Poker again

I'm in the hunt for a seat at the monthly, so I'm hitting the tables as much as I can; and of course boring y'all with the details.

So two main seatings tonight, and two mini-tournaments AKA losers tables.

In the first seating I made it to like 10th out of 24 (slow night) before I was taken out 2 pair to the straight. I thought he was bluffing on the king and ended up dumping on a 10k+ pot.

Oh well; it happens. I ended up taking a 30k+ lead on the mini-tournament and taking down my third loser table in a row. Knock up another 50 points.

Second seating was a bit bigger, I think we had 30 sit down. I quadded up, and so did another guy, then he knowked out two to double that. Theres six of us on both tables, and he's got me 100% dominated. So the betting goes around, and my stacks worth it in the pot, and everybody else gets pushed out on the flop but me and him.

I flop a set of 7s , and go all in.

He calls me with two pair.

I'm all set to take a commanding chip lead, and the fucker draws the boat on the river. Motherfucker.

So once again back to the "victory challenged" table, and after 2 hours of play and getting down to 500 at one point, I managed to end up 60k and take the table down again.

So thats 4 in a row, and I'm up to 800.

I've got Tuesday and Wednesday to catch up, two seatings and two losers each; so I SHOULD be able to make my 1000 by the time I leave for Jersey, but then I'm going to miss the next three torunaments. The good thing is there are three more after that before the end of the month.

Oh, and why am I so anxious to make the monthly? Well first of all, I like to win; but the prize kicks ass: An all expense paid seat in a three day WSOP sattelite tournament in Vegas.

Sure, I've been to vegas more than I can count, but to be able to sit in a cash tourney with a luxury hotel suite on someone elses dime? Oh hell yah.

Basic Ammo Questions - Part 1

NoR reader Skittlesman asked the following very important question:

How is a glaser safety slug different from a normal round? Also, how is a winchester silvertip different from a normal FMJ Round?

Good question there S-man. One of the most frequent questions we get in the NoR, is "What Ammo should I carry in my gun" followed by "What's the difference between ammo types".

Okay so first, what is FMJ?

FMJ is the common abbreviation for "Full Metal Jacket", the term for a bullet that is jacketed (covered) with a harder metal alloy than lead. Most FMJ bullets are round nosed, semi-conically nosed, or truncated cone (a conical bullet with the tip chopped off to produce a flat point).

FMJ bullets are by convention used by the military, since the 1890s; because they are not "designed to cause undue suffering". Yeah that's stupid, silly etc... but there was a time when war was thought of as little more than the recreational pursuit of gentlemen; and that there were rules of fairplay. The restriction to FMJ grew out of this philosophy, because expanding or fragmenting ammo was thought to be "unsporting" and all that.

Up until the late 70's FMJ was the most common load for just about everyone, but the development of more modern Jacketed Hollowpoint (JHP) designs (which were originally introduced in the early 20th century, but did not function well as introduced, in firearms of the time), superceded FMJ as the common carry ammo.

FMJ has two distinct disadvantages as a modern defensive loading. One, it can overpentrate in high velocity loadings; and two, FMJ will rarely expand (especially in the low velocity non-over-penetrating loadings), limiting the size of the wound channel to the caliber itself (expanding bullets can expand up to double their base diameter).

This lack of expansion is fine for larger caliber bullets (like .45, which is at least reasonably effective in FMJ as many thousands of Germans, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, and Viet Namese could testify to... if they were not very very dead), but for smaller bullets like 9mm, wounding capability of non expanding ammunition has generally proven to be poor.

The other major type of bullets used prior to the 1970s would be unjacketed, or partially jacketed lead. Mostly used in revolvers, because you dont have to worry about feeding issues; and by reloaders, because you can easily and cheaply make your own.

Lead bullets WILL expand, depending on the bullet shape, alloy, casting process, and the load velocity. This allows you a very fine level of control in your loadings, thus making them popular with handgun hunters. They are also often used by target shooters, because you can load special designs, weights, etc... and because you control your own tolerances etc...

The three common variations of lead bullet are soft cast/soft point, hard cast, and Jacketed Soft Point, or "partially jacketed".

Hard cast lead bullets are just that, very hard cast lead. These bullets will expand less, penetrate more, and generally leave less lead buildup (called fouling) in the barrel than soft lead.

Soft cast bullets are the bullets generally used in factory lead rounds. Soft lead bullets will expand significantly at relatively low velocities, which is a big plus; however they do not stand up well to higher velocities, and can leave a lot of fouling in the bore. Soft cast bullets are not appropriate for use in autoloaders because the bullets can be damaged while feeding.

Jacketed Soft point bullets are a compromise between the two types. They control expansion by using a very soft lead alloy, but encase it half way (or more) in a jacket (as in the FMJ).

Oh and lead bullets may not actually be cast, they may be swaged (as most FMJ bullets are), but that's more detail than is strictly necessary right now.

Okay so FMJ and lead out of the way, what are hollowpoints?

For once, the name of a firearms related item actually has a name that means just what it says: Hollowpoints are bullets that have a hole/cavity in the tip i.e. a hollow point. Yes that's a huge oversimplification, but really that is the essence of the thing.

The point of a hollowpoint (excuse the bad pun), is that it will expand more, at lower velocity than either hardcast, or FMJ ammunition.

There are three basic variants of hollowpoints, unjacketed, soft point/partially jacketed, and jacketed.

Unjacketed lead hollowpoint ammo is relatively rare, because it's difficult to control expansion, without fragmentation (through overhardening).

Partially jacketed hollowpoints are similar to softpoint as described above, but they have a cavity in the nose. This improves expansion at low velocities, while preventing fragmentation (hopefully) at medium velocities. They are still unsuitable for high velocity applications. Partially jacketed bullets are basically only used in revolvers because the soft hollowpoint nose is unsuitable for feeding through auto pistols.

Jacketed hollowpoint bullets are similar to FMJ, in that there is a metal jacket which covers the entire outer surface of the bullet (in most designs), which controls expansion and improves penetration. In a JHP however, the tip has a cavity in it which forces the softer lead to mushroom out splitting or stretching the jacket.

When hollowpoints were first introduced they were all of the soft lead, or partially jacketed variety, and the bullet making technologies at the time were unable to produce consistent, uniform, and reliably expanding designs that did not fragment.

Even with the greater distribution of fully jacketed hollowpoint designs in the 1930s, manufacturers were generally unable to produce designs that met the criteria described above. It wasn't until the mid 1950s that decent JHP bullets became commercially available, and really the 1970s before JHPs were reliable and consistent enough for carrying as defensive ammo.

That development made the 9mm a little more acceptable for American handgunners to carry for self defense, which in turn spurred a 20 year run of development in Jacketed Hollow Point designs to help the 9mm get better at killing bad guys; eventually ending up where we are now... with basically everyone carrying modern premium jacketed hollowpoints, basically all the time.

Okay so I just said "Premium Hollowpoints", what exactly do I mean by that?

A premium hollowpoint is a bullet specifically designed to expand to the maximum degree while retaining the maximum weight OR fragment into the largest possible pieces (for some designs), so as to produce the most effective possible wound. Importantly, it also means that they are EXTREMELY reliable and consistent (not always the case with the non-premium bullets).

There are many premium hollowpoint designs (at least one from every major manufacturer in fact); but the market is fairly solidly dominated by the following brands:

Speer GoldDot
Federal Hydrashok
Remington Golden Saber
Winchester Silvertip

There are a lot of strong secondary and/or specialty players in the market like Triton, Cor-Bon, and Black Hills (the last two both load other peoples premium bullets to a higher velocity and/or quality level than the general run of factory ammo) but they are really going for the niche markets.

Each of the major players has a distinctive characteristic that makes them particularly desirable (or undesirable), for a particular weapon or application.

Gold dot bullets for example have a very thick star shaped jacket, that is strongly bonded to the lead, and have a very large conical hollowpoint cavity. This allows for great expansion without much loss of mass, and almost no chance of shedding the jacket, or pealing a petal off (a common occurance with cheaper JHP designs). An expanded Gold Dot bullet looks very much like a sunflower. Gold Dots are available as reloading components. Unfortunately Gold Dots are also about the most expensive of the premium hollowpoints.

Hydrashoks have a thinner, pre scored jacket, with a medium diameter but very deep cavity, and a central post of lead. This post tends to act as a penetrator so that thick soft materials (like clothing) which frequently clog up other hollowpoint designs and prevent expansion will do so less frequently and less severely. An expanded HydraShok looks something like a flower with a wilted stamen.

Remington Golden Sabres are the last in market position behind all the other premiums, but they have a niche carved out with guns that just wont feed other hollowpoints. The golden saber uses a very hard, pre scored (spiral scored actually) jacket, with a very small diameter, deep hollowpoint cavity. This combination closely replicates round nose FMJ, and the golden saber will frequently feed in guns that choke on other JHP designs.

The one major problem generally seen with the golden saber is the deep spiral scores in the very hard jacket (see the problem? That's also the main advantage). These scores can catch on burrs or sharp edges inside the weapon. Also the hard jacket controls expansion well, but can sometimes lead to bullet fragmentation at high velocities, and at low velocities can prevent expansion, This isn't necessarily a bad thing because in both cases a more effective wound could result, but you could be caught on the edge between the two which can sometimes result in over penetration.

Basically if your gun doesn't like any other hollowpoints, try out the golden saber, and the next choice, the Winchester silvertip (which I generally prefer).

Winchester Silvertips are hollowpoint bullets with a relatively shallow and small diameter cone shaped hollow point cavity, and a relatively thick nickeled gilding metal jacket.

The shape of the silvertip is more like a FMJ round than any other premium JHP, and therefore feeds somewhat better (they have the reputation as the easiest feeding JHP in many guns).

Combined with the jacket material and construction, silvertips have a reputation for better penetration and weight retention than most hollowpoints. They also withstand extremely high velocities (like full power 10mm) without fragmentation better than most other hollowpoints. This comes at the sacrifice of maximum expansion.

This is an interesting tradeoff to make actually. For calibers that may be somewhat defficient in penetration, the silvertip is ideal. I believe all american manufacturers of .32 and .380 pistols recommend winchester silvertip, and at least two specify it exclusively for some pistols.

For calibers that have a reputation for overpentration however (like 9mm) they may NOT be an apropriate choice.

They are EXTEMELY popular among 10mm users for several reasons. First, they are the most powerful commonly available premium commercial load. Second, they are available as reloading components at reasonable (relatively) cost, Finally as mentioned above, they stand up to the full power 10mm loadings. Most other hollowpoints will overexpand and shed mass, which resduces their effectiveness. The Silvertips expand to almsot the perfect degree with full power 10mm loads, balancing penetration and expansion to produce the maximum wound effect.

There is one final major category of defensive ammunition, and thats frangibles. There are several types, but the commonality between them is that they are all designed to break apart on hard surfaces (for whatever reason).

The most common frangible type are compressed sintered metal bullets. These are basically metal powder forced into a mold at high temperature and pressure, with binding agents. They are specifically designed to burst into powder when hitting a hard surface, rather than ricochet, or break into large pieces. They are chiefly used as a training round because they present less danger on a shooting range, and may present less of an environmental hazard than lead bullets.

Glaser safety slugs, and the similar MagSafe and BeeSafe rounds are technically, prefragmented composite ammunition. The bullet itself consists of a thin metal jacket, filled with small shot suspended in resin, and sealed with plastic or soft lead.

Glasers will break apart on impact and produce many very small wound tracks in soft tissue, while presenting minimal risk of damaging ricochet or over penetration.

They are VERY effective against soft tissues, however they perform poorly against heavy leather clothing, and they have almsot no wounding potential through barriers. They may not break glass depending on the angle at which they impact.

Again, this can be a good tradeoff to make. I personally tend to load Glasers when I’m carrying in crowded environments, and inside drywalled buildings (being most buildings these days). That means I’ve got the Glasers in most of the time I’m carrying concealed.

That said however, I always keep a magazine of premium JHP’s (Gold Dot or hydrashok depending on the gun) handy in case I have to face a tactical situation in which Glasers would be ineffective (lots of soft partial cover, some hard surfaces etc...).

I do not recommend Glasers as general carry ammunition unless you are able to acquire a large quantity of them (at least 100, and preferabely 250 to 500), so you can obtain adequate practice with them in your guns. The Glaser (and mag safe etc...) shoot VERY differently than standard loads. Also, they may not be reliable in all semi-auto pistols, and you should shoot at least 100 rounds through the pistol in question before you can really count on them. This is kind of problematic because Glasers run about $3 a round.

Yes, I said $3 a round. Conventional premium hollowpoints run somewhere under $1 a round for most calibers, and FMJ practice ammo typically runs between $0.10 and $0.50 per round.

I was lucky, and was able to acquire a large quantity of Glasers, MagSafes, and BeeSafes at an auction for a steal, and thus I was able to develop the proper level of confidence in these ammo types through my carry guns.

Now, I DO recommend that all bedside revolvers default load be glasers or something similar, because they are very effective at household ranges, there is minimal risk of damaging over penetration, and you don't have to worry about feeding and function in a revolver.

So thats it for part one, handgun carry ammo. I havent decided what I'm going to do next, any suggestions?

Recipes for REAL men - Basic Cooking Secrets - Volume 1

Okay so I'm watching good eats (Alton Brown is a FREAK, but great fun) and I thought, I should write some posts about some basic secrets to good cooking.

This first one will focus on the dozen "secret ingredients" for great cooking. It's not that these ingredients are so secret, it's that using them is the secret to great quality, and restaurant taste.

1. Butter

Butter is the basic ingredient of... well everything really.

Almost every decent sauce starts with either plain butter, butter and oilive oil, a roue (butter and flour), beurre blanc (shallots, white wine or lemon juice or white vinegar, sometimes cream, and butter), or beurre noir (shallots, red wine or cider vinegar, and browned butter).

Butter is one of the most basic ingredients in almost all baking. Without butter, most baked goods just don't taste right.

Also almsot all frying, sauteeing, and pan roasting NEEDS butter. To sautee properly I almost always use a mixture of butter and olive oil. This gives a better flavor, and browns the food better.

Finally, butter can be flavored and mixed with almost anything to act as a garnish or topping. It draws and enhances flavors wonderfully (which is why it gets funky in the fridge sometimes.

Honestly, margarine is evil horrible stuff. It's vegetable oil with emulsifiers and proteins added, and then bubbled through with hydrogen until it congeals. I mean who wants to eat that? Oh and baking with margarine is punishible by death (or at least it should be).

2. Cream and/or condensed milk

You can't have a white sauce without cream; it's that simple. The use of cream in American cooking has fallen on hard times, and that's just wrong. Almost anywhere a recipe asks for milk (except in baking), you'd likely be better of using cream.

Heres the thing, milk is welll... watery.

Cream and condensed milk both have far more buttersolids (the things that give dairy it's flavor) than milk. Yes theres more fat in cream, and that adds in texture and flavor, but the non-fat buttersolids are at least as important.

Restaurant cheese sauces? Yeah cream there.

Gravy? HELL yes theres cream there, even in brown gravies. Actually msot brown sauces will have at least a little bit of cream unless it's a clear brown sauce (which will have butter and red wine of vinegar usually).

Oh and white soups? Yeah theres cream in that too.

Seriously, almost anywhere you would use milk in a recipe; a restaurant or pro chef would use half and half, or light cream.

Condensed milk can be used when thickening is important, and where you need a little extra sweetness. I most often use it in baking, or making puddings or dessert toppings.

Then only time I'll use milk in preference to cream (other than in baking which requires precise fat and sugar balances) is when I'm dissolving something in the milk that doesnt like to dissolve in a fatty solution. Even then you can usually get it to dissolve properly by adding a little lemon or lime juice (be careful it can cause curdling).

3. Buttermilk

NEVER EVER EVER cook with skim milk. You might as well just use water, because that's all you're getting with skim. If you are worried about fat content (why are you reading me anyway but...) and your recipe calls for skim, then buttermilk is almost always the better option.

Buttermilk is the left over liquid when butter is made, and as with cream and condensed milk, it contains a lot more buttersolid but almost no fat as compared to whole milk. It WILL have a slightly sour taste, because it has a lot of lactic acid in it, so be careful with recipes that are sensitive to acid.

That said, the most acid sensitive cooking is baking, and buttermilk is just MADE for baking.

Also buttermilk is the basis for a lot of sauces and dressings. It can be made sweet, savory, rich, or tart depending on how you complement it.

Try a buttermilk and sour cream dressing with lime juice, light olive oil (be careful about your fat balance), cracked peppercorns, tabasco, and powdered mustard.

4. Sour Cream (unsweetened yoghurt with lemon juice can work as well)

Sour cream is often used as a texturizer, and adds a slight to moderate sharpness to sauces. It's also one of the most basic ingredients to a white dressing. You really can't make eastern european food without sour cream, and a lot of middle eastern food is improved by it (though they would traditionally use yoghurt, which is effectively sour goat cream).

Funny thing is though? I dont like sour cream. I cook with it, but I dont care for it as a topping.

5. White Pepper

Don't want to speckle your sauces? White pepper is your friend. Just about every savory sauce needs pepper and salt, but sometimes you dont want the pepper to show (although I LIKE the speckled effect personally, plus I like fresh cracked pepper).

Remember, pepper helps balance out the flavors of fat in your sauces.

6. Balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce (both vinegar based)

Got a brown sauce? A marinade? A Red Sauce? any kind of savory sauce? Use a little balsamic vinegar in it. It adds flavor, and helps emulsify fats. It's especially good in sauces to be used with rare beef.

Want the savory flavor but not the sourness of the balsamic vinegar? Toss a little hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce in it (depending on whether you want heat or not) and it WILL be better. Mix it in with your ground beef when making burgers or meatballs. Sprinkle it on your potatos. I put hot sauce in just about everything (I LOVE my alfredo with some hot sauce).

7. Olive Oil

You can't cook italian without olive oil. Hell as far as I'm concerned you can't cook without Olive oil period. Almost every red or brown sauce starts with olive oil.

Olive oil has its own wonderful flavor, AND it absorbs and enhances all the other flavors around it.

Every kitchen should have a strongly flavored extra virgin, and a light salad olive oil

8. Garlic

You can't cook without garlic. No really you can't. NOW BE CAREFUL, because most people use WAY too much garlic. Only very rarely should more than one clove of garlic be used in a recipe for four, and most often you should use less. Garlic is such a dominant flavor that you have to be careful about how you use it, and how much of it you use.

WARNING, except as an aid to savory sauces, or on potatos, don't use garlic powder or garlic salt for anything.

9. Shallots

If you want restaurant style sauces and sauteed dishes, you will need to use shallots... LOTS of shallots. You clean them, and then mince them so fine they are turned into a paste (pros have a machine that does this for them).

When it's done properly, the shallots will dissolve into any sauce, or into the butter/oil you are sauteeing with.

Personally, I'm not that big a fan of shallots (I'm allergic to onions, and shallots are jsut a mild onion. They dont make me sick, but they give me wicked heartburn), but almost every restaurant sauce uses them.

10. Cornstarch or Arrowroot (or sometimes potato flakes)

How do resaurants get their sauces to be so thick and rich and creamy? Well as mentioned above they use butter and cream and buttermilk, BUT that isn't necessarily sufficient for the proper texture, especially in a brown sauce, or any drippings based, or broth/stock based sauce (that's a lot of sauces).

Most people try and thicken sauces with all purpose flour. While this CAN work out for you, it isnt necessarily the best way. Flour can very quickly lump up, and glutens can cause problems with the sauce.

So the secret here is to use something else, that will thicken with less material, and that wont clump up. That means corn starch, arrowroot, or potato flakes.

The best gravies start with a drippings and butter flour roue, add some stock, seasonings, and possibly cream, and then the final thickening is done with arrowroot or potato flakes.

Oh and some folks like acorn flour for this purpose, but I've never used it.

11. Parmagian Cheese

Parmagian is the universal cheese. Just about anything you cook that isn't sweet, and needs a little bit of savorieness, or a bit of a crust on it; and parmagian is there for you.

My personal favorite? I mix finely grated parmagian in my breading for chicken picatta.

There is only one thing, too high a heat and the presence of moisture with make parmagian go stringy or grainy unless there is an adequate emulsuffier and acid/fat balance.

Also that stuff in the green tubes? Yeah thats fine for shaking over your spaghettios, but do yourself a favor and go get some REAL parmagiano regiano. You'll thank me.

12. Cream Cheese

Cream cheese is another texturizer, and flavoring agent. Plain cream cheese doesnt have a very strong flavor, but it accents other flavors very very well, and it has a wonderful texture and mouth feel. That mouth feel survives melting, which most cheeses can't say.

Cream cheese is also incredibly versatile. It blends equally well with garlic and onions, as it does with strawberrys and honey.

I like to add a little cream cheese into all my cheese sauces, which tends to smoothe them out and richen them up. I also make dessert toppings with cream cheese and sweet flavorings and/or fruit.

Well that's not a lot of info yet, but it's a start. Theres quite a few other "secret ingredients" I can think of, but those are the most important.

10 Greatest Metal Bands of All Time

Okay so I'm watching the VH1 "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" for the umpteenth time, and I was thinking... okay what about jsut Metal.

I'm a hard core metal head, classic metal, progressive, speed metal, thrash metal... basically anything that isn't just power chords and screaming (sorry you death metal fans. Some of your stuff is fine but most is horrible shite).

Okay so ground rules.

1. Solo artists not allowed

2. This is my "definition" of metal:

Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Blue Cheer, and Blue Oyster Cult don't count (progressive blues, forerunners of metal, not metal yet). Metal wouldnt exist without them, but they aren't metal by this definition.

I AM counting Sabbath as metal however. There is no metal without sabbath, and althought Sabbath with Ozzy trod the edge of metal and blues, they created the entire genre of doom metal, and post Ozzy they got nothing but harder.

Also progressive metal (like Dream Theater), and altmetal/grunge metal count, but progressive hard rock, hard rock, hardcore punk (although I'm wavering on L7 and the MC5) etc.. don't.

I'm on the fence about industrial, goth metal, death metal etc... some of it is real metal some is more electronica... some it just screaming and power chords. Let's make it an artist by artist thing.

Some hairmetal yes, some no. Hell most of it was really hard rock anyway. Let me repeat this, hard rock is not metal. AC/DC, GnR, Crue etc... are not metal. Twisted Sister and Skid Row are right on the edge of real metal (but don't even TRY and tell me that Dee Snider and Sebastian Bach aren't metal), Whitesnake (though I love them and they kick ass) are NOT real metal.

Nu-metal (though I like some of it) is right out...

Well... except System of a down, and Disturbed maybe, and a couple of other bands that are more real metal than nu-metal. I'm thinking of Linkin Park shit whan I say it's right out.

4. They must have been around for at least 5 years, and really 10 to be serious about it. By that I mean they need to have produced an album before 2000, unless someone can tell me there some amazing metal band that transcends it's newness. Damageplan, Audioslave etc.. need not apply.

I DON'T mean they need to have been together for five or ten years. I'm not going to disqualify a spectacular single album band.

5. The criteria for "best" are as follows

• Best Music
• Biggest Impact on metal
• "Most Metal"

Okay so here's my top five, but I'm having a hard time deciding on the sixth through tenth:

1. Black Sabbath
2. Metallica
3. Iron Maiden
4. Judas Preist
5. Megadeth

Honestly I don't think anyone who loves the whole world of metal would SERIOUSLY disagree with the top five above, except for re-arranging the order...

buuuuuut number six through ten.... honestly I can't decide. Motorhead is definitely up there, Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera... I could go deep into the 70s and pull out some diamondhead....

Okay I'm jsut gonna put up a list of the other metal bands I consider among the greatest, and let all of you decide. Or you can stick up your nominees... plus I want to see your picks in comments.

Hell, maybe you can change my mind about the top five. I doubt it, but you can try.

Heres the list in no particular order

Motorhead
Slayer
Pantera
Diamondhead
Dream Theater
Queensryche
Faith no more (okay thats pushing it, they are on the edge between progressive rock and metal)
Anthrax
Korn (yeah, its pushing it, but I think they're real metal)
Alice in chains (prior to Jar of Flies they were real metal)
Soundgarden (prior to Superunkwnown they were real metal)
Mercyful fate (remember what I said about goth/industrial/deathmetal being on the borderline)
Rainbow
Uriah Heap
Ministry
Scorpions (yeah they were the best of the '80s arena metal, come on you know it)
Testament
Kings X
Candelmass
Danzig (technically a band and not jsut Glen solo but I'm kind of wavering on that one).
Sepultura
Static-X
Soulfly
Suicidal tendencies (oaky I know, more punk but still...)
Type O Negative
Sisters of Mercy
Napalm Death
Fear Factory
Rammstein (again, on the edge of metal, but I love them anyway)
Prong
Helmet
Hatebreed
Shadows Fall
Deftones
Disturbed
System of a Down
Iced Earth

And finally...

Rage Against the Machine... Yeah I hate their politics, love the music, and yeah they are pushing the definition but I've got five words for you: Killing in the name of. If that aint metal what the fuck is?

Whaddya all think? Writing the lsit down got my head a little clearer, and I think I could pick my top ten, but I want to see what you guys think.

Governator Overworked?

Ok, I'm kind of irritated by this bullshit...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050811-1238-ca-schwarzenegger-fitnesscontract.html

By Steve Lawrence
ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:38 p.m. August 11, 2005

SACRAMENTO – Responding to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's multimillion dollar deal with two muscle magazines, a state senator says she will introduce legislation Monday to bar top state officials from having second jobs.

"The truth of the matter is they are getting paid to do (state) jobs that the public perceives they're committed to 24/7," Sen. Jackie Speier said Thursday. "They accepted the positions knowing what the parameters are."

Speier, D-Hillsborough, said she would introduce a bill and a constitutional amendment to bar the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, insurance commissioner, secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and state controller from taking second jobs...

...Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said the Republican governor would be willing to consider signing a ban on outside jobs as long as it applied to legislators as well as statewide officials...

Yeah pretty much just a bitch (in both senses of the word). I see no reason why a government official should be prevented from having an outside job so long as there is no conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety.

In fact Schwarzenegger decided the contract could be interpreted by SOME (read liberal scumbags) as a conflict of interest and dropped it.

But this is jsut bad law. It's jsut plain stupid, AND there are some FEDERAL constitutional implications (prior restraint, freedom of association etc...). Of course theres precedent from other states and it’s never been taken to a higher court as far as I know.

Just another piece of “there oughta be a law” bullshit.

Holy shit I actually won

Mr. Completely postal match that is.

http://mrcompletely.blogspot.com/2005/08/e-postal-handgun-match-1-flyswatter_11.html

I was thinking 9 would get me the upper middle... turns out there were a few 8s and a bunch of 7's but no 9's.

This is out of 20 possible there folks. DAMN those bugs were a bitch to see at 10 yards. Honestly half those hits were just plain luck anyway.

That's doubly true since I did it with one of these for gits and shiggles:

Rockstar Update

Well it turned out to be Brandon, Suzie, and Jessica...

Not a big surprise, they were my alternate pics. I was playing poker so I didnt see the show, but the performance videos...

Jessica - "Disappear" Honestly I thought Jessica was too upbeat, too thick, and too country with "Disappear". I love the song, and it's not supposed to sound like that. She rocked it without a doubt, it just didn't sound right to me. Ok but she definitely had the guts for it, she was singing as if her life dependind on it, and I can see keeping her.

Suzie - "Bitter Tears": Actually I really liked her doing this song; and I hadn't liked any of her performances so far all that much. She really got the guts into it after that first verse and just nailed it perfect the rest of the way. Definitely the best of the three.

Brandon - "Don't Lose Your Head": Sorry man... not bad, but not bad aint gonna do it when you're on the block, especially against the other two performances. That's too bad because Brandon was starting to grow on me. He was sharp in spots, flat in spots.. I think he muffed a couple of lines... Not only that, but Jessica was singing for her life, and Brandon just wasn't balls out like she was.

Let's see how they do on the acoustic only bit for next week. That's going to be very tough for Jessica, Suzie, Deanna, and J.D.

Lord I wish I could see their song options list...

The only way I can see Deanna not hitting the block is if she gets something very bluesy and emotional. Hmmm, actually I'd LOVE to hear Deanna try Allannah Myles "Black Velvet". She's great, I think she second only to Jordis among the women, but the acoustic week is jsut going to be killer without the right song.

J.D..... I don't think there's a thing he can do to avoid the block; he just doesn't have a voice for acoustic.

Jessica and Suzie... tossup there. If they find the right song then they're solid, if not...

This is going to be the week for Jordis I think. If she gets anything near a decent song she's jsut going to clean up.

Marty is probably going to hit something alt rock... I'd love to hear some Nick Cave, or Pogues thrown in there but I dont think they'd throw him a bone that big.

Mig didn't look happy when they said acoustic only next week, but the guy just has too much talent not to be safe in this group. I think what he'd REALLY like to be doing is something from the Queen catalog where he can showcase his vocal range, which is pretty damned impressive (anyone who can cover Freddie Mercury has to have a 4+ octave range).

I'm guessing Ty is going to look for something like "Tears in Heaven", something very emotional, and a ballsy choice. Tears in heaven in particular isnt a vocally difficult song, but it's so powerful and emotional that it really takes guts to sing it. The only way I can see him not being safe is if he gets TOO ambitious and can't pull it off.

Any way you slice it I'm guessing that Marty, Jordis, Ty, and Mig are safe next week, J.D. is on the block no matter what he does, and Deanna, Suzie and Jessica are down to song selection.

Shuffle up and deal

Did pretty well at poker night tonight.

In the first seating I was CRUSHED. After about 30 minutes I dropped a 12k pot small pair to big pair. Next hand I'm all in with 650 on pocket queens, 1500 in the pot chip leader calls it with an A-2, and he draws the ace on the river.

Ah well shit happens.

Second seating I was just dominant. I knocked 8 people out on my first table, and another 4 on the second. I end up starting the final table with 40k, two others on the table with a little less than me, and a the rest are small stacks.

I dont get a hand for like 15 hands, and the blinds go up to 2k-4k; theres some serious money in the pots, and I'm down to like 27k just from the blinds and a couple of calls. I take two more out, and now we're three way tied with three small stacks on the outs.

Two of them dump to Renee, my eventual heads up; and the blinds are 4 and 8 with 4 of us left on the table, one about to blind out. I bump him out on two pair; Renee takes 2/3 of the other womans stack, I get the rest, and we go heads up with her dominating me like 80k 40k.

Not a great situation.

Anyway I managed to beat her back till I was only down 10k, and she takes down a monster from me with pocket aces. By then the blinds are 10 and 20k. I'm big blind, and I go all in pre flop on A-10 suited, she calls it, I flop one short of the flush plus I pair the ace, and motherfucker but she ends up with two pair on the river.

So to make a short story even longer, I ended up in second, giving me a grand total of 700 points for the month so far. 1000 points gets me an alternate seat at the monthly tourney, and 2500 gives me a guaranteed seat.

I'll be able to hit maybe six more qualifiers for this month so I may make alternate, I may not; we shall see.

If there's a god in heaven...

..."He drives a silver thunderbird"

Marc Cohn was shot in the head sunday, during an unsuccessful car jacking attempt. He is conscious, talking, and stable.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/09/cohn.shot/index.html

Silver Thunderbird
- Marc Cohn

Watched it coming up Winslow
Down South Park Boulevard
Yeah it was looking good from tail to hood
Great big fins and painted steel
Man it looked just like the Batmobile
With my old man behind the wheel

Well you could hardly even see him
In all of that chrome
The man with the plan and the pocket comb
But every night it carried him home
And I could hear him sayin'...

Don't gimme no Buick
Son you must take my word
If there's a God in heaven
He's got a Silver Thunderbird
You can keep your Eldorados
And the foreign car's absurd
Me I wanna go down
In a Silver Thunderbird

He got up every morning
While i was still asleep
But I remember the sound of him shuffling around
Then right before the crack of dawn
I heard him turn the motor on
But when I got up they were gone

Down the road in the rain and snow
The man and his machine would go
Oh the secrets that old car would know
Sometimes I hear him sayin'...

Don't gimme no Buick
Son you must take my word
If there's a God in heaven
He's got a Silver Thunderbird
You can keep your Eldorados
And the foreign car's absurd
Me I wanna go down
In a Silver Thunderbird

27 Minutes

27 minutes ago, I heard a woman screaming "Oh my god, help me, someone please help me", and then a crash of breaking glass.

I immediately went to the window and couldnt see anything, so I went outside with three things:

1. My USP
2. My flashlight
3. My cell phone with a headset in

I dialed 911 as I was moving and I reported exactly what happened, and that I couldn't identify exactly which apartment it came from (it was one of six, and I have some strong suspicions).

I haven't heard anything since, and the police have not yet arrived. I HAVE verified that 4 out of the six apartments are ok; but from two of them, including the one I suspect the scream came from, I got no response. I can't hear anything, and lord knows I can't do anything. Unless I can positively identify where the scream came from, and that someone is in actual danger, I can't and shouldn't do anything more.

27 minutes, and still no police. Actually about 32 minutes now.

I live in a good neighborhood, and this is a Wednesday; not exactly a busy night. Not only that but I know where at least 4 blue and whites are; including the watch commander, right now (a convenience store down the street. They're there every night around this time).

Don't ever try and tell me that the police can or will protect you. The only thing you can count on is the ability to defend yourself. If you live in Massachusetts, New York, California, or New Jersey that fundamental right is already severely limited, and yet those are among the most violent and crime ridden places in our country.

Hell if you live in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Boston, or Washington D.C. effectively your right to self defense has been abrogated by the state. Almost no-one there legally owns a gun, but yet they have the highest incidence of murders commited with firearms (admitedly mostly criminal on criminal).

Do not let them tell you they can protect you. Do not believe it. Do not let them tell you that you don't need that right. Do not let them tell you you can't protect yourself. Do not let them tell you that isn't a right.

Defend yourself, and don't let anyone try and stop you.

43 minutes, still waiting...

UPDATE: About an hour later he came back, and my suspicions were confirmed; the abusive boyfriend of the woman across the way. He was kicking and pounding on her door, and I called the police again.

Now it's two and a half hours, he's come and gone twice, and the cops... well they just aren't bothering. It's been a few months since the last one, but these two have a history.

My girlfriend said to me "Honey, what gives you the right to get involved. That's not your job leave it to the police".

I will never understand that attitude.

My response? "Honey she was begging and screaming for help. I'm certainly going to respond. It's everyones moral duty to stop abuse and crime from happening if they can".

There was a time when everyone felt that way; now people just don't want to get involved.

Live Bloggin - Rockstar

Sorry theres been nothing politicial or gun related lately, the inspiritation is on low at the moment. Time for some mindless entertainment...

So on to the live blogging:

Umm Brooke Burke, metal micromini and stiletto kneeboots? Oh yeah, Chris Want.

Suzy - R.E.M. "Losing My Religion" : That took some balls to choose, and Ok, it was kind of a cool arrangement. It very definitely highlighted her voice, but I wasn't that impressed.

Mig - Free, "All Right Now": Mig nailed it, again. This is getting monotonous. Considering this guy makes his living by covering Freddie fucking Mercury.. only one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time, none of this is surprisng. But I want to hear a song from him that I can actually FEEL HIM in, instead of just doing a well vocalized cover.

J.D. - Seal, "Crazy": Lots of emotion, also a very ballsy choice, and he got the guts into it; he just doesn't have the timbre for the song.

Jessica - Nirvana "Come as You Are": What the HELL was she thinking? She doesn't have the voice for this song at all, and she sounds like Cher on ludes singing it. Yeah she's gone this week.

Jordis - Eric Clapton, "Layla": Hmmm... you know, it sounded good, but she doesn't seem to be into it tonight. Just a little off her game, a little less energy than she's had before, and no snap on the backbeats... Oh but I love the corset dress; VERY tasty.

Brandon - Rolling Stones, "It's All Over Now": I dug it, he was kinda channeling Chris Robinson again, and maybe he was a bit too tight... I think maybe he was trying to be a little more controlled in his performance, and I would have rather seen a little more balls out. He got better towards the end though... I like it, but I dunno, we'll see.

Marty - The Killers, "Mr. Brightside": Yaknow, Martys voice just sucks, but it wasn't that bad for this song. The balls he threw into that were jsut great. I'd love to see this guy do something a little quirky.. maybe some madness, or blur, or somthing 90's angst rockish. I liked it, but I think he's gonna be on the block this week for sure.

Deanna - The Doobie Brothers, "Long Train Running": Okay, I'm a bit biased because I really like this song as done by the doobies, but I thought she did it cool. She really does have an amazing voice for blues, and blues inspired rock. She sounded a little rough and hoarse today, and the doobies were always smoothe, so I dont know how well it will go over. The dress great, but it would have been better without the pants underneath.

Ty - Bob Marley, "No Woman, No Cry": Okay he started slow on it; but as he sang he jsut fell right into the groove. He was somewhere else for a while and I LOVE that. He broke it down well into the bridge, but the closing wasn't as strong as I wanted to see. I think he's safe from the block this week.

Okay my guess is that this week will see Marty, J.D. and Jessica on the block, but it's just a guess; Suzy could be there instead, and maybe Brandon.

Oh and I'm still thinking that Ty is going to take this one all the way. Just looking at howthe band reacts to him, and how he works the crowd. I know Ty doesn't want to pigeonhole himself, but I REALLY want to see him do "Cult of Personality".

UPDATE: Looks like spoons shares the same diversions as I do

I wouldnt know anything about this...

And lord knows this can't be true:

Well, If you're gonna go nuts, go nuts with style

This guys is a real prize nut job:

Crusader Nabbed By Michigan Cops
Medieval sword, mallet, armor no match for ye olde Taser

AUGUST 5--Meet Robert McClain. The Michigan man, 42, was arrested last week after he attempted to literally go medieval on cops. According to the below Royal Oak Police Department report, officers were dispatched to McClain's home after a motorist called 911 to report that McClain had fled the scene of an auto accident. When they arrived at his crib, McClain allegedly tried to strike a cop with a four-foot sword. After missing, McClain retreated to his basement, where he donned a chainmail armored vest and leather gauntlets to protect his arms. He also added a giant wooden mallet to his arsenal and beckoned officers to come downstairs and get him. "I'm gonna crush your fucking skulls," McClain warned. Then, in a nice rhetorical flourish (for a lunatic, at least), he added, "I have a thousand years of power." That omnipotence, however, was no match for a police Taser, which felled McClain. He was then carted off and charged with felony assault and a misdemeanor count for failing to remain at an accident scene.

And to comemmorate this occaison, lets all sing the classic Leslie Fish song, "Harmless Historical Nuts".

HARMLESS HISTORICAL NUTS

As I was out shopping, expecting no harm
Two big F.B.I. men grabbed me by the arm
Dragged me into a cellar, shown lights in my eyes
Demanding full answers without any lies
About this new threat to good patriotism,
This Society for . . . creative anarchism.

I said they're just...

..... harmless historical nuts
Who wear boiler plates on their butts
Who dress up in clothes from the 12th century
To bash on each other with sticks and debris
And make up the worlds largest private army.....
Harmless historical nuts

I answered 'tis true to that club I belong
But pardon me gentlefolk, you've got the name wrong
Now, I swear by the cross and the host and the chrism
That last word is actually anachronism
It just means outdated, pray why don't you look
In Sir Merriam Webster's reliable book

It'll says we're just....

..... harmless historical nuts
Who wear boiler plates on their butts
Who dress up in clothes from the 12th century
To bash on each other with sticks and debris
And make up the worlds largest private army.....
Harmless historical nuts

When finally persuaded to look up the word
They blushed and they winced loud enough to be heard
They hastily sent me back out on the street
But I new it wasn't over and once more we'd meet
So I passed on the warning to realms far and near
To give the impression for all the next year

That we're just...

..... harmless historical nuts
Who wear boiler plates on their butts
Who dress up in clothes from the 12th century
To bash on each other with sticks and debris
And make up the worlds largest private army.....
Harmless historical nuts

And yep, soon enough four infiltrators came in
All snooping for politics, sniffing for sin
Three went away again scratching their heads
But the fourth quit his job and turned stick jock instead
He's won coronets, he's in love with the sport
And we still have a copy of his last report

It says we're just...

..... harmless historical nuts
Who wear boiler plates on their butts
Who dress up in clothes from the 12th century
To bash on each other with sticks and debris
And make up the worlds largest private army.....
Harmless historical nuts
Harmless historical nuts

God damn tiny little bees

9 out of 20

Jesus h. Christ those things are tiny from 30 feet.

There's my target for Mr. Completelys first handgun E-post match.


The rule is 20 shots on this target (warning .pdf) at 10 yards, any part of the bug gets touched it's a hit.

I was planning on shooting this twice, once for .22, and once for .45; but I didnt get a chance to go to the range today like I had planned; so I did my favorite thing to do with my guns, I fired them inside my house...

Actually I can only do that with one of my guns, the Walther P22; because I have a suppressor for it, and a .22 bullet trap stuffed with wadding.

Of course I was using that Aguila SuperColibri stuff, which is pretty damned inaccurate as well, but really I dont think I could have shot the little walther much better with Eley super match. The can obscures a lot of your view, the sights aren't that great in the first place, and the front blade is significantly larger than the bee from 30 feet away.

Thinking about it, if I'd taken followup shots on the ones I'd missed, I probably could've corrected and made a few on the second shot, but the rule was to try to get a shot on each bug.

Oh and yes, I did make all 20 shots, the lower right hand shots were cropped out by my scanner, and since they were clean misses (both just to the right of the intended target), I didnt bother rescanning.

I should really try it again without the can, using the same ammo, then repeat with and without the can with a couple different loads just to understand the performance of the pistol a bit better, but I can't do that in my house.

Oh and yes, it's pretty damned quiet. It makes about the same amount of noise as throwing a pebble against concrete, or maybe snapping a pencil.

Recipes for REAL MEN, Volume 8 - It's a pork fat thing

Ya know, Steve H. swears by beef fat, but for my money, all non dessert food should be fried in bacon grease.

Just for a second or two, but still, everything needs bacon grease. Oh and lots of butter, and cream.

I was hungry, bored, and didnt feel like shopping. I had some boneless chicken, bacon, feta cheese, and new potatos, which gets me to thinking...
Hmmmmmm....


Ingredients:

1 lb trimmed boneless chicken breast
1 lb black pepper cured bacon
2 lb new potatos
1/2 lb feta cheese
4 oz Parmagiano regiano cheese, finely grated
1 dozen button mushrooms (optional)
1 dozen chery tomatos (optional)
1 red pepper (optional)
1 green pepper (optional)
1 large bermuda onion (optional)
1 habenero pepper (optional)

Seasoning:

4 tblsp stone ground dijon style mustard
4 tblsp chipotle habanero hot pepper sauce (I used AZ gunslinger)
2 limes
1 clove elephant garlic
1 tblsp fresh rosemary
1 tblsp fresh thyme
1 tblsp fresh oregano
1 tblsp cracked black pepper
1 tblsp paprika

Preparation:

Okay first step,

Quarter the potatos, coat liberally in lime juice, and microwave covered on high until slightly softened (5-10 minutes depending on your potatos). This step is optional, but it seriously reduces cook time without effecting the taste much. Preheat your oven to the highest heat setting (assumign a normal oven that drops out below 600 anyway. If you have an 800 degree volcanic then ... YOU LUCKY BASTARD ... set it to 550).

Dice the bacon large, and fry in a high walled thick frying pan or skillet with until lightly crisp; then remove from the pan and drain the grease through a strainer into a mixing bowl. Do not clean the pan yet as you'll be using the remaining drippings in the next step.

Add about a tablespoon of butter (more or less depending on your pan size) to the pan, mince and crush the garlic, and lightly sautee in the pan on low heat until golden. Deglaze the pan with a little vinegar and add the result to the bacon grease.

Prepare a mustard emulsion dressing with the bacon grease, mustard, hot sauce, the rest of the juice from the first lime, and all the rest of the seasonings (minced very fine). The lime juice is there to aid in the emulsion not primarily for flavor. If the emulsion is too fatty (it slides off a fork) add more mustard until it will evenly coat a fork.

Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces, and coat thickly with the dressing. Cover and leave aside to marinate.

Mix the rest of the dressing in with the potatos, in a non stick pan with deep enough walls to stir the potatos completely. Spread the mixture out in one even layer on the bottom of the pan. then cover with the parmagian cheese, and cracked blacked pepper, and mix it up again to form an even coating of dressing and cheese. This will create a crispy flavorful crust, that will carmelize nicely when roasted. Now spread it out into an even layer for real, and put in the oven, under your broiler. You want the highest heat possible here because you want to roast and carmelize quickly without drying the potatos out. This is why microwaving first helps.

Stir the potatos every five minutes or so until golden grown with dark and carmelized crust and points.

While the potatos are cooking, heat your frying pan and drop a couple tablespoons of butter in the pan to lube it up; then put the dressed chicken in the hot pan, stirring frequently.

Wash and slice your mushrooms, adding to the pan once the chicken is firm and white, turn the heat to low, and re-cover.

Quarter your cherry tomatos, squeeze a little lime juice over them and put them to the side.

Slice your red peppers into 1/4" by 1" stips. Finely mince the habanero, and dice the green peppers and onions into 1/4" to 1/2" chunks to your preference. It is not important to dice to an even size here, in fact some variation is nice in texture and mouth feel.

Crumble the bacon into the chicken, then add the onions and peppers to the pan, along with the rest of the juice of the lime. Stir rapidly over high heat until the mixture is fully glazed, not wet; and there is no real moisture in the pan. This shouldnt take very long, and shouldn't really cause the veggies to wilt. The idea is that they will still be crunchy and fresh when you bite into them.

To plate the dish, make a bed of the potatos in the plate, then cover with chicken leaving 14" to 1/2" of the potatos showing (the idea is to have several clear layers on the plate).

Cover the chicken with crumbled feta, as much or as little as your want but leave 1/4" to 1/2" of chicken showing, and scatter some tomato quarters over the top. Garnish with fresh parsely or cilantro.

I almost made a creamy feta cheese sauce to drizzle over it, but I thought that would be overkill.

I personally would serve this for two HUGE plates, but that's just me. The dish should probably serve four.

I made this last night minus the onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms (but WITH my last habanero), and it was so damn good I can't describe it. For all you rabbit food lovers I'm sure the mushrooms etc... will make it even better for you.

And be sure to check out:

Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 12 - Lard Ass Wings
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 11 - Bacon Double Macaroni and Cheese
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 10 - It's the meat stupid
Recipes for REAL Men, Volume 9 - Labor Day Potatos
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 8 - It's a pork fat thing
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 7 - It may not be Kosher...
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 6 - Andouille Guiness Chili
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 5 - Eazza the Ultimate Pizza
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 4 - Two Pound Meat Sauce
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 3 - Highbrow Hash
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 2 - MuscleCarbonara
Recipes for REAL men, Volume 1 - More Beef than Stew

Working on something interesting...

For dinner. This may result in a new "Recipes for real men"..

Heres a hint: Chicken, Bacon, Potatos, and Feta cheese.

Unfortunately yes, yes it is...

The funny thing is, if he WERE to comply with all of the regulatory compliance required these days, very likely the ONLY THING HE COULD DO would be pretend to work... oh and document his pretending to work of course.

Jesus H. Christ on a wanking pogo stick

That my friends, is some fucked up shit. I mean I'm a kinky perverted bastard whose motto is "A Filthy Mind is a Terrible thing to Waste" but ... DAMN...

My uh... favorite?

Home Alone

Until last year, I practiced self-bondage. I got off on the thrill of the struggle to escape. One evening while my boyfriend was working abroad, I got carried away and irreparably bound myself, wearing my tightest corset, nylons, 7" heels, nipple clamps, and a ball-gag. I managed to knock the phone onto the floor and after 3-4 hours effort, I dialed 999 with my heel. I couldn't say anything but the police broke in and rescued me. The sergeant said he'd never seen anything like it in 40 yrs on the force. I live in a small town, so I moved shortly thereafter due to the embarrassment.

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash

The man in black will always have a special place in my heart. That man didnt so much sing as he did speak; but he did it balls to the wall... without ever raising his voice.

When I first heard tha thte Cash biopic was going to star Juaqin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon my response was somewhat precdictably "What the FUCK ARE THEY FUCKING THINKING"

However, I have just seen the first trailer, and I'm hopeful and optimistic.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/walk_the_line/large.html

I thought Ray would suck too, and it turned out to be spectacular; lets hope lightning strikes twice.

Oh and if you havent heard Johnny Cash do Trent Reznors "Hurt", find it, steal it, I don't care just listen to it right the fuck now.

Alright now, I hate reality TV...

But I used to love the band INXS, AND it's good to see some real rock and roll one one of these "make me a star" shows...

So on a tip from Bruce at Massbackwards (still struggling on in my home state, still coming close to moving to NH... come on Bruce, YOU CAN DOIT!!!.), I checked out the web clips of the songs for the last few weeks of rock star - INXS

Anyway, he's pointing out the talent of a certain Jordis Unga, a VERY beautiful (bi racial I think, and horrid hair but hey) and certainly very talented young lady with serious guts; BUT...

The songs she's singing aren't really the best for her voice.

Actually listening to most of them, I'd make the same criticism. There's a few serious standouts (Deanna for example has a voice much like Melissa Ethridge only shes better looking, with a hell of a lot more power and better tone; and she has chosen songs to highlight that), but I'm seing some decent vocal and stage talent that isnt making it with the songs they're chosing. Also some of them seem to be trying to get by on showmanship, good looks, and sex, which wont fly too long when you can't choose songs that highlight your assets and play down your weaknesses.

...Although I will give them credit for having the balls to try some of the songs they are going for, especially Jessica (who is also wonderful to look at - if a bit skinny, and who would be amazing singing Kim Carnes, Bonnie Tyler, Meatloaf etc...). I have done some of those songs on stage, and they are NOT easy...

Also almost all the women seem to have either pop, or country vocal style, timbre, and range, not a rock and roll style. In fact most of them don't really look all that comfortable doing rock... That said, I'm willing to bet they may get some pop and/or country interest out of this when they are elimintaed (you can just see the band off to the sides reaction to the ones I'm talking about).

One thing that bugs me, is that they are almost all overdoing the stage acting; which some of them can pull off, but most can't. Actually if J.D. would tone it done a bit, and drop a bit of the vocal drama he'd be close to the best out there. Hell, as he is he'd make a great metal lead.

To my mind the biggest exception to these criticisms is Ty, who has blown me away with all of his songs so far. If this kid doesn't get at least a record deal out of this, something is wrong with music... of course we all know something IS wrong with music, but hey, I can dream.

Ty and Jordis are making the songs work even though they AREN'T right for them, AND they have limited rehersal time AND the arrangements are funky, AND the production isnt optimal to their shows... and let me tell you folks, that's a pretty solid measure of talent. They both have presence, energy, sex, charisma... They've got the goods.

Oh and hey, whats up with all the Canadians? More than half the contestants seem to be canadian. Not that theres anything wrong with that. Oh yeah, and I think half the guys are gay.

At this point I think that Jordis, Ty, MiG, Deanna, Jessica, and Heather (who was already eliminated - she totally blew Sheryl Crows "If it makes you happy" which amazes me - but she's got the goods too.), are really going to see something from this, and some of the women are going to get something going just on looks and pop or country... protools and a hot body can do wonders.

I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell

So going to the poker tourney last night was probably a mistake.I was feeling better last night so I went out to poker with friends. I wake up this morning, fever is back full force, lots more red dots, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, headache...

Oh joy.

Thats actually a pretty typical pattern for me when I'm sick. Wake up shitty, take a nap or rest for a while, feel better in the evening, do something that I know I probably shouldnt do... like drink 3 triple vodka tonics with triple lime for example (no that doesnt even get me buzzed, and I don't get hanbgovers unless I get very dehydrated. One would at least hope the quinine and salicylic acid were helping...) and then get myself sicker in the morning.

Shuffle up and deal

Went to my weekly poker tourney last night. 4 seatings (two main tournaments, two consolation tournaments).

Both mains I ended up finishing in the middle (20th out of 48, and 18th out of 40). Both I only took down one real pot the entire time, for decent stack... and then never got another real hand until I blinded down to short stack, and busted out on an agressive play with a marginal beat (first was trip K's vs a small straight chased to the river, second was 9s and 3s vs Qs and 3s).

ARGH.....

Thing is, I cleaned up in both consolation tournaments i.e. "losers tables". On the first loser I was in second place sa the time was rolling down, and I was out of the points hunt so I dumped it to the chip leader so she could get the points. On the second loser I took every stack on the table (7 stacks of 4k). Once I was big stack I was doing it mostly with mediocre cards, I was just betting right.

Then I went home, got online, and immediately took a first and a second place on pokerstars (I like the 45 man tourneys).

Obviously I can play the game, but it's pretty damn hard to win if you dont get SOMETHING to work with. I was literally in less than ten hands for both of those main seatings.

BTDT

UPDATE: Keenspace seems to be having some technical difficulties. Hopefully will be back soon.

More Comics Lovin - It's funny because it's true

Random Acts of Poetry

I was browsing online, as I am wont to do, and someone mentioend "Men of Harlech" and Rick Rescorla on an NoR thread.

For those of you who don't know, Rescorla was a cornishman, who emigrated to the United states in the early 60s, joined the army (he had already been in the army in the UK, and a Rhodesian policeman) and served with great distinction; most notably at the battle of Ia Drang Valley, memorialized in the book and Movie "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young".

But that's not why most of us know his name.

Rick Rescorla was the security director for Morgan Stanley in the Twin Towers on 9/11. He organized the evacutation of thousands of people (he is credited with being sintrumental in saving the lives of at least 3800 people that day), and was last seen heading back up past the 10th floor, reportedly singing "Men of Harlech" as he worked at getting people out.

Though we don't know what version Rick was singing, (there are many, and they get less anti english as you get newer versions), I like this one best (the original english version - translated from Welsh):

Men of Harlech

Men of Harlech, march to glory,
Victory is hov’ring o’er ye,
Bright-eyed freedom stands before ye,
Hear ye not her call?
At your sloth she seems to wonder;
Rend the sluggish bonds asunder,
Let the war-cry’s deaf’ning thunder
Every foe appall.
Echoes loudly waking,
Hill and valley shaking;
‘Till the sound spreads wide around,
The Saxon’s courage breaking;
Your foes on every side assailing,
Forward press with heart unfailing,
‘Till invaders learn with quailing,
Cambria ne’er can yield!

Thou, who noble Cambria wrongest,
Know that freedom’s cause is strongest,
Freedom’s courage lasts the longest,
Ending but with death!
Freedom countless hosts can scatter,
Freedom stoutest mail can shatter,
Freedom thickest walls can batter,
Fate is in her breath.
See, they now are flying!
Dead are heap’d with dying!
Over might hath triumph’d right,
Our land to foes denying;
Upon their soil we never sought them,
Love of conquest hither brought them,
But this lesson we have taught them,
“Cambria ne’er can yield!"

Rescorla has been nominated for presidential medal of freedom, and all I can say is, he earned it and more.

Rescorla served with the 7th cavalry at Ia Drang, the same unit that Custer was massacered commanding. Their regimental motto is "Garry Owen" from the Irish folk song. Reportedly custer heard several of his Irish troopers singing the drinking song, thought it had spirit, and that the beat was good to sing on horseback:

Garryowen

Let Bacchus' sons be not dismayed,
But join with me each jovial blade,
Come booze and sing and lend me aid,
To help me with the chorus,

We are the boys who take delight in
Smashing the Limerick lamps when lighting,
Through the streets like sporters fighting,
And tearing all before us.

Instead of spa, we'll drink down ale,
And pay the reckoning on the nail,
For debt no man shall go to jail,
From Garryowen and glory!

We'll break windows, we'll break doors,
The watch knock down by threes and fours,
Then let the doctors work their cures,
And tinker up our bruises.

Instead of spa, we'll drink down ale,
And pay the reckoning on the nail,
For debt no man shall go to jail,
From Garryowen and glory!

We'll beat the bailiffs out of fun.
We'll make the mayors and sheriffs run.
We are the boys no man dare dun,
If he regards a whole skin.

Instead of spa, we'll drink down ale,
And pay the reckoning on the nail,
For debt no man shall go to jail,
From Garryowen and glory!

Our hearts so stout have got us fame,
For soon 'tis known from whence we came.
Where'er we go they dread the name
Of Garryowen in glory!

Instead of spa, we'll drink down ale,
And pay the reckoning on the nail,
For debt no man shall go to jail,
From Garryowen and glory!

Another thread was about James Bond, which got me thinking about Scotland and Sean Connery, which gouth me on to "The Longest Day" (probably the best war movie ever made).

That brought me on to military marches, which brought me to the offical march of the royal navy "heart of oak":

Heart of Oak

Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,
To add something more to this wonderful year;
To honour we call you, not press you like slaves,
For who are as free as the sons of the waves?

Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

We ne'er see our foes but we wish them to stay,
They never see us but they wish us away;
If they run, why we follow, and run them ashore,
And if they won't fight us, we cannot do more.

Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

They swear they'll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children and beaus,
But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er,
Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore.

Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

Still Britain shall triumph, her ships plough the sea,
Her standard be justice, her watchword "Be free,"
Then cheer up, my lads, with our hearts let us sing,
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen, and King.

Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

Our worthy forefathers, let's give them a cheer
To climates unknown did courageously steer
Through oceans to deserts, for freedom they came
And dying, bequeathed us their freedom and fame

Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

I'm a big fan of the Aubrey and Maturin novels which reference the song often, and it can be heard in the film "Master and Commander". It's an amazing thing to hear the Andrew crews singing this song, still much the same after 250 years; it makes me think that England might have some hope after all.

Anyway finding the original men of Harlech got me on about wales; which got me back on about scotland, and I ended up back at a page about Sean Connery, and another about Catherine Zeta Jones (who knew the welsh could do somethign that beautiful eh), which brought me to one of my favority poems of all time:

Do not go gentle into that good night
-- Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Obviously this has me thinking a lot about my mtoher, and my grandfather... It amazes me that a man like Thomas could write this, and yet he chose to kill himself (he deliberately drank himself to death)...

Woke up, got outa bed...

And fell right back in. I've got a fever and a nasty fire in the belly at the moment.

I think it's jsut stress. I was pulled over last night picking up my girlfriend (right turn at one of the few no-right-on-red intersections in the area. It was 1 am and I forgot about it completely), and I found out that my drivers license has been cancelled again. That's different than suspended, because I havent done anything wrong in Arizona, it's coming from another state. I dont know exactly what it is, but I suspect it's more identity theft bullshit coming out of Massachusetts.

I moved out of Mass years ago, BUT they say I had a ticket there, and a failure to appear for a year that I lived in California, and that I owe taxes and registration and a cancelled insurance fee for the years I lived in CA, and Ireland.

They say "Well it doesnt matter if it was you or not, your plate wasn't returned". I told them, "It wasnt me, and I can prove it. The state police got my plate because of the LAST time you suspended my license, registration and insurance for something I didnt do" (it was something my father did actually, and he has the same name as me, which used to happen with irritating frequency).

I've been going through this since '94. I had a car accident in OK city, which spread my belonings across I-40, and ever since then, every few months something comes up. I fix them, I put fraud alerts out, I do everythign the credit beureaus ask you to do to notify them and protect yourself etc... and still I get screwed over.

The state of Massachusetts doesnt care about evidence, they jsut want money from me. They are basically holding my DL as extorsion against them getting like $2k in taxes and fees. I even got them the state police report, and supposedly the dropped everythgin and removed the block.

SOOOO I reinstated my AZ DL last year, and got a new one.

Now they are telling me it was cancelled AGAIN last year, and I'm guessing it's the same bullshit.

The state of Massachusetts contracts out all its fine/fee collection services to a private company, and just like every other private debt collection agencey I've ever dealt with, even after you settle things in your favor, they keep posting the same wrong negative information automatically every three or six months. Its in the computer and it stays there forever, or until you sue them to get rid of it.

Believe me, I've been through it a dozen times.

Anyway the cop was cool, she didn't arrest me (she could have), she jsut took my plate and let my GF drive me home (I was two miles from my house).

So now I'm stuck in PHX with no vehicle, no job, and not enough cash to rectify the situation so I can get my vehicle back on the road to get a damned job...

AND I'm going to have to go to court, explain all this to a judge who will msot likely not give a shit and fine me a huge amount anyway because they hear so much bullshit they expect everyone to lie to them anyway.

This whole thing started more than ten years ago, with something I DIDN'T DO IN THE FIRST PLACE... GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Somebody up there really hates me.

UPDATE: May or may not be just stress, I've got some little red spots popping out. Maybe I ate something I'm allergic to...?

Things to to when unemployed - Volume 2

Well I've had a couple of preliminary phone interviews, one has some real promise, but really that's not so much a "thing to do..." as it is a thing to stop being unemployed...

So in the past 24 hours I've read four books (well, finished one and read three really). My reading list was piling up longer and longer working at my old job, and now I get to plow through

Heres the reviews:

Black Rednecks and White Liberals - Thomas Sowell - Encounter Books, NF, 2005, 372pp

Thomas Sowell has frequently been called the smartest man in America, and I'm not going to argue, at least as far as social dynamics, and social economics go. I'm a regular reader of his columns, and essays; of which this book is an expanded collection.

Here Sowell is allowed to expand and fully explore the topics at hand (with detailed footnotes, references, and bibliographies - this book could easily be used as a social sciences textbook) and he does so to great effect. All told there are six extended monographs of 50-70 pages each, all centered on our perceptions of race and culture; and on how those perceptions have shaped society and history.

I was going to say "I especially recommend..." but honestly there was only one of the six essays (the final "History and Visions") that I didnt think were very good or excellent, and really thats only because I'd read some of the same points several times over in Sowells other writing, so the essay did not come across as fresh or interesting. The title essay "Black Rednecks and White Liberals", "Are Jews Generic", and "The Real History of Slavery", are absolute must reads

I wont deny, it's a thick read for all that it is only 3oo some-odd pages (the rest devoted to notes and ereferences), but it's very definitely worthwhile.

Now I need to find a copy of Bill Whittles "Silent America"

Tinker - Wen Spencer - Baen, SciFi, 2003, 438pp

The tag line on the book is a quote from publishers weekly "Buffy fans should find a lot to like", and while I am a Buffy fan, and I did like the book, they arent really connected; except that the main character is a spunky semi-sexy ass kicking teenage girl.

Oh and on the semi-sexy bit, there is more than a bit of eroticism in the book, perhaps a nod to the Laurell Hamilton/Charlaine Harriss crowd, but with pointy ears instead of pointy teeth. Unlike Hamiltons recent efforts though, the sex hasnt gotten in the way of the story, and it isn't really inappropriate or jarring.

The book itself was funny, with a fair bit of action, but a bit shallow in its characterizations. I like the premise (a dimensional rift causes Pittsburgh to move to elfhame, hilarity ensues...), and theres a good framework for building characters, but the book feels like a setup for a series.

Shallowness can be tolerated in a book if there is promise of more goodness to come, and it seems there is; though I have no idea if a series has been optioned for this book. Heck, I'm still hoping for another installment of the Aron Allstrom "Doc Sidhe" series which was written in a similar style.

Overall, I'd say give it a go. It's a light, fast read (about 3 hours), and it IS an interesting idea.

Into the Looking Glass - John Ringo - Baen, SciFi, 2005, 278pp

This is about the best Sci-Fi I've read in the past year; and that's really saying something. It's certainly the best SF of 2005 so far.

...And honestly, I'm not surprised. The best SF authors going today are probably David Weber, David Drake, Eric Flint, and John Ringo.

This book calls back a bit to one of Davd Webers (a collaborator with Ringo in the past) books, "The Apocalypse Troll"; but the premise iteslf is almost entirely novel...

Well let me modify that. There is no such thing as a new basic idea in Sci-Fi, it's all in how those major ideas already existing are fleshed out and implemented, and detailed etc... in that light, Ringo has this one LOCKED.

The details were all good, the physics were mostly correct, the weaponry was VERY well detailed and correct (a major sticking point with me)... and the dialog was GREAT (there jsut needed to be more of it.

As is so common in Military SF that isnt told strictly first person (first person SF tends to be focused on internal dialogue which by its nature forces character developement out in the text), the problem here is a lack of character developement. This is a pretty short book, and it feels like it was a short story idea that ended up too long for a novella, but it wasnt quite fully novelized. There's easily room for another 200 pages, and the characters deserved to play out those 200 pages. Also the book was clearely written as a closed story, so theres no real sequel possibility (which is too bad, Bill Weaver is too good a protagonist for just one storyline).

This is definitely a must read if you like military SF at all, and it isnt by any means traditional hard SF, but it should appeal to those across the spectrum (except the pournelle nazis). Read it.

Eleven on top - Janet Evanovich - St. Martins, Myst. Fic, 2005, 310pp

This was a fun, funny, fuzzy read; and I still love Stephanie Plum and her friends, but the last few Plum novels from Evenovich have really just been potboiler material.

Theres a lot more story to tell here, and I cant figure out if Janet is just trying to stretch out her money maker, or if she can't figure out how to tell it. Basically the last three books havent advanced the plotline any. We are pretty much where we were with "Hard Eight" and "To the Nines"; and "Visions of Sugarplums" and "Ten Big Ones" were barely even there.

Also, there has been an issue of time compression. This novel only covered a period of I think about 5 days (I'd have to leaf through to be sure, but it sounds right, certainly no more than a week); and other than the typical mishaps (two cars blown up in this one), they arent really fully fleshed out days.

Oh and she's running out of clever gambling based names. I'm guessing the next is going to be called dirty dozen or something similar, and the one after will be somethign to do with unlucky 13.

I like to call this "sitcomming" a series, where an author just kind of settles into a rhythm and pops out what is basically a short story, expeanded just barely into novel length; dealing with a short period of time, and not advancing the main story arcs. This lets you run a series on for a few years; much like sitcoms on television; so long as folks will continue to pay for new books. The thing is, sitcoms get stale, and so do series. As I said, I still love the characters and dialogue, but I could have skipped the last three books and missed basically nothing.

The reason I love series, is that they allow characters room to grow, and develop. You get to know the characters, their lives, their environments etc... Eventually you can probably write your own book in the series jsut by presenting a dilemma to the characters, and reacting as you know they would react.

And therein lies the rub. Eventually some authors do jsut that. They give up on originality, or advancing the story, or trying to surprise anyone etc... and they just write the same thing with different details. Worse, they make it impossible for new readers to enter the series, because they presuppose a complete knowledge of the world that has passed, and provide little or no new developement, so the characters seem wooden and two dimensional to those readers who havent "lived" through the previous books.

I can think of a very few long series that havent fallen prey to this (Robert Parkers Spenser, J.D. Robbs Eve Dallas Series, anything by W.E.B. Griffin up to the last few corps books), and many more that have (Robert Jordan, are you listening? Finish the damn series before you die of colon cancer).

Oh and to anyone who makes a crack about my liking David Eddings after writing that, you really don't seem to get the point THEY WERE WRITTEN WITH A REPEATING STORY LINE ON PURPOSE AS PART OF THE PLOT. Okay so maybe you dont like that as a plot device, but it wasnt jsut potboiling, it was actually done as part of the story.

Aaaaanyway, honestly, pick up "Eleven on Top" as a paperback for an airport read, but otherwise, I'd leave it.

NEXT UP IN QUEUE: The Hitman Trade paperbacks, Transmetropolitan trades, Haunted - Kelly Armstrong, "The Good, The Bad, and The UNdead" and "Every Which Way But Dead" - Kim Harrison, "By Order of the President" - W.E.B. Griffin, "Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception" - Eoin Colfer, "Ill Met by Moonlight" - Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis... ummm theres a big frikken stack of about 20 new unread ones actually...

Well at least I won't be too bored.

Things to do while unemployed - Volume 1

Read the entire six year online archive of Mallard Fillmore (unfortunately the other 5 years are not available):

I can only think of one other nationally syndicated conservative strip (and no regularly syndicated libertarian strip, though in it's day Calvin and Hobbes was pretty libertarian, and Bagge and Bok have regularly printed individual toons) and thats Prickly City from Arizona cartoonist Scott Stantis: