Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Undying

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This is the scariest game I’ve ever played.  More than Doom 3, the Marine missions in AVP, or FEAR… which are all my top choices of a scary gaming goodness… But Undying holds the crown.  The graphics suck and the combat dynamics are “interesting”… the story is pretty good for a Video Game’s rationalization to go around and kill everything.  What sets it apart is the Characters and the Environment.  The lighting effects, the sound effects, and the music combine to create an immersive environment that few games can even get close to.  While I consider myself to be very jaded and disconnected, Undying really sucked me in to that world.  And that world scared me.  There was one area in the game that was pretty much empty of monsters, but the mood and the music worked together to really creep me the heck out.  Undying is the only Horror-FPS game, or any Horror Game, that made me throw a NOPE grenade, unplug the computer, and walk away.  UNDYING did that to me.  It’s never happened before or since… but I had to pull the power cord, get up, and walk away, because I was freaked the hell out.

You know how you have your 1 horror movie that freaked you out the most when you first saw it?  For me that’s EVENT HORIZON.  Well, Undying is that – in a video game.

PatrickGalloway

This is the character you play.  Patrick Galloway.  He’s a Post WW1 Era Scottish version of Neo/Mr. Anderson or a Dr. Gordon Freeman.  He can use bottles of flaming liquid, a revolver, a shotgun or a slingshot from that guy on Youtube that makes crazy slingshots.  And in the other hand, he can use Magic.  And he’s left handed.  Clive Barker said that he wanted to make this character sexy, as he is gay and wanted a character that held his attention.  The result is that unlike other FPS Game characters you get to know Patrick Galloway… your alter-ego as play through and get sucked into the Undying world.

Being written by Clive Barker, it’s going to have some depth, some darkness, and a enough Batshit to build Crazy Town with.    Clive… is a guy that’s really not right in the head.  He makes Stephen King look like a school teacher, and Dean Koontz look like a sunday school teacher.  So some aspects of what he writes is just oh so very wrong.  There’s a lot of Wrongness in this game.  Here’s the thing though… It works.  And it’s scary.  And it’s a hard game, which means you are not going to be breezing through it.  You have to investigate things, and figure things out, and it’s not going to be easy.

I’d like to see this game redone on a better game engine with better graphics.  And I’d like to see the ending cleaned up and some other things tweaked… but overall it really stands on it’s own.  Maybe though… maybe it’s best that the Graphics remain poor.  Because maybe it would be too much if it was any more “realistic”.

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FNH shows some Leadership

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Congratulations to FNH for showing some serious leadership in the SHOT Industry.  Something EVERY company that’s involved in the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade industry.
Partnering with TREAD LIGHTLY!.

994325_10201226366874642_910207755_n (1)This sends the right message.   To everyone.  From our fellow shooters, to everyone that enjoys the outdoors for all reasons.  My brother in law Sage Wheeler taught me to appreciate our lands more than I had thought about.  I’m not an Environmentalist by any means, but I am one that is concerned.  I’ve spend many hours in the desert filling up the back of my Chevy 4×4 and my Ford Bronco full of garbage and crap to take to the landfill.  Couches, Appliances, Chairs, TV’s, Computers… All of them… Everything… riddled with bullet holes.  Sure, I made my share of holes… But then I came back and cleaned up what I could.  Because the #1 reason our shooting areas are getting closed off – is because we tolerate those that use those areas as a dumping ground.   That has to stop.  If it doesn’t, we’re going to lose all of it.

Thanks, Sage.  And thank you, FNH.

Automotive, Uncategorized

Designs

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Looking at the newest Fords and Chevy’s one thing is clear… Ford is slipping.   Ford is concentrating on making everything look like generic Aston Martins.  Including the new 2015 Mustang.  Now, I’m really digging the new Mustang.  A lot.  I mean… a lot…  Love it.  But when all the cars are starting to look the same way… it waters the Ford brand down.

Ford-Fusion-3dCarbon-body-kit-000
Chevy is doing much the same with all their cars… The Cruze, the Malibu, the SS… they all look the same from the front.  This is disappointing.   Honestly, it’s hard to tell them apart on the street.  Save for the Camaro and the Corvette.. They all look they came out of the OctoMom.  I’m not saying that they look bad individually… But when you walk around a Dealership… It’s a shallow gene-pool.  It’s like the same guy just phoned in the designs.

2014-chevy-Volt
Making everything in your brand look the same… isn’t making it all look like Family.  It makes everything look Inbred.  This may have worked for British Royals through the middle ages… but it doesn’t work for me.  I don’t know about you.  What do you guys think about that?
I think where designs have really taken off, is with the interiors.

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A changing world

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Vladimir Putin is more popular than ever and is going to take the Ukraine with little effort.
Canada is getting itchy.
Scotland is going to split off from the United Kingdom.
Maryland State Police seem to be pissing on the Constitution more than Capitol Hill Insiders.

These are interesting times.  What should we do about all this?

What we need to do, is to get a grasp of our own legacy.  Our American heritage… our American Spirit.  American Exceptionalism.   To quote Mufasa, “You have forgotten who you are.”
We need to remember.

 

Automotive, Gear, Training, Uncategorized

Overland

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If you say Off Roading to different people, it’s going to mean different things.  And I don’t pretend to be an expert at anyone of them, but I’ve tried them…
Rock Crawling has never had much appeal to me.  Fighting your vehicle over obstacles may be fun for some… Twisting axels and drive shafts and blowing your tire’s bead off the rims… no, I don’t consider that fun.  Sure, it’s fun to watch others do it.  But I’ve never been tempted to do it for sport.  I’ve done it a couple times out of necessity in my Bronco or my Scotsdale… but I only did it to get out of areas I got into and had no other way out of.  No, I’ll avoid rock crawling as much as possible.
I’ve never liked Mudding either.  Sure it can be fun, but it can get you stuck tighter than anything else.  See, the Earth doesn’t like Mud Boggers and Mother Earth strives to punish them… Sucking them down ever deeper into her grasp.   I was once stuck for over 14 hours when I went Mudding with some folks in Washington State.  We were so stuck, a couple of us had to hike out to find Search and Rescue.   The Rescue vehicle showed up, pulled them out (While me and another fellow hung out at the Rescue Station and waited for them to make it back) and then got stuck them selves.   That cured me of all my desire for Mudding.   And then as further punishment, the Mud will get into your axles and bearings and everywhere else it can cause havoc and if you don’t get it washed out good – will act as a grinding compound to eat your vehicle alive.  No, no thank you.
Now then there is Overlanding.   This is my kind of off roading.  Overlanding is about traveling.  It’s about going some place, not just getting through some thing.  The way I see it, Overlanding has a point.  A destination as well as the journey.
I see a lot of Off Road vehicles guys are setting up and a lot of them just make me scratch my head.  What are they set up for?   To me, it seems they are set up for looks only.  Some look like they could be set up for Mudding or Rock Crawling until you look closer.  Few are set up to be an actual Bug Out Vehicle, yet that’s what their owners are saying they are.  I’m sorry, but Jeep is cool with your 454 on a stock 18 gallon tank turning 44″ tires isn’t going to get you much distance, so I hope you are not Bugging too far Out.
To me, a good Bug Out Vehicle has to be a good Overland Vehicle.  Imagine it this way… You have to get from one coast to the other, without going on a Freeway or passing through a city and avoiding as much population as possible, and avoiding Points of Entry along the way.  Now plot that course out.  You may have to take some trails or fire roads.  You may have to cross open BLM Land.  Forestry Trails.  Follow power line trails.
Okay, let’s get serious here.  Think about your Zombie Plan.  Your SHTF Plan.  Your Bug Out Plan… Where are you Bugging Out too? How are you going to get there.  Now think about who you are taking with you.  Okay, now think about what you are going to need.  Now think about how you are going to take that with you.  Yeah, just having a 4×4 isn’t the solution.   You may not actually need a 4×4.  If your plan is just “getting up into the mountains”… You need a better plan.
This is where Overlanding has some good value.  It’s like a how we go to Shooting Courses to learn the art of gunfighting… but for Bugging Out.  Get out there… get into the wilderness. Get away from Wi-Fi.  Disconnect from things.  And put yourself to the Bug Out Test.  By actually Bugging Out for awhile.
Man, I do miss my Chevy Scotsdale 4×4 right now.

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Frequently Asked Questions from Facebook Messages.

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What is your favorite pistol?
Depends on the intended use.  Since I mostly talk about defense use of firearms, I’m guessing you are talking about my favorite defensive pistol… In that case it’s the Glock 23.   I’m sure most readers are shocked about that.  (Sarcasm) Overall and ultimately, the favorite pistol that I posses is my 1911.  It’s a bone stock Springfield 1911 GI model and it is my favorite handgun.  While I do not shoot it or even talk about it with any regularity, it holds a special fondness in my heart that I can’t explain, and if I had to explain it to you then you would not understand.  My favorite gun to just “plink with” would probably be my Beretta 92FS.  And I can’t explain that either.

What is your favorite caliber?
Again, depends on the purpose… overall and ultimately my favorite cartridge is probably the .17HMR. That little round continues to baffle and amaze me.  It’s insanely accurate and the damage that the .17 Hornady V-Max load is capable of is almost supernatural.  If you are talking defensive cartridges for handguns, well, 10mm but I am economically disadvantaged to enjoy it as much as my appetite for it allows.  So I satisfy myself with the shorter and weaker version called the “.40 S&W”.    For big bore rifle hunting, 7mm Remington Magnum is my pick for longer range hunting while .45-70 is my choice for closer range work.  However anything I can do with .45-70, I can probably do and would rather do with a 12 Gauge Slug.

If you had to “Pick Just One”?
That’s easy, and I’ve said it before… If I could only have just one gun, it would be a Remington 870 12 Gauge.  Potent and versatile, I can hunt anything from humming birds to African Elephants by just using the right shell for the job.  And I’ve hit targets with it from 0 to 400 yards (Have Witnesses) with my 18″ smooth bores, nothing fancy or specialized.

Do you still hate the AR-15?
No.  When I wrote “That” the AR-15 was finicky and troublesome, and I personally had several that were completely useless as rifles.  Moving on from that time, the AR-15 platform has had a lot of development and people have generally figured out how to build them to run.  Now days, even a cheap entry level AR from a 3rd tier maker is going to run pretty well if you take care of it.  And a good one will run pretty well even if you don’t.  My current rifles have reliability records that I would not have believed when I wrote the Why I Hate The AR-15 article.  Daniel Defense remains my top choice for an off the shelf rifle.  Crusader Weaponry for a custom rifle.

 

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Nightmare

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Woke up from a nightmare that I can’t stop thinking about.  It was extremely vivid and real.  HD Dream.  Sight, sound, smell… and when I woke up, I could still feel the phantom pains of my injuries.
In the dream,  I was leading my youngest child to the car.  It was night and I was parked in a dark area of a large parking lot filled with vehicles.   I put my boy in the car, walked around and got in… and suddenly this huge guy made of darkness that smelled of coal and burned rubber jumped me.  He started grabbing me through the open window.  I had to fight him off from a position of disadvantage.  He had a box cutter.  I had a gun, but it was not chambered and I struggled to get it loaded while fighting this dark – thing. I was getting cut badly, but finally got my gun into play.  Keeping my left arm high, I emptied the gun under it and into the Attacker, who fell away.  The muzzle blast was ferocious with heat, light, and concussion.   My boy was screaming.  I had blood everywhere. There was lots of pain. 
And then I woke up.

I can’t stop thinking about this dream.

My situational awareness was high.  But everything was wrong and I knew it.  Where I parked, the window down, the gun in Condition 3.  

I can only come to one conclusion.
I need a new gun.

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Celebrity Addicts.

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Another Celebrity has killed himself with drugs.  Many say he was a good actor. Lots of talent. That this is a terrible loss.
Yet I’ve got no sympathy for this. 
He was making millions of dollars for a few days worth of work.  He had everything the American Dream could ever offer.  A List, as they say. Yet he chose to do drugs… because he was unhappy because his life felt hollow and meaningless.
Why is that?
Probably because it was hollow and meaningless.  He chose a more selfish path… of indulgence and self gratification.  He didn’t do what he could have done… make a difference in the world.  I’m sorry… playing make belive in front of a camera isn’t making a difference.   He’s not helping people.
He’s not being a part of things… and thats why he was unhappy.  He knew it and that’s why he was found with a needle in his arm. He was running away from life… being selfish.   It’s the most pathetic end.  And I have no sympathy for it.

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Unicorns

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A good Browning High Power has always been my #1 Unicorn. Followed very closely by #2, a SIG P210.
Those are so close as to be more like 1 and 1.2…

The Browning is a very special pistol to me.  Not that I’ve some nostalgia for it… but I’ve just always held it in high regard.  The pistol is almost as historic as the 1911 and is considered by many to be John Moses Browning’s crowning achievement in handguns.
The SIG has it’s own merits that make it extremely desirable.  One is it’s fabled accuracy. The other is its accuracy.  The downside to the SIG P210 is that it’s a very expensive pistol.  It requires a lot of machining processes, which naturally increase it’s cost.  But there is a cult following of the 210 that doesn’t allow used 210′s at reasonable prices to be found.  Those that are put on the market are snagged up so quick it’s insane.  Now that SIG is officially making them again, it’s going to mean new used 210′s on the market, so hopefully this changes.  But most guys who buy one, and shoot it, do not sell them off.  I’ve yet hear anyone that has actually owned one that said they didn’t like it.  Not one.  I’ve heard some guys who’s borrowed one sour grapes..

 

More on this later.