the Great Wide Open, another great Tom petty tune. I just had two "Maurice's Mentholated Mint" shots. WTF, over? I guess the generic version of Dr. Migillicutty? Before that was a 24-ounce Bud Light Peach-a-Rita while I lifted some weights and did some painting. Yeah, I was working at 2130-ish. Bootleg Properties is 24/7 beotches! Until I pass out of course then my phone goes unanswered for a while. I'll probably pass out later, but hopefully I don't get too liquored up. Last night I got pretty drunk, but somehow I was smart enough to shut my shit down and switch to a Coke at the end so I didn't have a hangover. I was still able to play Rball today like a boss. Thank you, Monster Energy!

I am done. Fin. It is time to go hang out with my awesome wife now at Jester's. I am half in the bag, but I should be able to drive to the bar. I hope! Those bootleg Dr. Migillicutties are not that high in booze content.

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Friday, 10-06-17: Deer on the cam OMG.
My trail camera always gets me fired up for deer hunting, and tonight's data was no exception to that norm. One week worth of data, 279 photos, most of them of deer. Awesome! A nice buck under the apple tree near my tree stand? Me thinks this guy qualifies:

^Hell Mr. big buck, please walk by at about 20 yards broadside upwind of me ASAP.

Hell, I'll settle for this spikehorn:

All I wanna know is why? Why was he there IN BROAD DAYLIGHT JUST HOURS BEFORE I HUNTED THERE?! What a bunch of crap! Of course I hunted that spot tonight, and I did not see jack friggin' shit. Looks like the deer are there in the mornings during legal hunting times more than in the evening, but that will evolve as the season progresses. Right now it is still so early, and it has been above average mild so it barely even feels like fall. For heating bill considerations that is a major win, but for hunting it is a giant turd.

Speaking of giant turd, the weather lately has been great for jogging. However, I have a right calf strain so I am pwned and can only hobble around this bootleg town that is really a city and not a town. No skyscrapers, but population nearing 10k and taxes that compare to a city so might as well call it what it is. It should be called you are pwned now and enjoy that $400 water/sewer bill and that $4000 a year property tax bill for your 1955 ranch house that does not taste as good as ranch dressing. Those mudda fuckas! SOmetimes I think we should haul on Brewer because it is gods damned expensive, but then I realize the 0.33-mile commute to both my bootleg gym/office and to Jester's is a major win.

I talked to Mom on the phone for nearly an hour tonight. OMG. She had a lot to say about Dad's poor health and Doug. Poor Dad, he went hunting with Jason tonight but then he apparently told Mom he is not sure how much hunting he can do because he feels so shitty. Doctors do not know why he is sick all the time, and that is sad. The day Pop can't go hunting this time of year is a sad day indeed. Dad is cryptic regarding his health, but from what I can tell he gets numbness in some extremities, he gets dizzy, and overall he just feels terrible a lot of the time. However, he still decides to be a badass so he goes hunting anyway. I'm glad Jason lives nearby and loves to hunt so he can get Dad out of the house and into the refreshing fall air. I fear the worst thing for Dad would be to feel stuck inside all the damn time when he knows he should be in the woods doing some hunting...

^I always regard my Dad as a badass because he was in Vietman and got blown up and shit, and he knows how to man up like a boss. However, years of agent orange, lyme disease, and lead poisoning all take their toll no matter how tough the individual. Even Rambo would be in a world of shit if all of that happened to him in his life.

I feel like listening to Tom Petty. Tom Petty died Monday night, and that is sad because he was "only" 66 years old. I know 66 is still not that bad, but I think 80 is better. Isn't that the national average these days, 80? I know on average women live longer than men because they are built tough (like Ford F150s hehehe.) I wonder what life will be like for Kat and I when we are 66? I hope we last that long, but I only want that for us if we are happy. If not then see ya suckers, all two of youz who actually read this monkey-crap. I'd rather be dead than be old, crusty, and worthless. The day I can't contribute to society is the day I need to be checking out. F living in a wheelchair at some home, breathing through a tube, eating shit food, and looking forward to Jeapordy more than anything else all afternoon. However, Jeopardy is a damn good show.

Tom Petty has a lot of great songs. A LOT. I am listening to The Last DJ right now. A good tune, but by far Petty's best was the late 80s (the golden era of all music) when he released Full Moon Fever and great tunes like Running Down a Dream and I Won't Back Down.

Alright turds, all two of youz, I am going to log off and go down to Jester's to drink more and to hang out with my awesome wife. Goonies never say die and Tom Petty was great. If you disagree with me then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more.

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Tuesday, 10-03-17: RIP TOM PETTY.
OMG Tom Petty died yesterday at age 66. Tom Petty was fucking awesome. One of the best, and a man whose music I have appreciated since around 1989 when I heard some of the songs from Full Moon Fever. I still own that album on CD. I remember one time when I was a kid and there was a Tom Petty marathon on MTV when we were in New Jersey at Grammy and Papa's house. That was glorious! We never had MTV when I was a kid, but we were able to see it on rare occasion during visits to Cape Cod and NJ. Grammy and Papa were the best for having cable TV! We finally got cable TV in 1993, the year that I left for the Navy. However, in all fairness to Mom and Dad I do believe cable was not even available on our street until that year and back then satellite TV was for the high-society so we just got our four channels via rabbit-ears on the tube.

^My fvorite Tom Petty album. I also played the hell out of his Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers grestest hits album, too.

Back when we did get to see MTV in the 80s and early 90s that station actually played music. It was great! Now it is ten pounds of shit stuffed into a five pound bag. What a bunch of crap! The only MTV show I can tolerate is Ridiculousness where they play videos of people failing at life. However, I don't even like that show too much because that chick on there is highly annoying and basically seems like a useless waste of my precious... precious oxygen.

I remeber the video for Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down where he was standing on glass. Runnin' Down a Dream from that same Full Moon Fever album was my favorite video. That video was great, and the song was even better. I still love Runnin' Down a Dream. Actually I love a lot of Tom Petty's songs, but my favorite song of his has to be Don't Come Around Here No More. The video for that song is fantastic, too. It is some weird spoof of Alice in Wonderland that is very well-done.

^RIP Tom Petty.

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Monday, 10-02-17: I need to decide about my snow removal.
I hate having to think about winter, but much like death and taxes when you live in a northern climate you know it has to happen. For the first 11 or 12 years that I owned my rental property business I had the same guy do my plowing, someone whom I inherited from the previous landlord at the building where I lived for a great many years. That guy did okay for me, but last year he decided to get done so he hooked me up with someone else. This other guy charged more and he didn't always do a great job so I don't really want to use him again. However, I might use him. Maybe? I am looking at options a lot more seriously since it is now October and not long before we get snow [sigh.]

I might buy a snowblower. For the past three winters we have just shovelled here at the house, but F that shovelling sucks. Last winter after we got this epic storm I had my plow guy for the rentals do our driveway.

^Worst winter storm that I have ever seen. (I was in the Navy out west for the ice storm of '98.) My plow guy failed me bigtime from that blizzard last year. We had drifts of 4-5 FEET, and that is not an exaggeration. Actually my plow guy didn't even plow our driveway after that storm. We spent seemingly hours shovelling, I called and asked him to come, he said he would, but then he never came. What a bunch of crap! Thankfully Kat was able to get one of our neighbors to help us out so we did get our driveway plowed.

I was looking at Snowblowers at Lowe's and Home Depot.

The $599 one seems to have good reviews, and I think it would get our small driveway done. I don't mind shovelling because it is good exercise, but sometimes I get busy with the tax job and whatnot, and shovelling is a pain in the arse. It especially sucks having to shovel the end of our driveway where the snow from the road gets piled in from the city plows and packed to a heavy density.

I got the name and number of a local guy whom I plan to call to get a quote. I suppose if he is reasonable I might just have him do our own driveway. Maybe? I dunno for sure yet, but I need to stay on it. Putting a plow on my own truck is still an option as well, but F that I probably won't do that.

Mom is coming up for a visit today. She likes to gamble at the casino for a few hours so hopefully she wins some loot. She has an uncanny knack for coming out ahead from those penny slot machines. However, they don't really seem to be penny slots because she does higher bets than a penny. I'm not sure really, but I know she has her shit on lockdown and finds ways to win. Bonus for me if she does win because then I can let her pay for lunch and not feel guilty about it! Hehehehe.

We are still worried about Dad's health. He is far from 100%, but knowing exactly what is wrong is elusive so far. He did do some bowhunting so far with Jason so that is good. Dad uses a crossbow this time of year, and he has done that for several years. He has a special permit that allows him to use it, something related to being a disabled veteran. Or maybe the veteran point is moot? I know he can't shoot his compound bow anymore due to a shoulder issue. The guy is a war hero so fuck it I say let him use whatever he wants to use when he goes hunting.

Over 50 people in Las Vegas died last night at a concert when some fucko madman shot the place up. It is all over the news, and it even pre-empted the local news. It is the deadliest mass-shooting in US history, and it is so sad. I hate most people, but I would never get an AR-15 and shoot a bunch of citizens. I don't know why he would do that? Why would anyone do that? I suppose it's only a matter of time before certain firearms are banned, and I fear that is a slippery slope that needs to be avoided if at all possible. I don't care if I ever own a machine gun, but I don't want the government dictating when and how I can use my 30.06 rifle (for deer hunting), my model 870 shotgun (for turkey hunting), or my .22 (for target practice.)