Thus spracht ME

Will the last one out Please turn off the lights?

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:17:00 +0000

Google bought Blogger. Google thinks that friends of mine are "offensive" Some whiner clicked the "flag" button that you will notice is not present on this blog. My hideing of it does technicaly violate the user agreement, so... I'm moving out. This is the last post on this blog. I can be found at Thus I have Spoken where I will continue to constantly amaze myself that anyone wants to read my drivel. Please update your links and blogrolls. (If you REALY want to) ;> I do not like having to make this move. I do not like having to learn a new blogging system, redoing my blogroll, or any of the other WORK I'm going to be doing to get the new blog up and running. All while learning a new op system on my computer. (Ubuntu) But if giggle thinks it is ok to dump saysunkle, or Roger Schultz, it's just a matter of time before they slam the door on me. I will not wait for that. I am sorry it has come to this. I like Blogspot. I am used to it. There seems to be a great community here. But I strongly object to gaggles policies and actions, and not just with regard to blogger. Oh, and I dumped my shares of guggle at a loss. Come on over and visit me at my new blog. If I can get it figured out, I will try to get the counter running with the total from this site as a start point.

Accusations?

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 00:44:00 +0000

Republicans accuse Hillary of being too angry to be president. I hear that Hillary is very angry about that accusation...

Wierdness

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:00:00 +0000

David, over at War on Guns has pointed out that my "Daily reads" is missing. Oops. I will have to regenerate that, as quick as I can. For now, David, you are linked in the blogroll... (Sorry, I thought I had it all fixed)

Best of Blogs: Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 16:47:00 +0000

Don Surber is hosting an open trackbacks. Don is one of those pretty sharp guys that gets it...

He's BAAaack!

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 17:48:00 +0000

Bill Whittle has finaly graced us with a new post. I was afraid he had a stroke or something after posting Tribes. You HAVE read Tribes, haven't you? No? Well what are you waiting for? GO READ IT! I can wait... Anyway, it seems our invenerent author has written a screenplay. As he says,

Here's the skinny: for the last six months now, I have been pretty much totally consumed by a new project. I've returned to the dark habits of my misspent youth and have almost completed my seventh movie script. I suppose I could work three jobs instead of two, the third being essay-writing, but my back has been very delicate lately. Oh, the pain! The Pain! Why go AWOL and write a movie script, when the Idiotarian Mootbat Hunting Season is in full flower, and the skies are black with swarms of gaseous, leathery-winged bloviators, ripe for the skewering? Well, I'll tell you. On my best day here at trusty Triple-E, I might reach forty thousand people. With a semi-successful film, I might reach ten million, maybe ten times that. Many times in the past five months -- MANY times -- I have felt the call to pound out some essay or another, and every time I am reminded of the huge lead time necessary for getting a film produced, a clock that only starts ticking once the script is finished. And so time and again I have forced myself to stay on target and press on with this screenplay; which, I am sure you will be shocked - shocked! - to discover, is somewhat overwritten. Overwritten by a factor of two. Maybe three. It's just that I have such a huge story to tell. I can't reveal the plot as yet, but I can give you a rough idea of what has been taking my essay time away from us at such a demanding rate: It's a science-fiction story. It takes place in the Strange and Mysterious World of Tomorrow -- the unimaginable world of TEN YEARS FROM NOW!

Just so you know, he says "spoiler alert after the above... Wink wink, nudge... Sad part is, Bill posted this on Jan 26th. And I didn't notice until today.

I think I have it fixed

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 17:39:00 +0000

If you see any strangeness, please let me know.

(I mean this blog, not the Moon-bats)

Rebuilding the blog

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 16:26:00 +0000

This REALLY SUCKS! I have no idea what I did to my blog, but ALL the formatting was gone. So I had to re-load the template, and I will be adding all the side bar stuff one Item at a time until I figure out what screwes up. This will take a while. Time is one of the things I don't have a lot of right now.

The Pressure to Post

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 23:10:00 +0000

Redmemory1 is talking about posting preasure. Long before blogging came to be, I started a "journal" in .txt format. If I recall correctly, the first PC I was using was a DX486/100. Yeah, Cave man days. Point is, I filled an 800 meg Hard drive with those musings over time. Pray the Good Lord never lets them see the light of day. I still plug that old drive in once and a while just to remind myself of some of the stupid things I have said and done in my past. For you gentle readers, that check in to see if I have posted anything new, trust me when I say, more typing goes in the trash bin every day than ever graces this page. -Which is lucky to get an update a week. Most of it is even worse drivel than this, so you are REALY NOT missing anything. I am not a writer. I've never wanted to be one. But, like Robert Heinline, and Spider Robinson, I have a "Jones." Therefore I write. "Save as Draft" is my friend.

The Mouse Story.

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:49:00 +0000

This turned up in one of the e-mail lists I subscribe to. Think about it. I don't know who the original author is. If you do, please let me know so proper atribution can be made. THE MOUSE STORY A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered- he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well, she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem, like those who own sporting weapons with military charactistics, or 50 caliber long range target rifles, or who want to be able to defend themselves and their families by carrying a firearm concealed, and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one class of gun owners is threatened, we are all at risk. We call that the "NATO DOCTRINE." We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another to defend the RKBA at any and all costs. EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON. PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND YOU PROTECT FREEDOM FOR ALL.

2500

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:33:00 +0000

According to my site meter stats, it looks like Redmemory1 was my 2500th visitor. Thanks, Red!

Operation Iraqi Children.

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 02:04:00 +0000

Tapscott and Micheal Yon are letting us know about how Gary Sinise has begun Operation Iraqi Children to gather school supplies for the kids over there.
I've gathered enough today at wallyshop for 6 kids. Next paycheck, I'll get stuff for a dozen more kids.

The kits are simple.
Here's the list:

1 pair of blunt end scissors
1 12 inch ruler with metric markings
12 new pencils with erasers
1 small pencil sharpener
1 large eraser
1 box of colored pencils (no crayons, they melt.)
1 pkg notebook paper
1 composition book
3 folders with inside pockets
1 zippered pencil bag.

Put it all in a 2 gallon size ziplock bag

That's it.
Supplies for a boy or girl to learn with.

Shipping instructions and other suggestions are here.

I consider this a worthy project. Read about it and decide for yourself.

Comments would be welcome either way. Let me know if you participate.
I'll be mentioning this at church to get them involved tomorrow.

If you don't want to put a kit together, yourself, but would like to help, hit the donate button, top of the side bar. Make sure you say for Iraqi children
I will try to answer every pledge.

It costs me 7.92 per kit. I may be able to reduce that a little by shopping around.
I haven't found out what the shipping is going to be yet.

A Fond Farewell

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:49:00 +0000

I am very pressed for time.
I work a 9 hour day, and I run a pistol course.
I argue for citizen rights and resposablilities on a dozen forums.
I read the news, and I read blogs.
I think there are about 40 blogs on my blogroll.
I have 29 on my bloglines notifier.
I also occasionaly blog when I find something noteworthy.

So when I see Ravenwood is chucking his keyboard out, I have a very bittersweet feeling about it.

This guy has blogged something interesting almost every day for over five years!

Hell, I'm lucky to post once a week.
If I manager to post something actualy interesting to anyone (other than me) it is pure serendipity.

I understand that sometimes you need a break.
But I'll miss the commentary.
Ravenwood will remain in my blogroll, and on my blogline notify list waiting for the day he returns.

Enjoy your family, R, and when you can, drop us a line.

Rights v. Obligations

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:44:00 +0000

Any time you go to a forum that has shooting or firearms as its' reason for existence, the subject of 2nd Amendment Rights comes up. And sooner or later someone will say, "What about WMD?" I've read both the Federalist and Anti-federalist papers. WMD, Nukes, Bio, or Chemical weapons are not covered by the 2nd. Sorry, that duck don't fly. Machine guns, short barreled rifles and shotguns, mufflers, up to and including towed artillary, are covered. And unconstitutionaly supressed. But not WMD. And, yes, the founders knew and understood germ warfare. They had opportunity to spread Smallpox, and deliberately passed on it. So much for that. NOW, let us talk about what we owe society for the recognition of our rights. Let us speak of our duties and obligations. This is a topic that very rarely shows up on the forums mentioned. And when someone (me) brings it up, they are promptly ignored. Little things, like voting in an informed manner. Answering the call for Jury Duty. And staying awake durring the trial if you are selected. Paying your taxes. Supporting your elected officials. Offering alternatives to proposed legislation that you disagree with. Running for an office that you think is not being filled in the manner you want. Helping a better candidate with his campaign even if he's after YOUR office. Military service to the country. Every Male owes six years, after all... Obeying the laws. If you don't like a law, you can fight to change it, but you obey them until they are changed. The bottome line is if you don't like the way the (insert political subdivision here) is being run by its elected officials, declare your candidacy, gather your petitions, pay the filing fees, campaign like there's no tomorrow, and win. Now, do better than the guy (or gal) you replaced. Don't want to? Don't even want to vote? Then sit down and shut up.

Regarding Work

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:19:00 +0000

I have one of the most boring jobs imaginable. I mount a product to a standardized test machine and hit the go button on the computer. The testing runs for up to 3 hours, or until the product fails. Then I compile the results, and mount the next sample. Repeat. Ditto etc. This is boring, because I have nothing to do except watch the machine run (Grass growing ring a bell?). But it is for a major multinational manufacturer. It is a secure, ok paying job with some hints of possible advancement. I do tend to not bring my laptop to work with me any more... Last time was just lucky. I could have been fired on the spot. Now, what brings this out of me is that a person whose' blog I have on my bloglines list posted about her job. She did not feel secure in the position she was working. I thought about that post, and how to leave a comment that would be supportive of her, no matter what decisions she may make in the future about that employment. Like most bloggers, she included the obligatory line about being vague enough to not be identified... So, I get the comment figured out in my head, and I go to post it. Her post is gone. Deleted. Not there even. This I find VERY troubling. I thought she was very circumspect in her description of the situation she was in. I hope her blog entry is just undergoing a rewrite. But then again, if she felt the need to remove the post, then she did the right thing by taking it down. Sometimes we really should listen to that small inner voice. Especially when it says "GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Think about that. Comments welcome.

Regarding contests

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 16:04:00 +0000

Regarding this post, Bullseye assures me "he would never do such a thing." I appologise. I guess it was just my Karma, Like when I buy the winning lottery numbers for the game before the one they are drawn.

If you haven't seen it yet,

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 15:37:00 +0000

Go Here and study just exactly how the commie left has gotten it all wrong.

Summary: "The Iraq War is not going well" is an isolated proposition devoid of supporting evidence (premises) that is unfortunately accepted as true by people on both sides of the debate. For the Left, it is regarded as unassailable Scripture on par with "Bush lies" or "FDR was a great president." For some inexplicable reason – perhaps a result of relentless media pressure – the Right sheepishly accepts this statement as fact more often than not, only to try and salvage the point by discussing "recent progress in Iraq" or "staying the course." Analysis at any level supports a far different proposition: "The Iraq War is going extremely well." The rules of Logic, informally applied in the following flowchart, demonstrate why.

Aslan has lots of other essays to keep you thinking in a logical manner on his site too. He is in the Blogroll to your left at Logic Times.

I give up

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 02:36:00 +0000

I have put up a Tip Jar. Please click the Button over on the left... Thanks

Guts, pure guts.

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:09:00 +0000

This Kid has what it takes. I found this being discussed in a thread over at Kims Place. Then I find it at the Liberty Zone. I had been thinking that this 16 year old kid was acting the fool, but also he had guts. Nicki, at Liberty Zone, said

He's what every kid should be and what has been bred out of most children by parental apathy and government indoctrination.

I find that I can not agree more. I also fear that this kid is going to end up on a "watch list," because he is willing to go see for himself. The PTBs' fear that sort of person.

IE sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:57:00 +0000

I hardly everuse IExplorer anymore. Firefox is too good. I just noticed that my pgp public key has pushed the postes down below the sidebar in IE Firefox showsit just fine. I guess I'll have to do something about that.

Contests.

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:38:00 +0000

So bullseye, over at American Drumslinger ran a contest yesterday. The wining entry was to get a free sidebar ad. He had an animated gif running. "How many dirty words." So, I post the second comment (one person had posted before me, his answer was wrong) One character. 7 Turns out that was the correct answer. So today, I'm reading his blog, and the contest is canceled. ok, and just for the hell of it, I go read the comments to see how many got it right. 2 people. except my comment was gone. Now, my paranoia says I won. That's why the contest was canceled. ???

Privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 22:06:00 +0000

I have decided that, for personal reasons, I require a little computer privacy. Towards that end I have started using PGP 9.0 What follows is my public key. My key fingerprint is up above, on the masthead. Here it is #jumpto -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: PGP Desktop 9.0.4 (Build 4042) mQENBEOv/V8BCACw2w4cm0yVDJOCSkx4WNjHQ0rkHyGOcl9bXiow6AowLBiba00u ROqNo71CWQX5tPIwsky2A6juoFnC+z+amcYmrD6NmMOeIy1G3/WLOF2JyQ3I9fST YPxTZqiKH0YEsXru4HtsWjwB384I13AqiuyG2VMCIAFSLucdKXxmyruUj1zBT7RA wU32wQ934Inztfh413v6pvudvp4CzPleItR7QKvfK1kIjAsOzAlLrnz+zdfN8VG+ +HEebdFb2vp1fmIgvz/4nHB/a/KZoLkrgSAZZnB24mAs1u9MmLmobO9M9ZwjZZEQ 70BxvtBPcCjNQOAO4gxi0AX13e5hHhkhurXRABEBAAG0JVN0ZXZlbiBTdGFnZ3Mg PHN0ZWFtZHJhZ29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbT6JAYcEEAECAHEFAkOv/YcwFIAAAAAAIAAH cHJlZmVycmVkLWVtYWlsLWVuY29kaW5nQHBncC5jb21wZ3BtaW1lBwsJCAcDAgoC GQEZGGxkYXA6Ly9rZXlzZXJ2ZXIucGdwLmNvbQUbAwAAAAMWAgEFHgEAAAAEFQgJ CgAKCRBTA4A2w/xN86LgB/sF1jv9aGVQXg9toX7JWeGYfHysX1kxPEgPG3LFwmG0 6pXDKugCI14iKB6K9gOohqDKejIOw52C95FCe/jRI3e7Wdyx3uGo1/aixXb2vCKh I2deL1SFQzlCR73QD+vYwzpDsexBSM6TNvhPkfCGkybuyB6Tuk+aK20QrMxheNa3 0VKWbT+eEF+s3/ksbNdpLdAHgzEtJbxoHAgv9yoP5dvb+p5lqAugFMwdP0CNbUmc SJrFnjba8Abje2RXafV1JlZb4XKiujQMhyNfz9dydL1JdRwvWBafMMaKwgTSBmoF arLwEuirxGzVTokLBuqvuXGJJqs8Yur6yK2FLRXvvneEtCxTdGV2ZW4gU3RhZ2dz IDxzdGV2ZWNlZ3Jlcy11c2VuZXRAeWFob28uY29tPokBhAQQAQIAbgUCQ6/9hzAU gAAAAAAgAAdwcmVmZXJyZWQtZW1haWwtZW5jb2RpbmdAcGdwLmNvbXBncG1pbWUH CwkIBwMCChkYbGRhcDovL2tleXNlcnZlci5wZ3AuY29tBRsDAAAAAxYCAQUeAQAA AAQVCAkKAAoJEFMDgDbD/E3zBUEH/AoiA2kl0KngWeuGOLiLHjxJMrfo57OxIYUH 2L0UEhkT5392dIciAs9lBm008+UqUUawfsemyMyRYOHVFM08nZm9dPYcEbGaDO+P 83LEhOV00NECYW9z5YXKzuqolmyqpZCQZno0c0otXUOxMFiHFvhn8TQL9PwmraiE aBympAduSSKodauEcgDkFjsRI5TP3bCJZMva6iPXh3LbwsbJQ5vEnXaaz39eFF7P I0kUz77C4y+QkQOwkV2neEE5GKl0rdRVG3ZYWsmfA4b+NxTut6nSgZjXv1Rv8lgP UbmagjzY/oKUoqhBo1pWwaUutE2zMINbIO2SPr8Pl+k6v7//3H20JVN0ZXZlbiBT dGFnZ3MgPHN0YWd3b3Jrc0Bob3RtYWlsLmNvbT6JAYQEEAECAG4FAkOv/YcwFIAA AAAAIAAHcHJlZmVycmVkLWVtYWlsLWVuY29kaW5nQHBncC5jb21wZ3BtaW1lBwsJ CAcDAgoZGGxkYXA6Ly9rZXlzZXJ2ZXIucGdwLmNvbQUbAwAAAAMWAgEFHgEAAAAE FQgJCgAKCRBTA4A2w/xN81TxB/9S7eWLgZpGcCfT9ZUUqZpGiyuCBobjCIXqOILx Rj30WpaqhytTmhi+G1/472VzUepaLH/BPKx4mhGAw19zpYjQdRnO2p11JDIvxhs3 dqc9+amOfFdrMwcEXnumLKBOqeVMWpBlT5VLXquUrPyB+rTsEf2lEbZk0h97hAWA aDXqEhXL3mvYy674zvhKVlFI08CrHuxROBL7Jqjg+iTKLU72Ip3y+38WlePqAqKS b2RBIKhTcKSCSovB7cx18GZRUE+wtfOHUOQg1Ml4cLohsmUlHOQAJ/sCoD1cINh+ NQ0F7pdG4zbdJPV2fU6MafAnW+fnNmN3VgPBgRFlsbBLEDqEuQENBEOv/WABCAC0 DO8uVmoqzo8PVlYksoUzJcN/AhHTxLNEtn/7y7lK3lkhUOBxssnQIuh6mxRtnW6X e1+XzcbYC1M600xJyR1nzt0sxogChzNUl1QtIa579fY2tR8ddFSMXczel+E+h8Wy ZI806URil4PbTgKsOAFlA3WNbnH65FprJY/GxPnLsOZ1PpCAztuSojZV59JbXaIe AfxTmTwijbH8ZsRMxzKZRcZInk/97wcW2NbFw3fy9oxEmWh4qYTFKNEq9Iy/1QwW UT+1k4+hFjyaVwlxXPssas+wE/nJfF0NFaGwSsECqi1G8Yu5EwEasx26M3V4V4gT KL4v+WWAq2p8XH4xuMKNABEBAAGJASIEGAECAAwFAkOv/WAFGwwAAAAACgkQUwOA NsP8TfNWvwf+IeQg/5kLqoY0k+2FZdEIRSkQb3B0T5IHOBJw1MNzM5oEQppqNdjq OEVc9GbyE4DcyiYhRjiQUGAg+ztBygf1c81srK8+DqUCycn6M+V2YD9RffN5bG3U 3EigpNx7e2wr/AmOYIDMZ2G4blck3GpArqIZla26sI+8vquIFdRvidS/hgibB/+p Ac4Qzck2gLteIXD67IeO1BOKlhrX9MT6f9k1BDg/RZ3fUJ5Gy2yU6xewjQSoFx4a Y9ENNbHFmWH9b45bBX5W38sTz9YIgFskcf7b7EG9rW5ov7gogp57SS9r9BUIsqUx CuFPw6lbl5e+LPpirYMc3LKkGSfKmAyj8g== =6u7F -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging and browsing...

Merry Christmas, Every one

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:49:00 +0000

I hope your holidays are grand, and the New year brings you Gladness.

words: Talking To My Father

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:54:00 +0000

words: Talking To My FatherI told you yahoos to be nice... Pay attention to Redmemory, we can all learn something. Redmemory, I could wish you'd post more often, but then I remember that I don't post like regular or anything... Then again, I only have 2 regular readers you have at least 5!

Nation of Volunteer update

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:53:00 +0000

Bill StClair has a Mention on his blog:

Kim Connie du Toit - Nation of Volunteers Foundation - finally an account of the travails that caused the du Toits to remove their name from the web. They are starting the Nation of Riflemen Foundation, whose goal is education and training in shooting. It will be non-profit. They are asking for pledges of donations, money to be collected once their non-profit status is in place..

Anyone else like the Idea of a literate nation?

Althouse: Is a role-playing lesson about Islam, complete with prayers, permitted in public schools?

noreply@blogger.com (Steaming Dragon) — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 23:59:00 +0000

Althouse: Is a role-playing lesson about Islam, complete with prayers, permitted in public schools? I can't. Just go read it yourself. Don't forget to follow the link to the muslim news story. This is just sick. Betcha she's adem appointee...