Cake Pictures

My #3 child turned 6 a little while ago. Once again I was drafted as the cake decorator in chief. He wanted a racing car, so he got a racing car.






We were fresh out of Oreos for the tires so I used what I could find in the pantry.

Here are a few of my other efforts, just to prove that I'm a serial offender.





The 3D train sagged a little.


I thought the John Deere looked good.


Scooby was a winner.

Homemade target stands

Everyday Prepper had a little bit about homemade target stands and I thought I'd show my version of a homemade target stand.

I made mine out of scrap wood I had and some leftover exterior rated screws from some project or other. Whatever you have available that you don't have to spend money on is best.

I used a table saw to cut the notches in the 2x4 boards. The uprights are whatever I had close to 1x4. I have used scraps of molding but it breaks easily if you get a stray round into it. Plywood works best for the uprights because it usually doesn't break when hit. A power drill and a staple gun rounded out the tools I used. I think you can figure out how to build these from the pics.

Here is the front of one of them when it was taken down for storage or transport. You can see some of the wood was weathered and even rotten in a few places but it still works fine for this.


Here is the back of one taken down.


Here is the front of one set up.


Here is the back.


This is the result of a little spare time.



I didn't spend a lot of time trying to make them all perfect or look nice and professional. We've all seen the video of the guy saying "I'm the only one professional enough . . . " I made as few cuts as possible and used whatever lengths of wood I had and also tried to use whatever size cardboard I had so I didn't have to cut that up either. Some pieces are different lengths but they all hold targets. You only need one cross piece on the bottom to hold up the target unless it is a very windy day. When I'm in West Texas I frequently have to put a piece of old PTO shaft across the bottom to keep the wind from blowing them over. You can obviously make them as tall and wide as you want.

Have fun.

The latest intended government atrocity - attacking owner finance of property.

HR1728 is the offender. Here is a little more info on it.

The short form is that the government want's to stick it's nose into your business in yet another way.

The government likes this because a new army of examiners, regulators, paperpushers, and other busybodies will be hired to inflict this upon us. Bankers love it because it will decrease the amount of owner financing and increase their business. Everyone else will be a loser.

Welcome to the brave new world.

So the President wants even more control over banks

No surprise.

From the article:

President Barack Obama is ready to roll out an overhaul of the intricate rules and systems that govern America's troubled financial institutions, proposing the most ambitious revision since the Great Depression.

If that doesn't scare you then you are either not paying attention or you are a marxist like the President.

More from the article:

The goal is to prevent a recurrence of the economic crisis that erupted in the United States and exploded last fall with devastating consequences still reverberating around the world.

That is complete nonsense. The goal is to increase control of banks by the government.

Here is a little item that the "reporter" somehow "forgot" to mention:

THE GOVERNMENT CAUSED THE CRISIS!!

I put the word "reporter" in quotes because anyone that fawns over this President in this manner is a political hack instead of a reporter and I put the word "forgot" in quotes because I suspect this was left out on purpose.

Here is another great little line:

Unlike the government's temporary ownership stake in automakers and major financial companies . . .

Who does this guy think he is fooling? "The government's temporary ownership"? Do you really think the government will ever not own GM?

The only way the government will ever not own GM is if the President or Pelosi decides to do a favor for some political supporter.

Continuing in the article:

. . . the regulatory changes set to be announced Wednesday are designed to be permanent. They could result in a major realignment of power and authority among government agencies that set the rules for banking, lending and investing and touch American lives through daily transactions, from credit cards to mortgages and mutual funds.

TOUCH AMERICAN LIVES!!! Those are frightening words. The kind of words that will literally keep people up at night.

Ronald Reagan was absolutely correct when he said ""The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

The number one thing we do NOT need is for the government to touch American lives more.

Now the article starts to get really silly:

The proposals already are the source of a spirited debate in Congress over whether Obama's measures will prove too timid or place too heavy a hand on the levers of capitalism.

I guess the people that think this is too timid are upset because it might leave some American somewhere untouched.

I think this is my favorite part:

One way or another, the Fed could be a winner in the administration's plan.

No kidding. I'm surprised that the editor let that little Freudian slip stay in the article.

God help this nation and save it from the government.

Quote of the day

In Africa, as everywhere, personal freedom is impossible without economic freedom. When productive people are stripped of the fruits of their labor in order to support bloated governments, the poor get poorer and progress grinds to a halt.

John Farnam

I wish the President and congress were aware of this.

John Farnam runs a school called Defense Training International. I recommend taking a class if you can. His books are great as well.

Any Tax is a Good Tax

Here you go.

The use of company-issued mobile phones could trigger new federal income taxes on millions of Americans as a "fringe benefit."

The Internal Revenue Service proposed employers assign 25% of an employee's annual phone expenses as a taxable benefit. Under that scenario, a worker in the 28% tax bracket, whose wireless device costs the company $1,500 a year, could see $105 in additional federal income tax.

The IRS, in a notice issued this week, said employees could avoid tax liability if they showed proof they used personal cellphones for nonbusiness calls during work hours.

The next thing you know they will be taxing the price of office chairs.

How about this: Require companies to provide wrist rests to avoid carpel tunnel as a health issue, then tax the employees for the cost of the wrist rest because it's a benefit. Of course you could avoid tax liability if you showed proof that you used a personal wrist rest for non-business typing during work hours.

Palin vs. Letterman

One obvious difference between Sara Palin and her family and almost any lefty is that the lefty would just kill the inconvenient child, then go out for a latte.

That is one reason that the left hates her so much.