Darrell

There may be a lesson there about selling multiple guns, quite a bit of value, using an unconventional payment means. I don't mean to imply that one shouldn't accept gold, but for a big trade it might be worth the expense of a professional evaluation.

Congratulations on your sale! I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about it, though, as I was waffling back and forth on whether I should go and take a look. Had I seen the final price drop I'd have that bad boy in my safe now. I hope your buyer enjoys that rifle, one I've always been tempted by.

You're right about that, and the majority of drivers are as safe as anywhere else, but since I moved here five years ago I've been astounded at the number of really bad drivers I encounter as opposed to other places I've been. I like to ride my motorcycles on the very cool, twisty back roads around here, but it seems that on almost every ride I encounter at least one driver coming toward me over the center line. It happens so frequently that I make a point of leaving a good margin to the centerline around any blind corner. I've also noticed that a whole lot of people fail to use turn signals, and there are too many people who think that yellow light on a traffic signal means to hurry on through. AdamB overstated it, but I understand his point of view.

My pet peeve is people tossing trash out of their vehicles onto the side of the road. I pick up about one shopping bag of beer cans and fast-food trash every other week or so along the road that bounders one edge of my property. I'd love to know where one of those litterers live so I could go and dump a load in their yard.

I'm not sure this should go here, or maybe in a public service announcement thread:

When my wife and I moved to TN five years ago we got the REALID licenses. As Krunchnik mentioned, it's a necessity if you're going to fly. I don't see it as an intrusion, but I understand that some folks might.

I'm enthusiastic about AI. Now, I don't believe one should depend upon it but it is a good way to get started on research. I imagine there were plenty of people who pooh-poohed the internet when it began, thinking that the good old library card category was the right tool for research. I still love the library, but..... AI is going to get better and it's going to help us tremendously. I think that medical diagnostics is going to be among the most important uses of AI, and I'm conviced that there will be new fields that open up that I can't imagine today

Try ammo from a few different manufacturers.

I think if it were mine I'd try several different types of ammunition first. Have you done that?

I bought my Branson (Korean origin, actually Kutje) tractor about 18 years ago, along with a backhoe attachment. The thing has been almost trouble free since I bought it. The one exception has been a head gasket that failed for an undetermined reason last summer, but repair was easy enough. My tractor is 42 hp, which seems just about right for me. It's big enough to dig up fairly large stumps, and the FEL is rated to lift a ton. And it's small enough for me to drive between trees in woods. I'd wanted a tractor for years before I finally bought one, and honestly, I waited far too long. I don't use mine for any kind of commercial work, but it seems like I used it for chores at least a couple times a week. It comes in handy for all kinds of things that you might not associate with a tractor, too. Last year I bought a used four-point automobile hoist, and I used the tractor to move heavy steel parts around, making installation FAR easier than it would otherwise have been. I bought a 6" chipper for it, and that really helps with keeping my property up. Apart from the loader and backhoe, you'll almost certainly want a box-blade, too. My advice would be to find a tractor you like and buy it. If you find it's not being used as much as you thought, you'll be able to sell it pretty easily and recover most or all of your money. (Assuming you buy used.) I've been looking around for a tracked skidsteer, and I suspect I'll find that I really needed it long ago, just like the tractor.

I just took down 20 or 30 fairly large trees, the largest around 20 inches at the base. Only a few were close to my garage, and on those I put a rope up in them and used a rope puller to put some torque on them. Everyone went where I wanted it to go, even those without the rope. But if I had one near the house I'd probably hire a pro. I'm planning to rent a stump grinder on Wednesday. $300 a day, including tax, and $40 a tooth if I damage one. I reckon Wednesday will be a tiring day for me. Good luck with your trees. I know that's a stress-inducer!

She's beautiful! Can she do any tricks yet?

Do you need to carry stuff with you? Will you need to secure your helmet and jacket on the bike? I have a few bikes, each with a little different target, but if I wanted to have just one for commuting I'd probably stick with my BMW F-700GS. At 800 cc it's got plenty of oomph for freeway riding, and as a two-cylinder FI bike it gets great fuel economy, better than 50mpg the way I ride. (I wring its neck most of the time.) Mine has saddlebags that will handle a helmet and riding gear. One benefit to my mind is that the bike will handle dirt and gravel roads really well. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find one under $3K unless it has a lot of miles on it, though. A Kawasaki KLR-650 might be easier to find in that price range, but it's a single-cylinder bike. I've owned three and was happy with them, even at highway speeds, though I wouldn't take a cross-country freeway trip on one unless I had to. I just went on Facebook Marketplace, looked at motorcycles for sale, and set a max price of $3K. There are quite a few bikes listed there, some of which look like a pretty good deal. Bear in mind that for that money you'll find older bikes, or bikes with a lot of miles on them. Good luck!

I give up, are they?

I've visited a few times, and it never fails to move me deeply. Since I'm an old Jarhead, I always make a point to visit the Marine Corps Memorial as well. I found some names of people I knew on "The Wall", too. Powerful stuff. I wish the people who start wars would understand what all those memorials stand for.

I would be unhappy to learn that someone had carried inside my home without telling me first. I'm a strong proponent of our right to carry arms, and to carry concealed. But I do not believe that right extends into another person's home. It's clear from your post that you were okay with it, but I would have not have been.

Yes, this is EXACTLY according to my theory, as I said on March 1. Anyone could have predicted this.

Very interesting to read so many sad stories. I guess I was lucky in that the first couple of times I tried alcohol I got sick and puked my guts out. A couple of times was enough for me. But I, too, have seen friends and family kill themselves or wreck their lives with the stuff. One thing that strikes me is the very positive light that movies and TV shows put on alcohol. One hardly ever sees a movie aimed at adults that doesn't include drinking. And even drunks are dipicted as happy people that are fun to be around.

I think that it might be going a bit too far to allow deadly response to trespass. I see that as opening a really big can of worms.

I have a strong theory, too, but I'm going to wait until the investigation results are made public before I post it here.

We were poor. I had to put my sandwich in my pocket. Or if I was really luck, into an empty bread bag. Actually, I usually had a lunch ticket, but if my mom gave me the fifty cents, or whatever it was, for lunch, I'd stop at Wing's store on the way to school and buy Malt Balls, which were two for a penny. They were gone LONG before lunch time.

I listen to his radio show IF I happen to be in a car or truck at that time. I enjoy listening to him, but as with anyone who makes his living as a talking head, you can't take every word as gospel.

I'm surprised, as I assume that Bongino makes a whole helluva lot more money as a broadcaster than he will as Dep Director. Maybe that means he truly wants to make a positive contribution. The way these things should work is that talented people give up some of their time to serve, then return to their business after a period or government service.