Blog Fodder

We're at the crik with Dad, my older sister and her husband. Dinner is done and the TV is off (I am not making this up), and we are having a conversation. We're telling old family stories and laughing till our sides hurt. If I can do justice in written form, I have a lot of new ideas for posts.
Sometimes family is good, sometimes not. Right now, it's just right.

My last summer fling......

Well I got a call today that my car will be ready by noon tomorrow and I couldn't be happier.

The son is coming over for the weekend to house sit for us while we take a little trip down to the coast for some fishing and of course some more painting in the house.

I did get a rental car so that I could run errands today, getting ready for the trip and doing something that I sometimes enjoy doing, shopping for clothes.  I bought several new outfits and a few new pair of shoes.  Happily my work attire is casual, so I didn't have to buy business attire which is a bonus.

This long weekend is my last summer fling before I re-enter the world of the employed.  I couldn't be happier, and of course my better half is practically turning cartwheels every time I mention it.  Once I get good and settled in and I know for a fact that they are going to keep me (of course they will want to, but you never know) around, I'm buying my man a new car, preferably something that will pull a boat once the kids get out of college (heh).

First on my agenda, however, is a new pistol.  I'm pretty sure that it's going to be the XDM 40 caliber.

Main thing on my mind though is hoping that the fish will be biting this weekend.  I want to catch some fish!

HEB gets on the wrong side of an "issue"

I've had the Sanctuary City issue on my mind recently as well.

Teke is on top of it.

I do not have all of the details as of yet but from what I know so far the CEO of HEB Charels Butts, put out a press release today opposing the legislation in Austin that would put an end to sanctuary cities in TX.

For those outside the state, HEB is a grocery chain that started in Kerville, Texas in 1919. As a kid, the only places I came into contact with an HEB were in smallish towns like Schulenburg and Weimer. The HEB chain has grown quite a bit over the last 92 years. HEB has made major inroads into the Houston area in the past few years, launching upscale flagship grocery stores, one of which resides in rock throwing distance from God's Caliber and Bells A Ringing.

If HEB gets too vocal about this, I'm in agreement with Teke. This is not going to go well for them.

The reason I think HEB has stepped on their own "unit" is this.

"Houston Sanctuary Policy Keeps Illegal Alien Sex Trafficking Operation in Business"

JW investigators recently obtained documents from the Houston Police Department detailing a shocking sex trafficking operation run by illegal aliens, including a former prostitute, Maria Rojas, who had previously been deported. Importantly, the evidence uncovered by Judicial Watch shows the criminal activity continued unfettered for almost a decade right under the noses of Houston police officers who were hamstrung by the Houston Police Department’s sanctuary policy.

I found this at BigGovernment.com. The Houston media, Television, Radio, Noosepaper...crickets chirping.

There's more that will get your acid reflux going. Go, RTWT.

Great marketing strategy HEB! Hitching your wagon to a bunch of scumbag illegals.

Makes no difference to me anyway, I hate their stores. Most disorganized layout for mission shopping I've ever seen. Now, because of this, I hope the local store eats it and closes down.

g'head, ask me how I really feel.

This driver must have been completely blotto

-drunk.

How can you not notice something smashing through your windshield and landing in the seat next to you?

The post category is insensitive, I know...just couldn't help it.

I've been thinking........

Thinking, wow there's a novel idea.  Seriously though, my car is in the shop on a recall item.

I bought the car last year and it's a 2007 and it's in the shop on a recall issue.  Also, recently my daughter, who also bought a used car was in the shop on a recall item for her car.

So here's my issue.  Why is it that a dealership who is selling their own brand (in both cases, these cars were brought from a Chevy dealer and both cars are Chevys) of used car that they aren't fixing recalled items on preowned vehicles before they are sold again?

In my daughter's case, it was a fuel leak in the fuel pump issue.  A fire waiting to happen.

I'm not real big on the nanny state regulating business, however, in this particular case, I'm wondering why it's not a law that when a manufacturer puts out a product that is faulty and has a recall on it, and when that product walks back through a dealer's door that they aren't required, by law, to make it right before reselling it?

I think that this would not be a bad law.  When you buy a product, especially one that is so important to your livelihood, I think that there's a reasonable expectation that the product you buy will be safe to drive.

Just Wondering

If you have any recollection of how you found your way to the many blogs you read on a daily basis.

The thing that brought this to mind is that The Adaptive Curmudgeon has a link to The Gormogons. Two of my favorite blogs.

I know I found The AC's blog quite some time after The Gormogons. What I can't recall is whether I found the Gormogons from a link on Borepatch's blog or vice versa. Once I started reading blogs, a tsunami domino effect took hold and I had a favorites list of at least 30 blogs. The only analogy I have, and only those that remember a thing called a movie projector from their public school days will recall, is the Bell Labs film in which they showed how an atomic chain reaction works with ping pong balls and mousetraps. Ok, I'm sure it's on youtube, but I saw it on the original celluloid.

You'll have to excuse me, I have a post I need to finish reading over at AC's site.

Call the Waaahmbulance

I haven't felt very good today and my car is in the shop so I was stuck at home today.  Waaah.

My car, apparently has some kind of vacuum leak or something so it's going to need major surgery.  The good news is that it's a recall item so it won't cost us anything except maybe a rental car.

I hate being without a car....  someone call the waaahmubulance because I'm whining.

So to match my mood.......

Random thoughts about yesterday's shoot........

Yesterday, when we were shooting the long guns, there was a dad and his little girl shooting a .22 rifle.  It, of course immediately took me back to when I was little and would tag along with my dad to the gun range, learning to shoot and it brought a smile on my face.

The girl was probably between 8 and 10 years old and the dad, I would guess in his early 30's.  They were quite a pair.  She, with her blonde hair, shorts and cowboy boots and him with all the patience and pride in his little girl every time she fired that gun.  It was exactly as I remember range trips with my dad.

Yeoldfurt brought a gun that Borepatch is sure to give a range report on in the near future.  This thing was a monster!  I was planning on firing it, but after Borepatch took the first shot, I decided that since I didn't have on a shooting vest, it was more gun than my shoulder would want to take, so regrettably, I passed.  I hope that at the next blogshoot, if Yeoldfurt can make it, that he will bring it out again because next time I will bring a vest just for that little extra cushion.

I think that one of the nicest things that was said to me yesterday was by Yeoldfurt when he mentioned how glad he was to see someone of the female persuasion who really appreciates guns and who actually enjoys firing high powered rifles.  (I guess you don't see that real often)  The fact of the matter is that I do appreciate guns, probably even more so than my better half, and I was away from them for way too long, but I'm so glad to be shooting again.  Yesterday, I was like a kid in a candy store.  I don't know, maybe I'm a weirdo, but the joy that I experienced yesterday was just unbelievable to me and it's a memory that I will always be able to cherish.

At this point, my skills aren't that great; however, I am improving with every trip to the range.  There are so many things that I have to learn (reloading my own ammo is one) and so many things that I have to re-learn (field stripping and cleaning my guns) but that will all come in time.

The fact of the matter is that my own enjoyment of guns and shooting began with a little blond-headed girl wearing shorts and cowboy boots, going to the range with her daddy.  I learned very quickly that when I would fire my own 22 and hit my target that I would be rewarded by the sound of a proud father saying, "Great shot, baby!" followed by a swelling look of pride on his face.

So yesterday, as I watched the father/daughter duo shooting that rifle, I couldn't help but think of her as a future lady gunnie will grow up and appreciate the pure joy of shooting.

I am at a loss for words...

Today was so full of win and shooty goodness that I really don't have much to say about it because words can't describe the feeling that I'm still having.

The blogshoot was fantastic.  The range was great, the people there were terrific and brought plenty of great firearms to shoot.

Borepatch is just a terrific in person as he seems to be on his blog, and his 1911, all I can say about that is a simple, wow!

Alan wasn't as snarky as his blog claims to be and he even let me shoot his AR-15 (hubby will be posting photos of that I'm sure) which now, I've got to have one!

Tomscathanger was there and what a funny guy he is!  Interesting conversation and what guns he had!  I fired one of his and I can't remember what it was but I was expecting a bit of a punch in the shoulder and it was as easy as firing a .22 rifle!  I was shocked.

Then there was another guy there, I know his first name but not going to blast it all over the interwebz  a very nice, interesting and my kind of politics guy but I can't remember his handle!  Please leave a comment so that I know your handle.

Last and certainly not least Yeoldfurt brought out a couple of really cool and really old long guns and a couple of very old revolvers.  I had never shot a revolver and he let me shoot his Colt 45 (I'm thinking it was a 1901) however, if I'm wrong he will surely comment and correct me.  I shot 12 rounds with the Colt and what a pistol!

Gentlemen, I have to say that it was an honor to meet each and every one of you today and I thank you for coming to the blogshoot today.  We will certainly have to do it again!

Hubby and I rented Spingfield, mine was an XD-9 which I don't like as much as the XDM-9 and he rented the XDM 40 cal.  I have to say that I like the 40 cal much better than the 9mm, though word out there is that the 9mm is cheaper to shoot.  Oh what to do, what to do.......

Naturally, I shot the Tokorev SVT-40 and I shot hubby's Beretta 20 gauge shot gun.  We were using rifled slugs in the shot guns and I have to say that the 20 gauge packed more of a punch than the Tokorev.  It was funny, I used to think that the Tokorev had a kick, after shooting that shotgun the Tokorev felt much easier.

After we were all tired of shooting we went to Black's BBQ in Lockhart and had some lunch.  It was fantastic.

All in all it was a great day.  I'm sunburned and very tired, but oh it was worth it!  I can't wait to do it again!

So much for being at a loss for words, eh?

The first Southern Belle Blogshoot..What a Blast

Literally,

I cannot quite find a suitable analogy to describe what it is like to meet fellow bloggers face to face. Real gunnies. A category in which I do not include myself. I can't thank you guys enough for participating: Alan, Tomscathanger (he's an absolute hoot), Borepatch (epic or what?), Mark, and the man with the wickedest cowboy eye squint I've ever seen, YeOldFurt.

I'll be mentally processing this for days I think. There was so much to take in

We brought the Southern Belle Armory, the infamous Tokorev and two of my shotguns. No shot allowed on the target range, so we brought rifled slugs. The custom built high tech toys to the right belong to Tomscathanger. They have names and numbers of which I have no memory whatsoever. (that's my story, and I sticking to it.)

Borepatch lines up on the target with Ye Old Furt's secret weapon, of which Borepatch will post tomorrow. Alan observes.

Alan Coaches Belle in shooting his AR

Belle shoots Alan's AR

Belle likes...Belle wants

No, I did not steal this pic from Borepatch's blog site, that's actually me shooting YeOldFurt's bolt action rifle. (but it does look an awful lot like his handsome profile shooting the M1 Garand doesn't it?)

Yoiks that rifle was sighted in good. I need YeOldFurt to post a comment on the particulars of the weapon if he is so inclined.

Off to the pistol range. (click to enbiggen). The muny shot, juuuust to the left of the center X belongs to the Lovely Belle. The two dead level shots much further south in the nads belong to me (yes, I did do that on purpose)

The Southern Bell prepares to put some serious hurt on some paper

Not only does Borepatch's jeep tell lies about the temperature, but his sweet 1911 makes unseemly passes at strange men. I had the opportunity to shoot said 1911. I swear that when I picked it up and sighted in, it whispered, "hold me tighter". The center target was my magazine. I don't even know how many rounds went through that same hole, but it was a lot. When done, I turned to Belle and said, "that was so good it was scary".

I wish I hadn't been so hungry and sweated out. This is a quick camera shot standing in front of Black's Barbecue looking back towards the town of Lockhart. I so wanted to walk down there and take more pics..but..there was the smell of Texas Barbecue in the air.

On the road headed home to Cypress, the end of a really good day.

Belle warned to slow down in Giddings...speed trap. No worries says I, I have a decoy. See that red car that just blew past?

What an awesome day guys! I can't tell you how great the camaraderie, education and coaching were for me.

It's going to be a great day..

I am so looking forward to the blogshoot this morning.  Kx59 and I spent the night in a musty hotel room in Lockhart so that we didn't have to get on the road by the butt crack of dawn.

I had a restless night as I usually do when in a hotel, with several dreams that woke me up in the wee hours of the morning, one including that we were an hour and a half late to the blogshoot.

We just had a nice breakfast at a little diner next door to the hotel and now we're waiting to check out and head on over to the range.

We brought our long guns to shoot and the range has rentals for pistols.  Kx, I think is going to rent an XDM 40 cal and I think that I will just stick with the XDM .9mm since I know that's what I like.  I will, of course fire the 40 cal to check it out, who knows, I may like it better.

Some things are just funny.......

Bluesun has been having raccoon and apparently skunk trouble in his yard.  They've been killing his chickens.  So, he's had to trap them and get rid of them.

He made a comment about changing into clothes that he didn't mind burning when he caught his first skunk and it reminded me of a funny story about when my dad was a little boy.

My dad was about 9 or 10 years old and he was riding his bicycle along some trails in the woods.  It was just starting to get dark and he was hurrying to get home before it was full dark to avoid the probable spanking he would have gotten from my lovely but tough grandma.

He was pushing those pedals so fast, standing up when riding (you know who that was when you would ride hell for leather on your back using every muscle you could to go faster) and suddenly he saw a skunk in the path.

Dad slammed on the brakes and came to a complete stop, right next to the skunk.  Because of the sudden stop, dad fell over on top of the skunk.

He got home and grandma met him at the door with the paddle because he was late (again).  She started go go toward him and then caught a whiff of Eau de Skunk.  She got in her car and drove to the store and bought all the tomato juice she could find.

She stripped my dad down in the yard, burned his clothes and gave him a good scrubbing with the tomato juice.  She still made him sleep on the front porch for a few days until the lingering stink wore off his body.

So to my friend, Bluesun.....   be careful with those critters.

I shouldn't have touched it

I was in the store that Teke refers to as the one named after a water bird and a giant hill, looking for 20 gauge rifled slugs.  The guy there was very helpful and I found what I wanted.

So then I looked for my 7.62x54R ammo, which they had; however, the ammo was military surplus ammo and in a giant sardine can-thing which came complete with a primitive looking can opener.  It was only $125 for 500 or so rounds which wasn't bad.

They had a can open and I looked at a few of the rounds they had showing and I was less than impressed.  Some of it didn't look so good.  I passed on the canned ammo and went to my local shooting spot and bought the ammo from them.

While at the bird hill store, drawn like a moth to a flame, went to the gun counter and in the case was a beautiful Sig 1911, stainless finish with wood grips.  Drool.

My eyes were looking at the Sig, longingly and then the guy at the counter asked me, "Would you like me to take one of these out for you?"

Of course, you know I had to say yes.  So he took it out of the display case, unlocked the trigger guard and handed it over to me.  The way that it fit in my hand was poetic.  The wood grips feel so nice and it's small enough in my hands that firing it would be easy. 

I knew that if I fired that weapon that I would be able to maintain control very easily.  I do believe that this up coming April 15th, I am going to go and buy one.  I am still sold on the XDM and after tomorrow's blogshoot, I will know if I want the 9mm or the 40 caliber.  I was pricing ammo for the 40, thinking that it would be a lot more expensive than the 9mm but it's not that bad.  Walmart sells 100 rounds for 40 bucks. Not too bad.

My mind keeps going back to that 1911 though.....   I shouldn't have touched it.

Miss Kitty Breaks the Sound Barrier

Today, I was sitting on the couch and suddenly the sky opens up and it started pouring down rain.  It was like someone dumped a giant bucket of water over the house it was so heavy.

Suddenly I heard a boom (all within seconds) and Miss Kitty shoots through the kitty door.  Okay so it probably wasn't a sonic boom but thunder.

She makes it inside and of course, she's soaking wet and looking madder than a wet hen cat.

Naturally I couldn't help myself and I laughed.  I think that even the dog was amused because she immediately went to the cat and started circling her, checking her out.  I swear I thought I saw a smirk on the dog's face.

He was a Baaad, Baaaad Man

Actually, bad is an understatement. Whitey Bulger. I read a book about him and his brother when I was traveling to Boston on a regular basis a few years back. If only I'd known at the time that Borepatch was up there, we'd have met before this coming Saturday. As usual, I digress. According to the book I read, Whitey, pretty much single handedly took out the Italian Mafia in Boston, his competition. Locals told me that there were rumors of pedophilia as well, although there was no mention of that in the account I read.

This rises to the top of the cesspool because they just caught the bastid out in California. The FBI has been hunting for this guy for at least 16 years.

Whitey had it all goin on, extortion, drugs, murder..you name it he was a one man irish mafia. He was an "informant" for the FBI, by which means he ratted out his italian competition. In the process, he turned the FBI agent that was his "handler". Said handler went to prison, Whitey shuffled off into the sunset.

But now, the sun has set on Whitey...finally after all these years.

Saturday's Blogshoot in Lockahart, TX

It's going to be a fun time. I have 6 confirmed and one possibly.

Confirmed are:

Borepatch
Kx59
Southernbelle
Alan (Snarky Bytes)
YeOldFurt
Tomcatshanger

Possibly is:

SpeakerTweaker

I am going to call the range this morning and give them a warning that we are coming.

Be there at 9:00am because it's an outdoor range and I don't want it to get too hot for us out there.

Alan emailed me yesterday to ask if we are shooting long guns or pistols, etc. I said both! I am bringing the Tokorev SVT-40 and if the range allows rifled slugs (I don't see why not) hubby just might bring his Baretta AL2 (or whatever it is) semi-auto 20 gauge shotgun and quite possibly his 12 gauge goose gun.

Of course we will be renting pistols to shoot as well.

The range's website is here.  There are driving directions to the range along with FAQ which I am copying and pasting below.

If you typically save your brass, mark it or catch it on a sheet or with a brass catcher before it hits the ground.  All brass on the ground is their's unless you mark it!  They explain it in the FAQ below!

I look forward to meeting all those who are attending.  If you decide that you want to show up after all, just simply shoot me an email southernbelle1207 (at) gmail (dot) com and let me know so that I can get in touch with the range and let them know.

I'll see y'all in a couple of days!

These are our Frequently Asked Questions!!

Are you outdoor or indoor? We are an outdoor range.  Most of our ranges have covered shooting positions.   We are from out of state or out of country can we come to your range to shoot? Yes you may shoot at our range.  The only thing required is a good form of identification such as a drivers license or passport and to be safe on the range.  Can we shoot FMJ or hollow point? Yes, the only ammo we are currently not allowing is tracer ammo or illegal ammo.  State and federal law dictate illegal ammo.   Can we draw from our holster?   Yes, as long as you DO NOT muzzle flash yourself or someone else. Can we rapid fire?  Yes, as long as you can control shots on target and hit both the target accurately and backstop. There are specific ranges for rapid fire.  What age does my child have to be?  A child under the age of 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult at all time when on the property.  Direct supervision is required when on firing ranges.  As a parent you are responsible for determining at what age education on firearm safety and use should be started. Can we shoot full auto or class 3 items? Only Law enforcement is currently allowed to shoot full auto. All other class 3 items are allowed.   Can we shoot black powder? Yes we do allow black powder.  You must follow all safety rules and regulations. Can we shoot shotguns? Yes. We will place you on specific ranges depending on what you are trying to accomplish. We now also have an electronic trap thrower and will be adding more in the future.     Is there a caliber or firearm restriction?  None other than the full auto listed above.  Do you have restrooms available. Yes we have a complete facility with indoor restrooms, drinks and some snacks. Do you sell ammunition?  Yes we do have some.  Must be 21 to purchase handgun ammo and 18 for rifle and shotgun. Call to verify we carry the caliber you are interested in. Do you sell or provide eye and ear protection?  Yes we both provide and sell eye and ear protection.  Unlike most ranges our prices on for sale items are very reasonable. Can we bring our own targets? Yes you can bring any paper target to staple to our target stands.  We also have various selections of targets for sale. DO you charge by the hour or gun? Neither, we charge per person.  We have both day passes and also 12 month passes. Do you rent Firearms?  Yes we have firearms for rent.  Rental cost is currently $10 for MOST of our firearms.  You will be required to purchase our ammunition to fire from our firearms.  Call for current pricing on AMMO! Individuals taking possession of handgun for rental MUST be 21 and for rifle and shotgun 18.  We do have a discount if you rent more than one of any type firearm.     Can we pick up our brass?   Yes, however, due to individuals NOT following our policy on this issue all brass on the ground not marked belongs to the range.  You may put a sheet down and you may use a brass catcher or other item to collect brass BEFORE it collects with other brass on the ground.  You may mark your brass.  Why do we claim all brass on ground?? Because with the low prices that we charge to shoot we MUST utilize all means to pay for target frames and maintaining ranges.

New Yorkers Defending Themselves with Baseball Bats

I was just watching a soft news show, Inside Edition and they were showing a story of pharmacies in New York who are being robbed at gun point for drugs.

Apparently one recent incident resulted in 4 fatal shootings by a lone gunman. The victims did not put up any resistance, they were simply shot because they were there. One of them was only 17. The story is here:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/inside_nightmare_shop_slaughter_Bd2XjYTvXm9OsueN8ueaoL

Last bit of the story on IE was of a small pharmacy owner who is going to keep a baseball bat at her side at all times.

Last I checked, a baseball bat doesn't do so well against a gun, unless the wielder of the bat gets a jump on the assailant.

Perhaps NY needs to reconsider its gun laws? I bet that these types of crimes would plummet.

No longer unemployed...........

Well, I went on the interview and within an hour and a half, I got the call that they want to hire me.

I'll find out the particulars regarding salary (which will at least be the minimum that I am willing to take) and whether or not it's a temp to hire or direct hire (went through an employment agency).

I will start work July 5th. I am way excited because it's a great opportunity and the commute is not bad at all.

Starting out to be a great day!!!

Well, at first I was worried that it would be a sleepy day. As you know KX59 got home late last night due to a server melt down at the office. Our little dog refuses to come upstairs when one of us isn't at home safely. She waited and finally around 11 she started barking and whining, (waking me up) signaling that my hard working better half was home safe.

I soon drifted off to sleep again, nestling into a series of bizarre dreams. At about 2:30 my man made his way upstairs, hitting the creaky floor board at the top of the stairs, which of course woke me up again. I said hi to him and spoke to him for a few minutes, and had a hard time getting back to sleep.

The last time I looked at the clock it was 3:15, I think soon after that I fell asleep once more.

I got up at 6:00 this morning and it's raining right now, and raining pretty hard at that! I'm happy for the rain, although it's kind of bad for my hair since I have a job interview this morning at 9:30. It figures.

Luckily I interview with a company that apparently dresses casual because they told the headhunter to tell me 'not to dress up' (as if I'm going to wear jeans to an interview anyway). For me, not dressing up for an interview will entail my wearing slacks and blouse and heels. I need to locate my umbrella though. Once my hair gets a little wet, it curls up on me and looks a little 'wild'. Oh the complications of being a woman!

Probably the Greatest Error Ever Made by Mankind

was making journalism a paid profession. Starry eyed journalism majors graduate college, craniums brimming with liberal mush, believing they are still the 4th ( or is it the 5th..6th column..oh the wheel came off) only to become whores for the advertising department.

I was over at The Daily Bayonet , one of my favorite sites, getting my daily dose of liberal skewering snark , where I read this.

That post is an afterthought, a passing comment. But, it encapsulated how pathetic the lamestream media has become. Whoring anything that could possibly bleed, so it will lead. Because after all, they must have readership to boost advertising sales..so they can get a paycheck. Best of luck with that.

Online news sources and blogs are kicking their butts, and yet the dinosaurs roar their defiance.

Citizen journalists and editorial bloggers, in their spare time no less, are reshaping the national narrative.

The internet is correcting mankind's greatest mistake. Keep a close eye on the the Federal Government. They are doing everything they can to gain control over this modern day printing press.

That strange noise you heard this "evening"

Was me getting home from work at 11pm. I hate Windows Server 2008, and furthermore I hate it.

Did I mention that I hate Windows Server 2008?

One of the many servers we have is a license server for the CAD software. If it decides not to work, none of the cad stations work. This equates to a loss north of $5k an hour. Yesterday afternoon, it started having "issues". By end of bidness today, it decided to quit. Fortunately, one of my outsource IT guys was on site. Regardless, it took both of us doing the black box troubleshooting method to finally get it fixed. Outsource IT guy was losing steam and making noises like he wanted to quit and come back tomorrow.

I 'splained to him that at 8am tomorrow nobody would be able to work and the company would be losing 5 to 6k an hour. Amazing how far up his eyebrows went. A little after 10pm, we figured out that winders server 2008 had puked out it's permissions on a shared folder and thus was denying access from all the workstations.

The challenge for us was that neither of us had set this server up. The former fired with cause IT prick did.

I think we'll get all the crap he kludged together on our network straightened out right around $100k in outsource IT billing. Where computers and business are concerned, you come to a point very quickly where it is less expensive to just buy a new computer rather than continuing to try to fix it. That point comes quickly for a workstation. For servers that are the life blood of a company, you just don't stop fixing it until it's fixed. Because come tomorrow, we have to work.

Did I mention that I hate Windows Server 2008?

[posted from my linux Ubuntu 11.04 laptop]

What's the strange noise I hear?

At 4:30 this morning I woke up to a strange sound...... rain.

It was just a light rain, but it was enough to wake me up but they say that there's more to come!


There are quite a few fires across the state (several relatively close to Houston) going on at the moment so I hope that we get a lot of rain. They're calling for rain over the next three days so it looks promising.

Father's Day

A father's perspective:

Belle asked me a few days ago what I wanted for Father's Day. Today she asked me again. I couldn't think of anything in particular in a material way that I wanted. I tend to be the same way on my birthday. Truth be known what I'd really like for my birthday is to have no more birthdays as age and gravity are having a terrible affect on my strong, muscular, and chiseled jaw self image. But, I digress.

All four of my children have made the obligatory call now. The youngest, Bootsie just turned 18. Two of my own by blood and two stepdaughters, that by God's grace, claim me as "Dad".

This is not to say that I did not appreciate the calls, but what I really, really want for Father's day is what I want every day.

I want for each of my children to be safe.

I want each of you to do your best in school.

It's what I expect of you.

I hope that your trials and tribulations will be few.

I want for you to learn from your bad choices and mistakes.

I am willing to let you live through the results of those bad choices.

I want you to be successful and self reliant.

I want you to prosper.

If those wishes of mine fall in to place, the rest will sort itself out.

That's all I really want for Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day

Aside from my own dad, I think that my husband is the most loving and nurturing father that I've ever known.

I look at my better half and I can't help but thank my lucky stars that fate led me to him, even though the price I paid for finding him was almost too much. Let me explain.

I lost my dad to cancer. Really it was not just the cancer that got him, but the chemo that made him wither away bit by bit. My dad was so sick and thin toward the end, that he didn't even look like the same man that he was a year prior to that.

I've mentioned before that dad would always help me work on my cars. Well, I had a very old Datsun Sentra (before they became Nissan) that needed brakes. I went and bought what I needed and asked my dad to sit in the lawn chair and watch me do the work, just to be sure that I was doing it right.

I have to say that my daddy was impressed with me, though I don't know why since he and I had replaced many brakes in the past. He told me that I'm going to have to handle the auto mechanics in the family after he's gone or until he got better.

I was having trouble getting the rotors off (I was going to take them to the auto parts store and have them turned) and of course dad was way too weak to even attempt it. My next door neighbor came over and gave it a shot to no avail.

Well, where the neighbor worked, there was a guy who worked in the fleet car shop who had the tools that we needed to get the job done. So off my car went. The neighbor and I started talking and I mentioned that I was trying to find a better job. He gave me his sister's card (she's a head hunter).

A few weeks later my daddy lost his battle with cancer. I had made a promise to him that I was going to find a better job and make a good life for myself so that I could help my mother through her grief by not being a burden to her.

A month after my dad's passing, I landed a job through the neighbor's sister. I met my husband at that job. A year and a half after I started working there, hubby and I were married.

So you see, one door closed, but another one opened. Had my father not been so sick the neighbor would have never come over to help, he would have never given me that card and I probably would have never met my better half.

I've mentioned before that I miss my dad; however, as I look over at the wonderful man sitting next to me on this couch I thank my lucky stars that I was led to such a man.

So to my darling husband. Happy Father's Day.

What would you like for dinner tonight?

At first I was, then I wasn't, now I guess I am

What is that I'm babbling about?

Darts of course!

Y'all have a good night and keep my better half busy with your blogs. He's always reading!

The History Channel is so Educational

I'm watching "101 Gadgets that Changed the World" where I learn that there is such a thing as

Leaf Blower Hockey!

who knew?

Well there goes my afternoon...

Bluesun...it's his fault

go get googli eyed

tons of optical illusions

Blog has taken off......

I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone who reads this blog.

Strangely enough I'm getting multiple hits from all over the world. Considering the location of some of my hits, I get the feeling that some of you out there are serving in our military. Those who are military (past and present) I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service.

My readers who are not in the military but are reading me from outside the US, I want to thank you for reading.

I'm really amazed that folks across the globe stop in to see what we have to say.

Pass the Water Please

It's going to be a scorcher today. The weatherman is saying 101 and naturally, I will be pool side again, hopefully not making too many children cry.

This is my last meet of the year because I am not going to divisionals this year, as I opted for a blog shoot instead. They always have more than enough officials at divisionals and since I don't have a kid swimming any more, my presence is optional.


I think that after next season, I may hang up my whistle and call it a job well done. I need to get another ref trained first and I think that there is one parent that is going to step up to the plate and take the job. 11 years is long enough.

So today I will go to the pool and spend my time in the muggy, hot air and try to take frequent breaks so that I don't end up with heat stroke. Who knows, maybe the other team will have 2 refs and I can only be on deck for 1//3 of the meet.

Oh well, I hope that everyone out there has a wonderful day!

Whale Wars

I watch the show from time to time. Mostly to watch the ecotards screw up. I agree with them on one count. I think that in this day and age, whaling is pointless and destructive. The point I'm getting to though, is I can't believe that the stuff they do to disrupt the whaling ships isn't considered terrorism or piracy. It seems to me that the whalers would be within their rights to fire upon these idiots. I'm surprised they haven't yet. They did run over the fancy greenpease trimaran last year. These folks only have one oar in the water.

oh noes, the sea level's rising...more

With just a smidge of help.
The University of Colorado's Sea Level Research Group is monitoring... the sea level.
Something about that seems so non sequitur. U of Colorado? Miami maybe, seeing as the sea is in their backyard.

Maybe not:
As Fox reports:

"Many global warming alarmists say that vast stretches of coastline are going to be swallowed up by the sea. Well, that means we should be talking about sea level, not about global water volume."

"Steve Nerem, the director of the widely relied-upon research center, told FoxNews.com that his group added the 0.3 millimeters per year to the actual sea level measurements because land masses, still rebounding from the ice age, are rising and increasing the amount of water that oceans can hold."

[insert quizzical dog look here]

This is really to fulfill a predetermined political narrative isn't it? Isn't it?

Yes.

I thought so.

the best sound in the world

We've had some bad automotive juju around here over past few days. Fortunately it wasn't the beater van that is the primary income transport vehicle. This was not only a vehicle repair exercise but a logistics problem as well. Both the second oldest daughters car and the prodigal son's jeep crapped out at the same time. Both are college age, off for the summer and have jobs they need to get to. Both are in the city but living in an apartment on the other side of town. (this is a drive that puts you in another state if you live in Rhode Island).
Prodigal Son is working a house sitting job whence he can be stationary. His jeep will not kick over the starter. Daughter is home, but her car is a Moletov cocktail and has two recalls on it and the gear shift mechanism is completely effed.
I've rebuilt brake systems and fuel systems stem to stern, even rebuilt a gm 700r4 transmission. I suspect I can fix the girl child's car, but I have some serious time constraints. Boo ( the girl child) needs to get to work in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday. So I figure if I can get the boy child's jeep up and running, she can borrow that while I resolve her car problems.
Saturday morning early I pick up the wicked smaht and prodigal mechanic in training son, all tools loaded into the beater van and we head to the apartment were dead jeep resides. Digital multimeter test on the battery shows 1.7V. A few possibilities: battery is bad, alternator is not charging the battery, or the cable harness from battery to starter to chassis is kludged.
We remove battery, purchased two months ago at Walmart and head off to..Walmart. New Battery installed, the jeep starts. Multimeter test shows the incoming charge on the battery is 13.94 volts. Alternator is working fine. The battery was a p.o.s.
Son says, "thanks for helping me out Dad". I muttered something like, "you're welcome", but until he reads this post, he won't know how good that made me feel.
Monday morning Belle and I transport Boo's car over to a local mechanic for some serious surgery. The non-warranty stuff was done at the local shop. The recall work was done at a nearby dealer. Daughter picks up the car and there are problems. The short version is that the local shop neglected to replug a connector in the steering column, which the dealer fixed. The dealer broke loose a heat shield on the exhaust system, which the local shop fixed...after Boo bitched them both out. I got a very apologetic call from the local shop.
The best part was when my daughter called on her way back to the apartment to say her car was running great and, "Thank you Daddy".

I'm a .40 cal glock

I am a: Glock Model 22 in 40 cal

What kind of handgun are YOU?

where does she find this crap?
Why did I go and take this survey?

What type of handgun are you?

I am a: Heckler and Koch, Model P7 in 9mm

What kind of handgun are YOU?

H/T YeOldFurt

My god, they're fish for crying out loud.........

San Franfreako has really lost it's marbles.  They are proposing a ban on pets, including, now get this....  goldfish.  The moonbats say that they are wanting to ban the ownership of pets because it's inhumane.

I don't know, from a fish's perspective, I would think that being in a tank with other fish that won't eat me is not too bad of an existence.  Plenty of room of my very own, all the food I could want and no worries.  Considering how short their memories must be, it would be like having a new home every couple of hours!

What idiots they are in San Fran.  of course I don't have to tell any of you that because their idiocy is so transparent, hence Pelosi holding office for so long.............    ugh.

The small voice in the back of your head and grilling steaks.

I am the laziest griller you will ever meet, this not to say that I am not successful at it however.

Belle brought back two nice T-bones from Chapel Hill and we decided to "grill" them tonight.

Apparently, global warming is real as I saw that the ambient air temperature was north of 250 degrees when I went out back to survey the results of the redneck irrigation system.

oh, wait, that thing must be broke too, I'm not on fire.

That small voice:

Starting the gas grill is always fun. The spark lighter works..sometimes. These days I most often use a long nosed butane lighter to git er goin. Long nosed butane lighter is no where to be found. I whined to Belle that I don't like lighting it with kitchen matches because it burns off what little hair I have on the back of my hand.

So I take the long barbecue tongs and a box of kitchen matches out to the luxurious tenbyten concrete patio thinking that I'll clamp a kitchen match in the tongs, light another match, light the tong clamped match, turn the knob and light 'er up. I apparently channeled Mr. Ford, because I had a better idea in the three steps to the grill. I'm hearing that small small voice that tells me this is not a good idea. This time, I elected to listen.

Small small voice tells me, "perhaps you can get the spark lighter to work". Perhaps I can, says I.

The button is stiff, the casters on the grill are not in the "upright and locked position, please turn off all electronic devices in preparation for conflagration lift off".

I simultaneously turn the first gas knob and push the button, a waft of propane reaches my nose as the grill scoots away from me toward the edge of the patio. Small voice says "STOP" and " TURN OFF THE GAS". I'm feeling proud of myself. I listened twice today. There's been times when the small voice didn't even speak up, but that's another story.

So I wedged my foot under the grill to keep it from moving and mashed the hell out of the button. The sweet tick tick tick sound told me turning the gas knob would be a good idea right about now.

Grilling heresy:

I don't exactly "grill". My technique is what I refer to as the "lazy man's approach". I developed this technique over many years of cooking over charcoal. I'm still trying to adjust to the gas grill. It has been hit or miss with my particular "grilling" style.

With charcoal, I place a decent sized pile of charcoal banked to one side of the Weber grill and get a good hot bed of coals going. I baste the steaks in Worcestershire and the seasoning of the day, lime pepper or Tony C's, perhaps a bit of garlic, crusted heavily to compensate for the inevitable exfoliation when the meat hits the grill. Seer both sides well, then move the steaks to the opposite side of the grill. Place the lid on the grill (heresy), with the lid vent on the opposite side from the fire. Open the vents so that the heat travels a path over the steaks and out the vent.

The most important step is next. Go inside, in the air conditioning, crack a beer and make a blog post.

Every once in a while, go out and flip the steaks, poking them with the tongs to test the jiggle factor. On the poke that they no longer jiggle, they are medium rare, beautifully and uniformly pink between the seared surfaces.

With the gas grill, choking off the heat for a slow cook after seering by closing thelid is not an option, as the flame tends to go out. More frustrating is that the gas grill is designed to keep you from doing this.

So I find myself having to run check on the steaks much more often. With the charcoal, I know just how many beers it takes.

The Wiener Pulls Out to a Round of Applause

On the way into town for a job interview, I was listening to the radio.  Rep. Wiener announced his resignation.

Now for the funny part.  He went on about values and patriotism, etc. etc. but when he announced his resignation applause and cheers broke out.  As he kept on talking you could in the background, "Hey is it more than 7 inches?" and other such lewd comments.

Of course, these are New Yorkers we're talking about and they do lewd like none other.  I had to laugh but in a weird way, I almost felt sorry for the guy.

Calling Texas Bloggers.......

With Borepatch in the neighborhood, we are wanting to try for a blog shoot.

We've picked a date, Saturday June 25th at 9:00 am.

The location is in Lockhart, TX.  The website for the range is http://www.ctxpta.com/index.html driving directions are on the website along with range fees, etc.

I realize that for those of us in the Houston area, Lockhart is a bit of a haul; however, I hear that the BBQ in that town is excellent (must have food after a good trip to the range), also, considering that Borepatch is a guest in our wonderful state, it makes more sense to show him that good old Texas hospitality and not make him drive too terribly far.

joyeux anniversaire Madame Alésage Patch

Hah! Google translate is cool. I don't speak much french unless you are in a bar at closing time and you've been drinking a lot, then I'm fluent.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Borepatch, git your cowgirl on.

Guffaw's rules

..for being human:

Rules for being Human
1. You will learn lessons.
2. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
3. A lesson is repeated until it is learned.
4. If you don't learn easy lessons, they get harder (pain is one way the universe gets your attention).
5. You will know you have learned a lesson when your actions change. - taken from Cherie Carter Scott

I've read this a couple of times, it is very close to my take on the meaning of life. Mine is shorter.

Life is school.

If you do not create the circumstances from which to learn a lesson by your own choices, your circumstances will help you out with that.

In Loving Memory.....

Today marks the 14th anniversary of my father's passing.

My dad was a very good man and if I could choose any father on the planet, I would still choose him.  He spent 9 years in the US Air Force where he trained as a medic.  He was a machinist and carpenter by trade and could fix anything from automobiles to a teenage daughter's broken heart.

I think of him every single day and I always wish that he would have lived to see my own life turn around.  I find myself at times thinking, if I knew then what I know now, I would have been much less of a screw up when I was young.  Then of course I snap out of it because truth be known, I probably would have done no different.

Ah, but the one thing that I do know is that no matter what, my dad loved me unconditionally.  He was an amazing person and I really cannot think of a single person that knew him that didn't have something nice or funny to say about him.

Dad was a prankster.  He enjoyed playing a practical joke, which some of them I will be telling in future posts, but this one, I want to focus on the loving and teaching side of him.

Being an only child until I was almost 8, I had the opportunity to pal around with dad all the time.  When he was doing carpentry, he would sometimes take me to the job site where I would haul lumber for him and explore the site, trying to imagine what it will look like when it was all finished.

He took me fishing quite a bit when I was a kid.  He taught me how to bait my own hook, how to cast, how to throw a cast net to catch bait, how to catch crabs and crayfish.  He taught me how to water ski.  Dad was a great water skier.  He could get up on one ski with a beer in his hand and a cigarette lit in his mouth.  The cig would stay lit!  Now that took real strength and talent!  To this day, when I'm on the water, I think of my dad and I can't help but to smile.

When I was 10 he bought me as a birthday present, my .22 rifle.  The first thing that dad taught me was how to safely handle it, how to take it apart and clean it and of course how to put it back together.  He taught me how to shoot at the very range where I go and shoot my Tokorev.  To this day, when I'm at the range, I feel close to dad.

When I was about 15 or 16, dad took me to the golf course to teach me to play golf.  That trip didn't go over so well because being a teenager, I knew everything, right?  I will say though that regardless of his frustration with me, he kept his cool and just being with dad that day was nice.  When I started working where the hubby works, I started playing golf.  Eventually mom gave me dad's clubs and I took lessons.  I shot with his clubs for a long time, now my hubby uses them when he plays.  As you must know the pattern by now, every time I'm on a golf course, dad is right there with me.

When I was 17 years old, I bought my first car.  We brought it home and the first thing that dad did was make me go into the house and put on something that I didn't mind getting greasy.  He taught me how to change my oil and how to change a tire.  Over time, he taught me how to replace a water pump, an alternator, brakes and various other repairs.  My hubby is a shade tree mechanic and I've been known to give him a hand from time to time when I need to.  Heck, I've even done my own brakes, changing out the caliper by myself.  The last thing that my father and I did together was my brakes.  That's another story that I will tell another time but let's just say that particular brake job led me to my husband.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him and that I wish that he were still here.  There's so much in my life that I wish that he would have gotten to know and experience.  He would have loved my husband and my stepkids.  My two granddaughters he would have been over the moon for and I know that he would be so proud of what beautiful women my two daughters have grown up to be.  It makes me a little sad at times, but all in all, I know that it was just his time.  One door closes, others open.  It always works that way.

So without further ado, I leave you with two songs that remind me of my dad.  I hope you enjoy.

And then this tear jerker......

Stop Helping!

Really, we'd be better off if Obama and the Democrats would all just go play golf until Nov. 2012.

Obama has a new plan! God help us.

from Foxsnews.com

"President Obama, in what he described as an "all-hands-on-deck strategy" to boost the economy, announced a new program Monday aimed at training 10,000 new American engineers every year"

Yet again, obama proves he knows nothing with respect to job creation. Where are said 10,000 engineers a year going to find a job? I guess he figures if a bunch of wet behind the ears engineering graduates get together, by golly, they'll just figure out how to jump start this economy. (well, that's how it's worked in his administration hasn't it, oh wait, most of his academic economic advisers have bailed on him)

"The president also announced what he called the "better buildings initiative," a push to upgrade buildings for energy efficiency that would be co-led by former President Bill Clinton. He claimed the upgrades, while putting contractors to work, could in the long run save companies $40 billion a year -- money that could be put to use hiring new workers.

"It is a win-win-win-win proposition," Obama said."

Oy, where to begin with this. This better building initiative is so far behind the curve it is unbelievable. The U.S. Green Building Council, founded in 1993, which developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for buildings, has become the defacto standard for green building design. And, imagine this, this is not a Federal Agency. Nonetheless, the concept took hold in the building industry and the free market nurtured its growth by competition.

Most developers of large scale projects were already requiring the kind of energy efficient design promoted by the LEED rating system. The LEED rating system gave developers a 3rd party certification system from which they could market the efficiency of their buildings. The savings in operating costs go directly to their bottom line.

Taking all the steps to get a building LEED certified adds to the initial cost of a new building. Doing the retrofit to an existing building is even more expensive. In the current economy, I'm not seeing existing building owners clammoring to spend a bunch of money to get their building LEED certified. I'm squinting really hard here, but not seeing any jobs so far.

Obama's quote should read : "It is a win-win-win-win fail-fail-fail proposition," Obama said." There, fixed it for ya.

"In an opinion piece published Monday in The Wall Street Journal, Immelt and American Express CEO and chairman Ken Chennault laid out a series of jobs council ideas to increase employment, including easing visa applications to attract more tourists and the plan to increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings."

Want to bet whether that easing of visa applications "to attract more tourists" includes work visas". What are the odds that those mythical engineering jobs might go to foreign engineers?

Of course, Immelt, being the CEO of General Electric is all over this initiative. The initiative, by itself, will do zip for job creation. If coded into federal law, when the economy does eventually pick up and the building industry recovers, this will be a boon to GE. GE is vested heavily in the the whole global warming, er climate change boondoggle.

Still squinting. No jobs in sight yet.

From the scholars at MSU (Making Shit Up)

I love documentaries, I also love a good mystery.  I watch shows like Ghost Hunters and right now, I'm watching Finding Bigfoot.

I got really aggravated tonight with that show.  One of the investigators who has supposedly been tracking Sasquatches for years said something that was so utterly ridiculous I was appalled and had to come here and rant about it.

The team had happened up on an old deer carcass that had been there a long time, as all that was left were bones.  One of the legs was broken, snapped off clean.  Some of the people in the investigation team were saying that the deer might have lost its footing and rolled down the hill, breaking its leg in the fall.

That of course seems logical and with scavengers disposing of the flesh, muscle and ligaments, the rest of the leg would be lord knows where.

The leader (for lack of a better term, the guy is a jackass who throws temper tantrums and refuses to listen to reason or admit that he fucks up) of the group has another theory and he says and I quote, though it's paraphrased, "This was done by a Squatch, This is exactly what a Squatch does.  They catch the deer and immediately break its leg.  This was definitely a Squatch's kill.  See that break, that had to be done by a twisting motion.  That's what a Squatch does."

This of course begs the question............   "HOW THE F*** DO YOU KNOW THAT EXACTLY? WE CAN'T EVEN PROVE THE BEASTS EXIST!"

This kind of "scientific" evidence analysis makes me crazy.  I see it all the time on other shows, especially shows on the behaviors of long extinct animals like dinosaurs.  For the most part, it's all speculation, yet they treat it as if it were fact.

You cannot possibly know something for certain unless you witness it.  You can believe something to be true, you can present a theory but to state it as fact is a fallacy.  Had that guy stated, "I believe that this is how a big foot would hunt because it makes sense for it to immobilize its prey as soon it is caught it."  Then I wouldn't have gotten so riled up.  As it is, the guy is nothing more than a Ghost Hunter wannabe.

Ghost Hunters never present themselves as all knowing about the supernatural.  They base their knowledge on the evidence they gather and they analyse it accordingly.  They are plumbers for crying out loud and they are better scientists than the so called educated scientists on the Big Foot show.

/end rant

yay me

Well, I took second place last night and won a little bit of money.

A good time was had by all and my partner was really fun to shoot with.  It was the first time that I've ever met the guy, he was a decent shot and didn't get mad at me at all if I missed.

I'm a little sleepy today though.  Nature of the beast.  I'm thinking about taking a nap.

Well...........

Off to shoot darts!  Maybe I'll win a little money tonight, who knows.

To Dart or Not to Dart......

That is the question.

I really want to go and play darts tonight I just don't know if I really have the energy.

This morning, I got up early and went to referee a swim meet.  It was HOT today.  After the meet, I came home and showered, took a short nap, then went to birthday party, which of course was mostly outdoors AGAIN.

I'm pretty darn tired.  Maybe within the next 1/2 hour or so I will get a second wind and be able to head out to play.  We shall see.

Dammit I want to sleep on the cow peel

My little Poodle, Penny has been using the hubby as a Poodlevator since I brought her home.

She's a toy Poodle and very sweet, but she would walk up to him to be lifted to the couch.  She would, for whatever reason, bypass me and go to him to be picked up.

Finally, the hubby grew tired of it (because every time one of us got up from the couch, so would she, only to want to be lifted yet again) and stopped picking her up so she was forced to snuggle up in her bed on the floor because she just doesn't like to come to me to be picked up and placed on the couch.

So a few minutes ago, Penny decided that she would reveal her secret to us.  She jumped onto the loveseat all by herself and curled up to go to sleep.

We always assumed that she just couldn't jump that high, which is why hubby consented to lifting her to the couch.  I guess she fooled us!

Here is a pic of Penny sleeping on the cow peel.  For new readers, if you want a reference to why I'm calling it a cow peel, go here, it's entertaining.

She's a sweet little poodle.

From my niece's Facebook wall......

i been to a lot of places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I've also never been in Cognito, either. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport, you have to be driven there. I've made several trips.

about an hour ago · ·


I of course liked it, hence the 'unlike' option. That girl is such a character!

Crime Doesn't Pay

Well at least not if you're going to break into a house in the state of Texas.  You know, we Texans tend to arm ourselves.  Of course who would have thought this jackwagon would break into a cop's house.

Read the full story here.

I wish this would happen to criminals more often, maybe they would stop committing these types of crimes!

You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out

Not quite "linky no thinky" but close enough...

I got this chain email from my bud Billy Joe Flowers (not his real name)

Not new, I know but I like the statement of fact and the juxtaposition, so instead of forwarding the email I thought I'd just post it for both of my readers.

Wal-Mart vs.The Morons
1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour of every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St.
Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger +
Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world's
largest private employer, and most speak English.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and
Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only fifteen years.

8. During this same period, 31 big supermarket chains
sought bankruptcy.

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of
which 2,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than
it had five years ago.

11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing
experiences will occur at Wal-Mart stores.
(Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within fifteen miles of a Wal-Mart.

13. Wal-Mart has gross sales that total more than the
total revenue of all the countries in the world, except 6.

You may think that I am complaining, but I am
really laying the ground work for suggesting that
MAYBE we should hire the guys who run Wal-Mart to fix the economy.

This should be read and understood by all Americans
Democrats, Republicans, EVERYONE!!

To the President and all 535 voting members
of the Legislature, both parties.

It is now official - you are ALL corrupt morons:

a. The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775.
You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.

b. Social Security was established in 1935.
You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.

c. Fannie Mae was established in 1938.
You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.

d. War on Poverty started in 1964.
You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion
of our money is confiscated each year
and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.

e. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965.
You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.

f. Freddie Mac was established in 1970.
You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.

g. The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to
lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a
budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before.
You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

!!!You have FAILED !!!
in every "government service" you have shoved
down our throats while overspending our tax dollars.

AND YOU WANT AMERICANS
TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED
WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ??

YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN THE
AUTO INDUSTRY.... THE BANKING SYSTEM?????

MAYBE WE OUGHT TO KICK YOUR EGG-HEAD
BUDDY BUMS OUT OF OFFICE AND
HIRE WALMART TO RUN THE GOVERNMENT ???


WALMART SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS...
WHY DON'T YOU GUYS JUST ADMIT
IT'S WAY BEYOND YOUR PAY GRADE, AND QUIT?

"You can't fix stupid,
but you can vote it out."