Comsuxorz

Yet again we are having issues with the Comcast connection for the past week - and yet again, it's just "our location" and a technician is coming out to fix it.

For the little gnome lurkers who wander about the net and teh Google for such things - this is the last go; if the problem occurs again we will be switching to FIOS.

I'm tired of paying for a service which is only intermittently provided...

Merry Christmas

May you and your families have a peaceful and wonderful day. For those of you away from home, may you be safe and return to the ones you love.

Hear the call of the valkyrie...

By way of Julie over at Jigsaw's Thoughts, Daddy Bear posts a story of courage and bravery for this season.

Enjoy the link here.



As an aside, although he reads me I've been neglectful & not read Daddy Bear til now - that has been corrected!

No, she's not named Vera...

So while waiting around for some items to be delivered this morning I had a chance to do a bit of shooting at the range - nothing for qualifications or work, just a chance to unwind and enjoy myself for a few minutes. Which got me to thinking that as a nominal "gunblogger" I have yet to post any bits & pieces about my rifle build. Those of you not into shooting will be bored, but here she is:




Noveske N4 Light upper & lower receiver, with the VLTOR VIS rail on the upper, with a 14.5" barrel & pinned Vortex flash hider. Magpul ACS stock, MIAD grip and AFG fore grip. The optic is an EOTEC XPS3-0. Entire thing treated with Duracoat. Sling is a Vickers/BFG. Internals are mostly stock with the exception of a Timney trigger and a Bravo Company Gunfighter charging handle.

Every piece in it was chosen for reliability & quality - can't really think of anything where I chose to skimp just to afford something. Probably took me about two years total to get everything together the way I like it, including tweaking a number of things as I went.

She'll shoot in the same hole at 50 yards if I do my work. The trigger is a dream without being too sensitive. Definitely a joy to take to the range & very glad I put the time into it.

And nope, not offering to trade her for anyone's wife either - I am doing fine on that score as well.

Tidbits

- Well, started a bit of drama today with the follow-up from last night. Turns out that not only were the patrol guys stupid, but they actually put in their report that they had been "told to do that by the bomb squad" - whom they never even talked to... So, now it's at a higher level due to both the choices made & the lying about it. We will see how this one works out, but it is nice to see the staff actually concerned for once.

- In my one, brief commentary about the repeal of DADT I will say this. DADT was always more of a political ploy than anything else, and was long overdue to go away. Anyone foolish enough to think that somehow the number of homosexuals in the military will change is seriously ignorant of history and current events - we've just taken a well-needed step towards getting rid of the legal crap which resulted from this measure. Yes, there will be service members upset serving next to folks who are now open about their preferences - just as there were people who couldn't handle serving with women, blacks, and every other change. The other positive fact of this change is that it was done appropriately - through legislation & with an implementation policy, as opposed to an overnight judicial fiat or executive order.

- For those who are shooters, Captain Jake has put up Shot Works Pro, a database to track your weapons and ammo. I'm trying it out & will post a review, but initial info looks very well designed. It also beats cloud computing and releasing such info to others... The first thirty days are free and if you like it the license is reasonably priced.

- Had several other thoughts to share but my brain is shot, so I will save it for tomorrow. Hoping to manage a long weekend without any callouts or drama, and get some writing done.

Yet another day

That rhythmic thumping sound you hear from the east coast is me banging my head against a wall, as yet again the patrol guys make stunningly stupid decisions on how to deal with a suspect device call...

Might-uv-been

So, my mind was doing one of those "random bouncing" things yesterday - contemplating how cold it was outside, which led to thinking of being someplace warm, which then led to smiling at how things turn out.

See, at one time I had a very detailed and responsible retirement plan. I was going to take my Navy training & the things I was good at, and I was going to find a nice warm tourist spot, open up a dive shop/bar and live out my days there. Sleep late, take people out on the water, party at night & console lonely tourist women. Enjoy my cynical lifestyle, let friends drop by on their trips about the world, and all that. Something like Casablanca, but with fewer Nazis & more bikinis...

Well, as previously mentioned, things didn't quite work out that way. Somehow I managed to stumble into love, marriage, a family and responsibility. Two wonderful children, a career I love, and a definite change in plans. Not to mention a changed lifestyle and health issues which keep me away from beaches and sunshine...

Don't regret a bit of it - the guy I was twenty years ago wouldn't recognize me now, but I can definitely say I'm in a much more content place & the better for it.

Anniversary

So, today is the anniversary of the date twelve years ago my lovely wife and I got married in Spain. Ups & downs, laughs and tears, we've enjoyed quite a bit of life - here's to plenty more!

We managed a date night out to celebrate last night; just dinner and a movie but no kids, rushing, or any of that. It was quite nice.

Plus, I added that special touch - wrapped her present in ordnance tape, since it was kind of fitting to our background :D She laughed at me & shared a few choice words, but was quite pleased with the results.

Not posting much else tonight but figured I'd share that moment. Thanks hon, love you!

Weekend already?

Wow - this week flew by - mainly due to all the other stuff going on, and a lack of sleep...

But this means I get some good time with the wife & munchkins over the next couple of days. I do have to work tomorrow night, but it's overtime so I shan't complain.

Running short on humor & pithy comments tonight, but I'll try to regroup over the next two days.

Bit more

To expand somewhat on the issues going on (within the limits of what I can say):

- My attorney managed to get disbarred last week, and it turns out didn't file some critical paperwork, resulting in the stillbirth of my defamation lawsuit ... From talk about the department I am not the only person affected by similar issues. Right now it's a bit up in the air as to any recourse I have, which needless to say has me frustrated.

- Due to the incompetence of some of our staff members my unit is going to loose out on a very sizable chunk of needed equipment, because the paperwork (which they have had for over 18 months) has not been processed on their end in a timely manner.

You can see why I'm a bit frustrated with folks.

Misanthropy strikes again

A nice day of people pissing me off beyond measure, reminding me why I have little faith in the competence of humanity, and just general all-around crap. I can list as my major accomplishments that I did not throw anything or yell at anyone - that's about it.

On the positive side, I have an incredibly wonderful and tolerant wife and family who understand when I have a day like this, and put up with me anyway.

No matter what else sucks, it's nice to come home to a hug and a smile.

Snow day

Our weather prognosticators apparently need some new sheep entrails, as their "light snow done by 8am" is continuing to fall with just over an inch so far. We'll see if it sticks around for the kids to play in after school, or if it's just a nice winter tease.

I'm just glad I'm not out working in it today - good timing on my day off.

Tis the season...

for bomb calls that is.

I have no idea what it is. Beautiful spring or fall day, nice to be outside, time in the suit won't horribly suck? Nope, I get nothing.

100 degree plus weather - definitely going to get a few.

Below freezing, no real way to stay warm no matter what you're doing, and calls that take hours instead of minutes? It's a gorram guarantee.

I've had more calls this week then in the past few months combined I think - some stupid stuff, others not-so-much. And, while the overtime is nice, it is cutting into time with the wife & kids.

Ah well, not to complain - I've been safe, and it is what I get paid for. Now I just need to invest in more anti-freeze...

Heard around the house

The kiddos have been in rare form lately, with us and each other. At one point tonight I turned to my wife & said "You know, it's a miracle we aren't addicted to headache medication here."

Her response, without even a pause:

"That reminds me, we're out of Tylenol."

Upgrade time

Thanks to us being due new phones, and some nice discounts, I got a Droid to play with today as my early present. I'll be busy playing for a bit.