Angels

I was standing in the harsh Texan T shirt winter of a Walmart car park and looked up at the sun. It glowed with incandescent light through the high clouds, like an angel on its flight path down to the rigs and shopping carts parked right there on the asphalt. 

What are angels? The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, teaches us that they're purely spiritual, intellectual beings and therefore incorporeal, necessitated by the "perfection of the universe" and the nature of divine creation.

A Typical Angel

Angels, we learn, are without form and matter and exist fully actualized, beings of almost pure act. They are, however, inferior to God because they are contingent upon Him. Good stuff and you can read all about it here. But maybe this is all a bit highbrow, form and matter, species and genus, essence and existence and all of that. Let's bring the definition down to earth by reflecting on what angels aren't. 

Here's a helpful infographic:

These aren't angels, at least they're not the good kind. Don't ask for their help.

Vicious rumors that top Democrat Party operatives practice ritual magic and commune with demons are entirely with foundation.

Moral of the story? If you're going to get into it with angels, choose the right sort.

God bless,

LSP

You Dirty Rat, Knife Review

Every once and a while something catches your eye, like an Ontario Knife Company Rat 1 in Walmart's discount sporting goods section. There it was, lying in a confusion of camo baitcaster reels, SOG novelty items and unwanted Gerber knick knacks. The knife looked solid and workmanlike against the rolled over detritus of the outdoors industry.

It felt good, too, fitting the hand well and weighing enough to let you know you're holding something (5.0 oz), which you are, over three and a half inches of AUS 8, full flat grind, 58-59 HRC, satin finish steel. And it was even sharp, very sharp. So I bought that knife and took it home.

The Ontario Knife Company describes their product, which is made in Taiwan, thus:

The immensely popular RAT folders are among OKC's top selling products. Featuring versatile AUS-8 stainless steel and a nylon handle, the RAT folder comes in a variety of styles including different blade and handle colors. The RAT folders are an ideal and affordable every day carry.

That's the marketing, what's the reality? 

Fit and finish are fine, with metal liners and scales flush and no upwards, downwards or sideways movement from the blade when it's in the open position, or when it's shut. Dual thumbscrews provide ambidextrous opening and the jimping is pronounced enough to do its job. The scales (handles) look like G10 but are, in fact, Nylon 6, but don't worry, they're attached to the metal liners with 5 screws. Yes. Five. What about the blade? It's sharp, really sharp, and deploys well, with an authoritative click, like a magazine coming home. I like that. The verdict?

Does it work? Oh yes, my Rat 1 sliced through a frozen pie package as though it were butter. The knife is sharp. Does it feel good? It fits in the hand well and has a good heft to it and it's not too big to fit in the pocket. Do women like them? They love them. A lot. Is it tactical? You better believe it is, just look at that black handle. But how much does it cost? It costs the grand total of $15. Seriously, 15 bucks, that's all.

So go out and get this knife if you're looking for an inexpensive workhorse folder. The only downsides, to me, are that it's made in Taiwan and the Nylon 6 is a bit slick, G10 would be better. But look, for $15 you can't go wrong with this knife. Get one, I don't think you'll be disappointed. The specs are here, and elsewhere.

Don't be a rat, get the knife,

LSP

Cooking With LSP, The Hard Way

"Cooking with LSP?" you ask with a wry smile, "That's kind of weird." Not so fast, readers, here's how it's done. The hard way.

Go to Walmart and pick up a couple of Threepers. No, not two members of a citizens militia! Two 3 packs of New York Strips; they shouldn't cost more that $30, all in all. Take your Threepers home, salt and pepper them and let those steaks come to room temperature in a place where the dog can't get them. He's hungry for steak.

Fire up the Weber using a large chimney, you'll want a lot of charcoal for a hot fire, then spread the coals when they're grey and put a grid over them. Scrape that grid down with a wire brush and admire the inferno as you sip an ice cold Stella. But look, there's no rule, it doesn't have to be Stella, that's just my choice. Do what you like, it's up to you.

Meditation over, get the steak and throw it on the grill. Watch it sizzle as the Threepers hit the hot grid; after about a minute, put the lid on the grill and observe the mystery of cooking for around 3 minutes, depending on the size of the steaks. Uncover, flip, repeat.

Grilling over, put the steaks on a tray and serve them up to the hungry team. Maybe throw in some baked potatoes and salad, perhaps some fried onions and mushrooms, whatever. 

You, not Big Government, are in charge of this operation. Then eat your steaks, like a Warrior. 

And that's cooking with,

LSP

Muslim Cooks Off in Texas. Gets Shot

Mohammad Moghaddam went Jihad in an Amarillo Walmart and got himself shot.

Here endeth the Lesson.

LSP

Rainbow, Where's The Gold?

In a stunning display of cosmic irony, a rainbow appeared in LSPland, facing Stores, affectionately known on the depot as "Walmart." And not just any old rainbow, no, this one was double.

There it was, hanging in the sky, so I joined the smartphone frenzy and took a picture of it, along with everyone else. There weren't any unicorns frolicking on its graceful curves and I couldn't find the crock of gold, either. 

So Where's The Unicorn?

That, the mythical pot of wealth that comes with the rainbow, is apparently an illusion. Follow the rainbow, they say, and you'll find riches and happiness beyond your wildest dreams. But it's not there, so much for State agitprop.

Stores

After a time the rainbow faded, giving way to torrential rain, house-shaking thunder and ferocious lightning, which I watched from the safety of the porch.

There's a moral in this, if you care to draw it.

LSP

Storm Front

Maybe it's because we don't pay enough carbon tax and don't have a ban on hi-cap magazines, but for whatever reason, it seemed like we were losing the War on Weather this morning. 

The sky began to turn green and the air became still in the Ozlike light. Very much the calm before the tornado which didn't come, although the rain did. Like a deluge. That meant I didn't go visiting this morning because I had to make the compound's sturdy tornado bunker (basement) available to the public.

Then the storm passed over and I made my rounds, visiting the sick, the dying and the bereaved. There's no shortage of these, unfortunately. But still, it meant stopping by a fine restaurant.

It also meant gauging the exponential growth of a chicken operation, and running cattle, to say nothing of pondering the militia presence in the local Walmart car park. 

It's all going on in the countryside, I tell you.

And the the storm is by no means over.

LSP

Well Done, Napoleon

Well done, Obama, you latter-day Napoleon.

Ramadi, capitol of Iraq's Anbar province, which borders Saudi Arabia and isn't even remotely strategic to anyone who lives in opposite land, has been overrun by ISIS savages.

As I understand it, 1,300 US soldiers and Marines died, fighting for Ramadi. All for what? So ISIS can rule there? Well why not, it's not like there's going to be an Apple Store there any time soon, or a Walmart outlet, or anything gay like that. I mean to say, there's no likelihood of a Pride rally being held in Ramadi, so why bother defending it. 

In the meanwhile, the same Muslims who enslave and rape women, and behead children, are in control of Iraq's western province.

Good work, Obama, you Rainbow Rommel.

We scorn you.

LSP

Black Friday Bombs

Please buy something.

I went to the local Walmart on "Black Friday", looking for action. Maybe some trampling, or a taser fight over cut-price Vizio flatscreens, or whatever. But no luck, you could've fired a canon in that store and not hit a soul. It was like a neutron bomb had gone off, somehow sparing the checkout staff who stood out in the aisles, trying to entice the few lone punters to their silent cash registers.

Solar Space

A sign of things to come? Of course not, because as everyone knows, the more in debt you get the richer you are and one day the Japanese will turn the moon into a gigantic solar array, beaming limitless free energy to the people of earth. No retail dystopia there, my friend.

I bought some milk and bread out of a sense of civic duty.

Buy on,

LSP

Fish

Fish On

I wouldn't want anyone to think I was some kind of stereotype, or something, so I eagerly took up a friend's offer to go Kayak Fishing on the Brazos, on the outskirts of Waco, off I35.

We stopped at Walmart to pick up some spinners and lures and I seized the opportunity to spray my legs with insect repellent, or sunscreen, which I found open at the sporting goods counter. I got into a fight about that with a Walmart person. but don't worry, it wasn't a real fight, just a verbal.

some guy facing off a bear with a hatchet

Fleeing Walmart we stopped at a Starbucks because I wanted a Latte, and spied a senior philosophy prof (?) from Baylor. I resisted the urge to hurl unkind taunts about "old bald head" and reminded my friend about Elijah and the bears.

fish

Then a whole lot of fun kayaking along the river -- the fish (Bass) were jumping and I was catching nothing until we pulled into some shallows and cast from there. Caught a baby Bass and a Drum(?) and as always felt inordinately pleased at the catch. Put the fish back and progressed upstream to home.

Fish Rising

Great fun. Message? Fish more often, get a boat.

Fish on,

LSP

Get Out in the Field and Break your Gun

Drove out in the scorching, parched, doveless countryside for the customary Thursday morning ride and shoot; rode JB about for a little while but the ground is full of deep and treacherous cracks, which curtails things a bit. Still, it keeps the hand in.

Before plinking about I took the old JC Higgins 103.13 .22 (essentially a Marlin 81 - I think) down for a clean. Very important; if you don't clean your firearms they don't work, even if they're .22s. Trust me. So I cleaned the thing and it broke anyway, because a pin fell out of the trigger mechanism onto the ground. It probably fell down a crack.

Nothing daunted, I pulled out the handy "Leatherman Wave" multitool and a piece of fencing wire -- always carry both in your EDC (every day carry) loadout. That's my advice. Tools in hand I fashioned a new pin, which seemed to do the trick.

Except that it didn't because working the action simply decocked the rifle, rendering the thing useless. 10 out of 10 for in the field gunsmith ingenuity, 0 out of 10 for a working solution. Annoying.

Still, the JC Higgins is ancient, its had many thousands of rounds through it and perhaps the time has come to bite the proverbial bullet and get a new .22 for plinking and shooting the odd rabbit. The broken rifle can be fixed at leisure but in the meanwhile I think I will get an...

Entirely predictable Ruger 10/22 -- birch stock, iron sights (I like the bead front sight) semi-auto, all for the grand price of $200. Thank you, Walmart, for helping me out.

Don't lose bits of your gun down gaping cracks in the earth.

Happy Michaelmas.

LSP

Ammo

Walmart's Finest

Interesting article about ammunition in Pajamas Media...

"Scan the ammunition shelves at sporting goods stores, your local gun store, or even Walmart and odds are that you won’t find what you are looking for. The most common cartridges are in short supply, and many stores ration ammunition a box or two at a time to spread their meager stock among their customers.

This isn’t new. But why is this nationwide ammunition shortage still happening?"

Why? Unprecedented demand, especially from LE here in the U.S. and, in China, a burgeoning market for raw materials; but still, millions of rounds are left unaccounted for -- stockpiled?

Maybe and you can read the whole thing here, but for myself, well, I tend to shoot them as fast as I buy them.

Cheers,

LSP