And just like that as of October 1st..... my blog traffic has dropped back to normal with only 38 views on my previous post since publish date of 10-1-25, and no additional comments on any of my posts.
The nerd in me is curious as to why the sudden but short duration spike in traffic. My normal self doesn't really give a flyin' fuck.
And more layers of clothing to easily conceal a handgun and spare mags. I am planning on carrying my full size Glock G-17 loaded with Hornady Critical Defense 115gr JHP rounds and two spare mags. In anticipation of this, I ordered and received yet another kydex OWB holster and mag carrier in black from OnYour6Designs.com to fit it. An initial test fit showed another well made product, that held my gun and mags securely, and when I have time I will figure out whether or not to cant the holster. All of this easily hides under a loose fitting flannel, fleece pullover, zippered hoodie, or when necessary a suit jacket. For normal times I will stick with the Kommiecticut legal 10 rounders, which I also have a half dozen always loaded up with Federal HST 147 gr JHP for the PCC-9. If things start getting spicier the carbine goes in the truck in a soft sided case that accommodates the mags. The pistol ammo will be changed over to the Federal so the mags can go in either weapon since the PCC-9 sports the Glock mag well.
But if things continue to go sideways I may break out the super deadly 17 rounders I have squirreled away for SHTF. The problem is getting "caught" with magazines over 10 rounds and making my "paper felonies" real ones.
More evidence of whatever is going on with the traffic to my blog. 16,800 views last month, with almost 68,000 and this month isn't over. Comment traffic is up too and I appreciate the engagement. At this rate I will hit the milestone of 1,000,000 "All Time" visitors before the end of the year. I know, peanuts compared to some well established blogs, but I'll take it. Even with all the traffic I refuse to monetize and clog my content with ads. IMHO that will be the excuse for Goolag to shut me down.
I am on duty with the FD today. FYI... we do not rescue cats stuck in trees. That is a big city FD type call because they usually have a ladder truck that can reach the heights and retrieve the cat safely. We only have ground ladders that make that type of rescue extremely hazardous for us and require quite a bit of manpower. When they call the station for that circumstance I recommend people put food at the base of the tree and wait until they are so hungry they come down themselves.
Mid-morning there was a knock at the front door. It was a elderly female resident that lives a couple of miles up the road and she told me she was a damsel in distress. She was on her way back from a veterinarian office in Hartford and had her cat in a pet carrier in her car. Because she is unable to manipulate the latch mechanism, she had the door tied shut. When the vet brought that cat out in the carrier, the string was gone and the door was latched but she didn't notice until she got home. She thought the latch was broken and stuck, but it just has a really stiff spring and she couldn't open it. I went outside to her car to look at the situation and check out the cat carrier for myself. I then called dispatch to log a service call incident and responded with our service truck. When I arrived at her house she was already inside with the cat. I showed her how to hook her fingers as leverage on the door and pull the latch with her thumb, but she still couldn't do it. I opened the door and stepped back and the cat scooted out. She sat on the rug several feet away looking at me, eyes as wide as dinner plates... and then she beat it up the stairs. I conversed with the resident for a few minutes before clearing the call and returning to quarters. So this is as close as I ever got to the cat rescue scenario.
Here is the official narrative from our NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System)
"Resident stopped by Station XX looking for assistance with a cat stuck in a cat carrier. She had been to the vet and they locked the carrier. The resident could not open it due to the heavy spring on the latch. If the door was left loose in the vehicle the cat would escape. She requested assistance at her home to release the cat inside the house. Service-XXX responded to the resident's home and the cat was released safely."
My Stihl BR800C-EZ is going back to the shop for the third time for warranty work because it runs like garbage at full throttle after 10-15 minutes or so. I got it back from the second trip to the shop on Friday 9-5-25 and used it the next day to clear my entire driveway with no issues. When I was done it went down in the barn where it sat until today. Where I live the leaves are starting to fall pretty heavily, so I had to blow the lower yard clear before I could mow it. 10 to 15 minutes into cleanup the RPM's started dropping off on full throttle and it would almost stall when I let off to idle. I got the yard cleared and did the mowing, but the dealer/service department are getting a curt phone call bright and early tomorrow morning. I will DEMAND they call Stihl for support and inform them this is THE LAST TIME it goes in for service, or I will be making a claim for either a whole new machine or a 100% refund and I'll go buy a Husqvarna machine.
Now before you think I have anything to do with the problems it is having, take a look at my gas powered equipment list. Both 2-stroke and 4-stroke machines and none of them have ever been in for service. I replaced the normal wear parts myself and they all start on 1 or 2 pulls. I always use fresh gas or gas/oil mix. My fuel is mixed with Sta-Bil 360 which has an ethanol treatment along with the gas stabilizer.
1995 - Honda Harmony 215 lawnmower.
2001 - Poulan 16" chainsaw (Purchased by my *Dad but I took it away in 2009 at the urging of my Mom before he hurt himself with it)
2002 - Tanaka hand held leaf blower (replaced spark plug in like 2015)
2005 - Honda powered Craftsman 2500 PSI power washer (I replaced the worn out pump)
2005 - Generac 7550 EXL Briggs & Stratton powered generator (I replaced the shorted out stator)
2006 - Cub Cadet 930 Tecumseh powered snow blower (replaced belts and friction drive wheel)
2006? - Ryobi Weed Wacker to replace the electric Craftsman one I used at my old house on a tiny city lot. Home Depot special. Poorly made piece of junk. The cylinder kept coming apart and I would have to screw it back together. Last time it quit, it quit for good and it went to the dump!
2015 - Honda HRR216VYA replacement mower. At 20 years old I did not want to get stuck with a dead mower mid-season. Last I knew the guy I gave the original one to is still using it. Replaced wheels, belts, and blades.
2016 - Echo weed wacker. Has the brush blade kit too and works great.
11-8-22: I purchased the Stihl BR800C-EZ and used it without issue to cleanup the leaves in that fall, 2023 and 2024. It started acting up at the end of this past June. I did a post about it here.
My only oops was that stupid Ryobi. So in my current stable of power equipment, the one and only Stihl I own is what's giving me grief. I am shocked to say the least given Stihl's reputation.
*About Dad.... He passed away in 2018. He was THE WORST when it came to anything gas powered. He never understood choking or priming and always seemed to flood everything.... to the point gas would pour out of the carb. He always used whatever old skunky gas he had kicking around, nothing fresh or treated. Never mixed the oil right for 2-stroke making the exhaust extra smoky. Because if a little is good more must be better, right? The list of failures is endless. He had a 4000W Coleman camping generator for his house backup to use with extension cords but never tested it regularly. It was a pull start and at this age he couldn't pull it requiring help from the neighbors. Then it ran like crap the whole time and would end up quitting. He decided to get an automatic standby generator. I told him to be sure to involve me in the purchase process to be sure he got EXACTLY what he needed, but instead he succumbed to high pressure sales and the next thing I knew he said he had one coming. Because he dicked around so long getting one, they delivered his generator.... the day Superstorm Sandy was arriving in 2012. Needless to say they weren't doing any installs they were doing emergency service only, so he moved in with us for the week.😒We were happy to be able to keep an eye on him, and don't even get me started about his dog that was with him.