MacGyver

Cool. I’d stock up - because who knows how long they’ll make it. Plus, if you ever decide to sell, I bet it would fetch a higher price with ammo when it’s something rare like that.

It’s so worth it with the MPX.

The sad thing is - is that it didn’t have to be that way. But the GOP sure seems intent on pushing as many people out of their tent as they can. Maybe they need to be defeated so soundly that it really is the end of the modern Republican Party. Because I’m afraid that’s the only way we’ll find some folks who can express what a conservative vision of the future looks like that’s more inclusive of what America actually looks like in 2020.

You may have seen in the press a couple of weeks ago where a couple of hair stylists in Missouri tested positive for COVID-19, and there was a big outcry about all the clients they had seen and how many would get sick. Both the stylists and the clients were wearing masks at the time of contact. The incubation period has now passed, and none of the 140+ clients have tested positive. That by itself is a testament to masks - maybe not being perfect - but significantly lowering the risk of transmission. So, I look at it two ways: 1. If you are in at at risk population - definitely wear a mask. 2. I look at it personally in terms of compassion - I'm going to wear a mask - because even though I'm generally low risk - I don't want to spread it to someone who may not be.

Oh man. I didn’t think it would be that heavy this early in the season. Don’t forget to check your intakes on your outboard, too.

Heck, if the fish aren’t biting just sit back and enjoy the birds. They’re great down there.

I really wish that Tennessee would adopt reciprocity on Lifetime Sportsman licenses like some of our neighboring states have done. There's a change I could get behind.

Get your topwaters in order and make sure your depthfinder is running well. The topography of Guntersville is good - you've got decent flats that are a ways off the bank - so you can sort of park it in deeper water and cast into the grass flats for good bass fishing. Panfish bite should also still be pretty strong, too. It's a gorgeous lake.

I know it’s probably heresy, but I think I like the Frankenstein version more than the original.

I'm locking this thread because we've already talked about this. Your permit coupled with your exuberance doesn't give you ground to go defend anything. And, I'd argue if you go there - you're putting even personal defense in jeopardy because you went and sought it out. But besides that - "Antifa" the conservative media's favorite new boogeyman now that Hillary has gone away isn't coming to Murfreesboro or Brentwood or Lebanon or Smyrna or anywhere else. You know why? Because this "Antifa is coming to the suburbs" is an organized disinformation campaign being perpetrated by some known actors on social media.

Nope.

Best advice I ever got was to put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel so that the trailer turning will match up with the direction the wheel is turning like you’d expect when backing a car. Small inputs on the wheel with short trailers. Maybe find a good double width ramp and practice during the week.

Man, I’m sorry about your dog. 15 years is a good run - but it sure doesn’t make it any easier when that inevitable day comes. My prayers for your loss. I’ll keep my ears open.

I’ve not gotten a refund in 15 years. I thought we might be left out, as they didn’t have a bank account to direct deposit and their site to check status didn’t work for weeks for me - it always failed without giving any information. Then someone told me to hit caps lock before entering my address. Apparently their site couldn’t handle lowercase characters - even though this could have easily been handled client side before submitting the form. Anyway, after entering my address in all caps, they asked for the information they didn’t have, and the money showed up two days later. I didn’t buy an ATV though...

Right? Though I must say - these folks definitely got their checks and spent it in their local economy. I expect that’s about as close to “stimulus” as one could cook up.

I save a fair amount of money on the big calibers. I might load 9mm if the mood strikes me and I need something to do - but that’s a rarity these days.

I talked to a client this week that’s a powersports dealership. They just had their best month ever. For the month of April, the sold 485 vehicles. The said they had whole families coming in with their stimulus checks. They sold every bike, ATV, and watercraft they had in stock. They were literally cleaned out. They said it’ll even out in a month or two when they won’t be able to get inventory due to the factory shutdowns. But they sure did alright while they had stock.

Maybe it's not out of control. All I can report is what I'm seeing after two weeks on the road through 5 states. Outside of Baton Rouge, LA, the conditions do not seem to exist where people are comfortable resuming their prior activities at any meaningful level. On an encouraging note, I am seeing a lot of other small business owners who are scrambling, looking out for their people, and trying to figure out a way through this.

Some thought from my time on the road over the last couple of weeks - because somebody has to do something we get paid for. Last week I was in south Texas. I spent some one in rural Mississippi this week. I would be surprised if anyone in the county I was in would admit publicly to voting for Hillary. I went into a restaurant that had been allowed to reopen, but by the time I went in around 7:00PM, the lady working the counter told me, “the state of Mississippi tells us we can have up to 10 people in here; you’re the fourth we’ve had all day.” I got in a client’s truck to drive across To the other side of their factory, and as he gave me some hand sanitizer as we got in he expressed frustration at how hard it was to feel like they could give their 100ish employees good information. This is a company that is deeply committed to doing the right thing for its people. He said among other things that, “it’s clear Trump isn’t dealing straight with us.” I’ve stayed in 3 hotels now where I was the only guest. This week (in a smaller hotel) they just left a key for me, gave me the code to the front door, and told me to make myself at home and call if I needed anything. Meaningful economic recovery isn’t going to happen until we either get this thing under control or we get data, testing, and contact tracing we feel like we can really trust.

Sonic goes through my colon like a freight train with no brakes.

I drove twelve and a half hours to south Texas for a case this week. I got back on Friday evening and was talking with one of my neighbors while I was on a walk. She said, “you drove 12 hours? Wait. Nevermind, I’d gladly get in my car and drive 12 hours by myself right now.”

The Publix near us had ground beef of all varieties for $1.99/pound last week. The butcher told me that with some of the processing plants shut down they were taking delivery of larger quantities and finishing it themselves. They said they were grinding nice steaks into ground beef. Strange times we’re in.

Man, what prized possessions those will be.

What jobs will you entertain on a site like Upwork? What are your current skills? I would create a current LinkedIn profile. I don't like saying that - but having that with a 'hirable' check is going to put you in front of a lot more people. I'd also sign up for their weekly job posting email. That'll at least have current leads. Same with Github. Get a current profile with "for hire" checked and see if you can't put some work out there - even if it's just a part of projects you're using to study right now. I might consider a Pluralsight subscription or similar to fill in gaps in what you know. Likewise Wes Bos has some great video courses on modern web stack type stuff. Keep your head up. Happy to chat anytime if it's helpful.

What sort of software job are you looking for? The market is still quite strong here in Nashville.