Today In History - The British Zulu War Commences...

...and while the events of this date were not all that awesome, certain battles to follow today's unauthorized invasion of Zululand in 1879 by British Lt. General Chelmsford are some of the most remarkable in history.

Later the same month, on January 22, 1879 the Zulus wiped out a very large contingent of British forces under Chelmsford at Isandhlwana, killing 850 British soldiers, 450 native troops in British Service, and taking nearly 1000 rifles with ammunition. This was the most devastating defeat for British forces in battle against native forces, only about 55 British troops survived the battle, along with some native troops in British service. It was one heck of a piece of fine fighting by the Zulus for sure against better armed British troops, but despite the big win, the luck of the Zulus was about to change later on that same day.

On that same day, January 22, 1879, one of the most awe inspiring battles of all time took place at Roarke's Drift when about 138 British Soldiers defended their position against an opposing force of about 4,000 to 5,000 Zulu Warriors, many armed with British rifles. Should I forget to write about this on January 22, at least I made mention here. You can see more about this at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorke%27s_Drift, and at: http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/, http://schwartz.eng.auburn.edu/zulu/rorke.html, http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/battle.htm, http://battlefields.kzn.org.za/battlefields/about/192.xml. Eleven British soldiers received the Victoria Cross for their actions that day, more such awards than had ever been given for any single engagement in British History; and that record stands through today.

Not only did the British erect a memorial to the British soldiers who fought and fell at Roarke's Drift: http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/rorkesdrift_monument.htm , but they also erected one in honor of the Zulu Warriors who fought and fell there that day: http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/battle/zulu_memorial.htm.

It will soon be time once again to sit down with a good beer in hand and watch one of my favorite movies of all time: Zulu (1964) (http://imdb.com/title/tt0058777/), starring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker. If you have never seen this movie, why not find a copy, then wait until the 22nd January, then find a nice comfortable chair and a beer, and plop you butt into it in front of the television and give it a watch. By the way, if you cannot wait to see, oh well what the heck - go for it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ammunition Auctions To Help A Good Cause

I was down in the dingier parts of the dungeon my basement tonight, and I came across quite a shocking surprising find when I literally stumbled across a head in a basket some ammunition that I had forgotten all about. Being that I do not have guns in two of three calibers of ammo that I found, and being that I have a good supply of the one caliber for which I do own a pistol, I figured I would put this small ammo cache to good use. So I lugged it all up to my computer desk, took some pictures of the ammo boxes, and proceeded to list the ammo for sale at auction on GunBroker.com.

What I came across is as follows:

5 boxes of Remington 32 WIN Special ammunition, 170 grain core-lokt soft points; and 1 box of Federal 32 WIN Special 170 grain soft points. See GunBroker Auction: 89805969

2 boxes of Ultramax 45 Colt ammunition, 200 grain round nose flat points; and 1 box of Ultramax 45 Colt, 250 grain round nose flat points. See GunBroker Auction: 89806730

5 boxes of Sellier & Bellot 7.65 mm Browning ammunition (.32 Auto), 73 grain, full metal jacket (25 rounds per box). See Gunbroker Auction: 89807557

PLEASE NOTE: I said that these were Ammunition Auctions To Help A Good Cause, I did not just mean to fill my pocket with some extra cash. What could be better than that? Well one thing would be helping out fellow bloggers in need. At least one half of the selling price (after auction expenses) of this ammo will be donated to Chris and Melody Byrne over at The Anarchangel in an effort to help them with their legal fees relative to their custody fight for their children. Now it may not wind up being an enormous amount of money, but every little bit helps; and you get something for your money if you have the high bid. Besides that I already sent a donation to them, so this is icing on the cake - so to speak.

If you would like to take part in this effort, why not plop a bid down on some of this ammo. For more info on the cause for this auction see: http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/01/weve-been-blindsided-and-we-need-help.html

All the best,
Glenn B

The Floor - and 4 weeks or so later...

...still has my knees, my hips and my lower back all feeling like the icy grip of winter has frozen them painfully in place. I can only wish that I could get some of the glowing warmth promised by the prospect of Al Gore's globally warmed winters, but there does not seem to be much chance of that. It does seem however that I will be enjoying at least another day or two of a warm glow of another sort, that cast by the suns last rays across the richly finished oak floorboards over which I have been kneeling as I hammer away. Yes folks, I still have not finished one small room's (maybe 12x14) worth of flooring. I have been pretty good about keeping at it though, and each weekend over the past 4 or 5 weeks (with the exception of last weekend when I was sicker than a dog) I have been diligently lining up floorboards, cutting them to size, drilling mail holes, then hammering home the nails to put it all together. I may not be doing as good a job as a professional finish carpenter, but I sure am doing as good or better than the fly by night type of carpenter one normally hires from out of the local Pennysaver. I know, I have hired those types before, and my work is better than theirs by a long shot, cheaper too - though I will admit this laying a new floor thing has gotten more expensive than I thought it would be. My latest expense was a new Jig Saw, purchased today for $69. Sure I could have gotten the bottom of the line for $29.99, but that one was obviously a piece of junk. The one I bought may be a piece of junk too, but at least it fakes looking like a fair quality item. All I needed it for was to cut an indent in two floorboards to go around the radiator pipe, and I sure wished I could have found my old one. The fact is I am pretty sure that the old one died a while back and I threw it out. So I needed a new one regardless of doing the floor. Oh well.

The floor is almost finished though. I would have done more than 6 1/2 rows of boards today, but I ran out of nails. By the time I realized that the local hardware store was closed up tight as a clam, and Home Depot was out of the question. Heck I was just at two of them this morning to by the drill, so I would be damned if I was about to go again. Too bad I did not realize I was low on nails, piss poor planning on my part I guess. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I figure I'll do another 6 or so rows tomorrow. Then one more good day at it and it will be finished. Maybe, just maybe, when I get hoe after visiting my mom at the rehab center tomorrow afternoon, my son will have gotten the nails and finished off most of the job. One can wish.

All the best,
Glenn B

It Could Be Worse...and it is worse for some. The Anarchangel and family need help.

First it was the regular bills just building up on us, which we kind of caught up on. Then the money to paint my son’s room, then the money to put in a new floor in the same room because the old one was rotting (at least we are saving by doing it ourselves, and no though it started weeks ago it is not done yet). Then the kids birthdays, then Christmas and my mom’s birthday, then the vet bills for Hexi. Now the 2nd car, our 1996 Ford Taurus, is in need of mending – an alternator (again!). We probably should buy a new car, but the money is just not there right now. Oh well, if it is not one thing, then it is another, that just seems to suck to money out of the Honey Pot; and it sucks to have to take money out of savings when there is so little honey in there. It seems like we have spent more than we can afford lately, and certainly not on any extravagance. I am hoping that somehow things will level off before April so that for our double deuce anniversary I can take Linda on a 3 to 5 day cruise to the Caribbean (or maybe just a trip to the Catskills the way things have been going). I cannot imagine how tight things will become when I retire next January.

Still though, I guess things are not that bad for us in my house; and I am sure they could be a lot worse. I thank the heavens that they are as good as they are right now. Some others though are not as fortunate, such as Chris and Mel over at the Anarchangel. They have been stuck with a surprise $30,000 legal expense in a custody battle over their children. Not a spot in which I would wish to be stuck. If you think you can be of help to them, stop by their site and put whatever you can into the tip jar. Yes, I know I have ranted against tip jars on blogs before, and I still feel negative about them in general, when they are used so that someone who already has a good deal of wealth, or is even simply well enough off to make it, asks for tips so they can in essence buy toys. This though is something else altogether, this is someone in need – another couple of us from the blogger community, of the type of blogs that we read - who is trying to keep custody of their children – and in that light I already made my donation, and ask you to consider doing the same. If you cannot afford a donation, maybe you can give them some advice on how to handle the expense. Either way my guess is they will appreciate it. For more info – go here.

All the best,
Glenn B

Are You A Mr. Wizard?

Thanks to the Anarchangel, I was directed to this science test. Always one for a challenge I decided to take the test. Now even though it is at the 8th grade level, I figured it might be a challenge since the eighth grade and I parted company some 38 years ago back in 1969, and I figured that things had changed a bit since then so it would be a challenge. Apparently it is not all; that different nowadays because I scored pretty good. I will admit though I almost guessed on two questions; but a 96 is still a 96. I guess getting one answer wrong was not all that bad, I got jammed up with meteors/meteoroids.

Looking for payday loans?

All the best,
Glenn B

Balleye's Firearms Training & Tactics - The Absolute Best Backup Handgun

I can hardly believe that when I just checked to see when was the last of my training and tactics posts, it was back in October. Way too long to wait, but here I go with a new one, and one in which I am about to state what I believe to be an ABSOLUTE so I am sure there will be a bunch of gurus who read this that think I am full of shit gun enthusiasts who disagree with me on this one. No matter how much anyone else tends to disagree with me on this subject, I can state with certainty that I am convinced I am about to tell you which is the ABSOLUTE Best Backup Handgun you can carry at any given time if you carry a secondary handgun at all.

Let me start getting into this by saying not all of us feel the need for a backup handgun. I can live with that, and so can you. Some of us though would be much better off carrying a secondary or backup handgun. For instance a police officer or other LEO, an armed security guard, armed protective personnel (bodyguards), and other people in high risk professions or who live or work in other high risk situations. (Of course by high risk situation I am referring to one that may require you to use a handgun in the first place, I am not talking about something like avalanche danger.) Besides being in a profession or other situation that puts you at high risk, I think a backup gun is not usually necessary; but you may disagree and decide to carry one anyhow. Fine by me.

If you do decide to carry a backup, which should you choose. For instance if you carry a Colt 1911, should you stick with the same brand and carry a Colt Detective Special as backup? Or if you carry a Beretta 92FS, should you carry something smaller as a last ditch backup that is easily concealable like a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP caliber? Most people to whom I have spoken and who carry backup pieces almost always opt to carry a smaller gun for a backup than is their primary weapon. I think there is some belief that size is of primary concern when deciding which backup to carry. I don't think size in comparison to the primary handgun matters all that much, that is unless for some reason the secondary handgun you are carrying must be extremely concealable.

There are, in fact, a good number of questions you should ask yourself before deciding on which secondary firearm you are going to carry as a backup. Does it need to be, or should it be for any reason, smaller and more concealable than your primary carry firearm? Should it have the same action type as the primary type firearm? Should it be the same caliber as the primary caliber firearm? Should it have the same operating features as the primary carry firearm? Should it have the same or very similar sights as does the primary carry handgun? How many rounds should it be able to hold? What type of speed reloading device does it use (basically magazines or speed loaders)? Should it be able to accept the same type of ammunition reloading device as does the primary handgun?

The answer to all of the above question in the paragraph immediately preceding this one is yes, with the possible exception of the first question. You see the ABSOLUTE best backup handgun you can carry is the same exact type as is your primary handgun. The only limitation on this absolute is if for some reason the secondary handgun must be more easily concealed than the primary handgun, and even then the backup piece is only best if you can answer all of the questions I just asked in the immediately preceding paragraph with a yes about it. More on this a few paragraphs down.

You may be wondering: 'Why is it I should not use a revolver as a backup for my Colt 1911, or why should I use a .25ACP as backup to my .40SW Semi-auto? Or why not use a 2 shot derringer as backup to my .357 revolver. I'll tell you sure you can do that, and you can do it with no problems too, that is if you practice with both a lot. That means practicing with the primary, then going to the backup in practice when the primary jams or runs out of ammo; but it only means that if, and ONLY IF, you are as good under the stress of combat as you are during practice. You see, if you are ever involved in a real life shooting situation, and your primary firearm fails for any reason such as malfunction, or it runs out of ammo, or you drop it, or it takes a shot and is damaged, then you may indeed need to go to your backup handgun in order to survive. If the gun you carry as primary handgun is a Colt 1911 (any variety) and you pull out your backup Colt Detective Special revolver it seems easy enough to continue shooting almost uninterrupted. The thing is if you have to fire those 6 shots in the revolver, and then need to reload, what will you do under the stress of combat. Will you remember that you are not supposed to go to your magazine pouch but rather need to dig out a speed loader, or worse yet dig out loose rounds, or worst of all have not extra ammo for the secondary piece? I can almost guarantee that the pucker factor will by that point have just about overwhelmed your brain by trying to keep your sphincter muscle clamped down on your anus so you don't shit yourself that you will just about be on auto pilot. Whatever you normally do when you run out of ammo in training is probably what you will start to do in this situation. So if you usually go to reload with a magazine, you may very well be grabbing for a magazine to ram into your revolver, muscle memory and training, along with stress, having taken over to some extent. Of course you could get it right, but chances are you will hesitate for just a split second or so, and that is all it might take for you to wind up the loser. So why add the added potential of getting it wrong in the first place, especially if you want to come out the winner?

The chances of you ever getting in a gunfight maybe small, but if you are in one of those higher risk professions or situations I mentioned earlier and need a backup, or if for any reason you have decided to carry a backup, why take any additional risks of having things go wrong? Instead, why not increase the odds in your favor that you will come out the winner in any such situation where you have to depend on your backup handgun! So what does this mean you need to do? You need to assure that either your secondary is the same model as is your primary handgun, or if it is another model than is the primary handgun, the secondary or backup handgun should:

1) Have the same action type as the primary type firearm.

2) Should be the same caliber as the primary handgun.

3) Should have the same ammo capacity as the primary carry handgun.

4) Should use, or be able to use, the same magazines or speed loaders as does the primary handgun.

5) Should have the same operating features as the primary carry firearm.

6) Should have the same or very similar sights as does the primary carry handgun.

After all is said and done, it is not which brand of backup you carry, but rather these mirrored features of the primary and backup that are, in my opinion, what makes it the ABSOLUTE best backup gun to carry. You see, if the primary gun fails you for any reason that forces you to go to the backup gun, the backup will now operate in the same exact manner as does the primary, it will have the same action and therefore shoot the pretty much the same, it will use the same ammo and have the same capacity, therefore you can use the same magazines or speed loaders with it, therefore reloading it in the same exact manner as you would have the primary handgun. The same or very similar sights will have you, in essence, seeing the same sight picture and getting that sight picture just as quickly. If you have to go through some sort of reloading procedure, a malfunction clearing procedure, or making the gun safe, all of these procedures will be the same on both the primary and secondary guns thereby eliminating the increased risk of a screw-up associated with primary and backup guns of different makes and or models with different features. All those things will come into play not only when the SHTF, but also during practice - so by practicing with mirror feature guns you are practicing in an essentially exact manner with each. This can only help assure you get it right under the stress of a a real life situation that requires the use of deadly force.

Now I will admit, the easiest way to do this is to carry two identical pistols or revolvers. For some this may be too cumbersome, and the secondary piece might need be smaller. I will also admit, if you need a second but smaller firearm, there are not many manufacturers who make a larger primary handgun who also make a cloned or very similar backup type gun with the same features as the primary or larger gun, but there are some.

The first such manufacturer which comes to mind is Glock. No I am not a Glock Guru, nor a Glock Nut, nor even a super fan of Glocks. I currently am issued a Glock Model 19 at work, and I have carried a Glock Model 26 as backup for it. I also carried a Smith & Wesson Model 60 as backup for the Glock 19, but using my own logic I decided the Glock 26 would be much better of a choice, and I changed as soon as one became available. When I started doing admin work some years back I gave up the model 26 so that another agent in a higher risk group could get one. Sadly I am again in a higher risk group, but no Glock 26s are available. All of the mirror operating features I described work between the Glock 19 and Glock 26. They are both semi-auto pistols, they have pretty much the same sights (or both can have the same sights), the operate exactly the same, both are 9mm Luger caliber, both have the same ammunition capacity, both can use the same exact magazines... 'Oh wait a doggone minute...' you say, '...the Glock 19 holds 16 rounds and the Glock 26 only 10'. Nope you are out and out incorrect by a technicality. While the model 26 can use the 10 round mags, and the 19 cannot use those smaller mags; the truth is that both of those pistols can use the higher capacity 15 round magazines that come with the Glock 19. Therefore both can have the same capacity as to number of rounds. So you only need carry spare 15 round magazines, in fact if you carry both of these pistols at the same time I strongly state that you should not carry any 10 round magazines with the possible of exception of the magazine actually seated in the Model 26. All backup mags should be the 15 round capacity mags.

Other manufacturers have similar pistols. Beretta has the 92FS, and has or at least had, a smaller 92 compact model. I believe Sig has some similar pistols in different models, and some in the same model but just of different size such as the Sig P220 and the P220 Compact. Smith and Wesson has some models of revolvers that will use interchangeable speed loaders. Colt probably made revolvers likewise.

So what is boils down to is, in my opinion, the ABSOLUTE BEST BACKUP HANDGUN is one that has functions/features that mirror the primary carry handgun if only because of the lifesaver that this can be in a firefight.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Cannot Shake This Cold

I guess one of the benefits of middle age is that my colds seem to come on less frequently, the drawback being they last longer - like 2 weeks or a bit more. I have been pretty zonked lately, don't know if I can write more today, maybe tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

HEXI: January 3, 2008 - A Rough Day For My Family

When I woke up on the morning of the third, I was none to sure I'd be going to work. I was still achy, stiff, coughing and feeling fairly miserable from my cold or whatever it is I have had for the past several days. (I am still feeling it as I write this.) After a bit, I decided I was okay enough to go into the job, but figured I was going to be at least 2 hours late. As I warmed up the car, yes it was pretty cold, I checked my voice mails, and whoopee I found out I had to work a 2PM to 10PM shift. As it turned out I would not be late, and wound up in the office about 2 hours early. I got a lot of stuff dome I needed to finish up, and before I knew it it was about 6PM and I was headed out to do some surveillance on a drug case. At about 8:30PM I called home and no one answered. I tried again a little while later still no answer. I was not all that concerned, I figured my wife was out with the degs (our pet name for our dogs), or relaxing after a hard day's work and not wanting to answer the phone. Lucky for me at that time, I was in my government vehicle staying warm it was 21 degrees outside and getting colder.

Maybe about 930 or so, the surveillance was over, and I headed home. I called home again just to check in. When my wife answered and I asked how everything was, I could tell even before she said a words, that something was not good, I heard her sobs. Then she stammered that things were not too good. When I asked what had happened she told me Hexi, our 7 year old dachshund, had to be put down earlier in the night. Hexi had recently suffered from what the vets had led us to believe was a badly slipped disc that caused her to be paralyzed from about what would be your waist down. We had been set to live with that and Linda had ordered a doggy cart for Hexi, so she would be able to get around using her front legs for movement and the cart for rear support. The cart had not even arrived, heck probably had not been assembled yet at the factory, and Hexi had taken a turn for the worse. She was shaking and apparently having some sort of seizures when Linda came home from work today. Linda, Celina, Brendan, and Julia (Brendan's girlfriend) rushed Hexi back to the emergency veterinary clinic where the vet told them there was no hope for her, and Hexi had to be put down. They tried to call me, but Mr. Knucklehead had forgotten his cell phone at home today, so Brendan left me a message at the office. I only got the news when I called home later on as I said above.

It is a tough thing to lose a loved one, even if that loved one is only a deg. Hexi was a true bundle of joy from the first day we got her. She was Brendan and Celina's favorite out of the 3 of out dogs. Gosh, even my mom liked Hexi, and my mom has no great love for dogs or cats or other critters for that matter. Yet Hexi was able to warm her heart more than I had ever seen another dog do before. Hexi was lovable, and she surely was one of our loved ones. As a matter of fact I don't think she ever even growled at anyone let alone nip at them. She would rather have licked you to death, and she was always seeking or showing affection.

I don't know if it has really hit me yet in its full force, and as a matter of record I am pretty sure it has not. When I got home only Brendan and Julia were up. Linda had gone off to bed and Celina was at her boyfriend's house. I could see Brendan was hit hard. I got him to talk about what had happened, and I think it helped him a bit, but I could see the pain in his eyes. Julia was down in the dumps too. In the short time they have dated (must be 8 months already) she also fell in love with Hexi. it is as if the little witch (which is basically what her name means in German) could cast her loving spell over anyone. As for me, I think I will get the full force of this blow either when I talk to Linda about Hexi tomorrow, or when I awaken some night on the futon in the basement after having fallen asleep in front of the television and I realize that my little loving leg warmer is not cuddled behind my curled knees. It is difficult to think she is really gone.

We had Hexi, and she was a member of our family, for 7 or 8 years. I thought it was 8, but Linda told me 7 and I'll have to assume she knows better than does my muddled middle aged memory. Still though I remember when we went to the breeder (actually the son of a breeder) who was selling some dachshunds. Over many protestations from Celina, I put down my foot and refused to even consider a cream colored dachshund that surely must have been the runt of the liter, and which was the first one shown to us. When Hexi came out, I had convinced Linda and Brendan that she was the better choice, and we should take her (I did not even need to see another). They agreed but Celina, who wanted the other one flipped out. It was not too long, as time flies by though, before Celina agreed that Hexi had been the better choice than the runt we had seen first. Hexi casting that magic spell I told you about, it just took a bit longer with Celina - but not much for sure. As it turned out, we were all perfect for each other.

Well perfect for us and even for Sprocket our other dog at the time we bought Hexi. Sprocket too took a short while to get used to Hexi being there. At first she did not know what to make of her, and seemed afraid that she would accidentally hurt Hexi. But as time wore on they both grew to be extremely fond of one another, and Hexi brought out a playful spirit we had not seen all that much, if ever, before in Sprocket.

Hexi was not the perfect dog for some mind you. She was afraid of cars big time, and over the years we tried to walk her on the local streets to almost no avail. She would whine and pull, and be terrorized if a car drove by with even a hint of unmuffled noise. So she wound up spending most of her so called walks in out small backyard. If she ever got off the leash back there, she was away like lightning, usually to our neighbor Jessica's backyard, more to tease us than to run away I think, and could she be hard to catch or lure back (but we managed to get her back each time sooner or later, either with a cookie or witht he promise of a ride in the car and an open car door). She also ate like a vacuum cleaner, and we had to make sure to watch her weight for her. We kept her at a fairly good size. She could have been trimmer, but she was no porker for sure. She tended to bark a lot too. Anything outside our house would get her into a barking frenzy. She was very protective of us and the house. She kind of outgrew this to some small extent and got much less likely to bark at just anything, reserving her barks for the mailman, other dogs barking in the neighborhood, someone walking their dog outside our house, and bogeymen. Lately though, in about the last two months she again started barking more, but this only when she went out in the backyard for some reason. All that mischief, but yet she was perfect for us.

All that barking had one certain effect. Hexi taught our third dog, a mini-Chihuahua, Pepe (named after Pepe Le Pew), how to bark. We have had Pepe just over 2 years now, and for one whole year he never, and I mean never, barked. Then he started barking right there next to Hexi atop the arm chair near our front window. We don't know what prompted him to start, but he followed Hexi's cues and started to bark up a storm as far as Chihuahua barking goes. Of course, Pepe and Hexi were also great pals with one another, Hexi had that effect. Since Sprocket is so old now (I would guess about 19 or 20 years old) she is not as playful as she once was, so Hexi found a new playmate, and a ball of fire, in Pepe. He could run circles around her, but man did she ever get exercise in the house that she was missing because of not going for walks. Pepe would pester her into being playful, into play fighting over their dog chews and toys, and just run her in circles for the heck of it. Hexi loved it, and we know that because after not all that long she started teasing Pepe to get him to play.

I can only imagine that Sprocket and Pepe will miss Hexi as much, maybe eve more, than we do - in their own dog way. Linda and the kids, they are devastated. When my mom, mother-in-law, sister, brother, sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, and nephew, find out, there will be plenty of tears shed, they all loved her too. There is a lot to miss about her, I only scratched the surface in this memorial. As for me I miss her, so much so that a few seconds ago I thought something walked beside me and as I looked down. I swear, and I mean that literally, I saw what I thought must have been Pepe walking next to my chair, then realized it was nothing, but I swear I saw something reddish brown walk by my left leg toward the cubby hole under the desk just like Hexi used to do to sit at my feet while I wrote many of my blogs. It wasn't Pepe, he was sill in his bed with Sprocket next to the radiator on this cold, cold night. All I can imagine now is that maybe it was Hexi passing by to say her last goodbye to me; I wish she would have stayed a while longer. The vision was their just for a moment and was gone, just like Hexi and her life. My eyes are starting to tear up right now, I've got to stop now. Maybe more on her tomorrow or the next day. Maybe not. What more could I say than we loved her ever so much and we will miss her more than I ever could have imagined.

Glenn B

First Lines From My 2007 Rants

This was not my idea but it sounded kind of like some fun to me. I found the idea for it at Jungle Mom's site: The Jungle Hut. The idea is to write down the first lines of each of your first rants for each month in 2007. So here are mine in reverse chronological order:

Dec. 2007: The Irish Whiskey did not help. (My personal favorite, even if it was only a sip of it that I imbibed that prompted me to write that.)

Nov 2007: Too Bad He Apparently Does Not Read My Blog because his having done so may have saved him some holes in his legs, possibly being fired, and possibly being arrested.

Oct. 2007: Now here is a subject dear to my heart, the annual Long Island Herpetological Society Reptile (and amphibian) Expo.

Sept. 2007: Bloggers I read each and every day are listed over on the right, among the other bloggers to whom I link; but they are a bit special if only to me, and I read them on a daily basis.

Aug. 2007: It is amazing for me when I think back to my childhood, and remember what it was I wanted to grow up to be.

July 2007: Home again…the road trip is over, and that is too bad because it was a nice on.

June 2007: Prom night sounds like lots of fun, well for the kids.

May 2007: My Opinion on the 12 Million Illegal Aliens whom are estimated to be within the United States of America is that:

April 2007: For those of you who celebrate, have a happy Palm Sunday.

March 2007: Enjoying Some of The Finer Pleasures of Life is usually dependent upon one's income; but that does not mean that finer things are out of reach of those who don't make all that much.

February 2007: Great Britain has likely lost any hope of defeating Islamic terrorism on its own soil.

Jan. 2007: Here Is Wishing That You Enjoy a Happy and Safe New Year With Your Loved Ones

All the best,
Glenn B

Extra Money Should Equal A New Gun..

...or so I had presumed when I received some cash for Christmas. I had $250 in cash and a $40 gift card at Dick's Sporting Goods. I figured for sure I would buy myself a new rifle, but I am the great procrastinator and one of the worst squirrels around. I just do not know how to cache away my acorns in order to buy something later. Instead of saving I piss it away on all sorts of junk - maybe a bottle of spirits, or some sweets, or lunch out with the guys at work, or on stuff for the house, or whatever. The next thing I know and it is all gone. Well this time it is not all spent, at least not yet anyhow. I have about $200 if I spend it all at Dick's, and about $160 to spend elsewhere. That may not be much, but think I have another hundred or two somewhere else if I can find it. What a poor stash of cash for a married man.. Hopefully that will do to allow me to purchase something practical like a bolt action in .308. I am still thinking of a Mossberg or a Savage. If not one of them, then a military surplus rifle from one of the online vendors, something I can buy direct with my curios and relics license.

If I can make it until this coming weekend with the same amount of money, I will have to pay a visit to Dick's Sporting Goods to see what they have in the gun racks. If I spend any more of it before then, well I'll just have to go online and look for another SKS or a Mosin Nagant M44, or something like one of them. I just gotta save, gotta save, gotta save....

All the best,
Glenn B

Are You Hungover?

I feel almost great today despite the cold or whatever it is I have. Aches, pains, slight on and off again fever aside, I am not bothered by a hangover. kind of thought I would have had a few drinks last night, but I was feeling pretty lousy and sort of passed out on the futon while watching The Twilight Zone marathon. I don't know if that was good for me or not, I sort of think the alcohol would have had me sleep better than I did, and maybe even feel better this morning; but at least I did not wake up with a throbbing head and nausea. What about you my faithful readers, did you overdo it last night? If so, all I can wish you is a speedy recovery, and give you a goofball hangover cure. I think you just need the recovery, so I won't bother you with the recipe for my ineffectual cure which is basically a hair of the dog that bit you kind of a thing with some good quality gin added for attitude.

As for me and the wife, maybe we will enjoy some red wine with dinner tonight, and maybe tonight I can convince her to crack open the bottle of champagne I bought last year for new Year's Eve 2007. It has been in the fridge since then, and it is about time we drink it - don't you think!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Prognosis

Our Dachshund, Hexi came home from the veterinary clinic yesterday. Her prognosis for the long term is not great. She will, in all probability, never walk again on her hind legs. Now that she is home, the New Year will start, and continue, with her getting special care. Hexi can not walk at all right now, her front legs are not strong enough to drag her lard butted slightly overweight behind around. So we have to exercise her by walking her with a towel wrapped under her abdomen for support. We are using it like a sling for now, to support/hold up her rear. This way she can walk on her front legs with us holding up her back legs. This will be done until the dog cart we ordered arrives.

Luckily though the year ended on a fairly good note because her condition did not worsen, and we did not have to make a difficult decision about whether or not to put her down. What I mean is the decision was easy - we decided to buy her a cart to replace her hind legs so she can be mobile, and hopefully she will live many years to come in relative bliss. On the other hand, had her condition bettered or worsened the decision would have been much more difficult to make. So in a way, I am kind of relieved that she will be using the cart and not getting a back operation; but of course, I wish she never needed either one. In Hexi's case all sensation is gone - with zero to extremely little chance of any recovery - even with surgery. The back operation would have had some good chance of success but only if she had any feeling remaining in her hindquarters. The surgery would have cost over $5,000; heck the vet bills alone to date have been well over $1,000. The decision to have surgery performed on Hexi would have been difficult for at least two reasons, one that there was a chance it would not work or kill her, and the other that it would have just about wiped out any cash we have in the bank. The cart, which will give her much needed mobility, will go for $300 (plus shipping I think). That is a relief to our life's savings - the five grand would have just about wiped out our bank accounts; and it is a relief to the decision making process. If the vet would have said: 'There is hope of her walking again, but only 25%' - it would have been difficult not to have opted for the surgery and poverty but it would have been doable I think especially in light of the other option, that of the cart. Chances are we would have opted for the cart then too. Then again, if the vet had said there was a 50% chance of her regaining sensation, just imagine the difficulty in making the decision; and if he had said an 80% or more chance - I wonder if we would have taken it! It would have been a roll of the dice for us and her had we opted for surgery, with the dice heavily loaded against us; so as I said, the decision wound up being an easy one. Apparently though the decision for others would have been quite different, the vet said that he had to ask because some people would not opt to care for her but would rather have put her down had she been their dog. Sure, had she been expected to worsen, we would have chosen the same, but she is alert, in fairly good spirits, and apparently not in any pain. Thank goodness for that, the decision was easy - though I wish we never had to make the decision in the first place.

Well, as it stands, Hexi is going to need a lot of extra care. She has been with us only 7, or is it 8 years, since she was a little puppy. We all love her, and I although think the care will be time consuming each day, we will all do our best to care for her. Once the cart arrives, things should get easier. Right now we have to pick her up to bring her out to pee or poop. Thankfully the good old behind works on its own, but regrettably the faucet does not. We have to give her some squeezing to get her to pee, which I do not hesitate to say is much better than having to squeeze her to poop. My wife got squirted last night when she picked her up, I guess we have to be careful as to how we pick her up to avoid that in the future. Oh joy. I guess though it really is a joy, we would have been devastated had it turned out worse.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy New Year

To All of You,

Who enjoy the fruits of your lives through your labors, and who live by a generally accepted code of morality, who respect the laws of the land and of nature, who respect other people, who protect the innocent, who punish the bad, who can forgive when appropriate, who express common courtesy, who are in general nice people and who are decent folks - I wish you a Happy New Year.

To those of you who get your jollies by maltreating others, who are perverts, pedophiles, violent felons, career criminals, child beaters, radicals or extremists of any ilk, and the like - I do not procrastinate to prognosticate, that lest you change, in the end you will be screwed. Hence, allow me or another to screw you, please do not derive us the opportunity or the pleasure of doing so by screwing yourselves.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wow, I Have Not Written Anything Since Friday

I had planned to do a lot of things this weekend, like work on getting the job of laying the floor in my son's room finished, doing some shopping for a new gun (got some spare cash for Christmas), taking care of my critters (they all need a cage cleaning), and writing my blog - among other things. When I woke up yesterday, I think it was already, late morning or early afternoon. I was aching all over, and felt like crap in general. Regardless it was off to Home depot to pick up a Blind Nailer (nail gun for flooring), and then to another Home depot when the first told me all of theirs were broken. Then to yet a third when the second store told me they did not have a tool rental section. Finally got the nail gun, but never used it yesterday, because I felt even worse when I got home. So it was back to bed for me.

Somewhere in there my wife had taken our small Dachshund - Hexi - to the vet. She was having trouble walking on her back legs a bit the night before. From the vet she vet to an emergency veterinary clinic where they do surgeries. Hexi was getting really bad, really fast. They shot her up with cortisone, and by the time they had done so she had apparently lost all sensation in her rear legs. They said if she got sensation back, they would put her out, do an MRI, and do surgery if it was a slipped or exploded disc as they suspected.

Today dawned, and I still felt miserable, but I went to see our vet along with my wife, son and his girlfriend. She explained a lot about what could be ailing Hexi, and she called the emergency clinic for an update. The news was not good. She never got any sensation back. Her back legs are pretty much lifeless. So she is still in the emergency clinic under observation; a Neurosurgeon will see her tomorrow. We visited her today and she looked pitiful. Both our regular vet, and a vet on duty at the clinic told us there is little hope an operation will work regardless of what is the problem now that she has had no feeling for over a day, and because the problem progressed so rapidly. They are almost positive it is a disc but kind of made it clear the surgeon would know better so we left her there until tomorrow. They also agreed that unless Hexi gets some feeling back on her own - there is almost no point in operating on her, and little point in doing an MRI. We are hopeful they can diagnose her tomorrow, or at least rule some things out when the surgeon is on duty. We also are hoping it is not a tumor. If it is a bad disc they said she can use a dog wheelchair/cart to get around. If it is a tumor, well that could/would be much worse than a disc problem.

After that it was off to BJ's Club for some shopping. My wife joined recently, and I can tell you it seems strange to say we went shopping at a place called BJ's club. What can I say! After that, once we were home, I started some work on the flooring. I guess I was up there hammering away for about 4 1/2 or 5 hours. Why so long, well the rented nail gun was a piece of junk and did not work, and the nails for it were paper thin and bent each time I tried to get one out of the gun into the wood. When one did go part way in, it split the floorboard. So it was back to a regular hammer for me. With that, I got a whole 8 rows of floorboards put in. Not very much, but man oh man is that oak hard to hammer nails into even though I am pre-drilling nail holes. I can tell you that in those 4 1/2 or 5 hours my knees went through hell. I am betting I'll be hardly able to walk tomorrow; although I have to admit that when I started doing the work I felt like I was about 80 years old, and by the time I had finished I felt like I was only about 60 or 65 years old. I guess maybe I have a cold or something, and adding that to my having just started to work out again (I ran/walked 5 miles on Wednesday and 5 1/2 on Friday), the aches and pains of a middle aged fat guy overdoing it have had me really out of it. I can hardly wait wait until the morn when I awake stiffer and even more achy because of the work I did on the floor. Thanks to aspirin, I may actually make it to work tomorrow.

Now I don't have it as bad as Hexi, nor as bad as my mom. She also went into the hospital yesterday - some old age problem of one sort or another. She is better now and hopefully will get out tomorrow. I guess when it rains, and it is raining here, it truly pours. As for me, I am sure I will get over my cold soon, or imagine I will. I guess my aches and pains will also go away with time and a load of aspirin, though earlier today nothing worked. I must admit that the work on the floor loosened up some things and got rid of some aches, I am just expecting others to take their place by the morning. Oh well, enough complaining from me; whatever happens, I plan to have a good New Year's Eve at home with my wife, and a bottle of fine red wine, and a bottle of even better champagne; and I am hopeful Hexi will be with us. Hope you are felling better than us and not suffering from the blues or anything worse.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Season For Giving

The Christmas season is at its very essence just that. If you are a Christian, then you should believe that God the father gave his only to son to mankind on the first Christmas Day. When Christ was born, the story goes that he was visited by three Maggi who presented him with him with three gifts of gold, silver and myrrh. He was also in essence gifted with a birthing place albeit only a stable, and he was granted praise from shepherds and angels alike. Christianity's birth story notwithstanding, the season had long been one of giving in other faiths (those we call Pagan faiths today). I wonder if this was because the harvest was long over, the reality of winter had just set in, and the hope that longer days bring with them had just begun to spread being that the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere is the start of lengthening daylight hours. Whatever the reasons, this season has always been one of spirituality and giving throughout the history of the northern and western hemispheres.

Because it is a season of giving, this is also a season of receiving. In general it seems most people are more likely to tell you what they received as presents rather than to tell you what they gifted to others. I suppose there could be many reasons for this, the "me" factor (basically someones ego) being among the strongest of reasons to do so. It just seems to sit better with most people to tell you they got this or that, and then to show it off, than it is for them to say they gave this or that. Besides ego, I guess one of the reasons for doing so is rather practical - they can show off the item they received but may not necessarily be able to do so for something they gave as a gift to someone else. Another reason for some to say what they received instead of what they gave is that some maybe embarrassed by what they gave, possibly thinking it too little.

Whatever the reason that it is more likely for someone to say what they received instead of what they gave, I have decided this year to tell people mostly about what I gave to others instead of what others gave to me. In the end you will see this is no noble gesture on my part to make myself feel better, but rather just a sort of random act of kindness; yet, you will also see there is a reason for my telling it this way, something you will have to read on to discover.
This year I gave presents to: my wife, my daughter, my son, my mother, my brother and his wife, my sister and her husband, my nephew (my sister's son), a few friends at work, to some soldiers I have never met (with the help of some of you), and to a bum sitting on the sidewalk and begging. (I guess some would call him an indigent or a homeless man, I still call a spade a spade and he was a bum for whatever reason foul or fair.) For my wife (and myself) I arranged a lovely afternoon out in Manhattan to see a Broadway show, and to have dinner together. Somehow my daughter Celina also weaseled her way into coming along (and we enjoyed her company). For my wife I also picked out a really nice, and an extremely soft cashmere scarf and a gift card from Lord & Taylor's (certainly not where I usually shop with their prices). She also got a nice musical Christmas card. My daughter got various gifts as did my son. Same for the rest of the family members mentioned. The folks at work got a bottle of one type or another of liquid libations with which to help bring in the warmth of the season. My family and my friends were all thankful indeed.

As most of my readers are probably aware, I spearheaded an effort to raise donations for a Soldiers' Christmas/Holiday Package. In all it wound up becoming four packages instead of just one, thanks in great part to all of you who were generous enough to donate. The soldiers wound up receiving a good number of things they could use, things they could enjoy, and things and wishes that would make their holiday season so much the nicer while on foreign soil in a hostile land. They sent heartfelt thanks to me and to those of you who helped out.

Finally, I guess it was yesterday, or maybe the day before, I walked passed a bum sitting on the sidewalk in midtown Manhattan. He was sitting begging for change. He did not look particularly filthy, was certainly not gaunt and probably had been eating pretty regularly, but was dressed like a vagabond who had traveled down a pretty difficult stretch of road. As I sometimes do, for no particular reason, and probably not even related to the season, I stopped after having passed him bye. I reached into my pocket, took out what cash I had, grabbed all of the singles. Then I turned around and walked back to him; and I put the bills into his hand instead of into his cup. His eyes open wide so much so that the crows feet around the corners of his middle aged eyes almost seemed as if they would burst asunder, and a smile beamed upon his face that lit up an otherwise overcast day and warmed my soul considerably on that chilly day. Then he said to me in one of the most heart wrenching, almost sobbing choked up voices I have ever heard: "Thank you, thank you very much sir, Merry Christmas". I told him he was welcome and turned to go on my way. After a few steps I glanced back and he was gone. Maybe he was off to grab a bite to eat, maybe to buy a bottle or a fix to help drive away the chills, or maybe - just maybe - to share his new found bit of good fortune with his family or friends. I had not asked, and I guess I will never know; but I do know I received one heck of a gift from him, I felt great after that thank you, and that look on his face.

Now don't get me wrong. I am no philanthropist when it comes to street bums. I loathe the fact that people get themselves into that predicament, and then choose to stay in it. I do not condone promoting such behavior, and think they need to be rounded up, cleaned up, and given jobs like street sweeping, painting bridges, filling potholes, and other manual labor suited for dunderheads (no I care not that one may be a goofball, one may be insane, and another a rocket scientist - they all should have to work instead of being allowed to piss, shit, sleep, beg, eat, and generally live on the streets). Still though, one can allow ones self to have compassion for his fellow man now and then, even one whom you think should be making better of his life, so once or three times a year I wind up giving something to a guy in similar conditions. This was just the best, heartfelt thank you I have ever received from any of them over the years.

So why am I telling you this, why am I telling you about what I gave rather than what I received. I guess because when it comes down to it, giving can be better than receiving. I did not give with the intention of receiving thanks. I gave to people because I loved them, or was a friend of theirs, or because I owed them a great debt of gratitude like the soldiers, or because of some momentary feeling of compassion I had for them at the moment - like the guy in the street. There is also another reason though that I am telling you about what I gave, and it is not based upon the old cliche I just gave about giving being better than receiving. That other thing is that when you give to another from your heart, even if only a little, you also receive something from, or give something to yourself. That thing is a feeling of goodness, of having been nice, of some sort of satisfaction that you have done right, of knowing that you have made someones day a bit nicer. When they don't recognize it, it may sting a bit, but deep down inside you still know you did well. When they recognize it as all the others above did this year, well all I can say is 'wow, is it ever a nice feeling'. It sort of makes me want to do something similar again. Wouldn't it be divine if we were all a little nicer one another without fussing as much over ourselves - the world would be a better place. The only way to get that done is to start it yourself, even if only a little bit at a time, and that is something that really hit home when that guy on the street gave me that smile and thank you. Of course I would rather see that guy working than begging, but every now and then I guess it is just okay to fell for someone like him too. Who knows, maybe he used the money to find a job. (Don't laugh at that, while I know it is not probably it can happen. I once gave a guy I knew $5.00 or so when he asked me to help him with money to find a job. I wanted to kick his ass when he immediately bought a beer, and a pack of cigarettes, but that was over 30 years ago and he still had enough for a newspaper, and enough for carfare for the subway the next day. That next day he found a job and had it till the day he died several years later.)

I guess what I am getting at most of al is that you ought to try it sometime if you have not already, the random act of kindness thing. It really can work miracles.

Season's greetings to all.

All the best,
Glenn B

An Email From Bob S in Afghanistan

Here is the complete text of an email I received today from Bob S over in Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan about the three Soldiers' Christmas/Holiday Packages they have received so far (they should receive the last one in the near future):

We have received all 3 boxes. The flashlights were really appreciated. The mornings and nights now having been darker longer and getting darker sooner. We had some military issued ones but they are made by the lowest bidder and last about as long as that too. Some of the guys heard of the lights before and some have used them in there civilian job. They knew the quality and product you sent was definitely sent from the heart. We took some of the things out of the boxes and sent it to the smaller bases that dont have many soldiers or get much of a variety of food or stuff for the local kids.Everything you sent was much appreciated and given out to the guys on Xmas eve. In fact one guy from the admin "weenie" section took a knife when they first came in instead of waiting like I told him. Well about 3 days later at the Post Office he cut himself messing around/showing it off. Amazing how God gets people back for doing the wrong thing. Told him if he would have left the knife alone to begin with it would have never happen. He thought he needed stitches and we all told him to put 2 band aids on it and call a priest who cares. All the stuff you all sent was very much appreciated and brought along of smiles and happiness to all of us here.

We all want to thank you for the support and assistance.

So as you can see, from this email and the previous one from Bob, your donations and the gifts they purchased, were well appreciated by Bob S. and the troops. What was very nice to see is that, in the true spirit of Christmas, Bob and his unit shared some of the items with others units. You can all feel of yourselves that you have done one heck of a good thing.

As for the part about the soldier who got cut with the knife, I guess what goes around comes around, and sometimes it is pretty sharp when it does. Hopefully that guy learned a lesson and really only needed band aides.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fairly Cheap Ammo for Your Mosin Nagant

This ammunition is less expensive than any of it I have seen recently anyhow. It is Yellow Tipped, Bulgarian manufacture, surplus, 7.62x54R, Berdan Primed, Corrosive, Sealed in a Tin, Comes 300 rounds to the Tin, and cost $39.99. With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you may not see prices come down on current production 7.62x54R in quite some time.

If you decide to go for more quantity the cost will be: $73.63 for a 440 round tin (7.62x54R, corrosive, Bulgarian also, but not sure if the same type of bullets), or 800 rounds at $69.92 sealed in paper packets, also corrosive and also Bulgarian.

See J&G Sales for these prices.

All the best,
Glenn B

Working Out Again

Several months ago I stopped working out. Stopping and starting to workout is nothing new for me. I will often start a new workout program, go at it a few months, then stop for a month or two, then start again for awhile, then stop again. This last time though I stopped back in August; and considering the fact that I had just started back then after taking about 3 months off, I did not get much working out done, maybe a few sessions before I became ill and had to quite. I was sick on and off much of the summer (noting lasting), got better and never got back into working out. That is until today.

I hit the treadmill at work for 5.25 miles today of running and walking. I am sort of hopeful that I can repeat something I did about 7 or 8 years back, and that is lose a bunch of weight. I weighed in at 217 today (not bad considering all the junk I have eaten over the holidays), but I want to get back to a trimmer me and lose about 40 pounds. When I did this several years ago, I kept the weight off for about 1.5 years. This time I'd like to make it permanent, and I think I think I have ore incentive to make it stick than I did last time around. No it is not a New Year's resolution thing, despite the proximity to new Year's Day, but rather it is the fact that in just over one year I plan to retire. When I retire I would like to be around to collect my pension for at least 40 years, which would mean up until I am 93 years old. Yikes the thought of hitting that age ever so scary for me; but not as scary if I think I might be in fairly good shape, and still collecting my pension. I am pretty sure that once I retire I will not have the incentive to trim down if I have not started well on the way toward that goal prior to retirement, therefore I am starting now - more or less one year ahead of time. I hope to burn off about 40 pounds in the next year.

I am one who has a lot of good intentions but little or no staying power when it comes to plans like this, but I am kind of betting I can do it. I will be asking some friends and coworkers to harass my behind into gear to make sure I am hitting the gym on a regular basis, and am pretty sure that will be a big help. Most of all though, I have to get my mind into the right state to keep it going. That will be, after all, up to me. Wish me luck - please.

All the best,
Glenn B

Off To Work...

...after a ice 4 day weekend - and all I can imagine is that work will suck. Someone has to work though, and my guess is a lot of you will be working today too. Think of it this way, New Year's Eve is just around the corner. As for me, starting on New year's day my retirement countdown of 1 year, 1 day and a wake up begins. I plan to go out on January 2, 2009.

Have fun at work today. I know I'll be doing my best to do likewise.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Merry Christmas Indeed...

...was had by my family. Linda, Brendan, Julia (Brenda's girlfriend), out three dogs Sprocket, Hexi and Pepe all went to my sisters house to visits her, my brother-in-law, their son and my mom. We had a swell Christmas day together, a great meal, some tasty deserts, and some good laughs, and a nice birthday party for my mom (a Christmas baby).

My daughter Celina, and her beau Kevin, spent the day in CT at the house of Kevin's parents. They all had a great time too.

I hope all of you had a truly Merry Christmas, and that you enjoyed your day as we did ours.

No posting yesterday since there was no time, and I figured why bother anyone on Christmas day. Regular posting will probably continues this evening.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!

In 1818, on Christmas Eve, the words to Silent Night, Holy Night were put to music for guitar. The words had been written in 1816 by Josef Mohr. Then in 1818 Mohr, who was then an assistant pastor at St. Nicholas Church, asked fellow church member, and organist and choirmaster, Franz Xaver Gruber to put it to music for guitar. The next day, Christmas 1818, the song was sung in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria for the very first time. It was sung by Mohr and Gruber to the music of a guitar, and they were accompanied by the church choir. Can you imagine that, a Christmas Song sung to the music of guitar back in 1818! All this supposedly because the two men had been struggling with a broken church organ on Christmas Eve in preparation for Christmas Mass; or so the story goes - and I like the story. Actually, the fact of its authorship, and of its musical score have been fairly well documented, and so have the date(s) of its creation (words/music thus dates), and so to was the date it was first sung in church. The part about the broken organ is possibly a stretch, but I guess we can make allowances for it being the Christmas season.

See:

http://www.visit-salzburg.net/surroundings/silentnightchapel.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_Gruber

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night_%28song%29

Enjoy the song when you hear it or sing it; and Merry Christmas to all.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wow, that was really very quick...

...almost as quick as old Saint Nick.

My shopping is over at long last

I cannot believe it went so fast

Especially being it's Christmas Eve

I thought the stores I'd never leave.

Yet in and out I went like a flash

and I bought my wife two gifts with cash,

And I found the perfect gift for my dear

Something soft, and warm to hold near.

Now don't get me wrong I don't mean me,

But then again I could be present three.

All the best,
Glenn B

Shopping, Flooring, More Shopping...

...those are the plans for my day, and I woke up late this morning. I am just getting into the swing of things right now so this will need be brief. I am off to Home Depot to pick up a nail gun (has to go faster than drilling pilot holes in oak floorboards then hammering in each nail one at a time with multiple hammer blows, then setting each nail with a nail set.

Then off to buy my wife a nice Christmas present.Yes as usual, I have again waited until the last minute, well at least the last day to get my Christmas shopping finished. No panic though, I know where to go, and what to buy, to make her smile. No it will not be diamonds, nor a cute muscular male slave (both on her wish list - really that is what she wrote down).

Oh well - no more time to write until maybe tonight. Have a joyous Christmas Eve.

All the best,
Glenn B

Belated Wishes Are In Order To You All...

...for a Happy Festivus, or at least to you of the rest of us! Had I the time I thought I would have had, I would have wished you this whilst still the 23rd of December. Alas events took a turn or three in a different direction than that for which I had planned, and I am arrived here - already on the eve of Christmas - and only at this moment have I found the opportunity to wish you Happy Festivus. I can only wish that it had been otherwise, but as fate would have its often found joy in rambunctious dishevelment of ones plans, my plans for a wonderful Festivus were tossed aside as if a leaf in a tempest.

My day had been planned so that I would finish laying the new oak floor in my son's room, but unexpectedly, as oft will be the case, my attentions were diverted. My daughter, who recently bought her first car, a brand new one at that, called to say the car had broken down. My wife and I helped her survive the panic stricken moments of her first breakdown (not her first nervous breakdown mind you, but her car's first mechanical breakdown) and we successfully got triple A to give her a tow. Then we picked her up and tried to cheer her up, which was especially difficult once she had realized that the car had broken down because of a rather silly mistake on her part, which I will not explain further here as she has been embarrassed enough by it for one day. After that it was back to work for me on the flooring job, but I soon broke all of my properly sized drill bits and had to quit for the day.

Once having finished with that task for the day, I decided it would be the nice thing to do to drive my daughter to the home of her beau's parents in CT where she had planned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Well it may have been the nice thing to do, but it took up almost all of the remaining time within the day. We left home at about 1900 hours (7PM), and I drove through a terrible windy rain storm. All in all, 193 miles and about 4 hours later, I was back in the neighborhood. By then I was much in need of a libation, so I stopped at a local establishment to imbibe just two. My arrival there was at about 2310 (11:10 PM), and I arrived home at about 0005 (1205 AM) of the 24th. Yes I was too late, by just minutes, to wish you all a Happy Festivus in a timely manner; for that I offer my apologies. Of course, not all of you will be offended, nor will many of you even know of what I write when I refer to Festivus; but for those of you who are offended or are at east aware, you know it is for the rest of us. HAPPY BELATED FESTIVUS!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Arguments Against The 2nd Amendment...

...have in recent decades have quite often, among other things, pointed out the so called fact that the people no longer have anything to fear from their government, therefore the idea of a well regulated militia, made up of armed citizens, to combat a tyrannical government is preposterous. Charles Schumer is one of the big proponents of this type of thinking, or should I call it anti-gun propaganda. There are many other examples of gun-control advocates who have used the same type of reasoning to try to take away the guns of the American citizen. The truth of the matter is though that their reasoning is quite faulty. Time and time again, the left, yes I mean the liberals (even those who wear Republican garb, such as GWB, and have no doubt he is mostly quite liberal in his policies) want to take away the rights of the American people, or shave them down to make it less prickly for themselves to remain in power while bamboozling the rest of us. The right to celebrate your religious beliefs is one right they have whittled away, the right to freedom of speech is another they are attempting to cut back as witnessed by them trying to limit conservative radio talk shows, the right to be protected from searches without probable cause is another (Patriot Act), and the list goes on. Most importantly though they have tried to destroy our Right To Keep And bear Arms, and as I said they use, among others, the reasoning that we need not fear our government.

Well, case in point, let me point you to this: FBI planned mass arrests in 1950, and to this: Report: Former FBI Director Hoover Planned to Arrest 12,000 Americans Suspected of Disloyalty. Yes that threat may seem old to some of the youngsters out there, but it is not that long ago, nor was it all that long ago that Ruby Ridge took place, nor that the Branch Dividian compound was stormed by federal agencies and troops. Now I do not agree with Communism, I find it an abhorrent form of government. I do not believe that cultism such as the Branch Davidian wackos are a good thing, I think they were nuts and criminals. I do not believe that Randy Weaver was innocent of all crimes of which he was suspected. However, I do believe in rule of law (good, moral laws); and I do believe that in essence our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights, are good and moral laws. I believe that the rights expressed within those documents are in effect sacred. I believe they are worth fighting for and dying for. I also vehemently do not agree with anyone who would violently attempt to overthrow the government of the USA as it now stands (a republic practicing democratic principals), and I believe in upholding the constitution and protecting our nation. Therefore I think that guys like Schumer have it all wrong regarding the 2nd Amendment.

We still need, and always will need, to have the right to keep and bear arms whether for hunting, self defense, or to overthrow tyrants. No, those tyrants, or they who would choose to be tyrants, have not gone away. They are forever lurking just under the radar behind the smiles of of the phony politicians, behind the badges of the corrupt lawmen, in the guise of your next door neighbor (no I am not calling every politician, every lawman or every neighbor a tyrant, I am saying this is how tyrants disguise themselves before trying to overcome us). Tyrants or they who would be tyrants are just waiting to put the knife between our shoulder blades should the opportunity arise. We need to be forever vigilant, but not just that. We also need to be forever ready to fight back against tyranny, and the best way (in my opinion) to be ready is to remain forever armed.

All the best,
Glenn B