Sorry, Y'all

I know, I know.

And I'm sorry. I really am.

It's been ten days since my last post. In that time I've managed to get up to my eyeballs in work. I've been getting home late a great deal, and my knees have been killing me pretty much every night. I just haven't been in much of a mood to post.

I've tried to hit y'all up in your respective comments sections as much as I can, so hopefully you haven't started to auction off my stuff just yet:)

Anyway, I'm still here. I've got a pretty good rant coming on a video that some of you may have seen already. Hopefully tomorrow.

Until then, y'all take it easy for me.



tweaker

Beer and Bullets

Because "Ale and Cartridges" just didn't have that ring to it.

So, I'm sitting here enjoying a nice quart of Stone Brewery's Arrogant Bastard Ale from my Official French Quarter Training Mug and thinking about some 9mm ammo I tried out last Thursday. It's a Bass Pro Shops exclusive from Winchester called Winchester SXZ. From what I've gathered so far, the hollowpoint version is basically a just a 115 gr. Winchester Silvertip with some sort of proprietary coating called Lubalox on it. The coating is some sort of anti-fouling agent so you don't have to clean your gun as often. What do I care? I clean after every range trip!

Their major schtick with this ammo is that it's also available in a "training" version, with a truncated cone bullet (same coating) that gives identical ballistics to the hollowpoints. I figure that this means they're loaded a little hotter, too. I used the training version last Thursday, and was pretty happy with the results. Both the 92FS Inox and the Px4 Storm recoiled like they do with the slightly hotter (non +P) personal defense rounds. I also noticed that the guns cleaned a bit easier internally, where the bullet coating would have made no difference anyway. As a sidenote, I stopped using Winchester White Box because it burns like crap and fouls up the inside of my guns.

The best part about this ammo was its price. While everything else had gone up, the Winchester SXZ 9mm was the least expensive 9mm in Bass Pro Shops; it was priced where Winchester White Box used to be at $11.99/50 rd. box.

SO.

Anyone heard anything about this ammunition?



tweaker

Toy Box Fail

Warning to gun owners: clicking on the following link will make much bad angry inside you.

Via SayUncle yesterday, I learned of a news story that really stomped on my DEFCON button something fierce. This is a story run by Delaine Mathieu of News 4 WOAI in San Antonio, Texas.

Right in my own backyard. I didn't realize teh stoopid had made it this far into Texas.

I made it a point to watch the entire video, just to make sure I had the entirety of the message being conveyed. Boy, did I ever. That much concentrated stoopid is hard to watch.

As I commented at Unc's place, I fully plan to lodge complaints against the reporter, the news station, and the police officer and any superiors who knew about it. I plan to go to great lengths to make sure that All Holy Hell is raised, and that each party receives The Punishment Due.

Following is the comment that I left at the WOAI website:

I can only hardly believe what I saw. Just exactly what kind of experiment was this supposed to be? We're not talking about a situation where a child found a firearm in a place they'd likely find one. This was a REAL GUN, and it was intentionally placed in a toy box. What in Heaven's Name were you people thinking?!?!

I find it absolutely despicable that a group of children would be placed in harm's way so you could prove a point. Please save me the part about how the striker was removed; that makes the gun no less real. Your message is that YOU can place guns in the hands of children for demonstration's sake, and your message is NOT well received.

These kids likely spend every day in this classroom, and pull toys out of the box constantly. In their eyes, if it's in the box, it's fair game. There was no way that those children honestly knew that they were handling an actual gun.

The only part of the video that I could stomach watching (and yes, I watched it all) was where the children watched the Eddie Eagle program and received instruction from a police officer. On that note, two things: first, watching Eddie Eagle once is not sufficient education for a child to know what to do if they encounter a firearm; and second I am absolutely ashamed of any peace officer who would knowingly and willingly place a firearm within a child's reach.

I do not approve of the methods used in this video to convey the point. There are many more effective means to convey that guns should not be left where children can access them. The shock value of placing a gun in the hands of a child pales in comparison to the shock that Delaine Mathieu and News 4 will receive when they learn that this story is getting coast-to-coast coverage in a very, very bad light.

I hope that Delaine Matheiu is prepared to join Rebecca Aguilar on the list of award-winning journalists who crossed the line.


I'm calling or emailing to lodge a complaint with anyone who will listen. I hope that you will do the same. I'll post links to email addresses and phone numbers as I acquire them.



tweaker

Can I Get A Witness?!?

Can I get a halleluia, brothers and sisters?!?!

Okay, maybe the gun-life isn't like evangelical religion after all. It was worth a shot.

*rimshot*

If it were, on the other hand, we'd have us a bonafide baptism by fire(ing range trip). Yessir, I have once again brought a new shooter into the fold.

A buddy of mine has been talking for awhile about getting a handgun for home defense and recreational shooting. I told him from the get-go that if he ever wanted to go shooting all he had to do was say the word.

Well, yesterday he said the word.

He had done a little looking around, and one of the top contenders was a Beretta Px4 Storm. What fortune, then, that Yours Truly should have one! We made plans to go today after work, and I introduced him to The Four Rules. I was happy to know that he remembered them this afternoon on the way to the range.

Now, normally I'd do the honorable thing and cover range fees, ammo, gun(s), etc., but let's face it: times is tough and I just ain't got the spare change right now. I did spring for the range fees and transportation, and supplied eyes and ears. I brought my Px4 and The Wifey's 92FS Inox. He bought 100 rounds, and off we went.

I covered the basics of safety and etiquette, showed him how to load and run the guns, and let him have at it. I don't think I squeezed off more than 20 rounds or so. He had a blast. No corrections, no little criticisms, none of that. Other than correcting the occasional Four Rules violation, I let him have the reigns.

And run 'em he did. He had a great time, and is more ready than ever to get a pistol.

Next time we'll talk about the new ammo I used and how much I like the new Sig P250.



tweaker

Oooohhhh...

WANT!!!

I cannot explain it. I have a long-standing love affair with the Beretta 92's. I have owned a stainless 92FS for 7 years, and have wanted one for as long as I can remember. I love to shoot them. I would like to own more.

I'm not the type to own a dozen different versions of the same (more or less) pistol, though. While there may be the occasional exception (like a 92 with a frame-mounted safety), I'm already near capacity for full-sized 92's.

This, however, is different. This is the frame and 10-rd magazine for an Italian-made 92C. The 'C' is for compact, and this one was originally a D-configured (no hammer, no safety/decocker) gun. It has been changed over to the F-configuration, but it retains its D mainspring; this means the gun gets a hammer but retains the lighter mainspring to ease that initial double-action trigger pull. A 92 Centurion top-end would turn this little gem into a very cool (albeit heavy, which doens't bother me) CCW piece.

This particular example lives in the city I work in, and is available for $300. I wonder if he'd take a slightly used kidney or something, because I just ain't got it right now.

Stupid medical/vet bills. If not for that, I'd be posting pictures of it from somewhere in my house, because I'd have already bought it!

*sigh*

This is not the first time I've seen a gun that I regretted not getting. But I'm gonna lose sleep over this one.



tweaker

One Bad Apple

I really hate posting about lousy cops. I've said it before. It's just that it gets so far under my skin, if I don't say something I'll just explode.

And who wants to clean up after that?

So, I'm watching the middle of the week version of Cops. It's called Street Patrol. To me, it looks like all the footage Langley didn't use for Cops. No biggie, I like watching bad guys get busted in prime time. It's funny.

Well, this wasn't funny at all. At some trailer park, this Deputy and his partner pull up to this trailer responding to a Shots Fired call. Here's what happened, according to the homeowner:

Dude, we'll call him, is the proprietor of said trailer. He's about an average height white guy with long hair and some tats. Oh, and his face is all bloody. He had some friends over earlier, and some other folks showed up. Among them is Other Guy. Other Guy accuses Dude of "talking shit", an accusation that Dude denies. As this new crew is there to mingle with other folks at Dude's little soiree, he allows them entry - a decision he'd come to regret.

After a few minutes, Dude gets blindsided by Other Guy with a blow powerful enough to draw blood. He withdraws to his bedroom, and orders everyone out of his home. When Other Guy and a couple buddies won't leave, he falls back on his last line of defense: an SKS rifle. Other Guy decides he wants more of Dude, so he goes to Dude's room looking for more action. When Other Guy gets met by Dude wielding a rifle, Other Guy tries to bully him (why would he do this? Stay tuned...). Other Guy continually ignores Dude's orders to Leave The Premises forthwith, so Dude fires a round through his bed and into the floor of his trailer.

Now that he has Other Guy's undivided attention, Other Guy decides Dude will, in fact, use the rifle he's carrying. So he heads for the door (without Dude in pursuit, BTW), but not before stopping in the living room to pull his handgun and fire off a couple rounds into the floor.

So.

Knowing all this, now, Mr. Sheriff decides to start dispensing with the advice. He tells Dude that it was Dude that brought things to "the next level" by introducing a gun into the mix. He then proceeds to tell Dude that, instead of using a gun, he could have grabbed a stick and chase Other Guy and his cohorts off. He then tells Dude that he could have also called 911, and THEN tells him that's what he should have done because the cops "might have been just down the street."

Lousy fucking cop. No offense to any fine Peace Officers out there. You know who you are.

This mouth-breather just told this guy reprimanded the homeowner for defending himself against a guy that not only has just assaulted him (with bodily injury, no less), but was carrying a loaded firearm himself. Then the deputy has the audacity to suggest that he use a stick to chase off a guy who had a fucking gun?!?

By this point, I was hurling obscenities at my TeeVee.

This cop should have his badge stripped. He just told a homeowner that, in light of all damning evidence, that the homeowner should not defend himself with a gun against an intruder with a gun. Instead of commending him on his restraint for giving the bastard a warning shot to prove he wasn't pissing around, he chastised him and even threatened to take his SKS into evidence.

#!$%&@*!

A couple of things I'd like to point out in editorial, if I may:

1. If Dude had attempted to chase Other Guy out with a stick, Deputy Dickhead would have showed up to a murder scene.

2. If Dude had used Dial-a-Prayer (911), he may have died anyway since Other Guy was armed and already on his way back to Dude's bedroom for Round 2. I'm sure that if Dude started beating the stuffing out of Other Guy, Other Guy would have responded with his firearm in a hurry.

3. If Other Guy strikes me in my house and doesn't leave in a Real Damn Hurry at the sight of my Beretta and One warning, then Barney Fife is showing up to a body anyway. I don't do warning shots.

I am very angry about this. I find it despicable that an officer of the law would dare speak such mindless drivel to a guy that was assaulted by another guy that ended up having a gun.

Maybe living in Texas has tainted my mind in such a fashion that it would be impossible for me to live in a Nanny State.

I welcome any and all commentary, as usual, but I would be particularly intrigued to have bona-fide Law Enforcement personnel remark on this.



tweaker

Metal Gods

In a bit of a departure from your normal blog-reading pleasure (all three of you that read this mindlessness;), I give you my generation's finest entry into heavy music.

Ladies and gentlemen:

DRAGONFORCE.

Heroes of Our Time




tweaker

Peer Pressure

All the cool kids did it. So I'm doing it too. Just much later...

What Kind of a Western Bad-Ass are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as John Wayne You a classic all American cowboy who does the right thing. When you're sober. Which means occasionally. You like horses, the outdoors, whiskey, hot tempered women, whiskey, and bourbon. Clint Eastwood 100% John Wayne 100% Lee Marvin 75% Lee Van Cleef 75% Charles Bronson 75%

tweaker

Non-jury Duty

In light of recent posts from Miss Abby, I was reminded of my one and only experience of performing (sort of) my Civic Duty to the court.

My only call to jury duty came a couple years ago. Times were tough on me and my family then as we'd just had The Wifey's (totally paid for) car totaled and had our mortgage lender totally screw up our escrow. I was about to get rid of my pride and joy Silverado to balance things out, but I had to go to the county courthouse first.

So, nicely dressed, I showed up at the given time. I left my pistol, knife, and multi-tool in my truck, and went to the second floor where the courtrooms are. I signed in and waited. This gave me some time, as I didn't see anyone I knew.

I reflected on the various Laws of the Land. I thought about proper application of justice. I thought about what type of case I might end up on (there hadn't been any major felony arrests lately). I thought about just how the judicial system truly works in a small town.

After about an hour, I noticed that there were a lot of people on the second floor. We were lining the halls, and none of us had been moved into the courtroom yet. There were no chairs. There was no water fountain, let alone coffee machine. There was a balcony, but there were No Smoking signs all over it.

We were friggin stuck. We were uncomfortable. We were talking to anyone around us at this point just to keep from going crazy. And we got to the point where we weren't talking softly anymore.

After what seemed like an eternity, the courtroom doors finally opened. The assistant prosecutor showed us in, and had us all sit in the audience (I bet there's a better word for that, but I'm feeling too lazy to look it up). The judge was already at his bench, which was kinda puzzling. Most of us were expecting to see on of those, "All rise!"-type things happen. This was not like TeeVee at all...

After we all got to our seats, the judge stood and spoke. He told us that, while he appreciates that all of us got up early, took time off from work, showed up dressed appropriately and whatnot, that our services would not be needed today. He told us that the entire docket was cleared, since each and every defendant was brought into the courtroom during the last 30-45 minutes of our wait in the hall. Each and every defendant heard the clamoring and general teeth-sharpening going on with the potential jurors out in the hall, and decided it would be wise to take whatever deal the prosecutor offered.

He thanked us for our time, and sent us on our way.

Call it what you want, but I'd call that a right smart way to handle things.

I so love living in Small Town Texas:)



tweaker

A Matter of Pride

I really need to post up on the weekend. It's been a good one. But first, there's something that I feel needs to be said.

Earlier, I was watching a show on PBS called America's Team: Being a US Air Force Thunderbird. It was quite fascinating to see just how much goes into being a member of that team, which consists of way more than just the six pilots you see at the air show. All in all, it takes the concert of about 130 folks to make the Thunderbirds go. Neat.

In June of 2005, the Thunderbirds accepted Major Nicole Malachowski as their first female pilot. She first flew solo in 2006. Obviously, being a Thunderbird, she's a particularly gifted fighter pilot (with over 1800 hours, 1000 of which were in an F-15E).

What an outstanding character this woman is. During air show season, Wednesday is pretty much her only day off. While she should be sleeping in (her words, not mine), she gets up early and, by 0630, is sitting at her dining room table answering every fan letter and email she gets. Every. Single. One. No form-letter replies, either. She feels particularly honored to receive fan mail, and feels compelled to send a heart-felt reply to the mail she gets.

According to Major Malachowski, about 50% of her fan mail comes from young kids (kindergarten through grade school). Another 20% comes from older women (more elderly, really). The last bit comes from male WWII veterans, and she's not sure why that is. Regardless, that last group sends a variety of messages, from personal tales to letters of appreciation or inspiration.

Imagine that for a minute. Inspiring a WWII veteran; a living hero.

While the show was going off, I was talking to The Wifey about Major Malachowski's fan letters. I told my wife that when a WWII vet tells you he's proud of you, that's it. There's pretty much no higher compliment one can receive than that.

And that's when it hit me: Both my Grandfathers were WWII veterans. Both of them, on separate occasions, told me for one reason or another that they were proud of me. Whether it was for playing a concert, graduating, going on to college or whatever, I was paid compliment by bona-fide WWII heroes*. And I still believe there's no higher compliment than that.

I'm going to go to bed now. I'll go to bed with a hightened sense of pride (and a lump in my throat) for realizing what it means when a hero is proud of me.



tweaker



*For the record, I got particularly choked up when I typed that sentence.

Blogroll Update

I've been meaning to do this for quite sometime, as I've discovered many a fine read since my last blogroll update. I've also discovered a couple blogs here and there that actually have me linked up, so extra special thanks to those guys and gals (you know who you are!).

I'd post them all up here, but I added about a dozen new blogs over there and I'm just too darned lazy to type them all out and turn them all into the links they deserve. So, scroll my blogroll, as it is composed of many a blogger finer than I.

Enjoy!



tweaker

Sick and Tired

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Just to recap:

Bootsie (the cat): funky stuff in eyes: vet trip; bacterial infection around eyes
Corey (the dog): severely infected teef: vet trip; $700; OUCH!
The Wifey: stomach issues, sinus infection, near total absence of energy: doctor's office visit, two prescriptions
Me: Knees, surgery on arm, more knees (whaddya mean $350 for knee braces?!?!): several doctor visits, two procedures, more $$$ than I can think about without getting light-headed
Now, The Little Girl: fever, lethargy, diarrhea: Doctor's appt. made for later this morning, another day of my PTO (Paid Time Off) gone

The only only family member left in the house that hasn't had some sort of medical issue is Rhinestone (the other cat).

This creates vacuum. Srsly.



tweaker