why have a blog if ya don't blog?

I've figured it out. The reason I don't blog more often is that most of the stuff I consider posting on require pictures. I have something against shooting and editing pictures; there's something not fun about it. Probably because my 'puter is slow and those tasks can't be done instantaneously.

Rather than not blogging, though, I'm gonna try to shoot some pics and create some posts. I have a few things that I'm planning comments on: why I set my sling up the way I did, the Safariland ELS belt system and jump holster. Maybe some comments about how much money I have in guns and gear and how I still suck with a gun. We'll see what I can do to show that.

I have a need to practice writing more than I do. Not writing makes me rusty and it takes longer to get what I need from it. I'm hopeful that I can make better use of this place in order to accomplish part of my job more efficiently. 'Course, things could easily keep going along at the snail's pace that they do already, too.

News: My blog is still NC-17. The people rejoice!

Back in, what, '07 I think, I found a link to a site that gives a movie rating to blogs, and now to facebook and stuff. Just because I got curious, I had to have it rated again. Of course, there's even more references to guns-I shot some new pics of the carbine again, so yet more gun posting will be happening-so of course I kept my rating. What's different, though, is that the stuff that brought me that rating originally isn't the same stuff that does it now, other than guns. I'm OK with that.

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• gun (48x)
• shoot (16x)
• dead (7x)
• kill (4x)
• dangerous (3x)
• zombie (2x)
• steal (1x)

Happy Belated Birthday to Blog

Well, it turns out I missed my own e-birthday. My first post here was Oct. 15th, 2006, a momentous day that will be remembered by both my readers. Oddly, the mayor made no note of it.

I was fairly prolific back then, probably because being online was more fun than work; it wasn't part of my job description like it is now. Additionally, much has changed since then.

Most of what would have been blogged about has been shifted to other outlets, such as Facebook. If you're a celebrity in dire need of telling the world you took a dump again, there's Twitter. I don't care how popular Twitter gets, its still gay. But if you think back a little, there was a time when all there was available was Myspace. That place was called a Digital Ghetto recently, and is most certainly in its decline. Despite being owned by some currently rich kid and having a movie made about it, FB will probably go that way too as something new comes along.

I dunno how much I plan to continue to post, but I'm not going away completely for some time yet. There will be a few more late birthday announcements, I'm sure.

I didn't really want to go this direction: Haji's thoughts on stuff

Let's face it, other than going to the range and working out, there's not a lot to do in Western KY, especially with the Division deployed. As such, there just isn't that much to blog about...except my opinions on stuff, which are pretty well set, because I'm gettin' old and increasingly grumpy.

I was trying to avoid going this direction, but I've noticed a couple things. First, I see a lot of people posting stuff on the Intardweb that makes it clear they need some help. Why should they listen to me? Because most of my information comes from people much smarter and more experienced than I am. Basically, you're not getting my word, you're getting theirs.

What do I plan to cover? Well...I really need more of a plan to determine that. I have a couple topics I want to go into: a (notice I didn't say "the") proper way to set up an AR, vertical foregrips, polymer framed pistols, the Taurus Judge, training and trainers, why or why not a 1911 and why all 1911's aren't the same, and a few more topics. I haven't determined an order yet; I'm going to have to ponder that and see what comes up.

What can I say? It's either this or no blogging at all. Both my readers rejoice!

I am, of course, opinionated. I am convinced I'm right, until proven otherwise.

?

I find this hard to believe, but I've been off from work for a week, and didn't come up with a single thing worth blogging about. Maybe something good will happen tomorrow.

Bleh

It's been dull here for the past several weeks. Outside of the match I shot yesterday-and did poorly in-not much is going on. I'm in a real creative rut at the moment, at least in terms of writing. I haven't even seen a movie in a couple weeks, although Pandorum was fun. When the big excitement is that I got a haircut today, it's pretty easy to tell who's not out living life on the edge right now. LOL!

I have a couple ideas to explore, but I need to get them oriented correctly first. My typical stream of unconsciousness style of writing doesn't work very well for that.

Norv Turner needs to go.

Busy days...and nights!

I've wanted to post more often of late-I'll be dammed if I know why, but I do-but I have not been home. Typically, that would mean I'm off having fun, bustin' primers, barbie cue-ing, watching TEOTWAWKI training films, studying the art of Ludlow-Fu, or at least being away doing something that's more fun than not fun. That hasn't been the case of late.

The software package we used at work, CAM Commerce, has proven to be an unreliable, glitch-filled beast. The thing it does worst, tracking inventory, is what it was supposed to do best. Additionally, CAM didn't appear to be able to fix it. The unfortunate conclusion was that we changed software.

If you've never changed entire systems for a retail operation, you may not know how big a deal that is. Everything you have has to be exported from one system and loaded into another. CAM being a beast meant that we found that it didn't export everything. More work. We not only have a retail storefront operation, we also have a website that has its own inventory; essentially, two different stores. Yeah, its a big deal. It kept us closed for about five days as we worked long, long hours to get open again.

I hear a couple people asking "but don't you work in manufacturing?" Yeah, but not for a week I didn't. I've got another week in the showroom this coming week as Matt E. is down in Flo'da assisting with the running of another couple classes at Camp Ares. I should be going back to QC after this week, but I will probably be transitioning back to the showroom in the near future, which I'm very interested in doing.

On top of all that, we're supplying contractors for post-hurricane operations down Gulf-way. Our division supplies the contracting division, so again, extra hours are the name of the game. I was at work on Saturday again, from about 10:30 to about 11:00 last night, getting another shipment ready to be picked up. I'm on salary, so its not like I'm pulling overtime for all this, although the company takes care of me for the extra work.

So today, I'm catching up on reading other blogs, and keeping tabs on my forum. ;) I wish it was mine; I'm just responsible for running it. That's OK, its sort of a home away from home, and I'll be seeing a bunch of those regular members at SHOT in January. I'll be in San Diego for 11 days next month, which won't be getting here fast enough. I'm dyin' for some real Messican food!

What the...

What's up with Blogger's wacky formatting these days? I've noticed for the past couple weeks that it'll randomly start a new line, or run off to the right of the page for about 25 meters unless I edit it myself. That's just weird. What's up with that?

Update

Guess what? I've got absolutely nothing new to report. The sad thing is, that's likely to be the case through December, after which I don't know what I'm going to do with the free time. Hopefully get a second job so I can afford to buy some ammo at some point.;)

Four classes and a full time job in the Military Industrial Complex means that I don't have a lot of free time. That's just the way it has to be this year. With a little luck, I'm gonna get a chance to see Resident Evil: Extinction, and maybe a UFC PPV or two. Still undecided if I'm gonna watch tonight's; don't have a lot else to do, but it is $40. My cable bill is already expensive enough. See the dilemas I have to deal with here?

Found out yesterday that it looks like my employer is going to have a booth at SHOT in Vegas. I was planning to go on my own dime; now I may have to work the show instead. My boss told me it'll probably be just the two of us representing the manufacturing division, which means I pretty much get to work two full days of the show...or more. Plus side: airfare and lodging will be covered. Minus side: I've already gotten squared away with a time share condo that's gonna cost me almost nothing. I guess I line up a non-stop flight and make them reimburse it. Its far to early to tell how that's all gonna shake out, but since I have no other news, that's what you get. More later...more of what, I'm not really sure.

Well, lookee there.

I saw this rating thing posted over at Josh's place. Since his language is more...colorful than mine, I expected to rate more along the lines of a PG or PG-13. Lo and behold!

By the numbers, I guess I'm even more NC-17-ier than Josh is! More talk of guns, bro!

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

* gun (33x)
* shoot (7x)
* ass (5x)
* crap (3x)
* knife (2x)
* zombie (1x)

Can you believe I've referenced things as crap three different times???

Rediculous

I was just poking around in the Dashboard, and realized that this blog has been here for a year. Doesn't seem like it, but there it is. Happy Birthday to Haji's Place.

Another couple quizzes

I am....
I am.....:	therefore, I think.
I am not...:	short
I love...:	family. And guns. And families with guns.
I like.....:	eating
I hate....:	as little as I can
I envy....:	nothing
I fear....:	not fearing things
I crave....:	peanut butter and chocolate ice cream
I miss....:	San Diego
I adore.....:	my M4gery
I listen.....:	intently
I do....:	but not frequently
I do not.....:	all the time
I admire....:	Soldiers.
I feel....:	at the end of my fingertips
I will talk to you if.....:	you have cash
I will not talk to you if......:	I'm being yelled at
I read.....:	constantly, typically three books at a time
I am most excited about......:	getting out of town for a few days
I use....:	stuff
I never use.....:	bad stuff if I can help it
I hope for.....:	conservative government
I depend on....:	myself
I drink......:	too much soda
I'm OCD about...:	being a slob
I have a passion for....:	God
I dont understand.....:	why people vote liberal
I watch.....:	people do stupid things
I care about....:	friends
I do not care about...:	things that I don't care about
My name is.....:	Haji
And I AM......:	still Haji
Take this survey | Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

And another:

Fun Fun Randomness
Have you ever been to a different country?:	Yes, several places in Europe, Mexico, and Texas
Are you a vegetarian?:	Oh, hell no! I'm not happy if nothing dies for me to eat.
Do you play a musical instrument?:	Not currently. I'm a former bass player, and played the trombone and baritone in HS
Are you double jointed?:	I don't smoke that stuff
Can you whistle?:	yeah, but I can't do that coach's whistle without fingers
Do you have any special talents?:	belch talking. I'm getting better at belch singing, too.
Have you ever cried in front of others?:	Yup. You can do that at funerals
Do you shower daily?:	Yup
Name one bad habit of yours::	I'd say procrastination, but I gotta think about that and come back to it later.
What friend of your boyfriend/girlfriend do you find the most attractive?:	Ain't gots either one
Is chubby cute?:	occasionally
Have you ever been hospitalized?:	Yeah, I was born in one. Other than that...just the E-Room
Ever done something real bad?:	Not especially, except that I went to see Titanic in a theatre
Ever got caught doing something bad?:	Not really, but the MP's brought me home once when I was a kid
Rate your dancing skills 1-10::	What's less than 1?
Are you single?:	perpetually
If not, what's your significant other's name?:	Rosy
What's your sign?:	STOP
What's your middle name?:	Scott
What's your favorite flower?:	Roses of several different varieties
Who do you idolize?:	Jesus
If you could speak a foreign language, which would it be?:	I already speak Gibberish.
Smell your shirt, what does it smell like?:	cotton
What kind of deoderant do you use?:	Degree
What's your best physical feature?:	My height, perhaps my food stain-colored eyes
What's your favorite physical feature in the opposite sex?:	I'm smitten with brown eyes and dark hair
Are you afraid of the dark?:	Nope, but I also carry a Surefire light
Day/Night?:	Preference? I don't have one
Sun/Rain?:	I'd rather not get rained on
Cold/Hot?:	its easier to get warm than it is to get cool
Dog/Cat?:	Cats suck.
Sneeze/Cough?:	I'd rather not do either one
Favorite Super Nintendo game::	None. I'm not a gamer
Favorite board game::	Pictionary, Monopoly, or Trivial Persuit
Favorite arcade game::	Galaga, because its at the laundromat I use
When was the last time you shagged?:	waiting till I get married
Rate it on a scale of 1-10::	really can't, can I?
Does anything hurt on your body right now? If yes, what?::	no, not really
Sleeping position::	reclined
Children?:	No, thanks
Least favorite food::	brussell sprouts. They're nasty.
Most desirable place to visit::	I wanna go back to Nawlins
Have you ever peed the bed?:	My own? No. I may have at a party or two, but they weren't mine
Do you enjoy reality tv?:	Not since Combat Missions ended. The Ultimate Fighter isn't that much a reality show, and I watch it constantly
Do you believe in a higher power?:	Oh, yes. I know God personally
Are you supersticious?:	nope.
Believe in ghosts?:	nope.
Ever seen a ghost?:	nope.
Watch porn?:	Try to avoid it. It doesn't help me
What's your favorite horror film?:	I'm not that much a horror fan, so its either the Blade trilogy, Shaun of the Dead, or Underworld
What's the best book you've ever read?:	The Bible, followed by the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Masters of Chaos
Lactose Intolerant?:	Not even a little
If you could put one thing in your mouth right now, what would it be?:	I don't want anything in my mouth right now
Least favorite word::	liberal, entitlement, and socialism all share the top spot
Worst teacher::	Whoever it was that taught my Personnel Management class
Best kisser::	Me
Most embarrassing moment::	Right now. I can't think of one.
Do you bite your nails?:	once in a while
Most desired length of hair on opposite sex?:	I love long hair, but short hair is cool too, and so is medium length hair.
Are you bilingual?:	Not fluently
Do you work hard for your money?:	Like I have a choice? Noone else does what I do
Do you own a plant?:	not currently
Do you own a fish?:	not currently
What is on your feet right now?:	leather
When was the last time you showered?:	1:00 pm this afternoon.
Have you ever cheated on a loved one?:	Nope
Ever ratted someone out?:	Several
Who was the last person you yelled at?:	I told one of our seamstresses that she was on crack, but I didn't really yell it
Who was the last person you hit?:	I only remember slugging Josh in the temple several years ago
Who was the last person you kissed?:	Mom, I think
Are you wearing underwear?:	yup
If so..what kind?:	Hanes
Do you like bananas?:	yes
Can you sing?:	I can carry a tune, but I'm not into it
What's your future child's name going to be?:	Titan Enormo
Are you racist?:	Racist? No. Biased? I think so
Are you a homophobe?:	Definately
What's your favorite kind of animal?:	predators
Have you ever been bitten by a spider?:	Yup
Ever had a tic stuck to you?:	yup
Have you ever cried for no reason?:	Nope
Do you have piercings?:	Still have the holes in my earlobes, but I don't wear anything in 'em anymore
Do you have tattoos?:	Nope. Can't think of anything I want to have forever
How long is your hair?:	Right now, about 3"
How long are you..okay how tall are you?:	6' 6"
What do you do for a living?:	QC manager for a tactical gear manufacturer
Where's the prettiest place you've ever been?:	Lots of 'em, but there's a jungle in Hawaii I'd like to get back to
Is Shakira hot?:	Can't sing, but her body control is amazing. She's pretty hot for being so short
Do you want someone's boyfriend/girlfriend?:	Not if they don't.
Do you have the hots for a co-worker?:	Nope. All my coworkers are grandmothers.
Take this survey | Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

I like stupid survey posts

I decided that since I should be working right now (not really, I took my break late, but still...) I needed to add a short survey found rather randomly through Google. I did this because everybody does it on their blogs, and I didn't want to be left out of the cool kids clique. So here goes:

4 Jobs I've Had in My Life...
1. QC Manager
2. Showroom Operations Manager
3. PIMP (Product Information Manager for Personnel)
4. Movie Theatre Assistant Manager (and usher)

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over...(and do!)
1. Stripes
2. Caddyshack
3. The Buccaneer
4. Rio Bravo/El Dorado (almost the same movie, but I love 'em both equally)

4 Places I've lived...
1. Oak Grove, Kentucky
2. San Diego CA
3. Camarillo, CA
4. Brooklyn, NY

4 TV Shows I Love to Watch...
1. The Ultimate Fighter
2. Jericho
3. Modern Marvels
4. Biker Build Off

4 Places I've Been on Vacation...
1. New Orleans, LA
2. Miami, FL
3. Oahu, Hawaii
4. Agua Dulce, CA

4 Websites I Visit Daily...
1. South Park Pundit.com
2. Lightfighter.net
3. Zombie Hunters.com
4. Yahoo.com

4 of My Favorite Foods...
1. Carne Asada Burrito with sour cream and cheese added
2. Rolled Tacos with sour cream and cheese added
3. Carne Asada Nachos with Sour Cream and Cheese Added
4. Pulled pork and ribs, wet.

There ya have it! This is at least mildly entertaining, so as long as I can find short ones, I'll keep doing this.

Nother year!

New Year's is the time of resolutions, which I don't believe in. If you need to make a change in your life, make it. Don't put it off until January the 1st just because that's the start of a new calendar year. It doesn't mean anything more than you need to buy another $12 pile of card stock (hopefully with cool pictures) to keep track of dates on. I end up using whatever calendar I can get for free, which means they're generally tacticool. I'd spend my own money to have a cool high speed calendar full of cool guys with cool guns. Listen up, calendar makers: you're missing out on money here.

I try to keep resolutions that are on my list of things to do anyway, so I'm never disapointed with missing out on getting one done. Why resolve something I know I'm not gonna do? Maybe I suck, but I'm honest with myself. To quote Yoda, that modern primitive philosophizer, "Do. Or do not. There is no 'try'."

So what's on my list of things to do this year? That's pretty easy. Interestingly-to me at least-they generally have to do with education and learning. Some of 'em are just things I wanna get to and have been working at for a while, some are going to be rather major undertakings. At any rate, here's a bit of a list in no particular order for next year...actually, tomorrow:

• Finish my degree. I'm six classes away, and started working on making things happen on this front about a month ago. I will be finished in '07. Might as well; I gotta start paying back those damn student loans anyway.
• Get some education on my M4gery. I can shoot; that's not the issue. I wanna really know how to run the carbine, in all aspects of its use. I don't have a lot of experience shooting at distance with a rifle that isn't a bolt action. I wanna learn how to do all kinds of stuff I won't use, such as the continuation of my low light and room clearing education. I already have a tacticool job. I need the skills to back it up and continue to enhance my Intarweb Celebrity. Sorry, can't find the "rolling eyes" emoticon.
• Get back to Cali for a visit or two. The family is still there and I still have the majority of my friends there.
  
• Get to work on the writing of the book. I don't wanna give the concept away on the net and have somebody swoop in and steal it. I'm enlisting an English major friend of mine, and a buddy of mine who's a combat medic. It has to do with the Mobile Undead. I think you could gather that's what all the rambling on my blog about zombies and gear has been about. It may not be finished next year, but it will be underway.
  
• Learn something else I didn't expect to. I don't expect it, so I don't know what that's gonna be, but I'm gonna learn something.
  
• I'm gonna try to continue a couple things I'm already working on: I'm going to continue to try to eradicate profanity from my vocabulary. Swearing doesn't do anything to get my point across better, and it doesn't bring me closer to God. I'm also going to work harder on not making fun of people. This is very difficult for me. Some people are just begging to be made fun of, and they serve up opportunities like softballs to the outside edge of the plate. Resisting the easy is the hard part. If I can do that, I'll move on to resisting the more difficult. The difficult ones are usually the harder ones, believe it or not, because a good clever put down is art. But, since it doesn't help anyone else, I'm trying to stop that. Now my friends are using their "rolling eyes" emoticons.
  

I've got some stuff to do, and some stuff not to do. That oughta keep me busy for a while. But, being a anti-resolving kinda guy, there's always next year. I'm more interested in the journey than the destination.

What do I need a blog for?

After several years of wondering what I might need a blog for, now I have one. I still don't know what I need one for, but several of my friends have 'em, so I guess I got jealous.
The world supposedly revolves around blogs. Ask the news. They're all up in it, especially come election time. To me all they prove is that the Intarweb has revolutionized communication. The interesting thing about that is that its about the only medium where its potentially a one, two, or multiple (perhaps into the hundreds of millions) channels can send information in more than one direction. F'rinstance: the news comes into your TV (if you even watch the news anymore; I rarely do), but its the channel sending info to you. You can't interact with it. The Intarweb allows for that...but it doesn't have to be that way.
The beauty of the Intarweb (and one of the major drawbacks) is that if you choose to hide behind your computer screen, its not that hard to do. Check out any forum on any subject anywhere on the net. On some quilting forum somewhere, somebody's flaming somebody else for their opinion, and hiding behind their keyboard. I was recently banned from a forum...and I have no idea why. None was given. I sent an e-mail to the admin of that forum asking why. I just wanted to know why; I wasn't asking for reinstatement. I got no response.
I guess where I'm going with this is, if you're going to interact with people, you're gonna make somebody mad. Nothing wrong with that; nobody other than Jesus can make everybody happy. (Yes, I realize a lot of people are going to be mad about that statement) But if you're gonna take action because of it, stand up and let them know why. Its the right thing to do, even if its not the easy thing to do.
....And I still don't know why I need a blog. That question may take a while to be answered.