Gimme the money or the roach gets it!

So, I don't know what's up with this story.

A San Diego-area teller was confronted by a bank robber carrying not only a semi-automatic pistol but also a white plastic pesticide sprayer.

It's entirely possible the perp said there was something in the container that might be a threat.  Who knows?  I don't even know how I'd respond to this if I were carrying.  I would hope that the time it took to process the crazy wouldn't cause me to hesitate.

Movie review(ish) - "Rum Diary", the movie without an ending

So, the wife and I had purchased a couple of Groupons the other day.  A great deal on a movie and a drink at Alamo Drafthouse.  If you haven't been to one, treat yourself and go.  They're an awesome place to watch a movie.  So, we decided to see "Rum Diary".  You know, the new Johnny Depp deal from Hunter S. Thompson and blah, blah, blah.  It looked kind of funny so we decided that was the one.  Well, it was actually pretty good.  Depp and the other actors did a good job.  The story was just fine, lots of boozy acting and the funny parts were funny.  So, here's my part of the story.  I had a couple of drinks with my meal during the movie, so I really had to use the restroom.  I figured by the way the storyline was going that I might as well go because they hadn't even gotten to the big ending and that would probably take a while to unfold.  I came back a few minutes later and the movie was over.  I asked my wife, "well, what happened".  Her answer: "nothing".  They literally built the movie up to the ending and it was just...  meh, sorry.  What's more, after the not ending, it was the literal sail into the sunset and epilogue wording on the screen.  I can understand if you've told an actual story, then decide to say how your character finished their life.  In this instance, we're talking about a work of fiction, so this type of thing plays more like, "sorry, we ran out of time for the whole story, so this is how it ends".  The previews and advertisements should have said: "from the alcohol-addled mind of Hunter S. Thompson" and then I would have said, "Oh, I get it".

As it stands, I guess I just don't get a story without an ending.

Get your head right

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/11/04/d-dot-drivers-refuse-to-run-routes-bus-riders-stranded/

“If it’s to the point where if the driver is not safe on the bus, then the passengers are not safe, then the citizens are not safe. You know, what about them too? We have no security, you can’t get the police, nobody is doing anything to protect us. And I’ve been begging the mayor and the council for two years to do something to help us,” said Gaffney.

The emphasis is mine.  This is the attitude that allows rights to be infringed upon.  My protection is someone else's responsibility?  Now, when they need protection (police call time referenced at 30 minutes in the article) they have limited resources since they've allowed the government to restrict them so severely.  The sad thing is, they do have options (even in Detroit) to take responsibility for their own personal protection but are still thinking the wrong way.   This is not me blaming anyone, it is just a warning.  This is why it is so important to fight for your rights.  The government will gladly take them if you offer them up, then leave you all on your own.  What is the saying?  "Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy".

Dankeschön

While I was out for a while I obtained another follower.  A thanks to Tom for hitting the follower button.  I do my best to respond to all comments and will gladly post a blog link if you have one.    Welcome and slap me around if I get out of line.

Guys' weekend, completely worth it

I guess it's finally time for me to spill it about our annual trip which has affectionately been called the Red River Gun Run.  This is a spectacular weekend filled with amazing food, fun with friends, lots of shooting and great beer tasting in the evening.  Then, there's the fishing, hiking and general gun with friends.  So, now on to pics.  Oh, and a warning.  I'm not feelin' all up to it with the word stuff, so I'm going to do my best.  This will be less of a novel and more of a kid's picture book.  Here goes.

Braaaiiins!  Uh, I mean Caaaake!

It was right around the time of one of the guy's birthday and someone brought this work of genius.  I may not have mentioned, this is trip leans in the zombie shoot direction.  The cake maker that brought the cake found these fantastic little plastic zombies to fight the plastic army men.

Melee!

 On to the drink.  We drove up the first day and got there in time for dinner and then a nice outdoor movie and beer tasting.

This one was especially yummy

Remember me?

The Duchesse was just great.  You may remember the Life and Limb from my previous post.  I'm not going to turn this into a review post because you'll see that it would turn into quite a monster.

The first day was about relaxing and getting some things set up.  It was a great time to do some fishing.  I didn't say we caught a lot, but the weather was perfect and it was relaxing so it was a great time.  Dogfish Head made it that much better.

Looks Fishy!

But it wasn't all that much.  We still caught a few.

Deer and Dillo

Nothing like floating by wildlife and enjoying the scenery.

Trifecta of Goodness

A very good white port, a great sea-salt chocolate and a wonderful cigar.  This was a good night.  Each night was spent outside under a covered patio with a fireplace. 

Warmth for the chilly night

Movie

This one was 28 Days Later.  Great movie if you're into that kind.

Speaking of zombies.  This is the day of the zombie run.  This year, we featured some older targets from the zombie targets website and some of the newer targets from Birchwood Casey.  The smaller rat splatter target turned out to be quite a difficult little guy.

No pizza for you!

Below is That Guy with his awesome Saiga 12 Gauge shooting some Fiocchi luminescent tracers.  I should have used a time-lapse, but I chose to just run a fast shutter and caught it in a couple of shots.

I believe this night's dinner was the Chicken Marsala with Prosciutto that I made and did not take any pictures, of course!

After dinner, more relaxation and some more tasting.

Great beer, Mikkeller Draft Bear

That right there was a string of great beer.

So, the next day was fishing, hiking and more shooting.

No exciting pictures of us walking in the woods, but then the final night.  Time for the traditional steak dinner.

And a salad!  The Cashew Tahini dressing was a real hit with the salad.

Oh, and wine.  Except, we couldn't find a corkscrew, so we skipped preparedness and went to improvisation.

It worked wonderfully.

Then, a couple more tasters.

So, the trip is over.  Unfortunately, these go by so quickly.  Now we have some great memories and soon we'll have some great video to watch.  So, this is one of the reasons I've been off the grid.  The other two reasons I will post about later.  Sorry about all of the pictures, but it's probably easier than reading my babble as I try to explain it all.

Back from the M.O.N.

Middle of Nowhere.  Boy, was that a great trip.  We ate, fished, hiked, shot, tore around on four-wheelers and enjoyed some great beer in the evening.   I barely have time to post this, but I will say it was an incredible time.  I have tons of pictures and I'll have to sort through them to find some good ones for you.

For now, head over to That Guy's place and vote for our patches.  That's right, I'm completely leeching off of his already written post.  I'm that worn out (or lazy) right now. 

TOTUS hi-jacked!

I'm sorry, I find this story just full of joke-filled humor.

When you see President Obama speak, there is a pretty typical setup including the presidential seal on a podium, the see-thru Teleprompter and a portable sound system.

Thieves saw the truck carrying that equipment and couldn't resist the target.

So, someone has absconded with TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States).  I'm not quite sure what that means for POTUS.  Maybe it will give us a reprieve in listening to the drivel since we all know that TOTUS is the puppetmaster.  Or, maybe without a prompter a real agenda will slip out. Or the truth.  Whichever.