Category: General

Happy New Year!

Yep, good reason to feel that way, and I like the idea of opening that door while wearing a bomb suit, ballistic shield in hand, heavy load out, and maybe even sending a grenade or three through the door as it opens.

Given the last few years, this does seem a bit safer, especially since we keep hearing

That we are indeed here.

And that things are going to get even more “interesting.”

I wish I could tell you that they are not, but I will say that for all the bad things I can see happening in this new year I also see the potential for a lot of good on the individual level. Yes, the system is in trouble and lots of things can fail systemically, from economies to the world falling into war. That said, I also see opportunities for individual freedom and liberty, and survival of same. Never thought I would say this, but just look at (or even to) Argentina for part of that hope. So, plan for the worst, hope for the best, and we will take what comes and make it our own best. Be Prepared.

Meantime, yet another year I did not make it anywhere close to midnight, or the living room, and am not bothered by that at all. Needed the rest to be honest, as have not been sleeping well yet again. As for going out, I didn’t like crowds before Iraq and now don’t deal with them well at all.

May 2024 not be a year of mere survival, but one of positive growth, love, faith, and all the truly good and important things in our lives. Who knows, maybe I will find that sweet young lady with bad eyesight and worse judgement to date and marry this year. Anything can happen, when we put our minds to it and open our hearts to possibilities.

So, enjoy the celebrations of the day, and the semi-regular updates and talks on preparations and more will resume soon. May this be the year the enemies of freedom, liberty, and all that is good in life hear:

And may this not be our bounce upon leaving 2023!

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Merry Christmas!

A Merry and Blessed Christmas to you all! If you have family, keep them close and enjoy them while you can — even the annoying ones. If you are with friends or the family you chose, again, keep them close and enjoy them while you can.

Keep in mind the reason for the season, as this is the third most important date in Christianity. It is time for food, family, and gifts; but, remember the gift given freely to us all.

I will try to get photos and share a bit more later on my feasting. It may not be much to some, but it is an abundance for me. I am overjoyed at being able to cook again, even if I did hit the wall, hard, yesterday before all was done. Been up this morning early to make eggnog from scratch, and will admit I got the urge to use some of the egg white to make a classic whiskey sour…

May your day be bright and filled with joy.

Gut Punch On The Car

I was able to get my car to the mechanic today to see about the coolant leak. Given that many or all of the hoses and such are original and quite old, I had hoped it was a hose or clamp issue.

Sadly, the mechanic says it is the timing belt cover and/or the head gasket. So, best case would be $1k+ and worst case probably $3k+ since there were some other things that he saw unrelated to the leak. Such as suspension and even some frame issues that will become ISSUES sooner rather than later. His STRONG recommendation was not to throw good money after bad, but to get a new vehicle.

Unless I win the lottery this coming weekend (note to self, buy a ticket), I’m not in the best shape to do so. Bank loan is not really in the cards as while I’ve been making progress I’m not near where I need/want to be to get such. Buying from a dealer is not in the cards given that the used car market is insane right now and the new car market even worse.

So, the best bet is to find a used car that is in good shape and at a good price from an individual. My cigar buddies and others are going to be keeping an eye out, but it’s not like I have stacks of money lying around. Heck, I don’t even have a good pile of change. That said, I need a reliable car or truck to get to physical therapy, shopping, and Church.

So, I’m going to be doing some prayer and reminding myself to turn things over to the Lord. Thoughts and suggestions welcome, and I’m going to see what I might can do in terms of monthly payments if a reasonable loan can be found for a vehicle at a reasonable price.

If anyone knows of a good used vehicle in the Indianapolis area, please do let me know.

I would also note that I really can’t complain about my car. I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth out of it given what I paid for it. It has also lasted many years longer than either the person I bought it from or I expected. It has been a good vehicle despite some of the repairs it has needed. I just had hoped (and needed) for it to last another year while I got back closer to being on my feet. I have to remind myself to have faith, and to trust that this will turn out for the best.

For now, I think I can keep it limping along to get me to PT. Hoping bus, shank’s mare, and occasional rides from the landlord will let me do everything else.

Again, thoughts and prayers along with good suggestions most welcome.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Meet Charlie

For a number of years now, I’ve not had a Christmas Tree. Since I am renting a room, it’s not like I had a house to decorate. All of my ornaments are in storage, and, well, it’s just not been a pressing issue. Besides, my current landlord does a pretty good tree and I’ve been able to enjoy it.

This year, however, I realized I wanted a tree, and some decorations. Had to be small as it needed to be in my room, and for some reason a part of me wanted a Charlie Brown tree. So, I started keeping my eyes open and finally found a small tree, not even two feet tall, that fit the bill. With the limbs all tight and up, it even looked a bit like the part. All of $5.94 it was too.

This is what it looked like after I got it home and started getting the limbs down. The Linus treatment had it starting to look much better.

Then, I found some battery-powered LED lights for about $5 and got them in the mix. I could have gotten a longer string, but it both cost more and I really didn’t want to overdo the lights. Maybe next year, but I’m sort of liking the minimalist approach.

Next up, I found a box of gold ornaments for $2.99, and what makes a nice tree skirt also for $2.99. Finally, I bought four nicer ornaments from the bookstore at the Church I’ve been attending for $3 each. Since I couldn’t find a star to go on top (even growing up Methodist I really didn’t think it was a good idea to symbolically impale an Angel) I got an ornament that features the Madonna and Child to go up top. The others I got just because they were pretty and I’m a little OCD on some aspects of symmetry.

So, I didn’t break the bank and have something bright and joyful for Christmas. A reminder of the season and the reason for the season.

Quick Friday Update

Weather is doing a number on me, which bites on more than one level. Had hoped to do some baking today, wanting to experiment with smoked brown sugar in some chocolate cookies. Thinking it should pair well with dark chocolate. Not looking good for that. Was able to make a fresh batch of chili-lime mayo yesterday, which is a start towards being able to do real cooking again.

Also, no matter how I feel, plan to go help with the Christmas Market and Village at the church I recently started attending. I’m still limited in what I can do, but thing is I can do a bit and want to help out as they have been most welcoming to me.

Started active range of motion work yesterday and am happy even though feeling it a bit. So happy to be able to do it. Few more weeks then we can kick it up even more.

Got some sleep for a change, but between weather and melatonin, had some of the weirdest dreams in a while. One set included the Indiana Guard Reserve (state guard, not national) being federalized (! though it has happened) to go deal with an alien incursion/landing (in southern Indiana?). Some of my least favorite officers active duty or otherwise popped up in that one either as themselves or combined into one character. Throw in a civilian contractor who wanted everyone to use the old green cylinder duffels and was refusing to transport anything else (or weapons), and it was wild.

Especially as the “leadership” was assuring us that looking sharp and strong words were all that were needed, as the aliens were an unknown group called the Posleen. If you read science fiction, you know them. Two of us had a clue, but… I can live without more dreams like that for a while, thank you.

Also, if anyone expected Hamass to do anything other than refuse to follow the rules, kill multiple in a terrorist attack, and otherwise launch multiple rockets against Israel while under cease fire, please hang your head in shame. If you honestly are surprised corporate media is pinning all the blame on Israel, please put a paper bag over your head as you stand there in abject shame. I really didn’t expect them to release those women, especially since they are all of an age to be considered spoils of war. Forget the exact proper term for that type of slave, but…

More soon.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Yes!

Just got back from my visit to the surgeon, and I am cold but happy. In fact, I’m very happy overall. Things are indeed moving along, and we do seem to be further ahead on things with the left shoulder compared to the right.

The incision has healed very well, no issues and in fact it did better than the right incision. Cleared to use moisturizer (a no-no during healing), which is great as much of the rest of the body is dry and itchy. Don’t think the back scrubber I bought will work well for that, but who knows.

For all I’ve complained about “only” doing range-of-motion work, the ROM is extremely good for this soon after surgery. We are now cleared to do “real” PT, for me to start back to the gym on that and my lower/core and cardio, and to use the inversion table. Once I talk to the therapist later this week and we map out a plan, the plan is to move out in a smart fashion.

I have two major goals for the next six to twelve weeks: get the shoulders into the best possible shape I can, and to get things where I can start to actually try to move out West. The recent fronts, along with this morning’s cold and snow are simply reinforcing that desire. It will take at least a year to get the shoulders where they need to be, but given the loss of mobility was gradual and over the course of years, that’s somehow appropriate. Recovery from the surgery is just the first part, the second is stretching things back out and rebuilding both strength and ROM lost over the course of years.

One reason for some of the recent silence is that I’ve been having to deal with some issues related to my care. The surgeon is part of Community Health Network, and they (like most of the larger networks) tries to take over ALL your healthcare. On top of the lack of care on the night shift after my most recent surgery, someone dropped some new diagnoses into my profile this month, including that I was suffering from Chronic Systolic Heart Failure (HCC).

This was news to me, and news to my cardiologist. To make it even more fun, it wasn’t done by the surgeon or his office, and so far no one can tell me who made the diagnosis and on what basis. Given that I had to spend about seven years getting a false diagnosis of cancer removed from the Community system, I’m not even going to try to fight it this time Unless I develop symptoms, the plan is for my cardiologist and I to push forward with their current treatment plan. It did, however, make for several interesting days as this all came to light pretty much last week. Yeah, trying to get answers and things dealt with during Thanksgiving week was so much fun…

Oh, since I turned in my survey and comments on the care in the hospital, haven’t heard a word from Community about being on the patient advisory board and wanting my feedback. Strange. *grin*

I can highly recommend the surgeon and his group, I just have some issues with Community and with Community East hospital. The surgeon and two others I’ve dealt with in the practice on some other issues have been great. If you need a good ortho practice, or have shoulder issues, let me know and glad to recommend them.

Meantime, I’m going to be moving out on PT and trying to get set-up to work on moving. Doing all the meals ahead was a great idea, but now the larder is bare and I need to restock it, stock up on some other essentials, and do some general preparation work including stocking up on Vitamin A to keep the bad pew-pews away. Any help on these areas would be very much appreciated!

Someone has made me a very kind and generous offer in regards some training, and I hope to be able to take them up on it in a few weeks. I tried racking someone’s pistol a week or two ago, and it did not go well. At the rate I’m progressing, however, it may only be another week or two before I can rack and do. Really looking forward to that.

The car is running for now, though I do need to get it to the mechanic to figure out where the coolant is leaking and why, and get it fixed. For right now it’s not leaking much, at least as long as I have the heater engaged. Will be taking the bus as much as possible as I want to reserve the car for PT and other essentials.

So, for the most part we are go! Now in some areas I may be limping, but we are moving forward. Hopefully I can build some momentum and get moving literally and figuratively. Here’s to hoping the new diagnoses are indeed just BS, that things keep going well, and that I move from limping to walking to running in the days ahead so I can implement the GOTH move plan early in the new year.

Keep your friends close and your things where you can find them in the dark. Be Prepared.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

More Soon

Had planned on a post or two today, but doesn’t look good. Up early as last night i ended up sleeping on my sides, which is still a bit of an ow and athletic as am still sleeping in the recliner. So, up a couple of hours early and not feeling great. More soon, promise.

Gun Law Weekend

First, my thanks to all for the good wishes. I’ve been less-than-happy at the slow pace, but also got reminded today that I’m still not three weeks out from the latest surgery. I could have sworn it was four-plus. Given that, it’s going amazingly well. Trying an experiment in ditching the sling for a bit to write, will see how it goes. Nice not having to be archy or ee for a bit.

Second, thanks to a very nice person I got the chance to attend Guy Relford‘s Indiana Gun Law Class at Indy Arms this last Saturday. For those not in Indiana, Guy Relford is not only the founder of the 2A Project, but a practicing Constitutional Law attorney specializing in the Second Amendment, and has also helped write a fair bit of current Indiana gun law. Still a few changes he would like to see made, and I hope he gets the chance to make them.

Those who know me, know I push for people — especially first time gun buyers — to take such a course. Ignorance of the law never works out in your favor, and there is a LOT of bad info out there. You need a law course as much or more (esp. if you live in an ‘interesting’ state) as you need good firearm/tactical training.

When I first moved to Indiana, a small-town police chief I got to know gave me a decent quick overview as he helped me apply for my carry permit. It is more than just a concealed permit, more on that in a minute. The laws have changed a LOT since then, and I’ve been wanting to take the class for a while now. It’s the first step to getting back to where I need to be after the lightning strike and shoulder replacements.

So, Saturday was five-plus hours of high-quality instruction on Indiana gun law, as well as use-of-force and other related topics. This included getting into the actual laws (and regulations) and going through same. There were a lot of good questions, good discussions, and citation of actual events and cases to make points.

Yes, Indiana is now (thanks in part to Mr. Relford) a Constitutional Carry state. That said, it is still a very good idea to go ahead and get that carry permit as doing so helps you via exemptions (such as within 1,000 feet of a school) as well as being honored in a number of other states. Take the course to learn how and why.

I’m not going to go into details, but we went over everything from who is a prohibited possessor and what convictions can be expunged after various periods of time — and what can’t ever be expunged — to transfers. The course covers when and where you can carry (and how) to the differences between use of force and use of deadly force.

I’ve got multiple pages of notes on those topics and even on things like curtilage as it applies to Castle Doctrine. In short, it was an amazing class where I learned a lot. I also learned a phrase to use if I am ever involved in a shooting or deadly force situation, and some other tips on same.

Glad to learn that phrase and some other suggestions on interactions. The last time I had formal use-of-force training was during Air Force Security Police Augmenter training several (cough) decades ago. Since policy at the time was shoot for extremities, I learned then ‘Sir, in the stress of the moment I reverted to training and fired for center of target.’ The phrases I learned Saturday are a huge improvement and will do a lot more to help keep me out of trouble.

Seriously, if you are a gun owner in Indiana, regardless of if you carry or not, you need to take this or a similar course. I can highly recommend this one, and do so unreservedly. This is time and money extremely well spent.

As I noted above, I’m using this as the start of re-learning to shoot. Between the lightning hit and getting new shoulders, I want to drop back and effectively start over. It’s a chance to re-learn, discard any bad habits, and build up better than before. Funny, I’ve done it a couple of times in terms of shooting and photography, and each time I came out the richer for it. For photography, both at Playboy and then again a few years ago, the concept of ‘forget what you know and relearn from the ground up’ resulted in huge improvements. For firearms, some training around the AFSPA program and some later tactical and related training vastly improved my shooting and response capabilities. Any help so doing now is very much appreciated.

So, an amazing and educational Saturday! It was good to meet Mr. Relford in person, as previously we had only engaged on social media. Give him a follow on X/Twitter if you are on there. Seems like a good man to sit down and smoke a cigar with and get to know.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Liftoff?

Everything is on track, and hoping all goes as smoothly (more so even!) as last time.

Thanks to all who have helped me get ready and get things further along with the home physical therapy set-up! I have breakfast and dinner tucked away for several weeks, am set on general post-op supplies, and am set to start over again on physical therapy. Nice thing is that this time we can work both arms the same in some respects. Once we get past the first six weeks, hoping to rock!

Anyone hitting the tip jar now, know that it is going to food and other preparedness. Don’t want to jinx anything, but may have some really good news to share here around November 1. May be attending a class, and that class may lead to some help and work getting me back on defensive track after the lightning strike and the surgeries. Meantime, I do suggest investing in food, ammo, and weapons.

If all goes well, more very soon. Meantime, keep your things where you can find them in the dark. Be prepared, be safe, and be alert.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.