If The North Koreans Get It - Why Don't Our Governments?

"North Korea said on Sunday a push for further sanctions following its fifth and biggest nuclear test was “laughable”, and vowed to continue to strengthen its nuclear power." (Source.)

The governments that keep imposing sanction after sanctions onto North Korea for violating just about everything possible in regards to agreements and treaties covering their nuclear development, especially as relative to nuclear weapons, are evidently full of mindless idiots. Even after North Korea itself has admitted that the use of sanctions against that country is laughable you can bet our politicians will continue relying on sanctions that have had little effect and that will do little to nothing to prevent North Korea from someday using those weapons against us or our allies Maybe it is about time that we stop joking and start nuking - as fry them before they fry us.

All the best,
Glenn B

Three Women Fire Bomb Police Station In Mombasa

Before reading the article, I bet myself that the three "robed" women who fire bombed a police station in Mombasa, Kenya were not Catholic nuns and...I won the bet.

http://www.oann.com/robed-women-petrol-bomb-police-station-in-kenyas-mombasa/

All the best,
Glenn B

Remembering 9/11 In A Personal Way



How can we as a nation ever forget or forgive the attacks of September 11, 2001!

Not long in time before 9/11.



Looking down from west of the site. The Custom House is in the
foreground just past the green roof of the World Financial Center.
The remains of it and one of the towers, in the courtyard, take up
entire right side of the photo. Remains of 7 WTC rubble pile to left,
spanning Vessey St. and breaching Custom House evidence vault.




Rubble pile (either the same one or similar to one from 7 WTC) that
spread across Vessey St. to the south side of the Custom House.
 A coworker and I, accompanied by recue workers, climbed over
 the debris pile to access a customs vault to secure evidence on
the Friday night after the attacks. It was scary to say the least.

 

The Custom House - luckily all personnel had evacuated.

 

Part of a wall from 1 WTC leaning up against
the Custom House as viewed from the east.

 I did not take any of the above photos. I got the WTC photos I have here and there on the Internet and from coworkers who either took some or found them online. I was a Special Agent with Customs at the time and as luck had it, I was in CT for some training on the day itself. I went to the site over the course of part of two days to help with rescue and recovery efforts; that was a few days after the attacks. Anyway, these pics have personal meaning for me so I saved them. Figured I would share them again.

Besides looking at those pictures this morning, I also took a look at what amounted to my insurance claim after the attacks. I had been assigned to 6 WTC since around June of 2001 and also had been assigned full time duties as a firearms instructor. It was Paradise but did not last long. Anyway, I have a Word file saved in the same folder as the photos. It is amazing how many things came to mind when I looked over the personal items I lost (some like a few of my pistols being recovered and returned to me later). Memories of work assignments, of details to other offices like a trip to Arizona and another to Haiti and just a reminder of how long I have been taking my current high blood pressure medicine were all brought back by reading through the list of items I lost. It is hard to believe it has been 15 years since then as those memories while a bit faded by time are still pretty strong.

Of course, the photos, my insurance claim and my memories only show a very small bit of the big picture. The towers burning, crumbling to dust, the thousands killed or wounded, the folks leaping to their certain deaths from high stories in desperate attempts to flee the flames, the heroes who gave some and those who gave all trying to save others by running into the towers to help, the thousands fleeing down the streets as the towers collapsed, the regular folks (non-emergency workers) who volunteered and flocked to the site to help in anyway they could, the nation coming together unified in cause even if only briefly, that is the real story of 9/11.

I think: That we have cowered under the regimes of two feckless presidents since then who have not retaliated with all of our nation's might (although one tried much harder than the other in seeking to destroy our enemies) against each and every country that played a part in planning, carrying out or facilitating these attacks; that we consider some of those countries as allies; that we did not execute each and every terrorist at Guantanamo; those are all the shame of it. That we released prisoners who subsequently again plotted or actually took part in  later attacks against our troops or involved themselves again in terrorism against other nations, and that we have allowed Islamic Terrorists to form groups such as ISIS and thus to continue a reign of terror is the disgrace of it. That some in our country actually believed and still believe that our own government had some sort of conspiratorial hand in the attacks is the insanity of it.

I truly believe, we should never forget and never forgive. I believe we should do all we can do to protect our nation and her people and that means we need to fight terrorism without reservation and destroy terrorists either until they all have breathed their last breaths or we have breathed ours. We should always remember and honor our fallen, we should stand unified as a nation in avenging them and most of all, it should be personal for all of us!
All the best,
Glenn B


So True

 

All the best,

GB

Bovine Fart Counting Inspectors Wanted - Apply Sacramento Capital Building

The state of California may soon be hiring inspectors to count the fart of cows. Leave it to Sacramento legislators to come up with and approve regulations regarding the amount of ass gas given off by bovines. They are hoping to reduce methane in the atmosphere. next thing you know they will cut down the redwood forest to cut back on the amount of carbon dioxide produced by trees.

See: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/01/cow-fart-regulations-approved-by-californias-legislature/

How they will actually enforce these regulations without having fart counting inspectors at each dairy farm or cattle feed lot is cloudy to me.

All the best,
Glenn B

Well - Kilted To Kick Cancer Has Begun And...

I am not in it this year. I did not receive an invitation to re-join the fund raiser for 2016, I imagine they sent one but did no have my latest email address. Then again someone over there could have thought to contact me through Facebook or through the link on my blog but apparently no one did that. Regardless, it was my bad for not getting them my new email address.

Even though it was somewhat of a pain in the butt and I was somewhat disgruntled with how it was run last year, I mellowed about all that and would have been willing to do it again. I suppose though, it is okay I am not doing so because to tell you the truth, besides being a labor of love so to speak, it was a pretty big expense considering I had to buy a couple of kilts (and even the moderately less expensive ones are not inexpensive) and accessories, print flyers, make appearances kilted and such. It also was a bummer because I did not raise anywhere nearly as much in donations as I had expected.

So this year, I will pick one of the fund raisers and donate through his or her effort. It sure won't be as much from me as in past years but will be as much or a little more than I can afford right now. I just checked on how much I may get for my 11 year old Toyota Corolla and it seems I would be lucky to be paid $2,500 by the other guy's insurance company for my car having been totaled by him. So, I suppose I will need about another 15 grand to buy a new car. Along those lines, it seems I'll be making a small down payment and will be making payments on a new car for at least a few years.

Oh well, I will donate as much as I can to KTKC and I hope you do too; as I have said before, it is a worthy cause.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gun Control

History has proven this right, time and time again:

All the best,
GB

Mexico & Clinton - More Biased Balderdash In The Media?

So, Reuters is reporting that Hillary Clinton will not have a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and they are making it appear as if she said she will not do so because Donald Trump created problems there. (Souce of both of the following quotes.)

"U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Monday she will not accept an invitation from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for a visit after rival Donald Trump created what she called a "diplomatic incident" in his foray there."

Doesn't that sound to you like she said she will not meet with him because Trump created a diplomatic incident there. It sure sounds like that to me and many readers would probably get that far and stop reading, at least the biased for Clinton and against Trump voter types that so strongly seem to support a leftist platform and let's be honest, also the die hard Trump voters who cannot accept any criticism of him. Yet, if you would just read on, to the very next paragraph, you would see that apparently that is not what Clinton said in response to a question as to whether or not she would meet with the president of Mexico. What she said was much briefer and seemingly made no reference to Trumps visit there, at least if quoted correctly.

"In a written excerpt from an interview with ABC News that will air Tuesday morning, Clinton simply said "no" when asked if she would travel to Mexico before the election on Nov. 8, without elaborating further."

The first paragraph certainly seems like an embellishment or certainly at least an exaggeration of what she reportedly really said, at least it seems that way to me especially in light of the fact that it was reported she did not elaborate further.

Now pardon me for being so bold as to say this but wouldn't one think that the candidate who keeps boasting about her record as Secretary of State (the chief diplomat in the USA) would most assuredly accept an invitation from our country's neighbor to the south to visit with that country's president as a sign of good diplomacy if for no other reason! Instead, she just gives a one word answer "no" that she will not accept such an invitation and snubs him just like that.

I also imagine that one would think that the candidate that Clinton brands as racist, Donald Trump, would never accept such an invitation. Yet, he did so and has already met with the Mexican president. Regardless of their differing opinions on border security and illegal immigration and whether or not they clashed over such issues, at least Trump had the respect for president Pena Nieto to meet with him and discuss the issue face to face. And to think, now Clinton is trying to assert that Trump's visit was a dismal failure because she says he did not breach certain issues - who is kidding whom here! She is a weasel at best and likely will be the ruin of America if elected.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ryan John

My daughter is a mama and my son-in-law a papa with the arrival today of their son Ryan John. That makes my wife an oma  (grandmother), my son an uncle, my wife's brothers grand-uncles, my sister grand-aunt,  and my mother-in-law an omi (great-grandmother ). As for me, I guess it makes me gramps or in other words an old fart but a very happy one at that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Home Safe & Hopefully Sound

Brendan and I just got home about 15 minutes ago and sure made good time getting here. My head still aches from the accident on Saturday night and I am going to try to see doctor today and if not today then tomorrow.  As for Mimi she seems okay now, I think the sedative and pain meds have worn off after her visit to the vet because of the run in with the porcupine.

On the ride home, since my son was driving, I called the insurance company of the driver who rear ended my Toyota Corolla on Saturday night. I filed a claim with them and they said someone would call me back tomorrow for more info or whatever and to get things rolling after the holiday. The lady to whom I spoke also said that once they get their client's side of the story they will arrange to pay me if he admits what he was at fault. That made me ask "Hasn't he filed a claim yet" and she told me no he had not done so as of my call. I muttered something more to myself than to her but she replied to it when I said something like 'That does not sound good'. She replied: "No it is not". I hope there are not going to be problems with this guy, it was bad enough he drove his SUV right into my car's ass end and maybe even was accelerating even though the speed limit dropped by 20mph. I certainly don't need any more problems with this mess.

All the best,
Glenn B

What A Weekend

There I was, at about 0330 this morning letting Mimi outside to answer nature's call. She went and as soon as she did off she went. I knew there must have been an animal that she was after and soon enough I knew exactly what kind of critter when Mimi came back with a snout full of porcupine quills, one large and the others much smaller. I pulled out the large one but could not get the small ones. She was in a lot of pain so I Googled an emergency vet. About 45 minutes later we were at the vet where 20 or so quills were pulled out but only after they put her out with an anesthesia. About 10 minutes later I paid $227 and we headed back to my brother-in-law's place but not before I wondered outloud what else could go wrong this weekend. The cute lady vet, who had carried Mimi out to the car for me, said that is the one question you should never ask. She was right because something else almost did go wrong.

Just a few miles from the house, as I was about to turn off the main road, and as two cars approached in the opposite lane, the guy behind the other decided to pass the car in front of him. I guess he either had really bad eyesight or was drunk or texting because they were way too close to me for him to try that. He came full into my lane and I jammed on the brakes and thankfully so did the driver of the lead car in the other lane. That allowed the stupid fucker trying to pass to veer hard right back into his lane ahead of the other car. He missed hitting me head on by about 20 feet or less.

I would like to thank the guy he was passing for slowing down because otherwise there almost certainly would have been a collision with injuries or fatalities. Anyway, I did not need another dickhead hitting one of my cars within a couple of days of my Toyota being totalled by another jerk who rear ended it. Since my car was totaled on Saturday night, I was driving my son's car this morning.

We wound up back at the house safely and luckily Hans was up because I had locked us out. Mimi is now sound asleep and Hans is making breakfast. I cannot get back to sleep, I am wound up from the jerk who almost ran into us head on and my head is still aching and has been since the first accident. At least I am alive to feel it and that is a good thing and yes I will likely see a doctor later today. I have to say, this has been one fucked up weekend so far!

All the best,
 Glenn B

An 11 Year Friendship Crashes

Right after it happened, I almost started to cry, I got that choked up. Heck, it had been my faithful companion for over 11 years and an 80 year old dickhead ended it all in one fell swoop. The Toyota Corolla - that took us to a few Shenandoah River canoe fishing trips, drove us around about 3/4 of  NY state on a road trip, carried us to Maine for my son's first big game hunting trip (when he got a black bear), ferried us from home and back again on countless trips to my uncles farm and nearby for hunting and fishing fun, brought us into the realm of the Northeast Blogger Shoots at a sooper sekrit location in NH, did likewise down to a couple of shoots in West By God Virginia and faithfully carried us wherever we wanted to go, to do whatever we wanted to do  -  has been totaled.

That fucking dickhead, probably a really nice grand dad but dickhead nonetheless, drove into the arse end of the Toyota last night and did more than enough damage to assure it is not worth repairing. I had just gotten a new exhaust system for $1375 and have not paid a penny of that yet and was thinking the old Corolla might make it at least another 5 years if not 10 and then this guy plows into it like he never even saw us on the road in front of him.

Spun me and the car around into the oncoming traffic lane and I thought it was going to flip but it didn't. I still have a bad headache since last night when it happened. Neck is a little achy too. The scary thing is that last night, hours after the accident, the vision in my left eye got extremely blurry when my head ached the most. Vision got better after awhile but the headache is persistent. Maybe I should have gotten into the responding ambulance and gone to the hospital like the other driver had done. If my head still aches when I get home tomorrow, off to see a doc I will go. Other than a few other aches and pains and feeling miserable, really so, over the loss of my faithful Corolla, I think I am okay. Supposedly the other driver was unhurt.

Of course, as far as finances will be going, I will soon be broker than broke because I need a replacement car. May have to sell some guns and ammo or take what little money I have in the thrift savings plan out of it.

The only other good thing, besides no apparent major injuries or deaths, is that the police and a guy from the tow company all said the other driver was 100 percent at fault so I imagine his insurance will cover it all. And yes, he had insurance. Covering it though probably means a few grand at most for an 11 year old car but it will be better than nothing toward a downpayment on a new car. That will likely be another Corolla.

All the best,
Glenn B

An 11 Year Friendship Crashes

Right after it happened, I almost started to cry, I got that choked up. Heck, it had been my faithful companion for over 11 years and an 80 year old dickhead ended it all in one fell swoop. The Toyota Corolla - that took us to a few Shenandoah River canoe fishing trips, drove us around about 3/4 of  NY state on a road trip, carried us to Maine for my son's first big game hunting trip (when he got a black bear), ferried us from home and back again on countless trips to my uncles farm and nearby for hunting and fishing fun, brought us into the realm of the Northeast Blogger Shoots at a sooper sekrit location in NH, did likewise down to a couple of shoots in West By God Virginia and faithfully carried us wherever we wanted to go, to do whatever we wanted to do  -  has been totalled.

That fucking dickhead, probably a really nice grand dad but dickhead nonetheless, drove into the arse end of the Toyota last night and did more than enough damage to assure it is not worth repairing. I had just gotten a new exhaust system for $1375 and have not paid a penny of that yet and was thinking the old Corolla might make it at least another 5 years if not 10 and then this guy plows into it like he never even saw us on the road in front of him.

Spun me and the car around into the oncoming traffic lane and I thought it was going to flip but it didn't. I still have a bad headache since last night when it happened. Neck is a little achy too. The scary thing is that last night, hours after the accident, the vision in my left eye got extremely blurry when my head ached the most. Vision got better after awhile but the headache is persistant. Maybe I should have gotten into the responding ambulance and gone to the hospital like the other driver had done. If my head still aches when I get home tomorrow, off to see a doc I will go. Other than a few other aches and pains and feeling miserable, really so, over the loss of my fauthful Corolla, I think I am okay. Supposedly the other driver was unhurt.

Of course, as far as finances will be going, I will soon be broker than broke because I need a replacement car. May have to sell some guns and ammo or take what little money I have in the thrift savings plan out of it.

The only other good thing, besides no apparent major injuries or deaths, is that the police and a guy from the tow company all said the other driver was 100 percent at fault so I imagine his insurance will cover it all. And yes, he had insurance. Covering it though probably means a few grand at most for an 11 year old car but it will be better than nothing toward a downpayment on a new car. That will likely be another Corolla.

All the best,
Glenn B

Triclosan and Triclocarban Among Ingedients To Be Banned From Soap

The FDA has ordered that several antibacterial ingredients, such as  triclosan and trilocarban, be removed from soaps within a year. The FDA is claiming that the soaps may do more harm than good, such as creating resistant bacteria. More here.

I used to buy hunter's soaps and deodorants with triclosan and triclocarban in them and the combination certainly seemed to help reduce body odor. I first heard about those ingredients when reading an article claiming that the Israeli military used them in soap to help control body odors for their people on covert ops. I figured if they used the combination for that purpose, it may actually work and it surely seemed to do so for me when out hunting. Then one of the ingredients was dropped in hunter's soaps, I cannot recall which, and the effectiveness seemed to drop as well but was still better than plain soap and water. Once again the government steps in and fucks things up seemingly without any science to back them up. In fact, another government agency - the EPA - had already made a determination about triclosan but seems to be under pressure from the environazis: to revaluate it with the idea of banning it:

"The agency has previously determined that pesticide products containing triclosan will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment and is currently engaged in reevaluating the risks posed by triclosan including a review of the human health and ecological risks, endangered species assessment, and risk assessment process for biosolids." (Source.) My bet is that this is more of a way to try to get at hunters being less successful than it is a bid to save the environment.

I guess I will need to stock up on hunter's soaps that still contain at least one of those ingredients while I still have the chance.

All the best,
Glenn B

Here I Sir At Home...

...when I should have been at my brother-in-law's place upstate for the weekend already. Decided to get some more painting done in the basement last night after work. Been working the last two weeks with little time or energy to get things done, so thought it would be best to do that before leaving. Will throw on a second coat this morning then get mine arse to his house upstate. Painting a second coat should give me time to think about what guns to bring along.

Enjoy the long weekend.

All the best,
GB

A Little Bit Of A Score Cash Wise For Me

Just found out that I accrued 52.44 hours of leave time over the past year. I only earned 30 hours in the prior year, which means that over the past year I earned 1.75 times more than the year before. That also means I worked 1.75X more hours - mostly because I worked just about full time for a 4 month stretch in the fall into the early winter. I should be working that much since I am retired but it does help to pay the bills and make ends meet when on an otherwise fixed income in NY (one of, if not the, most expensive states in the country).

Anyway, the good news is that I will get a check for 52.44 hours pay. It is not like I can spend it on anything fun since the amount I will get after taxes is just $162 more than half of what I had to pay to get my exhaust system replaced on my Toyota Corolla. In other words, I still have to find several hundred dollars more to get the remainder of that repair bill off of my credit card. Oh well, what I am getting sure is a big help and I am not complaining; just wishing I could have spent it on a vacation.

All the best,
GB

This Is What Happens When The Dogs Get To Your Glow-Sticks

Nope, I'm not about to tell you that my dogs ate the glo-sticks and now glow, sorry no pics like that either. At least one of them though, and there are 6 culprits here tonight (our 4 and my daughter's 2), got to a glo-stick and started to chew on the packaging.

What was left of the wrapper.

 My basement is a mess in the middle of a mini-renovation, and shit stuff is everywhere. Anyway, the package got chewed up and torn open and when I picked it up to look at it I saw this particular one had a rating for 30 minutes of light and an expiration date of 02/06,  in other words - February 2006. This particular glo-stick was given to me in September of 2001 at work as I recall, right after 9/11 as part of an emergency kit. I have had it ever since.

It gave a nice eerie glow to my lemonade and tequila.

Being it was way past it's expiration date, I decided to give it a go to see if it still worked. I shook it vigorously, snapped it and voila - light. It was an eerie green glow, the same sort of a green that used to be in the display on automobile dashboards back in the 50s and into the 60s. It has been glowing brightly now over one hour. Well, it's been glowing brightly enough to help one see in a very dark place or to act as a safety or distress beacon in the dark of night.  My bet is it will last a couple to few more hours.

Note to self, don't believe all the things you see written on a package about when a product  expires because my guess is they tell you it expires in a few years or so to get you to restock with new ones every so often. You know why they do that, right? It's to keep the economy strong! Seriously, why ever the do it does not matter to me, what matters is that I can give this product no better praise than to say it is working better than it was rated (which was for 30 minutes of light) and is doing so 10 years after its expiration date! 

I am pretty sure this one was in with some survival stuff I carry in a day pack whenever I go hiking or take a flight (then it's my carry on). I probably last had it with me on our trip to Alaska. Don't know how it got on the basement floor so that one of the dogs got to it but with all the moving back and forth of stuff I have been doing while painting a wall at a time down in the basement, it is no wonder one of them found it. At last now I know these things can last a good long time.

Since I know they last a good long while, I may have to buy some more of them from the same company, that is if they are still making them. Luckily the name of the company was still visible on the wrapper: OmniGlow Corporation. The part number was on the back too.

That being said, I did some online research on OmniGlow Corporation and when I Googled it, I got results for Cyalume Corporation. Since their site shows they have been in business for 40 years and have a plant On Windsor Avenue (used to be Street but now shown as Avenue) at the same numbered address as on the wrapper, I guess it is the same company. Apparently they changed the name to Cyalume Corp but as you can see the product I had was called a Cyalume Safety Stick so it is not that much of a change.

They sell direct to the public and offer a decent variety of light sticks - both industrial grade and military/tactical grade and others. The thing is though, the military grade snap lights they sell have only a 4 year shelf life, give 12 hours of light and are more expensive that the industrial grade. The industrial grade not only costs less but has a longer 5 year shelf life. Maybe I am missing something or maybe it is just the typical way that DOD allows for companies to label things as military grade. Anyway, I plan to buy some but am not sure if I will buy a few ten packs at $12.00 per ten or go for a pack of 100 of them for $99.00. I wrote the company an email praising it and, who knows, maybe they will send me a discount coupon. I think I'll wait a few days to see if they reply and if they are feeling generous before I order any.

By the way, this particular one, 15 years old and 10 years past its expiration date, has been glowing now for over two hours (I started writing this about an hour after I snapped it, and yeah I have been writing and researching for another hour or so)!
All the best,
Glenn B

He May Not Be The Biggest Horse's Arse Ever...

...but John Kerry sure comes close to it. He reportedly had this to say about the media's coverage of terrorism:

More here: http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/08/30/john-kerry-media-would-do-us-all-service-if-they-didnt-cover-terrorism-much

Yes, besides having quite the horse face, he is quite the horse's arse but as I said, maybe he is not the biggest one ever if only because of the competition he gets from Michael Moore:

More on  Moore being a Muslim here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/17/michael-moore-holds-we-are-all-muslim-sign-in-fron/

As for that sign and Michael Moore's idiocy and to any Islamist who wants to convert the Kafirs of the world or kill us, all I can say is that if I was the last living Kafir, I would emulate The Omega Man and defend myself until my dying breath.

All the best,
Glenn B

Do You Prep And If So When and Why Did You Start

I started prepping as you call it a truly long time ago and not much more recently like most of you who probably started later and for somewhat different reasons. I was born in the mid 50s and lived though the Cold War. I learned a lot from my mom who always had something on hand just in case even though I am sure it was never even enough for a month; she was terrified of the prospect of a nuclear war which folks back then thought was inevitable. I also learned from the Civil Defense film shorts and from drills while in grammar school. Then there were the hard times. My old man and mom got divorced when I was 8 or 9. He did not give us even a penny. My mom did the best she could to support herself and my brother, sister and me with mostly part time work. Then there was the assistance; I stood in line for free cheese, free butter, free honey and went to the stores with food stamps even though it was pretty embarrassing as a pre-teen and young teen. I do not recall if we were ever actually on welfare, I think maybe once for a brief time, but my mom was too proud and had too much of a work ethic to go that route for long.

My mom's work ethic that was transferred to me. I partied hard as a teen and even into my college days trying to rid myself of the reality of being poor but what she had along a work ethic and what she did along prepping lines sank into my thick skull regardless. I have worked all my life since I was a teenager and got through high school and college with the goal of getting a decent job and to never be poor again and again that was without really understanding that was why I was doing what I was doing. Funny, as a kid and even a teen, even in my twenties, I never realized (or waned to admit) how poor we were or had been. It did not sink in except maybe when waiting on line for cheese or with food stamps in my hand. Anyway, once I got out of college and finally got into a career in federal law enforcement (arresting illegals and customs violators so usually not arresting U.S. citizens) I started to really prep after once getting a check with the decimal point in the wrong spot, a check for about $5.12 for a two week pay period instead of $512.00! I had about a whole $25 or $30 more than that to last two weeks. I lived on rabbits and quail I shot, what little I had in the fridge, and a very small loan from a buddy of mine (maybe $20 of the total amount I just mentioned). Then all of the past kicked in and I realized I was in the real world and needed to be ready for SHTF in whatever shape or form it arrived in at my door. It was a wake up call for sure and I started planning and preparing for the worst even if only just a bit.

Yet, even today, after many more hardships and lessons learned, I am not a prepper on a grand scale. I have food enough for me and my family for probably two or three months - at least certainly for a month and a half. I have enough ammo to last several years, if used only for hunting and if I am successful with almost every shot I fire. I have other supplies as well and have some bullion on hand too though nowhere near enough if the economy goes belly up or my federal pension takes a hit. I have had it pretty good and got lax. Then, recent world and national and even state political events have made me realize it is time to wake up again. I never stopped prepping completely but never did enough of it as far as I am concerned.

Thus, I need to build it all up to have a more substantial amount on hand because as has become only too plain in recent years we are headed for utter tyranny and an all out ensuing revolution in this country and or maybe even for WWIII as well (look at what China has been doing over the past 40-50 years relative to military build-up and look to Russia and North Korea also). If you have not noticed, Obama has almost single handedly rekindled the cold war with Russia and China and North Korea (though he had help from Bill Clinton with North Korea) and he has added countries like Venezuela and Iran to the mix and added the so called JV Team of ISIS as well. Then, with douche bags like Obama and the Demoncrats and RINOs running things, there just may be a total financial collapse of the U.S. economy due to how much the deficit has grown; we cannot keep spending more than we produce without dire consequences sooner or later. So I prep now and then and hope it will b enough to get us through until we can group with others of like mind to survive and regain a Constitutional Republic.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Progression Of The RKBA Since 1986

It seems we are winning the war against the anti-gun nuts but it will remain a never ending battle as long as the leftists want to restrict our rights and liberties in their drive to become all powerful and totally unreasonable. This map can be found over at Radical Gun Nuttery at this link: http://www.gun-nuttery.com/rtc.php and there is a good deal of info about the map at the linked page.

Give it a moment and it starts upgrading itself beginning in 1986 and going right up though this year showing how states have become much more gun rights friendly with few exceptions such as NY and CA. In fact, both CA and NY have gotten worse in how badly they restrict firearms ownership. I still live in NY and am hopeful that will change sooner than later.

Of course, a vote for Hillary Clinton, or merely thinking Never Trump and not voting for Donald Trump, most assuredly will lead to a relatively swift reversal on the state level and almost without doubt will result in what could be irreparable damage on the federal level. Remember that if she is voted in and appoints a couple to a few Supreme Court justices our RKBA in all likelihood will be abolished and tyranny will prevail. I believe it would likely take decades to regain any semblance of what we have today via political means or an all out revolution to change the damage Hillary Clinton will have done as president when it comes to our rights and liberties especially with regard to firearms ownership, how and on what we spend our money, raising our children, free speech, energy use, education, freedom of religion, and so on.

A hat tip to PA Guns & Ammo at the NY Firearms Forum for this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Standing For The National Anthem

Fuck that douchebag Colin Colon Kaepernick who refused to stand during the National Anthem.

Here is a real man standing for it, a man who is at least 100 times the man Kaepernick will ever be.

All the best,
GB

A Little Gratitude Would Have Been Nice...

...but instead I got this graceful pose after bringing Brendan to Alaska and specifically to see Mt. McKinley (aka: Denali). Anyway, I like it, it's one of my favorites pics from the trip.


I think I asked him to smile for the camera.

Lucky for us that we got to see it later on that same day once those clouds cleared. Those mountains under the clouds were about 20 miles away. Denali was about 40 miles from us, yet it dwarfs the closer peaks.

It went from this in the mid-morning to...

...this in the late afternoon.

 

The dark parts may look like part of Denali but they are not, in fact they
are mountains that were about 20 miles closer to us than was Denali. The
highest snowcapped peak is Mt. McKinley or Denali as it is called now.

 

Not smiling yet but not flipping me the bird either!

Posting these pics now because I realized I forgot to post most of our pics, from our Alaska trip, as I had planned back in the spring. So, I will be posting one or three every now and again to make up for it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Missing Arizona

I miss the Gila Monsters

And the many other lizards

 

 

and the darned noisy and huge Colorado River Toads coming out after a summer's rain hundreds of miles from the river

 

and the desert flowers

 

and the magnificent sunsets

and Brendan coming to visit, and us going to Tombstone, while I was out there for 4 months for work

 

and even the tarantulas

 

We need a vacation out that way fairly soon and may have to set our sights on it for next summer.

All the best,
Glenn B

Giving A Fuck

Maybe it's best that way; after all, how can you evenly distribute your fucks in a world without moderation!

All the best,
GB

Earning Is Great But Work Sucks...

...at this point in my life because my job sucks. I wish there was something I could find for myself to do that I truly liked while earning at least the same salary I have now but that seems as elusive for me as was the quest of the conquistadors whilst seeking Eldoardo. Nope, the search for a new job has not been going very well. Maybe I am not looking hard enough or looking in directions where I will find something that befits me.

It is possible, I should heed the words of EAP and "Ride, boldly ride...". In my younger years, I abided by those words quite often and life was an adventure. It still is sometimes today buy I think that with age some of the boldness has left me and I surely am tired and without the strength of my youth. Yet, maybe all I need do is to heed Poe's words and head back over the mountains of the moon and down the valley of the shadow:


ELDORADO
by: Edgar Allan Poe

Gaily bedight,

   A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,   
   Had journeyed long,   
   Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

  But he grew old—

   This knight so bold—   
And o’er his heart a shadow—   
   Fell as he found
   No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

 And, as his strength   

   Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—   
   ‘Shadow,’ said he,   
   ‘Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?’

 ‘Over the Mountains

   Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,   
   Ride, boldly ride,’
   The shade replied,—
‘If you seek for Eldorado!’

Seems simple enough although much easier for a younger man but after all, Poe was not writing about a younger man. I too, like the knight, am old, have not found Eldorado and my strength is not what it was once upon a time. Then again, when I had cancer, I was likewise or worse, yet I rode boldly and I found a bit of Eldorado in that I am still around to ride again. So why not now when in relatively good health . Considering that this has been one of my all time favorite poems, I think it is time to continue my search for Eldorado. Here's to the bold ride going forever on. I think I have come to realize, and in the end you may well find, that the bold ride was all of Eldorado we ever needed or that mattered.

All the best,
Glenn B