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On January 1st, 722, Frankish Hofmeister Charles Martel fled from Bishop Willibrord. Ten years later, Martel’s army defeated the Muslim army at Poitiers. — January 1, 1785: John Walter published the first issue of his newspaper “The Daily Universal Register,” which was renamed “The Times” of London in 1788. — And on January 1, 1928, the first US air-conditioned office building opened, in San Antonio, Texas. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can …
The post Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 1, 2026 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
The following is my list of recommended features and some features to avoid, when looking for a general coverage receiver. This is based upon my personal experience over the years as a shortwave listener (SWL) and Amateur Radio operator. Frequency Coverage: Look for a minimum frequency coverage of 500 kHz to 30 MHz. This covers the AM broadcast band (520 – 1710 kHz) and all of the shortwave broadcast bands (2 – 30 MHz). Coverage of the FM broadcast band (88-108 MHz) is also highly desirable. Digital frequency display: Allows precise tuning to a specific frequency. Avoid any radios with …
The post SWL Receiver Considerations and Buying Advice, by Sarge B. appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, more about the threat of AI-generated fakery. Iran: ‘Full-Scale War’ with U.S., EU, and Israel Reader H.L. was the first of several readers who sent us this: Iran …
The post The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
“Having spent 10 years studying emerging markets, I know that you have patterns repeated over and over again. A bubble is like a fire which needs oxygen to continue… when you see there is no oxygen, things change.” – Nouriel Roubini
The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
[John T. McCutcheon/PD] I’m greeting the new one on the enclosed porch next to a cranked up space heater with a quality cigar and two fingers of the good stuff. Barring anything major happening, this will be my only post today, a reprint of an AmmoLand article which itself was derived from earlier Examiner posts. … Continue reading "Out with the Old, In with the New"
The post Out with the Old, In with the New first appeared on The War on Guns.
Adieu, 2025. This is a fine, traditional song for departing guests.
Here's wishing you a very happy 2026.
Who was the snitch? What does the municipal ordinance say?
The post We’re the Only Ones Warning Enough first appeared on The War on Guns.
It's New Years Eve and I've been doing all manner of year-end chores. The tax year ends at midnight.
I had a pork tenderloin in the smoker for a few hours. It's resting now, and I'll slice it in a little bit. It will become part of lunch tomorrow, along with blackeyed peas and cabbage. Cornbread, of course.
That reminds me, I need to change the battery in my red dot sight. I do that once a year on the New Year.
Tomorrow starts 2026. I'm looking forward to a splendid year. I hope all of you can say the same.
‘Hatecrimed five times in one night’ – here are the 31 campus hoaxes uncovered in 2025 [More] See, if you weren’t so racist, they wouldn’t need to do this. Hey, anybody got the skills to pull this off? [Via Michael G]
The post 2025 Jussies Finalists first appeared on The War on Guns.
Woman ‘is seen running along street covered in blood amid crowbar rampage’: Afghan man, 20, is arrested after ‘attacking five people’ in hospital waiting room ‘when he was refused an appointment’ [More] Been a while since I called on Tommy Lee… [Via Michael G]
The post Meanwhile, Across the Pond… first appeared on The War on Guns.
Jews, get your guns; no one is coming to save the chosen people [More] That kind of self-reference sounds a bit… supremacist, especially since they punted on the prime directive that came with the Covenant. It’s the kind of cognitive dissonance you’d expect from people who vote Democrat and follow bagel brains. Maybe I’m reading … Continue reading "Many are Called But Few are Chosen"
The post Many are Called But Few are Chosen first appeared on The War on Guns.
I hope everyone does this and swamps the ATF with no profit paperwork. Hundreds of thousands of forms a week. Lol [More] In my experience, counting on most gun owners to join in activism solidarity ignores reality. I’d prefer gun owners just keep their business to themselves like I have. I never did register those … Continue reading "Swamp the Swamp?"
The post Swamp the Swamp? first appeared on The War on Guns.
Leftists on CNN’s NewsNight Blame Nick Shirley, Trump, and Racism Instead of Somali Fraudsters [More] That’s the unified talking point you’ll see the DSM and its camp followers parroting. That and “it’s been reported on for years” (which invites the question of why it hasn’t been stopped). Because they have incentives. But not if Democrat … Continue reading "This is CNN"
The post This is CNN first appeared on The War on Guns.
Seemingly everyday items that hide their true nature. If you need a tool in a non-permissive environment, these are some of the best options.This was the best year ever for traffic here: 4.5M page views. This brings the all-time total to 19.5M. There's quite a market for free Internet blather.
And this year's over 1000 comments from you is (I think) also a record. Many thanks to everyone who keeps coming by and especially for commenters.
Top referrers:
- Knuckledraggin My Life Away (thanks, Wirecutter!)
- The Feral Irishman (thanks, blog brother!)
- Raconteur Report (thanks, Aesop!)
- Normal American (I hope you haven't hung up your blogging shoes)
- Busted Knuckles (thanks, CederQ!)
- The Silicon Graybeard (thanks, buddy!)
If anyone cares, here is a list of the top posts for traffic. It's interesting that most are pretty old:
- I Am TJIC (after 14 years this still gets a ton of traffic)
- I Confess, I'm Not Opposed To Gun Control (this was fun to write)
- This Blog Belches Carbon (from all the way back in 2010)
- A Layman's Guide to the Science of Global Warming (needs updating)
- Dad Joke CCCLVIIII (I have no idea why this got so much traffic)
- Dad Joke CCCLXII (Tuna is doing most of my Dad Joke blogging)
- Should You Be A Global Warming Skeptic? (from 2009 but superseded by the Layman's Guide post, above)
- Aaaaarrrrrrgh, Matey! Don't be shiverin' me timbers! (A blog meet from 2009)
- Google Play Store filled with malware (a post from 2025!)
- This. 1000x this. (another post from 2025! Go figure ...)
So a lot of old posts still drawing traffic. It's gratifying to read them and see how well they've held up.
So goodbye to 2025 blogging. On to 2026!
Bill Bachenberg, NRA President, Addresses Magazine Distribution … the focus is shifting with current trends and the new generation of gun owners are living in a digital world. [More] A trend that carries deficiencies of its own… and leads to a lack of independent exploration and critical thinking when limited to watching videos.
The post Reduced Capacity Magazines first appeared on The War on Guns.
An Indiana dad who was accused of murder and assault for shooting at a mob of people attacking his son on his college campus will no longer be prosecuted. [More] They didn’t get him on a gun charge? Light a candle? WTHR: News you can wipe with.
The post Like a Candle in the Wind first appeared on The War on Guns.
The Best .22LR Ammo Nobody Talked About in 2025 (But Should Have) In the ever-evolving world of rimfire ammunition, 2025 has brought some noteworthy developments — especially in .22 Long Rifle (LR) cartridges. While most shooters think of .22LR simply as inexpensive plinking ammo, the reality is far more interesting. Some rounds this year are […]
The post The Best .22LR Ammo Nobody Talked About in 2025 (But Should Have) first appeared on Day At The Range.The post Beretta M1918: Italy’s 9mm Semiauto 9mm Carbine from WWI first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.
Last week, I posted an article linking to my most popular posts in 2025. In that article, I discussed how my “most popular” articles were not the same as my “best” articles. I liked many of the most popular articles (ranked by page view), but I think many other articles that I wrote […]One person was hospitalized Monday night following a shooting that stemmed from an argument at a Norwalk hotel, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told NBC4 Investigates.
Deputies responded at about 9:15 p.m. to the Saddleback Hotel on Firestone Boulevard after a reports of an assault with a deadly weapon. After an argument, one person deployed pepper spray on the other individual, who then opened fire, the agency said.
The gunshot victim was hospitalized in fair condition.
An update clarified the firearm used belonged to the girlfriend of the defender.
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According to Melissa Criswell, deputy chief of the Muncie Police Department, information gathered by detectives “substantiates that Brown forced his way into the residence while armed” and was shot by a resident of the house.
Brown was taken by ambulance to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The man who allegedly shot Brown, 33-year-old Danny Martin Songer, was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice and unlawful carrying of a handgun.
On December 31, 406, “The Great Invasion” sent a vast mixed horde of barbarians that included Vandals, Alans, and Suebians across the Rhine River, at Mainz (pictured). Thus began the invasion of Gallia. — December 31st 1564: William I of Orange demands freedom of religious conscience for his subjects in dramatic speech to the Council of State. — December 31st is the birthday of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008). — December 31st, 1851 was the birthday of Frederick Selous. (He died on January 4th, 1917.) — The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are available for Pre-Ordering. This year, we …
The post Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 31, 2025 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
As 2025 draws to a close, I’d like to revisit a topic that often comes up in SurvivalBlog: camouflage clothing and equipment. Note: To see examples and variants of the camouflage patterns that I’ll mention in this article, see the comprehensive Camopedia.org website. They are to be commended for maintaining a great reference site. I will begin with some history: Camouflage uniforms were not standard issue for all but a handful of the world’s armies until the mid-1960s. Experimentation with modern printed camouflage fabric as we now know it began with the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, circa 1942-1945. They …
The post Regional and Seasonal Camouflage Clothing and Gear appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Where Are People Moving Most in the U.S. in 2026? o o o CPRC’s Lott Calls Out Wall Street Journal’s Fear Mongering Over Concealed Carry. o o o 31 Indoor Woodworking Projects to Do This Winter. o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted this: Burundi: Farmer finds new technique for …
The post SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
“No ornament of a house can compare with books; they are constant company in a room, even when you are not reading them.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe. (The sister of Henry Ward Beecher, who was quoted yesterday. Both of them were very outspoken abolitionists.)
The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
Over a billion Swedish kronor, or more than $100 million, in taxpayer-backed funds intended to support preschools and schools in Sweden have been siphoned off through an Islamist-affiliated network engaged in welfare fraud, an investigation by the Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed last Wednesday.
This came after police raided an apartment in Gavle, north of Stockholm, where several individuals who were connected to radical and violent Islamist extremism were staying.
He said robots can be fitted with different weapons, like machine guns or grenade launchers, to fire at Russian positions. It means they can attack while keeping Ukrainian soldiers safer, as Russia is likely to return fire to wherever the attack comes from, and can also drive closer to Russian positions to launch the attacks.
He said ground robot systems are best when they work like Lego, with soldiers able to put the same system together in different ways to perform different functions, rather than having many different systems to use.
So Legos really are educational toys!
By Dave Workman Editor-in-Chief The past 12 months have witnessed a sea change for the Second Amendment, despite the fact that Blue State liberals are scrambling to destroy gun rights in their own states, and they are seething over how the second Trump administration has scrapped many of the policies of the Joe Biden […]
The post In Review: Top 2A Stories from 2025, Part II appeared first on Liberty Park Press.
I should know better. [More]
The post I Give Up first appeared on The War on Guns.
Good thing none of this has anything to do with that “single issue“! [Via Michael G]
The post Method to the Madness first appeared on The War on Guns.
They’re counting on Republicans not rioting. [Via Michael G]
The post Adventures in Baselessness first appeared on The War on Guns.
Woke Oregon city hires MURDERER who executed teenage girl to its police review board [More] The same Democrats who demand disarming these fine folks — and you. If their actions just affected them I wouldn’t mind. [Via Michael G]
The post A Subject Matter Expert first appeared on The War on Guns.
Greene recounted a tense exchange with Trump after she suggested inviting the victims to the Oval Office, during which he threatened, “My friends will get hurt.” That confrontation marked the final straw in their relationship, cementing her decision to step away from Congress after two terms. [More] IF he actually said that. And if that … Continue reading "Greene with Envy?"
The post Greene with Envy? first appeared on The War on Guns.
Google’s fine print may cost your Fourth Amendment rights — Pennsylvania Supreme Court allows authorities to access your search history without a warrant [More] Honest… I was looking for IDAK from Lost in Space… And a place to get my nails done… Good thing I’m sure they’d never abuse this… [Via Michael G]
The post Privacy. Good One. first appeared on The War on Guns.
Skills like these aren't limited to the silver screen. Even normal people can benefit from knowing how to drive like a spy!The sole Republican candidate running for North Carolina’s 22nd state Senate district is turning heads after donning a Niqab-style face veil in her candidate photo and voting for Democrats in past elections despite her new GOP candidacy. [More] I haven’t been able to find a campaign website or social media account to nail down her … Continue reading "With Republicans Like These…"
The post With Republicans Like These… first appeared on The War on Guns.
“Sr. Legal Affairs Reporter, @POLITICO,” eh, Josh? A “real reporter,” not one of those “amateurs” you “Authorized Journalists” look down your noses at! As long as you’re opening that door, y’ever hear of Bill Clinton’s Rules of Engagement? [Via WiscoDave] .
The post Triggering Shirley Haters first appeared on The War on Guns.
North Carolina Man Charged With ‘HATE CRIMES and KIDNAPPING’ After Detaining Hispanic Men Who RAMMED His Truck and Tried to Flee [More] This is the reality we live in. React accordingly. [Via bondmen]
The post So Much for ‘Citizen’s Arrest’ first appeared on The War on Guns.
A father and son living in Alabama pleaded guilty in Laredo, Texas, to attempting to traffick over 500 weapons and a cache of ammunition over the border. Emilio Ramirez Cortes, 48, a Mexican citizen who legally resides in Albertville, Alabama, and his son, Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz, 23, also of Albertville, have now admitted to … Continue reading "Forgetting Their Place"
The post Forgetting Their Place first appeared on The War on Guns.
Ex-police chief made false claims in high-profile case, prosecutors say [More] Yeah, but look who’s accusing him. [Via bondmen]
The post We’re the Only Ones Bearing False Witness Enough? first appeared on The War on Guns.
Cheers!
I had known beforehand that American Rifleman, the publication of the NRA, was going to go quarterly from monthly, but it was still a bit of a shock when it happened. So was losing a couple of the NRA’s other great magazines, Shooting Illustrated and the one devoted entirely to gun owners’ civil rights issues, […]
Image of grizzly bear by Troy Nemitz, used with permission.
In an article published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, Italian researchers mapped the genetics of European Marsican Brown bears (ursus arctos). They found evidence indicating the bears had been selected by human hunting pressure to be less aggressive. From yale.edu:
To investigate, Italian researchers mapped the genes of Marsican bears and compared them with the genes of brown bears in Slovakia and the U.S. Their study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, found clear evidence that the Marsican bears had been selected for lower aggression.
The study has confirmed what naturalists, ranchers, hunters and wildlife managers assumed to be true. Grizzly bears (ursus arctos) in the lower 48 states of the United States were known as especially aggressive since they became widely known in the Anglosphere after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Lewis and Clark first reported on ursus arctos as described to them by Indians on the Missouri river. From the Lewis and Clark Journals, Lewis, April 13, 1805:
the Indians give a very formidable account of the strengh and ferocity of this anamal, which they never dare to attack but in parties of six eight or ten persons; and are even then frequently defeated with the loss of one or more of their party.
Lewis at first thought the "white" (ursus arctos) bears were actually wary and shy:
tho' we continue to see many tracks of the bear we have seen but very few of them, and those are at a great distance generally runing from us; I thefore presume that they are extreemly ware and shy; the Indian account of them dose not corrispond with our experience so far.
Their experience and opinion of grizzly bears (ursus arctos) soon changed to concur with what they had heard from the Indians. From Lewis, May 11, 1805:
I must confess that I do not like the gentlemen and had reather fight two Indians than one bear; there is no other chance to conquer them by a single shot but by shooting them through the brains, and this becomes difficult in consequence of two large muscles which cover the sides of the forehead and the sharp projection of the center of the frontal bone, which is also of a pretty good thickness.
In 100 years of settlement and intense hunting, ursos arctos in the Americas had been selected so only those who fled from humans survived. The last 50 of those years included the development and wide spread use of cartridge firearms. One of the last redoubts of the grizzly population in the lower 48 states was in the mountains of the New Mexico/Arizona border. Montague Stevens spent years actively hunting grizzly bears in the area, from 1889 to 1901. In his book, Meet Mr. Grizzly, he says, on page 251:
He will seldom attack a man unless the latter first molests him. As a matter of fact, he would rather run away than fight.
Stephen Herrero believed selection by hunting was the reason black bears seldom attack people. The same logic applies to grizzly bears. From his paper:
It is well known among dog breeders that it is possible to selectively breed for or against aggression. It is highly likely that this selection would also be possible for bears.
The reverse is also true. If humans do not select out aggressive bears, bears which are willing to be aggressive are favored, because they have access to human related food supplies. Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are much more aggressive than grizzly bears in Alaska, where hunting of ursus arctos is commonly allowed. It only takes a few generations for bears to learn to be aggressive and to reinforce aggression as a viable selection force. In the lower 48 states the federal government has enforced a ban on hunting for roughly 10 generations of grizzly bears (at about 5 years per generation). At the beginning of this vast experiment, the State of Montana Department of Fish and Game submitted a statement pleading for regulated hunting. From the federal register, FR-1975-07-28, p. 31735:
By contrast, a regulated sport hunt, will create an adequate fear of man. In a seasonal sport hunt, bears are exposed to relatively large numbers of humans for a limited time, and consequently learn to avoid all areas where humans are encountered. It is this avoidance of man which will reduce numerous depredations and threats to human safety.
In 1975, the Montana wildlife managers believed a hunting take of 25 bears a year would be sufficient to maintain an aversion to humans by grizzly bears.
The relatively small population of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states now kill more people than 20 times their population does in Alaska. From 1975 to present, 24 people have been killed by wild ursus arctos in the lower 48 states. During the same period, 20 people were killed by wild ursus arctos in Alaska.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
On December 30, 1861, Associated Banks in New York City — innovators in credit clearing circles (pictured above) — halted gold payments to government and investors, to disrupt Abraham Lincoln‘s US bank reform program. — December 30, 1865 was the birthday of Rudyard Kipling. — Today’s feature article is a product review, written by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We need more entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 122 ends on January 31st, 2026, so get busy writing and …
The post Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 30, 2025 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
I recently tested a number of FrogLube products for effectiveness for firearms cleaning, lubrication, and corrosion resistance. I tested FrogLube Lubricant-Protectant and FrogLube Extreme Lubricant and Preservative for corrosion resistance. I tested FrogLube Super Degreaser and FrogLube Solvent for cleaning. I tested FrogLube Extreme Lubricant and Preservative for its effectiveness as a lubricant. My standard gun care products are kerosene for cleaning and Breakfree CLP for lubrication and corrosion resistance. I found the performance of FrogLube products to be roughly comparable to my standards under temperate conditions. In my limited testing, I felt that FrogLube Extreme Lubricant and Preservative was …
The post FrogLube Gun Care Products, by Thomas Christianson appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. News Video: Montana rancher begins to excavate potentially record-setting T-Rex. (Pictured above is a smaller T. Rex that was found in Alberta.) In north Idaho, two new Destination Rove videos: New roof before winter hits?, and Bonus: Yamaha vs. Arctic Cat ATV. Fascinating video: Montana Predator Trail Camera Videos. Send Your Media Links Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos …
The post SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
“Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” – Henry Ward Beecher
The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
If you were an Armor of Caverly Officer in the70s or 80s, there were three places woven into the knowledge base of those who served. Grafenwoehr in Germany, Camp Casey in Korea, and Area 5 North at Fort Knox.
I didn't know Belle when I was a soldier. We met after I had retired. I was reminiscing tonight about the times I spent at Knox and she commented that the next time we were in Kentucky, we needed to take an extra day and visit the post. Knox is no longer the home of Armor and Cavalry, it is now some sort of Finance Center. I pulled up Google Maps and started looking for places that were instrumental during my younger years.
My basic training barracks is gone. The place where I billeted the company I commanded is gone. The housing area where I lived has been bulldozed. The one place that the Army could not bulldoze is still there. Area 5 North, a maneuver area thoroughly revied by everyone who spent miserable weeks on that piece of ground. The scars are still there and can be seen from space.
An hour after midnight Jan. 1, as a small brush fire blazed across Topanga State Park, a California State Parks employee texted the Los Angeles Fire Department’s heavy equipment supervisor to find out if they were sending in bulldozers.
“Heck no that area is full of endangered plants,” Capt. Richard Diede replied at 9:52 a.m, five hours after LAFD declared the fire contained.
“I would be a real idiot to ever put a dozer in that area,” he wrote. “I’m so trained.”
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a home in the 2000 block of Anjali Way, near AMC Showplace 14, around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 26th.
A victim reported that he interrupted a burglary at his home. According to police, the victim struggled with King and a shot was fired.
King fled the scene, but later showed up at a Rockford hospital suffering from a gunshot wound.
What WAS a surprise was that the technician was spray painting the colored markings for the gas line work ON THE SNOW, which was already melting.
Yes, every Village has an idiot. We just have more than one.
When did common sense go out the window? Is it something I just noticed once I got to the "Get Off my Lawn" age, when it's so easy to forget the dreams and illusions of youth in the cynicism that creeps in as we pass 60? I was reading a fairy tale to my youngest grandchild once, and I suddenly thought, "Look, A pumpkin turns into a fully-outfitted, gilded coach, and Cinderella just blindly gets in it and rides away. Who in their right mind would DO that? Apparently, Cinderella did and found her Prince and a happy ever after. The rest of us? We usually get a sharp dose of reality and glass slippers that REALLY hurt to wear.
Some of what might be considered common sense is innate intelligence, and that's all relative. I always thought I was pretty clever, then one day I went to the U of Pennsylvania, where my former father-in-law, a robotics pioneer, was professor of computer information science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In his lab, there was a robotic arm that would play ping pong with you and win. It was built by a freshman. At that moment, I felt incredibly stupid. I muttered "beer, donut" and quietly left to liberally sprinkle some chicken and myself with some white wine as I made dinner with my mother-in-law.
Some of my aerial adventures certainly decry any semblance of good sense. But even on my worst day, I didn't imagine some of the things I encountered over the course of my later career in the aviation equivalent of "hold my beer". Most survived, and with a legal slap on the wrist or just a stern talking-to, never did such things again. But there were just some fools who seemed to dare us to come out to be the witnesses and guarantors of the outcome of the very act we spent so much time trying to prevent. But some just didn't listen or learn, and the day inevitably came when I ended up at a front door. I know I'm supposed to start with “I'm sorry for your loss,” but I couldn't. I merely stood there as someone who had just aged before my eyes, grabbed onto me like a lifeline, breaking into tears. I remember one woman on a small drought-ravaged farm. She couldn't have been much more than a hundred pounds and felt like a bundle of sticks against my muscled form as she cried, sticks that had weathered so much for many years, only to be tossed upon a fire, for which I could offer no healing rain. You don't forget that.
Somewhere in the Good Book it says know thyself, and though my interpretation of that was likely well out of context, I learned early on about limitations and tried not to exceed them, or red line. Looking in the mirror this morning, I note the scar where I got whacked hard by the bungee cord of a CF700 engine cover standing out in relief on alabaster skin that shows every worry, every tear. I realize that I, too, made mistakes that changed a life, often mine, in ways other than good, and that it was only through fate, luck, or a God who factored in my own stupidity when putting a calling on my life, that I am still here.
I didn't learn immediately; there was something about the unknown, the unexplored, the "what if?" in life. I was the kid that even though I got straight A's, fidgeted in class, couldn't sit still, looking at the whole "classroom" aspect of life as a waste of time which drove me half-consciously, out into the world as soon as that bell rang away from a comfortable berth, from the menace of the mundane, to the wonders of a world beyond walls. Even as a child, I understood the ancient human instinct of the chase, and I rushed out to claim what I thought was lacking in my structured upbringing: wisdom to acquire, adventures to behold, and fun to have.
Which again was quickly quashed by my mom, who was a former Deputy Sheriff for Multnomah County in Oregon. She had seen too many ways to end up in a body bag and passed on some of that wisdom. The lessons took; I attempted to daydream less and listen more, and later in life, as airmen say, to keep the pointy end forward and the rubber side down.
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Like my mom, I later learned the ramifications of physics too well. I'd like to say I retired without ever having to burn my clothes at the end of the workday, but I can't. I'd also like to think I could take in all that the world dished out at me like a trooper, but I can't. Sometimes late in the night, I'll wake from a dream, one I have often of an actual event, a crash where the aircraft broke apart as it hit trees and terrain, a fireball erupting from a fuel tank. Two were killed immediately, but another onboard wasn't at the scene. A grid was walked; there were footsteps in the snow and pieces of soot and burned fabric. The body was surprisingly far from the wreckage. He'd run clear, then walked, then crawled, already dead, just not realizing it yet as he strove to flee. I stood there and cried so hard that I had to don new PPE. It's an image I will take to my grave.
I wake up today to my mortality in a world that's full of those still wandering in happy denial. I can't change them; I can only change myself. I gave up alcohol years ago, I eat extra veggies and apparently when I was a kid and said, "I can't wait to grow up so I can stay up as late as I want", as late as I want apparently is 9:30. I can't undo past excesses, poor choices (never order the seafood at that restaurant in the terminal with little foot traffic at SFO International), and questionable taste in automobiles (seriously, I owned a Dodge Shadow??) But I can live with where it brought me. Moments of the loss of sense or self are nothing more than fate's little footnote, already fading, a scent, the sound of a voice, a flower pressed between pages, never to be opened again. Those regrets don't drive my day; they are a shade, a shadow, a whispered warning, perhaps, but a quiet one.
Outside, there is snow. I'm going to go out in footwear that is not suitable, fueled by a bowl of Frosted Flakes and too much caffeine, and seize the day. I have my lessons, years of patience, and extreme care that got me through broken clouds, turbulent air, and unforecast change, where the senses of my command brought me out to safety. How slow had been those flights of passage, and how quickly they were over.
So, for today, I'm just going to explore, laugh, and wonder in the world. The snow is melting, and the laundry will hold. For what is one day? A short space before the light too soon, and the echo of an owl's wings brushes against the windowsill. Just a brief interlude in the sun's dance.
My past may have brought high winds, bent trees, and fire; a helter-skelter of responsibility, fear, danger, and the occasional fractured heart. Such is what I did, and such
is what I am. But for today, I'll embrace what comes my way: the trees, a refuge of familiar order; the few remaining leaves; a brace of tattered flags against ancient wood, not knowing yet that they are dead.
I watch as a leaf flutters down from above, resting on the ground immobile, stilled forever, as it were, until the breeze picks it up and spins it aloft towards the sun which breaches the perimeter. For now, I have the light, some of the sense my mom instilled in me, and a snowball the size of a small planet in my hand, just waiting for my husband to leave the house.
A new day awaits.
For years I've touted (and recommended) Linux, the Free Open Source Software (FOSS) that is the heart of Internet servers, Internet routing nodes, and Android. I have a lot of experience with Linux, having run it since kernel version 0.99 back in 1994 or so. Slackware on 25 pounds of 3.5" floppy disks FTW.
One question that comes up regularly is what non-technical people can do. While Linux has become a lot easier to install and run, there are still the occasional weirdnesses that some up, link the Brave Browser's refusal to print to anything other than PDF. This means that if you live in a Linux world, you regularly have to come figure out workarounds.
And thus, the questions. It's pretty easy for someone like me with 30 years of Linux experience* (good Lord, can it really be that long???), but for everyday folks who don't dig kernel versions and package dependencies, it's a daunting prospect.
As it turns out, there is a ton of high quality FOSS software for Windows and Mac users, and as your current computer ages and falls out of support, these can be a great way to extend the life of your computer.
I highly recommend this article from The Register on where to find high quality, non-malware FOSS packages. It's very long and information-rich, so if you have an aging computer and you really don't want to load Linux on it, it's worth 10 minutes of your time.
Strongly recommended for normal computer users. Techie users will stay with sudo apt-get install foo but that just sort of proves my point.
About the only thing you won't get for your old Windows or Mac computer are security updates once the OS is end of life. That's a big issue these days, and while it is possible to lock down a (say) old Windows OS to minimize your risk, it probably takes more tech savvy that installing Linux. But if you are still getting security patches, FOSS can help you adapt to your apps demanding you upgrade the OS.
* Interestingly, each year for the last 20 years has been "This is the year of Linux", and it really hasn't because the workarounds haven't ever gone away. I'd argue that the only place where Linux is truly easy to use is Android, because Google invested a ton of money smoothing it out.
Awoke this morning to a chilly north breeze, requiring that I break out the flannel. Yesterday, the high was close to the 80s. Today, the high will stretch to make 50. Belle has turned off the AC in the house and has lit the heater. We're expecting a frost tonight.
I know that up north, the Midwest is facing a severe winter storm. My thoughts are with y'all.
We're in the slack time between Christmas and the New Year. 2026 is going to jump off busy, and I'm enjoying the down time. It's time to consider the piddling projects that are best done in the wintertime.
The other M4 is finally available in the feature set it was meant to have! Full 7+1 capacity, and no compromises.By Adam Kraut SAF Executive Director Special to TGM As 2025 comes to an end, I wanted to share something remarkable with you: This has been one of the most significant years in Second Amendment litigation history. Major Victories in 2025 Reese v. ATF – The Fifth Circuit ruled that federal restrictions on handgun sales […]
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