Woke up before I should have this morning. I got up to use the bathroom and heard my father wandering around downstairs and the dog was whining, so I decided to stay up. That was a bad idea. I was groggy all day. LOL!

First thing done once mom got home from the store was to open presents. I got a purple nightgown, which I was in horrible need of. Got two new nutcrackers to add to my collection, and they were good ones. One was a Santa coming out of a chimney and the other was a gingerbread man! They are so cute! I'll get pictures up here eventually. Got antlers to wear to work and they blink and all! My yearly Hess truck (yes, I collect the Hess trucks). And the funniest gift ever... a big red nose and a set of antlers to put on my car! LOL! I haven't put them on yet, but I want to get out early tomorrow and put the nose on the grill. I can't put the antlers on until I leave the highway. I saw someone on the highway with them today, but the box says, "Not for highway use" and you know, with my luck, I'd either lose one or it would break. Got a $100 gift card for gas, which will come in handy since I'm low on cash now with the holidays. And Lily got me a $45 gift card for the place I get my pedicures, so that should cover two pedicures. :)

We went to the art museum for the "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism" exhibit. It was pretty good. I was way groggy during it (which is weird. I was groggy for this special exhibit and sick for the last one. I'm cursed for special exhibits). But I discovered a few things during the tour:

1. I really don't like Monet.

2. I do really like Daubigny.

3. I really need to get to the eye doctor.

I was having an awful time reading the cards next to the paintings. Normally I would attribute that to my groggy state as being tired really messes with my eye sight. But I added that onto the fact that I can't see the front sight on my rifle anymore. I think it's time to hit the eye doctor.

Came home and I watched some TV, then we went to Xanki for dinner (Japanese). Got stuffed beyond belief there. Came home and found out my father had bought sushi while we were there and snuck it home so I could have it later. :)

Had an ice cream cake. Always love the ice cream cake. LOL!

So it was a pretty good birthday, really. Sitting here on the internet drinking strawberry tea and reading the massive amount of "happy birthday" emails from forums. I am a member of far too many forums. I only regularly visit two of them, but I got emails from 12 gun forums, 1 bellydance forum, 1 gardening forum, 1 debate forum, and 1 other I don't recall.
 

Well, it is officially my birthday! YAY! PRESENTS! LOL!

Me and the folks are going out for lunch then we plan to spend the afternoon at a special exhibit at the art museum. Then we hit the Japanese restuarant for dinner. Sounds like a good, busy day tomorrow.

P.S. I'm 28. I must be getting closer to 30 because someone asked me the other day how old I was going to be... and I forgot. No shit. I also keep writing the wrong year for my birth. Go figure.
 

Well, day one of my vacation was well spent. Spent the afternoon at the air show. It was a bit of a time getting in, but much worse getting out. There wasn't nearly enough guys there to handle that amount of people. I started to leave while the Thunderbirds were still performing because I had a bad feeling it would be three hours in line if I didn't. It was a good move. I still saw the whole show, but was able to get onto a bus after only about 30 to 45 minutes in line.

And I know I say it all the time, but people are really fatally stupid sometimes. Patience really is a virtue. There isn't much you can do when you are trying to fit 100,000 people onto about 30 buses. If it was even that many buses. And one or two guys dealing with each line... yeah, it is going to be some time. So some asshole decides to just about start a riot. There are tired people sweating in line with children, many of which proved to be terrified and screamed every time a plane came in sight. Everyone was aggitated. So this guy starts ranting and finishes with, "There are way more of us than there are of them (note: he speaks of the Air Force guys trying to keep order), we can take them!"

To which I couldn't help but yell back, "Only if you can run faster than their rifles can fire!" Oddly enough, it settled most down pretty fast. Even got a few laughs.

Anyway, I got a sunburn like I haven't had in years. I was coated down in sunblock, too, which is why I don't understand. My face and chest are burned, the rest of me is fine. And I have the oh so lovely pasty white area where my sunglasses were. So I guess it happened toward the end since I kept my glasses off most of the show because I couldn't see the screen on the camera with them on. Must have worn off or something. It isn't supposed to run when you sweat, at least that's what the bottle said.

So, if you have a few moments and like military aircraft as much as I do, I have photos and videos.

Photos of the stuff on the ground:
http://public.fotki.com/Scars19/the_horrors_and/usaf-thunderbirds-a/

And if you have a few minutes, I had a good deal of useable video, too. I think only one is over 2 minutes, only a few are around a minute, most are only a few seconds. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApbbXcV06sk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQxYBxMaSeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcugKd5n47E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijfx2ZdCicc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa5MLHQQZLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrXkUdRF2Lg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HKbuxFie4k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrRggpxnPNE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcrwnvB4UnA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV0whup2fiA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOAgiziuUK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2CF49eKQFI

 

Had an odd thought today and wanted to bring it up, as well as at least one response I received from it.

I had to drop by the hospital today to pick something up for my dad. It's the hospital he had his surgery in and still goes to on occasion to see the one doctor. So I have some experience from hanging out in this place about what's up in there.

So I see signs all over the hospital happily proclaiming that the entire grounds are now smoke free (meaning you can't smoke outside) for the health of everyone around. They originally had specific areas you could smoke at outside that were away from the entrances and general human traffic and they were the only areas where smoking was allowed, but they did away with them. Which is great, it is, after all, a heart hospital. Promoting good heart health is a good thing.

But I got this feeling. I remember from visiting dad, so I had to check this thing out. Before I left, I walked into the cafeteria to see if anything had changed since last time. It hadn't.

Their cafeteria is immense. However, most of the food is fried. I kid you not; you are hard pressed to get something to eat there that wasn't deep fried or in some way saturated in lard. The one time me and mom ate there we both ended up with a bowl of lettuce and a few tomatoes (not really a salad; you couldn't get a carrot or a cucumber to save your soul, and tomatoes were tough, too. We got our "salad" from, literally, a fixings bar) and a glass of water because neither one of us really enjoys fried food. And that was all we could get.

Sure enough, it was the same story today. They even have a fast food restaurant in there, a chicken place, where all the chicken is fried. It's Chik-Fil-A. I have only eaten there once and realized the breading on the chicken tasted like a zepoli. For those who do not know what a zepoli is, think funnel cake, but instead of it being in that waffle like pattern it is just globs of dough. Which means this is some sweet tasting fried chicken. Not sweet meaning "sweeeeeet!" but sweet meaning sugary.

I brought my thought up at the front desk. "I noticed your signs stating smoking isn't allowed on campus."

"No, ma'am, we are very concerned with the health of everyone here, being a heart hospital."

"Uh huh. And being a heart hospital, why is it that 98% of the food in your cafeteria is fried? Every Joe Blow knows fried foods aren't exactly good for the heart. Enough fried everything will kill you faster than someone smoking 100 feet away from you."

I mentioned this to my mom, knowing she would recall our battle for something non-fried to eat there. "Well, right now it is politically correct for you to jump all over smokers and the overweight."

And she's right. Of course, they haven't, apparently, taken the overweight battle on yet, either. Their concern for the health of everyone there is bullshit. If it wasn't, they would focus on more heart healthy foods in the cafeteria where all their nurses and doctors (and I mean all) eat. Your guests and even some of the more mobile patients all eat there. Having a few fried things is fine. But when you have to jump over the counter and strangle someone for a piece of lettuce because it is the only thing in the area that isn't fried, then your claims of heart health concerns are bullshit. You just don't want to hear Mary Lou GranolaBar bitch about someone smoking in their car in the parking lot a mile away from the hospital. So admit it. And it isn't like there is anywhere for these people to drive for lunch. There is nothing around the hospital. The nearest thing to them is a strip mall a few miles down the road, and that requires you to sit in near stand still traffic on a major road near an exit for a major highway. No one has a long enough lunch period to do that. And doctors and nurses can't risk it in case of an emergency.

 

... don't think the two are related.

I found a card like that once and sent it to a friend. Couldn't resist. LOL! But I do have gas. Men folk, skip to the next paragraph. Any of you ladies get gas real bad when you are getting ready for your period, or is it just me?

So, I'll have another entry for my new community, but I'll post it here. Now, I'm not a Grammar Nazi or anything, but I do expect good grammar in things handed out to the public. I won't name the gun company, but there is one that has these booklet things for distribution to our customers. I noticed a lovely grammar error. "Show your proud..." Now, there are two ways this could have been fixed. A) "Show your pride..." or B) "Show you're proud..." I know people like my mother will not shop at stores with spelling or grammar errors on signs or what not, anything given to or visible by the public. And I understand her reasoning and know there are a lot of people like that out there. So it makes it me wonder why we don't have someone proof read these things. I mean, seriously. In the case of booklets and what have you they should be proof read by no less than three different people before being sent for printing. Not just a spell checker. Just my two cents.

Next random topic of the day, another Readers' Digest thing. According to an article in the latest Readers' Digest, when it comes to humor I must be the anti-woman. Check this out.

His and Her Funny Films

5 for Men
1. Blazing Saddles
2. Caddyshack
3. Office Space
4. Trading Places
5. Meet the Parents

5 for Women
1. When Harry Met Sally...
2. 9 to 5
3. Annie Hall
4. Clueless
5. Tootsie

We Watch Together
1. There's Something About Mary
2. Airplane!
3. Hitch
4. Analyze This
5. Ratatouille

Ok, out of the men's movies, I only like the first three because I haven't seen the last two. Out of the women's, I only like 9 to 5 (never heard of Annie Hall, refuse to watch Clueless because it just looks far too stupid-overdone-blonde-joke for my liking). Out of the together films I like Airplane! and Analyze This, haven't even heard of the other three.

The whole article is basically saying that men and women see funny differently for various reasons that can be found in their gender make up. So where the fuck does that leave me?! LOL!

 

I just watched a video on YouTube. It was a young woman who's husband was apparently involved in an accident while showing someone his gun. The long and short of it, he apparently never cleared the weapon, found it necessary to turn off the safety, and shot himself in the stomach. So because of that, I thought a reminder of the basic rules of gun safety was called for. I won't do it there just yet as she is someone I am subscribed to and don't want her to take it as though I am taking this accident lightly or trying to insult her or her husband. But I think if people - especially those of us who are around guns a lot and may grow complacent- remembered these rules like religion there would be a lot less accidents of this nature.

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

That direction has to be determined by common sense. If the direction you choose is up, make sure of what "up" is. Does it point to the second floor of your home where your children are playing? Are there beams where a round could ricochet and hit you? Always determine, using common sense and your own knowledge, what a safe direction really is.


2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

Most of these "accidents" occur when someone has their finger on the trigger. A gun in good condition won't just go off. I piss off a lot of new shooters daily when showing them guns and I keep repeatedly telling them, "finger off the trigger." There is a reason. A big mistake I see a lot of people make is closing the slide with your finger on the trigger. Well, if the gun was loaded you just chambered a round and your finger is bouncing off the trigger. You're gonna fire it if you keep doing that. No maybes about it; you will eventually discharge that weapon when you didn't mean to. Even if you are 100% sure the gun is unloaded... KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER! If you keep doing that it becomes second nature and your finger will automatically go up alongside the frame or slide instead of right to the trigger.


3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

I keep one gun in my house loaded at all times. It is my home protection gun. This gun is not to be touched at all, ever. While this is a good rule, it isn't an easy one for someone with a home defense weapon. In a moment of need everything is going on in a crazy way. You're scared, shaking, adrenaline is pumping... there are a lot of chances for a mistake, especially for the vast amount of people who buy a gun for home defense and never practice with it. You may not be able to load the gun. You may forget to chamber a round. You may load it wrong. You may not load it fast enough. I am a huge supporter of keeping guns unloaded in a home with children in it. But for me, I will admit I keep my revolver loaded at all times. It used to be the Sig, but when she went out of commission, I removed the ammo. Same with the Bersa. When I get home at night and it comes out of concealment it gets unloaded. Its job for the day is over.

4. ALWAYS assume the gun is loaded.

This, in my mind, is one of the most important rules. Every gun is loaded, always. Never assume a gun is unloaded. Even in a gun shop when the sales person pulls it out of the case, if they don't clear the gun, do it yourself. Then ask them to please clear the guns before handing them to you. I never accept a gun with the action closed. Either way, when handling a gun, assume it is loaded. The rules above must click into place right away.

Some of my own rules:

DO NOT point the gun at anyone.

I get guns pointed at me daily. "Well, it isn't loaded." See rules 4 and 1 above. You can inspect a gun, work the action, put it away, etc. without having the barrel point at anyone at any time.

That gun is not a toy.

Do not handle guns as if they were water pistols. Always respect your firearm and it will respect you. Again, even if you are 100% sure the gun is unloaded, it is not ever a toy. Play shooting a real gun can lead to accidents down the line. Jokingly pointing a gun at your head can lead to accidents down the line. It is a tool, not a toy. If you want to play with a gun, get a water pistol.

Don't be a show off.

My friends all know I have guns. If they want to see them, they need to meet me at the firing range. Period. I didn't buy my guns as a status thing or to be cool or to make my friends freak out. I bought them for personal protection, family protection, competition shooting, and target shooting. Each of my guns has its role and job. None of them include being shown off. Again, if you want to see and handle my weapons, meet me at the range.

Just because you are or have been military/law enforcement it doesn't mean you know everything.

People assume the safest people with guns are military and law enforcement personnel. And while they generally have more training with their guns, it does not mean they are free of accidents. We've had two discharges at our store, and one was by a uniformed police officer. No one is exempt from the rules of safe gun handling and no one should assume they know everything. Unfortunately, people with a lot of training and those who spend a lot of time with or around guns (which stretches out to hunters, competition shooters, gun sales people, etc.) sometimes grow a little complacent with guns. These rules apply to every single person always. And if they remain front and center in your mind, your chances of an accident are lowered greatly.

 

Just FYI:

Hello everyone…

In mid-August, we will be updating our Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy to place more restrictions around gun-related items. Once these changes take effect, we will prohibit listings of any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun. This includes items like bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. Please read the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy for more details on our current policy.

As you may know, eBay does not allow the listing of any items which are regulated by individual states or the federal government; however, there are still a large number of firearm-related parts that are legal and are widely available in retail stores. These items have also historically been allowed on eBay.

After learning that some items purchased on eBay may have been used in the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, we felt that revisiting our policies was not only necessary, but the right thing to do. After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc. – have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require.

This new update continues to encourage safety among our community members and brings our policies in the U.S. and Canada in closer alignment with our existing policies in other markets around the globe.

Sincerely,
Matt Halprin
Vice President, Trust & Safety

First of all, what items did he get from eBay to use to kill all those students at VT? I seem to remember the guns were bought the day before, legally, at a local gun store. I'm sure they came with magazines and that he bought extras there and he probably bought factory load ammo at the shop as well. I doubt he went home and spent the afternoon reloading .22s. Seriously though, wtf did he buy on eBay?

Second, I shut down my eBay account after they deleted my gun related auction... for a holster. Usually holsters hold guns, which means they are not causing an issue at that moment in time (and normally, with crazed gunman, you tend to see a lack of holsters. A lot of times you see them just shove them into their waste bands because it far more gangsta do it that way). So unless you plan to bludgeon someone to death with a leather gun holster, it is pretty benign.
 

So not too long ago I got something into my head. I have this shotgun. This shotgun has a big, long barrel on it. I shoot at paper targets all the time, which is not all that amusing with a shotgun after a while. So lets try shooting something that moves! A little challenge, no? Let's try... sporting clays!

Now, for anyone who has never shot sporting clays, let me explain what it is, mostly because it hasn't been too long since I figured out the difference between skeet, trap, and sporting clays. Don't laugh, I don't do this stuff often. Sporting clays is a series of posts where there are two things that fire out clay pigeons. There isn't much of a pattern, each post or station has a different set up. Sometimes you are on the ground and sometimes you are in a stand, sometimes the clays come from the same general area, sometimes they cross, sometimes they bounce along the ground, etc. It is suppossed to be the closest thing to hunting, especially bird hunting, that you can get aside from actually shooting critters.

So I located this place, grabbed my shotgun, tossed it in the trunk, and headed on out. It was a beautiful sunny day, so my only worries were sunburn and sweating out my insides.

I meet my "puller" for the trip. Let me tell you, first, that this area was country. It was all woods and farm land, which I'm used to, but my puller was the poster child for redneck. Real nice guy, but he was loving telling me about the days when he and his brother would dump gasoline on piles of hay and shoot at it until it blew up. And apparently there is an old building they want to do away with but getting it done costs too much, so he had offered to do it: "Just give me some gasoline and a pack of cigarettes and I'll have that shit down in no time." He was a real good guy otherwise, so I wouldn't mind having him as a puller again.

I went to my first station where we were in a stand. I had to shoot downwards at two clays, shot seperate, crossing each other's path. Didn't do too shabby! I took out the first one and missed the second. The next attempt was the same. Apparently I was forgetting to pump the shotgun. Yeah. I've never fired anyshotgun but a pump so you'd think that would be second nature, wouldn't you? I didn't have this problem after that station.

Long story short, our fourth station was two clays from either side bouncing across the ground. On our way to the station a light rain had begun. We were shaded by trees, so we didn't think much of it. I killed four clays out of four there and as we turn to hit the next station...

The skies opened up and it was like an instant hurricane. The winds were tearing the trees all over the place and the rain was coming down like a waterfall. So me and my puller run like hell toward a tower holding the clays for the next station and try to take what little cover the tower offered. I wasn't too happy about this because said tower didn't look too sturdy and those winds were nothing to laugh at. He's trying to radio back to the club house because, wouldn't you know it, this area floods. Badly. With the amount of rain coming down and how high the pond was next to us, we had a small river forming down the path and we were ankle deep in water under the tower.

No one answers, so we decide, after hearing the tower start creeking, that it may be in our best interest to run back to the club house, which is just under a mile away and at the end of a flooded gravel road. So here we go up the path, still being hit with rain and wind as well as forest debris and the water is now up to the middle of our calves. The area was so dry the water wasn't getting sucked into the ground, it was just rolling, and we happened to be in the lowest point, so the water from all over the area was running down on us. So I'm running up the path and holding my shotgun rather than carrying it by the sling like I had been because I was trying to keep the barrel from filling up with water and debris.

We hit the club house just as the storm ceased. I decided it wasn't worth it going back out because you could still hear thunder (which was part of my reasoning for getting out of there: "I really don't want to be standing under trees during thunder and lightening, and let's face it... I have a lightening rod strapped to my back right now!"). Besides, we were both so wet that we looked like we'd gone for a swim. My shoes were spraying water with each step, my denim shorts now weighed about 30 pounds, and my t-shirt was just a gonner. And, despite my efforts, I had water pouring out of the barrel and action. I went in, they charged me for the targets I used and not the whole course, I bought a shirt so I could be at least somewhat dry, and I left.

I will be going back because it seemed like a lot of fun. Only thing I don't like is the shotguns aren't allowed in the store. So when you go to pay you have to leave it outside on their porch in a gun rack. I'm not fond of that idea because who knows what idiot is going to come by and say, "Ooo! Benelli!" and run off with my shotgun.

So I shot at 18 (out of 50 or 60, but we didn't come even close to finishing the course) clays and hit about 8 of them, with two of those really only getting a piece of the clay and not actually busting it. Not too bad for a first timer, really.
 

My parents hit a sale on ceiling fans and I am very happy with the new fan in my room. My room is actually not the hottest room in the house anymore!

But when they were prepping me about the fans I thought they were seriously pulling my leg. The fans will only function by their remote controls. There is no other way to work the fans. However, the remotes are not fan specific, apparently.

Ok, so we have one in my room and one in the computer room. That's two new fans on the second floor. On the first floor there is one in the "library" at the front of the house. If I turn on the light or fan in my room, the other two will go on if their power source is on. Now, if the light is on in the computer room and I go into my room, turn on the power source and then turn on the light, the light in the computer room will go off.

Here is something I have never seen before. It must be magic! But if I turn the TV and cable box on, the one in the living room doesn't go on. So why are our new fans like this? Granted, it leads to hours of fun and plenty of neat tricks (like my father forgetting this morning and accidentally turning off my bedroom fan). But why?! How cheap do you have to be to make fans that all react to each other?!

 

I saw the most appalling woman today. Seriously. I was talking to a guy I know when this chick comes by with her boyfriend. She's tall and painfully thin, red hair, and skin so white I could see through her. Her looks were not appalling. She was actually almost pretty even if she did need a good meal.

What got my attention was her shirt in comparison to the way she carried herself. She was wearing these little strappy sandals with heels that she obviously could not handle. She was having a tough time walking. But she also seemed to just have trouble holding herself upright. Of course, the way she moved her head and the look on her face made me think of a helium balloon, too.

She had the biggest breasts I have ever seen on a girl of her size. Due to the tightness of her shirt, I could also see her bra was in agreement with me and was trying to escape. I mention this because of her shirt. Right across these massive breasts it says, "Who needs brains when you have these?"

It was horribly obvious that the shirt was created with her in mind. The guy I'm talking to sees this all as well and says to me, "Ever see a truer phrase?" She makes her way past us a few minutes later and the guy I'm talking to says to me, "Think she's real, or does that guy have his hand up her ass to move her around like a puppet? Most realistic looking blow up doll I've ever seen!" I was, honestly, rendered speechless for a good few minutes.

Do people even look at themselves before they go out? I mean, seriously, does this girl not realize that maybe this shirt is inviting people to crack jokes? And if not, why doesn't someone tell her? It wasn't so much offensive or funny as it was sad. Like the girl I saw last summer with "Juicy" written across the ass of her shorts and the nice little wet mark below it. Why doesn't one of her friends say to her, "Um, you seem to be juicy back there for real!" Or the girl today. Why didn't her boyfriend point out that maybe that shirt isn't the best choice for her? "Um, honey, people aren't laughing with you, they're laughing at you?"

I dunno. Maybe I'm just in a bitchy mood.