Sunday, June 17, 2012

Imagine Foreign Troops Landing On Our Beaches - Would Obama Be As Indecisive

This is one powerful video about a man who is obviously not presidential material even though he is our president. I shudder to think how he would react should another country sink some of our fleet, then foreign troops begin landing on our beaches instead of oil.


Oil Spill Timeline from RightChange on Vimeo.

It is a powerful reminder of just how inept is President Obama. I think, he should have stayed in community organizing. 

Thanks to Pete Q. for the link to the video.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Firearms Safety Rule That Colonel Cooper Did Not Mention In The 4 Rules

You should strive to always carry your pistol in a holster or other device designed to carry the type of pistol you are carrying. Carrying one in a pocket or in the waistband of your pants is not a smart idea. Shame on me for sometimes carrying one in my pocket, but it is unlikely I would ever shoot myself like the guy in the linked article shot himself if only because rarely is there a round in the chamber when I do it that way. That is the second person I know of who shot himself where this guy got it. Ouch.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120615/NEWS03/120615029/Man-shoots-himself-in-the-penis-in-Birmingham?odyssey=tab%7ctopnews%7ctext%7cFRONTPAGE

A hat tip to Larry H. for the link.

All the best,
Glenn B

Home Depot Hits A Home Run With My BBQ Grill On Fathers' Day

I bought a new BBQ grill on Friday. I got it to replace a 5 year old Charm-Glow grill that was pretty good but that had a burner explode on me. That was maybe due to a spider finding it comfy and building a web inside the burner. I heard that is the number one reason they go pop. Not a big explosion, I did not even hear it as I was probably inside the house when it happened but enough to break the burner apart and flare out the exploded ends where it came apart.

As for the new grill, I tried to get it earlier last week but all they had were display models and I wanted to get one assembled right out of the box because all the display models were outside getting soaked in the rain and building up rust. Home Depot would oblige but I had to wait because the assembler was not going to be until Friday. So, I was patient. The new one was ready on Friday and I picked it up, rented a Home Depot truck to cart it home and had my son and a couple of his friends help me offload it. I even got $35 plus tax off of the price because it had a few minor dents in it. Not bad.

Then yesterday, I found out one of the burner/igniter control knobs, for the sear burner, did not work properly. Damn, what luck, that little black cloud, with my name on it, found me again but I suppose you get what you pay for and this while not the least expensive certainly is not a Weber. In fact, it is a Brinkman Elite, 6 burner grill (they call it a 4 burner grill but it has 4 regular burners, a sear burner and a side burner and no matter how I add it up that comes out to 6 burners). I decided to exchange it and called Homers to see what had to be done. They told me I had to return it before they could do an exchange. I explained that would cause me to have to make 3 round trips back and forth to Home Depot. I would have to drive there in my own car and park in in their lot, then drive home with an empty truck to pick up the grill, drive back to Homer's with the old grill, pick up the new grill and drive it home from HD (not Harley Davidson), then return the empty truck to Home Depot, where I would pick up my car to drive home. I asked if it would be okay for me to drive there and leave my car, pay for the new grill and have it loaded onto a truck (at no charge to me for the rental fee), drive the new one home, offload it with my son, load the old one onto the truck and drive it back to HD (thus only one round trip with the truck), where I would drop off the old grill and get a refund for it, then pick up my car and drive home. The guy told me that required management approval and he was talking about me buying a new one and getting a refund for the old one - not the truck use at no charge to me. Three and a half hours and about 3 of my phone calls later, they told me they would bring the new one to me and exchange it for the old one. GREAT thought I. As I should have expected, what with that black cloud of mine, they never came yesterday, it was a few more hours before they called me to tell me they would have to do it today.

This morning at 0900, I called HD and was told they would leave HD with the new grill at 1000. I called them again at about 1115 but before the call went through on my cell phone, the house phone rang. It was the delivery guys, they were outside my house. They brought in the new one, looked at the old one, affirmed the problem, then set up the new one, hooked up the gas and made sure all the burners worked as they should. They were really very nice about it, professional and very courteous and apologetic about the one that did not work. As they left, I gave them a $20 tip that I hope was more than enough for a good lunch for them. I just figure it came out of the $38 and change I had saved when I got that off the price of the first one because of the dents. While they arrived here later than expected, but before noon as promised, they sure saved the day because we are going to have a BBQ this afternoon and out future in-laws are coming over for a joint Fathers' Day celebration. I have to hand it to Home Depot for going the extra mile on this one and actually doing the exchange for me at my home. That was really very nice of them. I always sort of thought of them as a we do not give a shit company, much the way I see Walmart and other such stores but I was certainly wrong about this particular Home Depot. They went out of their way to satisfy the customer and did it in the nick of time too. After the delivery guys left, and after I made sure the grill was working, I called up customer service at the store where I bought the grill. I thanked the customer service gal (who helped me today) profusely. I also asked her to convey my thanks to the customer service gal who helped me yesterday, the manager (who okay'd the exchange at my house, maybe even thought of it first), the assembler (who made sure one was ready for me and who apparently pushed for the exchange at my house) and I told her what a great job the delivery guys did today and how professional and courteous they acted. They really did a nice thing. I have to say, I think the customer service gal was rather surprised I called to thank her, she sure seemed surprised and quite happy about it too. When you (or I)get service like that it is your (or my) responsibility to let them know about it just as you would complain if it was bad service (anyway - I would complain).

Now, I just hope it is a good cooker. After the delivery guys left, I turned it on to check it to make sure all the burners work (a second but why take chances). I left it on for about 10 to 15 minutes to waste gas to break it in. Seems to work just fine. As far as cooking goes, I bet I will get stuck doing all the grilling today even though it is Fathers' Day. Oh well, it is a man thing or so my wife would say - maybe (I sure would say so). I must admit though she does her share of the BBQ'ing and would do it today if I asked her to do it. I may as well do something around here now and then and grilling is not a bad something to do so long as I have a cold one in hand Funny, I just stocked up the mini-fridge in the man cave with a 12 pack of Spaten Oktoberfest and still have a couple of Franziskaner Hefe Weisse Biers in there.

Happy Fathers' Day

All the best,
Glenn B

A Complaint About My Blog Photos - I Do Get Complaints

I recently posted about my new Obama T-shirt. The complaints usually are post-specific and are usually left in the comments section of my blog posts. I usually answer those complaints right in the comments section but today I will answer the most recent complaint I received right here in this blog post.

Here is the complaint from the comments to the Obama T-shirt post:

"Anonymous17 June, 2012 08:52

It's funny how you wear a shirt making a bold statement like that, then post up a picture that the average viewer/reader can barely see.

Then when one clicks on your profile all they get is a small face pic. Lol cmon now if you going to post a pic at least post one that has good lighting.

And the reason why I'm anonymous is because I don't have an account created for any of the profile options.
"

Hey Anonymous, what is amazing is you would make that comment, saying it is funny, that I do not post a larger or better picture of myself on my blog yet you commented anonymously and gave a truly lame excuse as to why in justification of your own action to disguise you identity. While you tried to justify your own action, you did not ask me if there was justification for the crappy photo of me in the t-shirt or for the small profile pic.

I will explain, not that you deserve an answer, being that you are not respectful enough to post your name with your comment but because I feel like it and because it will satisfy the curiosity of others who made read your comment. As for you, you could have easily signed your comment with your name by typing it in at the bottom of your comment. You could have very easily registered so that your name would show without you remaining anonymous, well if mom or dad let you register with your name. Yet, you apparently chose to register in a fashion that would keep you labelled as anonymous and hide your identity. There are other ways to register so your identity will show - that is if you are honest about the identity with which you register. So, you easily could have registered in a way that your name would come up each time you comment and as I already pointed out, you could just have signed your real name or at least first name on the comment you left. Please, don't make up ludicrous excuses as to why your name does not appear and expect me to believe them and please do not give me a line of seeming bullshit about why you say it is posted anonymously when you could have easily made it otherwise.

As for the shitty pic of me in the Obama shirt, it is due to my camera being on its last legs. I have complained about it (the camera not working properly) in posts sometime during the past several months. Right now, I have to prioritize my spending because I am on a limited income due to my recent retirement and due to the fact that I am receiving less than 65% of my retirement payments until my pension is finalized (that has been no secret on my blog either). Thus I have made do with a camera on which the flash usually does not work, on which the button to take the pic only works about 40% of the time and which often does not focus correctly. I take what I can get with it. Lately it has not worked at all, that T-shirt shot may be the last pic the camera will have taken. Anyway, the pic shows the shirt clearly enough (at least enough for you to say it makes a bold statement) which was the item of interest in the relative blog post.

As far as me making a bold statement, by wearing that shirt, is that bold - posting a pic of it on my blog? I think not. I do not even think it bold, to actually wear the shirt during the course of a normal day. When I wear the shirt out, when I go to the range, or to do some shopping, or when I go elsewhere, it is even more visible to more people than in the lousy photo on my blog and I am right there in person wearing it. I have gotten some great comments on it. In fact, all the comments I have gotten have been positive, very much so. When I wear it out, everyone I encounter or pass by can see it plainly and can see me plainly too. So what is your point again about the bold statement and my picture being barely visible to the average viewer? (I guess your eyesight is pretty good though for you to have commented on the boldness of the statement.) I can tell you what is not bold: Leaving an anonymous comment to complain about someone's blog is not bold, it is disrespectful too.

As for the small pic in my profile, so what. That is how it came out. It is a profile pic for a blog not a portfolio pic for my new career as a male model. Anyway - on my profile it is a good 2x3 inches (on my screen) - larger than many on other profiles. Many, if not most profile pics, do not enlarge when you click on them. Mine does. If you would like to see larger pics of me, even videos of me, search through the blog, there are quite a few.  Here look at this one, it is one of my favorite self taken photos. Or you can look at this one, not the most flattering but another clear photo of me.

By the way, if you still think my profile pic is too small, and if you use MS Windows 7, why not enlarge the screen view by clicking on the magnify icon on the status bar. You can enlarge the view up to at least 150%. If you have other than Windows, I would bet you could do that with any OS.

Many people, who blog, would not even accept and post an anonymous comment like yours on their blogs. I not only accepted and posted it, I have done one better, I have blogged about it. Ooh what a bold statement I have made, it makes me tingle all over (sarcasm). 

FUCK OBAMA (straightforward statement, the word fuck used in the non-sexual context).

All the best,
Glenn B