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Sitting on the couch, watching baseball, drinking beer.

And it. Is. Awesome.

Independence Day

Stuck away from home and not allowed to drink.  Oh well.

Celebrated by doing one of the great American pastimes, sitting in a dark theater watching zombies get shot. After grabbing chow we're going to go hit up the new Superman movie.

Updates

For those interested, briefly: I am now in Texas again, doing a crapload of medical and administrative stuff for the next week and a half, give or take, and there are once again two cats in the house.

Little more detail on the second bit.  Apparently after pushing the screen out of the window (no witnesses, and the two involved parties refuse to elaborate further than guilty looks and "meows") for some reason Lila decided that it'd be a good idea to climb a tree.  My money is on running away from the large black stray cat that's stalking the neighborhood from what I understand, although she may have simply wanted a good view of the area.  40 feet later she realized cats are not good at climbing down.

Reports are the neighbors closest to the tree were pretty awesome about things and kept an eye on her, and she got to spend a night or two in her little kitty treehouse.  This afternoon Manda haggled with a helpful local tree service company, and after Lila was extracted from the tree (and then extracted from the operator, I guess she didn't want to let go) she's now home and acting like nothing happened (which is a good sign.)

Anyway, the 4 hours of sleep in the last three days is catching up, so I'm probably going to work on that.

Cats...

Apparently somebody knocked a screen out of a window and got out yesterday.  As of midnight (home time) the very well camouflaged Lila cat was still at large, and probably not feeling very happy with her decision (a couple rather serious rain showers passed through in the 7 hours or so she'd been out so far, and we're talking one of a pair of dedicated indoor house cats.)

Pretty frustrating being on the wrong side of the planet and there's nothing you can do other than say "stick a dish of food on the porch and some of the coffee sacks she loves to lay on next to them, and hopefully she'll get hungry and cold enough to remember where the house is."  Fingers crossed that she's simply waiting for the rain to stop so she can wander back, or figured she'd just start trying doors and somebody will call in the morning.

Beer vs. Coffee

and the creative process.  So I wonder how the coffee stout one of my local breweries just re-released would stack up?

80% Poly Lower?

Sounds interesting.  I'd be willing to give it a shot (heh).  Looks very well thought out, and requires no jig to complete.  Looks to be $100, plus some time with a dremil I guess.  May be something to play with down the road.

Acheivement Unlocked

Sit in the flight deck of a C17 in flight and chat with the pilot.  Pics when I have better than the worlds slowest interwebs.

Hurry Up

And wait.  In this case for a flight out of KAF.  First step in the journey home though, so it's a good thing.

Daily Dose of Cool

A series of photos of cartridges precisely cut in half.

Half the challenge is figuring out what most of them are (the ones pictured above are the most "normal" of the bunch.)

Multitasker Series 2X deal!

Rainier Arms is clearancing out their stock of Series 2X Multitaskers to make space for the Series 3.  If you're looking for a great deal on the best AR15/M16 field tool out there.

Fast

I'll leave the bad humor to Caleb, but holy wah that's fast.

Fairly Awesome

h/t Insti

Interesting...

Apparently a S&W 1911TA will feed and fire a .40S&W...

It just won't extract the empty case, and that's where things got interesting.  Pay attention at the range peoples.

Sneak Peak - Multitasker EDC Tool

SSD put up a couple pictures and some info on Multitasker's upcoming EDC Tool.  All sorts of awesome there.

'American Gun' Give Away

Guns Holsters and Gear is giving away a pre-release copy of the new Chris Kyle book.  Hit it up.

Memorial Day

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Why I Carry

I said it years ago, and the recent event in London only further proves it. There are people in this world that will kill people like me, simply for putting on a uniform.  I refuse to be an easy target.

New camo?

Much like the last time I was in Afghanistan, it looks like the Army will be announcing a new camouflage pattern before I get home.  I kind of hope that new uniforms will be available fast, and I will be able to toss all my UCP pattern garbage (or maybe burn it in effigy) before I have to go back to drilling once a month.

News From Home

Cats are still cats.

And people water still tastes better.

PMag AK 30 MOE

Much to my surprise (and likely more than a few others,) soon you'll be able to get PMags for your AK-47 type rifles.

Very cool. Good for either style, or 922R parts count.

Weird News for the Day

Giant head found floating in river. 

Somebody's missing that...

Assault Banana Clips!

Spotted at Walmart by Manda...

Must ban, for the children.

Content... (and a lack there-of)

Trying to think of some longer posts to write, just for the sake of something longer and whatnot; and all I can think of is getting home in July, and wondering who makes a good AIWB holster for the LCP, and why is it so dang hard to find a good IWB mag holder for the same?  Any leads would be appreciated on that (looking for kydex, for I am a sweaty man.)

Boston Area

Thoughts go out to them, and if you're in the area, keep your head on a swivel and stay safe.  Sounds like one down (good... driving(?) by the Police, shot by the police, then possibly run over by his brother as he made his escape.  Sounds like he could have been wearing a Suicide Vest IED type device.  No doubt hoped to take quite a few with him.)

Tools

In the spirit of the Boy Scouts, Be Prepared. Have the tools you need, and the training required to use them.  Carry these tools when you think you may need them, no matter how small the chance seems.

The C-A-T Combat Application Tourniquet is, in my opinion, one of the better options out there. It's not perfect (the windlass was known to break on older versions) but it's easy to use with the correct training (part of the reason there are two of them on my person as I type.)

While this may not be something everyone should carry, it is something worth looking into for first responders, especially LEOs or other personnel working security at large events.  I know I will continue to carry one at least while working when I get home.

Manchin-Toomey Fails

Tough Hook up for Pre-order

On good ol' Amazon.  The Tough Hook is an industrial strenght hanger intended for hanging really heavy stuff like body armor and SCUBA gear.  It even has a handle for carrying the stuff around.

I got in on the Kickstarter a while back, but they're offering advanced orders to further boost funding.  If you've got a plate carrier, it might be worth checking out.

Mossberg Expands 20ga. SD Offerings.

Looks like they're pushing out a couple pump 20 guage shotguns complete with extended tubes and ghost ring sights.  20" barrels (a little longer than I like for a 20ga HD, but oh well...) and either 13"LOP Bantam stock or an AR15 style adjustable setup.

Personally, I like the Bantam stock better, since it's a Mossberg and their safeties suck with a pistol grip.  It looks like they also dropped the pistol grip on the fixed stock down pretty drastically, which would give you improved control, but still be able to access the tang mounted safety.

It's a pretty tempting idea, since the little 20ga Remington 870 is currently pulling "bedroom duty," but there's an appeal for a Mossberg since I shoot right, and Manda shoots left.  The improved sights would be welcome as well.

PETA Drones...

...to "stalk hunters."  I have a feeling the only "illegal" activity they're going to record is destruction of private property as some heavy shot tears through their little "drone."  I honestly have no idea what they hope to prove, but it should be pretty damn funny.

By the way, I don't really hunt, but I'd be willing to tag along with my 930 to provide AA cover for anybody requiring it.

Android Brick

Woke up and my Motorola Electrify is stuck in a "boot loop" and I'm on the wrong side of the world for customer service.  Sucky,  because it's my alarm clock and "mini-tablet."  Sucked it up and tried a factory reset, and no luck.

Any suggestions?