...here is why people would still need them tomorrow, and why we should look to arming the citizens of the United States of America: Police: Man Attacks Grannies With Hammer (found at FoxNew.com). I don't have to do a lengthy rant about this one, the title of the article alone should make it clear why we law abiding citizens of the USA should be allowed to keep and bear arms, but then again so too should the 2nd amendment, and the reasoning of our founding fathers.
One final thing I will say is that you should pay special attention to what the prosecutor has to say about: "...the most vulnerable of victims.". I wonder, when he used that phrase, did he mean 'grannies', did he mean people who follow the advice of most police departments 'not to resist', or did he mean unarmed Americans, to be the most vulnerable of victims. Had one or two of these women been armed, and ready to defend themselves and the others, chances are things would have turned out much differently indeed. Had I been there and not been struck first and by surprise by the bad guy, you can bet your hard earned money things would have turned out differently, and someone other than the grannies would have had metal in his body or head; albeit metal softer than a steel hammer head, but 124 grains of copper jacketed lead traveling at about 1,150 fps does the job just as well or better than any steel hammer wielded by a lowlife dirtbag.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Do You Want to Watch A Good Movie...
...with good casting, great acting, and a good plot, so do I. Yet I rarely get out to the movies since there usually does not seem to be enough time, or my wife doesn't want to go (and I don't care to go alone, or we just don't have the money at the time. Of course that leaves television movies on broadcast, cable, FIOS, or satellite television, and it leaves movies on video and DVD. Now I will be the first to admit, I am not a fan of many of the contemporary hit movies, or even flops, that are out there; although I will admit there have been some good ones, even a handful of excellent ones.
The problem with movies available on television though is that, in my opinion, unless you pay extra for them as in pay per view movies, they for the most part stink. Besides that they are repeated again and again and again over months long periods first on one channel, then on another, sometimes on two channels at once. I get FLIX, HBO, Showtime, STARZ, The Movie Channel as premium channels. I have to wonder just how many times in a three month period that these channels, or at least some of them can show the following movies over and over again: The Pink Panther (the latest and poorly casted piss poor version), My Cousin Vinny (yes a funny movie but not 20 or 30 times in a month), Fried Green Tomatoes (again maybe a good movie but how many times do they need to show it to us), The Astronaut's Wife (a dismal failure shown repeatedly), Dark Water (another flop in my opinion, but shown over and over again). Ali G Indahouse (they have got to be kidding), Monster-In-Law (played again and again and could make one seek a divorce), Mystery-Men (it is still a mystery as to how they were called men and how this became a movie though I'll admit it was a little amusing but to play it again and again), The Professional (ruining a great movie by making people sick of seeing it) and the same goes for Pulp Fiction and from Dusk Till Dawn.
Of course, not only the premium channels do this, channels such as Sci-Fi continuously repeat shows and movies. The Western Channel replays a movie so many times you could probably watch it a few times a day. I seem to remember there was a song years ago: "Whatever Became Of Randolph Scott" - he was reincarnated on The Western Channel, that is what happened to him. I used to like his movies as a kid, not anymore, these constant repeats have made then lose their appeal to a large degree.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't mind seeing flops on television, I don't mind seeing movies that others liked but I disliked, I don't mind seeing hit movies that I like or dislike, but what I do mind is paying extra for a service that promises great television only to be shown the same thing again and again when there is a huge amount of film out there that they are not touching, or that they only offer as pay per view movies. Hell I already pay enough for cable TV, plus the premium channels, not to need to pay them more to get to see something different now and then. What to do. Well I guess I have done what many others have done, I have bought video and DVD players; and not too long ago I joined a DVD club. The reason I did so is pretty much explained above, but let me add just a little to the reasoning behind it. Now whenever there is nothing worth watching on television, or if it is worth watching but I have seen it recently, I can delve into my own video library and pick out something I like to watch, something I know is good, something I know has excellent acting, and great casting, and a wonderful plot. Now not to give the wrong impression about my DVD purchases, let me say, I do not always buy movies I have seen previously. I just ordered '300'. Sure it will be on television soon, but this way I get to watch it when I want, where I want, and it goes into the library for when they stop showing it 100 times a month (which is about how often I figure it will play once on pay television). I also do likewise with movies that are not current day films, I buy ones I have already seen as well as ones I have not yet seen.
If you are sick of the crap they show over and over again on television, then this is the way to go. But I wonder do you, especially the younger folks out there have any idea of which films to purchase? Do you really want to see some movies with great casting, excellent acting, wonderful plots, movies that are timeless in there nature, movies that help define the values you should hold dearly, or should shun, in your lives? If so they are out there. Of course, maybe you have already noticed that I have not made any mention of special effects. I find the overuse of special effects in movies to be a crutch for actors who don't know how to act, and directors who don't know how to direct - so I do not pay much attention to them in most cases. I am not saying I do not like them, I just much prefer acting over special effects. No actor has ever, or ever will, play a vampire better than did Bela Lugosi. There will never be a better version of King Kong than the original even if it looks fake as all heck by today's special effects standards. There are few drama/action/suspense/mystery movies as good as those starring the likes of William Powell, Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery. There are few comedies better than those of Bob Hope, Claudette Colbert, Peter Sellers, Mae West. Almost no westerns that can stand up to those of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, Gary Cooper, Robert Duval. There are not many better all around actors than James Cagney, Jean Arthur, Geogre C. Scott, David Niven, Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Lauren Bacall, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, Charlton Heston, Maureen O'Hara, Bruce Willis. This is not an all inclusive list of great actors and actresses, heck not even an all inclusive list of the ones I like. What it is, is a good example of folks who have a real talent for acting. They get it right over and over again in most of the movies in which they have a part; and they know how to act without depending solely on special effects. There are plenty more of them out there, these actors and actresses who know how to act. Some are well know, some not so well know; yet, they have parts in thousands of movies that have been made from the 1920s through today - so why are these movies, for the most part, not being shown on pay television! I can guess why, because those in charge are pin headed twits who live for the moment, and while claiming to be all knowing experts, truly know very little about good entertainment, and only think of how to generate a buck. Well fact is, if they showed a greater variety of entertainment they would generate more buck for their channel, then again, the big entertainment companies would lose money because you would not buy as much pay per view movies as you do. Me - I'll by the DVDs, pay them once for them, and watch them whenever it pleases me - not when they want to shove it down my throat.
I guess after saying all of that, maybe I should offer some selection as to what I think are movies that are worthwhile to watch, one with a good plot, fine acting, excellent directing and so forth (with special effects usualy, but not always, coming in a distant last, if at all, to those other qualities). Note that info on all these movies can be found at the links I supplied to the Internet Movie Data Base.
Sci-Fi/Horror:
The Day The Earth Stood Still, 1951(for more info see see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043456/)
Them, 1954 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0047573/)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0049366/)
The Thing From Another World (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0044121/) *
Dracula, 1931 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0021814/) *
Detective Story, 1951 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043465/)
Double Indemnity, 1944 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036775/)
The Caine Mutiny, 1954 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0046816/) *
The Thin Man, 1934 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0025878/) note this one is a suspense, mystery, comedy *
Comedy/Satire:
The Paleface, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040679/) *
Go West Young Man, 1936 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0027684/)
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040068/) *
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0057012/) (note this is black comedy/satire)
Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036613/)
War:
Paths of Glory, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0050825/
The Dawn Patrol, 1938 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0030044/)
Sahara, 1943 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036323/)
Run Silent - Run Deep, 1958 (for mor einfo see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0052151/)
Gunga Din, 1939 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0031398/) *
Adventure:
The Flame and The Arrow, 1950 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0042464/)
The Thief of Bagdad, 1940 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0033152/)
The Treasure of The Sierra Madre, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040897/) *
The Man Who Would Be King, 1975 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0073341/)
The Four Feathers, 1939 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0031334/, and please do not mistake this for the poor remake of recent years)
Westerns:
The Searchers, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0049730/)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0056217/)
Pale Rider, 1985 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0089767/)
The Plainsman, 1936 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0028108/)
The Naked Spur, 1953 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0044953/)
There are categories I left out; heck there are thousands of good movies and hundreds of excellent ones that I left out. Yet, I can assure you, that if you want to see a movie with a good plot, great acting, good direction, and one that is enjoyable to watch - you can certainly find at least one among my selections in each category above. Some other things they all have in common (that is the ones in the above categories, not those above that in my commentary)is that they all show examples of what makes for people and deeds, and what defines bad people and deeds, and all of them, yes all of them, have violence in them, but nothing to gory, and tey have sex to some extent, but absolutely nothing slutty, and some are scary, but nothing horrifying by todays movie standards; they (again those I listed under the above categories and not from my commentary above that) are all, in my opinion, probably suitable for children from about 9 years old and up but this is my personal opinion - so check them out first before you show em to your kids if you want. If you have not seen them yet, why not pick some at random, maybe one from each category above, and see what you think. They are mostly well dated, but they may give you an idea of what good acting is all about; and you may begin to wonder why these movies are ot shown on television today. When it comes right down to it, I guess because if you strip the spectacular scene stealing special effects from many of the movies of today you have little left; but if you strip the spectacular scene stealing special effects from most of these old movies, what you are left with is one hell of a good movie thanks to a good plot, fine acting, and great direction.
All that said, I think I'll have to pop a good one into the DVD this evening.
All the best,
Glenn B
The problem with movies available on television though is that, in my opinion, unless you pay extra for them as in pay per view movies, they for the most part stink. Besides that they are repeated again and again and again over months long periods first on one channel, then on another, sometimes on two channels at once. I get FLIX, HBO, Showtime, STARZ, The Movie Channel as premium channels. I have to wonder just how many times in a three month period that these channels, or at least some of them can show the following movies over and over again: The Pink Panther (the latest and poorly casted piss poor version), My Cousin Vinny (yes a funny movie but not 20 or 30 times in a month), Fried Green Tomatoes (again maybe a good movie but how many times do they need to show it to us), The Astronaut's Wife (a dismal failure shown repeatedly), Dark Water (another flop in my opinion, but shown over and over again). Ali G Indahouse (they have got to be kidding), Monster-In-Law (played again and again and could make one seek a divorce), Mystery-Men (it is still a mystery as to how they were called men and how this became a movie though I'll admit it was a little amusing but to play it again and again), The Professional (ruining a great movie by making people sick of seeing it) and the same goes for Pulp Fiction and from Dusk Till Dawn.
Of course, not only the premium channels do this, channels such as Sci-Fi continuously repeat shows and movies. The Western Channel replays a movie so many times you could probably watch it a few times a day. I seem to remember there was a song years ago: "Whatever Became Of Randolph Scott" - he was reincarnated on The Western Channel, that is what happened to him. I used to like his movies as a kid, not anymore, these constant repeats have made then lose their appeal to a large degree.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't mind seeing flops on television, I don't mind seeing movies that others liked but I disliked, I don't mind seeing hit movies that I like or dislike, but what I do mind is paying extra for a service that promises great television only to be shown the same thing again and again when there is a huge amount of film out there that they are not touching, or that they only offer as pay per view movies. Hell I already pay enough for cable TV, plus the premium channels, not to need to pay them more to get to see something different now and then. What to do. Well I guess I have done what many others have done, I have bought video and DVD players; and not too long ago I joined a DVD club. The reason I did so is pretty much explained above, but let me add just a little to the reasoning behind it. Now whenever there is nothing worth watching on television, or if it is worth watching but I have seen it recently, I can delve into my own video library and pick out something I like to watch, something I know is good, something I know has excellent acting, and great casting, and a wonderful plot. Now not to give the wrong impression about my DVD purchases, let me say, I do not always buy movies I have seen previously. I just ordered '300'. Sure it will be on television soon, but this way I get to watch it when I want, where I want, and it goes into the library for when they stop showing it 100 times a month (which is about how often I figure it will play once on pay television). I also do likewise with movies that are not current day films, I buy ones I have already seen as well as ones I have not yet seen.
If you are sick of the crap they show over and over again on television, then this is the way to go. But I wonder do you, especially the younger folks out there have any idea of which films to purchase? Do you really want to see some movies with great casting, excellent acting, wonderful plots, movies that are timeless in there nature, movies that help define the values you should hold dearly, or should shun, in your lives? If so they are out there. Of course, maybe you have already noticed that I have not made any mention of special effects. I find the overuse of special effects in movies to be a crutch for actors who don't know how to act, and directors who don't know how to direct - so I do not pay much attention to them in most cases. I am not saying I do not like them, I just much prefer acting over special effects. No actor has ever, or ever will, play a vampire better than did Bela Lugosi. There will never be a better version of King Kong than the original even if it looks fake as all heck by today's special effects standards. There are few drama/action/suspense/mystery movies as good as those starring the likes of William Powell, Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery. There are few comedies better than those of Bob Hope, Claudette Colbert, Peter Sellers, Mae West. Almost no westerns that can stand up to those of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, Gary Cooper, Robert Duval. There are not many better all around actors than James Cagney, Jean Arthur, Geogre C. Scott, David Niven, Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Lauren Bacall, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, Charlton Heston, Maureen O'Hara, Bruce Willis. This is not an all inclusive list of great actors and actresses, heck not even an all inclusive list of the ones I like. What it is, is a good example of folks who have a real talent for acting. They get it right over and over again in most of the movies in which they have a part; and they know how to act without depending solely on special effects. There are plenty more of them out there, these actors and actresses who know how to act. Some are well know, some not so well know; yet, they have parts in thousands of movies that have been made from the 1920s through today - so why are these movies, for the most part, not being shown on pay television! I can guess why, because those in charge are pin headed twits who live for the moment, and while claiming to be all knowing experts, truly know very little about good entertainment, and only think of how to generate a buck. Well fact is, if they showed a greater variety of entertainment they would generate more buck for their channel, then again, the big entertainment companies would lose money because you would not buy as much pay per view movies as you do. Me - I'll by the DVDs, pay them once for them, and watch them whenever it pleases me - not when they want to shove it down my throat.
I guess after saying all of that, maybe I should offer some selection as to what I think are movies that are worthwhile to watch, one with a good plot, fine acting, excellent directing and so forth (with special effects usualy, but not always, coming in a distant last, if at all, to those other qualities). Note that info on all these movies can be found at the links I supplied to the Internet Movie Data Base.
Sci-Fi/Horror:
The Day The Earth Stood Still, 1951(for more info see see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043456/)
Them, 1954 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0047573/)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0049366/)
The Thing From Another World (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0044121/) *
Dracula, 1931 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0021814/) *
Suspense/Mystery:
Dial M For Murder, 1954 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0046912/)Detective Story, 1951 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043465/)
Double Indemnity, 1944 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036775/)
The Caine Mutiny, 1954 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0046816/) *
The Thin Man, 1934 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0025878/) note this one is a suspense, mystery, comedy *
Comedy/Satire:
The Paleface, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040679/) *
Go West Young Man, 1936 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0027684/)
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040068/) *
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0057012/) (note this is black comedy/satire)
Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036613/)
War:
Paths of Glory, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0050825/
The Dawn Patrol, 1938 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0030044/)
Sahara, 1943 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0036323/)
Run Silent - Run Deep, 1958 (for mor einfo see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0052151/)
Gunga Din, 1939 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0031398/) *
Adventure:
The Flame and The Arrow, 1950 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0042464/)
The Thief of Bagdad, 1940 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0033152/)
The Treasure of The Sierra Madre, 1948 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0040897/) *
The Man Who Would Be King, 1975 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0073341/)
The Four Feathers, 1939 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0031334/, and please do not mistake this for the poor remake of recent years)
Westerns:
The Searchers, 1956 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0049730/)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0056217/)
Pale Rider, 1985 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0089767/)
The Plainsman, 1936 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0028108/)
The Naked Spur, 1953 (for more info see: http://imdb.com/title/tt0044953/)
There are categories I left out; heck there are thousands of good movies and hundreds of excellent ones that I left out. Yet, I can assure you, that if you want to see a movie with a good plot, great acting, good direction, and one that is enjoyable to watch - you can certainly find at least one among my selections in each category above. Some other things they all have in common (that is the ones in the above categories, not those above that in my commentary)is that they all show examples of what makes for people and deeds, and what defines bad people and deeds, and all of them, yes all of them, have violence in them, but nothing to gory, and tey have sex to some extent, but absolutely nothing slutty, and some are scary, but nothing horrifying by todays movie standards; they (again those I listed under the above categories and not from my commentary above that) are all, in my opinion, probably suitable for children from about 9 years old and up but this is my personal opinion - so check them out first before you show em to your kids if you want. If you have not seen them yet, why not pick some at random, maybe one from each category above, and see what you think. They are mostly well dated, but they may give you an idea of what good acting is all about; and you may begin to wonder why these movies are ot shown on television today. When it comes right down to it, I guess because if you strip the spectacular scene stealing special effects from many of the movies of today you have little left; but if you strip the spectacular scene stealing special effects from most of these old movies, what you are left with is one hell of a good movie thanks to a good plot, fine acting, and great direction.
All that said, I think I'll have to pop a good one into the DVD this evening.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Light Blogging...
...will probably be the thing for me for the next couple of day. I have been online now, only about an hour and a half, wrighting one short rant, checking my email, sending out a few emails, and visiting a few select sites, and I am exhausted. Imagine becoming exhausted by that, and of course by my two runs to the throne in the basement, in that short a time. Oh well, once I am feeling better I will be back at it as usual.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Should I be looking for a new Doctor?
My apology for not blogging lately, but my health has not allowed me to be up to it. I had bronchitis a few weeks back, that lasted over 2 weeks. Then earlier this week at work I was feeling really tired each day, barely keeping my eyes open so to speak. I blogged on Wednesday night after work, but was feeling none too well. Then very late on Wednesday night I had a fever again, a bad headache, neck pains, aches all over specially in my joints, a bit of pain when breathing in, and felt slightly nauseous, this was some surprise. All the same symptoms I had a few weeks before except I was not congested and coughing up phlegm. So I saw the doc (a stand in for my regular doc who was not in that day) on Thursday who told me this had nothing to do with the bronchitis, and it was likely a virus. Well on Thursday night I found myself getting plenty of exercise although I sure did not feel like doing it. I figure I ran to the can about 25 times between 8PM and 8AM. On Friday I was a marathon runner with another 46 trips to the throne room. I figured I was dying of dysentery, so I called my doctor's office, told them how much sicker I had gotten, and the lady told me that my doc had said only for me to call back on Monday if I still felt bad, and then I could come in for more blood tests. Heck I forgot to ask about the blood test they took on Thursday. I hung up and fell asleep. I called the doc's office again hours later - when I woke up again - and I asked about the test results, and I was told 'sorry the blood test results were not yet in'. Imagine that they knew earlier in the day that I needed additional blood work and the initial test results were not in yet.
Feeling somewhat better today, as can be witnessed by me being online at all, but I still feel likeexpletive deleted (I won't say it but you can guess). Oh well, I am feeling better, but I wish I was feeling well. I guess time will play the healer since my doctors certainly have not been doing too good at it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Feeling somewhat better today, as can be witnessed by me being online at all, but I still feel like
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I Knew It Was Going To Be A Bad One...
...when I left my house at 0545 for work this morning, and by about 0630 it was a lot darker out than it had been when I left home. I had to pull off of the highway as I headed into a surveillance site in Brooklyn the wind was blowing so hard and the rain coming down in sheets so thick it looked as if someone had smeared about a 1/4 inch of petroleum jelly over my windshield. I will say this though, the lightning and thunder put on one heck of a show. I have not been that rattled by thunder in many a year, and I mean not rattled as in afraid, but rattled as in vibrated by the power of it, and I was inside my car when it did so. Lightning and thunder simultaneously coming from at least 4 different directions all around me within split seconds of each other. This went on for about an hour of my drive, a drive that normally would take about an hour and I had only gone about 1/3 the way in the time. Still some peckerwoods (no better description) were doing about 60 or 70 in the thick of it. I waited for it to slow down quite a bit, only about 10 or 15 minutes of waiting) before I drove on, and I still got there on time.
When I arrived on scene for our surveillance, we found a few different neighborhoods in Brooklyn had been smashed. Tree limbs and trees down all over the place, and big ones at that. Cars and trucks smashed by those trees, houses missing siding and roofs, windows smashed, business signs on the streets. Not a thing that usually happens in Brooklyn, and plenty of people were saying a tornado had touched down. Well this evening, when I was driving home at about 1900 (7PM, and yes it had been a long day), I heard on the news radio that a tornado did indeed touch down at several locations right in the area in which we later did our surveillance.
I guess that means my mother's prediction, of many years ago (probably back when I was not yet a teenager), came true. She said back then that we were having tornadoes in the USA in places where we had never had them before, and she predicted that it would get to the point where we would have them in New York. It has happened a few times now in New York State, and less in NYC - but it has come to pass. I don't think my mom gives Al Gore much credence on his stance on global warming, so maybe we are safe on that one; but as for tornadoes - watch out.
All the best,
Glenn B
When I arrived on scene for our surveillance, we found a few different neighborhoods in Brooklyn had been smashed. Tree limbs and trees down all over the place, and big ones at that. Cars and trucks smashed by those trees, houses missing siding and roofs, windows smashed, business signs on the streets. Not a thing that usually happens in Brooklyn, and plenty of people were saying a tornado had touched down. Well this evening, when I was driving home at about 1900 (7PM, and yes it had been a long day), I heard on the news radio that a tornado did indeed touch down at several locations right in the area in which we later did our surveillance.
I guess that means my mother's prediction, of many years ago (probably back when I was not yet a teenager), came true. She said back then that we were having tornadoes in the USA in places where we had never had them before, and she predicted that it would get to the point where we would have them in New York. It has happened a few times now in New York State, and less in NYC - but it has come to pass. I don't think my mom gives Al Gore much credence on his stance on global warming, so maybe we are safe on that one; but as for tornadoes - watch out.
All the best,
Glenn B
Let's Be Thankful...
...that it wasn't a suicide monkey, see Airplane Passenger Smuggles Monkey Under His Hat Into U.S. @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292496,00.html.
Not only did DHS/CBP (Customs and Border Protection) apparently fail to catch this at the border, but DHS/TSA apparently failed to catch it in Florida. I am not necessarily faulting anyone, I know better in this case because I worked for Customs for about 15 years at JFKIA (not doing inspection work, but often working with inspectors). It would be something easy to miss, but so too would some plastic explosives. I am faulting the system, the airlines, politicians, and travelers in general - all who don't want to accept a much stricter system of checks at the airports and who accept the risk of taking chances with homeland security for all of us. I can tell you one airline on which this be much less likely to occur - El Al. They know how to check folks and secure an aircraft.
All the best,
Glenn B
Not only did DHS/CBP (Customs and Border Protection) apparently fail to catch this at the border, but DHS/TSA apparently failed to catch it in Florida. I am not necessarily faulting anyone, I know better in this case because I worked for Customs for about 15 years at JFKIA (not doing inspection work, but often working with inspectors). It would be something easy to miss, but so too would some plastic explosives. I am faulting the system, the airlines, politicians, and travelers in general - all who don't want to accept a much stricter system of checks at the airports and who accept the risk of taking chances with homeland security for all of us. I can tell you one airline on which this be much less likely to occur - El Al. They know how to check folks and secure an aircraft.
All the best,
Glenn B
Socialized Medicine For All...
...can be expected to come up with results like this one: Infected Foot Blister Kills British Man that I just read about at FoxNew.com. Remember that England has socialized medicine, the same typ of health care that the deomcrat candidates want to push onto all of us here in the USA. Sure this type of negligence could happen abnywhere, and happen under our current system of health care too; but one thing you won't see with our health care system is the fatal finality of the words spoken by the fater to his daughter when she told him he needed to see a doctor about his condition:
" "There was a hole in his foot. I told him he had to go to the doctor but he said: 'They have discharged me." "
Do you get the picture, they discharged him, so there was no going back! His words certainly rang of fatal finality.
No thanks Hillary, not thanks Obama, no thanks $400 hairdo boy, no thanks to all of you liberals who want the same system here; I would rather work my butt off to pay for my own health insurance than to have you tax me into the poorhouse and then allow doctors to treat me like dirt.
All the best,
Glenn B
" "There was a hole in his foot. I told him he had to go to the doctor but he said: 'They have discharged me." "
Do you get the picture, they discharged him, so there was no going back! His words certainly rang of fatal finality.
No thanks Hillary, not thanks Obama, no thanks $400 hairdo boy, no thanks to all of you liberals who want the same system here; I would rather work my butt off to pay for my own health insurance than to have you tax me into the poorhouse and then allow doctors to treat me like dirt.
All the best,
Glenn B
Lack of Blog Power
Way too busy to blog yesterday. Tough day at work, so when I got home I was pooped. Besides that we had to go to JFK Airport last night to pick up my daughter Celina, who just came back from vacation in Germany. Nice to have relatives over there (on the wife's side) - it makes for long inexpensive vacations.
More blogging tonight, if I am not stuck late at work.
All the best,
GB
More blogging tonight, if I am not stuck late at work.
All the best,
GB
Monday, August 6, 2007
0300 hours and Thoughts on Cleaning My Soviet Mosin Nagant M-44
As I told you all quite some time back, weeks maybe even months ago, I found one of these in a box in my basement, and it needed cleaning. I stripped the bolt and cleaned it up ever so nicely back then, leaving the rest of it to be cleaned at a future date. Well yesterday was the day, and I can say while there maybe better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon, cleaning this thing certainly was still one of the best things I have done on a Sunday in awhile. Not only did I clean it, but I sanded down the stock to remove most of whatever finish material was on it. Not having any paint remover, I just sanded it down, and this left a lot of the old finish color but none of the outer varnish or whatever else they used that was really a mess. Then I added a coat of cherry stain, and I put a coat of boiled linseed oil over that. Then I rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed (you get the idea, but that is how to work linseed oil). The stock is not looking great, too much old stain left in splotches, but the wood will certainly have more protection once I am done with it. If I get really eager next weekend, I may use some paint remover, take it all down to bare wood and start again; but then again this stock is not nice like the one on my Hungarian Mosin Nagant, and may never look all that good unless I paint it.
As it is now, the stock is in the garage, and the rest of it iswhere it belongs in a box on the table on my patio. I guess I had better get off of my butt and bring it in before it rains and ruins it now that I have virtually all of the cosmoline off of it. That of course was another job of rubbing, but one seemingly made easier today with my use of gasoline on smaller parts to clean them. Gasoline sure works better than mineral spirits, but I have to wonder how much more dangerous it is to use it. I think I'll stick with mineral spirits in the future because while working with the gasoline all I could think of was a ball of flame. Yeah, I know that mineral spirits burns too, but I think gasoline is much more volatile; and it sure smells worse. Regardless, the cosmoline on this rifle was thin, even missing in places (yes there was rust where it was lacking) and it came off easier than ever, even when I reverted to mineral spirits on some parts.
As for the condition of the Soviet rifle, it sucks compared to my 1955 Hungarian Mosin Nagant m-44. The Hungarian one was purchased by me as arsenal refinished, like new condition. That is pretty much how it came to me, but of course it was covered thickly with cosmoline or whatever is the stuff the eastern bloc countries used back then. I cleaned up that one, refinished the stock, and it looks great. The new one will still look very used, and my guess would be that it is in NRA condition good to very good, though for the life of me I cannot figure out how rifles in this shape would rate even good by any one's standards; then again I am a picky guy. There is no almost bluing on the section of barrel that was exposed near the muzzle, and almost all the bluing left where the metal was under the forestock and handguard. Of course that is where the rust sneaked in, because they did not get enough cosmo under the wood. The action area also lacks a lot of bluing, and had some rust as did the magazine. The part numbers are not matched by serial number, so this is a thrown together rifle from mismatched parts. The bore does look pretty good, with lots of strong rifling, and it is even pretty shiny. When I held it up to the sky today to take a look (after cleaning it) it took on the blue color of the afternoon sky.
There is some more work to be done on that stock in the future; but for now I may just put it back together, and bring it to the range next weekend, and let Brendan shoot it to see how it shoots. I mean why have it at all if we are not going to shoot it! I may get around to really making that stock look nice, but of course, since the metal is not all that nice, I will be wondering if it is worth it. A few more coats of boiled linseed oil, and lots and lots of rubbing it in, for protection from the elements, and it may be good to go. I guess it might be a good first large caliber rifle for me to give to my son as a gift.
Out to the patio for me to retrieve the metal parts, and later for you, because I have got to get back to bed.
All the best,
Glenn B
As it is now, the stock is in the garage, and the rest of it is
As for the condition of the Soviet rifle, it sucks compared to my 1955 Hungarian Mosin Nagant m-44. The Hungarian one was purchased by me as arsenal refinished, like new condition. That is pretty much how it came to me, but of course it was covered thickly with cosmoline or whatever is the stuff the eastern bloc countries used back then. I cleaned up that one, refinished the stock, and it looks great. The new one will still look very used, and my guess would be that it is in NRA condition good to very good, though for the life of me I cannot figure out how rifles in this shape would rate even good by any one's standards; then again I am a picky guy. There is no almost bluing on the section of barrel that was exposed near the muzzle, and almost all the bluing left where the metal was under the forestock and handguard. Of course that is where the rust sneaked in, because they did not get enough cosmo under the wood. The action area also lacks a lot of bluing, and had some rust as did the magazine. The part numbers are not matched by serial number, so this is a thrown together rifle from mismatched parts. The bore does look pretty good, with lots of strong rifling, and it is even pretty shiny. When I held it up to the sky today to take a look (after cleaning it) it took on the blue color of the afternoon sky.
There is some more work to be done on that stock in the future; but for now I may just put it back together, and bring it to the range next weekend, and let Brendan shoot it to see how it shoots. I mean why have it at all if we are not going to shoot it! I may get around to really making that stock look nice, but of course, since the metal is not all that nice, I will be wondering if it is worth it. A few more coats of boiled linseed oil, and lots and lots of rubbing it in, for protection from the elements, and it may be good to go. I guess it might be a good first large caliber rifle for me to give to my son as a gift.
Out to the patio for me to retrieve the metal parts, and later for you, because I have got to get back to bed.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Do Darts Count...
...as "arms" as expressed in the 2nd Amendment? I would imagine the Founding Fathers meant just about any type of arms, so I guess my 2nd Amendment sign is well placed right under my newy hung dart board. I figured it looked pretty good right there, and that since it is a metal sign, it may help deflect errant darts. I think the only thing I may be lacking is spackle to fill in holes and yellow paint to match the walls because dart holes are probably inevitable. Then again, I may hook up a thin sheet of plywood or paneling or something like that to hang from the bottom of the dart board cabinet so as to block errant darts, something easily removed and replaced so it does not have to be an eyesore when we are not playing.Our basement was finished when we bought our house 12 years ago, then refinished to make it look better (the old walls really looked bad), and now finally it has a bit more of a user friendly feel to it since I rearranged things a week ago when I shampooed the carpets down there. We have a TV, a dart board, a weight set, and will soon have a nicely set up aquarium (but don't tell my wife about that until I get it all set up). Of course we also have another computer down there, my daughter's college machne that she no longer uses. I have to get a table or desk or computer stand later this afternoon, so I can to set it back up.
I may also pick up a nice set of darts too. I cannot wait to beat my son at it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, August 4, 2007
1945 - The Last Few Days, The Next Few Days, In History...
... were the days that encompassed the worst U.S. Naval disaster for loss of life at sea in history. Of course I am talking about the torpedoing and sinking of the USS Indianapolis by Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945. On that day, about 300 of the 1,196 man crew perished in the actual attack and sinking. That left almost 900 survivors who went into the water. Despite two distress calls made by the crew before the Indianapolis sank, despite those calls apparently being received by the U.S. Navy, despite her being days overdue at port, she was never reported missing - due both to sad circumstances: Navy protocol at the time, and the fact that she had been returning from one of the most top secret missions of WWII.
For about 4 days and 5 nights, the crew of the USS Indianapolis suffered the perils of being stranded at sea. These included exposure to the sun, exposure to the salt water, lack of fresh drinking water, lack of food, greed expressed by hoarding of meager supplies by some crew mates, the drinking of sea water, the insanity that followed, violence inflicted upon one another due to panic. Yet many of the men were truly heroes, who despite their own exposure to the exact same things, protected other crew mates, cared for the wounded, kept spirits high, fended off shark attack, and prayed beyond hope for rescue.
On August 2 some of the survivors were accidentally spotted by a US air crew of a Lockheed PV-1 Ventura on a routine patrol. The immediately dropped of what little they had in the way of survival gear; and they radioed a message "...men in the water...". Soon help was on the way; and the first to arrive on scene to commence rescue operations was the crew of a Catalina PB-Y Flying Boat. That crew had orders to drop survival gear and also had very explicit orders not to land. Despite those orders they landed and started to rescue crew members of the Indianapolis. In all they rescued 56 men.
On August 3, the USS Cecil Doyle, a destroyer, was the first ship to arrive on the scene after her captain had received the distress message relayed on August 2 from the crew of the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. Without awaiting orders, he took it upon himself to steam full speed ahead to the area. Upon arrival, during the night, the captain ordered a searchlight be pointed upward at low cloud cover, thereby illuminating both the sky and the sea, and of course placing his own ship at great peril. The light was used to spot survivors and to act as a beacon to other search ships.
Between August 2 and August 8 (the last day of search operations), 317 living men were pulled from the waters. Most of the men who perished died due to exposure to the elements, or due to lack of food and water, not to shark attack; but many were indeed attacked by sharks, and many corpses were scavenged by sharks.
Between those two dates, on August 6, 1945, another terrible event of WWII took place. The top secret mission the Indianapolis had just completed days before her sinking was the delivery of the major components of 'Little Boy' to Tinian Island. 'Little Boy' was flown off of Tinian on August 6, 1945 by the B-29 Enola Gay. This aircraft had been named after the mother of its pilot. 'Little Boy' was then dropped on Hiroshima, the first atomic bomb ever used against an enemy in warfare. All of this taking place while the search and rescue operations were still underway for the crew of the Indianapolis. One day after the search and rescue operation for the crew of the Indianapolis ended, the second and (so far) the last, atomic bomb ever detonated in warfare, was dropped over Nagasaki. Oddly enough this one was code named Fat Man.
I think it ironic that the bomb, for which components had been delivered by the USS Indianapolis, was code named Little Boy. Why, well because the aircraft that dropped it, the Enola Gay, was named after the pilot's mother. I imagine his mother never imagined an aircraft named after her, her namesake, figuratively giving birth to a 'Little Boy', especially one capable of such utter destruction. Nor do I think she ever envisioned her real little boy, delivering the Little Boy born of her namesake. Nor would she ever even have hinted to herself that her little boy would take part in what resulted in the loss of so many lives, from both sides, under such terrible circumstances, many of them not much more than little boys.
Though estimates vary, it is fairly safe to say, the Japanese lost an estimated 70,000 plus people as a direct result of each of the bombings (140,000 plus people with both bombings combined), and lost many more due to the after effects of these atomic attacks. The war with Japan, in effect, ended on August 15, 1945 when Japan announced her surrender; but the official end of the war with Japan was September 2, 1945 with the signing of surrender papers.
We probably did not have a 100% need to drop either of those bombs on those two Japanese cities. Japan would have surrendered eventually; but the dropping of the bombs did end the war much more quickly than likely would have been otherwise, and I believe that thousands if not tens of thousands of American, and other allied, lives were spared because we dropped the bombs. Yet, it is scary to think that this could happen again as several more countries now have nuclear weapons or are very close to developing them. Let's hope it never becomes necessary to kill as many people in one fell swoop as we did with Little Boy, and then did again with Fat Man; and let us hope no one else ever thinks it necessary either. Of course while I hope it never comes down to it, if we are ever threatened with our own ultimate destruction by those such as current terrorists or current rogue nations as we were by Japan during WWII, I am all for our survival. So if it comes right down to it as a necessity, I can only say: Nuke em till they glow. For now though, I prefer to think about and memorialize those who lost their lives directly or indirectly related to the above events; and I sincerely hope history does not repeat itself.
All the best,
Glenn B
For about 4 days and 5 nights, the crew of the USS Indianapolis suffered the perils of being stranded at sea. These included exposure to the sun, exposure to the salt water, lack of fresh drinking water, lack of food, greed expressed by hoarding of meager supplies by some crew mates, the drinking of sea water, the insanity that followed, violence inflicted upon one another due to panic. Yet many of the men were truly heroes, who despite their own exposure to the exact same things, protected other crew mates, cared for the wounded, kept spirits high, fended off shark attack, and prayed beyond hope for rescue.
On August 2 some of the survivors were accidentally spotted by a US air crew of a Lockheed PV-1 Ventura on a routine patrol. The immediately dropped of what little they had in the way of survival gear; and they radioed a message "...men in the water...". Soon help was on the way; and the first to arrive on scene to commence rescue operations was the crew of a Catalina PB-Y Flying Boat. That crew had orders to drop survival gear and also had very explicit orders not to land. Despite those orders they landed and started to rescue crew members of the Indianapolis. In all they rescued 56 men.
On August 3, the USS Cecil Doyle, a destroyer, was the first ship to arrive on the scene after her captain had received the distress message relayed on August 2 from the crew of the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. Without awaiting orders, he took it upon himself to steam full speed ahead to the area. Upon arrival, during the night, the captain ordered a searchlight be pointed upward at low cloud cover, thereby illuminating both the sky and the sea, and of course placing his own ship at great peril. The light was used to spot survivors and to act as a beacon to other search ships.
Between August 2 and August 8 (the last day of search operations), 317 living men were pulled from the waters. Most of the men who perished died due to exposure to the elements, or due to lack of food and water, not to shark attack; but many were indeed attacked by sharks, and many corpses were scavenged by sharks.
Between those two dates, on August 6, 1945, another terrible event of WWII took place. The top secret mission the Indianapolis had just completed days before her sinking was the delivery of the major components of 'Little Boy' to Tinian Island. 'Little Boy' was flown off of Tinian on August 6, 1945 by the B-29 Enola Gay. This aircraft had been named after the mother of its pilot. 'Little Boy' was then dropped on Hiroshima, the first atomic bomb ever used against an enemy in warfare. All of this taking place while the search and rescue operations were still underway for the crew of the Indianapolis. One day after the search and rescue operation for the crew of the Indianapolis ended, the second and (so far) the last, atomic bomb ever detonated in warfare, was dropped over Nagasaki. Oddly enough this one was code named Fat Man.
I think it ironic that the bomb, for which components had been delivered by the USS Indianapolis, was code named Little Boy. Why, well because the aircraft that dropped it, the Enola Gay, was named after the pilot's mother. I imagine his mother never imagined an aircraft named after her, her namesake, figuratively giving birth to a 'Little Boy', especially one capable of such utter destruction. Nor do I think she ever envisioned her real little boy, delivering the Little Boy born of her namesake. Nor would she ever even have hinted to herself that her little boy would take part in what resulted in the loss of so many lives, from both sides, under such terrible circumstances, many of them not much more than little boys.
Though estimates vary, it is fairly safe to say, the Japanese lost an estimated 70,000 plus people as a direct result of each of the bombings (140,000 plus people with both bombings combined), and lost many more due to the after effects of these atomic attacks. The war with Japan, in effect, ended on August 15, 1945 when Japan announced her surrender; but the official end of the war with Japan was September 2, 1945 with the signing of surrender papers.
We probably did not have a 100% need to drop either of those bombs on those two Japanese cities. Japan would have surrendered eventually; but the dropping of the bombs did end the war much more quickly than likely would have been otherwise, and I believe that thousands if not tens of thousands of American, and other allied, lives were spared because we dropped the bombs. Yet, it is scary to think that this could happen again as several more countries now have nuclear weapons or are very close to developing them. Let's hope it never becomes necessary to kill as many people in one fell swoop as we did with Little Boy, and then did again with Fat Man; and let us hope no one else ever thinks it necessary either. Of course while I hope it never comes down to it, if we are ever threatened with our own ultimate destruction by those such as current terrorists or current rogue nations as we were by Japan during WWII, I am all for our survival. So if it comes right down to it as a necessity, I can only say: Nuke em till they glow. For now though, I prefer to think about and memorialize those who lost their lives directly or indirectly related to the above events; and I sincerely hope history does not repeat itself.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, August 3, 2007
Escaping A Submerged Vehicle...
...is something we should all have an idea how to accomplish, especially in light of the recent tragedy in the Minneapolis, Minnesota with the bridge collapse. I have reviewed a lot of the news about this sad event, and I was very surprised I did not find one article suggesting how to escape a submerged vehicle.
I have some knowledge of how to do so based upon my employment training, watching documentaries, and watching Myth Busters (a recent show I saw) where they explained the how to get out part, and also why you sometimes cannot get out until the car is full of water.
The following is my understanding of what needs to be done, should such ever happen to you. I am not sure it is 100% correct, but it will give you an idea of what to do; but remember it is your own responsibility to check with proper authorities to verify these steps.
If you are ever in a vehicle that winds up in the water completely submerged, there are a few steps you can attempt that may greatly increase your, and other passengers, chances of survival. The first thing to do is to remove your seat belt (always wear your seat belt when driving, it may prevent you from being knocked unconscious if you ever wind up in a submerged vehicle, and then what could you do to save yourself). Then tell others to do likewise, or remove the safety restraints of any other young occupants who cannot do so themselves. Then tell others the plan. Then take a deep breath and hold it, then open a window (or break it open, try to break a side window and not the windshield as it is much stronger than a side window), if not already open, and allow the water to flow into the car, and do this as soon as possible. Then either escape through the open window or open the door and get out; and of course if need be, you first try to assist any young children, or handicapped people, in the car to get out. This goes even if you cannot swim, because you can float to the surface. If you stay in the car, and help does not arrive almost immediately, you probably will either suffocate (if the car does not fill with water, and it not eventually filling with water is highly unlikely, or you will drown once it does fill with water).
The reason you wait for the car to pretty much fill with water is that you probably cannot get out until it does because of the water pressure. Until the water pressure is just about equal outside and inside the car you most likely cannot open the car door, nor could you get out of a window with the water rushing in. This is why you take as big a breath as you can, then open the window, holding your breath as the water rushes in. Once you can get out, you make for the surface.
By the way, if your car winds up in the water, there is a chance it will float for several seconds up to minutes. If so, get out through a window. Do not wait for the car to submerge, get out.
A good thing to carry in your car is a 'center punch'. It is a pointed, spring loaded, pen like device used to mark areas where someone wants to drill or hammer nails. If you have it set properly (usually as set when you buy it) and you press it into the side window of a car, the window will shatter. This device should be handy, as in a small case that is securely attached to your dashboard, or center console, for easy access.
Will this plan always work - probably not. Is it better than just staying in the car and doing nothing - probably so. As for me I would bet my life on it.
All the best,
Glenn B
I have some knowledge of how to do so based upon my employment training, watching documentaries, and watching Myth Busters (a recent show I saw) where they explained the how to get out part, and also why you sometimes cannot get out until the car is full of water.
The following is my understanding of what needs to be done, should such ever happen to you. I am not sure it is 100% correct, but it will give you an idea of what to do; but remember it is your own responsibility to check with proper authorities to verify these steps.
If you are ever in a vehicle that winds up in the water completely submerged, there are a few steps you can attempt that may greatly increase your, and other passengers, chances of survival. The first thing to do is to remove your seat belt (always wear your seat belt when driving, it may prevent you from being knocked unconscious if you ever wind up in a submerged vehicle, and then what could you do to save yourself). Then tell others to do likewise, or remove the safety restraints of any other young occupants who cannot do so themselves. Then tell others the plan. Then take a deep breath and hold it, then open a window (or break it open, try to break a side window and not the windshield as it is much stronger than a side window), if not already open, and allow the water to flow into the car, and do this as soon as possible. Then either escape through the open window or open the door and get out; and of course if need be, you first try to assist any young children, or handicapped people, in the car to get out. This goes even if you cannot swim, because you can float to the surface. If you stay in the car, and help does not arrive almost immediately, you probably will either suffocate (if the car does not fill with water, and it not eventually filling with water is highly unlikely, or you will drown once it does fill with water).
The reason you wait for the car to pretty much fill with water is that you probably cannot get out until it does because of the water pressure. Until the water pressure is just about equal outside and inside the car you most likely cannot open the car door, nor could you get out of a window with the water rushing in. This is why you take as big a breath as you can, then open the window, holding your breath as the water rushes in. Once you can get out, you make for the surface.
By the way, if your car winds up in the water, there is a chance it will float for several seconds up to minutes. If so, get out through a window. Do not wait for the car to submerge, get out.
A good thing to carry in your car is a 'center punch'. It is a pointed, spring loaded, pen like device used to mark areas where someone wants to drill or hammer nails. If you have it set properly (usually as set when you buy it) and you press it into the side window of a car, the window will shatter. This device should be handy, as in a small case that is securely attached to your dashboard, or center console, for easy access.
Will this plan always work - probably not. Is it better than just staying in the car and doing nothing - probably so. As for me I would bet my life on it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up?
It is amazing for me when I think back to my childhood, and remember what it was I wanted to grow up to be. I loved to watch western shows, like the Lone Ranger and other so called 'cowboy shows'; though the ones I liked best were lawman or loner shows wherein the main character was the good guy, even if only on the edge of goodness. I loved to dress up in western outfits too, with my shiny metal cap guns at my sides, and my faithful air gun in my hands. It wasn't so much I think that I liked cowboys, and the cowboy life, but rather that I liked those characters on television, especially loners, who were portrayed as heroes. I loved Superman, Hercules with Steve Reeves, and I loved pirate movies wherein the pirate was the bad guy who turned good guy. I really liked westerns with those loner heroes too. You know the ones, don't you - like the Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers, or The Rifleman. As time went by I remained mesmerized by shows like Bat Masterson, Have Gun Will Travel, Zoro, Maverick, all those John Wayne movies. Robin Hood, though not a western was another favorite. Then, I guess when I was just about turning into a teen, or maybe a bit before, a new genre of television show was born out of the then current times and world situation - the spy and secret agent shows. I remember being absolutely fascinated by Secret Agent Man, and its sequel The Prisoner. I loved shows like The Saint, The Man From Uncle, I Spy, Sherlock Holmes reruns, and even Get Smart (yes even comedies about this kind of thing were right up my alley). I wanted to be like one of these guys, well maybe not too much like Maxwell Smart, but you get the idea.
As I got older, and was in high school, my taste in films changed a bit; but still the overriding theme was the hero, sometimes shady, sometimes out in the light, but almost always not seen for the true person he really was because of a certain mystique that surrounded him. Bogart movies and things like the Thin Man series of films enthralled me. At that time my choice of careers also changed, and it moved drastically away from anything of the nature of those Hollywood characters for a brief time.I sought of drifted toward wanting to become a veterinarian, but I soon realized I could never afford the schooling for it. Then I thought I would love to become a game warden or conservation officer; in fact I thought it would be better than being a vet, it would be along the lines of what I had always wanted to be and it would include animals, nature, elements of risk and danger, intrigue and adventure. Since I loved animals of all sorts, not as in cuddling them as much as being fascinated by them, and I loved the outdoors for camping, hiking, shooting, archery, hunting, fishing, and so forth, I figured this was for me. When I went to college, I majored in Police Science becausesome jerk my guidance counselor in high school had steered me that way to get a job as a conservation officer or game warden. Man was he ever so wrong, I should have majored in zoology, or biology, or marine science or something else like them.
Well the next thing you know, there I am about 3/4 of the way through college and I realized the mistake that had been made. Not a good time to change majors, so I started to look toward other jobs, ones I hoped would have an element of danger, risk taking, something with adventure, and something where I could do the right thing like all those characters I enjoyed so much. I did not want to be a cop, not on a local level, so when an opportunity came around to take a test for Border Patrol Agent - I took it. After scoring high in the 90's on the test (out of 100) I thought I would be right in. Yet somehow it took about 2 years of waiting for the government to first hire all those they could hire with test scores as low as in the 70's based, of course, on affirmative action, before then conceded that yes they should hire me. I guess my numerous phone calls, and letters, as well as my two trips to Washington, DC to see some muckety-muck in I&NS HQ paid off. Finally they called me for a job.
They called me one day and told me I had about 2 hours to make up my mind as to whether or not I wanted a Border Patrol Agent slot in Calexico, California. I studied a map, and I saw that the Cleavland National Forest was close by; so I figured it must be Paradise and I would love it there. I said yes, they said I was hired. What a faulty assumption I had made about loving it in Calexico. It was, as I later discovered proverbially a hole along the border, 100 miles from water, and 2 feet from hell. Oh well life went on, and I was a federal agent. It was certainly an adventure, and I have lots of memories good and bad, and lots of 'war' stories to tell. It truly was like the wild west like that portrayed in those shows of my youth, and I have the scars to prove it. As fate would have it, I later transferred to U.S. Customs as a patrol Officer in New York. Then I became a Special Agent with Customs. After 9/11 when the I&NS was abolished, they combined its investigative personnel with U.S. Customs Special Agents under the newly created Department of Homeland Security and specifically within ICE. What a shame such a good agency as the Customs Service was destroyed, and the I&NS likewise, by a knee jerk reaction to 9/11; but that is what happened and I have managed to live with it, as have all the other agents so effected. Yet, it has all been an adventure, sort of like life in a Bogart movie - adventure, romance, intrigue, danger, getting the tough job done all in relatively short clips.
Nowadays there are still times at work when I honestly still can say that it is an an adventure. Heck it was one of those days today. I worked with a great group people today, and they did one heck of a bang-up job because of some really good investigative work on their part that made the job well worth while all over again. Thanks to guys and gals like the team with which I worked today, and thanks to those dreams I had so long ago, and thanks to film and TV heroes that really exemplified the struggle between good versus bad as opposed to the confusing crap they show to kids today, I became what I had wanted to be when I grew up. Not a spy, not a cowboy, not a sheriff, not a masked crusader, not a lone ranger, not a secret agent, not a detective, not a superman, but rather a regular guy who would stand up for Truth, Justice and the American Way (yes I borrowed that line from the old Superman series). It really has been one heck of an adventurous ride so far; and my career will have been going on for 28 years this September. When I look back on it all, I can say that: Life in a Bogart movie (at least when he was the good guy) can be an excellent thing indeed. I can also say, and say it without a doubt, that I grew up to be exactly what I had wanted to be so long ago. I guess that is in essence why I use the signature line that I do in my emails and on forums:
So, do you see any of your own nine year old self still within you; what did you want to be when you grew up?
As I got older, and was in high school, my taste in films changed a bit; but still the overriding theme was the hero, sometimes shady, sometimes out in the light, but almost always not seen for the true person he really was because of a certain mystique that surrounded him. Bogart movies and things like the Thin Man series of films enthralled me. At that time my choice of careers also changed, and it moved drastically away from anything of the nature of those Hollywood characters for a brief time.I sought of drifted toward wanting to become a veterinarian, but I soon realized I could never afford the schooling for it. Then I thought I would love to become a game warden or conservation officer; in fact I thought it would be better than being a vet, it would be along the lines of what I had always wanted to be and it would include animals, nature, elements of risk and danger, intrigue and adventure. Since I loved animals of all sorts, not as in cuddling them as much as being fascinated by them, and I loved the outdoors for camping, hiking, shooting, archery, hunting, fishing, and so forth, I figured this was for me. When I went to college, I majored in Police Science because
Well the next thing you know, there I am about 3/4 of the way through college and I realized the mistake that had been made. Not a good time to change majors, so I started to look toward other jobs, ones I hoped would have an element of danger, risk taking, something with adventure, and something where I could do the right thing like all those characters I enjoyed so much. I did not want to be a cop, not on a local level, so when an opportunity came around to take a test for Border Patrol Agent - I took it. After scoring high in the 90's on the test (out of 100) I thought I would be right in. Yet somehow it took about 2 years of waiting for the government to first hire all those they could hire with test scores as low as in the 70's based, of course, on affirmative action, before then conceded that yes they should hire me. I guess my numerous phone calls, and letters, as well as my two trips to Washington, DC to see some muckety-muck in I&NS HQ paid off. Finally they called me for a job.
They called me one day and told me I had about 2 hours to make up my mind as to whether or not I wanted a Border Patrol Agent slot in Calexico, California. I studied a map, and I saw that the Cleavland National Forest was close by; so I figured it must be Paradise and I would love it there. I said yes, they said I was hired. What a faulty assumption I had made about loving it in Calexico. It was, as I later discovered proverbially a hole along the border, 100 miles from water, and 2 feet from hell. Oh well life went on, and I was a federal agent. It was certainly an adventure, and I have lots of memories good and bad, and lots of 'war' stories to tell. It truly was like the wild west like that portrayed in those shows of my youth, and I have the scars to prove it. As fate would have it, I later transferred to U.S. Customs as a patrol Officer in New York. Then I became a Special Agent with Customs. After 9/11 when the I&NS was abolished, they combined its investigative personnel with U.S. Customs Special Agents under the newly created Department of Homeland Security and specifically within ICE. What a shame such a good agency as the Customs Service was destroyed, and the I&NS likewise, by a knee jerk reaction to 9/11; but that is what happened and I have managed to live with it, as have all the other agents so effected. Yet, it has all been an adventure, sort of like life in a Bogart movie - adventure, romance, intrigue, danger, getting the tough job done all in relatively short clips.
Nowadays there are still times at work when I honestly still can say that it is an an adventure. Heck it was one of those days today. I worked with a great group people today, and they did one heck of a bang-up job because of some really good investigative work on their part that made the job well worth while all over again. Thanks to guys and gals like the team with which I worked today, and thanks to those dreams I had so long ago, and thanks to film and TV heroes that really exemplified the struggle between good versus bad as opposed to the confusing crap they show to kids today, I became what I had wanted to be when I grew up. Not a spy, not a cowboy, not a sheriff, not a masked crusader, not a lone ranger, not a secret agent, not a detective, not a superman, but rather a regular guy who would stand up for Truth, Justice and the American Way (yes I borrowed that line from the old Superman series). It really has been one heck of an adventurous ride so far; and my career will have been going on for 28 years this September. When I look back on it all, I can say that: Life in a Bogart movie (at least when he was the good guy) can be an excellent thing indeed. I can also say, and say it without a doubt, that I grew up to be exactly what I had wanted to be so long ago. I guess that is in essence why I use the signature line that I do in my emails and on forums:
When I look in the mirror, I am happy to see,
some of that nine year old boy, who used to be me.
So, do you see any of your own nine year old self still within you; what did you want to be when you grew up?
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Knappogue Castle 1994 Irish Single Malt Whiskey - what a find!
So tonight, I made history, at least in the respect that I did something I will not soon forget. I stopped by one of my local purveyors of fine spirits, the one closest to my home and with the best selection around me, to buy a bottle of single malt Scotch. Now I am not a big whiskey drinker, and only started to drink scotch a year or two ago, but I came to like it a bit - now and then. I have had a few of the finer ones, and I have enjoyed them very much.
While at the store tonight, something different caught my eye, and maybe it did because I am at least in part of Irish descent. I spied a bottle of pale colored whiskey, in a boxed set along with a small ceramic ewer. I was not immediately impressed, but as I looked it over, I noted it was a single malt. Hmm, maybe it was for me, then again maybe not since I had come in to buy a bottle of Scotch. I grabbed hold of one, and walked down the aisle a bit to peruse the fine Scotches on hand. They had bottles of single malt ranging in price from $20.99 (no notation as to age) to $169.99 for an 18 year old Macallan. I had about a total of $65.00 in my pocket, and that included my lunch money for lunches at work over the next three days. The Knappogue Castle Irish Single Malt Whiskey was only $32.99. Now I know you often get what you pay for, but sometimes whiskey can be a pleasant surprise. Then I remembered something about Irish single malts, they were somehow made differently than Scotch whiskey. I decided to go with the Irish.
As I opened the bottle, I noted that it has a 1994 distilled date. Thirteen years old right now. Okay, this stuff was bottled sometime between 2004 and 2006, from what I can gather, so it would have been 10 or 12 years old when bottled. I also noted that it is pale in color, much paler than any whiskey I have ever seen before. I opened it and found the aroma to be light, springtime fresh, a bit fruity, and of course with the overall aroma of fine whiskey. Well I just sat down with a nice one over the rocks, and I took a sip, then two, then three. I like it a lot. In fact it is truly the mellowest 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume) whiskey that I have ever imbibed. It goes onto the tongue like silk - it is that smooth; and it goes down the pipes the same way. No harsh aftertaste, no harsh kick. It tastes like fine whiskey with no taste of peat... Hey wait a minute, that's it. No taste of peat, and as I drank I read about Knappogue Castle Irish Single Malt Whiskey on their web site, and they noted that the difference between their single malt and Scotch single malts is that they do not dry the malt using peat! What a heavenly difference in flavor this makes, or at least that is my guess as to why this whiskey is ever so smooth.
Now note, if you decide to run out and buy a bottle, then discover it tastes very different than what I have written here, bear in mind that they already have a new vintage out, the new one distilled in 1995. According to their web site, the 1995 distilled vintage has much more of a "bourbon barrel wood quality" to it. I may try the 1995 someday too. For now though, I kind of think that the 1994 distilled vintage is about the best, and certainly the smoothest, darned sipping whiskey I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying; and that is one heck of nice surprise at only $32.99 a bottle. I may just have to get another of the 1994 distilled vintage, and put it away for a cloudy, damp and cool day.
All the best,
Glenn B
While at the store tonight, something different caught my eye, and maybe it did because I am at least in part of Irish descent. I spied a bottle of pale colored whiskey, in a boxed set along with a small ceramic ewer. I was not immediately impressed, but as I looked it over, I noted it was a single malt. Hmm, maybe it was for me, then again maybe not since I had come in to buy a bottle of Scotch. I grabbed hold of one, and walked down the aisle a bit to peruse the fine Scotches on hand. They had bottles of single malt ranging in price from $20.99 (no notation as to age) to $169.99 for an 18 year old Macallan. I had about a total of $65.00 in my pocket, and that included my lunch money for lunches at work over the next three days. The Knappogue Castle Irish Single Malt Whiskey was only $32.99. Now I know you often get what you pay for, but sometimes whiskey can be a pleasant surprise. Then I remembered something about Irish single malts, they were somehow made differently than Scotch whiskey. I decided to go with the Irish.
As I opened the bottle, I noted that it has a 1994 distilled date. Thirteen years old right now. Okay, this stuff was bottled sometime between 2004 and 2006, from what I can gather, so it would have been 10 or 12 years old when bottled. I also noted that it is pale in color, much paler than any whiskey I have ever seen before. I opened it and found the aroma to be light, springtime fresh, a bit fruity, and of course with the overall aroma of fine whiskey. Well I just sat down with a nice one over the rocks, and I took a sip, then two, then three. I like it a lot. In fact it is truly the mellowest 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume) whiskey that I have ever imbibed. It goes onto the tongue like silk - it is that smooth; and it goes down the pipes the same way. No harsh aftertaste, no harsh kick. It tastes like fine whiskey with no taste of peat... Hey wait a minute, that's it. No taste of peat, and as I drank I read about Knappogue Castle Irish Single Malt Whiskey on their web site, and they noted that the difference between their single malt and Scotch single malts is that they do not dry the malt using peat! What a heavenly difference in flavor this makes, or at least that is my guess as to why this whiskey is ever so smooth.
Now note, if you decide to run out and buy a bottle, then discover it tastes very different than what I have written here, bear in mind that they already have a new vintage out, the new one distilled in 1995. According to their web site, the 1995 distilled vintage has much more of a "bourbon barrel wood quality" to it. I may try the 1995 someday too. For now though, I kind of think that the 1994 distilled vintage is about the best, and certainly the smoothest, darned sipping whiskey I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying; and that is one heck of nice surprise at only $32.99 a bottle. I may just have to get another of the 1994 distilled vintage, and put it away for a cloudy, damp and cool day.
All the best,
Glenn B
Today In History - A Big Bang Of Sorts...
...was made when Benjamin Chambers was issued a patent on July 31, 1849, for the first patented breech loading cannon. What a coincidence that the area into which a live round is loaded is called the chamber. To see the diagram that the U.S. patent office has on file for this wonderful device, click here.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, July 30, 2007
Maybe This Will Help The Real British To Wake Up...
...and realize that all of their white man's guilt for centuries of the British Empire having been a colonial power is not going to be assuaged by making others, who were once oppressed by the British, British citizens. No it is not surprising that 38% of south Asians who were polled said they do not feel like they are British - see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6921534.stm.
So, many of those Pakistani Muslims are not going to melt in the pot, nor are many of the other folks from places like India, Hong Kong, or anywhere else. Just because you gave them British Citizenship does not mean that they will not seek to destroy your way of life, if by nothing else, then by not assimilating and spreading their own culture within your borders. In fact, as can be witnessed from what is going on across the pond, it seems as if many of those folks would rather destroy the British way of life and replace it with something a bit more fatalistic.
All the best,
Glenn B
So, many of those Pakistani Muslims are not going to melt in the pot, nor are many of the other folks from places like India, Hong Kong, or anywhere else. Just because you gave them British Citizenship does not mean that they will not seek to destroy your way of life, if by nothing else, then by not assimilating and spreading their own culture within your borders. In fact, as can be witnessed from what is going on across the pond, it seems as if many of those folks would rather destroy the British way of life and replace it with something a bit more fatalistic.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tagged For 8 Things About Me
I have been tagged by Bill from Quill Of Bill to tell 8 things about myself. Before I do that, I think I am supposed to tell you the rules, because after I do all this, I am supposed to tag 8 other bloggers.
***
HERE ARE THE RULES:
01. Post the rules before you give the facts
02. Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
03. People who are tagged need to write their own blog
04. At the end of your blog you need to choose eight people that you tag and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment, telling them they are tagged, and to read your blog.
***
8 THINGS ABOUT ME:
1. I just grew my beard back.
2. I often tend to have little self confidence in things like do it yourself home repair.
3. I procrastinate a lot on things I need to get done (probably because of lack of confidence); but I have been getting more things done lately in a timely fashion.
4. I am eligible to retire and am dreaming about it daily; though I hope I can wait until January 2009, when I think one of my biggest debts will be paid in full.
5. I am thinking of becoming a Conservation Officer for a 2nd career.
6. I believe common courtesy as being one of the most important things in living life.
7. I can be quite cantankerous.
8. I would love to move to the country, or to a small country side village, when I retire; and one of the biggest disappointments in my life is that my wife does not want to, and refuses consider such in no uncertain terms.
***
HERE IS THE LIST OF THOSE THAT I AM TAGGING:
1. Eric at http://straightwhiteguy.com/
2. Greybeard at http://greybeard.igogg.com/
3. GeekWithA.45 at http://geekwitha45.blogspot.com/
4. Chris Byrne at http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/
5. Geoffrey at http://www.dogsnot.net/wp/
6. Quidni at http://qquidni.blogspot.com/
7. LawDog at http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/
***
If any of you do not want to do this, please feel free not to do it. Thanks.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Dog Piss Stains and the Joys of Carpet Cleaning...
...are among things most on my mind right now - can you imagine what a boring life I lead! Fact is that our oldest dog Sprocket, at about 17 to 18 years old, is pretty darned old and sometimes just can not hold it in while we are at work. (She is the one to your left in the photo.) The carpet in the basement, and the one in the living room, have suffered because of that. While the one on the living room is not looking too bad, the one in the basement has large obvious stains. So off to Home Depot I went last week to rent a carpet shampooer. Silly me for not having called first, they had none on hand. It seemed a lot of folks had flooded basements and needed to clean carpets due to very heavy rains just over a week ago. So I waited, and I called yesterday, and they said 'come on down - we have plenty'.So far I have spent a few hours moving furniture, vacuuming, and shampooing the carpet. Now I am waiting for the dehumidifier to works it magic, and when the half of the basement carpet that I cleaned is dry, I'll check to see if the stains are gone. If so, then onto the other half of the basement carpet, and probably the living room carpet too. Oh joy.
Later for you, time to check to see how clean it got.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, July 28, 2007
United Parcel Service (UPS) Deliveries...
...can be pretty iffy things, or so it seems to me if you want to receive items in good condition. I recently ordered a Ladder tree Stand from the Sportsmansguide.com. It was apparently delivered to my house yesterday by UPS, who left it on my front stoop. Funny, because my wife was home when it was delivered, yet no one knocked on our door, they just left it there.The shipping carton was in horrendous shape; and maybe that is why no one knocked on the door to see if someone was home to accept delivery. I am willing to bet the delivery man did not want to have the delivery "not" accepted. I have told my wife and kids never to accept a package in such shape. The carton itself had several holes in it, some that could easily fit my fist
through them, and also had several smaller holes. The middle of the carton was bulged or bent. Parts of the ladder stand were sticking out of the box. The ends of the ladder stand were obviously scratched (I would like the finish intact to resist rust) where the delivery person, or someone else, had probably dragged the heavy box instead of lifting it (approximate weight 78 pounds plus box and packing material). If there are any small parts, and there should be nuts and bolts and such, my bet is some may be missing as I heard some pieces freely falling as I turned the box to take several pictures of it today. What a mess.
The holes shown in the pictures here are just some of them. Every corner of the box was torn open. There also were several smaller tears in the middle of the carton. At one point the box seems bent or bulged, I can only guess at the damage to the item inside, or that parts are likely missing. Well, I contacted the vendor: Sportsmansguide today. They told me to call back on Monday when Customer Service is open. I also sent them an email about this. Then I tried to contact UPS via their web site complaint process. It seems you need to know the extent of the damage before you can report something to them, so I guess I'll wait until Sportsmansguide tells me whether or not to even bother opening it, or to just return it for another.Sportsmansguide has been good about stuff like this in the past, so I am hopeful they will take care of this right away. I am none too sure though that UPS will deliver another one in any better shape than this one. I know it can easily be lifted by someone in so-so shape, heck I lifted it today to take pictures, and my son carried it into the garage yesterday from the front stoop - never once dropping it, never once dragging it, never once damaging it. To think, the UPS delivery people get paid a darned good salary to leave things in such condition, they ought to be ashamed of themselves!
All the best,
Glenn B
The Immaculate Conception?
The test I just took, as mentioned in the post immediately previous to this one, once again demonstrated to me that many people are unaware of just what was the Immaculate Conception in Christian dogma. In that test of conservatism, they pose a question that in essence asks: If you could go back in time, and bring one thing with you, which choice would you make of the following 6 choices. One of those choices is this:
My guess is that the author of that question wrongly believes that the conception of Jesus Christ was The Immaculate Conception, after all this would be some action which you could see, and of which you might be able to take a video. The fact is that the Immaculate Conception was not the conception of Jesus Christ; nor was it an action of any sort. Do you know what truly was, according to Christianity, the Immaculate Conception? Don't look it up anywhere, just answer yes or no as to whether or not you know for sure. If I get a few answers either way, I'll tell you just what was it. And, yes I know the meaning of the Immaculate Conception even though I do not practice any faith; after all I used to be a practicing Catholic. Hint: it reportedly was revealed to Bernadette at Lourdes.
All the best,
Glenn B
"The Immaculate Conception—with a video camera."
My guess is that the author of that question wrongly believes that the conception of Jesus Christ was The Immaculate Conception, after all this would be some action which you could see, and of which you might be able to take a video. The fact is that the Immaculate Conception was not the conception of Jesus Christ; nor was it an action of any sort. Do you know what truly was, according to Christianity, the Immaculate Conception? Don't look it up anywhere, just answer yes or no as to whether or not you know for sure. If I get a few answers either way, I'll tell you just what was it. And, yes I know the meaning of the Immaculate Conception even though I do not practice any faith; after all I used to be a practicing Catholic. Hint: it reportedly was revealed to Bernadette at Lourdes.
All the best,
Glenn B
Flag Waving Everyman or Anti-Government Gunslinger
Well, thanks to the Anarchangel, I took the test at: http://www.fightliberals.com/Inside-the-Book/What-Breed-of-Conservative-Are-You.html and I got the following results. Like the Anarchangel, I had an iffy answer. Question number 4 was a toss-up for me, with answers C or E being just as correct in my mind. Changing that one answer from C to E gave a very different result as seen below.
With C as the answer:
With E as the answer:
So I guess I am teetering betwixt the two. I prefer to be the patriot, and don't really believe I am anti-government, unless they mean I am against our current brand ofassholes politicians in charge of the Congress, the Judiciary and the Executive branches. I hope to help change that next election.
All the best,
Glenn B
With C as the answer:
My Conservative Identity:
You are a Flag-Waving Everyman, also known as a patriot. You believe in freedom, apple pie, rooting for America at all times, and that God gave us a two-day weekend so we could enjoy football and NASCAR.
With E as the answer:
My Conservative Identity:
You are an Anti-government Gunslinger, also known as a libertarian conservative. You believe in smaller government, states’ rights, gun rights, and that, as Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
So I guess I am teetering betwixt the two. I prefer to be the patriot, and don't really believe I am anti-government, unless they mean I am against our current brand of
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, July 27, 2007
Mindless Scribbling of an Insomniac...
...is about to grace this page.
I had some great nights' and days' sleep over the last week and a half when i was down with bronchitis. Now that I am feeling about 85-90% again, I am finding it hard to sleep through the night, or to even fall asleep. So for the last hour or so I have been playing solitaire, reading blogs, and looking at Tag Sale and estate Sale advertisements in the local paper. If I ever get some sleep tonight, when I awaken in the morning (heck I see it is already about an hour into the AM) I will be off to enjoy tearing through someone else's treasures and junk - looking for that find of a lifetime. I don't know what it is about tag sales (not garage sales, but sales in which the entire, or just about the entire, contents of a house are for sale) except maybe that I have bought some 'needful things' in the past that have somehow wound up making me a huge return on my measly investments when I resold them on eBay. I imagine, hypothetically of course, that if I have spent a few hundred dollars on items at tag sales, I have made back at least three to four times the amount. Who knows, but maybe after using all the gas, and after all the wear and tear on my car, I actually may have broken even - almost. It is all for fun, so off I'll probably go when the sun is up.
All the best,
Glenn b
I had some great nights' and days' sleep over the last week and a half when i was down with bronchitis. Now that I am feeling about 85-90% again, I am finding it hard to sleep through the night, or to even fall asleep. So for the last hour or so I have been playing solitaire, reading blogs, and looking at Tag Sale and estate Sale advertisements in the local paper. If I ever get some sleep tonight, when I awaken in the morning (heck I see it is already about an hour into the AM) I will be off to enjoy tearing through someone else's treasures and junk - looking for that find of a lifetime. I don't know what it is about tag sales (not garage sales, but sales in which the entire, or just about the entire, contents of a house are for sale) except maybe that I have bought some 'needful things' in the past that have somehow wound up making me a huge return on my measly investments when I resold them on eBay. I imagine, hypothetically of course, that if I have spent a few hundred dollars on items at tag sales, I have made back at least three to four times the amount. Who knows, but maybe after using all the gas, and after all the wear and tear on my car, I actually may have broken even - almost. It is all for fun, so off I'll probably go when the sun is up.
All the best,
Glenn b
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Ballseye's Firearms Training & Tactics - Pistol Nomenclature
In order for a new comer to shooting to understand some of the things I will write about in the furture regarding how to familiarize yourself with and shoot a pistol, you will first need an understanding of basic pistol nomenclature. I have tried my hand at giving you a diagram that shows most of the nomenclature on a Beretta 92FS, double action, semi-automatic pistol. Note the nomenclature may or may not be the same for the type of pistol that you train with or shoot. In fact it may be quite different in some regards, especially with regard to the safety and its function, the hammer (exposed or not exposed), the magazine release (type and location), the slide lock/release (if any) and so forth. Always make sure to read the manufacturer's instruction sheet and pistol diagram to familiarize yourself with any firearm, and if they are not available then try to get them before handling the firearm. If you cannot get them, then ask a competent firearms instructor to familiarize you with the firearm; in fact even if you have the instruction sheet and diagram, it is a good idea to have an instructor familairize you with the firearm. Sure, I know, the print seems to small to read, and those lines hard to follow; but if you left-click on the image, it should show up as an enlarged version. Any quiestions, leave them in the comments section. Note I only mentioned the parts you will have to understand to learn to shoot. That little metal ring at the bottom of the grips is a laynard loop (my personal opinion - don't bother ever using a laynard, except maybe on a boat). The screws in the grips are grip screws, don't take them ouut, but make sure they are tight. As I said, any questions, contact me via a comment.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Feeling Good Enough Today To Do Some Cooking...
...so I suspect I might get back to work tomorrow. Being out for a week and a half may sound okay, but is is not enjoyable when you cannot do much of anything. I did get to go to the range last Saturday with Brendan, and even though he drove there and back, I guess I should not have gone because it whooped the tar out of me. I thought I was getting better, better than I actually was, and I paid for that few hours of fun with feeling worse the next few days. Oh well, as the doc told me, it will take time for me to fully get better.
I did manage to cook three times this week, and I have not cooked that often in quite some years. First I cooked some really decent steaks my wife had marinated, and I grilled up some young octopus too. Mmmmmm gooood. Day before yesterday, I cooked up one heck of a roast chicken, if I say so myself - but then again Linda and Brendan told me it was great. I mixed up some butter, olive oil, prosciutto, green onions, oregano, paprika, lemon zest, and thyme and used it to stuff the bird under the breast skin (between the skin and breast meat). I added a bunch of baby red potatoes to the roasting pan along with some cut up white turnips, and some of the left over stuffing mixture, and there it was. As for me I really couldn't taste it, I haven't been able to taste almost anything in about a week now, though some of the flavors did get through to me.
Then today I made a mixture of east meets west kind of a meal. I sauteed young octopus in a pan then added halved cherry tomatoes, about 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, a small green pepper, a bunch of green onions, regular onion, minced garlic, fresh thyme, fresh basil, a leaf or to of fresh spearmint, salt, pepper and the juice of half a lemon and let it cook. Later on I added bean sprouts (the type used in Chinese cooking), and snow pea pods (nice fat ones), and a bit of soy sauce. This time I could taste it a bit. Mmmm good, and Brendan said so to. The wife is about to sit down to try it. My guess is she will say too much salt but that she will like it. The great thing is she complimented me on how clean I kept the kitchen. That means I may start cooking more often. I do love to cook, and I love to eat what I cook even more.
Added Note: The wife sat down to a huge plate of it, all that was left. She ate with some gusto, said too salty and a bit too spicy, but overall was good. Oh well, she ate it all; and I am pleased to have pleased she who must be adored.
All the best,
Glenn B
I did manage to cook three times this week, and I have not cooked that often in quite some years. First I cooked some really decent steaks my wife had marinated, and I grilled up some young octopus too. Mmmmmm gooood. Day before yesterday, I cooked up one heck of a roast chicken, if I say so myself - but then again Linda and Brendan told me it was great. I mixed up some butter, olive oil, prosciutto, green onions, oregano, paprika, lemon zest, and thyme and used it to stuff the bird under the breast skin (between the skin and breast meat). I added a bunch of baby red potatoes to the roasting pan along with some cut up white turnips, and some of the left over stuffing mixture, and there it was. As for me I really couldn't taste it, I haven't been able to taste almost anything in about a week now, though some of the flavors did get through to me.
Then today I made a mixture of east meets west kind of a meal. I sauteed young octopus in a pan then added halved cherry tomatoes, about 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, a small green pepper, a bunch of green onions, regular onion, minced garlic, fresh thyme, fresh basil, a leaf or to of fresh spearmint, salt, pepper and the juice of half a lemon and let it cook. Later on I added bean sprouts (the type used in Chinese cooking), and snow pea pods (nice fat ones), and a bit of soy sauce. This time I could taste it a bit. Mmmm good, and Brendan said so to. The wife is about to sit down to try it. My guess is she will say too much salt but that she will like it. The great thing is she complimented me on how clean I kept the kitchen. That means I may start cooking more often. I do love to cook, and I love to eat what I cook even more.
Added Note: The wife sat down to a huge plate of it, all that was left. She ate with some gusto, said too salty and a bit too spicy, but overall was good. Oh well, she ate it all; and I am pleased to have pleased she who must be adored.
All the best,
Glenn B
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