Merry Christmas and working the New Year

As always, the best made plans go awry as events unfold in ones daily life. I really had wanted this year to keep the blog updated much more often than I do (such as my friend Academomia who is juggling much more in life than I am! Hang in there, the dissertation will turn out well.). Perhaps this just goes to show where my priorities are; NOT in updating this blog...

ANYWAY, it has been a bit crazy schedule-wise with all that has been going on the last three weeks. The workshop in Norman went well; I learned truly how slow the government moves on certain things. However, the trip presented an opportunity to get caught up with friends I haven't seen in many years as well as making a few new ones. Unfortunately I did return with a souvenier - a weak cold that wasn't enough to knock me totally out but I was dealing with congestion and a stuffy nose for three days. Not having found a doctor yet was the largest reason I didn't seek help from antibiotics for what possibly was a sinus infection but plenty of fluids, Vitamin C, and chicken noodle soup helped to ward off the cold and I was (unfortunately???) well enough to work my round of graveyard shifts. Oh well...

During this time I was also pondering a vehicle to replace the Exploder, doing all my Christmas shopping (only having to brave the mass hordes at Best Buy and Barnes & Noble), and trying to pack for my trip home all while working my crazy schedule. Then there were the Christmas parties, a couple of going-away dinners for a good friend and co-worker, and the occasional snap of cold weather to deal with. All these things going on made the time before I left for home fly by in a hurry and before I knew it, it was time to head for the Hill Country. But I had to make a detour to Frederickburg on my way home.

What was the detour for you ask? Meet my new mode of transportation:
This is my 2006 Chevrolet K1500 Silverado 4x4 with the Z71 package. 30,130 miles when I bought it, and is in excellent condition. The only two things it is missing that I really wanted were XM radio and bucket seats in the front. However, these were small items and decided not to risk passing this vehicle up. Many thanks to Zimmermann Truck and Auto Sales for finding the vehicle closest to what I wanted in the price range I was willing to plink out. So, the Explorer has been put out to pasture after 160,579 miles, one unintended wedding present, and a trip to the Canadian River. Now for a couple of months of lean living and tight spending...

After this purchase, it was finally time to head home and enjoy my week-long Christmas vacation with the family. I can tell it was a good time as I regained the 5 lbs I had lost the previous couple of weeks, came back with the Christmas bounty, left only two tags on my hunting license (out of the 4 I had when I arrived), and all the jokes, fun, and love shared with family memebers. There was also some shooting with my XDM (results scanned in soon), some hand loading for friends and family, and a LOT of reading. My book reccomendation from this trip: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

Last but not least was some photography. This is just a subset of what I have...I'm still sorting through the images and doing minimal post-editing (sharpening, contrast, image resize, and copyright). Enjoy:

Give them another couple of years. They'll be mighty nice, that is if the neighbors won't get to them first...

A porcelain tree my grandmother made before she passed away.

My 2008 Hallmark Ornament series installment.

Yeah, I was playing around on this one and managed to catch myself in the reflection.

So, now to look ahead to 2009. Unfortunately I will have to work through New Years Day so my celebrating New Years Eve will not last through Midnight. Something about having to get up for a day shift on 6 hours sleep doesn't sound like fun. As for resolutions...I'll have to think about those for a while as I probably batted around .500 this year.

Merry Christmas and may 2009 be full of blessings and joy for y'all. And now to return to watching the Cowboys playing with Ducks in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Cartoon for the week

I really shouldn't be on the computer; I've got to wrap up packing for a trip to Norman, OK for the Next Generation Warning Tool Workshop, head to the office to get a GSA vehicle, and then enjoy the 5 hour drive to Norman. However, I had to go through my morning routine of checking the latest news, weather conditions, Facebook (I'm addicted), and my comics for the day.

So I share this cartoon, again from XKCD, because I am one of those nerdy students who had to do the egg drop competition (and I passed thanks to the shock-absorbing benefits of crumpled up newspaper, blatantly stolen from NASA's Mars Rovers which used airbags to make it to surface safely). Enjoy!

P.S. I never thought this could be a possibility but it just could be...

Springfield XDM review

Note: if you loathe weapons in any form, go ahead and pass on this post! In light of recent events at my neighbors house as well as the outcome of the presidential election, I decided it was time to purchase something for defense of my person, my home, and my friends/family as well as something that I can use while out on the ranch in case I encounter feral hogs, rattlesnakes, and other vermin. A good varmint rifle can cover these tasks with the exception of being easily portable. I though about getting a shotgun however being a southpaw when it comes to shooting makes this a bit more difficult due to the direction the spent shells will fly (towards my face). A lefty Benelli semi-auto 12-ga is also a bit out of my price range (right now!).

I had narrowed down the plethora of options to something in the .40 S&W caliber, semi-auto category. The big reason for a semi-auto was that to qualify for the concealed carry permit in the State of Texas, you cannot carry a semi-auto IF you tested on a revolver. I also envision getting a little revolver to carry as most semi-auto frames are too big to easily conceal. Another item to consider was that the semi-auto would come in quite handy working around the home place or when out rounding up cattle should we come upon varmints or snakes. After two weeks and several hours at the local gun shop, I finally had my choice. "Say hello to my little friend!"


You are looking at the Springfield Armory XDM. There were several reasons I chose this firearm over the plethora of other ones available. Those reasons include:

• Fit, form and function. Out of the 8 options I had, this fit my hand the best. Being a southpaw, I needed something that could easily be used by my left hand. All the controls on this beauty meet that need.
  
  
• Capacity. I never envision nor hope that I will ever be involved in a firefight. However, I can hold 16+1 rounds in this firearm. That might actually come in handy if we run across a herd of feral hogs. Also, the .40 S&W ammo was one of the more powerful rounds that was more common, with the .357 SIG being the only one more powerful.
  
  
• Trigger. The XD and XDM series have a trigger safety similar to that of a Glock. Out of all those tested, this trigger felt the sharpest, had the best length of travel, and the best reset. It is nice and crisp which is good for accuracy but less important for other uses.
  
  
• Match-grade barrel. Although this isn't a necessity, the barrel is designed for competition which theoretically means better accuracy. More on this in a moment.
  
  
• Durability. The XDM is another polymer-based frame with steel slide. My research and reading shows that the finish should stand up for MANY rounds. Also, I saw a recent article that they ran 20,000 rounds through the XDM after being submerged in sand and water, frozen in ice, and run over with a truck. There were some minor issues with the sand (what firearm doesn't have that problem) but it never failed to fire. The only fail to fires were with sub-par ammunition.

I took my XDM with me when visiting family a couple of weeks ago and squeezed off several rounds on a target at 25 feet; the standard distance for sighting in a pistol and for competition practice. The best free hand (meaning standing/no bench rest) 5-shot group I had measured 1 inch in the horizontal and 1/2 inch in the vertical! Unfortunately it was 4 inches high due to poor sight picture on my part. This grouping was much better than any of those published (at least that I could find). All rounds fired easily would have been in the thoracic cavity of a full-body target.

The recoil is easily manageable by my standards although my arms were tired by the end of shooting. As a result, the groupings towards the end of practice were much worse than at the start. This is something I can work on with a bit of weight training and dry-fire practice. Disassembly for cleaning is a BREEZE compared to some of the other models I looked at. I also liked the consistency the firearm had with ejecting the spent cartridges which never were in any danger of impacting my face (another problem faced by some southpaw shooters).

My only very minor disappointment is that the XDM is built in Croatia and imported into the USA. I prefer to support the USA firearm companies (well, those that didn't cave to the Clinton Administrations Firearms...cough cough...Smith and Wesson). This is so minor that I wouldn't even bring this up when discussing with friends. The quality is outstanding, reliability looks good, the fit is perfect, and the fun factor is quite high. I like it!

Stay tuned as I squeeze off a few more rounds with my XDM, especially once I start hand loading some ammo to really hone the accuracy as much as possible...

As Usual; Busy

Oh so much going on, so little time it seems. This is another one of those posts that basically is more of a list of all that is going on right now...

• Had a great trip home for 6 days. I was originally going to stay for 5 days but decided to take an extra day off. The hunting was too good, there were plenty of things to do at home, and as the extra 5 pounds I put on this week indicates, mom's home cooking was mighty good as well.


• Another item taken care of while home was discussing getting a new vehicle to replace my aging 1997 Ford Exploder Explorer. I bought the Ford used back in 2001 and it is starting to show the wear and tear of the 140,000 miles I have put on it since then. Most of those are road miles, but I'd estimate 5-7,000 miles of that are extreme, hard-driven miles it accumulated stormchasing. Right now it is at the point that any major repairs are probably going to cost about as much, if not more, than the vehicle is worth. Next in line: 2005-2007 Chevy/GMC 1/2 ton Crew Cab 4x4/Z71 short bed with 20-40,000 miles on it. Perhaps a Christmas present to myself if a family friend can find one for me...


• The last part of the trip was spent taking pictures at sunset on my way home. I'm still proccessing the pictures in Photoshop (resize, copyright notice, sharpening, and removing CCD noise is it) and will hopefully have them on-line soon. These won't be in Picasa; I found out the license agreement for the newest version gives Google the perpetual (as in forrrrrrreeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrr) use of ANY pictures I put on the web through their service. That stinks. I'll try and find a flash gallery soon and finally develop a personal web-space.


• In news closer to the South Plains; I was informed they captured the burglar mentioned in an earlier post. The detective said he was passing the case off to the District Attorney so we'll see where things go from here.


• Related to the previous bullet...I have a new weapon for home defense. Be looking for my impressions on my choice soon.


• I'm prepping for a trip to Norman in December. My unnamed employer is holding a workshop to see where we want to try and take our severe weather warnings in the future. Right now, the format we use (and which you see as the scroll across the bottom of the screen during severe weather) is based on teletype technology from the 1950s. Needless to say, we are well behind the technology curve and need to catch up. Fast.


• If you didn't notice, a couple of posts were removed. Things with a certain someone didn't work out. Most of y'all already knew that but I thought I'd inform the few that hadn't heard.
  

So, that's about all from around here. Pretty much the same old stuff. Just wishing it would rain...and lots of it over several days over all of Texas. It is starting to get dry once again.

Dyslexia? Or something else???

Maybe this is why I have problems telling folks where I am when stormchasing or when I'm at work trying to get spotters on a storm (courtesy of XKCD.com):

(And another recent cartoon for your enjoyment).

The Search Continues

Much to the disappointment of my friends and Dad, I am not a coffee drinker. I've tried and tried various types, blends, cappuccinos, and lattes. There was even one cold night we were on a men's retreat at Guadalupe Mountain, it was 25 degrees, and I was so cold I tried cowboy coffee with a packet of hot chocolate mix added in (you know, cowboy coffee as in grinds at the bottom of the pot, heated over an open fire, and it comes out so thick you could slice it with a knife?). It definitely warmed me up due to the caffeine content and the high likelihood I ingested some coffee grounds. How could I forget in a moment of distraction ordering a Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks (not realizing I ordered it full octane either) and taking a first sip and realizing it was coffee. Yup...I still don't like coffee.

Anyway, since I haven't been able to develop a taste for coffee I have had to find something that would meet the approval of my apparently narrow palate for the times I am out with friends at a coffee shop. Six years ago, I was introduced into the world of Chai. More specifically Masala Chai, which most Americans know as spiced chai. One chilly day at the Wesley Foundation, the director decided it was time to make Chai the old-school way; warm the milk on the stove and place the loose tea leaves and spices in the milk. I had never seen nor heard of anyone making tea with milk until that fateful afternoon, but I've been hooked ever since and have been struggling to find something that is easy for me to make at work with only a microwave.

At first there was Celesital Seasonings Indian Spiced Chai which is somewhat easy to make: steep like normal tea with water and add milk. However, there is something in their mix that I am allergic to and consumption every morning for five days leaves my throat raw and itchy. Next came a local coffee shop here in the Hub City; Sugar Browns. I don't know what they use but I absolutely LOVE their Chai. There is also Daybreak Coffee Roasters which has a good Chai (and the fact I had a roommate and good friend who worked there) but I'm not sure what the mix is they use. However, I had to leave this behind for 5 years when I was in the Top o' Texas and found the local establishment there: Roaster's. It turns out that they use Oregon Chai which is available in instant mix packets. Now, the instant mix is nowhere near as good as a fresh brewed cup but is MUCH more convenient for a work environment where a stove isn't available. This is also very convenient for camping and vacations; just throw in a couple of packets and I can warm up in the morning to my Chai while everyone else has their coffee. Two other reasons I favor Oregon Chai; they carry Vanilla Chai (my favorite) AND decaf (but not decaf vanilla, dang).

Well, now I'm back in the Hub City but live too far from Sugar Browns and Daybreak south to make the detour when I am heading into work. The closest place is Starbucks and they use Tazo Chai which is a decent balance between all the choices available. However, I hate supporting a chain when there are local shops. It also became very apparent when I first moved here and was on per-diem that purchasing chai over black coffee at various shops is relatively more expensive. With the economy in the tank right now, I also don't want to spend the $$ at Starbucks when I'm working day-shifts. SO, I'm limited to making it myself. Unfortunately, I have yet to find my instant Vanilla Oregon Chai for sale here in the Hub City. The nearest United Market Street does carry the mix where all you have to do is add milk but I hate microwaving milk. What I really need is a milk steamer.

Hence the title of this blog entry. I'm still in the search of a simple milk steamer. Yes, I could use a double boiler but that would get a bit tedious to clean every day and we don't have a cook top at my office. I've done the microwave thing the last couple of weeks but this is hit and miss; heat it too much and you start to curdle the milk, not enough heat and it comes out lukewarm and there is nothing worse than expecting a nice hot sip of your favorite tasty beverage only to get something that is barely above body temperature. For home, I'd like a simple stove top steamer; works like a tea kettle but allows you to pipe the steam into your milk to warm it. For work, something I could plug in, heat water with and then steam my milk. So far my search of the web via google has not yielded anything nor has my searches of various stores around town.

Anyone have any ideas???

Scary Moment

I got home from work this morning and took care of some housekeeping items for a couple of hours. Driving up to the house, I noticed that my lawn was awash in brown leaves and decided to get them out of the way before the West Texas wind machine added another 3 inches of dead leaves tomorrow. So, I ventured out back sometime shortly after 10 am to get the rake and the trash can and went through the gate on the side of the house to head out front.

The first thing I notice is the screen on my neighbors house was lying on the ground in a twisted heap.

Second thing was the storm window was open.

Third thing was hand prints in the dust on the inner window.

Fourth thing was their gate was open.

O.K. those things aren't normal. As I walk around to the front of my house and start to rake leaves, a stranger walks across my neighbors lawn and starts heading down a cross street. Then a strange car parked across the way picks him up and then takes off down the road.

I'm scared $*@%less. After running in the house and dialing 911, two cops showed up and started to investigate matters.

Yup, my neighbors house was broken in to this morning. After the cops did their search and I gave them what little info I could give, the only thing they could figure out was either a door was left unlocked or a family member committed the crime. The scariest thing was that I apparently startled them in the middle of their attempt.

So now I am STILL scared $*@%less. Every little noise I hear, every shadow on the sunroof, every gust of wind freaks me out. The culprit or culprits probably got a good look at me but I didn't get a good look at them. No matter what I do, it feels as if the locks aren't good enough, the latches on the windows aren't strong enough, and the visibility around my house isn't good enough for my neighbors to keep watch on my house.

My neighbors were extremely grateful that I did call 911 and in talking with them they said nothing like this had happened in the 15 years they've lived in the neighborhood.

There is a first time for everything...

Random Thoughts I

I am on midnight shifts right now, number 2 of 7. This is usually the worst time in the series of mids mainly because of the lack of sleep. However, it does allow quite a few random musings to float in and out of the grey matter of my brain. Some of them might even be worthy of mentioning to you...

• The upcoming Texas vs Texas Tech game is being hyped up beyond all proportions in this town. So much so that a local T.V. station has had a countdown out since 144 hours to kickoff. All I can say is that it is fitting that the first part of next week (Sunday - Tuesday) will be windy in this town. If Tech loses, the windy conditions will be a result of the thousands of students who just had their National Championship dreams and school pride popped like a balloon. If they do indeed win, that is air being pulled into the ever inflating egos of the most avid Red Raider fans.

• I find it amazing that Wal Mart gasoline in this town has fallen almost every day by a couple of pennies while all the Fina Stations are still charging gas 30 cents higher than Wal Mart just because of the company brand. How the HECK are the Fina stations staying in business?

• Heard this on the radio driving home this morning: The young people who are the most fervent supporters of Senator Obama were not alive the last time a true liberal occupied the White House. Scary...

• Could another name for a tire factory be a tread mill?

• I was amazed that Mythbusters proved you could rappel down a four story wall using single-ply toilet paper (testing myths of escaping from jail using bedsheets tied together, hair clippings, and toilet paper). Maybe I should carry a nine-pack of Charmin around when rock climbing for all the "just in case" moments...

• And last but not least: your pun for the day.
  
  
  Jesus and his disciples were walking around one day when Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x² + 8x - 9." The disciples looked very puzzled and finally asked Peter, "What on earth does Jesus mean???" Peter said, "Don't worry. It is just another one of his parabolas."

A quick tidbit for you...

I've tried to keep out of the political arena just because of my unnamed employer and out of respect for the viewpoints of friends and family. However, working in a land of agriculture and keeping up on how things are going in that arena of life has led me to this article and it got my blood pressure up. Hard to believe that the candidate in question thinks that an illegal vote should be honored. Makes you wonder what he'll do in the real election...

P.S. Don't forget to read the actual signed letter at the bottom of the article!

I caved...

After almost a full year and many changes, including a new job, new home, and new climate (I've received over 10 inches of rain in the last two months alone and 8 of those inches fell in 24 hours!), I finally caved in. I weighed the costs versus the enjoyment as well as the capabilities compared to other systems and decided the time was right.

I got one of these:
Yes, I finally joined the plethora of people who have a Nintendo Wii. My sisters both got one shortly after Christmas of '07 and the C's got one shortly after they hit the market so I was no stranger to the enjoyment value these things bring. Perhaps I was also living out a childhood dream that my parents (smartly and thankfully) wouldn't let us fulfill; owning a first-generation NES (you know, the console that up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start would give you 30 lives in Contra?). Besides, I needed SOMETHING to do on those nights I'm staying up to prepare for my rounds of graveyard shifts...I can't play guitar for 8 hours without losing a finger or two to blisters!

The competition I had was the PS3 and the XBOX 360, both of which I gave serious consideration. I have a PS2 and purchasing the PS3 would have allowed me to have 1080p BluRay DVD capability AND still be able to play my old PS2 games. The XBOX 360 had much more consideration as I would have loved to play the Halo games against friends up in Amarillo and I fell in love with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas II right before I moved down here. However, in the end it was the fact that I would have to physically move to play some games on the Wii that sold me in the end. There is something about actually having to swing the controller to hit the tennis, golf, and baseballs as well as being able to play many of the original favorites that hooked me on video games in my early childhood (Super Mario Bros., Contra, Legend of Zelda, and MegaMan to name a few). After having experienced on-line play in Smash Brothers Brawl and MarioKart, I felt it was too good of a system to pass up since this would finally allow me a chance to whup up on my friends back in the Top o' Texas (and eventually my sisters if they would hurry up and get their Wii systems on the internet hint hint).

In a month or so I will hopefully have enough $$ saved up to go and purchase a Wii Fit so I can get ready for ski season (and will hopefully not have to keep dealing with sore arms from all the swinging playing tennis and boxing). Having already tasted what the Fit is capable of, it is one of those things that I think will help improve the lateral stability in my legs. In other words, I'll sacrifice some fun and games in order to get my knees and thighs ready for the hope of hitting the ski slopes this winter. Those that have played will understand. Those who haven't...welllll...as soon as I get one you will have to give it a try for yourself!