Thanksgiving holiday 2008

We had another great Thanksgiving holiday this year.

Lorraine and I went to the Fairfax County Civilian Police Academy graduation on Saturday morning; Lorraine was on travel for the graduation day for our class, so this was a "make up" opportunity. Lorraine had an opportunity to fire the Sig Sauer 9mm pistol and the Remington 870P shotgun. We both had an opportunity to drive a high-speed precision driving course (this was significantly different than the driving opportunity for our CPA class). The driving course was a blast. We stayed for the "pot luck" lunch, which was also great.

Emily and Joe traveled to Virginia, arriving late Saturday afternoon. We stayed in Fairfax County until Tuesday late afternoon, then headed to Nelson County for the holiday.

Cindy and Paul joined us from Maine, Joe came from Washington, DC, and Hank and Nate drove from Maryland to join us at Rhue Hollow.

This year's Thanksgiving Day hike was to the top of Crabtree Falls. The weather was just about perfect.

Em, Joe, and I returned to Fairfax County last night, so they could catch their flight from Washington's National Airport this morning.

Thanksgiving, 2008

Like last year, we took some time during Thanksgiving Day to take a nice hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year's hike was to the top of Crabtree Falls, here in Nelson County.

Cindy, Paul, and Joe Fortier, Emily and Joe Wilson, and Lorraine and I were the hikers this year. It was a beautiful, clear, and somewhat crisp day for hiking -- just the kind I like.

Winter preparations

Along with all of the other things to think about when winter comes, we put firewood near the top. Joe, Paul Fortier, and I spent some quality time Wednesday laying in big stack of split firewood.

Mason Law Federalist Society and American Constitution Society Symposium

The Federalist Society at George Mason University's School of Law and the American Constitution Society are sponsoring a symposium at 1700 -- 2000 on Wednesday, 19 November 2008, on the subject of District of Columbia v. Heller. I'm a fan of several of the panelists, so I recommend folks go if they can afford the time. The price is right: free.

Antenna repairs

The Cobra Ultralite Jr that's been way up in the maple trees in the back yard for the past few years needed a little repair today, so after the Marine Corps Marathon meeting at the Armed Forces Retirement Home this morning, I headed to Ham Radio Outlet to get a new slingshot.

It looks like squirrels chewed through one of the support lines -- that line was through a crook in one of the trees that I think also contained a squirrel's nest.

After about an hour of fussing around getting the new line in the tree, I had things back to better than they were when I did the installation the first time.

So, the good news is that the HF antenna is back up, and appears to be working just fine. The bad news is that we're still at the sunspot minimum, and propagation is TERRIBLE. Well, if history is any indication, it (and the stock market, for that matter) will get better.

Rhue Hollow on the air

I spent some time yesterday hanging an Alpha Delta DX-OCF (apparently not marketed by Alpha Delta anymore) in the trees to the north of the house on Rhue Hollow.

The center of the antenna is at about 35 feet, a bit higher than the spec value of 30 feet. The ends of the antenna are at about the spec value of 8 feet. One is a bit close to the rear deck pilings, so a tuner will be required to reduce SWR.

It's a pretty nice installation; I'm hoping that as Cycle 24 gears up, I'll have good experiences with that antenna.

I'm using an FT-897D, with LDG AT-897 tuner. I connect the rig to the laptop, and run Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) and the full DxLab suite for both computer control of the rig and for logging.

I participated in the California QSO Party this weekend, but with all the station set-up (and a LOT of noise), I made only one CA contact. I made a contact with an operator in Ohio, and another operator in the Azores.

Timetable for withdrawal...from Chicago?

From the local CBS affiliate in Chicago comes a story about the summer death toll in Chicago being nearly twice the American death toll over the same period in Iraq.

What's up with this? Banning the lawful possession of firearms doesn't prevent firearm use by criminals? Huh?

Why is the storied Chicago political machine having trouble with crime control in the home town?

Phil Spector: another entertainer endorses Obama

The LA Times calls Phil Spector's endorsement of Barack Obama "dubious"...I'm inclined to think that Phil's endorsement is genuine and heartfelt. Perhaps the election is keeping Phil's mind off the tedious business of being tried (again) for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

Barack Obama endorsement...and, be careful what you ask for....

Convicted (and subsequently executed) kidnapper and murderer (okay, he was a "participant" -- the guy who actually did the deed with a claw hammer got life in prison -- Bishop's conviction was for felony murder under Mississippi law) Dale Leo Bishop endorsed presidential hopeful Barack Obama before his execution on Wednesday, 23 July 2008.

In the "be careful what you ask for" category, "Bishop, who was mentally ill [a fact disputed in his appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court], asked a judge for the death penalty after he was convicted." ...and so, he got satisfaction, nearly ten years after the crime of which he was convicted.

Heller and voting rights

Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, commenter Mikeyes has drawn an interesting parallel between Heller and voting rights. Worth thinking about as Heller litigation rages on....

San Francisco Housing Authority suit

NRA, CCRKBA, and the California Rifle and Pistol Association filed suit yesterday (it's a challenge to keep up with the filings) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division) seeking to overturn a public housing gun ban within the City and County of San Francisco. Nicely done. The plantiff is a homosexual man, living in public housing, and argues that the Second Amendment should be incorporated against the states.

More at: NRA-ILA :: Legislation

Heller FAQ

Bart DePalma over at Citizen Pamphleteer put together a very nice FAQ, complete with cites and quotes: Citizen Pamphleteer: The Second Amendment Is Returned To The Bill Of Rights

First DC, now Chicago....

Now that District of Columbia v. Heller is decided, it's time to head west to The Windy City. Alan Gura, of Gura & Possessky, P.L.L.C, has launched ChicagoGunCase.com. Visit early and often, and lend your support to incorporation of the Second Amendment against the States.

MoveOn.org: Selfishness in Action

Perfectly shameful.

The folks at MoveOn.org trot out the dewey-eyed new mom and cute kid, then get her to read a plea to not call her son to national (read: military) service. Why is this unbelievably selfish (and isolationist) message at all appropriate?

"So, John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex?"

Why not? If not "Alex", whom?

Springfield Mall

I had occasion to visit Springfield Mall (N.B.: the web site is seriously misleading: 200 stores and eateries? Where?) the other day (I had mistakenly presumed that Springfield Mall would be vacant on the Saturday before Memorial Day -- the mall was, but the DMV office, my sole reason for visiting the mall, wasn't). With the line for the mall's DMV office stretching out the door (out the DMV's door, and nearly out the mall's door!), I took the opportunity to do a little shopping while the line got a bit shorter.

Springfield Mall has come on hard times -- really hard times. I don't shop there, but I don't really shop at any malls (competition is better on the World Wide Web, and I don't have to deal with traffic, parking, ....). Much of what I buy comes to me from on-line retailers; the rest comes from speciality retailers who aren't mall denizens (Best Buy, Borders, Petsmart, ...).

On a lark, I did a little on-line searching this afternoon to see if anyone else has noticed the sharp decline at Springfield Mall and lo, other people have. In fact, there's been some real discussion about redeveloping Springfield Mall. As recently as last November, Vornado Realty Trust (who also owns the Charles E Smith brand) announced a fall 2010 opening for at least a portion of the redeveloped mall (more recent news here). Since fall 2010 is only two years away, I'm surprised there's no evidence of construction. Surprisingly (and suspiciously), there's nary a peep about this Springfield Mall redevelopment at Vornado's web site.

DMA Choice Home

While I was researching "opt-out" capabilities, I ran across the one run by the Direct Marketing Association to cut down on "direct mail" AKA "junk mail":

DMA Choice Home

CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY - Fairfax County, Virginia

Lorraine and I attended the Fairfax County Citizens Police Academy this spring -- this was time well spent. We learned a little about nearly every facet of Fairfax County law enforcement: training (at the Academy), traffic, patrol, call center operations, animal control, gangs, major crimes, narcotics, financial crimes, explosive ordnance disposal, canine, neighborhood patrols (bikes!), crime analysis, and the Adult Detention Center (which was offered by the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office).

If you're a resident of Fairfax County, this is 35 hours (or so) that will be spent wisely: CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY - Fairfax County, Virginia.

OptOutPrescreen.com

One of the [many!] things I learned at the Fairfax County Citizen Police Academy was the existence of an "opt-out" program for pre-screened credit card offers (a significant source of credit card fraud and identity theft).

The program appears to be a lot like the national "do not call" list, only it helps protect your identity / credit score.

OptOutPrescreen.com

Urban camping

The homeless in our nation's capital aren't the only people [intentionally] sleeping on the streets tonight. Individuals hopeful for a seat during tomorrow's District of Columbia v. Heller oral arguments are camped out in front of the Supreme Court. The line started about 40 hours before the event, and it appears that the line is now at capacity. Temperatures will be near freezing again tonight, but an event like this is probably worth the privation, particularly for someone whom is younger than their mid-20s.

I do hope that someone offers to take Angela A., 19-year-old GWU sophomore, shooting. The NRA range isn't far away (City of Fairfax), and is a very nice range. I'll bet she gets at least one offer as a result of this week's line-sitting.

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : Camp SCOTUS: "http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/895477/27189428"

Mann Act test?

If New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer is, as has been supposed (and reported by the New York Times today), the soon-to-be notorious Client-9, can we expect he will be charged with violation of 18 USC §2421, the venerable Mann Act?

US CODE: Title 18,2421. Transportation generally

Comedy writers across this great land are working overtime to scribble quips about this case.