We try to write a blog post every day, but some days are too beautiful and warm for us to be inside. So this will have to do for today since we stayed out on the patio until almost dark enjoying the 78° temperature and a couple of cool ones. 😉
Blogosphere
Survivalist Blog Free Ammo Giveaway
M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated by LuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.
Follow the 2A Blog Bash Tweets at the NRA Convention
We’re not into Twitter, but sometimes we read the latest about interesting events like the NRA Convention currently underway in Charlotte, NC. The 2A Blog Bash website has a sidebar on their web page with tweets from some of the bloggers in attendance. Use the scroll bar to view recent tweets from the convention.
We were part of the Bash at last year’s convention in Phoenix. Sadly, we’re involved in a land purchase deal here in both California and Arizona at the same time and couldn’t get away for this one. Next year, we hope we can attend again in Pittsburgh in 2011.
Mini-GBR in Apache Junction
Last week, we contacted the proprietor of Ballseye’s Boomers, Glenn B. to see if we could arrange a get together, since we were going to be in the same area. We threw a couple of ideas back and forth, and settled on a pizza place near the RV park where we’re camping.
I found the pizza place on Google and assumed it would have an informal eating area, where we could sit to enjoy the pizza and conversation. When we got there, it turned out to be a take-out only place. Luckily, there was a little Mexican food place just across The Apache Trail. We went on over and ordered food and sat down to eat and talk.
We chatted about our Arizona adventures and various other topics. Firearms got into the discussion, but didn’t dominate. We had a nice visit. Like most of our like-minded bloggers, it was a pleasure meeting Glenn B. and we look forward to possibly meeting again.
My Canon A710IS took this image of the three of us just after coming out of the café. Click on the image for the big picture.
Outage Alert
We may be intermittent today . . .
Dear Customer:
On Saturday October 17, 2009 at 10:00 am PDT we will be migrating all MySQL databases to a new server. The new server is to alleviate recent issues caused by high load on the current server as well as to upgrade to MySQL version 5.1.
The procedure we will use to migrate will ensure the least amount of downtime per database.
The window for this maintenance is 2 hours. During this time there will be periods of intermittent connectivity errors to MySQL.
Thank you,
Omnis Network, LLC
BNSF Train Crossing
On the way to the range today, we heard the train coming down the track, so we decided to stop for the photo op. Damsel took some stills and I made a movie.
I have always been fascinated by trains, especially old steamers, but I like ’em all. In the summer of 2005, Damsel and I rode the Alaskan RR from Anchorage through Denali and on to Fairbanks. Seeing any trains always brings out a little wanderlust in me.
Pardon the crappy bandwidth compression. One of these days I’m going to upgrade the website for streaming video. I kept telling myself that I would do it when I get the time – well now that I’m retired, I no longer have much of an excuse. I’ll get on it real soon now, just as soon as I do a few chores and we make an out of towner or two . . .
Gura on Beck
After I finished signing the various and sundry agreements required when checking out of the workplace on my final day as an employee, I went home and commenced enjoying retirement.
One of the perks is that I can now watch the Glenn Beck Show, which is scheduled at a time I would have been at work. Well, I watched the show today and I was surprised to see Alan Gura‘s face on the screen. It turns out that the SCOTUS decided today to hear the Chicago Gun Case and Beck was interviewing Mr. Gura on the topic.
Of course, we had the great pleasure of meeting Alan Gura at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous earlier this month. Mr. Gura was kind enough to autograph Damsel’s “Heller Kitty” T-Shirt, which she just advised me is a collector’s item to be framed – she NEEDS a new one to wear now.
In the image are (L to R) Mr. Completely, yours truly and Alan Gura enjoying a discussion in the hospitality room at the Silver Legacy.
Here’s an excerpt from the Beck/Gura interview today:
GLENN: Okay. So I know that the NRA didn’t want — I mean, they were afraid of the D.C. handgun bill. They were like, you know, I don’t — we don’t know how they’re going to come out. Why, why were both of you, you and the NRA, as soon as you won the Heller case in Washington, why did you both run to file this case? What is it that gives you confidence in this?
GURA: Well, first of all, it’s inevitable. I mean, you can’t really avoid these questions. And this is why we filed the D.C. case, too. We realized that the way things were developing in the law that the Court would answer the Second Amendment question very soon, and we wanted the question answered in a good case on behalf of law-abiding, decent people instead of the usual way that Second Amendment cases had gone up through the court in cases like U.S. versus crackhead, U.S. versus bank robber. Those are not really the greatest cases to take when trying to vindicate individual rights. The reason we went immediately after Chicago is Chicago has an identical handgun ban. It’s a crazy set of gun laws. And it’s fairly obvious that now that we know the Second Amendment applies to the federal government, the next big question is, okay, does it apply to state and local governments. Because most gun laws live at the state and local level. And let’s face it, Glenn: If congress can’t take a gun away and President Obama can’t take a gun away but the mayor takes your gun away, you still don’t have a gun.
And there are too many mayors willing to do that, Bloomberg being the foremost.