Shiny Go Fast Mobile

 Spotted a week ago when out at the gun range with my best friend. Ford GT in purple. 

Even if I could afford it, I'd never fit inside. It is pretty though. Sounded more like a motorcycle than an American sports car should in my opinion. 

Silliness

A gift from number one follower and all around best bud. He knows me too well. I don't care if 9mm is cheaper than or just as effective as .45ACP. I like .45s because I like making bigger holes in things.

The Queen spotted this at the local Walmart the other day. Yes, it is exactly what it says it is. Yes, it's juvenile and immature. I must have it.

Seen At Lunch...SHINY

Factory Five Shelby Cobra replica

Slobber....drool....I'll be in my bunk.

Out With The Old, In With The Not So Old

With the selling of Castle Erickson, the resulting temporary change in my morning commute from "you've got to be kidding me" to "are you out of your ever loving mind?" while driving a 14 year old car with 356,000 miles on it seemed to be tempting fate. So, I figured, after driving the same car for 14 years, I was long overdue to get a new set of wheels. Well, a newer set of wheels at any rate since I'm generally opposed to paying new car prices just so I can enjoy the financial suck of depreciation.

Besides, after driving a 14 year old car with 356,000 miles on it, a 5 year old car with 50,000 something miles on it is in positively showroom mint condition.

So, the tale of the tape on the once proud but never named 14 year old Nissan Maxima is as follows:

Purchased Used in July 2000 with 16,000 miles on it
Started Keeping Records on it in April 2006
Lowest Price Paid for Regular Gas: $1.45/gallon (December 2008 in Duncanville, TX)
Highest Price Paid for Regular Gas: $3.94/gallon (June 2008 in Duncanville, TX)
Best Gas Mileage Recorded (full tank): 33.98 MPG
Worst Gas Mileage Recorded (full tank): 19.11 MPG
Average Recorded Gas Mileage (all records 2006 to 2014): 26.41 MPG

Sometime in 2005 or 2006 before I started keeping records, the starter was replaced. The serpentine belts were replaced once at 223,256  miles. The radiator was replaced at 245,708 miles. The CV axles were replaced at 263,373 miles. It ran out of gas one time in 14 years (with The Queen at the wheel after an impressive 453 miles on one tank of gas) at 304,873 miles. The power steering pump was replaced at 323,250 miles. The front struts were replaced at 335,352 miles. It's had at least three sets of plugs, two sets of ignition coils and three sets of tires that I can document dates and mileage for though there were others prior to that time for sure.

It's had it fair share of battle scars over the years.

That little beauty mark was there when I bought the car. To be fair, someone had made a game attempt at repainting it. 14 years of wind, rain, Texas, infrequent washings, etc. later and it's still the only rust spot on the car.

This little rash came around about mid 2003 when I was in a hurry to get to a job interview and didn't pay attention when backing out of my parking space in the parking garage. That concrete pillar next to the car was gentle in its reminder to get my head back in the game.

There are two little creases in the fender there roughly two feet apart thanks to my ladder. It was leaning up against the wall in my garage when a gust of wind blew in and toppled it over onto the car. Grrrr....

This is the most recent love tap from sometime in the last two or three years. It occurred late one evening as The Queen and I were arriving home at the same time. I was backing into the driveway to facilitate unloading the car. Unbeknownst to me, The Queen had double parked the Navigator more or less in the middle of the driveway. Since I had assumed her to be parked like a normal human being, I was focused on the driver's side mirror so I would not drive up into the flower bed that bordered the driveway. Suddenly....BAM!!! SONOFA....WHat the...Hey, why'd you park there? The Navigator suffered barely a smudge.

Oh well, they can't stay pretty forever.

Oh, and for those of you who doubt the mileage claim...

I put 350,000 miles of that on there, and it never let me down once when I really needed it. It flew under the radar more than once (it handled pretty well up to about 100...I can't vouch for handling beyond that) to get me home when The Queen needed me, and it even survived an early morning encounter with a (recently deceased) deer with no ill effects.

So, what earned the honor of replacing my trusty steed?

I'm glad you asked. Please allow me to introduce, the Blue Max.

No, not that one.

This one...

Blue Max is a 2009 Nissan Maxima SV with 56,000 or so miles on it. Leather seats, sunroof, premium sound system, CVT transmission, 3.5L V6, push button start, etc.

I looked at other cars. I looked at SUVs and trucks. My requirements (asides from wanting the car to be aesthetically pleasing to its new driver) were pretty simple: it had to be easy to get M&M in and out of her car seat (thus eliminating any 2 door vehicle from consideration), it had to be under $20,000 (bonus points for being under $15,000), and it could not get less than 20 MPG on the highway (thus eliminating most trucks from consideration).

Having rented a number of cars in the last few years that fell into this rather broad criteria, I at least had some experience upon which to base my decisions. That, and picking the brain of my cousin the mechanic. I hated the seats in the Ford Focus despite some of it's other redeeming qualities. The Queen had also decreed that it was too small (her exact words were: "It's a coffin on wheels."). The Ford Fusion was a contender; however, it suffered from the same fatal flaw as the Chevrolet Cruze. Everytime I got in both cars, the B pillar would hit me in the sacrum. No bueno.

I really, REALLY wanted another truck, but the reality of my commute and the prices of used trucks in Texas beat that idea into submission after brief forays through bargaining and denial.

So, that brought me back to the Maxima. It's not like I don't have a ton of experience with them. They met all of my simple criteria. Price wise, this one came in just under $16,000. The thing that sealed the deal was that it is my favorite color.

Now, I just hope it holds up half as well as its predecessor.

M&M Update and Random Photos

In an effort to placate the masses (or at least one cranky woman with a gun...you know who you are), I thought I would take this opportunity to get ahead of the demand for more M&M coverage with more photos of The Cutest Baby in the World (TM). I suppose I will have to retire her TCBITW (TM) title soon as she will (or has already) graduate to toddler status soon. I can't believe she will be two years old in a little over a month. The time has gone by WAY too fast. I was just holding this teenie, tiny baby. Now, I am curling 30 pounds of almost a toddler. What happened?

But, I also do enjoy seeing her develop and grow from baby to little girl even if it does mean that I am that much closer to having to shoot a boy as an example to the others. Sleepy girl crawling up into Daddy Hawk's arms is something I cherish along with wet kisses, giggles and squeals, tights hugs and "pick me up" arms and eyes. I love the way she says "peaze" instead of please. I was a bit disappointed when Opa got her to stop saying "juish" in favor of "jewiss" when she wants something to drink.

My heart absolutely melted when she said "I love you daddy" for the first time recently. I died laughing at lunch today listening her trying to say "work". The way she tried pronouncing it...I never thought I would here a toddler drop the "F" word so innocently having never heard it from anyone that we know of.

Anyway, on with the slide show...

I just can't pass up a cute, sleepy girl photo. She is hot natured like me and hates to be under the blanket. Every night whether it's hot or cold, we put the blanket over her. Without fail, she kicks off the blanket and finds a way to ball it up and use it for a pillow or tuck it under her for more padding. I love the "butt in the air with feet crossed" sleepy night night position.

Just a little Mona Lisa smile and relaxed stare that says "Really? You go right ahead. I be here planning to take over the world."

Scenes from M&M's first boat ride. We rented a pontoon boat at Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO last week. She loved it. She has to be part fish because we can't keep her out of the water. The middle photo was taken just before she found the throttle and set it for warp 2 (which is about the best you can expect on this boat). It was a beautiful day for getting out on the lake.

She did not want to get out of the lake when it was time to go. I also showed her how to attract small fish with spit. She was intrigued.

I had never seen one of these before until Sunday when we decided to take M&M to the state fair. It says "Scorpion" on the side and sports some BMW logos. It looks like it'd be a scream right up until the moment that an 18 wheeler turns it into a flat beer can.

The Queen and M&M. That baby can nap anywhere, anytime when she is tuckered out.

 

 

Taken right after take off on my return flight from Alexandria, LA yesterday. It was almost kinda cool watching two downpours from my seat until I spotted the third one directly in our flight path just out of frame to the right.



The Queen and our girl at the state fair. It was The Queen's first time to the fair despite having lived in north Texas for most of her life. They both had a great time.

The Queen and M&M sharing some thoughts with each other during our road trip back from Missouri last week.

By Request...Sort Of

My good blogger buddy, GunDiva, gave me an award the other day (I'll get around to posting that eventually) for which I am thankful; however, she made a quiet comment/back handed request that there was not enough being written about M&M. So, in my ongoing effort to placate my readership and at least one cranky woman with a gun, I submit the following.

Nothing quite says relaxed like a toddler in full, slack jawed, rag doll mode. Can you hear the deep breathing (she doesn't snore much yet...give her time)? She was out, and I mean lightening, thunder and tornado siren deaf out.

M&M enjoying one of her favorite treats: a peanut butter cookie (all natural and gluten free). We have pretty much dispensed with using a high chair with her at this point. She sits up quite nicely on her own. So, she gets a big girl chair or a booster seat when we are sitting down to a meal.

M&M trying to fill some pretty big shoes...mine in fact. She put her feet in them all by herself. On the correct feet even. She did not, however, bring them back to Daddy.

M&M and JG having a semi-tender moment in the backyard. I say semi-tender because M&M is smiling for reasons we did not discover until a few minutes later. It's best if I leave it at that and let you imagination wander. Don't worry, it'll come back...eventually.

M&M showing off her new, pretty dress with matching doll courtesy of Mimi at her baby shower.

When we adopted M&M, my auntie S (mother of cousins B and S, wife of uncle B, and math tutor by profession...they signed their Christmas cards "BS squared" [you will just have to imagine the little superscript 2 there] ever since cousin S came along) called to see if we would like her to throw a baby shower for The Queen and M&M since a lot of folks don't think about doing that sort of thing in our situation. Anyway, because of life, the girl, the gold watch and everything, it took a while to get the shower scheduled. I didn't find out about it until about a week before when I had lunch with My Sister...The Devil. When I asked when it was, I was told that she didn't know if I was invited. What the....excuse me??? Then I found out that The Queen was given a choice of two dates. She chose one...not realizing that it was Father's Day. My first OFFICIAL father's day.

To be honest, I was a tad annoyed at first that my pseudo plans for sleeping in and playing with guns were slipping quietly out the window like a cat burglar at 2:00 AM; but, I couldn't get mad about it. 1) I'm an easy going kind of guy, 2) It ain't worth getting upset about, 3) The Queen was apologetic and can be forgiven as she has been dealing with some stressful issues of her own, and 4) there will always be other times to play with guns and other Father's Days, but there will be only one time to attend my only daughter's baby shower.

Turn out was a little light...seeing as how it was Father's Day and all, but most of the family was there as were some good friends. I did get to take my uncle's Harley Sportster for a spin which was a lot of fun. I probably should have declined the offer because now I REALLY want another motorcycle, but I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to have the wind in my face with my wife snuggled up tight behind me.

M&M's very own rocking chair with matching dolly rocking chair (also courtesy of Mimi). Would you believe that the doll, the matching outfits and matching chairs all came from Cracker Barrel?? I was amazed.

My Sister...The Devil also returned a favor gift wise by presenting M&M with the complete U.S. coin mint set and stamp sets for her birth year just as I had done for my nieces when they were born. I'm still two up on her as a certain uncle brought for real, fresh baked birthday cakes to the hospital on the day the girls were born. The nurses got a kick out of it. Spice cake for the oldest, and chocolate for the youngest if memory serves me correctly.

WARHAMMER!!!!

Men of evil intent, be on notice and forewarned. At long last, Daddy Hawk has a WARHAMMER! worthy of the name with which to protect and defend the honor and virtue of The Queen and M&M. After much searching, fondling, drooling, coon fingering and general moon gazing at gun shows, gun stores and on the internet, I came to an unlikely decision given my previous ramblings on the subject. Let us start with a teaser....

Now, long time readers will immediately take notice and say, "Shepherd, what gives? You never mentioned SIGs as being on the wish list before." True, true. But, I never said they weren't either. Times change, additional information is gathered and the cream, as they say, rises to the top.

I can also hear some of you thinking loudly saying, "But, wait a minute Shep, I thought you wanted a 1911 so desperately you were channeling the spirit of John Moses Browning with a Ouiji board."

(pardon the view...Blogger won't let me rotate it)

Quite possibly true, but did I mention that SIG makes 1911s?

What you are looking at is the 1911 TACPAC from SIG. I will let SIG give you all the details your heart could desire. Basically, you get a full size, railed 1911 with a laser and standard three dot sights, kydex OWB retention holster with mag pouch, 2 magazines, a mag loader and a nice hard shell case.

Some of you are nodding your heads and saying "Uh huh, but, but...." Let me just say this about that...

(16 rounds at 7 yards 1 flyer)

I looked at everything priced at or below $1000. Really. I checked out Citadels. I looked at Rock Island Armory. A lot of people rave about them. They are solid and well put together, but I would have had to immediately sink money into it to get it to where I wanted it to be. I lusted after the Ruger SR1911 from afar on the internets; however, the fact that I have yet to see one in person anywhere put it out of reach despite it's attractive price and Ruger's reputation. I suspect they are nothing more than a viscious rumor spread by gun rags to increase magazine sales. I looked at Taurus...and kept right on looking. I looked at Colts, Kimbers and Springfield Armory. I had one grizzled old gunsmith tell me in no uncertain terms that Kimbers were crap and that they had never worked. My experience has been different, but there is enough smoke on the net to suggest some truth to his opinions. He also stated that he carried Colts and Springers in his store because they worked and had been making 1911s since 1911. Perhaps. The Colt I wanted was no where to be found, and I didn't like the build quality or feel of the Springer Loadeds I tried. Paras, STIs (keep in mind that there only 1 STI under a grand) and Remington all got brief consideration. Okay. STI got more than brief consideration. I looked longingly at the Smith & Wesson E Series (after all, it has wood grips engraved with my last initial) right up until I fondled one at the fun show today. Something about it was just not right.

Then we have SIGs. I had seen them on the web...and ignored them. Right up until a trip to a local range and gun store last week. When I mentioned my desire for a full size 1911, the gun counter dude pulled the SIG out of the case and said "Listen" as he racked the slide. 

The SIG said, "shhCHING". It made a beautiful ringing sound kinda like a nice crystal wine glass. That got my attention.

I held it lovingly in my hands, and it felt every bit like I dreamed a 1911 should feel. It pointed right where I wanted it. The front and back strap checkering was perfect. The build quality was dead on perfect. You just new it would hit bullseyes right out of the box. The store wanted too much friggin' money for the one that had in stock. To be fair, I think that one was the GSR version which had the magwell extension main spring housing and tritium night sights. It sure wasn't worth almost $400 more than what I paid for the complete package today at the fun show. 

Number One follower, his roomie and her boyfriend went to the gun range after the fun show to give it a whirl. Out of the box, it shot bullseyes just as I thought. It ate 120 rounds of 230 grain full metal jacket ammo from four different manufacturers without a single malfuntion. NOF's roomie (who is a new shooter) ran a couple of mags through and said she liked it better than NOF's Glock 19. That should say something.

So, to recap. One item of the wish list. One dream gun obtained. Daddy Hawk happy...for now.

Liar, Liar Pants On Fire

A while back, I complained somewhat loudly about the breathlessness with which Ruger hyped it's latest pocket pistol offering (the LC9) when I was hoping that all the teasing was a lead in to announcing a 1911 style pistol in the one hundredth year since JMB's ascension into gunnie immortality.

Say Uncle has a link to an article on The Firearm Blog with what is purported to be leaked photos of an impending release by Ruger of a 1911 style pistol.

It looks real pretty.

But Ruger lied to me when they said "I am not aware of any plans at this time for any new products / calibers." The have broken the ninth commandment and bore false witness to one of their loyal and faithful customers. I must go to their headquarters and preach to them about Hellfire and lepers. 

Right after I find out how much they plan to charge for one, and where I can put a deposit down.

Name Change

It occurs to me that, since I love Firefly so much, I should be calling myself Shepherd K instead of Preacher K. I will make this an official change when I get home. Now, I must go find someone to threaten with "the special Hell."

The Bling Is Back

Today was a very special day. It was the day I was able to give my wife, long live The Queen, a wedding ring...again.

I know. I know. I can hear some of you now asking yourselves and muttering at the screen "Preacher K., what do you mean again?"

It's a long story. I starts with a ring that looks just like this:

The Queen and I found what we thought was a beautiful engagement and wedding band set, six diamonds in a platinum setting. I remember clearly commenting when we bought it that the center diamond looked like a flashlight. The jewelry store where we purchased was a small family owned shop run by a grandmother and her grandson. The grandmother gave us a fair price on the set. We were happy.

After the honeymoon, the recently crowned Queen took the ring back to the shop for an appraisal for insurance purposes. This time, the grandson was present when The Queen was dealing with the grandmother. According to The Queen, grandson blew a gasket when he found out how much grandma sold the ring to us for. He took the ring into the back of the shop for "the appraisal".

The Queen didn't pay his behavior too much thought at the time. However, after that, the diamonds never had the same clarity and brilliance they had had before. The Queen immediately began to suspect that the stones had been swapped; however, we could never think of a way to prove it.

So, for almost seven years, The Queen walked around with a wedding ring set that she never really was sure about. Until August of last year. The Queen's mystery illness had an interesting side effect in that it made her highly sensitive to certain metals. It turned out that platinum was one such metal. The Queen couldn't wear her ring without having a reaction. So, we began to search for a suitable replacement. In the process of that search, we learned that there was evidence that the prongs in the setting on the original rings had been bent as if the work had been done hastily. Another jeweler confirmed that the diamonds in the ring were not much better than industrial grade.

It REALLY stinks to have your suspicions confirmed.

Anyway, we found a new setting in yellow gold that we liked. While we were there, we asked to see what a 1 carat diamond would look like in the setting. One was brought out. It was gorgeous in the setting. We asked how much? A price was mentioned which was approximately $1000 less than the going rate of the reported stone's quality. The Queen and I put it on layaway on the spot.

It took a little longer than expected, but the layaway was due to be paid off last week. With the snow and ice storm that blew through, we were not able to pay it off until today. I took an early, long lunch and made a dash for the jewelry store hoping to have the ring back before The Queen woke up. Unfortunately, I found out later that she woke up just minutes after I left for the jewelry store.

So, when I got back, I smiled and presented her with the little black box that held this:

Please pardon my poor photograpy.

The Queen's response: "SQUUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"

Take a Moment...

A little over a week ago, I took a short road trip south to Waco, Texas to check out the law school at Baylor. On the way back, I stopped off at my mom's place for a quick visit. Since mom is not much of a cook these days since she lives by herself, we decided the better part of valor to feed the inner people was to depart the 51 acres of scenic Hill County paradise known to the family as Annabelle Acres (named after my late grandmother) and head north to the bustling metrpolis of Cleburne where there is a restaurant or two to be had for weary and hungry travelers.

We took separate cars as I would be departing from Cleburne to continue my travels to Castle Erickson while Mimi would be back tracking in the opposite direction. Our travels were well timed with the setting sun, and we were blessed with a stunning sunset off our left shoulders. I took advantage of the camera that I had brought just in case of something photo worthy coming into view.

Take a moment to enjoy the sunset...

Mom called me on the cell while I was taking these pictures to ask me if I was seeing this.

Yep. Think so.