my new favorite tea

For Christmas, Kendre got me some Gong Fu Dian Hong Yunnan province black tea.

Since then, I've bought two more 100gm bags and it is my primary tea now. It has an almost chocolaty taste. I would recommend it to any fan of Chinese black teas.

Gun stuff

Here's some things I need to catch up on...

I had posted previously about the Swiss K31 rifle. Back in middle of November, I was able to order one along with my buddy Dexter. Here's mine:



It was built in 1937 and is in great shape considering its age. The metal all looks like it came from a modern machining process - it's like clockwork. Dexter and I took them to the range but that's the only time I've shot it so far. It's fun to shoot and appears to live up to all of its reputation. I am very pleased with it so far.

In January I took the prerequisite class for an Oklahoma conceal carry license. As with trying to buy guns or ammo at the moment, the new administration has inspired a deluge of applications for CCL and the processing (which isn't normally fast) is backlogged. My application went in almost three weeks ago, but I expect it to take at least the "minimum" 90 days if not longer.

At the CCL class, the instructors tried to add some more real-world value by giving help with pistol techniques. I've been working on those and I am seeing a real improvement on my groups with both of my pistols.

Speaking of our new president, his plans to revive the failed policies of the past (to use one of his favorite phrases) in the form of the Brady weapons ban has served as quite the unintended stimulus package in the part of the economy related to guns and ammunition. I've decided to start my own AR-15 build project and have begun collecting parts before they are (unconstitutionally) banned again. It's amazing how difficult it is to find them now.

The cool thing about the AR-15/M-16 is that it's a modular system, so you can mix and match parts to build the gun however you like or need. There are literally unlimited variations possible. I'll post about that more later.

Finally, I started taking the kids to the range near our house to learn to shoot my .22 rifle. We spent some time learning the Four Rules of Gun Safety and practicing them. We set up a spinning steel target which makes it rewarding to hit.

Here are some pics from the range:


We had a lot of fun and will be going more often in the future.

rejoined the NRA

Well, this seems like a really good time to rejoin the NRA. I had let my membership lapse years ago, but with the new Obama administration having at least 2 years of strong legislative support ahead, it was time to rejoin.

Obama lied routinely during the campaign about his stance on the Second Amendment. You can read a summary of his actual voting record and see that he is actually a much bigger threat than he claimed to be. Hopefully he will overreach and trigger a large backlash but we can't count on that.


The NRA has a promotion running now to join for $25/year ($10 off). You can find it here.

office update

I re-arranged the furniture in the office to this now:


So far, I really like it - it feels more homey and makes the office feel wider and more open. I had promised an update to the bookshelf story. Here's a current photo of the bookshelves:

overrun with ladybugs

Today I am painting in my office and have the window open for ventilation. We are in the middle of our annual ladybug bloom and there are now 50+ of them wandering around my ceiling and walls....


They are kinda cute but cuteness starts to run thin past past 10 or so...

international respect

It would be funnier if it weren't so scary...



The video was produced by Our Country Deserves Better. Be sure to have a look at their Why We Oppose Obama page.

(thanks to Gateway Pundit - one of may favorite blogs)

modeling my office in SketchUp

I mentioned that I'd gotten new bookshelves in a previous post. I've got the bookshelves done and I've been cleaning up lots of other stuff as well. I had boxes of computer parts also stacked in the office since moving into it. I got big plastic tubs to move that into (culling out useless bits) that will keep spiders and the like from it in the garage.

I'm also thinking about rearranging the office to make better use of the space. I decided to start with some house drawings I'd done before and add detail to the office so I could play with placing the furniture in 3d. This allows me to try things without unplugging the multitude of wires, etc. And it lets me try out potential future furniture before buying it.

Here's what I have so far - in the configuration that it currently is arranged:



It's obviously missing a lot of smaller clutter like computers, basses, etc but it's enough to begin playing with. I'll update more later as I have it...