Comedy Gold

Over at Unc's place...the internet has finally been won.  Not the post, but the comments containing Red Coats, Nazis, Wookies, Wisconsin Democrats, Hillary Clinton, ATF agents, Orcs, and so much more.

I know you didn't ask to have a half hour of your day taken up by reading comments to a 101 work post, but seriously what else were you going to do at work on a Friday?

They Do Exist

In case anyone was wondering, Magpul really did finally get around to making iPhone cases.  I ordered mine from Midway USA about a year ago.  When I ordered it I still had a 3g iPhone instead of the 4g I have now.  I also had a different expiration date on my credit card.  I actually had to call the fine folks at Midway to give them my new card info.

Luckily, my wife still has a 3g iPhone and it happened to be in need of a case.  Other than it feeling like she has a grenade in her pocket, she seems to really like it.  It appears to be a sturdy product that will perform its intended function well.

Tron: Legacy

Jeff Bridges fights computer Jeff Bridges, on a bridge man.  On a bridge!

Srsly?

It's been really dry so far this winter.  It's been unseasonably warm, 52 F yesterday.  Does that really mean that it's time to water the lawn?  On the 26th of December, in a city that averages 17 inches of water annually, my neighbor is watering his slightly green lawn.

I suppose though when my kids are out riding their new bikes past his window, it seems like lawn watering makes sense.

Tactical Tim, Tebow Tim, Timmay, and...

When I see this:

I think of this:

and when I see this:

I think of this:

I don't know.  Maybe it's just me.

Holiday Ice Cream

If you ever find yourself in Denver, I recommend a trip to Magill's.  I just got done devouring egg nog and pumpkin flavored ice cream, and their rum raisin is to die for.

Mr. Major, Meet Mr. Minor

Colorado state law being crafted by politicians what it is.  The Republican party currently stands a good chance of being relegated to minor party status for the next four years.  Conservative minded voters in this state don't want the Western Mayor Against all Illegal Guns Denverite Hickenlooper running the show statewide.  That means either voting for an inexperienced liar or Tom Tancredo.  Increasingly, it looks like Tancredo will be the one of the two who stands a chance of defeating Hick.

I have to admit that I would enjoy seeing the Republican candidate Maes get less than 10% of the vote.  The Republican party in this state truly lives up to the Stupid Party moniker.  The choices they gave primary voters were an experienced guy that no one really supported and an unknown that talked a good game.  It wasn't until after the primary race that more of the info about Maes' unsuitability to lead came to light.  Seeing the party that can't even produce a viable candidate for Governor relegated to minority party status would make me smile.

The problem is that they would not truly be a minority party and as GOP Chairman Dick Wadams has stated, they would simply try to change the law to again force a two party (donkeys and elephants only) system down our throats.  Maybe the Ds would get in the way and the American Constitution Party can replace the stupid party.  More likely it'll make for some entertainment to much popcorn to.

C'mon Bad Guys

I found this gem of an article over at the Denver Post on the stupidity of action movies.  I picked out my favorite part and tossed it below, but the whole thing is made of awesome sauce.  Clicking the quote gets you the full meal deal.

Five guys with machine guns can destroy everything breakable in a room and not even touch the Hero, who is usually diving behind the couch or something.
The couch — is the theory that the cushions deflect bullets because of all the coins lodged in there? And if he's behind the couch, why are the bad guys shooting the TV and the dishes and the pictures on the wall? And why don't the bad guys find their own couches to crouch behind, instead of standing out in the open hosing down the room with bullets?

Life Circles Back Around

I've been asked by my company to go and represent us at the career fair of my alma mater.  It got me to thinking about my senior year career fair back in 2001.  I was planning on talking to the company that I likely had a job with and making some other contacts in case things fell through.

The day didn't exactly turn out as I had planned.  My senior year career day was on September 11th.  I spent most of it in a hallway watching a TV that had been wheeled out and plugged into the wall.  There were about 10 of us that watched for most of the day.  I didn't go to class.  I didn't go to work.  I just stood there and watched.

Now I head back to career day and the prospects for many of the upcoming graduates are the same as mine were back then several days after September 11th.  I hope they all are as lucky as I was and find employment that leads them into a successful career.  Nine years removed, it is hard to believe that little has changed.

You Win This Time Tactical Tim

I resisted as long as I could, but in the end due to the amassing of excellent writers like Tam, Marko, and Caleb and the Advisory Board, I ended up renewing my membership.  Although I am still not enamored with Tactical Tim's writing style or especially his marketing style, I do like the selection of people he has chosen to surround himself with.

Here's hoping he convinces me to renew next year as well.

My Weekend

What did your weekend look like?

40.419452,-106.74566

Circle Of Life

I haven't been blogging much lately.  There are more than several reasons, but the chief one is this.

We have had a pond in the backyard since we moved in.  It wasn't very big or very deep.  The water didn't circulate well and there was no filter.  In short it was a PITA.  This summer I've been busting hump in order to expand, deepen, and generally improve the pond.  I'll have a post up later with some pond lessons learned.

I was out last night taking some pictures of the pond in order to show off my hard work when this guy showed up.

He stayed atop my fence for a long time.  I thought maybe he was thinking about doing a little fishing in my pond.  After about five minutes of watching him look around my backyard intently, he jumped down to a lower fence, flushed out the mouse, and before I could blink or snap a picture he flew off with his dinner.  The circle of life is everywhere.  It's even in the backyard of a nondescript house in the suburbs.

Tactical Tim

I'm a USCCA member and subscribed to the Concealed Carry Report.  I still haven't decided if I will re-up when my initial year is over.  On the one hand, they have some excellent writers in their magazine.  On the other hand, there's Tactical Tim.

I generally don't pay much attention to Tactical Tim, or anyone proclaiming themselves to be "Tactical".  Recently though, in the Concealed Carry Report there was a link to TT's "No B.S." review of the Springfield XD-45 compact.

I own and enjoy a full size XD-45 and was curious to see what TT thought of the compact.  After watching the video and reading the writeup, I have come to one conclusion.  Tactical Tim's "No B.S." reviews contain more B.S. than an arena right after a Professional Bull Rider three day show.

Just a few of Tactical Tim's misses.

• While it may feel similar to a Glock trigger, the XD is actually a single action trigger.  It is not as TT states numerous times a DAO handgun.
• Being a SA gun, the grip safety is less redundant than TT suggests in his review
• He hoped that the XD would fix all the issues a Glock has.  The XD has a great grip angle, issue solved.

Between the gun B.S. and the renew now B.S. I just don't know if it is time or money well spent.

Neighbors

This story of some local boys getting liquored up and playing with an "unloaded" handgun has a fairly predictable ending.  The comments however were a bit surprising.  My favorite below:

I know it's trite. I don't own a gun, but I was always told "never point a gun at anything you don't intend to shoot."

 Even guys that don't own guns know the rules, as it should be.  The guys commenting on this story are the kind of neighbors I would like to have.

Bear Aware

A good few number of folks head out camping around this time of year.  Just remember that there's bears in them thar hills.  You don't have to go deep into the back country to find them either.  Have fun and stay safe.

How to Use the Gun Blogger Glossary

In comments to the Gun Blogger Glossary post, Stingray of Atomic Nerds fame had this to say

This is tactical coffee. That other thing is just some midget spazzing while fumbling for his midget-heater in a tense moment because it wasn't in a gamerfag holster.

I might just have to add midget-heater to the glossary...

Where I Come From

We don't call them elks.  One, two, four, or a herd of 400, it is still elk.  Not only that, but I have no idea what an Elkette is even though I drove by the sign every day for three months.

While we're on the subject, I will admit to providing false answers to the question of, "What elevation do deer turn into elk?"

I realize how lucky I am to live near these animals, so I try not to bust anyone's balls when someone asks an off the wall question.  There are some questions though, like the one above that demand a creative answer.

Never Thought I'd See The Day

On my drive back to Denver, I was listening to the radio and I hear a radio ad for Green Mountain Guns, one of my favorite local gun shops.  I never thought I would hear them advertise on the radio, but there it was.  Then yesterday I was flipping through the channels on the teevee and there was an ad for Colorado Clays.

Local ads for gun stuff.  It's a good time to be a gun nut.

Where I've Been

Before today I hadn't posted in 8 days or so.  The reason is that right around that time I was informed that the project in New Mexico I was working on was almost out of money and no more was forthcoming.

I was also informed that I was among the 10 guys that were being sent home immediately.  The remaining 10 will be working to finish as much as they can until June or so.  The good news was, I was being sent home because they have enough work for me in Denver.

As you can imagine, I've been busy breaking a lease, returning a rental car and paying short term rates instead of long term ones, packing stuff that I thought I had 5 more months to pack, and generally getting ready to leave the Land of Enchantment for Colorful Colorado.

It's good to be back home.

Purdy

Every once in a while I find myself thinking that New Mexico is a pretty state.  Then I go back to Colorado and remember what amazing scenery is all about.

Not to say that New Mexico isn't pretty, it's just that my preferences run more towards the views on the north side of the border.