Doc

I can't see close enough to tell whether these have thorns on them or not. But from the general shape and color of them I would say it is something we call thornapple (hawthorne I believe). If that's what it is they should have thorns on them that are about 1 to 2 inches long and sharp as needles.

And yet the proponents of pistol permits always point to the insane obtaining firearms as a good reason to expand the restrictions of the permitting system. I agree, there is no way to exclude the insane unless they are actively being treated for violent mental episodes or have some documented history of violent incidents. And yet gun control advocates use the insanity style killings as fuel for further gun controls. This incident shows that the permits will not deter gun murders by those who are wacko. That was my point.

Just a couple of comments First of all, what kind of a wacked out maniac does it take to use a shotgun on another person, especially family members? We all know what a messy and grotesque wound a shotgun makes, and pretty much represents a form of excessive, intentional, "overkill". Second, it is interesting to know what a wonderful job the NYS pistol permitting system does as far as denying these kinds of wackos permits to carry a pistol. They stated that both had received pistol permits this past September. If the permit system does not detect this kind of mentally deficient applicant, then what good is the system. Yes, it was a shotgun used, and there is no permitting system for long-guns, but my point is that requiring extensive background checks and jumping through hoops to obtain a pistol permit is supposed to weed out the insane. Worked pretty well in this case didn't it?

When you mention a 5' tiller, I am picturing a unit mounted on a three-point hitch on a small ag tractor. Those things can churn up some ground pretty fast and pretty thoroughly. However it does depend on the ground being worked. Is it ground that has previously been worked or is it something you have hacked out of a brush-lot or woods. Stumps? Rocks? standing water? That all makes a difference as to what you should be using. Hand tiller? - one acre?.....forget it.

Ok, so if you insist, I am shooting the messenger .... lol. I have to say that socialists are not my favorite people and I am not one that is known to hang around their web-site. And just like communists, I have a natural distrust of those people who affiliate themselves with that particular idealogy. So if all that boils down to "shooting the messenger" ....... well, guilty as charged. As far as the actual impact of this law on the 1st amendment, I suppose we can make as much of it as we want and inflate the importance of it to whatever level satisfies us. I just can't get all that excited over it. It may just be that some of these wandering shreds of human debris (to borrow a Limbaugh term .....lol) may be a bit inconvenienced occasionally. I know it's real tough on them, but let's face it, even the first amendment has historically had some legal boundaries. That is one amendment that has been stretched beyond all recognition by the leftists and yet even today, it is not without limits.

I will not say that occasionally the Socialists don't stumble on to the truth when it suits them, but I do say that it is probably not my favorite source of info and always comes with the red flag of required special scrutiny. I guess I have a personal bias against spending a lot of time on their sites since these people have a political leaning that is about as far left as you can get. I don't shoot the messenger ... I simply choose a different, more reliable messenger. However, I think I have a sense of what is bothering people and I still have to say that it sounds like a tempest in a teapot. When I consider all the real serious incursions of government on our lives, this one is simply a small blip on the radar. There are a lot of changes that we are seeing in the name of "homeland security". Some we may agree with and some we may not. Some we may accept and most that we wish were not necessary. One thing we have to acknowledge is that this has become a dangerous world with our legislators wearing a sizeable target on their backs ..... literally. And while a lot of time has passed, and we may be already forgetting the resolve of our enemies (external and internal) that are constantly looking to upset our way of life, I think there may be something that all those legislators saw (except for 3 of them) that may make this legislation a lot more reasonable than some would paint it. Had the vote been a lot closer, perhaps I would be a bit more concerned ...... but it wasn't.

So how did your hunt come out? ......any luck?

Hunting report please.

Sure, there is hypocracy all around us. Along with that hypocracy is the illusion that some have that such views make them somehow superior to the un-evolved masses. I guess that all kind of goes along with having a society, and the natural behavior of those that live within that society. I generally try to simply shrug that sort of silly behavior and mentality off, and write it all off as merely "whatever gets them through the day". When these people begin to feel the need to become aggressive or militant about those kinds of views, that's when I get a bit excited and involved.

I've got to say that when I hear news coming from a self-avowed socialist organization, red flags go up and I immediately start looking for the socialist slant to whatever the subject is. And yes as I said in my reply, if ever there was a source that absolutely requires an independant verification, the words of the Socialists probably qualify. I believe the article may be quite correct in terms of representing the content of the law (at least in generalities), but grossly overstated in terms of the dire consequences that they are trying to apply to it. I personally do not subscibe to the notion that protesters should have access to all official government buildings and properties. And passing a law that says that is not something that I get particularly concerned about.

Yes, these are the tactics (brainwashing) that our government increasingly relies on. They no longer just pass laws, but really are heavily involved in behavior modification and areas of citizen control that were never before considered proper for government intrusion. They have become "drunk" with the power successes of the tobacco industry war and have seen how the very same tactics can be expanded to involve them in all kinds of "training activities" of the public. This guy Holder isn't the first, or only, government agent who believes strongly in these kinds of activities. They pretty much all are signing on to these tactics. Worse than all that abuse of power is the willingness of the public to accept such tactics. No, not only accept, but actually become cheering sections for these activities of mind control.

This is the busiest time of the year. Every year I have a million maintenance activities that involve hours of clean-up. The house, yard, and outbuildings are surrounded by woods, so the tree-limb pick-up and the leaf removal form a big part of what has to be done every year whether anything else gets done or not. After that comes the grounds improvement and any repairs or improvements to the house and outbuildings. Also, there is the beginning of the garden prep. No wonder I seldom have a chance to catch the bullheads when they are running ..... lol.

LOL ..... here folks, just before you head out to the kitchen for your supper, let me slap this brown and black runny, gooey, oozing human lung down here in front of the camera so you can feast your eyes on this beauty. Hey, it's all for public service and getting rid of some of this excess money we have. We've got some pictures of people with gaping holes in their throat and another guy with his jaw removed, and how about a nice picture of this guy with neat scar running up his chest. It's very good pre-meal TV programming. Hey ...... we're only doing it for your own good ..... we know what's best for you. What's that, you don't smoke? Well tough ..... look at it anyway. Bon apatite!

I tried some post processing program modifications, but the detail is burnt right out of the picture. There's nothing there to enhance. Anyway, I went scrounging through my thousands of dollars worth of useless film camera equipment having remembered the extensive Cokin filter system that I bought over the years and found a coef. +1-2/3 filter that just might do the job. Now we'll see if I maybe went too far. There's only one way to find out. So I just got done trudging around the swamp for the 2nd time today in those hot, sweaty, heavy rubber boots that catch and grab every gob of swamp grass and hidden log and stick (Once a day is plenty of that ..... lol). But it's on there. I'll wait a couple of days and check the camera and see what kind of luck I have had. If this filter turns out to be too much, then I will go back and try the scotch tape trick.

By golly that's worth a try.

Ok ..... The Cuddeback Attack (whiteflash) has taken it's first pictures, and I can see there is going to be a bit of a learning curve involved. It turns out that Cuddeback has gone to such lengths to extend the distance of their flash that close up picture burn out from excess exposure. So now, I am looking for some kind of color-neutral filter to tame that flash down so I can get close up pictures. This particular task for this particular camera does not need or want long distance flash. I had a very nice picture of a mink that would have been great except that he along with the foreground were terribly over exposed. The same thing with an otherwise great picture of a racoon. So now I am on the lookout for some kind of flash-tamer. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I suppose that in the meantime I might just back the camera up a bit and try to find a compromise that way. I can't say that I was completely surprised because I did see that wash-out effect inside the house where too much of the flash on close-up items over exposed pictures. There's a bit of a balancing act that has to be performed....lol.

I guess you will have to ask someone in government to see how crossbows fit into the NYC firearms laws. perhaps the police department or if you know a judge or lawyer that specializes in criminal law. If you ever find out, let us know.

I have to admit that the guy talks about stuff that most of us shove way back into the background. We listen to the pacifists proclaim their philosophy of gentleness and turn-the other-cheek style of superiority, but the dirty little secret is that they are able to preach these impractical and illogical themes with the full force of government backing up that right with all the violence that they supposedly despise. As the man says, they have simply ceded that violence to the government so that they can appear to pacifists. Nothing too earth-shattering or new, just simply a statement of the obvious, of something that we seldom actually think about.

It is possible that the reaction to this bill is being exaggerated a bit. I do believe that there should be places where disruption of government function, and the creation of dangerous and uncontrolled crowds in certain public places should be restricted. There very well may be legitimate reasons for the fact that only 3 legislators voted against it. I know that the World Socialist Web Site is probably not a source that I would be expecting to be reporting on such things in an unslanted and unbiased way. They definitely represent a faction that has an axe to grind. I think the suggestion that was made to investigate more neutral and credible news reporting via an internet search probably was a good one. This is definitely a subject that can be given a severe spin by those that have a vested interest in doing so.

That's good news, but I have to wonder if it isn't a bit like shutting the barn door after the cow's out. I have to believe that this situation didn't develop over night. It's pretty radical out our way, and while there seems to be no dramatic changes in theother populations of water critters, the muskrat situation is very obvious and should have been showing up in state fur sales. I assume that the DEC monitors that to some extent. Oh well, probably better late than never. Let's hope that they can find something reversible and maybe bring these things back before they disappear entirely. I know muskrats are super-prolific just like any other rodent, so whatever the problem is, it must be pretty darn serious.

It hasn't been that many years ago that I can't remember what a super-strong addiction nicotine was, so I am not one to question why some are still hooked. I too had some assistance from a couple of medical episodes, and some rather nasty warning symptoms that finally enabled me to quit. So I can't pat myself on the back too much for suddenly achieving an end to something that never should have started in the first place. As far as starting smoking in the first place, that is a pretty hard thing to explain. It's like why do drug addicts ever even try the drugs. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but apparently there must be some psychological reason. I will say that back in my day it was very easy to start smoking. Just about everyone that I knew experimented with or was using tobbaco. Almost all the adults/role models smoked. Cigarettes were very affordable. And all that nasty rumor about medical complications from tobacco affect a time that was so darn far away. I remember that they were often jokingly referred to as "coffin nails" or "cancer sticks", but all that terminology really didn't relate to a 16 year old except as a joke. I suspect that the same attitudes are involved in today's youth still starting to smoke. Every kid feels invincible, and has ways of shoving unpleasant thoughts and consequences into the back-ground.

Actually the original post was about the government activity in behavior modification. And yes, it was a subject of venting ..... and still is.

Hey squats-in-bushes..... I see you have found a new sole-mate .... lol. This wack-job has the exact same fractured mentality as you..... just constant random attack mode that simply blurts out nonsense that makes absolutely no sense to anybody. I just got done reading his latest thread. The guy sounds just like you. That's not really you with a new ID is it?

What the hell are you talking about? I haven't sent you any e-mails or any other kinds of communications other than my one comment above in this thread. Are you ok? You're not hallucinating or something are you?