...but it was certainly too hot to go to the range this afternoon to shoot, then wind up there without an icy cold beverage of my choosing to make it bearable, so I decided to do some work in the garden today where icy cold biers would be close by.
I have less, than in years past, growing in my vegetable garden this year. A few to several pepper plants, a few tomato plants, a couple of cucumber vines, a few string bean vines, a few vines of unremembered type (maybe squash or melons), and that is about it besides my wife's herbs. The cucumbers are starting to take off and so are the tomatoes. One of the pepper plants is starting to bush up and produce a lot of flowers, one has given me a few Jalapenos already and another has given me two small bell peppers. I may replant the ones in the ground into pots but need to get a few larger pots at Home Depot first. As for the bean plants, they have given me a few bunches of string beans. Not bad for a small garden though I suppose it could be better. All of my pepper plants in the ground look stunted while the ones in pots look great. no more planting in the ground for them, they all go into pots next year.
I took care of the garden today, picked some vegetables, weeded, watered, cut back some vines growing like weeds, tended to the compost pile and then watered the flowers in back of the house. Then I let the tortoises out for their romp in the sun. After letting them out, I grabbed a couple of cold ones, Hefe Weizen, and had a relaxing half hour or so of sips between snips. I sat at the patio table and snipped up twigs that I had pulled out of the compost pile or had found around the yard, including a large pile from previous days spent trimming bushes and a tree or two. I also swept the patio down. Then I gave a really good soaking watering to the trees and shrubberies in my backyard.
That done, I put the musk turtle out in the yard in a large basin with half land area and half water. He can use a good sun bath like the torts although he does not need it as much as do they.
After that I headed down into the basement and checked on my tortoise and snake eggs in the incubator. Looks as if only one, out of 8, tortoise eggs was fertile. The thing is, it may not ever hatch, for some reason the egg has a long crack in it. I may tape over it to help prevent it from cracking more. It is still alive and shows no sign of mold, fungus or other infection in spite of the crack. The snakes eggs look pretty good for the most part. One looks as if it may have gone bad but all the others seem okay. Soon it will be time to work on the fish tanks. Soon after that the dinner bell will ring. The wife is making pasta and Italian sausages tonight in a mostly homemade sauce. It has filled the house with an absolutely wonderful aroma and I am almost salivating just thinking about chowing down on it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Blogger's Blues...
...just have nothing that perks up my interest to write up in my blog. I had thought would write about unemployment and the economy and what the president had to say about it. Then I thought, since I get nausea just thinking about him and the economy and how he is fucking it up destroying it, why should make you suffer, the same as would I, by writing about him and posting it for you to read. Maybe something will tickle my fancy and get me typing some more tomorrow.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Temporarily Brain Dead Due To Creeping Crud...
...thus no blogging tonight except for this. My lack of other blogging is all due to the really whopping case of poison something or other that I have on my knees, inner thighs, groin (no not on the important parts, thank goodness), lower back, behind my ears on an them too, on my neck and left shoulder and a bit on my left hand and both arms. Man oh man, it itches and I have to ..........scratching........ get something to quell it. Tomorrow, I will be off to the druggist to pick up the stuff my doc prescribed for me today. She guaranteed it would stop the itch.......... scratching again......... I hope so! This weekend I am thinking of spraying herbicide in my yard. Of course, I'll probably just search out the poison ivy, oak, or sumac and destroy any I find.
Scratching again,
GB
Scratching again,
GB
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
So The Casey Anthony Trial Is Essentially Over
Can we now return to normal life, more or less. Will the news media now please go back to broadcasting world news, national news, local news, the weather and such without having to devote so much time to something of so little interest. Yeah, I admit, I wanted to know the outcome of this trial and maybe why it turned out so, but I sure did not need the moment by moment coverage of everything from which door the prosecution team would exit one building to go to another to hear the verdict, or a blow by blow description of every look Casey Anthony made in court (nor those of her mom or dad either), nor every wanna be attorney's reporter's opinion of what this piece of evidence meant to the jury, nor every reprimand the judge gave to the lawyers in the courtroom because they were acting like fools, nor any of the rest of it. Hallelujah it is almost all over and done with.
That of course it to say nothing of what I think should happen to the killer of the poor child who was the victim in all of this. I would have once again liked to have seen justice served extra crispy in this case, as in some others, but first her killer would have to be convicted.
All the best,
Glenn B
That of course it to say nothing of what I think should happen to the killer of the poor child who was the victim in all of this. I would have once again liked to have seen justice served extra crispy in this case, as in some others, but first her killer would have to be convicted.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, July 4, 2011
American Revolution History Quiz: Imagine You Are An American Citizen And You Take The 1776 Marist Poll...
...asking folks in what year did the United States of America declare its independence? In the same Marist Poll they also asked one other question: From which country did the USA declare its independence? How would you do? How would Americans do?
Those are pretty basic, in fact maybe the most basic, historical questions you could ask about our country's history. The sad thing is that only 58% of the 1,003 people surveyed got the first question correct and only 76% of them got the second question right. That is truly a shame. What is more of a shame is that yesterday on local radio news up my way, I heard a reporter ask those same questions of a tourist from Australia in NYC. That guy got them right, without hesitation. Then again, the reporter claimed that every New Yorker he questioned got them both right. My guess is that he must not have questioned any of the many illegal aliens in NYC, he conducted his poll in person and could have easily picked people that appeared to be savvy resident NY'ers. As for the Marist Poll, it was conducted by telephone and who can tell whom they asked. I would hope that several of the people who got either or both questions wrong were at least not U.S. Citizens or legal resident aliens. I would just think we would know better than to screw up two such simple inquiries about our basic history. By the way, I asked my wife and she got both of them right without hesitation saying 1776 for the first, then England for the second, then adding Great Britain as a follow-up (I would accept either of those as correct).
I wonder though, how many people in the good old U.S. of A. would know the correct answers to some other facts about the earliest history of our nation? Read the questions below and give your best answers to each before clicking on the links to find the correct answers for each respective question:
1. On what date (getting only the year gives you half credit) did hostilities in the American Revolution begin? (Hint: The shot heard round the world, as is called the first shot of the American Revolution, was not fired on July 4, 1776.)
2. Who was the ruler of England at the time of the American Revolution? (Hint: Not a queen as I suspect was Boy George.)
3. Who was the commander-in-chief (commanding general) of the American Revolutionary forces? (Hint: He bucked the Brits.)
4. Why was a rattlesnake depicted on naval and other ensigns such as the Gadsden Flag of the American revolutionary forces with the motto "Don't Tread On Me"? (Hint: It has to do with the nature of the beast and with the nature of The United States of America and it has nothing to do with one being cold blooded!)
5. How many stars and stripes did the first national flag of the United States of America have at the time the American Revolution? (Hint: This is sort of a tricky question and no, the first official national U.S. flag did not have a snake on it?)
6. Which of America's allies, during the American Revolution, helped us decisively defeat our enemies in that war at the Siege of Yorktown? (Hint: They fought on what was to them foreign soil, here in America, but were not Legionnaires.)
7. How many British colonies originally united to form the United States of America? (Hint: It was not an unlucky number for the revolutionaries.)
8. How many colonies voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence before it was actually adopted by Congress? (Hint: Think of the correct answer to number 7 above, then think again.)
9. On what date was the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress? (Hint: A tough question to answer, unless you read the whole section linked to in the last question. I will tell you that NO IT WAS NOT THE 4TH OF JULY and at least one Founding Father believed that an earlier date would be the one on which Americans would celebrate their Independence.)
10. What country won the American Revolution and in what year was the war officially over with a peace treaty being signed? (Hint: Oh come on now, would anyone not know the correct answer to the first part of this two part question, after all, why name a revolution after the losers! The second part may not be as easy but it was not 1776, nor was it 1781 when the last major and most decisive battle was fought on American soil, it was later than that and the treaty was signed in Paris, France.)
11. Which three countries fought the last battle of the American revolution, and in which country (not any of the thee fighting the battle) was that battle fought. (Hint: This last one is the only one for which I would not have had a clue, except that England was one of the countries in that battle and that is all the hint I will give. You really have to know your history to get this one right.)
12. Pick the best answer from the below choices as to the type of government that governs in The United States of America:
a) Democracy
b) Tyranny
c) Republic
d) Monarchy
e) Oligarchy
f) all of the above
(Hint: It is a form of government in which laws are penultimate and by which the Founding Fathers tried to assure that the majority would not tyrannize the minority nor strip them of their rights because all had to live by the law.)
13. How many stars and how many stripes are on the current U.S. Flag and why are there that many stars and that many stripes? (Hint: President Obama may now know the correct number of stars and why there are that many but at one time he probably would have said 57. As for him knowing the number of stripes on the flag or why there are that many, I am none too sure he would get it right even though the answer would be right here staring him in the face as that number led the way for the USA in the American Revolution.)
I honestly hope you got almost every one of these right or at least you had fun reading and learning about the right answers. There are only two questions that would have given me any trouble and of those two I am only certain I would not have known the answer to only one of them; the other I may or may not have gotten after a bit of thinking. The one I would have certainly gotten incorrect would have been number 11, I just learned that today. The one that I maybe would have gotten right or maybe would have gotten wrong would have been number 5. One other one, the one about the date the Declaration of Independence was adopted, well I knew the answer but only was reminded of it recently otherwise that one may have thrown me too. If you got them all correct then I salute you, you know a good deal about the early history of the USA, probably much more than most.
Again, hope you had fun with this and that you learned something by looking at the info at the links. If any of the answers are debatable - oh well argue with someone else not me but please do inform me of what you think was the right answer with references. I am always happy to learn about our history.
Happy Independence Day,
Glenn B
Those are pretty basic, in fact maybe the most basic, historical questions you could ask about our country's history. The sad thing is that only 58% of the 1,003 people surveyed got the first question correct and only 76% of them got the second question right. That is truly a shame. What is more of a shame is that yesterday on local radio news up my way, I heard a reporter ask those same questions of a tourist from Australia in NYC. That guy got them right, without hesitation. Then again, the reporter claimed that every New Yorker he questioned got them both right. My guess is that he must not have questioned any of the many illegal aliens in NYC, he conducted his poll in person and could have easily picked people that appeared to be savvy resident NY'ers. As for the Marist Poll, it was conducted by telephone and who can tell whom they asked. I would hope that several of the people who got either or both questions wrong were at least not U.S. Citizens or legal resident aliens. I would just think we would know better than to screw up two such simple inquiries about our basic history. By the way, I asked my wife and she got both of them right without hesitation saying 1776 for the first, then England for the second, then adding Great Britain as a follow-up (I would accept either of those as correct).
I wonder though, how many people in the good old U.S. of A. would know the correct answers to some other facts about the earliest history of our nation? Read the questions below and give your best answers to each before clicking on the links to find the correct answers for each respective question:
1. On what date (getting only the year gives you half credit) did hostilities in the American Revolution begin? (Hint: The shot heard round the world, as is called the first shot of the American Revolution, was not fired on July 4, 1776.)
2. Who was the ruler of England at the time of the American Revolution? (Hint: Not a queen as I suspect was Boy George.)
3. Who was the commander-in-chief (commanding general) of the American Revolutionary forces? (Hint: He bucked the Brits.)
4. Why was a rattlesnake depicted on naval and other ensigns such as the Gadsden Flag of the American revolutionary forces with the motto "Don't Tread On Me"? (Hint: It has to do with the nature of the beast and with the nature of The United States of America and it has nothing to do with one being cold blooded!)
5. How many stars and stripes did the first national flag of the United States of America have at the time the American Revolution? (Hint: This is sort of a tricky question and no, the first official national U.S. flag did not have a snake on it?)
6. Which of America's allies, during the American Revolution, helped us decisively defeat our enemies in that war at the Siege of Yorktown? (Hint: They fought on what was to them foreign soil, here in America, but were not Legionnaires.)
7. How many British colonies originally united to form the United States of America? (Hint: It was not an unlucky number for the revolutionaries.)
8. How many colonies voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence before it was actually adopted by Congress? (Hint: Think of the correct answer to number 7 above, then think again.)
9. On what date was the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress? (Hint: A tough question to answer, unless you read the whole section linked to in the last question. I will tell you that NO IT WAS NOT THE 4TH OF JULY and at least one Founding Father believed that an earlier date would be the one on which Americans would celebrate their Independence.)
10. What country won the American Revolution and in what year was the war officially over with a peace treaty being signed? (Hint: Oh come on now, would anyone not know the correct answer to the first part of this two part question, after all, why name a revolution after the losers! The second part may not be as easy but it was not 1776, nor was it 1781 when the last major and most decisive battle was fought on American soil, it was later than that and the treaty was signed in Paris, France.)
11. Which three countries fought the last battle of the American revolution, and in which country (not any of the thee fighting the battle) was that battle fought. (Hint: This last one is the only one for which I would not have had a clue, except that England was one of the countries in that battle and that is all the hint I will give. You really have to know your history to get this one right.)
12. Pick the best answer from the below choices as to the type of government that governs in The United States of America:
a) Democracy
b) Tyranny
c) Republic
d) Monarchy
e) Oligarchy
f) all of the above
(Hint: It is a form of government in which laws are penultimate and by which the Founding Fathers tried to assure that the majority would not tyrannize the minority nor strip them of their rights because all had to live by the law.)
13. How many stars and how many stripes are on the current U.S. Flag and why are there that many stars and that many stripes? (Hint: President Obama may now know the correct number of stars and why there are that many but at one time he probably would have said 57. As for him knowing the number of stripes on the flag or why there are that many, I am none too sure he would get it right even though the answer would be right here staring him in the face as that number led the way for the USA in the American Revolution.)
I honestly hope you got almost every one of these right or at least you had fun reading and learning about the right answers. There are only two questions that would have given me any trouble and of those two I am only certain I would not have known the answer to only one of them; the other I may or may not have gotten after a bit of thinking. The one I would have certainly gotten incorrect would have been number 11, I just learned that today. The one that I maybe would have gotten right or maybe would have gotten wrong would have been number 5. One other one, the one about the date the Declaration of Independence was adopted, well I knew the answer but only was reminded of it recently otherwise that one may have thrown me too. If you got them all correct then I salute you, you know a good deal about the early history of the USA, probably much more than most.
Again, hope you had fun with this and that you learned something by looking at the info at the links. If any of the answers are debatable - oh well argue with someone else not me but please do inform me of what you think was the right answer with references. I am always happy to learn about our history.
Happy Independence Day,
Glenn B
God Bless America - And - The Star Spangled Banner
A fabulous renditon of God Bless America followed by a really excellent rendition of The Star Spangled Banner:
Happy Independence Day.
All the best,
GB
Happy Independence Day.
All the best,
GB
Happy Independence Day
In wishing you a Happy Indepence Day, I'll repeat what I just posted elsewhere:
As you celebrate today, try to remember it is not all about steaks, hot dogs or burgers on the grill or about the beers, wine or booze you are chugging down. Today is the day that our nation was born, in 1776, by its declaring independence from a tyranny. Though born today, the keeping of our independence took a lot - the Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 through 1783. Since then, our independence and our rights and liberties have been hard kept but well worth it.
All the best,
Glenn B
As you celebrate today, try to remember it is not all about steaks, hot dogs or burgers on the grill or about the beers, wine or booze you are chugging down. Today is the day that our nation was born, in 1776, by its declaring independence from a tyranny. Though born today, the keeping of our independence took a lot - the Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 through 1783. Since then, our independence and our rights and liberties have been hard kept but well worth it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A Fabulous Bier For The Summertime
I went to Costco today, figuring on buying some things for a BBQ for this afternoon. I got everything I needed to pick up, including: rib eye steaks, corn on the cob, a sea salt mill with Mediterranean Sea salt, a pepper mill with peppercorns, cherries and raspberries for dessert, and whatever else we needed grocery-wise. While shopping, my eye was caught by something I have not had in a long time being that I have not been drinking almost any bier over the past several months (probably less than 10 beers in the last 6 months). What got my attention was a stack of cases of Paulaner Hefe-Weizen Bier. At less than $25.00 a case (fuck thank you Bill Clinton for having the beer tax skyrocket and stay sky high - remember that one friends, this beer would be about $10 a case less expensive had he not created that tax) I figured I had best grab one. That is just what I did too, too bad I did not grab two.
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen Bier (also hefe weisbier) is one of my all time favorite golden brews. It is a product of Germany, brewed and bottled by Paulaner Brauerei in Munich. As they tell you on the label, it is brewed "...to the exacting standard of Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian Purity law of 1516". Imagine that today, something made by the standards set for it 495 years ago! I can only tell you this, that has got to be one of the best laws ever because German biers are the best, and Paulaner Hefe Weizen is among the best of the best. This bier may well be my all time favorite although that is debatable depending upon which of my favorites is set before me at any given moment. That it is my favorite bier to drink in the summertime, when the living is easy, is indisputable- at least when I am still sober.
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, as the name says, is a wheat (weizen) bier that also has yeast (hefe) in it. Of course, it also contains barley malt but wheat biers are made from at least 50% wheat malt. If you have ever imbibed an American wheat bier and thought this is not the bier for me because of an overly heavy and strong hopsy taste and then shied away from biers like the Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, let me just say - you do not know what you are missing. Most American brewed wheat biers are a far cry from those brewed in Germany and leave an awful lot to be desired. I have tried several and I could never quite understand how anyone could enjoy most American brewed weizen biers because they taste nothing like weizen bier is supposed to taste. How do I know how they are supposed to taste? Well, the Germans, if not the creators of wheat bier and I do believe they did create it, certainly are the master brewers of it and have made its production a both a science and an art. Paulaner itself has been around since 1634. You can bet they got it right! In my opinion, biers like Sam Addams, and other American brews, simply do not even come close to the essence of it! The only one that comes within even a country mile would be Blue Moon Belgian White but I think even that one is at least a mile off the mark.
I strongly encourage you to try this fine bier. Don't have a sip or even a full bier and then say, I do not like it and leave it at that. Sit back, crack one open, pour it very slowly into a tilted glass. Enjoy the aroma, check out the thick and cloudy consistency caused by the yeast, take a sip. Then take another and another. Make sure it is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit or colder (I prefer mine pretty cold but up to 50 is okay). Then have a second and a third - make sure you are not driving or operating any machinery except a maybe a lounge chair. Drink slowly, sip them, enjoy them. If you want, take a lemon wedge and crush it into the bier, I though prefer it nix zitrone! Then stop, sit back and think do you really prefer: Bud Light, or Amstel, or Budweiser, or Coors, or any variety of Sam Addams, or Harpoon IPA, or Chimay Ale, Guiness Stout, Heineken, Sierra Nevada Anything, or even one of my other best among the best - Ommegang Ale, or any other bier you can think of for a really hot summertime day. You may but for me this is the absolute best bier to enjoy on a hot summers day or night and I think you will at least agree it is one heck of a very fine bier!
This evening, in about a half hour or less, I intend to enjoy my third of the day with dinner. Besides being a fine bier on its own, it is also exceptional with a meal. There are not many brewers who can boast that their product is as good or better with a meal than a fine wine but weizen bier, especially hefe weizen bier, lends itself to the dining experience. That is especially true for things like steak, seafood, roasts of lamb or pork or beef, or things like stews, but it goes almost as well with a garden salad a soup and a piece of bread. With a liverwurst or sardine sandwich, both smothered with horseradish and spicy mustard on heavy Lithuanian Bread or Corn Rye, there is nothing better in my esteem. Tonight though, it will be enjoyed with rib eye steak, homemade German potato salad, homemade macaroni salad, corn on the cob, and fruit for dessert.
As a wise man once said - "Try it, you'll like it"! As my mom used to say: Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best Paulaner - Paulaner Hefe-Weizen (well maybe I changed that just a little from what my mom used to say but you get the idea). It is a great tasting bier. Enjoy it but it enjoy responsibly.
All the best,
Glenn B
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen Bier (also hefe weisbier) is one of my all time favorite golden brews. It is a product of Germany, brewed and bottled by Paulaner Brauerei in Munich. As they tell you on the label, it is brewed "...to the exacting standard of Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian Purity law of 1516". Imagine that today, something made by the standards set for it 495 years ago! I can only tell you this, that has got to be one of the best laws ever because German biers are the best, and Paulaner Hefe Weizen is among the best of the best. This bier may well be my all time favorite although that is debatable depending upon which of my favorites is set before me at any given moment. That it is my favorite bier to drink in the summertime, when the living is easy, is indisputable- at least when I am still sober.
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, as the name says, is a wheat (weizen) bier that also has yeast (hefe) in it. Of course, it also contains barley malt but wheat biers are made from at least 50% wheat malt. If you have ever imbibed an American wheat bier and thought this is not the bier for me because of an overly heavy and strong hopsy taste and then shied away from biers like the Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, let me just say - you do not know what you are missing. Most American brewed wheat biers are a far cry from those brewed in Germany and leave an awful lot to be desired. I have tried several and I could never quite understand how anyone could enjoy most American brewed weizen biers because they taste nothing like weizen bier is supposed to taste. How do I know how they are supposed to taste? Well, the Germans, if not the creators of wheat bier and I do believe they did create it, certainly are the master brewers of it and have made its production a both a science and an art. Paulaner itself has been around since 1634. You can bet they got it right! In my opinion, biers like Sam Addams, and other American brews, simply do not even come close to the essence of it! The only one that comes within even a country mile would be Blue Moon Belgian White but I think even that one is at least a mile off the mark.
I strongly encourage you to try this fine bier. Don't have a sip or even a full bier and then say, I do not like it and leave it at that. Sit back, crack one open, pour it very slowly into a tilted glass. Enjoy the aroma, check out the thick and cloudy consistency caused by the yeast, take a sip. Then take another and another. Make sure it is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit or colder (I prefer mine pretty cold but up to 50 is okay). Then have a second and a third - make sure you are not driving or operating any machinery except a maybe a lounge chair. Drink slowly, sip them, enjoy them. If you want, take a lemon wedge and crush it into the bier, I though prefer it nix zitrone! Then stop, sit back and think do you really prefer: Bud Light, or Amstel, or Budweiser, or Coors, or any variety of Sam Addams, or Harpoon IPA, or Chimay Ale, Guiness Stout, Heineken, Sierra Nevada Anything, or even one of my other best among the best - Ommegang Ale, or any other bier you can think of for a really hot summertime day. You may but for me this is the absolute best bier to enjoy on a hot summers day or night and I think you will at least agree it is one heck of a very fine bier!
This evening, in about a half hour or less, I intend to enjoy my third of the day with dinner. Besides being a fine bier on its own, it is also exceptional with a meal. There are not many brewers who can boast that their product is as good or better with a meal than a fine wine but weizen bier, especially hefe weizen bier, lends itself to the dining experience. That is especially true for things like steak, seafood, roasts of lamb or pork or beef, or things like stews, but it goes almost as well with a garden salad a soup and a piece of bread. With a liverwurst or sardine sandwich, both smothered with horseradish and spicy mustard on heavy Lithuanian Bread or Corn Rye, there is nothing better in my esteem. Tonight though, it will be enjoyed with rib eye steak, homemade German potato salad, homemade macaroni salad, corn on the cob, and fruit for dessert.
As a wise man once said - "Try it, you'll like it"! As my mom used to say: Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, July 1, 2011
Border Patrol Agent's Killer Sentenced To Life
In January 2008, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar was run down by Mexican drug smugglers as he tried to lay spikes across their vehicle's path to flatten its tires. I wrote about Agent Aguilar's tragic death, and the scant attention it received at first, here.
His killer, Jesus Navarro Montes was apprehended a short time later in Mexico, released by a Mexican judge, arrested again and ultimately extradited to the USA. I wrote about his first arrest, and the scant coverage it received, here.
The killer was convicted in Agent Aguilar's death just this April. Today, it was reported by Fox news, that Navarro was sentenced to life without chance of parole. See the report here:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/01/feds-seek-life-sentence-in-border-agents-death/?test=latestnews
Every now and then justice is done. Though I would rather that justice had been served extra crispy this time, I suppose if they could not execute him then life in prison was the next best thing.
All the best,
Glenn B
His killer, Jesus Navarro Montes was apprehended a short time later in Mexico, released by a Mexican judge, arrested again and ultimately extradited to the USA. I wrote about his first arrest, and the scant coverage it received, here.
The killer was convicted in Agent Aguilar's death just this April. Today, it was reported by Fox news, that Navarro was sentenced to life without chance of parole. See the report here:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/01/feds-seek-life-sentence-in-border-agents-death/?test=latestnews
Every now and then justice is done. Though I would rather that justice had been served extra crispy this time, I suppose if they could not execute him then life in prison was the next best thing.
All the best,
Glenn B
Being Responsible For Your Firearms...
...can prevent things like you are about to see in the below video. Reader Mike G sent me a link to a text version of the story and I went and searched it out a bit more, finding the video news cast.
The ultimate responsibility for a firearm is the person who is using it, in most cases the owner, or in this case the officer to whom it was assigned. I am not posting any of this here to bash the police or the police officers who were involved in what must have been this very embarrassing incident of a wayward rifle but rather to remind you that you must be responsible for firearms under your control.
In this case, luckily, passers by flagged down other officers and notified them that a rifle was getting a free ride on the back of a police car. As you can imagine, the officers involved were darned lucky it did not fall off of the car, or that someone did not grab it and take off with it, or worse yet - start shooting with it. As for the officer driving the car, if the story is really as it is being hypothesized right now, I sympathize for her because she will probably be disciplined because this is going to wind up being a big Magilla not caused by her. As for the officer who left it on the car, well - he probably should get what is coming to him in the form of discipline and I would feel little sympathy for him as long as the discipline does not go overboard.
I do wonder though if his being involved in a fatal shooting recently had anything to do with his forgetfulness, especially with regard to firearms. The psychological stress of a shooting incident can effect people in many ways. Regardless, I think he needs to be disciplined in some form and maybe needs some counseling too at least as far as to how to handle firearms responsibly. Brain farts can happen to anyone, I speak by way of personal experience on that one, but you really need to try to avoid them when it comes to guns.
All the best,
Glenn B
The ultimate responsibility for a firearm is the person who is using it, in most cases the owner, or in this case the officer to whom it was assigned. I am not posting any of this here to bash the police or the police officers who were involved in what must have been this very embarrassing incident of a wayward rifle but rather to remind you that you must be responsible for firearms under your control.
In this case, luckily, passers by flagged down other officers and notified them that a rifle was getting a free ride on the back of a police car. As you can imagine, the officers involved were darned lucky it did not fall off of the car, or that someone did not grab it and take off with it, or worse yet - start shooting with it. As for the officer driving the car, if the story is really as it is being hypothesized right now, I sympathize for her because she will probably be disciplined because this is going to wind up being a big Magilla not caused by her. As for the officer who left it on the car, well - he probably should get what is coming to him in the form of discipline and I would feel little sympathy for him as long as the discipline does not go overboard.
I do wonder though if his being involved in a fatal shooting recently had anything to do with his forgetfulness, especially with regard to firearms. The psychological stress of a shooting incident can effect people in many ways. Regardless, I think he needs to be disciplined in some form and maybe needs some counseling too at least as far as to how to handle firearms responsibly. Brain farts can happen to anyone, I speak by way of personal experience on that one, but you really need to try to avoid them when it comes to guns.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, June 30, 2011
The Final Year - 6 Months Down, 6 Months To Go Until...
...the end of the world as I know it. In other words, until I retire on December 31, 2011. Almost there, I can almost see the end of the trail.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monsters Among Us - How Friggin Sick Can We Become...
...before we start ripping out and destroying the truly malignant members of our society. If the suspect, in the article at this link (be aware this link describes an alleged horrific crime against an infant), is convicted of sexually abusing his alleged 1 year old victim and causing the alleged injuries then, I think, 5,000 lashes followed by a slow and torturous death would be too good for him.
But you know, as well as do I, that some ultra douche-bag of a whining mealy mouthed leftist liberal apologist will try to make him out as a socially tormented and victimized youth who needs our love, guidance and understanding to try to turn him into a sensitive and useful member of our currently sick society. If up to me, he would get a very swift trial, and then, if found guilty, a swifter running through of appeals and a none too swift and very public execution. Maybe first, if found guilty, he should be left in the general population of a major prison for about a week with minimal supervision but I suppose that would be illegal or unethical or immoral. Yep, I wouldn't mind that at all but I would settle for doing it legally and frying him as soon as possible if he was to be found guilty and the death penalty was an option. As per the article, i looks as if the death penalty is not an option in this particular case and the most he can face, if convicted, is life in prison with maybe some additional years tagged on.
Now think about this all for a minute, isn't it about time we started killing off all the weeds at every opportunity. I mean legally too, but I also mean isn't it about time we changed our attitudes, our ethics, our morality not to tolerate the monsters among us and to weed them out whenever we could do so legally. We aren't doing it now, but I think we should be, because if we were doing it there probably would literally be tens of thousands of criminals less in our jails and on our streets, heck maybe hundreds of thousands less.
All the best,
Glenn B
But you know, as well as do I, that some ultra douche-bag of a whining mealy mouthed leftist liberal apologist will try to make him out as a socially tormented and victimized youth who needs our love, guidance and understanding to try to turn him into a sensitive and useful member of our currently sick society. If up to me, he would get a very swift trial, and then, if found guilty, a swifter running through of appeals and a none too swift and very public execution. Maybe first, if found guilty, he should be left in the general population of a major prison for about a week with minimal supervision but I suppose that would be illegal or unethical or immoral. Yep, I wouldn't mind that at all but I would settle for doing it legally and frying him as soon as possible if he was to be found guilty and the death penalty was an option. As per the article, i looks as if the death penalty is not an option in this particular case and the most he can face, if convicted, is life in prison with maybe some additional years tagged on.
Now think about this all for a minute, isn't it about time we started killing off all the weeds at every opportunity. I mean legally too, but I also mean isn't it about time we changed our attitudes, our ethics, our morality not to tolerate the monsters among us and to weed them out whenever we could do so legally. We aren't doing it now, but I think we should be, because if we were doing it there probably would literally be tens of thousands of criminals less in our jails and on our streets, heck maybe hundreds of thousands less.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
My House's Value Has Dropped...
...over $15,000 in the past 30 days as per Zillow.com! Ouch. It is down in value about $110,000 since 2007. Ouch again. Still though, to think it dropped 15 grand in a month is humbling and scary. So much for being out of the recession, well that is what they (our fearless & clueless leaders) have been saying in DC for quite some time now. Funny it sure does not seem like we are out of it.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Oh That Aching Back of Mine...
...has not ached me like it is now for quite some time. In fact, it has been hurting me enough to have made me call in to work sick for the past 2 days. Add the back pain to the insomnia of the past couple of nights and you can safely bet that I have been pretty miserable. More miserable still when you consider how things have been going for me in my...nah, I will keep the lid on that one - it is personal not physical, so I'll quit while I am ahead. Time for me to go take an Aleve or two.
Later 4 U,
Glenn B
Later 4 U,
Glenn B
Monday, June 27, 2011
Pistol Shooting: Grip, Grip, Grip - That's What It's All About...
...well, almost what it is all about. It certainly was what it was all about for me at the NRA instructor's training course I just completed as far as my shooting went. When the class began on Monday, one of the instructors (an old coot like me, maybe even older than me) asked if anyone in the class had a grip that included wrapping the index finger of the support hand around the front of the trigger guard. No one raised their hand, including me. Later on the range, my coach/instructor and I got a yelling at, a jovial good natured one at that, for me having my left index finger wrapped just that way. That my coach/instructor had not caught it was no surprise, that I had not realized that I held my pistol that way was a surprise. Imagine being that out iof touch with how you do something not to realize how you do it. Chances are that I have been doing it for years and it had become part of my natural grip - so much so that I did not even think about it when asked. I got caught doing it several times over the next 3 days, I think I was broke of it by day 4. Sometimes my coach/instructors saw me doing it; other times one of the instructors for the class would catch me. They frowned on it as a poor grip, they insisted we not use and harped on our us when we were acting as coach/instructors to catch our shooter when he or she was doing it. Each day we were split up into teams of 2, each taking turns, throughout the day, as shooter or as coach/instructor.
Okay, so I stopped doing it. What was the result? Truth be told, the result was that I was shooting better. I had been shooting a bit to the left with each of the handguns I carry on the job - my Glock 26 and my issued SIG 229. How would changing that grip with my index finger around the trigger guard to one with all 4 fingers around the grip change my point of aim? I am guessing that the index finger around the trigger guard was pulling slightly to the left and with it up high around the trigger guard it had enough purchase to twist the grip ever so slightly to the left. I was not using too much trigger finger, I did not change how I applied the old booger picker on the right side, so it seems that had to be it.
I mention the trigger finger because other folks in class obviously had a lot of problems with how they applied pressure to the trigger, almost all of those problems based upon how their trigger fingers connected with the trigger. The important thing for me about both of these points, other than I improved my shooting by improving my grip, is that I was reminded of a couple of very basic things to pay attention to when teaching others the basics, or when trying to correct for deficiencies (aka acquired bad habits) even when it is an experienced shooter who I am overseeing at the range. While the finger being wrapped around the front of the trigger guard is an obvious thing to look for, improper finger/trigger connection is not quite as easy to spot. One tip we were given is to look at how the trigger finger aligns along the frame of the pistol. A bit of space between it and the frame is an indication that just enough finger is on the trigger. On the other hand, if the finger is right up against the frame, chances are there is too much finger on the trigger. This is not a definite for each shooter if only because peoples fingers and hands differ in size as do various pistols. It is simply something by which one can begin to judge whether or not the shooter is getting it right and is one of the first things to look at after the grip when watching a shooter to see if he or she is getting it right.
I have to say, when folks listened to what needed to be corrected, and then did what needed to be done, with regard to their grip and or with regard to trigger push (that is what they are calling it now), their shooting improved markedly. In addition my instructing skills got a well needed reminder.
All the best,
Glenn B
Okay, so I stopped doing it. What was the result? Truth be told, the result was that I was shooting better. I had been shooting a bit to the left with each of the handguns I carry on the job - my Glock 26 and my issued SIG 229. How would changing that grip with my index finger around the trigger guard to one with all 4 fingers around the grip change my point of aim? I am guessing that the index finger around the trigger guard was pulling slightly to the left and with it up high around the trigger guard it had enough purchase to twist the grip ever so slightly to the left. I was not using too much trigger finger, I did not change how I applied the old booger picker on the right side, so it seems that had to be it.
I mention the trigger finger because other folks in class obviously had a lot of problems with how they applied pressure to the trigger, almost all of those problems based upon how their trigger fingers connected with the trigger. The important thing for me about both of these points, other than I improved my shooting by improving my grip, is that I was reminded of a couple of very basic things to pay attention to when teaching others the basics, or when trying to correct for deficiencies (aka acquired bad habits) even when it is an experienced shooter who I am overseeing at the range. While the finger being wrapped around the front of the trigger guard is an obvious thing to look for, improper finger/trigger connection is not quite as easy to spot. One tip we were given is to look at how the trigger finger aligns along the frame of the pistol. A bit of space between it and the frame is an indication that just enough finger is on the trigger. On the other hand, if the finger is right up against the frame, chances are there is too much finger on the trigger. This is not a definite for each shooter if only because peoples fingers and hands differ in size as do various pistols. It is simply something by which one can begin to judge whether or not the shooter is getting it right and is one of the first things to look at after the grip when watching a shooter to see if he or she is getting it right.
I have to say, when folks listened to what needed to be corrected, and then did what needed to be done, with regard to their grip and or with regard to trigger push (that is what they are calling it now), their shooting improved markedly. In addition my instructing skills got a well needed reminder.
All the best,
Glenn B
Insomnia, That Old Friend Of Mine...
...has paid me a visit once again. I am hopeful that soon after July 7, the date of my next sleep study, the visits will cease. Time will tell, perhaps.
Back under the covers for me, I need to try to catch some Z's.
All the best,
Glenn B
Back under the covers for me, I need to try to catch some Z's.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Not Yet An NRA Certified Law Enforcement Instructor For Handgun & Shotgun...
...but it should be a matter of time and nothing more until I receive my certification. I successfully completed the NRA Law Enforcement Handgun & Shotgun Instructor Development School, in Allentown, PA, yesterday. I am quite happy to say I shot 100% on both the pistol and shotgun qualification courses even though I thought it was a pretty easy course of fire. Still, all it would have taken to fail would have been 2 fliers on the pistol course and 1 on the shotgun course to flunk. (Heaven knows I am all too familiar with fliers.) That was what it took for several of my classmates who had to shoot over again on one course or the other or on both of them. By the way, me saying that I thought it was easy is not braggadocio; I really thought it was pretty easy. I am a pretty good shot and am very comfortable on the range. So, I do not usually get too stressed out over tests - especially firearms quals. Yes, I do feel a bit nervous each time I fire for qualification but I can control or channel it. Most, if not all of my classmates seemed to be pretty decent shots and were able to cope with the anxiety of having to qualify but some got a case of the jitters during the quals and did not shoot a qualifying score.
One of the nicest guys in the class did not pass the pistol qual and I am certain it was all due to being nervous about the test in his case. I am sure of it because I was his coach/student partner on the last day of class prior to his final chance at the qualification course on the same day. He was shooting dead on accurately and doing it reliably the whole morning. He had told me he was nervous about qualifying and I tried to convince him not to be but it seems that his nervousness got to him regardless of my attempt to help. He did not qualify on that his third and final attempt. I think, at least one other shooter did not pass the final attempt at the shotgun qualification. She had a difficult time with her gun; my guess was it may have been new and she was not quite as familiar with it as she could have been. That unfamiliarity, or maybe it was also simply nervousness or both, made her fumble with getting the first round in the chamber at the 25 yard line. The first sequence of fire was 2 slugs from the 25 in 15 seconds. She had plenty of time but because she had fumbled loading that first round, then brought up the gun really fast and yanked off a shot, it missed the paper altogether. The second shot was in there on the scoring silhouette but one miss was all it took. Alas I said, I think she did not qualify, but maybe the instructor did not catch it since some of the wad holes could have been confused for a slug hole. If she did fail the course, she and the pistol shooter both now have a chance to make it up with a qualification in the near future without having to repeat the whole class since they passed everything else.
As far as I know, all of the 28 other students passed the qualifications by their third attempt. Most passed the first time around but it was a bit of a surprise, to me, at how many did not. I say surprising because I would think if you were going to attend a firearms instructor school you would be a fairly good shot to begin with and that includes being able to get over the anxiety of the testing. This was, after all, a course about becoming an instructor so you could teach other people to shoot and was not a basic marksmanship course so that should have been pretty much mastered already. Even though a score of 90% or higher was necessary for a passing score, the part of the silhouette that gave you that score was pretty big. The target pictured, if not the same one, is pretty darned close to the ones we used, with the area inside the gray inner ring counting as perfect hits. If all your shots were inside that ring, it meant a perfect score, head shots included. Shots in the gray area outside the inner ring counted but you could only get a couple in there and still qualify. Although I will readily admit that I have had my off days at the range, as I said, it was not that difficult a course to shoot well especially since during the pistol course the furthest distance from which we shot was (if I remember right) 15 yards. We certainly did not shoot for pistol qual from the 25 yard line. So it came as a bit of a surprise to me at how many did not qualify the first time around and even more of a surprise that instructor candidates did not all do so by the third and final chance. Thankfully though, almost everyone passed by the last day of the course. Hopefully, those who did not qualify will soon be able to meet the qualification requirement and thus pass the course.
As far as the written test went, everyone passed it. I was pretty flummoxed by one of the questions because the choices given as possible answers (the test was T/F and multiple choice) seemed almost to simple or perfect or basic or whatever. I chose what I thought was the best of the given choices and moved on. When I thought about it some more, I went back and changed my answer to the choice that was more inclusive. I usually do not change my answers on M/C tests. When I finished the test, I went back and reviewed each answer that I had made and decided I would stay with the change. I am happy I stuck with it because when the tests were scored I got 100% correct on mine.
After the test was over and scored, the instructors handed out the completion certificates. Note, I did not say they handed out firearms instructor certifications. In order to get one of those, a successful instructor course student would have to apply for one from the NRA. To be eligible for the certification you have to be an NRA member or would have to join at the time you applied. If you did so within 30 days of the course completion, the certification would be free. If you waited until after 30 days, the certification would cost $30. Hmm, isn’t that the cost of a one year NRA membership? Better to apply right away and join up if not already an NRA member and just pay $30 instead of 2x$30. I was already a Life Member of the NRA, so my application for certification was handed in directly to one of the course instructors who should be forwarding it to NRA HQ. I am supposed to receive my certification within 2 weeks of course completion, I guess that means by about July 8th. In other words, even though I successfully completed the course, I am not yet a certified instructor but I should be one soon.
Next up for me, along the line of firearms instructor training, probably will be the regular NRA firearms instructor courses as follow: NRA Instructor Personal Protection In The Home Course, NRA Home Firearm Safety Instructor Course, NRA Instructor Pistol Shooting Course and the NRA Instructor Shotgun Shooting Course. I may also take the Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor course and the basic reloading course. These are all non-law enforcement courses. Yes, I am retiring at the end of this year if all goes as planned so I am hoping that becoming certified in some of these areas will give me a way to supplement my retirement pay, including the LE Instructor course I just completed. Who knows, I may find a job as a firearms instructor with a private company or with a LE department somewhere in my area or may be able to freelance.
So far, I have been to 2 NRA training courses, and was trained by NRA certified instructors during other courses in addition to similar courses I took with my agencies over the many years of my career. Both times I attended NRA courses, the instructors were: knowledgeable, open to suggestions, very professional and personable folks. The 4 instructors we had for the course I took this week were truly all gentlemen and all knew their stuff when it came to firearms instructing. I would be happy to be in a class with all or any of them again. In addition to the instructors, the course material was very good and to the point. There maybe was a little room for improvement as far as course content went but not much at all. These NRA courses have something else going for them besides good instructors and good content. As can be seen from what I mentioned above, just because you paid to attend the course does not mean you are going to pass it. It gives much more credibility to any certification gained when the course grade is not just a gimme based upon who paid the tuition. I have got to hand it to the NRA, they have got their act together pretty well when it comes to firearms training. I highly recommend NRA training for anyone wanting to become a certified firearms instructor.
All the best,
Glenn B
One of the nicest guys in the class did not pass the pistol qual and I am certain it was all due to being nervous about the test in his case. I am sure of it because I was his coach/student partner on the last day of class prior to his final chance at the qualification course on the same day. He was shooting dead on accurately and doing it reliably the whole morning. He had told me he was nervous about qualifying and I tried to convince him not to be but it seems that his nervousness got to him regardless of my attempt to help. He did not qualify on that his third and final attempt. I think, at least one other shooter did not pass the final attempt at the shotgun qualification. She had a difficult time with her gun; my guess was it may have been new and she was not quite as familiar with it as she could have been. That unfamiliarity, or maybe it was also simply nervousness or both, made her fumble with getting the first round in the chamber at the 25 yard line. The first sequence of fire was 2 slugs from the 25 in 15 seconds. She had plenty of time but because she had fumbled loading that first round, then brought up the gun really fast and yanked off a shot, it missed the paper altogether. The second shot was in there on the scoring silhouette but one miss was all it took. Alas I said, I think she did not qualify, but maybe the instructor did not catch it since some of the wad holes could have been confused for a slug hole. If she did fail the course, she and the pistol shooter both now have a chance to make it up with a qualification in the near future without having to repeat the whole class since they passed everything else.
As far as the written test went, everyone passed it. I was pretty flummoxed by one of the questions because the choices given as possible answers (the test was T/F and multiple choice) seemed almost to simple or perfect or basic or whatever. I chose what I thought was the best of the given choices and moved on. When I thought about it some more, I went back and changed my answer to the choice that was more inclusive. I usually do not change my answers on M/C tests. When I finished the test, I went back and reviewed each answer that I had made and decided I would stay with the change. I am happy I stuck with it because when the tests were scored I got 100% correct on mine.
After the test was over and scored, the instructors handed out the completion certificates. Note, I did not say they handed out firearms instructor certifications. In order to get one of those, a successful instructor course student would have to apply for one from the NRA. To be eligible for the certification you have to be an NRA member or would have to join at the time you applied. If you did so within 30 days of the course completion, the certification would be free. If you waited until after 30 days, the certification would cost $30. Hmm, isn’t that the cost of a one year NRA membership? Better to apply right away and join up if not already an NRA member and just pay $30 instead of 2x$30. I was already a Life Member of the NRA, so my application for certification was handed in directly to one of the course instructors who should be forwarding it to NRA HQ. I am supposed to receive my certification within 2 weeks of course completion, I guess that means by about July 8th. In other words, even though I successfully completed the course, I am not yet a certified instructor but I should be one soon.
Next up for me, along the line of firearms instructor training, probably will be the regular NRA firearms instructor courses as follow: NRA Instructor Personal Protection In The Home Course, NRA Home Firearm Safety Instructor Course, NRA Instructor Pistol Shooting Course and the NRA Instructor Shotgun Shooting Course. I may also take the Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor course and the basic reloading course. These are all non-law enforcement courses. Yes, I am retiring at the end of this year if all goes as planned so I am hoping that becoming certified in some of these areas will give me a way to supplement my retirement pay, including the LE Instructor course I just completed. Who knows, I may find a job as a firearms instructor with a private company or with a LE department somewhere in my area or may be able to freelance.
So far, I have been to 2 NRA training courses, and was trained by NRA certified instructors during other courses in addition to similar courses I took with my agencies over the many years of my career. Both times I attended NRA courses, the instructors were: knowledgeable, open to suggestions, very professional and personable folks. The 4 instructors we had for the course I took this week were truly all gentlemen and all knew their stuff when it came to firearms instructing. I would be happy to be in a class with all or any of them again. In addition to the instructors, the course material was very good and to the point. There maybe was a little room for improvement as far as course content went but not much at all. These NRA courses have something else going for them besides good instructors and good content. As can be seen from what I mentioned above, just because you paid to attend the course does not mean you are going to pass it. It gives much more credibility to any certification gained when the course grade is not just a gimme based upon who paid the tuition. I have got to hand it to the NRA, they have got their act together pretty well when it comes to firearms training. I highly recommend NRA training for anyone wanting to become a certified firearms instructor.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, June 23, 2011
That Remington 870 & Me - We Still Do That Same Old Magic...
... but oh how my shoulder hurts ever so much more from it now than it ever did when I and the 870 were younger. It hurts because, at the NRA training to day, in Allentown, we fired a lot of shotgun rounds. Mostly it was bird shot and about 20 rounds of buck shot and another 20 slugs in the mix. The first go round that we fired slugs, we fired from 5 from 15 yards and 5 from 25 yards. I had a single hole about the size of the knuckle side of my fist (not including holes from the wads). I looked up and down the line and saw only 2 other shooters out of 30 had even come close to that. Granted, I was shooting slow-fire but so was everyone else and I finished before mos of them. Next time we fired slugs, I had 9 of 10 shots in about a 6" group with one flier about 2" further out. That was for qualification and I fired as fast as I could fire while most of the other shooters fired fairly slowly. My coach for the day told me to slow down but I kept up the pace. That is how I shoot for shotgun quals, as if my life depended on it in a firefight. My group was not as good was my earlier one but my score was perfect 10 out of 10.
Surprisingly 8 of 30 shooters (I am pretty sure of that number) did not qualify on the first go round! At the NRA training to day, in Allentown, we fired a lot of shotgun rounds. Mostly it was bird shot and about 20 rounds of buck shot and another 20 slugs in the mix. The first go round that we fired slugs, we fired from 5 from 15 yards and 5 from 25 yards. I had a single hole about the size of the knuckle side of my fist (not including holes from the wads). I looked up and down the line and saw only 2 other shooters out of 30 had even come close to that. Granted, I was shooting slow-fire but so was everyone else and I finished before mos of them. Next time we fired slugs, I had 9 of 10 shots in about a 6" group with one flier about 2" further out. That was for qualification and I fired as fast as I could fire while most of the other shooters fired fairly slowly. My coach for the day told me to slow down but I kept up the pace. That is how I shoot for shotgun quals, as if my life depended on it in a firefight. My group was not as good was my earlier one but my score was perfect 10 out of 10. As for my pistol qual, it was pretty good but nowhere nearly as good as a couple to a few of the other guys in this class. Still though, when I looked up and down the line at targets, I am guessing I would have been ranked about 4th or 5th out of 30 shooters if they assigned a numeric score.
Surprisingly 8 of 30 shotgun shooters did not qualify today on the first go round for shotgun. I do not know how they did on their 2nd attempts. In addition to that, I heard that 10 of my classmates did not qualify with pistol yesterday on the first go round. A few of them must have qualified on their second chance but there were at least a half dozen of them who stayed after class today to practice for their last chance to qualify tomorrow with pistol.
We all are afforded 3 chances to qualify, to pass the instructor training course, and I am betting everyone will have qualified by tomorrow. It would really stink to attend this class for 5 days and then to be flunked out because of not shooting a high enough score while passing everything else. While the course is an instructor course, and not really about shooting ability, I think the NRA looks at it as: If you cannot maintain a high enough proficiency with firearms and with shooting them then how can you be expected to give instruction in the same. As I said though, I think all will make it. I am pretty sure those who did not yet qualify only messed up because of the jitters and nothing more. That has been a common occurrence in other classes I have taken over the years, it seems a lot of folks get nervous when taking a class like this. Most everyone usually gets over it at crunch time and pulls through. I am hoping it will be likewise for this class because all of the folks in the class are really nice people. As for me, I am done, I qualified with both pistol and shotgun on the first attempt and do not have to try again.
All the best,
Glenn B
Surprisingly 8 of 30 shooters (I am pretty sure of that number) did not qualify on the first go round! At the NRA training to day, in Allentown, we fired a lot of shotgun rounds. Mostly it was bird shot and about 20 rounds of buck shot and another 20 slugs in the mix. The first go round that we fired slugs, we fired from 5 from 15 yards and 5 from 25 yards. I had a single hole about the size of the knuckle side of my fist (not including holes from the wads). I looked up and down the line and saw only 2 other shooters out of 30 had even come close to that. Granted, I was shooting slow-fire but so was everyone else and I finished before mos of them. Next time we fired slugs, I had 9 of 10 shots in about a 6" group with one flier about 2" further out. That was for qualification and I fired as fast as I could fire while most of the other shooters fired fairly slowly. My coach for the day told me to slow down but I kept up the pace. That is how I shoot for shotgun quals, as if my life depended on it in a firefight. My group was not as good was my earlier one but my score was perfect 10 out of 10. As for my pistol qual, it was pretty good but nowhere nearly as good as a couple to a few of the other guys in this class. Still though, when I looked up and down the line at targets, I am guessing I would have been ranked about 4th or 5th out of 30 shooters if they assigned a numeric score.
Surprisingly 8 of 30 shotgun shooters did not qualify today on the first go round for shotgun. I do not know how they did on their 2nd attempts. In addition to that, I heard that 10 of my classmates did not qualify with pistol yesterday on the first go round. A few of them must have qualified on their second chance but there were at least a half dozen of them who stayed after class today to practice for their last chance to qualify tomorrow with pistol.
We all are afforded 3 chances to qualify, to pass the instructor training course, and I am betting everyone will have qualified by tomorrow. It would really stink to attend this class for 5 days and then to be flunked out because of not shooting a high enough score while passing everything else. While the course is an instructor course, and not really about shooting ability, I think the NRA looks at it as: If you cannot maintain a high enough proficiency with firearms and with shooting them then how can you be expected to give instruction in the same. As I said though, I think all will make it. I am pretty sure those who did not yet qualify only messed up because of the jitters and nothing more. That has been a common occurrence in other classes I have taken over the years, it seems a lot of folks get nervous when taking a class like this. Most everyone usually gets over it at crunch time and pulls through. I am hoping it will be likewise for this class because all of the folks in the class are really nice people. As for me, I am done, I qualified with both pistol and shotgun on the first attempt and do not have to try again.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A Side Trip To Cabela's
My hotel is about 31 or 32 miles from Cabela's, so how could anyone blame me for driving there last night! Of course, once I was there, how could I not buy at least something. Well, really it would have been easy not to buy a thing but I bought some stuff anyway. I picked up 3 shirts for myself. I think they are called golf shirts or are they polo shirts? Whatever hey are called, I got three of them, all long tailed (good to cover the pistol when carrying), and they were only $11.00 each. A good deal. I also picked up a magazine for my Ruger MKII, got a t-shirt for my son and picked a container of candied nuts for my wife (to placate her just in case she winds up being the one person to blame me for going to Cabela's last night). Since i did not see anything I thought my daughter would like, I had better get something for her somewhere else or I will really be in the doghouse when I get home.
As for today, we started the NRA training at 0800 and got finished up around 2200. It was a long day so no ore blogging for me tonight. I have got to crawl under the sheets to get some sleep because I have to be back in the classroom tomorrow at 0800.
All the best,
Glenn B
As for today, we started the NRA training at 0800 and got finished up around 2200. It was a long day so no ore blogging for me tonight. I have got to crawl under the sheets to get some sleep because I have to be back in the classroom tomorrow at 0800.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, June 20, 2011
NRA LE Handgun/Shotgun Instructor Course - Day 1
I awakened from an uneasy sleep this morning at 0545. Man I was not ready to pull my butt out from under the sheets but I managed to get up and get myself going by about 0555. A quick shower and out to the reception area for a free full breakfast. I like this hotel, Homewood Suites (Hilton Hotels). I got a nice quiet room as I requested, they have great service, and they give a free breakfast and free dinner each day. Add to that the rooms are big, clean and have free HBO (all the HBO channels) and free wi-fi and I must say it is a great deal, especially for my Hilton Honors points which makes it free.
After breakfast of bacon, eggs, a bagel, OJ and coffee, it was off to the range at the super secret location in Allentown, PA (whoops - did I just mention the location). I was there by 0715, about 15 minutes early. I am guessing that a little under half of the students, and all of the instructors, were there ahead of me and the rest of my classmates arrived shortly. The morning was spent in the classroom and it went by quickly. The mount of material that was covered was fairly impressive but not overwhelming. The instructors for this class all seem on the ball and seem to know the material very well.
Lunch time arrived at about 1230, lasted till 1345, and ran about as fast as sand through your fingers for me. I decided to head back to my hotel to eat my lunch there - just some things I had gotten at the supermarket last night. Well, it took most of my time driving there and back to the range so I had about all of 15 minutes to makes and wolf down a sandwich. Tomorrow, I'll either bring lunch with me or it local to the range.
In the afternoon portion of the course we had a bit more of classroom work, then out to the range for live fire exercises with pistol. We shot close too 150 rounds. The class is made up of 30 students and today we paired off into teams of 2 students each. As one shot the other would coach/instruct and we alternated who was shooting and who was coaching. After all, this is not a shooting course but an instructor course. We covered a variety of different shooting techniques paying attention to stance, grip, sight alignment, quick draw, scanning for threats, reholstering and on and on. We also ran through a good number of drills such as speed (or combat) reloading, tactical reloads (magazine exchanges), malfunction drills, and other shooting drills during which the coach would observe the shooter to make sure he or she was doing it right and if not then would offer instructive suggestions and corrections as well as offering positive feedback when things were done right. While everything is geared not so much toward making the shooters better marksmen but toward the students into instructors there was still a lot of attention paid to each shooter by their partner coaches and by the instructors who were teaching the class. I was corrected several times on my grip. The one I often use no being what they are teaching in this course and it is taking a bit of getting used to changing something I have done differently for years. My stance was also corrected once or twice, they don't like a partial Weaver stance and I understand the reasoning. I usually try to change my stance at least a few times during any given course of fire I am shooting because I think that is the most realistic way to change because there is just no way you can always assume just one given stance in a real life shooting. For example, maybe in one situation the isosceles stance will work, maybe in another the Weaver would be more appropriate, maybe in another there would be a better choice than either of those. The thing is though, I am in training and will go with the flow of what they are teaching and use the stance they showed me, it will just take a bit of getting used to for now.
Regardless of using a slightly different grip and a somewhat different stance, than I usually do, I did not notice much of an effect if any on my shooting except that maybe there was a bit of improvement laterally in shot placement. There is always room for improvement and I welcomed it, I would think it due to the different grip if anything but it is not that much of an improvement so I am not sure of what caused it. I will se if it is consistent when I shoot tomorrow. If so, then I will have that much more incentive to continue using the new grip. not just. Besides room for improvement, there is always something new you can learn in classes like this one. I learned a couple of new things today; nothing earth shattering and probably stuff that many of you already know but it was new to me. Learning new stuff that is helpful is a good thing. I am looking forward to the next few days of the training, especially to the shotgun portion of the training on Thursday and Friday although maybe my right shoulder is not in any hurry to participate in that part of the course.
We broke for the day at about 1730. Tomorrow we start at 0800 instead of 0730 like today. I think we get out at 1730 tomorrow too. If so, and if I am feeling up to it, I may drive to Cabella's. I called them earlier tonight and found out they are open until 9 on weekdays, so that would give me plenty of time to stop there and, if nothing else, at least do a little window shopping. For now I have to call it quits and crawl under the covers. it is later than I thought and I need to be up by about 0600.
All the best,
Glenn B
After breakfast of bacon, eggs, a bagel, OJ and coffee, it was off to the range at the super secret location in Allentown, PA (whoops - did I just mention the location). I was there by 0715, about 15 minutes early. I am guessing that a little under half of the students, and all of the instructors, were there ahead of me and the rest of my classmates arrived shortly. The morning was spent in the classroom and it went by quickly. The mount of material that was covered was fairly impressive but not overwhelming. The instructors for this class all seem on the ball and seem to know the material very well.
Lunch time arrived at about 1230, lasted till 1345, and ran about as fast as sand through your fingers for me. I decided to head back to my hotel to eat my lunch there - just some things I had gotten at the supermarket last night. Well, it took most of my time driving there and back to the range so I had about all of 15 minutes to makes and wolf down a sandwich. Tomorrow, I'll either bring lunch with me or it local to the range.
In the afternoon portion of the course we had a bit more of classroom work, then out to the range for live fire exercises with pistol. We shot close too 150 rounds. The class is made up of 30 students and today we paired off into teams of 2 students each. As one shot the other would coach/instruct and we alternated who was shooting and who was coaching. After all, this is not a shooting course but an instructor course. We covered a variety of different shooting techniques paying attention to stance, grip, sight alignment, quick draw, scanning for threats, reholstering and on and on. We also ran through a good number of drills such as speed (or combat) reloading, tactical reloads (magazine exchanges), malfunction drills, and other shooting drills during which the coach would observe the shooter to make sure he or she was doing it right and if not then would offer instructive suggestions and corrections as well as offering positive feedback when things were done right. While everything is geared not so much toward making the shooters better marksmen but toward the students into instructors there was still a lot of attention paid to each shooter by their partner coaches and by the instructors who were teaching the class. I was corrected several times on my grip. The one I often use no being what they are teaching in this course and it is taking a bit of getting used to changing something I have done differently for years. My stance was also corrected once or twice, they don't like a partial Weaver stance and I understand the reasoning. I usually try to change my stance at least a few times during any given course of fire I am shooting because I think that is the most realistic way to change because there is just no way you can always assume just one given stance in a real life shooting. For example, maybe in one situation the isosceles stance will work, maybe in another the Weaver would be more appropriate, maybe in another there would be a better choice than either of those. The thing is though, I am in training and will go with the flow of what they are teaching and use the stance they showed me, it will just take a bit of getting used to for now.
Regardless of using a slightly different grip and a somewhat different stance, than I usually do, I did not notice much of an effect if any on my shooting except that maybe there was a bit of improvement laterally in shot placement. There is always room for improvement and I welcomed it, I would think it due to the different grip if anything but it is not that much of an improvement so I am not sure of what caused it. I will se if it is consistent when I shoot tomorrow. If so, then I will have that much more incentive to continue using the new grip. not just. Besides room for improvement, there is always something new you can learn in classes like this one. I learned a couple of new things today; nothing earth shattering and probably stuff that many of you already know but it was new to me. Learning new stuff that is helpful is a good thing. I am looking forward to the next few days of the training, especially to the shotgun portion of the training on Thursday and Friday although maybe my right shoulder is not in any hurry to participate in that part of the course.
We broke for the day at about 1730. Tomorrow we start at 0800 instead of 0730 like today. I think we get out at 1730 tomorrow too. If so, and if I am feeling up to it, I may drive to Cabella's. I called them earlier tonight and found out they are open until 9 on weekdays, so that would give me plenty of time to stop there and, if nothing else, at least do a little window shopping. For now I have to call it quits and crawl under the covers. it is later than I thought and I need to be up by about 0600.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there (at least to the good ones).
A special Happy Father's Day wish to my Uncle Ken, he has been more of a father to me than was my own father.
All the best,
GB
A special Happy Father's Day wish to my Uncle Ken, he has been more of a father to me than was my own father.
All the best,
GB
Insomnia Leaves Me Packing For The Trip To The NRA LE Development School
I have been busy getting things ready and packing, for my trip later today, for about the last 2 hours and I have not packed any clothes yet! What has kept me that busy has been making sure I have all the gear I will need for the course. That includes:
Glock 26, 9mm pistol
Holster for pistol
10 magazines
Extra double mag pouch
Ammo can with 900 rounds of 9mm ammo
Remington 870 Shotgun
Sling for shotgun
Case for shotgun
Gun sock for shotgun
Ammo can with 20 rounds buckshot,
50 rounds of slugs and 100 rounds of #9 shot
250 rounds of .40S&W (in case I decide
to have some fun with the SIG 229)
Shooting glasses
Shooting ear muffs
Ear plugs
Range box
Range bag
Firearms cleaning kit
Cleaning solvent
Breakfree CLP
Screwdriver set
Glock armorer's tool
Brimmed cap (a boonie hat)
Rain gear (a poncho)
Boots
Camera & batteries
USB cord for camera
High blood pressure medication
Survival pack
Later today, I will pack clothing and toiletries for the trip, throw everything into the Toyota Corolla, go to the ATM at my bank for some cash, then hit the road. Before doing any of that, I will go see my mom for a nice father's day visit. (On Saturday my family took me out for dinner. My son gave me a bottle of Tequila and my daughter paid for half of the dinner, my wife paid for the other half. Not bad presents at all and a very nice father's Day for me albeit a day early.)
Now that I am done with my packing my gear, I guess I should get done with the blogging and hit the hay. The rest of today promises to be a long one.
All the best,
Glenn B
Glock 26, 9mm pistol
Holster for pistol
10 magazines
Extra double mag pouch
Ammo can with 900 rounds of 9mm ammo
Remington 870 Shotgun
Sling for shotgun
Case for shotgun
Gun sock for shotgun
Ammo can with 20 rounds buckshot,
50 rounds of slugs and 100 rounds of #9 shot
250 rounds of .40S&W (in case I decide
to have some fun with the SIG 229)
Shooting glasses
Shooting ear muffs
Ear plugs
Range box
Range bag
Firearms cleaning kit
Cleaning solvent
Breakfree CLP
Screwdriver set
Glock armorer's tool
Brimmed cap (a boonie hat)
Rain gear (a poncho)
Boots
Camera & batteries
USB cord for camera
High blood pressure medication
Survival pack
Later today, I will pack clothing and toiletries for the trip, throw everything into the Toyota Corolla, go to the ATM at my bank for some cash, then hit the road. Before doing any of that, I will go see my mom for a nice father's day visit. (On Saturday my family took me out for dinner. My son gave me a bottle of Tequila and my daughter paid for half of the dinner, my wife paid for the other half. Not bad presents at all and a very nice father's Day for me albeit a day early.)
Now that I am done with my packing my gear, I guess I should get done with the blogging and hit the hay. The rest of today promises to be a long one.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Cynops cyanurus (Blue Tailed Newts) Mating
Here is a brief video of my Blue Tailed Newts courting/mating. If they laid eggs, then chances are the eggs were eaten by their tank mates consisting of at least 1/2 dozen ghost shrimp, a few other blue tailed newts, 2 Paradise Fish and several Green Aeneus Catfish. If they are still in mating mode, when I get home after my trip for the NRA Instructor class that I am taking next week, then I'll have to segregate them in their own tank and see if the female lays eggs. If so, I imagine I'll have a regular nursery on my hands in no time with the Corn Snake eggs and Hermann's Tortoise eggs I already have in the incubator.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Tunneling Tortoises - She Did It Again!
This morning was a bit hectic for me. A friend from work was picking me up and I had to get going , it was close to the time he should be there and I don't like to keep him waiting. I grabbed a few more things, shoved my pistol into the holster and boom I let off a round grabbed something else and I was just about to run out the door when I heard a scraping noise. It was coming from the tortoise enclosure. There was the female Hermann's Tortoise, angled tail down, head up, digging with her back feet in the substrate and scraping on he bottom of the enclosure as if trying to dig a tunnel backwards. That could only mean one thing - eggs! My buddy called right then and said he was outside my door! I told him I'd be about another 5 minutes. I ran out into the yard and looked for the Cypress Mulch. of course, the bag of it was gone from where I normally kept it. I looked here and there then in the garage then in the shed then saw it under a bush up against the side fence. I grabbed it, took it down to the basement, cut it open, spilled a handful of the mulch on the carpet, poured about 1/3 the bag of it into the tortoise enclosure (the female would not lay eggs unless deep enough) dumped the bag next to the wall and ran out the door to my waiting co-worker. We headed off to work.
All would not remain hectic though, and the rest of the day was calmer. We headed to Queens and then to Brooklyn and did some checking here and there on case work. After a couple hours of that, we headed to our office's annual picnic at Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn. I did say the day was to become less hectic, didn't I! In fact it became relaxing, that is once I got over realizing that I had forgotten my credentials at home, guess my little rush had me being forgetful. No problem, the guard at the front gate of this U.S. Army military installation did not ask me for ID. My pal who, was driving, had shown his own and that seemed enough. It sure was better than not being able to get into the base because I had forgotten my wallet. It wound up we had a very nice time at the picnic.
After the picnic, my buddy drove me home and I was happy to find two things after getting there. First I found my wallet. I had left it in my work car last night. Shame on me. Then I went into the house, down to the basement, and dug up the cypress mulch in the bottom of the tortoise enclosure. I found 4 eggs. Hopefully it was warm enough in there for them to survive the several hours since they had been laid. I promptly removed them and put them into an incubator.
You may recall, that on May 30th, the same female Hermann's Tortoise laid her first clutch ever, also consisting of 4 eggs. I am still not sure if they are fertile or not but saw something when I candled them, just last night, that makes me think it is possible. I am keeping my fingers crossed for them, and for these 4 news ones, as being fertile. I will be quite the happy camper if the 8 eggs all hatch out. As I mentioned in my earlier blog about the first batch of eggs, laying to hatching can be a long wait, probably at least 70 days.Time will tell if they were fertile or not.
I figure I must have been doing something right since the female laid these eggs only 2 weeks and a few days after the first clutch. Who knows, maybe she will lay another. If so, I may have to set up a second incubator. You know, the thing about not keeping all of your eggs in the same basket, well it applies to incubators too. If one overheats or fails to heat properly, chances are you will still hatch the eggs in the other one. Heck, I may not wait to see if she lays any more eggs, I may use 2 incubators now.
As for the tortoises, I put the male and female out in the back yard just before I searched their enclosure for the eggs. They got some needed exercise and had a regular smorgasbord of goodies to munch on out there. Our Mulberry Tree is dropping fruit like there is no tomorrow and the female stopped awhile to gorge on them. The male, showing little interest in the female for a change, headed to another part of the yard. I saw the female eating at least 3 or 4 other types of plants while she was out there and then she was back at the berries. The male had a couple of strawberries to satisfy his sweet tooth (yes, I know, they don't have teeth) and after that it was back inside for both of them. I really need to make them a new outdoor enclosure so they can spend the next 3 months or so outside. I think I will get to that once I am back from my NRA Instructor training trip at the end of next week.
Right now, I need to go out to get the Redfoot Tortoises. I have them outside soaking in a large plastic concrete mixing basin ( I use it just for that sole purpose). Once they are back in their enclosure I am going to feed them a veritable berry delight.
All the best,
Glenn B
All would not remain hectic though, and the rest of the day was calmer. We headed to Queens and then to Brooklyn and did some checking here and there on case work. After a couple hours of that, we headed to our office's annual picnic at Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn. I did say the day was to become less hectic, didn't I! In fact it became relaxing, that is once I got over realizing that I had forgotten my credentials at home, guess my little rush had me being forgetful. No problem, the guard at the front gate of this U.S. Army military installation did not ask me for ID. My pal who, was driving, had shown his own and that seemed enough. It sure was better than not being able to get into the base because I had forgotten my wallet. It wound up we had a very nice time at the picnic.
After the picnic, my buddy drove me home and I was happy to find two things after getting there. First I found my wallet. I had left it in my work car last night. Shame on me. Then I went into the house, down to the basement, and dug up the cypress mulch in the bottom of the tortoise enclosure. I found 4 eggs. Hopefully it was warm enough in there for them to survive the several hours since they had been laid. I promptly removed them and put them into an incubator.
You may recall, that on May 30th, the same female Hermann's Tortoise laid her first clutch ever, also consisting of 4 eggs. I am still not sure if they are fertile or not but saw something when I candled them, just last night, that makes me think it is possible. I am keeping my fingers crossed for them, and for these 4 news ones, as being fertile. I will be quite the happy camper if the 8 eggs all hatch out. As I mentioned in my earlier blog about the first batch of eggs, laying to hatching can be a long wait, probably at least 70 days.Time will tell if they were fertile or not.
I figure I must have been doing something right since the female laid these eggs only 2 weeks and a few days after the first clutch. Who knows, maybe she will lay another. If so, I may have to set up a second incubator. You know, the thing about not keeping all of your eggs in the same basket, well it applies to incubators too. If one overheats or fails to heat properly, chances are you will still hatch the eggs in the other one. Heck, I may not wait to see if she lays any more eggs, I may use 2 incubators now.
As for the tortoises, I put the male and female out in the back yard just before I searched their enclosure for the eggs. They got some needed exercise and had a regular smorgasbord of goodies to munch on out there. Our Mulberry Tree is dropping fruit like there is no tomorrow and the female stopped awhile to gorge on them. The male, showing little interest in the female for a change, headed to another part of the yard. I saw the female eating at least 3 or 4 other types of plants while she was out there and then she was back at the berries. The male had a couple of strawberries to satisfy his sweet tooth (yes, I know, they don't have teeth) and after that it was back inside for both of them. I really need to make them a new outdoor enclosure so they can spend the next 3 months or so outside. I think I will get to that once I am back from my NRA Instructor training trip at the end of next week.
Right now, I need to go out to get the Redfoot Tortoises. I have them outside soaking in a large plastic concrete mixing basin ( I use it just for that sole purpose). Once they are back in their enclosure I am going to feed them a veritable berry delight.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Where Has The Spring Gone?
I know, summer does not begin for another 6 days but it sure seems to me like Spring has just sped right on by me. Wow, where did it go and what did I accomplish this spring. I don't know where it went and I sure did not accomplish much. I did get the vegetable garden planted and Linda got the flowers in shape. Other than that, to me it seems like I got little done, I cannot talk for Linda on how she feels about what she got done.
I did enjoy some things, a trip to a gun show or two with my son. A trip to the outdoor range with him. Increasing the herp collection. Maybe losing a pound or two. Yet, not one fishing trip in there at all - I will have to rectify that soon. Heck, now that I think of it, where did the 20th century go?
Man life sure zooms right on by - doesn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
I did enjoy some things, a trip to a gun show or two with my son. A trip to the outdoor range with him. Increasing the herp collection. Maybe losing a pound or two. Yet, not one fishing trip in there at all - I will have to rectify that soon. Heck, now that I think of it, where did the 20th century go?
Man life sure zooms right on by - doesn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)