John's Conservative Thoughts

Wow or Trent Lott bashes Talk Radio

2007-06-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

I am so confused by the Republicans today and this kind of stuff isn't helping.

Comments by Republican senators on Thursday suggested that they were feeling the heat from conservative critics of the bill, who object to provisions offering legal status. The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: “Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.”

A very sad day.

Liberals - The Party of Disdain or Hate the Right

2007-06-14T09:58:00.000-05:00

Proof Positive that the liberals in positions of power are corrupt have a deep disdain for the right. I guess if Angelina Jolie can try muting free speech by banning Fox News and making journalist sign contracts for interviews, liberals everywhere see justification in coming out of the closet and showing their true colors.

From the article:

Radio station WIOD likely will remain Broward County's official channel for emergency information despite concerns it is also home to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

County commissioners said they were deluged with complaints from throughout the country Wednesday after they questioned whether to cut their ties with the station because of their dislike for Limbaugh. By the end of the day, a majority of commissioners vowed to renew WIOD's agreement next week.

This is a group of county commissioners that wanted to end an "emergency brodcast" contract with a radio station because the radio station airs Rush Limbaugh.

A Surcharge on People

2007-06-10T14:21:00.000-05:00

Democrats seek a surcharge on people who are too successful. From the article linked below

a 4 percent surcharge on income over $200,000 for families and $100,000 for singles

Click here for the article

"Our plan is as simple as can be. And only 2 percent of the whole population would have to pay it," said Leonard E. Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center. The plan has the added benefit of abolishing the complicated AMT at all income levels, Burman said, an approach some lawmakers find attractive.

Again, a surcharge on people who have been successful. I question the "only 2 percent" statement. I'd like to think that more than two percent make over 100K. This is purely a redistribution of wealth and an effort to further advance class envy.

You want to eliminate the AMT? Then stop spending so much money!!!

May have to switch parties

2007-05-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting in while, but between being busy and not being able to access the new google account, I just haven't spent the time to get up to date.

Much more on this later, but I cannot accept what the republican party is doing on the issue of immigration. Very seriously looking at a new party. Even if my congressman and senator vote against this, and I am not even going to check on that, the party is moving away from the conservative principles in which I believe. I fear I can no longer support the republicans in any way, and I fear for them that many many feel the same.

Election Comments

2006-11-09T08:16:00.000-06:00

I really only have one comment on the elections. How long will it take before we start hearing how peachy things are in Iraq? January is my guess... We'll start hearing how every thing is lovely in Iraq, nothing will actually change, but it will appear as though all is well there now that the Democrats are in charge here.

I'll take that though, it's better than just pulling out. No more daily negative news reports on the subject. It'll expose the media bias, but only to those of us who notice.

One more comment (ok so I have two), how long before the media starts reporting on our booming economy? How long before the democrats start taking credit for that booming economy? How long before they screw it up with tax hikes?

Sekula Gibbs Rally in Sugar Land

2006-10-30T20:23:00.000-06:00

Couple of pictures from tonight’s rally at Sugar Land airport. President Bush talked for 40 minutes or so and gave a terrific speech. I am glad my wife, son, and I were fortunate enough and to obtain tickets and make the rally. The President's speech was great, the excitement was wonderful, and the event was well attended by many republicans and Texas politicians.

Vote!

2006-10-28T05:33:00.000-05:00

I voted yesterday. Texas has a great early voting system and I always take advantage the opportunity to beat long lines at the polls. The wait was a little longer this year than in past years because of the new electronic voting machines. Between figuring out the new system and spelling out SHELLEY SEKULA GIBBS, everyone was taking a little extra time in the booth. I had to wait maybe 10 minutes for my turn at the machine. Using the machine was relatively painless, but I still wish I had the old “fill in the circle with a number 2 pencil” ballot. OK, Nick Lampson (and Shelley for that matter) you can stop sending me ads in the mail.

Get out and Vote!

Political Contributions

2006-10-14T08:06:00.000-05:00

With an election looming near, my mail is full of political ads solicitation for donations to various campaigns and local, state and national RNC organizations. I typically give some dollars to the RNC at some level (mainly national) and sometimes directly to candidates. My frustration, with the local RNC, is on the rise. Looking at the Fort Bend GOP web site, you would not even know there is a congressional district 22 race in less than a month. The last news letter on the site is from April and the only CD22 candidate listed in the “Elections” section is Joe Reasbeck. Both Harris and Galveston County GOP web sites have information and links to Shelly Sekula Gibbs. What’s up with Fort Bend County? Pouting? It is disappointing to see that the Fort Bend GOP has walked away from this race. They should be the driving force behind keeping CD22 republican, but they are mute. So in my book, they are moot. I gave a small donation directly to Sekula Gibbs and I encourage anyone reading this to do the same.

Range Report

2006-09-27T07:25:00.000-05:00

Time for another range report.

One day last week, I noticed that my Beretta Tomcat had a pretty good coating of pocket lint behind the hammer. After closer inspection and quickly removing the slide, I also noticed that the pocket gun was without any lubrication. I couldn’t locate a smidgeon of oil anywhere on the firearm. The grips were cracked as well. It has been loaded up with Corbon 60gr. JHPs for, I do not even know how long. Well I decided it was time for a range trip to see if the gun cycled properly in this condition.

But wait! I had been looking at S&W 642 J-Frame revolvers for some time, so decided to pick one up for the pending range trip. Off to the range on Sunday afternoon, brining the two aforementioned firearms along with a Beretta PX4.

I decided to shoot the Beretta PX4 first (I wanted to put some holes in the center of a target before shooting the pocket guns). After 50 rounds of 9mm through the Beretta at 10 yards the target had no center. The Beretta PX4 functioned flawlessly.

Now on to the new S&W 642-2 J-Frame Revolver (new to me, but I purchased it used). I picked up 100 rounds of Winchester Personal Protection 125gr. JHP +P ammunition. Loaded up the 642. Pointed at a new target and Bang! Ouch! A lot more recoil than I expected and no danger to the center of the target. At 10 yards, I kept it on the paper for 50 rounds of Winchester +P ammo and 10 rounds of Federal Hydroshok +P ammo, but I can’t say that I shot with any consistency or real accuracy. Every quadrant of the paper target had randomly placed holes. On the bright side, this gives me ample justification for future range trips. The little J-Frame packs a punch with +P ammo, and being my first revolver, I need lots of practice.

Now to the dry, dirty Beretta 3032 Tomcat. Remember, this gun has no lubricant and is filled with pocket lint. Carry ammo loaded, I emptied two magazines and then 50 rounds of 30 some odd year old 71gr. Remington. The little Tomcat never missed a beat. Not a single malfunction. My confidence in the Beretta Tomcat, while already high, was bolstered. The gun will go bang if needed. At 10 yards, I was able to keep a 6” pattern on shoot-n-see florescent targets.

Back to the Beretta PX4… I finished off the range trip with another 75 rounds or so of 9mm round ball. After shooting the two pocket pistols, the full sized 9mm felt like a BB gun. Little recoil and dead on accuracy at 10 yards, even when rapid firing. The PX4 is great, comfortable shooting firearm. I highly recommend this gun.

Religion of Peace

2006-09-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

You be the judge of whether Islam is the religion of peace. From thisislondon.co.uk

I normally do not quote entire articles, but will make an exception this time.

The Pope must die, says Muslim

A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.

Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment".

His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim hardliners towards Pope Benedict XVI appeared to deepen.

The pontiff yesterday apologised for causing offence during a lecture last week. Quoting a medieval emperor, his words were taken to mean that he called the prophet Mohammed "evil and inhuman".

He insisted he was "deeply sorry" but his humbling words did not go far enough to silence all his critics or quell the violence and anger he has triggered.

A nun was shot dead in Somalia by Islamic gunmen and churches came under attack in Palestine.

Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year.

The 39-year-old lawyer organised

demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in February in Denmark. Protesters carried placards declaring "Behead Those Who Insult Islam".

Yesterday he said: "The Muslims take their religion very seriously and non-Muslims must appreciate that and that must also understand that there may be serious consequences if you insult Islam and the prophet.

"Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment."

He added: "I am here have a peaceful demonstration. But there may be people in Italy or other parts of the world who would carry that out.

"I think that warning needs to be understood by all people who want to insult Islam and want to insult the prophet of Islam."

As well as placards attacking the Pope such as "Pope go to Hell", his followers outside the country's principal Roman Catholic church also waved slogans aimed at offending the sentiments of Christians such as "Jesus is the slave of Allah".

A Scotland Yard spokesman said of his comments: "We have had no complaints about this. There were around 100 people at the demonstration. It passed off peacefully and there were no arrests."

Larger Islamic groups in Britain said they accepted the Pope's apology. Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The Vatican has moved quickly to deal with the hurt and we accept that.

"It was something that should never have happened - words of that nature were always likely to cause dismay - and we believe some of the Pope's advisers may have been at fault over his speech."

Yesterday's sermon by the Pope was the first time a pontiff has publicly said sorry.

He said he regretted Muslim reaction to his speech and stressed that the quotation did not reflect his personal opinion. Anger and violence - including attacks on seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza - have characterised one of the biggest international crises involving the Vatican in decades.

The Pope appeared determined to move quickly to try to defuse the anger but the fury of many radicals was unabated last night and there were fears for his safety.

Iraqi jihadists issued a video of a scimitar slicing a cross in two, intercut with images of Benedict and the burning Twin Towers.

The website run in the name of the Mujahedeen Army, used by extremist groups who have claimed responsibility for attacks in Iraq, was addressed to "You dog of Rome" and threatened to "shake your thrones and break your crosses in your home".

In a reference to suicide bombing, it said: "We swear to God to send you people who adore death as much as you adore life."

The threat of violence against Catholics and Christians was emphasised by the murder of an Italian nun in Somalia. Sister Leonella, 66, was shot as she walked from the children's hospital where she worked to her house in Mogadishu, a city recently taken over by an Islamic government.

A Vatican spokesman said he feared her death was "the fruit of violence and irrationality arising from the current situation".

Father Frederico Lombardi said he hoped it was an isolated event. "We are worried about this wave of hatred and hope it doesn't have any grave consequences for the Church around the world," he said.

The murder suggested that extremists are determined to use the Pope's embarrassment as an excuse for violence.

In Turkey, state minister Mehmet Aydin said the Pope seemed to be saying he was sorry for the outrage but not necessarily for his remarks.

"You either have to say this, 'I'm sorry' in a proper way or not say it at all," he told reporters in Istanbul.

There were fierce denunciations of the pontiff from Iran. The English-language Tehran Times called his lecture in Bavaria last week "code words for a new crusade".

The powerful cleric Ahmad Khatami told theological students in the holy city of Qom: The "Pope should fall on his knees in front of a senior Muslim cleric and try to understand Islam."

But the Turkish government signalled it was content and that the Pope's visit to the country in November can go ahead.

In his sermon yesterday at the Papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, Benedict spoke amid strengthened security.

He said: "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.

"These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address."

No other Pope is thought to have made such an apology.

9/11

2006-09-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

I watched the “Path to 9/11” last night. While I do have questions about the missing 20 minutes, I would like to thank ABC for reminding us that that the Osama himself has stated that the only way to stop Islamic terrorism is to remove Israel and convert America to Islam. It is not about Bush, or even Clinton, but about destroying our way of life and converting America to Islam. Remember that.

My prayers go out today the people, and family of those, who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

ABC caves to democrat whinning

2006-09-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

According to this article: ABC alters 9/11 show under pressure

The network has in recent days made changes to the film, set to air Sunday and Monday, after leading political figures, many of them Democrats, complained about bias and alleged inaccuracies. Meanwhile, a left-wing organization [aka, the Democratic Party —ed.] has launched a letter-writing campaign urging the network to “correct” or dump the miniseries, while conservative blogs have launched a vigorous defense.

“After a screening of the first episode in Washington last week, some audience members attacked the film’s depiction of the Clinton administration’s pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Among those unhappy was Richard Ben-Veniste, an attorney and member of the 9/11 commission whom some conservatives have dismissed as a Democratic attack dog. Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorism czar, has criticized the movie for suggesting that the Clinton administration was in a position to capture Bin Laden in 1998 but canceled the mission at the last minute.

After much discussion, ABC executives and the producers toned down, but did not eliminate entirely, a scene that involved Clinton’s national security advisor, Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger, declining to give the order to kill Bin Laden, according to a person involved with the film who declined to be identified because of the sensitivities involved.

“That sequence has been the focus of attention,” the source said, adding: “These are very slight alterations.”

An article in the Washington Post details more of the whining from democrats. The sadest part of the changes is the following statement

In addition, the network decided that the credits would say the film is based "in part" on the 9/11 commission report, rather than simply "based on" the bestselling report, as the producers originally intended.

Register your comments on this at http://abc.go.com/
Just click "Contact ABC" at the bottom of the page. I know i'm off of ABC. I was completely off of CBS after Rathergate and am only just now starting to watch CSI again and never CBS News. ABC is doing themeselves a serious in-justice.

Updates

2006-08-31T08:53:00.000-05:00

Blog changes. In the left column (fitting placement) note “Quotes From The Left”. Little reminders of who the left really are and who they want us to believe they are.

Dictrict 22 Special Election set for November 7

2006-08-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

Today, Governor Perry officially set a special election to fill the vacant district 22 seat (story at chron.com). The special election will coincide with the general election on November 7. What does this mean? I guess it means there will be a spelling guide on the ballot for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. She is sure to run in the special election along with democrat Lampson. She will most likely win too, and that means with proper education of the electorate, they should go-on to write her in for the next term as well. This is good news for the Republicans and bad news for Nick Lampson.

Come on Texas GOP… Start the education campaign on the write-in.

Related Web Sites:
Gov. Perry Press Release

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs Campaign
Texas GOP
Fort Bend GOP

Quote of the day

2006-08-28T15:51:00.000-05:00

Sen. Joseph Biden, Democrat, Delaware:

Quote - My state was a slave state. My state is a border state... My state is anything from a Northeast liberal state.

and Clinton was the first Black President Mr. Binden.

Now here's on from James Carville: Quote - If we can't win in this environment, we have to question the whole premise of the party.

I certainly hope you do that Mr. Carville.

Ann Coulter

2006-08-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

Ann Coulter's latest column pretty much sums up my attitude toward the democratic pary.

Her column starts off:

Quote
This year's Democratic plan for the future is another inane sound bite designed to trick American voters into trusting them with national security.

To wit, they're claiming there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, and while they're all for the war against terror — absolutely in favor of that war — they are adamantly opposed to the Iraq war. You know, the war where the U.S. military is killing thousands upon thousands of terrorists (described in the media as "Iraqi civilians," even if they are from Jordan, like the now-dead leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). That war.
.
.
.
As Howard Dean put it this week, "The occupation in Iraq is costing American lives and hampering our ability to fight the real global war on terror."
.
.
.
Maybe Dean is referring to a different globe, like Mars or Saturn, or one of those new planets they haven't named yet.

She's right! Here's the column.

Perpetual Motion

2006-08-28T10:32:00.000-05:00

Perpetual Motion

In high school, I took an Electronics class and became fascinated with motors and generators. I came up with a design to make a DC generator using permanent magnets to avoid the use of brushes and my instructor look at it and laughed. “You can’t make perpetual motion machine”, he said. Well… I’ll be watching this story. It looks very interesting, but could be a hoax.

There is a test rig with wheels and cogs and four magnets meticulously aligned so as to create the maximum tension between their fields and one other magnet fixed to a point opposite. A motor rotates the wheel bearing the magnets and a computer takes 28,000 measurements a second. The magnets, naturally, act upon one another. And when it is all over, the computer tells us that almost three times the amount of energy has come out of the system as went in. In fact, this piece of equipment is 285% efficient.

That's a lot of "free energy" and, supposedly, a slap in the face for one of physics' most basic laws, the principle of conservation of energy: in an isolated system (the planet, say), energy can be neither created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one form into another.

Credit goes to Geeks with Guns for pointing out this story.

The Cryptic Subterranean on the left side bar is from Ireland (location of this company), maybe Jay can shed some light on these fellows. Also they have a web site at http://www.steorn.net

A tale of two cities or Marble Ice Cream

2006-08-24T06:57:00.000-05:00

I haven’t done the research yet, but we know that Texas still has roughly 200,000 Katrina Victims from the New Orleans area and specifically, Houston still has about 100,000. On April 22, 2006, many of these were bused back to New Orleans to vote in the Mayoral election to insure Nagin’s dream of a chocolate city. But wait, they came back to Houston after voting and are still here. Will these Katrina victims be the largest group yet, to vote in two Mayoral elections in two cities in two states in the same year?

I heard this bantered about last week on the radio and have been pondering the thought for a few days. It is an interesting concept and would be very easy for them to do. I believe that if you can show 90 days residence, you can vote. Anyone want to bet whether there are members of the donkeys out there right now helping Katrina Victims meet the registration requirements for voting in Houston in November?

Texas Voter Registration Requirements
You must:
• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be a resident of the county in which the application for registration is made
• Be at least 17 year and 10 months old (you must be 18 to vote)
• Not be finally convicted of a felony. (Felons regain the right to register when pardoned, two years after receiving a certificate of discharge from the appropriate correction institution, or two years after completing a period of probation.)
• Have not been declared mentally incompetent by final judgment of a court of law

David Wallace drops write-in candidacy for Texas CD 22

2006-08-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

Well, now that the democrats no longer have a reason to egg him on, they are claiming he (and others) has broken the law. It is a ridiculous claim of bribery. Obviously the democrats are seeing their chances this November as being greatly diminished. It is very sad to see how low these people will go. If Sekula-Gibbs wins in November, we can expect to see a recount and arguments about whether to count votes with SKG, Gibbs, Shelley written in. Never mind the “intent” of the voter. It’s going to be ugly.

Nevertheless, I still like Wallace and fully expect him to run in the primary in 2008. He’ll get my vote and support. Sounds like he will not run as Mayor of Sugar Land again, and he will be missed. The City of Sugar Land has prospered under his leadership.

Hurricanes - Reconciling the experts

2006-08-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

WeatherStreet.com shows us in a normal to below normal hurricane season. This article states: 2006 Tropical Storm Season Now Below Normal

Part of the reason for the slow season is that tropical western Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are running about normal, if not slightly below normal (see graphic below, which shows SST departures from normal).

In contrast, at the same time last year SSTs in the same region were running well above normal. Part of the reason for the slow season is that tropical western Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are running about normal, if not slightly below normal (see graphic below, which shows SST departures from normal).

Now cut to a Reuters article on the same subject: Atlantic hurricanes could rev up any time They have a different take:

Last year's wildly busy Atlantic hurricane season changed many people's expectations, but it is perfectly normal for the first two or three months of a season to be fairly quiet.

And

So far this year, only three tropical storms have formed -- Alberto, Beryl and Chris. Strong wind shear -- the difference in wind speed and direction at different levels of the atmosphere -- has disrupted some of the tropical weather systems that eventually become cyclones.

And

Max Mayfield, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, said there are signs of increased activity near the west coast of Africa, source of the troublesome "Cape Verde" hurricanes that grow powerful on their long trip across the Atlantic.

If you read the two articles, one says simply that the oceans are cooler and thus fewer storms. The other never mentions this fact, but says it is wind shear that is clipping the storms before they get started. Of course, the implication is that global warming should be causing more storms, like we told you would happen, but other forces are preventing the storms from forming. But wait… they’re coming… be afraid, be very afraid.

Anyway, how can you reconcile the two articles, and because of the recent Reuters fauxtography scandels, which article do you trust as truth?

Humor

2006-08-19T08:56:00.000-05:00

While looking at posts on "The Texas Connection" links on the left sidebar. I found "Sue's Views" and this joke. -Enjoy

State GOP Blesses Sekula-Gibbs for TX CD 22 write-in

2006-08-18T05:39:00.000-05:00

The Republican Party of Texas meeting last night ended in an endorsement of Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Fort Bend Now has an article on the story. I feel like this whole ordeal was poorly handled and I am more disappointed in the process than the outcome. If Mayor Wallace stays in the race, it will be a tough decision in November. If he drops out, I hope he runs in the primary for the next election. He is a good conservative Republican and I wish him the best of luck.

As to the trashing he took from the Sekula-Gibbs camp, thanks to Rhymes With Right I can say that, he did fail to mention that Wallace was buying failing companies to restructure them. When this is what you do, some are going to fail.

What amazes me is that a supposed precinct Chairman (see comments section #7-9 in this article) of Harris county could trash Wallace so badly, show support for the libertarian candidate (see comment 5 in the comments on this article), and now say he has been working on the Sekula-Gibbs campaign. I guess he figures the end justifies the means. I have his web site linked on the left column under “Local Politics and News” and will leave it there as a reminder. Sometimes politics can be very political.

Harris County P.O.'d or How to hand an election to the Democrats

2006-08-16T21:05:00.000-05:00

I’m starting to understand the issues of CD22. Texas Safety Forum has published a confidential email from Gary Gillen, GOP Fort Bend County Chairman, dated August 7 and addressed to “Dear Candidate, Party Officer or Club President”. Evidently he was planning a “Candidate Workshop” for August 17 (this Thursday).

This week (edited) the republican party of Texas chairman called a meeting in Pearland inviting the same people, basically telling Fort Bend County to pound sand.

So now Gillen sends a letter to the candidates asking them to not attend the meeting in Pearland. I can't fault him for that. Basically it sounds like everyone else, Harris County in particular, is P.O.’d at Fort Bend county for stepping up to the bar.

Begining the research of TX CD 22, I liked the idea of my representative being David Wallace, I still do.

David Wallace's web site is http://www.davidwallaceforcongress.com

TX CD 22 Update

2006-08-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

Here is an article from the New York Times relating to the situation on TX CD 22 election. Not that I am a faithful reader of the NY Times..., but I am still very interested in the outcome of the GOP meeting Thursday.

NY Times requires a registration so go here for a username and password: http://www.bugmenot.com/

Gold Penny or Conterfeit?

2006-08-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

A Gold Penny? 2001D

I found this in my change today. Possible wrong planchet? Counterfeit? Coated? It looks like one of those golden dollars.

Update... A quick search and found the following: Silver (Zinc) and Brass Pennies Someone turned my penny to brass. And I thought it was valuable. Oh well, guess I'll just have to keep working.

Direction Defined

2006-08-15T06:31:00.000-05:00

I started researching TX CD 22 looking for direction on the upcoming election. I still have not found that direction, but it sounds like the local GOP is starting to become organized and is having a meeting on Thursday night. What do I mean by direction?

1. A consensus endorsement from the local GOP.
2. A clearly defined campaign on what to expect at the polls. Will the write-in candidates be listed somewhere? Instructions on how to wrtie-in a name. Is the GOP telling people how to write-in a vote? (this is direction).

What have I found? The local GOP is meeting Thursday night to, hopefully, endorse someone. This process has evidently and understandably been a rough endeavor. I anxiously await the results from the meeting on Thursday. I am a voter and a republican; so understandably, I am interested in what the party has to say.

Once this is done, the second item above should fall inline. Why is the second item a concern? If people are not educated on the process, it will not work. What I have read to date suggests that there will be a list of write-ins in the polls (list of those who filed as write-ins). This is good. I have also read that we have new electronic voting machines. I honestly do not know if that is the case. Fort Bend is a very conservative county and I have no idea how many people just vote the republican ticket, but if they vote the straight ticket on Election Day, evidently, they will not be voting for a congressperson. Everyone needs to be aware of this.

Have I enjoyed researching this subject over the past few days? Kind of. It seems like democrat blogs on the subject are running about 5 to 1 over republican blogs (in number of sites covering the subject). I wish to thank the democrats for reaffirming my belief that the left are a viscous, hateful lot.

Local Politics at its Best?

2006-08-14T06:46:00.000-05:00

See this article: DeLay Reaction: Republican Wildcard In The Race For Congressional District 22

It looks like there is a lot of politics going on in the political world. Who’d of thought it.

I see three possible scenarios:

1. Wallace + Another write in = Democrats win (this is a given – everyone knows it)
2. Wallace Drops when the GOP backs another write in = Toss up (has to be a candidate for which conservative republicans will vote)
3. Other write ins withdraw their names now that Wallace has filed = Toss up (this is sort of where we are today, Wallace is only one who has filled)

It doesn’t’ appear that Wallace had the support of the local GOP when he filled for the write-in ticket in the election, but at least he did something when the others were bickering over who to back. The GOP needs to realize that the 2006 primary is long gone and put events in motion to win this election. We cannot do it with two write-in candidates. The GOP needs to make sure that when they throw their support behind someone (if anyone), that it is either Wallace or that Wallace has committed to backing out if they choose Paul Bettencourt or Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Bettencourt and Sekula-Gibbs have already stated that they will not run without GOP backing.

He/She would have to be as much of a conservative as Wallace to get my vote. Unbelievably, many republicans in the blogosphere are saying they will vote libertarian and even are even encouraging the GOP to support the libertarian candidate. If Wallace stays in, he gets my vote, but he needs to consider the political ramifications of staying in.

Here is another interesting web site with opinions on the subject: Texas Safety Forum

The articles are good, but it’s the comments below each article that are really telling of the bickering among the local GOP.

Mayor Wallace has campaign website: David Wallace for Congress/ Take a look at the Issues tab on his site. There are a couple of points that are low on my priorities, but he does hit the big ones. A representative is supposed to represent the views of his district and I think Mayor Wallace does just that.

Paul Bettencourt has a web site, but it doesn’t appear to be a campaign site : Paul Bettencourt

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs does have a campaign web site: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs for Congress
Her stance on issues falls more inline with mine than I thought, but not as much so as Wallace.

It will be interesting to see what transpires this week.

Texas Congressional District 22

2006-08-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging for quite some time. I was getting pretty fed up with the comments area being used for purposes of spam and I have been pretty busy at work. Well, I now have set the comment to be moderated and users must be registered to comment. Hopefully this will cut down on the spam issue.

Now on to the subject of insterest (to me anyway).

I live in Fort Bend County, Congressional District 22, and went to the Texas GOP website seeking an update on Tom Delay’s vacated seat. My current understanding is that Delay has officially requested that his name be removed from the ballot, so there will be no Republican on the ballot, but one can write in any name. I was extremely disappointed to see that all I can find on the Texas GOP web site is negative campaigning against democrats. Not a thing there about what District 22 voters can expect in November.

Hopefully they will start gearing up to actively campaign for a write in candidate, but whom? As far as I know, there are two people plying for a write in candidacy, Mayor of Sugar Land, David G. Wallace and Houston City Council Woman, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.

I started researching the potential write in candidates and found this page on David Wallace, Mayor of Sugar Land: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_G._Wallace

I like what I am reading about him:

Social issues
A conservative Republican, Wallace is pro-life on the issue of abortion. He is opposed to gun control, and has also shown opposition to same-sex marriage.

Fiscal issues
Wallace is a fiscal conservative who pledges to use his experience in financial services to fight for lower taxes, as well as a plan to curb the growing national deficit.

Immigration Reform
Wallace has also pledged to use his experience in shaping legislation to secure the nation's borders through the U.S. Conference of Mayors to push for a plan aimed at securing borders, strengthening immigration laws, and stopping illegal immigrants.

Foreign policy
Wallace has pledged to support President George W. Bush on the ongoing War on Terror, and guarantees a strong military that has the necessary strength for success.

Sugar Land is a pretty conservative area and this all sounds good, but they are just bits of information for now. More research is needed.

The same Wikipedia did not have a page on Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, but she has a web site at: http://www.sekula-gibbs.com/index.php

I really am just starting to research this, but she sounds like a fiscal conservative with a liberal lean on social issues.

I plan to keep researching this subject, but hopefully the Texas GOP will start providing some direction soon.

Tactical Tupperware from Beretta

2006-03-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Tactical Tupperware at it’s best. Beretta PX4 Storm Report.

I picked up a Beretta PX4 and though I am partial to Beretta’s and particularly the recently demised Cougar, I will try to be as objective as possible.

For those that do not know, the PX4, I feel, was created by Beretta to compete with Glock and other polymer service guns. The PX4 is to ultimately be offered in DA/SA (F), Constant Action (C), DA/SA with decocker only (G), and DAO (D) triggers (currently DA/SA or F type is the only one available, I think). It is also to be offered in 9mm, .40 S&W, 357 Sig and .45 ACP (currently just in 9mm and .40). Beretta is rumored to be planning a mid-size and/or compact version to complement the full size (4” Barrel) PX4.

The pistol caliber carbine, CX4, can be had to accept the same magazines as the PX4 Pistol.

The one I purchased is a full size 9mm in DA/SA PX4 Storm. The gun has replaceable and different size magazine buttons and back straps, but mine came with medium appendages only. After a quick call to Beretta’s PX4 fulfillment hot line at 888-268-3265, the small and large mag buttons and back straps are on the way at no charge. I fully expect to start seeing pink and blue plastic back straps on sale at mall kiosks everywhere.

The gun came with three 17 round magazines (though most stores only have the 2-Mag box). From what I have determined (empirically), the back strap and entire trigger assembly are easy to remove and replace. Ultimately, one will be able to replace the trigger assembly with whatever action he desires and configure the back strap and magazine button to fit his or her hand size. You can also replace the decocker and slide catch with slim line versions that should make the gun more concealable.

Well that was a little long, but here is a picture showing the back strap and action removed: (and yes, I took the thing apart before ever making it to the range).

The locking system, like the Beretta Cougar, uses a direct barrel to slide lock that rotates the barrel during unlock/recoil. This allows for a lower barrel axis and thus lower perceived recoil. If you've ever shot a Cougar, you'll know what I'm talking about. You .45 guys should try a Cougar 8045 if you ever get the opportunity. You get more push and less muzzle flip with the rotating barrel. In the picture above (although hard to see) you can see the locking block lug that fits to an angled slot in the bottom of the barrel to cause rotation of the barrel.

Picture of the PX4 Storm:

Now for the range report:

Fired 100 rounds of Magtech 115gr round ball 9mm, 50 rounds of Winchester White Box 115gr 9mm, and 20 Rounds of Federal 124gr Hydra Shoks. Zero Failures of any kind (guess I got it back together correctly). With the first magazine I had a nice 3” group that was 2” left of center. Continued shooting left of center and then switched to another gun a little while (not included in round count above). When I switched back, I brought the groups closer to the centerline and even tightened up a little. I had some groups at 2” at 10 yards and a few even tighter when I really concentrated on slow firing. On average, I’d say 2.5” - 3" Groups groups for 10 rounds at 10 yards, and that is not bad for me. The left of center was starting to correct itself and I’m sure it was just me getting use to the trigger, but more range trips are warranted to make sure. I do not want to drift the sights until I get a chance to try the other back straps.

I took the time to disassemble the slide and coat the barrel a couple of times with Militech while the barrel was warm. I find this makes furture cleanings easier and it is suppose to turn into a dry permanent lubricant for the barrel. Do you guys do this? I'm curious.

The trigger is about what you would expect from a DA/SA gun. Although, the double action trigger felt a little gritty. You can feel all of the iternals meshing and rubbing, but that should ease up with use. The single action trigger has the expected take up in this type of gun, but was prefectly fine for my use.

As to the 17 round magazines, all I can say is Ouch! Those puppies are tight and I never did get 17 rounds in any of mags. The most I was able to load in one of the mags was 16, the other two – 14. I plan to load them up and store them loaded for the next range trip, but I fear I may have to pick up a mag loading tool (any recommendations?). I’ve never had a problem loading magazines before, but these guys were really tight.

I plan to make this my nightstand gun. It has luminous sights and as soon as night sights for this gun hit the market, I’ll get some installed. I hope this doesn’t sound too much like a commercial for Beretta, but I think I will enjoy the PX4 Storm. When they come out the the 357sig, I may pick up an extra slide and barrel in that caliber. I know, I know... this was way too long of a post.

2006-01-02T13:31:00.000-06:00

Goose Hunt Today

Nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court

2005-10-04T15:39:00.000-05:00

This one has me a little confused. Are we to just offer our blind trust to W? He says she’s a contrutionist, therefore she is? What about the fact that the democrats seem to like her and she used to be a democrat herself? Is this a deal cut between Harry Reid and W to allow the nomination of Roberts to push forward? The nominees go beyond the bush adminstration and beyond the next adminstration, and for now, I am disappointed in what I see.

So what are we left with? Unanswered questions and a feeling of underwhelmment. Well I am underwhelmend, anyway. More on this later as I gather my thoughts; however, I will say now that I am feeling a deep upset in the force. I feel myself separating from the republican party for the first time.

More Comments on Rita

2005-09-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more comments on Rita (mainly so i do not forget). I forgot to mention that we took along a little fire proof lock box with all of the important family papers. I mention this in the event that someone out there is creating a check list. In the back pack that I took along, I had a tent and sleeping bag along with that standard camping gear. We brought our own pillows (seems silly, but it was the wife’s idea). We also had a portable television and I used it some during the traffic jams. The TV is one of those with a radio/weather radio and LED lights. The lights and radio are powered from a little hand cranked generator, but the TV needs an external source of power. I’ve had a Garmin GPS 3+ for years and that was perched on my dashboard so that I know where I was and where I was going at all times.

Now for a few things that I need to do for the next SHTF episode, and I believe I will see another one, here are some items that I need to pick up:

1. Couple of large gas cans.
2. A hitch mounted holder/rack of some sort for the gas cans.
3. MRE’s - If you know of a good online supplier, please leave a comment. I’m studying these. This might be a good deal.
4. Police Scanner (not really necessary, and mostly likely the money is better spent on food).
5. Updated CB Radio. Mine portable was having some antenna problems and is at least 13 years old.

I am reading a lot about the “bug out bag” in various blogs and I suppose my bug out bag is the back packing pack. It is fully loaded and ready to go for one to two or even three person short trip.

Tropical Wave Number 48

2005-09-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

Here we go again:

GOES False Color

Discussion

ABNT20 KNHC 271502
TWOAT
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1130 AM EDT TUE SEP 27 2005

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

A VIGOROUS TROPICAL WAVE CENTERED A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES SOUTHEAST OF JAMAICA IS PRODUCING CLOUDINESS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN SEA. THIS SYSTEM HAS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED TODAY... AND UPPER-LEVEL WINDS HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR A TROPICAL DEPRESSION TO DEVELOP DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO. AN AIR
FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO INVESTIGATE THE SYSTEM TOMORROW... IF NECESSARY. INTERESTS IN JAMAICA... THE CAYMAN ISLANDS... AND IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS IT MOVES WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT ABOUT 10 MPH.

News Media or Propaganda Sensationalists

2005-09-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

Is the media making up their own news? Click the link and read the story about misinformation and rumor reporting by the news media. I’m fed up with it. During the Rita evacuation from Houston there was so much misinformation being reported that the new media started sounding more like propaganda outlets instead of news reporters. Tanker trucks being dispatch to fill cars stalled along I-45… come on, are people that gullible? I even heard one Fox news bimbet reporting that she had head that ID’s would be checked upon re-entry to Houston to ensure that people were coming back on the proper day. How stupid do these people think we are? Turns out the reports about snipers in New Orleans were false along with reports of the rapes and murders in the Superdome.

I admit that I am a news junkie, but man… I was shocked at the sensationalizing and pure bull being spread by national news networks during Hurricane Rita. Did I mention that I primarily watch Fox News? Yes they were guilty as hell.

Running from Rita (Part Two)

2005-09-27T06:31:00.000-05:00

Running from Rita (Part Two)

Well after the 14 hour trip, my wife and I took some Tylenol PM and actually sleep pretty well. I had been monitoring the storm on the radio on the way up and then on Television that evening and it was becoming ever more apparent that the storm had turned north a little quicker than expected that Houston would miss the worst of Rita. I will say that the next time, I’ll leave the day before instead of two days early. I do not regret evacuating; we did what we thought was best and did it based on information that we had at the time.

One the best things we did, was to bring two way radios for the trip. To have the ability to communicate with each other, instantly, during the drive up was wonderful to say the least. The radios were the cheap, $35, 2-mile range Motorola radios that you can get in any sporting goods store. Look in the hunting and fishing sections.

Next, the portable CB Radio; these are great for road information and for entertainment value. Truckers are a real hoot to listen too. They were all working together to aggravate the “four wheelers” that would jump off onto the shoulders and try to pass everyone. It was pretty entertaining to listen to them plotting and calling ahead to tell the truckers up ahead that one was “comin at you” and needed blocking; however, my 11 year old did learn a few new words listening to the truckers.

Food and Water… we had plenty, but we planned ahead. I was astounded to learn later that people were stuck on the road with no food and water. What idiot evacuates the fourth largest city in the US, and takes no food or water? Gasoline? We had no problems getting gasoline, but then we stuck, to back roads for the most part and avoided I-45 as much as possible. We also planned ahead and had full tanks of gasoline. As a side note, when I went to Louisiana after Katrina to help some family members, I saw people buying large liquid laundry soup containers only to dump them out and use the container as a gas can. I waited to late to buy a large gas can, but I do plan to pick up a couple of 5 or 6 gallon containers before next hurricane season. I also plan to pick up a hitch rack to store the gas cans while traveling. I saw a lot of people with 5 gallon gas cans strapped to the tops of their cars.

Guns… I brought em (didn’t want the NOPD coming down to help and breaking my doors down to search for weapons), except for the shot guns; those stayed in the gun safe at home.

Ok…now for the trip home on Saturday. We messed around on Saturday morning and finally hit the road around 1:00pm. Everything was smooth sailing until just before Corsicana, TX on I-45. Now believe it or not, due to road construction, I-45 was down to one lane going south. We were stuck in traffic for hours. Unfortunately people were not as courteous as the trip up; I guess everyone was ready to get home and a little on edge. Cars were going all over the shoulder, on the access roads, cutting back and fourth in the grass and in general, being typical “I’m more important than you” Houston drivers. Once we got past the road construction, it was smooth sailing back to Madisonville where we exited I-45 and took back roads around Houston. Somewhere along the line we heard on the radio that the state had developed a return plan and that for our quadrant, we were to go home on Monday. Oh well… we didn’t know, so we made it back a couple of days early.

Now…. Remember in part one where I said that the city had promised garbage pick-up on Thursday? Well guess what? They couldn’t roll the trucks due to the traffic. The city sent out emails and called neighborhoods asking those who stayed to please pull the garbage of those who evacuated back up to their house so that the storm drains wouldn’t get plugged with garbage. So yeah… when get go home at 8:00pm, our front stoop was piled high with rotting stinking garbage. Ewwwww is putting it nicely. My son and I pulled it back down the street and rinsed off the stoop before we could unload the car.

The next day I pulled the garbage down from most of my neighbors homes who hadn’t yet made it back and most of those had done as I did and emptied their fridges. It was a nasty job. My son and I then poured bleach on stoops and rinsed the areas down good. For a few neighbors, we power washed just to make sure that we got it all. The smell was awful even after we rinsed everything down, but power washing took care of it.

I’m thinking next time, maybe move the fridge to the garage and leave it plugged in. If power goes out while we are gone, just duct tape it closed and bring the whole thing to the curve for the city to deal with. A lot of folks in New Orleans did just that after Katrina.

After cleaning up the garbage, we raked the yard and unlashed everything in the back yard. Also restarted the pool pump and pool cleaner and let the pool take care of itself. I had to dump the cleaner a few times, but it took care of itself and evacuated all of the leaves on the bottom and those floating went to the skimmers.

What had I done to the house? Just turned off the water and set the water heat down to low. Had turned the A/C’s up to so I took care of all of that stuff Saturday evening when we arrived home.

I feel like we managed pretty well as did Houston. 2.8 million managed to evacuate in a short time and that is quite a feat. Sure there were problems, but for the most part the problems were caused by those that had problems. You’ve got to plan ahead and make sure you have food and water. You have to have a full tank of gasoline and a clear direction as to where you are going. You’ve got to have a map and you’ve got to take care of yourself and your family. This is a pretty uneventful and boring story, as it was for most Houstonians who evacuated. My heart goes out to those in Lake Charles and other parts of Louisiana and Texas that got hit hard by Rita. Evacuating Houston is minor compared to what they are going through.

Running from Rita (Part 1)

2005-09-25T18:00:00.000-05:00

Running from Rita (Part One)

Living in southwest Houston (Sugar Land), my wife and I watched Hurricane Rita with concern. By Wednesday afternoon, we had decided that we would evacuate. Our area was under a voluntary evacuation and it looked like we could see category three hurricane winds or at least cat. 1. A time was set, 4:00am Thursday morning and we gassed up both cars in anticipation of gas being hard to find on the road. We also went to the store and purchased items for the road like water and food and ice.

We spent most of Wednesday lashing down the back yard. I tied everything down to some tie downs i have on the sides of my concrete deck. For some items, like the weber grill, I drove stakes in the ground and tied down to the stakes. Cleaned up all of the typical back yard clutter. Picked up some rugs in the house and moved some of the furniture around.

I checked the City’s web site and the city promised to have regular garbage pick up on Thursday, so we emptied out the fridge and freezer in anticipation of long term loss of power while we were gone. I had friends from the New Orleans area tell me that they had to duct tape their refrigerators closed and toss them out. Two weeks or so without power… stinky stuff. I noticed several neighbors doing the same thing.

I awoke at 2:30am and turned on the weather to see a 175 mph category 5 hurricane bearing down on the Texas gulf coast. Channel 2 news showed Sugar Land seeing 140 mph winds. I woke up the wife and said, “We gotta get ready to leave, quickly”.

This is pretty much the run down:

1. Give dogs tranquilizers.
2. Load two ice chests with water and ice.
3. Load food in two cars (fruit bars, chips, sandwich makings…)
4. Empty the refrigerator and freezer into large plastic garbage bags and put out on street. (I checked sugar land’s web site and they promised a Thursday garbage pickup).
5. Fill a drinking cooler with tap water and leave in house for the return.
6. Fill tubs with water for the return.
7. Shock pool.
8. Pack clothes in both cars.
9. Bring every battery in the house and flash lights.
10. Cable lock safe in the back of the Explorer.
11. Pack the wife’s jewelry box.
12. Pack a back pack with camping supplies, including propane stove and freeze dried foods.
13. Portable CB Radio (truckers know everything about alternate routes and traffic conditions).
14. Portable 2-mile two-way radios (for communications between cars). This allowed us help each other change lanes, decide when to stop for break, just talk when we needed it. Make joint decisions on when and where to stop or route changes.
15. Turn off water and set the hot water heater to vacation position.
16. Shut down the bun-o-matic :(
17. Have a good state map for the trip.
18. Have a planed route on back roads and stick to it.
19. Find out who in the neighborhood is staying and who plans to leave (did this on Wednesday) and exchange telephone, cell numbers and emails.

Yes we were one of those families that needlessly took both cars (I say needlessly, but we did have three people, two dogs and food and water for a few days plus luggage). The two-way radios were great and allowed us to travel as one. We each knew what the other was about to do as far at turning or changing lanes. I could call my wife behind me and have her change lanes and then let me in ahead of her. The radios let us talk a lot and take our minds off of the hurricane and the 14 hour journey.

We had mapped out a route on Wednesday evening that included taking back roads out of Houston and putting us on I-45 well north of Huntsville. Once at I-45 we would re-evaluate the plan. At I-45 we found things moving well and I-45 was in full contraflow mode so we jumped on then traffic slowed down to a crawl around Buffalo where contra flow ended. Past Buffalo everything sped back up so we exited in Fairfield to take a break and walk the dogs. (Dog walking stop three). Well, evidently they had restarted contraflow, but the police would not let ups back on I-45, so we ended up taking back roads up to Terrell, TX and then I-20 back into the Dallas area where we stayed with friends.

Seeing I-45 with all lanes moving north was erie. People were stopped all over on the shoulder. Cars were abandoned. Eveyone using the bathroom on the side of the interstate. There seemed to be alot of groups of 4-6 cars stopping at the same time. I guessed that neighbors or multiple generations of families were traveling in groups.

The first five hours of the trip, we burned over ¼ of our gasoline and went only 50 miles. It was miserable. When we finally broke away from pack on the country roads, things went much better and we passed many gas stations with large lines or bags over the pump handles. We finally got to a city on a major intersection that was deserted there was a great big gas station with practically no one there and we just pulled in and filled up the tanks (we stopped at the same place on the return trip and gassed up again with no problems).

It was a little surreal driving through small towns with signs out saying “No Evacuation Shelters Here”, basically saying don’t stop here.

In all, our trip to Dallas took right at 14 hours. We left at 4:00am and arrived at our destination at 6:00pm. The funny thing is that it really didn't seem like fourteen hours, but we were glad to be off of the roads and in a safe, comfortable house.

Lesson learned: Map out a route and stick to it. Do not worry about taking two lane roads; you’ll be moving when everyone else is stuck on the interstate. Annother lesson learned... wait an extra day to see what the storm is going to do. You'll be stuck in traffic either way so it will not matter too much to wait until the day before the storm is to arrive.

deep concern

2005-09-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

I was one of Bush's biggest supporters. I contributed to the RNC and to Bush campaigns, but now i am deeply concerned. What i heard tonight (other than the let's spend lots of money), was "increase the role of the federal goverment and military in emergency response". Now look at this film. Thanks to Musings of the GeekWithA45.

So bigger government and send troops to my neighborhood. I need a new party. Are you listing RNC?

NOPD

2005-09-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, I’m finally going to chime in on the situation in New Orleans. Step back to pre-Katrina, I am a happy middle aged person who enjoys shooting activities. I hunt, mostly birds; I shoot skeet; I shoot pistols. I have guns and I appreciate our second amendment right to bear arms for both sporting and defense uses. Personally, I feel that when the founding fathers incorporated the second amendment in the bill of rights, they were thinking more on the self defense and defense home and country than shooting geese.

Now bring us to post-Katrina, no not yet…. Bring us to pre-Houston when I lived in New Orleans. I knew some NOPD folks (many of which were happy to show you Mardi Gras pictures of topless women they kept in the trunk of their car) and I knew that many of the NOPD were thugs. No I was never harassed by them, but it was generally understood that they wouldn’t hesitate to mess you up if you needed messing up and many drunks in the French Quarters evidently did, in their eyes (or so I was told at the time).

Ok now bring us to today, I’m driving down the road and I see a local police car coming towards me, he must have thought I was a nut because as he passed I looked directly at him with what was most likely a very perplexing look. As he drove by I wondered what circumstance would permit him to break in to my house and take any guns that he might come across. What circumstance would allow him to continue searching my house (warrant-less) and disarming me while I shouted that I did not what him in my house? Or even worse, take any guns from my person in my own home. Before Katrina, I would have though that there would never be such a circumstance, but now I wonder when I see a policeman if he would ever do such a thing.

Thank you City of New Orleans, thank you planting the seed of distrust for those who are to protect us. Your police department turned in to a bunch of raving lunatics, in my opinion, breaking down unanswered doors to look for guns and taking guns from law abiding citizens while also telling them that you cannot protect them. City of New Orleans, you have done a grave disservice to your country. In a time of great peril, you failed to rise to the occasion. You failed to do the right thing. Instead you operated as a scared bunch of thugs.

Lucky Number

2005-07-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

I was at the gym the other day having a fitness test on a treadmill. The treadmill does a 5 minute test and reports back a VO2 Max number. My VO2 Max was 39 which is average (for a person of my age). I asked the trainer what the range was for the number and he replied from 20 to Lance Amstrong. He then added that it is widely reported that Lance Armstrongs number is 80 and that is the highest VOX recorded. Might be BS, but i'm sure his is a hell of a lot higher than mine.

Fort Bend Model Railroad Club

2005-06-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

The FBMRC has some amazing pictures of an amazing multi-year, long term project to model the Sugar Land area Railroad. This model looks very detailed and well done and shows many of the features of the old photographs I’ve been reviewing and posting here.

Speaking of old photographs. The two photos below are from their web site. Take note of two items. 1. The water tower. This tower is still in place and is shown in some other old photos that I'll post in the upcoming days. In the pictures below, you can see two water towers, but only one is still in place. I almost couldn't find it, but then saw the reflection of the tower's legs in Oyster Creek (second picture below). 2. The railroad traversing what is not Sugar Lakes and Williams Trace. This R/R shows up on my Garmin GPS III+ that I’ve had for years; now I understand why.

1937 View of Sugar Mill form the South

1937 North View of Mill
1937 View of Sugar Mill from the North

1937 South View of Mill

Imperial Mercantile Co.

2005-06-29T21:50:00.000-05:00

The following article from The Hand Book of Texas Online describes how the mercantile came to be:

Sugar Land, where all of the land and businesses were owned by the Kempner-Eldridge partnership, soon attracted a stable population largely made up of Germans and Czechsqqv from the Schulenberg-Flatonia area of Texas. The firm built homes and provided medical treatment for its employees, organized the Imperial State Bank in 1907, and established the Imperial Mercantile Company, a company store, a paper mill, various retail stores, a cotton gin, and a feed mill. The Sugar Land Manufacturing Company operated an acid plant, produced Imperial vinegar and pickles, and was involved in meatpacking, canning, and the processing of a variety of agricultural crops. In 1911 the firm built a plant for the Sealy Mattress Company as part of an effort to attract other manufactures and later completed a plant for the periodical Texas Farm and Industrial News, which became the Texas Commercial News. Convict labor worked the Ellis Plantation until 1914, when the company sold the property to the state of Texas as a prison farm, and for a time thereafter convicts continued to produce sugar (see PRISON SYSTEM). In 1917 the company merged the Imperial Sugar Company and Cunningham Sugar Company to form a new Imperial Sugar Company. Sugarland Industries was organized in 1919 as a trust estate to own and operate the conglomerate of Sugar Land businesses as departments or subsidiaries, and Imperial Sugar Company became a department in the new institution. Kempner and Eldridge remained the sole owners. Gus D. Ulrich served as general manager. Subsidiaries in time included Sugarland Motor Company, Sugar Land Truck Lines, and Texas National Warehouse Company. Affiliated firms included Belknap Realty, Alcorn and Foster Farms, Fort Bend Cattle Company, and Sugar Land Telephone. In 1924 the company was reorganized as a $5 million corporation, and in the late 1920s and early 1930s it successfully fought efforts of the Sugar Trust to control production as well as competition from the Texas Sugar Refining Company at Texas City.

A good read on Sugar Land can be found at Wikipedia.

Changes on the street from 1929 to present

2005-06-29T16:20:00.000-05:00

Another old picture from Head's Bunker. This one shows the street in front of the old mill and the old General Merchandise store. From what I’ve heard, the company paid employees in company Script (as shown below) and the script was used in the company store to purchase supplies and groceries. Looks like we’ve got trees and a parking area now where the old store once stood.

ca. 1929 Imperial Mercantile Co.

Changes on the Street

Imperial Mercantile Co. script for purchasing goods at the company store.

As a point of interest and to credit the source(s), the old pictures are scanned from the book "Fort Bend County Sesquicentennial 1822-1972" Published in 1972 by the Fort Bend County Sesquicentennial Association, Richmond, Texas. The newer pictures were taken by me with an Olympus D-460 Zoom 1.3 magapixel camera. I noticed that the City of Sugar Land used the Mercantile picture above on their home page too.

Imperial Sugar Company Property Update

2005-06-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

The city of Sugar Land has a page set up for updates to the project:

https://svrch13.sugarlandtx.gov:5202/forms/imperialinfo1.htm

There is an article in the Southwest Sun news paper about the plans, but they don't seem to allow direct linking without a "premium" membership", so i've removed that link.

UPDATE:

It appears from reading the Fort Bend Sun, the article caused a delay to the process since it had more information on the development than anyone at the city (or at the least more than the City Manager). This seems to have put a hold on things for now, but I'm sure it is temporary. My guess is the part about connecting the development to Town Center via. a water taxis has everyone a bit confused. I was wondering how they would do that too.

Sugarmill Pictures

2005-06-28T19:29:00.000-05:00

Check out the difference 100 years or so makes. The picture below is courtesy of Head's Bunker. He sent me several others and I'll try to snap news pictures at the same angles as the old ones and post in the upcoming weeks. This should make for a good series of shots. Thanks Head.

ca. 1900 Sugarmill in Sugar Land, TX

Old Sugar Mill

It's starting, right in my backyard.

2005-06-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

Thursday supreme court ruling has prompted the Mayor of Freeport, TX to start proceedings to close a 40 million/year business that has been in the same location since 1946. This is so that a private marina can be built thus bringing in more tax dollars for the city.

This is just wrong.

Here is the Article.

What can we do to stop this insanity?

Sugar Mill in Sugar Land

2005-06-24T20:53:00.001-05:00

The old sugar mill in Sugar Land, TX closed at the beginning of the year after something like 150 years of continuous operation. The plant is to be developed into a river walk (San Antonia, TX) like complex with Shopping and Restaurants and Office space. I wanted to get some pictures before the work starts so that I could document the old facility. I'll take some better ones on a nice bright day sometime soon. I'll also post updates as the project progresses.
Enjoy,

Old Sugarmill Char House

Old Sugar Mill

Cool Beretta

2005-06-20T14:27:00.000-05:00

I have the opportunity to pick up this limited run Beretta 92 for under 1000 bucks.

This is a 92EL “Texas Special” 1 of 50 for the Opening of the Dallas Gallery, 9mm Parabellum 92EL.

Cool gun, but i'm not sure i want to spend that much money on something that I would not want to shoot due to the collectors value.

2005-06-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

Birds

Every year in the spring we get a dove nest in the little window above our back door. This year we've had two families so far. This is family two with Mom and her two young ones.

For the most part, we ignore them and they ignore us. We are constantly in and out and try to avoid slamming the door, but thats about it.

Enjoy

Damn Cholesterol

2005-06-01T17:39:00.000-05:00

Going on two years ago, I quit smoking and started gaining weight. About the same time, I developed a foot problem, plantar fasciitis, and stopped all exercise. Well now I’m a whopping 220 (up from around 180-190) and my cholesterol is skyrocketing. Last summer it was at 240 and I opted to wait and see. Well now it’s at 260 and my doctor says it’s time to get on Lipitor. So I take my first dose tonight. Hopefully I will not have any side affects since those are very few with this drug. I’ll post an occasional update on any effects and update my cholesterol in about 6-7 weeks.

I told my doctor that I didn’t have any health problems when I smoked and was considering starting the habit again for some relief. He wasn’t amused.

Wish me luck on lowering my Cholesterol.

Lansky Knife Sharpening System

2005-05-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

Lansky Knife Sharpening System

I picked up a Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening system at Academy for $34.00. I had read about this system and wanted to give it a go because I have never really been that good at sharpening knives. Years ago I worked in facility that had a large three inch by twelve 12 inch oiled stone with three sides (course medium and fine). As you rotated a knob, it rotated the next side up and out of an oil bath. I could put a pretty good edge on a pocket knife with that large stone, but with the small stones you buy at most stores, I just could never get a good edge.

Well I recently picked up really nice pocket knife with a VG10 blade and wanted a way to sharpen the knife at home. The Lansky system comes with a knife holder, oil, five stones, and five guide rods for the stones. The guide rods attach to the stones and fit to a slot on the knife holder. The holder has four guide rod slots for various angles (15, 20, 25 and 30 degrees).

The basic idea is that using the guide rods and the holder, you can maintain an exact angle on the edge. You start with the course stone and work down to the extra fine stone. The course stone will leave a very rough edge, but establishes the angle on the blade. If your knife has never been sharpened with the Lansky system, you need to start with the course stone to establish the correct angle on the edge. Once you are down to the fine stone, your edge is already quite sharp, but using the extra fine stone puts an almost mirror finish on the edge. Do a little test on the hair of your arm you’ll see hair just fall off. I have sharpened edges that would shave before, but you could almost feel the edge pulling at the hairs. With the Lansky system, you do not feel the pull, but you see the hair fall. Now that’s razor sharp.

Rovatec Bullite

2005-04-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

Rovatec Bullite

While at the NRA Annual Meeting Exhibits, I tried to stop at as many booths as humanly possible in one day. I really enjoyed the Exhibits and met a lot of nice vendors for various products. One product that I really enjoyed trying out was the Bullite from Rovatec. Rovatec makes a caliber specific laser bullet that goes in “your” gun. If you have a 9mm, you buy a 9mm Bullite and insert it right in the chamber like a regular bullet or more like a snap cap. When the firing pin strikes the Bullite, it generates ½ second or so laser beam. This allows you to practice dry firing and helps you develop your point shooting. You can see exactly what you are aiming at when you pull the trigger because the result of a trigger pull is a red dot being painted on your target.

The dot just stays for a fraction of a second, but is plenty long enough for the brain to register its presence. If you slap the trigger or jerk the gun, the dot becomes a line. This is pretty cool to see.

They also supply little reflective targets with a “Q” in the center. The idea is to aim for the Q. You can see exactly where your shot hit when after pulling the trigger.

The Bullite sells for $180.00 and may I think I might be buying one in the near future.

Other highlights of the show were watching Todd Jarrett and Rob Leatham. They both put on a good show in the mini seminars and floor demonstrations.

Effective Tax Rate

2005-04-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

What is your effective Tax rate? I just finished my taxes and, as normal, my effective tax rate is about 17.6%. To get this number I take the total income, line 22 on a 1040 long form, and divide into the total tax paid. This comes out to about 0.176 or 17.6% for my wife and I. According to Turbo Tax, the average for my income range is about 18 % or so, so I guess I am doing pretty good.

Effective Tax Rate = Income Tax / Income * 100. Click the comments below and tell us your effective Tax Rate.

God Bless You Terri

2005-03-27T13:37:00.000-06:00

Time to speak up on the Terri Schiavo killing. God Bless you Terry. I went back and forth on this in discussions with my wife. On the one hand I feel that my wife should have the ultimate decision in a situation regarding my life or death. If there is a chance for life, I feel I would like that chance, but I want my wife to have some say on pulling the plug.

While I feel that Terri Schiavo’s husband has the right to act on her behalf, in this case it is not a matter of pulling the plug. It is a matter of killing someone slowly by with holding food. Since the beginning I have felt that this might not be the right thing to do. She is alive and can feel. She is not brain dead and being sustained by a machine. Today I heard something that makes up my mind that this is wrong. They are giving her morphine to ease the pain. She’s not like a cancer victim who is on morphine for pain, they are giving it her because they are causing her pain and this is simply wrong.

I am fearful of the precedent being set by our courts in this case. There are thousands of people in nursing homes that can do little for themselves and many babies born every day that will never have the quality of life that I have. What of them? In Nazi Germany and based on one case where the government stepped in and allowed a child to be euthanized, over 70,000 were killed over the next 5 years because their “quality of life” was too low according to the government. What is next for us?

Whoa Baby!!! It's muddy

2005-03-20T16:27:00.000-06:00

Whoa Baby… I went out today to drive around a new hunting lease that I have been considering. Problem is we had a hell of a thunder storm last night and I didn’t realize how much it had rained. I get out to the country and am on some back gravel roads driving around. The ditches on both sides of the road were full and flowing pretty fast, but the road was in gravel and in pretty good shape. I came upon a couple of fallen trees along the way so it must have been pretty windy last night too, but I was able to drive over the branches of the fallen trees.

When I’m about two miles from nowhere, the road goes from gravel to dirt. Well guess what? I did not notice the change in time and the next think I know, my Explorer is sideways and I’m getting ready to go for a swim. Well I managed to straighten out and swerve back and forth a couple of times and then I got into a rut left by someone else and straightened out. So I’m driving down the road thinking, hmmm, if I stop, I’m stuck, so I can’t go back. But maybe the road gets better. About that time the rut I’m in swerves into the ditch so I have to plow through the thick mud straight ahead and I swerve a little more until the rut comes back on the road. I guess someone had been out earlier than me in a four wheel drive vehicle. If I had gone in the ditch, I would have needed a tow truck and I’d be damn lucky if I could even get one to out this far.

Well, finally the road goes back to gravel and I’m thinking that I am home fee, but just ahead, I see another fallen tree and about the top 1/3 of the tree is across the road. It looks like mostly 1 to 3” branches so I just plow right over it and finally get to a side road that joins the highway.

The amazing thing is that my Explorer does not have four wheel drive. Thankfully, it does have positive traction rear wheel drive and that is what kept me moving through the mud. If it were a standard differential, I would have been stuck as soon as I hit the mud. My next vehicle will be a four wheel drive!!!

Cool Product

2005-03-12T12:36:00.000-06:00

While walking around aimlessly in Home Depot, I came across a pretty cool product. A root feeder for trees from a company called Ross (Easy Gardener, Inc.) I have an anemic pine tree in my front yard so it will be interesting to see if this product is effective in greening it up.

Feeding tree roots is normally a real pain. You have to auger a hole and fill it with granular fertilizer and water in.

The Ross Root Feeder connects to a hose (or as they say in Louisiana, a "hose pipe") and inserts about a foot into the ground. You load it with fertilizer tablets and turn the water on and let the water pressure do the work. A simple and good idea.

See this link. Price was about 24 bucks for the feeder and then you have to buy the tablets and a package of 54 tablets is $8.67 at Home Depot. It took 24 tablets to feed my pine tree that is about 12" in diameter.

Trigger Weight

2005-03-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

I was at the range today and decided to ask the resident gunsmith to check my trigger weight. So I go up the store and ask if he can check and he agrees. I hand him my case and he opens it, picks up the gun, racks the slide and pulls the trigger and says about 5.5 to 6 pounds. I look at him funny and he says, well I don’t have my gauge with me. Then I ask about the double action pull and he de-cocks like a 1911 (the gun is a Beretta) and pulls the trigger and says, man this thing has long trigger pull, “lots of creep”. I say, well it is supposed to. Then he says 6.5 to 7 on the DA trigger pull and qualifies it with I’m never more than ¼ pound off. Go figure!

Anyone know where I can get a trigger weight gauge?

2005-02-09T08:18:00.000-06:00

Every now and again you run into something that really gives you a chuckle and 9mm stopping power threads on the internet are always a chuckle source. From a thread on packing.org on 9mm stopping power:

“…a NYC coroner has said after seeing 100's of shootings, the 9MM is mrginal(sic) at best.”

What’s wrong with that statement? I guess the ones he saw that were shot with 9mm were less dead than those shot with .45's.

"...if you unfortunatly had to shoot and kill someone, would it look better in court to have shot the perpetrator 5 or 6 times with a 9mm, or once or twice with a 40 S&W, or 45 ACP?"

That one is just silly... he's dead either way. 9mm or 40 cal, you shoot to stop the threat.

"Now, thanks to the 40 S&W, there is no longer a conversation. 40 is the only way to fly. It gives you almost as much capacity as you need, and almost 95% of the necessary stopping power."

Almost as much capacity as you need?

If you dont' believe that everyone has an opinion, just read the packing.org thread.

Curios and Relics FFL

2005-02-04T17:02:00.000-06:00

From the picture below it should be apparent that I do not have enough guns :) therefore I have started the process of obtaining a Curios and Relics Federal Firearms License. Step 1 is to call the BATF and have a rather strange telephone conversation with someone who barely speaks English. It almost sounded like a computer talking, but the responses, while very delayed, were to appropriate to have been a computer.

Step 1 Complete – Call the BATF forms distribution center at (703) 455-7801 and ask for a Form 03 Curios and Relics Federal Firearms License application.

Evidently you cannot download the form; it must be requested and mailed.

So what will this get me?
1. Discounts at places like Brownells.
2. Wholesale Prices on Firearms, well C&R Fire arms at least.
3. The ability to have a C&R firearm shipped directly to my house (this is the biggie).

What's it going to cost? $30.00

There are tons of C&R rifles out there at bargain prices and pistols too. I really want to start with Beretta pistols will likely start my C&R collection with a Beretta model 1934 in .380. This will be a nice shootable gun. Another gun that I will likely get is an SKS rifle. See Heads Bunker's excellent article on the SKS.

Here is a nice example of a Beretta 1934 .380 that qualifies as C&R.

Current C&R listing for Beretta:
• Beretta, M 1951 pistol Israeli Contract, caliber 9mm parabellum.
• Beretta, model 1915 pistols, cal. 6.35mm, 7.65mm, and 9mm Glisenti.
• Beretta, model 1915/1919 (1922) pistol (concealed hammer), caliber 7.65mm.
• Beretta, model 1919 pistol (without grip safety), caliber 6.35mm.
• Beretta, model 1923 pistol, caliber 9mm Glisenti.
• Beretta, model 1932 pistol, having smooth wooden grips w/"PB" medallion, cal. 9mm.
• Beretta, model 1934 pistol, light weight model marked "Tipo Alleggerita" or "All" having transverse ribbed barrel, cal. 9mm.
• Beretta, model 1934 pistols, cal. 9mm post war variations bearing Italian Air Force eagle markings.
• Beretta, model 1934 pistols, cal. 9mm produced during 1945 or earlier and having S/Ns within the ranges of 500000-999999, F00001-F120000, G0001-G80000, 00001AA-10000AA, 00001BB-10000BB. The classification does not include any post war variations dated subsequent to 1945 or bearing post war Italian proof marks.
• Beretta, model 1935 pistol, Finnish Home Guard Contract, marked "SKY" on the slide, cal. 7.65mm.
• Beretta, model 1935 pistol, Rumanian Contract, marked "P. Beretta - cal. 9 Scurt - Mo. 1934 - Brevet." on the slide, cal. 9mm.
• Beretta, model 1935 pistols, cal. 7.65mm, produced during 1945 and earlier and having S/Ns below 620799.
• Beretta, M1951 pistol, Egyptian Contract, caliber 9mm parabellum.
• Beretta semiautomatic pistol, Model 92F, 9mm Luger caliber, slide engraved in gold "North Carolina Highway Patrol 60th Anniversary 1929-1989," serial numbers NCHPC 0001 through NCHPC 1313 inclusive.

2005-02-03T12:02:00.000-06:00

Rare stainless steel deficiency

Plagiarism

2005-01-28T08:42:00.000-06:00

I’ve been in my current industry for about 24 years, but have changed jobs a few times and moved back and forth between manufacturers and representative sales organizations. Yesterday a colleague sent me an email with a link to a trade magazine with an article written by the “magazine staff”. Now, I am not a writer and I just blog in an effort to maintain some semblance of writing skills. I find that as I get older, I need to exercise my gray matter to keep it sharp. Anyway, I read the article and it is about a product that one of my former employers sells. I pretty quickly realize that it is word for word from an application note that I had written while at that company and was signed “Magazine Name Staff”.

This ticks me off a little but hey, then again I guess I am now a ghost writer.

Gun Control Article

2005-01-24T17:36:00.000-06:00

Here's something you will not see in our newspapers. Click and Read There's only one way to protect ourselves. I'm pretty shocked that it showed up in the UK.

"For a long time it has been possible to draw a map of the United States showing the inverse relationship between liberal gun laws and violent crime. At one end of the scale are the "murder capitals" of Washington, Chicago and New York, with their gun bans (New York City has had a theoretical general prohibition of handguns since 1911); at the other extreme, the state of Vermont, without gun laws, and with the lowest rate of violent crime in the Union (a 13th that of Britain)."

Beretta PX4 Storm

2005-01-11T19:56:00.000-06:00

Here's a good link for info on the Storm Click Here

I'm in a wait and see mode on this one. It is a polymer Cougar, no doubt, but they are supposed to have a compact version out by March (so they say).

I wish i had a password to the PX4STORM.COM website so i could see more.

The Cougar Lives On.

2005-01-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

In a thread on the Beretta Forum, a Beretta employee has let the cat out of the bag that the Beretta Cougar is discontinued for 2005. The cougar is my favorite handgun and I’ve got both an 8000L in 9mm and an 8045 Mini version in .45.

I'm pretty disappointed that the Cougar is going away, as I feel it is a great gun. The consensus is that it was never really marketed correctly by Beretta. Anyway, it looks like it will be re-released in 2006 by another Beretta owned company, but I guess it will not have the Beretta name on it. Could be a good thing though, maybe the price will drop.

I do question one thing… if the Cougar was improperly marketed and is thus now dead or dying. Since is was originally marketed as a multi caliber platform for law enforcement, what does that say of the future of the PX4 Storm that they just released? It’s a polymer version of the Cougar and is being marketed to law enforcement only.

Does old saying about doing the same thing and expecting different results come to mind?

Who are these people?

2005-01-10T05:25:00.000-06:00

How in the hell can a “documentary” win Favorite Movie? What “people” voted for this idiot in the “people’s choice awards”. During the presidential election last year, every time I turn on the news I heard “…Michael Moore’s Documentary, Fahrenheit 911…”. Now it wins Favorite Movie?

I like to see two things:

1. The news media come out and correct their error in calling this fictional movie a documentary.
2. Someone to tell me how the People’s Choice Awards selects their winners. (I’d research this myself, but I really don’t care).

Donations

2005-01-07T16:34:00.000-06:00

Well the wife and i made a donation to the red cross today for the Tsunami relief efforts. Please, if you can, go to the Red cross web site and make a contribution.

http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html

Diet Update

2005-01-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

Ok so I’m a week into this diet thing and I’ve lost about one pound per day. If I can keep that up, it’ll be 30 pounds in a month and I’ll be done by mid-February. Not a chance of that happening. Anyway, I’m down from an obese 220 to still obese 215. Maybe by next week I’ll be down to 210. This would put me back to my pre-holiday food fest weight. Once I’m down to 200, and I hope to be there by the end of the month, I should be presentable enough to start hitting the gym again.

So what am I doing? I’m basically doing low carb diet for now. Eating things like low carb yogurt, boiled eggs, or cottage cheese for breakfast. Some sort of big salad for lunch (grilled chicken or shrimp), and meat and veggies for dinner. For snacks I’m eating cheese or beef jerky or some other high protein snack. When I want to gross out the wife, I pick up a bag of pig skins. Those make a great high protein, no carb snack.

Hopefully after the next week, I can start adding some more foods like some fruit and some other carbs back in.

Range Report

2005-01-02T12:01:00.000-06:00

I went to the range today with two objectives. One was to try out the new Walther P22 with both the 3.5 and 5” barrels. The other was to shoot the Cougar 8045 with the recently acquired “D” spring.

Well the range was absolutely packed this morning. I’ve never seen so many people at the pistol range and that many at the range makes me a little nervous. Right next to me was a police office shooting a 1911 with a Glock on his side in a holster (normally holstered guns are not allowed at this range). This guy would go up to the line, when it was cold, and fiddle with the gun. I saw another guy with his muzzle pointing sideways (down the line) insert a mag and rack the slide.

Anyway, I ended up putting about 100 rounds through the P22. Didn’t really concentrate on accuracy, but all 100 rounds stayed within 5” at 15 yards. Not a single failure or malfunction. The only down side to shooting the P22 is loading the magazines. The .22 LR rounds double stack in the mag and sometimes tend to jam up while loading the mag. Not a big deal, just different from other magazines I’ve loaded. Additionally, like other .22 LR magazines I’ve seen, there is a thumb catch for sliding the spring and follower down during loading.

In all I found the P22 to be a fun gun to shoot. I’ve heard a lot of comments about the little Walther’s not shooting straight or being very repeatable, but I did not see that today. I was just shooting fast and for fun without any concentration and managed to keep it on target at 15 yards with 89 Cent/50 Winchester cheapo ammo. I also shot some sub sonic rounds they performed the same.

Sometime during 2005 I plant to start the process of buying and registering a can for the P22. The P22 comes with a threaded barrel and for about $500.00 to $600.00 you can outfit the gun with a decent silencer. The only catch is that you have to get your local police chief or sheriff to sign off on you getting one. The federal government required that you complete a form 4 and have the top local police official sign the form. Then you file the form, along with $200.00, with the BATF for a one time Tax Stamp. Whoever you purchase the can from will normally charge about $100.00 for the transfer and the actual can will cost from $200 to $500.00. If I do decide to attempt this, I’ll keep a log on the process here.

On to the Cougar. I had been thinking about trading the 8045 for something else. While very concealable, the 8045 is a little thick and the trigger was not as smooth as my 8000L Cougar. Well I decided to try a “D” spring in the 8045 and wow… what a difference. The trigger is now like butter. I’m going to keep this for while and continue to shoot it. I was shooting a jagged hole a 15 yards with both the double and single action.

New Gun - Walther P22

2004-12-30T12:45:00.000-06:00

Picked up one of these for Christmas -

The P22 has two barrels, 3.5" and 5". I've only put two or three mags through it so far, but it shoots well. No malfunctions and it is very accurate.

Hopefully i can make it to the range the weekend and put up a range report.

New Year - Diet?

2004-12-29T08:22:00.000-06:00

Time for that New Year diet. I’ve managed to put on quite a few pounds over the past year. I successfully quit smoking at the beginning of last year (actually I quit in February of 2004), and have been gaining weight ever since. My weight is back up to the point that it is causing other problems like heart burn, elevated BP… So it’s time once again to go on a diet.

Now I’ve had pretty good luck with diets in the past. Many years ago, I was up to my current weight and did the slim fast diet. I dropped from about 220 to 180. Then about 4 years ago I was back up to about 210 and went on the protein diet. I drop back down to 180 and joined a gym and got down to 170 and was in excellent fitness. For whatever reason, I slowed down and stopped working out and then quit smoking (yes I would leave the gym and light up) and next thing you know it’s four years down the road and I’m squeezing in to 38 waist pants again. So what is my goal…. I’ve not yet decided, but optimistically I would like to get down to 180.

Problems with Verizon Wireless

2004-12-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

I give up on Verizon Wireless and will just pay the damn $175.00 bucks to get out of their contract. I hereby warn all in the blog world, stay away from Verizon Wireless. They’ll rip you off.

Let go back a few years…. I have been with the same cell company for, well technically since 1991. At some point GTE Mobile net was bought out be Verizon. Anyway, back in October of 2002, I purchased a palm pilot type cell phone from Verizon and signed a new contract. Move along to March of 2003 and I called them to change from a nationwide service to a Texas only service because I was changing jobs and no longer would be traveling nationwide. What I did not know was that at that point, they reset my contract start date March of 2003.

In July of 2003, my phone breaks. I bring the phone in and they clean some contacts on the door and call it good. A couple of weeks later, my phone stops working all together so I bring it in again. This time they call it water damage and say it is not fixable.

It is less than a year old, but is not fixable and my contract is not up (remember they reset the start date to march 2003 with out telling me). But they’ll give me a lesser phone for 100 bucks. So I pick up the lesser phone for 100 bucks and go on my way.

So now, one year and four months later, and my phone is on the fritz. So I call verizon and learn that I’m on a two year contract and can’t get out of my contract. They'll upgrade my phone if I pay 100 buck and sign a new 2 year contract. Or it’ll cost me $175.00 to get out of my contract.

Screw you verizon, I’m getting out and taking my $130.00 / month phone bill elsewhere. Hello Cingular!!!

Range Report

2004-12-05T19:07:00.000-06:00

Put about 250 9mm rounds and 50 .45 rounds down range today in a Beretta Fest of a range session. Met a fellow Beretta enthusiast at the range (planned meeting) and shot my Cougars along with his 8000F cougar, a 92 Stock, Elite II, 92G Centurion, and a CX4 Storm. Got to say that the Stock was a highlight, that is one sweet shooting gun. The Storm has a red dot sight and you just can’t miss with that thing. The E II is a great shooter too.

I’m thinking about trading my 8045 for a 92 variant of some sort and today’s session gave me the opportunity to try a few 92’s. Thanks million to Texretta for the opportunity.

Another first for me was shooting at steel targets. That’s a hoot. I think I’ll be doing this a good bit. Something different from just putting holes in paper.

INSIDE FALLUJAH'S INSURGENCY

2004-11-27T11:09:00.000-06:00

Click on the Defense Tech link to the left and read the story titled Inside Fallujah's Insurgency. The story has a link to a terrific power point presentation found on military.com dealing with what has be found in Fallujah. I'll tease it at that and let you download the presentation.

I'm a Marauding Marsupial in the TTLB Ecosystem

2004-11-26T15:02:00.000-06:00

How the heck did that happen (see bottem of right column). I've broke 1000 visits too. Thanks to those of you who come back to read more and to those click through from elsewhere.

Custom Grips

2004-11-25T17:30:00.000-06:00

In trying to decide whether or not to keep my Beretta Mini Cougar 8045 (I have an 8000L that I shoot a lot), I’ve decided to dress it up a little. I’ve ordered some hex head grip screws and a ‘D’ spring for it. Wood grips are impossible to find for a Mini Cougar 8045, but Hogue’s auction site has cosmetic seconds pretty cheap for a full sized 8045. I picked up a pair for 14 bucks and will attempt to cut them down to fit the mini. So a couple cosmetic changes and a $5.00 trigger job with a D spring and we’ll see what happens. I hate to sell it, It’s my only .45. I'll post pics when i'm done.

Hogue Grips from http://www.hogueauction.com

Dan Blather to Retire in March

2004-11-24T06:07:00.000-06:00

So Dan Blather is retiring? What about federal election crime charges for collaborating with the democratic party? That whole national guard issue was coordinated between the democrats and CBS news. The democrats as much as admitted to it, as did Mary Mapes (sp?) at CBS. Isn’t this stuff against federal law?

More PX4 Pics

2004-11-18T15:24:00.000-06:00

Notice the rotating barrel. Looking more and more cougarish. But that's a good thing to me.

Locusts are freaky

2004-11-18T07:10:00.000-06:00

Pink Locusts from North Africa Swarm Through Cairo

Update on the new Beretta Pistol

2004-11-17T15:28:00.000-06:00

Well they've posted it on their web site now. What a let down, it's for "Law Enforcement" only. Hopefully that'll change next year.

Beretta PX4 Storm

2004-11-17T06:18:00.000-06:00

New From Beretta, The PX4STORM. Release Date is said to be January and the initial release will include a 9mm and .40. A .357 and .45ACP will come out later. Hopefully a compact version will be manufactured too. Please pipe in on the comments about this gun.

By the way, this picture of a flyer came from a PX4 thread over at http://www.berettaforum.net

Democrats still don't get it.

2004-11-09T16:57:00.000-06:00

The following article is a reminder that the democrats still don't get it.

'Fired Up' Kerry Returning to Senate

"Sometimes God tests you," Kerry told the crowd at H20, a restaurant on the Potomac waterfront, according to an aide. "I'm a fighter, and I've come back before."

Um... I think it was supposed to be "sometimes God detests you".

"Ronald Reagan twice sought the Republican nomination for president before winning it in 1980".

Well, I just don't think that you can compare Ronald Reagan with John Kerry. Ronnie is likely rolling in his grave over the comparison. Kerry is basically the Anti-Reagan.

Go read the article... Someone needs to tell these people they are not relevant.

It was all about Moriality?

2004-11-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

RightWing news has a good take on this. It was really all about the war on terror.
Election 2004 Was About The War On Terrorism, Not The Culture War, John Hawkins

House Cleaning

2004-11-06T07:02:00.000-06:00

Well the election is over and I’ve heard just about every excuse imaginable as to why Kerry lost. They just can't accept that he was rejected by the people. They can't accept that Bush got more votes than anyone in History; that the republicans gained seats in both the house and senate; that their socialist agenda was outright rejected.

Anyway, for a good laugh go over to http://www.ratherbiased.com and watch the video of Dan Rather on election night. I promise you will laugh, but you need high speed internet access to view the video.

I'm cleaning up the Bush links to the right, but I may go back and add Blogs for Bush. I got a lot of traffic from Blogs for Bush, but I need to see what they are going to do now that the election is over.

We're pushing 1000 hits and I find that incredible. Thanks for reading.

Wow

2004-11-04T21:03:00.000-06:00

If you only read one thing today, read this from Zell Miller.

Sometimes Irony can be pretty ironic.

2004-11-04T16:07:00.000-06:00

Sometimes Irony can be pretty ironic.

Take a look at the following story: Mrs. Arafat keeps husband
on life support : Where’s his money?

Seems Arafat did not want give up the keys to the office before he died and now the PLO is in danger of dying with him because no one has access to the funds. This is truly a sad story for humanity and I’m laughing my ass off. It’s a shame really, but you can’t help but laugh at these selfish, self serving terroristic bastards.

Bush Wins!!! America Wins!!!

2004-11-03T06:46:00.000-06:00

You think the DNC has realized that you can’t win by putting up a bozo and saying anybody but bush? You think the DNC has realized that you can’t win by campaigning on how terrible America has become and how poorly the incumbent handled everything he’s touch? Do you think the DNC will learn that total negativity is not the way to win? I doubt it.

Yeah Bush!!! 386 Electoral Points and a clear majority of the popular vote. It’s a Happy Day!

Please Vote

2004-11-02T06:08:00.000-06:00

Today is the day. Make darn sure you get out and make the polls today. Remind others to vote too. This election today could very well have the highest turnout that we've seen in a very long time. Get out there and let your voice be heard. America needs a landslide election this year. Everyone in the world is watching our election, so get out there and show the world what you think.

When you go to the polls, take someone with you. Talk to others during the day and remind them to vote. Saying "Don't forget to vote today" could be just the thing to make someone go to the polls.

This is why i don't bother correcting my spelling

2004-10-31T09:25:00.000-06:00

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid.
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is
taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas
thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Not so funny cartoon.

2004-10-31T09:09:00.000-06:00

I saw this one on the Beretta Forum.

I wonder how much...

2004-10-29T19:38:00.000-05:00

I wonder how much the Osama bin Laden campaign video cost the Kerry camp. The election perhaps? That resolve mentioned in my pervious post got a little stronger today.

America needs a land slide

2004-10-29T08:42:00.000-05:00

We need a land slide election to show the world who we are. Imagine waking up on November 3^rd to huge landslide showing the world that we will not be shaken by terroristic threats. Imagine that Bush wins by double digits margins in the popular vote and a huge Electoral College margin, leaving absolutely no question about our will as a country. What will the terrorist do when this happens? Nothing! What will the French do? Call us some stupid name and shut up for four years.

We need a landslide election. Our country cannot continue down the 50/50 road; we are the United States of America and it is time that we show the rest of the world that we are still united. United in our resolve to be a free people. United in our resolve to oust terrorist. United in our continued effort to be the champions of freedom in the world. We are the greatest nation to have ever populated this planet and we need to show that we are a united people.

Go Vote!!!

I'm really pissed off

2004-10-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

Ducks Unlimited just went political.... To read what i'm talking about click here. I'm an avid duck hunter, but never again will DU get my support. What are these idiots thinking in taking Kerry on a goose hunt. I hope all conservative minded individuals who support the second amendment pull their support for DU. I'm really pissed off about this.

Wictory Wednesday

2004-10-20T07:56:00.000-05:00

Wictory Wednesday

We are already seeing the stories about illegal absentee ballots in Florida. Paying people in Ohio with Crack Cocaine to register people like Mary Poppins to vote. We know Chicago is notorious for democratic voter fraud. Florida is shaping up to be the battle ground again this year. Last year when Gore tried to steal the election from G.W. was when I got really angry and started donating money to Bush’s campaign. Kind of funny that I started contributing more money to an election after it was over than I did before it was held.

Anyway, I’m getting a head start this year and so should you. If you can afford it, click here: and give a small donation to the Bush-Cheney’04 Compliance Committee. You know it's going to happen.

Thanks for the links… I noticed an increase in traffic lately and realized that I was mentioned in the political section of Geeks With Guns (one of my favorite reads, see "John Kerry: John Kerry, worker of Stem Cell miracles. I'm guessing his misspelled my site because i did the same to his in my links.)

and added as a link to Heads Bunker (A gun-wielding right winger, pontificating from deep beneath the Texas coastal gumbo in the mosquito infested Holy City* of Houston. General Sam would be proud.). Take a quick look at both of these.

2004-10-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

Here’s a great article by George Will about the NRA and how they can influence an election. Contrast that one with this article from today’s news about John F’ing Kerry who stopped off for a hunting license in Ohio. Give me a freaking break, if anyone believes John F’ing Kerry is not going to attempt to severely curtail gun ownership if he is elected, they need to get a brain. You can expect full registration of all guns and a serious attempt to ban all guns. He wants you to think that the 2^nd amendment to the constitution of the United States of America is about hunting. IT IS NOT!

Go Vote!!!

I will not Vote on November 2nd.

2004-10-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

That’s it! I’m Done! I will not show up at the polls on November 2. Why, you ask? Why will I not go and vote on November 2? Well it’s simple, with all this talk about Florida’s early voting starting today, everyone forgot about Texas. Our early voting started today too and I’ve already done my civic duty and voted.

I’ve been voting at the same location for years and have never stood in a line. Today, the place was packed and I actually had to stand in line for 20 minutes. The election judge (the person handing out the ballots) says she’s never seen it so busy so early. Unreal. This may end up being a record turn-out for an election. I smell huge victory for Bush!!!

Go Vote!!!

FOP does not support Kerry

2004-10-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

Kerry claimed during the debate that the police supported him. He was incorrect and is now being correct by the country largest police organization, the Fraternal Order of Police.

"As the elected leader of the largest organization representing America's Federal, State and local law enforcement officers, I believe it's important to point out yet again that we do not support his candidacy for President," Canterbury said. "And to be perfectly frank, the groups which do support him actually share the same membership rolls and, taken together, probably comprise less than one-quarter of our nation's police officers."

There main web site goes actually sports the following banner:

Imagine for a moment if Bush had claimed support of a major organization like the FOB during the debate, would you need someone like me to tell you about this or would hear about it CBS?

Too busy to post

2004-10-12T06:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting in a week and a half. I had too much going on at work and just have not been at my desk. Three weeks from the election and i've put out a Bush yard sign. On of my neighbors has a Kerry sign so i put up a Bush sign.

Already, i've had several neighbors thank me for providing some balance to the Kerry sign.

Hopefully, things will get back to normal later this week.

It's official, Kerry Won.

2004-10-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

After watching last nights debate, 87% of France would vote for Kerry if they could vote in our election. Funny thing is that i'm willing to bet that Kerry would welcome their votes in our election. I mean hey, if he wants the UN to dictate policy, i'd bet he'd be willing to accept the votes from France. And no telling who else. That's what scares me about Kerry. I honestly don't think he holds our country's interests in his heart.

1st Debate

2004-10-01T07:23:00.000-05:00

I missed most of it. Got roped into going out to dinner with some folks. I did, however, get to see/hear the last 30 minutes and I've heard some sound bites from the remainder. The one point that sticks out for me is that Kerry wants a "Global Test", roughly translated, let the UN dictate what we do and when we do it. I am 100% percent against that idea and do not want to see us go down that path. Our country is better, richer. Our cost of living is lower than most of Europe. We've helped more people and given more money and aid to others than any other country in the history of the world. Why should we have to pass a damn global test? We defined the test.

We should not be a part of any treaty that circumvents our sovereignty or our freedoms as Americans.

Oh My - Seems CBS thinks the President wants the Draft Back

2004-09-29T16:46:00.000-05:00

So the next onslaught against Bush from the CBS 527 organization, cough, cough, news team, is that Bush wants to re-institute the draft. This has been going around the web for quite sometime now and back in June or July I did some research on bills introduced concerning the Draft. It seems that there are some out that have introduced bills to re-instate the draft. In fact two have been brought up, one to the floor of House of Representatives and one to the Senate. The house bill comes to us from none other than… Rangle, a democrat from New York. The Senate Bill comes to us from Hollings, a democrat from South Carolina. And both are co-sponsored by other democrats. Anyway, check out the latest at ratherbiased.com. I'll research the bill numbers and re-post a comment with both. Evedently CBS has found a way to blame Bush for this.

Updates:

Here is the bill from Rangle: House Resolution 163

Co-Sponsors:
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 1/7/2003
Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-3] - 1/28/2003
Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI] - 5/19/2004
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 1/28/2003
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 1/7/2003
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 1/28/2003
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] - 1/28/2003
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] - 7/21/2004
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 1/28/2003
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 1/7/2003
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 1/7/2003
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 1/28/2003
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 1/7/2003
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] - 1/28/2003

The Senate version from Hollings is Senate Bill 69.

Not a Republican fingerprint on these bills. Yeah, it's all Bush, CBS, you just keep it up and you can qualify as a 527 group.

Update 2: Link to CBS Story

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