Vina Fay Wray - They Don't Make Em Like They Used To When It Twas Beauty Killed The Beast

I was just watching one of the best movies of all times, at least as I see it, and also was just watching one of the most beautiful of women to ever grace the silver screen. Wow, Fay Wray (born Vina Fay Wray) was a knockout even if she wore a blond wig in the movie King Kong.

They just do not make actresses or movies like that anymore, nor do they have death scenes in which actors have ever hammed it up more than did the clay/rubber or whatever figure was King Kong. His last few moments atop the Empire State Building are a death scene extraordinaire but then again why wouldn't it be because he was losing beauty, and man was she ever so beautiful! She was not a bad actress either, pretty good in King Kong and one or three other movies in which I have seen her.

By the way, my bet is that if you only know her from the movie King Kong, you might have been surprised by this picture of her showing her natural dark hair. As I said above, she wore a blond wig for King Kong but I have to point out she was a bombshell either way. Not a bad looking set of legs either, but I will let you search out those pics, or just watch her in King Kong.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 77 - Police Officer Shoots Hostage Taker - Video and My Comments

Watch the video if you will but please bear in mind it contains graphic real life violence resulting in an apparent death. It is several minutes long but well worth it to watch the whole thing if you are interested in firearms tactics; then you can read my comments which may or may not be as worth while as was the video. After watching and reading, feel free to leave comments.



It is pretty obvious they meant to shoot this guy, maybe to kill him. This was in China not the USA and that is reason enough to believe that they intended to kill him just as the bad guy said he believed they were going to do but maybe not to execute him as some may believe. I think shooting to kill is acceptable there as opposed to shooting to stop, but the officer almost certainly is not trying to make sure she kills him from what I can tell. The woman officer, takes 1 shot that drops him. She then fires a few more times and some have questioned why.

Before I address that let me point out she starts to do something before that. She starts to take cover as she apparently continues to assess the situation with her pistol slightly raised not pointing at the bad guy (as if she had not predetermined to kill him by taking several shots). She moves to her left toward the frame of the storefront opening. Then she seems to alert and she fires again and again and again. My guess is not that she thought the guy was no longer a threat and fired anyway. My guess is that, at the point she alerts and again moves forward firing, she has just seen him as still being a threat. Of course, that is my guess but based on what is seen in careful review of her actions in the video. As for all of the follow-up shots, some or all may have been necessary, at least in the mind of the officer, and after all whose mindset matters at the time! If the guy moved, if she thought he moved, if the body moved because the hostage was now breaking free and trying to run thus causing it to move, if the body twitched in its death thrall, if it was a hallucination on the part of the officer, if it was a perceived threat (and mind you all threats at this point potentially would be life threatening because the guy had already stabbed his victim several times and committed whatever crime it was for which they were hunting him down [yes I am assuming he committed another crime and it was not big brother looking to exterminate him]), then she was justified to shoot. If, on the other hand, there was no perceived threat, then she should not have shot (under our way of doing it) and that was just as it was even if only momentarily after the first shot, she held off for a moment, seemed to assess and alert and shoot again a few times. So it seems she was not intent on making sure he was dead when she first shot but more so that he was not a threat When she perceived further threat, or so it seems, then as I said, she alerted and fired again. Note, by the 4th shot, it seems apparent the guy is not moving, you can see that on the video but that does not mean that she did not perceive a threat nor that she was not justified in shooting. A good shooting is based not only on the reality of the situation but on the mind set of the officer and all things considered from that mindset and what we believe to be the mind set of a reasonable person (who would have the same or similar training as did the officer) in the same situation (then again that is here and not in China or wherever this took place).

I have to point out a few other things about the woman officer. She has her hair in a ponytail. She approaches holding a purse or grip (loses it somewhere along the way by the time she gives him the coke). The purse is in her right hand (most people are right handed, as is she, and this has an effect of lessening her as a perceived threat). More on the purse in a little bit as I believe it has a lot more significance. She never identifies herself as police. She wears nothing to make her look like an officer, nothing to make her look alarming, only things to make her look as if she had been out for a stroll and is now wanting to help. Well, that is except for the fact that it appears she is printing (you can see the outline of her pistol a bit or so it looks to me). She even has a scarf around her neck and otherwise is dressed in all white (a very neutral color that does not usually provoke anyone and is probably still worn by doctors in China - helpful life saving doctors).

Most of this, in my estimation, is all a deliberate effort to make it look as if she is a bystander and to get her in there to be able to neutralize the threat at close range. There was ample time to get her there from when this all started (and it started before the filming you can bet on that) so she could prepare. I do not think she was there to tackle the subject if that had been possible, nor to grab the girl and run had that been possible. Nor was she there to negotiate which is obvious because she did not even try to negotiate. I think that is one of the telling keys as to what was her predetermined purpose in this. I think she was there for one purpose only - a close in shot (my bet is that she is ranked as an expert marksman). Of course, there were also other officers ready to rumble as can be seen in the video, who had taken up positions along the barricade but they were there, in my view, not only for back-up but as a distraction away from the woman more than anything else. The guy keeps looking at them - even tells them twice to get back as he points to them to his right, then turns to his left and does likewise (I guess they were also on that side and he knew it). (see the shorter version of the video with English subtitles I link to below.)

As for the other police on the scene, the male negotiator in all black (he is in all black and she in all white - do you think that a coincidence - maybe - maybe not), and the female officer, they did a good job of keeping him interested in other things so he would not notice what else was going on, such as the other officers taking up positions. They even went from water to coke (or other soda) as an offering - probably much more appealing by that time than mere water. They kept him so preoccupied so as to not even see it when the female officer uncovered her firearm, and had it uncovered for several seconds (about 8 to 9 seconds) prior to her actually drawing it.

Remember what I said she did (though we did not see it and how I wish we had seen it) apparently shortly before the scene with the coke and thus shortly before she draws and shoots. She at some point got rid of the purse from her right hand. Of course it would stand to reason she wanted her hands free, or at least her right hand free, but had the bad guy been paying attention maybe he should have been alerted. I am willing to bet that others were alerted when she got rid of the purse and this leads up to why I would like to have seen her do it. I would have wanted to see her do it, to see if I could see the reaction of those officers waiting in the background along the barrier fence or of the hostage negotiator. When she dropped the purse or put it down or whatever, did those officers tense? Was her giving up the purse, as I believe it must have been, her signal to other officers that she was about to take action? My bet is that her getting rid of the purse meant she was about to take action. Luckily the bad guy did not realize it and luckily he did not see her uncover her pistol which by the way seemed pretty tricky for her to get a grip on.

If you want to see the video (shortened version) in a version subtitled in English, go to the below link but please read the rest of what I have written first.

Pay attention to what the reporter asks her and says to her to her at the end, and maybe you will understand her laughter after having shot and killed someone. (And note that a reporter should never have been allowed that close to her, she should have been getting support from fellow officers and medical personnel but she was ignored because, sadly, that probably had not been planned for though it should have been planned). Nervous, you can bet if not nervous when taking the shot (and she probably was not nervous as she was determined at that point), her nerves were taking a beating from all of it by the point that she was asked that question. Adrenalin high point over, starting to come down a little, nerves begin to take on the negative effects of the adrenalin because we are not using it efficiently any longer, we get nervous, we laugh to ward it off, we feel good we did good (as the other guys tells her - she was awesome), then we often either become elated or slump into depression or both because they are natural reactions to killing one of our own because we survived and he did not - we won. Still he was one of our own so to speak and it effects how we process and handle that info psychologically. Hopefully, if this was indeed simply the shooting of a very bad man, then she will be well in the long run. Hopefully it was not a scene that unfolded because a political dissident was being hunted down because he disagreed with the government, believed they were going to kill him, and then took desperate action to try to survive.

Just all stuff to think about. I have one other thing to think about, who gave her back the purse, she has it at the end again. That person should have at the least kept paying attention to her and not have left her alone. He should have guided her to medical personnel because no matter how it may seem she needed medical and psychological attention immediately. Only a reporter paid her any mind - a cop standing right there looked at her and turned away. The reporter asked questions just like they would here in the USA, a question that seemed harmless but which upon answering the officer could have hung herself. Here, they would try to crucify you if you were the officer and laughed like that even though the laugh was almost assuredly a psychological protective reaction to the stress of it all and a reaction to the reporters question. Note her answer, ‘I don‘t know‘, was a good one. Then she did another good thing, she turned away and shut up.



One final note: I reviewed the videos several times. At the time she shot, her pistol was aimed at the subject and not at a 30-40 degree angle above him as someone, on a firearms' forum I visit, said it was when you saw the smoke coming out of the barrel. Try to remember that the smoke, the great majority of it, exits the barrel after the bullet and while recoil is already occurring. Sound that we hear is only after the bullet exits. If you stop the video over and over again at the time you hear the shot, you can take a straight edge and run it from the pistol to the bad guy. You will see, it is aimed (even if only by point shooting) on level with her target. Yes he fell, after she shot him.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gone Fishing Again...

...and the boat, for the 7AM trip this morning, was so full already at 6:35 when I got there, that I decided to turn around and head home. Usually, I would be there earlier but as luck would have it I had a pretty sound sleep last night and my body and soul, both being so unused to that, did not want to wake up this morning. I awakened at 6:04 though and got going right away, I was out of the house by 6:08. With absolutely no traffic to speak of the ride went quickly and I got there by 6:35. The boat was already packed with fishermen - or people who imagine they are fishermen anyway. Had I gotten there earlier I could have easily found a spot on the rail in the stern, my preference - but not today since I was so late. Something good came of being late though in that I decided this was not the day for me to go fishing. There is just something about standing crammed shoulder to shoulder with 40 or 50 other fishermen that is just not conducive to a fun or productive day of fishing especially when the fish start biting and the lines start tangling or the hooks start snagging. So I'll take a pass until I can go on a weekday or take a night trip - both of which will probably be less crowded. If I am going to spend $50 or $60 for a day of fishing, I may as well enjoy my day. Today, I'll find another way to enjoy it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gone Fishing...

...or so the sign should have read. I got my salt water gear ready late this afternoon. Actually it was ready and has been in that state since last year in my shed. I just gathered up what I needed. Then after dinner I headed to Point Lookout to go out on the Super hawk. I had called them last weekend and they said they would start going out on night trips this weekend. As I arrived at the dock, there was the Super Hawk just offloading from their afternoon trip. I asked a mate about tonight and he said they were not doing any night trips. He recommended the Captain Al in the next berth.

I have been out on the Captain Al many times over the years. I like that baot and the crew, it is one of the slowest boats around but they stay out longer to make up for that. About 10 people were already aboard and I boarded and was able to get a spot on the rail in the stern. That is great when they drift or anchor for blues and strippers. I left my gear aboard and went to the store, grabbed a big can of Heineken and some peanuts and headed back. Climbed aboard again and waited. I noticed there was no crew and that was odd. At about 6:50 PM, the captain boarded, came to the stern, told the people gathered there that there would be no trip tonight because his crew had not shown up, gave out $5.00 off tickets and said adieu and farewell. He also said the next trip would be 7AM tomorrow for bottom fish (Sea Bass, Ling and the like).

I grabbed my discount coupon and fled. I headed to my car quickly and then drove about 25 minutes Captree, hoping to catch a boat there. As I arrived, I quickly drove past the fishing boats, I saw one was readying to go fishing, the others had either left already or were not going out. I made a quick u-turn and was about to park when I noticed the boat was no longer in the slip. It had, in fact, slipped away in the 30 seconds since I saw it there and was making way to the fishing grounds without me! Crap, crap, crap close but yet so far!

I headed home but stopped at the supermarket, picked up a 12 pack of St. Pauli Girl and a package of double stuffed Oreos and headed home to enjoy both. Beer and coolies - health food. Hopefully, I will fall asleep early enough to feel refreshed at about 5Am, so I can leave by 5:30 to go back to the Captain Al for a day trip tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Do We Live In Friggin Bizzaro World...

... you know, the place where everything is ass backwards, upside down or just not set to normal standards - an opposite of the way it should happen on planet earth. It sure seems like that is the world of today, in these United States, under the current presidential administration; heck under the last three presidents for that matter. They are/were all so liberal as to make ones head spin and along with all the head spinning of this countries citizens must have come a vortex that sucked us right out of the normal universe and into the alternate reality of Bizzaro World.

Some examples to illustrate what are mean follow:

We are in an economic slump, a recession, with unemployment at the highest it has been in a long, long time. Yet our president and vice president tell us they have saved millions of jobs. Okay so they saved millions but also lost millions, that is why we have such high unemployment rates. It does not matter how many they supposedly saved if we keep losing jobs - don't they get it??? We need job creation and their policies are failing miserably.

The government, with an extremely high deficit, and in debt to many other nations, including Red China a communist tyranny, keeps spending money like it grew not only on trees but as if it magically appeared from thin air. The tarp and bailouts are fine examples, so is the amount they plan to spend on such things like universal health care. In addition they keep allowing our economy to be sucked dry by illegal aliens (note I did not call those bloodsuckers immigrants).

Instead of legislating tough anti illegal entry laws, and stiff penalties for employers of illegal aliens, what does the government do - sues a state that is trying to keep the scourge of illegals out of our once great country, and that despite over 60% of American citizens and legal alien residents supporting tougher immigration laws including those enacted by the state of Arizona.

As this goes on in government, what do private corporations do (and mind you they have been doing it for years)? They keep hiring illegal aliens instead of U.S. Citizens and legal resident aliens. In addition they keep outsourcing jobs to places like Pakistan and India and to many African nations. To what purpose, to make a buck? Don't the realize that as we have fewer and fewer jobs here, we have less and less money to spend here, and the profits they make here will get smaller and smaller?

But of course, if citizens and legal resident aliens try to do anything about these last two situations, they are immediately branded as racists by groups with names like La Raza; that name alone implying that said group is actually the group of racists. Think about it. They scream and holler when we talk about a border fence, or jobs for citizens instead of illegal aliens, and tell me - of what ethnicity are over 85% of those illegal aliens? They could easily be life members of La Raza.

Then we have the NAACP screaming that someone at a Tea Party Rally held up a KKK Sign and they say it was a tea Party member. Who was it, where are the pictures, how do you know it was not an anti-Tea Party agitator? TICSMYD!!! (talk is cheap show me your data). The fact is the Tea Party has repeatedly reached out to prominent members within the black community (you bet I will call it the black community as opposed to the African American community until they call another ethnic community the European American community), and that reaching out is well documented, but the black leaders have mostly shunned the tea party and tried to call it racist! Why would that be? Why especially for a group like the NAACP? I mean look at it, we have a black president (well half black at best), a black Attorney General, many Hispanic leaders, many other black leaders, and the NAACP still is trying to say we are a nation divided by racism. Give it a break - no they will not. Why not, because they will lose money once people realize that - 'hey, why are we giving to the national Association for the ADVANCEMENT of colored people when there is no further advancement possible' - I mean look - the president is a black man! Blacks and Hispanics are in every major industry and type of job imaginable - as are other people of color - so how much more can they advance? So they, groups like the NAACP and La Raza, try to make others look racist when they are not to keep the money flowing from the people who historically have supported those groups. They are using racism as a way to take advantage of well meaning folks. I mean, what else could they want, what other advancment could they expect, no please don't say they want to become the masters! That would be bizzare beyond the scope of imagination.

Then we had the oil spill/leak in the Gulf. What was up with that? Over 80 days to cap it to make it stop. Why wasn't the US Navy sending down mini-subs with engineers aboard to try to figure out how to get it capped within the first week or two? Why didn't the Army Corps of Engineers and the Sea Bees take part in this effort by getting down there to stop the leak. Of course now we face cap and trade and you can bet the president will use this oil disaster to push that through Congress. Heck he has already made it almost a completely political event for himself, so why would he want to see it shut down any sooner!

We also have just seen a finance reform act passed. Watch out folks, now the federal government can check every credit card transaction that anyone makes in this country. People thought that the Patriot Act was intrusive - you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until the finance reform, the health care reform and cap and trade (with electrical power (because of remote controlled electric meters and circuit boxes) controlled by the government, how much power do you think you will get to use when there is a heat wave, how much do you think you will pay for it, and if you pay by credit will the government keep track of it and spank you later if you spent a little too much on credit? Maybe they will decide to tax you more, or maybe they will cut off your health care since they will be in absolute control. of course, you may just not be able to use your credit card because you will not be able to get credit after having to afford sky rocketing fuel, electrical and health care costs.

And what has our president been doing throughout all of these crises? he has been golfing, and partying, and taking brief trips here and there and rolling up his sleeves and doing almost nothing to actually help America. Oh yeah, and he stood on the White House balcony looking something like a dictator from a Banana Republic, and that was on Independence day when he put down the fonding fathers and implied that our government was not made right until Lincoln.

There is more, such as ending the war in Afghanistan but actually extending it and gearing up for conflict under a new general when the old one could have gotten the job but was not allowed to do so because of the lamest rules of engagement ever. Yet then when he complained and was fired, it now seems the result is that those rules of engagement are apparently soon to change. And yes there is more bizzaro behavior out of Washington and their supporters. Damn, I think I feel an artery in my heading pounding and I do not want it to explode so I will stop now. Just tell me this: If we are not in Bizzaro World, please tell me where are we?

All the best,
Glenn B

Hey Hornady - The Only Thing Worse Than Instructions Printed In China...

...when it comes to trying to assemble something that requires some assembly, is not receiving any instructions at all. So when I eagerly opened my brand new Hornady Classic Reloading Kit today, that I received on Wednesday or Thursday and my wife took until Friday to tell me it had arrived, I was pretty disappointed. I had thought for sure that I would set it all up to see, first of all, if all the parts were there, and secondly to see if it looked like it was working. No luck either way.

There is a manual enclosed with it that apparently tells you how to reload with it but not an instruction manual on set-up. I do not mean the Hornady Reloading Manual, with all the specifications for different cartridges, powder weights and such but a skimpy little pamphlet that tells you the basic steps of reloading with the kit. Of course the Reloading manual is in there too, the big hardcover manual but no set-up instructions. The thing is, there are at least 7 or eight parts in the box and for some of them I have absolutely no idea how to attach them to the main press nor do I know the purpose of one or two of them. That sucks. I do not want to take a chance of getting it together wrong, then finding out at the range when a bullet I reloaded explodes in my face as that would suck even more.

Come Monday, I will call both MidwayUSA and Hornady to see who will be more helpful to me in getting it set up. I have already heard disappointing stories about Hornady customer service, but I am hopeful they at least will know how to set it up or will have available a set-up reference chart or instruction manual to send to me. I will make it a point, to point out to them, that I would rather have had an instruction sheet printed in China and maybe even in Chinese than none at all!

All the best,
Glenn B

Anderson's Salamanders

The Anderson's Salamanders I received a few days ago are doing fine.. For now they are in a 6 gallon tank but they eventually will be moved to one a bit bigger, probably a 20 gallon or maybe a 30 gallon long. Despite the very warm weather, even the temps in my basement have gotten into the high 70s and maybe even 80, they are doing well and do not seem stressed. I was told they require lower temps in about the high 60s to very low 70s at the most but they are doing fine with water temps that have hit as high as 76 so far. I have kept the water well circulated and am sure that helps and once or twice a day I throw a couple of ice cubes into the tank and sometimes have the A/C on as well. Still though, the water temp has not gone lower than 70, and has mostly been in the low to mid 70s, as far as I know and they seemingly are not stressed at all. My guess is, that while it is fairly cool because of high elevations where they are found way, they are probably also routinely subjected to higher temperatures as there natural range is within the tropics. By the way, their natural range is quite limited. That would be a single lake called Laguna de Zacapu. It is in north-central Michoacan, Mexico. It is the only place in the world where they are found to naturally occur.



Sorry the video is not the best but I certainly am not the best videographer nor do i have the best equipment. Regardless, you can get a fair idea of what they look like. They look pretty much like this throughout their normal lifetimes as they are neotenic or in other words retain the larval (gilled) stage of their development throughout their lifetimes. For most salamanders, a typical life cycle would be egg, hatching out as larval gilled stage, transforming into a gilless adult. These guys retain their gills and become fully functional adults, able to breed, in that condition. This could be due to the altitude at which they are found, or due to the fact that they evolved this way because their natural habitat, Lake Zacapu, lacked indigenous fish fish predators and therefore it may have been to their advantage to remain a fully aquatic species in order to survive. Today, fish are in the lake, having been introduced in the past and the fish have lowered the population of these interesting salamanders. In addition, pollution has also brought a marked decline to their numbers. Pollution is not the only way that people effect their numbers as they are eagerly sought as food items by the local people. It has been reported that hundreds of them per day are removed from the lake. They are currently not on any CITES list but have been labelled as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. (I have never heard of this organization before so do not know if this ranking as critically endangered is credible, especially since the species does not appear in CITES at all.) Regardless, these were captive bred here in the USA, as I understand. I intend to breed mine should I be lucky enough to have both sexes. If not then I will try to acquire some of the gender I do not have. Time will tell, these are still too young to determine their sex. If I am lucky enough to have both male and female salamanders then I hope to be breeding them by next spring at the latest.

All the best,
Glenn B

C&R - 3 More To Go

My renewed C&R arrived a couple of days ago and I am good to go until July 2013 as far as collecting curios and relics goes. Certainly, I could have continued collecting without the C&R FFL but now I can continue to order directly from dealers/distributors. So I will once again be on the lookout for good bargains in old military surplus rifles. I see that Classic Arms began advertising a newly received shipment of Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles and am tempted to call them to see if they still have any really nice ones in stock. They were very good about allowing me to return the two Enfields I bought from them and with which I was quite disappointed - no problem and they paid return shipping. That was excellent service. I did keep the Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser I bought from them. Not only is it pretty but it is decent a shooter too.

If they have some nice Nagants still in stock, they do tend to go fast then I think I may have to order one being I got a refund on the Enfields. That money is itching to be spent. Now that I think of it though, I do have some doctors' bills piling up from my surgery and minor surgery my son had recently. I will see how things work out since we are doing okay with no heating oil bills for a few months to come. maybe I can swing one and they are only $119.95, plus shipping, for an IZHEVSK DRAGOON ERA 91/30. I hear one of these Soviet Sirens calling my name as I type........

All the best,
Glenn B

A Living Investment...

...is on its way to me and should arrive at my house tomorrow.

I expect to receive three of these:

Blue Tailed Fire Belly Newts
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_cyanurus.shtml

and three of these:

Anderson's Aquatic Salamanders http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_andersoni.shtml

and three of these:

Iberian (Spanish) Ribbed Newts
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pleurodeles/P_waltl.shtml

Now they may look more like newts or salamanders than they do like an investment but I am hopeful I will be able to breed them and get some return on the money I paid for them. How much did I pay? Don't bother asking because I don't know if I want to say just in case my wife sees this. I know there is not much chance of my wife ever taking enough interest in my life to read my blog but my daughter or son might see it and show it to her, so I don't want to let on that I paid $320 shipped for all nine of them.

I have recently seen the Andersons's Aquatic Salamanders (Ambystoma andersoni) going for as little much as $189.00 apiece not including shipping. I do not expect to get anywhere near that much for them but if someone offers that right after I get mine - I would sell the three I expect to receive immediately for that price. What I am realistically hoping for is that they will grow up to be at least 1 female and 2 males, better yet 2 females and 1 male, and they will breed, produce lots of babies (they can lay a lot of eggs) and that in short time I will have made my money back with money to spare to keep the hobby going and maybe to buy some ammo for my other hobby.

As for the Iberian Ribbed Newts (Pleurodeles waltl), did you look at the pics in the link and see the one in the guys hand? I hope to do likewise with them and breed them - if I cannot sell em I could always roast em and eat em, they are sure big enough. I also plan to do the same with the Blue Tailed Fire Belly Newts (Cynops cyanurus) of which I already have a trio. No, I do not mean I plan to roast em and eat em - I plan to breed them to; I hope to breed the ones I have already by next spring and the new ones the following year at the latest. I would have already tried breeding them this past spring but was away in Phoenix for a few months and missed the opportunity.

I have new tank set-ups ready for the Iberian Ribbed newts and the Anderson's Aquatic Salamanders - and depending on size, the new Blue Tailed Newts may go in the tank with my existing trio - otherwise they get a new tank too. When I say depending on size, I mean that if they are big enough not to be cannibalized by the others then they can stay together. The other two species will get their own tanks for sure.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Thank You From Governor Brewer of Arizona

I guess I got something for my donation after all. Only an emailed letter in PDF file but a nice touch. As I said, I expect, if Arizona successfully defends its states rights to rid itself of the scourge of illegal aliens and stop the tide of illegal entry of aliens across its border, then I will have gained a more secure border and a safer America as will we all have done. Click on the letter to enlarge it.

All the best,
GB

I Like Arizona...

...I think it is one of the most beautiful states to which I have ever been and I have visited it many times over the course of the last 37 years or so since my first visit there. I estimate, I have made at least 25 trips there, probably closer to 50, maybe as many as 75, or even more (I never kept count but went there very often). Of those, two were of over 1 month's duration each and another two of over 3 months duration each for my job. I also have been there on a couple of vacations lasting over 10 days to 2 weeks long, and have been there many other times on day and weekend trips (when I lived in California and when I visited family in Las Vegas). Lately, I have truly been disgusted by how it has been overrun, over the past several years, by the tide of illegal aliens, drug smugglers, and other criminals who have crossed its southern border into our great nation. So today I made a donation to the state, I gave $100.00; I hope to give more if they need it.

How much I gave is not all that important but I gave more than I thought I would have given when I posted my blog, Remember Arizona - Don't let It Come To That - Help Now, a couple or few days ago about the state seeking donations. I mention the amount here because maybe some of you, like me, still see a hundred bucks as a decent sized chunk of change to just give away. I could have used that c-note for a lot of other things and but what is important is that I gave it anyway. You can always make excuses not to give to a worthy cause like this one. I could just have said to myself: it is too much or could have said why give when I will get nothing back except a receipt (that would have been very short sighted indeed), or I could have told myself not to have given at all because I could have spent the money on me or my family. I could have gone fishing on a party boat twice for that, or gone once and taken my son along too, or bought a good amount of ammo, or paid for a few trips to the shooting range in Brookhaven, or bought a great bottle of whiskey, or taken my wife out to dinner or my daughter out to lunch or... You get the picture. Instead of any of that, I gave to this fund because if I didn't, well then when and if our way of life is lost due to the influx of illegal aliens, I would have felt guilty as all hell for not having given at least something and would have had to have blamed myself first for not doing something to solve the problem while others had tried to help. Will I get something back for my donation - if Arizona is successful then you can safely bet that yes I will get something back - so will you. We will have more secure borders, a safer country, more legal as opposed to illegal immigration, more jobs for American citizens and legal resident aliens and a better country in which to live.

So, the important thing is not so much how much I gave but that I gave. I took some of what I had and donated it to a state that is doing something of which we should all be proud and which we should all support as loyal hardworking U.S. Citizens, or honest and hardworking legal resident aliens, or as law abiding and honorable aliens in foreign lands waiting to immigrate to the USA legally. The other important thing is that you give too. So once again, I am asking you, my dear readers, to dig down a bit and give to help the state of Arizona fight illegal entry of aliens and criminals into the USA via Arizona, to remove illegal aliens from their state and turn them over to the feds, to fight to get the federal government to actually enforce its own immigration laws, and to make Arizona and the United States of America a safer place to live and raise our children. Please give what you can. The site through which I made my donation can been accessed through an icon at the bottom of the official website of the state of Arizona at http://www.az.gov/ or at this link:

http://www.keepazsafe.com/

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - An Affair of Honor?

Crap, over 2 hours researching and typing a piece about the Affair of Honor (duel) between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton that took place on July 11, 1804 only to hit 'Publish Post' and it was lost because Blogger crapped out on me. It only saved about 2 paragraphs during auto saves and I typed a good 4 or 5 regular pages of text. Oh well, go to some history sites if you want detailed info.

I'll just say they were personal rivals, and Aaron Burr won the fight, was charged with murder in NY & NJ (duel was in NJ), was not prosecuted because he was the sitting Vice President of the United States at the time. Hamilton died the next day. It has been hypothesized based upon physical evidence (a letter he wrote the night before the duel), his own oral statement after being shot, and his history in dueling, that Hamilton never even intended to fire at Burr. Burr certainly intended to fire at Hamilton as per his own statements. Some believe that Hamilton fired first, wide and well over Burr and his shot reportedly struck a tree about 12 feet above the ground where the bullet lodged. Then Burr believing that Hamilton had fired at him, returned the shot striking and mortally wound Hamilton. He was well justified in having done so if Hamilton indeed fired first because each man had a second loaded pistol for a follow-up shot. Normally, in dueling back then, if an opponent wanted to get out of it with honor, he fired a shot into the ground near his feet showing that he had attended the duel with honor and courage and had yet declined to kill his rival. The other opponent then usually did likewise and it was over. In this case though, if Hamilton fired first, his shot zoomed by Burr and Burr reacted killing Hamilton. Of course if Burr fired first, it was possible that Hamilton fired a shot as he collapsed and that is why it went wide and high. Others think it possible that Hamilton used the adjustment on his pistol to set it as a hair trigger and he may have inadvertently fired the shot when he brought the pistol into play. Others think he was suicidal and wanted Burr to kill him. (His son had been killed in a duel at the same dueling area only 2 years prior.) No one actually witnessed the shots visually as the seconds turned their backs to the action so as to later be able to claim plausible deniabilty and say they had never seen the duel take place (something to protect themselves and the winner). Hamilton did make a dying declaration that he had never intended to harm Burr but some believe that he hated Burr so much he would have said anything to have made him look bad if Burr had actually won the duel. That whole controversy was discussed by me in detail but is now forever lost in the virtual ether of the Blogosphere.

Burr finished his vice presidency after which he conspired to start a new country by seizing land within the Louisiana Purchase, then in Spanish territories, then New Orleans. His plans never really made it off the ground but he was charged and tried for treason. He was acquitted based upon Article 3 - Section 3 of the Constitution when it was shown that only a single co-conspirator gave testimony against him that there was in fact a conspiracy. He then, in disgrace and owing a lot of money, fled to England where he spent most of the next 4 years. Returned to the US of A. Died in NY and was buried in NJ in 1834.

Burr's party was the Republican party (not related to the Republican party of today except in name only). It was, in fact, the precursor of the Democratic Party of today and is often retroactively referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party. Hamilton was a Federalist. No political commentary here - just factual info.

Imagine all of that though regardless of party affiliation; a vice president of the United States of America charged with murder by two states and later charged and tried for treason. What a guy! Crap, crap, crap - my other piece was much better but after losing it, I lost my inspiration to try my hand at it again.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 76 - A Hornady Reloading Kit...

...is on its way to me from MidwayUSA. I finally got around to ordering a reloading kit after many, many months of procrastination. If I remember right, my son gave me cash toward a reloading kit for my last birthday present and let me just say I am already at least half a year closer to my next birthday.

Anyway, here is a pic of what I ordered, and a link to the site where I ordered it:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=151386

Not a bad deal as far as the price goes, even their regular price at MidwayUSA was less expensive than the regular prices at most other companies who offer it and this was on sale at Midway - such a deal!

I know that I will need to get quite a few ore items before I can start reloading but my not ordering them yet is not due to procrastination but to finances. I need to spread out the cost over another month or two. So next month I will order dies, shellholders, bullets, primers, powder, maybe a case trimmer, maybe a balance scale (since I have heard little good about the electronic one that comes with this set), another reloading manual (from a different company like Speer) and whatever else I find out I will need to start reloading for .35 Remington and .223 Remington, maybe 9mm too.

I figure I ought to be underway with reloading by September. I also figure it will be a good pastime and that in the long run I will save money by reloading instead of always buying new ammo. It will take quite some time to get back my initial expenditures, which I figure will be around $600 (and that is without considering the cost of a reloading bench) but only time will tell how long that actually will take me to achieve.

All the best,
GB

Oh Dell...

...what has become of your customer service?

I ask because I recently received an order from Dell that apparently was due either to credit card fraud or to a screw up at Dell. It was probably credit card fraud, but I can only say probably because no one, not at American Express or Dell seems to know for sure.

It happened this way:

American Express calls me and leaves me a message saying that they suspected fraudulent use of my credit card. I called them back and they explain that there were two charges of $1 each, another for about $180, another for about $179, and yet another for about $980. They explained that the two for $1 each went through as did the one for about $180. The other two were blocked because a fraud alert was somehow triggered. The three large charges were all made at Dell. One of them, for software, had the package sent to me. What apparently set off the fraud alert at American Express was that maybe (and MAYBE is all American Express could say) the person ordering used my real address first to try and hoodwink Dell into thinking it was really me ordering and then used a different mailing address for the other two large dollar items hoping Dell would allow the orders. By the way the two fraudulent $1.00 orders were made by the bad guy to see if my card number was valid and they were made to some other online businesses; for some reason though I do not see that activity on my American Express account, nor do I see the two large amounts that American Express declined but I suppose since they declined them that would be normal.

When I spoke to someone in Dell Customer Support I was told that yes one order had been made and shipped to me but there were no other orders placed regardless of what American Express said. Funny because the next day I received an automated call from Dell telling me to immediately check my email for important information because my "bank" had not allowed the charges to go through for my recent orders. I checked my emails but had nothing from Dell about this. I suppose the guy who made the fraudulent orders maybe also gave Dell a phony email address for me that would route emails to him regarding these orders. Of course, this could all have been due to some glitch at Dell in that maybe someone legitimately placed some order and the orders got charged to me because of computer error; the Dell rep said that was possible but he could not check to see if it was actually what happened. I tend to think it was fraud as American Express surmised.

As for the orders, Dell seemingly allowed the orders but American Express caught two of them and denied the charges, then called me to ask about all of the charges including the one for the dell order that had been (or was being) sent to me. I affirmed to American Express that I had not made any of the orders. American Express cancelled my card and sent me a new one. I got it the 2nd business day. American Express is tops in my book.

As for the order that went through, I called Dell and tried to explain, to a Dell Customer Support Person, that I had not placed the order, it had been fraudulently placed and they should make arrangements to have the item returned to Dell (after I would receive it) at no inconvenience or charge to me. The first guy to whom I spoke must have been somewhat akin to a rock with ears and lips - or maybe to a Mr. Potato Head. He just did not get it and had to have someone else come on the line with me. After that, during the next 2 weeks, I must have written at least 10 emails to Dell and made at least 15 calls to them and received even more emails and calls from them than I sent or made. Finally, today, 2 weeks and 3 days after day one of this mess, I found myself sending the package to Michael S. Dell, the CEO of the company, along with a 3 page letter of complaint.

Why the letter? Because the knuckleheads at Dell first insisted I bring the package to UPS for a return and emailed me a link to a UPS return label but the link did not work. Then they said they would do it again but I had to physically bring the package to UPS. Otherwise, if I wanted them to arrange for UPS to pick it up they would charge me $10.00. It took about a week before they realized I should not have to go to UPS and that UPS should come to me to make the pick up and it should not cost me a penny. Okay, they agreed to that and I tell them and email them to have UPS come to my work address and they say okay. Then they gave me a return authorization number and said I need to call UPS to arrange a pick up time. Sounds good almost.

I called UPS, asked them to set up a pick-up time and the lady at UPS asked me for the tracking number she was sure Dell must have given me. I replied something like: "No, Dell did not give me a tracking number, they gave me a return authorization number." She said the authorization number does not come up in the UPS system and asked me to read the tracking number off of the original package since it was a return. I read it off but also explained the original shipment had gone through FedEx. She said UPS does not handle FedEx returns and laughed. I had to call and email Dell and call UPS several more times after that trying to get a tracking number out of Dell for the pick-up and to arrange for a UPS pick-up time. Each time, Dell told me I do not need a tracking number to arrange a pick-up time and, each time, UPS said I did need it. In the mean time, UPS came to my house 3 times and to my office 2 or 3 times looking to make a pick-up. I was not in the office when they came because I had not been expecting them since they would not let me arrange a pick-up time without the tracking number. Of course, I also was not home when they there because I work and that is why I had asked Dell to make sure to have UPS come to my office. My apologies to UPS but really, it was not my fault that Dell gave you bad info. Finally, on Thursday Dell again sends me an email saying I have to go to UPS to drop it off or be charged a $10 fee.

I then arrived at the end of my patience but declined throwing the package into the trash which was a thought that had crossed my mind. Instead, I typed up a letter of complaint detailing this whole affair. It was 3 pages long. Yes, I know, way too long but it explained everything in detail. I got around to sending it out today to Michael S. Dell who is the CEO and founder of Dell. It should arrive at his address on Monday. I figure he may never read it but maybe by some twist of fate it will arrive on his desk - still stapled to the original package containing the software - and he will read it. If I receive a reply that he read it and is aware of the problem it will have been worth the money it cost me to send it to him and insure it. If not I am out $1.80 less than the $10 that Dell wanted to charge me to have UPS come to pick it up since it cost me $8.80 to ship it via the post office. Hopefully, regardless of who receives it and reads it, Dell will arrange the refund to my American Express account.

And to think, I was recently considering making a purchase from Dell of a new XPS 9000. Not likely now. My opinion of this whole mess = I will reserve final judgement until I get a reply from Dell but, for now, it surely seems their customer service is in the crapper.

All the best,
Glenn B

Remember Arizona! - Don't Let It Come To That - Help Now

Please note, this piece is one in which I repeatedly state my opinion. The opinion I am giving is not based on anything other than my own personal viewpoints and is not necessarily or apparently in line with the opinion of the current administration of the United States Government. I offer my opinion as a free citizen and in no way connected with my employment.

One of the most resounding calls in U.S. History has been a simple three word sentence - Remember The Alamo. Once again, Mexican nationals are doing battle against us, this time in a different way but in much greater numbers. Little by little they are taking our country away from us - first by language, then by jobs, now by territory as parts of the great state of Arizona have been put off limits to U.S. Citizens and legal resident aliens because Mexican criminals run rampant there.

This is not just a problem facing Arizona. There are literally tens of millions of illegal aliens (note I did not say illegal immigrants because they have not immigrated here they have entered our nation illegally and continue to violate the law by not paying income, property and many other taxes, and they such our educational and health care systems dry all the while taking jobs away from American citizens and legal resident aliens). Many of Mexican descent readily admit they want to take over the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in the name of la raza(the race) - they are racists and they are intent on turning at least the SW USA into Mexican territory. You may not have believed this 30 years ago when others gave this same warning, maybe you did not believe it 20 years ago either when the Spanish writing graffiti was on the wall, and maybe you even gave them the benefit of the doubt 10 years ago just thinking that all those poor Mexicans just needed jobs here in the US of A - BUT - if you don't see it by now that they are attempting a takeover of at least those states or parts of them, and that they have very little to no regard for U.S. law, and that they are infiltrating our country and poisoning it with illegal narcotics and bringing deadly violence to our soil then you must be blind. As I type, Fox news reported that illegal criminal aliens comprise 15% of the jailed population within Pinal County, AZ - amazing!

It is time to take a stand, in fact long past that time. At last, at least one state, a border state at that, has seen the reality of everything I wrote above and the people of the Great State of Arizona have taken action while our federal government drags its feet mired in the muck of political correctness and vote seeking politics. Arizona has taken it upon itself to enforce Immigration statutes that the federal government, for the most part, seemingly refuses to enforce. Therefore, Arizona has taken it upon itself to protect not only the people of Arizona but also of the remainder of the United States. I was out in Arizona twice in the recent past. One trip lasted about 4 months, the other was 3 1/2 months. I can tell you that the illegal alien problem is overwhelming that state and it should not be, in my personal opinion, doing so because our federal government should be protecting our nation from this invasion. I can also tell you that Arizona is almost broke fiscally. For them to try to enforce their new law, the state of Arizona would find it difficult. Add to that the fact that the Obama Administration has decided to sue the State of Arizona over this immigration law. This is a big mistake as I see it and one that shows the current administration to be concerned more with politics and votes that with the safety and security of our nation and her people and also shows our federal government officials to be less concerned with our economy and our welfare than with that of millions of illegal aliens! Arizona is planning to fight back and I think that the right thing to do but the expense that will be incurred means Arizona needs the help of the American citizenry to help defeat the federal lawsuit.

In fact, the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, is asking America for assistance. You can go to the official website of Arizona at http://www.az.gov/ and find your way to the icon near the bottom of the page to make a financial donation to Arizona or you can click on this link: http://www.keepazsafe.com/ and go directly to the donation page. These donations, as I understand, are being sought out only to combat the law suit(s) being brought against Arizona by the federal government regarding Arizona's passage of a statute that will allow their law enforcement officers to make immigration arrests. I think they deserve our help - they are trying to keep us safe and secure while the current administration fumbles what seems like virtually every problem and issue it has encountered. I would hate to see them fumble all the way to the downfall of the united States of America. I urge you to support Arizona, I urge you to support border security, I urge you to support strict enforcement of immigration and nationality laws by the federal and state governments, I urge you to support Immigration reform with severe penalties for illegal aliens but with continued legal immigration, I urge you to support strict penalties against employers of illegal aliens and urge you to support strict worksite enforcement so that both U.S. Citizens and legally immigrated aliens can find jobs here, I urge you to make a donation to the state of Arizona - help them defend Arizona - help them defend the United States of America.

Read what Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has to say about it here:

http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_070610_StatementGovBrewer.pdf

All the best,
Glenn B

MSN Email Update 2

Well, they finally got it fixed, I have my email access again; however it seems no one is certain why they closed my account in the first place. One woman at Verizon told me that an MSN tech told her my account had been closed because I had been spamming and she added that meant I was sending hundreds if not thousands of unsolicited junk mail. Once my account was reactivated, I checked to see how many emails I sent from June 28th up through July 6 (the day they shut down my account). I sent a grand total of 33 emails in that time - most to one person recipients. I called MSN directly and asked what the problem had been. They referred me to an online email address to which I could send my inquiry. No one has answered my question yet as to why they shut it down. I am getting the idea no one has a clue. They were able to tell me that if one email recipient as in a single solitary person, marked one of my emails to him as 'spam' then MSN would immediately have closed my account. That means, if someone views an email from you that you sent via SN and then that person goes to delete it but accidentally hits the spam button or junk mail button - you are axed from MSN email service - or so I was told. Likewise if someone has it in for you and alerts MSN that you sent them as little as one piece of what they considered spam. Go figure. I just find it hard to believe but that is what the MSN guy told me.

All the best,
GB

MSN Email Update

Let's see, it has been about 8 hours and 20 minutes since I was told, by an MSN tech, that my service would be back on in 2 hours. Even my extremely weak mathematical skills allow me to figure out that it has been a lot longer than 2 hours. So, I just called Verizon who then asked me if I realize I am calling Verizon about MSN email? I wonder why I have to explain to these dimwits that I have my MSN account through Verizon and their instructions to me as to how a customer should get tech support is to call Verizon first. Well, I had to explain once again and she put me through to MSN tech support and of course they do not open until about another half an hour from now. Luckily she also gave me MSN's direct number - something that a Verizon tech would not do in the past.

I have little patience for stuff like this, I am getting annoyed, maybe breakfast will help. Hopefully they will have the problem solved by the time I get back to the computer later on today and I will not have to call them or email them again about it.

All the best,
Glenn B

103 Degrees Fahrenheit

Yep, it was hot in NY City today. I figure it had to be close to the same temp where I live too. Nice to have worked inside all day today is all I can say but waiting for the tow company to come to jump start the battery in my government car this morning - for 1 1/2 hours then having to wait another 15 minutes for them to get it done and write it up - was a sweaty pain the back. It had to have been at least 90 by around 10:30 or 11:00 AM. Not complaining, just stating. Oh golly, I just thought, it never felt quite this bad in Arizona, I suppose because its a dry heat - yeah right!!!!!!!!!!! Hot is hot and humidity just makes it suck. Lucky for me I am not in Orlando. Then again I could have a 2nd career down there as Dopey or maybe as Grumpy. Nope, I still have not had a cold one tonight.

Later for you,
GB

MSN Error Code 0x85ad320d

So, I get home tonight, eat dinner, sign onto MSN Hotmail via MSN Live and get a message that my account has been closed due to what APPEARS to have been a terms of service violation.

I headed upstairs to the main PC in the living room, signed onto my MSN Premium account and was able to sign onto my email.

I then called Verizon with whom I have FIOS and through whom I get my MSN Premium. I explained what was happening when I tried to sign onto my email via MSN LIVE / Hotmail. They said there is nothing wrong with my email account but will put me through to MSN. The gentleman at MSN says the only reason they shut accounts like that is for spamming and I explained I am an adult with half a brain and do not spam. He puts me on hold to check things, comes back on the line and says that it was obvious I had not spammed anyone and that my account will be back up and working in about 2 hours.

Aha, I figure - that is only my Hotmail account. I go back to my account via the MSN Premium sign-on and guess what, it does not work now either. I get an error message: Your account has been closed - Error Message 0x85ad320d. That sucks. I imagine though, I can go 2 hours without email. If all is well within 2 hours then all will be well, if not I am going to hate to have to call them again. I was on the phone with Verizon and MSN for over 21 minutes. I have no little patience for that sort of thing especially when it is because I am trying to get someone else's screwup fixed and one call was probably my limit. Oh well, maybe an icy cold Pilsner Urquell will soothe the beast within.

All the best,
Glenn B

Had The Day Off Today And Killed The Last Few Hours Cooking A Nice Seafood Dish...

...my own version of seafood whatchyamacallit. I was going to do this Saturday night or early yesterday and then bring it to the BBQ at Uncle Hans' house but it didn't work out. That was probably a good thing. Today was just the better day especially since I was alone (except for the 4 dogs) because I can get temperamental when I cook and no one else needs to be here when I do - it is just easier on the nerves. Didn't get that way today though for more than about 4 or 5 seconds so I must be getting better. So, as it turned out, I got one of my favorite seafood dishes done in about 3 hours and the kitchen came out looking pretty much just as clean (maybe cleaner) as before I started (which keeps the wife happy).

The dish itself is a conglomeration of several types of seafood and other ingredients. It changes a bit each time but is basically the same in its base. It contains no finned fishes or has not up through and including this time. Today's had baby octopus, squid, clams, and shrimp. I have also used cuttlefish in the past (none available this weekend). It would have also had lobster this time but the lobsters that were available on Friday both in Chinatown in NYC and at a local Korean market near my home looked poorly. It also had pork belly (cut up to about 3/4" cubes) and would also have had beef except the prices at the market where I got the seafood were out of this world for the beef. Thought I would get to the supermarket for the beef but never did. In addition to the seafood and pork, small white potatoes (and I do mean the really small ones about 1 1/2 to 3" long at most), scallions, tomato paste, a beer and a half (I used Pilsner Urquell this time), olive oil, butter, fresh parsley and fresh basil from our garden, some really-really hot pepper & garlic sauce, some Tabasco sauce, garlic powder, dried onion flakes, a lot of black pepper (freshly ground and pre-ground), salt, and Cinnamon all went into the mix at one time or another.

As for getting it from the raw to the cooked: I steam the clams open after first allowing them to sit a night or two in cool salt water, after steamed I remove them from the shells and cut into halves, I brown the meat in the butter after sprinkling well with salt, saute the octopus and squid in olive oil after liberally dousing them with some of the spices and salt, put all that into a good sized pot with almost all the other ingredients except the potatoes and shrimp, bring it to a simmer and allow it to go like that for more or less about 1 1/2 hours, then add the potatoes and keep simmering another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, then add the shrimp and allow to simmer another few to several minutes. As for the beer, a bottle of it or at least half of one goes in right away and I add more over the course of cooking as I think I need to do. I also add more spices along the way to add some more zing. I add to taste. Today I added enough of the spicy stuff, the hot pepper sauce, black pepper and Cinnamon to give it a very nice amount of heat and lasting zing without having anyone rolling there eyes, sucking it air, and grabbing for water as soon as it goes down. Zingy and hot indeed but not too hot, most of that achieved not with the hot pepper but with the black pepper (and I sometimes also add white pepper which I forgot today). Good stuff - absolutely delicious if you like seafood and well worth the effort with cleaning the clams, the squid and the octopus.

I heard recently that Octopi are smart and that within about 100,000 years they may evolve to the point where their intelligences matches that of humans today. Not if I can help prevent it, they won't. I say eat em now and stay at the top of the food chain. This is one deliciously one good way to do it. Don't take my word for it just ask my son and my wife. They both gobbled it down. Of course that could be due to the thing about the intelligence of the octopus and evolution but I tend to think it was due much more so to the flavor of it all based on the gusto with which they finished it up. My daughter was out to dinner with her beau but I am certain she will like it too - you see - while it was cooking, she was my taste tester to see if there was enough of a spicy bite to it. She tried it and I am pretty confident she liked it.

If you like your seafood in a nice spicy sauce and if you don't want to see the octopi rule the world then this is the dish for you (note it takes care of their cousins the squid too - just in case). Oh, if you have been wondering what happened to any of the left over beer, let me just say silly you for wondering.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Independence Day - Do You Know From Whom We Sought Independence?

Happy Independence Day - may it truly be a safe day of patriotic activities for you and yours. I hope you all enjoy yourselves immensely and keep the patriotic spirit alive. Me and mine are going to Uncle Hans' place for a BBQ. He is my brother-in-law (wife's brother) and he is also a gourmet kook cook of sorts. He will be making things like: ribs (truly fall off the bone), pulled pork (his own marinade), chicken, bratwursts, and whatever else he can think of to absolutely bombard our taste buds with fireworks of a different sort. Did I say he will be making, heck he is already making them, he planned to start cooking at 6AM.

Of course, if you are in New York City, do not have access to a BBQ grill, have nothing to do today but want something to do and can get to Brooklyn - then get yourself to Coney Island and enjoy a nice day at the beach and maybe lunch at Nathan's. Get yourself a hot dog or two, a cool beverage and then sit back and enjoy the show. What show? The annual Nathan's hot dog eating contest - that is what show.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/sports/nathans-hot-dog-contest-dpgo-20100704-fc_8476358

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/hot-dog-chomp-ion-seeks-to-defend-title-at-nyc-contest-dpgonc-km-20100704_8477090

If you stay there into the night then you will also get to see a pretty spectacular fireworks show. As for fireworks, please be careful if you are setting any off. There has already been one tragic accident up this way, see here:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/03/police-new-york-man-blows-arm-party-fireworks/?test=latestnews.

Now, for your amusement and mine, let me ask you a question that some pollster asked a large number of folks as per Fox News reporting just a couple of moments ago:

From whom did the 13 Colonies declare independence on this day - July 4 in 1776? (Actually 12 of 13 original colonies declared independence. The NY delegate was forced to await instructions from the NY Provincial Government before voting for or signing the the Declaration of Independence. This was due to the invasion of NYC and NY's provincial government having to flee the city thus not being able to review revisions to the Declaration that had just been made. The NY government did not reconvene until July 10, 1776. Therefore NY's delegate to the Continental Congress, not having authority to vote on the Declaration or to sign it, abstained from doing so until July 11, 1776 and then voted yes and signed the Declaration Of Independence once approval was received from the reconvened NY Provincial Government.)

Now back to the question - no, I am not kidding, that is my question, or that was the question that Fox reported on.

I suppose at least 99% of my American readers would get it right if not 100%. The thing is though, as reported by Fox News, only 74% of Americans who were asked it got the right answer. Another 20% were unsure as to from which country we declared our independence.
Finally, 6% actually got it wrong with at least one person saying China and one or more saying Mexico.

Heaven help us! Happy Independence Day and by the way - if you do not know from whom we declared our independence on this day - just ask someone wearing an American flag shirt, pin or cap. I am sure they will let you know.

All the best,
Glenn B

Thanks for the flag: http://foxtrotters.tripod.com/animate.htm

Ballseye's Gun Shots 75 - A Little Gun Cleaning Was Overdue...

...so I pulled the mil-surp rifles out of the gun cases. Whoops - did I actually forget them inside the cloth gun cases for the last 2 weeks since I shot them last. I usually clean em pretty quickly after shooting em, this time I let them sit around for weeks! Not that it usually matters much with non-corrosive ammo that I have been shooting through them lately but this time I just forgot all about them and left them in soft gun cases. That was a mistake. Pay attention now, because if you do then you can learn a lesson at my expense due to my mistake.

When I pulled em out of he cloth gun cases to give them a quick once over I found that the Russian Model 91/30 Mosin Nagant had some surface rust, just a smidgen and not much to worry about but almost all my fault. Why? Well, because those cloth gun cases are absolute moisture magnets and this is summer and they were in my basement and the humidity up this way is pretty high and it does not take all that much difficulty to connect the dots to figure out why it was my fault. Then, I did say almost all my fault. Part of it is due to the age of the rifle and the condition it was in when I bought it. It had surface rust then that I cleaned off and so it is prone to rust easier than if had not ever been in that condition. Of course, if I had removed it from the case, cleaned and oiled it, right away, it would not have rusted again - so I suppose know it is all my fault after all. Whatever, it is okay now. Nothing a little rubbing with a cloth with some Breakfree CLP on it would not cure and nothing that some of the same, along with removing it from the cloth gun case after shooting it next time, will not prevent.

The other two rifles pictured, the Hungarian M44 Mosin Nagant and the Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser were okay. I am fondling holding the Mauser.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - The U.S. Constitution Is Born

I don't mean that the U.S. Constitution was thought of today for the first time, nor that it was framed today, but that today, July 2, in 1788, was the day the Congress of the Confederation (our initial government acted under the Articles of Confederation of independent states) learned that the New Hampshire ratifying committee had reconvened and had ratified the Constitution. Thus, nine states had then ratified the Constitution and that was all that was needed to make it the law of the land. It was adopted as such on this day in 1788. Of course, other states ratified it later, but it had become the law of the land as of this date, July 2, 1788. The Congress of the Confederation then started a committee to implement the new Constitutional Government. Our Constitution is the oldest working actual constitution in the histroy of the world.

References:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html

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

http://www.barefootsworld.net/constit9.html

All the best,
Glenn B

Want To Help The Economy - Then Quit Your Job & Collect Unemployment Insurance

Now, while the title of this piece may seem far fetched to each and everyone of you who reads it it makes absolute sense as per things said in a recent speech made by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis within recent days. Well that is dependent, of course, upon whether or not what Speaker Peolsi made any sense at all that, regarding unemployment insurance, it "...creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name". The quote is in context of the rest of her speech. So, why don't we all just quit our jobs and go on unemployment if she is right and why isn't the economy getting better and the number of jobs being filled actually going up as more and more people find themselves on unemployment lines. Could you imagine what would have been the outcry across the MudSlingingMedia and the leftist community had GWB said this!

Listen to the rest of what she had to say then decide for yourself about her statements and her intelligence. As for me, I think unemployment benefits are a good thing to help folks out, but also believe they should be limited in duration and that people should truly need to prove they have been actively seeking employment, of any legal type, in order to keep receiving them during their duration. As for Speaker Pelosi, she once again has shown herself to be, in my opinion, a blithering idiot. She is probably the most idiotic politician I have ever seen in my lifetime even though she has been getting some stiff competition from other politicians lately.



I have got to wonder, how on earth does she keep getting reelected!

All the best,
Glenn B

She Will Only ENFORCE The Constitution and The Laws...

...and all I can say is that means we are in big trouble. Please watch the video and pay careful attention to how she answers the questions or how she sidesteps them. Listen to her every word, then read what I have to say below and ask yourself, is she fit to be sitting on the highest court of our land?



We are in trouble not only because Elena Kagan sidesteps questions asked of her during her confirmation hearing, and not only because thinks she only need concern herself with laws and or rights enumerated within the constitution and thereby the implication that she can ignore the Declaration of Independence, not only that she thinks her job "as a justice is to enforce the Constitution and the laws", not only that by that quoted statement she shows she is blatantly unaware or simply ignoring separation of powers clause of the Constitution, not only that the senator questioning her based his argument solely on the Declaration of Independence apparently himself ignorant of the Bill of Rights (the import of which I will mention below), but that she - a nominee for Supreme Court Justice - apparently does not think that part of her job is to help protect our rights as outlined by our Founding Fathers in the documents that are the basis of all of our laws.

Don't either of these political dimwits realize that there is a very important, even critical document, within the collection of laws of the United States of America called the Bill of Rights? Do they not realize that within the Bill of Rights are amendments that were passed into law by the founding fathers, the same founding fathers for the most part who were responsible for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Do neither of them know that the reason they included the Bill of Rights is explained in the preamble to the bill? They should know it and so should you:

"THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution."

Did the Senator doing the questioning exhibit his own ignorance by not confronting Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan with the Constitution and with the Bill of Rights (part of the Constitution by way of amendment)? I would think he was on the right track by reminding her that we, as stated within the Declaration of Independence, have certain unalienable rights but I would also say that as she made every attempt to sidestep actually answering his question. He should have then confronted her with the Bill of Rights and asked her if that was also something she would protect (or as she said "enforce") - she could not have sidestepped that. It was a very, very important point that the senator failed to make and one by which he most assuredly would have shown that Kagan has little grasp of Constitutional Law and is therefore unfit to sit as a Justice of the highest court in the land.

Why do I make such a strong statement, in my opinion, as to her lack of suitability. Because she tried to skirt around the issue and as she made every attempt not to say whether or not she believed it would be her job as Supreme Court Justice to defend other rights than those enumerated within the Constitution, or if we even had such rights, those rights she would need to concern herself with as Supreme Court Justice but rights not enumerated within the law such as the example given by the Senator from the Declaration of Independence. Most importantly she failed to acknowledge that she understands that such rights are most definitely and specifically mentioned and protected within the law, within one of the most basic documents of our law - the Bill of Rights. I, of course, an making reference to the 9th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America as found within the Bill of Rights:

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Her answer to the Senator should have been an immediate 'Yes Senator, I most assuredly do believe that the people retain certain inalienable rights that have not been enumerated within the Constitution or other laws and it will be my job to protect those rights of the people...'. But alas, she is obviously either unaware of the 9th Amendment or, and this is the scary part, she is aware of it and unwilling to make judicial decisions based upon it and therefore is willing to ignore it and to ignore our rights! The 9th Amendment is one of the most important amendments contained within the Bill of Rights because it acknowledges that we the people have rights that are so basic they were not mentioned within the Constitution yet that lack of enumeration of them is no reason for us to lose them and that government is restricted from stripping those rights from us. Imagine that - a government actually realized it was fallible and could not possibly enumerate every right we have and actually wanted to protect those rights and actually did something to protect them! While imagining that, realize this - there was only one government in the world that thought so much of 'we the people' to acknowledge that very important point, and only one government in the world that put it into law to protect its people and now we are considering a nominee for the highest court of our land, a nominee who apparently has no clue that we have such rights or that the 9th Amendment says we have them.

I, in my personal capacity as a free citizen, urge you to contact your elected officials with Congress and oppose her confirmation as Supreme Court Justice.

All the best,
Glenn B