JAB

It is kind of synchronistic that I saw this thread, today. Just last night, my sister in law (who works at Cracker Barrel) was telling me that they are about to start serving Shrimp and Grits as one of their 'limited time' offerings. I wouldn't get too excited, though, because the way she described their version it sounds like it is just going to be grilled shrimp on top of plain, old grits (didn't sound like there would be any gravy, sauce, etc.) The only place I have ever had shrimp and grits was at the Inlet Crab House in Murrels Inlet, SC. It is a great little hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant/shack where the catch or special of the day is often apparently determined by whatever is the most abundant catch that morning (it is a Captain-owned restaurant.) Being that shrimp and grits is a lowcountry dish that originated in the coastal regions of SC, you can imagine that it was pretty good (although far from the best thing I have had there, IMO.) Doesn't do you much good in Nashville, though.

I have never shot a paradox gun and don't know how it would compare but the harshest recoil I have felt so far in my life was last year when I let go of both barrels at once in an over-under 10 gauge (not mine) loaded up with 3.5 inch Magnum goose loads. Funny thing is, my shoulder had been alternating between being stiff & hurting and stiff & numb for a few days at that point. When I fired the 10 gauge, I heard and felt a loud *pop*, had a tingling behind my shoulder blade for a few seconds then realized that the stiffness was gone. Within a few minutes, my shoulder felt completely normal. I think my shoulder joint was a little out of line and I had a trapped nerve which the recoil fixed. 10 gauge chiropractic adjustment. I did have to pay with a little blood, though - under recoil the rear of the front trigger cut my middle finger that I used to pull the rear trigger. Based on the video, that .577 Tyrannosaur just looks mean.

I wonder if this isn't in part due to a shift of 'crime centers', as well. I'm not yet 40 (well, not until June, anyway) and I can remember a time that if you minded your own business, watched where you hung out and didn't go to 'dangerous' parts of town then you'd most likely be okay. Heck, I lived for most of the 1990s on East Fifth Avenue - back when there was what I believe was a crack house on the corner, hookers used to block the alley our carports were on and would walk up and try get in the car with you when you stopped at the red light (at Olive and Magnolia) at the end of the alley, we had drive-by shootings across the street and so on - and I didn't carry a gun. I counted on situational awareness and not doing anything stupid to keep me safe - and, apparently, it worked (or maybe I just got lucky.) Now, however, the meth cookers set up their labs in rural areas, those very areas that used to be more or less safe. Then there are the meth heads and oxy addicts who would kill you for money for their next fix or because they think that prescription you just picked up might have some painkillers in it and maybe folks will begin to realize that decent people no longer need to go looking for trouble because trouble will find them (not that it wouldn't, before, but it seems more likely now.) Hell, I was probably safer walking down the sidewalk on East Fifth at dusk, right past that crack house, fifteen years ago than I would be in some rural areas of Loudon, Monroe, McMinn and Anderson counties in broad daylight, now. Throw in the fact that many of these more rural areas have very small police forces which, regardless of officer dedication, are unable to provide more than the most rudimentary, sparse police coverage and it is easy to see why citizens of such areas - perhaps even more than their urban counterparts - need to be armed for self defense. Of course, even back then the one incident where I most wished that I had a firearm with me happened not in the neighborhood where I lived but when I was fishing at a small, dirt boat ramp with a gravel parking lot way out in the country in Blaine. In fact, that incident - more than anything that ever happened on East Fifth - nagged at my mind and figured, in some part, into my decision to get my HCP. I also wonder if the restaurant carry bill didn't have some influence on the increase. After all, even many 'mom and pop' type restaurants which would never be described as a 'bar' offer beer as a beverage choice on their menu. Before the change, carrying there meant carrying illegally. Some folks may have figured that if they were going to be carrying illegally in 3/4 of the places they were going to go, anyway - and no one was likely to ask questions in the other 1/4 - there probably wasn't much benefit to giving the state $115 just to be told, "No, you can't carry there," anyhow. Once carry in more places became legal, though, more of those folks may have begun to see a benefit to getting an HCP. Further, media coverage of the restaurant carry issue - even though it often took an 'anti' slant - may have had the unintended consequence of making more people aware of the fact that they, too, could get an HCP.

I saw in the Knoxville News-Sentinel that the UT faculty senate had passed a resolution in 'protest' of these bills stating that they do not want to carry guns on campus. My response would be, of course, "Fine. No one is going to force you." The thing is, though, I am now wondering if this might not be a 'sacrifice' bill. If so, it just might be a stroke of genius - and having a 'lightning rod' like Campfield introduce it is brilliant. Here is my thinking: A couple of years ago, there was such a hue and cry over the bill intended to allow HCP holders to carry in restaurants where alcohol is served that very little attention seemed to fall on some of the other 'pro-carry' bills. Park carry, for instance - I seem to recall one or two short articles talking about that bill and maybe some huffing and puffing from a few, local-level politicians but in the end there wasn't much coverage and it passed pretty easily. Bredesen didn't even veto it. As a result, we can now legally carry in state parks, national parks (due to a federal rule change that was already on the books but hadn't gone into effect, yet) and some/many local parks. My hunch is that if the antis hadn't been devoting so much attention and energy to the restaurant carry bill then there might have been more opposition to park carry. So, could the 'campus carry' bill be mainly a diversion? Certainly I think it is a good bill, in itself, but I also wonder if it hasn't been put up with the thinking that, "Well, it will be great if it passes but if it doesn't maybe it will at least take some of the heat off of the parking lot bill and the one or two other pro-carry bills that are up for this session."

Well, they did mention '28 Days Later' in the article so I guess they are talking more about the newer 'infected, mindless but still living' type of so-called 'zombie' rather than the true, walking dead type. Bugs are weird critters, anyway. In college, I remember writing a paper about a study that was done on some bugs (was a particular type but I don't remember what they were - and I don't know if the type of bug used made any difference or not.) For the study, they removed the bugs' heads from their bodies. Some of the bugs' decapitated heads were somehow administered a particular chemical/compound regularly. IIRC (it has been a few years since I read the study/wrote the paper) they also regularly administered the same chemical or compound to some of the bugs' now headless bodies. The bodies that received the chemical lived for several days, even without their heads. The heads that received the chemical, on the other hand, lived for several weeks. Freaky.

I am going to make one, final post in this thread and then I am done with it as there seems to be no point to further discussion. Mr. Reed, based on your responses to some of my earlier posts, it is obvious that you equate anyone who finds discourteous bicyclists 'annoying' with people who would advocate throwing things at/assaulting any and all bicyclists. This is despite the fact that I have posted nothing that advocates such a position. In fact, I have read the entire thread and do not see one, single post that says, "Why, I'd throw my Mountain Dew bottle at the SOB." Of course, this is quite a long thread so there may well have been such posts that I overlooked. I did see one or two posters who suggested that perhaps the bicyclist's behavior caused them to deserve having something thrown at them. I do not advocate that position. However, surely you see the difference in saying that an individual might 'deserve' certain consequences and in saying that it is right or proper to administer said consequences. Further, whether or not you want to hear it or like to believe it, the majority of bicyclists I have encountered on the road have been obstructing traffic in areas where it was unsafe to pass for much more than the 'five seconds' which you seem to use as your mantra. I agree with you that five seconds (or even fifteen seconds) either way isn't a big deal. However, I have, on multiple occasions, been part of a line of vehicles that was stuck behind a bicyclist for several minutes while the bicyclist refused to yield to motor traffic. In such cases, where it could be a mile or more before road conditions make it safe to pass while the cyclist rides right down the middle of the lane (meaning that motorized traffic must creep along behind the self-important, self-centered cyclist for a matter of several minutes, not seconds), I do believe that the cyclist should pull over - and stop, if necessary - to allow traffic to pass. You see, in such a situation the plain fact is that it is the cyclist who is holding up traffic and the cyclist should have the basic courtesy to get out of the way and allow motorized traffic to pass. After all, is it really that big a deal for the cyclist to stop for five to fifteen seconds so that they can allow traffic to safely pass, thereby allowing everyone to go about their business safely and at a speed that their own, chosen mode of transportation can safely achieve? I really cannot see what the point of contention with that viewpoint would be. I also do not understand why this point of view makes the operators of motorized vehicles 'self-centered' when it is, in fact, the cyclist who is behaving in a self-centered manner. I have also, on multiple occasions, been stuck behind cyclists riding four or five abreast or even larger groups that stretched from the white line at the right of the lane to the yellow line in the middle of the lane and were several lines deep. It really doesn't matter if you know more bicyclists than I know or not. These are my experiences and no amount of protests on your part that they do not represent the majority of bicyclists will change the fact that I have had those experiences - even granting that your protests may well be 100% accurate. As I said, before, I have encountered a few - very few - bicyclists who truly seem to be aware that they don't, in fact, have a deed to the road. Perhaps those courteous cyclists are the majority, overall. They simply do not form the majority of riders that I have encountered - and, again, the phrase "I know more cyclists than you do," has absolutely no bearing on my experiences. So, in closing, let me once again try to make clear what I have been trying to say all along. 1. Yes, I realize that bicyclists do have a right to be on the road. With regard to most highways, thoroughfares and the like (anything outside of neighborhoods, etc. where the speed limit tends to be 25 or 30, anyway) where there are no bike lanes this makes very little sense to me given that some motorized vehicles that are equipped with lights, etc. and which can achieve the posted speed limit are not allowed there. However, that is the law and unless it changes my opinion means very little. 2. No, I don't advocate throwing things at, spitting on or trying to otherwise injure bicycle riders. If nothing else, it isn't worth wasting a perfectly good soft drink or risking a dent in my vehicle (note: this last statement was intended as sarcasm, not to be taken seriously - although someone probably will, anyway.) I have gone my entire life without any run-ins with the law other than the occasional, minor traffic violation (speeding ticket.) I am not all that old but I am too damned old to start a criminal career with a charge of assault or even vehicular homicide at this stage of the game even if the cyclist is behaving like a total asshat. 3. Believe it or not, just like all other people, bicyclists are human. They aren't saints and they aren't some special class of 'enlightened' people. Just as is the case with gun owners - where a jerk who buys a gun simply becomes a jerk with a gun or LEOs - where a jerk who puts on a badge simply becomes a jerk with a badge - it holds true that a jerk who buys a bicycle is simply a jerk with a bicycle. This doesn't mean that all cyclists are jerks. It doesn't even mean that the majority are jerks. However, there are some cyclists who are jerks and, for whatever reason, I seem to encounter more of them on the road who are than those who aren't.

I didn't know there was a law about light bulbs. So far, I have liked the compact florescents okay in the limited applications in which I have used them - although in the car port it can be annoying in cold weather waiting for them to warm up enough to actually put out some real light. I am just obstinate enough, though, that the prospect of a law pertaining to them makes me want to stop using them and stock up on incandescent bulbs.

A person who is impeding traffic and seems to feel that they are the only person who has any 'right' to use the road and that everyone backed up behind them is simply their guest on their road is a dope. I don't have to know them to reach this conclusion. BTW, I feel the same way about a person in a car who exhibits such behavior. Did I say that bicyclists should not be allowed on the road? I don't recall saying that, nor do I recall advocating throwing things, etc. What I did say was that refusing to behave in a manner that recognizes that he or she is, in reality, impeding traffic is rude, regardless of the perceived 'reason' given. The 'bike trail' comment was intended to point out that simply paying taxes doesn't give anyone a 'right' to be on the road and that, in my opinion, someone who trumpets their 'right' to ride down the middle of a public road on a bicycle sounds just as silly as proclaiming a 'right' to drive my 4WD on a bike trail. Basically, bicyclers have no right to be on the road. It's all good, though, because drivers of motorized vehicles have no right to be on the road, either. Driving is a privilege, not an entitlement, so no such 'right' exists. What I am saying is that I have no problem with sharing the public roads with conscientious, courteous bicyclists. Riding down the middle of a road where the speed limit is 45 and pedaling along at 15 while impeding traffic is neither. Just as you believe that motorized traffic should 'just wait' until they can pass, I believe that, when riding in an area where road conditions mean that motorized traffic cannot safely pass, the courteous and safe thing for the bicycle rider to do is pull over (and stop if debris, rumble strips, etc. make it necessary to do so) until the traffic behind them can pass. After all, they probably aren't riding their bicycle on the way to disarm a bomb so that five to fifteen second delay while they stop to let motorized traffic that is trying to do the legal, posted speed limit pass shouldn't be a big deal, right? The problem is that, regardless of whether you choose to believe it or not, the majority of the 'on the road' bicyclers I end up behind are of the rude variety - to the point that when I get behind a courteous rider it is actually a (very pleasant, btw) surprise - as in their behavior stands out and I notice it. Most just lean a little further forward, refuse to acknowledge that anyone is behind them and make a big show of pedaling harder - meaning they might actually hit 18mph for a few seconds.

1. If you are driving a 'road' car, the wheels, tires, engine, etc. are designed for doing at least the minimum speed limit on the road. Where I usually end up stuck behind bicyclists, that speed limit is generally 45 mph or so. Regardless of the type of bike, 20 mph ain't 'fast' I don't care how hard the guy is peddling and I have yet to see a bicyclist, riding right down the middle of a two-lane road where I can't pass, doing anywhere near 45 mph unless they were going downhill. 2. It is generally against driving rules, not to mention potentially dangerous, to cross a double-yellow line into the other lane, which is what I would need to do to give a bicycler a three foot berth when he or she insists on riding right down the middle of the lane. 3. Roads are designed for motorized traffic. Why should I have to creep along at 10 mph behind some bicycler who is riding in the middle of the lane on a two-lane road where I don't have enough visibility to safely pass? I seem to remember from studying for my driving test (although, admittedly, that was nearly 25 years ago) that there is a rule that says if the driver of a car, etc. is going more than five miles under the speed limit he is supposed to pull over and let traffic pass. As I said, before, bicyclists are generally going 20 - 25 mph slower than the speed limit but rarely do I see one pull over to let motorized traffic pass. They just keep pumping away at the pedals as if they are suddenly going to get a turbo boost or something. 4. No, I may not be on my way to disarm a bomb and no, a five to fifteen second delay is not that big a deal. That said, it is funny how some bike riders will talk about how 'rude' motorized traffic can be when it is the bike rider who is pedaling along at 10-15 mph, right out in the middle of the lane and refusing to give a little so that the motorized traffic can safely pass. Riding along behind such a dope for a few seconds is one thing. Riding along behind them for a couple of miles because they won't get over and it isn't safe to pass is quite another. It is even better when two or three such 'high speed' 15 mph bike riders are riding abreast, totally oblivious to the fact that there are other people in this world. That is what I call 'rude'. 5. I want to start a 'share the bike trails' campaign. After all, I pay taxes so I and my 4WD have as much right on those public bike trails as anyone else, right?

I have had a couple of collapsible fishing rods. After just a very few uses - especially if a decent sized or good fighting fish ended up on the end of the line, they tend to not want to collapse correctly and got broken when I applied, um, a little, gentle pressure. The ones I had were cheapos, though - better quality ones probably wouldn't have the same problems. I still have a little Zebco setup that collapses and has it's own little hard plastic carrying case that could also hold some tackle. I find, though, that when it comes to light action rigs I do better with solid rods rather than collapsible or sectional ones (though sectional rods that come apart near the handle rather than closer to the middle of the rod work pretty well.) I think I get a better 'feel' for strikes and that the solid rod gives a little less 'slack' (for lack of a better term) in the rod, itself, for the fish to be able to get away. Being a bank fisherman used to dealing with smaller, lighter striking panfish (we used to have a boat and I never did any good fishing from it) I think that is an important thing to consider with regards to fishing from the bank. Dangit, I haven't been fishing as much in the last year or two as I previously had. All this talk about fishing gear, etc. has me wanting to go really soon! Before I got into buying firearms, I was into buying fishing rods (not pristine collector's pieces but, as with the firearms I like to buy, things I might actually use) and I have one of those, somewhere (the plastic 'body' on mine is a light blue color.) I bought it a few years ago for something like ten bucks at the big, roadside 'flea market' that is held annually in August (I was looking for some of the old Mitchell reels but couldn't pass the little Pocket Fisherman up.) I bought it partly as a novelty and partly because I thought it would make a useful item to keep in a vehicle, just in case. It is fun to play with and I've caught a few, little bluegill with it - works better than you might think - but I think the mini rig I just bought will work better and be less complicated to use.

Yep - it seems like Chattanooga gets all the cool stuff and all Knoxville and the surrounding area gets are more banks, gas stations and churches. I really wish Knoxville had an Academy. And a Sportsman's Warehouse (yeah, Sportsman's can be a bit high on their prices, too but options are nice and Sportsman's is the only place where I have ever found Buffalo Bore 180 grain hard cast .357 Magnum ammo in stock in the store.) A Cabela's would be nice, too. We drove up to New York this past summer to catch a ship (cruise of the New England states) and along the way - I think it was just inside the Pennsylvania border, iirc - there was a HUGE Cabela's that was just right alongside the Interstate. It looked like a place where I could have spent some time (my guess is that it was at least as big a building as Bass Pro in Sevierville and probably bigger than that, from what I could see.) I would have loved to stop but we were on a schedule and didn't have time so I just had to drive on by while pressing my nose to the window and whimpering (figuratively speaking, of course.)

In a Forensic Anthropology class I had with Bill Bass back when I was in college, he talked about (and showed slides from) one case where an ex-wife hired a couple of guys to off her ex-husband's new (younger) girlfriend. Long story short, the decayed remains of the young girl were eventually found and the people who did it were arrested. The guys told the cops that they had smashed the victim in the head with a rock and slit her throat. They then wrapped her in a shower curtain and a thin blanket, threw her in the trunk of their car and took the body to dispose of it. When they pulled her out of the trunk, she was moaning from inside the blanket. To finish her off, they used a .410 shotgun at close range and shot her then buried her. Thing was, Bass could find no evidence that she had been shot. As there was no reason for the killers to have lied about that part of the story, this perplexed him a little. Looking really close, he finally found one shotgun pellet lodged between a couple of vertebra. Then he x-rayed the blanket - and it was full of shot. The .410 shot had not even managed to penetrate a cheap, thin blanket and that was from a full length shotgun at very close range. That doesn't mean that I discount the potential of a .410 shotgun for self defense or home defense, with the right loads. Also, I know that a few companies have supposedly made 'self defense' loads specifically for .410 handguns that purport to turn them into the ultimate bad guy destroyer. However, I remain unconvinced that any .410 is going to be 'devastating' from a handgun length barrel - or at least no more 'devastating' than any good SD load from any good, centerfire handgun in a reasonable caliber, those (apparently pre-scored) watermelons that Taurus likes to blow up on their Judge commercial notwithstanding.

When I was a little kid, about four or five years old, someone had given my grandfather and stepgrandmother a fawn whose mother had been killed. My grandparents kept it, bottle fed it and raised it as a pet (not that unusual living on Lookout Mountain in the 1970s.) It was funny how attached my grandfather seemed to be to it because he hunted deer - and my stepgrandmother used to cook venison tenderloin (backstrap) for breakfast pretty often when we would visit. Anyhow, that darned deer would follow them around, wanted to be petted, etc. They'd even let it come in the house, sometimes. To them, it was as much a pet as a dog. A really vicious dog that apparently didn't like little boys. Fortunately, unlike a dog, it didn't have a mouthful of teeth intended for rending flesh. Unfortunately, unlike a dog, it did have sharp hooves. Any chance it got, it would sneak up behind me, rear up on its hind legs and 'paw' me in the back of the head/neck/shoulders. I hated that damned deer and was scared to visit them because of it. I was not disappointed when it disappeared (probably ended up in some hunter's/poacher's freezer.) It is also why I have no problem with the idea of shooting and eating deer. When I was older, about fourteen or fifteen, someone gave them another fawn. This one had been found caught up in a barbed wire fence. Again, they took care of it, bottle fed it and raised it. It also fell into the same pattern of wanting to sneak attack me. My grandfather thought this was funny (he has always been a cruel sort) and jokingly told me to knock it down the next time it tried pawing me. I took his words to heart. The next time it came behind me and reared up, I had my eye on it. Now, I have always been a pretty good sized fellah and by the time I was fourteen I weighed in at right around two hundred pounds (and some of it was even muscle.) So, when that deer was fully standing on it's hind legs, at the apex of its intended strike, I came around with a roundhouse right, with everything I had behind it, and caught it under the jaw with my fist. Now that was funny. The deer's back feet left the ground and it went over backward, went down hard, wallowed on the ground for a bit, struggled to its feet and ran off. My dad had seen it rearing up, too, and had been headed over to help me - and the best part might have been the grin on his face and the look of pride from knowing that I had stopped being scared of it and had taken up for myself. As for the deer, it never tried to paw me, again. In fact, it wouldn't even come near me and gave me a wide berth when we would visit until it, too, disappeared (this time, they even had a florescent orange dog collar on it with its name and their address on the tag - and one day they found that someone had brought the collar back and left it.)

I don't know, as none of the survivors are trained survivalists (or even folks who do it as a hobby), there is no reason to expect that the show would need a trained survivalist to tell them what ordinary, run of the mill folks who seem to have largely been office workers, etc. before the outbreak would do. Rick and Shane are familiar with the use of basic, small arms such as they would have used as small town deputies (from what I can tell, they weren't SWAT team member - and it didn't seem like their town even had a SWAT team - so there is no reason to believe they are trained in the use of 'paramilitary' weapons and tactics.) They are more like deputies in some place like Loudon or Roane County than members of LAPD SWAT or some such. The Darryl character seems a little more savvy about fending for oneself outside of civilization but I doubt he has any formal training or preparations and is far from an expert. As for all the guns, cool vehicles, etc. they would be nice to have and I am the first to wonder why the 'alone and outnumbered' good guy in your basic action movie just leaves all that cool stuff laying around as he kills the bad guys off. That said, in this case those weapons and vehicles didn't do diddly-squat to save their former owners, who were trained to use them, from being overrun by zombies. If the former owners had been able to use that equipment to save themselves then those weapons/vehicles wouldn't be just sitting around abandoned in the first place. In fact, it could well be that when the time to 'retreat' came, lugging all that stuff around slowed them down and got them killed. Therefore, I don't know how much difference such weapons and vehicles would make to these folks when some of them don't even know how to take a pistol off safe. Also, if I am in a 'driving for my life' situation as they were when leaving the CDC, I'm jumping into the vehicle with which I am most familiar (and to which I have keys.) I'm not wasting time trying to become familiar with a totally unfamiliar vehicle (and, in the case of a military type vehicle, one that might not be all that easy to drive) when I've got about thirty seconds to get the heck out of Dodge or get blown to smithereens.

Academy was the first 'probability' that came to mind when I read R_Bert's post. I'd be excited for the $10 boxes of Monarch 9mm Mak ammo, alone! My wife and I go to Chattanooga periodically and I can buy a few boxes when we are down there but having an Academy in Knoxville would be nice.

I think they are counting the 'hunting and fishing' section as what is in the 'lodge' at the back of the store. I overheard one of the employees telling some other folks that those items just weren't profitable at that location. He was saying that with all the school athletics and other youth sports organizations around that area, it would be more profitable to use the space to expand merchandise geared toward those activities.

As I posted in the Hunting forum, we were in Dick's at Cedar Bluff this weekend and that location is doing away with the hunting and fishing department. We were told that all the fishing rods were 25% off. I saw some 'mini' rods, complete with light spinner reels, in a display at the end of the counter. Normal price was $14.99 but they were included in the 25% off just like the other rods. At first, I thought of buying one as a novelty. Then I started thinking about the places on the Tellico River and it's tributaries (where I like to trout fish) where the foliage is often dense enough that it is difficult or even impossible to cast with even a 'normal' short, light action setup. Then I started thinking about all the times my wife and I have been out just driving around when I wished that I had brought a fishing rod to throw a line in when we happen to come across a place where it looks like the fishing might be pretty good. Finally, I thought of the 'stranded survival' bag that I have been wanting to put together to keep in my vehicle. I thought that, in an area near a body of water that has fish, with a small, plastic box with hooks, sinkers, a small float and maybe a rooster tail, jig and/or fly or two, along with bugs, grubs or worms gathered from the bank, this thing could probably feed someone a meal or two of panfish. I ended up buying two and my wife got one. I took a couple of pics of one of them laying on the tailgate of my truck. I included a 'normal' light spinning rig (Ugly Stick) as well as a 'standard' sized, medium spinning rig (Eagle Claw) in the pic for size reference. I am sure that there are any number of other solutions for survival fishing - including simply cutting a limber branch from a tree - but my feeling is that this will be useful beyond it's possible 'survival' application. Also, I feel that having this thing around were I ever to be in such a situation would probably boost my morale which is something the 'experts' say counts for a lot.

I keep forgetting to post about this. We were in Dick's at Cedar Bluff last Sunday. The Hunting and Fishing department looked like it was being reset. Turns out that location is doing away with the hunting and fishing stuff. Seems that stuff just isn't profitable in that location. My understanding is that the Maryville location will still have a hunting/fishing department, at least for now. Dick's is way down on my list for places to buy hunting/shooting/fishing supplies but I have bought a few things there and this makes one less place to buy such things in Knoxville. It is ironic that the wall-sized picture on the wall as you enter the place is of two guys holding fishing rods. As far as 'bargains' from this event, as of Sunday none of the hunting related items were on sale. I don't know if such items will be put on sale or simply shipped to another store. We were told that all fishing rods were 25% off and there was a table of a few, other items - mostly fishing related - that were on sale.

A little 'behind the times' on this one but I did go. Normally, that and other shows organized by that same promoter are my absolute favorite to go to (they are called Great American Gun and Knife Shows, iirc.) No, I am not joking. Notice, however, that I said, "normally." The reason is one, particular dealer who attends those shows. He keeps 'gun show' inventory that he does not sell in his storefront. A lot of 'well-used' rifles and handguns for good prices and sold on a pretty much 'as is' basis - and the last time I saw him at a show he told me that he wasn't fooling with the RK shows any more (and, generally speaking, neither am I.) When I go to a gun show, I am not looking for an ubertactical rifle or a $10,000 custom engraved shotgun made from steel of a type that is only available from a small village in the Amazon basin. I also don't go looking for beef jerky or junky tools. I go looking for shooters at good prices and that dealer delivers. And he wasn't at the last one in Maryville. And yes, it sucked. If anyone is interested, these are examples of what I mean by 'shooters at good prices' - some of the guns I have bought from the dealer in question at past shows in Maryville: The first gun I bought from him was this Winchester 190 for $79. In the interests of full disclosure, when I took it out to shoot I found that it didn't reliably load the last round in the tube mag. It worked perfectly, otherwise. I ordered a new inner mag tube assembly from Numrich and it now shoots just as reliably as my nephew's brand new 10/22: Then there were a couple of old shotguns from the next Maryville show. I wanted to let my wife try out shooting shotguns and mine all had too long a LOP for her. She wanted a single to start out due to simplicity of operation. The Stevens 20 gauge that is in the pic fit her well. We bought it for $69 or $79 - I can't remember for sure but I am pretty sure it was $69. I bought the bolt action at the same time because I didn't have a 20 gauge and I thought that one was neat (that is an adjustable choke on the end of the barrel.) IIRC, it was $79 but it might have been $89. Can't remember for certain. She decided that she isn't crazy about shooting shotguns but I like shooting the Stevens (although it doesn't like extracting/ejecting high brass loads once it gets warm - no problem with low brass, at all - it is an older shotgun, after all) and for the money we aren't out much. Finally, I bought this H&R 930 from the same dealer (you'd think I'd know his name or the name of his business by now but I don't) at a show by the same promoter that was in Morristown several months back. I didn't have a DA .22 revolver. I wanted one for basic DA revolver practice and didn't want to pay a big price. I paid $99 for this one and it works well for the purpose for which I wanted it. after a little Flitz and some elbow grease, it doesn't look too bad:

Webb Wilder played a show at UT when I was attending there. 'Baby, Please Don't Go' was one of the songs they played and Wilder mentioned that Big Joe Williams did the original (I later discovered that there were actually two, different blues singers named Joe Williams.) I liked it so much I went looking for the original. All this was before you could just look up a song on the Internet but I finally found it a few years later (really cool and simple, old blues sound - complete with someone playing the washboard.) Along the way, though, I picked up a Van Morrison 'Greatest Hits' album with 'Baby, Please Don't Go' on it (the band 'Them' covered it when Van Morrison was their lead singer.) That album made me realize how great a singer Van Morrison really is. Of all the various versions of 'Baby, Please Don't Go' that I have heard, I think the Van Morrison/Them cover is the best. AC/DC also did a cover of 'Baby, Please Don't Go' on their EP entitled '74 Jailbreak. I've never seen that album for sale but a buddy of mine has (or at least once had) it on vinyl and he let me hear their version one day. I liked it, too - had that classic, early '70s AC/DC sound.

Honestly, I'd say that this part of the quote is what really, "says it all." An opportunity to further develop the record. Translation: The plaintiff is representing himself and is a very unsympathetic character. We are going to wipe the courtroom floor with his argument. This is an opportunity to set a clear, legal precedent that the handgun carry permit requirement in Tennessee is, in fact, Constitutional.Again, I believe they want to set such a precedent before someone who is more sympathetic (and has better lawyers) comes along and challenges the HCP requirement. Further, I believe that Ms. Curtis-Flair is basically saying as much in the quoted email.

I think some states do limit you to carrying what you have qualified with. My understanding is that, in some states, if you want to carry different firearms you have to qualify with each of them and have them added to your permit. TN has no such requirement.

"Straight to Hell" was at the top of my list for a long time. The only reason it isn't, now, is because I played it so much I almost made myself tired of it. I really like Old Crow and got to see them perform at the little outdoor ampitheater in the Municipal Park in Loudon. They opened for The Del McCoury Band. The Parks and Recreation folks were getting some pretty well known acts for a while (at various times, Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Daniels and so on.) Not quite sure what happened but they don't have any concerts to speak of at all there, now.

For the past several years, I have been shooting mostly handguns. They are just easier to transport, especially since, with an HCP, I can just put the handgun in a holster, grab a box of ammo and hearing/eye protection and go. Also, since I do carry a handgun when I legally can, I like to stay familiar with handguns, either by firing the actual guns in my carry rotation or with a .22 handgun. That said, my early experience with firearms was mostly with the single-shot shotguns I got as gifts in my teen years as well as my dad's Glenfield 30-30. To this day, I think that a lever action rifle might just be my idea of the most fun firearm to shoot. I inherited that 30-30 but don't shoot it all that much just because I don't think of 30/30 as a very practical plinker/paper puncher. In fact, because plinking with a 30/30 isn't entirely practical, I just bought a basic Henry lever .22LR a couple of weeks ago. Being a .22 with all the benefits of plinking with a .22, that rifle might just help to begin balancing out that whole "I shoot mostly handguns," thing.

For me, the list is long and wide with examples spanning everything from Bluegrass to Death Metal. However, the ones that come to mind first and get played on my iPod the most are: Born with a Tail by The Supersuckers Molly (Sixteen Candles) by Sponge Space Lord by Monster Magnet Gravity's Gone by Drive-By Truckers and possibly my number 1, all-time make me feel good song (which, strangely, I haven't heard in a long time): Blue Highway by Billy Idol