Merry Christmas to all. Or happy Hanukkah. Looking forward to having a house full of kids this afternoon. Then in a few days I'll be traveling to see my parents and my brother's family.

posted from Bloggeroid

Conversations

Seems like you can't trip over any corner of the American focused internet these days without someone spouting about the need to have a conversation about guns these days.  Unless you've been living under a rock you've read Larry Correia's wonderful opinion on the matter. 

But it seems like the American people has decided definitively on gun control with their wallets.  Clearly they want guns and magazines under their control.  You can't find an Ar or M4 pattern at any commercial retailer these days.  Ditto on the magazines.

In fact I have to admit one of my long cherished suppositions is totally wrong in at least a few instances.  I always thought government couldn't stimulate the economy without resorting to force or cronyism.  But just a few words from our esteemed leaders and I expect that folks in gun manufacture are all pulling overtime.  Soon orders will be shipped, and transported, and restocked.  The economy is stimulated.

WTH?

So I ducked into the local Kmarket yesterday to see if they had anything that would fit onto my wife's Christmas list.  As I was leaving the store empty handed I saw a little girl maybe, maybe 8 years old, in front of the main entrance.  She's watching incoming cars like she's waiting for someone to pick her up.  She's still there about 5 minutes later.  10 or 15 people walk by her without giving her a second glance.  I get back out of my vehicle to ask her if she wants to use my phone to call anyone.  As I approach she walks back in the store.  Still not a parent in sight.  How does a parent leave a kid that age unattended in a public setting on a day that includes Newtown Conn?

The Godshead

Just bought The Godshead from Holly Chism.  It was a pretty decent book.  Picked it up and it kept me entertained on a dreary rainy December Sunday.  Price is pretty good for the kindle version too.  Give her a look if you enjoy mythology or sarcasm.  

Cutting fat

I've been known to struggle with my weight a good bit.  Back when the wii still worked wii fit would routinely declare me obese.  Probably if I had eaten and drank everything that caught my taste buds this year I'd have shot up an easy forty pounds.  Instead I've held fairly steady and only gained about 2 pounds this year.  If I use the government metric that means I've lost 38 pounds!!  No wait.... I'm still obese; my waistline is virtually unchanged.  I need to make real changes to have real effects.

Anyhow thats how I relate to U.S. spending.  Exercise = taxes, Calorie intake = spending.  You don't have to burn off what you don't eat.  You don't have to pay for what you don't spend.

Random thoughts

     Well, got to see the grandson for a few hours yesterday.  Hadn't seen the little guy since Thanksgiving festivities at the in-laws place.  Good times.  Though he was too keyed up to want to sit down and let me read to him.

   The belt loop on my favorite knife sheath failed the other day.  Thinking of maybe picking up a leather stitcher from amazon to repair it.  Of course I'm also tempted by some of the cross draw custom sheaths available on ebay.   Which tempts me to get the leather stitcher and a hunk of cowhide and take a whack at making my own sheath.  Decisions.......

New ecig

     I've been using ecigs to allay my nicotine addiction for about 2 years now.  Read a good bit about them, made sure my company didn't forbid them, and made my first purchase.  Started with an el cheapo from a truck stop and moved forward from there.  The el cheapo disappointed as they always do but I persevered.         You don't always get what you pay for with cheap electronics like these,  ymmv considerably from mine.

     Facebook threw an advertisement on my newsfeed for vape dojo.  Looks to be a fledgling ecig company just getting their first brick and mortar location established.  They had some great prices as well as some products that I hadn't seen before.  There were a few hiccups with my first order but customer service came through for me.
 
     First thing I picked up was their Katana kit.  this is a bare bones ego style starter kit.  Nothing too special about it except the price. (I've paid more for a similar battery without the extras) Its a solid performer: good vapor,650 mah battery, great charger,  solidly built.  New style of clearomizer for me.  510 threading.  It's hard to go wrong with this kit.

I also picked up a 900 mah (milli amp?) usb pass through battery.  I'd settled on 650 mah passthrough batteries as my go to in the past.  This is a definite step up in terms of daily use. Totally worth the money in my book.  If I wasn't about to delve into the world of variable voltage that is.........

My first variable voltage battery arrived today.  (I mentioned shipping hiccups, this was it)  Out of the box this thing rocks.  Mostly..  The power it delivers is impressive for the small price tag.  The button that runs the whole show leaves a bit to be desired.  It has stuck on me a few times already this evening.  Nothing serious just bump it again with a fingertip and its free.  Just something to be aware of before you tuck it back into a pocket.   Been running on half power for several hours and the led display says I'm still at greater than 75% charge.

All things considered seems like a good company.  Quick shipping, good prices, and reasonably well built products. Give them a look

Ftc disclaimer. I paid with these items out of my own pocket and I am rendering my honest opinion cause I feel like doing so.