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Cogito Ergo Boom OCTOBER 2006 Monday, Oct, 30th, 2009: Quote from Saturday's shoot: “You look like a young Rob Zombie.” Thanks, James. I took this as a complement because A, I like Rob Zombie. And B, he didn't say that I look like an old Rob Zombie. I'm not old, but my beard is streaked with gray... so I live with old man jokes daily. If you like Rob Zombie you have to pick up his album “Past Present & Future” Not only does it contain his best work, but it also has a DVD with all his videos. The DVD is worth the price alone, even if it is edited for TV. The song More Human than Human, without the moaning female vocal intro is just disappointing. Few performers take the stage like Zombie. This cat takes and owns the stage like a Marine Expeditionary Unit. He just rules it. It's amazing. He needs a movie... not one he directs, but a movie about him... Jack Black needs to be in it too. Just my opinion. Another thing about Rob Zombie that I like... his wife works with him. She's in all his videos, and in concert footage, you always see her on the stage dancing and stuff. That's cool. Videos of the shoot: Check these out. After the shoot we rolled up to Sugar House for fish tacos and burritos and to hit the Barnes and Nobles there. Let me back this up. We means Bent and I. Bent is another local wordsmith with a blackbelt in adjectives and an all around cool cat. A guy you want on your team. Following in his Rabid Ranger pick up was Carl. Carl wields wrenches like a ninja with nun chucks... testament to this is that his truck is still running. His hobbies include breaking front end suspension components when he's out wheeling. He's a straight shooter. He's another cat you want on your team. We don't have a B&N in the Uintah Basin so stopping there was mandatory. After devouring some Baja grill food we hit the book store and spend too much cash... the before mentioned Rob Zombie collection was one of the things I acquired. Along with some more Patrick McManus, a vampire book, and a Best Of collection by Guns and Roses. The downside is that the Contour doesn't have a CD player. We had to wait for More Human than Human. I wanted to roll back down to FBMG, but things came up and we had to split from the SLC Valley and roll back homeward. Carl headed back up northward to his cold and barren homeland of Ogden. It was a groovy day. Just a quick note: I'm not giving anyone John Bowring's email address. I'm not forwarding emails or other messages to him either. So stop fricken asking. Email from Reader: “Hey MadOgre. I contacted you previously about me Kel-Tec, of which I am fond. I read your stuff about how our government is corrupt and have their jack-booted feet on our necks. Well, I have another tale. I have been a Rep for years. Went to the voting boothe a couple days ago. Froze up. Voted against every incumbent imaginable. Did not realize the anger inside me until then. I hope the bastards starve, because they do not care if we do. Kim Jung EEL = American politicians. Thanks. You say what others (we) are afraid to. PS Our voting ballots need an additional qualifier. i.e.: "ind, lib, rep, dem". I think "inc" should be included, for incumbent. Hey, how about "actpat", for Actual Patriot? See 'ya at the range. Walt” Walt, you make some interesting points. The problem with “Actual Patriot” is that this is a badge that all parties want to pin on their own chests, especially the Democrats. The sad part of it is that they actually believe that they are patriots... even if they want to cut and run from Iraq. You know, I wish I could want that too... I wish we could just up and leave. I really do. But that is not realistic. The enemy knows we have a history of cutting and running when body bags start getting filled... and you know what? They are right. We do. We did that in Beruit. We did that in Somalia. We ran. Tails between our legs. Because the politicos in Washington was more concerned about polls than our standing at the Global Table. Guys, we have the big chair at the end of the table when it comes to the global community. China now sits in the other big chair at the opposite end. And their chair is bigger than it was last year. Now here we are with a history of cutting our losses and going home. Didn't use to be that way, but we are not the same America that kicked Germany's ass twice. We tend to think we are unstoppable and hate seeing body bags. Of course we hate seeing body bags, but that isn't the point. The point is that when we can't win right off the bad with airpower, we call it a day. Osama said this to his people, and they have been working to that goal. They don't have to win is militarily... they only have to bleed us a little and we lose our resolve. But we can not. We have to stay the course now... there is no choice. If we don't, we lose all credibility to the rest of the planet. We lose all respect. And all the sudden we lose our chair at the head of the table. Why is that chair important? Because we have super hero obligation... much given, much expected. Think about the globe's situation if we ditch out. China and Al Qeda would end up ruling the world in a matter of months. The price of oil from the middle east would go insane. Japan would be ransacked. Israel would be a glowing glass bowl with a million year half life. It would be a new dark ages. This isn't doom and gloom, this is the general opinion about what would happen by some of the most brilliant people with clear thinking minds and I can't argue with them. Another email: “Dear MadOgre, In response to your flash media video about the Democrats. All the point that you made against them I found to be good things to vote for. First of all I am against the Patriot Act, I think that President Bush should be impeached, and for gay marriage. I not only am going to vote Democrat, but I hope they get majority in both Houses of Congress. - Technomage007” Well, as a Libertarian I support your right to make those decisions and to be an idiot. There are too many things to go into right now, but let's just say this... you don't get it and I don't have the time to teach you. A Democrat majority would be a global disaster much like an asteroid strike. Here is what I learned about myself, by looking for myself in Google: george hill is frozen george hill is professor of microbiology at meharry medical college in nashville george hill is responsible for the administration of the men's and women's divisions george hill is the president of victory bible college george hill is underneath george hill is noted for sauce and good relish george hill is fast george hill is well known in the culinary world one of victoria's top chefs with over 40 years experience and many national and international awards to his george hill is entering his tenth season with the dolphins and his third as defensive coordinator after being named to the post by dolphins head coach jimmy george hill is named the new linebackers coach for the dolphins george hill is shown here teaching the proper use of an aed during instruction at one of boone county's george hill is 76 george hill is doing all that a man can do george hill is not a george washington george hill is safe george hill is back in george hill is given in the census returns 1871 george hill is the new kid on the block in the bell george hill is our most experienced player george hill is a mechanical genius george hill is on his way to carrickfergus george hill is george hill is going into the woods for mr chadwick george hill is honored in several ways at rutgers george hill is huge george hill is how i'm connected george hill is an individual that knows the true meaning of the word manager george hill is going to do george hill is in kanawha co 1810 census george hill is deceased I'm down with most of this stuff... but the last one is disturbing. I'm not dead, yet. In fact, I'm getting better. Or at least I thought I was. Sunday, Oct 29, 2006: Photos of Saturday's ShootingFest will be posted shortly. My camera took a nose dive and shut its self off after I took one single snapshot. Yeah, I'm tickled about that. But Ben's cam worked fine so I'm waiting on those pics. I'm also just extremely thrilled (not) with my 7MM. The rifle its self was great, but the scope is ruined. Even after a bore sight, it's just not hitting anywhere near where it was supposed to... It did before it got farked with. I decided not to bother zeroing it in since my new Nikon scope is going to be arriving soon enough. Should have been here already in fact. The one gun I could count on is the one I have been counting on for some time now... “Pariah”, my black Marlin cowboy assault rifle. The new Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition is no joke. A Chrony read the velocity between 2241 and 2251 FPS. This is a good drop from the box's stated 2400 level. Then again, Pariah has a short barrel and a loss of velocity was expected. The .30-30 is amazingly potent with this ammunition, and seemed to raise eyebrows. With little hold over (relatively speaking) it was making hits at almost 300 yards on pumpkin sized targets. Our friend Carl's old Savage rifle in .223 was easy to make hits with once you found the hold over... or in this case hold under. Great shooter. Stu had his little lever, my bolt 7 and lever, Carl had his bolt... everything else was pretty much either full auto and loud or very very quite. Nightcrawler's FAL did great for awhile before going tits up for no apparent reason. Typical AR jams happened in typical AR fashion. The FBMG crew had a dueling tree and shooting it was difficult for me to hit because the damn thing was so close. Lots of fun, good times, and lots of questions about how I got my Contour up to the top of the bowl. Mad skills and knowing how to pick your line is all I'm saying. Nikon Laser 800 range finder was very useful. I'm going to have to get one of my own, instead of borrowing one from Nikon inventory. I get freebies from Nikon every once in awhile, my next one will have to be a range finder for sure. Friday, Oct 27th, 2006: Short stories in 6 words. Wired magazine has a neat little section this issue. Sci-fi/Horror short stories in 6 words written by well known writers. Awesome stuff. My favorites follow: Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so. - Joss Whedon Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer? Eileen Gunn machine. Unexpectedly, I'd invented a time – Alan Moore From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings. - Gregory Maguire It's behind you! Hurry before it – Rockne S O'Bannon The Baby's blood type? Human, mostly. - Orson Scott Card Kirby had never eaten toes before. - Kevin Smith Fantastic stuff. I love the writing process and all it entails... In fact, I'm going to be speaking about this at the local University next month. Note to the masses: Your degree means nothing if I'm the guy speaking to your class. Don't cry. Some more Utah Politics: Salt Lake wants to raise taxes again. This time to pay for more transportation issues. First gut reaction was “Hold the phone, Utah already has the highest taxes, we don't need any more!” Then I got to thinking about the issue. This hike is going to be for more light rail and buses. SLC is one of the worst places in the USA when it comes to rush hour traffic. On top of that, SLC has probably the worst drivers in the nation as well. Those combined elements make SLC the worst place in the USA to get from point A to point B. The only decent time to travel in SLC is during the night. It really is... so before you email with protests of this opinion and nominate your city... Chances are I've been there and I've seen it for myself and have calculated those cities into my opinion. Chicago, DC, LA, etc... sorry... you don't suck nearly as bad as SLC. Actually, when I say “SLC” I'm really talking about the whole Wasatch Front area that goes from Ogden to Provo. Think about the layout for a second... there is one major interstate that runs north to south, I-15. There is one beltway that swings around SLC, 215. The whole area runs off that backbone. There are major feeders to that route that were never built for the level of traffic that Utah has now... 3 Million people. I know that's not a huge number, but those 3 Million people are all driving there own cars and are all trying to hit I-15 at about the same time. Good luck. You will need it. It's crazy in Utah and I hate driving in SLC because of that. Worst drivers? Oh hell yes. Utah operates on a different Right of Way principle than anywhere else. If you pretend you don't see the other car, you have the right of way. The larger vehicle always has the right of way. Might Makes Right. SUV's are second only to 18-Wheelers here... and we have 80% of the nations supply of them. No one is allowed to let anyone else merge. No one is allowed to be polite or to smile when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle... they have posters to that effect in the DMV. In all seriousness, they drive better in Bangladesh. They don't even have traffic laws there other than be polite to the rickshaws or else they will throw poo on you. Utah is devolving to that state... I swear to Buddha. Utah also has a policy that UDOT has got to have at least 8 orange traffic cones per capita, in use, at all times. Because if UDOT gets bored, it will start doing construction on the sidewalks in residential areas like how they pushed the show CHIPS off the freeway... and then no one would be able to get anywhere. So now with this situation, they want to close more roads, narrow streets further and generally make sure they know that you know that they are on the job spending your tax money. For what? More light rails? That doesn't work for me. There is too much going on already. More light rail is a band-aid solution that as soon as it is completed it is already overwhelmed. SLC needs to look up. Elevated high speed monorails. Subways. Air-taxis. Helicopter taxis. They need to get more people off the highway in a major way... not with a sissyass light rail. Do what other big cities do, not what San Francisco does. The wee little trolleys running around SLC are silly and are nothing anyone wants to ride on. At least no one that I know. Utah needs a Mag-Lev Bullet Train. People who own big trucks and SUV's would even ride that. Mag Bullets are big in Utah... we love that shit here. It's strange how the Democrats are all getting so giddy about the upcoming election. They are all walking around with smug “just you wait, were going to get you” looks on their faces. It's very creepy. I prefer them the old way... the slinking around, sour faced, crouching, masturbating, and staying out of the way of people who actually get shit done. Kinda reminds me of Communists in Russia before they took power. Check this out. Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift: I liked that flick. I know, I know... it's one of those really stupid guilty pleasures... but I like this flick. Japanese chicks are freaking hottness, the cars are pretty cool this time around, and the actors are not as bad as the last one. At least they were tolerable. The best about it though was actual drifting. Drift racing is interesting.... it's totally “Japan”. Because it's not just about how fast you are, but how baddass you look going fast. That is Japan right there. The major problem with drifting though is that you go through tires like a crack whore. Seriously, you will eat a brand new set of tires in an hour. I can drift, I've done it several times. I even demonstrated drifting at my police academy during the driving sessions. But those old square full sized Caprice Classics are not the best drifting cars. I bet the new Dodge Charger Police package cars would be drift monsters. Now, I will admit it looks cool and is fun... but it is not fast. It's not even close to being the fastest way around a track. When your tires are squealing, your scrubbing not just rubber off your tires, but your scrubbing speed too. You need all your traction on your tires and not left in long black streaks behind you. Less traction means less grip, which means less corning speed. Drifting is all about a gross display of power and most of that power is transferred into turning your expensive tires into smoke. I like to keep my tires hooked up and transferring that power into velocity. But that is just me. If I want to go fast, I want to go as fast as I can safely. I gave up on doing roadies when I was teenager. Because I pretty much did a whole hell of a lot of roadies. Got in so much trouble doing that stuff... it was fun. Good times... Anyways, fun stupid flick, best F&F yet but that isn't saying much, and the chicks are so freaking hot it's crazy. I'm looking forward to Saturday. I'm heading out early to make it out there as soon as I can. The Bowl is easy to get to, if you don't count the traffic. Go west from Lehi, hit the 4 corners and turn south. Stop when you hear a lot of shooting and take a right and head up the hill. Can't miss it. I'm bringing out a couple rifles and a couple handguns. My 7MM needs to be re-zeroed. Someone started turning the dials on the scope's turret, so I had to bore sight it. The bowl is a perfect place to zero a rifle. 7MM Rem Mag, I'm going to zero it for 200. The Black Marlin is coming. As I've been told, it is my giving history the middle finger made manifest. Since the name “Abomination” has been taken, I've named her “Pariah”. She is my Go-To rifle. My CZ P-01 is coming of course... best automatic handgun on the planet... and my .357 Vaquero which has become my favorite wheel gun of all time. That reminds me... need some .357 Mag rounds before I head out... I've got enough everything else. Coming with me Saturday morning is my friend, Ben. Ben is another writer and a new gun enthusiast. Ben is packing a Springfield XD, a very good pistol and one of the best new designs to come out in a long time. He's working on some stories and the RPG system to go along with my Western Comedy Horror and Monster Hunter International... So we shall have to pow-wow with Larry while we are there pow-powing with the guns. If you are in the area, swing by. Thursday, Oct 26th, 2006: ATTN UTAH VOTERS: Fire Judge Lewis! This maniac Judge is sitting on the bench here in Utah... she isn't in San Fran... in Utah. Who in the hell made her a judge? Check this site out and watch the video... UNBELIEVABLE. She has got to go. Listen to what she is saying and how she is saying it. She has obvious contempt for law abiding citizens. The guy let out a “sigh”. An exhale of breath. And she cuffs him for it. Biatch has got to go. This is not the type of person that should be sitting in a Utah courtroom in an official capacity. As a Defendant, sure. Saturday at “The Bowl”. Huge gathering of shooters, lots of seriously kickass weapon systems, be there. I'm going to be. Monday, Oct 23, 06: Congratulations to our good friend Steve and his lovely wife-to-be, Kristin! Just got the announcement. I remember the day I first met Steve. It was for a job interview... I was managing a bunch or network engineers and we needed to flesh out the team. Steve was one of the guys that applied. I could tell of I was going to hire a person or not in a 3 minutes. With Steve, it was about 30 seconds. Maybe less. He is the smartest guy I've ever met in my life. A little cocky, but he's got the stuff to back it up. He is genuine, caring, funny, and all around a really great guy. I met Kristin once, and much like Steve, I knew I liked her right off the bat. I don't know her, but I know that if Steve cares for enough to hook her up for time and all eternity – then she has to be one extremely select woman. I wish them the very best in their life together. Congratulations. Put on your headphones and watch this. I don't know if after that congratulations, that it is appropriate to talk politics. But I am an ogre and always being appropriate is not one of my talents. I have a big mouth, and it's of its own mind. I am very troubled by our current state of politics. I am disturbed by the thought that shear hatred of President Bush is going to have a giant backlash against Republican politicos across the country. I am even more disturbed by my own thoughts that “it served them right” if they all get replaced by Democrats. This is “cutting off your nose to spite your face”. It might “Serve Them Right”, a bunch of Republicans getting shafted... they should all be shafted. But the flip side of that, that a bunch of Democrats would rise to power and enforce the Democrat party platform... it leaves me shaking inside. Nancy. Ted. Hillary. Dean. The four horsemen. These guys would drive America into the abyss. For what? What has the liberal agenda done for America? Raised our fuel costs by forbidding new refineries and reactor plants from being built. Forced our hand into Iraq by calling for action. Empowered the terrorists by inaction after attacks. Empowered China by Clinton handing them technology that they should never have had. Empowered North Korea by giving them a nuclear reactor and showing them how to use it. They are all about empowerment – as long as it isn't empowering American Citizens. The biggest disasters to our military has been cuts done by Clinton. To our Intelligence organizations. To our ability to gather intel. They embolden our enemy while hobbling our own. They want to talk about blaming Bush? For what? For lying? The Liberals are crying out that we should be listening to the UN. It was the UN's very own Weapons Inspectors... remember Hans Blix? They documented tons and tons of WMDs in Iraq. Saddam was to have destroyed them all... but the UN Weapons Inspectors could not account for 20% of the WMD's that they previously documented. That was the UN, not Bush, that said “Hey Saddam, your 20% short, where is the rest?” So the Democrats called for action. Bush pulled the trigger and the instant he did, the Dems started saying “whoa, hold the phone”. Calling for war is like pulling the trigger on a gun. Once you pull that trigger and the gun goes bang, there is no way of pulling that bullet back. You set the US Military in motion, it isn't something you can stop by just saying “we were just kidding”. The Dems biggest plan the Democrats have for America is to pull the military out of Iraq and to raise our taxes. Great. That's just wonderful. We have CNN showing the terrorist's home movies, inspiring more terrorists to further violent action... doing just what the terrorists want them to do... and then we are going to have America's own government doing the very same thing, giving them what they want. We have the Dow Jones hitting twelve thousand, and the Democrats want to raise taxes? They want to put the breaks on that? I want a Democrat to tell me just one thing... Just who is it that the Democrats are working for? Because it isn't the American people. Is it for “the planet”? For the fear of Global Warming? Sure, there is global warming and climate changes. So what? It's natural. It's all caused by the sun. Earth has gone through many climate changes. It used to be very cold. Then it got warm Greenland was called Greenland because it was green. That's why they moved dairy cows there. Then it got cold. So they left. The middle ages started out with people starving... then it got warmer and suddenly growing seasons lengthened and farms were more productive and people could work on music and art because they didn't have to spend all their time working on a food supply to survive winter. Out of that mud crawled Western Civilization. Those facts are well documented in any decent history book. It goes in cycles that happened a hell of a long time before Chevy invented the Suburban. Al Gore is full of shit and anyone who believes him is a freaking moron. The sun causes these climate changes, and it was happening since the dawn of man. There is nothing that humans can do to change that. Nothing. There will be global warming, just like there is going to be global cooling. Just like eventually the sun is going to burn out, cool off, shrink into a singularity and then explode destroying everything in our solar system. So what? That doesn't mean I have to park my car and walk today. Doesn't mean I can stop feeding my kids. All the fearmongering... thanks for that, Al Gore. Thanks for that, Democrats. I was talking to a guy that works for Ford. Racing background. Shooter. Good guy. He mentioned that a good idea for my Contour would be to bolt in a small supercharger. He's got one that would increase my 2.5 Duratec's output by 150 horsepower and huge gobs of fresh new torque. With little other modification. I said, “yeah that sounds great. How much?” Two grand. I'll have to think about that. Ouch, that is steep. But a Contour with over 320 horsepower would be a hell of a thing. If I had a spare two grand laying around, I just might consider it. Come to think of it... remember how I talked about how great the new Mazdaspeed 3 was because of it's powerful engine in a small car? You know, I think a Contour with 320 horses would easily take that Mazda. And the Tour isn't a hatchback either. That does have an advantage in my book. For two grand, it would be like having a whole new car, the change would be so drastic. Yeah, I think I will think about that. Maybe put some money away bit by bit for it. And as far as power goes, there are more options that would work on top of just a supercharger. Supercharging is just one method. VW has proven you can do both Super and Turbo charging on the same engine at the same time. There is also water injection. Upward potential is over 500 ponies. But let's not get crazy. That would require a whole rebuild of the front end. Besides, who would spend that much money on a freaking Contour? Well, people are doing that sort of stuff to Honda Civics all the time. Guess it isn't that crazy. Still, it's expensive and that means its virtually out of the question. At least for now. We also talked about diesel engines and installing propane injection systems. Propane does for those oil burners what nitrous does for unleaded. And propane is cheap. There is a truck in town that has such a set up installed and his truck generates biblical power levels. When you have a three quarter ton truck with four wheel drive that can smoke – smoke – all four tires... you know you have an over abundance of power. I like that. I can't help it, but I really do. Just like .50BMG rifles and .500 Magnum revolvers. God Bless America. Question for those who know: XM or Sirius?
Some very good news! Thank to the assistance of The Horde, Tina was able to come in and put her gun on layaway yesterday. Paying ½ of it up front, with a red dot sight on top of it. She chose a stainless Encore in .204, with camo pattern stocks and a camo pattern red dot. She needs a red dot right now because she is still a bit too small to tuck in behind a regular scope. But the package looks good, makes her gleeful, and will shoot well for her. When she gets it payed off, we will take a photo of her with her new rifle. I get a lot of weird things sent to me... one of them recently was a game. Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. This is a RTS game based on the Warhammer 4000K universe. I played the original Dawn of War RTS game and was pretty impressed. However, this version just does away with the idea of a story line and just serves up all the action RISK style. You have a world map, different faction controlled areas and you move your army about kicking ass, taking names, and ruling the world. I played it for two hours and let me tell you... I got my butt handed to me on a plater. The forces of Chaos just owned me. Very cool game if you like RTS games... a nice diversion. I'm not so much into games anymore... but if I was, I'd be all over this one. Thanks to James for sending it to me. If you are a fan of RTS games, check Dawn of War out. It's the harshest RPG I've ever played. Brutal. The Pontiac Montana had to go into the shop yesterday. Needed a new air density sensor. They pulled one out of a new Grand AM GT or something like that... not sure what it was, but it was a low slung, black and evil looking Pontiac. Evidently these two vehicles, the evil one and the mini van both share the same engine, the 3400 SFI engine, which is good for 240 horse power and a ton of torque. The new sensor worked great and I drove it home... runs better than ever now. Sweet. That's a lot of grunt for a mini van. I like that. I think for Christmas I'm going to get Mrs. Ogre a Cold Air Intake for her van. I want to put one in my Contour but I can't find a drop in kit and will have to fabricate one. Speaking of automotive... Brutus (my '84 full sized Bronco) was put into the garage for the winter. This is also the first time I put any vehicle in the garage since we arrived at Ogre Ranch. Long story about that... anyways. When it comes back out it will have the chopped top, weight will be reduced by about 150 to 200 pounds, and will be ready for some hard core wheeling. It will be my winter project to get it ready for next summer. Wednesday, Oct 18th, 2006: Have you guys had any good luck with BitTorrent? I've used it a few times and it's never impressed me. When downloads have a BitTorrent option and a direct HTTP download, every time the direct download has always been faster. Most of them time it is better that twice as fast. I want to be impressed, but I'm not. I've done some editing of the HTML here... I think it renders the page faster. What do you think? I've also killed some of the useless advertising. More on that in a second. Is there a Gun Friendly alternative to PayPal? Just asking Cause they suspended my account temporarily. You can see I no longer have any links to them now. It's sorted out and not a problem now, but still. They were pissed that I hawked a gun using their service. Of all the things people are out there selling using Paypal, a rifle that I specifically mention that would be transferred through a legal FFL dealer – pissed them off. This is also why I am dropping Mountain America Credit Union. I was talking to them about a Biz Loan for Project X. They had no problem and loved it and were eager to help... then I mentioned that it would cover gun reviews too. Guns? Hold up. Slam... that was it. Not only would they not talk to me about Project X any more... but they even denied an auto loan that was previously pre-approved. Well, I'm in the process of switching all my personal banking over to Wells Fargo. They are not such pricks about the second amendment as PayPal and Mountain America. I had an email that mentioned how funny some of these google ads are. They always crack me up. These are automated ads based on keywords that google picks out. So let's check this out. I'm going to start talking about Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... Paris Hilton... and let's see if that pops up any Paris Hilton ads. I have no control over the ads, other than banning out any ad that is offensive. Some of those ads link to some pretty crazy crap. Interesting book: “The Stars My Destination”. Lawdog mentioned it on his website and out of curiosity I ordered it off Amazon.com because I found a copy for about 2 bucks. It arrived today in my PO Box and this evening I sat down to give it a skim. I had a hard time putting it back down. Very interesting story by a very interesting writer. I like it very much. Interesting Sci-Fi are some of the most addictive stories out there. My #1 favorite is of course “Starship Troopers” but because the movie version was so insanely bad, it is sometimes hard to admit that I liked it. But those who have read S.T know just how amazing the book is. The Stars My Destination looks to be of that high caliber. Last posting day I mentioned that I love my CZ P-01. There is another pistol that I have to admit to loving as well. The CZ SP-01. Everything I love about the P-01 is there... adding to it a longer barrel and sight radius, 20 round magazines, and serous good looks. The SP-01 is perfect for those looking for a competition gun, a tactical entry pistol, or a seriously hard core plinker. For 9MM, the P-01 and the SP-01 are just about the world's most perfect handguns. Please remember I said this when you eventually read my CZ-100 review. I was not exactly flattering. I'm supposed to be working on an article... my review of the FN FNP-9m. But I have no inspiration for it. They repaired the gun and the trigger is 500% better. Unfortunately the refreshed trigger is still a poster-child for mediocrity. It remains long and heavy and somehow awkward. The memory of the damaged trigger remains every time I pick up the pistol and it leaves me with little confidence. The stamped sheet metal decocker lever looks and feels cheap and befitting of a something coming from a Yugoslavian Kalashnikov factory. It might work, but they sure didn't spend any money on it. For the MSRP on these things... I expected better. It makes you long for the good days of MIM parts. The plastic seems tough and solid, but somehow feels like it was rushed from molds to finished product rather too quickly. This is something like Ferrari releasing a Chevy Cavalier. It's shameful. Lots of companies have gone out of their way to jump onto the plastic framed band wagon... when they shouldn't have. Beretta with their 9000s, SIG with their “SIG Pro” pistols... and now FN with their FNP series. I've only seen a couple plastic framed guns that have been done right. The Springfield XD is one of them... the new S&W M&P pistols are another... the Wilson Combat KZ-45 is another one... So it is possible that a company can make a good unit. The real question remains “Should you?” Just because you can doesn't mean that you should. Stick with what you do best and avoid being the next object of pointing and laughing. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Take the laser bore sight device out of your barrel before you fire the weapon. That's pretty damn funny. You gotta love the UN's strongly worded sanctions against North Korea. Then the neat little addendum that forbids any military action. So it in effect means that the whole UN document means absolutely nothing. So then North Korea responds by claiming the UN's nothing to be “And Act of War”. Would someone please fucking shoot Kim Jong Ill in the fucking head, please? That assclown is going to end up killing everyone in his country. Tuesday, Oct 17th, 2006: No, I am not going to buy a Kimber KPD. Not that it is not a fine handgun, as it seems... but that in my personal search for my handgun of choice I selected something that has remained my top choice. The CZ P-01. As far as CCW handguns go, this is the cat's meow. The P-01 is sized right for a concealable handgun that can pull official duty as a duty sidearm. It's grip is perfect for my hand. The grip angle is one that allows the gun to present perfectly on plane every time I bring it up to eye level. The muzzle is always on target when I point it... I couldn't make a better pistol for myself if I designed it using sculpting clay. I do not mind the caliber either. I might joke that 9MM is for girls and sissy boys, but in reality, using good quality hollow point ammunition, the 9MM round is perfectly fine. Worst case scenario is that the bullets fail to expand which means it penetrates the target completely... entrance and exit wounds. I might be tempted to order some Hakan grips to dress it up and take away the militant look. But that wouldn't be until after the holiday season because Hakan's shit is spendy. If I was going to replace my CZ P-01, the only thing I could think of replacing it with would be the CZ SP-01, which is the same thing but with a 5 inch barrel and a grip frame that is just long enough to support a 20 round magazine. Yes, 20 rounds of 9mm. Remember the FN FiveseveN pistol? With it's 20 round mag... that was a big selling point for them... well, the CZ SP-01 matches it, but does so with fatter bullets than the FN. But the SP-01 isn't a carry gun. It's a Duty gun, but to conceal it would require David Copperfield skills. Hence my continued choice of sticking with the P-01. No plastic framed gizmo is going to change my opinion or change my choice. The winner of the drawing, I have found out is not as lucky as I would have hoped. His car has died on him and is going to have to be buried. The sad part about this is that his car is a Ford SHO. You remember the SHO's? Take a mild mannered Taurus, put in a high output engine and turn it into rip-snorting raging bull. The formula worked out well enough, but Ford being the unimaginative sods that they are didn't know what to do with them so they dropped the car on its face. Those who have SHO's know they are a kick to drive. Roomy, comfortable, and fun to drive... Unfortunately Matt's has lived out it's last days and will have to be put down. The saddest part is not that Matt has to now find a replacement... that is unfortunate and not at the best of times... but that we now have one fewer of the SHO's remaining. Special cars like that need to last forever. Not that the SHO was really all that special of a car, but I've always been very fond of them. Id suggest looking for a worthy replacement like a Nissan Maxima. If you want a 4 door sedan again. Monday, Oct 16, 2006: There is a pistol that I am most interested in. I shall have to contact the company in regards to it and see about getting a test sample. The curious thing is that I can't put my finger on why I am currently fascinated with it. It's a poly framed pistol in .40 S&W, and this isn't normally a combination that really floats my boat. I've had several such things in the past and tested several more... and while they have all proven to be “Just fine” or better, they have never really been “inspiring”. This one however seems to have all the ingredients of a really great self defense pistol. I'm talking about the Kimber Pro Defense.... the “KPD”. It's a DAO pistol with an 8 to 9 pound trigger pull, with a thin 1.08 inch wide frame, interchangeable back straps, frame rails, 12 round magazine, 4.1 inch barrel, with a slide milled from stainless steel, and a weight of only 25 ounces. Add in to this formula a sleek design with smooth sides and only a slide release lever. It doesn't even need a slide release lever... but most shooters tend to require one because grabbing the slide and pulling it back a touch and letting it go is too complicated for most people to deal with. Now, the only problem is that the KPD is too big. Well, really it's just right for a carry gun for a cop or a body guard or a professional that moves in circles that require or allow a just right sized pistol. But for those that carry concealed in environments that are not friendly to those who carry concealed, it would be better than just right if they could make a version that is just a big smaller... Maybe a ½ inch off the barrel and ¾ an inch off the grip frame... then for CCW work it would be just right. But that's just my opinion and this opinion is given off the cuff without having the chance to T&E the base pistol in question. Interesting movie that I passed over before... Lucky # Sleven. It's worth renting. Clever script. And at the same time a script that tries too hard to be clever. But it works. Decent acting, interesting characters, good casting. I liked it. Not as much as I liked Boondock Saints... but close. This is a very high complement from me. I've become very tired of Action Movies. So if I'm going to watch an Action Movie, it's going to have to have something else going for it... it's going to have to be different, it's going to have to offer me more than just a portrayal of well executed violence. I want smart dialog. I want emotions. I want real. I want depth. It has to have a hook. L#S has these things. Including a pair of suppressed CZ-75 pistols wielded by my man Bruce. These things combined make for a worthwhile rental. Now, there are a couple things it didn't need. Rather explicit brief scenes showing pretty girls getting banged doggy style. Not that I have a problem with that per say, but it's not something you would have expected in this sort of movie. I think film makers should keep that sort of thing in other movies where you expect that sort of thing. Okay, okay, I'll get to it... The Hordecast I was going to do Sunday didn't pan out. I'm not going to do another one with just me talking... and Mrs. Ogre and I just don't work all that well together. When I find an appropriate Sidekick... Perhaps a witty talking iguana, then we can roll with it. Until then, you shall just have to be patient. Oh, you are wanting to know who one the drawing for the scoped Marlin? I guess I can do that. I made a list of all the contestants and gave them a number series according to their tickets. The more tickets you had, the larger spectrum of numbers you occupied. Then I used a random number generator to pick a number. Whoever had that number won. I thought cutting up scraps of paper and writing names and putting them in a hat was a bit old fashioned, and time consuming. The winner of the drawing is... insert your own drumroll sound effects here... Matt in San Diego. (email to Matt has been sent) The Marlin now belongs to him. Details of the transfer will have to be worked out of course. (I was hoping that the winner would be someone within driving range so I could deliver the Marlin personally. That would have made things easier. But that wasn't the point) Thank you to all of those who have entered the drawing! I really appreciate it. The goal was not met, but the help from the Horde went a long way. The wall has been rebuilt, repaired and redone. Mrs. Ogre is now dealing with the decorative tile stuff and we are still waiting for the local glass company to come out and replace the windows... but the unexpected part has been dealt with. We are now back to the normal expected nightmares. Again, thank you! And Matt, congrats. The Mazdaspeed 3. I mentioned this car some time ago as being a car with a lot of potential. Taking the engine out of a Mazdaspeed 6 and dropping it into a smaller and lighter Mazda 3. The heart of a great hot rod is a big engine in a little car. That's been the formula since the genesis of hot rods. That formula works very well in the guise of this new little Mazda. The only problem I have with it... is that every freaking car rag is covering it. I hate it when magazines do that... they all cover the same cars at the same time. It's good I guess for those that are thinking about getting one to have different points of view, but for those who are not currently shopping (IE Most readers out there) and for those who subscribe to more than one rag... it can get boring. Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Automobile... hell... even Winding Road are all putting the little Mazda on the cover at the same time. There is a very good reason for this of course. All these rags are covering the same topic which is at the mercy of the same product releases. Still... it would be nice if they might have a little coordination between the head offices so they are all not at least using the same cover photos. Maybe they could at least use different colored cars? Or use photoshop to change the color or something? I lost track of which publication I was reading. I've not seen a Mazdaspeed 3 in person yet. But I have the 6. If the 3 is more fun to drive than the 6, then they have a great car on their hands. And if they can do it with a decent interior and with a good shifter, then I would hazard to guess that the thing might be one of the best new little hot rods to have come out in some time. It's out GTI'ing the GTI. That is both impressive for Mazda and very sad for VW. VW is not going to take this laying down... in '08 they are rolling out with their new Scirocco. So far all the reviews on it have been about how great it looks. Let's hope that VW gives it some balls. Anyways, as great as this little hotrod Mazda is... I'm never going to get one because of Mazda's close ties with Ford. Since Ford owns a large chunk of Mazda, buying Mazda is still giving Ford money. That is something I am not wanting to do if I have a choice about it. Friday, 10-13-06: I've mentioned one of the books I'm working on, “Privateer”. This is the one involving a former ship of the US Navy, an ocean going minesweeper. And I want to thank all the Sailors that have helped me out with photos, stories, even a CD full of video of these ships in action. This help has been invaluable. Well, let me mention briefly the other book I'm working on. It has no title at this point. I refer to it as my “Western, Comedy, Horror”. I am throwing in a lot of folklore, some slapstick, and some other foolishness. It's a lot of fun so far. At the same time I am trying to “keep it real”. Crossing Louis Lamour with Patrick McManus and Steven King. This is a challenge. It might turn out to be a lot of crap, but if I can pull this off, I can aspire to it being well done crap. Okay, before anyone cries “boo” about this, look at Firefly. It's a Western, Comedy, Sci-fi. Sounds stupid on the surface, but those that have watched the show all know it was brilliant. Mixing genres is risky, but if anything else it is a fun exercise. In this story I am mixing in some classic horror elements with things like ghosts, skinwalkers, bigfoots, outlaws, injuns, folklore of the region, some historical characters, werewolves, and doing small send-ups of a number of classic western flicks including Blazing Saddles. This one, once it is complete, I just might post online... just for the hell of it. At least the first chapter. Along similar lines... A friend of mine is working up a simplified RPG system for this. If you know what an RPG is, then understand this a pen and paper version and if you don't know what an RPG is, then just don't worry about it. Got an email from my brother. He has finally taken my sage advice and has finished watching the whole Firefly series and Serenity (in that order) and has deemed it the best show ever. Toldja. If you are fan of the show, you know who “Yosaffbridge” is. Damn, she is HOT. She's the redheaded villain chick. She makes my knees weak. She reminds of Mrs. Ogre when we first met. Ouch. Email from reader: “Hello, I just wanted to thank you for letting everyone know about Tina and her gun rest. I just received mine and am very impressed. Well made, attractive and functional. Just as important though is helping the young lady pursue her shooting hobby. It's great to see dads teaching their kids about firearms. Not near enough of it any more. At the age of 10 my daughter was shooting my Charter Bulldog .44 special (and shooting it well). Long time ago but those shooting sessions were quality time and memories. Kudos to Tina and Willie. Thanks again. Del” No, thank you, Del. And I am glad you like the rest. I'm feeling my inner geek tonight. I might just kick back and watch some Cowboy Beebop tonight. Oh, BTW, that link is to the whole series embedded in Flash so you can stream it. I'd love the whole series on DVD, but don't have the time to torrent everything and I don't have patience to wait for it. TV channels. I was talking to a fellow about TV channels on cable or satellite. I'm a fan of ala cart selections, creating your own packages. He was a freaking moron and wants to keep the companies regular package selection. His argument is that their packages keep end user costs down. My point is that doesn't matter if it saves you a few cents a month, because you never watch most of the channels you are paying for. I like the idea that you only pay for the channels you watch. Here is my package: All the Discovery channels, History, Military, etc... Fox News, Speed, A&E, ESPN, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network (for the kids, uh huh, right) and some movie channels like HBO. That's it. I don't want any shopping networks . I don't want any music channels. I don't want my MTV. I don't want VH1. I don't want the Disney channels. Nothing else... nothing. Not even local channels. I never watch them, so I don't want to pay for them. Last time we had Dish Network, my channel list was just these and nothing more. Why should you have to pay for stuff you don't want, don't watch, and just filter out? You shouldn't. Then he says, well paying for the whole package, that's how some of these other channels make money and stay in business. What? No, that's bullshit because I'm not going to subsidize failure. If they can't come up with programming that I want to watch, why should I pay to keep them in business? If you suck, then you go under. Not everyone can be like Air America Radio. Speaking of radio... A new Hordecasttm is on the way. In which I will announce the winner of the rifle drawing. That should be on Monday. A girl we used to know has recently died in a car accident. Jenny Johnson. Friend of the family and former student of Mrs Ogre. She was a sweet girl. That was some very sad news. I remember the time she came out to the lake with us... played with the kids and everything. She wasn't very happy usually, had to deal with a lot of harsh issues in her life... but that day she was smiling and having fun and wasn't stressing. I would like to remember her that way. Upshot for the day. Horde Member was able to stop by yesterday and visit. Roger, it was cool to meet you. I like meeting folks, but it's kind of weird when I find people who actually read MadOgre.com. It's easier writing here not thinking about that. But I always think those that meet me must come away disappointed. I am not 7 feet tall. I don't have a voice like God's. My skin is not green. I don't wear guns strapped like Poncho Villa. I'm actually rather not that intimidating or even interesting to meet. Especially at work. This is why I like doing “Gatherings”. Getting out and together doing shit we all like to do... shooting, grilling meat, hanging out. That's the way to do it. I've not had a “Gathering” in some time. TheHighRoad.Org has had some Utah chapter Gatherings... but I've not been able to attend them. I really need to. I feel like I've been out of touch. I even kinda started the whole Gathering thing back in TFL's original days. I remember the fist one. It was a lot of fun. MySpace. I was asked if I have a page on MySpace. What? Are you serious? People, please. THIS is MY SPACE. Welcome to it. User Comments? No. I don't want to do the user comments thing. If you have a comment, email me. If you have a cool take, I might post it here. Especially if your email makes me look good. Kidding about that last part. But no, never will I ever do a MySpace thing. I had my space before there ever was such a thing. Hell, I invented my space. Moron. So Air America Radio finally files chapter 11, huh? This is not surprising in the least. But there are some surprising things about this. First off, that they have lasted this long. Al Franken is just intolerable to listen to... but I guess if you are paying people to put you on the air, instead of the normal media method of people paying you to be on the air... then this makes sense. Another thing that was unexpected is that they can claim over 4 mil in assets. Whodathunkit. I suspect they might be claiming as an asset the building they are renting offices in. But that they owe over 20 mil of debt? They don't need a chapter 11. They need euthanasia. On top of this, Air America is owing Al Franken over 350 Large? Let's go over a few basic Rules of Life. First, never get involved in a Land War in Asia. Second, never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line. Third, take the blue pill. And 4th, (and this might be the most important) never go into business with a Liberal Idiot like Franken. Wed, 10-11-06: You gotta feel sorry for Bush. No matter what he does, he's getting beat up for it. I have an idea for Bush. One simple thing he can do to make everyone happy. Change party affiliation to Democrat and then he would go down in history as the greatest President in the history of the USA. I read the article from the UK complaining about the US consumption of natural resources. That's an interesting and mostly truthful article. Of course it's completely one sided and kinda snide, coming off like a Boss who gets surpassed by an employee. Sour Grapes. What about everything the US does for the rest of the world? Stop and think about that for a second... what would the world be like if the USA didn't exist? Millions of people would starve every year, millions would die of disease, and Billions of people would have nothing else to blame their own failures on instead of blaming President Bush. No one does Sour Grapes better than the British. Not all Brits, mind you. I've several Horde Members in the UK and they all have their heads screwed on right. Ogre to the UK: Quitcherbitchin. I was just reading on Digg.com that PCI Express is on the way out and PCI Express 2.0 is due by year's end. Ouch. Glad I didn't buy one of those PCI-E cards now, whooo... that was close! Truthfully... my Dell with a 3Ghz CPU and my 8X AGP with a 512 meg graphics card is still able to play F.E.A.R and Oblivion just fine. I see no reason yet to buy into the new hottness. For what? Better frame rates? After you get up about a certain level of speed, you can't see a freaking difference. And my old Dell is still playing the games chop free. How long have I had that computer now? 3 or 4 years now. Maybe next year I'll need a new machine. Then again, most likely not. When I do get a new machine, the SATA drives are sweet and I'll of course roll with that, in a BTX architecture, and sure, maybe I'll do a PCI-E 2.0... It might even be a Dell. Well, that's far off right now. You guys would not believe the plumbing nightmare I have going on at Ogre Ranch right now. The load bearing wall behind the tub... an exterior wall, not just inside... has to be redone. The tub has to be replaced as well. This is why I need the extra cash. I have to buy a new wall. (WTF?) This is hidden damage that no one new about and it is just flat out horrible. Maybe after this is all done... then I can think about a new computer. Like I've nothing better to worry about. Sheesh. Well, Project X will require a number of new systems, but that is a completely different ball game all together. We are actually looking at building an office building for Project X and for an education center. But that is also a completely different ball game. Tuesday, 10-10-06: Willie, Father of Tina, of the sand bag rest fame... has sent me photos of different colored camo patterns you can select. I will upload those to the sand bag rest page shortly. He's taking a week off of order processing to go back to work in the oil fields, but will get back to doing this shortly afterwards. The goal for Tina's new rifle is almost met. A sand bag rest is really a simple thing... not much to it. It only has to prop up the gun for you and not get in the way while doing it. Some commercial sandbag type rifle rests are too heavy, or they get in the way, or they are too tight and the gun will fall off it... Tina's Rest is just simply a rest that does what it is supposed to do without trying to be anything it is not. You don't think about the rest when you are using it and that is the mark of a damn good rest. I'll post them up as soon as I get some time and a faster wireless connection. THIS is why I have dogs like Ranger and Raven. I need to post a picture of the two of them together. Rocky did what these kinds of dogs do... protect their family. This is awesome and I'm glad Rocky is going to be alright. Ranger patrols outside of Ogre Ranch while Raven patrols inside. Dogs like these are better than burglar alarms. A good dog really does make your home safer. Why an insurance company omits protective type dogs is silly and short sighted. You should get a cut on your insurance premiums for having dogs like these. Email from Japan: “Dear Mr. Ogre (or may I call you George). Love your site. I, too, dislike the vaunted M16: I used to think that was a no-brainer for anybody who'd ever cleaned one. Anyway, I clicked on your Ninja link, and I couldn't believe this made it to America. It's from a children's program on Japanese TV that my kids used to watch. I'm just glad that my work computer doesn't have speakers so I didn't have to listen to the song! Those guys have made a living for at least 3 years doing that stupid dance - wish I could think up something like that. Your follower, Kurt in Tokyo” That explains a lot. In America, we have muppets, in Japan they have ninjas. Still looking for the Pirates country. I can see this in Tulsa... but in Winsford Cheshire? Jeremy Clarkson is going to be inviting him in for a spot on Top Gear any minute now. Speaking of Top Gear, on this week's Diggnation, they say that Top Gear is facing the axe. Because of this Richard Hammond is wanting BBC to show his car crash. BBC isn't wanting to show it. What? Wait a second. Top Gear is the best damn show on BBC! It's influenced all other car magazines and shows... Look at what Car and Driver has just done, followed Top Gear's example. In the US we have “Fifth Gear”... which is just not the same thing. They have the wrong hosts. BBC did it right originally and you just can't copy it. When you make your next resume... consider doing something like this. This guy comes off as a prick... but it got his name out there. This may or may not be a good thing... but the companies know who he is now. Some pointers. First, don't look like you are stoned. Second, don't use every cliché in the book. It makes you come off as an idiot. Dancing in a wetsuit shirt makes you look even more so. When going through resumes when I was managing in the IT field, it took me about 5 seconds to decide if I wanted to talk to the guy or not. And most of that decision was made in the top half of the page. The first page... i don't remember even looking at page two until after that decision was made. So no... don't be this guy. You don't want to be this guy. I was asked if Project X would cover the topic of Motorcycles. Hell yes. Monday, 10-9-06: The drawing for the scoped Marlin is going to be done on the 18th. And the winner announced and notified ASAP after that. Shipping will be arranged after that. I wish I could say that I've reached the goal on this, but I'm nowhere near it. Even if you don't want the rifle, I need some money. I am feeling like Tom Hanks over here. Ogre Ranch is expensive and we need to get some fixes in place before it starts getting cold. The bows in the photos behind the Marlin... those are not my personal bows. So stop emailing me about them... I do not have a collection of compound bows. The pictures were taken at my work. The N.K. Nuke Test: I think in response we should take back our ship, the USS Pueblo. If not take it back by force, then scuttle it on the spot with a few laser guided bombs. Let N.K. Know not to screw around with us. We can not let the boast and beat there chest at while holding onto one of our ships like they are. Using it as propaganda against us. I'd sent in a couple B-2 Spirits loaded with smart bombs and blow the Pueblo into charred splinters. N.K has no desire for any peaceful or amiable relations and wants to negotiate from a seat of power... let's show them that they are not in an equal chair. This will show them that we can hit what we want, when we want, and there is nothing that they can do about it to stop it. And they couldn't really protest anything about our hit because we only destroyed what was ours. This would be like giving N.K “The Shocker” after giving them the middle finger... Yes, it's rude, but it drives home the point in a language that they can understand. Caliber .30-30 remains my favorite caliber for rifles out to 300 yards. Winchester 150 Grain Silvertips is my favorite standard load with Hornady's LEVERevolution being the top choice for specialty ammunition. The downside to the Evolution ammo is the acquisition of it. Our shop has been out of it for over a month now! Last shipment was recalled due to short powder charges. But barring the Hornady stuff, the Winchester stuff is just about perfect. Hit hits hard, expands well, and penetrates deeply with sudden and authoritative results. .30-30 is one of the most under rated calibers out there. If you don't have a .30-30, then go get one. The TruGlo red dot sight on mine is still working very well, and remains deadly accurate. The sight is also pretty tough and has survived banging around with Ogre better than I thought it would. I was almost hoping to be able to dismiss TruGlo optics as “junk” but I can't. They are working as advertised. For a cheap red dot set up... they are the way to go. I'm less impressed with other sights and was pleased to be surprised at the TruGlo unit's stamina. Further evidence of Japanese people actually being aliens from outer space. Watch this through to the end where the ninjas vanish. People, human people at least, do not do such things as this. They just don't. I got a letter from the GOA yesterday and something about it really turned me off. Sheriff Joe of Arizona is a good man doing a tough job. The GOA bragged up what he's doing, and branded it as if it was something they were doing and then asking for money because of it. Sheriff Joe doesn't have anything to do with the GOA and no where in the letter does it say anything about them sending any funds to Sheriff Joe. This is a sleazy form of seeking contributions and has really turned me off to the GOA. It offended me because it makes me feel that the GOA must think its members are stupid. “If you like what Sheriff Joe is doing, send us money.” What does one have to do with another? Yeah, I love what Sheriff Joe is doing, it's outstanding. But he isn't asking for money, and the GOA isn't giving him any according to the letter I read, so why the hell should I give the GOA any money? I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something here. Saturday night, Mrs. Ogre and I had a date. We ate a nice dinner and enjoyed a movie a the theatre. “The Guardian”. What an outstanding movie. Very well done. You know, this flick proves something... that America is a great nation and always will be. While the movie is a work of fiction, those depicted in it are similar to real men and women not just in the US Coast Guard, but all over the country. Because of people like this, our nation will always remain strong. We saw people like that on September 11th. We even saw this strength in a young Amish girl during that horrid shooting spree. America is indeed the land of the free and the home of the brave. And will always be so as long as we keep it that way. I have to say that most of the training in the Coast Guard, as depicted, looked very doable compared to the training in the US Army Infantry Training Center. I couple have gone through most of that with no problem. Easy almost. The one thing though that would have washed me out almost instantly though... the cold water. Cold and Ogre do not get along. I would have been just fine right up to when they started working in cold water. I would have been like “You want me to get in that? I'll see ya later.” Yeah, I would have quit right there on the spot. When your nuts shrink up into your bellybutton, that's your boys saying you have no business being there. But thank Skadi that there are men willing to jump in. Kudos to the film makers – and to Kevin Costner for finally making a good flick. And props to the men and women of the US Coast Guard. Of course the film is not without flaws. For one, Blackhawk helicopters (or Seahawks as used by the USCG and Navy) do not have cockpit controls that explode upon contact with seawater. That was just fake as hell. That whole crew should have survived the crash. Those whirlybirds are some of the most crash survivable choppers in the world, doesn't matter how wet they get. Thursday, 10-5-06: Got the pictures uploaded for the Gun Drawing. Check them out Here. When you make the paypal payment, please do not mention “Gun” or anything. Just say “Tickets for the Drawing”. I will know what you mean and record your name and email address and how many. Take a good look at the wood... the grain is awesome. This Foley business is sick. However, some reports say that the teenager is 18 years old. 18 is above the age of consent, meaning he is “legal”. If that is the case, this isn't this “Just Sex”? And if it is, doesn't this mean that this is no one's business but Foley's? Just wondering about the Liberal hypocrisy at play here. Wednesday, 10-4-06: The Amish School Shooting. I wonder how many more school shootings have to happen before America wakes up and realizes that our Children must be protected and that protection requires stern adults armed and trained. There is a pattern that America must stop denying. That pattern is simple. Areas that allow it's citizenship to carry weapons have less crime. Areas that have the presence of strong willed men and women have less risk of an attack from a deranged psychopath looking to murder/suicide. Such villains seek out areas where there are fewer risks to being stopped... fewer people who might be armed. They avoid places where there is a presence of strength. They migrate to places where there are many potential innocent victims. Terrorists work in the same manner. Schools are an almost perfect target. Lots of innocent victims gathered happily in a place where Good Guys cannot go armed. It draws evil like animals to a watering hole. If Local Law Enforcement can not supply at least 1 Officer per school at all times during school hours, I suggest they recruit Minute Men Volunteers to take turns standing guard. They can be given background checks, training, whatever is needed. I also suggest that the Officers or Minute Men do so armed with both Rifles slung in a ready position and Handguns strapped to side or to leg. Radios tuned to Central Dispatch should also be given to those standing watch. Teachers inside, at least one in three should be armed with a concealed weapon and they should be well versed in the use of it. School Faculty other than teachers should all be armed. Administration, Principle and Vice, Custodians. All armed with Concealed Weapons on their persons during school hours. Not in locked cabinets. Not in storage lockers. On their persons. When everyone knows that Schools are more secure than Federal Buildings, then they will cease to be targets and innocent school children will cease to be victims. This Foley character, a Republican Congressmen from Florida trying to pick up teenage boys... He checked himself into rehab? Wait a second. I don't understand this. How does claiming to be prone to drinking get you off the hook for being a homosexual pedophile? Being gay is one thing, and clearing not an issue... but him trying get score some teenage booty is. Congressional Jesus Juice is an issue. Being on The Sauce is not illegal for a Congressmen, just look at Ted Kennedy. But Kennedy has not tried to get Boy Tail. At least not that we know of. I think Foley is in dire need of prosecution. He is a sexual predator and needs to be dealt with as such and not as a Congressman who's just stepped out of lines and was naughty. Sexual Predators need to be incarcerated promptly. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TC! My brother, Tad. I love you, and hope you have a great day today. Peace! The Gun Raffle: The scope on the rifle is a rather ghetto Bushnell. I'm going to pull that off it and install a classic Weaver scope. This old Weaver has been one of my favorite scopes I've had for – forever. It's a fixed 4 power, sized right, and it looks good. Has some dings on it, but the scope is just as solid as it ever was. I don't like the Bushnell scope, but I love the Weaver. This Gun Raffle isn't just about the gun, this is something I love... I'm putting up something a bit more personal now. When I get that scope mounted, I'll take photos and post them. One Dollar a ticket. Again, this is for a scoped Marlin model 60. I need money very badly. Tuesday: 10-3-06: WIN A .22 RIFLE: I've some serious issues going on at Ogre Ranch that require more funs than I have access too. I need a good chunk of change. A very healthy sized chunk. Like 12 hundred bucks. So, since I don't want to sell off a portion of my gun collection, I'm going to put up a Gun Drawing. You could win a scoped Marlin Model 60. I've not photographed this gun or even really mentioned it that I remember, but this is a very dandy .22 automatic with a scope that is a very nice shooter... The scope on this gun is actually worth more than the rifle. One Dollar a Ticket. Each dollar I get via Pay Pal puts your name in the hat to win the gun. Winner will be notified via email for shipping details to your FFL or face to face exchange. Details and photos of the gun coming up tomorrow. Tickets for the drawing are going to be available from now until the 15th of October. I wont be responsible for the legality acquiring a rifle in your state or county. US Residents only, shipping only to licensed dealers with FFL's. Okay, the 7-35 Ogre Cartridge has a twin. An Evil Twin... The 7MM STE (Shooting Times Easterner). The 7MM STE however is based on the .307 Winchester cartridge, which is essentially a rimmed .308, which means that the 7MM STE is just a rimmed 7MM-08. That's not bad. Not bad at all. The 7MM-08 is a great cartridge and I'm not going to say anything bad about it. Same with the 7MM STE. So my idea for a wildcat is pretty much at an end... unless I took the .35 Remington case and necked that down to .338... hmm. Ah screw it... next time I buy a long brown hunting gun, I'll just buy a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington and load it with Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition and call it good. Driving the Pontiac Montana. It's not a bad mini van at all. It has a 4 inch wider wheel base and handles much better through the curves. Unloading my squad of troopers is a matter of seconds once the Montana touches down. It's a nice assault van. We are loving it. And I don't really like Pontiacs all that much. Perhaps I've been overlooking them unfairly. I will have to drive a few of their cars and reevaluate them. Admittedly it's been some time since I have. The latest Grand Am's have been ignored pointedly. The GTO has been impressive, but it's not really a Pontiac, but a Holden. Anyways. Speaking of cars and stuff... funny how Car and Driver is now doing what Top Gear has been doing for a couple years now. Ranking performance cars based on lap times around a common road course. I'm just disappointed that it has taken an American car rag so long to get to it. I suspect others (Automobile, Motor Trend, Road and Track) will start doing the same thing. I do like how Car & Driver kicked it off with testing a large number of common types right off the bat. This sets the bars for evaluating future vehicles. What I don't get really is the weird leveling system they have used which over complicates the matter. I've been a big fan of Diggnation for a long time. Kevin Rose has mentioned Lala quite a few times for some time. Lala is a character of Tiki Bar. I finally went to watch Tiki Bar to see what it was all about, and see Lala to see what the fascination was. Tiki Bar is a good example of absolutely brilliant video podcasting. Lala is hypnotic.
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Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012 Graphic Artwork by Martin White
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“I keep two magnums in my desk drawer. One is a gun that I keep loaded. The other is a bottle and it keeps me loaded.”
"The opinions of Ogre at
MadOgre.com are explosive. Read with caution." - Washington Post "You make me laugh. You piss me off. You even make me agree with you. You're a
Blog-God!" - Horde Member
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