Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Crocs - WTF?

My wife, Jenni has been scratching her head (and banging it against the wall) over new developments from Crocs, the friendly, ugly shoe company. I was so fascinated from these new offerings that I had to go check it out for myself. Alas, the offerings that they have for men's footwear are as ugly as ever. If I caught myself wearing these or these, I'd have to kick my own ass. And, with the squishy croslite(tm) that they are made of, it would be a solely unsatisfying experience (pun very much intended).

Life is simply too short to wear ugly shoes. That's why most of my footwear will come from Nocona, Dan Post, and Moreschi. Granted, I don't think that anyone should have to pay a million bucks to look like it. I haven't paid retail prices for shoes since I was in junior high and didn't know any better. (Ebay is your friend in this area.) Men's shoes should be uniquely masculine, but they ought to look good as well. I like a pair of shoes that I can wear with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt all day, brush them off at home and put on my suit to go to a formal occasion.

Some people will say "But Crocs are so coooooooomfortable!" I like my shoes to wear and wear and wear. You get a well-made pair of shoes, take care of them, and they will be incredibly comfortable, and last for a long time. ...And, they don't look like a Nerf football. Who looks good with Nerf footballs on their feet? Nobody. I'll tell you what, you put on your Nerf-looking garden clogs, and I'll wear something more like these. We'll wear them with jeans all day at work, or the mall, or the gun range or whatever. At the end of the day, we'll brush them off and wear them with suits to a formal occasion in the evening. We'll see how that goes over visually as a comparison. Once you finally kick them off in the evening, will your fee hurt? I don't know. I've never worn Crocs (because I don't want somebody's dog to try to retrieve my foot to it's owner). What I do know is that my fee will be fine.

I know that pretty much all of my shoes are artisan-made in the United States, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico. According to Crocs FAQ's, they are made:
Crocs shoes are manufactured in many countries around the world including Italy, Mexico, China, Brazil, Vietnam, Bosnia, and Romania.

That's actually a far better resume than I expected. I prefer to think that a little kid in a third-world country is not working in a factory for 12-hours a day to put my shoes together. It makes me feel bad. I really don't mind paying a little extra to make sure that doesn't happen. That's one of the biggest reasons that I've pretty well switched completely over to the types of shoes that I wear now.

Could Crocs be the way of the future in the shoe industry? I don't know. It kind of looks like they have a pretty good foothold (why yes, that one too). Whatever the future holds for Crocs in the shoe industry, I hope that as they continue to grow and prosper, they will act responsibly towards their consumers, employees, and community. Well, that's my hope for any business in any industry one it comes down to it. At any rate, I don't see myself buying any of these hideous monstrosities in their current format.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Ten Things that Everybody Knows about Sci-Fi

This is a list of ten things that everyone knows about Sci-Fi, or should anyway. If you don't know these things, you need to study and memorize the list in case the aliens attack or something to assure your survival.

1. You can disable or destroy any Artificial Intelligence with a Logic Paradox.
Example -
"You are programmed not to harm me, and you are programmed to do whatever I say. So, I say kill me!"
"Does not compute."
The AI (robot, computer, whatever) smokes and shuts down.

2. When one piolots a mecha-giant-robot war toy, one has to shout commands as well as operate controls to access it's unique features/weapons.
Example -
*Pulling a lever with one hand and punching a large button with the other,* "Giant Mecha Robo twin cannon activate. Fire bomb hail storm NOOOOWWWWW!!!!"
At this point, there are extensions that unfold from deep within the machine, seemingly from a multi-dimensional pocket, and blast some enormous blue energy balls that light up the horizon and burn the bad guy to a crisp.
As a side note, here is a questionnaire that will help you choose the mecha that's right for you!

3. The best way to kill zombies is a heavy blow to the central nervous system. Buckshot from a short-shotgun works really well for this. So does a baseball bat, for that matter. Let's never forget Magnum revolvers. They take care of zombies quickly and with style. Just don't forget to make them all head shots or your head may be the next one to go!

4. The extra always dies. This is just a given. If you are "Joe Workman" on your ship, and the Captian, First Officer, and the Security Officer want you to join them on an away mission to the surface of a seemingly serene planet, DON'T DO IT!!! Turn in your resignation and get escorted to the brig for insubordination. Use the example script below as a guideline:
CPT: "Joe, come to the surface with #1 and me."
YOU: "Uh... No thanks."
CPT: "That's an order from a Commanding Officer!"
YOU: "Yeeeeaaaah. You can take your shuttle craft and shove it up your XXX for all I care. I'm not going to that planet. So, XXXX you and your XXXXXXX Federation."
You can settle on a moon somewhere, raising cattle-like creatures and drinking beer for the rest of your life once you get discharged, but you will be alive. Let some other schmuck do the senseless dying.

5. If you find that you have traveled backwards in time, you will screw stuff up. If television and movies have told us anything truthful, everything will work out in the end, but no amount of being careful will prevent it. Step on a bug, breath in some air, or have relations with your own grandmother - it doesn't really make a difference. No matter what happens, you WILL make a mess, and it WILL all settle back to normal in two hours or less. Usually, everything will be fine in just under half an hour.

6. The monster will not be dead when it is first apparently so. Don't let it take you by surprise! If you have been battling the creature in a close struggle for what seems like an eternal string of close calls, don't get too comfortable when you first smash in it's carapace and it's alien guts are spilled out on the floor. It WILL invariably have at least one more come-back attack left in it, no matter how dead it seems. Hard battle isn't the only strategy to be used against such a menace, anyway. There are many creative ways to rid the Earth of threats.

7. Beware the effects of ratiation! Exposure to radiation can cause grotesque mutation in living creatures, and can animate inanimate objects. If possible, avoid radiation altogether. If it is unavoidable, watch out for such effects!

8. Vampire chicks are always hot and dressed slutty. If you run across a hot chick in a skimpy outfit, don't turn your back (or your neck) on her. There stands a very good chance that she is a child of the night.

9. The ship's Captain may wear makeup and get handsey with male members of the crew, but he is NOT gay! Examples: James T. Kirk, Flash Gordon. Tell me I'm wrong here.

10. Alien food is good food! Whether it's blue Romulan Ale, Klingon blue spaghetti, or blue milk that Luke Skywalker drinks with his family on Tatooine, alien food is basically the same as Earth food with blue food coloring in it. A good rule of thumb is that if it's not moving anymore, it's safe to eat. So, eat and drink up!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

I Got "Tagged"

The Rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

3. Tag 7 random people and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (Sorry. I'm not going to do this part.)


I think my wife said it best when she said "Awe crap!" The biggest problem here is that I know that I know at least seven literate people, but Jenni and I together don't know many more than that who will admit to knowing what a computer is, much less have a blog. *Why did you tag me, my love?* Therefore, I'm going to have to get creative in order to participate. First of all, seven random facts:

1. We have six revolvers in our household which we have named "Lust," "Envy," "Pride," "Wrath," "Greed" and "Gluttony." Obviously, the next revolver will be named "Sloth" by default. We are kicking around the idea of naming our shotgun "Deliverance" and our AR-15 "Rapture."

2. I can do most any repair operation to a car except for internal transmission work. I never really got to tearing into transmissions, preferring to just change them out for a rebuilt or salvaged unit. It's amazing how many miles you can put on a well-built transmission!

3. I can't wear a quartz watch. They just die. I've had them last as long as eight or nine weeks, but usually no longer than five or six. Weaker radios lose their tuning, and they hiss and static in my presence. When I was a phlebotomist, I discovered that my hematocrit is unusually high as compared to the average. Most people who have as much iron in their blood as I do often wind up with some specific, serious, health problems. I, on the other hand, feel weak and sickly when my iron drops into the "normal" range. I've found that my body puts up almost no electrical resistance as compared to other people, as is evidenced by ohmmeters. I can sense electric fields, magnetic fields, and large ferrous objects. I have to believe that this is all related, but I don't know how. My son exhibits some of the same characteristics. How weird is all of that?

4. In Junior High, I wrote a large chunk of a saga of a novel, but never finished it. When I went back and read through a bunch of it, it sounds like a 12 to 13-year-old's writing. There are 1000-some odd hand-written pages sitting in my office somewhere as I couldn't bring myself to pitch it.

5. I used to be able to hold my breath for on top of five-minutes underwater with relative ease. I think I got close to six once. I lost a really good Soviet Russian watch that way. A girl had been playing with it and left the crown unscrewed. This was particularly heart-breaking as affordable mechanical watches can be hard to come by.

6. I've only really been using computers for a few years now. I want to say that it was in 2003 or 2004 that I really started. When I was growing up, my brother and I weren't much allowed to touch Dad's computer. I think he was afraid that we would break it. Jen and I got married in 1998 and it took us that long to actually get a home computer. At this point, that seems really sad, but I can certainly relate to those people who are scared of computers.

7. Jenni and I got married in December of 1998. In under two months, we will have been married for ten years! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long, and I'm looking forward to the next ten. Most of the people we knew who got married around the same time we did have since gotten divorced. I think that's terrible, and have to wonder what we have done right that they did not. At the risk of getting really sappy, I wish that everyone could be as happy as we are.

As I stated before, I don't know seven people to send this to that Jenni didn't already "tag." So, I'll do my best here.

1. JAFO. This is a dude I have met on a gun forum. He seems to have pretty much all the same political views that I do. This is probably why we get along so well.

2. Poliwax. This is one of the smarter people whom I have read on the internet. I know that he cruises past my blog from time to time, but I severely doubt that he'll participate in something like this.

3. Some nutty feminist that I linked for a previous blog entry. She wouldn't post my comment on her blog, and I can't say I blame her. If she tracks links, she might surprise. Somehow I doubt that will happen since I've got the wrong plumbing for her to treat me equally (and somehow I'm the sexist).

4 & 5. Greg & Beth. These people are SO COOL! I read their blog fairly often, but I don't think they know who I am. I could be wrong, I suppose.

6. I was going to tag Jenni's resident troll, but he never gives a real url at which to contact him, but his incredibly thoughtful comments can be read here.

7. Will Rhodes. He's a British Liberal living in Canada, and I participated in a nice debate with him on my wife's blog concerning the DC vs. Heller decision. I wouldn't mind hearing from him again, as he is thoughtful and well-educated, even if we completely disagree on the gun control issue.

It's a little gruesome, but there's seven right there. Jenni, NEVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Spambot Girls - The Breakup.


This is a recurring spam message that I keep receiving in my email at work. In this oddly-posed, red-clad, low-resolution picture that I was sent anonymously over the interweb, this Ukrainian girl just looks so cute that I've fallen in love at first sight. Whether she is 'shopped together as a conglomeration from pics of other girls or if she is the real deal, and although I am separated from her by terabytes and thousands of miles of land and ocean (and possibly reality), I regret to inform both of my readers that I can see no other recourse but to leave my marriage in pursuit of TatianaG, my one true love. She's obviously the only attractive woman in the Ukraine, as evidenced by her picture being the only one that has been sent to me. And, her complete and utter devotion is shown in her persistence of sending me her picture multiple times a day for weeks on end. My spam filter cannot stand between us, and all I have to do is "Click here to sign up (Absolutely FREE!!!)" to be in ultimate bliss with my TatianaG. Each of those capital letters and superfluous exclamation marks say it so well! Sure, she thinks my name is "Dating!" but it says in RED LETTERS that she is waiting for me! On those grounds alone, maybe I should have my name legally changed to "Dating!" (with the exclamation mark, of course) prior to my journey to Ukraine to claim my bride.

Wait a minute... ...she was born in 1977 and she's 29? Oh, she's one of THOSE girls. In twenty years, she'll still claim 29, I'm sure. Her body type won't be so "cuddly" then, and people will be giving me consolation that my 29-year-old wife looks so much older.

Know what, TatianaG? I'm sorry. Beyond the merits of your demure smile and sexy, low-res pic, I'm not sure things are going to work out between us. There's just no place in this world - virtual or otherwise - for a girl (or possibly a bot) like you and a guy like me. Shh, shh. I know. My heart is breaking as well, but please don't cry or argue. I know in my heart that there's a man (or program) out there for you. There's no reason that the most attractive woman in the Ukraine (allegedly) should spend her life alone. It's not you - really it isn't. It's me. There's no way that I could keep up with the active, fabulous lifestyle of a web-spider riding Spambot Girl. So, please - let's make this a clean break. Please stop sending me your seductive picture. My heart just can't take it anymore. I've got a life I need to get back to, and I don't need your distractions, and there are other inboxes that I'm sure will yield you better results. Truth be told, I will miss you, TatianaG. *sniff, sniff*

Friday, October 17, 2008

Picking Up & Dropping Off at School

King Solomon once said:
There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.

(Proverbs 30:18-19)

Today, it might have been five things, because Solomon never got to see the illogical frenzy that parents get in when they are at the school to deposit or retrieve their kids. Since it is Fall Break, Kiddo is off to the lake with Grandpa and Grandma. We have not had to drop him off at school, nor pick him up afterward, and it has been a nice break. I believe that I would prefer for there to be no other parents or kids there, but I had to take off my shoes and socks and walk across 50-meters of glass shards and carry the boy back to the car. Yes, the trade-off would be well worth it.

I Am Joe

It's about time someone represented us in politics. I don't envy him for having his life trifled with by the political, leftist, media machine. But, like other bloggers, some of whom I know, some I do not, it's time for me to take a stand. How about you? Will you join the revolution? I am Joe. Are you?

UPDATE:

Merchandise

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Of OS and Men

I wish there was a better computer operating system available. I have some pointed complaints about the big three.

The thing that I hate about Apple is they have this neat way of doling out technology so they can milk maximum profit from it. Take the iphone for example. The first one, which had all of two neat features, sucked by comparison to the one today, which does all the stuff a Blackberry does, and you can't tell me that they were not capable of doing the nifty tricks of the new one back then - or at least some of them. It's like they've got a little panel of people whose job it is to sit around and decide the minimum they can give a product and still make you want it really, really bad. Then, when people start to get tired of it, they'll release the next one with a few more features.

M$ OTOH, releases some kind of mutated, pile of crap that they are going to charge you a premium for, and calls it the next best thing. Vista, for example. Let's face it, it has taken them well over a decade to get the NT kernel working as well as it currently is. Even so, it's still buggy and fragile as OS's are concerned. Then, they say they've released the final bug fix which is the bestest, most goodest OS ever ever, it's going to be an impenetrable fortress of an OS that will be super-duper user-friendly and it will poop rainbows. And, it's Vista. It won't run your drivers without some *ahem* creative manipulation and some eleven-year-old in Bosnia hacks the kernel three hours after the official release.

Then, you have Linux. Don't like to spend a lot of time configuring? Don't use Linux. Don't like to or understand how to script? Linux is not for you. Want to run proprietary software? Not going to work on Linux unless you want to spend A LOOOOOOOT of time configuring (a PHD wouldn't hurt). Need special drivers for your hardware? Keep your fingers crossed, and plan on spending a lot of time configuring. Want to work full-time and have a social life? You probably don't want to use Linux. Do you live in your parent's basement, don't have a girlfriend, and find yourself bored off your gourd for hours upon hours? Give Linux a whirl!

This is probably the reason that I don't really have my own PC running at home currently.

Long Live Free Enterprise!

It seems to be a hot issue that people are following the Left so blindly. Look at what Poliwax or JAFO have to say about it.

It makes me sick when people take the attitude of, "You will prove that you are not a racist by voting for the black guy." Excuse me!?!??!?!? I'm going to prove that I'm not a racist by voting for the best guy for the job, regardless of his race! To do otherwise IS THE DEFINITION of racism!

The Dems try to argue that up is down, left is right, and the sky is green. They talk about "reasonable gun restrictions," "a woman's right to choose" and "spreading the wealth around" in generalized terms that sound noble on the surface and belie their true meanings of "disarm the population so they are easier to control," "guilt young women into murdering their unborn children" and "institute wide-spread socialism."

It's a frightening world we live in when such idiocy is threatening the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. This is supposed to be the Last Stand, the Haven for those who believe in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. And yet, they are trying to turn it into a "fair" place where everyone gets to go see the doctor regardless of what he or she gives to life or how one handles one's own resources. -a "fair" place where the most successful tow all the others behind them on a chain.

I don't WANT to have the richest of the rich subsidizing my lifestyle. I LIKE being middle-class, and I LIKE the opportunity to pull myself up by my own bootstraps. My household was not always middle-class. There was a time when we calculated our gross income and found that we were comfortably BELOW the poverty line. We were not only applicable for welfare assistance, we were GUARANTEED to get it if we had only applied. But, we were too F-ing proud, and still are. We were eating healthy, nutritious meals, we had clothing to wear, we had a warm, dry house to come home to, and we had love for each other - the three of us - and ambitions that kept us striving for better. We also had the Love of God, Who made sure our needs were met, no matter how poor we were.

Of our own determination and hard work, we rose to where we are today. If someone else had dragged us to where we are today (burdened to do so, or by their own choice), we would not have learned the lessons that we did along the way. I do not WANT the government to take away my opportunity for success or failure, because I INTEND to succeed ON MY OWN, by God's Grace. I don't WANT my success to come out of anyone else's pocket. I don't WANT to take the same opportunities away from anyone that is less fortunate than me. If I see someone who is truly struggling, I will not callously look on in disinterest, but I will not give them a hand-out that will not ULTIMATELY help them. I want to see them succeed too much for that.

Welfare should not be to support lifestyle. Welfare should be a temporary fix for those who are in the PROCESS of failing to a degree that they can never recover from it. I don't want anyone to take away my ability to fail, for in as much, he takes away my ability to succeed. Everyone should have such opportunity - to truly LIVE the American Dream.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Obamabomb IV

I had read about this one, but this was the first that I had seen this particular faux pas.



What kind of Mosque Church do you go to again, Barry?

*Sigh* Feminists...

My wife sent me this link yesterday. It's worth the read. It kind of embodies everything that the feminists are crooning about currently. We'll see whether the blogger allows my response to come out of moderation (copied and pasted below). Want to take any bets?

"— if you ask me. "

Who did, for that matter? Your narrow-mindedness astounds me. Feminists don't like Sarah Palin because she is incapable of being the victim. If women empower themselves, the feminists' fight is over. We can't have that, can we now? What meaning would your life have if you couldn't piss and moan about how we men are trying to keep you down?

Like many Conservatives (and Liberals for that matter), I think that you have the right to do whatever you want with your own body. By that rational, I think seat-belt and helmet laws are stupid, and it is asinine that suicide is illegal. I also believe that murder is wrong. If there was a way to level the playing field and have a calm, open discussion on the issues and implications of abortion, I would be all for it. But, when you take the attitude that the opposition is "anti-choice" and put words in other people's mouths concerning your anatomy, you make yourself look like a narrow-minded fool.

I don't go on and on about what you people think I should do with my penis. Come to think of it, I've not heard any self-respecting man piss and moan about anybody telling him what he should or should not do with his penis.

Just for the sake of argument, say Joe Somebody met you in a bar, drinks were had, and you made it home to Joe's house. You got pregnant and made the choice to have the baby - just for the sake of the argument. You contact DHS and have Joe served with papers, because he's the dad and you want child support. What choice does Joe have? He doesn't. This seems like a double standard, doesn't it?

Why is it that in our society, women get to choose whether or not they want to be a mom after they have made poor decisions, but men do not get afforded a similar luxury? To that end, why are you still bitching?

Get over yourself. Nobody is making you do anything.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Leftists

I decided to Google out a "Love Obama" forum on the internet and get into it under cover, slowly bringing my real views about after starting by spouting the kind of crap that I usually hear from them. At about 9:00 a. m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, the thread started like this:

McFibber even though we admire his military carrier, as president he would stink. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, D W Eishenhouser all military heros, all stunk as president. J F Kennedy was a military hero but his term was too short judge. G H W Bush, was shot down like McCain but rescued, he was no diamond in the rough either. But he did not stink, just a strange odor.


There were a couple of generic rhetorical commenters, and then an anonymous "Commenter," from Wangnimni, Korea (And, I don't hold you at fault if you do not read his complete opinion. He's a little long-winded.):

Obama Must Campaign Outside of Philadelphia 5-County Region
By comment

Obama could lose Pennsylvania, much like John Kerry lost Ohio, if he does not begin campaigning outside of the core vote area of Philadelphia 5-county region. Kerry carried 4 of these 5 and lost Chester County by 10,000 votes.

If you look at counties at the margin by number of votes lost in 2004, the critical counties are those John Kerry carried more than 40% of the vote, total votes cast more than 50,000 and won or lost county by less than 11,000 votes.

This leaves you with head to head battle ground in 17 Counties. The goal should be for Obama/Biden to carry 9 of these. As the Democratic Party strengths are in the East and that major media markets of New York City and Philadelphia have coverage in Lehigh Valley, the Greater Lehigh Valley is the key area as it contains 6 of the 17 counties that were not carried by large margins and the criteria I set forth above by either candidate in 2004.

This will leave you with major battle for votes at the margin, in order of importance: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Schuylkill, Monroe, and Carbon counties.

If you now look at fundraising level, you get an interesting picture of how close PA truly is. After removing fundraising of counties that have raised the most money and who John Kerry carried in 2004 (Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Delaware, and Lackawanna), you are left with a near dead heat in fundraising. Obama $1.355 million, McCain 1.358 million. McCain is carrying key counties of the greater Lehigh Valley, in fund raising margin. This includes Lehigh ($147,000), Northampton ($41,000), Monroe ($1000), Carbon ($3,800), and Schuylkill ($3000). Obama only leads in fund raising in Berks ($8000). This gives McCain an almost $190,000 fund raising edge in the greater Lehigh Valley.

If one looks at how you carry Pennsylvania, Obama is off track. The reliance on the Rendell strategy and team could cost him an important state, much like Kerry who engaged in under campaigning in Akron and Columbus areas in Ohio in 2004 and focusing on core region of Cleveland. The Rendell team has Obama locals making the same fundamental mistake of focusing on the Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware core region.

Obama must get into these counties and particularly a heavy campaigning presence in the greater Lehigh Valley (Lehigh, Northampton and its near/bordering counties of Berks, Monroe, Carbon and Schuylkill) if he is to carry Pennsylvania. There is a reason that McCain abandoned Michigan early, they are coming full strong to carry Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. You can not win the Presidency if you lose all three of these traditional industrial areas. The key to carrying two of the three are to campaign in Columbus, OH and Allentown, PA. Obama needs to spend the next three weeks principally in these two cities and their surrounding suburbs.

PS- On a side note, this is how Governorships are made or lost. Don Cunningham becomes the key to this strategy and not the local Congressional candidate or County Party leaders. Cunningham has to unite the Lehigh Democratic Party machine and position himself as the guy who can deliver votes in the Lehigh Valley. If he does this, his election for Governorship will be locked up in 2010 because he will have party machines of Lehigh Valley, Scranton and Philadelphia behind him. You can not lose when you have all 3. I am undecided if Governor Cunningham would be a good or a bad thing.

Projected Number of Visits by Obama/Biden (Man Days)
East (9)
Greater Lehigh Valley Region (6) Total Visits 14
Lehigh (GLV)– Allentown 5 Visits
Northampton (GLV)– Bethlehem/Easton 5 Visits
Berks (GLV)– Reading 1 Visits
Monroe (GLV)– Stroudsburg 1 Visits
Schuylkill (GLV)– Pottsville/Hazleton 1 Visit
Carbon (GLV)– Jim Thorpe/Lehighton 1 Visit
Total Visits YTD- 0
# Visits to Complete Yet 14
Goal: Rally in Allentown (5), Bethlehem (4), Easton (1), Reading (1), East Stroudsburg (1), Pottsville (1), Jim Thorpe (1)
October 15 – November 1

Philadelphia 5 County Region 16 Total Visits
Bucks (SE)– Bristol 3 Visits
Chester (SE)– Chester/West Chester 3 Visits
Total Visits YTD- 7
# Visits to Complete Yet 9
Goal: Bristol (3), West Chester (2), Chester (1), Philadelphia (3 – Night Fundraisers/1 Day Rally)
October 14-22

Lackawanna Valley Region/Scranton 1 Total Visit
Luzerne (NE)– Wilkes-Barre 1 Visit
Total Visits YTD- 4
# Visits to Complete Yet 0
West (6)– Total Visits 10
Erie (NW)– Erie 2 Visit
Fayette (SW)
Beaver (SW)– Beaver, Aliquippa 4 Visits
Washington (SW)– Washington 1 Visit
Cambria (SW)
Mercer (NW)
Total Visits YTD- 7
# Visits to Complete Yet 3
Goal: Erie (2), Washington (1)
October 11-13

Central (2) Total Visits 2
Centre – State College/Penn State 1 Visit
Dauphin – Harrisburg 1 Visit
Total Visits YTD- 0
# Visits to Complete Yet 2
Goal: State College (1), Harrisburg (1)
October 9-10

Core Area – 26 Total Visits (Night Fund Raising)
Philadelphia 5 County Visits 16
Allegheny County l Visits 10
Total Visits YTD- 14
# Visits to Complete Yet 12


Woah, that's a lot of opinion about our politics from the other side of the globe! And, then this came from a gentleman who actually wrote from Pennsylvania, called Flavious_Maximus:

Get ready for an extreme radical black nationalist bisexual President of the United States. All you liberal democrats who think Obama is going to usher in a new age utopia are just committing suicide. You will be the first to be put up against the wall and shot by his Marxist revolutionaries when he turns the country towards communism.


FM, don't sugar-coat it. Tell us what you think, buddy. He was of course, put down exactly like you would expect. This is when I decided to play. Under the moniker "Blue Colt," I decided to make my move. I thought the double meaning of my handle was clever and humorous. I posted this comment in my best impersonation of a moonbat:

I'm just glad to see that Obama is doing so well in the polls! It's funny that nobody has ever asked me to take a poll, though. The bottom line is this - all of these wingnuts need to quit clinging to their bibles and guns and vote for Change. Good grief, the last thing we need in this country is another 4-years of Bush!


I got no responses. There was noise and activity, but it was dull and lacked direction. So, I tried again in response to a jab at Asher:

It's true! Bob Asher IS a convicted felon! Look it up! We need to extend the vote to Korea so Comment can vote for Obama as well.


Still no responses to The Blue Colt. There were multiple duplicate slams against our friend Flavious from various posters, but no attention to The Colt. Several people mentioned the thing that McCain said about the Fed buying up bad home mortgages (which is worth discussing, given the implications), but nothing substantial beyond childish "nya nya" -ing. This is when I lost patience and decided to hit them with it:

I like the fact that Obama knows that American people are not smart or responsible enough to budget for their medical needs, energy needs, or housing. He realizes that the average American is stupid, irresponsible, unresourceful, and needs leadership that will tell them what to do. When asked about turning thermostats a little warmer over the hot Summer for energy conservation, GWB's typically stupid response was "I think the American People are smart enough to do that on their own if their electric bill is too high." It's nice that we have a candidate that doesn't think so much of us. I know that I'll be glad to have a President that knows what's best for me.


Forty-two minutes later, "Not Over" opined:

It's not over til it's over. The McCain campaign has to contend the election somewhere. If resources are pulled out of Michigan, they can't be pulled out of Pennsylvania, too. He has to wave the flag or contributions will dry up and Republicans farther down the ticket will suffer. Maybe that's deserved, but that's for the voters to decide.
If it were up to me, I'd send a whole new team down to Washington. Enough's enough!


*Cricket chirp, cricket chirp* That is a summary of the activity as of 12:30, at the 24th post.

3:45 update: No further activity. I scanned some of the other threads in the same forum, but no mention of Blue Colt. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

4:30 update: No further activity. I close with this comment:

When Obama is in charge, and he is justifying the increased taxation with a reach-around to the middle class, can we still consider that soft-stuffing as being screwed? The general opinion of the Left certainly seems to be "no." I just don't see how this guy has any means to relate to "the common man" with his aloof, elitist attitude, and his "you can't handle it without us" rhetoric. If you buy into his Marxist/Carter-ish plans, vote for him I suppose. I'm not in much of a hurry to repeat the Carter years or to live under a Communist government. I had hoped to see some more action on this forum, but I suppose I was hoping for too much. If you people were really analytical and intelligent, you would not be on this side of it.



UPDATE 10/9/08, 1313: More activity detected - my comments ignored. Next time, I may try the daily kooks.

Holster Progression

Well folks, it looks like I am a holster maker. Here are some pictures of my wife's cross-draw. I designed and stitched it, she wet-molded and finished it. Purple was her idea. She has now been wearing it for several weeks now, and it is doing really well for her. I hadn't had a chance to upload pics of it until recently. This sucker tucks in tight and conceals well under a vest, shirt, or jacket. It retains well in all of her daily activities as a mother, wife, and accountant; and yet the draw is easy and intuitive. We built it with an extra loop behind the grip to give her the option of using the same holster on a modular shoulder rig, which will be in the works soon.

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There will be pictures of more holsters to follow. I've just finished my prototype, but I want to get some hard wear on it before I post a report.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

My Mom's First Experience with a Shotgun

I can't laugh too much. Most of her gunning experience has been with a nicely weighted .22-LR rifle. Taking that into consideration, she really didn't do too badly with the 20-gauge. Keep in mind that I detest internet videos of people put in situations to hurt themselves. Not funny. Mom didn't get hurt at all. This is VERY funny!



Oh by the way, I posted this video without her consent. She reads my blog occasionally. I wonder how long it will take for her to discover it...

*snicker!*

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Darwinism

Alright, peeps. I'm getting really sick of the humanistic atheists. It's time for a quick science lesson. Let's get three little facts straight:

1. When your glass "sweats" the liquid on the outside does not come from the inside. It works the same way as when your car windows fog up.

2. The "lead" in your pencil is not lead at all unless it's a hundred years old. It's graphite, and no amount of pencil stabbing will give someone lead poisoning.

3. Darwinian speciation is unsubstantiated, unscientific, and impossible. One day, the idea will be a relic of the intellectual dark age that we are currently in. It ranks right up there with the flat world theory and spontaneous generation.

That's all for now. Thanks for hearing my rant.