China is on the cutting edge of space exploration!!

China's space program took a majorly huge gigantic monstrous outrageous ground breaking step forward with a 13 minute space walk.

"This mission's success is a milestone; a stride forward," Premier Wen Jiabao said at mission control.

Except that the US did it 43 years ago, longer ago than the Chinastronaut that did it this time has been alive. Must suck to be the also ran to the US at nearly every turn.

Awesome parody

For whatever reason, the kookiness of hippies has been on display in overwhelming force of late. The Earth First Kooks are pretty much the weirdest of the bunch. I heard about this video from the Glenn Beck Show (nothin' like good ol' hardcore Conservative radio at work), who called it "the funniest video ever". I think it probably is, but the other one I found while searching out this one takes the prize. Whoever you two comedic geniuses are, I salute you! We are in the presence of greatness.

Here's the original vid. Makes me wonder, though: what are the chances that the drumstick that one dude has, and perhaps the drum head itself, aren't made from trees and animals? Just sayin'...


Now, as great as that vid is, check this one out. You're gonna love this!

How cool was that?

The left is so odd

Every now and then, I plug a word or phrase into Google and see where it goes. Today, the term was "zombie". That lead me to Zombietimes.com's Hall of Shame. That's a collection of photos from the site. It appears that they have quite the collection of sought-after photos.

While looking through the photos of freaks on the left, I came across this one:

Now, one of two things is going on there. One, since this is a lefty freak, we may have the appearance of a bearded lady. The other option: he's too dumb to notice that the gummint can't be in his ovaries. This is the kind of thing that I find so hilarious about the hard left. I don't even know if they notice how flat stupid they make themselves appear, on a constant basis.

Here's another fave:

I think her sign was supposed to read "Kennedy", and she just got distracted by a shiny thing or more drugs and made a mistake. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny "what a ma-roon".
And one last one:

Apparently, she's having a little trouble with her history...but what leftist whacko doesn't?

One last bit of advice for the nut jobs on the far left fringe: if you're gonna have a protest called "breasts not bombs", put the perky ones in front, and don't let the knee shooters have signs. Those of us that like boobs would really appreciate it. The way you did it 7/25/05 was rather hideous. Then again, hot girls with perkiness have no need of political exhibitionism. Quite a conundrum, isn't it?

Busy days...and nights!

I've wanted to post more often of late-I'll be dammed if I know why, but I do-but I have not been home. Typically, that would mean I'm off having fun, bustin' primers, barbie cue-ing, watching TEOTWAWKI training films, studying the art of Ludlow-Fu, or at least being away doing something that's more fun than not fun. That hasn't been the case of late.

The software package we used at work, CAM Commerce, has proven to be an unreliable, glitch-filled beast. The thing it does worst, tracking inventory, is what it was supposed to do best. Additionally, CAM didn't appear to be able to fix it. The unfortunate conclusion was that we changed software.

If you've never changed entire systems for a retail operation, you may not know how big a deal that is. Everything you have has to be exported from one system and loaded into another. CAM being a beast meant that we found that it didn't export everything. More work. We not only have a retail storefront operation, we also have a website that has its own inventory; essentially, two different stores. Yeah, its a big deal. It kept us closed for about five days as we worked long, long hours to get open again.

I hear a couple people asking "but don't you work in manufacturing?" Yeah, but not for a week I didn't. I've got another week in the showroom this coming week as Matt E. is down in Flo'da assisting with the running of another couple classes at Camp Ares. I should be going back to QC after this week, but I will probably be transitioning back to the showroom in the near future, which I'm very interested in doing.

On top of all that, we're supplying contractors for post-hurricane operations down Gulf-way. Our division supplies the contracting division, so again, extra hours are the name of the game. I was at work on Saturday again, from about 10:30 to about 11:00 last night, getting another shipment ready to be picked up. I'm on salary, so its not like I'm pulling overtime for all this, although the company takes care of me for the extra work.

So today, I'm catching up on reading other blogs, and keeping tabs on my forum. ;) I wish it was mine; I'm just responsible for running it. That's OK, its sort of a home away from home, and I'll be seeing a bunch of those regular members at SHOT in January. I'll be in San Diego for 11 days next month, which won't be getting here fast enough. I'm dyin' for some real Messican food!

I'm lovin' it. Thuh Raiduhs...suck again!

I'm on my way to bed to get enough sleep to be able to make it all the way through work tomorrow, but I've been watching Monday Night Foo'bah this evening; Thuh Raiduhs vs Denver.

I'm not a particular fan of Denver, since they're in the same division as my beloved Chargers. However, I'm a fan of whoever is playing Thuh Raiduhs. Denver is giving out a beatdown big time. When last I checked, it's 24-0 with 8:23 left in the 3rd. This will very likely get even uglier than it already has...and I'm all for it.

I'm just glad that Alice Davis has decided to continue with Thuh Raiduh's Commitment to Excrement. Thanks, Big Al, for not being able to leave foo'bah to the professionals. It's guaranteeing that Thuh Raiduhs are gonna suck for the foreseeable future...which, of course, I'm all about!!

Sunday Mack Fest: I love the grill!

Typically, I try to make something more interesting and fresh on Sundays. Not sure why that is, exactly, but I suspect its because I get bored eating stuff out of a box or can all the time. I pretty much always grill on Sundays, but the grub differs: chicken, biff, fishies or piles of pork are in a sort of alternating kinda...uh...thing. Today, it was pork chop time again.

The past two Saturdays, I've been at Crack Barrel with Top and Paul J. after going to the range. Since Top's wife was out of town, Saturday was even more leisurely than usual. Worked out well, though, because by the time we got to The Crack, I was quite famished. The Country Boy Breakfast with pork chops has proven to be the new favorite.

Even though I had the chops yesterday, I hadda have 'em again today. I got the recipe for Argentinian Style Porky Choppage from my bro Conndcj, a prosecutor in Connecticut that is my go-to authority on well made food recipes. As with most good recipes, this one was way simple: first, some pork chops. Drizzleate them with EVOO, then minced garlic, sea salt, and red flake pepper. He recommends using thin chops, which go pretty fast on the grill. When they come off, they look like this, though:

Trust me, they're better than the pic looks...and the pic makes me hungry again.

I added to that some steamed mixed corn (sweet baby corn and classic golden corn) with asparagus and carrots. Because this is clearly way too healthy, some three cheese garlic bread went on the grill, too. This time, I didn't burn it at all, which has been a garlic bread failing for me in the past. I like to cook fast. I'm finally learning to slow down! At any rate, the garlic bread was mackin', too.



Washed this down with a couple Newcastle Brown Ales. I had a couple Harps at my boss's bar on Thursday, too. That's the most beer I've had in a week in quite a while! I dunno how it happened, but I'm pretty much on the wagon most of the time anymore. Its not that I don't drink, because I still do in very moderate quantities (that's been the rule more than the exception for the past four or so years), but good beer in this area is both rare and expensive. Just not worth the investment anymore, I guess. Newcastle sure goes nice with pork, though.

Palin: Biden, you in trouble, dude.

I caught most of Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican convention this evening. I'm not gonna get too deep into it, because there are pundits on both sides spilling millions of electrons all across the Intardweb on it. I realize she didn't write the speech, but she totally killed delivering it.

I will say this, though: I think Joe "Five Years Longer in the Senate than McCain" Biden is in trouble. Its pretty damn clear that the lady can handle herself. If you like McCain for the Straight Talk Express, you're gonna LOVE Palin. She was direct, to the point, and clear in what she wanted to say. She didn't mince words. She was great.

This is only one speech, but if that's how comfortable she'll be in a debate, she's not gonna have much of a challenge from the incredibly arrogant Joe Biden. Its going to be difficult for him to attack her without looking like as ass, just because...well...he is an ass. He's got a long record of putting his foot in his mouth, and he has been on record as saying that Obama isn't ready to be president. Nobody likes Biden other than those in his district, who for some inexplicable reason, keep reelecting him. Northeastern white boys haven't helped the dem ticket. Biden is going to have that same problem.

OK, I read a lot into one speech. But I gotta say, Palin came off as the American version of Iron Maggie. I understand why she has an approval rating as the governor of Alaska of 80%. She's the highest rated governor in the country. If you look back over the history of the country, many governors have been our been our best presidents. Senators...that's a spottier record.

I won't be the only one voting for the Republican ticket more for the VP than the President, but I can get behind a lot of what McCain's about. Hopefully, Palin will be able to temper his more left leaning ideas. I think she can.

Here's a revelation: Oakley makes great eye pro!

I'm sure that title is blowin' your mind; nobody ever figgered that Oakley might be some of the cream deelie cream of eye protection and stylish shades. Gotta admit, that even if Oakley didn't make really high end, optically pure stuff, they have a unique combination of style and panache. Oakley is the supplier of shades to Megaforce...not to mention some other high speed friends of mine.

I started my journey with the Valves, specifically the Ducati limited edition version. The photo is by a dude named Boiworx. He does nice work!

I've been runnin' these for about four years now. Mine aren't as flawless as his, but they're still in good shape. They've been from Cali to Florida, and a couple points in between. Makes me look even cooler than I am in 'em.

Since most of the dudes I shoot with are/were either cops or soldiers, the ubiquitous (I just wanted to see if I could spell that word right the first time) M Frame are the eyewear of choice. That's to be expected: they're ANSI Z.87 rated (you can bounce stuff off 'em without blowing up your eyeballs) and, as with all the Oakley stuff, optically neato. That technical term means that they're clear, without distortion, all the way to the edge of the lenses. I was kinda bummed because I had a set of the very good Revision Sawflys. They're quite good, but they're not Oakleys. They're not the M Frame's equal in coolness. It really doesn't matter if you can shoot or not; if you're rockin' M Frames with Comtacs and a custom 1911 or a Glock, everyone there assumes you know what you're doing. The proving of that statement is up to you. lol!



I've wanted a pair of Half Jackets almost as long as I've had my Valves. I debated for quite some time as to whether I wanted the Valves or the Half Jacket XLJ's. The Valves won out because they were limited editions, and we had a few different types of Half Jackets to choose from. At the time, my employer was still an Oakley dealer and we could get product from them. That was shortly after the Gummint Sales Program was started, which made being an Oakley dealer outside an Army post unprofitable. But I digress. One of my SF bros recently offered a trade to me. He gave up a used pair of Half Jacket XLJ's for some customized sewing that I facilitated. I didn't do the sewing, I asked a pro to do it. And...wah lah! Half Jacket XLJ's are mine now!

After doing some research, I've come to find out that I can get Oakley to make me prescription lenses for these, too. I've got my eyes on the black iridium finish, for both my M-Frames and new-to-me Half Jackets. Then I won't even have to shoot. I can just hang out at the range and have everybody think I work for the CIA or somethin'. lol!

I know, I'm a geardo (aka gear whore, gear queer, etc). I can't help it; this stuff is too cool. There is no substitute for quality.

Bucky shoots and scores again with the Limpics.

This would be so much better if he wasn't a damn cat. In the end, though, right is right. The cat is right.

I don't know why, but there's something very funny about Toilet Bocci.

Not sold on homeopathics, but...

There was a dramatic shift in humidity yesterday, roughly doubling overnight. Because of that, I had a gargantuan sized bout of sinusitis. My sinuses were so clogged that leaning over to pick something up caused my cheek bones to hurt. I don't remember the last time I had this much sinus trouble.

It got to the point where I couldn't sleep because I couldn't breathe. I tried all the medications I had on hand, which admittedly was not a whole lot. It wasn't working. So, I hit up the Intardweb, and came across this page. Since nothing else was working, I tried the method of acupressure on that page, and was somewhat pleasantly surprised. I was not totally better in moments, but I was able to get my sinuses clear enough to breathe.

There's a guy who advertises on the local talk radio show (the music stations that are available at work...suck) is advertising that he bought a million copies of a book "that the drug making companies don't want you to read". Really? What's the cheapest a book can be published for? a buck? Two bucks? That's a million to two million dollars for a book. Yeah, I'm not pickin' up what he's layin' down. Homeopathics perhaps have their place, but they're not the only way, and I seriously doubt they're the "natural cures that the drug companies don't want you to know about". If they really worked, the drug companies would be marketing them and making a buck off 'em. That's why markets work.

Kinda sounds like the global warming scam on some levels, because there's no way that nuttiness works on the open market...unless, like Algore, you have a company that sells...nothing, really, which is what offsets are. Funny how BS doesn't float in an open market.

My sinuses are still not clear, but they're better. Now all I gotta do is get rid of this runny nose.

Bucky is clairvoyant on the Olympics

As you know, I'm no fan of cats, but sometimes cartoon cats get it right. See what Bucky has to say about the Limpics:

Denver Cops on the Ball

This is too great not to post to my little corner of the Intardweb. Speaking of Intards...don't dare the fine officer to "do it again". NSFW for some dirty, nasty, scumbag hippie profanity.

Goin' Home

After stopping by the Messican food place yesterday after the range, I came to the conclusion that I have to go home to get some real grub. There's no real Messican food here, and fresh seafood is non-existent. That is a no-go at this station. I got a round trip ticket on Southwest, non-stops both ways, for $325. I thought that was pretty good. Apparently, San Diego is far enough away that $130-something is about as cheap as it gets. I've yet to find a $49 fare from here to there.

I've flown Southwest for several years, and only once had a flight delayed. Unfortunately, that one delayed flight was going to Vegas for SHOT, so I missed the opening night meet-n-greet. That was a loss, because of my Intardweb celebrity. Its not for me; its a tradgedy for those people that don't get to meet the famous Haji. There will be a next year, though, at SHOT 09 in Orlando. Yeah, Vegas is better.

I like the people here, because so few of them are from here. Its like San Diego in that respect: military towns have people from all over, so it has less of a small-town feel. In most other ways, though, this is definitely small town, and that's not how I grew up. I need to get back to the big city, and San Diego is big enough. Nashville, which is about an hour from here, is about the size of one of SD's suburbs. Its a nice city, though. I just happen to like San Diego a lot better.

As you might imagine, Mom is pretty happy to hear that I'm coming home, and so are my brother and sisters. I gotta make time for SoCal LF'ers, too, and some friends from all over SoCal. I really need about a month off, instead of 11 days. lol!

How come I can't do this all the time?

Did this at a little over seven yards, left handed. The drill we were doing simulated getting shot and losing the use of one arm, and having to clear a stoppage before being able to use it again. Since you will likely have no use of the affected limb, the gun is retrieved from the ground. Since an spent cartridge is in the chamber, when the gun is sighted in, it goes "click" when one attempts to use it. The stoppage must be cleared, one handed (using the belt as a place to push the gun against to cycle the action is my favorite), reloaded, and fired at the target. Apparently, I was concentrating quite intently on the clearing, so I just brought the gun up in my left, hand, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger squeeze, follow through...and a center punch hit. I gotta work on doing that more often. Maybe I just need to shoot with my non-dominant hand with everything I fire. Who's got a 416?

The Limpics

I'm a big time sports nut. I love watching competition. Football, basketball, hockey, MMA, motor sports, competitive shooting...its all great. Baseball sucks bad, but there's gotta be something that sucks, so baseball wins. With that kind of a background, you'd think I'd be lovin' the Olympics.

The thing is...I've been horribly disappointed. Every time I get home from work, I turn on the TV and hope to see an interesting sport in Bay Jing. I'm dyin' with this coverage; gymnastics isn't sport, and the other stuff they're showing couldn't be more boring. Where's the shooting? I cought a bit of air rifle, and that was all I could find. Of course, the swimming events, with the amazing Michael Phelps, have been great, but few and far between. The Redeem Team has been straight smokin' opposition, beating them by more than 30 points a game. But I haven't seen any games in the past week! We're in the dang medal round, and I can't catch a game! I'm staying home tomorrow night to try to catch the game; IIRC, its the gold medal contest.

On top of all that, I'm still blown away that the IOC allowed China to have the games. True to Commie form, they didn't do the things they said they'd do: the smog is still horrible, the Intardweb access is not unfettered. They're not allowing their people to see the games, because they don't want them to assemble and protest.

The whole dang thing is sickitating. That the IOC was gullible enough to believe them calls their judgement into question, at the very least. Here's a news flash: Communists lie. All the damn time. If you were wondering why Russia is still in Georgia when they said they were pulling out, you haven't been paying attention. Commies lie. Make no mistake: when the former president and current "prime minister" of your country is former KGB, you're a commie country. Commies lie. I know, its a hard thing to fathom. Here, I'll repeat it again: Commies lie. Get it? Got it? Good!

I needed another reason to be hated

I stopped by a surplus store on the way back to work from lunch at the New Korea Buffet (mackin'!) that usually has some interesting stuff. I came across one of the best scores I've gotten in a while. Amidst all the stuff I didn't want, was something I did: a pair of Peltor Comtac I's.

They're used, but appear to be quite well taken care of, and are in better shape than the pair I already own. "WHAT!" I hear you exclaim. Yeah, you're loud enough to be heard over the Intardweb. Keep it down or the neighbors are gonna call the cops. But, since you're incredulous, you go on to exclaim "You already have one! What do you need another pair for?" Well, the reason for that is simple. They don't make the Comtac I's anymore. They've been replaced with the Comtac II's, which are, in many respects, a superior headset, especially if you wear them under a helmet. Ask Matt or The Big Johnson how good I look in a helmet. They gonna testify! LOL!

Where they fall down, and fall down badly in comparison, is in the way the battery doors attach. On the C-I's, the cover for the batteries is a screw-down lid. on the C-II's, its a friction fit "plug", which has been said to come loose at inopportune times.

Of course, being the low speed nobody that I am, that's never happened to me. However, it has been said by considerably more high speed somebodies that the issue exists. So, even though I'm highly unlikely to ever see that matter-at the range or in a class is as close as I would ever get without the Zombpocalypse-I gotta look like I'm "in the know" by being one of the old school guys. "Yeah, I really like the Comtac I's better. Can't believe they were ever discontinued"...as I stand there lookin' Tactically Delicious with a custom 1911 or lightly modified Glock 19 and high speed lookin' carbine with expensive parts on it, decked out in the latest in fashionable tactical nylon gear (from ATS, of course. Gotta pimp the company ride!).

Also, notice the sexy new Magpul trigger guard! I like that part a LOT.


Oh, yeah. I got the Comtacs for $40.

Zombie hordes: where to find 'em

I've been dabbling in the arena of the Zombpocalypse for a while now, from movies to books to Intardweb activity. That being the case, I've managed to find a few forums on the topic, which have been occasionally helpful and occasionally a source of frustration (just ask Top how many times his hair has been on fire. LOL!). Overall, though, there is quite a bit to be gained on a variety of topics...and its fun. Here's some of my regular haunts:
Zombie Squad

Hotel 23

All Things Zombie

There are some others out there, but I haven't visited them all...yet. Takes time, since I have other forums of interest to attend to. I can't put off washing the dishes forever.

Courage, strength, and perseverence. I gotta warn you, this will be humbling.

Mark Campbell is an officer in the Canadian Army. Recently, he was WIA in Afghanistan, The following is copied from his post at Lightfighter.net explaining what happened and what is happening now. I have to say, this post humbled me, and at the same time, confirmed that I have a lot of work to do on myself. His attitude in amazing and inspiring. This is the quality of service personnel we have in this fight. We owe them all a debt I fear we will never fully understand, much less ever be able to repay.

Howdy Fellow LFers,

First and foremost, I'm still alive and kicking so no "memorial" stuff is required at this point. Second, many thanks for all of your well-wishes and associated kind words. All is as well with me as can be expected under the circumstances. I had a "bad day" in Siah Choy (Zhari District) back on 01 Jun, but it certainly wasn't the end of the world. Indeed, I am quite thankful that aside from the loss of both legs above the knees, I am 100% good to go. In other words, the same old me - for better or for worse!

To satisfy any natural curiosity, I was hit by a comd-detonated AP mine that initiated a complex ambush against the ANA coy that I was accompanying on a village clearance op. The blast threw me straight up and slightly backwards such that I landed just behind the blast seat on my back. I did a crunch and saw that both legs were gone below the knees. I yelled for assistance and managed to get a CAT around my left stump before attending troops took over my care under fire. Both legs were tourniquetted and I was extracted under fire to a secure location while the coy engaged the enemy under the very capable guidance of one of my coy mentoring teams. I remained conscious throughout, which turned out to be a PITA due to the incredible degree of pain I was in.

Three other members of my HQ were evacced with me, including my Med Sgt, who provided life-saving treatment to me while simultaneously treating himself for blast-related concussion. There was a running gun battle back to the designated HLS that lasted about an hour, followed by a 25-minute helo ride to KAF and 30 minutes of in-processing at the Role 3 Forward Surgical Hospital. By that point I was literally begging to be rendered unconscious via anesthetic, as the pain was totally out of control. That was by far the worst part of the entire episode - feeling every single second of the 2 hours it took to finally get some pain relief.

I underwent intial surgery at the Role 3 in KAF, and was then air-evacced to Landstuhl Germany. Once I was anethesized at the Role 3, I was kept unconscious for the better part of a week aside from a couple of occasions where they woke me up for various assessments and phone calls. I was intubated and kept in intensive care due to blast damage to my lung tissue which compromised oxygen processing. Once I regained consciousness, I remained in the Landstuhl ICU for a further 5 days before being placed in the general ward. My repat to Canada was delayed as a result of the lung damage, which impacted my ability to fly at altitude under normal pressurization. Eventually all was well, and I flew from Germany to Edmonton via Airbus and Challenger.

I have been in the Isolation Ward of the U of Alberta Hospital for just over two weeks now, where my wounds have undergone follow-on treatment. Initially the treatment consisted of debriding and irrigating the wounds every 2 days IOT ensure the presence of healthy tissue suitable for skin grafting. I still had a lot of dead tissue in and around my wounds as a result of the blast and the Afghan "super-bug" that I contracted. After a week of dressing changes and cleanings the surgeons were able to conduct the initial skin-grafts required to create suitable stumps for prosthetic legs. The donor tissue came from my upper thighs, which added a whole new level of discomfort. Morphine, Dilaudid, OxyContin, etc, have become my new bestest friends! Anyhow, as of today the docs assess that the graft on my right leg is 100% successful. The graft on my left leg is only 85% healthy, due to the fact that my left thigh took the worst of the blast damage and therefore requires the most reconstruction. If all goes according to plan, one more surgery this coming weekend will sort out the graft on my left stump and put both at 100% so that I can get on with healing and rehab.

I will remain at the U of A Hospital for a few more weeks to let my stumps heal, then transition to the Glenrose Hospital (still in Edmonton) for 3 to 6 months of in-patient amputee rehab. The length of my stay in rehab will depend entirely upon my personal rate of progress through the recovery programme. The good news is that the Glenrose provides cutting-edge/state of the art amputee treatment. There will be plenty of hard work, but | can expect to see maximum return on my rehab efforts.

The support and assistance that I have received throughout every stage of my injury, evacuation and treatment to date has been superb. As you can appreciate, there are still many unanswered questions that need to be addressed, but for the most part my immediate requirements have all been met. My family, friends, co-workers and the various institutional representatives have all been incredibly supportive thus far. My Wife of 18 years has been a rock-solid port in some pretty stormy seas of late. My friends, spanning 27 years of military service, have rallied around my family and shown their true colours. One could not hope for better friends, and I consider myself a very rich man for their company. Likewise, the various military institutions that affect me have been tremendous in their support, starting with a personal visit by the Canadian Forces Chief of Defence Staff (Gen Rick Hillier) and working down the chain through the Army, my Regiment (the PPCLI), and my unit (3rd Bn, PPCLI). I honestly couldn't ask for more in terms of assistance and support in dealing with my current challenges.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that I am doing fine despite my recent set-back. Yeah, the Taliban bastards managed to wing me. They didn't kill me though - just slowed me down a bit. I'm a partial mobility kill, nothing worse. My injuries will heal and my mobility will eventually improve. I am pleased to say that this is much more than a large number of former Taliban can boast. We did some very good killing on the ops immediately preceeding and during my injury with an extremely high "exchange rate". No doubt the lop-sided killing has continued in my absence....

Life has thrown some new challenges in my path, but at the same time there are new opportunities to be exploited. I just need to figure out what those opportunities are and how they apply to me in order to chart a suitable way ahead for myself and my family. First things first though - for now I need to focus on mending and regaining my mobility. I'll worry about the long-term stuff later.

That is about all I have to report for now. Many thanks again for your concern and your individual well-wishes! That means a lot to me coming from such a distinguished group of BTDT fellow warriors.

Soldier on, no regrets!

Mark Campbell (aka "Stumpy") :Smile:

PS. Here's a link to a recent article with embedded video featuring my mentoring team on ops. The op occurred way back in April before the campaign season really ramped up. As a result, there isn't any kinetic contact. Still, the reporter manages to pretty accurately capture the typical mix of friction-induced stupidity and tactical success. A good intro for those not familiar with ongoing NATO efforts to professionalize the ANA. Enjoy!

http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2008/07/assi...teesh-bazi/#more-994

The Zombie Mythos: distilling the suspension of disbelief

My bro Top and I have been on a quest of late to catch up on the Zombie movies we've missed. I've seen a few more of them than he has because our schedules for study (in a semi-reclined position, which is, of course, tactical because we typically have a carbine around) haven't matched up all that well of late. That will happen when one member of the team is married and the other is a slob bachelor. lol

Most of what we've been watching, re-watching, and studying have been Romero films. He's clearly one of, if not the, preeminent authorities on this topic. I think he's probably got more time invested in the whole theme than just about anybody else. There are others, of course, but some just don't make any sense. Part of the appeal is the ability to suspend one's disbelief, and if the mythos doesn't jibe with the physical laws and accepted norms, then suspension of disbelief becomes quite difficult.

That said, I've come to some conclusions as to the world of the mobile undead. I tend to dismiss the concept of voodoo zombies out of hand, mostly because they don't fit the definition very well. To be a zombie, one must die and be reanimated, while voodoo zombies are made through various non-physical means. They're created by some other nefarious force, typically an individual or group of individuals. That precludes the overtaking of the world with zombies: there simply won't be enough of them to do much more than to have their evil overlords overtake an island or other smaller geographic area.

There are a couple other theories that make a modicum of sense, but that will make this entry far longer than I intend for it to be. I'm trying to document my thoughts and not bore the hell out of the two people that read my musings.

So what does make sense? The virus idea holds the most merit, both in how it starts and how it is transferred between infected and non-infected. There seems to be equal credibility for both the most common theories: that the virus was man-made and a mistake that got loose, or that it is an exotic virus transferred through pests like bot flies. I was told by a medic friend of mine that the "bot" in bot fly is short for "botulism". If you've ever seen video of bot flies being removed from a person or critter (search You Tube), its pretty easy to see how bugs could be the original culprit. From there, a virus could easily be spread by way of the accepted means: the bite.

Which brings us to the most asked and debated question about zombies that there is: high speed, or slow and shambling? While I appreciate the emotional elements that high speed zombies bring to a film, the idea doesn't hold up to scrutiny in light of the subject being a migratory dis-exanimate. Because the virus is causing the re-animation, the body is not living in the accepted sense of the word. Therefore, there will be atrophy and decay, which would preclude the ability of the musculature and infrastructure of the locomotive partially-deceased to support high speed movement. Also, a virus always affects a body negatively. Ever had a cold or viral infection that made you feel better? High speed zombies, after a short while, must have failure of their sustentacular tissues. (Go ahead and look it up, its a real word.:))

To sum up, the mythos of the zombie appears to be best described by George Romero's conception of them. While he doesn't go into much detail as to how they become the ambulatory unresting, his conceptions of how they would move the actions they would take appear to have a basis in science. Along the lines of the T-Virus from The Resident Evil series, that they feed appears to be a deep rooted instinct, not a requirement. That, too, seems to be at least within the realm of possibility.

I may decide to delve into this further in the future, as there are a couple more things that I think need to be expressed. My mind is wandering a little too much right now to continue.

Holy cow, I can't stop myself!

I can't seem to stop myself. Granted, I stated I was going to do this, but...dang! Hello, my name is Haji and I have a gun parts addiction. lol!

As previously noted, I dig the Buffer Tech Battlegrip, but its too thin for my bear paw type hands. To solve that problem, I replaced it with a Magpul MIAD. I got the full set, which comes with the front strap that has the built in trigger guard. Problem is, it still has a finger rest on it, which I hate more than the thought of an Obama/Clinton ticket. So, I slapped the flat front strap on the MIAD. Now, though, I have a gap between the grip and the trigger guard. That was problematic, so I added the Magpul aluminum trigger guard. It fills the gap, which is what I wanted most of all, but it has the added benefit of lookin' cool. Since I don't have all that much ammo for the carbine, if I can't shoot it, I can make it look cool!

This isn't my rifle; the pics belong to Magpul. Take a look at that rifle. Does it look like the roll pin hasn't been put in the trigger guard yet?

July 4th: some perspective

I'm half watching, half listening to the History Channel's The Revolution as I write this. Taken in total, that our nation was ever able to be formed, much less succeed and prosper is an amazing thing, and shows divine intervention over and over again. In school, we get the textbook information of dates and names, which is boring. If I had been taught the truths of what was really going on, I would probably have a much, much different view of history in those days, and I would not have taken all these years to understand what was at stake.

The English felt that they were treating the Colonies fairly, and had just spent a whole bunch of money defending them by whuppin' the French in the French and Indian War. The Colonists, obviously, felt quite differently about it. They were being taxed without any representation in England for their concerns, problems, or grievances. The Colonists came to a place where they knew they were not going to have things getting better under the King of England, and they were being oppressed. They decided it was time to throw off that tyranny. As a kid, I remembered thinking, "Well, yeah. Of course they would. That's an easy choice". What they were really facing was much more grave than I was able to understand for a long, long time.

Simply by signing the Declaration of Independence, our Founders took their lives in their hands. Think about what was going on there: John Hancock, the first signer, put his name at the top, literally defiance writ large. The King will know his name and he's made himself a target. That doesn't just mean he can be arrested, although it includes that. No Miranda rights, no civil liberties being recognized. In addition to risking being killed, he also risked his family and friends. Mr. Hancock could have been tortured and maimed. Being declared guilty of sedition didn't mean they'd just haul you out and hang you or shoot you. Being executed didn't have to be quick and painless. It could be much worse than that. Given the rights we now enjoy because of the Framer's work, it's easy to neglect what a big deal that is. Try to imagine the consequences of what he was facing. If you don't at least think "wow", you're not grasping he situation.

But because he and the rest of the Founding Fathers knew what they were getting into and stood to anyway, we have the nation that we have now, the best place in the world to be. Don't let July 4th pass as just a day you grill some food and don't have to go to work. It is that, and I have cherished memories of celebrating the 4th with friends and family, but it is so much more. It is a day in which we must, as American citizens, citizens of the greatest nation ever to exist on the planet, reflect on what we've been given and what was risked to make it happen.

God Bless America.

Wanted: another of the patented quick reviews

Went to see "Wanted" this evening with Top and JAG, since JAG is PCS-ing to Virginia and I'm unlikely to see him anytime soon. The word is: don't. Despite a couple funny lines and a nice butt shot of Angelina Jolie, the gun stuff was stupid and the movie sucks overall. If you're into guns at all, don't bother. It'll piss you off on so many levels, I can't even count 'em all.

Latest pics of Schwaggie: new stuff installed again!

I have generous friends; I am truly a blessed individual. As I posted about in regards to the last range session a couple posts down from this one, I've found that I shoot better without my vertical grip. That created a need not to get burned by my rail, which is known to get hot. Enter my bro M4Guru, who schwagged me the Knight's rail panels you see in the new pics. Now I have good rail coverage to keep from getting burned, and I can still use the rail against barricades and such without undue damage. Yeah, it makes me happy.

In terms of tekneek, what worked, and worked noticeably better for me, was to grasp the fore end just behind where the front sight tower is. My thumb wraps around the top of the rail running pretty much parallel to where the cut for the FSP is on my rail. My index and middle fingers are reaching forward a little bit; I've messed with using my index finger to point towards the target, but I need to experiment with that some more to see if there's any merit or improved performance from it. The one thing I'm trying to do, though, is to grab as much rail as I can, so the gun can be pulled into my shoulder. What I'm talking about is really getting behind and on top of the gun as I can; I find that when I aggressively pull that thing into my shoulder and lean into it, the muzzle hardly moves at all, and I'm getting nice, tight groups with adequate speed. I say adequate because I've never been, in my mind, a fast shooter. Matt E. has a timer that I think I gotta do some work with.

I also added a Magpul MIAD, set up in the fattiest fat fat configuration available. I love the Tango Down Battle Grip; its one of the best designs available. However, I have giant bear paw hands, and that grip is just a little too skinny front to back for me. I set up the MIAD as much like a fat ass Battlegrip as I could. I got the full kit, and would have used the trigger guard option if it didn't have that damnable finger rest on it. At first glance, the nublet on that part is hollow, so if I shaved it or filed it off, it'd probably leave a hole. I'm considering filling it with epoxy or something and shaving it, but it seems more likely that I'll pick up the Magpul aluminum trigger guard, which will solve the problem of the gap at the trigger guard, too. Getting a Gapper would be a less expensive solution, but this is a carbine we're talkin' about. If you don't have a boat, and I don't, the rule is that you spend all that disposable income on the gun. Its just the law.

Another new part is the Viking Tactics padded VTAC sling. I just put that on there, and don't have enough experience with it yet to make a real determination on it yet. It appears that the padding is set back further than it should have been, but I think I still need to mess with the adjustments a little before I decide if that's the case. I like the extra travel due to the longer straps; that seems to be solving my problem rather handily. It adjusts a little faster than my VCAS, but I'm not sure that's as much of an advantage as it appears to be at first blush.


Incidentally, that mark that looks like blue paint on my LaRue M68 mount, is in fact blue paint on my LaRue M68 mount, and the upper receiver. I marked the Troy Battlesight the same way, although the mounting screw is on the other side of the gun, so the mark on the receiver for it is, too. The purpose is twofold: first, it is a quick visual reference to see that everything is still tight, and secondly, if either of the sights get removed for whatever reason, they can be put back in the same place easily. Yet another jewel gleaned from Black Eyes and Green Rifles.

Unfortunately, The Big Johnson is on leave and Top's wife's B-day was today, so we didn't go to the range like we normally would have. I thought about just going and shooting for a bit, but I end up using up more ammo than I intend to when I do that, and I don't have the added benefit of being pushed out of my comfort zone by shooting with guys who are better than me. Instead, I did some more work on building my Intardweb Celebrity. It is a never ending task. Such is the lot of the Online Famous.

The Happening: The Quick Review

Just got back home after watching The Happening with Top and JAG. I could have saved eight bucks. I hear about Global Warming all day long, on the radio, in the news, and everywhere else I turn. I didn't need M. Night Shamalyan to make a movie about it.

The thing that's not scary about this flick is that nobody gets murdered. Suicide is not all that scary, and it should have started in Europe, rather than ended there. They're figuring out that Global Warming is hogwash (HA! When was the last time you saw that word on a blog?), since they've been taxed to death over it already, and its getting worse, according to those who make money on it. Recent polls show they've had enough of it. The movie shoulda killed them all off first, before America finally understands that its all hooey and people like Algore (who's mansion in TN is using 10% more power with all his eco-friendly upgrades and replacements than it was originally) are making BIG MONEY off of it.

Save your money; skip the latest Global Warming Movie.

Another myth: the lining up of the gas rings.

The gas leak from "the aligning of the gas rings" on an AR bolt thing is an old wive's tale that's been going around and around, and repeated by gun writers to the point that it's become fact without proof. Seems to be more proof that most gun writers don't know as much about guns as you do.

The gas rings act a bit like an "o" ring would if one could be used in that location. When the bolt is in the retracted position, or is out of the bolt carrier, the rings are relaxed, and as such, have gaps in them. The reason for that is that the rings need to compress as the firing cycle takes place. They couldn't do that very well if they couldn't be collapsed, could they? Think about it. When the rings are working, THERE'S NO DAMN GAP!!! Alignment of the gas ring's gaps, in that case, don't mean anything, because they're not there when the rings are working.

What you need to know about gas rings is that if one of them is working properly, the gun will work. If all three are worn to the point that they don't work, the gun will choke, even with a proper amount of oil on it. The test is to push the bolt into the "closed" position in the carrier, and hold the bolt inverted. If the bolt moves to the "open" position under the weight of the bolt, your gas rings are worn and need to be replaced. Install some new ones and test. If the bolt doesn't move to the open position, your rings are good and you need to get on with wearing another set out.

Do yourself a favor and take what gun writers say with a grain, on up to a brick, on up to a shipping container, of salt.