My New Obama Tee Shirt

Yep, I have an Obama T-shirt. It just arrived in the mail, day before yesterday. I decided to give it a try-out so I wore it while out at a few stores today. I visited Lowe's, Home Depot, P.C. Richard & Sons and Target. I got a few stares (not sure if in admiration or disgust) from the salesmen at P.C. Richard & Sons. A couple of people at Lowes' obviously averting their eyes but one guy in the parking lot said: "I like your shirt". In the Home Depot parking lot, another person commented similarly to the guy at Lowe's, Then in Target, a group of three young guys walked by me in the store, one said "nice shirt" and another of them something to the effect of "All Fucking Right". A guy in the Target parking lot, driving a van, almost ran me over. I cannot determine if that was because his head was up his ass or because he saw my shirt but I think it was the former.

I first saw the shirt on Kenny's blog Knuckledraggin My Life Away. I liked it immediately, so I left a comment asking where I could get one. He posted about where to buy them. I ordered one for me and one for my son. It was delivered to me within a few days of the order. My son saw his, laughed and said thanks.

Seems to be a high quality shirt, not sure if the words are painted on or are a rubberized press on. I prefer silk-screened painted shirts as the graphics seem to last longer when done that way. Hopefully its message will be heeded by the election and how long the graphics last will not matter much after November! If you like it too, you can get one at the same place I got mine.

Oh, did I forget to post a pic of it, here it is:

I truly like my new Obama T-shirt. What do you think of it?

All the best,
Glenn B

New Blog Added To Blog Roll

I added yet another blog to my blog roll, it is: The Art Of Manliness and falls in the Blue Zone under the header: TAKE A SHOT WITH THESE SHOOTIST BLOGGERS Not At Them. This new blog covers a wide gamut of manly things (things that any modern woman might like too) including blog posts about guns and shooting. If you saw my post immediately prior to this one, you will know it also covers super seekrit survival equipment, such as Tampons!

All the best,
Glenn B

Tampons For Survival - Uneblievable? You Be The Judge!

I never knew just how versatile a few Tampons might be when it comes to survival situations. I know now! I am willing to bet that once this gets around a bit more, other people will be thinking up plenty of new survival uses for them. To see what I am writing about, go here:

This was too good, and both funny and serious, not too share. Who knew that tampons could be such a versatile survival tool. See:

http://artofmanliness.com/2012/06/05/survival-tampon/

(A hat tip to Deb H. for this one.)

All the best,
Glenn B

"Red Ape" Shirted Man Points Gun At 4 Year Old

The following is a somewhat disturbig video. Not a lot of graphic violence or anthing gory but a lot of threatened violence that may get your blood boiling. If the depicted armed robbery does not get you all fired up then listen to what the reporter claims police said about the only thing that will stop these bad guys. Hint, the police apparently forgot to mention that these guys getting shot during their next robbery attempt would be a way to stop them. As if that would not be enough to get me pissed off, the female reporter goes on to say she hopes they are stopped without anyone being hurt. I see no reason to wish that these two aleged robbers are not hurt the next time they try something like that, in fact I would think it a public service if someone shot them to put an end to their life of crime. Of course, there always is the option to arrest them by announcing "Police don't move" thus giving them the oportunity to create a hostage situation. I wonder, when will the majority of liberal arsehats in this country wake up to realize that one of the acceptable ways to deal with violent crime is to deal with the criminals violently if they are threatening folks with inmminent serious bodily harm or death and that it not need be the police who take such action but can also be legally armed citizens in self defense or in defense of others.



See this link for the video and written article:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/18707412/child-dad-caught-in-robbery

All the best,
Glenn B

Oh My Achin' Jaw - Alcohol and Gunpowder Do Not Mix

I found the info on this over at The Next Chapter, where Zack had posted about it. I figured it was way too good not to steal and spread even the little further that I could by posting it here.

A guy in Decatur, AL reportedly tried to take care of an aching tooth by trying to shoot it out of his mouth. Once I saw that, I knew immediately that either one of three things besides an aching tooth and a gun had to have been involved: sheer stupidity, alcohol or drugs. I guess when you think about it, it would actually be at least two of those things because alcohol and drugs sure can make one stupid. As Jay over at MArooned says, stupid should hurt. I think it did in this case. See:

http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/story/Decatur-man-tries-to-shoot-out-aching-tooth/wHQDCsvH9UORgm4F0I76Uw.cspx

All the best,
Glenn B

Will Obama Tell The Chinese: "Don't Call My Bluff" and Get Away With It...

...or will he wind up starting WWIII, the USA versus China.

One can only presume, in the face of overwhelming evidence - as to our current piss poor budget (by way of which we owe China big time), the fact that our military is spread out in two theaters of war (yes we still have a lot of troops in Iraq), and the fact that we have a bunch of bureaucratic bed wetters, both Democrat and Republican, in Washington, DC - that we are ill prepared to go to war with China. The linked article explains the Obama Administration's apparent bluff, which is in essence that we are to move most of the U.S. Fleet into the Pacific and into areas of the South China Sea claimed by China.

What the article fails to mention is that the Philippines recently (within a month ago) sent what it has in the way of warships into an area of the South China Sea to confront a Chinese fishing fleet, who they believed were illegally fishing in Philippine waters. The same area is claimed by China, Vietnam and other countries. (Is it a coincidence that Leon Panetta made the announcement, about our fleet movement while in Vietnam!) The Chinese responded, to the Philippine naval action, by sending at least five (5) warships into the area.  Tensions were very high and it was believed there was a good possibility of military hostilities breaking out between the Philippines and China; see this artticle.

Presumably, tensions are still very high. In light of all that, it would seem logical that, the apparent bluff is intended to have China back away from facing off with one of our most cherished and strategically located allies - the Philippines. Hopefully, China will be impressed and back off and the fools in the current administration and in Congress will not engage us in WWIII with China in the event that China calls the bluff and raises the stakes by sending its own bluff right back at us. You can only bluff so long until you have to either fold or play the hand that was dealt, in this case that could mean war. While I like eating Chinese food and all - I just do not want to have to eat it each and everyday.

All the best,
Glenn B

Pretty Lady Giving A Sterling Shooting Exhibition

This shooting exhibition is sterling in more ways than one. First of all, it is so because it is a look at the Sterling 9mm Carbine being fired. Secondly it is being done by a rather pretty young lady who is a sterling shot. Finally it has a bang of an ending in which she shows she got her sterling's worth. It looks like it was a lot of fun too.



All the best,
Glenn B

Send Guns, Ammo and DDT

As if the recently reported face eating zombie like attack in Miami had not been enough to get one worried that impending doom may be upon us, it seems that nature (or a government funded mad scientist) has now taken us one step beyond that horror. It has been reported that two people in India have died, and scores more have been injured, by swarms of "highly aggressive" venomous spiders. According to a report, at FoxNews.com, the spiders have invaded Sadiya, in Assam state, India. Up until this time, the report says, venomous spiders were unknown in the area. It is a possibility, if the attacks continue, that The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch the powerful insecticide DDT may be used to combat the antagonistic arachnids.

There is a twist to this story, as is often the case with such stories emanating in third world countries. It seems the government is reporting that no one has confirmed the toxicity of the spiders' venom and it is now believed possible that all of the bite victims may have been the victims of a local witch doctor type. He reportedly incised all of the bite wounds to drain blood and burn it in some weird ritual to cleanse the victims of the spiders' venom. It is now said that, this procedure, not the spider bites, may have caused the fatalities and an investigation is under way. As usual, the government a hospital official comes up with what seems a rational (but unproven) reason for a seemingly supernatural event. However, the reasoning does not explain away an attack by swarms of overly aggressive arachnids. My guess is that, the Indian government, or some other government, or a mad scientist, or all, are in some way implicated in these attacks and they are only attempting to cover up a fiendish plot to conquer the world with trained attack spiders. Of course, this could have been the first wave of an attack against the earth by spiders from outer space. 

All the best,
Glenn B

Today In Hisory - Antioch and The First Hand Thrown Explosives

The hand thrown explosive, as a device of war, may have first been seen, by Europeans, on this day, June 3rd some 914 years ago. Today was the day, way back in 1098 AD, that the knights of the First Crusade ended the siege of Antioch and effected the seizure of said Turkish city.

While it has been a somewhat of a military secret, kept under wraps for most all of those years, we do have definitive proof that the first hand grenade was produced in Antioch and then became the spoils of war when a highly trained covert team of English commandos 
knights captured said city during the first crusade. It is unknown, to this day, why the Turks never attempted to use the device against their crusading assailants but it has been hypothesized that the Muslims who were in control of the city were unaware of its existence. It is believed to have been created by a Christian monk, in hiding, after the Muslims had taken over Turkey. This is, at least in part, evidenced by the official name of the device: The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

It was said to have been the most deadly lethal device of its era and probably would have been such at any later time in the age of man. It is believed by modern physicists that it would likely have become a weapon that could have ushered in the nuclear age, or even possibly that of cold fusion, hundreds of years before their time but you can rest assured that its unequaled destructive power will never be unleashed in modern times. Its secret design was lost soon after the device was seized and then used by the English.

Later, on the very same day that they had helped capture Antioch and had seized the Holy Hand Grenade, the small team of English commandos knights stealthily and rapidly continued on their quest to seek the Holy Grail. It was that very evening, while crossing harsh terrain, that they encountered what is said to have been one of the most terrible and blood thirsty creatures to have ever roamed the face of the earth - the Rabbit of Caerbannog. Amazingly enough, we have a video record (method of recording lost to the ages) of their encounter detailing the first and only use of the holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Be advised, viewing this video is not for the weak of heart nor for those with weak stomachs as it contains graphic beastly and abhorrent scenes of violence.





Me thinks us lucky that the power of this device was never brought forth to the modern ages and also fortunate too that the little white fur-ball was defeated as well.

If you find this subject interesting, you may want to view the complete historical archive of the very same, small but courageous, band of English commandos knights. It is available in DVD format titled under the code name of their quest: Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

All the best,
Glenn B

What Is The Problem With Some FFL's Today?

I recently had a firearm up for auction on an Internet gun auction site. Someone placed a winning bid, then promptly sent me the payment, a copy of his state issued ID, a a statement saying he can legally possess the shotgun (something I ask) and a copy of his local FFL licensee's dealer's license. Someone, probably the FFL holder by my guess, obliterated all of the numbers after the first three and before the last five license numbers, in other words essentially all of the numbers in the middle. At the bottom of the FFL, there is a place for the dealers signature who certifies by his, or her, signature that the FFL copy provided, for the transfer, is a true copy of his or her FFL.

Now, one would think, if you ran a business, in which you are required to have an FFL, and if you took the time and made the effort then paid the price to obtain a dealer's FFL, that you would have at least half of a brain. So why in the world would you send out a copy of an FFL, with your original signature, certifying that it is a "true copy" of your FFL when in fact it has had a good part of the license number obliterated by what appears to have been both black magic marker and black ball point pen!

I am probably going to refuse to transfer the gun until I receive a completely legible copy of the FFL license and if I do not receive it by next week, I will return the payment and paperwork. I have tried contacting the buyer to no avail so far. I sent out two emails to him but have not received any back from him. So, tonight, I sent him an email through the online auction house instead of going through my personal email account. I'll see if that works.

I just don't understand why an FFL holder, if it was the FFL holder who did it, would obliterate part of the license number when it has to be there. I certainly do not think the buyer did that and do not fault him at all at this point. The point is that I just don't understand why someone in the firearms business would make things more difficult than they already are when it comes to transferring firearms. Heck, I live in Newistan Yorkifornia - a very firearms unfriendly state - and certainly do not need anyone banging on my door at 0430 in the morning to serve a warrant and seize my guns because they think I did something wrong by accepting a copy of a FFL license that had the number partially wiped out.

Rant and rave comlete. Thank you.

All the best,
GB

Heck, It really Is Saturday Today

Sometimes, now that I are retired, I duz becomes confuZed beecause every day do seem to be a Saturday! Life is good.

All the best,
GB

It's Retiree Saturday Again...

...and while I had been convinced that every day being a Saturday, now that I am retired, was a good thing - I am no longer so certain of that anymore. For instance, today, I will go out and again tackle the roots remaining in what used to be my front lawn. Probably would have taken me all of a half hour at most with a roto-tiller but I have been doing it by hand. It seems my pampered and thus soft hands can not take all that much of the roots burning the skin away in small patches as I try to win the tug of war with the toes of the four trees on near my front lawn - an Linden tree at curbside, an Evergreen and Dogwood on the main  part of the lawn and a Japanese Maple on a section between the walkway and driveway that I have not even considered touching until I see how the main part of my postage stamp sized lawn comes out once I have replanted it. If I don't get that section right, then this fall I will call in some professionals to do it the right way. Now back to the backbreaking, knee pulverizing and finger blistering job that I have been doing over the course of what - two weeks now. Man oh man - those tree toes can sure get a grip and be hard to pull out but I am winning, slowly yes, but surely too. I have a small patch remaining, only about 4 hours of work (at most) left to me to get out rest of them. Once they are out, I will turn the soil a bit with a pick, remove any grass or weeds that started to grow since I began my project in lawn procrastination and then I will plant the seeds. That will take all of a half hour at most. what has been taking me so long is mostly that the darned root are a pain in the neck, literally, to pull out and that it has rained an awful lot over the past couple of weeks. Add to that a couple of raw pots on my left fingers, where roots slipped out of my dirty hands but where it seemed like the roots actually tugged back into the earth as I tried to yank em out and that made me take a day or two off too. Wussy that I am, I did not want to go back out there and get garden soil and cat crap (yes, as I was digging up and pulling out roots, I realized it smelled as if a cat let loose on my lawn a few times) into the sores, so I waited a day after each before continuing. Heck, I have a lot of time on my hands every day being a Saturday and all.

Of course, that means my wife thinks I should be doing things to fill my days. I spend about three to four hours online, at least three days per week, looking and applying for jobs. I actually have an interview set up for tomorrow morning for a security job at, of all places, a public library. The pay is pretty low, the hours are few and the job does not commence until September. I have to wonder why a library needs two guards on duty right during the hours the high school across the street from it gets out, make me wonder about whether or not it is a reform school. Oh well, first interview that has been offered other than an on the phone interview after which I did not get that job. I plan to be there with bells on. Other than looking for jobs, I do the wash, do the dishes, mend some minor things, mow the lawn, do some vegetable gardening and weed pulling and water the wife's flower garden. I don't do a heck of a lot. Maybe I should start some projects in the house just to keep me busy and her happy.

Today, I'll be mowing the lawn, putting out fertilizer spikes for the trees, and ripping out roots (and making the trees moan). After that, if there is still time, I have to package up a shotgun for shipment to Browning for repair. Hopefully I'll make a trip to UPS with it today, to get it on its way. As you can see though, it is already almost noon and I am still sitting here blogging via my laptop. Oh well, no hurry, I can always do whatever needs to be done on Saturday. Heck, that's right, today is Saturday - so is everyday now that I am retired. Rats!

Really now and right now, I have got to go and get some work done before the wife gets home from work or she may clobber me. Later 4 U.

All the best,
Glenn B

Village Voice Questions Police Shoot of Alleged Zombie Like Attacker

As incredible as it may seem, The Village Voice, has come out, questioning, and as I see it, apparently in opposition to, the police shooting of Rudy Eugene as he allegedly was attacking Ronald Poppo by reportedly eating off his face. Yes, they ask a lot of questions, but it sure seems they are, in the least, implying the officer was wrong to have shot Eugene. See this article.

Here is my opinion on that:

I almost cannot believe the outright idiocy of those on the ultra-left who think that the police using deadly force to stop an apparent raving lunatic's brutal attack on another man - one in which he allegedly had brutally injured and seemingly was about to further severely injure the victim - was unjustified. They claim that the Eugene was unarmed. They question the shooting and seem to imply that police should not have shot him because Eugene having been unarmed must have been a mitigating factor even though allegedly killing or severely injuring another. The Village Voice claims that the police ordered him to stop and he did stop "sort of"  because he looked up at the police while chewing the other man's flesh and growled. Thus they imply that at that moment Eugene was no longer an imminent threat to the victim (by law imminent being the end all be all as far as use of deadly force by the officer went when a person is in danger of death or serious bodily injury) and that the officer should have used a different degree of force other than deadly force. Then they back up that claim with a partial quote from a witness:

"The guy just stood, his head up like that, with pieces of flesh in his mouth. And he growled."

Then the Voice says: "Then police started shooting."

But that is not exactly how it happened according to other reports. Funny how maybe the Village Voice would show it with a little less of what was said so as to fit their viewpoint, isn't it? According to another report, this one here at The Huffington Post, it happened just a little bit differently, as per an on the scene witness:

"Vega later told news outlets that when Rivera yelled at Eugene to back away, the naked man merely raised his head "with pieces of flesh in his mouth," growled, and began chewing again."

Did you catch the little bit of difference, which probably did not matter toward justification of use of deadly force (the officer already had enough) but certainly that gave the officer even more cause to use deadly force. The assailant allegedly "...began chewing again". So, the officer fired one shot at the point when Eugene reportedly ignored his order and started chewing on the victim's flesh again. To me, the fact that, the alleged bad guy reportedly started chewing on the victims flesh again, would indicate - he had not stopped as lawfully ordered by the officer but had intended to continue to assault Mr. Poppo. Therefore, the victim's life was still threatened by imminent death or serious bodily harm. That imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death was all the justification that the officer needed to be justified in using deadly force. Then the officer shot him - once.

What happens next, right after the first shot, only goes to support the officer's mindset that Eugene posed a continued and imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to Mr. Poppo. Also from the Huffington Post article was this:

"Rivera reportedly then shot Eugene once, but Eugene still continued to attack Poppo's face, prompting the officer to shoot multiple times until he was dead."

Eugene allegedly continued to attack the victim and the officer, then and only then, fired additional shots beyond the first shot until Eugene stopped (the officer was justified to shoot until Eugene stopped and it does not matter legally if justifiably shooting to stop results in the death of the assailant). Get that, the guy had supposedly been shot and then allegedly continued his attack on the victim! What does that tell you? It tells you that if the officer had believed that Eugene posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the victim, at the moment he fired his first shot, then the officer was absolutely right in said belief as evidenced by Eugene's alleged further actions. That the alleged assailant had still posed an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to the victim was upheld by the alleged assailants further actions. so why second guess the officer when his apparent mindset was proven correct? Bear in mind, the officer did not have to 'know' that more serious bodily harm or death was going to happen, he needed probable cause to believe it was about to happen. If the facts of the alleged assault and that Eugene allegedly ignored the officer, remained atop of Mr. Poppo and then continued chewing on the victim's flesh was not enough to constitute such probable cause - heaven help us. Yet, the Voice then goes on in essence to say that, the moment when the alleged assailant looked up would have been the opportune time for the officer to have (now get this):

"...whip out the "non-deadly force" -- or a boot to the face, or a baton to the skull, etc. "

Maybe the folks at the Village Voice should learn exactly what constitutes deadly force because they most certainly advocated using it on Eugene even though they question the officer for having used it. A kick to the face definitely would be the use of deadly force and a baton to the skull absolutely would be the use of deadly force. So, what non-deadly force are they talking about when they actually give examples of deadly force and say that the officer should have resorted to it their way?

Maybe they were confused with regard to what is deadly force. Maybe they meant something like a TASER. They claimed that the police love TASERs and thus maybe should have used one of those because it is non-lethal force (true in most cases but sometime lethal). I don't know about TASERs that much but do indeed know that not every officer carries one. I also know that, in many cases, TASERs have not proved effective on the first shot against crazed assailants. Heck, even the officer's first gunshot did not stop Eugene from allegedly continuing to rip apart the victims face with his teeth.

There is no doubt in my mind, that if the facts are correct as reported by sources other than the Village Voice, the officer was fully justified in his actions and in fact, probably chose the best action to have taken. I think that it is about time that the ultra-liberal folks at the Village Voice, and any ultra-right wing anti-government types who also oppose this shooting, ought to realize, there is no reason for any officer, in such a situation, to put himself into harms way by getting as close as suggested so as to be able to strike the alleged bad guy with boot or baton. There also is NO reason for the officer to allow the victim, Mr. Poppo, to be continuously placed in harms way, not for even one moment longer, because you wanted the police to treat the alleged assailant in a gentler, less lethal, manner. Face it, the officer dealt with this alleged zombie like kook the only way he should have done so. It is about time you honor the officer, Miami Police Officer Jose Rivera, for saving a life instead of questioning him as if he is suspected of having done a wrong. Shame on you Village Voice, is all I can think.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's Memorial Day - Take A Moment...

...to think about all of those, in military service during wartime, who sacrificed all in defense of our nation to protect our way of life, our Constitution and us.

Today is the one day a year set aside for us as a nation to remember them, to memorialize them, lest they be forgotten. It doesn't take long to give them a thought, maybe to say a little prayer for them, to assure they will live on forever. They would have done at least that much for us had they survived and had we been the ones to have perished.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Can Almost Agree With Hard Line Muslims On This One

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/27/lady-gaga-cancels-indonesian-show-over-security441650/?intcmp=trending

While I don't agree with what were to have been their planned methods, I kind of, sort of, like the fact that they think she is terrible.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ah The Stamina Of Youth

The son got a bit snockered at his graduation party yesterday afternoon through last night through early this morning - him along with a good number of his friends, my wife (expecting a major hangover for her), daughter, my wife's coworker/friend, and some of our neighbors. I had a beer but was feeling too rundown to drink more so I drank about 5 cups of coffee. Luckily for me, and intelligently for Brendan's friends, they all decided to walk home. Most did not bring cars but the one who did left it parked on our block. Had they wanted me to, I would have driven them home but when I asked about driving them they all opted to walk. The party started at about 2PM yesterday, about an hour early when my in-laws showed up, then my sister her beau and my nephew and his best friend and slowly but surely all the rest we expected. It ended at about 2AM this morning right after I sent my son a text message reminding him he had work at 0700. He was still outside with one of the neighbors until then. From the sound of it, he headed upstairs to hit the sack at about 0210.

I went up to wake him for work; I am guessing that was at about 0655 or so. He was, up and out, on his way to work at 0703. Not too bad considering the party and all. I asked if he was still feeling a bit tipsy and he said "no" and did not appear to be at all; he had stopped drinking awhile before the party ended (that was smart on his part). Had he even hinted of still being under the influence, even just a tiny bit, I would have driven him into work. Yet, it may be a tough day at the kennel today, all those dogs yapping and Brendan maybe going to have a bit of a hangover, then again maybe not. College graduation only comes around once and he is still young, with lots of stamina, so he will make it through the day okay.

All the best,
GB

Is Sniping To Become A More Exacting Science?

A young lad, in Germany, has finally answered a 300 year old question left to us by Sir Isaac Newton regarding how to calculate the exact path of a projectile that is affected by gravity and air resistance. I would have thought this was already known but apparently it was only ever partly figured out until now. Perhaps the study and applications of ballistics will become more exact than they are now. In practical applications, I could see this enhancing a sniper's capability to hit targets at further distances than were previously thought possible or in the ability of one nation to better target another with ballistic missiles. (That is a scary thought - isn't it; seems to be more than enough scary stuff in the news today!)

All the best,
GB

Has The Zombie Apocalypse Actually Begun - Naked Man Shot and Killed By Police In Miami

"Miami police and witnesses say that an officer on Saturday fatally shot a naked man who was chewing on the face of another man on a downtown causeway off-ramp."

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/26/cop-shoots-kills-naked-attacker-in-miami/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz1w59Qh3E6

"Police theorize the attacker might have been suffering from "cocaine psychosis," a drug-induced craze that bakes the body internally and often leads the affected to strip naked to try and cool off."

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2818832/naked-man-shot-killed-on-macarthur.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2818832/naked-man-shot-killed-on-macarthur.html#storylink=cp

Yeah right, but that is not what I am thinking. I don't know about you but stuff like this scares me and makes me think of places like Racoon City (if you don't understand the reference, watch the movie Resident Evil). Maybe it is because I watch many too many zombie movies or maybe it is because seemingly crazy people who commit monster like violence are becoming all too common or maybe it is a combination of both. As it stands now, this attack, with its zombie attack like similarities - a man, a naked man at that, in a very weird location for both him and the victim to be afoot, chewing off another man's face and ignoring police orders to desist, then being shot several times to stop him and the police having an immediate hypothetical reason as to why he was naked and violent to the extreme - is almost too much for me to cope with, this early, on a Sunday (or as I now say in retirement, just another Saturday) without me thinking about something horrifically phantasmagorical like a zombie apocalypse. All that, especially before my first cuppa Joe, was pretty freaky. What I can cope with though is not important.

I almost cannot fathom what the police officer who had to shoot this guy is going to go through. Not so much because he shot him and killed him but because of the gruesomeness of the crime that he witnessed and took decisive action to end. Neither can I imagine what the victim of the crime will have to go through after having survived an unusual assault as that and likely winding up facially disfigured for life (they said the guy ate half of his face).

Just way too weird not to be scary.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's Memorial Day Weekend Again - So Let's Memorialize

Memorial Day weekend is upon us once again. The beaches officially open this weekend, at least here in NY, and the BBQ's get fired up ad the beer and booze flows, sales galore abound, discounts are given to military personnel. If we know a Soldier, or Airman, or Sailor, or Marine or Coast Guardsman we probably are going to be likely to thank them for their service.

Once again, despite our good intention, we apt to get it all pretty much wrong about Memorial Day. Memorial Day is not for those currently serving or for veterans. Their day is Veterans' Day. Memorial Day is very different or at least was meant to be something very different. It is a time to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, during time of war, to serve and protect our nation, our Constitution, our way of life and each and every one of us. It is a time to memorialize the dead, to pay homage to our bravely fallen grandfathers, fathers, mothers, spouses, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and so on who lost their lives during wartime while serving our great nation.

I am not about to tell you, even for a moment, that we should not be respectful and thankful to those currently serving but I am going to repeat - it is not their day on Monday - it is a day to remember those who are among the missing. We must never forget them nor their sacrifice - so, during the ballgame, or while at the department store sale, or when enjoying the BBQ - take a moment to give them a thought - those who have drank from the same canteen.

All the best,
Glenn B

Pretty Lady Reviewing Ruger 22/45 Mark III

Nice video, pretty gal, nice gun.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Manifesto

I was just over at Breda's blog and saw that she wrote about those BS posters with all those feelgood-isms (as she called them). I agree, that stuff is mostly balderdash.

She suggested writing out own manifestos. I thought about that, wondered what was mine and realized I was already living by mine. Then I wrote it out for the world to see. Got it all done in about less than a NY minute. Here it is:

My manifesto:

We all die, it is a question of how and when, mostly when. I am not too worried about it at this stage of my life, I have done onto others mostly as I would have had them do onto me, that was conditionally - I acted this way or that way dependent on how they acted toward me after I first showed respect. That is how I would want someone to treat me. So now, I plan to have as good of a good time as I can have, and to share my good times with others who can appreciate it, in what time I have remaining. I cannot see anything better than that except maybe for how I spend the end moment. Who knows, today or tomorrow I may die at the hands of some bastards or worse. If it's the bastards who get me, I plan to take one, or two of them, along with me - if it's worse well what can I do except to go and hopefully do it bravely, always sure I have left a little of myself behind for others to carry on as best they can from what I have helped teach them. That just about has it down perfectly for me.

All the best,
Glenn B

College Graduation and Party Central

Well, my son has graduated from college. He decided to opt out of graduation ceremonies, which I think was a thing he may later wish he had not done but it was his decision aand we are having our own graduation ceremonies tomorrow anyhow. He did well, in college, he wound up with a 3.27 GPA which certainly beat my undergraduate 3.23 GPA. Nice to see he is smarter than the old man (who would be me).

Tomorrow, we are having a graduation party for him. I think my wife arranged for about 35 folks to show up, including us. I hope the rains hold off because I think 35 people in our small house would turn it into a loonier madhouse than usual, by far. Whatever, we will have a good time especially since it is being catered. The wife handled that and also picked up all of the soft drinks.

Lest you think I had nothing to do with it, I got to clean the basement today, including the toilet down there. Oh joy! I also vacuumed the basement and got outside spruced up and ready. In addition I have the extra folding chairs and folding tables ready to be set up. I'll hold off on that until I find out tomorrow if it looks like rain or not.

Now, don't go thinking, wow this guy is sure a wussy - letting his wife set up the catering and buy soft drinks, then doing cleaning chores. I also went out today and did the manly thing, I picked up some libations - some excellent and some the choice of my son. He chose Bud Light, wanted a keg but settled for cans (you would think being college educated he would select better beer). I also picked up some Spaten Oktoberfest Bier and some Franziskaner Hefe Weisse Hell. (Yep, that is what they call it but it tastes like it was made in heaven.) So, in all, we have soft drinks, beer and some wine already on hand. I think I will keep the hard stuff out of sight and am sure we have enough spirits for all without it.

Good food (that we do not have to cook), good beer (at least some of it), and good friends all together, with my son the guest of honor (the college graduate yet still pretty conservative) - it sure promises to be a good time for all.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Dawning of the Age of Mosquitos

While doing some lawn work yesterday, or maybe the day before, I had at least two, maybe three, mosquitos zero in on me. I think one actually got first blood for the season. It seems that the age of the mosquito has dawned early this year, by about a month or so. The season probably should not really have started yet, but apparently no one let the pesky little blood suckers in on this and they buzzing about and are attacking with bloodlust and glee.

The only reason that I am posting about this is because, I was driven to write this post since, I just caught one of the little buggers as it flew between me and the front on my laptop's screen. I got 
him in midair and squashed the livings out of him - it made me feel darned good too. too bad I could not have shot him with the .45 but i guess that would have messed up the computer and the wall behind it. Oh well, crushing the little booger was pretty satisfactory.

I guess, tomorrow, I'll have to check my yard and make sure there are no pockets of standing water anywhere, like in unused flower pots or buckets that may be out and about. I imagine that with all the rain we had lately, along with the somewhat warmer than normal temps, it is going to be mosquito paradise around here really soon.

All the best,
Glenn B

Geography Lessons Needed

I may not be the brightest bulb to have ever been screwed into the socket but as far as my knowledge of the world goes I do shine at least a little bit. In fact, I am so bright, when it comes to world geography that I know that someone over at Fox new online is either a moron or just cannot find enough new worthy items to fill in the blanks. being that the world is a busy place, with lots of news, I have to imagine it is the former - someone there is a moron at least when it comes to geography. Why do I say this? well, I visited Foxnews.com today as usual and I went to their World news page. On that page they give a listing of news articles under headers by region, 3 of them today when I looked, Mideast, Europe and Asia. Then under those headers they show articles that should, one would expect, pertain to those regions. Now bear in mind, there were many articles listed on each header, but I wanted o specifically show why someone at Fox is not all that up on geography so I only kept the ones that were mistakenly put under a header:
　

Mideast
Is China a developing country? Key question unresolved in latest round of climate talks

Europe
Is China a developing country? Key question unresolved in latest round of climate talks

Asia
Fears that Europe lacks plan to keep Greece from falling out of the euro hurt markets

Giant new telescope to be built in South Africa and Australia

That was all found at this link, although you must bear in mind, it may all have been changed by the time you visit the link as it is a news site and things change pretty rapidly in the news. It is amazing, to me, as what passes for a professional website today, especially one purporting to be the site of a major news organization. Don't get me wrong, I like FoxNews.com, it is my favorite online source for the news. I just wish they would start to hire some reporters, or website developers and editors with a little bit of education 4th or 5th grade smarts when it comes to things like geography.

Heck, both south Africa and Australia most certainly do not belong grouped under Asia, they are continents in and of themselves. Europe likewise. As for China falling under both Europe and the Mideast - which one does it fall under? Oh, wait a minute, that's right, - it is in Asia! So why put articles about those countries and or continents under the obviously wrong regional header? It does not matter if each article in some way shape or form addresses those other regions and or continents in addition to the one mentioned in the article's title; they should be listed under the regional header most applicable to the crux of the piece - that which is expressed in the title of each article.

It is simply amazing, to me, how ignorant the person must be who listed those articles under those headers. American education and excellence in the workplace most assuredly have seen their sunset.

All the best,
Glenn B

Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn - Unintentional Commentary About Our Society

I like to go to estate sales, tag sales, an occasional garage/yard sale now and again, to estate auctions. I also lke to try to sell some of the treasure I buy at those places. Sometimes I have made good money, other times people have offered me an amount that I thought was a joke. I just turned them down and held onto the item to try again. Sometimes, after not selling it for too long a time, I had to realize it was not worth as much as  wanted and I would settle for a much lower price. Once or twice I even realized I never should have bought the item in the first place because it was jsut out and out junk, so I threw it away. 

I guess, with those interest it was pretty natural for me to wind up liking shows about antiques like Antiques Roadshow, about turning trash into treasure like American Pickers, and about people getting what they can with odd things they have like on Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn. They are fun to watch, at least for me.

I guess I would never have expected it but there has been an added benefit for me, other than entertainment, while watching these shows. By watching them, I have learned a lot about American society, especially about those in our society who believe they are entitled to what other people own. I got education mostly from the last two shows I mentioned - Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn.  Maybe not so much by watching Pawn Stars and more by watching Hardcore Pawn but the truth is that if you watch them both you get to see vastly different societal groups and how each thinks what is fair and just.

For instance, you watch Pawn Stars, a guy brings in what he claims is Houdini's straight jacket. The guys in the shop ask the potential seller if it is okay to bring in an expert to verify that this is indeed Houdini's actual straight jacket. The seller agrees, the expert comes in and he indeed does verify with photographic evidence, that it was Houdini's straight jacket, one he actually used in his acts. The guy asks for a certain amount, and Rick - the shop's owner, haggles with him. The seller decides that Rick is not offering enough and then he leaves the shop with the now very prized straight jacket. This all takes place in an atmosphere of relative tranquility. This is the case with almost every sale or purchase offering that is seen on this show. The shop is located in Las Vegas, not the most conservative of locales but one in which people are known to be, in general, productive and who work for a living even if most of that work is dedicated to the gaming/gambling industry.

Then we move to the Detroit, MI area where the store shown in Hardcore pawn is located. They have a very different type of clientele than does the shop on Pawn Stars. If you doubt me just watch each of these two shows a few times. Many of the folks shown, who come into the pawn shop on Hardcore Pawn, get into arguments with the shop's staff. What do they argue about? Well it seems that when they come into the shop to sell or pawn something, many of them truly seem to believe that they are entitled to the shop owners money and that when they ask for a set price, in that shop, the money they are trying to get in the deal is actually owed to them no matter what is the value of the item they are tring to sell. If they don't get what they ask, most leave, but many - way too many - go berserk and demand that which, for some unfathomable reason, they believe is already theirs.

It, that sense of entitlement, makes me wonder why in Detroit and not in Las Vegas. Sure, some of the folks who go into the shop on Pawn Stars, the one in Las Vegas, expect to get more than they are offered and some become incredulous or even upset that they were not offered more but they often just decide not to sell and to try elsewhere. I do not recall seeing one who ever started to get violent while demanding that the shop give them exactly what they are asking. I have never seen one person in that shp act as if they are entitled to someone else's money. On the other hand, in the show Hardcore Pawn, we see many heated altercations between store employees and potential sellers - sellers who obviously believe they are actually entitled to get whatever price they ask for any junk they are trying to sell. We also see people, who have pawned items, disputing angrily how much they owe or do not owe while trying to get pawned items back or manage their accounts. Again - why in the Detroit area as opposed to Las Vegas.

I can only imagine that it has something to do with the deep seated leftism that has established itself in Detroit. Detroit has not had a conservative mayor in what seems like eons. It had been a manufacturing mecca but became a fortress of unionization and the jobs disappeared. It is one of the most rundown, if not the most rundown, city in the United States. It is a city full of decay and desolation from what I can see and of course, it has a huge welfare program! There is little, if anything, about the Detroit of the last couple to few decades that makes me think of productivity, of the work ethic, of the American dream. Instead, when I think of Detroit, I think of it as being a prime example of how policies on the left have failed us. I also think of it as a city full of leeches, those who think that everyone else owes them something. That was my picture of Detroit for many years before Hardcore Pawn was ever a sparkle in the show producer's eyes.

Now, if the folks shown on Hardcore Pawn truly are the customers of that particular pawn shop and if their actions as seen on the show are real and not staged, let me ask you this: What more do Americans need to open their eyes and realize that all this welfare and other entitlement crap has gone to far? We need to end it and end it now and get people working instead of sucking on the once huge but now almost dry government tit. It is about time people work hard for what they want instead of trying to take away from the rest of us what we have worked hard to earn.

All the best,
Glenn B