Brendan and I were to have been leaving for the Syracuse Gun Show Trip tomorrow morning but I am singing the blues. Looks like he will be staying home buried under a pile of school work and I will be making the trip alone. Though down in the dumps over Brendan not being able to make it, I am still going. I have been planning this for a year now and see no reason to miss it, at least no reason for me to miss it.
I am fairly ready to go. I have three purchase documents. The purchase document is required paperwork needed to buy a handgun in NY. You cannot just show your pistol license but have to buy a purchase document from the local issuing authority, then have it with you when making a purchase. Their is a section to be filled out with the buyer's info, one to be filled out by the seller with his/her info and a section to fill out with make, model and serial number of the handgun that is being transferred. One the sale has been completed, this form has to be brought back to the issuing department within 10 days and the new handguns added to your license. The cost is $10 per form, they expire on December 31 of the year in which issued. If unused you lose the money you paid for the documents. I bought three, not so much because I am certain to buy three pistols but because there is a decent chance I will buy one at the show on Saturday and maybe one or two at an auction next weekend. I have my eye on a Colt Officer's Model, .38, Target, 2nd issue and a couple of Ruger MKIIs, among others at the auction. While I am hesitant to spend a lot of money on three guns right now, let alone even one, until my pension is straightened out, these would all be bought for investment and collection purposes. That is only if I can get them at a decent price at auction. I know I can always turn these around for cash or use them as barter if needed at some future time.
I do have some few things that need to be made ready before I take off. I've got to fill the gas tank on the Corolla, I have to get my fishing gear ready (I plan to make one or two stops to wet a line and maybe also try to catch some crayfish), I have to print up some maps or grab the wife's GPS. Other than that, I think I am just about ready to go and have some fun while someone else is weighted down by the burden of textbooks and term papers. Maybe I'll buy him some ammo, that should put a smile on his face.
All the best,
GB
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
LEOSA Qualification
I qualified for the purposes of LEOSA today and have to say it was a pleasant experience for the most part. I drove up to the Rockland County Police Academy and that is the part that was the only par that was not pleasant for the most part! The drive took me an hour and forty minutes, and I am pretty sure it was just about 50 miles. Morning rush hour traffic in the city, then traffic on the highway because there was a construction zone where it went fro 3 lanes to 2. It was like people forgot how to drive once close to that. I am guessing it was stop and go, real slow, for at least 8 to 10 miles due to that one choke point.
Oh well, once at the range, I got the last available parking space, not bad considering that several more shooters showed up after me and probably had to park on the shoulder of the road. I checked in and that was a breeze, handled by 2 nice gentleman, apparently both retired officers. After check in, and a quick photo, there was a brief classroom instruction period and a short quiz of the stuff covered in the classroom. Then it was out to the range where we shot a total of 50 rounds from 3, 7 15 and 25. I only qualified with a semi-auto as i figured if I had tried to qualify with my only revolver, that being a S&W Model 17 in .22LR, they would have frowned heavily upon me and maybe farted in my general direction. I shot a 98 out of a possible 100 meaning I either missed the target of miscounted rounds. Being I wound up with 2 rounds in my pocket, all I can say is: "Whoops, I guess I miscounted how many I had loaded and probably did it twice". Shame on me.
Once done shooting, they took our score and we could take our targets down. immediately after they had scored everyone, they handed out the LEOSA Qualification cards to all those who had passed. I am pretty sure that was everyone in my group. Their was a shoot right before ours, and one shooter was having a hard time getting his card because they did not have a score for him. I think they retrieved his target from the trash to look it over, then gave him his card, because he did not have to shoot again. Each target was marked with the shooter's name among other things.
We were done with the first qual by 1030. If you had another gun, you would have to stay to shoot that one, I figure it would have taken me another half hour or so if I had had a revolver too.
Everyone I dealt with there was very nice, and very professional. I will consider going there again next year when I have to requalify but am hopeful I will find someplace closer to home before then. One treat for me was meeting up with an ex-supervisor of mine, Tom C.; one of the nicer guys I ever worked for in Customs. He is always a gentleman so it was nice to run into him there.
I now have my NY State pistol license, which is now pretty much moot, since I now can carry all of my handguns under its authority, that is except for the fact that I still need my NYS license to carry my revolver. For now, I am limited to carrying my revolver in the state of NY. Until I qualify for LEOSA with a revolver, LEOSA does not allow me to carry under said statute.
I am hopeful that a national carry law will pass the Congress. It would be best for all involved if our elected officials finally realized the meaning of the right to keep and bear arms and did something about it to make sure that all law abiding citizens, and legal resident aliens, are at liberty to exercise said right. I think LEOSA was a small step in that direction but only very small since it applies to such a restricted group as LEOs and retired LEOs. Yet, it does show that Congress is willing to oppose the desire of many liberal leftist states, such as NY, CA and NJ who were not truly in favor of it and which only incessantly seek more and more restrictive gun control laws - even where LEOs are concerned. The thing is, our right to keep and bear arms is not merely one that is for LEOs alone; it is a right of the people, as in each and every one of us and the liberty to exercise that right should be likewise with very few exceptions. (I can see things like not allowing a convicted murderer to ever again exercise that right, nor allowing a psychotic to exercise that right until found to be normal again, etc.) Note that I took advantage of the LEOSA statute and its provisions because I think I would have to be nuts not to do so but that does not mean I do not support a national carry law any less. I am a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms for "We the people". I join pro-gun groups with that in mind, I donate with that in mind, I bug the heck out of my elected officials with that in mind and I vote with that in mind.
Now that I have my LEOSA cards, I think I may also apply for one or two state permits. I was thinking of Florida and Utah and maybe Pennsylvania. Any thoughts or recommendations as to which states are the best when it comes to allowing non-residents to obtain a permit and which are best for having reciprocity with the largest number of other states as relative to non-resident permits?
All the best,
Glenn B
Oh well, once at the range, I got the last available parking space, not bad considering that several more shooters showed up after me and probably had to park on the shoulder of the road. I checked in and that was a breeze, handled by 2 nice gentleman, apparently both retired officers. After check in, and a quick photo, there was a brief classroom instruction period and a short quiz of the stuff covered in the classroom. Then it was out to the range where we shot a total of 50 rounds from 3, 7 15 and 25. I only qualified with a semi-auto as i figured if I had tried to qualify with my only revolver, that being a S&W Model 17 in .22LR, they would have frowned heavily upon me and maybe farted in my general direction. I shot a 98 out of a possible 100 meaning I either missed the target of miscounted rounds. Being I wound up with 2 rounds in my pocket, all I can say is: "Whoops, I guess I miscounted how many I had loaded and probably did it twice". Shame on me.
Once done shooting, they took our score and we could take our targets down. immediately after they had scored everyone, they handed out the LEOSA Qualification cards to all those who had passed. I am pretty sure that was everyone in my group. Their was a shoot right before ours, and one shooter was having a hard time getting his card because they did not have a score for him. I think they retrieved his target from the trash to look it over, then gave him his card, because he did not have to shoot again. Each target was marked with the shooter's name among other things.
We were done with the first qual by 1030. If you had another gun, you would have to stay to shoot that one, I figure it would have taken me another half hour or so if I had had a revolver too.
Everyone I dealt with there was very nice, and very professional. I will consider going there again next year when I have to requalify but am hopeful I will find someplace closer to home before then. One treat for me was meeting up with an ex-supervisor of mine, Tom C.; one of the nicer guys I ever worked for in Customs. He is always a gentleman so it was nice to run into him there.
I now have my NY State pistol license, which is now pretty much moot, since I now can carry all of my handguns under its authority, that is except for the fact that I still need my NYS license to carry my revolver. For now, I am limited to carrying my revolver in the state of NY. Until I qualify for LEOSA with a revolver, LEOSA does not allow me to carry under said statute.
I am hopeful that a national carry law will pass the Congress. It would be best for all involved if our elected officials finally realized the meaning of the right to keep and bear arms and did something about it to make sure that all law abiding citizens, and legal resident aliens, are at liberty to exercise said right. I think LEOSA was a small step in that direction but only very small since it applies to such a restricted group as LEOs and retired LEOs. Yet, it does show that Congress is willing to oppose the desire of many liberal leftist states, such as NY, CA and NJ who were not truly in favor of it and which only incessantly seek more and more restrictive gun control laws - even where LEOs are concerned. The thing is, our right to keep and bear arms is not merely one that is for LEOs alone; it is a right of the people, as in each and every one of us and the liberty to exercise that right should be likewise with very few exceptions. (I can see things like not allowing a convicted murderer to ever again exercise that right, nor allowing a psychotic to exercise that right until found to be normal again, etc.) Note that I took advantage of the LEOSA statute and its provisions because I think I would have to be nuts not to do so but that does not mean I do not support a national carry law any less. I am a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms for "We the people". I join pro-gun groups with that in mind, I donate with that in mind, I bug the heck out of my elected officials with that in mind and I vote with that in mind.
Now that I have my LEOSA cards, I think I may also apply for one or two state permits. I was thinking of Florida and Utah and maybe Pennsylvania. Any thoughts or recommendations as to which states are the best when it comes to allowing non-residents to obtain a permit and which are best for having reciprocity with the largest number of other states as relative to non-resident permits?
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A Sensible Outlook Regarding Black Community Support For Treyvon Martin
I would like to meet this man because I think that is one of the most sensible outlooks with regard to arsehats like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP and the like that I have ever heard. If we ever do meet, I'd offer to buy him a good cigar and alcoholic beverages of his choice and then hope to sit down with him for a few drinks worth of good and interesting conversation.
All the best,
Glenn B
The GSA Extravaganzas
In the 32 years that I worked for Uncle Sam, I saw a good deal of government waste of tax payers dollars. Most of it was never intended to be wasteful but it was nonetheless. Things lke purchases of government equipment that were useless or unneeded, nicer than needed vehicles being bought for bosses and even working slugs, sending people on work details and having them standby without ever accomplishing the work they thought would be their assignments, political ass kissing by way of government operations that were nonsensical, overpayment of employees with too high salaries, overpayment for legitimate travel expenses (such as using a government rate when other rates were lower or putting personnel up in nicer hotels than needed) were all part of it.
In those 32 years, I saw lots of work related parties and attended plenty of them, like holiday parties or retirement parties. Most of these parties were after work hours although sometimes a retirement party was during lunch time. They were great and I enjoyed the ones i attended. Some were in the office, others in nicer venues. I also saw a lot of work related travel, some by myself and some by others. I will admit, when I traveled for work, I had a good time almost every time. So did the others who traveled with me. The thing is, the fun time, while on a detail away from home, was always our own personnel time. As far as the cost of both the parties and the good times went, it was never charged to the tax payer, not once as far as I am aware. Each time we had a retirement or holiday party we had to pay out of our own pockets. Each time we had fun times while in travel status, the money for it came out of our own pockets. I never once, to the absolute best of my knowledge, attended a party or fun times paid for by the government (in other words by the tax payers).
So, it galled me no end, to have seen a pompous bureaucrat on the news today telling a congressional inquiry that the GSA employees who partied hearty on the government dime, were entitled to those privileges! I will applaud the day that they convict that sack of turd, and his compatriots, of fraud, misuse of government funds and mismanagement. The other thing that pissed me off about it is the claims of the current administration that their hands are clean of any wrong doing in this affair regardless of a year passing by since the administration suddenly became aware of the problem. in that year, they thought up an excuse: 'It is all George Bush's fault'. That, of course, is if you believe the current administration under which the problem has continued to fester and under which it has gotten much worse. It is time to stop passing the buck about fraudulent spending of the buck and do something definitive to put an end to it.
Hopefully a good number of party animals who like to waste taxpayer money will be arrested and convicted, and/or lose their jobs over this one.
All the best,
Glenn
In those 32 years, I saw lots of work related parties and attended plenty of them, like holiday parties or retirement parties. Most of these parties were after work hours although sometimes a retirement party was during lunch time. They were great and I enjoyed the ones i attended. Some were in the office, others in nicer venues. I also saw a lot of work related travel, some by myself and some by others. I will admit, when I traveled for work, I had a good time almost every time. So did the others who traveled with me. The thing is, the fun time, while on a detail away from home, was always our own personnel time. As far as the cost of both the parties and the good times went, it was never charged to the tax payer, not once as far as I am aware. Each time we had a retirement or holiday party we had to pay out of our own pockets. Each time we had fun times while in travel status, the money for it came out of our own pockets. I never once, to the absolute best of my knowledge, attended a party or fun times paid for by the government (in other words by the tax payers).
So, it galled me no end, to have seen a pompous bureaucrat on the news today telling a congressional inquiry that the GSA employees who partied hearty on the government dime, were entitled to those privileges! I will applaud the day that they convict that sack of turd, and his compatriots, of fraud, misuse of government funds and mismanagement. The other thing that pissed me off about it is the claims of the current administration that their hands are clean of any wrong doing in this affair regardless of a year passing by since the administration suddenly became aware of the problem. in that year, they thought up an excuse: 'It is all George Bush's fault'. That, of course, is if you believe the current administration under which the problem has continued to fester and under which it has gotten much worse. It is time to stop passing the buck about fraudulent spending of the buck and do something definitive to put an end to it.
Hopefully a good number of party animals who like to waste taxpayer money will be arrested and convicted, and/or lose their jobs over this one.
All the best,
Glenn
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Glock 26 Slide Was All Packed And Ready To Go In For Repair...
...Until My Black Cloud Rained Down On Me Once Again.
I had it all packed and ready to ship, via my local UPS hub, to Glock so they can do a warranty repair of the sight. The front Tijicon night sight dimmed badly last summer when I was at the NRA LE Instructor course for handgun and shotgun. My health issues right after that had me forget all about that problem. When I retrieved my pistols from my former employer last month, I soon remembered the sight needed replacing. I finally got around to contacting Glock about it again, just a few days ago. They got back to me today telling me to just send in the slide and they would replace the sights under warranty. I asked for standard sights, no more night sights for me. That is not mainly because the sight went dim but more due to the fact that night sites are a waste of money, a waste of time (takes longer to sight in with them in dim light) and are pretty much as useless as teats on a turtle. Yeah they look cool, and they do give a nice sight picture, but people take the time to line them up just right even when in close in dim light and that, as opposed to point shooting, could get you killed. So, not for me anymore. Anyway, the standard sights will never go dim. Oh well, as I said, my black cloud was right over me today.
With the Glock 26, wrapped in bubble wrap and in the box with the necessary paperwork, I sealed it all up and was about to go to UPS when it hit me that I did not have a pistol on my belt. I decided to give a quick cleaning to one of my Beretta 92FS pistols. Wouldn't you know, my black cloud was right over me when I did it. I have cleaned my two Beretta 92FS pistols and my Beretta 92SB (the gun that made me Ballseye) hundreds of times with never a glitch. Easy as pie. I could disassemble and reassemble them in the dark or at least I think I could do it and with ease at that. So what happened? As I was giving the final once over wiping off excess Gunzilla, something came loose in my hand and I heard the tiniest of pings on the fish tank cabinet to my left. Yes, the loose piece was in my left hand and I just knew that ping had to have been a spring. I was right. When I looked closer, I saw the darned slide stop lever was in my hand, not on the pistol, and the ping was the spring that holds it in place and it nowhere to be seen. (Look for the part labelled 22 and note that diagram is not to scale, what you see on the screen, or at least when I looked at it, that was about the actual size of that spring while the slide stop latch was much smaller in the diagram than in reality). I suppose, I put too much pressure on it, or whatever, and out it popped. Never has happened before that I can remember.
Well, it took me about a half hour just to find the spring. Then, I had to figure out how to get it back in place. Now after my trouble with the AK retaining spring a couple of days ago, I kind of dreaded trying to get this spring set right. When I took a close look, with 2 pair of readers on, one over the other, I could see the tiny hole that one end of the spring would fit into and the groove on the slide catch that would accept the other end. This was relatively easy compared to the AK spring fiasco. I tried to set the 92FS spring about 5 or 6 times and got it right on the last try, luckily it only too a couple to a few minutes at most. After I set it back into place, I realized there would have been an easier and better way to do it - MAYBE. Heck, I did not care, I got it back in place and it works. A close look at the spring makes me think one end is a tad too short as it only fits into the groove on the slide catch by about 1/16 or less of an inch. I went to the Numrich Gun Parts Corporation website and ordered a replacement, in fact I ordered two of them @ of less than $3 each. I had tried Beretta first but they did not show the spring for sale except in a kit for $168 (containing twenty something common replacement parts). I am sort of happy that they were out of stock, otherwise I may have bought one and been short that much cash for the gun show this weekend. Although, being that I own the three 92 series pistols, I submitted my email address so Beretta could let me know when they are in stock again. Hopefully, by then, I will be receiving my full pension and have enough saved up for it.
Thinking of it, that series 92 pistol parts kit from Beretta would probably be a wise purchase to make. One never knows when a spring might get sprung while shooting or when a spring might get lost in the carpeting while you are disassembling or reassembling the pistol. It also contains other parts like the locking lug and a firing pin and a recoil rod and spring. One other thing it contains, and it has four of them, is the grip screw, washer and bushing set. Did you guess why I mentioned that? I decided to also remove the grips and clean under them and one of the bushings unscrewed still attached to the screw, instead of the screw unscrewing from the bushing. That was an easy fix and all I can say is thank goodness for Loctite Thread Locker Blue #242. Funny, none of the grip screws have washers, as they come with in the kit. I wonder if they were an add on in later manufacturing, as in after I bought my two 92FS pistols, or if mine was just missing them when I got it. I'll have to check the other one, the grips have never been off of that one as it has only rarely been shot. If it had washers, they will still be there. If they are missing, then that these guns were manufactured without them would be a safe bet since the are consecutively serial numbered.
As it was and as it is, I decided not to send in the Glock 26 for the warranty repair to the sights just yet. I have to qualify for my LEOSA card on Wednesday. It would be just my luck, I show up there with the Beretta and the slide stop latch falls off because maybe I did not get the spring set just right (which I am sure I did get set right) or that they would see I had 15 round mags (illegal here in NY except for LE which I am no longer since I am retired). While I have pre-ban mags, I could just imagine someone giving me a hard time at the range which is a police department range since I have heard they go ape shot if they see a retired guy with hi-cap mags for the LEOSA quals. I really just want to get it over and done with, with the least friction and I do not need to get riled up by somebody who tells me my pre-ban mags are illegal. (Yes, the NY State Hi-Cap mag ban is still in effect, it did not have a sunset clause and even if it did the liberal jerks here in NY would have voted for it all over again.) So, I am going to take the Glock 26 slide out of the box and out of the bubble wrap, and put the barrel, and recoil spring, and rod back into it, and set it all on the frame, so I can shoot the 26, with its 10 round mags, for the LEOSA qual.
Well, I guess things turned out sort of okay even though it looked, for a short while, as if it might take me weeks to find that darned Beretta spring (as it did with another spring I once lost in a carpet). I had actually given up looking for it and had been about to put the pistol aside and move onto other chores when I glanced at the floor for a moment. My gaze fell right on it. My black cloud must have slipped a bit because it let through a little sunshine right at that moment, right after it had rained down on me for too long awhile for today!
All the best,
Glenn B
I had it all packed and ready to ship, via my local UPS hub, to Glock so they can do a warranty repair of the sight. The front Tijicon night sight dimmed badly last summer when I was at the NRA LE Instructor course for handgun and shotgun. My health issues right after that had me forget all about that problem. When I retrieved my pistols from my former employer last month, I soon remembered the sight needed replacing. I finally got around to contacting Glock about it again, just a few days ago. They got back to me today telling me to just send in the slide and they would replace the sights under warranty. I asked for standard sights, no more night sights for me. That is not mainly because the sight went dim but more due to the fact that night sites are a waste of money, a waste of time (takes longer to sight in with them in dim light) and are pretty much as useless as teats on a turtle. Yeah they look cool, and they do give a nice sight picture, but people take the time to line them up just right even when in close in dim light and that, as opposed to point shooting, could get you killed. So, not for me anymore. Anyway, the standard sights will never go dim. Oh well, as I said, my black cloud was right over me today.
With the Glock 26, wrapped in bubble wrap and in the box with the necessary paperwork, I sealed it all up and was about to go to UPS when it hit me that I did not have a pistol on my belt. I decided to give a quick cleaning to one of my Beretta 92FS pistols. Wouldn't you know, my black cloud was right over me when I did it. I have cleaned my two Beretta 92FS pistols and my Beretta 92SB (the gun that made me Ballseye) hundreds of times with never a glitch. Easy as pie. I could disassemble and reassemble them in the dark or at least I think I could do it and with ease at that. So what happened? As I was giving the final once over wiping off excess Gunzilla, something came loose in my hand and I heard the tiniest of pings on the fish tank cabinet to my left. Yes, the loose piece was in my left hand and I just knew that ping had to have been a spring. I was right. When I looked closer, I saw the darned slide stop lever was in my hand, not on the pistol, and the ping was the spring that holds it in place and it nowhere to be seen. (Look for the part labelled 22 and note that diagram is not to scale, what you see on the screen, or at least when I looked at it, that was about the actual size of that spring while the slide stop latch was much smaller in the diagram than in reality). I suppose, I put too much pressure on it, or whatever, and out it popped. Never has happened before that I can remember.
Well, it took me about a half hour just to find the spring. Then, I had to figure out how to get it back in place. Now after my trouble with the AK retaining spring a couple of days ago, I kind of dreaded trying to get this spring set right. When I took a close look, with 2 pair of readers on, one over the other, I could see the tiny hole that one end of the spring would fit into and the groove on the slide catch that would accept the other end. This was relatively easy compared to the AK spring fiasco. I tried to set the 92FS spring about 5 or 6 times and got it right on the last try, luckily it only too a couple to a few minutes at most. After I set it back into place, I realized there would have been an easier and better way to do it - MAYBE. Heck, I did not care, I got it back in place and it works. A close look at the spring makes me think one end is a tad too short as it only fits into the groove on the slide catch by about 1/16 or less of an inch. I went to the Numrich Gun Parts Corporation website and ordered a replacement, in fact I ordered two of them @ of less than $3 each. I had tried Beretta first but they did not show the spring for sale except in a kit for $168 (containing twenty something common replacement parts). I am sort of happy that they were out of stock, otherwise I may have bought one and been short that much cash for the gun show this weekend. Although, being that I own the three 92 series pistols, I submitted my email address so Beretta could let me know when they are in stock again. Hopefully, by then, I will be receiving my full pension and have enough saved up for it.
Thinking of it, that series 92 pistol parts kit from Beretta would probably be a wise purchase to make. One never knows when a spring might get sprung while shooting or when a spring might get lost in the carpeting while you are disassembling or reassembling the pistol. It also contains other parts like the locking lug and a firing pin and a recoil rod and spring. One other thing it contains, and it has four of them, is the grip screw, washer and bushing set. Did you guess why I mentioned that? I decided to also remove the grips and clean under them and one of the bushings unscrewed still attached to the screw, instead of the screw unscrewing from the bushing. That was an easy fix and all I can say is thank goodness for Loctite Thread Locker Blue #242. Funny, none of the grip screws have washers, as they come with in the kit. I wonder if they were an add on in later manufacturing, as in after I bought my two 92FS pistols, or if mine was just missing them when I got it. I'll have to check the other one, the grips have never been off of that one as it has only rarely been shot. If it had washers, they will still be there. If they are missing, then that these guns were manufactured without them would be a safe bet since the are consecutively serial numbered.
As it was and as it is, I decided not to send in the Glock 26 for the warranty repair to the sights just yet. I have to qualify for my LEOSA card on Wednesday. It would be just my luck, I show up there with the Beretta and the slide stop latch falls off because maybe I did not get the spring set just right (which I am sure I did get set right) or that they would see I had 15 round mags (illegal here in NY except for LE which I am no longer since I am retired). While I have pre-ban mags, I could just imagine someone giving me a hard time at the range which is a police department range since I have heard they go ape shot if they see a retired guy with hi-cap mags for the LEOSA quals. I really just want to get it over and done with, with the least friction and I do not need to get riled up by somebody who tells me my pre-ban mags are illegal. (Yes, the NY State Hi-Cap mag ban is still in effect, it did not have a sunset clause and even if it did the liberal jerks here in NY would have voted for it all over again.) So, I am going to take the Glock 26 slide out of the box and out of the bubble wrap, and put the barrel, and recoil spring, and rod back into it, and set it all on the frame, so I can shoot the 26, with its 10 round mags, for the LEOSA qual.
Well, I guess things turned out sort of okay even though it looked, for a short while, as if it might take me weeks to find that darned Beretta spring (as it did with another spring I once lost in a carpet). I had actually given up looking for it and had been about to put the pistol aside and move onto other chores when I glanced at the floor for a moment. My gaze fell right on it. My black cloud must have slipped a bit because it let through a little sunshine right at that moment, right after it had rained down on me for too long awhile for today!
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A Really Big Gun Show...
...for NY State anyway. The New York State Arms Collectors Association, Inc Gun Show will be held in in Syracuse, NY next weekend at the NY State Fairgrounds. It is slated as a 1,000 table show and after having been to it last year, I can say that is about right. That show, last year, had more tables with guns and ammo, percentage-wise, than any gun show I have ever been to before that. About the only show that may have had more guns as compared to tables with things like beef jerky, knives, books, jewelry and other junk was one in AZ (I think the one in Phoenix but it could have been the one in Tucson).
I am pretty limited as to states in which I have visited gun shows. I have been to gun shows in at least a seven states that I can remember: NY, CT, MA, PA, FL, CA and AZ. I may have been to one in TX but just don't recall for certain. I am sure there are probably better gun shows in many states (especially in the more pro-gun states) than the one in Syracuse but there are none better in NY, that is for sure. Sometime in the future I'd like to go to Knob Creek Range, in KY, for one of their biannual Machine Gun Shoot & Military Gun Show (that has got to be fun but I would wager it is expensive). I also am thinking that a trip to Wanenmacher's gun show in Tulsa, Oklahoma may also be in order since they claim to have the largest gun show in the world. Their 2012 show is slated to have 4,100 tables! I think the biggest gun show, the one with the most tables, that I ever attended was the one in Phoenix. If I recall correctly it had 1,500 to 2,000 tables. It also had a high percentage of guns sale tables as opposed to tables not selling guns.
For now though, at least for next weekend if all goes well, I gladly will settle for the show at Syracuse, the biggest gun show held in NY State. While this show does not have as wide a variety of firearms on display as shows in states like AZ or FL, I will still enjoy myself immensely. One of the best things about going to shows in NY is that Brendan usually comes along too. He told me yesterday that he has Friday and Saturday off next week but that maybe he still cannot attend, that is if he gets too much school work piled on. He is striving to keep his grades up in this his last year of college. I suggested, if he gets the work piled on, he just bring his school books and work on it during the drive and while we are at the hotel overnight on Friday and he seemed amenable to that.
Speaking of being at the hotel, thank goodness for hotel club points that build up on my credit card. I have more than enough points for a stay at a hotel up that way for one night. That will reduce our expenses for this trip which can get costly even if we do not buy any guns but I do plan to buy at least one new gun (I have bee saving change and dollar bills for this event). The fuel cost and the tolls are enough to just about empty my pockets of a weeks personal spending money. It will be about $70 just for gas and probably another $15 to $20 for tolls. Avoiding the tolls is out because, for the most part, it means adding a good amount of time and probably a fair amount of miles to the trip and while it would save a few bucks over all, it probably does not save that much because it ups the fuel costs. In this case paying more is a better than paying less. I am happy to say that the admission fee for the show is only $6.00 each per person and parking is $5.00 (compare that to $14 admission fee plus $10 for parking at the Phoenix gun show and that was 2 years ago). The Syracuse show is a good deal in the world of gun shows!
The show opens its doors at 0900 on Saturday and closes shop at 1700. It is also held on Sunday from 0900 to 1500 but we will only attend on Saturday. If we get to the parking lot by 0800, we should have a decent place on the line, which was quite long last year so, maybe we better shoot for 0730 arrival time. I am figuring we will hang out in the show until about 1300 and then head back toward home. A quick stop or two for some crayfish catching and some fishing may be in order. I would love to spend an hour or three fishing with Brendan. Then back on the road to home where we should arrive by 1000 at the latest if all goes well. I think we will have a great time together.
If both of us can make it, I am sure we will both have a great time. If only I go, I will have a good time but not nearly as much fun if Brendan will have been able to go along. We are planning on meeting friends up there at the show - Charlie K, his brother-in-law Rob and his friend Dennis. If ever we have a question about ARs, Rob is the go to guy. The three of them are all great guys too and it is always a pleasure to meet up with them. If you are headed to the show, let me know, maybe we can meet up.
All the best,
Glenn B
I am pretty limited as to states in which I have visited gun shows. I have been to gun shows in at least a seven states that I can remember: NY, CT, MA, PA, FL, CA and AZ. I may have been to one in TX but just don't recall for certain. I am sure there are probably better gun shows in many states (especially in the more pro-gun states) than the one in Syracuse but there are none better in NY, that is for sure. Sometime in the future I'd like to go to Knob Creek Range, in KY, for one of their biannual Machine Gun Shoot & Military Gun Show (that has got to be fun but I would wager it is expensive). I also am thinking that a trip to Wanenmacher's gun show in Tulsa, Oklahoma may also be in order since they claim to have the largest gun show in the world. Their 2012 show is slated to have 4,100 tables! I think the biggest gun show, the one with the most tables, that I ever attended was the one in Phoenix. If I recall correctly it had 1,500 to 2,000 tables. It also had a high percentage of guns sale tables as opposed to tables not selling guns.
For now though, at least for next weekend if all goes well, I gladly will settle for the show at Syracuse, the biggest gun show held in NY State. While this show does not have as wide a variety of firearms on display as shows in states like AZ or FL, I will still enjoy myself immensely. One of the best things about going to shows in NY is that Brendan usually comes along too. He told me yesterday that he has Friday and Saturday off next week but that maybe he still cannot attend, that is if he gets too much school work piled on. He is striving to keep his grades up in this his last year of college. I suggested, if he gets the work piled on, he just bring his school books and work on it during the drive and while we are at the hotel overnight on Friday and he seemed amenable to that.
Speaking of being at the hotel, thank goodness for hotel club points that build up on my credit card. I have more than enough points for a stay at a hotel up that way for one night. That will reduce our expenses for this trip which can get costly even if we do not buy any guns but I do plan to buy at least one new gun (I have bee saving change and dollar bills for this event). The fuel cost and the tolls are enough to just about empty my pockets of a weeks personal spending money. It will be about $70 just for gas and probably another $15 to $20 for tolls. Avoiding the tolls is out because, for the most part, it means adding a good amount of time and probably a fair amount of miles to the trip and while it would save a few bucks over all, it probably does not save that much because it ups the fuel costs. In this case paying more is a better than paying less. I am happy to say that the admission fee for the show is only $6.00 each per person and parking is $5.00 (compare that to $14 admission fee plus $10 for parking at the Phoenix gun show and that was 2 years ago). The Syracuse show is a good deal in the world of gun shows!
The show opens its doors at 0900 on Saturday and closes shop at 1700. It is also held on Sunday from 0900 to 1500 but we will only attend on Saturday. If we get to the parking lot by 0800, we should have a decent place on the line, which was quite long last year so, maybe we better shoot for 0730 arrival time. I am figuring we will hang out in the show until about 1300 and then head back toward home. A quick stop or two for some crayfish catching and some fishing may be in order. I would love to spend an hour or three fishing with Brendan. Then back on the road to home where we should arrive by 1000 at the latest if all goes well. I think we will have a great time together.
If both of us can make it, I am sure we will both have a great time. If only I go, I will have a good time but not nearly as much fun if Brendan will have been able to go along. We are planning on meeting friends up there at the show - Charlie K, his brother-in-law Rob and his friend Dennis. If ever we have a question about ARs, Rob is the go to guy. The three of them are all great guys too and it is always a pleasure to meet up with them. If you are headed to the show, let me know, maybe we can meet up.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tapco Retaining Plate - Maybe The Idiot AK-47 Owner's Solution To The Retaining Spring? (Yes I would be the idiot.)
While fiddling with my AK-47 and trying to get the retainer spring back into its proper position to reassemble the rifle, I took a break to check the Tapco website to see if they had instructions there to reinstall the spring. They did not, at least for the style of spring in my AK.
What I did find that seems promising is that they manufacture a plate to take the place of the spring. Even a sometimes idiot like myself (my wife would debate that saying I am an always idiot) would find it difficult to screw up installation of the retaining plate, which is supposedly a one size fits all AK models kind of a thing. At a MSRP of only $5.99, I figured why not and I did a web search for a dealer that had them in stock. I found it at Brownells, I think for $4.70, or there about, plus shipping of $5.95. Yes, the shipping was more expensive than the item!. I ordered it for a grand total of $ 10.95. If it saves me from even 10 minutes worth of the hassle I had with that spring, it will have been more than worth it.
Check out the list of dealers, and their pricing, that Tapco shows on their site. Remember the MSRP is $5.99. Most dealers, on the list that Tapco shows, have it shown close to that price, in fact all are under Tapco's MSRP except two of them and one that is over the MSRP is charging only about a dollar more. The other dealer that has a higher price than that suggested by Tapco is way over the top. Their price was shown as $17.95! Going to their website shows is actually on sale at only $16.56 plus $10.95 shipping for a total of $27.51. That is a $16.56 difference from what I just paid at Brownell's. That is two visits to my local indoor range plus some targets for each visit and .56 cents left over for the change jar at home (gun show fund). We really need to shop around just a little nowadays, there are just too many people looking to screw the rest of us.
All the best,
Glenn B
What I did find that seems promising is that they manufacture a plate to take the place of the spring. Even a sometimes idiot like myself (my wife would debate that saying I am an always idiot) would find it difficult to screw up installation of the retaining plate, which is supposedly a one size fits all AK models kind of a thing. At a MSRP of only $5.99, I figured why not and I did a web search for a dealer that had them in stock. I found it at Brownells, I think for $4.70, or there about, plus shipping of $5.95. Yes, the shipping was more expensive than the item!. I ordered it for a grand total of $ 10.95. If it saves me from even 10 minutes worth of the hassle I had with that spring, it will have been more than worth it.
Check out the list of dealers, and their pricing, that Tapco shows on their site. Remember the MSRP is $5.99. Most dealers, on the list that Tapco shows, have it shown close to that price, in fact all are under Tapco's MSRP except two of them and one that is over the MSRP is charging only about a dollar more. The other dealer that has a higher price than that suggested by Tapco is way over the top. Their price was shown as $17.95! Going to their website shows is actually on sale at only $16.56 plus $10.95 shipping for a total of $27.51. That is a $16.56 difference from what I just paid at Brownell's. That is two visits to my local indoor range plus some targets for each visit and .56 cents left over for the change jar at home (gun show fund). We really need to shop around just a little nowadays, there are just too many people looking to screw the rest of us.
All the best,
Glenn B
Even The Leftist MSM Is Questioning The Decision To Charge Zimmerman
It was pretty amazing for me to just read an article on a CBS online news site that actually questions why George Zimmerman was charged with murder relative to his having shot and killed Trayvon Martin. I was amazed because CBS has routinely been one of the far left leaning branches of the MSM. Are they finally seeing the light after that terrible news report that edited the 911 tape to make it seem as if Mr. Zimmerman had profiled Mr. martin because Mr. martin was a black and that also edited it to make it sound as if Mr. Zimmerman did not listen to the suggestion of the police to break off from following Mr. Martin
By the way, I have to ask, since when is following a suspicious person, and calling 911 about it, considered to be some sort of aggression and not considered being a good citizen. Fact of the matter was that Mr. Zimmerman apparently did break off following Mr. Martin when the 911 operator suggested he discontinue doing so. Fact of the matter also is that Mr. Zimmerman did not racially profile Mr. Martin while speaking to the 911 operator. This case is just so much politically motivated bullshit it makes me want to puke right on the DA's lap and I base that feeling on having met a few other prosecutors in my day whom I believed to have been overzealous in their pursuit of justice.
All the best,
Glenn B
By the way, I have to ask, since when is following a suspicious person, and calling 911 about it, considered to be some sort of aggression and not considered being a good citizen. Fact of the matter was that Mr. Zimmerman apparently did break off following Mr. Martin when the 911 operator suggested he discontinue doing so. Fact of the matter also is that Mr. Zimmerman did not racially profile Mr. Martin while speaking to the 911 operator. This case is just so much politically motivated bullshit it makes me want to puke right on the DA's lap and I base that feeling on having met a few other prosecutors in my day whom I believed to have been overzealous in their pursuit of justice.
All the best,
Glenn B
The 2012 Presidential Election - Is The Fix In Already
The arrogance of president Obama is beyond compare. We keep hearing him blatantly stating, as if he knows with absolute certainty, things like: 'when I am reelected', 'in my second term' and so on. Well, maybe it is already a given fact that he will win . How? By a new means never before seen in our country throughout her history. Reportedly the counting of our votes no longer will be handled on the precinct level, the responsibility to count the vote has been assigned to a private company, one based in Spain (that bastion of an honest democratic process). All this from an eye opening report from Michael Savage. You may not like Savage, he may be a bit too much for you but I have to say he usually gets his facts correct. Listen to the audio:
If this is true, we need to protest the vote before even one ballot is cast.
All the best,
Glenn B
If this is true, we need to protest the vote before even one ballot is cast.
All the best,
Glenn B
AK Reassembly - It Took A Lot Of Wriggling Just Proving I Are Not A Gunschmidt
I did a little gun cleaning last night, cleaned up the Romanian AK-47 WASR. I took it just about all the way down, the only thing I did not disassemble was the bolt itself. I usually do not have a hard time disassembling and reassembling guns. That is because I read up on how to do it, or get video or in-hand instructions, from someone, before I make an attempt. I found a fairly good set of videos on YouTube for how to get both the taking apart and putting back together again accomplished. Just my luck though, there just had to be something different. In putting his gun back together, the guy who made the video puts in an aftermarket Tapco L Shaped retainer spring for his Tapco G2 trigger set. My AK also has the Tapco G2 trigger set but it uses a different spring and I just could not figure how to get it back in there the right way.
It must have taken me a good 2 hours before I got it figured out. There are three possible anchor points for the retainer spring of which you must use at least two with any spring for an AK. These points are the hammer pin, the trigger group pin and the pin on the end of the safety. No matter how I tried, there was either too much tension needed to set the spring or there was none after it was set. Getting it right is important. The retainer spring assures that the hammer and trigger group pins will not come loose and fall out of the AK. After about a half hour of not being able to figure it out, I decided to check the Tapco website to look for the particular type of spring in my AK, to see if they had any instructions on how to set it. Sure enough, they had instructions for both their AK-47 L shaped retention spring and for their AK Wire Retaining Spring but they did not have instructions for the spring that was in my AK. Mine is more similar to the L Shaped pin but definitely not the same. Regardless, it did not fit like either of the two other springs. That all being useless, I continued trying it this way, that way and the other.
They say 'hope springs eternal'. I can tell you: whoever thought that up must have been trying to fit a spring into a gun without knowing how to do it! Not only are there several ways this particular spring might possibly fit, only one of which was correct, but you have to continually reassemble the hammer and trigger group into the receiver to see if you got it right, then take them out again if wrong. That was not only a pain in the neck, it was also a pain in the hand, the left one to be exact. A few times, while fiddling with the hammer, the hammer spring (see the 5th pic), the ends of which are wrapped around the hammer to keep them out of the way while working, sprung! In other words, one of its ends came off of the hammer, flew around due to a good amount of tension in them caused by having wrapped them around the hammer, and then embedded itself into one of my fingers or under a fingernail (depending on which time it was sprung). This happened three times and another two or three times it just whacked me. What a pain in thearse hand.
After having been frustrated several times, then getting hot under the collar, I decided to give it just one more try and go to bed after that. Hell, was about 0030 hours and I had started cleaning the darned thing when the sun was still up. By the way, a side note, I used gun scrubber to try to remove all the carbon fouling from the gas piston. Didn't work. Neither did Gunzilla gun cleaning solvent that I also used once all the Gunscrubber had dried. Neither did Hoppes #9. (Gunzilla seemed to work best at cleaning the rest of the gun.) Neither did a brass brush. Oh, one other thing about the piston. After I sent the AK to Century Arms for repair, they returned it to me saying they had changed the gas piston among other things - like the trigger group. I distinctly remember asking my son, when I bought the rifle, if he thought the piston face looking to be rough in one area, maybe 15% on its face, would be a problem. It almost looked like chromed over pitting. Well, funny how they supposedly changed the gas piston and it still has identical roughness on the face of it.
Back to the retaining spring. I don't know what it was made me do it but I tried one of the positions for it again. This was about the second or third attempt in said position and this time it worked. I think it worked anyway. The spring is snugly in the grooves of both the hammer pin and the trigger group pin. I guess i should take it to the range today to shoot it to check to see if it falls out or stays in place while firing. This would also mean the AK will need another cleaning and that would be a good thing because I will get to reassemble it after cleaning and replace the spring with the proper position for it still fresh in my mind.That way, by repeating the process I will be able to have it set in memory a little better than after having done it only once; of course, that being if it is in the proper position to begin with. I hope it is.
Disassembly was easy. Reassembly was not so easy but should have been easier except, as I said, I am no gunschmidt! Hopefully it will be easier next time. Everything except for that one spring was a snap and simply because I did not know how to do it beforehand both because the guy who made the video used a spring different from mine and because I could not remember for the life of me how it was set before I took it out - shame on me for that brain fart. Of course, maybe I should have looked for a better set of video instructions than those I found on YouTube. One clue, that I missed, that this was not the best set of videos on the subject should have been clear to me when the guy making it said:
" Like I said, this is a eight handed operation. Push down and just sort of wriggle everything, until you find ah, you'll find ah where it all goes".
Oh well, even if he did not explain the reassembly very well, I cannot fault him for being incorrect in that statement. He was right 100% - at least in my case - I have to admit that.
All the best,
Glenn B
It must have taken me a good 2 hours before I got it figured out. There are three possible anchor points for the retainer spring of which you must use at least two with any spring for an AK. These points are the hammer pin, the trigger group pin and the pin on the end of the safety. No matter how I tried, there was either too much tension needed to set the spring or there was none after it was set. Getting it right is important. The retainer spring assures that the hammer and trigger group pins will not come loose and fall out of the AK. After about a half hour of not being able to figure it out, I decided to check the Tapco website to look for the particular type of spring in my AK, to see if they had any instructions on how to set it. Sure enough, they had instructions for both their AK-47 L shaped retention spring and for their AK Wire Retaining Spring but they did not have instructions for the spring that was in my AK. Mine is more similar to the L Shaped pin but definitely not the same. Regardless, it did not fit like either of the two other springs. That all being useless, I continued trying it this way, that way and the other.
They say 'hope springs eternal'. I can tell you: whoever thought that up must have been trying to fit a spring into a gun without knowing how to do it! Not only are there several ways this particular spring might possibly fit, only one of which was correct, but you have to continually reassemble the hammer and trigger group into the receiver to see if you got it right, then take them out again if wrong. That was not only a pain in the neck, it was also a pain in the hand, the left one to be exact. A few times, while fiddling with the hammer, the hammer spring (see the 5th pic), the ends of which are wrapped around the hammer to keep them out of the way while working, sprung! In other words, one of its ends came off of the hammer, flew around due to a good amount of tension in them caused by having wrapped them around the hammer, and then embedded itself into one of my fingers or under a fingernail (depending on which time it was sprung). This happened three times and another two or three times it just whacked me. What a pain in the
After having been frustrated several times, then getting hot under the collar, I decided to give it just one more try and go to bed after that. Hell, was about 0030 hours and I had started cleaning the darned thing when the sun was still up. By the way, a side note, I used gun scrubber to try to remove all the carbon fouling from the gas piston. Didn't work. Neither did Gunzilla gun cleaning solvent that I also used once all the Gunscrubber had dried. Neither did Hoppes #9. (Gunzilla seemed to work best at cleaning the rest of the gun.) Neither did a brass brush. Oh, one other thing about the piston. After I sent the AK to Century Arms for repair, they returned it to me saying they had changed the gas piston among other things - like the trigger group. I distinctly remember asking my son, when I bought the rifle, if he thought the piston face looking to be rough in one area, maybe 15% on its face, would be a problem. It almost looked like chromed over pitting. Well, funny how they supposedly changed the gas piston and it still has identical roughness on the face of it.
Back to the retaining spring. I don't know what it was made me do it but I tried one of the positions for it again. This was about the second or third attempt in said position and this time it worked. I think it worked anyway. The spring is snugly in the grooves of both the hammer pin and the trigger group pin. I guess i should take it to the range today to shoot it to check to see if it falls out or stays in place while firing. This would also mean the AK will need another cleaning and that would be a good thing because I will get to reassemble it after cleaning and replace the spring with the proper position for it still fresh in my mind.That way, by repeating the process I will be able to have it set in memory a little better than after having done it only once; of course, that being if it is in the proper position to begin with. I hope it is.
Disassembly was easy. Reassembly was not so easy but should have been easier except, as I said, I am no gunschmidt! Hopefully it will be easier next time. Everything except for that one spring was a snap and simply because I did not know how to do it beforehand both because the guy who made the video used a spring different from mine and because I could not remember for the life of me how it was set before I took it out - shame on me for that brain fart. Of course, maybe I should have looked for a better set of video instructions than those I found on YouTube. One clue, that I missed, that this was not the best set of videos on the subject should have been clear to me when the guy making it said:
" Like I said, this is a eight handed operation. Push down and just sort of wriggle everything, until you find ah, you'll find ah where it all goes".
Oh well, even if he did not explain the reassembly very well, I cannot fault him for being incorrect in that statement. He was right 100% - at least in my case - I have to admit that.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder Maybe Will Now Have To Prove His Innocence...
...and yes I know that in most criminal cases you are presumed innocent until proven guilty and so will be Zimmerman. Yet, he has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder and he has been claiming self defense. If he continues to claim self-defense, then yes - he probably will be obligated to prove that it was self defense. The burden of proof as to a claim of self defense is that of the person making the claim. It is called an Affirmative Defense. Of course, if the this falls through, the prosecutor does not get a freebie and still has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Zimmerman is guilty. The thing is, if the self defense claim falls apart, it will be pretty much a given that Zimmerman will be found guilty of something even if not the current top charge against him - 2nd Degree Murder.
And to think, almost all of the national outcry over this may have been fanned into a flaming frenzy by a media employee who edited the tape of the 911 call to make it seem as if Zimmerman had targeted Martin because of race! The outrage I feel over that single fact has me seething, screw the mud slinging media.
All the best,
Glenn B
And to think, almost all of the national outcry over this may have been fanned into a flaming frenzy by a media employee who edited the tape of the 911 call to make it seem as if Zimmerman had targeted Martin because of race! The outrage I feel over that single fact has me seething, screw the mud slinging media.
All the best,
Glenn B
Voting Catholics May Be What Is Needed To Help Defeat Obama
I was raised Catholic. Right now I am pretty much an agnostic at best. I have not practiced the Catholic faith in many years although I will admit to stopping in a church now and again. Heck, even when I went through my cancer I did not even think of turning to the Catholic faith or any other. I maybe said one or two 'if there is a god please watch over my family type of prayer' but that was it, I said none for myself. That is changing though, I my consider returning to the Church. If not, then I am thinking of at least supporting the Church if not actually becoming a practicing Catholic again. Why? Because of all this stuff with the health care bill and birth control being forced upon the Church by way of them being an employer that will be required to supply health care including birth control.
After having watched the embedded video, I have to agree with the Church that the upcoming elections need people to get out to vote. If the message in the video was not clear enough for you, allow me to say it outright - VOTE AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA AND VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE! One can only hope and pray that as many Catholics as possible see the video. The Church is a powerful force with many members in the USA, many among them registered voters. If they push this enough, it may wind up having been exactly what was needed to turn the tide, to get Obama out of office.
All the best,
Glenn
After having watched the embedded video, I have to agree with the Church that the upcoming elections need people to get out to vote. If the message in the video was not clear enough for you, allow me to say it outright - VOTE AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA AND VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE! One can only hope and pray that as many Catholics as possible see the video. The Church is a powerful force with many members in the USA, many among them registered voters. If they push this enough, it may wind up having been exactly what was needed to turn the tide, to get Obama out of office.
All the best,
Glenn
Obama Has Secretely Signed Law Making Some Protests A Felony
This is some crazy stuff. We truly are under the thumb of a tyrant, I no longer have any doubt of it. If president Obama is reelected we stand to lose every Constitutional Freedom we currently enjoy and some of us maybe even our lives trying to defend those freedoms. I say that because I am pretty convinced that should he be reelected there will be a revolution in this country within the next couple to few years at most. He and his rights smashing agenda need to be stopped once and for all, so vote and make certain you do your best to encourage others to vote against him (not for a third party candidate, not for a mustang, but for the Republican Party's candidate). Otherwise I fear we are doomed to a change for the worse, in America, like we have never seen before.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 9, 2012
Why Couldn't I Have Had Luck Like This When I Was A Kid???
Some kids are just plain out and out lucky. They get to have all the fun, have great toys and lots of them, get great allowances, have great homes with a wonderful life and even are lucky enough to stumble across things that other kids would just love to find. Take for example the little boy over in England who found a really cool Easter Egg.
Had I ever been so lucky as that kid, at least I would have known how to have a blast with it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Had I ever been so lucky as that kid, at least I would have known how to have a blast with it!
All the best,
Glenn B
More Applications But No Jobs
I guess it is going to be fairly difficult finding a job being that I am in my late fifties, just got over cancer and the economy and job prospects both stink. I just got turned down for a job that I was very well qualified to perform. That after having been told by the interviewer that she was very impressed by my qualifications and, in no uncertain terms, that she was sure her manager would hire me. Oh well, the search goes on.
My wife has just bought a new car. She has saved her money from her salaries (funny how my money from my job was our money all these years but what she earns is hers) to pay for her car (also funny how any cars I bought and paid for were our cars all these years) which only she will be allowed to drive (again funny as she has driven our current car more than have I). I overheard her tell my son that she may take delivery as soon as today. Lest you think I have gotten off track of writing about my job search, this new car deal has given me an idea. Maybe it is time for a road trip; one during which I can apply for, and hopefully work, some temporary jobs as part of my travels. Stop here and there, work here and there a bit, then move on to another location and do likewise all over again. If I find some employment that way, it would be great. If not, well, at least I can enjoy the trip. My guess is that now that it is spring, there must be some ranch or farm work available in rural areas. Maybe some laborer work in construction too. I could pack a tent, my sleeping bag, some other essentials and hit the road the day or two after she gets the car. It does sound tempting.
Then again, if I do take a road trip, I would want to be legally armed with at least a handgun. That means I would have to wait until after April 18th when I am scheduled to qualify under the terms of LEOSA. Of course, I already qualified well within the last year at my last job. That may cover it and if the certification that they supplied me with is good to go under LEOSA then maybe I will be able to leave sooner. The bug has bitten me, let's see how bad the itch becomes.
All the best,
Glenn B
My wife has just bought a new car. She has saved her money from her salaries (funny how my money from my job was our money all these years but what she earns is hers) to pay for her car (also funny how any cars I bought and paid for were our cars all these years) which only she will be allowed to drive (again funny as she has driven our current car more than have I). I overheard her tell my son that she may take delivery as soon as today. Lest you think I have gotten off track of writing about my job search, this new car deal has given me an idea. Maybe it is time for a road trip; one during which I can apply for, and hopefully work, some temporary jobs as part of my travels. Stop here and there, work here and there a bit, then move on to another location and do likewise all over again. If I find some employment that way, it would be great. If not, well, at least I can enjoy the trip. My guess is that now that it is spring, there must be some ranch or farm work available in rural areas. Maybe some laborer work in construction too. I could pack a tent, my sleeping bag, some other essentials and hit the road the day or two after she gets the car. It does sound tempting.
Then again, if I do take a road trip, I would want to be legally armed with at least a handgun. That means I would have to wait until after April 18th when I am scheduled to qualify under the terms of LEOSA. Of course, I already qualified well within the last year at my last job. That may cover it and if the certification that they supplied me with is good to go under LEOSA then maybe I will be able to leave sooner. The bug has bitten me, let's see how bad the itch becomes.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter
Here is wishing my friends and my readers, and all their families, a blessed, happy, safe and healthy Easter.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Take It With You 24/7/365 Survival Shelter
I have been reading up a good deal about survival lately and even watching some stuff about it on the tube (the television, not YouTube for you kids who do not know that TV's once had tubes as viewing elements). There is an awful lot written and said about: Guns and Ammo, Survival Shelters (as in fallout shelters or hideaway cabins or cargo trailers converted into living spaces or even about spider holes), emergency food rations, canning, gardening, water supplies, portable generators, whether to bug-out or stand fast, first aid, medical supplies, camo clothing, tactical clothing, tacticalcool gear and the like. In all that talk, even when clothing and shelters are mentioned, I rarely if ever have seen or heard anything about the importance of always carrying suitable primary shelter with you or having it at least very close by you (like in the trunk of your car in the parking lot at work) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The primary shelter that I am writing about is proper clothing. Think about it. Clothing, in essence is exactly that - a shelter. It performs the most basic function of any other shelter, it protects us from the elements. If we use the proper clothing for the weather, then it protects us from all sorts of nasty things that nature throws at us. A simple thing like a boonie hat can keep the sun off of our heads, keep us fairly dry up top in the rain and snow, keep the glare of the sun and rainwater and snow out of our eyes helping us to maintain our vision, keep us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Heck, it even keeps shell casing from hitting you in the face at the range or in a firefight. Yet how many of us wear or carry a boonie hat or something similar to it every day of the year? I have carried one with me at least 95% of the time over the past 10 to 15 years and it has been a great item to have on hand at all times of the year in all kind of weather just as described above. Now that I am retired, I am sad to report I have slacked off on carrying one with me that often as I keep it in a day pack with some other essentials I always had with me while working. The furthest away from me was usually in the trunk of my car although I must say I virtually always had the pack slung over one shoulder or on the front seat of the car next to me or on my desk in the office or in my house when at home.
That hat, or one like it, is not the only thing in the portable shelter line, aka clothing, that we should have with us to protect us from the elements. Another item that was and remains in my day pack is a poncho. Here is a piece of clothing that can help protect us from the rain, the snow, heat and cold. If need be (and I do not mean a piece of junk 79 cents poncho but at least a real military surplus or military style poncho) a poncho can be used as a temporary ground shelter. In other words you can make a lean to or a tent out of it to protect you from the rain or the sun. Furthermore, a poncho can probably help prevent rapid evaporation of perspiration thus helping you to stay hydrated longer even if you run out of drinking water. You can also use a poncho to get water, even in some very dry conditions, although in that regard, the 79 cent version may actually be up to the task.
Thinking along the same lines, I have to ask, how many of us have gone for a drive in the country - maybe to a hiking trail or a fishing spot, or just for a ride down a long seldom used road in the middle of nowhere or maybe even trail riding in an SUV without giving a thought to how we were dressed. I mean without a thought to our clothes relative to a SHTF situation that might arise and require us to go into survival mode. Now I am not talking an end of the world as we know it situation, just an every day kind of an "oh no, the SHTF" type of a deal. Let me give you an example.
A guy I knew, way back when I was a young Border Patrol Agent, decided to take his 'new to him' but used SUV for a ride out in the desert. I am not talking the Sonoran Desert that is surrounded by mountains many of which have year round water on them. I am talking going for a ride in the Mojave Desert in southern California and it was in the middle of July. It was hot out, probably well into the low one hundreds. He took his joyride in the middle of the afternoon. Not only did he forget to bring a water can in case his vehicle overheated, he did not bring more than a small bottle or two of water or soda for himself. Lest you think I am getting off track, let me also mention what clothing he brought or did not bring along on the ride. A muscle man tee-shirt, a pair of shorts, and pair of flip flops and maybe underpants. That was it, all he wore, all he had. He did not have one other survival item as far as shelter/clothing went and not any other gear except maybe a pistol and pocket knife. I am pretty certain he only had a pistol as far as those two items went.
Are you getting the picture? He was ill prepared at best for any SHTF event that might arise. If you are wondering how I know about such a boring issue as him going on such a trip dressed like that, the reason is because he told us all about it after his recovery. Yep, he told us all about how his SUV broke down out in the middle of the desert, virtually in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization. He told us with great vigor too, that is once he was able to talk again after trudging about 20 to 25 miles through the desert with the sun beating down on him, the great part of the walk after he had run out of water. Even if not as an extreme place as the Mojave Desert in July, you might be starting to see that when you go out someplace you should not only dress appropriately for what you are doing but you should also have some clothing on hand that will protect you from the elements in the event the SHTF as it did for this character. Want to know what happened to him? He walked 15 or so miles to the nearest road, then about 5 to 10 miles before someone stopped to check on him and give him a ride. His feet and legs were raw from making contact with cactus spines and thorns and rocks and pebble and grit and sand. he had a few blisters on his feet too. He was sunburned from the top of his balding head all the way down to the tops of his toes and badly burned at that. He was badly dehydrated, very hungry and partially delirious when found (but was an arsehat the whole time I knew him so not much had changed). The ride that had taken him maybe 45 minutes had turned into an hours and hours long grueling and exhausting walk. It was a walk for life that he almost lost. Had he had the foresight to have brought a few things along in his SUV, he could have been in a whole lot better shape when he arrived back in civilization.
The most important thing for anyone to have first, in order to survive, is shelter. Sure water is a necessity but you can find water or should I say even collect it with a poncho. If you don't know what I mean, read up on how to collection evaporative ground water in a survival book. You can also help preserve the water already in your body while wearing things like a poncho and a cap like a boonie hat. Add to that the protection each can give you from the sun's burning rays and you can see the importance of having the right clothing along on any trip you make. Sure, a poncho and a boonie cap do each have their limitations. They are both best used in warm to somewhat cool weather but each can be used, in an emergency in the cold of winter or the heat of summer.
Thinking of those limitations, the best portable shelter or clothing to have on hand would be something that fits the season in which you are out and about and to have seasonal layers of clothing in the event of rapid temperature changes. So while it is a good idea to always have a winter coat handy in winter and a heavy sweater for under it, think about that a moment too. When you drive to the supermarket in the winter time, what do you wear. Here, back in the northeast, people all to often go out without enough clothing to keep them barely warm should they find themselves suddenly stranded outside of their vehicles. After all, even though it may be in the mid twenties outside and snowing, who needs to bundle up in layers or a really thick goose down or polyester filled coat just to go to the supermarket. Heck, once you get there, it is heated and would be way too hot for that heavy winter gear - right! Your car is heated too and if like me you may go outside and start it up 10 minutes before leaving, then go back inside to wait until the engine and the heater are warmed up. So what do I wear, a sweater and a short jacket. Not too bad where I live but not great because old habits sometimes die hard.
I often dressed like that for trips of about 200 miles up to my uncle's old farm. If I had a crash, or slid off the road due to ice or snow and my car got stuck, what was I to do. Since cell phone reception is iffy at best on that road, it is always possible I might have to get out and walk for miles to get help. I would sure be happy to be wearing a good heavy winter coat, a thick sweater, long johns, a good hat, a good pair of hiking boots, warm mittens or gloves and so on - instead of a medium weight jacket, a light sweater, a pair of sneakers, my boonie hat and a pair of thin gloves. Yet, I ask again, how many of us really give things like that a thought before we go out for a routine thing like a trip to the supermarket or to a relative's place?
My habit has been pretty much, over the past 33 to 35 years or so, to go out sort of prepared. Yet, it took quite some time for me to realize that being prepared did not just mean going out with a gun on my side, a knife in my pocket and a jug of water in my car or bottle or two of water in my bag of tricks. It took me years before I realized that going out prepared meant always going out with a 24/7/365 portable shelter along with me - that portable shelter being made up of suitable seasonal and or emergency clothing. I suffered way too many sunburns, minor frostbite three or four or maybe even half a dozen times, sore and tired eyes, swollen or blistered feet and an awful lot of discomfort getting soaked because I did not learn that soon enough. Luckily for me, I never was seriously injured because I was lax in that regard.
Today, it is pretty much a different story. I may go out locally not necessarily dressed for the weather but that does not matter all that much because I am in a well populated area and close to home. Shelter abounds. When I am on a road trip, or on a hike, or gone hunting or fishing, or even out of the general area of my home even in a populated area, I try to take along at least my day pack with my boonie cap and my poncho among other survival items. Regardless of the time of year, I always have extra seasonal clothing with me in my car when on a trip. You may think, why bother, I have my car for shelter but that is not always true. Take for example that guy who drove his SUV out into the Mojave Desert. It gets hotter inside the vehicle, even with he windows open than it does outside and bear in mind, his SUV broke down so he had no AC.
One more example before I finish up. This one is hypothetical to some degree but also based on a real life event. You probably have seen the type, the real macho guy or arsehat, who decides that even though it is in the 30s or even the 20s, he has to go out wearing a pair of Bermuda or other summer shorts. He may have a hip length winter coat on and a hat and gloves, maybe even a pair of hiking boot but he is wearing shorts too. What makes these guys tick is beyond my comprehension but it is their lives not mine. Now think, what would happen to that guy if he was out driving and wrecked his car in a one car accident, maybe went off the road and hit a tree, out in the boonies and was injured when it happened. Maybe he gets out of the car, is disorientated and heads out into the woods instead of back to the highway. Think - what happens to him when the temperatures drop from the 30s to 20s to teens and he is out in the woods at night in his Bermuda shorts. Maybe they made him look oh so cool at Walmart or Cabelas or wherever but now have him appearing oh so very cold. Fact is, he does not just appear cold, he is cold, he is probably freezing his behind off.
Remember, I said that last was hypothetical but also based on real life. Well it is not just based on the fact that some guys wear Bermuda shorts in the cold of winter but also on the fact that not all that long ago, a U.S. Marine was reportedly involved in a minor traffic accident on a highway in the middle of winter. Instead of doing what most people would have done, like pull off to the shoulder of the road to exchange insurance info with the driver of the other vehicle, this guys fled out into the woods and was out there for two days. Yep, you guessed it, he was wearing shorts. He was also wearing sandals and no socks and what looked like a light fleece. Lucky for him, authorities found him out in the forest under some pine boughs he was using to try to stay warm. Check out the pic in the article, at the link, showing the lost Marine and one of the officers who found him. Whom would you want to be dressed like, in the woods, in the snow, in the winter? Had it been a few hours more, the Marine may have died. He reportedly had some issues with panic attacks after minor stress situations (like the accident?)and suffered from PTSD and those may have had to do with why he ran from the accident.
Why he wore shorts and sandals, in the middle of winter - who knows. I guess it was that his car's heater worked well or maybe those shorts looked oh so cool or maybe he felt macho or maybe it was just comfortable but as I said those are just my guesses. What is not a guess is that he was ill prepared for his ordeal. Me, I am not going to guess on what I will wear. I will stick to wearing at least a warm jacket and warm sweater and a hat and gloves and at least jeans in cold weather near home or on the road, and maybe even wool/polypropylene long johns too if cold enough. Maybe not as warm as could be but better than Bermuda shorts in the dead of winter. I will also have some more suitable clothes in my trunk when on he road out of town. Over packing for a trip has never been a concern to me, I just do it. It is almost a given, I'll have my boonie cap and poncho with me too.
Speaking of being away from home naturally brings home to mind. So, come to think of it, it is not a bad idea to check your wardrobe at home too. Is it stocked with what you would need to survive a whole year or more in the event of a TEOTWAWKI situation? While I was mostly talking about every day SHTF situations above, the thing is we could face a devastating set of circumstances during which we might be unable to obtain the necessities of life. What if there was a nationwide calamity? An earthquake of major proportions could cut off most of our national supply of natural gas, thus fuel for heat may be shut off. Food stuffs may be in short supply or completely off the shelves if there is a depression or agricultural/natural disaster like drought. If we are invaded, ammunition and guns may be banned for sale or just bought out in a panic. Gasoline for transportation and oil for heat may be in very short supply or not obtainable if oil producing nations boycott us or if terrorists blow up pipelines. You hear preppers talking about stocking up on many items every day and about them being ready with generators and fuel supplies and food and water and seeds for gardens and guns and ammo, and bug-out shelters. Now tell me, how many do you hear about who have stocked up on seasonal and emergency clothing? Let's face it, if the natural gas lines are blown up by terrorists and the electrical grid likewise, well it could get mighty cold in many parts of the USA in January - like inside our homes. Even those with generators to power up electrical heaters may be cold pretty soon; after all how much fuel for the generators can they have on hand!
So, yes the clothes on your back (or on your legs and over your butt) or the spare clothes (or that military surplus wool blanket) in your car's trunk, or that you have in your closets, can be the key to your survival because clothing is indeed our primary shelter, the first line of shelter that we have against the elements. The proper clothing is easily portable (could not be any easier than wearing it) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year. By the way, that day pack I mentioned above a few times, I almost consider it clothing too, I have had it with me, wearing it over a shoulder or both, just about as often as I have worn clothes over the few years I have owned it. Well that pack is a Camelback Pack (thankfully mine is a camo pack I can use when I hike or hunt and is not like most the styles, appearing on their current website, that I think would be appealing to metro-sexuals) and has an integral 1.5 liter or 2 litter water bladder. Really now, all kidding aside, such a pack, regardless of the look of it, is not a bad piece of gear to have along to carry things like your boonie hat, gloves or mittens, a poncho, a fleece pullover, and some other life saving essentials like a compass, a fire starter, a flashlight, extra batteries, some food and a first aid kit. Remember though, the having or not having the right portable shelter, as in the right clothes for survival, can make or break the man or the woman - your life may depend on what you are wearing. So dress for the occasion and for the weather. If you don't, then at least bring along the right clothes and or have some bare bones survival clothing/shelter, like a boonie cap and a poncho, with you at all times.
All the best,
Glenn B
The primary shelter that I am writing about is proper clothing. Think about it. Clothing, in essence is exactly that - a shelter. It performs the most basic function of any other shelter, it protects us from the elements. If we use the proper clothing for the weather, then it protects us from all sorts of nasty things that nature throws at us. A simple thing like a boonie hat can keep the sun off of our heads, keep us fairly dry up top in the rain and snow, keep the glare of the sun and rainwater and snow out of our eyes helping us to maintain our vision, keep us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Heck, it even keeps shell casing from hitting you in the face at the range or in a firefight. Yet how many of us wear or carry a boonie hat or something similar to it every day of the year? I have carried one with me at least 95% of the time over the past 10 to 15 years and it has been a great item to have on hand at all times of the year in all kind of weather just as described above. Now that I am retired, I am sad to report I have slacked off on carrying one with me that often as I keep it in a day pack with some other essentials I always had with me while working. The furthest away from me was usually in the trunk of my car although I must say I virtually always had the pack slung over one shoulder or on the front seat of the car next to me or on my desk in the office or in my house when at home.
That hat, or one like it, is not the only thing in the portable shelter line, aka clothing, that we should have with us to protect us from the elements. Another item that was and remains in my day pack is a poncho. Here is a piece of clothing that can help protect us from the rain, the snow, heat and cold. If need be (and I do not mean a piece of junk 79 cents poncho but at least a real military surplus or military style poncho) a poncho can be used as a temporary ground shelter. In other words you can make a lean to or a tent out of it to protect you from the rain or the sun. Furthermore, a poncho can probably help prevent rapid evaporation of perspiration thus helping you to stay hydrated longer even if you run out of drinking water. You can also use a poncho to get water, even in some very dry conditions, although in that regard, the 79 cent version may actually be up to the task.
Thinking along the same lines, I have to ask, how many of us have gone for a drive in the country - maybe to a hiking trail or a fishing spot, or just for a ride down a long seldom used road in the middle of nowhere or maybe even trail riding in an SUV without giving a thought to how we were dressed. I mean without a thought to our clothes relative to a SHTF situation that might arise and require us to go into survival mode. Now I am not talking an end of the world as we know it situation, just an every day kind of an "oh no, the SHTF" type of a deal. Let me give you an example.
A guy I knew, way back when I was a young Border Patrol Agent, decided to take his 'new to him' but used SUV for a ride out in the desert. I am not talking the Sonoran Desert that is surrounded by mountains many of which have year round water on them. I am talking going for a ride in the Mojave Desert in southern California and it was in the middle of July. It was hot out, probably well into the low one hundreds. He took his joyride in the middle of the afternoon. Not only did he forget to bring a water can in case his vehicle overheated, he did not bring more than a small bottle or two of water or soda for himself. Lest you think I am getting off track, let me also mention what clothing he brought or did not bring along on the ride. A muscle man tee-shirt, a pair of shorts, and pair of flip flops and maybe underpants. That was it, all he wore, all he had. He did not have one other survival item as far as shelter/clothing went and not any other gear except maybe a pistol and pocket knife. I am pretty certain he only had a pistol as far as those two items went.
Are you getting the picture? He was ill prepared at best for any SHTF event that might arise. If you are wondering how I know about such a boring issue as him going on such a trip dressed like that, the reason is because he told us all about it after his recovery. Yep, he told us all about how his SUV broke down out in the middle of the desert, virtually in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization. He told us with great vigor too, that is once he was able to talk again after trudging about 20 to 25 miles through the desert with the sun beating down on him, the great part of the walk after he had run out of water. Even if not as an extreme place as the Mojave Desert in July, you might be starting to see that when you go out someplace you should not only dress appropriately for what you are doing but you should also have some clothing on hand that will protect you from the elements in the event the SHTF as it did for this character. Want to know what happened to him? He walked 15 or so miles to the nearest road, then about 5 to 10 miles before someone stopped to check on him and give him a ride. His feet and legs were raw from making contact with cactus spines and thorns and rocks and pebble and grit and sand. he had a few blisters on his feet too. He was sunburned from the top of his balding head all the way down to the tops of his toes and badly burned at that. He was badly dehydrated, very hungry and partially delirious when found (but was an arsehat the whole time I knew him so not much had changed). The ride that had taken him maybe 45 minutes had turned into an hours and hours long grueling and exhausting walk. It was a walk for life that he almost lost. Had he had the foresight to have brought a few things along in his SUV, he could have been in a whole lot better shape when he arrived back in civilization.
The most important thing for anyone to have first, in order to survive, is shelter. Sure water is a necessity but you can find water or should I say even collect it with a poncho. If you don't know what I mean, read up on how to collection evaporative ground water in a survival book. You can also help preserve the water already in your body while wearing things like a poncho and a cap like a boonie hat. Add to that the protection each can give you from the sun's burning rays and you can see the importance of having the right clothing along on any trip you make. Sure, a poncho and a boonie cap do each have their limitations. They are both best used in warm to somewhat cool weather but each can be used, in an emergency in the cold of winter or the heat of summer.
Thinking of those limitations, the best portable shelter or clothing to have on hand would be something that fits the season in which you are out and about and to have seasonal layers of clothing in the event of rapid temperature changes. So while it is a good idea to always have a winter coat handy in winter and a heavy sweater for under it, think about that a moment too. When you drive to the supermarket in the winter time, what do you wear. Here, back in the northeast, people all to often go out without enough clothing to keep them barely warm should they find themselves suddenly stranded outside of their vehicles. After all, even though it may be in the mid twenties outside and snowing, who needs to bundle up in layers or a really thick goose down or polyester filled coat just to go to the supermarket. Heck, once you get there, it is heated and would be way too hot for that heavy winter gear - right! Your car is heated too and if like me you may go outside and start it up 10 minutes before leaving, then go back inside to wait until the engine and the heater are warmed up. So what do I wear, a sweater and a short jacket. Not too bad where I live but not great because old habits sometimes die hard.
I often dressed like that for trips of about 200 miles up to my uncle's old farm. If I had a crash, or slid off the road due to ice or snow and my car got stuck, what was I to do. Since cell phone reception is iffy at best on that road, it is always possible I might have to get out and walk for miles to get help. I would sure be happy to be wearing a good heavy winter coat, a thick sweater, long johns, a good hat, a good pair of hiking boots, warm mittens or gloves and so on - instead of a medium weight jacket, a light sweater, a pair of sneakers, my boonie hat and a pair of thin gloves. Yet, I ask again, how many of us really give things like that a thought before we go out for a routine thing like a trip to the supermarket or to a relative's place?
My habit has been pretty much, over the past 33 to 35 years or so, to go out sort of prepared. Yet, it took quite some time for me to realize that being prepared did not just mean going out with a gun on my side, a knife in my pocket and a jug of water in my car or bottle or two of water in my bag of tricks. It took me years before I realized that going out prepared meant always going out with a 24/7/365 portable shelter along with me - that portable shelter being made up of suitable seasonal and or emergency clothing. I suffered way too many sunburns, minor frostbite three or four or maybe even half a dozen times, sore and tired eyes, swollen or blistered feet and an awful lot of discomfort getting soaked because I did not learn that soon enough. Luckily for me, I never was seriously injured because I was lax in that regard.
Today, it is pretty much a different story. I may go out locally not necessarily dressed for the weather but that does not matter all that much because I am in a well populated area and close to home. Shelter abounds. When I am on a road trip, or on a hike, or gone hunting or fishing, or even out of the general area of my home even in a populated area, I try to take along at least my day pack with my boonie cap and my poncho among other survival items. Regardless of the time of year, I always have extra seasonal clothing with me in my car when on a trip. You may think, why bother, I have my car for shelter but that is not always true. Take for example that guy who drove his SUV out into the Mojave Desert. It gets hotter inside the vehicle, even with he windows open than it does outside and bear in mind, his SUV broke down so he had no AC.
One more example before I finish up. This one is hypothetical to some degree but also based on a real life event. You probably have seen the type, the real macho guy or arsehat, who decides that even though it is in the 30s or even the 20s, he has to go out wearing a pair of Bermuda or other summer shorts. He may have a hip length winter coat on and a hat and gloves, maybe even a pair of hiking boot but he is wearing shorts too. What makes these guys tick is beyond my comprehension but it is their lives not mine. Now think, what would happen to that guy if he was out driving and wrecked his car in a one car accident, maybe went off the road and hit a tree, out in the boonies and was injured when it happened. Maybe he gets out of the car, is disorientated and heads out into the woods instead of back to the highway. Think - what happens to him when the temperatures drop from the 30s to 20s to teens and he is out in the woods at night in his Bermuda shorts. Maybe they made him look oh so cool at Walmart or Cabelas or wherever but now have him appearing oh so very cold. Fact is, he does not just appear cold, he is cold, he is probably freezing his behind off.
Remember, I said that last was hypothetical but also based on real life. Well it is not just based on the fact that some guys wear Bermuda shorts in the cold of winter but also on the fact that not all that long ago, a U.S. Marine was reportedly involved in a minor traffic accident on a highway in the middle of winter. Instead of doing what most people would have done, like pull off to the shoulder of the road to exchange insurance info with the driver of the other vehicle, this guys fled out into the woods and was out there for two days. Yep, you guessed it, he was wearing shorts. He was also wearing sandals and no socks and what looked like a light fleece. Lucky for him, authorities found him out in the forest under some pine boughs he was using to try to stay warm. Check out the pic in the article, at the link, showing the lost Marine and one of the officers who found him. Whom would you want to be dressed like, in the woods, in the snow, in the winter? Had it been a few hours more, the Marine may have died. He reportedly had some issues with panic attacks after minor stress situations (like the accident?)and suffered from PTSD and those may have had to do with why he ran from the accident.
Why he wore shorts and sandals, in the middle of winter - who knows. I guess it was that his car's heater worked well or maybe those shorts looked oh so cool or maybe he felt macho or maybe it was just comfortable but as I said those are just my guesses. What is not a guess is that he was ill prepared for his ordeal. Me, I am not going to guess on what I will wear. I will stick to wearing at least a warm jacket and warm sweater and a hat and gloves and at least jeans in cold weather near home or on the road, and maybe even wool/polypropylene long johns too if cold enough. Maybe not as warm as could be but better than Bermuda shorts in the dead of winter. I will also have some more suitable clothes in my trunk when on he road out of town. Over packing for a trip has never been a concern to me, I just do it. It is almost a given, I'll have my boonie cap and poncho with me too.
Speaking of being away from home naturally brings home to mind. So, come to think of it, it is not a bad idea to check your wardrobe at home too. Is it stocked with what you would need to survive a whole year or more in the event of a TEOTWAWKI situation? While I was mostly talking about every day SHTF situations above, the thing is we could face a devastating set of circumstances during which we might be unable to obtain the necessities of life. What if there was a nationwide calamity? An earthquake of major proportions could cut off most of our national supply of natural gas, thus fuel for heat may be shut off. Food stuffs may be in short supply or completely off the shelves if there is a depression or agricultural/natural disaster like drought. If we are invaded, ammunition and guns may be banned for sale or just bought out in a panic. Gasoline for transportation and oil for heat may be in very short supply or not obtainable if oil producing nations boycott us or if terrorists blow up pipelines. You hear preppers talking about stocking up on many items every day and about them being ready with generators and fuel supplies and food and water and seeds for gardens and guns and ammo, and bug-out shelters. Now tell me, how many do you hear about who have stocked up on seasonal and emergency clothing? Let's face it, if the natural gas lines are blown up by terrorists and the electrical grid likewise, well it could get mighty cold in many parts of the USA in January - like inside our homes. Even those with generators to power up electrical heaters may be cold pretty soon; after all how much fuel for the generators can they have on hand!
So, yes the clothes on your back (or on your legs and over your butt) or the spare clothes (or that military surplus wool blanket) in your car's trunk, or that you have in your closets, can be the key to your survival because clothing is indeed our primary shelter, the first line of shelter that we have against the elements. The proper clothing is easily portable (could not be any easier than wearing it) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year. By the way, that day pack I mentioned above a few times, I almost consider it clothing too, I have had it with me, wearing it over a shoulder or both, just about as often as I have worn clothes over the few years I have owned it. Well that pack is a Camelback Pack (thankfully mine is a camo pack I can use when I hike or hunt and is not like most the styles, appearing on their current website, that I think would be appealing to metro-sexuals) and has an integral 1.5 liter or 2 litter water bladder. Really now, all kidding aside, such a pack, regardless of the look of it, is not a bad piece of gear to have along to carry things like your boonie hat, gloves or mittens, a poncho, a fleece pullover, and some other life saving essentials like a compass, a fire starter, a flashlight, extra batteries, some food and a first aid kit. Remember though, the having or not having the right portable shelter, as in the right clothes for survival, can make or break the man or the woman - your life may depend on what you are wearing. So dress for the occasion and for the weather. If you don't, then at least bring along the right clothes and or have some bare bones survival clothing/shelter, like a boonie cap and a poncho, with you at all times.
All the best,
Glenn B
NAKED Recreation: Just When I Thought I Had Seen It All...
...I find this link. My goodness, how could I have been missing this organization throughout my whole life?
http://www.aanr.com/
I guess it is okay for some folks, but the whole idea of going for walks through the woods in the buff, or fishing on a party fishing boat with all those hooks-a-dangling, or hiking a trail in the very cactus filled Sonoran Desert, or hunting without wearing a stitch in November, or falling asleep in a lounge chair poolside while in the raw just kind of creeps me out. Why is that? Well, I have already been sunburned on parts on which the sun should never shine long enough to require you to wear sunblock down there. I fell asleep on a beach at summer camp and my shorts either were pulled down by a prankster or worked their way down. Maybe it was because, in my sleep, I scratched areas that had poison ivy. What can I say, over the three prior days, before passing out at the beach, we campers were on a hike and had to wee in the woods and fields and I did not pay attention to where I was going. I paid for it. Oh yes, I paid with the pain of being burned like a lobster over my popping and oozing poison ivy blisters on my never again to be seen in public parts. But I learned a lesson that I have never forgotten. So as I said, nude beaches and clubs like these nudie deals are not for me unless I can just be an observer...
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.aanr.com/
I guess it is okay for some folks, but the whole idea of going for walks through the woods in the buff, or fishing on a party fishing boat with all those hooks-a-dangling, or hiking a trail in the very cactus filled Sonoran Desert, or hunting without wearing a stitch in November, or falling asleep in a lounge chair poolside while in the raw just kind of creeps me out. Why is that? Well, I have already been sunburned on parts on which the sun should never shine long enough to require you to wear sunblock down there. I fell asleep on a beach at summer camp and my shorts either were pulled down by a prankster or worked their way down. Maybe it was because, in my sleep, I scratched areas that had poison ivy. What can I say, over the three prior days, before passing out at the beach, we campers were on a hike and had to wee in the woods and fields and I did not pay attention to where I was going. I paid for it. Oh yes, I paid with the pain of being burned like a lobster over my popping and oozing poison ivy blisters on my never again to be seen in public parts. But I learned a lesson that I have never forgotten. So as I said, nude beaches and clubs like these nudie deals are not for me unless I can just be an observer...
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 6, 2012
Happy Pesach (Passover)
To all my Jewish friends and to my Jewish readers, I wish you a Blessed, Happy, Safe and Healthy Passover. Enjoy the Passover seder and the readings from the Haggadah.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Education - You Want It For Free? Wake Up And Get A Job To Work Your Way Through College
"No cuts, no fees, education should be free." and "Let us in, let us in" were among the repeated chants of "angry" protesters who tried to force their way into a trustees meeting in Santa Monica College. They were angry about tuition costs about to be raised. As they tried to storm into the meeting room, campus police, apparently unable to otherwise control the unruly mob, let loose with pepper spray and reportedly doused about 30 of the protesters with it. See:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/04/students-angry-over-raise-in-course-prices-pepper-sprayed-at-california-college/?test=latestnews
I say, good for the officers in this instance but sadly, I believe that school officials will try to turn them into scapegoats. One school official has already said that the incident has given the school a black eye and my guess would be that he meant the officers' use of pepper spray. I think with odds of 30 to 2 (two police officers and at least 30 folks in the crowd or even a higher number of protesters as the overall mob size was never mentioned in the article) the officers has more than a reasonable fear that they might be hurt and the use of pepper spray, which is considered a 'soft technique' not necessarily requiring threat of bodily injury by many LE agencies and departments, was more than justified - it was prudent.
The people at fault here were the protesters in my opinion. Just their attitudes alone reek of ultra-leftist idealism. Watch the video and listen to the arrogance of the one apparent student saying something to the effect of how dare they pepper spray students. Who does that asshole think he is? Does he think he is entitled to the sweat off of other peoples' brows, and the money out of their pockets, just because he and a handful of others want to go to school on the cheap. What did they chant, that 'education should be free'? I have to wonder, just how do they think the building materials for the campus were obtained, did students go out and by the sweat of their own brows mine the gypsum for the sheet rock, did they get aching backs by digging the foundation holes, did they draw up the architectural plans and then implement the actual construction of the buildings - all without pay. I ponder whether or not they wrote and printed the books and other educational materials all at no charge. Did they also produce the paper on which the printed word was written, doing so as a community effort at no cost? Then did they walk into the classroom and teach others receiving no salary for their efforts and will they make that their careers. Or was it that, in the real world and not in their ultra-leftist communistic fantasy world, all the things associated with the education they are demanding cost money or some other form of trade. Why is that? Is it because others, such as architects, construction workers, planners, trustees, publishers, researchers, faculty, administrative workers and on and on have worked hard at it and they want to be able to eat and provide for themselves and their families?
I think these people who want it all for free, who demand it for free, do not gives a rat's arse about you and me and how hard we have worked to earn our keep. They seemingly think themselves special, as being better and more deserving than anyone else. They want it taken from us and given to them so that they can have the benefits of it all without having to earn those benefits themselves. I have two words for them: Fuck Them. If that language offends anyone who reads this, tough noogies. It is the protesters and their 'what's yours is mine' attitude that should offend you!
One thing is kind of nice in this whole thing - seeing that those bastions of liberal dogma, the colleges, have turned into exactly what they have been preaching against for years. That is, they have turned into big business. Hey professors, "Welcome to The Establishment, welcome to the real world" is all the rest that I can say...
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/04/students-angry-over-raise-in-course-prices-pepper-sprayed-at-california-college/?test=latestnews
I say, good for the officers in this instance but sadly, I believe that school officials will try to turn them into scapegoats. One school official has already said that the incident has given the school a black eye and my guess would be that he meant the officers' use of pepper spray. I think with odds of 30 to 2 (two police officers and at least 30 folks in the crowd or even a higher number of protesters as the overall mob size was never mentioned in the article) the officers has more than a reasonable fear that they might be hurt and the use of pepper spray, which is considered a 'soft technique' not necessarily requiring threat of bodily injury by many LE agencies and departments, was more than justified - it was prudent.
The people at fault here were the protesters in my opinion. Just their attitudes alone reek of ultra-leftist idealism. Watch the video and listen to the arrogance of the one apparent student saying something to the effect of how dare they pepper spray students. Who does that asshole think he is? Does he think he is entitled to the sweat off of other peoples' brows, and the money out of their pockets, just because he and a handful of others want to go to school on the cheap. What did they chant, that 'education should be free'? I have to wonder, just how do they think the building materials for the campus were obtained, did students go out and by the sweat of their own brows mine the gypsum for the sheet rock, did they get aching backs by digging the foundation holes, did they draw up the architectural plans and then implement the actual construction of the buildings - all without pay. I ponder whether or not they wrote and printed the books and other educational materials all at no charge. Did they also produce the paper on which the printed word was written, doing so as a community effort at no cost? Then did they walk into the classroom and teach others receiving no salary for their efforts and will they make that their careers. Or was it that, in the real world and not in their ultra-leftist communistic fantasy world, all the things associated with the education they are demanding cost money or some other form of trade. Why is that? Is it because others, such as architects, construction workers, planners, trustees, publishers, researchers, faculty, administrative workers and on and on have worked hard at it and they want to be able to eat and provide for themselves and their families?
I think these people who want it all for free, who demand it for free, do not gives a rat's arse about you and me and how hard we have worked to earn our keep. They seemingly think themselves special, as being better and more deserving than anyone else. They want it taken from us and given to them so that they can have the benefits of it all without having to earn those benefits themselves. I have two words for them: Fuck Them. If that language offends anyone who reads this, tough noogies. It is the protesters and their 'what's yours is mine' attitude that should offend you!
One thing is kind of nice in this whole thing - seeing that those bastions of liberal dogma, the colleges, have turned into exactly what they have been preaching against for years. That is, they have turned into big business. Hey professors, "Welcome to The Establishment, welcome to the real world" is all the rest that I can say...
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 2, 2012
Job Interview #1
After putting in about 25 applications for jobs, I have finally been contacted by one of the companies and in fact was actually interviewed for the job today. It was a telephone interview for the position of Field Interviewer. It's a part time and temporary position that would require me to work about 20-25 hours per week for 1 to 2 months with the possibility of an extension. It would also require a trip to Washington D.C. for a week or so of training, all expenses paid. I do not think I am at liberty to name the company or the types of interviews I would be conducting but I imagine I can tell you that the pay is $17.00 per hour.
It sounded to me as if the interviewer was impressed, she even said as much. She also said she is forwarding my name for consideration by her manager. She expects I will hear back from them with 72 hours. Sounds great to me, I am keeping my fingers crossed but certainly am not going to discontinue my job search.
All the best,
Glenn B
It sounded to me as if the interviewer was impressed, she even said as much. She also said she is forwarding my name for consideration by her manager. She expects I will hear back from them with 72 hours. Sounds great to me, I am keeping my fingers crossed but certainly am not going to discontinue my job search.
All the best,
Glenn B
Ballseye The Plumber - Far From It...
...but I did manage to change the worn out washers on the faucet for the sink in the basement today; I did it without causing a major leak too. As a matter of fact, the faucet now works pretty good, no more drips and I actually got round to it before ruining the seat.
Last time I tried to change the washers the darned faucet just kept leaking. So, I got new faucet valves and installed them too. I actually picked out the right ones, out of what seemed like hundreds of choices at Home Depot, all without knowing the brand or size I needed. Just did it by sight and good guess work. Thing was, I thought I had screwed up and gotten the wrong ones because after installing them the faucet still leaked. I had to call a plumber for something else and decided to have them take a look see. They took out the old faucet seats and replaced them because that time round, the washers had gotten so worn it was metal on metal and that ruined the seats.
This time though, I got to the washers right when they needed to be changed and the seats and valves were not ruined. Did a pretty good job if must say so myself. Please, don't tell my wife or she may get the idea that I know how to do other things around the house and then she may get the idea that I should be doing them.
All the best,
GB.
Last time I tried to change the washers the darned faucet just kept leaking. So, I got new faucet valves and installed them too. I actually picked out the right ones, out of what seemed like hundreds of choices at Home Depot, all without knowing the brand or size I needed. Just did it by sight and good guess work. Thing was, I thought I had screwed up and gotten the wrong ones because after installing them the faucet still leaked. I had to call a plumber for something else and decided to have them take a look see. They took out the old faucet seats and replaced them because that time round, the washers had gotten so worn it was metal on metal and that ruined the seats.
This time though, I got to the washers right when they needed to be changed and the seats and valves were not ruined. Did a pretty good job if must say so myself. Please, don't tell my wife or she may get the idea that I know how to do other things around the house and then she may get the idea that I should be doing them.
All the best,
GB.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Welcome To Belgistan - Soon To Be Coming To A Neighborhood Near You - Are You Ready For It
The friend of mine who sent me the below video said this in his email to me:
Make sure that you have enough ammo. Jihad coming to a neighborhood near you!!!
He could not be anymore right that it is coming to a neighborhood near us - maybe sooner than we expect. I assured him, I have enough ammo. Now I just need to make sure I have enough of other supplies like food and medical items. I have already started building up my supplies of food, my most recent order being 36 pounds of flour, 42 pounds of rice and 20 pounds of quick oats. I will try to buy a bit more each month. I have had a few weeks of food on hand for quite the while now, mostly canned goods but I am starting to build up a supply of long term survival foods like the ones I just mentioned. It is coming folks, either a major SHTF situaton or TEOTWAWKI - in one form or the other. If I am still around when it does, I want to be ready for it and I do not mean I will be ready to give up my way of life nor my liberties, rights or freedoms.
A hat tip to Tom K. for that video!
All the best,
Glenn B
Make sure that you have enough ammo. Jihad coming to a neighborhood near you!!!
A hat tip to Tom K. for that video!
All the best,
Glenn B
Death And Taxes
Last year, I wound up beating death by living through a pretty bad bout of neck cancer that had spread extensively in my lymph glands. That has continued into this yea so far - that is me managing to stay among the living and beating out death. When it comes to taxes, I have not been so lucky, seems they are inevitable every tax season.
I just got our annual income tax returns finished. Actually, I had them finished about a month ago but lallygagged, hemmed and hawed and just plain procrastinated until today before triple checking them and submitting them electronically. I found one or two minor things that needed correcting, got myself about a buck more back in our refund due to that. While we are getting a refund, ad do consider that a plus because while it gathered no interest for us and did for the government, it is money I would not have otherwise saved up. Since I am recently retired, I am on a very limited income right now consisting mostly of my annuity which is for now coming to me as partial payments. I figure I am getting around 58% of my actual pension which works out to about 43% of what I had been getting paid in salary. It can take many months for the government to get it right. Funny how that works because when you go to work for them, they know, in the first 2 weeks, how much to deduct for everything but when you retire it can take up to 8 months for them to get your pension right! That is so funny it friggin hurts because it is not easy living on a sudden reduction to about 45% of what my annual pay had been over the past 3 years. I still have to pay all my bills and none of them have been reduced, for example I just paid the 2nd half of my school taxes and that was well over a couple of thousand. Local village tax is coming up soon too and medical and other bills are piling up fast. I will get them paid though but it ain't easy right now. Sooner or later, OPM will figure out my actual finalized pension payments and it will start sending me the correct amount. OPM will also send me a lump sum payment for what it owes me because of the partial pension payments. That should be a help to make things easier but I have to say, these friggin taxes are just about beating us into the ground but we are managing to hang in there.
The job search is continuing. I have put in for about 25 jobs over the past 3 weeks. Probably more than people on unemployment are required to put in for in order to keep benefits. I have thought of applying for unemployment but am hesitant. I never have received it and am pretty proud of that fact but if I do not find a job soon I may do so. It is my understanding that since I retired because I had cancer, I may be eligible for unemployment as opposed to had just retired voluntarily with the cancer factor in there. Hopefully I will not have to find out and I will find a job soon. I have a telephone interview scheduled, for one job, this Tuesday. It is not a great job and is only part time and probably temporary but I figure why not go for it until something better comes along. That is, of course, if they select me after the interview.
All the best,
Glenn B
I just got our annual income tax returns finished. Actually, I had them finished about a month ago but lallygagged, hemmed and hawed and just plain procrastinated until today before triple checking them and submitting them electronically. I found one or two minor things that needed correcting, got myself about a buck more back in our refund due to that. While we are getting a refund, ad do consider that a plus because while it gathered no interest for us and did for the government, it is money I would not have otherwise saved up. Since I am recently retired, I am on a very limited income right now consisting mostly of my annuity which is for now coming to me as partial payments. I figure I am getting around 58% of my actual pension which works out to about 43% of what I had been getting paid in salary. It can take many months for the government to get it right. Funny how that works because when you go to work for them, they know, in the first 2 weeks, how much to deduct for everything but when you retire it can take up to 8 months for them to get your pension right! That is so funny it friggin hurts because it is not easy living on a sudden reduction to about 45% of what my annual pay had been over the past 3 years. I still have to pay all my bills and none of them have been reduced, for example I just paid the 2nd half of my school taxes and that was well over a couple of thousand. Local village tax is coming up soon too and medical and other bills are piling up fast. I will get them paid though but it ain't easy right now. Sooner or later, OPM will figure out my actual finalized pension payments and it will start sending me the correct amount. OPM will also send me a lump sum payment for what it owes me because of the partial pension payments. That should be a help to make things easier but I have to say, these friggin taxes are just about beating us into the ground but we are managing to hang in there.
The job search is continuing. I have put in for about 25 jobs over the past 3 weeks. Probably more than people on unemployment are required to put in for in order to keep benefits. I have thought of applying for unemployment but am hesitant. I never have received it and am pretty proud of that fact but if I do not find a job soon I may do so. It is my understanding that since I retired because I had cancer, I may be eligible for unemployment as opposed to had just retired voluntarily with the cancer factor in there. Hopefully I will not have to find out and I will find a job soon. I have a telephone interview scheduled, for one job, this Tuesday. It is not a great job and is only part time and probably temporary but I figure why not go for it until something better comes along. That is, of course, if they select me after the interview.
All the best,
Glenn B
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