...may or may not be in order, but I felt like pulling one off, so here is a list of the ammunition in my inventory by caliber, brand, weight and so forth that is the subject of my contest. No, I will not be writing down how many of each I had in inventory, that would defeat the whole purpose of the contest. So here is what was in those boxes; and i'll give the numbers at the end of the contest:
Ammo Type:
Mag-Tech .32 Auto 71gr. FMJ
Fiocchi .32 Auto 73 gr. FMJ
Winchester .32 Auto 73 gr. FMJ
Sellier & Bellot 32 Auto 73 gr. FMJ
Winchhester .380 Auto 85 gr. Silvertip HP
Gold Dot 9mm +P 124 gr. GDHP
Gold Dot 9mm LE 124 gr. GDHP
Gold Dot 9mm 124 gr. JHP
Federal 9mm Hydr-Shok 147 gr. HP
Federal 9mm yclad 124 gr. HP
Winchester 9MM Nato 124 gr. FMJ
Smith & Wesson 9mm 115 gr. JHP
Winchester.40 S&W 180 gr. JHP
Federal .45 Auto 230 gr. Hydra-Shok
Remington .45 Auto 185 gr. JHP
Western Super X .357 Magnum 158 gr. JHP
Remington .38 Special +P 125 gr. semi JHP
Federal .38 Special +P 110 gr. JHP
Federal .38 Special +P+ 147 gr. Hydra_Shok JHP
Winchester .38 Special Super-X 148 gr. Super Match W/C
Wichester .38 Special 125 gr. +p JHP
Remington .30 Carbine 110 gr. FMJ
Federal .223 Remington 55 gr. MCBT
Sampson .223 Remington 55 gr. FMJBT
Wolf .223 Remington 62 gr. FMJ
Wolf Military Classic 7.62x39 124 gr. FMJ
Mil-Surp 7.62x54R FMJ
Mil-Surp Blue Tip 7.62x54R
Remingtom Core-Lokt .35 Remington 200 gr. SP
Winchester Super-X .35 Remington 200 gr. Power Point
Winchester 12 Gauge Slug
Winchester Super X 12 gauge Slugs
Remington Sluggers 12 Gauge Slugs
Federal Hi-Shok12 Gauge Slugs
Remington 12 Gauge 9 shot Heavy Target
Estate 12 Gauge 7 1/2 Shot Game Load
CCI Maxi-Mags .22 WMR HP
Remington Thunderbolt .22LR
Champion .22LR target solid points
CCI Blazer .22LR
American Eagle .22LR solid points
One Remington Clollector's Tin With Knife
One Remington Collector's Tin
The contest ends this Saturday night at 11:59 PM so click on the link, read the rules, and get your guesstimate in before then.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, May 10, 2007
The Little Annoyances...
... are the ones that have historically gotten me the most upset; but somehow that seems to be changing somewhat. Yes I still get upset the most by petty, mostly inconsequential, things that have a way of getting under my skin like: no soap in the shower and I'm already soaking wet, ditto for no shampoo, things moved from where I last put them so I can't find them easily, things I put somewhere other than I thought so I cannot find them easily, nothing ready to eat when I am hungry after a day at the office, traffic jams when I am in no particular hurry to get anywhere, being late when I want to get somewhere on time (usually caused by me), and the list goes on and on. Most of the time I would take out my frustrations by getting angry, and vociferous about it.
I am getting better though. I have been trying for years, and I guess it isn't easy to change a lifetime of the wrong way of thinking and reacting to things, but I am doing it slowly and surely. Today for example, just before getting ready to leave for work, I took the dogs for a quick spin in the back yard to answer nature's call. I pulled the door closed behind me and there was the problem - it closed all the way and locked. Not too worry, I went to look for the ever ready spare key that was ever so cleverly hidden in the super-duper secret hiding place; but of course, it was not there. Yes I got mad, for a moment, but no screaming, no name calling, no muttering (well a little muttering maybe), and I went around the house to see if any of the windows were left open. Sure they were not, except of course for the bathroom window that was about 20 feet over my head! Oh well, I tried to see if any of the basement windows had been left unlocked, so I could open one and squeeze in and lower myself to the basement floor hopefully without killing myself - nope no luck there. What to do? Maybe I could call the wife from a neighbor's house and ask her to come home and let me, the knucklehead who had slammed the door shut behind himself, into the house. As luck would have it, no neighbors were home.
What to do? I checked the mailbox. No one had gotten the mail yesterday, another past pet peeve of mine, but this was good. There was the local rag for me to read. So I sat down next to the two dogs, hoping the one left in the house was not peeing all over the carpet, and I read the paper. Then I thought, why not water the lawn, so I set the sprinkler and went back to reading. Once of twice, I got up to move the sprinkler. The paper was not very interesting, our local one usually isn't, so once done with it I set about watering the potted plants using a watering can so it would kill more time than using the hose. Done with that in too soon a time, I sat back with the dogs, and almost as soon as I sat, they perked up looking toward the front of the house. That usually means one thing, the wife is home or soon to be home. A few seconds later, our car pulls up and out pops the bride. She was kind enough to let me into the house without haranguing me for being a jerk and locking myself out for the better part of two hours in the first place.
So I did better today let's say than I would have done 2 years ago, much better. I was even pleasant to my wife when she arrived instead of venting on her. All I did was asked where the spare key was located, and she told me that the son of ours probably had it, and I imagine I can deal with that later by getting another super secret spare key to be hidden away in a super secret ultimate hiding place of which only I will know the hiding spot. Why I have never thought of this before, after having been locked out more than a few times, is beyond me. I guess all that getting upset blinded me, maybe that is why they call it 'blind rage'. Oh well, I have learned a little bit about how to control my emotions, and usually it centers on doing something else to distract myself - or simply walking away from whatever it is that might get me upset. Not walking away forever, just when I am getting upset, maybe even only on the mental level, sort of like Ralph Kramden when he would say: "Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins, Its the Happy Man That Grins"; then he would grin and count to ten. It works, really it does!
All the best,
Glenn B
I am getting better though. I have been trying for years, and I guess it isn't easy to change a lifetime of the wrong way of thinking and reacting to things, but I am doing it slowly and surely. Today for example, just before getting ready to leave for work, I took the dogs for a quick spin in the back yard to answer nature's call. I pulled the door closed behind me and there was the problem - it closed all the way and locked. Not too worry, I went to look for the ever ready spare key that was ever so cleverly hidden in the super-duper secret hiding place; but of course, it was not there. Yes I got mad, for a moment, but no screaming, no name calling, no muttering (well a little muttering maybe), and I went around the house to see if any of the windows were left open. Sure they were not, except of course for the bathroom window that was about 20 feet over my head! Oh well, I tried to see if any of the basement windows had been left unlocked, so I could open one and squeeze in and lower myself to the basement floor hopefully without killing myself - nope no luck there. What to do? Maybe I could call the wife from a neighbor's house and ask her to come home and let me, the knucklehead who had slammed the door shut behind himself, into the house. As luck would have it, no neighbors were home.
What to do? I checked the mailbox. No one had gotten the mail yesterday, another past pet peeve of mine, but this was good. There was the local rag for me to read. So I sat down next to the two dogs, hoping the one left in the house was not peeing all over the carpet, and I read the paper. Then I thought, why not water the lawn, so I set the sprinkler and went back to reading. Once of twice, I got up to move the sprinkler. The paper was not very interesting, our local one usually isn't, so once done with it I set about watering the potted plants using a watering can so it would kill more time than using the hose. Done with that in too soon a time, I sat back with the dogs, and almost as soon as I sat, they perked up looking toward the front of the house. That usually means one thing, the wife is home or soon to be home. A few seconds later, our car pulls up and out pops the bride. She was kind enough to let me into the house without haranguing me for being a jerk and locking myself out for the better part of two hours in the first place.
So I did better today let's say than I would have done 2 years ago, much better. I was even pleasant to my wife when she arrived instead of venting on her. All I did was asked where the spare key was located, and she told me that the son of ours probably had it, and I imagine I can deal with that later by getting another super secret spare key to be hidden away in a super secret ultimate hiding place of which only I will know the hiding spot. Why I have never thought of this before, after having been locked out more than a few times, is beyond me. I guess all that getting upset blinded me, maybe that is why they call it 'blind rage'. Oh well, I have learned a little bit about how to control my emotions, and usually it centers on doing something else to distract myself - or simply walking away from whatever it is that might get me upset. Not walking away forever, just when I am getting upset, maybe even only on the mental level, sort of like Ralph Kramden when he would say: "Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins, Its the Happy Man That Grins"; then he would grin and count to ten. It works, really it does!
Now the back lawn is watered, the potted plants are watered, the dogs got to go (and the other one inside held it in), I filled the bird feeders, I read the local paper, the dogs and I got to bask in the sunshine of a beautiful and warm day, the dogs and I listened to the birds singing, and I missed work and a doctor's appointment. Yes I caled in to reschedule the appointment, and I called in to work take a vacation day because I had wasted too much of today locked out of my house, and it probably would not have been the best idea for me to drive into Manhattan and then deal with 6 hours of work after having recovered so nicely from my little annoyance. So maybe I had best make this a worthwhile day at home and get something else done.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A Little Scope Work Today...
...followed by my working a 4x12 shift tonight may leave little time for any additional blogging today. By the way, I don't mean rifle or pistol scope, I mean I am having an endoscopy performed on me today, just a check-up. Oh the joys of middle age!
Later for all of you, have a good day.
All the best,
Glenn B
Later for all of you, have a good day.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Fort Dix - Seemingly A Great Investigation - Why Weaken The Case?
Shoddy investigations of terrorism within our shores have been something of which we seemingly have suffered somewhat throughout our recent history in the USA. So it would come as little surprise to me if upon awakening one day, I was to be greeted by the news that an extremists group had performed another act of terrorism on US soil. As it stands, today we are lucky, and some excellent investigative work seems to have been accomplished, see: At Least 5 Arrested in Alleged Fort Dix Murder Plot at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270601,00.html
So, it appears that a terrorist plot to attack our soldiers at Fort Dix, NJ has been thwarted. That is a very good thing, yet there are some very bad things to be found in the above linked story. The most obvious is that terrorists are within our borders (it must not have been to hard for them to get here, either they could have crossed illegally - thanks George Bush; or it seems implied in the report that it is possible Bill Clinton may have actually invited them in and given them citizenship after the Balkans war). Well whatever, they are here, and they are plotting to attack us. As per the article these guys had already surveyed multiple targets of opportunity.
While law enforcement officials on the federal and state levels seem, so far, to have done a good investigation on these guys; I almost wonder how that was possible with attitudes of officials as observed in this quote:
""While the group's alleged actions are alarming, it may not have gone beyond the concept stage," a federal source told FOX News."
Someone in the federal government needs a clue as to what makes up a concept, and as to what makes up a conspiracy (the type of conspiracy containing overt acts, and yes legally there is a big difference). A concept my loyal readers is an idea, a thought, a product of the imagination, a broad principal that affects behavior, ones grasp of an idea, a method or plan. That is all that is a concept, it is a product of the imagination, and remains within the imagination, because it is an idea. A conspiracy with an overt act is something else. The plan has already been set by two or more people, who have agreed to carry it out, and which plan has already in some shape or form been worked toward by these individuals in the commission of an overt act to achieve any part of said plan. How could a federal official, speaking about such a case, not realize the difference,. How could he say that the plan was only a concept. If such is the case, there is no conspiracy with or without an overt act.
The truth of the matter, if the report is correct, is that there was a plan to commit a crime, more than one individual agreed to it (simple conspiracy), and one or more of the individuals committed one or more overt acts toward the end of that conspiracy (conspiracy with overt act). The overt acts consisted of them trying to obtain weapons, of them performing surveillance of the military bases and other potential targets. This is a huge legal difference; but the fault of the federal official who allegedly said that this was just in the "concept" stage would not be just that he/she did not know the difference between concept and conspiracy, but that said federal official, and official of our government, just said something very stupid that could be, and probably will be, used in the defense of these alleged terrorists in a court of law. One of the first rules of speaking about a case is, when law enforcement arrests someone with probable cause, law enforcement should never give the other side even part of its defense. In other words law enforcement should do a good job, and therefore when you see announcements about such things, man of the facts are withheld until the time of discovery requires them to be shown to the defense. In addition mouths should remain shut, that is unless what you have to say to the press has been cleared after first being well thought out. Statements like this one about it being in the concept stages are, if actually made, just apparently a product of a blabbermouth who could not wait to get it right by thinking before speaking, and who could not wait to throw a cog into the wheels of justice.
Hopefully there is more than enough hard cold evidence against these defendants to have them convicted without such a statement being given any real weight by a jury.
All the best,
Glenn B
So, it appears that a terrorist plot to attack our soldiers at Fort Dix, NJ has been thwarted. That is a very good thing, yet there are some very bad things to be found in the above linked story. The most obvious is that terrorists are within our borders (it must not have been to hard for them to get here, either they could have crossed illegally - thanks George Bush; or it seems implied in the report that it is possible Bill Clinton may have actually invited them in and given them citizenship after the Balkans war). Well whatever, they are here, and they are plotting to attack us. As per the article these guys had already surveyed multiple targets of opportunity.
While law enforcement officials on the federal and state levels seem, so far, to have done a good investigation on these guys; I almost wonder how that was possible with attitudes of officials as observed in this quote:
""While the group's alleged actions are alarming, it may not have gone beyond the concept stage," a federal source told FOX News."
Someone in the federal government needs a clue as to what makes up a concept, and as to what makes up a conspiracy (the type of conspiracy containing overt acts, and yes legally there is a big difference). A concept my loyal readers is an idea, a thought, a product of the imagination, a broad principal that affects behavior, ones grasp of an idea, a method or plan. That is all that is a concept, it is a product of the imagination, and remains within the imagination, because it is an idea. A conspiracy with an overt act is something else. The plan has already been set by two or more people, who have agreed to carry it out, and which plan has already in some shape or form been worked toward by these individuals in the commission of an overt act to achieve any part of said plan. How could a federal official, speaking about such a case, not realize the difference,. How could he say that the plan was only a concept. If such is the case, there is no conspiracy with or without an overt act.
The truth of the matter, if the report is correct, is that there was a plan to commit a crime, more than one individual agreed to it (simple conspiracy), and one or more of the individuals committed one or more overt acts toward the end of that conspiracy (conspiracy with overt act). The overt acts consisted of them trying to obtain weapons, of them performing surveillance of the military bases and other potential targets. This is a huge legal difference; but the fault of the federal official who allegedly said that this was just in the "concept" stage would not be just that he/she did not know the difference between concept and conspiracy, but that said federal official, and official of our government, just said something very stupid that could be, and probably will be, used in the defense of these alleged terrorists in a court of law. One of the first rules of speaking about a case is, when law enforcement arrests someone with probable cause, law enforcement should never give the other side even part of its defense. In other words law enforcement should do a good job, and therefore when you see announcements about such things, man of the facts are withheld until the time of discovery requires them to be shown to the defense. In addition mouths should remain shut, that is unless what you have to say to the press has been cleared after first being well thought out. Statements like this one about it being in the concept stages are, if actually made, just apparently a product of a blabbermouth who could not wait to get it right by thinking before speaking, and who could not wait to throw a cog into the wheels of justice.
Hopefully there is more than enough hard cold evidence against these defendants to have them convicted without such a statement being given any real weight by a jury.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, May 7, 2007
Was France Lucky To Have Had Ethnic Riots?
I think the answer to the above question, over the long run, will turn out to be a definitive 'yes'. As it appears to me, France has already begun to reap the benefits of those riots, you remember them don't you, the ones in which mostly Muslim youths ransacked and burned anything they could lay their hands upon somewhat more than a year or so ago. Yes they seem to have already started to work wonders for France. Of course you are probably guessing as to what I mean, and those of you who realize their presidential elections were yesterday have probably guessed correctly.
Yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential elections. He is well known as a baby boomer child (he is now first French president elect born after WWII), a conservative, as a pro-American (can you imagine that), as being the son of an immigrant (no Sarkozy is not a French name), yet as wanting to make immigration laws stricter, as being anti-crime, and as being against France's 35 hour work-week. as being for allowing employers to hire and fire with more ease. In addition he referred to those responsible for the 2005 riots in France as "scum".
Now if you look at the list I just gave to you, you will realize that with all you may know about France, over the years since WWII France has not been very supportive of the USA. Even when our donations of money to the victims of the Tsunami dwarfed those of all other nations, France complained that the people in the USA did not donate enough - typically liberal! In addition, despite having what were called conservative presidents over the past few administrations, France has somehow remained very socialistic; therefore its economy has lagged behind the rest of the other members of the European Union, what with a 35 hour work week, and with employers finding it very difficult to fire sluggards because of employment laws. So, knowing these things, you may wonder how on earth did Sarkozy win the election by defeating his opponent: Segolene Royal, who ran on an obvious socialist ticket.
Well, first of all, Sarkozy won by a very good margin, about 54% of the vote, compared to 46% for Royal. The way he did that was by gaining a lot of votes from those across party lines, and from camps other than the conservatives. According to the article: France's President-Elect Sarkozy Plans Quick Reform Package @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270398,00.html:
"Exit polls offered some surprises. Some 49 percent of blue-collar workers — traditionally leftist voters — chose Sarkozy, according to an Ipsos/Dell poll. Some 32 percent of people who usually vote for the Greens and 14 percent who normally support the far-left also went with Sarkozy. The poll surveyed 3,609 voters and had a margin of error of about 2 percent."
Just look at those numbers. Look at how many eligible voters turned out: 85% - WOW! He got almost 1/3 of the votes of those who usually vote for the green party (pretty far left as anyone goes), and 14% of those who usually vote extreme left. The 49% of the blue collar workers is also amazing in that he wants people to work more hours, but then again, he gives a tax incentive, no tax on overtime pay. Yet the question remains, how did he get all those votes.
So how did he do it, in a country like France. Well, I put it to you that he did it with the help of the riots, and the extremist Muslim Arab and African immigrant community. No he did not get great support in that quarter. In fact, extremist Muslims Arab and African Immigrants threatened to riot should he win; and some violence was reported in said article, about 387 cars were burned (here they go again). What Sarkozy did most likely get were the votes of those people who were sick and tired of interlopers ravaging their country. Just look again at the amount of leftists, hard leftists who voted for Sarkozy. What on earth could make someone from the hard left vote for a guy who wants to make people work more, who wants to empower employers in the private sector to be able to more easily fire people, who wants to get tough on immigration, and who supports the United States of America. Yeah, you probably guessed it by now, violence that threatens to take away the liberals ability to be the loudest moaners and groaners in the nation. The rioters pretty much did just that, so the libs, along with the cons, and the middle of the roaders, probably decided it was time to get back to the status-quo of having the French run France. They elected the guy they thought would get that done.
Time will tell if they got what they needed. I don't like every platform on which this man ran. For one, many believe he will bring France into the EU more completely by having France ratify the EU's constitution. I think that is a mistake. He has also been spouting off about global warming and how the USA should lead the world in its fight against it (yes french conservatives are fairly liberal by anyone standards but he seems less so than most). I think France can do well without the socialist agenda of the EU; and I think Frances needs to worry about itself before it worries too much about the global warming lunacies. Maybe he will take care of problems at home first, and things will improve based upon the house cleaning of France itself. Hopefully he will really be tough on crime, really get tough on illegal immigration, really institute immigration reform, really boost the economy through employment laws, and really be a good ally of the USA.
Bon jour,
Glenn B
Yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential elections. He is well known as a baby boomer child (he is now first French president elect born after WWII), a conservative, as a pro-American (can you imagine that), as being the son of an immigrant (no Sarkozy is not a French name), yet as wanting to make immigration laws stricter, as being anti-crime, and as being against France's 35 hour work-week. as being for allowing employers to hire and fire with more ease. In addition he referred to those responsible for the 2005 riots in France as "scum".
Now if you look at the list I just gave to you, you will realize that with all you may know about France, over the years since WWII France has not been very supportive of the USA. Even when our donations of money to the victims of the Tsunami dwarfed those of all other nations, France complained that the people in the USA did not donate enough - typically liberal! In addition, despite having what were called conservative presidents over the past few administrations, France has somehow remained very socialistic; therefore its economy has lagged behind the rest of the other members of the European Union, what with a 35 hour work week, and with employers finding it very difficult to fire sluggards because of employment laws. So, knowing these things, you may wonder how on earth did Sarkozy win the election by defeating his opponent: Segolene Royal, who ran on an obvious socialist ticket.
Well, first of all, Sarkozy won by a very good margin, about 54% of the vote, compared to 46% for Royal. The way he did that was by gaining a lot of votes from those across party lines, and from camps other than the conservatives. According to the article: France's President-Elect Sarkozy Plans Quick Reform Package @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270398,00.html:
"Exit polls offered some surprises. Some 49 percent of blue-collar workers — traditionally leftist voters — chose Sarkozy, according to an Ipsos/Dell poll. Some 32 percent of people who usually vote for the Greens and 14 percent who normally support the far-left also went with Sarkozy. The poll surveyed 3,609 voters and had a margin of error of about 2 percent."
Just look at those numbers. Look at how many eligible voters turned out: 85% - WOW! He got almost 1/3 of the votes of those who usually vote for the green party (pretty far left as anyone goes), and 14% of those who usually vote extreme left. The 49% of the blue collar workers is also amazing in that he wants people to work more hours, but then again, he gives a tax incentive, no tax on overtime pay. Yet the question remains, how did he get all those votes.
So how did he do it, in a country like France. Well, I put it to you that he did it with the help of the riots, and the
Time will tell if they got what they needed. I don't like every platform on which this man ran. For one, many believe he will bring France into the EU more completely by having France ratify the EU's constitution. I think that is a mistake. He has also been spouting off about global warming and how the USA should lead the world in its fight against it (yes french conservatives are fairly liberal by anyone standards but he seems less so than most). I think France can do well without the socialist agenda of the EU; and I think Frances needs to worry about itself before it worries too much about the global warming lunacies. Maybe he will take care of problems at home first, and things will improve based upon the house cleaning of France itself. Hopefully he will really be tough on crime, really get tough on illegal immigration, really institute immigration reform, really boost the economy through employment laws, and really be a good ally of the USA.
Bon jour,
Glenn B
Sunday, May 6, 2007
I'm Not Much of a Gardener...
...but I do my bit in our flower and vegetable gardens each year; and that does seem to help things to grow better and make the place look nicer even though I don't know all that much about gardening. A perfect example though of me being less than a knowledgeable gardener is I have plants in my yard and I have no idea as to their names.
One of those plants, actually I have two of them, are bushes just along the back of my house. They have been there since long before we bought the place 12 years ago. In that time they went from looking great, to looking like they were about to die, back to looking fairly healthy again. The leaves still seem a bit pale to me, but over the past 3 years I have experimented with different fertilizers, arriving at the conclusion that these bushes like the soil more on the acidic side. I figure they like the soil l
ike that because once I started feeding them azalea food (and they sort of look like an azalea bush but I really don't know) and they started blooming like you see them in the picture. They just started to open a few days ago, must buds are still closed, but there are a lot of buds yet to bloom. It is kind of nice to see that I do have a bit of a green thumb, or at least that these plants are hearty enough to withstand my bumbling in the garden.
ike that because once I started feeding them azalea food (and they sort of look like an azalea bush but I really don't know) and they started blooming like you see them in the picture. They just started to open a few days ago, must buds are still closed, but there are a lot of buds yet to bloom. It is kind of nice to see that I do have a bit of a green thumb, or at least that these plants are hearty enough to withstand my bumbling in the garden. 
I have never seen ones just like these at the garden shops, especially in this color or flower size. This year, I think I will take some cuttings and see if I can get them to root. I did that with some Forsythias last year, and now have a few small Forsythia bushes growing in pots. Once they get a bit bigger, I'll have to find a spot for them. Hopefully this mystery bush will root the same way when I take cuttings from it, because I would like to assure having these around for a long, long time.
By the way, can you believe it, the camera focused just about perfectly on these flowers; I guess there is a first time for everything. Now off to get ready for work for me, I am doing a 4x12 tonight.
All the best,
Glenn B
"New" Discovery - Doing Good makes You Feel Happy...
...can you imagine that! No I don't mean can you imagine that doing good things like: being nice to others, doing your civic duties, having common courtesy, volunteering, being law abiding, being a good parent, and on and on, makes you feel good; what I mean is can you imagine that someone actually thinks this is a new discovery. I find it even difficult to believe that someone went out and did what I believe was wasting someone else's money, and maybe even some of his own, to do such a study - which I will guess is supposed to have been scientific and therefore have the weight of science behind it. The truth is though, someone apparently did just that as discussed in the article Study: Doing Good Makes You Feel Good at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269900,00.html.
According to said article: "There's a new incentive to doing good things for others: It makes you happier, according to a new study." Now did someone really have to go out and spend time and effort to discover that doing good deeds, acting nicely and the like makes you a happier person. I mean, wasn't that sort of thing already common knowledge; did it have to be scientifically proven, hasn't it been proven throughout the ages already? I wonder, are scientists, or academicians, that much out of touch with reality to not realize that this was simply a fact of nature. Apparently at least one person, the guy who conducted this study, Michael Steger, "...couldn’t help but wonder which behavior makes people happier — seeking pleasure or doing good?".
Let's see, were there already any hints that doing good makes one feel happy? I think there was already a large body of evidence that pointed us in that direction, certainly more evidence than the experiences of 65 students who participated in the study could have amounted to. For example:
1) People we see in the world who seemingly seek pleasure for themselves very often, or possibly more often than they do good, apparently turn out to be despicable, and/or miserable. Some extreme examples of this throughout history, in my opinion, would be: Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Nero, Josef Stalin, any pedophile you can name. Some examples that are closer to home and less extreme, but nonetheless, are in my opinion
examples would be: Paris Hilton, Rosie O'Donnell, some people who go compete on American Idol, people who are always telling you what to do or not do like PETA members, over zealous politicians, or a consistently grumpy next door neighbor.
2) People in the world who repeatedly do good for others apparently turn out to be loved and quite happy a least about doing good. Good examples of this throughout history are: Louis Pasteur, Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc. Less extreme , and more modern, examples of such would be: Mr. Rogers (of PBS television fame), Sister Theresa, any person who routinely exhibits some common courtesy, a consistently nice next door neighbor, people who volunteer often to do nice things.
3) Of course, for about the last 2,000 years now or more precisely for about the last 1,977 years or so, we have had this saying going round the world: It is better to give than to receive. No I am not about to start preaching, heck I am pretty much an atheist, agnostic at most toward religious beliefs, but this was and is a good one! People who give of themselves, within reason, usually seem to be those who are the happiest, it is just plain old common knowledge.
4) While stressful, holidays like Christmas, and Chanukah, make people feel happy, and both are times of giving happiness, and are not about seeking pleasure for yourself.
5) Marriages work out much better, and each partner is happier, when each partner is giving of goodness to the other, not when each partner only wants to receive goodness.
6) In any relationship, such as friendship, work associations, school relationships, the people involved seem to be happier when they are good, and do good, as opposed to when they seek self satisfaction only.
I guess I could go on and on about this, but why bother when thousands of years of history, and common sense, have shown that doing good makes one happy or feel good about him/herself. I think the need for a study was a bit ridiculous, and I think one of the reported findings was even more so, and I'll have to repeat one of the above quotes from the article: "There's a new incentive to doing good things for others: It makes you happier, according to a new study." It is ridiculous to say that feeling happy is a new incentive for doing good, and then to conclude that people who do good are happier than those who seek pleasure. You see, if you use happiness that you will feel as an incentive for doing good, you are in effect seeking the pleasure of happiness for yourself; and therefore you are defeating the whole purpose of doing good onto others in that you are seeking self satisfaction because you did good with that goal in mind. The truth be told, when you do selfless good deeds, you do not seek to feel good, you seek to do good, to make others happier or better off, and you do not need or seek the after effect/result of feeling happier before doing a good deed. To do so would only be hypocrisy, and that I think would make you feel miserable in the long run. You do good because you are good already, because you feel good enough about yourself not to worry about what you will get out of it, but rather what good you can do for others. In general, you are a happier or better person already, before the act, who selflessly does good for others, and if doing good results in making you feel happier - well so be it it, you deserve it.
Before I close, I will admit one thing about this study. It was nice to see that academia or science now apaprently believe that doing good is basically its own reward.
All the best,
Glenn B
According to said article: "There's a new incentive to doing good things for others: It makes you happier, according to a new study." Now did someone really have to go out and spend time and effort to discover that doing good deeds, acting nicely and the like makes you a happier person. I mean, wasn't that sort of thing already common knowledge; did it have to be scientifically proven, hasn't it been proven throughout the ages already? I wonder, are scientists, or academicians, that much out of touch with reality to not realize that this was simply a fact of nature. Apparently at least one person, the guy who conducted this study, Michael Steger, "...couldn’t help but wonder which behavior makes people happier — seeking pleasure or doing good?".
Let's see, were there already any hints that doing good makes one feel happy? I think there was already a large body of evidence that pointed us in that direction, certainly more evidence than the experiences of 65 students who participated in the study could have amounted to. For example:
1) People we see in the world who seemingly seek pleasure for themselves very often, or possibly more often than they do good, apparently turn out to be despicable, and/or miserable. Some extreme examples of this throughout history, in my opinion, would be: Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Nero, Josef Stalin, any pedophile you can name. Some examples that are closer to home and less extreme, but nonetheless, are in my opinion
examples would be: Paris Hilton, Rosie O'Donnell, some people who go compete on American Idol, people who are always telling you what to do or not do like PETA members, over zealous politicians, or a consistently grumpy next door neighbor.
2) People in the world who repeatedly do good for others apparently turn out to be loved and quite happy a least about doing good. Good examples of this throughout history are: Louis Pasteur, Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc. Less extreme , and more modern, examples of such would be: Mr. Rogers (of PBS television fame), Sister Theresa, any person who routinely exhibits some common courtesy, a consistently nice next door neighbor, people who volunteer often to do nice things.
3) Of course, for about the last 2,000 years now or more precisely for about the last 1,977 years or so, we have had this saying going round the world: It is better to give than to receive. No I am not about to start preaching, heck I am pretty much an atheist, agnostic at most toward religious beliefs, but this was and is a good one! People who give of themselves, within reason, usually seem to be those who are the happiest, it is just plain old common knowledge.
4) While stressful, holidays like Christmas, and Chanukah, make people feel happy, and both are times of giving happiness, and are not about seeking pleasure for yourself.
5) Marriages work out much better, and each partner is happier, when each partner is giving of goodness to the other, not when each partner only wants to receive goodness.
6) In any relationship, such as friendship, work associations, school relationships, the people involved seem to be happier when they are good, and do good, as opposed to when they seek self satisfaction only.
I guess I could go on and on about this, but why bother when thousands of years of history, and common sense, have shown that doing good makes one happy or feel good about him/herself. I think the need for a study was a bit ridiculous, and I think one of the reported findings was even more so, and I'll have to repeat one of the above quotes from the article: "There's a new incentive to doing good things for others: It makes you happier, according to a new study." It is ridiculous to say that feeling happy is a new incentive for doing good, and then to conclude that people who do good are happier than those who seek pleasure. You see, if you use happiness that you will feel as an incentive for doing good, you are in effect seeking the pleasure of happiness for yourself; and therefore you are defeating the whole purpose of doing good onto others in that you are seeking self satisfaction because you did good with that goal in mind. The truth be told, when you do selfless good deeds, you do not seek to feel good, you seek to do good, to make others happier or better off, and you do not need or seek the after effect/result of feeling happier before doing a good deed. To do so would only be hypocrisy, and that I think would make you feel miserable in the long run. You do good because you are good already, because you feel good enough about yourself not to worry about what you will get out of it, but rather what good you can do for others. In general, you are a happier or better person already, before the act, who selflessly does good for others, and if doing good results in making you feel happier - well so be it it, you deserve it.
Before I close, I will admit one thing about this study. It was nice to see that academia or science now apaprently believe that doing good is basically its own reward.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Guess How Many Rounds...
...I came up with in my ammunition inventory tonight! It might surprise you, yet I am not getting ready for a war, or to go out in a blaze of glory (heaven's forbid), or anything sinister. I will admit though, I like to have sufficient ammunition on hand in case of emergency, and of course to shoot whenever I get the opportunity. Over my past few visits to a local range for some shooting fun, I shot about 1,200 - 1,500 rounds or so of 9mm Luger pistol ammo, and a few hundred rounds at least of .22 Long Rifle ammo.
As for the inventory, it was done on everything you see in the picture at the left, which is not quite all my ammu-nition. It was a fairly accurate count. I counted the ammo in my foot locker, my ammo cans, and in my SHTF grab and go attache case. That included the following calibers: .22LR, .22 Magnum, .32 Auto, .380 Auto, 9MM Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 Smith & Wesson, .45ACP (a 45 maybe my next pistol purchase), .223 Remington, .30 Carbine, 7.62x39, 7.62X54R, .35 Remington, and 12 gauge slugs, buckshot, and game/target loads. All in all it was a fairly sizable amount. Now you have a chance to take a look at the attached picture, and then guess how many rounds I came up with on my inventory count, and then if eligible you may win a prize.
The Contest Rules Are Fairly Simple: The contest begins upon my posting this blog on May 5, 2007, and the contest ends next Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 11:59PM. You must be at least 18 years old or older to participate. Entry is free, although you may have to pay for your email access, etc; in this case 'free' means I am not charging an entry fee. To participate you must be eligible (see all the rules in this post), then simply post a comment to this post, and in the comment tell me how many rounds you believe I came up with in my inventory (regardless of if I counted correctly or not, but yes I was close). You may enter this contest once (of course this will be almost impossible for me to check, so this is on the honor system please). If, at the end of the contest, you come closest to the amount that I came up with in my inventory tonight, you win (if eligible). In case of a tie, I will randomly choose from among the tied entrants. I will try to announce the winner in a comment to this post within 48 hours of the contest end, but no guarantee it will be that soon after the contest ends - I work for a living and cannot always get time online. I will mail the prize (see prize options below) to the winner; the winner must contact me with mailing info within 10 days of the end of the contest. Please note: only one prize to be awarded to only one winner. In the case of any dispute, disagreement, or other figurative pains in my behind - I am the final judge and my decision is final. I can change the rules, or discontinue this contest, at any time, for any reason I deem fit, without any recompense to the participants (mostly just in case I think it has gotten out of hand). If you don't like that don't bother reading further, and don't bother participating.
Now for the Prize: sorry no guns or ammunition; but I guess it can be firearms related. I have an Uncle Mike's model 8103-1, size 3, right hand nylon hip holster for 5 - 6 1/2 inch barrel medium and large double action revolvers, and I have an Uncle Mike's model 8101-1, size 1, right handed nylon hip holster that fits 3 - 4 inch medium semi-automatic pistols. The winner has a choice of ONE of these as his/her prize. These are brand new (well old, but never opened), in the original packaging. Yes that is a picture of the prize options to the right, I guess you can understand why I will not send them to someone who is institutionalized.
I keep ammunition for all the guns I own, and I also have some in calibers for guns that I do not currently own, but hope to someday own. If I never get a gun in a certain caliber, I can always sell or trade that ammo. So some of my ammo has been building up in storage over a few years just waiting for me to get something in which to shoot it. Besides that, ammunition that you buy over the years also has a way of piling up if only because you find a good deal on something, or because you find an ammo type you think helps you to shoot better with one of your guns. Right now, I figure I have just about enough, but by the standards of many a shooting enthusiast, or a survivalist, I have a low inventory. By the standards of the mud slinging media, I suppose I have what amounts to an ammunition dump's worth. The question is though, can you look at a picture of what I inventoried, and then guess how many rounds it is in total?
As for the inventory, it was done on everything you see in the picture at the left, which is not quite all my ammu-nition. It was a fairly accurate count. I counted the ammo in my foot locker, my ammo cans, and in my SHTF grab and go attache case. That included the following calibers: .22LR, .22 Magnum, .32 Auto, .380 Auto, 9MM Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 Smith & Wesson, .45ACP (a 45 maybe my next pistol purchase), .223 Remington, .30 Carbine, 7.62x39, 7.62X54R, .35 Remington, and 12 gauge slugs, buckshot, and game/target loads. All in all it was a fairly sizable amount. Now you have a chance to take a look at the attached picture, and then guess how many rounds I came up with on my inventory count, and then if eligible you may win a prize.The Contest Rules Are Fairly Simple: The contest begins upon my posting this blog on May 5, 2007, and the contest ends next Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 11:59PM. You must be at least 18 years old or older to participate. Entry is free, although you may have to pay for your email access, etc; in this case 'free' means I am not charging an entry fee. To participate you must be eligible (see all the rules in this post), then simply post a comment to this post, and in the comment tell me how many rounds you believe I came up with in my inventory (regardless of if I counted correctly or not, but yes I was close). You may enter this contest once (of course this will be almost impossible for me to check, so this is on the honor system please). If, at the end of the contest, you come closest to the amount that I came up with in my inventory tonight, you win (if eligible). In case of a tie, I will randomly choose from among the tied entrants. I will try to announce the winner in a comment to this post within 48 hours of the contest end, but no guarantee it will be that soon after the contest ends - I work for a living and cannot always get time online. I will mail the prize (see prize options below) to the winner; the winner must contact me with mailing info within 10 days of the end of the contest. Please note: only one prize to be awarded to only one winner. In the case of any dispute, disagreement, or other figurative pains in my behind - I am the final judge and my decision is final. I can change the rules, or discontinue this contest, at any time, for any reason I deem fit, without any recompense to the participants (mostly just in case I think it has gotten out of hand). If you don't like that don't bother reading further, and don't bother participating.
Additional Eligibility Rules: You must be at least 18 years old or older to participate. You must submit an entry via a comment to this post to be eligible. If you are the winner (only one winner), you must email me, or mail me, a copy of your current driver's license, or other federal or state identification, showing your photograph, date of birth and current address. You must be a resident U.S. citizen or legal resident alien of the lower 48 states of the USA (I do not ship to foreign or to Alaska or Hawaii). Also, please no participation by incarcerated/institutionalized people as I knowingly will not send the prize to a jail, halfway house, asylum, mental hospital, or anyplace similar. As winner, you give me permission to place your name, and location (locality and and state) in a post on this blog when I announce the winner (added on May 6, 2007). One other thing, you must hold me harmless for any damages, real or imagined, as a direct or indirect result of this contest.
Important Note: By your participation in this contest, you are affirming you will abide by the above rules, that you are eligible as per the above rules, that your participation is legal, that your receiving the prize is legal and not in violation of any codes, rules, regulations, etc., and that you are affirming that you hold me harmless as mentioned above.
Now for the Prize: sorry no guns or ammunition; but I guess it can be firearms related. I have an Uncle Mike's model 8103-1, size 3, right hand nylon hip holster for 5 - 6 1/2 inch barrel medium and large double action revolvers, and I have an Uncle Mike's model 8101-1, size 1, right handed nylon hip holster that fits 3 - 4 inch medium semi-automatic pistols. The winner has a choice of ONE of these as his/her prize. These are brand new (well old, but never opened), in the original packaging. Yes that is a picture of the prize options to the right, I guess you can understand why I will not send them to someone who is institutionalized. Please keep it nice, and someone will be the happy winner of a decent prize. Good luck to you.
All the best,
Glenn B
(Slight change to rules above as of May 6, to make them a bit simpler, among the changes you are no longer required to email or mail me a statement about your citizenship or legal residency as your participation in the contest is affirmation of such. You still need to email me proof of your age; sorry just too many kids getting in trouble with gun related items lately, and I don't need some lawyer trying to rape me financially if I knowingly send this to a kid. You also need to give me permission to post your name and location in this blog in the announcement of the winner.)
Friday, May 4, 2007
A Blogger's Inspiration
…Well, even though my last post received only three comments, along with thosee comments I found not just words but inspiration. Those nice, and very thoughful comments helped put things into perspective. Then while I was still thinking about whether or not I should keep up blogging, I listened to one of my all time favorite songs, The Highwayman as sung by The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson) . It also helped put things into perspective as to whether or not I would continue with my rants:
Thanks,
Glenn B
"…I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can,
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again,
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain, but I will remain,
And I’ll be back again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again…"
And I’ll be back again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again…"
Thanks,
Glenn B
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Some Rest For The Weary...
...and for the somewhat dejected, is just what I think I need when it comes to blogging. While I enjoy blogging, I must admit it is a bit difficult to keep it up each and every day, or even for most of the days in a week. Just having the time to blog sometimes presents a problem. Then, when I do have the time, having the insight and energy to think up and research new interesting topics, let alone actually write them up, can be even more trying. This is especially true in light of the fact that I work full time, do some chores around my house, and care for my many critters. Add to this a bit of dejection about the fact that my blog is usually not read by more than two dozen people in a good day, and it makes it almost seem less than worthwhile an effort on which to spend so much time, thought and energy. Nomatter what I have done, I cannot seem to increase my daily readership. I guess I mean it appears to me that blogging is somewhat of a drain on me intellectually and physically, and besides that, it seems to be a flop.
So I think I will take a day or two off, maybe even a few, to try and think over whether or not I should continue sharing my thoughts with those of you who are graciously nice enough to read my rants. If I do choose to discontinue, it will not be because I think less of my readers, and will not be because I think your loyal readership is not worth it, but rather because I have come to an impasse with all of the combined facts that appear above.
All the best,
Glenn B
So I think I will take a day or two off, maybe even a few, to try and think over whether or not I should continue sharing my thoughts with those of you who are graciously nice enough to read my rants. If I do choose to discontinue, it will not be because I think less of my readers, and will not be because I think your loyal readership is not worth it, but rather because I have come to an impasse with all of the combined facts that appear above.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
My Opinion on the 12 Million Illegal Aliens...
...whom are estimated to be within the United States of America is that:
Today, May Day, the day of the commie, the day of the disgruntled bigmouth ultra leftist who wants to bring down capitalism and democracy, today, the day that just should be enjoyed as a springtime celebration of fertility and rebirth, thousands marched to scream in favor of legalizing those illegal aliens, in favor of giving them amnesty, and in favor of giving them U.S. citizenship. My prediction is that sooner of later, and probably sooner, these folks will, at least in part, have their way and the dirtbag illegal aliens, these criminals, they whose first act on U.S. soil often was a crime, will be legalized; and they will ultimately obtain citizenship. I am against it wholeheartedly, but I believe it is almost inevitable because those of us against work hard at our jobs and cannot afford to miss work like these bums to protest amnesty for them.
I also predict a bigger problem after they are made legal residents or citizens. These people, these aliens, the ones who folks like Rosie, Ted Kennedy and George Bush say are here to do jobs no U.S. Citizen or legal resident aliens will do, are going to be here legally too. So by the logic of the amnestites (is that a new word for someone who wants to give amnesty) those who have been granted amnesty, legal residency, and ultimately citizenship, will now too be those not willing to do the crappy jobs that citizens and legal residents do not want to do. How in Hades will we get anyone to do them? Of course the answer will be that we just keep the floodgates open, and the brown tide will continue to rush unchecked across our borders, washing away anything that resembled the mighty republic that we once had been. There will be little to no increased spending for fences, walls or border enforcement, there will be no new Immigration and Nationality Act to support legal immigration and deter or stop illegal entry by aliens in to the USA. There will be plenty of talk about it, and after awhile people will be distracted by the MSM who will present stories other than illegal immigration, and in 10 or 20 years time, the USA will be home to a whole new population of illegal aliens, maybe number 20 million or more. If you don't believe that, then just look to the amnesty that Ronald Reagan granted to the illegals (yes even Ron pulled some boners in his time as prez). I think he allowed in about 2 million, now 12 million are here.
People who come here should do so legally, in order to reap any of the benefits that this country has to offer. Anyone who thinks less, even U.S. Citizens who believe otherwise, are helping only to destroy our great nation, bring down our laws, waste our taxes, and do injustice to the rest of the citizenry. The problem is a disgrace; but one that could be easily fixed. We can lock down our border to only legal commerce, legal trade, and legal immigration - and all we need is the will to do so - and politicians with the backbone to carry out our will. We need to vote people into office not only of president and vice president, but into Congress, into state government, and into local government who will respect the borders of our nation, and who realize that a country without borders is no country at all. We need politicians who will fight to keep the USA American (and by that I mean nationality wise not continent wise). My guess is that most Americans are against amnesty of any sort, and we need some way to make ourselves heard, and the one sure way is by our vote. Yet by the time that election day rolls around it maybe too late, so we need to do something else instead of just mumble discontent amongst ourselves on blogs, in chat rooms, or in person. We need to start, and then continue writing to our elected and appointed public officials telling them that we want the illegal aliens removed from our country, that we want a real border barrier along both of our borders, that we want strict enforcement of our immigration and nationality laws that are already on the books, that we want sensible Immigration and nationality reform with reasonable limits placed upon the numbers of legal immigrants entering our land but not too include a free pass into our nation for millions of dregs from other lands, and that we want legal aliens to be required to pass a citizenship test within x number of years of their immigrating here, otherwise they will be deported back to whence they came, and that said citizenship test include that they be tested for a passable fluency in the English language so we do not ever again need to 'press 1 for English'.
Keep up the fight to save the USA, and to save legal immigration and respect for our country and its laws; our only chance to succeed comes at the cost of us taking action. If you want to do your part, start by looking at my government links on the right. I have links there for contacting the White House, and for contacting your senators in Washington. As for your representative in the House of representatives, you need to go to their main site, then enter your zip code plus 4 to find the web site of your rep, then contact them however they provide for on their own site. Keep up the fight, keep the USA full of US Citizens and Legal Resident Aliens (those who waited to enter legally not any who may in the future receive amnesty), let's get rid of the law breakers.
All the best,
Glenn B
Today, May Day, the day of the commie, the day of the disgruntled bigmouth ultra leftist who wants to bring down capitalism and democracy, today, the day that just should be enjoyed as a springtime celebration of fertility and rebirth, thousands marched to scream in favor of legalizing those illegal aliens, in favor of giving them amnesty, and in favor of giving them U.S. citizenship. My prediction is that sooner of later, and probably sooner, these folks will, at least in part, have their way and the dirtbag illegal aliens, these criminals, they whose first act on U.S. soil often was a crime, will be legalized; and they will ultimately obtain citizenship. I am against it wholeheartedly, but I believe it is almost inevitable because those of us against work hard at our jobs and cannot afford to miss work like these bums to protest amnesty for them.
I also predict a bigger problem after they are made legal residents or citizens. These people, these aliens, the ones who folks like Rosie, Ted Kennedy and George Bush say are here to do jobs no U.S. Citizen or legal resident aliens will do, are going to be here legally too. So by the logic of the amnestites (is that a new word for someone who wants to give amnesty) those who have been granted amnesty, legal residency, and ultimately citizenship, will now too be those not willing to do the crappy jobs that citizens and legal residents do not want to do. How in Hades will we get anyone to do them? Of course the answer will be that we just keep the floodgates open, and the brown tide will continue to rush unchecked across our borders, washing away anything that resembled the mighty republic that we once had been. There will be little to no increased spending for fences, walls or border enforcement, there will be no new Immigration and Nationality Act to support legal immigration and deter or stop illegal entry by aliens in to the USA. There will be plenty of talk about it, and after awhile people will be distracted by the MSM who will present stories other than illegal immigration, and in 10 or 20 years time, the USA will be home to a whole new population of illegal aliens, maybe number 20 million or more. If you don't believe that, then just look to the amnesty that Ronald Reagan granted to the illegals (yes even Ron pulled some boners in his time as prez). I think he allowed in about 2 million, now 12 million are here.
People who come here should do so legally, in order to reap any of the benefits that this country has to offer. Anyone who thinks less, even U.S. Citizens who believe otherwise, are helping only to destroy our great nation, bring down our laws, waste our taxes, and do injustice to the rest of the citizenry. The problem is a disgrace; but one that could be easily fixed. We can lock down our border to only legal commerce, legal trade, and legal immigration - and all we need is the will to do so - and politicians with the backbone to carry out our will. We need to vote people into office not only of president and vice president, but into Congress, into state government, and into local government who will respect the borders of our nation, and who realize that a country without borders is no country at all. We need politicians who will fight to keep the USA American (and by that I mean nationality wise not continent wise). My guess is that most Americans are against amnesty of any sort, and we need some way to make ourselves heard, and the one sure way is by our vote. Yet by the time that election day rolls around it maybe too late, so we need to do something else instead of just mumble discontent amongst ourselves on blogs, in chat rooms, or in person. We need to start, and then continue writing to our elected and appointed public officials telling them that we want the illegal aliens removed from our country, that we want a real border barrier along both of our borders, that we want strict enforcement of our immigration and nationality laws that are already on the books, that we want sensible Immigration and nationality reform with reasonable limits placed upon the numbers of legal immigrants entering our land but not too include a free pass into our nation for millions of dregs from other lands, and that we want legal aliens to be required to pass a citizenship test within x number of years of their immigrating here, otherwise they will be deported back to whence they came, and that said citizenship test include that they be tested for a passable fluency in the English language so we do not ever again need to 'press 1 for English'.
Keep up the fight to save the USA, and to save legal immigration and respect for our country and its laws; our only chance to succeed comes at the cost of us taking action. If you want to do your part, start by looking at my government links on the right. I have links there for contacting the White House, and for contacting your senators in Washington. As for your representative in the House of representatives, you need to go to their main site, then enter your zip code plus 4 to find the web site of your rep, then contact them however they provide for on their own site. Keep up the fight, keep the USA full of US Citizens and Legal Resident Aliens (those who waited to enter legally not any who may in the future receive amnesty), let's get rid of the law breakers.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Teaching Bug...
...has really bitten me good; and I have been busy sending out letters of inquiry about exactly what I have to do to become a teacher here in New York State. Being somewhat flexible I would be willing to teach grammar school up through high school. I would also be willing to do so in Catholic Schools, or public schools in my area of Long Island, within New York City, and maybe in CT.
Of course, I am still looking at other options for a second career, but I am first to admit I do not have a lot of the specialized skills that employers are seeking especially since law enforcement skillls are specialized to law enforcement; and I do not want to go from one LE job to another if I can avoid it at my age. I am just getting to old for this stuff, not saying I am there quite yet, but within a few years at most I will be.
So finding a s3econd career may wind up being a bit more difficult than I had thought, but I will keep pounding away and looking for one that is suitable. Janitor positions may even be considered if I could get one at a scholl and have off most of the summer.
All the best,
Glenn B
Of course, I am still looking at other options for a second career, but I am first to admit I do not have a lot of the specialized skills that employers are seeking especially since law enforcement skillls are specialized to law enforcement; and I do not want to go from one LE job to another if I can avoid it at my age. I am just getting to old for this stuff, not saying I am there quite yet, but within a few years at most I will be.
So finding a s3econd career may wind up being a bit more difficult than I had thought, but I will keep pounding away and looking for one that is suitable. Janitor positions may even be considered if I could get one at a scholl and have off most of the summer.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Let Freedom Ring ala Pike County, Illinois
Go here quidini pro quo and read her blog; or go directly to the blogger's source at:
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/tow_final.php?date=2007-4-26, and scroll down about half the page to see the article. My thanks to her for this heads up about a revolutionary event, revolutionary in the name of freedom and protecting our rights and our Constitution.
It is amazing that you most likely will not see this on any of the media's Internet sites. I just searched for it and could not find it at FoxNews, CNN or the BBC (maybe it is there and I missed it, but I sought of doubt that they would write it up - it probably is too right sided revolutionary for the leftists to want to bear). The gist of it is that Pike County, Illinois has told the state of Illinois that it will disregard any and all anti-firearms legislation as the county believes such legislation to be in violation of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! Bravo to them, it may turn out yet to be the cannon shot heard round the world.
Hopefully the NRA will start publicizing this, so more people hear about it.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/tow_final.php?date=2007-4-26, and scroll down about half the page to see the article. My thanks to her for this heads up about a revolutionary event, revolutionary in the name of freedom and protecting our rights and our Constitution.
It is amazing that you most likely will not see this on any of the media's Internet sites. I just searched for it and could not find it at FoxNews, CNN or the BBC (maybe it is there and I missed it, but I sought of doubt that they would write it up - it probably is too right sided revolutionary for the leftists to want to bear). The gist of it is that Pike County, Illinois has told the state of Illinois that it will disregard any and all anti-firearms legislation as the county believes such legislation to be in violation of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! Bravo to them, it may turn out yet to be the cannon shot heard round the world.
Hopefully the NRA will start publicizing this, so more people hear about it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Yikes - what is up with Blogger?
I guess you get what you pay for, and since I paid nothing for use of this site, maybe that is why I have been having so many problems lately. My bet is Blogger or Google will soon institute a pay for use whereby you get live help, but that is only a guess.
My problems have been many, and have only been recent, within the past few weeks, ever since they converted everyone with an old Blogger account to a Google account (or so I was told). It seems things on my own blog keep disappearing such as my link lists to other bloggers, my link list to reference material, my firearms related lists. I also have a great amount of difficulty connecting to other sites using those lings, but I think only the other sites that use Blogger. In addition my link to site meter at the bottom of the page has come and gone a few times, and each time I enter in the html code, it shows up again in a different place even though the code has not changed. All very spooky; and if it was only happening on my home PC I would think virus, but it is happening on other PCs from which I access my blog. I have also heard of others having problems connecting, or finding blogs on the site since they allegedly switched everyone to a Google account. Hopefully this is a bug on the Blogger end and they will fix it soon, but heck how do they even become aware that end users are having problems; there is no link for contacts to them on their site as far as I know!
Oh well, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be fixed soon. Lest I forget, I should again point out I get all of this for free, so I guess I cannot complain too much. I suppose it is a case of me taking things for granted, since in essence they were granted to me. Blogger on the whole is a good thing, and they usually keep it running well, I just hope it stays that way.
All the best,
Glenn B
My problems have been many, and have only been recent, within the past few weeks, ever since they converted everyone with an old Blogger account to a Google account (or so I was told). It seems things on my own blog keep disappearing such as my link lists to other bloggers, my link list to reference material, my firearms related lists. I also have a great amount of difficulty connecting to other sites using those lings, but I think only the other sites that use Blogger. In addition my link to site meter at the bottom of the page has come and gone a few times, and each time I enter in the html code, it shows up again in a different place even though the code has not changed. All very spooky; and if it was only happening on my home PC I would think virus, but it is happening on other PCs from which I access my blog. I have also heard of others having problems connecting, or finding blogs on the site since they allegedly switched everyone to a Google account. Hopefully this is a bug on the Blogger end and they will fix it soon, but heck how do they even become aware that end users are having problems; there is no link for contacts to them on their site as far as I know!
Oh well, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be fixed soon. Lest I forget, I should again point out I get all of this for free, so I guess I cannot complain too much. I suppose it is a case of me taking things for granted, since in essence they were granted to me. Blogger on the whole is a good thing, and they usually keep it running well, I just hope it stays that way.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Ballseye's Boomers: Ruger MKII...
...pistols amount to a lot of fun to shoot, but one heck of a pain in the butt to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning. Still though, this is one of the most fun pistols I have ever owned. Mine is a MKII Target model with 5 1/2" heavy target barrel, adjustable rear sights, and fixed front sight. The magazine holds 10 rounds. I probably have had this one since about the mid 1980's, and if it could talk, it could tell you it has eaten and spit out an awful lot of .22LR ammunition, and killed lots of cans at that.
One of the better things about this pistol is that it likes to eat just about any type of ammo I feed to it. That is always a plus with any pistol that shoots .22LR ammo. Of course being chambered in .22LR it is not expensive to shoot. Another good thing is that it is, or at least was, a relatively inexpensive pistol to purchase. Although I have not looked recently, my guess is that you could get a new one like mine with the 5 1/2" heavy barrel, for about $250 or less, but that is a guess. Used ones are readily available and should much less expensive than a new one. I would not be surprised to find a decent used one for $150.
Curiosity has already gotten the better of me, and I left the blog for a moment or two to do some checking on prices. My guesstimate, at least on the new ones in my area where guns are more expensive than in many other parts of the country, was very close to on the money. A new one, just like the one pictured, goes for $260 cash at The Long Island Shooting Center; and that price is supposedly current as of today. As for the asking price of used ones, I went to GunBroker.com where I was shocked to see the starting price/bid for one at $295.00, and while that was with a slightly longer barrel at 6 7/8", it was not shown with the heavy target barrel. I wonder, who is kidding whom here? The same pistol new, is listed at Long Island Shooting Center for $260, same as the 5 1/2" model. If you can get it new for $260, why in the world would you buy it used through the Internet for at least $295.00, and then have to add on an FFL transfer fee! Oh well, someone will probably buy it; but not me.
Back to the pistol itself. I already pointed out the good things about it above, now let me harp on the bad. This pistol has got to be one of the most difficult pistols to reassemble correctly after having disassembled it for cleaning. It is just a royal pain in the butt with the lever in the backstrap that has to engage just so before it will fold back into place. I have assembled mine a few times where it did not work properly, and then had to be taken apart and reassembled again, and sometimes again before i got it right. As a matter of fact, pulling the disassembly lever out of the backstrap can also be kind of a pain in the posterior too, but this bit is not as bad as when putting it back together.
Despite the disassembly/reassembly thing, I find the Ruger MKII to be a really good to excellent pistol for amateurish target shooting, for plinking, and for small game hunting. If it was the only pistol I had, I would also use it for home defense, but then again, there are much better choices out there than a pistol shooting .22LR rounds. In short, it is well worth the cost, and one heck of a fun gun to shoot. It will last a long time without problems if cared for properly, and if you buy one and care for it, chances are you will pass it on to your children or grandchildren in years to come.
All the best,
Glenn B
Another Saturday In The Garden...
...is beginning to show some signs of it looking as it is actually a garden again; and for a second Saturday in a row, my back is aching though not as much as it was last week. Today I began my day with a ride to Hicks Nursery, where 4 small potted herbs cost me just over $16.00; nothing made out of gold, just spearmint, cilantro (coriander), rosemary, and I can't remember the other one but just a regular herb. Then I went to Home Depot where I spent $57.00 and got 4 similar sized plants (3 pepper plants and an eggplant), 5 bags of top soil (40 lbs each), a box of fertilizer spikes for evergreens, a flat of Impatiens (32 plants), 6 potted geraniums in 4 inch pots, a well started tomato plant in a 6 inch pot, and some snazzy looking flowering perennial called Gaillardia Arizona Sun (the pic of the yellow and red flowers) that supposedly attracts butterflies. You tell me where I got the better deal. Despite the deals, I hate shopping at Home Depot because of the crowds. Then again, Hicks - a one store operation - was crowded too, just as bad as Home Depot for its size. So all in all shopping in both of them sucks as far as i am concerned, but Home Depot has better prices. One the way home, I took a few bucks I had saved by doing most of the shopping at Home Depot, and I stopped at TR's a local gin mill (yes named after Theodore Roosevelt) and I had one cold one - a Heineken. That was nice.After the quick bottle of suds, it was back to home, to plant things. The first thing I did was to fill in a hole in a spot from where I had removed a stump several months back. It took four bags of the top soil and a good portion of compost and peat moss. I mixed it all nicely, and tamped it down. As soon as it was done, I dug a hole right in the middle of it, and I planted a tree on that spot; that is of course right after I asked she who must be obeyed if it was a good sp
ot. I have no idea of what type is that tree, it is something that started to grow in my yard last year. I uprooted it, and put it into a pot, and that is where it stayed over the winter, the pot buried in my compost heap so it would not freeze. I have another one of them growing wild in the yard; and I used to think it was a bush so I trimmed it whenever I trimmed the other bushes that grew over my neighbor's fence. Then when I cleared a bit of the area, I realized "Hey, it has a trunk, its a tree". I stopped trimming it, and it started growing more like a tree than a bush, but somewhat worse for the trimmings I had given it. It is about 12-15 feet tall now, and okay by me. Now that I planted this new one today, I guess in a couple if years, I will get to see what one looks like that is not deformed because of a gardener gone berserk. Oh well...I did my thing for Arbor Day, just one day late. That tree, by the way, will keep company with an Oak, a couple of Dogwoods, a Japanese Maple, a Holly, and some assorted bushes, like the rhododendrons to the right/above.Then I got to planting the veggies I had bought. I also planted some seeds for lettuce, spinach, cukes, turnips, beets (yech - but my wife loves em), and beans. I then cleaned up my mess, much to the approval of my wife. After that I loaded up the bird feeders, well at least I put out what seeds I had. A tube feeder with Niger seed, another a regular feeder with some other seeds; and a humming bird feeder with nectar. Then I remembered what I had forgotten at Home Depot - bird seed. I am all out of regular bird seed, so that means another trip this weekend to Home Depot - oh joy.
As for the wife, well my sweetheart was out there most of the time, if not longer than I was there. She planted a bunch of pretty flowers that we bought last weekend, and the ones I bought today. Once again we will have a nice small garden out front, and nice potted plants all around the house. We have a nice collection of Impatiens, Petunias, Geraniums, Black Eyed Susans, Rosie Cheeks Dianthus, Swan Yellow Columbine, Gaillardia Arizona Sun, Azaleas, and whatever else she has growing out there flower wise. We also have some that were here before we bought the place 12 or so years ago, including azaleas, rhododendrons (and 2 new ones I planted last fall),crocuses, and daffodils (these last two keep coming back year after year). It was also nice to see that my strawberry plants came to life again this year. Small lot that we have, it does have its share of nice flowers and trees.
So we got our gardening dome kind of separately, but together too, me on the tree and the veggies, and Linda on most of the flowers, and you have to admit she added a nice touch to the small front patio. It is kind of nice working together out in the garden, and then later seeing the result of our combined efforts. I only wish we could do as well with our front and back lawns as we do with all the other plants. I am just about ready to give up on grass. Anyone know a nice green lawn cover other than grass, or green concrete?I guess now, all that is left is watering the garden and the lawn, oh yeah - the lawn! Well maybe, just maybe, I will tear out the grass in the front lawn for the third or fourth year in a row, turn the soil, add some lime and fertilizer, and reseed it again. It goes good for a while, then patches of it sort of die off before the fall. If it was up to me, river pebbles, and some nicely arranged flowers and shrubs would be the right thing to do; but of course the other half will not hear of it, so a grass lawn it will remain, even if it has almost no grass.
Enough of the garden stuff, I have other chores to get done. ater for the garden, and for you!
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 27, 2007
National Arbor Day - Plant A Tree...
...if you today if you can, or if not maybe do it tomorrow. I have not already done so today, but I will plant one or two on my small backyard this weekend. There is no better time to do it than National Arbor Day, which happens to be today, as far as I am concerned. Although I have to point out I am not a tree hugger per se, I do love seeing nice trees growing. As far as I am concerned they are wonderful in many ways, I guess producing oxygen, and giving shade being among two of my favorites reasons to love trees. I also like: to listen to the leaves rustle in the breeze, to smell the sroma of their flowers or cones, to sit up against one when I hunt, to sleep up against one (also when I hunt), to see kids haiving fun climbing in their branches, to see the birds and hear then sing while flitting about in their branches, to spot a bird's nest high up, to see all the other critters that use trees as home or food, to feel the warmth supplied by a nicely burning camp fire on a cool night in the forest, to read a real book made out of paper, to eat nuts, to use a toothpick, to have a roof over my head, to have the forest as a place of repose, toknow that if we do it right trees are a totally renewable resource that can be used again and again throughout our eternity, to see my one male dog lift his leg and leave his scent on them (yes they are good for all sorts of things), and on and on. Even though I usually cannot tell an Oak from a Sycamore, I can say without a doubt, Trees Are Wonderful.
No I am not an environmentalist kook. I am a man who likes some outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping (the few times I ever get a chance any longer), gardening; and being a man who likes the useful products that come from trees; I guess it comes natural that I like trees too. So to all of you out there, who also enjoy trees for whatever reason, and in whatever way, I say to you: Happy National Arbor Day. Now get off your butts this weekend and plant a tree somewhere.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: My uncle Ken would probably like this post if he read it!
No I am not an environmentalist kook. I am a man who likes some outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping (the few times I ever get a chance any longer), gardening; and being a man who likes the useful products that come from trees; I guess it comes natural that I like trees too. So to all of you out there, who also enjoy trees for whatever reason, and in whatever way, I say to you: Happy National Arbor Day. Now get off your butts this weekend and plant a tree somewhere.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: My uncle Ken would probably like this post if he read it!
The So Called Republicans...
...who are in the running for the presidency of the USA have just gotten a little bit more of competition for their own party's nomination. Jim Gilmore, the former governor of Virginia, and a proclaimed staunch conservative has joined the ranks of those seeking the Republican nomination as explained in Gilmore Declares Presidential Candidacy in Online Announcement, over at FoxNews.com
So whom among potential Republican candidates do we have to choose from now:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
John Cox (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Rudy Giuliani (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Chuck Hagel (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
John McCain (in the race)
Ron Paul (in the race)
Mitt Romney (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Tommy Thompson (potential)
I liked Tancredo, and still do, quite a bit; but I must admit that his lack of campaigning in the public eye (or would that be lack of media coverage) leaves him out in the cold somewhat if only because not many are familiar with him. I can only hope that he has some matches and tinder to start the fire blazing.
If Tancredo does not start gaining some steam, and start talking about something other than Immigration (which is is probably already doing, but my bet is that the other talk is just ignored by the media who want to show true conservatives as one issue sort of guys), well then I guess I may have to look elsewhere as to cast my vote in the primaries (no I never carried out on my desire to withdraw from the Republican party, although I thought about it long and hard). I definitely would consider casting my vote in the primary for a few of the other candidates. Of course before casting my vote for any of them, they would have to be in it at primary time. Hopefully Tancredo will still be there, and then my decision will probably be an easy one for me. Just in case he will not be there, well I am starting to do my homework by taking a good look at these others. I can only hope that the likes of the most popular candidates at the present time fail to make it to the primaries as I can not imagine Giuliani, McCain or Romney as our president, at least not without dire results for our country.
The candidates, whom I would consider voting for in the primary, as things stand right now, and should they still be in it, are:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Time will tell what will happen, but I suggest that before you know it, it will be time for the primaries. Therefore you ought to do your homework now. You can find a breakdown of some of the candidates ideas on the issues at: HUMAN EVENTS 2008 Presidential Voting Guide, and at the various web sites of the candidates, among other places.
All the best,
Glenn B
So whom among potential Republican candidates do we have to choose from now:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
John Cox (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Rudy Giuliani (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Chuck Hagel (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
John McCain (in the race)
Ron Paul (in the race)
Mitt Romney (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Tommy Thompson (potential)
I liked Tancredo, and still do, quite a bit; but I must admit that his lack of campaigning in the public eye (or would that be lack of media coverage) leaves him out in the cold somewhat if only because not many are familiar with him. I can only hope that he has some matches and tinder to start the fire blazing.
If Tancredo does not start gaining some steam, and start talking about something other than Immigration (which is is probably already doing, but my bet is that the other talk is just ignored by the media who want to show true conservatives as one issue sort of guys), well then I guess I may have to look elsewhere as to cast my vote in the primaries (no I never carried out on my desire to withdraw from the Republican party, although I thought about it long and hard). I definitely would consider casting my vote in the primary for a few of the other candidates. Of course before casting my vote for any of them, they would have to be in it at primary time. Hopefully Tancredo will still be there, and then my decision will probably be an easy one for me. Just in case he will not be there, well I am starting to do my homework by taking a good look at these others. I can only hope that the likes of the most popular candidates at the present time fail to make it to the primaries as I can not imagine Giuliani, McCain or Romney as our president, at least not without dire results for our country.
The candidates, whom I would consider voting for in the primary, as things stand right now, and should they still be in it, are:
Sam Brownback (in the race)
Jim Gilmore (in the race)
Newt Gingrinch (potential)
Mike Huckabee (in the race)
Duncan Hunter (in the race)
Condoleezza Rice (hopefully a potential)
Tom Tancredo (in the race)
Fred Thompson (potential, or is he already in it?)
Time will tell what will happen, but I suggest that before you know it, it will be time for the primaries. Therefore you ought to do your homework now. You can find a breakdown of some of the candidates ideas on the issues at: HUMAN EVENTS 2008 Presidential Voting Guide, and at the various web sites of the candidates, among other places.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Rhacodactylus ciliatus - Leapin Lizards...
...Yes, I went and took the leap once again. Last Sunday I went to the New York Metro Reptile Expo. While there, I helped to man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table and give out info about reptiles and amphibians to folks who needed help with their pets; and I also got rid of a few of my excess herps. After getting rid of a pair of Bearded Dragons, a California Kingsnake, and a Hermann's Tortoise, I sort of figured I just had to buy something.
Since my male Crested Gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) has been a loner for a few months now, I decided to get him a mate. He thinks she is gorgeous, or at least I hope that he does. I am hopeful that she will be laying fertile eggs before too long; meaning that he found her attractive and did his part. I am pretty sure he will oblige, then all I can hope for is that she is productive.
I don't know about you, but I enjoy keeping these little critters, that is along with my fish, frog, turtles, tortoise, snakes, dwarf hamsters mice, and dogs. Yes we have a small zoo, that changes in size, and in some of its occupants, on a recurring basis. In my opinion, herps (reptiles and amphibians) are great animals to keep as a pet hobbyist. While none are truly responsive like a dog or a cat, some of them make great pets in the more classic sense of pet keeping, and while others are less than cuddly, all are in my opinion fascinating and rewarding to keep nonetheless.
I took several pictures of this gal, but am none to good at focusing the digital camera (or I should say its auto focus is none too good), and this one came out the best. I wish though I could show you a close up of the head, absolutely weird and sort of dragon like in appearance. As it is though you can click on the pic for an enlargement.
In case you are interested, here are a couple of care sheets that I found by doing a web search. They are seemingly well written and detailed, and can be found at:
http://www.thegeckospot.com/crestedcareindex.html (lots of great pictures too, including a great head shot)
http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm
These are fascinating creatures that can easily be kept in the home, including a small apartment. I keep my crested geckos, at room temperature, in a vertically oriented tank, with a few nice potted house plants and a piece of cork bark inside of it for aesthetics and as hiding places for the lizards. Crested geckos are a good choice for older children, about 12 and up in my estimation, who will get help from mom and dad. Always bear in mind that any pet you get for your children is also your responsibility as a parent in the event the kids don't care for it properly or lose interest. If you get one or more of these for your kids, and in the event your kids lose interest, this particular type of gecko could get you, as mom or dad, hooked for life on herps. Of course, if you keep at it with your children, they will probably regain any lost interest, or maybe never lose all interest in the first place. Thus they too could become hooked for life on these wonderful creatures, and maybe gain an interest in science and nature along the way. In addition think of the time you would be spending with your children enjoying your new hobby as opposed to them just hanging out, or watching TV, all of the time. Now that would be a good thing, wouldn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
I don't know about you, but I enjoy keeping these little critters, that is along with my fish, frog, turtles, tortoise, snakes, dwarf hamsters mice, and dogs. Yes we have a small zoo, that changes in size, and in some of its occupants, on a recurring basis. In my opinion, herps (reptiles and amphibians) are great animals to keep as a pet hobbyist. While none are truly responsive like a dog or a cat, some of them make great pets in the more classic sense of pet keeping, and while others are less than cuddly, all are in my opinion fascinating and rewarding to keep nonetheless.
I took several pictures of this gal, but am none to good at focusing the digital camera (or I should say its auto focus is none too good), and this one came out the best. I wish though I could show you a close up of the head, absolutely weird and sort of dragon like in appearance. As it is though you can click on the pic for an enlargement.
In case you are interested, here are a couple of care sheets that I found by doing a web search. They are seemingly well written and detailed, and can be found at:
http://www.thegeckospot.com/crestedcareindex.html (lots of great pictures too, including a great head shot)
http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm
These are fascinating creatures that can easily be kept in the home, including a small apartment. I keep my crested geckos, at room temperature, in a vertically oriented tank, with a few nice potted house plants and a piece of cork bark inside of it for aesthetics and as hiding places for the lizards. Crested geckos are a good choice for older children, about 12 and up in my estimation, who will get help from mom and dad. Always bear in mind that any pet you get for your children is also your responsibility as a parent in the event the kids don't care for it properly or lose interest. If you get one or more of these for your kids, and in the event your kids lose interest, this particular type of gecko could get you, as mom or dad, hooked for life on herps. Of course, if you keep at it with your children, they will probably regain any lost interest, or maybe never lose all interest in the first place. Thus they too could become hooked for life on these wonderful creatures, and maybe gain an interest in science and nature along the way. In addition think of the time you would be spending with your children enjoying your new hobby as opposed to them just hanging out, or watching TV, all of the time. Now that would be a good thing, wouldn't it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
WOULD YOU GO, IF YOU COULD GO?
Fox news reports the AP story: Earth-Like Planet Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star. This of course has all sorts of scientific, religious, and fascinating implications if proven true. I wonder how they could prove such a thing in our time?
I guess traveling there would be one way, although they say that: "Distance is another problem. We don't know how to get to those places in a human lifetime,". Yet if they did, I might be willing to go. Of course I have a family, so that would make me probably just dream about it, but if I had no family ties (wife and kids, I am not talking about anyone else) I would jump at the opportunity. Hopefully there would be somehow to come back if it was not a planet that supported life; but man oh man, what a long strange trip it would be!
All the best,
Glenn B
I guess traveling there would be one way, although they say that: "Distance is another problem. We don't know how to get to those places in a human lifetime,". Yet if they did, I might be willing to go. Of course I have a family, so that would make me probably just dream about it, but if I had no family ties (wife and kids, I am not talking about anyone else) I would jump at the opportunity. Hopefully there would be somehow to come back if it was not a planet that supported life; but man oh man, what a long strange trip it would be!
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Gun Shows and Herps Shows - a Commonality?
Gun Shows are neat, well that is, they used to be neat, and loads of fun too. They were neat because they brought together a whole bunch of people with the same interests, that being firearms, and that had lots of firearms on display and for sale. I still like going to gun shows but they are nowhere nearly as fun as they once were if only because they have been targeted by the gun hating ultra leftists, and thereby by many ridiculous government regulations that are just so much going overboard. The result has been that gun shows now have vendors who sell less guns, lots of books, and beef jerky. Not fun. Enough for gun shows though, this post is not about them, not really.
Yesterday I went to another type of show: The New York Metro Reptile Expo. It was, as usual, held in White Plains New York at the Convention Center. Like a gun show, a reptile & amphibian show (herp show) brings together a large number of enthusiasts who like the same or similar things. In this case that would be reptiles and amphibians (herps). I go to the WP show at about every chance I get, which is almost every show they have had over the past few years. I help man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table, and I also go to maybe sell or trade a herp that I have in order to get something else. I have been keeping reptiles and amphibians for well over 40 years now. I guess I have been an LIHS member for at least about 15 years, maybe a couple more.
It used to be that herp shows were much like gun shows. Lots of fun, lots of availability of various herps, well regulated by way of federal and state laws regarding herps and so on. Then the ultra leftist loonies started to get involved.For instance they tried to ban keeping all boas and pythons about 2 years ago in new York State. The bill was a shoe in, it was going to pass easily, because the animal rights loonies, and the so called pet advocates, told the state legislation these were all dangerous snakes because they all could kill people. Well, it was then that herp societies like the LIHS stepped up to the plate, and the members and executive board began a letter writing campaign. We had the bill changed, that is once we explained that there are boas that reach only about 18 inches in length, and there are many small pythons too, all of which pose no threat of loss of life to people. Yes some snakes, and other herps, were banned as pets, such as Burmese Pythons and Anaconda. Still though, efforts of herp societies like the LIHS prevented all such snakes from being banned as pets. Of course, the loonies persist and try to over regulate these shows and the pet industry on the whole, and they have successfully kept the 4 inch turtle law on the books. It is a pretty silly law that says you cannot sell turtles under 4" long because kids could put them into their mouths and get salmonella. I don't see anyone restricting sale of chickens, eggs, or dairy products, both the causes of the largest outbreaks of salmonella, and anyhow a kid could always lick a bigger turtle. Truth be told, turtles can get salmonella but when kept properly are not likely to be effected by it; then again, your pet dogs and cats can get it too but wouldn't it be much more difficult for these wackos to ban keeping dogs and cats. Just so much ludicrous leftist loony legislation, for the kooks to try to control our lives by micro management, that is all , plain and simple.
So while you may think this was a victory for the herp hobbyists, I think it actually was a victory for the loonies who want to stop herps from being kept as pets. They work the same way as do the anti-gun crowd, they chip away at our rights and liberties a little bit at a time over the years, until our liberties and rights are just a faint shadow of what they used to be. Why do they do this, for control, and I believe for nothing more. The thing is though, many people have pets, many people watch nature shows, many folks love(d) guys like Steve Irwin, Jeff Corbin, and so on. People are familiar in some ways with these wonderful animals; and the herp keeping hobby is growing by leaps and bounds. People are also beginning to realize that the kooks who would control all aspects of pet keeping, even of reptiles and amphibians, are just that - kooks. It is apparent that in many states the normal citizens are realizing the same about those who would abolish our right to keep and bear arms. You see all these control freaks want to do is control our lives, to micro manage you and me. They are not truly concerned about whether of not there is gun violence, or people being killed by snakes, or too many fast cars, or too much god in school, or too little freedom in expression, they are only using those things to exert and extend their influence over the public as radically as they can because by presenting things falsely in the extreme, they can suck more politicians, and easily hoodwinked people, over to their side; thereby they accomplish something else: more control over us. Rationality however seems to be prevailing in many areas, and the truth is that these folks often are being seen for what they are - charlatans, and little more. That is a good thing, and the fun may yet someday return to gun shows and the like because we keep showing these kooks for exactly that - kooks, and little more.
All the best,
Glenn B
Yesterday I went to another type of show: The New York Metro Reptile Expo. It was, as usual, held in White Plains New York at the Convention Center. Like a gun show, a reptile & amphibian show (herp show) brings together a large number of enthusiasts who like the same or similar things. In this case that would be reptiles and amphibians (herps). I go to the WP show at about every chance I get, which is almost every show they have had over the past few years. I help man the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) table, and I also go to maybe sell or trade a herp that I have in order to get something else. I have been keeping reptiles and amphibians for well over 40 years now. I guess I have been an LIHS member for at least about 15 years, maybe a couple more.
It used to be that herp shows were much like gun shows. Lots of fun, lots of availability of various herps, well regulated by way of federal and state laws regarding herps and so on. Then the ultra leftist loonies started to get involved.For instance they tried to ban keeping all boas and pythons about 2 years ago in new York State. The bill was a shoe in, it was going to pass easily, because the animal rights loonies, and the so called pet advocates, told the state legislation these were all dangerous snakes because they all could kill people. Well, it was then that herp societies like the LIHS stepped up to the plate, and the members and executive board began a letter writing campaign. We had the bill changed, that is once we explained that there are boas that reach only about 18 inches in length, and there are many small pythons too, all of which pose no threat of loss of life to people. Yes some snakes, and other herps, were banned as pets, such as Burmese Pythons and Anaconda. Still though, efforts of herp societies like the LIHS prevented all such snakes from being banned as pets. Of course, the loonies persist and try to over regulate these shows and the pet industry on the whole, and they have successfully kept the 4 inch turtle law on the books. It is a pretty silly law that says you cannot sell turtles under 4" long because kids could put them into their mouths and get salmonella. I don't see anyone restricting sale of chickens, eggs, or dairy products, both the causes of the largest outbreaks of salmonella, and anyhow a kid could always lick a bigger turtle. Truth be told, turtles can get salmonella but when kept properly are not likely to be effected by it; then again, your pet dogs and cats can get it too but wouldn't it be much more difficult for these wackos to ban keeping dogs and cats. Just so much ludicrous leftist loony legislation, for the kooks to try to control our lives by micro management, that is all , plain and simple.
So while you may think this was a victory for the herp hobbyists, I think it actually was a victory for the loonies who want to stop herps from being kept as pets. They work the same way as do the anti-gun crowd, they chip away at our rights and liberties a little bit at a time over the years, until our liberties and rights are just a faint shadow of what they used to be. Why do they do this, for control, and I believe for nothing more. The thing is though, many people have pets, many people watch nature shows, many folks love(d) guys like Steve Irwin, Jeff Corbin, and so on. People are familiar in some ways with these wonderful animals; and the herp keeping hobby is growing by leaps and bounds. People are also beginning to realize that the kooks who would control all aspects of pet keeping, even of reptiles and amphibians, are just that - kooks. It is apparent that in many states the normal citizens are realizing the same about those who would abolish our right to keep and bear arms. You see all these control freaks want to do is control our lives, to micro manage you and me. They are not truly concerned about whether of not there is gun violence, or people being killed by snakes, or too many fast cars, or too much god in school, or too little freedom in expression, they are only using those things to exert and extend their influence over the public as radically as they can because by presenting things falsely in the extreme, they can suck more politicians, and easily hoodwinked people, over to their side; thereby they accomplish something else: more control over us. Rationality however seems to be prevailing in many areas, and the truth is that these folks often are being seen for what they are - charlatans, and little more. That is a good thing, and the fun may yet someday return to gun shows and the like because we keep showing these kooks for exactly that - kooks, and little more.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ouch...
...my neck and back just went snap, crackle, pop at the same time. Yeah, you guessed it, the first nice Saturday of April and I was at Home Depot earlier, then out in the yard the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. Linda and I got a bunch of yard work done. Although the little gardens in the few spots around the perimeter of our front and back yards don't look like much yet, my neck and back are stiff and aching.
Most of that soreness is from sifting the compost pile. I got a good amount of compost and used some of it to mix into the soil where I will plant some veggies. I also already used some of it in pots, one pot with cherry tomatoes, and another with strawberries. My wife also used some of it in her flower garden and flower pots. I am curious to see if this compost will work better than potting soil and fertilizer. Time and my yield will tell. I planted one other tomato plant and a couple of basil plants to start off the season. I still have a long way to go. I will be starting somethings from seed this year, like radishes, beets, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and one or two others. Hopefully it is not too late to start any of them in this area fro seed. In the past I would have planted earlier this month, but this one has been a cold one.
As for the flowers, Linda and I picked out some nice petunias, marigolds, columbine, and geraniums. Its a start, but I am pretty certain at least one or two more trips to the garden center will be forthcoming in the next 2 weeks.
All the best,
Glenn B
Most of that soreness is from sifting the compost pile. I got a good amount of compost and used some of it to mix into the soil where I will plant some veggies. I also already used some of it in pots, one pot with cherry tomatoes, and another with strawberries. My wife also used some of it in her flower garden and flower pots. I am curious to see if this compost will work better than potting soil and fertilizer. Time and my yield will tell. I planted one other tomato plant and a couple of basil plants to start off the season. I still have a long way to go. I will be starting somethings from seed this year, like radishes, beets, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and one or two others. Hopefully it is not too late to start any of them in this area fro seed. In the past I would have planted earlier this month, but this one has been a cold one.
As for the flowers, Linda and I picked out some nice petunias, marigolds, columbine, and geraniums. Its a start, but I am pretty certain at least one or two more trips to the garden center will be forthcoming in the next 2 weeks.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 20, 2007
RANGE REPORT
Yes, like I said a few posts below, I have plans for this weekend, so I figured I would get some shooting in at the range before I got home from work on Friday evening. I shot up about 350 rounds of 9mm ammo through my one of my Beretta 92FS pistols. It is a real pleasure to shoot, as are any of my Berettas, past or present. I spent just about an hour, or a few minutes more, shooting; but it surely was exactly what I needed to end up my work week. It is amazing how punching holes in paper, and the concentration and physical coordination that goes along with it, is often very soothing. High mental concentration, breath control, muscular coordination, all amounting to stress control almost beyond belief. Certainly as good a stress reliever as moderate exercise, meditation, hypnosis, reading a good book; and much better than a stiff drink, watching television, or just vegetating.
Add to that that I was shooting better than anyone else at the range, and all I can say, even though I am not the greatest of shootists, is: Whoopee......
All the best,
Glenn B
Add to that that I was shooting better than anyone else at the range, and all I can say, even though I am not the greatest of shootists, is: Whoopee......
All the best,
Glenn B
A Hero's Lesson...
...hopefully will not have fallen on deaf ears, especially since the lesson was one of true heroism. In today's world of almost 'virtual' everything, it is often difficult to decipher the real from the fantastic, or from the make believe. The purely academic images presented by those who have never truly experienced more than little in life but what are products of the imagination are rampant; therefore mere conceptual views of what a hero should be are oft times confused with true heroism. Because of that confusion it winds up that people today often see a movie actor, a baseball player, a singer, a politician, a doctor, a teacher, a parent, a friend, as a hero; this when in fact that not even one of those folks may ever have completed one truly heroic deed among them in all of the combined years that their lives have spanned.
Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.
The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.
Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.
So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.
One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.
All the best,
Glenn B
Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.
The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.
Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.
So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.
One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.
All the best,
Glenn B
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