Gun For Sale - Used Only Once By Original Owner

All the best,
Glenn B

I Might Be Concerned...

...if he was my next door neighbor; then again, we might get along just fine.

All the best,
GB

A Not So Routine Workout

Pretty good comeback!

All the best,
GB

It's Never A Simple Or Routine Call For Law Enforcement

The murder of two police officers in Palm Springs, California this weekend is, I think, as sad a tragedy possible while at the same time being as strong a warning as possible to other officers and one that may help them survive a similar incident. I cannot say how the two officers who were killed or the other who was wounded approached the situation but there is a chance that they too saw it as did their own chief of police who reportedly said:

"It was a simple family disturbance and he elected to open fire on a few of the guardians of the city,"

Why the chief of police would say that is beyond me. Police officers and others in law enforcement are trained from day one that nothing is routine and in essence nothing simple. They also are taught that things can go bad in an instant, really bad. Lawmen need to remember that an live by that each and every moment of their working days (in fact it is not bad to keep in mind for each and every one of us during each moment of our lives). I have to wonder why the chief said that in light of the fact that, by the time he said it, it apparently was known that the suspect was ready to take out police officers. In addition, the police probably already knew by that point, after the fact, that the suspect had been wearing body armor when the police arrived at his house, he had been armed at least with a handgun and had several spare and loaded magazines on his person. It seems likely that by the time the chief said it, it was also known that the suspect's father had gone to a neighbor's home pleading for help because, according to published reports, the neighbor had called authorities after the suspect's father told her:

 “Help. I need help. My son is in the house, and he’s crazy. He has a gun. He’s ready to shoot all the police," (Source for above quotes and reported facts.)

That was not a simple domestic disturbance. In fact, no domestic dispute is simple or routine, those types of calls are among the mot dangerous to which law enforcement officers respond.

The only reason I am writing this now, so soon after the tragedy, is in the hope that others in law enforcement will possibly heed my words and remember - there is no such thing as a simple or routine call. You need to be alert, to continually observe and assess and to be ready beforehand to take cover and take action in less than it takes to blink an eye; heck you should be behind cover if at all possible during any such encounter. My brothers and sisters, behind the shield, be ever vigilant and be safe as you risk your lives to uphold the law and protect the citizenry.

My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of Officers Jose Gilbert Vega and Lesley Zerebny. My wishes for a swift and complete recovery for the other, as of yet unnamed, officer who was also shot but is expected to survive.

All the best,
Glenn B



 

As I Sit Here Enjoying A Tequila Laced Lemonade...

Makes sense, doesn't it!

All the best,
Glenn B

Trump Hillary

Nuff said!

All the best,
GB

Crime Reduction

Yeah!

All the best,
GB

Out Of The Ashes - A Snippet Of My House's Past

I know very little about the history of my house. I know it is old, we think about 80 to 100 years old. I know that it was said that the original owner is the same man who built it. He did decent job on the brick work and foundation but was a shoemaker as the old saying goes. Windows are odd sizes, the roof has a very angled peak, there was a pseudo-fireplace, built out of brick, in the basement with no outlet and other oddities. Then again, we have a dry basement where others are often damp and musty, he did an excellent job on drainage. Yet, he might have done better sticking to his profession or trade than building houses but honestly he did better than, much better, should I attempt the same.

I know that he lived in my house, when it was his house, until his death. I know he was married and had a son. I know it is said the son was off kilter and so too was the owner and his wife. I know that up until the time of her death, his wife lived in the house, I think alone except for several cats, numbering above 10 and no more than 20 and they lived on for at least a few to several days after she died with no one caring or them except themselves (it took some doing to get rid of their, shall I say, aroma). She was supposedly very looney near the end.

We heard the son was booted out for being on the wild side and having trouble with authorities and his parents. I forget their name but think it was a German name; I can go outside to see the son's initial carved or scratched into our bricks. Some were there when we got the house and a neighbor said the son had done it, said he saw him doing it; there are swastikas too. Apparently he, or someone emulating him, comes by now and again and does that anew.

Tonight, I discovered that they had not cleaned out the fire place overflow  (trap) in the basement. The access to the bottom of the trap is in the room we use as a pantry in the basement, the same room I have been giving a thorough cleaning over the past two days due to a recent mouse infestation. Evidently there was a trapdoor in the bottom of the fireplace (I do remember that) which you could open and then sweep ashes into it. Then you could go to the basement, open a small door, for the trap, in the wall and clean out the ashes down there. I guess that was so you would avoid getting a mess in the living room. Truly pretty neat. It had to have been cleaned over the years but probably had not been thoroughly cleaned in a long lone time, I found that out tonight when I tried to open the door and I will show you why I think so in a moment. The door did not budge, it is iron and its latch is rusted shut. I was able to reach through a hole in the wall above it, a hole cut there to run gas and electric lines up to our gas burner in the fireplace. When I reached in, I realized how full it was and started to awkwardly scoop out pieces of charcoal, partially burned wood, ash, old iron nails, a few pieces of brick and mortar and a small snippet from an old newspaper. I did not get all the ash and debris but retrieved that piece of paper from about a depth of 8 to 10 inches in the trap. There probably is another couple to few inches left that was under that.


Click it to big it.


Anyway, what I found is what is pictured. It's an old, yellowed, torn and partially burned fragment from an old newspaper. Specifically, it is an advertisement, or what is left of it, for a product called NuJol. It is touted as "For Constipation". Rather appropriate considering how plugged up was the fireplace trap. It has a copyright date on it of 1936. Wow. I wonder if the old lady had old newspapers laying around and used one shortly before passing. Or maybe the newspaper page, on which that little piece of paper had been on the bottom corner, was used to start the fire in the fireplace back in 1936. It is rather amusing, for whatever reason, to think it was used back then and survived all those years under the ashes. Anyway, there is no doubt it has been down there for over the 20 plus years that we have lived here.

I checked out NuJol in a Google search and discovered it is still in use. I don't know if it is the same product today but the intended use is the same. The generic form of the product is mineral oil. My mother used it and cod liver oil when I was a kid. That cod liver oil tasted terrible, as did mineral oil, and was probably overloading my liver with vitamin A.

I did some further checking and found out what likely was the word under the copyright in the ad, Stanco or an abbreviation for Standard Oil Company who made the product. Here is a link to an ad for NuJol by Standard Oil. The add to which I linked is 20 years older than the copyright date on the snippet but I imagine it the same stuff.

I once found a couple of old black & white baseball cards behind the house's original  molding when I was replacing it. One was paint laden from the original paint that had run down behind the molding when I was panted many years ago and the other had been used as a bit of a wedge and had a nail driven through it. Had they been pristine, each would have only been worth maybe $5.00 or $10.00 when I found them. I forget the players names and lost the cards but it was kind of neat to find and research them a bit. If I recall correctly they were from the 1920s or 30s. So, I may have to dig out all the rest of the ash and debris in the fireplace trap to see if I come up with anything else of any interest.

All the best,
Glenn B
 

What A Way To Spend A Friday Night & A Saturday

I've been cleaning out a pantry in our basement since last night. We had a small rodent problem not that long ago, dispatched a few house mice in snap traps. At the time I had thought they did not get into any food stuffs and I had it cleaned up pretty well. That was until my wife opened a 40 lb. bag of rice that was full of mouse turds. I sprayed everything with Lysol, stripped down the shelving unit, took it apart, sprayed and swept the floor, cleaned the shelves outside, assembled them again, and am still in the process of cleaning everything else. That is just for one shelving unit. There is still another. I had better get back to it. Hopefully I got all the mice but will reset the traps just to be sure. Too bad I no longer keep snakes, they would love the little vermin!

All the best,
GB

If It Comes Down To Four More Years Of This Or That...

...I think I will take this over that. If you don't know which I mean as this and which I mean as that then you need your head examined. Let me come right out and say it if you are that dimwitted - it ain't that as in in Hillary and her spawn.

Hat tip to Herr Milla for that one.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Have A Bad Habit When Shooting...

It is not often I catch a 35-40 pound or so
fish that goes from the deck to my hip and
I may never get another chance at a halibut.

...pictures. I take photos of those with me and allow them to take pictures of me but I forget to hand them my camera to take at least some of those photos of me. I did that when I went to Alaska with my son, I allowed him to take pictures of me but he did it with his cellphone camera not mine. So, the other day, when I asked him to send me one of those pics because I could not find it in my files, I was very disappointed that he already had deleted the pic I wanted. Luckily for me, I found the one I wanted.

Luckily he already sent this one before
deleting it. Halibut put up one heck of
 a fight for a flatfish.

The thing is though, Brendan already may have deleted almost every other photo we had of me in Alaska. Next time we are doing something worth taking pictures of, I need to remember to hand my camera to who I am accompanied by, so as to have some pics of me on my own camera and thus not have to depend on others to save them or on my little gray cells to remember I make sure the other person sends them to me.

All the best,

Glenn B

My Son Is Taking Me Out For Dinner This Evening And...

Click it to big it to really start salivating over this pic

of that greasy but ever so delicious tidbit of culinary art.

...I surely would not mind having one of those but that would mean flying up to Alaska and then driving to Wasilla. It was one excellent burger and the fries were tasty morsels as well. That lunch was one much like from the greasy spoon type luncheonettes and Irish Pubs I remember from my younger years. You can indubitably rest assured that whatever I enjoy for this evening's repast will have its tastiness accompanied by an imbibition of a dram of whiskey and a pint or three of an excellent ale or cider (since he is buying).


All the best,
Glenn B

The FBI's Shameful and Possible Illegal Destruction of Evidence

It was quite shocking for me to read the report that the FBI allowed for the destruction of evidence, that could have potentially been used in the investigation of Hillary Clinton or others, in order to assure the testimony of Clinton's subordinates who had already been granted immunity from criminal prosecution (source). If that report is true and correct:


That they did so would have been akin to me investigating a major narcotics kingpin and telling his mules that they had immunity and that I would also destroy not only their heroin or cocaine but the records of their drug pick-ups, deliveries, clients and cash receipts. Even though the mules would have had immunity, all of those things so destroyed could have been preserved as evidence and used in the investigation and prosecution of the narcotics kingpin. As for the computers and the records on them, they could have been used in the investigation and possible prosecution of Clinton even though her aides would not have been prosecuted because they had immunity.


Clinton's minion already were in essence untouchable (no pun intended) by the FBI. It is absolutely unthinkable, based upon my 32 years in federal law enforcement, that the FBI agreed to destroy their computers and not completely examine them and gather evidence from them  and then preserve that evidence. Since Clinton's people had been granted immunity and could not be prosecuted for anything found on them, the only reason to do so, as far as I can fathom, would be to cover something up such as Clinton's guilt. Clinton may have destroyed many of the emails on her server but my bet is that her aides, at least some of them, did not erase the ones they received from her.


I believe not only that it was shameful for the FBI to have done so but that it was quite possibly illegal for them to have done it.  Even if not illegal, it was both unethical (because it hints of outright corruption) and constituted an what amounted to an extremely poor investigative technique (if you can call it an investigation, to me it seems more like a cover-up). This reeks of blatant corruption at the highest levels of government. Most certainly, if none of those, then if not the worst, it was among the worst off all investigative blunders I have ever witnessed and the persons responsible need to be removed from office.


The truth is that not only does Clinton need further investigating but I think so too does the Attorney General (remember it was only two or three days after Clinton had a meeting with her on an airport tarmac, that the case was closed), the head of the FBI and any agent or technician involved in said case. I very seriously believe that if I was working for the FBI, when that happened, I would either have commenced such and investigation myself or if I did not do that then I would have transferred to another agency or resigned/retired in shame if not disgrace.


All the best,
Glenn B

So That Real Nice Grandad Who Destroyed My Toyota Corolla...

...back on Labor Day weekend, who I thought was probably a dickhead regardless of his grand daddy status, seemingly turns out to be a dickhead just as I had thought. The district attorney's office, for the county in which the accident took place, is prosecuting him in relation to the accident on criminal charges. My bet is that he was shitfaced drunk and there but for the grace of God, and a heated argument with my brothers-in-law and son, I could have gone. They want to know if I am seeking restitution and you bet your arse I will be seeking it for whatever out of pocket expenses I have due to the accident.


All the best,
Glenn B

New Shooter In The Fold

While I was down in West Palm Beach, I met up with HK, a long time family friend who told me she wanted to learn how to shoot with the target of getting a Florida concealed carry permit. I gave her a safety briefing and familiarization talk one evening. A day or two later we visited Shoot Straight in West Palm Beach (there are more than one location). While there, we went over the basics to include safety once again. Then I introduced her to shooting. She shot both a Glock 26 and a Smith & Wesson model 10-5. I figure she shot about 75 to 80 rounds on her first go. She was a pretty darned good shot for a first time shooter and was very safety conscious as well.

That is one of her targets pictured getting my thumbs up. Not bad by a longshot! Of course, since our range trip was merely a very brief introduction to shooting, I  recommended that she take a basic pistol shooting class with a certified instructor, preferably one who was certified by the NRA, as the smart way to follow-up. She sounded like that is what she will do. After that, she plans to take the certification course for the FL carry license.

Shoot Straight was a nice range. The front desk staff were professional, courteous and helpful as were the range officers. They had a nice shop too. Not only all that but HK's range time was free as we went on a Monday which was lady's day at that particular location. It was an excellent range experience overall. Based on our experience there, I highly recommend the place.

All the best,
Glenn B

Moving Up In The World Of 2nd Amendment Supporters

I took the plunge, into my pocket, and upgraded my NRA membership from Life member to Endowment Life Member. With our rights constantly be eroded and threatened with further infringement if not total abolishment, I can see no better one to support tan the one which gives us some muscle to protect all of the others as well as itself. That one is the 2nd Amendment.

 

All the best,
Glenn B

A Tasty Delight

This morning I had bacon, eggs and coffee for breakfast. I made the coffee, Brendan made the bacon and eggs. For lunch,  I had bacon, a bagel slathered with butter and coffee. As a snack, I had a coffee with vodka and this:

That was some pepper smoked bacon and smoked Black Sea Bass encrusted with a dry rub. Brendan both caught and smoked the fish and smoked the bacon. All was absolutely scrumptuous.

All the best,
Glenn B

She Doesn't Live Down The Street From Me...

...and not even around the block from my house!

All the best,
GB

Good News On The Homefront

Received some excellent financial news today. I called the county tax assessor's office to see if they received paperwork I sent in relative to a property tax reduction reassessment they had offered me. I had applied previously for the reduction. I wanted to make sure they received the letter, stipulating that I agreed to the reduction, in a timely manner. They did receive it on time and the guy who answered the phone there also told me he could give me the actual dollar figures. He said we should save $1,700 off of our property taxes next year, or over 19% of what we pay now. Yes, we pay almost $9,000 a year right now just for the county/town  property taxes. That does not include an additional $1,700 or so for village taxes or our water bill of about $300 per year which will not be reduced. Regardless, $1,700 comes out to $141.66 per month. That will likely be going to payments for a new car. That is, of course, if they do not raise property taxes for next year. New York and its counties suck when it comes to taxation. If enough New Yorkers had guns, there already might have been a revolution, just saying not promoting. Then again, too may voters in NY are on the dole and living large o what we taxpayers pay to keep them on welfare and the like. Oh well, at least I will be paying less now.

All the best,
Glenn B

Homeward Bound

Had a nice trip to Florida sine the 23rd and am on the plane headed home. Over the past few days, I felt something I have not experienced in years - being homesick. I have been really missing my family, our dogs a d tortoises, and my wife's excellent cooking. I am salivating just thinking about a home cooked meal once I get there. 

Had fun on the trip, went fishing twice (catching once), went herping and saw a lot of frogs, talked politics with my uncle without arguing, went out a few times for dinner and stopped at a few local watering holes including one at which I watched the first debate. I also taught a new shooter the basics at a local range which first obliged me to stop at Gander Mountain which just happened to be the only one in the country with a restaurant and full bar. Finally, last night, I met up with a buddy of mine from our Border Patrol days and we tipped our fair share of pints followed by a not to wee dram of Jameson's as we reminisced and caught up on things.

Nice flight down to FL and so far a decent one headed back home. My son will be picking me up at the airport and I am pretty sure he will like the three cigars I am bringing him. At least one was made in Miami. I can't wait to get there.

All the best,
Glenn B

Scored Some 22 Short

Despite my somewhat poor experience at Gander Mountain in Palm Gardens I decided to go back yet a third time. The reason for my return there was to buy some more 22 Short ammo. They had plenty on my first two visits and while I had picked up two boxes of  it, I figured it wasn't a bad idea to get some more. 

When I got there they had only five boxes, of 100 round each, left on the shelves. I took them all and now have a total of seven boxes or 700 rounds. I was lucky too because it was on sale for about a buck per box less than the marked price.

So why buy 22 Short when I don't own any firearms specifically chambered just for it? Well, I do own at least two rifles chambered in 22 rimfire that will take 22 Short, Long and Long Rifle, so I may shoot some of it through them. Even though that is unlikely I still wanted the ammo. It has been so hard to get that it may make a good trading commodity or make me a small profit if I decide to sell it. Even if it reappears in abundance on store shelves, I can always shoot it through those rifles.

All the best,
Glenn B

No Way To Do Business...

...or at least that is my opinion of how Gander Mountain has been doing business relative to my recent dealings there.

I called Gander Mountain in Middletown, NY today. I called twice and was on the phone, waiting for someone to pick up, for over two minutes on each call. No one answered the phone. I called again and was surprised that someone answered on the third ring in the firearms department. He did not know if they had the new Ruger Mark IV pistol in stock and seemed surprised there was such a pistol.

I also have been to Gander Mountain in Palm Gardens, FL, twice this week, while on vacation. The displays in the firearms section leave much to be desired with many slots on the shelves being left bare. Some items that were in stock in that store, as per their website, were not on the shelves. When I looked for a certain set of shooting mufffs they were not to be found. I tried getting some help but as I approached some of the sales clerks, they walked away when they saw me coming. Others were ready to help but did not seem to know what was in stock or the prices of what they had and too many things did not display a price. 

Anyway, I had limited time to spend there and had to leave but ordered the ear muffs online before departing. I received an email about 2 hours later saying that my order was ready to be picked up in the same store where they had not been on the shelves, but had been bare, where they belonged.

In addition, ammo was often found to be piled up haphadzardly with diferent calibers mixed together in the same display in boxes that looked like one another. For instance a display of Remington Core-Lokt ammo had three or four different calibers all piled together without regard to stacking them by caliber. I have seen similar haphazard shelving of ammo in other GM stores. Gander Mountain ammo prices are also pretty high in my opinion.

There also was a good side but it did not outweigh the bad as far as I an concerned. I will say that those of the staff who were helpful were indeed very professional and helpful. One sales floor ckerk was very helpful and so were the ckeckout clerks. The barmaid was very nice too. Yes, I stopped in the bar for one quick drink hoping they would fill my online order before I had to leave. And yes the GM in Palm Gardens is the only GM with a bar and restaurant, at least as per Beth the barmaid.

I have to wonder though, how does Gander Mountain stay in business!

All the best,

Glenn B 

Surprise Free Lunch

What would you do if you ordered takeout food and found $5,000 in the box instead of your chicken wings? A woman in San Jose (CA?) got that exact surprise lunch and she called the restaurant trying to return the money. After waiting a day for a reply that did not come she called a media outlet that was able to get the restaurant's manager to arrange for return of the cash. So, what did she get for her honesty and integrity  - free pizza for a year from the restaurant! Luckily, her own boss gave her a week of paid vacation. (Source.)

Had it been me in that situation, I would have told the manager at Dominoes to go screw himself had he given me a reward of a year's free pizza. First of all, their pizza is terrible, secondly she ordered wings so why not a year of free wings but more importantly why did he not give her at least the traditional 10 to 15% of the returned cash as her reward. That would have been the right thing to do and then offer her the pizza and wings as an additional bonus. 

Should it happen to me, I would have to think long and hard about returning 5K. I have been pretty honest in that regard throughout my adult life and while it would be difficut to decide to keep it, it would go a long way toward the deposit on a replacement car for my destroyed Toyota and I would be sorely tempted to keep it. Bottom line, probably would not keep it and then would wind up cursing out the manager when he offered free pizza. Ammo though might be another thing all together


All the best,
Glenn B

Have You Ever Enjoyed A Vodka On The Rocks In A Gun Store?

I did that yesterday at the Gander Mountain store in Palm Gardens, FL. I sure did not go thrre expecting to find a bar but while there decided to stop in their restaurant to grab a diet soda because I wsd parched. When I looked inside I was astonished to see there was a full service bar and a mighty nice looking one at that.

Apparently my timing was perfect, for a change, because they had just opened. I ordered a vodka on two rocks with a club soda on the side. Enjoyed it immensely while chatting with Beth, the very nice barmaid. She told me the place is usually a bit slow on week nights but packed on Friday and Saturdays. A surprising find inside a gun store but there because the or an owner of Gander Mountain lives clise by a d that us what the owner wanted. Gander Mountain has moved up a few notches in my estimation.

All the best, 
Glenn B

A Revolutionary Ruger - Their New Pistol May Be Just That

All too many times, I have set my sights on buying certain new guns and then never got the particular guns I for which I had yearned.  I've had a lot of different excuses as to why I didn't follow through with a purchase. For example, I've always wanted a Remington Model 8 in 35 REM. Never got one simply because they were hard to find and by the time I found a decent one the price was sky high and I couldn't spend that much. Another reason is I lost interest in something I had wanted. That sometimes happened because I saw reports giving a specific gun a poor grade. I have also lost interest in some simply because I am The Great Procrastinator and over time my desire waned. Of course, I have bought a decent amount of guns in my time and sometimes buying a gun or guns has negatively effected my timing and made it next to impossible for me to get something else I wanted badly. For instance, a good deal on one of my dream guns once presented itself to me within days of me attending a firearms auction at which I had bought a few guns, ammo and accessories. The timing for that chance to get that particular dream gun was terrible because I was broke because of my auction purchases.

Now you may be wondering what that has to do with a revolutionary Ruger firearm and I am going to tell you directly. Ruger has just announced its production of a  new handgun the Ruger MK IV Pistol and yes it is revolutionary at least as far as I am concerned. It has a one button takedown device to facilitate disassembly. While any Ruger Mark I, II or III pistol owner can tell you they are excellent guns and loads of fun to shoot, they can also tell you they can be a royal pain to take apart and put back together for a good cleaning. If this new one is as much of a snap to diassemble and assemble, as Ruger claims, I see them flying off of the shelves with great speed and I foresee one flying my way.

I love my Ruger Mark II pistol but have to admit it can be troublesome when it comes to regular maintenance. After over 25 years of owning it, I still have to resort to the manual or my own how to videos to do what amounts to a field strip for cleaning it. While the new Mark IV looks pretty much just like my Mark II, it has major design changes in that it can be disassembled by pushing in the recessed button at the back of the frame and then lifting off the receiver and sliding out the bolt. Ruger makes it sound positively easy. I want one, I want one, I want one and hint of all hints my birthday is coming up. While I will be broke due to my current trip to Florida and probably will not get one for a birthday gift, I will have to treat myself nonetheless. That is okay by me and I am confident I will be getting one as soon as funds allow. By the way, did I tell you I have some guns and things for sale at GunBroker.com.

All the best,
Glenn B