The soft headed, earth first, save the planet folks over at Vote Earth 2009 are encouraging everyone to turn off all their lights tomorrow night (3/28) from 8:30 to 9:30 PM.
Their website claims that turning off your lights is a vote for earth, or leaving your lights on is a vote for global warming.
Personally I intend to turn on a couple extra lights. Call it a vote for reason, sanity and freedom. But I am not voting for global warming. I'm voting to be a light in the darkness caused by hysteria, panic and blind over reaction. How much effort and money have these clowns sunk into this endeavor? Do they think it will really matter? Do you think they'll see a satellite picture of the Korean peninsula at night and notice that the entire North Korean portion of the peninsula is dark and
think "Hey, everyone there is voting for the earth!"
A message for the Vote for earth crowd - You are wasting both yours and my time. You are attempting to cost our society billions of dollars with wasteful legislation that will accomplish nothing. You will not stop global warming by turning off your lights. You will not cool the planet by shutting down factories, cars, light bulbs, etc. The only thing you can do to cool this planet is to turn off the sun. But don't worry we can do that.
Wait until about 8:30 tomorrow night, then go outside. Look up into the sky and be amazed, because the sun will have gone dark. It will be turned off. Then if you dare to, turn on a light so you can read a thermometer. You will discover that it is already getting cooler outside. Amazing huh? If we turn off the sun then the atmosphere cools. Then, go back in your house, turn on your lights so you don't break a toe tripping over something. Sit down, read a book, watch some TV, play a
game with your kids, then turn off the lights, go to bed and get a good night sleep. Don't worry, the whole world will not be a frozen wasteland when you walk up. I promise that we will turn the sun back on in the morning so that your world will warm back up again. When that happens you should get up, shower, put on a clean tee shirt, braid your hair, then go outside into that great big warm wonderful world and find yourself a useful job.
Oh, if at anytime during the day you happen to see Algore speaking, stick both your fingers in your ears and run like your life and the lives of your children depend on it - because it does.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Ban Guns to help Mexico
Last month our glorious Attorney General stated that in order to reduce the escallating violance in Mexico we have to start banning the sale of guns here in the United States.
I have tried several times to put my thoughts about what a ridicuously foolish train of thought this is. But as I was trying to find the right words, one of my favorite bloggers did it for me. Mostly Cajun said it this way:
Unfortunately we are dealing with domestic jihadists who only want one thing - the complete disarmament of the American population. They don't care about logic. They don't care about common sense. All that matters to them is taking away our most basic freedom - the freedom to defend ourselves and our families.
As long as "We the People" are allowed to own guns our elected overlords will never be able to sleep well at night. As long as we have the ability to defend ourselves we may one day wake up and discover that we don't need their constant interference in our lives. The very thought of an armed society strikes fear in the hearts of our liberal leaders. So far they have done a great job of taking over our country using our schools, colleges, universities and polling places. But as long as the unwashed masses have the tools to stand up and say "NO MORE!" their reign can never be complete. So don't be surprised when this attack on our freedom fails. Just be ready for the next one, and the one after that, and so on. As long as the whacko libs are in charge they will continue to attack our ability to defend ourselves. They don't hide that any more. In fact they proudly proclaim that they are going to make taking away our guns a priority. Get ready folks, this is just round one of what will be a long, long assault.
I have tried several times to put my thoughts about what a ridicuously foolish train of thought this is. But as I was trying to find the right words, one of my favorite bloggers did it for me. Mostly Cajun said it this way:
You’re a big Mexican drug cartel. You daily smuggle TONS of marijuana and cocaine across the border into the United States. You decide you need a few guns.
Do you
1. Send Pedro and Paco to San Antonio to buy up the legal semi-automatic guns from a legitimate gun shop
2. Talk to corrupt military and government officials in your own country and arrange to get fully automatic guns from THEIR stocks.
3. Buy guns from munitions dealers on the international market that supplies arms to trouble spots all over the globe.
I won’t even go into the idea that an American gun shop would deal in fully automatic weapons. Yes, it IS done, but it requires a special and expensive license and is highly regulated and watched. For a private individual to get the license to OWN one of these weapons is a long, drawn-out process involving fingerprints and background checks. And in the end you end up with a weapon that might have cost !50 to make, but you paid $5000 (or much, much more) to own. The same goes for “destructive devices” such as grenades.
The same $5000 in the right places on the international market will get you a truckload of REAL AK-47’s.
As much as the gun-grabbers and lamestream media would like to have you think that you can walk into and gun shop, plunk down cash and walk out with a bucket full of hand grenades and a couple of light machine guns, it just ain’t so.
And while a knowledgeable individual with the proper machine tools and parts can convert many semi-auto rifles into full auto versions, why would they do that when a few pesos in the right pocket can get you one out of the back of Mexican Army truck? Or with a phone call to Venezuela?
And to further laugh at the furor over the supposed flow of guns to Mexico, really, we can’t seem to stop the flow of drugs coming this way, so what makes people think that we can stop the flow of arms the other way, anyhow? Seems to me that if we have this magic technology that can somehow stop stuff going into Mexico from here, we could, like, turn it around and stop stuff coming here from Mexico.
Oh, wait! I forgot. What they’re proposing is that we stop selling guns here. If they’re illegal here, then the Mexican drug cartels won’t buy them here. Right! A LAW is going to stop that. After all, it works so well making drugs illegal that you can’t buy THEM from Jamar on the street in any US city.
Unfortunately we are dealing with domestic jihadists who only want one thing - the complete disarmament of the American population. They don't care about logic. They don't care about common sense. All that matters to them is taking away our most basic freedom - the freedom to defend ourselves and our families.
As long as "We the People" are allowed to own guns our elected overlords will never be able to sleep well at night. As long as we have the ability to defend ourselves we may one day wake up and discover that we don't need their constant interference in our lives. The very thought of an armed society strikes fear in the hearts of our liberal leaders. So far they have done a great job of taking over our country using our schools, colleges, universities and polling places. But as long as the unwashed masses have the tools to stand up and say "NO MORE!" their reign can never be complete. So don't be surprised when this attack on our freedom fails. Just be ready for the next one, and the one after that, and so on. As long as the whacko libs are in charge they will continue to attack our ability to defend ourselves. They don't hide that any more. In fact they proudly proclaim that they are going to make taking away our guns a priority. Get ready folks, this is just round one of what will be a long, long assault.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Electric Sheep
This may be fake, or maybe not, but its entertaining none the less.
If this is real I think the London 2012 Olympics Committee should hire these guys to do their opening ceremony
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The New Gun Ban
Attorney General eric holder announced today that the obama administration will attempt to re-enact the expired 1984 assault weapons ban.
Holder says that putting the ban back into place would help stem the flow of US weapons into Mexico where violence between the government and the drug cartels is escalating daily.
So, our esteamed attorney gnereal wants to help our neighbors to the south stop violence by denying American citizens their rights to own guns. First off, why is this our problem? The same Mexican governemnt that refuses to try and stem the illegal invasion of American by it's citizens now wants us to stop exporting guns to their country. Well tough! We have an extensive network of border defenses designed to stop illegal aliens from invading our country, why doesn't Mexico do the same thing on their side of the border to stop the gun runners? Oh wait, we really don't have such a system and I guess neither do they. But that does not change the arguement. If you want something to stop coming into your country then stop it at your border. It is not our problem!
Secondly the on Feb. 20, 2009 the State Department issued a travel warning:
Ok, two bonus points for anyone who can spot the big problem with this statement.
"cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades" I have news for the attorney general since he is apparently incapable of understanding US law. The average citizen cannot walk into a gun store in the country and buy "automatic weapons and grenades."
Banning US citizens from buying assault weapons will NOT in any way curb the use of automatic weapons and handgrenades in Mexico. So lets forget all about poor Eric's arguement that we have to do it for the Mexicans. Since we know its really not about helping Mexico. Instead lets focus on what he wants to ban.
Assault weapons and high capacity magazines. These are evil devices forged in the depths of hell that just cannot be allowed in the hands of bitter, religious rednecks here in the United States. Do you know what an assault rifle is? An assault rifle is an automatic rifle that is usually issued to the military for the performance of their duties. If you went out right now and tried to buy an assault rifle in the United States you would not be able to do so. Do you know why not? BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY ILLEGAL!!!!!!
Oh, by he way - hand grenades? Same problem, they are already illegial to own in the US. You cannot buy them here.
What obama and holder really want to ban is semi-automatic weapons. So what is a semi-automatic rifle? According to Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association:
So why if obama and holder really want to ban semi-automatic weapons why do they call them assault weapons? Because they are lying to you. Both these men are theoritically smart enough to know that a semi-automatic weapon is not an assault weapon. But a large portion of the voting public isn't informed enough to know the difference. Besides a lot of today's semi-automatic rifles look like assault weapons because they have a military syle stock that is made out of evil black plastic.
Califonia has already done this. See California has already outlawed many of obama's and holder's "assault weapons"
Our wonderful chicken-hearted politicians here in California have defined an assault weapon for you. The problem here is items A, B, C, D, E and F are just cosmetic features that do not increase or decrease the lethality of a semi-automatic rifle. They just make it look really really scary. Because everyone knows that a semi-automatic hunting rifle is a lot safer than a semi-automatic hunting rifle with pistol grip on it. Cause you know, once you put a pistol grip on a semi-automatic rifle they lose all control. When the owner isn't looking they have even been known to sneak across the border to Mexico and shoot at drug runners.
But enough sarcasm. obama and holder want to ban scary looking rifles and magazines that will hold more than 10 rounds.
Now I don't want to give them any more ammunition to work with here, especially since they want to do the same to us. But, do you know what the difference is between me shooting a semi-automatic pistol with a magazine that holds 17 rounds and a 10 round magazine and a spare is? About 2 seconds. That is how long it takes me to drop a mag, slap in a new one chamber a round and start firing again. 2 seconds. And I am slow, I don't practice that enough. I'm sure there are guys out there that can do that in half the time I can.
Limiting the size of the magazine a weapon can hold doesn't make the weapon any safer to let it run around loose in public. Again like any tool a cap mag or a 10 rnd mag is only as safe as the user makes it.
So here comes your hope and change folks - Clinton Mk II. Ban guns and mags that will not make America safer and will not make Mexico safer. Because the other lie of ommision they don't tell you is this: Banning guns and gun control is not about the guns. It is not about the ammo or the mags. It is all about control. If they can control your life, they control you. More importantly if they can weasal away a little more Constitutionally protected rights it will make it easier for them to take away even more of them later. What is next? free speech, freedom of religion, etc? And lastly in extreme thinking cases only, it is much easier to supress an unarmed population than it is an armed one.
Holder says that putting the ban back into place would help stem the flow of US weapons into Mexico where violence between the government and the drug cartels is escalating daily.
So, our esteamed attorney gnereal wants to help our neighbors to the south stop violence by denying American citizens their rights to own guns. First off, why is this our problem? The same Mexican governemnt that refuses to try and stem the illegal invasion of American by it's citizens now wants us to stop exporting guns to their country. Well tough! We have an extensive network of border defenses designed to stop illegal aliens from invading our country, why doesn't Mexico do the same thing on their side of the border to stop the gun runners? Oh wait, we really don't have such a system and I guess neither do they. But that does not change the arguement. If you want something to stop coming into your country then stop it at your border. It is not our problem!
Secondly the on Feb. 20, 2009 the State Department issued a travel warning:
"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico, but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez."
Ok, two bonus points for anyone who can spot the big problem with this statement.
"cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades" I have news for the attorney general since he is apparently incapable of understanding US law. The average citizen cannot walk into a gun store in the country and buy "automatic weapons and grenades."
Banning US citizens from buying assault weapons will NOT in any way curb the use of automatic weapons and handgrenades in Mexico. So lets forget all about poor Eric's arguement that we have to do it for the Mexicans. Since we know its really not about helping Mexico. Instead lets focus on what he wants to ban.
Assault weapons and high capacity magazines. These are evil devices forged in the depths of hell that just cannot be allowed in the hands of bitter, religious rednecks here in the United States. Do you know what an assault rifle is? An assault rifle is an automatic rifle that is usually issued to the military for the performance of their duties. If you went out right now and tried to buy an assault rifle in the United States you would not be able to do so. Do you know why not? BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY ILLEGAL!!!!!!
Oh, by he way - hand grenades? Same problem, they are already illegial to own in the US. You cannot buy them here.
What obama and holder really want to ban is semi-automatic weapons. So what is a semi-automatic rifle? According to Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association:
"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by American citizens in this country,"
So why if obama and holder really want to ban semi-automatic weapons why do they call them assault weapons? Because they are lying to you. Both these men are theoritically smart enough to know that a semi-automatic weapon is not an assault weapon. But a large portion of the voting public isn't informed enough to know the difference. Besides a lot of today's semi-automatic rifles look like assault weapons because they have a military syle stock that is made out of evil black plastic.
Califonia has already done this. See California has already outlawed many of obama's and holder's "assault weapons"
12276.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, "assault weapon" shall also mean any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
(B) A thumbhole stock.
(C) A folding or telescoping stock.
(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(E) A flash suppressor.
(F) A forward pistol grip.
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.
(Source(s):http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/dwcl/
Our wonderful chicken-hearted politicians here in California have defined an assault weapon for you. The problem here is items A, B, C, D, E and F are just cosmetic features that do not increase or decrease the lethality of a semi-automatic rifle. They just make it look really really scary. Because everyone knows that a semi-automatic hunting rifle is a lot safer than a semi-automatic hunting rifle with pistol grip on it. Cause you know, once you put a pistol grip on a semi-automatic rifle they lose all control. When the owner isn't looking they have even been known to sneak across the border to Mexico and shoot at drug runners.
But enough sarcasm. obama and holder want to ban scary looking rifles and magazines that will hold more than 10 rounds.
Now I don't want to give them any more ammunition to work with here, especially since they want to do the same to us. But, do you know what the difference is between me shooting a semi-automatic pistol with a magazine that holds 17 rounds and a 10 round magazine and a spare is? About 2 seconds. That is how long it takes me to drop a mag, slap in a new one chamber a round and start firing again. 2 seconds. And I am slow, I don't practice that enough. I'm sure there are guys out there that can do that in half the time I can.
Limiting the size of the magazine a weapon can hold doesn't make the weapon any safer to let it run around loose in public. Again like any tool a cap mag or a 10 rnd mag is only as safe as the user makes it.
So here comes your hope and change folks - Clinton Mk II. Ban guns and mags that will not make America safer and will not make Mexico safer. Because the other lie of ommision they don't tell you is this: Banning guns and gun control is not about the guns. It is not about the ammo or the mags. It is all about control. If they can control your life, they control you. More importantly if they can weasal away a little more Constitutionally protected rights it will make it easier for them to take away even more of them later. What is next? free speech, freedom of religion, etc? And lastly in extreme thinking cases only, it is much easier to supress an unarmed population than it is an armed one.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Satellite Fall Down - Go Boom
A satellite that was supposed to measure green house gases in order to help governments continue to use scare tactics to further repress their citizens develop global climate change policies crashed after take off in California today. A payload fairing that covers the top half of the satellite during launch failed to seperate so the launch was unable to reach a sustainable orbit. The satellite crashed into the ocean near Antartica.
Alan O’Neill, a science director of the Centre for Earth Observation in Reading, U.K. said:
Wow, that is impressive. The satellite didn't even manage to achieve orbit before it crashed yet it was already giving them "novel information". Any bets on what kind of novel that satellite was reading? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Horror?
According to NASA's Mission Website :
I have a couple questions: We can inventory the entire freaking oceans? All 60% of the earths surface, but we need a satellite to find what on the land is stealing all our CO2?
Secondly, the ocean is only absorbing about half of the CO2, and is only doing so temporarily? OMG what are we all going to do when suddenly the ocean lets loose with one huge burp and spits out 30% of all the carbon emitted by humans since 1751? Damned! Will there be an "excuse me" big enough to handle that magnitude of burp?
Notice the completely blind faith that the CO2 is impacting Earth's Climate?
Also the assumption that these sinks will become "less efficient" as the climate changes. We can't even find the damned things but we know they are going to be less efficient if we don't hurry up and ban light bulbs and cow farts.
And - we can't find the sinks, we only know that about half of the CO2 is being absorbed by the ocean and about half by the sinks (that we can't find), but we know that there would be 100 parts per million more carbon without them? Please?????
I have long been a proponent of a space program and I wish to God that we had one! So, far be it from me to cheer on the loss of any legitamate space vehicle. But this sounds more like a junk science vehicle than a space vehicle so I'm not too sorry its gone.
Alan O’Neill, a science director of the Centre for Earth Observation in Reading, U.K. said:
“It’s disappointing because it was giving us novel information to help us move our understanding forward on global warming,”
Wow, that is impressive. The satellite didn't even manage to achieve orbit before it crashed yet it was already giving them "novel information". Any bets on what kind of novel that satellite was reading? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Horror?
According to NASA's Mission Website :
Of all the carbon emitted by human activities between 1751 and 2003, only about 40 percent has remained in the atmosphere. The remaining 60 percent has been apparently absorbed (at least temporarily) by the ocean and continents. Recent inventories of the ocean can account for about half of this missing carbon. The remainder must have been absorbed somewhere on land, but scientists don't know where most of the land sinks are located or what controls their efficiency over time.
I have a couple questions: We can inventory the entire freaking oceans? All 60% of the earths surface, but we need a satellite to find what on the land is stealing all our CO2?
Secondly, the ocean is only absorbing about half of the CO2, and is only doing so temporarily? OMG what are we all going to do when suddenly the ocean lets loose with one huge burp and spits out 30% of all the carbon emitted by humans since 1751? Damned! Will there be an "excuse me" big enough to handle that magnitude of burp?
An improved understanding of carbon sinks is essential to predicting future carbon dioxide increases and making accurate predictions of carbon dioxide's impact on Earth's climate. If these natural carbon dioxide sinks become less efficient as the climate changes, the rate of buildup of carbon dioxide would increase-in fact, today's carbon dioxide levels would be about 100 parts per million higher were it not for them.
Notice the completely blind faith that the CO2 is impacting Earth's Climate?
Also the assumption that these sinks will become "less efficient" as the climate changes. We can't even find the damned things but we know they are going to be less efficient if we don't hurry up and ban light bulbs and cow farts.
And - we can't find the sinks, we only know that about half of the CO2 is being absorbed by the ocean and about half by the sinks (that we can't find), but we know that there would be 100 parts per million more carbon without them? Please?????
I have long been a proponent of a space program and I wish to God that we had one! So, far be it from me to cheer on the loss of any legitamate space vehicle. But this sounds more like a junk science vehicle than a space vehicle so I'm not too sorry its gone.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tax Calculator
The Sacramento Bee has a new tax calculator online to help you figure out how much our new State budget is going to cost you.
Tax Calculator
Warning: If you don't like the numbers you see when you do this don't blame me, I'm still cleaning the outrage off my monitor from when I finished.
Tax Calculator
Warning: If you don't like the numbers you see when you do this don't blame me, I'm still cleaning the outrage off my monitor from when I finished.
Friday, February 13, 2009
California Budget Deal?
The Sacramento Bee is reporting that state legislative leaders and our RINO governor have reached a deal to solve the state's budget crisis.
In a nut shell the deal boils down to bend over grab your knees and kiss your butt goodbye. They are going to fix our budget crisis by taxing the hell out of every honest working citizen in the state.
The deal includes:
$15.8 billion in spending cuts,
$14.3 billion in taxes and
$10.9 billion in borrowing
Of the 15.8 Billion in spending cuts, 8.6 Billion of that would be to cut funding in K-14 education. Yeah, thats what the state needs right now - more uneducated people running around.
But the taxes are going to hurt:
- 1% sales tax increase
- 77% vehicle license fee increase (does anyone remember old what's his name who got recalled for dramatically raising vehicle license fees?
- state's dependent credit would be cut in half - effectively raising taxes on parents.
- 12-cent per gallon tax hike on gasoline
- an Income Tax Increase
- and the best one yet a 5% tax surcharge on your taxes. That right they are going to start taxing your taxes.
Does anyone want to bet there will be absolutely no reduction in the amount of money we will spend to provide welfare, education and health benefits to the approximately 3 million plus illegals in the state?
Do you think there will be any reduction in all the money this state is spending on whacko green programs to prevent non existent global warming?
So get ready folks. Our national economy is going to get bad and California is going to lead the charge in making things as bad as they can for all everyone.
I would like to go off on a rant about our idiot legislature and our even worse governor. But I'm afraid that it would just be useless ranting and raving. So I'll just leave this at we are a state being run by idiots and morons.
In a nut shell the deal boils down to bend over grab your knees and kiss your butt goodbye. They are going to fix our budget crisis by taxing the hell out of every honest working citizen in the state.
The deal includes:
$15.8 billion in spending cuts,
$14.3 billion in taxes and
$10.9 billion in borrowing
Of the 15.8 Billion in spending cuts, 8.6 Billion of that would be to cut funding in K-14 education. Yeah, thats what the state needs right now - more uneducated people running around.
But the taxes are going to hurt:
- 1% sales tax increase
- 77% vehicle license fee increase (does anyone remember old what's his name who got recalled for dramatically raising vehicle license fees?
- state's dependent credit would be cut in half - effectively raising taxes on parents.
- 12-cent per gallon tax hike on gasoline
- an Income Tax Increase
- and the best one yet a 5% tax surcharge on your taxes. That right they are going to start taxing your taxes.
Does anyone want to bet there will be absolutely no reduction in the amount of money we will spend to provide welfare, education and health benefits to the approximately 3 million plus illegals in the state?
Do you think there will be any reduction in all the money this state is spending on whacko green programs to prevent non existent global warming?
So get ready folks. Our national economy is going to get bad and California is going to lead the charge in making things as bad as they can for all everyone.
I would like to go off on a rant about our idiot legislature and our even worse governor. But I'm afraid that it would just be useless ranting and raving. So I'll just leave this at we are a state being run by idiots and morons.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Catching Up?
Wow it has been almost two weeks since I last wrote something. At least since I wrote something here. I have been busy. The club volleyball season is in full swing and trying to be a good coach for one team and a good director for two others is keeping me very busy. This last weekend I had to substitute coach for the 16s team on Saturday and then coach my team on Sunday. It was fun spending time some of the players on the 16s team who played for me last year. I miss those girls. On Sunday my team played in qualifier no. 3. We didn't have the best of days but still managed to finish 2-1 for a second place finish.
There has been so much going on the country that I want to write about but my feelings on the economy, politics and stuff swings wildly from irate rage to stunned dispair. One minute I am feeling so angry at what is happening in our country that I can barely think, yet alone try to put those thoughts into a coherently written blog posting. Then the next minute I am depressed, sad and disillusioned. there is a big difference between thinking that our new President and our idiotic Congress is going to destroy the American I grew up in. But it is a lot different watching it happen before my very eyes and being powerless to do anything about it.
I used to write here to try and organize my thoughts and to deal with things that were irritating me. But I just don't seem to be able to do that these days. I can't type fast enough to get the thoughts out of my head and onto the page. When I try to slow down and rationalize things I end up ranting and raving. So instead I have been avoiding thinking about it. I watch TV, I read, I go the range and shoot, I listen to podcasts, and I muddle through the day at work. Mostly I concentrate all my efforts on my volleyball club. I do anything I can to not think about what is happening in the world. Unfortunately not thinking about things also means that I haven't been writing about them.
So I think I'm going to try and not write about politics here for a while. I'm going to try and write more here, but it might be kind of boring. Because right now my life is my boring job, my family and my volleyball team.
You've been warned.
There has been so much going on the country that I want to write about but my feelings on the economy, politics and stuff swings wildly from irate rage to stunned dispair. One minute I am feeling so angry at what is happening in our country that I can barely think, yet alone try to put those thoughts into a coherently written blog posting. Then the next minute I am depressed, sad and disillusioned. there is a big difference between thinking that our new President and our idiotic Congress is going to destroy the American I grew up in. But it is a lot different watching it happen before my very eyes and being powerless to do anything about it.
I used to write here to try and organize my thoughts and to deal with things that were irritating me. But I just don't seem to be able to do that these days. I can't type fast enough to get the thoughts out of my head and onto the page. When I try to slow down and rationalize things I end up ranting and raving. So instead I have been avoiding thinking about it. I watch TV, I read, I go the range and shoot, I listen to podcasts, and I muddle through the day at work. Mostly I concentrate all my efforts on my volleyball club. I do anything I can to not think about what is happening in the world. Unfortunately not thinking about things also means that I haven't been writing about them.
So I think I'm going to try and not write about politics here for a while. I'm going to try and write more here, but it might be kind of boring. Because right now my life is my boring job, my family and my volleyball team.
You've been warned.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Challenger - 23 years later
At 8:39 PST on January 28, 1986 the Challenger Space Shuttle Exploded 73 seconds into its flight. Killing all seven astronauts.
I had been working as a young engineer here in Ridgecrest for only about 2 months when this happened. Several of us wanted to watch the launch, so we were gathered around a small TV in the projection room of one of the conference rooms in Mich Lab. The projection room was so small that we had to stand in the hallway and look in through the door in order for more than just 3 or 4 people to see what was going on. When the shuttle exploded we were stunned. Quickly the crowd around the TV grew so that most folks could no longer see the set, and they had a hard time hearing also because of all the sniffling and crying going on. The crowd quickly filled the hallway. We had been standing there for several minutes when suddenly an angry voice demanded "What the hell is going on here. You people need to get to work."
Simultaneously about half the crowd snapped back "Shut up!"
Fortunately one of the people in the back of the crowd quickly explained to our now very irate department head what had happened. So he didn't take being told to shut up by a cocky bunch of young engineers too personally.
I had been working as a young engineer here in Ridgecrest for only about 2 months when this happened. Several of us wanted to watch the launch, so we were gathered around a small TV in the projection room of one of the conference rooms in Mich Lab. The projection room was so small that we had to stand in the hallway and look in through the door in order for more than just 3 or 4 people to see what was going on. When the shuttle exploded we were stunned. Quickly the crowd around the TV grew so that most folks could no longer see the set, and they had a hard time hearing also because of all the sniffling and crying going on. The crowd quickly filled the hallway. We had been standing there for several minutes when suddenly an angry voice demanded "What the hell is going on here. You people need to get to work."
Simultaneously about half the crowd snapped back "Shut up!"
Fortunately one of the people in the back of the crowd quickly explained to our now very irate department head what had happened. So he didn't take being told to shut up by a cocky bunch of young engineers too personally.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Potpourri
Mostly Cajun had this up, and I'm looking for an excuse to put off working on my volleyball club website. Which I need to do, but am just having a hard time getting started.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 AM
2. Diamonds or pearls? Other than my wedding ring I don't wear jewelry. But my dear wife is partial to diamonds.
3. Last movie you saw? Soldier of Fortune with Clark Gable and Susan Hayward is on right now.
4. What is your favorite T.V. show? Firefly. Favorite that is still on the air? - Mythbusters
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? A bowl of cereal.
6. What is your middle name? I haven't been in enough trouble lately for anyone to use it.
7. What food do you hate? Hate? None, but I'm not too fond of Macaroni and Cheese and I don't care much for brussel sprouts.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Boston's first album.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Magnum stationwagon (I didn't get the hemi engine - too expensive)
10. Favorite sandwich? Pastrami with brown mustard and onions.
11. What characteristics do you despise? Loud, pushy, arrogant.
12. Favorite item of clothing? sweatshirts
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Norway, Egypt or Israel, but I certainly wouldn't go to the last two these days.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits good and is comfortable when I am forced to shop for clothes. I don't look at brands.
15. Where would you retire to? I would love to retire to the mountains anywhere outside of California. Preferably the Black Hills, Wyoming or West Virginia. But I'm not ready to leave my volleyball team yet so that will all have to wait.
16. Favorite birthday? The next one.
17. Favorite sport to watch? 1) Women's court volleyball. 2) The Tour de France 3) NFL
18. Furthest place you are sending this? My hosting service is in Utah. So I'm sending it there. After that I'm not sure where it will be viewed from.
19. Person you expect to send it back first? No one.
20. Are you a morning or night person? Night
21. What is your shoe size? 12
22. Pets? Absolutely not. I don't like house pets. I like dogs as long as they are not in my house or yard and they belong to someone else.
23. What did you want to be when you were little? older
24. How are you today? older
25. What is your favorite candy? I have a horrible sweet tooth so just about any candy will do. Favorites are Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Almond M&Ms, Chocolate Covered Cherries.
26. What is your favorite flower? Anything that will bloom in this desert we live in.
27. What are you looking forward to? Time to keep up with all the hobbies I keep starting.
28. What are you listening to right now? Were you not paying attention to No. 3.
29. What was the last thing you ate? Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (my stash from last year is almost empty)
30. Do you wish on stars? No
31. If you were a crayon what color would you be? ???
32. How is the weather right now? Cold, windy. Well at least cold for the desert.
33. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The father of one of my volleyball players.
34. Favorite soft drink? Grape Soda, sometimes root beer.
35. Favorite restaurant? Mama Maria's but it has been closed for years. Right now it would be In-n-Out. I would eat at Prejeans in Lafayette LA or the Parson's Table in Jonesborough TN any day.
36. Color of hair? Clear
37. What was your favorite toy as a child? Books
38. Summer or winter? Never liked winter, but summers here are just way to hot to like. I'll take what passes for spring and fall around here.
39. Hugs or kisses? Kind of partial to both.
40. Chocolate or vanilla? Milk Chocolate
41. Coffee or tea? Coffee
42. Do you want your friends to email you back? No, just leave a comment.
43. What is under your bed? Shoes, extra leaves for the dinning room table, my dear wife's wedding dress (archived in a sealed box), dust godzillas and some sort of monster that nibbles on toes that hang off the edge of the bed at night.
44. What did you do last night? School Advisory Council meeting, helped out at a volleyball practice, updated the club's website while watching a little TV.
45. What are you afraid of? What kind of nation are we leaving for my kids? Am I being a good Dad? Am I being a good husband? Am I being a good coach?
46. Salty or sweet? Some of each, but usually not together.
47. How many keys on your key ring? 8
48. How many years at your current job? Less than a year. I've been working at the same place for over 23 years and haven't had any single job last more than 5 years.
49. How many towns have you lived in? Madison, Rapid City, Hot Springs, Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper, Brookings, Amarillo, Ridgecrest.
50. Favourite seafood? Crawfish ettoufee. But since Louisiana is so far away I'll settle for shrimp, crab or scallops.
51. Do you make friends easily? I make acquaintances easily, friends take a lot of time and effort that shouldn't be rushed or wasted.
52. How many friends will you send this to? I'm not sending it to anyone.
53. How many will respond? Check the comments to see for yourself.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 AM
2. Diamonds or pearls? Other than my wedding ring I don't wear jewelry. But my dear wife is partial to diamonds.
3. Last movie you saw? Soldier of Fortune with Clark Gable and Susan Hayward is on right now.
4. What is your favorite T.V. show? Firefly. Favorite that is still on the air? - Mythbusters
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? A bowl of cereal.
6. What is your middle name? I haven't been in enough trouble lately for anyone to use it.
7. What food do you hate? Hate? None, but I'm not too fond of Macaroni and Cheese and I don't care much for brussel sprouts.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Boston's first album.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Magnum stationwagon (I didn't get the hemi engine - too expensive)
10. Favorite sandwich? Pastrami with brown mustard and onions.
11. What characteristics do you despise? Loud, pushy, arrogant.
12. Favorite item of clothing? sweatshirts
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Norway, Egypt or Israel, but I certainly wouldn't go to the last two these days.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits good and is comfortable when I am forced to shop for clothes. I don't look at brands.
15. Where would you retire to? I would love to retire to the mountains anywhere outside of California. Preferably the Black Hills, Wyoming or West Virginia. But I'm not ready to leave my volleyball team yet so that will all have to wait.
16. Favorite birthday? The next one.
17. Favorite sport to watch? 1) Women's court volleyball. 2) The Tour de France 3) NFL
18. Furthest place you are sending this? My hosting service is in Utah. So I'm sending it there. After that I'm not sure where it will be viewed from.
19. Person you expect to send it back first? No one.
20. Are you a morning or night person? Night
21. What is your shoe size? 12
22. Pets? Absolutely not. I don't like house pets. I like dogs as long as they are not in my house or yard and they belong to someone else.
23. What did you want to be when you were little? older
24. How are you today? older
25. What is your favorite candy? I have a horrible sweet tooth so just about any candy will do. Favorites are Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Almond M&Ms, Chocolate Covered Cherries.
26. What is your favorite flower? Anything that will bloom in this desert we live in.
27. What are you looking forward to? Time to keep up with all the hobbies I keep starting.
28. What are you listening to right now? Were you not paying attention to No. 3.
29. What was the last thing you ate? Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (my stash from last year is almost empty)
30. Do you wish on stars? No
31. If you were a crayon what color would you be? ???
32. How is the weather right now? Cold, windy. Well at least cold for the desert.
33. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The father of one of my volleyball players.
34. Favorite soft drink? Grape Soda, sometimes root beer.
35. Favorite restaurant? Mama Maria's but it has been closed for years. Right now it would be In-n-Out. I would eat at Prejeans in Lafayette LA or the Parson's Table in Jonesborough TN any day.
36. Color of hair? Clear
37. What was your favorite toy as a child? Books
38. Summer or winter? Never liked winter, but summers here are just way to hot to like. I'll take what passes for spring and fall around here.
39. Hugs or kisses? Kind of partial to both.
40. Chocolate or vanilla? Milk Chocolate
41. Coffee or tea? Coffee
42. Do you want your friends to email you back? No, just leave a comment.
43. What is under your bed? Shoes, extra leaves for the dinning room table, my dear wife's wedding dress (archived in a sealed box), dust godzillas and some sort of monster that nibbles on toes that hang off the edge of the bed at night.
44. What did you do last night? School Advisory Council meeting, helped out at a volleyball practice, updated the club's website while watching a little TV.
45. What are you afraid of? What kind of nation are we leaving for my kids? Am I being a good Dad? Am I being a good husband? Am I being a good coach?
46. Salty or sweet? Some of each, but usually not together.
47. How many keys on your key ring? 8
48. How many years at your current job? Less than a year. I've been working at the same place for over 23 years and haven't had any single job last more than 5 years.
49. How many towns have you lived in? Madison, Rapid City, Hot Springs, Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper, Brookings, Amarillo, Ridgecrest.
50. Favourite seafood? Crawfish ettoufee. But since Louisiana is so far away I'll settle for shrimp, crab or scallops.
51. Do you make friends easily? I make acquaintances easily, friends take a lot of time and effort that shouldn't be rushed or wasted.
52. How many friends will you send this to? I'm not sending it to anyone.
53. How many will respond? Check the comments to see for yourself.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Happy Birthday JMB
John Moses Browning was born January 23, 1855 in Ogden, Utah. He was a remarkably prolific weapons designer. From his first rifle, a single-shot falling-block design through his last, the Fabrique Nationale GP35 which is more popularly known as the Browning Hi-Power. JMB was awarded 128 patents in his career. He also developed at seven different cartridges for use in his weapons. JMB passed away on November 26, 1926 while working on his final design the fabrique Nationale G35.
Both of my favorite weapons to shoot, rifle and pistol, are John Browning designs. More importantly, while they are not old weapons, they are essentially unchanged in design since the day Browning created them. My Winchester 94 30-30 is only 34 years old but it is exactly the same weapon that Browning invented in 1894. It is also the longest run production rifle and has sold over 7.5 million copies. It is the first hunting rifle chambered for the first smokeless powder cartridges.
My favorite pistol is a 1911A1 45ACP. I only just got mine last year. But I used to love shooting my Dad's 'colt'. That is what he called it - 'the colt'. I never had to ask I always knew exactly which weapon he was talking about, even though he owned four other colt pistols. His 1911 was the only one he ever named. I haven't named mine - I probably won't either. I don't usually assign names to inanimate objects. Besides mines not a colt its a Rock Island Armory. No, I'm not going to call it Rocky.
Thank you John Moses Browning your designs gave my Grandfather, my Dad, myself, and now my children hours of enjoyment. Food for our table and the ability to defend ourselves.
Thank you.
Both of my favorite weapons to shoot, rifle and pistol, are John Browning designs. More importantly, while they are not old weapons, they are essentially unchanged in design since the day Browning created them. My Winchester 94 30-30 is only 34 years old but it is exactly the same weapon that Browning invented in 1894. It is also the longest run production rifle and has sold over 7.5 million copies. It is the first hunting rifle chambered for the first smokeless powder cartridges.
My favorite pistol is a 1911A1 45ACP. I only just got mine last year. But I used to love shooting my Dad's 'colt'. That is what he called it - 'the colt'. I never had to ask I always knew exactly which weapon he was talking about, even though he owned four other colt pistols. His 1911 was the only one he ever named. I haven't named mine - I probably won't either. I don't usually assign names to inanimate objects. Besides mines not a colt its a Rock Island Armory. No, I'm not going to call it Rocky.
Thank you John Moses Browning your designs gave my Grandfather, my Dad, myself, and now my children hours of enjoyment. Food for our table and the ability to defend ourselves.
Thank you.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Students Robbed in Classroom
A wigged gunman walked into a class room at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis TN and ordered the 18 students and 1 professor in the room to turn over their wallets and purses. No one was hurt, but the campus was locked down and classes were canceled for the afternoon.
All I have to say is HOW DARE HE? Doesn't that evil gunman know that college campuses are gun free zone. Boy he better hope the authorities don't catch him or he'll be in real trouble for having a gun on campus. This just isn't right. We need a law. What would be so hard about passing a law mandating that you aren't allowed to steal from people in gun free zones.
In case you missed it, the previous paragraph was written with the sarcasm switch on my keyboard turned up to high.
Now the really disturbing part of the whole thing:
The guy was not caught, but since no one was hurt the President decides that the incident is over because they followed the rules. What the hell? What is the mascot at LeMoyne-Owen College? A sheep? Maybe its a victim?
What kind of administrator deals with a situation like this by just telling the victims if you feel the need to go home you should do so? Today there should be 18 sets of really pissed off parents in that clown's office demanding his head on a pike.
If the politicians and bureaucrats in this world want to take the responsibility for defending ourselves away from us, then they had better be ready to step up and do the job for us. Maybe we should get the lawyers involved - every time a person is victimized in a gun free zone they should sue every administrator of that area and every politician that is in charge of that gun free zone. Start with the mayor and work your way up through the governor, congressmen and senators. After all they are the ones who made those 19 victims such easy pickings. If they want to disarm the population they should have to pay the price when those disarmed people are victimized.
Now, I'm not sure I like the idea of unlimited guns on campuses. I remember how stupid most of the kids were when I was in college. I'm not sure I want kids that drunk carrying firearms. But I have a daughter going off to school in less than two years and I would like to know that she is able to defend herself if need be. Because depending on university bureaucrats and politicians to protect her isn't going to cut it. Do you think the criminal in this story would have been so bold if he thought that the professor and maybe one or two of those students were carrying concealed.
All I have to say is HOW DARE HE? Doesn't that evil gunman know that college campuses are gun free zone. Boy he better hope the authorities don't catch him or he'll be in real trouble for having a gun on campus. This just isn't right. We need a law. What would be so hard about passing a law mandating that you aren't allowed to steal from people in gun free zones.
In case you missed it, the previous paragraph was written with the sarcasm switch on my keyboard turned up to high.
Now the really disturbing part of the whole thing:
President Johnny B. Watson says the "incident is over" and that faculty followed set protocol in an emergency situation like this. Watson said those who feel the need to go home should do so.
The guy was not caught, but since no one was hurt the President decides that the incident is over because they followed the rules. What the hell? What is the mascot at LeMoyne-Owen College? A sheep? Maybe its a victim?
What kind of administrator deals with a situation like this by just telling the victims if you feel the need to go home you should do so? Today there should be 18 sets of really pissed off parents in that clown's office demanding his head on a pike.
If the politicians and bureaucrats in this world want to take the responsibility for defending ourselves away from us, then they had better be ready to step up and do the job for us. Maybe we should get the lawyers involved - every time a person is victimized in a gun free zone they should sue every administrator of that area and every politician that is in charge of that gun free zone. Start with the mayor and work your way up through the governor, congressmen and senators. After all they are the ones who made those 19 victims such easy pickings. If they want to disarm the population they should have to pay the price when those disarmed people are victimized.
Now, I'm not sure I like the idea of unlimited guns on campuses. I remember how stupid most of the kids were when I was in college. I'm not sure I want kids that drunk carrying firearms. But I have a daughter going off to school in less than two years and I would like to know that she is able to defend herself if need be. Because depending on university bureaucrats and politicians to protect her isn't going to cut it. Do you think the criminal in this story would have been so bold if he thought that the professor and maybe one or two of those students were carrying concealed.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
CA Out of Cash
California's Controller, John Chiang, has announced a 30 day delay on tax returns and other payments, beginning on Feb 1, because the Golden State is running out of money.
OK, being a little snarky right now, but I haven't gotten a refund from the state for almost 10 years now. I always owe them something, no matter how much I have deducted out of my check each month, it is never enough. But then I always try to guess how much I will owe and pay only that much. I have never liked making interest free loans to the government.
But back when I did get a refund, it was always a check, and it took a long time to get. Usually at least 6 to 8 weeks. So first off is anyone going to notice a 30 day delay?
Secondly. Since the state has said that they are going to delay those payments will we, the taxpayers, you know, the people these clowns work FOR, be allowed the same indulgence? Will I be allowed to send in my tax return with a note that says
I'm not holding my breath on that one.
But this leaves me with one very important question. The state is facing a huge deficit, some experts are saying as much as 41 billion over the next 18 months. And yet our state legislature still hasn't come up with a balanced budget proposal that does not solve all our problem by taxing the hell out of all of us. Are we still paying our state senators and congressmen? Are these clowns collecting a paycheck for running our state into bankruptcy? If the state starts issuing IOUs will the first ones issued be given to the asshats who have legislated us into this situation?
We need a policy here in the Republik of Kalifornia - on the the day the budget is due and the state government has not produced an approved balanced budget, their paychecks stop, immediately. They do not get paid until they start doing their jobs.
So in the interest of not just bitching but actually trying to do something useful I'm going to quote the Governor's own Budget proposal explaining why we are in this mess:
Emphasis is mine, in order to point out that we got into this mess because our elected officials were spending like drunken sailors and when the good times of high revenues ended the spending didn't. Now our elected officials want to punish all of us for their idiotic and irresponsible actions and fixing the problem by taxing us back into a high revue condition.
Of course it never occurs to them that runaway spending got us into this situation so maybe we should stop rein in the spending. Its like the old joke of the man who goes to the doctor and says "It hurts when I do this." and the doctor replies "then stop doing that."
OK, being a little snarky right now, but I haven't gotten a refund from the state for almost 10 years now. I always owe them something, no matter how much I have deducted out of my check each month, it is never enough. But then I always try to guess how much I will owe and pay only that much. I have never liked making interest free loans to the government.
But back when I did get a refund, it was always a check, and it took a long time to get. Usually at least 6 to 8 weeks. So first off is anyone going to notice a 30 day delay?
Secondly. Since the state has said that they are going to delay those payments will we, the taxpayers, you know, the people these clowns work FOR, be allowed the same indulgence? Will I be allowed to send in my tax return with a note that says
"Sorry cash is a little tight right now, I will send in your check in 30 days."
I'm not holding my breath on that one.
But this leaves me with one very important question. The state is facing a huge deficit, some experts are saying as much as 41 billion over the next 18 months. And yet our state legislature still hasn't come up with a balanced budget proposal that does not solve all our problem by taxing the hell out of all of us. Are we still paying our state senators and congressmen? Are these clowns collecting a paycheck for running our state into bankruptcy? If the state starts issuing IOUs will the first ones issued be given to the asshats who have legislated us into this situation?
We need a policy here in the Republik of Kalifornia - on the the day the budget is due and the state government has not produced an approved balanced budget, their paychecks stop, immediately. They do not get paid until they start doing their jobs.
So in the interest of not just bitching but actually trying to do something useful I'm going to quote the Governor's own Budget proposal explaining why we are in this mess:
In 1998‑99, the state’s budget was balanced and projected to remain in balance. Figure INT‑01 displays General Fund revenue and spending growth since 1998‑99. As the figure shows, one year later, revenues increased by 23 percent, due to a stock market and dot‑com boom that drove unprecedented increases in stock option and capital gains income. These were magnified from a state revenue perspective, because the state’s income tax system relies disproportionately on the very high‑end earners most likely to receive such gains. The surge in revenues resulted in massive – and unsustainable – new spending commitments. When revenues declined, the state relied mostly on one‑time measures, such as borrowing, to temporarily reduce spending without cutting back underlying program commitments. Thus, the structural deficit was born.
Emphasis is mine, in order to point out that we got into this mess because our elected officials were spending like drunken sailors and when the good times of high revenues ended the spending didn't. Now our elected officials want to punish all of us for their idiotic and irresponsible actions and fixing the problem by taxing us back into a high revue condition.
Of course it never occurs to them that runaway spending got us into this situation so maybe we should stop rein in the spending. Its like the old joke of the man who goes to the doctor and says "It hurts when I do this." and the doctor replies "then stop doing that."
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Great Movie Quote
Over at Curmudgeonly and Skeptical there is a thread discussing favorite comedy movies. One early comment pretty much describes my opinion of my movie theater experiences the last 10 years or so:
I got tired of spending the entire contents of my wallet on a small popcorn and two hours of Suck. - AWM
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year
Welcome to 2009! Does it look, feel or smell any different than yesterday? Other than your hang-over, I mean?
My 16 year old daughter had a New Years Eve party last night. She had 7 friends over, two of which had to go home before midnight. So five of them slept over. My dear wife and I stayed up till midnight to welcome in the new year, share some bubbly and a new year's kiss. Then she headed for bed. I ran herd on the party to make sure they didn't stay outside making too much noise for too long. Then I finished up some volleyball scheduling I was working on, then headed to bed. The girls were all settled down to watch movies. But since they were watching them while laying down with their heads on pillows and snuggled under blankets I don't know how long they all lasted.
Yep, that was it, the wild New Years times at our house.
However getting through the early evening I was reading a lot of blogs. The one common thought I found all over the internet last night can be summed up as:
and
Say what? The only thing that ended last night was the functionality of your 2008 calendar. Our economy is still tanking, the recession is still gaining momentum, our elected officials are still incompetent boobs who think they are smart enough to fix our problems, as a nation we are exchanging freedom for socialism, our retirement accounts are still worth only 60% of what they were a year ago.
So what has changed? Overnight, in the last 24 hours what really changed?
The answer is NOTHING!
Yeah, Personally 2008 wasn't that great a year in many ways.
- I turned 50
- I ended up in a job that I really hate.
- My savings and investments aren't worth as much as they used to be.
- Gas was $4.50 a gallon.
- I didn't bowl well in the city tournament.
- I didn't get to go to the state bowling tournament.
- I finished the summer golf league with a losing record.
- My club volleyball team tore itself apart off the court and didn't play well at Nationals because of that.
- My middle school club team followed up three years of local championships by finishing fourth this year.
- I think our new President and the administration is going to lead this country down a path to nanny state communism that we may not be able to recover from without another civil war.
But there were a lot of good things that happened this year also.
- I turned 50. Hey, 20 years ago I wasn't sure I would make it this far.
- I hate my job, but it pays the bills, and it is necessary work, even if it does bore the living crap out of me.
- Sure the market tanked and my savings and investments aren't what they used to be, but at least I have some savings and retirement left, for a while at least. But more importantly, I'm still able to support and provide for my family.
- Gas was over $4.50 a gallon but now it is under $2 a gallon.
- I didn't bowl well at city, but at least I got to bowl.
- OK, missing state sucked. No silver lining there. Except that I missed it because I was with my club volleyball team. I can't think of a better reason for missing something I love doing other than to do something else I love doing.
- Yeah, I lost more matches than I won golfing this summer. But I still got to golf. And at 50 years old with my 60 year old ankles and 70 year old knees I can still walk the course, carrying my clubs, in 100+ degree temperatures and still be competitive in most of my matches.
- Yeah, I screwed up as a coach - I let my club team's off the court problems effect their on the court performance. But we still finished tied for 5th at Nationals which I thought was pretty good for a first time club team with a first time club coach.
- Yeah I screwed up again in middle school. I wasn't able to get my 8th grade team that had more 6th and 7th grade players than 8th grade players to compete well enough to beat all the other 8th grade teams at our end of the season tournament. But we had fun that season and we did finish higher in the other two tournaments we playing in than our previous teams ever managed. I have been complaining for years about the level of volleyball competition in the middle schools in town. Well I finally got my wish. The other schools in town don't roll over and play dead for us anymore, and that is a good thing.
- I am going to try and be optimistic that our new government won't be as bad as I think it will. But I'll give them credit for one thing. I have wanted to buy several different guns for many years now but just never got around to it. But with the pending gun bans that are going to happen I finally got in gear and bought the guns I wanted. So far my son, oldest daughter and I have had a blast at the range shooting them.
So let me wish you all a happy new year. You know what the new year really means don't you? For the next four weeks most of you will be writing year old checks.
My 16 year old daughter had a New Years Eve party last night. She had 7 friends over, two of which had to go home before midnight. So five of them slept over. My dear wife and I stayed up till midnight to welcome in the new year, share some bubbly and a new year's kiss. Then she headed for bed. I ran herd on the party to make sure they didn't stay outside making too much noise for too long. Then I finished up some volleyball scheduling I was working on, then headed to bed. The girls were all settled down to watch movies. But since they were watching them while laying down with their heads on pillows and snuggled under blankets I don't know how long they all lasted.
Yep, that was it, the wild New Years times at our house.
However getting through the early evening I was reading a lot of blogs. The one common thought I found all over the internet last night can be summed up as:
"Thank God this horrible year is over."
and
"2009 is going to be so much better!"
Say what? The only thing that ended last night was the functionality of your 2008 calendar. Our economy is still tanking, the recession is still gaining momentum, our elected officials are still incompetent boobs who think they are smart enough to fix our problems, as a nation we are exchanging freedom for socialism, our retirement accounts are still worth only 60% of what they were a year ago.
So what has changed? Overnight, in the last 24 hours what really changed?
The answer is NOTHING!
Yeah, Personally 2008 wasn't that great a year in many ways.
- I turned 50
- I ended up in a job that I really hate.
- My savings and investments aren't worth as much as they used to be.
- Gas was $4.50 a gallon.
- I didn't bowl well in the city tournament.
- I didn't get to go to the state bowling tournament.
- I finished the summer golf league with a losing record.
- My club volleyball team tore itself apart off the court and didn't play well at Nationals because of that.
- My middle school club team followed up three years of local championships by finishing fourth this year.
- I think our new President and the administration is going to lead this country down a path to nanny state communism that we may not be able to recover from without another civil war.
But there were a lot of good things that happened this year also.
- I turned 50. Hey, 20 years ago I wasn't sure I would make it this far.
- I hate my job, but it pays the bills, and it is necessary work, even if it does bore the living crap out of me.
- Sure the market tanked and my savings and investments aren't what they used to be, but at least I have some savings and retirement left, for a while at least. But more importantly, I'm still able to support and provide for my family.
- Gas was over $4.50 a gallon but now it is under $2 a gallon.
- I didn't bowl well at city, but at least I got to bowl.
- OK, missing state sucked. No silver lining there. Except that I missed it because I was with my club volleyball team. I can't think of a better reason for missing something I love doing other than to do something else I love doing.
- Yeah, I lost more matches than I won golfing this summer. But I still got to golf. And at 50 years old with my 60 year old ankles and 70 year old knees I can still walk the course, carrying my clubs, in 100+ degree temperatures and still be competitive in most of my matches.
- Yeah, I screwed up as a coach - I let my club team's off the court problems effect their on the court performance. But we still finished tied for 5th at Nationals which I thought was pretty good for a first time club team with a first time club coach.
- Yeah I screwed up again in middle school. I wasn't able to get my 8th grade team that had more 6th and 7th grade players than 8th grade players to compete well enough to beat all the other 8th grade teams at our end of the season tournament. But we had fun that season and we did finish higher in the other two tournaments we playing in than our previous teams ever managed. I have been complaining for years about the level of volleyball competition in the middle schools in town. Well I finally got my wish. The other schools in town don't roll over and play dead for us anymore, and that is a good thing.
- I am going to try and be optimistic that our new government won't be as bad as I think it will. But I'll give them credit for one thing. I have wanted to buy several different guns for many years now but just never got around to it. But with the pending gun bans that are going to happen I finally got in gear and bought the guns I wanted. So far my son, oldest daughter and I have had a blast at the range shooting them.
So let me wish you all a happy new year. You know what the new year really means don't you? For the next four weeks most of you will be writing year old checks.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
New Shooter Report
I took my son and oldest daughter to the range this afternoon. The main reason for this trip was to try out my Christmas Present - a RIA 1911-A1 45 auto. I had a chance to try one of these several weeks ago at the range thanks to a generous stranger who let me shoot off a mag of his ammo. So I was anxious to see if I liked my own as much as I liked his. I did. It needs a little work though. The hammer bite on the web between my thumb and forefinger will need to be addressed. But overall I liked it. It shot quite well right out of the box.
Today was also my oldest daughters first chance to go shooting. It was a day of firsts for her. She is walking without her case/boot thing that she was worn for the last four weeks recovering from a bad ankle sprain. She passed her written test this afternoon and got her drivers permit. She got to go shooting for the first time.
OK, its not completely her first time. She has shot her brother's BB gun and his soft pellet pistol. But this was her first time with something that was gun powder propelled.
We started her out with the Browning Buckmark. She handled it OK. After a few mags of 22LR we moved her up to the 9 mm. She had a little difficulty maintaining a solid enough platform for the weapon and it kept jamming on her. When she was able to maintain a good solid base she did OK. She was able to bang the metal targets out around 60 feet about half the time with both weapons. She wasn't too amuzed when the 9mm ejected one piece of brass and it popped her in the nose. She did fire one mag through my new 45. But didn't really enjoy that. Then I created a monster.
Next I hauled out my old Winchester 250 22LR lever action rifle. She took to that like a duck to water. Her only problem was the first time I let her load it. She didn't lock down the inner tube when she was finished. So the first time she shot it, the tube shot out the front of the weapon and lay there on the ground.
After learning how to lock down the magazine tube, she did great. She started sitting down shortly after we got there because her ankle was hurting her. But once she discovered how much more stable she was that way, she turned into a plinking monster. After beating up all the knock down targets on the pistol range she moved over to the rifle range to shoot at the 100 yard target there. When I checked up on her after a while she was shooting at some metal silhouette targets at 200 yds and hitting them about a third of the time.
I see now that I should have never waited this long to take her shooting. She had a blast. Next time she wants me to take the 30-30 and the .45-70 so she can give those a try. And of course the 250 again. I can see it coming already. I think I may have lost my 250 today. But I suppose that is OK. It was the first gun my parents bought for me when I turned twelve. I suppose it would be fitting to pass it down to my first born. Besides that would give me a good excuse to go get myself a new 22. Hey! I'm liking this idea more and more. I especially like that my daughter decided that her favorite weapon to shoot is the most affordable to shoot gun we own.
Oh, my son loved my new 45. The first time he shot it it really startled him. He was getting pretty comfortable with the 9mm so he wasn't ready for the recoil from the 45. But he adjusted quickly. I think I have created a recoil monster. He just doesn't get a thrill from plinking any more. He needs the big bang and the thump to get himself charged up. But unfortunately for him he is going to have to do a lot of plinking. I love shooting the larger calibers also, but the 22s are a lot cheaper to shoot.
Today was also my oldest daughters first chance to go shooting. It was a day of firsts for her. She is walking without her case/boot thing that she was worn for the last four weeks recovering from a bad ankle sprain. She passed her written test this afternoon and got her drivers permit. She got to go shooting for the first time.
OK, its not completely her first time. She has shot her brother's BB gun and his soft pellet pistol. But this was her first time with something that was gun powder propelled.
We started her out with the Browning Buckmark. She handled it OK. After a few mags of 22LR we moved her up to the 9 mm. She had a little difficulty maintaining a solid enough platform for the weapon and it kept jamming on her. When she was able to maintain a good solid base she did OK. She was able to bang the metal targets out around 60 feet about half the time with both weapons. She wasn't too amuzed when the 9mm ejected one piece of brass and it popped her in the nose. She did fire one mag through my new 45. But didn't really enjoy that. Then I created a monster.
Next I hauled out my old Winchester 250 22LR lever action rifle. She took to that like a duck to water. Her only problem was the first time I let her load it. She didn't lock down the inner tube when she was finished. So the first time she shot it, the tube shot out the front of the weapon and lay there on the ground.
After learning how to lock down the magazine tube, she did great. She started sitting down shortly after we got there because her ankle was hurting her. But once she discovered how much more stable she was that way, she turned into a plinking monster. After beating up all the knock down targets on the pistol range she moved over to the rifle range to shoot at the 100 yard target there. When I checked up on her after a while she was shooting at some metal silhouette targets at 200 yds and hitting them about a third of the time.
I see now that I should have never waited this long to take her shooting. She had a blast. Next time she wants me to take the 30-30 and the .45-70 so she can give those a try. And of course the 250 again. I can see it coming already. I think I may have lost my 250 today. But I suppose that is OK. It was the first gun my parents bought for me when I turned twelve. I suppose it would be fitting to pass it down to my first born. Besides that would give me a good excuse to go get myself a new 22. Hey! I'm liking this idea more and more. I especially like that my daughter decided that her favorite weapon to shoot is the most affordable to shoot gun we own.
Oh, my son loved my new 45. The first time he shot it it really startled him. He was getting pretty comfortable with the 9mm so he wasn't ready for the recoil from the 45. But he adjusted quickly. I think I have created a recoil monster. He just doesn't get a thrill from plinking any more. He needs the big bang and the thump to get himself charged up. But unfortunately for him he is going to have to do a lot of plinking. I love shooting the larger calibers also, but the 22s are a lot cheaper to shoot.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
CA State Legislature vs the Budget
Our New CA State Legislature was sworn into office just this month. This new legislature faces a huge problem - a 28 billion dollar deficit, that by some accounts is a low estimate. Of course all the Democrats in office and our RINO governor all want to fix this deficit by simply raising our taxes. Fortunately the conservatives in office are fighting that tooth and nail.
Right up front I want to say that I know this is a drop in the bucket compared to the state wide problem. But according ABC News at KGO-TV in San Francisco our new lawmakers all received new cars this week. Not just new cars, but they also get gas and maintenance allowances.
Even more irritating that then idea of these overpaid clowns getting free cars and gas and maintenance was reading the comments that were attached to the online article quoted above:
10 comments, 8 clueless jerks all jumping up and down waving their hands in the air asking for their taxes to be raised. I especially like the clown who thinks you can add a 50 cent a gallon tax on gasoline and the price will not go up. Can you believe that we let idiots like this loose on the streets? Yet alone we let them drive, drink and vote? My God, and the liberals accuse conservatives of being stupid?
Read those comments, these idiots think that everything can be solved by raising taxes!
You want to solve the deficit problem is CA? There is one sure way to assure that we always have a balanced budget. Pass an amendment to the constitution that say if the budget is not balanced at the start of the fiscal year, then our legislature does not get paid that year. No delays, no discussion, no pay. Balance the damned budget or work for free.
Unfortunately those weasels would balance the budget by acquiescing to all the loons in the states desires to see their taxes raised.
What we really need is some honest intelligent people sitting in our legislature who will stop trying to force tax increases on their constituents via scare tactics. You know the typical stuff they do and say
You know, all the things that any reasonable person knows we all want and need in the state. Why doesn't the legislature ever think about cutting some of the costs of the 800 lb gorilla that is sitting in the room.
In May of this year the LA County supervisor reported that LA county alone spends
That is just in LA County. How much is spent annually statewide to support people who are here illegally? More importantly why is the funding for their support more important than the education, the emergency services and the public infrastructure that they legal citizens who are paying their taxes want and need?
Yeah Yeah I know what comes next - "Hey you jerk, we need the illegals to do all the jobs Americans won't."
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform the cost of supporting illegals in this country far exceeds and benefit their labor provides to our economy.
So may be our legislature should stop trying to scare their electorate in approving tax increases on ourselves and start making substantial cuts in the state budget in place where it will really make a difference. We need to educate our kids, we need to have emergency services and we need to be regularly maintaining our state infrastructure. What we don't need is all the mamby pamby take care of everyone, provide for everyone, protect everyone mentality that is costing us billions every year. Maybe if the food wasn't free, the education wasn't free and the health care wasn't free all the illegals would leave CA and we could balance our budget again. After all no one gives me that stuff free because I have a job and am expected to pay for my own. So if all these illegals are contributing so much to our economy, why can't they pay for their own stuff also?
Right up front I want to say that I know this is a drop in the bucket compared to the state wide problem. But according ABC News at KGO-TV in San Francisco our new lawmakers all received new cars this week. Not just new cars, but they also get gas and maintenance allowances.
While the state is wallowing in a $28 billion deficit over the next 18 months, newly-elected lawmakers got new cars. From $32,000 hybrids to $46,000 Cadillacs, their new rides will cost taxpayers an estimated $1.3 million.
Even more irritating that then idea of these overpaid clowns getting free cars and gas and maintenance was reading the comments that were attached to the online article quoted above:
"Add 50 cents tax on gasoline which will ensure that Californians not return to gas guzzlers."
"I start to think that taxes can be used to moderate Americans' irresponsible usage of gasoline."
"if we add 50 cents tax on gasoline, then oil prices will be pushed down further as we will figure out new ways to cut back our consumption."
"If we add 50 cents tax on gasoline and end up reducing gasoline consumption and push oil prices even further down.. There will probably be no more need to drill offshore for oil.. also the gasoline prices will stay the same at around $1.75 even with 50 cents added"
"I support a 50 cent tax on gasoline right now but not after gasoline prices go up past $2."
"stick 50 cents on gasoline now , hurry dont wait"
"I am so certain there is still millions of men and women who are still leaning toward buying gas guzzlers all over again because of low gasoline prices today... It is a dangerous situation that must be addressed preemptively to send a strong message to all Americans that gasoline is a very dangerous economical indicator."
"50c on Gas? I'm in"
10 comments, 8 clueless jerks all jumping up and down waving their hands in the air asking for their taxes to be raised. I especially like the clown who thinks you can add a 50 cent a gallon tax on gasoline and the price will not go up. Can you believe that we let idiots like this loose on the streets? Yet alone we let them drive, drink and vote? My God, and the liberals accuse conservatives of being stupid?
Read those comments, these idiots think that everything can be solved by raising taxes!
You want to solve the deficit problem is CA? There is one sure way to assure that we always have a balanced budget. Pass an amendment to the constitution that say if the budget is not balanced at the start of the fiscal year, then our legislature does not get paid that year. No delays, no discussion, no pay. Balance the damned budget or work for free.
Unfortunately those weasels would balance the budget by acquiescing to all the loons in the states desires to see their taxes raised.
What we really need is some honest intelligent people sitting in our legislature who will stop trying to force tax increases on their constituents via scare tactics. You know the typical stuff they do and say
"We will balance the budget by cutting education, emergency services and public infrastructure."
You know, all the things that any reasonable person knows we all want and need in the state. Why doesn't the legislature ever think about cutting some of the costs of the 800 lb gorilla that is sitting in the room.
In May of this year the LA County supervisor reported that LA county alone spends
“The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education,” said Antonovich. “With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $432 million in welfare allocations, illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers.”
That is just in LA County. How much is spent annually statewide to support people who are here illegally? More importantly why is the funding for their support more important than the education, the emergency services and the public infrastructure that they legal citizens who are paying their taxes want and need?
Yeah Yeah I know what comes next - "Hey you jerk, we need the illegals to do all the jobs Americans won't."
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform the cost of supporting illegals in this country far exceeds and benefit their labor provides to our economy.
So may be our legislature should stop trying to scare their electorate in approving tax increases on ourselves and start making substantial cuts in the state budget in place where it will really make a difference. We need to educate our kids, we need to have emergency services and we need to be regularly maintaining our state infrastructure. What we don't need is all the mamby pamby take care of everyone, provide for everyone, protect everyone mentality that is costing us billions every year. Maybe if the food wasn't free, the education wasn't free and the health care wasn't free all the illegals would leave CA and we could balance our budget again. After all no one gives me that stuff free because I have a job and am expected to pay for my own. So if all these illegals are contributing so much to our economy, why can't they pay for their own stuff also?
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