To Blog or not to Blog

If you think you want to Blog… Go for it.  Just do it.  Its easy.
Oh, wait… you want to have a successful blog?  Define successful first.
First thing you need though, is something to say.  If you just want to run your mouth, use Twitter or Facebook. If you want to really publish your words, then Blog.
The best way to do it is to pick a topic or two, or even three. These are you main subjects and stick to those.  These should be subjects you are knowledgeable about.
Blog regularly, but make sure you have a point.
Blog for yourself.  If you have an audience then great.
Don’t look at Blog Stats.  Just do what you do.
If you don’t suck, people will dig it.  If they don’t, who care? You blog for yourself.  If you stay true to this, people will dig it.

I am considering, very strongly, starting a new blog.  This would be a Food/Road/Character blog.  A division of MadOgre.com.  Not a replacement.  If/When I do that, I’m going to kill my Facebook Account and just concentrate on my blogs and WTA.

Post Election Violence

The media is throwing their arms in the air because there might be riots if Obama loses the election.
Huh.
I’d be more worried about the possible Civil War if Obama wins.

I feel that no matter what happens, there will be blood. Its just a matter of degree.  If all we have are some overturned and burnt cars is a few of the big cities, then we will be lucky.  A few riots is probably the best case scenario. 

I remain optimistic about the future of our Nation, only because I am optimistic that Romney will win.  I can see things getting back to normal.  If Obama wins… the Nation will forever be changed into something it was never meant to be.

Nexus 7 Update

So the Droid developers just pushed an OS update for the Nexus 7 Tablet. From 4.1.1 to the shiny new 4.1.2. All that I’ve seen different is that I can go “Landscape” at the desktop screen. They have said that it contains some minor bug fixes as well. But the download was over 31 Megs worth. That seems to be a rather substantial download to go Landscape and fix a few bugs.
But something did happen there under the hood.  This new Jelly Bean seems to be a bit quicker than before and it seems to be a bit better on the battery.  It has taken what was a good little Tablet, and made it better.

Now that I’ve been using the Nexus 7 for awhile now, what are my impressions?  Well, it could use a few key features for the next version.  A Memory Card Slot would be slick.  User Replaceable batteries is another.  Or the option of getting an Extended battery would be great too.  I like the size, but I’d happily have it twice as thick if it had more battery run time.  As it is, the battery life is great.  I can go 2 or 3 days with normal use or all day if I’m pounding it.

It can do a lot of things.  Email, WordPress, Tapatalk, all your normal Droid features.  Mainly it’s a Communication Appliance for me.  But what makes it especially handy for me is that I can connect it to a Blue Tooth Keyboard and then use if for actual writing.  Like what I’m doing with it right now.  When done, it goes into the Tank Bag and the Nexus rides in a Pelican Case, in the Tank Bag as well.  Not a full sized backpack like my Laptop has to ride in.  I really like that bit.  Being a Motorcyclist, size is everything to me.  And this little 7″ unit is about perfect.  It’s big enough to read magazines on it just fine, while not being obnoxious like some other tablets I’ve seen.  It has a very good Wireless system and gets a better Wireless system than several tablets that I’ve seen.

I’ve found the Nexus to be very useful and I like it.  It’s not a Laptop Replacement, but it handles many of my computing needs.

Enter The Beretta


Beretta’s have been passe and over played for a long time now… Since the first Mel Gibson Lethal Weapon movie.  Robocop packed a Beretta.  The Grammaton Clerics of “Equilibrium” packed them.  The Matrix was probably the last of the big Beretta Block Busters.

The Original 92. Note the Safety Position.

And people kinda got tired of seeing them.  So they pretty much disappeared from the Big Screen.  Replaced by Stainless finished Glocks quite often.

Well, Beretta came back big time in TAKEN 2.  A long extended Chase Scene featuring Beretta 92FS‘s, 90-Two, and Storm Pistols.   And they looked awesome on the Silver Screen.

Yeah, still looks awesome.

But is this a good thing?  I mean, isn’t the Beretta old school 80’s?

We all know the US Army just purchased a freaking ton of them, making it the handgun for the US Military for at least another 5 years.  Probably longer.  Why?  Because the 92FS is a very high quality pistol with reliability like the Sun Rise.   They are super smooth, consistent, accurate, soft shooting, and extremely safe handguns.  I will argue they have the safest of actions of any semi-auto handguns.   Yet, when they are run properly, they are just as fast as anything else.

The Classic…

The other handgun that US Military uses is the SIG P226 and the 228… Which are very good indeed, but during the Handgun Trials, the Beretta did indeed outperform the SIG’s.  You can argue that all you want, but the Beretta won it.  And if you were on the selection board, you would have given the Beretta the nod too.  I think what makes the 92 so good is what makes it so distinctive… That open slide.  A common upgrade to many handguns is to open up the ejection port.  I’ve never heard of anyone wanting to open up the 92 anymore.  Clear ejection.  Any gunk getting in there gets blown back out too.  The feed geometry is ideal.  It’s almost a straight shot in from the magazine into the chamber.  Unlike a 1911 or other guns which makes the cartridge have to do some gymnastics to get loaded.    And then there is the locking block.  Under the barrel there is a winged wedge-like block.  This is what locks and unlocks the action, allowing the 92 to be naturally and inherently smooth… Probably the smoothest action of any locked breach handgun.

Is that an Elite II?

The classic 92FS is also a very good looking handgun.  It looks cool.  There is something wrong with you if you can’t appreciate the lines and curves of the 92… It just looks like what a handheld weapon should look like.  And I think the newest version of the 92 looks awesome.

If there is any downside to the 92, it’s the size.  The 92 is indeed a large handgun.  But then again, it’s supposed to be.  It was designed to be a Full Sized, Duty Sidearm.  For the guys out there packing only a handgun in their Fight against Evil, the Beretta was comforting, it had some heft, sure, but it also had something few other handguns had… a huge capacity. 15 Rounds!  Back then, that was amazing.  Now, 15 isn’t a huge capacity… but then again, I’ve not seen a guy that can shrug off 15 rounds of well placed 9mm hits.  A big gun is a comfortable gun for shooting… felt recoil… accuracy… They are just easier to go the distance with than a small gun.

Look at the swept lines… Sexy!

Beretta is the oldest company on the planet.  They know how to make a good product.  Sure, they have had a few flops… Such as the 9000 model.  But overall, you can’t beat Beretta’s track record.

We’ve seen a marked upswing in Beretta sales locally.  They are coming back in popularity, so expect to see more of them in the Media and Cinema.

Zombies Still Rule

Zombies are still the Ultimate Horror Creature.   At no point are Zombies a Romantic Figure or Anti-Hero.  At no point are people trying to Make Peace with the Zombies.  At no point is there an attempt to Understand the Zombies.  Because they are fucking Zombies and absolutely Haunt humanity.

Zombies are in the Bible:

Zechariah 14:12-13
And the LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand.

Zombies are even in the very oldest of our stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh:

I will raise up the dead, and they will devour the living,
I will make the dead outnumber the living!

Zombies are found in every era, in every culture, in every country in the world.  They scare us more than anything else and have always done so.  And they always will.   Which is why Zombies are like Bacon.  They make everything better.  Even my Music Playlist is Zombie Heavy

Gunfightercast vs MadOgre

Just a heads up.  There is going to be a little competition at some point in the future, next year.  An M4 Throw Down, between myself and Daniel “Shaw of Japan”.
The Smack has been Talked.
See, last year Daniel and I had a little competition going on with Pistols.  I won.
The Young Jarhead wants to take on the Old Grunt on his terms now… Carbines.  I’m Game.
But I think I want to make this something more.   Let’s take bets… Donations… With the pot going to The Wounded Warrior Foundation.
The Challenge should be a tactical scenario perhaps?  Such as a Kill House or Jungle Walk… Timed of course, but with accuracy deductions, like IDPA scoring.    Shaw of Japan, since he lost last time, gets to go first here.  He sets the pace on his run.  A Judge will also award or deduct points based on his Tactical Performance…. IE, use of cover during a reload, slicing the pie, etc.   After he does it, then I make the run.  To be fair… Neither of us will see the course of fire ahead of time.

 

Zero Distance

I think I am going to Re-Zero all of my Long Range Arms for 300 Yards. Take your favorite Killing Guns, get out your favorite Ballistic Calculator and really look at your Trajectories. Between your 0 yard and your normal 100 or 200 yard zero range, look at the highest point in the arc to that range. Now change your zero range and push it out to 300 yards. Really not much effective difference there is it? Now take a look at the trajectory between your zero to 400 yards at both 100 or 200 compared to a 300 yard zero. Here’s what I’m seeing. I hold on the Kill Zone regardless of range. No more of this “Hold on the top of it’s back” BS. At most, even with a gun that drops a lot, such as a .308 or .30-06, I might hold at the top of the kill zone – but I’m still aiming for Kill Zone and hitting in Kill Zone. This works out especially well with the Magnums and their flatter trajectories. The old stand by of 100 yard zeroes is still needed for some guns, but for your Hunting guns, it doesn’t make any sense. And that wild ass guess of “Two Inches High at 100” is starting to kinda do the same thing, but without actually knowing what your gun is doing. So next time I go out to zero, I’ll start at 100 to know where I am at, then push it out and actually zero at 300.

The Perfect Line

There is no feeling like finding the perfect body position, leaning the bike over… you have the perfect entry speed… and you find that perfect line.  You and your bike are one and you cut the apex like a Neurosurgeon.  The aches and pains from a long day at work are far behind you.  You don’t feel your age anymore.  You just feel the Speed and the Road, and the Revs of the Engine as you look through the turn at what’s out there.  The tires are gripping, but at that hairy edge… but you roll on the throttle and bust out of the curve like a Patriot Missile, just almost kissing the outside of the lane.  The perfect line.

There is no other feeling like it.  None.

I had that Perfect Line tonight.  My God it was amazing!  My knee had been hurting bad. But then suddenly… I didn’t feel it anymore. Lost in the unadulterated thrill of murdering that apex and I could feel the front tire raise off the ground at the exit. It was like a beautiful High that I wish you guys could have felt. I wish you could have been there!

It’s Marketing, Remington. You need some.

The .260 Remington is a great round.  Don’t think so?  We’ll get to that later…

Check out the 6.5 Creedmore.  The Rifle Shooter’s Darling Cartridge.  It leaps tall buildings.  It is Sub-MOA to a Grand.  It’s made of accuracy.  It’s everyone’s favorite round.  Right?

Well, how come the 6.5 Creedmore is so popular when the .260 Remington isn’t?   Ballistic-wise, they are almost identical with the .260 actually having a slight performance edge.  Accuracy?  Sixes really. But 6.5 Creedmore is the one people are looking for.

The difference is Marketing.  Remington doesn’t know how to do it.  They had something good YEARS before the Creedmore came out and Remington let it flop.  Basically overall performance is like a .25 WSSM, before that round came and went.  It’s one people are always asking for too… yet there is the .260, sitting there, ignored.  Even by Remington!    It makes no sense.  They should be all over the .260.    But they just don’t get it.