Which Would You Prefer: Ski Poles or a .44 Magnum

It seems a hiker who was mauled by a brown bear, apparently protecting her cubs, climbed a tree to escape the wrath of the sow. At some point he depended on ski poles to defend himself from the raging sow that seemingly continued to try to get at him while he was up in the tree. Imagine that, going for a hike in Alaska and depending on ski poles for defense against a bear. Me, I would have preferably used a .44 magnum that I would have had strapped to my side (if the right to keep and bear arms was truly honored in this country) or had I not been able to carry a pistol I would have carried a 12 gauge loaded with slugs or a rifle in a good sized caliber. Heck - why not carry both a long gun and a handgun if at liberty to do so.

In this case, somehow, ski poles may have been just enough, if not to keep him from being badly mauled, then to keep him alive. Well, the poles along with him being able to climb a tree and hang on for dear life until help arrived. Luckily he was able to place a 911 call (imagine that - his phone worked) and State Troopers saved the day but that day must have seemed to have taken forever for the hiker. I am truly surprised the bear did not use the ski poles for after dinner toothpicks for her and her cub. 

Imagine the terror, being stuck up in a tree, swaying in the wind, bleeding badly from wounds that had been inflicted by a brown bear, trying not to pass out from blood loss while hanging on for dear life and that mad as hell mama bear is still trying to get you to feed to her cub. Now imagine it taking about 2 hours for the police to arrive while all that was going on. Yep, I think I would have chosen a .44 magnum over ski poles any day. 

See the story here:

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/12/12185917-alaska-man-mauled-by-bear-climbs-tree-to-escape?lite/

All the best,
Glenn B

Idaho A Firearms Owner's Paradise...

...and if only is wasn't so cold, I might move there. Why? Because there is something about it that warms my heart. Last time, though, that I was there was during the Winter Olympics that were held in Salt Lake City, UT in late 2001 or early 2002. I was working a voluntary assignment as a Federal Air Marshal and my partner and I spent 3 or 4 weeks in Pocatello, ID. The night we got there it was -25 degrees Fahrenheit (give or take two degrees). That was without the wind chill factor and it was cold.

Now though, it seems to be thawing out a bit out that way. The thing about Idaho that has warmed my heart recently is that it is striving to become one of the, if not the most, gun friendly of states. It has been making an effort to lure gun and ammo manufacturers to within its borders and since there are currently about 58 companies there that manufacture firearms and ammunition, I would say they are doing a bang up job of it.

See: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/11/firearm-friendly-town-in-idaho-lure-gun-makers/?test=latestnews (make sure to watch the video that accompanies the article, sorry there was not an embed code to put it here on my blog).

All the best,
Glenn B

Would You Take Your Kid To The Range For A Birthday Party - I Would Take Mine - Even Now

A firearms range, under construction, is planning to host birthday parties for children as young as 8 years old. The parties will apparently include hands on firearms for the youngsters, with some range time. Not a bad idea, I think, from the sound of it. That is, at least, if they have good supervision over the kids while on the range. I could see parents not wanting to let the kids have birthday cake after they shoot, so maybe it would be a good idea to have the cake first, then get the lead out. I like it, really do. Figures it is not in New York or anywhere close and that it is in Texas. Gotta love it.



See: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/texas-gun-range-host-children-birthday-parties-170222318.html

All the best,
Glenn B

A Zombie He Was Not

Rudy Eugene may have seemed like a zombie, when he allegedly attacked Ronald Poppo and allegedly tore off Poppo's face with his teeth, but partial autopsy results have been reported and they apparently indicate that Mr. Eugene did not have any flesh in his stomach. It did not say whether or not there was any in his esophagus that may have made it part way to his stomach.

There were some undigested pills, reported to have been in his stomach. I do not think the undigested one are the ones they need to be all that concerned about, except as toward identifying earlier drugs he may or may not have taken. If he was under the influence of pills, it would be the ones he may have ingested earlier and then already digested that would have driven him crazy. I imagine time and the continuing autopsy will tell.

So it appears that, a zombie he was not. Maybe he was just a drugged out or otherwise crazed individual who snapped and went violently berserk on an unsuspecting victim or maybe evil entities made him do it but it certainly was not normal behavior that was alleged. See: http://www.christianpost.com/news/miami-cannibal-autopsy-reveals-no-flesh-in-stomach-pill-capsules-now-under-investigation-video-76392/ He sure seemed pretty zombie like to me, I stand by my earlier opinion on that aspect of it all.

Hopefully Mr. Poppo will hit the lottery and be able to pay for his medical bills which I think I heard could be well up over one million dollars, not including years of therapy - both physical and mental. Then again, where would he get the dollar to pay for the ticket. It appears that the tax payer will foot his bills but nonetheless, I must wish him a speedy and as full a recovery as possible. Almost no one deserves what he got.

All the best,
Glenn B

Glock 26 - I Need An Update

I sent the slide assembly for my Glock 26 into Glock USA for repair due to the front night sight having failed. I asked them to change the night sights to standard iron sights. It did not seem like it would be a problem. As a matter of fact, they said to make it easier and less expensive for me, to send just the slide assembly, so I did not have to go through an FFL for the return. That was okay by me. I sent it out, via UPS, on April 18th. According to the paperwork I had to fill out for Glock, there was a 4 to 6 week turnaround. It is now a bit past 7 full weeks so I sent Glock an email, this evening, inquiring about the status of the repair.

The big surprise in this whole thing is that Glock never sent a confirmation email or any other type of acknowledgement that they received the Glock 26 slide. I find that a bit unusual and a bit less than professional; then again - it was not a complete firearm so I guess it is not considered as critical an issue by Glock. It sure would be nice had they done that. other than that, Glock Customer Service has been a sterling example of what customer service should be like. A Glock rep answered my email inquiry and followup questions promptly and completely and sent me everything I needed to know about how to send in the slide to them. He also told me there would likely be no charge to put on the standard sights. Now, if they would just get it back to me, I would feel a whole lot better. Well, at least going to the range with the 26 and firing a couple to few hundred rounds through it and it being right on target would make me feel better.

Not carrying the bigger pistol I am now carrying might also make me feel better. I have been carrying one of my Beretta 9mm pistols, a 92FS. I don't really mind the bigger pistol but must say sometimes my lower back seems to mind. Amazing what just a little weight difference can do but my lower back has been getting used to the heavier pistol back in its proper place again. Once I have the Glock back, I think I may have to alternate which I carry - perhaps that would be good strength therapy for my back.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Am Thinking of Selling or Trading Some of My Guns

Am I crazy? Probably but that is what I have been thinking about. The ones I have in mind as possible ones to put up for sale or trade are:

NEF Pardner single shot shotgun in 12 gauge

Browning Citori Lightning Shotgun in 12 gauge

Remington 513T Matchmaster bolt action rifle in .22LR

Remington 241 Speedmaster semi-auto tube-fed in .22LR

High Standard Duramatic semi-automatic pistol in .22LR

I am none to sure I am going to sell or trade away any of these but as I said, I have been thinking about it. Chances are, if I do decide to sell, it would only be some of those mentioned and not all of them. I really need to give it some serious thought because the U.S. office of Personnel Management, relative to getting me my full pension instead of partial payments, is dawdling as my savings is dwindling. without a job to supplement my pension, it is proving tough to keep up with my property taxes. Selling some guns would be one way to help make one or two tax payments. Then again, I may just let the savings get down to almost nothing before I do something as drastic as selling off any of my guns. I am thinking about it though, may even sell some of them if OPM gets it right sooner than later. Then I can buy new ones but I am not about to do anymore gun selling/trading with an eye toward more gun buying until my pension payments have been finalized.

Unless I sell some to buy new ones, let's hope this is all just a bunch of idle thought. I sold guns once before when I needed money (right after getting married) and virtually vowed to myself not to ever do it again because of how much I had sellers remorse after getting rid of them.

All the best,
Glenn B

Why I Encourage Firearms Owners To Get Firearms Training

I listened to The Squirrel Report online broadcast last night; well to be honest - not to all of it but quite a bit more than half of it. It was my first time as a listener of that online audio discussion panel. I was all ears when the topic of firearms training came up. I was pretty dismayed by the fact that at least one of the panelists seemed to believe that some firearms trainers or bloggers, who strongly advocate for training, are really trying to tell those in the gun world that if you train you are better than those who do not train in a social status type of way. I can understand why that was brought up and why the panelist thought that way, I can even understand why others on the panel seemed to agree to a certain extent. Most assuredly, there are some real arsehats among those who receive training, and yes they probably think themselves as socially superior in the world of gun folks. Thankfully, they are the exceptions. Yet, championing of training, as a method toward betterment, is sometimes, even oft times,  misconstrued as snobbery by those who have not been trained or who have not been trained as much as someone else. In such cases, I think many miss the point about how the whole training thing actually makes one better. For now, I will merely point out that, in my opinion, training certainly does make you a better and more responsible gun owner. That is especially so for those who obtain a firearm for self defense purposes - but more on this later.

Before I delve into why I recommend that anyone who gets a firearm for self defense should also be trained in how to proficiently use that firearm, allow me to tell you what are, and are not, the essentials of firearms training. Firearms training is basically the way by which you become educated about firearms. That is it, in a shell casing. What it is not is a method by which people, who have been trained in various aspects of firearms use, should try to stratify themselves as being better than other people in a caste like system sort of way.

Now, why to train, especially for those who have a firearm for self defense:

I strongly recommend firearms training, as much as you can reasonably accomplish, if you have a firearm for self defense. I make that recommendation with the absolute conviction that if you are well trained you will be a better gun owner. The great majority of people who are trained in firearms are simply people who want to do it better than they did before their training. While firearms training may not make you socially superior to a gun owner who has not trained with firearms, it certainly does make you better, or at least has the potential to better you, than the other guy. No, no, no, not better socially. Didn't I just say it does not elevate you on the social status ladder! How it makes you better is that if you train in various aspects of firearms use and tactics, you likely will become better than you would have been had you not been trained and you may also be better at handling, shooting and firearms tactics than an untrained person. Mostly, it is self improvement that gives you an edge and I think that an awful lot of people, who do not see the need to train, miss that by a long shot. You see, it does not matter that the other law abiding citizen, who owns guns, is not trained in their use. It does not make them less of a law abiding citizen (unless they are required by law to get the training), does not make them less moral, does not make them less nice - you get the picture. Likewise, being well trained does not make a person more law abiding (unless the training is mandated by law), more ethical, or a friendlier person. It does, as I said above, improve or better them in a personal, self fulfilling, self improvement, sort of way and it gives you a potential advantage over someone such as an assailant who may not be as well trained.

What good practical training does is gives you that edge, a possible advantage, a one up that can make you the winner in an armed encounter. How does it do that? It does so because it prepares you for various situations, for things you may never have expected or thought about on your own and it gives you options. In addition, after you have trained long enough, and covered enough of the numerous aspects of firearms use and tactics, you come to the point where you can reliably improvise. Thus you may be able to make wise tactical decisions during the heat of the moment even though the encounter in which you find yourself was never directly addressed in training. In other words, training helps to educate you to make educated choices should you ever be involved in a self defense encounter that was not exactly like those scenarios that were used as examples during your training. Someone who does not have that same education, or a similar one, may not do things to their best advantage or may not expect you to do the things that are to your own advantage, thus that winning edge I was talking about.

Uncle Joe teaching you how to squirrel hunt (no reference to The Squirrel Report intended) with a 22 rimfire is fine but unless Uncle Joe is trained in firearms tactics and instruction, I would avoid him teaching me how to act during an armed encounter with a bad guy. The same thing goes for most of the other sources of training, I prefer a professional trainer to them all. 

Here is an example that will point out some of the other types of training. Danielle is worried about crime in her neighborhood. She decides that because of the recent rash of home invasions, many resulting in the residents winding up badly beaten or even shot, she is going to buy a gun for self defense. Being a woman in and of modern times, she goes on the Internet to search out information about guns and obtaining them legally. Along the way she pays attention to the things she sees about shooting and so on. She joins a firearms forum and asks lots of questions. Finally, she feels ready to purchase a gun and goes to the gun store. Luckily, for her, someone on the forum recommended she try to find a gun store with a range, where she can try out several pistols before deciding on which to buy. She does just that. After trying several, she decides on a Beretta in .380. She purchases the pistol and some accessories like a cleaning kit, a holster, and some ammo.

Her training was not formal but she certainly was trained to some extent. Some from the Internet gun forums, some from the guys who run the gun store, some from other shooters at the range. Yet, her training is not over. When she gets home, she opens the case of her new pistol and before taking it out to admire it, she takes out the manual and reads it from cover to cover. She discovers that there are certain idiosyncrasies about her pistol that make it quite different than others, such as the fact that it has an additional operating mechanism that allows the barrel to pivot up and away from the frame and slide. She also has read up on how to field strip it for cleaning and decides to give it a try. She takes the pistol out of the box, checks that it is empty and takes it down. She cleans it and then reassembles it.

Would she have been able to do any of what I mentioned if she had not been trained? No she would not. None of it was instinctual, it all required some amount of learning. Even the most novice among us is usually trained to some extent when it comes to firearms use. You would truly have to be a fool, to handle and shoot firearms, let alone carry one for self defense, without some sort and some amount of training beforehand. In fact, carrying one for self defense increases the need for training more so than say collecting wall hangers. Sure, you can do it just like Danielle did it and never go beyond that as far as training goes or you can proactively seek some education for yourself on how to do it to the best of your capability. Why bother? Because you do not want to learn the hard way that you could have been better prepared to face an adversary who is intent on injuring or killing you when he is actually trying.

Let's continue with Danielle for a bit here. She starts to carry her pistol (yes legally). She wears it in the holster that she bought when she purchased the pistol. It is a design she saw a couple of others at the range using. An open topped leather holster that rides inside the waistband. There is no retention device other than the friction of the holster body. She can draw lightening fast and get right on target. she is not all that concerned about pistol retention, heck she has never even heard the term before, but even common sense told her that her pistol should not fall out of her holster if she runs, or jumps and the holster seems to hold her pistol snugly. She goes out to the market wearing her new rig. when she gets home, she finds goes into her house and hear an unfamiliar noise. She realizes someone is in her home and it sounds like he is rifling though drawers. This is her house, she is armed, she goes to investigate. She has made her first tactical mistake. had she received proper training, she would have realized that it might have been best for her to have walked right back outside and called the police once she was safely away from her house.

She walks down the center hall toward her bedroom, her gun is in hand, her eyes on, and only on, the doorway to her bedroom, the room from which the noises are coming She sees an intruder going through her belongings. He hears her and starts to turn on her and appears to be drawing a weapon, she fires, he goes down and he drops a pistol. She goes closer to see if he is still alive. She has watched television and movies, she actually remembers having seen a police officer on a show pick up the bad guy's gun to make sure he cannot access it again in the vent he is only wounded. She then clears it. Wow, she is on the ball so far. The guy seems to be gasping for air, he is pale, he looks as if he is dying. She backs out of the bedroom and holsters her pistol as she heads to the phone in the kitchen. As she reaches for the phone, someone grabs her from behind. They struggle. He grasps her pistol and pulls it out of the holster, he fires three times. Danielle is wounded, and falls to the floor; the bad guy takes off and makes off with her gun too. The dirt bag who shot Danielle was one of three who had been in her home. He hid when he at first saw her with a gun. Was afraid to come out while she had the gun out. Was passed by her in the hallway twice, once as she went to her bedroom, then when she headed to the kitchen, he was in another room off the hall. Then, as you saw, he got the jump on her because she never realized he was there and he came u behind her after she had holstered her pistol. What had she done wrong that a professionally taught firearms training course or three may have made her do differently.

We already know that maybe it would have been best for her to leave immediately once she her the noises, then call police. She was not in immediate danger of harm at that point. Once she had decided to check out her house to investigate the noises it was a different story and had she had some tactical training as well as retention training or even holster selection training things may have turned out differently. If you did what she did, came home and found someone in your home, would you investigate further or get out? If you would investigate, would you, after finding one intruder, expect that he was the only one or would you realize that home invaders often, if not usually, work in teams? Would you have tried to secure the bad guy's gun? Would you have any idea of how many times you fired at the intruder? Would you have any idea of how many rounds were in your weapon? Would you have reloaded once there was a lull in the action (would you even be carrying an extra magazine)? Would you have even stayed in the house after shooting the first intruder you encountered? Would you give loud and clear verbal commands to the other guys in the house, to drop there weapons and put there hands up high over their heads, even if you were unsure that anyone else was there? What else would you command them to do? Would you tell them, there accomplice was shot and dead and that could be their fate too? Would you command them to leave or to stay regardless of whether or not you actually knew anyone else was there? Would you have holstered your weapon before clearing the house or getting yourself to relative safety? Would you know what to have done had you been grabbed from behind and the bad guy tried to take your weapon away? Would you know how to defend yourself once someone else had your weapon? Would you, and I mean this most literally and seriously, be affected (as in distracted) by the fact that you feel the warm flow of urine running down your legs or the heaviness of a bowel movement in your pants? Would you be so shocked by this last unexpected development that you loose control of yourself completely and thus drop your guard?

Training can prepare you for all the things I have mentioned and more, much more. It can bring to light things you may never have imagined not only about how to shoot well, but how to consider a holster for purchase, how to fight back against someone going for your gun, how to retain your guns while under a hands on attack, what to do in a situation like the one presented as to stay and investigate or get out to safety and call the police, and even to expect the possibility that the pucker factor (sphincter and bladder muscles) may fail and you may soil yourself and that you need to ignore it until you are safe.

Yes, training can make you better than the other guy. As I said though, not in a social way and you should not be concerned about it bettering you inn that manner anyway. The thing with which you need to be concerned, the person you want to be better than, is the dirtbag bad guy who may try to injure you or kill you. winning the fight for your life, against a guy or guys like that, makes all the professional training you can get well worth it. Want to know where to get it - try the NRA website. I recommend them before almost any other organization as an excellent source for all sorts of firearms training from basic gun handling to home defense. Why them? Because they have a national program and have instructors who have all been trained to train you in essentially the same manner as one another. Sure, you can go elsewhere and I recommend that too but I strongly recommend you start with training from NRA certified instructors in an NRA training course. After you have been trained, practice, practice, practice, then get some additional training. You don't have to go overboard but some basic gun handling training and a bit of basic and even some advanced self defense training can be a really good thing.

Sometimes staying safe depends totally upon your own abilities. Think about when you are more able, when well trained or not. The choice is yours. Unless you we team up during a SHTF situation or TEOTWAKI, or maybe even during the Zombie Apocalypse, it does not matter to me one iota how well your are trained. It will matter to you whether it is you or the bad guy who is the better trained person when the bad guy is trying to kill you or your loved ones. Leaving it to dumb luck is simply not for me; I want to be the better man in such an encounter. Remember, it is not a social status thing. It is being better personally, being more responsible toward yourself or your loved ones, with the intent to come out of an armed confrontation alive and as the winner. If that doesn't float your boat, then don't train and maybe win by dumb luck, or maybe sink like the Titanic when the unexpected happens and you are ill prepared to deal with it. It is your choice.

All the best,
Glenn B

My New Obama Tee Shirt

Yep, I have an Obama T-shirt. It just arrived in the mail, day before yesterday. I decided to give it a try-out so I wore it while out at a few stores today. I visited Lowe's, Home Depot, P.C. Richard & Sons and Target. I got a few stares (not sure if in admiration or disgust) from the salesmen at P.C. Richard & Sons. A couple of people at Lowes' obviously averting their eyes but one guy in the parking lot said: "I like your shirt". In the Home Depot parking lot, another person commented similarly to the guy at Lowe's, Then in Target, a group of three young guys walked by me in the store, one said "nice shirt" and another of them something to the effect of "All Fucking Right". A guy in the Target parking lot, driving a van, almost ran me over. I cannot determine if that was because his head was up his ass or because he saw my shirt but I think it was the former.

I first saw the shirt on Kenny's blog Knuckledraggin My Life Away. I liked it immediately, so I left a comment asking where I could get one. He posted about where to buy them. I ordered one for me and one for my son. It was delivered to me within a few days of the order. My son saw his, laughed and said thanks.

Seems to be a high quality shirt, not sure if the words are painted on or are a rubberized press on. I prefer silk-screened painted shirts as the graphics seem to last longer when done that way. Hopefully its message will be heeded by the election and how long the graphics last will not matter much after November! If you like it too, you can get one at the same place I got mine.

Oh, did I forget to post a pic of it, here it is:

I truly like my new Obama T-shirt. What do you think of it?

All the best,
Glenn B

New Blog Added To Blog Roll

I added yet another blog to my blog roll, it is: The Art Of Manliness and falls in the Blue Zone under the header: TAKE A SHOT WITH THESE SHOOTIST BLOGGERS Not At Them. This new blog covers a wide gamut of manly things (things that any modern woman might like too) including blog posts about guns and shooting. If you saw my post immediately prior to this one, you will know it also covers super seekrit survival equipment, such as Tampons!

All the best,
Glenn B

Tampons For Survival - Uneblievable? You Be The Judge!

I never knew just how versatile a few Tampons might be when it comes to survival situations. I know now! I am willing to bet that once this gets around a bit more, other people will be thinking up plenty of new survival uses for them. To see what I am writing about, go here:

This was too good, and both funny and serious, not too share. Who knew that tampons could be such a versatile survival tool. See:

http://artofmanliness.com/2012/06/05/survival-tampon/

(A hat tip to Deb H. for this one.)

All the best,
Glenn B

"Red Ape" Shirted Man Points Gun At 4 Year Old

The following is a somewhat disturbig video. Not a lot of graphic violence or anthing gory but a lot of threatened violence that may get your blood boiling. If the depicted armed robbery does not get you all fired up then listen to what the reporter claims police said about the only thing that will stop these bad guys. Hint, the police apparently forgot to mention that these guys getting shot during their next robbery attempt would be a way to stop them. As if that would not be enough to get me pissed off, the female reporter goes on to say she hopes they are stopped without anyone being hurt. I see no reason to wish that these two aleged robbers are not hurt the next time they try something like that, in fact I would think it a public service if someone shot them to put an end to their life of crime. Of course, there always is the option to arrest them by announcing "Police don't move" thus giving them the oportunity to create a hostage situation. I wonder, when will the majority of liberal arsehats in this country wake up to realize that one of the acceptable ways to deal with violent crime is to deal with the criminals violently if they are threatening folks with inmminent serious bodily harm or death and that it not need be the police who take such action but can also be legally armed citizens in self defense or in defense of others.



See this link for the video and written article:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/18707412/child-dad-caught-in-robbery

All the best,
Glenn B

Oh My Achin' Jaw - Alcohol and Gunpowder Do Not Mix

I found the info on this over at The Next Chapter, where Zack had posted about it. I figured it was way too good not to steal and spread even the little further that I could by posting it here.

A guy in Decatur, AL reportedly tried to take care of an aching tooth by trying to shoot it out of his mouth. Once I saw that, I knew immediately that either one of three things besides an aching tooth and a gun had to have been involved: sheer stupidity, alcohol or drugs. I guess when you think about it, it would actually be at least two of those things because alcohol and drugs sure can make one stupid. As Jay over at MArooned says, stupid should hurt. I think it did in this case. See:

http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/story/Decatur-man-tries-to-shoot-out-aching-tooth/wHQDCsvH9UORgm4F0I76Uw.cspx

All the best,
Glenn B

Will Obama Tell The Chinese: "Don't Call My Bluff" and Get Away With It...

...or will he wind up starting WWIII, the USA versus China.

One can only presume, in the face of overwhelming evidence - as to our current piss poor budget (by way of which we owe China big time), the fact that our military is spread out in two theaters of war (yes we still have a lot of troops in Iraq), and the fact that we have a bunch of bureaucratic bed wetters, both Democrat and Republican, in Washington, DC - that we are ill prepared to go to war with China. The linked article explains the Obama Administration's apparent bluff, which is in essence that we are to move most of the U.S. Fleet into the Pacific and into areas of the South China Sea claimed by China.

What the article fails to mention is that the Philippines recently (within a month ago) sent what it has in the way of warships into an area of the South China Sea to confront a Chinese fishing fleet, who they believed were illegally fishing in Philippine waters. The same area is claimed by China, Vietnam and other countries. (Is it a coincidence that Leon Panetta made the announcement, about our fleet movement while in Vietnam!) The Chinese responded, to the Philippine naval action, by sending at least five (5) warships into the area.  Tensions were very high and it was believed there was a good possibility of military hostilities breaking out between the Philippines and China; see this artticle.

Presumably, tensions are still very high. In light of all that, it would seem logical that, the apparent bluff is intended to have China back away from facing off with one of our most cherished and strategically located allies - the Philippines. Hopefully, China will be impressed and back off and the fools in the current administration and in Congress will not engage us in WWIII with China in the event that China calls the bluff and raises the stakes by sending its own bluff right back at us. You can only bluff so long until you have to either fold or play the hand that was dealt, in this case that could mean war. While I like eating Chinese food and all - I just do not want to have to eat it each and everyday.

All the best,
Glenn B

Pretty Lady Giving A Sterling Shooting Exhibition

This shooting exhibition is sterling in more ways than one. First of all, it is so because it is a look at the Sterling 9mm Carbine being fired. Secondly it is being done by a rather pretty young lady who is a sterling shot. Finally it has a bang of an ending in which she shows she got her sterling's worth. It looks like it was a lot of fun too.



All the best,
Glenn B

Send Guns, Ammo and DDT

As if the recently reported face eating zombie like attack in Miami had not been enough to get one worried that impending doom may be upon us, it seems that nature (or a government funded mad scientist) has now taken us one step beyond that horror. It has been reported that two people in India have died, and scores more have been injured, by swarms of "highly aggressive" venomous spiders. According to a report, at FoxNews.com, the spiders have invaded Sadiya, in Assam state, India. Up until this time, the report says, venomous spiders were unknown in the area. It is a possibility, if the attacks continue, that The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch the powerful insecticide DDT may be used to combat the antagonistic arachnids.

There is a twist to this story, as is often the case with such stories emanating in third world countries. It seems the government is reporting that no one has confirmed the toxicity of the spiders' venom and it is now believed possible that all of the bite victims may have been the victims of a local witch doctor type. He reportedly incised all of the bite wounds to drain blood and burn it in some weird ritual to cleanse the victims of the spiders' venom. It is now said that, this procedure, not the spider bites, may have caused the fatalities and an investigation is under way. As usual, the government a hospital official comes up with what seems a rational (but unproven) reason for a seemingly supernatural event. However, the reasoning does not explain away an attack by swarms of overly aggressive arachnids. My guess is that, the Indian government, or some other government, or a mad scientist, or all, are in some way implicated in these attacks and they are only attempting to cover up a fiendish plot to conquer the world with trained attack spiders. Of course, this could have been the first wave of an attack against the earth by spiders from outer space. 

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In Hisory - Antioch and The First Hand Thrown Explosives

The hand thrown explosive, as a device of war, may have first been seen, by Europeans, on this day, June 3rd some 914 years ago. Today was the day, way back in 1098 AD, that the knights of the First Crusade ended the siege of Antioch and effected the seizure of said Turkish city.

While it has been a somewhat of a military secret, kept under wraps for most all of those years, we do have definitive proof that the first hand grenade was produced in Antioch and then became the spoils of war when a highly trained covert team of English commandos 
knights captured said city during the first crusade. It is unknown, to this day, why the Turks never attempted to use the device against their crusading assailants but it has been hypothesized that the Muslims who were in control of the city were unaware of its existence. It is believed to have been created by a Christian monk, in hiding, after the Muslims had taken over Turkey. This is, at least in part, evidenced by the official name of the device: The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

It was said to have been the most deadly lethal device of its era and probably would have been such at any later time in the age of man. It is believed by modern physicists that it would likely have become a weapon that could have ushered in the nuclear age, or even possibly that of cold fusion, hundreds of years before their time but you can rest assured that its unequaled destructive power will never be unleashed in modern times. Its secret design was lost soon after the device was seized and then used by the English.

Later, on the very same day that they had helped capture Antioch and had seized the Holy Hand Grenade, the small team of English commandos knights stealthily and rapidly continued on their quest to seek the Holy Grail. It was that very evening, while crossing harsh terrain, that they encountered what is said to have been one of the most terrible and blood thirsty creatures to have ever roamed the face of the earth - the Rabbit of Caerbannog. Amazingly enough, we have a video record (method of recording lost to the ages) of their encounter detailing the first and only use of the holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Be advised, viewing this video is not for the weak of heart nor for those with weak stomachs as it contains graphic beastly and abhorrent scenes of violence.





Me thinks us lucky that the power of this device was never brought forth to the modern ages and also fortunate too that the little white fur-ball was defeated as well.

If you find this subject interesting, you may want to view the complete historical archive of the very same, small but courageous, band of English commandos knights. It is available in DVD format titled under the code name of their quest: Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

All the best,
Glenn B

What Is The Problem With Some FFL's Today?

I recently had a firearm up for auction on an Internet gun auction site. Someone placed a winning bid, then promptly sent me the payment, a copy of his state issued ID, a a statement saying he can legally possess the shotgun (something I ask) and a copy of his local FFL licensee's dealer's license. Someone, probably the FFL holder by my guess, obliterated all of the numbers after the first three and before the last five license numbers, in other words essentially all of the numbers in the middle. At the bottom of the FFL, there is a place for the dealers signature who certifies by his, or her, signature that the FFL copy provided, for the transfer, is a true copy of his or her FFL.

Now, one would think, if you ran a business, in which you are required to have an FFL, and if you took the time and made the effort then paid the price to obtain a dealer's FFL, that you would have at least half of a brain. So why in the world would you send out a copy of an FFL, with your original signature, certifying that it is a "true copy" of your FFL when in fact it has had a good part of the license number obliterated by what appears to have been both black magic marker and black ball point pen!

I am probably going to refuse to transfer the gun until I receive a completely legible copy of the FFL license and if I do not receive it by next week, I will return the payment and paperwork. I have tried contacting the buyer to no avail so far. I sent out two emails to him but have not received any back from him. So, tonight, I sent him an email through the online auction house instead of going through my personal email account. I'll see if that works.

I just don't understand why an FFL holder, if it was the FFL holder who did it, would obliterate part of the license number when it has to be there. I certainly do not think the buyer did that and do not fault him at all at this point. The point is that I just don't understand why someone in the firearms business would make things more difficult than they already are when it comes to transferring firearms. Heck, I live in Newistan Yorkifornia - a very firearms unfriendly state - and certainly do not need anyone banging on my door at 0430 in the morning to serve a warrant and seize my guns because they think I did something wrong by accepting a copy of a FFL license that had the number partially wiped out.

Rant and rave comlete. Thank you.

All the best,
GB

Heck, It really Is Saturday Today

Sometimes, now that I are retired, I duz becomes confuZed beecause every day do seem to be a Saturday! Life is good.

All the best,
GB

It's Retiree Saturday Again...

...and while I had been convinced that every day being a Saturday, now that I am retired, was a good thing - I am no longer so certain of that anymore. For instance, today, I will go out and again tackle the roots remaining in what used to be my front lawn. Probably would have taken me all of a half hour at most with a roto-tiller but I have been doing it by hand. It seems my pampered and thus soft hands can not take all that much of the roots burning the skin away in small patches as I try to win the tug of war with the toes of the four trees on near my front lawn - an Linden tree at curbside, an Evergreen and Dogwood on the main  part of the lawn and a Japanese Maple on a section between the walkway and driveway that I have not even considered touching until I see how the main part of my postage stamp sized lawn comes out once I have replanted it. If I don't get that section right, then this fall I will call in some professionals to do it the right way. Now back to the backbreaking, knee pulverizing and finger blistering job that I have been doing over the course of what - two weeks now. Man oh man - those tree toes can sure get a grip and be hard to pull out but I am winning, slowly yes, but surely too. I have a small patch remaining, only about 4 hours of work (at most) left to me to get out rest of them. Once they are out, I will turn the soil a bit with a pick, remove any grass or weeds that started to grow since I began my project in lawn procrastination and then I will plant the seeds. That will take all of a half hour at most. what has been taking me so long is mostly that the darned root are a pain in the neck, literally, to pull out and that it has rained an awful lot over the past couple of weeks. Add to that a couple of raw pots on my left fingers, where roots slipped out of my dirty hands but where it seemed like the roots actually tugged back into the earth as I tried to yank em out and that made me take a day or two off too. Wussy that I am, I did not want to go back out there and get garden soil and cat crap (yes, as I was digging up and pulling out roots, I realized it smelled as if a cat let loose on my lawn a few times) into the sores, so I waited a day after each before continuing. Heck, I have a lot of time on my hands every day being a Saturday and all.

Of course, that means my wife thinks I should be doing things to fill my days. I spend about three to four hours online, at least three days per week, looking and applying for jobs. I actually have an interview set up for tomorrow morning for a security job at, of all places, a public library. The pay is pretty low, the hours are few and the job does not commence until September. I have to wonder why a library needs two guards on duty right during the hours the high school across the street from it gets out, make me wonder about whether or not it is a reform school. Oh well, first interview that has been offered other than an on the phone interview after which I did not get that job. I plan to be there with bells on. Other than looking for jobs, I do the wash, do the dishes, mend some minor things, mow the lawn, do some vegetable gardening and weed pulling and water the wife's flower garden. I don't do a heck of a lot. Maybe I should start some projects in the house just to keep me busy and her happy.

Today, I'll be mowing the lawn, putting out fertilizer spikes for the trees, and ripping out roots (and making the trees moan). After that, if there is still time, I have to package up a shotgun for shipment to Browning for repair. Hopefully I'll make a trip to UPS with it today, to get it on its way. As you can see though, it is already almost noon and I am still sitting here blogging via my laptop. Oh well, no hurry, I can always do whatever needs to be done on Saturday. Heck, that's right, today is Saturday - so is everyday now that I am retired. Rats!

Really now and right now, I have got to go and get some work done before the wife gets home from work or she may clobber me. Later 4 U.

All the best,
Glenn B

Village Voice Questions Police Shoot of Alleged Zombie Like Attacker

As incredible as it may seem, The Village Voice, has come out, questioning, and as I see it, apparently in opposition to, the police shooting of Rudy Eugene as he allegedly was attacking Ronald Poppo by reportedly eating off his face. Yes, they ask a lot of questions, but it sure seems they are, in the least, implying the officer was wrong to have shot Eugene. See this article.

Here is my opinion on that:

I almost cannot believe the outright idiocy of those on the ultra-left who think that the police using deadly force to stop an apparent raving lunatic's brutal attack on another man - one in which he allegedly had brutally injured and seemingly was about to further severely injure the victim - was unjustified. They claim that the Eugene was unarmed. They question the shooting and seem to imply that police should not have shot him because Eugene having been unarmed must have been a mitigating factor even though allegedly killing or severely injuring another. The Village Voice claims that the police ordered him to stop and he did stop "sort of"  because he looked up at the police while chewing the other man's flesh and growled. Thus they imply that at that moment Eugene was no longer an imminent threat to the victim (by law imminent being the end all be all as far as use of deadly force by the officer went when a person is in danger of death or serious bodily injury) and that the officer should have used a different degree of force other than deadly force. Then they back up that claim with a partial quote from a witness:

"The guy just stood, his head up like that, with pieces of flesh in his mouth. And he growled."

Then the Voice says: "Then police started shooting."

But that is not exactly how it happened according to other reports. Funny how maybe the Village Voice would show it with a little less of what was said so as to fit their viewpoint, isn't it? According to another report, this one here at The Huffington Post, it happened just a little bit differently, as per an on the scene witness:

"Vega later told news outlets that when Rivera yelled at Eugene to back away, the naked man merely raised his head "with pieces of flesh in his mouth," growled, and began chewing again."

Did you catch the little bit of difference, which probably did not matter toward justification of use of deadly force (the officer already had enough) but certainly that gave the officer even more cause to use deadly force. The assailant allegedly "...began chewing again". So, the officer fired one shot at the point when Eugene reportedly ignored his order and started chewing on the victim's flesh again. To me, the fact that, the alleged bad guy reportedly started chewing on the victims flesh again, would indicate - he had not stopped as lawfully ordered by the officer but had intended to continue to assault Mr. Poppo. Therefore, the victim's life was still threatened by imminent death or serious bodily harm. That imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death was all the justification that the officer needed to be justified in using deadly force. Then the officer shot him - once.

What happens next, right after the first shot, only goes to support the officer's mindset that Eugene posed a continued and imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to Mr. Poppo. Also from the Huffington Post article was this:

"Rivera reportedly then shot Eugene once, but Eugene still continued to attack Poppo's face, prompting the officer to shoot multiple times until he was dead."

Eugene allegedly continued to attack the victim and the officer, then and only then, fired additional shots beyond the first shot until Eugene stopped (the officer was justified to shoot until Eugene stopped and it does not matter legally if justifiably shooting to stop results in the death of the assailant). Get that, the guy had supposedly been shot and then allegedly continued his attack on the victim! What does that tell you? It tells you that if the officer had believed that Eugene posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the victim, at the moment he fired his first shot, then the officer was absolutely right in said belief as evidenced by Eugene's alleged further actions. That the alleged assailant had still posed an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to the victim was upheld by the alleged assailants further actions. so why second guess the officer when his apparent mindset was proven correct? Bear in mind, the officer did not have to 'know' that more serious bodily harm or death was going to happen, he needed probable cause to believe it was about to happen. If the facts of the alleged assault and that Eugene allegedly ignored the officer, remained atop of Mr. Poppo and then continued chewing on the victim's flesh was not enough to constitute such probable cause - heaven help us. Yet, the Voice then goes on in essence to say that, the moment when the alleged assailant looked up would have been the opportune time for the officer to have (now get this):

"...whip out the "non-deadly force" -- or a boot to the face, or a baton to the skull, etc. "

Maybe the folks at the Village Voice should learn exactly what constitutes deadly force because they most certainly advocated using it on Eugene even though they question the officer for having used it. A kick to the face definitely would be the use of deadly force and a baton to the skull absolutely would be the use of deadly force. So, what non-deadly force are they talking about when they actually give examples of deadly force and say that the officer should have resorted to it their way?

Maybe they were confused with regard to what is deadly force. Maybe they meant something like a TASER. They claimed that the police love TASERs and thus maybe should have used one of those because it is non-lethal force (true in most cases but sometime lethal). I don't know about TASERs that much but do indeed know that not every officer carries one. I also know that, in many cases, TASERs have not proved effective on the first shot against crazed assailants. Heck, even the officer's first gunshot did not stop Eugene from allegedly continuing to rip apart the victims face with his teeth.

There is no doubt in my mind, that if the facts are correct as reported by sources other than the Village Voice, the officer was fully justified in his actions and in fact, probably chose the best action to have taken. I think that it is about time that the ultra-liberal folks at the Village Voice, and any ultra-right wing anti-government types who also oppose this shooting, ought to realize, there is no reason for any officer, in such a situation, to put himself into harms way by getting as close as suggested so as to be able to strike the alleged bad guy with boot or baton. There also is NO reason for the officer to allow the victim, Mr. Poppo, to be continuously placed in harms way, not for even one moment longer, because you wanted the police to treat the alleged assailant in a gentler, less lethal, manner. Face it, the officer dealt with this alleged zombie like kook the only way he should have done so. It is about time you honor the officer, Miami Police Officer Jose Rivera, for saving a life instead of questioning him as if he is suspected of having done a wrong. Shame on you Village Voice, is all I can think.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's Memorial Day - Take A Moment...

...to think about all of those, in military service during wartime, who sacrificed all in defense of our nation to protect our way of life, our Constitution and us.

Today is the one day a year set aside for us as a nation to remember them, to memorialize them, lest they be forgotten. It doesn't take long to give them a thought, maybe to say a little prayer for them, to assure they will live on forever. They would have done at least that much for us had they survived and had we been the ones to have perished.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Can Almost Agree With Hard Line Muslims On This One

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/27/lady-gaga-cancels-indonesian-show-over-security441650/?intcmp=trending

While I don't agree with what were to have been their planned methods, I kind of, sort of, like the fact that they think she is terrible.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ah The Stamina Of Youth

The son got a bit snockered at his graduation party yesterday afternoon through last night through early this morning - him along with a good number of his friends, my wife (expecting a major hangover for her), daughter, my wife's coworker/friend, and some of our neighbors. I had a beer but was feeling too rundown to drink more so I drank about 5 cups of coffee. Luckily for me, and intelligently for Brendan's friends, they all decided to walk home. Most did not bring cars but the one who did left it parked on our block. Had they wanted me to, I would have driven them home but when I asked about driving them they all opted to walk. The party started at about 2PM yesterday, about an hour early when my in-laws showed up, then my sister her beau and my nephew and his best friend and slowly but surely all the rest we expected. It ended at about 2AM this morning right after I sent my son a text message reminding him he had work at 0700. He was still outside with one of the neighbors until then. From the sound of it, he headed upstairs to hit the sack at about 0210.

I went up to wake him for work; I am guessing that was at about 0655 or so. He was, up and out, on his way to work at 0703. Not too bad considering the party and all. I asked if he was still feeling a bit tipsy and he said "no" and did not appear to be at all; he had stopped drinking awhile before the party ended (that was smart on his part). Had he even hinted of still being under the influence, even just a tiny bit, I would have driven him into work. Yet, it may be a tough day at the kennel today, all those dogs yapping and Brendan maybe going to have a bit of a hangover, then again maybe not. College graduation only comes around once and he is still young, with lots of stamina, so he will make it through the day okay.

All the best,
GB

Is Sniping To Become A More Exacting Science?

A young lad, in Germany, has finally answered a 300 year old question left to us by Sir Isaac Newton regarding how to calculate the exact path of a projectile that is affected by gravity and air resistance. I would have thought this was already known but apparently it was only ever partly figured out until now. Perhaps the study and applications of ballistics will become more exact than they are now. In practical applications, I could see this enhancing a sniper's capability to hit targets at further distances than were previously thought possible or in the ability of one nation to better target another with ballistic missiles. (That is a scary thought - isn't it; seems to be more than enough scary stuff in the news today!)

All the best,
GB

Has The Zombie Apocalypse Actually Begun - Naked Man Shot and Killed By Police In Miami

"Miami police and witnesses say that an officer on Saturday fatally shot a naked man who was chewing on the face of another man on a downtown causeway off-ramp."

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/26/cop-shoots-kills-naked-attacker-in-miami/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz1w59Qh3E6

"Police theorize the attacker might have been suffering from "cocaine psychosis," a drug-induced craze that bakes the body internally and often leads the affected to strip naked to try and cool off."

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2818832/naked-man-shot-killed-on-macarthur.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2818832/naked-man-shot-killed-on-macarthur.html#storylink=cp

Yeah right, but that is not what I am thinking. I don't know about you but stuff like this scares me and makes me think of places like Racoon City (if you don't understand the reference, watch the movie Resident Evil). Maybe it is because I watch many too many zombie movies or maybe it is because seemingly crazy people who commit monster like violence are becoming all too common or maybe it is a combination of both. As it stands now, this attack, with its zombie attack like similarities - a man, a naked man at that, in a very weird location for both him and the victim to be afoot, chewing off another man's face and ignoring police orders to desist, then being shot several times to stop him and the police having an immediate hypothetical reason as to why he was naked and violent to the extreme - is almost too much for me to cope with, this early, on a Sunday (or as I now say in retirement, just another Saturday) without me thinking about something horrifically phantasmagorical like a zombie apocalypse. All that, especially before my first cuppa Joe, was pretty freaky. What I can cope with though is not important.

I almost cannot fathom what the police officer who had to shoot this guy is going to go through. Not so much because he shot him and killed him but because of the gruesomeness of the crime that he witnessed and took decisive action to end. Neither can I imagine what the victim of the crime will have to go through after having survived an unusual assault as that and likely winding up facially disfigured for life (they said the guy ate half of his face).

Just way too weird not to be scary.

All the best,
Glenn B