Life is funny. As much as we have advanced technologically, we always find ourselves needing very basic instruments when all other forms of tools fail or are lacking. Her Highness Nancy R. posts about a small outing with cookout that was saved by the simple presence of a knife.

So I offered her my pocket knife.  Then I just offered to take over the grilling if she’d like. I also pulled two deep tin dishes out of my car to hold the cooked hot dogs.  Just so you know, I do not usually grill…..I got some interesting reactions. Some shrank away – one kid in particular said “is that a POCKET KNIFE?!!11??” while skimming past the hot grill. And another stood at the prescribed safe distance and said “Hey! Is that a Gerber?” (It was.) “My first knife was a Gerber! Got any SOGs? Those are my favorite!” (I do.)

Sixty hotdogs later, my very hot knife was returned to my pocket. Thank goodness for the plastic on the handle

I’ll bet you hard cash that the gathering was probably well represented with the latest smart phone technology in the pockets, bags and purses of the attendees, yet it is hard to turn hot dogs over the grill with the any version of the iPhone, at least without any significant damage to it.

The knife is the tool that actually made us Sapiens. The original stones that cracked in to very sharp instruments divided food, scrapped fat out of fur, cut the first coats, sharpened and shaped wood and did a myriad of other things including defending the belongings of your cave-mates. It is the tool that is probably encoded in our DNA alongside the club.

So carry a knife. Carry more than one knife, I do. And yes, it is not easy in this day and age of company policies about weapons and adults behaving like sacred 5 year olds at the sight of a mouse, but there are ways around it. Here are some ideas.

First in the list, a classic: The Swiss Army Knife. Grandaddy of old the modern multitools and even considered tame by all but the most fanatical of the “Forbid-Everything” crowds. It will forever be associated with camping and the Boy Scouts so it has an image of low-level threat. The one I have now has over 25 years of service with your truly and it shows the wear but it is still very serviceable. The specific model is Tinker

From electrical repairs to emergency car fixes, this sucker has done it all. And it beats most multitools when it comes to Philip head screws removal or tightening as you get a T-shaped screwdriver. The small blade is sharp almost to the scalpel level for those times you need a delicate and precise cut.

Next on the list and the one that I use as utility blade: Boker Plus Wharcom.

With a blade length of 1 7/8″ and overall length of 4 1/2″, this looks more like a knife for Barbie that a truly macho knife…. but looks are indeed deceiving. It is solidly built, sharpen great and resist plenty of abuse. Mine has been almost constantly in my pants pockets for seven years now and done a great share of cutting. I have used it if front of many in management positions and heads of HR departments and nobody issued a single peep about having a “weapon at work.”

I have several other knives (fixed and folding blades) for more serious “social work” but I know I am entering a very personal area so I’ll go with whatever you want to have. I am planning on upgrading my actual folder that has a combined straight/serrated  blade with a new one that is just straight. I really do not see the advantage of a serrated blade for defense and I was taught by my old man to sharpen knives decently well so keeping a fighting edge is not an issue. But whatever tacticool knife i might choose, first blades going in my pockets are going to be the two displayed above as they will probably be used sometime during the day, every day for 365 days while the Super Duper Ninja Tanto Tri-Dimensional Serrated Rocket-Assisted Folding SWAT knife will gather lots of lint.

Apparently he bought a Kel Tec KSG and this is spelling gloom and doom for Western Civilization according to the Cult Coalition to Stop Gun Rights Violence and the comments made by its followers in its Facebook page. I am not convinced about the shotgun myself just yet. Too many complaints about reliability but it is an interesting concept.

I expect that the other cults shall soon follow with the outrage. I’ll update if it happens.

Don’t you worry, little darlin’, Monster Hunter’s on the call
Protecting you while you sleep safe and sound
We’ve got the bounty on the beasties and the Good Lord on our side
Anytime the scary monsters come around . . . we’ll put them down

via ▶ The Monster Hunter Ballad | Gray Rinehart.

We now have our soundtrack… buy your copy to support a fellow Monster Hunter.

SAVANNAH, GA –

The Savannah State University Department of Public Safety is investigating an accidental discharge of a campus officer’s weapon this morning.

The bullet went through a window in one wing of the Hubert Technical Building and traveled into a window of another classroom.

The bullet then lodged in a wall. A class was in session at the time but no injuries were reported.

A spokesperson for Savannah State says the campus officer was participating in a firearm training/demonstration exercise at the time.

The officer faces an administrative suspension.

via Campus officer fires gun into classroom at Savannah college – WBTW-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Florence, SC.

“the campus officer was participating in a firearm training/demonstration exercise at the time.”  1) I hope he got an F. 2) Paraphrasing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Who’s the slimy little communist ***, twinkle-toed ********* down here who planned and was doing live firearms training in a campus and not in a range?

So tomorrow, we are to expect this colossal encounter:

But let me get something clear first: Moms Demand Victims Action and its followers have been aware since the group was created that Starbucks allows people to carry guns as the law in each state specifies. Moms Demand Victims Action and its followers have been boycotting (at least that is what they all said were going to do) Starbucks because of that. So, how can you boycott something that you are already boycotting? I mean, if you don’t patronize a locale with some sort of regularity, you cannot “skip” it, right?

Is this like a Double-Secret-Probation-Boycott?

Another fresh offshot from the Brady Campaign: Voices Against Violence.

See, you can leave a message to be heard by… I guess somebody important in congress or whatever and I got to think “Well, if the good folks at Brady don’t mind, I will indeed give my opinion about violence.” and I tried, but my browser or something will not comply with the recording thing.

Now, If y’all don’t mind, go ahead and leave a nice message for the folks. Be polite, no need to be using foul language. I would actually recommend you write what you wanna say first, read it out loud several times and then go for the recording itself. If you feel that you are not the speech or literary type, you may want to read a passage of a favorite book or article that expresses your ideas about Gun Control. Quoting the Founding Fathers, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and other will surely drive them crazy.

Some may want to get creative and play parts of 911 calls where the victim was unarmed or bits from TV where they mention somebody staying alive because they used a gun to defend themselves or even that personal touch of your own experiences.

And yes, they will probably delete our recordings and yes, there will be somebody who will say some stupid shit and they will publicize that recording, but By Jove! We are gonna make them work for it…and who knows? maybe a couple of good recordings will slip by and be the worm in the wax apple.

Get to it!

(CNN) — Florida legislators won’t hold a special session to take another look at the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law.

While 47 state lawmakers voted in favor of holding a special session to discuss the law, 108 voted against it, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said in a letter Tuesday.

State law requires a three-fifths majority of both houses of the Florida Legislature to convene a special session, Detzner said.

via Florida lawmakers won’t have special session on ‘stand your ground’ – CNN.com.

You have to admit that Gun Control Cultists love to take it in the chin repeatedly. Then again when you want a law that says “I demand my right to defend myself be curtailed!” you will not have enough people backing you up and the ones that do, you don’t want anything to do with them.