INSOMNIA SUCKETH...

...and it sucketh big time especially when it has kept me up until 0325 (as 325 in the morning). The way I feel right now, I'll be lucky if I get to sleep by 0430 but I am going to try in a few minutes. Who knows, maybe I can get at least 3 or 4 hours sleep before things (like my wife and the dogs going out) start moving around my house later this morning. I would love to get a good 6 hours of sleep, that would be a real treat for how much or little sleep I have been getting lately. Yep, going to sleep by say 0400, then waking up around 1000 would be divine.

Well, I had best waste no more time writing this drivel. I am going to hit the hay; maybe reading a good book, or even a lousy one, will help me pass out.

Later 4 U,
GB

A New Blog Added To Blog Roll

Yet another blog has been added to the blog roll, this one under, TAKE A SHOT WITH THESE SHOOTIST BLOGGERS, Not At Them:

A Girl And Her Gun

http://agirlandhergun.blogspot.com/

If you are of the female persuassion, go here (http://agirlandhergun.blogspot.com/2012/01/give-way.html) to see about the give-away contest she is holding for women entrants only. (I know it says it is an update but it is the original post that was updated an all needed info on how to enter is in the linked post.)

It started with this as a prize: $300 towards any reputable beginning self defense shooting course in the United States. It has mushroomed to include many, many, many valuable prizes, donated by the shooting community, and all for one winner. This is a must enter type thing for any woman considering getting into shooting or improving her shooting for defensive purposes.

I may have to see if I can get my daughter interested in it or maybe my son's girlfriend. Nope, not my wife, not a chance but I may ask her anyway!

Good luck and all the best,
Glenn B

A Flowchart For Choosing Your Religion

It is not mine, it is all over the Internet, nowhere did I see it with a copyright, so here it is again just in case my readers have not seen it (click it to big it): 

By the way, did I mention it is great. I loved the question about bacon. That is, I loved it almost as much as I loved the question about Indian takeout versus Chinese takeout. The the fact that pork (豬, swine, pigs, hogs, the other white meat) plays such a big role in Chinese eats made me think I should have been a Buddhist. I mean, after all is said and done, who would not want to be able to come back (as in reincarnation) and thus be able to keep ordering Chinese takeout! That is, as long as I came back as a human and not a roach, or something similar, whether or not they too like pork in their Chinese takeout.

All the best,
Glenn B

The new me...

...has decided that I had best start doing things more than just moping around my house each day and maybe going for the occasional walk with one of our dogs or taking a short walk to a local store every now and then, like maybe weekly. Now that I have retired, and with the cancer shit going on, it seems that perhaps I have fallen into a rut. Being in that rut is not good. I have not been sleeping well at night, been sleeping too much during the day, have been feeling sorry for myself, and just have not been as active as I should be. Of course, what with recently having gone through both radiation and chemo treatments and still suffering the ravaging effects of both, I still need a lot of rest. So my radiation oncologist told me last time I saw him. He said I should rest and really be very prudent about the amount of any exercise I do. On the other hand, the last time I saw my chemo oncologist, a couple of weeks before I saw the rad guy, the chemo doc told me that walking up to 3 miles a day would do me good. Seems like they are not talking to one another and giving me conflicting instructions. Oh well, I last saw the radiation guy about 4 weeks ago, or was it 3 or maybe 2;  - I will be damned if I remember right now.

So, anyway, I have decided that I have to get out and about more than I have been doing regardless of any conflict between what the doctors say. I am still taking it easy, I am still resting a lot, but I am also getting out more or have been over the past few days. I am not killing myself by walking too much. Yesterday I took the car to the bank and then to the pharmacy. I actually was alert enough, awake enough, to drive. Last week and the couple of weeks before, most days, I would not have chanced driving because I was too fatigued. Getting out a bit recently has helped eliminate the fatigue and that is a good thing. This afternoon, into the evening, I went out again. This time, I did something I have not done in the 17 years or so that we live at our current location. I hopped on a county bus to go to Petco and Staples. Before catching the bus, I walked to the 2nd bus stop away from my home. I figure I walked about 3/4 of a mile to that bus stop. Not much but an awful big improvement for me. Then I took the bus home and got off the stop closest to my house. At least another 1/4 mile walk to my front door and I stopped at a very local, mom and pop pet shop along the way. Certainly no marathon but again, something good for me. It makes me feel alive to have done it and that has got to be better than moping and feeling sorry for myself while in a rut.

Tomorrow, I plan to take another bus ride. If I scoped out the bus maps correctly, one bus goes right by the local indoor range at which I often used to shoot. If that is truly the case, I will be taking that bus with rifle case in the near future. First I will go on a ride on that bus too make sure it will drop me off close enough to the range to make it practical for me to bring along a rifle and other shooting gear. It would be nice to be able to get to the range on my own whenever the urge arises. The family cars are not an option most of the week because they are needed to drive back and forth to work for my wife and son. So, public transport will have to do. I may scope out this bus line tomorrow, or I may take a different bus down to where my brother lives. I would have to arrange for my sister in law to pick me up at the bus station but that probably would be no problem. Decisions, decisions - which one to take for a ride!

Oh well, whatever I decide upon, I think it will be good for me to stay out of my rut. It was actually a very exhilarating experience for me this evening. Imagine that - a bus ride trip to Petco and Staples, then a bus ride back toward home, then a stop in a mom and pop local pet shop, all being called exhilarating! What a difference from what I have been doing as of late, I was boring myself into mopery. I only hope I can keep it up and keep myself on the move and in the groove, it makes me feel alive again.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Brief Message From President Obama



I really cannot add anything to it, it sort of says it all.

All the best,
GB

John McCain Endorses Mitt Romney For President...

...and that my friends is almost enough, on its own, to assure that I will not vote for Romney in the NY presidential primary. Note I said almost enough. Romney's liberal stance on health care and some other things has me shying away from him also. Santorum is looking better and better as each day passes yet I do not know enough about him yet to say he is the man who will get my vote but it is possible he will get it. I would like to know more about his stance on illegal aliens and securing our borders as well as some more about his stance on the 2nd Amendment. I am fairly sure that he is a staunch supporter of securing the borders and getting rid of illegals as in by removing them from the country (not giving them a blessing and allowing them to stay as legals). I am also fairly certain he has a good record on his support or the 2nd Amendment but it appears that many have their doubts about him. The NRA reportedly has given him an A rating, their highest. Gun owner's of America though has reportedly given him a B-. Still better than I would think is any ranking that Romney has received what with his support of the Assault Weapons ban. Yet, even though he has received a good and an excellent rating from two pro-gun organizations, it seems many Americans have their doubts about his support for the 2nd Amendment, see this article: Santorum May Need A Photo-Op Reload On Gun-Rights Issue (http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/01/06/144788580/santorum-may-need-a-photo-op-reload-on-gun-issue).

I know, hard core gun owners are often one issue voters, I used to be for a time. I have relented though because I realized that there are just way too many very important issues on which to base my giving my vote to a presidential candidate. Yet, I must admit, I give a lot of importance to a candidate's stance on the 2nd Amendment. To me, it remains the most important issue of all but others are close behind, such as: American Foreign Policy, Military Issues, the Economy, Employment/Unemployment, Immigration, Securing Our Borders, Made in the USA and so forth. Those though, are the most important to me right now, not necessarily in the order in which I listed them. I am going to have to start to do some serious investigation on where Santorum stands on those issues. I know where Romney stands on enough of them to make me feel wary of him. To me, Romney seems like a RINO and he has seemed that way to me since he ran in the primaries the last time around, when he ran against the likes of John McCain. McCain is probably the biggest hypocrite republican and RINO I have ever seen. So, when he sent me an email today, endorsing Romney for president, I almost decided right then and there to say "No way Romney will get my vote in the primary". Like I said though, I have to do some research on Santorum.

As for the others still in the running, I cannot see giving any of them my vote. Gingrich might get it if he were the only one left running against Paul and or Huntsman. I cannot see myself ever voting for either of them. Huntsman is an Obama wanna be from what I can tell and Paul is just too far out in his Libertarian beliefs. I even tend toward agreeing with many of the libertarian ideals, probably more so than I agree with Republican or Conservative ideals but still will not vote for Paul because I believe him a wacko. In fact, I believe many Libertarian ideals are truly conservative in nature and see Conservative/Republican party ideals as corrupted from what they truly should be but another post for that. As for Perry, I liked him but he is a boob as seen in the debates. I also cannot stand his stance on illegal aliens and Immigration. Nice record on guns but that is not enough. Did I leave out anyone who is still in the running, I think not. Bachman is out, too bad as her stance was good on most things and I believe you do not need a lot of experience or schooling to become president. You certainly need intelligence and smarts and she may have been lacking there a bit but her ideals were great. Too bad Cain dropped out, he seemed to have most everything that is until the sexual misconduct allegations came out. At least there were no men saying he had groped them!

So I am going to start researching Santorum. If I like him, I may start donating to him. I cannot afford much this year because I am on a very limited income only receiving about 57 percent of what I should be receiving in my pension, and that may last for about another 7 months. I also expect to have a lot of doctor's bills too. Yet, I will donate something, maybe a hundred bucks or couple, that is if he seems like the right man for the job over the others who are still in the primaries. I hope so, I hope that he is worthy of my vote, I hope he is truly more conservative than any of the other candidates, I hoe he is not a RINO, I hope that he has few if any skeletons in the closet and I hope that if the bones start rattling once the Demoncrats start to attack him (which will be inevitable if he does well, even a 2nd place and maybe a 3rd place well, in New Hampshire and then in SC.) Right now, he is not expected to get more than about 15% of the vote in NH, with Romney in the 40's, but I am hoping he can pull it up into the 20s before that primary on January 10th. If he can somehow do that, maybe even just pull up a few more points, there is a chance he will be our next president. Again though, as I said, before I vote for him, or anyone, I need to do some more research.

All the best,
Glenn B

Update On The Hermann's Tortoise Eggs

As you may recall, on December 17th, my female Hermann's Tortoise laid 5 eggs. It was a big surprise to me as I thought she was ready to go into hibernation. I figured all the attention the male had been paying to her over the previous couple of months would likely result in eggs being laid in the spring. Wrong and I wound up having to swiftly find and prepare my incubator for the eggs.

Tonight, while tending to the eggs, I have to keep the sphagnum moss substrate in which they sit somewhat damp. So, every few days, check on it and usually have to moisten it. After doing that tonight, I decided to candle the eggs. Candling simply means holding an egg to a light source in order for the light to shine through the shell enough so you can see if the egg has been fertilized. I could not tell for sure on any of the eggs the last few times I looked although I thought I saw the red lines of veins in a couple of them. Tonight's inspection had different results. All of the eggs appeared to be infertile gave clear evidence that all five eggs had been successfully fertilized by the male, that spry and very sexually active little bastard! They all appear to be progressing nicely and I could plainly see the embryo in its early stages of development. Candling is truly a simple yet remarkable thing. While you are basically looking at a back lighted silhouette it is somewhat more than that because you are also seeing the embryo as it it lit by the light reflecting back off of the inside of the shell that is furthest from the light and closest to your eye. It was both back lit and lit from the front. Now, you do not see a clear image of it since you are looking at it through an egg shell, and if you see the embryo you can only see one side of it but you certainly can make out its shape and some other features. For instance, the eye of the embryo, closest to the side of the shell from which you are viewing, is remarkably obvious. Other features are the shape of the embryo, veins running from the embryo to the yolk along the inside of the shell (and you can see the color of the veins or at least of the blood in them as they all appear red). All neat stuff, at least for me. I have enjoyed things like that for a long time. I guess it came from 5 years of nature study at summer camp, a younger me only being allowed to keep small animals as pets (frogs, turtles, hamsters, fish - things like that but no cats or dogs), my living in an area in NY City where I could easily find and catch creatures like toads, frogs, box turtles, and garter snakes when I was a kid - try that now except at very few places and the box turtles have bee extirpated), and all those nature shows they used to have on television (still do I suppose). Oh well, I digress, so back to the eggs.

So, the way it appears right now is that I may wind up with 5 hatchling Hermann's Tortoises sometime around February 25th or later. That would bring the total of baby tortoises that I have in my care to 7. I almost won't know what to do with them all. It is not legal, under federal law, to sell them, except for scientific or educational purposes, before they reach 4 inches in length. That will take a couple to a few years. I realize that under federal law, the intention of the law was not to keep hobbyist breeders from selling turtles or tortoises under 4 inches. The FDA clearly states, or once stated, on their website, that such sales were allowed for hobbyists. The thing is that NY State has a similar law and I am not too sure that they care if you are a hobbyist or not, chances are they might arrest someone for selling under sized turtles or tortoises. They make big deals over such silly things when local elections are upcoming and a district attorney wants to show how he is protecting the public from evil under sized chelonians. So, I likely will wait until they hit 4 inches before selling them to anyone other than someone who can show me they will keep them for scientific or educational purposes (and they have to promise to keep them alive and healthy, no weird experiments allowed). Hopefully I will still be around and in good health by the time they otherwise grow large enough to sell.

All the best,
Glenn B

Teen Mom Defends Herself and Her Baby From Intruders

I found a mention of this over at Knuckledraggin my life away. There was a link to the site with the video but after seeing it I knew I had to see if I could post the actual video here for my readers. This is absolutely an incredible story in our times of a woman putting up with an awful lot in the last year including the death of her husband just this Christmas. Then, a guy reportedly named Justin Martin came by on the night of the funeral for her husband. He pretended to be a neighbor who wanted to say hello. He came by again, on New Years Eve, but this time another man was with him. They tried to gain access to her home. She would not answer the door. They started to break in. One guy had a 12 inch hunting knife. The mom, thinking wit a cool head, grabbed her shotgun, retreated to the bedroom with her child, gave the baby a bottle, grabbed her pistol and called 911. As per the video, she was on the phone with 911 for 21 minutes. Then the bad guys actually got inside her home and she said Martin (spelling?) came at her with that knife. She shot the guy with the knife, shot him with the shotgun, shot him stone cold dead.

I am not making light of the situation, nor of her recent hardship nor of the fact that she is still in her teens and killed a man, nor of the fact that the man is dead, when I say - I love it when a law abiding citizen defends herself in such a manner and the outcome is that the good gal wins and the life threatening bad guy dies. God bless America and the fact that so many of her decent citizens are gun owners.





All the best,
Glenn B

HR 1540 - The End Has Begun

When I say the end has begun, I mean the end of liberty, freedom, justice and of your rights as a citizen of the United States of America. I also mean the end of the the Constitution and thus the end of the United States of America itself. Any time that a nation's leaders legislate and sign into law a provision of law allowing for detention of that nation's citizens without due process, then the end has begun. Heck maybe it is well beyond the beginning of then end, maybe it is the actual end. Is it possible that the wool has been pulled over our eyes and the guy who said he would bring about change has done just that by assuring we are no longer citizens of the most freedom loving country in the world. I have not read up on it as much as I should have but what I have read so far scares me. There is no doubt in  my mind that HR 1540 is illegal as in unconstitutional but what does it matter - look at how many politicians are in favor of it and the president signed it without apparent real reservation regardless of his words otherwise.

His words otherwise can be seen here over at Knuckledragginmylifeaway.

Be afraid regardless of his promise not to use that law. Too many have made then broken such promises before.

All the best,
Glenn B

Reference: http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2012/01/were-supposed-to-take-his-word-for-it.html

I Took A Walk To The Post Office...

...this evening, at about 4:30 or so. It is only 7 blocks, probably closer to 6 1/2 really, from my house to the front door of the post office in the next village over. I walked north most of the way and guess from which direction the winds were blowing. I am going to guess that it was about 28 to 29 degrees outside and I had thought that I was dressed properly for it but must admit I thought about that again after getting only halfway there. I sure seemed cold despite the fact I had on a usually warm watch cap, a goose down winter coat, a fairly thick fleece pull-over, a thick long sleeve cotton shirt under that that, a pair of poly/cotton BDU pants, thick cotton cocks and a pair of running shoes (no description of my skivvies needed except to say I was not wearing long johns). Well, by the time I was halfway there, I was COLD. My face seemed almost frost bitten and I mean that most literally, having been there before, thus knowing what it feels like to have a bit of frost bite. When I got there, you can bet I was very, very happy that the USPS website had correct information about the hours for that particular post office and you can bet I was happy that the postal service also has been paying the heating bill for that location. It was a relief to be inside with the warmth rushing over me as I pulled off my gloves and cap and then opened my coat a bit. I got my business done in about 10 minutes or so total time to wait on line and dealing with the postal clerk. Then it was back out into the cold for me.


The walk home was not half as bad. The wind was now at my back. My head was totally covered back there, my collar was up around my neck and the wind gave me a slight push toward home. Still, by the time I was almost home, just half a block or so away from my house, I had to take my fingers out of the glove fingers and curl them inside next to my palms. Wow it was cold. I know, 28 or 29 degrees is not that bad - usually (I checked the temp when I got home and it was shown as 28 then). I imagine with my recent decline in health that I am a bit more likely to be effected  by it than if I were in good health. Of course, I am feeling better than in recent months, and am happy that my illness came on in warmer weather. I dreaded the coming of winter and now I can see why. Man, I hate the cold and to think - when I was a kid I loved to spend hours outside in the snow. Even up though my mid twenties or so, I loved to be outside even in lousy weather.

At this particular time of year, in my late teens to mid twenties years, my friends and I would head to the local park but on our way we would search out fuel. Fuel was usually found in he form of thrown out Christmas trees at this time of year. If really lucky someone came by a local factory along the way and found a thrown out pallet. My friends and I would retire to the park, roll out a huge metal drum that we acquired somewhere in my dim past, throw a Christmas tree into it, light a match and soon thereafter, add another tree. After three or four trees had gone into the can, we stayed pretty warm for hours, warm enough to drink some beer, and we usually had several more trees on hand or went to look for more. No more of that for me now though, I do not like the cold, even if standing next to a blazing fire if only because while one side of me is hot while the other is cold.


Next time I go out, I guess I will dress a bit warmer. I may have to head out to the shed, in a day or so when it warms up to the 40s again, or wait until it hits the 50s as promised in a few days, to pick my long-johns and a couple of other warmer uppers out of my hunting gear boxes. I might yet need that stuff this winter, or I may need a metal drum and a few Christmas trees. Other than that, I may just have to plan a trip to visit my uncle in sunny southern Florida. I will keep you posted if that begins at all to change from being just a hope to a reality any time soon.


All the best,
Glenn B

Happy New Year 2012

I wish my readers a Happy New Year for them and their oved ones. I hope you have a happy, loving, safe and healthy 2012.

All the best,
Glenn B

Beer Theft 101

Want to see a neat way to steal beer or just about anything bigger than most bread boxes but smaller than a regular sized beer keg. Then go here to the Feral Irishman a look at his post WTF???..... Beer Smuggling ........ I thought that was amazingly innovative and funny as all hell.

All the best
and Happy New Year,
Glenn B

Traffic Stop Shootout

This video shows pretty much, as I see it, why you really need to be a different kind of person to be in law enforcement and why people need to stop bitching that cops get paid too much. When part of your job is to face guys like this, then you can  bitch (yes I believe that military pay is way too low). The video is not new, it was reported on in May 2011 but it is the first time I have seen it. It wins the Ballseye Video of the Year Award, well it would win it if there was such an award. Let's just say, I like it a lot because they got the piece of shit.





All the best,
Glenn B

Some Good News For Me For Now

I saw my radiation oncologist yesterday. He scoped out my throat and despite all the pain I have been having in my mouth and throat he had good news for me. He cannot see any of the lesion or tumor where my cancer apparently started in my right tonsil and the rest of my throat also looks good. So, at least on the outside, my tonsil looks clear of cancer. Now I have to wait, until late February or early March, for the PET Scan and CT Scan to see if they got it all inside of my tonsil and in my lymph nodes. One can only hope.

Besides me hoping that they do not find any sign of the cancer by then, I am also hopeful that by then all of the pain will have gone away. My mouth and throat have been painful enough to make me cut back on eating lately and I lost a few pounds in the last two weeks. That made my gastroenterologist decide, today, to cancel my PEG tube (stomach feeding tube) removal for tomorrow. He said it would just be a better bet to wait to make sure I absolutely no longer need it. He is watching out for me.

Me, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

All the best,
Glenn B

Obama 2012

If this poster does not make people on the left, or at least those in the middle and those who lean a bit left, think about for whom they should vote, then something is terribly wrong with the way they think.

All the best,
Glenn B

Note: I got that one in an email; there was no copyright info attached so I am showing it here. If I find out there is a copyright and get all the owner's contact info, I will check with the owner to see if it is okay to leave it up or not. For now, it stays.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. I hope you have a joyous, merry, fun, safe and healthy Christmas and that it is all you hoped it would be.

And shame on me for doing it so late but please allow me to wish all my Jewish readers a very Happy Hanukkah, may you enjoy all of its days in health, peace and safety.

Then, almost finally, to all, my wish that you have a very Happy New year.

Of course, for the rest of you there is always Festivus. If you do not celebrate any of the above, then allow me to wish you Happy Festivus.

All the best,
Glenn B

A State Trooper's Christmas Eve

Great video, give it a watch.



All the best and Merry Christmas,
Glenn B

Guns and Ammo As Good As Gold?

I don't see why anyone suddenly would think that it is something new, that is to consider guns and ammo to be as good as gold. Heck, I have always thought they were better than gold but you can bet I would not mind having some gold on hand too. Just too expensive for me, shame on me for not buying some a few years back. I did buy guns and ammo though, so I have no shortages there.



Via: Ammo.net

A hat tip goes out to The War On Guns for making me aware of this graphic that can be found at http://ammo.net/ammunition.

All the best,
Glenn B

Last Minute Gift Ideas and Stocking Stuffers For The Firearms Enthusiast, Hunter and Fisherman

Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done yet or haven't you  even started yet? Do you find it difficult to decide what to buy for that special person like your wife, husband, son, daughter, best friend, or whomever? Are you waiting for Christmas Eve to go out into the mad rush to buy last minute gifts? Have you gotten almost everything already but just need a stocking stuffer or two to complete your gift shopping? Is the person for whom you are shopping a firearms enthusiast or an avid outdoorsman, such as a hunter, fisherman, or shooter. If the person for whom you need a gift falls into that classification then allow me to give you some ideas for last minute gifts and stocking stuffers.

FOR THE SHOOTER:

AMMO: A box of ammunition in the caliber he shoots most. Ammo is always a welcome gift, well at least when it is in the right caliber and grain weight. If you live with the person for whom you are shopping, and you are not sure of the right caliber or bullet weight, sneak a look at his or her stash of ammo. Write down what is says on the outside of the box and head out to your nearest gun shop. It should be a cinch to get it right. Just in case, make sure the ammo shop allows exchanges.

CLEANING SOLVENT: Another welcomed gift by anyone who shoots a lot and who properly cares for his firearms. It should be easy to check on what brand is used by the person for whom you are shopping but brand is not usually as critical as long as you buy a good solvent that gets the job done. A well used and respected solvent is Hoppes No. 9 and another of a different type is Break-Free CLP but there are many others out there from which to choose. You pretty much cannot go wrong with the two above for regular shooting but if the shooter is a muzzle loader then look to something like CVA Barrel Blaster Black Powder Cleaning Solvent.

A FIREARMS SCREWDRIVER SET: Not a bad thing to have on hand when adjustments need to be made to sights or scopes, or when small repairs may need to be made at the range. You can spend a lot of money on a high quality high priced gun screwdriver set  or you can buy a bargain set of good enough quality to be used out in the field for emergencies. A mid-level priced gun screwdriver set is also makes a good stocking stuffer.

GIFT CARD: A gift card, to your shooter's favorite gun shop (just an example) or to a store, that sells firearms and firearms accessories, like Dick's Sporting Goods, is another idea for a stocking stuffer. This could be in just about any amount but to be reasonable I would start at about at least $15 and work my way up depending on how much I wanted to spend.


FOR THE HUNTER:

You can get most of the gift that I mentioned above if the hunter uses a firearm for hunting. Other gifts that you might consider, in general for both firearm and archery hunters, could be:

KNIFE: You can buy either a straight edged knife or a folding knife. For a stocking stuffer, unless yo know the knife preferences of the person for whom you are shopping, I recommend a folding knife, with two blades, with a blade length of 4 inches or less for the larger blade. In essence, what I would recommend is an all around utility type knife like this Case Trapper, which is made in the USA.

COMPASS: Something that many hunters carry but all too many do not carry with them while hunting is a decent compass. Even if you do not know how to read a compass as regarding map reading you can still use one to help you navigate through the woods. For example, if you park your car on a north/south bound road, then walked into the woods to the west, you would know your vehicle was basically back toward the east when you wanted out, and a compass can help make sure you go in the right direction. I prefer liquid filled lensatic compasses such as this one but you may want to talk to a knowledgeable salesperson before buying one to decide on one that is good for all around use.

GLO-STICKS: These are pretty much a must have, especially for the hunter who goes it alone in the woods or fields. In the event that the hunter becomes lost, or maybe is incapacitated (say a broken leg or bad sprain) and must spend the night afield due to an emergency, it is a good idea to have at least a three night's supply of these. Glo-Sticks come in various colors, I like the original greenish-yellow glow and they also come in ones that last for various amounts of time from a few hours up to at least 12 hours. I prefer the ones that will glow for 12 hours. I recommend you get these at a local sporting goods store or at an automobile supply store (they are sometimes used instead of flares as they probably are safer than flares) and that you shop for price on these. 

GIFT CARD: Ditto as above under For The Shooter.

FOR THE FISHERMAN

LURES: It is important to know the type of fishing that is being done if you want to buy some lures for a stocking stuffer (please make sure they remain sealed in original packages so the hooks are not exposed). There are many types of lures such as Crank Baits, Poppers, Buzz Baits, Spoons, Artificial Worms, Flys and on and on.

Fillet Knife: A good quality fillet knife is often a good bet to put a smile on a fisherman's face. I know that I have seen mine turn into a rusted mess and I have lost more of them than I care to admit while on fishing trips. I prefer one with about an 8 inch blade length, like this moderately priced Rapala, just in case I catch that monster fish I have dreamed about.

FISHERMAN'S PLIERS: This is an almost indispensable tool for the guy or gal who goes fishing a lot. They come in both regular carbon steel and in stainless steel. I prefer the stainless steel models and although they cost somewhat more they are worth it to me. Rapala makes some at reasonable prices and their are other brands available, some at much higher prices (see page two of the linked page).

GIFT CARD: Ditto as above under For The Shooter.

I hope this helps, if you are still without a needed gift, for one of the types of outdoorsmen I listed above. I know that I would be happy to get any of the gifts on the list (HINT to my family).

All the best,
Glenn B

Disclaimer:  I do not receive any type of pay or other compensation for my linking to the businesses mentioned or linked to above nor do I receive same for mentioning the products discussed above. In addition, I do not endorse any of those businesses or products for any reason. I have used some of the products mentioned above, or have used ones similar them. I have shopped at almost all, but not all, of the business to which I have linked. I used the ones at which I have shopped only due to my limited familiarity with them. I used the one(s) with which I am unfamiliar due to the conveninence of them selling the product I was writing about.

Winter Has Arrived...

...and with its arrival the days have started to get longer, a little bit more sunshine, or at least more daylight, each day now - winter through the spring. That is a good thing. Of course there is also the cold, the bitter cold, the winds, the sleet, the snow, and the snowmen. How did that song go, something to the effect:

'...the weather outside is frightful
but the fire inside is delightful...' 

And that is the way I suppose I will look at it until the weather warms up on its own in the spring (or sooner if global warming clobbers us and the polar bears). Of course, I will look at it that way so long as i can pay the bills for my home heating oil. I just paid about $400 bucks for about a hundred gallons of oil. That hurts when you consider there are almost sure to be at least 3 more months of oil bills at least as high as that and probably higher because sooner or later it really will feel like winter and get cold, the more oil used for more heat. Oh well, I must admit, it is rather delightful to come in from the cold to a nice warm home and my wife keeps the thermostat set at about 62. Still, when you come in from a really cold day, it feels toasty inside if the heat was on recently even when set that low.

Despite the cold and the fact that cold and my bones no longer agree with one another, I love it. Maybe that is because a god amount of winter assures a good amount of spring and that a good amount of summer and that a good balance of the fall. I do love the four seasons, especially the changing of the seasons as we have it here in NY. When I lived in southern California for four years, we had it hot from about March through the ass end of October, then it was cool with a few really cold days thrown it. Well, that is if you can consider 35 to 40 degrees really cold and I guess you can consider those temps as just that when it used to hit in the hundred and tens rather frequently in the four really hot months. Seems that your blood thins out and anything under 50 to 60 degrees is cold. It took me about 4 or 5 years to adjust to NY temps when I moved back up this way.

Enough of my rambling. Enjoy the first day of winter and the days of it yet to come. If you like the cold, then this is your season. If you do not look forward to the cold and the snow then think of it this way - the days are getting longer.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fun Fact - The Christmas Eve and Christmas Moon Phases

Here is a fun fact for this year: The New Moon will fall on Christmas Eve and the Moon will begin to wax (appear larger) beginning in Christmas day. So on Christmas eve you will not be able to see the moon, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, and you will again be able to see it, at least a sliver of it, on Christmas day. Much like the moon will be reborn on Christmas just as it was the birthday of Jesus. Just thought I would put that out there for those of you who might enjoy the heavenly coincidence. Go here to check on moon phases on an interactive moon phase calendar.

All the best,
Glenn B

Oh Those Unpredicatable Hermann's Tortoises

There is was, beginning to prepare my Hermann's Tortoises for hibernation/brumation. I had made darned sure that they have been well fed lately, hoping to assure they were healthy enough and of a high enough weight to withstand a couple to a few months without food at lowered temperatures (probably in the mid forties to mid fifties Fahrenheit). I also had made sure that they were well hydrated by not only supplying them with drinking water frequently but also by keeping the cypress mulch substrate in their enclosure fairly moist. I added substrate to the enclosure so that they could dig down and completely cover themselves with substrate twice their height. This was all in anticipation of not feeding them for 10 days to a week, then turning off their heat lamp for about a week, then placing them into a room where the temps are very close to what I mentioned above. They would stay there for two to three months or a bit more.

There is no reason that these tortoises absolutely must be placed into hibernation while in captivity. It is not like it will adversely effect their health if they do not hibernate, at least as far as I am aware. They do just fine without it. The thing is though, if you want to breed them and if you want the eggs to be viable and to have been fertilized by the male tortoise, them hibernation is strongly advised. Hibernation allows the male to develop sperm and apparently also allows the female to develop viable eggs (personal communication with Ed Bennett, et al). This past spring/summer my female laid two clutches of eggs, I think 9 eggs in all if I recall correctly. Only 2 of those eggs hatched, one from each clutch.  I incubated them properly so I wondered what else might have gone wrong to cause such a low hatch rate when Hermann's Tortoise eggs often have about an 80% hatch rate. I learned that not having hibernated them could have been the problem. Another factor may have been that the eggs got a bit too cool after being laid. I probably got them out within an hour or two of her laying one clutch and sooner after she laid the other but they still had enough time to cool to the temperature of the substrate which probably was in the mid to upper seventies although the surface temp was much warmer.

I woke up to a dream that she was laying this morning and I walked over to her enclosure and checked on her. To my surprise some dreams do come true. She was in the process of dropping eggs when I took a look. Of course, me dreaming about it this morning could be called coincidence but I think it was probably more an anticipatory collection of thoughts that came out in a dream due to the circumstances. The circumstances being I saw her starting to dig with her hind legs yesterday, a sure sign she is ready to lay eggs. So, yesterday afternoon, I added even more substrate to her enclosure, enough for her to feel that she had dug deep enough to have made a good nest. I was really somewhat surprised that she laid already today. The last two clutches were laid a couple to a few days after she started test digging nest sites. Tortoises and other turtles often dig test nest holes or just dig holes that for some reason they find unsuitable and they just walk away from them. That could also be due to the fact that they may not be quite ready to lay eggs but think they are ready, sort of a false labor sort of a thing. Whatever the reason, she laid them pretty quickly after her first attempts at digging a nest site this time around.

After seeing them, I did not waste any time. I got the incubator down off of the shelf, found a suitable small plastic container to hold the eggs inside the incubator and got out the long cut sphagnum moss and gave it a good soaking, then squeezed out the excess water, then put that into the plastic container. As soon as the heat inside my Hovabator incubator was at the proper temperature, I put the eggs into the substrate inside the plastic container and put that into the incubator. Time will tell if these eggs are all fertile or not. if they are, then I can expect a mixed batch of male and female Hermann's tortoises in about 75 days, give or take around 5 days. The reason I can expect a batch of mixed sex babies is because I will incubate the eggs between 86 to about 88.5 degrees Fahrenheit (1). The sex of baby tortoises is determined by temperature at a certain stage of their development. Since I will leave the temp set in that range for the whole of the development it is a good bet they will be mixed sex, that is if the eggs hatch. Last time, I am pretty sure I incubated at a slightly higher temperature range to get all females. Time will also tell if I got that right although it will be a few years before sex can be easily determined in the tortoises from the first two clutches. Right now though, I am simply hoping that all the eggs are fertile. I will be surprised if they are since they have not hibernated but as I said, time will tell.

While determination of the sex of the babies may be predictable, the breeding habits of the adults surely is not predictable. With the shortened days, cooler nights in my basement, and other environmental factors, I would have expected the two adult Hermann's Tortoises that I have to be getting ready to hibernate as opposed to be breeding and egg laying. I do not usually like surprises, seems they are more often bad ones than good. This time though, even though quite unexpected a very surprising, it was a pleasant surprise at that.

All the best
Glenn B

1) Highfield, A.C. 1994. Keeping And Breeding Tortoises In Capitivity. The Longdunn Press Ltd., Bristol.

Made In USA - Feedback On Some Recent Online Orders

Yesterday, I received the Federal .223 ammo that I ordered last week from Cheaper Than Dirt. I have to hand it to them, they virtually always seem to get my orders right and deliver them promptly. I was going to give the ammo to my son as a Christmas gift but  just gave it to him now for him being him. He gave me several rides back and forth during my chemo treatments and he has been the one to whom I can talk to the most when I emotions have gotten all shot to hell by this cancer crisis. I just figured that he has been nice enough that he deserved a little something extra and this wound up fitting the bill. He was quite the happy shootist to receive it and quite surprised, I think, to find out why he got it now instead of for Christmas.

Today, I received the items I ordered, last week, from Smoky Mountain Knife Works. They got the order right too, which is always a plus. Now, I knew the Case knife that I ordered was made in the USA. All of their knives are made in the USA. That is a good thing and a good reason to buy from them at least now and again. Besides that being a good reason, they seemingly made high quality knives and that is one heck of another good reason to buy from them. There was a surprise in this order though and I am not one who usually likes surprises. The reason I do not like them is because they are all too often bad surprises. Surprisingly (was that a pun) this one was a good surprise.

The surprise was that the Ka-Bar USMC Fighting/Utility knife that I ordered was also made in the USA. Go figure, I had thought that Ka-Bar had given up making all but there highest quality knives in America. Well anyway, there was a another plus for Ka-Bar. When I say another plus, I guess the best plus for them is that they make this particular knife. I love them, I own 4 of them now, two full sized (as was this one) and two sort versions. Actually, Brendan owns one of the short versions and I( own the other. Of course, there was another bit of a surprise, the sheath was not made in the USA. That was made in Mexico. It is a sad case of affairs when crap like that has to happen, we really are losing too much of our production capabilities due to it being so much less expensive to do it elsewhere, but I digress. At least it was made in a country close to home and in one from which we are sooooooo lucky to have about 30 million illegal aliens living in ours. Yes, that being lucky part was a bit of sarcasm. Still though, I am quite happy the knife was made in the USA. By the way, that is not engraved on the blade. That info was on a sticker on the end of the box that said the knife was made here and the sheath was made there.

Smoky Mountain Knife Works also sent me a small token of their appreciation for having placed my order. It is an old fashioned can/bottle opener. Actually it may have been Case that assured I would get that little gift for having ordered a Christmas Trapper. I am not too sure if I am going to keep it for myself or put it into Brendan's Christmas stocking. After all, he is of legal drinking age and he does enjoy a cold one or three now and again and there must be some beers out there besides Heineken (which he is not a big fan of) that require a bottle opener. As for the can opener end, I kind of wish they went back to making cans like that so church keys would be a mandatory piece of bling to hang from your key chain. Yep, if I were to wear bling, that would be it for me.

Well, the orders both went through without a hitch. The merchandise is quality stuff and most of it was made in the good old US of A. You cannot get much better than that. You will excuse me now, I need to go find the Christmas wrapping paper and get that Trapper all dolled up.

All the best,
Glenn B
PS: Want to know how to get spam comments for your posts? Just go ahead and write up a post or two about something you plan to or have ordered, such as ammo or knives. No sooner had that post been up for just a few days and whamo, there it was a comment telling me, in the most general fashion, just how nice was my post. There was no indication that the person who left the spam actually read or liked my post, the comment was that vague. Well, whomever sent me that comment just assured I will not be making purchases from their company any time soon. Comment deleted. I write up posts about purchases I have made of firearms, ammo and accessories because I figure when I find a good supplier or a good deal why not share the source and when I get crapola service products, why not warn my readers of the same. I get nothing from the retailers or manufacturer's for that. It is not a service for them, it is a courtesy for my readers and something interesting for me to write about. Hope you enjoy such posts but please do not send me spam comments - they probably will be deleted.(I said probably because I seem to recall having let one or two slide over the st year or two if only because the comment that they left indicated they actually had read my post and were specifically commenting about my post as opposed to leaving a general all purpose comment just to squeeze in the spam.)

A Decent Deal On Knives...

...Is Being Offered At Smokey Mountain Knife Works (www.smkw.com).

They are offering 10% off the price and shipping and handling for only $1.00 on purchases of $50.00 or more, the offfer is shown as good until December 12th. When ordering, you must use the savings code that they supply (it was on their home page when I placed my order). That was not a bad deal and since I have been wanting to order a 2011 Case Christmas Trapper and a Ka-Bar USMC Fighting/Utility Knife with straight edged blade, I jumped on it.

Christmas, for someone in my house, is going to be very nice this year. That 2011 Case Christmas Trapper is beautiful. They had another Case Christmas knife called T'was The Night Before Christmas but it was on back order so I passed it up. I would have ordered that one instead of the 2011 Christmas Trapper but there really was no assurance that I would receive it in time to get it in the stocking over the fireplace in time for Christmas.

As far as the Ka-Bar goes, I don't know if that is a give away or if I will keep it. I may just throw it into the emergency gear and leave it there in case of emergency. It surely is one heck of a good knife to have when you need a knife for just about anything from gutting a deer to chopping down a tree for firewood (I only use dead trees). I have carried one afield with me for many years. Nowadays, I sometimes carry the shortened version instead of the full sized one. I must admit, I like them both, but I do like the full sized one the best.

So, if you need a knife, or accessories related to knives such as sharpeners, check out Smokey Mountain Knife Works for a good deal but bear in mind that it expires on December 12th.

All the best,
Glenn B

I've Been Shopping For Ammo And The Best Prices...

...require some looking if you want to find them. For instance, today, I was interested in picking up about 500 rounds of .223 ammo as a Christmas gift for my son (he never reads my blog so it is a safe bet this will still be a seKrit come Christmas). While doing my search for a good price, what caught my eye was a deal I received in an email for 420 rounds of Federal XM855 5.56 NATO Ammo 62 Grain FMJBT in a steel ammo can, all the ammo on stripper clips. The price was $169.97 at www.sportsmansguide.com. I could settle for 420 rounds instead of 500. This ammo had a few things going for it. It is made to NATO specs, it is 62 grain (which shoots very well out of both of my son's ARs) and it came in an ammo can on stripper clips (a gimmick to get you to buy it but I like it). I am no longer a member of The Sportsman's Guide Buyer's Club so the discount down to $161.47 would not apply unless I joined again which will be a distinct possibility on my next order from them since they have good deals that usually are only made better by joining for $29.99 for the year. Regardless, they are offering free shipping, on items above $99, for a limited time. That was not a bad deal but I would shop around first.

I found the same ammo on about 4 other websites. Some were close in price, maybe one or two were better in price of the ammo but none offered free shipping so the deal at The Sports Mans Guide was looking good. That was until I went to www.CheaperThanDirt.com. Cheaper Than Dirt had the exact same ammo (ammo can and stripper clips included) for $139.97 but shipping had to be paid. With shipping and handling, the total price worked out to $159.97. BINGO, that was the best deal I could find on this ammo so, I bought it!

I have noticed, that lately you often can get better prices at Cheaper Than Dirt than you can at The Sportsman's Guide. The thing is though, The Sportsman's Guide usually has a better selection of ammo in bulk. Cheaper Than Dirt, for some reason, does not carry as many ammo items in bulk. By bulk,  I mean ammo that is sold in at least 200 round lots,  half cases, full cases or larger lots. Why they do not usually sell it, at Cheaper Than Dirt, in bulk is beyond me. Since buying it in bulk is most often the better deal, I usually shop at places like Sportsman's Guide, Ammo To Go, Military Shooters, or SG Ammo. Today though, the better deal was at Cheaper Than Dirt.

All the best,
Glenn B