Good Morning!!!! 68F @ 5:00AM. Abundant sunshine. High 93F. Winds light and variable.
Kinda makes me wonder how many other forecasters use the term "abundant sunshine"? They seem quite fond of the term these days, and though in the depths of winter I'll somewhat miss it, after a long, hotter than ever summer, it's gettin' kinda old. And now the chance of rain next weekend have dropped below 25%. While we're in dire straights for rain, I wouldn't mind if it held off just a few more days so I could sneak on one last camping trip during an Indian Summer (or is that now an unWoke term, too?).
I'm not a big fan of my local Kubota dealer, Rich, but I still give them a shot at most of my parts purchases because they're local and brick'n'mortar vs. internet based. They've surprised me in the past by having a part I needed in stock, but often as not they have to order it and I end up waiting a week to get it. I've also been known to tell them "thanks anyway" when they say they don't have it, and dial Messick's for the next call because I know it'll be here in less than a week and I don't have to go anywhere to go get it, and they still don't charge sales tax, which sometimes actually saves me a few pennies.
You're making some good memories with your daughter, Kyle. I still remember similar drives with my dad, almost fifty years ago now.
That's a fairly alarming stastic, twobit. Mind sharing a link? Around here, at least,
over 80% of hospital admissions are not fully vaccinated, and
92% of the ICU occupants are unvaccinated. But you're right to be concerned about the lack of tracking data; one of the MedCram videos I watched last week went to great lengths to show that the CDC isn't doing enough testing or record keeping to understand the real impact CV19, and especially the Delta variant, is having on this country. A quick google search for "MedCram YouTube" will get you to the video if you'd like to watch. With all due respect, though, I've learned to take anything coming out of Washington D.C. with a rather large grain of salt. Perhaps the same is true for what comes out of Parliment as well?
Once again, RS, I was exhausted after reading only the first half of your busy day's activities. No way I could keep up with you, but I wonder why you left out what you had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
Yesterday's "Shoot With the Sheriff" event was another great experience, and it's unfortunate only a few concealed carrier permittees in California have the opportunity to benefit from training of this type. There were six training stations again, three of which were "force on force", meaning that you're confronted with an armed assailant. One was a video, which was very realistic, the other two were up against deputies playing the bad guy. The video had me armed with a laser pistol, the other two used a "simunition" that shot small paint balls. I got the electronic bad guy as he reached for his gun in the first one. In the second, I awoke at 2AM to find a deputized bad guy in my house, and since he wouldn't surrender, I had to go in gun blazing and take him out. The third guy had a pistol hanging out of his pocket, but never reached for it, and obeyed orders to go prone face down, then me and a buddy that had "just come home from the range" were able to disarm him without firing a shot. I failed the live fire accuracy test miserably, though. It consisted of 20 rounds where I was told to shoot one of three colored figures placed at 7 yards. When I heard the beep, I could raise my pistol to shoot, and hod only 3 seconds to fire two shots. I thought the red dot sight would be an advantage, but I had lots of trouble getting it on target initially, and almost as much doing so on the follow up shot, to the point that several times I ran out of time before the second beep. Each hit counted as 3 points, and my total was only 9 out of a possible 60. One of which was a hit on blue which was called for yellow, and really shouldn't have counted! In fairness, though, all three figures were on a typing paper sized target, and any bad guy standing behind it would have some serious problems. But the exercise did show a serious need for more practice. The day started at the first aid station, where we learned how to use a tourniquet tool, then watched a vivid demonstration on massive blood loss, and finished up learning how to pack a bullet wound with gauze to stop the bleeding. At the end of the day, the fella next to me said he had to leave before the closing raffle, and handed me his tickets. One of them was good for a gift bag from local reloader supplier RCBS, so I'll call him later today to arrange delivery. The best part of the day was being able to interact with the deputies, and even having a one-on-one conversation with the sheriff at lunch. It is very comforting to know such a well trained force has my back in these troubled times.
Not sure what else is on the agenda for today, but it's an opportunity rich environment.
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend!
www.cdc.gov
lots ideas sure like to put on Santa list.
