There are several things that would need to happen before Bitter and I would actually get hitched.  Living in the same city is probably one of them.  She should be arriving back home in Virginia soon, quite unmarried.
I do love shrimp though!
Category: Personal
A Fun Weekend
Bitter and I had a great weekend. I sure do love shrimp. Oh yeah, and Bitter too.
Interesting Observations from Bitter
Bitter noted to me that, despite her predisposition toward dating gun nuts, she has done more shooting with me in a few short months than all the previous Bitter Boys combined.
This is a trend I intend to continue, because I love to shoot, and get unhappy if I’m not shooting enough. Â If anyone from Remington and Federal are reading this, I expect Christmas cards this year ;)
Happy Friggin Birthday (To Me)
I’m past the age where I really care anymore, which would be 33 as of this morning. Thirthy three is one of those ages where you’re not sure whether you can say you’re in your early thirties, or have to start saying mid thirties. I think I’m OK with a rule that says 33 is early thirties, and 34-37 are mid thirties. Having late 30s be only two years sounds rather acceptable.
Out of Beer
On Friday I went to draw a glass of my Hulmville Honey Red to celebrate the end of the week. There’s nothing more frustrating than tapping the keg, going to draw the glass, and getting that awful gurgling sound that indicates the keg is empty. I made the honey red back in October, which is the last time I got to make any beer.
So it’s time to make beer again.  The question is, what to make? My stouts seem to go over best with guests, which is good because it means the beer disappears faster, and thus I can make more of it. I was thinking, though, of maybe making an IPA again, or perhaps trying an Imperial Stout.  I’m leaning toward the Imperial Stout.
I make my beer from a bag of grain. I use a Rubbermaid ten gallon Gatoraide cooler as my mash/lauter tun.  The cost for producing a batch of beer typically runs about 20 dollars. That gives you roughly two cases equivalent, but I seldom bottle anymore, and typically just go straight into a five gallon Cornelius Keg.
So I might have to show Bitter next weekend how we make beer. We’re taking a tour of the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis when we’re there for the NRA convention. To have an appreciation for making beer on such a tremendous scale, it helps to have knowledge of how it works on a small scale.
Day 1 – Rain + Mesquite = No Fire
The first night we were in Texas, after a heavy rain the night before, we tried to make a fire. Turns our mesquite doesn’t burn too well when it’s wet and so is everything around it. This video is pure blackness, which I found amusing for some reason. At least we didn’t get the part on film where Carrie was questioning my manhood for not being able to get a fire going ;) [googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6179279145523913679[/googlevideo]
Bitter is taking the video and is the loudest voice on the movie. The male voice is obviously me. The Texas accented female voice is Carrie’s mom. The non-southern accent voice is Carrie. The end of result of a cup of diesel fuel:
Once the diesel burnt off, nothing. But fortunately, I managed to redeem my manhood in the eyes of the ladies present the following night when got the fire going finally. Things just needed another day to dry out:
It was a nice fire. And that night, you could see every star in the sky, and the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy. Priceless. You just don’t see things like that near a city.
Slow Blogging
Slow blogging today.  Trying to get a new firewall set up at work, and it’s taking more concentration than required for usual work because of snags.
Day 1 – Small Bore Day
I’ll post pictures of Texas when I get bored, and over this weekend. Not really many of Bitter, I’m sorry to say, because she blogs anonymously. So do I, but I don’t have to be as concerned about images as she does. But fear not readers, I would not deprive you of pictures of chicks and guns, so Carrie will fill in for Bitter.
We spent our first day in Texas scouting out some good shooting places. Carrie’s brother had told me I could expect long range shooting opportunities. About the most that could be reasonably done was 200 yards, due to lack of back stoppage. For small bore shooting I set up some logs to act as a stop for the bullets, mostly shooting at spinners and cans.
Carrie shooting my 10/22, that I tricked out after the Assault Weapons Ban expired. The folding stock really makes it a menace to society, or makes it fit in the rifle case easier… one of the two. You’ll have to forgive our appearances. It was kind of muddy out, and we weren’t dressing for success.
Loading up the 10/22 magazine. Bitter took this because she likes my Smith & Wesson 629 Classic. Unfortunately, it also shows how much work I have to do on the bike and hiking trail when the weather turns this spring. I have to wear the belt tight to hold up a pistol that heavy. I hate that holster too because it exposes the trigger. Any suggestions for a better holster for a 629? Any suggestions for losing weight? :)
Shooting the 10/22, probably at the spinner targets. For bench we were shooting at about 75 meters. Standing, I have to get to about 25 to be able to hit the spinners consistently. You’ll notice something different about the 10/22 when I’m shooting it, as opposed to when Carrie is. Can you see what’s different?
Bitter thought I should get a least one pic of myself shooting something that wasn’t an evil black rifle. I have to admit, I enjoyed shooting Carrie’s bolt action .22. I’ll have a lot of respect for anyone who can ID that rifle. I had never seen one, as they stopped making them long before I was born.
That night we tried to make a fire using the damp mesquite wood from the wood pile. Despite being near desert, it had rained a lot the night before. I’ll post the resulting video o’ blackness from that failed effort sometime later.
Last Leg Back Home
It’s time to make the last leg of the trip from Bitchy Mom’s in Roanoke back home to Pennsylvania.  About a six and a half hour trip. Once I get there, I have a lot of catching up to do.  I have lots of pictures and some video to bore you with share with you when I get back.
Stopped in Buffalo, Tennessee
We’re stopped for the night in Buffalo, Tennessee. No camping tonight, because it’s just too damned cold out, and I’m a little tired of roughing it.  Plus, I can have beer here, and a safe place to store the firearms.
Bitter and I have been observing the boycott of Pilot Oil, except for bathroom breaks. I figure that costs them money for water and bathroom maintenance.  I’m not rude enough to be more messy than usual, but I kind of liked the idea of sticking it to Mayor Haslam, who has still not quit Bloomberg’s coalition. So until that time, I will feel free to keep making donations of #1, and #2s to the cause of screwing the Haslam family and Pilot Oil.