I voted today

The Arizona Republican primary is still four weeks out.  But as one on the permanent mail in ballot list, my ballot arrived today*:

The Arizona primary date is March 22.  Today we are about 4 weeks out and there are 14 names on the list.  IMHO only three candidates are still viable, possibly only one by the time this ballot is counted.  I'm not a big fan of how certain states get to choose our runners and the other states opinions really don't matter.  There's got to be a better way.... but I don't know what that is...

Cruz got my vote.  Always liked him.  Trump is the only reason illegal immigration is on the table and I respect him for that.  But he's seriously wrong on other issues like imminent domain.  "Gang of Eight" Rubio is a non-starter.  I held my nose for Romney in 2012... they'll have to invent a weapons grade clothes-pin to hold off the stench long enough to pull a Marco lever.  See also Romney 2012 where some 4M voters stayed home.

Carson and Kasich at single digits are irrelevant..  Never been a Kasich fan but I have great respect and could vote for Carson.  but neither are viable as of today....  See.. this is what I mean about a few early states seriously affect our selections.

YMMV but that's my call.

I wonder if my vote will count on the day it's counted and that is the argument against early voting.  I don't see it that way.  I see my primary vote as supporting the guy that best aligns with my viewpoints, regardless of reported polls.

* ballot image is intentionally de-res-ed and distorted to deter ... voting shenanigans (why should I unintentionally abet someone else's ballot stuffing?)...but the candidates portion is (mostly) unchanged.  (maybe)

How fast can you reach a loaded firearm?

TrueBlueSam's ordeal offers some important "lesson's learned".  We talked on the phone this AM and while physically OK, the nerves are thoroughly rattled and I bet the adrenaline is still flowing.  Comments here reflect some of that conversation and he gave permission to post.  This is not a game of "Let's Second Guess The Victims".

Let me address one.  Put yourself in the scenario...  It's 1030PM and someone is trying to physically force their way into your residence (Kicking doors & breaking windows).  From where ever you would be at that time, how quickly can you arm yourself?  For some very good family structure reasons everything was locked up in the safe at the back of the house.  I bet those seconds running to the safe and working the lock felt like days!

Takeaway:  Guns secreted around the house are a good thing!  Implementation is left as an exercise to the reader, subject to and tailored to family situation ;-)

BTW, I can reach one in 1-2 seconds "in my office" (best case scenario).  But what if I happened to be in the kitchen when the attack commences?   A lesson learned from a late night visit from the "good guys".  Or so I'm told the boys in blue are the "good guys" but their actions sometimes give me pause...

"It Can't Happen here..."

Yes it can and yes it just happened to one of us.

What would you do?  Here's the scenario... 10:30PM on a weekday night.  Suddenly there is a banging at the door and someone yelling about an accident.

What do you do?  Do you open the door?

Glad the unwilling participants weren't physically hurt though I bet the nerves are thoroughly rattled.  Also glad TBS had the 2nd Amendment option on tap but didn't have to use it.

BadGuy(tm) probably doesn't realize how close he came to a permanent dirt nap. Hopefully someone will explain that to him...

New SandCastle update

Merle asks in the comments: "Will there be room for a shooting range? :)"

Ooooh...  I could have a re-loading station and a de-loading station!  Would that be awesome or what?  Merle - I like the way you think!

Good question..  I'll have to look into it.  There is certainly room.  It would have to be underground to make absolutely sure nothing leaves the property.  Probably could do a 25 yard range..  We'd have to look into all the legalities  & environmental requirements (sound absorption, ventilation, lead capture,  safety features, etc.)

And I vaguely recall reading a story about the mayor of the town had a range in his house.  So it must be possible.. But is it possible for someone without a title of "Mr. Mayor"?

Update on the offer to buy:  We walked away.

Poking around on Zillow, I found another property that is newer, bigger both in lot size & house size, further off the beaten path and only two miles away for about the same $$$ we'd be into the property we'd offered on..  Thus we decided even what we offered was too high.  We are a long way apart.

We looked at the larger property today.  I found a lot to like, but there are some real WTFs.

• No hand rails on the stairs
• The pictures on Zillow & MLS showed the outside of the house as a dark blue.  If it's a blue, it's the naviest Navy Blue I've ever seen.  Pretty much black.  Who paints a house black in the desert?
• Updated (marble) kitchen & master bath, but still had the Tract-home tub/shower. 
• The swimming pool was 50% larger than my first house (>1800 ft^2 surface).  Too Big!
• The patio seemed built on a 12/15" thick pad and with an odd cut out in the tile as if there was going to be an outdoor kitchen.  Why?

In the end the SandCastle Queen said "no".  We are in no hurry to move so we can wait for the right deal.  Time is on our side.  We bought this house because it's close to the $DayJob.  Will we want to remain here after retirement?  Not here, but do we even want to live in the area?  I don't know.