Oct 27th, 2002, Sunday 6:00PM:  Today I started playing an interesting FPS game called "No One Lives Forever 2".  Has to be one of the best games I've ever played - period.  The AI is fantastic... Probably the best one ever made.  The graphics are rich and beautiful... and I am only playing it on the MEDIUM setting.  The weapons and equipment are unique... and the story is actually interesting.   The game is playing off the 60's spy mojo with the spy being a woman instead of an over-sexed British man with bad teeth.  The dialog of the guards is just awesome.  As are some of the notes you find along the way.  This game allows you to take missions head on in a big fire fight - or sneak around and try to not to actually kill anyone.  Sometimes you can make a killing look like an accident.  Like tossing a banana on a stair case.  Or knocking a guard out with stun gun and then just tossing him (or her) down the stairs.  Plant a bear trap in a doorway for added fun.  This is one of the most enjoyable FPS games I've ever played.  If you like James Bond, Austin Powers, or just a good shoot'm up - this game is worth it...  I'm rating it a solid 10 out of 10.

I have to get ready for my trip to Tukwila now.  Check this out - flight to Tukwila after working a 1/2 day at the shop.  Nice.  I hate flying these days... in fact, I have never really enjoyed flying to begin with.  Flying an ultra light or a auto-gyro is one thing... I even enjoyed flying a Cessna.  But doing the commercial flight passenger routine just sucks ass.  I'm not looking forward to it at all.  Not one bit.    Thank goodness it's only for a few days and not a week.  Okay, you can tell - I'm procrastinating now.  Later.

Oct 26th, 2002, Saturday 11:54PM:  Just watched the movie "The Thing".  This makes me a lot more appreciative of the effort put in by the makers of the game "The Thing".  Very well done game.  The maps are so well done that they look just like the movie.  Have I learned anything about The Thing?  Maybe not... but I know one thing is for sure.  If I ever see some Norwegians hunting a dog from a helicopter... I'm shooting that damn dog myself.

Oct 26th, 2002, Saturday 1:00PM: Looks like I have a new bike now.  Honda Shadow.  Red.  More info on that later.  The deal isn't finalized, but it will be soon... Gimme 2 weeks.   I'm stoked.  Totally pumped.  Too bad we are rolling into winter and in 2 weeks we will probably have farking snow all over the place.  Still.  I have a bike again!

The civil war between Russia and Chechnya is getting out of hand.  The people there (on both sides) are just out of control.  There are atrocities being carried out by both parties.  It's horrid.  The Russians are torturing people to death and the Chechen rebels are no angels either.  But what they did this time is just uncalled for.  The Chechen rebels went and took a whole theatre hostage.  700 people.  The Chechen terrorists also started executing hostages over a 3 day period.  Finally the Russian police and spec ops operators went into the theatre and cleaned house.  Lots of people died... but then again who knows how many lives were saved.  Ugly incident.  Ugly, but it reminds me of something I cant quite put my finger on...

I came across an interesting observation.  The movie "Soldier" with Kurt Russell is not the best of Sci-Fi movies... in fact, I think it totally sucks.  There is one little interesting detail picked up by TFL's Lawdog.  Russell's character has tattoos naming all the battles he was in.  One of the battles is "Tannhauser gate".  That may not mean very much to most Sci-Fi fans... but remember this quote: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulders of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."  Do you know what that is from?  Oh yeah... Blade Runner.   I thought that was interesting.

Oct 25th, 2002, Friday 2:30pm: As promised, a link to the latest work in progress.   Untitled.

And now a few words from Mrs. Ogre:

How to stay to stay married to a gunslingin' OGRE!

 1.   Accept his "mistresses". Ogre has several. The sleek curves of the Beretta, the exotic MK 4 SMLE, the aggressive CZ 52, and for when he wants to play rough…the scattergun, of course, is always good for any "close encounter". The way he caresses his new Beretta would make any harlequin reader blush. Oh yes, he has one to match all of his many moods. So where do you, the wife fit in?

2.   Be the centerfold. I'm speaking blunt here, but it works. What do your men love right along with his guns? A woman. That's where you fit in. When he gets that new gun, or takes out an old favorite, ask to hold it. Men adore seeing the guns they love in the hands of the woman they love. But! In order to gain that kind of trust, you must earn it. Learn how to hold it, never putting your finger on the trigger, never aim it at him - that's his worst nightmare (he sees the headlines, "Mad Wife Kills Husband With His Own Gun!"). No, that will not gain his trust. Be sexy, be smart, be safe, strike a pose there's nothing to it.

3.   Let him talk guns. Snuggle up next to him and be fascinating. Make sure you have plenty of time and say "talk guns to me." If he appears in shock mouth-to-mouth works well. If he is doubting or suspicious, just smile sweetly and ask a couple of questions to let him know you are serious. Once he gets talking he's all yours. You'll find that you are spending quality time you usually won't get talking crafts or canning. Sneak a kiss, a touch, let him know that you love him and admire his knowledge of guns. Before, you know it he's not talking guns anymore!

4.   Learn to shoot. Ask him if you can tag along the next time he wants to go shooting with the guys. Be confident, not afraid, you might just enjoy it! Most women are excellent shooters naturally and he will love to teach you. Before you know it, he's bragging about you to the guys. "Don't mess with my wife, she can shoot better than you!" is a favorite. The time is well spent and the effort to enjoy what he enjoys is often reciprocated. He becomes more doting. On the way home from shooting say, "It's my turn" and ask if you can stop by the mall real quick and soon he his handing over his cash for those shoes you've been thinking about since you last saw them - and smiling while doing it! You'll be amazed at the power you have over your own gunslingin' OGRE! You'll be his lover, his best friend, his playmate, his wife and you will be cherished. Isn’t that what we all want?

Soyo Dragon Motherboards SUCK ASS!  We just fried 4 processors out of 3 different Soyo Dragon motherboards.  Soyos SUCK!  Estimated cost of these fucking boards and CPU's they toasted: $1,347.00!  That's the prices of the chips and boards.  Nice.  Soyo is now #1 on the Ogre Fecal Roster.

Oct 23rd, 2002, Wed, 10:00PM:  I am befuddled.  Take my G-card and hard drive out of one PC and put them into another... wont boot.  Sees the drive, no problem... I can make other PC's boot off this hard drive with no problem.  But this one certain PC... it's a no go.  Put the drives and cards back into the original case.  Everything is coming up roses.  Into the new case... it isn't happening.  I have another cat look at it and say "It's the mother board or processor."  More swapping and testing.  "Ram"  Swap.  Test.  No joy.  We swap EVERYTHING... Nada.  My hard drive just one boot in that box.  Total refusal. So, one last time... everything back to original state... There is is... Booted and in fact I am typing this on the machine with my hard drive in it... no problems.  The only thing I can think of is that this hard drive had been living in Athlon systems and I was trying to put it into a P4 system.  MAYBE that is the issue.  I don't know.  I don't care.  I'll just get another hard drive, install it into the other machine, and throw the OS on top of that.  Rebuild that one from the ground up so to speak. 

I'm now working on my 4th book.  This one is different from the others I've done.  I'm going for a Western/Horror this round.  One of my favorite books ever is Seize the Night by Koontz.  It's a horror that has a lot of great dialog and character interaction with lots of humor between them.  You really get into the people and when stuff starts getting weird and spooky - your feeling like your more a part of it and it effects you at a deeper level.  That's kind of what I am going for.  So it's actually starting out funny.  My other books are pretty much total shit and I am chalking them up to student projects so to speak.  Yet at the same time a Western is a stretch for me. You see, I hate horses.  No, seriously... I can't stand them.  I've ridden them before.. both times I ended up on my ass.  The last time was landing on my ass in a patch of cacti.  Fuck horses.  Smelly damn things anyways.  What is a western with out horses?  So I am going to have to deal with the horse issue... get past that.  Ride some horses again to get the feel and drift of the hole horse thing so I can put it into the book the right way.  Another thing I am going to do is "Publish" this book here on Mad Ogre one chapter at a time as I write it.  I am going to write it in a very linear fashion so you, my loyal readers can help out along the way.  Once the story is done, revised, and finalized... It will go to print the old fashioned way.   Western... Cool.  Horror... Cool.  Western Horror... Huh?  If anything it will be interesting.

23rd, 2002, Wed,7:00AM:  Last night I got an email from my Momma.  She mentions that the Sniper suspect that was making phone calls and got picked up did so only 2 blocks from where she works.  That is way too close for comfort.  I was worried about my family out there in Richmond... My Dad drives all over there between DC and back.  Then the guy is near my Momma.  Well, at least Sheriff Cook of Hanover County has things under control now.  Or so it seems.  Then they find a letter in Ashland.  I FREAKING LIVED IN ASHLAND!  Ashland is just a few minutes north of Richmond... A beautiful little town with a country home kinda feel.  I love Ashland.  I didn't realize one of the killings had taken place there.

Computers made off Glass.  This report details the etching of computer circuits into glass.  I think this is a bad idea.  One of the main problems with notebook computers is the fact that they are so individually proprietary.  This makes them more difficult to work on and almost impossible to upgrade.  Going this route and as the person said incorporating everything into one tiny glass unit would pretty much kill any expandability or upgradeability unless they continued to use industry standard  architecture.  Size isn't the issue, nor the problem with computers.  You can buy an iPaq with a 400mhz processor.  That is faster than most computers out in the world working right now.  And that thing is hand held.   What the computer industry really needs right now are 2 things.  OS X.2 for PC and some software to run on it that doesn't suck.

Speaking of new computers... I need a new case.  My "old and busted" is now loosing it's power button. I have ordered in some really cool cases.  They are the same as the Alienware cases that are so popular... but you can buy these cases for about 2,000 dollars cheaper than an Alienware system.  Only 200 bucks.  Not bad.  But then again I don't have a spare 200 bucks to spend on just a case.  The case is just a box.  It's what you put the computer into.  To me it's not that important.  I'll built one out of pine if I have to.   2,000 dollars... The cat next door has a bike that I just love... it's only 2,000 bones.  I'd rather buy it than some computer.   It's a 600 Shadow with some custom engine work and pipes.  I love the Hondas.  Maybe I'll pick it up for my birthday if it's still available.  Now, the bike I really want is a Chopper - but this shadow will tide me over till I can get one... if I get this one.

Oct 20th, 2002, Sunday, 11:11AM: Check Ogre Tech for a review of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.   Great game that I give an 8 out of 10. 

Email from Reader: “Hey Ogre, what do you think of these high velocity, small bore pistol rounds seen in these new PDWs, like the 5.7x28mm round from FN and the 4.6x30mm round from HK?  They certainly laugh at soft body armor, but come in at only a little more than 300 foot pounds of muzzle energy.  Pretty anemic compared to modern .45+P, .40, and even 9mm +P+ loads, and they make a smaller hole to boot.  The trade off, however, is increased capacity, better penetration, and lower recoil impulse. So what do you think?  Would the US military be better suited to using a weapon like the FN Five-Seven instead of the Beretta 92?  Should NATO standardize the 5.7mm round?  (Would you do it if you were in charge, in other words.)  Do you see a law enforcement application for these kinds of rounds?  Personally, I like rounds that penetrate.  I like the idea of being able to hit targets through cover and armor. – Mike”   Some good questions, Mike.  Let’s take a look at the law enforcement applications.  There are two.  Duty carry and special purpose such as SWAT and warrant services.  These rounds that penetrate armor so easily will also penetrate common interior construction materials as well.  I don’t know about over penetration through a body – but penetration from a miss through an apartment wall will easily continue into someone else.  SMGs and handguns are not the most accurate of fighting tools… misses will happen.  But is that danger any more than from a traditional JHP from a 9MM or .45?   To be honest – I have no idea.  I’ve not played with these new rounds.  However I have played with 7.62X25MM… this round will penetrate just about anything.   It was designed to zip through armor.  I don’t thing this is a round a normal patrol officer will want to carry.  If an officer were to lose in a weapon retention situation – that officer is toast.  Being shot with your own gun is one of the greatest fears a police officer has.  And a valid fear it is.  Packing a heater that will defeat the armor he is wearing is probably not a good idea.   If we have to introduce these weapons into law enforcement, it should be limited to only SWAT use and then only when the subject is known to me armored.  That being the case, the regular police carbine carried in a rack or in the trunk is more than up to that challenge.  So I guess in a nutshell – these new rounds have no application in police work.  I think they are highly over rated.  Groups that are on a higher level like FBI’s HRT, US Army Delta, and such may benefit from these weapons.  The FN P90 is an interesting gun, but is it really any more of an advantage than what they already carry?   The only situations I can really see these weapons being ideal are when you need a rifle like weapon that you can conceal and move with… such as perhaps VIP Protection and people like US Secret Service.  The Uzi has served them well… gives them a great deal of fire power in a package that they can carry under a suit coat.  Perhaps with future threats wearing armor – an FN P90 would be the ideal ticket.  Now, let’s take a look at actual military applications.  I can see weapons like these used for what they are intended for… arming REMFs, truck drivers, RTOs, officers, and MAYBE some MPs.  I say maybe because in the history of the US Army, MP’s have had to kick as much ass as anyone else… Combat MP’s need to be loaded for bear.  That means battle rifles and grenades and heavy weapons like the .50 and the MK 19.  In an infantry platoon who would use these little weapon’s?  Probably the people with other jobs… RTO’s, maybe an officer, maybe the mortar squad.  But I wouldn’t want to be the guy handing these things out telling them they will have to give up the rifle.  Personally I think these weapons are a move in the wrong direction.  We don’t need smaller and faster.  Smaller and faster has already given us negative results… the .223 has caused a lot of problems and especially so with the use of “AP” ammo.  Read “Black Hawk Down” for more details on that.  Also read some of the reports coming from Afghanistan.  US soldiers need a weapon that has some real take down power.   Actually, we need to go back to the .308.  In WWII RTO’s and some officers packed the M1 Carbine.  That little weapon hits harder than a full house .357 Magnum, and it was still considered too weak by many soldiers.  Enter the FN P90, which hits like a .22 Magnum.  Thank heavens the P90 has a 50 round mag because your going to need it.  Out of a handgun the FN’s new round does even less.  Let’s see… the M9 packs 15 rounds of 9mm and the FN “Five-seveN” packs 20.  I can admit the extra round count is a plus… but I seriously consider 9mm to be the minimum and undercutting that makes me nervous.   The M9 is proven handgun now.  The FN thing is still in my opinion a concept gun.  I’ll take the M9.  

Oct 18th, 2002 Friday, 8:00PM.  Two things to follow up on here.  1. The Furnace Man never showed.  Instead, he called and said he will be here tomorrow.  Great.  So instead of ruining one day - he is going to ruin my whole fucking weekend.  ASSHOLE!  And 2:  Some shooting reports:

I don't know what is going on with the DDA.  It just refuses to feed.  Changed ammo and changed mags... you would think out of 10 mags - if the mag was the issue, you would find one that works.  No, the mag isn't the issue.  Ammo suspect?  Nope.  We tried a different reload and we tried other factory loads... nothing.  The gun just wont chamber.  Period.  The cleaning I did had no effect and the filthy looking, yet super slick moly grease helped improve the feel of the cycling and even trigger pull - it did nothing for the actual feeding of a round from the mag into the chamber.  Looks like Charles Daly is getting a phone call Monday morning.  There is something just not right about that gun.   

Rethinking the Beretta 92F.  I have to admit I'm getting quite smitten with it.  I just put another 100 rounds down range through it.  The gun loves to be shot... it doesn't want to jam.  I'm also finding that this gun is more natural for me that I want to admit.  The grip feels good and the gun comes up on plane exactly as I like.  Really my only hang ups are the slide mounted safety and the 9mm caliber.  With good ammo the 9MM can be just as effective as any .45 load... Especially when I am putting that round through an ocular cavity. I can shoot it accurately almost twice as fast as I can a .45.  I think I need to have the balls to admit that 9MM suits me just fine.  The toss up between lots of small or a few big - well I'd rather have a few big in a defensive situation between me and an adversary.  But for 3 Gun matches - I think this is totally the way to go for me.  Maybe not for you... but for me - yeah.  The smooth action, good accuracy, and the capacity will work together to give me a combination I think I might want to stick with.

Oct 18th, 2002, Friday, 11:00AM. A day off.  I have a 3 day weekend here and I am starting it off with a rant.  This is going out to Senator John "Maverick" McCain.  Congratulations on your guest appearance on the wonderfully funny and always trendy "Saturday Night Live".   Your performance there, acting the fool in a few skits is probably the only worth while thing you have done since the morons in AZ put you in office.  At least now we have something that can tie both the Democrats and the Republicans together - Now we can BOTH laugh at you.   Before I had been Republicans laughing at you, and the Democrats laughing at the Republicans because for some twist of fate you were on the Right hand ticket.  No longer... Now everyone is laughing at you.  Not WITH you, John... AT You.  I am very pleased that you have demonstrated to the world exactly where your priorities are.  Heaven forbid you take the time away your running around like a jackass on crack to go to Washington DC and cast your vote on the biggest defense spending bill since Reagan. At least you didn't act like a Jackass on Capital Hill... Never mind the fact your on the farking committee! I have news for you, John... Your home state - you remember them don't you?  The ones that made the mistake of putting you in your office?  Yeah, they know about you skipping the vote.  A vote on spending 355 Billion taxpayer dollars and you would rather hang out with a bunch of comedians.   John, your a politician -you already hang out with a bunch of fucking comedians!  At least you got some free publicity... maybe let you pick up a vote or two.  Too bad the votes wont come from your State! Hope you had fun... asshat.

Well, I have some things to take care of... paychecks and shipping out shotguns... doing some shooting... oh... and waiting around for some cat to come fix my furnace.  He is scheduled for "Sometime Today".  That's great.  Lovely.   No, I had nothing better to do.  I hate service guys that can't give you at least a time frame  "Between 9 and 10" would be swell.  Between 11 and 1 would even be great.  "Sometime"?  What the fuck is that?  Sometime... Aaaarrrgggghh!!!!

Oct 17th, 2002, Thursday.  Pickles.  To follow up on Mrs. Ogre's bread & butter pickles, they are awesome.  She has grown her own pickles and canned them as I have explained earlier in the year... Tonight she made some delicious burgers that featured these pickles.  Seriously Yummy.  Thanks go out to one certain Ogre Reader for that recipe.  

The Thing.  I've mentioned the game before... Wow.  I've played just a little bit more... Very well done.  One thing however is very annoying... Way too many damn puzzles and finding keys and shit to unlock doors.  That is fucking annoying.  Everything else in this game is outstanding. Really good atmosphere development.  Very good.  One problem has developed in my *ahem* version... The scripted dialog cuts out in the cut scenes.  This ruins it for me... I may need to reinstall and start over because these parts are critical to the story and I'm all about the story aspect and not just toasting thingies.  It's great when one of the NPC (Non-Player-Characters) in your squad goes up to a dead body, then vomits all over it... classic.   The movement and such controls could be better - and I am not really fond of the 3rd person perspective that switches to 1st person view when you aim your weapon.  Camera angles and what not are not needed.  Just a plain FPS set up would have been just fine.  Blood tests... Test your squad members once in awhile... they may be keeping a secret from you.  I have to stop playing this game right now... I've got to go rent this flick again. :)

It has been suggested that for oiling a gun, the little syringe that comes with an Ink-Jet printer refill kit would work well.  I submit that this in the only reason to get an inkjet refill kit.   In case your wondering... Yes, I have one.  We tried to use it to refill our printer.  We have a Lexmark Z-53.  No it didn't work.  Not at all.  The kit said it would... but instead it totally farked the printer up.  I hate Lexmark.

Speaking of oiling your guns... My 92F... I've been thinking about this pistol for some time now.  I admit maybe I was wrong about Beretta.  I had talked to some cats at Beretta earlier in the week and today in the mail I received a manual.  That was nice of them.  Seriously.  I'd really like to get a "can" for this thing.  Being able to shoot without ear plugs would be nice.  Be able to take care of some of these stray cats in my back yard.  Anyways, I digress.  This Beretta is certainly a fine gun.  It's well made and well finished on all the internals.  You can feel how smooth the weapon is even when it's perfectly dry.  You know... I think I may keep this gun around for awhile.   No, No... Don't be shocked my friends...  I know it's only a wee little 9MM... I know it has been called "Cute" by some... but it will work well for my needs.  I think I'll now have to get some duty rounds for it.  Let's see... the last 9MM I had I fed it some Nyclad ammo.  Great stuff.  Too bad it's not made any more.  What are the tops for 9mm ammo now days?  I think I favor the "ISP Load" which calls for a 115 grain +P JHP.  That's a good loading... but I may want some extra oomph  Something with some more punch 147 grains?  That's about as heavy as 9mm really goes.  Too bad the 147 grain loads never really expand with any reliability.  This leaves the 125 type loads I guess.  That could do it... but that's a light bullet.  If I'm going to go light, I might as well go all out and get the light and fast... Get me some Cor-Bon +P's.  Hmmm... I have about 800 rounds of .45ACP hanging around.  I really wish this 92F was a damn .45.  No - don't go there about the Cougar.  Rotary barrel?  What the hell is that all about?   

Oct 16th, 2002, Wednesday.  Picked up "Windtalkers" on DVD.  John Woo films have a long history of kicking ass.  This one is no different.  Great fighting scenes.  Lot's of action.  Good characters too.  Great film. 

I've been watching Windtalkers while cleaning some guns.  The Nova got a liberal coating of grease over all the internals... getting it ready to ship out to the new owner.  Found the manual and even put it in the original box.  Marko will have to learn how to put it back together again... but he'll be able to figure it out.  It's very easy.  The CZ-52 comes apart probably easier than any other pistol save the Beretta.  I love the 52's action... It's a work of art.  Rock solid, yet very smooth.  You don't expect this pistol to be that smooth.  The moly grease that have been using is great stuff.  Super slick. The only problem is that it's a filthy black color and after you get it all clean and shiny... that grease just makes it look like shit.  Well functioning shit, but hit none the less.  Then I break down the Beretta.  This example is so smooth, it's smoove.  I didn't use any grease in it at all.  Some Breakfree CLP is all it needed.  I looked at Steve's CD DDA and could not find anything wrong with it.  Nothing at all.  I even took down the mag... Nada.  The DDA for those that are not familiar with it:  It's a poly framed CZ-75 clone beefed up to handle .45ACP shells.  Chopped down to a very small size it can still hold a full 10 round load.  I like the little gun... but the action is rough.  I think it needs some grease.  I cleaned it out as best as I could and then sprayed it down with a spray solvent/cleaner/lube.. wiped it all off again and then applied the grease to all the friction points and rails.     There you go... feels better to a point.  The springs feel plenty tight and I can't find any reason as to why this little gun should be jamming like it does.  At this point I have to say the ammo is suspect.  Next time it takes a trip to the range, CCI Blazer and Speer Lawman should be the ammo used.  Perhaps this gun just needs to be worn in some more.  Or, perhaps it's already worn out?  Naw... no signs on that issue like on the Taurus Millennium PT145.  I'd try some different ammo and if that doesn't do it I'd send it in to Charles Daly for some work.

Best post ever on FARK.com regarding the Sniper back east: "Based on all of the media coverage about what the government should be doing about all of these evil guns that should be 'fingerprinted' I get the distinct impression that there is a crazed .223 caliber rifle running around the state of Maryland killing and wounding people at random. This rifle appears to be driving a white van...or perhaps the white van is an actual accomplice. I suppose the cops are doing all they can to catch this rifle and it's accomplice white van or perhaps their handguns and gear are doing their best to catch this rifle that is terrorizing the people." Great post, Weaps. Classic. This sniper bullshit has got to stop soon. These cops can't allow this to drag on much longer. It's pretty certain that this guy will either fade out of the lime light or end up DOA with about 600 bullet holes in him from every swinging dick in Northern Virginia that's hunting him. I suspect any actual murder trial for this asshole to be very unlikely. How wonderful that Time magazine puts an enlarged .223 round on the cover. Great. Just what we gun owners need.

Oct 15th, 2002, Monday 10:00PM: I had to give Steve a call this afternoon... Having a new gun and not taking it to the range was getting to me so I had to get some rounds through it.  I like a lot of things about the 92... but at the same time there are a lot of things that I don't like. My opinions have not changed on this subject a bit.  The gun was boring. All the shots tended to go right there where I wanted them to go, and did so every time I pulled the trigger. Nothing interesting about it at all. I also found that 9MM doesn't really feel that much lighter than a .45 do to the sharper recoil pulse. However the advantage came out with that 15 round magazine. I was about ready to take a break and go out for a drink before I got the bottom of that mag. It's been a long time since I have dealt with Hi cap 9mm.  The last 9mm I had was a SIG P228.  It was a fine pistol with good grips and night sights.  However that one for some reason was pretty inaccurate.  Maybe it didn't like my ammo?  (Hydra Shoks)  This 92F wad pretty good.  I looked around for some of the crappiest ammo I could find on the retail market and picked up a box.  I also grabbed (while at the range) a box of Blazers.  There were no malfunctions and when I took a barricaded firing position, all the shots went into one nice hole.  Steve took a go at the 92 and did pretty well to hide the bad taste in his mouth... he went back to his .45 with out much discussion on the matter.  He did mumble about not liking the trigger, and said he preferred the trigger on his CD DDA pistol.  *ouch*  The 92 isn't for everyone... In fact, the jury is still out on if the 92 is for me.  But the initial experience was not unpleasant. 

While there at Rangemasters we bumped into Pat.  He is the cat that basically runs Utah shooting sports.  We talked about 3 gun matches and the match in Vegas.  Correia, heads up on Pat.  I sent him your way in regards to the set ups of all the ranges and what not.  Get with him about all the staging.

The range session wasn't all that pleasant for our man, Steve.  Brother Steve was having a rough go of convincing his DDA to ingest his reloads.  I think he may have gone about 3 or 4 rounds between some stoppages... but most of the time it was pretty much a one shot situation.  I have the DDA now and I'll go over it in a detail strip to see where the problems are coming from.  Basically most of the failures were to feed or chamber.  Could be hygiene, ammo, or there could be something out of place in the chamber, the barrel tilting, or the magazines.   I suspect there could be something keeping the barrel from tilting down all the way, or perhaps something binding and inhibiting full speed cycling.  Who knows.  It could also very well be his ammo.  His reloads have been very good in the past - it's possible the settings on the press have come out of spec just slightly... in the crimp or in the OAL of the finished cartridge.  Can't tell at this point.  I'll dig into this tomorrow night after work.  Tonight I have something special to take a look at.

The Thing.  John Carpenter's The Thing goes down as one of my very favorite scary movies. And I have explained in other sections how much I like a scary PC game too.. So when I saw this available, I was excited.  I had to get this game. The PC game version is actually a sequel to that movie in chronological terms... so there you have it... all the elements needed for a really good scary game.  I loaded it up and checked out the first two "levels" or sections.  Damn. Yeah... it's scary.  It's good and scary.  I'll not go any farther in either the game or the discription of the game right now.

Oct 14th, 2002, Monday 7:00PM:  Correia has sent us an update... it should be up shortly. Oh, It is...

Lot's of people shocked at the purchase of the Beretta.  People, don't lose heart.  I tend to go through guns like no one else.  Why? Because I love them - and I want all of them.  I can only have a few at a time, so I trade them around... a lot. 

Check out the new additions to the film list.  Some good ones... Some are suprising.

Oct 13th, 2002, Sunday 3:00PM: Let's see... Saturday I went in to work and now I'm off for the weekend.  Nice huh?  Been very busy.  (Same reason why almost all emails have gone unanswered - Forgive me) But not too busy to pick up a new handgun.  As my loyal readers know, the deal was made to sell off the CZ-97B.  She just wasn't the one.  While she felt good in the hand, there was no connection.  No bonding.  No love involved.  Sure she was great - and really hot - but it was just a fling.  Well, I went looking to pick up a Browning Hi-Power that I knew was out there and found that it had already been sold.  Probably to another Ogre Head that had taken the idea from me before I could act on it.  (The gun had been there for some time with no interest in it - Damn it!) Anyways, I check the criteria on what I was wanting and found something very different and unexpected.  It surprised me, but it met all the standards I was looking for.  I picked up a Beretta 92F.  It's blued and holster worn and well used... but still in great shape mechanically.  In fact, the previous owner had an action and trigger job done on it.  It could use some refinishing but other than that all it needs is some tritium inserts into the sights.  And for the price I got it for, I have enough left over to do that.  Still.  It's not the gun I was really wanting... It was just a deal too good to pass up.  So if any Ogre reader out there in Utah has a Browning or FN Hi Power, I'd be interested in trading.  Looks don't mean a thing... just the function.  It has to be reliable and accurate.  Make an offer.  But in the mean time, I'm not displeased with what I have... but I don't think I'll have it for that long.

Oct 11th, 2002, Friday, 11:00PM:  Some pages on MadOgre.com are coming up access denied.  I can't even hit them in the server. "Server Extensions unable to open file".  That's most odd.  I've never seen that kind of error before.  Pages effected that I know of are a couple in the Archive Index and the MadDog .303 page.  This frustrates me a great deal.  If you loyal readers could send me the URL's of any Ogre Page that doesn't open for you - I'd appreciate it.

I love guns... I appreciate the art of the engineering that goes into a quality gun and I appreciate the craftsmanship of a true artisan/gunsmith.  I appreciate the skill and concentration that it takes to fire a pistol and hit what you aim at... or a rifle at that target off in the distance.  I especially love the sound of that rifle slug smacking that steel plate way out there at 200 or better yet, 300 yards.  That's an accomplishment to savor.  I love the gloss of a deeply blued and well polished barrel when it gets a fresh rubdown of oil.  The sheen of a well finished walnut stock on a classic rifle... these things are works of art to me... functional art in the old tradition of my grandfathers.  A gun transcends and radiates history and tradition unlike anything else.  I guess the only things that can come close are model trains and old clocks.  You can't take a 100 year old clock out with you on a hike or hunting trip.   Not if you wanted to keep it intact.  You can however take your grandfather's 100 year old Savage rifle out and bag a deer with it... and share something in common with him... it creates a bond that spans generations. Take your kids shooting.  As soon as I can, I'm taking my boys out again.  If anything - I want my sons to remember going shooting with Dad.    I remember going shooting with mine.  We didn't go very often... But I remember it.  I even remember where it was.  I even still have the rifle he put into my hands.   My sons will now remember that same rifle and taking it shooting with Dad.  Right there... a 3 generation bridge. 

I'm juggling between a G21 and a Hi Power right now.  I'm leaning Hi Power at the moment but that may change in the morning.   I'm going to try to hit the AF Range early Saturday and try my hand at both to see which one fits ME the best.  I'd rather keep the .45 caliber, but if I can really and truly make more and faster hits with a 9mm then that is what I'll do for competition.  I'm not worried about carry as for that I'm using a CZ-52.  It's not a typical CCW kinda piece, but for those that argue speed is the key to stopping power - the 52 has it in spades.  I just love the gun's design and ability to penetrate dang near anything.  Since any confrontation I'm likely to get into will most likely be around cars- being able to zap the bad-guy through a car door or windshield is a bonus.  I know .45s or 9's can - but not as well at the 53.  7.62X25mm is one zippy round.

Oct 10th, 2002, Thursday, 8:00PM:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SHIN TAO!  Best wishes to you on your B-day.  May you get everything you want, but not what you deserve! 

Ogre Email is back on line.  Thank you Josh at Psionyx for that!  I had forgotten that I had changed the email password... and what I had changed it to.  I only have like 800 different passwords for every damn thing!  Judas!  If your in Utah and you need an ISP - Psionyx is the way to go.  How many local ISP's would even answer the phone after 7:30PM?  Josh was ON IT.  BOOM!  DONE!  My DSL connection is once again (no thanks to A T & fucking T) rock solid in the hands of Psionyx.  Stable, Fast, Reliable...  Please, if your thinking about AOL - don't do it.  If your thinking about MSN, don't do it.  Keep it local and keep it real.  Psionyx.

Many GREAT films have been submitted to the Ogre Movie Roster.  Thank you all.  We have some seriously outstanding films going on here!  Check out the list. 

I've had a couple offers for trades... Some are interesting and others are not quite up to it.  What I am looking for: a nice 1911 (Colt) or a Browning Hi Power with at least 5 mags.  I can be flexible depending on the condition of the gun.  The Nova is sold and the CZ-52 is sold (pending funds), so the only gun I have left for the block is the custom SMLE from MD Labs.  This rifle is one of a kind - so the offer should match.  I'm not motivated to trade it off - so if your going to offer, make it inspiring.

Oct 8th, 2002, Tuesday 8:00PM:  The computer situation is looking good.  I have Win XP Pro reinstalled and everything is so far working just fine.  Email however is still down until further notice.  For some reason (ID-10-T Error) I can not connect to the MadOgre.com email server.   No biggy.  I'll get it tomorrow.

A fellow from my old job at Nortel stopped by today.  It was good to see Trel again.  Let me tell you about Trel... classic hippy/gypsy, but with a cache of throwing knives at hand... He has just recently settled down with a new wife and a new daughter.  Congratulations Trel.  Hopefully I can pull some strings and get him approved to come work for me.  The problem is that he works "For the Other Team".  Personally I don't care... he is a great guy and an even better Techno-Guru.  He knows computers like I know guns.  I'll have to have a closed door meeting with some higher ups.  I need guys like him.  Excuse me... I have to play some Jedi Outcast now.

Oct 7th, 2002, Monday 9:45PM: I've been thinking of getting that next handgun.  I've had all the models that I've ever wanted at one point or another... all but the last two.  #1 is the pistol from Blade Runner.  Well, that one is not possible... so that leaves #2.  A simple Browning Hi-Power.  Why have I never owned one?  Probably because of the fact it's a 9MM.  I know you can get them in .40 - but I've just never had the mind to actually buy one.  The Hi-Power is full of history... classic heritage... and had a very handsome look.  Not only that it is a solid shooter.  While all the gun rags write volumes about the "New Hotness" of the day.  However the Hi-Power just quietly rolls forth finishing missions, protecting and serving all around the world... since 1935.  Not a bad resume.  Examples start as low as $200 and at that range, the quality is still very good.  Not only that, at that range I can afford some extra work done to it and some spare mags.  The only thing then is to convince Scott @ Edgeworks to make some G-codes for the Hi-Power!  Yeah, it's a 9.  But compared to the gun I used in the match - It will give me 8 extra rounds per mag. 8!  Still considering other options but an HP is at the top of the list so far.  Any thoughts?

Email from an Ogre Reader: "Your page is well worth visiting over and over again.  I dig the conversational feel of it, and have found quite a few pieces of useful info on there. (especially the stuff on the CZ-52) Got a few suggestions on your Ogre Movies page.  Some of these may be "no brainers" some maybe worth a look, and some you may think "what the hell were you drinking when you put that on the list?"   Quite a few on here I think are required for guys to watch, something of a pre-requisite for manhood, or something, and some are in that "select a couple from the following group" category.  But, then again, it's up to you as to which ones are ultimately worthy.  I'm looking forward to more updates, and seeing if you "Office Space" that printer.   Anyways, on with the movies: -Skylance"  Thanks for the email Skylance.  Your movie list hits me like a forehead slap.  His list is incorporated now.

Great.  Farking Windows.  Looks like I get to reinstall Windows and all my applications.  I can't access my email now.  Had some sort of blue screen while I was writing an email and now I can't get into it.  Normal fixes are not working.  This is no big deal, just annoying.  Very Annoying. I may have contracted a virus or something - because Windows has been acting strange for about 2 or 3 weeks now.  It's past time to reformat anyways.  If you sent me email today and I have not responded - now you know why.  Send it to me again tomorrow.   Hey, now that I have a burner installed on here, zipping this stuff to CD will be a snap.  Cool deal.  Have a LAN party scheduled for Friday.  I'd like to go - but we shall have to see how things work out on this machine.   I swear - if it wasn't for games & my wife - I'd be on Linux.   

Oct 6th, 2002, Sunday 8:42AM: New Mad Ogre Section!  Ogre Movies!  This is something I have been putting off for over a year.  A list of Ogre Recommended movies.  This page is still under construction and the list is not nearly complete.  The list is also not in any order or ranking as of yet.  In the future I will give each flick a ranking and a rating.  If you have a suggestion for a classic guy flick that I may have not yet included - feel free to suggest it.  I may not add it - but go ahead and remind me of it.

I'm pissed.  Admittedly I was in the wrong to begin with... I searched for a crack for madonion's graphic benchmark.  Well, Google found one.  So I went to the page and downloaded the crack... and screwed up my computer.  No, it's running fine I guess.  But my home page in my browser setting was changed to a porn site.  Shortcuts to porn filled my desktop.  My favorites list was filled with links to porn.  When I deleted everything and went to change the home page back to what I wanted (this page) I soon found that it wasn't to my page - but to my page through another damn porn site!  WHAT THE HELL!?!  I've been invaded by porn!  The perpetrators are LOP.com and SBVR.com.  ASSHOLES!  Teaches me for searching for a software crack!

Correia as you know was on our Team for the WC 3 Gun match.  Have a little story about an incident there.  Our hero had to run back up to the room there at Arizona Charlie's.  He forgot his shotgun.  James and I were outside waiting by the Blazer.  Larry gets the shotgun and steps into the elevator for the ride down to ground floor.  In the lift with him were two Ladies of the Night with an abundance of cleavage, spandex, and unpleasant diseases.  Larry ignores the tramps, but they don't ignore him.  Hard to not notice a Wookie with a Shotgun in a Casino elevator.  One of the girls starts licking her lips and rubbing her tongue with the tip of a finger... they sense prey.  Larry senses danger.  The one girl asks "Where are you going with that big dangerous gun?"  Unsure of which "Gun" she was referring to he stammers "Uh... Shooting?"   The moist girls turns on the seduction mode and oozes "Sounds fun..."  Larry being the most loyal man and husband in the world is still a man.  He knows what is going on.  He is "saved from an almost sure temptation" (Monty Python's Holy Grail reference - Sir Robin) by the bell.  The elevator pings and the doors open and our hero launches out of there like a Patriot Missile.    Good Man, Correia!   Now, had James or I been the one in the lift it would have been a different story.   Let's put Ogre in there first: Now, my response would have been one aimed at shocking the two girls to the point they would shut up and point that cleavage somewhere else.   "Where are you going with that big dangerous gun?" "Someone owed me money."   Our man James however would have capitalized on the situation... The HOLD button would have been pushed and James would have stepped out of the lift while zipping up and tucking in his shirt. 

Spectre has an update for us.  Check it out.  Seems our Grunt in the Pacific Northwest has found a young lady that suits his fancy... Let's hope this goes well for him. He also has some observations about the new Stryker IFV... and has something to remind us that life is too short.  

My CZ-97 is almost sold.  What I do with the fund is up in the air.  It seems that I offended my friend when I used the phrase "My Detonics".  I don't know why that should piss him off - but it wasn't meant to.  Anyways, I'd rather poke myself in the eye than buy it back and maybe further piss him off.  Now, I know guns are important... but I think friends are more important.  A little hunk of stainless isn't worth losing a friend over.  I guess the matter is a sore spot.  Well, that's okay.  Now I am looking at getting something a bit different.  I'm considering something that I would normally have NEVER considered.  Forgive me, but I've put a Glock on the list of considerations.  A model 21.  This is the full sized .45 version.  The finger grooves on this one actually fit my hand.  I still have to break my wrists downward to get the sight picture, but that my help me remembering the basic fundamentals when shooting... with a 3.5 pound disconnector it should be a good shooter.  Also, there are hi-capacity mags around for it.  13 round mags is a big jump over 7's.  I'm also considering a high capacity 9MM.  CZ-75, Browning Hi-Power, or others.  This will become my "service gun" for 3-gun matches.  My "Carry-Gun" will then be my CZ-52.  The 52 is easily concealed and plenty potent enough for close encounter.  I know it's not my ideal pistol - but it will work.  I just need to locate a gunsmith in Utah that knows how to work on them.  In the rankings at the WC 3-gun, it really didn't matter what you used.  Major or minor, scope or irons, pump or semi - everything was lumped into an overall ranking based on time & score.  The only considerations were for what "Class" the shooter was in "Master" "LEO/MIL" or "TYRO".  Tyro meaning the novice or first timer class.  Tyro was also the biggest class to compete in.  Nice.  I may or may not return to the WC 3, but I think I would like to.  Regardless - I do want to do the 3 gun events locally.  So, whatever gun I get will have to be suitable for a 3 gun match.  I'm looking for a package deal.  gun and at least 5 mags.  Tritium sights are a must.

Oct 3rd, 2002, Thursday 6:34PM:  Just installed a DVD player and a CD-R into  my machine.  Boy, I am smokin now!  Okay, so they are really old drives but they work.  So leave me alone about it.  :)  Now I can watch my only two DVD's.  LOTR: FOTR and Army of Darkness.  Maybe now that I have a DVD player, I'll buy some more.  These flicks have done just dandy on my laptop.  But now with my desktop machine... with my monitor... YEAH!   3 more inches of viewable screen!  SWEET!  If you think you hear some sarcasm in my typing... your probably right.   My monitor is so small... it's sad and pathetic.  At least I can burn audio CD's for my wife now... that's cool.  Things are going pretty well for us... We are happy and healthy.  So all is well.

I got some new items in the Swag section.   Some nice swag with what I call "The Happy Ogre" logo.  Check it out.  Hooded sweatshirts, fleece pullovers, beer steins, a cool aluminum lunch box (I'm ordering these for my boys), and what I have had a lot of requests for - Stickers. Git Some!

I have some .223 ammo.  What am I going to do with .223 rounds?  If your in Utah and you have a .223 rifle and some .303 ammo - Let's make a trade.  This is my leftovers from the match.  Black Hills blue box.  At least 100 rounds.  Not sure... a lot of it is loose rounds.

October 1st, 2002, Tuesday 9:25PM:  Seems like yesterdays posting has had a large effect on readers... Pissed off a friend, got a dozen offers on all the guns I've mentioned, a bunch of applicants for work, and a buncha guys asking for something I should have posted... a Link to the Edgeworks website.   Good grief!  I have far too many people reading MadOgre!  So I am afraid I'm going to have to fire about 50% of my readers.  Sorry guys, I am going to have to let you go.  Go read Geekswithguns.com... Wil has a great website over there and does a great job.   Wil is the man.  He actually helped me with the redesign of this site with a lot of HTML coding that I used.  Thanks Wil.  Anyways... where was I?  Oh yeah... count off... all Even numbers can stay and all Odd numbers - get the fuck out.  We are waiting... You in the back... Yeah you, I saw you count 3.  Your out.  Pick up your bag of chips and blow.  We're waiting... there you go... Thanks!

Let me clarify some things about the SOC rig that I mentioned yesterday.  Edgeworks is the company making the stuff.   They have 4 lines of holsters now.  G-Code, G-Code SouthPaw (for lefties), the REAC rig, and the SOC rig.  I have some G-code prototypes that I have used, good stuff.  You can order them from the dealers or pick them up from stocking dealers if they are in your area.  The one I used for the 3-Gun match was the REAC rig.  Very nice.  No, not nice... just freaking PERFECT.    The SOC rig is brand new and still being developed.  It's not in production yet.  However the design is about finalized.  Edgeworks can explain it better than I can... Take a look at it via the above links.  Yes, it's that cool.  The little video clips that they have of the SOC just doesn't do it justice.  You have to see these thing to fully understand just how fucking cool they are.  The SOC is that awesome.  Then take a look at the REAC and watch that little clip over there.  That's how the SOC attaches too.   Isn't that cool or what?!?!   I've got that REAC rig still... I'm going to write up a full report on it for the Weapons Section soon as I can... After I write reports on a couple other things including the Beretta 1200 shotgun and Trijicon Optics.

Out of all the offers to trade in on the Nova, I have had 4... count them 4 offers involving the FR-8 rifle.  This is odd because up to 2 days ago I have not even seen an FR-8.   If your not familiar with it, it is a good rifle.  Nice and compact for a main battle rifle... it's a bolt action unit based on the Mauser action and is often found chambered in .308 but the original caliber is an odd duck that you can't really get ammo for. 7.62MM CETME.  It's a Spanish rifle... in some circles that would raise interest because it's well known that Spain has put out some seriously nice weapons.   The G-3 is a Spanish design actually.  Germany picked it up from Spain right after FN turned them down on the FAL design... but that is another story.   The FR-8 is an interesting rifle and I wouldn't mind picking one up... but the deal for the Nova went to a good and solid fellow that offered me an interesting selection of trades... one was a most tempting offer for a S&W 1066, a 10MM Auto.  Very tempting, but I needed funds to go with the trade... so I took his second offering.  An 8 shot Mossy with a Butler Creek side folding stock.  Those that know me know that I have a fondness for the Butler Creek folder.  It's a side folder that allows you to have a nice and compact unit for transport and yet snaps out for a nice and solid stock when it's locked out.  And 8 rounds is a respectable capacity by any measure.  So I am getting a solid trade for something I'm familiar with and I have the cash to pay the bills.  Nice.

When I was pondering the selling of the SMLE, I didn't really mean it.  I had several inquiries about that one!  Spectre being the first one to snap at that!   Naw... It's a custom rifle that you just can't go pick up at the local Big 5 outlet.  It's a keeper.  But if you want to make an offer that is nuts... I'll think about.  Considering the unique factor of this little gun - I'm thinking a Springfield MilSpec Operator might be the right ballpark for it.   No, a half dozen Makarovs isn't going to do it. And to answer the questions about it, it's black.  I'll take pics as soon as I can.  It's not .308 its in .303 British.  Why did I buy a rifle in .303? - Because .303 is what the rifle came in.  I bought this gun for the gun - not for the caliber.  If you want a .308, you can go pick up an Ishapore and have it cut down by a gunsmith.

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