Bulgarian Maniac Beheads Apparently Unarmed Retiree

A Bulgarian reportedly beheaded a woman, yesterday, in a supermarket on the Spanish island of Tenerife. This is why, if you can be armed, you should always be armed:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1386762/British-woman-beheaded-Tenerife-machete.html

If reading that article did not scare you enough to arm yourself, then read this one:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387225/Woman-beheaded-Tenerife-retired-grandma-Norwich.html

That was the original article I read about it, it goes into more detail about how the guy was stalking his victim and how the woman realized he was stalking her. She even went into a government office and asked for help. Then when she thought all was clear, she left and he again was tailing her and reportedly followed her into the store where he killed her. Too bad she was not the one who had the thought to grab a knife or machete in the store.

May she rest in peace and may the guilty party receive true justice at the end of a rope.

Be careful out there,
Glenn B

Today Was A Pretty Nice Day For Me

I had a pretty nice day today. I drove out to my sister's neck of the woods on eastern Long Island this morning 9ad into the early afternoon). My destination was not my sister's house but the local village hall. Along the way, I saw my friend and fellow Long Island Herpetological Society member, John H on the road - headed in the wrong way. I pulled a u-turn and flagged him down and we headed to the village hall in tandem. We were there in a couple of minutes where we were met by my sister. Shortly thereafter, a custodian arrived and he let us in to the building. Others also started to show up - the others being Cub Scouts dropped off by their parents. John and I, with some help from the others started to unload the special cargo of our cars and put everything inside. Soon enough we were set up and the show began.

The show was nothing less than a Long Island Herpetological Society presentation on reptiles & amphibians for the local Cub Scout pack. John and I each took turns showing various herps to the scouts and the two oms who stayed with them (my sister and a nice lady Ann Marie). We showed off a good variety of critters including: 2 Corn Snakes, 2 Hermann's Tortoises, 3 Crested Geckos, a bearded Dragon, 2 Red Foot Tortoises, a Morning Gecko, a Leachianus Gecko, a really beautifully colored Panther Chameleon, an Anderson's Salamander, 5 Blue Tailed Fire Belly Newts, a Blue Tongued Skink, and an African Clawed Frog. We had a absolutely captive (or captivated) audience for over an hour. It was not until the snacks came out that we started to lose the interest of the youngsters. I have to hand it to these kids, mostly 10 year olds and a 14 year old, they were pretty sharp. Not only did they ask really intelligent questions, they answered questions likewise and they had several points to make along the way.

I have got to hand it to my friend John, his presentation of his animals was quite informative. He sure knows his stuff when it comes to lizards and he sure has some interesting ones! Both I and the scouts were lucky he came along today.

After that we all parted ways and I headed home. I called the wife while en route to ask if she wanted to go out to diner and she told me she already had plans to go out with our daughter and our neighbor Trish. Then I asked if we needed anything from the supermarket or Costco and she said "nope". I drove on and decided to make a stop at a pet shop on the way. I needed some dog snacks, and some fish food for my newts, salamanders and tropical fish. Just before I got to the shop, I called my son and asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner with his old man. He said 'let's go'. I made my stop and headed right home. At home, we I offloaded all the critters with Brendan's help and soon after we were off.

We headed into Glendale, Queens, to Zum Stamtisch - a really good German restaurant and bar. It was packed when we got there and I asked if he wanted to sit at the bar to eat. he agreed and as luck would have it, 2 people were just leaving the bar and we had a couple of seats at an otherwise packed bar. We had a nice meal, I had a few drinks, my first bier in about 2 or 3 months and 2 shots of Kirschwasser. I was only going to have the bier and one shot, but an old friend who bartends there bought me a second shot. Brendan had a single Hefe Weisse Bier, same as I had. It was a good time but too short and the next thing I knew we were headed home.

When I got home, Brendan stayed out to go meet some of his buds. I came down to the basement, fed the fish and plopped down to watch some TV and write a blog post. Just as I sat down to start blogging, I felt something on my arm tickling me. I looked over and found a freeloader who probably hitched a ride on me out near my sister's place. It was a tick, her area is loaded with them. Lucky for me, it was only crawling on me and had not, to my knowledge, sank its mandibles into me for a meal. Last time I found a tick stuck in me, from out that way, I got a rash. I went to the doc who told me don't worry because it was absolutely, positively, definitely not a Lyme Disease rash. She did a test anyway and yes, of course, it was positive. Second time I had it for sure, probably the third time in actuality. I do not want it again, my joints have suffered enough. Anyway, the tick today was not a deer tick, it was way too large. You can bet I am happy about that and that I did not find it dining at my expense.

Now I am blogging and half assed watching a movie called Event Horizon. I think I need to pay more attention to the movie, so later 4 U.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 135: Your Ammo Cache - Is It Too Much, Just Enough...

...Or Nowhere Near What You Might Need?

I did an inventory not too long ago and I'll be damned if I can find it now, but I think I thought I had just about enough 9mm Luger Ammo on hand to last me quite awhile. If I remember right, just off the top of my head, my muddled middle aged memory tell me I had about 3 or 4K of 9mm rounds on hand. "Wow", you say, "that seems like a lot". Really it is not. That is why I bought some more, another 500 rounds, soon after I did the inventory.

Since the inventory, I have probably shot at least 750 rounds of it at the range. Yet, you may think it still seems I have a good amount left over. Truth is though, next month I am going to an NRA firearms instructor school that requires me to bring along 900 rounds of 9mm ammo plus the shotgun ammo I will need for the course. Once I shoot that up, what will I have. Well, if my memory as to the inventoried amount was right, even at the high end, then after the training I would be down 750 rounds from range trips so far, another 900 from the planned training, and whatever else I will have shot in between now and the NRA training. For example, I had planned to go to the range last night but got delayed and did not make it. I had 400 rounds in my tricky bag to shoot through my Glock 26. If did use all that, then my inventory would be significantly lower, by about 1,700 to 1,950 rounds in total. If I was at 4K rounds when I did the inventory that would mean I'd only have 2,050 rounds of it left. Just think how fast that could go and then I'd have none! Thank goodness for sales on ammo because I just bought that other 500 rounds of 9mm ammo about a week or two ago. I received it a few days or so ago. Yep, I like to make sure I have enough on hand - just in case I need a case - or two - for a rainy day or a zombie attack or a terrorist insurgency or for NRA training.

Some say you can never have enough ammo and I agree as long as I an holed up in my house safe and secure. If I ever have to lug a bunch of it around with me while afoot, well then, I surely would be of the mind i could have too much. That is, at least until I ran low.

All the best,
Glenn B

No Blogging Due To...

...a couple of things. First of all, Blogger was down for hours upon hours upon hours, so I did not get a chance to post anything Friday morning when I had time to do so. It may have been down Thursday night too, I don't remember because I was too bushed to blog. As for Friday night, I am not sure if Blogger was up and running by then. I just got home from work and it is already the wee hours of Saturday morning. Oh well. I will be busy later today but should get time to blog again on Saturday evening, that is if Blogger is up and running.

All the best,
GB

Did I Piss You Off Or Just Get More Boring Than Usual?

I ask because my readership has fallen pretty drastically over the past two weeks or so. I had been averaging about 110-120 unique visits a day (certainly not a lot but good for my blog). I am down to about 80 a day now. Any suggestions as to which of my interest you would like me to write more about? Please keep it civil if you do make a suggestion.

Thanks,
GB

Raffaele Bendandi - Was He A Seer Of Doom & Gloom

So, back in 1915, the guy supposedly predicts that on May 11, 2011 the planets, stars and whatever else will all be aligned just right causing a major earthquake in Rome, Italy. Today, people in Italy sort of panicked. Parents called in to schools saying their kids would be out today, other people banged in sick at the office (up to 20% of Romes workforce reportedly stayed out of work today), others slept outside or in campers to be away from buildings - all just in case. You see, the last time this guy had predicted an earthquake, that preceded his prediction for today, there was an earthquake where he predicted it but two days late. The thing is though, there is supposedly no proof he actually predicted a quake for today but for some reason people in Rome think he did so. See:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/11/quakes-hit-italy-rome-despite-myth/


Regardless of whether or not he actually made such a prediction, guess what - no earthquake in Rome today and guess what day is in two days if he really did predict one and it comes late - Friday the 13th. Of course, maybe this time his prediction is not two days off the mark but two countries off the mark. There were two earthquakes in Spain today. They caused scores of injuries, some deaths and structural destruction on a pretty wide scale in the area they hit. Coincidence or did he (or the rumor) hit it just right??? See:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/11/earthquakes-cause-major-damage-southern-spain/?test=latestnews

I report, you decide.

All the best,
Glenn B

NRA LE Instructor School

Not much time to blog tonight. I am in the middle of making reservations for my upcoming trip to Allentown, PA for the NRA LE Handgun & Shotgun Instructor Development School next month. It is a way off, but hotels do have a habit of filling up before the great procrastinator (that would be me) books a room. I have , at least, learned that much in my travels. I don't want to stay at some dive for 5 or 6 days, so I am trying to get it all arranged tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B

Osama bin Laden Death Photo versus Home Videos and Photos

One Man's Personal Opinion:

So, they refuse to show the photograph(s) of Osama bin Lead-in Laden as that scrawny pig was laying there dead, shot in his head. Why will they not show it? Because they say it would be insulting to terrorists, Islamic extremists, and Muslims in general - and that the death picture may incite them to violence. However, they are more than happy to shove in our faces pictures, of Osama bin Laden in life, without a worry in the world that these photographs and videos will inspire terrorists to take actions against us when they see their deceased leader when he was still alive and well. Nor do they even consider, not even for one brief moment, that We The People of the United States of America might be insulted by having to see photos, and worse yet home movies, of that piece of pig droppings while he was alive and well.

After they killed him (which is about the only thing the government seems to have gotten right) what did they do that was insulting to the people of America? First they gave the utmost respect to the remains of the most wanted and despised man in our history. They even bathed it. Then they buried it within the timeframe according to Islamic custom even though bin Laden was a terrible sinner by the tenets of that religion (well that is if you believe the people who make excuses for Islam by saying it is only extremists and not the religion that is at fault). Then, even though they have pictures of him dead, they refuse to show them to us or the world saying it could insult Muslims and incite them to violence against the United States or our troops.

Don't they get it yet - because we are America, a freedom loving nation, we incite them to violence against us just by being us. Holy bumbling bureaucrats Batman, these guys are truly dunderheads! Don't they realize that even drawing a harmless cartoon incites them to violence, they are prone to it and seek to destroy us by it if we do not convert. Then again, even if we convert we need to remember that they even kill one another quite regularly over the most inane of matters. Now our leaders want to inundate us, not the Muslim community, with home photos and videos of this guy. Why would we want to see home photos and videos of a despicable person who would not have been worth the dog dirt on the bottom of my shoe had I just stepped in a pile of it. Remember this ridiculous posturing by our politicians and bureaucrats. Keep it all somewhere in the back of your minds to be triggered the next couple of times you visit a polling place and are about to vote. Vote how you want but please think about all this first.

Better yet, do something now too. Write to your elected officials, now! Complain about this, now! Make a fuss, raise holy hell or unholy hell for that matter but do it now! Are you mad, then tell them you are mad, now! Tell them to stop this absolute absurdity and to act like real Americans. Show the world that we killed the bastard and what the result looks like when you attack us. Then tell the rest of the terrorists in Al Qaeda and the Taliban that we are coming for them next - to do them the same way or worse. You might be surprised of the effect it will have on them being that we have all that computer information on them. Then set the missiles flying and the SEALS a killing and let our soldiers wage war the way it should be waged - with the goal of our victory and a totally defeated enemy. You won’t make our country safe by coddling our foes, you will make it safe by killing them off until they surrender or are all dead.

All the best
to patriotic Americans,
Glenn B

Happy Mothers' Day...

...to all of you mothers out there. I hope you enjoy your day.

I am going to see my mom this morning and try to put a smile on her face. I'll spend some time with her, then head home to spend some time with my wife and mother-in-law (who is coming to visit).

Hope your day is a nice one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy I Did Not Bet Money...

...on Pants on Fire in the Kentucky Derby. Animal Kingdom made one heck of a an impressive finish! Wow, that was an awesome show of horse power!

I think this year, I will have to attend the Belmont Stakes. I have been to Belmont but not in years and never to the Belmont Stakes.

All the best,

GB

I Am Betting On...

Pants on Fire - and they are off.....

Did President Obama Recently Throw The Ultimate Bomb of Post-Mortem Insults at Osama bin Laden

I doubt that I am the first to think of this but then again I have not heard any other poor demented psyches make mention of it. I was wondering if president Obama recently, either inadvertently or purposefully, took the ultimate after death pot-shot at Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and maybe even the world of Extremist Islam. I mean, how else could you see it when Pres. Obama said:

"We don't need to spike the football..."

If that is not insulting to a radical Islamist, if it is not something that could or should incite extremist Muslims to violence, then nothing is such. It is much worse than showing them a picture of the now dead leader of al Qaeda, isn't it? After all, my friends, of what is the classic American football made? Let me give you a hint or three:

It is not made from synthetic material

It comes from a farmyard animal

Oink, oink, oink...

Yes, you guessed it (or knew it already). The classic American football is made out of the skin (actually the bladder) of the pig - hence the other name for a football: a PIGSKIN. As in, "Pass the pigskin to bubba and he will score" (no they do not mean the pork rinds).

Maybe this President Obama guy is really an all American after all. Now, mind you, one good thing done by him followed by one hell of a great insult to that piece of pig shit Osama bin Laden and his pig shit buddies in al Qaeda doesn't mean I am going to vote for the reelection of President Obama. Perish the thought starting right now! It simply means I am going to take it for granted, until the president himself says otherwise, that when he said: "We don't need to spike the football...", in reference to not showing the body or death picture of bin Laden, the football to which he was referring was Osama bin Laden himself (the photo only being a representation of him) AND I am taking it for granted that he was making a reference to bin Laden as a pigskin to purposefully throw and insult at him and al Qaeda!

Way to go Mr. President - with all due respect sir and in my personal opinion - not only did you finally do something right (let's face it if you wanted to commit political suicide you could have said "NO" to going for bin Laden) you actually may have said something right - and both all in one week! Maybe next you will admit that water-boarding was not torture as classically defined and that because of it we obtained the first clue in a long line of clues that led to killing the most wanted pig on earth and thus you will drop the investigation of those who used it and instead pin medals on their chests.

We don't need to spike the PIGSKIN football..." - I have been rolling on the floor laughing my ass off over that one. It is the best one liner I have heard in years.

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: President Obama having said that almost lends credence to a rumor I heard that: Just before the bag containing bin Laden's body was sealed, some enterprising Navy personnel placed a football in his arms, then sewed the body bag shut so he could rest through eternity holding a pigskin. Was it coincidence that the president used spiking the football!!! I am sure it was just a coincidence of a rumor and a great insult coming one right after the other. Yeah right!

Osama Bin Laden Remembered - Almost As Good As A Day Without Mexicans

BOGUS NEWS FLASH:

Now that Al Qaeda has confirmed the death of their leader Osama bin Laden, a call has gone out for all followers in the USA to pay homage to him for a week in the near future. Stock prices for 7-11 fell drastically as 7-11 has announced that store managers, for 98% of its stores nationwide, have said they will be closing next week due to 'a death in the family'.

In addition, on a local note: Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has announced there will be an increase in the number of buses and subway trains operating next week due to the anticipated shortage of taxi drivers. It is also anticipated that most newsstands in the NYC area will be closed.

On the brighter side, U.S. beer and whiskey manufacturers have seen a quadrupled increase in sales as Americans celebrate a small victory in the War on Terrorism.

Believe that one and I'll tell you another. Don't blame me, I just received an email with a briefer version of that and just felt compelled to have some fun with it. A hat tip to my friend Bob for giving me the inspiration for this one. Now, back to the serious, or is it the delirious, side of life.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is Charles Rangel Out of His Mind?

I just woke up and turned on Fox News. Granted, I was still groggy and was in no condition to be greeted by them doing an interview of Congressman Charles Rangel but then when is one ever prepared for such balderdash as what he spews forth. Well, there he was on Fox News moments ago, and if I understood his babbling style of speech correctly, he was saying that if we cannot tell him under what flag was Al Qaeda, or tell him who they are, then we cannot argue against his point that we do not belong in Afghanistan. He also seemingly argued that we have not achieved anything in Afghanistan in tracking down Al Qaeda. He also, in essence, said that intelligence obtained by torture is invalid and therefor not apparently responsible for accomplishing anything.

Tell me, where were the people captured who we have in custody in Gitmo, captured? What type of technique was use on them, by our CIA, before they got to Gitmo? What information did they give us that led to the assassination of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden? Is Charlie Rangel of of his friggin mind! I think so.

How he can be so flipping ignorant and still be reelected time after time simply amazes me.

Later 4 U,

GB

The Last of the Last - Claude Choules Has Set Sail For His Final Sunset

The last surviving combat veteran of WWI, also a veteran of WWII, passed away yesterday, peacefully, in his sleep., he was 110. Claude Choules joined the British Navy at the age of 15 and did his first bit of service aboard a training ship. By the next year he was assigned to serve on a battleship. He survived WWI, moved to Australia and joined the Australian Navy in which he served during WWII. More info here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/claude-choules-last-world-war-one-veteran-dies

More on his life here:

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

There is only one other known surviving veteran of WWI - Florence Green. She was in the British Woman's Royal Air Force; however, she was not a combatant. It is the end of an era of fighting men, who believed that their war was - The War To End all Wars.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Dog-goned Surprise Awaited Me At Home This Evening

So, I walk in the side door to our house this evening, as usual. I head downstairs to strip off my pistol, holster, magazines and mag pouch, and other accoutrement's of my job. As I am doing so, I hear a voice, not of my house, say: "Is that Glenn?". I say nothing but take off my jacket and put it away. I wash up quickly at the sink in the back of the basement. I hear a lot of hemming, hawing and hooting upstairs. I hear children, girls. I surmise our neighbor, Trish and her daughters are here. go upstairs to say hello but not before having a fairly large vodka - neat. It has been a day for me and I actually need it.

I get upstairs and see my wife, Linda. I also see Trish and her two daughters. There are our four dogs: Pepe, Mimi, Lucy and Roxie. I also see Trish is holding what looks like a long haired kitten. I say hi, we start the small talk and someone says something about the puppy Trish is holding and how many dogs she and Gary (her husband) have and how many we have and Trish says: "But it's okay, I'll take care of it at my place". I am not quite sure why that was said but am a trained investigator, it immediately tells me one thing - Linda, my wife is responsible for the puppy being here. It seems our number has grown by one. Thank goodness for Potato Vodka and the fact I have had a stiff belt already.

I try to get a straight answer. No luck even though a few minutes pass. Suddenly the doorbell rings. I head to the side door then realize that two tones meant it was the front door - new doorbell and I am used to folks coming round to the side door but I turn toward the front. I was fooled but not for long. Two ladies come in the front door. One of them takes the puppy, which I now know is a Chihuahua, a very fluffy and furry one only weeks old. It is a mom and daughter, people my wife knows from her job at the dentist's office. Customers of the dentist who were looking for a home for the puppy for Heaven knows what reason (I know too but will not divulge).

The daughter cries and holds the puppy. Trish and my wife talk to them about it. The side door opens and my son comes in cursing merrily and being goofy about something, not knowing the situation. He sees the puppy and almost immediately figures what has happened and tells my wife, his mom, she is crazy. The puppy belongs to the daughter of the two ladies who just came in the front door. They are already taking care of two dogs and do not need a third. My wife volunteered as a rescue. Our neighbor Trish was here as support for the whole rescue thing, she got Linda into it awhile back. I am at my wits end but am nice to everyone and ask the girl, a lady in her young 20's, what is the puppy's story. Trish, holding an almost empty glass of wine, is shushing me. Brendan is silent mostly, he is a good kid. Trish’s two daughters are taking it all in. Linda is looking guilty because, she knows, I know, she was taking the puppy into our house and I think we do not need five dogs. It is a Chihuahua, did I mention that? Did I mention we already have two of those, plus two mutts.

The ladies leave the puppy with us. Linda and Trish talk about medicine it needs for Kennel Cough. I ask why do we have that dog here if it could get our four dogs sick. There is a brief conversation between myself, Brendan, Linda and Trish - a funny one at that but one I will not divulge - except to say I think someone threatened me and it was not Brendan or my wife. We all laugh. The front bell rings again. The ladies are back. They want the puppy back. They take it despite the best efforts of Trish, with no argument from my wife, to get them to leave it in my our house! Thank goodness they took it. Thank goodness Trish and her daughters leave despite my best efforts to keep Trish here so I can lambaste her, but the girls have got to hit the hay and I am sure Gary would like them all home, and I sure don't want her convincing Linda to try to get the puppy back. I am also sure, I would only get in trouble even if I was only jokingly butting heads with Trish over the puppy, Linda would take it wrong - or maybe not - but it did not happen so I will never know. I go back downstairs for a drink, yes I needed another. Brendan comes down for some vodka and I tell him where it is even though I am sure he knew but was only asking to be nice.

I go upstairs and try to engage my love, Linda, in a conversation about the puppy and its situation and as usual I fail. I do get enough out of her so that she admits it was better the ladies came back to retrieve the puppy. I can only hope they do not change their minds and bring it back because I told the love of my life it sort of would be okay for her to keep it if they did and that is what she really wanted. I laugh from the belly. Am I an asshole or what. Please do not answer that as I know the answer already. After all, about 25 years ago, I said: “I do”. Well, anyway, for now, we still have only 4 dogs, 5 tortoises, 1 turtle, 3 salamanders, 7 newts (or more), and a whole lot of fish. Hopefully we can keep it to that for a bit.

As for our neighbors, maybe we can have them over more often, that was fun.

All the best,
Glenn B

Dog Treats, Gun Stuff and Forgotten Treasures I Found Around The House Tonight

If you have a decent sized collection of guns, then chances are you also have a good sized collection of ammo and firearms accessories too. I know that I do. Now, I keep my guns secure and while I don't misplace guns, I try my best not too anyhow, it seems I often do put other gun related things aside. Then, may I loose track of some of them. It's not like I leave these things laying all around the house; I put them in boxes to protect them, or in drawers and closets for safekeeping, or stash them away in dark corners or up on shelves for storage. It seems though that once they have been out of sight for awhile it is also very easy for them to go out of their minds fall out of mind and I pretty much don't think about them or simply forget all about them. So it is that now and then, with some astonishment, I come across something I had no idea was lurking in the shadows.

Imagine, if you will: a frumpy middle aged overweight but dieting slob firearms enthusiast, with ever so slightly failing eyesight, rummaging through a basement drawer looking for a snack to ease his diet ravaged and gurgling gut a bag of dog treats for his pooches. He opens the drawer, moves this and that and finds a sealed in the box, brand spanking new, can of silicone desiccant. "Hmm..." he thinks, "...that could come in useful for the gun locker" but not needing it now, he just shoves it aside and rummages a bit more. After moving a bunch of books and magazines, there is the bag of dog treats - buried under some other junk. When he lifts the bag, he spies something under it and immediately and happily thinks: "What have we here - buried treasure!". Under those books and other not often thought about drawer junk was another type of foodstuff - not for pets but the kind he feeds to rifles and pistols - ammo. This was ammo with a twist though, it came in a sealed factory collector's tin. The tin was adorned with a picture of a man guiding a boy in how to shoot a rifle. According to what it says on the box, what he found was not only a tin but a 'Collector's Tin' containing 400 rounds of ammunition and a collector's deck of playing cards. The brand name on the tin is Remington.

Imagine, this could happen to you, really it could you know. I mean, after all, it just happened to me about an hour ago. No, I was not about to go bust on my diet and yes, I really was looking for a bag of dogs treats I had stashed away in that dresser draw in my basement.

Now finding that collector's tin got me to thinking: "Didn't I have another collectible ammo set around here somewhere?". I looked high, I looked low, I looked left, I looked right, then realized there, among one of two piles of books atop the dresser, was a somewhat odd looking thing staring right at me from among the book bindings. It sort of blended in with them enough to look like just another binding of just another dusty old tome but, now that I was looking and paying attention, I spotted it as something else right away. I must have seen it every day for Lord knows how long it had been sitting there much like Poe's The Purloined Letter. I took it from the pile, blew off the bit of dust that had settled on it, and I sneezed a couple of times because the dust on all the other books came up in a small but malevolent whirlwind that seemed eager to get at me. After I stopped sneezing, I pulled it out of the improvised cardboard sleeve/dust jacket in which had laid there protected and hidden, in plain sight, for probably a year or two. So, what was it? Much to my surprise there it was the other 'collectible', a Remington knife & ammo set.

This was starting to get me all sorts of excited, thinking that maybe there was cached treasure all about the place just waiting to be discovered or should I say rediscovered. I started to look, ever more so in earnest, in the hope would find something truly valuable that I had put away and forgotten all about. Those things just mentioned were found atop the dresser and in the top drawer of it so, I decided to look lower down. I opened the 3 other drawers of the dresser and and I found, there among some sheets and towels, a bottle of Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey labelled 1995. Before you get to thinking: "Hey, how lucky" well, that was no surprise to me. I knew or at least should have remembered that was in there. Had I been looking for it, it would have come right to mind, or should have, since only put it in there about a month ago or less. What I did not expect to find was a Gerber machete in its scabbard - virtually right next to the bottle. Perhaps not a bad place to have it, that is if someone tries to burgle my golden nectar and I need to protect it.

Okay, enough for the dresser. I took a look at the hide-way bed next to it. There was some stuff piled on it, as usual, but not much because I had recently cleaned the basement pretty good. I moved my laptop case and some papers and a throw pillow and heck if there wasn't something I had not expected. It was a small but dirty manila envelope. I picked it up thinking it was garbage then realized there was something in it. I took a peek and found something I had forgotten all about. Maybe 6 months to a year ago, I ordered several 'Unorganized Militia Gear' in the form of stickers/decals and patches. When I had received that stuff, I gave some to my son, I meant to have the some of the patches sewn onto a jacket or three, put the stickers on my cars, give some to friends but then (you guessed it) I forgot all about them. I am pretty sure they were in my living room, on the desk, kind of a catch all place for what my wife thinks is my junk mail. My guess is that when my wife gave the LR a good clean-up for a party she was holding a couple of weeks ago, the envelope was rerouted and delivered, so to speak, to the basement. Lucky for me it was not rerouted to the trash can.

You know, after finding that, I took another look at those piles of books. Was there more missing treasure to be found there? I had been reading Stephen King's Full Dark - No Stars and it sort of went missing awhile back. I don't know how it got to where it got but there it was in one of the piles of books near the bottom of that pile. You would think, or at least I (in my limited capacity having a muddled middle aged mind) would think, since I had been reading it nightly about a month or two ago, that if it was anywhere in the pile it would be near the top. That, especially since I had not been reading any of the others. Either there had to be gnomes, grinches, elves or a wife involved. Excuse, me for a minute she must have sensed me writing about her: "Yes dear, I'll do the dishes before I hit the hay tonight". Okay, where was I, yes that was it - back in that pile of books.

Another look and I spied yet another volume of lore that I had forgotten all about while in mid-read - ' Roughing It ' by Mark Twain. I definitely have to get back to that one right after the King book. I used to be a big SK fan and while I still like his writing - am no longer a fan. Very recently, with his yammering about taxes and how high they should go, he has in essence taken his leftist creed and tried to shove it down one too many throats. I do not like the taste of it. I think this will be the last of his books that have I spend a dime upon. Still though a good collection of short stories, that is if my having read the first one and half of the second one make me a qualified judge of it.

As you can see from the pic, I have quite a good little collection of books just in those two piles and I would say I have not read about the 1/2 of them if not more. I really need to watch less TV, surf the web less and start reading more. Those books are treasures that can only be enjoyed by becoming closely bonded with them, as if in fellowship, with the authors and characters, and that does not happen by way of mere proximity nor by the process of osmosis. Where I had pretty much seen them every day and ignored them, for how long I do not know, it is different now. I suddenly feel a compelling call to develop a strong camaraderie with the authors and their characters and to nurture and understanding of their themes. About the only way for me to accomplish that kind of intimate bond with them requires my reading a book from cover to cover - maybe more than once.

I guess I found something other than I had been looking for when I went in search of those dog treats and then was spurred on to search for more goodies after I rediscovered those collectible ammo packs. Much like C. Auguste Dupin, I uncovered a treasure that had been hidden in plain sight, so well, as to have become totally overlooked in the every day course of my affairs. Unlike that first detective, I had not been searching for something thought to have been purloined but was merely looking for something to help me bond with some characters other than those in books, our family's 4 dogs. By the way, now that I found the treats, maybe it is best I reward man's best friends with some of them. You see, had it not been because of those 4 legged characters, I never would have started the search that led me to rediscover the treasures I found tonight. Later for you - and may I be so bold as to suggest that while you are waiting to hear from me again, you click on the pics to get a better view of my treasure to see if you can spot the best of them all. Then, why not head off to search out any overlooked treasures of your own. You may be surprised at what you find hidden in plain sight.

All the best,
Glenn B

2010/11 Assigned Soldier (My Adopted Soldier via Soldier's Angels) Is Coming Home

Good news. The soldier, Mike _________, for whom I collected donations toward care packages over the 2010 holiday season, is coming home. I received an email from Soldiers' Angels telling me the news and telling me to hold off sending him additional packages. I was lax in getting out packages after Christmas and got the first one after Christmas or January out in March. I was working on getting a new one out this past weekend but I received the email from Soldiers' Angels on Saturday and that was that.

Here is what they sent me:

Dear Angel,

You are receiving this email from Soldiers' Angels because your adoptive soldier SPC Michael _

(last name redacted by me)__ is due home. Here are the specifics: (they did not give any specifics - go figure). I wouldn't send anything more! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Remember even if you never heard from your soldier your effort was appreciated!

If you would like a new adoptee just use the angel login at http://approvedangels.com with your email: (redacted by me) and your password: (redacted by me) (you may have to copy and paste the link)

Thanks for supporting the troops!

Elaine Baker
Soldiers Angels

p.s.if the link gives you problems just dp a line to angels@soldiersangels.org we could definitely use your help again we have a ton of soldiers waiting for angels

Soldiers' Angels
http://soldiersangels.org

So, I guess i will be asking them to assign me a new soldier and I can use the items I already bought for he next package I was making for Mike _______ on the next guy. I am hoping Mike _______ will contact me. I received several emails thanking me for the packages and then lost the email he was using, which was not the same one that Soldiers' Angels had on file. They had a military email address for him but he contacted me using a personal email address. So Mike, if you are reading this, drop me a line. ope you make it home safe and secure.

As for the rest of you, thanks again for your help with donations toward the packages. You are good Americans!

All the best,
Glenn B

Osama bin Laden - Buried At Sea - WTF!!!

"Officials said bin Laden’s body, which was in U.S. custody, was given a sea burial."(A few lines from the bottom of the article.)

Are they kidding? They claim they have killed the most wanted man in the Universe and they do not publically display the body for the whole world to see! If something does not stink terribly about that then it sure is simply fishy. So what proof is there that bin Laden is really dead? This is or could be worse than the birth certificate, school records, college records, medical history and travel records fiasco. How dare they did not put his body on public display at Ground Zero for all to piss upon view. Once the mania ceases, there will be questions as to the veracity of the claims that he is dead even if they kept DNA samples and videos of his last moments. Someone either was not thinking straight on this one or Heaven forbid that maybe someone is simply not being straight at all on the claim he is dead! You can bet there will be those who claim he is still alive. I just cannnot fathom why they got rid of his body without a public display first.

All the best,
Glenn B

Imagine The Wealth Of Intelligence...

...that was likely found in Osama bin Laden's compound. This is the place in which he thought it was safe enough for himself and his son to stay (his son was reportedly also killed). It almost certainly then was also a place wherein he believed it safe enough to store many of his documents and operational plans. We may yet here of similar operations before the dawn is upon us if our Intelligence people and our troops can act and coordinate quickly enough on what is found. If not today, then in the near future. You can bet that his cohorts are scurrying like roaches when the lights come on, so I hope we act fast on whatever we find.

President Obama, you apparently have finally done something right in a very big way - please don't drop the ball now.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Thanks To The Troops...

...you guys and gals have done a bang up job and deserve the thanks of all Americans. I hope the events of yesterday, the demise of bin Laden, means you will be coming home sooner than later.

To the U.S. Military personnel involved in the operation that took him out, I wish I could shake the hand of each and every one of you, then take you all out for steak dinner and get you all drunk. You deserve a lot more than that though, you deserve the best you can get, the best our country can give. I salute you all.

To the military unit (Seals or Special Forces Soldiers) who brought him down, especially the one specific person or the people, who fired the shots that got him, you are my hero(es); I mean that too. You truly did something heroic.

All the best,
Glenn B

May Those Innocents Who Died...

...on 9/11, and because of its aftermath, find a little more peace in their eternal sleep.

With respect,
Glenn B

I Hope Osama bin Laden Saw It Coming...

...long enough before the shot to realize what was happening. I hope it was a gut shot and he died slowly and miserably. Does that make me a bad guy, I hope not but that is how I feel about him and his death at the hands of U.S. Troops.

As I said in my earlier post, about a half hour ago, HALLELUJA!

All the best for the USA,
Glenn B

Now The Bad News...

...this may carry Pres. Obama to a victory in 2012. Lord help us.

All the best,
GB

HALLELUJA, HALLELUJA, Usama, Usama, Usama bin Laden Is Dead

My son just gave me the news in our kitchen. It is likely a moment I will not forget for a long - long time.

All I can say is, HALLELUJA once again and Oh Happy Days! It was a matter of time thanks to the search started by George W. Bush and to the fact that President Obama did not slam the door in the face of our intelligence services and just closed it on their foot. Good shooting, I would love to know who fired the shot that got him and who gave the coordinates for the hit.

I would also love to know, if even one tiny bit of intelligence that led to this was the result of prisoner interogation at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay or if even the tiniest iota was due to information gleaned through the use of water boarding. Not that it really matters, what matters is we got the bastard.

I am about to watch the prez announce it. (Edited to add: He said it was a ground assualt in Pakistan by U.S. Troops.)

Good riddance.

That is all,
Glenn B