|
Something wicked this way comes... Project X Sunday, 4-30-06: The Crossroads of the West Gunshow: Dresses... they are selling dresses now at the gunshow. Don't get me wrong, the girls in the dresses modeling were very lovely. And with the tables of jewelry and scented candles and feminine hygiene products, I was starting to wonder if they were overflow booths from the home décor show in the next convention center over. Tables and tables of stuff that have nothing to do with shooting, hunting or the outdoors. Now, a part of me wants to say “Hey, it's all good and it's all for fun so just shut up and enjoy it.” I wanted to say that. But come on... I paid 9 bucks to enter this gun show, would it be too much to ask to expect some freaking guns up in here? Did I mention the dress models were pretty? I'll give them points for being easier on the eyes than the Grizzly Adams looking old codger behind the table a couple rows over, but still. This is a gunshow. So unless that dress has built in holsters or is made of Kevlar – Get Out. I don't care if some guys are saying “Well, it's something for the wife to go look at while she comes to the gun show with me.” No, that doesn't fly... I went into the home décor show next door and I didn't see any Hooters girls for the poor husbands dragged into that show. Pretty much if your wife agrees to come to a gunshow, she should be geared up to smell the Hoppe's #9 solvent and not jasmine and juniper candles.
The one really interesting thing at this gunshow was of course at the FBMG table. They had one of the Robinson Arms XCR rifles. This was the weapon from Utah to go up against HK and FN for the SOCOM contract.... it was rejected unfairly because RA didn't include a couple standard GI blank adapters. WTF? Attached is a photo of the XCR. Let me describe for you what it is, because this this is freaking cool. Take an FAL upper and match it to an AR lower, make it lighter than an AK, cover it in rails so you can configure the thing for any mission profile you could think of and then give it a folding stock. It radiates more cool than Pluto. Just looking at it you can see your breath. I think Alex Robinson is a gigantic dickhead – but damn if he can't design some really awesome shit. They are going for about 1600 bucks. Save your pennies. If you see one of these things, you are going to want it. If I had to choose between an XCR and an FN SCAR, well, that would be a choice that would keep me up at night. They are both fantastic and had the DOD not given RA the shaft like they did... the trials would have turned out to be very interesting. I've seen photos of the XCR before, but getting it in the hand... wow. Smaller and lighter than I was expecting... very slim. An impressive piece. Yet I have a suggestion. Get rid of the big FAL type spool of a charging handle and put on a folding L1A1 type handle. Not that the spool handle is a problem, it just seems a touch off and out of place. Do you know is weird? Guys with shaved heads and sideburns. What's up with that? Okay, I've got a little confession... I'm going to be in a Western Musical. An outdoor western freaking musical. I am going to have to sing at least one song too. I should never have done that damned ballet bit. Saturday, 4-29-06: So Rush Limbaugh finally got charged. After 3 years of illegal and unconstitutional investigations, they finally charged Limbaugh with something that nailed him only a 3 thousand dollar bail. Woopty freaking do. Guys, you get arrested for driving without insurance around here and your bail is more than that. Not only this 3 grand bail, but if he keeps his nose clean for 18 months they drop the charges. That's the best they could do after 3 years... Good job Florida Prosecutors! You guys really nailed a hard core criminal! In all seriousness, bullshit like this is product of obvious political witch hunting and not real criminal investigations. What is truly sad is that the system was working against a man suffering from pain and trying to seek relief... not because of what he did crossed ethical or legal boundaries... but because of his political position. Had Rush been anchoring Air America Radio, the media would have hushed this and the Prosecutors would have been looking for someone different to investigate. This is no victory for anyone... this is a defeat of liberty for everyone. Because now, investigators can go after your medical records without any solid reasons... with no probable cause... We all just lost a little more freedom. I feel sorry that Rush had to go through this... I know what it's like to live with constant pain. That they went after him instead of offering to help him shows that we are not in the right frame of mind here in America or there in Florida. When you live with such pain... I can't describe it... but it's absolute hell that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Not even Ted Kennedy. Well, maybe Kennedy. Lots of reactions to the Guns of the Boondock Saints. Popular flick, those who watched it, enjoyed it. Most haven't seen it yet. The cover is not one that makes you want to grab it off the shelf to rent or to buy... it's one that can be easily skipped over. But don't judge the movie buy the cover. It's an amazing bit of film work. I've been watching the new Battlestar Galactica series. After watching the series unfold, I think I've changed my mind about it. This is great science fiction. Also, you gotta love that they put a Firefly ship in there for a cameo. In the opening episode where the lady that becomes the President is meeting with her doctor, there is a window that shows lots of space ships going by. If you watch the ships, you will see a Firefly coming in for a landing. Nice tip of the hat there. The guns in BG are interesting. The pistols are prop mockups, but the Marines are packing FN P90's. In such SciFi works, I think regular guns should not be on the set. The marines uniforms look like any average SWAT officer's outfit and I think that's BS too. These guys are from the other other side of the Universe with technology that far surpasses our own (FTL) and the best they can do is a FN P90? Come on. At least use FN's futuristic 2000 rifle. Or better yet, have a designer do up a futuristic weapon system and load it up with a an Ingram inside it to run the blanks or use propane for muzzle flashes.... don't use real guns. The pistols are much better... an interesting looking design that looks like a Vector that's played dress up. Much better effort to look spacy. The Cylon Viper pilot... cute as hell. Starbuck as a chick took some getting used to as well... and... um... in a strange way, she's hot. She needs to grow her hair out and try on a slinky dress... but other than that... she's a sexy number. Apollo comes off as being prissy. I think that's bad casting right there. Looks nothing like Adama, doesn't act like Adama in any remote way in terms of gestures or vocabulary. Usually kids tend to look something like their parents and tend to have some traits that emulate their parents... Apollo has none. And what's up with Apollo being a Call Sign? That was his name in the original series, wasn't it? Then you have Boltar... who is supposed to be a slimy villain who's looking for a power grab... but now he's a sympathetic character who's just trying to survive. Oh well. It's still a damn fine show. Friday, 4-28-06: The Guns of The Boondock Saints. This isn't completed, and some of the ID's are not quite finished, but I just wanted to post this up anyways. This story is going to light your hair on fire. Bush okayed the deal to sell the ports to Dubai... that went south and put a stain on his shirt. So what does he do now? Okays a deal to sell them our military vehicle manufacturing. New bloggers to watch: Babalu Blog, out of Miami, hates Castro. Don't forget your sunscreen. The Lawdog Files. You've read his posts on TheFiringline.com and other gun forums... or you should have. Lawdog has a unique way of retelling happenings. He's the Patrick McManus of cop tales. The banner ad I had at the top of the page is now gone. I didn't like it and it didn't generate anything enough for me to even tolerate it. The ads on the side though... they are going to say around for a bit longer. It's not raking in the dough ray me, but it's enough to help. The Blogads guys must be making a lot more scratch of their stuff, Crispads seem Ghetto. I'd roll with Blogads, but they are my referal only now, which kinds sucks because I can't sign up... I've got to be invited. Anyways, if that could generate more revenue, then that would actually pay the hosting tab and for more storage for the Podcasting. Opera 9 Beta. Man, I'm loving it. I noticed with Firefox that if you use it all day you can get some slow downs and even a crash because of Firefoxe's little memory leak issue. Well, this isn't a problem with Opera 9. With Opera, you also get the tabbed browsing which I like, but I stumbled on something that Opera has that I'm really loving... Mouse Gestures. Fast back and forth page switching with a right click and a mouse gesture. This is especially groovy for the Ogre Lappy because I'm using a tiny wee little mouse with it that only has two buttons and a scroll wheel. Slick little mouse.... but I missed the other buttons. With these mouse gestures, I don't even need those extra buttons. Yesterday I heard on the radio some Congressmen pimping Ethanol. The Corn based fuel. I've seen ads for it in Wired and a couple car rags. Guys... please, seriously, do not buy into the Ethanol craze. Ethanol, once you take into the cost of production, has got to be one of the least efficient energy sources ever. Not only that, but growing so much corn for fuel will eventually tap out the nutrients from the soil and will reduce the crop yields year by year, thus increasing the cost with every harvest. Ethanol is a bad idea being promoted by people who grow corn because they want to sell their corn.... and they would... for a few years... maybe even a couple decades.... make them corn farmer rich. Yes, you can make Ethanol out of other crops but when you do that you only get all new problems. It's a failure waiting to happen. As a fuel in your gas tank, it's pathetic. Your car will feel underpowered, lethargic, and your fuel economy is going to go right down the crapper. There will also be issues with your fuel filter, injectors, and pump. I saw this first hand when I was in Wisconsin for a couple years. I had a Chevy Cavalier that went tits up because of a couple tanks of Ethanol. Automakers are now selling cars that are Ethanol ready... there is a little premium for that, and it's not worth it... it makes running Ethanol all the more expensive in the long run because your not just buying the fuel, but financing the ability to run it. And these “Yellow” cars, what sort of trade in and resale are you going to get on those? We see hybrid owners eating their shirts on their cars. Then there are the Biodiesel advocates which forget how much more smog is produced by diesel engines than gasoline. Think for just a second... how much smog you would have in LA if everyone in LA drove a diesel... you couldn't live their. No one could. Diesel is only a small part of any possible solution. I like them, but they are not answer. There is no universal “answer” other than giving the Liberals the middle finger, tapping Alaska and the gulf of Mexico, and Utah, and building some new high tech and efficient refineries. We have all he oil and gas we need right here, but we cant use it because of the Liberals. You are paying 3 bucks a gallon because of Liberals. Everything else is getting more expensive because of this, thanks to Liberals. And following Liberal ideas for energy solutions? It makes no sense. None. Thursday, 4-27-06: The SIG P225 is truly an under appreciated handgun. I'd like to see SIG revamp the 225 with a DAK trigger and bring it back better than ever. Maybe even a stainless version. 9MM and .40 would be FANTASTIC. I think it was one of the best pistols SIG ever made. For CCW it's damn near ideal. I'm not that big of a .40 fan, but I think a 225 would be a perfect platform for it. Light, concealable, smooth, yet enough gun to let the sharp .40 be controllable. This would be a good project gun to build up if you find a used 225 at a pawn shop or something. Guys, the movie we've been waiting for has been made. Here's to hoping Salma uses that “I wish I could quit you” line! Sexy cowgirls do it for me. This is why I like watching CMT better than MTV. But that's just me. It's the chaps. There is a gunshow this weekend in SLC and I'm thinking about trying to make it there. Saturday is out of the question but maybe Sunday. If I can, I'll be able to get there about 2 or so. Depends on the drive... traffic... deer... badgers... rocks... the wife. The usual things. But I'll be there most likely. (Lucky lucky bastard) “DancingGoddess” if you are still reading this site, please send me an email. I'd like to talk to you. I could use your help with something. Thanks. ISLAM: I decided that I don't want to get back into this subject like I was planning on doing. Instead, I'm going to direct you to a thread on AMBACK that covers everything that I was going to say anyway. The thread starts out as a post by a guy who wants to clear up wrong impressions of Islam. A lot of the Muslim Apologists keep using the term “True Islam”. Really, I don't have a problem at all with true Islam. It's the just which ever flavor of Islam that's blowing shit up that I have a problem with. And it seems that that flavor changes day to day. So I'll leave it to the Apologists to convince the guys who are blowing shit up as to what True Islam is all about. Don't sell me... sell them. I've not blown anything up since... well... it's been awhile. And that was a Flash Bang so nothing was hurt. No 72 Virgins for me. Now the danger in discussing Islam and such related matters is that is so easy to follow the “Everything I need to know about Islam I learned on September 11th”. It requires so little effort and so few synapses to spark that line. While that simplicity does have a point, to a point, it's too broad a stroke and is unfair to the Muslims who had nothing to do with 9-11-01 or who did not celebrate the attacks with cheers or high fives. Because most muslims really were horrified by it. See, I tend to think that Human Beings are basically Good and such actions are naturally abhorrent to humans with even a shred of humanity in them. Then there is the issue of the abuse of women and children that I am just not going to even touch. You can read about it in that thread. A lot of stuff in there that you probably have never heard before. Here is something worth reading. A letter to Sen. Bill Frist about the border issue from a retired Border Patrol agent. This hits the nail on the head and then some. This was sent to us by our man Martin who added the point this letter, as good as it is, leaves out the matter of the OTM's who are also crossing. Other Than Mexicans. This isn't a racist issue, it's a security issue and it's a sovereignty issue. It shouldn't be a political issue. Exxon seems to be doing really well. Posting huge earnings. Come on guys, we can all dig a little deeper to help them out. Spill a gallon or two next time your at the pump. Let's put Exxon over the top. Proud of those boys. It's a lot of work digging such a deep gouge into every pocket in America.
Wed, 4-26-06: Yes, as you can see I've got a couple advertising banners on the left. Let's see if that does anything for offsetting the cost of keeping up MadOgre.com. Some bloggers are actually making a profit at it, but those guys pretty much blog full time and that's something I just can't do. You don't get dental blogging, which is unfortunate. I know I said I'd never do advertising, but then again there is no moral high ground for not taking advertising to help pay for this. I do have some links to Microlon, Concealed Carry, and FBMG, but those are because of relationships with them, and not paid advertising. These new ads are actually paying me when someone clicks on them. So please, click the ads... if your running Opera or Thunderbird just right click on them and open them in a new tab or something. This CrispAds thing needs to be tweaked a bit. So if you know more about how to get the most out of these things by way of key words or whatever, give me a heads up on this. And I think I should look into other adverting routes, what is this dating thing? That girl is cute and all, but really... dating? Is that really a subject that The Horde is all that concerned about? At least it's not that guy with the shirt off selling his workout routine. The other thing that helps pay for MadOgre.com is weapon consultations. I've got a strange little back room business here at MadOgre.com that kind of slowly developed and I never really talk about it. Writers and some TV show people (all under strict confidence) will email me about a character and I advise them on what sort of firearm would be most appropriate, and about their car too. This is very odd. Usually the person will send me a payment via paypal, but a couple of them have actually requested an invoice for services rendered. If you watch TV shows that have guns in them, you probably have seen my selections used in the show. This “service” is probably the strangest thing I've done. Now sometimes I'll get an email from a regular writer working on a book, usually a first time effort... and on those I do not expect any compensation as I am a writer too and I like to help people out with their understanding of firearms. I think this is somewhat important for a couple of reasons. First, I think you can tell a lot about a person by what kind of car he drives, or the gun he carries. And second, I'm just sick to death of seeing Desert Eagle .50 cals all over the place. I swear, Desert Eagles have got to be the most common bloody pistol on the planet if TV and Movies are a representative sample. Much like the biggest military group in existence is the US Navy SEALS. There is a new “Guns Of” article in the works and it's almost finished. This one is going to take you by surprise. I did this one because it's one of my favorite flicks and few people have seen it. It needs some more attention and I want to share this little treasure with you. Much like Equilibrium being one of those fantastic “under the radar” films... this one is great and you need to watch it. Remember when I said I'd post some pictures of these knives I talked about a couple days ago? Well, the knives are so cool I had to give them their own page. Check it out here. I've dropped Mozilla Firefox as my favorite browser now. I'm running the latest version of Opera now, Opera 9.0 Beta. Fantastic. I've always been a fan of Mozilla and have always used their stuff... And I've liked Opera up until one version put voice popup ads. But now Opera is free to use and the latest version is simply outstanding.
Tuesday, 4-25-06:
Ogre has finally gone and done
it... I finally pulled the trigger on a Vista: I'm trying out the newest Vista Beta at home on my Linux Box, which isn't a Linux Box anymore, so I'm calling it my “Alt-box” now. Vista is still being developed, and according to MS, still about a year out. From the Beta 1 to this Beta 2, I can see a huge improvement in several areas. The desktop is slicker visually, but if I am going to spend money on an OS, it had better be more than eye candy. The interface is actually improved and streamlined and I like the way they redid all the menus. The built in applications are designed for working together as a core operational philosophy... in a business environment, you are going to want to upgrade as soon as you can. You are going want this stuff. The shared calendering is fantastic. If you are a loner at home playing games, there is something here for you too... by the time you get Vista off the shelf, the new DirectX 10 is amazing. I've seen FarCry done on DirectX 10, or DXX for short, and it will blow you away. Cinematic gaming arrives with DXX. And FarCry is a great game... I'll have to do a review on that shortly. What else do I like about Vista? I don't know... I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think it's going to be the nightmare that I initially thought it was going to be. Oblivion: This is one incredible game. This is an epic RPG game that is actually and truly epic in scale and detail. It's part of the Elder Scrolls series, but isn't the lame Morrowind that Elder Scrolls used to be. This is actually... well... pretty damn cool. Like I said before, it kicked my desktop gaming machine square in the nuts. Runs great on the laptop. The AI actually has an AI which most new games have, but what is kind of freaky is that the AI is running even in areas where you are not. So if you come into a town and listen in on conversations between townsfolk, and then walk away, they are still there talking because the world doesn't actually revolve around you. The graphics are amazing and the richness of the detail is impressive. But the most impressive is the scale. It's huge. Outside in the world, it's huge. And there seems to be an endless supply of places to explore, dungeons and caves and castles and ruins... it's something you have to experience. If you are a fantasy fan or an RPG guy, then Oblivion is the game you've been waiting for. I'm not really into the sword and sorcerer thing, but its an entertaining diversion from the tactical first person shooter games that I tend to prefer. I have to admit it, I love gaming in the evenings. Great way to de-stress and unwind from the day and clear your head so you can think about other matters. Like my book and podcasting and things like that. I got a card from Wilson Combat the other day... evidently they liked my review of their SDS pistol. If you have a sub to Concealed Carry Magazine then you have probably already read it. If not... well, then you're just wrong and you need to get one. Today would be good. I'm still working on the podcasting thing over here, and I think I have it down. Now that I know how to do it and edit and all that jazz... I'm going to do one specifically for publishing on MadOgre.com... for real. No, I'm not kidding. I know I've talked about it... but I'm going to do it. When? Um, soon. Soon enough. This was an interesting weekend. Our friend Matt who is leaving Utah brought his kids and I brought mine, and we went and had some fun. We went to Cabella's and watched the feeding of the fishes and shopped around. Matt and I picked up a couple Kershaw Leeks... great little knives. We then fed all the kids some buffet and then took them to the movies. Matt wanted to treat for the tickets... he sprang for 11 of them. 11! We had a lot of kids there. The movie of choice was “The Wild”. I don't have much to say about this flick other than Madagascar wants its Lion back. We all had a great time. Matt took the time to teach my boys a variation of the classic road game “Slug Bug”. The way you play that is if you see a VW Bug old or new, you get to slug everyone else. Well, Matt's variation has it that you can slug them until they say the Bug's color. There are a lot of Bugs rolling around Salt Lake, enough to make Slug Bug an active game. And then we drove past a VW dealership. All the sudden the van exploded in a full out Irish Bar Brawl. Someone was hit with a 4 foot long fish. I'm not kidding. It was crazy. Thanks, Matt. I'm going to miss you, buddy. Come back soon. Over at FBMG I took a gander at the new shotguns they have in stock. These are short barreled units so there is a 6 week wait and the Fed processing and all that jazz, but for 1300 bucks plus taxes tags and title, you can have the baddest freaking weapon on the planet. Nothing is more evil, unrepentant, malicious, or cool than these short barreled Saigas. Nothing. These things are the most brutal and insidious devices ever made by man. The line forms to the left.
Tuesday, 4-18-06: Some of you guys may have seen these new MiniPC systems from Aopen. They look just like the MiniMacs yet are basically wintel systems. We got one in here at the shop so we could check it out. I think it's a clever concept, but we had some trouble with it. It overheated rather quickly and locked up. Also locked up running a Ubuntu LiveCD. The problem this little box has is heat build up. This unit came with a 7200 RPM hard drive. Removing that and using a 5400 RPM drive instead solved the problem, but I'm not personally fully comfortable with that solution. If you want to run one of these little tiny PC systems, I suggest downclocking the CPU as well. While you are at it, remove the factory cooling compound tape and apply some “Arctic Silver” thermal compound. I think these steps will allow these MiniPCs to run stable. If it were my own system, I'd also drill some air vents along the sides and maybe the front to allow cool air to be sucked in since the fan blows the hot air out and there isn't enough cool air coming in to compensate and allow enough airflow through. With the optical drive, you really can't put holes in the top, but if you could, that would be a help. That said, I think these little units are going to eventually become a heck of a lot more common. I think tower cases are going to be a thing of the past. Speaking of the shop... a customer came in because their computer wouldn't play Diablo II. It was buggy and would lock up after 1 to 3 minutes of playing. And this was on a brand new Dell XPS system. Got it fixed and played it for 15 minutes to test it out and make sure it was stable. It was. I remember playing this game for hours and hours. It really was – is – a great game. But looking at it now, man, does it look dated! I'd love a fresh and new Diablo III. One that could really make use of DirectX 9.0c and modern graphics cards. Other than eye candy, it would be one hell of an undertaking to make a Diablo that tops II. A good, solid, in depth single player RPG. I'm sick of all the MMO crap, and Blizzard and its followers are still spanking off to World of Warcraft. Here is what I want in a Linux Distro: I want a Ubuntu like distro with all the features, plus out of the box MP3, WinMedia, and DVD playback. I want to be able to switch from KDE to Gnome to Enlightenment out of the box. I want the latest versions of all the apps like Open Office, GIMP, and everything else. I want all the cool linux games built in too. And I want a CNR or Yast system built in so I don't have to do any of that Apt-Get shit. I just want to search for it in a browser like window, click it and there it is a few minutes later after downloading. I also want it to have laptop support so it can mind the batteries and not suddenly shut down on me. I want a massive archive of device drivers in there so I can install it and everything works right, out of the box. And fast. I want it near Slackware or Gentoo speed. That's what I want. And I want it on a DVD so I can install the whole bloody thing without burning ISO's and changing disks. Oh, and the last thing... MadOgre.com themed. That's all I'm asking. That's not too much is it? Crap, forgot the knife photos. Dang it. Question for those who know: I need detailed under the table information about a group called “Alpha 66” and their activities and their modus operandi. This is for the book I'm writing with the working title “Privateer”. If you know anything, send it my way. I've done all the research I can from Utah... meaning everything I can find on the internet. I need more. Funny how the are not on the FBI's or CIA's list but other groups like them are. Interesting, that. Note: I'm not going to burn the group or caste them in a bad light... but the book has taken an anti-castro direction so... well... there you have it. This is the one and only post about this that I will make on MadOgre.com or any other internet venue. This is a one time request for real information. The reason I am asking is that I want to know as much about this as I can learn so as to not cross a line and burn anyone when the book comes out. Heads Up: I'm going to be returning to the topic of Islam tomorrow with a couple emails that MadOgre.com readers need to... urm... read. Sorry. I'm also going to be addressing Liberals and the 1stA again. The podcast may or may not turn up tomorrow or the next day. Monday, 4-17-06: Last week I read in the newspaper a report that headlines “US eyes using nukes on Iran”, by the New York Times. I didn't talk about it then, but it's been irritating me all week so now I have to get this off my chest. Is this headlines about the news and reporting on something that has happened, or is this headline subversive or just pure speculation? What could be the consequences of such a headline in the NYT's? Well, first thing would be that those folks in Iran would probably start defending possible vectors for a nuke strike. For example, readying and improving antiaircraft capability. Another thing would be to seek out strategic alliances with Russia and or China to help defend Iranian targets which would create a huge political situation and do a great deal to make carrying out such a strike detrimental to our own cause. Back in WWII we had a Loose Lips policy. Do you know what that is? It's from the old saying “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. What that means, is that if you talk out of turn and give some information out that you shouldn't have, it could cost us dearly. A bit of intel could lead to the sinking of one of our ships. That old saying rings very true today. If this report was true, someone leaked out that we are looking at a nuke strike against Iran. That someone needs to go to prison. The someone that wrote this report, one Eric Schmitt of the New York Times, should also be prosecuted. How completely asinine to divulge our plans... to make public our plans in matters of war. What the hell is wrong with these people? “Allied Leaders planning invasion at Normandy”. I wonder how D-Day would have turned out if this jackass, Eric Schmitt had been reporting back then. I don't think we would have been able to take the beach at all. A major part of that operation was secrecy, and it was still a bitterly fought patch of sand. How can this guy even think of writing this report? It starts out “The Bush administration...” and that pretty much defines the character of this slimebag, Eric Schmitt of the New York Times. It also pretty much defines the character of The New York Times because someone there said “Go ahead and print it.” The Justice Department should take the NYT's apart. It's not just this report, but the NYT's is always printing crap like this... always. If I was an enemy of the USA, I would buy a subscription to the NYT's and read it every day over breakfast. Because I would know everything there is to know about how to defeat the USA. This is an outrage. This is intolerable. They hate Bush so much, that they would jeopardize the Military just to see Bush wince or take a lower score in some poll. They are actively trying to weaken America during a time of war. Doing so aides our enemy. I would love to see the laws being enforced about matters of such nature. If you are helping the enemy, then you should pay the price. I've been working up a podcast this weekend, and while I'm having fun with it... I'm just not sure if this is anything I really want to post. That being said, there is something to doing a podcast that is empowering. With the internet, I don't just have my own little online magazine, blog, or soapbox... This is all of those combined and with it I can publish anything I want to say. Now combine this with the relatively simple ability to record and publish my own online radio show, rant, rebuttal, or whatever I want in a medium that is now widely accepted and you don't just have to be tuned it at the right freq at the right moment in time to hear it... this is the First Amendment in it's purest form. Hold on a second, let me revel in this... let me bask... aaaaahhhh. Even if I'm not podcasting... I can. I could. I might. I have the power. What is interesting about this and why it's important; is that the Liberals don't want me to be allowed to do it. They will cry 1stA violation at the drop of the hat if you don't listen to them (I'm thinking about the Dixie Chicks here) but they will do anything they can to silence talk radio or the blogs or anything else that is of a Conservative (big C) nature. They are trying to pass legislation to forbid counter arguments when they spew inaccurate and misleading information. They are trying to repress talk radio by the restoration of The Fairness Doctrine. They don't want us to have the 1stA. They especially don't want us to have the 2ndA either. So let's move on and talk about the 2nd for a few minutes. I'm holding in my lap right now, something that is truly indeed, a weapon. It's a “Rebel Bowie” Camp Knife made by Dan Brock of the Plowshare Forge in Eugene Oregon. (PHOTOS TOMORROW) This knife isn't just patterned after a civil war era bowie knife... but it's made just like one too. This has history glistening off it's razor sharp edge. The knife is massive and menacing. The blade is black except for where the grinds are that shape the blade's cutting edges, giving it a brutish and deadly look. The grip is small and wooden and looks disproportional in contrast to the huge blade. The grip is surrounded by a broad guard that curves up into a sharp point. The knife is heavy and broad, yet it is not clumsy or awkward. As a fighting implement, it is unquestionably effective. A single thrust would slice a man almost half way apart. A swing would certainly cut a man in two. Limbs or necks would be severed as easily as chopping a carrot. This thing is more than just a large bowie knife, it's like a short sword. Yet it is called a “Camp Knife” and with that name there is a myriad of chores that are implied. This knife can do all of them. You could skin a deer with this blade with no problem. You could skin a Woolly Mammoth with it just as easily. You can chop wood with it, make kindling and fire sticks with little effort. Cut limbs for tent poles and sharpen short ones for tent pegs. And with the flat of the blade or the guard, hammer the pegs in. You can cook with the knife... it's like a big cleaver. It's easy to chop veggies with and then scoop them into a pot. Your camp stew never had it so good. This knife is fantastic. I've had large bowies before... big survival knives, Rambo knives, the M9 Bayonet, and even once I was given a big fantasy type bowie. Nothing – nothing I've ever had before can compare or could have prepared me for this knife. It's like a Snub-Nosed Claymore. Carrying it in it's leather sheath is relatively easy with the added advantage of armor cladding your leg on one side. This is the knife that any true Ogre would proudly own. This one does. This is a knife for The Horde. The another knife from Plowshare Forge is called the Shanghai Fighting knife. This knife is a classic style dagger, double edged and wicked. This is the type of knife that grandfathered the Fairbairn/Sykes style dagger that became popularized by Colonel Rex Applegate. It has a simple long and narrow spearpoint blade, sharpened full length on both edges. The blade meets a simple oval aluminum crossguard. The handle is a beautiful piece of wood, that is round and tapers to the brass end cap. At first I thought that this grip was less than ideal, but as I handle the knife, the simplistic yet elegant style grows on you. The blade comes alive in the hand with it's balance and handle that allows any grip. This is why these sorts of blades have become popular... they are simply outstanding for their purpose... of course the purpose of a dagger is a singular one... it's designed to be thrust into your adversary and to reach and penetrate vital parts inside. This Shanghai Fighting knife could do that easily. While I don't exactly have any volunteers for testing purposes, I used a roast. When the wife wasn't at home. It penetrated the roast all the way to the hilt with almost no effort. Having done that to the horror of my sons, I then used the dagger to slice off portions and served them up their dinner. The dagger served up the roast slices with no problem. I can only imagine what this knife could do to one's adversary. Sure, there are any number of knives that could have done the same thing... including my kitchen knives. But this knife remains separate from the others. This knife is reproduced by hand detail for detail of the classic pattern from historical examples. Even the sheath looks like something you might have lifted from a World War Two museum. The third knife from Plowshare Forge is the OSS Lapel Dagger... that knife is reviewed for Concealed Carry Magazine. You shall have to read that review there. The OSS was an interesting group for sure. Tuesday, 4-11-06: He shot himself in the foot, so he sues the DEA: So what do you do when you are caught on tape shooting yourself in the leg with your Glock just after you say you are the only one professional enough to carry the gun? Well, if you are DEA Agent Lee Paige, you sue the DEA of course. We've all seen the video... It's kind of funny. It's also funny that he calls himself the DEA's best undercover agent. Really? I didn't know active undercover agents gave motivational speeches where you shoot yourself. Usually those assignments go to Agents who are no longer working undercover or will not work undercover again. I'm not sure what game this guy is playing, but he's already lost. The video was taken not by the DEA, but by an audience member. While the audience member may have given the tap to the DEA, this guy is going to have to prove that the audience member didn't make copies of the tape before giving it to the DEA. One thing is for sure, this guy is probably now on the short list of people to hire by the ATF. So what do you do if you are out in the middle of nowhere off roading, and you pop your tire's bead off the rim? You can fix that in less than a second. Check this out. 24 minute video is worth the watch... but the trick isn't shown until the very end. Bloody amazing. Oh, BTW, book me a trip to Iceland please. Best SUV Commercial Ever. Die hippies die... Classic... I laughed my butt off. Monday, 4-10-06: I don't think I made myself all that clear when I was talking about the Islam issue last Thursday. I don't think I distanced myself enough from the email's message. What I was getting at is that Islam has a PR issue that its going to have to overcome, not that followers of Islam are people who can't be trusted. They have an image problem... that's all I was saying. My own brother who I love very much is pretty much Muslim now from what I can tell. My apologies if I have offended anyone... that wasn't my intention. Normally I have no problem in offending people. Burning bridges is a Mad Ogre specialty. But in matters of Faith, I try to be more diplomatic. My own faith virtually requires it. Faith and Religion are important things that the main stream media is trying hard to discount. I believe that Religion – any flavor - makes people better, not the lack of it. The responses I've received regarding Podcasting have all been interesting. So much so that the idea of doing a podcast is more appealing then it was before. The thing about podcasting and having people listen to it is the same as having people read your blog. It's got to be interesting enough for people to bother downloading it in the first place. Several of the comments referred to a team podcast, with me and at least another person discussing things. This is a good idea and would be a lot more fun to do... but it's also more difficult because of scheduling and that I am out here in the middle of nowhere and getting together with those who know enough about guns to be valid and interesting is perhaps almost impossible. Unless you guys would like to hear from a billyjoebob who can only talk about his .270 taking antelope last season, or the high speed/lowdrag type out here that only says, “Just get a Glock”. No, no, no. Pretty much this would be a solo affair. That being said, I think I could still put together a decent podcast. Actually I'd do two. Guns and Cars. This would actually be a warm up to the PROJECT-X which is still waiting on the Launch Pad. I'm looking for funding still to get that going and the chances are good that I'll be able to get funding later this year. The money I was going to use for this is no longer available, so I'm actually seeking a loan now. Maybe this summer. This is a long time coming... But Amen! I'm a fan of the FPS game type. (First Person Shooter) I've not tried Quake 4 yet, but I'm looking forward to the price dropping down to a reasonable level... However I have tried (currently trying) the game mentioned in the article “FarCry”. FarCry is a fantastic game. It's challenging like crazy, but at the same time it's one of the most “fun” FPS games I've ever played next to “No One Lives Forever II”. Nineteen bucks new in box at the local Gamestop. If your computer is reasonably up to date, go get this game. It rocks. I'm giving it an 8 out of 10. FEAR btw earned the same score but both games got it for different reasons. FarCry isn't as technically advanced as FEAR, but the gameplay makes up for it. Good maps, big maps, and they are interesting maps. Outside, you can explore huge areas, buggies, HUMVEEs, and speed boats allow you to travel the vast areas to attack your target from any direction. This Rail Free environment gives the game depth that FEAR didn't have. This weekend I did some automotive investigation work. First off, I drove a couple of vehicles. First was a Mazda 6, second was a Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. Both late models. The Mazda was wonderful in every respect save one very important one. Its “Manumatic” type sissy stick really ruined it for me. Skip this car if you love shifting manually. If not, then this car is a top choice for those looking for a car in this price range (mid 20's). The Nissan had a 5 speed, strong clutch, and an eager engine that revved all the way into the redline when Governator stepped in and shut it down with the sudden and abrupt ending of the fun like a gunshot to the head. The handling was great. This was a late 2004 I think it was. Red, with black and red interior. This might not have been Satan's Sentra, but it could have been Satan's Son's Sentra. The downside was when I went to open the glove box and the whole assembly dropped out into the passenger's footwell. Then another downside when I went to shift into reverse and the chrome ball aftermarket shift knob came off in my hand. Signs of quality and car. When I opened the hood I noticed the clips that hold the front end fascia to the framework was broken at the attachment points on both places at the top by the radiator, and on the driver's side near the wheel well. When I looked closer I noticed that the bumper had been resprayed. They did a good job hiding it, but this car was hit. The dealer was offended when I pointed this out to him. “You can check Car Fax for yourself this car has never been in an accident!” He yelled with a puffed out chest. “You mean, this car has never been in a reported accident.” At that point he turned away and suddenly had something else to do. He wanted 10 grand for it, which would have been about right if it hadn't been crunched. With about 180 horses it's just shy powerwise of what my Contour's 2.5 liter Duratec V-6 puts out... and it's doing it with only 4 cyclinders under the hood. If you are looking for a car like this, look carefully to make sure you didn't get a Racerboy's sloppy seconds. Still, for a 4 cylinder without a turbo, it was an impressive performer. Take a look at the front page of Kahr's site. Yeah, that's my review right there. They didn't edit or cut anything out... not even my little complaint about the PM9's slide release. Well, that made my day. Fri, 4-7-06: I have downloaded a couple applications that will allow me to create MadOgre.com Podcasts. So if I wanted, I could make MadOgre.com all audio. I might try it, great one day's post as a podcast just for fun. However I read on Digg that no one actually listens to podcasts. So would it be worth the effort? I'm not sure. I think doing a group podcast would be fun... couple friends over, talk about some stuff, convert it to MP3 and post it up. While it might be fun to do this... would anyone be interested in hearing the Voice of Ogre? And if so, why? I might try it just for fun, maybe. Most likely not unless convinced otherwise. A fellow here at work wanted me to check out a new game... once I installed the game, the game then announced proudly that the game was protected by Starforce Copy Protection. Starforce, for those that don't know, is Spyware of the worst kind and can totally jack up you computer. Removal of Starforce is a complete PITA. So, having seen this, I can tell you and everyone... the game SUCKS. I don't care if the game is freaking awesome to play... if it has Starforce bundled in it... it sucks. Sucks donkey balls. Do NOT buy any game with Starforce. I want to buy a Mac Mini (with bootcamp to run XP and SUSE) just to do THIS. Love it. The old Macintosh classic... that's sweet. A bit small in the monitor but cool anyways. An even cooler hack would be to crack open one of those 17 inch original iMacs or an E-Mac, fit an LCD in it and the Mini... that would be even better.
Units of the Mexican Military regularly cross the boarder providing security for drug trafficers. They cross with the boldness of those who think that they have every right to do so. They fire upon US law enforcement engaging in what is of course a blatant act of war. Along with these problems, there are all the other people crossing the border who are not migratory workers just wanting to pick broccoli... but people from other countries who are hostile to our Nation. When I speak of the border, I do so not really talking about illegal immigration, but mainly from the standpoint of plain border security. The ports are one thing... but how can we even bother with them when we have thousands of miles so completely wide open that we really have no freaking clue as to how many people have come across, let alone who they are and what they are doing here in the USA. We have to secure our borders. We have to follow the Israeli model in this. Fences, walls, patrols, RPVs and drones... and dogs. All the above. From the Ocean to the Gulf. I will except nothing less. Once we have our borders under control, then we can busy ourselves with other such matters as immigration, ports and the like. Now there is the other matter of the other manifest destiny that is effecting not just the United States, but the whole world. To start this off, I want you guys to read something... its a longish read but well written and well worth while. (Thanks to Hordeman McClelland for giving us the heads up on that.) The author is Dan Simmons, who I've never heard of before... but I'm now a fan. Pretty much everything he talks is correct, especially the most disturbing part regarding Dhimmitude. I learned of this during my Middle Ages studies. Stop reading this and go read that now. I'll wait. No, seriously... go read that page. Did you read it? All of it? Okay... now I want you to read this here... This was sent to us by our man Martin, but it's been going around the email circles: “Can Muslims be good Americans? Bigoted or not........just read and think and draw your own conclusions. Can Muslims be Good Americans? Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and a loyal citizen? Consider this: Theologically, no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia. Scripturally, no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran. Geographically, no. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day. Socially, no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews. Politically, no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan. Domestically, no, because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and discipline his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34). Religiously, no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256) Intellectually, no, because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt. Philosophically, no, because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co – exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic. Spiritually, no, because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as our heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran's 99 excellent names. Therefore after much study and deliberation....perhaps we should be very concerned and maybe even suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both good Muslims and good Americans. Call it what you wish...it's still the truth. If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with the above, perhaps you will share this with your friends.” This is where I distance myself from the email's message... yes, it's inflammatory, and yes it can be construed as bigoted. However, talking to those who I know to be Islamic, and having them read this email... they have said that basically in a nutshell... that it's true for those who are staunchly devoutly Islamic. Let's forget the matters of hate and bigotry and look at Islam objectively. That little email going around brings up some serious trust issues that make the Mexicans look like our old best friend from back in our High School days. The one that dated our sister. I don't mean to sound prejudice, because I am not. And I understand that similar arguments could be made about Jews, Mormons, Catholics, 7th Day Adventists, Scientologists, or whoever you wanted to apply it too... like the French. Many folks would love to vilify religion as a whole. Saying that all the major faiths have blood on their hands. (Oh really? What about Budists?) But then again, the other faiths have embraced the modern world, and the modern rule of law while in Islam, the religion uses the same old laws and sentences and recognizes no other authority over it.
I'm having a hard time with my left hand today. It hurts to touch anything with my fingertips and my fingers are stiff and sore... I practiced my guitar playing from about 8PM till midnight. I was going to work on Privateer (my book) but I lost track of time. I think I'm going to trade in the acoustic for an electric. If anyone in Utah has a good electric guitar that they want to get rid of, send me an email. Let me tell ya, I'm having so much fun with this... I love it. Hating the sore fingers today, but I still love it. I need to find some sheet music for classic rock songs. Tons online... but I'm not finding the ones I want. Open Office's Document recovery works perfectly. We had a massive series of power failures over here at work today... had an open document that I hadn't saved. Open Office saved my arse. Whew. Very nice. THE END IS NEAR. I think this is officially the 7th seal... and it's been broken. Reports have it that Windows actually runs better on a Mac. One of my brothers is going to Italy and will be there for 3 weeks. 2 weeks with a college group, and 1 week all on his own. Lucky bastard. Gorgeous women, awesome food, with history and culture (stolen from the Greeks) dripping from everything. Lucky, lucky bastard! I don't think I would return to Utah if I went. Zack... your a punk... you know that don't you? Have fun. We'll understand if you decide to stay. My wee little doggie, Ranger, likes to break his chain and go for a run. He always comes back, but I have often wondered where he goes. Now I know. To Ft. McCoy. That wolf looks exactly like Ranger. Exactly. Because, well, they are the same breed of doggie. Ranger is such a sweet heart. I remember when my Mom wanted to take Ranger for a walk around the park. That was funny. My Mom, 115 pounds of panic being dragged around the park by a timberwolf. Not something you get to see everyday. Congratulations to Katie Couric for her move to CBS. Okay, not really. I couldn't care less. CBS is a dying network and getting the most annoying wench from NBC isn't a point in their favor. Next update will be a rather ogerish discussion of the matter of Islam and the borders... Stay tuned.
The principle even banned the American Flag? You've got to be kidding me. This asinine policy needs to be reviewed by the school board and the principle needs a few days worth of Detention for being a complete wuss. Of course that news story is not surprising when you take into account that that Paris Hilton could be Mother Teresa. What happened to this world? It's like everything is upside down... like I'm in Canada or something. If anything, all state and federal funding should immediately be pulled from this school. Driver Guide's disabled the good old “drivers all” username and password. Freakin jerks. If I wanted to register with my real name and email, I would have. Bloody hell. If there is a better source for drivers than driverguide.com, I'd love to learn of it. Until then, email validation awaits me. This guy is a complete nutter. Article here, and follow up, here. This professor, in the old days would be removed from the general population and put into an institution for the mentally deranged. Hold on a second, let me bask in the memory of these good old days... ah, yeah... that's nice. Now what this guy is hoping for is another Black Plague. You might remember learning of the black plague from your history classes. If not, go through your mind and think about everyone you know, everyone you've ever met, and everyone that you have seen walking down the street. Now take 80% of those people and imagine that they died suffering and in pain. 80% of the government, police, fire, hospital staff (which would be hit the hardest considering they come into more contact with the infected), school kids, parents... dead. All dead. This guy is wanting 90% of the global population to die of Ebola. Ebola is some seriously nasty stuff that makes The Plague look like the flu. Small towns like my corner of Utah would just disappear. Big cities would be left rotting. Thats what this guy is wanting to happen. 90%. Read Stephen King's The Stand... interesting work and I think King's best work, period. Except for the ending, King has crappy endings as if he gets tired of the story and just wants to end it now. Any story with a bad ending I call “King Endings”. I've yet to read a Koontz with a King ending, thank heavens. (reading Strangers now BTW) Anyways, this learned man complaining about death threats... so what. He can be the first of the 90% to check out for all I care. Assholes can make all the noise they want, but they can't be offending if some people think they stink. Kudos to New York! I want to see every state in the union follow this lead. This is the way to go. Spyware and Malware or any other unwantedware... not only should these guys be put out of business... but we should give them to that Texas University Professor. Getting settlements isn't good enough because that would only make the spyware makers develop new spyware that is even harder to detect and remove. Already its becoming increasingly impossible to remove it all. No, settlements isn't nearly good enough. I want to see raids, confiscations, and arrests. The makers are thrown into jail, their systems wiped out and given to start up businesses or schools that allow for patriotism. (don't even get me started on that again)
CHECK ARCHIVES FOR OLDER CONTENT
Donate to ogre at madogre dot com via PayPal to support MadOgre.com, or God will kill a kitten. All donations pay for hosting, Mt. Dew, and Ammunition. Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012 Graphic Artwork by Martin White
|
CrispAds Blog Ads
“I keep two magnums in my desk drawer. One is a gun that I keep loaded. The other is a bottle and it keeps me loaded.”
"The opinions of Ogre at
MadOgre.com are explosive. Read with caution." - Washington Post "You make me laugh. You piss me off. You even make me agree with you. You're a
Blog-God!" - Horde Member
|
|
|
