I was reading through my emails today, including the stuff I get from the NRA, and this caught my eye: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3846. In essence it tells of new Wal- NotSoSmart Mart gun purchase policies. I didn't like them. In fact, I did not like them enough to get me get fired up enough to write Walmart a letter about the new policies, and to inform Wal-Mar that until they drop this policy, they have lost me as a customer. This may not seem like a lot to you, one guy writing Wal-Mart and basically telling them he will boycott them over their new policy; but let me tell you if enough of us do it, it can have significant impact - just think K-Mart. I ask you also to consider not shopping at Wal-Mart, and to write them showing your opposition to this new firearms purchase policy.A copy of my letter to Wal-Mart is below:"I have been a Wal-Mart shopper for many years. I have regularly shopped at Wal-Mart near to my home, and have also shopped at Wal-Mart when away from home both while on business or for pleasure. While I have shopped almost all departments at Wal-Mart, I would have to say that a large part of my shopping at Wal-Mart has been in the Sporting Goods Department. I am an avid firearms enthusiast, target shooter, hunter, and fisherman. My son also shops at Wal-Mart and he has the same interests as myself. I am sad to say that our shopping at Wal-Mart seems to be about to end. In fact, should Wal-Mart continue to implement its policy regarding firearms purchases - we will discontinue shopping at Wal-Mart altogether. We do not need to, nor care to, patronize a retailer who has decided to treat us like criminals when we are law abiding citizens, who make legal firearms and ammunition purchases. Yet Wal-Mart for some reason has decided to ally itself with mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City (where you have no current stores to my knowledge, certainly none that sell guns, but where I would bet you plan to open stores). Regardless of if you have stores there, you have allied yourselves with one of the top anti-gun people in the United States of America. You have changed your firearms purchase rules to include video taping the sale, and to allow Wal-Mart employees to deny sales to persons whom have had a firearm of theirs traced by BATFE (whether or not the person in question has ever committed a crime or not, or in other words even if the trace was one involving an innocent who reported their gun stolen). I wonder what other Draconian measure you will implement to make it more difficult for law abiding, and patriotic citizens, to purchase firearms and enjoy their 2nd Amendment rights.
I find these actions by Wal-Mart to be reprehensible. Therefore until such policy is discontinued, and until Wal-Mart makes an apology to the law abiding firearms owners in the USA, I see no reason to shop at Wal-Mart again, and I will not shop there for anything. In addition I will recommend that friends and neighbors also discontinue shopping at Wal-Mart.
With regret,
Glenn Bartley"If you agree with me, then when you write to Wal-Mart make sure to mention the new firearms purchase policy, that you disagree with said policy, and that its continuance will effect whether or not you continue to shop at Wal-Mart. You can contact Wal-Mart here: http://www.walmartstores.com/contactus/feedback.aspx.Then send the message out to others and ask them to do likewise. If one person does this it is merely a drop in the bucket, if two people do it it is team, if three or four people do it heck it might be seen as a conspiracy, if a few hundred people do it it may be seen as a protest, and if thousands of people do it - well folks - we will have us a grass roots movement - an anti-gun control grass roots movement the likes of which will be able to move mountains, effect politicians, and even make the mighty Wal-Mart tremble enough to relent its latest foolish gun-control policies! Who knows, it may even help defeat Bloomberg when he runs to become governor of New York (and one has to suspect this is what is coming).Safe shooting.All the best,Glenn B
Things of Historical Signifigance that Took place on April 19:
1012 - Martyrdom of St. Alphege in Greenwich, London. (killed by Vikings after he refused to be ransomed)
1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities (German: Reichsstadt) protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms, beginning the Protestant movement.
1539 Emperor Charles V reaches a truce with German Protestants at Frankfurt, Germany.
1587 - Sir Francis Drake sinks the Spanish fleet in Cádiz harbor.
1689 Residents of Boston oust their governor, Edmond Andros.
1764 The English Parliament bans the American colonies from printing paper money.
1775 The American Revolution begins as fighting breaks out at Lexington, then at Concord, MA.
1782 The Netherlands recognizes the United States.
1794 Tadeusz Kosciuszko forces the Russians out of Warsaw.
1809 - The army of Austria attacks and is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition.
1802 The Spanish reopen New Orleans port to American merchants.
1824 English poet Lord Byron dies of malaria at age 36 while aiding Greek independence.
1861 The Baltimore riots result in four Union soldiers and nine civilians killed.
1861 President Lincoln orders a blockade of Confederate ports.
1880 The Times war correspondent telephones a report of the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the first time news is sent from a field of battle in this manner. (A terrible development as far as I am concerned, reporters do not belong in the middle of combat as far as I am concerned.)
1897 First Bostom Marathon held.1927 In China, Hankow communists declare war on Chiang Kai-shek.
1938 General Francisco Franco declares victory in the Spanish Civil War.
1939 Connecticut approves the Bill of Rights.
1943 The Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazi occupation commences.
1943 - Bicycle Day – Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time. (Turbulence of a type not experienced before, at least not to this degree; and that would have an effect on a generation in years to come in the 60s and 70s.)
1951 - General Douglas MacArthur retires from the military.
1961 - The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in success for the defenders.
1971 Russia launches its first Salyut space station (And the cold war gets hotter.).
1989 The battleship USS Iowa’s number 2 turret explodes, killing 47 sailors. (First blamed on a gay sailor whom it was thought had committed suicide, then blamed on a technical glitch.)
1993 The FBI ends a 51-day siege by storming the Branch Davidian religious cult headquarters in Waco, Texas.
1995 A truck bomb explodes in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (Terrorism of a domestic nature.)
1999 - The German Bundestag returns to Berlin. (One day before April 20, could this be significant? See below commentary.)
2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave. (One day before April 20, could this be significant? See below commentary.)
2008 – The Pope visits NYC. Yes Pope Benedict XVI, will be in NYC on my anniversary and will be screwing up traffic when I try to take Linda to see Macbeth on Broadway; and it will be Passover weekend. I can only hope all the wackos stay away.) (One day before April 20, could this be significant? See below commentary.)
Absolutely Useless Things, in my opinion, that Happened on April 19:
1927 - Mae West is sentenced to 10 days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
1934 - Shirley Temple debuts in Stand Up and Cheer.
1960 Baseball uniforms begin displaying player’s names on their backs.
1977 Alex Haley receives a special Pulitzer Prize for his book Roots.
1982 NASA names Sally Ride to be the first woman astronaut.
Most Important Thing In My Life On April 19:
Here is where today gets down to the personal experience level, at least for me (just in case you were wondering about the title of this blog). Linda and I said “I Do” to one another. She and Celina came into my life, Brendan coming along at a later date; but all only possible because of those two words.
Commentary on April 19:
You have got to admit that we wound up choosing one heck of a turbulent day in history on which to be married. All the turbulence in the world though did not amount to what later took place because what happened on April 20, the day we consummated our marriage vows. It was that day, a relatively peaceful one in history, on which Adolf Hitler was born. Although many years would first pass, the beginning of evil and turbulence like the world had not yet seen was born on that day. Maybe all of the historical turbulence associated with of April 19th and April 20th has had a bit to do with it sometimes having been a rocky road for us, but we and our marriage have endured over two decades; and I love her dearly. Damn history, we will make it regardless.This April 19, we will be going to see Patrick Stewart in Macbeth on Broadway, the Pope is in NYC, Passover begins at sunset, and it is the anniversary not only of our marriage but of all those other things above. Kind of makes me second guess myself - not for getting married on April 19th (ignorance is bliss and I knew little of the above when we got married) - but rather for having bought tickets to see Macbeth when at the very least traffic will be a nightmare due to the Pope's visit, and New York City will have been turned into a armed encampment for his protection. Hopefully all the wackos will stay away, and the day will remain peaceful. As for me though, thanks to those who revolted on this day in 1775 (and people still wonder why I picked this day to do something as revolting revolutionary, for a once confirmed bachelor, as getting married) and to the Constitution and Bill of Rights they later gave to us, you can bet if my wife gives me a hug around the hips she will feel something hard it will be a fully loaded 9mm pistol. That is at least while we are in Manhattan - who knows what it will be once we get back home!Oh well, for now am going to stop writing, and go an enjoy breakfast with the Frau on our special day. Then I have some varnishing to do before we live for the city (yes that front door frame only got as far as being stained yesterday). Oh, before I go, to give credit where credit is due, the above historical facts come from Wikipedia, History.com, todayinhistory.com, and of course from memory of history lessons learned, reading the news, and personal expereince.All the best,Glenn B
Yes there have been a lot of obligations I have talked about lately and those of leisure time are certainly not the least. So, on May 3rd, Brendan and I are planning to go to a Gun Show in Middletown, NY to meet up with a few friends of mine, friends I made during my career. Once we get there we will be teaming up with Pete K., Charlie K, and Rob – Charlie’s brother-in-law. All in all I am looking to have a really nice day. I have only seen Charlie once in the past 8 years or so, and that was just recently. I haven’t seen Rob in at least 8 years, and have not seen Pete in about a year. Charlie and Pete have also not seen one another in 8 years. At work we always got along well, and as Charlie would say it – if any of us met the other of the three of us, we would not make the other guy want to puke as meeting many others from our careers would make us feel like doing. Charlie always knows how to compliment a friend! As for Rob, we did not work together but he too is a good guy.
One thing we all have in common is our interest in forearms and shooting. You might think that to be a given for the three of us who worked together since we worked for the same federal law enforcement agency. What with carrying firearms being a mandatory part of the job, many people just seem to assume that means that cops and other Les all like firearms. Nothing could be further from the truth. I had collateral duties as a range officer and firearms instructor for about 14 years in the Customs Service. I can remember many a day when a shooter would show up for quarterly qualifications with an unloaded gun in his or her satchel, or backpack, or purse. Here was a federal agent, on duty, carrying his or her pistol unloaded in a bag. Go figure. Then to see some of our coworkers shoot, it was pitiable. Despite some of them having been on the job for many years, they really could not hit the broadside of a barn on some days. That actually made my duties as an instructor more enjoyable because I took great pride in helping out the poorer shooters, getting them not only to qualify for the quarter in question, but also getting them to the point where they started shooting better with reliability.
One of the reasons some of the other agents were poor shots was that they wanted nothing to do with firearms. Not all of the poorer shooters fell into this category but most of them did. Of course this is not to say that some people who basically loathed having to carry a gun for work were not good shots. Some of them were indeed excellent shots, and one has t wonder how they did it with their apparent loathing for guns and lack of practice. Oh well, whatever the case, Charlie, Pete and I were firearms enthusiasts for sure. So was Rob; and of course so is Brendan. This will be the first time Brendan meets Charlie and Rob. He may have met Pete at another type o show to which we both go – a Reptile and Amphibian expo. Funny but for all the years I knew Pete at work, I never realized until after he retired that he too was into keeping reptiles sand amphibians.
As for this show, I am sort of hopeful that I’ll have enough cash on hand to give Brendan enough to buy himself a rifle. He is 18, turned 18 in December, so he can now buy a rifle on his own. I don’t have to buy it, and give it to him for a gift. I don’t expect to pick up anything fancy, or I should say I don’t expect to pick up anything myself. As for Brendan, I am hoping we find a good deal on a Mosin Nagant 44, or maybe on a Yugoslavian SKS. Of course one never knows what one may find at one of these shows; but sadly a bargain is usually a hard thing to find. Bargains seem to be pretty much a thing of the past at gun shows, and I guess we can thank over pious anti-gun legislators for that. Then again we could possibly find a bargain and I am hoping such will be the case.
I am sure there will be some bargains to be had at this show, even if we don’t find one for ourselves. I say this because I am thinking of bringing along 2 or 3 rifles to sell there. With the money I get for them, Brendan should have at least $200 to $300 in his pocket for his purchase should he find something he likes. That is of course if it is still legal for me to bring some rifles there to sell. I think it is, but I’ll check with the show promoter to see what they know about it. The rules for transferring a rifle or handgun have become ridiculous over the past few years, and have done absolutely nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. I think life imprisonment of violent felons who use guns in commission of a crime, a death for those who kill during commission of a crime would be a better way to deal with the problem; and since the gun bans, gun registration, gun licensing and all that crap has not worked – well isn’t it time to try another approach to curbing violence. I sure think so! But I digress, so back to the gun show. If it is legal for me to sell them there, I’ll have a Mosin Nagant M44, a Marlin Levermatic in .22LR, and a J.C. Higgins in .22LR for sale. I figure the 22s can bring me $75 to $100 each, and the Mosin Nagant maybe $50 to $75. That would do nicely to have Brendan make his own purchase.
I have to admit I am really looking forward to going to this show. First of all I have not been at a gun show in a couple of years I guess, and I have not been to one with Brendan for a bit longer. Then again, I have not been to a gun show with the other 3 guys in over 8 years. I guess you can say I have a case of gun show fever; but now all I have to do to get over it is to sit back and wait for May 3rd to roll around. Then a drive to Middletown, and i should be cured, at least till next time it sets in.
All the best,
Glenn B
There I was working away on the front door frame feeling good because I had sanded it down so it looked not as good as newly cut wood, but pretty darned close. I then started to fill some small holes and cracks, well I should say almost started. I opened the tube of wood filer I had on hand, and low and behold someone else had used it already and cut the nozzle tip down to nothing. So, when the cap was replaced it did not make a seal having only a tiny nub of tip left. Yes you guessed it, the putty was dry for the most part. I got 3 small holes filled and the rest of it was not workable. Hopefully Linda will listen to her voice mails before coming home and pick up some wood putty from the local hardware store. I am none to happy I had to stop the job, I hate interruptions for crap like that. Things like that, the little ones, make me loose my cool big time, funny because I handle big problems much better. My solution though was to sit down, take a breather, write this, and now to go and make myself lunch. Now that sounds like a winner of an idea.
Later for you, and later for the Cherry or Ipswich Pine Finish for the front door frame; and that will be a decision to be made once the frau gets home.
All the best,
GB
Well $98.00 later, a shot, some pills, and Mimi is not barfing right now; but then again she stopped right before we got to the vet. I walked her to the vet so that was not a mess in the car. Hopefully she will get better without further incidents. Animal care can be expensive, but if you have a pet you should take care of it properly.We met a nice lady at the vet who had rescued three kittens from a construction site. Their mother had abandoned them. She is caring for them now, and they seemed more than a handful for her. It was kind of nice to see that someone would care for three kittens like that without raising the flag of PETA or some other wacko animal rights group, and just take them home to give them food and shelter, then to the vet for a checkup, all without making it a federal case against the construction company, or in favor of spaying/neutering, or against cat ownership in general. I wish her luck in adopting them out.Now what was it I was supposed to be doing around the house today??? While I figure out what chores I need to get done I'll say: Later for you all, and later for a gun blog.All the best,Glenn B
A productive day at home is what I was expecting to have today. I took the day off to refinish the front door and door frame, to paint the side door and frame, and to get a haircut so I'd look nice for the wife tomorrow on our anniversary. I also figured I'd be making up for my lack of production as of late on this blog as to a gun post or two. Now the new dog is barfing all over the place, and we will soon be off to the vet. Hopefully we won't be there too long, but who can tell - she seems pretty sick. I am also hoping it is only a stomach bug that will pass quickly, but the wife told me that Mimi grabbed a raccoon skull we have in the basement and was mouthing it last night, then started getting sick. I am hoping she did not ingest any toxins. I kind of doubt that had anything to do with it, but one never knows what chemicals they use to preserve those things (it was a store bought one) bought for my son. Needless to say, I checked the basement for other things that might appear appealing to her as chew toys.Once I get home, I guess I can add the chore of going to Home Depot to pick up a carpet cleaner to my list of to dos! The list only gets longer, or so it seems.All the best,Glenn B
...are often not as easy to carry out are some of our other obligations. For example I have let myself balloon up to the highest I have ever weighed in my life over the past few months. Actually I should say I allowed that to happen over the course of 2 or 3 weeks (at most) wherein I gained 10-12 pounds. I was not feeling well, and surprisingly one of my symptoms was an increased appetite especially at night. So there I sat as usual in front of the tube with some snacks, just more snacks than usual. I shot up from about 214 to 226, then leveled off at my present and portly 225 pounds. I figure it is time for me to do something, in fact long past time for me to get started.
With that in mind I have once again started an exercise program. My problem with exercise programs is that I always seem to go at them for a few to several months at most, then I slack off altogether for another few months before I start in again. This time though it is going to have to be more long term. Losing the poundage I just gained will be no easy task for me, especially in light of the fact that even when I exercised fairly regularly I was not shedding pounds all that much. Of course I'll probably diet too, and in that regard I have already cut back on snacks. I am hopeful I will be able to cut out all junk snacks soon. Note I did not say junk food. Several years ago I lost about 30 pounds in a few to 6 months. I kept it off for a year and a half. (Why I gained it back is for another story.) I did that with moderate exercise on the treadmill, and with weights, and with a diet wherein I stopped eating snacks. I kept eating everything else though and that includes junk food meals. I ate Big Macs, pizza, gyros, and all that stuff to my heart's content. I also made sure to eat a large salad as a meal at least once or twice a week, and that will start again soon - maybe even today. I usually do not start two things at once such as working out for cardio, working out on weights, a diet and so forth. I try to start them one at a time, go with whatever I started with (such as cardio this time) for a few weeks before moving into weights also, and then doing both of them for a few weeks before staring a diet. That way I do not shock my system all that much at once. I find this helps get rid of some stress associated with a change in my daily regimen; and man oh man can exercise and diet add stress to a life. Yes I know they are supposed to reduce stress, and eventually they help to do so, but at first - when you have not been at it in a while, or ever - they add lots of stress to one's life as I see it.
So far I have been out walking the new dog, but not as often as I should. I have also been trying to get more regular sleep. I try to pass out by midnight at the latest, earlier is better. Then I try to wake up around the same time each day. This seems to have helped me to get a better nights sleep. Seems if I wake up at the same time each day, I am tired at the same time each night. makes sense I guess. I have also started working out on a treadmill. I did 4 miles two days ago, and 4.5 yesterday. In only one day I improved my pace markedly. I am not trying to do anything for speed, just to hit my desired distance of at least 3 miles per workout, with anything more being better; but I do keep track of the time it takes me to do it. I start with a run of 1.5 miles, then walk at least 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile, then run a 1/4 or half mile, then walk then run, until I hit the point at which I feel I need to stop. As time goes by, and as I become more fit, I'll increase the running portion of the workout. I figure getting to a straight 3 mile run with another mile or two of walking should be a decent workout at least three days per week once I am more fit. Right now I am shooting for 5 days per week with less running and more walking.
Amazingly, even with slightly high, but under control blood pressure, and a so-so diet, and a poor exercise regimen, I have been told my heart and cardio system are in great shape. I hope to keep them that way now that I am getting older. So wish me luck please! Not so much to lose weight at any astounding rate, but rather wish me luck in sticking with it. I realize I am the one who has to do that, to stick with it that is, but I can use all the support I can get. Who knows, maybe if I lose a few pounds the wife will go for walks with me again! One can hope.
All the best,
Glenn B
...come in all sorts. Today I fulfilled two of my obligations. One was to renew my membership with the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the other was to renew my membership with the West-Side Rifle and Pistol Range. These may seem like less than obligations to some of you, but allow me to assure you that they are indeed obligations, firearms obligations, that I take seriously.
As for the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association I find it important to join organizations that help support and protect my right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. Said right is being assailed from every direction and has been chipped away at little by little until it has reached the point that my liberties and rights no longer are what is defined in our Constitution. I would much rather that this be corrected through debate, elections, and other peaceful means rather than it coming down to that which said right assures us all - the ability to overthrow a tyranny. So I have joined the NYSRPA on a yearly basis, and I am a life member of the NRA.
Support of groups that try to protect our 2nd Amendment rights is not enough. Active participation in what that right conveys is an absolute must. Therefore I am an avid firearms enthusiast, not only because I like to shoot, but because I want to be able to stand ready and join a militia if ever called upon to defend our constitution against tyranny. Many seem to have forgotten that the 2nd Amendment is the one that allows us to keep all of the others, and without it, we surely would have been overcome by they who seek power in government in any way that they can achieve it. Politicians, and other power hungry sorts, need reminders that we are actively taking part in our right to keep and bear arms, and are not merely paper tigers who join clubs or associations that are mere mouthpieces to help promote our cause.
By joining and keeping your memberships in such organizations active, and by actually participating in firearms related activities, you are contributing to the economy of the firearms industry. Without that financial support our right to keep and bear arms would likely fade away out in short order.
So yes, I see both of these as obligations, and I carry them out faithfully year after year.
All the best,
Glenn B
...not for the presidency - that is for sure as I see it. Of course, maybe no one is perfect for the presidency, at least not the current crop of the three major candidates running for that job, but one is better than the rest in my opinion, and he is not saying absolutely stupid things like the following:"“Now I am the first to admit that some of the words I chose I chose badly, because as my wife reminds me, I’m not perfect. She reminds me of this frequently, and events often remind me as well,” Obama said, reiterating his regret for his choice of words. “So I’m not a perfect man and the words I chose, I chose badly. They were subject to misinterpretation, they were subject to be twisted, and I regret that. I regret that deeply. But. But. But. When people suggest that somehow I was demeaning religion. When I know that I’m a man of deep faith, somebody who in my own life has held on to faith, held onto my confidence in God during times of trial and tribulation, then it sounds like there’s some politics being played.
“When people suggest I was somehow being elitist and demeaning hunters when I have repeatedly talked about the tradition that people pass on from generation to generation, hunters and sportsmen, and how I have consistently spoken about my respect for the Second Amendment. When people try to suggest that I was demeaning those traditions, then it sounds like there’s some politics being played. And what really burns me up is when people suggest that me saying that folks are mad, they are angry, they are bitter after 25, 30 years of seeing jobs shipped out, pensions not fulfilled, health care lost. The notion that people are surprised, and are suggesting that I’m out of touch because I spoke honestly about people’s frustrations, that tells me there’s some politics going on,” he said." (from FoxNews.com @ http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/13/obama-im-not-perfect-mocks-clinton-support-for-gun-rights/Does Mr. Obama really believe that this piss poor backpedalling is going to get him in good with the millions of people in this country who own firearms, who hunt, or who are frustrated because they don't have great jobs? Does he really think that his claiming to have been a supporter of the 2nd Amendment is going to hold water or votes after those who really hold that right sacred have shot his bucket full of holes? He went onto say, about Mrs. Clinton:“She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley,” Obama told an audience at a union hall here, invoking the famed female sharpshooter immortalized in the musical “Annie Get Your Gun.” Does he truly believe that his attack on Hillary Clinton for her flip flopping current support of 2nd Amendment lover and the like will do anything to elevate him in the eyes of those same folks after he first demeaned and castigated them? Does he think that insulting the memory of Annie Oakley will help him? Heck, does Mrs. Clinton really think what she is doing now is going to help her.Well I guess it is going to help one or the other of them to win the Democratic nomination for the run for the presidency; but I can only hope that voters in November do not have short memories when it comes to this absolute hypocrisy on the parts of either Obama or Clinton. I for one will be voting for the man who is running against them because both Clinton and Obama seem to come from another planet when it comes down to the realities of the USA, they are that much out of touch.All the best,Glenn B
Well I have not talked about guns in a while, and I guess I'll skip them today too if only because my other passion took hold today. This afternoon I went to the monthly meeting of the Long Island Herpetological Society . Almost as soon as I walked in the door, Dave F. asked me if I was still looking for a female California Kingsnake. In fact I was, and had been looking earlier today when I had been in touch with someone who had one advertised on CraigList. That person wanted $60, a reasonable deal for a healthy and breedable female. Dave though had a better offer. He had a very nice looking morph of the Cal. King called a 'washboard' It is a banded variety, white/black that has a mottling of white specks throughout the black bands along her sides. Not only did I like the look of her, but I also liked the fact that she is between 2-3 years old (young and probably ready to breed) but she is close in size to my male. Not that size difference is a problem, but they will be less likely to eat one another. Yes kingsnakes are sometimes cannibalistic of their own species; heck they got the name kingsnake because of the fact they routinely eat other snakes - even rattlesnakes.I'd write more about her now, but I am anxious to introduce her to the male I have on hand, a black and white striped Cal. King. Hopefully the chemistry will be right, and they will hit it off right away instead of trying to eat one another. I'll keep you posted.By the way, the LIHS meeting was a good one today. Bill Love a renowned herpetologist, animal breeder, photographer, world traveler, and adventurer was there to do a presentation on the herpetofauna of Mauritius and Round island. Bill was one of the few lucky folks - not a scientist - who has ever visited Round Island in the past 15 years since it was granted heavily protected status as a nature preserve. Very good and interesting show with lots of nice pics. He also gave a talk about herp photography on Friday night at the annual LIHS dinner. I'd include a pic of him here from today's event except I would be embarrassed to show it to him after the talk he gave on Friday. Seems everyone else forgot their cameras so I tried to snap one with my cell phone and it was just way to dim in the theater. Oh well, next time I guess I'll remember my camera.All the best,Glenn B
Lately she could not walk very far without just about falling over; heck sometimes she could not take more than a few steps with trembling and having a hard time at it. She would get up in the middle of the night and pace though, incessantly back and forth to her water bowl; and if there was water she would drink every last drop of as if parched from a trek through the Sahara and having finally found an oasis. Other times she would just stare as if out into space pondering the depths of the universe, and while chances were she was just staring at a wall instead of looking out to the heavens - who knows what she saw. At those times when she seemingly was spaced out, she had to be called over and over again before she heard me or saw me motioning to her; and while I don't know for sure where she was then, I like to think it must have been a glimpse of heaven she was seeing. She was old and frail, had a tumor the size of a baseball (had it for many years too), and had many other semi-crippling afflictions.
She was not always that way our Sprocket. She was named Sprocket after a character on the show Fraggle Rock (a favorite show not only of Celina and Brendan, but also of mama and papa). Later on we nicknamed her Sprocket The Rocket and for good reason. She was the fastest mutt I have ever seen, and once she kicked in the afterburners she just kept going. I think if allowed to she could have run for miles. In fact she may have done so more than once at Uncle David, Tante Marlene and my nephew Daniel's place while chasing their dog Milo, or their friend's dog Rudy, two of her canine pals, through the big (really big) backyard. Had she been a real rocket, she would have been a wonder of scientific technology because not only was she fast, and tight in the corners, but she loved the water. When we first got her, I used to take her on long walks to a pretty remote spot (imagine a remote spot in New York City - well there are more than a few relatively speaking). I was trying to break her of some bad habits, and trying to train her to act okay when off the leash. I had her off the leash and she was responding to my commands just fine that day so many years ago, heeling like the best of trained dogs. Then suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, her ears went up, her brow furrowed, her tail went out, she was as alert as I had ever seen her. I could not figure at what she was looking, but she was looking out over the sump pond in front of us. The next thing I knew she was airborne and then splash she was in the water loving every moment of it. A command or two and she was back at my side. She loved the water - imagine that an amphibious rocket! When we visited my sister and brother-in-law she used to put her paws in a water basin and splash like crazy, yes she loved the water. She loved her trips to my uncle's and aunt's farm too where she could run and swim and play with other dogs there as she pleased. It had the right name for people and dogs alike - Happy Times Farm, and Sprocket's visits there were always happy ones for her and for Celina and Brendan when they were together there.
She was also a loyal companion for Linda (my wife) and for Brendan and Celina (our children). The kids grew up with her at their sides, and Linda was faithful in caring for her taking her for long walks each and every day without fail. I walked her too, but nowhere near as much as did Linda - they were quite the pair those two. In return, Sprocket was protective of the family. At times almost to a fault, and was sometimes nippy of our guests. As some time went by she pretty much dropped her habit of barking and nipping at everyone who visited us first in our apartment, then in our house. She grew accustomed to family and most friends and accepted them all as part of the pack. Still though, with a few people who were friends of the family, she never quite got over whatever joy it was for her to give them a scare - you know who you are Kyle and Laura!
She was that way with other dogs too at first, and it took a long time to get her to be decent with other dogs when we went out for walks; scars on her legs probably proof of a dog fight or three. She wound up getting along fine with Milo and Rudy though, and later on with Onkel Raymond and Tante Lorraine's dogs, and also with Onkel Alex's dogs. She also got along great with Cody our cat. Cody had come to us as an adoption from our neighbor who had moved away and could not take her two cats. We took the saner one, and my wife never let me live down the fact that when asked if we wanted him I said it was up to her. How could she turn down her best friend's request? They were pals those two until Cody left us last year. Sprocket had other buddies with four legs. When we got Hexi, our mini dachshund, well Sprocket did not know what to do at first with such a little and young pooch. Yet Hexi, with her magic, was able to turn Sprocket into a playful pal in almost no time. Later on when Pepe joined the pack, Sprocket was a lot older, and less playful, but she accepted him pretty much right away, and she often took pleasure it seemed in watching Hexi and Pepe romp in the living room or backyard. What a pack, 4 humans, three dogs, and a cat.
Sprocket, like Cody, also came to us as an adult through an adoption, but a totally unexpected one, at least for me. We had just had to get rid of another dog we had adopted that was vicious and that had attacked both of our kids. That was tough, because the getting rid of part was permanent. Well, not too long after that, in fact sooner than I had expected, since Linda had said no more dogs until Brendan was older - there was Sprocket when I came home from wherever it was I had been. Uncle Alex had brought her by. She had been adopted out at least a few times after her owner had passed away. It seems no one wanted to keep her. Well no one except for us. She grew on us quickly despite her bad habits, I guess because of her good ones. As I said already - she was one loyal family friend and Linda, Celina, Brendan and I loved her dearly. She was part of our pack, and we part of hers.
I have to admit, I was surprised maybe most of all how much Sprocket got along with Granny (my mom), or should I say how much Granny seemed to like Sprocket (she is not an animal lover); but that was Sprocket - lovable. Of course Onkel Alex and Onkel Hans (my other brothers-in-law) and Oma (my mother-in-law) loved her too. Onkel Raymond (my brother) and Lorraine his wife loved her as well, as did Marlene (my sister), David (her husband) and Daniel (their son). Aunt Glenese and Onkel Ken loved her too. Sprocket got along good with all of them. Did I mention, she was part of our pack, and we part of hers.
Sadly those days are over. Yesterday Linda and I took Sprocket to the vet for the last time; and we had her put down. It was one of the toughest things I have ever done, and Linda has done it twice now in the past 3 months because in January our little Hexi had to be put down due to paralysis and seizures. Hexi was only 7, pretty middle aged for a dog. Sprocket was the grand old dame, and as best we know she was around 18-20 years old. We had her for 14 or 15 of those years as far as I can remember. The vet to which we brought her actually has a living room type setup in which they euthanize pets. It was as Linda put it, more comfortable. I think she meant for her and for Sprocket, and I'll admit that during the 1/2 hour or so we spent in that room waiting together, Sprocket seemed at home. The folks there were all very nice, especially the vet who did the deed. She was truly interested in Sprocket and her afflictions, and I think had we left out a few of them, she would have recommended other than euthanasia. She seemed generally interested in what was best for Sprocket. Once we told her about all of Sprocket's problems - she was very understanding, and she agreed with us that this was best. I wonder, but do not judge, if knowing that made it easier for her to do. I suppose it must have been tough for her, and that it is tough each time she does it. It was quick though, and Sprocket never knew what was coming, nor felt a thing from what I could tell. The thought that kept going through my mind as we waited, and as she was leaving us, was that she had trusted us to care for her. I know for a fact it was tough if just for that one thought along, hell it was the toughest thing I have ever done - bringing her there and going through losing her - being responsible for it. I am sure it was even tougher for Linda - she loved Sprocket with her all; and I imagine she had a similar thought to mine yesterday as we waited for Sprocket to be taken from us.
We will all miss her. We all loved Sprocket dearly, and we will miss her the same. Linda sobbed all the way home, nothing I could say or do would console her, though I think she found some comfort in me. Celina was over yesterday and shed more than a few tears for her, and Brendan is pretty torn up too. I am sure that everyone who knew her will miss her. Onkel Alex was hit hard when I told him what we were going to do; and to him I can only say thanks for bringing Sprocket, and a lot of joy, into our lives. I don't know if there is anything I can say or do to help ease their loss, or mine, except maybe to say that Sprocket The Rocket was heaven bound in a flash, and mama and papa were there with her at the end. Now she is in a place with no pain, and with fields through which to leap and bound, and ponds in which to swim at her heart's desire. We miss you girl, and we loved you - but I sure don't have to tell you that because you knew it, it was evident in how you loved us.
Filled with sorrow,
GB
It is annoying, you know the loud mouthed jerk talking on a cell phone while seated next to you in a restaurant, or on a bus, or on a train, or in an elevator. It is even scary to see someone walking down the street apparently having an animated conversation with no one in particular, scary until you realize they are hooked up to a cell phone (and maybe still scary when you think about how animated they were on a phone). I have often wondered why some of these people bother getting a phone and calling plan in the first place since they talk loud enough to be heard in the next state. Still though, its not much different from someone without a cell phone and who is simply having a conversation at way to loud a decibel level in a public place.
Sure some of them do not realize how loud and obnoxious they are being, and all it takes is someone to politely ask them to keep it down; but many of these blabber mouths lack common courtesy, and in that they lack respect for others. They either just keep it going, or even get louder, if someone politely asks them to tone it down. That can be a cause of conflict with those around them, especially the person who was annoyed enough to ask them to tone it down in the first place. So how do you handle the situation if you are the one who is offended or upset about a loud, obnoxious blabbermouth who is incessantly blabbing on a cell phone? I would do it with courtesy, and with respect, and if that did not work, well I would try to enlist the assistance of others who also seemed offended; all the while keeping it civil. I really try to remain civil, but I will admit if some gets in my face I can become pretty loud and gruff myself.
That does not mean I would start trying to grab things from people, or start slapping people, or yelling obscenities at them (though I have done so on occasion, I really try to keep it civil). As to the grabbing and slapping, I see moves like that as not only rude and disrespectful but as a physical threat. If someone came at me to grab something from my hands, or if someone slapped me, well I would defend myself as necessary and then I would restrain the person until police arrived. There is a good chance that something like this could happen to me or you. To me because I sometimes take the Long Island Railroad, and it seems to me that there is a self appointed vigilante common courtesy cop riding the rails of said RR. He was recently charged with a couple or few misdemeanors, and was tried in court, but won his case, see: Man Who Yelled at Phone User Acquitted. I think he feels vindicated that his manner of accosting people on cell phones is the proper thing to do. I think he is an asshole rude and crude in his dealings with folks who are being too loud on cell phones; and I think it would be better handled in a polite and courteous manner. Now this guy is a retired cop (after only 10 years on the job as per the report I read) and is now a lawyer. He reportedly has several law suits filed against other LIRR passengers and against the MTA (the outfit that runs the LIRR). Are you getting the picture? This guy is, I think, an overinflated, pompous, rude, arrogant, nasty jerk someone who is thinking only of himself, and feels he must push himself onto others to make the world right. Right for whom - well for himself I would think, and not for you or I.
Being rude in an attempt to counteract the rudeness of another in no way overcomes the rudeness of others, it solves nothing. Too bad he does not realize that. He seemingly has missed the point that if you want to be a common courtesy cop, then you need to do so with common courtesy, and respect, toward others. If you do not do so with courtesy - well then you have become exactly the type of person against whom you are crusading. Err let me correct that last sentence - you have become worse than those others if only because you are doing as they do while seeing yourself as their better. That is out and out hypocrisy as I see it. I pity this guy, I really do; but I must say that should he ever take a physical swipe at me, it is not pity that he will feel in return.
All the best,
Glenn B
Hump Day has not dawned yet, and I am already pining for the weekend. For many weeks now I have been eager to get away for just one day to have some fun with my metal detector (which has not gotten a test run yet -mostly thanks to Officer Jones ruining my day at Jones Beach some weeks ago - and to other obligations I have had that were carried out over recent weekends. I have also wanted to get away to do some amphibian watching/listening. Those little Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers should be at it by now, and I'd love to hear their springtime chorus as it fills the air under the canopy of a NY forest. There just has not been the time.This weekend, I also have an obligation to start plastering a room in anticipation of painting it, but that can be done on either Saturday or Sunday. That means one of those days will be - or should be - free for me. So on one of em, I'll hop into the Corolla, take a spin, and hopefully arrive at a place where I can enjoy my two pursuits in the same trip. As a matter of fact, according to my brother-in-law, this time of year is good for the metal detector enthusiast here in the northeast. Why - well because the Daffodils are, or will soon be, in bloom. Much of New York state was populated in areas that I will go exploring with my metal detector. The key word in that last sentence is "was". You see those areas are no longer populated. Farms, homesteads, mines, factories, are all long gone in my target areas. Sure the areas around them are still populated, but not the specific places I want to search. So what about those Daffodils? Well, the Daffodil was apparently a quite popular flower in the early days of New York state. They were often planted around homes, and other areas where people congregated. So if I find Daffodils in the forest, it is likely that the area near the Daffodils had once had a house there. This greatly increases chances of my coming up with some long buried artifact, or so I would imagine. I guess every pursuit of the treasure hunting nature has its little secrets as to how to increase your chances of success. Finding Daffodils is just one of them; and having a knowledgeable brother-in-law is another. Keep your fingers crossed for me that nothing pops up to ruin my plans, if for no other reason than because you will probably get a decent blog out of my weekend adventures.All the best,Glenn B
"In 1957, shortly after midnight, the last of New York's electric trolleys completed its final run from Queens to Manhattan." (reference: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/history)
I was not even 2 years old yet, and something that would fascinate me in later years had already come to its end. When I was young though, there were remnants of trolley tracks set in cobblestone streets throughout much of New York City's 5 boroughs. For some reason they (the tracks and the cobblestones) always fascinated me. Although most have been removed, I would venture to say that somewhere in New York City some of those trolley tracks, and a lot of those cobblestones, still remain - probably covered by black-top; and they are probably one of the reasons for a lot of bumps, and for some of the crappy roads in NYC.
All the best,
Glenn B
Today I traded 5 boxes of Winchester 7.62x25., 1 box of Chinese manufacture 7.62x25, 2 boxes of Remington .380 UMC, and a couple of boxes of Samson .223 ammo ammunition for a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin and a bottle of water. Oh yes, I also got some good conservation from a friend whom I have not seen in about 8 years. He wants his identity withheld as super sekrit, so let's just call him Mr. X.
Let me tell you, the trade off was well worth it. There is just something about sharing conservation over good coffee with a good friend, in this case with Mr. X, that transcends the value of material things, even ammunition.
All the best,
Glenn B
I don't know which line I liked better, the one from a work of fiction: "Take your stinking paws off of me you damn dirty ape"; or the one from real life: "...from my cold dead hands".
The sad thing is that his hands are now indeed cold. Charlton Heston has passed away leaving behind an outstanding film career, and one hell of a controversial bit of political activism. Heston became political activist in the Kennedy era. He was a strong proponent of civil rights, and of the Omnibus Gun Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The controversy arose when he later realized the folly of the left, and his own folly for having believed that a leftward lean had been the way to go. He never changed his stance about racism being wrong, nor his stance on civil rights, but he realized that those on the left were stereotypical hypocrites and racists hiding behind an aura of self proclaimed do-gooderness. For example, he was outraged that the Actors' Equity Association refused to allow a Caucasian to play the role of a Eurasian pimp in the play Miss Saigon, but instead insisted that an Asian be selected for the role. This despite the fact that the very same Actors' Equity Association refused to cast an Asian in the leading Asian roles in the same play! Heston quit the association over that. He was in his deeds a man who stood by his principals, and who realized that racism is not a one way street, although he at the same time apparently realized that liberalism indeed saw it as a one way street. Yes in deed and words he expressed himself as an opponent of racism, racism caused by whites, and racism practiced against whites. He both marched with Martin Luther King and was a proponent of the Civil Rights Movement long before it was fashionable for politicians or the Hollywood crowd, and he readily professed his belief that racism worked both ways, and that it was caused by the Cultural Warfare being waged by the liberal left:
"The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of wise old dead white guys who invented our country! Now some flinch when I say that. Why! Its true-they were white guys! So were most of the guys that died in Lincoln’s name opposing slavery in the 1860’s. So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is “Hispanic Pride” or “Black Pride” a good thing, while “White Pride” conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress, while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion and ridicule? I’ll tell you why, Cultural warfare!" (Reference: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Fighting_the_Culture_War_in_America)
He had a knack for seeing things as they really were, whether or not his view was a popular one among his peers. Heston was intelligent enough to have seen the error of his earlier ways regarding gun control. Again my bet is that he saw the hypocrisy of the left on this issue. He changed his stance on it and became a strong proponent for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. In fact in 1998 until 2003 he was the president of the National Rifle Association. It was during an NRA event that Heston held a rifle high over his head and aid those words "from my cold dead hands" referring to his willingness to defend our rights under the 2nd Amendment. He also changed his politics from those of an apparently confused Democrat to those of a sure Republican because he realized that it was truly the Republican Party that had stood for those things in which he believed such as the Civil Rights issue.
Sadly, in 2002, Heston made a public appearance telling us all he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Shortly after that, in 2003, he resigned his position as president of the NRA. No not because of lack of personal conviction, simply because he was unable to carry on. Of course there were some who took apparent glee in the fact that Heston had come down with Alzheimer's. One of them was about as leftist as you can get - George Clooney. He reportedly joked about Heston's condition saying: "Charlton Heston announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer's." (reference: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30590) When taken to task over this crass remark, Clooney reportedly said this: "I don't care. Charlton Heston is the head of the National Rifle Association. He deserves whatever anyone says about him." Maybe that is truthfully why I can not name one of the roles in which this scumbag Clooney has starred. I also cannot tell you about how Clooney served his country, but I can tell you that i 1944 Charlton Heston enlisted and served in the US Army Air Forces during WWII.
As for his films, I can name many of the films in which Heston starred, and a great many of them are classics. You can get names of a lot more of them at the IMDB Some of them are:
The Savage (1952)
The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
Pony Express (1953)
The Naked Jungle (1954)
The Far Horizons (1955)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
A Touch of Evil (1958)
The Buccaneer (1958)
Ben Hur (1959)
El Cid (1961)
55 Days at Peking (1963)
Major Dundee (1965)
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Khartoum (1966)
Planet of The Apes (1968, the first movie where I remember seeing a line that was blocks and blocks long of people waiting to get in to see it)
Wil Penny (1968)
The Omega Man (1971, I hear tell that I Am legend was basically a rehashed remake of this film depending on artistic license to make it appear as a new idea)
Anthony and Cleopatra (1972)
Soylent Green (1973, in which he costarred with Edward G. Robinson in Robinson's last film)
The Three Musketeers (1973)
Earthquake (1974)
Midway (1976)
The Mountain Men (1978)
And he kept going, acting until 2003, when his life was basically cut short, but not yet ended, by Alzheimer's Disease. Did he truly deserve contracting Alzheimer's Disease for his membership in the NRA, for his support of the 2nd Amendment - of course not; but Mr. Clooney is classless enough to have claimed such. Mr. Heston was a champion in his films, and a champion of our Constitutional Rights in real life. Clooney will never be a champion of anything, other than maybe of being a jerk, as far as I am concerned. Yes Charlton Heston was a champion indeed and a man of conviction. He was a Hollywood actor who stood against the political correctness of the belief in whites' only racism, who was against against abortion, who was staunchly pro-civil rights long before it was a popular stance politically or in Hollywood, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., who was against a society that was dividing itself leading to its own destruction, who was staunchly anti-communist but yet was anti McCarthyism, who was against against multi-culturism and the culture war (believing instead in a unified United States of America), who opposed the war in Vietnam and then voted for Nixon - the man who ended that war, who had the class to stand up - excuse himself - and walk out of an interview conducted by Michael Moore when Moore tried to blind side him, who was ultimately against gun control despite his earlier stance in favor of it, who vehemently stood up against Time Warner at a stockholders meeting (his own bread and butter so to speak) for their release of the ICE-T song Cop Killer, who stood up for protecting the environment, who stood up for his beliefs in the face of fierce criticism from others in Hollywood (like Clooney who could not even fill one of his shoes acting wise, and who could come nowhere near him conviction wise), who fought the battle for civil rights, who fought the battle to preserve our Constitutional Rights such as the rights of free speech and the right to keep and bear arms. Not only did he tell it like he believed it, he actually lived it like he believed it.
In great part, due to his convictions, and his efforts to protect the rights of others, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom in 2003. That medal is the highest civilian award in the USA. It was not long after that that his disease progressed so rapidly as to shock those who knew him well. He died yesterday, April 5, 2008, with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, at his side. Imagine that -being married to the same person for 64 years (I guess he held a conviction that marriage was a good thing)! I suppose that is one of the other reasons I liked him so much. One other reason for me to have liked him was that he was born in the same year as my mom, and only a day from my birthday (not year-wise, but month and day wise) though I only found that out today (and of course even this is controversial as some say he was born in 1924 anbd others say 1923). Regardless, he was one of my favorite actors, one of my favorite political activists, and obviously a man who stood by his words with his deeds. He was indeed a great American. He will be missed.
With sadness in my heart,
Glenn B
Article VI: ..." This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. "...
Lately there have been an awful lot of federal judges, federal politicians, federal executive officers, local governments, and quite a few state governments that have taken the laws of the United States of America to task by in essence ignoring them, or even encouraging disobedience to them. With regard to immigration and nationality laws New York, San Francisco readily come to mind, with regard to the law enforcement authority of the federal government both Wyoming and Montana come to mind, with regard to violations of our rights such as the Right to Keep and Bear Arms many federal courts come to mind. There are many other members of government, besides those mentioned that have recently challenged, balked at, disregarded, or plain outright violated laws of the United States.
Maybe it is time to remind the law makers and the law enforcers in those states that they, under authority of the Constitution of The United States of America either by oath or affirmation, have bound themselves to support the constitution which they now so flagrantly disregard:
Article VI: ..." The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. "...
Have we fallen that much closer to anarchy that the federal government allows such to continue and to spread. Surely if nothing decisive is done to thwart such rebellious (and I mean this - no sarcasm alert here) actions, what will be next - will it be a full scale rebellion, or at least secession of some states? I fear it may be so, we are certainly moving in that direction in leaps and bounds. I wonder what it is that would make people, such as wackos in San Francisco and the libs in New York, and the cowboys of Montana, and the patriots in Wyoming, and all the rest of the citizens and legal resident aliens of the USA, want to abandon the foundations of this great nation - our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I am by my duty as a federal agent sworn to uphold the Constitution, and I am by virtue of being a U.S. Citizen sworn to uphold the Constitution and the principals discussed within the Declaration of Independence. There are many others out there who, like me, take these breeches of our bedrock as a serious threat to the ability of our nation to survive. Yes a revolution of sorts maybe coming, but it may come from a direction other than in which you are looking.
"I do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."
You can change the word affirm to the word swear, and you can ad "So help me God", or leave God out of it. I don't care either way. I have not solemnly sworn or affirmed my protection of God, or of a religion, but rather of the Constitution of the United States of America - and I'll be damned if I do not stand for it and our Nation now, in their time of need against the enemies within, whether God is on my side or not. For now, I'll do it through voting, lending my support to political candidates who have gotten it right, writing again and again to elected officials to express my support for the Constitution, lambasting through emails and the mail those politicians who do not get it right, by joining activist groups that support our Constitution (such as the NRA). If however it comes down to it, I will support the Constitution and the United States of America with my life, and it is about time that more of you start thinking along those lines. Our nation is crumbling a piece at a time, and sooner or later those pieces will be so big as to include whole states falling away. Stand up and make yourself heard, stand up as proud Americans who are wiling to defend your nation from those who would topple her by whatever means are absolutely necessary.
Now - today - don't wait - write an email to your elected officials. Send a copy to your state's governor. Send a copy to your two Senators in the U.S. Senate. Send a copy to your Representative in The House of Representatives. Send a copy to the Vice President. Send a copy to the President of the United States of America. Write one email to tell them all that you support the Constitution of the United States of America and that you are sick of seeing both it and our nation assailed by every wacko out there while our federal government does little or nothing to protect it from the enemies who are thriving within our borders. Demand that they take appropriate action against these enemies within. Demand that they support and uphold the Constitution and Nation that they have sworn to protect.
All the best,
Glenn B
Now that they have installed the new cable outlet, sans faceplate, I found my televisions do not turn on when I turn on the cable box. As a matter of fact they turn on when I turn off the cable box, and then turn off when I turn on the cable box. A little screwy - sure it is. I called for the set in my living room, thinking that had been the only one effected, and it took about 15 or 20 minutes for the person at Verizon to figure out how to have me correct it. Did you get that - I had to correct it! It cost me money today to have a new outlet installed, sans face plate, and they screw things up, now I have to do this and that a number of times with the remote, and the cable box, and the television, to get them synchronized so they turn off and on together. As if one set was not bad enough, now this is on all three sets that we have hooked up to the FIOS. So I guess I'll have to call them again, and reset each of the other two sets. Now you may be wondering, will Verizon take anything off of the amount they are going to charge me for the install today. Well, I am wondering the same thing. You can bet your bottom dollar that it is a sure thing I am going to make an inquiry about just that when I call them to get the other two boxes synchronized with their respective TV sets. As a matter of fact you can safely bet that I will insist they take off a nice chunk of change on the cost of the install since they left me with this can of worms. And me the big jerk, I gave each of the installers a tip before they left! What a waste of money that was; it sort of sours me to the idea of ever giving a worker in my home a tip again, especially someone from FIOS.All the best,GB
...can be a pain in the butt if you do it yourself; and I am having it done professionally by Verizon FIOS and it still seems to be a pain in the other end. Brendan asked for a cable hook-up in his new room, so I decided to have Verizon come and do an installation for a new FIOS cable outlet in his room, an add on to our existing FIOS service. A lady showed up and got most of it done, but called for help. Then a gentleman showed up to give her a hand. What I thought would have taken an hour at most has now been well over three hours. Not installed exactly as I had hoped with the wire snaked down from our attic through the wall to a wall outlet/faceplate (as is our newest electrical outlet in that room); but instead run up into our attic and down through the closet ceiling, out of the wall and along the baseboard molding to behind the television. Where it comes out of the wall, they did not allow for enough room for a cover plate and it looks like shit a lousy job that was not thought out. I may get over that if Verizon drops the price a bit, or comes back to fix it properly. If not - oh well, I'll have to move the wire myself. I fill the old hole, drill a new one higher up, and put a face plate in. Ah heck, I'll probably just leave it the way it is, sometimes I wind up screwing things up more than they are already (I am no handyman) when I try to correct them. I hate it looking like crap, but if I use some paintable putty to close up the hole a bit around the wire, then paint over it, it will probably look at least a little better than it does now. Hopefully the longer than normal install will not cost more than they told me at $54.99. If it does cost more for any reason though, then I'll raise holy hell about the hole, and lack of a face plate.
I must admit the people who did the job were pleasant enough to deal with. At first I got the idea the lady did not want to go up in my attic - saying something like: "You mean you want me to up there in the dark, and without a floor" (we have sort of running boards up there) I got the idea she was none to happy about having to run the wire like that. When I told her if she did not want to do the job, I'd just cancel she said she would do it. Then I got her a clamp lamp and an extension chord and ran it up there so she could see. She seemed to appreciate that. So even if not the job as I had wanted it, they did it and were both pleasant when doing it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Well the folks over at Classic Arms seem to think so. According to them, the main manufacturer (maybe the only one from the way it sounds) has retooled their factory to make auto parts instead of AK rifles. If that is correct, what does it mean in the long run? It means that there will be few relatively inexpensive AK rifles on the market, so if you bought a few of them when you had the chance - you could be sitting on a small gold mine in the near future. It also means that if you don't own one yet, chances are they are going to become a lot more expensive, and you may need to be sitting on a small gold mine to be able to afford one. Click on Classic Arms to see their spiel on all of this.Al the best,GB
My goodness, I almost cannot believe that LiveLeak has reposted the short film FITNA. Hurry and view it before it gets pulled again. Now I wonder should I retract my earlier comments about the folks at LiveLeak having crumpled like a peed upon wad of toilet paper. No I think not because my bet is that they put Fitna back in place on their site because of pressure from the public. Hmm, pressure from Muslims makes them pulls it, pressure from the public and suddenly it goes back online, at least that is my theory.Well I must say I am happy that maybe LiveLeak saw the light, and maybe they decided that to air it would be the better thing to do just out of principal. One can hope so, and I am hoping that is the case. If it turns out being the case, well then I will say good for LiveLeak. Until that is proven to me, I'll go with my thoughts above.You can view Fitna below as I have embedded it in this post. Funny though, I just went to LiveLeak.com and did a search to find Fitna to get the code so I could embed it in this post. That should have been the easy way to do it, but when I searched for Fitna at LiveLeak I got everything and anything to do with it - both pro and con - but not the film itself. I had to go to my previous post and take the code from it, and place it in this post. LiveLeak does not seem to be making it easy. Oh well, you can see it below.All the best,Glenn B
Pepe just did not appreciate the Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix Brandy (aka: Brownie) that we picked up from North Hempstead Animal Shelter, and who could blame him. Brandy was intimidating to say the least, and besides that she took a few nips at our little darling Pepe. It was only in play. The thing was all she wanted to do was play without giving Pepe a break, and some of that play included playful biting. Had she grabbed him just once on the head and shaken hgim, well I am afraid, we were all afraid that would have been it for Pepe. We would have kept her and trained her, that would have been easy enough to do within a week or two, and she was already learning within only the 4 days we had her, but she was just too rambunctious for Pepe. She probably weighed in at about 45 to 50 pounds. Pepe is 6 pounds. She was just too much woman for him.That all done with, Linda was in the dumps. She and Celina went to look at some other dogs and found a nice Atlas Terrier. I saw it too and thought it looked very nice, but I got conflicting stories in the puppy shop where we found it up for adoption. In the end we decided it sounded like a problem waiting to explode and we held off. Then yesterday Linda, Brendan and I were back at the ASPCA pound in Manhattan. Nothing there that strike dour fancy except for a nice Beagle, but that was spoken for already. What next, hmm. Well a nice young lady volunteer at the ASPCA suggested we try the NY City Shelter on 110th Street. We drove up there with some trepidation. Two weeks ago while at the ASPCA someone had told us the NYC Shelter was not too nice, and things there were uncoordinated. What the heck, we went anyway.Well when we got there we had to wait a bit before someone acknowledged our presence, not too long though or I would have walked away. When we told them we were there to see a dog, they said go right in and buzzed us into the holding area. No guide or anything like that. We immediately saw they had only 2 smaller dogs on the first floor, and we wanted a smaller dog this time. No more monsters like that Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix. We decided to take a look at a mix, they called it a Shepard mix; but what they did not say was that it was probably an Australian Mix, or an Australian Cattle Dog mix - or maybe a combo of both. Well at least not until later, and it did not matter to me as long as it was not a Pit Bull mix. You can own one, but Pit Bulls are not for me. This dog, white and black and tan, was very jumpy, but being smaller and weighing at my guess about 25 pounds, that was not a problem. She seemed well behaved on the leash, and made pee only when taken out of her cage and brought outside the building. That last was a strong plus in her favor.We asked some more about her and all we were told was that her previous owner/adopter had brought her back to the shelter, and told the workers he fund her as a stray. They said they knew the previous owner was lying because they had the dog micro-chipped, and had the owner's name in there files. That made me wonder what could be wrong with Mimi. To get more info I was told to go to the front counter where they could pull up her info on the computer. I went, signed in the book, and waited, and waited and waited. Finally they called me and said they had no other info except that she was on hold! Egads - on hold - then why had they said she was available. Well it turns out she had been on hold to do a show at a church or something like that, and they forgot to take her off of hold. So she was good to go, if we wanted her. After seeing her though, we decided to look at a couple of Chihuahuas they had hidden away upstairs. We saw one, a female that looked nice, but was supposed to be nippy None of that for me, and Linda agreed, so did Brendan. He had thought that Mimi, the first dog we looked at was a nice one. We all agreed. I could not wait to get downstairs to adopt Mimi. We went back down to adopt her, and I had to sign in the book again. This time we waited and waited again, but not too long, as they helped other customers. I filled out the paperwork, had my references checked (I guess they checked), then paid $75 plus gave a $10 donation. Then I was asked if I wanted a goody bag, to which I said yes. I was also asked if we needed a leash, which we did, but we didn't want to buy on because we had spares at home, so the nice lady helping us got out a temporary leash for us. She gave me the goody bag, and said the dog would be out soon, and again we waited. The dog was out in about 15 minutes or so, and we were ready to skedaddle, or so we thought. Then we were told we had to wait again, to get some medication for kennel cough from the vet. Aargh - kennel cough! They said not to worry it was just a precautionary preventative since she had been in the kennel. We waited another 20 minutes for the pills, but I took advantage of it and took her for a walk outside. She made a poop outside, and again she got praises and petting for her good behavior. The ride home was pleasant. Brendan drove, as he had also done on the way in. Linda sat up front, probably only because I jumped into the back seat before she had a chance, and of course Mimi was in the back with me. She was pretty calm throughout the whole trip. She stood a while, sat a longer while, and laid down even longer. She must have been in a car before, she behaved like a well trained dog. We got her home without accident, let her loose in the yard, and she went bonkers. Well not really bonkers, but I can tell you she is fast. She rocketed around the backyard like she had energy built up that wanted to take off to the moon. Then she peed in the yard. What a good dog. We brought her inside and Brendan suggested naming her Rocket. Our older mutt is named Sprocket, and Mimi reminded us all of Sprocket in her younger days when we called her Sprocket the Rocket because of how she ran and jumped when ever off the leash and allowed to play. We thought about it briefly but decided to keep the name Mimi. Celina came over, and she too liked her almost instantly. They played and bonded for a while, and I can just see Celina taking Mimi for long walks and runs to keep her fit (what a good daughter). later on Celina and Linda took Pepe and Mimi for a long walk. I spent some quality time with Sprocket on a shorter walk, and Brendan washed the Toyota (what a good son).Mimi got along decently with Pepe and he with her (did I forget to mention that Pepe had come to the shelter with us). They remained on fairly good terms with only a few growls and snaps from Pepe once home. I think only a few because although Mimi backed off almost every time Pepe showed curled lips, she went at him twice and gave it right back to him both of those times. I think it made him think twice about bullying her as he had tried with Brandy. A for Sprocket, she showed a lot on interest in Mimi. I think more than she had shown in brandy. They even played awhile in the backyard, and being that Sprocket is 18-20 years old, play does not come as easily for her as it once did, but there she was right at it with Mimi. Mimi was an angel throughout the night. We put her in a crate, but she started whining about 15 minutes or so after she was crated. I went up, took her out, and she headed for the door. She needed outside where she promptly took a pisser. This despite the fact that she had just done so for my wife 15 or 20 minutes earlier. What a good girl. Then it was back inside where she spent the night asleep without incident, well except for 2:30 Am when I woke up and let the degs out. Sprocket does not do so good overnight any more, so I needed to let her out to prevent an accident. Mimi went and she did her thing again outside, but my bet is she would have slept all night had I not awakened the. By the way, where was she sleeping when I woke them up - in her crate, but I had not put her back in there earlier. I had left the door open, and she just went in there on her own. I like this dog.This morning I woke up and she was on the floor next to me. I took her out in the back, she did what she had to do, and again she convinced me we have a very good newer new deg on our hands. Right now she is lying on the floor behind me as I type. By the way, since we got her home, all that jumping, well almost all of it has disappeared. When she does it, we tell her no, and she stops.Not bad. She just got up and headed to her crate. As for me, I have to get up and head to the office. Later for you.All the best,Glenn B
It was a cold day in Springtime yesterday, sunny but crisp and a bit on the breezy side. Because of that my outdoor activities for the day got canned. I had been planning on traveling upstate to do some frog and salamander hunting. Those spring peepers make some fine music, well worth the hike to listen to them. As it turned out though, it turned out too cold, so I stayed inside. I took care of my animals; and after that to avoid work around the house, I looked for something to do other than take a nap (or I should say other than taking a longer nap).I don't know just when it came to me, maybe when I tripped over some boxes of ammo laying on the basement floor, but it suddenly dawned on me it was about time to put away some ammo, and to take inventory of what I have on hand. After several hours of searching for, collecting, counting, and putting away in a nicely organized fashion, I figured I have sufficient ammunition on hand for most things that will come up shooting-wise. I was kind of pleased to see that I now have about 2,650 more rounds of ammo than I had last May. I did a fair amount of shooting over the past year, so that high a number of additional rounds came as somewhat of a surprise to me. Those kinds of surprises I like very much. The ammunition I have on hand is mostly for the various calibers of firearms that I own, but not all of it. I have several calibers of ammo for firearms that I do not own. For example I have ammo in .45 Auto, .380 auto, .38 Special, 7.62x25 Tokarev, .30 Carbine, and 16 gauge. I do not own any guns that will chamber that stuff. Hmmm, maybe I should buy the guns since I have the ammo! If only I had the spare cash to buy a gun, that would be nice indeed. As for the ammo I have that is for guns I own, I have a good supply of .22 LR ammo, and a good supply of 9mm ammo (not all that much really when you consider what I shoot at one setting). I also have a fair share of 7.62x39, .35 Remington, and 12 gauge shotgun ammo to name a few. Ammunition I could certainly use more of includes these calibers: .32 Auto, .22 WMR, 9mm, .22LR, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54R. You probably noted I included 9mm and .22LR on the list of ammo that I need while I also showed them as being in good supply just above that. The truth is despite having a decent supply of these, I can go through them fast; and some of my .22LR ammo is very old and starting to degrade (causing some jamming in semi-autos). Considering how little I shoot of .35 Remington maybe I could say I have a decent supply of that too, but I should would like more so I could shoot it more. Its just too expensive to shoot a lot. I am looking for bargains though, so if you hear of any let me know.All the best,Glenn B
