Friday, January 29, 2010

Goin' Fast
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Another Friday night...spent the same as the Friday day. BLAH,BLAH,BLAH.
I did get to sign on our best and final offer for the repo house we are trying to buy. And I got to drive FAST to get there in time to do so. I really like driving fast. While I haven't had a really fast car in YEARS, I had the Caddy steppin' out this morning. Once in the foolishness call the teenage years, I drove my hotrod 1967 El Camino from my girlfriends house to the next town, a total of 12 miles and did 7 of them in 3 minutes 43 seconds. Scary fast in that car on a little two lane twisty state road. I sure loved that car but as you can imagine I finally blew the motor one fine spring afternoon. Now that was a RUN! I've never been able to shake that lead foot.

The SOTU speech
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The pundits are tearing the State of The Union speech apart. And I agree with them. For a college educated man with a background in Constitutional Law, with a whole lot of speech writers, he sure makes a lotta mistakes. Any thing from misrepresenting the number of jobs saved to applying the wrong lineage to a quote. He makes them all. I am still not sure how he hoodwinked all those voters into , well, voting for him. Mass hypnosis? Mass hysteria? Any way he's The One Sitting In The Presidents Chair now. For over a year he has held that exalted position yet after a year he is still blaming George Bush II. This man has to be the weakest individual to ever hold that office. This Nation needs a strong conservative leadership to straighten things out. I have a good idea of where we are going to end up if we continue down the path we are headed.

House Hunting
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As mention before, we are trying to buy a repo house. Maybe I'm wrong, but my retirement fund is dropping at an alarming rate and I don't see it coming back any time soon. Soooo, we are using a large portion of my retirement account to buy a house. We have found one we want to remodel and live in for a few years before selling it. It is a 60's vintage contemporary multi level home and needs quite a bit of work yet has a great foundation and structure. And at the right price....way cheap. It looks like, after reviewing the photos the agent sent in, the bank is going accept our final offer of 27 large. 2000 square feet, hardwood floors, a garage, basement, 3 bedroom and 3 baths. We're both anxious about the banks response. A little hard work and it will be a very nice home. I can do most of the work myself and I have friends and family that can do anything I can't. If you have access to readily available funds, this is the time to get a house on the cheap. We have seen several nice homes in the mid 30's and a bunch in the 70-90 thousand range.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Rebels reaction to the SOTU speech.

I'm sitting at the computer so I don't have to look at the One Acting As President while he lies to me some more. Is this a reset? It sounds just like his campaign speeches. So far I've heard him blame Bush II twice for the problems he/we are facing. Come the fuck on! It's been a year! Own your fucking office you imbecile! I really should have had a few drinks before I listened to this crap. Check that. I might have done damage to my TV. Now comes the Democrats to cheer on his bullshit and then the Republicans to meekly repudiate his load of horse hooey. In all honesty most of his speech sounded like a try out for a late night comedy show. I have a headache and I'm angry all over again. &^%&%&$&$^$%^%*&*())(&*%%^$^

Not Qualified. OAAP. What a Mix. Repo houses

After 12 years as a facility maintenance and repair man, 8 years as a supervisor or manager of facility maintenance and repair, I have been told by a prospective employer that I am not qualified to be a custodian. A custodian, an f'n janitor! See what I mean about jobs in the KC area? I'm a pretty good carpenter but with my trash knees I can't do that on a regular basis. I'm a pretty good welder and fabricator but have no certification and the knee issue as well. I'm a good painter but there is the knee thing again. Which means basically I'm only suited at this time for what I've done for the last 10-12 years, maintenance and construction management. Now they say I have to have an engineering degree to do that. Can you sense my frustration here? I still continue to look for employment but I think you can classify me as one of the chronically unemployed that have basically lost hope of finding a real job in the next few years.
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Let's see, it took the One Acting As President several months to decide to send any troops to Afghanistan but only took moments to decide to sent over 4,000 Marines to Haiti. I don't have a problem with helping other countries in their time of need but how 'bout placing a little more concern on protection of our own nation in a timely manner? Have you noticed how many people and groups are abandoning the Chosen One? My how quickly the mighty can fall from grace. It might have something to do with his continued finger pointing at Bush II, even after a year in office. It might have something to do with his inability to follow through on his campaign promises to all his sycophant, grovelers and ass kissers. Or it might have something to with the unveiling of his ineptness. maybe this job is harder than he thought it was, hence all the grey hair of late.
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Do you have pets? We do. Two dogs that reside in the house for the most part.Today is bath day for both of the wedgeheaded shit dispensers. I made up a soap mix that should work pretty good. I mixed up some Miracle II soap with peppermint oil, Tea Tree oil, magnesium gel and about half water. For the little long haired dog I added a little Miracle II moisturizer to the mix.
The Miracle II soap kills any fleas, and the oils help with any skin problems and the magnesium helps with rashes and aches.
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We have been shopping for a repo house lately. With my retirement fund shrinking faster than it grows and the claims that it will be a couple to a few years before the market corrects itself, I decided to cash a large portion of it out to buy a house. I figure I can buy a house free and clear and sell my current house for a low ball amount and be doing pretty good. And when the housing market finally settles down I will realize a 175 to 250 percent return on my money instead of the paltry 3-12 percent over several years in a fund. And I'll have a house that isn't near a hundred years old. Any way we found a house that needs a lot of work and made a low, low bid for it. We are waiting on the bank to return with a counter offer now.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Avatar and stuff

Cherry and I went to see the movie Avatar this weekend. Prior to deciding to go I had heard various things about this movie such as ...it's racist, anti-military, anti-industry and finally it's anti-Marine.
After 2 hours and forty five minutes I came to this conclusion, over looking the Mother Gaia overtones, it's a futuristic version of Indians versus the Railroad Industry in the old USA. In this version a powerful galaxy grabbing Corporation wants to wipe out a race of humanoids to get the mineral the corporation desires. A rouge member of the Security force takes up with the blue tinted humanoids and helps them overcome the mercenary forces. The only really racist person in the movie was the man in charge of compound security and he was also sexist. My wife on the other hand saw it as a love story. Rouge security agent falls in love with blue hottie from the indigenous tribe. As far as being anti-Marine, the security forces on the base were for all intents and purposes working directly for the galactic mining company so that would make them more like mercenaries even it most of them had been or were in the Marines.
I think everyone should keep in mind that is, after all, just a movie
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I finally got my videos from American Gunsmithing(AGI). While the gunsmith in the 1911 video rambles quite a bit, it is a very good tutorial on the 1911 system. After watching this video once I had my Officers model torn down to the bits and pieces. The frame is now coated in DuraCoat French Army Black with a little flattening agent mixed in. I used a new spray gun to do it with after realizing the airbrush just doesn't cut it for this type of project. After I took a trip to the Harbor Freight store I came home with an automotive detail spray gun. It works great for this application. I wish I had done this when I refinished my shotgun. After comparing the Stealth Grey slide to the French Army Black frame I now realize there probably isn't enough contrast. In retrospect I should have went with a darker black. But any way it will still look good with all the other work I'm going to do to it. Pictures will be forthcoming.
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Haiti had an earthquake and a whole bunch of folks are dead and even more are now homeless. Reports say that gangs are fighting over what little food there is, the Government is nowhere to be seen, mass graves are being dug by someone and for the most part the Haitian people are standing around waiting on someone to come and help them. It's things like this that make me say everyone needs to have a stockpile of food, water, clothes, medicines and weapons. Change Haiti into Kansas City and change earthquake into tornado swarm or flood or even keep the word earthquake. Not as much standing around waiting on a hand out, but I can see people rioting for lack of food, help and out of frustration. So having all your supplies in a secure location that you can access would surely make sense, right? Right?
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Daughter-in-law is back out on the Eisenhower. She will probably be out for 5-9 months. Son leave in May and he will be out for 7-9 months. With all the absences from each other we sure worry about them a lot. They are both good people and have their heads on their shoulders right but still, being apart for a year or more at a time is hard on any marriage. We wish them the best of luck in the years to come.
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Friday, January 15, 2010

Weather woes. Gun seizures. Zimbra and Mediacom

We have finally made it out of the deep freeze! The last couple of days have been in the 30's and 40's and it appears that the next few days will all be like this. Now we have rain coming though. Add the rain to the melting 15-20 inches of snow and we'll have a midwinter muddy mess. My truck is already cutting furrows in my driveway, my redneck, hillbilly, nearly illegal gravel driveway. Really, it's almost illegal in my town to have a gravel driveway. No more new ones are allowed and it is a violation of city ordinances to repair, improve or add to your current gravel driveway. In other words, when it gets so muddy you can't get in or out, you can't have some more gravel delivered but must bite the bullet and get your drive paved or concreted. As if anyone has a couple to a few grand laying around to do that. Nothin' like bureaucrats at a work.
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I keep getting emails about the UN pushing their anti-gun agendas on the US and how gun seizures are imminent. OK, I know the UN is anti-gun, I've know this for years. I have heard all the rumors about gun seizure in this country for years. With something like 200 million known guns in this country, that's a lot of collecting to do. I know there is a thing called NorthCom and supposedly this command is here to enforce the presidents wishes or put a stop to any insurrections in the US. How many of those soldiers that have been fighting for the US are then going to fight the People of the US? 'Cause you KNOW if the government or the UN tries to collect all guns there WILL be a fight. In the mean time, what are you doing to hold off any UN directives on Sovereign States of these United States? Are you in regular contact with your Representatives and Senators, do you belong to any pro-gun groups that lobby congress? If all that fails have you a plan to keep your possessions? Quit talkin' and talkin' about these things and do something about it. Demand that John Bolton be reinstated as the US Ambassador to the UN, demand that the US resist all efforts of the UN to replace US law with UN dictated law.
Or get a GPS and and a shovel and start acting like a techo squirrel.
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I hear that the jobs situation is not as good as the government expected it to be. No shit Sherlock. Some of those asshats in government should stay at my house for a while. No job for over a year, no prospect of a job. Excellent resume, great experience, but I keep getting rejected for jobs I have experience in and rejected for jobs that I can do because I have too much experience or no degree. I just received an email saying I was not qualified for the position of .....custodian. Custodian! I have cleaned restaurants, offices, warehouses as well as built offices and warehouses. But I'm not qualified to be a custodian. Several folks in the unemployment office say all I need is a degree. Great, no kidding. CTU online says they can get me a degree in as little as 2.5 years for a tiny little fee of 58,000 dollars. If I had 58 large I would start my own business and say FU to all the corporations that gave me all my experience but now won't hire me as I have no sheepskin.
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In an effort to trim our expenses, several months ago we dropped Dish Network for our TV programming, Internet, email and phone service. We went with the local cable service for these things and knocked about 50 bucks off our bill. Great! Well maybe not so great. We have had intermittent problems with the TV reception that has stumped the technicians, we have had no phone service for the last 3 days, and they have converted their email system to a server called Zimbra. I really think a bunch of drunken kindergartners designed Zimbra. If you receive an email with pictures in it you have to click a button to tell it to display the pictures, if you want a full screen view of your email inbox you need to have the advanced version, if you want a calender, you need the standard version, if you want to cut and paste documents to an email, you have to configure the system to allow it and if you want to add a picture to the body of your email, forget it. Zimbra does not support this activity and they don't know when they will. I will say this loud and clear, Zimbra is total crap and MediaCom is total crap for keeping Zimbra. I see major changes come to this household in regards to our Internet needs. You know what's really sad though? There was nothing wrong with the MediaCom email service, nothing.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Restaurant Depot. "water lines".

Yesterday we went to check out Restaurant Depot. This place has everything a restaurant could need. As I said a couple days ago that means they have a bunch of stuff a prepper might need also. We found great deals on potatoes, rice, meat, flour, beans and more, The prices were, in general much cheaper than Sam's Club. The one drawback to the meat is you will need to know how to cut meat as most of it comes as "prime cuts" meaning it is a large section of a cow that needs to be reduced to its individual cuts. As an example, they had chuck rolls on sale for 99 cents a pound. If you bought one you would need to reduce this 25-30 pound chunk into chuck roasts, chuck steaks, chuck eye steaks and burger trimmings.
They also had handy things like Sterno type fuels and portable cooking devices, knives, bulk silverware, mixing bowls and serving items that would be needed to feed a group of people. If there is one of these distributors in your area it would be worth your while to check them out. One note though, you have to show proof that you are a business. We simply showed them our LLC papers and that was enough to get a membership. Check them out here.
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I have been working on this old apartment building. With all the cold weather we have been having, there have been several frozen water lines. Even though this place was re-plumbed 3 years ago they still placed much of the plumbing in or adjacent to the exterior walls. No insulation or heat tapes were installed at that time. So here we are at present time, renters with no water. I had to install 4 heat tapes and run electrical outlets to all locations. They finally have flowing water now but with proper forethought all of this could have been avoided. Are you applying forethought to your decisions? If you are building a house or renovating a house, think about were the water lines are and if they are in a bad location, i.e. a north or west wall or a breezy inaccessible space, take steps to protect them from winter weather. Do you have your survival "water lines" in the right place? Do you need to do anything to make them better? If you are one of the lucky ones to have a bug out home, do you want to be making home repairs instead of getting busy with the business of surviving? Just like a kids Christmas list, check your lists twice. And then do it twice more. If your like me and must make do with the place your living in, make sure all your decisions are right. You can't afford to waste valuable time and money on putting your "water lines" in the wrong place.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A new sheriff in town.

Damn it's cold! I started working for a small apartment today as property manager and maintenance man. It's a 75-100 year old building and is occupied by, well shall we say, people of low motivation? Of course, it's cold and the water lines that are located near the exterior walls have .....FROZEN! Imagine that. And it's only going to get colder, we're talking more double digit negative temperatures. I got one of the last heat tapes left in town today and installed it on the water supply to one bathroom and got it thawed. Now I have another apartment that ALL the water lines are frozen. I will have to go to the big city to get some more heat tapes. This wouldn't be too bad but the ones screaming for immediate attention are the ones that owe mucho back rent. I'm talkin' over a grand and in one case over 2 grand. Well, there's a new sheriff in town pilgrims.
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Oh, I almost forgot...Obama sucks! So sorry, that just burst out of my fingers. I'm trying to bandage them now before I'm forced to go to a government mandated healthcare center and forced to use my new government mandated healthcare plan.

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Cherry Pie is most likely going to stay home tomorrow so there may be some, uh, er, adult type activities goin' on. HUHUHEHEHE. Nothing like bein' an old dog that still gets the bone.
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Hey did you hear? The government screw up on the latest travel threat, and the government has , has , has got big problems and, and, uh, they have screwed us all for the next jillion years and, and, and they, they, they........aww forget it. You get the idea.
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Seriously, the news gets me so bummed out any more I can hardly stand to write or speak about it. We probably won't have any real good news until 2012. Until then, keep buyin' all the food you can squirrel away, all the ammo you can afford and learn how to do something you may need to know. Like gardening or fixing' your own car, tending your own sick, or canning food. Even if we get out of these financial doldrums, all of the above are valuable skills that can come in handy at any time. We may, weather permitting, go Saturday to check out a place called Restaurant Depot. It is supposed to be cheaper than Sam's Club but caters specifically to the restaurant industry. They have everything from spoons to steaks, shrimp to napkins. I mean they have everything a restaurant could need. Or maybe even a lot of stuff a prepper may need. More to come on this.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Another good screwin'. Some gun stuff

The more things"change" the more they stay the same. The asshats in congress are giving the SOB's at Fannie May and Freddie Mac a blank check. These are the idiots that started the massive housing finance collapse. In addition to getting the blank check there are no restriction being placed on these "financial institutions" as there have been on all other banks and lenders. This appears to be another method to socialize the US. Take our hard earned tax money(IRS), give it to a federal department(Fannie and Freddie) that will distributed to people (substandard borrowers). Socialism pure and simple. Redistribution of wealth. How do you feel about that?
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How many vacations has the 1st family taken in their first year in office? I dunno but, they're just getting back from Hawaii again. Add in all the "date nights", the shopping expeditions and private concerts and it''s really looking like a third world country led by an inept, corrupt dictator.
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We are looking at another week of frigid temperatures here in Missouri. We are expecting a high of 10 today. I think the high for the week is supposed to be 15 or so. Thursday night will be something like minus 8. And we got another 2-3 inches of snow yesterday. I hate to see my gas bill for this month.
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I got the FIE shotgun done and returned and I have to say, It sure looks good. My friend is happy with it too. Now I can turn my attention to Dad's Model 60. I have ordered a DVD from American Gunsmithing(AGI). This one is about the 1911 type pistols. Since I'm refinishing mine I thought I'd better learn how to disassemble the frame so I can coat it and add the other part I have planned on. AGI had a special going. If you bought one off this list at regular price you get one on this other list for free. So I've also got a free DVD about the 1894 Winchester rifle coming. They would let you order up to 3 on the sale but I only had the bucks for 1. That's a hell of a deal, 2 for 1 and up to 6 for 3.
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I have a Springfield Armory XD 45. It has the highly acclaimed nitride type finish (Melonite) on it. In the short time I have been carrying it in the XD holster the "durable" finish has been rubbed off. Can you guess which of my guns is going to get the duracoat treatment next?
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With a previous employer holding up my unemployment claim we have not been able to set aside anything for preparedness. The good news is my claim has been freed up and I should see a deposit this week. I think what we will set aside this time is cash. I'd say cold, hard cash but we as a country don't use cold, hard cash anymore. Just worthless paper. I may try to convert some of the cash into actual money.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

COLD!, Chick Flick and Barbeque, Guns

Dayumm, it's cold! When I looked at the thermometer at 8:30 this morning the thing indicated a negative 3 degrees! By 4:30 it had squeaked it's way up to a high of 12. Oh, well. Like I say, this is my kind of weather. When I was commuting via my Harley I would ride everyday as long as the temperature stayed above 10 degrees or so. On the other hand, Cherry Pie likes it oven warm. Unless she's having a hot flash.
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We went to see a movie today that I suspicioned was a chick flick. Boy was I right. So guys, If you want to take your wife to a movie that she'll love try "It's Complicated". After the movie we went to Arthur Bryants Barbecue. Speaking as a man, that was the best part of the movie.
While we were out I picked up an A/B switch for the cable and DVD boxes. This handy device will allow me to switch to the DVD while loading a disc instead of crawling behind the tv to unplug one cable and plug in another.
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I visited the new pawn and gun shop in town on Friday. They had a cool new single barrel shotgun that is chambered for 410 shotshells, has a fairly long barrel, splinter forend and an old style knob pistol grip butt stock. I'll try to get back and lay hands on it and get some more info. It's old school cool.
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With my little 1911 officers model down for refinishing, I've been carrying my XD 45 with a 5 inch barrel. With 13 in the mag and 1 in the pipe it's a heavy load. I really think a better holster will help with this behemoth. All I have for it is the tiny little XD Gear holster that comes with it. I really need a good leather concealment holster for everyday carry. Speaking of the refinish job, I did the slide in Stealth Grey Duracoat and will do the frame in French Army Black(which the brown truck delivered Friday) with a matte or flat finish and a set of micarta grips. I'll finish it off with a stainless grip safety and grip screws to go with the take down lever I already installed. I think it's gonna be way kewwl. The coolest thing will be that I'm doing all the work myself.

Friday, January 1, 2010

New years commentary

Happy Freakin' New Year!

Man new years eve sucked. I didn't have any "noisemakers" to bring in the new year with. Usually I shut off the streetlights for several blocks as well as rattle a few windows. Not this year, nope. All out of the the good stuff. Maybe next year.
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While I did good and didn't gain any weight over the holidays but I still feel stuffed. Two Thanksgiving dinners and 3 Christmas dinners as well a few dinners out then a birthday dinner and a multiple birthday dinner. Wow! What a lot of eatin'.
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Have you noticed the news programs are even worse than usual lately? Fluff and more fluff. Nothing import is covered for any amount of time. I mean Tiger Woods' infidelity issues have been in the news for weeks but most news channels have had limited coverage of the disaster in the Senate also referred to as the health care boondoggle. Speaking of which, the bill has had the abortion issue reinstated but no one, I mean no one has made an issue of the bills portion that allows the Federal Government to fine and imprison you for not having health care. That in itself is enough to warrant an armed insurrection. But no, brush it over, ignore it and bring on the next guest. In regards to the news, I have received emails on three separate occasions, saying the Fox News Network is going to air an expose of Obamas past. Three times nothing took place. I'm starting to think some liberal group is initiating the emails and sitting back and laughing at the Conservatives that are working themselves into a lather over the prospect of some real dirt being dished over the Obama issue.
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I'm still working on the stocks for that FIE shotgun. I'm also working on a Glenfield model 60 for my Dad and I'm re coating my 1911 officers model. These are keeping busy for the time. Once again I'd love to be a gunsmith but I will not deal with those boys and girls of the Ay Tee Eff any more. Once is enough for anyone. It's high time this department was disbanded and many of them prosecuted for violating civil rights, perjury, theft, falsifying evidence, extortion, bribery, harassment, assault and murder. Does that sound like a group of law enforcement officers or a bunch of criminals?
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The states right issue of really gaining momentum, there are something like 13 state claiming 10Th amendment rights over the gun issue and several State Attorney Generals have filed lawsuits over the health care bill. We really need this movement to keep rolling onward and reclaim the right of the states as guaranteed by the Constitution.