How Do You Match Up To Star Trek

Well, thanks to The Anarchangel, I had some fun with the below:

Your results:
You are James T. Kirk (Captain)

James T. Kirk (Captain) 95% Spock 75% Chekov 75% Worf 75% Jean-Luc Picard 70% Will Riker 70% Deanna Troi 70% Mr. Sulu 55% Geordi LaForge 55% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55% Mr. Scott 50% Beverly Crusher 40% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 35% Uhura 35% Data 34%

You are often exaggerated and over-the-top in your speech and expressions. You are a romantic at heart and a natural leader.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character are you?" quiz...

Lest We Forget: A Reminder About June 4, 1942

June 4, 1942 was the commencement day of quite possibly the most important naval/air, battle of WWII, that of the Battle of Midway. This battle came about 6 months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and it lasted about 4 days (June 3-6). In brief, much of the Japanese naval fleet was headed toward Midway Atoll to launch an attack by which the Japanese hoped to destroy the U.S. fleet's capital ships (basically its aircraft carriers), destroy the U.S. air bases on Midway, and then to occupy Midway and establish their own air base their. This would have effectively allowed Japan free reign in the Pacific, and they could very well have carried out their plans to conquer all of the Pacific island nations, and then possibly would have attacked Hawaii with a similar plan as at Midway.

The thing was though that the U.S, had figured out what the Japanese had planned, and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Nimitz sent a large naval force to counterattack the Japanese fleet. With the naval air power of the U.S. fleet, combined with the U.S. air power on Midway, the U.S. forces inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese fleet. There are different statistics in different reference materials, but all seem to agree that the Japanese lost at least 4 carriers, and a heavy cruiser. Here are the statistics from one source that also tells how many aircraft and men were lost:

"The Japanese lost 4 carriers, a heavy cruiser, 3 destroyers, some 275 planes, at least 4,800 men, and suffered heavy damage among the remaining vessels of their fleet. American losses included on(e) carrier, the Yorktown, a destroyer, about 150 planes, and 307 men." ( Reference source: http://www.worldwar2history.info/Midway/)

The effect of this battle was that the U.S. naval forces in the Pacific were now about equal in strength to those of the Japanese. This was therefore one of the most pivotal naval/air battles of the war.

I guess you have seen I keep saying naval/air battles of the war, as opposed to simply saying it was a naval battle. The reason for this is, as best I can decipher and recollect from my history lessons, that the naval ships of each navy never once fired upon one another in this battle. All of the fighting against the ships was done from airplanes, either carrier based or land based (those from Midway). Of course there was some other fighting done against the Japanese aircraft as from ground fire from Midway onto those Japanese aircraft that tried to wipe out the land based air bases; but as it stood and still does, this was one heck of a major naval/air battle in which the ships never fired upon one another.

Never forget our enemies nor our protectors, and here is why: We should never forget they who tried to conquer us, lest they or others like them may succeed in the future; and we should never forget they who protected us, lest they or others like them fail to do so in the future. We owe those brave Americans of the past, and the present, the fact that we are Americans today.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Apologies...

...for the lack of blogging over the weekend. I was busy with other things and did not get the chance. I probably will not have much of a chance today either, that is until later tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

Prom Night...

...sounds like lots of fun, well for the kids. From what I can see from a parent's perspective it can be a somewhat worrisome night, followed by the same for the weekend. Brendan and his girlfriend Julia are attending her prom tonight. They seem to be looking forward to a great time, and I cannot blame them, it does promise to be fun with the prom, a nice dinner, then a weekend in the Hamptons with a bunch of prom goers. Yes it will be chaperoned, but I imagine other parents are still concerned like me. I met Julia's family tonight for the first time, and her dad seemed as concerned as am I. We have good kids though, so I am pretty confident all will work out well. Of course neither of the moms seemed worried at all. My wife, to the right with Brendan, was all smiles. Sadly I did not get a good shot of Julia's parents facing the camera, but I hope to get a copy of one their other daughter took of Brendan, Julia, her parents, and Linda and I all together.

The next pic is Brendan, Julia and Angelo (Julia's dad) trying to figure out on which side should Brendan wear his flower. I was no help there, heck you can always take me out, but you cannot dress me up. They wound up placing it on the left lapel, and we figured if it was wrong, Brendan could move it later.

If you look closely you can see a Yellow Rose wristlet in the box in Brendan's hand. No he was not going to wear that too, that one was for his sweetheart Julia.

I think she looks pretty in her pretty gown, prettier still with those roses in place, and most beautiful of all with Brendan by her side. So, of course, I saved the best pic from the bunch for last. I am betting they will have a great time on this prom weekend. Who knows, maybe they wills till be together next year, and then they can both attend Brendan's prom.

All the best,

Glenn B

It Was A Good Story...

...to explain a lot of things in the world to ignorant early civilizations, and to give people a good outline for how they should act with respect to morality; but the truth is the Bible, or any other religious book as far as I am aware, never addressed subjects going back more than several thousand years from the present time, and probably not more than a few thousand or so years before it was written. I believe that now though, the time has come and long since passed, that people need to realize that the Bible and other religious books were written by people, and then later transcribed by other people in the languages of the world. These people could have had no to extremely little knowledge of the world when it began, and how it developed over the eons, so to explain anything these books say, and still say, religious people attribute the words of such books to God.

I am not really a believer in God as most people understand God. I believe in spirituality but not a God Almighty per se, yet I do believe in one overwhelming spiritual power - that of the universe itself. Without going further into my spiritual beliefs though, I want to further address the beliefs of they who believe in the truth of such religious books, and who do not give any credence to the science that states the world is millions or billions of years old, to people who will not accept the truth in front of their own faces because they refuse to give up a claim they have made for years - that the Bible or other religious books such as the Quran explain everything. They simply do not, despite the fact that people believe them to be the word of God.

If these religious books were the fonts of all knowledge as they seemingly claim to be, then why is there no mention of so many things, that we have proof of having existed. The religious books make many mentions of animals throughout there texts. Animals of all types, especially domestic animals, and wild animals that caused a threat to ancient people, seemed to be mentioned often in these books. For example sheep, lions, goats, serpents, locusts, birds, are all mentioned in religious books, as are others. These animals are also mentioned in lay historical accounts of the ancient times. Something the religious books make no mention of, nor are they mentioned in historical accounts, are living dinosaurs; well that is unless you ant to give credence to a few tales of the Loch Ness Monster and to the knights fighting fire breathing Dragons (but then again dragons that breathe fire are a bit much).

Now, all of a sudden, some Christians who are strict creationists have developed a museum wherein they display dinosaurs and other prehistoric life and try to explain that all of these creatures lived within about the past few thousand years or so, and that they have proof of this in religious texts, and the word of God. They are apparently trying to make their argument, which is a religious argument, seem to be based upon science with the creation of a 'Creation Museum'. I am sorry but I just cannot buy into it. If that makes me a heathen, then so be it; but I would rather be what I believe to be a fairly intelligent heathen than a person who insists in believing that the world is only a few to several thousand years old, and that all of the dinosaurs walked the earth within that time frame. Believe what you want, teach it in public schools if you want (along with science), but don't ram it down my throat as being gospel and therefore the truth. There is just too much evidence out there to suggest otherwise than it being true, and too little evidence to suggest likewise in support of its so called truth.

Still the Bible and other books may be the word of God to man, but then again who is anyone among mankind to think that God told us all there was to tell, or even that God told us the truth. Pretty assuming on the part of anyone who believes in the word of God to believe that mankind was worthy enough to hear it all. I guess that has always been one of my biggest gripes with organized religions, each faith seemingly preaches about God, and the word of God, as if their religion was the final word on everything. Science can get that way sometimes too, but the thing about science is that it is constantly challenged, constantly rewritten, and always evolving because of more and more evidence about, and therefore more and more understanding of the universe. Just my opinion, but I believe it to be somewhat pompous and overbearing on the part of religious zealots to claim that they were special enough to have heard it all from the mouth of God as if mankind was His confidant.

An Addendum 9added at 1705 hours 05/31/2007: I fully grant there may be a God, even though I believe otherwise than conventional religious wisdom. If you prefer to believe in God over science, or science over God okay by me. I think there is a lot of truth in the Bible, and other religious tomes, but do not agree that any of them are all explicative of the universe, and that stands even if they truly are the words of God in those books. It just amazes me how a person could even for a moment believe that mankind is so special that God revealed all there is to reveal to us; and that is exactly how the curators of this museum seem to be coming off.

All the best,

Glenn B

Just A Thought

"I've decided what I want to do with my life, I wanna be a cleaner."

Great line from a great, albeit very violent, movie. I just heard it from over my shoulder as I sat here reading blogs; my son is watching The Professional. As I heard it I thought, 'that may just be the answer to getting rid of the filth'. Then again it wouldn't be right - would it?

All the best,
Glenn

Flag Burning, Patriotism, and Dog Snot - yes they have something in common!

Have you ever wanted to beat the dog snot out of someone, and wanted to do it really, really badly? I am not usually a physically violent guy; I try to avoid violent confrontations, but yet I find myself wanting to beat someone badly right now. Maybe that is because I just read this Vandals Burn Dozens of American Flags Decorating Veterans' Graves, Replace With Swastikas @ FoxNews.com. It is a brief, but very disturbing story about some damage done at a cemetery by whom I believe to be the kind of filthy minded little twits who are running around our country nowadays mouthing off their brand of anti-patriotism and disrespect for our nation and its citizens in general. What these bastards need, I think, is not a psychological review, nor a stint in a jail cell, what I think they need is a good ass whooping 'from here to Carnarsie' (its a NY thing), one in which someone knocks the dog snot out of them (since there is no dog snot in a human head, this beating could take awhile). No I am not advocating, or even hinting, that someone really should go out to find these guys and beat them up because that would not be legal; however if it was legal I would be the first in line because that is how pissed off they have gotten me.

Here is why it pisses me off so much:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands,

one nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

You see, whenever I recite the pledge I mean it.

Go here to see what someone else had to say about the meaning of each word in the Pledge of Allegiance. If the link does not work here is the address: http://patriotfiles.org/Pledge.htm). You will need to turn on the sound on your PC. By the way, if you remember the guy who is doing the talking, then you are dating yourself as a dinosaur like me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Memorial Day - Make A Difference

Here is to remembering that we are a country that has been kept safe throughout history by men and women in uniform, many of whom have lost there lives in wars and other conflicts.

Respect they who are gone, and respect and support those who still struggle to keep us free. Go out of your way to do a little something for them. Send an email, letter, or care package to a soldier, a Marine, an airman or a sailor.

If you don't know someone to whom you can send emails, letters, and care packages you can go to this site to 'adopt' a soldier: http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopt-a-soldier. As I understand, you sign up, they then verify your info, then they assign a soldier to you so you can start communicating with him/her. There was no cost to sign up, but they do accept donations. More infor here: http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopting-a-soldier. By the way, I am not sure if this is just for the army, or if it encompasses personnel in all branches of the military service. I believe they also suggest ways to help the families of soldiers too.

Ihave sent care packages and emails before, to soldiers I did not know, but not on a very regular basis. This sounds like a truly easy way to make a good difference, on a recurring basis, in the life of a soldier who is risking his or her life protecting you, me, and our freedoms.

Here is another link to a site that will enable you to contact the troops via email: http://www.usafns.com/email.shtml#AA

And yet another: http://emailourmilitary.com/

All the best,
Glenn B

Weekend Projects

Besides having a nice family get together yesterday; I kept myself busy this weekend - so far - with a few small projects.

On Friday evening I picked up a pair of Fire bellied Newts from a young lady who was having some trouble caring for them. While one was plump and healthy, the other was on the skinny side and was not eating properly. The young gal who gave them up for adoption figured that this was due to heat stress, her apartment being too warm for them. I took them home and put them in the basement where the temp remains below 72 degree Fahrenheit almost all the time. The skinny one has been eating black worms (live fish food) like a champ, and I am hopeful he will put on weight right away.

While these newts may not look like much from above, but they do live up to their names when you see their undersides. Sorry the pic of the belly came out so blurry but the little booger was squirming wildly as I held it for the photo. Still though you can see why they have their name. Now one of my projects will be setting up a suitable tank for these guys, which is not all that much work, if I keep it simple, which is one of the easiest ways to keep these guys. A tank, some dechlorinated clean water,, a rock or two on which to climb out, and a tight fitting screen lid. I may also add a power filter, but I think not because these guys are not the most powerful swimmers; so that will require frequent water changes. No big deal. They will get fed whatever they will eat, from black worms to tubifex worms, to freshwater shrimp (which I will have to collect locally), to brine shrimp, to chopped up red worms. Bear in mind the food has to be on the smaller side for these newts since they are only about 3 inches long. I also have to do some in depth checking to see if I can determine which is the exact type of newt I now have. There are a few species with the same common name, and all look similar.

On Saturday, I took a drive up to Sleepy Hollow, of Headless Horseman fame, and I picked up a Ball Python from a couple who were moving and would no longer be able to care for it. Ball pythons are fairly easy to keep snakes, but not the best for the beginner snake fancier. This one was in the process of shedding and had patches of dried out skin stuck all over its back. Once I got it home, I gave it a soaking bath inside a large plastic jar (top screwed on tightly) for about an hour. All that dried on skin sloughed off nicely. It should have come off in one piece, but apparently this python was kept too dry before this shed. Last night I got around to setting up a tank for it, and I kept it simple as I almost always do for my snakes. A tank, some substrate, two hide boxes, a water bowl. a heat pad, a screen top, a branch for climbing, and a light (also for heat) these snakes are tropical need it warm (low to mid-eighties ambient temps with the heating pad spot up to 100 degree Fahrenheit). The light is hooked up to a timer, but the heat pad stays on 24/7. As you can see, I need to get some clips to secure the top, but tape will work for now.

The folks from whom I got the ball python told me it was sometimes a fussy eater, but it would eat thawed out rat pups. I fed it a mouse last night, and it took it immediately - no problems feeding this guy at all - so far. I imagine it will eat the rat pups they gave me along with the snake, but I wanted to see if it would eat mice too since I have a large supply of feeder mice on hand. It took the mouse as soon as it got close to it. Now it has a nice bulge in its midsection, and will be spending a lot of time under the hide that sits over the heat pad as it digests its weekly meal.

These animals will be used throughout the summer in exhibitions put on by the Long Island Herpetological Society. I may keep them beyond the summer, but if not I will adopt them out to another society member or someone else whom I know will take care of them properly. Chances are I will keep them though, I have, or had, a little extra space in the herp room.

All the best,

Glenn B

Ammo Guess Contest Update

The winner was Jeffery Huong. of Atlanta, GA. He selected the holster for the semi-auto, and received it this weekend. Jeff, I hope you get a lot of good use out of it.

I still have one extra holster left over, so maybe I'll have to come up with another contest in the not too distant future.

All the best,
Glenn B

Summertime Not Quite...

...having set upon us yet, but nonetheless yesterday was a day to enjoy while sitting under the shade of a good tree, drinking a tasty beverage of your choice, and eating a good meal cooked over an open fire. The birds were singing in the trees and flocking to the backyard bird feeders, the squirrels were scampering about looking for a treat, the dogs were under the tables in the shade also hoping for a treat, as a good number of my family sat around those same tables to enjoy our first barbecue of the year. As luck would have it, my daughter's boyfriend decided to fire up the grill, and in no time the aroma of hamburgers and franks filled the air, and made tails wag. How I got that lucky, not to have to cook, is beyond me - but why question good luck!

The talk was light, and festive, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood with one possible exception, but I really should not go there, so that is all I will say about the one possible lone dissenter. Everyone except for me was enjoying a non-alcohol beverage like iced tea, root beer, diet Pepsi (yech) and the like. I instead decided to let the back lawn have a drink, lest I forget later in the day, so that it wouldn't turn yellow as we sat and watched it wither in the heat. In almost no time, as if by the same magic that had turned it into such a nice day, the food arrived at table and was served. I hastened the self assigned chore of watering the grass, then rushed inside and grabbed a beverage, and when I came back outside I was surprised to see my neighbor Jim manning the grill. Keven was already feasting and had abandoned chef duties. I sat down with the small assemblage and had a dripping red centered burger and a couple of Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Biers; E. Coli be damned! The stoneware stein kept my biers cold as I drank, and I hoped the higher than usual alcohol content for a beer would kill any E. coli in by blood dripping burger. Despite the temps in the high 80's, maybe even into the low 90's, those biers kept me chilled.

Everyone but me feasted on burgers, franks, homemade bean salad, homemade German potato salad, pickles, and whatever else my wife had put out. I kept it to a burger ad a hot dog, saving some room for dessert. Suddenly I realized the main course was finished, and the table was cleared, more or less; and the talk went on. Just family and neighborly chit chat, as I relaxed and watched the Purple House finches eat from the bird feeders. Bold little creatures indeed they are to come to feed while within mere feet of a throng of festive party goers. On and off I would take my nephew Daniel to look at a tortoise, or see a snake, or the hamsters - all to keep him from getting too bored what with no other young ones around. Then we dug for worms to feed the turtles, and instead of a worm he found an old beer bottle buried in the soil. I wonder how that got there??? By the way, I don't mean old as in yesterday either, I mean really old from a long defunct brewery in New York; my guess would be from at least 75 years ago. It had a light aquamarine sheen to it, funny color for a beer bottle nowadays, but I guess more common back then. It was as if treasure had been uncovered; you see the little one's dad (who sadly had to work and did not attend) has an old bottle collection. I hope he remembered to take it home to add to dad's collection, I'll have to take a look around later this morning.

In almost no time it was time for dessert. Out came a cheese cake of multiple flavors, a homemade chocolate layer cake frosted in white icing, a couple of boxes of Dunkin Donuts, and some other goodies. All of these good treats were accompanied by a pot of coffee from which the aroma was heavenly. No it was not Chock-Full-Of-Nuts that heavenly coffee of years ago, this was coffee I had picked up at the Porto Rico Importing Company a few days before, a Guatemalan Maragogipe. I had mine black, others as they please, and then we dove right into dessert. Mmmm, mmmmmm goooood!

All too soon after dessert it was time to do the dessert dishes, which I gladly got out of the way since my wife Linda had done so much already. Luckily there were no dishes from diner, since we had used paper plates for the main course. Once finished it was back out to the gang, for a bit more talk. Then suddenly it was as if the clock had struck midnight, and everyone was heading for the door in a mad dash of gotta get out of here to beat traffic home. That left me, the wife, my son Brendan (who had spent the whole time in the basement trying to get over tonsillitis), and my mother-in-law at home. Even my daughter Celina, and her beau Kevin had beat feet. Well, I was left with a bit of tidying up, and once done, I had plenty of time to relax or so I thought. My next door neighbor Nick, as me to give him a hand putting up the tented portion of a sort of tented gazebo he had just erected. I helped him out, and in about an hour or so we had it finished. I am only hoping my wife does not ask him where he got it, because if she does I anticipate putting one up at our house. Rest came after that.

All in all it was a great day. Hopefully you all are having a great weekend too. Lest we forget, one of the reasons it was a great day, and one of the reasons we were all there to enjoy it in safety and comfort, was that we have had, and have, a strong military protecting us. The men and woman of the U.S. Armed forces who have given there lives, or been injured, or who have served, protecting our nation and all of its people should never be forgotten, especially on Memorial Day weekend. My thanks to them for the good time we had. I hope they know at least, that they are in our thoughts, and in our prayers too; and we support them and there efforts 100 percent.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Guests Are In...

...and soon the barbecue will begin.
But before I started to cook,
I went to take a look,
to see what beer was on tap,
when I realized holy cr-p;
I forgot to buy some brew
So right now it's - later for you.
I am off to buy some tasty ale
before I wither and turn pale.

All the best,
Glenn B

'An Inconvenient Truth' - You Bet! This is a must read...

...for anyone who is truly concerned with the environment, and for anyone who gives any credence or credit (carbon or otherwise) to Al Gore. Take a look at: Two Houses over at Cap'n Bob & The Damsel. If the link doesn't work, then use this address for said post:

http://capnbob.us/blog/2007/05/24/two-houses/.

Yes you already know, the real inconvenient truth, all about Al Gore's house and how much energy it uses compared to the average American home; but I am willing to bet the great majority of you do not know about the other house and how inconvenient the truth about it would be to Al Gore should the media ever put it in the limelight!

All I can say is that: after reading that small piece, and then checking to verify the claims by way of other sources, I have a whole new respect for George W. Bush who actually lives in a 'Green (ecologically-friendly) House'. My contempt for Al Gore has not changed in the least; I already believed him to be a contemptuous lying scoundrel; and now I am simply all the more satisfied that my belief is correct. For all I could care, Al Gore could choke on his carbon credits, and I think it would be doing all of us a favor. He is, in my opinion, nothing more than a rotten bullshitter and pompous asshole. Shame on anyone who gives him any credit for trying to protect the environment when all he is apparently doing is making money selling a book and a movie while he riles up the wackos..

One note before I close. I am none too sure those houses in the pictures are actually Gore's and Bush's houses, although the facts stated about them seem to be supported by other sources, and the one pictured next to the paragraph about Bush's house, in general fits a description of it that I found elsewhere. It is not important if the pictures portray the actual houses, what is important is the stated facts about each house regarding energy efficiency or lack thereof.

All the best,
Glenn B

Weekend Plans Anyone?

I was just wondering what some of you are doing for the Memorial Day weekend. Anyone going to a parade or anything to honor our military personnel? I am hopeful to be back to my village by parade time tomorrow, but I may miss it because of a prior commitment. You know by now that I am an avid herp keeper (keeping reptiles and amphibians, not herpes); and tomorrow I will be heading up to Sleepy Hollow, NY to pick up a Ball Python that someone has up for adoption. I can't wait to face the traffic northbound out of NYC and Long Island of all the happy campers getting away for the weekend. I am guessing an hour ride may take as many as two hours.

Once I pick up the snake (which will probably wind up being another story this weekend), it will be back home for me; and I have to get back reasonably soon because we are having a barbecue. The wife expects me to cook, and I told her I would, so I have to get to Sleepy Hollow, and turn right around to head back home. I think I may stop for a case of cold ones, maybe a nice German Hefe Weiss Bier. That stuff goes great with any barbecued food of which I can think, and if the food comes out burned, after a few of them - I won't care. Along those lines I love Paulauner Hefe Weiss, but there are many others. The cloudier with yeast, the better as far as I am concerned.

On Sunday, we are heading to my brother-in-law Han's house for another barbecue. He makes one heck of a steak marinade, and I am looking forward to some really good eats at his place. Of course, I'll have to bring along some of the Weiss Biers to his place. He loves them as much or more than me. Then again, who knows, maybe I'll pick up some Ommegang Abbey Ale, also great stuff - good with heavier foods - especially meat dishes, so also great for a barbecue beverage.

On Monday I will be looking for the real deal parade. I may go into NYC to see some of the ships that are here for fleet week. If I do, I'll be sure to stop and thank as many servicemen and women as I can find. I have already done that a bit over the past couple of days. They deserve our thanks and more.

Enjoy your weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B

Retirement Party Planning...

...apparently can be a bit of a pain in the behind, even for a pretty informal get together. I am finding this out first hand as I am in the process of trying to put together a party for a co-worker/friend who retired a few months back. As was usual, when he retired, I figured someone else would arrange for his retirement party. I guess most of those someone else types have all retired by now because despite this guy being well liked around the office, no one put anything together for him. Well, it could also be that moral on my job being at an all time low also had something to do with it. So as it turned out, i figured I would try to arrange a party for him - just something where those who want to attend will meet at a local restaurant/watering hole, and we will split the bill for dinner and drinks. Actually this is not as much a pain in the backside as it is a daunting task for me because I am not that self confident that I am going about it right, but since no one else stepped forward to do it - so what. I know some folks are interested in attending, I already checked on that; and so too is the honoree looking forward to it.

Forging right ahead today, I went to one of a few places I had in mind for the party here in Manhattan. I took a co-worker along and we had lunch there this afternoon. The place is called Giggles and is a restaurant/bar combo. It has a pub like atmosphere, is pretty big with lots of seating, has a lot of variety on the menu, has lots of variety behind the bar, and has fairly reasonable prices for Manhattan, especially in midtown. For lunch I had an everything burger, a huge burger covered with fried onions, mushrooms, bacon and cheddar cheese. It sat on a likewise huge bun. It was accompanied by tomato, raw onion, lettuce, pickle and fries. My pal Bob had a Cesar Salad. We both had sodas for our beverages (no booze because it was lunch on a work day, and booze and my job do not mix).

The waitress who served us was a pretty young lass, and not only that but she was a good waitress too. She was quite attentive. Once our order was in, we were served bread and butter, and our drinks arrived quickly. After a decent wait, pretty much just a short time later, our meals were brought out. I could not believe the size of the burger, it had to be 1/2 pound of beef. besides that, it was cooked just how I had asked for it to be - medium rare. It was a tasty burger indeed, and I washed it down with a tasty beverage too. Bob enjoyed the salad, and he noted that the service had been great. The waitress stopped by a few times to check on us, and was quite pleasant. Before leaving we asked to speak to the manager about arranging for a party, but the manager was not available. I'll have to give them a call early next week after the holiday. I am hopeful I can work some sort of discount out if I can assure them 25 or more people at the retirement dinner, hopefully they will be able to accommodate us on the nights I have in mind. Once I find that out, I will put out the word that the party date and place has been set, and wait to see who responds by or before whatever date Giggles gives to me as the cut off date for making a reservation.

Once that is all set I can only hope those who will have told me they will attend, will actually show up. I guess I can also hope that parking will be none too hard to find, but that is almost always a problem in Manhattan. Of course, I will have to also hope that the retiree shows up! If this comes off nicely, who knows, I may be elected as the office's Grand Poobah of retirement party planning.

If you are ever in NYC, and need a place to have a decent lunch in midtown Manhattan (very close to Times Square (2 blocks away) I recommend this place. Good food, good drink, and great service. I hope it is likewise for you if you ever get the chance to check it out.

All the best,
Glenn B

Some People Are Crazy, Some Are Criminal, Some Are Stupid...

...and if you read this article: Man Sentenced to Life for Killing Teen Who Walked on His Lawn you will see an examples of a man who was probably crazy and criminal as it now stands, and a number of other people (quite likely 12) who were, in my opinion, just outright stupid. Read the article for yourselves and it will, or should, be readily apparent why I believe the convicted man was both crazy (note I did not say legally insane) and criminal. It should also be readily apparent why I think the members of the jury who convicted him were stupid. If is not apparent you can always come back and ask me, in the comments section, why I thought they were stupid; and no I will not think you stupid for asking.

What a legal system!

All the best,
Glenn B

I wonder - So Who Cares...

about these things so much:

Pop Tarts: Paris Hilton Turns to God

Baby Is Born to Mary Cheney, Daughter of Vice President

Reality Check: Jordin Sparks Wins Sixth Season of 'American Idol'

Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck Engage in Raucous On-Air Feud on 'The View'

Angelina Jolie Tears Up Over Late Mom in TV Interview, Says She's 'Holding on to My Family Really Tight'

As to have made them among the 'most read' stories at FoxNews.com this morning? Is Fox for real, are these really among the stories most read by people who have visited the FoxNews site recently? It makes me feel sorry for my fellow citizens. There are, I think, just so many other more important things to think about, to read about, and to act on, than what I believe is this fantasy land crap. I guess though I must be in some sort of a minority because as Fox points out, these are among the "most read" stories.

I would have thought though that Americans would have been much more interested in reading about:

Military IDs Murdered GI

Is There a Hero in Your Family Tree?

Bush to Hold 11:00 a.m. ET Presser on Iraq

Islamic Militants Defy Lebanese Ultimatum

Jobless Claims Post Slight Increase

Iran President: We Will Grow Nuke Program

Corzine in Buckle-Up Ad: 'I Should Be Dead'

Guest Worker Plan Slashed in Senate

Or to have watched this video:

Taliban spring offensive MIA?

These things seem so much more important to me than do those in the first list I gave above. There isn't, I would guess, much more for me to say about this, except maybe that the lack of interest in really important things amazes me. No wonder terrorists can attack us unimpeded, no wonder our borders are over run by tides of the dregs of humanity, no wonder violent crime can soar so high in our nation's capital, no wonder our rights can be trampled upon on a daily basis - we (on the whole) are mostly too busy with our heads buried up the asses of fantasy land celebrities while life in the real world goes only checked on by those few who would face reality. What a shame.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Wife Likes These...

...she thinks the Doves that visit our backyard feeders are nice, but she hates those pests called Pigeons. I guess the moniker of Rats With Wings Dirty Pigeons has sought of stuck in her mind from the time we lived in Glendale, Queens (part of NYC) where there are lots of the Rock Doves, aka: Rock Pigeons, aka Rats With Wings, aka: Pigeons. Despite my wife's repugnance for Pigeons, I like them, they taste great, but I must admit that for their relative size, they seem to make the most, shall I say, mess when nature calls. Sometimes the wife likes to hang out the wash instead of using the drier, and all it would take is one Pigeon poop on the clothes she just washed for me to have to take down the bird feeders. So now I have to think of a way to attract only the various types of Sparrows, the House Finches, the Cardinals, the Starlings, the Chickadees, the Woodpeckers of at least a few species, and the nicer more acceptable (to my wife) Doves like the one in the picture (I am no bird guy but I know it is some kind of a Dove), without attracting the Rats With Wings Pigeons.

I was thinking of using a BB gun or CB, caps as a deterrent, and only aim them at the Pigeons. The CB cap would probably be illegal since it is a bullet shot out of a firearm, but the BB gun may do the trick. Now if only I could find where I stashed mine some years back! Bye the way, I am not looking to kill them, just to pump it once and give them a ping in the butt, so to speak. That should scare them away if done each time they show up while I am on guard duty. Of course, I may just let them stay around until they either poop on the laundry or start living on my house, which would not be a good thing. Just imagine leaving for work and having a Pigeon take off from your roof and drop one on your head. Yech...

Oh well, there must be a humane solution to get rid of these nuisance animals, but if not I''ll find something that works that is at least legal.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Guess They Were Not Kidding About Yugo SKS Rifles...

...becoming scarcer because the prices surely have jumped and that price jump would seem to indicate less availability. I just did some price shopping for them, and I saw them apparently in stock at: Classic Arms , J&G Sales, and Samco Global Arms. I tried but could not pull up the website for Inter Ordnance, and I also looked at Aim Surplus but they apparently don't have any in stock.

As for the prices, they have gone up considerably. Where they had been selling from about $129.00 in good condition, $149.00 in very good condition, and to as little as $169.00 in new condition; they are now going for about $169.00 for good to very good condition condition up to about $229.00 in new condition.

Samco has them for the best price that I found, and they are selling new ones at about $210.00, plus shipping. The pic shown in this post is from the Samco site. I do not know if they come with accessories as pictured or if they look as good as the one in the picture. Yet, I have already sent in an inquiry as to whether or not they have news ones left in stock, and if they will accept a copy of my C&R, required for purchase, by way of an attachment to an email. If yes to both of these, I think I will have to pick one up before they disappear at these prices. Sure there are probably more of them in arsenals around the world, and plenty of them at that, but will the price ever go down on them again? I think not and it is a gamble I am willing to take by buying one now. I only wish I has bought another when the prices were lower. Of course, if anyone knows of a legal source of these, with lower prices in like new condition, then I would be more than happy to consider buying one from your source. Let me know.

All the best,
Glenn B

Caveat Emptor...

...is something we seemingly do not think about before we make a purchase in today's world of lawyers and law suits gone berserk. I guess too many of us are confident that everyone else owes us full disclosure about anything and everything when they are selling us something, but the truth be told, that just ain't so, at least in Florida folks. A prime example of this is to be found in the article at FoxNews.com: Florida Family Shocked They Weren't Told New Home Was Scene of Triple Murder-Suicide @:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274393,00.html

Yep, the story reads just like the headline says it. No mention of lawsuits yet, I guess mainly because Florida law does not require a home seller to disclose such to the buyer, and I could live with that. Imagine the seller having to disclose such to the buyer, and then trying to get what the house was actually worth in the sale. Unlike having to let people know that the house is built with asbestos tiles, or has rotted beams, or whatever a home inspection may uncover; they do not have to let anyone know a murder was committed in the house. Now the people who bought the home are stunned to find out about the murders there, and I can understand that. Yet I also fully understand someone not disclosing such to a real estate agent or to potential buyers because the price of the home would probably plummet to much less than its value unless they were lucky enough to find a buyer who was into the macabre. I would think anyone who knew such took place in the home and did not try to get the price down at least in part based upon that knowledge would be a kook.

As far as an actual buyer's recourse would go in such a sale, I would say if you were foolish enough not to research the home before buying it regarding something like this which would make it impossible for you to live in the home, then you should be stuck with it, no law suits allowed. Could you just imagine the outcome if a seller had to tell you everything about people having died in a house, or about anyone who ever committed a crime in the home, or about anyone who lived in the house who was absolutely off their rocker crazy, or about any stories of the house being haunted, and on and on. Some houses would just never sell at a reasonable price. Sometimes it really the buyers who have to beware; otherwise they have to live with the consequences of buying something as high priced as a home without first having done their homework.

All the best,
Glenn B

Carter Slams Bush, Bush Spokesman Slams Back...

...but what America needs is a strong fairly conservative candidate to take over the reigns of power. In fact I almost think carter, for once, got something just about right. Ex-President Jimmy Carter had this to say about the Bush Administration: "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

Well my guess would be Carter may be proven correct before too long, but I think the spot of worst administration, at least within my lifetime still goes to Carter's - with Bush's a close second. I also think that a lot of people who had been Bush supporters may feel close to the same as I do on this. I think Bush is doing fair to somewhat good in the war on terror, but I think that is nowhere near enough. His stand on many, if not most, other major issues is abysmal as far as I am concerned. While his pundits shout about how great is our economy, I wonder how will it be when the war bills have piled up, I wonder why gasoline prices are so high when the supply is good to excellent, I wonder why illegal aliens continue to take away the jobs of citizens and of legal resident and non-resident aliens, and I wonder why he recently said our troops don’t deserve a raise in pay. While his staunch supporters rant about how great going is the war on terror I wonder why we are not kicking ass in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of pussyfooting around, I wonder why Islamic Extremists remain within our shores, I wonder why our allies continuously remove troops from our support. While he seems to think it is politics as usual, I wonder why on earth does Bush side time and time again with the leftists on the issue of the 12 million illegal aliens and amnesty for them (even though he is too much of a politician to call it amnesty), why an assault weapons ban is again being considered and he does not speak out against it, why we have to have more than ½ dozen candidates for the nomination running on just the republican side, why the run for the nomination began more than two years before the actual election, why there are so many differences among so called conservatives, why he is even thinking of a North American alliance between the USA, Canada and Mexico which would basically discard our constitution (just look at the EU), and why he has already curtailed the liberties of law abiding citizens by taking shortcuts with the laws on search and seizure.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded that: “I think it's sad that President Carter's reckless personal criticism is out there…” What I think is sad is this: he is not a great president, nor a very good one, nor even fair among his predecessors. He, in my personal opinion, stinks as president. I long for a more Reagan-like, or even Nixon-like president at this time of great danger to our nation. The sad truth is I do not see one among the current candidates for the republican nomination. The closest I see to anyone competent enough to be able to take the reigns of power and then ride that steed into battle to get the jobs done would be.: Tom Tancredo, and Fred D. Thompson. Yet both are not exactly whom I would want as the president. Maybe if Newt Gingrich runs it will be better, but will he toss his hat into the ring; I wonder. None of them are perfect, they never are since they are human, but he maybe the best of the lot.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hermann's Tortoise - just a pic

Photo of a Hermann's Tortoise, one that I recently sold, the smaller of my two females. Click the photo to enlarge. I still have the other female, and a new male. Hope Springs Eternal!

A Decision...

...was easy for me this morning as to what to do in the early AM. I tried to sleep as long as I could, and avoid turning over on my right shoulder while doing so. I awoke a few times last night and this morning with unusually bad pain in the right arm and shoulder. Ouch that bad meant no fishing, no tag sales (because of no lugging things) and no rifle cleaning. Maybe next weekend I feel more like getting something done, but this weekend it was multiple Ibuprofen tablets for me.

I did manage to get to the LIHS meeting today, that was nice as usual. I also dropped off some film at the 1 hour photo counter at Walgreen's. If I am lucky, the Nikon FM2 I bought a few months back will have taken nice pics with the 55mm Micro Nikkor I bought a couple of months back. This will be the first that I see of any pics from them. Man can I procrastinate, I had these rolls of film in my pocket for about 2 months now! If there is anything worth posting, I'll try to show them to you tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

Decisions, Decisions...

...time to make up my mind about what to do for the rest of tonight and for early tomorrow. I already have plans for the afternoon tomorrow, but what I choose now, to do tomorrow earlier in the day tomorrow, will decide whether or not I hit the hay early and with the help of a glass of wine to make sure I sleep well (no not a normal habit, but I napped earlier this evening and am none to tired now).

I have been thinking of grabbing a flexible stick or two, and some string on a crankable spool, and heading for pond or the ocean, and trying to catch a scaled denizen of the deep.

It would suit my fancy fine,
if I awake early on the morn,
to bait a hook and wet a line,
long before the crack of dawn.

Yes, that would be nice, if I get up early enough; and if it is not raining. While I have fished in the rain, it is a bit to cool for my middle aged bones to be out playing in the rain, so that could make me pass on flounder for dinner.

There is an alternative, we always have choices. If I get up a bit too late for wetting a line, or of it is raining, I can always go out to look through one man's trash to see if I can find my treasure. Know not literally look through trash, but I may go to a few tag/estate sales tomorrow morning. I'll have to check the paper to see if there are any promising sounding ones nearby; and of course I'll also have to count my shekels to see if I have enough to buy anything. Who knows, maybe I'll find a nice fishing pole, or a nice rifle. I bought a couple of nice rifles like that already, including one of my favorites a marlin 336 in .35 Remington.

My final alternative would be to finish cleaning up my Mosin Nagant M44. I got the bolt cleaned some time back, but never got around to the rest of the rifle. Cosmoline can be so inhibiting, not only of rust, but of the will to get the job done. That indeed would be a good rainy day project, but one for which I am not sure I am prepared either with the proper solvents, or with the right frame of mind and gusto, to get the job done right now.

Who knows though, what a good night's sleep may bring. Decisions, decisions, time to think it all over with a nice glass of red wine to my lips, an open tackle box on the table before me, a rifle leaning in the corner of the room, some cash burning a hole in my pocket, the desire to find treasure in whatever I do tomorrow, and the prospect of a good night's sleep to dream about it all. I am sure my mind will be made up before the sun rises, but am none to sure I will be up that early. Decisions, decisions...

Sleep well,
Glenn B

Ammo Guess Contest Again...

Hi All,

No I am not having another contest, but I again am bringing up the subject of the recent contest because the tentative winner has not yet contacted me with his name and address. The tentative winner was Jeff as I previously posted, so: Jeff if you want the holster please send me the required email to BBammoguess@aol.com. I am waiting, and you have three more days after 11:59 tonight. If you don't claim the prize by then, it will go to someone else. Two nice holsters from which to choose. Your loss if you don't claim one of them.

All the best,
Glenn B