I’ll be attending a class Thursday and Friday.  I’ll be staying near the airport but will have a car.  Anyone want to get together sometime and “chew the fat”?  Thursday night is taken but I arrive about 15:00 on Wednesday with nothing to do until Thursday morning.  Friday evening is also available.

The Second Amendment Foundation just released the results of a Zogby poll.

Asked whether they agreed or disagreed that banning guns would reduce the threat from terrorists, respondents to the poll disagreed by a margin of 75 percent. Only one in five respondents supported the notion, and five percent were not sure. Zogby polled 1,009 likely voters chosen at random nationwide with a margin error of plus/minus 3.2 percent. Polling occurred between March 30 and April 1.

…

“It’s been pretty clear for a long time,” Gottlieb observed, “that gun grabbers don’t have a clue. All they want to do is take guns away from people, any guns, all guns, and they don’t care how much blood they dance through or how much false hysteria they spread to get the job done.

…

“America,” he said, “has finally awakened to what is essentially a one-note campaign being waged against their gun rights. Present anti-gunners with a problem and their only solution is to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. Well, that’s not a solution, it’s a sham. Whatever else terrorists happen to be, they are criminals, and you do not stop criminals by disarming their intended victims. Average Americans have figured this out, and we can only wonder why the gun control crowd hasn’t.”

Ry came across this awsome picture.  From the status of the earthwork and the ground cover I’m thinking it was taken in the spring of 2004 sometime after the first week of May (when we cut down a tree that isn’t visible in the picture).

Friday night the Sunday Boomershoot Adventure got canceled so I didn’t have to do any prep for it.  After bring Xenia home from her disaster first day at work.  Barb and I went for a walk and looked for a geocache.  We couldn’t find it.  We seem to suck at finding the cache once we get to the spot where it is supposed to be.  We went to the range where I had hidden a geocache ages ago but disabled it after the range put up no trespassing signs.  I moved it to another location but somewhere I dropped my cell phone.  I retraced my steps at the range.  We retraced our steps on our walk to the first supposed geocache.  We couldn’t find it.  We decided the range was the most likely place for it to be and planned to return the next morning when the light would be better and we had another cell phone to call my phone with.  Great day… can’t find the geocache and I loose my cell phone.

On Sunday Barb took Xenia to work then we head out to the range to look for my phone.  The Lewiston Pistol Club is putting on an IPSC match and we try to hurry before they start shooting and make it difficult to hear my phone ring.  I retrace my steps and Barb keeps calling it as she walks along behind.  She hears it ring and points in the general direction.  I find it and after talking to a couple guys we leave.  Things are looking up some.  At least I have my cell phone back.

Xenia calls about 15:00 and is done with work.  She made it through a complete day of work but just barely.  After eating some food at home she quickly improves.

I updated all the stuff I have been putting off on the Lewiston Pistol Club website.  Stuff going back to February.

James and Kim came over for dinner.  Kim brought her friend Jessica.  K & J forget about the time change for Daylight Savings time.  James is starved the rest of us are very hungry by the time we eat.  Barb has cooked corned beef and it’s great.  Kim isn’t feeling well.  She has a sore throat.  Barb asks me to look at it.  I tell her to look at it, she’s the medical person.  “You have the flashlight she replies.”  True.  I whip it off my belt and shine it at Kim’s mouth from almost the entire length of the table.  She opens her mouth and I groan.  “You need to go to the doctor.”  Barb looks and says, “I thought so!  You have strep throat.”  Everyone looks at Kim’s swollen and ground meat appearing throat.  We go back to eating our dinner.  Kim doesn’t want to see the doctor.  We give her cash and tell her to see Quick Care first thing in the morning.  She reluctantly agreed.

James told us about his classes–98% on his differential equations test.  105% on his analysis of algorithms test.  He had proved the answer on one problem when the prof had only asked for an explanation.  The prof was impressed and gave him another 5 points.  He watched Sin City Saturday night and said it was really good.  Didn’t think Barb would like it though.  To violent.  I’ll probably try and watch it in Richland when Barb isn’t around.  He borrowed our vehicle and went grocery shopping.

After watching Cold Case I check out the comments to my blog and decide I’ve had enough of Henry.  He persists in bring up opinions as if they were facts.  His facts he does bring to the discussion are irrelevant (So what if there are N injuries and deaths due to gunshot wounds per year?  How many were praiseworthy shootings and how many were criminal?).  He refuses to answer my one question telling me “It’s a setup.”  So after debating him for something like two years I decide I’m done.  My patience has run out.  I tell him to go away.  There.  Done with Henry.  I have more important things to do like save the world.  Henry is just an insignificant anti-freedom bigot.

Disaster.  I’ve checked on her a couple times since she came home.  She barely talks and looks terrible.  We’re going to watch Paint Your Wagon together now.

Barb attacked me and said, “There’s an upside to the baby leaving the nest.  Put that in your blog!”

Yesterday, 7:29 AM, in my continuing discussion with Henry he asks:

 It would be interesting to hear from others, who follow this blog, as to whether they have a view on what I have just stated.

If you have the energy and the interest why don’t you say a word or two to him?

Thanks.

This link will go dead in four weeks.  But until then the ad above will reach the following areas:

The Exchange serving Spokane, Stevens, Whitman, Pend Orielle, Garfield, Ferry, Lincoln, Adams, Grant, & Latah Counties — Distribution 31,000

Nickel’s Worth serving Northern Counties of Idaho & Western Montana (Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Benewah, Shoshone) — Distribution 37,000

Moneysaver serving counties around Clarkston & Lewiston area (Clearwater, Idaho, Lewis, Nez Perce, Whitman, Asotin & Garfield) — Distriubtion 34,600

Giant Nickel serving 8 counties around the Tri-Cities area (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Burbank, Benton City, Finley, West Richland, Eltopia) — Distriubtion 33,000

So about 135K people will have the opportunity to see the ad.  Last year I just ran a similar ad in the same areas for two weeks and I got several entries from it.  This year I started a little earlier.  I’m hoping to completely fill up this year–even with the expanded shooting area.  As you might guess the first 80% or so meets expenses and the last few entries are profit.  And I really need some profit to pay back the loan on the explosive storage magazine.

Tonight I got a call from Dave saying he wanted to postpone the Boomershoot Adventure again.  The weather forecast is better than last week but still we expect wind (10 MPH with gusts to 20) and possibly rain.  Now it’s next week or never.  It’s getting too close to the big event and I have other things I will need to do.  It’s got to be frustrating for Dave and his dozen friends too.  Oh well.  What else can you expect for Boomershoot weather?

I just got a call from a local motel.  They asked for Xenia and said she starts work in the morning.  Kim already works there and Xenia decided she wanted money to spend on stuff and Kim helped her through the process of getting hired.  Kim will also give her a ride to and from work so that all works out really well.

Another one is leaving the nest.

heavy sigh

I got an email from Doug, one of my brothers on the farm.  He had some rather surprising news.  He’s now teaching math at the high school.  I’m sure the extra income is welcome but there were other reasons he took the job…

The big news around here is that I am now teaching algebra I, algebra II, pre calc and calculus at the high school. The teacher had a baby in February, they went through 8 substitutes and couldn’t find anyone who could/or would teach. After the last one quit, I called the teacher, she talked with Jerry Nelson and the next morning, I was teaching. The teacher returns May 9, I have taught one week, I am off for spring break now, but I have five more weeks to go.

It is very stressful, but also very interesting. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am teaching in Farley’s old room, I have Lisa in precalculus and Amy in calculus. 92 students, 5 classes, I kicked two kids out of algebra I the first day.

Amy and Lisa are his daughters.  Jerry Nelson is the principal.and was a classmate of Barb and I.  Farley was a teacher when Doug and I went to school there.  Doug has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and in Electrical Engineering.  I’m sure the math comes easy for him but teaching it and dealing with all the kids has got to be, as he put it, “very interesting”.  I’ve considered teaching at various points in my life but had the opportunity come up I’m not sure I would have accepted a full load with one day’s notice to start work.  Doug has done some pretty gutsy things in his life though. So I guess this shouldn’t be too surprising.