The New New Deg

Pepe just did not appreciate the Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix Brandy (aka: Brownie) that we picked up from North Hempstead Animal Shelter, and who could blame him. Brandy was intimidating to say the least, and besides that she took a few nips at our little darling Pepe. It was only in play. The thing was all she wanted to do was play without giving Pepe a break, and some of that play included playful biting. Had she grabbed him just once on the head and shaken hgim, well I am afraid, we were all afraid that would have been it for Pepe. We would have kept her and trained her, that would have been easy enough to do within a week or two, and she was already learning within only the 4 days we had her, but she was just too rambunctious for Pepe. She probably weighed in at about 45 to 50 pounds. Pepe is 6 pounds. She was just too much woman for him.

That all done with, Linda was in the dumps. She and Celina went to look at some other dogs and found a nice Atlas Terrier. I saw it too and thought it looked very nice, but I got conflicting stories in the puppy shop where we found it up for adoption. In the end we decided it sounded like a problem waiting to explode and we held off. Then yesterday Linda, Brendan and I were back at the ASPCA pound in Manhattan. Nothing there that strike dour fancy except for a nice Beagle, but that was spoken for already. What next, hmm. Well a nice young lady volunteer at the ASPCA suggested we try the NY City Shelter on 110th Street. We drove up there with some trepidation. Two weeks ago while at the ASPCA someone had told us the NYC Shelter was not too nice, and things there were uncoordinated. What the heck, we went anyway.

Well when we got there we had to wait a bit before someone acknowledged our presence, not too long though or I would have walked away. When we told them we were there to see a dog, they said go right in and buzzed us into the holding area. No guide or anything like that. We immediately saw they had only 2 smaller dogs on the first floor, and we wanted a smaller dog this time. No more monsters like that Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix. We decided to take a look at a mix, they called it a Shepard mix; but what they did not say was that it was probably an Australian Mix, or an Australian Cattle Dog mix - or maybe a combo of both. Well at least not until later, and it did not matter to me as long as it was not a Pit Bull mix. You can own one, but Pit Bulls are not for me. This dog, white and black and tan, was very jumpy, but being smaller and weighing at my guess about 25 pounds, that was not a problem. She seemed well behaved on the leash, and made pee only when taken out of her cage and brought outside the building. That last was a strong plus in her favor.

We asked some more about her and all we were told was that her previous owner/adopter had brought her back to the shelter, and told the workers he fund her as a stray. They said they knew the previous owner was lying because they had the dog micro-chipped, and had the owner's name in there files. That made me wonder what could be wrong with Mimi. To get more info I was told to go to the front counter where they could pull up her info on the computer. I went, signed in the book, and waited, and waited and waited. Finally they called me and said they had no other info except that she was on hold! Egads - on hold - then why had they said she was available. Well it turns out she had been on hold to do a show at a church or something like that, and they forgot to take her off of hold. So she was good to go, if we wanted her. After seeing her though, we decided to look at a couple of Chihuahuas they had hidden away upstairs. We saw one, a female that looked nice, but was supposed to be nippy None of that for me, and Linda agreed, so did Brendan. He had thought that Mimi, the first dog we looked at was a nice one. We all agreed. I could not wait to get downstairs to adopt Mimi. We went back down to adopt her, and I had to sign in the book again. This time we waited and waited again, but not too long, as they helped other customers. I filled out the paperwork, had my references checked (I guess they checked), then paid $75 plus gave a $10 donation. Then I was asked if I wanted a goody bag, to which I said yes. I was also asked if we needed a leash, which we did, but we didn't want to buy on because we had spares at home, so the nice lady helping us got out a temporary leash for us. She gave me the goody bag, and said the dog would be out soon, and again we waited. The dog was out in about 15 minutes or so, and we were ready to skedaddle, or so we thought. Then we were told we had to wait again, to get some medication for kennel cough from the vet. Aargh - kennel cough! They said not to worry it was just a precautionary preventative since she had been in the kennel. We waited another 20 minutes for the pills, but I took advantage of it and took her for a walk outside. She made a poop outside, and again she got praises and petting for her good behavior.

The ride home was pleasant. Brendan drove, as he had also done on the way in. Linda sat up front, probably only because I jumped into the back seat before she had a chance, and of course Mimi was in the back with me. She was pretty calm throughout the whole trip. She stood a while, sat a longer while, and laid down even longer. She must have been in a car before, she behaved like a well trained dog. We got her home without accident, let her loose in the yard, and she went bonkers. Well not really bonkers, but I can tell you she is fast. She rocketed around the backyard like she had energy built up that wanted to take off to the moon. Then she peed in the yard. What a good dog. We brought her inside and Brendan suggested naming her Rocket. Our older mutt is named Sprocket, and Mimi reminded us all of Sprocket in her younger days when we called her Sprocket the Rocket because of how she ran and jumped when ever off the leash and allowed to play. We thought about it briefly but decided to keep the name Mimi. Celina came over, and she too liked her almost instantly. They played and bonded for a while, and I can just see Celina taking Mimi for long walks and runs to keep her fit (what a good daughter). later on Celina and Linda took Pepe and Mimi for a long walk. I spent some quality time with Sprocket on a shorter walk, and Brendan washed the Toyota (what a good son).

Mimi got along decently with Pepe and he with her (did I forget to mention that Pepe had come to the shelter with us). They remained on fairly good terms with only a few growls and snaps from Pepe once home. I think only a few because although Mimi backed off almost every time Pepe showed curled lips, she went at him twice and gave it right back to him both of those times. I think it made him think twice about bullying her as he had tried with Brandy. A for Sprocket, she showed a lot on interest in Mimi. I think more than she had shown in brandy. They even played awhile in the backyard, and being that Sprocket is 18-20 years old, play does not come as easily for her as it once did, but there she was right at it with Mimi.

Mimi was an angel throughout the night. We put her in a crate, but she started whining about 15 minutes or so after she was crated. I went up, took her out, and she headed for the door. She needed outside where she promptly took a pisser. This despite the fact that she had just done so for my wife 15 or 20 minutes earlier. What a good girl. Then it was back inside where she spent the night asleep without incident, well except for 2:30 Am when I woke up and let the degs out. Sprocket does not do so good overnight any more, so I needed to let her out to prevent an accident. Mimi went and she did her thing again outside, but my bet is she would have slept all night had I not awakened the. By the way, where was she sleeping when I woke them up - in her crate, but I had not put her back in there earlier. I had left the door open, and she just went in there on her own. I like this dog.

This morning I woke up and she was on the floor next to me. I took her out in the back, she did what she had to do, and again she convinced me we have a very good newer new deg on our hands. Right now she is lying on the floor behind me as I type. By the way, since we got her home, all that jumping, well almost all of it has disappeared. When she does it, we tell her no, and she stops.Not bad. She just got up and headed to her crate. As for me, I have to get up and head to the office. Later for you.

All the best,
Glenn B

Spring Ammo Inventory

It was a cold day in Springtime yesterday, sunny but crisp and a bit on the breezy side. Because of that my outdoor activities for the day got canned. I had been planning on traveling upstate to do some frog and salamander hunting. Those spring peepers make some fine music, well worth the hike to listen to them. As it turned out though, it turned out too cold, so I stayed inside. I took care of my animals; and after that to avoid work around the house, I looked for something to do other than take a nap (or I should say other than taking a longer nap).

I don't know just when it came to me, maybe when I tripped over some boxes of ammo laying on the basement floor, but it suddenly dawned on me it was about time to put away some ammo, and to take inventory of what I have on hand. After several hours of searching for, collecting, counting, and putting away in a nicely organized fashion, I figured I have sufficient ammunition on hand for most things that will come up shooting-wise. I was kind of pleased to see that I now have about 2,650 more rounds of ammo than I had last May. I did a fair amount of shooting over the past year, so that high a number of additional rounds came as somewhat of a surprise to me. Those kinds of surprises I like very much.

The ammunition I have on hand is mostly for the various calibers of firearms that I own, but not all of it. I have several calibers of ammo for firearms that I do not own. For example I have ammo in .45 Auto, .380 auto, .38 Special, 7.62x25 Tokarev, .30 Carbine, and 16 gauge. I do not own any guns that will chamber that stuff. Hmmm, maybe I should buy the guns since I have the ammo! If only I had the spare cash to buy a gun, that would be nice indeed. As for the ammo I have that is for guns I own, I have a good supply of .22 LR ammo, and a good supply of 9mm ammo (not all that much really when you consider what I shoot at one setting). I also have a fair share of 7.62x39, .35 Remington, and 12 gauge shotgun ammo to name a few. Ammunition I could certainly use more of includes these calibers: .32 Auto, .22 WMR, 9mm, .22LR, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54R. You probably noted I included 9mm and .22LR on the list of ammo that I need while I also showed them as being in good supply just above that. The truth is despite having a decent supply of these, I can go through them fast; and some of my .22LR ammo is very old and starting to degrade (causing some jamming in semi-autos). Considering how little I shoot of .35 Remington maybe I could say I have a decent supply of that too, but I should would like more so I could shoot it more. Its just too expensive to shoot a lot. I am looking for bargains though, so if you hear of any let me know.

All the best,
Glenn B

LiveLeak and a Peed Upon Wad Of Toilet Paper - what do they have in common?

Serious threats were apparently made, and LiveLeak crumpled like a wad of piss wet toilet paper by pulling the film FITNA from the Internet. So what do they have in common, they are both yellow and both spineless. Whatever happened to having backbone?

What makes them think that pulling the film will help protect them. All it will probably do is allow the cowardly Islamo-Fascist dirt bags to win another victory. How can we unite to fight them, if we are so afraid of them that we wet our pants each time they say boo? What we should be doing instead is saying boo right back at them, and holding onto a large deadly weapon when we do so. There is nothing wrong with self defense, nothing at all. Too bad our political leaders have, for decades, told us we are weak, we need the police to save us, we cannot defend ourselves, we don't need this right, or that right, and have constantly slowly but surely eroded our rights. Why too bad - because now the Islamo-Fascists are playing us for the fools we were to have believed our politicians were doing us any good. They too are hitting at us a little at a time, and we are so self centered not to realize that they are a threat not just to me or you or an entity like Live Leak - they mean to either conquer or kill us all. Wake up, wake up before it is too late, then stand against them because wetting your panties and giving up your rights isn't going to help. They will not become our friends simply because we let them do what they want, and they will not stray from their stated goal of conquest or death for us just because we allow them to scare us into submission.

It is obvious to me, if not to the folks at LiveLeak that the Islamo-Fascists do not want to get along with us or accept one anothers' cultures; so why should we accept them, yet it is what LiveLeak is now suggesting - can you imagine that. Not only did they fold and pull FITNA, now it seems to me they are suggesting getting along with terrorists. They claim to have "stood for what we believe in...", but go onto say that: "...in the end the price was too high". What price would they pay for freedom! What price will they pay to get out from under the Islamo-Fascists once they take over? What in Hades did they expect would happen when they published the movie? It is obvious that those at LiveLeak are not ready to defend themselves, let alone the principles of free speech about which they yammer in the trailer they left in place of FITNA. This is, as they said, "...a sad day for free speech..." - not because free speech is under attack by Islamo-Fascists, but rather because those who exercised free speech apparently were too much of the whimpering coward variety to stand up for that in which they claimed they held a belief. What the hell has happened to the backbone of the people of the world today? If this is how we would support freedom of speech - or any of our other rights in the face of usurpers - well we may as well all start praising Allah and going to the mosque tomorrow.

Holy crap, hold the presses. I just visited the LiveLeak site, and guess what video is now prominently displayed: "Turn To Islam"! Here is the link, but I think it is sickening that they took off FITNA, but yet show this. When you think about it, it seems not only did they remove FITNA, they may well have capitulated to the point of bending over backwards to appease the Islamo-Fascists by placing this new video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c94_1206737646 in place of FITNA. I mean the other stuff on the page that comes up with this new video is almost all related to FITNA, but this suely is not the film FITNA - not by a long shot. What will they at LiveLeak do next, start beheading people for the cause if the Islamo-Fascists threaten them and then tell them to do it; or wil they just start pointing out the Jews, Christians and other non-Islamists? I may someday have to turn to Islam-Fascism but when I do it will be to defend my way of life and yours - not to kiss an Islamo-Fascist's ass.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Paucity Of Blogs Referencing FITNA...

...has led me to believe that many of the so called right wingers, many of the so called brave arms bearing Americans among us, many of the self proclaimed anti-Islamo-Fascists, are truly little more than virtual windbags. Is it that I am jumping the gun, and there has not been enough time for people to realize that this film is out there to be viewed on the Internet. Maybe, but I think not because if it had been a decision in Heller that appeared yesterday, well you can bet they would be pounding their drums in victory, or wailing at their loss within an hour of said decision coming down. On the other hand, this fim was released yesterday and I could find only one blog among those to which I link that had the film imbedded in is pages, and that was Michelle Malkin's site. That lady has got Chutzpah. Today there were a few with it linked to their site, and a couple more with it imbedded in their blogs, but that is a poor showing indeed. If we are going to unite against a common enemy, then we had all best identify that enemy, and we had best make it plain to other Americans just who is the enemy that we are facing. This film does that job pretty well in my opinion.

All the best,
Glenn B

FITNA

This film is for adults, not for children, only view it if you are 18 or older. It is extremely graphic and portrays extreme violence, the violence of Muslim Extremists. It shows bloody, gory footage, it shows things that should scare you beyond anything you have ever seen in a scary Hollywood movie because it shows things that are scary and real. View it at your own discretion after having been forewarned. Maybe it will wake you up to the threat.



The film FITNA is courtesy LiveLeak @: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7d9_1206624103. It is the long awaited film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. I placed it here on my blog for educational purposes in that it expresses a view other than that of they who are Islamo-Fascists, other than those who are hard line Islamists who accept the horrendous acts of the Islamo-Fascists, other than those who are devout Muslims but do nothing against the violence and who basically are appeasers of the Islamo-Fascists, other than those who are merely apologists for Islamic extremists, other than those who make excuses, or try to rationalize, as to why Islamo-Fascists do what they do, other than those who are blind to the fact that wherever Islam has planted itself in the world death of non-Muslims has been the rallying cry of all too many Muslims. I am hopeful this will help those in the world who are nonbelievers in Islam, and who are truly moderate Muslims, to wake up to the threat we are facing from Islamo-Facism. I think this film shows a view other than that shown by the hateful Islamo-Fascists who hide behind a religion while they commit atrocities in its name. I think this film shows the view of a rational man who is brave enough to show the truth, as I see it, to us all. That is my opinion, and I stand by it.

Now that you have seen the film, I think that each and everyone of you who have a blog should stand by FITNA and the apparent truths told within it, and I believe you should imbed it into your blog. I think that the more of us who embed this movie into our blogs, the stronger will be the voice that calls out for an end to Islamo-Fascism, so why not do whatever you can to get as many people to watch it as possible. Before you do though let me tell you this: Yes there is a risk to doing so. We have all seen the Islamo-Fascists go berserk, and on a spree of destruction, mayhem, and killing when the cartoon pictures of Mohammad were published. There also will probably be a violent backlash over this film. Yes there is risk, but risk to personal safety is one of the costs of Freedom, isn't it? Stand with us and face those risks head on if you dare to show how much you revere and cherish and are willing to defend: freedom, democracy, civil rights, free speech, freedom of religion (barring those that resort to violation of our rights), and so forth. Stand with us, at risk of peril if you dare, to defend the right to determine how to live our own lives as opposed to standing by idly as the Islamo-Fascists go on a death spree in their attempt to conquer the world.

All the best,
Glenn B

On Violence...

I do not embrace violence as a way of life, but nor do I abhor it and try to rend it from my life. I have been familiar with it as I played as a child, sprouted into a teenager, and to matured as a man. I learned much from both its just and unjust application. I used it to convey a stern measure of discipline to my children as was needed; and I recommend it to other parents so long as wielded within reason. I highly recommend it as a punitive measure, and a preventative one with regard recurrence of crime, for those convicted of certain crimes. I will face it when it is thrust upon me, and I will resort to it to defend myself and my family, my loved ones, my nation, and our Constitution. I will then extol its virtues as I understand that it is a natural, and oft times good, part of the human condition that we call living. It cannot and should not be removed from our lives because to do so would render us spiritless. It should both be wielded and restrained with care as to misuse it can sometimes be devastating, but to incapacitate a peoples' ability to resort to it can be worse and result in catastrophe. A violent nature is just that - Nature - and we should never forget that or try to remove ourselves from the reality that we too are a product of nature and violence is part of what makes us both human and natural beings.

All the best,
Glenn B

In Memorium: Richard Widmark

A great actor has passed on, and although he had not performed in years as far as I am aware, whenever I see a movie in which he performs, I watch it. From Kiss Of Death" in which he costarred with Victor Mature and Brian Donlevy, to "Two Rode Together" in which he costarred with James Stewart, to "Down To The Sea In Ships" in which he costarred with Lionel Barrymore, to "The Bedford Incident" in which he costarred with Sidney Poitier, to "Madigan" in which he costarred with Inger Stevens, to "Panic In The Streets" in which he costarred with Jack Palance and Barbara Bel Geddes he was one hell of a powerful actor who could play all types of characters well. He was a great actor among great actors, back in the day when really acting, as opposed to special effects, was what made for a good film.

Of course I did not agree with him on his ideas about gun control (he was an ardent anti-RKBA and rabidly pro-gun control sort), and was I beleive another of the Hollywood Hypocrites who said he abhorred violence and guns, yet many if not most of his movies were full of both and he made millions off of both due to those movies. Despite that, I liked his acting, he truly was a fine actor. He was 93 years old when he passed away on March 24, 2008. We lost a good actor and a lousy advocate for our rights as Americans. Still though, I will miss him as an actor, because if anything, that is what he was above all else as I saw him.

Now I am off to work. (Yes that last sentence was put here for someone in particular, and you know who you are, and you may suspect so do I).

All the best,
Glenn B

Don't Leave Home Without A Weapon...

...and no I am not kidding. If you can legally carry a deadly weapon upon your person, you should do so whenever at all practical, and sometimes when it seems impractical. If not, then if you can legally carry a less lethal weapon, do so. Why - well because you are the potential target of predators at all times whether you know it or not. Should you ever appear weak to someone who is out to do evil, you may be that person's next victim - and armed or unarmed you may wind up the victim even if you fight back with all you have. The thing is though, if you are armed you stand a better chance, it is plain and simple truth as I see it. It is a plain and simple truth that could have made all the difference in the world to Meredith Emerson.

Now if for some reason you think you may never become a victim, you are wrong. People of all sizes, shapes, colors, creeds and genders are accosted each day by evil doers who thought that for some reason they, at a particular moment, seemed like easy prey. Meredith Emerson was one of those people, one of those who looked like easy prey, like easy pickings waiting to become a victim. She was recently in national headlines when she went missing, and when her killer was caught. Something we have only heard though is this: She was not easy prey, she fought like a true champion. Sadly though, even champions fall, and she fell victim to a heinous killer. Go here to Breda's Fallacy and read another blogger's outlook on this, and make sure while at that other site to click on the 2 different links to 2 different news accounts. Then read the one sentence in Breda's blog that says it all: "I wish she'd had a gun."

Me too. I wish she'd had a gun; but I will spell it out a bit more. I wish not only that she had had a gun, but that she had unloaded it into her tormentor, and that she was alive today. She can not be with us any longer, but you can remain among the living by preventing yourself from becoming a victim. Think about that. Then arm yourself in a responsible way, and remain vigilant and ready to fight for your life. If you don't value your own life enough to fight for it, you may as well be dead already. It is a shame this young lady lost her battle, she did not deserve to die, she deserved to kick ass and live, because she valued life enough to fight like there was no tomorrow. The thing is, deserving something is not always enough, fighting back is not always enough. You need superiority to win, and a gun or other weapon may have tipped the scales in her favor. Too bad she did not have a gun; but all the wishing in the world will not change the fact that she did not have one or another weapon, that she fell to her assailant, and that she will never again walk this earth. What about you? Are you feeling like this could not happen to you? Are you feeling lucky; or are you arming yourself and preparing to fight back.

All the best,
Glenn B

Unplanned Weight Gain + A New Dog =

... time for some unplanned weight loss. Well, unplanned in that I had not necessarily planned on getting a mutt that needs as much exercise as our new dog Br----- is going to need. Our best guess is that she is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever cross. I don't care what the pound said about her being a Shepard cross. Yeah it could be she has some Shepard of one sort or another in her, but my bet is there is an awful lot of retriever packed into this bloblike slightly flabby pent up ball of energy - you should get a load of the webbed feet. She is a bit overweight at only 11 months old; and I am, at 52, a lot overweight. Her weight is probably due to lack of exercise or overfeeding with her previous owners; my weight gain due to me having recently gained a totally unexpected 10 pounds when I was ill a couple of months ago putting me at an all time high of 2--; oh let's just say I have surpassed pleasingly plump, and the dungarees sure are tight. (Any of you youngsters reading this know what I mean by dungarees?)

So there we were tonight out for a nice leisurely walk. We kept it slow paced since it is obvious that neither one of us has had a good workout in months. As it turned out we walked about 3.1 miles in just about an hour. That included quite a few sniffing stops here and there, a few corrective stops trying to get her to heel, and a short break for us (really for her) because it appears she was favoring one foot (but not as bad as she was two days ago). All in all I figure we will both improve over time. I am none to concerned about speed, but figure 4 or 5 miles per walk would be much better for both of us. For now though, 3 miles is okay by me, especially since we will probably go out walking each evening or night. Even if we only do 2 miles a day, that will be good for the both of us. Br---- will probably get another mile or two in there when my wife walks her in the AM. Who knows, if we keep this up, we may become slim and trim within a few months. I am figuring she needs to lose 10 pounds of flab - and it is okay if it is replaced by toned muscle; and I need to lose about almost as many pounds as I am years old! Yeah, I guess that will take more than a few months; hopefully she can train me right and I will stick with the walks.

All the best,
Glenn B

Enjoy Easter...

...and the celebration of your faith should you be faithful (and so long as your faith does not seek to punch anyone else in the nose like one faith of which we can all think). Today is a day for all rabbit lovers to do the funky Alfonso (yes you have to be a Zappa fan) with glee and reckless abandon within the realm of Christendom for all Christians to hold reverent and to celebrate, although I wonder why Good Friday is not celebrated more so! Good Friday seems to me to be so much much more the important day with the events that took place on it. Then again who wants to celebrate death, I can fully understand celebrating resurrection, and what better time of year to do it than in or just before the Spring. Enough of my pondering though - today is a day for well wishes so let me just say:

HAPPY EASTER

and for those of you

of another faith

let me say

HAPPY PURIM

Now as for me, I too will celebrate Easter - not so much as a religious holiday as I have given up on religion - but as a nice day to celebrate family and friends, good things in the world, and the fact that hope springs eternal; and who knows I too may dance the Funky Alfonso. Of course, I'll celebrate much livelier, and be more likely to dance, if I can find a beer distributor that is open today. I just checked and saw my stock has run low - only about 7 bottles of ale left, and my brothers-in-law are coming over for dinner. Egads, I had best get going before they close, that is if they are open in the first place. Then again if no more beer, I do have an unopened bottle of Irish Whisky around here someplace.

Allthe best,

Glenn B

New Additions...

...to the household were inevitable - I guess. Some I was expecting, and another well it came as sort of a surprise. Yesterday, mid morning, was on the chilly side, not much wind to speak of but damp and dreary, with a steady light rain falling. I was waiting for a package to arrive via UPS overnight, and was promised it would arrive before 1030. Around 0940, I asked my wife to stay on the lookout for the UPS truck so I could go upstairs and shower, to get ready for work. Her response really surprised me when she said: "Its outside by the side door, the UPS guy just left it there." No knock on the front door, no knock on the side door, a car in our driveway so even a 10 year old may have suspected someone was at home, and this guy leaves my package containing 6 Dwarf Bearded Chameleons on my side steps in 40 degree temperatures! I almost flew through the door, grabbed the box, and brought them inside to warm em up. Now these guys being from a mountain range in Africa, one that has mountains over 8,000 feet tall, are used to somewhat cooler temps than many other lizards, but the 40s are a bit low for them.

I got the box open quick, took out the deli cups - two of them - one holding 2 males, and the other holding 4 females, and started to put them into their new tanks. Then wham, I noticed right off, before I even picked up the first one, that one of the females was DOA. Funny, the others looked no worse the wear for the trip they had just made to my place overnight from FL Chams in Florida. I checked through the box, and there was a heat pack in there to keep them warm enough, and it was still warm! I doubt very much that the one died from cold. The other felt not warm to the touch but not cold either. Sort of room temp, which was right at 68. I wondered if the heat pack had made it too warm for them, but I don't know.

Well, I had other things to do instead of wonder about why one had died. I got the other 5 of them into their setups, all planted nicely so they could crawl about on thin vines. The substrate in the tanks was sphagnum moss on which they could crawl about, and which maintains a good moisture level to help keep up the humidity a bit. Not as much as for something like a Dart Frog mind you, but these guys coming from mountains covered in forests like it kind of on the humid side as compared to many other old world chameleons. Once they were all set up in their tanks, I got an email off to the dealer. I took a couple of pics of the DOA chameleon, and attached them to the email. I had a refund in about 5 minutes, well a conditional one anyhow. No conditions for me, but due to not enough funds in the dealer's account to fund the refund. Oh well, as long as it shows up in a couple of days I will not mind. Then I was off to work.

Last night when I got home from work, must have been 10PM, I was taking off my shoes by the side entrance and heard my wife and daughter talking in the living room. Then I heard my daughter giggle, and I looked up into the face of Brownie! Thank goodness she had not rounded the corner with any speed and run into me because I would have tumbled down the cellar stairs just like Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall; and the way my joints have felt lately, you would not have been able to put me together again either. Brownie was the bit of a surprise, the new addition that I sort of had not expected. We had looked at dogs at the North Hempstead Animal Shelter this past weekend, and Brownie (soon to have a new name) was the one there that we really liked. Despite my telling my wife this was the dog for us, and I was as sure as anyone looking at a dog in the pound could be about adopting it, my wife insisted on going to the ASPCA shelter in Manhattan saying she would not make up her mind fast. So off we were in the Corolla to the ASPCA to look at other dogs.

At the ASPCA we waited hours before we were able to see a dog I had seen a there a few days before. Then they would not let me socialize with it because Linda was not with me, nor were my other dogs. This time we got up close and personal, and found Mandy, a silver/gray colored supposed Labrador - Weimaraner mix to be quite playful. The thing was she had been adopted previously, then returned to the ASPCA because of bad behavior. Well so too had Brownie been adopted and returned to the North Hempstead Animal Shelter, but for another reason. Brownie had been born at said shelter. She was adopted as a puppy by a couple with a new born child. They thought it would be great to have their kid grow up with a dog. I guess they never thought of how the dog would outpace the child, and at between 10 to 11 months old, Brownie was overwhelming the child being playful with it. Back to the pound for her - or so went the story we were given by the ladies at the shelter. They seemed honest enough, and each of three ladies had the same story about; more than I can say for the differing stories I got about Mandy at the ASPCA. In the end we decided to wait, even though Linda really now wanted Mandy badly. I thought that was the end of it until at least this Saturday. Err, wrong again! Turned out we have her Brownie as the latest addition to the household, and that is fine by me. I just wish the wife would talk these things over with me first, I almost stopped by the ASPCA to pick up the other one as a surprise for Linda. Man oh man am I ever so happy I decided it would be better to ask her if she wanted Mandy as badly as she had seemed to, instead of bringing her home as a surprise. Two of them would have been way too much with the 2 we have already.

So yes, I was surprised by see the big brown eyes looking at me over brown snout and brown nose, when I got home last night. Except for some brindle striping, and a white blaze on her chest - she is indeed a lighter shade of brown all over. Of course, that name is not satisfactory for my wife or daughter and they changed it to Brina. I would have none of it and laid down the law, we would all have a say in whatever is to be her name - Brownie - Brina or something like Whisky. After socializing with her for a while, including a 45 minute or so walk, it was online for me. Of course she would have none of that, and decided to sit next to me nuzzling me in an attempt to have me pet her some more. I was able to push her off of me, and she was distracted by Pepe our chihuahua and left me alone for awhile.

Then I checked my emails and saw an email from mike at FL Chams about the refund, and in which he wondered why the apparently healthy little female Chameleon he had sent me had died in transit. I wondered too. I took a look again at the shipping container, and at the deli cups in which these little lizards had flown first class overnight express, and I noted two of them had pooped in the container. Well one of the poops had some urea attached too it. Like birds, lizards wee in the form of white powdery clumps of urea; except this one was not white, it was pinkish to light red. Whatever it was, this little gal had been ill from something that had her bleeding internally. Maybe a parasite, maybe an illness, maybe just a blockage that kept her from passing the urea as she should have. That last one was my guess as the urea to fecal ratio was quite high from the look of it. Oh well, I got the refund, sort of, and am happy with the other 5 of them so far. I sent off an email to Mike telling him about my observations and suspicions as to the one that died, and left it at that. The refund is still pending, but I imagine that it will clear when they next make a sale. I suppose that is how it works. All in all, right now I am satisfied with the deal I got on them, and the service from Mike will get a high rating from me pending my receipt of an actual refund. I can tell you now, if the refund comes through as expected, I would give an excellent rating to how they conduct business at FL CHAMS.

For now, I have some chores to take care of in taking care of the new critters. Then I am off to the rheumatologist to tend to my old aching bones and muscles, but I'll not bore you with that. So its later for all of you, I need to get busy.

All the best,

Glenn B

Bush's Vietnam - Senator Kennedy Wrong Again

Wasn't it Senator Ted Kennedy who a couple or few years back said something to the effect that Iraq is President George W. Bush's Vietnam? I am pretty sure it was him, and as the facts will show, it seems pretty certain that he was wrong once again.


The Vietnam War took place between 1959 and 1975. For all practical aspects the US involvement in that war took place within those years, but mostly after 1963. In all that time there were the following U.S. casualties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_casualties):


58,217 killed


153,452 wounded


1,947 missing in action


On average there were over 3,638 U.S. dead per year during the Vietnam Conflict. No that was not really how it worked out, there were much, MUCH, higher casualties in some years than in others, but that is the average over a 16 year conflict.

We have, as of today, been at war in Iraq for a total of five years. There have been less than 4,000 U.S. casualties resulting in death in that conflict. As per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war_casualties) there were also: "8,904 wounded requiring medical air transport. 20,416 wounded did not require medical air transport. Of all the wounded 13,109 were unable to return to duty within 72 hours." As for American deaths in Iraq that is an average of 800 lives lost per year of conflict in Iraq as compared to the average of over 3,638 in Vietnam! The war in Iraq could go on for 11 more years, and if the same casualty rate occurred, it would make the total U.S. deaths in Iraq be about 9,600, which would be nowhere nearly as high as the casualties suffered by the U.S. in Vietnam. So I am wondering how is it that the Iraq Conflict is George W. Bush's Vietnam. There is virtually no comparison in the context in which Kennedy made his claim.


By comparison to Vietnam, the war in Iraq is a classic example of how to fight a war and win with less casualties, and Vietnam is a classic example of how to and stuff a nation's military men into a meat grinder while considering them little more than expendable blobs of flesh.


No war is good, but there are certainly many good causes over which to go to war. We saw such a good reason in WWII. We saw another in Grenada. We saw another in Iraq the first time around. We thought we saw such a good reason in Iraq the second time too. It may be a fact that George W. Bush, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the CIA, Military Intelligence, and their counterparts in many of the nations who are our allies, were all bamboozled by Saddam Hussein into believing he had weapons of mass destruction; and therefore that we went to war in Iraq after having reached wrong conclusions about whether or not we should wage war. Yet there is a good reason/cause for which to remain at war in Iraq.


It is a fact that the Iraq Conflict has been, and remains, a magnet for Islamo Fascists and other terrorists. Many leftists try to get you to believe that this is a bad thing. I think they have missed the importance of this flocking of terrorists. They migrate there in large numbers to attack our forces, and our military men and woman (not boys and girls though many of them left home as little more than that), and while I do not want to see our military people lost in a lost cause, this is no lost cause as some democrats would have you believe. That terrorists congregate in Iraq in large numbers is all the reason necessary to stay there and fight the fight, to wage war on Global Terrorism, and try to wipe the terrorists out as best we can. At the same we are trying to restore some hope for the Iraqi people much as we are doing in Afghanistan. In doing so, I wish we could go at them harder than we are doing, to defeat them quicker, but maybe it is better to do it at a slower pace with some good thought put into how to accomplish our goals. You see, while we are fighting them there, we are defeating them there away from home, that is good. It is time consuming but by taking our time we are assuring protection of the lives of innocent Iraqis, and we are making sure that our own losses are kept to a minimum.


George W. Bush has not been wrong about how he has been doing this. The supporters of JFK and LBJ (almost all democrats) never thought Vietnam was too long until hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens protested. We don't see those protests today, and we likely will not see protests like that today - not even in our instant gratification gotta have it now world of cell phones, the Internet, microwave ovens, and 400 channels on cable television. Why not! Why will we not see protests like that. Well, because even some of the most left leaning wackadoos realize that Bush has it right. He is keeping most of the terrorism, and virtually all of the battles against terrorists, where they belong - on the shores of countries that breed terrorists. Because Bush has been, and is, doing it right our casualties have been kept as low as possible in such a large scale conflict.


So Senator Ted Kennedy - go have another shot of whisky, then go for a long drive off of a short pier (no passengers this time please) what sensible, logical, well thought out, and productive reply do you have to the facts as I just presented them? More blubbering and blathering I suppose, after all, isn't that all we ever hear from you!

For the rest of you out there, our casualties in Iraq are nothing to minimize, they are something to take to heart. Therefore I ask that each of you, who remain at home, do the right thing and show true support for our military personnel. Go to the right column on my page, and in the red shaded area, click on one of the links under Support our Troops - then join one of those groups and do what you can to support our troops.

All the best,
Glenn B

Yes The Computer Is Working...

...but I have been too busy to blog to any decent extent these past few days. I will try to correct that later today, my apologies to those of you who came here to read something new. Why you would come here is beyond me, so I also apologize for somehow luring you in in the first place! Seriously though, I'll try to get something posted this evening. Right now I am awaiting the arrival of a UPS parcel (more on the contents later) and I have to get ready for work (been working late and a lot the last few days). Oh well - later for you.

All the best,
Glenn B

Dell Revisited...

...twice today. As it came out today, the Dell tech service guy on Friday did not get my PC back to well being. So when I again got the blue screen today, I again called Dell. I was on the phone about 2 1/2 hours (only 5 minute wait time today), and after that was all done I was told to save whatever was important on my PC, then call back, and do a complete wipe and reload of my system. So I saved what I figured I needed, then I called Dell back. I got a new tech service guy, who was really great, then had the system totally wiped, then reloaded most of my necessary software, and none of my fun software. I am guessing that in all I was on the phone with dell tech support today for a total of about 4 hours and 45 minutes, and my cell phone timer confirms it. I have been installing software for another 2 to 3 hours. Wow, what a pain; but I know for sure that if this had been my former computer's manufacturer and I had this problem they would have told me go fly a kite. Dell took care of it even though they thought, and were almost positive that the problem was due to a virus. Whatever as the cause, it is gone, but at a price. I forgot to make copies of my saved important emails! I did copy the Verizon program from my c drive, so maybe the saved emails are in there since I have MSN Internet service through Verizon, time and a phone call to Verizon tech service (I dread that call) will tell. As for other things lost, well I lost whatever Adobe photo editing software I had installed, Elements something or other. I cannot find a CD for it, and think that is because, as I recall, it was a freebie download from Adobe because i had an earlier version and they gave out a free beta version. It was great, but now I may have to buy Photoshop Elements. Oh well.

Oh well, kind of, sort of, almost back to normal.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hunting Dogs Today

No not necessarily as in dogs that you go hunting with, but rather hunting for a new dog - that is how I spent a good deal of today with my wife. First it was up and at em cleaning up my mini-zoo. Then off to the North Hempstead Animal Shelter to check out the dogs. We saw a really friendly Lab mix (if you talk to the folks at the shelter) or Shepard mix (if you believe what it says on their site about the same dog). It was supposed to be only 10 months old, the claim was it was housebroken, it was friendly, good mannered on the leash, understood some commands, and deferred to the overpowering authority of our small chihuahua Pepe when he snarled at her. She was not the prettiest dog, but was easy on the eye. The only bad point was she was overweight. Not good for a 10 month old dog. We withheld judgement and headed over to the ASPCA shelter in NYC. There we took the tour and looked at all the available dogs, except the one we wanted to see. I had been there 3 days ago and saw a really nice looking Lab/Weimaraner mix (or so they claimed). It looked the part though. Today they said it was out on a walk, and would be back soon. Soon wound up being about a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait for us. When we saw her, the lady who showed her to us was none to certain why she had been adopted then returned to the shelter. Being it cost $200 to adopt her (yes that is what the ASPCA is charging as her adoption fee, as opposed to the $29.50 fee of the North Hempstead Animal Shelter) there must have been a compelling reason that the last person brought her back to the ASPCA. A few days ago they told me it was something to do with the other adopter not being able to care for her, or something else benign. Today we find out she was going into the kitchen, somehow getting into the kitchen sink to grab dishes, then breaking them when they fell to the floor. Sounded hyper like. She was a bundle of energy, and I like that as she was very playful. Thing is she peed all over the floor without a bit of hesitation, and I had been told she was making inside and outside and was almost housebroken, which I guess really was code for not near housebroken at all.

Both dogs were responsive, apparently about a year old (though the first one looked older maybe because she was overweight), knew some commands, and got along good enough with the tiny terror Pepe. The first was much more mellow, easy on the leash, and friendly. The second was better looking, had more desire to play, was friendly, but pulling on the leash and hyper, and as I said made a mess while we were there. Decisions, decisions. We left both behind, and will think about it since we are in no rush. I sure like the playfulness of the second one, but am none to sure I want a dog that needs to be housebroken, especially one that weighs about 60 pounds, oh those messes! Decisions, decisions.

Here is a link to a set of pics of the first one at the North Hempstead Animal Shelter: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10435127.

No links available for the other one.

Got tomorrow to think about it if I want to scoop one up on Monday. I have all week to think about it if we want to look for another beasty next weekend. Decisions, decisions. Hunting dogs is not as easy as I had thought (although I can tell you, that $29.50 adoption fee is tempting compared to the $200.00 one).

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - et tu Brute

Screw the fabricated Shakespeare lingo, let's go way back in the way-back machine to see what someone much closer to the source (in the temporal aspect) had to say about today in 44 AD. As per Wikipedia, according to Plutarch (Greek Historian and fabricator, how appropriate when found in Wikipedia) :

"A certain seer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril on the day of the month of March which the Romans call the Ides; and when the day had come and Caesar was on his way to the senate-house, he greeted the seer with a jest and said: "The Ides of March has come,..." .

I think you know what happened after that, but if not, here it is in a nutsack: Julius Caesar went on his way to a meeting with the Roman Senate. His friend, and loyal Roman, Mark Anthony had learned of the plot and tried to get to him in time to warn him but was out maneuvered by the conspirators. On his way, Caesar was met by a group of senators near a Roman theater, and they went to a room therein to work on a petition. Clever were those Romans, they used a typical ploy that even would work today, getting a rat politician into a backroom to carry out behind the scenes dirty politics. Caesar, in my best guess, probably thought he was going to get what was coming to him in the form of a nice fat bribe. What he got though was something else, he got what was coming to him in the form of realization that the seer had been correct when those in the group of senators attacked him and stabbed him to death. Supposedly, 60 senators took part (must have been a big room) and he was stabbed over 23 times. Included among those senators was Brutus, fiendish backstabbing murdering bastard one time friend of Caesar (a friend up to that moment as far as Caesar had known).

I guess Caesar should have listened to what the seer had to say in the earlier prediction of that day, and to the words of the seer on that day itself. Oh did I forget to mention the seer's reply to Caesar's jest? Here it is, and maybe Caesar should have taken heed:

"Yes, the Ides of March has come, but it has not passed."

If you want to see more about the assassination of Julius Caesar, or about the Ides of March, you can go to my source for the above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ides_of_March#_ref-2

I am sure there has been lots of other stuff written about all this that you could find elsewhere with just a little effort.

All the best,

Glenn B

DELL - Rocks

At least their XPS premiere tech service does. I called them tonight because there were a bunch of problems that came up, a couple of different blue screens showing u when i started my PC, then when I tried to shut it down the fans went into overdrive and it would not shut off until I pulled the power cord. Well I was pissed because let us just say that hypothetically speaking I know someone in my house screwed up on the PC, and I know who it was, though my son admits nothing and denies everything, or so I suppose he will when i confront him about this (must have learned that from me). I tried to fix it to no avail, then got on the horn to Dell. After a 37 minute wait (very long, they usually picked up within a few minutes for the XPS service the few times I called in the past) I got a nice guy on the phone who ran through a list of possibilities with me as he tried to diagnose the problem. he had it sort of figured out in about 45 minutes or so, then he had to work me through the fix. That took somewhat longer, but it is apparently working now. He figured that somehow the video drivers got corrupted, I wonder how that could have happened. Whatever, he got it working, and you know what - my old Micron would have been up the creek without a paddle or even a canoe, because I am pretty sure Micron would have told me to pound sand because it was a software problem. This Dell is 4 years old, with 1o more months of warranty, and they got right to fixing it - software problem or not! I have to commend them, the techie did a damn good job. All in all I spent over 2 hours 40 minutes getting it fixed. But now that is out of the way, so maybe later today, I can get back to some serious blogging.

All the best,
Glenn B

Common Courtesy 101 - A Lesson I Have Not Learned Yet...

...is that I realistically cannot expect anything from anyone based on my needs, or even just based upon common courtesy. That goes for even those who I have helped out in the past (some more than once). You see, I do expect common courtesy from folks, especially folks whom I have assisted in some way or another in the past, and it irks me to no end when such is not given to me. You know that thing I just mentioned - don't you? Common Courtesy, mostly now a morality thing of the past or so it seems, but since I was brought up with it hammered into my head, I still usually go out of my way to offer it to others. Now it may be shame on me - but I expect it from others, and especially expect it back when I have been more than courteous to someone - such as when I have been generous to them.

No, as you have probably guessed, I do not mean that I am irked to no end because someone has not extended me the courtesy of holding a door open for me rather than letting it close in my face, or that someone has not waited for me to exit an elevator before they try to squeeze inside, or that someone did not stop at a stop sign and allow me to cross the street. Sure someone being discourteous like that is common today, but it gets me miffed! It should get you upset too. Being courteous and doing right by the other guy are or should be common courtesies, but the type I just mentioned are ones you would, or should, give to any stranger you pass. I am a bit more than miffed, I am pretty upset when it comes to someone who claims to be your friend, or who is at least an acquaintance, and who disregards courtesies that were once understood to be common, and that were once considered important enough to be looked upon as an important obligation to return. The type of common courtesy to which I refer is the one by which you go a bit out of your way to do something nice for someone who has done something nice or extraordinary for you. You do not need return a courtesy right away when someone helps you out, not immediately after that other person did something nice for you; but certainly when you are aware that the other person who treated you with extraordinary courtesy is now himself also in need. You should then make an effort to help out at least in some small manner. If you do not - well then you lack common courtesy, and you probably are not worth a repeat of mine - but dope that I am I would probably still offer my courtesies to you. That is I would have done so in the past, currently I am getting kind of sick of being played for the helpful stooge.

Recently I helped out a few people, whom I know, monetarily. It was not much, but in each case I went out of my way to assist them. I gave what I could, then I even gave more again after I made a concerted effort to raise some extra cash to give to them, and to tell the truth I needed the cash pretty badly myself but figured they needed it more. As I said, no great amount, and no big deal - not my helping them out anyhow. There is a big deal though, a thorn that is stuck in my foot, and I cannot shake it loose and it is festering. That thorn is in the form of the lack of help I received from them when I too could have used help. I do not mean money either, I mean help that would have been so minuscule as to have probably only taken up about a few minutes of their ever so precious time, cost them nothing in money, but which would have meant an awful lot to me as far as making something much easier for me. Now you may wonder, did the people to whom I refer actually know I was in need? Yes they did know, and they knew exactly what I needed was some information and maybe some advice on a subject about which they have ample knowledge, and they knew it would have been nothing more than the few minutes at most that it would have cost them to have made something much easier for me. Heck, I even discussed it with some of them when they told me they were aware of the specific information/advice I was seeking. You know, it went something like: "Hey I hear you are doing this that and the other thing". Me saying : "Yeah, I am I sure could use some advice about it" and waiting for more from them. Then the others changing the subject and then walking away without an offer of assistance. It would have been pretty easy to offer to give me a hand - not a handout. It was easy enough for some of you though, some of you whom I know only through my blog and your blogs. Somehow though, it apparently turned out it that is was way too inconvenient for the folks whom I helped out, when they were in need, to give me a return courtesy, and one which they could have easily afforded at that. So I am pissed off somewhat ired by their lack of respect for me as evidenced by their lack of common courtesy toward me.

Now I am wondering whether or not it is worth my while, my effort, my money, to help out pompous self centered money grubbing jerks people in need like that again any time soon, if ever again. I can tell you one thing for sure, if you receive a courtesy from someone, especially if it is after your having asked for help, you ought to return it with another tenfold of courtesies. That way you will be sure to receive more courtesies in the future rather than having someone let the door slam in your face; well truth be told that may happen anyway. All in all it just makes life a nicer more courtesy filled place because many people still return courtesies. It also makes you feel better about yourself, that is if you have a morally based conscience to begin with. As to those of you who actually offered me help and gave advice, and there were a few of you, I say thanks very much, and if you need something that I can help with - rest assured I will return the favor if I can, and I'll remain courteous to you because if nothing else - you deserve it by way of your own extension of courtesy. What goes around certainly comes around, or should do so regarding common courtesy, don't you think?

All the best,
Glenn B

I Have Got To Hand It To Obama...

No, not my vote, nor my confidence that he would make a good president (or even a passable one), but rather that he has got chutzpah. He certainly faces up to the Clinton Machine (yes the Clintons are just what they claim they are against, that so called big whatever-wing conspiracy at least when it comes to Obama). I thought it pretty amusing and rather arrogant of the old battle ax the democratic candidate currently number 2 in the running to have repeatedly made the claim (or was it an offer) that Obama would make a fine vice president as her running mate.

It was also pretty hypocritical. Here are the Clintons saying that Obama is way too inexperienced to become president, so where do they want to put him now - in the vice presidency. I seem to remember Bill Clinton once having blathered on about how a vice president has to be "ready" to take over the presidency in the event of emergency. So what the Clintons are telling us now is that Barack Obama, whom they do not believe would make a good president (witnessed by their repeated and heated attacks on him) would make a great vice president, and that his being vice president would somehow, magically I suppose, make him ready to take over the presidency in the event of an emergency. Are you following that. Well if not it does not matter, because Mr. Obama had the right answer for both of the Clintons, and the thing of it is that his words will hopefully have put an end to those ridiculous offers to him by the Clintons, and maybe even put an end to Mrs. Clinton's chances to win the nomination. Here is, according to an article, at http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/11/mississippi-democrats-head-to-polls-with-obama-riding-high/what he had to say about it:

“I don’t know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is first place,... I am not running for vice president. I am running for president of the United States of America.”

Now Carl Rove came out and said that Obama should never had said this, and that this will hurt him politically. According to Rove, Obama should have let an underling say this. I beg to differ. The good old knockout punch should come from the man in the ring, not from one of his trainers or sparring partners. If this man makes it into the White House, I think it will not be as vice president but believe, as scary as is the prospect, that it will be as president. As for myself, I see not other choice for myself than to vote for McCain, but I guess that is a whole other story in itself.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Have Only One Choice...

...for whom to vote in the upcoming presidential elections as I see it. Look at the video that Rita at the JungleHut had imbedded in her blog:



If nothing else, John McCain will be a leader seeking to secure and strengthen our great nation for all Americans. Clinton or Obama will be little more than weak kneed wanna-be tyrants who want to tax the wealthier amongst us in order to elevate the poor economically, while at the same time deescalating the wealthier so the poor through the rich all arrive at a level of equality economically regardless of effort. Thus the only difference being that the middle class and the rich have worked for what they will have, and the utterly poor on welfare, and other low lives, who are unwilling to work will have gotten a free ride. That is not what freedom is all about, not what capitalism is about, not what America is about. It is what socialism and communism are about. I prefer a society in which one makes it as best he can based upon amenability to become a good citizen, willingness to fit in, willingness to start at the bottom and work your way up and so forth. I do not believe that anyone has an entitlement to what I have worked to establish you are entitled to what you have made for yourself - anything else is a handout. Not that handouts are not good or required in some instances, just that entitlements should jot be the driving force of a nation. Any nation that has tried likewise in the past has always failed miserably. I plan to help re-defeat communism and socialism in 2008 by voting McCain.

All the best,
Glenn B

Quick - Don't Delay - Go...

...here to watch a video and listen to words of wisdom about Islam. I do not know how long this will be kept on the page to which I have supplied the link - and if you really want to here some straight talk about Islam in England - well then hurry to this link.

You can bet I am going to listen to a lot more of what this guy has posted on his site.

Oh goody, I just found it on YouTube, so here it is:



Oh, don't expect to be finding a lot of reverent holier than thou Christian stuff on this guys pages or in his videos. I don't think he is very pro-religion - at least not in most of the current forms. I kind of get the picture that he believes in one of the things I have always believed - It is the weird holy men of the world who cause most of the grief in the world - does not matter what religion they practice either - yes in that regard he may be in agreement with me, but that requires further research to determine.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Own Web Page...

...is a thing that I have been thinking about getting lately to help facilitate an extension/growth to my hobby of keeping and breeding reptiles and amphibians. Actually I am planning on starting up a small scale business selling reptiles and amphibians at shows and possibly via the Internet. So with that in mind earlier, I went ahead an ordered 2 years of website hosting from StartLogic.com. Then this afternoon, and tonight I sat down, with a lot of time to kill, and tried to figure out how to make it work to design and create my website. After a few hours of getting frustrated by their website development tool, I called their 24/7 live help line. Over 53 minutes waiting for tech service to take my call, then I spoke to the techie for about 2 or 3 seconds and the line went dead, I am pretty sure on the other end. So I called back, and pressed whatever number for sales. The wait for someone in sales was shorter, only about 25 minutes. I got a friendly guy who almost did what I asked, which was to cancel my account and give me my money back as per their 30 day no questions asked guarantee. He said he put a note in the system for someone to do that tomorrow. Oh well, one can only hope it will get done.

What to do now. Well I guess I can ask - anyone out there know of a good web hosting site that has an easy to use, and extensive, web design program included. If so, let me know. If no one speaks up, I'll have to pick up a web design program and design it myself. I was thinking off MS FrontPage 2003. I would much rather avoid that expense by finding a company that offers easy to use website building software with their web hosting. If it was even only half as easy as it is to use Easy Designer (AOL's choice for web design to build your AOL homepage), or half as easy as using Blogger as I do for this blog, then it would be a snap. I don't know if there is something like that out there, but I imagine there must be if AOL and Blogger can make it as easy as they do - and they both let people sue it for free!

Of course I could make up a site here on Blogger, but I would rather have my own domain name. I had one for several hours today, and now it is in limbo because the company retained rights to it since I got my money back. I think I can pay them $6.50 to register it in my name for a year, and I'll have to look into that if I go with a different web hosting company. If I go back to StartLogic, it is my understanding they will give me that domain name back. First though, I want to make sure I can get what I consider easy to use, fairly full featured, website building software. Then I'll build my site. Then I'll have someone host it.

Now mind you, I am not saying that there was anything wrong with StartLogic, well except for how long it takes their service people to answer the telephone. Besides that it was just that I did not understand how to use the darned site building software - and I must point out there was no tutorial on it that I could find, and then having to wait that long and be disconnected was a major bummer. One othe rthing was that it looked as if you had to build from a template, and the choices were not to my liking. A personal thing regarding my tatses, not their wrong doing. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

All the best,
Glenn B

Primary results so far????????

The Republican Primaries are basically over. Huckabee has done the right thing and finally conceded. McCain is the man.

As for the Demoncrats, their primary results as reported by the media are truly mumbo-jumbo to me:

They say it is too close to call in Ohio. I beg to differ, but what do I know.

Ohio
Democrats
Precincts Reporting: 52%

Candidate
Hillary Clinton
653,379
58.35%

Barack Obama
466,450
41.65%

Who is kidding whom that the Ohio race is too close to call at 1055 EST when I retrieved this from Fox News! With over 52% of the vote in, and with Clinton beating Obama by 58 to about 42% of the vote, is it really too hard to call? I just do not get that at all, looks like a slam dunk to me for Clinton.

As for Texas, that is another story, and it is readily apparent, as I write, as to why it is too close to call:

Texas
Democrats

Precincts Reporting: 25%

Candidate
Barack Obama
711,759
50.02%

Hillary Clinton
711,183
49.98%

Wow, that is a close one, but only 25% of precincts reporting so far. Time will tell if a head will be lopped off tonight leaving but one Demoncrat in the running.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is It Possible We Can Finally Get Rid Of One Of Them Today?

Yeah you guessed it, I mean either Hillary Rodham-Clinton, or Barack Hussein Obama in the Democratic Primaries. It would be wonderful to finally be rid of at least the incessant ultra liberal blabbering, the face raking remarks, and the back stabbing innuendo that goes on between the two of them. I for one am sick of it, and I would be willing to bet that even a lot of those who might actually vote for one of these possible candidates is probably as sick of them as am I.

Hopefully one of them will deal a slashing death blow to the other today - politically of course not literally - and come away the winner with the other's head in his or her hands.

Then all we have to listen too is McCain debate the winner (yeah maybe a little more of Huckabee but no one is really giving him any air time and he is nowhere nearly as annoying as the two dems.) Of course I am no big fan of McCain, but if it comes down to just him and the one pick of the dems, we will at least get to hear something a bit on the conservative and sensible side.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861.

"I am loth (sic) to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." (Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861)

So sad that he was so wrong, and the war was inevitable, but he made the attempt to keep the Union together by easing up on his opposition to some demands of the South over slavery, while steadfastly refusing to give up federal property to the 7 states that had already seceded from the Union. Then, just over one month later on April 12, 1861, the first shot of the Civil War rang out as the South attacked Fort Sumter, SC.

He was right though, in the end, the better angels of our nature saw the Union come together again, and it still stands strong today because of, and in some instances despite, the resonance of those mystic chords of memory.

All the best,
Glenn B

Trivia Resurrection

Well, I have only had a few guesses to my trivia question of earlier this week, so I decided to give some really blatant hints about who was:

The First man To Appear On The Cover of Playboy Magazine, and lest I say I idolize him, let me just say he was a great actor - one of the all time best.

If you want to try your hand at guessing who it was, without cheating, please go to the below link and view the post and the comments:

http://ballseyesboomers.blogspot.com/2008/02/trivia-for-night.html

All the best,
Glenn B

Up Early On A Sunday...

...and soon to be off to the Long Island Reptile Expo (not to be confused with the Long Island Herpetological Society's Annual Reptile Expo) at the Hilton Hotel on Route 110 in Melville/Huntington, NY. I am hopeful I can sell trade a few animals while I am there. If nothing else, accomplishing such trades helps Brendan and me keep our hobby going without a lot of expense. Speaking of Brendan, he told me to wake him up t 8, and he will tag along. That is okay by me, he has not been to one of these in quite sometime due to either work, lacrosse practice or games, or being with his girlfriend. Some time together for the two of us will be a special treat for me. While there we will help out manning the LIHS table, giving out info to the public about reptile and amphibian care and so forth. Look me up if you are there.

No more time to jabber, I have to get busy readying animals and other stuff for the show.

All the best,
Glenn B

"There is no information to lead us to believe that this is the result of any terrorist activity or related to any possible terrorist activity."

You have read the title; now take a moment and read these 2 definitions:

terrorist

ter·ror·ist [ térrərist ] (plural ter·ror·ists)

noun

Definition:
somebody using violence for political purposes: somebody who uses violence, especially bombing, kidnapping, and assassination, to intimidate others, often for political purposes

anarchist

an·ar·chist [ ánnərkist ] (plural an·ar·chists)

noun

Definition:
1. supporter of anarchism: somebody who believes that governments should be abolished as unnecessary
2. lawless person: somebody who tries to overthrow a government or behaves in a lawless way


Okay, you have seen the title of this particular post. You have read the two definitions above. Now go to Vegas police find deadly ricin in motel room if you want a clue as to all of this, and to see where I found the quote in the above title. You can also go to Police: Firearms, 'Anarchist Textbook' Found in Ricin Hotel Room" to read more about it. After you read those two articles, about a man in the hospital apparently suffering from Ricin poisoning, riddle me this Batman:

1. Is there any possible link to terrorist activity?

2. Should the man who is in the hospital be a suspect, at least a preliminary suspect, in this case in that he should be suspected of possessing Ricin? Note I am not saying he is guilty, I am asking should he be suspected of such, even if the suspicion is tentative and will depend in the long run on further information being developed to keep him as a suspect?

If the police truly believe that there is no, and I mean absolutely no link to possible terrorist activity here, I think they are screwballs, and should literally be demoted or fired. Here read the quote to which I refer:

“There is no information to lead us to believe that this is the result of any terrorist activity or related to any possible terrorist activity,”

What do they mean by that? Are they idiots or are they just trying to keep people from panicking? My guess is they are well trained idiots acting at the behest of higher authority; but I could be wrong, and it is possible they are just idiots of the plain and simple type. Why? Well because:

1. Ricin is an extremely toxic chemical agent with few legitimate uses except in cancer research.

2.Certainly there was absolutely no legitimate cancer research going on, and no legitimate use use for it, in a skid row welfare type motel 6 blocks from the Vegas strip.

3. An "anarchist type textbook" (from the MSN article) was found in the motel room when authorities searched the room. The book is tabbed at a certain page, that page containing information about how to make buttery pop cornRicin.

4. Firearms were found in that room (no not even indicative of a crime on their own, but they can add to suspicion of criminal activity when certain other things fall into place).

5. A man has been hospitalized with symptoms of Ricin poisoning, the same man who had been staying in the room where the above items were found.

6. Authorities seized the "anarchist type textbook" and the firearms, but the vials of Ricin in the plastic bag were not discovered when the book and guns were found. This sort of implies that the police searched the room when or once the 2 seized items were found, or that they certainly should have searched the room if those items had been discovered by someone other than LEOs.

7. Authorities seize the book and weapons.

8. A friend of the hospitalized man, went to the motel room in question, to pick up the belongings of the hospitalized man, and this friend reportedly finds the vials of Ricin in a plastic bag in said room.

9. The first man has been in the hospital since February 14.

10. The weapons and the guns were found on or about Tuesday February February 19.

11. The vials were only found on or about Thursday, February 21.

12. On February 22 the friend, who went to the hospitalized man's room to pick up his belongings, contacted motel management to inform them there were pets in said room.

13. "A dog was found dead but the animal had gone at least a week without food or water, Suey said" This quote from the FoxNews article. I imagine that dog (unlucky 13) was found dead by authorities or by the motel management on the 22 or later, and am basing my conclusion on number 12 above. (Where were the police in regard to this earlier?)

14. "Along with the ricin, police found castor beans possibly used to make the substance. Suey said the manufacture of ricin is a crime." Again from FoxNews.

15. We don't know an awful lot about him," Suey said. "We don't even know that it was him that was in possession of the ricin" That would be Deputy Chief of Police Kathy Suey to whom that quote was attributed in the FoxNews article.

16. Suey apparently made her statements yesterday.

I ask you again to consider:

1. Is there any possible link to terrorist activity?

2. Should the man who is in the hospital be a suspect, at least a preliminary suspect, in this case in that he should be suspected of possessing Ricin? Note I am not saying he is guilty, I am asking should he be suspected of such, even if the suspicion is tentative and will depend in the long run on further information being developed to keep him as a suspect?

If you are uncertain, or if you answered "No" to either of those 2 questions, you are far from correct as I see it.

There is a POSSIBLE link to, or suspicion of, terrorist activity. This would be based upon the evidence that manufacture of Ricin is a crime, a man has been hospitalized with apparent Ricin poisoning (either intentionally or accidentally poisoned it does not matter), the Ricin apparently was kept under unsafe conditions in a motel room, in that same motel room were firearms (not by themselves an indicator of crime by a long shot mind you), and in that room was found an "anarchist type textbook". Ricin is most often associated with terrorists when not used legitimately. By now, even by yesterday, it is/was probably very apparent to the Las Vegas Police brass, and others involved in this case, that the Ricin in said room was not there for legitimate purposes.

Let's examine a for just a moment now the other legitimate uses of Ricin beyond cancer research. Hmm, zero! So with no legitimate uses of Ricin save cancer research, what nefarious uses of Ricin are there? It has been used to kill people in political assassinations carried out by terrorists. In fact an extremely small amount of Ricin, in its purest forms, is required to kill someone. But let me not bore you with what I know about the subject, let me give you just a smidgen of what the CDC says about it here:


"It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people. Accidental exposure to ricin is highly unlikely.

People can breathe in ricin mist or powder and be poisoned.

Ricin can also get into water or food and then be swallowed.

Pellets of ricin, or ricin dissolved in a liquid, can be injected into people’s bodies.

Depending on the route of exposure (such as injection or inhalation), as little as 500 micrograms of ricin could be enough to kill an adult. A 500-microgram dose of ricin would be about the size of the head of a pin. A greater amount would likely be needed to kill people if the ricin were swallowed.

In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who was living in London, died after he was attacked by a man with an umbrella. The umbrella had been rigged to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov’s skin.

Some reports have indicated that ricin may have been used in the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s and that quantities of ricin were found in Al Qaeda caves in Afghanistan.

Ricin poisoning is not contagious. It cannot be spread from person to person through casual contact. "

Are you getting the picture? Ricin is a deadly chemical, extremely deadly, and it is often associated with terrorists and terrorism. There are few legitimate uses of it, all centering around cancer research. This Ricin was not found in a cancer research facility, and in fact was found with a bag of Castor beans (the source from which Ricin can be manufactured, and it is very unlikely that a cancer researcher would leave either lying around his motel room). Do I watch too much television, or do I just have too much experience with criminals, when I think that Ricin in a motel room would be highly suspicious of wrongdoing, and its former links to terrorists in combination with firearms and an "anarchist's type textbook" add up to a suspicion of terrorist activity? Look to the link to the CDC web page about Ricin. At least glance over it, read each section's header. Look at the size of each section on the article the CDC wrote about Ricin. Which is the largest section? Yes the one about how to protect yourself from Ricin as if a terrorist attack had taken place. Remember, as seen above, they said it would take a deliberate act to spread enough to harm people. Any suspicions yet?

How can the police NOT BE at least SUSPICIOUS that this was in some POSSIBLE way linked to terrorism? How can the police not believe that the man who was poisoned is at least a suspect in this case? I said a suspect, nothing more, and I mean nothing less such as the bullshit political butt kissing term of: 'person of interest'. If they are not in the least suspicious that this is related to some for of terrorism, and that the hospitalized man is not at least a suspect then I, in my personal opinion, believe the LEOs involved in this case to be out and out idiots absolutely incompetent.

Of course as I mentioned above, they could be well trained idiots and be withholding their suspicions so as not to panic people, but who would get panicked over this who would not already be scared into seeking out a cave in which to hide after having read those articles and just a little more on the subject? There is no need to panic, but there is reason to be suspicious, and to be suspicious that there is a possible link to terrorism. There is reason to look into links to terrorism based upon those suspicions. If the police already firmly have made up there minds that there is no POSSIBLE link to terrorism and that the hospitalized man is suspected of nothing wrong - well their investigation is less than a good one - it stinks. Tell me, just what in Hades is it for which we pay their salaries?

As for you and me, it is good to be aware of such thing, and how to react and act after a suspected spread of Ricin (hint: a terrorist attack using Ricin). There are oodles and oodles of websites that give you such info, so I will not go into any such readiness preparations here; however I will recommend you start with the links on the CDC webpage that covers Ricin. Just suffice it to say, you should be prepared for terrorist attacks because in all likelihood they are coming. No this may well not have been one, and if it was supposed to have resulted in one chances are it maybe would have been small scale. Though we do not know the size of the "vials" vials are usually pretty small, so let's say a scale like a suicide bombing killing dozens of innocent people. Still though, a larger attack to come is probably almost a certainty. No not necessarily with Ricin, or other biological or chemical agents, it could be nuclear, it could be a regular bomb or IEDS, it could be gunshots, it could be a maniac mowing people down with a car. The thing is you should have some sort of a plan what to do if a terrorist attack occurs; and if anything happens that has even half the evidence that it is a terrorist attack as the example above, you should suspect it is just that - a terrorist attack - and you take appropriate action to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Now maybe I am just the overly suspicious type, but that's my slant on it all. Oh, before I leave you for now, did I forget to mention: Maybe the police ought to read up on the definitions of anarchist versus terrorist. Pretty darned similar are they not? No suspicions ineed!

All the best,
Glenn B