...make any sense, to any of you who understand computers? Just curious as I am pretty much a computer peckerwood who cannot tell a program from an application.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, November 12, 2012
I Almost Said Screw Norton 360...
...after I had run system restore and fixed whatever problem i was that had been slowing down my computer on a select few applications. Why? Well, because after running System Restore and restarting my computer, I realized Norton360 was not working. When I clicked on the Norton Icon, not the Norton 360 icon but the Norton Anti-Virus icon for the trial version that came with my system (I had a Norton 3600 account previously and had installed it on my current laptop after its initial Norton AV trial ran out but after running System Restore only the Norton Trial Icon came up) nothing happened. Ouch, I realized my laptop was without protection, as in rubberless in a world of AIDS computer viruses! So, I went to my Norton account and tried to download Norton 360 again but there was a problem and it did not work. Happily, Norton indicated that I could try again after I first had manually uninstalled any Norton products from my PC. I did that, I uninstalled Norton. Then I reinstalled the Norton 360. Even though my account had showed I had already done so with all 3 of my subscriptions (from a single purchase for three computers) it allowed me to download it again; I guess it can determine that the PC to which one is downloading is one to which it has been downloaded before. That is good. Once I did that; all was again excellent in the land of virtual reality, at least for me, for now!
All the virtual best,
Glenn B
All the virtual best,
Glenn B
System Restore - A Good Thing - Thank You Bill Gates (or thanks to the tech who thought it up)
Lucky for me that I decided to try to run System Restore tonight, on my pretty new laptop, instead of waiting any longer. I was able to find a restore point that I was sure had been set before a problem started with my computer and that was the only one, of which I was certain, that had been set before the computer started acting up.
My computer was acting kind of slow, but only on certain programs. When bringing up my blog it was really at a snail's pace and, when opening MS Word, it was slower than normal. In addition, sometimes, when I opened my blog it would just keep opening new windows of my blog one after the other nonstop, like 20 or 30 times, before I could stop it by shutting it down.
It also ran the blog very slowly. For instance, when I would be typing a blog post, it would suddenly stop. Since I do not touch type and look at the keys when typing, I often did not notice until after writing several sentences and then when I looked up, it was frozen and all I had typed for the last several seconds, to maybe a minute, was not there. I would have to do it again. Sometimes I would have to wait up to half a minute for it to work again. It would happen repeatedly, often several times within a a couple of minutes. I also would often get a message asking if I wanted to turn off the script that was taking too long.
I just ran System Restore, going as far back as I could to October 25th. Right now, the computer seems to be working okay. There are no slowdowns. The blog came right up, almost instantaneously. So did MS Word. As I typed this post, there was not one delay nor one message asking if I wanted to stop running a script that was taking to long.
I had tried running Norton Anti-Virus and I also ran CCleaner both to no avail to fix this problem, whatever it was that was screwing up. I was about to start screaming, and maybe shooting (at the computer) but a cooler head prevailed and I decided to run System Restore first. It seems to have worked.
All the best,
Glenn B
My computer was acting kind of slow, but only on certain programs. When bringing up my blog it was really at a snail's pace and, when opening MS Word, it was slower than normal. In addition, sometimes, when I opened my blog it would just keep opening new windows of my blog one after the other nonstop, like 20 or 30 times, before I could stop it by shutting it down.
It also ran the blog very slowly. For instance, when I would be typing a blog post, it would suddenly stop. Since I do not touch type and look at the keys when typing, I often did not notice until after writing several sentences and then when I looked up, it was frozen and all I had typed for the last several seconds, to maybe a minute, was not there. I would have to do it again. Sometimes I would have to wait up to half a minute for it to work again. It would happen repeatedly, often several times within a a couple of minutes. I also would often get a message asking if I wanted to turn off the script that was taking too long.
I just ran System Restore, going as far back as I could to October 25th. Right now, the computer seems to be working okay. There are no slowdowns. The blog came right up, almost instantaneously. So did MS Word. As I typed this post, there was not one delay nor one message asking if I wanted to stop running a script that was taking to long.
I had tried running Norton Anti-Virus and I also ran CCleaner both to no avail to fix this problem, whatever it was that was screwing up. I was about to start screaming, and maybe shooting (at the computer) but a cooler head prevailed and I decided to run System Restore first. It seems to have worked.
All the best,
Glenn B
Some Native Americans And Their Seeming Hypocrtical Sensitivity
So, Victoria's Secret, that way overpriced, in my opinion,
lingerie outfit has a lingerie show. One of the models is dressed what looks
like native American headdress, jewelry and other bits of clothing. Now some Indians are supposedly extremely offended along the lines of 'how dare they
misappropriate Native American attire' . I wonder if that was only used in the
article or if some yahoo of a wanna be savage said that??? Victoria's Secret
apologized to them. What a shame, as I see it, because I think it is about time
that some native Americans stop riding the 'race' horse.
Who is kidding whom here. I have been out west a good numbers of times, I have seen a lot of so called native you get to see a fair number of Indians in places like New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, Montana Washington and Oregon. I have also seen a fair number of them in New York, Connecticut, South Dakota and Florida. When you see them, you sometimes get to see what they do, how they act, what work they have, what clothing they wear, how they talk and so on. Reading up on history and watching educational television shows also clued me into their history and some of their cultural aspects. Talking to many of them also gave me further insight.
In all of my encounters with so called Native Americans, speaking with them, working with them (yes I have worked with a few), being a customer in some of their businesses (no not to buy smokes), interviewing them a few times in my career, arresting them (yes I did that too) and many other types of interactions, I came to realize there are basically two types of Indians. There are those who have adapted to the fact that Europeans came to this land in 1492 and kicked their asses and took their lands and changed their lives forever (which is in essence they did) and that life is different now and they can and should work for a living and try to get along with European, African, Asian, and Australian Americans. Then there are those who have not adapted to the hundreds of years old reality and who insist on being on the warpath all of the time.
It is that second type usually, who take or claim to take high offense whenever they say someone has slighted the Indians. They howl with hypersensitivity if a high school or college football team has a logo that represents an Indian or a name of a tribe, yet many have European names. They are highly offended if a film is made that shows anything about them with which they disagree yet they portray other Americans negatively quite often. They also frown upon anyone claiming to have Indian blood who in essence cannot prove their lineage or have not been DNA tested, yet seemingly push for they hoot and holler hurray when a whole tribe of, what are, I think, little more than Fauxahontises is established to beat the tax man out of tax dollars or when someone with 1/16th (or whatever amount is now required) of Indian blood is made a tribal member to skew the political and economic balance in their favor. They go out on what could almost be considered a rampage over anyone who dons Indian apparel, like the Victoria’s Secret model and apparently said that this is seen as misuse and theft of their heritage yet they stroll around in Levi’s Jeans, while wearing cowboy boots, and Stetsons. Or how about those waitresses, at some Indian owned establishments, dressed in cowboy hats and boots with hot-pants wedged right up their cracks - as I see it, much attired along the lines of the model at the lingerie show. Then, what about those casinos! They are against development of sacred Native American lands until it is they themselves who are building a casino or cigarette shop on it. They oppose big business but are more than happy to take your money from you at those casinos and tobacco stores. They are against things like Indians working off of the reservations yet claim to be against reservations saying they own the whole continent. They are against things like Indians working or living off of the reservations yet claim to be against reservations. They oppose others hunting or fishing certain animals, then claim to have been one with nature and say they still commune with nature more so than others, but yet they still hunt and fish for endangered species and call it their right (all the time saying they have rights that others do not and forgetting that all men are created equal and share rights alike). They claim reservations are dumps yet it is they who trash them (I have seen it firsthand several times.) They claim America is not fair to them but step right up in line, hands out, for the dole.
I could go on and on about these contradictions, this hypocrisy, this bogus over sensitivity, but you should know what I am writing about, you should be pretty familiar with it by now. Well, that is if you have half a brain and pay just a wee bit of attention to current events now and again and maybe read a newspaper (or online news articles) or watch educational TV now and again.
Now let me ask you a few things about Native Americans. Didn't they migrate from Asia, so aren't they immigrants too! Could or should other Americans take offense at them using the term native American since there was no America, so to speak, until it was named after Amerigo Vespucci (aka: Americus) by Europeans. Should I feel offended because they could be said to have misappropriated cultural identity. Should I come out and say they have misappropriated cultural attire when I see them dressed in cowboy clothing or in a tuxedo or in a police officer's uniform or one of the uniforms of the United States military services? Should I be ever so sensitive if they call me a white man because I am supposedly not to call them red men.
I have two words for the type of Indian who is supposedly super-sensitive and offended by things like that Victoria's Secret outfit, or by a sports team portraying a native American in its logo, while all along being a racist hypocrite: Get real.
All the best,
Glenn B
Who is kidding whom here. I have been out west a good numbers of times, I have seen a lot of so called native you get to see a fair number of Indians in places like New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, Montana Washington and Oregon. I have also seen a fair number of them in New York, Connecticut, South Dakota and Florida. When you see them, you sometimes get to see what they do, how they act, what work they have, what clothing they wear, how they talk and so on. Reading up on history and watching educational television shows also clued me into their history and some of their cultural aspects. Talking to many of them also gave me further insight.
In all of my encounters with so called Native Americans, speaking with them, working with them (yes I have worked with a few), being a customer in some of their businesses (no not to buy smokes), interviewing them a few times in my career, arresting them (yes I did that too) and many other types of interactions, I came to realize there are basically two types of Indians. There are those who have adapted to the fact that Europeans came to this land in 1492 and kicked their asses and took their lands and changed their lives forever (which is in essence they did) and that life is different now and they can and should work for a living and try to get along with European, African, Asian, and Australian Americans. Then there are those who have not adapted to the hundreds of years old reality and who insist on being on the warpath all of the time.
It is that second type usually, who take or claim to take high offense whenever they say someone has slighted the Indians. They howl with hypersensitivity if a high school or college football team has a logo that represents an Indian or a name of a tribe, yet many have European names. They are highly offended if a film is made that shows anything about them with which they disagree yet they portray other Americans negatively quite often. They also frown upon anyone claiming to have Indian blood who in essence cannot prove their lineage or have not been DNA tested, yet seemingly push for they hoot and holler hurray when a whole tribe of, what are, I think, little more than Fauxahontises is established to beat the tax man out of tax dollars or when someone with 1/16th (or whatever amount is now required) of Indian blood is made a tribal member to skew the political and economic balance in their favor. They go out on what could almost be considered a rampage over anyone who dons Indian apparel, like the Victoria’s Secret model and apparently said that this is seen as misuse and theft of their heritage yet they stroll around in Levi’s Jeans, while wearing cowboy boots, and Stetsons. Or how about those waitresses, at some Indian owned establishments, dressed in cowboy hats and boots with hot-pants wedged right up their cracks - as I see it, much attired along the lines of the model at the lingerie show. Then, what about those casinos! They are against development of sacred Native American lands until it is they themselves who are building a casino or cigarette shop on it. They oppose big business but are more than happy to take your money from you at those casinos and tobacco stores. They are against things like Indians working off of the reservations yet claim to be against reservations saying they own the whole continent. They are against things like Indians working or living off of the reservations yet claim to be against reservations. They oppose others hunting or fishing certain animals, then claim to have been one with nature and say they still commune with nature more so than others, but yet they still hunt and fish for endangered species and call it their right (all the time saying they have rights that others do not and forgetting that all men are created equal and share rights alike). They claim reservations are dumps yet it is they who trash them (I have seen it firsthand several times.) They claim America is not fair to them but step right up in line, hands out, for the dole.
I could go on and on about these contradictions, this hypocrisy, this bogus over sensitivity, but you should know what I am writing about, you should be pretty familiar with it by now. Well, that is if you have half a brain and pay just a wee bit of attention to current events now and again and maybe read a newspaper (or online news articles) or watch educational TV now and again.
Now let me ask you a few things about Native Americans. Didn't they migrate from Asia, so aren't they immigrants too! Could or should other Americans take offense at them using the term native American since there was no America, so to speak, until it was named after Amerigo Vespucci (aka: Americus) by Europeans. Should I feel offended because they could be said to have misappropriated cultural identity. Should I come out and say they have misappropriated cultural attire when I see them dressed in cowboy clothing or in a tuxedo or in a police officer's uniform or one of the uniforms of the United States military services? Should I be ever so sensitive if they call me a white man because I am supposedly not to call them red men.
I have two words for the type of Indian who is supposedly super-sensitive and offended by things like that Victoria's Secret outfit, or by a sports team portraying a native American in its logo, while all along being a racist hypocrite: Get real.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Happy Veterans' Day...
...to all of you who have served our nation in her military
forces. I was never in the military, spent a 32 year career in the federal
civil service in law enforcement (primarily aimed at illegal aliens and
smugglers) but I do realize the sacrifices that our guys and gals in the armed
forces have made for the rest of us and how important they have been relative
to our safety and our freedoms – to our way of life here in the good old USA. I
praise them for it, I thank them for it, I honor them for it and I pray that
each and every one will stay out of Harm’s Way.
To all of you, now serving on foreign soil, or on foreign
waters, or in foreign skies, I wish you all the best for a happy Veterans’ Day
and for a very happy Thanksgiving and hope you will have a speedy and safe
return to your homes and loved ones. To all the rest of you, still here at home,
I wish you all a very safe and happy Veterans’ Day and a very happy
Thanksgiving as well.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, November 10, 2012
White Plains Gun Show Report
I woke up fairly early, at least for me, at 0615 today. I
finally dragged my protesting arse and all of the grumpy rest of me out of bed
at about 0640. I would have had a great night’s sleep if A. B. Normal (more commonly called Abby), our Chihuahua
puppy did not wake me at about 0430 to ply and then finally crawl under my
blankets and go to sleep. Seems my wife had heard her whining and let her and
her sister Chloe (Abby's sister) outside to do their thing. Amazing is how I
see it that the wife and puppies going outside did not awaken me, I must have
really been getting some quality snooze time for a change - it figures though that something had to
ruin it for me. Oh well, I got more sleep than usual anyway.
Once I was up, I hit the shower, got dressed and took off to
meet up with my good friend Pete A.. He gave me a much needed cup of Java and
we hit the road toward White Plains. I had been running about 10-15 minutes
later than I had thought and we hit pretty bad traffic caused by cops stopped
in the left lane on our side of the road checking out, not helping with, a bad
accident on the other side of the road. That ate up another 15 minutes or so.
We still made decent time to the Westchester County center in White Plains and
surprisingly, even though a little after 0900 (the opening time for the gun
show) I found a parking spot around the block on the street and saved a bit by
not having to pay a parking lot fee. It seemed odd that there were an awful lot
of spaces available on the street and stranger still that there were only about
10 people on line ahead of us to get inside. While on the line, Pete told me he
had printed up some dollar off the admission price coupons but had forgotten
them at home. Well, for a change, I remembered them and had one for each of us
and several left over for others on the line and I passed them out to those
behind us. The guy immediately behind me seemed astonished that someone would
do that. Oh well...
I too was pretty much
astonished, that is once we got inside, to see that there were only about 150
folks already inside the gun show. I had thought, for sure, that Pete was going
to get to witness a feeding frenzy of gun and ammo purchases because of the
Obama reelection. We stayed until about noon or maybe 1230 and the place had
filled up by then by nowhere near to the usual crowd size, especially at a fall
show just before hunting season! So, while he did see people buying things - it
was not the buying down to the bare tables that I had expected (at least with
regard to ammo).
While there, I got to see some things that made me salivate.
A Remington 8, in very good to excellent condition in .30 Remington for $450. I
did not have enough to buy it being I am in need of a new roof and all so I had
to really take care on what I would spend. I know I could turn that around for
some profit if I sold it but just could not lay out for it and the ammo I had
gone there to buy. I am not going to write a lot about other guns that had me
drooling like the two Ruger 10/22's converted to Thompson submachine gun
clones, the Marlin 57M Levermatic, a few Stag Arms' AR15's and so on. There was
a good selection of firearms to be had.
The selection of ammo was pretty fair too although not as
good as for that which I had hoped. One guy had 5.56x45mm, 62 grain ammo for
sale in full cases and in 420 round ammo
cans (this on stripper clips). He wanted more than I wanted to spend on a full
case, asking for $385 plus tax. The same was true of the ammo cans holding 420
rounds each but it wound up being a price on which I would have to settle if I
wanted any of it. Another guy had the very same ammo: Federal 5.56x45mm, 62
grain, green tip, penetrator rounds on his table and had about 10 to 15 of those
ammo cans, each holding 420 rounds on stripper clips. He was asking what seemed
like a very low ball price of $150 each or I should say had been asking. He had
a second sign next to the one showing the price, that other sign said "All
Sold". He told me he had sold it all to a dealer on Friday night when they
set up the dealer tables. The he added, maybe I should have held some back for
the customers. He did not even have the decency to pull it off the table but
left it there attracting potential customer after potential customer. I don't
know if he left it there because he was lazy or because he wanted to lure
people to his table to maybe buy other ammo or he was just a peckerwood that
did not mind teasing potential buyers. I wound up buying a can from the guy
selling it for $180 per can. Shush, don't let Brendan know, I think I may give
it to him for his birthday.
I also bought three boxes of Prvi Partisan 8mm Mauser, 194
grain, soft point ammo; two boxes of American Eagle .45 Auto, 230 grain, FMJ
rounds; a box of Federal .45 Auto, 230 grain, hollow point ammo and a box of
Fiocchi .32 Auto, FMJ cartridges. Other than ammunition, I picked up three
packages of cotton swabs (6" long wood handles/sticks), and forgot two or
three other things I had thought I would get when I saw them my first time
around the show like some brass brushes, a bore light and whatever else it was
I had thought of while at the show. Pete also picked up a couple or few small
items. He grabbed the last PP/PPK book off of the stand. It was a book
supposedly showing one how to maintain, field strip, detail strip and
reassemble those pistols. His wife owns one in .380 and he got it for her. He
also bought a couple or a few tape measures, funny thing to see at a gun show.
I think they were a buck each, probably 12 or 15 footers. They had the King
Koil logo on them, funny thing to see on a tape measure. Go figure. He admired
several other things, especially some micro-knives at one display of all
knives. They were truly small scale, maybe an inch and a half long and were
scaled down versions of Bowie Knives with intricate scrimshaw on them picturing
native Americans. If they had asked something I could have afforded I may have
bought one of them but at $1,300.00 the pair - I just moved on after joking I
would take them for $13 the pair. The older lady, behind the counter, had a
good comeback for that: "Take them from someone else selling them for that
price". The young lady with her just smiled.
All in all we had a great time, walking around, looking at
guns, watching other folks, looking at knives, Pete looking at women (only
kidding), shooting the bull and the like. I was pretty unhappy that our mutual
friend Charlie K apparently was unable to make it this time around. I had been
hoping he would be there so we could all go out to lunch together. As it turned
out, Pete suggested that we wait until we get back to near his house for lunch
and that we stop at the Resorts' Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, NY. So
that is what we did. We chowed down on a buffet lunch and I put a big dent in
the huge platter of shrimp they had out along with some other good tasting
things. Nothing fancy but the shrimp made it worthwhile. Pete did likewise as
far as chowing down went. After that we walked around the casino and BS'd about
this and that. I also gambled just a bit, about $25 worth plus the dollar I
found on the floor of the casino. It is all slot or poker or roulette and
similar machines in that casino, no table games. It was the first time I was there
since it opened, maybe two years or so ago. Once out of there, I dropped Pete
off at home and headed home myself.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, November 9, 2012
The Strangest Things Wind Up Following Me Home...
...or so I would like to get my wife to believe but she, like my mother years before, knows that such is not the case. Well, that is in most cases anyway. Some of the things she does not mind, like the flower that bloomed within a day or two of Super Storm Sandy, last week. I went out back and there it was staring me in the face, more or less. Of course, my wife had seen it a day before me because most of my staring had been up at my missing roof shingles. The flower must have just about bloomed on Wednesday, the day after the so called hurricane (that changed into a tropical storm that was then called a super storm).
That was also the same day that I hopped in the Toyota and drove into Harlem / Morningside Heights to pick up my latest reptilian acquisition. A nice couple was adopting out a red eared slider and were in need of a taker without delay as they were leaving for employment in East Africa the very next day. Being that the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) was to be having its 23rd annual reptile expo this coming weekend, I figured what the heck. I braved the roads the day after the big storm which was not much of a feat since there was very little traffic and went to pick it up. I thought I would keep it briefly and adopt it out at the show. The thing is, the show has been cancelled since I picked up the turtle and now I am turtle siting until I can adopt it out to a knowledgeable turtle keeper.
Even before I had considered getting that turtle, my son Brendan told me he had a friend who wanted to give away two bearded dragons. He said they were big, came with a big tank and some accessories. I had some thoughts on the matter but not for long and almost immediately agreed he should take them in. It did not happen, at least right away. As I said, the offer came before the storm, maybe a week ahead of it. It did happen though, that the two bearded dragons, a large tank of maybe 55 gallon size, and a bunch of BD care equipment showed up in my basement - today! I am guessing it is either a sexed pair or maybe more likely two females. I am almost positive they are not two males because they are not killing one another. They look healthy and if they are a pair, I may hold onto them and try to breed them. If two females, I may seek out a male to mate with them. Baby bearded dragons can go for up to about $75 apiece easily depending on color and at least for $25 apiece even if nothing special. That is if you have an outlet for them and I do have just that. I fed them tonight and they gobbled up several crickets each and each of them also chomped down on 3 large roaches of the species Blabica dubia. Yes, I have them in a tank in my house too, that is the roaches. I had been feeding the smaller adults of them to my Crested Geckos. They, the roaches, share accommodations with a few hundred crickets. The crested geckos share an enclosure with a toad.
That was also the same day that I hopped in the Toyota and drove into Harlem / Morningside Heights to pick up my latest reptilian acquisition. A nice couple was adopting out a red eared slider and were in need of a taker without delay as they were leaving for employment in East Africa the very next day. Being that the Long Island Herpetological Society (LIHS) was to be having its 23rd annual reptile expo this coming weekend, I figured what the heck. I braved the roads the day after the big storm which was not much of a feat since there was very little traffic and went to pick it up. I thought I would keep it briefly and adopt it out at the show. The thing is, the show has been cancelled since I picked up the turtle and now I am turtle siting until I can adopt it out to a knowledgeable turtle keeper.
Even before I had considered getting that turtle, my son Brendan told me he had a friend who wanted to give away two bearded dragons. He said they were big, came with a big tank and some accessories. I had some thoughts on the matter but not for long and almost immediately agreed he should take them in. It did not happen, at least right away. As I said, the offer came before the storm, maybe a week ahead of it. It did happen though, that the two bearded dragons, a large tank of maybe 55 gallon size, and a bunch of BD care equipment showed up in my basement - today! I am guessing it is either a sexed pair or maybe more likely two females. I am almost positive they are not two males because they are not killing one another. They look healthy and if they are a pair, I may hold onto them and try to breed them. If two females, I may seek out a male to mate with them. Baby bearded dragons can go for up to about $75 apiece easily depending on color and at least for $25 apiece even if nothing special. That is if you have an outlet for them and I do have just that. I fed them tonight and they gobbled up several crickets each and each of them also chomped down on 3 large roaches of the species Blabica dubia. Yes, I have them in a tank in my house too, that is the roaches. I had been feeding the smaller adults of them to my Crested Geckos. They, the roaches, share accommodations with a few hundred crickets. The crested geckos share an enclosure with a toad.
Yesterday, I also received a shipment of Blue Tailed Fire Bellied Newts (Cynops cyanurus). I had a small colony of hem before I got ill last year but had to give them to a friend to care for while I was sick. Sadly, most of them died while in his care, probably due to contaminated food they ate. I think the new group of five of them that I just got will do much better. They will soon be sharing an aquarium with my tropical fish. I do not heat the fish tank and they will do just fine in with the fish as the others did before their untimely demise last year. I actually paid for the newts. I had been thinking of selling two or three of the five with the idea of getting enough for them to pa for the remaining ones that I would keep. Since that was also going to be at the LIHS show, tomorrow, and since the show has been cancelled, I guess I am stuck with all five of them.
Then there was the bird earlier today. I was sitting at my computer desk, in the basement this afternoon, and thought I saw something fly by out of the corner of my eye in the back room. Then, I saw it again and heard a chirp. I got up, in seer disbelief, to take a look to see if I was going crazy. There it was though, a sparrow and it was flying around in the boiler room. I tried to catch it and it flew upstairs to the first floor. Then it flew up to the top floor. It went into my daughter's room and got lost either under a dresser or the bed or behind some junk. I figured I would give it a break. When I went to go back upstairs, my wife told me that she and my daughter got it to fly out of the window that they had opened for it. Good for them because that meant they had to clean the bird doody off of the window where it had slammed itself once or twice as I tried to catch it and evidently knocked the shit out of itself. I am guessing it came down one of the chimneys because both are missing chimney caps after the storm.
Wow, the house is once again turning into a zoo but then again, it has always been a zoo of sorts!
All the best,
Glenn B
I Am Selling Some Guns (what on earth is wrong with me!)
I hate selling guns but the truth of the matter is that I cannot keep every gun I own, otherwise I would go broke after some recent purchases at a couple of auctions over the past several months. So I decided to sell a couple to a few of what I own. I just sold the Browning Citori Lightning, that I bought in the spring, by way of GunBroker.com. I am going to ship it out today via UPS to a FFL holder in Illinois. I think I may also sell one of my pistols, a High Standard pistol in .22LR. I am thinking of bringing it to the gun show in White Plains tomorrow to see if I can sell it there, either to a dealer or to a pistol license holder who has the proper paperwork with him. I'll see how it works out and let you know later.
I did not fire the Browning shotgun since I purchased it and it was sold to me as unfired. It is probably the nicest gun I have ever owned. I would have given it to my son had he shown an interest in shooting it but he did not. So, I decided to sell it. The money will probably go toward another firearms purchase or maybe, better yet, into the bank from whence it came out of my savings account. Collecting and shooting guns can be a lot of fun so long as it does not bankrupt you.
As for the High Standard Dura-matic pistol, I have fired it but not much. I think I brought it to the range once. It is a nice gun too, pretty old and yet in excellent shape (and not with the addition of me having to say "excellent for its age", it is simply in excellent condition). I likely will not regret selling the Browning shotgun but I may come to regret selling the High Standard pistol one of these days. Then again, whom am I trying to kid , I think I have come to regret selling any of the firearms I have ever sold. Oh well, if I sell the pistol tomorrow, I may have enough cash to buy a case of 5.56x45mm, 62 grain, ammo. That would be a good trade off. Then again, there is no guarantee that I will sell it tomorrow or ever; we will see, i will depend on my mood tomorrow.
I may also try to sell a NEF Pardner 12 gauge single shot shotgun that I have on hand. I recently picked up a single shot Winchester shotgun and right now, as in this very moment, I am thinking I would prefer to keep that one. Of course, that could change at the drop of a hat and maybe I will sell it instead of the Pardner. The Pardner would probably be a better knock around gun than the older Winchester and the Winchester could bring...I will keep mum on what it could bring.
Once again, decisions - decisions - decisions!
All the best,
Glenn B
I did not fire the Browning shotgun since I purchased it and it was sold to me as unfired. It is probably the nicest gun I have ever owned. I would have given it to my son had he shown an interest in shooting it but he did not. So, I decided to sell it. The money will probably go toward another firearms purchase or maybe, better yet, into the bank from whence it came out of my savings account. Collecting and shooting guns can be a lot of fun so long as it does not bankrupt you.
As for the High Standard Dura-matic pistol, I have fired it but not much. I think I brought it to the range once. It is a nice gun too, pretty old and yet in excellent shape (and not with the addition of me having to say "excellent for its age", it is simply in excellent condition). I likely will not regret selling the Browning shotgun but I may come to regret selling the High Standard pistol one of these days. Then again, whom am I trying to kid , I think I have come to regret selling any of the firearms I have ever sold. Oh well, if I sell the pistol tomorrow, I may have enough cash to buy a case of 5.56x45mm, 62 grain, ammo. That would be a good trade off. Then again, there is no guarantee that I will sell it tomorrow or ever; we will see, i will depend on my mood tomorrow.
I may also try to sell a NEF Pardner 12 gauge single shot shotgun that I have on hand. I recently picked up a single shot Winchester shotgun and right now, as in this very moment, I am thinking I would prefer to keep that one. Of course, that could change at the drop of a hat and maybe I will sell it instead of the Pardner. The Pardner would probably be a better knock around gun than the older Winchester and the Winchester could bring...I will keep mum on what it could bring.
Once again, decisions - decisions - decisions!
All the best,
Glenn B
The 12 Days Of Sandy In A Third World Nation
So far it has been 12 days. The storm began on Monday October 29th and today is Friday November 9th. The roads are not blocked by downed trees, there was no major long lasting flooding that forced rescue crews to go through entire neighborhoods by boat, both as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The major highways are all passable as are the local streets and that despite the fact that a second major storm downed hundreds more trees and dumped a few inches of snow on the ground just two days ago. The airports were not, as they were during Katrina, totally flooded and partially destroyed and thus are all operational.
So why is it that FEMA is only just beginning to get temporary housing, in the way of trailers to NY? Why is it that people on Staten Island have reported, as recently as a day ago, that there is no organized relief effort to dole out aid to those stricken by the storm and things like food, water and clothing are being left on street corners by well meaning folks, who have driven there to help but have not found any organized relief stations? Why is it that the Long Island Power Authority has run out of electric poles? Hell, they run virtually all of their power wires on poles just like is done in any other third world nation. So, you would think they would have had the foresight to have enough on hand or would have ordered more as the storm was hitting. They apparently did not have that foresight. What happened to the 12 million gallons of FREE gasoline that the government promised to the disaster stricken public? Oh, that's right they are giving it to first responders who are working disaster relief. Not totally true based on what has been told to me by a reliable source. I have heard of plenty of federal agents going to the distribution centers and getting it for free for their government cars and they are not assigned in any way, shape or form to the disaster relief. In addition, now, NY State is following the lead of NJ and is going to a system of forcing gas stations to dole out gasoline using odd/even license plate numbers; cars with plates ending in odd numbers get it one day and those ending in even numbers the next. This is supposed to shorten the lines at gas stations but someone please explain just how that will accomplish that goal. It is going to create confusion and prevent people who really need gas from getting it when needed, like someone traveling through NY from another state who runs low of gas on his or her off day to buy gas. Yes, out of state residents are included in the rationing. It makes one wonder, 'Hey this is day 12, why the fuck is there a shortage of gasoline in the first place at this late stage'. All the excuses of the gas companies are a lot of bullshit in my opinion. They say terminals are not operational. They could be trucking it in from terminals afar with their fleets of gasoline tanker trucks; apparently they are not, at least not by way of major effort. Then again, the people who drive in NY could be trying to conserve fuel by using mass transit whenever possible. Oh yeah, that's right, the Long Island Rail Road and the NYC Transit Authority lines are still not running at full service, at least not as of yesterday morning. Oh, one more thing on the so called gasoline shortage - how is it that Westchester County supposedly uses the same gasoline delivery terminals as do NYC and Western Long Island, yet there is a shortage in NYC and LI and not in Westchester? By the way, how is it that the EPA, a mere one day after the election, decided to change how it polls whether or not gas stations are open and there was a sudden overnight post election day 12% increase in the amount of stations they were reporting closed. It reportedly took them 10 days, and a completed presidential election, before they determined that stations that did not answer their phones, over several days, to take he open or closed poll, were closed! Yet, before the election, they were evidently unable to figure that out and thus reported a much smaller percentage of gas stations being closed than were actually closed. No way that could have had anything to do with election day coming up could it? Of course, the president made sure to fly into NJ, just a day or two after Sandy, for a photo op right before the election but nah that must just have been coincidence, right!
I am pretty bitter about all of this. Now please note, I am not bitter about the outcome of the election because my choice of candidates did not win. I am bitter though about seeing all of these storm victims suffering without relief in sight. I am bitter that the largest urban population of federal agents within the USA is pretty much sitting on its collective duff and doing little to help. I am bitter because, some federal agents, who work in NYC volunteered to help but were told to stay home and conserve gas; yet not too long ago those same agents were forced to car pool with their government cars - so why not have them car pool to volunteer sites! I am bitter because it has become painfully obvious that the USA has failed its people.
Let's face it folks, the reason for all of the above is obvious: We are living in a third wold nation, a banana republic at best. Then again, there could be another reason, at least in the eyes of those with a different perspective. We could do like them and just blame it all on George W. Bush and get on with life. After all, none of this could have anything to do with any imagined failings of the current administration - could it!
All the best,
Glenn B
So why is it that FEMA is only just beginning to get temporary housing, in the way of trailers to NY? Why is it that people on Staten Island have reported, as recently as a day ago, that there is no organized relief effort to dole out aid to those stricken by the storm and things like food, water and clothing are being left on street corners by well meaning folks, who have driven there to help but have not found any organized relief stations? Why is it that the Long Island Power Authority has run out of electric poles? Hell, they run virtually all of their power wires on poles just like is done in any other third world nation. So, you would think they would have had the foresight to have enough on hand or would have ordered more as the storm was hitting. They apparently did not have that foresight. What happened to the 12 million gallons of FREE gasoline that the government promised to the disaster stricken public? Oh, that's right they are giving it to first responders who are working disaster relief. Not totally true based on what has been told to me by a reliable source. I have heard of plenty of federal agents going to the distribution centers and getting it for free for their government cars and they are not assigned in any way, shape or form to the disaster relief. In addition, now, NY State is following the lead of NJ and is going to a system of forcing gas stations to dole out gasoline using odd/even license plate numbers; cars with plates ending in odd numbers get it one day and those ending in even numbers the next. This is supposed to shorten the lines at gas stations but someone please explain just how that will accomplish that goal. It is going to create confusion and prevent people who really need gas from getting it when needed, like someone traveling through NY from another state who runs low of gas on his or her off day to buy gas. Yes, out of state residents are included in the rationing. It makes one wonder, 'Hey this is day 12, why the fuck is there a shortage of gasoline in the first place at this late stage'. All the excuses of the gas companies are a lot of bullshit in my opinion. They say terminals are not operational. They could be trucking it in from terminals afar with their fleets of gasoline tanker trucks; apparently they are not, at least not by way of major effort. Then again, the people who drive in NY could be trying to conserve fuel by using mass transit whenever possible. Oh yeah, that's right, the Long Island Rail Road and the NYC Transit Authority lines are still not running at full service, at least not as of yesterday morning. Oh, one more thing on the so called gasoline shortage - how is it that Westchester County supposedly uses the same gasoline delivery terminals as do NYC and Western Long Island, yet there is a shortage in NYC and LI and not in Westchester? By the way, how is it that the EPA, a mere one day after the election, decided to change how it polls whether or not gas stations are open and there was a sudden overnight post election day 12% increase in the amount of stations they were reporting closed. It reportedly took them 10 days, and a completed presidential election, before they determined that stations that did not answer their phones, over several days, to take he open or closed poll, were closed! Yet, before the election, they were evidently unable to figure that out and thus reported a much smaller percentage of gas stations being closed than were actually closed. No way that could have had anything to do with election day coming up could it? Of course, the president made sure to fly into NJ, just a day or two after Sandy, for a photo op right before the election but nah that must just have been coincidence, right!
I am pretty bitter about all of this. Now please note, I am not bitter about the outcome of the election because my choice of candidates did not win. I am bitter though about seeing all of these storm victims suffering without relief in sight. I am bitter that the largest urban population of federal agents within the USA is pretty much sitting on its collective duff and doing little to help. I am bitter because, some federal agents, who work in NYC volunteered to help but were told to stay home and conserve gas; yet not too long ago those same agents were forced to car pool with their government cars - so why not have them car pool to volunteer sites! I am bitter because it has become painfully obvious that the USA has failed its people.
Let's face it folks, the reason for all of the above is obvious: We are living in a third wold nation, a banana republic at best. Then again, there could be another reason, at least in the eyes of those with a different perspective. We could do like them and just blame it all on George W. Bush and get on with life. After all, none of this could have anything to do with any imagined failings of the current administration - could it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Three Tragedies Within A Week
First Tropical Storm Sandy, then that most un-American of
presidents gets reelected, then a nor'easter to add insult to injury. I have to
wonder, didn't it bother even a few liberal twits and the so called independents, in NY, to find that after
waiting in line for gas, possibly for a few hours and almost definitely not
less than an hour, after Sandy had hit, that they had to pay upwards of $4.159 (the lowest price I have seen and that was last week, it is higher this week)
per gallon of regular? I guess not since NY'ers voted for him by a wide margin. Oh yeah, why would that sway their votes, they are still
blaming that on George W. Bush!
I imagine the piss poor response by FEMA, to the storm(s) and the lack of respoonse by most of the rest of the feds in the tri-state area, especially in NY and NJ is also Bush's fault, otherwise how could you explain the largest population of federal employees in any state (remember DC is not a state), and the largest population of federal agents anywhere, almost all having been told to stay home instead of being called into work to perform storm relief duties. You don't think that might show just a bit of lack of leadership and or concern coming from the White House's current occupant - do you!
I imagine the piss poor response by FEMA, to the storm(s) and the lack of respoonse by most of the rest of the feds in the tri-state area, especially in NY and NJ is also Bush's fault, otherwise how could you explain the largest population of federal employees in any state (remember DC is not a state), and the largest population of federal agents anywhere, almost all having been told to stay home instead of being called into work to perform storm relief duties. You don't think that might show just a bit of lack of leadership and or concern coming from the White House's current occupant - do you!
Now imagine this, one week after the super storm, gas
stations were reported as being operational, in the NY and Long Island areas,
to the tune of 76% by EPA. That means that the EPA was reporting that 24%
of area gas stations were without gas and or closed for other reasons (like no
power). That was on Monday, the day before the presidential election. Today, on
the local news, they reported that the EPA had, as of yesterday the day after said
election, decided on a new way to determine if gas stations were closed and
they increased the number of closed stations to 36%, up 12% overnight! They
decided, just one day after the election that all the stations that they had
tried to contact by telephone but that had not picked up the calls must be
closed. Funny though, the day before the election they just totally ignored the
fact that phones were not being answered for their poll of who was open and who
was not and they counted them as being open even though no one had answered the
phone then. What a difference a day (or a third world banana republic election)
makes.
That same election is also going to make a difference in my
ammo inventory. I will either order online tonight or tomorrow if my power
comes back on. Yes, we are again in the dark and without heat at our house, I
am at Starbucks right now. I am hesitant to enter my credit card info while
using a public network. If power does not come back on, then I will head to the
gun show in White Plains on Saturday and buy some there - no matter the price.
I am guessing the prices will be sky high now that the best gun and ammo
salesman ever has been reelected.
Luckily, I have enough gas in my tank to be able to drive up
to the show. That is because I found an open gas station today and got to the
pumps before they ran out. A buddy of mine had waited hours only to get up near
the front of the line to find they were out of gas at the station he had gone
to. As he pulled away, what did he see but the tanker truck pulling into the
gas station to replenish its supply. What luck and I thought I had a black
cloud. As for me, I probably could have made it, to the gun show nd back home again, on just the gas I had in the
tank before today's fill-up. I had just over 1/4 a tank since my last fill-up
about a week and a half ago on the Sunday just before Sandy hit.
Me and my family have been lucky. We had damage from Sandy,
to our roof , gutters & leaders and a few other things but nothing
all that terrible like some other folks who lost their homes. Today, I heard on the news, while
listening to the radio in my car, that 8 out of 10 homes on Fire island, NY
were destroyed.; not merely damaged but destroyed. Stories like that are coming
in from all of the shoreline areas from southern NJ, through NYC, out through
eastern Long Island. Yes, we were lucky indeed through both storms - just not with
the election results. Romney would certainly have been no prize but I am
certain he would have been better for this country than was and will be Obama by a long shot. More of a storm is coming.
I hope that the spelling above is none to messed up. I forgot my glasses at home and will admit it was tough seeing the print when I proofed it.
All the best,
Glenn B
I hope that the spelling above is none to messed up. I forgot my glasses at home and will admit it was tough seeing the print when I proofed it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Heading Out, In A Minute, To Vote...
...but before I leave home toward my polling place, I just wanted to make sure there is no question as for whom I will cast my ballot today.
No, I am not a practicing Christian but I do believe in many of the fundamentals taught in the Bible and do believe that this nation was founded in good part upon those that were deemed moral, ethical and just by our Founding Fathers (they realized too that many principles within the Bible were unjust and thus did not incorporate those into our way of governing ourselves). No, I am not going to the polling place to shoot anyone; I am not a psycho-killer. I will not even bring a gun to the polling place (think it is illegal), but I certainly do base my vote upon protection of my rights and liberties and most importantly upon my liberty to exercise my rights. Without the power to defend our liberty we would be a nation enslaved and while still having rights would never be able to exercise them. Guns give us, We The People, the ability to assure that we are not ruled by tyrants who would strip us of the rights and the liberty to enjoy them as we see fit.
As for the shirt, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be wearing it when I vote. Since it is illegal to display such things in polling places within NY State, I suppose I will have to cover it up when at the polling place. Yet, it will be on me when I vote and that will at least give me some personal satisfaction. Hat tip to Wirecutter for telling me where to get one of these excellent shirts.
All the best,
Glenn B
No, I am not a practicing Christian but I do believe in many of the fundamentals taught in the Bible and do believe that this nation was founded in good part upon those that were deemed moral, ethical and just by our Founding Fathers (they realized too that many principles within the Bible were unjust and thus did not incorporate those into our way of governing ourselves). No, I am not going to the polling place to shoot anyone; I am not a psycho-killer. I will not even bring a gun to the polling place (think it is illegal), but I certainly do base my vote upon protection of my rights and liberties and most importantly upon my liberty to exercise my rights. Without the power to defend our liberty we would be a nation enslaved and while still having rights would never be able to exercise them. Guns give us, We The People, the ability to assure that we are not ruled by tyrants who would strip us of the rights and the liberty to enjoy them as we see fit.As for the shirt, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be wearing it when I vote. Since it is illegal to display such things in polling places within NY State, I suppose I will have to cover it up when at the polling place. Yet, it will be on me when I vote and that will at least give me some personal satisfaction. Hat tip to Wirecutter for telling me where to get one of these excellent shirts.
All the best,
Glenn B
New York Governor Allows Voting At Any Polling Place...
...for individuals who reside and are registered to vote in disaster stricken counties. They may vote by affidavit ballot. The place at which they vote must then send that ballot to their county board of elections.
"Executive Order – Voting by Affidavit Ballot
Governor Cuomo has signed an Executive Order which provides for a voter who is a resident in the federally-declared disaster counties of Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester and of New York City (which includes Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond) who have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy:
The actual executive, supposedly, order can be downloaded here:
http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/ExecutiveOrders/VoteByAffidavitBallot_EO_62.pdf
Let me say it may take a long time to be able to access either one. I got onto the NYS board of elections site only after about 3 to 4 minutes of waiting for the link to be established. So far, I have been unable to download the PDF file of the actual order because it was just taking way too long and I was not patient enough to wait more than a few minutes. I clicked on the link to the executive order, my third attempt, about 4 minutes ago. It still has not downloaded. According to the download notification at the bottom of my screen, only 2% has downloaded so far, it will take another 1 hour and 33 minutes to download it completely! The site for it must be swamped.
I think it was a last minute desperate effort, on the part of Governor Andrew Cuomo, to get people to votefor Obama. I suppose it truly was a good faith effort to get people out to vote but my guess is that this will cause a lot of confusion at the polling places and will lead to law suits after the election. Hopefully though, enough NY'ers will go out to vote and they will vote for Romney after becoming sic of Obama due to the inaction of the federal government regarding the aftermath of tropical storm Sandy. Yeah, I know - lots of luck on that dream becoming reality here in NY.
All the best,
Glenn B
"Executive Order – Voting by Affidavit Ballot
Governor Cuomo has signed an Executive Order which provides for a voter who is a resident in the federally-declared disaster counties of Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester and of New York City (which includes Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond) who have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy:
- To vote an affidavit ballot at any poll site in New York State, other than their regular poll site;
- Every Board of Elections in the State shall transmit the completed affidavit ballot of any voter who resides in one of the above counties to the Board of Elections where such voter is registered to vote to be canvassed;
- The affidavit ballot can only be canvassed for such contests for which the person was entitled to vote at such election."
The actual executive, supposedly, order can be downloaded here:
http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/ExecutiveOrders/VoteByAffidavitBallot_EO_62.pdf
Let me say it may take a long time to be able to access either one. I got onto the NYS board of elections site only after about 3 to 4 minutes of waiting for the link to be established. So far, I have been unable to download the PDF file of the actual order because it was just taking way too long and I was not patient enough to wait more than a few minutes. I clicked on the link to the executive order, my third attempt, about 4 minutes ago. It still has not downloaded. According to the download notification at the bottom of my screen, only 2% has downloaded so far, it will take another 1 hour and 33 minutes to download it completely! The site for it must be swamped.
I think it was a last minute desperate effort, on the part of Governor Andrew Cuomo, to get people to vote
All the best,
Glenn B
Election Day At Hand And A Gun Show Weekend Coming Up
Election day has finally arrived - well for most of America anyway. Way too many people have been able to vote for months already and I think it criminal that they have been allowed to do so unless they are absentee voters. I strongly believe otherwise - there should only be one day on which to vote for all Americans. It is just blatantly unfair to allow voters in some states to start voting months ahead of regular election day yet disallow voters in disaster stricken regions, like NJ and NY after tropical storm Sandy, to vote after today if they cannot make the polls today due to hardships caused by the storm. Heck, they were not even sure of where all the polling places were to be set up for those who took the brunt of the storm and whose whole neighborhoods were destroyed.
Well, I know my polling place, or at least think I do. Regardless, I will vote today, even if I have to search out the polling place for hours in the event it was changed to some super seKrit location without them getting the word out to all of us. I tend to think though that it will be at the usual place inside of our village hall. If I could do it, I would vote many more times than once, just as I suspect many Obama supporters will be doing. However, I cannot do that because it is illegal, unethical, immoral and just plain out very wrong as I see it and I could not bring myself to do it. If Obama is elected again we will just have to live with him and suffer under him for another 4 years or until the enough of The People have decided enough with tyranny and they revolt. You most probably can be assured - if he is elected again - that one of two things will happen by or in 2016: Either there will be a Republican or Libertarian elected to the office of president of the United States of America in 2016 or there will have been a new American Revolution before that election.
Speaking of revolutions, if there is one, my guess would be it will be a violent one. I believe The People will take the liberty of not only exercising the right to keep and bear arms but will exercise the reason it was enumerated in the first place - protecting The Constitution and putting down tyranny.
That brings me to the gun show, this weekend, at White Plains, NY. My bet is, that if Obama wins reelection, the show will be a whirlwind of arms and ammunition sales as has not been witnessed before. I would like to say that is only if dealers have half a brain between them all and charge reasonable prices instead of price gouging. Sadly, I think dealers will probably boost up their prices higher than ever if Obama wins again. Still though, the gun show will likely be akin to a feeding frenzy of very hungry sharks around a whale carcass and my guess would be that ammunition dealers will just about sell out of ammunition in calibers like 5.56x45 (.223), .308, 7.62x39, .45 ACP, 9mm and other popular self defense calibers. Pre-ban high capacity magazine will sell like hotcakes. Firearms, in the above mentioned calibers will also be hot ticket items. If you think Obama is going to win, you might want to buy ammo now while it is still on the shelves. You also may want to consider buying stock in Sturm Ruger or in Smith & Wesson; gun sales across the nation are sure to soar again should he gain reelection.
What am I waiting for? I am going out to vote (after a cup-a-Joe) then I am coming back home to look online for some 62 or 64 grain 5.56x45 ammo.
All the best,
Glenn B
Well, I know my polling place, or at least think I do. Regardless, I will vote today, even if I have to search out the polling place for hours in the event it was changed to some super seKrit location without them getting the word out to all of us. I tend to think though that it will be at the usual place inside of our village hall. If I could do it, I would vote many more times than once, just as I suspect many Obama supporters will be doing. However, I cannot do that because it is illegal, unethical, immoral and just plain out very wrong as I see it and I could not bring myself to do it. If Obama is elected again we will just have to live with him and suffer under him for another 4 years or until the enough of The People have decided enough with tyranny and they revolt. You most probably can be assured - if he is elected again - that one of two things will happen by or in 2016: Either there will be a Republican or Libertarian elected to the office of president of the United States of America in 2016 or there will have been a new American Revolution before that election.
Speaking of revolutions, if there is one, my guess would be it will be a violent one. I believe The People will take the liberty of not only exercising the right to keep and bear arms but will exercise the reason it was enumerated in the first place - protecting The Constitution and putting down tyranny.
That brings me to the gun show, this weekend, at White Plains, NY. My bet is, that if Obama wins reelection, the show will be a whirlwind of arms and ammunition sales as has not been witnessed before. I would like to say that is only if dealers have half a brain between them all and charge reasonable prices instead of price gouging. Sadly, I think dealers will probably boost up their prices higher than ever if Obama wins again. Still though, the gun show will likely be akin to a feeding frenzy of very hungry sharks around a whale carcass and my guess would be that ammunition dealers will just about sell out of ammunition in calibers like 5.56x45 (.223), .308, 7.62x39, .45 ACP, 9mm and other popular self defense calibers. Pre-ban high capacity magazine will sell like hotcakes. Firearms, in the above mentioned calibers will also be hot ticket items. If you think Obama is going to win, you might want to buy ammo now while it is still on the shelves. You also may want to consider buying stock in Sturm Ruger or in Smith & Wesson; gun sales across the nation are sure to soar again should he gain reelection.
What am I waiting for? I am going out to vote (after a cup-a-Joe) then I am coming back home to look online for some 62 or 64 grain 5.56x45 ammo.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, November 5, 2012
Equipment And Supplies We Used Because Of Super-Storm Sandy
Here on Long Island in NY state, our second hurricane, in 14
months, has come and gone. Well, this last one was really a tropical storm but
a massive one that left a wake of destruction; they called it a superstorm. In
that 14 month period we also had a pretty major hail storm, at least here in
Nassau County and there was an earthquake too - not all that long ago. I guess
that the quake was also within the last year or so. In addition, NYC, Long
Island and surrounding areas have been subjected to tornadoes. They were
something unheard of in NY, about 40 or 45 years ago, but my mother predicted
them for NY back then. She thought so because she saw the weather patterns were
changing and tornadoes were hitting where they never had hit before then. Then
there is the gasoline shortage. Of course, there is the looting that is going
on - hopefully no one will have to deal with that personally. Who knows, if
Obama loses the election, maybe there will be rioting in the not so distant
future too when those on the dole realize they will be taken off of it or that
it will be drastically cut back.
Up this way, we just all had to deal with the effects of the latest storm to one extent or another. People do likewise all over the country for hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, droughts, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, and power failures. For those of us who have faced such, and the bad effects they bring, either we got ready ahead of time or were caught with our pants down but we all dealt with those calamities in one way or the other.
Take the recent storm for instance or any natural disaster. Maybe you were lucky and you did not even have your power go out on you. Maybe you were very unlucky and you lost a loved one and or your home. Maybe, like us - you fell somewhere in between. In this recent storm - Tropical Storm Sandy (it had been classified as a hurricane but was downgraded to being a tropical storm - a savage one at that) we had power go out on Tuesday and not come back until late Friday night. We also lost part of our roof (shingles in pretty big swaths) and others are lose and or cracked. It seems those shingles just keep falling off after that storm. As recently as today, a shingle fell off of my roof and there was little apparent wind, seemingly loosened enough by the storm to fall off sooner or later. We also had damage to: our gutters and leaders, the front railing, our sidewalk (two blocks cracked, I am supposing as the Linden tree out front swayed), and we lost chimney caps and had other apparent minor damage to the chimneys. We also lost a small amount of food. All in all, we were lucky but then we do live in the center of Nassau County, far from the shoreline and the storm did not hit us as hard as it did others who were much less fortunate.
At our house we used: flashlights; batteries; strike anywhere matches; candles; glo-sticks; our vehicles, gasoline and car chargers to charge cell phones (we all had filled our tanks prior to the storm’s arrival); the vehicle radios for news; our BBQ and propane to cook (even though we had gas in the house I cooked some meals outside just for the taste of grilled food – we had enough propane for sure); a water filter (we made sure to drink only filtered or bottled water); bottled water (only a little since we did have the filtered water); ice packs we had made before the storm to try to keep the fridge and freezer cold; ice from a local beer distributor (I got that after the storm from the distributor who had been wise enough and civic minded enough to stock up on a walk-in freezer full of ice before the storm hit and it was still frozen solid days after the storm when he sold it at regular – not inflated – cost; yes they opened for business even though they had no power); food for emergency use (we used some canned food we otherwise would not have used but needed some of it; yet, most of what we ate had already been in our fridge); food that we cooked right after our electricity went out so as to preserve it a bit longer (like eggs that my wife hard-boiled so they would not go bad and meats that she cooked so they would last longer in the fridge with ice packs). Of course there was also the emergency supply of beer, wine and booze that I had also bought before the storm hit and used with gusto during and after the blow. I had also pre-charged the two batteries for my laptop and used it for a bit of writing after the storm.
As for food, batteries, flashlights, matches, candles and water, we always have all of them available in emergency our supplies; I see to that. I lived through the height of the Cold War and learned about being prepared back then even if preparation back then may have been pointless had the involved nations started throwing thousands of nukes at one another. So, I am not a “prepper” to be cool or to be in line with the times, or to prepare for Zombies or for The Rapture but for all of them to some extent just as I am prepared for more realistic disasters such as natural calamities, collapse of our economy, failure of our infrastructure, long term civil unrest, and maybe even an invasion by enemy troops or a homegrown revolution or an attack by aliens from another world (or even Mexico). I was never a Boy Scout but I virtually always have believed the motto of the Boy Scouts of America: “Be Prepared”. The time to get prepared is before an emergency though and not during or after one.
My level of preparedness, while not being as high as one person or another’s, is assuredly higher than many of the folks I saw at Home Depot and Costco the day before the storm hit and even on the day of the storm when I went again to Home Depot. I had to go to both stores the day before storm, not for emergency supplies (except a case of HB Oktoberfestbier and some wine of which we probably had enough anyway but being prepared is a good thing), but for other regular things. I went again, on the day of the storm, to Home Depot, for something I had forgotten, the day before, for a plastering job that I wanted to finish.
Up this way, we just all had to deal with the effects of the latest storm to one extent or another. People do likewise all over the country for hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, droughts, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, and power failures. For those of us who have faced such, and the bad effects they bring, either we got ready ahead of time or were caught with our pants down but we all dealt with those calamities in one way or the other.
Take the recent storm for instance or any natural disaster. Maybe you were lucky and you did not even have your power go out on you. Maybe you were very unlucky and you lost a loved one and or your home. Maybe, like us - you fell somewhere in between. In this recent storm - Tropical Storm Sandy (it had been classified as a hurricane but was downgraded to being a tropical storm - a savage one at that) we had power go out on Tuesday and not come back until late Friday night. We also lost part of our roof (shingles in pretty big swaths) and others are lose and or cracked. It seems those shingles just keep falling off after that storm. As recently as today, a shingle fell off of my roof and there was little apparent wind, seemingly loosened enough by the storm to fall off sooner or later. We also had damage to: our gutters and leaders, the front railing, our sidewalk (two blocks cracked, I am supposing as the Linden tree out front swayed), and we lost chimney caps and had other apparent minor damage to the chimneys. We also lost a small amount of food. All in all, we were lucky but then we do live in the center of Nassau County, far from the shoreline and the storm did not hit us as hard as it did others who were much less fortunate.
At our house we used: flashlights; batteries; strike anywhere matches; candles; glo-sticks; our vehicles, gasoline and car chargers to charge cell phones (we all had filled our tanks prior to the storm’s arrival); the vehicle radios for news; our BBQ and propane to cook (even though we had gas in the house I cooked some meals outside just for the taste of grilled food – we had enough propane for sure); a water filter (we made sure to drink only filtered or bottled water); bottled water (only a little since we did have the filtered water); ice packs we had made before the storm to try to keep the fridge and freezer cold; ice from a local beer distributor (I got that after the storm from the distributor who had been wise enough and civic minded enough to stock up on a walk-in freezer full of ice before the storm hit and it was still frozen solid days after the storm when he sold it at regular – not inflated – cost; yes they opened for business even though they had no power); food for emergency use (we used some canned food we otherwise would not have used but needed some of it; yet, most of what we ate had already been in our fridge); food that we cooked right after our electricity went out so as to preserve it a bit longer (like eggs that my wife hard-boiled so they would not go bad and meats that she cooked so they would last longer in the fridge with ice packs). Of course there was also the emergency supply of beer, wine and booze that I had also bought before the storm hit and used with gusto during and after the blow. I had also pre-charged the two batteries for my laptop and used it for a bit of writing after the storm.
As for food, batteries, flashlights, matches, candles and water, we always have all of them available in emergency our supplies; I see to that. I lived through the height of the Cold War and learned about being prepared back then even if preparation back then may have been pointless had the involved nations started throwing thousands of nukes at one another. So, I am not a “prepper” to be cool or to be in line with the times, or to prepare for Zombies or for The Rapture but for all of them to some extent just as I am prepared for more realistic disasters such as natural calamities, collapse of our economy, failure of our infrastructure, long term civil unrest, and maybe even an invasion by enemy troops or a homegrown revolution or an attack by aliens from another world (or even Mexico). I was never a Boy Scout but I virtually always have believed the motto of the Boy Scouts of America: “Be Prepared”. The time to get prepared is before an emergency though and not during or after one.
My level of preparedness, while not being as high as one person or another’s, is assuredly higher than many of the folks I saw at Home Depot and Costco the day before the storm hit and even on the day of the storm when I went again to Home Depot. I had to go to both stores the day before storm, not for emergency supplies (except a case of HB Oktoberfestbier and some wine of which we probably had enough anyway but being prepared is a good thing), but for other regular things. I went again, on the day of the storm, to Home Depot, for something I had forgotten, the day before, for a plastering job that I wanted to finish.
While in each store, I checked out things like the battery
and flashlight aisles. You could not find a D sized battery in either store.
They had AAA and AA batteries as well as C batteries at Home Depot and AA at
Costco. There was not a single flashlight at Costco. At Home Depot, people were
looking for batteries, in a panic. Home Depot also had some flashlights for
sale – some small LED jobs, a sole two-pack of LED headlamps and some rather
large flashlights - those that take those big 6 volt batteries that are about
the size of a brick of 22 ammo. Folks were buying them as if there would be no
tomorrow. One woman was lugging 3 or 4 of those big flashlights with her and
someone with her also had a few. I saw that lone two-pack of LED head lamps and
grabbed it up as I was passing and watching the circus. I already had two or
three of them but figured that instead of looking for and grabbing the others
out of my hunting equipment boxes out in our shed, I would buy those for my
wife and daughter and have them readily on hand. Total cost, with batteries:
less than $7.00 out the door; a great buy. I bought them not because we needed
them but because they struck my fancy as I walked by and watched all the
madness of those shopping for flashlights and batteries.
Funny, I saw at least 50 people, n those two days, in Home
Depot buying batteries and flashlights and not one of them seemingly even gave
a second look to any of the LED lights that were still available. Those little
lights give out a sufficient beam of white light, use triple A batteries and
the batteries can power the light for from 8 to 12 hours continuously – much
longer than a conventional flashlight will go before it drains the batteries.
There had to be hundreds of single bulb, penlight like, LED flashlights for
sale to which no one was paying attention - amazing. Those must be the same people who are now clamoring to buy gasoline and are waiting on very long lines at gas stations.
Back to our house. In addition, to other things at the
ready, I had firearms loaded and at the ready, in my home, that I may or may
not usually keep at the ready. Luckily we had no need to actually use them
other than to have them prepared for the worst like armed looters. So I guess,
in a sense, I used them too if only in a preparedness role.
We also had taken precautions and had enough dry and caned
dog food on hand to feed our five live burglar alarms plus the two that were
visiting. But I digress as we did not actually have to use any of the surplus
on hand.
There were also some things I considered using but did not
use: our two Coleman gas fired lanterns, and our Coleman gas fired stove. I
decided to hold off on these unless absolutely needed as I was leery of the
potential for carbon monoxide problems or gasoline fueled fire. inside my
house. If the need had arisen, we would have used them.
I cannot think of any other emergency equipment or supplies
that we used but know if we needed some other things like first aid kits,
blankets, gas masks, duct tape, tarps, sleping bags or go bags, we had them on
hand. About the only two things I think we could have used that we did not have
was a portable battery operated AM/FM/Weather band radio and a generator (and
fuel for it). I considered buying a generator after Hurricane Irene hit us last
year, then I had my personal hurricane (cancer) hit me and I forgot all about a
generator. I was reminded of one last week and will have to look into getting
one. If for nothing else, it would be nice to use it to power the electronic
ignition for our furnace.
Are we ready for another storm or other disaster. I think so
and they say one may be coming again this week - a nor'easter. They can pack
winds up to 50 or so miles per hour and with the storm damage to our roof
already, I am guessing a storm like that could rip a lot more of the shingles
off of it. Who knows, that could be a good thing if the insurance company paid
for a whole new roof minus two deductibles, one for each storm! As for preparedness, I have already replenished some items in anticipation of the possible nor'eatser. I already bought more candles to replace those we used after Sandy. I will try to buy some gasoline tomorrow or Wednesday but if not have enough to last for a few days at least.everything else, including Twinkies just in case of a Zombie Apocalypse.
What I am curious to find out is – have you ever faced a
natural disaster and if so, what emergency supplies did you actually use during
and after the storm. Mind you, not what did you buy or have on hand in case you
needed it but what did you actually use?
All the best,
Glenn B
A Whale of A Tale That Took Too Long In The Telling
A couple of whales either beached themselves and died or two dead ones washed ashore (less likely) in New Zealand in 2010. As it turns out, they were two members of the world's rarest whale species - the Spade-toothed Beaked Whales, apparently a mother and her calf. The New Zealand Department of Conservation, no doubt a government agency, took photographs of them and also took DNA samples. There is no doubt in my mind that said agency was part of the government because it took them almost all of two years, since they were discovered in December 2010, until now to be identified. Here I was thinking our government worked slow!
See: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/11/05/world-rarest-whale-seen-for-first-time/
Now, if you look closely, at the title of the article and then at the first sentence of it, you will see that these whales were either seen for the first time ever (as in anytime and anywhere) and it just happened to be in New Zealand OR they were seen for the first time ever in New Zealand but have been seen elsewhere before. It all depends on the a comma or commas, in the following sentences (the first one below is the first sentence from the article):
"The world's rarest whale has been spotted for the first time, in New Zealand, where two of the whales stranded themselves." (This sentence makes it seem like this was the first time that these whales were seen anytime and anywhere, AND coincidentally, the sighting took place in New Zealand.
Now read the sentence from the caption. If you look closely, you will notice that while there are also two commas in the caption, that accompanies photo in the article, they are located as to give different meaning.
The world's rarest whale, the spade-toothed beaked whale, has been spotted for the first time in New Zealand. The whale stranded and died on a beach in December 2010. (New Zealand Department of Conservation).
That sentence from the caption also informs us that the world's rarest species of whale was seen but it makes it seems as if it was the first time they were ever spotted in New Zealand and leaves open the implication that they could have been or were spotted elsewhere before.
Either way, it took way too long for the government to get around to identifying them. I wonder if they preserved the carcasses, it does not seem like they did so. It probably would have been a boon to the scientific study of these creatures, about which so little is known, had they done so. If the conservation officers, as I suspect, only took tissue samples for DNA testing, I would bet they are kicking themselves in their heads right about now (well maybe their bosses and some scientists are kicking their arses too).
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, November 3, 2012
I Am About To Fall Back...
...onto the futon in the basement to watch some TV and eventually pass out for the night. I was happy to learn though, just a moment ago, that tonight will afford me an extra hour's snooze time in that we are to revert to standard time, from daylight saving time, at 0200 Sunday morning. (That is mere 2 hours and about 8 minutes away.) Whoopee.
Sleep tight,
GB
Sleep tight,
GB
Fuck That Out of Touch Scumbag Mayor Bloomberg...
...who reportedly is now saying that: 'Yes the federal government is giving out free gasoline to the public, but the New York City Government is going to take their share first'. What a pompous, arrogant, bureaucratic piece of shit is he if that is, in essence, true. He is not serving anything other than his own interests as once again he shows himself to be painfully out of touch with reality and with the needs of the people whom he is supposed to serve and not attempt to rule.
FUCK BLOOMBERG AND HIS WHOLE POLITICAL GANG OF MARAUDERS.
All the best,
Glenn B
FUCK BLOOMBERG AND HIS WHOLE POLITICAL GANG OF MARAUDERS.
All the best,
Glenn B
A HURRICANE OF A DIFFERENT SORT - MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE CO. & THE GRATEFUL DEAD
Yesterday, when I went to the local beer distributor to pick
up ice for my neighbor Jessica, I decided I would buy something else out of
respect for the distributor being open. It was pretty obvious that customers
had not been flocking there in droves to buy beer or ice. Even though they were
open, they were without power and had ice only because they had filled there
ice freezer (a walk in sized freezer) with ice before the storm and it stayed
frozen. I figured that their being open was a sort of a public service and felt
I had to buy more than just 4 bags of ice from them in two days to at least
show some support. It is only a few blocks from my home and I usually do not
shop there because I know I can get better prices elsewhere. maybe I should
consider shopping there more often because I don't think I get better service
elsewhere. Yes my other distributor, a couple of miles away, instead of a few
blocks like this one, was also open and even had power, but they had no ice.
Costco is also a place I buy beer, by the case when they have something like, because I usually save at least 5 bucks
on a case there from the distributor where I usually shop. In all, I would
probably pay $7.00 to $10.00 more per case at the local distributor, the one
that had the ice. Maybe it is not a bad trade off, at least sometimes. I think
I will spread the wealth a little more in the future even though they are
nowhere near as inexpensive as Costco nor can they match the price or have the
wide variety of the other distributor. What the heck, they were open and had
ice - plenty of it - right after the storm! Good thinking on the owner's, or
manager's, or worker's part.
Mike's Hard Lemonade Co. is located in both Rochester, NY and La Crosse, WI and I have to say, I my just have to give them some more business - if not because they are made in NY or bot because of the On The Rocks Hurricane then because I find their Mike's Hard Lemonade rather palatable and intoxicating. Then again, that is sort of like I am finding this On The Rocks Hurricane drink while getting well into can number 3. (Yes dear readers, somewhere in there, I ran outside to my 48 degree patio and grabbed another one).
Just checked another website and wow, now I see why it has gotten to me so much, it is made from fruit juice, rum and the devils own brew - red grenadine! These Mike's Hurricanes, with their red granadine, just stirred up some deelpy burined memories of bygone times. Now if only I had a couple of Brown Eyed Women with whom to share them, maybe like Delilah Jones! Thems were the days, those days of Grateful Dead concerts, when a drink like Mike's On The Rocks Hurricane would have been an extravagance! I would have loved to have met and shared one of these drinks with Delilah Jones. "Delilah Jones was the mother of twins, two times over and the rest was sins, raised 8 boys only I turned bad, didn't get the rules that the other ones had...". Her old man sounded worth meeting too: "Daddy made whiskey and he made it well, cost two dollars and it burned like hell".
All the best,
Glenn B
Well there I go blabbing and digressing again. I wanted to
tell you what I bought there to give them some business other than me just
buying ice. It was a small purchase but one that I could not resist. Right
across from the counter, they had a piled up display of things like Mike's
Hard Lemonade. Atop those, there were a few 4 packs of
something called Mike's On The Rocks Hurricane. I
grabbed a 4 pack; how could I not out of respect for the owners having opened their
store right after the so called hurricane (that was really only a tropical
storm but a hell of a one at that). I am drinking my second 16 oz. can right
now and am beginning to think this stuff may be more like a tropical storm too,
instead of a hurricane, but a heck of one at that! I had the other with my
dinner, a NY strip steak that I grilled, a salad my wife made, and a sesame
seed roll from a local supermarket. It was delicious - the meal - anyway.
As for the Mike's On The Rocks Hurricane, well - I have had
many, many, many mixed type and malt beverage type drinks that were a lot
better and more than enough that also were a lot worse. On the side of the can,
in the small print, it says this: "PREMIUM MALT BEVERAGE WITH NATURAL
FLAVORS AND CERTIFIED COLORS". I imagine that the natural flavors are
those of a fruity nature. No not gay but fruity as in like fruit punch. What the certified colors are, I have no clue. In
addition to those flavors and colors is the flavor of alcohol. It is not a strong flavor
but the alcohol content is listed as 8%. Quite a bit stronger than your average
American beer. (Do you know why most American beers and sex in a canoe are
alike? They are both fucking close to water!) I am guessing that must be how
they were able to include “premium” on the label because other than a higher
alcohol content I do not see any reason to pay a premium for this stuff.
In other words, the first one did not impress me as anything
other than something akin to Annie Green Springs or Yago Sangria and may in
actuality have been closer to MD 20/20 or Muscatel albeit with a cheap fruit
punch added to the mix. (Those of you true connoisseurs of the not so finer
wines know exactly what I mean.) I have to admit, though now that I have eaten
dinner, and had the first one, and am now almost done with the second one, I am
looking forward to the third and fourth ones in the pack. Not because it is a
premium beverage as far as my idea of premium goes but probably because the
alcohol content has made the flavor acceptable, maybe even almost delicious,
after almost two of them.
Before I get too sloshed, and I intend to do just that, let
me say that if I want a fruity flavored alcoholic drink, I usually go for
something I make myself from whole fresh fruit (like bananas, nectarines,
apples, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple and oranges - not essence of gay
guys) in the blender to which I add a couple to few types of rum, and/or vodka,
and/or whiskey. We only got a blender, in our home, within the last 2 or 3
years at most. I have no clue how I ever survived without one. The drinks one
can mix in it are extravagant as far as I am concerned - and that goes whether
or not you add alcohol. I may even have to try adding bacon one of these days
but have to give some serious thought as to the other ingredients. I was
thinking along the lines of sour mash or Bourbon or Irish whiskey but vodka may
do, especially potato vodka (one of my favorite vodkas). Of course, I could add
home fries and gin.
Yet, in the meanwhile, since I do not have a blender full of
some glorious concoction of God's mashed together fruity goodness, I have
settled for whatever in Hades it is that Mike or the company known as Mike's
has thrown together for me and I must admit, I am enjoying the heck out of it;
any reservations to the contrary, mentioned above, fading with each gulp.
All the best,
Glenn B
Oh Damn - Here Comes Another Storm
They are predicting a nor'easter on its way to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States. While the gurus are saying it would not be as bad as Sandy, they seemingly are not considering all those already damaged homes and business and other structures that certainly do not need another hit to make things worse. As for me, okay, so it takes off the rest of my house's shingles, then the insurance company will have to pay for it all - no question.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Newly Hatched Crested Gecko
I have had a few crested gecko eggs incubating for what seems like an eternity now. Well, a baby hatched out today, or I should say was freed from its egg today by me. I cut the egg open to see if it was ready to hatch and it was fully developed with no egg yolk attached. So, it either had been stuck in the shell and unable to cut its way out or was just biding its time. It will probably do well as it seemed to have gotten its bearings and started to move about with balance a moment or two after it came out of the shell. I have one other egg remaining inside the incubator of three that had been in there. That one will remain as is and I'll wait for that baby to hatch on its own for another couple of weeks, then if not hatched I will slice a small starter hole in the egg. The other egg was not good.
Now to find some pinhead crickets as soon as possible to start feeding this little booger. It will also get a diet of fruit baby food (like Gerber's mango mix) and crested gecko diet (a powder that mixes with water).
All the best,
Glenn B
It is mostly dark red with a light tan mottling on its tail. Its color may change as it matures; crested geckos are quite variable in color as adults and baby lizards often change color as they grow into adulthood. Heck the color may change under different light as it usually does.
Now to find some pinhead crickets as soon as possible to start feeding this little booger. It will also get a diet of fruit baby food (like Gerber's mango mix) and crested gecko diet (a powder that mixes with water).
All the best,
Glenn B
So What Did You Do During The Super-Storm And Its Immediate Aftermath
Me, I hunkered down for the most part, at least during this
storm. I stopped by Home Depot on Monday for something I needed, nothing to do
with getting prepared for the storm. That was an eyeful of last minute panicked
preppers, so to speak. I had to go out a few times, on Monday and Tuesday, to
let the dogs answer natures call, all 7 of them (we had two visiting as they
often do). On Tuesday I started to call the insurance company and roofers to
start the process of having my storm damaged roof replaced. While we still had
power, I emailed back and forth with a couple who wanted to adopt out a red
Eared Slider turtle. I was willing to take it but wanted to wait until Friday
to pick it up. They were hopeful that I could get it on Wednesday as they were
leaving town on Thursday. I doubted it.
On Wednesday morning, I traveled into Harlem, in northern
Manhattan after all. I wound up picking
up the turtle from a very nice couple who were giving it away because
they could no longer care for it. They were leaving for a work assignment in
East Africa on Thursday. I figured I would adopt it out at the then upcoming
Long Island Herpetological Society 23rd Annual Reptile Show. I had also ordered
a group of Blue Tailed Salamanders to exhibit at the LIHS show. I had some last
year but asked a friend to care for them during my bout with the big C and most
were lost probably due to contaminated food. So I figured to replace them and
had placed an order right before the storm; the order has been delayed until
next week by the dealer due to the storm. I just found out yesterday that the
upcoming LIHS show is no longer upcoming, it has been postponed indefinitely
(personally I think this an overreaction to the storm but that is just my
opinion). That was a disappointment. Now I am stuck with a Red Eared Slider
that I certainly did not expect to have to care for for more than 10 days but
shit happens. It will get good care nonetheless.
My trip to pick up the turtle was pretty uneventful, I just
wish I had topped off my almost full tank of gas on the return home. Some gas
stations were open with very short waits. Now, forget about it, the lines are
long, tempers short and there is a fuel shortage. I can wait, I still have over
half a tank. Should last the week.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, we sat down with the roofing
estimator. She figured $10,350 to replace my roof shingles. Another $1,250 or
so for the gutters too. Ouch. I am hopeful the insurance company will cover it
all except for the $500 deductible. After that I had a few drinks and proceeded
to get snockered. I also put together 15 or so packets of coins wrapped in
aluminum foil for any trick-or-treaters who might show up. We had been busy in
the house with the roofing lady and did not even answer the door when some kids
came by because we had no candy on hand. So after my wife went to work for the
evening, I thought having some spare change in hand to give any more that came
around would be the way to go. There was from 50 cents up to a buck in each.
Then, I sat out on my front stoop, cup with the silver foil wrapped treats and
a pumpkin nearby. I went and got a few knives and started to carve as the
evening quickly faded o black (well, not really black as the moon was just
passed full). Not one kid came by. So, after that, since all the trick-or-treaters
had come by only while it was still light outside, I visited three neighbors
with kids and let each of their kids have two or three packets each. The rest
went back into my almost depleted change jar. I continued to get snockered and
wound up doing a bit of reading by glo-stick (white light).
On Thursday, I went to Walmart and Costco to do some
shopping. I picked up some candles at Wally World. We had enough for the storm
with quite a few left over but I figured you just about cannot have enough of
them if the power goes out and do not have a generator. At Costco, I picked up
some AAA batteries, a 48 pack of them to add to the stock, even though I had
enough on hand for the then current emergency. Those I had were in small 6
packs and I figured I could throw them into my go-bags or hunting pack. I also
bought a few steaks (for dinner for today, Saturday), and a roasted chicken
(best deal in the land at $4.99 for a large, nicely cooked chicken) and some
other things. Before heading out to Costco on Thursday, my wife told me that a
local beer distributor was selling ice. Even though they had no power, they had
a freezer full of bags of ice from before the storm and it has stayed frozen
solid. Once we discovered that the distributor had ice, I bought some and put
the ice in our fridge to keep what little we had left in there edible; some of
the previously frozen stuff had already gotten questionable even though we had
some ice in the fridge and freezer. Also
took a walk with the wife, daughter and 7 dogs. That was an eye opener, lots of
downed trees in next village over from ours. On Thursday night, I again did
some reading by glo-stick before hitting the hay by 10.
On Friday, I dealt with the insurance company on the phone
and was told that an adjuster will be assigned my case within 10 days and will
come by after that. Long wait but with all the houses that were destroyed what
can one expect. The guy told me to go ahead and have any needed emergency
repairs done if we think the roof will leak. Roofer told me not to worry, I
hope she was right. I stopped by an elderly neighbor and had a nice chat. I
wanted to make sure she was okay. I also went to get some ice for her from the
beer distributor and while there I bought myself a 4 pack of Mike's Hurricane
drinks. I have not tried them yet; the guy at the store told me they were
basically alcohol in fruit punch. Saved for this weekend, probably tomorrow
after work, if I work. The library has been closed since Monday. I got a small
bit of plastering done yesterday. I filled in the hole where my medicine
cabinet used to be. Bought a new one that is surface mounted.
Today has been much of nothing. I ate breakfast only about
an hour ago. I have been emailing people to check to see if they are okay after
the storm. I also checked my mail, mostly junk. I did find that the Browning
Citori Lightning that I had up for sale, on GunBroker.com, sold. The final bid
was not quite as much as I had hoped but I got more than I paid for it after
all expenses and that money will go toward my gun collecting. I also read a few
blogs. Then I checked on the availability of 62-64 grain 5.56x45 ammo, and saw
it is still mostly unavailable except at inflated prices. Found out there is a
gun show this weekend in Middletown, NY (as in today and tomorrow) that I will
not be attending. Also found out there is a gun show in White Plains, NY next
weekend that I hope to attend with my buddy Charlie K..
My wife is at work,
my son still upstate and my daughter at her fiancé’s place.
I just took a call from my son, interrupted my typing this
post. He is okay, still visiting his girlfriend upstate. He plans to be home
early next week. I noticed a basket full of laundry upstairs and threw the
clothes into the washing machine. I will have a few loads to get done today, of
that I am sure. Happy I saw that one to remind me. She who must be worshipped
left it in a location where I was sure to trip over it if I did not see it
first. Lucky for me it was light out.
I already also did the dishes (I am very pussified
domesticated).
Now, I had best close this blog post and go upstairs to sand
down the plaster work that I did yesterday, then clean it up, before she who
must be adored gets home from work. If I get a coat of primer/sealer on it
before she gets home, that would be a plus. After that, I'll have to wrap her
birthday present; her b'day is imminent more or less.
Such is a boring and almost uneventful 5 days and a wake-up of my life
before, during and after the super-storm.
So what did you do before, during and over the few days after the super-storm?
All the best,
Glenn B
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