Been A Couple of Wild Weeks

I started composing this post on December 23rd, but have had so many interruptions between emergency calls, other things that have drawn my attention, and then the hustle and bustle of Christmas it is FINALLY finished.

 

I'm going to try to do this in chronological order of the photos. I know it has been a few weeks since I've put up a blog post, but don't worry... I have been trolling and shit-posting the hell out of #Libturds of all kinds on X (Twitter). Amazingly, I have not been suspended. Elon Musk has really reigned in the SJW censors they had on staff.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I found out my cousin Christopher was here in New England visiting his mom, family, and friends. He served in the Navy on the west coast and left with full retirement, only to be immediately hired by the DoD because of his expertise. He still works for DoD but lives in South Carolina. I text poked him when I came across this photo at my brother's house. I am just a little older than he is. This photo is from Easter 1965 and was taken at my Memere's house. He and I are in the foreground, me on the left and him on the right. From left to right was my Memere, his mother, my mother, my aunt Terese, my maternal grandmother (Nana) with my sister on her lap, and in the back my uncle Donald. I have no idea who was in the high chair. My cousin and I tried to get together over Thanksgiving weekend, but it never happened because I had to work. I broke his balls for sneaking up here without telling me. We'll try again over the summer.

 

 

 

On November 28th, snow bands off of Lake Erie made their way across PA and NY/NJ to my neck of the woods. They call it "mood snow." This didn't amount to much more than what's in the video.

Next, this is yet another fine example of shitty Duracell batteries as documented by me a year ago with this post. I thought I had purged them from everything I own.... guess not. On December 2nd I went to put away my brush fire gear for the season and this EverReady headlamp wasn't working. This is what I found when I opened it up. The batteries are dated 2027. Into the garbage it all went. The other day, I discovered yet another device with Duracell batteries that was just starting to leak, my Midland clock radio that is our severe weather alert. What tipped me off that there was an issue was the battery indicator was not at full as it was supposed to be. I dumped the batteries and was able to clean the battery compartment and terminals to save the device.

The headlamp battery compartment

 

I was in WalMart the other day to buy some spare EverReady Energizer batteries for stock. As I approached the battery display, a woman ahead of me grabbed a package of Duracell AA's and accidentally knocked several to the floor. As I helped her pick them up, I told her of my problems with Duracell and how we at the fire department have swapped them all out. Plus the Energizer's were a couple of dollars cheaper. She put the Duracell's back, grabbed the Energizer's, and thanked me.

On December 4th, my chicken flock got one of their favorite seasonal treats, the large pumpkin we buy to set out with the mums for fall decorating. Using a large knife, I score the skin in several places and smash it open on a large rock in the chicken yard. They attack it immediately and get a few days enjoyment out of it. All that's left are paper thin pieces of the skin.

On December 7th, my shift partner and I did a transport to Hartford Hospital just before lunch time. The decision was made to save our lunches back at the firehouse for the following day and stop at one of our favorite places. I always get their "Burnt Ends" with two sides, cornbread, and a drink. We were so hungry we ate most of it driving back from Hartford. I was in a food coma later that afternoon.

We had a couple of heavy wind and rain storms. The first one was while I was on duty Sunday the 10th and Monday the 11th. The western part of the state got the worst of it but we were double staffed at the FD just in case. We made sure all the apparatus was fueled, and all the saws were running good. I found three saws with skunky old gas in them and replaced with fresh 2-stroke mix. We got several inches of rain and the local river was near the top of its banks. Only one call for tree/wires down.

 

For the past 40 years we have had a live tree, cutting our own at a tree farm. $85 again this year, but it is full, lush and green. My wife finished up with the it and did a fantastic job as usual. She weaves the lights in and out from the trunk so the entire tree is lit, not just the outside. 1500-1700 lights on the tree this year, she lost count. She also decorates an artificial tree in the corner of the dining room. That tree belonged to my parents and is pretty good for a fake. It is a themed tree, decorated with only Santa ornaments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly a week later Sunday the 17th into Monday the 18th we got another wind and rain storm, which hit the eastern part of the state worse this time. I was not scheduled to work and decided I wanted the time off right before Christmas. If it wasn't right before Christmas, I would have grabbed at least one extra shift. We lost power at the house just before 9 AM and with the storm howling there was no chance a power crew was coming out to fix it. I reported it to Eversource and went outside to set up my generator. I got fucking soaked but at least we had electricity again. Because of the wind and rain still occurring, I set up the collapsible shelter I fabricated to protect the generator from the elements. I listened to my scanner as my department and all the surrounding ones got hammered with calls. EMS calls, flooded basements, trees and wires down, etc. Once the storm went by, things calmed down big time. Just after sundown, power crews were on my road. Normally we don't get power back until all the main feeds are repaired, but this time the main feeds sustained no damage. I looked at my meter around 7 PM and the display was lit. I called my neighbor to let him know power was back on because after I shut mine down I heard his still running. I brought everything into the garage to cool down so I could re-fuel and stow the equipment. The rain gauge showed 5 5/8" total. I dumped it at 5 inches and we got another 5/8" as the storm wound down. The flooding was way worse this time with the local river in the parking lot of the firehouse only about 30' away from the building.

3 1/2" at 07:00, this was at 09:00

 

Below is my latest mortgage statement. I could not imagine trying to buy a house right now thanks mostly to the economic disaster we live in now. We pay less per month than what people are paying for a 1-bedroom apartment in a nice complex. My daughter is now living in a 3-bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor in a multifamily house in the city of New Britain with a roommate and is paying $1500 per month. We have anywhere from $200K to $230K of equity depending on which market analysis you look at. Our house was built for us, moving in April 2005, and we paid about $277K. As you can see, the biggest chunk of my monthly payment (and unfortunately the one that fluctuates) is the escrow for taxes and insurance. For whatever reason, the monthly payment dropped $40 per month with the latest escrow analysis. We re-financed in early 2021 to get the 3.125% rate because every month Chase was inviting us to refinance. Of course, they wanted us to cash out a ton of equity but we just re-financed the balance, leaving the equity alone.

Redacted (OF COURSE) mortgage statement

 

Finally, our Christmas celebration was nice and quiet at home with my wife's brother who lives in a group home and stayed with us for a few days and my daughter. My wife's other brother and his family went to Florida to spend Christmas with The Old Man so we got together with them before they left. My brother and his gang went to Vegas for Christmas. It was nice to be home since the FD schedule is different now meaning I do not work all 5 days M-F. I was off for Thanksgiving and will be off for New Years.

PGR Mission 11-3-23

The Mission: Friday November 3, 2023, The Dignified Transfer and rendering of military honors for burial of six CT Veterans whose cremains have gone unclaimed for years and even decades.

The six U.S. Veterans to be honored are (in alphabetical order):

• TEC-5 Wilfred A. Carpentier, U.S. Army serving 1941-45. December 6, 1917-April 27, 1976, died in Derby;
• CPL Robert L. Coston, Sr., U.S. Army serving 1951-53. October 27, 1938-November 12, 2014, died in East Hartford;
• FA Michael Joseph Gruttadauria, Jr., U.S. Navy serving 1967-68. September 25, 1948-November 28, 2021, died in Hartford;
• A1C Joseph Henry O'Brien, II, U.S. Air Force serving 1951-61. January 25, 1937-August 13, 2021, died in Southbury;
• *SGT Bernice Greenstreet Record, U.S. Army Air Forces serving 1945-46. November 1, 1923-September 9, 2007, died in Cheshire; and
• *PVT Roland H. Record, U.S. Army Air Forces serving 1945-46. December 19, 1927- November 10, 1998, died in Waterbury.
  *A married couple

Here is a link to the story with video from WTNH TV-8 in New Haven

Here is a link to the story with video from NBC CT in Hartford

Here is a link to the story with video from FOX 61 in Hartford

There were also assorted radio, print, and online news services there as well.

 

I had been looking forward to this event for weeks, ever since I got the notice and was hoping conditions would allow me to ride "The Beast." I did the last one in 2021 and it was so awesome I wanted to be part of it again. Riding the bike means I will definitely be in the escort ride from the VA to the cemetery in Middletown. First thing was to be off work for the day which I was without having to swap shifts. I got up at 5:30 AM to take care of animals, shower, and get appropriately dressed. When I headed out at 7 AM it was only 25 degrees. I stopped for coffee, a breakfast sandwich, and hash browns at the local convenience store. It's a good 45 minute ride to the VA in Rocky Hill so I had plenty of time to eat and got under way at 07:30. I arrived a little early which was good. We hung out in the lot for a bit and got our assignments. At the VA Home and Hospital, the Patriot Guard Riders do the dignified transfer of the cremains. They all arrive in one hearse, and need to be separated and moved to additional hearses.

Because I had done this before, I was to handle an urn. Each urn was accompanied by a pre-folded US flag carried behind by another PGR member. Here is how it worked:

1) The first PGR member approaches the back of the main hearse

2) A salute is rendered and the urn is handed to the member by the funeral director.

3) An "about face" is done and several slow and purposeful steps are taken away from the hearse

4) A "column left, march" is done and the slow purposeful walk continues a few steps, where the lead member pauses briefly so that the flag bearer can execute their maneuvers and fall in behind the urn.

5) Both members slowly and purposely walk in formation to the rear of the assigned hearse and stop.

6) A left face, a few steps, and another left face and the member is in position to place the urn in the hearse as directed by another funeral director. The urn is set down and then turned 180 degrees so the name is facing outward. The member steps back and once again salutes the urn. The member then clears the area behind the hearse to make room for the flag bearer.

7) The flag bearer executes the same maneuvers and places the folded flag next to the urn in the hearse. He then renders a salute to the flag and clears the back of the hearse.

Because there were six urns and six flags, I got called up again to handle a second urn. It is an unbelievable honor to handle these cremains.

Once the Dignified Transfer was completed, law enforcement began showing up. There were two motorcycle cops from Middletown and several state troopers in Ford Explorer Police Interceptors. We got ourselves lined up for the procession to Middletown so we could head out smoothly. We hit the restroom as needed and milled around for a few minutes until it was time to saddle up. The motorcycle cops lead, followed by a state trooper, our PGR bikes and flagged vehicles, the hearses, and more state troopers bringing up the rear. The Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and Middletown police had all the intersections blocked off down RT. 99 up to the entrance ramp to CT RT. 9. As we entered RT. 9, CT State Police had the highway closed southbound so we could enter unimpeded, and the Middletown police had the entrances to RT. 9 south closed so we could get by. We got off RT. 9 at the Silver Street exit and Middletown PD had the intersections closed the rest of the way to the cemetery. We pulled in to the cemetery and were greeted by more PGR personnel standing a flag line, Middletown FD had their giant flag suspended from their ladder truck, media, veterans groups, citizen attendees, and of course.... the politicians.

The posting of the colors was a flop in my opinion. A dopey female Army E-4 at the rear of the formation did not know the proper way to carry an M-14 on "Right shoulder...ARMS!"... it was upside down. She at least had the butt in her right hand and the muzzle up in the air, but the rifle rested on her shoulder with the trigger facing up! She also did not render the proper presentation of the rifle at "Present Arms!" She stood there with the rifle lying trigger up on her shoulder the whole time. I am sure all my fellow veterans in attendance cringed as I did at this poor display of Drill and Ceremony. She had no business being front and center in such a position. The lead Sargent carrying his M-14 did it properly, and did the proper movements for present arms and order arms.

The politicians in attendance was Gov. "Jolly Ned" Lamont, LT. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Senator "DaNang Dickie" Blumenthal, and Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim. The head of the CT VA Brigadier General, (Ret.), Ronald P. “Ron” Welch and CT Funeral Directors Association President Lionel Lessard were there and spoke as well. Also in attendance was Major General Francis J. Evon, the Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard. He actually came down the PGR flag line after our arrival and assembly to meet, shake hands, and thank every PGR member. He was formally introduced but did not speak. I have met him before at other events. A down to Earth guy for sure that remembers where he came from.

First off, as much of a douchebag Commie liar/stolen valor Blumenthal is, he does keep his speeches short and on topic at these events. That said, several PGR members said that if they weren't there representing the PGR, they would have definitely turned their backs when he got up to the podium, as would I. The only speech that seemed to go off the rails was Susan Bysiewicz, who takes every opportunity to play the woman card as her speech went off on a diversity tangent while referring to SGT. Bernice Greenstreet Record and her military service. Too bad the female E-4 rifle honor guard went and ruined the optic of female competence in the military, huh?

After the speeches, a single 21 gun salute was fired in honor of all six veterans, and a single ceremonial flag was unfolded, held outstretched briefly, then refolded in the traditional manner. The flag was presented to General Welch to represent the six families. The ceremony concluded shortly after and although we could stay for the actual internment of the urns, I was getting hungry and had other plans.

 

Trip to Hoffman's Gun Center

Because of this post from Pawpaw's House back on October 23rd, I decided to explore using a couple of my old "mouse guns" for backup duty possibly in an ankle holster. The older gun is a Raven Arms MP-25 in .25 ACP, and the other is a Beretta Tomcat in .32ACP. First I needed to find some appropriate defensive ammo for both. It turns out Hornady makes Critical Defense ammo in both calibers so I would have to get some. I just figured I would have to order it online. Because I was in Middletown not too far from Hoffman's in Berlin, that would be my next stop. I had no specific purchase plans, it was just that I hadn't been there in a long time and was going for a look-see. I browsed all the firearm showcases and found there to be a good supply of just about everything. As far as guns go, I believe my next gun is going to be the Ruger PCC with the M-Lock handguard, AR stock, threaded barrel, and the optional Glock mag well probably sometime before spring. When I went over to the ammo shelves.... lo and behold! the Hornady Critical Defense .25 ACP and .32 ACP in stock. Both were $24.99 for a box of 25 so I grabbed one of each. I then went over to the wall of holsters and found a DeSantis universal ankle holster made for small autos. Perfect and out the door for $101 plus change. Because of having to work all weekend, I haven't yet tried to put everything together. Once I do I will do a review post here.

A quick lunch at the Newington Burger King and I headed home. Between the frigid temperatures in the morning and being on my feet so long all day, I was wiped when I got home at 2:30 PM. I plopped on the couch with the doggos, turned on the TV, and zonked off for a bit before wifey came home.

Conditions Improved

In this post the other day I highlighted the high fire danger conditions around my home and the region. I am pleased to report that thanks to the over 3 1/2" of rain we received (with higher rain amounts in the CT river valley) in the last 24 hours, the spring wild fire season may be completely over. The leaf canopy and green ground cover is going to explode when the sun comes up. Also, the water levels in the rivers, streams, ponds, and swamps are way up. This means plenty of water supply for rural firefighting operations. Fishing will improve in the next few days too.

Happenings at The Homestead

The fire danger in Kommiecticut (actually most of southern New England) has been anywhere from "High" to "Extreme" with RED FLAG WARNINGS for the past few weeks. I receive the daily fire danger alert from the state via email. If there is a day of rain, the danger may go to low for one day, but on the next day it goes back to "HIGH" and continues up until the next rain. There have been many fires in the region and several I have personally worked. There was a 700 acre fire in Rhode Island that looked like a fire from out west that required help from CT & MA. Our fires never get into the trees like that requiring air drops, but that one did. The next couple of photos are from one my department fought along a town hiking trail. When we got the call it was reported as 10' x 10'. I was on duty that day and got there first with our brush truck, finding an area that was now 100' x 100' with a roaring fire spreading fast. We put it out with a total of six guys and 2,000 gallons of water from two of our engines. When all was said and done it was more than an acre. Normally a dirt strip will stop it, but as you can see it went right across the hiking trail burning both sides. In the last photo, the fire was on a hilltop a few hundred feet in off the road. Smelly, dirty, and soaking wet when you are done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My house is surrounded by woods and for the most part has a wide WUI (wildland-urban interface) barrier except for the west side facing the road. That is a thin strip of grass and in the summer also has a thick lush green area of ferns and ground cover. However, everything is just starting to grow so the ground is still covered with dry cured fuels that burn ferociously.

Our front porch which sees lots of use in warm weather

Looking down the steep hill from the porch towards the road.

The front of the house from the driveway

 

As you can see, the woods are pretty close to the front of the house. All it would take is some fucktard driving by to flick a cigarette butt out the window to light off my front woods. Under normal conditions that is not an issue. Once the tree canopy shades the forest floor, the ground cover holds the moisture and prevents fire spread. Right now, the sun is shining right through and baking everything on the ground making it super flammable. Therefore, once in the morning and once in the evening, the entire area 20-30 feet from the grass line out is wet down with what we in the fire service call "The Green Line" meaning a garden hose. Doing it twice a day will allow the water to soak through enough to slow if not halt fire spread. This coming Sunday we are supposed to get significant rain, so with this area pre-wetted down, the rain should really soak through and not just run off down the hill. Luckily we have not suffered through the decades of drought like Kommiefornia and are allowed to clear and mange our forests. I have a pile of stuff to burn out back once the fire danger lessens.

In yesterday's post about my Rhodesian Ridgeback Eli's birthday, I mentioned he won a dog show. The official photo came in the mail. I cropped it out for SafeSECS to eliminate the judge and my wife's faces, but there is my Handsome Boy in a show stance.

We normally keep our dogs lean, so you can just make out their ribs. But my wife was told that judges don't care for that look, so we have upped his meal portions to bulk him up and it seemed to work this time.

Not Gonna Happen, Assholes

State and local officials here in Kommiecticut are starting to make noise about re-instituting mask mandates and other possible restrictions in response to the triple threat of the seasonal flu, R.S.V., and the Chi-Com Xi Flu.

IT'S THE SEASONAL CRUD WE HAVE HAD FOREVER!!

 

Here is my official response.

I hope everyone copies and distributes widely.

And as a reminder, today is the 2nd anniversary of the non-insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where an unarmed protester - Ashli Babbitt WAS MURDERED BY USCP LT. MICHAEL LEROY BYRD. There are many political prisoners still being held in Garland's Gulag. The phony fear and anger demonstrated by Demon-Craps in their kangaroo court hearing PALES IN COMPARISON to the absolute rage felt by American Patriots over this travesty of justice. January 6th should be viewed as a WARNING! Therefore....

 

All tyrants and wannabe's are hereby on notice

The Reason Is F.N.!

So the indigenous population of the Demon-Crap controlled shithole city in the Demon-Crap controlled shithole state that is Buffalo, NY have decided that a dangerous winter storm is the perfect opportunity to go on a looting spree.

 

I mean why not, right? They deserve to get what they want, because as Hizzoner Da Mayor pointed out, they are not stealing essentials to survive.

 Funny, why der no whypeepo in that store? 

"F.N."... THAT'S WHY!

 

What does "F.N." mean? I think you can probably figure it out. Here's a hint: a shithole city's violence and crime problem is directly proportional to the percentage of F.N.'s that occupy it. 

If there is a "Korea Town" in Buffalo, they need to get to the rooftops.

 

Racism In Meteorology?

So we got our first snowfall yesterday afternoon and evening. I received 4" of powder that I removed with my new Stihl leaf blower. All 300' of the driveway and the turnaround done in 45 minutes cleaner than with my snowblower. As usual after a storm the fresh snowpack, clear skies, and no wind means plummeting temperatures. Combined with any melting that occurred in the bright sun today creates black ice.

The "racism" comes from the way certain TV meteorologists warn about black ice. The way they say it sounds like "watch out for black guys." It cracks me up after every winter storm year after year.

Somebody should let Jackson, Sharpton, and Benjamin Crump know so they can file lawsuits.

6 Hours On Generator Today

At just a hair past 05:00 this morning, I had just gone downstairs to continue getting ready for work, while my wife was still asleep upstairs. Packing breakfast and lunch for work, making coffee, cleaning out the chicken coop and letting the birds out for the day, and hitting the bathroom before heading out the door. Whoops... I am now standing in a pitch dark kitchen because the power just went out. I knew I had a battery operated (and super bright) LED lantern and a large beam flashlight in the cabinet above the stove. I used the screen on my cell phone to locate them and used the lantern to light up the kitchen. I packed up my food and then headed out to the chicken coop. Since my fire pager did not go off for either a car versus pole M.V.A. or a tree with wires down, I thought it was probably an outage out of town, meaning a larger outage than just my neighborhood since I am familiar with the power distribution scheme. At that point, I was hoping the power would come back on and I would not have to set up the generator.

Since the power was out, it was all dark down at the chicken coop, so I wore my old work hardhat with an attached headlamp. When I got back up to the house it was obvious that power was not coming back any time soon, and in order for my wife to be able to get ready for work, the generator was going to have to come out. It lives safe and sound in the garage, so I wheeled it out to its spot. I keep it full of fresh fuel and run it for 15 minutes under load every quarter for preventative maintenance, so it is always ready. First, I went down to the electrical panel and turned off the breakers for unneeded loads, and heavy loads that need to be turned on one at a time. I went outside to connect the 30A power cable and clamped the ground cable to the ground rod. The engine fired right up and came up to RPM with no load. I went back to the basement to throw the whole house transfer switch and load the generator. I then added the heavy stuff like the water pump, boiler, and extra refrigerator and the freezer. As I came up the basement stairs my sleepy eyed wifey was coming down to the kitchen because the engine noise woke her and the dogs up. I finished up by covering the generator sensitive electrical areas with a large plastic can liner because it was heavily drizzling, and went back in to finish getting ready for work and making my coffee. I left and she was able to get ready for work as normal. Before she left, I had her put eyes on the electric meter. If it was lit up and power was back, I'd have her shut down and switch to street power. Nope, still out, so I had her just leave it running. I work so close to the house that I could run home to shut down or refuel if necessary.

The power company's online outage map initially showed 70 outages in town, but around 10:30 that jumped to 314. I only checked because the power went out at the firehouse and the automatic generator kicked on. They apparently had to shut down a larger area to make repairs. Around 11:30, the generator shut down and the firehouse had commercial power again. Right after that, I got the text message from the power company stating power at my house was restored. I was able to run home, shut down the generator and stow it in the garage, and put the transfer switch back to street power and restore all the breakers. I updated the generator log book to reflect the run times for the 6 hours it ran. When I get home after shift, I will drain the remaining fuel from the generator tank, dump it into my pickup truck, and replace it with fresh. Going forward I will be rotating all my stored generator fuel by burning it in our vehicles. I rotate out all my stored fuel in less than a year. It is stored using Sta-Bil 360 which is a gasoline stabilizer and ethanol treatment. I have been doing this for almost 18 years, and never had an issue with skunky gas for any of my power equipment.

This Is How I Know Its Been Cold

Besides the fact that spending any amount of time outside doing anything not properly covered up and have the beginnings of frostbite. We have had multiple days in the teens and twenties, with single digits and below zero at night. One early morning last week, my truck outside temperature read -6 F as I pulled into the firehouse.

My house has a 12'x18' all wood outdoor deck that is completely open to the elements. I rehabbed it last spring in this post. When it is this cold out, it makes all kinds of noise expanding in sunlight and contracting in the dark. Pops and bangs so loud, it sounds like someone hitting the deck just outside the door with a large hammer. It freaks out my female standard poodle, my other dogs not so much. I try to keep it shoveled and clear, since it is a means of escape from a fire or other emergency. Right now it is covered with the icy crust we received the other day, but not enough to shovel and it will be gone in the next couple of days. Easy enough to open the door and walk out.

Storm Winding Down

Still windy and snowing, but the intensity has lessened. It's impossible to tell snow depth because of the blowing and drifting. Over the course of the day I shoveled a good 20" outside my basement door for the dogs. It kept piling up between the house and the retaining wall. The big cleanup will be tomorrow. My Blink Outdoor camera says it is 11 in my driveway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looks like a lot of the snow blew off the driveway, but I won't know until tomorrow morning. Cleanup will take all day.

 

This is my generator setup outside my garage all dry and secure. I have a 30' long heavy tow chain with a heavy padlock at both ends securing the generator to my deck. The exhaust faces away from the house. To run it, the tarp is rolled back on the far side leaving the whole side open. An advantage of using the shelter is how much quieter it is in the house while its running. We never lost electricity, and with the worst of the storm over, we probably won't. Murphy's Law prevailed for me once again!

This Is So "Tornado Alley"

While Kommiecticut is no stranger to tornadoes, they typically occur in the heat of the day in late afternoon. Not in the dark of night or wee hours of the morning. They are also usually EF0 or EF1 and don't get very large or travel very far due to the terrain. At 03:50 this morning, my weather radio went off for a tornado warning. I grabbed my phone to check the radar and there was an emergency alert on the lock screen. It didn't go off with the sound because I keep my phone face down on the nightstand by my gun and silenced. I don't care to hear boops and beeps all night long from emails and such or see my screen lighting up either. It is there for me to call 911 only.

A screenshot of both warnings. First at 03:50 and updated at 04:13

I hit the bathroom and woke up my wife. We roused the dogs and all headed for the basement. I put the TV on (yes we have our satellite TV extended to the basement) for the Hartford news and sure enough, doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm with rotation, and we were in the warning area. The TV went out because of the storm and I grabbed a couple of flashlights in case power went out. We both had our phones on us in case it all went south we could call for help. Thankfully it was short lived, and the storm passed to the south of us and was a nothing burger. If nothing else, it was a good drill. At this time there have been no reports of damage from the area.

Finally... A #TwoWheelTuesday

On this first day after the unofficial end of summer, I finally get to ride "The Beast" in to work. All summer long, it has been either rainy in the morning, rained all day long, or thunderstorms in the afternoon. On the one or two days I might have been able to ride, I needed to go somewhere after work and needed my truck. My shift partner has not ridden in since back in the spring.

This Saturday September 11th is the 5th annual "Ride For Gage" to benefit the Jordan Porco Foundation for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Gage Rondeau was a 15 year old motorcycle enthusiast that committed suicide. It will be my third time on this ride, which is police escorted and goes for 45 uninterrupted miles through Tolland and Windham county. It ends at the Rockville Elks Club for a BBQ and band. The weather is supposed to be fantastic and wifey is supposed to come along again this year. She actually had a good time. Because of Chink-Bug, last year the ride group was smaller, and the BBQ at the end was limited in attendance. The gang I rode with broke off in Rockville before the Elks Club and we had a nice lunch together at the famous Rein's Deli.

On the 25th is a poker run for the CT Citizens Defense League. I had such fun at my first ever poker run earlier this summer I'm gonna do it again. 

For a long time, I had little use for the CCDL, because like the NRA (Negotiating our Rights Away) they were a toothless organization under the old leadership. I abandoned them after the former president, Scott Wilson, told me directly he did not believe in the existence of or the participation in the ARMED CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE OF NON-COMPLIANCE against the unconstitutional/intolerable acts passed in 2013. They were all too happy to let gun rights in this state slip away, and IMHO to keep them all employed while at the same time supposedly "fighting real hard." You know, just like the minority poverty pimps need to keep the minority poor... poor. The new president, Holly Sullivan must have Scott Wilson's balls in a locked box so she can use them since he never did. CCDL recently sued all the Demon-crap controlled shithole large cities in the state, for purposely drawing out the permit application process from the statutorily defined 60 days to 7 or 8 months. Poor New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker was on TV crying about have to expend resources to defend the city. Meanwhile, he is on board with the whole de-funding the police movement and his city has an almost nightly body count. In that press conference, he tried to allude to the application for permits as a contributing factor in the violent crime on the streets. Hey Asshole... it's not permit holders shooting up your city, it's the thugs and street vermin you and your ilk coddle.

Update - Post Hurricane Henri'

For me in my specific location, it was a big nothing burger. I like to use "Murphy's Law" to my advantage. 😏 I'll make all kinds of detailed and elaborate storm preparations and end up just putting everything away. If I didn't, then I would be one of those idiots scrambling last minute at the height of a storm. Because of the long duration of the two passes the storm made I did not go on my road trip. I was not going to head down this morning for 3 days at the resort to turn around and come home Saturday. Wifey is pissed at me because I did not head down to meet them all in Virginia. Well, first off, I was not going to leave a house/animal sitter in charge of keeping my house running, my generator properly fueled, and the electrical load properly balanced. Then there is the problem I had in July with T.S. Elsa and the flooding in the lower area of my yard (that has never occurred in 16 years) that blew out the fence in the dog yard. The runoff swept all the forest floor debris against the fence, which acted as a dam creating a wall of water a few feet high that just snapped the wire fence wide open. I didn't notice it at first and thankfully did not just open the door and let the dogs out until I was able to make temporary repairs. Thankfully none of this even came close to happening this time.

The second thing was not having two vehicles in Virginia. I told my wife to suck it up and ride down with her brother. He has the largest Ford F-150 crew cab with plenty of room for 5 adults. If she did and the storm petered out, I would head down and then she and her other brother would ride back with me. Instead she chose to drive all the way down. That would make an already expensive vacation (no paid time off for me, paying the sitter, and all the gas for my truck) stupid expensive for doubling up on gas. Fuck it. Not only am I working my normal workdays, I picked up Friday too since she isn't here. She thinks I am just being a dick I guess, but I am truly disappointed in not being able to go. It is my sense of duty that makes me stay to take care of my own homestead. I'll see if we can get away for a long weekend in the near future to help her get over being pissed off.

Since the weather is supposed to be mostly sunny, cooler, and less humid Saturday and she will be not home until the evening, it will be a motorcycle day. I haven't been out for a couple of weeks. I'll throw out some feelers to other riders to see wazzup.

As a side note; now that the Pfizer jab has full FDA approval (cough-BULLSHIT-cough) and is no longer experimental, does that mean anyone getting their jab now can sue them for adverse effects? What about retroactively to December 2020 when it first came out? Are the "shall not be held liable" forms signed by compliant sheeple still valid? I am not familiar with the exact verbiage and whether it could expire upon approval. Asking all this for a friend.