cmoth's Blog - 2old2play

What our Government Knew About IEDs

Honestly when I saw this news report I was stuck between wanting to laugh out loud or be pissed off. Are they serious?

In case you've been living under a rock I'll be brief (initially). The new drum to beat is that the Pentagon and by extension Pres Bush knew about the very real threat of Improvised Explosive Devices and sent the troops into Iraq without the needed bomb-resistant vehicles to protect them.

No shit, REALLY? Oh my goodness, what a shock....

... whatever.

I direct your attention to United States Army Field Manual FM 5-31, here's a link if you want to buy one for $5 ( http://www.usrnsf.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=143 ) . I already have a copy, bought it in 1991 in an Army / Navy surplus store. Published in 1965 this field manual is dedicated to the instruction and recognition of potential boobytraps and good locations to place them and be wary of them. It includes good descriptions on the construction of the devices as well as the equipment and who in the field is responsible for identifying them, constructing them, logging the lcoations they are found or placed and the disposition of them in after-action reports.

Not only did we already know about IED's, we literally wrote our own book about them. We didn't invent the idea of boobytraps obviously. As long as man has been at war with his neighbor we have been getting more and more creative in doing so. We learned from the Europeans, the Europeans learned from the Romans who learned from the Isrealis, Greeks, Cavemen, etc.. The Russians , Chinese, whoever has a military, have their own versions of this publication.

Terrorists aren't necessarily innovative but they at least have a library card.

We have been boobytrapping items and locations (IED is just a catch-all word for a type of boobytrap) forever because it works. It's supposed to create casualties, cause confusion and disarray among enemy populations and also to delay military advancement and incursion into areas that you don't want them. We do it and our enemies do it.

The Germans and the Japanese were geniuses at it in World War 2. You remember WW2, back when the Army used the Willies Jeep as well as the Duece and a Half heavy truck for it's primary transport of troops and materials. Those guys drove around in what could best be described as tin-cans with motors, and driving them through mine-fields and boobytrapped locations. We have been sending lightly armored men and equipment into harms way not only for the expense but also because of what we would loose in the process, speed.

If you put everybody in extremely heavy armor, you protect them in one way and increase their vulnerability in another. I wear body-armor damn near every day. While it's better than not wearing it, I'm painfully aware that it only protects me just enough to delay my critical injury or death giving me a better chance of survival. Nothing wrong with that. Trouble is that it only protects me from small munitions and some light shrapnel. I also have heavy entry armor designed to give more complete coverage and more protection from a wider variety of rounds. The problem is that I can't move nearly as quick and I get fatigued more easily due to lugging the extra weight around (not to mention the added heat). The troops in the field put up with the same thing except they carry 5 to 10 times as much gear as I do and in more extreme conditions.

Designing and issuing lighter and stronger (and by extension, more expensive) armor means you can get less of it. If you mandate that all troops in theater must have it then that means fewer troops. Fewer troops mean fewer eyes watching each others backs. Unless of course you don't mind higher military spending and by extension higher taxes. You see where the problem is?

That also extends to their equipment. You can't put everybody in a tank. The vehicles they are talking about are great, for limited purpose, but you still have to get out of them to get the job done. Once out of the vehicle, where's the benefit? I realize that they need protection while enroute to a mission and I'm all for giving them as much as we can without compromising their effectiveness.

But, come up with a better mouse-trap and eventually you get smarter mice. The enemy will simply switch tactics and either hit them before or after they climb in and out of their great battleship like land-rovers. Probably creating a greater risk to the civilian population. Either that or they would abandon trying to blow up the well-armored troops and just start going after the civilan population exclusively. I'm not just talking about the Iraqi population either. They could easily do this stuff over here, they only haven't because we've given them very convenient martyrdom targets in their back-yards. Take those away and they'll start getting creative again.

Point being. The media knows that they are simply creating a salacious story where one doesn't really exist. Of course the military knew about the risks and sent troops anyway. If you have to send troops, the area is probably a high-risk environment. What were they going to do, delay the mission until everybody was perfectly protected? Can't do it.

Most of the general public won't even put on their damn seatbelts and yet they get pissed over THIS? Fuck em'. They deserve to be taken advantage of by a media who is just getting mileage out of the ignorance of their audience.

Once again, read a fuckin' book or something and stop allowing yourselves to be taken advantage of.

"Come here pretty cow, aren't we nice to you? Taking care of your every need and medical expense so that you grow up big and strong and juicy... BANG!!!......", steak.

[2 Comments]

I am a Pod-Person.

I have to be. Otherwise I would not be so addicted to an RPG type game.

I'm a first-person-shooter goober. I like to keep it simple, running around like a thick headed tool shooting people in the face and solving more complex puzzels with a well-timed hand grenade. Ever since I can remember I've enjoyed first or third perspective simulations and shooter titles. Always have, figured I always would. Trobule is that game developers are having to broaden the capabilities of their games in order to keep them complex enough to be interesting. Nothing makes a game more complex like a crap-pot load of abilities and resource management.

When someone says to me "RPG" I think of Final Fantasy ad nauseam, endless repetative actions and random battles with turn based combat that makes me wonder why I didn't play a rowdy game of checkers instead. Boring.

Now however games like Mass Effect and most recently Fallout 3 and Fable 2 have shown me that compromise can be a very good thing. The new RPG is a mix between the excitement of a first / third person shooter coupled with the ability to manage certain character abilities and manage resources to augment game-play. This, I like.

I had pre-ordered CoD:WaW and have been playing the beta. About a week before it released I happen to find myself at the GameStop where I had pre-ordered it. I found myself there because on the way to Rugby, ND. to go hunting with a buddy, we got stalled in Minot when a winter storm closed Hwy 2 east of Minot and all otehr alternate routes were likewise fubar. Hunting weekend: Fuck-O. Anyway, so now being ticked off and bored I suddently wanted to feed the "I want a new game now" jones and decided that WaW duidn't offer that much over CoD4. I cashed in my credit on the pre-paid title and decided to get something else. I had been really interested in Fallout 3 and because of the advertising for the game and my complete dunder-headed ignorance about the Fable series, I bought Fallout 3.

Played it for two days and I was impressed. However, my brother was playing Fable 2 as were a few of my other friends. Fable 2 has a co-op element, Fallout 3 does not. So, I went and rented Fable 2...

... 36 hours later without sleep I realized that I can no longer make fun of those WoW addicts (okay, maybe a little). It was crazy good. It helped that while I was just getting started in the first quest that my brothers icon floated into view and he gifted me two very powerful weapons. THEN another guy on my friends list (thank you Darkness Prevails) floated in and gifted me 450,000 gold pieces. THAT my friends is a good start.

I kept the love going by gifting a few things to some other friends who had just started playing the game and this capability adds a nice plus to the title.

I proceeded to play the game for a week and finished off my first character go-round. I re-rented and am now half-way through my second character go-round. This is one of the best games I have ever played and I am planning on purchasing a copy. I am also planning on buying Fable from the Arcade and playing it as well for some of the back story.

Go BUY Fable 2! If you don't you may find a pod next to your bed.

[0 Comments]

Hope, and a batch of cookies.

I watched Obama's acceptance speech last night and I have to say that I was impressed. I thought it was a great speech.

I didn't vote for Obama. It's not because he's a Democrat or the color of his skin. I didn't vote for Obama because of two very important reasons, his voting record and complete lack of any plan or platform. His voting record in Congress ddin't blow my skirt up any. All I saw were a lot of programs that cost a lot of money and a lot of legislation that screwed with my individual rights. His complete lack of a plan or platform is clear to anybody that actually listened to (or at least desperately sought for) any kind of ideas during his campaign.

Nothing. It was an idea drought. The only things he promised were "change" and a slogan. "Yes, We Can!"

I wasn't that crazy about John McCain. There are a few things in McCains voting record in Congress that rubbed me the wrong way as well. The difference is that I knew what his plan was and it was one I could live with. I would have preferred a diferent candidate but I didn't get one. I was kind of hoping Ron Paul would get the nod but, he wasn't for a larger more powerful government so naturally he was out before he got started.

I was made even more nervous when the pundits didn't even really have anything good to say when Obama was elected by electoral college. The only thing I heard any of them say was how it was a huge leap forward for civil rights and for race relations.......

... wait, WHAT!!....

What they neglected to point out in all of their discussion for the huge voter turnout (and I know I'm going to get blasted for this) was that the HUGE increase in registered voter turnout was from primarily inner-cities and metro-population centers with large minority populations.

While I didn't cast a vote based on race, THEY certainly did! How do I know? Take a look at some of the post election commentary and it's clear.

There were a few things that disturbed me about Obama's campaign. He flatly refuses to say the pledge of allegiance and he WON'T salute or recognize the flag. That was something that was drummed into him by his ellitist mother. Of course, I noticed during his acceptance party that he didn't bother to be out on stage when the pledge was spoken but he didn't mind everybody else saying the pledge and saluting the flag now that he's standing under it.

Before someone rolls there eyes and starts decrying "sour-grapes" I want to assure you that I am hoping and praying that Obama has the intentions that he seems to in the generalized sense that he has voiced them. I hope beyond all rationale that I am dead wrong about his motivations and intentions. Unfortunately for me, and for YOU by the way, his past doesn't indicate any error in my thinking.

I've already voiced in previous entries what my feelings are about the Bill of Rights and the importance they have for all of us as a cohesive document. What gives us our rock to stand on and declare ourselves Americans in the classical sense and what most other Nations and their peoples are jealous of are our freedoms declared in that document. It doesn't GRANT us those freedoms, it RECOGNIZES them as inalienable, God given. The only thing needed to have those rights bestowed is to be born. Our Declaration of Independence also states that the very rights and freedoms given to us by our creator also give us a responsibilty to maintain those rights against those that would take them from us. It is what the Founding Fathers based the revolution against the English crown on and it's the reason that the Bill of Rights includes the statements that it does, they wanted to ensure that Americans would always have the tools needed to maintain the United States as a nation of individuals with equal voices and opportunities.

A lot of people (particularly the more liberal and socialist types) would point out that they are mearly words on paper, subject to revision. Funny enough, those same people place great stock in words and give great weight to those who can speak them well.

The uneducated and illiterate tend to look upon someone with great oratory skills as someone who is superior to them in some way. If they appear to be learned then they must know something the rest of us don't and we should listen and take what they say as good information. Barack Obama said a lot of very intelligent things about nothing in particular, allowing the listener to plug in their own hopes and ideas. He basically provided fill in the blank question with himself placed as the answer to whatever equation was drafted by the onlooker.

Lots of other historical political figures were able to do the same thing. I won't mention any names so as not to make anyone nervous.

LIke I have mentioned before, not all change is good. Winning the lottery changes a persons life, so does losing your job or your house burning down. WHAT is he going to do? He never said. Who is it going to effect? All of us of course. Some will like it others won't. Once again, I look to his voting history, I probably won't like it.

I am very proud that so many pepole went out and voted, we've been wanting a bigger turn-out for elections and we got it, for better or for worse, more of us are involved in the political process. That can be a good thing as long as we aren't selfishly looking to our own interests.

Voting for someone because they are black is just as wrong as NOT voting for them because they are black. The color of the man's skin shouldn't mean anything to us. THAT'S the dream Dr. King spoke of. He didn't ask for a nation dominated by any one culture, he wanted to see a nation of mixed cultures who were able to peacably coexist without judging one another for our diferences. I think he would be very disappointed that the first African-American elected as President wasn't elected for his qualities of substance but for his race.

I've already heard of some of the plans for dealing with our nations economic issues and I am very worried. Not just Obama's projected responses (projection is all anyone's been ale to do since he hasn't said anything substantial) but the plans of the Democratic party who for the first time in decades have majorities in both houses of Congress and a man behind the executive pen signing off on their legislation.

Yet another huge economic stimulus that we can't afford (didn't the Democrats say that was a bad thing when Bush did ti?), higher taxes (they are inevitable), higher inflation (they are already talking about cranking out more currency to try and spur spending), work programs based upon FDR's Works Progress Administration (without an admission that they failed, they simply stalled the economy until WW2 showed up to rescue our industry). There are all kinds of things being discussed that they are hoping will "stimulate" the economy but historically have only raised inflation and taxes which will of course result in more money to spend on fewer things (loaf of bread costing $12 for example) and lower consumer confidence.

For the record, there isn't anything to stop what is happening to our economy. It has to happen. We've had a great run and now it's time for the slump. The higher an economy goes before the slump, the farther it will slump. There is no growth without loss.

Obama's speech was a brilliant work, but like a recipe, the words on the page are nothing without quality ingredients and the well measured execution of a talented cook.

I hope he's really good in the kitchen and that in the process of his creations our Constitution doesn't get burned.

[5 Comments]

Quote of the day.

I can't take credit for this. I wish I could because the sentence is rich in meaning for all of us that live in a country dependent upon it's electorate to select it's leadership.

"A government big enough to give you anything you want, is strong enough to take everything from you." Thomas Jeferson.

Brilliant. And, considering that we are approaching an election year, topical.

I'm not going to tell you how to vote or who to vote for. That's a personal decision, one that shouldn't be taken lightly. The right to go, unmolested and unencumbered, to a poling place and place a ballot for the person you want to guide the nation (or any other political office) is a privelege that has been bought and paid for in blood and sacrifice. It's a gift given to us by those with the courage to do that which the majority are typically unwilling to do.

What the majority are typically willing to do is to ostrich themselves in the sands of their own version of reality. We humans have a tendency to hope for the best and by extension try and forget that the worst is also lurking. We all want good things to happen and because we don't believe that we "deserve" bad things to happen we don't prepare for them. We put on our blinders and continue to go about our days as if everything is fine.

What we also forget is that all of us have our bad sides. We can be selfish and often are, seeing our own needs and desires as paramount while the needs and desires of others are put on the backburner until they are more inline with our own. That is true of all of us and we all know it, we just don't often acknowledge it. If you don't believe me ask anyone victimized by a fellow human being. The criminal element are not some alien race from another planet, they are us. They made a decision to palce their wants and needs ahead of their victims. In an extreme manner to be sure but still that simple.

If that is true then it means that the people we place in political office are also capable of that and, as we have learned the hard way at times, do exactly that.

The Constitution sets up a blueprint for a government that is based on a "checks and balances" formula. We have three bodies of government that all have their place. The Legislative branch passes laws to do things, the Executive approve or disapprove of those laws and if needed implement them, and the Judicial challenges those laws or HOW they are implemented based on our Constitution so that those laws do not threaten our basic rights or unnecessarily interfere with our lives (that is, if anyone bitces about it). A lot of you are old enough to remember covering this material in school. Hopefully, you had parents who knew this and encouraged you to remember that.

Problem is, apparently there are a lot of people who don't realize any of this. Considering that only about 30% of us make it to a Presidential election (less than that during non-presidential elections) it appears that most would like a small group of us to make decisions for them.

I won't go into too much detail but there is a theoretical and very simplified way of looking at humanity as a whole that makes its rounds through the law enforcement and military communities. People can be broken down into three distinct groups: Sheep, Wolves and Dogs / Sheepdogs. Sheep describes the majority of the population who typically ostrich themselves, the Wolves are those who take advantage of the Sheep, and the Dogs are those of us who have chosen to try and protect the Sheep while they try to ignore the looming threat.

Most of the time when there is an immediate threat that the Sheep are aware of, the Sheep are happy as hell that the Dog has shown up to take care of the problem and scare the Wolf away (or kill it if need be). The problems arise when the Dog is barking and the Sheep don't see (or are unwilling to believe) the threat lurking in the shadows. The usual response is to tell the Dog to shut up and then go back to eating grass.

When a single person is being victimized it's easy for some to try ignore it and not do anything (they might use their cell phone but that's about it). So, when we are talking about legislation that seemingly effects only a small percentage of Americans, it's easy for the rest of us to think that it won't affect our own existence and try to tell those troubled by it to be quiet and not disturb the herd. Problem is that when one groups way of life is compromised by legislation or by the implementation of it, it means so could the rest of us if only the pen used to write the legislation had kept writing.

We can't allow even one concept in the Bill of Rights or Constitution to be compromised because like pillars in a building, all are important to maintain the integrity of the whole.

No matter how polite, how well dressed, how well spoken, we cannot allow someone the power of office who as a platofrm would compromise any of those rights and freedoms.

Please, VOTE on November 4th. And when you vote, consider the importance of your actions and the powers that you are about to grant those chosen to lead.

More importantly, remember that there is a continuing responsibility of the population to keep careful eye on it's elected officials and to remove them if they perform counter to our freedoms or their duties. The Consitution provides the means for a persons removal from political office and THAT is the true power of the American electorate, not the election but the POWER we ALL possess to take someone out of their elected position.

Exercising that right on a National scale would be difficult in the extreme considering the shear numbers and background of the population but, politicians do not start off running for President. Politicians start off in local and regional government positions and work their way through higher and higher positions. If we were to implement our powers of impeachment at the local and State level more often we could condition into those who would seek to have power over us the we are paying attention and are willing to do what it takes to protect our freedoms.

Shots fired in revolution would not have to be taken if the will of the people were heard more loudly before it became necessary to rebel.

Of course, it's nice to have the right to speak those voices and mighty comforting to know that if they don't listen we would have the tools to make them listen.

Don't allow anyone to take away either.

[3 Comments]

What the FUCK!! did he just say??

That's probably what some of you might say after reading this.

I have had an epiphany. Yes, another one. And this one is a whopper.

I was responding to the second fight call in less than 20 minutes, all of them for the most moronic of reasons, when it dawned on me. Now, I've had this consideration before in little bits and pieces but it apparently decided to all come flooding to me at once in a huge cohesive steaming pile of brilliance.

It's not the gun that commits the robbery or the homocide. It isn't the genitals that commit a rape or molestation. It isn't the narcotic or other substance that causes dependence or addiction. It isn't the swung fist that beats a loved one, crushing whatever trust that should exist with the unsupported claim of love and devotion. It isn't the words themselves that are uttered that cause grief and strife.

No inanimate object or extension of ourselves causes the torrent of human misery that we commit against each other on a regular basis, not on it's own and not of it's own volition. No ladies and gentleman, the most fiendish weapon ever devised is the human brain.

For that reason I propose legislation to have the human brain declared a weapon of mass destruction. As such you would need to pass an extensive background check, an IQ test, a random quiz, and a drug screen (we don't want that weapon to be contaminated do we?) prior to allowing someone to carry one concealed in public. Of course if you do not possess said permit and are found to be carrying one, particularly if you use it (God forbid), then you could be charged with a felony and have any potential future rights taken from you. That would of course require removal of the weapon, or disabling it by means of either physical or chemical labotomy (we can quibble over details later, after all "it's for our children's safety").

I realize that the above is rediculous, nobody would consider that would they? Well, maybe. After all they heavily considered such practices including forced sterilization for the mentally handicapped to prevent them from breeding. That was in THIS country by the way in the 30's and 40's. The Third Reich weren't the only ones dabbling in eugenics (think I'm full of shit? linky: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=qYHscsPFF-wC&dq=Eugenics&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=absRhAFpT-&sig=s8Z9WIMNaUbEIsSu93WYtGrRo20&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result )

What I outlined above uses undeniable reasoning: try to argue with me. Ask any scientist in any discipine and they will point out that the biggest sexual organ is the brain, the brain makes all of our decisions, the good and the really shitty, albeit with our help in most cases but sometimes without our participation such as the case with the mentally and emotionally disturbed.

Blind reasoning is bad enough but when we use such logical constructs with A PRECONCIEVED AGENDA, it's more than reasoning abscent of humanitarian concern it's conspiracy.

The biggest harm we commit against ourselves every election and throughout all legislative sessions is allowing some three-piece suited prick to convince a group or be convinced by a group to blaim yet another social ill on anything other than our humanity. Trying to pawn off our guilt onto some material or property like IT caused the incident is nothing more than a quazi-deception, a half-truth we tell ourselves to try and mitigate our responsibility.

The described thinking has resulted in legislation such as prohibition, the bull-shit "war on drugs", gun-control, forced castration, etc.

The vast majority of people who consume alcohol do NOT drive around running people over or beating their spouses, but they cause a hell of a lot more pandaleriam than your majority of pot-heads. The vast majority of firearms owners never do anything more with their weapons than lock them away and jealously guard them. In fact, if anything anti-gun legislation has only spurred public demand and a surge in the firearms industry.

I don't know about you but I've never seen anybody dragged around by their genitals, frothing at the mouth in a semi-concious trance while their willies seek out an unknowing victim.

Murderers CHOOSE to kill their victims. Rapists and Molesters CHOOSE to sexually abuse the weak. Thieves CHOOSE to rob and steal. Addicts CHOOSE to plunge in that needle handing over their sanity to a chemical substance. Drunk Drivers CHOOSE to get behind the wheel and risk those around them. Firearms accidents are NOT accidents, someone CHOOSES to ignore basic fundementals of safety and mishandle or fail to secure their weapons, setting the stage for the tragedies trucked out every year "for the children".

Every time some new statistic gets wheeled out we shouldn't be ganging up to cast our votes in support of the next empty piece of paper promising nothing more than a further reduction in our civil liberties. A major cornerstone of our Constitutional Republic (not Democracy, look it up) is that as long as we don't victimize someone else, we should have the freedom to practice our lives in any way we choose. Our country was founded on idealists looking for freedom OF religious practice not FROM it. Restricting ANYONES right to worship whatever they want, an artichoke maybe if they're in season, and in anyway they see fit, so long as someone else's rights and freedoms aren't infringed upon, is so Orwellian I don't even want to consider where we are eventually headed if it continues.

I should be able to have an anti-aircraft battery in my back yard as long as I do no harm with it. Attach it to the back of my SUV, hall it out to a suitable location and make large holes into something inanimate. Who am I harming? Nobody. Every year, enthuisiasts pack into locations in Kentucky and in the deserts to fire fully-automatic weapons, flame-throwers, grenades, cannons, and other really FUN and Hilarious items. They don't go racing around neighborhoods blasting away recklessly. People who do drive-by shootings are not enthusiasts, they're cruel and disenfranchised people who have been raised (or not raised depending on how you look at it) in a loveless environment or in such a callous mentality that they hold no value to their lives or anyone elses, they lash out to cause harm and dischord and the most theatrical way their small minds can come up with is with a gun or car-bomb.

So, what do we do to potentially lessen the harm caused? Easy. First we have to accept that we all hold responsibility in the cause of the social issues which create people capable or willing to do the kinds of harm we are afraid of. While we are doing everything we can to rectify these issues we should be creating punishments so severe that people will literally think about what they are doing and decide whether or not the risk outways the reward. And, while we are at it, growing the backbones to have the will to see that those punishments are carried out.

Everybody wants more prisons, nobody wants them built in their county. Dumbasses. The last place an escaped convict wants to hang out in is the community he's been forced to inhabit against his will for the last few years.

On that note, right now it's not unusual for someone who has robbed a bank to get 30 years in the pen. Meanwhile, some dipshit molests a schoolyard worth of children and he gets 5 years in the pen (maybe) and 10 years probation where he has to sign a list and tell his neighbors he's a peder-ass. What the FUCK is going ON?

Is money THAT much more important than everything else? Apparently it is.

This election year don't vote with your heart, vote with your head. Demand that the candidate actually identify their platforms and ideas. Challenge them at every turn, don't accept Change for the sake of change. What the fuck are they wanting to change? What part of your life are they wanting to fuck with NOW for God's own sake? Do THEY even know?

Why are we accepting as a matter of course that politicians are being bribed and coerced?

Why do we acknowledge and decry on one hand and then grudgingly surrender to the FACT that our politicians are entering office with barely a dime to their name in most cases and then leaving office wealthy? Ever do the numbers? Their annual salaries, no matter how well invested (legally that is) can add up to the net-worths after several years in office.

The responsibilty they have to us should outweigh the power they have over us. And it's OUR responsibility to swing the balance of power back into OUR hands.

Vote fuckers, and maybe read a damn book or something.

[1 Comments]

Hells Assholes

Once again, it's been awhile. As usual, work is the culprit.

Recently part of that work was spending a week and a half in Sturgis, SD. working the Black Hills Rally. A pretty cool detail. Every year in August the city of Sturgis swells from just 6000+ to around 500,000. Not all at once, but considering that they are primarily concentrated walking around a 6 block stretch of Main Street, it makes the place pretty crowded. It also makes it a very interesting place to work as a cop.

The Sturgis PD brings in police officers from surrounding area to work the event to bolster their man-power. I've tried the past two years but something always got in the way. This year it worked out and now I'm on a list that will get recalled as long as I want the work. Sweet. The pay isn't great but it isn't shitty either, overtime piles up pretty qquick in the second week.

For the most part this years rally was peaceful with very few bumps in the carpet. Most of those bumps were caused by the gaggle of dipshits that call themsleves Hell's Angels.

Whatever side of the "outlaw biker" community you stand on is your business. Idolize who you want. But, if you choose to idolize a bunch of cocksuckers who choose to make a business out of bullying people and being involved in organized criminal activity then I would like to make a suggestion, go drink a gallon of bleach.

I grew up in an area of Texas where another OMG called the Bandidos had a strong community presence. As a kid about the only thing i knew about them was that they every now and then had a toy-run or some kind of menial community service stunt. later, I learned that they also made a habit of informing on rival OMGs to the local law enforcement agencies in order to keep their area clear of competition.

Nobel they ain't.

I've read quite a few periodicals about OMGs and have really been too interested. like any other organized crime group they participate in smuggling, extortion, racketering, drugs, stolen property, theft, whatever makes them a dishonest buck to pay for their beer, meth and smokes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not underestimating their resourcefullnes. The Hell's Angels specifically are very good at what they do, they've made a big business out of their organization and have very influential people from their group in a lot of different areas. It would surprise some of you to know exactly how wide spread they are. They aren't a bunch of stupid grease monkeys either. They have degreed professionals among their ranks. Attorneys, Doctors, Corporate Executives, Bankers, all kinds of highly educated people whose main focus is to secure and maintain their business. They have the intellect to make a legitimate business out of their organization which makes what they are even more distressing. They CHOOSE to be douchebags who make a living off of victimization and exploitation.

Hell, they even give Congress a run for their money in that regard.

While working the rally I got a little more exposure and insight into them and I am very dissapointed. I was kind of hoping that they would be more than a bunch of assholes that were only capable of using group tactics to intimidate and brutalize people. Unfortunately, that's about all they were. They made a habit out of cruizing into one of the bars in a little mass and pushing people around. To further advertise their intent every one of them carries a knife prominently displayed on their waste (It's legal in South Dakota). Every so often they would pick a fight or just ambush some poor hapless bastard and pound the shit out of him.

The first guy was just walking by their hangout. If you walk towards the parking lots in the outlying areas and you have to go up 3rd Street you can't really help it. This guy was walking by and one of the HA said something to the effect of, "Weren't you that guy hitting on my date?". the guy replied with something to the tune of, "Dude, I don't even fuckin' know you". He was grabbed, dragged into their parking area and beat on by three or four of the HA. This guy was on the small side too probably 5'7" or so, maybe weighed 160 or 170. We know this because a video tape was turned in by tourists who filmed the attack from a nearby vender. After beating him, one of the HA stomped on his head, bouncing it off of the concrete while he lay their unconsious. They then dragged him up the sidewalk and left him there.

They have a slogan that's on some of their t-shirts, "Strength, Honor and Loyalty". I'm surprised they can spell the words much less say them with a straight face. What they did during the rally had nothing to do with honor. More like cowardice and cruelty.

One of their victims was a barmaid at one of the other bars who had retorted to them when they were being crude towards her. Yep, that's honorable all right. They didn't just hit her either, they beat the shit out of her.

For the most part the HA were nothing more than a pack of dogs wondering around looking for an excuse to bite somebody for whatever trumped up reason they could come up with. Probably the only time they beat somebody who may have earned it was some drunk was pissing on one of their trucks. that guy would have gotten the same response from just about anybody.

Well, the air got let out of their ballon on early saturday morning on August 10th. At about 1am they wondered into the Loud American Roadhouse and were doing their usual bit of pushing people around and trying to intimidate everybody. While they were pushing around a group of women who were trying to make their way to the bathroom the HA got a bit of their own medicine. Another group called the Iron Pigs (a social motorcycle club comprised mostly of cops and firemen) apparently walked over and basically told them they could go fuck themselves. The HA outnumbered them so naturally they jumped the group. One of the Iron Pigs was getting worked over pretty good when one of the two pounding on him pulled the knife he carried. The off-duty cop pulled a handgun and shot the HA.

Their are different versions of exactly how the shooting went down depending on where the witnesses were standing. I didn't see it, I was about two blocks away on foot patrol when it happened and ran there when the shots fired call went out. Most of what I do know is information that was being freely spoken of by the people who were in the bar. The investigators with Sturgis PD are being professional about it and keeping the exact details and whatever evidence they have collected confidential for now until they are done investigating.

Initial reports are that the cop was most likely justified in drawing a weapon and firing considering the percieved threat. You pull a knife on me, I'm going to shoot you. It's that simple.

However it went down, I can't say I'm crying over it.

The HA didn't die, I'm glad he didn't. even if he is a dick head he's still a person and he most likely has family and friends who care about him. I know that the other HA that were there looked honestly concerned for him and didn't cause any more issues that night. But, you poke enough things with a stick and sooner or later something will poke back. This case it was somebody carrying a firearm who didn't feel like being cut on or stabbed. Surprise, surprise.

For the last day of the rally they were fairly quiet. The HA no longer went in groups displaying colors unless they were going to a friendlier bar. When they did go they behaved themselves. Aside from the dumbass that pissed on a truck, nobody else got screwed with.

At least we know some of them can learn.

[0 Comments]

A Savage Douche-Bag!

It's been a while. I've been working and trying to take care of some things around the house. I've barely had time to check my e-mail much less anything else.

But, it doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about blogging. I've caught myself from time to time thinking, "I should write something about this" or that. I've had a ton of topics fly through my head but my wife told me about something that pissed me off so badly that I have to vent somehow.

I'm sure some of you have heard of Michael Savage, the "compassionate conservative" radio talk show host. I've listened to him every now and then and shook my head in bewilderment. He's kind of like a cross between Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern. I can at least have some respect for the last two, at least they aren't pretending to be anything other than they portend. Rush is a conservative. His radio show is for entertainment and he he has been known to exagerate for the sake of humor. He at least is capable of apologyzing for any of his offensive remarks. Howad Stern is all about entertainment for males whose maturity level never quite made it past 13-year-old potty humor with bare breasts thrown in occasionally for seasoning.

Michael Savage on the other hand is a "shock-jock" trying to pretend to be a serious commentator. He's made a lot of comments that have warranted his removal from the air. I read while doing a little online research for this entry that he has been fired by MSNBC for some slurs he has made towards the homosexual community. While I'm not a fan of homosexuality and my religious beliefs consider it a sin against God, I'm not going to place myself on the judgement seat to condemn something I don't understand and others have freely chosen to have as a life-style. It is God's right to judge not mine. I do my faith a disservice by making statements intended to harm those that I am commanded to love as my brothers and sisters. You may not share my beliefs and that's cool. It does nothing to me. It is between you and our Creator. If I'm wrong, so be it. If your wrong, good luck.

Michael Savage makes a living selecting a hot button topic and making inflammatory comments on it while trying to make himself sound like a conservative. He definitely succeeds in making an ass of himself while absoring the praise he gathers from him listening audience like a narcotic.

In his death throws he is apparent;y choosing to offend as many people as possible. Most recently he chose to, in one broadcast, slander minorities with asthma and parents of children with autism. Wow, what a glutten. He must really need the attention.

At first, I was pissed. The comments he made calling autism a "fraud" and nothing more than a condition exagerated by "wimpy dads" made me want to throw up. The thought that I would somehow want this is ludicrous. I didn't make the label or ask for it. What I am about to tell you is not to garner any sympathy. I don't want it and could care less for it. Our experience with this condition is as unique to us as it is for every parent who has a child afflicted with it. The level it affects those diagnosed with it swing wildly from hardly noticeable to extremely debillitating.

The only thing I know is that one of the most important people in my life was a perfectly normal baby, who had just started talking, counting numbers and other perfectly normal baby behaviors right up until he was 18 months old. Then we started losing him. He first stopped waving bye-bye at bed-time, stopped talking and started babbling. He would sit and stare at a ceiling fan until we would move him. He stopped interacting with us and seeking our attention and approval. He got quiet and withdrawn.

He had suffered no injuries or serious illnesses prior to this. It was like somebody was in his head and one at a time turning things off.

My wife and I went to doctor after doctor, all who had very few answers. At first, my son got labeled as PDD/NOS, Pervasive Developmental Disorder / Not Otherwise Specified. Then the word autism was thrown around. My initial reaction was much like everyone elses, "You mean, like Rainman?" I had no idea what it was and what it meant for my son.

We went to Mayo-Clinic in Rochester, MN. when my son was around 3. He was poked and prodded over several days by an army of nurses and doctors of a huge variety of disciplines from allergists to geneticists. The only thing I learned was that not even the army of doctors at Mayo Clinic know jack-shit about autism, what causes it, what it leads to, what can help it, NOTHING.

One of the doctors had tried to test my sons potential intelligence. His lack of cooperation garnered him the label of mental retardation. During our closing meeting the same doctor had told us with a long face that he wouldn't be surprised if our son never potty trained. While my wife and I stared at each other he noticed my son and said, "Is he wearing underwear?" My son had been potty trained for several months. It was slow going but he did it. The same doctor then withdrew his initial diagnosis and labeled the results as erred due to a lack of patient cooperation. Duh. Something we had told him at the beginning.

It's not that the doctors aren't intelligent and talented people. They all cared about my boy very much and I could even see in some of them bitter disappointment that they couldn't be more helpfull. We were finally told that the best thing for now was to treat the manifestations that could be treated and try to adjust life around the ones that couldn't. They had no idea how much he would learn or even if he would regress further. My wife and I have been left to worry ourselves every day that my son may never leave us or need our care in some way. And in that is the cruelest reality of all of it. After we are gone, who will take care of our son and understand his needs and the communication he can manage? I have seen managed care homes for the mentally handicapped and as much as some may try, they can't give the love that those people need to fully live a life that isn't more than being provided for until death.

That thought kills a little bit more of me every day.

We have adjusted our lives accordingly. We have limited the travel on the windows in our house to prevent him from climbing out of them. We have two doors on our front entry. One on the outside that cab be locked to keep someone out and one on the inside that keeps our son in. We didn't do these thinsg pre-emptively. We did them as a result of episodes f our son leaving the house and taking off after finding something we hadn't thought of. There have been lot of other things we have changed to adapt to his needs and continue to chamge as he does. We are trying to keep him safe and ourselves sane while negotiating this thing that has stolen my son's future from him.

Until about a year or two ago, it was like everybody else was standing by oblivious to what was gong on. In the years prior to my sons diagnsis, autistic spectrum disorders afflicted 1 in 10,000. Then there was a huge jump in the 90's, 1 in 150. Depending on who you talk to it is now 1 in 100 to 1 in 50.

Part of that is that they continually add new disorders to the autistic spectrum. Some of which don't really make a lot of sense but there's a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense about it. The one thing that I know is that before all of the other things were added, 1 in every couple hundred kids were being born with it and the numbers are increasing. Of course as with everything, nobody really gives a shit until a fuckin celebrity is effected so when an NFL quarter-back announced one of his children had it, suddenly it mattered.

At last autism has started to garner the importance of the obligatory fund-raisers and telethons. The research needs it and hopefully they discover what causes it or what could make it better.

And now, out of the woodwok crawls Michael Savage. Now that autism matters to people he has decided to walk out and spew some half-assed opinion. Apparently according to Savages ratings hungry little mind, this whole thing is a hoax. Something cooked up by people to get money out of the government or due to some parents inability to control their child's behavior.

As I said, at first I was pissed off to a plateau that could have lead me to an extreme level of violent creativity. However, after I simmered down a bit I realized that my previous fears of some kind of harm to the efforts of people to raise funds for research was an overreaction. After reading around on the internet I came to know that aside fom a galleon load of interstate truck drivers really gives a shit. So on that note, keep spewing Michael Savage. The only thing being accomplished is a shrinking audience, shrinking sponsorship and an equally shrinking pocketbook.

Sweet.

[3 Comments]

What a way to go....

.. No really, this is bullshit.

I usually believe that what goes around comes around. Things happen to you because somehow, even if only YOU know in your heart of hearts how, you earned them. If that's true then this guy must have seriously BAD karma.

One of my patrolman and I went to an unattended death / homicide. The guy was found by friends after they hadn't heard from him in a few days. We go into his modest townhouse and find him wedged behind his dryer in the utility room... UPSIDE DOWN!

Now, some would maybe find this humorous in a morbid way, the only thing you could see of him was from the mid-calf up to his socked feet sticking up in the air behind his dryer. Once you find out all of the circumstances you no longer find it even remotely humorous because it's one of those moments which prove that life is fuckin' short and you have NO clue when or where you might cash it in.

This guy was from all points of view a decent guy. His friends knew him to be a nice guy. He was very modest, nothing extravegant in his home. He worked hard and invested wisely and was able to retire prior to hitting 50. Not living large but not dead broke either. He was apparently comfortable and enjoyed life as a bachelor.

Now, I'm a cynical guy. I usually find some skeleton while searching their property trying to find evidence or cause. Not this guy. He didn't even have a computer. He had some normal SD televisions, no porn (unless you think Maxim is porn), no fetish bullshit. Everything was as it appeared. A nice guy living alone with his pets spending quality time on a regular basis with friends. He also stayed healthy with sports hobbies.

Poor guy was trying to fix his dryer vent when somehow he got jammed behind it and expired. We can't confirm what the cause of death was but we have our suspicions. Doesn't appear to be foul play, just an accident. No Darwin stuff here either. He wasn't doing anything stupid or bizarre, just a normal activity that any one of us at one time or another may have to do.

Every day, carry the truth of how fragile life is. Tell everybody you care about how much you care about them. Don't leave a grudge unremedied and don't allow foul feelings to stay between you and someone you care for.

Appreciate every day you have because the next one may be your last.

God bless all of you, I wish you peace.

[3 Comments]

Kudos to Game Stop.

Maybe it was just the store I happened to be at but I was pleasently surprised by the employees at Game Stop today.

I was visiting one of the Game Stop stores in Minot, ND today to purchase my copy of GTA-IV. When I asked for the game the store clerk looked at me (I'm 37 btw) and asked me if I was aware of the extremely mature content of the game and asked me to look at the back panel prior to purchase. I then responded, "I've been playing the GTA series from day one, I'm well aware of how graphic the game can be".

He replied, "Are any children going to be playing or have access to this game?"

Note: he had already given the game to me and was ringing up the purchase. He wasn't going to deny my pruchase once I asked for it.

I said, "No, only I play these games and I don't play them when my kids are in the room."

The employee smiled and told me that he felt a lot more comfortable selling the game to older gamers. He said that he hated it when a parent came in and just blindly purchased a game for their kid without fully comprehending what the material was that they were purhasing.

This guy was in his early 20's.

I have to say that I was pleasently surprised. I'm glad that at least the clerks at this store were being responsible enough to at least attempt to educate and possibly prevent the purchase of a game for other than it's intended audience.

I don't like censorship but I don't see an industry's attempt at self-regulation as censorship. The rating systems exists as it does to protect the industry from needless regulation and meddling by a government wh would pass stringent requirements on arbitrary grounds without regards to art.

It's not the rating system that is fucking up the gaming industry. What's fucking it up are ignorant parents who are buying mature rated games for their kids who have no business playing some of them. These same parents are the same ones who get pissed once they realize what the games content is. Instead of slamming their own heads against some hardened object they rave against the industry for making something other than fucking pong.

I don't mind mature games. I find it disturbing that there is defacto censorship from distributors who don't want to produce adult rated games just because they know Walmart or Best Buy won't carry them.

Anyway, kudos to Game Stop. I will continue to frequent their stores with renewed confidence.

[0 Comments]

Return to Old School.

I would certainly love to return to the old school ways of dealing with certain social issues. That of course would mean taking responsibility for the sanctity of your environment. What I mean is that we are all responsible for keeping ourselves under control in order maintain a certain dignity out of respect for our fellow citizens.

I've mentioned that the Constitution gives us the right to express ourselves. I've also mentioned that it doesn't protect us from all of the consequences of our chosen form of expression. We can go out into public and make a speech. If the content of that speech is anti-government in nature or speeking out against an elected or otherwise public official or figure, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights grant us certain protections to give us not only the ability but also the security of saying it without possible reprisal from the government or official.

Where the confusion sets in is when the speech is leveled against another citizen that hasn't put themselves out as a representative of government. An example: Someone yells at George W. Bush in his official capacity as the President, "You fucking suck!!" This is protected speech, that person is expressing his displeasure with a public official that is a representative of the government. But, let's say that some private citizen is mowing his lawn. Same guy walks up and yells, "You fucking suck!!" He should be charged with disorderly conduct. What is accepted as an outcry against government in the first incident becomes an attempt at disturbing the peace in the next.

If you say something of slandor against another, you should be prepared to substantiate your claims in court. The law allows a private citizen to sue another for libel if an utterence or writings by the defending party has or could somehow harm the plaintiffs community standing.

As a private citizen we have a right to privacy and security in our possessions, private spaces and in our reputations. We have the right to protect ourselves from attack and harm. Any attack made on our bodies is an obvious case of self defense. An attack on our private spaces, burglary and trespass for example, are also self-explanatory. The right to defend ourselves against an attack on our emotional well-being and reputation starts to get a little fuzzy for some.

Some will say that we shoud be tolerant and accept some social fau paux from time to time. I agree. A slipped profanity in public should be overlooked. Profanity or vulgarity uttered in an environment where such conduct should be expected should also be tolerated. If you go into a bar or go to a hockey game you should expect that there will be harsh language and rude behavior.

But, where it shoudn't be tolerated is when someone is recklessly using vulgarity or intentionally using it to offend or cause alarm or dischord. I have a perfect example as it was relayed to me by my wife.

My wife was in a Barnes and Noble this weekend. While there she said that there were two young men walking around and talking loudly and using an abundnace of reckless and vulgar profanities. Fuckin' this, Fuckin' that. You know the drill. They were doing it in a public environment in which such behavior is not acceptable by the public standard. They were also using it with a callous disregard for the effect it may have on others or the proximity of minor children. In the State of North Dakota and other jurisdictions this is disorderly conduct or lewd / lacivious behavior. It's conduct intended or recklesly predisposed to cause public alarm and a disturbance of the peace. in some ways it can also be determined to be pornographic.

Somebody should say something.

Somebody did.

According to my wife an older gentelman saw that there were ladies and children around and made the comment, "they'll keep doing it if somebody doesn't say something". He gets up and approaches the young men and tells them they should be considerate of others and watch their language. My wife and everybody else hears one of the young douchebags say to a friend on his cell phone, "some old guy who's too fucking dumb to read a book without being distracted by talking". The guy purposefully said this loud enough for the older man to hear while he was walking away and for everybody else to hear it as well.

Two things. One, obviously they have no consideration for others. Two, the comment was intended to relay the information that they were going to continue this behavior in spite of the feelings of others.

They were free to do this because in todays society you are prohibited from a physical response to verbal provocation alone. You can't punch a person for being an insulting borish ass. You are expected to go by the old "sticks and stones" nursery lesson. While this basically has merit and helps keep the peace during a heated discussion it does nothing but embolden some to intentionally try to emotionally harm others secure in the notion that their victim can't and won't do anything.

Back in the 19th Century, the older man would not have hesitated to draw a knife and cut the young man for his insult. He would not only have been within his acceptable boundaries but would have also been within his legal right to do so. It was considered the only proper response to answer an insult with an injury. You were once allowed to defend your honor in much the same way you are now allowed to defend your body.

Instead, this gentelman, the ONLY person who had the frickin balls to actually say something while everybody else sat back on their loathsome sheepish backsides, had to try and do something with these two assholes.

By the way, I'm a bit old-fashioned (probably a little chauvanistic). I don't see it as a woman's responsibility to become onvolved in these situations. While I absolutely believe that a woman has an independent voice and is perfectly jusitifed in having an opinion in these matters, it shouldn't be a woman who tries to deal with this kind of event. Not because they wouldn't be able to intellectually hold their own, quite the contrary, I think a woman could probably have done a superior job intellectually. But, on average if the asshole decides they want to become aggresive, the woman is going to be on the short end of the stick.

I don't want to hear about somebodies corn-fed cousin or step-sister who can "hold her own against all comers", genetic mutations aside, your average female will get their ass kicked by your average male. Not because they aren't physically capable, a woman could be just as lethal with the right training and mindset, it's just that most women don't possess either the training OR the mindset needed. Sorry girls, Lionel Richey was an anomoly, not the standard. Oh, Isreal is probably one of the few places on earth where this last paragraph doesn't apply. Wifebeaters of the world, leave the nice Jewish girl in the fatigues alone, Krav Maga is a fuckin horrible first date experience.

Nope, I'm talking about the other males. I'd use the word men but this doesn't apply to someone who allows this kind of crap to happen without at least saying something.

As it was this older guy had to put up with these assholes. He could have walked off and nobody would have blaimed him. After all, most would consider that his initial verbal warning was all he was responible for. Well, he didn't.

According to my wife this guy was an older gentelman who apparently suffered from a rural education. Probably a genious on a farm or oilrig but not suited for verbal sparring. My wife could see that this man was frustrated that he couldn't just throttle these dipshits and be done with it. As it was, he did the best he could while these two guys (wife thinks late teens early twenties in age) berated the older guy and continued their tirade. My wife went and found a store representative and reported it.

My wife didn't see what happened after that but she ran into the store clerk later, a young female probably around the same age as the two douchebags. Apparently, the store clerk believed that the older man was the issue and he should have just let it go.

What a fucking weak minded liberalized social whore. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!!

That ladies and gentleman is what our present society is gestating in our halls of secondary education and schools of "higher learning".

Sheep, each and every one of them. Sponge headed morons whose only capability is some menial intellectual exercises and meaningless displays of self-expression. These same imbeciles are the future leaders boys and girls. Yup, the minds barely able to negotiate the National Enquirer are going to be making decisions for us all some day.

I can't fuckin wait.

Back to our story. While I wish I had been there I realize that it would have screwed up the social dynamic. Why you might ask? Easy.

I've dealt with kids like this all the time and each and every one of them do the same thing when a cop walks up out of nowhere and identifies themselves. They immediately clam up and do as their told,... er, I mean TRAINED.

I assume that we are all familar with the consequences of walking up to a cop and continuing on with your bullshit vulgar rant. You get hammered. Justfiably so.

But, I have a problem with a society that accepts this.

While I agree that certain lawful powers of confrontation should be reserved to law enforcement I don't think that a private citizen should have to shrug off this kind of behavior. As far as i'm concerned in a perfect world when the above described confrontation had occured two things would have happened. One, every able bodied male within ear-shot should have marched over to the two little assholes stood right next to the old man in an act of solidarity. The second, that same group should have snatched up these two assholes and physically hurled them from the public place and out into the street with the rest of the garbage. If the assholes had called the cops (something that they do EVERY FUCKING DAY), the cops should have arrived, beat the two kids asses and sternly told them that the next time won't go so easily.

When my wife told me this story I got to a level of pissed that I don't get to very often. I got violently pissed. Not because of what the kids had originally done, my wife hears profanity all the time, she lives with me after all. Nope, I got pissed to the point of wanting to lynch these guys out of respect for the old man who had the initial courage to say something. He was apparently a Vietnam War veteran who had tried to explain to these guys that they were abusing their rights that he had fought for.

They said, "You didn't fight for shit!"

That alone shoud have lead to their immediate and very public execution.

[6 Comments]

A short one, for once.

I mean it. This one is barely a post. More of a mention really. Like a Post Script.

If you ever wondered why with all of the ammo being sprayed about in REAL warfare, why the body count isn't much higher than it is, I highly recommend the book "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society". The book is written by Dave Grossman, a very popular author in military and police circles.

The title of the book makes the unitiated think it's a tretice on learning how to kill. Kind of like the book "Hitman". Nothing could be farther from the truth. Grossman uses after action interviews and historical reference material to explain why well-trained soldiers and experienced law enforcement officers are horribly inefficient at killing. The book deals with cultural diference and actually leaves you with a "perhaps there is hope for all of us after all" sentiment.

It points out the "GI Joe" syndrome as I like to call it. Shooting wildly, mostly up in the air (or elsewhere), without actually any intended fire directed at the enemy.

In video gaming there is no lifelong consequences to your death or the lives you take. Nearly every round fired is directed towards an enemy combatant with the intent to kill them. Even the worst shots-fired to kills percentage in the game is far better than in actual warfare.

I encourage everybody at least borrow this book and read it. You may understand humanity a little better because of it.

[4 Comments]

Rainbow 6: Post Mortem and Other Gaming

Well, after the "release date" incident I have had a great deal of trigger time with Rainbow 6:V2. Overall I like it but I have the following criticisms:

1.The Spawns are still bull-shit on two fronts;

a. Who the fuck thought it a good idea to spawn you RIGHT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A GUNFIGHT? Even though you are technically "shielded" for a short period of time, you don't always have time to get the hell out of the way. Sometimes this leads to a syndrome caleld death. Once you get used to it however, you can use it to your advantage. For that brief moment you might actually kill somebody... Right before you die.... Again.

b. Why do the bad-guys spawn in the same room with you and most often RIGHT THE FUCK BEHIND YOU? Does this make sense to ANYBODY. I'm sure by now most of you who have played the game have experienced the "What the fuck, I just cleared that corner" moment. Or the Star Trek Spawn. I have dubbed it thusly for obvious reasons. Scotty's magical transporter is the only explanation for the douche-bag that literally appears right in front of you. I have had this happen to me numerous times in Terrorist Hunt. However, my brother got recently owned by the game in the following manner. We were clearing a hallway in Convention Center, it's a small area that is more of a observation room located over one of the main floor kiosk lobbies. Anyway, we could cleary see that there was nobody in the room. He starts walking into it and we both watch as THREE bad-guys magically appear right in front of him. Of course, they all turn and imediately gun him down like a rabid schnoizer. He could of course say only one thing, "Fuck".

2. The host advantage is even more glaringly offensive in this sequel than in the last game. Versus is damn near unplayable if you have anything other than a really fast internet connection or are lucky enough to be playing against someone whose connection is worse than yours.

3. I really would have liked to pay $60 for a new game. This is NOT a new game. This is an improved version of the last game, nothing more. It isn't even a true sequel. It doesn't happen after the last one, it runs parallel. Wait! WHAT? This could have been a patch or an update. Ubisoft, don't ever rip me off like this again you Assholes.

4. They should have had more levels in the A.C.E.S. catagories. A few more weapons and experience point bonuses are aplenty. Since they obviously didn't spend a great deal of time designing a new game, all of their time improving the last game could have been partially invested in the creation of some truely NEW content. There are TONS of guns in the world and some of them could have found their way into the game. Apparently, you can get the Desert Eagle licenses but not the ubiquitous Uzi.

a. Sub-bitch. Let me get this straight, the Ak47 is the most prolific small arm produced in the 20th Century and it's the LAST fuckin' gun you unlock in the game?

b. I'm actually happy that the shield is the last thing you unlock and is de-powered from the last game. It was too strong before.

c. 12 gauge buck-shot is not a super-weapon. It is not capable of penetrating an old stacked cotton weave and resin vest stitched together by the Persians when they had that little misunderstanding with the Greeks much less modern heavy armor. It's basically black-powder musket balls crowded together. Someone shooting me in the chest with buckshot while i'm wearing my Level 3 raid vest is just going to piss me off. Head-shot, fine. Leg, fine. Chest-No Fuckin' Way.

d. While we're discussing Uber-Blasters, the MP-5 is also NOT a magical death-ray. It's still just a 9mm, barely more powerful than a 9mm pistol. It was only carried by the SEALS because it was small, lightweight and reliable as the day is long. Besides, those guys shoot you in the face because they think it's funny, it doesn't take a lot to kill you when shot there.

e. What should kill you right away and doesn't. The HK-G3Ka4, the SCAR-H, the M-240 and the HK M21e are all 7.62mm/.308 caliber weapons. They will penetrate damn near any variant of soft body armor without even slowing down. It takes a really good heavy plate to stop it. Other than having cutting edge steel or ceramic armor up front, you are fucked. If the Desert Eagle and Raging Bull are blasting you to your maker in one round, the .308 weapons are doing the same at much longer ranges.

On that note, I don't care if your technical advisor was a Green Beret or SEAL. Those guys know intimately how to operate any weapon they pick up. They can tear them down and clean them while also bathing and making a sandwhich. They can identify each part and tell you what the country of origin was but they most likely will NOT know anything about the specific ballistics or the bullets overall capabilities. That knowledge does not always go hand-in-hand with the former. Please ask a ballistics expert or military small-arms armorer.

Also, I realize that a lot of this was for game playability. If they had actually built in true physics and ballistics, these games would be more about spawning than shooting. But, I think they could have gotten the balances a little close than they did.

If you haven't bought R6V2 yet, rent it. If you like it wait a couple months and buy a used copy. Most of us that bought the game are now back to playing Call of Duty 4 anyway.

Speaking of which, if you have the game and haven't purchased the new map-packs, blow the dust off of your pocket book and get to it. the new maps are a blast, particularly the surprisingly fun China Town. That shit is crazy.

Creek, nice but not as big or as good as Overgrown.

Broadcast, a fun map and a good mix of game-types to play in it.

Kill-House. A waste of fuckin bit-mapping. It begs only one question, Why does it exist? You can kill everybody in the room with one good sweep of belt-fed goodness. Yawn.

See you guys online.

[2 Comments]

Disappointed

I've been busy of late. Working mostly. When not working at the PD or at an extra job I've been at home, usually playing call of Duty 4.

For the past few weeks I've been exitedly waiting for March 18th to role around for the release of Rainbow 6: Vegas 2. On that day a couple of friends and I drove the 130 miles or so to Minot, North Dakota, the closest location for a GameStop. I have an Edge membership through Gamestop and enjoy pretty good bonuses on trade ins so it offsets the cost in gas when you split it up a few ways. Besides, the local stores usually don't have the new games right away.

It should come as no surprise to most of you that we didn't find Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 waiting for us at Gamestop. We also didn't find it at any other retail location including the often reliable Best Buy. We were given the same lame bullshit story at each retailer. Gamestop was particularly irritating at one of the three locations. We were told that, "The advertised release date is actually when the distributors release the games for shipping and that usually the day after is the date retailers are allowed to sell them". WHAT!! One of the most irritating people worked at the Gamestop next to the Walmart. He told us, with a straight face no-less, that "only about 2% of titles are actually released on their advertised release date".

Well, I guess I've only purchased that elusive 2% because every single game I've ever purchased on the advertised release date has been sold to me ON THAT DATE. that's why they have midnight release parties and shit.

Only ONE person gave me an answer that UI could live with. The employee at the one of the Gamestops in the mall said, "This is North Dakota, it's not unusual for us to be a day late in releasing a title". She was helpful at least.

Not being able to return anytime soon particularly since another trip would screw-up the cost savings of coming there in the first palce, I pre-paid for my copy and was told taht it would be shipped by next day delivery the moment it came into the store. I called on the 19th and spoke with the same female clerk. she told me that my copy had indeed been shipped via UPS and that it shold arrive at my door sometime on Thursday teh 20th. she even gave me a tracking number. It didn't work, so I'm hoping that it was being shipped but that the records are slower than their trucks.

The others and I should have been told, " Sorry, we dont' have it yet. Maybe tomorrow". Please however, don't read off of a talking points memo, you'll only piss me off.

I'll either be happy tomorrow afternoon or I'll have to practice yet more delayed gratification skills.

We shall see.

[5 Comments]

Oh, and another thing...

While I'm on the track of things that make me happy, I have another one. If you don't love a good cigar, stop wasting your time and go back to downloading porn.

There is another place in Bismarck that is always a stop for me. There are actually two of them of the same name on either side of town, Captain Jack's. It's a huge liqour store. Now, I don't go in there to buy alcohol. Mostly because they have a great walk-in humidor at both locations. They are usually well stocked with some great cigars and their prices are really good, generally a buck or two lower per stick than anywhere else short of the internet.

Two things make me happy about both locations. The store on the south side has pre-embargo cubans (at least they did last time I was there). Now a pre-embargo cuban is not the rarest thing in the world but they certainly aren't fallen from the sky either. Being pre-embargo means that they would have been brought into the US legally prior to the 1963 cuban embargo. That's a long ass time. But, the great thing about cigars is that as long as they are kept in good care andat around 70 degrees and 70 percent humidity, they will damn near last forever. Now, trouble with a cigar is that the longer they are aged the milder they get. With most cigars made from other regions this would be a bad thing. For a cuban cigar, not so much.

To say that Cuban soil is rich would be a gross understatement. It is damn near close to perfect conditions for growing the best cigar grade tobacco possible. That is why that prior to the embargo ALL cigars were made with varying grades of Cuban tobacco. Even the now complete shit White Owl brand were once pretty decent cigars thanks to this (or so my dad tells me anyway).

The results of near perfect conditions is that the strength of the tobacco grown in Cuba is incredible.

So back to the present. The Pre-embargo cigars that they had were Gurhkas. Not the ones currently available, those are an off-shoot label. During the mass exodus from Cuba when Castro took power, a lot of the cigar manufacturers and their families fled to other Central and South American countries. That's why there are former Cuban labels now made in Honduras, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, etc.

There are quite a few counterfeits out there masquerading as Cuban cigars. The good ones are usually premium brands that are relabeled with either authentic or counterfeit Cuban brand labels. The only way to know for sure besides using some gene-chemistry is by having some experience smoking actual Cuban cigars. So, I was skeptical that these were actually pre-embargo cigars. That is until I smoked it. What I bought was a fairly large and robust cigar, about a 50 ring gauge, a large churchill type. I paid $35 for it, pricey even during the cigar boom. But, I was on vacation and a little extravegance is forgivable.

I've smoked Cuban cigars before and if there is any one huge diference between Cuban tobacco and any other location is that you can taste the soil in them. I'm not kidding, they have an earthy texture and background that is unmistakable. An unapologetic actor being interviewed in Cigar Afficonado magazine once said, "you can taste the manure". A little graphic but some truth. He didn't mean that it tastes like shit, he meant that you can taste the nutrient rich soil. The Cubans still use base manure to fertilize and stay away from expensive fertilizers and pest-control products.

So, even though I was expecting to get ripped off (see, there's that cynicism again) I was happy as hell when I lit it up and took that first draw. It was very mild but it had that unmistakable earthy background that only comes from one place. It was a VERY enjoyable smoke that I savored through about an hour and a half. I wouldn't buy another one, not at that price but for a one time purchase, I got my money's worth. My travel budy who also bought one agreed with me. He was fairly new to cigar smoking and he got a little buzzed, something he wasn't accustomed to with such a mild cigar.

Now for the second thing I like about both locations, they have a good stock of A. Fuente cigars. They don't make junk. Kind of like Rocky Patel, they have been sticklers for perfection from the womb. Obsessed with quality. I've never had one of their "Opus X" line but I understand that it's as close as you can possible get to a Cuban grade cigar from a non-Cuban maker.

But, one of my favorites is not from their higher end cigar lines. I speak of the unsung hero of cigar-land, the Arturo Fuente Curly Head. It's not labeled, more like a factory second in a premium box. I believe they use the long-filler trimmings from some of their higher end cigars for the filler. Whatever the case, it's an amazing cigar for the price. That price at present in Captain Jack's is $2.99 a stick. They are a rough looking cigar and the end is pinched and the cap is twisted like they used to do it WAY back in the day. The ring gauge is close to a 42 to 44 with an 8" length, similar to a lonsdale.

Even though they look rough they are one of the smoothest smokes to be had and have a great balanced flavor with a sweet aftertaste. I usually pick up 5 of them when I'm in Bismarck and I keep intending to buy a box or two from an online vendor but usually forget. They are cheap enough to purchase by the box and good enough to be an everyday smoke.

Happy blue smoke for everybody.

[7 Comments]

I can has Happiness.

It should be painfully obvious (and probably a little annoying) that I am perfectly capable of bitching about something at the drop of a hat. But, I don't want everybody to think that I'm some sad and grumpy douche-bag with no happiness gene floating in my somewhat cloudy gene pool.

I found something that honestly surprised me.

See I have this philosophy, it's a complete and total rip-off of a preparedness axiom; "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst". My own twist on it is that as long as I fully expect somebody to do their absolute best to screw shit up then I'm not disappointed. I am RARELY disappointed. So, my expectations are low. When something good happens, I am genuinely pleased. This week, I was very pleased about one of life's simple pleasures.

Food.

I was in Bismarck, North Dakota this week for a training course. Bismarck is not exactly a culinary Mecca, so imagine my surprise when I found a restaurant that had honestly GREAT food. I wasn't expecting much (see above), I'm a little jaded. Having grown up in Houston I got used to eating really good food prepared in a competitive environment. And, for the most part, when you take a look at a place you have certain expectations. You might think the food will be good, just not great. This place was truly great.

The restaurant I'm speaking of is the China Star: Mongolian Stir Fry. It's a Chinese-American Buffet. That's no shit, I don't think they have a menu. You walk in the front doors and immediately meet the cashier and see a little hand-written sign: Please Pay First. Simple.

$7.98 (including tax) gets you access to the classic "All You Can Eat" buffet. Now, what I expected was the standard single table, 20 or so dish arrangement. What I got was 4 huge buffet tables loaded down with some really good looking food. With a lot of buffet's the food looks like it's been sitting out there for awhile. Not this stuff. It wasn't your standard issue buffet fare, the "we just knocked this out of a frozen box and zapped it" shit that I usually see. Nope, somebody made this stuff fresh and with skill.

The first lunch I had there was on Wednesday, I grabbed the usual standards, chicken fried rice, peppered steak, General Tsoas Chicken and something called simply "smoked chicken".

I love Chinese food. It's damn near the perfect consumable and the smoked chicken was fuckin' crazy good. It had a mellow flavor to it. A light seasoned breading (not greasy) and the chicken beneath was perfectly cooked. Well cooked for a salmonella-free experience but not dry. Anybody who regularly attempts to make chicken knows how hard that is.

Long of short. Everything that I tried over the next three days lunch breaks was awesome. The smoked chicken was the SAME everyday and perfect. The BBQ pork spare ribs weren't little bone in short ribs, they were full length stripped ribs and were just as perfect as you could imagine. It was all good enough to be from the menu of any of the high end Chinese Restaurants I have ever eaten at but from a buffet.

They also ran the place with an efficiency that just doesn't exist in reality The lady that refilled the dishes would come out, check the tables and if there was anything that needed to be replaced she would grab a microphone from the wall nearby and announce it to the kitchen. Cool.

As with a lot of other Mongolian style places there was a huge stir-fry table in the middle with a cold-stock buffet arranged around it. There were tons of fresh (and I mean really fresh) ingredients that were chilled on ice. You picked the ingredients, followed the directions to make a sauce and then handed the works to the nice man with then spatula. He cooked it and then served it to you.

If you ever fall off of the known world and for some reason land in Bismarck, (before you commit suicide) eat at this restaurant. You will NOT be disappointed.

I was, but in a good way.

[3 Comments]