That was weird…

So the radio alarm goes off at 0600 this morning, and ‘something’ that was playing yanked my subconscious straight into the past…

I couldn’t get this scene out of my mind for some reason…

I grew up listening to him on XERF, 1570AM in the 60s, and he was on AFRTS up through the mid-70s.

He was the counter-culture icon, as he was always seen but not heard. I think American Graffiti was the first time most of us ever saw the face, but we sure as hell knew that voice… 🙂

Still trying to figure out what got me on this kick this morning. Now I’m hungry, more coffee is needed, and I guess sleeping in is a non-starter.

Sigh…

Bread and circuses…

And the politicrats are off and running… Two Pub debates yesterday, and I didn’t see a damn thing in either one (other than Fiorina) that impressed me…

While I applaude Fox for actually trying to get the candidates to actually answer questions, by the time it was over, all I could come up with were dog analogies…

AND a headache…

Rand Paul- Chihuahua

Christie- Bulldog

Trump- Irish Setter

Bush- Labrador

Do we REALLY have to listen to this crap for another 17 months???

Gah…

I dunno…

Buddy of mine over at NASA sent me this one…

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver announced Jan. 16 a newly planned addition to the International Space Station that will use the orbiting laboratory to test expandable space habitat technology. NASA has awarded a $17.8 million contract to Bigelow Aerospace to provide a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is scheduled to arrive at the space station in 2015 for a two-year technology demonstration.

Full article is HERE.

I ‘think’ I’d have to be really confident of it before I went in there without an EVA suit on…

I know they do good work, but one big leak…

TBT…

So I’m at a friend’s house, and she comes out with this…

It’s a Ka-Bar… But…

Pal 1

It’s not a Ka-Bar… Or is it??? PAL? Pal 2

Yep, it’s actually a PAL Blade Co, USMC issued 1219C2 USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife!!!Pal 3

And it’s stamped PAL on one ricasso and USMC on the other…Pal 4

Ka-Bar info HERE.

Here’s a bit of history on PAL and this blade. Produced by the PAL Cutlery Company of Plattsburgh, NY. Pal was established in 1935 as a cutlery company, specializing in kitchen implements. The company was a merger of the Utica Knife & Razor Company of Utica, NY and the Pal Blade Company of Chicago, IL. Pal used both the “Blade Company” and “Cutlery Company” monikers interchangeably during the next two decades. During World War II the PAL Blade Company produced hundreds of thousands of edged weapons for the US war effort, including USN Mark 1 and Mark 2 knives, M-3 Trench Knives, TL-29 pocket knives, a variety of bayonets including the M-1 and M-4, as well as a limited number of USMC 1219C2 combat knives. The Pal Blade Company went out of business in 1953, and the assets of the company were acquired by American Safety Razor company.

Her dad was a Marine in WWII, and served at least some time in the Philippines and other places in SEA, but never talked about it. She’d never seen the knife either… It was found in the bottom of a trunk after he died. She’s done nothing to it, and it’s in excellent shape all things considered. I can’t help but wonder where the sand on the tang came from, and what the stain is on the sheath… Her dad had gone in to the Marines in 41, so this must have been an original issue knife, as it’s an early PAL with the red spacer below the pommel.

If only it could talk…

PSA!!!

Just got word on this one at work this morning… Be aware!!!

I want to bring your attention to a potentially dangerous phishing email that contains a malicious link.  If you received any email from any of these email addresses:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

And the Subject Line is:  “Your USAA Account Computer/Device Preferences Notification.”

DO NOT OPEN the email.  DELETE THE EMAIL IMMEDIATELY.  Then DELETE the email from your Deleted Items folder.  The email contains a malicious link that can attack email and other Information Technology systems.

Posted in PSA

Where to retire, follow-up…

Well, after the response to my post on Sunday, I figured I owe y’all an explanation…

That was actually posted as a humorous post… Yes, I am retiring (again) the end of the year, but I’ve already decided where to relocate the bunker…

North/Panhandle Texas is my location of choice. Close to family (but not too close), and a friendly state toward military retirees and gun owners. I’m looking at a place out in the country, and am planning on scouting out/visiting a couple of locations in the next few months.

And NO STATE TAXES! 🙂

Oh yeah, and winters that aren’t too bad… I really don’t like cold weather, and have issues with frostbite from one of my military ‘excursions’ over the years (got frostbite on both hands and both feet).

Some folks were suggesting snowbirding, but realistically I can’t afford that unless I buy TWO tents. The books are selling, but not that well. And I’ve been through hurricanes/typhoons and also lived on the coast, and those have NO attraction for me. I don’t have anybody to take long walks on the beach with, and people tend to look at old men funny when they are walking the beach by themselves.  Just sayin…

So thanks to those who ‘suggested’ various areas, and offered beers. I hope to actually be able to take some time and road trips, so I’m going to try to take y’all up on that!

Can’t Legislate???

When in doubt, REGULATE…

Remember Cap and Trade? Obama’s promise to bankrupt the coal industry???

Go HERE. From 2008…

And then there was the ‘dump’ from yesterday on the ‘new’ EPA regs for 32% emissions reductions. The goals are even steeper than previously expected.

Go HERE to see the article and video. One of my co-workers IS a climatologist, she is ‘not’ impressed… Saying this will do nothing to actually reduce global emissions!!! And the costs of these new regulations have the potential to at least double our electricity rates, if not cause other extensive problems to the grid due to lack of backup power…

This one isn’t going to be pretty…

Fact Checking…

Also known as the ‘rest of the story’!!!

For years, gun control advocates have been peddling the claim that “40 percent of gun sales do not go through background checks.” Recently the claim has made its way into several news outlets, including the Las Vegas Sun, USA Today, and the New York Times. The claim that 40 percent of gun sales do not go through a federal background check is false and comes from a decades-old survey that has been widely debunked.

The REAL facts are below.

  • Media outlets including the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Post have concluded that this claim is false.  Washington Post gave the claim 3 out of 4 Pinochios for being way off target.
  • Most of the survey covered sales before there was a federal background check system.
  • The 1994 survey was conducted eight months after the Brady Act went into effect, mandating background checks on individuals seeking to buy firearms from federally licensed dealers. Survey participants were asked about their gun acquisitions going back two years. Some of the participants likely made gun purchases before the Brady Act, when they were not required to undergo federal background checks.
  • Self-reports are inherently unreliable – not actual data of sales.
  • Only a small group of gun owners — 251 people — answered the survey question about the origin of their weapons. Some of the gun owners were not sure how they had gotten their guns, answering “probably” or “probably not” on whether they got the gun from a licensed firearm dealer. 

That’s how many people, or how few they are using to extrapolate for the rest of us. Think about that… 251…

  • Additionally, the federal survey simply asked buyers if they thought they were buying from a licensed firearms dealer. While all Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) do background checks, only those perceived as being FFLs were counted. Yet, there is much evidence that survey respondents who went to the smallest FFLs, especially the “kitchen table” types, had no idea that the dealer was actually “licensed.” Many buyers seemed to think that only “brick and mortar” stores were licensed dealers, and so the survey underestimating the number of sales covered by the checks.
  • The researchers gave this number for all transactions, including gifts, not just “sales.” Count only guns that were bought, traded, borrowed, rented, issued as a job requirement or won through raffles, and 85 percent went through federally licensed gun dealers; just 15 percent would’ve been transferred without a background check.
  • Economist John Lott, the author of several landmark studies on the real-world impact of gun control, has concluded that if you take out transfers of guns either between FFLs or between family members, the remaining number of transfers falls to about 10 percent. Lott stated, “We don’t know the precise number today, but it is hard to believe that it is above single digits.” (http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/op-ed-truth-background-checks)

Facts on “how criminals get their guns”:

  • How criminals get guns—According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the vast majority of criminals in state prison for gun crimes get guns through theft, on the black market, from a drug dealer or “on the street.” Less than one percent get guns from gun shows.
  • Straw purchasers—According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), “The most frequent type of trafficking channel identified in ATF investigations is straw purchasing from federally licensed firearms dealers. Nearly 50 percent . . . .” Straw purchasers are people who pass background checks and buy guns for criminals, defeating the background check system.
  • Stolen guns—According to the BJS, “about 1.4 million guns, or an annual average of 232,400, were stolen during burglaries and other property crimes in the six-year period from 2005 through 2010.” The FBI’s stolen firearm file contained over 2 million reports as of March 1995. The BATFE has reported “Those that steal firearms commit violent crimes with stolen guns, transfer stolen firearms to others who commit crimes, and create an unregulated secondary market for firearms, including a market for those who are prohibited by law from possessing a gun.” Even gun control supporters have said, “approximately 500,000 guns are stolen each year from private citizens. . . . Obviously, these stolen guns go directly into the hands of criminals.” A study conducted by gun control supporters found that in 1994 “About 211,000 handguns and 382,000 long guns were stolen in noncommercial thefts that year, for a total of 593,000 stolen firearms.”

Stale, outdated facts, based on an extremely small sample size with an unknown confidence factor and questionable answers… Best case, +/-6.19% confidence interval based on a 50% accuracy…

To get a ‘valid’ sample, you’d need somewhere between 9600 and 38400 people. That actually would be usable, assuming 100,000,000 gun owners…

h/t NRA Media

 

 

Where to retire???

There are choices…

You can retire to Phoenix, Arizona where:
1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.
2. You’ve experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that “dry heat” is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.
6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

You can retire to California where:
1. You make over $250,000 and you still can’t afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighbourhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.

You can retire to New York City where:
1. You say “the city” and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.
2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can’t find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is “nature.”
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
5. You’ve worn out a car horn.
6. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.

You can retire to Maine where:
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.

You can retire to the Deep South where:
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. “Y’all” is singular and “all y’all” is plural.
3. “He needed killin'” is a valid defence.
4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc.
5. Everything is either “in yonder,” “over yonder” or “out yonder.” It’s important to know the difference, too.

You can retire to Colorado where:
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and so he stops at the day care centre.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

You can retire to the Midwest where:
1. You’ve never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from “heat” to “A/C” on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: “Where’s my coat at?”
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, “It was different!”

AND you can retire to Florida where:
1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind – even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people.

The Grey Man, bleg…

Thanks to those other bloggers who have helped promote my books!!!

I appreciate it more than you know, since blogs are basically the ONLY way I’m getting any publicity.

All three books are selling and I hope the folks reading the books and enjoying them. I’ve been told you’re lucky if you get a 10% review rate, and based on what I’m seeing, I’m down around 5-6% on all three books.

Which brings me to my bleg…

I’d like to ask if you’ve read any of my books and haven’t put a review up, I would appreciate it if you would do so. HONEST reviews please. Reviews help other readers to wade through the literally hundreds of thousands of choices out there.

I’d appreciate it and you can select the picture below to go directly to the book(s) you’ve read.

TGMVignettes coverBlood#4w:textTGMChanges

One other thing I hope folks are doing, is checking out the authors I’ve recommended in the last two books. These are folks that I’ve read and personally like their work (and in the full disclosure mode, I also know or have met some of them).

I can remember growing up as a reader that many paperbacks had other books recommended in the back of the book, and I know I did search out some of those authors back in the day. The question is, would you use these references, or am I wasting my time?

Your comments?