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CANCON's first year in Vegas was a blast! Take a look at some of the highlights of the show.So they sank the SS United States off the Florida coast in the Gulf of America. For those who haven't been following along at home, the SS United States was the fastest ocean liner ever built, reaching an astonishing 37 knots. That's for a 990 foot, 50,000 ton ship. It not only set a transatlantic crossing speed record (a little faster than 3 1/2 days), it obliterated the previous record by over half a day, basically 15% of the old total.
And now she's gone, as the largest artificial reef in the world. We are still awaiting reports on how she is resting on the sea floor - she heeled over almost 90 degrees just before her final plunge. The weather has been too bad to send divers down to inspect her. Fingers crossed that she's upright, because it will be much less safe to dive her if she's on her side.
The Queen Of The World and I watched the livestream of her sinking. You see, TQOTW was once a passenger on her.
TQOTW was a military brat. My Father-in-Law was career Air Force, ending as a Master Sargent. He was once stationed at RAF/USAFB Upper Hayford in England. When they were deployed back Stateside, they went not via commercial air but rather on the SS United States from Southampton to New York.
The livestream brought out all sorts of memories from her 7 year old self: the great blast of the ship's horn, walking her dog Duke on the fantail (he came over in one of the ship's kennels), sitting with her mom on Steamer Chairs wrapped in blankets against the December chill while Stewards brought them mugs of broth. Watching a submarine periscope come up and go back down, over and over again. She thinks that the sub crew was bored and so was messing with the passengers.
And being seasick. It was December in the North Atlantic, and this was in the day before stabilizer fins. In fact, had there been fins available they probably wouldn't have been built onto the ship because the added drag would have cost speed, and with the United States it was speed uber alles. The Navy financed much of her cost so she could be used as a troop ship if needed; her top speed was actually classified until the 1980s. But the Navy continued subsidizing the US Lines by shipping troops during the off season which is why TQOTW sailed rather than flew.
And so it was a bitter sweet evening watching the sinking. It made me think that there should be a song about the end of the ocean liner era, like Arlo Guthrie's City of New Orleans sang the disappearing railroad blues.
It doesn't seem that there is; at least I couldn't think of a song like that, and a search of Al Gore's most excellent Information Superhighway didn't turn up anything either. So we will play her off with this from Bing and Rosemary which was popular during the ship's heyday. Fair winds and following seas.
I was bored (and very cold) this morning so fun with photo editing.. The proof of my new book should arrive today, a final print so I can do one last read through and make sure I'm happy with layout and format before it's launched.
One thing you can all do to help. When it comes out this Thanksgiving (Amazon link to be posted when it's live), if you're read my previous books and liked them, please share.With my immune system pretty much toast right now (basically if exposed to anything bad my immune system is only able to frantically google for medical info), I can't do ANY in person appearances for the book, no signings, no talks at book club, no libriaries or book stores. That's going to hurt in getting it out there. But my transplant team says I have to stay away from people until flu season is over. I'm off the active transplant list but it wouldn't take much in the way of infection to end up back on it. I don't drink, don't smoke, don't eat junk food (except Chick Fil-a on my birthday), and now they say I can't go out in public with the author hat on. But it beats the alternative.
Back Cover Book Description
In Paolo Sorrentino’s film Youth, an elderly composer observes, with bewilderment, “I’ve become old and I don’t know how I got here.”
Best-selling author, commercial airline pilot, and retired air crash investigator L.B. Johnson knows exactly how she got here. She just never expected to arrive quite so soon.
In The Serenity Chronicles, Johnson turns her attention from wreckage to reflection. A bout of septic shock and its lasting consequences forced her to reconsider not only the future she had imagined after retirement, but the very meaning of time. Rather than measure life by what remained, she chose to live more deliberately in the days she had.
Written as a series of candid, sometimes irreverent vignettes, this literary memoir wanders through subjects that initially seem wonderfully random, yet gradually reveal an unexpected coherence. Johnson considers the changing landscapes of the body, the ghosts of family history, the persistence of faith, the enduring gifts of love, and the peculiar indignities that aging so generously provides.
There is grief here, and an honest reckoning with mortality. But there is also laughter, gratitude, and the recognition that even an imperfect life can contain extraordinary beauty.
Johnson writes frankly about what aging takes away—and what it gives in return. Readers may wince in recognition, laugh at life’s absurdities, and find some part of their own journey reflected in these pages. Because being alive is an exercise in enduring surprise.
Sometimes, serenity is not found in knowing what comes next.
Sometimes, it is found in being willing to find out.
The most popular carry pistol in the gun shop showcase today is the so-called “Micro 9,” a pocket size semiautomatic holding ten or more rounds of 9mm Luger ammunition. Here’s an article I just did for the Armory Life blog on how to get the best out of that kind of gun.The post Steen Defense: A New Swedish AR with Clever Innovations first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.
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Cheers!
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Light Lab Comparator A very cool website that allows you to directly compare any two flashlights against each other for lumens, candela, and battery life. How to Save Money on SHOT Show […]
In the 27 years of the history of the National Instant Criminal background Check System (NICS) for October, the adjusted firearms sales is the third highest on record. It surpasses the then record numbers of October, 2016 and is only surpassed by October of 2020 and 2021. Both 2016 and 2020 were enormously contentious presidential election years. 2021 was the first year of the failed Biden Presidency.
The October 2026 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,402,422 is an increase of 7.9 percent compared to the October 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,299,312. For comparison, the unadjusted October 2026 FBI NICS figure of 2,104,063 reflects an 8.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,289,774 in October 2025.
Firearm sales do better in times of uncertainty and political chaos. The stunning defeat of Republicans in Congress shows how much political chaos there was and is. Although not unprecedented historically, the next two years will likely have considerable political chaos as President Trump and the Congress battle over the fate of the nation. It seems likely firearm sales will be above those of 2025 for both November and December of 2026. November and December have historically been strong monthly firearm sales months in the United States because of hunting seasons and Christmas.
While the adjusted NICS numbers show almost an 8% increase over last October, the total NICS checks show slightly more than an 8% decline. The number of firearm sales recorded in NICS as a percentage of the NICS checks done has been climbing since 2021. The percentage is highly variable, but trends toward 55% of the total checks.
Both Illinois and Kentucky have done monthly checks or rechecks of permit holders. Illinois has reduced its monthly permit and permit rechecks by about 3/4 since 2021. In 2026, Kentucky has reduced its monthly check and recheck numbers by more than half. The drop in Kentucky permit and permit rechecks more than explains the drop in total checks for October.
Excluding Kentucky, the number of NICS checks went up nationally by 4%.
The size of the Kentucky check and recheck batches is about 250-300 thousand. Before 2025, those batches were being done every month. Those batches dominated the national check and recheck numbers. From mid-2025 to present those big batches have only been done four times. Without the large batches of permit checks and rechecks from Illinois and Kentucky, the percentage of adjusted checks has been trending toward 55% of the total.
At the time of this writing, the national numbers for NICS checks for National Firearms Act items have not been posted. NFA items have been purchased at much higher numbers than have been seen in the past, because Congress reduced the 200 dollar tax to zero dollars tax. The Trump administration has stated they will not prosecute possession of silencers, short barreled rifles, and short barreled shotguns because a Fifth Circuit Court has ruled the restrictions to be unconstitutional because they were passed under the taxing authority. Now there is no tax.
Analysis: Firearm sales are seeing a surge. The surge is likely to continue over the next two years. It seems likely the Democratic Party control of the Congress will result in the attempted passage of restrictions on firearms sales and ownership. Several states have become controlled in both executive and legislative branches by the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has become more radical. Expect more legislation to restrict firearm sales, ownership and carry in those states. Such legislation is likely to increase firearm sales.
©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
It is not clear if the disarm attempt should be considered successful. I judge successful, because the Guard prevailed. DW
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According to a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department, a man in his 30s entered the business carrying a gun. The man and a security guard briefly struggled over the weapon before the guard backed away and shot him.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Orion Telescopes was, for a long time, my go-to location for people just getting into astronomy. Then it became a "gone dead" site. This caused some big problems for people who needed warranty work, especially for those who telescopes were back at Orion for repair. Highpoint Scientific apparently has bought them and they are back in business.
Trapped in a dog crate and entombed beneath a foot of dirt, a South Carolina infant miraculously survived 24 hours buried underground, authorities say.
Koah Sharp was unearthed Tuesday afternoon “clinging to life” and “screaming at the top of his lungs,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “It was the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.”
The sheriff’s department previously gave a different spelling of Koah’s last name.
Koah’s father, Michael Comer, is facing charges of attempted murder, unlawful conduct toward a child, custodial interference and burglary, the sheriff’s department said in a Wednesday news release, citing arrest warrants....
bout 100 law enforcement officers and other personnel scoured central South Carolina for any sign of Koah or his father. By Monday afternoon, surveillance footage captured the 25-year-old father at several businesses – but without his baby.
While the day was sunny and warm, the Batesburg-Leesville area saw temperatures drop to roughly 40 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday night into Tuesday morning. Koah was trapped underground around this timeframe, according to the sheriff’s office.....
Investigators found Comer holed up in an outbuilding in the town on Monday night, Koon said. Again, his baby was nowhere to be found.
The next day, while searching an area near the home of Comer’s father, investigators noticed freshly disturbed dirt in pine straw about 50 yards into the woods, Koon said.
As they started digging, they heard a baby crying.
“The race was on,” Koon said. “Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”
Custodial interference? I think this must have been a very nasty divorce.
A good knife makes everything easier, especially when you're cooking in the field (or at home)! Here are the best camping knives tested!Belle and I were talking late yesterday afternoon and she asked me how I was going to cook the Thanksgiving turkey. That question gave me one bit of information. I was going to cook the Thanksgiving turkey. She had already delegated that task. I told her that I had not decided whether to smoke, roast or fry the bird. She allowed that she really liked the way I fry turkeys.
Well, okay. Now I have two bits of information. First, I am on the hook to cook the bird. Second, I am frying it. That is leadership. She delegated the bird by asking one question, then professing a preference. Well done! I have my orders, now it is time to complete the implied tasks
This morning I dragged out my turkey cookers and fired them up successfully. They both work fine. Now I need to dig out the pot and give it a good scrubbing. Thence to the store, buy peanut oil and seasonings. Find the injector, and break down some boxes for when I take the turkey out of the oil and let it drip.
Today is the 12th. Thanksgiving is the 26th. That is two weeks. My pot will handle a 12-pound bird. Do I need one, or two? How many guests are we expecting? I will make discrete inquiries.
An argument broke out between the two before the man attempted to grab the woman’s gun. Shots were then fired during the struggle, leaving the woman and Lancaster injured.
Both were transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Lancaster was discharged from the hospital and transported to the Oklahoma County Jail, where he faces charges of domestic assault and battery, first-degree burglary, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
“The 24-year-old male broke into the home,” said WPD Senior Public Information Officer Andrew Ford. “After gaining entry, there was an exchange of gunfire between the juveniles in that home and that 24-year-old male.”
Investigators also believe that the 15-year-old, 16-year-old and 24-year-old know each other and that the shooting was isolated.
By Dave Workman Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, selected by House Republicans as their Minority Leader for the upcoming 120th Congress starting in January, will bring a strong history of Second Amendment support to the job, according to his record on Capitol Hill. He’s already receiving kudos from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep […]
The post New House Minority Leader Jordan Strong on Second appeared first on Liberty Park Press.
Read this short article. Police officer dies after backpack explodes at scene of Spain shooting An active shooter who was additionally armed with an improvised bomb killed an officer and a police dog and also wounded two more people in Spain today. If you’ve taken one of my bomb classes, you know […]
Veterans Day. Yippee. Originally Armistice Day, to commemorate the end of the Great War, it morphed over the years as a time to celebrate living veterans. Not to be confused with Memorial Day, which celebrates deceased veterans.
As for myself, I intend to celebrate Veterans Day by staying on my own acre, tending to daily chores.
I am watching the news, and it seems that the newly elected Democrats in Congress want to follow an agenda of retribution rather than the agenda of affordability that they ran on. Retribution is a poor political motive because the pendulum tends to swing and those in the majority inevitably find themselves in the minority. What goes around, comes around. I simply believe that the next year will be interesting.
As for myself, I intend to purchase a rifle suppressor fairly quickly. The window of opportunity has presented itself and may soon close under the new political landscape. Reasonable people may reach the same conclusion. I may not speak of this again, as silence may help me avoid a tragic boating accident in coming years.
Y'all have a happy Veterans Day.
My daughter is a professor of social work. She is beginning to record podcasts that you may find interesting, especially if you have no idea what social workers do (which is actually a lot of things).
I originally posted this over a decade ago, but it bears repeating again.
This isn't unique - the same dynamic has long been in play certainly in the Anglosphere, and other nations as well (c.f. Switzerland). This has resulted in the Military being seen as high status, and commanding broad respect through society.
It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given us
Freedom of the Press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us
Freedom of Speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the
Right to a Fair Trial.
It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag and
whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protestor the right he abuses by burning the flag.- Father Dennis O'Brien, USMC
And so in the United States, today is the celebration of Veteran's Day. The rest of the Anglosphere (and other places) hold today as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, recalling the Millions slaughtered in the Great War which ended 95 years ago today. America does not need a Remembrance Day, as we have our own Memorial Day holiday (an outgrowth of the American War of Southern Independence a half century earlier than the War To End All Wars).
As a result, there's less sadness here. On these shores, today is a day for the living, not for the dead. We see signs at small restaurants saying "Veterans Eat Free", which would be difficult for those asleep in Flanders' Fields.
But even here it's worth a moment's reflection on the War where Europe committed suicide, when a whole generation was butchered and damned. And how they nearly took us with her, then and again 20 years later. It's rarely the politicians who caused the problem who bleed.
Thanks to all who served, including Grandpa, Dad, Uncle Dick, nephew Daniel, The Queen Of The World's son, our Son-In-Law, and last but by no means least our very own ASM826. The citizens - of whom you were once part and to which you returned - are grateful indeed that this nation does not fear its own Armed Forces.
Cheers!
- For Veteran's Day, Sean M. Smith's book Rank Absurdity: An Irreverent Military Memoir is on sale.
- It's the hundredth birthday of the U.S. highway system.
- The Great Blue Norther of 1911 saw many midwestern cities set record highs and lows on the same day.
The post OG-44: A Really Excellent Italian Last-Ditch SMG first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.
Billy Waugh sits down with RECOIL for an on-camera interview. We get the scoop from HALO jumps with MACV-SOG to hunting bin Laden with the CIA"You guys are indoctrinating the youth with homosexual and transsexual ideas. This furry stuff is not for children," said Lang, gesturing at attendees and a pair of greeters who happened to be wearing full-body cat costumes. "These people are sexualizing children! They're inviting children in. Look at this. This is sexualization of children ... what are you guys doing here? These people here, they dress up in these outfits, and they have sex with each other in these orgies every single weekend. Now they're inviting the children to come to their furry convention!"Golf clap.
"This is a convention for cats," said one of the staff.
By Dave Workman Democrats who will soon control more state legislatures and governors’ offices are wasting no time shifting away from campaign rhetoric about affordability, health care, equal rights and the economy, and going right back to their anti-gun-rights agenda, a national grassroots gun rights organization is warning. Fox News is reporting how Democrats, who […]
The post Democrat Sweep Shifts Power in D.C., and Several States appeared first on Liberty Park Press.
Today Belle's sister came over with her husband and we went to lunch. We took them to a Mongolian Grill in town and had a nice lunch. We were in my Honda Odyssey.
My Odyssey is a 2020 model. It has more bells, whistles and gee-gaws than any vehicle needs. We got through with lunch and headed for the vehicle. Climbed aboard, the ladies in the middle row seats. They pressed the buttons to close the sliding doors. The doors closed halfway and stopped. I got a waring light on the dashboard and then everything went dark. Deader than Het.
We tried jumping it with a jump-pack and with jumper cables. Two deputies from a sister parish tried to help to no avail. Luckily, Grandson Zach was at home, so we called him to come pick up his grandmother while I assessed the situation. He took his grandma and his aunt home, then returned with tools. We snatched the battery, went to a parts house, paid the toll and installed the new battery.
I'm home now, poorer, but I have a ne battery in the Odyssey, so I should be good for this winter. I bought that vehicle in April 2020 and this is the first battery I put in it.
Once the new battery was installed and the car started, I did have to go through some opening ceremonies. For example, it wanted to know if I wanted miles per hour or kilometers per hour. I opted for mph, because that is consistent with my experience. One thing that I did learn is that when the battery dies, nothing, absolutely nothing n the car works. Not the sliding doors, not the tailgate. Those locks are electric. You can't put the vehicle in neutral, the transmission is electric.
That's how I spent my Tuesday afternoon. How was y'all's?