Friday, 10 June 2016

By on June 10th, 2016 in personal, prepping

09:55 – Barbara is off to the gym and supermarket. Then it’ll be back to kit stuff.

Our driveway is gravel, and Barbara wants to have it paved. We’re going to get quotes. It’s a double-wide driveway and 125 feet long, so it won’t be cheap whether we decide on concrete or asphalt. I’m perfectly happy with gravel, but Barbara really, really wants it paved. So we’ll wait until the house in Winston sells and then get quotes.

Of course, fair is fair. If we have the driveway paved as Barbara wants, I should get to buy something I really, really want, which is another two or three person-years worth of bulk staple foods and some other prepping supplies. I’d also like to get some of our assets transferred into stuff that holds its value. Those dollars in our bank account lose value every month. I’d like to get some of those dollars shifted into stuff like .22LR ammunition, which holds its value over time and is nearly as liquid as dollars. Fifteen years ago, I could have bought .22LR for about two cents a round. Now, that ammo is more like seven cents a round. The value of a round remains the same as it was 15 years ago; it’s the dollar that has lost much of its value over the last 15 years. And the same is true of LTS food.


61 Comments and discussion on "Friday, 10 June 2016"

  1. Ray Thompson says:

    decide on concrete or asphalt

    Skip the asphalt. It will eventually crack and break up. Especially in your climate area due to the cold. Go with concrete. More expensive but longer lasting and more durable. Had my driveway done and it was about $6,000. That included tearing up the old asphalt, digging down another several inches, install a gravel base, then concrete over the base. The concrete has rebar within the slab obviously.

    But what I also had done was the addition of fiberglass within the mix. That will stop hairline cracks. I have groves cut in the concrete so that it will crack at defined locations. Concrete will crack, controlling the cracks and location is crucial. The fiberglass added a few bucks to each yard. In 15 years the concrete has zero hairline cracks. The concrete is at least 4 inches thick with deeper footings at the edges.

    The additional cost for the concrete and the fiberglass added to the mix is worth it in my opinion.

    I’d like to get some of those dollars shifted into stuff like .22LR ammunition

    That is only a perceived value simply because the price has gone up. As a currency it is worthless. And unless you use a lot of the stuff it is basically worthless to you. Food yes, ammunition nope. You might be able to use it for barter or trade but it is certainly not going to pay your electric bill or property taxes.

  2. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    I can sell .22LR ammunition any time in whatever quantity I want to sell it. At the moment, I can buy it for about $70/thousand. If I needed a fast $700, I guarantee you I’d be able to sell 10,000 rounds in a heartbeat. Hell, I’d be able to sell 100,000 rounds.

    I’m not suggesting that we transfer all out assets to .22 ammo, or any other ammo for that matter. But the fact is that ammo holds its value and is a reasonably liquid asset, whether in normal times or a long-term emergency. More so than food, in fact.

  3. DadCooks says:

    As in all things, the foundation is the secret to a long trouble-free life. Being out in the sticks you probably have the pick of a couple of companies that know how to do a proper roadbed. I’ll add my vote for concrete. You might ask about a fiberglass reinforced concrete, fiberglass fibers mixed in in addition to wire/re-bar reinforcement. You’ll have driveway that will last centuries.

  4. Ray Thompson says:

    I’d be able to sell 100,000 rounds

    Can you do that without some type of firearms license without afoul of the ATF? Assuming of course they found out. I find that many transactions in small towns tend to be cash. Guy that bought my ’83 F-100 paid $2200 for the vehicle. Pulled out a wad of cash and gave me 22 $100 bills asking that he be allowed to fill in the selling price on the title.

  5. DadCooks says:

    Not that the Boy Scouts is what it used to be, but this is f’d-up:
    http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/10/judges-can-belong-to-la-raza-but-not-the-boy-scouts/

  6. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    There are no restrictions or reporting requirements for ammunition. BATFE has nothing to say about it, and people up here don’t much like feds anyway.

  7. dkreck says:

    It’s only racist if you are white or male or christian, otherwise it’s diversity.

    One of the women at work on Tuesday asked me who I voted for (had my I Voted sticker on). I asked her who she thought I had. She said Trump and I said why,”Because I am old white redneck guy from Bakersfield”. I told her I was but no, I would never have voted for him. Ridiculous perceptions.
    (it was all light hearted)

  8. lynn says:

    Our driveway is gravel, and Barbara wants to have it paved. We’re going to get quotes. It’s a double-wide driveway and 125 feet long, so it won’t be cheap whether we decide on concrete or asphalt. I’m perfectly happy with gravel, but Barbara really, really wants it paved.

    I am with Barbara. Gravel roads blow dust when they are dry. And the gravel breaks and is tracked by people and animals everywhere.

    When I bought my commercial property, all of the roads were gravel. And poorly maintained gravel at that (many potholes, some over a foot deep). As my realtor says, deferred maintenance is common.

    I have put three inches of hot rolled asphalt down on about 2,000 lane ft of my roads. About 22,000 ft2. My last installation cost was $2.20/ft2. The lower price was because I had a such a good base. I also have heavy trucks and trailers on my property continuously which would require a minimum of six inches of concrete instead of the normal four inches. And the concrete costs $6.00/ft2 around here. Concrete lasts longer than asphalt but you must take loading into account.

  9. Ray Thompson says:

    Concrete lasts longer than asphalt but you must take loading into account

    I doubt my vehicles and boat are an issue. The boat is the heaviest at about 6500 pounds, dual axle so four wheels supporting the load.

    Had an asphalt driveway but it was starting to have problems. Thus had it ripped out and replaced with concrete. Guy that did the job did an excellent job. Had the driveway expanded to the left (as you face the house) so we could park the boat out of the actual driveway and also gave a spot for another vehicle. As it is now we can park seven full size vehicles in our drive way.

    36°02’04.92″ N 84°19’49.94″ W are the google earth coordinates for those so interested. Not a mansion by any stretch but no mortgage. Street view is before the boat cover was painted and my old F-150. Thus that would be from sometime in early 2014.

  10. lynn says:

    I went to a Texas Gun Law Seminar last night with three of my friends at the Bass Pro Shops in Pasadena. Wow, that is one fancy place! Lots and lots of toys.
    http://www.gunlawseminar.com/

    I heartily recommend this particular two hour seminar. The first hour was covered by a practicing gun law attorney with about five years of experience. My takeaway from this was that Texas is still in the dark ages on guns somewhat and that a district attorney can come after anyone they want to. Specifically on gun brandishment which is a Class A misdemeanor here in The Great State of Texas.

    The second hour was covered by a police detective with fifteen years of experience in Houston area police agencies. He talked a lot about officer friendly. You can encourage officer friendly that you are a good person by disclosing when they pull over that you have a CHL and where your guns are in the vehicle. They will know anyway when they run your drivers license though their laptop anyway. Don’t let it be a surprise.

    My takeaway from him was that if you are involved in a shooting, call 911 immediately, tell them there is a shooting, describe your shirt color, and ask for an ambulance. Do not say anything else since that is a taped conversation.

    When the police officers show up, officer friendly will not be there. Instead, it will be officer “I want to go home alive to my wife and kids tonight”. Somebody has already been shot at this scene and they desperately do not want to join that club.

    And the ambulance is for you. The officers will want to put you on the ground, cuff you, and put you in the back seat of a cruiser. Your picture will be taken in the back seat of the cruiser for eventual showing to a jury. Instead, you want to be in that ambulance and get your picture taken there. Plus your booking photo will eventually be in a hospital gown or a jail jumpsuit, take your pick. They will take your clothes away from you at the jail or the hospital for evidence collection.

    BTW, the CHL (concealed handgun license) in Texas is now a LTC (license to carry) as of the first of 2016. I did not know that.

    I am going to do the seminar again. Lots of good info in that two hours.

  11. Ray Thompson says:

    isclosing when they pull over that you have a CHL and where your guns are in the vehicle

    I was informed that such disclosure is a requirement in TN. Failing to do so will result in your extraction from the vehicle and cuffing until the officer can confirm your status and the location of the weapon. Besides, it should be common courtesy as you and the officer don’t need any surprises.

    CHL (concealed handgun license) in Texas is now a LTC

    Is there a significant difference in the distinction?

    And the ambulance is for you

    That is interesting. Do you tell them that you are having a panic attack? Trouble breathing? Loss of bladder control?

  12. lynn says:

    Disclosure of your CHL is only a requirement in Texas if you are carrying a pistol. I’m not sure about the console pistol.

    Texas is now an Open Carry state with a LTC.

    And the ambulance is for you

    That is interesting. Do you tell them that you are having a panic attack? Trouble breathing? Loss of bladder control?

    Yes. The police officer noted that he was a responder on such an incident once and that the survivor was bleeding from the abdomen. When he asked the guy if he knew that he was bleeding, the guy looked down and collapsed.

  13. nick says:

    “I was informed that such disclosure is a requirement in TN.”

    –might be, every state is different. Know the law where you are. MI you must VERBALLY disclose it immediately. Court has ruled handing the CHL to the cop isn’t enough.

    “CHL (concealed handgun license) in Texas is now a LTC”

    — this changed with 30.07, or ‘open carry’… in most places only license holders may open carry, or concealed carry, so the license is now just a L to Carry….

    “Is there a significant difference in the distinction?”

    — for purposes of discussion online, no, except the older term is easier to read in context, same as a couple of other acronyms that get used. (DWI and DUI both get the idea across for example.)

    “And the ambulance is for you

    That is interesting. Do you tell them that you are having a panic attack? Trouble breathing? Loss of bladder control?”

    — you are feeling a bit faint, maybe dizzy from hyperventilating, or maybe you are just feeling stressed and shock-y. A simple “I don’t feel so good” will in all likelihood be 100% descriptive and true. It’s a ‘perception management’ thing. Of course you ABSOLUTELY are not feeling jubilant or victorious. You’ll fry for sure. Also, only criminals sit in the back seat of a cruiser.

    — side note, this is essentially the same thing as the cops being trained to yell “Stop resisting” while they beat suspects but less fucked up.

    nick

  14. lynn says:

    Has anyone bought a cheap gen 1 night vision monocular such as:
    https://www.amazon.com/Firefield-Nightfall-Night-Vision-Monocular/dp/B00FWG9LNY/

    My latest apocalyptic book claims the even a gen 1 NVD is useful in any nighttime situations where you do not want to show a light.

  15. Miles_Teg says:

    If I am legally carrying I don’t see why it is a cop’s or any one else’s business.

  16. lynn says:

    — you are feeling a bit faint, maybe dizzy from hyperventilating, or maybe you are just feeling stressed and shock-y. A simple “I don’t feel so good” will in all likelihood be 100% descriptive and true. It’s a ‘perception management’ thing. Of course you ABSOLUTELY are not feeling jubilant or victorious. You’ll fry for sure. Also, only criminals sit in the back seat of a cruiser.

    Basically, do you want the jury to see your picture in the back of a cruiser or an ambulance?

    And, I often have vertigo with my heart issues nowadays. I am about ready to break down and have the ablation surgery. After all, what can co wrong with a cattle prod stuck up your groin artery?

  17. JimL says:

    What could go wrong? Might make you want to use the other restroom.

  18. nick says:

    @lynn, I have a cheap monocle from one of the national retailers, and it is utter crap.

    It doesn’t show anything outside of its ir illuminator.

    On the other hand, I’ve had, and have gen 2 which works surprisingly well, and gen 3 which is astounding. All in big, spotter scope sizes. The head mounts will be different just due to room for ‘stuff’.

    nick

    (and I looked at the link, there sure are a lot of questions and ratings. If you can return it, it might be worth a try, it’s certainly cheap.)

  19. OFD says:

    “If I am legally carrying I don’t see why it is a cop’s or any one else’s business.”

    I find myself in agreement with one of our Southern Hemisphere correspondents in Oz.

    The problem becomes that said officer does not know yet that I am a totally legal mofo, and as mentioned above in Mr. Lynn’s takeaways from his class, their very first and exclusive mission nowadays is to go home without a scratch or a bruise or even any bad feelings at the end of their shift.

    And things are different here in Vermont, which, with Arizona, has the best firearms laws in the entire country and has for a very long time.

    But my inclination is that if it is likely a routine traffic stop, for an expired reg sticker, busted taillight, etc., I’m not gonna bother informing them I’m heeled, and I’ve been in this exact situation a couple of times already and no harm done. (if anything, I’m likely to jump out and assist any officers I see in serious trouble). I don’t drink or dope or do reckless chit with my car and am not and have not been likely to put any officers “in fear” during any of these encounters.

    If, however, I see that I have some kind of psychotic hot-head on my hands who is gonna jack me outta the car and we’re gonna do that dance, I’ll immediately tell him or her I got one on me and possibly more in the vehicle. But I don’t foresee this happening anytime soon, and certainly not up here; I suspect they assume that LOTS of peeps up here are heeled, and if they don’t ask, why tell?

    I also keep the license real handy, and the proof-of-insurance and reg on the visor above the driver’s seat, no hasty grabbing for the glove box or under the seat or in the console! And I no longer display NRA Life Member and other firearms, military or veteran stickers on said vehicle. Just a happy old sportsfan, likes baseball, football, does a little snowshoeing in the winta….

  20. MrAtoz says:

    Speaking of concealed carry:

    9th Circuit: 2nd Amendment does not protect right to carry a concealed weapon

  21. Miles_Teg says:

    Ah, the 9th Circuit. Why am I surprised.

    I suppose open carry is forbidden there too.

  22. Miles_Teg says:

    “Of course, fair is fair. If we have the driveway paved as Barbara wants, I should get to buy something I really, really want…”

    Have you got room?

  23. OFD says:

    “I suppose open carry is forbidden there too.”

    Kalifornia is the polar opposite of Vermont in this regard. As are places like Chicago, Mordor, MA, NJ, CT, etc. The Ninth Circuit is infamous for rendering stupid and un-Constitutional decisions repeatedly over the years and will be on the list for The Wall when the time comes.

    A good intel exercise nowadays is to ID the judges, prosecutors, district and assistant district attorneys, media nabobs, high-level bureaucrats, et. al., in your AO, along with other relevant intel that covers domiciles, vehicles, plate numbers, regular travels, etc., etc. This goes, also, for those on our “side.” If any.

  24. Miles_Teg says:

    “I suppose open carry is forbidden there too.”

    Ah, someone there was claiming “The immediately preceding issue here was open carry of unloaded weapons, but that is now prohibited by state law.”

  25. lynn says:

    “The Cold and Bad Economic News”
    http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/06/03/the_cold_and_bad_economic_news

    “There’s some really, really, really cold and bad economic news out there. Isn’t that par for the course?”

    “Obama goes out to Elkhart, Indiana, and tries to bask in the glory of this phantom recovery that does not exist and has not existed, goes out, tries to claim credit for all this great economic activity, saying things like things are better now than when he took office. Spending is down, the debt is down, wages are up, employment is up. It’s just one lie after another. Thirty-eight thousand jobs created in May. And what kind of jobs do you think they are? Thirty-eight thousand.”

    “Have you seen the stories, folks, about robots? A lot of times people see a story about robots taking over at fast food restaurants, just zoom past it thinking, “That’s not happening, that’s one store trying something. That’s so far away.” And you ignore it. I’m gonna tell you something. It is happening. It’s ramping up fast. And I’m gonna give you three words to explain it: minimum wage increase. It’s the same old saw. Here you have a bunch of central planners, command-and-control economics experts sitting in national and state capitals deciding that the markets are unfair and this needs to be corrected and the unfairness of the market is manifesting itself in the fact that nobody’s earning enough in the middle class, people aren’t seeing any wage increases, no standard of living increases.”

    I am getting the feeling that the train is getting ready to run off the tracks this fall. Obola’s parting gift, a big ol’ raspberry.

  26. OFD says:

    Oh, there’s no question at all that Obola will do his utmost to run the train off the tracks, where’s it is heavily leaning now anyway; and a Cankles regime will send it right off into the ravine, either sliding down in a cloud of steam and dust and dirt and that’s about it, or exploding in a giant fireball, like we’ve seen in countless movies.

    Here’s some food for thought; MrAtoz, that hateful WHITEY fascist rayciss troglodyte out in Lost Wages posted some quips from this Drudge-linked Daily Mail piece today:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3633977/Bill-Clinton-s-lover-Dolly-Kyle-tells-lumpy-Hillary-fat-ankles-hair-toes-schemed-LIE-60-Minutes-Bill-s-affairs.html

    It occurred to me that A: they didn’t really want Chelsea; she was just a cold political calculation like everything else they do, and B: Chelsea must know this by now and must be all effed up inside, who wouldn’t be?, and C: hell hath no fury, etc; imagine her in a few more years, the kinda damage she might be capable of…

    In any case, it’s pretty clear that low-sperm-count-deformed-tiny-dick Larry ain’t the dad; it was Web Hubbell. And we all know by now that Larry’s fiddled and diddled with however many women, but how many women has Cankles been involved with? Hairy legs and all? Do she and Huma share patchouli baths?

    Now I’ve just made myself sick…damn…

  27. lynn says:

    The Democrags have built a wall around their convention center:
    http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Wells-Fargo-Center-Xfinity-Live-to-Be-Inside-Perimeter-Secret-Service-Says-382433501.html

    “Security at the Sports Complex during the Democratic National Convention next month will include “no-scale fencing” to enclose the Wells Fargo Center and Xfinity Live!, the Secret Service special agent in charge said in an interview Thursday.”

    I find that to be hilarious since they are against a wall on the southern border of the USA.

  28. lynn says:

    Might be time to read an apocalyptic novel about the financial failure of the USA again, “The Day the Dollar Died”:
    https://www.scribd.com/doc/94243593/The-Day-the-Dollar-Died-by-John-Galt#fullscreen

  29. lynn says:

    I posted the wrong URL. The correct URL for “The Day the Dollar Died” is:
    http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2012/05/20/the-day-the-dollar-died-returns/

  30. OFD says:

    “I find that to be hilarious since they are against a wall on the southern border of the USA.”

    Hilarious to a point. They won’t build a wall or do anything else to secure our southern border, thus allowing in hundreds of thousands, and then millions of peeps from the Southern/Western Hemisphere shit-holes and failed states, among them by now probably countless musloid sleeper cells and narcotrafficantes, but they WILL spare no expense to keep out American citizens and shut down the First Amendment in order to avoid Chicago-1968-Redux. Which many of us here remember well.

    Typical libturd hypocrisy writ large.

    “Enter at your own risk!”

    They could have gone so much further, beyond Cankles herself, and the Butcher of Waco, Janet Reno, to former Klinton cabinets and countless appointments that Larry made during his time.

    A picture is worth a thousand words and all that but if you really want the full scoop on them grab a copy of Roger Stone’s book. Chapter and verse going back to their days in Arkansas and beyond. Horrifying that he was elected in the first place and then re-elected. But that’s our joke of a democracy for ya.

  31. MrAtoz says:

    Here’s some food for thought; MrAtoz, that hateful WHITEY fascist rayciss troglodyte out in Lost Wages posted some quips from this Drudge-linked Daily Mail piece today

    You forgot despised Veteran and proto-ape.

  32. MrAtoz says:

    A picture is worth a thousand words and all that but if you really want the full scoop on them grab a copy of Roger Stone’s book.

    I borrowed several of them off the internet.

    Cankles was fugly out of the gate by the way.

  33. OFD says:

    “You forgot despised Veteran and proto-ape.”

    I meant to throw those in, too, but a momentary bout of senility kicked in right then and I forgot. Being a veteran really puts you down below the totem pole, podna…

    “I borrowed several of them off the internet.”

    We kinda all know about the Klinton messes but have ya read the Stone books on the Bush crime family and LBJ yet? Real eye-openers.

    “Cankles was fugly out of the gate by the way.”

    We have an eyewitness on this very board!

  34. lynn says:

    As an ending tale of the Great Flood of the Brazos River in 2016, I have a few facts for you. The new peak crest for the Brazos River is 54.74 ft, the previous crest in 1994 was 50.30 ft.
    http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=HGX&gage=RMOT2

    At one point, there was 1,400 homes flooded and 4,000 homes islanded out of the 200,000 ??? homes in Fort Bend County. The Union Pacific railroad bridge across the Brazos River at A90, built in 1890, had the river fully above the rails for several days. The railroad bridge has had at least one of its piers collapse so the bridge has moved a foot horizontally and three foot vertically. I have heard a rumor that UP is going to replace the bridge since it is too low anyway and, they are double tracking that line.

    All in all, less damage than I thought would happen with a flood of this magnitude. And both my home and my commercial property, each 1/4 mile away from the river, sailed through with flying colors, to my immense relief. Should the Brazos hit 60 ft, I will be sweating it for my home.

    I suspect that FEMA will be back in town shortly and reevaluating our levees. I foresee a possible raising of our levees again, maybe another four ft. FEMA likes to have a minimum freeboard of four ft and we had a freeboard of six ft so maybe they will say good job and walk on. Hard to tell.

  35. MrAtoz says:

    Water, water everywhere. But not a drop in Vegas.

  36. OFD says:

    We rarely get too much or too little wotta here; stays nice and moderate, temperate, even. And no venomous reptiles except at the Snake House in Montpeculiar, the state capital. About 99% Cock-A-Soid with zero gun laws.

    Our most terrible and horrible threats are ice storms and major blizzards, both of which we’ve sailed through for the most part w/o too much hassle. If we get that kinda thing again and the power goes out for a few weeks, it would kinda suck but we could manage OK. If it stays out, however, we would have to hustle on back to the year 1900, at best, and get going on more labor-intensive stuff from cain’t see to cain’t see, rising with the sun and crashing with the moon.

    Many square miles around us on three sides of extremely fertile and flat farmland; don’t know the actual numbers but we also have draft horses and oxen, and as many cows as people. My thing would be intel and commo and pitching in with security stuff as best I can, but also maybe helping with getting steam power back up and trains and boats/shipping running. But they gotta catch me in the next ten or fifteen years, because that’s probably all I got left, again, at best.

    Back on the indoor and outdoor scut and grunge labor here tomorrow but Mrs. OFD will be here with me doing it. We’ve got a bunch of tomatoes planted and I was stacking firewood with the neighbor kid this afternoon and doing some minor weed whacking and raking up flotsam and jetsam. I mainly attempt to ignore the back and leg pain and keep on plugging, sitting down for a few minutes every half-hour or so. Maybe it will fucking go away of its own accord if I keep ignoring it…

    Mrs. OFD will be off this summer to: Norman, OK; Wilbraham, MA; Lumberton, NC; Denver; Chicago; Austin; and maybe Pigeon Hill, NB and the west coast of Ireland. One or two of my brothers may slide up to visit me here at some point and I’ll give them the grand tour of this AO along with my agitprop attempts to get them outta Megalopolis. They’d probably go for it, but the spouses? No way. Married to shopping, stores, malls, in-laws, traffic, crowds, noise, and continual State interference from womb to tomb. Plus: “it’s too cold” (up here) and “there’s nothing to do.”

    Yeah there is, if you get off your fat asses, turn off the tee-vee and all the other damn pixels and investigate The Outside, where lies magic.

  37. MrAtoz says:

    Good night news:

    Eric Clapton – “It’s hard work to play the guitar now” after years of cocaine, heroin, prescription drug addictions. Too bad Eric. It’s all on you.

    Muhammad Ali eulogy – “the most beloved individual on the Earth” WTF, over? No way Billy Crystal.

  38. lynn says:

    We rarely get too much or too little wotta here; stays nice and moderate, temperate, even. And no venomous reptiles except at the Snake House in Montpeculiar, the state capital. About 99% Cock-A-Soid with zero gun laws.

    I thought that every state was at least 5% Hispanic now?

    And there is a feller in Morder XXXXX DC that wants to place a couple of hundred thousands muslims in each state. Just ask Minnesoda and Montana.

  39. nick says:

    Yeah, washed up has been with dementia dies and suddenly he’s “the most beloved??”

    Oh HELLL No.

    As I was reading the Eric Clapton story I was thinking “alcoholic neuropathy” and lo and behold, there it was, way down at the bottom. Those first tingles can be a wake up call, if you know what they were, like from watching someone else go thru it. Just saying. Haven’t had a drink in 8 years. Just saying. Might have saved a lot of pain. Just saying.

    It wasn’t all ‘poor poor pitiful me’ and that’s probably mostly spin from the writer, given his actual words. Nice if he is really thankful for what he still has. It’s worth noting for the younger kids that everything has a cost. Sometimes it isn’t what you expected. Sometimes, you don’t live fast and die young.

    nick

  40. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    And then there’s Grace Slick, who for many years reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray. At 50, she looked to be in her 30’s. All the dope must’ve preserved her.

    I can’t stand her politics, but I admire the fact that she’s intellectually honest. I remember an interview where she was asked what she’d say to China if she found out she was using drugs. Grace’s reply was, “Well, what could I say?”

  41. Miles_Teg says:

    I skimmed her Wikipedia article, seemed fairly nondescript for someone of that era. What’s wrong with her politics?

  42. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    She’s a Greenie.

  43. OFD says:

    Mohammed Ali Clay: Overrated, nasty bugger in his younger days, and an adherent of the slavery-and-death murder cult. Good riddance.

    Clapton: Also overrated, pretty hot stuff in his younger years, pretty boring after that. Take it from ol’ OFD, Eric; I did more chit than you for longer and it was fucking stupid and we’re both deuced lucky to still be above ground.

    Grace Slick: Straight shooter since she was a kid; won’t lie to ya. Probably loads of fun at parties, or used to be. And too bad her and Kantner didn’t manage to slip the acid into the punch at that WH event all those decades ago. Might have loosened up the Nixon gang a bit. I’ll take her over Ali and Clapton, easily.

  44. Miles_Teg says:

    “She’s a Greenie.”

    Ah, that settles it then.

    Greenies get up my nose.

  45. Miles_Teg says:

    Ali had a potty mouth and was arrogant.

    Not as evil as some but noone to look up to either.

  46. OFD says:

    All I could find so fah on Slick’s “greenie” creds:

    ” In 2010, Slick co-wrote Edge of Madness with singer Michelle Mangione to raise money for remediation efforts following the BP Oil Spill.[22] Grace also sang background vocals on the song and is clearly audible in the middle of the song singing, “On the edge of madness.””

    So she went out and worked again to raise money to try and fix a mess that the fucking corporation didn’t give a blind duck’s ass about.

  47. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    She’s also (mostly) vegan and an animal rights activist. OTOH, she owns firearms and has gotten in trouble with them more than once including pointing an unloaded shotgun at a cop who was trespassing on her property. If she tried that nowadays, she’d be dead.

  48. OFD says:

    Thus, she’s not easily pinned down as being on one “side” or the other. What was that cop doing trespassing on her property? In any case, the local cops out there know her very well by now. But yeah, if she did that now, they’d all back off a block, call in SWAT, and then riddle her, the house and her dog like Swiss cheese.

    Which reminds me; one of my former fellow AF security police NCO’s from when we were stationed at Mill Valley Air Force Station on top of Mt. Tamalpais has since been working as a deputy at the Marin County Sheriff’s Department; I should ask him about their visits with Grace.

  49. Miles_Teg says:

    What the hell use is an unloaded shotgun?

  50. OFD says:

    As a club, mainly. Outta shells? Swing it like Babe Ruth.

    In any case, I’ve read or heard of several conflicting accounts of Grace Slick’s interactions with the local constabulary out there and all that chit was YEARS ago, when she and I were still abusing the HELL outta various substances. We’re both much older and quieter now and are reduced to yelling out the window, pretty much; “Hey, get off my damn lawn!”

    And speaking of phony vegans; apparently Princess here has given up that chit and now eats MEAT! I heard that and almost keeled over with a stroke. Next thing ya know, she’ll be hoisting Trump signs all over the ‘hood, LOL,. and riding along with to the range to shoot GUNS!

  51. ech says:

    What the hell use is an unloaded shotgun?

    Well, a friend of mine had a spinster aunt who lived alone. She kept a pump shotgun in her bedroom for self defense. One night she heard someone breaking in downstairs. She called 911, went to the top of the stairs, chambered a round, and the guy that broke in ran through a sliding patio door to get out of the house. That sound of pumping a shell home is very distinctive. Very scary.

    When my wife worked the “knife and gun club” (weekend night shift) covering the Parkland Hospital ER, she always dreaded getting a shotgun injury, either as a student on surgery rotation (long, difficult surgery with lots of stuff to get out, lots of sewing stuff back together) or as an anesthesia resident (long case, lots of blood loss).

  52. Miles_Teg says:

    OFD wrote:

    “Next thing ya know, she’ll be hoisting Trump signs all over the ‘hood, LOL,. and riding along with to the range to shoot GUNS.”

    I’d pay good money to see her riding around on a pushbike… 🙂

  53. brad says:

    I suppose both asphalt and concrete can be good solutions. Important is to have it built for heavy trucks. Because, wherever you are, you *will* have a heavy truck on it sooner or later. FWIW, we went with asphalt.

    Gravel can work for paths, but it doesn’t make much sense for vehicles. We replaced lots of gravel paths here, that had turned into dirt over time, and we used very coarse gravel (7-12mm). This is big enough that it doesn’t get stuck in people’s shoes and come into the house, but it’s still fine to walk on. It’s laid 15-20cm deep, on top of a foundation (of large rocks), and with treated side-boards, so as long as I blow the leaves off of it in the Fall, it should stay good for decades.

    The EU is trying to get new legislation restricting weapons, because “terrorism”. Of course, the terrorist attacks in Paris were the usual: criminals using illegal weapons. But it’s like anywhere: sheltered little sheep thinking that restricting legal weapons will somehow keep them safe. Doesn’t look like the legislation has much of a chance. People are starting to buy a lot more weapons for personal use, at least here, and I suspect everywhere that it’s legal. Still, interesting to see the classic US debate hitting Europe.

  54. Miles_Teg says:

    Waiting for the squeals of outrage from Jerry and co regarding Orlando.

  55. OFD says:

    “Of course, the terrorist attacks in Paris were the usual: criminals using illegal weapons. But it’s like anywhere: sheltered little sheep thinking that restricting legal weapons will somehow keep them safe.”

    Typical lefty response; if something doesn’t work, why, double down on it. Keep hammering at it till you get it right.

  56. nick says:

    wrt gravel,

    In many jurisdictions hard surfaces (impermeable) are limited to x % of total land area, or you have to put in additional drainage. That can get to be VERY expensive.

    So there is a place for gravel as a cheap permeable surface. There are other permeable surfaces (concrete shapes, even a permeable concrete) but they cost more.

    nick

  57. OFD says:

    Our driveway when we moved in here was fine, light gravel from the street to the former “man cave” at the rear. Since then we’ve turned half of it into raised bed garden space and we’ll fence off another twelve feet or so and just keep the front end by the street as actual driveway for parking our two or three vehicles. No plans for paving with concrete or asphalt.

Comments are closed.