It Was Probably A Mistake To Buy Gold Now...

 ...but yesterday, I purchased ten 1/10th ounce gold coins from SD Bullion. Besides the already super high price of an ounce of gold, they add a premium, and the premium for coins smaller than an ounce if substantially higher than it would have been if I had purchased a one ounce coin, by about $180 more. The only advantage to buying smaller coins that I can see is if our economy tanks and bullion is then used as currency. Having coins of lessor weight and thus value helps assure that you do not need to cut down larger coins and helps assure that if you are ripped off, you may lose less in value because you only carried what you needed. For instance if someone was was charging the value of 1.4 ounces of gold for a product, you do not need to bring two one ounce coins to the bargaining table and then need to try to cut one precisely; instead, you can bring the exact amount in smaller coins, like a one ounce coin and four 1/10 ounce coins. Then if ripped off, your other bullion is hopefully still stashed away safely.

 

Anyway, unless gold goes up substantially, I will lose out on this purchase but then I am not buying while hoping to make a killing on a price increase. I am buying to have something to fall back on should the dollar's value collapse and a loaves of bread start being sold at hundreds of millions of dollars apiece. Think that could never happen, think again! It already did happen in pre-WW II Germany.

 

 "A loaf of bread in 1922, Germany cost 163 marks. In September 1923, it cost 1,500,000 marks and at the peak of German hyperinflation, a loaf of bread cost 200,000,000,000 Marks." More at the source: https://www.historydefined.net/german-hyperinflation/. No one expected it then and very few think or expect that it could happen now; yet, the truth is, as some say, shit happens.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Ballseye's Predictions

 I have a few predictions for the coming year, actually for the rest of this year and all of 2026. I am not wishing that any of these come true for anyone, I am just guessing that these things will happen, some only if other things I mention happen first. Most are prophecies of the gloom & doom type but some are also much nicer in outcome. The predictions of Nostradamus have nothing on mine.

 

1. Someone, of leftist, liberal, democrat ilk, will again attempt to assassinate President Trump and will succeed in at least seriously wounding him putting him in the hospital and out of commission for at least a three months.

 

2.VP Vance will take over the presidency, after the above takes place and he will be as strong & decisive as Trump was while in that position.

 

3. Illegal aliens from China (Chinese military personnel), admitted by the Biden administration, will attack our country from within doing great damage to our electrical grid. 

 

4. China will invade Taiwan and shortly thereafter will surreptitiously invade the United States of America in a sneak attack much worse than 9/11.

 

5. North Korea, Pakistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and others will ally with China and also attack U.S. interests.

 

6. Russia will attack at least one, if not more, eastern European members of NATO and will bomb Ukraine with multiple nuclear weapons. 

 

 7. Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens will ally with our enemies and a civilian militia of conservative types will unleash a fury upon them with the blessing of whoever is president at the time.

 

8. The U.S. will be forced to retaliate with nukes and WW III will kill over half the human population on the earth.

 

9. Japan, Australia, the UK (minus Ireland), Israel, several Arab nations, some few countries in South America, all of eastern Europe (outside of Russia & its current allies) and the remainder of western Europe will ally with the USA. 

 

10. India will attempt to remain neutral. Canada will attempt to do likewise, and will abandon the USA causing a civil war that ousts its current liberal government.

 

11. Nancy Pelosi will be killed by an assassin who beats her with a ball peen hammer and then shoots her to make sure the job is done. The assassin will be transgender with severe delusions of self importance and femininity who believes he is pregnant because, he claims President Trump raped him in the Lincoln bedroom.

 

12.  Mamdani, if he becomes mayor of NY, will be assassinated by someone hired by Soros in order to gain sympathy for socialism in the USA. Riots, by leftists, will ensue even though it will be proven that Soros was behind it.

 

13. The monarchy in the UK will come to an end.

 

14. Ballseye will win the largest Mega Millions prize ever and War III will break out the very next day eventually causing the U.S. dollar to crash (just my luck). 

 

15.Gold will hit $7659.17 per ounce within eight months of today (October 28, 2025).

 

16. Silver will hit an all time high of $185.00 per ounce around the same time as gold hits the above value.

 

17. The democrats will overwhelmingly win the 2028 election by way of voter fraud and the election results will be cancelled once the fraud is discovered. A new election date will be scheduled but on that day, riots will break out and marshal law will be declared; thousands of rioters will be killed or wounded. Schumer will be discovered as the mastermind behind the voter fraud and will commit suicide, in a federal lock-up, shortly after his arrest.

 

18. Once WW III is concluded, an actual Zombie Apocalypse will follow shortly thereafter. 

 

19. Ammunition prices will increase ten fold during WW III and go higher in the ZA. 

 

20. Ballseye (me) wakes up and realizes all of his predictions were part of a terrible nightmare. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Note: If you have not figured it out yet, this is a humorus fantasy post. I do not wish ill on anyone mentioned above, am not advocating any type of violence, nor suggesting or hoping that someone, anyone, does anything mentioned above, except for me waking up and then finding out I won the largest Mega Millions prize to date. (And that I will live in good health and fitness, for at least many years, to spend a lot of it it, leaving the remaining tens of millions to my son & daughter.)

No Kings Protest Fake News - Hahaha

 The linked video contains a promotion but other than that, this guy makes a lot of sense. The thing about the video of the size of the crowd in Boston, is not surprising.

 

 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

No Kings Day - Last Saturday In Texarkana

Well, there was supposedly going to be No Kings protests nationwide on, October 18, 2025 and that reportedly (according to local news media) included one in Texarkana, AR & TX at the federal court house (as spelled on the building face as opposed to courthouse as found in a dictionary, go figure) and post office. The courthouse/post office sits more or less evenly divided on the border of those two states. I took Skye there after our morning visit to the dog park.

 

We got there around 1025 to check it out; it was slated to commence at 1000. Mind you I did not say, I was planning to participate in the protest, we were there just to attend and watch the goings on from a safe distance. As usual, when I go almost anywhere where it is legal, I was armed for self-defense. I figured to get some photos of grungy anarchists being arrested and such but if someone was to attack me, I wanted to be ready to keep myself from being harmed. Anyway, I would probably have been far enough away not to attract any psycho protestors, and there certainly seem to have been many of them (leftists) running rampant and attacking people for no legitimate reason as of late. Of course, it is always best to back-off from any violent confrontation if you can do so. Avoidance is key to not getting hurt but if you cannot back off then I think fighting back as opposed to hoping for your attacker to suddenly become merciful is the thing to do. Your opinion on that may differ but it is definitely my opinion that people who attack you are usually not looking to dispense mercy but rather are seeking to harm you. I have digressed, so back to the protest.

 

Guess what. There was not one protestor there when we arrived. So either it was a no show event except for Skye & myself, or it was the possibly the briefest No Kings protest ever - lasting less than 25 minutes if it started on time. Now, if you have read what little I have written about Texarkana, the veritable pimple on the joined backsides of AR & TX, then you know, I have little love if any for anything at all about this sad excuse for a twin city. Yet, since no one showed up for that protest, I now have developed a bit of a healthy respect for the folks who live here. After all, they were smart enough not to attends and I am guessing found themselves better things to do in the town that two governors forgot.

 

The first pic, shows that Skye & I were at what I thought would be a safe distance from the courthouse to observe the expected shenanigans, if in fact there had been protestors. The second shot was taken from just a bit closer to see it better.

 

 

That little red, white and blue sign in front of the federal courthouse, is the dividing marker between states. If you are on the viewer's left side of it, you'd be in TX and if on the right then in AR. As you can see, in the second photo, there is no graffiti on the building, no ANTIFA slogans or BLM balderdash and not any No Kings propaganda at all. It is as it should be. Thank you Texarkanans! 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

I've Got An Itch...

...and I think it may need scratching in the form of a road trip. I have a couple of appointments I need to keep this week and at the middle of next week. After those, I'll be free through the first couple of days in November. If I do travel, I'd like to be back to my place so I can vote on November 4th.

 

Trips that my little gray cells have been mulling over are: Le Claire, Iowa to stop by Antique Archaeology; Carlsbad, New Mexico to visit Carlsbad Caverns; Dodge City, Kansas just to check out an old Wild West hot spot; Big Bend National Park, Texas to check it out; Galveston, Texas to do a bit of salt water fishing (I miss that from when I lived in NY, did not do it often but went now and then and it was always fun if I caught anything, sometimes it was fun even when I did not catch even one fish); Reelfoot lake State Park in Tennessee to do some fishing. 

 

Being a fan of American Pickers, I'd love to visit Antique Archaeology in Le Claire, Iowa to check out their shop and maybe pick up something neat. The thing about that trip though is that I just checked what inventory they show, on their website, as being in stock. It's not much; so, I sent them an email asking if that is it or if they have more and can send me a list of their complete inventory. I'd rather not drive 11 hours only to find out that what little stock they show on their website is all they have available. Second choice would probably be either Big Bend (never been there before) or Carlsbad Caverns (been there twice before and loved it) or a trip to both an maybe also to Silver City, New Mexico. 

 

Of course, if I do take a road trip, I may just hop in my car with Skye, my mongrel, and head in whatever direction my little gray cells decide to point my nose or in whatever direction Skye decide to point her snout. I made several trips like that in my younger years, but without a pooch, way back some 45 to 50 years ago - some by bus but most in my cars (got my first car in Las Vegas in the summer of 1977 as best I recall). Those follow my nose trips were always interesting and fun. Of course, I also made plenty of road trips with preplanned destinations. I'd rather not drive too far on any trips nowadays; driving is not quite as much fun for me as it used to be but I still enjoy it if the trips are not too long. Longer trips, like my son's and my trip to Deadwood, South Dakota this past spring are not out of the question of to where I might drive drive, but I prefer having someone else with me to share the driving when I need to drive more than what I can do per about eight hours drive time a day and six hours would be better when I am the only driver. 

 

I am not yet certain that my itch will last long enough to actually get me started on a trip; heck I have been hoping to go on a solo trip for a couple of, or a few, years now but I keep putting it off.That has been because I am THE Great Procrastinator. I am guessing the itch will last and spur me onto a small journey though because I am pretty much bored to tears. Where I live is certainly not a very interesting area. I only live in this pimple on the backside of Arkansas because there is no state income tax and because I am close enough to where my son lives to visit him and his girlfriend fairly often but still far enough away from them not to be a constant pain in their arses.

 

As I already said, I would not be able to leave before about eight days from now due to appointments I need to keep but after that I am free until very early November. If I can find someone to pick up my mail while I am gone, I may go on a bit of an extended trip; if not then for a week at most. Time will tell.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I May Give Up Vending At Gun Shows

 I may give up vending at gun shows after the one I attended this past weekend. I sold an almost mediocre amount of items on the first day, Saturday, mostly at my usually low prices. (That means probably all at a loss except one item which I sold for more than I bought it.) Note I said almost a mediocre amount of items were sold by me; in reality, and I hate to have to say it, the amount of things I was able to sell was quite low. Then in total on Sunday, I made only two sales, a Gen3 AR15/M4 30 round PMAG for $10.00 and one box of brass cased 7.62x54R rounds, also for $10.00. Both were sales tax included, and yes I pay the sales tax to the state of AR at 10.25% for the area in which I sold the things. 

Most items I sold were sold at cost or somewhat under my cost. I sell stuff not so much to make a profit but to get my money back or at least get close to it by getting rid of things for which I have a surplus. That way, I bring in cash I can use to buy another gun or two without having to take money out of my savings account. Of course, I'd love to make a net profit but that is not my goal. I most definitely am not a dealer making a living off of things that I sell at gun shows. I am merely a firearms self defense enthusiast and a certified firearms instructor trying to get some cash to buy more guns to foster my firearms instructor and self defense skills by getting new to me guns, that allow me to learn more about firearms. This time though, after paying $140.00 for two tables, with the poor sales, it is getting to the point where if I keep this up long enough, I will bankrupt my firearms fund because the amount of items I sold was truly dismal.

Every vendor, to whom I have spoken over the two days of the show, told me they did not do well. I understand that, especially considering  how high are some of their prices but I just do not get my low sales with my low prices. For instance, I have an unfired, as new, in the box with manual, Keystone Arms Mini Mosin Nagant that I priced at $175.00 and I'd have taken $150.00 for it. The lowest price on ammo seek is $240.00 as of this past weekend. I had lots of lookers, but no one offering cash for it. Oh well, life goes on, at least for now

Another for instance, I sold 9mm ammo yesterday at a bit under cost, $10.00 per box, tax included. Tax included makes it around an additional 10.25% under cost for the buyer and that much more of a loss for me after I pay the sales tax; and I do pay the sales tax. One guy bought all 8 boxes of the 9mm which was nice but it was still a loss for me. That loss is okay by me, it was surplus, believe me I have thousands of rounds more of 9mm. The thing is, before that guy jumped on it and bought the eight boxes I had for sale, others wanted me to lower my price. I guarantee it was the lowest price on 9mm at the show by far and a good deal lower than the online price considering if bought online, you would need to pay sales tax and shipping fees and in places like NY you'd also pay an FFL fee to transfer the ammo to you. 

Almost all my other ammo had a really good price on it, especially compared to other show vendors prices for theirs. Someone else yesterday also asked me to do better on 22 LR ammo I was selling. Sadly, I had mistakenly overpriced that and lost a sale. Shit happens. 

As for other dealers at this show (and other shows), wow some of their prices are insane on ammo and guns. I suppose they are in it to earn a living or at least as a sideline in which they try to make a net profit. Then again, $800.00 for a run of the mill SKS (or similar) is crazy. As I said, I sell guns and ammo trying to break even or come close to breaking even, so I can get some cash to buy different guns. It beats me keeping money in the bank, that I ultimately wind up using to pay for other things instead of firearms related purchases, then wind up not having enough money to buy anything firearms related. So, when I have the excess cash, I buy - buy - buy. Then when I need the cash to buy a gun, I sell - sell - sell whatever I previously bought and have in surplus, or am tired of having, to get enough cash without going into my savings. The thing is after table fees that keep rising and after sales tax, and income tax (if there was a rare net profit at a show on an item or two), it is becoming prohibitive for me to keep vending because I rarely make a net profit on most things I sell. I sometimes do okay though and break even which is okay by me and rare times now and then actually have a small net profit after a show and sales taxes, and that is good by me but still have to pay income tax on that.

 

It just gets very frustrating when I pay those table fees and sales taxes and wind up selling at a fairly big loss because the amount of sales I made were so low it just makes it not worth my money, time or effort. This past weekend's show was a perfect example of that. In plain English - it sucked. It almost makes me wish a demoncrat majority was in office and that the were threatening restrictive firearms laws be legislated.  Sales would skyrocket if such as the case. Just look at Obummer and Biden, they did wonders for guns sales. Of course, no matter how poor my sales, I would never wish another democrat majority in political office in the USA, that would be a disaster for our nation. I much prefer to be loyal to the USA and the Right instead of to the leftists, socialists and commies of the democrat party. That stands true even if it means less sales and money being made by me.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

Another Firearms Related Purchase...

...is being packed and should be on the way to me soon. As Frank Fritz (RIP) of American pickers was ever so fond of saying, "The time to buy it is when you see it"; so, when I saw them on eBay, I submitted an offer. The them are three magazines for the Beretta 92FS Compact L, Type M, pistol. They are 8 round, single stack, magazines. While not impossible to find, it is not easy to find them very often. To find them at an almost decent price is next to impossible in my experience. I check GunBroker, eBay and some other auction sites now and again but if I do find any, the price is usually prohibitive. The one I found, maybe  a month ago was listed on GunBroker for $125.00. I kept checking to see if the seller would come down in price but he did not. 

 

Yesterday, I checked eBay. I found a seller who was offering six of them, all OEM, and lightly used, or so says the seller. The asking price was $115.00 each. I saw there was a 'make an offer' option and tried that at $75.00 each. I received an email, this evening, saying the offer had been accepted.

 

Under normal circumstances, such a magazine might sell for $35.00 or a bit more. By normal, I mostly mean  them still being produced by Beretta or under license from Beretta. The thing is, they have not been made by Beretta, nor by Mecgar under license from Beretta, for several, if not many, years now. In addition, I do not think the Beretta 92FS Compact L Type M pistol was very popular, thus there were nowhere as many Type M single stack magazines produced as were the regular double stack 15 round mags. Being they are somewhat on the rare side, their price has gone up considerably, and that is true not only for ones in new condition but also for used mags. In fact, ones that are new old stock are quite rare indeed. 

 

 I was pleasantly surprised that the seller accepted my offer without making a higher counter offer. That made me wonder if I should have first offered a lower amount but as far as I am concerned $75.00 apiece is a decent and fair price all things considered. Now, if they actually are in the condition claimed in the item description, I will be ecstatic. Time will tell. 

 

Once I receive them, I will have about three or four OEM mags for each of my two Beretta 92FS Compact L, Type M pistols, for a total of six or eight Type M mags, that is at least if I remember correctly how many I already own. I'd like to have purchased more, maybe all six the seller was offering, but buying more from the same seller right now would be a bit too much of a strain on my finances than I'd like to make right now. So, these will have to do, at least until the next time I see more being offered when I have some cash to burn.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

This Months Bills Are paid and...

 ...I have enough cash in my checking account to last all month and more, have some cash in my pocket and have two winning scratch off lottery tickets - one for $20 and the other for $200, I also have $39 cash left over from another $100 recent winner (most of that earlier hundred went to buy other tickets, including the other two winning ones). There is a Kerry Murphy Promotions gun show coming up this coming weekend, local to my place. While I am attending as a vendor - who knows, I may make a purchase or three while there. That will be especially likely if I make out well in selling some things. Sometimes I get lucky with such things, most times not; so I plan to make the best of things.

Hope to see you there. 

 All the best,

 Glenn B 

Close Call - Everybody Has Them But This One Is Spectacular

 This just caught my eye on YouTube and I thought it cool enough to share it.

  

I wonder if the canine gave up or if it eventually caught its dinner. In this instance, I hope the acrobatics paid off for the prey.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

A Chip Off The Old Block - A Happily Biased Promotion

 What can I say, I have my preferences just like anyone else. Among mine, the ones that come first are family. Here is a link to the YouTube channel of the younger of my two children. He is into a lot of the things that I am as well but he has also expanded to bladed weapons somewhat. While he does not have many videos, I hope you enjoy the ones he has made the effort to post. There is one example below and also a link to his YouTube channel.

 

https://www.youtube.com/@KalashDUDE

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

The New Media Craze - TARGETTED Attacks

 The media has an amazing amount of literary twits working for it. I think that no matter what politics are yours, you can agree with me on that. They make grammatical errors lots of the time, write sentences that are incomplete and convey absolutely zero thought, misspell often and on an on. Now, I admit, I often do those same things here in my blog but there are some important differences; the differences being I am not employed by a news outlet as a reporter, thus I am not paid to write this blog, in addition - I do not have an editor as are employed by the media and thus only I review my own work. 

 

The latest fad or craze in the media, and it seems to me to be more used at Fox News than elsewhere but is indeed used by other media outlets  is that: They like to use what they apparently think are necessary adjectives to describe things that, in my opinion, need absolutely no additional description. The one most prominent adjective they seem to use excessively is the word targeted. They also use it in its other form, as a verb (where it usually makes more sense, I think). For instance take the words:

Arson

Assassination

Attack 

Murder

  

It has evidently become very chic, among the media outlets, to report these crimes as having been targeted. In other words, meaning that the victims of the attacks, the people or property, that came under attack were in fact actually selected beforehand as a target of the attack.  Well, I have news for the media, of course they were targeted. If you commit arson, well then when you decide to spread an accelerant in a home, or throw a Molotov cocktail at a building, or douse someone with gasoline and light them afire - you have targeted them. Just the same as when you use a high powered rifle with optics (a scope) to shoot someone whom you intend to kill from afar, you have targeted that person. Same goes for murder (if not targeted then the charge is more likely manslaughter). If you pick someone out to murder or otherwise attack, you have in fact targeted that person. Even so called random attacks are targetted to some extent. If there was no target, then nothing was attacked.

 

Here are links to some examples:

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/judges-waterfront-mansion-burns-possible-arson-first-responders-use-kayaks-dramatic-rescue

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/giuliani-car-accident-not-targeted-attack-spokesman-says

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/ice-agents-targeted-2-ambush-attacks-recent-days

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/politics/fbi-targeted-attack 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/video/fbi-probing-deadly-michigan-church-attack-as-act-of-targeted-violence/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h 

 

This is just a pet peeve of mine. Same goes for the grammatical  errors often made by paid reporters. I guess on of the reasons this bothers me is because it in some part, maybe a small one - or maybe a large one, is an indicator of how society has degraded over time in that not many folks seem to care any longer if something is proper and correct. I think the media uses that lack of care to their advantage to whip up what they hope will become popular opinion based up their absolute lack of integrity when they report somethings - especially political facts. And somehow this has become acceptable to current society, I think more so on the left but also on the right.

 

Misspellings, grammatical errors, sentences that amount to gibberish in news reports, outright lies about political candidates and other newsworthy facts did not happen as frequently when I was younger as best I recall. That was because people took pride in their work back then and that pride went from the floor sweeper all the way up to the CEO of a company; and in the media that put reporters near the middle or somewhat higher up in that hierarchy of having pride in their work. Today, it seems folks just don't give a damn about the quality and integrity of their work. So they add extra adjectives to state in a redundant manner what should already be obvious, hyperbolize a report to the nth degree to inflame readers, and or tell outright lies to rile up the crowds so they have more to report.

 

It also seems like people who get the products that are produced by slackers also do not care, unless of course the product they use is faulty - then maybe they complain or others just shrug their shoulders and say it is what it is (a saying I only first heard in the 1990s but one that has sadly become the mantra of way too many folks). In particular people do not seem, to me, to care about quality in the media. Thus not only are errors in grammar and such frequently seen in news reports but so too are seen: political bias, racial bias, support of criminal activity and an utter disregard for what once was the integrity that came with reporting the truth in an unbiased manner (which maybe has always been kind of a rare occurrence).

 

Your views may differ on what I just said, but that is how I see the media reporting of the news today. Just had to get that off of my chest.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Time To Dig Out The Ruger Redhawk...

 ...in .44 Magnum; at  least it will be time right before I next go out into the Arkansas woods. I have been planning to do some deer scouting too, so I had best be prepared and get some bear spray too (maybe more effective than a gun, or so some say) as it seems the black bears of AR are no laughing matter since a second man has evidently been fatally attacked by a bear in second such fatal attack within the last month or so here in AR. In this most recent attack, the man took pictures of a bear in his camp ground and sent them to his family. When he did not show up or contact family as expected, they asked LE to do a welfare check. His body as found not far from the campground with wounds like those from a bear attack. More at the source.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

There is An Upcoming Gun Show...

 ...for which I have reserved two vendor tables. As usual, I will bring along some ammo, some firearms accessories, some firearms manuals & firearms books. Of course, I also will bring some firearms.The thing is, I have a few that I have been trying to sell for several shows now with no luck. They are of excellent makes & models, in popular calibers, are in excellent as new condition (in fact one is unfired), each has the box & papers, and I have truly great prices on them; yet, they have not sold. So, I am going to bring along some other guns this time. The thing is, I do not want to sell most of my other guns if any; so, it is going to be a difficult decision to make as to which ones to bring along to put up for sale.

 

I do have at least one that would be an easy choice among guns I have not yet offered for sale. That is a Colt 1903 Hammerless in .32 AUTO. It is a pretty nice gun in very good to fine condition but the thing is, I took it apart and for the life of me have been unable to assemble it. I called a local gunsmith to ask what he would charge to do it, and allow me to watch him assemble it. I do not recall the exact price he asked but he wanted over $100. Screw that greediness to do a half a minute to one minute job at most. Sooner or later, I will get it back together and then I will sell it simply because I did not like it once I received it. 

 

Then there are the rest of my guns, all difficult to choose from: 

 

I've got an Arsenal AK-47, only AK I own right now; I am not about to sell it. Keeping it for the Zombie Apocalypse😂.

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw9J-raANpE

 

I have 11 Beretta pistols. I doubt I will sell any of them, except maybe one, because one that I have been trying to sell is a Beretta 92FS Compact L Type M pistol and it has not yet sold. I am asking a going price from what I have seen of the prices after doing an advanced search on Gun Broker to show all the same that have sold over the past year. Mine is in like new condition. Yet, no sales although there has been some interest, just no money. As for my others, I do not wish to sell any of the other Beretta pistols.

 

I own two Charter Arms revolvers. One is a .44 S&W Special Bulldog. I love it. It is at the ready somewhere in my home (not telling now because where it is needs to remain a surprise for any home invader). The other is a Pathfinder in 22 LR. It is a nice 22 revolver that I probably like too much to sell.

 

I have a Colt Detective Special, 2nd variation but the thing about it is that it is special to me. I very much like that model. 

 

Then there are my Glocks, two G26 pistols and two G19 pistols. Right now I carry either one or two Glock pistols whenever I carry (which is as often as I can legally). Why sell what I carry and why sell the redundant ones. The best back up is the same as your primary carry or at least one, if semi-auto, that takes the same magazines.

 

I own three Henry rifles. One is a lever action in .22 WMR, another is a U.S. Survival rifle in 22 LR and the last is a Henry Big Boy, U.S. Border Patrol commemorative in .357 Magnum. All keepers.

 

Then, there is my Intratec TEC-9 mini, in 9mm Luger. I am more than willing to sell it; it is in excellent condition and would be sold with four magazines, two of which are OEM, the other two after market. Everything gun & mags work properly, I tested it at the range recently. The thing is my son may get this one - not for free but at cost or less; time will tell and if he takes it, it obviously will not go up for sale at a gun show.

 

I also have at least one each of these brands: Keystone Arms (been trying to sell it but the retail is way too high and my low ball price is obviously not low enough, even though it is at least a hundred and a half under retail); Marlin (in .35 REM, my hunting rifle of choice for deer or black bear); Mosin Nagant (a keeper - Hungarian); Ortgies (fun pistol, sentimental value); Rock Island Armory (one of only two 1911s I own); Savage (one of the guns I have been unable to sell); Yugo & Norinco SKS (maybe will sell one but which one); S&W (they have sentimental value); and Stag Arms (defensive weapon, another Zombie Apocalypse gun, it is not going to be sold). In addition there are at least several Remingtons (defense & hunting guns, including one dream gun Model 81); and a few Rugers (defense, hunting, sentimental) among my assortment of boomers.

 

What is a guy to do, I like em all and if you could really love a gun, then I love at least several of them. Maybe I will just keep trying with the ones I have already offered for sale but that have not sold yet. Then again, Maybe I will flip a coin for each - heads to sell or tales to not sell. Decisions, decisions, decisions! 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

On Yom Kipur

 I hope my readers who celebrate the holy day of Yom Kipur, last night through sundown today, had an easy fast, a meaningful time of prayer and introspection, and that your fate was sealed by the grace of a merciful God leading to ah gebentsht yohr for each of you. Once the fast is over, enjoy your breakfast.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Big Companies Just Do Not Learn...

...from either their prior mistakes nor from the mistakes of other companies when they try to increase business through advertising campaigns. Just look at Bud Light debacle, it should be the prime example of why a  corporation or company should not change their successful type of advertising to one that appeals only to fringe groups. Whoever thought that using what is, in my opinion, a delusional man who is at best a man pretending to be a woman, as their brand's spokesperson had no clue about what appeals to most folks living in the USA. Then there was, as best I recall, the CEO of Cracker Barrel, who exercised what I think was unmitigated stupidity when the image of the Cracker Barrel & elderly were removed from its logo and when they tried to change the decor in their restaurants. What kind of people think up these advertising ideas, are they blithering idiots or just woke (are those the same thing, maybe). 

Well, today yet another well known, and probably loved by millions, company is reportedly changing its name, at least temporarily and they are doing so for the first time since the company was founded in 1892, 133 years ago. Why? Well according to a Fox News report, Maxwell House, or its corporate owners, gave a reason: 

 "The brand, owned by Kraft Heinz, will temporarily be renamed "Maxwell Apartment," a move it said it made "to meet the needs of today's consumer." 

They reportedly also said this: 

"In a time where value matters now more than ever, Americans seek value in areas of their everyday, including where they live," Kraft Heinz said in a press release. (Source of both quotes.) 

So riddle me this Maxwell House, how does your temporary name change give anyone more value or fulfill any customer's needs? Please answer that question with specific examples of how a name change can possibly give anyone more value or fulfill needs. Lower your coffee prices if you want to give more value to your customers (value that you indicate people are seeking), meet their needs by assuring a good supply of your product. Stop the balderdash of trying to get folks to think your name change is more amenable to their situation and that they needed the change. In fact, your new name has absolutely nothing to do with me seeking value, nor with giving me any additional value for my money, nor with fulfilling my needs. I live in an apartment and drink lots of coffee but can assure you it will not be Maxwell Apartment. I, for one, think your name change is both ludicrous and ridiculous. Maybe consider hiring a new advertising agency. 

By the way, the company's founder did not choose the name Maxwell House because, as most people might surmise from what the company is now saying about the name change, most people lived in houses when it was first named. It had nothing to do with people living in houses or apartments. The name was chosen, by the company's creator Joel Owsley Cheek to honor his first major customer which was the Maxwell House Hotel (more at the source).  Amazingly Maxwell House, or its parent company, evidently never thought of calling it Maxwell Motel, since so many folks stay in motels when they travel. More at the source. 

I don't know about my readers but I am sick and tired of all of this woke advertising that tries to appeal to whining woke fringe groups (aka: liberals).  By the way, if you at Maxwell House, really want a woke brand name for your coffee that would appeal to liberals, (aka: democrats or as I see them - spoiled brats) then why not change it to Maxwell Basement. Isn't that where so many, if not most, liberals live until they are in their late twenties or even into their thirties - in their parents' basements! 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

My Emergency Reserve Of Gold & Silver Bullion...

 ...amounts to about 11% of my total cash savings. I'd much prefer it to be closer to 30% but both silver and gold have become so expensive as to make them cost prohibitive for further purchases right now. Regardless, should WW III break out, or should our economy fall into a depression, and I think we are close to either one or both, that 11% of my savings in bullion will be good to have in reserve because it will be priceless under the economic conditions that would ensue. Of course, I also have stock in other metals that I am certain would become extremely valuable in the event of a world war and its aftermath. My metals like lead, brass and copper are in good supply. They may become or may be not be somewhat more valuable in a depression and certainly would be of much more value in the event of a future arms and ammo ban in the United States. My guess is I have at least an additional 14% of my total cash savings worth of ammunition. 

 

Having 25% of my cash savings in things other than cash and in addition to that cash, is very comforting, but monetary value is not alone enough should TEOTWAWKI show its ugly head. Believe me, WW III or a depression would be just that - ugly - and if we get into WW III it will be in part on our soil. I also have laid in what I am guessing to be at least three months of less-perishable food; although, it likely would be six months worth with a little bit of rationing. I probably have enough water for a month and also water filters to cleanse and make safe any I get from natural sources. Add to that gas masks, gas mask filters with a 20 year shelf life, protective suits, first aid supplies, including a few bottles of antibiotics and other equipment & supplies and I am ready to face the prospect of being the last man on earth if it comes down to it. I must admit, if TEOTWAWKI happens, I might not want to survive as the Omega Man but right now my overwhelming drive is to survive and as the gal said in Serenity: "To hell with this, I'm gonna live". 

 

 

 

Hope to see some of you, if not all, should it come to the end times of humanity because we killed off most of ourselves in the final world war.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

My Gripe With Gun Broker

 Logging into GunBroker.com has become a tedious pain in the neck. They have a system that makes logging in rather a slow process in today's world of super fast Internet speed. Here is the typical process that I need to go through each time I log in:

Type in GunBroker.com

Hit enter

Check a box to prove I am not a robot

Click on sign in, in upper right of screen

Click on sign in, in a drop down box

Verify I am at least 18

Enter my sign in ID

Enter my password

Click another box verifying I am human

Click to request a log in code

Open email to check for code

Wait to receive that code in email, sometimes for several minutes, I think 15 minutes was about the longest time I waited

Copy code from email

Enter code into a box on GB

Click submit

After all of that, maybe it logs me in and maybe not; on several attempts, I have gotten to the point of submitting that code, then am returned to the screen telling me to request the code again, requiring me to start over from that point.

This is the most ridiculous set of log in requirements I have ever encountered. Why? Well first of all, you cannot log into GunBroker unless already registered. To register you must be at least 18, thus that  info is included in your registration info and GunBroker either already has verified, or should have done so, through the registration process,  that you are at least 18. They need no further proof. My advice to GunBroker would be to take CA to court if they say you still need to ask - Gun Broker do something to fight the anti gun nuts. As for requesting a log in code, what is it with sending it to email and with your notice it may take up to 5 minutes. Send it via text message or at least give that option, so it is received in seconds not minutes. Then there is that second time of requesting a log in code. What is up with that!  Finally, how many times does one need to click on sign in or to verify they are human????

 Yep, I realize, this only bothers me because I have fallen into the I gotta have it now trap of the current era. While I completely understand a company wanting to keep my info secure and to follow the law (like the age verification thing), the thing that really gets to me about all of those steps is that not one other website I use has so many or takes so long. Those other sites include my credit card companies and my banks. Yet, somehow, at least to date, my info and money has remained secure at those other sites. 

Sorry to pester you all with that but I had to blow off steam. Telling my dog or my tortoises simply does not suffice.  

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Happy Rosh Hashanah

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all who celebtate it. May your new year be a happy, blessed, healthy, and prosperous one. May your celebration of the new year be enjoyed with festive holiday meals full of tasty delights. May the sound of the shofar be heard loud and clear and may God judge you and find you worthy by bestowing only blessings upon you in the upcoming year.

 

All the best

Glenn B 

Tens Of Thousands More People...

 ...it seems, are attending the Charlie Kirk memorial than were ever seen at all of Biden's political rallies combined; at least certainly it seems that many more than at any single Biden rally. 

 

 

The arena is at full capacity, which I understand to be over 70,000 people.

 

Bless their hearts for gathering so peacefully and I hope they keep it peaceful, as opposed to the actions of BLM and ANTIFA in years past.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

 

 

CK Memorial Security

The security of the Charlie Kirk memorial is supposedly very tight, the same, repotedly, as for a Super Bowl. The thing about security, regardless of all the high tech that is utilized, is that it all depends on the people who are enforcing it. Therein are both the strong point and weak point of it. Just one example, from my personal experience shows examples of that.

 

Many U.S. Customs Service, Ofice of Investigations, Special Agents were assigned  to augment the Secret Service, at the Republican National Convention for George W. Bush in Madison Square Garden in 2004. We were assigned specific posts and were all given photos of people we needed to be looking for in the crowd, people expected to be there with nefarious intentions. I was just outside the main entrance. As I scanned faces in the throng of people making entry, I noticed that one of the actual Secret Service agents - who was assigned with another SS Agent to a perimeter choke point, where folks first entered the property many yards away from the entrance to the building - had stopped scanning entrants because a young lady in a micro-mini skirt was taking up 100% of his attention as they chatted with one another. As I watched, another young lady, also provocatively dressed, caught the complete attention of the other SS agent. People just walked passed them without receiving a glance from those SS agents. A moment later, I spotted a face from the photographs of suspected agitators. He walked right between both SS agents who figuratively but yet essentially had their heads up those skirts.

 

When the suspect saw me looking his way he actually got down and duck walked, apparently hoping to be lost in the crowd. I got on the radio and made a notification to another agent in the same area as me. We commenced pushing through the mass of bodies trying to find him. After a minute or so, I grabbed him. As I was escorting him to a secure area, he tried to break away and run. Somehow, many years after my training, I immediately used an arm/wrist lock on him that caused him enough pain to stop in his tracks and to comply completely. I amazed myself, that I used that move never having used it before. It turned out he was probably likely to be more of a nuisance than a real threat and he was held by the SS for a couple of hours at most and released.

 

Had he been an actual serious threat though, he could have caused an extremely dangerous or even a deadly situation, except for me, or anyone so assigned there, being vigilant. I am not trying to say that I did anything special, I just did my job. Had either of those two women started to talk to me, who knows where my attention would have been. I like to think I would have told them to please move on but damn I am all man, so who knows.

 

I was 48 years old then, going on 49 within a month or so, and I think maturity helped give me an advantage over those two young SS agents at the choke point, who probably were driven by higher levels of testerone than I had in me. Regardless of hormones, I was there to do a job, took it very seriously, and got it done much to my own amazement. My wife always told me how unobservant was I, but my reply usually was: when things are going well, I don't always notice, but as soon as something is not right, I notice it almost immediately if not instantaneously.

 

Security at any such event is only going to be as good as the security personnel are alert. Let's hope, after all that has already happened, that they are super vigilant today because they may be responsible, in some way, for what happens after the event, peaceful coexistance or violent chaos unleashed.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Hoping For A Peaceful Day...

 ...at the Charlie Kirk memorial today but I keep thinking that may be futile. One guy was already arrested yesterday, inside the venue, after allegedly falsely identifying himself as law enforcement. He reportedly was there as security personnel. He allegedly had expired or otherwise invalid law enforcement ID and was armed with a pistol, a revolver and at least one a knife. He was taken into custody by the U.S. Secret Service. More at the source. The firearms were reportedly not allowed in the stadium and the man allegedly violated multiple laws by being inside with them and with what allegedly was false or expired law enforcement ID that he reportedly presented to real and active law enforcement officers therein.

 

What next? What gets me is I keep reading and hearing that Super Bowl level security is being utilized for this event. I wonder, is that as high as or higher than presidential security. After all, President Trump and VP Vance are  both supposed to attend and as Trump has already faced two assassination attempts, I would think security should be as high and tight as possible. 

 

I fear that all it takes will be one more shot to commence a blood bath in our divided nation. I think the reserve of those on the right will fail miserably if any other prominent conservative is assassinated by another unhinged leftist. I don't know if hoping for a peaceful day is enough but all I can do is hope and  be at my best level of readiness for the possibility of massive amounts of violent chaos should my hope be proven to have been pointless.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

A Well Deserved Hat Tip To My Son

 Last year, when I told my son, Brendan, what I pay for auto insurance. He told me that the amount was crazy and I needed to find another insurer. I have Liberty Mutual (LM) and have had them for over 25 years. They have been more or less okay on rates until I moved to TX and then moved again to AR. The rates were much higher down south than they were when living just outside of NY City. That seemed crazy and when I contacted LM about that, 6 years or so ago, I was told those are the rates, take em or leave em. As for their handling of claims and customer service, they were usually excellent but sometimes, a few, customer service was very lacking.

 

Well, I forgot all about it last year right after my son told me to get another company. He reminded me this year and said I was nuts if I did not get a better rate. I was paying just over $2,400 per year for auto insurance on a 2016 Toyota Corolla, with no chargeable accidents and no tickets at all. Today, I called LM and was told, by their customer service representative (and yep this is one of those instances in which I think that their customer service sucked) that there was no way my rates could be lowered because of an accident I had in 2024 and because my car was vandalized in 2025. When asked how I could possibly be held accountable for an accident, for which I was found NOT AT FAULT, she said: "Let me tell you how insurance works" in a voice that sounded like mommy or teacher talking to a second grader at best.  She said that twice, once about the accident and once about the vandalism. I hung up shortly after that because my blood pressure was about to go through the roof.

 

I called  LM back a short time later and asked to speak to a supervisor. I already knew the reply I would get as they will not put you through to one but instead put me through to a retention specialist. Well, that lady reduced my annual rate by $993.00 bringing it down to $1418.00 a year but there was a catch. Because they were rewriting my policy, it is going to go to a 6 month one instead of an annual one at $709.00 per half year. She explained that is the way they are doing it now - 6 month policies. I told the lady I needed time to think about that. I checked on Consumer Reports (CR), and CR confirmed that many auto insurers are going to 6 month policies; oh well. 

 

A little bit after checking with CR, I called LM again. Another lady did a review of my coverage and she affirmed the $709.00 price. I had her drop medical coverage as I have Medicare & Blue Cross/Blue Shield. In the past, I would never have taken medical coverage if I had realized it covered only me and not others who may have been in my car; silly me. Then I asked how much the policy would be if they added Better Car Replacement. As I understand it, if my car is totaled, they pay for the next year's model, so I would be reimbursed for a 2017 model instead of my actual 2016 model. With the elimination of the medical coverage and the addition of the Better Car replacement coverage, my new rate if $712.00 per half year and I have high coverage and low deductibles.

 

I must say, when my rates go up more than just a little bit, in the future, I am going to have another review done by a retention specialist. I also must say, my son will be rewarded, with a nice dinner or maybe some ammo, for his pushing me to get a better rate. Thank you Brendan.

 

All the best,

Glenn B