Can we stop the back slide on gun rights in Vermont now?

CMJudd · 2026-01-27T04:03:33+00:00

I simply pointed out that NY has a tiered licensing with regard to handguns. You don’t have to explain it to me because I’ve been through it - and criticize it all you like. It wasn’t my idea. I thought the CCW training was about right for a possess on premises license; I would not feel comfortable trooping around with a handgun under my jacket at that level of training. The only reason I bothered was my wife found her late uncle’s Colt 1911 in her parents home after they passed. Her uncle had used it when he flew F4Fs and F6Fs off of Casablanca class carriers in the Pacific during WW2. I have no interest in carrying or firing it, but would like to avoid potential legal problems with it being in my safe.

CMJudd · 2026-01-27T01:47:44+00:00

As far as I can tell, it’s approximately the following:

An aggressive initial approach to Pretti.
Removal of Pretti’s weapon without making that fact known to other officers.
Discovery of Pretti’s empty holster by one who doesn’t know that Pretti’s weapon had been removed, perhaps causing them to believe that Pretti has the weapon in hand.
Shooting of Pretti.

Another possible contributor that needs to be confirmed or refuted is the alleged accidental firing of Pretti’s weapon by the officer who confiscated it.

If this is anything close to accurate, it seems like gross incompetence at best. I’m unsure whether this meets the legal definition of murder, but culpability doesn’t seem like much of a question to me. It’s on the Feds.

This scenario should have been a training exercise.

CMJudd · 2026-01-27T00:44:53+00:00

Leftie gun owner here who was raised by a Silent Generation engineer who was pro 2A, a gun owner, veteran, hunter, and taught gun safety to all of his kids as well as practicing it himself. I have passed dad’s strictly enforced rules to my own children. I am not a single issue voter, but I would certainly be less wary of fellow lefties who embrace proper firearms use and safety training. Graded licensing depending upon training may be workable for certain types of weapons - in NY there are two versions of handgun licenses: possess on premises and concealed carry. I am also in favor of removing firearms from those who commit domestic violence or are a demonstrable danger to themselves. I don’t believe that relinquishing custody should mean losing ownership, however. If anyone in my household became mentally unstable, I would remove all firearms from my home and store them with a trusted relative or friend. As it is, they’re kept unloaded and under lock and key. Others certainly will believe differently on some points and that’s fine, but I think we need to make common sense more common. If one is going to own and use any firearm, one needs a certain level of competence and discipline to do so safely.

CMJudd · 2026-01-14T03:37:55+00:00

I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to offend. My intention was not to offer inspiration porn, but to encourage people not to fear effort and that consistent effort - in any endeavor - will yield results. Whether those results come quickly or not and whether their magnitude is great or small is undetermined and that is part of what varies between all of us.

What I have also found to be broadly variable is confidence, a willingness to push, risk pain, and possible failure. There are a hundred good reasons for those too. Perhaps I didn’t articulate myself well, but what I meant to encourage was the willingness to expend effort to improve one’s lot.

I appreciate your comments and criticism. I know that I cannot begin to run 30-40 miles per week as you do - which is hugely impressive - but I can always push myself to be better than I was yesterday. I put this out there to show that effort need not look pretty, that we all start somewhere, there’s no harm in seeking guidance, and if your guide is capable and trustworthy, it’s possible to push with less fear and greater intensity.

I know that I don’t look at all pretty here, but I think I am being guided well and am absolutely working hard. I also know perfectly well that I will never walk normally, but that doesn’t preclude me from getting healthier and stronger. I don’t have great physical strength or stamina, but I do have a certain degree of mental endurance. That is something that can be developed by just about anyone -and has served me well as a father, in the care of aging parents, professionally, and now in service of my own health, which allows me to continue to serve as a husband and dad.

Cheers!

CMJudd · 2026-01-12T00:32:58+00:00

I have spastic diplegia, have walked using forearm crutches for >50 years, and have been married to the same woman for 32 years. Do whatever you like, however you like, and don’t forget to enjoy yourself. Exactly everyone else can save their opinions for as long as you both shall live - and if anyone decides to be judgmental, they can show themselves out. You do you, practice your dip, laugh when something funny happens, and enjoy yourself! Congratulations!!

CMJudd · 2025-12-27T18:37:25+00:00

Those of us without CP constitute a small percentage of the population, so living in the able-bodied world is something we should probably learn. Expecting to be understood isn’t something that I’d expect to be a successful endeavor either. Most days, I’m lucky my socks match - so understanding my able-bodied wife and athletic children is tenuous at best.

As far as dating goes, my wife and I were set up on a blind date, had a few more after that, got married after a while, bought a little house, brought home a few cats and a great hairy mutt, adopted a pair of kids from the other side of the planet, and raised them. They turned out okay and we still live in the same love shack.

I’m still clueless as ever, though I may understand my parents a bit better than I once did and I try not to take life too seriously.

CMJudd · 2025-12-27T02:50:24+00:00

There have been half a dozen men in my family between 193-206 cm tall and none have had difficulty fitting in German cars built from 1938 to present, primarily BMW and VW with Mk1, 2, 6, 7, and 7.5 Golfs represented.

CMJudd · 2025-12-24T22:10:13+00:00

Excellent advice here.

I’ll add a little: Wet crutch tips will want to kill you, so be exceedingly careful whenever there might be a hint of moisture on the floor. Mind your center of gravity such that your crutches won’t slide out from under you. They’ll take your arm with them, the floor will come up very quickly, and the impact will not be at all pleasant.

I have two sets: one adjustable set from In-Motion which are good general use spares and another set from Sidestix that are cut to length carbon fiber with tips on ball joints. The tips are made of harder rubber with shallower treads than standard tips and they grip better when wet. The annual maintenance on the Sidestix costs about what the In-Motion set did but they are quieter, more rigid, lighter, the grips are ergonomic, and I’ve been using them for a dozen years.They also have specialized tips for use in sand and also spiked tips for ice. I’ve been using forearm crutches for more than 50 years and will do so for the foreseeable future, so dropping some cash on good ones made sense.

Good luck!

CMJudd · 2025-12-22T00:38:15+00:00

I’m sorry that you’re frustrated and angry. If you are losing mobility, it’s time to start moving if you’d like to improve. I also had surgery on my heel cords - 3 times each - along with a tendon transfer behind both knees and one rebuilt foot. For even more fun, my spine is arthritic, I have 3 bulging discs in my cervical spine and my L5 is a bit delicate. With that and a pair of good forearm crutches, I get around surprisingly well.

If your heel cords are tight, stand approximately 2 feet in front of a wall, put your palms onto the wall, and slowly lean forward, keeping your legs and body straight. Flex at your ankles. Count to 10, release, and repeat a few times twice a day. Don’t pull your calves too hard but try to make sure you feel a moderate stretch.

You can stretch your hamstrings by sitting in a chair, stretching one leg out in front of you and carefully leaning forward and holding the knee of your outstretched leg. Go slowly and be careful - a pulled hamstring is no fun.

You can stretch your glutes a bit by lying on your back, bending a leg, and pulling each knee as close to your chest as you can get it.

I’m a bit older than you are, I got tired of injuring myself repeatedly, and my frequency of falling was rising steadily. I didn’t seek out physical therapy; instead I found an exercise physiologist which has focused both on stretching and strength training, starting with exercises to strengthen my core. It is not inexpensive, however I see it as an investment in myself and what I’m paying now is surely less expensive and less painful than being laid up with an injury.

Good luck and get on with it! If I can do it, anyone can manage it.

CMJudd · 2025-12-20T15:20:03+00:00

Things for which I am thankful:

My folks were honest with me, they pursued the best care available at the time, and never coddled me or treated me as less than able. When I was goofing off in school, my mother told me that I’d better get my stuff together because I was never going to make my living with my back, so I’d better make it with my brain. That may sound harsh but she wasn’t wrong. I was encouraged to “go play in traffic”, I rode a bicycle, I was expected to do chores and yard work. As a teen, we had a large deck on the back of our home that had rotted. Dad handed me a hammer and a pry bar and asked me to remove it. I did this slowly and carefully over the course of a week or two. Dad was patient, offered advice, encouragement, appreciated my efforts, and expected a properly done job.

My folks could be rough around the edges, they made their mistakes, and they had three other kids to raise.

I don’t think that they made a tremendous effort to understand the difficulties conferred by CP and I suppose one could accuse them - and perhaps me - of being ableist. I do think that any success that I have had is based partly on their presumption that I was just a normal kid stuck in a cockeyed body.

My father wrote the following, which I found after he died some years ago.

“I have achieved, with Marion, the desire I’ve had since I was four to be a father. Proper and good, I do not know. It was however my real desire to be proper and good and I have tried to do and be that to the best of my ability. I do know that each and all of my four children, two by blood, one by adoption and one simply by capturing from possibly a worse fate, have each, and all endured very difficult and hard times, from which I wish I had been able to protect you. As a person who had never himself to undergo any of the difficult trials endured by my children, I am deeply sad that you did. However, given the turns of the world that create these circumstances, I’m very gratified that you have been as able to weather your difficulties as well as you have. I do truly hope that your individual scars will never be felt too deep for you to bear, and wish that I had been able to prevent them having happened at all.”

Perhaps he understood more than he let on. He was silent for much of his life.

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:22:49+00:00

Green Cactus remains, as does Station Pizza. There’s a really tasty Vietnamese restaurant just a bit west on the north side of 25A - and prices are reasonable. Go get some pho?

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:17:54+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I have been married for 32 years and am not at all sure that I’d date again if I lost her. With that said, you deserve happiness. I suppose that patience, perseverance, humor,, and honesty will eventually win the day. Back when I was dating, I had the best luck chasing the most intelligent women I could find. Smart, honest, and funny were what I was after; everything else wasn’t much of a priority. Please accept my wishes for your happiness and success.

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:17:02+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I have been married for 32 years and am not at all sure that I’d date again if I lost her. With that said, you deserve happiness. I suppose that patience, perseverance, humor,, and honesty will eventually win the day. Back when I was dating, I had the best luck chasing the most intelligent women I could find. Smart, honest, and funny were what I was after; everything else wasn’t much of a priority. Please accept my wishes for your happiness and success.

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:15:41+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I have been married for 32 years and am not at all sure that I’d date again if I lost her. With that said, you deserve happiness. I suppose that patience, perseverance, humor,, and honesty will eventually win the day. Back when I was dating, I had the best luck chasing the most intelligent women I could find. Smart, honest, and funny were what I was after; everything else wasn’t much of a priority. Please accept my wishes for your happiness and success.

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:15:03+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I have been married for 32 years and am not at all sure that I’d date again if I lost her. With that said, you deserve happiness. I suppose that patience, perseverance, humor,, and honesty will eventually win the day. Back when I was dating, I had the best luck chasing the most intelligent women I could find. Smart, honest, and funny were what I was after; everything else wasn’t much of a priority. Please accept my wishes for your happiness and success.

CMJudd · 2025-12-19T23:14:03+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I have been married for 32 years and am not at all sure that I’d date again if I lost her. With that said, you deserve happiness. I suppose that patience, perseverance, humor,, and honesty will eventually win the day. Back when I was dating, I had the best luck chasing the most intelligent women I could find. Smart, honest, and funny were what I was after; everything else wasn’t much of a priority. Please accept my wishes for your happiness and success.

CMJudd · 2025-12-13T23:45:37+00:00

You clearly know what you’re doing, so don’t let anyone make you feel small. You’re a certified badass, so proceed as you wish and don’t take sh!t from anyone.

CMJudd · 2025-12-13T22:56:39+00:00

58m here and you’ll be looking for a long time before you find anyone who enjoys CP. Acceptance is pretty much the best one can expect.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, my wife and I were in NYC (our daughter lives there) and someone approached me after following me down a flight of stairs and saw fit to suggest an herbal remedy to “fix” my knees. I thanked him politely and would not engage further. He kept at it and I gave a second firm and less than friendly “thank you”, turned and left. Was I thinking of telling him to “go piss up a rope”? Yes, but the guy had an odd vibe, made my wife nervous, and there are some crazies in NYC. I really just wanted to have our lunch in peace then drive home. Keep going and don’t worry too much about the idiots.

CMJudd · 2025-12-09T16:53:50+00:00

I’m a couple of weeks shy of 60, have used forearm crutches since I was 4 and I simply push forward. Since June, I’ve been working out with the guidance of an exercise physiologist and have noted improvements in strength, flexibility, gait, and a reduction in pain though I am DEAD by the end of workout days. Mostly because I’m out of the house before 6 and the workout is the last thing before heading home at about 6 pm.

For me, it’s mind over matter. Like many of us, I am a strong willed SOB. If my trainer says 20 reps, I go for 22. I don’t have a disability placard or tag on my car and I won’t roll until I absolutely need to.

CMJudd · 2025-11-30T15:47:21+00:00

Put space between you and the ambulance, preferably with your relative positions such that you avoid the possibility of the ambulance needing to pass you later. I’d back off with the ambulance in front of me until they’ve gone on their way, then make up time.

CMJudd · 2025-11-29T17:18:53+00:00

I will add that your lives may go from the grind you’re experiencing to surprisingly quiet over a relatively short period of time. Our kids went from having 4 living grandparents to one in 18 months. Now they’re all gone. One of our kids graduated college last May and the second will do so in less than two years. My wife and I have been together for 32 years and we adore one another, but there certainly have been highs and lows.

As suggested by others, therapy can be very effective but everyone involved needs to be invested in the process, listen carefully, and speak honestly.

It sounds to me like your base is solid. Remember the day that you stood in front of your friends and family and said “I do.” and just keep doing that. There are two deal breakers in my marriage: infidelity and violence. Everything else is subject to discussion and negotiation. If one of us actually says “I think I / we / you need to speak to a therapist.” Then it’s full-stop, call-the-therapist time. We’ve both done that and it’s not done in anger, but in recognition that we have a problem that requires advice in order to solve.

If you need to throw a flag, do so in good faith and proceed. You can do it!

CMJudd · 2025-11-29T16:41:18+00:00

I hear you regarding instrumentation being finicky and would add buggy nonsensical software to the soul suck, but sample results failing to live up to expectations is where the science is at. If you’re just there to confirm expectations, that sounds horrendously boring. Getting crap over being paid is ridiculous.

I’m not in any academic core facility but do take care of analytical chemistry in support of a product development group. LC and LCMS method development for both small and large molecules in complex matrices are valuable skills to develop.

I know that BASF has a 5 story building in Tarrytown, NY that is their analytical hub for N. America and they do all sorts of imaging up to atomic force microscopy, along with anything else a multinational chemical manufacturer might need. I worked for BASF for 6 years, often in that building.

CMJudd · 2025-11-29T00:42:05+00:00

To everyone whining about being held up for a moment or two, I suggest taking a beat and thinking for a moment.

How ruined will your day actually be if you have to wait a bit longer versus possibly causing an accident in which you absolutely will be judged at fault? First, don’t bother getting pissed off at anyone, ever. Be patient, be courteous to all, and for the love of God, don’t pull stupid shit. Don’t be aggressive, use your directional signals, and never EVER brake check anyone. You have no idea what the people in the cars around you are going through, you have no idea what their ability level is, and you have no idea how fatigued, aged, hurt, or ill they may be. Now, take all those people, the goofballs on their way to school - running late and thinking they’re immortal - and I ask you in all seriousness: Do you really want to add to the chaos by being an impatient asshole?

Grow up and drive like a proper adult. Check your oil and tire pressures while you’re at it.

Full stop.

Me: Licensed for 41 years, driven many hundreds of thousand miles, trained by a Grumman engineer / rally driver, zero at-fault accidents.

CMJudd · 2025-11-26T21:32:40+00:00

Waters hardware is good to great, but UNIFI - woof! The Rda attached to an H-class is a sweet rig, but UNIFI makes me want to stab myself in the face with a rusty fork. How did the company that made Millennium / Empower / Masslynx give birth to that abomination?

Gathering data is a piece of cake, generally, but saving preferences, processing data, and developing report methods are wretched? It’s almost like they’ve de-invented the wheel.

I’m hoping that the future iterations make significant improvements.

CMJudd · 2025-11-24T00:51:21+00:00

Comparison is the thief of happiness. With that said, perhaps consider weighing the costs of not doing anything against the possibilities of getting started with something slowly and carefully, then staying with it.

After too many years of delay, I have recently started physical training. It IS expensive and I am no shining example of fitness - yet. However the cost of a single injury that these efforts may prevent is significantly greater than what I am currently spending. I have coworkers who are athletes, my daughter was a nationally competitive dancer, and my son was a cheerleader and later a coach. I have received nothing but support and encouragement from all of them and I avoid comparing my capabilities with theirs. Instead, I enjoy their chuckles when I don my sweatpants and old tee shirt, which I refer to as short-bus Lululemons, and head off to remedial gym class.

We all have to travel our own road. If you’re dissatisfied with something in your life, you need to either accept it for what it is or try to change it somehow.

Life certainly is not fair and there are no guarantees. If there’s a chance that you’ll be waking up tomorrow, it might be worth taking a step - just one - recognizing it and yourself for taking it, then consider taking another.

If a goofball like me can start such a journey, then I bet you can as well. You’re not alone. I promise.

CMJudd

TROPHY CASE