Why I'm Part of the Panic Buy

As most people know, since B.O. got elected to be the next President of the United States, there has been a run on guns. Evil Black Guns mostly. There are many opinions on this. Some think the panic buyers are nuts and resent them for driving prices up. Some believe the panic buyers are right and are doing the same thing. Many are kicking themselves for not buying sooner.

I bought my Evil Black Rifle just after midnight on 6 November. The price hadn't gone up yet, and I had been saving for it anyway. I wasn't buying because of fears B.O. would ban them. I do fear that, but that alone didn't drive my decision to purchase. I knew that a lot of people would be driven to buy because of the election, and I knew demand would skyrocket, prices would rise, and it wouldn't be government that would keep me from getting my rifle. It would be the market.

And boy am I glad that I bought when I did. The next day, the online retailer that I ordered from called and asked if delays would cause me to cancel my order. "Of course not!" was my reply. She told me that Stag Arms, the manufacturer of most of my rifle, was already backed by about 6,000 rifles, and my order would already take 4-5 weeks. Four weeks later, I still don't have my gun, and Stag's website says their current backorder is 20 weeks long!

Black Rifles (often wrongly labeled as "Assault Rifles") can't be found anywhere. Many gun dealers have remarked that their inventory flew off the shelves within a week and they're unable to get more. Black Rifles can't be begged, borrowed, or stolen right now. The ones that are still available are only there because some dealers have started price gouging. Pre-election, a simple AR-15 rifle could be had for $800-$1000, and could be built for less than that (mine will be about $750 once I get it and put it all together). Recently, I've been hearing about them marked up to as much as $2000.

Luckily, there are plenty of dealers out there who aren't marking up their EBR's, or any other merchandise, any more than their costs require. The manufacturers haven't been raising their prices either. They don't need to. They have backorders for the next six months. They're doing just fine.

Hopefully, the boom in gun sales will send a message to the congress-weasels and local legis-critters that Americans like our guns, and when our rights are threatened, we don't roll over. We stock up.

Farewell, Kim

My favorite daily blogger, Kim DuToit, has retired. His daily writings included politics, guns, cars, women, and a host of other topics. He wrote about everything, and he wrote it beautifully. His wife, Connie, also retired, and though I didn't read her material very often, it was always very thoughtful and well written. (It is all still available to read, but they're no longer publishing new material. You can read it at www.theothersideofkim.com.) So, farewell in your retirement, Kim and Connie. You've earned it and will be missed.

Quote of the Day

From Eric:
"Yes, they even have clearing barrels in front of the chapel... Because even God hates negligent discharges."

Amen

Mandatory Community Service

A special salute and thanks go out to The Geek with a .45 for pointing out that the first black man elected President of the United States wants to violate not only the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution(and many more, I'm sure), but the 13th as well. For those of us who are not Constitutional scholars, the 13th Amendment is the one that bans slavery and involuntary servitude. Geek with a .45 explains it so well, I won't try to improve. Kim du Toit also mentioned it, and as always, made it a pleasure to read.

Financial Conundrum

As the people of the United States have voted a socialist into power, I am faced with a dilemma regarding his policies. We've all heard his tax policies, and if they remain as advertised, which I don't think they will, many Americans who already don't pay taxes will be getting another check from the gummint. This also applies to big businesses who are getting bailed out.
I am adamantly opposed to government handing out money to people who either didn't earn it, or corporations who screwed themselves. However, the fact that I cashed Pres Bush's economic stimulus check makes me feel like a hypocrite now. The fact is that that check was no small amount of money to me, and I really enjoyed spending it (actually, I saved about half of it), but now I don't know what to think.
I can say I would rather see fewer taxes than the gummint giving out checks. If they can afford to give me a big wad-o-cash, they can afford to cut taxes.
What really spawned this line of thought was last night's Hannity & Colmes interview with Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher. When Allan Colmes tried to slam him for having been on welfare in the past, he said "I paid into welfare. Its there to be used, not abused as it so often is." He then went on to explain how taking money from the rich and placing it in his pocket is "just stealing." Well said, sir.
With my income level and Obama's tax plan, I could theoretically end up getting a check again in the next few years. And what the hell am I supposed to do with that check to keep true to my beliefs? Tear it up? Send it to an unfairly taxed rich corporation? I'm torn. It makes me sick that I could be a beneficiary of socialism. I live comfortably on my salary, but a free check would certainly allow me to increase my savings or buy a new rifle (take THAT Pelosi!). I feel like my decision would represent either foolishness or hypocrisy. Damn Obama for making me a cause and forcing his dirty money on me.

Well, We're Screwed.

I watched the election results with disgust. I really had more faith in the American people. I thought the polls were full of it. I thought McCain would win out with reasonable people. I was wrong.

Now we're screwed. I was out tonight, expecting riots when McCain won. I was met with an Obama win, and car horns in the streets. Every car horn and Obama sticker was met with a disgusted face. I'm a sore loser in this campaign.

My response? I came home and bought my AR-15 Upper Receiver. It cost me quite a bit (I make way less than Obama's $250,000, or is it $200,000, or $150,ooo, or $120,000...I dunno). I still believe that Obama will rape our 2nd Amendment Rights(among many others), so I decided it was time to bite the bullet (so to speak) and blow some money on an "Evil Black Rifle" which he will likely ban. I bought it before a price increase due to the election can occur. Now I'm eagerly awaiting my personal rebellion against gun controllers. I'm going to call it Nancy, in honor of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I would call it Barack, but I only name my Milsurp (military surplus) rifles, and only name them with female names, so President Select Obama is out, due to his gender. So far, I have named my battle veteran rifles ( I have four) with stereotypical names from their country of origin. M1 Garand is Annie; Yugo SKS is Milka(her stock was already engraved by her former owner, probably a Yugoslavian soldier); Mosin Nagant M38 is Natalya, a good, sexy Russian name; my Mosin Nagant 91/30 is Nadia. The AR-15 will be Nancy, as I've said. Its not a sexy name, but a rebellious name.

My political views from now on will be extremely critical of the Obama administration. We'll see.

Where's the Dirt?

When a campaign gets as cutthroat as this one, I gotta ask, where's the dirt on John McCain? His campaign, the press, and other have dug up (and in some cases immediately reburied) a ton of dirt on Barack Obama, while B.O. can't seem to come up with anything bad to say about John McCain other than not wanting to share his toys.
I have a theory on this. Perhaps, there's no dirt on McCain. [gasp] In a world where our lives are all on Google, the media respects no ethical boundaries, and politicians' lives are a matter of public record, the only thing they have on McCain is that he's been divorced and remarried a rich woman. Thats a pretty clean life for a politician. We may actually have an honest politician. I really like that [naive] concept with regards to McCain because he's a military man. I really like to think he has some integrity.
Thats not much compared to the laundry list of unsavory things we know about B.O., many of which he refuses to clarify or disprove. We know where John McCain was born, how much he paid in taxes, his military record, his family's history, and how many houses he owns. Obama refuses to turn over a birth certificate to prove which country he was born in (my pick goes to Kenya). Same with proof that he his still a citizen of the US, not Indonesia, and there's a video out there of him hanging out with a known terrorist leader (not even Ayers this time; yeah, there's another one) which no one will cough up.
I have to wonder just why the American people aren't demanding clarification, and documentation, from B.O. I think he's got some 'splainin to do.

Quality Hardware

In many cases, I'll buy lower end products if they're cheaper than name brands. I buy Walmart's "Great Value" brand all the time, because those products are significantly cheaper than the name brands. However, one area where I never skimp is tools. When I buy gear that I know I'm going to be tough on, I buy from quality manufacturers who support their products and have a reputation for rugged reliability.
When I was told I needed a flashlight that is NVG Compatible, I immediately thought "Surefire." For those of you who aren't familiar with the company, they make indestructible tactical flashlights and in my experience, they're worth every penny of their pretty steep price tags. The one I bought today, the G2, is one of their cheaper models since its made of high impact plastic instead of their more expensive aircraft-grade aluminum models. It retails for about $40.
They also make a wide variety of accessories, including different colored slip on and spring loaded filters, protective lens covers, and even Infrared filters. White, amber, and red light is not NVG compatible. I already have two Surefire lights that have red lights, so those were no good. Damn, gotta go buy another Surefire! I ended up with a spring loaded blue filter, which is NVG compatible. This is not for illuminating things which I will look at through the NVG's. Its for things I'm NOT going to look at through the goggles. The NVG's have blue filters in them, so they don't pick up blue and green light, meaning I can use the blue light without blinding the rest of the crew.
So, without further ado, here are some pics of the new Surefire setup with some of my other high quality tools. The new one is propped up on my Corcoran Marauder combat boots, with the filter open. The next smaller one is the A2 Aviator model, which puts out low intensity red, and high intensity white lights. The smallest is the L1 LumaMax which puts out high and low intensity red light. The pistol is my Sig P6.



And a close up with the filter closed.

The New Club

I haven't joined the long list of bloggers who were taking sides on the recent issues over at TheHighRoad.com, mainly because I don't have any way of confirming the facts, and otherwise its a big load of accusations from both sides. I didn't know who was right, so I stayed out of it.
Now there's a new club in town. Larry Correia, MadOgre, and some other folks have started www.WeTheArmed.com as a refuge for those who don't want to deal with the THR mess, and anyone else who is interested, as well as consolidating a few other forums. I joined up today and so far it seems to be growing fast. There are a lot of familiar handles showing up from THR, and they have an off-topic section that THR likely never will.
I'm not totally writing off THR. I still like it there. This is just another place to hang out.

Body Language

I just watched a History Channel documentary on body language, and it was enlightening. They discussed real figures who found themselves in the spotlight over the last twenty years, with a few moments reaching back to the Yalta summit. They showed how Bill Clinton giving his famous "I did not have sexual relations" speech, and picked it apart to show that he was not being truthful. They showed Tony Blair on the day after Princess Diana's death, seemingly over doing his sorrow. They showed criminals giving speeches before they were found guilty, and showed the signals that gave them away.
I waited eagerly for some critique of the current presidential candidates, and it was minimal. What they did say was very interesting. They compared Obama's speech patterns to those a Baptist Preacher uses to get his congregation riled up. One expert even said that to spectators, Obama's words really don't matter to his audience, and that the way he speaks is enough to trigger an emotional reaction in his fans.
On McCain's analysis, they said he was almost the exact opposite of Obama, as far as speech patterns go. They said that the way he compresses his phrases indicates that he tells it how it is, which matches his reputation as a "straight shooter."
It was interesting to hear all the stuff we knew all along, like Clinton was lying about Monica, but it was really interesting to hear that Obama's popularity is based on public speaking tricks and techniques, and that McCains body language shows him as a genuine straight shooter. It confirms everything I've known for a while, but I hope some Obama fans saw the show, and it helped see through some of the BS.

Things that make you go "huh?"

So this just occurred to me. While I had taken note of the fact that in the first two trading days after the Marxist Progression Bill passed the market fell over 800pts total, I hadn't connected that drop with the slight rise we saw last Wednesday, before Komrade Karl's bill was signed into law. What I see now, is that the market was going down last week, the first iteration of the Bailout was shot down by congress on Tuesday night, and the market rose a little on Wednesday. The Senate promised to push the legislation through, because if it wasn't passed in the next 15 minutes, the world was going to explode, and the market began sinking again on Thursday. The bill was passed over the weekend and on Monday, guess what. The market TANKED. Soon after, all the pinko commie legislators began reassuring us that this plan, which they had been telling us was an "exploding bill" with a short fuse, obviously wouldn't begin to affect the economy within one or two days. I know shouldn't expect anything more from the Dumbocrats. At this point, to quote one of my favorite bloggers, the whole of the congress, or at least those who voted with the Marxist Party, needs to be lynched.

Guilt by Association

After Sarah Palin went on a slam spree about Barack Obama's associations with the likes of known terrorist Bill Ayers, the Obama camp is coming back with allegations of desperate mudslinging and claims of guilt by association.
Too bad, Barack. Guilt by association is a valid reason to sling mud. The fact is that if it was just Bill Ayers, then maybe we could let it slide. But its not just Bill Ayers. Its everyone you've associated with. Three Obama campaign advisers are corrupt former executives of Fannie Mae, all convicted of cooking books. His longtime mentor, the infamous Reverend Wright, is a known racist and radical preacher who uses the pulpit to spread his message of black supremacy.
Senator Obama, if you knew and associated with just one racist, or one communist, or one crooked CEO, or one terrorist, then it might be a false accusation of guilt by association. The problem is, you have at least one checkmark in each of those columns, and I'd bet money we could find more if we dug deeper into your checkered past. I don't vote for people who have friends like yours.

Don't Use a Scalpel when you need an Ax

McCain has been tiptoeing through the tulips when he should be driving a tank. I have no idea why politicians put up with the crap they do during campaigns. I would be the loudest sumbitch on the campaign trail. My beliefs wouldn't change. I'd be painfully honest with people. If someone asked me a question, I wouldn't bother trying to find out what demographic that person belongs to. It wouldn't matter, and wouldn't change my answer.

If a very nice family of illegal immigrants asked my opinion on immigration, I'd tell them that they are criminals, because they violated one law of this country, and that's all it takes to be a criminal in this country; the cops are on their way to take them back to Mexico.

If a family on welfare asked me what I plan to do for them, I'd tell them in one word: NOTHING. I worked hard to get to where I am, and to achieve what I have, and, as a politician and a leader, I'm not giving a dime to someone who isn't willing to work to support themselves. No more handouts from Uncle Sam, you lazy freeloader.

A victim of gun violence asks what I'm gonna do to protect him? I'm going to make guns easier to get for law abiding citizens, cut the "reasonable restrictions" down to the bare bones Second Ammendment, and maybe a restriction on violent felons; they'll have to wait till their parole is up (sentence plus, say, ten years with nothing any more severe than a parking ticket). After that, I think they've served their debt to society and proven they're no longer violent. They get their rights back as humans and Americans. Every law abiding adult in this country has a right to defend their own lives, granted by God, not the Government. The Second Amendment merely reminds power hungry politicians not to mess with it. The gun control thing could go all day with me, so I'll keep moving.

When an elderly couple asks how much I'll pay for their prescriptions, health care, Hoveround scooters, etc, I'll tell them the same thing I told the welfare people. I'm not paying. People have been living without scooters and hearing aids for as long as they've been dying. Sorry, but you'll have to push your wheelchair around.

I abhor socialism, fascism, communism, etc. I'm a Libertarian Capitalist who believes that my money is best handled when I have it. I know how to manage my money far better than the federal government. Its easy to see that, since I have a few thousand dollars in debt(which is steadily shrinking), because I own a motor vehicle and a college diploma, and the government has TRILLIONS in debt that keeps growing. Who the hell trusts the gubment with their hard earned cash?

I got fired up today and I've been watching the news, which isn't helping. I'm gonna try to study and get some dinner in me, and not watch the news anymore.

Collecting Intel

Talked to Dad today about the Bailout plan, the current state of the economy, stock market, etc. I got some good information about the real causes of this current load of Marxist bullshit, since I was too young to care about it when it all went down.
Turns out that back in the Clinton years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and other lenders, were compelled by threats of equal opportunity charges, and then Federal Law, to grant mortgages and other loans to minorities who couldn't afford those loans, and who's credit report consisted of a race card. When Republicans opposed the bill on the basis of common sense and the FACT that the bill would guarantee loans to those who couldn't afford it, and thus screw the economy, they were labeled racists who wanted to keep nice deserving people with colored skin from owning homes.
Now, we're seeing the consequences of those practices. Millions of poor people can't afford to pay their mortgage, which is their fault for taking on excessive debt, and the lenders' faults for approving the loan. But more so than the lenders, it's congress's fault for forcing the big lending companies to give loans based on the color of the borrowers' skin rather than their credit score. But when the issue was brought up again a few years ago, in 2004, the problems were already brewing. The Republicans warned of dark times to come, that irresponsible lending would lead to a big issue down the road, they were again laughed away by the Dems, accused of racism, and reassured that everything was fine, and there was no man behind the curtain, and we shouldn't go poking around back there anyway.
Another four years has passed and the Marxist Party...oops. I meant Democrat Party, is trying to put their shit sandwich in the Republicans' lunchbox. They're blaming this whole fiasco on the Right and telling Americans, with a combination of innocent little puppy eyes and fearmongering ferocity, that they had nothing to do with this, its all George Bush's fault, and John McCain's fault, and the Republicans' fault. Certainly they could have nothing to do with this. Apparently this is what we get for letting Marxists run our country. Yes I do mean Marxists. Look it up. They started out with some mild, but still textbook socialist policies, but the Federal Government buying up entire companies (which they won't want to relinquish control of when those companies get back in the black) comes straight out of Komrade Karl's famous Manifesto.
The next step in the Marxist plan, assuming we've hit the socialist level (or blown right past it, giving it the finger), is full blown Communism, where the Government owns everything, including its subjects, the peasants own nothing, and we become the Soviet United States.
I don't want that, but I see it coming.

Not My Problem

Thats my new mantra for any of Obama's (or anyone else's) socialist proposals.
"We have to bail out these companies, cuz people have their retirement savings in those companies' stock!"
Not my problem. I don't own those stocks, and everyone knows that the stock market is a risky business. My money is almost all FDIC insured(I know thats a socialist Roosevelt invention, too.) I don't risk money that I plan on needing later. I don't gamble away my rent. I don't stake my future on lotto tickets or anything so volatile as the stock market. Remember, kids, never gamble more than you can afford to lose.

"But what about the poor people who don't get health insurance at work, and can't afford it on their small paychecks?"
Not my problem. The Human Race has survived hundreds of millennia without health insurance. Health insurance probably didn't even exist till the 20th Century. We'll likely survive another couple thousand years without it.I have pretty damn good insurance through work, and I've only been to the doc a few times in the last year, and that was all for required physicals, not because I was sick. Furthermore, the old saying that "you get what you pay for" holds true in health care as well. If you get something for free, expect that level of service and quality. Ask the folks in the UK about social health care.

Call me crazy, but I don't think its my responsibility to bail out irresponsible companies or irresponsible consumers who have flushed their bank accounts down the tubes in one spectacular way or another. I didn't push the handle on that toilet, so I am in absolutely no way fiscally responsible for their losses. So why is Congress planning on stealing money out of my pocket, or possibly even worse, borrowing it from China, to help these morons out? I'm not willing to pay. Why?Because, its not my problem.

Rapid D

I had my first rapid decompression a few days ago. We were cruising at FL180 and all of a sudden WHOOOOSHHHH. There was wind in the cockpit, it got about 10-15 degrees cooler, and fog formed. (For those that have been through altitude chamber training, it feels just like that. Open a bottle of soda quickly and notice the sound and the fog that forms in the top of the bottle. Same thing, bigger soda bottle.) Everyone did a bit of a doubletake and went for the quick don oxygen masks, and flipped the regulator to 100% O2, EMERGENCY, which delivers 100% oxygen to the mask under pressure. The pilot started an emergency descent while the co-pilot got on the radio and informed ATC that we had a rapid decompression and was declaring an emergency and was descending from FL180 to 10,000. We landed safely. What an experience.

__________________

Found this today and it has me seeing red.
I don't have nearly as impressive a collection as this guy does, but still, I have to wonder how many of my neighbors would be caught blabbering on their stoop about how "Outbreak didn't seem radical. He sure didn't seem like the type of guy that would have those types of weapons."
Oh, yeah? What types of weapons are those? The kind that put holes in paper targets, or soda cans, or the type that can, but never have, put holes in goblins who would threaten my life? Or are you talking about the kind that can kill animals for food?
I have them all. Some are scary military style guns. They were designed to be rugged, reliable, and reasonably accurate. Thats why I like them. They are effective.

But what type of guy owns these weapons?
Do they have to be crazy? Do they have to have malicious intent? Bank robbers? School shooters? no.
Ordinary people legally and responsibly own many more guns than this guy. The only thing it would appear this guy did wrong was live in New Joisey. That and maybe fail to use his impressive arsenal to protect himself and his property against a bunch of jack booted thugs, intent on forcibly removing his Constitutional Right to keep and bear arms.
And then the quote from one of the detectives about how the BATFE has decried that every multiple purchaser is suspicious. Thats only in states where they find out about multiple purchases. I'll never be flagged in Texas or Florida. They don't care how many guns I have, as long as I'm not a felon. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has it in their silly little heads that they can just run around the country violating people's Constitutional rights and get away with it. When I am elected to some sort of federal office (fat chance. I probably couldn't even stomach the campaign.) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will cease to be a gubment agency and become a chain of convenience stores by the same name.

A Name You Trust

I find myself chuckling every time I see a commercial for AARP on TV. They claim to represent the Greatest Generation, and now the aging baby boomers, with their socialist agenda of cheap/free healthcare for old people, life insurance, auto insurance discounts, etc.
Their products aren't funny. Their marketing is. Every commercial includes the part where they have to remind the old coots that AARP is "a name you trust." Are their members so senile and gullible that all they need is a reminder that they trust this organization to buy into their crap? "Well, this sounds too good to be true. Who is this AARP that cares so much about me? Oh, they're a name I trust. Well thats swell. I believe them now."
I wonder what will happen with my generation. We still don't think we'll ever get old, but we're also the laziest generation to achieve adulthood. We expect everything handed to us, so I'm sure in 30 years we'll be gobbling up those discount cards and taking solace in the fact that AARP is a "name we trust."

Let it Sink

Hurricane Gustav hit New Orleans yesterday and, once again, the damages are expected to be in the billions. And once again, the American taxpayers are picking up the tab.
We picked up the bill for Katrina back in 2005. We saw FEMA utterly fail in the preparation department, and we've been picking up the pieces ever since. We were assured that New Orleans was prepared this time around, and the initial signs were there. They evacuated over 2 million residents in plenty of time to get to safety before the storm. The levies held, if just barely.
But now we're hearing that much of it was luck. The coverage I saw on the news showed the levies being almost over run. Water was pouring over them with each wave. But the storm hit almost 80 miles from New Orleans, as a Category 2 storm. The forecasts expected a Cat 3 storm just 30 miles from the city. The storm surge only reached about 9-10 feet, instead of the predicted 16-18 feet. So what happens when a real Cat 3 storm, or another Katrina at Cat 4 or 5, hits New Orleans head on? Did they really rebuild for just a Cat 2 Hurricane in the aftermath of a Cat 5?
I think another good question the American taxpayers should be asking is why should we throw more money at a city that sits in a swamp below sea level when their disaster preparations are so obviously half-assed? I say, let it sink.

Finally, A Candidate I Can Vote For

At long last, John McCain chose a running mate in Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. After months of going with the slogan "I love my country more than I hate John McCain," (a bit more extreme than my actual beliefs, but it has a nice ring to it) There's finally a Republican on a presidential ticket.
I don't like Hussein Obama for the obvious and well known reasons. But my biggest issue with Obama is one he shares with McCain; they're Flip-Floppers. McCain has gone from Democrat to Independent to Republican, but mostly in name, and not always in practice. I've been unhappy with two democrats running for office, but now there's a light at the end of the tunnel- Sarah Palin.
I, like most Americans, had never heard of her. The details came pretty quickly, both good and bad. Fortunately, the bad details have been taken off the table by none other than Obama himself, stating that family issues, namely her baby son who has Down Syndrome, and her pregnant teenage daughter, are off limits.
Now for the good.
I read Palin's bio on both the Alaska State web-page and on Wikipedia. Both show her as a tough leader who sticks to her beliefs and analyzes her position constantly. There have been issues where she has changed positions, such as the "Bridge to Nowhere," but from what I've read, the changes were always based on changing circumstances and logic. Thats what we need. We don't need leaders who stand by bad decisions, even shown later evidence that those decisions were bad. We also don't need leaders who change their opinions based on what will bring more votes.
She is also noted to have strong conservative beliefs. She is a lifelong hunter and Lifetime Member of the NRA, strongly pro-life, and has strong family values.
She also has a more impressive resume in politics than Obama. She served a full two terms as a city Mayor, and was Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner until being voted governor of Alaska in 2006. She visited troops in Iraq and wounded soldiers in Germany over a year before Obama needed...I mean decided to go see the troops(he didn't really visit) and campaign in Germany. Compare that to his two years as a Senator; the other two years since he was elected have been spent on the campaign trail.
I don't need to paraphrase all the good stuff I've read about Sarah Palin when you can go read it all on Alaska's website and Wiki. All I know is I can vote for McCain this November with a clear conscience.

Gone to the dogs

In most places, dog owners are required by law to pick up after their pets. North Little Rock is no different. In fact, they provide baggies in popular dog-walking areas. So why is it that for the third time in my month living here, do I find a trail of presents in the stairwell?
My apartment building markets itself as high class "Luxury Apartment Homes." There are expensive cars in the gated parking garage, a Wine Room where people can store their vino in a nice wood cabinet under ideal conditions, beautiful people sunning themselves at two pools, etc. But there are also designer toy dogs who apparently can't hold it till they get outside, and owners who are either too good to pick up their poo, or think their crap doesn't stink and neither does their dogs'. They leave the designer turds right in the middle of the stairwell, to be warmed throughout the day so its aroma may spread up all five floors, so everyone can enjoy it.
Is it so hard to pick up your dog crap? Its not my responsibility; I don't have a dog. Its not the maintenance guys' job to clean up after your dog either. Its the owners' jobs.
So, go grab a free baggie, and pick up your crap. Better yet, take the damn animal OUTSIDE to do his business.

What's with Customer Service?

What has happened to customer service? We put up with steadily declining customer service issues every day. I run into tons of problems every time I move. Cable, internet, phone, etc. I can say, so far, that DirecTv has decent service. They seem to be one of the few that understand that I have a job and can't be home to meet a technician at 11AM. They scheduled me for a 12-5 appointment, but the tech called and said he came by at 2PM while I was at work, and he scheduled me for his last stop of the day at 5pm. He was already in my building so it worked out for everyone. Great job!
The folks at AT&T are another story. It was a month from the time I called to start my DSL service that I actually had a reliable internet connection. The tech showed up a week after that. They kept trying to schedule my appointment between 8am and 5pm. I politely told them that I have a job which expects me to be there during those hours. Sure I get off early a lot of days, but my schedule usually has me there till 3 or 4 pm.
Most people have a regular 9-5 job. How do these companies expect consumers to be home during normal business hours? They have jobs, but they don't seem to think anyone else does.
A friend had to call the cable company today after work, at about 4:30PM. They had not only shown up EXACTLY when he said he wouldn't be available, but tried to schedule him for next week. He politely told the woman on the other end of the phone that next week was simply unacceptable. After explaining that we cannot just take the day off, she finally agreed to schedule an appointment for tomorrow morning since our schedule has us coming in around noon.
It would take me a whole post to talk about how computers have taken all the intelligence out of customer service, so I'll leave that for the next time a representative tells me "well, sir, the computer won't let us do that."

Why Waste Money On Education

This is an older rant, transferred from facebook.


I'm not talking about paying for college or even to go to a good private high school or grade school. I went to private school from K-12 and college, as did many of my friends.
My question is, why does the government even bother pissing away money on public education. I've discovered it doesn't work. I just read a run-on sentence on a forum that was only rivaled by the next poster and his marathon of a speech. Both lacked any sort of punctuation except ellipses, which were found in abundance. Do they replace a period? I was never taught that technique to end a sentence...
I'm glad some of you caught that.

For those that didn't, you problaby wouldnt n otice the spelending errors in this sennance ithre. I had a hard time understanding what these idiots were writing because they've obviously never heard of a spell check. Right now, this post is bleeding red from the automatic spell checker in Firefox. It doesn't understand my sense of irony.

The posts that inspired this rant are not isolated incidents. I am a member of another forum that has rules about grammar and spelling, so readers don't start thinking that all pilots are deaf, dumb, and illiterate. I fully support that move. Take a minute to proofread what you publish. I do it for everything from 2-line emails to posts like this. It takes 5 minutes.

And before I get a flood of emails about being some elitist, spoiled, rich private school kid (because I doubt anyone would catch the fact that I began this sentence with a conjunction) I do know plenty of publicly educated people who do not read, write, and spell like they are natives of Greenbow Alabama or Lead medal winners in the West Virginia Special Olympics. I also know that these flaming piles of stupid that are causing Nuns the world over to roll in their graves did not have the benefit of private schooling, where we have F's that mean FAIL. The verbal performances I have been privy to would have been met with poor grades, then extra help or tutoring to bring the little dolt up to speed. Obviously, these dunces were wards of the state somewhere where the only thing they were taught was that failure is still rewarded with a Good Enough Diploma. Education is not something to be recited from a lesson plan regardless of individual needs. It is obvious that no child is left behind; the trip never started.

If you disagree, feel free to reply. I will proofread every comment before I reply. Any post that would be rewarded with a ruler across the knuckles will be deleted promptly, unless it's funny.

Here it is

After Dad, amused by my recent emails, suggested I start writing, I started thinking. If Dad likes it, everyone will. So here it is.
The blog carries the only decent name I could come up with: Outbreak. Its the name I was given by my peers at Navigator school, and the only "call sign" of its type that actually stuck. Don't ask how I got it. It is a much disputed topic within the former Party Flight as to whether it resulted from a sneeze or a cough, but it doesn't really matter.
I'm just starting out with this whole blog thing, so don't expect any sort of regular frequency for a while, if ever. Topics will be widely varied, consisting of whatever is on my mind and I deem worthy of posting. I also don't know the mechanics of this site yet, but as I learn, the blog may become more complex. It will come in time.
From what I can tell so far, the site does allow for comments. I welcome comments, but I have some guidelines. First, my biggest peeve on the internet is the functionally illiterate slamming away at keyboards without punctuation, spell check, or any indication of coherent thought. I will not tolerate the murder of the queen's English, so to speak. I will edit or delete replies containing run on sentences, horribly misspelled words, or wanton misuse of "there," "their," and "they're. On the same note, if you notice any instance of improper grammar or misspelling, call me out. In the rare instance this occurs, I'll be happy to fix it.
Second, keep the comments constructive, appropriate, clean, and on topic. I'll delete anything that doesn't, at least loosely, relate to the topic at hand or I wouldn't want Mom reading, because she just might. If you can't adhere to these simple guidelines (you know who you are), just email me or IM me.
Finally, for my protection and that of those I'm sure I'm going to talk about, I won't be using real names. Please don't use any in the comments either. If you want to post your own name, go for it. Otherwise, stick to aliases. I'm sure there will be some frequent appearances.
Thats all I got at the moment. Welcome to my ramblings.