I have Been Nuvi-ized...

Yep they got me at work today and they handed me a Garmin Nuvi 260, that is after I signed my life away for it on some government paperwork.

Right after I got it, I scanned the brief instruction manual (15 pages and a relief compared to the one for my government Nextel which loo like a novella), and I turned it on, went outside, walked over to a pier on the Hudson River, and there it was, that is my location, shown on the screen. It actually showed me out on the pier. I was pretty amazed at how accurate this thingamabob was at giving my location if only because that pier is very new. After my brief walk with it, I also used it to find my way home from the office. It did not go exactly the same way I would have gone, had me turning on different city streets, but had me going to the Midtown Tunnel, onto the Long Island Expressway, and off at the exit I probably would have chosen had I not usually taken another exit about midway home that put me on a road that parallels the LIE. The exit it did have me turn off on is the same one I would have exited on the parallel road to the LIE.

Simply an amazing little device, it not only shows a running map as you drive along, it gives written and verbal instructions. If you set the language to a specific type of American (sort of a computerized voice) it not only tells you something to the effect of: turn left in 1/4 mile, then repeats it in increments as you get closer to the turn, but also tells you turn left in 1/4 mile onto 3rd Avenue (thus actually mentioning the name of the street or road onto which you must turn). If you miss a turn it either tells you it is recalculating your route, or it tells you to turn around to get back to the route it first gave to you. It can be used in automobile, bicycle, and walking modes. It shows things like average speed, time moving, time stopped, mph, distance traveled and so on. You can save favorite places. You can locate points of interest, restaurants, and other such places. I think you can even use it as a GPS using longitude and latitude coordinates, but I'll have to do some checking on that one.

While I am impressed, I can say without a doubt, if I have a preplanned trip, I will look at a map first. This will be especially true when going out on an assignment from work, more so if a potentially dangerous assignment. I sort of like to know the lay of the land. I think this device can give that too, it had a 3-D, and 2-D map view mode, and you can zoom in and out on the maps, but it is so small a screen, that to view a good sized area it would be hard on the eyes. So I will not be discarding my maps any time soon; but I will admit I will readily use this thing.

Now that I have gotten my report on it, and my like for it, out of the way, let me address a concern some of you may have thought about while reading the above. As a tax paying citizen you maybe wondering if you should be concerned that an expenditure of money like this by the federal government is money well spent. A good road atlas of the entire USA costs about $6.00 at Walmart, and probably could be had less expensively in bulk direct from the publisher. A few local maps of the areas covered by my office most frequently cost about $15 apiece. That is 3 road atlases, one for New York City, one for Nassau County, NY, and one for Suffolk County, NY at a total cost of $45. Add $45 to $6 for a grand total of $51.00. You can use MapQuest, or a similar program, for the rest, and that comes bundled with the office computers. The Garmin Nuvi 260's cost my office a considerable sum above $51 apiece, and I think they bought one for most agents in the office if not for all agents in our office. I know the figures, but I will not mention them here as I do not want to unwittingly break any government regulation about ging up super seKrits.

You may also wonder if these GPS devices will or will not wind up costing more than their sale price. You may be wondering will the accident rate for our fleet rise due to agents looking at these things, or trying to recalibrate them, while they are driving. I can tell you the temptation is there, that is for a guy like me who has never before used one, although I am sure I have gotten it out of me using it on just one ride from my office to home. I plan to only punch in locations when I, and my vehicle, are stopped safely (unless of course I have a passenger who can do it for me). I am sure other agents will think likewise. You may also wonder if break-ins to our government vehicles will increase when thieves see one of these left in the car or when a crook sees the base of the GPS left inside the car (a sign that the car may have a GPS hidden in the console or glove compartment). I can tell you we have been forewarned; and I think an agent losing one like that will get hell for it. As for mine, I think I'll make a great effort to keep mine in a pocket when I leave the vehicle, and if I can find a pouch for it all the better as I do not want the screen getting all scratched up. When I use it in my car I'll find a place for it where it will be safe to use, and from where it will be easy to remove any trace of it when I leave my vehicle and take it with me. I think other agents will make similar efforts to use them safely and to safeguard the devices.

I also will make the best use of it that I can as a tool to help make my job easier; and I suppose it will be just that - a tool that will make my job, and the job of other agents assigned to my office, much easier. In that light they will help us save time in finding places. That will cut down on drive time. Since they give the most direct routes, they can help us save gas too - that has to be a good thing - right! In essence these GPSs will help make us more efficient in carrying out our duties that involve driving. I also suppose there is a chance that these could be a lifesaver. If use of one of these GPSs ever saves a single life by helping an agent find a hospital faster if they need one, or if it more quickly gets an agent on the scene to help out another agent in a tight spot, or if it helps an agent more quickly apprehend someone who is an imminent threat to the public and to Homeland Security, then the price of all of them combined will have been but a small one to pay. Of course, I beleive in smaller government; but yep when it comes right down to it under current circumstances, I suppose the expenditure on these was a good thing indeed. Sometimes you just have to look at government spending from all angles, and when you look at these GPS devices that way, and if you drink the Kool-Aid first really give it some intelligent thought, you come to the conclusion 'it was money well spent indeed'.

All the best,
Glenn B

What a Shame, Not Even a Word Mentioned...

... here about the possibility of Senator McCain choosing Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as his running mate. It is his loss if he could not get her to agree to run, or if he did not consider her as his running mate.

I keep hearing about Lieberman, Ridge, and those choices scare me. Then I hear about Pawlenty and Romney and I am a little more at ease. Tomorrow if I hear Rice, I will jump for joy.

Who knows his choice, surely not me, but he reportedly has made it, and if so then he most certainly knows. I wonder how many others know, they are keeping pretty mum about it. (That by the way is a good thing, a staff that knows how to keep their mouths shut!) Time and the media will tell whom he has chosen. I guess we will know sometime tomorrow on Senator McCain's birthday. I am hoping almost against hope for the best running mate he could have, and I figure it is only one of the above by a long shot.

All the best,
Glenn B

Quarterly Qualifications...

...went well for me today, and this old man is proud of himself. I shot a 244/250 on the first qualification round with the Glock 19. On the second round I shot 250/250 with the same pistol. I then shot a perfect score on the shotgun qualification 5/5 of 12 gauge slug. I also shot a perfect score 250/250 with the HK MP-5. Since this may have been my last chance to shoot the MP-5 in qualifications I am pretty happy with that score. I am also quite happy that m scores improved back to normal, up from what I have scored the last 2 or 3 qualifications at the range. Those scores were not terrible, just not up to my regular ability, and I thought my last couple or few qualification scores had been effected by my no longer so great eyesight. My vision seems to come and go from better to worse back to better, to worse. Today I was seeing things a little clearer than I have been lately, but I was also concentrating hard on doing things right as I shot, taking my own advice and mentally talking myself through each shot, even on rapid fire. Funny that I also started an exercise program lately and my vision seemed to improve right after that. Of course, I do not think exercise has anything to do with improving vision, so maybe it was just coincidence, but I do need to ask my doc about that. Whatever the reason, I shot better today than at least my last 2 qualifications and that was a good thing.

As usual we also shot a good number of rounds in tactical shooting exercises. We did man down, seated shooting (simulating shooting from a car), malfunction drills, and one handed loading of the semi-auto pistol. It was one heck of a nice day, the weather was great, blue skies, a light breeze, and great temps. Only 5 shooters showed up, I think about that many cancelled for one reason or another. Well actually we had 6, but one agent had to leave being called away on something for one of his cases.

One of the best things about the day was I got a good amount of practice ammo to use at my local range or at the range I belong to in NYC. The government is full of bureaucracy, but I can say without a doubt, time qualifying at the range is something I will truly miss once I retire.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Garden's Goodness

We only have a small lot on which our house sits, and we have what is just a tiny garden along the side that gets about the least sun during the day, but that is where our garden sits. In it we have planted tomatoes, butternut squash, peppers of a couple of varieties, cabbage, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, radishes, eggplant, broccoli, green beans and yellow wax beans. We also have some of the same in a few pots scattered around the rest of our backyard, and we have a potted strawberry bush/vine). This year has not been the best for our small crop, but it still has been fairly good in production. We treated the earth well, using lots of compost from our small compost pile, and the earth has rewarded us with a small bounty of delicious fruit and vegetables, and a good amount of earthworms for my Musk Turtle. Of course Linda also has a lot of nice potted flowers and a small flower garden too.

I think my favorite produce from the yard this year has been our yellow tomatoes. We have 2 varieties, a yellow plum tomato (not doing all that well, producing but the tomatoes do not ripen on the vine, so I ripen them inside a brown paper bag), and a Better-Boy yellow tomato that has produced medium to fairly large fruits for us. Those larger yellow tomatoes are just scrumptious as far as I am concerned, though they are not Linda's favorites. They are less acidic, an milder in taste than red tomatoes, but they have a fine flavor that is great straight, put on a sandwich mixed into a nice garden salad, or in a homemade salsa.

The butternut squash is just about ready for the harvest; and I almost cannot wait for it. Linda has a great recipe for baking this mashed and covered with butter and garlic. It is absolutely wonderful on the taste buds.

As for the flowers, I suppose some of my favorites are the Black Eyed Susan's (a variety of daisy). I think that is what they are called anyhow. Another favorite or I should say a favorite area is around the small patio out front where Linda has a nice variety of potted flowers. While the flowers still look great, it is getting obvious, by looking at the state of the plants in our vegetable garden that summer is winding down, and that autumn cannot be far behind. If only we had an apple tree, we'd be picking them soon too.

All the best,

Glenn B

Losing An Old Friend...

...can come in many forms. Today is my assigned range day for quarterly qualifications, and as usual I'll shoot the Glock 19, the HK MP-5, and the Remington 870. I like them all, but for sheer fun, and as my weapon of choice for my type of work out of the 3, I have to go with the MP-5. So it is with some sadness that I look forward to this day because it may well be the last day that I qualify with the MP-5. I was recently told that my employer plans on doing away with them in the near future. That is a true shame since the MP-5 is a versatile weapon. It is well suited for urban, suburban and rural environments. It is capable of firing semi-automatic, or in three round bursts (others can fire fully automatic too). It chambers the 9mm, but other models in other calibers are available. It can be used well close in, but can be shot out to some distance with accuracy and reliability, at least to 125 yards and probably out to 150. It also is an excellent weapon of choice for many of the types of operation which my agency conducts. It has sufficient firepower if ever called upon in a defensive situation. It is a well made and reliable firearm that is user friendly in its operation. It is also one of my favorite weapons, and when I have gone out on potentially dangerous operations it often has been my long arm of choice, even over my much touted (by me) Remington 870. I have to admit, while it has given me some comfort to have carried it on numerous operations, I am quite satisfied that I never had to shoot anyone with it. While I am prepared to do so if need be, I can tell you without a doubt, if you are a moral person to any degree, if you have respect for other people and respect for life to a good degree, you will suffer in conscious after shooting someone, even if to save another life. But I digress, so back to the MP-5.

If they do take them out of service, I will surely miss mine. So today, when I am at the range, I will try my best to shoot my best with it. If I have to give it up in the near future, I'd at least like to be able to remember that the last time I shot it, I was right on target with it. As usual, after shooting it, I'll give it a good cleaning, or two. I usually clean it once, wait a few days to a week, then clean it again. Even when you think you have cleaned one of these well the first time around, the second time around proves you wrong. Despite the pain in the neck cleaning them, and yes it is a chore, I will miss this one if they take them out of service.

All the best,
Glenn B

On Not Wanting To Lose The Pen of Jen and Double Nickel Farm

For those of you who do not know it, two of my favorite blogs, Pen of Jen and Double Nickel Farm are about to go down, as explained here, if they have not already. No it is not that they have violated any Internet code, but rather that the wonderful lady who writes them has suddenly and without explanation decided to give up blogging. She does not owe us an explanation as to why she has chosen to do so; but those of us who read her stuff with a passion are concerned for her since it seems an abrupt, if not out of character, decision for her to have made. If her final decision is to discontinue blogging, so be it, and we will miss her; it is Jen's choice. Yet, I am not about to let her leave the Blogosphere all that easily, at least not without making a try at keeping her blogging, and at hopefully getting you to her site to leave similar comments in that you think she should stay with us. She has told me in the past that my replies to her blogs have made her think, so here is something else for Jen to think about:


Dear Jen,

Recently, in your blogs, The Pen of Jen and Double Nickel Farm, you asked us why we blogged. I gave a short, funny, but somewhat telling answer. I said it was because I am a blabber mouth and because I guess that means I am also a 'blabber keyboard'.

While that was my short answer, here is another more well thought out answer:

Besides being a ‘blabber keyboard’ I blog because doing so helps me accomplish many things. First of all I am able to share my knowledge about certain of my interests with others who have like interests. In addition I can often bring newcomers into those fields of interest; for example: new shooters, new hunters, new herp keepers, new voters.

I am also able to learn by way of my blog because sometimes I get very interesting and informative replies to what I have written, or I discover links to new and interesting blogs. Not only do I expand my own horizons by this learning experience, but I have also made many acquaintances because of my blogging, and because of my finding then linking to other blogs. I came across some of the folks, fellow bloggers, quite by happenstance as their interests would normally not have been sought out by me; yet somehow we were drawn together through our blogs when they stumbled across mine and left a comment, or I across theirs and I left a comment. With some of these folks, I believe I have made a bond of friendship even though I have, and likely, will never meet them in the flesh.

I blog too because it is a link to the world and to anyone who has access to a computer and the Internet. This is not so much to showboat myself, though it is partly that I suppose, but sort of to explore places that I will never visit, never get a chance to see. You see I can communicate with the people of the world through my blog. I am often amazed at some of the locations where I have regular readers. It makes me feel good to realize that folks around the world read my stuff, but it also humbles me to think there are so many bloggers out there of which I amount to a mere pixel floating in a huge computer screen.

I also blog because it is a fun hobby, a decent way to pass some time when I am not working, when I am not mending around the house, when I am not out with family. It is some down time by myself during which I am able to express myself as I have never been able before, in front of an audience of like minded individuals, or people who could not disagree with me more, or critics, curiosity seekers and other people who become friends. Surprisingly enough about that last batch, we certainly agree on many things; yet, it is strange how often we find ourselves in almost total disagreement, but we disagree knowing it will not force a wedge between us but only make our bond stronger as we discuss the issues.

So when a blogger friend of mine tells me, and the rest of the world, that she will no longer be blogging; and when she tells us that in a two sentence entry to her blog, almost completely out of the blue, it comes as a shock. It makes me, and all of your other readers, sad to hear you will no longer be keeping in touch with us on the issues as you have been doing. It is with a dismal portending sense of fatalistic realization that we conclude that you have taken, or are about to take, a turn down a road better left un-traveled. We fear that something bad in your life has taken place or is about to happen, no not just something bad, but something drastically so. If not, then why on earth under the heavens would you be giving up something through which you do so much good as your blogs.

Perhaps you have never realized how wonderful are your blogs and the good they do for the rest of us (and probably for you too). Through your words you have spread hope, joy, love of family and friends, spirituality, the word of God for those who choose to believe. You have also given advice, told us recipes, showed us the advantage of a good hard days labor, explained in detail beyond compare the value of love and all it can accomplish despite hardships (you, your husband and family the prime examples).

Furthermore you made a lot of us smile and laugh. There is a witty side of you despite the hardships and toil to survive that you and yours have faced. Not only do we see a sense of humor in your weekly caption contest, but also in things you have written, and in pics of your children. It was nice of you share that with us.

You have made us think - heck you know at least that has been true with me. We have had some pretty intense discussion of issues. If you made us think, that means you made yourself think too. Thinking about oneself, and one’s interests and beliefs, often makes one question herself. You always came up with the same answer on core issues; they were: God, family, country, right over wrong, work hard and live well. You shared that with us.

Furthermore more, throughout it all you have given us something to which we can look forward just about each and every day of your blogging. You see we look forward to seeing the penned words of our friend Jen. We look forward to reading about life, love, family, spirituality, politics, God, hard work, friendship when written by the pen of Jen. We look forward to your wonderful blogs The Pen of Jen and Double Nickel Farm.

Yes as I said in above, I am shocked to learn of your decision to quit blogging. If it is what you choose to do, then so be it, it is your decision to make. Yet as usual I can disagree with you. No matter what your reason for wanting to cease blogging, I have mentioned above many why you should not. I can only hope that in some small way, I am making you think about your decision to leave blogging behind, to reconsider it, to change it because you see when you leave it behind, you leave all of us behind too. That will truly be a sad day for us all.

For some reason, and maybe it is just intuition, I get the feeling that you think blogging conflicts with something else in your life. I have to wonder if you think it makes you less of a mom, less of a wife, less of a good person to share your ups and downs, your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, your passion for life, your pondering the great questions of life, your questioning of the rest of us, your questioning of your own beliefs, your rock solid determination to be a good person, your rock solid faith in God and goodness with the rest of us. I think that you may believe that blogging in some way has been a detriment to your faith or to your family. I hope that is not what you think because while blogging may not be the answer to your prayers, and while it may not have accomplished whatever you thought you had set out to accomplish when you started, it has accomplished something greater than you probably ever expected. It has given the rest of us a view of the world, of life, of family, of toil, of wit, of charity, of goodness, of strength of character, of faith, of God through your eyes. For that we are grateful, and for that we beg more of you. Please don't leave us.

Your friend,
Glenn B

If any of my readers agree with the above, please go here, and ask her not to give up blogging.

All the best,
Glenn B

Not 5 Minutes Ago My Son Walked Out The Door...

...on his way to his first day of college. I gave him the speech, a short one at that, about paying attention in his studies, about asking the professors questions about what they expect and how they run their classes. I also asked him if he had paper and pens. Of course he did. I also shook his hand, and congratulated him on being a college man. Man I am getting old. Yet for Brendan, who is still young, the world awaits him. Now it is up to him what he will make of the world by way of what he makes of himself.

All the best,
Glenn B

Just Got Back Home...

...from a couple of days in the hills Catskill Mountains and thereabouts. I went on a deer scouting trip, did some hiking, did some fishing, took in the sights, and camped out under the stars. Oh, my aching back! More later...the car needs washing.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Firearms Training and Tactics - From Purdy Good Shootin To What The $?@& Happened?

Okay, you have mastered the basics of pistol shooting - and I do mean just the basics. You purchased a pistol, decided on one in .22 LR caliber, have become totally familiar with how it functions, have learned how to grip it properly, learned how to get the correct sight picture, and started to shoot doing fairly well at close ranges. After hitting the black on every shot, you decide to move your target out a bit further than the 7 yards (21 feet) at which you had been seeting the target. So you move it out to 15 yards (45 feet) feeling confident that you will be able to do well at the same range.


You load up your magazines with the various brands of 22 ammo you have been using. Why a few different brands, or types of .22LR ammo? Simply because you were told that 22s can be finicky feeders, and you needed to try various brands in order to assure the pistol will function at its best. So you load one brand into one magazine, one brand into another and so forth for as many mags as you need to top off. Then you start shooting, first always making sure it is safe to do so.


You fire away, blissfully at your target, or targets dependent upon your range set up. You are confident that you are shooting well,and at 45 feet those tiny 22 holes are way to small to see from where you are standing. Then, when safe, you go to check your targets. You are aghast to see that while some of your shots hit their mark, others seemed to have gone haywire and their are some targets with shots all over the palce, others with groups high to the left, others high to the right, and others just high of the bullseye. You are starting to notice a consistent factor - all of your shots seem high, and none of your targets have groupings as tight as were those at 7 yards. So what is the problem? Were you not sighting in properly, were you not gripping the pistol correctly, did you jerk the trigger, were you trying too hard, was the distance just too far, is the gun not accurate at that distance? All good questions, but maybe none of the them beg the actual answer as to why your shots seemed to have a mind of their own.


Yes it is a bit harder to sight in at further distances. Once you get out past 7-10 yards you should really start using your sights correctly. At 7 yards you can shoot the bullseye all day long with using them if you know how to point shoot. At 15 yards point shooting is possible if you are an experienced and gifted marksman, but most of us need to depend on the gun's sights. So asking yourself if you had sighted in correctly was a good question. Let's assume that for practical purposes you had the correct sight picture when you sighted in. So what else could have gone wrong?


You wonder, was I gripping the pistol properly. This is another good question to ask yourself if your shots are starting to go astray. Improper grip, depending on how you are improperly holding the handgun, can make your shots go high right, high left, low right, low left, left, right, low, high or all over the paper. For a right handed shooter: Gripping too tightly can cause your muscles to strain and along with that often comes uneccesary trembling. This can causes your shots to fly all over the paper. Heeleing of pushing out the bottom of the hand can causes shots to go high or high left. Anticipating recoil often causes you to push the hand down just before the shot causing low shots; but it can also cause shots high and to the left or right if you heel in anticipation of recoil. Jerking the trigger can make shoits go low left or all over the palce depending on how badly you do it). Here are a couple of links that explain it better: http://is-lan.com/challenge/images/Pistol-Correction.pdf, and: http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/grp-analysis.pdf. As far as you could tell your grip was fine, you even mentally went through each step of gripping, aiming, trigger control, and followup for each shot just as you did at the 7 yard line. Still your shots are spreading out somewhat to miserably, and none of your group seem all that consistent.


Let me say here - good work! Why do I say that when you are getting poorer groups? Because you deserve credit if only because you have looked to yourself for the problem before going elsewhere. So far you have done well in your analysis because you have wondered if it was something that you as the shooter have done wrong. The great majority of the time when something goes wrong with shooting, it is operator error. This time though, you have had an experienced shooter watching you shoot and he tells you the good news, you grip seemed excellent, and your trigger finger motion looked smooth and correct. Great news, but you are becoming more and more confused and perplexed. What is happening, why have your shots spread out so much?


Now you start to wonder about excuses that don't necessarily involve shooting technique because you just cannot figure it out and because you seemingly did things right. So you figure maybe the distance is just too far for the pistol you are shooting to hit the mark accurately, or maybe if outdoors you think it was the wind even though only the slightest breeze is blowing now and again, or maybe the gun is shooting poorly because something has broken or the sights have come loose, or maybe it is shooting poorly because the gun is dirty and needs cleaning. The truth be told, it culd be any of these factors or all of them that have effected your groups so your range coach checks them all. He checks the sights and finds them secure, he runs a function check and the gun operates properly, he checks for fouling in the barrel and there is only a normal amount if any. He fires the gun with a few rounds and hits the bullseye from 50 feet away. Now your are sure it is you who is to blame; but should you be sure? Of course, you know I am about to tell you otherwise, but first I'll give you a chance to think about it all again to try to figure out the cuplrit. Go ahead, stop reading and take a moment or two to go over all the things that could have gone wrong. Read the above again if need be. Is there something else that could have gone wrong, something I did not mention, something you have not thought about?


Sure there is and it is the ammunition. I used the example of firing .22 LR ammunition because 22 caliber rimfire ammunition is notorious for a few things. First of all, 22 caliber rimfire ammunition, whether it be .22 short, .22 long (tow somewhat obscure calibers nowadays), .22LR or .22WMR (.22 magnum) are all know for the arching trajectory of their bullets. When the bulet leaves the barrel of any gun it does not fly staright and level to the ground even if you were holding the barrel parallell to level ground. This is because physics dictates that the bullet's path will be an arch. Sure some calibers and bullet designs travel flatter than do others, but they all travel in an arch upon leaving the muzzle. The thing about 22 rimfire ammunition is that its bullet travel in a pronounced arch. The trajectory of the .22 LR has a 2.7 inch (69 mm) rise at 50 yards (50 m) and 10.8 inch (274 mm) drop at 150 yards (140 m) when zeroed at 100 yards (100 m). (Reference: http://www.chuckhawks.com/17_M2.htm.) What this means is that when the .22LR bullet leaves the muzzle it begins to travel up in an arching motion, then begins to arch toward the ground. Many things effect this trajectory such as powder charge, bullet weight, bullet type (shape, size and so forth), gravity, and probably even air pressure to some small degree. With a .22LR round, the bullet archs up gradually and then begins to fall of at a quicker rate. I don't need to go into the physics of it in any great detail other than to apply this to your shots at 21 feet and 50 feet, so I'll stick to a simple explanation of it.


What happens is that if you are zeroed (aimed in) at 7 yards (21 feet), the bullet leaves the barrel and begins an immedaite upward movement in an arch, once the bulltet passes though the bulseye dead center at 7 yards it continues upward movement in an arch so that when it reaches 15 yards the bullet is higher than it had been at 7 yards. This arch continues for some distance until the bullet loses energy so much so that it begins to drop in an arch, and it sooner or later would wind up below your point of aim. The arch is very apparent when shooting .22 rimfire ammunition, much more so than when shooting most centerfire ammunition some of which travels in a fairly flat trajectory for the first hundred to couple hundred yards. If you understood what I just wrote, then you understand the consistency of all of your shots at 15 yards having gone somewhat high even though you had been shooting dead center at 7 yards. It is physics not you that made the flight of the bullet rise.


I suppose the obvious way to correct for this would be to adjust your sights, but sometimes that is not necessary. At this distance to correct for this problem I would simply change my point of aim. Instead of holding ht etop of the front sight in perfect alignment with the bullseye at 15 yards as I had done at 7 yards, I would now make asight picture so that the bullseye appeared to float just at the top of the front sight. In other words, the very top of front sight post would appear to support the ball of the bullseyes looking sort of like a lolypop. What you would have done is to have moved your front sight down in order to shoot higher.. If on the other hand you had adjusted your sights (rear sight being the one usally adjustable) you wuld have raised the rear sight (having the same effect as lowering the front sight).


Still though, this does not answer all of your questions about what went wrong, it only tells you why virtually every shot at the further distance went high. What about all those shots that went left with some ammo, right with another brand, that simply were scattered all over the palce with yet another brand of ammo, or that were almost as well groupe das those at 7 yards? Herein - if not the fault of the shooter - lies the fault of the ammunition and the ammunition manufacturer. What I mean is quite basically that manufacturing quality effects accuracy of the round. This is especialy apparent when you are doing everything right as to technique and you shoot cheap plinking ammunition as compared to expensive high grade target quality ammunition. Often, the cheaper the ammo, the more the groups will open up at further distances. Why, well because of quality control for the most part. Bullets are manufactured to certain specifications, yet not all manufacturing processes hold as close to those specifications as do others. The more quality control, the better the accuracy - in general. The sae holds true for your gun, but here we will sume your pistol is inherently accurate and reliably so. In essence, with ammunition, as with most things, you get that for which you pay. Tha is most of the time. I say most of the time because I am sometimes surprised by the accuracy of various inexpensive .22LR ammuntion I have shot. Some 22 firearms just like cheaper brand best and shoot well with them. I find though this is often changeable with varoius lots of one kind or another of ammunition. So while today my Ruger MKII pistol may shoot brand x well in lot number 001, tomorrow when lot 002 comes out, it may shoot miserably with it. Why, because of lack of quality control from one batch tot he next.


This same factor can be an issue to some extent when you shoot any firearm in any caliber. Quality control of the ammunition manufacturing process can have a noticeable effect. A little more or less gunpowder, a tiny size difference in the diameter or length of the bullet, a slight difference in the weight of the buolet, and other things all will effect accuracy from bullet to bullet. So, waht I am trying to convey to the new shooters among you, especially those of you whoa re shooting a 22 rimfire, don't be too hard on yourself if you start to notice changes when shooting at further and further distances. Sure, look to yourself first, because as I said the great majority of reasons for not shooting as well are due to operator error; but if you are convinced doing it right, and if your coach r shooting buddy is convinced likewsie, then maybe you need to take a ook at the properties of your ammunition too see if the problems lies therein.


If you are shooting centerfire ammunition and are wondering about balistics of your ammunition, you can go to: http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/ and punch in up to three types of ammo to compare the ballistics including the trajectories of each over given distances. I see they also offer a new downloadable software (new since I last checked anyway). I have not tried it out yet but will have to in the near future.

All the best,

Glenn B

The Ammo Faerie Hast Commeth

...and hast leaveth me several boxes of ammunition in my desk drawer. What a good feeling it is to open up my desk drawer and find that someone has stashed goodies for me in there, especially when those goodies are in the form of pistol ammunition. I actually know who is this particular faerie nice guy, if only because the first time he left me ammo he asked me if I had seen it some hours after leaving it. Of course I had not, but the surprise was not ruined for me; I was just as surprised at hearing him tell me he left it as I would have been at finding it there. A very nice gesture indeed, and he did not want anything for it. He left me 2 boxes of .32 auto JHP, and a partial box of .32 S&W Long (never even heard of that one before). Then a day or so later I got a couple more boxes of .32 Auto JHPs from him (again left in my desk drawer). Then yesterday I open the drawer, again not expecting anything, and I found a box of .25 Auto, and a box of .45 ACP. Now out of all those calibers, I own a pistol for one of them, the .32 Auto. That is fine by me, I gladly accept free ammo for any caliber, I mean who knows what gun I may wind up owning tomorrow, or what poor ammo short person I may run across who can use it.

I thanked him for the ammo, except what I found most recently - whoops bad form on my part, thanks are in order today - maybe even buying him lunch. It is nice to have extra ammo, and nicer still to have friends who are so kind.

All the best,
Glenn B

85 Years Old, But Spunky Not Frail, And Armed Too

Maybe Barack Obama, and the rest of the anti-gun left, could learn a thing or two, from Leda Smith, about why people in the USA cling to keep guns. She reportedly is an 85 year old lady who lives in Springhill Township, PA. She is also a gun owner. Recently she started to keep a .22 Revolver into her nightstand. Why? Well probably because she was afraid. I suppose, that since the neighborhood had been recently subjected to a rash of burglaries, she was worried she might become the next victim of a burglary. Heck maybe she was worried about worse. Whatever the reason - she had a gun when she needed it, and she apparently was willing to use it when a 17 year old burglar broke into her place this past Sunday afternoon.

Upon realizing an apparent intruder was in her home, she sprang into action. She walked passed the burglar, into her bedroom, took out the revolver, and went back to him and asked:

"What are you doing in my house".

To this the dirtbag alleged young hoodlum who was in her house had only one rather weak reply:

"I didn't do it".

Caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, by a woman old enough to be his great-grandmother (indeed she eportedly is a great-grandmother), and all he could say was I didn't do it. Well, that was not quite all he could say. You see, good old Leda Smith is definitely not a dummy. She was not about to give a bad guy a chance to over power her by doing something silly like trying to hold him at bay while at the same time dialing 911 to call for help. So what did she do? She had the supposed inept burglar make the call while she held him at gun point. Folks, I can not even imagine the look of the 911 dispatcher's face when the realization of who was placing the call set in. I am guessing that there must have been a wide grin there. My bet is that the state police who responded to the call also had astonished grins on their faces. It is not every day that a potential victim makes their job all that much the easier. I also bet that the 17 year old intruder did not have a grin on his face as Leda Smith, gun in hand, ordered him onto the floor and to spread eagle. That is how the police found them when they arrived, she still gun in hand, he still on the floor eating carpet.

Would Miss Smith have shot the alleged young thug? Who can tell. My bet though is that yes she would have if it would have been necessary to protect herself. I mean just look at what else she said:

"Dial 911 and don't attempt to throw the phone at me, or do anything bad or I'll just shoot you,"

She sure seemed determined. She had another thing to say, apparently when it was all over:

"It was exciting," Smith said. "I just hope I broke up the (burglary) ring because they have been hitting a lot of places around here."

So do you think that Mr. Obama would be able to learn anything from this? Nah, I suppose not because he will just tow the leftist line on guns. Yet, that does not mater. What maters is if you learned anything from this. Me, I learned something. I am going to keep on clinging to my guns well into my eighties just like Leda Smith if I can, and if I am lucky enough to live that long. What a wonderfully inspirational woman she should be to us all. That my friends was one heck of a refreshing couple of stories to have read this morning, a great video to watch (see below for the links), and Leda Smith one heck of a hero who put a grin on my face.

All the best,
Glenn B

REFERENCES:

The Video:
http://mfile.akamai.com/12919/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2008/0818/17225193.200k.asx

and The Articles:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/17223812/detail.html

http://mfile.akamai.com/12919/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2008/0818/17225193.200k.asx

Busy Day...

...at work yesterday so I did not get the chance to post. Got home late, so am in kind of a hurry now. Posting later.

All the best,
GB

THE GUN COUNTER...

...is a brand new gun forum the home page of which can be found at this ink: http://www.theguncounter.com/.

I hope you visit it as often as I plan to do, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I expect I will enjoy it. The Gun Counter is run by some really nice and good folks, and I am pretty sure it will be a success. I wish them all the luck in the world with it.

All the best,
Glenn B

What A Meal - A Thousand Crickets

Well that is what I bought today for the baby Bearded Dragons; but for me and the family (at least for Brendan and I because we were the only ones who ate supper) it was grilled steak.


I sprinkled the steaks with a good dusting of garlic powder, and a dash or two of salt, then grilled them to just about perfection, then smothered them in Peter Lugar's special sauce and some BBQ sauce too, then grilled a few more minutes on each side until they were perfect. Before throwing them on the plates, I also took some Italian Bread, toasted on the grill. Once the steak was ready, I took the bread, threw it on the plate next to the steak, and smothered it with my own concoction of a couple of teaspoons of vinegar (both Cider and White), a tablespoon of olive oil, about 1/34 tsp of garlic powder, salt to taste, a few leave of fresh and finely minced basil, diced yellow, red plum, and cherry tomatoes, some onion flakes, a diced sweet banana pepper, along with half of a diced jalapeno pepper - and man was that delicious. The peppers, tomatoes and basil were all from our garden. Of course we also had sides of my wife's homemade macaroni, and three bean salads. Truly an enjoyable repast, maybe especially since I washed it all down with a lemonade spiked with a couple of ounces of vodka. Followed that all up with a few chunks of cantaloupe. Man it was ever so good; and I am truly satiated.


The meal was made even better because it was absolutely beautiful outside today; it was probably about 80 or so when we sat down to eat, and there was a slight breeze to keep it extra nice for us under our Dogwood and Mulberry trees, and under absolutely clear blue skies. While the ladies did not eat, they just got back from a shopping trip and had eaten out,Celina treated Linda; their company at the supper table was well appreciated. It was nice to have all four of us together for a meal for a change.


Now that I am well stuffed and happy, hopefully I will not fall asleep before I figure out something else to blog about for this evening. But if I do nod off, I promise to dream about something to blog about tomorrow.


All the best,
Glenn B

VP Running Mates For John McCain - Ballseye's Short List

Yeah I know, I have slammed McCain on his recent choices for consideration as his running mate for the November election while at the same time not offering up any name of potential running mates I think he should consider. Well there are quite a few I can think of, but only very few one whom I will suggest. Now because of my position as a federal agent, I am forbidden by law from campaigning for a candidate. Yet I can express my opinion of them, and therefore can express my opinion about whom I think should be in the running, so here goes:

Condoleeza Rice - For some reason she does not want to run, at least did not want to run for the presidency, but I for one only can hope (and write emails expressing my hope to John McCain and the Republican Party) she would run for the vice presidency by McCain's side.

What are the qualities that I believe make her a good potential candidate for the vice presidency? First of all, she is fairly conservative, this alone makes her a much better choice than some of the names the McCain campaign has dangled in front of our faces recently. In fact, she used to be a registered Democrat, then she changed her political affiliation to that of the Republican Party when she experienced the racism that is enmeshed in Democrat Party, and after she fell out with the politics of that party because of the actions of then President Jimmy Carter. In other words, she matured politically, she grew up and became a responsible adult as opposed to a whining leftist.

She is an intelligent and well educated woman, and her through her education she has geared herself toward a lifetime dedicated to politics and diplomacy. Her BA degree was in Political Science. Her Master's Degree likewise. Her PhD in the same major. Her dissertation was done on military policy and politics in then Czechoslovakia. Her career has included university teaching at Stanford, where she specialized in teaching about the Soviet Union.

During the Reagan presidency, Dr. Rice served as Special Assistant Director to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1989 when George H.W. Bush was elected to the presidency, Rice was asked by National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft to become his expert on the Soviet Union. Under George H.W. Bush, she served as Director of Soviet and Eastern European Affairs in the National Security Counsel. This was no small task as this was at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the early 1990s, Rice became an advisor to Chevron Oil at that time at the urging of George P. Schultz. She was so successful in help Chevron accomplish a huge deal in the Soviet Union that they later named a super tanker in her honor. At the same time, she went back to and continued working for Stanford University so as not to lose tenure. While at Stanford she was recommenced to replace the outgoing university president. While she was not selected for that position, the new president of Stanford picked her to become the Provost of Stanford - in other words to become it chief financial and business officer. So as she rolled along in her career she not only showed great promise in the political arena, but also gained experience in the business world. This was in about 1993. When she took the position of Provost, Stanford was running a $20 million budget deficit. She promised to balance the school's budget within 2 years - something that many believed was impossible to ever accomplish. Well she said she would do it, and that is what she did. The budget was not only balanced within 2 years, but the school had over a $14 million surplus for the firs time ever. While there at Stanford acting as provost she also broke from tradition and did not use affirmative action in tenure decisions.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s she continued to teach at Stanford, and also continued to work in the public sector as a national security advisor regarding mainly the former Soviet Bloc. In 2000, Dr. Rice became the foreign policy advisor of George W. Bush. Late in 2000, Dr. Rice was selected to become President Bush's National Security Advisor, she was the first woman to hold this post. She was dubbed Warrior Princess because of her ability to act demurely while at the same time remaining steadfastly resolute and having nerves of steel. Does 'Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick' have any similarity to this type of attitude. At this appointment, she departed from her position at Stanford, and she dedicated herself 100% to the United States of America.

Can you imagine that, a former democrat, a woman, an African American saying no to affirmative action! Are you beginning to see the picture. This person is a self made success story, one with the smarts, and the education, and so far some of the experience needed to become president, let alone vice president. Since being so appointed she has supported the war in Afghanistan, has supported the war in Iraq, has remained loyal to President Bush, and to America, has remained in office and has upheld her political and career convictions (as opposed to others like Colin Powell who turned tail and ran at the first sign of turbulence in the White House). She has not always made the right decisions, many have been faulted such as those about believing Iraq had WMD. Yet those decisions were based upon faulty intelligence and were believed by all involved across party lines at the time. The fact is that she recovered, and did not turn tail and cut herself away from the Bush administration, but instead remained there to make the best of what otherwise could have been a much worse situation.

In 2005, Dr. Rice became the first African American Woman, the second African American, and the second woman to hold that position. She believes in supporting basic human rights for all people, and in that regard she has been and remains a proponent of Democratic forms of government, and this is nowhere less obvious than in the Middle East. She is also a brave woman. She has repeatedly traveled to dangerous hot spots around spreading diplomacy as Secretary of State. It seems she is living up to the moniker of Warrior Princess. While in service of our nation she has visited over 70 countries. This includes repeated visits to Afghanistan and Iraq (where indeed she has visited the troops), and recently to war torn Georgia. She is also a strong supporter of the war on terrorism.

She is no stranger to domestic issues. She has a stance on abortion that would make some on the far right cringe, but my bet is that the middle of the road republican, even those middle of the road democrats, would find her stance reasonable. While she is opposed to late term and partial birth abortion, she does not believe government should play the role in the abortion issue that it has played. She is opposed to federal funding of abortion. She has called herself: "mildly pro-choice" but yet she has also said this in relation to abortion: "...we have to respect the culture of life and we have to try and bring people to have respect for it and make this as rare a circumstance as possible..."

Condoleeza Rice is no stranger to foreign policy. She is an accomplished executive officer with much experience as one. She geared her education toward politics not toward a law degree as do many politicians. She is and has been a member of the Republican and Democratic parties, and therefore has first hand experience with those from both sides of the aisle as she was at one time or another on each of those sides. She is tenacious at getting done what needs to be done. She is loyal. She is soft spoken, and tries the diplomatic approach; but she is ready to shut up and put up when need be, and if that means a fight to protect our interests, she is willing.

In 2004, Forbes magazine called her the most powerful woman in the world. In 2007, while speaking to a group of school children she was asked how it felt to be so powerful. She replied: "Sometimes you don't feel all that powerful."

Yes, she would be my number one suggestion to John McCain as to whom to consider for his running mate. She is number one on the Ballseye short list of ice presidential nominees for the Republican Party. As a matter of fact, the more I think of it, the sadder it is that she also told those same school children she would not run for the presidency. Too bad, she would have beaten all of the competition hands down from what I can tell. She is certainly the most qualified person to become a presidential or vice presidential candidate that I have seen in decades. If only the claim in this article was true. One can hope though, and I still hope that McCain comes to his senses and look to her.

There is a lot more to her than I have written abut above. Go to my sources, find your own sources, read up on her. I think you will agree she is vice presidential material at the very east; and if she serves as vice president my guess would be she would also serve as a future president of these United States.

I will put my money where my mouth is regarding the above. Should Senator McCain choose Secretary Rice as his running mate, I will make the largest political contribution I have ever made to his campaign, and it will be sizable for me as allowed by law. Not only do I envision McCain as a winner with Rice by his side, but I believe that with her as VP we as Americans would all be winners. I would vote for McCain if he chooses Rice. If he chooses Lieberman or Ridge, he can forget about my vote. As for you, make up your own mind, cast your ballot for whom you want, but please try to do so wisely after having given it some serious consideration.

All the best,
Glenn B

References:

http://www.state.gov/secretary/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/ricebio.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Condoleeza_Rice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice (much of the above info came from this article)

The Glock 26 Hole In My Pocket

Well all I can say is that somehow the almost $600 I needed to purchase the Glock 26 smoldered slowly enough inside my pocket to actually only burn a hole in it once the paperwork was signed by my supervisor. In other words, I made it to the post office, without spending a dime of that money elsewhere, and then bought the postal money order for $545.56. That price covers the purchase of a new Glock 26, one extra magazine, Tritium Night Sights,, shipping and sales tax. I mailed out the money order minutes after I purchased it. So the check, so to speak, is in the mail. Now I have to remember to contact Glock tell them my money order is on the way, and then tell them I forgot to mention in the order that I would like the 5 pound trigger pull, not the 8 pound.

All the best,
Glenn B

McCain Considering Tom Ridge For Running Mate

Here it is right off of the FoxNews.com home page:

"McCain floats the prospect of choosing a running mate who supports abortion rights, saying former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is someone worth considering."

Please tell me he is only kidding. Tom Ridge is, in my opinion, a less than desirable candidate. Tom Ridge was an early appointee to be Secretary for Homeland Security. He, in my opinion, totally destroyed what was one of the best long term anti-money laundering investigations in world history by taking away from U.S. Customs Agents, soon to become ICE agents, virtually all authority to investigate any money laundering offense related to terrorism. U.S. Customs Special Agents had seized tens of millions of dollars from suspected and known terrorists supporters, and from terrorists themselves. Ridge took that authority away from these agents, gave it to the FBI, and the FBI in essence dropped the ball and the investigation. After that, the Customs Agents who were then assimilated in Immigration and Customs Enforcement under DHS were not even allowed to ever again use the name of the operation that they had made such a success. Ridge reportedly gave it all away by agreeing to and signing a memorandum of understanding with the FBI, an agreement mind you that took away an awful lot of authority from the newly formed DHS, specifically from ICE and gave it to the FBI. Can you imagine the DHS not being allowed to investigate terrorism unless they first checked in with the FBI to see if the FBI wanted dibs on the case. Why have a Department of Homeland Security in the first palce? As far as I could see from where I sat, the rest of his time in command of DHS wrought similar tragedies. This man did not even know how to run a department like DHS in a well oiled manner, now McCain is considering him for his VP running mate!

If it were not so sad when it comes to the possible running mates whom McCain is considering it would be laughable. Still though, I imagine this man would be a better choice than would be Lieberman, Then again but let's get serious, and hope that so too does McCain. If you don't start writing to the McCain campaign telling him to choose a better running mate than those he has been considering then we will get a much less than desirable man as VP if they win - and it will be your fault as much as McCain's. You can shape whom he picks, write to him, tell him to consider someone with a sterling reputation, and someone who knows how to get the job done the right way, someone who stands for Republican ethics and ideals. Don't you get it - you are the voters. You should be telling him what type of running mate to select, not him telling us. Let's hope McCain gets it before it is too late; and the only way he will get it is if you start hammering away at the keyboard and sending him emails and letters telling him to look 'right' for his running mate. Well that's my opinion anyhow. It is up to you as the voters to act.

All the best,
GB

Hi Rita!

If you all don't know, Rita from The Jungle Hut has just moved down to Paraguay. I am pretty sure that this hit on my site was her checking on my blog. I mean, it's not like I know anyne else down at that end of the world who suddenly decided to check out my rants!

So, I just wanted to take a moment here on my blog to wish Rita and her family a safe, happy and rewarding time in their new home and with their new ministry in Paraguay.

All the best,

Glenn B

I Will Write To McCain - I Hope To Help Put An End To This Now

McCain is, in my opinion, considering ruining the Republican Party and all for which it has stood and for which it stands with his consideration of Lieberman for a running mate. I hit on this days ago here, and I will pull my support for McCain and for all other Republicans this election day if he chooses an ultra liberal Democrat like Lieberman as his running mate. I do not care if that means Obama wins. You see even if McCain wins with Lieberman, the Republican Party will have been devastated and so will the United States of America just as soundly as if Obama wins. The Republican Party had best wake up to the fact that it has a base of voters who will not stand for mavericks who go completely over to the dark side. If that means letting Obama win, so be it.

I had thought McCain had backbone, and respect for many of the more conservative issues, but if he picks Lieberman he will have shown us otherwise. It will have show us a truly bizarre side to him - his liberal Democrat side. I am going to write to his campaign now, and write to the GOP now. I am going to protest the fact that he has even gone as far as to simply consider Lieberman. I will tell them my money stops coming in if he chooses Lieberman. If many people do just that, well I imagine then you could just watch how fast he deselects him from consideration.

If you are not convinced that you may need to do something about this, look at this quote from the above linked article:

""Conservatives would be p---ed as hell - I think you would have a revolt, but sometimes John does what John wants to do," the adviser said."

Well how about Senator McCain doing what the Republican voters want him to do? Isn't it us whom he is supposed to represent! It is about time he started representing we Republicans, and not giving in to his tendency to have a fit and then placate himself in whatever manner he chooses to further spoil himself rotten all so he can be a maverick. He ran as a Republican, now let him start acting like one; and this is coming from me who is only a fairly moderate conservative at that. I think that if others do not wake up to see the devastation a vice president like Lieberman would bring to the Republican ticket and Republican Party, well then the Republican Party is lost as are many of the Republican Ideals upon which said party once stood. You see, it cannot be victory at any cost because once we win at any cost we give up our ideals. When we do that in an ideological contest, such as is a political election, we have defeated ourselves win, lose or draw. It is exactly what I believe McCain is now considering in order to come out on top in the election. Shame on him, he will not be worthy of at least my vote if he does so.

All the best,
Glenn B

Mossberg M-44 U.S. - Why Did These Have To Go On Sale Now?

That is as in now when I have just put together the cash to buy a Glock 26 direct from Glock? The temptation is almost overwhelming to buy two of the Mossbergs instead of the Glock 26, and about the only factor that keeps me from doing so is the fact that when I retire next year (and it looks like the end of next year, or the first 2 days of January 2010, for sure) I will probably have a hard time again ever purchasing a pistol being that I live in the godforsaken, and Schumerite -Clintonite plagued state of NY. Yes the idea of buying two of these is still quite tempting even though, or maybe because, I already own one of them. The Mossberg M-44 U.S. is just one heck of a nice rifle. Gosh-darn the CMP's lousy timing on this one, and for getting me all worked up like this! (By the way if you just clicked on the CMP link, and have been to the CMP before, you will notice the new look of their website. Bookmark it, it is also a new web address.)







The M-44 I bought from the CMP (pictured) was my first purchase from them. Heck I think it may have been my only purchase from them so far. It was well worth whatever I paid for it, and I am pretty sure it was under the current selling price they have now of $175 plus shipping of $22.95. If you want one of these, and I highly recommend them, you need to follow the CMP rules for a purchase, and that means among other things that you must be a member of a CMP affiliated club (as in an affiliated rifle or pistol club). You also have to prove you are 18 or older, and that you are a United States Citizen (imagine that you actually need to be a citizen - I like it). You also need to prove that you have had marksmanship or other firearms experience.

The Mossberg M-44 U.S. is a bolt action rifle chambered for the .22 round. It will, if I remember right, accept .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle rounds. It is a hefty .22 rifle coming in at just over 8 pounds, and having a length of about 43 inches. They load from a 7 round box magazine; however, the magazines do not come with the rifle - though they are available for separate purchase. As with mine, the ones they now have for sale are pretty old. I think they were manufactured in the 1940s. They used a plastic trigger guard, and many of those have shrunken and cracked with age (replacements are available commercially). Otherwise they are supposed to be in pretty good shape. If mine, the one I bought a few years ago, is any indication, then I have to say the CMP assigned grade of NRA Very Good is an understatement. Mine was in Fine to Excellent condition with Parkerized finish on the metal and an oil stain on the wood. The rear sight currently coming with them is a Mossberg peep sight, and the front sight appears to be a post variety (as is on mine).

I have seen these same rifles sell at well over $400 apiece. Hmm, did I say I was considering buying 2 of them (darn that thing with the Glock 26, gosh darn the CMP's timing on this). I have to imagine that these will sell out with a few months at most, they are in limited supply. Oh well, now you know about them, and maybe you will be able to do something nice for yourself and pick one of these up. If you are willing to take a tip from a guy called Ballseye, then go ahead splurge on yourself, because in my estimation they are well worth every penny.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fate, Karma, Providence - call it what you will

There is an old saying that goes: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

Well yesterday I did what I thought was a good deed. Yesterday, I went out of my way to the old neighborhood, to a bakery to pick up a treat that my wife loves. I wanted to surprise her, and when she wakes up later this morning she will have a tasty treat waiting for her.

Before I headed home from the bakery, I figured I would stop to see a friend. As soon as we met, he told me that another dear friend’s father had passed, and the son of that same friend and his ex-wife, who is also a dear friend of mine, had also passed. Both departing this world within the last two weeks, about a week apart from one another.

So I went to see my other friend, his ex, and all the others who were gathered to grieve. And I grieved with his family and loved ones. As fate would have it I wound up there right after the funeral for the lost son.

Now you may look at this, and then may agree that indeed no good deed goes unpunished; and that my good deed was outweighed by bad fortune. Yet, I have to tell you without a shadow of a doubt, I was not punished but was a lucky man. By chance of something I tried to do for another, I was there where I could help when dear friends needed comfort, and when the comfort of my presence was all I could offer. Call it fate, karma, luck, providence. Call it what you will; but my doing a nice thing put me in the right place, at the right time, to do what little I could to comfort some friends.

I am one heck of a lucky man, and I guess I’ll have to admit, at least in this case, my good deed did not go unrewarded. My reward was being there, and comforting my friends, doing what little I could do for them at this sad time, that was more than I deserved, and it meant more to me than you could imagine. You see they had lost my phone number, and no one had called me to let me know what had happened. It is funny how things sometimes play out, how you are sometimes faced with totally unexpected consequences of your actions, and how sometimes things just turn out for the best, even when you are suddenly faced with worst, all because of something seemingly unrelated that you did. It s exactly how my day went, and it was about as far from what I had planned as I could have imagined; but I have to admit, it was good to be there for my friends in their time of need, certainly more than I expected and more than I deserved.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Am A Blooming Idiot...

...and now I am going to keep you all in suspense until at least Tuesday or Wednesday to tell you why I just wrote that. I can say, that within the past two or three days, I have quite possibly screwed myself royally because of a momentary lapse of paying attention to details - or in other words because of my having been an idiot. More info later, because whether or not I really screwed myself, or just pulled a boner, will now depend upon whether or not someone else is honest and does the ethical thing when that person realizes my foul up. It should be quite obvious to the other party involved that I messed up. Of course had I been paying attention it would have been obvious to me before it was too late so to speak. Hopefully someone else will be more attentive to detail than was I, and then will be honest and ethical about it. Time will tell.

All the best,
Glenn B

For The First Time In Decades - I Will Refuse To Vote...

...well at least if McCain chooses Joseph Lieberman as his running mate; and that is the 'rumor' I heard on a radio talk show yesterday or the day before. I know, I have said all along that while I do not think him my candidate of choice, a vote for McCain is a vote that will defeat Obama, and that is a good vote. I dread the idea of Barack Hussein Obama becoming our president. He is flippant, obnoxious, arrogant, and extremely inexperienced when it comes to being an executive of anything. Besides that he is, as far as I can tell, I blatant liar who changes his views on a regular basis in order to get more votes, and not because of any real change in his convictions. Of course I also beleive him to be a communist and socialist all rolled up into one.

Yet, with McCain reportedly considering Lieberman as his running mate, I must say things have changed. Lieberman may support Israel, Lieberman may support the troops, Lieberman may support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and support the global war against terrorism, but otherwise he is one of the most liberal senators in Congress. McCain is already too liberal for my liking, and now he is considering pairing up with someone more liberal than himself, and not a liberal Republican mind you, but a Democrat. I will not be responsible for putting a man like Senator Joseph Lieberman in the White House, and I will not vote in this election, at least not for president and vice president, if Lieberman becomes McCain's running mate. Heck, I even like the guy, but I do not like his very liberal stance on many issues; and we need to take a stand on those issues, and vote not by party, or by likableness, but by our stance on the issues.

Sure, by my own past logic, that will in effect be a virtual vote for Obama. I do not care! It is about time that the Republican Party wakes up and realizes that Republican is synonymous with at least 'moderate conservative'. Running two liberals on the Republican ticket, one who is not even a Republican, is akin to the Republican Party telling us that our conservative values are trash. Well if that is the case, let them learn a lesson, let Obama get elected and screw tings over for 4 years. Maybe by then the republican Party will have reorganized with some conservative goals in mind. If not, well it will be time to again register as an Independent. If you think I am wrong on this okay, but here is a fine example of a liberal running gas a republican who screwed things up royally, and who continues to do so: Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City.

I am hoping with all my heart that McCain will not be foolish enough to choose a Democrat (nor a turncoat who becomes a Republican) as his running mate. Sure, it might allow him to win the election, but it will destroy the Republican Party and that for which it has stood over the years.

All the best,
Glenn B

Soldiers' Care Package Donation - Thank You

I wanted to make sure to say thanks to Rita and Clinton and their family who donated toward the Soldiers' Care Package. That was very nice and generous of you, and your donation will help put big smiles on some soldiers' faces, I am sure of that. I thought I was going out to shop for the items last weekend, but as it turned out I did not get the chance. So this weekend I'll head out to someplace like Costco to pick up the goodies for the package. With the donation you gave, and at least a matching donation from me for goodies, it should be a pretty nice package.

Once I get the stuff, I'll take a picture of it, and I'll post it here. Along with the package, I am going to include an American Flag. My assigned soldier from Soldiers' Angels asked me to do so. He told me he and his unit will fly that flag, and they will pose with the flag for a picture, then send me the pic. Rita, you will be sure to get a copy of that picture if you want to send me your address down in SA, or an 'in care of' address up here.

Thanks again.

All the best,
Glenn B

Glock 26

Okay, I have another offer to purchase a pistol direct from the manufacturer through my employer. This time it is for a Glock 26, 9mm pistol. This is the so called 'Baby' Glock. It is going for $477, with 2 magazines and Trijicon (or is it Tritium?) night sights. This offer seems more tempting than the ones I can get through my job for a SIG or an HK. Why, well because both the SIG and the HK are offered only in a law enforcement configuration which means both have a double action only trigger pull, and that trigger pull is horrendous. At least on the Glock I have a choice of the 5 lb.or 8 lb. trigger pull. This beats the HK by at least 4 pounds, and by 7 pounds if I get the lighter of the two offered on the Glock.

The Glock I think is also the smallest of the three pistols I have been considering. It is also the least expensive. I have also carried a Glock 19 for about the past 15 years; man it has been a long time. I am very familiar with it, and have had no major problems with it in all that time. There have been magazine exchanges where Glock has sent new mags to my employer to replace old ones, but they took care of problem mag designs very well in that regard. They now seem to have gotten it right. I also probably have a few of my own spare Glock magazines around. They are usable in the Glock model 26.

Now of course, the Glock 26 does not come in .40 S&W caliber, it is a 9mm. That will have to do, as for some reason my job did not authorize a personally owned Glock 27 in .40 S&W to be carried. That is strange since the HK and the SIG have to be in .40 S&W. Go figure, but that is the goobermint. Despite that, I have to tell you, this one is really tempting. It would be a great gun for retirement if only because of its small size thus making it quite concealable. In addition, I shoot very well with it (I carried a model 26 as backup on my job for several years and shot better with it than with the larger model 19). Yep, I think this may be the one. I have scrimped, and saved, and sold things I already owned to gather the cash (and payday is Monday) toward the purchase of a new pistol, and I think I may have to act before they pull the deal or raise the price.

Now for the tough decision - Olive Drab or Black? Basic Black has always suited me in my Glocks, so I suppose I'll stick with it. Tomorrow I will fill out the order form and the required purchase letter from my office. I already did that for the HK, but trashed that letter once I saw the deal on the Glock 26. This is going to be the one - really - it is the one.

All the best,
Glenn B