July 22 to 26th

July 22 to 31st

July 31st - Wednesday. Spectre has been on Guard Duty lately. He has had some time on his hands to come up with a scientific explanation as to why Guard Duty sucks. LOL... I think every Grunt in the world would agree with that. Guard duty blows... always has. Always will. I just never knew why. Learn something new every day.

Email from Reader: "Yo, Ogre, regarding the Focus--I sell those for a living now, so be gentle! Seriously, you're right that they shouldn't be marketed as performance cars. However, there are things you can do with them. For instance, there's a guy on the import circuit right now running a brand-new Focus with a 2.3 turbo, and he's spanking everything. I can't remember his name--Logan, maybe? But he's the guy who ran the Pinto with the 2.3T in the import classes for so long and smoked about a billion Hondas. There is also now available a kit with which to convert your Focus to rear-wheel drive with a 5.0 or 4.6 V8. It has to require mad fabrication and welding skills, but it can be done, and it would be the modern equivalent of the 350 Vegas of days gone by. - Don" A V-8 in a Focus. What a waste of a good engine! For such a kit to be completed, it would require a fully reengineered front suspension to keep the oil pan from dragging the ground. You can kiss any handling goodbye. Well, a similar thing was done with the Mazda Miata... called the Monster Miata. Dropping a 5.0 into that little thing. They remain popular today. But the Miata is a little different. The Miata is a sports car. The Focus remains a Focus. It's a punky little economy car suitable for young adults attended higher education establishments. I can't really put my finger onto just why I find the Focus downright distasteful. Don, better you than me. I did car sales before and I know what that's about. I can sell most any vehicle... But like the Subaru Justy, I wouldn't be able to suggest it to a customer. No way. I wouldn't be able to hawk a Pontiac Vibe either. Again, I have to go back to my earlier comments that new cars have no SOUL. I think cars lost soul back in the 70's. When was it Ford came out with the Mustang II? Ford I think, has never recovered from that tactical maneuver. What is annoying is that Ford dropped the Mondeo for the Focus. I thought the Mondeo was a very good little car. Especially the Mini-SHO version. Dropping a 5.0 or better yet, the new V-8s Ford is making, into a Mondeo would provide you with something special. Dropping it into a Focus is... shameful.

Correia has submitted an update for us. This time he is singing the praises of the rifle I was retarded enough to sell. Yeah, thanks for rubbing that in! :) I love the FAL design, but I have to be honest with myself here - that rifle did not fit me. I hated the stock and couldn't afford the rebuild and refinish that Larry was able to have done. Another interesting thing about his FAL is that it's an Inch Pattern and not Metric. The difference is in the magazines. Inch pattern mags are much more robust than metrics. That's not opinion, that's a structural fact. While metric mags are good and plenty, I've never been to a gun show yet where I couldn't find plenty of incher mags nice and cheap. I want another FAL, but I want a carbine version from DSA with the new stock design. The FAL style action is pure genius. It's elegant in it's simplicity. This rifle is the "Missing Browning". JMB designed the FAL action before he died for FN. At FN JMB's Protégé finished the design by finishing the rest of the rifle around it. He did a great job and the adjustable gas system is just freaking brilliant. This allows the shooter to tune the rifle to the ammo he/she is shooting. The FAL wasn't originally intended to be such a large weapon. It was designed for an intermediate cartridge but the US's pressure on NATO got it bulked up to .308 size. Like I said, I want a DSA FAL carbine... and I want it in an intermediate cartridge. I'd like it .223 or better yet, 7.62X39MM.

Upon breaking open and cleaning my Benelli Nova and CZ-97B, I have a couple observations. First off, I love the 97B... but I don't think I can classify it as a true "fighting" gun. Much like an AR-15 it is built to very tight tolerances. This makes an outstandingly accurate gun - but as I learned Saturday and from what I have observed after a take down and cleaning... it hates dust. Grit will cause problems in the 97. Perhaps mine is still too new to really tell. But that is my feeling. The Nova on the other hand had a great deal of sand inside the reliever. In fact, when I opened that gun up and pulled out the bolt, the amount of sand that came out frightened me. With that much sand, it still functioned flawlessly. Sure, it grated my nerves like nails on a chalkboard - but it still worked just fine. I think the Nova has a lot of potential as a service shotgun. My initial review of the gun indicated that it's impossible to give it a folding stock due to its construction. Upon further contemplation and examination I think that initial impression was incorrect. It is possible... however it is a conversion that will require some very clever fabrication A clever gunsmith used to working with plastics could cut the plastic stock and affix a new buttstock and pistol grip. I didn't say it would be easy... just "Possible". So don't take a hacksaw to yours just yet. I think the trigger block is a bit delicate... some of the parts don't look as tough and gnarly as I think they should. No matter... It works and I can't argue with that.

July 30th - Tuesday. Oh Shit. We're Screwed. I think It's time to withdraw my application to Skynet.

Email I received: "Does this frost you? Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a New York State Senator, now comes under this fancy "Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan," which means that even if she never gets re-elected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies. If Bill out-lives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies. He is already getting his Presidential salary until he dies. If Hillary out-lives Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies. Guess who pays for that? WE DO! It's common knowledge that in order for her to establish NY residency, they purchased a million dollar-plus house in upscale Chappaqua, New York. Makes sense. They are entitled to Secret Service protection for life. Still makes sense. Here is where it becomes interesting. Their mortgage payments hover at round $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residence HAD to be built within the acreage to house the Secret Service agents. The Clintons charge the Federal government $10,000 monthly rent for the use of that extra residence, which is just about equal to their mortgage payment. This means that we, the taxpayers, are paying the Clinton's salary, mortgage, transportation, safety and security , as well as the salaries for their 12 man staff - and, this is all perfectly legal! When she runs for President, will you vote for her? How many people can YOU send this to?" Nice. Propaganda Spam. The fact that they get life long salaries is no big deal. Hell, even Trafficant, newly ousted from Capitol Hill for being no less of a scum than Slick Willie, still get's his paycheck for the rest of his life. The part that frosts me is the fact that despite everything else going on - we are paying for the mortgage too. That sucks. But who cares? I really can't get worked up about it. We are still paying Ford and Carter too. So what? I don't think I'm forwarding this to anyone.

Books: Aztec and Aztec Autumn by Gary Jennings. Also, "Raptor"... great books. Jennings does more research on his books than any other author since "THE ROBE" (can't remember the author's name). The only downside to Jennings works are the bent sexual twists he throws in there. They would be great books without those parts. The books are also quite educational as they are "Historical Novels" and Jennings uses as much historical fact as he can. I humbly submit that he uses more facts than my last history professor did in his lectures. Raptor especially if you can get past the weird sex. Just read Raptor to know what I am talking about there. I'm not going to try to explain it. Actually "AA" wasn't that bad sex wise. I think maybe Gary is growing too old to be so weird. He also lost some imagination as after reading Raptor, you begin to think Jennings is now using a formula. Still, all 3 books are worth reading. One book that isn't - "GRUNTS" by Mary Gentle. This book was suggested to me and I ordered it. I don't think I'll be too gentle if I ever get my hands on the cat that suggested it. Actually, It aint that bad considering I got it used of Amazon for like a buck. The book is poorly written, poorly conceived, and just plain pathetic. If you pass by it at a book store, pass it up. For your own good. I'm still trying to find "Sir Machinery" at a price I can afford. They are going over 200 and some copies as high as 400. I did find one that was just under 40, but that is still too much money... I'm looking for the "under 20" category. I'll even take one in paperback. Other that job hunting, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Anyways, Grunts... totally misrepresents Orcs and Ogres and others of that ilk. Disappointing that Ms. Gentle keeps reinforcing old stereotypes. I feel somehow wronged by that... discriminated! That's it. I'm suing!

The job hunt still hasn't found gold yet. Or in this case, Brass. As in a Brass Ring. The job opening at Action Target looks like it will go to someone else. I didn't even get a call back. Oh well. However there is an IT Manager slot that my resume has worked to near the top of the stack. It's local and that's great. I would love to stay here in Utah. However I would also love to hit Scotland... I have been applying there too. It would suck to be away from all of our relatives, but we would be closer to our ancestors. That would be cool for a few years. I'd love the chance to drive a TVR as ludicrous speeds on some twisty roads.

29th - Monday. I've never hidden the fact that I detest the Ford Focus. I prefer to call it the Ford Fuqqed'us. The cars can only barely drive on the street... Hence my frustration that Collin McRae is driving one in World Rally and winning. Collin is the Tiger Woods of Rally, in a Focus. See, it's shit like this that can give young motorists the false impression that cars like the Focus are "Performance Cars". What the young first time car owners don't take into consideration is that World Rally Championship cars are more like NASCAR cars than the actual cars... which is sad because the whole point of Rally is "Real Cars, Real Roads, Real Fast". WRC cars are purpose built for racing. The young motorists that spend the money on a Focus soon realize that they got suckered into buying an economy car. Sure, there is "After Market" for it. You can put in a big cone filter from K&N... but K&N doesn't make your car a performance car. Bright colored ignition wiring doesn't make your car a performance car either. Fat tail pipes don't make your car a performance car either. Using all 3 doesn't do it either. Your car is still a little over revved 4 banger. Now, there is a name that if you could legitimately associate with your little Ford - THEN you would have a true performance car. That name is COSWORTH. I've seen several Focus drivers at Checker or AutoZone with the hood up and the kids trying to figure out how the new filter goes in. I have to bite my tongue every time. Anyways... enough of the little Focus cars. Collin is a great driver and as the old saying goes "It's not the plane, it's the pilot." I would love to see what he could do behind the wheel if a Peugeot 206. For a small car, the P-206 is one hell of a car.

CarFax blows. I take my Jeep's VIN and plug it into CarFax... and they tell me my Jeep has a V-8. WTF? I know for a FACT that this little Jeep Cherokee never had a V-8. It was first a fleet vehicle for a company that used it as an errand runner, then purchased by an associate who was a former Jeep mechanic and then by me. At no point in this vehicle's history did anyone ever drop a V-8 into it, and then replace it with a 2.5 4 banger. Where the hell did CarFax get that crap? No way am I going to drop 20 bucks for a "Full Report". What a joke. I'm trying to determine this Jeeps actual mileage. Its either got a whole lot more miles than anyone (namely myself) ever realized, or the odometer has been rolled back. I'll report my findings when I get them confirmed.

Yesterday I took a well deserved day off from "everything". I went to church, and read a book cover to cover. Aztec Autumn by Gary Jennings. I ate some food, drank some drink and pretty much ignored everything save a couple emails from The Worthy of my Horde... and of course a phone call to my beloved Mother. I always try to keep in contact every week with my Mother, via email or call if possible. Moms are great. And mine especially. For an old Granny lady, she is cool. We had much to discuss as one of my brothers is getting married, and the other 2 are coming out here for a visit before they start school at VMI.

Dust. Everything I took out to the Gathering on Saturday wears a nice thick coat of dust. Inside and out. This gritty contamination is everywhere. I'm going to have to obtain a can of "Gun Scrubber" or just as effective Brake Cleaner to properly clean all the guns. Or at least not take all day to do it. I don't even want to think about trying to clean this AR without being able to just hose it down. AR-15 are a freaking NIGHTMARE to clean. Horrible devices. The chamber design was created by a man deserving a swift kick in the nuts every time someone breaks the gun open and pulls out the bolt. Why oh why did I get rid of that FAL? I think I deserve a kick in the nuts over that! At least I know Correia is putting it to most excellent use, and that's good enough.

MadOgre.com is growing and spreading... more and more frequently I am met by those that tell me that they read MadOgre.com. Again, I am always humbled and surprised when am confronted with this. I'll never forget that cat who explained how his whole office are frequent readers! Even more surprising is when I come across my own URL on a Google search for outside information sources. What's even more surprising is when I find that I am both quoted and summarized! The cat is Pro-RKBA so I am cool with that... as long has he gives credit. (ahem - a Hyperlink would be nice) It's also cool when I get links from such sites as RightWingNews.com. Very cool. When contemplating the question of putting up a forum, many have asked "How many Readers do you have?" That answer is unknown. I have not checked server stats since before last October. I don't want to know. Seriously... I don't want to know how many people are there reading this. If I knew - it might change the way I think about MadOgre.com and thusly change the content, style, character, and personality of MadOgre.com. As a result, there will not be any MadOgre.com Forums. However, sometime in the future I may give in to adopting a format that allows "Members" to post comments on my posts.

I have made application to a local gun-industry company. I was disappointed to learn that Dennis Tueller is no longer there. It would have been a blast to have been able to work beside him. I consider myself fortunate to have had lunch with the man... the man that created what is called "The 21 Foot Rule". A rule that I followed earnestly and may have saved my bacon once. Anyways, they have my résumé and I am hoping that they will call me back. A Gun-Industry company would have my full devotion as an employee. And a company like this one, even more so, because they are that cool. I'll not say the name as Mad Ogre has many enemies out there who would love to torpedo me any chance they could get.

Speaking of Gun Industry companies... I'm not pleased with the goings on at Triton. I'll not say anymore than that, but it looks like by the end of this week, I'll not be a fan of Triton Ammunition based on it's new corporate structure. When the new suits come in and take over a company and not listen to its cadre as to the operation of that company, that's a bad vibe. Sure, they have the right to run the company as they see fit - granted - but when you know nothing of making ammunition - they have damn well better listen to the guys that know how to do it. This is evidently not the case. I'm disappointed because up to this point, I really liked Triton ammo. Powerful, and accurate... and you never had to worry about the quality. It was top shelf. I'm not going to say anything else about it as it's none of my business - I'm just very disappointed.

I am going to write a nice article regarding less than lethal weapons and some observations regarding FN's new model 303. This will require some background research and me dredging up memories of such device that I have had personal experiences with. If I don't have it posted by Friday here and at DefenseReview.com - feel free to chastise me. This will also require me to do a computerized sketch of my LTL design that is much better than the FN303. You'll see what I mean when I publish that.

Observed an actual HUMMER H2 with private and not dealership plates driving at a gas station today. Feh. It aint worth it. HUMMER needs to make a sub 30K version for 4X4 people to actually bang up and not just for the rich assholes that want a status symbol. This one I saw was being piloted by some overly wealthy banker's Ex-Wife if the shoes and the fumbling on how to fill the gas tank where any indicators. Note to any females out there with a HUMMER of any sort: Wearing High Heels while driving it and then not knowing how to put gas into the damn thing is a good way to prompt a brick through the back window. Be warned. Of course I wouldn't do such a thing... but I was tempted.

July 27th - Saturday. A Utah Gathering was held at the Bowl today and while small, it was a success. People had some fun and no one got hurt. This Gathering was a little different. This time I took along the whole damn Ogre Family. Doesn't the say go something like "The family that sprays together, stays together"? All but the smallest got to shoot. My oldest was really working a Ruger 10-22 and the fact that it was semi was just a bonus to him. He was shooting it quickly, but was also doing it very accurately. He was tagging a set of .22 spinners with abandon. He loved it. He was also shooting pretty good with a VEPR II in .223. My twins got in on that action too. Mrs. Ogre was doing well with all the guns she fired. Including a fantastic shot that blew apart a Zucchini in a gloriously macabre fashion. On the way home, she actually (choke) requested an AR-15 "Like that one". Shit. Kade had already but in his scoped 10-22 request. Ouch. There's 2,000 bucks! :) We had brats coming out the ears. Enough to feed a small army. Not only was there not enough people out today to eat them all, but some declined the tradition. I really don't blame them - it was too hot to eat grilled food. This just means I have two packs left over for my own nocturnal feeding.

Also, last night was a success at the BBQ. The grilled steaks were awesome. However, what was just as good were the grilled veggie kabobs that Mrs. Ogre brought to the shindig. Basted in a peppery sauce before the skewering and grilling they had a lot of flavor and went with the steaks perfectly. Delicious. And then the movie. ARMY OF DARKNESS. Classic. For some reason I had not seen it for many years, and even then I must have missed the ending because I didn't remember it. It was great. I have to put Army of Darkness on par with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. "Gimme some sugar, Baby." It has to be Bruce Campbell's greatest achievement in cheesiness. If you have not seen either Big Trouble in Little China or Army of Darkness... Schedule a weekend for them. Not quite back to back... that would probably damage you in some way. You need a rest period in between the features. IN between you should probably go for a walk while reading something from Steinbeck or something. It's kinda like tasting hot sauces... you have to clear your palette.

The Jeep was running great. So good in fact that I forgot to get another bottle of power steering fluid. By the time I got up there, I was dry. Thank you to the fella that brought some PS fluid with him! On the way home, I noticed that I was cruising at 80! HELLO! Had to back off. Utah if anything is a little over patrolled on the freeways. And the Troopers never give warnings anymore. Not when tickets have become a source of revenue for the State. They must pay Troopers on commission or something.

Got in word from Jim, long time reader. About that little girl that went missing yesterday that turned up dead thanks to the homeless guy the family let sleep over. Turns out the father and the homeless guy had been up late drinking. That's so nice. How wonderful. What a show of humanity to bring a bum into your home and get drunk with him. Anyways... This situation happened only 5 miles from Jim's location and Jim reported having seen this cat many times in the area. After the guy rapes and kills the little girl, what did he do? He goes back to the girls house for some bacon and fucking eggs? I would have killed that fucker in some horrible ways. Turn the other cheek would have been right out the damn window right then and there. "Swimming huh?" Cleaver. Axe. Hammer. I think I would have used a whole golf bag worth of tools on that bastard. There would have been NOTHING left to identify his body other than DNA samples from the big pulpy red stain on the floor. Dental Records? Not after I pounded his skull into paste. I'm sorry. I'm angry about that as much as the family. I feel for them. For some reason I am empathizing with these cases a lot more than I used to after one of my sons disappeared for awhile. Let me go back to my suggestion of the instant use of blood hounds. Had that happened in this case - they may have been able to save the girl. I know dogs are old fashioned - but damn it - they WORK and that's all that's important. Every fucking police and sheriff's department should have at least one hound for this. Never underestimate a K-9 unit. Especially a tracker. Hell, I've seen a German Shepard find a subject in a dark building that would have been impossible to have found.

Spectre sends us a report of some observations from his latest field exercises. Weight was always a concern as a "Light Fighter" and my company commanders always believed in packing abundant firepower. This meant that some items we had to do without. What is a "Tent"? Sleeping backs, shelter halves, ruck frames (quite often), and everything else that was absolutely nonessential. The only items we never skimped on - socks and water. Believe it or not - dry socks can save your life. Or at least make your last hours a hell of a lot more comfortable. And water? Always water. If you didn't drink water almost constantly, you could in fact DIE. My unit operated at such a high pace, we had 3 casualties from not drinking enough water. They were drinking water - just not enough of it. Anyways. Options: Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a shaving kit; or a couple spare mags. We went with the spare mags. Extra uniform, or extra quart of water? Water. One item we all carried extra... Candy. We called Tylenol Extra Strength "Candy". We almost ate them like M&Ms. When you crossed many many klicks with your load, through the night... you get sore and demotivated. We all had our happy pills. But that was me in another lifetime. I can't even imagine myself doing the shit that I used to. Hell, that was even before I turned 20! I don't know who I was back then, but I like myself much better these days. For one, I can sleep at night and look myself in the mirror the morning.

July 26th - Friday. More suggestions have come in for a Mad Ogre Forum. I don't know. What do you guys think? I don't know if my 6 readers (Yes, I'm counting myself) are enough to bother with a forum. But the suggestion has been reoccurring.

I've been planning out the restoration of the Wagoneer. Taking an inventory on what the Wag has to work with and what it needs. I love the Wagoneer. It's a classic design... timeless. It looks as good today as it did back when they first rolled out from Jeep's Kaiser days. Nice, big, roomy, powerful... but not too big. This Wagoneer needs a lot of replacement parts. I think what I'll do is find another Wag to use as a downer vehicle. Actually, what I would like to do is find another Wag that has a body that is straight and rust free - and transfer this Wag's heart and soul into the new one. After I strip it out, pull the carpet and rework everything. Then once I start putting everything back in (with some new carpeting) it will be like a whole new vehicle. Our current Wag has a great engine and drive train. The seats are in great shape too. Oh, and it has awesome wheels. That's about it. The body is rusted out to the point that it needs major metal reconstructive surgery. The back doors are sagging on the the hinges. The rear door is about to fall off it's hinges too... never mind that I have plastic taped up over it because the rear window refuses all methods of raising. The driver's side window will roll up - but wont stay up - it unzips back down if you look at it wrong. It just needs too much to make it worth while. If I could find another Wag, one that was in great shape, but didn't run - it would be not just easier, but cheaper to transplant old good stuff into the new chassis. If I play my cards right, I could end up with a spare 360 V-8 that could be rebuilt. Put that into something else... like that GI M38 Jeep that I am wanting. OH HELL YEAH. That's the battle plan for the Jeep front. Now, about the Chopper... I've been studying Chopper designs and looking at what I like and what I don't. For a bike, I'm really a minimalist. I don't really like all the extras and all the flash on the bikes. I like the simple ones with the clean lines. There really is no bike out there that I can say "THAT is THE ONE", but I like the frames and fenders on one and the tank and handle bars on the other... Battle plan for that front is to find an old HD... The newer Evolution engines are great, but I don't like the looks. I like the older engines. Once I find one of these, I'll take that engine, restore it, and then look for the right frame and go from there. Whatever bike I find the engine in, not important. Bike doesn't have to run or even have wheels. Just need the right engine. Now, I'm not an expert or anything on Harleys I've never had one before. But I've been around some. I like the Pan Head engines ('48-'65) for a Chopper. They may not have all the power of the new ones - but to me - they just look "right" for my ideal of a chopper. There is something about it that in the right frame, it looks almost biological... It looks "alive". I like that.

Christopher Lowell... I don't care that he is flaming gay. What bothers me is that he sucks as a designer. He designs and acts like an old woman. He's a fucking Golden Girl. Seriously. His rooms that he designed are all overly cluttered with shit filled "nooks" filled with stuff that just doesn't belong. Like tea pots & china in an entertainment center. Just like an old lady's house. Never mind that the colors he uses are not just bright and cheerful... but downright garish and frightening. However, on the upside, he is amusing and does have a good idea once in awhile.

Fox News and CNN News are having a battle. A battle of the babes. They are both trying to put out the best looking chicky babes to try to garner the higher ratings. I can see why Getha Van Sustern or whoever she is had her face racked over to make her look younger. What ever happened to MEN anchoring the News? Not that I'm complaining... its just its getting to the point that you can't take these chicks seriously any more. I've nothing against female anchors, but what the hell is next? Bikinis? Nipple shots? I can just image Gretha R, an engineer I hired at Nortel getting pissed at this. Glad I don't work there any more! She would be killing me right now.

These missing children cases... all these abductions. I think the LEO's are missing out on an old tool that could make all the difference if it was used right off the bat at the beginning of the case. As soon as it's reported... they need to bring in the Blood Hounds. Blood Hounds are very effective. Of course this new case that opened this morning is obvious... the homeless guy took the girl to the lake for a quickie and a drowning. Sad. If I was "Dad" in that case, I'd blow that homeless guy's head off.

Across the country 17,000 people are losing jobs today. Corporate measures to reduce expenses to pacify shareholders. How fucking backwards is that? If your company gets fucked up because your fucked up the accounting to look better than you really are - your shareholders get pissed. Investors look elsewhere to put their money... so what's the game plan? Fuck over your employees. There you go! Bingo! The typical way. The reason Corporate America is so screwed up. God forbid that the CEO's and Vice Presidents have to lose any money! Heaven Forbid that the Fat Cats should take a PAY CUT! 10 Million dollar salaries... Hmmm... that's not the problem... It's all these little assholes making under 30K! Those guys are the problem! Seems all these corporate fuckups are coming from the top down... not the bottom up. Yet it's the little guys getting screwed. Typical. Corporate America pisses me off. Damn near makes me want to go Socialist. Almost. Let me throw out an example from my last employer, CONvergys. It was reported that the CONvergys CEO was bringing in 10 to 14 million is salary and stock options... At the same time, CONvergys asked everyone at all levels to cut costs, the goal, to trim off 1 million bucks. So everyone got screwed at the bottom end... things like no paper to print on. Employee incentives pulled. Pay raises suddenly disappeared and I know several guys that were due pay raises that all the sudden were no longer eligible or "No, your not due for another 6 weeks" or "No, you were never due for a raise." Or "Your already at the top of your scale"... or any other bullshit excuse that they could think off. And if they couldn't think of one... "Sorry". I had a better Idea. Why doesn't the CEO show some fucking nuts and give up one of his 10 millions. I know it would be a real bitch to have to live on only 9 - but what the hell. We all have to tighten the belts, right? Read Spectre's last post about leadership. When he got "Dropped" the Officer "Dropped" with him. That's leadership. That's Leading from the Front. That's how I worked, and that was what caused me to be such a threat to the account. Something the other assholes at Convergys couldn't understand. (Note the verbiage that implies that I was an asshole too. I was. I was a Manager there and thus being as asshole was required. The time after time turned me in to a liar by changing the rules of the game after I hired people on an agreement and then had that pulled out from under everyone) That's enough of Convergys - I can feel the bile in my throat rising. Let's look at Chrysler. Chrysler was seriously hurting when they brought in Lee Iacocca as CEO. Lee said, until I can turn this company around, I'll take a salary of just a Buck a Year. That's true leadership. Chrysler turned around. They started to make money. Lee made a bundle in the end... but that initial show of solidarity with the company and the willingness to give something up in turned made all the difference. The employees were willing to work harder, work cleaner expense wise... and the company was revived. It could not have happened if Chrysler's CEO didn't put his money where his mouth was. A Challenge should go out to every CEO in the country. Put Up, or Shut Up.

This just in from our Market Correspondent: "It turned out for a while that ADSX was delisted from the NASDAQ and trading on the pinksheets. That’s why it was so hard to find information on it. Turns out the current price was down around .25-.30 and there was an article released today saying it would be relisted on the NASDAQ on wed, July 31^st. For today, the stock is up 100% and is sitting at a current price of .57 a share." Interesting. I'm still betting that the stock climb after all it's lawsuits are cleared out. (We all agree the new picture looks better... more fun. More casual.)

You gotta see my wife's garden. It's a damn farm. Every time she comes home it's as if she has just raided the produce section at Albertsons. Pretty cool. I guess. If you like squash and cucumbers. She's been pickling like crazy lately. Pickling cucumbers, pickles, anything that fits in the jar. I think Mrs. Ogre is a little nuts. Now, we were lucky earlier this week. She had picked a 5 gallon bucket worth of Apricots. Then she pickled them... Oh, not pickled them... canned them and made jam with them... but I suspect some are pickled somewhere. Anyone want a jar of pickles or Apricot jam? Seriously... please... help me out... take some! PLEASE!!!

Tonight is the meeting of the Dark Council. The evening will include grilled food, and the classic film "Army of Darkness" for appropriate entertainment. We are looking forward to this. I'm hungry already!

Veggie Powered Cars? Let me back up... In Japan Tempura is popular, here too. Tempura requires fresh clean oil for it's cooking (deep fried fish and shrimp etc). So every morning this cat has people going out to all the Tempura places and collect all the used oil. The vegetable oil is then processed into a "bio-diesel" fuel to be used in diesel engine powered cars. Supposedly, it runs with much much cleaner emissions than regular diesel. That's interesting. I'm not seeing a downside. I am suspicious of it's performance, but what the hell - it's a diesel anyway. I'd run it. I guess. But what kind of build up do you get inside of the engine? Clogged fuel lines are bad enough... but clogged arteries? I like diesel engines for some applications. Big working trucks, economy cars where "sporty" isn't a concern, or for long range transports. Diesels are getting in something like 50 miles per gallon in small vehicles. That's pretty damn good. When normal gas engines are getting low 20's and we think it's great if it gets high 20's... 50's is amazing. Our old Geo Metro XFI that we used to have, for awhile was getting 50's. But then again it was the XFI model. That means it had a 3 cylinder engine, with pistons the size of salt shakers. It produced 53 horse power. I leaned on it to the point it was cranking out about 75, but that is still pretty damn lame. Fuel economy when down to about 35 on average... for not that much gain. Of course when your talking about so few horses, even 1 additional pony improves everything. Would I get a Geo Metro again? HELL NO! But would I like a vehicle that could get that kind of fuel economy? Sure. It was great. 8 gallons of gas to fill the tank and drive around for 2 weeks. No problem. I'd do that. In such a little unit? No. I wouldn't mind a diesel engine in my Cherokee. It's 2.5 liter 4 banger isn't exactly a screamer with only 150 horses. (It's the Fuel Injected version, so it does get some more power) I don't think I would lose any performance going to a diesel. I would however gain a lot of fuel economy. I think that would be worth it. Not that I would actually spend the money to buy a diesel and have it dropped into my XJ - but just conversationally. A Cummings would be great.

Black Hills dropped off 500 rounds of some sweet 5.56MM, 68gr. match grade hollow point ammo. This is for the 3 gun match, and Black Hills is one of the sponsors. These are in the blue boxes... that means its "Factory Reloaded".

July 25th - Thursday. The AB-10 thread. Considered by several to be the most dangerous thread on TFL. Some of the images no longer work, but there is what I saved for you. I don't know what happened... but I went nuts. Perhaps I should be punished for creating such posts... but what the hell. Gimme your best shot. I can take it.

Some kids are so freaking lucky to have a Dad as nuts as this... "Hey Dad, I want a tree house." Hey Dad, I want a MadCat." Hmmm... Dad thinks, "I can do this."

I've been meaning to drop this link... TFL's PVT Pyle is one hell of a cool guy. He has an interesting hobby. He collects camo from all over the world. Not old stuff... The current stuff being worn by troops in the field now. Check it out. (adding it to my links section now)

I just love the new ONSITE CONSULTANTS website. What a killer layout. O.C. as been in limbo for some time. We might have to change that fact.

Maybe my next project rig wont be a 4 wheeler... Maybe I'll build my Chopper. Maybe. You would think my tastes of All Terrain would dictate an large enduro bike a BMW. But no... I want a chopper. I want one from West Coast Choppers built on the Dragon frame with the 4 inch stretch. Black with chrome flames. *sigh* In another lifetime maybe. If I can't buy one... I'll build one. Yeah... that's it. There it is. A chopper. I'm set on it.

Job hunting... I've made several applications to companies in Scotland. I am very American, and very proud to be so... but I would JUMP at the chance to work for a few years in Scotland. I think by the time I came back home, I would appreciate being American even more. My wife and I both feel a pull to Scotland. We both want to go there very badly. I don't care what the Job is. Anything would be great.

China has sparked some interest. This is one of the emails: “Just wanted to make a few points and observations. That first plane you said looked like a Tigershark also bears a striking resemblance to the old F-104 Thud. I wonder if they dug a partially intact one out of the jungle near the border with Vietnam. The second plane looks suspiciously like the Rafael fighter being developed by the French a while back. I haven't heard if that ever went into production, but it was supposed to be an incredibly maneuverable fighter. I wonder if China has actually left communism behind, not for capitalism as so many here are saying, but for fascism. While the state dictates where the economy will go, it is up to "private" companies to do the day to day work and decision making. This is a very scary prospect, because the most destructive and xenophobic regimes of the 20th century were fascist. Considering the inherent bigotry of China (and what country doesn't have that), it could make for a very uncomfortable next few decades for China's neighbors, and us as well. Another thing to watch is North Korea. They have been acting increasingly belligerent, are facing famine and discontent at home. All they need is an assurance that Uncle Sam won't be able to get in the act for a few weeks. And there is Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and India, and Iran to watch. Thanks! Chris Van Dis.” A 105? Naw, the 105 had the Air intakes at the bases of the leading edges of the wings. Thanks for the email. You may be right about the Rafael fighter and it’s looks. However China never picked one of those up, and it did buy up several F-16 fighters. Going back to the F-20 Tigershark, that is the program that almost killed Lockheed. They took the T-5 platform and removed the two little engines and shoehorned in the same engine as the F-16. Then they added in some serious state of the art avionics, and other cutting edge systems. Lockheed developed the plan all on it’s own, with it’s own money. The problem came when the US didn’t want it. During the height of military spending, all the money was going to fat pork barrel projects and no one was interested in buying up a bargain item like the Tigershark. The plane goes down in history as a failure, canonized in books as a failure. Since the US didn’t want it, no one else wanted it either. Shame. The plane was a fraction of the cost of an F-16 and had similar performance. Perfect for a light and fast jet capable of rapid deployment with the same mission profiles as an F-16. Canada didn’t want it, Israel didn’t want it… no one did. Why would they? It wasn’t good enough for the US. We didn’t even want it as a TRAINER. As a result, Lockheed took a kick in the nuts. Too bad. The F-20 was a great jet. Those in the test program that actually flew it, loved it. Or so I have read. Anyways… Great take on Communism vs Fascism. With all the State owned companies in China, it’s very easy for China to control the masses, the economy and yet still lay blame on a company if something doesn’t come out as planned. China’s model of Communism seems to be working better than the Soviet’s. Too bad it had to eat it’s own culture in the process. I’m not an expert in Fascism… But we can see the results and similarities to how Germany operated in the late 30’s and through ½ of the 40’s. Also, if your going to deal with US business, it’s best if you have a corporate front for smoother relations. US Businessmen might be uncomfortable if they new that business deal they just signed went to pay for refitting Soviet Warships with modern equipment… Or worse yet… the development of a whole new class of warship.

Another email regarding yesterday’s China discourse: “People whose entire understanding of all things military comes from the History Channel tend to think that war in the near future will look like the History Channel. Sorry, no. LCTs and heavy tanks are not the only key assets anymore. Pull your head out people! – Anne” Thanks for the email. Good point. But Novaman has made claim to have made a visit to Mainland China. I am sure they showed him all the development and production programs… Governments always do that. Don’t they?

Shin weighs in on the matter: “This guy (Novaman) is spouting some seriously out-of-date generalities and is doing what the "Fear Nots" always do with China: Quote dry numbers and mumble about landing craft, ignoring the fact that China will not be fighting a WW2 type conventional war. As for physically swamping Taiwan with large divisions of infantry; again, China does not play that way. It is wasteful and time consuming. People keep picturing the Korean war when they think PLA. This is a thinking error. Would we try to land multiple divisions of Infantry on Taiwan if WE were going to force Taiwan to do this or that? No!” Thanks for the email Shin. Your latest update is posted here.

Last night I was turning on the sprinklers and as luck would have it, twisted my right ankle again. Nice. It's actually not that bad. Nothing broke... No sprains... Just kinda pulled it. I only have a slight limp today, but it does feel weaker than before. No pain, just weaker. Anyways, this started me thinking on last year's medical advice I got from an IHC Doctor. He said I should be walking with a cane. I don't see myself as a walking cane person. That's reserved for old people. I'm not old. I'm only 32. I'm not ready for a damn cane! Then again, that's what I said about Glasses back in 95, didn't I? SHIT. I did some looking around the internet and there is a surprising amount of canes available for ordering. Too bad they are all so lame. I need a cool cane, if I have to have one. Seriously, if I have to have a damn cane, it is going to have to be on badass fucking cane. It will have to be the definition of Ogrism. I want the shaft to be thick and gnarled and capable of use as a mace if needs be. Maybe a war hammer head, or an Orc head at the top. Made of steel. Or maybe a shillelagh type head with some Orcish carving... not common Orcish, I'm talking Uruk-hai. Any suggestions? Note: No "Sword Canes". I limp, but I'm not limp wristed.

July 24th - Wednesday. Just got in a couple emails while I still had MadOgre open for editing. “Ogre, Love your site, it's a breath of fresh air for those of us with similar beliefs and values. Those of us that don't view inanimate objects (i.e. guns) as evil and harmful. I feel sorry for those that feel the need to trash and try to legislate out the things that many of us loyal Americans know are their Constitutionally granted rights. Enough ranting anyhow. I appreciate your perspective and thoughts on some of the topics that affect us all, but most don't have the nuts to speak up for. So keep up the good work! One little thought on your site--from a web design standpoint the majority of what you have works very well. My only complaint has to do with the color scheme. The green text on black is difficult to read. Might I suggest something that is easier to read such as dark blue on white or off-white background, with red highlights. Just a thought. Take care. SMS” Aaaarrrrggghh… another color scheme complaint. I’m no Christopher Lowell… I don’t know esthetic design any more than I know the subtleness of chiffon vs silk. However, I am open to suggestions. Take the MadOgre news page if you like, redesign it, and send me the HTML code in a .txt file. If it works and is sufficiently Ogrish enough – I’ll use it. Gladly! This goes for any of the Ogre Readership out there. Show me a new way to do MadOgre.com, and I’ll do it. I’ve been itching to change it… as evidence by my willingness to forgo the simple hyperlinks to a dropdown menu. Something that I had sworn in the past not to do. Thanks for the email.

The other one: “Regarding your recent comments about China invading Taiwan if/when the US hits Iraq, I think that China would NOT and can NOT invade Taiwan. First off, China does not have enough landing craft and transport planes for an invasion, sure they could use civilian ships, but those things aren't made to withstand fire from Taiwanese defenses. Second, it would not be in the best interest for China to have a war with Taiwan since from the way things are heading policy wise, China and Taiwan are getting closer and closer because of sanctions being lifted and in the meantime, China and Taiwan become more similar economically and politically and eventually, after a couple decades, Taiwan will reunify with China peacefully, avoiding a very costly war. Also, about your other comments about China: China is not a capitalist country - China is officially communist, but in actuality, it is capitalist although there are still a bunch of large state own companies like the Bank of China and China Ocean Shipping Company. Where does all the money that it earns go? - I doubt that it goes towards financial aid , but I KNOW that it does go to welfare and humanitarian aid. Every year, China spends 20 billion USD on disaster relief for Yangtze River flood victims (although they don't have to any longer with the completion of the Three Gorges Dam). As for welfare, although China doesn't spend a lot of money per person, it adds up due to the large population. On the subject of housing developments, China spends ungodly amounts of money on them since during my trip to China this summer, I saw that almost ALL of the houses/apartment buildings in China were brand spanking new and where built by the government. And if you have new housing developments, your'e obviously going to have new sewage lines or else no one would pay the rent. Also, I have some corrections on your China Threat page: -China is not building an aircraft carrier nor does it need one for now and for the next 10-20 years since all of China's military interests lie within range of its land based air bases. -Chinese helicopters are not a major threat since there are only 300 helicopters total in the PLA. -There are only a few dozen (if not even that) T-98s in service and they wouldn't enter in large numbers until 2010 (Congressional report says that there will be 1800 in 2010). -For the exception of about 20-30 ships, China's navy is very outdated and uncapable of beating the US Navy. -For the exception of the 120? Su-27s, China's airforce is very outdated and uncapable of beating the US Air Force. -You should emphasize the power of China's artillery and infantry a lot more since that is the PLA's strength. If you need any more info on the PLA, go to SinoDefense or www.china-defense.com (site is down) – Novaman” State owned companies. My point exactly. The money that it spends on the Yangtze flood is a drop in the bucket to what it spends on Military. It’s not even chump change in comparison. Your right, China isn’t putting ALL of it’s money into war – but it is putting MOST of it. China as openly declared it’s intentions to take back Taiwan, by force if necessary. Along with other small outlaying islands. And it wont be a War. Taiwan will wake up one morning with China already there. Your right however, China's current interests, the ones at the top of China's timetable is close range. But what about targets further? China has more targets. Taiwan is just fist up. Taiwan has many major ports capable of offloading whatever China wants to land there. It doesn’t need to land them via traditional landing craft. Never mind that China has a fleet of heavy lifting, high speed, hovercraft. They got them on sale from the Russians. Along with cargo aircraft capable of conducting a large scale airborne operation that would easily be more than enough to snatch Taiwan. They also picked up an aircraft carrier. That’s well known. There are photos of it floating around. And yes, they ARE indeed building more. Two more. Or is JANES INFORMATION GROUP wrong? Your numbers on China’s aircraft are 5 years out of date. They are in production, and have been building more constantly. I agree that China’s ships are out dated. Too bad they have also been refitted with modern gear. There is a lot of overconfidence in what a US warship can do… and a lot of underestimating on what an older boat can do. The exact numbers of the T-98s are not known. Numbers given in congressional reports mean jack. The soviets taught us that. Let’s not even bring up the large bio-weapons plant in Siberia that according to reports, never existed. I strongly suspect that there are more than you or I would like to imagine. Your absolutely right about the Infantry and Artillery. I should put some more work into detailing those areas. The average Chinese grunt with a rifle is a lot more ferocious and aggressive than our own average grunts… and they are equipped BETTER as well. I'm glad you had a chance to visit China. That's awesome. I want to visit too. However visitors are not shown what is really going on, and what they are doing. China is/was a wonderful nation. The communists really screwed things up. Thanks for the E-mail. Is it me, or does this fighter China is developing look a lot like an F-20 Tigershark on steroids? This one looks like a cross between the F-16 and a MIG-29. Thanks for the SinoDefense link. Great site.

We finally have some good news in the News today. Check this out. The little girl in Philly was found alive. How? She was bound with duct tape... this didn't stop little 7 year old Erica Pratt. She chewed through it. She crashed down a door, and broke out a window to scream for help. 2 boys outside playing heard her, and called the cops. The cops found her alive and well. That is just awesome. She was returned to her family today and the two suspects are identified. It's only a short amount of time before they are brought to Justice. Or better yet, justice brought to them in the form of numerous JHP slugs through their heads. While I am on the subject of Good News, It looks like the stock market is in a rally. The market is climbing strong. CNN said 3M went up $4.23 to $115.99. And they were not the only ones that had a good day. After what seems like weeks of sliding... things look like they may be heading back up. I'm curious to see what the market will close at. Talked to Steve and he sounded cautiously optimistic. A true investor. He is thinking there is some more down hill distance yet to come and that is a safe bet. Bush's task force will probably uncover some more high level fraud that will rock the market, and we know AOL is already suspect. AOL, Time Warner... they might get rocked. That could have a strong negative effect. Still... Applied Digital Solutions is just over a buck a share now. Much better than it's .32 cent price. Anyways... I'm looking at these things as some positives for the day. Feeling up. I'm feeling good, my Jeep is running good, just downed an ice cold Vanilla Coke... Yeah baby!

Some discussions with an undisclosed person regarding possible China strategy. It's a good possibility that should the US make it's move on Iraq, that will be the timing for China to launch on Taiwan. Perfect timing for that action. Our resources will be committed to one action, leaving an open door for China to pounce. Making a move on Iraq will be a major draw of our projectable military strength. China makes it's move, and all the sudden the US is too spread to cover both. If we insist on conducting both operations, we could get our asses kicked from one or both directions. I'm not saying that Iraq could beat us - but they could, given that situation, give us a bloody nose. The natives of Somalia did. And we had lots of military strength there. But that is another story. China on the other hand, isn't a bunch of untrained, filthy surrender monkeys like Iraq is. China is skilled. China is equipped. China is motivated. And China is ready to fight Americans like no one else in the world. Given the US's current state of affairs, I can't see America holding China off Taiwan. If China takes Taiwan, lands forces there. Sets up a defense. Raises the flag of China over Taiwan... there isn't a damned thing we could do about it. They could bunker in and we would have to dig them out like ticks. Not easy. Not since China now has a fleet of strike bombers that can fire stand off long range weapons that could roll back the defenses of any of our carrier battle groups. I'm not saying that are ships are defenseless. (what, with a single silkworm missile taking out the USS Stark and a simple little motorboat filled with explosives taking out another cruiser... Naw, I wouldn't think that!) I'm saying that China can now easily direct overwhelming firepower at our ships to the point that some of those missiles will be able to get through. Brothers & Sisters... it only takes one. Taiwan is just one of China's targets. For now. I'm thinking China will snatch it before we can react, and then thumb our noses at us while at the same time send us shipments of cheaply made plastic shit to fill out Wal-Marts with. You know that shit I'm talking about. The stuff we think we need so we have to go buy it at Wal-Mart while watching some fat lady with no bra smack around a little kid that just wanted a popsicle or a Hot-Wheels. Think about it. All that shit comes from China. China is not a capitalistic country. It's communist. All the money that it earns... where does it go? Financial aid for Chinese students? No. Welfare programs? No. Humanitarian aide? Public works... putting in new sewage lines for new housing developments? Uh, no. It goes to military spending. It goes to building up a military machine specifically developed to defeat the US at it's own game of high tech warfare. Please refer to my Special Report on China. I mean, hell man... they have already deployed a working version of the LandWarrior system that actually works and we are still spending millions of bucks just to keep it in development! Oh well, you know what they say... It's all fun and games until the PLA rolls a T-98 up your ass. Or uses one of their new laser cannons on you.

We read in the news that Burger King is up for sale. It's only going for 2 billion. Note to who ever buys it, the onion rings need some serious help. Man, do they suck. Wouldn't it be cool if they renamed it Ninja-Burger? That would rock.

The house has voted to lift sanctions from Cuba. About time too. still has to pass the Senate and all that, but this is a step. Cuba was a vibrant country before the commies took it over. It could be that way again one of these days. Too bad we have that jackass Castro still there. Pretty much after he dies, that place is going to blossom.

Pioneer Day here in Utah. State Holiday. The day we of Utah celebrate the arrival of the pioneers into Utah. Many people don't understand we Utahans party on July 24th. We have parades, fireworks, F-16 fly-overs. The works. To understand why, you have to understand what the pioneers when through. It wasn't just covered wagons... but also hand-carts. People crossing hundreds of miles to reach a place they can call their own, pulling and pushing a little cart filled with a few possessions. Some clothes, some books, some tools, a rifle and a box of ammo, and some food. The crossed the plains, crossed the Rocky Mountains, crossed more desert, and another mountain range until they came out to over look what is now the Salt Lake valley. Sickness and death were constant companions of the pioneers. Parents all too often had to bury their children along the way. I have to admire these pioneers, they were tough people... strong willed. They fled Illinois, leaving behind a beautiful city they had only just finished building... homes, a new temple, shops, everything. Why did they have to flee? Anti-Mormon mobs ravaged them. The Governor of Illinois signed an extermination order on the Mormons. It was legal to shoot and kill a Mormon on sight. And they did. When the Mormons asked for help from the Federal Government, the President of the United States sent word back "Your cause is just, but I we can't help you." Shortly after the Mormons arrived in Utah, the US Army arrived too. Even before some of the Pioneers had unpacked, the Army asked for 500 men to join the service in America's war against Mexico. It would have been so easy to say "Your cause is just, but we can't help you." But the Mormons are not like that. The men picked up rifles, kissed their wives and children, and lined up. One Mormon woman described the request as cruelty considering what they had just gone through. The Mormon Battalion never fought any battles, but the work they did changed America. They marched through Nevada, Arizona, and into California. Once there, and released from service, the men decided to work for a bit in California to bring some money back home to Utah. It was members of the Mormon battalion that worked at a mill and discovered gold there. This was the start of the California Gold Rush. This was the catalyst that sparked the settlement of the west... Going west was no longer for the Adventurers and the Outcasts. It was for those that simply had the American Dream. Many other pioneers used Utah as a place to stop and on the way to Oregon and Washington to settle there. An oasis in the middle of nowhere, where you could refit repair and restock before pushing on. The Mormons when they found the Salt Lake valley, found just more desert. That didn't last long. They built homes, dug out canals to irrigate fields, and built a new city. Even bigger and better than before. They cultivated the valley and turned it green. They built Utah. This is why we in Utah celebrate July 24th.

July 23rd - Tuesday. I've been looking at other possible project vehicles, as I think I have that bug again. There is an old 72 Mustang fast-back next door that could be mine for a mere 3500 bucks. Maybe another 3G to go into it to complete it... But no. I don't really have that 'Stang kinda vibe. I like hotrods - but I've never been one for the Mustang. I like the GTO's, Chargers, Cudas, and the like... but the Mustang never really did it for me. I even liked the Cougar better. Anyways, while I would like to do a killer old school Rod - that's not really in my area of personal interest. What I would really like to do is an old Jeep. A real M38. Take an old Jeep like that and turn it into a viable daily driver with hard core off-road'ability. The old L head engine has to go. Same with the rest of the drive train. Sorry, I said "Daily-Driver" not something to be under the hood of every weekend. The original engine was a scrapper... gutsy little motor. Emphasis on little. Parts are easy to find - there are junkyards full of them. There is one up in northern Utah that has plenty. They also have some F-111 drop tanks if I really wanted one. No thanks. I think maybe I'll head up there are take a look and see what they have in the ways of Jeeps. I think I remember seeing one or two out there when I went by on the freeway. If not there, up in Northern Idaho there is a huge Army/Navy store that has two of them. With a modern engine and tranny, and regular style 15 inch wheels - I think it would do well. I'd love to have that set up. With the old military style soft top. That's a must. And the two long whip antennas bend forward and wired down. This would be for me... my ride. Not to resell. I'd have to do another vehicle to make some bank on.

WarCraft III. Here is my official take on it. This game rocks. I had a blast playing it.

I keep hearing about Grand Theft Auto III. People are saying that it may be the best game EVER. I doubt that. Rogue Spear is pretty much the #1 game in my book. I have a little PDA. It's a Royal dVinci DV1. With a leather case and a folding keyboard & docking station. I'd trade it for GTAIII. Actually, it isn't that bad for a calculator. You can take notes on it... Has an address book, to do list, calendar... It was given to me. Dad didn't like it. He's a #2 pencil kinda guy. I'm not a PDA guy either. Anyone wants it... I'll trade it for a game or two. Other than GTAIII, I'm looking for Medal of Honor if anyone has that... I'll also toss in Dungeon Siege (with the book) for GTAIII and MOH.

Great Gandpa Wheeler passed away. He died in Blackfoot Idaho @ 2:30 today. Cancer ate him up and finally killed him. We visited him Sunday, and observed his suffering. He as a strong and proud man, cut low. His passing was a relief. His funeral will be this Saturday in Blackfoot. He was pleased to see his great grandchildren, and I think he was happy for the visit. He was so close to death, he was seeing other people. You could feel other people there in the room. I can't explain it, but I believe Man is eternal. We existed before we were born and we continue to exist after we die. I believe his relatives were there with him... on the other side. Comforting him, keeping him at peace, and when he was ready, inviting him to make that crossing. My Father-In-Law is doing okay with the passing of his Father... a lot better than I would be doing. I didn't know Great Grandpa Wheeler, but wish I did. His son is a role model for me.

I'm a little upset. After I got the Jeep set up, flushed the coolant, plugged that empty socket in the pipe and everything... the Cherokee sounds like a Honda Civic. This is troubling to me. I think I need to break out the drill and put some holes into the muffler or something. :)

Yesterday I went all over Utah Valley looking for a pipe plug that will fit the extra O2 sensor hole in my new exhaust pipe. *forehead slap* The answer is so obvious... Thanks to some fellow Jeepers I have that answer. A spark plug. "D'Oh!" The best solution though is to get a new O2 sensor that I need anyways and use the old one as the plug. I'll do that in the future, but right now, I'm looking for an old sparkplug.

This is bizarre. President Bush is set to ban Land Sharks. You see, we have these walking Chinese death fish invading the US. Big problem. They kill and eat everything and can displace the natural native aquatic life. The upside is that they are quite tasty in soup.

Email just in. Worth posting. “Hello: I placed a PT-111 in my hands a couple of days ago and WOW...it felt perfect. Having spent the previous day on the range with a Glock 26 with some minor "big hand/small gun" concerns, the PT-111 just felt right, plus the manual safety impressed me as a great feature for a "carry" gun. Rather than jump all over the gun with my wallet, I started searching the web and came across your review. Also, have you heard anymore since about this Tarurs PT-111 frame problem? Do you see this as a problem for someone who practice shoots under 1000 rounds a year? Thanks for any advice you can give. Byron” Thanks for the email Byron. Let me back up my other statements in my article that I like Taurus and I really like the PT111, 140 and 145 (especially). The gun has a great design that makes it a perfect carry option. The problem isn't a design issue, but a materials issue. With the 111 and 140 the battering of the slide to frame is absorbed in the three pins that hold the steel sub-frame to the polymer frame. As you know, it's the steel frame that the slide cycles on. The pins give no warning and can fracture quite suddenly. These pins have fractured as low as 200 rounds fired. That's not even enough to have become familiar with the gun enough to a carry gun. Breaks are happening usually above 500 rounds - but that is still too few. Taurus as a great customer service policy on them and will fix or replace with no problem. The only catch is you get the gun back with the same issues it had before... and it will break again on you if you go out shooting it like you did before. I wouldn't get one. I wouldn't spend my own money on one that is for sure. Stay away... seriously. This gun could hurt you, or even worse - fail at the moment of your greatest need. It's not a range gun, or up to par for a carry gun. It's junk. However, if your still set on getting one - if you absolutely have to have one - Please call Wolff Springs and get an extra power spring that might be able to soften the hammering to the sub-frame. That might give you a couple hundred more rounds through it. Other guns to take a look at: Steyr S or M series. Walther P99. Kahr any model. Colt Pocket Nine... etc. There are lots of good options out there that deserve better consideration. Don't take my word for it... go to www.PT145.com for some more information.

July 22nd - Monday. I made a pull down menu. Had a couple people bitching that the bullets buttons slowed things down too much for them. So much for my idea for roll over effects. Hopefully the cleaner method of the little pull down menu will make everyone happier. If your using a PDA, please tell me how navigation is with those. Not that I will change anything... Just want to know.

I just got word from Spectre that the Samurai passed emissions testing there for Washington State. That's so cool. You should have seen that thing when I first turned the key and cranked the engine. It was in a word, Nasty. Thick black smoke like a locomotive. I got it running clean again, and then I went and pretty much disabled the vehicles emissions system... and it still passed. That rocks. Oh, and Spectre has an update for us. It came in while I was gone, but it's there now.

Correia has an update for us as well. Check it. He is tackling myth's of the gunshop commandos and mall ninjas. Love it. I was laughing out loud while reading it... He nails it. Rack him. This article deserves wide spread publication. (BTW, his name is pronounced like a southeast Asian country.)

Can you think of a movie that has Ben Stiller, Liam Neeson, and Helen Hunt in it? It's called Next of Kin and is the last of the Patrick Swayze movies. I'm not sure if it was this one, or Road House that was his last big role... He did play a bit part in Donny Darko, but I think that was pretty much the end of his career. The decline of Patrick's career is marked at Next of Kin as the point of the start of his decline. Funny... Everyone else in the movie has had a great career. What was different? I think it could have been Patrick's mullet.

My right ankle. My ankle is what the doctors call "Acute". In non-medical terms that means the bones in my ankle are pretty much like sheet rock and can crack about that easily. Friday morning I busted it again. The ligaments can, if pulled, jerk chunks of bone away from my foot bones. Normally when that happens, it is about 3 or 4 weeks of pain and limping. No need for going in to the doctor anymore for that, all he does is tell me to wrap it, stay off it, harp on me because I should be walking with a cane for that extra support. Didn't want to deal with that. I just tied my shoe a little tighter and moved on. However this was probably a mistake. Friday night I started to actually get shocky from the pain. The ankle was misshapen. It was ugly. To make a long story short, Saturday I walking on it again. We went to see the Mesa Falls. Walked down to the falls. Beautiful. Sunday I was riding a mountain bike and going much too fast. Today, there is no pain unless I step on it hard and even then it is just a twinge to remind me to not push it. What happened? I was given a blessing. You may not know what that is, and I'm not going to explain it. I was seriously hurting and doing poorly. I was given a blessing. I healed 4 weeks worth in 2 days. The pain went away before the blessing was completed. After the blessing the ankle looked normal again. It was amazing.

The Reunion. I've been up in Northern Idaho right by West Yellowstone. I don't want to talk about it very much. The food was horrible, with only one good meal out of these past few days. They did the grilled steaks & salad pretty good, but that was IT. The idea was every part of the family was responsible for one meal for everyone. It was amazing how all the food tasted the same... except for the steaks. I had 3, with 2 grilled chicken breasts on the side with a giant salad. I had been going hungry up to (and after) that point.

Isuzu Rodeo. Maybe one of the better Soft Road vehicles. I wouldn't mind having one. I wouldn't take it on any trail runs or anything, but they are really very nice for everything else. Too little clearance to really go over anything other than gravel and grass. I drove one this weekend and was impressed with it's road manners. Quiet, good acceleration. Almost Cadillac-like ride compared to my Cherokee. But could the shifter be any lower and smaller? It had a good feel in the function of the mechanism, but man, I almost had to lean down and search for the stick!

One of the emails I received while I was gone "Is the Jericho 941 a good gun?" Yes. It is. If you can find one with the Jericho name on it, cool. Otherwise you can get it all over the place with the name Baby Eagle on it. 9MM, 40 cal. The 941 was also available in .41AE, a pretty good cartridge that flopped. Think of it as a .40 in terms of where it lays between 9 and .45. I like the gun. The only thing I don't like about it? The slide mounted safety lever.