I have Been Waiting for the Invitation

This evening's email:

"Greetings, from the illuminati world elite empire. Are you a business Man/woman, politician,

 musician, student, footballer, salary earner and you want to be rich, need protection, gain knowledge,
 powerful and be famous in life.
You can achieve your dreams by being a member of the great illuminati empire to earn yourself lot of benefit,"

Bill Bryson At Home

Like all of Bryson's books this is interesting and witty.  He mentions that the 1889 Paris Exhibition that caused the Eiffel Tower has a competition for what to build.  The 900-foot guillotine was not the winner.  

And there is this marvelous one

Things That Make Sense for Governments to Do

It is an article of faith among some of the ideologically pure libertarians to argue that nothing the government does is legitimately their responsibility or that they add any value to our society.  While there is often merit to these criticisms there are items like this.

2/29/24 SciTech Daily reports on JPL's tracking of an asteroid that came with 1.8 million miles.  While not an immediate hazard, the prospect of a rock several hundred feel across getting close makes me glad that our government operates an office with a title straight out of a Star Trek episode: Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

Tripod Legs

I mentioned a design problem several weeks ago about how to keep the inner tripod legs from falling out the bottom of the outer legs.  There is enough disparity in the leg dimensions that it would not be a close enough fit to rely on friction.

One of you made a suggestion so elegantly simple that I have abandoned my attempts to machine an all carbon fiber solution.

The inner legs are 3/4" inside square and just a few hundredths inch thick wall.  The outer legs are 1.03" +- .02 inside.  I can buy 1/16" x 24" strips which I will epoxy onto the 3/4" square inner legs.  (This makes the inner leg very close to the inside inner dimension of the outer tube.  I can use thumbs screws at the bottom of the outer leg to lock the inner leg in position.

At the top of the inner leg I will drill a hole large enough for a nylon guitar string.  At the top of the outer leg, another where I will use a stainless steel SHCS to hold the other end of a 24" long guitar string (perhaps a little shorter to make sure the inner leg does not slide out).

The screw at the top of the outer leg is to simply removal of the inner leg for repair if needed.  Both legs will be cut at 60 degree angle to get a flat surface match.

I have also mastered the gCode for cutting circles.  If the legal historian work ever relents the first step will be cutting .875" holes in those 1" squares for the needle bearings.  The first attempt produced.872" holes so I may fiddle with the radius slightly until I get .875" ID.  Maybe start with the nominal .875" hole then adjust the radius .,005" until I hit the needed ID.

I also need a 4" OD disc on which the ears that hold the mount in various latitudes will be screwed as well as the slots into which the tripod legs will be mounted on a .5" axis.  This will be clearer when it transitions from the drawings in my mind to pieces of carbon fiber that I can photograph.

Take a Class With Me

 To register for class on NRA Training Website ( NO pay portal there -  just register ) 

( to get past the spam censor A.I., I have removed the letter H from the  HTTPS link so it won't trigger spam, so just add an H to the front of the link and copy and paste into your browser window.)

ttps://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseDetails.aspx?Courseid=810047

 

NRA

Personal Protection Handgun Course

Idaho ENHANCED Concealed Weapon License

12 hour course 8am – 6pm Classroom & Range ( 9 hours +/- )

Legal Section will be conducted on Friday 6pm - 9pm

Main class the next day 8am to 6pm 7-ish

 

NRA Personal Protection in the Home Course exceeds Idaho 18-3302K

 

ENHANCED Concealed Weapon License requirement, certificate recognized by all states as firearms training (Though NOT for certain states' CCW , see list below)

 

$199 Course Fee includes NRA handbook, fliers & NRA Course Completion & Idaho State Police Training Certificate. ( mail check to name & address Below - or arrange to pay cash )

 

Classes are small (5 at most). 

PAID advance registration is required to reserve your seat. 

 

Class is open to Instructor-approved citizens who have no felonies or other legal gun-possession disabilities. Liability Release form signature required.

 

Course consists of approximately 5 Hours Classroom, 4 Hours on the Shooting Range, 1 hour written test.  3+ Hours Legal Instruction to be on following Friday.

Includes Basic Handgun Safety, Familiarization, Hands-on Firearms Handling, Shooting Skills & Instruction. Personal security & avoiding violent confrontations will be covered in depth. Safety & Awareness are critical issues covered at length.

Several hours will be spent on the firing range bringing students skills up to standards. Idaho State Law and Federal Law regarding firearms, concealed weapons, self-defense and after-event issues will be taught by a licensed Idaho attorney (formerly served as a public defender, a prosecutor and as an Idaho State deputy attorney general, and has competed in IDPA and IPSC events.

BRING: warm jacket & hat (it often gets cold & windy at the desert shooting range) and a button up shirt or blouse so no hot brass goes down your shirt to painfully ‘brand’ you and make you momentarily unsafe.

Bring Eye and Hearing protection, your handgun (Don't have a handgun or eye/ear protection? let me know I have a few loaners & can help you select the best one that suits your particular needs) 

and Bring at least 2 boxes of 50 rounds of factory ammunition ( Idaho law requires 98 rounds ), also remember a lunch, snacks, drinks. Pen & pencil and a notepad.

Important Note on contacting me: Anti-gun / anti self-defense powers that beand internet service providers and internet censors have affected firearms instructors, myself among them.

If you are interested in taking any of these courses, please call me first, then send me an email that I will reply to with the current class schedule or other requested information. Please reply that you have received that email, and do so for each that you get. I often reply quickly, never hear from the recipient and later they ask why I never replied. PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR SPAM or JUNKMAIL folder for emails from me before you empty the folder. Apparently the A.I. Censor looks for key words like gun, firearm, shooting, concealed weapon etc and so toss them into your spam folder.

So if you contact me – stay in touch by replying to every email, check spam folder, and should you take a class elsewhere or the wife simply won't allow you to take a class, just email me and ask to be taken off the email class schedule update emails list, it won't offend me, I understand that there are many reasons folks change their minds. Just let me know.

If I do not hear from you after 4 months, I will delete you from the list after sending one last email asking if you wish to remain on the list.

T. ALLEN HOOVER

NRA Certified Instructor                 NRA Training Counselor

                                   (208) 631 3003                                  PO Box 6232 Boise ID 83707

NRAinstructor@TALLENHOOVER.com

or

TALLENHOOVER@AOL.com

 

THE IDAHO ENHANCED CONCEALED WEAPONS LICENSE IS VALID IN: IDAHO ( & Idaho public colleges) ALASKA ARIZONA COLORADO  DELAWARE NEVADA NEW MEXICO PENNSYLVANIA SOUTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA? LOUISIANA MINNESOTA  WASHINGTON WISCONSIN as well as states that accept the Basic License: ALABAMA ARKANSAS FLORIDA GEORGIA INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY MAINE MICHIGAN MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI MONTANA NEBRASKA NEW HAMPSHIRE NORTH CAROLINA NORTH DAKOTA OHIO OKLAHOMA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH WEST VIRGINIA WYOMING. VERMONT (no lisc reqd) Oregon non-reisdent licenses easy to obtain with Idaho ECCW. Total WAS 39 states allow CCW w/ID ECCW. note: List per Idaho State Police 9/2022 - states laws change constantly, this list may not reflect current status.  Current political events :  I believe we have lost VA & PA due to politics within those states, subject to change.

Yellowstone National Park honors Idaho Enhanced CCWs that are valid in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming see  Federal Park Service website indicates that which CCW holders may carry in Yellowstone park (but not into buildings of any kind) Shooting, even is self defense is prohibited, so don't unless you are being eaten, and then prepare for possible legal repercussions due to scorn from Grizzly lovers.

NRA Basic-Level Courses: Home Firearms Safety Pistol Personal Protection outside the home Basic Rifle Range Safety Officer

 

Become an NRA Certified Instructor:

INSTRUCTOR-Level courses, CALL for information:

NRA BIT Basic Instructor Training course $125 (the first class required) Offered weekday evenings by arrangement.

NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course Instructor course $399 (includes both Basic & Instructor courses)

NRA Personal Protection (in the home) Instructor course $399 (BIT&Pistol are prerequisites)

NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor course $399 (BIT&Pistol & PPith are prerequisites)

NRA RSO Range Safety Officer $150

NRA CRSO CHIEF Range Safety Officer $175 (BIT & RSO are prerequisites)

NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course Instructor course $399

New House

There are 25 potential buyers already lined up for our current house.  It will not close before we close on the new house, so today was spent doing a mortgage application. 

The new house was described as having an XL conditioned crawlspace.  If you do not recognize "conditioned crawlspace," newer houses have crawlspaces that are cooled or heated and are pretty free of dirt and bugs.  This is much nicer if you have need to go under to do repairs.  Been there twice as a teen and do not want to repeat that.

What is XL?  It is about three or four feet of clearance.  A small ladder might be appropriate.  It would also make a tolerable expedient fallout shelter.  Two stories above you and a mass of basalt shielding (the foundation was poured on bedrock) you from the above ground side of the house that is the big radiation threat.  You might not want to spend all day there, but sleep would reduce your exposure quite a bit.

My House is For Sale!

 https://imls.paragonrels.com/paragonls/publink/view.mvc/?GUID=001211bb-ebb5-4abd-ba41-c2dc5f184e73&Report=Yes

Ideally there will be fist fights between buyers over who makes highest bid. :-)