Not my forte..

Well, I just had my second interview at a new workplace not so far away, and I'll have to see how it plays out. I think my resume looks pretty good - I've accumulated quite a bit of knowledge and experience over the years - but put me in front of an interview panel and I'm suddenly a babbling fool. I don't think I interview too well. I've struck out the last few times I've gone looking, but then there's a lot of competition these days.

Are you freaking KIDDING me, Haro?

Well, I just picked up my bike from the shop today:

White? White? Wow, that's ugly. Well, the only consolation is that given this frame style's track record, I'll only have to put up with it for another 3-4 months before it gets replaced again, although what'll the next color be? Purple? Pink?

I accepted the bike because functionally it's no different obviously, and I didn't want to wait another 3 weeks for them to switch out the part. Doesn't mean I like what they did, and I'm not too happy that the bike shop didn't give me a heads-up when they received the part. Well, it rides just fine (I took it out this evening) and I sure am glad to have that rear suspension again. But, seriously?

Hmpf.

I've seen this meme...

Around on a few blogs, so here's my go-to...




A Gerber Paraframe II, semi-serrated, that I picked up at Target for $15, way back when. Nothing special, but handy to have and I like the thin profile. It's pointy, sharp and fits my hand well. And yes, I've used the serrated part too, although its a pain in the butt to clean...

Housecleaning

Tidied up my blogroll a little bit to get rid of some now-defunct blogs as well as add a few more that I've been finding myself reading.
Also added a new category - "Bloggers I've Met", now that I've finally met some!
Yes, I probably need to get out more...

Canyon...

Sunset...

This is the view from one of the highest points in the canyon - my first ride in almost two weeks. Man, I missed it! Left it a bit late, though - this is about 3 miles from the truck.

My buddy, rocking a Trek Fuel EX8 - a very nice bike. Far superior to my Trek. My hardtail is a fine bike, but I have to spent a lot more time out of the seat riding these trails, and that wears on a body. I miss my Haro. Should be fixed soon, though...

Gun Blogger Highs

- Smacking steel at 440 yards - repeatedly - with this bad boy, as Kevin Baker calls out the hits. Awesome.

- Dumping a mag through a full-auto (first time!), suppressed (first time!) mini Uzi, courtesy of USCitizen.

- Meeting all these fine folk.

-Dumping more money in a raffle than I ever have before, comfortable in the knowledge that every penny of it was going to a good cause.

-Getting the opportunity to meet Alan Gura and listen to his take on the state of the gun rights movement.

-The opportunity to not only learn about Orville Bierkle's revolver, but actually shoot it, thanks to Davidwhitewolf!


-Listening to the vendors and organizations give their presentations and noting with satisfaction how seriously they have come to take the gun blogger community.

-Getting an autographed picture of Molly to present to My Little Princess.

-Walking up to our room Saturday night with a literal armful of swag:


-Seeing my wife's enthusiasm match my own.

-One low: driving up 395 to get to Reno, we passed by this IHOP. It was boarded up and fenced off. And that's about all I have to say about that.

Attackwatch!

The funniest thing I've seen all day! This has really bitten the Obama campaign in the ass. If you haven't seen the Attack Watch site, I strongly recommend you do. Mockery and derision is the fitting response to such nonsense.

H/T DirtCrashr

Hanging With The Cool Kids

Gun Blogger Rendezvous was the very first time I had the opportunity to meet the people behind so many of the blogs that I've been reading these past few years. I have to admit, I was more than a little apprehensive - yet excited - walking into Silver Baron Room E for the first time - somewhat like a tween at a Justin Bieber concert, I imagine.
However, I was made to feel very welcome, although I didn't talk much the first night - just listened to the various conversations. After all, it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt, right?
I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Baker, Joe Huffman, Davidwhitewolf, Chris Byrne, The Packing Rat, TrueBlueSam, Ry Jones, USCitizen, Olav, Molly, Caleb, BobG, as well as the guys who made this all possible, Mr Completely and Keewee.
I met plenty of other fine folks there too, who described themselves as lurkers, including Dusty - who made the trip all the way from Tucson by motorcycle - obviously made of sterner stuff than me.
It was also a real treat to meet Alan Gura, and have the opportunity to thank him for all the work he's done - and continues to do - on our behalf. He is one busy guy, so I for one am extremely grateful that he took the time to come hang with us for the weekend, answer all our inane questions and shoot some of the many fine guns available at the range.
The highlight of my weekend was being able to share this experience with my bride. She had originally agreed to go with me, expecting to have a relaxing weekend doing some gambling and hanging out at the pool while I went and did my thing. After the first evening, however, she liked it so much that she accompanied me to every event, and if you've seen the agenda, you'll know that the weekend was just packed - so there was very little spare time for gambling (although we got a few good shots at video poker here and there). To top it off, she wants to find ranges locally to practice shooting steel so she'll be ready for NEXT year!

Gun Blogger Rendezvous - A Taste...

More to come - just not tonight. It's been a long day and I'm pooped.

Home again, home again...

Back from one of the best vacation weekends I've ever had - at GBR-VI. Still on a bit of a high. More to come - much more. Now to go pay the bills. Ho hum.

Hmmm...

Thinking... thinking... what to bring to GBR-VI?

Think I'll bring the PMSR, an AR-15, the CZ452, my 1911 and a Saiga...

I'll be missing Wednesday night and a good chunk of Thursday, but I'll be in Reno soon, baby!

SB819

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.

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.

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...

From the really dangerous criminals.
Property rights? What do you think this is, America?

Found here.

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.

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)

Disappointed...

It turns out that one of my favorite actors happens to be an Obama supporter. Honestly thought he had more sense than that.

My Ideal Government...

... Will:

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.