Karate Update

Big news of the day around here. . . . My younger daughter got her next rank at Karate today!!!!

She now has two yellow stripes and she also got an award for perfect attendance too!!!

We are all very proud of her and she is just bouncing at her new rank. I talked a bit with the teacher on it and was told she was doing very well with her focus and her first kata Sanchin is really good. Considering how much trouble she has staying on task some times this is all great news!!

Had to brag about it. . . . . It's a Dad thing. . .

Light posting this week

Will be tied up at work a lot this week. . . . will post what I can

Govornor Patrick

Now we know where Governor Patrick was while the legislature was killing his Casino bills . . .

Patrick inks $1.35m book deal

Governor Deval Patrick has signed a book deal with a division of Random House to write an autobiography that is scheduled to be published in 2010.

From the Boston Globe

You would think that he would have been here doing his job on such a critical day. . . . .

Democrats in Action

From Chris Dodd at CNN

"Over the next couple of weeks, as we get into April, it seems to me then, that the national leadership of this party has to stand up and reach a conclusion," he added.

and

But Dodd said Thursday allowing the race to continue indefinitely would be "irresponsible."

"Allowing this sort of to fester over the months of June, and July and August, I think, are irresponsible," he said. "I think you have to make a decision, and hopefully the candidates will respect it and people will rally behind a nominee that, I think, emerges from these contests over the next month."

Specifically, Dodd said leaders among the Congress, governors, and at the Democratic National Committee need to work together to forge a compromise.

All this boils down to one easy statement - we the leaders of the party know better than the voters so let us choose, shut up and back our choice. . . . .

I love the Democrats, always willing to tell everyone what to do. They got themselves into this mess and they now mean to fix it even if it means screwing their own voters. .. . . gotta love that.

And they wonder why educated folks won't vote for them. . .

Outsource our Passports

They are outsourcing our passports to Thailand. . . . anyone else see a problem with this???

I guess we just really are not that interested in a secure passport. WTF were these folks thinking?

When will we get it that Outsourcing HURTS us not helps - especially with security issues. . . .

I just can't get my mind around this one

This is a clean blog. . .

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Nice doggie. . .

Got this in an email from a friend. . ..

Dog For Sale

Free to good home.

Excellent guard dog.

Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.

Most of them knew him as "Holy Shit."

Cat Burgular

OK, got this one in an email and had to share it. . . How to deal with a cat burgular

Jericho' s last show?

Just watched the tape of Jericho's last show. Man that was good, they have to pick this up on cable and run with it. I think it was great the way they showed the Chyan governments attack on the Second Amendment at the Constitutional convention said it all. As the mayor said getting off the elevator, disarm the populous and governing is easy or some such statement.

I also like the way the troops took the news from the Major. I think the troops would fight in a minute once the truth got out. I also think that if you spread the file around, you would find more troops joining the resistance than fighting it. Maybe I have too much faith in our troops but I think 99.99% of them would do the right thing if they had all the facts. . . .

This was a great episode. I think the liberals would hate the message the show sent out and maybe that is why I love this show so much. I hope Sci Fi channel is watching. You guys have been pushing the first year of the show, this is a great replacement for Battlestar and I will keep saying that over and over. PLEASE pick it up, this story needs to go on. . . . .

Jacques is back to haunt us

Only in MA would this happen. This lady was nothing but trouble to anyone who was a conservative or constituionalist when she was in the statehouse. It was a great day when she left, now her buddies are going to make sure she get a nice fat paycheck she is not qulified for and bend the rules for her too. . . . Corruption in MA government, just another day at the office . . . .

Former senator confirmed as judge despite qualification questions

March 26, 2008

BOSTON—The Governor's Council has approved Cheryl Jacques to be a judge on the Industrial Accidents Board. That's despite questions about the former state senator's qualifications for the job and a fundraising account she maintains.

The panel voted 6-1 on Wednesday. The lone opponent, Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning, says Jacques is being paid back for raising money for Gov. Deval Patrick.

Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney of Watertown had sought a week delay in the vote, saying she had questions about the $127,000 political account maintained by Jacques.

Other judges can't have those accounts for conflict-of-interest reasons.

Devaney says Jacques told her she would get rid of the money in the account.

Jack News

Well Jack has been causing trouble again. . . . the little bugger just keeps trying to grow up on us = )

He managed to get himself up three steps yesterday so he could surprise his grandmother I am told. For a follow up act he has managed to stand up without holding on to anything.

All I can say is he is off and running. . .or will be soon. He can really move on all fours when he wants to get someplace. That usually means getting from where he is to where Mom or I am if he feels he is missing out on something. . .

On the bright side our luck continues to hold in that he is still a happy little monster and does not give mom or I any real trouble to speak of. Unless you count the fact that he has decided to start getting up at 6:30 in the morning – not so bad during the week but I am not looking forward to him doing this on the weekends. . .

Save Jericho

Go HERE to see what is going on to save Jericho and get it moved to a network that will support it!

Politics in a Nutshell

This guy just gets it - From Non -Sequitur - I love this one

Main Stream Media Loves Obama

Like you didn’t know that already. . . but I find it interesting that they did the best they could to not cover his membership in a RACIST church but they are all over Hillary about lying about being under fire for a visit to Kosovo as First Lady. Now I don’t like either one of them but I don’t think we are in the same league here on importance. . . She tells a bit of a lie on one visit and this is a bigger story than Obama supporting a racist pastor and signing his black pledge to join the church? His pastor preaching hate for the 20 years he was there and he stayed and listened to it but that is not as newsworthy as Hillary lying about one visit to Kosovo. . . Man these guys are pushing all they can to get him elected.

Personally being from Massachusetts where our governor runs the state by Obama’s plan I can say without hesitation that if he wins we are screwed beyond current sciences ability to measure. . . . The Democrats here in the legislature are even working to block our governor from doing anything and he is a Democrat. It has to tell you something about how messed up this plan is when his own party is working against him. Or to put it another way. . . our Democratic legislature worked better with the last Republican governor than the current Democrat in that spot. . .

Jericho RIP

Well, tonight is the last night and I am sure it will be a cliffhanger as it was supposed to be the season finally, not series. . . Let me say it again, CBS sucks for canceling this show after a season that was screwed up by the writers strike. I will be doing my best to avoid getting into new shows at CBS as they have shown themselves to not really care about the view or quality TV with this move AGAIN. . . .

I hope the SciFI channel is watching. They have been running a lot of the first season of Jericho on there and I’ll say it again I think this would be a great replacement for Battlestar which ends this year after it’s 4 year run (I think 4). Come on Sci Fi channel, show us again how much cable is better than network TV for the intelligent views.

Boston Discovers some of their Rights

The Boston Globe is reporting that the cops are having a problem in Boston. . . It seems their plan for warrantless searches of homes where the owners let them in is getting a bit of opposition from the civilians in the area. For some unknown reason the people seem to be against having cops come into their house and search their kids rooms for guns based on tips the cops got on the street or from school. They have been trying to get this program going since December, this is the third failed attempt.

Gee, I can’t see why anyone would be against the cops coming into my house to search for guns without a warrant or an promises they won’t arrest my kid, get me tossed out of public housing for having a gun or possibly using what they see on the way to the kids room to get a real search warrant to toss the whole house. . . . can you?

And the cops are surprised about this why? I guess they thought the brain washing was done better and the sheep would just go BAAA and take it. Maybe, just maybe folks are starting to wake up to what it means to have rights and not let the government walk all over us. You can hear the liberals that came up with this insane idea gnashing their teeth about it already. . . "I would say that the police commissioner has been a bit surprised by those that are not in favor, We're genuinely trying to save lives." said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department.

They don’t get it. . . Government should not be doing this and the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure says it is unconstitutional. Now they are trying to do an end run around the 4^th by saying “we were invited in to the home so no warrant is needed”. That is all well and good but just wait until they use what the see in the house to get a warrant and come back to search the rest of the home on the owner, like it or not. The community is right in fighting this government intrusion. Good for them. I hope they keep fighting it. I also hope they fight all the harder when the city forces it down their throats like it will, just give them time. I hope the ACLU is watching this; they could be useful for once if they would help these people. . . .

How it should be

In Tennessee we really do pull off the road and stop for funerals......nobody moves until the last car has gone by.

What follows is a message from Vicki Pierce about her nephew James' funeral (he was serving our country in Iraq ):


However, the most incredible thing was what happened following the service on the way to the cemetery. We went to our cars and drove to the cemetery escorted by at least 10 police cars with lights flashing and some other emergency vehicles, with Tennessee police handling traffic. Everyone on the road who was not in the procession, pulled over, got out of their cars, and stood silently and respectfully, some put their hands over their hearts.

When we turned off the highway suddenly there were teenage boys along both sides of the street about every 20 feet or so, all holding large American flags on long flag poles, and again with their hands on their hearts. We thought at first it was the Boy Scouts or 4H club or something, but it continued . for two and a half miles. Hundreds of young people, standing silently on the side of the road with flags. At one point we passed an elementary school, and all the children were outside, shoulder to shoulder holding flags kindergartners, handicapped, teachers, staff, everyone. Some held signs of love and support. Then came teenage girls and younger boys, all holding flags. Then adults. Then families. All standing silently on the side of the road. No one spoke, not even the very young children.
The military presence, at least two generals, a fist full of colonels, and representatives from every branch of the service, plus the color guard who attended James, and some who served with him . was very impressive and respectful, but the love and pride from this community who had lost one of their own was the most amazing thing I've ever been privileged to witness.
I've attached some pictures, some are blurry (we were moving), but you can get a small idea of what this was like.

These photos are awesome !!
























THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST MOVING E-MAILS I'VE SEEN TO DATE .


Chain for our Military...please don't break it

Please send this on.

There is nothing attached..... . Just send this to all the people in your address book.

Do not let it stop with you, please....

Jericho

They did it again – Killed off Jericho.

All I can say is CBS you suck! You folks had the writers strike mess up this whole season and now you say no one is watching so you will cut it? It is one of the few good shows left on TV.

All I can say is network TV is killing itself and thank God for cable TV, it is the only place you can find a good show these days. The few good shows left on network TV are all a few years old, nothing new. . . . I guess it is time to find a new hobbie as TV is dying a slow and painful death.

Sci Fi has been playing it a lot though so who knows maybe they can pick it up? That would be a great replacement for Battlestar Galactica which is ending this year.

The least they could do for the loyal fans is a movie to wrap up the loose ends over the summer. . . .

I need to learn to stop watching network TV, they keep doing this to me on the good shows. I guess I am too smart for TV. . . . .

Jericho

They did it again – Killed off Jericho.

All I can say is CBS you suck! You folks had the writers strike mess up this whole season and now you say no one is watching so you will cut it? It is one of the few good shows left on TV.

All I can say is network TV is killing itself and thank God for cable TV, it is the only place you can find a good show these days. The few good shows left on network TV are all a few years old, nothing new. . . . I guess it is time to find a new hobbie as TV is dying a slow and painful death.

Sci Fi has been playing it a lot though so who knows maybe they can pick it up? That would be a great replacement for Battlestar Galactica which is ending this year.

The least they could do for the loyal fans is a movie to wrap up the loose ends over the summer. . . .

I need to learn to stop watching network TV, they keep doing this to me on the good shows. I guess I am too smart for TV. . . . .

Heller Case

I am not sure I get it as to why some folks are all PO’d that the attorney for the gun owners did not push for the Second Amendment to cover machine guns too. . . I don’t think folks get it some times. It is better to win this and go back for more than to push for it all now and alienate the judges and loose it all.

Folks, all these rules got added on bit by bit for what some people thought were good reasons at the time. It may have been proven that they were wrong but it can’t be fixed with one case. We will need to do this step by step so that folks can see it is not the end of the world. There are many reasonable non gun owners out there that support us right now. If you go and push to make it so everyone can own a machine gun I think you will loose many of these people to the other side then we will risk loosing it all.

We must be patient. One step at a time. Personally I don’t see the need for everyone to own a machine gun due to the damage an accident can cause but I also feel the Second Amendment was meant to cover any man portable arms a militia would use. . . so full assault rifles and such would be covered. The thing is to go slow and make sure we win each step and give folks time to get use to it just like they did while taking away our rights. Someday I hope we can get assault rifles and such like the founding fathers wanted, but I think some sort of control to make sure a nut or untrained person does not get there hands on one will be needed. Just like a drivers license – easy to get but you need to prove you have the skill set to not be a danger to others. Hopefully the gun folks will continue to have a better record then drivers do on the safety side of things. That is the eternal problem – how do you make them available as they should be to people without them being abused. Our society needs to move back to personal responsibility before we get to pushing to cover machine guns under the 2A I think. . . . Than and accepting that if a nut does go off with a gun the rest of us have the right to defend ourselves and families and take him out however we can. . . .

Workshop

Well I got a bit more done on the workshop this weekend, and all the space I cleared up on the floor was promptly filled by more stuff from Dad’s. I think it is almost all over to my place though so the end is in sight.

I did get the top put on another of my benches and more shelving up so we did make progress there. I will be doing more at night and weekends for while I think. The goal is to have everything on the sides of the basement so the center can be used as a workspace or as a training area for my karate and such. I have moved my exercise equipment down there already so I can use it when it is clear. All that is left on the health stuff side is moving down my Wave Bag – a water filled heavy bag for martial arts work outs. I wish I could do more but I do like spending time with the family too so you gotta do what you gotta do as they say. . . .

Mom is really hot to sell the house. I think her plan is to put it on the market for three months and if it don’t sell then we will rent it for a while and see if the market turns around.

Happy Easter and all that

Hope you all have a good Easter. . . If nothing else it is a good excues to get together with the family for a dinner. . . .

Got a bit done around the house first - got Dad's desk cleaned up and put in our new foyer so T can use it as an office for her Pamperd Chef business. I hope it works out - right now the office is the dining room table and I am hoping to de-cluter the house as we finish the construction and get orginzied. I also got a bit more work done on my shop - another shelf put in and some of the work bench top built. I may get more time tonight to work on it but who know how late we will be at the in-laws.

Have a good day y'all

Weapon Fee Zone fails again

Here is a nice post from CNN on an attack at a Japanese shopping mall. . . . they have disarmed everyone over there. . . Guess it don't work there either. Too bad no one could fight back eh?

MIT Student gets another Pass

The nut case from MIT Star Simpson got another delay in her trial for having a hoax device at Logan Airport. Her attorney wants the charges dropped on free speech grounds. . . WTF? You can’t yell “FIRE” in a theater, I doubt a real judge is going to say you can bring a device looking like a bomb to an airport either.

How dumb do you have to be to not realize that the rules on a college campus are not the same as what you deal with at an airport? Seems she has classmates that are up in arms because she wore the device at school the week before and it was ok, so why the big deal? This goes to show one of the big problems in this country right now. . . college students seem to have no connection to the real world, yet think it should work the way they want it to. . . . If you really want to loose sleep at night remember these dreamers vote too. . . at least some of them.

It looks like the DA may want to let her have a pass too. They have delayed the trial a number of times now. I think they keep hoping that we have forgotten about her and then the news media show up and the go “OOPS, can’t hold the trial today” instead of saying “ we let her off with a stern talking to” that they know will get them lots of heat. This idiot needs to do some sort of punishment. Maybe not time behind bars (I think a few weeks in jail may wake her up) but something to show the college folks that they need to grow up and think a bit before doing something – or expect to pay the bill for the screw up. Seems like we are getting more spoiled brats in college – it may hurt but it is time to fix that and help them become less spoiled. . . .

Martial Arts – Tai Chi

This week we had a guest teacher at class. . . My teacher’s teacher was visiting the area and stopped in to say Hi and go over some stuff with us. This was cool as he is really good and tends to bring in some new self defense moves when he visits.

This time he showed us a few moves of the Yang form of Tai Chi that he is studying in addition to his normal karate. It was rather interesting in that I have learned the Yang short form a few years ago and wanted to get back into it a bit. The thing that stands out is that he is the third person I have learned some of the Yang form from and each of them has shown me a slightly different way to do it.

Now most martial arts seem to be rather specific in the way they do a form, and although you may see a slight change from school to school you usually don’t. The differences I have seen in the Yang Tai Chi form is rather drastic in comparison.

I find that they change the stances a bit, or how long the form is, sometimes adding or removing parts.

I find this all rather interesting and wonder if anyone else has seen this kind of change in any arts they may have studied.

Liberty

Here is a great summation on what a libertarian thinks and the way things should work

Ride in today

What is it with folks riding your bumper? I had an ass in a pick up riding my ass in traffic on 128 for morning rush hour. . . all I could see was the grill, no bumper or windshield. Dude, I was doing 70 and there was traffic, where do you think you were going to go? He eventually jumped over one lane and passed me so he could be in front of me for the next 5 miles or so. The small consolation I got is when I pulled over to get off at the Pike I passed him. . . . so I guess being a jerk and riding my ass really helped get him places faster. . . .

Then on the off ramp I had a nice idiot getting off the pike try to merg through me while talking on the cell phone. Now I am not one of those wanting to ban cell phones, I use mine while driving every day, but be reasonable about it for God’s sake. Get off the damn phone when you are doing things like merging or driving around the parking lot and you need to pay attention to what you are doing! Leave the cell phone calls for when you are going down the highway not changing lanes and such. . . .

I guess this is just further proof that common sense is not common. . . .

Sad proof that gun laws don't work

From CNN: Gunshots bring abrupt end to frantic 911 call

This story says it all. Calf and other states that disarm law abiding citizens are not making us safer. The cops can not get to you fast enough to help you when you call 911 - you have to be able to defend yourself long enough for them to get there and back you up. The story say it all, I don't know how people can say disarming people like this poor woman is a good thing. . . .

Jericho

OK, I am a few days behind because I tape it and watch it later (it is on past my bedtime. . . .) but I must say I am bummed there are only two shows left for this year.

I have loved it so far. They have done a great job with the story and showing that you need to question what is going on and stand up for what is right. It is nice to see this getting the air time with them being an armed group standing up for their rights and not just rolling over and waving signs in protest. Watching the Major as he realizes he is in a catch 22 was great! He played it well and you could see the confusion he is going through with his job vs what he knows is right. . . I really want to see where he goes with this as things go forward.

The characters have been great and I love where they are going with this story. I think it is going to be a long wait to see what happens with the government, the bomb and the characters. The only thing that helps is knowing that Battlestar Galatica will be starting in a few weeks to take Jerichos place in my TV line up of good shows I need to see each week. . . . Going to be a long wait for next season. . . .

Casinos in MA

It looks like the recommendation to the house will be to reject the Governors plan to build Casinos in MA. . . . so it is all but a dead issue for this year. This is good and bad.

It is good because he was lying about what it would bring to the state. Other folks checked his numbers and showed that he did not have the income or the job generation numbers right, and he was off by 2 to 3 times what would really be generated. End result is he was selling smoke and mirrors just like he did to get elected.

The down side is that this nut has already spent the money in his budget that the casino was supposed to bring in (not that they would have but our good Governor never lets facts get in the way). This means that they are going to screw us with more taxes so they don’t have to cut their hacks off the payroll. You can expect him to up the cigarette tax, maybe pike tolls and whatever else he can think of. I wonder if he will have the guts to go for an income tax hike when the voters already voted to cut the income tax and it was never done by the legislature. . . . Stay tuned folks. . . .

Heller Case

Sounds like we may win this one. . . we will know in June with a bit of luck. . . . but I leave you with this comment from Xavier Thoughs:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

"What is reasonable about a total ban on possession?" Chief Justice John Roberts

The other justices has similar questions that seem to show most if not all back an individual right but with some controls. . . How much is the question.

Depending on how this goes if we win I wonder if gun owners in CA and MA will have grounds to fight for their rights too. . . .

Iraq

Today is the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. . . . I only have a few comments on it:

1 – I fully support our troops and anything they have to do to make sure they are the ones that go home at the end of the day and the bad guys don’t.

2 – I fully believe that we were justified in going in to look for WMD after all the games Saddam was playing with us and the corrupt UN.

3 – I think we should have pulled everyone out once we were sure the WMD was either gone or never existed or got moved to another country.

4 – at this point I don’t think we can come home until we can get a working government there since it is now such a mess and Iran would take over if we left.

5 – I think the life of one US Serviceman (or woman) is worth more than all the folks in Iraq. Let them do whatever they need to insure they are safe.

Why we are spending money and lives to support Iraq is beyond me at this point. We went in with a need to protect ourselves from WMD. Once we proved they no longer had them we should have gone home and left them to deal with it. We should not be in the business of nation building and if Saddam kept running things so what. We only have the right to protect ourselves, and once we were sure they were not a threat to us we should have come home.

Now we are at the point were it is time to tell the politicians to get out of the way and let the military do what they need to over there. It would be messy but they would get the job done and then we could bring them home. Better yet, the UN seems to think they are so great at all this, turn it all over to them and come home. We can then use the money we would have spent on the war to develop new energy sources for our homes and cars that don’t need oil so we can flip off the Middle East and walk away. . . . Our founding fathers NEVER wanted us to be nation builders. . . . we need to get back to the vision the Founding Fathers of this country had for it. It would be much better all around.

Obama Speech

I have finally heard parts of Obamas speech. . . I love the way it is not his fault and he wants us to all ignore the fact that he has spent 20 years in the church of a racists. I personally don’t see how he can have spent 20 years there and say he does not agree with it. But he never answered that part of the issue. He also never answer why he stayed in the church instead of looking for a different one without the preaching of hate. He seems to have dodged things again. This guy continues to not answer any questions and folks in the media seem to be buying into it. . . . . He had a speech, where were the questions from the media? He didn’t take any because he can’t. And the media let him get away with it. . . Look at this HUGELY biased story from CNN - They are falling all over themselves to praise this guy without asking any of the hard questions on it. I love the last paragraphed –

For days pundits have pondered whether Sen. Obama could weather the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright's racially polarizing comments. The question at this juncture is not whether the candidate will rise to the occasion, but rather, whether America will.

(edit based on comments - I point to CNN here but I do that as an example of what I am hearing from many "news" sources - radio, net, TV. . . All of them are helping with the whitewash of this issue instead of digging to get the facts that may be out there. . . they don't want to look - guess they are scarred of what they may find out about their golden boy)

They are not doing their job, they are part of his PR machine, not a news source any more. . . .

Between his preacher and his wife and their racial and un-American comments I just can’t buy into the idea that he has not bought into this preachers hate speech at least to some extent. If not, why did he stay in this church, and why is he not answering the questions raised but instead blaming everyone else for the problems, politicians, welfare, news commentators, and everything or everyone else but totally ignoring the facts that he is still in this church (why I want to know) – talk about passing the buck. . . . .

This speech should make folks think long and hard about how little we know about this guy and why is he hiding so much. What is he hiding? Why can’t he speak out against the hate speech of this preacher and others like him. . . .

If Hillary or McCain was the one with this problem instead of Obama they would already have dragged her through the mud and her political career would be long over. . . We need to stop giving this guy a pass on everything and start holding him accountable for his actions or lack of actions. . . . . look what was done to Ferraro when she spoke the truth about Obama, they pushed her under the bus and beat the heck out of her. . . . all for speaking her mind. Time to get rid of the double standard. If he can’t take the heat now he has no place being President of this country.

Obama Does Damage Control

With the help of his church Obama is in full damage control mode. The church has pulled stuff off their web site including this bit from Fox News and others:

Turn of Events

Barack Obama's church is scrambling to undo the impression it is a ministry for blacks only with a radical message. The Web site of the Trinity United Church of Christ has been purged of a section which spoke of the church's endorsement of — "black ethics" that — "must be taught and exemplified....wherever blacks are gathered."

Among those black ethics are "commitment to the black community, commitment to the black family, disavowal of the pursuit of middleclassness and allegiance to all black leadership who espouse and embrace the black value system."

The Media Research Center notes that in place of these words now are video clips from church members, including one from a white church official who said she feels at home at Trinity.

And on his own web site he has removed the photo and endorsement by the preacher of all that hate that use to be his first endorsement. He may recover from this somewhat but I don't see him doing a full recovery. Between his preacher and his wife we are seeing a side of him that I don't think he wanted exposed especially to white voters who may not like what they are seeing. I only wish it had come out after he was the nominee as I think it will do him in.

In an election where the Democrats should have been able to walk away with it all without working up a sweat they are doing their best to loose this. I think they are done - between Ralph Nader taking some of their votes and the infighting costing them more it looks like McCain has a good chance of wining this after all. . . .

Monday Model a day late

This one is a double, the Wildcat and the Hellcat. We started WWII with the Wildcat as a front line fighter on our carriers in the Pacific. It was good, but not as good as the Zeros it went up against. They figured out how to deal with the shortcomings with wingmen and some fancy tricks. The best trick was the Hellcat. As you can see the Hellcat is a bigger plane but they look the same. The poor pilots in the Zeros would see it and think it was a Wildcat. Problem was that the Hellcat was bigger, and more than a match for the Zero. End result was usually a shot down Zero by the time he realize his mistake as he was out gunned and out maneuvered by the Hellcat. It does help that the Zero was an easy kill since it gave up armor and self sealing fuel tanks for speed, which the American planes didn't. . . .

Hellcat:

Wildcat:

I'm in trouble now. . . .

Yep, he is up and standing on his own now. . . . he climbs people and things no problem. . . . I am guessing he will be walking before he turns one. . . . God help me . . . . and man can he move when he wants to crawl and he only started that a month or so ago. He is growing in leaps and bounds. Up to 21 pounds and 29 inches in 10 months!

Crossover Vote

The Democrats on the talk radio are whining about cross over voters from the Republican side voting for Hillary to hurt Obama in the primaries. All I can say is GOOD! You guys (Dems) have been doing this to the Republicans for while. At the start of primary season I was hearing the same stories except it was the Dems voting for McCain to knock out the “Conservative” candidates and help their side. Strange how that never seemed to get the news coverage that the Republicans are getting for the same thing. Bit of a double standard if you ask me. . . .

Obama also seems to be in trouble for his ties to a bigot of a pastor and his statements. I think this is going to come back to haunt him big time. Here is a sample of his pastors speeches from CNN’s web site

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," he said. "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant. Because the stuff we have done overseas has now brought right back into our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."

This guy is a hate filled nut, and Obama backs him. He is now coming out to speak against him but it seems a bit too little too late to me. I think he is trying to get away from him for political reasons only, not because of his beliefs. If he really wanted to make a statement he would be talking against him in much stronger terms and calling for some kind of change in how blacks deal with this kind of preacher. . . . but it is not happening. I think he still backs this guy, may even buy into it but is trying to look good for the papers knowing that it will damage him badly if he is seen as tied to this guy . . .

House Info

OK, Vacation is over and I need to go back to work for a break. . . . we got a lot done this week thanks to my buddy Scott who was around to help with the move.

Most of the workshop has been moved. . . is it a bit of a mess in my basement right now but we will get it pulled together over the next week or two. There is still a few things to go through in Dad’s shop but I got say 90% of it done.

The pool table is now at my place, and set up. Even got in a few games at night on vacation! I also got one of Dad’s carved signs hung up in the new room.

The work on the house is going well, we have the front door done and I got the area painted so we can set up my wife’s office up there for her Pampered Chef business. I also got her some more storage as I moved my tools into the new shop area.

I am told that they will start work on the new windows in the living room this week so that will be good. Once that is done we are finished for now on the house!!! YAAA.

Nana has started to move in slowly. The movers will be bringing a bunch of stuff over today but she will still be living part time in the old house until it is sold. We still need to get her a TV and phone and Cable up there but all goes well. . .

I can’t believe it is almost done. I thought it would be harder to move everything, both physically and emotionally with Dad’s shop but it went rather well. It is kinda like having part of him still with us in the new house so that is good. Once I got the big stuff out of the shop things were better, it didn’t look like his shop as much and that make it a lot easier to deal with. It did hit me a little, but overall I think it went well.

Mumbles

Looks like Mumbles Menino thinks the solution to Boston’s problem with crime and violence has nothing to do with parenting and personal responsibility – it is all the video games fault. . . .

I grew up on Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny and Road Runner. . . I saw plenty of folks shot with shotguns to the face, blown up with dynamite, hit with shovels, and all kinds of other mayhem and you know what? I never tried it myself. . . .

Menino you can’t fix this outlawing violent games. Personally I don’t like them but it is not my call what other may enjoy. We need to go back to teaching kids that actions have consequences, and maybe try something novel like punishing kids for a change.. . . . Parents need to teach them they will be held accountable for their actions, and maybe if the state actually put a few of the gang bangers in JAIL for a while we might get somewhere.

Instead it is business as usual in liberal MA – slaps on the writs, revolving jail doors and blaming everyone but the criminal for his or her actions. . . .

Menino, Boston is a mess because you won’t punish the criminals, you blame everyone else for your failures and problems, and you disarm citizens so criminals know they are safe attacking them. Way to go. . . . ..

And this from the blog “No Looking Back” - an escapee from Ma. . . .

From AOL Money & Finance: Safest States to Live In

No 1: New Hampshire

New Hampshire is ranked No. 1 for the first time thanks to impressively low crime across the board. It boasts the nation's lowest murder rate and second-lowest aggravated assault and burglary rates.

Rankings in Crime (out of 50)

Assault: 49
Burglary: 49
Murder: 50
Motor Vehicle Theft: 47
Rape: 39
Robbery: 43

But, I thought guns caused crime!

Our good friends Steve Bailey, John Rosenthal, and Tom Menino are always telling us that New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont (#2 and #4 on the list), with their "lax" gun laws, are awash with deadly weapons, which anyone with a few dollars in his pocket can purchase on a whim.

Why the profound absence of violent crime?

As if I have to ask.

Why, it's almost as if they're all full of shit, and that their motives lie not in reducing crime or punishing violent criminals, but in securing more governmental control over the populace.

Who knew?

Jericho

OK, a bit late but the last episode of Jericho was AWSOME!! Man did he have that coming or what? I loved it. All I can say is this series better get renewed for next year as this is getting good and is a great message about trusting the government too much. I loved the plot twists on this one and I can see Jericho and Newburn turning on the heat now. . . The big question is where will the Major go when it all hits the fan

Vacation is almost over

well, the week is almost over and I have to go back to work on Monday. . . . I think I could use the rest. . . .

With a friends help I got 90% of the work shop moved, only a bit of small stuff left. The pool table has been moved, and I got a few closets fixed up with shelves so I got a lot done I think. . . Only a few more things to do tomorrow.

Now I have to find the time to get the workshop put back together here. I need to make a new top for the draw units and get things organized so I can move down there. When I am done I should have a rather good wood working shop put together. I also hope to have the middle of the room empty to not only work on projects, but also as a place to do some Karate as I have the time. I am still looking for the hanger for my heavy bag, I got a nice one that is water filled for martial arts work. . . .

Gotta run, will be nice to site down for a bit. . . .

Day at the range

Took one day to myself for my vacation and took my oldest to the range today along with my father in law. We had a good time for an hour or so shooting my new AR-15 and the WASA 10.

Here are a few pics. . . . She did great shooting 10 or so skeet we set up on the dirt mound. She was a crack shot with the AR and that was the first time she got to try it.

I think she is hooked, I had to promise I would take her back as the weather get warmer. . . Now if I could get her to shoot lefty . . . she is right handed and left eye dominant. . .

Late Monday Model

The Devastator was probably the hero of Midway in 1942.


The first wave of these found the Japanese fleet and attacked. They were wiped out completely. Although they did not hit one ship with their torpedoes, they did pull down the defensive air cover to the deck. The next group of attacking planes from the US were Dive Bombers that came in at high altitude. Since the defensive air patrol was at ocean level they got a free shot and hit or damaged at least three of the four carriers. . . The rest is history. They were pulled from service shortly after as they were out classed by the more modern aircraft.

OK. . . .

I am a: Glock Model 22 in 40 cal

What kind of handgun are YOU?

Slacker

Sorry folks, forgot to get the Monday model done. . . I will get it done in the next day or so. I am supposed to be on vacation this week getting dad's shop moved to my house.

Ya know, I know he is gone, been over two years but it is still weird to be packing up his tools and moving them to my shop. It is going to get really weird when his old shop is empty. I think that will be a hard day, nothing says final like a big empty room where all his stuff use to be. . .

Anyway, we got a lot of it moved today with the help of a friend, and I hope to get the rest done in over the next few days. . .

On the plus side with the longer daylight my oldest daughter wants to go to the range and try out the AR-15 I got for Christmas. Been waiting on good weather and daylight to give it a go so that should be fun. I hope to have her down there this week while I am off. I promised her a pic with the new gun. . . . She is definitely my kid. . . .

Vacation mission, Dad's workshop

OK, we will see how well I do bloging over the next week. . . . going to take a week off to get my workshop in order. I should say my Dad's workshop since it is his stuff I will be moving in.

He crossed over over two years ago and I have not touched a thing in his shop. . . well, I may have touched some stuff but I put it right back where I got it. Now Mom has her apartment done, and is getting ready to move in with us. That means it is time to get the house on the market and all Dad's tools moved. He had a ton of stuff, he was a great woodworker and loved to do wood carvings too. I may have to start carving again, we wills see.

Anyway it is going to be a hard week on me. While he was sick he kept telling me all that stuff would be mine some day, and now that it is hear it is a bit weird and hard to deal with I must say. But we will get it sorted out and moved with the help of a friend or two over the next week.

More later, lunch is over and I gotta run to a meeting. . ..

Subaru still sucks

Well I had to do some work on my Subaru yesterday. Seems she don’t want to run in wet weather. . . I was told by the shop of horrors that the air filter needed changing so I figured what the heck, that may be part of it. . . . I think it was, boy it was clogged up good. The issue I have is it took me 20min + and a socket wrench and a screw driver to get to the damn filter. They buried it in the back of the engine under some pipes so I had to fight with it to get it out and the new one back in. Still damaged the seals on the new one a bit getting it in.

Further proof that the designers of this car were clueless as to what they were doing. Sure it runs but if you don’t design for routine maintenance then you are a bad engineer. . . I think air filters should count as routine maintenance. . . . and with degrees in engineering and engineering management I think I know a bit about how to design something. . . .

Subaru you guys need to go back to school. . ..

Jericho

Damn that was a good episode this week. I am bummed out that they have started to kill off characters but that is the sign of a good show, they are not afraid of doing what they need to for the story.

I was so psyched to see Bonnie knock off a few of the bad guys, I thought she was going to get more of them than she did. I think the next war has started and I would not want to be part of J&R at this point. I think Hawkins has the military commander almost won over. . next step get him on the good guys side and start knocking off the rest of the J&R group. That last scene at the farm about said it all as to where this is going. I think the real Americans will step up and do what they need to to get the country back. One of the scariest parts of all this is even though I can’t see this happening in the real world it is just real enough to make you think “what if?” Kind of like Stephen Kings “The Stand” – real enough to make you think about it

This show has me totally sucked in. I hope it is doing well as I can’t imagine them not having a next season after we got cheated out of most of this one with the writers strike. They easily have another season worth of stuff going on now, I can’t wait to see where it goes. . .

Obama Can't Answer the Hard Questions

Nice artical about it here

But he better learn fast or he is political toast. . . .

Update - Per the comment on Red State. . . here is another look at the issue. Either way the guy can't hack the hard questions. . . . this will be interesting as thing go on. . .

Where Do They Go from Here

Well, now it gets interesting. Now that the Dems have voted, and Hillary has done well where do they go??

From this point forward for either to win the nomination before the convention this summer is highly unlikely. I hear that Obama would need to take something like 77% of the vote and Hillary would need like 94% of all remaining primary votes. . . I don't see either one getting there. So it is now up to the party leaders to take over. Voters have had all the say they will get in this, and since they could not pick a winner the Dem Party Leaders will do it for them.

Who gets it? Do you go with Obama? Folks don't know much about him and McCain will kill him when it comes to dealing with specifics. Obama is also not good at answering hard questions, the media may smell blood and start asking him some real questions then what happens? And how many Hillary voters will go for Obama after they have spent the next few months beating the crap out of each other??

And Hillary. . . can she convince them she is the best one with the best chance to win? She won the right states but didn't get the delegate count, can she convince them to give it to her? And if they do give it to her will they loose the youth and black vote this fall? And one of the biggest questions is will the prediction of riots in the streets by black folks come true if the take it away from Obama. . . .

This is going to get real interesting before all is said and done. . . can they compromise and if so who get to be VP? Will they do so much damage to each other before that point that they permanently damage the party and or give the election to McCain. . . .

Stay Tuned folks. . . this is going to be one hell of a ride

Why we need Hillary

OK, it looks like a good day for us primary wise. . . Hillary is still going and is now winning a few.

Folks I never thought I would say this but we need her badly. This November is going to be a critical election during a time of war. Who wins may and probably will make or break where this country goes from here, up or down. Now I don’t like any of them much, I would rather a good businessman like Romney got in but we have what we have to vote for. Now the problem is it looks good for Obama – something else I never thought I would say.

Obama is nothing but trouble for this country. He has the backing of racist like Louis Farrakhan and that alone should be a red flag. What is even worse is he is running on the same platform as our Governor of Mass did and he won. What is the problem with this platform you may ask? Well, the problem is it is a platform of good thoughts, lots of nice speeches and no real plan to actually do anything.

Patrick stormed into the Governors post with great ratings and everyone loved him (well most anyway he got 56% of the vote in a four way race 20% over the second place finisher). His ratings as of 2/27/08 are 47% positive and 45% negative with a margin of 4% so it is about even now.

What happened to him? That part is easy. He got elected by promising sun shine and his famous slogan “together we can” problem is no one asked what it was that we can do. . . He has now been in office for a bit over a year. He has gotten in trouble for spending cash the state don’t have on a new Cadillac for himself (guess the old car was not good enough). We are short on cash and he is still coming up with budgets way over what the state takes in. Even the legislature which is also Democrat is now working against him. His answer to the money problem? Take more money from the people of course. . .. He wants to add tolls to our highways, and put in three casinos to bring in the gambling money. He even spent the casino money in his latest budget. . . too bad they have not been built or even approved by the legislature yet. That is how he does things, it is all dreams, smoke and mirrors but no substance. Most folks are against these casinos, and the legislature is not going for them either. Patrick has been shown to be lying about the jobs they will create, why would we expect the revenue to be any different. We are heading down the path to bankruptcy in this state and he is speeding up.

How does this tie to Obama? Simple again – he is running the same campaign as Patrick did. All about feeling good and smoke and mirrors. He has no plan to turn this country around. He is getting by on getting votes with feel good speeches but no one has asked him for a real plan on how he will do it. They don’t want to. The people want to live the fantasy of Obama, that it will all be well with a wave of his magic wand and the media is asleep at the switch letting him get away with it. We need someone to start pinning him down to how his is going to fix things – enough words, tell me and the voters what it will cost us to fix this and make this utopia you keep talking about. My guess is he doesn’t know and doesn’t care. . . he wants us to ignore the man behind the curtain and keep voting for him. We need to look at his past. . . His church backs the racist Farrakhan, one of his best friends is know to be corrupt and getting investigated. . . what else is he hiding ?

All this leads me back to why we need Hillary. I repeat, I don’t like her or McCain, they are almost the same. But I will admit that they at least have experience in Washington and the back bone to get things done when needed. I may not agree with Hillary's plan, but if I have to live with a Dem in the White House please make it one that at least has the backbone to do what needs to be done. I don’t want a President elected because we like him or because folks will riot in the street if we don’t. I want the president we elect to be the best person for the job, and that person is McCain first, Hillary second, and Obama don’t even make the list. . . .

New Record

46 hits yesterday on my little blog. . . I think that is a new one day record.

All I can say is "Thanks for stopping by folks, y'all come back now ya hear?"

Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons creator, dies

OK, I am a geek. . . I can't tell you how many hours I spent in High School, College and beyond playing D&D. . . . still would if I had the time. . ..

From CNN:

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Democrats have a Re-Do?

Talk radio seems to think that Hillary will still get the nomination. I have to agree I think she will steal it any way she can. Now they are saying that since she won Florida and Michigan but the Dems don’t count it due to the date of the primary, will she either push for them to count the votes or hold new elections. It sounds like Florida is going for a re-do and if one does the other probably will too.

Can she win these again? Can she get them to allow the re-do and get herself put in as the nominee?

This is going to be one of the most interesting elections in my 20+ years of voting. . . . You can’t count on the polls any more, and I don’t think you can count on any of the liberal thinking either. . . there is so much riding on then and they are frothing at the mouth thinking about being in charge again. . . (the Dems and the Clintons) that I think it is still wide open as to who will get the nod. All is fair in love, war and politics

Go Vote!

If your state is voting in a primary today, GO VOTE! If you want to do some good, vote for Hillary. . . McCain has it sealed up, we need to do damage to Obama. If Hillary can do well today she may stay in this and help to bleed out the Democrats. . . . Nader will help, but enough of them voted in Republican primary's to get us McCaine, least we can do is return the favor. . . .

Massachusetts In the News

Hey, I hear on the radio MA has hit #1. . .

MA #1 in debt per capita

Tied for #3 as worst government

One of the most accommodating to illegal immigrants

Ain’t that just great? And you too can have all this. . . . just put Obama in office. He is the same as our Governor, heck he may as well be a clone if you listen to his campaign speeches. . . .

You know you want it – Political Hacks hiring family on the .gov payroll, cost overruns (can you say BIG DIG) without oversight, Socialists running things, Health care system that you can’t afford, Higher Taxes. . .

NAFTA and Obama upset

Looks like he messed up. . . . Canada has a memo that says Obama has no intention of going after NAFTA after he promised voters he will either re-negotiate it or get us out of it.

He sent one of his people to a Canadian consulate and they were told that he is just saying what he has to for the campaign trail, what he says and reality are different. They were assured that he really has no plan to attack NAFTA.

To top off LYING to the voters, he is dealing with a foreign power to manipulate our election.

Ya, that is a good person to put into the Oval Office, he will lie to us, for the benefit of a foreign power. . . . This is BIG, and I hope that if it is true he gets smacked down hard for doing it. Anyone who is willing to do this has no position as POTUS!!

Stay tuned, Hillary may be back. . . . lying to voters is expected to some extent, but this is WAY over the line. . . . All the more reason to hope Hillary does good tomorrow.

DC vs. Heller

Comments on the upcoming DC vs. Heller attack on our rights. Take a look here

Will Clinton Make it?

Tomorrow is the big day. . . . Can Hillary make it if she does not win big tomorrow? I think she is about done, but I think she was done a while ago but the media has been keeping her in by not pushing the fact she lost 11 straight. Any other person that had that record would have been buried by the press by now. Even with that fact folks say the press is hard on her and not on Obama. . . . . . I don’t know, I think the press is cutting them both a break. They like the Democrats, but maybe they like Obama a bit more.

She has a good commercial going in TX right now. I am sure you have heard about it. . .” it’s 3AM and a phone in the White House is ringing. . .” I think it plays well to the fact that Obama has no real experience where it counts and she does at least have some. No where near what McCain has but she has some. . . . and I guess Obama’s folks agree because they have started the misdirection on it with a push to call the ad raciest. I guess the kids PJs say Good Night on them but they claim all you can see is Good Nig and it is an intentional attack on Obama. Well, they got part of it right, it is an attack on him and his total lack of any experience with foreign policies but not on his race like they want you to think. They know a weak spot when they see it so time to make you look the other way.

This is a disturbing trend in the Obama camp. Every time someone says anything about his weak points or some issue they have with his polices it is not seen as legit, it is seen as an attack on his race. How can we comment on his actions when you are labeled a racist if you call him on anything. You think it is bad now, wait to see what happens if he is elected? Anything you say against him will mean that you are a racist.

I never thought I would say it but I hope Hillary does ok tomorrow. I think a good fight between the two of them would be great for McCain as they will spend money and votes trying to take each other out now, and hopefully piss off enough voters to get them to stay home in November. Add to this the Nader factor and it will look much better for McCain to win. At least he is just a liberal and not an outright communist. . . . Although no matter who gets in we will have to watch for their attacks on our constitution very carefully. . . .

Monday Model

SB2U Vindicator

These poor things were old and out of date at the start of WWII but they still went out and gave a good accounting of themselves at the start of the war. I built this one more to try to add/complete my collection of WWII aircraft than anything else. They are not a good looking aircraft but they worked. . . .