If you have not seen Firefly... Go to Amazon.com and order the boxed set. They will give you free shipping for it, but it's worth paying the extra for faster shipping. Worth it because you don't even no you are wanting it so bad. Read through this thread here. Why do I like it so much? It has great writing. Joss is a brilliant writer, and all his characters really come to life. The direction is fantastic. The camera work is an example of how to shoot an action show... yet they break all the rules on how to do camera work these days... they pan, they tilt, and they zoom all over the place... but it is done in a fashion that makes it actually emersive instead of nauseating. You watch it and you can actually feel like you are a part of it. The characters are all interesting, and you care about them... even Jayne... who you kinda just feel sorry for even though he does a few underhanded things.

Mary Anne or Ginger? Freakin Both!

Here is something for the free thinkers of The Horde. Having answered all of life's major questions such as the meaning of life and why we are here and where we came from and why is there no lesbian love scenes between Angelina Jolie and Salma Hyak... a serious study is wanting your thoughts on The Gendered Construction of Public Toilets. The gendered what? Public Toilets? I was thinking that this had to be some sort of joke... but these cats are serious. I don't know about George Michaels, but George Hill has never had any fantasy in or about public restrooms. Seriously. Not one. I hate them. I'm not kidding... I don't like going in there. I would rather drive 15 minutes to take a nice solid crap in the privacy of my own home while reading an article out of the latest Field and Stream or PC World. Cause I always know where my plunger is at home... and I don't have to ignore strangers while I wash my hands after I've fumigated the place. And then there is the whole washing your hands thing. Sometimes you look at the sink and the faucet and it's more filthy than anything you could have picked up while wiping your own ass... and hey... even if you did pick something up, at least it's yours and you know where it came from. That stuff there on the hot water handle... doesn't look like it came out of anything human... and you are supposed to grab that to clean your hands? I get a little Howard Hughes in public bathrooms I guess. And these guys want me to think about the feminine point of view about these joints? Well, chicks go to the johns together like they were private clubs or something. Guys will say, “Hey, let's go to the...” Pub or Bar or Range or Track or hardware or gun store or whatever... no... Chicks will be at those places and say “Hey, let's go to the Toilet!” And the other chicks are always up and going in the blink of an eye like it was something special. I don't get it. I don't even want to think about it.

Evening: Have you ever had a bad day? I mean, like a really completely suckass day? Well, this was my day today... so here is a video to cheer us up a bit. Watch it, and just be glad you are not these guys. See? You days kinds sucks a little less now, don't it?

Super Dell up on charges. Dell “Super Dell” Schanze is up on charges for threatening to use a deadly weapon during a fight. Link to the story here. Be sure to watch the video clip attached to the story because it shows Dell's side of the story, which the obviously biased reported tries to minimize. Here is my take: Dell had every right to pull a gun if he really pulled the gun. He was obviously threatened and had ample justification to defend himself and his daughter. These guys who confronted him and blocked him in had absolutely no right to do anything that they did. If they observed Dell driving in a manner that is unsafe, then they should have called the cops instead of acting like vigilantes and threatening violence against Dell. For those outside of Utah, yes, he really does act and sound like that. He is well known here in Utah for running “Totally Awesome Computers” a chain of computer shops that build some pretty decent if not overly hyped PC systems. Dell is also known to give $100 discounts to people who have CCW permits. Dell also owns “Totally Awesome Guns and Range”. The name is a total exaggeration of the gun shop and range... but they do stock some fine hardware and they even have a couple guys there that actually know what they are talking about . Dell also holds a class 3 FFL and is a collector of select-fire hardware. His voice and his mannerisms are totally annoying, and he is a hugely arrogant SOB. However, I do not think that he is irresponsible to the point of driving 75MPH and brandishing a weapon just for the thrill of it. He is alleged to have driven too fast, but the guys that were confronting him... when was the last time they had their radar unit calibrated and certified? What? You mean to tell me they don't have a radar unit? So how did they know he was driving 75MPH? Since when is it kosher to confront someone by blocking them in, yelling at them, and then picking up a big rock and threaten people with it? That smacks of utter bullshit right there. Completely asinine. This has been refered to the DA's office, which is probably just following procedure... but here is what the DA should do first thing in the morning: Drop all charges against Super Dell Schanze, and file some against the asshats that thought they could act like Super Heroes. At least that is my opinion, I could be wrong.

Email: “A good friend of mine still in (locked in, actually) 7SFG was the main guy instrumental in developing the 6.8. One of the parameters was the project was economy. IE; having an upper platform that would easily swap out with the 1000s of existing M4 lowers. No need to buy a whole new system, just buy the uppers. (The integrally suppressed 5,56 CQB upper is badass) The cartridge may not be the "be all end all", but it is efficient, and would accomplish the task. The XM 8 has thus far proven to be worse than the original AR platform. Friend who developed the 6.8 was asked to leave a conference on the XM8 /was asked to "stand down" when he vociferously pointed out that the XM8 for all basic purposes couldn't be fired from the prone. The O5 panjandrum in charge replied that on the modern battlefield the prone position was seldom used. Friend asked how many times panjandrum had been under hostile fire and...you can guess the rest. The Robarms platforms, domestic and imported are ALL outstanding. The domestically produced ones are appreciated by all shooters/operators on the ground, but the Robarms isn't a big enough outfit to market themselves against the 'Bigboys". A friend in 5SFG wanted to score some "Expeditionary Rifles" in 7.62x39 for one of the first forays into Asscrackistan, but didn't have the pull. How else would the AR and Beretta get the contracts? Don't get me going.”

I know Alex, somewhat. (We have had some disagreements in the past... I said he had a corrosive personality and he called me an asshole. We were both right. But I still respect him and his company and his products.) I know if he did get the contract, he could have ramped up production to match in a heartbeat. Why they were dissed is just asinine... obviously it was to insure that their bread and butter contracts with all the kickbacks were the only ones that saw any play. I bet cold cash that you put all the weapons together and have a bunch of grunts shoot them all... they would all pick the ROBARM gun.

Sunday, May 29th, 2005: Afternoon: Email: “I love you! Finally someone that agrees that the m16/ar-15 sucks big time! The only reason the military was using it was because it because the gun and the ammo was cheap as hell. Oh, about your comment about the xm-8. It is a good gun but the bullet sucks. This is why the army should use the AK-103k. It is accurate , almost no recoil, doesn't jam much, and still has the mighty 7.62NATO cartridge. - Leon”

Uh... Did you just say that you love me?!

I still have hope that when the XM-8 finally becomes the M-8, that they will be using it with the new 6.8MM cartridge.  I think that would be an ideal combination.  Of course, I don't see why they don't just issue this instead.  And then when the 6.8 is ready, these could be converted to that caliber with little fuss.

Paris and the Carls Jr Burger. She needs to eat a few of them. This has offended some people. I didn't find it offensive, but I do think that Carls Jr has shown some very bad taste. I mean, come on. With so many lovely models out there that they could have picked out, they chose Paris Hilton. That's just wrong.

Funny about all the news regarding all the problems with the airlines. Airlines are cutting back left and right, screwing their employees and loosing money like a Frat House. Yet there is one airline that is not only making money, but expanding... Hooters Air. A little cheesecake on their in flight meals. Now is it because of the hot looking chicks in tight orange shorts? Or is it because they don't treat you like cattle? Last flight I was on, I was not only herded along with the other paying passengers like cattle, but I could have sworn I saw a lasso. I didn't like it at all... the whole experience was degrading from start to finish and I didn't feel like a human again until I got to my hotel. Yet there are reports from those flying Hooters Air that this isn't the case... that they have good meals on the flights, and everyone is treated well, and the girls smile at them and are helpful. I'm sure the orange shorts help, but if that's all it was, I don't think this airline would have lasted 2 years and looking to expand.

Guns in School? Gun Safety classes in school? Many Americans remember their high school rifle teams... something of the good old days. But now in Arizona students can sign up for a class in gun safety. Check this out. How cool is that? That would have been one class I never skipped. Of course there is a lot of people that are going to be fighting against this tooth and nail... the Anti-Gun crowd never rests. I would like to see shooting sports come back to schools. Thanks to the safety rules and the enforcement of those rules... shooting sports are one of the most safe sports a student could participate in. Look at all the injuries in Football, Soccer, Rugby, and the like... kids get seriously hurt all the time. Even some deaths. But let's get right down to the brass tacks here. Kids – most kids - today do not know what guns really are. They see them in TV and in Cartoons as something that is completely inaccurate as to the nature of guns... that guns are cool and no one ever gets killed with guns... then they are told that guns are pure evil... that there is no other evil in the world morally speaking... but guns are evil. So when they come across a real gun they have no clue as to what to do with it or how to handle it. The anti-gun maniacs out there have even fought against the NRA's Eddie Eagle program which tries to teach kids that if they find a gun to simply not touch it and go tell an adult. If they were really concerned for the safety of the children, you would think that the anti-gun people would support that NRA program. More proof that the Liberal Anti-Gun people are truly a pack of idiots. Well, this news from Arizona is heartwarming and brings hope to my clouded outlook for the future. Buy why does it have to be in Arizona? Good grief... Why can't it be someplace that doesn't hit 115 degrees in the shade?

I had a long rant written about politics and China... specifically about an intel report regarding future threats from China and the politicizing of that report to basically remove everything that actually shows that there is a threat. Unfortunately I lost it. Basically putting political spin on intel reports in a post 9-11-01/WMD America is truly disgusting and I am appalled.

Yesterday I took Ranger up into the mountains to hunt some rabbits. I nailed two P-dogs with the Marlin using this new ammo I picked up Federal Core-Lock stuff. I found it to have good energy and good ballistics... it's loaded a little hotter than the Winchester stuff. Unfortunately it also uses a harder primer and out of a box of 20 I had 2 rounds that required a second strike to fire and a 3^rd round that didn't fire after 4 or 5 strikes. So while it's pretty good stuff, I think I'm going to stick with the Winchester loads. In your .30-30, it would probably work fine as mine has lighter springs than standard.

Today we are going to Chiefies Canyon for a picnic with the family and with the inlaws. This area is... well... it crawls. The place is haunted and you can feel it. Most people only feel spooked out after dark there. But I can feel it during mid day. Something happened there... something very bad. And that event has left a mark. Not sure what it was that happened, but it involved some indians. I talked to one Ute I had in one of my classes and this area was known to him. They advise to stay away and they will not go there. So off we go to have a happy picnic there. This is a little crazy in my opinion. You have to wheel in. As luck will have it, my Bronco is fully kitted out for going into harms way. Not that guns will have any effect on ghosties... but they do make me feel a whole lot better.

Friday, May 27th, 2005: Evening: Linux – AK-47's – CZ P-01's – V-8's – BFG AT's – Four Wheel Drive. Things that have made me smile today... a lot. If you are missing out on any of the above, you are really missing out.

Windows is almost ready for the Desktop. I caught this article off Slashdot, and while it is pretty tongue in cheek, I couldn't agree more. I don't know how many times I've built a PC, threw one of my Linux CDs on it and enjoy the new hardware's speed and functionality... only to have to reformat the hard drive and install Windows XP... and then hunt around for all the device drivers that are missing... most often than not we are talking Graphics, Sound, and NIC. The three biggies... and sometimes things like SM BUS Controller, and my personal favorite “Unknown Device”. The Windows CD Key and Product Activation is a special kind of pleasure that is unknown to the Linux user. And like what happened to me today – even all the better when the Activation Required comes up, and you type in the numbers exactly... and it tells you authentication failed. Then you have to call Microsoft and go through a much longer Installation ID number with an automated system.... and of course that fails so you have to go through that whole number again with a live operator from India who only yesterday learned the English language... so that she can give you another long series of numbers and letters. So here we are 25 minutes later after a 55 minute installation and another 30 minutes of downloading device drivers and you still can't get the damned sound to work. Funny... Windows is so much more expensive, takes so bloody long, is such a headache, and then after you get it all set up... You get to play with all the lovely Viruses and Spyware out there that will make you have to do everything all over again in 3 months or less. I've seen guys spend equal the amount of dollars on software that they did on their computers just so they can do the internet/email thing, write reports, and edit some digital photos. Linux can be had for Zero and comes with all the stuff you need and or you can download all the stuff you need for free. So basically for your money you could have purchased twice the machine. And Linux installs in like 10 minutes.... done. There you go. I've come to the conclusion that I really and truly do hate Windows. Do NOT get me started on Windows 98. I can't stand working on a Win98 machine. Win95 I just wont do. If you bring me a Win95 box to repair... then we are not friends anymore and I'm going to hurt you.

Thursday, May 26th, 2005: Evening: War with China. As I have said before, I have no problem with the people of China. As a nation I respect the people, and their country's vast and noble history. My problem is with the Government of China that wants nothing more than to kill Americans. They have threatened to go to war with American many times in the last few years, up to and including using nuclear weapons on us. Really, the psychopaths that are running China are acting like power-mad thugs and bullies. These sorts get no respect from me. Moreover, these sorts should be extremely grateful that I am not the POTUS, because I would put my steel toed boot right up their ass. The regular people of China are another subject. In fact, they want nothing more than to just Be Americans. (I think that was made in Hong Kong... I don't know of a Wal-Mart in a mall with "Hong Kong" on the side of it... but there are plenty of Wal-Marts in China, and more opening all the time.  Maybe this wasn't in HK... I could be wrong) Much like the rest of the world when they are not cursing us in public. This is one of America's greatest strengths. While India and China might be getting into insidious agreements over technology and making plans for the future... that's all fine and well. Because all they are trying to do is to become ever more like America. And either of them would be more than happy to come over here to America. This is why we need to be more active in exporting America whenever we can. While that little music video was nothing more than just a bit of fun... it shows something on a deeper level. They want to be who we are. So all we have to do to eventually overcome all opposition is to simply just be ourselves. We don't have to conquer... we can just franchise. That's something they (no matter who they are) can not do.

This morning an email came in: “Dear Webmaster, I am interested in buying your domain madogre.com for $400. I’m only interested in the domain not in your content, so you can sell your domain and move your content to another domain. If you are interested please respond to this e-mail. Regards, Bettina Jensen bdomains@itmarketinggroup.com”

I've already sent my reply that I am absolutely not interested and that $400 is nothing short of an insult. MadOgre.com is not for sale. Not even close to being for sale. Well, not unless the amount of money was some crazy large amount, then I'd consider it, because, well... that would have to be a very large sum of money... but 400 bucks? Not worth it. I AM The Mad Ogre... All the world knows that. Who else would be Mad Ogre? I've Googled it... and I've Clusty'd it... I can't determine who else would want MadOgre.com? I've also looked for any information from itmarketinggroup and came up with nothing but a blank. Which makes me think this was pretty shady.

Now, what is NOT shady... is buying a VEPR from FBMG. Email from one of The Horde: “Thanks for the heads up on the VEPR deal, those are very good prices. I've already got a 5.56 VEPR-K with the brake and it cost me nearly $600 at the local gunshow last year. Would have been about $35 cheaper, but they had to tack that god damn sales tax on there. I've been thinking about getting a 7.62x39 VEPR II for awhile now to go with the 75rd drum I have, I think it would make a great RPK style gun if I also added a bipod.”

My pleasure... but it wouldn't just be an RPK style gun... it's pretty much a semi-auto short barreled RPK when you get right down to it. Now I have seen, but don't remember where.... an outfit that takes your VEPR II's and puts on the longer RPK barrels and I think US made furniture to turn them back into RPKs. Semi-auto of course. That would be very cool. I've also seen someone take the .308 version of the VEPR and build it into a more ammo friendly SVD (Dragunov). Now that would make for a fun rifle. I'd be interested in one eventually... but these days I'm into shorter longarms. The VEPR K will do me just fine.

For you gamers out there. I have Empire Earth II, and after playing it a few times to check it out... have come to the conclusion that it sucks rocks. It's like a ripoff of Rise of Nations which is a better developed game by comparison. Anyways... if RTS is your thing... and you don't have Rise of Nations... you will probably like it. I don't, but that's because I'm a fickle and picky bastard when it comes to my games. If anyone out there wants to trade a game for a game (I've got the box and everything... it's unregistered and all that) then drop me a line... We'll trade. Retail CDs of Retail CDs. Or for a working cracked Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for the PC. (I'm not that picky) Anyways, I'm uninstalling EEII off my PC right now... there... done... it's gone... and I want to get rid of this thing... get something I can get into. Any trades?

Techy stuff: Do you have a small network at home or work? Check this out. The Maxtor NAS something or other... I set up a 300 gig unit for a local police department and it worked very well. The set up was very easy. I pulled it out of the box, plugged in the AC adapter, and then the CAT5 cable into the NAS and then into their switch. Then I logged onto of the PD's computers and presto... there was the device waiting for me. I popped in the CD and it was pretty much nothing more than a wizard to let you configure the device how you want it in a very idiot proof manner. I logged into a different computer and was able to hit the device without the install CD and configure that through the built in config panel. Now here is the kicker. Maxtor sells another external storage device called the One Touch or something like that. This one connects to the PC with a simple USB2 connection. But I plugged that into the NAS in a daisy chain... the NAS has a pair of USB2 ports right there on the back. The NAS recognized and configured the One Touch device, and through the NAS's config panel I was able to format the One Touch and set it how we wanted it. Very cool... technology that actually worked as advertised and right out of the box. Loved it. Very simple solution. Also very cool is that you can install Norton Ghost onto the PC's and tell it to back up the PC as an image and save that image file to the NAS automatically. So not only is the system automated, but with Ghost you wont even have to look for device drivers should you have a crash. Easiest solution I can think of. And with the daisy chain configuration you can back up your backups and even store that off site if you like. Secure it... keep it safe... whatever you want. I liked it. It was actually fun to set up. Check it out if you are in a shop that has need for backing up or for more network storage... great solution.

Have you seen that cover Newsweek put on their overseas editions? Fuck Newsweek. I had heard of this cover, but had not actually seen it until I caught the link from Kim. Bastards, indeed. I'm sick to death of American “Journalists” bashing America. They can all go to that special level of hell reserved for Lawyers, Child Molesters, and people who talk in theaters.

Wednesday, May 25th, 2005: Late Night: For the life of me I can not understand this Senate compromise over the filibuster issue. We had the majority and all we had to do was stick together... but 7 guys evidently didn't get the latest Enzyte shipment and went all limp. These guys had best stand tall before the man and come in with the team for the big win or someone will take a giant shit on them come next elections. So in essence as I understand it, we gave up on a number of appointments so we could get 3. This is a giant loss! The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.
The consensus on the filibuster issue is that it should stay... but that the senator that steps up to do it has to actively do it... has to stand there and talk. No potty breaks, no lunch breaks... he has to work for his delay. As soon as he steps down he gives up the floor and it's over. That's the way it used to work, and if these jackholes want to talk about “traditions” then they need to go back and do it right. If anything, these slimebags will have to work for a while and we will at least be entertained. The more I watch the government, for some reason the more my ass feels sore.

You guys have heard me talk about the AK and it's variants... you guys have heard me talk about the best variant out there... the VEPR. (BTW, VEPR means “Boar” in Russian) While being the best AK's one could get, they have always been a little spendy. I've seen them as high as 800 bucks before. You want a good deal on one? Check this out. FBMG has put together a group buy on them. Whatever variant of the VEPR you want, they can hook you up. How this works is that you place your order and when they get enough orders together they place it with Robinson all at once. They have already made arrangements with Robinson and its all squared away and rolling. If you have any questions, or want to place your order please email FBMG at: sales@fbmginc.com with "VEPR BUY" in the subject line. Oh, and tell them that “Ogre sent you”. I'm getting in on this too. That is an awesome price for what is flat out one of the very best fighting rifles in the world. And for those high speed, low drag types, you can easily modify your AK with bolt on modular bits that lets you dress up your AK like all the AR guys like to do. Seriously, evil black rifles do not get any more evil than the VEPR. I'm going for a VEPR K 7.62X39MM MB. But if you want a really sweet longer range weapon, the VEPR II in 5.45 with a COBRA optical gunsight mounted up top... man. That's a sweet shooter. James, one of the FMBG guys had an AK set up like that and I totally owned this rock that was 600 yards away. Every shot was an easy hit. I wasn't even trying, I was just tossing out the shots and they were eating that rock hard. And that was an SAR-3? Was it? I don't remember, but it wasn't one of the better examples of the AK breed. A VEPR II with that set up would just be unholy as far as evil black rifles go. If you have ever thought about getting an AK, now is the time, and these are the rifles to get.

No, I'm not working for FMBG either. But I'll be honest, these guys are my friends and I do geek out over the VEPRs, so there you have it. Get one.

Updated the Holster page... Take a look.

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