Ballseye's Gun Shots 105 - Why Didn't Anyone Else Have A Weapon...

...and use it against Jared Loughner? Think about that as a legitimate question to ask yourselves. While thinking about it, note that I did not ask why anyone didn't have and use a firearm, I specifically said a weapon. While a firearm would certainly be included under the header of 'A Weapon', so to would be a knife, mace, pepper spray, an expandable baton, a sap, and a stun gun. They are so common that they should immediately come to mind when the word weapon is brought up in such a context, and should pop into one's mind even quicker when the discussion turns to self defense. You would think that someone in that crowd of people would have had one of these fairly to very conventional self defense weapons when this apparent madman went berserk and started shooting. Yet, it has not been reported that anyone used a weapon against him to help bring him down. Why didn't they? Think about that long and hard because it is a very important question and your answer to it may just tell yourself an awful lot about yourself and about the society in which we live.

Then, after thinking about the answer to that question, pose another one for yourself. If you had been there, would you have been armed and would you have had the mindset to take out the madman. I can tell you this, had I been there, I likely would have been armed. I also am fairly certain enough of myself to say I would have at least tried to take some sort of action to stop him had I not already been incapacitated. Note I did not say had I not already been shot. If I was able to move, I like to fancy that my training and current mind set would have taken over and that I would have taken action to end the threat. also I would like to think that any action I would have taken would have come long before the action taken by those brave few who tried to and actually did stop him. In other words, I would hope that I would have acted by the time he had only got off no more than a few or several shots and not all 30 that it is quite possible that he fired. (I base this on reports that he was using a 30 round clip magazine.)

By now you may have realized that I have not said I would have shot him but that I would have tried to negate the threat; of course, the implication is I would do that with a weapon. You can bet that I would certainly try with a weapon if the situation presented itself. That is because I would want to inflict the maximum amount of damage to him that I could, in the shortest amount of time, to stop him as quickly as possible. You will also note I am not saying I would kill him. I have been trained to stop the threat, if that means I yell at him and he drops his weapon and surrenders then so be it. Yelling may be my only option in some circumstances but if I was close to him I would choose another more surefire method. So, on the other hand, if I put two in his chest and one in his head, and he winds up dead - well tough shit for him. I would not be trying to kill him though - just trying to stop him.

Now back to why I said I did not mention shooting him right off. In a situation like the one that presented itself that sad day, the chances could well have been that getting a clear shot might have been all but impossible. If I had a clear shot, I would have taken it and a followup or two. What if it was not a clear shot, what if others seemed to be in the way. Would you chance it? Would I? Maybe I would, depending on how much damage he was doing. Then again, maybe I would charge him and stab him with a knife or shoot him if a shot opened up. I always carry one or two knives on me - well almost always, just like I usually have a gun. Maybe I would be lucky and have both with me and have some great options.

Of course, it is quite possible that those options may not have been at all available if it was one of those rare days when I left both gun and knives at home. That is, that would be a rare day for me. Others quite likely would not be as well armed as am I on a regular day for me. Okay - what else to do if you don't have a gun or a blade. Go for the pepper spray, start squirting when double the distance from him you think is effective if you have too, maybe he will dick and someone else will get him down. maybe not - it would be a chance you could take that could make you the hero or the dead guy who tried. Mind you, even when trying to stop a crazed gunman, like him, with your own gun or a blade - you could still wind up injured or dead. Then again, standing there or cowering down and pooping in your pants might accomplish the same thing - you being injured or dead. This was a life or death situation and in such a situation I tend to think that I should try to gain control especially once the bullets are already flying. So what would you decide.

No pepper spray either - heh! ope most people do not carry Guns, knives or pepper spray. most don't have the other weapons I mentioned above like stun guns or expandable batons either. If I had one of them though, chances are I would act and try to bring the bad guy down. Even without such weapons at hand, I think I might try something. First I would try to make my ass stop puckering to hold in the crap that would be about to load down my drawers. I would do that by moving since a moving target is harder to hit. I would seek cover if possible. Once behind cover i would try to arrive at what to do having already assessed what was going on as I was moving for cover and crapping in my pants. Are you chuckling or thinking I am trying to be funny. I am not. I would fully expect to be so scared, if I was weaponless, or just if someone was shooting at me and others were falling shot all around me, that I figure I would either piss myself or shit myself or maybe both. It happens; the thing is I would not let that stop me from taking action.

Hopefully, whatever action I decided upon would be good enough to stop him or to get others to help me to stop him and we would do it. Maybe sticking my pen in his eye, or repeatedly stabbing him in the face with it would work. Maybe grabbing his gun if i could get close enough - and if I am close enough to stab him then a gun grab is definitely within the realm of possibilities. Maybe i could grab a shopping cart (this was at a supermarket) and ram him with it. Maybe I could pick up a rock and throw it at him - no rock - what about my cell phone; and as I did that I could yell get him - or go for him now - just as I throw because by the time it hits him others will have heard it just before he is momentarily stunned or distracted. No cell phone, no rocks, what about my shoe or shoes. Close enough to hit him with something but not close enough to grapple yet. Wow - how did my belt wind up in my hand, buckle end ready to swing at his face. There are weapons - weapons everywhere but not a soul to wield them. Well except for me if I am in the crowd - what about you!

Truth be told - I would much rater have a gun in a gun fight than have a knife or have a show or a rock or a pen or a belt or a gun take away move. The thing is though, when people are being shot all around you and you can get to the shooter within a couple or a few steps, then maybe you had best think of going for him even while he is still shooting. Why - because if you don't try - you may be the next one to take a bullet. Yes, hes, yes - I know - if you do try you may be the next one to take a bullet. You have to decide which is better - to die trying or to die like a cowardly lion or a timid mouse. You could live either way too. So you also need to decide which would be better - to live the rest of your life realizing you did nothing while others were injured and died or to live the rest of your life knowing you tried your best to stop the threat and maybe even to live realizing that had it not been for you stopping the bad guy more innocent people would have been injured or died.

I am not suggesting even for a moment that you try to go at someone like John Wayne if you are not that type of person. I am saying you want figure out ahead of time what you are willing to do to save your own life and whether or not you are willing to save others. Here is where that thing I mentioned above about learning something about the society in which we live comes to play. Most people - and this is a fact of life - do nothing - they expect someone else will do it. Even as people are falling bloodied all around them - they do nothing. They expect John Wayne and the U.S. cavalry to arrive in the form of law enforcement officers or in the form of someone else who will do something. The thing is, it is often too late for too many before that someone else arrives or comes to life inside of someone already at the scene. It happened this time, that some few at the scene had that cavalry come to life inside of themselves. The first one seems to have been the woman who grabbed the gun and magazine (or maybe it was just the magazine). That was all it took folks. Grabbing the gun, or the mag. It did not take The Terminator, not Wyatt Earp, not the cops, not a well armed citizen (though how I wish one or two had been there), not anything like that. It took someone who was driven to her limit to be a target, and to her limit to go with the flow of our society, who decided to turn things around. In that moment she became a shepherd, a sheepdog (if you will) and she protected not only herself but the flock of sheep all around her. So too did at least two others become shepherd at that moment and they went in fighting right along with her - but she was the alpha and the omega because had it not been for her and her actions it is quite possible no one else would have done anything. In that regard, our society is sorely wanting, we lack people like her and the others who brought the madman down. It was not always that way, once upon a time we looked out for one another. Sure most would watch but there were a higher percentage who would have gone in fighting than there is now. We need to turn around as a society to realize we need to take one anothers' backs in such a situation. It would save a lot of lives if we did so. Years ago, this guy would have been beaten to a pulp, lawyers have taken away our resolve to do something like that today but that is no reason to just stand there and get killed or injured. We have a right to fight to protect ourselves and others.

The sad thing is though, with regard to the lady (the hero) who grabbed the magazine (and maybe the gun too) she waited until he was reloading to do so. Now, I am not finding fault with her, not at all. What she did was courageous, maybe even foolish in your eyes but not in my view because it was what saved the day and nothing else was going to do that than someone taking action. Sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind and just do it and take the chance that what you do will win out. As I said though, it is sad she and the others, who then jumped on the guy and got control him, waited that long. Believe me - 30 shots is a long time to wait even though they may have been fired in only seconds. I tend to think this guy was aiming and took a bit longer but that is just guesswork on my part right now. Time, and the greater amount of information that will be released as time goes by, will tell.

So what is the point of all this. There are a couple or a few. You should, in my opinion, always be armed when at all possible. You should, in my opinion, always arm yourself with the most effective weapon that is practical. You should be, in my opinion, well trained and practiced in the use of whatever weapon you are carrying within reason. I say within reason because while I am trained with firearms, chemical sprays, batons and some other weapons, I have no knife training or very little of it. I carry a knife mostly as a tool, I know how to use it that way. Yet, I would not hesitate to use a knife as a weapon if need be. I truly believe in 'any weapon to stop the threat in an emergency' so long as it is not causing more of a threat to me and other innocents. You also need to have a plan as to what you will do in the event you ever find yourself in a situation where your life, or the lives of other innocents, are jeopardized and deadly force is being threatened or actually being used.

Besides having a plan, you need a mindset that will allow you to implement your plan and to take action when the action needs to be taken to save lives. If you do ever wind up in such a situation and then do take action and wind up winning the battle and surviving, you may realize something. That is that, the actions of one person often spur on other people to act. Not always, but often. It seems to have happened this time - one person took the initiative, the first step, and others followed in a heartbeat. Maybe they had all decided to act independently of each other but I think that when one saw the first moving, and then a third saw the second moving - that was what had been needed. It just went on from there and they won. I could be proven wrong on this if the heroes in this one are ever asked what made them move - was it seeing someone else going for the bad guy or not - but it really does not matter if I am right or not. What mattered was that people did act and they took control of the situation away from the madman - they stopped him cold and saved the day because he had another one of those 30 round magazines - didn't he! They just didn't give him the chance to use it, they put him down and saved more lives, maybe even their own. Think about that, think hard and long - then tell yourself what you would do in a similar situation. Yes - YOU!

I am not telling you to do anything like that, not even suggesting you ever do it, I am telling you though to make up your mind now as to what you would do if you ever find yourself in such a mess. If you decide that you would take action, then I am strongly recommending that you start planning, training and practicing now for whatever you would do. You though are the one who has to decide what you would do (and mind you choosing to play dead is even doing something). Read the news about this shooting, watch the news about it, pay attention to how many victims there were and how many of the victims had weapons (or not) and who tried to stop the threat. Think about them as opposed to those who did do something, those who stopped the threat and did it without weapons. Then think about whether it would have been more or less likely that the bad guy would have been stopped sooner if someone had a defensive weapon and knew how to use it and then chose to use it. Think about it all, think about it again and maybe again and only then - tell yourself, what it is you would do if faced with much the same. Think hard though, before you answer, because your life and the lives of others may someday depend on what you decided today.

All the best,
Glenn B

(I'll proofread this again later, just figured the message was worth posting as soon as I could.)

Ballseye's Gun Shots 104 - The Media's Use of Expert Firearms Consultants (or should I say 'lack of use')

It baffles me that the media hires or contracts out for experts in almost every field so that they can consult with them while reporting on various types of news events yet, when it comes to firearms they seemingly never have an expert on firearms on hand.

Let me give some examples from the current news reports that have been dealing with the tragic shootings in Tucson, AZ yesterday. I saw news reports in which the reporters consulted with: Police experts on the investigation, political experts on the impact on politics and gun control, security experts on whether or not Congressmen and women are protected by security teams or should be provided security, One of the main things that has been talked about has been the medical condition of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford's who was shot in her head. I have seen no fewer than a half a dozen doctors (medical experts) siting in a news broadcasts and talking about her chances of survival. They give information about her prognosis as well as giving folks and idea of the problems doctors are facing in trying to assure that not only she will survive but that she will still have most, if not all, of her cognitive brain function when she recovers. They have talked about the brain, bleeding, trauma, gunshot wounds, surgery and so on. At least two of them have also delved into the field of firearms and gave their not so expert opinions on guns, bullets, magazines and one even on how many shots the killer's gun could have possibly fired. This last doctor even stated that the killers gun only could hold 15 rounds of ammunition and since 19 people had been shot (some multiple times with one person shot at least 4 times) it meant that either the bullets had passed through others who were shot then striking other people or that there had been an accomplice who was also firing on the crowd. This all regardless of the fact that it has been reported that the shooter used a pistol with an extended magazine and that during the confusion he may have reloaded while people had their heads down (fear of being shot makes people do that sometimes - duck for cover). Even though he was not an expert on firearms, and apparently knew very little about them, this doctor was allowed to ramble on as if he indeed was a firearms expert and he then began to talk about a bullet trajectory and how it combined with how many bullets were fired would prove definitively if there had been only one shooter. I am almost willing to bet that he has read about the assassination of JFK and the theories involving multiple shooters that surround it.

Another consultant, a retired NY City police officer, an expert being consulted about the investigation that will or should take place, on a cable news program rambled on for minutes about how this country has to come to its senses and mandate that, before they be allowed to own guns, people be trained and tested in the use of firearms just as they are for a driver's license before they can legally drive a car. His premise was that this would prevent such shootings. He certainly seemed less than an expert on the subject matter of firearms or on firearms licensing. I doubt he has much knowledge about firearms beyond his carrying one as a police officer and his qualifying with it maybe twice a year. He almost certainly did have knowledge of how to play the media so as to act as a paid consultant on national news. Well maybe not really because a much better known and readily recognized retired police detective butted in to contradict what the first retired officer had just said. The truth be told, training in firearms would have little to do with preventing such a rampage by a quite possibly deranged individual. Training him would probably have only made him a better marksman. My bet would be that he actually had some training in marksmanship, especially if he was a lone shooter. You may think you could hit all those people, those panicked moving people, easily at close range but I can attest it was a feat of marksmanship or luck beyond the realm of probability. Yet I digress, my aim should be at the so called experts or at the medias lack of use of firearms experts when they report on firearms.

Yet another news report had a reporter give his apparent expert view on what happened. He was reporting on what had happened to Representative Gifford's, in particular the injury to her head caused by gunshot. He did not have an expert at hand with whom to consult so he played the part of the firearms expert himself. Now mind you, he was reporting on the BBC channel. The BBC is based in England where for the most part firearms are banned. Yet, this reporter said that one of the things that saved Representative Gifford's was that the bullet had passed through her skull and exited. (Good so far, I am pretty sure he was reporting on what doctors or representatives of the hospital had told him). Then, before going onto the next point, he looked as if the light bulb had gone on in his head, and he spouted out that another reason she had survived being shot in head was because the bullet had not exploded in her head. Do bullets normally explode? It seems this reporter might think so and that he would have us think so. No bullets do not normally explode. Yes you can place certain substances into a bullet to make them explode on impact but it is not the norm and no one had reported that the shooter used explosive bullets. (Yes I am expert enough, or a limited expert in legal terms, on firearms and ammunition to know this as fact.) Did the reporter mean that the bullet had not expanded in Representative Gifford's head? Maybe that is what he meant but bullet expansion and an explosion are two very different things. Then again, how would he have known if the bullet was of the type that normally expands upon impact? Has anyone in the media been privy to that information or have the police, as they usually would do this early on, withheld information as to the type of bullets used in the attack?

As just seen, the media can get it wrong with or without consultants when it comes to firearms. Another example, one of the most frequently heard and seen in news reports is that a shooter opened fire with an automatic weapon. This was in fact reported in this particular shooting incident. Amazingly enough, within a few hours of the shooting, reporters started to correct this inaccuracy and they started to report on information given to them by the police that the shooter had used a semi-automatic pistol. There is quite a difference between an automatic firearm and a semi-automatic firearm but the media would like us to believe that automatic firearms are the norm or so it seems to me.

The truth of the matter is that those in the media, the great majority of them, know little to nothing about firearms. Add to that the fact that the mud slinging media main stream media is or has been patently anti-gun and you can probably understand how it is that they consult with experts on such fields as medicine and then allow that same expert to ramble on about firearms, ammunition, investigative techniques (probably all just based on them watching shows like CSI) and other aspects of the issue with which they have no expertise. If however the media actually hired or contracted actual firearms experts they might actually get their reporting on firearms correct. Oh my gosh, did I just this moment 0812 AM, as I am typing, hear a CNN reporter say that police have said the suspect had a Glock 9mm pistol and at least 90 rounds of ammunition and that he had fired using a 90 round clip! Yes that is what she called it - a 30 round clip. It is not a clip, it is a magazine but there is a good chance that the police told her it was a clip. It just proves my point, they have no to little knowledge of firearms, nor do most of their consultants, so they ought to hire consultants who actually are at least knowledgeable of firearms and their nomenclature, if not actual firearms experts, who can guide them before they open their mouths and get it wrong over and over again. Imagine that though, the media speaking about firearms intelligently instead of solely with anti-gun bias and ignorance. Is it going to happen? I doubt it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Videos Supposedly Made By Alleged/Suspected Tucson Shooter - Jared Loughner

This and a few other videos or sound tracks are still up on YouTube, as I write. They were reportedly made by, and apparently attributed to, Jared Loughner. He is also reportedly the main suspect who reportedly was arrested in connection with the Tucson shootings, today.

My opinion, of this video, is that it is kooky ranting. The guy who made these videos probably had, in my personal opinion, gone off the deep end. After listening to just this one (below) I have to wonder if he was psychotic. If these videos/audios were made by the killer, it makes it much easier for me to understand how he (if indeed it was him - he has not been tried yet - bear that in mind and bear in mind the police are also seeking another person at this time) could have shot all those people. It does not, for me, excuse such behavior or criminal acts - just makes it easier to understand how it may have happened if the shooter/killer and the guy who made these videos was one and the same person.



What a shame, lots of lives ruined. Too bad no one in the crowd had a gun and shot back and got the killer(s) before he (they) got as many as he (they) did.

All the best,
Glenn B

Tucson Shootings

My heart felt condolences to those who lost loved ones in the mass shooting in Tucson today. My well wishes go out for those who were shot and survived and my prayers are going out both for the survivors and the deceased.

If they find, arrest, try and convict the killer, I think they should execute him. I know they arrested someone already, or so it is being reported, but just as anyone, he gets his day in court before judgement and sentence can be passed.

As for whoever is the actual killer, once he is convicted (if ever), I think he should be killed as would be a rabid dog - swiftly and with no amicable regard for him, but that is just my personal opinion.

My condolences,
Glenn B

President Obama Wants You To Get Internet Identification

The man who would not produce, as I seem to remember, his birth certificate (I do not mean his certificate of live birth which someone supposedly did produce but his birth certificate which is legally nowhere near the same as a certificate of live birth), nor his travel records regarding which passport he used, nor produce his college records, nor his health records and maybe not his tax records (not sure on that one) is now virtually demanding that all Americans who use the Internet be issued an Internet ID as a trust issue! This is simply astounding. Remember, this is also the same man who wants to allow undocumented aliens (illegal aliens) to stay in our country and receive loads of great benefits all leading to U.S. Citizenship but does not trust you enough to use the Internet without you having a special Internet ID. Even if you voted for him the first time around, if you vote for this guy in 2012, my personal opinion is that I think you will need to have your head examined.

According to Fox News:

"Trusted Identities in Cyberspace is currently being drafted by the Obama administration and will be released by the president in a few months." (see: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/08/report-obama-administration-plans-create-internet-id-americans/)

Trusted Identities in Cyberspace??? Doesn't our own government trust us already - hell they work for us - we are not their slaves or underlings. It is we who should be questioning whether or not government workers and officials are trustworthy of the positions they hold as our servants!

In the same article, they also quote the Commerce Secretary as saying this:

""We are not talking about a national ID card. We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities,""

I wonder, as a private citizen, are they also talking about something like wearing a digital star? I am not saying that lightly either. Remember, it was taken with a grain of salt when ordered for certain people just a bit over half a century or so ago (wearing a star that is). What is the next step, segregating those who are not trusted from those who are trusted in Cyberspace? Who is making the determination as to whom our government trusts and upon what objective measures will trust in Cyberspace, or anywhere, be judged?

What do I think needs to be done? Rise up folks, mandate that you elected officials put a stop to this by them demanding to hear from President Obama just what is his Constitutional authority to do so! Hint - there is none - not in the commerce clause or anywhere else in my understanding.) Our freedoms are being flushed away, in my personal opinion, by this administration on an almost daily basis as it seems to me. For how much of this can we stand, will we stand, before we stand united against it all?

All the best,
GB

Fresh Water Tropical Fish...

...keeping is one of my hobbies. I used to keep them when younger because my uncle was a great fish keeper. He taught me a lot of what he knew. Of course, I also keep reptiles & amphibians and that is also mostly due to my uncle because he bought me my first Red Eared Slider Turtle. I wound up getting away from the fish for the most part, although I did keep some on and off over the years; usually for food for my turtles or snakes but sometimes for the sake of keeping fish. Then I got back into keeping them, maybe a year or two ago, for the sake of being a tropical fish hobbyist once again. I had decided to keep less reptiles and delved into amphibians, specifically newts and aquatic salamanders and figured that fish would go well with them. Or was it the other way around, maybe I got the fish first - oh it doesn't matter.

Anyway, I now have one semi-aquatic tank set up for fish and frogs, one tank set up for my turtle and fish (it was not meant to hold fish but two feeder goldfish survived until they got too big for the turtle to chase down and make a meal of so they are living large in the turtle tank), one tank of aquatic salamanders (no fish), one tank for several Blue Tailed Fire Bellied Newts, a couple of Gold Mystery Snails, a few Green Aeneus Catfish and several guppies, and a tank with virtually all tropical fish save a single Iberian Ribbed Newt that shares their tank.

The one tank with mostly tropical fish holds: 5 Paleatus Corydoras, 2 Pictus catfish (often mislabelled as Angelicus Cats), 2 Kribensis, 3 Rams, 1 Cardinal Tetra (used to be about 5 or 6 but the Pictus catfish got the others, the remaining one is now too big for them to gobble up), several guppies (plain, more or less feral and not one of the many varieties with fantails), one Golden Algae Eater and a Gold Mystery Snail. I would love to get myself several more cardinals but they have been hard to find in good health. The only times I have seen them over about the last year, and they are scarce in pet shops and aquariums up this way, they have been emaciated looking and in water that has been treated with medicinal chemicals. (Anyone know the reason they all seem to be in bad shape? If so please leave a comment or email me with info.)

I have been hoping to breed the Aeneus corydoras and the Peleatus corys too. The green Aeneus cats have often laid eggs but none have ever been fertilized although I am sure I have at least one male in the group. As for the Peleatus cats, they laid eggs once, all were fertile, but all were eaten by tank mates. Since then, probably over a year ago, they have not bred again. I'll have to read up on them a bit and condition them properly to induce breeding, they are nice fish. As for the Kribensis, I am surprised they have not bred as all is as it should be for them to do so. I have a definite male and female in the community tank (they often breed in community tanks) but I may put them into a tank of their own to see if they will mate.

On the whole, tropical fish are fun to keep, interesting too. They are not difficult to keep once you get the hang of it, especially if you start with a large enough tank (at least 30 gallons - makes it easier to maintain good water chemistry with a larger tank, larger than 30 is better yet) and fish that are on the easier side to keep. Note they don't have to be drab or plain to be easy to keep, fish like Kribensis, Rams, Cardinals, Pictus cats, Algae Eaters, Guppies (even the fancy ones) and all virtually all of the Corydoras catfish are pretty easy to keep. If you are looking for a hobby, that is fun, interesting and does not cost an arm and a leg (initial costs are moderate fairly high, compared to other pets, for a complete set-up, but after that costs are usually low to moderate depending on your tastes in fish or if you expand to more tanks) I highly recommend tropical fish keeping.

All the best,
Glenn B

My New Mag Pouches...

...were supposed to arrive yesterday via UPS and there was a UPS package awaiting me when I got home from work. When I opened it I was dismayed to find only one (1) Uncle Mike's Double magazine pouch in the package. I called up Optic's Planet, which was the company name on the invoice regardless of the fact I ordered from a place called the TacticalStore.com. When I explained that only one of the two I had ordered had actually arrived, the man at the other end, in Customer Service, said "REALLY" (in the most incredulous tone of voice I have heard in awhile). Instead of reaming him a new one, I decided to stay nice and just said "really", leaving it at that. He said someone would contact me, either on Monday or Tuesday, about it after they checked out my claim. I mean - what is to check?

My guess is that either some dimwit was not paying attention to bag stuffing 101 but got hired as a stock-boy anyway or that a real jerk saw the word "double" on the packaging and thought that qualified as two items because it was, well - double! Of course, maybe it was just an oversight due to a brain fart, I can understand that but do not understand the tones of incredulity in the Customer Service guy's voice. Hopefully, they will make it right and I won't have to contest the charge through my credit card company. One thing I have going for me is they labelled the package as being 1 pound in weight but the UPS tracking notice said it was only 0.4 pounds in weight. Whoops - I guess they REALLY goofed and forgot to add the other pouch to the order, which would have made it much closer to that 1 pound weight.

Oh well,
GB

A Great & Tasty Sandwich...

...just traveled through my teeth, over my tongue and down my gullet to plop in my stomach's acidic pit like a clod of soft mud thrown off of a cliff into the sea. Maybe not the most appetizing picture but let me say it sure was tasty.

I started off with some Beefsteak Soft Rye (seedless), then a sliced up half of a loaf of the Food of The Gods Spam and laid 3 heated thick slices of it across the bread. I then slathered the top slice of rye with Weis Horseradish Mustard (a store brand but a great buy that I picked up while on a hunting trip, full of zesty zing), then slathered the slices of Spam with about a tablespoon of Gold's Prepared Horseradish for some added equine zing (strong as a good kick in the head from a mule by now) and finally rubbed in about 1/2 a teaspoon of some truly scrumptious Tortuga Caribbean Hell-Fire Sauce to make sure that the kick was all it could be. I bought hot sauce in Grand Cayman while on my cruise - best thing I bought except maybe the bottle of dark rum that I have not opened yet).

I took a bite of those fixins' and though my eyes teared while at the same time opening wide, and my nostrils flared and my tongue was stung, that first bite was heavenly (as was each that followed). The fact is that sandwich was damned good eats and it went really well with a bottle of St. Pauli Girl Lager. It just doesn't get much better than that - well maybe had I added a couple slices of raw onion - yeah that's what I'll need to do next time. Yet, missing onions or not, it was delightful and delicious just as it was - mmm-mmm good and you can be sure there will be a next time with or without those onions! Of course the other thing that was missing was a German frauline to serve it to me with along with a bier.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 103 / Gun Gear Review / Tru-Spec Double Magazine Pouch

Back when I was still in Phoenix, I purchased a double magazine pouch for double stack magazines. I planned on using it mostly for carrying my issued SIG 229 magazines and that is pretty much all I have carried in that pouch with the exception of once or twice carrying Glock 19 mags in it. Although I bought it back in April, I did not start using it until well after I got home later that month. My best guess is that I started using it in about June or July of this last year - 2010.

Since then it has seen almost daily use by me. I wear it on the front left side on my belt. I mention where I wear it not to suggest you should wear yours likewise but because it is important to understand that it has not been jutting out to the side on either hip and banging into things. Even if it had been, as had pouches I wore in the past, it should never have arrived in the condition it is in today. Yep, you guessed it, it is not in good condition, in fact it is falling apart. After only about 5 to 6 months of almost daily normal wear (no rough and tumble stuff at all), this magazine pouch is literally unravelling at the seams and other stress points. The fabric seems to be about the worst I have ever seen used for the purpose and I can say without a doubt that this mag pouch is, in my opinion, the worst piece of junk I have ever purchased as far as pouches and other nylon accessories go.

Previously, I used Uncle Mike's Double mag pouches. I think I have owned three of them over the past 15 or so years, probably more years than that. The first one lasted a long time, I am figuring at least 10 years. It took a lot of abuse and was replaced with the same thing. The second one lasted a year or so and had problems with the snaps falling off. I go in touch with uncle Mike's (Michael's of Oregon) and they replaced it free of charge. That last one lasted a few good tough years then it tore on something into which my overfed bulk decided to walk into to, I do not remember exactly what it was. That tear was small but slowly and surely got larger and I decided I needed a new mag pouch back this past April because I had the cash and would need the pouch soon.

I looked for another Uncle Mile's because I liked the design. basically it was a plastic box made to snugly fit 2 double stack magazines in two compartments side by side (no space between them but the wall of the box), the box was covered with what I think was Cordura. It had two flaps fastened into the body of the pouch by Velcro at the back and by snap closures at the front. The Velcro made it adjustable for different sized magazines. I did not change it much and the Velcro never got worn out or clogged with lint as it will sometimes do. The snap closures on the front assured that if I ever need to access a magazine more quietly than ripping open Velcro, I could do so. I much prefer snap closures. The belt loop on the rear was made of plastic and I always thought that a poor choice but to tell the truth it never failed. The loop was big enough to accommodate at least a 2 1/2" belt. Very good to excellent mag pouch, thing is though - I could not find one when I needed a replacement after trying about 5 or 6 gun stores and a few police supply stores.

While in the last police supply store that I visited, another mag pouch caught my eye. It was made by Tru-Spec. It looked similar to those made by Bianchi - double pouch for double stack mags with two snap closures on each flap and the other end of the flap sewn into the pouch. Adjustable depending on which snap you used but sometimes the snaps were actually noisy with a slight rattle because one on each flap was always not fastened. This pouch was wider than the Uncle mike's because each pouch was separated by about a finger's width of space. There was no plastic box inside the pouch on this one either, just two side by side pouches made out of black nylon of some sort over what seems to be another fabric like material. Not much to my liking but I figured I needed or would need a new pouch soon because the old one was failing so I bought it. I don't remember the price but am thinking it was about $15 to $20.

Surprisingly, well not really to me, I misplaced the new pouch and kept wearing the old one. it held up pretty good through June or July. I had found the new one again sometime between April and then and started to use it about the same time that the old one was on its last legs, or at least what I thought was its last legs, truth is compared to the Tru-Spec, I am pretty sure the Uncle Mike's would have gone on for another year or so. The Tr-Spec is ready for the garbage can and I mean that most literally.

The problems with the Tru-Spec pouch started about 3 months ago. I noticed that the material of which it is made was unraveling on the front of the flaps. I examined the rest of the pouch, back then, and the rest of it looked okay.I figured I must have somehow really raked the front of the flaps across something abrasive but for the life of me I could not remember hitting anything hard enough to tear fabric nor could I remember squeezing past anything that might have caught on it. It was just unraveling. About a month later I realized that a seam was beginning to open on the front of one of the flaps. This worked its way over the top of the flap to the back of it. Then, about a week ago, I noticed that one of the belt loops on the back of the pouch begining to come apart just a bit too. Within a week the belt loop was literally falling off, the fabric all around where it was sewn to the pouch was unravelled and the seam had opened up much more.

This damage was not there when I first noticed the damage to the front of the pouch flaps. I thought and thought again if maybe the pouch had gotten caught on something when I was wearing it, then it hit me that I would have had to have been moving backwards for that to have happened because the belt loop that has come loose with all the unravelled fabric around it is the one that sits mostly to the left and rear rear when I wear the pouch. In fact, the area of damage on the front of that flap is opposite of where it is on the other - I would have had to have gotten it caught twice - once in one direction then once in another to have ripped it. As I said though, I don't remember ever having it get snagged on anything, not even once so it just did not get damaged by me. Since that is the case, I have to think it is just piss poor manufacturing that is to blame.

I will be in touch with the manufacturer, Tru-Spec, to see if they will back up their product and send me a replacement. That is if I can find a customer service contact number or email address for them. I have always been a fan of Tru-Spec products, well, at least since I bought some BDU pants made by them many years ago. They were of good quality and products I have bought from them recently also seem to be of good quality - that is clothing products. This mag pouch is the first thing other than clothing that I have purchased that bears the Tru-Spec label. It may be the last, other than clothing, too. of course, that depends on their response and how well any replacement they offer stands up to normal use.

I ordered two of the Uncle Mike's pouches and hope they arrive soon. While they seemingly are not quite as well made as they used to be, in my view they sure beat the Tru-Spec pouch in question by a long shot.

All the best,
Glenn B

Note To Self 2

Try To Do Good Deeds For Respectful People

Not For They Who Will Try To Knock You For It

2010 Soldiers' Christmas & Holiday Care Packages Final Update

I received an email from Mike _____ saying that the last packages we sent out were received. If you remember, I detailed all the contents of all but one of the care packages we sent to him. I held off on that one because it was something a little special but since mike has acknowledged receipt, I can now give the details of that one to you too. The below is a copy of an email I received from Smoky Mountain Knife Works once the order shipped:

Greetings from smkw.com

We thought you'd like to know that we shipped your items on 12/13/2010. Your order 9942414 is being shipped and cannot be changed by you or by our customer service department.

You can track the status of this order and all your future orders at: http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/Order.do?action=trackUPSOrder

The following items have been shipped to you:

Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal

7 CASE LT1405LSS CALIBER LOCKBACK 147 (5) $11.99 7 $83.93

6 CASE CALIBER LOCKBACK/CAMO $11.99 6 $71.94

1 CASE KNIFE ROLL/2010 PROMO $0.00 1 $0.00

1 CASE 2-SIDED STONE AND POUCH/2010 PROMO $0.00 1 $0.00

Shipped via

Tracking number: 000241562

Item Subtotal: $155.87
Shipping and handling: $20.78
Tax: $0.00

Total: $176.65

Paid by: Card with last four digits = xxxx

This shipment was sent to:

SPC MICHAEL _____ (I deleted the last name & address)

Thank you for shopping with us. smk

smkw.com is a division of Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Inc.

The knives we sent to Mike and his unit were all Case brand Medium Caliber Lockback Knives. They had a choice between two colors that were included in the shipment, thus 6 of one and 7 of the other. Note that the knives usually went for $14.99 each but I somehow got 20% off; I think it was an online coupon but cannot recall for sure. Also note the knives are all CASE brand knives. That means they were MADE IN THE USA and are all quality knives. I figured that those points might be appreciated by our soldiers. The knives shipped with some freebies, also shown above, from Smoky Mountain Knife Works which is the company from which I ordered them.

So that last package with the knives accounts for what remained of the money donated toward the care packages for the 2010 Christmas holiday season; I gave a breakdown of spending for the last packages, including the knives, here.

I want to thank all of you who donated this year. There were not as many people who donated as in previous years but there was a good amount of money thanks to the generosity of those who did give something. You are all good folks and deserve a thousand thanks and a pat on the back (so feel free to start patting). You all already know that you have my thanks but I have thanks from some other folks of which I need to make you aware. So, let me convey to you the message of thanks from Mike in his most recent email to me, it was dated December 30, 2010:

"hey glenn we got your packages thank you so much for the knives every on got one with one extra so i gave it to one of our civilian guys that works with us every one said thanks for the gift and thank you for everything you have sent me it means a lot. stay safe and keep in touch and tell everyone that is helping with the care packages thanks for their support as well
your friend mike"

That is exactly how it appeared in his email to me (except for the color and bold face which I added).

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I think we can rest assured that we helped some other folks, ones who deserved it most of all, have likewise.

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: Please do not send any more donations, I will not be accepting them again until next fall. I will continue to send packages to Mike ____ for him and his unit until the end of his deployment but will fund those myself. It was very nice of you all to have helped make the holiday packages much, much nicer than they would have been had I tried on my own. I am thankful to you all - you are truly very good and generous American patriots without whom it would not have happened.

One Month & A Wakeup Until The Best Holiday Of The Year

Yes you revelers of the new year, you may have all sat snug around the hearth last night and had a few hot toddies, or maybe you were the type to go out and dance the night away while sipping highballs, or maybe the heartier or wilder type to brave the chill night air (not to chill last night) at places like Times Square and watch the ball til it dropped then scream like bloody hell was upon you, or just the type (like my wife) to visit neighbors for a rather quiet party - but me I pretty much stayed home. I did manage to get out at about 900 last night for dinner. My repast consisted of a finer green bottled lager of the Netherlands and an all American classic - a cheeseburger deluxe platter but it was more than enough festivity for me to end the old year. Starting another year for me was/is nowhere as of great import as was finishing off the old one. To see another one go by is to know I have beaten the odds, cheated the devil, robbed hell of a soul that already has one foot inside it, and just made it through another one. I was delighted to walk to a local pub, have a couple of beers, eat my meal and head right back home. Once there I commenced watching the tube - then fell asleep just around 11PM. I was awakened by our dogs, who seemingly wanted out for a pee, at precisely 12:02 of the new day. I guess that was about how long it took for the first successful drunkard reveler in the neighborhood to get outside, set up the fireworks, set them off - and for their retort to reach the ears of our pooches. I only realized, about a minute after letting them out and standing in the portal awaiting their return from the dark depths of our postage stamp sized backyard, that it was the new year. I let the dogs back in, went down to the basement, turned the TV back on, tuned into the Twilight Zone, realized my wife was still out, and then dozed off watching some weird scene or another flit across my television screen in black and white.


As for the rest of the world, much of it was partying like my wife, daughter and son who were all out having a good time. I gave up on New years' celebrations long ago - it's just not my bag. Much like those wonderful in that wonderful family called Addams, I prefer the offbeat when it comes to celebrations. So, it is on the 2nd of next month, that I will celebrate the holiday of holidays. Sadly I will probably be the only one to celebrate among my family members and more sadly still I will probably wind up celebrating it alone, as in all by myself. Don't get me wrong - others celebrate it too. I mean, how could you not. It is a holiday of hope, where humanity has determined that the whims of a fairly small furry creature should decide the fate of the global climate - well at least the climate in the northern hemisphere. No, I do not mean that pompous ass Al Gore. I do mean the Ground Hog!


Yes folks, to me Ground Hog's Day is the penultimate of all holidays. Maybe that is so, first and foremost, because it is not an official holiday. I like that because no one is telling me when to celebrate. Besides that no one has created Ground Hog's day greeting cards, Ground Hog's Day floral arrangements, Ground Hog's Day candies, at least not any major retailer on a national level. About the only almost obligatory thing to do is to watch ground Hog's Day with Bill Murray and even that is really optional. Granted, I do not get the day off but I do get to waste spend a lot of it watching the TV and Internet news about Punxsutawney Phil (and all the other impostors) and their predictions for just how long winter will last or just how short it will be. Hope springs eternal folks and spring and nicer weather are hopefully always only 6 weeks away from the little fur ball giving his best shot at figuring when it will arrive.

I just love the holiday - as I said none better. I am looking forward to it and to my own personal celebration of furry little critters predicting the weather better than Al Roker and Al Gore and to the fact that hope springs eternal - so much so we pin our hopes on whether or not a rodent sees its own shadow!

All the best,
Glenn

H N Y

There Was A Moon Out Last Night, Rembering Nick Santamaria of the Capris

Yesterday afternoon, Nick Santamaria - a devoted husband and father, pretty nice guy, our neighbor and great singer left this world. It was only right that there was a moon out last night - a waning crescent - one of the prettiest moons - I have to think it was for him. You see, Nick was the original lead singer of and a songwriter for, The Capris. Their biggest hit, or at least most memorable song for me, was this one, There's A Moon Out Tonight:



Nick left singing many years ago and became a NY City Police Officer and made a career of it. After retirement from the job, he then then came back to singing. Once again it was as the lead singer of the Capris. They did oldies shows. As you can hear in this video, he had not lost it - his voice was still golden.



Sadly, Nick would not long remain as the lead singer for the Capris. Several years ago now, Nick was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Amazingly enough, even though he had a lung removed, he tried his best to keep at singing. Here is yet another video of him singing: There's A Moon Out Tonight, this one after doctors had removed one of his lungs. In this one, Nick explains what happened to him with the cancer. Then he sings. You can see, it wasn't easy for him to get through it but he did it and he still had it. That was in November 2007.



Soon afterward his singing career came to an end, it was a difficult choice for him to make. Nick's health problems remained, then yesterday, he lost the battle to live. His family and the rest of us lost him and his golden voice but heaven most certainly has gained a voice that is sure to compete with those of the angels.

On a personal note: My family and I will miss him. He was always nice to my wife and children. I am sure they will miss him in their own ways. I'll miss him calling me Greg (over the past 16 or 17 years that we had been his neighbors he almost never got my name right but that was okay), miss the occasional talk about politics or current events or about our gardens or about our kids, miss him out there in the deepest snow with his snowblower cleaning my sidewalk when I least expected it, miss sometimes shoveling for him when he no longer could get it done and my back was willing and able, and I will miss him shaking my fence. I don't think he ever knew I caught him at that, I don't remember ever telling him. He used to complain about my dogs barking at him if they and he were out in our adjoining backyards at the same time. Over the years, I often looked out the side window to see what they were barking at and there was Nick, at least a few times, shaking the fence and teasing the dogs as they just barked away at him and as he talked to them. I am sure he liked them pretty much when they were quiet but I think maybe he had a secret - that he liked them even more when they were barking at singing to him.

Our condolences to his family and loved ones.

All the best,
Glenn B

Couple of New Links Added To The Blog Roll

For your reading pleasure, I just added a couple more blogs to the blog roll, these are both under the new and improved header: Take A Shot With (not at) These Shootist Bloggers

In Jennifer’s Head (http://injennifershead.com/)

Violent Indifference (http://violentindifference.blogspot.com/)

All the best,
Glenn B

All That Snow and No Kids Out Playing

Yesterday I drove into work later than usual (worked later than usual too). That means I drove down several miles of residential streets to get there. As I was driving I noticed that something was missing - there were no kids out playing. Despite the fact that there were huge piles of snow everywhere, either from plows dumping it here and there or from people piling it up near he curb while shoveling there were no snow tunnels with kids crawling in and out of them, no snow forts with kids attacking them and other kids defending them, and there was not one snowball flying through the air. Likewise, I have not seen almost any kids out sleigh riding. I have passed spots that used to be literally covered by scores of sleigh riding kids right after a good snow and those places have been empty of children. Since Sunday I have seen only 3 kids with sleds.

It was not that long ago that my son would have been out there with his buddies having fun in the snow with all I mentioned above - maybe as recently as 7 or 8 years ago by my guess. Other kids used to do likewise all the way back to a very long time ago; so where are all the kids today? What are they doing instead of having snowball fights and sleigh riding? Is their a virtual snowball fight game out on Nintendo or Xbox? Does Wii have a virtual sleigh ride game? Or is it that kids just have become intolerable homebound wussies because their parents have steered them in that direction due to political correctness, police who would arrest them for assault if they throw a snowball or lawyers who would sue their parents for the family home and life savings if they broke a window or if someone slipped and fell on snow they got on the sidewalk while playing? Maybe I just drove past all the wrong places and they were out elsewhere but to tell the truth I have not seen more than 3 kids out enjoying themselves in the snow since Sunday! It just baffles me that they would forsake all that good, wholesome, healthy, normal type of active fun, that only comes with a good sized snowfall, for anything else.

All the best,
GB

Reminder of the Day - To Self - From Self

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

But That Is No Reason To Stop Doing Good

Can You Do The Burqa Bungle

The woman who is the subject of this video reportedly up in her alleged attempts to file false claims of racism against an Australian Police Officer. Watch the video at the below link, but read this first:

This is the type of crap that good law enforcement officers have to put up with all to often; and the cop in this video was obviously doing it all the right way as far as showing respect to the woman went.

The video is not dated, but there is a time stamp on the police cruiser video showing the event took place in July 2010; then the reporter says it happened 5 months ago which would seem to indicate this report is very recent.

Out of all the stuff in the video, the bearded Muslim guy near the end, who says that the judge should show compassion for the woman's children and drop the jail time, is the thing that gets me most. Did that woman, or the guy trying to get compassion for her kids, ever once stop to think that the officer might be married with his own children and how false accusations would have effected them had the accusations stood up. I doubt it and if she had thought of it my guess is it probably brought her pleasure to think the infidel's children would suffer.

Of course, there is also her lawyer's claim that another burqa clad woman filed the charges - not his client. I have often wondered just how ridiculously licentious a lawyer could get - now I know at least until another goes lower. I have put up with the likes of him for 31 years now and they never cease to amaze me as to how low they can go.

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/Video.aspx?videoid=af53d2ac-f507-4e8d-983a-a5a259bbe6fc

All the best,
GB

More on The December 2010 Snowfall

I am going to guess that in my village we got about 14 to 16 inches with drifts piled up to at least 20 inches in places (like outside my side door and on my patio and on my front lawn). Luckily for me, I shoveled last night twice and my front sidewalk only had about 5 inches on it this morning. I figure that last night I got 6 inches cleaned off the first time, 6-8 the second time and then 5 inches more this morning - some of that being snow blown back onto my property by the wind and not just from the snowfall. The winds were pretty strong, I am guessing gusts up to 40 or 45 mph. Right now it is much calmer and it has not been snowing for hours though they say snow showers could be in store this afternoon.

Now that my property is shoveled clean and sprinkled with snow melt (don't want the mailman tripping or slipping), I am soon to be off to retrieve the government car that I left parked in a public parking lot yesterday before the white stuff got too deep to drive safely. Hopefully they have not ticketed it, it is a pay parking lot. Sundays were free so I did not pay yesterday. My daughter thinks they will not ticket anyone for parking there today since you have to have all cars off of the streets or the snow plows but I am none to sure. Thus, we are going to go dig it out soon and I'll drive it home and park it on the street now that the plows have come by.

Oh my achin' back/neck/arms/hips. A warm piece of apple pie might help me feel better. Just may have to show my daughter how I whip one up.

By the way, I know that 14 inches or so of snow is not that much for some places but where I live the average snowfall for the whole year is only 24.5 inches. It was a lot of snow for us and an awful lot for a less than 24 hour storm to dump on us when you consider our average yearly snowfall. Of course, some got hit much worse, they are saying part of northern NJ got 29 inches. If this is due to global warming, I may have to start praying for global cooling but somehow it just wouldn't seem right since it was 23 degrees here when I got out of bed this morning. That by the way is well below average for this area in December.

All the best,
GB

New Addition To The Blog Roll...

...this one under other bloggers of note, or whatever I call it over on the right side of the page. It is Kansas City Old Time Music. Reminds me of the days I used to attend blue grass festivals and fiddle contests when going to Dead shows. I had to stop going to concerts because of all the second hand smoke in the air; once I got my career job as a fed, I did not want to light up like a Christmas tree if they gave me a pee test. Sure do miss the shows though. Maybe I could see one nowadays, as I understand and as I saw at the Willie Nelson show in Manhattan last year there is no smoking of any kind allowed.

Well, the link to the new blog is in the list to the right and here it is again if you want to click it without having to search for it. Has some good links to music videos there, love those old timers on the fiddles: http://kansasoldtimemusic.blogspot.com/

All the best,
Glenn B

The Big Snow of December 2010?

I know it snowed a lot in my hometown last winter when I was away in Phoenix. I had thought for sure my wife then appreciated all the shoveling I had done over the years since she finally got her fill of it last year. Apparently it did not sink in on her, she told me tonight the thought of buying me a snowblower for my birthday or Christmas never crossed her mind. How I wish it had done so though. I was out twice, once about 3 hours ago or so and again just minutes ago to shovel. I figure it to have been at least 6 inches the first time around and at least as much to an inch or two more this last time around. The thing is, it does not look as if this last time around will have been the last time I shovel before it is all over. It is still coming down from what I can tell although truth be told, it is hard to tell. The wind is blowing hard, I figure gusts up to about 40 or so - just a guess mind you, but hard enough to send it all sideways and to make it pile up in some sizable drifts here and there and to make it difficult to tell if it is just blowing around what has already fallen or if new stuff is still coming down.

I wasn't going to do the whole sidewalk and side patio again, I was just going out to shovel a path in the backyard and a swath large enough for our two Chihuahuas to do their makings for the night. Once outside though, even our mid sized mutt, Mimi, would not go except in the area I had shoveled. Usually she loves to run in the snow but it is just that nasty out right now. She did her thing on command and ran right back to the door to get inside. The little ones went too - and I am happy that means no new spots on the basement carpet!

Well, once I got done making space for the dogs, I decided why not go at it all once again. The side of my house where we have a small patio was really piled high, I'd say about 8 to 10 inches. Got that done then went out front and did the sidewalk and front walk and part of the driveway, just enough to walk past the cars to the sidewalk to clear it. Was not as bad out front, you could actually see I had shoveled there earlier, could not tell that on the side of the house or in the back where I also made a swath for the dogs earlier. Just out and out nasty. Nice night for a snowball fight I guess, but there were no takers around to join in, so I am back inside where it is warm. My jacket, sweater, hat, mittens are all in the dryer. My jacket sleeves and the body of the jacket were actually kind of stiff by the time I got back inside. It had been wet from earlier. I guess it is pretty cold out there, enough to start freezing my jacket as soon as I stopped moving/shoveling. I did not feel it being I had been moving and shoveling. Oh well, time for a wee dram of Irish.

I dread seeing what it looks like tomorrow morning. Worst of all I dread what more I may have to shovel. I think the AM will call for the youngun getting out there with me. He worked all day today so I gave him a break tonight, but no free passes tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Global Warming Figured Out

Eureka, I hit it. I figured out Global Warming. It is going to get warmer globally because of all the heaters we have turned on because it is so friggin cold outside. Al Gore was right after all; what a genius is that man, so much of one I could almost idolize him!

Ballseye's Gun Shots 102 - An Armed Encounter, Joe Was Lucky

Do you own a gun? Are you prepared to protect your own life and those of your loved ones from harm? Are you willing to put yourself in harms way for them and to protect your property? Plenty of folks are willing to do those things, plenty of them are gun owners. As I mentioned in another post, being armed is no magic umbrella that protects you from harm. Yet, some folks probably think that pointing a firearm at someone is just that - a magic and bulletproof umbrella that protects them from all things evil such as a bad guy's bullets. An apparent example of such, or at least an example of a homeowner going about defending his home in the what I think was a very risky way can be seen in the embedded video. What you are about to see is a video of a homeowner, who has left the security of his home, to go outside to check on two intruders who have entered his garage. There is no doubt (at least in my mind) the bad guys were intent on doing bad things such as burglary or armed robbery or worse so the homeowner was more than justified to use deadly force. He almost used it bu in the end all he did was displayed a firearm and I think he is lucky he lived.

There are some things that are debatable as to whether or not the homeowner (or resident) should have done them. I will not argue those points but will point them out. First of all, he left the security of the house to go out to confront the intruders. There were two of them and one of him. Should he have done that or just called 911 - debatable since he puts himself in much more danger by confronting them. Secondly he bursts into the garage with gun pointed out in front of him at the bad guys, well at one of them because he loses sight of the other really quickly. Now wait a minute, did I miss it or did you. Actually, when he bursts into the garage he does not keep the gun exactly pointed at the bad guys. Look at it again if you need to. What he does is he uses his right hand to move the tarp covering the garage entrance out of his way. Yep, you guessed it, the right hand is also holding his gun. Should he have done that? Maybe you think it debatable but not me, I know he should not have done it, he should have used his left hand to pull back the tarp if pulling back the tarp should have been done at all. That last part is very debatable. Then, he finally does get the pistol on the right target, on the guy who remains in the garage and who also is armed with a pistol. Should our hero have stood his ground and held aim on the bad guy the way he did? Debatable - maybe. What is not debatable is that he holds that pistol out in front of him as if it were some sort of magic wand that was protecting him from harm. I don't care what he was thinking or what he was not thinking because it was ingrained in his subconscious, it was, at least in my opinion, wrong - wrong - wrong! Look at the video and if you want to even think about debating what I just wrote saying he used the pistol like a shield, then ask yourself why else is he not taking cover other than for the fact he believes (consciously or unconsciously) the pistol to be a magic shield.

There are right ways and wrong ways to handle any given situation and sometimes there are just ways. Sometimes you get lucky and have a split second to think about doing it the right way as opposed to the wrong way. Other times you are not so lucky and shit happens fast and you just have to do it. Yet other times, you have a lot of time. For Joe (our stalwart homeowner) he had time, more than was needed to think about what he was doing. I am pretty sure he thought he was doing the right thing to defend his loved ones and his home. I think defense of loved ones and home is a good thing, personal opinion. I think the way you go about though can be right or wrong. One of the ways to know if you are did it right or wrong is too think about it after you have done it. Luckily for Joe, the gun the bad guy had was apparently unloaded, at least that was its condition when police later found it. Think though - would this situation have turned out the same for Joe had the bad guy been holding a loaded weapon? Do you think Joe would have come out of it unharmed or even alive had the criminal's gun been loaded? My bet is that Joe was never trained and or not practiced enough in what to do should a situation as this arise. Even without that training though, I bet even Joe might have some second thoughts about how he handled this situation now that he gets to see it again and again on video.

First of all, Joe and anyone who uses a gun for defense, has to realize - a firearm is not a magic shield. It will not protect you from bullets or knives if they are coming at you. Sure you can shoot a bad guy with it but if you stand there in a sort of Mexican standoff - each pointing a gun at one another - chances are the first guy who pulls the trigger will be the winner - at least if his gun is loaded. Now Joe may not have been thinking, hey all I have to do is hold my gun out and tell the bad guy to lay his down or tell him to get out of my garage or tell him whatever. Yet it seems that is exactly how Joe was acting - as if his gun was a shield and as long as he held it pointed at the bad guy no harm would come to him. Joe seemed prepared to defend his loved ones and his home and himself but he seemed unprepared to do one thing - to actually squeeze the trigger and send a bullet down the barrel, out of the muzzle, through the air, and into center mass of the guy who was confronting him. Instead he waved and pointed the pistol at the bad guy and then crouched a bit and backed up some and looked very tacticool but still he did not do what he should have done as I see it. I think it undebatable - I think Joe should have shot the other guy, the bad guy, who was pointing a gun at him! Yeah I know, it turned out okay, but remember the bad guys gun wasn't loaded. Did Joe know that? Doubtful at best unless this is a hoax video that was all staged. Apparently though the police believe it was real armed encounter. Joe should have, in my opinion, fired and fired again if the threat was still there and fired until the threat was there no longer - and he should have been moving to cover and taking cover while shooting.

Of course, I am thinking that and saying that, in relation to the situation that Joe found himself once he entered the garage and had the other guy point a pistol at him. I don't think Joe should have found himself in that spot in the first place. I think he would have been much better off staying inside the house and calling 911 and waiting for the police. He could have kept his gun at the ready to protect his family or loved ones and himself. He would have been on better ground so to speak and probably remained out of harms way. Then again, it was Joe's garage the bad guys were in. (What would Frank Zappa have thought about it being Joe's Garage!) For all I know, Joe had his fortune hidden in there, or had things that support his livelihood in there such as his guitars for his work in a band, or tools for work in a garage, or maybe he had weapons in there he did not want stolen. Whatever, he decided to go outside to confront the bad guys, that was his decision. Still though, Joe could have done it better once he had made that decision. He could have gotten down behind cover outside the garage and ordered the bad guys to put down their weapons. He did not even have to see any weapons first, just tell them to lay then down - bluff. Then he could have ordered them out of the garage - hands in the air and then told them to get down on there knees facing the garage or to lie down facing away from himself. He had options that would not have placed him in as much potential danger as he did to himself when he burst into the garage like Paul Kersey or Dirty Harry or James Bond or Superman.

Now, once he was inside the garage and he realized shit one guy took off but the other guy is pointing a gun at me - he had several other options. One was to open fire immediately. Sure you can say something like 'don't move or I'll shoot' and the bad guy, the one with a loaded gun anyway, can shoot you as you are saying it. Remember he already has the gun pointed at you or in this case at Joe. Maybe Joe decided not to shoot because the gas line was right behind the bad guy, or maybe the door to inside the house was there and he figured it could hit one of his loved ones if he missed, maybe he thought talk was best, or maybe - deep down inside - he just did not want to shoot because it is not an easy thing to be brought up right and then shoot someone. The thing is he had other options than to stand there like the gun would protect him just by virtue of him pointing it at the bad guy. That is movie bullshit plain and simple. It did not save him in this situation, what saved him was the bad guy was out of bullets before it even started. Chances are though, if a bad guy is pointing a gun at you, he has bullets loaded in the gun and he is willing to use it to hurt or kill you. You take an extremely high risk to your life and limbs to think otherwise.

So what were the other options Joe could have taken once he saw the pistol in the bad guy's hand pointing at him - options other than just pointing his gun back at the bad guy. As I said, he could have shot the bad guy and i think he should have done so. He could also have sought cover. Cover was only a couple to a few steps away at most and making yourself a moving target while moving to it would make you a harder to hit target. If you do not see the cover he could have used effectively - you are blind. Joe was kind of blind too. Not that he wasn't seeing but he had tunnel vision - can you see that. He was zeroed in on the bad guy and his pistol, those two things were probably the only things he saw at the moment. He was probably only thinking about them too. Cover was likely far from his mind. What to actually do to get himself out of harms way or to make him the winner in that situation may have crossed his mind but he did not choose to do them. Remember the only apparent reason he was not shot was because it seems the bad guy's gun was unloaded.

The bad guy had a bead on Joe just as Joe had one on him. The bad guy was as close to Joe as Joe was to the bad guy. Joe was not behind cover and the bad guy had an open shot at Joe from close combat distance just as Joe had at the bad guy. Tell me - what was Joe thinking? What methods in which he had been trained was he using to defend himself and his property at that moment. I think it was HBO, Cinemax, Starz, Encore, The Movie Channel and the big screen movie theater method that he was using. The truth is, if you were properly trained and then practiced at it and truly prepared yourself for such a scenario, you would usually react as you have been trained to react. Then you switch it just a bit and you no longer simply react but you act (as opposed to react) as you have been trained as as you choose to improvise. In other words you take over, you take command of the situation, you make the bad guy react to your actions not the other way around. Joe did some of that, he confronted the bad guys, he seemingly ordered the bad guy to do something (looked to me as if he was talking), he crouched, he moved but he did not do all he should have done. He should have shot (had he a relatively safe shot) and should have been moving to cover as he was doing so. That is once he had already found himself in that situation with the bad guy just feet away pointing a gun at him. It is absolutely undebatable in my mind. You can tell me otherwise, you can tell me your training was different (I would like to meet the guy who would tell you otherwise just to know whose training system to avoid), and you can tell me over and over again how it all worked out well for Joe so it must have been right. All I would say to that is it was Joe's lucky day because the bad guy was an asshole who was carrying a gun that wasn't loaded.

Watch the video, tell me what you think. While I just said some things were undeabatable, I know there really is always room for discussion on such maters. It's just that right now, in my thinking, Joe is lucky to be alive because I see most of what he did as just plain out foolish. Now note, I am not saying that to berate or belittle Joe. I think he is a brave guy to be willing to defend his own. I laud him for that. I just think he went about it in a way that he could have done much better at it had he been trained by a competent instructor in a good method of home defense, that is had he then practiced at his training and had he not let emotions take over his thought processes. Not letting emotions take over your thought processes is of extreme importance in such situations and if you have been trained and are well practiced then, I believe, you are more likely to remain more logical as opposed to more emotional when it counts. Like I said, watch the video. Then tell me just how lucky you think Joe was that the other guy's gun was not loaded.




By the way, did you get a load of the bad guy's pants, the one with the gun. I am amazed he could effect a get-away with droopy drawers like those.

All the best,
Glenn B