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Policing Our Own

January 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Greg Ellifritz has gotten sick and tired of bloggers stealing his words. He doesn’t have the resources to sue, so he’s going to use the tried and true method of shaming. I’m good with that.

I re-blog a lot of content. Either because the author is more knowledgeable, succinct, and/or funnier than me. I make damn sure that if I’m quoting, I let my readers know I’m doing so. I have felt the pain of crafting a paragraph (or even a sentence) when on a deadline and the brain won’t cough up something coherent.

I’m going to let Greg have the final words on this post.

We in the gun community need to hold each other accountable. That’s why I’m sharing this with all of you. Do you think this guy [the thief] is a trustworthy source of information? Why would you rely on advice from a thief to keep you safe?

Goals for 2019

January 2, 2019 / / 1 Comment

I’m not big into resolutions, as most fall by the wayside within the first two months. Just look at exercise machine sales in January and used exercise machine availability in March. I am setting some goals:

Writing

  1. I’m going to finish my rewrite of Badmoon Rising.
  2. I’m going to finish the next installment in the Irregulars series.
  3. I’m going to start fresh on my fantasy novel. That needs a pull down to brass tacks and rebuild.
  4. I’m going to read a new book at least every quarter. One of those needs to be nonfiction.

General Health

  1. I’m going to hit my goal weight of 200 and maintain that through the year.
  2. I’m going to get some regular physical activity.

Social Media

  1. I’m going to a three-time-a-day for Facebook, and no more than fifteen minutes total. Once in the morning to post the blog link, once at lunch, and once in the evening. My stretch goal is to get to a twice-a-day check.

There are some others that relate to my finances that I’m not willing to share on this forum. But these are the ones I’m going to work towards.

2018 Top Albums

January 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Editor’s Comments:

For this week’s Metal Tuesday, The Brother asked if he could write up his favorite albums of 2018. Although his tastes run a bit differently than mine, he knows his music.

I have so much music for y’all. This year I decided to do two versions of my Top Albums list; one without any death metal and one with the heavy stuff. I’m considerate like that. For each album, I list the general genre and links to Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube (some sources more official than others on YouTube).

I also call out a couple of EPs that I really liked and at the end are a list of honorable mentions (in no particular order).

The Heavy Stuff

  1. Rivers of Nihil – Where Owls Know My Name – Technical Death Metal: or or
  2. Omnium Gatherum – The Burning Cold – Melodic Death Metal: or or
  3. Psycroptic – As the Kingdom Drowns – Technical Death Metal: or or
  4. Amorphis – Queen of Time – Metal: or or
  5. Slugdge – Esoteric Malacology – Death Metal: or or

No Death!

Now, I also understand that a lot of people are not, shall we say, fans of death metal. This is for y’all.

  1. Clutch – Book of Bad Decisions – Rock: or or
  2. Good Tiger – We Will All Be Gone – Rock: or or
  3. Andy James – Arrival – Instrumental Rock: or or
  4. Paul Wardingham – Electromancer – Instrumental Rock: or or
  5. Set and Setting – Tabula Rasa – Post Rock: or or

The EPs

I also want to call out a couple of EPs that came out this year that I though were really good.

  • Hespera – In Absence – Melodic Death Metal: or or
  • Plini – Sunhead – Instrumental Rock: or or

Honorable Mentions

These are the albums that were in the running for the other lists but did not make it. These are still really good albums, but the lists have to be capped somewhere.

  • Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy – Death Metal: or or
  • Beyond Creation – Algorythm – Technical Death Metal: or or
  • Harakiri for the Sky – Arson – Metal: or or
  • Moonshade – Sun Dethroned – Melodic Death Metal: or or
  • Nita Strauss – Controlled Chaos – Instrumental Rock: or or
  • The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic – Post Rock: or or
  • The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic (Instrumental Version) – Post Rock: or or
  • Parasite, Inc. – Dead and Alive – Metal: or or
  • Zeal & Ardor – Stranger Fruit – Metal/Soul/Experimental: or or

Failure After Failure After Failure

December 31, 2018 / / 1 Comment

I was alerted to this by a post by J. KB over at Miguel’s. I have to agree with him that for as much shit as we give the media for their obvious bias, they are capable of doing some amazing work. If the Sun Sentinel doesn’t receive a Pulitzer for their tireless work on documenting all of Broward County’s failures during the Parkland shooting, the committee fucking robbed them. This is the epitome of what good journalism is supposed to do – hold those in power to account for mistakes, mismanagement, and outright fraud that led to both the deaths of citizens and the deprivation of other citizens’ rights.

The Sun Sentinel posted an interactive minute-by-minute account of the Parkland shooting, including the numerous failures of the system and of those entrusted with the protection of the students – morally, if not legally. It also busts some of the myths surrounding that horrible tragedy. You need to RTWT. And then RTWT of J. Kb’s analysis of the analysis. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Multiple, multiple, multiple failures. The fact that the top tiers of both the Broward Sheriffs Office and the School System have not been publicly fired and publicly shamed is a damning indictment of that county’s government. And those same reprehensible people were perfectly willing to cast blame on people like me to hide their own failures.

It makes one long for the days public officials feared things like tar and feathers.

Broke People and Poor People

December 27, 2018 / / 0 Comments

There’s an article in the local fish wrapper about rent to own pets.

…she took home the fuzzy black poodle her daughter picked out at Puppies Tampa. She got the food bowls, the leash. The toys, the treats. But the purebred dog came at a premium cost. One, she said, a pet store employee assured her could be managed through a finance plan for which Rodriguez would certainly be approved.

Essentially, the protagonist of the story entered into a “rent to own” agreement for a $1,500 dog. She didn’t realize this until she was told by her bankruptcy attorney. And now she’s suing because the people didn’t properly explain the dog could be repo’d if she missed a payment.

The theme of the story was evil companies use predatory loan practices on the most vulnerable for pets. My takeaway was don’t do poor people things, like finance a fifteen-hundred dollar dog.

Dave Ramsey explains the difference between broke and poor. Broke is a condition that you find yourself in usually because of mistakes, but sometimes because of other events. Poor is a mindset. It’s usually tied with a failure to delay gratification combined with financial illiteracy. One of the big characteristics of poor is blaming others for your situation. I can’t get ahead because someone is keeping me down.

My guiding principle for charity is hand up, not handout. I am willing to help a broke person, but not a recalcitrant poor person. It may sound cruel, but I want to make sure my limited charitable resources do the most good.

Christmas AAR

December 26, 2018 / / 0 Comments

It’s amusing that someone as uninterested in holiday celebrations is getting married to someone who absolutely reveals in the holidays. Shortly after Thanksgiving, the Wife To Be had the house in wall-to-wall decorations, with not so subtle hints that she really wanted to do lights outdoors. This is also our first real Christmas together. There are traditions that need to be established.

Tradition 1 – Matching/complimentary holiday shirts. WTB wanted to do pajamas. This was the compromise.

Tradition 2 – Gingerbread pancakes. And bacon. This is definitely a good holiday breakfast.

Tradition 3 – Meat smoking. I left my big Weber at my old house for my Shootin Buddy. I figured he would get more use of it than me down here. The WTB and her niece bought a smaller one, so I can indulge again. This year is duck over oak. Simple salt and pepper rub.

Tradition 4 – Me smoking. A bit over five years ago, I gave up cigars. I have too many risk factors, too much bad family medical history, and a Wife To Be who has allergies. I’ve missed my cigars. So, I will indulge in one cigar while tending the meat. This year is a Cusano 18 Maduro. This was one of my favorite cigars, and I wanted something mild for getting back into them.

Overall, the dinner went off without any major issues. Except I ate too damn much. Back on the diet I go.

Lessons In Wedding Planning – Invitations

December 24, 2018 / / 0 Comments

DISCLAIMER – Regardless of how today’s post may sound, the Wife To Be (WTB) is not becoming a Bridezilla as the big day approaches. This is more an illustration of the differences in our thought processes.

As for today’s lesson…

When you and your intended have reviewed several options for invitations, including color, texture, wording, font, and finally price, and chosen the one you both like the best, you have not chosen your invitations.

You have only chosen the first option.

More will be forthcoming as she scours the internet.