...has really bitten me good; and I have been busy sending out letters of inquiry about exactly what I have to do to become a teacher here in New York State. Being somewhat flexible I would be willing to teach grammar school up through high school. I would also be willing to do so in Catholic Schools, or public schools in my area of Long Island, within New York City, and maybe in CT.
Of course, I am still looking at other options for a second career, but I am first to admit I do not have a lot of the specialized skills that employers are seeking especially since law enforcement skillls are specialized to law enforcement; and I do not want to go from one LE job to another if I can avoid it at my age. I am just getting to old for this stuff, not saying I am there quite yet, but within a few years at most I will be.
So finding a s3econd career may wind up being a bit more difficult than I had thought, but I will keep pounding away and looking for one that is suitable. Janitor positions may even be considered if I could get one at a scholl and have off most of the summer.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Let Freedom Ring ala Pike County, Illinois
Go here quidini pro quo and read her blog; or go directly to the blogger's source at:
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/tow_final.php?date=2007-4-26, and scroll down about half the page to see the article. My thanks to her for this heads up about a revolutionary event, revolutionary in the name of freedom and protecting our rights and our Constitution.
It is amazing that you most likely will not see this on any of the media's Internet sites. I just searched for it and could not find it at FoxNews, CNN or the BBC (maybe it is there and I missed it, but I sought of doubt that they would write it up - it probably is too right sided revolutionary for the leftists to want to bear). The gist of it is that Pike County, Illinois has told the state of Illinois that it will disregard any and all anti-firearms legislation as the county believes such legislation to be in violation of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! Bravo to them, it may turn out yet to be the cannon shot heard round the world.
Hopefully the NRA will start publicizing this, so more people hear about it.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/tow_final.php?date=2007-4-26, and scroll down about half the page to see the article. My thanks to her for this heads up about a revolutionary event, revolutionary in the name of freedom and protecting our rights and our Constitution.
It is amazing that you most likely will not see this on any of the media's Internet sites. I just searched for it and could not find it at FoxNews, CNN or the BBC (maybe it is there and I missed it, but I sought of doubt that they would write it up - it probably is too right sided revolutionary for the leftists to want to bear). The gist of it is that Pike County, Illinois has told the state of Illinois that it will disregard any and all anti-firearms legislation as the county believes such legislation to be in violation of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! Bravo to them, it may turn out yet to be the cannon shot heard round the world.
Hopefully the NRA will start publicizing this, so more people hear about it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Yikes - what is up with Blogger?
I guess you get what you pay for, and since I paid nothing for use of this site, maybe that is why I have been having so many problems lately. My bet is Blogger or Google will soon institute a pay for use whereby you get live help, but that is only a guess.
My problems have been many, and have only been recent, within the past few weeks, ever since they converted everyone with an old Blogger account to a Google account (or so I was told). It seems things on my own blog keep disappearing such as my link lists to other bloggers, my link list to reference material, my firearms related lists. I also have a great amount of difficulty connecting to other sites using those lings, but I think only the other sites that use Blogger. In addition my link to site meter at the bottom of the page has come and gone a few times, and each time I enter in the html code, it shows up again in a different place even though the code has not changed. All very spooky; and if it was only happening on my home PC I would think virus, but it is happening on other PCs from which I access my blog. I have also heard of others having problems connecting, or finding blogs on the site since they allegedly switched everyone to a Google account. Hopefully this is a bug on the Blogger end and they will fix it soon, but heck how do they even become aware that end users are having problems; there is no link for contacts to them on their site as far as I know!
Oh well, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be fixed soon. Lest I forget, I should again point out I get all of this for free, so I guess I cannot complain too much. I suppose it is a case of me taking things for granted, since in essence they were granted to me. Blogger on the whole is a good thing, and they usually keep it running well, I just hope it stays that way.
All the best,
Glenn B
My problems have been many, and have only been recent, within the past few weeks, ever since they converted everyone with an old Blogger account to a Google account (or so I was told). It seems things on my own blog keep disappearing such as my link lists to other bloggers, my link list to reference material, my firearms related lists. I also have a great amount of difficulty connecting to other sites using those lings, but I think only the other sites that use Blogger. In addition my link to site meter at the bottom of the page has come and gone a few times, and each time I enter in the html code, it shows up again in a different place even though the code has not changed. All very spooky; and if it was only happening on my home PC I would think virus, but it is happening on other PCs from which I access my blog. I have also heard of others having problems connecting, or finding blogs on the site since they allegedly switched everyone to a Google account. Hopefully this is a bug on the Blogger end and they will fix it soon, but heck how do they even become aware that end users are having problems; there is no link for contacts to them on their site as far as I know!
Oh well, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be fixed soon. Lest I forget, I should again point out I get all of this for free, so I guess I cannot complain too much. I suppose it is a case of me taking things for granted, since in essence they were granted to me. Blogger on the whole is a good thing, and they usually keep it running well, I just hope it stays that way.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Ballseye's Boomers: Ruger MKII...
...pistols amount to a lot of fun to shoot, but one heck of a pain in the butt to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning. Still though, this is one of the most fun pistols I have ever owned. Mine is a MKII Target model with 5 1/2" heavy target barrel, adjustable rear sights, and fixed front sight. The magazine holds 10 rounds. I probably have had this one since about the mid 1980's, and if it could talk, it could tell you it has eaten and spit out an awful lot of .22LR ammunition, and killed lots of cans at that.
One of the better things about this pistol is that it likes to eat just about any type of ammo I feed to it. That is always a plus with any pistol that shoots .22LR ammo. Of course being chambered in .22LR it is not expensive to shoot. Another good thing is that it is, or at least was, a relatively inexpensive pistol to purchase. Although I have not looked recently, my guess is that you could get a new one like mine with the 5 1/2" heavy barrel, for about $250 or less, but that is a guess. Used ones are readily available and should much less expensive than a new one. I would not be surprised to find a decent used one for $150.
Curiosity has already gotten the better of me, and I left the blog for a moment or two to do some checking on prices. My guesstimate, at least on the new ones in my area where guns are more expensive than in many other parts of the country, was very close to on the money. A new one, just like the one pictured, goes for $260 cash at The Long Island Shooting Center; and that price is supposedly current as of today. As for the asking price of used ones, I went to GunBroker.com where I was shocked to see the starting price/bid for one at $295.00, and while that was with a slightly longer barrel at 6 7/8", it was not shown with the heavy target barrel. I wonder, who is kidding whom here? The same pistol new, is listed at Long Island Shooting Center for $260, same as the 5 1/2" model. If you can get it new for $260, why in the world would you buy it used through the Internet for at least $295.00, and then have to add on an FFL transfer fee! Oh well, someone will probably buy it; but not me.
Back to the pistol itself. I already pointed out the good things about it above, now let me harp on the bad. This pistol has got to be one of the most difficult pistols to reassemble correctly after having disassembled it for cleaning. It is just a royal pain in the butt with the lever in the backstrap that has to engage just so before it will fold back into place. I have assembled mine a few times where it did not work properly, and then had to be taken apart and reassembled again, and sometimes again before i got it right. As a matter of fact, pulling the disassembly lever out of the backstrap can also be kind of a pain in the posterior too, but this bit is not as bad as when putting it back together.
Despite the disassembly/reassembly thing, I find the Ruger MKII to be a really good to excellent pistol for amateurish target shooting, for plinking, and for small game hunting. If it was the only pistol I had, I would also use it for home defense, but then again, there are much better choices out there than a pistol shooting .22LR rounds. In short, it is well worth the cost, and one heck of a fun gun to shoot. It will last a long time without problems if cared for properly, and if you buy one and care for it, chances are you will pass it on to your children or grandchildren in years to come.
All the best,
Glenn B
Another Saturday In The Garden...
...is beginning to show some signs of it looking as it is actually a garden again; and for a second Saturday in a row, my back is aching though not as much as it was last week. Today I began my day with a ride to Hicks Nursery, where 4 small potted herbs cost me just over $16.00; nothing made out of gold, just spearmint, cilantro (coriander), rosemary, and I can't remember the other one but just a regular herb. Then I went to Home Depot where I spent $57.00 and got 4 similar sized plants (3 pepper plants and an eggplant), 5 bags of top soil (40 lbs each), a box of fertilizer spikes for evergreens, a flat of Impatiens (32 plants), 6 potted geraniums in 4 inch pots, a well started tomato plant in a 6 inch pot, and some snazzy looking flowering perennial called Gaillardia Arizona Sun (the pic of the yellow and red flowers) that supposedly attracts butterflies. You tell me where I got the better deal. Despite the deals, I hate shopping at Home Depot because of the crowds. Then again, Hicks - a one store operation - was crowded too, just as bad as Home Depot for its size. So all in all shopping in both of them sucks as far as i am concerned, but Home Depot has better prices. One the way home, I took a few bucks I had saved by doing most of the shopping at Home Depot, and I stopped at TR's a local gin mill (yes named after Theodore Roosevelt) and I had one cold one - a Heineken. That was nice.After the quick bottle of suds, it was back to home, to plant things. The first thing I did was to fill in a hole in a spot from where I had removed a stump several months back. It took four bags of the top soil and a good portion of compost and peat moss. I mixed it all nicely, and tamped it down. As soon as it was done, I dug a hole right in the middle of it, and I planted a tree on that spot; that is of course right after I asked she who must be obeyed if it was a good sp
ot. I have no idea of what type is that tree, it is something that started to grow in my yard last year. I uprooted it, and put it into a pot, and that is where it stayed over the winter, the pot buried in my compost heap so it would not freeze. I have another one of them growing wild in the yard; and I used to think it was a bush so I trimmed it whenever I trimmed the other bushes that grew over my neighbor's fence. Then when I cleared a bit of the area, I realized "Hey, it has a trunk, its a tree". I stopped trimming it, and it started growing more like a tree than a bush, but somewhat worse for the trimmings I had given it. It is about 12-15 feet tall now, and okay by me. Now that I planted this new one today, I guess in a couple if years, I will get to see what one looks like that is not deformed because of a gardener gone berserk. Oh well...I did my thing for Arbor Day, just one day late. That tree, by the way, will keep company with an Oak, a couple of Dogwoods, a Japanese Maple, a Holly, and some assorted bushes, like the rhododendrons to the right/above.Then I got to planting the veggies I had bought. I also planted some seeds for lettuce, spinach, cukes, turnips, beets (yech - but my wife loves em), and beans. I then cleaned up my mess, much to the approval of my wife. After that I loaded up the bird feeders, well at least I put out what seeds I had. A tube feeder with Niger seed, another a regular feeder with some other seeds; and a humming bird feeder with nectar. Then I remembered what I had forgotten at Home Depot - bird seed. I am all out of regular bird seed, so that means another trip this weekend to Home Depot - oh joy.
As for the wife, well my sweetheart was out there most of the time, if not longer than I was there. She planted a bunch of pretty flowers that we bought last weekend, and the ones I bought today. Once again we will have a nice small garden out front, and nice potted plants all around the house. We have a nice collection of Impatiens, Petunias, Geraniums, Black Eyed Susans, Rosie Cheeks Dianthus, Swan Yellow Columbine, Gaillardia Arizona Sun, Azaleas, and whatever else she has growing out there flower wise. We also have some that were here before we bought the place 12 or so years ago, including azaleas, rhododendrons (and 2 new ones I planted last fall),crocuses, and daffodils (these last two keep coming back year after year). It was also nice to see that my strawberry plants came to life again this year. Small lot that we have, it does have its share of nice flowers and trees.
So we got our gardening dome kind of separately, but together too, me on the tree and the veggies, and Linda on most of the flowers, and you have to admit she added a nice touch to the small front patio. It is kind of nice working together out in the garden, and then later seeing the result of our combined efforts. I only wish we could do as well with our front and back lawns as we do with all the other plants. I am just about ready to give up on grass. Anyone know a nice green lawn cover other than grass, or green concrete?I guess now, all that is left is watering the garden and the lawn, oh yeah - the lawn! Well maybe, just maybe, I will tear out the grass in the front lawn for the third or fourth year in a row, turn the soil, add some lime and fertilizer, and reseed it again. It goes good for a while, then patches of it sort of die off before the fall. If it was up to me, river pebbles, and some nicely arranged flowers and shrubs would be the right thing to do; but of course the other half will not hear of it, so a grass lawn it will remain, even if it has almost no grass.
Enough of the garden stuff, I have other chores to get done. ater for the garden, and for you!
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 27, 2007
National Arbor Day - Plant A Tree...
...if you today if you can, or if not maybe do it tomorrow. I have not already done so today, but I will plant one or two on my small backyard this weekend. There is no better time to do it than National Arbor Day, which happens to be today, as far as I am concerned. Although I have to point out I am not a tree hugger per se, I do love seeing nice trees growing. As far as I am concerned they are wonderful in many ways, I guess producing oxygen, and giving shade being among two of my favorites reasons to love trees. I also like: to listen to the leaves rustle in the breeze, to smell the sroma of their flowers or cones, to sit up against one when I hunt, to sleep up against one (also when I hunt), to see kids haiving fun climbing in their branches, to see the birds and hear then sing while flitting about in their branches, to spot a bird's nest high up, to see all the other critters that use trees as home or food, to feel the warmth supplied by a nicely burning camp fire on a cool night in the forest, to read a real book made out of paper, to eat nuts, to use a toothpick, to have a roof over my head, to have the forest as a place of repose, toknow that if we do it right trees are a totally renewable resource that can be used again and again throughout our eternity, to see my one male dog lift his leg and leave his scent on them (yes they are good for all sorts of things), and on and on. Even though I usually cannot tell an Oak from a Sycamore, I can say without a doubt, Trees Are Wonderful.
No I am not an environmentalist kook. I am a man who likes some outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping (the few times I ever get a chance any longer), gardening; and being a man who likes the useful products that come from trees; I guess it comes natural that I like trees too. So to all of you out there, who also enjoy trees for whatever reason, and in whatever way, I say to you: Happy National Arbor Day. Now get off your butts this weekend and plant a tree somewhere.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: My uncle Ken would probably like this post if he read it!
No I am not an environmentalist kook. I am a man who likes some outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping (the few times I ever get a chance any longer), gardening; and being a man who likes the useful products that come from trees; I guess it comes natural that I like trees too. So to all of you out there, who also enjoy trees for whatever reason, and in whatever way, I say to you: Happy National Arbor Day. Now get off your butts this weekend and plant a tree somewhere.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: My uncle Ken would probably like this post if he read it!
The So Called Republicans...
...who are in the running for the presidency of the USA have just gotten a little bit more of competition for their own party's nomination. Jim Gilmore, the former governor of Virginia, and a proclaimed staunch conservative has joined the ranks of those seeking the Republican nomination as explained in Gilmore Declares Presidential Candidacy in Online Announcement, over at FoxNews.com
So whom among potential Republican candidates do we have to choose from now:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
John Cox (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Rudy Giuliani (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Chuck Hagel (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
John McCain (in the race)
Ron Paul (in the race)
Mitt Romney (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Tommy Thompson (potential)
I liked Tancredo, and still do, quite a bit; but I must admit that his lack of campaigning in the public eye (or would that be lack of media coverage) leaves him out in the cold somewhat if only because not many are familiar with him. I can only hope that he has some matches and tinder to start the fire blazing.
If Tancredo does not start gaining some steam, and start talking about something other than Immigration (which is is probably already doing, but my bet is that the other talk is just ignored by the media who want to show true conservatives as one issue sort of guys), well then I guess I may have to look elsewhere as to cast my vote in the primaries (no I never carried out on my desire to withdraw from the Republican party, although I thought about it long and hard). I definitely would consider casting my vote in the primary for a few of the other candidates. Of course before casting my vote for any of them, they would have to be in it at primary time. Hopefully Tancredo will still be there, and then my decision will probably be an easy one for me. Just in case he will not be there, well I am starting to do my homework by taking a good look at these others. I can only hope that the likes of the most popular candidates at the present time fail to make it to the primaries as I can not imagine Giuliani, McCain or Romney as our president, at least not without dire results for our country.
The candidates, whom I would consider voting for in the primary, as things stand right now, and should they still be in it, are:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Time will tell what will happen, but I suggest that before you know it, it will be time for the primaries. Therefore you ought to do your homework now. You can find a breakdown of some of the candidates ideas on the issues at: HUMAN EVENTS 2008 Presidential Voting Guide, and at the various web sites of the candidates, among other places.
All the best,
Glenn B
So whom among potential Republican candidates do we have to choose from now:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
John Cox (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Rudy Giuliani (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Chuck Hagel (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
John McCain (in the race)
Ron Paul (in the race)
Mitt Romney (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Tommy Thompson (potential)
I liked Tancredo, and still do, quite a bit; but I must admit that his lack of campaigning in the public eye (or would that be lack of media coverage) leaves him out in the cold somewhat if only because not many are familiar with him. I can only hope that he has some matches and tinder to start the fire blazing.
If Tancredo does not start gaining some steam, and start talking about something other than Immigration (which is is probably already doing, but my bet is that the other talk is just ignored by the media who want to show true conservatives as one issue sort of guys), well then I guess I may have to look elsewhere as to cast my vote in the primaries (no I never carried out on my desire to withdraw from the Republican party, although I thought about it long and hard). I definitely would consider casting my vote in the primary for a few of the other candidates. Of course before casting my vote for any of them, they would have to be in it at primary time. Hopefully Tancredo will still be there, and then my decision will probably be an easy one for me. Just in case he will not be there, well I am starting to do my homework by taking a good look at these others. I can only hope that the likes of the most popular candidates at the present time fail to make it to the primaries as I can not imagine Giuliani, McCain or Romney as our president, at least not without dire results for our country.
The candidates, whom I would consider voting for in the primary, as things stand right now, and should they still be in it, are:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Time will tell what will happen, but I suggest that before you know it, it will be time for the primaries. Therefore you ought to do your homework now. You can find a breakdown of some of the candidates ideas on the issues at: HUMAN EVENTS 2008 Presidential Voting Guide, and at the various web sites of the candidates, among other places.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Rhacodactylus ciliatus - Leapin Lizards...
...Yes, I went and took the leap once again. Last Sunday I went to the New York Metro Reptile Expo. While there, I helped to man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table and give out info about reptiles and amphibians to folks who needed help with their pets; and I also got rid of a few of my excess herps. After getting rid of a pair of Bearded Dragons, a California Kingsnake, and a Hermann's Tortoise, I sort of figured I just had to buy something.
Since my male Crested Gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) has been a loner for a few months now, I decided to get him a mate. He thinks she is gorgeous, or at least I hope that he does. I am hopeful that she will be laying fertile eggs before too long; meaning that he found her attractive and did his part. I am pretty sure he will oblige, then all I can hope for is that she is productive.
I don't know about you, but I enjoy keeping these little critters, that is along with my fish, frog, turtles, tortoise, snakes, dwarf hamsters mice, and dogs. Yes we have a small zoo, that changes in size, and in some of its occupants, on a recurring basis. In my opinion, herps (reptiles and amphibians) are great animals to keep as a pet hobbyist. While none are truly responsive like a dog or a cat, some of them make great pets in the more classic sense of pet keeping, and while others are less than cuddly, all are in my opinion fascinating and rewarding to keep nonetheless.
I took several pictures of this gal, but am none to good at focusing the digital camera (or I should say its auto focus is none too good), and this one came out the best. I wish though I could show you a close up of the head, absolutely weird and sort of dragon like in appearance. As it is though you can click on the pic for an enlargement.
In case you are interested, here are a couple of care sheets that I found by doing a web search. They are seemingly well written and detailed, and can be found at:
http://www.thegeckospot.com/crestedcareindex.html (lots of great pictures too, including a great head shot)
http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm
These are fascinating creatures that can easily be kept in the home, including a small apartment. I keep my crested geckos, at room temperature, in a vertically oriented tank, with a few nice potted house plants and a piece of cork bark inside of it for aesthetics and as hiding places for the lizards. Crested geckos are a good choice for older children, about 12 and up in my estimation, who will get help from mom and dad. Always bear in mind that any pet you get for your children is also your responsibility as a parent in the event the kids don't care for it properly or lose interest. If you get one or more of these for your kids, and in the event your kids lose interest, this particular type of gecko could get you, as mom or dad, hooked for life on herps. Of course, if you keep at it with your children, they will probably regain any lost interest, or maybe never lose all interest in the first place. Thus they too could become hooked for life on these wonderful creatures, and maybe gain an interest in science and nature along the way. In addition think of the time you would be spending with your children enjoying your new hobby as opposed to them just hanging out, or watching TV, all of the time. Now that would be a good thing, wouldn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
I don't know about you, but I enjoy keeping these little critters, that is along with my fish, frog, turtles, tortoise, snakes, dwarf hamsters mice, and dogs. Yes we have a small zoo, that changes in size, and in some of its occupants, on a recurring basis. In my opinion, herps (reptiles and amphibians) are great animals to keep as a pet hobbyist. While none are truly responsive like a dog or a cat, some of them make great pets in the more classic sense of pet keeping, and while others are less than cuddly, all are in my opinion fascinating and rewarding to keep nonetheless.
I took several pictures of this gal, but am none to good at focusing the digital camera (or I should say its auto focus is none too good), and this one came out the best. I wish though I could show you a close up of the head, absolutely weird and sort of dragon like in appearance. As it is though you can click on the pic for an enlargement.
In case you are interested, here are a couple of care sheets that I found by doing a web search. They are seemingly well written and detailed, and can be found at:
http://www.thegeckospot.com/crestedcareindex.html (lots of great pictures too, including a great head shot)
http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm
These are fascinating creatures that can easily be kept in the home, including a small apartment. I keep my crested geckos, at room temperature, in a vertically oriented tank, with a few nice potted house plants and a piece of cork bark inside of it for aesthetics and as hiding places for the lizards. Crested geckos are a good choice for older children, about 12 and up in my estimation, who will get help from mom and dad. Always bear in mind that any pet you get for your children is also your responsibility as a parent in the event the kids don't care for it properly or lose interest. If you get one or more of these for your kids, and in the event your kids lose interest, this particular type of gecko could get you, as mom or dad, hooked for life on herps. Of course, if you keep at it with your children, they will probably regain any lost interest, or maybe never lose all interest in the first place. Thus they too could become hooked for life on these wonderful creatures, and maybe gain an interest in science and nature along the way. In addition think of the time you would be spending with your children enjoying your new hobby as opposed to them just hanging out, or watching TV, all of the time. Now that would be a good thing, wouldn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
WOULD YOU GO, IF YOU COULD GO?
Fox news reports the AP story: Earth-Like Planet Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star. This of course has all sorts of scientific, religious, and fascinating implications if proven true. I wonder how they could prove such a thing in our time?
I guess traveling there would be one way, although they say that: "Distance is another problem. We don't know how to get to those places in a human lifetime,". Yet if they did, I might be willing to go. Of course I have a family, so that would make me probably just dream about it, but if I had no family ties (wife and kids, I am not talking about anyone else) I would jump at the opportunity. Hopefully there would be somehow to come back if it was not a planet that supported life; but man oh man, what a long strange trip it would be!
All the best,
Glenn B
I guess traveling there would be one way, although they say that: "Distance is another problem. We don't know how to get to those places in a human lifetime,". Yet if they did, I might be willing to go. Of course I have a family, so that would make me probably just dream about it, but if I had no family ties (wife and kids, I am not talking about anyone else) I would jump at the opportunity. Hopefully there would be somehow to come back if it was not a planet that supported life; but man oh man, what a long strange trip it would be!
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Gun Shows and Herps Shows - a Commonality?
Gun Shows are neat, well that is, they used to be neat, and loads of fun too. They were neat because they brought together a whole bunch of people with the same interests, that being firearms, and that had lots of firearms on display and for sale. I still like going to gun shows but they are nowhere nearly as fun as they once were if only because they have been targeted by the gun hating ultra leftists, and thereby by many ridiculous government regulations that are just so much going overboard. The result has been that gun shows now have vendors who sell less guns, lots of books, and beef jerky. Not fun. Enough for gun shows though, this post is not about them, not really.
Yesterday I went to another type of show: The New York Metro Reptile Expo. It was, as usual, held in White Plains New York at the Convention Center. Like a gun show, a reptile & amphibian show (herp show) brings together a large number of enthusiasts who like the same or similar things. In this case that would be reptiles and amphibians (herps). I go to the WP show at about every chance I get, which is almost every show they have had over the past few years. I help man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table, and I also go to maybe sell or trade a herp that I have in order to get something else. I have been keeping reptiles and amphibians for well over 40 years now. I guess I have been an LIHS member for at least about 15 years, maybe a couple more.
It used to be that herp shows were much like gun shows. Lots of fun, lots of availability of various herps, well regulated by way of federal and state laws regarding herps and so on. Then the ultra leftist loonies started to get involved.For instance they tried to ban keeping all boas and pythons about 2 years ago in new York State. The bill was a shoe in, it was going to pass easily, because the animal rights loonies, and the so called pet advocates, told the state legislation these were all dangerous snakes because they all could kill people. Well, it was then that herp societies like the LIHS stepped up to the plate, and the members and executive board began a letter writing campaign. We had the bill changed, that is once we explained that there are boas that reach only about 18 inches in length, and there are many small pythons too, all of which pose no threat of loss of life to people. Yes some snakes, and other herps, were banned as pets, such as Burmese Pythons and Anaconda. Still though, efforts of herp societies like the LIHS prevented all such snakes from being banned as pets. Of course, the loonies persist and try to over regulate these shows and the pet industry on the whole, and they have successfully kept the 4 inch turtle law on the books. It is a pretty silly law that says you cannot sell turtles under 4" long because kids could put them into their mouths and get salmonella. I don't see anyone restricting sale of chickens, eggs, or dairy products, both the causes of the largest outbreaks of salmonella, and anyhow a kid could always lick a bigger turtle. Truth be told, turtles can get salmonella but when kept properly are not likely to be effected by it; then again, your pet dogs and cats can get it too but wouldn't it be much more difficult for these wackos to ban keeping dogs and cats. Just so much ludicrous leftist loony legislation, for the kooks to try to control our lives by micro management, that is all , plain and simple.
So while you may think this was a victory for the herp hobbyists, I think it actually was a victory for the loonies who want to stop herps from being kept as pets. They work the same way as do the anti-gun crowd, they chip away at our rights and liberties a little bit at a time over the years, until our liberties and rights are just a faint shadow of what they used to be. Why do they do this, for control, and I believe for nothing more. The thing is though, many people have pets, many people watch nature shows, many folks love(d) guys like Steve Irwin, Jeff Corbin, and so on. People are familiar in some ways with these wonderful animals; and the herp keeping hobby is growing by leaps and bounds. People are also beginning to realize that the kooks who would control all aspects of pet keeping, even of reptiles and amphibians, are just that - kooks. It is apparent that in many states the normal citizens are realizing the same about those who would abolish our right to keep and bear arms. You see all these control freaks want to do is control our lives, to micro manage you and me. They are not truly concerned about whether of not there is gun violence, or people being killed by snakes, or too many fast cars, or too much god in school, or too little freedom in expression, they are only using those things to exert and extend their influence over the public as radically as they can because by presenting things falsely in the extreme, they can suck more politicians, and easily hoodwinked people, over to their side; thereby they accomplish something else: more control over us. Rationality however seems to be prevailing in many areas, and the truth is that these folks often are being seen for what they are - charlatans, and little more. That is a good thing, and the fun may yet someday return to gun shows and the like because we keep showing these kooks for exactly that - kooks, and little more.
All the best,
Glenn B
Yesterday I went to another type of show: The New York Metro Reptile Expo. It was, as usual, held in White Plains New York at the Convention Center. Like a gun show, a reptile & amphibian show (herp show) brings together a large number of enthusiasts who like the same or similar things. In this case that would be reptiles and amphibians (herps). I go to the WP show at about every chance I get, which is almost every show they have had over the past few years. I help man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table, and I also go to maybe sell or trade a herp that I have in order to get something else. I have been keeping reptiles and amphibians for well over 40 years now. I guess I have been an LIHS member for at least about 15 years, maybe a couple more.
It used to be that herp shows were much like gun shows. Lots of fun, lots of availability of various herps, well regulated by way of federal and state laws regarding herps and so on. Then the ultra leftist loonies started to get involved.For instance they tried to ban keeping all boas and pythons about 2 years ago in new York State. The bill was a shoe in, it was going to pass easily, because the animal rights loonies, and the so called pet advocates, told the state legislation these were all dangerous snakes because they all could kill people. Well, it was then that herp societies like the LIHS stepped up to the plate, and the members and executive board began a letter writing campaign. We had the bill changed, that is once we explained that there are boas that reach only about 18 inches in length, and there are many small pythons too, all of which pose no threat of loss of life to people. Yes some snakes, and other herps, were banned as pets, such as Burmese Pythons and Anaconda. Still though, efforts of herp societies like the LIHS prevented all such snakes from being banned as pets. Of course, the loonies persist and try to over regulate these shows and the pet industry on the whole, and they have successfully kept the 4 inch turtle law on the books. It is a pretty silly law that says you cannot sell turtles under 4" long because kids could put them into their mouths and get salmonella. I don't see anyone restricting sale of chickens, eggs, or dairy products, both the causes of the largest outbreaks of salmonella, and anyhow a kid could always lick a bigger turtle. Truth be told, turtles can get salmonella but when kept properly are not likely to be effected by it; then again, your pet dogs and cats can get it too but wouldn't it be much more difficult for these wackos to ban keeping dogs and cats. Just so much ludicrous leftist loony legislation, for the kooks to try to control our lives by micro management, that is all , plain and simple.
So while you may think this was a victory for the herp hobbyists, I think it actually was a victory for the loonies who want to stop herps from being kept as pets. They work the same way as do the anti-gun crowd, they chip away at our rights and liberties a little bit at a time over the years, until our liberties and rights are just a faint shadow of what they used to be. Why do they do this, for control, and I believe for nothing more. The thing is though, many people have pets, many people watch nature shows, many folks love(d) guys like Steve Irwin, Jeff Corbin, and so on. People are familiar in some ways with these wonderful animals; and the herp keeping hobby is growing by leaps and bounds. People are also beginning to realize that the kooks who would control all aspects of pet keeping, even of reptiles and amphibians, are just that - kooks. It is apparent that in many states the normal citizens are realizing the same about those who would abolish our right to keep and bear arms. You see all these control freaks want to do is control our lives, to micro manage you and me. They are not truly concerned about whether of not there is gun violence, or people being killed by snakes, or too many fast cars, or too much god in school, or too little freedom in expression, they are only using those things to exert and extend their influence over the public as radically as they can because by presenting things falsely in the extreme, they can suck more politicians, and easily hoodwinked people, over to their side; thereby they accomplish something else: more control over us. Rationality however seems to be prevailing in many areas, and the truth is that these folks often are being seen for what they are - charlatans, and little more. That is a good thing, and the fun may yet someday return to gun shows and the like because we keep showing these kooks for exactly that - kooks, and little more.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ouch...
...my neck and back just went snap, crackle, pop at the same time. Yeah, you guessed it, the first nice Saturday of April and I was at Home Depot earlier, then out in the yard the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. Linda and I got a bunch of yard work done. Although the little gardens in the few spots around the perimeter of our front and back yards don't look like much yet, my neck and back are stiff and aching.
Most of that soreness is from sifting the compost pile. I got a good amount of compost and used some of it to mix into the soil where I will plant some veggies. I also already used some of it in pots, one pot with cherry tomatoes, and another with strawberries. My wife also used some of it in her flower garden and flower pots. I am curious to see if this compost will work better than potting soil and fertilizer. Time and my yield will tell. I planted one other tomato plant and a couple of basil plants to start off the season. I still have a long way to go. I will be starting somethings from seed this year, like radishes, beets, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and one or two others. Hopefully it is not too late to start any of them in this area fro seed. In the past I would have planted earlier this month, but this one has been a cold one.
As for the flowers, Linda and I picked out some nice petunias, marigolds, columbine, and geraniums. Its a start, but I am pretty certain at least one or two more trips to the garden center will be forthcoming in the next 2 weeks.
All the best,
Glenn B
Most of that soreness is from sifting the compost pile. I got a good amount of compost and used some of it to mix into the soil where I will plant some veggies. I also already used some of it in pots, one pot with cherry tomatoes, and another with strawberries. My wife also used some of it in her flower garden and flower pots. I am curious to see if this compost will work better than potting soil and fertilizer. Time and my yield will tell. I planted one other tomato plant and a couple of basil plants to start off the season. I still have a long way to go. I will be starting somethings from seed this year, like radishes, beets, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and one or two others. Hopefully it is not too late to start any of them in this area fro seed. In the past I would have planted earlier this month, but this one has been a cold one.
As for the flowers, Linda and I picked out some nice petunias, marigolds, columbine, and geraniums. Its a start, but I am pretty certain at least one or two more trips to the garden center will be forthcoming in the next 2 weeks.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 20, 2007
RANGE REPORT
Yes, like I said a few posts below, I have plans for this weekend, so I figured I would get some shooting in at the range before I got home from work on Friday evening. I shot up about 350 rounds of 9mm ammo through my one of my Beretta 92FS pistols. It is a real pleasure to shoot, as are any of my Berettas, past or present. I spent just about an hour, or a few minutes more, shooting; but it surely was exactly what I needed to end up my work week. It is amazing how punching holes in paper, and the concentration and physical coordination that goes along with it, is often very soothing. High mental concentration, breath control, muscular coordination, all amounting to stress control almost beyond belief. Certainly as good a stress reliever as moderate exercise, meditation, hypnosis, reading a good book; and much better than a stiff drink, watching television, or just vegetating.
Add to that that I was shooting better than anyone else at the range, and all I can say, even though I am not the greatest of shootists, is: Whoopee......
All the best,
Glenn B
Add to that that I was shooting better than anyone else at the range, and all I can say, even though I am not the greatest of shootists, is: Whoopee......
All the best,
Glenn B
A Hero's Lesson...
...hopefully will not have fallen on deaf ears, especially since the lesson was one of true heroism. In today's world of almost 'virtual' everything, it is often difficult to decipher the real from the fantastic, or from the make believe. The purely academic images presented by those who have never truly experienced more than little in life but what are products of the imagination are rampant; therefore mere conceptual views of what a hero should be are oft times confused with true heroism. Because of that confusion it winds up that people today often see a movie actor, a baseball player, a singer, a politician, a doctor, a teacher, a parent, a friend, as a hero; this when in fact that not even one of those folks may ever have completed one truly heroic deed among them in all of the combined years that their lives have spanned.
Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.
The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.
Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.
So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.
One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.
All the best,
Glenn B
Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.
The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.
Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.
So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.
One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.
All the best,
Glenn B
One More Thing Before I Blast Off...
...as I just said I would in my previous post. Here is a link to an rather enjoyable ditty about our universe. I found it rather plesant and amusing. I hope you enjoy it. By the way, if the link does not work at first, give it a minute or so and try again. I think it worth the wait. Good for the whole family, that is maybe unless youy are a radical religious fundamentalist of any religion. Even then though, I think you could enjoy this.
Here is the link: http://dingo.care2.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf
All the best,
Glenn B
Here is the link: http://dingo.care2.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf
All the best,
Glenn B
Plans For The Weekend...
...have been made and promise to keep me busy. Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, and being it was a Thursday, my wife and I decided to wait until tomorrow to go out for a little celebrating. Before our Saturday gets anywhere near to that stage though, there are other things to do. I have to work on getting my 2005 taxes straightened out; it seems the IRS thinks we owe them $4,000.00 which we do not; stupid mistake on their part but a bit of a pain to resolve. Then maybe a trip to COSTCO to pick up groceries and supplies. After that, I have to go out to Home Depot, or maybe a gardening center, to pick up plants for this year's gardening projects. That should be just loads of fun on Saturday in April, I figure it will be elbow to elbow in the gardening department. Truth is though I would like to get most of the planting done tomorrow, so who knows, maybe I will go tonight to pick up the plants. I am figuring on tomatoes, green peppers (bell and a variety of hot), strawberries, lettuce, cabbage (maybe too late already), spinach, herbs, maybe some radishes and carrots too. That is for our very small vegetable garden. We will also pick up a few flats of flowers for the wife's baskets and flower garden. Of course, i can't forget the bird seed. I keep em well fed so they don't have to eat my plants. besides that, they sing nicely and eat lots of bugs too.
Once I get that out of the way, it should be just about time for an early dinner with my darling bride. Maybe, if she is in the mood, we will even go out for a movie. We have not been out to a movie or any kind of show together in several months, I guess since December. It should make for a nice evening together, I am looking forward to it; I hope she is too!
As for tonight, I think once I get my butt into gear, I may stop by the range for a few hundred rounds of 9mm pistol shooting. That will put me into a bit less traffic for the ride home from Manhattan. It will probably also help me to relax quite a bit - not a bad thing after a day at work, and better than stopping off for a few high balls and then driving home. The booze can wait until dinner tomorrow night, then the wife can drive, or we can walk.
Yep, that sounds like a plan to me. I just happen to have thought about all of this before leaving the house this morning, so I have a range bag right next to me. Inside of it I have:
300 Rounds Federal 115 gr. 9mm JHP
50 rounds of GoldDot 124 gr. 9mm GDHP
100 rounds of Champion 22 Long Rifle solid point standard velocity
50 rounds of PMC 22LR Scoremaster 40 gr solid point standard velocity
Some other partial boxes of assorted .22LR ammunition
A Beretta 92SB 9mm pistol
Ears, eyes and anything else I need.
I also have my issued Gock 19 in its holster on my belt, and a Henry Survival rifle in my sport bag. I guess you could say I am ready to have at least a short, but yet good, time at the range this evening. Thank goodness that Home Depot near me is open 24/7, I may still make it there tonight; and if not then I'll have to face the mobs ofwanna be farmers, lawn masters, and horticulturists other suburban gardeners tomorrow.
Okay, that's all set, time for me to stop jabbering via the Internet, and get my other end and the rest of me, to the range! So I am off to the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range for an hour of so of fun. Later for you, bye.
All the best,
Glenn B
Once I get that out of the way, it should be just about time for an early dinner with my darling bride. Maybe, if she is in the mood, we will even go out for a movie. We have not been out to a movie or any kind of show together in several months, I guess since December. It should make for a nice evening together, I am looking forward to it; I hope she is too!
As for tonight, I think once I get my butt into gear, I may stop by the range for a few hundred rounds of 9mm pistol shooting. That will put me into a bit less traffic for the ride home from Manhattan. It will probably also help me to relax quite a bit - not a bad thing after a day at work, and better than stopping off for a few high balls and then driving home. The booze can wait until dinner tomorrow night, then the wife can drive, or we can walk.
Yep, that sounds like a plan to me. I just happen to have thought about all of this before leaving the house this morning, so I have a range bag right next to me. Inside of it I have:
300 Rounds Federal 115 gr. 9mm JHP
50 rounds of GoldDot 124 gr. 9mm GDHP
100 rounds of Champion 22 Long Rifle solid point standard velocity
50 rounds of PMC 22LR Scoremaster 40 gr solid point standard velocity
Some other partial boxes of assorted .22LR ammunition
A Beretta 92SB 9mm pistol
Ears, eyes and anything else I need.
I also have my issued Gock 19 in its holster on my belt, and a Henry Survival rifle in my sport bag. I guess you could say I am ready to have at least a short, but yet good, time at the range this evening. Thank goodness that Home Depot near me is open 24/7, I may still make it there tonight; and if not then I'll have to face the mobs of
Okay, that's all set, time for me to stop jabbering via the Internet, and get my other end and the rest of me, to the range! So I am off to the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range for an hour of so of fun. Later for you, bye.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, April 19, 2007
A History Test For Your Kids...
... or maybe for you. Okay, I was really thinking of giving you another post about 'Today In History', even though I gave you one yesterday; but it appears someone else on my blog roll, The Anarchangel, just did that, and beat me to it. So instead of me getting all too boring through repetition, I have devised a small test for your children. Maybe it is not as much for them, as it is for you to determine just what they may know about history, or in other words what they may have learned at home, on TV, on the Internet, and mostly in school about history. As a matter of fact, maybe it will give you an idea of what you know.
For the test I will use fairly famous historical events, fairly famous names, and the like. The catch is that I will ask questions only about the events or persons who gained fame on this day, and yesterday (since my post about 'today in history' was posted yesterday).
See how good you do, then see how good your kids do; my guess is that anyone should be able to score at least 75%, and that 90% would be more like it, but who am I to say. By the way, just take it for granted the dates are correct, no trick questions about the dates. Here goes:
1) True or False - Colonel Robert E. Lee was offered, and refused, the command of the Union Army on April 18, 1861?
2) Who led the bombing raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942; was it:
a) Lt. Colonel James Doolittle
b) Commander Ernie Pyle
c) Lieutenant Billy Marten
d) Captain James T. Kirk
e) General Paul Tibbets
3) On April 18, 1861, Confederate General Johnson surrendered to Union Army General Sherman. In what war did this take place?
4) Ernie Pyle was:
a) the U.S. Marine who led the charge at Iwo Jima
b) a character, on The Andy Griffith Show, related to Gomer Pyle
c) a famous wartime news photographer killed in WWII
d) the soldier who was slapped by General Patton for cowardice during WWII
e) none of the above
5) Elliot Ness was born on April 19, 1903. For what, in general, is he most known?
6) Who was the president of the United States of America, who on April 19, 1861, ordered the blockade of confederate ports?
7) On April 19, 1943, the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto began an uprising; against what group were they fighting?
8) What famous war began on April 19, 1775?
9) On April 19, 1995, a terrorist killed 168 people, and wounded scores of others, in what U.S. city?
10) On April 19, 1941, Bulgarian troops attacked Macedonia. Was Bulgaria part of the Allied or Axis forces?
11) On April 19, 1587, Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz Spain and sank the Spanish Fleet. Drake was the commander of which fleet:
a) the German
b) the Dutch
c) the American
d) the English
e) a pirate fleet
12) True or False: April 18, 1946, the USA recognizes Tito's government in Romania.
13) April 18, 1906, an earthquake, and the ensuing fire, destroys almost 3/4 of a U.S. city, and kills over 4,000 people. In what city did this take place?
14) The battle of Harper's Ferry took place in what modern day country?
15) On April 18, 1909, Joan of Arc was named a saint in the Catholic religion. From what country was Joan of Arc?
16) April 19, 1977, author Alex Haley receives the Pulitzer Prize for his book 'Roots'. What in general did Haley write about in this book?
17) On April 18, 1946, the predecessor of the United Nations was dissolved. What was the name of that organization?
18) On April 18, 1885, the Sino-Japanese war ended. Which were the two major countries involved in this war?
19) On April 19, 1977, which country launched its first Salyut space station:
a) Russia
b) China
c) India
d) the USSR
e) none of the above
20) On April 19, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur, after being relieved of his far east command by the then president of the United States, quoted this line in his farewell address to Congress: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away". What was the last name of the president who relieved MacArthur of his command?
Have fun. I you do not know the answers, they are all really easy enough to find for yourselves, either through a web search or by scrolling down below. Then again, you knew them all anyhow.
No cheating. Good luck.
All the best,
Glenn B
1) T
2) a
3) The Civil War
4) c
5) 1930's crime fighter, G-Man, etc...
6) Lincoln
7) The Nazis (The German Army would be acceptable)
8) The American Revolution
9) Oklahoma City
10) Axis
11) The English
12) F
13) San Francisco
14) USA
15) France
16) His ancestory (slavery is not the correct answer)
17) League of nations
18) Russia and Japan
19) The USSR
20) Truman
I hope I got them all in the right order.
For the test I will use fairly famous historical events, fairly famous names, and the like. The catch is that I will ask questions only about the events or persons who gained fame on this day, and yesterday (since my post about 'today in history' was posted yesterday).
See how good you do, then see how good your kids do; my guess is that anyone should be able to score at least 75%, and that 90% would be more like it, but who am I to say. By the way, just take it for granted the dates are correct, no trick questions about the dates. Here goes:
1) True or False - Colonel Robert E. Lee was offered, and refused, the command of the Union Army on April 18, 1861?
2) Who led the bombing raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942; was it:
a) Lt. Colonel James Doolittle
b) Commander Ernie Pyle
c) Lieutenant Billy Marten
d) Captain James T. Kirk
e) General Paul Tibbets
3) On April 18, 1861, Confederate General Johnson surrendered to Union Army General Sherman. In what war did this take place?
4) Ernie Pyle was:
a) the U.S. Marine who led the charge at Iwo Jima
b) a character, on The Andy Griffith Show, related to Gomer Pyle
c) a famous wartime news photographer killed in WWII
d) the soldier who was slapped by General Patton for cowardice during WWII
e) none of the above
5) Elliot Ness was born on April 19, 1903. For what, in general, is he most known?
6) Who was the president of the United States of America, who on April 19, 1861, ordered the blockade of confederate ports?
7) On April 19, 1943, the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto began an uprising; against what group were they fighting?
8) What famous war began on April 19, 1775?
9) On April 19, 1995, a terrorist killed 168 people, and wounded scores of others, in what U.S. city?
10) On April 19, 1941, Bulgarian troops attacked Macedonia. Was Bulgaria part of the Allied or Axis forces?
11) On April 19, 1587, Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz Spain and sank the Spanish Fleet. Drake was the commander of which fleet:
a) the German
b) the Dutch
c) the American
d) the English
e) a pirate fleet
12) True or False: April 18, 1946, the USA recognizes Tito's government in Romania.
13) April 18, 1906, an earthquake, and the ensuing fire, destroys almost 3/4 of a U.S. city, and kills over 4,000 people. In what city did this take place?
14) The battle of Harper's Ferry took place in what modern day country?
15) On April 18, 1909, Joan of Arc was named a saint in the Catholic religion. From what country was Joan of Arc?
16) April 19, 1977, author Alex Haley receives the Pulitzer Prize for his book 'Roots'. What in general did Haley write about in this book?
17) On April 18, 1946, the predecessor of the United Nations was dissolved. What was the name of that organization?
18) On April 18, 1885, the Sino-Japanese war ended. Which were the two major countries involved in this war?
19) On April 19, 1977, which country launched its first Salyut space station:
a) Russia
b) China
c) India
d) the USSR
e) none of the above
20) On April 19, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur, after being relieved of his far east command by the then president of the United States, quoted this line in his farewell address to Congress: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away". What was the last name of the president who relieved MacArthur of his command?
Have fun. I you do not know the answers, they are all really easy enough to find for yourselves, either through a web search or by scrolling down below. Then again, you knew them all anyhow.
No cheating. Good luck.
All the best,
Glenn B
1) T
2) a
3) The Civil War
4) c
5) 1930's crime fighter, G-Man, etc...
6) Lincoln
7) The Nazis (The German Army would be acceptable)
8) The American Revolution
9) Oklahoma City
10) Axis
11) The English
12) F
13) San Francisco
14) USA
15) France
16) His ancestory (slavery is not the correct answer)
17) League of nations
18) Russia and Japan
19) The USSR
20) Truman
I hope I got them all in the right order.
Things To do Before I Retire
‘Things to do before I die’ is a type of list many people have probably thought of doing before. Another such list thing would be places to visit in a lifetime. I am about to make a list to, but one that will be just a bit different, as it will be a list of things I want to do, but with the definer before I retire.
I have pretty much made up my mind that I am going to retire at year’s end; and for some reason that made me think there are some things I ought to do before then to have made my career complete before I become a retiree.
1) Use all of my sick leave – of course legitimately; and that should not be too hard to accomplish the way I feel lately.
2) Use no vacation time between now and the end of the year (because I get paid cash for the unused vacation time when I retire)
3) Have one heck of a summer vacation while out on sick leave, of course while actually out on doctor’s orders for a legitimate medical reason, but not one that totally debilitates me thereby allowing me to go fishing or something not stressful as I recuperate.
4) Get myself reinstated as a firearms instructor (a collateral duty from which I was banished about 3 ½ years ago, no reason ever given)
5) Discover the reason for the above end to my collateral duties as a FI, this even if I am never reinstated. Somehow, I doubt this will happen because whomever banished me was not man enough to tell me why in the first place.
6) Have a retirement party that I throw for myself and invited guests only. The list would be large, but exclusive of those people who werescumbags less than civil to me throughout my career.
7) Turn down an invitation to my own retirement party thrown by my office, or better yet never receive such an invite.
8) Make out with about 5 of my co-workers, all female, and all gorgeous. This of course is only a hypothetical unattainable fantasy as I have a wonderful lovely wife at home.
9) Work a kiddie-porn case wherein we effect the arrests and convictions of multiple pedophiles. This, for me, would be the most satisfying case to bring to a successful conclusion.
10) Get hired by another federal agency, so that when I retire the word Immigration, as in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is not on my credentials.
11) Find out I get to keep my issued MP-5 and my issued 870; as for the issue Glock 19, I want to give it back.
12) See the reformation of the United States Customs Service; and thereby the dissolution of both Customs & Border Protection, and Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
13) Work in a capacity, for the next 8 months in which I believe that my investigative abilities and my talents are being utilized to their utmost, and wherein they would make at least a little difference toward getting a good and worthwhile job done before I retire.
14) Make good use of the gym in the office to the point where I lose about 40 or 50 pounds before the end of the year.
15) Not worry too much that it is not yet time to retire; 28 years plus will have been long enough, but I just hope I can convince myself of that.
16) Complete my Master's degree requirements.
17) Find a new job, hopefully as a teacher.
18) Find a nice place to which to retire of which my wife approves, then sell the house, and buy a new one where ever the wife and I can live happily ever after.
All the best,
Glenn B
I have pretty much made up my mind that I am going to retire at year’s end; and for some reason that made me think there are some things I ought to do before then to have made my career complete before I become a retiree.
1) Use all of my sick leave – of course legitimately; and that should not be too hard to accomplish the way I feel lately.
2) Use no vacation time between now and the end of the year (because I get paid cash for the unused vacation time when I retire)
3) Have one heck of a summer vacation while out on sick leave, of course while actually out on doctor’s orders for a legitimate medical reason, but not one that totally debilitates me thereby allowing me to go fishing or something not stressful as I recuperate.
4) Get myself reinstated as a firearms instructor (a collateral duty from which I was banished about 3 ½ years ago, no reason ever given)
5) Discover the reason for the above end to my collateral duties as a FI, this even if I am never reinstated. Somehow, I doubt this will happen because whomever banished me was not man enough to tell me why in the first place.
6) Have a retirement party that I throw for myself and invited guests only. The list would be large, but exclusive of those people who were
7) Turn down an invitation to my own retirement party thrown by my office, or better yet never receive such an invite.
8) Make out with about 5 of my co-workers, all female, and all gorgeous. This of course is only a hypothetical unattainable fantasy as I have a wonderful lovely wife at home.
9) Work a kiddie-porn case wherein we effect the arrests and convictions of multiple pedophiles. This, for me, would be the most satisfying case to bring to a successful conclusion.
10) Get hired by another federal agency, so that when I retire the word Immigration, as in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is not on my credentials.
11) Find out I get to keep my issued MP-5 and my issued 870; as for the issue Glock 19, I want to give it back.
12) See the reformation of the United States Customs Service; and thereby the dissolution of both Customs & Border Protection, and Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
13) Work in a capacity, for the next 8 months in which I believe that my investigative abilities and my talents are being utilized to their utmost, and wherein they would make at least a little difference toward getting a good and worthwhile job done before I retire.
14) Make good use of the gym in the office to the point where I lose about 40 or 50 pounds before the end of the year.
15) Not worry too much that it is not yet time to retire; 28 years plus will have been long enough, but I just hope I can convince myself of that.
16) Complete my Master's degree requirements.
17) Find a new job, hopefully as a teacher.
18) Find a nice place to which to retire of which my wife approves, then sell the house, and buy a new one where ever the wife and I can live happily ever after.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
On Being a New Yorker...
...but all in fun, and thanks to Rita at the Jungle Hut, I had some fun with the following:
I guess even though I no longer live in the city, working there everyday keeps me in the NYC mind frame, egads! Gotta love those NYC bagels (but not from Manhattan, thgose from Queens are much better).
All the best,
Glenn B
You Are 92% NYC |
 Congratulations, you are truly a New Yorker. You've seen it all, and you're more than a little cynical. |
I guess even though I no longer live in the city, working there everyday keeps me in the NYC mind frame, egads! Gotta love those NYC bagels (but not from Manhattan, thgose from Queens are much better).
All the best,
Glenn B
Some Other Rationale As Why We Should Be Armed, or Blogs About Gun Rights...
... can be found in these blogs:
http://greybeard.igogg.com/archives/365
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007331.htm
http://penofjen.blogspot.com/2007/04/conclusions.html
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/tos/10503/
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2007/04/point-counterpoint.html
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/04/column_by_v_tec.php
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/2nd_amenment_ri.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2007/04/we-license-cars-yackyackyack.html
http://bloodletting.blog-city.com/22_dead_on_the_altar_of_gun_control.htm (this one written by a doctor)
One last link, but this one is not to a blog simply because there were no blogs when it was written. It is an article length letter called: Letter from An Angry Reader that was sent into Esquire magazine many years ago by a once upon a time anti-gun person. If the link does not work, go to: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3499, it is quite worth the read.
Some of the reads at the above links are short, some are lengthy. All are pro gun-rights, and no matter what side of the gun issue you find yourself on, I suggest you read them all. I will leave it to others to rant against the right to keep and bear arms, as for me I support that right (free speech), and the right to keep and bear arms 100 percent.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://greybeard.igogg.com/archives/365
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007331.htm
http://penofjen.blogspot.com/2007/04/conclusions.html
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/tos/10503/
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2007/04/point-counterpoint.html
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/04/column_by_v_tec.php
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/2nd_amenment_ri.html
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2007/04/we-license-cars-yackyackyack.html
http://bloodletting.blog-city.com/22_dead_on_the_altar_of_gun_control.htm (this one written by a doctor)
One last link, but this one is not to a blog simply because there were no blogs when it was written. It is an article length letter called: Letter from An Angry Reader that was sent into Esquire magazine many years ago by a once upon a time anti-gun person. If the link does not work, go to: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3499, it is quite worth the read.
Some of the reads at the above links are short, some are lengthy. All are pro gun-rights, and no matter what side of the gun issue you find yourself on, I suggest you read them all. I will leave it to others to rant against the right to keep and bear arms, as for me I support that right (free speech), and the right to keep and bear arms 100 percent.
All the best,
Glenn B
Today in History - a Violent Nature Exposed
Today is the anniversary of the last day of my freedom. Yep, if you guessed that it means that tomorrow is my wedding anniversary you are correct – 21 years of marital whatever. I was thinking of writing a rant tomorrow about some of the famous and not so famous events that took place on April 19th, but being that today is that other anniversary, I figured I would do it for April 18th instead. After all, April 19th is well known because it is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the bloody end of the siege Waco 1993, Connecticut approved the U.S. Bill of rights in 1939 (can you imagine, those liberals), The Warsaw Ghetto uprisings commence against the Nazis in 1943, the last day the earth was free of anything to do with Adolf Hitler (he was born on the 20th in 1889), Elliot Ness was born in 1903, President Lincoln orders a blockade of Confederate ports in 1861, Tadeusz Kosciuszko forces the Russians out of Warsaw in 1794, the American Revolution began when fighting broke out in Lexington, MA.
Okay so that was the 19th, which is tomorrow, so what about today the 18th. Well let’s see, on the 18th of April the following event occurred:
A suicide bomber kills U.S. Marines, and others, at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983
Rhodesia, later known as Zimbabwe gains independence from great Britain in 1980
Ireland removes itself from the British commonwealth in 1949
Ernie Pyle killed by machine gun fire 1945
Yamamoto shot down by American fighter planes in 1943
Doolittle bombs Tokyo in 1942
Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament in 1934
The really big San Francisco earthquake 1906
Confederate Gen Johnson surrendered to Gen Sherman in North Carolina in 1865
Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down an offer to command the Union Armies in 1861 (can you imagine)
Battle of Harper’s ferry, VA 1861
Battle of Cerro Gordo in which U.S. armed forces rout a much larger Mexican Army in 1847
End of the 1st Seminole War in 1818
Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to warn people of MA of the advance of British Troops 1775
Sudbury, MA attacked by Indians 1676
Sure there were also a lot of other things that happened on this day in history, some good and some bad. There were many things that while worthy of note will never make it into the history books. As for the things I mentioned for both days, there is a common thread, and if you look at any other day throughout recorded history, I am certain you will find this common thread on all the other days of the year, and you will find it in abundance. The commonality is that we as a species are violent – and please note that yes the connection in some of the mentioned events is indirect, but you should be able to figure it out with half a brain.
Please note, much of the info about the above events was gleaned from: http://www.brainyhistory.com/, and http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history. Go to those sites, go to the encyclopedias, go to the history books, watch the History Channel and others, check it out for yourself - we have a violent nature - there is no doubt about it.
Sometimes violence is for the good, sometimes it is for the worse; but regardless of the morality of it, we are indeed prone to violence. In that regard we should all be afforded the liberty to exercise our right to self defense, defense of family, defense of innocents, defense of our property, defense of our Constitution, our flag and the Republic for which it stands. In other words, we should all be able to freely exercise our right to keep and bear arms. This should be a universal right for all mankind. It should be evident to those in the not so free world, that had they the liberty to exercise said right, they might well have been free, and many of their slain countrymen might still be alive today. In fact, it cannot be any more evident than it should be for those living in the USA, or other countries in the free world, that such a right has kept us able to enjoy all of our other liberties and rights time and time again throughout history, including the right to life, while others around the globe who have their liberties stripped from them suffer and perish at the will of armed governments.
The right to keep and bear arms, as in the Second Amendment, to the United States Constitution, found in the Bill of Rights, is our most valuable right. It protects all of our other rights as it also protects us. Instead of helping the United Nations, and other countries in their attempts to strip us of that right as does the anti-gun lobby - we, all of us as free U.S. Citizens, should be pushing for other nations to adopt the liberty for their people to exercise that same right.
All the best,
Glenn B
Okay so that was the 19th, which is tomorrow, so what about today the 18th. Well let’s see, on the 18th of April the following event occurred:
A suicide bomber kills U.S. Marines, and others, at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983
Rhodesia, later known as Zimbabwe gains independence from great Britain in 1980
Ireland removes itself from the British commonwealth in 1949
Ernie Pyle killed by machine gun fire 1945
Yamamoto shot down by American fighter planes in 1943
Doolittle bombs Tokyo in 1942
Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament in 1934
The really big San Francisco earthquake 1906
Confederate Gen Johnson surrendered to Gen Sherman in North Carolina in 1865
Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down an offer to command the Union Armies in 1861 (can you imagine)
Battle of Harper’s ferry, VA 1861
Battle of Cerro Gordo in which U.S. armed forces rout a much larger Mexican Army in 1847
End of the 1st Seminole War in 1818
Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to warn people of MA of the advance of British Troops 1775
Sudbury, MA attacked by Indians 1676
Sure there were also a lot of other things that happened on this day in history, some good and some bad. There were many things that while worthy of note will never make it into the history books. As for the things I mentioned for both days, there is a common thread, and if you look at any other day throughout recorded history, I am certain you will find this common thread on all the other days of the year, and you will find it in abundance. The commonality is that we as a species are violent – and please note that yes the connection in some of the mentioned events is indirect, but you should be able to figure it out with half a brain.
Please note, much of the info about the above events was gleaned from: http://www.brainyhistory.com/, and http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history. Go to those sites, go to the encyclopedias, go to the history books, watch the History Channel and others, check it out for yourself - we have a violent nature - there is no doubt about it.
Sometimes violence is for the good, sometimes it is for the worse; but regardless of the morality of it, we are indeed prone to violence. In that regard we should all be afforded the liberty to exercise our right to self defense, defense of family, defense of innocents, defense of our property, defense of our Constitution, our flag and the Republic for which it stands. In other words, we should all be able to freely exercise our right to keep and bear arms. This should be a universal right for all mankind. It should be evident to those in the not so free world, that had they the liberty to exercise said right, they might well have been free, and many of their slain countrymen might still be alive today. In fact, it cannot be any more evident than it should be for those living in the USA, or other countries in the free world, that such a right has kept us able to enjoy all of our other liberties and rights time and time again throughout history, including the right to life, while others around the globe who have their liberties stripped from them suffer and perish at the will of armed governments.
The right to keep and bear arms, as in the Second Amendment, to the United States Constitution, found in the Bill of Rights, is our most valuable right. It protects all of our other rights as it also protects us. Instead of helping the United Nations, and other countries in their attempts to strip us of that right as does the anti-gun lobby - we, all of us as free U.S. Citizens, should be pushing for other nations to adopt the liberty for their people to exercise that same right.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Virginia Tech...
...was a very sad state of affairs indeed. My heart felt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of those who were lost, and my prayers go with them and go out for they who were injured. Speedy recovery.
One of my readers, Jungle Mom over at The Jungle Hut, commented in the previous post, that had someone on the campus had an SKS, things might have been different. I agree with her, if regular students and faculty were allowed to be armed on campus, chances are that things like this would not happen as this one unfolded. Still though, things could have been much different had the students and the faculty been prepared for what one faculty member said was "unimaginable" yesterday on the news. The thing is people want to believe such events are unimaginable, yet they are not. They are part of our lives. Violence caused by violent people is all around us everyday. If we choose to ignore it, if we choose to cocoon ourselves away from it, that is our choice; and I think a bad one at that. Mind you, I am not being critical of anyone who just lost their lives, or who were injured, in this or other events. I am being critical of where society in general seems to be going in this regard, but more importantly I will tell you about some options you may have in cases like this.
Yes, I think the possibility of armed students on campus would very likely have persuaded the killer in Virginia Tech shootings not to have started a killing spree. He may very well have killed the first two people whom he shot; but my bet would be he likely would not have attacked those in the classrooms had he thought they were armed, or had he thought they would have fought back. Even if he had started shooting, someone else would have been more able to defend him/herself and others against this killer.
Even without a gun, those students could have protected themselves and probably ended the rampage before it wound up as bad as it became. A classroom is full of potential weapons, and even if not, well the students likely still could have rushed him and disarmed him. It takes a certain mindset to do that, but the anti-violence types among us have pummeled our brains otherwise. They have bashed it into us over and over again that violence and aggression in any form are bad. This is just not true! Violent and aggressive behavior while trying to defend yourself can be a wonderful thing indeed. Such behavior, while putting yourself at risk of injury or death, actually may save lives, and one of those could be your own. Sure it could put you further at risk, but sometimes taking the risk is worth the reward. Had a few students in any of the classrooms thrown their books or pushed a desk at this guy, then charged him, and tried to take away his guns and subdue him, chances are, in my opinion, that fewer would have been shot. My bet is though, that even had they rushed this guy, and then someone or two started to pummel him to get him to stop, and maybe even beat him to death, someone else would have complained after the fact, and tried to get those students charged with manslaughter saying that the violence they exhibited was abhorrent. The truth be told, had they done just that, I think they should have received medals for bravery, and good citizenship
As it stands right now, about the bravest acts we are likely to see from those students and faculty on this campus, probably were the teachers and students who reportedly held the classroom door(s) closed so this guy could not get in. That was a smart and good thing to do, but had he gotten in, what would have happened. My bet is mass surrender, because that is what people in this country, for the great part, have been convinced to believe is the right thing to do. Even some police departments tell us to surrender to bad guys and comply with them. I have taught my children otherwise. I have told them again and again: if abducted, if accosted, if in a situation where you are sure to be stabbed, shot or otherwise severely injured and you are unlikely to be able to flee to safety, if the shooting is already taking place, and you are pretty sure your cannot getaway, THEN FIGHT BACK even if only with feet, hands, fingernails, and teeth.
You have to prepare yourself for what you will do in such a situation. In recent years, the 'nanny crowd' (to borrow a phrase from Rivrdog), has taught us to be good little victims by just about not doing anything other than what the bad guy wants us to do. Well when the bad guy wants you to stand still so he can shoot you, I think it ridiculous to comply. At any given point you can either fight, take flight, freeze, or be compliant. If you freeze or be compliant, you are at the mercy of the badguy. Badguys like the one yesterday surely do not seem to be very giving of mercy, now do they! If you take flight, at least you are a moving target, and not as easy to hit. If you fight, and if others fight with you, you stand some chance of overpowering the bad guy depending upon the situation. If you prepare and train ahead of time, to take some action, chances are that is how you will initially act when such a situation arises. The choice is yours. You have to examine the record of these types of shootings, and other violent crimes in our country, to see that the shooter can keep on shooting when unopposed, and other violent bad guys can hurt you when you comply or freeze. Sure some will take your money and let you go, but when a guy is like the badguy yesterday at Virginia Tech, he was looking to take one thing, and it was not money, it was lives. While no one wants to be shot, if a group goes to disarm someone like this, chances are they will take him out or disrupt his fire long enough for many to escape. Maybe they will even stop the threat. Even one person might be lucky enough to stop a badguy like this, but in my guess, a group would probably be more effective. Sure it may not work, someone may get hurt or killed - but what is going to happen when everyone does virtually nothing - 32 people besides this bad guy were killed yesterday. There is training available for both armed and unarmed self defense that could very possibly increase your odds of survival, violence can indeed be a good thing when done legally to protect yourself and other innocents.
I am not telling anyone to take any type of action, it is up to each person to decide for themselves if and when and what type of action they may take. The above is my opinion; and I cannot say it will work for you if and when you are faced with such a situation. I do know though what I would be more likely than not to at least try to do something, and that would be either to escape or fight back. If you don't want to be a victim of such a situation, then you probably need to make up your mind about it now.
In my opinion this is what should be done: You need to tell your legislators to pass "shall issue" firearms permits, and allow concealed, or unconcealed, weapons carry everywhere in your state. You need, I think, to prepare yourself to defend yourself with and without firearms or other weapons. Take home defense courses, take self defense courses, take shooting courses (only carry firearms or other weapons legally), buy pepper spray if legal and learn how to use it (imagine if a student had had a can of pepper spray yesterday and sprayed this guy), learn what action to take in such a situation that may save lives including your own. You can freeze and comply and be at the mercy of a killer who shows no mercy; or you can get training now so you will know some of the options you have in such a situation should it arise. You can also learn how to decide which options to pick, and then how to take some sort of action to do something about getting yourself, and others, to safety. The choice is all up to you. Choose wisely, it may save a life, but do choose; and do start planning now for whatever you will do if the shit hits the fan and you are there in front of it.
All the best,
Glenn B
edited: 0300PM 04/17/07, just to better make my point.
One of my readers, Jungle Mom over at The Jungle Hut, commented in the previous post, that had someone on the campus had an SKS, things might have been different. I agree with her, if regular students and faculty were allowed to be armed on campus, chances are that things like this would not happen as this one unfolded. Still though, things could have been much different had the students and the faculty been prepared for what one faculty member said was "unimaginable" yesterday on the news. The thing is people want to believe such events are unimaginable, yet they are not. They are part of our lives. Violence caused by violent people is all around us everyday. If we choose to ignore it, if we choose to cocoon ourselves away from it, that is our choice; and I think a bad one at that. Mind you, I am not being critical of anyone who just lost their lives, or who were injured, in this or other events. I am being critical of where society in general seems to be going in this regard, but more importantly I will tell you about some options you may have in cases like this.
Yes, I think the possibility of armed students on campus would very likely have persuaded the killer in Virginia Tech shootings not to have started a killing spree. He may very well have killed the first two people whom he shot; but my bet would be he likely would not have attacked those in the classrooms had he thought they were armed, or had he thought they would have fought back. Even if he had started shooting, someone else would have been more able to defend him/herself and others against this killer.
Even without a gun, those students could have protected themselves and probably ended the rampage before it wound up as bad as it became. A classroom is full of potential weapons, and even if not, well the students likely still could have rushed him and disarmed him. It takes a certain mindset to do that, but the anti-violence types among us have pummeled our brains otherwise. They have bashed it into us over and over again that violence and aggression in any form are bad. This is just not true! Violent and aggressive behavior while trying to defend yourself can be a wonderful thing indeed. Such behavior, while putting yourself at risk of injury or death, actually may save lives, and one of those could be your own. Sure it could put you further at risk, but sometimes taking the risk is worth the reward. Had a few students in any of the classrooms thrown their books or pushed a desk at this guy, then charged him, and tried to take away his guns and subdue him, chances are, in my opinion, that fewer would have been shot. My bet is though, that even had they rushed this guy, and then someone or two started to pummel him to get him to stop, and maybe even beat him to death, someone else would have complained after the fact, and tried to get those students charged with manslaughter saying that the violence they exhibited was abhorrent. The truth be told, had they done just that, I think they should have received medals for bravery, and good citizenship
As it stands right now, about the bravest acts we are likely to see from those students and faculty on this campus, probably were the teachers and students who reportedly held the classroom door(s) closed so this guy could not get in. That was a smart and good thing to do, but had he gotten in, what would have happened. My bet is mass surrender, because that is what people in this country, for the great part, have been convinced to believe is the right thing to do. Even some police departments tell us to surrender to bad guys and comply with them. I have taught my children otherwise. I have told them again and again: if abducted, if accosted, if in a situation where you are sure to be stabbed, shot or otherwise severely injured and you are unlikely to be able to flee to safety, if the shooting is already taking place, and you are pretty sure your cannot getaway, THEN FIGHT BACK even if only with feet, hands, fingernails, and teeth.
You have to prepare yourself for what you will do in such a situation. In recent years, the 'nanny crowd' (to borrow a phrase from Rivrdog), has taught us to be good little victims by just about not doing anything other than what the bad guy wants us to do. Well when the bad guy wants you to stand still so he can shoot you, I think it ridiculous to comply. At any given point you can either fight, take flight, freeze, or be compliant. If you freeze or be compliant, you are at the mercy of the badguy. Badguys like the one yesterday surely do not seem to be very giving of mercy, now do they! If you take flight, at least you are a moving target, and not as easy to hit. If you fight, and if others fight with you, you stand some chance of overpowering the bad guy depending upon the situation. If you prepare and train ahead of time, to take some action, chances are that is how you will initially act when such a situation arises. The choice is yours. You have to examine the record of these types of shootings, and other violent crimes in our country, to see that the shooter can keep on shooting when unopposed, and other violent bad guys can hurt you when you comply or freeze. Sure some will take your money and let you go, but when a guy is like the badguy yesterday at Virginia Tech, he was looking to take one thing, and it was not money, it was lives. While no one wants to be shot, if a group goes to disarm someone like this, chances are they will take him out or disrupt his fire long enough for many to escape. Maybe they will even stop the threat. Even one person might be lucky enough to stop a badguy like this, but in my guess, a group would probably be more effective. Sure it may not work, someone may get hurt or killed - but what is going to happen when everyone does virtually nothing - 32 people besides this bad guy were killed yesterday. There is training available for both armed and unarmed self defense that could very possibly increase your odds of survival, violence can indeed be a good thing when done legally to protect yourself and other innocents.
I am not telling anyone to take any type of action, it is up to each person to decide for themselves if and when and what type of action they may take. The above is my opinion; and I cannot say it will work for you if and when you are faced with such a situation. I do know though what I would be more likely than not to at least try to do something, and that would be either to escape or fight back. If you don't want to be a victim of such a situation, then you probably need to make up your mind about it now.
In my opinion this is what should be done: You need to tell your legislators to pass "shall issue" firearms permits, and allow concealed, or unconcealed, weapons carry everywhere in your state. You need, I think, to prepare yourself to defend yourself with and without firearms or other weapons. Take home defense courses, take self defense courses, take shooting courses (only carry firearms or other weapons legally), buy pepper spray if legal and learn how to use it (imagine if a student had had a can of pepper spray yesterday and sprayed this guy), learn what action to take in such a situation that may save lives including your own. You can freeze and comply and be at the mercy of a killer who shows no mercy; or you can get training now so you will know some of the options you have in such a situation should it arise. You can also learn how to decide which options to pick, and then how to take some sort of action to do something about getting yourself, and others, to safety. The choice is all up to you. Choose wisely, it may save a life, but do choose; and do start planning now for whatever you will do if the shit hits the fan and you are there in front of it.
All the best,
Glenn B
edited: 0300PM 04/17/07, just to better make my point.
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