Saddle Tramp

We had a good ride this evening after work. It’s probably going to rain much of the weekend, but I’m grateful for the good moments we do get. 

Just in the little town of Webster, we came across a lady who was riding her horse in the road. Horses can get spooked by motorcycles, but fortunately she and we both knew what to do. We slowed way down, and she got the horse off the road and turned him to face us. That meant he could see us, but also — important piece of horse riding knowledge — that if he wanted to bolt he’d have to charge right at the thing scaring him. He danced and champed his bit, but he stayed put. The lady waved, appreciating our care for her situation. 

Well, I rode horses before I ever rode motorcycles. 

Free-ish State

The FPC has put out a new scorecard for the various states on firearm rights. New Hampshire friends, congratulations on your top score! You beat North Carolina and Texas both, each of which only qualify as "free-ish state"s. 

In spite of my continued irritation with the various governments involved, we have seen a lot of progress on 2nd Amendment rights over the last decades. Partly this is due to the two big SCOTUS decisions, but also it is due to the hard work of state-level groups to press their individual governments in the right direction. It is exactly that work that is now under attack in places like Virginia (currently rated as a "state of confusion").

I remember when the only Constitutional Carry states were Alaska and Vermont; now there are 29 of them. The conversation has moved from seeking "shall-issue" versus "may-issue" permits to the press to disregard permits entirely for the practice of at least some versions of the Constitutional right. That is now the law in the majority of states, and the vast majority of the land area of the United States; and it has generally accompanied a downward trend in violent crime, although there was a spike around the COVID era. 

There remains more to do, but all is not dark. 

Moon labe

"You should be glad we let you look at it."

About time, part deux

Colorado court rules Tina Peters's 9-year sentence was excessive because it was enhanced as a penalty for free speech abhored by the trial court.

About time

Military bases are no longer gun-free zones.

Wanted Posters

In keeping with the Old West theme, the local university had a whole series of these. They were posted alongside Woody Guthrie posters and similar socialist propaganda, so I imagine it's the local student socialist union or whatever. I captured three of them, but there were several more for various Trump administration officials.

I guess they've collected on a couple of these lately. Not sure who gets the meat. At least it's real meat, or at least real pretend meat, and not Impossible Burgers.

Poker Card Shootout III

It’s coming back with a little practice. 

Mystery unveiled

Sewing machines have always baffled and repelled me; I never could get the hang of threading them. I like to crochet, however, and also have wondered how the two interlocking stitching methods compared, which led me to this instructional video.



Lots of people developed and perfected the machines, but it was Singer who figured out how to produce them at a price that ordinary homeowners might afford.

I note that tailors rioted and destroyed some of the first machines.

The Troubador Dale Watson

Dale Watson's got new music.

He's one of those who's holding the line.

Supper on the Oregon Trail

A fascinating article, with recipes. 

The journey was brutal in ways that the romanticized version of westward expansion tends to skip over. Illness and accidents were more serious threats than any attack, about 20,000 people died on the California Trail alone between 1841 and 1859, an average of ten graves for every mile....

For each grown person to make the journey from the Missouri River to California or Oregon (provisioned for 110 days) the following was deemed requisite: 150 lbs of flour or its equivalent in hard bread, 25 lbs of bacon or pork plus enough fresh beef driven on the hoof, 15 lbs of coffee, and 25 lbs of sugar, along with saleratus or yeast powders for making bread, salt and pepper. That is the entire daily provision list for a working adult walking fifteen miles a day in all weather for nearly four months....

The coffee, made by roasting green beans in the dry skillet, grinding them, and boiling them directly in water, was excellent. The coffee was always the highlight....

This is where the day completely turned around. The beans had been soaking overnight and simmering all day in their pot, and by evening they were soft, creamy, and had absorbed everything the salt pork had to give over eight hours of low cooking. Then the cast iron skillet came back out: more bacon, fried until the fat had rendered and the edges were starting to crisp, and then the beans went in with a generous splash of molasses and a hit of salt. The molasses caramelizes slightly against the hot metal and coats the beans in something that is sweet and smoky and deeply savoury all at the same time. Biscuits baked alongside in the same pan, golden on the bottom from the bacon fat still in the skillet, used to scoop and soak up the bean broth.

Palm Sunday

I always think of this Bible story on Palm Sunday. 

This reminds me of a story I can't remember if I related before. I was talking to a Jewish friend who lives in Texas. He was telling me about a stockman he knows whose business is buying large lots of cattle and selling them once they're 'finished.' 

My friend relayed the surprising claim, from this Texas stockman, that in his opinion the best cowboys in history were the Jews. This was as surprising to my friend as it might be to you. 

It turns out that during his short period of ownership the stockman has people pick out the ones who are fit for the kosher factory. This is because kosher beef fetches much better prices, partly because the process is so selective: all kosher beef has to come from cattle that are unblemished outside and, after slaughter and examination, found also to be unblemished inside. 

The stockman, who is a Bible-reading Christian, took note of the fantastic numbers of animals that are supposed to have been sacrificed during the Temple of Solomon era. Each of the cattle sacrificed in this way had to be unblemished, inside and out. To make that happen on that scale would have required marvelous cowboys. 

So too sitting a colt for his first ride, now that I think about it. Of course that was long after the era of sacrificing from the great herds.

Taxation is Theft

A punk cover of a Steven Foster song.