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Nov 29th, Friday 2002:
I almost lost the spirit of the season today.
This morning I went in to work at 6:30AM and observed a line from the
doors spanning several hundred feet almost blocking another store that
had it's own line reaching down to the next. The doors opened at
7:00 AM and the deluge of humanity's worst washed in like a rupture in
a submarine's hull. It was not a pretty sight and I was indeed
frightened... well I would have been frightened save the fact the
customers are the biggest geeks in Utah. I say that with
affection as I am a geek of sorts as well. Granted I did "Camp"
for Star Wars Episode One... I never waited in line for the release of
Windows 98! But I remember being on patrol that night and driving
past that line! I digress. I got chewed out by a customer
because we didn't have a selection of N64 games. I also got
chewed out at 1:00PM we were sold out of the limited quantity of 20 gig
hard drives for 19 bucks... Remember when I said we opened at 7?
Those sold out at like 7:02. The customer some how didn't
appreciate my suggestion of coming out earlier next year. *sigh*
Yes, the 200 people in line since 5:00AM was entirely my fault.
It was my plot to screw Mrs Tardy-Pants out of a bargain hard drive.
(Insert evil laughter here) Anyways, like I said, I almost lost
the spirit of the season. What redeemed it was the
cooperation and team work of my team, a friend, and coming home to a
warm and happy home with dinner and a movie waiting for me - with a
foot rub as a bonus. In fact, I picked up a Christmas Tree
this very night. It's a very small one this year, but a pretty
one. Small so that the little boys can reach higher to hang more
decorations that they would normally be able to do. Anyways, I am
feeling much better about damn near everything right now.
It seems that my
posting of the Library section has garnered a few applauses and
accolades and raised eyebrows. The selections are of course
impeccable, but like Bilbo's analogy, thin and stretched like butter
spread over too much bread. This is a matter of
availability. The question is where did I get them. The
answer is Russia.
www.lib.ru
You will have hunt and
peck around to find anything in English... but when you do it's a gem.
In the search box, just type the author or name of book your after and
you might find it. If it's illegal to post these on the internet,
anyone upset at this will have to go after the Russian Library, and a
few other Universities here in the US. I did not take a book and
sit down and retype the whole damn thing... neither did I scan one.
I only gleaned for my own edification that which was readily available
on the internet, then shared with you my readers and close
personal friends. Speaking of these books, my father has
communicated to me about the book "Chickenhawk". It turns out
that the book that gave me the shove to enlist is written about someone
that my Dad actually knows... back when he was trying to get in himself
to fly helicopters just like I did. For some reason he didn't
make that and ended up doing "Other Things". Wow, me and my Old
Man are shockingly alike. Anyways, read Chickenhawk... excellent
book.
Brotherhood of the
Wolf is the movie for tonight. After watching I must say that
I really liked it. This isn't an American action movie... but it
could have been. I think it's better because it wasn't. The
fight scenes were great. Stuff (especially at the end) that you
don't expect to see in this kind of movie. It was good.
Not as scary as I would have liked, but a good movie none the less.
The chicks were hot... nice love scene with a very cool transition
effect to the next scene... Some parts were a bit gross, but I think it
all went together very well for a French action movie. Yeah...
French. Forgive me, I know... How the hell did the French almost
conquer all of Europe and Russia? *sigh* that's another matter
all together. Let's just say that I still dislike the French, but
they made a very interesting film. Speaking of Movies I picked up
the RONIN DVD today. (five bucks) That car chase... it's a toss
up. Is it the best Car Chase scene ever or is Steve McQueen's
Bullet? I don't know. Bullet or Ronin. It's a tough
call.
Nov 28th, Turkey Day 2002:
We have a house full of family right now.
Good food is cooking and you can smell it. It's 8:30AM and
I am already hungry. I don't have to even think of work,
and the postman wont bring any bills today. Ah... it's a good
day!
Reading Starship
Troopers again in detail... What an amazing book. The movie
was a horrid abortion with the books name that has NOTHING to do with
the book. It's been awhile since I have read it... 10 years?
The book is more than just an adventure. It's a social commentary
about what is wrong with the US in 2002, even if it was written back in
the 50's. Hell, didn't he start this story back in the 40's?
If you haven't read STARSHIP TROOPERS. Read it. I'll post
the txt file. Hell, I just might have to open an
Ogre Library! Okay, so I just
did.
Some of these books
are my favorites. I'll add or even take away as I see fit.
If you have other ebooks, don't send them. But give me the URL so
I can pull it down. Thanks. Enjoy the day.
Nov 26th, Tuesday:
Email from an Ogre Veteran:
"If you want to see a short but sensible discussion of the wheels vs
tracks issue check out this online interview with LTC Ralph Peters
courtesy of PBS Frontline. Skip to the fifth question: "What about the
wheels tracks debate?"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/future/interviews/peters.html
Later, Steve" Thanks Steve for the heads up. The man has an
interesting point. But is a little incorrect. Tracks are
not fast? I was doing 65MPH one time and I was PASSED on my right
by an M1A1 that was cruising across the countryside off road just off
the freeway. For a 60 ton main battle tank that is pretty damn
fast. Funny, I seem to remember military HUMVEEs can only just
barely do 65 with a tail wind. If you want to talk about speed,
head out to the NTC and watch some of the armor units do there thing.
It's shocking just how swift those huge tanks can really be.
While at the same time, the wheeled units were just lumbering and
fighting for traction... scrambling on loose rocks and sliding around
trying to climb up a hill that moments before an M1A1 caught air on.
Now, he has a point, tracks have there place... and wheels have there
place. We can't go all or nothing with either tracks or wheels.
To do so would be limiting the US Armed Forces in a way as to ruin the
US's greatest strength... Flexibility. Let's just not try to make
our wheels into tanks.
Nov 25th, Monday:
There are so many things going on right now, I don't know where to
start.
First off, my fucking Jeep wont pass emissions. All the work that
was done dropped the score by over a thousand points... but I am still
40 points short. Those 40 points roll in during the idle test.
The other parts of the test are no problem. Screw it. I'll
drive the Jeep out to Vernal and register it out there. Fuck Utah
County. Yeah, you can tell, dropping some F-bombs I am super
pissed at this situation. The only thing I can think of to help
this jeep at this point is to drop in a damned Honda motor into it.
*sigh*
I threw up a list of
my favorite themes for the Pocket PC. It's in the Tech
Section. Dig it. Download all you like. If you have a
suggestion or a theme that you think I might like - don't send it to
me. But you can toss me the URL where I can see it. Having
any file sent to me - uh huh. That's a no go. I have all
attachments automatically deleted.
Now, back to my train
of thought... I'm reading Starship Troopers right now. If you
take into context when this book was actually written - it's amazing.
Talk about forward thinking. The Drop Mission profile is amazing.
Robert thought the whole thing through start to finish with astonishing
vision. Great book. I nominate it as the best Sci-Fi book
ever.
Green Tea with honey.
This is becoming one of my favorite drinks. Especially
in the evening with a good book brightly displayed on my iPaq, with a
nice thick quilt over my legs and a little fire crackling in my
fireplace. For some reason this is appealing to me almost as much
as going shooting does. Maybe I am growing old? Possible.
Mrs Ogre was pointing out all my grey hair the other day. Great.
Nov 24th, Sunday:
New gunsmith added to the Gunsmith Directory.
Better yet this is a Utah Gunsmith. A most welcomed edition
to the roster. Taylor Gunsmithing. It's by appointment
only, so give him a call if you need some work done. I talked to
him for a bit at the Crossroads of the West gunshow. Correia and
Bunten were there selling cammo and G-code holsters. They
made some killer deals with ASA and both got a couple very cool rifles
built on Cav Arms poly lowers. I looked at those lowers and I
have to admit I really liked them. Kudos to Larry and James for
those screaming deals! The cats at ASA are awesome. Very
cool people to have in the industry. I grabbed four 15 round hi
cap mags and one 20 rounder for my Beretta. That's about all I
got out of it. It was tough because there was a lot of very nice
candles and home made soap at the show... I was actually very tempted
to buy a rifle. A gorgeous Hawkins. But I really didn't
need one so I passed on it. Anyways, I was looking at a few
things there at the show and I came to the realizations that Utah Gun
Shows just plain SUCK. The last really good gunshow I've been to
was in Richmond, VA.
Email from Reader: "Doing
a search on the LAVIII, you mentioned it, not sure perhaps in one of
your archives and came across MadOgre. I agree on the comments
regarding it. Tracked vehicles for combat vehicles too, except in
ideal conditions for armored recce, but combat is usually far from
ideal. The New Zealand Army has decided by a somewhat restrictive
government tender that the
LAVIII will be their replacement for the M113. All I can say is, the
roads
in East Timor, monsoon rain in Asia, the Army will get plenty of
practice
on vehicle recovery techniques. Regarding armament, yes, the thing is
not
a tank. A Bushmaster or a 30mm RADEN is more the business, or
preferably
something with some explosive potential. Nothing in the line up for us
getting Coyote Armored Recce or TOWII or anything useful like that.
The
future of the New Zealand military looks bleak :( And all this after
the
government morons disbanded our Skyhawks. Believe it, no Close Air
Support
for our infantry or new armor. No air support for our Navy. Idiots.
That kid with his GI Joe action figure, man that was nuts. Couldn't
believe it, a 2 inch AR15, they didn't give a stuff how the kid felt.
That's like in TIME magazine the other month, we'll search 80 year old
Nuns because yeah, of cause they are terrorists. Com'on its about
being fair and reasonable and making reasonable assessments of threat.
Those bombers in that car, heading to a populated area, boooom! Good
call there Ogre, no virgins for them alright. Morons. The most
efficient way of dealing with murderers is for them to have a wee self
inflicted accident. Now, the 5.56mm issues. I've been on this
one for a few years myself. All the complains over the desert at the
moment. I'm an SLR fan myself, the British version of the FAL. And
speaking of the DSA, I loved the look of that beautiful creature so
much I added a link to my site. Would almost have to say, though I've
not given one a whirl, it would probably end up being my favorite rifle
if I did. If you need a 30 rounder for the final assault, just slap in
a rechambered Bren gun mag (just make sure the armourers have dealt
with the springs for improved loading) and there you have it. And yeah
anyone who complains about a REAL rifle having too much
recoil shouldn't have joined the military. Time to go home and place
with
Action man. I know this for sure, if there is a joker who is trying to
kill me, or worse, kill one of my mates', then when I hit him I want
him to
go down and stay down. Same dilemma with the 9mm as a combat pistol
vs.
.45. Nope, won't talk about that today. Anyway mate, I shot
along, after finding your site and spent a good couple of hours on it
last night. Not many I do that on, so thought I should at least send
you a e-mail and thank you for an awesome place on the web. Very
informative and entertaining, I'll be back. God Bless America.
Leon "Junior" Harrison Webmaster
Tarrackin's Home Scroll" Thanks for the email Leon, you
have a great website as well. Anyways, I am still waiting for our
trooper in the pacific northwest to weigh in on these LAVIII vehicles.
His unit is playing around with these new "Striker" vehicles as they
are called in the Army. I think the future of armored warfighting
is in smalled and faster units, but I doubt smaller and faster means
wheeled. With the advent of an electromagnetic driven cannon,
often called a "Rail Gun" or "Guass Rifle", traditional armor is pretty
much nothing more than damp tissue paper. Even the advanced
ceramic laminate armor used in the latest main battle tanks like the
Challenger and Abrams are very vulnerable to this new type of weapon.
If a standard smooth bore fires its sabot rounds at over 1 KPS, and
these rail guns can fire it at 10 KPS... you might as well just forget
armor all together and instead put the effort into the vehicle's
agility and speed. Maybe wheels would be just fine in a rig the
size of a Chevy Yukon armed with an automatic rail gun that can roost
like a Hot Rod. But I'm not sure. I've not seen any new
designs for fighting vehicles that moved any better than a school
bus... like these LAVIII units. Future of war comes down to
not being seen, seeing the enemy first, and putting an accurate shot
through that enemy's forehead. Ranges are getting longer and
longer and hiding is getting harder and harder. I'm not sure I
would even want to be anywhere near an armored vehicle. Even in
the future of war fighting, I'd rather be a Grunt.
Nov 23rd, Saturday:
After work I decided I wanted to read a good book.
I decided that I wanted to read it on my iPaq. I can do that, and
I have... but I am not happy with opening up one huge long txt file and
scrolling through it all. Its not the best way to read a book on
the little PDA screen. So I break out this little app I had
laying around called MS READER. Not bad. So what do I have
in ".lit" format? uh... nuthin. After a few seconds I have
downloaded a dictionary, and about a half dozen free ebooks. Not
bad. But these are not really the books I wanted to read.
The books I wanted are not in E-book format or they are charging you to
download them. Nice. What to do? Hmmm. There
has got to be a way to convert TXT files to .lit. You gotta love
the internet... few more seconds and I downloaded a tool to do that.
Next thing you know I have all my favorite .txt books ready to be
converted. It took only a few seconds and now I have
Neuromancer and Starship Troopers on my MS READER. Nice. MS
Reader is worth it. Makes everything much easier to read.
Now, if I could only find a txt file of "Sir Machinery"! Let's
see... 16 full length books on my iPaq and I didn't even use 1/2 of my
memory. Cool.
Tomorrow I have a lot to do. Swap out seats in my Jeep,
Shop inventory and a gunshow to hit. (have to sell my shotgun).
I'd rather kick back at home and just relax... maybe even go to church
(shock!) but instead I have some major projects to undertake. I
think I'll tackle it this way... 1. Seats. 2. Gunshow.
3. Inventory. Another thing I would like to have had time
to do... defeat Neverwinter Nights so I can delete that off my
PC! I'm stuck again. This time I am in the area where I think I
am to bump into a big red dragon. I've come across a couple other
dragons and killed them easily (Red Dragon Armor, the Dragon Slayer
sword and shield really help out! Glad I held on to those items!)
and now I am looking for this last one. I have the eggs from the
other two dragons, and I am in what looks like the summoning room...
but what do I do now? I'll think about it later. Oh, a
couple other items on the menu for tomorrow: I have some great
emails I am going to post. Been meaning to put them up.
Tomorrow evening maybe. Anyways, it's late... I think I am going
to watch a movie and fall asleep sipping either green tea with honey or
hot chocolate... hmmm maybe the tea with an e-book? Yeah,
there it is! G'night.
Nov 21st, Thursday:
Today has been very interesting indeed.
My jeep now has new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, air
filter, oil and filter for that too, and U-joints. The engine is
running like a totally different engine. I guess it's such a
dramatic change because my old plugs - well, 3 of them were bridged.
This is very odd because the old plugs are only 6 months old.
There was so much build up it was disgusting. I'll have to take
some photos because this is unbelievable. I should pass the
emissions inspection now.
I heard on the radio
that 2 US Soldiers were shot today on the highway while off duty just
south of Kuwait City. Here is what happened a Kuwaiti
policeman pulls them over, sees two Americans, pulls his gun and shoots
one in the face and the other in the shoulder then takes off supposedly
to Saudi Arabia.. Nice. See if we save your fucking country
again... asshole. Here is my take on this situation... From now
on - every American where ever they are fully authorized with full
diplomatic immunity to carry machineguns and hand grenades. If
the host country doesn't like that - they can kiss our asses and give
back all the money we give them. Fuck the middle east and
everyone in it.
Okay, today is going to be interesting.
I have so much to do it's insane. I have to run a tech shop, make
sure an onsite service is done, ship off a custom rifle, get all the
parts I'm going to need for my jeep... take the freaking axels off, and
take the motor apart... all the while making sure my wife and kids to
to and fro school. This is nuts, but it all has to be done and
finished today. Thank heavens for some help I'm getting from
Carl, an ogre reader and friend who just happens to be an excellent
mechanic with a little time to spare. Anyways, today is one large
puzzle of critical pieces of conflicting shapes that I have to make fit
all in a relative few hours. So I am taking a deep breath
and plunging in. Wish me luck in large quantities!
Nov
20th, Wednesday:
ADS, Applied Digital Solutions is the company I mentioned earlier in
the year. They make a computer chip that is able to be
implanted under the skin. This has the ability to store
information that is accessed with a "Reader" device that scans the chip
and reads it's return signal. Such information can be used for
probably a great many things... but it's main use is basically as an ID
tag. Permanent dog tags if you will. Your name,
social security number, medical history, employment history, credit
history, and even as a pass over credit card. Truly the mark of
the beast if you take the bible to heart. I for one hate the
idea, and hate the company for doing it. But if the bible is
right, then this technology will grow. That means this company
will grow. They are pretty much flaunting this fact by
going against the FDA's recommendations (read "Orders"). They
are doing something the FDA told them not to do and when confronted
they say "No We Didn't." Nice. BTW, this technology is
already in use in horse racing to ID horses. Mandatory at the
bigger race tracks.
New CDs came in the
mail thanks to John. First CD I looked at - the Blade Runner
sound track... very cool. Great movie, and this CD makes for some
cool "Back Ground" music. This is getting "ripped" ASAP in the
morning at work. Can't think of better music to play in a Tech
Shop. The other CD is called "Ultra Zone" by Steve
Vai. Now you may or may not know who Steve Vai is... I knew of
him and heard his work (who hasn't?) but Ive never had one of his
albums. Vai was schooled by the Jedi Master of Modern Guitar,
none other than Satriani himself. You can hear (feel) the
master's influence but Vai is his own Jedi Knight in his own right.
Great player, and some of his stuff is just masterful as all get out.
Check out some Vai if you get the chance. I'll be ripping this
one as well. Thanks John... You Da Man!
 Looks
like I am going to have to hire someone as a service writer.
If your in Orem, Provo and you need a part time job in the evenings.
Let me know. Fast.
Correia has some new
stuff for the Molon Labe Gear -
JACKETS! For some reason it seems like all my T-shirts
are either TFL, or Molon Labe. I gotta get a jacket now!
Nov
19th, Tuesday 2002:
Been looking at the PDA's lately. Man, there are a lot of
them! Yesterday's opinions not only still stand, but are
reinforced. I'll put them in an order - 1:
Compaq
iPaq. 2:
Sharp Zaurus. 3:
Toshiba E740. I'd trade my
iPaq 3870 for a Sharp Zaurus in a heartbeat. I rate the
iPaq's higher, but I am drawn to the Linux OS like a moth to the flame.
I can't help it.
So I roll the Jeep
into a shop to get the Inspections done. Evidently my old AMC
is kicking out too many hydro-carbons to pass the smog test and the
broken seat back wont let it pass safety inspection. Hmmm... I
need work done. I need a tune up and I need that seat back either
fixed or replaced. (Looking at a replaced seat) Crap.
I have a 400 budget on this so I can't just order a Recaro... That and
I need this NOW. Looks like I'll be busy hunting for the seat.
Nov
18th, Monday 2002:
Today computer maker DELL (as in "Dude your not getting one that
works right") has released it's own little PDA. Its called
the
Axim X-5 and looks pretty sweet. Standard features of
most PPC PDA devices (Pocket PC) such as 64 megs of RAM on board with
an SD card slot and a built in CF card slot. Compaq went to fight
this new PDA threat by throwing out a ghetto version of it's lovely
iPaq. The new iPaq actually isn't ghetto... it's just like the
other iPaqs with last year's StrongARM processor. The only thing is
that it's a 200MHZ processor. Nevermind that the 400 mhz
processor has virtually no performance gains over the 200 because all
the aps are written for the 200. The iPaq has style points all
over the new Dell. The Dell is not just ugly, but it's fat and
ugly. We are talking Anna Nicole Smith here. *shudder*
If you want a PDA that has the same features as DELL, there are the
TOSHIBA PDAs. The Toshiba units are great. And hey, if you
need one that's even cheaper, there is the Audiovox. Yeah, the
cats that made the stereo in my old Audi and VW. It's a decent
PDA... running PPC and has the same features as the DELL.
Let me tell you guys, I LOVE my iPAQ. I use it to write MadOgre
updates while at work or waiting around in a meeting or where ever I am
standing. The iPaq is cat's meow... unlike other PPC units, it's
actually expandable with Compaq's use of "Backpacks". These
backpacks are not the most elegant of solutions but they work and they
work well. You have options for CF cards, PC cards, Cell phones
and even a couple different freaking GPS units. The last two
business trips I have been on the laptop was taken, sure. But it
was left in the hotel room and was used only as an MP3/DVD player and
as a keyboard for the documents on the iPaq. I'd dock the iPaq to
the laptop when I went to bed to charge the batteries and then simply
use the iPaq throughout the day. It worked great. I didn't
have to bring the laptop... I have a small AC adapter I could have
used, but the AC adapter doesn't have 15 gigs of MP3 files and play DVD
movies. Great for staying in a hotel with a poor cable channel
selection. My choice for PDA's is obviously the iPaq, with a nod
of respect to the Toshiba. Another interesting PDA is the Sharp
Zaurus. I have always loved the Zaurus and consider it to be one
of the finest PDA's you can buy. It has two features that make it
especially interesting. 1, it has a QWERTY keypad hidden under a
sliding cover. That's trick. And 2, it is running LINUX. I
really don't think a PDA can get any cooler than that. Linux is
the future of computing... so just deal with that. The latest
distributions of Linux are becoming very sophisticated and you no
longer have to be a programmer to use them. They can be a great option
for someone needing an operating system and office suite for SOHO or
student usage. The Zaurus is the natural option for the Linux
user as most any Linux app can be ported over to the PDA. And
it's a beautiful little device as well. If I was going to buy
another PDA and I couldn't get an iPaq, i'd get the Sharp offering in a
heartbeat.
Email from my most loyal Mad Ogre Reader... I was feeling blue last
week, and she know just how to cheer me up:
"George, I have been thinking alot about my dad. I thought might
like to hear some of the things, I remembered about him. When I was in
Jr. High, my Dad use to take me and my mom up past Seattle, and rent a
small row boat. We would go out into the sound, in that little bitty
thing, and we would fish all day. He handled that small row boat
out in that freaking bay like he had always done it. I think back about
it now, and get scared to death. Gee's I couldn't even swim. I
wasn't afraid though, cause I trusted my Dad. I remember going
with him when I was in maybe the second grade, way up into the
mountains, to some logging camps where he would tune up the big logging
cats. He would take me during the summer up those windey little dirt
roads, that loggers use. We would stop and buy one "sodie" for our
lunch, and put it in a stream while we did the work. He taught me how
to grease those big ole things. I would get the grease guns, and go all
over those big cats, squirting oil or what ever the heck it was I was
using into the little spouts, that were located all over those
tractors. We would stop and have lunch and then back to it. We would
work together all day, and then head home around dark. I would
look like a mud hen, by the time we got back, and usually fell asleep
in the ole Ford pickup my Dad drove. We would talk about the deer we
saw, and the views and he would tell me stories about his boyhood.
Those were some of my most favorite times. He taught me how to do a lot
of things. I use to could change the oil in my car, and change a tire.
He taught me how to paint, and use tools. He never swore, but I do
remember one time, he hit his thumb with the hammer, and he said the
Sob. word, and it scared me to death. There are so many neat funny
stories he would tell me, about him and his brother, just trying to
grow up and survive during the depression. He was an amazing man. For
someone who never made it farther than the third grade, he managed to
become an inspector for Boeing Co. He did all the welding on the new
chapel that was built in Renton, Wash. He was the only one in his
family other than his mother who stayed true to the church. His
brothers made fun of him, and kinda used him a lot, yet when they were
dying, and sick, he was the first one they called. He was a great man.
He honored his parents, and loved his family, and served two missions
for his church. You remind me of this great man, son, and I know he
watches over you. We have such a great heritage of awesome people in
our family. They were just hard working decent people. Maybe one of
these days, I will sit down and write some of the things I remember
about these great people, who are part of you. Love ya dear boy, mom"
I remember my Grandfather... He passed away when I was young, but I
remember him well. He was indeed a great man and I loved him.
Still do. I remember him always eating these little hot chili
peppers out of these little jars... He would munch on them with every
meal it seemed. One day I asked to try one. He looked at me
for a few seconds, looked around to see if Grandma was around, "Sure."
Then he gave me one. HOWDY! I've yet to taste something that hot!
He was just laughing and had a grin the rest of the day. Next day
he asked if I wanted another one. I said no thanks and he was
laughing all over again. Looking back on it, I think it was
pretty funny. Even if today some folks would consider it child
abuse or something. I remember him playing dominos with the
other adults. Yeah, he was a great guy. Wow, being compared
to him... geeze... Those are big shoes to fill. That's a lot to
live up to!
Neverwinter Update
- thanks for the playing tips. I'm well past that spot now.
Nov 17th, Sunday:
Problems... Thanks for all the help and advice on my issues in the
past. The Washer is washing and the DVDs are spinning just
fine... life is good.
Well, there is one little detail that is troubling. I'm playing
Neverwinter Nights. In fact, I'm pretty deep into it. But I
have come to a point where I am stuck. I'm at the end of Chapter
2, and if you are a NWN player then you'll know what I am talking
about. If not, just skip to the next paragraph because I'm
geeking out here on this game. Okay, so I have 2 journals to
prove my case that the Cultist are based in Luskan. Aribeth signs
off on it and authorizes me to go to Luskan. I talk to the big
fella next to Aribeth and he tells me he is going to have one of his
homies open the gate for me so I can get into luskan. I then hike
all the way north to the gate and there is no guards there. Well,
uh... that's because I may have killed them earlier in the chapter.
It wasn't my fault, really. The guard said something stupid and I
insulted him... then he attacked me! I had no choice but to defend
myself! Uh, so I slaughtered the two guards and ditched the bodies.
What else could I have done? Anyways, so here I am thinking
"Great, I popped off the cat that was supposed to unlock the door for
me". So I go back to the Master of Spies, but I don't tell him I
lopped off his Bro's head with my +3 Bastard Sword... I just try to
drop the hint that he isn't there. Anyways, so he is like "Why
are you still here?" And then Aribeth is getting pissed at me
because she seems to think that I don't understand that we have an
urgency here to make sure all these Cultists are killed all because her
late boyfriend was an idiot and let them reek havoc in Neverwinter.
Nice. So here I am... stuck at the Green Dragon Inn wondering how
the hell I'm going to get passed that locked gate. *sigh*
So this morning I am
reading the paper and all the sudden I'm just really bored.
So I go and take out the trash, then I jump under the hood of the
Cherokee and start tightening some bolts and stuff... then I'm all done
with that and I am just really really bored now. I want to go
shooting and I think I will. Normally I don't go shooting on
Sundays. Sundays is the day to stay at home and relax. But
from now on I have to work 6 days a week. So this is my only time
until next Sunday to do anything. Monday to Saturday... working.
Why? I don't have a good answer for that other than My Boss Says
So and If I don't like that, I can just quit. So pretty much I
have to like it. *!@#$!$!@#$)!!! Anyways, I'll deal with
that... but in the mean time, I want to go do something with my ONLY
DAY OFF. I'm going to go do some blasting... see ya!
Nov 16th, Saturday:
Email from a fellow Ogre: "5.56mm
Fragmentation. Hey Ogre, you know what I think is funny? All of
these guys you see using AR-15s for home defense. They say that 5.56mm
ball ammunition will fragment in sheetrock, drywall, or flesh,
therefore negating over-penetration. They say it'll penetrate less
layers than hollow point pistol ammunition. Okay, to my mind, this is
just wrong on so many levels. First off, let's assume .223 DID, in
fact, fragment as the Gun Shop Commandos claim it does. Would you
really want a rifle round in battle that fragmented on things like
plywood? Because sometimes enemy soldiers will, you know, HIDE BEHIND
stuff, so as to make themselves harder to hit. I'd like a round that
could defeat minimal cover. And that doesn't even get into body armor.
But facts are facts. I've shot 5.56mm ball ammo at a steel pot helmet
at a range of about 10 yards. I've done the same to an old 55 gallon
drum, both from a 16" barrel. Small hole in, slightly larger hole out.
No fragmentation. So, if anybody is planning on using rifle ammo
for home defense, I'd say they had best find some targets of similar
structure to their home walls and see for themselves how well the
rounds penetrate or fragment. Because frankly, if they can't make a
hollow point pistol round that penetrates less than a FMJ rifle bullet
moving at thrice the velocity, there is something seriously screwed up
here. Also, another thing that's funny. These guys that say a 20"
barreled rifle is too long for home defense or close quarters battle,
yet a 16" barrel is so much more maneuverable. My Guard unit still has
M16A1s. I find the light-barreled A1 to be much handier and quicker on
target than these goofy heavy barreled, 16" post-ban carbines. Why do
all the ARs have heavy barrels now? The M16A2 was developed that way to
try to turn it into a battle rifle, something it can never be due to
the cartridge it fires. At any rate, an overall length of 40" is fine
for close quarters. Sure, in some situations it'll seem to long. In my
upstairs hallway, you couldn't hold an MP5 at the shoulder and turn
around without having to lower the muzzle. But for CQB, one must
remember that many modern buildings are open and large. Besides,
many of the guys who say the 20" barreled rifle is too long for close
quarters use can also be seen using 20" barreled shotguns for home
defense. Sorry this got so long, LOL, just a little rant. Glad
you like the Mossberg shotgun. Does it have a heavy barrel and bayonet
lug? If not, you have the standard M590 model (as opposed to the 590A1
that has the HB and lug). Good shotguns. I think the A1s are a little
muzzle heavy anyway. Cheers. mkupari" Thanks
for the great email! I've not been posting any emails lately
because mostly they have been rather unintelligent... I had one the
other day and then this one... Hopefully more feedback will come with
some neurons firing like these guys! Anyways, back to this
email. No, this shotgun is a model 500A, nothing fancy.
Bead sight, no rib or shield or lug. But it is a heavy barrel.
The folding stock in an aftermarket unit. Not a flimsy Choat
unit, but a solid steel unit that can take some punishment. Yeah,
that is funny isn't it, about the barrel lengths and weight. I
have it posted many times that if you have to ask what to get for home
defense, the answer is always "A shotgun". Like my Mossy here,
it's a 20 inch barrel like most home defense models out there.
This opinion of mine is shared by most knowledgeable shooters.
Most of these same knowledgeable shooters would recommend or even
select a 12 gauge for home defense regardless of skill. If the
question is home defense, the answer is a shotgun. "Home defense
= shotguns". There reasons for this are plenty. Or if you
can have only one gun to do everything with, or you want to buy your
first gun... shotgun. Reliable, simple, shockingly powerful, and
with so many different loads of 12 gauge out there, it's like a
multi-roll fighter. It can do any mission. It's a good
choice. Now, you take some of those same shooters and they will
also talk about the use of a rifle for home defense and 90% of the time
they are talking about an AR-15 pattern gun. That's fine and
dandy, and not even going into the bullet construction and loading
selections... they are all insisting on that tight little 16 inch
barrel. That would be fine and well, but it has to be a heavy
barrel. Maybe some fluting in there, but even those start out
with a heavy barrel. Then they are wanting that "A2" buttstock,
and they want this gadget or that gizmo and that option and that
accessory. After it's all said and done that little 16 inch AR is
as heavy as an M1 Garand! Guys, that's defeating the purpose!
I've entertained the thought of getting another AR sometime in the
future... but I know exactly what I want on it. 16 inch barrel,
yeah, I want that. I want it because I can't have a 10.5 inch
barrel. I love short barrels on everything so this shouldn't be a
surprise. BUT, I want that 16 inch to be a featherweight barrel.
I want a light stock... this means the old Colt 4-Position unit that if
this is for a post ban receiver will have to be pinned and epoxied into
place. That's fine, because it's still the lightest one out
there. A rifle isnt easy and or handy because of the length or
weight... it's a factor of both. For a fighting rifle or home
defense rifle, your not getting much of a bonus for having a 2 inch
shorter barrel if your weight is the same. (or in many cases greater)
We have all seen photos of some Swat cat hanging off ropes from some
building getting ready to enter a window while holding a short AR with
all these gadgets hanging off it... Yeah, that looks pretty
tight. Is it needed for the guy that maybe goes shooting 1
Saturday every few months when the weather is nice and Wal-Mart had a
good price on Winchester whitebox rounds? Uh, I don't think so.
I like a short handy rifle probably more than most people... It's an
addiction. But guys, that is not the holy grail for home defense.
That little rifle of yours is now heavy and complicated. I hope
your wives know how to work it as well as lift that damn thing!
K.I.S.S. And I'm not talking about the band. KEEP IT SIMPLE
STUPID! Aircraft landing lights, lasers, scopes (it's now cool to
have 2 scopes), radios, extra hand grips, Video cameras, ballistic
computers, kick-stands, and GPS are all things that you are being told
by the gun magazines that you need to have on your little rifle.
Hell people, if you have all that shit your carrying, do you have
enough strength to carry some rounds too? When I was down in
Vegas at the World Championship 3 Gun Tactical Match, I saw something
that was just astonishing. On the Arizona Rangers Team (GREAT
PEOPLE - SALT OF THE EARTH - GOOD GUYS! I love those guys, they
rock) the designated rifleman used a plain old AR-15. Nothing
special about it and he had nothing with it. He went Toe to Toe
against this other guy with all kinds of stuff on his rifle. The
Ranger stayed in the match with just irons sights and no kickstands or
anything because he just knew how to drive his gun. He had the
skills. You can't buy skill from an gun store. You
have to get the skills the old fashioned way... you have to earn it.
This was a very practical example that you can still be effective
without all the doo-dads. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Corriea has an update
for us again... Check it out.
He makes a good point about the AW ban. There is no way the AW
ban will get set into law again... It's going to sunset and will simply
go away. Everyone in Congress and the Senate sitting on the right
hand side knows they are there because of us. Gun Control is not
the holy grail of politics anymore... These guys know Anti-Gun actions
will make them unemployed. This AW ban will sunset, and things
will get back to normal.
Nov 15th, Friday:
"I'm just sayin." What the fuck does that mean? It
seems some people have taken up the notion that they can say rude or
offensive things and it's okay if they tag it "I'm just sayin."
WTF? Your not just sayin anything... your just an asshole.
I've got some people I deal with on a daily basis that use that little
phrase all the freaking time and it drives me up a wall. Well I
am so glade they are "just sayin" because I might just have to say a
few things my own self. Drives me up a wall. Then
last night my wife tosses out an "I'm Just Sayin." I pretty
much vent my rant at her about the use of that phrase. I
shouldn't have done that. I didn't mean to and her use of the
phrase was rather innocent. My apologies to me beloved.
However these cats I'm dealing with - it is the favorite catch phrase
of the season. The attitude is that you can walk up to someone
and say "Hey man, you are fat and you have bad body odor..."
Normally this would be considered rude and offensive, but then the tag
the comment "I'm just sayin." As if "just sayin" makes everything
alright and changes the words like a "Silent E". No, that's not a
"Cap" it's a "Cape"... changing the meaning from a slam to a unbiased
and impersonal observation that should be taken as a footnote for
future reference. I don't think so. I've got a guy
that is implying that my tech shop sucks and they he goes and drops
that just sayin bullshit and I'm thinking, "Well, then you can get the
fuck out. I'm just sayin."
Payday. Today
I pick up my check and make that deposit into the bank. I should
have just enough after paying all the bills and filling out the next
two weeks budget to grab a used Washing Machine. *sigh* Big
fun. Anyone have a Washing Machine?
Nov 14th, Thursday 2002, 9:00PM:
What a beautiful film.
The special edition of LOTR Fellowship of the Ring is just amazing.
The extra footage is nothing that I would call "Mission Critical" to
telling the story... but if your a true LOTR fan, it is the good stuff.
This is the cream filling. This makes the movie the pinnacle
example of the perfect Book to Film conversion. The only thing
now is that they have raised the bar... fans like me are going to be
looking for these kinds of details in the next two films.
In the new Two Towers trailers, we see an Ent. I strongly suspect
it's Treebeard. Thanks to Steve for pointing that out. I
may have mentioned this before but I want to mention it again.
This next film is going to blow the doors off the first one. But
let's not stop there. The Tolkien readership out there knows
bloody well that the last book will make even these first two films
look like the old animated flicks.
Rally round the family
- pocket full of shells. Today I picked up a new toy.
This was from a deal made some time ago that finally arrived the other
day and I only now had time to pick it up... A 9 shot Mossberg 500 with
a Butler Creek side-folding stock. This is one hell of a shotgun.
I fired a couple rounds through it and BOY-HOWDY to you feel that
recoil! Especially right in the molars because of the thin steel
folding stock. I am going to find some thin neoprene type
foam pad and do up a wrap for that so I don't chip a tooth next time I
fire it.
I had the chance today
to handle a nice little pistol today. A broom handled Mauser
pistol. (aka Han Solo's gun... yeah, now you guys know what I'm talking
about) What a neat chunk of engineering. This thing was
about a hundred years old and still in almost PERFECT condition.
Still fully operable. The engineering and machining that went
into it is stunning. You know, the more I look at the older guns,
the more I love them. You can FEEL history right there in your
hands. You don't get that kinda feeling and respect for your
elders from holding say... an old waffle iron or butter-churn.
Too bad there are gun control freaks out there that would deny is such
an experience and would rather you hold an old waffle iron. I
can't articulate the experience - but it's there. You can feel
the history radiate from an old classic gun. I just hope you, my
readers know what I am talking about or can someday experience this
yourself and come to an understanding.
To follow up on the
DVD HELL post - as hinted at above - the DVD player is working.
Now, if I could just get my Spiderman DVD back from the friend I let
borrow it!
Email from an Ogre
Reader: "Dear Mad Ogre: Gotta disagree with the passage you've
chosen about the effectiveness of the 5.56mm green-tip ammo. Howe,
being a member of Delta Force, was using a CAR-15 with a 11.5" barrel.
This barrel length doesn't allow a high enough velocity for effective
tumbling action, which creates the devastating wounds the 5.56mm is
known for, and is a major reason the M4 was developed. If Howe's
targets were more than 10 YARDS away, there wouldn't be effective
fragmentation. Black Hawk Down is an excellent book/movie, and has been
a hotbed of controversy of the Maryland AR-15 website. Check out the
summary at
http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/bhdweaponreferences.msnw
Another this to consider for all those saying 7.62mm is so much more
effective than 5.56mm: Somewhere on the order of 90% of the U.S.
Forces were wounded in the Somalia events, but survived. What were the
Somalis using? Ak-47's firing 7.62 Russian. Keep up the good
work! Calanctus" Thanks for the email Cal.
The 7.62X39MM cartridge is an intermediate cartridge in the same ball
park as the 5.56MM Nato rounds. That round in and of it's self is
plenty potent, but that's not what I was referring to. I was
hinting at 7.62MM Nato. (aka The .308) despite the similar
outside diameter of the actual bullet, these two calibers are nothing
alike. .308 is a full blown battle rifle cartridge. The
ballistic energies are so far apart in the field that they are not even
playing the same sport. The fabled "Tumbling" or "Buzz Saw"
action of some bullets is just that... a fable. These bullets
never tumble. In terminal ballistics these bullets can and do
often rotate around so they are traveling ass-end-first. That
brief turn does allow for some greater wounding potential.
However I call things like this "Stupid Bullet Tricks" and place them
in the same category as jacketed hollow points. It's great when
they do that, but they don't always do it. You can't bank on that
effect. You have to bank on the minimal effects. It's like
saying Box Cutters take down jets. Well, yeah, that has happened
but not all the time. Too many times these rounds can also
just pass clean through... and not just AP ammo. Anyways... this
is not why the M-4 was "developed". The M-4 is a direct
descendant of the CAR-15 used in Nam. The idea wasn't for
anything other than the fact they wanted a shorter/lighter carbine.
That shorter lighter concept just kept on changing all on it's own into
the short weapon system that we call the M-4 today.
Nov 12th, Tuesday:
I'm in DVD HELL.
I picked up the new LOTR Special Edition 4 disk collection. And
my computer decides it no longer wants to play DVD movies. I can
see the movie, but the sound is stuttering. It isn't the Decoder.
I tried different ones. It isnt the "You need to reboot"
solution. I thought maybe it's the DTS sound, since it's a new
feature on this DVD set... so I pop in my old and busted version
of LOTR, and it doesn't want to play straight either... nor Army of
Darkness, Windtalkers, Spiderman, any of them... Great. Just
great. The set top DVD player I picked up - doesn't work. I
have no DVD playing ability now. SHIT DAMN HELL!
Yesterday was a great day... but today just SUCKED ASS. Bad day
at work... And I come home and my kids are all puking all over the damn
beds and our washing machine is still down - have to wait till Friday
or Saturday to wash out the vomit filled sheets in the new washer.
Now when I try to console myself with a nice movie in front of a
roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate... no go. Doesn't work.
I don't know what the hell this is - but I'll dig into it at work.
I think it's my motherboard. Anyways, I deal with PC issues all
farking day at work now so when I come home I am totally not in the
mood to deal with any PC issues of my own. DAMN IT! I'm
going to go to bed and read The Two Towers on my iPaq. DAMN
IT!!!! AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*sigh* Anyways,
I received a good email response ot an earlier post that I will post up
here when I feel capable of rational thought. DAMN
IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have an
automotive confession. Forgive me my dear and loyal readers... But
I would give my left nut for a Lincoln Navigator, and my right one for
an Aviator. I know they are flamboyant, excessive, extremely
un-practical, and grossly over priced... But I want a matched pair.
Black ones. They are so awesome... I just can't help it.
Besides, I have 5 sons already... Any more kids and I'd need a damn
Greyhound.
Chechnya's
Rebels vs Russians - the theatre debacle. This situation has been
discussed via some of the major news outlets. All declared that the
situation was tragic. All declared the resulting violence to be
horrible. But what is aggravating to me is the people that support the
rebels actions and blame the Russians for being too harsh. WTF color
is the sky in your "My Little Pony" universe? Let's look at some of
the facts of this case:
1. Chechen
Rebels - Terrorists - took some several hundreds of innocent people
hostage.
2. These
terrorists killed - murdered - many hostages.
3. They
planned on blowing up the theatre once they had garnered either enough
news coverage or met some sort of goal.
4. The
timer was ticking down fast to a very tragic end for all the hostages.
Face it... The
Russians had no choice and had to act quickly in order to save any
lives. It was really quite amazing how many lives were saved. So
the Russians used gas. Big fucking deal... Look at item 3 above one
more time. So all the Tangos got killed? Screw'm. The Chechens
have a history of terrorist actions that don't exactly promote sympathy
from me... Remember in 1999 all the apartment bombings? Yeah... 300
innocent people killed by these Chechen A-holes. For what? To show
Russia the don't like them? Gimme a fucking break! We conducted a
civil war... And we won our independence through it... But we never
went around killing ever group of British people we saw! These
Chechen freedom-fighters are really no better than Bin Laden's group.
Screw these guys... They are lucky they only got gassed and shot.
Now, I am not saying that the Russians are totally innocent. I've
seen photos of some of the Russian's handy work and it aint pretty.
Regardless... that gives the Chechens no right to commit terrorist
actions against unarmed non combatants that have nothing to do with the
Russian Military. It these Rebel freedom fighters are so
gung-ho, why didn't they hit a target of some significance instead of a
gathering of unarmed helpless people? What a bunch of
pussies. If they wanted to impress people or cause some serious
damage... they should have hit a Russian base... taken out some tanks
and a fuel depot or something that would have some effect other than
just pissing everyone off. So they are not just pussies...
but retarded pussies. Look, I'm not down on the Chechen
cause... but they just have some fucked up leadership with poor
decision making skills.
"Even his
ammunition angered him. Howe was firing the Army's new 5.56mm
green tip round. It had a tungsten carbide penetrator at the tip that
could punch holes in metal. But that penetrating power meant his rounds
were passing right through his targets. The rounds made small, clean
holes in the Somalian gunmen, and unless they hit the head or spine the
men didn't go down. Howe felt that he had to hit each man five or six
times just to get his attention." This is from the book
"Blackhawk Down". Howe is a trooper in the US Army Delta group.
A true GI JOE American Hero. It's funny how so many people are a
fan of the M-16/AR-15 series of rifles and consider them fit for
combat. It's even funnier how some people consider Armor Piercing
to be the fount of all that's lethal. I only bring this up
do to the media coverage of the sniper case in Maryland and Northern
Virginia. Had that asshole been armed with something more
potent, there would not have been any survivors of his attacks.
There are a few people that should be praying for thanks that he was
armed only with a .223 and not a real "High Powered Rifle" as the news
media would lead you to believe. The .223 is NOT a "High
Powered Rifle". .223 is a round for target shooting and rodents.
I don't care what kind of ammunition you have loaded in your AR... it
is still not "high powered" until you change your caliber... .308
comes to mind and an acceptable caliber. Firing .308 from an AR
based rifle is something completely different. Look at my review
of the SWAT 3 Gun match in Vegas, and then look at Corriea's. You
get two opinions first hand of an AR based .308. Yes, it is a
potent rifle. We both had blood shot eyes from just being in
close proximity to the damn thing. Seriously.
Ballistic
Fingerprints. The problem with ballistic fingerprints is that
unlike human fingers you can change them. Human DNA allows damage or
changes to heal. With a gun, you can swap barrels... You can
swap ejectors... You can swap firing pins. Fingerprinting that gun has
just become useless. Over the course of a few thousand
rounds of use, those fingerprints will change as well. There is
no DNA that will keep the fingerprint constant or return it to normal.
A simple file with alter the fingerprints forever. If you hear
anyone talking about ballistic fingerprinting, take this information to
heart. It's USELESS. Now, where ballistic fingerprinting
comes into play is in investigation where you thing you have the murder
weapon and you have a spent casing or bullet from the crime scene.
That's pretty much the limit of this science's use.
Nov 11th, Monday:
Veteran's Day.
You gotta love Veteran's Day... the day we give pause to remember those
that fought for our freedom. Then we go out and hit all the lame
sales at the lame stores... while not checking our mail because the
Post Office is taking a day off. That's so retarded. It
should be the VETERANS that all get a day off. Screw the Post
Office... then need to bring me my mail, while I am at home taking MY
DAY OFF.
Couple of interesting
vehicles that are available worth commenting on. The
Kia Sorento. The machine
is comparable to a Jeep Grand Cherokee in size and most general stats.
Two things that are a major difference... 1 goes to the Jeep. The
Jeep has a V-8 as on option and the Kia has to deal with the same sized
bulk with only a V-6. However #2, the Kia does have a better
build quality. I've looked at the new Kia SUV and I found it to
be very nice inside and out. Looks good. Solid. and
it's starting out at only $19K. Not a bad price. My only
question is can you throw a 4 inch lift on it? I'll have to keep
my eye on these. Another vehicle that I am interested in... The
Mercury
Marauder. It's gaining a lot of approval by those that have
driven it. I want to try this car out... this is one of the few
cars that I say "I want one". The only problem with the Marauder
is that it's very fucking expensive. It's almost $40K! What
the hell is that all about? The other car that I have said "I
want one" is the new GTO. Given the Marauder's lesser performance
than the GTO and the higher price tag... I'll take the GTO over it.
But if I have to take a long road trip... say back to Virginia... this
would be one of my first choices. I like big vehicles... I like
small vehicles... but the one constant that I like... I like my
vehicles to be BRUTAL. The Marauder has that in spades. It
radiates malice and brutality like no other new car out there.
This is Al Capone's car. A hitman in an expensive suit.
Nov 9th, Saturday:
Correia has sent us an update.
Okay, I sat on it for a couple days, but I was saving it for a
big update I was going to do... but then I forgot what I was going to
say. D'OH! Anyways, there it is.
For those interested,
the Jeep is running great. The only problem now is the
Frigging Washing Machine. This is most annoying. I'm
almost out of clean underwear!
Nov 8th, 2002, Friday:
We have a
couple interesting new devices at work. Tablet PCs. We've all
seen tablet pc's used in science fiction movies, and have watched or
listened to futurists expound on the concept. The also talked about
flying cars too... And it's 2002 and I see no flying damn cars! Yet I
have seen a couple different tablets. A tablet pc is like a cross
between an iPaq and a laptop PC. It's a full blown laptop that is
using handwriting recognition as input... "digital ink". This allows
you to write on the screen with a magnetic tipped pen that the screen
detects and translates that to the document. This truly is a cool
feature, but has some inherent drawbacks that simple technology can not
overcome. Some people's handwriting blows. It would take a Cray2 super
computer to translate that kinda stuff! As a tool for artists, the
devices are rather limited too. Without the ability to make the units
sense pin-tip pressure, line thickness will remain constant and
uniform. When you cartooning, your altering the thickness of you pen
strokes by simple pressure. This may not be a big deal to most people
these days... But there is a difference. Just look at the differences
between the quality of the artwork in simple cartoons from the 1950's,
and what is popular today. The older art was much more expressive than
today's. Okay, I'm digressing... Forgive me, but believe it or not I
used to be an artist. Anyways, back to the tablets. One unit is from
Toshiba. It's a conventional laptop in most regards... Screen &
Keyboard type as usual. But the cool thing is that the screen can spin
around and you can fold the screen down backwards... Screen side up. In
this mode it turns from a laptop to a tablet. It's a nice unit with
all the features you could want, including built in wireless on 802.11b
and/or Blue Tooth. It's powered by a simple little Pentium III
processor, but that's okay for the market it's in... You'll never want
to try to play Quake III on it Anyway! The other tablet is from
Viewsonic, the LCD screen people. This one is just a screen with the
computer built inside. Again, a PIII. That is pretty dang good for a
simple data client. Business applications rarely take up all that much
processing power. The strength lays in the PC's capacity,
wireless, and compatibility with Windows. Personally, I'd take the
2,500 bucks and put it into something else... Like a newer iPaq (which
is what I'm writing this on right now) and my bike.
Anyways... These new tablets are great for working around the office
building... But not around the home. I'll pass on these at this time,
but if I had to choose I'd take the Toshiba and see if it could handle
Ghost Recon!
Does anyone out there in Utah know a good place to get your washing
machine (clothes) fixed? Mine no longer spins and makes an
rapid-fire clicking sound. It's not the motor... sounds like the
clutch or coupling. All I know is this R2 unit has a bad
motivator. Cars, I can work out. Bikes, I can work out.
Computers, I can work out. Washing Machines? Your talking
Area-51 Technology to me. I need to call one of those bored
Maytag Repairmen guys. Oh, wait... This is a Whirlpool.
D'oh!
Nov 6th, 2002, Wednesday:
 Today started out great. Republicans took the House and the
Senate.
My oldest son's birthday. Last night at work ended great...
everything was looking up. Then today at work just started to
suck on a down hill slide that ended in a crash. One thing has
always been true about me in all my jobs... anyone that works for me
can come up to me and talk to be about any problem they have.
Problems with other employees - with life - or with me. I'm an
Ogre, but one you can talk to. I have this one cat at work that
would rather talk to everyone else but me. That's fine. No
skin off my nose. I am just disappointed that the kid doesn't
have to balls to talk to me man to man. If it's one thing I can't
stand it's wimp. This guy is being extremely wimpy. It's
really too bad, because I know what he is after and I would be glad to
help him achieve that goal if he would only look me in the eye and just
ask for it directly without telling other people contradictory stories.
Oh well. I am not playing any games with people. They are
either real with me, and on my team... or they are not. Back me
up, and I'll back you. You play me, and your out. I don't
like being played.
Kinda reminds me of
the Democratic losses. The main reason the Democrats sucked
it up last last night - other than the fact they are wrong and just
need to go away... The had no message. They couldn't look America
in the eye and tell the people what was up. They had nothing to
say. I mean, look at Mondale. He had NOTHING. He had
no hand. He comes into the race with only 1 week to run... and he
had nothing to show. That's why he lost. As well as all his
other DemocRat brothers and sisters. What is scary is that they
had such a good following. Republicans may have won - but over
all it wasn't by that big of a margin. What does this tell me?
There are a lot of really stupid people out there. It's basically
a 4 out of 10 ratio. So for every 10 people you see - 4 of them
ride a short bus. This ratio is totally reversed in the state of
California. Out of 10 people, 6 of them are "special". Grey
Davis was elected AGAIN? Oh my hell! PEOPLE!
PLEASE! The guy invented the California energy crisis. The
guy makes you pay cash for a meeting with him. What kind of
leader is that? This guy shouldn't just have been voted out - he
should have had an investigation levied on him! Audit this guy's
actions to the letter. He oozes he is so slimy. Yet
California gave him another term. Staggering.
Nov 5th, 2002, Tuesday:
Well, it looks like the red team is sweeping the polls in most races.
The only real questions remaining are a few of the Senate seats, and
Governors races.... As of right now, the DemocRATS have to pick up
about 4 seats to win. Isn't going to happen.
Robinson Armament. This is the company that makes the M96 and imports
the VEPR AK variant rifle.
Evidently business isn't doing that well right now.
He has just let go of Patty. This is not surprising.
Not that Patty isn't an employee that is worth kicking out... No way.
She has been a huge aid to RA and the major contact for all the
customers who like RA guns, but thing is, Alex is a gigantic asshat.
Personally, I think Alex is a dickhead but I still have to give the guy
respect. Alex knows his guns. His M-96 is a damn fine
rifle. It's just too expensive and not accurate enough for the
price. If you question the rifles design, accuracy, or anything
about RA - he in turn insults you and blames you for it. Alex has
to be in total control of everything and that would normally not be a
problem. Alex just turns people off. If he made someone
else the main contact and spokesman, then I think his company could
have really taken off. Now that he is letting go of Patty, we can
expect things to fall almost abruptly as soon as she is gone.
Alex needs to be looking for a partner right now. He needs
someone to give him an influx of dollars and take over the head honcho
position. Seriously, he needs to step back and let someone else
do the talking for him. This is just my unbiased opinion.
Actually, Alex is getting what he deserves. You don't give the
finger to people that are supporting his company and efforts. I
predict a call over to Super-Dell at "Totally Awesome" for a bail out.
Look for the radio spots to start up in the next few weeks. Maybe
Super-Dell has some money to throw on RA.
Watching the election
coverage is making me laugh. The Democrats are all upset
(read it between the lines) because they are loosing all over the
place. Too bad. They should have had a platform. The
only thing the Democrats have said in the last year is that "Bush
Sucks". That's been the platform... Morons... You need a little
more than that. The only interesting thing really in this
election is what is going on in California. Are they going to be
keeping Governor Grey Davis? That asshole needs to get kicked in
the balls on the way out the door, but California is so fuqqed up there
is a good chance he gets to stay.
Okay so today has had it's ups and downs...
not going into the downs... a woman named Sheri has a copy of a book I
have been wanting for some time. "Sir Machinery". I've been
looking for it every time I pass a book store - especially the used
book stores and the little hole in the wall kinda shops. Well,
she has an old copy and is going to run off a duplicate of it for me.
AWESOME! This made my day.
I don't know what it
is, but I think my liver is acting up again. I feel like I've
been run over by a truck. With my luck it was a Chevy Avalanche.
The symptoms are pretty much like they were earlier in the year.
I don't know what has brought it on again - but I'm ready for it now.
It almost killed me last March... but this time I'm prepared and
ready to fight it. In the mean time, I'll be in the bathroom
puking up bile for the next few weeks. In fact, I did just
that a couple times today. I had to leave work for a couple
hours. Ate a potato and when I got feeling better, went back in
to work for awhile longer. Feeling very shaky and uneasy.
Have no fear - Ogre will be around for a while longer yet. I have
had worse than this.
Thinking about getting
my wife hooked up with a Mini Van. It's a Chevy Astro with
plenty of seats. All it needs is a valve job. I think I may
go for that. She needs something with more room. This being
the case, the Wagoneer may have to go up for sale. Anyone up
for a classic and rare
AMC 401 V-8?
The engine has more torque than an oil tanker. Mate that with
four wheel drive and you have something that could really rock.
Today is the day to get out and Vote.
Pick the best candidate, if you please. Vote FOR someone and not
just voting against someone. Okay? Let's try to get some
people into office that don't suck. Yeah, and I want a million
bucks too. I don't even know who to vote for here in Utah.
Local Utah politics is stagnant and not even remotely interesting.
I guess as long as we keep the Democrats out of office as much as
possible everything will be cool for us on the local front. I'm
registered. I'm going to vote today.
Okay, since I have been talking about automotive misadventures, let me
share something else.
See, my automotive maladies exist because I don't have a lot of money.
I saw just last night something that made me laugh. This cat was
having his own issues - because he had too much money and not enough
brains. It involves the Cadillac version of my favorite
truck to rag on - the Chevy Avalanche. A retarded vehicle that
you get to pay an extra 10 grand for. Nice. Anyways, this
cat was outside my little shop last night wanting to evidently bring a
computer in for repair. He was trying to reach into the bed and
pull his old computer out. Normally in a pickup, that wouldn't be
too hard. Not with this truck. The guy was trying to stand
on his tip toes to reach in... not quite getting it... swearing a lot.
You see, the sides of the bed on these trucks are much higher than a
normal truck. Other trucks would have to get a lift kit to
make them that hard to reach into. So as I am walking past I
suggest going through the tail gate to reach his goal. He cusses
some more and then manages to pull the target item out... looked like
an older Gateway. He has it by the tips of his fingers and as
soon as it clears the bed - it comes crashing down. The case
busts open and it looked like a CD Rom drive fell out. Way to go!
Nice Cadillac. I think he came in and picked up another
computer. I hope he uses the tailgate with this one.
Speaking of trucks,
Motor Trend has picked a new SUV OF THE YEAR. There are lots
of good choices out there in the growing SUV market. Funny
thing, Jeep wasn't even in the running. Aww, come one now, Jeep
started the whole mess. Anyways, the new SUV of choice isn't even
a real SUV... it's a car. It's a VOLVO. The XC90.
Admittedly, I like Volvo cars, they are really nice. But a Volvo
SUV? WTF? Hmmm, let's think about this for a sec.
Volvo has done station wagons very well for the last 20 years.
SUV's are just glorified station wagons. I guess the selection is
fairly natural. But what I don't like about it is the obvious
bias to vehicles that are as car-like as possible. These "Cross-Utes"
have the editors by the balls. They love them. They drive
so nice and smooth there is no chance of spilling any Starbucks on
themselves. That's not really what it's all about. There
are other more important considerations in an SUV than skidpad numbers
and acceleration figures. Don't get me wrong here... the Volvo is
a great station wagon. It might even do very well on any
soft-road foray. But it isn't an SUV. My pick is the
new Toyota 4Runner. The 4Runner has always been a true SUV with
good All-road/No-road agility and ability.
Nov 4th, 2002, Monday:
Ents.
Apple.com has a Two Towers, Trailer 2 up... In it we see some
interesting things. One is an Ent. Well, we see the legs
and arm of one Ent, but we know it's there. Treebeard is in the
movie! Thank heavens.
New link down there in
the "Odd Stuff" section of links. The FVZA. A
government agency you may not have heard of. I took the Agency's
aptitude test and I am rated as a "Shadow". Interesting.
$199.00. That's
how much the fuel pump cost me. Jeep is now running like it was
before... but I think you can feel a little stronger acceleration
because the pump is pushing the fuel as it should. I did notice a
drop in power Sunday... that should have tipped me off. I was
thinking fouled plugs. Anyways, so the Jeep is running and Ogre
is again mobile. There are few other things I will want to check
on... fan belt tightening again... U-joints... motor mounts.
Things that can wait a few weeks on. Let's see the finances...
Not too bad. Tight, but we'll make it.
Nov 3rd, 2002, Sunday:
SHIT DAMN HELL.
My beloved Jeep Cherokee has died. I think it is the fuel pump,
but I am not sure. I can't get to it as it's one of those lovely
in the tank electric pumps. This means repair shop. SHIT
DAMN HELL! This little turn of events changes a great many
of my financial plans. This really screws *everything* up.
I'm pissed and most unhappy. This leaves us without any wheels
for the time being. I'm borrowing a little Toyota from family for
Monday... because the Jeep is up in SLC, and I am down in Orem.
This is most inconvenient. Now it is certain that I will have to
sell some guns. My rifle, which was already up is now going to be
joined by my Shotgun (as soon as it arrives). The rifle is the
SMLE and the shotgun is a Mossberg 500 with an extended tube and a
butler creek folding stock. I didn't want to sell the
shotgun... DAMN IT!
Any lighter news?
No. Not right now. I'm going to bed.
Nov 2nd, 2002, Saturday:
 The
Russians have a great solution for terrorists... one that many in
the US have joked about but would never happen over here due to
political correctness. They are burying the Tangos in pigskin.
Something that the Islamic extremists believe will prevent them from
entering heaven. Nicely done. I expect a sharp decline in
terrorist activity over there.
Really looking forward
to the new LOTR "The Tow Towers". I just really hope they put
the Ents in it. They have not even hinted at Ents in the trailers
or the special features off the DVDs. I am worried that they wont
include them. Yet they have to! It was the Ents that
defeated Saruman! If they are left out of the movie, I will be
super-pissed. In the mean time, I'm also looking forward to
the extended DVD special edition with all the extra footage that some
asshat decided to leave out.
To follow up on the
situation yesterday, the little boy is doing fine... Thank God!
He is a sweet little baby that has had a hard go of it so far.
Hopefully all will be well from now on.
November 1st, 2002, Friday:
Today is a
downer. My sister Dacia's baby is in the hospital. He
is 10 months old and was evidently missing half of his diaphragm.
This allowed his internal organs to push up into his heart and lungs.
His digestive tract had actually twisted around his lungs and the poor
infant was getting strangled internally. The surgery went well, but
now he is having an allergic reaction to the drugs he was given.
That means even more drugs. He will be okay... he'll pull through
this. It's just emotionally hard on the whole family.
As much as I am fond
of my little Mad Dog customized SMLE rifle... I am afraid I am
going to have to sell it. I'm not going to offer an asking price,
but I will take bids or good offers for trade. I went shooting it
last Saturday and I had a blast. The thing has a nice decent kick
to it, but it isn't punishing. It shoots like a pussycat. A
pussycat with a ferocious muzzle blast. Anyways, I have decided
that I just don't do rifles very comfortably any more. I think I am
just going to stick with handguns right now and polish my handgun
skills. As sexy as this little rifle is, I just don't have
a place for it. Don't email me with a question "How Much?"
Just make an offer. First reasonable offer gets it.
On a more positive
note I picked up a SPIDERMAN DVD. Great movie.
Spiderman is my favorite "Super Hero". Anyways, while at work I
was spinning it on one of the test computers and had an observation.
We see Spiderman shooting his web at different things to allow him to
swing around the city right... Well, if you look at the
shots he is taking you can come to the conclusion that he is one damn
good marksman. He is tagging flagpoles and crane arms while
moving at high speed from ranges out past 300 meters. Now not
only is he making these shots, he is doing it very fast. The
distance his web is shot only a part of it... look how fast that web
actually hits the target. That web is getting shot out like
a .308 projectile! Fast and Accurate. Wait a sec.
That web probably doesn't weigh very much... but 300 meters of it
probably has some heft to it. Probably at least equal to a 180
grain slug. 180 grain slug going out that fast... Yeah, that
means recoil. My point is that every time Spiderman squirts out a
shot of web, there should be a big kick. At close range, that web
shot could blow a hole through somebody! Look at a fire hose...
There would be at least that much of a push... That could lift a guy
off his feet.
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Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012
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