So, I am curious, did any of my readers celebrate BAG day and actually buy a gun? Leave comments either way, yeah or nay.
All the best,
GB
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Last Minute BAG Day Purchase
I just added one more thing to the list of BAG Day purchases. It is not a another gun but a sealed tin of 440 rounds of 7.62x54R 147 grain Russian ammo. I ordered it from Military Shooters with whom I have good dealings before. They had the best price I could find with shipping added on. Too bad I did not think to buy a tin up at Syracuse yesterday, probably would have been less expensive, then again, maybe not.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Big Syracuse Gun Show - Is Tomorrow...
...and to tell the truth, I am none too sure I'll be able to sleep tonight with the anticipatory butterflies that have been flying around in my innards. Normally, I don't lose sleep over thinking about a gun show, I just can't sleep as it is. Being I have not slept all that well over the past few nights I was due for a fairly good sleep tonight but as I said, those butterflies have been doing there thing. Of course, maybe it's not butterflies but a remnant of tonight's dinner that hasn't settled in just quite right. Whatever, I can sill hope I get a good rest tonight because I want to be at my haggling best tomorrow. It certainly is not everyday, here in New York State, that one gets to attend a thousand table gun show and I want to make the best of it!
Both Brendan and I will be attending and each of us has a decent sized chunk of change. He keeps thinking about getting himself a deal on a bull-pup design like an Aug and I keep telling him the bull-pup design sucks. being young, he does not want advice and I have to admit it is high time he makes up his own mind about what he buys with his own money and learns his own lessons as to whether or not it was money well spent. That just may leave him seeking my advice again, sooner or later, should he actuallywaste spend his money on a Steyr-Aug or similar gun. Then again, he may buy one and love it.
As you are probably already aware, I am hoping to get myself either a Remington 700 VTR in .308, or a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, or a fairly decent AK-47. I have not had much luck down in my neck of the concrete jungle and am thinking it may be a bit different here in Syracuse since his gun show is about 3X bigger than anything they hold within a hundred miles of my house. If they actually have 750 tables with guns on them, as opposed to beef jerky, knives, books and military surplus junk, I will be ecstatic. if they have 500 tables actually selling guns and virtually nothing else, I will be happy. Less than that and both Brendan and I will feel that we have been ripped off.
I am hoping to spend a busy 2 to 3 hours at the show, then to take off and maybe get in a couple to a few hours of fishing closer to Binghamton along the way home. With a little luck we may each pick up a nice rifle and each catch a nice fish. We will be in no great hurry to get home and ruin my wife's all girl wine party Well, wine party at least until hey find my vodka, two kinds of rum, Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor or Irish Whiskey - or maybe even my hidden bottle of champagne. Oh well, more fun for them I suppose and less of a hangover for me! As for me and Brendan, we will take out time for the drive home and probably stop for a good meal along the way. As I said, I am in no hurry to walk in on that party - especially when they are all loopy and we are (hopefully) carrying in our newest firearms.
All the best,
GB
Both Brendan and I will be attending and each of us has a decent sized chunk of change. He keeps thinking about getting himself a deal on a bull-pup design like an Aug and I keep telling him the bull-pup design sucks. being young, he does not want advice and I have to admit it is high time he makes up his own mind about what he buys with his own money and learns his own lessons as to whether or not it was money well spent. That just may leave him seeking my advice again, sooner or later, should he actually
As you are probably already aware, I am hoping to get myself either a Remington 700 VTR in .308, or a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, or a fairly decent AK-47. I have not had much luck down in my neck of the concrete jungle and am thinking it may be a bit different here in Syracuse since his gun show is about 3X bigger than anything they hold within a hundred miles of my house. If they actually have 750 tables with guns on them, as opposed to beef jerky, knives, books and military surplus junk, I will be ecstatic. if they have 500 tables actually selling guns and virtually nothing else, I will be happy. Less than that and both Brendan and I will feel that we have been ripped off.
I am hoping to spend a busy 2 to 3 hours at the show, then to take off and maybe get in a couple to a few hours of fishing closer to Binghamton along the way home. With a little luck we may each pick up a nice rifle and each catch a nice fish. We will be in no great hurry to get home and ruin my wife's all girl wine party Well, wine party at least until hey find my vodka, two kinds of rum, Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor or Irish Whiskey - or maybe even my hidden bottle of champagne. Oh well, more fun for them I suppose and less of a hangover for me! As for me and Brendan, we will take out time for the drive home and probably stop for a good meal along the way. As I said, I am in no hurry to walk in on that party - especially when they are all loopy and we are (hopefully) carrying in our newest firearms.
All the best,
GB
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Man-Purse, The Alternate Gun Carry???
Recently, while pursuing one of my favorite manly pastimes - surfing the firearms forums of the Internet, I came across a term that seemed a bit funny, then a bit scary in its implications. The term was being used in a forum discussion that in essence asked the question what do you carry in your man-purse. Man-Purse - is that how absurdly far fetched political correctness has become for some men of America. Do they really have some politically correct need causing them to call a butt pack, a carry bag, a shoulder bag, a small backpack, or a change/cash purse, a Man-Purse? I would think, wouldn't you, the use of the term Man Purse in all likelihood implies there is something called a Woman-Purse or at least that at some time only women were allowed to carry purses and now it is okay for a man. (Well it is now okay for 'real' men anyhow, you know the he-man type I mean -the brawny hunter, firearms enthusiast, fisherman, who will only do and use manly things that fit his macho character.) Yet I have never heard that one before – I have never heard the term Woman-Purse. In fact I have never known the use of purses to be in anyway restricted to one sex or the other in my lifetime and, historically purses have never been restricted for use by women only, although many so called yet insecure he-men would have wanted you to think otherwise. In fact, purses were in likelihood first used by men who were the bearers of money and other small valuables in the business world of the past, such as back in the Renaissance. They just called it a purse back then, not a man-purse; and the word purse was a good thing. It implied that they had something valuable with which to fill it. Of course, little valuables bags were around long before the word purse was ever used to refer to a little bag. Purse first meant an amount of money, as the amount of a wager or a dowry! Aah, there it is - the hidden reason for mean to start calling their little valuable bags purses way back in past centuries - it was because they too were probably being politically correct. My guess is that sometime before they started to call there little bags 'purses', the women of the Renaissance had already gotten some sorts of freedoms over what they had suffered in the dark Ages and before. They also figured they had brought the dowry with them – hence they had right to carry a purse. So they too had taken on the manly habit of carrying little bags with implied valuables inside. Of course this was most likely a blow to the male ego hence they had to think up some way of making their little manly bags more manly. So since men were still the masters of the business world at that time, they named them after something to do with business and therefore with men - they named them purses (remember that purse first meant an amount of money as in the amount of a wager).
This went on for centuries, well at least decades, until the word 'purse' was replaced by another name in the history of small bags carried by men. Women started to call their bags purses without reservation because they had finally wormed their way into the business world as far back as the 1800's to a small extent; then they started that darned women’s suffrage thing. What was a man to do, he had to think how to keep his bag as a ‘manly’ bag. So he thought, and thought and for a while as he thought of all the possibilities he decided to call it a “possibles-bag”. The thing about this was that the guy who gave it this name was a wild Mountain Man and while the name caught on with the fur trappers of the day, it just never caught on in the rest of the civilized world. So man, the regular Joe who was not away howling at the moon in the mountains of the west, paced back and forth trying to figure ‘what do I still have that a woman does not after which I can name my bag’ and as he plunged his hands into his pants pockets – it hit him – the term pocket-book was born. Of course women are not satisfied to let men have their own thing for long and soon it was the rage in the fashion world for women to be carrying pocket books too. As fashion changes from year to year, month to month, even day to day, the name of the bags carried by women changed back and forth from one to another. They did not mind that the terms were reused over and over again as fashions came and went. All they cared was that they had stolen this from man and to them that was good. On the other hand, man was at the end of his rope. He had no clue as to what to name his new bag, so he tried a trick the women had used. He called the bag by a large number of names like: butt-pack, fanny-bag, hip-bag, backpack, daypack, survival kit, and the like - but woman always wound up using those names to describe the bags they too carried. Was there no way to label his little bag as his bag?
I guess, that just recently, man must have finally figured out a way to keep women (most woman anyhow – as you cannot count on the more manly of them not to steal this term too) from using the name he would give to his little valuables bag. He named it a Man-Purse. So there all you thieving and scheming women, take that, go ahead if you want it – go ahead and call your bag a Man-Purse, I dare you! Maybe that is what man was thinking, or at least that is what the 21st century politically correct male of America was thinking but, it is not the way I think. I guess I am just too old school for such political correctness about my purse. I wonder, are we, the American male, that far gone that we really have to call it a Man-Purse? Can’t we just call a purse a purse and leave it at that. A purse by definition is not limited to use by men or women, nor does such a distinction need to be made, unless maybe for some reason you find it below your manliness to just call it a purse. While Man-Purse has a certain ring to it, it is unnecessary as can be seen from the definition of the word purse:
1 a (1) : a small bag for money (2) : a receptacle (as a pocketbook) for carrying money and often other small objects b : a receptacle (as a pouch) shaped like a purse
2 a : RESOURCES, FUNDS b : a sum of money offered as a prize or present; also : the total amount of money offered in prizes for a given event
Because I am quite the old school manly-man, an original member of the reformed but unofficial He Man Woman Haters Club - Brooklyn Chapter back in about 1961, who cannot stand the thought of anyone thinking me effeminate, I choose to carry a purse only if completely out of sight of prying, ridiculing, desirous,or critical eyes. While I think the term purse is quite befitting a manly-man, based upon the definition & history of the word purse, I still keep my purse out of sight. Why? Well, to avoid he-mannish ridicule such as: “What kind of a wimp are you anyway carrying around a purse?". Then again, I also try to avoid the fashion curiosity questions from women such as “Oh my that’s a nice bag, is that Louis Vuitton?” or fashion inquiries from gay men such as “Where did you get that simply marvelous purse, I simply need to know right this minute”. Of course it is also best to keep it out of sight so that those same gay caballeros don‘t get the wrong idea about a man with a purse and try to pick me up. Then there areruthless little bastards the neighborhood children to hide it from. It’s not that I am afraid they might laugh me to death but that maybe they will try to poke and beat me with sticks as they chase me down the block calling me sissy-boy as I run for my life. Heck, I work in NYC, it can be tough for a guy who blatantly carries purse even a man purse – all sorts of people get all sorts of ideas about what that means...and in my case they would be wrong even if this is the 21st century!
Seriously though, I never carry my primary firearm in a bag of any sort, let alone one called a purse even if the prefix ’man’ is attached to it. If it can be avoided, I will not carry a firearm,especially a primary handgun, in a bag of any sort during my daily routine. It is just too easy to forget someplace, too easy to pick up then put down, too easy to then do something else, then too easy to move on and forget to pick up the bag. Yep, just too darned easy to set it and forget it.
I prefer to carry my gun on my hip in a strong side holster. I carry spare magazines in a magazine pouch on the opposite side hip from the gun side (additional ones maybe carried in a backpack or survival kit). I carry a knife or two in my pockets. I carry a small flashlight in my pocket. I carry pepper spray in a pouch on my belt. I carry handcuffs in a handcuff case or in pocket. I also carry my wallet in a pocket and money in another pocket - I keep those separated, I figure if I lose my wallet, I still have some money. Likewise, if I lose the money, I still have my wallet with credit cards - that is so long as I did not lose my pants and both of them in the pockets, so I try to keep my pants on. I also usually have a cell phone in a clip on my belt or in my pocket.
I so carry a bag though. At least almost always while working. It is not even a brief or attache case either. What I carry is a small backpack. I use it to haul around other survival gear. It is a day-pack size that is fairly large but it is by no means something one could construe as a purse. The gear I carry in varies but it almost always contains survival gear like: money, first aid kit, space blanket, water, food, fire starters (candles with wood shavings embedded in the wax), matches, magnesium fire starter, glow sticks, a compass, a knife or two, knife sharpener, small flashlight, extra flashlight bulbs, extra batteries, passport, string, usually some rope, sometimes a gas mask (if there is room for it), extra money in a small change purse (there it is the traditional use of a man’s purse for me, my great-grandfather had one), spare ammunition, a two way radio with spare battery, cell phone charger, spare socks, spare undies and maybe a t-shirt, my medication (no not Prozac just something much more mundane like aspirin and BP medication). There are probably some other things, and maybe some of what should be in there is missing right now, but I check and upgrade the contents of my backpack every couple of weeks to month or so to make sure I have most of the stuff I might need. So if anything is missing, it won‘t be for long.
If you want to carry you gun in a man-purse, a woman’s-purse or any other kind of purse, even one made from a pig’s ear, be my guest. Me, I will be avoiding even the hint of carrying a purse because I am the kind of guy I am and I think a man carrying a purse is just not me. Of course, by some people’s standards, like my mother’s or my Godmothers standards of years ago – one might call my backpack a purse or pocketbook if only because the ladies of their day used to literally carry everything but the kitchen sink in the monstrosities that they lugged around - and they were as big as small packs. I remember being hit in the noggin once or twice with one of those huge carryalls now and again. Made me think that maybe they really carried a kitchen sink or two in them so maybe I had best behave. I can say without a doubt, those handbags of mass destruction sure make most of today’s man-purses look like the choice of rank amateurs when it comes to weapons concealment. No matter, if I need to carry anything in a bag on a regular basis, it will be a pack for me but the gun most likely will be in a holster on my belt and most of the truly essential gear will be on my belt or in my pockets. If I ever put down the pack and forget it, I could go a long way with what I'd still have on my person. As for the man-purse, I guess I am just not man enough for one of those, well certainly not that type of man enough, whatever type that may be, not that there is anything wrong with that, just that I never was and never will be...maybe I had best shut up and leave it at that!
All the best,
Glenn B
This went on for centuries, well at least decades, until the word 'purse' was replaced by another name in the history of small bags carried by men. Women started to call their bags purses without reservation because they had finally wormed their way into the business world as far back as the 1800's to a small extent; then they started that darned women’s suffrage thing. What was a man to do, he had to think how to keep his bag as a ‘manly’ bag. So he thought, and thought and for a while as he thought of all the possibilities he decided to call it a “possibles-bag”. The thing about this was that the guy who gave it this name was a wild Mountain Man and while the name caught on with the fur trappers of the day, it just never caught on in the rest of the civilized world. So man, the regular Joe who was not away howling at the moon in the mountains of the west, paced back and forth trying to figure ‘what do I still have that a woman does not after which I can name my bag’ and as he plunged his hands into his pants pockets – it hit him – the term pocket-book was born. Of course women are not satisfied to let men have their own thing for long and soon it was the rage in the fashion world for women to be carrying pocket books too. As fashion changes from year to year, month to month, even day to day, the name of the bags carried by women changed back and forth from one to another. They did not mind that the terms were reused over and over again as fashions came and went. All they cared was that they had stolen this from man and to them that was good. On the other hand, man was at the end of his rope. He had no clue as to what to name his new bag, so he tried a trick the women had used. He called the bag by a large number of names like: butt-pack, fanny-bag, hip-bag, backpack, daypack, survival kit, and the like - but woman always wound up using those names to describe the bags they too carried. Was there no way to label his little bag as his bag?
I guess, that just recently, man must have finally figured out a way to keep women (most woman anyhow – as you cannot count on the more manly of them not to steal this term too) from using the name he would give to his little valuables bag. He named it a Man-Purse. So there all you thieving and scheming women, take that, go ahead if you want it – go ahead and call your bag a Man-Purse, I dare you! Maybe that is what man was thinking, or at least that is what the 21st century politically correct male of America was thinking but, it is not the way I think. I guess I am just too old school for such political correctness about my purse. I wonder, are we, the American male, that far gone that we really have to call it a Man-Purse? Can’t we just call a purse a purse and leave it at that. A purse by definition is not limited to use by men or women, nor does such a distinction need to be made, unless maybe for some reason you find it below your manliness to just call it a purse. While Man-Purse has a certain ring to it, it is unnecessary as can be seen from the definition of the word purse:
1 a (1) : a small bag for money (2) : a receptacle (as a pocketbook) for carrying money and often other small objects b : a receptacle (as a pouch) shaped like a purse
2 a : RESOURCES, FUNDS b : a sum of money offered as a prize or present; also : the total amount of money offered in prizes for a given event
Because I am quite the old school manly-man, an original member of the reformed but unofficial He Man Woman Haters Club - Brooklyn Chapter back in about 1961, who cannot stand the thought of anyone thinking me effeminate, I choose to carry a purse only if completely out of sight of prying, ridiculing, desirous,or critical eyes. While I think the term purse is quite befitting a manly-man, based upon the definition & history of the word purse, I still keep my purse out of sight. Why? Well, to avoid he-mannish ridicule such as: “What kind of a wimp are you anyway carrying around a purse?". Then again, I also try to avoid the fashion curiosity questions from women such as “Oh my that’s a nice bag, is that Louis Vuitton?” or fashion inquiries from gay men such as “Where did you get that simply marvelous purse, I simply need to know right this minute”. Of course it is also best to keep it out of sight so that those same gay caballeros don‘t get the wrong idea about a man with a purse and try to pick me up. Then there are
Seriously though, I never carry my primary firearm in a bag of any sort, let alone one called a purse even if the prefix ’man’ is attached to it. If it can be avoided, I will not carry a firearm,especially a primary handgun, in a bag of any sort during my daily routine. It is just too easy to forget someplace, too easy to pick up then put down, too easy to then do something else, then too easy to move on and forget to pick up the bag. Yep, just too darned easy to set it and forget it.
I prefer to carry my gun on my hip in a strong side holster. I carry spare magazines in a magazine pouch on the opposite side hip from the gun side (additional ones maybe carried in a backpack or survival kit). I carry a knife or two in my pockets. I carry a small flashlight in my pocket. I carry pepper spray in a pouch on my belt. I carry handcuffs in a handcuff case or in pocket. I also carry my wallet in a pocket and money in another pocket - I keep those separated, I figure if I lose my wallet, I still have some money. Likewise, if I lose the money, I still have my wallet with credit cards - that is so long as I did not lose my pants and both of them in the pockets, so I try to keep my pants on. I also usually have a cell phone in a clip on my belt or in my pocket.
I so carry a bag though. At least almost always while working. It is not even a brief or attache case either. What I carry is a small backpack. I use it to haul around other survival gear. It is a day-pack size that is fairly large but it is by no means something one could construe as a purse. The gear I carry in varies but it almost always contains survival gear like: money, first aid kit, space blanket, water, food, fire starters (candles with wood shavings embedded in the wax), matches, magnesium fire starter, glow sticks, a compass, a knife or two, knife sharpener, small flashlight, extra flashlight bulbs, extra batteries, passport, string, usually some rope, sometimes a gas mask (if there is room for it), extra money in a small change purse (there it is the traditional use of a man’s purse for me, my great-grandfather had one), spare ammunition, a two way radio with spare battery, cell phone charger, spare socks, spare undies and maybe a t-shirt, my medication (no not Prozac just something much more mundane like aspirin and BP medication). There are probably some other things, and maybe some of what should be in there is missing right now, but I check and upgrade the contents of my backpack every couple of weeks to month or so to make sure I have most of the stuff I might need. So if anything is missing, it won‘t be for long.
If you want to carry you gun in a man-purse, a woman’s-purse or any other kind of purse, even one made from a pig’s ear, be my guest. Me, I will be avoiding even the hint of carrying a purse because I am the kind of guy I am and I think a man carrying a purse is just not me. Of course, by some people’s standards, like my mother’s or my Godmothers standards of years ago – one might call my backpack a purse or pocketbook if only because the ladies of their day used to literally carry everything but the kitchen sink in the monstrosities that they lugged around - and they were as big as small packs. I remember being hit in the noggin once or twice with one of those huge carryalls now and again. Made me think that maybe they really carried a kitchen sink or two in them so maybe I had best behave. I can say without a doubt, those handbags of mass destruction sure make most of today’s man-purses look like the choice of rank amateurs when it comes to weapons concealment. No matter, if I need to carry anything in a bag on a regular basis, it will be a pack for me but the gun most likely will be in a holster on my belt and most of the truly essential gear will be on my belt or in my pockets. If I ever put down the pack and forget it, I could go a long way with what I'd still have on my person. As for the man-purse, I guess I am just not man enough for one of those, well certainly not that type of man enough, whatever type that may be, not that there is anything wrong with that, just that I never was and never will be...maybe I had best shut up and leave it at that!
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Is The Federal Government Still Headed Toward A Shutdown?
The actual budget agreements have not been hammered out, they plan on doing so on Thursday. Then they have to vote on it in Congress. It seems support for the agreed upon plan is wavering and when you look at it in the sensible manner, there really are no budget cuts being made:
Only in Washington can a budget that spends more than it did the year before, with a larger deficit, be portrayed as “cutting.” (Senator Rand Paul April 11, 2011, see this link: http://www.paul.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=332429.) It seems there are quite a few in Congress like Sen. Paul, on both sides, who are opposed to the new budget, see:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/12/reset-shutdown-clocks/.
That makes me wonder if they will actually agree to the finalized version on Thursday. If not, the federal government may well shutdown!
All the best,
Glenn B
Only in Washington can a budget that spends more than it did the year before, with a larger deficit, be portrayed as “cutting.” (Senator Rand Paul April 11, 2011, see this link: http://www.paul.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=332429.) It seems there are quite a few in Congress like Sen. Paul, on both sides, who are opposed to the new budget, see:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/12/reset-shutdown-clocks/.
That makes me wonder if they will actually agree to the finalized version on Thursday. If not, the federal government may well shutdown!
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Insomnia Sucks
The title says it all. I am going to hit the hay now, maybe I can get 40 winks now that it is almost 2:30 in the morning.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
An Open Invitation To Paul McCartney (and to the guy who tried to leave the anti-meat video link in a comment on this blog)
Someone tried to post a comment, to one of my blog posts, that contained a link to a video of some guy called Paul McCartney. In the video he is basically whining imploring folks to stop eating meat. I was going to get all nasty toward the person who tried to leave the comment but figured I would be civil about it. So here is an offer to both him or her and to Paul McCartney:
If either of you would like a good, free, meal here in the good old U.S. of A., look me up. I will gladly treat either or both of you to your choice of some truly excellent medium rare and still somewhat bloody beef steak, finger lickin' good BBQ pork ribs, luscious lamb chops, yummy rabbit, delectable Portuguese style goat, a fat bratwurst or maybe just a liverwurst sandwich. Then again, maybe you prefer something still alive like a nice dozen raw oysters or clams (or both) - I love the feel of them going down. Of course, if you prefer something else, I'll go for whatever other dish I can afford to get for you from a creature that has walked on, crawled on/in/under, swam the seas of, or flown above planet earth. Myself, I prefer those I have killed myself, when I have the opportunity, but usually have to settle for slaughterhouse fare. I will gladly treat you to one that has been killed in a slaughterhouse or if you prefer we can go to a live market and have them do the dirty deed and I'll cook it up for you. I'll even throw in a really good beer or ale to help you wash it all down - sorry but it has to be American and of my choosing. Any time you feel so inclined, look me up for a delicious time.
You know, the next chance I get, I am going to treat a homeless person to some NYC hot dogs from Gray's Papaya or a similar place and I am willing to bet he or she will be appreciative. Man, they make great franks, my mouth is watering as I write. Something tells me I'll be going to Gray's Papaya really soon and I'll be thinking of Paul and the commenter as I wolf down a couple of dogs slathered with mustard and covered in kraut, all washed down with root beer. I'll also make sure to let the homeless person know that if it wasn't for the commenter and for Paul McCartney's anti-meat video he would not be getting a fee meal. So - in a way - he will have them to thank for it.
All the best,
Glenn B
If either of you would like a good, free, meal here in the good old U.S. of A., look me up. I will gladly treat either or both of you to your choice of some truly excellent medium rare and still somewhat bloody beef steak, finger lickin' good BBQ pork ribs, luscious lamb chops, yummy rabbit, delectable Portuguese style goat, a fat bratwurst or maybe just a liverwurst sandwich. Then again, maybe you prefer something still alive like a nice dozen raw oysters or clams (or both) - I love the feel of them going down. Of course, if you prefer something else, I'll go for whatever other dish I can afford to get for you from a creature that has walked on, crawled on/in/under, swam the seas of, or flown above planet earth. Myself, I prefer those I have killed myself, when I have the opportunity, but usually have to settle for slaughterhouse fare. I will gladly treat you to one that has been killed in a slaughterhouse or if you prefer we can go to a live market and have them do the dirty deed and I'll cook it up for you. I'll even throw in a really good beer or ale to help you wash it all down - sorry but it has to be American and of my choosing. Any time you feel so inclined, look me up for a delicious time.
You know, the next chance I get, I am going to treat a homeless person to some NYC hot dogs from Gray's Papaya or a similar place and I am willing to bet he or she will be appreciative. Man, they make great franks, my mouth is watering as I write. Something tells me I'll be going to Gray's Papaya really soon and I'll be thinking of Paul and the commenter as I wolf down a couple of dogs slathered with mustard and covered in kraut, all washed down with root beer. I'll also make sure to let the homeless person know that if it wasn't for the commenter and for Paul McCartney's anti-meat video he would not be getting a fee meal. So - in a way - he will have them to thank for it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 11, 2011
I Eat Meat - Hopefully Not Meat Glued Together With Meat Glue
I like meat. I like beef, pork, lamb (just had leg of lamb tonight and it was delicious), goat, rabbit, squirrel, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, quail, dove, bear, venison, rattlesnake, frogs legs, lobster, fish, clams, mussels, octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and even snails. What I do not like is when retailers try to pull a fast one. Hopefully this stuff, Transglutaminase (aka Meat Glue), is not legal in the USA. If it is, you can bet I will be inquiring about its safety.
Watching that kind of made me lose my appetite, for all of 3 seconds, but after all, I still will like my meat medium rare. More info on transglutaminase can be found at the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transglutaminase
Man, that is kind of scary stuff. Bad enough it may allow for meat to be insufficiently cooked to allow live bacteria to be ingested as described in the video - but tell me what happens if you eat that meat raw. Could that stuff stick your innards together? I would guess not but it is something to wonder about. By the way, it looks as if it is in use here in the USA from what I read in Wikipedia and from what I found doing an online search for a dealer here in America. This place apparently sells it: http://www.forthegourmet.com/, and it is located in the USA.
I am not happy it is sold here in the USA and will be checking labels on certain cuts of meat in the future. Adding water was one thing that upset me, so I try to avoid cuts with added water. This stuff not only upsets me, it scares me and I probably will never buy a cut of meat, in which it was used, if I see it on the label (at least until I am absolutely convinced it is safe).
Watching that kind of made me lose my appetite, for all of 3 seconds, but after all, I still will like my meat medium rare. More info on transglutaminase can be found at the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transglutaminase
Man, that is kind of scary stuff. Bad enough it may allow for meat to be insufficiently cooked to allow live bacteria to be ingested as described in the video - but tell me what happens if you eat that meat raw. Could that stuff stick your innards together? I would guess not but it is something to wonder about. By the way, it looks as if it is in use here in the USA from what I read in Wikipedia and from what I found doing an online search for a dealer here in America. This place apparently sells it: http://www.forthegourmet.com/, and it is located in the USA.
I am not happy it is sold here in the USA and will be checking labels on certain cuts of meat in the future. Adding water was one thing that upset me, so I try to avoid cuts with added water. This stuff not only upsets me, it scares me and I probably will never buy a cut of meat, in which it was used, if I see it on the label (at least until I am absolutely convinced it is safe).
Hat tip to my friend Harry for an email about this video.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Corydoras aeneus, aka: Green Aeneus or Green Corys
I have had numerous Guppies and four Corydoras aeneus swimming around in a 10 gallon aquarium that was primarily set up for my six Blue Tailed Newts. I had been hoping to breed the newts but to date I have not had any success in getting them to spawn. There has got to be a trigger but I have not figured it out. On the other hand, the Guppies breed like...well, like guppies and they keep doing it. The green Corys also bred frequently. I usually do a weekly water change and they usually breed right after that but not weekly. I'd say they have bred about every 3rd week on average. I think I have two males and two females. I used to have one other but it died for some unknown reason.
I have had this tank set up this way for about 2 years, or so I am guessing. About 6 months ago, I added something it did not have, an under-gravel filter. I know that many frown on these nowadays but I like them because they make the tank easier to maintain in my opinion. I remove the upright air tube and then insert a siphon hose and siphon the water from under the gravel when I do weekly tank maintenance. Today though was time to strip the tank down and give it, the gravel and all the accessories a thorough good cleaning. I do that about twice a year with my small tanks. Once I siphoned out most of the water, I scooped out most of the gravel, then lifted out the under gravel filters. Much to my surprise there were several fish under the filters. Even more to my surprise was the fact that about 6 of them were Green Aeneus catfish! The rest were either guppies and maybe one or two very tiny baby catfish. Most surprising of all was that one of the green cory, that I found under the filters, was about 1/3 to 1/2 grown.
I had always figured that my Corydoras aeneus were sterile since none of the eggs they laid ever seemed to hatch. What was happening though seemed to be that the larger guppies of those in the tank were eating them, or at least eating part of each egg almost as soon as each was laid and the remains stayed stuck to the glass. The cory's stick the eggs to the side of the aquarium glass, usually right in the stream of water coming from the power filter. I had mistakenly believed that the eggs were always bad but now see that was not the case. My guess is that when the guppies pecked away at the eggs, some good ones fell to the gravel and were sucked through the under-gravel filters where they hatched and where the babies, at least some of them apparently found enough to eat. I am truly amazed they could live under the filters as the water I siphon from under them when cleaning the tank is always dark brown to almost black. That is a result of anything organic that gets sucked under the filters and then decomposes there.
Well they lived and I now have about a half dozen of them swimming around in the tank. I removed all the guppies except some very tiny babies and am waiting to see what happens next time the catfish breed. Hopefully all the eggs will be fertile and I will get to see them develop and hatch.
All the best,
Glenn B
Today In History - A Beginning To The End of Bloodshed on American Soil
On April 9, a war weary commanding general of American forces said the following:
"It would be useless and therefore cruel to provoke the further effusion of blood, and I have arranged to meet with General Grant with a view to surrender."
The yar was 1865, the American general was Robert E. Lee and he would soon surrender to another war weary American general - Ulysses S. Grant. They would meet that morning in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. No not inside a court house, but within the home of Wilmer McLean. Appomattox Court House was the name of the village where that home was located. The "effusion of blood" to which Lee sought to put an end was that of the American soldiers who had fought valiantly against one another during the Civil War, the bloodiest war of our Nation's history. It is estimated by some that there were up to 700,000 human deaths during that war although the more readily accepted number is approximately 620,000. That is more war dead than our nation suffered in all the wars from the Revolution up through and including Vietnam.
My sentiments about the Civil War, its causes, its battles, its end, its aftermath are many but there is one thought about it all, the last line of a book, the story of a southern woman who lived though it, that I believe I share:
"But for us - for Dan and me we could almost as easily give up each other as those terrible, beloved days. They are the very fiber of us." (1)
Those days she mentioned were the days of the Civil War. Yes, in truth, the Civil War has become, in part, the very fiber of our nation, as today we stand one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In that same book, just above the last lines, the lady's granddaughter was quoted as saying:
"How thankful I am that 'Old Glory' floats alike over North and South, now!"
So too am I. So, today I have taken a few moments to bow my head to pay homage to they who gave their all in the war between the North and the South; we owe them a lot for the shaping of our nation. And, as was the young lass quoted above, I am thankful I did not have to live through it myself and am hopeful it will never come to such again.
All the best,
Glenn B
1. A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: Being a Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer: Ed. by Myrta Lockett Avary. Page 384. Electronic Edition, http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/avary/avary.html
"It would be useless and therefore cruel to provoke the further effusion of blood, and I have arranged to meet with General Grant with a view to surrender."
The yar was 1865, the American general was Robert E. Lee and he would soon surrender to another war weary American general - Ulysses S. Grant. They would meet that morning in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. No not inside a court house, but within the home of Wilmer McLean. Appomattox Court House was the name of the village where that home was located. The "effusion of blood" to which Lee sought to put an end was that of the American soldiers who had fought valiantly against one another during the Civil War, the bloodiest war of our Nation's history. It is estimated by some that there were up to 700,000 human deaths during that war although the more readily accepted number is approximately 620,000. That is more war dead than our nation suffered in all the wars from the Revolution up through and including Vietnam.
My sentiments about the Civil War, its causes, its battles, its end, its aftermath are many but there is one thought about it all, the last line of a book, the story of a southern woman who lived though it, that I believe I share:
"But for us - for Dan and me we could almost as easily give up each other as those terrible, beloved days. They are the very fiber of us." (1)
Those days she mentioned were the days of the Civil War. Yes, in truth, the Civil War has become, in part, the very fiber of our nation, as today we stand one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In that same book, just above the last lines, the lady's granddaughter was quoted as saying:
"How thankful I am that 'Old Glory' floats alike over North and South, now!"
So too am I. So, today I have taken a few moments to bow my head to pay homage to they who gave their all in the war between the North and the South; we owe them a lot for the shaping of our nation. And, as was the young lass quoted above, I am thankful I did not have to live through it myself and am hopeful it will never come to such again.
All the best,
Glenn B
1. A Virginia Girl in the Civil War, 1861-1865: Being a Record of the Actual Experiences of the Wife of a Confederate Officer: Ed. by Myrta Lockett Avary. Page 384. Electronic Edition, http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/avary/avary.html
Friday, April 8, 2011
Government Shutdown Or Not...
...I can say, without a doubt, I am embarrassed to admit that I work for the federal government, the same one that has put us all through absolutely absurd show of ludicrous posturing to arrive at this point let alone to arrive at whatever will be the conclusion. Man, this is truly shameful that our government, the one we elected into office cannot stop the spending and cut the deficit by balancing the budget or even just agree upon a budget.
You ought to think of firing the government after this poor showing. Start at the top with the politicians and next time around - vote in people with absolutely no political experience and make sure not a single one among them is a lawyer. It will take a bit of time but you can bet that Joe Everyguy and Jane Everygal would do a much better job in the long run - better than the lawyers in government now - because all that politicians (who are lawyers) know how to do is to argue and act like assholes from what I can tell.
All the best,
Glenn B
You ought to think of firing the government after this poor showing. Start at the top with the politicians and next time around - vote in people with absolutely no political experience and make sure not a single one among them is a lawyer. It will take a bit of time but you can bet that Joe Everyguy and Jane Everygal would do a much better job in the long run - better than the lawyers in government now - because all that politicians (who are lawyers) know how to do is to argue and act like assholes from what I can tell.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, April 7, 2011
On Burning The Koran Or Any Other Religious Book
No matter what you think of Koran burnings, maybe you should watch these videos. There is certainly a lot of thought in the first one about our rights as Americans (or simply as humans). I agree very much with what the lady in the videos has to say about our rights and about Islam and about politicians. Yet, I do not necessarily think she made the presentation in the best way for others to take her seriously because of the cursing. Regardless of her shtick, the ideas she presents are in agreement with many of my own on this subject and I cannot fault her that it is within her rights to burn the Koran and it is not within any person's rights to injure or kill anyone else because she or others did so.
So, what do you think? I know what I think and it is that we had best dread the day that the Islamists achieve nuclear capability because they will seek to burn us with the big one. Maybe we had best take care of the problem well before then by taking care of it now. Just in case there is any doubt, I do not mean by bowing down to Allah or by implementing Sharia law but rather by assuring that Sharia law will never rule us.
As for Senator Lindsey Graham, I think he should retire immediately or be booted out of office post haste. The things he said were abhorrent and totally against the grain of our Constitution. While I think that seems to be the norm for him it should not be acceptable to Americans on the whole because without our Constitution and its protections of our rights we would not be Americans. There simply is no way to defend what he said about limiting the freedom of speech, certainly none when you consider the flawless constitutional logic of the rebuttal that was given.
All the best,
Glenn B
So, what do you think? I know what I think and it is that we had best dread the day that the Islamists achieve nuclear capability because they will seek to burn us with the big one. Maybe we had best take care of the problem well before then by taking care of it now. Just in case there is any doubt, I do not mean by bowing down to Allah or by implementing Sharia law but rather by assuring that Sharia law will never rule us.
As for Senator Lindsey Graham, I think he should retire immediately or be booted out of office post haste. The things he said were abhorrent and totally against the grain of our Constitution. While I think that seems to be the norm for him it should not be acceptable to Americans on the whole because without our Constitution and its protections of our rights we would not be Americans. There simply is no way to defend what he said about limiting the freedom of speech, certainly none when you consider the flawless constitutional logic of the rebuttal that was given.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Government Shutdown or Not
I am betting shutdown but only because preparations are already being made for one to some degree. My guess is that should the federal government shutdown all nonessential services, almost no one will really miss them - except those who are furloughed. One hopes it does not come to a shutdown but the truth be told it is about time that the Federal Government starts to become fiscally responsible - in my personal opinion.
I doubt I will be told to stay home but if it comes to that I am ready. I took a loan out of my thrift savings at work to hold us over if worst comes to worst. I had to pay a fee to take it out, have to pay my own account interest and am losing interest I would have otherwise received on it - but to know I have it available if needed is well worth it. When the government gets back in gear and has a budget, I will redeposit it to my thrift savings plan. Hopefully they will agree on a budget soon. Not having one, now more than 6 months after the fiscal year began, is a disgrace.
All the best,
GB
I doubt I will be told to stay home but if it comes to that I am ready. I took a loan out of my thrift savings at work to hold us over if worst comes to worst. I had to pay a fee to take it out, have to pay my own account interest and am losing interest I would have otherwise received on it - but to know I have it available if needed is well worth it. When the government gets back in gear and has a budget, I will redeposit it to my thrift savings plan. Hopefully they will agree on a budget soon. Not having one, now more than 6 months after the fiscal year began, is a disgrace.
All the best,
GB
NYS Arms Collectors Assn. Spring Gun Show - Road Trip
Brendan and I will be heading up to Syracuse, NY on the 15th of this month so we can attend the NYS Arms Collectors Association's Spring Gun Show. It is a 1,000 table show and can tell you, that is a rare bird in these parts. Rare or not, it sounds like a great time to me. My friends Charlie K & Rob were supposed to come along but cancelled. I am not cancelling if I can help it; I already have made a hotel reservation. Thanks to Hilton Honors points, from my work trips to Arizona over the last 2 years, our stay will be a freebie. I was sort of hoping to stay for 2 nights but Brendan has to work on Sunday and we have to be back by then.
We are planning on leaving on Friday. The drive is about 5 - 6 hours or so, not bad with 2 drivers on board. It should breeze right by. I figure that we will get a good night's sleep at the Hampton Inn & Suites. Not a 5 star hotel but not too shabby when it is for free, heck not even too shabby when you pay for it. I was thinking about the Embassy Suites but figured why use double the points by going just a bit more upscale for only a single night. Our hotel will be only about 7 miles from the show site and literally only three turns made on the road to get from one to the other.
When we go to the show on Saturday, we should be refreshed and ready to check out all 1,000 tables and all the guns available. I am planning on getting a rifle, one of the ones I keep saying I want badly - either an AK-47, a Remington 700 VTR in .308, or a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington. As Brendan told me in an email reply to my sending him a copy of our reservation:
"If we are going up there and its going to take 6 hours one of us better buy something worth a few hundred bucks haha." I agree whole heartedly and really hope I run across one of those rifles at a good price. Even if we don't see one of them, I am going to guess that we will see something worth buying with that many tables. The shows we are used to down closer to us usually have about 325 to 350 tables. So it will be just about 3x as many and thus I am hopeful that will translate to 3x as many guns on sale and some good competition among dealers. It will be a big disappointment if beef jerky, military memorabilia, book and knife sellers out number gun & ammo sellers. Still though it will be a good trip because we are making it together.
Regardless of what we do at the gun show, I hope I remember to bring along a couple of spinning rods/reels, a minnow bucket, minnow trap and whatever else we can use to have some fun at some of the local water holes up that way. Why just spend all our time at a gun show when good fishing is close at hand as well! There sure are a lot of possibilities for fishing up that way and I plan not to miss at least few of them.
All the best,
Glenn B
We are planning on leaving on Friday. The drive is about 5 - 6 hours or so, not bad with 2 drivers on board. It should breeze right by. I figure that we will get a good night's sleep at the Hampton Inn & Suites. Not a 5 star hotel but not too shabby when it is for free, heck not even too shabby when you pay for it. I was thinking about the Embassy Suites but figured why use double the points by going just a bit more upscale for only a single night. Our hotel will be only about 7 miles from the show site and literally only three turns made on the road to get from one to the other.
When we go to the show on Saturday, we should be refreshed and ready to check out all 1,000 tables and all the guns available. I am planning on getting a rifle, one of the ones I keep saying I want badly - either an AK-47, a Remington 700 VTR in .308, or a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington. As Brendan told me in an email reply to my sending him a copy of our reservation:
"If we are going up there and its going to take 6 hours one of us better buy something worth a few hundred bucks haha." I agree whole heartedly and really hope I run across one of those rifles at a good price. Even if we don't see one of them, I am going to guess that we will see something worth buying with that many tables. The shows we are used to down closer to us usually have about 325 to 350 tables. So it will be just about 3x as many and thus I am hopeful that will translate to 3x as many guns on sale and some good competition among dealers. It will be a big disappointment if beef jerky, military memorabilia, book and knife sellers out number gun & ammo sellers. Still though it will be a good trip because we are making it together.
Regardless of what we do at the gun show, I hope I remember to bring along a couple of spinning rods/reels, a minnow bucket, minnow trap and whatever else we can use to have some fun at some of the local water holes up that way. Why just spend all our time at a gun show when good fishing is close at hand as well! There sure are a lot of possibilities for fishing up that way and I plan not to miss at least few of them.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Southern Fried Stings - What A Show
I have been sitting here, blogging, and half heartedly watching this show called Southern Fried Stings. I missed just who are what are the folks in this group of do-gooders. I guess they are sort of vigilantes who go out and make citizens' arrests or who at least gather evidence then call in the cops to make arrests. All I can say is that each time I look up, one of them is getting knocked on his butt or belted in the face or being hit in the head by condoms full of urine (yes - pee filled condoms that were being sold, by a transvestite right outside a parole office, to parolees to pass drug testing). It is one heck of a wild show. Next time I have it on, I will not be blogging but intently watching.
Oh yeah, its on Verizon's channel 183 in my neck of the woods, something called truTV. I am not sure I ever watched anything on this channel before but I will be checking it now and then from now on.
All the best,
Glenn B
Oh yeah, its on Verizon's channel 183 in my neck of the woods, something called truTV. I am not sure I ever watched anything on this channel before but I will be checking it now and then from now on.
All the best,
Glenn B
The Tsunami - A Video Link
Tonight, my brother-in-law sent me a link to a video about the Tsunami that hit Japan. I saw some stuff on the news over the days after it happened but never saw anything like this footage. It is several minutes long but I think it is worth the watch.
The power of nature to cause devastation that it shows is truly awesome. It depicts what surely must have been actual loss of life though you do not see anyone actually die because you see it from a bird's eye view but you just know some of the people seen are doomed. They are in cars and trucks and they say one guy is running from it (but it actually looks to me as if he is on a motorcycle he is moving so fast). I am just letting you know so you can choose to watch or not. here is the link:
http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://flash.vx.roo.com/streamingVX/63056/1458/20110311_japan_wave_successions_sky_1000k.mp4&autostart=true
Sorry but there was no way to embed it.
Why am I posting this at this late date. It is never to late to wake up and be prepared. How can you prepare for this? have a plan to evacuate. Have grab and go supplies. If you are ever in any area where they even hint that a Tsunami may be on its way toward you, all I can say is do yourself a favor and get to high ground if you have the time. If not, well - as for me - I would get to the top of the highest point I could reach and hope for the best.
Mind you the point is not to just be prepared for a Tsunami, be ready for whatever can happen. If you do survive the initial onset of any such disaster be it a Tsunami, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, a forest fire, civil unrest - whatever - you will be much better off if you have a plan and some supplies to get you through the next few to several days.
All the best,
Glenn B
The power of nature to cause devastation that it shows is truly awesome. It depicts what surely must have been actual loss of life though you do not see anyone actually die because you see it from a bird's eye view but you just know some of the people seen are doomed. They are in cars and trucks and they say one guy is running from it (but it actually looks to me as if he is on a motorcycle he is moving so fast). I am just letting you know so you can choose to watch or not. here is the link:
http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http://flash.vx.roo.com/streamingVX/63056/1458/20110311_japan_wave_successions_sky_1000k.mp4&autostart=true
Sorry but there was no way to embed it.
Why am I posting this at this late date. It is never to late to wake up and be prepared. How can you prepare for this? have a plan to evacuate. Have grab and go supplies. If you are ever in any area where they even hint that a Tsunami may be on its way toward you, all I can say is do yourself a favor and get to high ground if you have the time. If not, well - as for me - I would get to the top of the highest point I could reach and hope for the best.
Mind you the point is not to just be prepared for a Tsunami, be ready for whatever can happen. If you do survive the initial onset of any such disaster be it a Tsunami, a hurricane, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, a forest fire, civil unrest - whatever - you will be much better off if you have a plan and some supplies to get you through the next few to several days.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wow, 11PM and No Blog Post Yet
I'll try to think of something soon but only got home from work at about 930PM. Oh well!
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Monday, April 4, 2011
Military Portraits By Patriotic Artist Kaziah Hancock
The video you are about to see in the below video at the below link is an absolutely amazing outpouring of compassion on the part of an artist by the name of Kaziah Hancock. She paints very special portraits, of very special people, to give yet to other very special folks. This woman is most definitely one of the finest patriots and one of the most wonderful ladies of which I have ever heard and she is one heck of a good artist too. As she says, she cooks!
Well, I tried to embed the video but it did not work, so here is the link:
http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/?bctid=51748824001
All the best,
Glenn B
Well, I tried to embed the video but it did not work, so here is the link:
http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/?bctid=51748824001
All the best,
Glenn B
My Son's First Internship Interview
My son is scheduled to be interviewed for an internship tomorrow. I am pretty proud of him to see him taking some of his first steps toward trying to secure a career for himself. I am even prouder to realize that he somewhat wants to follow in my footsteps. You see, the internship is with my current employer. I told him not to get his hopes up too high; I did not tell him I have already set my own hopes too high for both of us combined. It would be a truly excellent feeling accomplishment for him should he get the position and a truly great feeling of accomplishment for me too. If he gets it great but if not, I am sure he will try again until he does get one. I am really quite happy to see he is applying himself in the right direction. It makes me feel that all that parenting stuff was well worth sticking to for all those years.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The New World Trade Center...
...is finally starting to take some form in the way of buildings. They have been going up, probably, for less than a year now. I visit the area fairly often to eat and really do not remember when it went from a huge vacant lot (excavation / foundation pit) to the building actually going up. 
I often eat, just across the street from the south side of the complex, at Ho Yips Chinese Restaurant. (I am not certain about the name but that is what we call anyhow, it is across from the far side of the pictured building). It is not the same as it was before 9/11 but the food is decent, they give you a lot and it is inexpensive. Not as good as the food in Chinatown but then Chinatown is not right across the street from the Trade Center.I guess that when I am there, I sort of take the work going on for granted or at least am used to it by now. For several years though there was little going on, if anything, construction wise. I was not too happy that it was being held up as long as it was being delayed by one thing or another but lived with it like the rest of us. Now, I am happy to see it finally reaching for the sky as it should be doing.
There are two buildings currently going up that you can see from ground level over the fence around the construction site. One is pretty tall already, maybe 40 stories and is being built over the site of the old Custom House that was at 6WTC. I believe that will be the Freedom Tower or whatever they are now calling it to be politically correct. The other is immediately across the street from the Chinese restaurant I mentioned and even from the 2nd floor of the restaurant the view is now blocked by it. There used to be an excellent view into the foundation pit, now there is an excellent view of the side of the new building. I figured that while some New Yorkers like me see it often, there are many of you across the nation who have no to little idea of the progress finally being made with the construction and who have not seen pics of it. With that in mind, I snapped 3 really fast pics of it while on lunch about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Forgot all about them til I downloaded other pics from my camera today. So if you are among my few loyal readers, you will get to see what it looked like a couple or so weeks ago. Feel free to pass the pics onto others or to copy them for use in blogs. The only conditions of use are that you please credit them to me and that you post a link, with the pics, back to this post.
All the best,
Glenn B
Ballseye's Gun Shots 129: Marlin 336 Disassembly & Reassembly (Field Strip) For Maintenance & Cleaning
I used to have 2 informational videos up on my blog regarding the disassembly and reassembly of my Marlin 336 rifle. I had them here on the blog by way of YouTube. I received several nasty comments, on YouTube, about the videos because of a very lengthy disclaimer I had in each of them. The disclaimer is now covered below in brief and also, over on the right side of my blog in the Red Zone, in depth.
These new videos do not contain the lengthy disclaimer of the past videos so should be more enjoyable to watch. The reason I remade them is because I think people were getting a lot out of them. Regardless of the disclaimers, the blog post originally containing them was one of the most popular of my blog if not the most popular. It was often number 1 for the number of page views and visits.
Here is my new brief version of the disclaimer followed by the videos: If you view these videos, use information from them, or pass them on, to others who view them, use info from them, or pass them on yet again (ad infinitum), you do so at your own risk and agree to hold me harmless and indemnify me.
If these videos are not viewable, please leave me a comment to that effect.
All the best,
GB
These new videos do not contain the lengthy disclaimer of the past videos so should be more enjoyable to watch. The reason I remade them is because I think people were getting a lot out of them. Regardless of the disclaimers, the blog post originally containing them was one of the most popular of my blog if not the most popular. It was often number 1 for the number of page views and visits.
Here is my new brief version of the disclaimer followed by the videos: If you view these videos, use information from them, or pass them on, to others who view them, use info from them, or pass them on yet again (ad infinitum), you do so at your own risk and agree to hold me harmless and indemnify me.
If these videos are not viewable, please leave me a comment to that effect.
All the best,
GB
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Spring Cleaning - The Tropical Fish (and Newt) Aquarium
Maybe it was the sun shining brightly today or the somewhat warmer temperatures than the last few miserable rainy days but whatever it was it bit me and got me itching to clean my big aquarium. Now it may not be big by your standards, it is only about 35 to 40 gallons but it is certainly a lot bigger than any of the other three I currently am keeping. I have two 10 gallon tanks, one 20 gallon and the big one set up right now.
I started the chore of cleaning it and I do mean a complete cleaning hours ago. I drained about 2/3 of the water. Then I caught the fish with a net. (By the way this is last time I will use a mesh net on my Pictus Catsfish, I had to cut off one pectoral fin tip to free the fish and the other side's fin now wears a bit of nylon mesh as I also had to cut the net; and I should have known better but did not think of it at the time I netted the first one. I got the other one with a cup.) I put all the fish into a 5 gallon bucket with the water they had been in and I aerated it while I worked. Then I took out the rest of the water and the gravel. I cleaned the gravel. Luckily my son was home, because I had Brendan give me a hand getting the tank outside where I scrubbed it out and rinsed it with the garden hose. Then back inside and back on its stand. I then cleaned all the tank accessories and filters. Once that was done I put the gravel back into the tank, set up some driftwood (natural and artificial), replanted the Amazon Sword Plant, put in fresh water, and then dumped in the fish and the Iberian Ribbed Newt and 2 snails. Except for the one Pictus Catfish wearing a bit of mesh on one fin and missing the tip of another, all look none the worse for the wear. The only real loss today were two guppies I missed that wound up going down the drain with water I had siphoned out of the tank and the tank heater. The heater will be an expensive loss, probably $40 or so. I forgot to unplug it, shame on me, and it cracked when I drained the water. Oh well, such is older middle age, the brain farts a lot and shit happens.
Right now, there are about 20 or 30 guppies in the tank along with 2 Pictus Cats, 2 Kribensis, 2 rams, 1 Cardinal (I just cannot find them healthy at any nearby pet shops or would have more), 5 Corydoras paleatus Catfish, 2 snails and 1 Iberian Ribbed Newt. With any luck, with the water change, cooler temp of the water I added today (I cooled it by about 5 degrees) and some good feeding lately of high protein foods, the paleatus cats will breed. That would be a big bonus for the job of the tank clean up. I have some Green Aeneus cats (Corydoras aeneus) in another tank and they breed repeatedly whenever I do a water change with cooler water but the paleatus cats are more picky as to when they breed. Hopefully all this will trigger them. As for my green aeneus cats, while they breed like rabbits or better, none of the eggs are ever fertile. I am almost positive I have 2 males and 2 females too. Of well, food for the guppies that share their tank and for the blue tailed newts too I suppose. If the paleatus cats breed, I am hopeful I can gets the eggs out or covered before they are all eaten by tank-mates. The one time before that these fish bred for me the eggs were fertile but got eaten before I had a chance to save them. I should know in a day or two if I gave them the desired conditions to trigger their breeding. Keeping my fins crossed til then.
All the best,
Glenn B
I started the chore of cleaning it and I do mean a complete cleaning hours ago. I drained about 2/3 of the water. Then I caught the fish with a net. (By the way this is last time I will use a mesh net on my Pictus Catsfish, I had to cut off one pectoral fin tip to free the fish and the other side's fin now wears a bit of nylon mesh as I also had to cut the net; and I should have known better but did not think of it at the time I netted the first one. I got the other one with a cup.) I put all the fish into a 5 gallon bucket with the water they had been in and I aerated it while I worked. Then I took out the rest of the water and the gravel. I cleaned the gravel. Luckily my son was home, because I had Brendan give me a hand getting the tank outside where I scrubbed it out and rinsed it with the garden hose. Then back inside and back on its stand. I then cleaned all the tank accessories and filters. Once that was done I put the gravel back into the tank, set up some driftwood (natural and artificial), replanted the Amazon Sword Plant, put in fresh water, and then dumped in the fish and the Iberian Ribbed Newt and 2 snails. Except for the one Pictus Catfish wearing a bit of mesh on one fin and missing the tip of another, all look none the worse for the wear. The only real loss today were two guppies I missed that wound up going down the drain with water I had siphoned out of the tank and the tank heater. The heater will be an expensive loss, probably $40 or so. I forgot to unplug it, shame on me, and it cracked when I drained the water. Oh well, such is older middle age, the brain farts a lot and shit happens.
Right now, there are about 20 or 30 guppies in the tank along with 2 Pictus Cats, 2 Kribensis, 2 rams, 1 Cardinal (I just cannot find them healthy at any nearby pet shops or would have more), 5 Corydoras paleatus Catfish, 2 snails and 1 Iberian Ribbed Newt. With any luck, with the water change, cooler temp of the water I added today (I cooled it by about 5 degrees) and some good feeding lately of high protein foods, the paleatus cats will breed. That would be a big bonus for the job of the tank clean up. I have some Green Aeneus cats (Corydoras aeneus) in another tank and they breed repeatedly whenever I do a water change with cooler water but the paleatus cats are more picky as to when they breed. Hopefully all this will trigger them. As for my green aeneus cats, while they breed like rabbits or better, none of the eggs are ever fertile. I am almost positive I have 2 males and 2 females too. Of well, food for the guppies that share their tank and for the blue tailed newts too I suppose. If the paleatus cats breed, I am hopeful I can gets the eggs out or covered before they are all eaten by tank-mates. The one time before that these fish bred for me the eggs were fertile but got eaten before I had a chance to save them. I should know in a day or two if I gave them the desired conditions to trigger their breeding. Keeping my fins crossed til then.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, March 31, 2011
A 12 Year Old Dutch Girl Gives Birth...
...and if you read the article about it - well, you may start to wonder what in hell is wrong with the world! It sure made me wonder that and a few other things.
First the article tells us that she gave birth while on a school trip after having complained about stomach pains. That is when the teachers realized she was in labor. Wow, those teachers were pretty sharp to have realized that a 12 year old girl was in labor; I would say sharp enough that they also should have realized she was pregnant long before she went into labor. So why didn't anyone notify the police well before the girl gave birth? How is it that they, who pretend to be smart enough to teach our children, better than they claim we the parents can, about sex and condoms and AIDS and morality, did not recognize that a little girl was pregnant!
Then the article says that the girl refused to name the father of her baby. Understandable, she is probably terrified of whoever impregnated her. The article does name a suspect, at least a suspect as I see him, and that is the girl's own father. You see, it is reported that the girls father sexually abused another of his daughters and served 2 years in prison for that offense. Are you wondering again? I am. I wonder how is it that the girl's father, who had already sexually assaulted another daughter, could get close enough to the little 11 year old (she would have had to have been 11 when the intercourse took place) to be able to even be a suspect. Of course, he is innocent until proven guilty but you don't need to be proven guilty to be a suspect. If you were wondering too, how he could have become a suspect, here is the answer: He won custody of the little girl, his daughter, after he divorced from his wife.
Okay, I understand now, a convicted sexual offender, who was convicted of sexually abusing one of his own daughters, who reportedly went to jail for 2 years for sexual abuse, was considered to have done his time and to have been rehabilitated and then won custody of his children - that he no doubt loved dearly. Why would someone wonder about that, happens all the time - doesn't it!!!
The article then explains that the police are now involved:
"Dutch police said in a statement Wednesday, "The girl got pregnant when she was 11, which in itself means there has been a criminal offense. Article 244 of the Penal Code, sex with a minor under 12, is punishable. In addition, there are now [circumstances] reported by the Child Protection Board. Taking these two circumstances, the police is now investigating who the father [of this baby] is." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/30/12-year-old-dutch-girl-gives-birth-school-trip/#ixzz1IB3mglf7
Are you now wondering anything else. I surely am. You see, I have to wonder: Would it have been legal in the Netherlands for a man to have sex with his 12 year old girl? I mean, didn't the report just say that the reasons the police are investigating is because sex under 12 is a punishable offense and because the Child Protection Board has made a report about it all? So are they implying that had she not been under 12, or had the Child Protection Board not reported the sexual assault, that the police would not have investigated? That makes me wonder if sex with a girl 12 or older is legal in the Netherlands!
Hopefully the police will be able to soon discover who is the father of the 12 year old girl's baby. Hopefully that person will soon be in jail awaiting trial. Hopefully they will have arrested the right person and that person will be found guilty and that person will go to jail for many, many, many more years than two. I would also hope that, if the father is the guilty party, he is never released from jail to be able to do something like this again.
I wonder, am I out of my mind or is it theassholes liberal leftists who, in essence by way of only a 2 year sentence for sexual abuse, excuse this type of behavior, are out of their minds. I believe, if anyone ever deserved to be executed for a crime, it is the person who commits the crime of impregnating a little girl. I even wonder about that though, about why everyone else in the world does not think likewise.
All the best,
Glenn B
First the article tells us that she gave birth while on a school trip after having complained about stomach pains. That is when the teachers realized she was in labor. Wow, those teachers were pretty sharp to have realized that a 12 year old girl was in labor; I would say sharp enough that they also should have realized she was pregnant long before she went into labor. So why didn't anyone notify the police well before the girl gave birth? How is it that they, who pretend to be smart enough to teach our children, better than they claim we the parents can, about sex and condoms and AIDS and morality, did not recognize that a little girl was pregnant!
Then the article says that the girl refused to name the father of her baby. Understandable, she is probably terrified of whoever impregnated her. The article does name a suspect, at least a suspect as I see him, and that is the girl's own father. You see, it is reported that the girls father sexually abused another of his daughters and served 2 years in prison for that offense. Are you wondering again? I am. I wonder how is it that the girl's father, who had already sexually assaulted another daughter, could get close enough to the little 11 year old (she would have had to have been 11 when the intercourse took place) to be able to even be a suspect. Of course, he is innocent until proven guilty but you don't need to be proven guilty to be a suspect. If you were wondering too, how he could have become a suspect, here is the answer: He won custody of the little girl, his daughter, after he divorced from his wife.
Okay, I understand now, a convicted sexual offender, who was convicted of sexually abusing one of his own daughters, who reportedly went to jail for 2 years for sexual abuse, was considered to have done his time and to have been rehabilitated and then won custody of his children - that he no doubt loved dearly. Why would someone wonder about that, happens all the time - doesn't it!!!
The article then explains that the police are now involved:
"Dutch police said in a statement Wednesday, "The girl got pregnant when she was 11, which in itself means there has been a criminal offense. Article 244 of the Penal Code, sex with a minor under 12, is punishable. In addition, there are now [circumstances] reported by the Child Protection Board. Taking these two circumstances, the police is now investigating who the father [of this baby] is." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/30/12-year-old-dutch-girl-gives-birth-school-trip/#ixzz1IB3mglf7
Are you now wondering anything else. I surely am. You see, I have to wonder: Would it have been legal in the Netherlands for a man to have sex with his 12 year old girl? I mean, didn't the report just say that the reasons the police are investigating is because sex under 12 is a punishable offense and because the Child Protection Board has made a report about it all? So are they implying that had she not been under 12, or had the Child Protection Board not reported the sexual assault, that the police would not have investigated? That makes me wonder if sex with a girl 12 or older is legal in the Netherlands!
Hopefully the police will be able to soon discover who is the father of the 12 year old girl's baby. Hopefully that person will soon be in jail awaiting trial. Hopefully they will have arrested the right person and that person will be found guilty and that person will go to jail for many, many, many more years than two. I would also hope that, if the father is the guilty party, he is never released from jail to be able to do something like this again.
I wonder, am I out of my mind or is it the
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Today In History - The Colt 1911 Adopted By The U.S. Army
For the most part, I am neither a fan nor a detractor of the Colt 1911. I don't own one but I readily admit I would like one.
With that said, allow me to point out it is one fine American Pistol. There was probably no other pistol so well associated with United States military strength as was (and probably as still is) the Colt 1911. Based upon that honor and upon how many of our service members have carried and shot them, I would be remiss as a gun guy, supporter of our military, and somewhat of a history buff if I did not tell you all that:
It held that honor for many years until it was pretty much replaced by the Beretta M9 about 25 or so years ago. The Beretta, though an excellent pistol, shoots the measly 9mm pea-shooter round. The Colt 1911 shoots the venerable .45ACP, and you can bet it packs a wallop. I am pretty sure many of our wartime enemies could attest to that. It was and remains a great pistol among the great pistols of the world. My hat goes off to John M. Browning for designing it and to Colt for manufacturing it and to the U.S. Army for arming our soldiers with it once upon a time in history.
All the best,
Glenn B
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