The Most Transparent Government In History...

... right after those of Hitler, Stalin and pol Pot - at least in as much as it blatantly is a tyranny.

They have got to think that the entirety of the American people are more gullible than folks who believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and that the government is here to help us.

See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/13/earnest-defends-notion-most-transparent-administration-in-us-history/


All the best,
GB

I Took The Advice...

...of Long Island Herpetological Society president Vin Russo and got myself a couple of Russian Tortoises. I had been thinking of getting at least a pair of them for over a year now but as usual I was The Great Procrastinator. Then Vin mentioned them either during a talk or just in passing at an LIHS meeting and happened to say that he thought they might soon wind up on a protected species list and become difficult to obtain. He certainly knows the reptile trade so I guess that was all it took to convince me that the best time to get them was now (relatively speaking).

The male.

A couple of months ago, at the Long Island Reptile Expo, I picked up a male. Then just a couple of weeks ago, at the NY Metro Reptile Expo in White Plains, I was lucky enough to find a nice looking female and I bought her too.

Both of them appear to have been wild caught. I am guessing the male may have been a recent import because he was a little on the light weight side and had recent abrasions to his carapace as from shipping in a crowded shipping box. The female, on the other hand, was said to have been a long term captive. Maybe she was just that and I say so because her shell was in better condition and her weight was quite a bit better than that of the male when I first got him. She was not quite up to what his weight was by the time I bought her but she
was pretty close, meaning her weight at time of purchase was better than was his when I bought him. So, I figured, she was in good shape and I paid a bit more than I had wanted to for her. Not much more, I figure $85 was a good buy but also felt that the dealer could have come down somewhat more in price. Not complaining though, she is a nice tortoise.

The female.

I am hopeful that next spring, she an the male will have been conditioned well enough by my care for them to breed. This is a species that is still imported in high numbers as wild caught adults but has only a small base of breeders willing to give them the attention they need in captive bred breeding programs. It is about time that we, as the herp community, establish a good captive bred population of them to help assure they are not wiped out in their natural habitat! I do not in any way oppose well regulated (not over regulated) wild caught collecting - in fact I support it but I certainly also support captive breeding programs to make sure we prevent over collection of species from the wild. This is a species that needs serious consideration among herpers as to captive bred breeding programs. I plan to give them good care and just that type of consideration.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's 8:39 PM...

...and not far from being dark outside. It's been less than a month since the longest day of the year and the days are already noticeably shorter than they had been just a short while ago. Next thing you know, at least in this neck of the concrete jungle, we will be freezing our arses off. For now though and for the next month or three, I am going to enjoy what we have left of the relatively long days and warmer weather.

Later 4 U (and 4 cold weather),
GB

Oh Shit...

...no more Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries!

A nectar sweeter than that offered by the Gods
although I do not deny that maybe they had a hand
in creating them in the overall scheme of things!

I need to correct that next trip to a liquor store!

All the best,
GB

Only A Day Under Three Weeks Until...

...the Northeast Annual Bloggershoot at a super sekrit location in where but the northeast. I am almost ready for it, kind of, sort of, maybe. All of my long arms are clean, lubed and ready to rock n' roll. The handguns, they could all use a good cleaning. Somehow, during the last couple of weeks, I lost all of the  impetus to clean any more firearms. I maybe would have done it this evening, now that I just thought of the upcoming shooty goodness event but alas I have imbibed of the fruit of the forbidden tree in the form of an Ommegang Abbey Ale infused with 10 Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries and about 2 or a bit more ounces of the actual moonshine imbued with the maraschino cherry juice. Wow, was that ever so delightfully scrumptious.

It should come as no surprise to anyone, or at least to myself, that Shirley Temples were my favorite childhood drink (followed closely by Tom Collins mix - sans alcohol at least until my god mother added gin for me). I think that both of those remain my favorite adult drinks but with the alcohol. Now that I think of it though, I have not had a TC in years - I need to correct that but gin requires a frame of mind that I must prepare well in advance. After all, gin is not an alcoholic beverage - it is a state of mind. Anyway, the grown-up Shirley Temples (minus the soda and with moonshine instead of gin), they are friggin fantastic and added to an Ommegang it is an exquisite concoction. Let me just say, it beats anything Heaven has to offer, and if they have it and freely give it out in Hell, I am bound in that direction willingly. So, no gun cleaning for me tonight.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the bloggershoot nonetheless. I am sure it will prove itself to be well worth the 5 or 6 hour drive - a good time for all who attend. Last two times I attended it was truly an excellent soiree.

All the best,
Glenn B

Not On The Job 8 Months - Ambushed And Shot Dead

A rookie police officer, Melvin Santiago, was shot dead when he and his partner arrived at a Walgreens drug store in Jersey City, NJ to respond to an armed robbery call. The officer was only 23 years old. The officer's killer reportedly entered the store, assaulted the armed security guard there, took the guard's pistol and  laid in wait for police to arrive. As they arrived he started firing and fatally struck officer Santiago in the head with at least one shot; it is believed he used the security guard's weapon to kill Officer Santiago. Prior to all this, Lawrence Campbell, the alleged and now dead shooter, told a witness to watch the news later in the day because he (Campbell) was going to be famous. Campbell was killed by fire from other arriving officers. Campbell was already wanted in connection with another homicide. Source and more info here:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/13/new-jersey-police-officer-shot-killed-on-robbery-call/

 What drives a sick mother fucker like that is beyond me but had he been captured alive, I think he should have been horse whipped every day up until the day he was executed. Since NJ abolished the death penalty in 2007, I imagine that would mean his being horse whipped for what would have been every day of the rest of his life. Of course, that would have meant that the tax payer would have had to foot the bill for that bastard while incarcerated. Thankfully, the other arriving officers saved the people of the state of NJ some money although my bet would be that now Campbell's family will sue Jersey City for whatever reason a skank of a lawyer can imagine. One can only hope he has no family to sue or that his family thought of him as a big of a piece of shit as do I and they are happy to be rid of him.

All the best,
Glenn B

Worthiness

I definitely have difficulty in seeing the value of a benefits sucking
leech of a person who refuses to work and contribute to society
if only because that person has no value worth the mention.

Your worthiness does not increase based upon your ability to depend upon the support of others and your refusal to make yourself a contributing member of society. Make something of yourself by contributing to the betterment of our nation through industrious effort, only then will you have any value worth seeing let alone praising - except that is in namby-pamby feel good about your worthless self type posters.

 

All the best,

Glenn B