still Fighting It

Just an update. I got out of ER late Monday night or early Tuesday. Sent me home with a tank of oxygen.  I hooked myself up to that once I got home. Then I slept all day yesterday. They told me at the ER I had pneumonia due to covid-19 so I am just as surprised as anybody that they sent me home but the doctor said it was not so bad. Bad enough for the oxygen though which reminds me I have to call to get another tank. Thank you to everyone who keeps checking up on me and wishing me well. I think I'm going to beat this, feel a little bit better today than in last 10 days.

it's taken a turn for the worse

  I'll be going to the emergency room today as soon as I can get there. My covid has taken a turn for the worse, I...

I wrote that several hours ago. Am in ER now, been here maybe an hour, where I almost cannot believe the speed of care I am receiving. I guess Covid patients rate A1. Everyone being great. Waiting on CT Scan of chest.

Finally found a place to board Skye while I am in hospital. A&B Animal Rescue of SW Arkansas, the rescue where I got her. It is the only place that would take her and Corinna Alexander, the lady who runs the place, agreed without hesitation to take her in knowing I have Covid. 

My son drove down from Benton to.pick up Skye and they are on their way to rescue now.

I hope no one catches this because of me.

All the best

Glenn B

Merry Christmas To All

  I wish all of you a Merry Christmas who celebrate and to those who did not I hope you have a merry day at least had ahappy Festivus for the rest of us.

Unless you're probably wondering about my bout with.  I am still at home and still breathing on my own and that's making for about as Merry a Christmas as someone with this illness could have. In all I am pretty miserable but happy to be holding my own so far. Fever here, then gone, then back, exhaustion and lots of pain. Hoping to beat it soon.

Feeling Like Shit...

 ...but hanging in there and doing my best to fight the Covid-19. I've been sleeping anywhere from 16 to 20 hours a day over the past three days. The hardest thing during each of my days, besides trying to stay awake, has been walking the mongrel. I am lucky that Skye remains mellow even though her activity level has been cut drastically die to me being ill. When all this is over, I plan to cook her a nice bloody medium rare ribeye steak and if the hips allow to take her for a nice long walk.

As for me, I've got most of the classic symptoms: tiredness, weakness, coughing up phlegm (though not much coughing), runny nose, mucous when I blow my nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste and smell (or at least a great reduction to both but I can still taste a bit especially salt and I could smell OJ faintly), general body aches. Luckily, I cannot smell myself, have not had the energy to take a shower in 3 days. I tried to get into the tub a few times but with the hips hurting so badly and now the weakness from the Covid, it's been impossible for me to get my leg high enough to get in there. Feeling somewhat better right now and if I still feel this way tomorrow, I'll do whatever it takes to shower; washing with a damp washcloth does not cut it. They have me taking a Z-pack and some cough medicine as needed but I've only had the cough syrup twice. The odd thing is as soon as I started the antibiotics my joint pains started to feel somewhat better; while they still hurt (especially my hips and lower back) that needs to be looked into because it has happened the last three times I was prescribed antibiotics.

What amazes me about all this is the coincidence that within two or three months, I've had two potentially fatal diseases. They say third time pays for all and I am not looking forward to a third should it be headed my way.

All the best,
Glenn B

Well This Sucks

As I see it, I have more reason than ever to wear a mask now, to cut down on the possibility of me spreading it to some other poor slob. Wish I had reliably always worn mine when in stores and such, the little gray cells being old and somewhat decrepit forgot too may times to remind me to don one (and please have the decency not to start an argument about whether or not you think masks work because at this point I am in no mood to get a face full of controversy from anyone).

 

Anyway, I am hopeful it will not amount to much and while my luck does not run toward being very good, I am not all that worried right now as it is mild at moment. The nurse practitioner I saw tonight told me that can change in a flash to a life threatening situation or it can just stay as is and amount to almost nothing. Time will tell I suppose. I am guessing the next 10 days or so will be rather anxiety filled.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

Ordered Two "Cases" of 9MM Ammo

Last night, I ordered a 500 round "case" of Remington Military & Police 9mm training ammo yesterday and the same of Federal 9mm training ammo as well from Target Sports USA (always though a case of 9mm had 1K rounds in it). Wow were those ever so expensive! I am gambling that getting it now is better than getting it once Biden is sworn in as president, especially if the demonkrats win the two Senate seats in Georgia. Either way, with them winning both seats or not, a Biden presidency is not going to be good for ammo prices or so I am betting, thus my gamble on getting it now. 

 Still, I have to wonder about my sanity since it cost me over $550 for the thousand rounds and because I already had a decent supply of 9mm on hand; ammo that I got at good prices when the world - or at least the U.S. of A. - was still more or less normal! Seems like a much longer time ago than it actually has been what with all that has happened since last January or so!Anyway, all this nonsense and anarchy, chicanery and political corruption has me buying ammo whenever I can lay hands on it. As far as that is concerned, the sky high prices have changed almost nothing in my ammo buying habits.

All the best,
Glenn B

I May As Well Sign Up Now

 I have been thinking of signing up for Medicare part A and while doing that had the thought I should check to see what I'd get if I signed up for Social Security. As it turns out, if I had never worked for the federal government and ONLY worked for the jobs outside the federal government for which I worked to qualify for having enough quarters for Social Security (or in other words never worked at all in the 32 years I had of federal employment) I'd get about $356.00 a month of Social Security payments. Not much but as I said most of my work time was that 32 years in the federal civil service and I get a pension for that - from a pension plan I paid into. Because of that the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) though, no doubt thought up by an it's okay to screw others out of their due progressive, they will reduce my monthly payment to about $151.00. Note not by $151.00 but to $151.00 which is less than half of what I'd normally receive, for the same amount of quarters I worked outside of the civil service, had I not been receiving a federal pension under the Civil Service Retirement Act. 

Now, while some of you left leaning types may think that great, and while even some of you more conservative types may think it grand as well; I think of it this way - I am getting screwed out of what anyone else who did not work for the feds is getting. I paid enough into Social Security to get $356.00 per month period. Just because I receive a federal pension, which program I also paid into every month, I and millions of others are being punished for our service so that some liberal blood sucking leech can get from welfare what I earned and what I deserve.

Personally, I'd settle to get all the money I paid into Social Security back in my pocket and to see Social Security completely abolished BUT if it is going to continue then those who paid into it by way of jobs outside of their federal service, and who amassed enough quarters to receive Social Security payments, should get the amount anyone else would get for having paid in that much. 

Bitch, bitch, bitch, moan, moan moan, that's it for now.

All the best,
GB

Tempting Fate Again - I Guess

The COVID-19 Pandemic is at another peak or s they tell us. Me, I believe them, at least around here in TX where it is at its first real peak - at least in eastern TX. Despite that, life has not ended here. Stores are open and business goes on for the most part with most people wearing masks but not all. If you wear a mask it's fine by me - I wear one when in crowds or in stores as they are required by state law or rule or regulation or whatever. If you do not wear one, well maybe you are right and masks are bullshit but then again if not and you failed to wear one and get sick, nothing personal but I won't mourn you. Of course, if you do not wear one and it is later shown they greatly reduced the chance of you spreading it, and you got it and passed it on to someone else because you did not wear a mask - fuck you - rot in hell.

Now as this post's title suggests, I - in fact we - may be tempting fate this weekend - again. The we being Brendan. We will have tables at the gun show in Conway, AR. We'll both be wearing masks and have alcohol gel at hand. Hopefully we won't catch any nasty shot like the Rona V or the flu. Stay well my friends.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Childhood Hero Has Flown Off To The Great Beyond

I can only hope that upon his passing, the spirit of Chuck Yeager zoomed high in the sky as he so often did when I was a kid in the 60s. He was the first human to break the sound barrier, which he did in the late 1940s (long before I was born). Before that, he started his flying career during WWII and was soon assigned as a fighter pilot and saw much action shooting down many enemy planes; in fact, he became an Ace by shooting down 5 German planes in one day. He was shot down himself prior to that, survived serious injuries, and went back into the action. Later, in his flying career, he trained other pilots and remained active as a test pilot into the mid 1970's. It may not seem like much now but to a kid in the 60s, he was essentially an all American demigod.

RIP General Chuck Yeager.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sources: 

https://www.chuckyeager.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/us/chuck-yeager-dead.html

Want To See Ridiculous?

Click on this link. While the ammo is currently selling for around $50 per box on GunBroker, the rifle plus the ammo and all else is priced just a tad high - don't ya think!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Big Lebowski: Never Was A Huge Fan Of The Movie...

 ...but my son loved it and still does, I think. It was okay by me and pretty funny and while my favorite character in it was Walter Sobchak, I found this at Wally World the other day and had to have it:

 

Really, I'd much rather trust a guy like Walter with my back - he's my kind of gun nut - but this cup is awesome anyway - and it is BIG (and full of very strong coffee that I am enjoying as I type)!

All the best,
Glenn B

Damn - No Blog Posts For Over A Week

 Shame on me or at least on my screaming hips. Hard to sit here long enough to write anything meaningful.

Will try to get a little done this weekend - starting today being it's:

FRIDAY!

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Thanksgiving

I often wonder how many folks who have a nice big and fancy Thanksgiving dinner actually give thanks for the bounty or even for the meager sustenance, whichever is the case, in their lives. I know I do and I do it with all my heart. I probably do not thank the same entity as do you, or a priest in church, or a butcher at the supermarket, or the guy who fixes my car or a hairstylist, or an unemployed bum or a disabled military vet, or, the checkout clerk at the drug store or whoever is giving it today but I do offer my thanks. Some folks thank God, the Gods, Nature, the Universe, The Force, each other and so on we each do it in our own way. I think more or less universally and thank them all, even the turkey that gave its life so my son & I can feast today. Me, even though I am not to sure that all of them exist,I figure why not cover them all just in case.

I also want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for stopping by to read my blog. You folks are great. Enjoy the day, enjoy you dinner, enjoy what company you have if any and if not then enjoy the solitude and peacefulness of that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Damn This Holiday Shopping

I went day before yesterday to get groceries, including what I need to cook a nice Thanksgiving dinner for Brendan and I. He's going to come to my place for the weekend. Shopping can be a pain in the butt in general but it's even more so when the one doing the shopping is under the weather. Some of the symptoms I suffered from badly over a 4 or 5 month period and not so badly over close to a year if not a bit more, have returned.  The worst is extreme fatigue as seen in my falling asleep at all times of the day, then waking a little while or even hours later as tired as before I slept and being unable to get a good night's sleep due to hip pain. Tramadol (the pain medication for the hip pain keeps me awake many nights) and having to pee several times a night are both keeping me up for a good deal of the night. It's been almost as bad over the past few days as it was at the height of my illness when I was ultimately diagnosed with a UTI and then Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a week or so later. Not looking for sympathy just giving all the info on what's made my shopping such a pain lately; I've been like a zombie shopper.

So, I went shopping for all the fixings for a really nice Thanksgiving dinner on Monday. I was planning on getting a fresh turkey as opposed to a frozen one. I found some at Sam's Club but many of them looked disgusting as if someone had mangled them before putting the plastic wrap onto them. So, I figured I'd get one at Walmart or Albertson's. Thing was, when I brought my stuff home from Sam's Club, I had to take a nap. I passed out for a few hours and when I got up felt even tireder than before so I never made it to Walmart. 

Not to worry, I'd go on Tuesday. I had a doctor's appointment and thought I'd go after that. Went home first and passed out again for a couple of hours. Finally got up enough steam to go to Wally World late last evening. The only fresh turkey's they had were Butterballs that all weighed over 20 pounds. That's just a wee bit too much for a two person, one dog, bird. I figured 'd go to Albertson's and then to Sam's to get one of the mangled ones if the other place had none. Called Albertson's and the girl who answered the phone sounded dimmer than a burned out light bulb; she told me she did not think they had fresh turkeys but it was obvious she had a difficult time understanding what is a fresh turkey. So off to Sam's - but holy crap I had to step on it, they were closing in 15 minutes or so. I got there with about 5 minutes to spare; went in and grabbed a bird that looked okay that was just over 11 pounds and grabbed a chunk of excellent very aged old cheddar cheese. The turkey was frozen a tiny bit here and there, I guess the cooler was a bit too cool, but I am pretty sure what little was frozen will thaw by Thursday morning when it goes into the oven.

Then it was off to Albertson's. Neither Walmart nor Sam's Club had poultry seasoning and that is an absolute must for the stuffing, at least for my stuffing. Neither had  sage or thyme either or I'd have gotten them and made my own seasoning. While at Albertson's, I also got some apples (I hope I am up to making an apple pie later tonight), some sliced almonds (for the stuffing along with an apple or two) and another thing or three. 

It was just a royal pain in mine arse considering I was more or less a zombie as to how I felt. I could have just fallen asleep standing over but supported by my shopping cart. Funny thing is, I had another terrible night's seep last night but while a bit pooped now, I feel pretty good today, it's not like I am totally exhausted as I was for the past two or three days. Sometimes the Tramadol seems to have these effects: it rids me of all or or at least most of the pain, it keeps me awake and I lay there in bed totally awake but also totally relaxed and the next day I feel fine and awake but need to take a brief nap in the afternoon or late morning. I don't get it, that is why it does that but I wish it did that every time but there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when it will work like that or opposed to that when it will just cause a lousy night's sleep making me feel like crap the next day.

Anyway, all the shopping is done - or so I hope. I am looking forward to a nice feast for which we can be thankful to our creator whether that be God, the Gods, Nature, the Force, the Universe and the big bang, my mother & father and that smaller bang on New Year's Eve (my guess based upon my date of birth and the fact that most folks born around my DOB were conceived on New year's Eve or so I have heard tell), all of them combined or whatever. Despite all my ailments as of late, I have a lot for which to be thankful, one of the biggest & best is coming over for Thanksgiving dinner and the weekend. Wish we could be with the rest of the family in NY - even my wife regardless of the separation - it would be a nice time. As it is I am thankful for all of them in my life and that they all have their health. There are many, many, many other things for which to give thanks - far too many to list but I am thankful for them all.

I hope each and every one of you - regardless of faith or not, and regardless of race, color, ethnicity, political stance, sexiual orientation, or just about anything else (at least for those of you who are decent folks in the broadest sense of the word decent) have a truly excellent Thanksgiving. And remember, if you possibly can do it - don't forget to watch The March Of The Wooden Soldiers (aka: Babes In Toyland) and to listen to the entire song: Alice's Restaurant (aka: Alice's Restaurant Massacree). It's not Thanksgiving without
 them.

 

All the best,
Glenn B

No More Atwoods For Me

Atwoods Ranch & Home is a store much like Tractor Supply. I went shopping at the one in Texarkana, TX today. I have shopped there fairly often.

Today, I bought three 50 caliber ammo cans there.They were marked down to $10.49 ea. from $14.99 each, seemed reasonable to me since not all that long ago they were going for $9.99 at a few stores. I also got some other assorted things around the store. When I checked out, I thought the final price seemed high, checked my receipt & saw they had charged me $14.99 each. 

I asked someone to help me with that. Instead of calling the guy at the gun counter, who was about 10 feet away from the ammo can shelf with the sign facing him, she asked me to show her where they were displayed. So, I said okay and walked back there with her. She looked at the sign, looked at me frowning and said what the sign said and what it said on the can labels was not the same because the sign said tactical & the labels did not. Then she spoke to the clerk at the gun counter. As she was talking to him, she looked at me and frowned again, 2turned her back toward me, & started whispering to him. What's a guy to think when they do that. I was half expecting store security to show up O/C cans a'spraying. I think that clerk was trying her best to prove the axiom: "Some people would have no manners at all if not for bad manners" as she kept talking in a very low voice and looking over at me. If she was not telling him that she thought I had changed signs, which is what I suspected, then she was just being outright rude to have done that. 

The gun counter clerk guy came around the counter and looked at the cans, then looked at some other further down the aisle. He told her they were the only ones that had been marked for $14.99 and that they must be the ones on sale (apparently he did not know until he looked). Instead of her saying okay, she then called for the manager; of course, he did not show up. After waiting there several more minutes, as she inspected the sign, the cans, then seemingly the tape holding the sign to the shelf, then she tore off the sign. We waited some more but the manager never showed up nor did a second person for whom she or the gun counter guy also had called.

When I asked what was going on, she said the sign was not for them, that was the wrong price for them and she said it in a rather sarcastic accusatory tone. She also said someone must have put the wrong sign there (in a long & drawn manner). I asked, in a somewhat incredulous tone, what she meant by that! She stayed mum. I then asked, would they honor or not honor the price. I admit was beginning to get a bit upset at being treated, in my view, as if she suspected me of criminality. I also wanted to get going, ten minutes or more must have passed since she went to the ammo can shelf with me and I'd already probably been in the store for about a half hour having had to check several cans to make sure the lids were not so loose as to fall off as soon as you opened them (as they did on many of the cans) and also spent time shopping for other things as well. In reply to my question, she said something very close to this: 'Here is what you can do, you can take them or just leave them right here' and she said it in a rather haughty tone. 

I did not leave them right there but did not take them home with me either. I asked where I could get a refund and she told me at the service desk. So, went to the service desk up front and left everything I had just purchased on the desk & asked for a refund for all of it. The nice girl at the desk, whom I have dealt with many times before and she has always been pleasant, was rather surprised when I calmly and politely (which was my demeanor throughout) told her I wanted a refund on everything. I told her I was not about to stand for the disrespect and seeming outright suspicion I had been shown nor would I stand for the store not honoring the price they had on the item. 

She called the manager. Another few minutes waiting passed. This time he finally showed up. For some reason, the manager gave me the refund even though the clerk at the desk said she could handle it. I should note, they require people to wear face masks when shopping there (but do not enforce it since many customers do not). They also require their employees to wear masks. All of them had masks on but guess where the manager wore his - on his chin not covering his nose or mouth. Just saying because it shows a lack of professionalism that was about to reveal itself in yet another way.

It took at least 10 minutes for him to key in only 7 items. I do not know if that was because he is always slow as molasses or because he was giving me a hard time for asking for a full refund or some other reason but suspect he was giving me a hard time (but that could just have been me because I was getting quite irritated by then but did not display my irritation). During that time, he never once said something like: 'Hi sir how can I help'; did not say 'good afternoon sir'; did not ask 'what is the issue here sir'; did not apologize for having the wrong sign up; never offered them at the price on the sign or not even one of them at that price as a consolation; never once displayed courtesy, respect or good manners and acted like he did not give a shit his customers. Around that time, I mentioned I would not shop there again, still remaining calm and courteous in my demeanor, and he said nothing. I was getting pissed off but still remained calm. I took the receipt and asked if that was it and he said yes and I left. 

I had needed those cans and needed them today; yet, I did not need them as badly as I needed a refund at that moment. I've spent a decent deal of money in there over the past few to several months since I first started shopping there. I certainly am nowhere near their best customer spending-wise but I was a loyal & respectful customer and I deserved to be treated with at least some respect in that regard - first by the first female clerk & then by the manager. After all, I was spending my money there. I also treated them with respect - even more, I think, than what was due to them with their attitudes. Bottom line, I will not ever again spend even another penny there.  

It was not so much that they would not honor the price; had the female clerk respectfully and courteously said something like: 'I'm sorry sir but somehow this sign was not placed correctly, there were other ammo cans on sale for that price' or something like: 'Sir, I'm sorry, someone put up the wrong price for these cans' - I probably would have taken them anyway. Instead, I got a refund on everything because, in my opinion, the female clerk was a snotty disrespectful type & the manager was not much better. That's too bad because everyone else with whom I have ever dealt there has always been respectful, courteous, quite professional and just ever so very nice. Then again, no loss to me, I can shop at their competitors.

Just my luck, I had to back a little while later and I was not happy about that. I had been so upset that I forgot my cell phone on the countertop. When I got back, the nice young lady was still at the desk; she evidently had placed my phone aside. Yet another clerk gave me the phone because the nice gal was busy. 

The lady, who handed me my phone, told me that what happened was the on sale ammo cans had been at the other end of the store - pointing to the unlikely area of  the garden center. She said they had run out of those cans and someone (I am guessing she meant someone who worked there because she was not at all accusatory, sarcastic, or disrespectful) had then moved the sign over to the cans I had bought that also had been regularly priced at $14.99 and had done so without realizing they were different cans that were not on sale. By then the nice girl at the desk was free and she joined in affirming that was what had happened. Imagine if the first clerk had respectfully told me that. I would have accepted that as an honest mistake on the part of the store and taken the cans home with me at the higher price. Of that I have no doubt since I had needed them and had expected to pay $14.99 each being that I had already bought some there at the higher price recently.

Anyway, I explained what had happened in more detail to those two nice ladies, in a polite but loud enough voice for the other one to hear me. She was a couple of registers away. I also told them in no uncertain terms that Atwoods had lost me as a customer because the other female clerk, the one who had helped me first had been so disrespectful and seemingly acted like I had moved the sign. I wished the nice two a happy Thanksgiving and as I was walking out the nasty bitch first clerk yelled out "Do you want to talk to the manager sir". Since I already had talked to him but he basically was not talking, I must admit, I had to do everything in my power not to yell back at her: Go fuck yourself as I walked out the door for the last time.

All the best,
Glenn B

There I Was All Happy With Myself...

 ...because I scored six (6) boxes of 38 Special +P this morning, then went to the dog park with Skye and had a nice time playing a bit of fetch where she gets the ball but does not bring it back, and because I stopped at a local second hand junk store antique store where I found tree heavy duty, large and very inexpensive beer mugs. Only $1.00 apiece. Put a smile on my face because Brendan & I will use them on Thanksgiving.

As I was saying, I was happy. Then suddenly, I received a text from Brendan and I was no longer happy. My happiness meter went from high all the way to breaking and going boing! I should mention it went up - not down and I was ecstatic! Here is why:

Not sure but I think it's a 6 pointer. Sent him a text asking but no reply yet, lousy service up there

After many years of deer hunting with me, he had never gotten a deer. Then last year, he bagged a doe - one shot while hunting in AR with his boss. Single shot to get tat one. I don't know the details yet about the buck he got today but it was also one shot. I do know a little from a couple of texts he sent to me. He did not have the best angle from which to shoot - it was facing him head on. Here is how he described it in a text to me: 

"Got a buck"

"Was not broadside. Was looking straight at me. Flopped over and died. Quick and clean."

His whole face is glowing in that picture and so it should be! By the way, that rifle - it's a Savage - don't recall the exact model - I think one of the various model 10 or 100 rifles, 308 caliber (he chose from a selection of 5 or 6 rifles and chose wisely). Whatever - it's gotta be good luck. We were at a gun show last month and I shelled out $20 apiece for a couple of raffle tickets. Later on in the show, a guy working the show and a gal asked if I was Glenn B. I said yeah and asked why, she was smiling and then it hit me. I had bought the winning ticket. I let them transfer it to Brendan as an early Christmas gift. I love it when things truly come together and they certainly did with that rifle, the ammo I gave him for it, and the skills I helped teach him shooting and out in the woods. He may be a middle aged man now but I still say: 'That's my boy and I'm quite proud of him!'

I don't even know if ecstatic explains how I feel. He has been hunting with me for big game since he was 16. We went on a trip to Maine back then and he bagged a young boar black bear. That was also a one shot kill - it went through the heart & lungs. He is a good shot, takes after me shooting and may surpass me someday (but not quite yet😉). The only thing that could have made me feel better about this, well it's if I would have been there with him. That's okay though, maybe next year, who knows. As I said though, the happy meter got busted when I saw the photo. I suppose, the only guy happier than me about this is Brendan.

As for me, I have not bothered to go hunting this year. Too much pain in my hips. Seems to be getting better though, wouldn't you know 2 weeks into the season! There is a late season in December and truth be told, it's been so warm around here that I'd rather go then. Somewhere in between now and then, I hope to be eating some venison, from the buck he shot today. 

I should add, I told him to have the head mounted.I know it's not even close to a trophy buck but as a taxidermist told me maybe 35 years or so ago when I got my first buck, an 8 pointer on my uncle's farm, you may never see another like this. I've seen them alright, quite a few and two with 12 or 14 points - but I never got another as big as that first one. I offered Brendan $250 toward mounting it; I hope he takes me up on it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Some Hoard Toilet Paper - Not Me

Me, I have a decent stock of ammo built up. If the dems take control of all three houses - The Senate, The House of Representatives & The White House - there most assuredly will be a huge tax implemented on guns & ammunition. How huge, try 35% or higher; I am pretty certain that was the figure they tried in their last attempt to  tax the people out of being able to purchase ammunition. The dems, led by the raving lunatic Schumer have tried to legislate such a tax for decades. We pay enough, actually more than enough, taxes right now. They may also try to legislate what types of ammo and how much of it someone can buy. Thus I have a  abundant amount of ammo built up and keep adding to it. 

Heck, the democrats, should they gain overwhelming control of the government, may even attempt to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I am sure it seems like an outrageous idea to some, the talk of an extremist (which I am not) but it does not seem all that far fetched to me. This is next to last month of 2020. Did you ever imagine, even for a moment, that things that happened in the United States this year would have ever happened - not just in your lifetime but ever? Had I made some predictions last year in 2019 and told you that a group of fascists, garbed in black, would take over and defiantly rule some of our cities or at least pars of them and that authorities would facilitate them doing so and even march with them - would you have believed me? Had I told you that hundreds of thousands of people would demand defunding the police - would you have believed that? What about elected officials assisting rioting crowds to tear down monuments, not only of confederate soldiers but also of Abraham Lincoln in the name of fighting racism? Lincoln of all presidents! Would you ever have imagined cities in flames as rioting and looting became commonplace and state & local elected officials would do nothing to stop and in some instances encourage such behavior then would attempt to to claim the president of the United States was responsible for causing or exasperating them, while at the same time turning down his offers for assistance at regaining the peace? You probably would have said I was nuts had I told you they were coming within the next year. Could you ever have imagined the response of governors of some states to a global pandemic was to blame our president for it while governors like the one in NY who allegedly forced elderly ill patients into nursing homes spreading the virus among the most vulnerable & where thousands died because of his orders; and even though NY had the highest death rate (up at least until I wrote this as far as I am aware) - the governor in essence would claim that his was the shining example of how to deal with such a crisis as he failed to utilize emergency hospitals and a hospital ship provided by the federal government? I culd not have imagined that even that bloviating buffoon Cuomo could have done so but apparently he did. 

Then somehow - crisis full speed ahead - it wound up that some folks felt a need to stockpile toilet paper! Would you ever have believed, even or a moment, that during a crisis, one of he first things stores ran out of, absolutely down to the bare shelves, would be toilet paper. Not me. That anticipated tax on ammo that I mentioned above, the one I think dems would be sure to legislate if they gain full control, I do not anticipate such a tax on toilet paper no matter what (but of course I could be wrong) so I am not running out with the droves of hockey mom preppers and stay-at-home daddies to buy reams of it. I see no need to build a stockpile of it; I do however have one or two spare package(s) of it any given time as I do with most things. I try to keep enough on hand, of anything, to be ready for what may come, in fact I have a need to do so that is ingrained into my psyche. It’s not that I am driven by the mentality of a hoarder – I do not hoard things except maybe ammunition but I usually have at least something extra of the things I use frequently so that I could use them in the event of an emergency. What kind of emergency, one that would ether cut off supply or prevent me from going out to get it. It could be as simple as me coming down with the flu or something more exotic like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (and I know first hand about how debilitating is that one) and being to ill to go out shopping with any regularity. 

Right now, should our supply line, of the necessities of life those we usually get at the supermarket and other stores, somehow be cut off, I  could survive for at least 1 if not 3 months on my current stocks and do so comfortably during shortages of just about anything. Well anything except maybe some of my medications because they are prescription meds but I do have a supply of the really important ones set aside to last at least a few extra weeks  – hopefully they will not be needed and hopefully I could survive without them if I ran out.

The fact is this: I have an actual psychological need to have some extra set aside for leaner times. That mindset, the one making me prepare for tough times is a healthy one not the mental illness of a true hoarder. It is due to a few very good things in my life that shaped who I am today: my great-grandmother telling & teaching my siblings and I about her poverty stricken life in Europe where her family was taxed to the point they enjoyed the luxury of eating meat only a few times per year (their animal protein was almost solely from eggs & dairy products and they had little of that as well) and how she came to America and gained wealth through sheer determination & very hard work; my mother suffering through the Great Depression and telling me & my siblings stories about it and thereby teaching us the valuable lesson that having a good work ethic could pull us through; my family was dirt poor when I was young and my mom worked extremely hard to provide for us; and finally - a cold war mind-set to be prepared for the end of the world as we knew it maybe even for the end times. They seemed near – those end times - as Krushchev & Kennedy brought the world ever so close to nuclear destruction. Tough times and the promise of the literal end of the world, at least as we knew it seemed to hover too close over our heads every day of my childhood into my teens and early adulthood. That was just the way of the world as it was back then but my family taught me how to prepare for it and survive to some good degree. I learned more on my own as an adult while I worked for a living.

Those things and the work ethic that I saw in my great-grandparents and in my mom, who worked hard for every penny they had (and my great grandparents amassed a good amount of wealth after they came to America pretty much penniless) were painstakingly passed onto me and shaped my life. It all prepared me for a lifestyle in which I'd work hard to achieve having something to always put aside for leaner times. Luckily for me and my generation, leaner times were mostly avoided but that dragon may have been disturbed in its slumbers and it looks have reared its ugly head on the near horizon. If you are not prepared for it, shame on you. If you want to prepare now, you're a little late but as is said - better than never. Toilet paper though should be just about the least of your concerns as to what to have on hand should that dragon come your way.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

What Is The Shelf Life Of Modern Non-Corrosive Ammunition?

The title of this piece is a question I often wonder about. Current & recent manufacturers of ammunition often state their ammo will last 10 years. From what I can gather about that, the consensus is that figure is essentially made up for legal reasons but I am none too sure that is the case. Many of the self appointed experts on ammo shelf life, who tell you that seemingly have no clue if that is correct or if at least some modern ammunition (that made within the past 50 years for the purposes of this piece) will actually only last 10 years others say almost indefinitely. My guess is almost all quality ammo will last much longer than 10 years but I wish someone could tell me factually how long it will actually last. Those who write about it often make reference to ammunition that was made 50 to 100 years ago that still fires reliably and imply that today's ammo would be much the same. For one example of such, see: https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/10/28/can-ammunition-go-bad/

The thing is that ammo made more than 30 years ago has a good chance of having been made using corrosive primers (keeping it to western countries, East Bloc countries were still producing corrosive military ammo, I think, into the 1980s and may still be doing so for all I know). I have been told (personal communication with several gunsmiths, military collectors and ammo dealers) that it is a known fact the materials used to make those old time primers does not break down much over time and thus ammo from way back then often works just fine today if it was stored properly over the years. I have also been told that modern, non-corrosive, primer materials are quite different and will breakdown over a period of 20 to 25 years. Me, I don't know and I do not know if the folks who told me so actually knew and thus the question in the title: What is the shelf life of modern non-corrosive ammunition.

What I do know is there are poor ways to store ammo and better ways. I try using the somewhat better methods but do not go to extremes. So, I have stored it in climate controlled rooms inside sealed ammo cans for the most part. Climate controlled? Yeah, inside my house at ambient room temperature on the cool side - as in my basement. I also keep it at low humidity or at least try. So, sometimes I put desiccant pack into the ammo can along with the ammunition. By saying I do not go to extremes, I mean I do not do things like vacuum sealing every box of ammo or ammo can a some folks do.

What about results? I can say without a doubt, the ammo I have stored that way, so far, has all reliably fired whenever I have decided to shoot up some of the older stuff; some of that being 25 years old or older. Right now, I think the oldest commercially available defensive pistol ammo I have on hand is probably from the mid-1980s to mid 1990s. That is Winchester 9mm NATO FMJ ammunition. Never a problem, it goes bang every time. I think I have only a box or two of it left and doubt I'll shoot it; probably will keep it for nostalgic reasons. It is from the time when I with the U.S. Custom Service Office of Investigations running narcotics smuggling & money laundering investigations but also had collateral duties as a firearms instructor (no I was not a desk jockey) and got oodles of free ammo for practice to keep up my skills. I also have some older 22 LR ammo that still goes bang too, some probably from the 1960s or 1970s. Always amazes me that it still goes off if I shoot it up; the thing about it though is I'll not ever depend on it as defensive carry ammo but I might need to with some of my older 9mm someday. I know, I probably should have rotated it out years ago.

I also have some other old defensive pistol ammo in the form of Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point +P. I think I have around a case of that from shortly after 9/11 - replacement ammo paid for by my homeowners insurance due to loss of personal ammo I had stored at our range in 6 WTC on 9/11. That stuff, I think, needs to start getting shot up but right about now for practice. I am going to hate to use it because it is about 1/3 of my 9mm JHP and may be irreplaceable with current politics as they are but I doubt it will last forever so may as well use it up soon. Again, I know, I probably should have rotated it out years ago; yet, I am wondering if it will last another 19.5 years or so and still go bang.

Anyway - back to the question more or less: Does anyone here have any actual technical, manufacturing, scientific knowledge as to the shelf life of how long modern made non-corrosive ammunition will last and still go bang reliably? That it lasts well beyond 10 years, even 20 to 25 years if properly stored, is doubtless at least in my experience. What do you guys think?

All the best,
Glenn B

Now That Would Have Left A Mark...

 ...a big crater shaped pock mark, or so I am guessing. The earth just missed getting clobbered by a small house sized asteroid last Friday - Friday the 13th (must have been our lucky day), one that was moving at over 30 thousand miles per hour. Actually they figure it would have disintegrated had it gotten closer to our atmosphere but when was the last time they actually witnessed one that big get that close, with 250 miles, and actually head right at us instead of skimming by like this one did so that they know for sure! Never. (Source.)

Ouch.

All the best,
Glenn B

So, I Was Sitting Here In My Chair At My Laptop...

 ...just a few minutes ago listening to Rush, online, when he took a commercial break. I was not paying much attention to the commercials, could not tell you what any of them were about; well, except for one. One began with a mellow voiced middle American accented gentleman talking about spanking. He went on to discuss how spanking is an age old, effective and totally acceptable, form of discipline for children. It was excellent, not only because of the screaming spanked children 👿 in the background, but because I fully believe such to be the case - that spanking is acceptable, when only done if truly needed and when the spanker is not at all angry but completely in control of his or her emotions. 

I spanked both of my kids a few times in their younger days, usually on the thighs although my son got it on his arse more than once, even did it with a belt once to each (very mildly - but snapping that belt a few ties & giving them only one light whack had all the desired effect you could want and later all I needed was to snap it leather on leather not on butt and it worked. 

Anyway, they got their truly fair share of spanking, their share of which was pretty rare and only when the transgression was serious enough to warrant the fear of a an arse whooping (more so than an actual spanking of any severity). Spankings of my daughter ceased probably when she was about 10-12, at least from me - left it to the wife to decide if she ever needed another which she did not. When my son was about 12 or so, and had done something very seriously wrong, I told him to drop his drawers (something my daughter never had to do)  & bend over my knee. I had waited about 5 or 10 minutes after telling him off in a fury - because I did not want to administer any punishment that was even in part fueled by my anger over what he had done (and I was angry that time).  He hesitated and sheepishly asked if there was some other way we could handle it because it was embarrassing to him. That was good. Why? Well because he knew or guessed I respected him enough to give him and option and because he knew what he had done was serious and deserved punishment but also had arrived at a level of maturity to know there were other ways to do that without spanking him. That exhibited quite a bit of maturity and responsibility for a 12 year old. So, we talked over what he had done wrong and I obtained a solemn promise he'd never do it again, and I doled out a punishment after asking him what he thought it should be (and his idea was more severe than what I had in mind). Of course, I also told him if he did ever again, he'd not only get the belt but would get it hard (it was that serious). He never did it again (and the it shall remain a mystery to you forever).

Back to that commercial with which I agreed and enjoyed. The amazing thing about it was that at the end the gentleman said it was sponsored by the state legislature of Oklahoma. You'd never here anything like that in NY from its legislature! I love it here even if where I live is a pimple on the backside of Texas.

Pardon me if there are any obvious spelling or grammatical errors above, my hip has been killing me; so, I just drank a modified zombie with four different types of rum and am having a large dollop of white rum right now because the pain medication has failed miserably and it hurts like hell and I've got to kill that zombie without delay! 

ETA: got a decent afternoon of sleep regardless of the pain and that was a good thing, pain is much less now.

All the best,
Glenn B

Liberals Truly Can Be Stupid...

 ...and sometimes are so idiotic as almost to be beyond belief. I saw what must have been the mist ridiculous bumper sticker today, wish I could have gotten a picture. It was right there among several other stickers expressing leftist viewpoints but it stuck out if only because of its profound wrogness. What was printed on it was this:

INDIANS DISCOVERED AMERICA 

If you do not instantly realize what is absolutely incorrect and extremely moronic about that, on more than one level, I recommend going back to elementary school for some 4th or 5th grade history lessons as they were taught - by Mrs. Brophy in St. Pancras RC School in Glendale, NY - back in the mid-1960s before ultra-leftist ideology began to take over the education of our children and to reshape history itself.

All the best,
Glenn B

With The Additional Ballots Found In GA...

 ...one cannot arrive at the conclusion that there was voter fraud but it surely adds fuel to Trump's fire when he claims such because it is hard evidence that things were, at the very least, very wrong. Just 5,639 ballots (source) are not going to change the tide even if all of the votes were for President Trump. Yet, it certainly makes one wonder, since they found them, how many others might be found and/or how many others were destroyed instead of being misplaced and thus not counted. 

They had an awful lot of time in those final battleground states to do a lot of things to corrupt the vote when suddenly all of those states stopped counting votes for an extended period of time.Why did that first in history concurrent cessation of the counts (in what was it - 4 states) during mid-count take place and exactly what was being done by those states' election authorities when the counts were stopped? This is just getting deeper & deeper as we move along.

I suspect it may get deeper yet. In fact, I am surprised that the Democrats have not tried to blame the Republicans & President Trump for the temporarily missing ballots. Why would they do that, you may wonder. I think they may yet try to say that Trump and his allies arranged for them to be hidden and left uncounted until the point at which the president contested the vote and then they'd suddenly be found to boost the president's claims that there was corruption. In other words that the Republicans arranged all this to look like corruption on the part of the Democrats in a clever attempt by President Trump to unlawfully hold up the election process and the certification of Biden as the President Elect. Nope, it would not surprise me at all if the dems tried to say such, they have said every other fantastically unbelievable thing about him to try to oust him over the past 4 years, why not try this as well.

All the best,
Glenn B

Cool & Comfy For A Long Winter's Snooze

My tortoise enclosure's hibernaculum (actually a brumation chamber as they brumate as opposed to hibernate) is complete. Well, it's almost finished; it needs a ramp or platform so they can easily get into it but they could do without if push came to shove. 

Anyway, now my Hermann's Tortoises will brumate properly and thus the male's sperm count will likely rise quite a bit; hopefully to the point where he, as I suspect right now, no longer shooting blanks. Only one egg out of about 16 eggs the female produced in the past 3 years was fertile and that one died while incubating when left in the care of my wife for a couple of weeks when I was moving. Previously the female Hermann's tortoise had quite a few eggs that hatched successfully. The number one culprit, me not brumating them properly. They need a cool down period, each winter, to be fertile with any reliability. As for my male Redfoot Tortoise, he stays inside for most of the winter; while they may brumate in the most southerly part of their range, it's my understanding that most Redfoots probably do not or only do so for a brief and mild winter throughout most of their range.

 

 

The overall enclosure has 8 foot long walls, each board is about 6" high and it is about 36" wide; the slotted blocks add a little more to the dimensions. It was one big enclosure before but I built in the hibernaculum (brumation chamber as they brumate not hibernate) recently and finished today. The brumation chamber has the black plastic tub so it will get some heat buildup on sunny days heat even if it gets really cold outside. The walls are built up with an extra 6" tall board and 1 block higher that were not there before. The bottom board, of the brumation chamber, above ground helps prevent substrate falling out if they come out on warmer winter days. That substrate is where they will dig and bury themselves. There is a baffle wall of those slotted blocks inside (three deep and two across from front wall to outer wall to keep the substrate from falling toward the opening (seen in front wall) and thus falling out (to the right of the opening as you view it). The substrate to the right (your right as you view it) is as high as all three boards, giving them a good depth under which to cover themselves while retaining enough heat to survive (or that is the plan). I have potting soil, coco fiber, cypress mulch, and plant material (leaves, dead cucumber & tomato plants and such) added in there all chopped up as substrate. The plant material slowly decomposing will produce some heat, probably more than enough heat to assure it does not freeze. That is important because all the substrate is atop a concrete patio and they cannot dig down into the earth as they normally would do so and did in my rear lawn when in NY. I have an indoor thermometer with an outdoor sensor hooked up that shows current temperature as well as the high and low for a 24 hour period. If it gets too cold inside the chamber then they will be brought inside but I am confident they will be able to stay outside all winter in that setup.

All the best,
Glenn B 

Ammo Shortage Over Soon - Don't Bet On It

 As per Vista Outdoors in a Fox Business news report, they have a $1 billion backlog of orders that they do not expect to fill for at least one year! (Source - if the link does not work, copy and paste this: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/vista-outdoors-ammunition-backlog-billion.amp. Fox sucks when using links like I just did.) 

Since I doubt the ammo buying frenzy is going to stop any time soon, I imagine that backlogged orders for ammo and the amount of time it takes to fill them will both increase markedly in that time frame at least if the democrat actually becomes president. For some reason they keep calling him the president elect but that is not official yet so one can still hold onto hope.

If hope is lost because he does get in, you will have done well to have bought ammo and guns now if you are short, even at today's super inflated prices. The best price, on AmmoSeek.com, for 9mm (as I type) was $597.95 for a case (1,000 rounds @ almost 58 cents per round) and that was for Russian steel cased crap. The best price on brass cased 9mm, from a familiar to me & well known manufacturer was $675.95 (1,000 rounds @ almost 68 cents per round) for Winchester FMJ. To think, that Winchester ammo was probably going for around $180 - $190 per case less than a year ago. I should have held onto my OLN and VSTO stocks!

All the best,
Glenn B

Bury Them But Not Too Deep - Do It Now

I've heard it said that if you think it's time to bury your weapons - then it is really the time start using them instead - that being to overthrow a tyranny. I don't believe that for a second. In fact, I think now is the time to bury some but also to keep some handy just in case. Why bury them? Well, I am just about convinced that no matter what legal actions are taken now and in the near future - on January 20, 2021 - a democrat will become president.

The democrat in question is an avowed enemy of the Right To Keep & Bear Arms (RKBA). He has made it absolutely clear that his plan is to confiscate guns evidently starting with AR-15 and the like. Far prior to the election he named some guy with the ridiculous ethnic name of Beto (ridiculous because his ethnicity does not match that of the name as I am give to understand) as his gun confiscation czar. His VP is also extremely anti-gun and was reportedly the most liberal Senator in our history. She seems very pro-criminal from what, for the most part, I have read about her - as in pro-releasing them onto the streets and hoping to get them to vote leftist.

The possible choices/nominees, for this potential president's cabinet, will chosen from some of the looniest political figures I have ever seen in my lifetime. One an avowed socialist who wants to do away with billionaires but yet is at least a millionaire himself; another who whooped it up as if she were a full blooded native of this continent and then in sum & substance claimed - see I told you I was part Indian and it's been proven because I am like1/100,000th (or whatever) native American, another who is a wanna-be gun grabber (the guy with the ethnic name that does not fit) and on and on.

They did very little down to nothing to try to stop the recent insurgency - if you have not noticed that was all the looting, arson, rioting, assaults, murders and daily illegal protests that were obviously politically motivated no matter what false claims they made that they were doing so for nobler reasons. Those same folks, nut jobs many of them, have been arming themselves in great numbers as never before. The NICS checks in October 2020 have far surpassed, by extreme numbers, those of any other month during the history of the NICS system (a system to run background checks on those purchasing firearms from dealers & gun shows). These guns are not inexpensive nor is their ammunition; in fact since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices of them began to sky-rocket and a buying frenzy ensued. Shortly after that, George Floyd was killed by police and the protests and riots began. Those soon morphed into anything but away to honor Mr. Floyd and peacefully protest his death or support for his family. What they turned into were socialists/communist agitators trying to destroy the United States of America, the rights of its people and its Constitution while at the same time continuing the years long effort to demolish the presidency of President Donald Trump. That only added fuel to the firearms & ammunition buying frenzy and more and more members of the far left bought the very same guns & ammo they have hoped for years to take away from moderates & conservatives.

Then, as the election drew nearer, more and more on all sides of the political area began to panic and buy as much as they could of firearms, ammunition, and accessories for them. The prices kept going up. Some ammunition that sold for $189 for a thousand rounds (a round = an individual cartridge) were soon selling for $1.00 apiece or $1,000 per case of 1,000 rounds. (Some may think that a lot of ammo but it is probably enough for 5 trips to the range during which a moderate amount of shooting practice is accomplished.) The election is over now and the intense buying continues ad because supplies have dwindled and production cannot keep up with demand, prices apparently will keep rising. I have heard it said by ammunition manufacturers that had President Trump won reelection, it would have taken at least one year for production to have gotten back to normal and longer for prices to do so. With the democrat as our president, I heard (no verified) that ammo company big wigs believe ammunition prices will keep going up over the course of the next ear to where the same thousand rounds of ammo will cost $3,000.00 - or each round $3.00 apiece (speaking about something like 9mm handgun fodder).

Have you wondered for even a moment where folks are getting the money to pay for all these guns and all this ammo. Folks on the right - those with no or very little time to protest anything are short on time for that because they work for a living. Sure, many folks on the left work too but it is obvious, at least to me and others of like mind and should be to you too, that those on the left, especially the far left do not work - at least not regularly and are either on the government doles or making money illegally. Look at the protestors, those in ANTIFA and in BLM. Do they all have jobs - if so - how do they work while being involved in all the protesting? They probably don't - that is do not work at least not at a 40 hour a week job. So where are they getting the money to buy guns  ammo - especially at the current inflated prices? My guess is illegally - as from selling drugs or stolen property -  or possibly though handouts from the likes of people akin to Soros or Bloomberg. Not necessarily them but others like the with oodles of money to give away to the cause of destroying the free market, capitalism, our rights, our Constitution & the USA but most of all dedicated to destroying Donald Trump. While I cannot prove any such allegation please note I did not make an allegation, I just said it is a possible source of their funds that I consider may be such. Certainly, while it may have been a bit of a start, the pandemic stimulus funds were in no way enough to explain it all way. I'd sure like to be the fly on the money giving place wall to find out how these liberal vagabonds got enough money to cause record breaking sales.

So, by now you may think, man oh man Ballseye did you ever go off on a tangent, far from your initial thought of it being time to bury guns & ammo. I have not, I am trying to stress why it is important. First off because if the democrat gets in - guns will be confiscated - at least from conservatives and supporters of the by then previous president and I have already explained that. Next, the extreme leftist known as AOC, is already calling for a blacklist of sorts (source) for they who supported President Trump and there are others in Hollywood who are or were doing the same (source 1) (source 2). Then there is an independent website (I think independent of AOC) also dedicated to such (lost the link, but if I find it again, I'll post it). Secondly, those on the left who have been buying guns & ammo will almost certainly run out of money if the democrat becomes president. Why? Well, if funded by the likes of leftist billionaires, I think it likely they will cease handing out such funds because their man got in. They may get some more from future stimulus payments and from jobs - if and when enough low paying part time jobs come back soon enough if an when the pandemic isolation orders cease. But where will they get enough if prices continue to rise? They won't and thus I believe they will resort to the list that AOC wants to formulate- or others like it - and they will target conservatives & moderates who supported trump and the RKBA and will try to take them either by outright use of force or by stealthy theft. Do you think me believing such a situation will come about is preposterous? Think again and go back just one year from today and tell me: Did you think their would be mass protest sin the streets, in liberal cities & towns (and even the countryside) during which fascist groups such as ANTIFA (and make no mistake they are fascists), did you think there ever would be a movement called Defund The Police, did you think even after that movement commenced that it would be supported by prominent democrats ad even provoked by them to do more damage than already done, did you ever think that when the president of the United States of America offered to help end the looting, rioting, arson, assaults and murders that the democrat leaders f the affected areas would basically spit in his face and tell him he was causing the problem (too bad trump did not declare martial law and deal with it swiftly and convincingly because then there would be no chance of an extreme leftist democrat in the Oval office in January).

Yes, with all that going on and with things promising to get worse - maybe even as bad as it was/is in Venezuela (once the richest country in South America taken to its knees in abject poverty with the rights of its people destroyed in only a couple or few years - do you not think it possible or even probably that you should prepare for the worst and that doing so means you should have something in the way of firearms and ammunition set aside - hidden - safe  and ready to be retrieved and used in the event an all out tyranny, the aim of which is to shoot down our Constitution and destroy our rights and our great nation country comes to be. I sure as heck do!

All the best,
Glenn B