A moderator there told me, tonight, that he had removed a post from a for sale thread I had there because he or she believed my lowering a price of a shotgun I had for sale was considered a "bump" to my thread. Then I posted a pointless post two days later with the intention of bumping it and he said bumps must be three days apart and he had to delete mine because the dropping the selling price post was a bump. I have never heard anything as ridiculous on a forum concerning bumps. Adding a new selling price or expanding the area of the sale, both things I did, would not be considered a bump by definition of the word bump, nor by other moderators on other forums I use. When I protested and sent in the definition of a bump to that moderator, I was in essence called a name that was a slightly veiled profanity. He or she told me I was being a "smartazz" (did not even have the balls to call me a smartass, probably because the site's filters would not have allowed it but I guess it is okay to call someone profanities as long as they are in code on that forum). Somewhere in his or her private messages to me I was also told that I was being harsh. I was not harsh, not sarcastic, not nasty, not offensive, just straight forward and truthful and gave the definition of bump to him or her: "To bump a thread on an Internet forum is to post a reply to it purely in order to raise the thread's profile." (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bump_(Internet).
Since that seemed harsh, and apparently made it look as if I was being a "smartazz", I decided to remove my offer of the shotgun I was selling there. I can easily sell it elsewhere.
I think it was when I said I would do that when the mod threatened to report me to the administrators (ooh how I trembled) and I guess he or she thought that would be the ticket to get me to comply with someone who did not know about which he or she was speaking. Heck, I had already told him or her I would comply because the rules were made by the people who run the forum, I also sent him or her the definition of bump and I guess that meant, to the mod, that I had overstepped the bounds of Bizarro World. I told him or her I would remove the offer and simply edited my thread to show it no loner available.
Then I also replied and asked to be removed from the forums completely, to have all my threads removed and all my personal info removed and to have my registration removed. Think they would do so. Heck no, Heaven forbid they lose stats for users. Instead, they banned me until September sometime or another. For all I know, or care, it could be next month or ten years from next month.
Allow me to now become disrespectful in turn to them because what goes around comes around and because I truly believe that we should do unto others as we would have done onto ourselves. If I treat anyone with such disrespect then I would expect them to be disrespectful to me in turn. So, let me give it right back to them.
FUCK THEM, they can not even get it right when a forum user asks to be removed from their site. I cannot abide by they whom I believe are assholes and disrespectful ones at that and that is exactly what I believe is that moderator.
This may seem petty to you but dealing with pompous assholes always makes me feel miserable and getting it off of my chest like this sure makes me feel better.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Seem To Have A Bug In My Computer...
...and it has been driving me bonkers. So, I have been trying to make up my mind on how best to get rid of it. Maybe I should use Norton Anti-Virus but it does not appear to be the right type of computer bug, certainly not a virus or malware. Maybe Raid Flying Insect Killer, then again I have not seen it take flight. Maybe I should just bring out the heavy artillery, the Remington 870, with a round or two of 00 Buckshot. Since I am none to sure I want to destroy the borrowed laptop, that I have been using, right along with the pesky little vermin - maybe the shotgun would be overkill. If I thought they could get at it, I'd let my Crested Geckos have a shot. Oh decisions, decisions - life seems to be full of tough decisions!
All the best,
GB
A True Hero Gone - Neil Armstrong August 5, 1930 - August 25, 2012
When I was a youngster, and I mean pretty young from about age 5 to age 15 or so, I had a few different real life heroes that I worshipped. One was Buffalo Bill Cody, another was Wild Bill Hickok, another was Daniel Boone and another was much more modern than the other three. He was John Glenn. John Glenn was one of the first U.S. Astronauts to orbit the globe, he was also a pilot of the X-15, the aircraft that holds the all time air speed record. In fact, if an inanimate object could be a hero, then the X-15 was one for me and John Glenn was its master. John Glenn held a place in my imagination and in my heart, I esteemed him above almost anyone else in those youthful days of yesteryear.
I never heard much of the others who flew the X-15, there were about 7 other test pilots who flew it with some regularity. They were all either brave or foolish or both. One of them, a man who was not one to take to the spotlight often, and who reportedly considered himself a geek or a nerd, also wound up being one of the biggest media stars ever. In fact, news casts of him and his co-astronaut, during a single event lasting just around 3 hours, was and remains the most viewed television event of all times having had over 600,000,000 (yes, six hundred million) viewers as it happened live. That event was mankind's first landing on a world other than our own, with Neil Armstrong being the first man to set foot on the Moon. Before even being close to exiting the lunar module though, Neil Armstrong contacted earth and uttered some words that likely would have been remembered as one of the most famous quotes ever had those words not soon been overshadowed by other words he would speak once out of the capsule. The first words, from Armstrong to Mission Control were:
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
With those first words, the Lunar Landing gave the United States of America a victory in the Space Race segment of the Cold War over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (commonly known as the USSR or now called Russia). Yet, not long after saying those words, Armstrong would say something that no other man will be in the position of saying ever again, at least not with the same meaning and authority and originality, because that second famous set of words came at the moment he was the first human to set foot on a world not our own. He said:
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
(The word "a" is in parenthesis because it was inaudible in the transmissions to earth and while he meant to say it, and for years believed he had said it, Armstrong later admitted he somehow may have left it out in all the excitement of the lunar landing. There is still controversy over whether he said "a man" or simply "man" and a computer programmer from Australia, who digitally analyzed the audio in recent years, claims that Armstrong did in fact say "a man". Armstrong has been reported as hoping that history would overlook it if he had slipped and said "man" instead of "a man". He was that sort of a guy.)
As I said, he was not one to stand in the spot lights, not a glory seeker, not one to beat his chest and say I was the first man ever to set foot on another world. Yet, he was quite proud of his accomplishments but still considered himself a nerd:
"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. "And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession."
Armstrong was also a patriot who believed strongly that lunar and other space exploration would benefit the USA and mankind. He did not agree at all with the new policies on privatizing space exploration set in place by President Barack H. Obama and despite his very private and retiring personality in 2010 he spoke out against those policies.
Many might think of the space race as just another of mans' wars. Indeed it was often part of the Cold War and was championed by the U.S. President John F. Kennedy during the height of the Cold War when he set forth this challenge for America:
"I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth," Kennedy had said. "No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
Armstrong felt differently about the Space Race, not thinking it so much part of a war as something else:
"the ultimate peaceful competition: USA versus U.S.S.R. It did allow both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration".
Armstrong had a lot of help along the way, it was a massive team effort, yet he was the one to actually accomplish being the first to set foot on the Moon. That was on July 21, 1969, just shy of the deadline at the end of the decade, as had been set by President Kennedy!
That he was a patriot and a hero, there is no doubt. That he was a reserved, quiet and private man, there is also no doubt. That he was and remains and American icon, a man of merit even among all those in the world, a man of whose accomplisments
"To this day, he's the one person on Earth, I'm truly, truly envious of."
Neil Armstrong, you will, as long as there are those who dream of traveling among the stars, live forever. Godspeed across the Universe Divide, I hope you do reach the other side, then rest your spirit if you can, before you come back to us again and again and again.
All the best,
Glenn B
I never heard much of the others who flew the X-15, there were about 7 other test pilots who flew it with some regularity. They were all either brave or foolish or both. One of them, a man who was not one to take to the spotlight often, and who reportedly considered himself a geek or a nerd, also wound up being one of the biggest media stars ever. In fact, news casts of him and his co-astronaut, during a single event lasting just around 3 hours, was and remains the most viewed television event of all times having had over 600,000,000 (yes, six hundred million) viewers as it happened live. That event was mankind's first landing on a world other than our own, with Neil Armstrong being the first man to set foot on the Moon. Before even being close to exiting the lunar module though, Neil Armstrong contacted earth and uttered some words that likely would have been remembered as one of the most famous quotes ever had those words not soon been overshadowed by other words he would speak once out of the capsule. The first words, from Armstrong to Mission Control were:
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
With those first words, the Lunar Landing gave the United States of America a victory in the Space Race segment of the Cold War over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (commonly known as the USSR or now called Russia). Yet, not long after saying those words, Armstrong would say something that no other man will be in the position of saying ever again, at least not with the same meaning and authority and originality, because that second famous set of words came at the moment he was the first human to set foot on a world not our own. He said:
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
(The word "a" is in parenthesis because it was inaudible in the transmissions to earth and while he meant to say it, and for years believed he had said it, Armstrong later admitted he somehow may have left it out in all the excitement of the lunar landing. There is still controversy over whether he said "a man" or simply "man" and a computer programmer from Australia, who digitally analyzed the audio in recent years, claims that Armstrong did in fact say "a man". Armstrong has been reported as hoping that history would overlook it if he had slipped and said "man" instead of "a man". He was that sort of a guy.)
As I said, he was not one to stand in the spot lights, not a glory seeker, not one to beat his chest and say I was the first man ever to set foot on another world. Yet, he was quite proud of his accomplishments but still considered himself a nerd:
"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. "And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession."
Armstrong was also a patriot who believed strongly that lunar and other space exploration would benefit the USA and mankind. He did not agree at all with the new policies on privatizing space exploration set in place by President Barack H. Obama and despite his very private and retiring personality in 2010 he spoke out against those policies.
Many might think of the space race as just another of mans' wars. Indeed it was often part of the Cold War and was championed by the U.S. President John F. Kennedy during the height of the Cold War when he set forth this challenge for America:
"I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth," Kennedy had said. "No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
Armstrong felt differently about the Space Race, not thinking it so much part of a war as something else:
"the ultimate peaceful competition: USA versus U.S.S.R. It did allow both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration".
Armstrong had a lot of help along the way, it was a massive team effort, yet he was the one to actually accomplish being the first to set foot on the Moon. That was on July 21, 1969, just shy of the deadline at the end of the decade, as had been set by President Kennedy!
That he was a patriot and a hero, there is no doubt. That he was a reserved, quiet and private man, there is also no doubt. That he was and remains and American icon, a man of merit even among all those in the world, a man of whose accomplisments
"To this day, he's the one person on Earth, I'm truly, truly envious of."
Neil Armstrong, you will, as long as there are those who dream of traveling among the stars, live forever. Godspeed across the Universe Divide, I hope you do reach the other side, then rest your spirit if you can, before you come back to us again and again and again.
All the best,
Glenn B
7 Year Old Shoots Garbage Man - I Think That Maybe There Is Much More To This Story
So, the report says that a 7 year old has shot, and wounded, a local garbage man inside of a home, they did not specify to whom the home belonged. They did say the gun belonged to the trash man. They quote the local mayor as saying: "He is loved by everyone in town," - referring to, Mr. Delucia, the shot sanitation worker. The guy is in stable condition. They expect no charges to be filed.
I think there is a possibility that charges should and may well yet be filed. Why do I think so?
First of all, one has to wonder why the reporting on this incident is so scanty when coming out of the state of CT - a state well known for its anti-gun sentiments. You would think the press would be all over such a shooting but maybe the police have withheld information due to an ongoing investigation. Second, I have to wonder, even surmise, that this likely took place inside of Mr. Delucia's home. I say that because the gun has been reported as being legally registered to Mr. Delucia. I kind of doubt it likely would have been available to the 7 year old boy, who shot him with it, in another home. That is unless Mr. Delucia were in another home and Mr. Delucia made the pistol available to the child which seems less than likely. Then again, it seems he must have somehow allowed the child access to it whether intentionally or not. That begs the question of charges of child endangerment and it suggests to me that the gun was possibly left unattended and forgotten where the child found it somewhere in Mr. Delucia's home. Again, just guesswork.
Of course, there is also the question of why was the 7 year old child, who apparently was not his child (the boy was reported to be his neighbor) in a home with Mr. Delucia in the first place? Was the child there along with one or both of his parents or with a guardian or was the child there with Mr. Delucia alone or with other children and Mr. Delucia? Was it Mr. Delucia's home, the child's home a neighbors home. As I said above, I would guess it to have been Mr. Delucia's home.
Finally, I wonder, was it actually an accidental shooting (yes one due to negligence) or was it a purposeful shooting? Could the boy have been defending himself?
The article is just so meager as to the amount of fact upon which it has reported that it leaves me to beg answers to these questions, if not directly, then simply by more full reporting of what took place and how and why it happened.
Hopefully there is nothing nefarious involved here. Sadly, at the least, it seems this shooting possibly was due to a failure of the owner to secure his pistol from children. Folks, as gun owners, gun safety is our responsibility. Try to bear in mind that the life you save may be your own.
All the best,
Glenn B
I think there is a possibility that charges should and may well yet be filed. Why do I think so?
First of all, one has to wonder why the reporting on this incident is so scanty when coming out of the state of CT - a state well known for its anti-gun sentiments. You would think the press would be all over such a shooting but maybe the police have withheld information due to an ongoing investigation. Second, I have to wonder, even surmise, that this likely took place inside of Mr. Delucia's home. I say that because the gun has been reported as being legally registered to Mr. Delucia. I kind of doubt it likely would have been available to the 7 year old boy, who shot him with it, in another home. That is unless Mr. Delucia were in another home and Mr. Delucia made the pistol available to the child which seems less than likely. Then again, it seems he must have somehow allowed the child access to it whether intentionally or not. That begs the question of charges of child endangerment and it suggests to me that the gun was possibly left unattended and forgotten where the child found it somewhere in Mr. Delucia's home. Again, just guesswork.
Of course, there is also the question of why was the 7 year old child, who apparently was not his child (the boy was reported to be his neighbor) in a home with Mr. Delucia in the first place? Was the child there along with one or both of his parents or with a guardian or was the child there with Mr. Delucia alone or with other children and Mr. Delucia? Was it Mr. Delucia's home, the child's home a neighbors home. As I said above, I would guess it to have been Mr. Delucia's home.
Finally, I wonder, was it actually an accidental shooting (yes one due to negligence) or was it a purposeful shooting? Could the boy have been defending himself?
The article is just so meager as to the amount of fact upon which it has reported that it leaves me to beg answers to these questions, if not directly, then simply by more full reporting of what took place and how and why it happened.
Hopefully there is nothing nefarious involved here. Sadly, at the least, it seems this shooting possibly was due to a failure of the owner to secure his pistol from children. Folks, as gun owners, gun safety is our responsibility. Try to bear in mind that the life you save may be your own.
All the best,
Glenn B
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