Been Busy Doing Almost Nothing But Getting Stuff Done Anyhow

Life lately has been much of the same old thing sandwich, another day - another bite of a somewhat shitty sandwich. Actually, it has been better than that at least a bit it seems. Then again, some things have been very stinky lately. First off, I just registered my car in AR this past week. That was not so bad. I had to get my car assessed for an annual tax on vehicles, boats and such. Luckily, I owed nothing, I think because when I paid it, it was before my last registration expired and the payment made before a year was up since my last payment. They will nail me next year, that is if I still live in AR. Time will tell.

 

Then there was my 9K+ credit card debt really that knocked me for a loop. I paid off everything today, including charges that are due next month, minus a few small pending charges on one of the two accounts I use regularly. The reason for the very big balances were: a 2.2K+ firearms auction charge, a 2.5K insurance charge for both auto & renter's insurance, and about $1.5K for ammo. Even with all that taken out of consideration there would still be a bit over 3K owed. Even that smaller amount is too much for me; I much hope my cc balances will add up to no more than 2K per month and 1.5K is much more preferable. I do all of my shopping with my cards though; those Hilton Honors hotel points and Amazon Prime points come in handy. You don't get points when you pay with cash and I  hardly ever get charged interest on my card balances because I pay them off in full each month.

 

Getting away from my financial spending sprees, not much else has been going on that irks me. I had a nice day on Saturday as I left the mongrel hone and drove over to Hot Springs, AR to meet my son at a gun show. His buddy Joseph was there with him when I arrived; Joseph's wife Tina was a no show as was Brendan's girlfriend Nikki. Now, while meeting my son and his pal was nice, I have to say the gun show was hottendous (not a misspelling). That was not so much because it was a smaller one, nor that the prices on almost everything were sky high. One jerk was asking for $80.00 per brick of Federal 22 LR and it was nothing special. That dealer needs to come back to reality and back down to earth with his pricing - let's face it this is not the height of COVID-19 madness nor did Biden get elected yesterday. I can buy the same or very similar ammo online at $35.00 per brick. The reason the show was hottendous was because the show was held inside a metal building at the county fairgrounds and that building had no air-conditioning. Damn it, it was hot in there.

 

I like the particular gun show promoters who ran that show but I must say, I will never attend one of their shows again at the same fairgrounds unless it is on a cool or even cold day. Man oh man - it was miserable in there. Some of the dealers who were just sitting at their tables were soaked with perspiration sweat. I suggested to a few of them that they should ask for a refund of their table fees. Two gents, from whom I bought a box of ammo, packed up their good and left the show shortly after my purchase and there were at least 3 hours to go of showtime and all of the next days time as well.

 

I walked around the show a few times, as I said it was small. My son pointed out a box of Remington Core-Lokt 30-06, 150 grain ammo for sale at only $25.00. The lowest price I found online for the same stuff was $20.00 on AmmoSeek.com but that had a very high shipping price and would also be charged sales tax. So the price of the one at the show was not bad and I bought it. Now, I also paid $8.00 to get into the show and used up over half a tank of gas which made it a very expensive box of ammo indeed if that had been the only reason I filled my tank. Of course, the gas expense was worth seeing my boy and the entry fee was part of attending a gun show, so the ammo was a good deal. Other vendors had plenty of $30-06, the least expensive being $35.00 per box. 

 

Somehow Brendan had thought, when I showed it to him after I bought it, that I had  purchased it for him. Ha-ha-hearty-ha-ha as Ralph Kramden would have said! Heck, I had a hundred rounds of 180 grain federal 30-06 in my trunk for him already that I had brought from home (halft of a case of it I had picked up in the 1.5K worth of ammo sales I mentioned above). He even asked me the next day if it had been for him but I told him he was out of luck. He is happy with and thankful for the Federal ammo, I am sure (especially since he told me so).

 

One day soon, I'll be going into the hospital for an overnight. Nothing to worry about, just a sleep study to check on my sleep apnea and to give me recommendations for a treatment for it. I am hopeful there are other things than CPAP; I have both CPAP and BiPAP machines and cannot use them due to everlasting complications from radiation treatments back in 2011.

 

No need for me to comment on politics or the economy in this post - let's face it you and I know both suck. One interesting thing of note, that I saw in Instagram, was a short video clip in which a guy asked Alexa when WW III would start. Alexa, or a faked Alexa, replied that WW III would commence on March 1, 2024 with Chinese nationals already within the USA commencing hostilities. That is to be concurrent with the Chinese military forces invading the west coast of the United States and Russian military forces invading the east coast. Who knows! I doubt Russia will be invading anywhere as busy as they seem to be in the Ukraine but it would not surprise me much if China would invade our country. They have been preparing for it for many decades. If they do, maybe they can get Russia to do it as well. Keep yer powder dry.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

My Guns & Ammo Monkey Is A Strong Beast

I ordered the below listed ammo yesterday from the Target Sports USA Ammo Day sale which supposedly was a one day sale but continued today until 12 noon EST today. I would have sworn we were in daylight savings time right now.

 

There was a lot of hoopla made by TSUSA in advertising emails prior to the sale. I have to say that I think what calibers they had in stock, and what of those were actually on sale, and how they did it by offering different sale ammo at three different sales time slots over the course of yesterday was ludicrous and a pain in the arse at best. 

 

Sure it was nice to get an extra 8% off over & above the usual Ammo+ Club savings but I think they really ran the sale poorly and in my estimation a lemonade stand run by a 6 year old would be run better. Let's face it, a kid would offer a lot of ice-cold lemonade in the summer season and if a little experienced from the year or two before might also expand to offer some other cold drinks like bottled water, iced tea and so on. So, you'd think, or at least I thought, that TSUSA being an experienced ammo retailer would have offered a lot of hunting ammo being hunting season is just about here. While there was some of it, I think there was not much choice, at least that I could find, that was included in said sale. Anyway, this is what I ordered:

A 200 round case of Federal Power-Shok 30-06 Springfield 180 Grain Soft Point Ammo. My son asked me to pick him up a couple boxes of 30-06 ammo; I will give him at least half the case - maybe all of it. I think he will be pleased but if he reads this I guess the surprise will be ruined.

Two 1,000 round cases of New Republic Training and Range 9mm Luger 115 Grain FMJ Ammo. One case is for me and one for my daughter who just passed her probation officer training and was issued a Glock 19; she wants to go to the range ASAP. This had a great price at $201.43; of course tax made it higher but such is life. Regardless of tax, I have not seen 9mm ammo that low in price for a long time. That's almost as low as the lowest prices right before Covid & Biden a few years back.

A case of 1,000 rounds (in two 500 rd boxes) of Winchester USA 5.56x45mm NATO M193 55 Grain FMJ Ammo; 500 Rounds Value Pack

A spam can of Barnaul 7.62x39mm 123 Grain FMJ Lacquer Coated Steel Case Ammo, 700 Rounds (anyone know how this compares to Wolf ammo, quality-wise)

Five boxes, 100 rounds total, of Federal Power-Shok 308 Winchester 150 Grain Soft Point Ammo.

I cannot recall the last time I purchased 4K rounds in one day when none of it was 22 LR. After buying three guns and a lot of other stuff at an auction this past weekend and now this, I doubt I'll be buying any guns or ammo for a while; yet, I will admit that the the guns & ammo monkey on my back is a strong beast indeed and it has no regard for my finances; so, who can tell when it next will steer me to buy, buy, buy again!!! It's so strong maybe I should call it GAMzilla.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I Started Donating Today...

 ...to the campaign to reelect President Donald J. Trump. My donation was meager at only $50 but I plan to donate more, probably a similar amount monthly or at least $25 now and again. I also submitted my info to do volunteer work for his campaign.

 

I recommend others who  plan to vote for him do likewise - donate whatever you can afford and volunteer. We need to get the current tyrant out of office and I would much rather see that done by way of the ballot box as opposed to someone trying to do so by way ofpthe ammo box (which I fear may become the case if Biden is reelected because sooner or later tyranny is overthrown in one way or another).

 

All the best,

Glenn B

My Daughter - The Probation Officer

My daughter officially graduated from her probation officer training last week. She scored 100% on the final exam and did very well in her firearms training. Never expected her to get into armed law enforcement but she needed a higher oaying job than her previous one as an investigator for Child Protective Services and now she has it.

 She is another chip off the old block or so it seems when it comes to shooting. Both she and my son are crack shots. Both of them make me very proud, of course not just for that but necause both are hard workers, both own homes, both are overall excellent citizens and I am pretty sure neither will ever vote for a liberal leftist democrat. Bless their souls!

 All the best,

Glenn B

Well It May Have Been A Good Gun But It Was Not To Be Mine

 Of course, I am referring to the AMT Hardballer with the long slide as I wrote about in my post immediately prior to this one. I bid in a Hessney.com auction today, it was one of their combined Military & Sportsman Auctions and it had a nice variety of weaponry (firearms and blades), sporting rifles, lots and lots of ammo, firearms accessories, militaria, taxidermy items, decoys, generators and two cars. One of the cars was a 1954 Buick Century with a only13K original miles (or so it was claimed & I have no reason to doubt it), it sold for 16K.

As for the guns I started to bid fairly early on 'once they got to some of the handguns after a barrage of rifles & shotguns. I had bid on the hardballer already but had to stop, it just got above what I wanted to pay. It ultimately sold for $1050.00. Another one I bid on was a Colt 1911 commemorative of The Battle of Belleau Wood in WWI France. A battle in which the U.S. Marines kicked German butt and in all likelihood those marines were the only reason that the Kaiser was not soon after sitting in Paris enjoying some Cognac and a nice buttery croissant. I stopped bidding at around $600.00 or so. The Colt 1911 looked nice and all but I wanted something much more than any 1911 - even a fancy one with gold inlay and that came in a display case. What I wanted was another Colt, more about it in a bit.

 

Well, the bids on the Belleau Wood Colt 1911 got up above my spending limit, then over $700 then stalled at $800 after a few more bids in $25 increments. My son gets into these auctions, sometimes I place bids for him, and we were texting each other back and forth and he wrote: 

 

"That world war 1 commemorative colt is at a pretty low price"

 

His next message a moment later said:

 

"There is one on gunbroker with 1500 dollars worth of bids right now."

 

The right now was at 0931 this morning Central Time and as I said its bid was at $800.00. Yes, I knew they could go for nice bucks, much more than only $800.00 but this one while supposedly unfired was only in about 98%+ finish condition as per Joe Hessney the auction house owner. (I almost almost always send them an email before I bid, asking for the condition of the guns in which I have an interest.) So, I told my son forget it because I wanted that other Colt, the one I just said I'd tell you more about; I will tell you more but not yet. After only two minutes though, I sent a message to my son asking if the bid had just gone up and he replied "Yea". Then I sent him another message saying:

 

"Some asshole bid on it!"

 

I also included a photo of my laptop screen - this photo:

 

 As you can see, it showed the new high bid of $825.00. What it also showed was the key word - do you see it. It's a bit off center to your left and closer to the top than the bottom. That word is in green. Yep, that's it - the word "WINNING". That word only shows up on the high bidder's screen. My son & I sent each other a few more message, me mostly hoping I did not maintain my place as the high bidder (because I wanted that other Colt - the one I promise to tell you about). Then at 0938, he sent me another text saying:

"Holy crap u got it!"

My reply was:

"Shit shit shit, I got it".

Oh well, bidding had ended on it, I was soon to become $825.00, plus a 13% buyers premium, shipping charges and an FFL fee (on my end) poorer. This is what I got:

I may keep it, I may sell it, who knows but it will soon be mine to do with as I see fit. I am sure to enjoy owning it at least until I don't. The auction continued.

Not long afterward, at 0953 I found out that I'd also be out another $650.00 plus that 13% buyer's premium, shipping and and FFL fee (on my end). I had the high bid on the other Colt. That other Colt is a model I have owned before but as opposed to this latest one, a big difference was that the first one I owned was the first variety of that particular model and manufactured in the first year, as I recall, of its existence. The one I bid on today (actually yesterday by now since it is after midnight) was the second variation and this one was made many years later in 1955. It is a Colt Detective Special. This one:

 

 

 

 

 

The second and remarkable difference between the two is that the first one had the front sight partially filed down by some knucklehead who had it before I got it, then I was the knucklehead because I never noticed before bidding on it. Luckily a third knucklehead bought it from me at a very small loss to me so it turned out okay and YES I told the buyer about the front sight and she did not give a hoot.

Back to the one I got today, or at least had the high bid on yesterday as I obviously have not received it yet. I have been wanting to get a Detective Special ever since my first year in my duty station in the Border Patrol, that was back in 1980. Me being THE Great Procrastinator, I did not get one until 2018; talk about procrastinating - that was 38 years after me first wanting one. Joe Hessney told me that this current one is all original and is in 98% condition; pretty good for a revolver made in 1955 that being 68 years ago. There are two very special things, for me, about this one over my first one and they are that: It was made in 1955 - the year of my birth and that it is the second variation and I am the second born of my other two siblings. It almost seemed as it was meant for me; so, I was okay to pay almost top dollar for it being it was also in such good condition. I figure top dollar to be $50 to $100 more than I will have to pay in total. That is based on others I have see sell on GunBroker.com; well, maybe even another hundred atop that amount. It made me a happy camper but also made me feel that much poorer. 

After having the high bid on those, I steeled myself to stop bidding on more guns. I had set a limit of $1,200 and was already above it thanks to the urging of my gun and auction loving male heir. The only problem with that was that I had started bidding days ago and had one more bid already made. That was on a Chinsese SKS with a black synthetic folding stock, this one:

 

 

 

I'd rather have one with the original stock but Joe told me this one was 90%+ with an excellent bore and I bid $200.00. What I could not understand was that in the day or three since I had placed that bid on it - no one else bid on it. China SKS rifles with aftermarket stocks like this on regularly sell for $300 on GunBroker if not more. Nobody else bid on it yesterday either and that befuddles me. Regardless of my confusion about why there were no other bids, I was out, or soon will be out, of another $200.00 plus the 13% buyer's premium, shipping charges and the FFL fee (on my end ($200.00). Oh well, life and bidding went on.

 

I had a number of another high bids to include eight 30 round AK mags, a 5 round AK mag, an early Russian AK bayonet with scabbard, and SOG folding knife, several gun related books and some books on the old west, two WWII military field telephones (my son had me bid on them for him), three 22 LR mags for AR style 22 rifles, two 10 round AR mags, a Galco Escort Waistpack which ironically had an AMT Hardballer listed as the first pistol, of several, that it fits; a Galco inside the waistband 1911 holster and finally a Hornady set of reloading dies in 30-06 - new in the unopened box.

To say the least, it has turned out to be an expensive day for me well over my self imposed but not stuck to limit of $1,200.00 of winning bids. It's an addiction a hobby that I enjoy. That's okay, I will sell some stuff sooner or later to help make up for what I spent today. A few lucky folks at the next gun show wherein I have a table or two will get some excellent prices on a gun or two, some ammo and accessories and magazines because I often sell at cost and too often at just below cost so I can recoup some cash for my latest acquisitions. I am not anti-profit but I am not greedy either. If I can sell stuff at a gun show that helps me maintain close to an equilibrium as to funds expended and funds coming in, I am happy even if on the short side so long as by not very much. Of course making a few bucks would also be welcome yet I do gun shows more for the fun of it and as I said to recoup most of the cash I spent in my most recent auction or purchase.

 

 All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

That's A Good Gun

 The video below shows one of my all time favorite scenes from a Schwarzenegger movie. The guy behind the counter had a great but short lived part; I kind of wish I could find some work like that in a few movies but I wonder, would it pay anything worthwhile? Even if not, it would be fun to be remembered in a memorable scene like that; just about everyone who has seen the original Terminator movie probably remembers it well.  

 

 

My son always mentions that AMT long slide 45 when he talks about the Terminator. I have an opportunity to pick one up this weekend if things go right - just no laser sight. Time will tell. 

 All the best,

 Glenn B

This Makes Me Laugh

 

 

This truly is an excellent prank:  

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw-82fKpKU3/?igshid=NjIwNzIyMDk2Mg==

 

Of course, if it actually was a prank, one has to wonder as one commenter pointed out, how did she dry off all of a sudden (note her hair is dry in her last youthful scene).

 

All the best,

GB

Never Forrget - Never Forgive

 22 years have passed since 9/11. Take some time today to think about what happened and to memorialize those who lost their lives that day in the attacks and when trying to save others immediately afrerward.

Well, It's China Virus Season

 My son was diagnosed with Covid-19 a couple or few days ago. He was feeling miserable and had a fever. Today, his girlfriend came down with symptoms including a fever. So, I guess she has it too but I don't think has been to see a doc. Hopefully their dog will not get it, he's an old timer and certainly does not need it. Then again, they did not need it either. 

 

At least Brendan is getting a bit better, his fever went down today but my guess is he still feels pretty miserable. I know mine had me sick with pneumonia for 2.5 weeks and then not feeling all that well for another two months.

 

Wishing them both a speedy and full recovery.

All the best,

Glenn B

Time To Blow My Horn Or To Shoot My Glock

I attended the Glock Armorers' Course on Tuesday last. It was the fourth I have attended but only the third completed; the first one was in CT when I worked for the U.S. Customs Office of Investigations, and had duties as a range officer. That one was on 9/11. So, my cousin (also s range officer) and I cut it short and headed back to do what we could do on that terrible day.

 

The armorers' course I took today was different from the other two I had completed in that it primarily covered Glock GEN5 pistols. I had two Glock 19 GEN5 pistols but was not happy with them and sold them shortly after I had purchased them. I want one or more again as this class opened my eyes about them and made me realize my initial disappointment over an issue with the slide lock spring was about something of essentially little to no concern (the instructor recommended never removing it) and showed that there is a simple fix for it that works seemingly more often than not on how to get it assembled in its right place without it flying across the room or to the moon.

 

I passed the practical test - no problem took the pistol apart and put it back together again (unlike all the King's men & all the King's horses when it came to Humpty Dumpty) all within the allotted time frame. I also passed the written test scoring 100% correct. The written test was made up of 25 questions and you needed to score 80% or higher to pass. From some of the moans I heard, I am guessing some others, while passing, did not do as well. I admit, I had to just about guess on one question which asked which one of two firing pin assemblies was for the GEN5; the on screen test showed two images of Glock firing pins. I had on my glasses and even with them on I could barely see any difference; so, I more or less guessed based on the one tiny difference I saw. L,uckily I saw it well enough to get it right. Later, I realized I probably had on my readers and not my distance glasses as I had to keep changing back and forth to either clearly see the test on the screen or to clearly read my answer sheet. Regardless, I got it right. I also made the mistake of putting answers for two questions on one line and had to go back to correct that, quite embarrassing! The instructor was nice enough to back up the test video and I got them both on their respective proper lines. The eyes are not what they once had been and when the instructor lowered the lights so the test would show on the screen, it was difficult, to say the least, to read the test sheet - that with once again probably forgetting to switch glasses, this time from distance to readers. Sadly, bifocals just do not do it for me, at least not the last time I tried using them.

 

Regardless of switching glasses - or forgetting to do so - I will be certified as a Glock Armorer for the third time. Wish it could have been as an advanced armorer certification like the last time I took a Glock course i 2016 but evidently Glock has, at least temporarily, ceased that course and they supposedly did so during Covid like many others who made apparent knee jerk reactions back then. Anyhow, that is the way it is if I understood the instructor correctly. Thus, this time, as opposed to five years for the advanced armorer course, I only am certified for three years, or will be so, once Glock sends me the certification.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

AK-47 Mystery Magazine

 As I often do, and not too long ago, I purchased a couple of guns and a bunch of gun accessories & parts from a Hessney Auction Company auction. Among the items I most recently acquired from them were several AK-47 magazines. I buy em either to keep for my own AK-47s or to sell at gun shows. I do that not so much to make profit but mostly for my own amusement. I usually like having a table at any given show I attend to offload firearms related things which I no longer need or want. While it is nice to make a profit, I often sell items at cost or a bit below cost. Those that I sell at or below cost are often ones I have used but no longer have a use for or simply just did not like for whatever reason. Those that I sell for a profit are most often sold at a minimal gain and are assuredly lower priced than any sold by other dealers at the shows. Yep, you can still find good bargains at gun shows if you look, at least at my tables.

 

I digress, so let me get bag to the topic of this rant. 

 

One of the magazines I got from the last auction in which I bid was a rather odd AK-47 magazine, a mystery magazine if you will. At least it is unique in my experience and I have not been able to find an example of it online. I have made several online searches trying to find out where it was manufactured but have run into a brick wall so to speak. 

 

It is larger than a standard 30 round AK mag but not as large as 40 round AK mags that I own, it was offered in the auction as a 35 round AK mag; I have not yet tried to load it to capacity but that seems about right. It has a dull gray phosphate finish, there are no markings stamped into the metal, the welds look very different than any others I have ever seen on an AK mag - at least those on the spine along the back of the magazine. Other welds are virtually invisible, this is a well finished magazine. There are many welds on the spine, they are uniformly spaced and very small; there also are two, one near the top and the other near the bottom of the spine, that look more like tiny rivets or at least that are indented on one side and protrude on the other. The rear lug at the top of the mag also has very unique looking welds, they appear as three evenly spaced small holes on each side of the lug. There is a hole near the bottom of the mag body on the right side of the magazine back. The protrusion on the mag follower is rounded at the rear and somewhat pointed at the front end.

 

As I said, it is a mystery magazine to me. What I an hoping is that one of my more knowledgeable readers might know the origins of it.

So, if you are an AK magazine aficionado, take a look at the below photos and let me know what you think:

 

Those are the best pics I can offer right now. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

is President Biden...

 ...just a egotistical, self centered, clueless moron or is he an insulting nasty sack of shit manure or is he all of those. I opt for all of those. They need to put a extra large bit in his mouth and rein him in hard whenever he starts to compare anything to a completely incomparable event - that is real, exaggerated or totally made up fiction - that he claims was something he experienced within his lifetime. Why that should be done is to spare us from having to be inundated by his BS (Biden Shit).

He, I think, should be ashamed of himself for what he said while speaking in Hawaii about the devastating wildfires in there (read his outlandish comments at the source). Then again, likewise for hundreds if not thousands of bogus and nasty things he has said during his years in politics. Of course, he is incapable of shame or so it seems to me.

All the best,

Glenn B

When Will You (You Being Democrats) Get It?

When are democrats (aka: liberals, progressives or leftists) going to realize that the dystopian chaos currently in existence in places like Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; San Fransicko Francisco, CA, New York, NY have been created almost exclusively by the very same people and types of people they keep electing to political office in states wherein there is an overwhelming democrat majority of voters. In other words - it is your fault this is happening if you vote democrat. Those on the middle and on the right have been saying the same for years; yet, democrats have not and still do not heed those warnings! So you keep voting for the same type of virtual anarchy allowing criminals to run free and do as they please such as: rampant mobs running wild as they burglarize businesses and steal tens of or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise and do tens of thousands of dollars in physical damage to stores without consequence to them; businesses closing one after another; junkies shooting up anywhere they please and leaving contaminated needles behind that have been infected with HIV, hepatitis, sexual or other diseases; human wastes lining your sidewalks; filth & disease ridden tents cities to pop up almost anywhere; violent attacks by the homeless upon law abiding citizens;  mass emigration away from your states and on and on. Nationwide you also have unleashed a tsunami of potentially disease ridden illegal aliens, drug & other contraband smugglers, human traffickers & their victims, terrorists and their weapons across our borders who are going to be taxing our economy to the point of collapse, and some outright trying to destroys us almost without doubt, after millions entered our country illegally (at the same time preventing or delaying the legal immigration of millions). 

 

While millions entered through our four southern border states illegally, only thousands were sent by states like Texas to places like the self-proclaimed sanctuary city of New York. What happened there: The two faced hypocritical liberal political leaders there, such as the mayor of NYC, start whining about how terrible it is that those cities and states must pay for these dregs of society whose first act on U.S. soil was to commit a crime (yes illegal entry is still a crime). They think it unfair yet it is they, other democrats and even RINOs (they are effectively democrats) who created the problems, in fact welcomed the problems, in the first place probably without one iota of thought given to the outcome of their having done so. It is apparent, they never dreamed it would in any way, shape or form become their city's or state's problem. What idiots and fools are repeatedly elected by democrats is amazing; although, many republicans are much the same if at all any better.

If you - a democrat, liberal, progressive, leftist or whatever you identify as nowadays - have not yet awakened maybe you still have time to save yourselves and your states. I beg you though - don't just move away from the problem and abandon your home state only to bring your ridiculous and dangerous lunatic fringe ideals, the same ideals that created all of the above problems and many others, with you to other states. The people in those other states, in which you want to seek asylum, do not need you to spread the plagues you have unleashed in your home states to them or any other areas of our nation. The funny thing is though, when you - you meaning democrats, liberals, progressives, leftists and such - have had too much to stand of the destructive mayhem that you and only you yourselves have created - what do you do all too often but decide to move away from states you have ruined to states where there are no such problems or at least much less of them. The states to which you all too often decide to move are states that are at least moderately to strongly conservative, states like: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and so forth. They truly don't need you garbage politics and the horrible results of liberalism that you spawn - really they do not. Just as you are sick of your abhorrent creations - so are they sick of the same.

Do you think by moving to these other much freer states from shitholes states like CA, MI, NY, OR or WA (among others) things will suddenly change for the better? Things are only going to change for the worse in any states to which you flee in masses so long as you keep voting for the leftists, liberals, progressives, communists, socialists, gender freaks and dimwits (among others) whom you keep voting into political office. If you want to move to another state where there are less problems, then change your attitudes, ideals & politics drastically first because if you do not you will only create those same problems to wherever you move. Those problems, created by you, have already destroyed several states, cities and communities and made our once great nation the cesspool of the world. 

 

So if you seriously are considering changing your state of residence to flee the carnage of liberalism - change your political spots first! You are not a leopard and thus can change your spots politics easily enough. Need some incentive: Just think of how you and your politics have ruined things already and about the reason(s) for you wanting to flee from one state to another in the first place.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Trump Travel Ban

If you have not realized that all of the indictments against President Trump have very conveniently (for the democtats) been brought in the early stages of the campaign for the 2024 elections - well, you may need to slap yourself awake and take notice. The timing is obviously an attempt at campaign and election interferense as I see it and I think is also a coordinated effort of backroom politics. The thing I wonder about now is which prosecutor will argue, and which judge will agree, to slam President Trump with travel restrictions that will mandate that he does not leave the jurisdiction in any one of the areas wherein he was charged with crimes.

 

 If that is done successfully, in just a single jurisdiction, he would be unable to travel to other areas to campaign. Ganted, all the court dates that will be set that require his appearance in the various courtrooms almost guarantee he will be unable to run a successful campaign but Trump is a shrewd planner who would likely figure a way around that. A travel ban however, except for travel to other jurisdictions for court appearances, would in essence immobilize him and his campaign. 

 

My bet is that such  is coming or at least attempts will be made by the demoncrats leftists to do so.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

America is dead.

That Pellet Gun May Not Shoot Out An Eye But...

 ...it may kill someone nontheless. A man in San Diego is alleged to have sent a group text message, saying: "I'm going hobo hunting with a pellet gun". A friend who reportedy was included among the recipiants allegedly joined him and drove him to an area frequented by homeless folks.

 

Sometime after that, San Diego police reportedly found a woman whom it turned out had been shot multiple times by a pellet gun. She was brought to a hospital and died therein three days later; one of the pellets reportedly had pierced her aorta.

The two young men, one reportedly 18 and the other 19, were arrested and charged in her death. More at the source.

Sometimes the warnings given to us by our moms are best taken as serious business full of wisdom and if  ot heeding that then it would be wise to heed morality and the law. Why anyone would do something as pathetic as hunting anyone at all, and if my guess is correct that they did it for fun, is beyond my comprehension except to imagine they are evil twisted despicable misfits who desrve the death penalty, or life in prison at the very least, if convicted as I see it. 

 

My other guess is that they will be crying crocodile tears in jail and claiming in court they didn't mean to hurt anyone; yet, hurt someone and do it fatally is allegdly exactly what was done by at least one of them with the other's assistance to some extent. 

 

Truly, our society has degraded to being the modern day Rome in as much as like the once mighty Roman Empire, it has fallen or is in the process of doing so. That is due, in great part, to political blunders of our so called leaders; to a lack of leaders and parents enforcing once accepted laws, rules and moral & social norms, to citizens who like spoiled brats must have everything their way no matter how twisted or perverse and to an invasion of aliens who have little to no interest in preserving what once made the United States of America a great and unified natiion.

All the best,

Glenn B

 

Lest It Be Forgotten

Some things should never be forgotten. U.S. Independence Day, your mom's birthday, to lock your house's or car's doors, to take out the  dog, to feed the fish - but not too much, to tell your kids you love them and show it, to give your spouse true affection and so on. There are a couple of others we should never forget though they were terrible: the Holocaust is one although somehow we seem to forget all the others killed in the camps so remember them too, there were 12 to 13 million. (Over the years, from what I have seen, that number has decreased and I have heard or read that it is now supposedly as low as 11 million; although, the amount of Jewish folks killed has never decreased by much if anything, it is just the amount of non Jews somehow has fallen and that sounds like wokeness to me.)

 

Today is the anniversary of yet another truly horrible event, one that no one alive should be ignorant of and once made aware of it should definitely never forget. August 6 in 1945 - 78 years ago -  was truly the day that Oppenheimer became Death the Destroyer of worlds. On that day, the United States of America bombed Hiroshima, Japan and caused the deaths of about 130,000 people (some immediately, some over several months who died of their wounds and others who died years later due to cancer caused by radiation). Little Boy did its job but not quite awesomely nor fast enough. A few days later on August 9, 1945, the U.S. bombed Nagasaki, another major Japanese city, killing and maiming many more. Fat Man finally brought about the surrender of the once mighty Japan - well that with the entry of the USSR into the war on Japan and the invasion of Manchuria. 

 

Had we waited a few weeks longer, Japan would have likely as surrendered by then but other allied troops would have persihed. While many like to believe that Truman (as in the then the US President) gave the orders to drop the bombs to end the war and save allied lives; I have to wonder if at least the second bomb was more for effect, maybe even the first one too, of warning other nations we had it, we used it, we have more of them. Truman, he was a democrat and throughout my 6 decades plus of living, I have come to believe that democrats are usually the worst of the war mongers out of our political parties in the US and thus I wonder for his reasons for at least the second one. As for the dems, they also seem to be the worst at & of everything and mind you I am an independent unaffiliated with any political party. Years ago, maybe now more than a decade, I left party I was in out of disgust and that was not the Democrat party. They both suck so don't think I said that about the dems because I am of the other major party types. It is merely my opinion that they are the most terrible of the two major parties and that other one of the two is not far behind them. I digress so back to the bombings.

 

Little Boy and Fat Man were the only two atomic (nuclear) bombs ever used in warfare and ever used to purposefully kill  massive amounts of people. Setting off those two bombs led in great part to the defeat of Japan, which surrendered to the allies only days later on August 15. They also undoubtedly saved the lives of many allied troops; yet, as I said I wonder a lot about the need for the second one and sometimes I wonder if we really needed the first one. Whatever you or I make of them, those bombings were nonetheless two of the most horrific events, over the course of only two days, to have ever befallen mankind. More about this at the sources: 

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hiroshima-marks-a-bomb-anniversary-calls-nuclear-deterrence-folly-2023-08-06/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-anniversary-russia-ukraine/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

 

https://www.foxnews.com/world/hiroshima-japan-atomic-bomb-history#

 

My hope is no one ever forgets but the reality is that more and more nations have acquired the knowledge, technology and resources to manufacture modern nuclear weapons that are much more powerful and thus would be much more deadly should they ever be used. None of the nations that have them, including the United States seem to pay much attention to history nor do they seemingly have the foresight to realize what will happen if they unleash a nuclear war in which many nations have nukes. Obviously, Russia has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and very recently has threatened to use them in the war in the Ukraine or to attack allies of the Ukraine if allied troops are sent there to support them. Yet, world leaders of nations that have nukes frequently talk about disarmament. Then when questioned as to why they have not disarmed their nukes they give the excuse for keeping nukes as being a deterrent against nations who are still armed with them. What a screwy fruit loopy loop of illogical balderdash is that because no one will ever take the first step at nuclear weapons disarmament thinking like that! 

 

I remember something screwy from my history lessons (when real world history was taught and not the woke variety). In those lessons I learned a bit about World War I. The thing about World War I is that it had a couple of names other than WW I; one of which was "The Great War". Then there was the other name for it; that one as imbecilic as the deterrent excuse world leaders of today use to downplay why we have not yet totally disarmed all nuclear weapons.  Yep one of the names for WW I was as lame as the deterrent excuse and it was: "The War To End All Wars". It did not live up to that name.

 

So yeah, I expect sooner or later that a country like Russia, China, North Korea, Pakistan or Iran will launch nukes as a first strike against the US. Then again, who knows, we have a president right now who seems to think he is this guy:

Then again he appears to me to be much more like this one:

 

 

 

So maybe the US will be the one to launch the first strike.

 

Thinking along those lines, some folks think that sooner or later, because of power hungry & demented leaders, Einstein's prediction about the aftermath of WW III will come to pass - that is unless the war mongering attitudes of so called world leaders is changed drastically and their attitudes do not seem to be going in a direction to avoid another WW.  So what was Einstein's prediction:  

 

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." 

 

Einstein was a genius but I am doubtful he got that one quite right. I tend to think that if there ever is a WW III, one in which nukes are used, there will never be a WW IV. That's because there won't be anyone left to fight WW IV except maybe the roaches and rats and even if humans survive, all the sticks will have been burned to ash and the stones melted to slag or vitrified.

If you do not think that the destruction caused by a future nuclear was could be as bad as I think, then go to this article and read it all. It is mind boggling to think that Russia has a bomb, reportedly the strongest one ever, supposedly 2,500 times stronger than the one dropped on Hiroshima. More at https://www.livescience.com/how-many-nuclear-weapons-exist (you may need to cut & paste this one into your browser).

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even A Pimple On The Backside Of Progress Is Not Immune...

 ...from the perversions of alleged child molesters or at least from the alleged perversions of them or so it seems to me. Three folks were arrested recently, in Texarkana, TX by Texarkana, TX Police Department officers after they reportedly contacted a female on what my source said was a prostitution site. The girl supposedly explained to each of the three men that she was underage. Each of them agreed to meet her for sex in exchange for money, as I understand. Surprised they must have been when the door was answered by the police - each was arrested when each got to the girl's place. I wonder if the police officers working that sting operation were even more surprised to find out that one of the arrested men was, according to the report, a Texarkana, AR police officer! More at the source.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

Thankgod

 I wonder if his mother and father ever dreamed of how appropriate a name they were giving their son. He was one of four men who climbed aboard the rudder of a merchant ship while it was in harbor at Lagos, Nigeria in western Africa. He was desperate, all of them were, to get to a better place, a better life. He and the others believed the ship was headed to Europe, they had food and water that lasted 10 days. Their journey took 14 days and after running out of supplies they drank seawater to survive. 

 

The ship never arrived in Europe, that because it was headed in a totally different direction. It made port but not at alll where they had expected;  they wound up on another continent altogether.

Imagine their ordeal, 14 days at sea on a rudder. Thry must have been truly terrified, it was no joy ride, of that I am sure. Then imagine their great relief to have arrived anywhere at all and their grest surprise to learn they were in Brazil. Brazilian Federal Police evidently got them off of the ship but only after giving them what they needed most after four days without it - fresh water. Once there, two of the men decided to go back to Nigeria but two opted to apply for asylum in Brazil. More at the source.

I am no fan of illegal aliens entering any country but their plight gives one pause for thought. Thought not so much about illegal entries and such, their desperation does not change my mind that borders need be respected and Immigration laws strictly enforced with emphasis placed on legal Immigration with favoratism given to they who apply legally and are found acceptable under the law. My thoughts are more about how good we have it in the United States that virtually not one of our most downtrodden tries to head to a better country (is there even one that is better) and about how bad it is for others in many other countries of the world. Bad enough it seems, for even the most idiotic and dangerous of plans to seem like a good one, or maybe the only one, to get oneself to a better life. 

Maybe his parents should have named him Foolishboy, Dumbass, Idiot or Badrisktaker but instead they gave him a name that also makes me wonder if he is living up to it and one that I am pretty certain is appropriate. I am guessing that maybe it could not have been mere luck that got all four of them across the unforgiving seas - could it! There must have been a higher power than chance  maybe a divine providence protecting them, don't you think? I bet he and the others think so and I bet they are all doing what his name says to do being they all did not perish at sea. 

 

If you have not figured it out yet, one of the men was was given the same name

as the title of this blogpost - Thankgod! My guess is that is what he and the others have been doing a lot of lately. I am also guessing, that if still alive, his patents are doing much of the same and are very happy they gave him that very suitable moniker.

All the best,

Glenn B

Cat Stevens...

 ...I would not pee on him if afire today BUT I love to listen to his old songs from back in the 70s. This man had, maybe still has, one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I like this song of his very much: How Can I Tell You. It should be the theme song of hopeless romantics worldwide!

 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

I Keep Up The Hope That It Would Start Already

 The it to which I refer is the damned Zombie Apocalypse. It's going to start sooner or later; so, it may as well begin when there actually is a zombie in charge (well in as much charge as is allowed to a puppet anyway) with thousands of his minion around him and tens of millions more of them spread out across the country.

 

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know, I've posted that video before or a copy almost exactly like it (the other one was just a bit longer on each end). The thing about posting it again and again and yet again is that Hope springs eternal! Thus, one can hope that those of us who are not democrats zombies, just like the surviving humans in the zombie movies and shows, will have plenty of food & water stocked up with some decent amount of medical supplies as well. Of course, one can only hope that we also would have lots of firepower once it commences!

All the best,

Glenn B

The Z Is Nowhere Near The R...

 ...on any keyboard I have ever seen as far as I recall. So when a police officer allegedly ran an Arkansas tag as an Arizona tag, I figure it must be because he never paid attention in 4th or 5th grade geography class or is maybe just an ignoramus or had a terrible brain fart.

Now, I can understand a person of a bit less than, or even of, average intelligence thinking that AR stands for Arizona being a and r are its first two letters but how anyone would think AZ stands for Arkansas is beyond me. I note, in my 32 years of law enforcement experience, it was always the two letter code used for running a license plate.

So, when an officer in TX, reportedly ran an Arkansas plate as an Arizona plate, resulting in guns drawn on an innocent family, I believe that officer requires lots of basic retraining in not only geography but spelling of state abbreviations as well. The family, I think, is also owed more than a mere lame apolpgy. More at the source.

All the best,

Glenn B

It's All Ready To Go But I Seem Cursed As THE Great Procrastinator

Yes, I have said it many times before - I am THE Great Procrastinator. For instance, I have bought guns that from day one I have intended to shoot and then a year or even years later, I come to realize I have not yet shot. Right now, I have an AK-47, that I traded with my son for cash and a Argentine 1911 knockoff (officially licensed by Colt). We did the trade probably at least 3/4 of a year ago if not a year or more ago. I have not fired it yet.

 

Me procrastinating is not always the case though. For example, I picked up three new pistols this week. On Sunday, I purchased a new Glock 26 GEN3. Then on Monday or Tuesday, I picked up two new Rock Island Armory (Armscor) Full Size, Tactical A1 1911 pistols from the FFL to whom they had to be delivered; I ordered them over a week ago from Palmetto Sate Armory. I decided, at least with the Glock 26, I did not want to wait, stall, put off, delay, or in any possible way procrastinate before shooting it. So, I got everything ready for a range trip to one of the semi-local indoor ranges - all of them are on the TX side of the border, there are no indoor ranges on the AR side near where I live as far as I know. I did that two nights ago and was going to hit the range yesterday. 

Well, that plan fell flat, there was just too much crap stuff I had to get done & out of the way before going to the range - like sleeping for about 4 hours yesterday afternoon as I had very little sleep the night before. I needed the sleep and figured that's okay because I would definitely make it to the range today. Yes, you guessed it - more stuff to do was piled up today because I slept through most of yesterday afternoon. Amazingly, I got what I had to get done today finished today; how is that for not procrastinating! Among other things, I had a doctor's appointment to keep, shopping that I needed to do, gassing up the car, dog care chores, watering the potted outdoor plants (man they are suffering in the heat around here), taking care of my tortoises, cleaning chores, administrative things to get done regarding personal issues, and so on.

So, there my range bag sat & still sits. It is waiting, along with an ammo can chock full of 9mm, .380 AUTO, .44 S&W Special, 45 ACP and 22 LR, to take a trip to the range with me. I was planning on shooting a few different pistols & revolvers and wanted all I needed ready to go. Then last night, I threw in some 45 ammo thinking I'd take the two new 1911s along as well. Well as far as those 1911s go, I never got around to cleaning them. They definitely need cleaning before shooting as they have a coating of what seems a lot like a new age cosmoline (yeah, the link is to a commercial page but it gives the history and uses of it) or maybe it is the real McCoy. The 1911 pistols can wait though to be cleaned or shot; it is the Glock 26 I need to shoot. I bought it to replace my aged Glock 26 that I bought many years ago and through which I have fired lots of ammo. That older Glock 26 is my every day carry gun or should I call it what fits it better: it is my main almost every moment carry gun but it will soon be replaced by the new one, that is if all functions well.

Now, I am hopeful that I will have the time to get to the range tomorrow and that I will have gotten a good night's sleep tonight, good enough to feel up to going to the range tomorrow without taking an afternoon nap. I still have not cleaned the 45s but that is okay, they can become my main objects of procrastination after my AK-47 that I have not yet shot. As a matter of fact, I may shoot only one of them and hang onto the other unfired to maybe sell or trade or not - time & whether or not it becomes procrastination will tell on that one. Since there are times when I can be quite spur of the moment (as in spontaneous) though, who knows, I may shoot them sooner than expected. The Glock though - that is another story and I not only want to get it done but really need to shoot a few hundred rounds or so through it soon to assure it functions properly and is suitable to bet my life on should things ever get nasty.

All the best,

Glenn B

I Woke Up This Morning And Had Myself a Beer...

 ...because the future's uncertain and the end is always near. Jim Morrison was right about that. 

 

So, I actually did that just now - I had myself a good German bier shortly after waking up - but only after shedding some tears. I did it in memory of a dear friend who passed early this morning after a long battle with cancer. To paraphrase some lines from one the longest stories I have ever read - The Lord of The Rings: May his road go ever on.

 

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say” 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

The Glock Collector - Added A New Blog To The Link List Today

 Well, truth be told the blog is not not new, it is just new to my list under the header:

TAKE A SHOT WITH THESE SHOOTIST BLOGGERS, NOT AT THEM

 

The newly added blog is The Glock Collector. Now, some of you who are more attentive than me may immediately notice that said blog seems to have died three years ago in March 2020; that is the date of the last post. I only noticed after adding it to the link list and despite there being no new posts to it in over three years, I am going to keep it on the list because there seems to be lots of good info about Glocks within its pages. For instance, I was trying to determine how to tell if a Glock has been factory refurbished or rebuilt. The Glock Collector made it straightforward and pretty simple at these two pages:

https://glockcollector.info/2019/01/11/product-number-breakdown/

https://glockcollector.info/2019/11/21/case-label-colors-what-do-they-mean/

 Now that I am aware of that info, I may stop at Hot Springs, on my journey back to Texarkana from my sons place, to pick up a Glock 26 at the Lion's Club gun show. We stopped there yesterday and I would have bought it had I sold any of the guns I had brought with me. Later, after leaving the show, I found out that dealers at gun shows often sell rebuilt/refurbished Glocks as new - that was news to me. Because of the price this particular one had on it, it would be worth it to me to go back and check on it. If not rebuilt or refurbished and if still up for sale, I may own a new Glock 26 before I get back to my apartment.

All the best,

Glenn B

Damn Shipping Costs May Be Going Up Again...

...at least if unionized workers at UPS go on strike or such is my guess. The current contract for many UPS employees expires at midnight July 31. UPS says it cannot give them more pay & benefits. The thing is, a strike will also have a potential to harm the U.S. economy. If they strike for only ten days, the estimated hit to the U.S. economy would be 7.1 billion bucks! That according to an article at CNN. More at that source.  

 

Now I am not one who puts much trust in the reporting at what I consider to be the MSM (mud slinging media) outlets like CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS and so on. Then again, my favored news outlet, Fox News does not even have a current article on the subject, at least not a very recent one that I could find on their site. So, I also checked One America News and they too had an article, albeit a much briefer one than the one at CNN, but it said much the same thing about the potential economic loss being that bad, 7  billion dollar was their figure. More at OAN. Their source appears to have been Reuters.

 

Not only would a UPS strike screw the economy but it is going to hurt an awful lot of folks businesses who depend on UPS to move parcels. It is also going to screw over those awaiting packages and larger shipments. Necessities like prescription medicines, food stuffs, baby formula, business supplies and whatever else one absolutely needs could be delayed or even ruined in the summertime heat while stalled & waiting to be delivered. 

 

If you need something that your supplier ships via UPS, you had better order it pronto and hope it can delivered before a strike deadline if indeed the do strike. Of course, the USPS, FedEx and other shippers will step up to handle some of what UPS fails to move but it is very doubtful, at least to me, that such will be very effective in handling all the shipping that UPS drops and any added load on those other shippers may delay shipments they already would have been delivering in their normal course of business.

 

A bit of good news in all of this is that UPS evidently believes it still can reach an amenable agreement with the union. As a precaution though, UPS has reportedly begun training non-union employees to take up some of the operations that would be affected by a strike according to the CNN piece. If UPS does give their employees more, guess who is going to be paying for it. Yep, that would be us and us would be their customers on the shipping and thus also on the receiving ends.

 

So, good luck to you if you need anything shipped. As for myself, I am lucky that two 1911 pistols I ordered are scheduled of delivery on Tuesday July 25, six days before the strike deadline. I shudder to think though that if they do strike and I need to order something that usually is shipped via UPS - it may wind up being shipped by FedEx. At least in my personal experience, FedEx damages packages more often than UPS. Luckily the damage usually only has been to the shipping box. My local FedEx delivery folks also rarely ring my bell or knock on my door when delivering to me but instead just leave the item on my doorstep; luckily I don't recall anything going missing (as in being stolen) when they've done that. On the other hand, UPS delivery personnel almost always knock on my door and or ring the bell, it is a rare delivery when they do not.  

 

The UPS lady who normally delivers my parcels has even called me on my cell phone on at least one or maybe two occasions when I have not been home. She did that to see if I can get home quick enough to have her wait or otherwise to check if she should just leave it or drop it off at the UPS Customer Center for me to pick up later (she is one heck of an excellent & different delivery person for any shipping company). 

 

With FedEx, I often either unexpectedly stumble across a package left on my doorstep by FedEx when I am going out or I am often alerted to the fact that they just made a delivery by my super sophisticated high tech & almost failure proof WADAS (woofing alert delivery alarm system). She alerts me not only to FedEx package deliveries but also to those made by the USPS and UPS:

 

No she is not on strike, she is just doing her favorite thing other than going absolutely ga-ga when her dog sitter/walker shows up once or twice a week. She sure loves snoozing and sure loves her sitter.

All the best,

Glenn B