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Weekend Update #28

Author: Chris ODonnell From https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Sep 5th, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

90+F today in Richmond. 70F tomorrow. Welcome to fall in Richmond. The run of cool temps two weeks ago was fake fall, which was followed by second summer this week with temps back up in the 90s and the drop tomorrow is RVA settling into fall for real. The 4 seasons thing is a fake news. We have 13 seasons in Richmond.

Last weekend was glorious. 3 days with no cell service at the campground and absolutely perfect weather the entire time. I wish I could do that every weekend. Work continues to keep me very busy, although I feel like I'm working much harder this year and making less. Welcome to self-employment? I'm not sure what I'll be doing year. I may have options for FT employment, maybe a PT job and PT self-employment, or maybe I stay FT freelance. Or maybe I hit the $1.8 billion Powerball this weekend and none of you ever hear from me again.

What would you do if you won the lottery for really big bucks? I would put an insane amount aside to live on, like $50 million or something, write big checks to family, and then start a foundation and my "job" for the rest of my life would be to give it all away to people working to make the world a better place.

I don't have many links again. I need to work harder at saving things I find online.

A list of some off the best streaming indie radio stations in the US. I've completely quit Spotify, etc. as my source of background music when working or whatever. I always go with streaming radio stations now.

This article about Octavia Butler's uncannily accurate predictions of the future is interesting.

The best wildlife photos of the year, so far.

A new blog about productivity software from the early days of the PC area. Wordstar and Lotus 123 FTW!

And that is it for this week. Remember, in a world where you can choose to be anything, you can choose to be kind.

Range Time Under a Blue Morning Sky

Author: David From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Sep 5th, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

Morning arrived sunny and cool — perfect weather for a trip to the range. I usually head out in the early afternoon to avoid the morning “rush,” but other plans meant trying an earlier time. After my morning coffee, I loaded up the gear and headed out. There was some activity at the park, but I found an open pistol bay.

The sky was a clear, bright blue with just enough breeze to keep things comfortable. I started with 25-yard shooting, working through both the DA and SA trigger pulls on the SIG P226. Out of 45 rounds, about half landed in the -0 circle, most of the rest in -1, with six drifting into -3, and just one miss. Considering the target is little more than a blurry blob to me at that distance, I was pleased with the results — even if the shooting was slow.

Next came 95 rounds from the 15-yard line. I mixed DA and SA trigger pulls with some head shots, firing faster than I had at 25 yards. Even limited to two-shot pairs by range rules, with no movement allowed, it still felt like progress. I wrapped up the session with slow, strong-hand and weak-hand-only shooting at 10 yards.

It was an extremely enjoyable morning — beautiful weather, relaxing time on the range, and satisfying practice. I’m still not sure when I’ll jump back into a local IDPA match, but for now, I’m appreciating every bit of trigger time I can get.

Cheers!

Range Time Under a Blue Morning Sky

Author: David From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Sep 5th, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

Morning arrived sunny and cool — perfect weather for a trip to the range. I usually head out in the early afternoon to avoid the morning “rush,” but other plans meant trying an earlier time. After my morning coffee, I loaded up the gear and headed out. There was some activity at the park, but I found an open pistol bay.

The sky was a clear, bright blue with just enough breeze to keep things comfortable. I started with 25-yard shooting, working through both the DA and SA trigger pulls on the SIG P226. Out of 45 rounds, about half landed in the -0 circle, most of the rest in -1, with six drifting into -3, and just one miss. Considering the target is little more than a blurry blob to me at that distance, I was pleased with the results — even if the shooting was slow.

Next came 95 rounds from the 15-yard line. I mixed DA and SA trigger pulls with some head shots, firing faster than I had at 25 yards. Even limited to two-shot pairs by range rules, with no movement allowed, it still felt like progress. I wrapped up the session with slow, strong-hand and weak-hand-only shooting at 10 yards.

It was an extremely enjoyable morning — beautiful weather, relaxing time on the range, and satisfying practice. I’m still not sure when I’ll jump back into a local IDPA match, but for now, I’m appreciating every bit of trigger time I can get.

Cheers!

Labor Day with the My Father Blue Robusto

Author: David From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Sep 2nd, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

When our son was in high school, he worked as a lifeguard at the local pool. I remember Labor Day weekends well — his last days of work for the summer were usually cold and dreary. Often his shifts were shortened or even canceled, much to his disappointment. To this day, whenever the holiday weekend brings warm, pleasant weather, it still feels like something of a rarity.

This past weekend was one of those rare exceptions — sunny, mild, and perfect for deck time. Monday afternoon found us outside enjoying the day, cocktails in hand. My treat for the occasion was the My Father Blue Robusto.

The My Father Blue is the first Honduran-crafted cigar from Don Pepin García’s My Father brand. This 5 x 54 box-pressed stick wears a dark Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper with a reddish hue. Inside, Honduran-grown Corojo and Criollo tobaccos from the García family’s Finca La Opulencia farm make up the binder and filler. For years, all My Father cigars were rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, but in 2024 the Garcías opened a new factory in Honduras — where they had already been cultivating tobacco for several years.

The cigar opens with notes of cocoa and cedar, backed by a gentle sweetness. The flavors are full and engaging right from the start. As the smoke develops, hints of espresso and roasted coffee join in, though the overall profile remains steady from first draw to final puff.

Construction was solid, with an even burn and thick clouds of smoke that held their presence even against the light deck breeze. The pace of the burn did surprise me, however — I reached the first band in about 15 minutes. These cigars have only been resting in my humidor for four weeks, and I suspect more age might slow the combustion a bit. In the end, I was left with a tiny nub in just 45 minutes.

Despite the shorter smoking time, I thoroughly enjoyed the My Father Blue Robusto. I’m torn between lighting up another soon or exercising patience to see how a little more rest might refine the experience.

Cheers!

Labor Day with the My Father Blue Robusto

Author: David From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Sep 2nd, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

When our son was in high school, he worked as a lifeguard at the local pool. I remember Labor Day weekends well — his last days of work for the summer were usually cold and dreary. Often his shifts were shortened or even canceled, much to his disappointment. To this day, whenever the holiday weekend brings warm, pleasant weather, it still feels like something of a rarity.

This past weekend was one of those rare exceptions — sunny, mild, and perfect for deck time. Monday afternoon found us outside enjoying the day, cocktails in hand. My treat for the occasion was the My Father Blue Robusto.

The My Father Blue is the first Honduran-crafted cigar from Don Pepin García’s My Father brand. This 5 x 54 box-pressed stick wears a dark Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper with a reddish hue. Inside, Honduran-grown Corojo and Criollo tobaccos from the García family’s Finca La Opulencia farm make up the binder and filler. For years, all My Father cigars were rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, but in 2024 the Garcías opened a new factory in Honduras — where they had already been cultivating tobacco for several years.

The cigar opens with notes of cocoa and cedar, backed by a gentle sweetness. The flavors are full and engaging right from the start. As the smoke develops, hints of espresso and roasted coffee join in, though the overall profile remains steady from first draw to final puff.

Construction was solid, with an even burn and thick clouds of smoke that held their presence even against the light deck breeze. The pace of the burn did surprise me, however — I reached the first band in about 15 minutes. These cigars have only been resting in my humidor for four weeks, and I suspect more age might slow the combustion a bit. In the end, I was left with a tiny nub in just 45 minutes.

Despite the shorter smoking time, I thoroughly enjoyed the My Father Blue Robusto. I’m torn between lighting up another soon or exercising patience to see how a little more rest might refine the experience.

Cheers!

Labor Day Weekend Camping at Loft Mountain

Author: Chris ODonnell From https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/ • Aug 31st, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

Trip: 53
Nights: 180-182

We camped for 3 nights in the Loft Mountain campground. Loft Mountain is my favorite campground in SNP because it's in the less developed, less visited Southern region of the park. We got in around 5:30 PM on Saturday and after setting up camp enjoyed a chill evening around the campfire in the cool mountain air. It was low 60s during the day and upper 40s at night the entire weekend. That is ideal camping weather.

On Saturday we took the dog and did a scenic drive along Skyline Drive, stopping at just about all the scenic overlooks between Loft Mountain and Big Meadows. At Big Meadows we stopped at the picnic area for lunch. It was a postcard perfect blue sky day in the mountains. After making the drive back to the campground we spent the afternoon lounging at the campsite while reading.

One thing that we have leaned is that Teddy does not enjoy camping. He will not sleep outdoors. So all afternoon he was on his bed beside us while we relaxed, but he just will not sleep outdoors. But the time we go into the camper for the evening he is so tired that he can barely walk. And he can barely walk on a good day due to his age. However, if we try to leave him in the camper he will bark, so he has to be outside with us. Luckily, I think our pet sitter will be available for our final two planned trips of the year.

On Sunday, we took our time getting up and then made omelets for breakfast. After that I packed my backpack and headed out to do a couple of hikes. My first hike started at the Ivy Creek overlook on Skyline Drive. It's 2.8 miles out and back on the Appalachian trail with Ivy Creek being the turnaround point. At about .8 miles there is a stunning west facing overlook. Ivy Creek was a pleasant surprise at the bottom as it was gurgling nicely and my 5 minute break there to the sound of water falling over the rocks was very relaxing. Since the hike in is almost all downhill that means the hike back to the car is all uphill. But it is not too bad.

After lunch at a west facing overlook where I could pick up a cell signal for a quick check on the state of the world I headed for my second hike. But not before I killed a couple of Spotted Lanternfly moths that landed near me. Spotted Lanternfly are stunningly beautiful, and also invasive and very damaging to US forests. You should always eliminate them when you have the opportunity.

The second hike was a 2.1 mile loop with two fabulous overlooks. It starts across Skyline Drive from the Loft Wayside and does a counter clockwise loop. The first .6 miles are uphill but the payoff at the top of worth it. The rocky summit provides an unobstructed 180 view. After that it is a gentle 1.6 mile downhill hike back to Skyline Drive about 100 yards north of where you started.

Both hikes are worth doing but if you have to pick one do the second one. The views from the top are spectacular. Also the wayside sells individual locally brewed beers for $2 a can, so a post hike beer is convenient and cheap.

On Sunday afternoon we went to the Loft Mountain wayside for their famous blackberry ice cream. It lives up to its press. On Sunday night I made one of our favorite camping meals, Cacio e Pepe. I don't make it true to the original recipe though, I use freshly grated parmigiana cheese instead. It's still tasty though. Sunday night we played cribbage, with we winning both games.

The drive home on Monday was uneventful. Teddy was asleep before we got out of the campground and didn't even stir when I stopped for gas. The poor dog, forced to spend the weekend in the mountains, mostly outdoors, with his humans.

Perdomo Legacy Maduro & Pikesville Rye: A Bold Pairing

Author: David From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Aug 30th, 2025
Category: Blog Entries.Local

My Friday began with some long-overdue work clearing downed brush and trees in the woods around the house. Back issues over the past 20 months have kept me from keeping up with routine maintenance, so it felt both satisfying and exhausting to finally be out there again — even if only for a couple of hours. By evening, I was more than ready for a well-earned “sip and smoke” on the screened porch.

I had been eyeing the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro resting in my humidor for about four weeks, waiting for the right moment. Having now reached the minimum rest I like to give new arrivals, it was time to light one up. Figuring a full-bodied cigar deserved a bold companion, I poured a glass of Pikesville Rye.

The Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro was created by Nicholas Perdomo III as a tribute to his father. It features a 10-year-aged Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper that spent an additional 14 months aging in bourbon barrels. A shade-grown Nicaraguan binder — a hybrid of Cuban and Cameroon seeds from the family’s Finca Natalie estate — holds fillers from Perdomo farms in Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa Valley.

The wrapper on the 5 x 54 Robusto vitola is oily, smooth, and shines in the evening sunlight. The cigar is flawlessly rolled and dressed in an ornate gold, red, and blue band. Eventually I force myself to stop admiring the cigar and actually light it up.

From the first draw, the blend’s complexity shines. Notes of semi-sweet chocolate, espresso, caramel, and spice greet the palate. As the cigar develops, espresso deepens into black coffee, while a chocolate-covered almond nuance teases in the background. Cedar and pepper linger pleasantly on the finish.

The pairing could not have been better. Pikesville Rye, one of my favorite bold ryes, offers dark cocoa, baking spice, and molasses — a perfect match that stands confidently alongside the Maduro’s intensity.

The Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro is a full-flavored, complex, and thoroughly rewarding smoke. Even halfway through, I was already considering grabbing some larger vitolas to stretch out the experience. At the end of the surprisingly long 80 minute burn, I lamented its finish.

The combination of rich cigar, bold whiskey, and a clear evening made for a truly satisfying close to the day — even if I was contemplating the remaining brush cleanup that still needed to be dealt with in the future.