Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Hitler's Suicide - 156 Years To The Day...

... After George Washington was sworn in as president in the USA.

Not only was today an great day for this nation because George Washington was sworn in as president in 1789, but 156 years later in 1945, this day was a great day for us and the entire world. On this day in 1945, Adolf Hitler allegedly committed murder/suicide. He killed his wife of only one day, Eva Braun, and then himself. Although there have been statements, by those who were in the bunker (but not in the same room) with the Hitlers when they died, saying Hitler committed murder/suicide and that he was then cremated by his guards and his remains buried, his alleged death is still questioned by some skeptics today as they believe he either fled by U-Boat to Spain or to Argentina.

Me, I think either way it turned out back then, he is almost assuredly dead by now. Sadly, his memory will live on throughout the ages as one of the most heinous and evil individuals ever to have lived.

All the best,
Glenn B

April 30, 1789 - 230 Years Ago Today...

...the first president of the United States of America - George Washington - was sworn into office at Federal Hall in our nation's first capital Philadelphia, PA,  Washington, DC New York, NY. 


As I recall, my son was aware that New York City was our country's first capital but was unaware that Federal Hall was in essence our first White House (so to speak) nor that Washington was sworn in as president on the balcony of that building in NYC in 1789. Brendan and I visited the spot during his surprise Christmas visit to see us in December 2017; I figured it was worth a trip to see it (actually now the Federal Hall National Memorial) and to visit Fraunce's Tavern and raise a glass in memory of our Founding Fathers, many who drank there ever so long before us. 

I have to wonder - how many other American citizens or legal resident aliens (let alone illegal scum) realize that NYC was our first capital, that out first president was sworn in there at Federal Hall in 1789, that the stone upon which he stood while taking the oath of office still exists and is on display in the Federal Hall National Memorial, that the original Federal Hall was demolished and the building now called the Federal Hall National Memorial was in fact built as the Custom House (which came as a surprise to me even though most of my career was with U.S. Customs Office of Investigations) for the Port of NY.

Regardless of who knows it or not, I think today is a worthy day for a celebration of the anniversary of the swearing in of our first President - George Washington - the father of our nation.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Ratings


All the best,
Glenn B

My Newly Found Therme Song...

...may become yours too.




If that doesn't hit my life pretty much on the head, nothing does.

By the way, he is Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq and his You Tube channel can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiqOyAeu__yBOZBt_Op0JQ


I think he may have a few more songs I am going to like - a lot, that is if they are even half as good as was this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Saturday, April 27, 2019

The Gun Buying Bug Bit Him Too...

...just like it bit me but with me it was a long time ago and with him it was a bit more recently. You know that bug don't you - like when you go to a gun store and just gotta have that newest whatever they have in stock or when you go to a gun auction and wind up bidding more than you had planned because you just have to have this one you have always wanted so badly or when a buddy is selling that revolver you have lusted after for years and you pay whatever he is asking or when you go to a gun show and aren't about to leave before plunking down your hard earned cash on an old but classic milsurp rifle at a decent price even if it is a bit of a clunker.

Now, when I say the gun buying bug bit HIM, the him to whom I refer is Brendan, my son. He went to a local gun show down his way yesterday. He called me and told me he was at a really small gun show and he was considering buying a rifle and wanted to know if I thought it was a good deal. I had a sneaking suspicion he had bought it already and was trying to get my approval because maybe he was having second thoughts. That was just a guess but I based it in part on him telling me it was "hoopty" and him wanting to know if the price being asked was a good one and his tone of voice. I could have been wrong, maybe he actually was asking his old man's advice before plunking down his hard earned cash.

What he had been considering buying was a Mosin Nagant M44 of Russian manufacture. I think he said it was dated 1944 but I'll be damned if I am sure of that. Anyway - I told him to make sure it had matching serial numbers and he said they matched on the receiver, the bolt, the butt plate and the magazine. Good so far. I also said to look for rust and pitting - he did not see any. Told him to check the bore, his description was not what I had hoped to hear and it may have some rust or maybe it's just dark. He did say he could see the rifling and that was a good thing. I asked him if the wood had any cracks, chips or gouges and he said 'no but it looked like a lousy finish job on the wood and it had scratches - as he described it, the wood is what was "hoopty". I asked him how much and he told me a decent amount was being asked and by decent I mean less than what they normally go for. Then I told him send me a picture of both sides of it. 

Now either he had already bought it by then, or he bought it between that phone call conversation with me and when he sent me the photo a short time later because the photo was of it leaning against his car. 
 
He said got the seller to come down $25 in price from the asking price. He only sent one photo of it and if the other side is the same or better as the side I have seen, he did okay for himself - hoopty wood or not. The piece was complete with cleaning rod and attached folding bayonet and also came with a sling, and ammo pouches. I could not really make out the condition of the metal but what I could see looked fair to good. The wood finish, as he said looked a bit hoopty but really not all that bad - just cosmetically so. No problem there. In fact, I think he could sell it for maybe $50 to $75 more than he paid for it. Of course, if he wants to keep it I could refinish the wood (or just do a repair on the scratches) for him if he wants, or he could keep it as is and still have lots of fun with it. Whatever he wants but I hope he keeps and shoots it at least long enough for both of us to get a chance to have some fun with it together; I like old guns and am happy he has an eye for some of them too.

Whatever becomes of it - I think he got a good deal; had I seen it at the price that was being asked and if it is in as good a condition as Brendan described to me, I would have bought it myself. Sorry I am not saying how much he paid, the price is his business, but as I said I think he did well. Happy to see him following in my footsteps at least when it comes to guns.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ain't It The Truth


All the best,
Glenn B

A Good Man Even In The Afterlife


All the best,
Glenn B

Friday, April 26, 2019

Eat Drink & Be Merry - Because Tomorrow You Die

This picture kind of puts "be merry" into perspective, don't ya think! I mean, what could be more merry than eating happy bacon.


All the best,
Glenn B

An A-Triple-Plus Student


We used to draw stuff like that all the time in grammar school. The nuns would whack us in the back of the head and take it away if they caught us doodling instead of paying attention. Heck, a picture showing a lot more weaponry than that and even a lot of violence would not even get a call home to your parents back them. Look at schools now, for something like this a kid would probably be both expelled and arrested.

Maybe the time for a revolution is not so much nigh at hand but was missed decades ago when we first started to allow extremist liberal snowflake teachers and politicians rule our lives and our children's lives.

All the best,
Glenn B

Thanks For Letting Me Know


I now carry a bottle of alcohol gel with me everywhere.

All the best,
Glenn B

Acid Works Better Than Laxatives...

...when it comes to emptying your plugged up bowels.



All the best,
Glenn B

A Media Outlet That Supports The Right To Keep And Bear Arms

Watching television, reading the newspapers, listening to the radio or getting your news online - you would have to be just about a total moron not to realize that the great majority of major media outlets are totally anti-gun. There is one though that is quite supportive of our Right To Keep And Bear Arms (RKBA) and no, I do not mean Fox News! While Fox News may be somewhat supportive of that right, they have begun what appears to me to be a turn to the left.

The media outlet to which I am referring, when I say there is one that is very supportive of the RKBA, is One America News Network (OANN). One fine example of just how much they support the RKBA and how much they understand and support the Constitution overall can be seen in this video about the bump stock ban and the Supreme Court's refusal to hear a case on it back in March.



Things like what Liz Wheeler says in this video are why OANN is swiftly becoming one of my favorites, if not my overall favorite (yet), when it comes to the news media.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Terrible Odds Overcome By One Great Sniper

 So you probably guessed the answer even if you never heard of Simo Haya before. If you want to read an amzing story, about one heck of a sniper, read the linked article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

All the best,
Glenn B

My Latest Boomer May Not Be The Loudest...

...when it comes to the boom it produces, nor does it shoot a projectile with a whole lot of oomph, and really when I think of it - it is not officially mine yet. I call it mine because it is intended as a gift to me and will be mine once I establish residency in AR or wherever I go once out of NY. I went to AR, last week to drop off a van load of my belongings at a storage locker so it probably will become my residence at least for awhile. While there for the drop-off, I stayed at my son's place. 


On my first or second night there, Brendan handed me a small box and said 'here is your bears' referring to a bear figurine of an adult black bear and a younger one toasting marshmallows over a campfire that I had purchased online and had sent to him. We had one in NY but it broke, so I figured I'd replace it and send it to him. Turns out he already had another of his own and I figured he was just giving me this new one. He told me to open the box to check to see if it had arrived in one piece. Well, when I opened the box there was something stuffed between the bubble wrap around the figurine and the side of the box. It was this:




Think I was surprised, you'd be right. Think I was pleased - right again! Think I think my son is the best - right yet again! He had bid on this Beretta 950BS in 22 Short, recently on GunBroker and as far as I had known he was outbid. I guess he decided to bid one more time. I had no clue he had been bidding on it as a gift for me even though we had discussed this model, in both 25 ACP and in 22 S, while talking about his like for the Beretta Model 21A in 22LR. For some reason Beretta never chambered the 950BS in 22 LR as far as I am aware. That is too bad; yet, it's no problem there as far as this gun or I am concerned. I love this gift and that my son big-time. Now I'll have a pistol for the 800 rounds or so of 22 short ammo I have on hand; it was just another caliber ammo in my collection waiting for a gun to shoot it. As for the pistol being a gift, once I am in AR he will officially gift it to me. Arkansas is going to be good for me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Hope Y'All Had A Nice Easter

I hope all who celebrate among my family, friends and readers had a wonderfully nice Easter despite the terrible attacks in Sri Lanka. For sure there was a lot of sadness this Easter too with what happened there. Please keep the victims and their families & loved one of the bombings in Sri Lanka in your thoughts and or prayers.


Sorry, I am days late withmy happy Easter wishes and prayers but I was in AR and headed home on Easter. Had a lot to do to get my return trip under way and then a very long drive that did not wind up quite as many miles as I had expected. 

Had an interesting and pretty lousy night on Easter night when the rental cargo van's engine or transmission (or both) went out. RPM going up and down wildy, not able to maintain speed on highway, engine almost literally screaming, put in neutral and back into drive and all was well for a couple of seconds then engine racing wildly again and unable to maintain speed. Loud bang from engine compartment, then a snap/crack and something making noise as it fell onto roadway and bounced off road onto van bottom a couple or three times. I threw it into neutral to coast to shoulder of road and went quite a ways doing that but was short of next exit by about 2 miles. Lots of nasty smoke from engine compartment. I called AAA but they would not send tow because I told them there was smoke coming from under hood. I had to call 911 and the fire department and highway patrol responded. Smoke was from oil that was on hot engine block, lots of oil inside of engine compartment. I am guessing the engine was the problem because of all that oil but damned if I know. AAA sent a wrecker that got there about an hour and a half later. Got towed to next exit, into the lot of the only motel there. I had called that motel to make a reservation after highway patrolman, who responded to my 911 call, told me about it. I wish he had told me more about it.

It wound up that I spent the night in that motel, a real shithole, in Baileyton, TN. Just hope you never need to stay at its only motel - very nice elderly woman running it but it was the most decrepit room I have ever stayed in and I have stayed in some real dives before. At least it was close to an Enterprise rental location. They had another wrecker come by in the morning yesterday. The driver brought the van and me to Enterprise and they gave me a car for the rest of my trip. Today, when i turned in the car, I got $100 off my already discounted rate at Enterprise so it was not so bad after all was said and done. I am just happy that the van was essentially empty when it happened as opposed to this happening when I had my stuff in it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Happy Passover

Happy Passover to all who celebrate. Actually meant to write a happy Passover wish for my Jewish friends and readers yesterday, before the Pesach seder, but forgot all about it being the holy-day/holiday weekend with everything else on my mind lately. Anyway, I remembered this morning so hope you all had an enjoyable seder last night and that the rest of your Passover celebrations are happy ones.

All the best,
Glenn B
 

Friday, April 19, 2019

I Guess It Is A Seller's Market

Well, the first offer we got on our house was 30K short of our asking price. Then, I am guessing on Wednesday, our realtor asked the folks, who made that offer, to give their best offer. They offered 10 grand more than our asking price a 40K increase in what they had offered at first. I guess it pays to keep your house in good repair!

To say that offer was excellent and made me & my soon to be separated wife happy would be a gross understatement. An inspector was there yesterday and my wife said he seemed happy with what he saw and made a comment that the house was a well built one. I know, his report to the buyers is what is important but since we had our own inspector do an inspection prior to putting the house up for sale and since he gave us excellent comments, I am fairly confident the buyers' inspector will find little wrong with the house.

Right now, I am down in AR on my first moving trip. I cannot wait to get back and to help keep the ball rolling on the sale of the house. Keeping my fingers crossed that the sale goes smoothly.

All the best,
Glenn B

Monday, April 15, 2019

Not Many Places In France I Would Visit But Now There Is One Less

I have never had much of a desire to visit France. I suppose though should I have ever gone, there were a few places I would have had on my list of things/places to see. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes would be one. Mont Ste. Michel would be another, the The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial yet another, and high on the short list would have been Notre Dame Cathedral. Sadly that will never happen as Notre Dame was essentially destroyed by a raging inferno today. Some of it may have been saved but I think it will never be the same. 

It is truly a sad day for the Catholic Church, the people of Paris and of France and for that matter the people of the world. Even if not religious one must realize the architecture alone, especially for its time, was absolutely amazing. One of our great wonders has fallen.

It is probably way too soon to arrive at any conclusions as to the cause of the blaze but it seems that right now they believe it may have begun relative to renovation work that was being carried out. I tend to doubt the fire did not have help but that will be for the experts to determine. More at these sources: Fox News, CNN, France 24, BBC.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Damn This House Selling Stuff Could Take Awhile

I keep hearing it is a seller's market when it comes to home sales and I keep seeing prices of homes rising (both here where we are selling and down south where I have been looking to buy). A seller's market  is okay for us since we are selling our house but it's not going to be so great for me in finding a place for myself after we separate. 

Anyway, I am none too sure yet if it really is a sellers' market. I say that because we had an open house yesterday and today. Yesterday, I think it was five sets of folks who showed up; today maybe it was six. There were at least three sets of seemingly interested folks here yesterday and at least one or two today along with one guy who showed up at the last minute and was so disinterested he spent all of two minutes looking around. 

Anyway, getting back to those showing interest - a couple from yesterday made an offer on the house already. I do not think that they have heard it is a seller's market. I say that because their offer was 30K below our asking price. Of course, that may change when we make a counter offer or if we get a bid from someone else in the meantime. I am hopeful we get one or two bids from folks who showed up today and maybe one more from another couple who was here yesterday. 

Now mind you, I realize that this weekend is the first time the house was shown. We may get others to come by during the week and we will be having another open house - probably on the weekend after Easter. One thing that my wife and I agree on is that we should not settle for an offer below a certain amount. Surprisingly enough, we both agree on that amount. Let me just say, it is a heck of a lot more than an offer 30K below our asking price.

Then again, if we hit the lottery soon (for a big amount) - we may just give the house to our kids.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is She Pretty Or...

...is she pretty ugly. A woman allegedly beat her common-law husband when he reportedly failed to answer her after she asked him if she was pretty. There is a photo of her at the linked source article.

I leave it to you to make up your mind and post your opinion of her looks in a comment. If I were to leave a comment of what I think of her appearance, she might hunt me down to kill me. I think I fully understand why he might not have answered; although, his excuse was he did not hear the question. Really now - that's not what I was thinking was his reason!

All the best,
Glenn B

How To Clear Track - That's One Way To Do It


All the best,
Glenn B

Boom - Later Than Sooner

 
Back In The Day - Slow Was Fast

All the best,
Glenn B

Get Your Pussy Where You Find It


All the best,
Glenn B