OFF TO ALBANY TO PROTEST THE NY SAFE ACT

Brendan and I will be getting up early tomorrow. It will be so early that if we both had any sense we would be in bed within the next half hour at most but I doubt either one of us can get to sleep that early since neither of us are early risers. If we want to get to the bus pick-up area on time, by 0500, we need to leave the house by 0430 and that means waking up by 0400. That sucks but it has to be done.

We will be traveling up to Albany, NY with a busload of Long Island Firearms members to protest the NY SAFE Act within the legislative building. As far as I am aware, the legislator will be at work and the governor is also in Albany. Last time we went up on a Saturday. It was dead up that way, but we had a crowd of about 2,000 to get things a bit fired up. This time, as opposed to our January trip to Albany, to protest the same bill, we will actually be there while the legislature is in session. We have two buses going this time around. One full of LIF members and many LIF members and others on the second bus. Of course, there will probably wind up being thousands of other folks there to protest just as we will be doing.

We will be confronting, first hand, some of the most leftist politicians within the United States of America, maybe only beaten to being any further left by those in California. Hopefully our voices, the voices of the NY State gun owning citizenry and those of some few right wing NY politicians, the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, hopefully the NRA and SAF, right leaning media types, gun and ammo manufacturers and the like, will be heard loud enough to make a difference. We plan to be polite but loud and clear in our message: We The People will not bow to infringements of the 2nd Amendment any longer; the stripping away of our rights and liberties piecemeal must end and end now and our rights and liberties must be restored.

I think it will be a great trip. We had a good time back in January because we spent the day with one another and because it was something as worthwhile as anything we have ever done together.

The only drawback, this time, is that the administrator of Long Island Firearms has decreed that no one is allowed to bring firearms or anything that could be construed as a weapon, onto the bus and he will be checking. Imagine that a pro gun rights guy preventing others from carrying! Anyway, the bottom line is that since we will be entering government buildings we should be unarmed. As far as I am aware, there is no law in NY State against such, and there is certainly nothing in my pistol license handbook about it, except concerning federal buildings (and that is in part incorrect), but I have been informed that building security, for NY State buildings, 

goes ape-shit if you try to enter with anything remotely hinting of weaponry. I would imagine, just as with almost any other government building I have entered while armed, they have lock boxes to secure arms if they do not allow them inside but I will go with the flow this time and leave all of my shooters at home along with my Victorinox Huntsman Swiss Army knife. Last time I had my Glock 26, my Ortgies pocket pistol, a Buck folder and the Victorinox knife. I had been thinking of carrying the Remington R1 1911 tomorrow but such will not be the case; instead I will be as if nekkid.

Hopefully whatever bag I take, to carry my lunch, will not have something like an empty shell casing inside of it. I have already checked and double checked and am pretty sure it is good to go. Shit, I have to check the laptop case since I am bringing my laptop. Who knows what is inside the many compartments of that black hole of Calcutta. 

If you can be there, I highly recommend it. If you cannot not be there physically, then be there in spirit. Think of us and pray for us in the hope of us getting our message across and causing the NY SAFE ACT to be repealed.

All the best,
Glenn B

Tasty Goodness - 500 Feeder Roaches Coming My Way

Yep, I have an order of 500 Blaptica dubia roaches  crawling being delivered to my house tomorrow. Mm-mmmm, tasty goodness. They grow up to about 2 inches long, are really meaty, are not too chitinous and have just the right amount of crunch. I cannot wait until they arrive because I am looking forward, ever so much, to getting a really nutritious meal into my belly 
Bearded Dragons and Crested Geckos.

My order will consist of all nymphs. No, not nymphos but young roaches, each ranging in size from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. Within  about another two to four months, they should be adult sized. By that time, I figure to be rid of most of them and be left with just enough adults to make up my second breeding colony. Yes that does mean I already have  breeding colony going but I want to augment that one with some fresh meat.

The lizards love them but I was wondering how they would go down, with a beer, after frying them in a pan with bacon.

All the best,
Glenn  B

This Email Is A Pisser

Content of an email I received from a friend today:

"My wife hounded me for months & months to fix our damaged gutter downspout, but when I finally fixed it... she was hopping mad!

I guess I'll never ever understand women."

Thanks to Don S. for sending me that one. I have got to say, the guy who created that has a great imagination and is either single or must have a very loving wife if he is still alive.

All the best,
GB

Students Told To Call 911 Hijackers Freedom Fighters...

...instead of calling them terrorists and to call the Holocaust ethnic cleansing instead of genocide. This reportedly happened in Lumberton High School down in Texas. (source).

To call the killing of the Jews - let alone the killing of the Gypsies, Poles, Russians, dissidents, mentally deficient Germans, criminals, nuns, priests, and all the others - ethnic cleansing is far, far, far beyond the scope of stretching the truth to its furthest limits. Then for the superintendent of the school district to have said, the teacher, who so instructed the students, did nothing wrong was following state guidelines and followed that up by saying:

 

"“What is more dangerous – fear and ignorance or education and understanding,” he asked. “From our standpoint, we are here to educate the kids.”" (source).

He thereby implied that the lesson is the truth and that anyone calling the Holocaust genocide, or calling the 911 hijackers terrorists, are liars. How could that school system ever even imagine using a term that makes the murders of 6 million Jews seem as if it were a wholesome thing, as is implied by the word cleansing! It is to me beyond the scope of truth, decency and sanity. Are not those the same words used by that murderous bastard Hitler about what he was doing by way of killing off approximately 12 to 13 million in the gas chambers and camps! Now the schools are borrowing and using the words of one of the worst demented criminals, of all time, when they teach about such things. Educators shamelessly twisting fact into some morbid fantasy is, even some of them evidently proud of having done so, is in my opinion, heinous and terribly disgraceful. Emulating the speech that Hitler used  for himself to help justify the Holocaust is inexcusable. I do not think the school system in question should 
continue to do so and I beleive that people like the supoerintendent or they who tought up this curriculum deserve to continue their employment. They may well deserve what they may well wind up getting; I would hope that would be getting fired and losing their teaching credentials.

 

Of course, years ago, there might have been another alternative offered by the local community whose children were taught such crap. When men were real men, before having been pussified by money hungry lawsuit generating lawyers and ultra-liberal politicians, a few fathers, or even older brothers, of the school kids quite possibly would have beaten the hell out of that teacher and his boss. If so, then not surprisingly, the case likely would never have been solved by the police. Not that it is right mind you but I can almost envision it happening even today if crap like that keeps getting pushed at that school. I would hope not but such things d tend to raise the furies.

To be fair, I must point out that some students reportedly have said that the teacher seemed extremely uncomfortable teahing that but she apaprently felt compelled y the educational system to do so. How the teacher felt though does not excuse the lesson plan nor the statements of the superintendent. I think it would have been much better had the teacher refused to give the lesson in the first place. But such is America, the land of spinless whimps and uber-leftists.

All the best,
Glenn B        

How Long Will It Be Until Obama Violates The 3rd Amendment?

The Obama Administration, with apparent glee on the part of President Obama, has, in  my opinion violated the 1st Amendment, the 2nd Amendment, the 4th Amendment, the 5th Amendment, the 9th Amendment, the 10th Amendment and the 14th Amendment to the Bill of Rights (which if you do not know is part of the Constitution, the Constitution being the basis of all of the federal government's powers, authorities and laws and many of our state laws). He and his administration probably also have violated several other constitutional amendments and original articles of the Constitution as well. Don't get me wrong here, George W. Bush was guilty of doing likewise regarding violating many of our rights and disregarding the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is not necessarily a party line concern, it is an overall corruption of the government in its broad disregard for our rights and liberties. I must say though, Obama has brought this travesty of justice to a new high.

It all makes me wonder, when the Obamessiah will violate the 3rd Amendment. I see it as almost being inevitable during his tenure as president. What with the drones patrolling our skies and spying on U.S. Citizens, the president authorizing seizures of just about anything without just cause, the authorization by the president for our military and law enforcement to kill, without probable or even reasonable cause, American citizens who are deemed terrorists - I imagine it is only a matter of time before he demands that both federal law enforcement and military personal be lodged within the private homes of citizens. (I think, LE should be covered by the 3rd Amendment since Obama in essence vowed to create a force as strong as our military within our borders.) Of course, my guess would be that it will all be for our own protection, at least as he most likely would put it, when the government tries to establish itself as almighty and overtake the people by brute force, keeping the citizenry subdued by housing troops and LE within our homes.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Ammo Gods Tricked Me...

...into spending too much on ammo this week. What else can I say for having bought another $480 or so worth of ammo over the past two days (yesterday and the day before). Two days ago, I saw that Lucky Gunner had PMC Bronze ammo available in .308 Winchester, 147 grain,  FMJ-BT and I bought 100 rounds of it. Can you blame me? After all, I have the Marlin XS-7 in .308 WIN and only had about 250 rounds on hand for it. So what was another 100 rounds at $25 per box of 20 rounds. It was on $125 but yes I did have to add shipping. That brought it to a mere $140.97. Amazingly, I ordered it 2 days ago and it already arrived today!

Then yesterday, I visited a local store and saw that they had 6 boxes of Remington UMC .45 Automatic on the shelves along with about a dozen boxes of CCI Blazer .45 Auto. The funny thing was that they wanted more for the aluminum cased CCI Blazer ammo. As I was hemming and hawing, trying to decide if I needed anymore .45Auto ammo, a guy comes up to the counter and asks the price of each. He then bought three boxes of the Remington ammunition. After just a bit more of justifying an ammo purchase to myself, I bought the remaining three boxes of it; there was yet another guy also asking the price but I beat him by about 10 seconds. That set me back another $81.45 but the real total was about $114 plus change because I also added a lensatic compass and a small knife sharpener to my purchase.

Then last night, I was browsing some sites and saw that SG Ammo had 762x39 mm ammo at a pre-buying-frenzy price or darned close to it. They had Golden Tiger, 7.62x39 FMJ, steel cased ammo (I am pretty sure this is lacquer coated), in lots of 200 rounds for only $59.99 - limit one per customer per day. Whom were they kidding, a limit of one per customer per day with only about 75 lots available; there would certainly not be another day. Of course, I had to add shipping charges to this too, meaning yes I bought 200 rounds of it. It wound up at a total of $71.99 shipped.

I decided to do a good deed for the day and went to Long island Firearms Forums and posted there about the availability of the 7.62x39mm ammo at SG Ammo. While doing so, I went back to the SG  Ammo site to check and it was down to about 30 lots. That all within less than 5 minutes of my ordering. In almost no time after that, they were sold out of it.

I again took a look at SG Ammo's site, just a bit later, wanting to look at the same ammo again but somehow winding up on their page listing 5.56x45mm ammo and was shocked to see that they had just listed 100 lots of 5.56 mm, M193, 55 grain, FMJ, Prvi Partizan ammo - LIMIT 5 PACKS PER CUSTOMER at $139.99. Now, I do not like the fact that 5.56x45mm ammo is selling for a price that high (this ammo going for .69999 or effectively .70 cents per round)  but that price was lower than anything else that I could find on the Internet over the past two months. So, I bought 200 rounds of it too. Just go to gunbot.net for some examples of current pricing; most .223 and 5.56x45 ammo is selling for at least .90 cents per round plus shipping. The total for this order was $153.39 shipped.

Yikes, what to tell the wife if she sees the credit card bill when it comes due! Lucky for me, I pay the bills. Unlucky for me, I have to come up with just over $480 to pay for it all. That ain't gunna be easy with the price I have been paying for my mill-ups this winter but it is not impossible either. Although, I suppose it means, I cannot buy any more ammo for the next month or two. That is unless I see a great deal on .308 ammo, or maybe even on 5.56x45mm or 7.62x39mm ammo. Heck, as it has turned out here in New York State, soon I will be required to be submitted to a background check to be able to purchase ammo (no problem) and I will also be prevented, by law, from buying it online (big problem). Fuck NY State and its whackadoo leftist politicians. This whole NY SAFE Act situation is, about as un-American as you can get. I had planned on spending no more than what I paid for the .308 ammo this month. Now, after my little spending spree, I am hopeful I do not bankrupt myself trying to put away some ammo, for a rainy day, at the current ammo-buying-frenzy driven prices.

By the way, if the wife does find out about this, I will just blame it on the ammo gods, really - what else could I say.

All the best,
Glenn B

Why Have These Police Officers Not Been Charged Criminally?

I do not mean all eight of them as mentioned in this article but do mean at least the two who shot at the two innocent women. There reportedly were over one hundred bullet holes in the pick-up truck and both of the female occupants of the vehicle were injured, one of them critically. Why?

 

All apparently because of their apparent misidentification of the truck the women were driving, they reportedly thought it was the truck owned by Christopher Dorner and they also, in my estimation, panicked and started spraying and praying.

So a truck drove by lights out that they reportedly believed looked like Dorner's; they seem to think that is all it takes to be able to start shooting and putting peoples lives at risk. Well, they had better be able to convince folks that they had at least that much reason to justifiably fear for their lives but for the life of me I do not see how with what has been presented thus far. Note though that Dorner's truck was a gray Nissan Titan and not very similar to the blue Toyota Tacoma that the women were driving. Well, in my opinion, at least the vehicles were not similar enough that they should have proven to look the same to the eyes of police officers. Mind you, officers who are taught how identify vehicles, are taught how to observe, and are trained and retrained to make assessments before firing their weapons. Furthermore, one would think it would have been standard operating procedure, for a police department 
supposedly as professional as the LAPD, to have supplied those officers with pictures, or at an exacting description, of the alleged cop killer's truck before being sent out to guard another cops home so that such a case of mistaken identity likely would not result in exactly what happened. 

This has been called a case of mistaken identity and indeed it was such so much so as to possibly be a criminal act of reckless endangerment. It also appears to me as it most probably must be an absolute breach of regulations, the law, and protocol on the part of the two officers who fired at the women’s' truck. Police officers, just like non-law enforcement folks, can only legally be justified in using deadly force (such as firing their weapons) if they in essence have probable or reasonable cause (varies by state) to believe that they are facing an imminent threat of death or of serious bodily injury. Even if the vehicle driven by both women had been identical to Dorner's, which it most definitely was not, the vehicle driving by them with lights off should not have been enough cause for the officers to have fired on it. Why - because they had not identified the driver of it. But he truth is that the vehicle was very different in appearance. The truth is that the officers were looking for Dorner but evidently, at least to me with my limited knowledge, fired knowingly at two subjects in the women’s' truck judging by how the bullet holes are positioned.

As far as I am concerned, based upon my 32 years of law enforcement experience, my having fired my handgun twice in the line of duty and once while off duty (fully justifiable all three times) and my having been a firearms and tactics instructor for 14 years while on the job, I think this was quite likely a bad shooting based upon the information that has appeared about it. Of course, as with anyone else I believe may have been involved in a crime, I insist on waiting until all the evidence is made known before condemning anyone. Yet, this looks to have been questionable enough, indeed more than enough, so that charges should have been filed against these officers at the very minimum for reckless endangerment and then the courts could have ironed it out. Something tells me though that charges will never be filed against them regardless of if they were unjustified in shooting at that truck and its occupants. We don't live in the America I grew up in anymore - that is for sure but one thing remains the same - the us against them status of the police, prosecutors and other government officials who all too often stick together regardless of justice and the rights of the citizenry being trod upon by those wearing a badge.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wasting Away Again In...

...a place where it just could not get much better - at least for a welfare slug.



A hat tip to mein guter freund Rich M. for finding that one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Call Boxes, Safe Zones and Whistles Better Than Guns To Defend Against Rapists?

That is, in essence, what Colorado Legislator Joe Salazar reportedly said recently as he seemingly implies that women are too stupid to know a real threat and know when to employ deadly force to protect themselves.

Just seeing him and judging by how he has dressed himself, I would guess that someone who judges books by their covers, might suspect him of being a woman hater, or a member of NAMBLA, or maybe even just a pervert of commoner sort seeking to take advantage of a woman by way of dropping a few roophies in her drink, and/or a politician. A judgemental person also probably would have thought of him as a supporter of gun-control. Finally, it might be easy for someone to have thought him an asshole just because of the gold lamé bowtie.

After me having listened to him to him on the subjects of rape and gun control on college campuses, I would have to say that, had you had such an opinion of him based only on how he appeared, I guess I would have to say 'wow, what a good judge of character are you'. Now, I am not one to judge a book by its cover nor a person solely by how he is attired. So I allow you to judge for yourselves by reading the article at this link and watching the below video.




All the best,
Glenn B

Olympic Arms To The State of New York - No Sales To NY State Or Its Law Enforcement

Olympic apparently released this press release this past Tuesday. I hope it is just not meaningless chatter, I truly hope that they were a supplier of firearms to more than just a few departments within NY State, especially to the state police and the NYPD.

 

My source for the following was: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=573076246049586&id=114264921930723, and a hat tip to Richie M for letting me know about this.

 

 

"Press Release: Olympic Arms, Inc. Announces New York State Sales Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Olympic Arms is a staunch believer in and defender of the Constitution of the United States, and with special attention paid to the Bill of Rights that succinctly enumerates the security of our Divinely given Rights. One of those Rights is that to Keep and Bear Arms.

Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines. We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States, ignoring such SCOTUS rulings as District of Columbia v. Heller - 554, U.S. 570 of 2008, McDonald v. Chicago - 561 U.S. 3025 of 2010, and specifically the case of United States v. Miller – 307 U.S. 174 of 1939.

Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity - will no longer be served as customers.

In short, Olympic Arms will no longer be doing business with the State of New York or any governmental entity or employee of such governmental entity within the State of New York - henceforth and until such legislation is repealed, and an apology made to the good people of the State of New York and the American people.

If the leaders of the State of New York are willing to limit the right of the free and law abiding citizens of New York to arm themselves as they see fit under the Rights enumerate to all citizens of the United State through the Second Amendment, we feel as though the legislators and government entities within the State of New York should have to abide by the same restrictions.

This action has caused a division of the people into classes: Those the government deems valuable enough to protect with modern firearms, and those whose lives have been deemed as having less value, and whom the government has decided do not deserve the right to protect themselves with the same firearms. Olympic Arms will not support such behavior or policy against any citizen of this great nation.

Olympic Arms invites all firearms manufacturers, distributors and firearms dealers to join us in this action to refuse to do business with the State of New York. We must stand together, or we shall surely fall divided.

Sincerely,
 

Brian Schuetz
President
Olympic Arms, Inc."

 

If all of the firearms and ammunition manufacturers within the USA stood behind us and the 2nd Amendment like that, there would be nothing to gun control at all except being able to hit your target while using whatever firearm and ammo you desired.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

 

 

 

Oh My Achin' HP Laptop

I just got off the phone with the HP Technical Service department. I dealt with them for hours on Sunday, waited for them to call me back at 10AM on Monday, as promised, but they only called at 3PM when I was at work ad I could not take the call. Yesterday, they called to leave me a message saying they were happy to have resolved my problem and to call them for anything further. As I am off from work today, and since they never esolved any of the problems I described to them, I gave them a call at a little after 1PM. I was on the phone only 48 minutes and 46 seconds this time (sure beats a couple or a few hours). I explained that on Sunday night, after getting off the phone with HP tech service, I backed up my files and then performed the full battery of tests available under F2, within System Management, and that the laptop failed the Hard Disk Long DST. The service rep told me the hard drive had to be replaced and I would have to pay $49.95 for onsite service. I reminded him, as I have had to remind them each time I have called them, I have onsite service included with the premium warranty I purchased.

I was then put through to a supervisor. He told me the hard drive had to be replaced and so too the graphics card (having a problem of which they are aware although you could have fooled me that they were aware of such a problem just this past Sunday when I first called them about it). He also told me that they would also address the fingerprint reader (also showing a problem) once the hard drive was replaced because to fix it required the hard drive operating properly. He said I would have to send it in via FedEx and I said "whoa" and explained I have onsite service under my warranty. He explained that if just the hard drive, they would replace it onsite but since the video adapter is also having problems that has to be replaced at their service center since it is beyond the capabilities of an onsite tech. I believe that to be bullshit but what can one do. The supervisor also kept telling me how if it was damaged by a fall, or liquid spills or anything like that it will not be covered. I have not spilled anything on it nor ever dropped it. In fact, an HP service technician was just here a couple of weeks ago to replace the keyboard because two keys popped off of it. Back then, the HP service representative, at their service center, insisted on the same thing, that I had somehow damaged the computer. He insisted it must have been dropped, and thus the keys broke off. The onsite technician, who fixed it, looked it over and assured me there was absolutely no damage to it, except that the keys fell off in normal use. They have been so insistent about the possibility of it having been damaged as to make me wonder, that when I send it to them, they may try to trump up things by saying it was damaged somehow and thus is not under the regular warranty. I am going to take a lot of pictures of it, to document its condition, before I send it to them.

As it now stands, the three day turn around, that I would have had with onsite service, is about to turn into a ten day to two week turn around because they have to mail me a shipping box, then I mail it back to them with the laptop inside of it, then they repair it and return it to me. They offered to get it done in an expedited fashion if I wanted to pay another $15.95 but I said forget it. Perhaps, I am about to discover just how badly I am addicted to using my laptop over that time period.

I never had any such problems with Dell. Thus, I am pretty sure that in the future I will not be a repeat customer at HP but will be a returning customer at Dell. When I had various problems with my Dell PCs, had a few of them, they replaced parts pronto with an onsite service technician coming to fix it after first running diagnostics online. No questions asked, no hemming, no hawing, no having me send in the computer, no insisting I must have dropped it or spilled something on it, they just fixed it and there were no charges for me to expedite things because they sent the part expedited delivery as part of the warranty coverage. With Dell, I always spoke to someone in the USA (except for one Dell Desktop that I bought my daughter and for which I did not purchase a premium extended warranty) instead of someone in India. Maybe that is where the part comes from too, who knows! I only got this laptop last August and figure to be stuck with it, and with this kind of service, for a few years until I will need to buy a new one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hey Jo, Where You Going With That Gun In Your Hand

Yeah, I know, the Hendrix song is Hey Joe and not "Hey Jo" like it says in the title of this blog post. I wrote it like that because this post is for someone special. It's for my good friend Jo, one of the Farmer's Oval Schaefer Girls (you had to be in our circle of friends to understand). I just found out she is a shootist. Not only is she a shooter, she is a pretty darned good shot at that.

Hey Jo, just let me say that while you listen to this music video, I hope you have a Schaefer in hand, an ice cold one. They would go good together.

All the best,
Bart

No Blog Posts Yesterday And Maybe No Others Today

I spent at least a few hours yesterday, in online chat and on the phone, with HP Tech Service. Seems my video controller/adapter is not working properly, so I got in touch with them. The guy in online chat could not figure it out and had me update the BIOS. As I explained to him, I tried to update the BIOS last month through HP Support Assistant when it notified me that a new BIOS was available. The computer did not start properly after that, I got a blue screen telling me the BIOS was not "...fully ACPI compliant...:. That led to HP Tech Service helping me try to do a system restore. That did not work. Then the tech rep had me do a rollback to the previous BIOS which did work. The next thing I knew was the laptop had the graphics card problem.

Well, the tech service rep insisted I try another BIOS update yesterday. I did as he said and again wound up at a screen telling me there was a problem starting Windows and that gave an option to start normally or to have the computer fix the problem. He said start it normally and again it wound up with the blue screen and the not fully ACPI compliant stuff. Of course, by then, I could no longer use the laptop and thus lost all connection to the HP Service Tech that had been in the chat with me.

I called HP Technical Service. I explained everything above to the tech service rep at least three times. He suggested a system restore. It did not work just as it had not back in January. Then he asked for permission to do a system recovery which would have wiped out any unsaved files on the computer. I asked if first we could do a BIOS rollback, and I explained that if it worked, I would save my files and then we could do the system recovery. He said he would put his supervisor on with me. Then he came back on the line and asked how to find the BIOS rollback. Funny, he had to ask the customer how to fix his company's product. So much for high quality tech service from HP. Well, I told him that I remembered the PC had to be restarted, while tapping F2.That brought up System Diagnostics and one of the options was BIOS Management. Under that, one could find BIOS Rollback. Wound up, I did the rollback and it worked at least to get me back to a working laptop although that did not fix the graphics card problem. The tech service guy said I should backup my files and he would call again the following morning at 10 AM. I backed up my files last night.

Somewhere in there (cannot recall if it was before or after the BIOS rollback) the tech service guy had me run a hard disk short DST test and some others. It passed all of them.  Well, today, while waiting for the promised callback from tech service (which never came), I decided to run some tests myself. There was a Hard Disk Long DST Test that he did not have me run. I ran that test, and a battery of others like a memory test, a couple of different tests of the hard disk and a WLAN test, under system tune-up that as one of the  options within System Diagnostics. All the tests except two were passed. One that was not passed was apparently not run as the result showed: Not Available. Tat was the Hard Disk Optimized test or something like that. The other test failed. That was the Hard Disk Long DST. My guess would be I have problems on the hard disk. Funny, once again it is the customer who figures it out and not the tech service reps.

As for tech service, I am still awaiting a call from the HP Technical Service representative to whom I spoke yesterday. I guess his 10AM is different than mine and maybe he plans on calling me at 10AM his time. Yes, I did tell him to call me at 10AM New York time. Oh well, time and a ringing phone will tell.

All the best,
Glenn B

Expect The Price Of Coffee To Rise

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/02/08/guatemala-declares-national-emergency-to-deal-with-spread-fungus-devastating/

Most of the coffee we have been drinking at our house, since I retired, has been Kirkland brand but when I can, I go into Manhattan to Porto Rico Importers and buy different coffees from around the world there. In recent years most of that has been from Sumatra and Tanzania but I have gotten coffees quite a few times that were produced in other countries - one of them being 
Guatemala. Guatemala produces some excellent coffee and all I can think is, since so many countries have been effected, prices are going to soar if this gets worse.

All the best,
GB

Two Good Shootings...

...as far as I see them with what I know right now.

The first shooting was done by a homeowner who reportedly entered his home to find four men ransacking it. At least one of those four came at him and he drew a handgun and fired - killing the suspected bad guy. The other suspects fled.

The other shooting had a bit of an unusual twist. As per the report, a few guys, in a vehicle containing over a hundred pounds of marijuana, were pulled over by police and one of them fled. The guy who fled then stole a Nevada State Trooper's car to make his getaway. Sometime after his escape, he reportedly fatally shot himself. Somewhere in the interim, the article does not explain it well, he allegedly also carjacked another vehicle. It was reported that the alleged carjacker killed himself with a police shotgun (apparently found in the car he stole from the Nevada State Trooper) and thus it was a stolen gun he used in the alleged suicide. Yet, it still seems like a good shooting to me since it depletes the gene pool of what I can only see as undesirable set of genes.

I imagine someone will want to screw over the state trooper for not protecting his vehicle and shotgun. I also imagine that family members of the deceased, if any, will soon have a lawyer and try to sue the Nevada State Police because they will blame them for giving that guy access to the gun. It certainly would not surprise me in the least if someone is awarded millions after this because such is life in lawsuit crazy America.

All the best,
Glenn B

White Stuff Everywhere...

...around here anyway. I am going to guess that we got 12 to 18 inches of snow throughout the night and early morning.  It was piled higher in drifts here and there, up to three feet. It would have been much more had it not rained for the first several hours of the storm yesterday. We did not get it nearly as bad as eastern Long island, I have heard reports that they got up to three feet or more. I guess CT got the worst of it though; just heard the governor of CT has ordered all roads closed. Several roads around here are closed, for example the Long Island Expressway in Suffolk County and both parkways. The roads in Nassau County though are supposedly nowhere nearly as bad. There have been numerous reports though of stranded motorists who spent the night in their cars on some of the major highways on Long Island. My bet is that before this is all over they will find someone dead in their car. Hopefully not but most people around here dress only to go from house or office or store to car and are not prepared for a very cold overnight in their automobiles.

My son is down in Atlantic City. I sent him a text suggesting he stay for another night if he is not broke yet, or that he wait till late in the afternoon before trying to head home. By then the roads in the city and in Nassau County should all be passable.

As for me, I am very happy to have shoveled last night when it was only an inch and a half or so deep. That was very wet, slushy and heavy snow with ice already formed underneath it. Had I left that until this morning I would have had one hell of a job clearing my sidewalk and walkways. As it turned out, shoveling this morning was no easy task. I started at 0500; I worked at it for half an hour, took a half hour break, then worked at it another half hour to 40 minutes or so. Then the plow came by and buried my driveway entrance. I go that cleaned up later, and as soon as I was finished and just waking to my side door, there came the plow again and piled the snow up in my driveway once more. Not so bad that time and I just left it that way. I figure no one is going to try to pull out of our driveway, or into it, for the rest of the day or even tomorrow.

It is a veritable winter wonderland around here. If I can find my camera, I may go out later and take some pics. For now though, I am resting up and digesting. I just enjoyed a nice breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee. Mmmmm, BACON! That was good even though I cooked it instead of my wife doing it. She ate it all with gusto, so I must have done something right. She did not even complain that the coffee was too strong and I made it a lot stronger than she usually does so.

As for my resting up I have to say I am aching in my shoulders, hips, elbows and even my wrists. Man, I need to start working out. I have not worked out since I started cancer treatments last year and even though I lost weight and do not look as flabby as I used to be, a little shoveling of a lot of snow let me know I need to do something to get some muscle tone. Who knows, I may even take one of the a dogs or two for a walk today, that would be a start.

All the best,
Glenn B

New Blog Added To The Link List

I added Bubala's View to my blog roll, under the header of other Bloggers Whom I Have Met, on the right side of my blog. Here is the link: http://bubalas-view.blogspot.com/.

Bubala's View is the blog of a dear friend of mine. I cannot wait until she writes up a post about guns. I don't even know if she owns one, or has ever shot one, but am pretty sure some are owned by her family members. Whatever, she is bound to become one of my favorite bloggers since she has always been one of my favorite friends and loved ones.

Love ya Jo!

All the best,
Glenn B

If There Really Is A God Above - We Need Him (or Her) Now

If this woman is the most popular person in U.S. politics right now, and remains so heading toward 2016, we are doomed when the 2016 election actually rolls around.

See: http://news.msn.com/politics/hillary-clinton-most-popular-us-politician-poll-shows.

I think it quite possible that one could only find him or herself hoping for something to afflict her popularity - like an aneurysm of the brain God increasing someone else in popularity by a hundred fold, hopefully someone of the Libertarian or Conservative ilk.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Birthday Mr. President (no not you Obama - fuck you)

How did I miss it? Today was the 102nd birthday of President Ronald Wilson Reagan. (Thanks for the reminder to Cap'n Bob and the Damsel.)

How appropriate, he was born in the year - the numbers of which one of the greatest pistols of all time is labelled - 1911. I never realized that before, it just never clicked. From now on, every time I hold a 1911 in my hands, I will be sure to give him a thought. I sure do miss him; he was an excellent president. See more on Ronnie here:

http://www.ronaldreagan.com/

and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

All the best,
GB

I Think I Will Just Have To Carry My .45

With the passing into law of the NY SAFE Act (gun control act), it seems that 10 round magazines will be allowed after all, even after the law goes into full force. The thing is, they have to be owned prior to 90 days after the legislation was signed into law. After that - you would only be able to buy new 7 round (or smaller capacity) magazines. You can still carry 10 rounders that you owned prior to that but will only be allowed to load them with 7 rounds. Any higher capacity magazines would have to be sold or disposed of out of state,, destroyed or turned over to the Gestapo or KGB henchmen of the governor (as in the state police) before the end of a year from enactment of the law. Note, that is all only so in my understanding, check the law yourself to make sure that what I am saying is correct. I got my info here:

http://www.longislandfirearms.com/forum/topic/58478-ny-safe-act-fact-sheet-for-gun-owners-11813/. 

Looking at the law was, to say the least, a pain in the eyes. The legalese and the manner in which it is presented in broken sentences and broken paragraphs with numbers all over the place, makes it truly hard to decipher. That even after I spent 32 years in law enforcement.

I figure about the best way for me to remain in compliance with the new law is to change what I carry. Instead of one of my Beretta 92 series pistols (I have three of them) with their 15 round mags {grandfathered under the old law in NYS} and instead of my Glock 26 with 10 round mags and its 15 round mags {grandfathered under the old law in NYS}, I can just carry my Remington R1 1911 with its standard sized 7 round magazines. I'll just have to carry more mags at all times than I otherwise would have been carrying when I carried a 9mm.
 
By the way, I have already bought 2 bus tickets and plan to be at the rally/protest, of the NY SAFE Act, in Albany on February 28th. Hopefully my son will be using the second ticket. Hope to see some of you there. Yes, I probably will be armed. Last I heard, while Albany is the capital of the Sovietistas' Socialist Repooblik state of New York, it is not yet a gun free zone.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Used To Write For The Firearm Blog - Until The NY SAFE Act Was Passed

I think I sent in 3 blog posts and 2 of them were published. Then the NY SAFE Act was passed and that pretty much took me out of contention as being an author who could do any reviews of firearms offered by manufacturers for reviews. Oh well, I asked to be removed from the list of contributing authors since the editor at that blog had figured that it would be difficult for me to receive any firearms, for review, and then return them to the manufacturer, under the new law. I figured he was right. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
 
FUCK THE NY STATE SAFE ACT, ALL THE LEGISLATORS AND SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR THIS TYRANNICAL LAW, ANYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO HOW IT WAS WRITTEN AND WHAT FIREARMS, MAGAZINES AND ACCESSORIES WERE BANNED OR RESTRICTED, AND MOST OF ALL FUCK GOVERNOR CUOMO WHERE THE SUN DOES NOT SHINE.

If I was a vindictive person, I might be more than just pretty upset about all of this and want to say something nasty about they who supported the bill and about they who passed it into law. As it stands now, I will be participating in yet another protest of the SAFE ACT up in Albany, NY on February 28th. At least this time it is on a weekday and the legislators are scheduled to be in session. How much do you want to bet there are more than just a handful of NY State Troopers and local police there this time as opposed to last month during the first such protest.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hatch Resistor Gloves RFK300

A few years ago, while I was still employed as a federal agent, I was issued a pair of Hatch Resistor, RFK300, cut resistant, Kevlar lined, goat skin leather gloves, for use on operations. I was never one to wear gloves while working, unless out in the bitter cold, mostly because of the possibility of them interfering with me being able to operate my sidearm while wearing them. The gloves I had tried before, even many marketed as ‘duty gloves’, were just too big around in the fingers to be able to get the gloved finger into the trigger guard at all or without the possibility of an accidental discharge. The glove simply made the finger too thick so it would invariably press against the trigger when the finger entered the trigger guard. So, after some testing at the range, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Hatch Resistor gloves that my agency had issued did not interfere any way with the safe operation of my issued pistol or my issued long arms. They fit snuggly but not too tightly, except maybe at the wrist and that changed as they stretched slightly after some wear. They were for the most part quite comfortable. Although apparently not marketed as cold weather apparel, they also kept my hands fairly warm even in bitter cold weather; yet, they did not make my hands overly warm in hot weather.  

I was pretty impressed with them and decided to use them on a regular basis whenever I was out in the field in any situation that could call for hand protection. Thus, I wore them while: executing arrest warrants, making warrantless arrests, performing searches of prisoners, executing search warrants, when qualifying at the range (intermittently), running through tactical exercises at the range, during handcuff and self-defense training, climbing fences, and in inclement weather as well. I also sometimes wore them while driving. Since I was assigned to a national security group and then to a narcotics group for at least 4 years of the time that I used these at work, they got a lot of use. It was also inevitable that I also wound up wearing them when off duty and I have used them while in the woods on hunting trips in NY and while out hiking in the mountains of Arizona.

 

As for actual use while shooting, I have been able to safely and easily actuate the triggers, magazine releases, and safeties; extract and insert magazines;  and operate the slides on my: Glock 26, my previously issued SIG 229, my Beretta 92FS, my Remington R1 1911 and other pistols I own. I also have worn these while shooting my Remington 870 and many of rifles I own, all without any problems. 

 

In all, I have had these gloves for several years now. Most of that time was while I was still employed in federal law enforcement and I have continued to use them since I retired in late 2011. They were one of the few issued items I was allowed to keep upon separation from government service and I must say I am happy for it. I still wear them often and still occasionally wear them while shooting. These gloves have held their shape well, have remained a snug fit, all outer stitching is intact, the interior lining is also intact with no holes or rips and the leather has remained supple over all those years. The only care that I have given them in all that time amounted to a quick cleaning now and again and in total only one or two coatings with a leather conditioner.

 

I cannot say that they have no faults. They are not all that easy to get on, or at least were not for me when new, because the wrist opening seemed inordinately smaller than it should be for the size of the glove; note these gloves only go to the wrist. While the wrists of the glove sometimes did feel a bit tight when I first wore them, they stretched a bit with wear and they do go on much easier now and are no longer tight around my wrists. The main part of the glove always fit my hands very well and as I said, while snug they were never tight. Maybe I would have been better off with an extra-large instead of a large and if and when I buy another pair as a replacement for these I may try the larger ones. As it has been going so far though, I do not anticipate needing a replacement for at least a few to several more years –  these gloves certainly seem as if they were made to last.

 

I just bought my son a pair of these this past Christmas and they seem as well made as my older pair. The new pair goes on, over the wrists, easier than did my old pair and fit snuggly just as they should. They still are made goat skin and that results in a nicely supple yet evidently tough leather. As with my original pair, they are Kevlar lined. The new ones seem as well made as my older pair and so far they havbe been a big hit with my son. If you are in the market for a pair of cut resistant duty gloves or shooting gloves or even driving gloves, I highly recommend the Hatch Resistor, RFK300.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Gun Control For Dummies Parts 1 & 2 (Or How Up Are You On The Bill of Rights and Gun History)

All the best,
Glenn B

My Firearms That Could Be Considered Assault Weapons

Dare I say that my firearms have been taken care of, disposed of so to speak, and are out of the purview of the state of NY? Lest I be seen as defenseless by thugs, assassins, muggers, robbers, rapists, arsonists, home invaders or scalawags, bear in mind, I just questioned whether I should speak of my so called assault weapons. I made no mention of any of my other arms. Rest assured, I am ready, willing and able to defend me and mine.

All the best,
Glenn  B

Ed Koch Gone - It's Like Losing A Dear Friend...

...even though I never met him, that is the kind of impression he made on New Yorkers, maybe even on the world. He passed away today. I am saddened greatly.

See: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/former_mayor_ed_koch_dead_at_age_75lqLcuapohQ9JC6ILAXrL

 

and:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/01/ed-koch-three-term-mayor-who-became-symbol-nyc-dies-at-88/?test=latestnews

 

Ed Koch was born Edward Irving Koch on December 12, 1924 (13 days older than my mom). He worked in regular jobs (like deli clerk) and in 1943 he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served with honor, in Europe, during WWII as an infantryman. He saw combat, earned two battle stars, but made it through the war wherein he had achieved the rank of sergeant. After that he attended City College of New York and NY University of Law. He practiced as a lawyer after that. He began a career in local NYC politics in 1963, then became a Congressman, then eventually back to the city where he became the 105th mayor of New York City on January 1, 1978. That was a year and about 10 months before I went in to the Border Patrol to start my federal career.

 

Ed Kock, giving thumbs up, standing amid commuters on the
walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge, urging them not to let the
striking NYC Transit Union keep them from work, in 1980.

In the time he was mayor, while I was still living in NYC, it became obvious to me that this guy was no ordinary democrat. He leaned right - sometimes far right - on some issues while remaining staunchly liberal on others and he was feisty. After a 4 year absence from NYC on my part, I returned to the city to find it much the same with the same mayor and he was as unpredictable and independent minded as ever. As I recall, I voted for him at least once. Yes - he ran as a democrat when I did that (he was the only democrat, as I can remember, for whom I ever voted), the election before that he had run as a Republican and Democrat - go figure - as best as I can tell he was more of a Libertarian than either a Democrat or Republican.

 

During his 3 terms in office he was a staunch patriot, he was a law and order kind of a guy but did not go overboard with it, he lifted the failed economy of the city and made it soar due to his major budget cutting, he supported Israel, he opposed the unions during a New York City Transit strike, he supported the lesbian and gay and bi community (there was nothing about being 'bi' in it back then), yet after the outbreak of AIDS he closed the gay bath houses, he supported the Jewish community in the face of racial unrest between that community and the African American but told it as he saw it  much to the dismay, back then, of the likes of Al Sharpton. Koch often asked "How am I doing?" but also often said he did not care about the replies. All the while that he was mayor he was a feisty guy who had a huge set of balls amount of chutzpah and he was honest always saying what he meant. As Sharpton eulogized him Koch: "was never a phony or a hypocrite. He would not patronize or deceive you. He said what he meant. He meant what he said. He fought for what he believed. May he rest in peace."

 

He was a lifelong bachelor and when questioned about his sexual preference he simply replied that it was private. My guess, and that of many others, is that he was gay but no one minded because he was DA MAYOR before anything else and in that regard he did pretty well and with heart felt love for NYC and his faith. It was obvious that this man would stand up for his beliefs and would face down his opponents whenever and wherever necessary usually with his wit and a smarting quip. You should have heard him lambaste Jesse Jackson, in 1988, when Jackson was running for president and Koch reminded NY'ers that Jackson was no friend of Israel. Yet, he was also oft times quite unpredictable on where he would stand on the issues except to say that he approached many, probably most, of them with common sense and practicality as opposed to towing the party line. 

 

Throughout his terms as mayor, and after, he repeatedly told it like he saw it regardless of benefit or harm to his image. He ran, during one of his terms as mayor, for the governor's seat of NY State but lost. He most likely lost because he alienated voters outside of NYC when he said that living in the suburbs was "...sterile..." and that he would not like living in a small city like Albany.

 

After politics, he stayed active in the political community although never again attaining political office. His politics remained the same - he was a democrat but leaned right, even stood firmly fast on the right, on some issues like support for Israel and was to the left on others as in his support for  the lesbian, bi and gay communities (yes by that time "bi" was included). 

 

He will be buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan. It was the only cemetery with available space in Manhattan (commonly referred to as The City). He put it this way: "I don't want to leave Manhattan, even when I'm gone," Koch told The Associated Press. "This is my home...." (source). That he was proud of his faith, can be witnessed by part of the inscription placed on his tombstone, that he had inscribed, shortly after he bought the burial plot, with the last words of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl before he was slain by Islamic terrorists:

 

 "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." (source)

 

Further indication of his love for his faith but also that Hizzonner  loved the City of New York and its people, and was truly a patriot who loved the United States of America, can be evidenced in the remaining words inscribe on his tombstone:

 

"He was fiercely proud of his Jewish faith. He fiercely defended the City of New York, and he fiercely loved its people. Above all, he loved his country, the United States of America, in whose armed forces he served in World War II." (source)

He called it as he saw it and stood up for his beliefs even up to his last days on earth (he opposed Obama's stance on Israel) but exercised a practicality that was rare among politicians and stood up fiercely to his detractors with the chutzpah only a New Yorker could show but almost always did it with a sense of humor. He

loved his faith, New York City and its people and the USA and in his own words did so fiercely. For those attributes, you had to admire him more than almost any other politician of his day whether you sided with him or not and I have to admit I disagreed with his stances on a lot of the issues a lot of the time. Still though, losing him is like losing a good friend. He was that kind of a mayor, he was Hizzoner!

All the best,

Glenn B