• Archives

  • Topics

  • Meta

  • The Boogeyman - Working Vacation
  • Coming Home
  • Via Serica

He should have trimmed his mustache

A man in England attempted to sneak out of the courthouse and avoid reporters by dressing in women’s clothing before departing.  Apparently it didn’t work.

My guess is he wore something no woman would be caught dead in.  Let’s face it, most of us guys have the fashion sense of a mule:

“Let’s see, shall I wear the bright red lipstick, blonde wig, striped silk blouse and black pants with patent leather pumps, or go all out and wear the tight sweater and skirt combo with 7″ stillettos?”

Now, some guys might be able to pull this off.  I’ve known several men who could change into something a little more feminine and blend in pretty well.  I, on the other hand, would only blend in with a reunion of the 1988 East German Women’s weightlifting team.  It’s just so hard to find pretty shoes in size 15 men’s and I can’t find a dress that isn’t a moomoo that doesn’t make me look like a hooker.

For those of you who have met me, I apologize for the mental image you just had.

by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/31/he-should-have-trimmed-his-mustache/

Goodbye, Good Luck, and Thanks For All The Fish

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has decreed that his government will no longer allow NATO forces to bomb Afghan homes that are being used by Taliban or Al Qaeda insurgents.  Everyone wants to eliminate or at least minimize civilian casualties. However, the enemy we fight in Afghanistan mixes with the civilian population specifically because we may pull a punch when there’s the chance of harming non-combatants.  By putting such places off limits, President Karzai provides the Taliban with a safe haven to retreat to in a fight and lay low while they plan their next operation. Effectively, he’s made all of the cities and a large part of the country into no-go zones for NATO troops, since unless they can call down the hammer of the gods, they’re unlikely to engage the enemy in any concentration.

Since President Karzai has decided that he’s capable of telling us where and how we can fight in defense of his regime, I say we let him stand his own army on the firing line for a change.  I mean, it’s only been a decade since we started trying to make a cohesive Afghan national army so we could go home.  It’s not like we didn’t create the circumstances that allowed him to become president in the first place, or that we haven’t spent billions of dollars and the lives of over 1500 American soldiers to prevent his execution at the hands of his countrymen.

Listen up, sparky:  About 15 minutes after the last C-141 takes off out of Bagram, you, your family, and everyone associated with you is going to be put against a wall, beheaded, hung, or set on fire.  The only thing that’s keeping your heart beating is the fact that Americans are more willing to put steel on target than your own soldiers are. How about instead of kvetching about the methods, no matter how sloppy we use, to try to root out the Taliban, you get off your well dressed backside and get your bloody army into the field and trained to actually do more than march in a straight line on a parade field?  Keep dictating to us the methods by which we keep your bloody heart beating, and you just might wake up and find yourself with a country devoid of American guns and soldiers. 

by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/31/goodbye-good-luck-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish/

Lucky Gunner Blogshoot

Well, the weekend had to eventually end, but the smile is still on my face.

Here are some more pictures:

There were multiple re-enactment groups attending the first day.  The half-track and tanks were joined by extremely well restored U.S. and German vehicles such as the jeep and BMW motorcycle you see above.  The re-enactors were more than happy to allow us to shoot their guns, even taking the time to explain how the guns worked and demonstrating the best ways to shoot them.  My favorite of all of these was of course the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun, but a close second was the Thompson.  There’s just something about that sub-machine gun that tripped my trigger.

Of course, no shoot would be complete without pictures of what the range looked like with lead flying at it:

I love the smell of tannerite in the morning!

The only good min-van is a dead mini-van

Someday my minivan will meet a similar fate.   But I’ll use more tannerite if I can afford it.

During lunch, the organizers of the event recognized two soldiers who were veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I’m proud to say that standing ovations for these two brave men came easily.  It was fun to sit back and watch these two gentlemen sit down to compare notes with Vietnam veterans.   I’m sure a lot of good stories and advice were exchanged.

Next, we see the signs that a good day at the range has occurred.  The evidence is the many large piles of brass and the many trash bags full of bullet boxes:

Over the course of Day 1, I tried to shoot as many different guns as I could.   I have decided that my “Guns I Will Own” list will now include an MP-5, a G-3, an M1917, an M-2, a Thompson, and a BAR.   There were others that I shot and were fun, but these are the guns I want in my safes for ‘entertainment purposes’.

The evening of Day 1 was taken up with a dinner with the staff of Lucky Gunner and the other blogger and media attendees.  During the dinner, the winners for the 2011 Gunnie awards were announced.   Congratulations to everyone on those!

On Day 2, the re-enactors had gone home, so for the most part we shot what we brought.  Representatives from Kriss were there to demonstrate their new line of guns, and I must say they are sweet:

Oh my gosh!  Someone gave me a suppressed machine gun!

I tried all four variants of the Kriss gun: the pistol, the short barreled rifle, the suppressed sub gun, and the non-suppressed sub-gun.  It’s basically the same action with different options added to it.  All of them use Glock .45 magazines, so a user won’t have to search for proprietary magazines to keep their gun fed and happy.  All of these guns were comfortable to shoot, accurate within the limits of the .45 ACP round, and had amazingly light felt recoil.  The Kriss representative who worked with me on the firing line showed me how the bolt pivots downward into the area just forward of the trigger guard, driving a lot of the recoil down instead of back at the shooter.  This reduces felt recoil and muzzle climb.  I must say I was impressed.  When compared against the 9mm MP-5 and .45 Thompson, the recoil on the Kriss was very light.  The civilian model has an MSRP of about $2000, which is steep, but do-able.  This one goes on the “Guns I Will Own” list.

While shooting on Day 2, I realized that Oleg Volk should be nick-named “The Candyman”.  He brought out several really nice toys:

Keltec KSG

I got a chance to shoot his Keltec KSG and the Coonan .357 automatic.  The KSG is a neat concept and it carries a metric crap-ton of shells in its two magazine tubes.  I’ve been told that shooters are encouraged to put buck shot on one side and slugs on the other.  Using the switch to select which magazine to feed from would allow the user to tailor their ammuntion selection without having to unload their weapon.  The overall shortness of the gun made it easy to quickly change targets, and it kicked against my should in about the same way that the Mossberg 500 I brought to the game did.

The Coonan is also going on the list.  I put two magazines through it, and I am officially in love with it.  My impression of its heft at the NRA convention was correct.  It’s a solid chunk of steel, but that weight helps a lot in controlling recoil and climb.  I was able to make respectable groups with it at between 5 and 7 yards, and I’m sure with practice that would tighten up.

I have to say, even though Day 1 was a complete blast, I enjoyed Day 2 even more.  It gave us more time to talk and socialize, and since no-one was waiting for us to shoot, we could take our time and discuss the merits and failings of each of our guns.  One thing I noticed on both days was just how happy and friendly everyone was.  It’s something I’ve noticed about the gunnies I know.  Even the rock stars like Tam, Oleg, and Uncle were more than happy to sit and shoot the bull or share their guns with the rest of us.  I was asked to shoot other people’s guns and offered my own meager collection up for others to enjoy, and no-one batted an eye.  Even when we were discussing politics or gun issues, which tend to get everyone’s Irish up, we never stopped being polite and respectful. This reinforces something I already believed:  Gunnies are good people.

One thing that allowed us to enjoy ourselves as much as we did was the copious amount of Magtech and Seller & Bellot ammunition that the folks at Lucky Gunner were handing out for our enjoyment.  I’m pretty sure the only thing that can make a range trip with a great group of people better is free ammunition.  Rounds of just about every caliber were given out with a smile.  I can’t imagine how many thousands of rounds were fired over the two days, but I’d really like to thank Lucky Gunner, Magtech, and S&B for the ammunition.

It was a great weekend, and I took my time saying goodbye to everyone as I packed up and headed north.  Angela and her staff at Lucky Gunner put on a heck of a party, and the people who attended made the weekend enjoyable and interesting.  I’m already looking forward to next year!

by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Blogshoot

Posted by daddybear71 on May 31, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/31/lucky-gunner-blogshoot/

Thoughts for the day

A mother’s gift to her country’s cause is a story yet untold
She had three sons, three only sons, each worth his weight in gold
She gave them up for the sake of war, while her heart was filled with pain
As each went away, she was heard to say, he will never return again
CHORUS
One lies down near Appomattax, many miles away
Another sleeps at Chickamauga, and they both wore suits of gray
‘Mid the strains of “Down to Dixie”, the third was laid away
In a trench at Santiago, the Blue and the Gray
She’s alone tonight, while the stars shine bright, with a heart full of despair
On the last great day, I can hear her say, my three boys will be there
Perhaps they’ll wait, at the heav’nly gates, on guard beside their guns
Then the mother true, to the gray and blue, may enter with her sons
—The Blue and The Gray, by Paul Dresser
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. — Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
In Flanders fields the poppies blow       Between the crosses, row on row,    That mark our place; and in the sky    The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
— In Flander’s Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
by daddybear71 on May 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 30, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/30/thoughts-for-the-day-5/

My little range buddy

This is one of the millions of cicadas that have been our companions this weekend. When the shooting stops, it sounds like someone’s running a giant weed whacker.

by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/29/my-little-range-buddy/

From the No Surprise Here files

A study in the UK confirms what a lot of parents have known for years:  Taking your kids to the zoo is more effective at teaching them about the environment and conservation than having them sit in a classroom and learn the same material.

Guys, if you have to have a study to figure this kind of thing out, hang it up.  It should surprise no-one that kids respond better to hands-on, entertaining experiences with a dash of education thrown in than they do to textbooks and overhead slides.  Anyone who’s ever taken a 6 year old to see the gorillas and read the placards about how fragile their natural habitat is and how few of the animals there are in the wild knows how interested the little tykes are about their hairy cousins after that.  Heck, our kids could recite obscure facts about the flamingo, the emu, and the polar bear before they could say their ABC’s.

Kids learn best through play.  That’s why I always make it fun when I take Girlie Bear to the range, or work on ABC’s and 1 2 3’s with Boo by playing with blocks or coloring books.  Heck, I even knew this when I taught in the military.  I always spent the minimum necessary time going through the dry lecture material so that we could get to simulations where students learned and then applied the knowledge that they had heard in lectures.

Someday I’m going to ditch the day job and just start writing applications for grants so I can study the phenomenon of meat becoming inedible if left out in the sun, or that if left to its own devices, the chlorophyllic organisms in the American lawn will gain in height.

by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/29/from-the-no-surprise-here-files/

I wonder if that was street value

A company in Los Angeles is reporting that a truckload of crab that was supposed to be delivered to Seattle has disappeared.  The paperwork the trucker used to pick up the load was forged, so authorities are working on the assumption that this is the work of organized crime.

The two things that went through my mind while reading this was:

“Hey buddy, wanna buy some of this crab that I got in the live well of my Volare?”

and

I wonder if the trucker will sleep with the shellfishes if he cooperates with the police?

by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/29/i-wonder-if-that-was-street-value/

Someone needs a hug

A man riding on the New York subway stripped down to his briefs and high heels and ‘entertained’ the crowd by riding one of the poles in the car.  While some found it to be entertaining, I’m guessing most thought it was a sign of psychosis.

Warning – I am not responsible for the sanity points you lose if you watch the video embedded in that article.

Now, I’m pretty open minded.  Everyone has hobbies or diversions to pass the time.  But a guy stripped down to black underwear and a pair of pumps swinging around on a dirty subway car pole is not how I keep my mind busy during a commute.  Maybe if this goofball wanted to make the ride a little better for his fellow subway riders, this gentleman could bring along some Lysol and a Swiffer and clean up the accumulated grime and other residues on every surface of the vehicle.  Heck for that, he might get the keys to the city.

by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in ick

Posted by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/29/someone-needs-a-hug/

Memorial

The old woman’s eyes were gray blue.  I remember this because she looked me in the eye and held my gaze as she lightly shook my hand and thanked me for what I had done for her husband and her family that day.  She walked down the line of soldiers and repeated her thanks to each of us.
I was the NCOIC for her husband’s funeral detail.  I had heard her softly thank the Officer in Charge as she accepted the folded flag from him.  She was a lady such as has become rare in our world.  She spoke with a soft Southern accent that had none of the twang that is so easy to fall into.  From reading her husband’s biography, I could see that she had lived just about everywhere the Army can send someone with their family after marrying her husband early in his career.  She had followed him through several tours of Europe and myriad domestic bases, both to places that I remember fondly and to places I cringe to think of.  She had taken care of her children and their home while he did multiple tours in Vietnam and at least one assignment to Korea.  She had obviously done something right with her kids, as two of them wore uniforms to the funeral, and two of the others had “Dr.” in front of their names in the obituary.  The seats at the packed chapel that weren’t filled with soldiers who had known and served with her husband were filled with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
As she walked back to her sons and daughters to say their final goodbyes to the old soldier, I thought about how much of his life he had given to us.  His list of decorations included two medals for valor, each paired with a Purple Heart for wounds.  He had served in Vietnam and the first Gulf War, rising from an intelligence analyst with a line battalion S-2 to the command sergeant major of an intelligence battalion before retiring to a position with one of our contracting companies.  I met and worked with this man a few times both before and after his retirement, and while he was a gentle man, there was more iron in him than a cursory glance would find.  If he knew he was right, and he normally was, he never backed down.  In the few times he was wrong, he was quick to apologize and learn from his mistake.  Those who worked for him loved and respected him, and I never heard anything but praise for him.
Today, an entire generation of American men and women are on the same path this extraordinary man and his family took.  A military life, as a soldier, a spouse, or a child, is more difficult and yet more of an adventure than someone who hasn’t gone through it can describe.  Many people and families crack under the strain, and some will shatter.  What is amazing is how many thrive and succeed.  In addition to those like me who did their time and got out, there are also those who walk onto a plane or ship after kissing their loved ones goodbye, but are carried off of another plane or ship with honors.  It is for these men and women that we pause today.
We should always remember what these people give up for us, and how their sacrifice makes our lives better.
by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Memorial Day

Posted by daddybear71 on May 29, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/29/memorial/

A good start to the weekend

We’re about halfway through the first day of the Lucky Gunner Blogshoot, and I’m having a ball.  One of the guys here had a full auto M-16A1, so I gave it a shot out of nostalgia.  As I was loading up a couple of magazines,  I realized I was sharing a table with Tam and Oleg.  Now that’s a good way to start the day.

The event is happening a few miles outside of Knoxville, and you couldn’t ask for a prettier location or day.  Here’s a few pictures:

More to come!

by daddybear71 on May 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in shooty shooty

Posted by daddybear71 on May 28, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/05/28/a-good-start-to-the-weekend/

« Older Posts
Newer Posts »