Gun Maintenance & Cleaning Tonight

I qualified for my agency on Monday and need to clean my guns since I neglected to do it at the range. Shame on me for not getting it done sooner.

For the last hour or so though, I have been fiddling with a tactical 2 point sling that was given to me for my Remington 870 shotgun. There were no instructions with it, the sheet that did come with it said to go to the company's website to see the instructions. At the site, they had a lot of links to instructional videos but while a media player type screen popped up, for each link, and said "ready" each time, nothing would play for any of the 'how to attach to this or that gun' videos, likewise for the 'how to use' videos. I sent them an email and hope they will reply by sending me instructions. I figure I have attached it properly but do not want to take a chance that I have not gotten it right.

As for the pistol cleaning, have to clean the Glock 26 and the SIG 229. Not much time for anything else before I hit the hay.

All the best,
GB

Ballseye's Gun Shots 131: Glock 26 & Light, Off Center, Primer Hits

The last time I went out to shoot my Glock 26, I noted with just a small amount of dismay that I was getting a misfire about every 10th to 20th round. I examined the pistol with a quick once over and saw nothing wrong, though I knew it was dirty -m very dirty. I am guessing I had fired about 750 or more (probably closer to a thousand) rounds through it, over the course of 2 or 3 range trips, without a cleaning. After taking a look at the Glock 26, I gathered up some of the spent shell casings and gave them the once over. Ah,there was the problem. The primers were being struck by the firing pin off center on the rounds that failed to fire. A closer look and it seemed the hits were also lighter than usual. Being the trained and certified Glock Armorer that I am, I immediately realized that the problem was probably caused by the pistol being as dirty as it was and more specifically that the locking lug was dirty thus preventing the pistol from going perfectly into battery but still enough to operate the trigger and firing pin.

Being that I was at the XXXXXXX County Rifle & Pistol Range, I could not clean it there, then try firing it again to see if that was the problem. They do not allow gun cleaning at the range though I am willing to bet there is someplace in there where it could be done safely. That really did not matter too much, as I recall, I was pretty much out of ammo anyway. So off to home I went and the Glock was cleaned up and put away. That was weeks ago. Last night I gave it another light cleaning in anticipation of going to the range for work today to qualify. I can happily say, the cleaning did the trick. The Glock went into battery perfectly for every shot of the qualification course, all shots fired. I did not check any of the shell casings to determine if they were still being struck off center but am pretty satisfied that the problem has been solved. next time I am at the indoor range I will check the shell casings, there just was not time today during the quals.

If you wind up ever having the same problem, I recommend that you field strip the Glock and do a thorough cleaning. Then take it for a test firing. If the problem has been solved after the cleaning, then things are probably well and good. If not, get it to an armorer for inspection. By the way, this is something that can happen with Glocks such as the Glock 17, 19, 26, 22, 23, 27 and so on. I do not recall if this applies to Glocks of the Gen 4 design or not.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 130: Blued Steel Snub-Nosed Revolver - A Real Man's Gun

Average women: moms, housewives, teachers, police women, barmaids, accountants, truck drivers, nurses, old ladies and even most librarians (I can think of one who probably would be the librarian exception) would not stand much of a chance at hitting their targets with one of them. I mean it when I call it a real man's gun because I think a snub-nose revolver in .38 special, or larger caliber, is just too much for most women to handle. What with the heavy double action trigger pull and the whamo effect of the recoil out of that small of a package, you get the picture, cracked fingernails and a ruined manicure at the very least. Oh my goodness, did I just write that for all to see. Yes I did, so if it got your panties all in a wad, get over it because I am not changing a word of it.

Now, getting back to reality, the truth is, it is not only women who have problems with them. Wimpy men (as in girlie-men or sissies), metro-sexuals, and most average Joe's of all types cannot handle one either regardless of profession. So who can handle them? Really huge he-man types can do okay with them. You know the type, those guys with hairy barrel like chests, thickset uni-brows, big burly hands with pudgy sausage like fingers and the strength of Hercules. Sure they can handle them but many of them cannot get their fingers through the trigger guards. Those few who can get their fingers in there are usually able to just about hit the broad side of a barn with one of them. There is one other small group, an elite group at that, who can do well with them - but more on them later. For now, let me point out that thousands of these small revolvers are sold every year and it surely must make one wonder, if all I just said is true regardless of it being said tongue in cheek, then why would anyone buy one of them. I mean, I wold think them pretty stupid to keep on buying them if all the above was true. For some reason though, people keeping do just that - buying snubbies, so tell me - are they being that stupid? I don't think so, at least not if they have made an educated choice.

There has been a lot said about these small revolvers, over the years, that makes them seem like the perfect gun for concealed carry or for home defense. There has also been a lot said about what a poor choice of pistol they are for self defense. Which you choose to believe may determine how you feel about snub-nose revolvers and whether or not you would choose one as a primary, or even a back-up, self defense weapon. It may turn out being a decision on which your life may someday depend, so make it wisely.

Personally, I do not carry one. Not because I am not a manly man mind you. I am no sissy-boy (the classic meaning as in not a wimp and not anything to do with alternate sexual preference though I am not of that ilk either) by a long shot. It is also not so much because of how I shoot with one of them. Heck, I know I used to be able to regularly hit steel man sized torso targets at about 90 yards with one but now that my eyes are not as good as they once were, I am guessing I could still accomplish that at 50 yards and that is good enough for me. Nor is it due to the fact that when shooting them I have torn up my knuckles, the webbing between my thumb and index finger and my both thumbs as the recoil propelled gun metal slammed back into my less than Herculean hands. After all, being a somewhat manly man, I consider it a sort of a rite right of snubby carry to be allowed this honor. It is certainly not due to the fact that they are not easily concealed because if anything, ease of concealment is one of their better qualities, at least with the smaller models. Add to that speed of draw. Not having more than a 2 or 2.5 barrel, means they clear leather (or Kydex if you prefer), pockets, attache cases, handbags and belly bands quite rapidly. If they have a hammer shroud then there is no need to worry about the hammer getting caught up either. Despite that short barrel and their overall small size, they are not wimpy guns. I mean just look at the rounds they fire. Depending on model, they can handle anything from the mid-power level .38 Special to the pretty darned powerful .357 Magnum, to the chest deflating .44 Magnum to the... whatever. Of course, they are also pretty easy to operate so no that is not one of the reasons I do not carry one now.

Now that I think of it, those are most of the reasons that I did carry them back once upon a time when I had the opportunity. One of the other main reasons I carried them is that they often were issued back-up guns for my job. Truth be told though, I have owned at least a few myself. I can think of the Charter Arms .38, and two S&W Model 66s, I have owned, all with snub-nosed barrels. I liked them but will admit I am not that partial to them now.

Why did I change. I much prefer the higher round capacity of the semi-automatic pistols. Being restricted to only 5 or 6 shots (remember I am talking snubbies in .38 or higher caliber, not 22s) makes me feel somewhat unprepared for the type of shootout you usually only see in the movies. Note, I just said usually. The fact is that criminals, and in today's world terrorists, are not lone wolves. That might be enough said, for some, about why to carry a gun that holds more ammo but lest I be anything other than honest allow me to cover all the targets on this one.

The other reason to carry a gun holding more than 5 or 6 rounds is the pucker factor. If you have read my stuff regularly, then you may well know what I mean. If not, then let me explain it this way. The pucker factor is a bodily phenomenon that allows you to keep your pants seat clean when in the face great danger. You know the type of danger am talking about, the kind that literally can scare the shit doody out of you. The thing about the pucker factor is that the higher the stress level the more difficult it is to maintain the necessary amount of force within the sphincter muscle and in trying to maintain it the body can actually begin to sort of convulse with mini spasms or should I say you begin to shake with fear. This can be an impediment to a shooter who is trying to hit his or her target. Then too, loosing control of the pucker factor can also cause a shooter to become concerned with that warm gushy feeling and may lead him or her to worry about something other than shooting accuracy until bullets whizzing by your head bring you back to reality. Control of or loss of control of the pucker factor may cause a shooter to shoot less accurately than say, when shooting at a paper target in a nice climate controlled range during your leisure time. In other words, being scared shitless badly can adversely effect your accuracy and that is something to consider if you are debating carrying a 5 or 6 shot revolver as your primary carry piece. (That all may or may not seem funny to you but truth be told, you should think about things like being extremely scared, shaking from nervousness, crying, an overwhelming feeling of wanting to make it go away, the pucker factor, wetting or dirtying yourself, being wounded and in essence prepare for those possibilities under the extreme duress of combat even if it only lasts a few moments, then think about how to ignore them and/or overcome them. Think about them now, in the comfort of your living room or den. If and when you are fighting for your life, sometimes the best thing to do is to ignore them completely and fight on. Letting them bother you can be all too distracting from the fight for your life that you are facing and such a distraction could get you killed.)

So, there are a lot of things in a real gunfight that can effect accuracy, the pucker factor not the least nor biggest concern among them but a real one. The others could be: moving targets, multiple targets, being nervous, being terrified, being caught off guard or surprised, your heart pounding at super-normal speeds, adrenaline flowing, tunnel vision, your having been wounded and other things that can take a toll on your ability to hit your target. Of course, you may overcome all of those things and hit your target, the bad evil doer who was intent on killing you, with one shot dead center to his chest. Good for you but hey, wait a second, is he still up and attacking? Holy cow, you just fired another 4 or 5 shots into him and he is still coming - is he on drugs or something? Maybe he is. Maybe you need to reload now that you fired all your revolver will spit out. More bullets = more chances. I like the odds with more of them in my gun in the event I might need them and I am or was no slouch in reloading a revolver. I could reload a revolver to capacity faster than about 80 or 85 percent of the other shooters, with whom I shot (on my job) at the range, could reload a semi-auto. Still though, if a bad guy is still presenting a threat, that is not the time I would choose to be reloading so I choose a gun with more bullets in most instances.

There are reasons though, other than round count, to make some folks consider not carrying a snub-nose revolver regardless of their good points. The knuckle and thumb bloodying recoil of the snub-nose revolvers is infamous, at least for smaller models that have small grips on them. Those small grips give less purchase to your hands and thus allow the recoil to cause the snubbies to jump a lot more than would a pistol with larger grips and or less recoil. Snub-nose revolvers, the smaller ones, are usually very light weight. Even all steel models, using regular steel as opposed to something even lighter weight like titanium, are pretty light. Light weight guns tend to recoil more, it is just a fact of physics. Those that recoil more are harder to hold, harder to handle, harder to get back on target quickly. Sure, you can watch an expert fire off 6 shots in the blink of an eye or two but bear in mind the same person could shoot a semi-auto, with less recoil, just as fast or faster. I am talking about the average shooter, and for the average shooter, snubbies are usually harder to handle due to recoil than are many semi-autos of comparable size. Of course their is a difference in caliber between something like a .38 special and a 9mm but not enough to make me want to change from a semi in 9 to a snub-nose in .38.

So why not just use larger grip on the snub-nose. You can do that and I think it helps improve gun handling immensely. In fact, when I used to carry a S&W Model 60 or Model 36 (I carried both for my job) I used Pachmayr grips on them. Leaving in place the tiny little grip panels that came with those guns was asking for trouble as far as I was concerned. Putting on those larger grips took away from concealability somewhat but not enough to be of concern to me. The truth is though, even with larger grips, snubbies are often too much for some shooters to handle because they do not like the recoil and are squeamish about adjusting to it and learning to shoot them well. I am confident though, while most shooters may never like the amount of kick they can inflict, they could learn to shoot them well if they have the right mindset and are instructed properly.

Then there is the sight radius and the sights. The sight radius is basically the distance between the front and rear sight. In general, the longer that distance the easier it is to accurately aim. The shorter the distance, the more difficult to aim. This is one of the reasons that most people would not consider shooting a snub-nose pistol at beyond 10 to 15 yards. Let's face it, the snub-nose revolver was not designed to be a long range firearm, virtually no combat or self defense pistol was designed for such. Pistols are generally meant for close in work. As I explained above, you can reliably hit stationary targets, at a firearms range, at much further distances with a pistol, even a snub-nose, but it takes good shooting skills and lots of practice. While it is easier to shoot at greater distances with a pistol having a 4" barrel, and even easier with ones with 6" and 8" barrels you are giving up concealabilty for accuracy. You need to weigh one against the other when choosing your carry firearm and truth be told, there are enough small frame semi-autos out there with longer sight radii that fit the bill. So remember, if you do choose to carry a snub-nose, you may find yourself in a situation demanding that you use it to defend yourself at longer than desirable distances for a snub-nose. That is another thing to consider before carrying one as a primary defensive firearm.

While you may never overcome not liking the amount of kick these little revolvers can pack, you almost always can overcome it and adjust to them enough to shoot them well. Some people just do not want to be bothered with learning how to shoot them well by overcoming the recoil, grip size and sight radius, and some will seemingly never learn how to reload them fast enough for most situations that require a reload. For those people - snubbies are a poor choice of carry gun. For those who still are considering them, let me cover a few more of the positives and negatives about them.

As I already mentioned above, some folks consider revolvers easy to operate, at least when it comes to shooting them. basically you get a grip, aim or point and squeeze the trigger. That is pretty much what you do with a semi-auto too. The thing that is different is this, if the semi auto has a loaded magazine but not a loaded chamber, then no matter how many times you squeeze the trigger, without first loading one into the chamber, the gun will not go off. With a revolver, if the chamber that first aligns itself with the forcing cone or breech end of the barrel is empty, all you need to do is to keep pulling the trigger until one that is loaded falls in line with the barrel. Of course if it is not loaded at all - shame on you but that goes for both a semi-auto and a revolver. While it may seem like a no brainer to have your carry gun loaded and ready, look at it this way. You are in a gun fight, you need to reload because the bad guy is still shooting and your gun has gone empty. You throw a mag into your semi auto and action the slide but your hands are sweaty and you do not realize it never is drawn fully back, never strips a bullet from the mag to load it into the chamber and you go to fire because the bad guy is almost on top of you. Click, click, tap, rack, reassess, reengage, fire as necessary - oh no did you run out of time - did he get you. With the revolver, under the same circumstances, you come up empty, you go to reload, you are sweaty and nervous and you only get a round or two into the cylinder and drop all the others. What to do, the bad guy is almost at point blank range, you close the cylinder, reassess as you come back on target and click, click, click, bang, bang, click and if you were very lucky the bad guy falls at your feet. It usually takes longer to do the tap, rack, reengage than it does the click, click, click bang. Yes, I know, depending on how each situation unfolds, it can happen that a semi-auto is a better choice in a self defense incident, by speed of reloading and by how many rounds it can hold. I am just giving you some points to consider.

One other set of points and I will leave it at that. These will do with inherent reliability of function in both semi-autos and revolvers. For years many have claimed that the revolver is inherently much more likely to function properly than is a semi-automatic pistol. I have been shooting both, with some frequency, for over 31 years now. I was a firearms instructor for 14 of those years. I have seen a lot of people fire both. I can say without a doubt that I do not know if one is inherently more reliable than the other. Revolvers are probably somewhat more reliable when speaking about getting them to shoot. That is when you consider shooter error in the equation. It is a bit more difficult to screw up when shooting a revolver in as much as getting it to fire goes. Note, I am not talking about getting it to fire accurately, just making it go bang. A semi-auto is probably a bit more likely to fail to fire due to shooter error than is a revolver.

If, however, a semi-automatic fails due to shooter error, ammo defect, or mechanical problem, the shooter is, based on my experience, much more likely to be able to overcome the problem with the semi-auto than would be the case with a revolver that fails for similar reasons. Many people cannot even envision a revolver failing during combat unless it is something like a spring breaking. That would probably be catastrophic with either style of pistol. There are other ways in which revolvers fail and they are much more commonplace than some folks think. I have seen bullets caught under the star extractor, unburned powder under the star extractor not allowing the cylinder to be closed, the cylinder going out of time when shooting, the cylinder falling out of a revolver while firing and other problems. Sure, bad things can also happen to a semi auto but if you have ever tried to get a bullet out from under the star extractor you probably realize the gun is good as little more than a paperweight or small club at that point in a gun fight. In addition, it is usually much easier to properly maintain a semi-automatic pistol than it is to maintain a revolver. The secret here though should be no secret. Buy high quality firearms, maintain them well, use proper high quality ammo and the handgun, whether revolver or semi-auto, hopefully will last a lifetime without such problems - just remember shit bad stuff happens so take that into your considerations as well.

All in all, I am not trying to sell you one way or the other here. I am not telling you one is definitely better than the other. I am not saying, that because I now choose one over the other, so too should you choose likewise. I am giving you some considerations so as to make you able to make a more intelligent decision about which to choose. If you are considering carrying a snub-nose revolver as a primary or secondary firearm, then why not go to a range and shoot one before buying. You may also want to consider getting some good training too. I do not mean from Uncle Joe, or Aunt Mitzi, or your buddy Bubba from work, or from your local library or the Internet but rather from someone who has some credentials to be a handgun instructor and who is well experienced with giving firearms instruction with the type of weapon you have under consideration. One of the best ways to find qualified instructors is by way of the NRA. They have been training firearms instructors, who go on then train others in the basic and advanced use of firearms, for many a year now. In other words, don't go off half cocked - get your facts together, learn the pros and cons of each type handgun, and when you decide on one over the other, get some training in how to use it safely and properly - and definitely know how to shoot it safely before you ever attempt to do so. If you choose a snub-nose revolver - good for you - you are among a smaller group. If you learn to shoot them well, you are among a group smaller still but certainly also among an elite group in the shooting world, that of they who carry and shoot well with a Real Man's Gun. ;)

Now, that I've written all that, I've got to go clean my Glock 26. Later 4 U.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Easter

To all my Christian friends and readers, I wish you a happy Easter. I hope the upcoming days are filled with hope, happiness and peace for you, your families and your loved ones.

All the best,
Glenn B

Klavan on Proper Behavior During Islamic Attacks

This guy is great and makes an awful lot of sense. I imagine that libs ought to be watching his videos more than cons, they might wake up!



All the best,
GB

New Blog Added to My Blog Roll

The latest addition to my blog roll is Gunchick's Blog which can be found at http://janada-oakley.blogspot.com/.

All the best,
GB

A New Diet Attempt...

...is under way for me starting yesterday. It is basically the same one I went on while in Tucson 2 years ago and that one had me drop about 25 pounds. The diet was, in essence, one that had me cut back greatly on carbs. Nope, not even close to the Atkins diet but I shed pound anyway by cutting out almost all junk food (meaning processed snacks) and by limiting my bread intake to no more than 3 slices per day, less than that in the beginning, I think I kept it at one slice. I still ate things like potatoes (frequently) and corn and lots of fruit and the pounds came off. I guess cutting out all the pretzels, beer, cookies, candies, cakes, ice cream and soda had a lot to do with the pounds being shed.

Of course, that diet was augmented by a hike or two per week for a couple of months, and those hikes were anywhere from 4 to 10 miles long, all with a 20 to 30 pound pack on my back. I do not have the luxury of mountains anywhere near my home, not even in my state, when it comes to mountains with inclines or elevations like those in ad around Tucson. I would have to drive about an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half to get to some really nice hiking terrain in NY, so that is pretty much out. I think that tonight, I am going to join a local gym and will use the treadmills. I will set em on a good incline, put the same pack on my back, and have at it. It is nowhere nearly the same as actually hiking up and down trails but will have to do for now. If I am lucky, I will get in at least two workouts a week, maybe 3. They have a pool, so after I have regained some strength and endurance from the treadmills, I will hit the pool too. I am so disgusted with myself and how flabby I have gotten as to quite possibly be determined enough to get it done right this time, even while being at home. I added that 'even while being at home thing' because loosing weight for me is much harder to do while I am in my regular places subject to my regular stresses and habits. Getting away always makes it easier for me to accomplish overcoming bad habits, I went away for over a week to quit smoking. it worked and I have not had a puff in over 21 years. Dieting is a bit more difficult since we do not have to smoke but we do have to eat. I think though that I have the motivation, I just look in the mirror at the wattles of flesh under my chin and on my neck and I want to get it done.

Luckily, for me, I stopped drinking beer about a month ago. Just cut back on drinking and stuck with whiskey and wine instead of beer. I figure that will be a big help as a cold one can lead to one or two more on a weekend and that can lead to another pound all too easily.

Well, if this diet works, the bigger trick will be making sure I keep off the pounds. That may actually be easier done while dieting at home than when away. I can can start and stick to the diet while at home, and take off a good number of pounds, I figure I will be more likely to keep them off because there will be less of a change in my situation than if I was away. Yes, being away makes it easier to start my diet and to lose pounds, but then come home and when all the old habits, stresses and everything hit me, well I cave in. Dieting at home may be harder to start and maintain at first because I am surrounded by those things but if I get it started here, then stick to it for awhile, there will be no sudden change of immersing back into those stresses, as when i returned home from Tucson, because I have been surrounded by them all along and was dieting all along. I hope that makes sense, hell I hope I stick to it this time. I think I will and I intend to do so. Damn the pretzels, chips and the beer, hello lower carbs and lower weight. I have to tell ya, I like eating junk so much that just thinking and writing about it has been stressful Oh well, time to exchange one addiction with another, a more healthy alternative.

I am pretty sure most of you do not want to be bored by my attempt at dieting this time around, so I will keep any progress reports to a minimum. If I am successful though, you can anticipate before and after pics sometime in the next few to several months.

All the best,
Glenn B

Are Ammo Prices About To Soar

I am not saying they are or they are not but with the price of gasoline going through the stratosphere one would expect that prices will go up. As a matter of fact, and reported on here for your information, SG AMMO expects ammo prices to rise in the next few weeks:

"04-17-2011 - Hello SGAmmo.com customers,

I consider it my duty to inform our customer base that significant price increases on various brands of ammunition will go into effect in the next few weeks, We will hold back on raising prices on certain items that are currently in good supply, however it appears inevitable that a broad line of commercial ammunition products will rise in price, so please consider that when evaluating your ammo needs. We will continue to search for special purchase items of better than average value and offer the best prices we can on our entire product line.

Thank you
SG"

The above quote is from their homepage at: http://www.sgammo.com/.

I may have to check my recent inventory to see what I may be low on and then stock up on some of that. I recently ordered a 440 tin of 7.62x54R, from MilitaryShooters.com that should arrive tomorrow. That went for $92.14 shipped. Tonight, I ordered a case of 500 rounds of Federal® 9 mm 147 - gr. JHP Ammo from the SportsmansGuide.com. That set me back $159.21 shipped (with club membership discount and a $5 off online coupon). I also was thinking of getting some more 7.62x39 and .223 since I have still have some money left over in my guns ammo money fund. I had $1,200 for the gun show last week ans spent nowhere near that much. Since then though I spent most of what was left over on regular expenses and these two ammo orders. Still though, there is some left over, so I am tempted to at least pick up anything of which I may be in short supply or that .223 or 7.62x39. Decisions, decisions, decisions - tough as they are, they need to be made! I guess my next order should come from SG Ammo since ghey were nice enough to give the warning about the expected price increases (and they have pretty good prices and pretty good service too).

All the best,
Glenn B

Pres. Obama: No Wonder He Won't Show His Birth Certificate

The sovereignty of the United States of America apparently means nothing to him after what he said today:

“No matter who you are. No matter where you come from. No matter what you look like. No matter whether your ancestors landed here on Ellis Island or came here on slave ships or came across the Rio Grande, we are all connected. We will rise and fall together. That’s the vision of America I’ve got, that’s the idea of the heart of America...” President Obama said at a fundraiser in San Francisco. (see:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/04/21/obama_we_are_all_connected_whether_you_crossed_the_rio_grande_or_not.html)

I find that absolutely disgusting. I think (in my personal opinion) that he should be removed from office as soon as possible by way of impeachment or any other legal means. Did I spend over 31 years of my career enforcing border laws of one sort or another, working hard, being a good citizen, paying taxes, raising my family as American citizens so that he just waves everyone in and lumps us all together no matter who.

"No matter who you are"!!! So is he saying that every motherfucking MS-13 gang banging murderous scumbag who is here, every cocaine smuggling dirtbag, everyone who came here illegally then proceeded to bleed us dry then go back to their own countries when they have had enough, is that whom he is saying is part of his vision of America. Whatever happened to rewarding the hard working, good people of the nation and trying to root out and rid ourselves of the ones who soak the system dry or who out and out commit crime with no regard for the law or for the good of our country.

I love the United States of America and I love a way that seems to now be that of a bygone era, one that I long to see again. So, what to do in hopes of seeing it again? God damn, well I declare, I am going to have to buy some more guns, ammo and maybe even a bible. I think I will also start voting straight conservative (not for RINOS or Libertarians) on all issues (even though I do not agree with all of them) and give more money to conservative political candidates (not to RINOS).

We are, I think (personal opinion again), doomed if this man continues to ruin run the U.S. of America. I plan to do my best by legal and ethical means to see someone else in the Oval office next time around. I cannot wait until I am retired at the end of the year to say plainly what I really want to say, and to actually be able to campaign for candidates. For now, I cannot violate laws that restrict me from saying it since I still work for the government and cannot afford to lose my job.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is Your Krummlauf Complete

Okay, maybe you spell it Krummerlauf, but if you know what it is then it does not matter how you spell it. The one I saw was said to be complete. While I was at the gun show, up in Syracuse, NY, last Saturday, I saw one of the most unusual rifles I have ever seen. Well, truth be told, the rifle - a German MP44 - was not all that unusual except for the attachments added to it. Those attachments were a grenade launcher, a prismatic sighting device and a bent barrel. At first glance, I had thought the barrel had been damaged and wondered why this particular rifle was on display. Then I spoke to the woman displaying it and read the info sheet she had available on her table. The devices were actually used by the Germans during the last year of WWII on the Russian front.

In a moment of pure noxious brain fart attack, I did not immediately pull my camera out of my pocket and take pictures of the whole magilla, as a matter of fact I did not take any pictures inside this gun show, shame on me but I was too busy gawking. I can assure you, if I am again at a gun show, with my camera handy, and see one of these, I will take plenty of pictures. There is a paucity of pictures available on the Internet from what I could find and most are terrible quality and small in size. Nonetheless, I was able to find a couple of pics to put into this post and am quite grateful that someone posted them online and that someone took them in the first place. While the ones in the pics do not appear to be exactly the same as the one I saw at the gun show, they are close to it and will give a good idea of what it looked like.

Much to my surprise, in my 5th or 6th attempt to find better pics, I ran across this video of them in action.

It sure looks like you could have fun with one of these but I am not too sure than any range personnel would appreciate me bringing one of these to a local range. Of course, it might get the same kind of looks as the guy in the above pic is giving the one he is holding, and there would be lots of conversation sure to ensue.

All the best,
Glenn B

Anyone Celebrate Adolf Hitler's Birthday Yesterday?

If you did, then just allow me to tell you - Go Screw Yourself Asshole!

To my readers who know well enough to consider Hitler a vile and despicable creature who was only worthy of miserable death, I applaud you.

All the best (to those who did not celebrate),
Glenn

April 19 - Today In History - Oh What A Day

April 19th has been of very special signifigance for me for many years. It is just another day but I think it is a day, as far as history is concerned, that is very special indeed. I imagine you could look at almost any other day and selectively find things of historic merit that took place but today is a bit more special as I see it. Let me tell you a bit about today by giving a brief rundown of some of the most things that have happened on it throughout history, then maybe you will understand why I see it as so special:

2005 Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, becomes the 265th pope

2000 Air Philippines flight 541 crashes into a hill near Davao, killing 131

1995 Truck bomb at Federal Building in Oklahoma City, kills 168

1994 Rodney King award $3,800,000 in compensation of police beating

1994 Supreme Court outlaws excluding people from juries because of gender

1993 Fire in psychiatric institute in South Korea, kills 40\

1993 The Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas, is destroyed in a fire after 51-day stand-off; 76 people die, including 24 British nationals and 20 children

1991 Evander Holyfield beats George Foreman in 12 for heavywgt boxing title

1991 Greyhound Bus posts $195 million loss for 1990

1989 Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

1987 Gregory Robertson does 200-mph free fall to save unconscious skydiver (wow, all I can say is, what a man)

1987 Jacqueline Blanc, sets women's downhill ski speed record, 124.9 mph

1987 Last wild condor captured on California wildlife reserve

1987 U.S.S.R. performs underground nuclear test

1986 Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1985 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.

1984 Nemesis, death star of dinosaurs 1st appears in Nature magazine

1983 France performs nuclear test

1982 Guinon Bluford announced as 1st black astronaut

1982 Sally Ride announced as 1st woman astronaut

1982 U.S.S.R. Salyut 7 space station put into orbit

1975 India launches 1st satellite with help of U.S.S.R.

1973 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.

1972 "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" opens at Playhouse New York City for 1,065 performances

1972 Bangladesh becomes a member of British Commonwealth

1972 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1971 Charles Manson sentenced to life (Sharon Tate murder) [to bad he was not executed]

1971 U.S.S.R. Salyut 1 launched; 1st manned lab in orbit

1967 "Casino Royale" premieres (one of my favorite movies)

1967 Beatles sign a contract to stay together for 10 years (but they did not stay together)

1967 U.S. Surveyor III lands on Moon

1965 At a cost of $20,000, the outer Astrodome ceiling is painted because of sun's glare, this causes the grass to die (dah)

1962 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 46,900m (my favorite aircraft when was a child, I had at least one toy and one model of it, and I wanted to fly it)

1960 Comiskey Park's famed "exploding" scoreboard begins operating enough with explosions already)

1956 U.S. actress Grace Kelly marries Monaco's Prince Rainier III (what a loss for the rest of us, she was an excellent actress)

1955 59th Boston Marathon won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan in 2:18:22 (I mention this one only because that is the year I was born, there were many - many - many Boston Marathons held on April 19th)

1951 General Douglas MacArthur ends his military career

1949 Yankees dedicate a plaque for Babe Ruth (there were many baseball feats that took place on this date, I mention this because he was one of the greats)

1948 Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist

1947 French ship explodes in Texas City harbor, kills about 522

1945 U.S. aircraft carrier Franklin heavy damaged in Japanese air raid

1943 Revolt in Warsaw Ghetto under Mordechai Anielewicz (I left out quite a few other events of WWII)

1940 "Lake Shore Ltd" derails speed killing 34 near Little Falls

1939 Connecticut finally approves Bill of Rights (148 years late and always makes me wonder why)

1936 Anti-Jewish riots break out in Palestine

1934 Shirley Temple appears in her 1st movie, Stand Up and Cheer

1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt announces U.S. will leave gold standard (commie socialist destroyer of America who created Social Security the biggest lie of the 20th century)

1932 President Herbert Hoover suggests 5 day work week (I can live with that but 4 would have been better)

1928 Japanese troops occupies Sjantung-schiereiland

1921 Funeral of last German Empress, Augusta Victoria

1919 Leslie Irvin of U.S. makes 1st parachute jump and free fall

1910 Halley's comet seen by naked eye 1st time this trip (as if one comet sighting on this day was not portent enough for me, it was also seen in the year 607)

1904 Much of Toronto destroyed by fire

1897 1st American Marathon ran, John J McDermott wins in 2:55:10 (Yep, you guessed it - in Boston)

1897 1st Boston Marathon won by John McDermott of New York in 2:55:10

1892 Charles Duryea takes 1st American-made auto out for a spin (Mass)

1874 Barracks on Alcatraz Island destroyed in fire

1864 Naval Engagement at Cherbourg, FR: USS Kearsage vs. CSS Alabama

1863 Union troops/fleet occupy For Huger, Virginia

1861 Baltimore riots-4 soldiers, 9 civilians killed

1861 Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War)

1782 Netherlands recognizes U.S

1775 Minutemen and Lexington Militia Leader Captain John Parker orders his men: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." at Lexington Common and soon after The Shot Heard Round The World was fired and the War For Independence had begun in the American Colonies. (This has always been one of, if not the most, significant historical event of this day for me, well sort of, you will see what I mean below.)

1770 Captain James Cook 1st sees Australia (the land down under or the 18th century version of Land Of The Lost)

1587 Sir Frances Drake sails into Cadiz Spain and sinks Spanish fleet

607 Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0898 AUs of Earth

There were lots of other events that took place on April 19th throughout the history of the world. This day is also significant, not so much for an event per se, but because, in 1889, it was the last day that the people of the earth would not know one of our worst nightmares. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889. So, today is significant because it is the anniversary of the last day of his nonexistence.)

As you can see from all of the above, this day in history has been one of tremendous importance, probably a lot like any other day but then again, there are a lot of rather catastrophic events that happened on April 19th and they seem to overshadow the good things that happened on this day.

Still though, all of those things don’t make it as important to me as one rather small, insignificant (for the rest of the world) only slightly historical but very happy event that also took place today in 1986. I married the most beautiful woman in the world - Linda - now my wife of 25 years! It has not all been days of wine and roses, nor a bowl of cherries. We have surely had our ups and down, and just like history has shown that this or any other day can be tumultuous there are also good things that can come of any given day. I have to say - she made me a happy man when we were married and 25 years later I can say: Life, with her, is just another day in Paradise. I love you dear!

All the best,
Glenn B

Reference:

http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/april_19.html

http://todayinhistory.com/m04-19-event-results.html

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parker_(captain)

Opening A Russian (or other Communist Bloc) 'Spam' Ammo Can Without The Can Opener

Have you ever bought Russian, or other Com-Bloc, military surplus ammo, such as 7.62x54R, that comes in the so called spam can, then found yourself without the specialty can opener made for the job of opening those cans? If you have, then you know those cans can be darned difficult to open and you may also have learned that there are plenty of ways not to open them. Prying them open with the wrong tool, in the wrong way, can result in damage to the ammo. Worse yet, you could get cut in the process.

I just ordered 440 rounds of this ammo sealed in a spam can. It will not be coming with the opener so, tonight, I looked around online for one for sale. I am not about to pay the $15.00 plus shipping at which I found one available. Not satisfied with doing that, continued my search and wound up on YouTube where I found a very informative video that was posted there by Oldcarjunkie. The video shows, what I think is, a pretty good looking way to open these cans with a hammer and screwdriver when you don't have the proper can opener. About the only things I might do differently would be to wear work gloves while doing it, especially when pulling the lid off of the can. I also suggest being very careful when taking out the packets of ammo because the cut edges of the can are sure to be pointy or sharp in places. Of course, I'd also be careful not to hit my foot with the hammer. Safety glasses are also a good idea.

Here is the video, enjoy and please leave a nice comment at YouTube for Oldcarjunkie cheeverracing89, whose video replaces that of oldcarjunkie who seems to have closed his YouTube account:


Simple, but apparently effective.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Pesach (Passover)

And if your son asks you in the future, saying, What are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, that the LORD our God commanded you? You will say to your son, We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The LORD gave signs and wonders, great and harmful, against Egypt, against Pharaoh, and against all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out of there to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised our fathers. -Deuteronomy 6:20-23

To all my Jewish friends and readers, I wish you a happy Pesach (Passover). I hope the upcoming days are filled with hope, happiness and peace for you, your families and your loved ones. Pesach Shalom.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - The Last Day of Peace In The Colonies & A Ride For History

April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren instructs two men to ride and it was a ride that would go down in history as one of the most famous ever. Those two men were William Dawes and Paul Revere. They were to ride from Boston to Lexington, MA to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the movements of the British Army who it was believed would march on Concord, MA to seize arms stored there by the colonists' militia. Though called the midnight ride, it actually began late on the night of the 18th at about 11PM just after the British crossed the Charles River headed toward Lexington & Concord. Because of Revere and Dawes, many other riders took up the call: "The regulars are coming out". The next morning, at the battles of Lexington & Concord, the colonists were ready. The first shots of the Revolution were fired at Lexington where the militia fell back but the British troops were repulsed at Concord by the militia though outnumbered by the Brits. After a fierce battle the British retreated back toward Boston and the war was on in full force.

More info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere#The_Midnight_Ride_of_Paul_Revere

All the best,
Glenn B

Buy A Gun Day 2011

So, I am curious, did any of my readers celebrate BAG day and actually buy a gun? Leave comments either way, yeah or nay.

All the best,
GB

Last Minute BAG Day Purchase

I just added one more thing to the list of BAG Day purchases. It is not a another gun but a sealed tin of 440 rounds of 7.62x54R 147 grain Russian ammo. I ordered it from Military Shooters with whom I have good dealings before. They had the best price I could find with shipping added on. Too bad I did not think to buy a tin up at Syracuse yesterday, probably would have been less expensive, then again, maybe not.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Big Syracuse Gun Show - Is Tomorrow...

...and to tell the truth, I am none too sure I'll be able to sleep tonight with the anticipatory butterflies that have been flying around in my innards. Normally, I don't lose sleep over thinking about a gun show, I just can't sleep as it is. Being I have not slept all that well over the past few nights I was due for a fairly good sleep tonight but as I said, those butterflies have been doing there thing. Of course, maybe it's not butterflies but a remnant of tonight's dinner that hasn't settled in just quite right. Whatever, I can sill hope I get a good rest tonight because I want to be at my haggling best tomorrow. It certainly is not everyday, here in New York State, that one gets to attend a thousand table gun show and I want to make the best of it!

Both Brendan and I will be attending and each of us has a decent sized chunk of change. He keeps thinking about getting himself a deal on a bull-pup design like an Aug and I keep telling him the bull-pup design sucks. being young, he does not want advice and I have to admit it is high time he makes up his own mind about what he buys with his own money and learns his own lessons as to whether or not it was money well spent. That just may leave him seeking my advice again, sooner or later, should he actually waste spend his money on a Steyr-Aug or similar gun. Then again, he may buy one and love it.

As you are probably already aware, I am hoping to get myself either a Remington 700 VTR in .308, or a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, or a fairly decent AK-47. I have not had much luck down in my neck of the concrete jungle and am thinking it may be a bit different here in Syracuse since his gun show is about 3X bigger than anything they hold within a hundred miles of my house. If they actually have 750 tables with guns on them, as opposed to beef jerky, knives, books and military surplus junk, I will be ecstatic. if they have 500 tables actually selling guns and virtually nothing else, I will be happy. Less than that and both Brendan and I will feel that we have been ripped off.

I am hoping to spend a busy 2 to 3 hours at the show, then to take off and maybe get in a couple to a few hours of fishing closer to Binghamton along the way home. With a little luck we may each pick up a nice rifle and each catch a nice fish. We will be in no great hurry to get home and ruin my wife's all girl wine party Well, wine party at least until hey find my vodka, two kinds of rum, Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor or Irish Whiskey - or maybe even my hidden bottle of champagne. Oh well, more fun for them I suppose and less of a hangover for me! As for me and Brendan, we will take out time for the drive home and probably stop for a good meal along the way. As I said, I am in no hurry to walk in on that party - especially when they are all loopy and we are (hopefully) carrying in our newest firearms.

All the best,
GB

The Man-Purse, The Alternate Gun Carry???

Recently, while pursuing one of my favorite manly pastimes - surfing the firearms forums of the Internet, I came across a term that seemed a bit funny, then a bit scary in its implications. The term was being used in a forum discussion that in essence asked the question what do you carry in your man-purse. Man-Purse - is that how absurdly far fetched political correctness has become for some men of America. Do they really have some politically correct need causing them to call a butt pack, a carry bag, a shoulder bag, a small backpack, or a change/cash purse, a Man-Purse? I would think, wouldn't you, the use of the term Man Purse in all likelihood implies there is something called a Woman-Purse or at least that at some time only women were allowed to carry purses and now it is okay for a man. (Well it is now okay for 'real' men anyhow, you know the he-man type I mean -the brawny hunter, firearms enthusiast, fisherman, who will only do and use manly things that fit his macho character.) Yet I have never heard that one before – I have never heard the term Woman-Purse. In fact I have never known the use of purses to be in anyway restricted to one sex or the other in my lifetime and, historically purses have never been restricted for use by women only, although many so called yet insecure he-men would have wanted you to think otherwise. In fact, purses were in likelihood first used by men who were the bearers of money and other small valuables in the business world of the past, such as back in the Renaissance. They just called it a purse back then, not a man-purse; and the word purse was a good thing. It implied that they had something valuable with which to fill it. Of course, little valuables bags were around long before the word purse was ever used to refer to a little bag. Purse first meant an amount of money, as the amount of a wager or a dowry! Aah, there it is - the hidden reason for mean to start calling their little valuable bags purses way back in past centuries - it was because they too were probably being politically correct. My guess is that sometime before they started to call there little bags 'purses', the women of the Renaissance had already gotten some sorts of freedoms over what they had suffered in the dark Ages and before. They also figured they had brought the dowry with them – hence they had right to carry a purse. So they too had taken on the manly habit of carrying little bags with implied valuables inside. Of course this was most likely a blow to the male ego hence they had to think up some way of making their little manly bags more manly. So since men were still the masters of the business world at that time, they named them after something to do with business and therefore with men - they named them purses (remember that purse first meant an amount of money as in the amount of a wager).

This went on for centuries, well at least decades, until the word 'purse' was replaced by another name in the history of small bags carried by men. Women started to call their bags purses without reservation because they had finally wormed their way into the business world as far back as the 1800's to a small extent; then they started that darned women’s suffrage thing. What was a man to do, he had to think how to keep his bag as a ‘manly’ bag. So he thought, and thought and for a while as he thought of all the possibilities he decided to call it a “possibles-bag”. The thing about this was that the guy who gave it this name was a wild Mountain Man and while the name caught on with the fur trappers of the day, it just never caught on in the rest of the civilized world. So man, the regular Joe who was not away howling at the moon in the mountains of the west, paced back and forth trying to figure ‘what do I still have that a woman does not after which I can name my bag’ and as he plunged his hands into his pants pockets – it hit him – the term pocket-book was born. Of course women are not satisfied to let men have their own thing for long and soon it was the rage in the fashion world for women to be carrying pocket books too. As fashion changes from year to year, month to month, even day to day, the name of the bags carried by women changed back and forth from one to another. They did not mind that the terms were reused over and over again as fashions came and went. All they cared was that they had stolen this from man and to them that was good. On the other hand, man was at the end of his rope. He had no clue as to what to name his new bag, so he tried a trick the women had used. He called the bag by a large number of names like: butt-pack, fanny-bag, hip-bag, backpack, daypack, survival kit, and the like - but woman always wound up using those names to describe the bags they too carried. Was there no way to label his little bag as his bag?

I guess, that just recently, man must have finally figured out a way to keep women (most woman anyhow – as you cannot count on the more manly of them not to steal this term too) from using the name he would give to his little valuables bag. He named it a Man-Purse. So there all you thieving and scheming women, take that, go ahead if you want it – go ahead and call your bag a Man-Purse, I dare you! Maybe that is what man was thinking, or at least that is what the 21st century politically correct male of America was thinking but, it is not the way I think. I guess I am just too old school for such political correctness about my purse. I wonder, are we, the American male, that far gone that we really have to call it a Man-Purse? Can’t we just call a purse a purse and leave it at that. A purse by definition is not limited to use by men or women, nor does such a distinction need to be made, unless maybe for some reason you find it below your manliness to just call it a purse. While Man-Purse has a certain ring to it, it is unnecessary as can be seen from the definition of the word purse:

1 a (1) : a small bag for money (2) : a receptacle (as a pocketbook) for carrying money and often other small objects b : a receptacle (as a pouch) shaped like a purse
2 a : RESOURCES, FUNDS b : a sum of money offered as a prize or present; also : the total amount of money offered in prizes for a given event

Because I am quite the old school manly-man, an original member of the reformed but unofficial He Man Woman Haters Club - Brooklyn Chapter back in about 1961, who cannot stand the thought of anyone thinking me effeminate, I choose to carry a purse only if completely out of sight of prying, ridiculing, desirous,or critical eyes. While I think the term purse is quite befitting a manly-man, based upon the definition & history of the word purse, I still keep my purse out of sight. Why? Well, to avoid he-mannish ridicule such as: “What kind of a wimp are you anyway carrying around a purse?". Then again, I also try to avoid the fashion curiosity questions from women such as “Oh my that’s a nice bag, is that Louis Vuitton?” or fashion inquiries from gay men such as “Where did you get that simply marvelous purse, I simply need to know right this minute”. Of course it is also best to keep it out of sight so that those same gay caballeros don‘t get the wrong idea about a man with a purse and try to pick me up. Then there are ruthless little bastards the neighborhood children to hide it from. It’s not that I am afraid they might laugh me to death but that maybe they will try to poke and beat me with sticks as they chase me down the block calling me sissy-boy as I run for my life. Heck, I work in NYC, it can be tough for a guy who blatantly carries purse even a man purse – all sorts of people get all sorts of ideas about what that means...and in my case they would be wrong even if this is the 21st century!

Seriously though, I never carry my primary firearm in a bag of any sort, let alone one called a purse even if the prefix ’man’ is attached to it. If it can be avoided, I will not carry a firearm,especially a primary handgun, in a bag of any sort during my daily routine. It is just too easy to forget someplace, too easy to pick up then put down, too easy to then do something else, then too easy to move on and forget to pick up the bag. Yep, just too darned easy to set it and forget it.

I prefer to carry my gun on my hip in a strong side holster. I carry spare magazines in a magazine pouch on the opposite side hip from the gun side (additional ones maybe carried in a backpack or survival kit). I carry a knife or two in my pockets. I carry a small flashlight in my pocket. I carry pepper spray in a pouch on my belt. I carry handcuffs in a handcuff case or in pocket. I also carry my wallet in a pocket and money in another pocket - I keep those separated, I figure if I lose my wallet, I still have some money. Likewise, if I lose the money, I still have my wallet with credit cards - that is so long as I did not lose my pants and both of them in the pockets, so I try to keep my pants on. I also usually have a cell phone in a clip on my belt or in my pocket.

I so carry a bag though. At least almost always while working. It is not even a brief or attache case either. What I carry is a small backpack. I use it to haul around other survival gear. It is a day-pack size that is fairly large but it is by no means something one could construe as a purse. The gear I carry in varies but it almost always contains survival gear like: money, first aid kit, space blanket, water, food, fire starters (candles with wood shavings embedded in the wax), matches, magnesium fire starter, glow sticks, a compass, a knife or two, knife sharpener, small flashlight, extra flashlight bulbs, extra batteries, passport, string, usually some rope, sometimes a gas mask (if there is room for it), extra money in a small change purse (there it is the traditional use of a man’s purse for me, my great-grandfather had one), spare ammunition, a two way radio with spare battery, cell phone charger, spare socks, spare undies and maybe a t-shirt, my medication (no not Prozac just something much more mundane like aspirin and BP medication). There are probably some other things, and maybe some of what should be in there is missing right now, but I check and upgrade the contents of my backpack every couple of weeks to month or so to make sure I have most of the stuff I might need. So if anything is missing, it won‘t be for long.

If you want to carry you gun in a man-purse, a woman’s-purse or any other kind of purse, even one made from a pig’s ear, be my guest. Me, I will be avoiding even the hint of carrying a purse because I am the kind of guy I am and I think a man carrying a purse is just not me. Of course, by some people’s standards, like my mother’s or my Godmothers standards of years ago – one might call my backpack a purse or pocketbook if only because the ladies of their day used to literally carry everything but the kitchen sink in the monstrosities that they lugged around - and they were as big as small packs. I remember being hit in the noggin once or twice with one of those huge carryalls now and again. Made me think that maybe they really carried a kitchen sink or two in them so maybe I had best behave. I can say without a doubt, those handbags of mass destruction sure make most of today’s man-purses look like the choice of rank amateurs when it comes to weapons concealment. No matter, if I need to carry anything in a bag on a regular basis, it will be a pack for me but the gun most likely will be in a holster on my belt and most of the truly essential gear will be on my belt or in my pockets. If I ever put down the pack and forget it, I could go a long way with what I'd still have on my person. As for the man-purse, I guess I am just not man enough for one of those, well certainly not that type of man enough, whatever type that may be, not that there is anything wrong with that, just that I never was and never will be...maybe I had best shut up and leave it at that!

All the best,
Glenn B

Is The Federal Government Still Headed Toward A Shutdown?

The actual budget agreements have not been hammered out, they plan on doing so on Thursday. Then they have to vote on it in Congress. It seems support for the agreed upon plan is wavering and when you look at it in the sensible manner, there really are no budget cuts being made:

Only in Washington can a budget that spends more than it did the year before, with a larger deficit, be portrayed as “cutting.” (Senator Rand Paul April 11, 2011, see this link: http://www.paul.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=332429.) It seems there are quite a few in Congress like Sen. Paul, on both sides, who are opposed to the new budget, see:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/12/reset-shutdown-clocks/.

That makes me wonder if they will actually agree to the finalized version on Thursday. If not, the federal government may well shutdown!

All the best,
Glenn B

Insomnia Sucks

The title says it all. I am going to hit the hay now, maybe I can get 40 winks now that it is almost 2:30 in the morning.

All the best,
GB

An Open Invitation To Paul McCartney (and to the guy who tried to leave the anti-meat video link in a comment on this blog)

Someone tried to post a comment, to one of my blog posts, that contained a link to a video of some guy called Paul McCartney. In the video he is basically whining imploring folks to stop eating meat. I was going to get all nasty toward the person who tried to leave the comment but figured I would be civil about it. So here is an offer to both him or her and to Paul McCartney:

If either of you would like a good, free, meal here in the good old U.S. of A., look me up. I will gladly treat either or both of you to your choice of some truly excellent medium rare and still somewhat bloody beef steak, finger lickin' good BBQ pork ribs, luscious lamb chops, yummy rabbit, delectable Portuguese style goat, a fat bratwurst or maybe just a liverwurst sandwich. Then again, maybe you prefer something still alive like a nice dozen raw oysters or clams (or both) - I love the feel of them going down. Of course, if you prefer something else, I'll go for whatever other dish I can afford to get for you from a creature that has walked on, crawled on/in/under, swam the seas of, or flown above planet earth. Myself, I prefer those I have killed myself, when I have the opportunity, but usually have to settle for slaughterhouse fare. I will gladly treat you to one that has been killed in a slaughterhouse or if you prefer we can go to a live market and have them do the dirty deed and I'll cook it up for you. I'll even throw in a really good beer or ale to help you wash it all down - sorry but it has to be American and of my choosing. Any time you feel so inclined, look me up for a delicious time.

You know, the next chance I get, I am going to treat a homeless person to some NYC hot dogs from Gray's Papaya or a similar place and I am willing to bet he or she will be appreciative. Man, they make great franks, my mouth is watering as I write. Something tells me I'll be going to Gray's Papaya really soon and I'll be thinking of Paul and the commenter as I wolf down a couple of dogs slathered with mustard and covered in kraut, all washed down with root beer. I'll also make sure to let the homeless person know that if it wasn't for the commenter and for Paul McCartney's anti-meat video he would not be getting a fee meal. So - in a way - he will have them to thank for it.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Eat Meat - Hopefully Not Meat Glued Together With Meat Glue

I like meat. I like beef, pork, lamb (just had leg of lamb tonight and it was delicious), goat, rabbit, squirrel, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, quail, dove, bear, venison, rattlesnake, frogs legs, lobster, fish, clams, mussels, octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and even snails. What I do not like is when retailers try to pull a fast one. Hopefully this stuff, Transglutaminase (aka Meat Glue), is not legal in the USA. If it is, you can bet I will be inquiring about its safety.



Watching that kind of made me lose my appetite, for all of 3 seconds, but after all, I still will like my meat medium rare. More info on transglutaminase can be found at the link:

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

Man, that is kind of scary stuff. Bad enough it may allow for meat to be insufficiently cooked to allow live bacteria to be ingested as described in the video - but tell me what happens if you eat that meat raw. Could that stuff stick your innards together? I would guess not but it is something to wonder about. By the way, it looks as if it is in use here in the USA from what I read in Wikipedia and from what I found doing an online search for a dealer here in America. This place apparently sells it: http://www.forthegourmet.com/, and it is located in the USA.

I am not happy it is sold here in the USA and will be checking labels on certain cuts of meat in the future. Adding water was one thing that upset me, so I try to avoid cuts with added water. This stuff not only upsets me, it scares me and I probably will never buy a cut of meat, in which it was used, if I see it on the label (at least until I am absolutely convinced it is safe).

Hat tip to my friend Harry for an email about this video.

All the best,
Glenn B

Corydoras aeneus, aka: Green Aeneus or Green Corys

I have had numerous Guppies and four Corydoras aeneus swimming around in a 10 gallon aquarium that was primarily set up for my six Blue Tailed Newts. I had been hoping to breed the newts but to date I have not had any success in getting them to spawn. There has got to be a trigger but I have not figured it out. On the other hand, the Guppies breed like...well, like guppies and they keep doing it. The green Corys also bred frequently. I usually do a weekly water change and they usually breed right after that but not weekly. I'd say they have bred about every 3rd week on average. I think I have two males and two females. I used to have one other but it died for some unknown reason.

I have had this tank set up this way for about 2 years, or so I am guessing. About 6 months ago, I added something it did not have, an under-gravel filter. I know that many frown on these nowadays but I like them because they make the tank easier to maintain in my opinion. I remove the upright air tube and then insert a siphon hose and siphon the water from under the gravel when I do weekly tank maintenance. Today though was time to strip the tank down and give it, the gravel and all the accessories a thorough good cleaning. I do that about twice a year with my small tanks. Once I siphoned out most of the water, I scooped out most of the gravel, then lifted out the under gravel filters. Much to my surprise there were several fish under the filters. Even more to my surprise was the fact that about 6 of them were Green Aeneus catfish! The rest were either guppies and maybe one or two very tiny baby catfish. Most surprising of all was that one of the green cory, that I found under the filters, was about 1/3 to 1/2 grown.

I had always figured that my Corydoras aeneus were sterile since none of the eggs they laid ever seemed to hatch. What was happening though seemed to be that the larger guppies of those in the tank were eating them, or at least eating part of each egg almost as soon as each was laid and the remains stayed stuck to the glass. The cory's stick the eggs to the side of the aquarium glass, usually right in the stream of water coming from the power filter. I had mistakenly believed that the eggs were always bad but now see that was not the case. My guess is that when the guppies pecked away at the eggs, some good ones fell to the gravel and were sucked through the under-gravel filters where they hatched and where the babies, at least some of them apparently found enough to eat. I am truly amazed they could live under the filters as the water I siphon from under them when cleaning the tank is always dark brown to almost black. That is a result of anything organic that gets sucked under the filters and then decomposes there.

Well they lived and I now have about a half dozen of them swimming around in the tank. I removed all the guppies except some very tiny babies and am waiting to see what happens next time the catfish breed. Hopefully all the eggs will be fertile and I will get to see them develop and hatch.

All the best,

Glenn B

Today In History - A Beginning To The End of Bloodshed on American Soil

On April 9, a war weary commanding general of American forces said the following:

"It would be useless and therefore cruel to provoke the further effusion of blood, and I have arranged to meet with General Grant with a view to surrender."

The yar was 1865, the American general was Robert E. Lee and he would soon surrender to another war weary American general - Ulysses S. Grant. They would meet that morning in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. No not inside a court house, but within the home of Wilmer McLean. Appomattox Court House was the name of the village where that home was located. The "effusion of blood" to which Lee sought to put an end was that of the American soldiers who had fought valiantly against one another during the Civil War, the bloodiest war of our Nation's history. It is estimated by some that there were up to 700,000 human deaths during that war although the more readily accepted number is approximately 620,000. That is more war dead than our nation suffered in all the wars from the Revolution up through and including Vietnam.

My sentiments about the Civil War, its causes, its battles, its end, its aftermath are many but there is one thought about it all, the last line of a book, the story of a southern woman who lived though it, that I believe I share:

"But for us - for Dan and me we could almost as easily give up each other as those terrible, beloved days. They are the very fiber of us." (1)

Those days she mentioned were the days of the Civil War. Yes, in truth, the Civil War has become, in part, the very fiber of our nation, as today we stand one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In that same book, just above the last lines, the lady's granddaughter was quoted as saying:

"How thankful I am that 'Old Glory' floats alike over North and South, now!"

So too am I. So, today I have taken a few moments to bow my head to pay homage to they who gave their all in the war between the North and the South; we owe them a lot for the shaping of our nation. And, as was the young lass quoted above, I am thankful I did not have to live through it myself and am hopeful it will never come to such again.

All the best,
Glenn B

1. A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: Being a Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer: Ed. by Myrta Lockett Avary. Page 384. Electronic Edition, http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/avary/avary.html