Can't argue with that!

As I may have mentioned before, Sweet Daughter loves cats. Shorter Half is allergic to them (so a pet cat is out of the question), but SD includes cats in her life when she can. There are two cats at daycare. She talks about teaching “cat school (I have no idea. I just smile and make encouraging noises.) She often meows at me when she wants something. When asked her name, she responds with Firstname Middlenname Lastname-Cat. She thinks that Breda, who shoots, works in a library, and HAS CATS (trifecta!) is someone whom mere mortals can only dream about emulating.

So, back at the age of 3 1/2, she drew this picture of a cat. She very carefully pointed out everything she included when she showed it to me.

Yes, that is one scary-a$$ cat. She ought to sic THAT on the Big Bad Wolf. Click for big.

She carefully pointed out the ears, eyes, nose, whiskers, mouth, teeth, tummy and two legs.

When I asked here where the other two legs were (I mean with such exacting attention to detail, what was up with only two legs??), she sighed, barely suppressed an eye-roll and explained slowly, as though I were a backwards child needing extra time to comprehend a new and difficult concept, while flipping the paper over:

Shotgun fun

We took the Mossberg over to The-Friends-with-75-Acres house today to see how it shot, and so I could lose my shotgun virginity. Shorter Half measured the maximum distance in our house between the end of the hall by the bedrooms and the entry near the front hall, and paced off the distance when we got the range. At that distance (a little over 30 feet, if I remember correctly) without sights, the Mossberg shot a little high. Like maybe a hand-span. Not enough to worry about, I don't think. I did notice more decided kick than I'm used to (yes, compared to my Brown Bess …), so I think a recoil pad is in order. Oddly enough, my shoulder isn’t bothering me tonight, but the right side of my jaw is.

I also got to shoot a Remington 12 gauge. That was a slick little gun, but I like the controls on the Mossberg better.

We also did a reactive target demo for Sweet Daughter to show her what happens if you shoot something filled with a liquid … like the Big Bad Wolf.

First the soda can.

Then the gallon jug of water.

Then the TFW75A’s son shot another jug. Sorry that I moved, but you can see the water just starting to spray out.

What is "accomplished"?

In Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, Miss Bingley makes the observation that (for the early 19th century):

"No one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved."

"All this she must possess," added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."

Joe Huffman follows the same train of thought, starting by talking about calipers and then segues into Jeff Cooper:

Before the young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills he should acquire, apart from any state-sponsored activity. Certainly the youngster should be taught to swim, strongly and safely, at distance. And young people of either sex should be taught to drive a motor vehicle, and if at all possible, how to fly a light airplane. I believe a youngster should be taught the rudiments of hand-to-hand combat, unarmed, together with basic survival skills. The list is long, but it is a parent's duty to make sure that the child does not go forth into the world helpless in the face of its perils. Shooting, of course, is our business, and shooting should not be left up to the state.

Austen may seem silly compared to Cooper, but if a parent’s duty is to make sure their children are prepared to face the perils of the world, then Austen’s definition certainly made it more likely for a woman to “marry well” which was sort of the same thing at the time.

Considering "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading" is a given, what do you consider an essential skill to be considered one who greatly surpasses what is usually met with?

Jane Austen's Fight Club

H/T to The Clue Meter.

Bifocals

While waiting for my bifocals (thanks, Ben Franklin!) to get made, I got a trial pair of multifocal contacts. Not the monovision, with one eye used for distance, and one eye used for reading (what if my dominant eye was my distance eye? That would make using sights a bit of a challenge), but actual lenses for near and far vision. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly. I know I was expecting points between “near” and “far” to be weird, but let me just say, wow! What a pleasant surprise.

The eye doctor pretty much told me I got to pick where I wanted my near vision to focus, I chose reading distance instead of computer distance. I’d rather wear reading glasses while sitting from of the computer than have to fumble for them every time I want to read a label in the grocery store, or thread a needle. With the trial pair I have in right now, I actually read the local paper tonight in low light with no problem. I read the fine print on a coupon. The computer is a bit fuzzy, but not enough to be a problem for short periods of time.

This type of lens is supposed to be tricky to prescribe and may take six weeks to get used to, but I have to say I’m seeing better with these than the regular lenses I was wearing this morning. I haven’t had a chance to try them at night to see glare, shadows and hazy vision is a problem.

What I haven’t done is check the price on them. The sticker shock on the bifocal glasses was a bit of a surprise, so I’m sure these will be similar in gouge-factor, but I’m thinking they might just be worth it.

Can anyone read this?

Michael W. received this lovely piece of Japanese art from this gentleman.

Can anyone translate for him? It was picked up (out of a trench, is that right, Mike?) in Japan during WWII.

Robert W. Snyder, Jr., 1947 - 2010

Robert W. Snyder, Jr., thank you for your service to our county. His obituary is here, please go read the whole thing. The tributes left on the guest book are also worth a look.