Living near the midpoint between two segments of a fairly large university, I decided to see if there was anything interesting on a speaker series or hosted debate for this fall. I was hoping for something either science-discovery based or current political hot-potatoes. I found something called the People's Dinner. It wasn't completely clear in the description, but it sounded like a chance to politely discuss current topics with strangers. I am under the impression that it is a thing that happens around the country on an irregular schedule. They showed a short quasi-documentary film that was edited for immediate table discussion. At this event there were ten tables in a banquet room with eight to ten place settings. They fed us what was functionally a cold chicken Caesar with rolls, a choice of three soups, and coffee. It was free, so I had nothing to complain about. Fuck, did I ever want a Coca-cola, though. Always bring a backup drink! The film was about a guided discussion among people in the statistically most politically mixed area of the Midwest. The structure of the production was suspect as it was touted as a "real" conversation, edited for short duration. It also appeared to be edited for maximum "look how people can disagree but still be compassionate to the other viewpoints!" and there was an indication that it was part of a series of shorts, like it would be used for a semester of on-going classroom discussion.

It wasn't a full event, so my table included me, the female volunteer table moderator, a hindu outreach speaker, a guy twenty years older than me, and a woman ten to fifteen years younger than me being paid by her social work job to be there. I could also say that my table included me and four "polite, but superior" Democratic voters. The event was about open dialog across political and social divides. I would guess that there were no Archie Bunker types in attendance, and I believe that nearly everybody in attendance was on the softer, kinder, "Progressive" end of the spectrum. I ended up with the feeling that there was a current of mutual self-congratulatory satisfaction with how great they are to be soooo open-minded. But the older man gave me an opportunity to test the table a bit.

The moderator had prompting questions for the individuals at the table to answer in turn. Older guy talked about how he is frustrated by being improperly pigeon-holed as a staunch conservative because of his job function and the density of "right-wingers" among his co-workers. He went on to begin a story with, "A co-worker of mine owns 32 guns!" I interrupted him and asked if that was too many or not enough. He did not answer. I asked if he felt that guy was a danger to him or any others. That was answered with a "no". I said that while most people could probably only utilize a maximum of two at any given time, what was the older guy's issue with his co-worker having 30 extra in the safe or cabinet. He didn't have an answer for me there, either. Then I asked why older guy thought coworker had the guns. as maybe he was a collector. Older guy said that coworker said he was storing them in case he would need to fight the government in the future. If things got "bad". But he isn't fighting the government "militia-style" right now. He is just sitting on 32 guns. I asked the older guy why that number was important to his story. No answer. Hindu guy threw a rope suggesting maybe there was a fetishization happening, Moderator capped the issue with a comment about the Jan 6 mess. These open minded people were prejudging this coworker based on a contextless number of claimed firearm ownership. The coworker only revealed this to older guy because he knew it got the older guy's goat. A guy who the older guy believed was not hurting anyone, nor planning to hurt anyone, nor commit any violent crimes. So, open-mindeds, how come the tissy-fit over the number 32?

Just for fun, let's see how many guns a person, especially a hunter, could own that each served a specific purpose:

1. Rifle, deer/pronghorn, bolt, lever, or pump-action in any of the following calibers: .270, 30-06, .243, .308, .30-30
2. Rifle, deer, state restricted zones, bolt, semi, or lever action: .45 Colt, .357 Mag, .450 Bushmaster, .350 Legend, .45-70 Govt, .44 Mag
3. Rifle, elk/moose, bolt-action, in any of the following calibers: 7mm Mag, .300 Win Mag, .308
4. Rifle, big game Africa, bolt-action, in any of the following calibers: .375 H&H, .416 Rigby, .458 Lott
5. Rifle, small game/varmint, bolt or semi-auto in any of the following: .22 lr, .22 Mag, .17 HMR, .17 WSM, .223 Rem
6. Rifle, feral pig, semi-auto in any of the following: .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 blk, 6.5 Grendel, 5.56 NATO, .450 Bushmaster, .350 Legend. 6.8 SPC
7. Shotgun 20-24 inch rifled barrel, deer/bear, pump, bolt, or semi-auto: 12 gauge slug
8. Shotgun 28 inch barrel, goose/turkey, pump or semi-auto: 3-inch 12 gauge
9. Shotgun 26 inch barrel, pheasant/duck, pump or semi-auto: 12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge
10. Shotgun 26 inch barrel, quail/grouse/small game, pump or semi-auto: 16 gauge, 20 gauge, .410
11. Shotgun 30-32 inch barrel, trap/clays/skeet, semi-auto or break: 12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge
12. Pistol, deer, revolver: .44 Mag, .460 S&W Mag, .500 S&W Mag
13. Pistol, small game/trapping/snakes, revolver or semi-auto: .22 lr, .22 Mag, .410
14. Pistol, beer defense/trail backup, semi-auto: 10mm, .357 Sig, .45 ACP

What if you own something on that list, but decide you want a different caliber for comfort or performance issues? Now if you compete in 3-Gun, you'll need a specialized rifle/shotgun/pistol group. You need a differently specialized rifle/shotgun/pistol for Cowboy Action Shooting. Long distance target/silhouette will require a special rifle or two. Conceal carry can be addressed with a single gun, but often people carry differently as seasonal clothing allows. And what category do we put that 16" barrel Beretta M4 or double-barrel coach gun? Watermelon blaster or home defense? Both. What about inherited guns? For those, "why would you need more than one gun" types, was I supposed to sell the rifle and shotgun my grandpa left me? Like any tool, is there something to be said for having a backup? Double the list. After the shortages of Covid, there is something to be said for having a spread of guns that shoot different ammunition as a hedge against a particular round not being readily purchasable.

Anyway, I was asked to recount some poker. Last six-week season I was bubble-boy two weeks running as well as for an Omaha game. Another week I was first out. But come jackpot week, I took it down, including the bounty. It was magnifique. This week was a low turn out. Single table only. I don't remember the last time that happened. I entered the game deciding that I would play reckless and go home early if that was required. My opposition obliged me. My second A-Q embraced an Ace on the flop to be clipped by a seven that recruited the rest of the board into a nice little straight, which was at least more interesting than my first A-Q being top-top but getting fucked by the Q-10 that also paired its ten. My Big Slick made top two pair to get kneecapped by a pair of pocket threes that found a third friend on the flop. I tried 10-9 three times for no joy. I had the fun of watching my Ace and its companion pair up only for a fifth street J to bend me over Broadway style. Not a good week for me at the Poker table.

I replaced my China Freight model with a proper new Dremel. First task was wire brushing the little bits of orange that were showing in the wheel wells and along the bottom of a door. It is satisfying to expose the good metal under that light layer of rusty dust. A little bit like brushing my car's teeth. The thought of putting that wire brush to my own teeth just made me flinch.

I've been playing Big Boggle lately. I was never any good at it growing up, so I shunned it. But something called to me to give it a new chance. I am rocking that Boggle, even better than Bananagrams.

I also bought a video game for the first time in two decades. My new lappy is much power. Bestest video card with 12 MB RAM. Shake in the presence of its svelte profile and hurricane-like cooling fans!

Red Dead Redemption 2. It is four years old. But when it came out, I knew one day I would own it and play it. It does not disappoint. The audio has retrained me to listen more closely to my environment. In-game you can hear the wolves or grizzly coming before they are visible. Best get that shottie out before they tear you off your horse and chew your neck. The detail and complexity of this game has captured a good portion of my attention the past few weeks. There are tons of challenges that take different forms in distinct categories. Under Weapons Expert, I am now tasked with killing three adversaries with throwing knives in under ten seconds. That dog don't hunt. And it doesn't count if I lace the knives with poison. I attempted the shoot five birds from a moving train challenge, but that devolved quickly into a train robbery where I dynamited two baggage cars (to open safes) and fought off two waves of law enforcement and two waves of bounty hunters. The third wave of law enforcement put me down.

My most recent whiskey of the month turned out to be a 15 yr Highlands Scotch. Deanston.

I will add more later. I hope this little bit will tide you over for now.