RECCE ROOM

Back in September, my family completed three years of being a " Nielsen family ." We had the TV ratings company come in, set up machines to monitor viewing, and we were part of the ratings you are familiar with. Of course, during that time, we were under contract to not discuss it. But friends and family know now, and here are some of their most common questions, and the answers, for your entertainment: 1. How did you get picked to be a Nielsen family? My wife received a letter from them, asking us and detailing the specifics, including pay... 2. Did Nielsen pay you? And how much? Yes. $25 per quarter. We can retire now.  3. How exactly did they monitor what you watched? A device was attached to the TV input, before it got to the TV. We had a remote for this, and we had a programmed number. When the device would flash, we would press the number corresponding to the viewer. Daughter was 1, Son was 2, I was 3, wife was 4. Guests were collectively 5.  4. Could Nielsen tell exact...

 A Little About My Fishing Adventures: I'm a bank fisherman. I don't own a boat, and I don't need one to enjoy a little time on the water. My primary interest is catching bream and other sunfish, not chasing trophy bass. I use relatively simple, inexpensive tackle. Nothing fancy, and certainly nothing that requires a second mortgage. Most of my fishing takes place at accessible public locations around Tennessee - mostly Middle Tennessee. These posts aren't intended to be expert fishing advice. They're simply firsthand reports of where I fished, what I used, what I caught, and what I learned along the way. Some days I'll catch fish. Some days I won't. Either way, I'll tell you what happened. My Fishing Gear:  I keep things simple and inexpensive.  - Rod: B'n'M 410 Spinning Rod ($10.99 - Academy) - Reel: Shimano 1000 ($34.99 - Academy) - Line: Berkley Trilene, 4-pound test ($9.99 - Academy) - Jigheads: 1/32 ounce ($2.99 - WalMart) - Bobber: Comal R...

"Don't California my Tennessee" Many people say this. But not all of them believe it.  Seen on social media: Welcome You came here from there because you didn't like there, and now you want to change here to be like there. We are not racist, phobic or anti whatever-you-are, we simply like here the way it is and most of us actually came here because it is not like there, wherever there was. You are welcome here, but please stop trying to make here like there. If you want here to be like there you should not have left there to come here, and you are invited to leave here and go back there at your earliest convenience. I know several that have come here exactly like that. We probably all do.  Most people will say the ones who "want to make here like there" are liberals and Democrats. Without a doubt, that is a big portion of them. But let's talk about the uncomfortable - the slightly conservative ones.  These people like guns, low taxes, pro-life, individua...

I recently got back into fishing. A Little About My Fishing Adventures: I'm a bank fisherman. I don't own a boat, and I don't need one to enjoy a little time on the water. My primary interest is catching bream and other sunfish, not chasing trophy bass. I use relatively simple, inexpensive tackle. Nothing fancy, and certainly nothing that requires a second mortgage. Most of my fishing takes place at accessible public locations around Tennessee - mostly Middle Tennessee. These posts aren't intended to be expert fishing advice. They're simply firsthand reports of where I fished, what I used, what I caught, and what I learned along the way. Some days I'll catch fish. Some days I won't. Either way, I'll tell you what happened. My Fishing Gear:  I keep things simple and inexpensive.  - Rod: B'n'M 410 Spinning Rod ($10.99 - Academy) - Reel: Shimano 1000 ($34.99 - Academy) - Line: Berkley Trilene, 4-pound test ($9.99 - Academy) - Jigheads: 1/32 ounce ($...

A friend saw this blog post and told me he felt is was very cynical. I agree. It was. It is. And I do not apologize for that. A pessimist expects the worst. A cynic suspects the worst. A skeptic demands evidence. And all three can coexist in one person. The question is: what happens when the evidence repeatedly confirms the cynic's suspicions? And this is for the questions that don't have any answers The midnight glancers and the topless dancers The gander freaks, cars packed with speakers The G's with the 40's and the chicks with beepers The Northern Lights and the Southern Comfort And it don't even matter if their veins are punctured All the crackheads, the critics, the cynics And all my heroes in the Methadone clinics All you bastards at the IRS For the crooked cops and the cluttered desks For the shots of Jack and the caps of Meth Half pints of love and the 5th's of stress For the hookers all trickin' out in Hollywood And for my hoods of the world misun...

An exercise in political imagination, inspired by Paul Harvey's "If I Were the Devil." If I were a corrupt city commissioner, I wouldn't begin by raising taxes. Not yet. I wouldn't begin by taking away the people's rights, either. That would be much too obvious. No, if I were a corrupt city commissioner, I'd begin by convincing the people that I was trying to help them. I'd tell them their city was growing too fast. I'd remind them about the traffic. The overcrowded roads. The infrastructure that couldn't keep up. I'd remind them about their property taxes. And I'd tell them I had a solution. I'd tell them that developers should pay their fair share. Who could possibly disagree with that? I'd make certain the people understood that I wasn't asking them for more money. Quite the opposite. I was trying to save them money. But there would be a catch. There would have to be a catch. You see, my city wo...

  It was bound to happen sooner or later. This author was called for jury duty. Three months, and I would have to call in every week to see if I had to report. OK. So be it. In advance, I thought I would never be seated as a juror. Why? Two reasons: 1. I am a firearms instructor. Can't imagine a criminal defense attorney would want me in that jury box.  2. I believe wholeheartedly in the idea of jury nullification. No prosecutor worth their salt would want me in the jury box.  For the record, judges often warn against jury nullification. The thing is: jury nullification is not illegal in Tennessee. The apparent contradiction comes from the difference between what a jury has the power to do and what judges believe jurors have a legal duty to do. Interesting fact, in the case that was tried, and for which I was selected as a juror, the judge directly said: "As jurors, you are the ultimate judges of the law and the facts."  That statement openly invites nullification, i...

  It's like cracking open a cold beverage at the end of a hard day. 

  There's never a bad time to re post the Graham Combat Killhouse Rules.  Rule 1: Nobody is coming to save you.  Rule 2: Everything is your responsibility.  Rule 3: Save who needs to be saved.  Rule 4: Kill who needs to be killed.  Rule 5: Always be working.