The "Take Money From Lawful Gun Owners And Use It To Pay Government Thugs To Kick In Their Doors" bill has made it to the governor's desk.
During his tenure as state attorney general, Brown showed himself to be neutral, if not fairly positive, on matters pertaining to the Second Amendment. I know many of the folks on Calguns were optimistic about him. I suppose now we shall see if that attitude has carried through to Jerry Brown the governor.
If you reside in CA, email the man to show your opposition to this tripe.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Well, how about that...
The last few days here in the valley have been blazing hot - like over a hundred hot - so I've avoided riding, having a fairly healthy sense of self-preservation.
Instead, I've opted for running on my in-laws' treadmill in the air-conditioned comfort of their spare bedroom.
The stamina I've built up mountain biking has served me well; my first run on Sunday night was the longest I'd ever ran in my life, and I wasn't even gassed.
However, I discovered that although I may use the same limbs as I do when biking, the muscles I use are quite different, as evidenced by the soreness I felt the next morning...
Ow.
Instead, I've opted for running on my in-laws' treadmill in the air-conditioned comfort of their spare bedroom.
The stamina I've built up mountain biking has served me well; my first run on Sunday night was the longest I'd ever ran in my life, and I wasn't even gassed.
However, I discovered that although I may use the same limbs as I do when biking, the muscles I use are quite different, as evidenced by the soreness I felt the next morning...
Ow.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Well, THAT sucks...
Somehow, I managed to snap the frame of my mountain bike AGAIN. This is the second time in 8 months. Hmpf. Same exact place, and the same place where a friend of mine broke his THREE times. Sounds like a design flaw to me. Whatever. It's under warranty for 5 years, so at this rate, they'll be replacing this part - at their cost - for a total of fifteen times. I wonder at what point they'll just decide to either give me a new frame design altogether, or credit me the cost so I can go buy a frame from another manufacturer...
Protecting us...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
PMSR
What do you get when you take this...
Add this...
Plus this...?
Why, you get the Poor Man's Scout Rifle, of course!
Total time to put together - about 45 minutes. The hardest part was punching out the iron sight pin, but that wasn't too bad at all. A few adjustments, and I got this...
Hopefully that's close enough to get it on paper at the range, and I can go from there. Sure, it's no Ruger, but I can't complain about the cost - about $160 for everything you see here. Something to tinker with, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
Add this...
Plus this...?
Why, you get the Poor Man's Scout Rifle, of course!
Total time to put together - about 45 minutes. The hardest part was punching out the iron sight pin, but that wasn't too bad at all. A few adjustments, and I got this...
Hopefully that's close enough to get it on paper at the range, and I can go from there. Sure, it's no Ruger, but I can't complain about the cost - about $160 for everything you see here. Something to tinker with, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
Uh-oh...
I've been seeing a bit of bad news about Del-Ton lately, which gives me a little cause for concern, since both my AR-15s have Del-Ton uppers.
I do have to admit, when I bought my first upper, a 16" with the handgrip, there was an incredibly long delay in getting it, but I attributed that to the gun rush at the time, during the first year of Obama's presidency.
When I did get it and assembled it with my lower, I took it out to the range and quickly found that it wouldn't feed hollowpoint ammunition. OK. Well, at least it eats FMJ, I'll just stick with that.
My second trip to the range was more problematic. It wouldn't feed ANYTHING. Or rather, it wouldn't extract the cartridge after firing. This was worrisome.
I contacted Del-Ton, and they had me ship the upper back to them. They had it for a day, replaced the bolt and shipped it right back. Apparently some of the extractors had been improperly tempered during the gun rush.
Yes, they shouldn't have let it out the door initially; but, they did make it right, at no cost to me. I haven't had any trouble with either upper since, either FMJ or hollowpoint.
I guess the bottom line is that I'm not necessarily writing this post to defend Del-Ton, but as a kind of wondering-out-loud if I made the right decision in buying their products...
So far so good, I guess...
(Both links above found over at Say Uncle)
I do have to admit, when I bought my first upper, a 16" with the handgrip, there was an incredibly long delay in getting it, but I attributed that to the gun rush at the time, during the first year of Obama's presidency.
When I did get it and assembled it with my lower, I took it out to the range and quickly found that it wouldn't feed hollowpoint ammunition. OK. Well, at least it eats FMJ, I'll just stick with that.
My second trip to the range was more problematic. It wouldn't feed ANYTHING. Or rather, it wouldn't extract the cartridge after firing. This was worrisome.
I contacted Del-Ton, and they had me ship the upper back to them. They had it for a day, replaced the bolt and shipped it right back. Apparently some of the extractors had been improperly tempered during the gun rush.
Yes, they shouldn't have let it out the door initially; but, they did make it right, at no cost to me. I haven't had any trouble with either upper since, either FMJ or hollowpoint.
I guess the bottom line is that I'm not necessarily writing this post to defend Del-Ton, but as a kind of wondering-out-loud if I made the right decision in buying their products...
So far so good, I guess...
(Both links above found over at Say Uncle)
Disappointed...
It turns out that one of my favorite actors happens to be an Obama supporter. Honestly thought he had more sense than that.
Friday, August 19, 2011
My Ideal Government...
... Will:
Mind the fucking door,
Preserve and protect my rights,
And Leave Me Alone.
Mind the fucking door,
Preserve and protect my rights,
And Leave Me Alone.
Take your time, buddy
I can't help but smile a little at all the outrage I'm seeing over El Presidente's Martha's Vineyard vacation, the shock at the cost and insensitivity of the timing. Why, Michelle flew in on a separate jet! OMFG!
Seriously, people? You're shocked? Has this man given ANY indication WHATSOEVER over the last two-plus years that he's a responsible steward of Other People's Money?
What is not pointed out is that while he's on vacation, he's not at work. Given the rate at which he pisses away his constituents' money and futures while at work, this can only be a good thing. Hell, extend the vacation for another 13 months. Sure, the lifestyle the Obama's choose to live is hideously expensive, but it's a damn sight less expensive than what will happen whenever Barack is anywhere near the next Congressional Big Idea Bill and a pen.
Seriously, people? You're shocked? Has this man given ANY indication WHATSOEVER over the last two-plus years that he's a responsible steward of Other People's Money?
What is not pointed out is that while he's on vacation, he's not at work. Given the rate at which he pisses away his constituents' money and futures while at work, this can only be a good thing. Hell, extend the vacation for another 13 months. Sure, the lifestyle the Obama's choose to live is hideously expensive, but it's a damn sight less expensive than what will happen whenever Barack is anywhere near the next Congressional Big Idea Bill and a pen.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
It's mine.
I paid off my F250 today, finally removing that $500-plus monkey from my back. No immediate plans to replace any of the kingdom's fleet right now, so we're just going to bask in the pleasure of NO CAR PAYMENTS for as long as we possibly can...
Random Pics
I took a few pictures with my new iPhone, before the lens gets all scratchy and blurry from my repeated abuse...
The Back-Up...
Trek 4500 Disc hardtail. As frequently as I have found myself biking (4-6 days a week), and with the abuse that these bikes go through on the trails, it became clear to me that I needed something to fall back on when my primary needs to be worked on - as was the case a few weeks ago, when I snapped the frame on the Haro. Fortunately, it was a warranty repair and the turnaround was only six days, but six days of not riding means you lose a little bit of whatever endurance and speed you've built up, and have some catch-up to do. At the time, I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a friend's back-up bike, but I shouldn't have to count on other people. Besides, what if I wrecked their bike? Not to mention, the cost of high-quality components for these bikes is enough to make you puke, so having a back-up gives me some breathing room in which to save when something goes out, as it inevitably will.
The Back-Up...
Trek 4500 Disc hardtail. As frequently as I have found myself biking (4-6 days a week), and with the abuse that these bikes go through on the trails, it became clear to me that I needed something to fall back on when my primary needs to be worked on - as was the case a few weeks ago, when I snapped the frame on the Haro. Fortunately, it was a warranty repair and the turnaround was only six days, but six days of not riding means you lose a little bit of whatever endurance and speed you've built up, and have some catch-up to do. At the time, I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a friend's back-up bike, but I shouldn't have to count on other people. Besides, what if I wrecked their bike? Not to mention, the cost of high-quality components for these bikes is enough to make you puke, so having a back-up gives me some breathing room in which to save when something goes out, as it inevitably will.
This bike is not nearly as nice as the Haro, obviously - the components are of a lower quality (but upgradeable) and there's no back shock, which makes it more of a challenge in the rough stuff, but it has hydraulic disc brakes - which is very important to me - and a decent front shock with lock out. I also got it at a ridiculous price, brand new. It's my go-to whenever I want to ride around on the streets too.
The Boomstick...
CZ 452 chambered in .17HMR, a Christmas gift from my amazing wife. Beautiful little bolt action rifle with a five-round magazine, that doesn't get nearly as much use as it should. Topped with a Barska AO scope - also a Christmas gift from my wife - which I have yet to try. Wow, that's pathetic... sorely in need of some range time...
This one is a real pleasure to shoot. I wouldn't recommend hunting for the table with this one though; I nailed a rabbit with it at a pretty long distance, and what was left was pretty much just jelly. Those rounds are traveling at a fair clip...
Thinking about bringing this one to the GBR.
The Baby...
Sasha, the Rat Terrier, queen of all she surveys, three years and change old now. Still as cute as ever, although the picture may not bear that out so well.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
California Leads The Way...
In Mid-East style shut downs of wireless services...
In combating the scourge of ill-fitting bed sheets...
In cracking down on BB guns...
In driving business and jobs out of the state...
This state is done. Democratic control of both houses as well as the governorship means that the stupid has gone into overdrive.
If they were honest - which they aren't - they'd have no-one to blame but themselves for destroying what was once a great state.
In combating the scourge of ill-fitting bed sheets...
In cracking down on BB guns...
In driving business and jobs out of the state...
This state is done. Democratic control of both houses as well as the governorship means that the stupid has gone into overdrive.
If they were honest - which they aren't - they'd have no-one to blame but themselves for destroying what was once a great state.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
It was time...
I've had my iPhone 3 for over two years now - a personal best for me, since I'm very tough on cell phones - but it had been showing signs of wear, such as a missing volume button, a sound on/off switch that would activate at random, a battery life of about 15 minutes, and a power/data socket that would work only if you jiggled it just right.
Being a tightwad, I just gritted my teeth and dealt with all that, but last night, the screen started to come and go intermittently, and that I couldn't deal with, so I replaced it today with a -gasp!- iPhone 3GS. No iPhone 4 for me - no-one I know who has one likes 'em, plus they're still $200 even with the two years indentured servitude/service contract.
So far so good - finally have video capability, the phone's running faster than the old one and I got a nice new set of earphones (which my wife promptly commandeered-I'm hard on earphones too...).
Only bummer is I lost some music. Backing up my old phone had become such a pain in the ass, that I hadn't bothered to do it in 6 months...
Being a tightwad, I just gritted my teeth and dealt with all that, but last night, the screen started to come and go intermittently, and that I couldn't deal with, so I replaced it today with a -gasp!- iPhone 3GS. No iPhone 4 for me - no-one I know who has one likes 'em, plus they're still $200 even with the two years indentured servitude/service contract.
So far so good - finally have video capability, the phone's running faster than the old one and I got a nice new set of earphones (which my wife promptly commandeered-I'm hard on earphones too...).
Only bummer is I lost some music. Backing up my old phone had become such a pain in the ass, that I hadn't bothered to do it in 6 months...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Stars Have Aligned...
It's been a long time since I've posted.
This year has been kind of a downer. Like Mr Baker, I've observed the goings-on in this nation of ours and found precious little positive stuff to blog about.
The news lately isn't any better, to be honest, what with the fight over the debt-limit increase, the Dow on a roller coaster, the riots back in the old country, the downgrade of our credit rating and all that entails, and locally, the beating death of Kelly Thomas by the Fullerton PD.
Over the last few months, I withdrew somewhat and kept my focus a little closer to home, on family, church, work and mountain biking.
I think it's done wonders for my disposition, and probably my blood pressure.
Well, now, I definitely have something positive to blog about. An unforeseen mid-year bonus at work, coupled with an amazing spouse and some really great family help with childcare means that this year, for the very first time, my wife and I will be able to attend the Gun Blogger's Rendezvous!
I just mailed my registration stuff this evening, and will be booking rooms tomorrow at the Silver Legacy.
I haven't been this excited about a trip in YEARS. I've been smiling just about non-stop for the last three days, ever since MY WIFE suggested the trip (I had given up on attending months ago, so for me, it had been out of mind for a while).
Today, we got all of our ducks in a row - time off from work, the in-laws' help with the kids and our dogs, the bonus checks (Yay!) - so it's going to happen!
I am especially looking forward to meeting some of the names I've been reading over the last few years, as they have had a profound influence on my worldview.
The only thing left for me to be concerned with is... what boomsticks should I bring? Suggestions would be most welcome...
This year has been kind of a downer. Like Mr Baker, I've observed the goings-on in this nation of ours and found precious little positive stuff to blog about.
The news lately isn't any better, to be honest, what with the fight over the debt-limit increase, the Dow on a roller coaster, the riots back in the old country, the downgrade of our credit rating and all that entails, and locally, the beating death of Kelly Thomas by the Fullerton PD.
Over the last few months, I withdrew somewhat and kept my focus a little closer to home, on family, church, work and mountain biking.
I think it's done wonders for my disposition, and probably my blood pressure.
Well, now, I definitely have something positive to blog about. An unforeseen mid-year bonus at work, coupled with an amazing spouse and some really great family help with childcare means that this year, for the very first time, my wife and I will be able to attend the Gun Blogger's Rendezvous!
I just mailed my registration stuff this evening, and will be booking rooms tomorrow at the Silver Legacy.
I haven't been this excited about a trip in YEARS. I've been smiling just about non-stop for the last three days, ever since MY WIFE suggested the trip (I had given up on attending months ago, so for me, it had been out of mind for a while).
Today, we got all of our ducks in a row - time off from work, the in-laws' help with the kids and our dogs, the bonus checks (Yay!) - so it's going to happen!
I am especially looking forward to meeting some of the names I've been reading over the last few years, as they have had a profound influence on my worldview.
The only thing left for me to be concerned with is... what boomsticks should I bring? Suggestions would be most welcome...
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