fritz

"My guess is that Century is sitting on another 1,000,000 of the 1903 Turkish Mausers, but doesn't want to sell them for $25 with free shipping." Damned, I hope it ain't so because I already have too many of their previous specials. But you can rest assured that inflation has set in in the surplus rifle business, and you ain't going to see $25 rifles again. Keep dreaming. I woke up a few years ago. fritz

I'm with you Karl. One of the soldiers was a Texan. Their death (was it by beheading?) should be reason to take action, in one way or the other. fritz

"I wonder if another company, like Greater Sooner Holdings, Inc., could drill there?" Never heard of them. But my lease is with Chesapeake Operating out of OK City, and they are bringing in wells all around me, all deep, around 12 to 16 thousand feet. I had a bit of legal trouble with them a month ago on delay rentals, but with the help of a lawyer they coughed up some more money. They are going to have to make a new lease or drop it come spring. I don't see them dropping it, what with wells all around me. All that and six bits buys me a cup of coffee at the DQ. I hope you didn't get suckered in like some investors with little independants did in the 70s. HM Oil Co. out of Houston came in and drilled two 4,000' wells on some land I owned. A lawyer and an architect put up the money to drill because this area was where the action was. I still remember the architect arriving with a six pack and a bucket of KFC, wanting to see the log. I explained to him that it would take several hours before they were ready to log. He could not comprehend that, since he was an architect and could do it faster. Well, around midnight the big shot from HM arrived (he knew how long it would take to get the log). In the meantime, the architect kept saying he hoped it was oil, since oil was selling for over $40 per barrel. It took all my patience to explain to him that this well bottomed at 4,000' and the nearest oil was at 5600'. I told him that this well was a GAS well, and to forget oil. It turned out to be a flop, but guess who lost money--the investors and not the oil company. In fact the big shot had his son drill the well, all at investors expense. Hope your mileage differs. fritz

"Ah..Nothing like a Merkava tank, to make someone see reason. : ) The Merkava . Weight (t) 61 Length 7600 mm Length (cannon forward) 8780 mm Max. Width 3700 mm Max. Height 2760 mm range (road) 500 km Forward speed (max) 55 kph F. speed (average,terrain) 38 kph Reverse speed 25 kph Engine 882kW TCM diesel AVDS-1790-9AR Vertical obstacle climb 1 m Maximum width ditch 3.5 m Fording Depth 1.38 (2) m fuel tank (l) 1250 Main Gun 120mm cannon Coaxial machinegun 7.62mm Anti-personnel machinegun 2 x7.62mm Commander's machinegun 12.7 mm Light Do WE have one of those in Iraq? fritz

Yes, oil prices went down in the early eighties, and oil companies stopped exploring in my area. That is one reason why Shell dry-holed a deep well next to me in 1982, the cost of producing it wasn't going to be met with the decline in oil and gas prices. What's good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander, at least in the oil business. Not until oil went up did the companies come back here and start drilliing again. Now it's my turn to reap what has been taken from me years ago. Where's that rig? fritz

Land rigs have been capable of going down to about 25,000' with the biggest ones. There was a well that deep drilled in the 70s about 10 miles from me. It was just for exploration, to map the deep formations. Shell had a rig next to me in 1982 that went to 18,000' and was dry-holed without perforating. Just for mapping the formations also. Ten years later companies began bringing in gas at 12,500', right where Shell had a minor blowout in the 60s. They couldn't control it in those days. The rig Shell had here was capable of lifting a million pounds of drill stem, that would be more than 20,000' of pipe. As to the salt water intrusion of a well bore, oil and gas is water driven and when the oil and gas is bled off too quickly, the water rushes in. They ain't yet figured a way to fix that yet. Maybe someday, there has been a lot of oil and gas left in the ground because of greedy producers. fritz

Floresville should be a good place to set up a gunsmith shop. A lot of hunters would come through there on the way to the brush country. You know what they say about real estate and location. The price of a shop there would definitely be less than one in San Antonio, and that's the reason at least one car dealer is selling a lot of vehicles to San Antonio--drive a little, save a lot. fritz

Live Oak County is just west of Bee County, so two counties removed from me. I know that Bee county is experiencing some renewed activity, and I guess so is Live Oak. A lot of the activity here in Goliad County is drilling deeper next to an old oil and gas well, which bottomed at around 9,000'. With the use of the new 3-D seismic they found a very potent formation just a few thousand feet deeper. Seems that where there is shallow oil, there may be deep oil too. They just didn't have the technology to produce that deep stuff until recently. They could drill that deep, but couldn't control it in the old days. There was a very deep well drilled on my land in the 1940s, deep for that day. It bottomed at 13,500' and there was a slight blowout before they plugged it back to 5600' and flowed oil for 5 years, a few barrels a day. At around $4 a barrel. Nobody got rich. With the price of crude so high, there is money to be made in reworking the old wells. At least the ones that have not brought in the Gulf of Mexico, in the way of salt water. Even a few barrels a day at $71/barrel is profitable. fritz

Why don't you ask the survivors of the USS Liberty how they feel about the Israeli warplanes? And the coverup by our own government? fritz

Floresville is just up the road from me, about 70 miles. I have to go through there on the way to San Antonio. It's not a bad town, we got our start in the Brangus cattle business with stock from Clayton Williams' herd on the San Antonio River there. The river winds its way down through my town of Goliad. It still had a small town atmosphere about 10 years ago, probably still does. It is just far enough away from San Antonio to escape the urban sprawl. But that is probably changing. I just noticed today, in a Texas Outdoors Journal magazine, that they have a dealer in an ATV I may be interested in. Like Tony said, it's cattle country, along with peanuts. The last time I was there they had peanut wagons all over the place. They are not far from Poteet, the strawberry capital. It's sandy soil. Don't know about the machine shop business thereabouts, it's a little far from the oil patch. But there is always something for a machine shop to do. Looking forward to meeting you if you come down to Floresville. fritz

We never put up the loose hay like they did years before, but we did have that hay stack arrangement around a tall pole. Damned, it never occured to us to use pitch to seal the ground under them, good idea. We would put up the hay with a rowbinder (it was planted in rows) and make shocks of the bundles that looked like tepees. Then when dry, we would pitch fork these bundles on a wagon and haul to the barnyard where we had the tall poles set up. My father was the only one allowed to make the stack, as the bundles had to be laid just right. But there was plenty of chores for the rest of us. That hay kept as well as any modern baled hay today. It was all in the design of the big stack, and we placed an old tire around the pole at the top. The old farmers had a bit of pyramid building knowledge it seems. We never had that real cool water from a well, but it still tasted good coming out of that open top cypress cistern (at least until a squirrel fell in and drowned). That and a snake falling down in the well casing caused a bit of bad taste to the water. Wonder how we survived, eh? We didn't have the EPA or OSHA or those other do-gooder federal agencies to take care of us. And life was fine, for those on the farm. Take me back, maybe someday? fritz

"WE WOULD RATHER DO BUSINESS WITH 1000 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS THAN WITH ONE SINGLE AMERICAN". This sign was prominently displayed in the window of a business in Philadelphia. You are probably outraged at the thought of such an inflammatory statement. One would think that anti-hate groups from all across the country would be marching on this business . and that the National Guard might have to be called to keep the angry crowds back. But, perhaps in these stressful times one might be tempted to let the proprietors simply make their statement . We are a society which holds Freedom of Speech as perhaps our greatest liberty. After all, it is just a sign. You may ask what kind of business would dare post such a sign? Answer: A Funeral Home (Who said morticians had no sense of humor?) You gotta love it!!! God Bless America! fritz

My old Gleaner, an A-2, had a cab but no AC. The fan just circulated hot air around you. I still have it in the barn taking up space. It will never be used again. But I had some good and bad times with that machine, mostly bad times. Combines with open seats were alright for some climates, but not in the heat of S. Texas. There is a chance, just a slim chance, that a tropical disturbance will come into the area this weekend. But I'm not holding my breath, you folks in Florida better get ready. This one will probably curve your way again. Anybody wanna buy a well-used Gleaner, no AC or power steering. Will sell cheap. fritz

I'm round baling right now, but will probably bale some of the second?? cut in square bales. The thought of having to haul up those bales got me directed towards the 567 Magawide JD. Now if only the damned AC in my JD tractor would hold a refrigerant charge, it would be a pleasure to bale. It gets awfully hot in that cab with only a whisper of cooling. Yeah, I guess I am showing my age. There weren't no air conditioning in tracors when I was young. But since I was young, I could tolerate it better. I'm hoping for cooler weather, along with wetter weather, but then that is what I have been hoping for all my life. I'm from Texas, and the two are far and few between. fritz

I began to take up fishing (albeit briefly) again when the rains came and filled up my ponds. I found my old rods and reels and just needed to put new line on them. I figure every 20 years is about right. Since there ain't a earthworm in the wild after that drought, I had to break down and buy some nightcrawlers. I am sure there ain't no worms out there in the pasture because I used my frontend loader to dig down almost to China looking for them. Here is my first catch. Not big enough yet, so I am feeding them some more before trying again--- fritz

I agree, Numrich or whatever they wish to be called, are the junk yard of firearms. As in any junkyard, there is trash and treasure. Treasure to the buyer maybe, but junk to them. I simply stay away from GPC because of my past dealings with them, going back about 40 years. That tells my age, but it also tells something about them. fritz

Thanks to one well timed rain of over 4" a few weeks ago, I have been able to start cutting hay. It ain't what I would like it to be, but it's a far cry from what it was a few months ago. Which was nada. My cows won't even look at me anymore, but they will once that grass grows shorter by the day. The smell of that fresh cut hay, and the sight of that first bale coming out of the baler, was just undescribable. It reminded me once again that this is what I really stay here for. I could pack up and move to greener pastures (but my cows can't), so I stay. And pray. Pray for more rain to keep up the harvest, both of hay and my ability to make a living off this hard-scrabble land. fritz

Those of you on the southern coast should be on the lookout for "high" birds, pelicans to be exact. Seems the big-billed birds are getting high on algae. They are staggering around and are sorta disorientated. I always suspected there was something in the water in California, but ALGAE??? It all seems to make sense now. And I thought it was in the air, didn't think about the water. Oh well, I guess now there will be thousands of kids hitting the beach, but with a different pursuit. To hell with the surfing, LET'S PARTY!! fritz

My congratulations on an excellent choice of fare to put on the grill. Even pork is better than that nasty word beginning with "C". Reminds me of the trucker/golfer we have here at the club. He is a long-haul trucker that transports (if that is the word for it) chicken for Tyson. He made a comment today about farmers (cowmen) and their cattle. I wanted to, but held my breath, to tell him that once the bird flu hits the country he will have to either transport beef or go broke. The choice is his. Since his roots are in Canada, I sorta expected this of him. fritz

Like Jason said, the lugs could be set back by the increased load of the Nato round. I don't have much patience with the 1916 actions, as there are so many better ones out there. Even for free, I wouldn't put much time or effort into it. There was a time though that I would work with such a receiver, at least with the bad holes, as long as the lugs were OK. No more. fritz

Maybe they are using grapes to make ethanol. Well, something is going to go up when they do. mrs fritz will be pissed if her wine goes up, hell maybe I will too, since fruit flavored brandy is derived from------ fruit. I just took out a short term CD for 5.20% interest. That beats my portfolio all to schitt. Some of my investments went way down last month. You say there is a rally going on? I am salivating already, but I just moved some money to a guaranteed CD for over 5%. Let the rally begin--I will believe it when I see it. The reason for the grapes (and other produce) going up in price is simple math---supply and demand. There has been, and continues to be in many parts, a drought coupled with an untimely (when are they timely) freeze. fritz

I havent' seen Kay Bailey's stand yet but I believe Cornyn is one of the strongest anti-immigration senators in there. I've seen some interesting stats though. 10% of Mexico's population currently lives in the US. 1 in 7 Mexicans has immigrated to the US at some point. This makes it the largest migration in the history of the world. It's that serious. That's my take on it right now. fritz

"From the picture it looks like your left of center!!" My good fellow, the shortstop is playing deep on the batter at the plate. The batter is none other than Barry Bonds, and fritz is trying to catch the ball before it goes over the wall for the homer that sets a new record. Is it not enought that Bonds has beaten the Babe in homers? fritz

Today is Flag Day, and few places in this country have flown as many flags as my town. Many of you know that I live in the place where Texas independence started. And you can't miss my flag icon. Here is a story that our local newspaper printed today, hope it unloads--- Goliad flies them proudly Nine flags over Goliad include one unique to the area June 14, 2006 PAT HATHCOCK - Victoria Advocate Editor's Note Today is Flag Day - a day set aside to honor the American flag as a symbol of freedom, sacrifice and unity as a nation. Other flags in the area also represent battles fought to gain independence. Pat Hathcock takes a look at the origin of the Goliad flag, which flies at the Presidio La Bahia as one of the nine flags over Goliad. Advocate File PhotoGreg McReynolds View our Flag Day photo gallery Advertisement GOLIAD - They fly nine flags in front of Presidio La Bahia. There are your standard six flags over everywhere - Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the American flag. The other three, said Newton Warzecha, director of the Presidio, include a green flag of the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition of 1812, which he calls the First Republic of Texas. Then there's the red-and-white flag of the James Long Expedition of 1821, with a lone star in the corner and stripes like the U.S. flag, which he calls the Second Republic of Texas. The ninth flag is unique to Goliad and there's no mistaking the imagery. It's a bloody red arm clutching a sword that's dripping blood, all against a white background. It was raised over the Presidio on Dec. 20, 1835, when a band of Texas patriots gathered to declare independence from Mexico. Warzecha said that the flag was made by Philip Dimmitt, a prosperous merchant who had taken an interest in politics. The Handbook of Texas Online credits Dimmitt as the likely maker of the flag and mentions that many count Dimmitt's flag as the first flag of Texas independence, since previous flags designed in 1835 symbolized separate Mexican states, not an independent republic. Dimmitt was born in Kentucky and had married a relative of Martín De León. The couple lived on a ranch at the edge of Victoria. He had trading operations on the Guadalupe River near Victoria, at Goliad, and on Lavaca Bay. A couple of months before the independence meeting, Dimmitt had designed a flag in the Mexican colors, with the words Constitution of 1824 in the center panel. By Dec. 20, he had given up on the idea of the Texians sorting things out peacefully with Mexico. Warzecha Warzecha said, They gathered at the Presidio on Dec. 20, 1835, and on Dec. 22 certified the vote for independence. Later the declaration was discounted because all Texas communities weren't represented. They met at Washington-on-the-Brazos March 1 of the following year, but the Goliad declaration was the first declaration of independence of Texians from Mexico. Flags were so plentiful and varied in the history of early Texas, that a beautiful illustrated book is devoted to them, Texas Flags, by Robert Maberry Jr. According to Maberry, Dimmitt had led a contingent from Goliad in October that took San Antonio from the Mexican troops stationed there. Maberry writes, Those who accept the tradition that an '1824' tricolor flew over the Alamo assume that it was Dimmitt's Goliad flag, which he had left behind. Upon returning to Goliad from San Antonio, Dimmitt had abandoned the idea of reconciliation with Mexico and saw independence as the only path for the Texians. Maberry quotes Hobart Huson, who had a description of the Goliad flag as being of white domestic, two yards in length and one in width, and in the center was a sinewy arm and hand, painted red, grasping a drawn sword of crimson. Maberry says that the origin of the design has been unclear to historians but might refer to a bit of Irish legend. Warzecha said, There's a story in Irish history about two groups trying to get to land. They had agreed that the first to touch land could have possession. One of them cut off his hand and threw it on the land and won. According to a baronetage.org Web site, the coat of arms of Ulster still has a red hand. Warzecha said that it was a story that would be familiar to the many Irish delegates at the meet and perhaps some of the Celtic-American delegates as well. A modern version of the Goliad flag is one of the nine over Goliad. The original was designed by Philip Dimmitt as a way to declare the Texians' independence from Mexico. Maberry said the design was a provocative one for reasons the Texians might not have known. He wrote, To Santa Anna and the Mexican authorities, it would have looked much like the flags flown by Caribbean and Gulf pirates - for the Texians an unfortunate association. The design seemed to justify the Mexican government's insistence that the rebels were mere 'pirates and outlaws,' the argument used to justify Santa Anna's policy of granting no quarter. The delegates met in the chapel, Warzecha said, leading visitors into the Our Lady of Loreto at Presidio La Bahia, which is still a functioning church, beautifully restored, with services every Sunday at 5 p.m. With the ghosts of Fannin's massacred troops hanging about, there is hardly any site but the Alamo more redolent of Texas history. Warzecha said that when the delegates came out of the chapel after signing the declaration, the flag was raised. I'm sure it was Nicholas Fagan who raised it on a sycamore pole. Warzecha said, He raised the flag but afterward he had a hard time deciding to sign the declaration. He was grateful to Mexico for giving him the opportunity to have land here. In a room just off the chapel there are many flags closely nestled. Warzecha said, Those are the flags of the states, counties, countries of the men who were killed in the Fannin massacre. This is not all, not a complete list, but we're really not working on finishing it. The fate of Dimmitt's original flag is unknown. Warzecha said, We're not sure where it ended up. We have a framed flag that has been artificially distressed to look old. Dimmitt later committed suicide in a Mexican prison, according to the Handbook of Texas Online. Nicholas Fagan is the forebear of numerous descendants in the area, including the O'Connors of Victoria, Warzecha said. Maberry writes, When (Fagan) unfurled the bloody-arm flag, it was immediately rent by a bullet fired from the streets outside the wall. The desire for independence was by no means universal. There could be no mistaking the message the Goliad patriots - Irish, Tejano and American Texians - were sending Santa Anna when they waved that bloody arm at him. fritz

If this were baseball, fritz would be the shortstop--- fritz