Fictional Firearms...

Seems like all the kewl kids are posting about their fave fictional firearms. And who am I to argue with them?

I vote for something a little different, though:

Yes, kiddies, that is Judge Dredd's Law Giver. Movie version, not the comic version. Given to me by a very close friend (commenter Sci-Fi, actually) many years ago and kept, ironically enough, in my gun room, the only one that doesn't require a trigger lock under MA law...

My name is Jay, and I'm a geek...

That is all.

Gunnie Bleg #3

Alternate title: Jay's got $$$ burnin' a hole in his pocket...

I'm in a quandry: I've got a line on an AMT Back-up .45 for cheap money. Now, I've heard horror stories about the AMT marque, on the one hand; but OTOH, it's not a lot of cash for a reaallllly small .45 ACP.

A friend mentions two of the more commonly mentioned drawbacks - the small size/large caliber round is a handful, and due to the small size/rudimentary sights the gun's not terribly accurate.

My responses are two-fold: S&W 360PD (a.k.a. the Snubbie from Hell™) and my P3AT. I'm used to teeny tiny hand cannons that beat the snot out of my hand, and also less-than-perfect accuracy.

Thoughts? Horror stories?

That is all.

All Linky, No Thinky...

Taking a page out of SayUncle's book, it appears that today is "Linky-Love Wednesday" here at MArooned.

For my NH readers, go read Bruce's PSA. Proving the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results), NH Dems are introducing yet another anti-gun bill. Bruce has the skinny. Go. Read. Prevent these dirty sonsabitches from ruining "Live Free or Die" land before I even get there...

That is all.

Good People Doing Good Things

Breda took another friend to the range. And there was much rejoicing.

Good on you and Nikki, Breda! The more people we can get shootin' the better. My favorite part was this line:

On our way out of the range, Nikki said that she could see how the focus you need for target shooting could be therapeutic and calming.

That's been my experience as well. Sometimes, after a particularly challenging week, I'll hit the range on Saturday with a bag full 'o' .357 and .44 Magnum goodness. Grab a large Q target, blast away.

'Cause it is impossible to feel stressed when flinging lead downrange at 1300 FPS...

That is all.

Ugh...

So, it's starting to shape up to be McCain vs. Hillary!.

Fucking joy. A nanny-statist with authoritarian leanings who hates the first amendment vs. a nanny-statist with authoritarian leanings who hates the second amendment.

Gee. Can you tell I'm fucking overwhelmed with glee at our prospects this November?

That is all.

UPDATE: That wasn't all. I shoulda read Tam first. Money quote:

And before you even think about puffing up and sputtering something about "Are you just going to give Hillary the White House?" just put a sock in it, because it wasn't me, brother. It was all you idiots who put candidates out there that got tied up in pointless jackassery like rearranging the 'gay marriage' and 'flag burning' and 'stem cell' deck chairs after the USS Conservative had already hit the iceberg. Your typical Republican these days is worried more about what's printed on the money than where it comes from or what it gets spent on.

Out. Of. The. Fucking. Park.

WTFB, MML*...

*Way too fuckin' busy, maybe more later...

That is all.

That's Gotta Hurt...

Sen. Ted Kennedy will reportedly back Obama

MACON, Ga. - Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts will endorse Senate colleague Barack Obama for president, party officials confirmed Sunday.

The endorsement will be announced Monday in Washington, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the record. An official close to the senator said the announcement will be made during an Obama campaign rally at American University, where he will be joined by Sen. Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, who also has endorsed Obama.

It could be worse for Hillary!, though. Teddy could have offered to drive her home...

"You Can't Professionalize..."

...until you... HUH?

Just got a call from a high school buddy of mine. He moved out to IL after college, and we keep in touch a couple of times a year via phone.

He just received our Christmas card and letter. Which was mailed the second week of December.

1 ½ months to deliver a simple letter. And these are the same people they want to put in charge of our health care??? Invest in med-kits...

That is all.

CAN'T... RESIST... URGE...

...To snark:


Kucinich to drop out of Democratic race

CLEVELAND, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said Thursday he is abandoning his bid to be the Democratic party's presidential nominee.

Kucinich will make an official announcement Friday in Cleveland, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

He said he would not endorse another Democrat in the primary.

Comments from the public-at-large ranged from "I thought he dropped out months ago" to "Dennis who? Is he the nutball with the smokin' hot wife?"

That is all.

Just Push "R"...

...for "Random shit that pops into Jay's head for no apparent reason".

*Apparently, in his state-of-the-state address last night, "Cadillac" Deval Patrick made the comment "I am an impatient man" when referring to the legislature passing some piece of his socialist bullshit legislation.

And all I could think of was Eric Cartman sitting on his big wheel shouting "Respect Mah Authoritay!"

*Listening to the radio this morning on the drive to work, what comes on but Whitesnake's "Slow and Easy". Talk about a blast from the hair-band past... I'd be hard pressed to think of how much beer I consumed listening to the entire "Slide It In" album in college...

*The Pinewood Derby's coming up in two weeks. Our troop has a dedicated run time for "adult" (non-Cub Scout) races. Basically, it gives overzealous dads who would otherwise completely take over their Scout's car a chance to build one of their own and race for bragging rights.

As the Assistant Cub master and Tiger Cub dad, I'm pretty much expected to have an entry (yeah, like it was that hard to convince me...). I'm thinking of recreating either the Batmobile (campy 60s version, natch - that's more amenable to being carved out of a block of wood) or the General Lee...

That is all.

Friday Gun Pr0n #43

Today's gun is something a little different:

Looks like a Colt Detective Special, doesn't it?

Well, it's not. It's a Japanese copy of a Colt Detective Special. Made by Miroku, who I had never heard of, but apparently they manufacture a good number of long arms for Browning.

Go figure.

At some point in the 1980s they decided to try their hand at aping famous American handguns. And they did a pretty decent job - as beat up as this model is, it still shot pretty darn good:

Not too shabby for a foreign-made copy of a snubbie revolver...

That is all.

Sad But True...

Much like PT Barnum's observation that one would never go broke underestimating the American public, I came to a realization today:

In MA, you'll never go broke betting against free will or free enterprise...

That is all.

Ray of Hope...

One of the neat things about this whole blog thing is that it allows me to keep in touch with friends even when they're far away.

A good buddy of mine, in fact, someone I've written about before here, took his family to Disney after the holidaze. He was kind enough to send me this picture as proof that all is, indeed, not yet lost:

The subject of his e-mail said it best: Sarah Brady, eat your heart out.

Lovin' it...

That is all.

Quote of the Day™

Today's QotD comes from Tam:

Were he alive today, he'd be 153. And we'd have frickin' death rays.

(The "he" in question is Saint John Moses Browning, natch).

I'm just glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read that, because it's a stone-cold bitch getting coffee out of a keyboard...

Gunnie Bleg, Part Two

Alternate Title: Help Jay Choose His Next Gun...

Alright, here's the deal. I've got a chunk 'o' cash sitting in the gun fund. I've just sold off an "extra" gun, so I have "permission" to make another acquisition. So what now? The Sig 245 I asked about earlier seems to have fallen through (no response to my offer after four days).

Here's the basic criteria: I want a full-sized, all-steel (metal) 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Why a large, heavy gun chambered in the dreaded "Europellet"? Several reasons:

*9mm is quickly becoming the only affordable centerfire round short of reloads (which I will only run through my wheelguns as a general rule).

*Instructional purposes. When introducing new shooters, I like to progress up the chain of firepower. Start off with a .22LR revolver, then a .22 semi-auto, then a .38 special. It would be nice to have a heavy (less recoil) 9mm (ditto, and cheap) semi-auto to transition to after the .38 special.

*Fill in a hole in the armory - I only have one gun chambered in 9mm, and that's a polymer-framed, DAO compact carry gun.

What don't I want? I don't want any polymer guns. I don't want any DAO guns. I don't want any compact guns. But even with these restrictions (and living in the Volksrepublik of MA), the field is still pretty open.

The major contenders are:

Sig 226 - German engineering, high quality, high cost. Bonus points for the SigArms academy being less than an hour from my house.

Beretta 92FS - lots in circulation means cheap used prices; plenty of pre-ban magazines; kitchy Lethal Weapon/DieHard appeal.

Smith & Wesson 2nd or 3rd generation pistols (many models) - "red-headed stepchild" of autoloaders mean bargains galore.

Ruger P-series - reliable as hell, but ugly as sin.

Retro options: Walther P-38, Star 9mm - pros are cheap C&R acquisitions, cons are expensive magazines and single-stack only.

So... What am I forgetting? I've included guns I know to be MA-compliant, which significantly narrows the list. I'm open to any and all suggestions, pro- or con-, for or against.

What say ye?

Crap, Crap, CRAAAAAAP...

Thompson drops out of GOP presidential race

NAPLES, Fla. - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.

"I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said. "Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.

Dammit. There goes the last chance I have of actually voting FOR a Presidential candidate rather than against the other one...

I think I'm gonna write in Cthulhu in November. Why vote for the lesser of two evils?

TFB...

Sorry folks. Up to my asshole in alligators today. Might get a chance to put something up later.

Or not.

That is all.

Monday Morning Musings...

*Patriots are going to their fourth Superbowl this decade. If they win, it will give them the best record in NFL history. Kinda cool, even for a non-sports dude like me.

*Saw with sadness that Suzanne Pleshette has passed away. Only in the most unlikely Hollywood fantasy could a totally hottie like her be paired up with a schlub like Bob Newhart. The closest unlikely Hollywood pairing I can currently think of is that lardass Kevin James with totally hot Leah Remini in "King of Queens". As a (former) fat ass, let me tell you - a fat tub 'o' goo like that has about as much chance of scoring with a babe like her as I do of out-shooting Jerry Miculek...

*Speaking of shooting (how's THAT for a segué?!), made it to the range for the first time in almost two months (!!!!!). Took the Marlin 39A to the indoor range for a little informal shootin', and decided to bring along a couple other classics, the Smith & Wesson Model 19 and the Colt Gold Cup National Match. It's a good thing I brought such excellent firearms, because otherwise I'd have totally embarassed myself, my shooting was so off...

The Model 39A is INCREDIBLE. I had the target at the back of the indoor range (25 yards) and with iron sights put the entire 19 rounds into a 2" circle. The 19, as always, was a joy to shoot (especially with .38 special +P+), as was the Colt. There was one minor glitch with the Colt - the slide wouldn't stay locked back after the last round - but a quick change of the grips solved that (important tip from your ol' buddy Jay: If a gun that had previously functioned flawlessly starts having issues right after you change something, change that something back BEFORE you start panicking...)

Of course, here I am with my lever action .22 rifle, a revolver, and a 1911 - I'd have been perfectly in place in 1908, when the lane next to me is taken over by the tactical twins. Heavily accessorized pre-ban AR-15, Bobcat (MP5 semi-auto clone), several Glocks, and a Tacticool Rem 870 scattergun.

That is all.

(Little) People Unclear on the Concept...

Heh. This was too cute to pass up...

Talking to my son this morning, I asked him what his plans were for his long weekend (Monday's MLK holiday, and, gee, the school just HAPPENS to have "teacher in-service" day today which gives them today off as well. I'm certain it's a coincidence that it gives them a four day weekend...)

He looked at me for a second, shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I dunno. Probably be a potato chip."

It took me a second to realize he meant "couch potato".

And no, I don't know where he got that phrase...

That is all.

Note Made...

Marko, the erstwhile Wrangler of Munchkins, has new digs.

Blogroll adjusted...

That is all.

Gunnie Bleg

I need help (in more ways than one - ed.).

I've got a line on a Sig 245, with lots of goodies, at a really good price. I've shot Sigs in the past and been favorably impressed by the fit, finish, and function as well as the ease of use and cleaning.

However... Reading up on the 245, the general impression I am left with is that it is an imperfect attempt by SigArms to turn a full-size duty weapon (the 220) into a CCW piece. The most common complaint is that it is, for lack of a better term, "top-heavy" - the full-sized slide mated to the shortened grip creates a beast that is neither fish nor fowl. Folks review it as being too heavy for CCW, too hard to handle as a plinker.

OTOH, I haven't heard from anyone that owns one or even has shot one. I've been meaning to pick up a sturdy .45 for HD/winter carry, and been thinking of a Commander-sized 1911 (most likely the scandium-framed SW1911). The 245 comes with night sights and a LaserMax internal laser at a price only slightly higher than a used SW1911 at the local shop.

I also note that there are 8-round magazines available for the 245 (now called the 220 compact) that give it a full-sized grip. Might this be an acknowledgement of the shortcomings?

Anyhoo... has anyone out in Gunnie Land had any experience with a 245?

Thanks in advance. That is all.

Friday Gun Pr0n #42

Okay. The past few Friday pics have been handguns. Time to showcase a rifle.

Today's gun is a Remington model 511. It's a bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle chambered in .22LR/.22L/.22S. The standard six round magazine fits flush to the stock, and there are 10 round magazines available that obviously extend out further. This particular rifle is topped with a $10 4X Tasco scope from MidwayUSA.

---

But damn, this sumbitch can shoot:

That's all six shots in a circle that can be covered with a quarter. Distance was 25 yards, from an improvised rest (I leaned on the counter), at an indoor range.

---

Oh, did I mention the rifle was free?

That is all.

Misleading Headlines...

I hate shit like this. Here's the headline:

Hungry Teen Faces Felony After Trying to Steal Cheeseburger

Here's the gist of the story:

TAMPA, Fla. — A teenage girl is facing felony charges after walking into a Burger King with a knife and trying to steal a cheeseburger, Tampa police said.

The girl — who had recently been released from the county Juvenile Assessment Center — told authorities she was hungry when she wielded a kitchen knife and demanded the cheeseburger.

The girl is now facing charges of felony armed burglary, felony armed robbery and violation of home detention.

See, it's what they DON'T tell you that's important. You read that headline and think, WTF, someone's getting charged with a felony for stealing a $2 cheeseburger? We really are living in Bush's vision of a police state, aren't we?

Then you read on, and it's not just simple theft, it's felony armed robbery. Had she reached over the counter and grabbed the cheeseburger, there'd be no story. Not to mention the recent release from incarceration, coupled with violation of parole. Note, too, the eeeevil assault weapon used. Time to ban Henckels!

(I'll pass on the obvious "I NO Can Haz Cheezburgr" angle...)

I... HATE... PEOPLE...

Alrighty folks. Monday I didn't even leave the house because I *knew* it was going to stink on ice.

But today? Snow's been gone for 3 days now. Roads are not only clear, but dry in most spots. There is no reason to drive like timid sheep any more. Honest.

Ran into both ends of the spectrum on the drive to work this morning:

*The Saturn that insisted on traveling 15 MPH below the speed limit, slowing even further for every turn, twist, and/or bump in the road.

*The Civic that was so close to my rear bumper that I couldn't even see the HOOD, let alone headlights. I have no idea what makes people do stupid things. One stomp on the brakes and that Honda was going to be in a new weight class: Cars sheared in half at the hood line...

We also had:

*The Ford Exploder that could not for the life of it decide how to handle the rotary (what others call "roundabouts" or "traffic circles"). Newsflash: The car in the rotary has the right of way. Not the car a ¼ mile from the rotary. Once you are in the rotary, you have the right of way. DO NOT STOP because someone is approaching the rotary. All you're going to do is test my brakes and patience...

*The Little Lexus that couldn't stop. Well, I think "couldn't" is the wrong word. I think "didn't think it had to" is a better choice, as it slowed down from 45 to 40 MPH (in a thickly settled area) as it blew past the stop sign.

Dodge horns are loud. As are Dodge drivers when they are forced to cross the double yellow line rather than mate with a smaller vehicle.

She's lucky her windows were rolled up tight, because otherwise her kids would have learned some new and naughty words today...

That is all...

Odd Headline of the Day...

It's official: In Austria, a chimp is not a person

Well I'm glad that's settled, because before you could say "bonzo" MA would be legalizing same-primate marriage...

That is all.

If Wishes Were Fishes...

...we'd all be covered in worm guts. Or something like that.

Ahab has a wish list for Mssrs. Sturm und Ruger.

I've got my own list, and it's for folks even closer to me... Just in case anyone from Smith & Wesson is reading this blog [ed: HA! Right!], I would just lurve it if you could chamber a j-frame in the screamin' new .327 Federal Magnum.

Especially if you can make it a 6-round magazine like the .32 H&R Magnum. Since the .327 Federal Magnum will chamber the .32 H&R Magnum as well as the .32 S&W long cartridges, there's plenty of shooty goodness to be had.

And the .327 Fed Mag seems to have nearly the same performance as the .357 Magnum, with the added benefit of a sixth round...

That is all.

This 'N' That...

*It's patently obvious that most towns have exhausted their snow removal budgets early this season. Maybe it's just the towns I drive through on my way to work, but there was a seriously shitty job done "clearing" the roads... Most of the way was like riding on gravel, only with the added thrill of no traction.

*Speaking lost of traction, what the hell happened to road salt? Here's a tip: Tossing eight thousand tons of sand on top of ICE doesn't help anyone, it just makes life treacherous for motorcyclists in the spring...

*Saw a travel mug in the middle of an intersection this morning. Must have been someone who put it on their roof, got in the car, and took off without bringing it back in. Sure glad I've never done that... [sarcasm]

*I am starting to hate BMW cars with a blinding passion, as they apparently infuse them with some sort of chemical that compells their owners to drive like complete fucking morons in anything less than 100% clear conditions.

*Want to feel like a giant screaming idiot? Prepare for the snowstorm by gassing up the lawn tractor (with snow-thrower attachment on PTO), then carefully starting the tractor and letting it run so that it's all ready to go for the next day, then carefully position it in the garage, and then stupidly leave the fucking ignition on so you kill the fucking battery. Fortunately, the battery is relatively new so a quick jump with the charger and all was right with the world. But man, if you could bottle that feeling of dread I experienced when I walked into the garage and saw the ignition light feebly shining... It's very similar to that feeling you get when you close the locked car door with the keys still in the ignition...

That is all.

Oopsie...

Obamarama's plane had a minor incident at Midway airport. It sounds to be the airplane equivalent to a fender-bender.

Now, first things first. We're all glad Obama's okay.

However, given that Obama will save the planet, isn't it just a tad hypocritical to be winging around on private jets?

That is all...

Why Is It...

...That even though I've been out of high school for nearly 20 years, seeing my school's name on the list of schools closed because of snow puts a smile on my face?

Weird, man.

Now, if only work would cancel as easily as school...

That is all.

Friday Gun Pr0n #41

Since today is #40 Because I'm an idiot and can't count, but am too lazy to think up something clever about #41, here's a .40:

SigSauer model P229 in .40 S&W. The 229 series is Sig's intermediate-sized frame, in between the full-sized 226 and the compact 239. It's an all-steel, traditional DA/SA semi-automatic with 12 round capacity.

That is all.

Interruption in the Grinding...

Chris and Mel need your help.

Reader's Digest condensed version: Mel's ex is an ass.

Go. Read. Drop a little something in the defense fund.

Please help. These are good people, and they don't deserve this crap...

That is all.

Nose, Meet Grindstone...

I'm busy today.
Doubtful things will improve much.
Blogging in haiku.

That is all...

Whoa...

Out of curiosity, I went to see if my hotmail e-mail account was still active.

It was.

Over 1500 e-mails. Probably less than 50 were legitimate.

I don't know if it cuts off at a certain date or not, but there were e-mails going back to January 2005...

That is all.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This...

...Oh hell, no, she didn't...

Nothing gets your adrenaline flowing like discovering, five minutes before the school bus arrives, that your son has not only managed to clog up the toilet, but forgotten to jiggle the handle to make sure it stops running, resulting in Niagara Falls in the downstairs bathroom...

*sigh*

Discovering him sitting less than TEN FRIGGIN' FEET from the running toilet in a Nintendo-induced fog certainly didn't help my mood, either...

Y'know, I love my kids more than life itself, but there are times like these when I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to just burn the house to the ground myself rather than let them destroy it over time...

(And no, I didn't flush the Gameboy down the toilet, tempting tho' it was...)

That is all...

{Chortle}

Bruce has a fascinating post about the intricacies of ice fishing. In it he details the importance of the game of "Asshole" in the ice-fishing hierarchy, which tripped a memory trigger of a memorable (in that I was somehow able to remember it) game of Asshole from my younger daze...

It was the summer of 1992. I was fresh out of college, ink was still wet on my diploma, when a friend from college invited me to go camping with a bunch of his buddies. This was the prelude to the "Greatest Camping Trip in the History of Western Civilization" I reminisced about here. Boils down to a buncha young 20-something guys, a whole lotta beer, and nothing better to do than hang out, drink said beer, and play Asshole...

So..

A little backstory first. My buddy Lou is the one who invited me along. He brought his guitar along, and was entertaining us with acoustic versions of various hard rock tunes with his own little artistic riffs tossed in. Across the campground from us was a family with an aspiring young guitarist in it, whose mother heard Lou playing and came over to check things out. Lou, being an extremely friendly chap (and ever more so whence lubricated), shot the bull with her for a while (what music theories her son studied, what brand guitar he learned on, etc.) and invited her to bring her son over later (he was out riding his bike or something) so they could jam...


NOW...

Flash forward a couple hours. Here we are, about a dozen of us, seated around a couple of picnic tables. We've got an entire Asshole cabinet - president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, etc. My buddy Lou is serving his time as Asshole, complete with a cardboard 12-pack box on his head (the official Asshole hat, natch). You can see what's coming, right?

Yep. Mom and young junior come bounding up to our campsite. Junior has his Harmony acoustic in hand, ready to play with the grizzled college kid just like his mom promised. Except that we've been drinking for several hours now, and heavily focused on the game of Asshole being played to notice mom and Junior right away.

We're all "Yes, Mister President" and "No, Mr. Treasurer". Beer cans are covering two picnic tables and spilling over onto the ground. Our firepit is roaring with cardboard beer cartons.

Lou has the official hat on, and is "Yes, Mr. X" left and right.

Mom looks at the group and, with all honesty and sincerity, asks, "I'm sorry, am I interrupting a meeting?"

It was a full minute before any of us could regain our composure long enough to answer...

(And yes, Lou and Junior played together for over an hour, serenading the campground with everything from Led Zeppelin to Counting Crows...)

That is all.

Just Wonderin'...

Re: "Manmade global warming" as religion - will they burn heretics at the stake?

*On the one hand, it would reduce their carbon footprint.

*On the other hand, the byproducts of combustion are bad for Mother Earth...

That is all...

And While I'm Asking Questions...

Can someone explain to me how ANY of the top three Democratic candidates for President are any more "qualified" to run for President than George Bush was in 2000?

I mean, we were told, repeatedly, that Bush was the least qualified person to ever run for office, based on him being the two-term governor of the third-largest state, business owner, and Harvard MBA grad.

And yet, Hillary! is the most qualified of the Dems, with a smidge over one whole Senate term under her belt. After that... Uh... First Lady? Should Laura Bush be running, then?

John Edwards? Trial lawyer and one full Senate term that he couldn't have won re-election to had he chosen to run again.

Barack Obama? IL State Senate and TWO YEARS in the US Senate. (Side note: Obama's less than 10 years older than me. I've gotta get my shit in gear...)

The BEST they have to offer is one full Senate term and re-elected to a second. And yet no one has pointed this out. Although I'm certain if Romney gets the nomination (G-d forbid), we'll be treated to a litany of reasons why he doesn't have the experience to be President.

And don't even get me started about the double standard shown vis a vis military service, especially if McCain gets the GOP nod (once again, G-d forbid)...

Why Is It...

...that on both Saturday AND Sunday, both children were up, dressed, and bouncing off the walls by 6:15 AM, yet this morning I had to literally drag them both out of bed at 7:15AM?

How do they KNOW?

That is all...

Can I Just Add...

...that if I never hear another fucking word about either of the two Spears' ho-bags, I will be a happy man?

I mean, I don't watch television for a reason. Please stop cluttering up my internets with these two imbeciles...

Coming As No Surprise...

Chris Dodd (the other half of the "waitress sandwich") and Joe Biden have dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

When asked for comment, Biden replied,

"You won't have Biden to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference".

That is all.

Holy Gun-Geekery, Batman!

Got a chuckle out of this whilst perusing the stats:

VISITS

Average Per Day 223

Hi. My name is Jay, and I'm a gun geek...

Friday Gun Pr0n #40

To appease our resident photography critic, I've tried to improve my admittedly amateur gun photography. Here's a new picture of a gun I've featured before, a Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 special:

Certainly nowhere near as good as the master, but a darn sight better than some of my previous pictures. I particularly like how the patina got picked up in this shot, as well as the slight hint of rifling on the stubby barrel.

Next improvement: Background. I need something better than a bath towel... ;)

Third?

Hillary! came in THIRD in Iowa? Curious.

I wonder who's going to commit suicide in a park over this one?

Not As Bad...

Okay... Had a chance to (more) calmly assess the mirror situation last night. Mrs. G. raised an excellent point - we have the original factory mirrors for the truck in the basement, why not put them back on?

Eventually we'll need to pick up a new towing mirror, because they're invaluable for towing the camper, but they're not needed for at least another 4-5 months.

So, in the immediate time frame, the old mirror is held together with packing tape (I am ashamed to admit that I'm out of duct tape. Yes, revoke my membership in the Man Club...). This weekend I'll take off the towing mirrors and put the factory mirrors back on (the towing mirrors are Mopar accessories, but not what the truck originally came equipped with).

And between now and mid-May, I'll be scouring eBay/Craigslist/WantAds for towing mirrors to see if I can find a used driver's mirror cheaper than new. At the very least, come May I'll order a new set from the dealer and put 'em on myself...

Besides, like my grandfather always said, if your problems can be solved with money, they're not really problems...

Not A Good Start...

2008 is off to a pretty fuckin' bad start...

Oh, yeah, yesterday was great. 'Course, I didn't leave the house. Shoulda kept it that way...

Start off, my son forgot his backpack, so we missed the bus - went home to get it, and were leaving the driveway only to see the bus leaving the bus stop...

And then, on the way to work, my oversized driver's side towing mirror clashed with another large truck's oversized driver's side towing mirror. There's $365 I could have put to better use...

If this year gets any better I may have to dig a hole in the ground and crawl in...

2,556

Two thousand, five hundred and fifty six days ago, I smoked my last cigarette.

Now, today, seven years later, I'd no sooner light up a smoke than vote for Hillary!.

Let's see...

New Year's Resolution 2001: Stop smoking. Check.

New Year's Resolution 2006: Lose weight. Check.

New Year's Resolution 2007: Start exercising. Check.

What the hell am I gonna do this year?

That is all.

Fun With Sitemeter

The things one finds when one peruses the link stats...

Google string: ijust bought a harley...now what?

I dunno... How 'bout you ride the damn thing?

{/end snark}

(I don't know if I should be happy or sad that I'm the fifth hit for that string...)