Time for the holidays

This is hard for me to do. Wishing everyone in a sincere way, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas. The reason behind this is that I spent 16 years in retail. Every year they started putting out holiday items out earlier and earlier. I just got burned out. Even though I got burned out I still believe that you should wish people "Happy Thanksgiving" and "MERRY CHRISTMAS". It should NOT be "Holiday Season" it should be "Christmas". If you don't like it then you can leave. It has been "Christmas" as long as I have been alive. I AM NOT going to change it. The libs took prayer out of schools; took away the christian part of Christmas out of schools; (I am talking about the manger scene) but they never tried to take out witches and goblins. I am tired of people being WIMPS and CRYBABYS and whining about wanting "political correctness". I for one will NOT be politically correct. So for all you wimpy libs out there that may be reading this : Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving' A VERY Merry CHRISTMAS, and a Happy New Year. ( By the way I am getting over being burned out on the holiday season little by little. Maybe there is hope for me yet.

Back to Dentist Day

I'm heading back to the dentist in about an hour for treatment of the notorious dry socket. Ooh, how fun! On the bright side, the dry socket isn't as painful as the toothache it replaced, but make no mistake about it, it still hurts. I will be really glad when this is all over and done with!

Update (6:30 PM) Just got back home from town from being at the dentist and then the apothacary. It is a dry socket and I have to go back Friday afternoon for another session of having it packed with that nasty tasting dry socket paste. Which, I might add is totally ruining the flavor of my tomato soup. It's a conspiracy against my tastebuds!

Another plus which I wasn't expecting, they aren't charging for the dry socket treatments, no matter how many visits it takes; Dr. Arthur and staff rock!

Al-Qaeda Won't Rest

Apparently the Al-Qaeda won't rest until the White House is destroyed. Why, they supposedly even have a whopping 12,000 fighters ready to go. Don't sweat it Al-Qaeda scum, the dems in office will do most of your dirty work for you, or didn't you keep up with the elections and pay thanks to the sheeple mentality of liberal voters?

Dentist Day: Return From

I left for the dentist at around 2:15 pm and got to the office about 2:40 pm, filled out the paperwork and was back in the exam room around 3:30 pm. They did several X-Rays of my teeth and then went to work on me right at 4:00pm, he didn't want to send me home with a tooth that bad and me in that much pain. It ended up being oral surgery instead of a simple extraction, and the surgery didn't end until right at 7:00 pm.

It seems I am quite resistant to the local anesthetic so he had to pump me full of three syringes from the start, then another shot directly to the tooth's nerve. I went through that once every 45 minutes or so, as the anesthetic was wearing off very quickly. One of the wisdom tooth's roots was fairly straight, while the other one was curled under (not curled out) like a fish-hook, literally in a 180 degree arc. Once he cut the tooth in two pieces, he had to pry the straight end out, and once it was out he went to work on the other one. He literally had to cut into my jawbone with the little power saw to get the tooth out, which he still had to carefully twist completely upside-down before it came out.

What made it worse was he said I had the strongest gag reflex he'd ever seen. I screwed up two X-Rays by gagging while the X-Ray was taken due to movement from my gagging on the little plate you bite on. He numbed my tongue special with local anesthetic to help reduce the gagging reflex, which helped but didn't eliminate it completely. He still had to stop and give me several 5 to 10 minute breaks to calm my gagging self down and regain some calmness before he'd go back after it. He said he's had some gaggers before, but I won the prize for gaggiest patient of all time (hooray me!). He also said I was the most difficult case as far as actual tooth removal he'd had in well over a year.

After it was all said and done, he said if he knew how difficult this procedure was going to be I probably would have been charged double what it cost me. I don't blame him, it was a doozie of a time for everyone concerned. The surgical tooth extraction itself ran about $165 (it would've been $55 if he could have just rocked it out of the socket), and with the other fees, it ran up to $280 for the one tooth and the whole visit. Whew! Got the good stuff though, Percocet for the pain which he said I'd be really sore tomorrow after having my jaw wrenched open for 3 straight hours, plus all the needles going into the jaw muscle, plus the jawbone having been sawn into, not to mention the incisions to the gums, and the extracted tooth socket itself. It took three stitches to close me back up, though he used the self-absorbing kind of suture thread, so at least I don't have to go back to have the stitches taken out.

Even as uncomfortable, painful, and unpleasant as the actual procedure was, the doctor and all his staff were absolutely the best people I'd ever dealt with. So much so that even though the procedure itself was unpleasant, the overall experience was a pleasant experience that left me in a good mood and with a very favorable impression of himself, his office, the and staff.

Dentist Day

Oh the joys of being me. I got shoehorned in to the dentist's office for a visit this afternoon. Wisdom teeth are giving me the fits, especially the bottom right one which half of it decided to crumble into a bunch of tiny pieces exposing the soft dentin and the nerve. Ouch! Didn't hardly sleep a wink last night from the pain, which would conveniently spike right as I'd start to drift off, jolting me back to a wide-awake state. Probably my luck will be just a few X-Rays today and then be rescheduled for extraction a week or two later, just so I can enjoy the pain and suffering and feeling like my whole head is going to explode. I've noticed dentists can be cruel like that, just for kicks I think. If I think about it, I might post an update on the situation here in this entry later this evening.

Saddam Gets Death Penalty

Looks like they gave Saddam Hussein a sentence of death by hanging. I guess that there's still justice in this world after all! But it ain't over yet, not till he's actually hanging lifelessly by the neck from a rope. I wish I could be there to see it all happen when they string him up. Now if I could just get a mailing address so I can mail him a "die slowly and suffer greatly" card.

I'm Heartless and Evil!

Heisted from Kurt over at A Trainwreck in Maxwell

Which South Park kid are you most like? Cartman You are just plain evil and heartless. Though you're sly, and you come up with brilliant schemes, you're pretty dumb and close minded. Other people hate you... screw them!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Red Wing Boots: Thumbs Up!

Around a year or so ago I broke down and bought a new pair of Red Wing 970 motorcycle boots. Finding a pair turned out to be a pain since the nearest Red Wing dealer was about 50 miles away (Boot Hill in Valdosta, GA) and they specialized in western style boots. I ended up having to try on a similar pair of wellingtons and then special ordering the actual boots I wanted through Boot Hill and having them drop-shipped from the Red Wing warehouse directly to my home. What a pain just to get a decent pair of boots!

Here's the thing though: I've tried wearing cheap shoes and boots and can't get away with it. They end up killing my feet after just an hour or two of wearing them (not to mention the fact that they start to fall apart within the first 6 months of owning them), so I have to be fairly selective about what goes on the ol' feetsies.

Anyhow, ordering the boots wasn't really the problem, it's my forgetfulness that's the problem. I was low on boot and leather care products in general and forgot to pick some stuff up while I was up in Valdosta. I even wrote a list of stuff I needed like boot oil and hoof-black. Don't laugh, hoof black works just as well as sole and heel dressing and costs less per measured unit, you just have to go the feed store to get it. Back to the forgetfulness before I forget to finish the story. I even remembered to take the list with me, and had it in my pocket, but I forgot the list was in my pocket, forget to check the list, and ended up coming home with nothing but a receipt for the boots I ordered.

No problem, I'll just get some leather care products here locally the next time I go to town. Seems people around here don't take care of their leather, there wasn't anyplace that sold anything for leather care around here except for regular old Kiwi shoe polish at Wally-World. No kidding, last time I looked, I couldn't even find any saddle soap there.

Anyhoo, a few days later the friendly UPS driver delivered a package with my boots in them. So much for the quoted two-week wait, they came in about 3 days after placing the order. I was impressed enough to fire off to Red Wing a thank you note via e-mail praising them for their swift handling and delivery of my order. In the e-mail I sent them I asked if they had any plans on selling their leather care products online (Red Wing does not sell any of their products online, only through authorized brick-and-mortar stores) and explained that I was out in the boondocks and it was a pretty far piece to go to get to a dealer, and the local establishments apparently didn't believe in selling any kind of leather care products at all. (That still gripes me how crappy and bass-ackwards these little towns around here are).

Less than 5 hours later I received a response from Red Wing, which again surprised me as I really wasn't expecting any answer at all, considering that 95% of all companies I contact via e-mail with questions about their products or services never respond at all, and on the rare occasion they do it's closer to 3 or 4 weeks before I hear anything from them. Well, not only did Red Wing respond in a timely manner, but it was the head of the marketing dept. that returned my e-mail to me. He said they were looking into the idea of selling care products online but hadn't made any firm decisions as to whether they would or not in the near future. He thanked me for my commending them on their swift fulfillment of my boot order and asked for confirmation of my mailing address and order number, so I fired off another response answering his confirmation request and thanking him for his swift reply to my e-mail and that it left me with a favorable impression of their business on a whole.

As far I was concerned, the whole exchange was finished and decided I'd just head back up to Valdosta the next time I had the chance with the specific purpose of getting the leather care products I needed. It turns out that trip wasn't necessary at all, since two days after the e-mail exchange with Red Wing I received not one, but two boxes in the mail from them. I wondered what the heck was this? I opened the first box and inside were full-size products including tubs of Mink Oil, Leather Conditioner, and a few bottles of Boot Oil. In the second box found Silicone Waterproofing, Leather Dressing, and a note saying thanks for contacting them and that they hope these gifts they sent will meet my needs, and that if I had any more questions or comments to feel free to contact them any time. Wow! I was like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents under the tree. Not only did they save me a trip back up to Georgia, but they sent me enough leather care products to last me for the next 5 years!

Needless to say, I'm more than impressed with Red Wing now, and my impression with their boot quality is more than favorable. A year later and boots are still like brand-new and and just as comfortable as the day I put them on for the first time. The leather is thick and heavy too unlike lesser brands, but still supple and flexible. Though I don't plan on trying it, I believe they'd hold up to taking a spill at triple-digit speeds without the asphalt eating all the way through them, and thinking about it I bet they'd make great boots for welding, I think they'd hold up to hot slag dropping on them much better than lesser boots and possibly save your foot from the slag burning all the way through the leather and leaving a nice crispy spot on top of the foot. Not that I'm going to purposely try and test that theory either, but it's nice to know they build 'em tough enough to handle a truckload of abuse.

In any event, with customer support like that and product quality to match, I've found a brand I think I'm going to stick with for quite some time to come. They seem to be holding up way better than the any of the other brands I've put through their paces, plus they're much more comfortable to boot (pun intended). I'd never bought a pair of Red Wings before because I thought they were always a bit too pricey, though actually affordable compared to the likes of super-premium brands such Wesco or CruiserWorks, but after wearing them for a while now, I'm kicking myself (again the pun is intended) for not buying them sooner, because quite frankly, they're worth ever penny.

Thanks, Red Wing, for putting the customer first.

Finally an apology

It seems that Mr. Kerry has apologized for PART of what he has said. Even people in his own party has had enough of his mouth. I doubt that will change anything, but at least it is a start.
Now if we can get him and his whole party to see the light.

Can't keep his big mouth shut

John Kerry has a very big problem. He can not keep his mouth shut when he should. He tends to say things then change his tune. "I actually meant this." B.S. He meant everything he has said. Then he doesn't apologize for anything. One thing that has me riled up is when he said " Go to school and get smart or go to Iraq." He says he was talking about Bush. Then answer me this Mr. Kerry; If you think you are so much smarter, why is it that President Bush made better grades at Yale than you did? You say Bush is stupid, then maybe you are more stupid than you let on. Maybe someone needs to put you in your place. And I am the politically incorrect idiot to do it. I am sure that there are others that feel the same way I do. Think before you open your mouth. You only have two feet to stick in there. Unless you have your head stuck so far up your own butt to get them in there, although I think there is still plenty of room.

I'm blaming it all on Busch

Yes, you heard me right, I'm giving credit where credit is due. Everyone wants to blame Bush for all the world's woes; well I say let's blame it on Busch.

1. I have a terrible hangover. The NSA mind-probes that Bush controls must be the cause right? Wrong. Blame it on Busch.

2. I was in a fight at a bar and got arrested. Was it the gang-stalkers picking on me that were sent by the Bush administration? Nope it was a bunch of drunks. Blame it on Busch.

3. Some inebriated driver lost control of his vehicle and ran over a group of small children. Surely that was the mind-control technologies that Bush is in charge of that made him do it, right? Sorry, gotta blame it on Busch.

4. Is it Bush's fault that the divorce rate is as high as it is here in America? I've heard people trying to blame Bush for it, but I have a hunch it's more likely Busch's fault.

5. Alcoholism is a problem in the United States. Which is more likely the case: is it Bush's fault or Busch's fault? You be the judge.

6. All the litter on the side of the road after a long weekend must surely be Bush's doing you say. I say it's Busch's fault though, and the labels on the cans and bottles prove it.

So there you have it: it's all Busch's fault.

With all the problems that Busch has caused, I say we sit back and enjoy a nice ice cold Samuel Adams instead. Then we can all sit back and say it isn't Busch's fault after all. It's Sam Adams' fault. My, what a vicious circle this could become.

Reviving Old Ideas

It's been a long weekend for yours truly. I've been kicking around an idea so much that it made my brain hurt. Either that or my toothache is migrating to my thinker. Perhaps both.

Anyways, I was talking to Patrick the other day and he got me to thinking. Yes, Patrick, it's your fault, sort of, but it's not a bad thing you're taking the blame for. Patrick mentioned a certain idea and it revived an old desire of mine. So I thought about it, then I thunk on it a bit more, then my brain started to implode so I decided to quite thunking and just lightly ponder on the idea for bit. (No, I'm not saying what the idea is just yet, not unless something more solid surfaces first, plus it's fun to leave people hanging for a while.)

What I will tell you is that it's a sort of business venture. I don't have the capital necessary for such an undertaking, but I'm talking to someone about making the investment, while I do the dirty-work (read: manual labor). It's a doozie of idea (that's idear to you yankees) that's certain to pay off with decent profits in a timely manner, unless the mind-control signals from the secret Illuminati satellites turn us all into mindless zombies first.

What this basically means is that if I can obtain the the initial startup moola, which isn't really all that much in the grand scheme of things, I'll be on the road to a profitable and exciting career that's bound to take me places; both figuratively and literally.

Doctors vs Guns

This has been floating around for six or seven years at least, but I thought I'd share it anyways since not everyone on the internet has had seen it yet.

Doctors vs. Guns in the U.S.

Number of physicians in the US = 700,000

Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year = 120,000

Accidental deaths per physician = 0.171 (Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services)

Number of gun owners in the US = 80,000,000

Number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) = 1,500

Accidental deaths per gun owner = 0.0000188 (Source: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms)

Therefore, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

We need to hurry up and get some legislation banning doctors from this country before it's too late!

It Never Fails to Rain...

I just got finished detailing the truck. I washed it, waxed it, vacuumed it out, put protectant on the dash and vinyl, tire shine on the tires, and just when I get done it starts to rain. It's a never fail thing for me, whenever I need it to rain, I just have to wash the truck.

Nothing To Say

I have absolutely nothing to say right now.

That is all.

Navy SEAL Dies a True Hero

News story HERE.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor died saving other SEAL team members by throwing himself on a live enemy grenade.

Rest in peace sailor, you are a true hero and will not be forgotten.

Pyrodex Dilemma

I just got back home from taking a trip into town earlier to try and find some muzzleloading supplies. I came home rather disappointed though. I walk into the gun shop and ask the proprietor of that there establishment if he's got blackpowder and/or substitutes in 1 lb. cans, and where the other muzzleloading supplies are hidden at. He says he's got a large selection of stuff at the back of the store, and that he's got everything as far as blackpowder goes except for Goex. I thought to myself that this was fine, a one stop shop for all I needed. Wrong.

I looked around for all the stuff I'd need and all he had was CVA and Traditions brand stuff priced sky high. No Knight, Hornady, T/C, Barnes, Nosler, etc. He wanted $8.99 for 5 oz. of CVA bore lube, $12.99 for 4 or 5 oz. of CVA blackpowder solvent, and $19.99 for 20 powerbelt bullets. That seemed excessively expensive to me for some strange reason, and I was wanting Hornady 410 gr. Great Plains conicals or 300 gr. XTP Mag sabots, which I know I can get in packages of 20 or 30 for less than this guy's 20 Powerbelts. Heck, he even wanted $4.99 for a bronze .50 cal bore brush.

I decided to pass on the stuff he had and just get some Pyrodex RS while I was there. He said he didn't have that, nor did he have any Pioneer, Black Magic, Elephant, nor other brands; all he had was Jim Shockey Gold for $25.99 lb., and Hodgdon Triple Se7en for $24.99 lb., despite his telling me had everything except Goex, so I said no thanks and went to Wally-World which I loathe going to.

Wally-World ended up being a joke for front-stuffer stuff too. They had a section about 2 ft wide and 3 ft high on the shelves dedicated to muzzleloading stuff, mostly patches and ramrod accessories. The powders they had to choose from was 1 lb. of Triple Se7en for $25.49 or 1 lb. of Pyrodex FFg RS for $16.69. They had next to nothing for conicals or sabots, so I came home empty handed except for a pound of Pyrodex RS which came to $17.86 after tax. I feel ripped-off. Seems to me that Pyrodex RS was selling for about $10 or $12 per pound a few years ago. I know I can still get it that cheap online, but there's a $20 Haz-Mat shipping fee they tack on, which I figure isn't worth it unless I'm buying in bulk, which I can't afford to do right now.

The rest of the supplies I'll order online at Midway USA or Midsouth Shooters Supply, where the selection of stuff is far more broad, and much cheaper. I believe in supporting the local community businesses first, but not when they try and take you for as much as they can while trying to make it sound like you're getting a good deal.

Am I being unrealistic with my expectations?

Magellan MAP 330 GPS

I've got a Magellan GPS unit, called the MAP 330. Well, according to Magellan's website it's an old product or as they call it, a "Legacy" item. Huh? The thing is only 5 years old! To me that's practically still brand-spanking-new. All my other electronic products are between 5 and 25 years old and still supported by the manufacturers for parts and repairs, firmware upgrades, etc.

Anyways, I contacted their technical service dept. because when I registered my Magellan MAP 330 GPS unit but they never notified me of any firmware updates being made available. Well, there were several updates made available by them, including a nice firmware upgrade that allows searching by address from the GPS unit itself instead of just the mapping program, which could be very handy at times.

Lo and behold, I never found out about these updates until just about a week ago. I checked their website and they don't offer the firmware upgrade download on their site anymore. So I sent their technical service dept. a request on how to get the update via their online contact form. So far it's been a week and still no response from them. I'm not impressed with their lack of prompt response times. I'll give them another week and see what happens, and nothing happens I'll see if I can find a toll-free number and call them to see why they haven't responded to my online submission via their website. Still, I have a hunch if I were inquiring about a brand-new $500 GPS unit they'd have already contacted me.

Yes, my product is out of warranty, but it's a downloadable software update we're talking about here. Heck, I've had other companies send me free replacement parts for products I own that were 10 years or more out of warranty. I guess we'll wait and see what happens, but if I can't get a decent response from them, and ever decide to buy another GPS unit, you can bet it won't be a Magellan. I wonder how efficient Garmin's technical service dept. is?

And no the MAP 330 isn't WAAS enabled, but I don't need that level of precision anyhow; and I still know my way around a map and compass too, for all you traditionalists out there.

U.N.’s Latest Proposal to Punish North Korea is a Joke

FOX News has the story.

This is just further proof of the U.N.’s worthlessness. They’ve managed to refine the proposal to punish North Korea down to nothing more than a light slap on the back of the hand. Basically they’re saying something like "You were very naughty and we’re really disappointed in you, so now you have to go to bed after supper for a week without getting any dessert".

Think about it: a very bad man with nuclear weapons is threatening you and all you do is wag your finger at him and say "That’s not very nice"? Is the U.N. made up of a bunch of dope-head hippies?

Good golly-gee! Last time my neighbor’s mean-spirited German Shepherd growled and snapped at me, I didn’t run off crying foul-play, I unholstered my revolver and peppered his butt with CCI Snake-Shot, ready to seal the deal with a follow-up Federal Hydra-Shok if necessary. The Hydra-Shok wasn’t necessary, the snake-shot got the message across just fine and the dog runs off when he sees me now, but I’d have been more than willing to put him down permanently. (Edit: To clarify this point, I think that's metaphorically the type of action we need to take against Kim Jong Il, instead of doing the U.N. pansy-dance for him.)

Furthermore, when you see a rabid animal frothing at the mouth you don’t try and wack it across the nose with a rolled-up newspaper, you put it down quickly and efficiently from a safe distance. North Korea’s Kim Jong Il is that rabid animal ready to attack, and the U.N. is showing it’s bare ass and just waiting to get bit. Hello? Earth to United Nations...

Plane Crashes Into NY Building

Read news article HERE.

I wondered how long it would take before someone started spouting off asinine conspiracy theories about it or even try to blame it on Bush, but lo and behold I didn't have to wait very long.

The nutjob blogger James F. Marino delivered the goods with this post on his blog.

You can read my original post on this wacko by clicking HERE.

The guy is certainly more than a few straw short of a bale, but as long as you don't take him too seriously he's good for a few laughs, if nothing else.

Kim Jong Il Perhaps Not So Looney

Is Kim Jong Il ill? Most people talk as though they think the guy has completely lost his mind. At first I thought so too, but now that I've had a chance to really sit and think about it, I'm not so sure. In fact, I think he knows exactly what he's doing and think he's got a 90% chance of getting away with it. Just look at how Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been thumbing his nose at the U.S. and the U.N. and getting away with it, then consider that ol' Kim Jong Il is just following his lead and taking it further. If the U.N. lets one nation get away with breaking "international law", why shouldn't he get away with it too? He wants attention and he's getting it, plain and simple. The squeaky wheel is the one that gets the grease. Maybe he's in cahoots with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Kim Jong Il causes a major stir, diverting attention away from Iran so they can enrich their uranium for nuclear weapons, and slip some to North Korea for their weapons in exchange.

Now, even though I don't agree with the politics and belief systems of these nutjobs like Kim Jong Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I do tip my hat to them for one reason: They refuse to acknowledge this so called "international law" and they don't pay much mind to the U.N. which is nothing more than a bunch of overpaid, better-than-thou, self-appointed world dictators. These two corrupt, twisted, perverted, etc., leaders of North Korea and Iran may be on everyone's most hated list, but give credit where credit is due and at least thank them for helping show the world what a worthless and idiotic bunch of morons the U.N. really is. They say piss on the U.N. and their international law and so do I. But that's as far as it goes; after that I'd like to get within shooting range of either one of the sick bastards, Hugo Chavez too for that matter, and put a bullet in their craniums.

Yep, they hate America, seems like everyone does these days, but having allowed politicians in office like Bill and Hillary Clinton, having let our country be overrun with illegal immigrants (foreign invaders) and do practically nothing about it, not driving the left-wing nuts into the ocean, etc., don't we at least deserve a bit of scorn and reproach for that alone? After all, in a way, it is our fault for letting the liberals get our country this far out of whack instead of putting the boot their asses before they got a good start.

Still yet, I say God Bless America, and quickly, someone needs to clone Ronald Reagan before it's too late.

Computer Problems

I've been experiencing computer problems for the past several days and was at wits end as to a solution. I ended up giving in and doing a full reformat of my hard-drive. After having reinstalled everything I wanted and left off a bunch of crap I didn't want, my computer seems to be running like a champ. I hope it stays that way this time.

Fun With Photoshop

Today I saw what will probably be the last rose of the year in bloom. I decided to take it's picture and then play around with it in Photoshop.

Orchard Spider

This is an Orchard Spider, also called an Orchard Orbweaver, or Leucauge Venusta. It took up residence between two Yaupon Holly bushes in front of the house. It's been feasting well for the last few weeks on those pesky Love Bugs which have just about petered-out for the season. I believe they are supposed to be found throughout the United States, but I don't ever remember seeing any in North Carolina or Oklahoma, just here in Florida.

My Supper

Mmm... grilled cheese sandwiches...

Qoute of the Day

"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." -- Ronald Reagan

It finally happened

Well, it finally happened. I was involved in an accident yesterday because someone got in too big of a hurry. As some of you may know, I drive a semi-truck for a living. I was making a TIGHT right hand turn into one of my customers parking lot. Because it was such a narrow turn, my trailer had to leave the right hand lane to make it. As I was getting ready to turn I turned on my signal showing which way I needed to turn. I then blocked BOTH north bound lanes so people behind me could see my intentions. I also almost came to a complete stop. During my turn even though my trailer left the right hand lane my tractor was in the right hand lane. The person that was in too big of a hurry tried to pass on the right hand side of me. WHICH IS WRONG TO BEGIN WITH! Left side = passing side Right side= suicide. Come on people, use some GOD GIVEN COMMON SENSE! (wait. I forgot. Some don't have any common sense.)
Anyway, maybe this post is just to get some road rage off my chest before I use road rage on the roads and some one gets hurt or worse. The good news is that no-one was hurt. Just some damage to vehicle. People PLEASE give trucks plenty of room. I know there truckers out there that shouldn't be driving because they are way too aggressive. Thanks for letting me vent.

Abridgement of Freedom

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." -- James Madison

Food for thought.

Time Erodes All

I took this photo of an old 1947 Cadillac and post processed it trying to give it an infrared (or at least near infrared) look. I really like how it made the rust spots and sun-faded paint come alive to give this relic of an bygone era a touch of extra character.

Morgellons Disease

There's an interesting article on Morgellons disease, the condition that isn't recognized as being real by many doctors and scientists, even though the physical symptoms seem to be quite noticeable. Read about it on NewsOK.com.

I've heard of this disease before, and it seems most common in Florida and Texas, though there seem to be cases popping up all over the country. It'll be interesting to see where the research leads to with this one.

I'm generally skeptical about things like these, but for some reason my gut instinct is telling me there's something very real and extremely serious with this... whatever it is.

Freedom

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." -- Ronald Reagan

Mail Delivery: Senseo Coffee Machine

The USPS pulled up and delivered a package for me about half an hour ago. Inside the box was a free Senseo coffee machine that I got directly from Philips. I figured since they were kind enough to send it to me with a package full of the little coffee pods that I'd go ahead and give it a try. It's quite a bit bigger than I imagined it would be, since I've never seen one before at the store.

They sent the medium roast coffee pods, and using a large mug (to fill it I either had to press the double cup button once and the single cup button once; or the single cup button 3 times) it made a pretty decent cup of coffee that's just a tad on the weak side. A single medium-roast pod using the double-cup button makes it just about the right strength, though I would prefer a darker roast, which will be what I buy at the store.

I figured it'll cost a tad more per cup than bulk drip coffee and filters, about 2.5 to 3 cents per cup depending on where you buy the pods, whereas regular drip coffee and filters equals out to around 7 cents for a whole pot. Still a heck of a lot cheaper than a buck for a cup of truck-stop coffee at the Flying-J, or that pseudo-hippie left-wing nuevo-riche Starpukes joint where you pay about 7 bucks for two swallows of hot water that tastes like they might have dragged a coffee bean through it.

Anyways, the Senseo critter seems like a good idea for the time being. Single servings of fresh-brewed coffee on demand, hardly any waiting. Auto-shutoff so you don't burn down your house. But not sure I'd be willing to pay retail for the machine itself, I'm a bit of a cheapskate and $60 to $75 retail for one of those critters seems kind of steep to me, especially when I can get drip machine at Big-Lots for about $10+tax.

Plecia Nearctica: Love Bugs

Plecia nearctica, they're everywhere. Once again it's their season. They're out in force and mating like crazy. They're nasty too, the 28 mile round trip to town and back left the front of the truck covered in them. One trip like that smears up the windshield so bad that it has to be washed after every trip. They are a major pain in the butt, and what makes it worse is the stuff in their little carcasses rapidly eats the paint of any vehicle. They have to be kept washed off and the paint waxed at least weekly during this time of year, to keep visible damage from occurring. What makes it worse is they are attracted to vehicle exhaust, so they cloud the roadways and swarm you when you're stopped. Heck, they were so thick in the air when I was mowing the lawn yesterday I just about had to wear a respirator to keep from inhaling any.

At least the local plethora of tree-frogs and skinks are eating well.

Website Text & Backgrounds

Fox News changed the format of their website http://www.foxnews.com, and quite frankly I liked it the old way better. The format change prompted me to rant a little bit. Their new format is too bright. I hate text on a white background on the internet. It's fine for paper, but it sucks when reading on a monitor.

Here's the deal, and more and more people are starting to say the same. Staring at a screen that is mostly white is about as bad as staring directly at a soft-white lightbulb. It begins to hurt your eyes after a short while. A lot of people are finding that a slightly darker background or a dark background with light text is far easier on the eyes, since a monitor is backlit. In essence, a monitor really is like a big lightbulb with text, colors, and pictures.

Of course there are the funky colored text on colored backgrounds can get pretty awful too. Ever try to read a site with red letters against a funky brown background or lime green letters against blue? Okay, those are the exceptions, but they are out there and I generally click away from them as soon as they load.

Anyways, I haven't yet had any complaints about my format yet, though I'm sure they will come. I tried to get a mix of background shading that doesn't hurt the eyes, isn't too bright or too dark, which lets the black text show with plenty of contrast. For me, it's easy to read, easy to see, doesn't give me headache looking at it. But then again, I went through any number of variations until I hit on something that (at least to me) didn't look awful.

Bona Fide Nutjob Blogger

Normally I don't go around insulting other people's blogs, but I'm going to make an exception in this case. As I was browsing through the various blogs on the internet, I stumbled across this guy's blog, who calls himself "James F. Marino" and named his blog "9-11 The Mother Of All Black Operations".

This guy is so far out in left field he's not even in the park. He claims he's the subject of government mind control techniques, but truth be told, I think he's more like the subject of controlled substance abuse. Now I thought maybe this dude was just doing some short rants for amusement, but his posts go on and on and on, and it's in every post of his, which seems to be pretty darn regular. This guy has some serious problems if he really believes the B.S. he's spouting off about, and frankly, he probably belongs in a room with padded walls and floors.

Since he deletes all comments that disagree with his, I'm posting about it here where he can't delete anything, nor do jack about it.

He's being stalked and harassed by the U.S. Government -- Sure, after all the government has nothing better to do with it's time. Dude, if the government had a problem with you, they'd either kill you or lock you away somewhere for the rest of your life.

He's a subject of government mind control -- James, if that really is your name, if the government really was controlling your mind, don't you think they'd keep you from publishing this so-called secret information you have on them?

The government is paying street gangs to harass him in his neighborhood -- Yep, live in a bad area and act like a nut-case and the gangs are gonna pick on you. It doesn't mean the government is paying them, it means you need to quit doing things to attract their attention. Quit playing neighborhood spy for instance.

The government has secret agents renting a house just down the street from him -- Dude, every neighborhood has some excessively private people with odd schedules. Get over it, they aren't out to get you. If they were, you'd already have been "gotten" by now.

The guy thinks that President Bush is Adolf Hitler -- That's really original, blame the President on all your woes, typical liberal bullshit blaming the President on your own failings in life. If I remember right, Hitler tried to exterminate an entire race of people based on their religion. I haven't yet seen any reports of Bush trying to do that, if anything he's trying to stop the nutjob terrorists who try and kill others based on their religious beliefs.

The government's constant harassing of him has caused his wife to leave him -- Hey, umm, James, hate to break it to you, but it was more likely your paranoid delusions that made her feel unsafe around you, thereby causing her to flee for her life in fear of you.

I could go on and on, but I've had enough fun at this guy's expense. The sad thing is, there are actually people out there who believe the kind of nonsense he's spouting off about.

First Amendment Rights

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


First off let me tell you that if this makes you mad, oh well. Because I WILL NOT apologize for what I believe. Nor will I hold it against someone for having a different belief than myself. I REFUSE TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT!!! Political correctness is for wimps.
Now with that being said I want to go over the third part of the first amendment. "or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". If you have a blog, like this one, where you put down your thoughts, (whether right or wrong, and I can be wrong a lot) you are using FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND POSSIBLY PRESS. I get tired of hearing someone on the radio say, " I have to be careful here as not to offend somebody". Why can't more people be like some of these people:
Andrew Wilkow, Mike McCarville, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, G. Gordon Liddy, and Cam Edwards. You may or may not like or agree with one or more of these people, but as long as I have listened to most of them, I believe I can say that I have disagreed at one time or another with at least most of them at least once. But, they have always TOLD IT THE WAY THEY SEE IT! They are not afraid to say what they feel. They also research quite a bit more than I do on any given subject. That does not say that they are always right. Just that they say what they believe. The main reason I believe more about what they say than anyone else is because they don't sugar coat anything. They tell it like it is. I may disagree through ignorance, but can people just agree to disagree? No one is above anyone else. I get tired of the bitching and complaining about "somebody offended me." Everyone is offended by something. If you are offended you can always, 1. Quit listening 2. Quit reading 3. Change the channel. JUST QUIT YOUR BITCHING! IT OFFENDS ME. I don't think that your suing for political correctness will change anything. You need to either shut your trap, or change. (Now I could be very wrong about this next statement) I think that a lot of the rage in the world today whether be it road rage or any other type of rage stems from people having to be politically correct all the time. We need to make a stand to get rid of all of the political correctness. It seems to me that the same people that are screaming for political correctness are the same ones that trying to take away all our rights. Like the right to bear arms. They are the ones that took prayer out of schools. ( Or so they tried, as long as there tests in school there will be prayer whether they like it or not.) All these people that are trying to take away our rights need to be taken out of office. We have been fighting overseas for our freedom. Let's bring the fight home for our freedoms. Let's be free the way our forefathers intended us to be. Let's " petition the government for a redress of OUR grievances", let's fight to maintain our freedoms before they are all taken away.

Drivers Who Carry Guns & Roadrage

Taken from Popular Science article "Science Confirms the Obvious!":

"2. Gun-Toting Drivers are More Prone to Road Rage The Study: Is an armed society a polite society? Guns and road rage, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Jan. 2006

The Findings: After cold-calling 2,459 American adults with an anonymous questionnaire, researchers from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center discovered that directing indecent gestures at other motorists was significantly more common among suburbanites, binge drinkers, Northeasterners, those who think most people can't be trusted and, yes, those who admitted that they keep guns in their vehicles.

Why Bother? The paper says it best:If someone is giving you the finger, it may be useful to have some sense of whether or not they have a gun. Co-author Mary Vriniotis adds that states have recently loosened laws allowing motorists to drive while packing heat. The implication is that if lethal weapons are more readily accessible, hostile driving incidents could turn ugly more often. Knowing which populations are prone to road rage could help policymakers devise awareness campaigns or other strategies to help curb its frequency."

Let me put it like this: Horseshit, pure and simple.

1. If it were true, where are all the highway motorist-to-motorist shootings taking place that I never hear about in the news?

2. 2,459 persons out of a population of how many millions (estimate 296 Million +/- a few) of people in the U.S. is not a fair representation on any level of what might statistically be an accurate representation.

3. I've found when carrying a firearm in a vehicle I tend to become more polite and less aggressiveressive towards others, for the simple reason that I know the importance and responsibility of carrying a firearm in public.

4. So far every gun owner I've ever talked to about this subject has acknowledged having the same state of mind as I stated in #3.

5. Open carry of a firearm can help prevent road rage and aggressiveness of driving of other motorists toward you. When Johnny Speedracer sees a rifle or shotgun in the back glass gunrack of a pickup-truck, chances are he doesn't want to anger occupants of said vehicle. I've never been cut off, flipped off, or whatever when a gun is visible, only when not. Hmmm. Guns can help prevent roadrage and aggressive-driver caused accidents. See, guns actually make the roads a safer place.

6. It simply looks to me like they used this article as a means of doing another plug for the anti-gunners.

Neanderthal News

Read it on FOX News.

"Neanderthals might have held out in isolated refuges for thousands of years longer than previously thought, a team of scientists reported in the Web site of the journal Nature on Wednesday."

I've got news for them,they're still alive and well, holding out in isolated refuges just fine, and I happen to know this because I know some living breathing persons in the mountains of North Carolina who fit the description perfectly. See, you don't have spend thousands and thousands of dollars on scientific pooh-pah, all you have to do is just get out of your happy zone and go door to door in the backwoods of the Apalachians.

Crab Grass

Crab Grass, originally uploaded by Western Wisdom.

This was one mean blue crab. I guess you could say it was in a crabby mood. I suppose you'd be pretty irate too, if you were about to be dunked in a pot of boiling water.

September 11, 2006

America Will Never Forget the Tragic Events of September 11, 2001

Lethargic Saturday

I decided to just do some light blogging today, and post some pictures of my trip to Keaton Beach, FL I took back in the spring of this year. It's a quiet little beachfront hamlet on the Gulf of Mexico. It doesn't get very crowded, even during tourist season there never seems to be much of a crowd.
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This is Keaton Beach looking to the south-south west. Notice the plethora of sunbathing bikini clad women lined up shoulder to shoulder along the beach.

Here you see the pier where the fishing is best for the landlubbers without boats. There's lots of Grunts, Gar, and Ladyfish in these waters, but if you're persistent you can stock up Mullet, Grouper, and Mackerel. These waters are also filled with tons of Blue Crabs.

Now that we're at the end of the pier, standing under the covered gazebo, we sit back and breath a sigh of relief that we made it all the way to the end without being tossed over the side by those hordes of angry fisherman lining the railings.

Here's the beachfront looking north-west. It's hard to image how all those people playing in the surf can bear these overcrowded conditions. Be careful, there's sharks in the water!

This is really a high-falutin' place, it even has truck parking.

Time to go, I hope we can make it out before dark, it's going to be close what with the bumper to bumper traffic jam-packing the only access road in and out of town. All those skyscraper beachfront resorts really draw in the crowds.

Cleaning and Storing Your Firearms

When cleaning the barrel, always clean from the breech end of the gun, preferably using a rod guide to keep solvents and grime out of the action. The last 6 inches of the rifling is the most important for accuracy, with the crown being the most critical. If you must clean from the muzzle end, such as with semi-automatics, use a muzzle-guide to keep the rod from contacting the rifling.

It’s also best to use a stainless-steel or coated one-piece cleaning rod such as those made by Dewey. Stainless is best, brass is mediocre, and aluminum is a poor choice. The softer the metal of the rod, the more chance there is of the metal holding bits of crud and acting like an abrasive and scratching the lands of the rifling, eventually destroying the accuracy of the barrel. One piece rods are best for strength, and also because multi-piece rods sometimes don’t line up properly making it that much more prone to contacting and damaging the barrel.

Start out by wetting a patch with solvent and swabbing the bore thoroughly to get it saturated, or use a foaming bore cleaner. Let it soak a few minutes and then take a bronze or stiff nylon bore brush and scrub the barrel about a dozen times in each direction. Your barrel will probably be very cruddy at this time. Instead of trying to patch out all the crud, take a paper-towel and ball it up so it fits into the bore very snuggly, and push it through with the cleaning rod, this should have pushed out most all of the big crud, leaving only hard-fouling to be removed. A BoreSnake can be used for this step instead, but don’t stop and call it quits after using the snake, be sure to continue with the rest of the cleaning steps to remove stubborn copper fouling.

At this point you’ll want to wet another patch with solvent and soak the barrel again for several minutes. Follow up with a dry patch. Repeat the solvent/dry-patch routine until the dry patches come out clean without any hint of dissolved fouling on them. You can tell if you are still getting copper fouling out of the barrel because you will see a blue or green tinge on the patch. I’ve found that one of the best all-around bore cleaners is Birchwood-Casey Bore Scrubber®. It does a fine job on powder, copper, and plastic shot-wad fouling. Lead fouling always takes some elbow-grease no matter what product you use, but Blue Wonder™ Gun Cleaner does a good job on everything, plus makes short work of carbon buildup. I generally try to save the Blue Wonder™ Gun Cleaner for the tough jobs, as it’s really some potent stuff and not really necessary for every day cleaning tasks, as it strips everything from the surface of the metal (and I have a hunch it softens a gun’s bluing too) and must be followed up with a thorough oiling afterwards to prevent rust; if you inadvertently miss a spot, leaving it dry and unprotected, you will know a short time later because you'll see a rust patch on that spot. That's the nice thing about most other bore solvents, is that they leave a slightly protective coating that will keep the metal from rusting for a short time, should you not thoroughly apply a rust-preventative.

Once the cleaning is done you can wipe down the bore and rest of the gun with a good coat of rust-preventative. I’m rather fond of either Corrosion-X or BoeShield T-9 for rust-prevention inside and out. Be sure to lubricate the actual moving parts of the firearm with the proper manufacturer recommended lubricants. (Normally oil is used on the slides, rails, etc. {although Corrosion-X claims superior lubricating qualities} and white lithium-grease on pressure points such as bolt lugs.)

When storing the guns, be sure to wipe them down with a fresh coat of rust-preventative at least once a month. If not being shot for extended periods of over 6 months, I generally give the whole gun a thorough cleaning and re-lube the gun every 6th month. Long-term/low-maintenance storage solutions for guns being stored over a year or more could include coating the gun with a good preservative such as Cosmoline, but can be difficult to remove later on. I have a feeling BoeShield would be excellent for long-term storage, but I have not yet tested it for such.

Be careful of the solvents you use, some will ruin the finish on wood stocks; others will destroy a synthetic stock in no time at all. A synthetic stock generally needs nothing rubbed on it, while it’s best to rub a wooden stock with a silicon cloth or use a carnauba wax. Avoid oiling the stock with gun-oil like the old-timer’s did, once the wood becomes saturated with so much oil, the wood will become soft and begin to break-down.

It’s best to store rifles or shotguns that have rubber or similar recoil pads in a horizontal position. The recoil pad can become deformed from the weight of the gun resting on it for extended periods of time. Of course this is not practical with current trend of gun-safes going around, so if you have to go with a vertical-storage safe instead of gun rack or cabinet with horizontal storage, try and opt for a safe that has provisions for barrel-down storage. Steer away from the cheap gun lockers with the foam padding, the foam attracts and holds moisture and will rust your guns quickly. Any time guns are stored in an enclosed area with little air-flow, humidity can become a concern. Lighted gun cabinets work well if the lights are left on inside it around the clock, as the heat from the bulbs will help to dry the air. Unlit gun-cabinets can easily have these added, or if you prefer, you can add a dehumidifier such as the electric GoldenRod dehumidifiers or use the re-usable Hydrosorbent Silica Gel packs that can be dried out in the oven numerous times.

Never store your guns with the barrel plugged, any moisture inside will not have a chance to escape or dry out and will eventually cause rust and pitting, and harmful fumes from solvents not thoroughly flushed out can also cause unwanted damage to the metal. This seems like common sense, but obviously it isn’t as I’ve seen more than a handful of people do exactly that. Also, never store your guns in a foam-padded gun case, again, the same as the cheap gun-lockers, the foam will attract and hold moisture causing your guns to rust. Yes, stainless steel guns will rust too, just at a slower rate (it’s stainless in the essence that it will stain-less, not be stain-proof).

Never store your guns with pressure on the firing pin springs as this will serve to weaken them over time. For guns with enclosed hammers, or hammerless guns, if allowed by the manufacturer dry fire the gun to release the spring tension, otherwise use snap-caps. I recommend the metal ones as they last longer than the plastic ones. My last set of plastic ones were Tipton 12-guage shotshell snap-caps and they both cracked after about the 6th use.

I hope that you've found some useful tips and suggestions that will serve to help keep your guns in excellent condition for as long as you own them.

How To Break-In a New Rifle Barrel

I received an email recently asking me why people break-in their barrels and how they do it. They also asked about the best way to clean and store their firearms. So instead of just replying to the one who asked, I also decided to post the answers here on W-W. Today I will cover new-barrel break-in, and tomorrow I will cover proper cleaning and storage of firearms.

The purpose of breaking-in the new barrel is to try and squeeze every bit of accuracy potential out of the barrel. The break-in shots will help smooth the rough surfaces of the barrel, while the frequent cleaning will remove the fouling that fills in or builds up on the rough surfaces needing smoothed out, so that each shot will smooth out the barrel, instead of just building up excess fouling with each consecutive shot. A properly broken-in barrel will not only be more accurate, but will foul less and clean easier than a barrel that has not been properly broken-in
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If it is a particularly rough barrel, one might consider first using one of the various barrel lapping kits from Brownells or Midway USA.

Give the gun a thorough cleaning before shooting it for the first time. This will remove any dirt, preservative, fouling from factory test shots, lapping compound not removed from the factory, etc.

Before shooting, run a dry patch down the bore to remove any oil or rust preventative.

It will take about 20 shots to break the bore in. Use only copper jacketed bullets for this procedure. Do not use any bullets with special coatings such as Moly, Lubalox, or other proprietary coatings, no matter if it's black, blue, green, purple, orange, polka-dot, houndstooth, or black-watch tartan.

For the first 10 shots, clean the bore with a good copper solvent between each shot. Allow the solvent to work for several minutes before swabbing the bore dry. Make sure you clean the barrel well enough each time that no traces of copper fouling are present.

For the next 10 shots, repeat the same procedure, except clean the bore every other shot.

Once all twenty shots have been fired, give the gun a thorough cleaning and now the rifle's barrel should be broken in and ready for duty.

Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter is Dead

Read the whole story on FOX News.

I guess when you choose to do the things he does, it's bound to happen sooner than later. I suppose I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but his motives were questionable. Perhaps this is justice for endangering the life of his one month old baby by carrying him into a pen of live crocodiles... you know, the biblical saying from Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Maybe I've taken that out of context, maybe not.

I didn't much agree with his anti-hunting doctrine either. I guess it just goes to show, even though he wanted to be the animal kingdom's best friend, the animal kingdom didn't feel quite the same way about him.

More Criminal Control = Harsher Punishments

I don't know about y'all, but I get mighty sick every time I think about how easy criminals in this country have it. All these liberals seem hell-bent on making sure criminals in this country get lots of sympathy and comfy accommodations during their brief periods of incarceration. That is, if they even get sent to prison in the first place.

I've visited several of the prisons in this country, and I have to tell you, I was surprised at how good they had it. It's no wonder they didn't mind being prisoners, heck, if I fell on hard times, I wouldn't mind being a prisoner either in some of these prison-resorts.

Let's look at some of the things these criminals are being punished with:

A roof over their head.
A warm bed to sleep in every night.
3 full meals each day.
Hot showers daily.
Recreation facilities that in many cases are better equipped than public recreation centers.
Air-conditioned buildings in the summer.
Heated-buildings in the winter.
Cable T.V. is provided in many instances.
Medical and dental care.
High school diploma and college education programs.


How much do they have to pay for all this? Nothing, zero, zip, nada. They get it all for free at our, the taxpayers' expense. They don't have to go to work every day, they don't have to worry about paying the bills. They get it all handed to them just for being bad. Heck, in some ways they have it better off than about half of the working class stiffs do.

Many of these criminals are in prison their third, fourth, etc., times because they can't handle the responsibilities of the real world. They don't WANT to have to deal with the responsibilities of living in society. I've talked to numerous inmates that felt that way, but one will always be the most memorable.

My (now ex) step-daughter's biological father was released from prison several years ago. When he got out I did everything I could to lend him a hand to get him on his feet, he just didn't want to deal with it. All he'd talk about was trying to figure what kind of crime he could commit so he could go back to prison. I asked him, I said "Look, you just got released, why are you so intent on going back? Why don't you enjoy your new-found freedom for a while? Go straight, try and live a decent life." He wouldn't hear of it. He basically told me everything I've already told you. He couldn't handle the pressures of being free. He felt alone, and vulnerable in a big, open world. He didn't have guards protecting him every night, the excuses just went on and on. He couldn't handle the responsibility of working a real job, paying bills, or anything else. He wanted everything handed to him. In prison he didn't have a care in the world, never worried where his next meal would come from.

So a few days later he robbed a liquor store, took all the money, beat the owner nearly to death with a club, and walked down the road with a bottle of whiskey in his hand getting drunk until the cops picked him up a couple hours later. All so he could once again have all his needs taken care of for him.

As long as liberal lawmakers continue to oppress the free and look after the humanitarian treatment of criminals in this country, the problem is never going to be solved. We need harsher punishments for first time offenders. We need to take away all the comforts that these prisons offer. It would do wonders for reducing crime in this country if criminals had only harsh punishments to look forward to, instead of living on easy-street. Yeah, it's not so bad when your only worry is about getting shanked by a fellow inmate with a grudge. That's just one worry out of hundreds of others faced by living in society.

Get rid of the recreation facilities. Get rid of TV entertainment. Get rid of the educational opportunities (that one really gets me, all we're doing is producing smarter criminals). Make them get out in the hot sun and freezing cold 7 days a week for 14 or 16 hours a day doing hard manual labor. Take away their A/C and heat. Take away their padded bunks and give them a concrete floor to sleep on. Take away their nice meals and feed them dry dog food once a day. Get rid of the free medical and dental care; let them suffer, if they suffer in agony or die, too bad, they gave up their rights when they became criminals. Let them bathe once a month, and rot in their own filth the rest of the time.

If they committed a crime like murder, child molestation, etc. give them the death sentence. Don't give them a second chance to re-enter society so they can do it again. The same goes for multiple offenders of lesser crimes, if they've proven they can't reform, don't waste our tax dollars caring for them for the rest of their lives, give them the death sentence.

Harsh punishments like these will come a long way to making would-be criminals stop and think before they act. Yes, there will still be crime. There will still be crimes committed in the heat of the moment, and out of desperation, but I can guarantee there will be far less of them, and even less second offenders.

Quit treating those who defend themselves against criminals as if they themselves were criminals too. A man who has to take matters into his own hands to defend his family, life, home, and property should be praised and rewarded for the hero that he is, instead of being subjected to lengthily and unnecessary trials and investigations which rip apart his home and family life, as well as being scrutinized and condemned by the liberal media.

Compassion and humanitarian efforts are not for our country's criminals; save them for the needy and hungry citizens of this country who really need the help.

Defending Against A Knife Attack

Hat-tip to Cam Edwards from NRA News http://nranews.com for bringing up an interesting topic on his radio show last night. For those who missed the show, during the last half-hour of the show he basically replayed a "Man In The Street" segment where some lady said no-one needed guns to defend themselves against a knife-wielding wacko. (Well, that was one of many amazingly stupid things she said, but the one focused on for the most part.)She also states that brass knuckles are all one needs to carry to protect themselves from an attacker. Listeners then called in or IM'ed in with their responses to her insanely stupid reasoning.

In several, if not most, states it's illegal to carry brass knuckles. It doesn't matter if you're the good guy or the bad guy, if you have brass knuckles on you in public then you are committing a crime whether you use them or not.

I personally don't want to have to get close enough to a knife-wielding wacko to get cut and stabbed trying to punch the guy out with a set of brass knuckles. Getting hacked up with a knife is one the last things I'd want to happen to me, and a gun will most assuredly allow me to neutralize the threat without risking getting seriously wounded or even killed.

So that leaves brass knuckles out of the reasonable defense against a knife category.

How about another knife? Let's cut to the chase here (pun intended). Any weapon or instrument that doesn't shoot a potentially lethal high velocity projectile, whether it be a knife, baton, club, brass knuckles, lead-glove, etc., will require you to get into the personal zone of the assailant. This puts you, the defender in serious jeopardy.

Anyone who's ever seen the results of a knife fight or knife attack knows just how serious and gruesome knife wounds are. They aren't like the little cuts you get when accidentally nick yourself in the kitchen slicing an onion. Knife wounds from an attacker are generally very deep, long slices or stabs that will open you up like nothing you can imagine, and there's a great chance it'll sever a major artery or otherwise slice open internal organs. You will bleed, and you will bleed out fast, and chances are you will die before help ever gets to you, that is if you even get the chance to call for it. And that's if you're the winner, folks.

No thanks, I choose life and walking away a healthy, living person. Thanks to right to carry laws in most states, we get the chance to defend ourselves with guns that can put the attacker down quickly and from a safe distance.

But just carrying a gun is not enough if you drop your guard. You've got to constantly be aware of your surroundings. You've got to quickly formulate defensive plans on the spur of the moment and adjust your plan as the environment changes around you. You need to be able to recognize potentially hostile persons and dangerous areas. Never walk into an area unless you have a quick escape route, avoid blind corners, dark alleys, and the like. Don't play the tough guy and try and walk right through the middle of a gang, swallow your pride and cross the street, or turn around and find another less hostile route. The list of do's and don't go on and on and there is a never ending list of variables being thrown into the mix.

Get some self-defense training, obtain your concealed carry license, and teach yourself to stay on alert whenever you venture out. Don't be a victim if you don't have to be, and before the crap hits the fan, remember that it's better to have and not need than to need and not have. Your life, health, and safety is your own responsibility, and no one else's, not even the government's.

The Man Behind "The McCarville Report Online"

Mike McCarville is doing a series on his blog The McCarville Report Online entitled: “10 Political Figures I'd Want Watching My Back...And Why”.

If you've never visited Mike's blog before, now would be a good time to start. He's throwing away the political labels for this series and is giving you his politically unbiased opinion on the characters of the persons he'll be covering in his ten part series.

For those of you unfamiliar with Mike McCarville, I’ll try and give you a sense of who the man is.

Mike McCarville began writing at Del City High School as the Teen Correspondent for The Daily Oklahoman-Oklahoma City Times. After high school Mike spent part of his time in the U.S. Army’s PIO (Public Information Office) at Ft. Belvoir, Va., and also did a weekly radio show.

After being discharged from the Army, Mike enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and went to work in the Norman Bureau of The Daily Oklahoman-Oklahoma City Times, moving on to join the OKC staff in 1962.

From that time on, Mr. McCarville states that he bounced around from the Tulsa Tribune, Norman Transcript, and Oklahoma Courier, and then rejoined the Tribune in 1967 as State Capitol Correspondent.

In 1968 Mike became press secretary to Governor Dewey F. Bartlett. 1971 brought on a change to his becoming Assistant News Director at KWTV. In 1972 Mike co-managed Bartlett’s U.S. Senate campaign, ultimately becoming the Campaign Consultant.

1980 was a landmark year for Mike McCarville when he founded The McCarville Report, Byline Magazine for beginning writers, and Ford Owners Newsletter.

Mike went on to work part-time for KTOK News as Investigative Reporter. He became a full-time employee in 1993, began the talk show in 1996 and left the station December 31, 2005, having been on 10 years and 4 years as Program Director.

During all those years Mike explains that he did freelance writing for numerous publications which were national, regional, and local.

I asked Mike to recollect some of the most memorable moments of his career, and there were certainly some exciting, scary, and historic moments that he recounted: “The May 1999 F5 tornado...I was on the air. April 19, 1995, Murrah Building bombing...I was there within 10 minutes, spent almost three weeks on site nonstop. September 11, 2001...went on the air immediately. Lots of other moments as well: My interview with Jesse Jackson when, as my final question, I asked what he did for a living. "Well," he said, "I talk to people like you...have my CNN show...." He didn't know what to say. A moment I'll forever savor!”


When asked what prompted him to do his 10 part series entitled: "10 Political Figures I'd Want Watching My Back...And Why", Mike responded, “I was prompted to do this series because there are so many fine people in both parties out there that few know about; just my way of telling their stories based on my personal experiences with them.”

I asked Mr. McCarville, “With all the biased reporting floating around, how did you manage to keep your journalism so politically uncolored?” His reply was as refreshing as a spring breeze after the rain: “As for keeping bias out of my pieces...that's just the way I'm built, I guess. I strive to be fair and I've been around long enough, with enough experiences, that I recognize there are numerous sides to every story. I prefer to look at the positive sides.”

Mike has certainly led the way in well-balanced and unbiased journalism. His career has landed him a reputation for being one the few voices of truth in the chaotic and demanding world of journalistic media. No wonder the name Mike McCarville quickly became a well-revered household name throughout great state of Oklahoma.

Many thanks to Mr. McCarville for taking time out of his schedule to allow me to conduct this interview.

Christmas and the ACLU: W-W Style

Everyone in the blogosphere seems to be blogging about this message they're getting in the email. I got one too, so after you read it, or if you've already read it before, go to the bottom and read my take on the idea.

This is coming early (really early) so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list.

Read on........ What a GREAT idea!Fun with the ACLU......Wanna have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.

As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, CHRISTIAN, card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world.

Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it.

Here's the Address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's Not the Christian Way, you know!)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend 39 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a "Holiday Tree". . . . It's a Christmas Tree even in the fields!!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!

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Okay, at first this might seem like a good idea. Everyone's saying, "Let's all send Christmas cards to the anti-Christian folks at the ACLU, that'll really show 'em!"

It'll show them all right. It'll show them what a bunch of morons people can be spending their hard earned money on none other but people they don't like. So the ACLU gets a bunch of mailbags full of Christmas cards. What are we going to really do to them? Inconvenience them for a few days? Whooptie-Doo.

Use a little logic and don't waste your money on a Christmas card to send to them, nor the cost of a stamp. With the price of the average Christmas card costing between $2 and $5, take the money spent on that one card, write out a check and send it to your favorite Christian-Rights organization that fights to keep your Christianity from being banned in this country. If everyone would do this instead, think of all the extra funding that would be used where it's REALLY needed.

I guarantee the money you give a Christian rights group is much more needed, and would be a bigger help in the long run, than that of wasting your money to cause a temporary inconvenience to ACLU by sending them a card.

Should States seize guns amidst a crisis?

Think about that for a moment. If in a state of emergency { i.e. New Orleans } Should the government seize your guns? I don't think so. If the governor of New Orleans had not done so, the law abiding citizens could have protected themselves from all the looting, rapes, killings, and the robberies. That's why I am glad that earlier this year, Oklahoma had passed House Bill 2696. It protects the Second Amendment for those of us that are gun owners. We all have read or heard on the news, on how violence and chaos erupted right after Hurricane Katrina. The authorities there started collecting guns and weapons because " it was too difficult telling law abiding citizens from the criminals." I think I can tell you the difference. The looters that were looting items that would not help you survive. I truly feel sorry for those people. Having to steal food in order to survive is one thing. I would have let those people go. But, those that were taking televisions, beer, and the such, would have been arrested. The law abiding citizens were protecting what they had left. The criminals were trying to take it all away. There were not enough police officers to handle all the 911 calls that were coming through. Now I ask you this: If there were not enough police, then why take the guns from the law abiding citizens. In that situation, would you not rather to have people to be able to protect themselves? I can hear you now. "There are other ways to protect yourself". O.K. How about this analogy: Taking a knife to a gun fight. How would you protect yourself if you were held at gunpoint with anything other than a gun? I hear you too: with martial arts! As someone who studied martial arts for several years, that MIGHT work if: 1. You could catch your opponent off guard. 2. You were close enough to take action. Even at one foot out of reach he still has the advantage. I would rather protect myself with a firearm and make the odds a little better. I believe in the old saying, "When you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." If that were to happen, (and I pray that it doesn't) I may have to become an outlaw. I love the saying, " You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold dead fingers." I will always be a gun owner to be able to provide for and protect my family. I do not want the criminal element to have the upper hand. "Give a man a steak, feed him for a meal. Teach a man to hunt, feed him for a lifetime". Since Katrina, the NAACP claims that House Bill 2696 opens the way for discrimination. That may be right, but it only discriminates against the CRIMINAL. Not the law abiding citizens of this great country. According to the Second Amendment Foundation, at least 10 states have adopted this law. (now we only have 40 more to go!) And as far as the statements; "We have a very difficult time telling the law abiding citizens and the criminals", I have a solution: I urge, no I implore you to get your CCW license A.S.A.P., even if you don't ever plan to carry. The reason is that CRIMINALS CAN NOT GET ONE!!!! I believe that in a state of emergency, the police need all the help they can get from law abiding citizens. They can't be everywhere at once.

I leave you with a final thought: If criminals won't give up their guns, Why should we?

S&W Emergency Survival Kit Guns

The concept behind the Smith & Wesson Emergency Survival Kit Guns is indeed an interesting approach to providing a basic, foul weather friendly, ready to go wilderness survival kit. It includes the basic items for making your way in the wild, including a saw, whistle, signal mirror, fire-starter, compass, two space blankets, a knife, survival book, and a weather-proof case for it all. All that for one low price, and they throw in a short-barreled big-bore revolver with neon grips.

I'm not fond of the neon grips and wish they'd include a black rubber combat grip too, though one can be purchased separately for a reasonable price. The revolvers are offered in your choice of .500 S&W and .460 XVR which is sure to please the most power-hungry handgun survivalists who like front-sight dents in their forehead.

Given the two choices, I would go with the .460 XVR as one has the option to load it with the blistering fast .460 XVR, the more than stout .454 Casull, or the .45 Colt cartridge. Still, I think the average handgunner will shy away from these powerhouse guns and opt for something a little more controllable nix the neon grips. I think an offering in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, or even the plenty-powerful .44 Magnum would have been a good idea.

Kudos to S&W for coming up with a unique package like this, even if they aren't offered for more user friendly cartridges that use ammo not requiring you to take out a second mortgage on your home to feed the beast.

Firearms Safety W-W Style

It’s time for a firearm safety refresher course, so sit back and listen while Uncle Joe gives you the rundown W-W style.

The 10 Commandments of Firearm Safety:

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
2. Firearms should be unloaded when not actually in use.
3. Don’t rely on your gun’s safety.
4. Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.
5. Use correct ammunition.
6. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care.
7. Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting.
8. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting.
9. Don’t alter or modify your gun, and have guns serviced regularly.
10. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the firearm you are using.

Those are the ten basic (unadulterated) things you need to know before ever picking up a firearm. Now let’s break them down a tad and throw in some reasoning for each commandment.

The 10 Commandments of Firearm Safety Redux:

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

In other words, don’t point your gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot. Carry your gun with the muzzle pointed to ground in front of you. If you are in a group and someone is in front of you, sling the rifle with the muzzle skyward, but remember, what goes up must come down. In a house, bullets can penetrate interior walls and many exterior walls like a hot knife through butter, only you can’t see who’s on the other side. Logic dictates that there might not always be a safe direction, in this case choose a direction that has the littlest damage potential, but try and avoid those types of situations first.

2. Firearms should be unloaded when not actually in use.

That’s pretty self explanatory. The only exception is a gun kept loaded at all times for personal or home defense, but technically these are guns that are in-use 24/7.

3. Don’t rely on your gun’s safety.

Mechanical safeties can fail. A safety is not a fail-safe mechanism; it is a precautionary item that should not be relied upon solely as a means of preventing a firearm from going off. These safeties rely upon the competence of the person handling the firearm.

4. Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.

Bullets penetrate, often times much further than anticipated. There is also the possibility you might miss your target, so never rely on the target itself as a backstop. Don’t shoot if people are anywhere in the vicinity of your target. Ever hear of a ricochet?

5. Use correct ammunition.

Again, this should be self-explanatory, but there are those who aren’t so bright. Just because it looks like it fits, doesn’t mean its safe. The wrong cartridge’s dimensions could be off enough from that of the chamber so that if it were to be fired, dangerous pressures could result. If it’s not a cartridge made specifically for your chambering, don’t even think about trying it!

A cartridge too small for the gun’s chambering could slide down far enough into the chamber that when you try to eject it, the extractor doesn’t grab it. A following round being shoved into the chamber could cause the tip of the bullet to ignite the primer of the first cartridge, resulting in a potentially lethal catastrophe.

In the case of shotguns, the round might just stop up the barrel and when the correct cartridge is loaded and fired, the results can be potentially lethal for both the shooter and any bystanders. (See #8)

6. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care.

Hang fires can and do occur with modern ammunition, though it’s not nearly as common as it was with muzzleloaders. There could be a couple different reasons why it didn’t fire, and doesn’t mean it won’t fire at all. The primer could be slow to ignite. The powder could also be the culprit and be slow in igniting.

If your gun doesn’t fire, keep it pointed at the target and wait at least 15 seconds, and honestly, in all my years of shooting I’ve had a two factory rounds that didn’t go off until after 20 seconds passed (though these are extremely rare, more than one in a million if I had to hazard a guess), so best to wait at least 30 seconds, then if your gun has second fire capabilities, try firing again, or else extract the cartridge and inspect the primer to make sure it has a firing-pin dent.

Things to look for:
Make sure the face of the primer is flush with the head of the cartridge. If it’s seated too deeply, that could cause the firing pin to not hit it with enough force to fire it. The firing pin indentation should be round and deep, if it’s a very light indentation that could be a sign of a problem with the gun itself, it could be a broken firing pin or weakened spring. It could also mean a defective primer with too thick a housing.

If none of the above is the problem and one wants to investigate further, use a kinetic bullet puller and remove the bullet and powder. Is the powder dry? Try carefully decapping the cartridge case next. Go easy, decapping a live primer can break your decapping pin and scare the bejeebers out of you and anyone in close proximity. If it won’t decap, that’s probably the problem right there, the cartridge case had no flash hole in the primer pocket. If it does decap, then by golly it was probably just a dead primer.

7. Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting.

Again, fairly self explanatory, but there are some people who don’t quite understand what proper protection is. Regular eyeglasses are not protection enough, unless they have shatter-proof lenses.
Those Wally-World sunglass are the same. Unless they are shatter resistant lenses, specifically made for shooting or otherwise industrial safety glasses, don’t wear them. Glass lenses can shatter when debris hit them. Make sure the glasses fit your face snuggly and properly.

Use the proper hearing protection for your environment. At a range, wear hearing protection that attenuates loud noises and lets regular sound through so that you can hear range commands. Hearing protection is just important when hunting, though somewhat inconvenient. For those circumstances, try some of the hearing protectors that amplify (in stereo) surrounding sounds and attenuate the loud ones. These can actually help you hear game that you otherwise wouldn’t hear. Some guns require a little extra protection, those with muzzle-brakes can direct the sound-waves back towards the shooter, and in those cases sometimes earplugs with muff-type protectors over those are in order. Ultimately it’s your hearing, and it’s up to you how badly you want to keep it or not.

8. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting.

This one kind of goes along with #5 for obvious reasons, but there is more to it that that. Make sure that mud, snow, and other debris hasn’t inadvertently plugged the barrel. A piece of gaffer’s tape over the end of the barrel will help prevent this, and won’t affect the bullet or accuracy any.

If you shoot the gun and it sounds “off”, it could have been a squib round. Don’t load and fire another round until you check the barrel to make sure the bullet isn’t lodged in the rifling. If it is, don’t try shooting it out, this will be bad news for you and the gun. If you can’t remove the bullet with a dowel or sturdy rod, it’s time to let the gunsmith take care of it for you. Now would be good time to have him check the whole gun over as a safety precaution. Now would also be a good time to fork over a few bucks to have him do a good trigger/action job if you haven’t had one yet.

A special note aimed at one person: To the guy who called in to Cam & Company a few weeks ago and asked what to do if you got your pecker stuck in the barrel of a shotgun, my advice to you is load the shotgun with a pumpkin ball and pull the trigger. Everyone else is advised to not do this, as it will only work for this particular person with the tiny genitalia.

9. Don’t alter or modify your gun, and have guns serviced regularly.

They’re talking about major modifications. Changing the grips, stock, or sights on a gun can probably be achieved by any gun owner unless they are completely incompetent, but this level of incompetence would have probably kept them from finding a gun shop in the first place. As for major modifications, action jobs, etc., those are best left to professional gunsmiths with outstanding reputations.

10. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the firearm you are using.

Every gun is different, and has a personality of its own. Read the manual, if you didn’t get a manual contact the manufacturer and they will gladly send you one for free. Don’t go to the range and shoot the gun a few times and then never touch it until you need it. You need to familiarize yourself with the gun, go to range and practice, practice, practice. Use the firearm often enough so that all of its features and handling nuances become second nature to you.

Now for some W-W extras:

11. Don’t mix firearms and alcohol.

These activities should be enjoyed separately and should never be mixed under any circumstances.

12. Don’t ban your children altogether from your guns.

Children are curious by nature and banning them from your guns will only intensify their curiosity. Instead, teach them gun safety, teach them the importance of all the rules and the responsibility that goes with owning and using firearms. Then let them handle the guns under your supervision and teach them to shoot. Take them with you often to the range, and hunting, and let them shoot with you.

Buy a few guns specifically for their use that you will keep safe with your own, this will make a world of difference in their lives, they will then be their own responsible gun owner, and they now have to practice what they’ve been taught. It’s one thing to shoot daddy’s guns; it’s another to shoot their own guns that are specifically for them. Teach them to clean and maintain their own guns too.

13. Clean and lubricate your guns as soon as possible after each shooting session.

A clean, well maintained gun is a more accurate and reliable gun. Today’s non-corrosive rounds still leave a residue that can attract moisture which will cause rust and pitting in your bore.

14. Buy more guns.

I don’t care how many guns you own, it’s never enough. A happy gun is a gun with a responsible owner with lots of family members. Think of all the poor orphaned and ownerless guns at the gun shop that are in need of loving owners.

15. Hunters: One Shot, One Kill

Law Abiding Gun Owners/Hunters/Sportsman and the term "spray and pray" should never be used in the same sentence. Learn how to shoot accurately and kill the animal with one shot. Learn how to hunt and shoot properly, never take potluck shots and hope they hit, that's the among the worst kind of irresponsibility.

16.Last, but certainly not least: Support the National Rifle Association.

For around the price of a box of premium rifle ammo, you can get a year’s membership to the NRA who continues to defend your rights as gun owners. They are out there defending your rights whether you asked them to or not, so why not suck it up and show a little thanks for their efforts and give them the support they need in return. http://nra.org