Bogieblog

They Need to Work on Their Answers

This can't be right - there aren't any Sigs as a possibility and last time I held a 1911, I didn't like the way it felt in my hand.

What type of handgun are you? Your Result: Colt Model 1911A1 Designed by John Browning and adopted by the US military in 1911, the 1911 has spawned countless variants and is one of the most popular handguns of all time. Many experts consider the 1911 the epitome of fighting handgun design. It is most commonly chambered for the famous .45 ACP cartridge. Shown above is an Ed Brown Special Forces Model.
Smith and Wesson Model 686
Springfield XD .45
TC Encore
Glock 17
Luger P'08 and Variants
Heckler and Koch USP .40
FN M1900
Desert Eagle .50 Action Express
Kel Tec P3AT
What type of handgun are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Don't remember where I found this from, I saved the link during the week and just got to it.

Cold Enough, But No Snow

It was a bit chilly this morning, it was in negative numbers at 10 AM. However, it felt much warmer than it did yesterday when it was 9 degrees - with high winds (gusts up to 40 mph). This afternoon was quite balmy at 14 degrees.

Tonight will be about -1.

If only we had more snow, WS would be happily sledding. Instead, we had a thaw and rain at the beginning of the week, and we missed out on the storm that hit the Southeast, so trails are bare (that doesn't mean the ground is bare - just places that have high traffic, or have been shovelled).

Hopefully we'll get some snow next week so WS can get out of the house and have some fun!

As I was Surfing

Created by Oatmeal

Stole the link from SigBoy.

Counting Chickens?

Or rather, birds at your feeders - it's almost time

 

Click image to go the birdcount page.
 

Jeep Report

Speaking of the Jeep (see previous entry), I have 1,600 miles (+/- 12 miles) on it. For those keeping score, I bought it on 12/29, didn't work the first 6 days I had it, and only had a 3 day work week last week,

I'm liking the Patriot. So far the AWD and 4Wd have worked out just fine for me. Admittedly we have only gotten good snowfalls on days that I haven't had to go to work, so a real test has not occurred. However, one day I passed 3 4WD vehicles when there was a couple of inches of snow on the road - so I'm happy at this point.

The CD player works flawlessly - even though they are all CDs that the Xterra couldn't seem to get thru. The lighted cup holders are cool and the heater works great (as do the heated mirrors). The suspension has done well over the frost heaves that have been appearing and the gas mileage has been very nice (24-27 MPG). The handling is good and it sticks to the road well (even on steep curve highway on-ramps). The forward windshield is nice as it doesn't fog up just by my breathing or coughing as other vehicles have tended to do.

Once I am able to control the window from the driver's console, things will be even better. Note that it is my fault that the window hasn't been fixed yet - I have an appointment on 2/5, my first day off that I didn't have several appointments already, so the fix is in the works.

Of course there are things I would change if I were to design the vehicle;

• The vents are either on or off - there is no setting that allows the air to flow naturally.
• The speedometer is on the left side of the dash (the tach is on the right) - since I don't pay attention to the tach (I learned on a vehicle that didn't have one), this is confusing to me. Additionally, being a standard transmission, I drive mainly with my left hand so the speedometer hides behind my hand/arm.
• The outside air temp is not a glance away - it is several clicks of the odometer away.
• The steering column is surrounded by a huge collar (for lack of a more appropriate word). I bang my knees on it at times - although not on a regular basis.
• It would be really nice to have a auto-dim rearview mirror. With the forward windshield, the mirror is about 8" away from an outreached hand. That means I have to really lean forward to reach it and when one is on bumpy roads (such as the frost-heaved roads around here), the seatbelt doesn't allow you to lean forward far enough to reach the darn thing.

Okay, I have to admit, I always find it easy to find things to bitch about so must tell you that despite the percieved issues, I am very happy with the vehicle so far.

Definition of Irony

Breaking news story on the evening news about the Toyota recall and suspension of sales for 8 of its models - followed by an ad for Toyota Tundra (on the "do not sell" list) citing its dependability.

Even more irony - doing a Google search for "Toyota breaking news", and finding a release from Toyota this morning that they expect a 6% rise in sales for 2010!

Kind of Makes me glad that I couldn't afford a Toyota and got a Jeep instead!

Petitions

Jeff asks if signers of petitions should be kept secret. The argument for secrecy is that anyone who knows the name of those who signed it, would know who voted FOR the the item in question during elections.

Although for the most part, this might be true, there are people that sign petitions becuase they believe that we should have the right to vote on the issue. I have signed a couple of petitions that I didn't agree with, nor did I vote for the warrant article. I don't sign every petition that I don't agree with, but I do sign those that I believe are important enough, and bring up a good point.

How many people have signed petitions that they thought they agreed with, only to find the final ballot question was worded badly (so they couldn't support it) or that they change their minds after digging into the facts (so they no longer support it)?

Just because someone signed a petition, does not mean they absolutely voted for it in the election, so secrecy of ballot has not been negated by revealing petition signers.

Fire

Wednesday, the coldest morning of last week (4 degrees when I left home), we had a fire shortly after I got to work and everyone had to evacuate. Fortunately, the cleanroom supervisor got the fire out, so we just stood around while all of Hollis’ finest checked it out to make sure everything was okay. The big concern was the fire was in an area where a lot of chemicals are used, so they had to go thru the MSDS sheets to ensure that everything was safe. Everything checked out and we got to get back into the warmth.

Thanks to the cleanroom supervisor for her actions - ensured we had a place to continue working at. Thanks to the firefighters of Hollis for being there and ensuring that we were safe from all other dangers that could have accompanied the fire.

Although it seemed like the day started out badly, it was a good day in the end!

Clairavoyance?

The scene: Yesterday morning, as WS and I are getting ready for the dump run. I am cleaning the glass on the woodstove door and WS is returning the vacuum to the back room.

Me: Heather [the neighbor girl] should be over soon. I got hit up for work for Girl Scout Cookies.

WS: WHAT?

Me: Heather should be over soon selling Girl Scout Cookies, I got hit up at work yesterday by Tony.

Thump, Thump, Thump (the sound of someone coming up the porch stairs.

Knock, Knock, Knock

Us: Laughing hysterically

WS: What timing dear!

The Taxman Cometh

Anybody noticed their paycheck is a bit lighter since January 1? While inputting our checks into the checkbook, I noticed that both WS's check and mine were lighter than normal. I pulled out our old check stubs and compared. All the deductions are the same, the Federal Withholding has increased.

I thought the middle class was not supposed to get hit with any tax increases. Sure, it's not much per paycheck but adds up to several hundred dollars for the year (assuming everything stays the same).

Thanks, but we didn't get that much in raises (oh wait, I haven't had a raise in 3 years, but I did have an anti-raise last year - and WS hasn't gotten a raise for a while). I am soon to look forward to a "cost of living" raise. The first one I have ever had in my life. However, it doesn't take effect yet, but when it does, I may bring home what I did in December. But, in the meantime, the taxes must go up. Can't wait for the healthcare taxes to kick in!.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year from the Taxman!