11/13/2022 - BLOG COMMENTS are again allowed and are moderated to exclude only the bots, advertisements, racial / ethnic pejoratives, and embedded links. I'll attempt to honor Chicago's historical "Bughouse Square" concept of free-speech and open debate --- spanning the curve from the far-left to the far-right. /JZ
Blogging to you from the Northeastern Badlands of The County of Lake, in the state currently known as Fatmanistan, DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP inside the heartland of the Banana Republic formerly known as the USA, WELCOME TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! WARNING! ALL FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE ADDICTIVE; EXCESSIVE USE MAY LEAD TO MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, REDUCED JOB PRODUCTIVITY, INSOMNIA, SOCIAL ALIENATION, GENITAL ULCERS, BLINDNESS, POLITICAL EROTICISM, AND / OR DEVIANT FUNAMBULISM. NOTICE: NO GUNS OR AMMUNITION ARE FOR SALE VIA THIS BLOG. (No, I will not trade my Colt Python for some lubricious adventures with your trophy wife and a future first-round draft pick.) CAVEAT: This blog is not suitable for viewing while at work, while inside a public library, while inside any public or private school, or while inside any public or private restroom. Do not view this blog while driving a motor vehicle or while piloting an aircraft. Viewing this blog may be illegal inside the EU, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and other parts of the Third World. THIS BLOG CONTAINS (albeit often very childish) ADULT-CONTENT. DISCLAIMER: This blog is a hobby, it is not a livelihood. Even though much of what I blog about relates to firearms collecting and recreational shooting, I am not an expert (by any measure) on any facet of guns, shooting, hunting, or personal defense. Entries at this blog are akin to good old-fashioned campfire chats or post hunt bourbon-fueled barroom-bluster; I offer no opinion on what you should or should not purchase, or what you should be using or doing. What does or does not work for me could be rugged-country-miles away from your tastes and your needs. All products, places, and miscellany that I review for this blog are purchased / rented / leased at retail price by me. I do not accept payment, gifts, discounts, freebies, products on loan, distilled spirits, recreational pharmaceuticals, plea-bargains, probation, parole, Papal Blessings, Presidential Pardons, or sexual favors for doing any review or blog post. TRACKING COOKIES: Google et al stick tracking cookies on everybody. If you are online, you are being spied on via one method or another, for one reason or another; 'nuff said. You may be able to minimize your online DNA residue by using Tor and Duck Duck Go. Vive la liberté! Vive all y'all! Ante omnia armari. To each of you, thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

It sure would be nice if we quit calling each other stupid.

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Politics is an amazing poison, it causes madness; even people who have never voted will call someone else a fool for their party affiliation. Republicans are fools; Democrats are fools; Libertarians and fools, etc. Since I have an IQ somewhere on the left side of the bell curve, it hurts me dearly when smart people act dumb. Whether they come from rough or refined backgrounds, folks should not try to win friends and influence people with ad hominem attacks and embellished facts. Try showing respect.

Now, to the guys who occasionally parade around the intersection of Routes 137 and 21 in Libertyville, Illinois, over the past 2.5 years, waving the pictures of Obama sporting a Hitler moustache or wearing a turban, I have but one question; is that the best you can do? Yeah, I am the geezer driving the green GMC van who offered you a $10 donation if you could show me a voter’s registration card. It was a safe bet for me to make; I didn’t have $10 in my wallet any more than you had a voter’s card in yours.

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Friday, June 17, 2011

No more Java for me, thank you, I have had enough.

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(CLICK HERE for Borepatch's thoughts on Java)

I have disabled Java on my browser and I will disable it on my wife’s system when I get the chance. Each of us experienced a Trojan attack, FakeSysdef, on separate days, which MS Security Essentials failed to prevent. I am sure mine came in via Java during a website visit. While we both were hit with the same Trojan, the variation I had was very aggressive and it took me all day on Wednesday for me to fix my system.

MS Security Essentials did catch a Trojan downloader, Java/OpenConnection.NC, for me the other day, and was able to remove FakeSysdef from each of our drives although it did not prevent the attacks. Overall, Security Essentials has been a good workhorse.

In case you were wondering, both of our computers are automatically updated once a week.

EDIT:  The reason I suspect Java is because the Java icon appeared on my browser during my visit to a website just before all heck broke lose.
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Monday, June 6, 2011

Yard and garden journal entry 6/6/2011


I believe the irises have peaked and this is as good as they will look for this year. In a week or so, the blooms will be sparse. For some reason, we are the only folks that grow irises in this area. They are not popular in these parts and I don’t know why; they are hearty and reliable perennials. The two clusters in the photos grew from single plantings set a dozen years ago.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

If you want to achieve an average looking lawn, the best advice I can give you is…


NEVER do what my neighbor did and use Roundup to kill broadleaf weeds on your lawn! He thought the stuff I routinely use on my lawn was not working fast enough after I treated his lawn (at my expense), so he took over a gallon and a half of Roundup and nuked his once salvageable turf into oblivion. The sad part is that the kill zone spreads each time it rains and it is moseying over the property line onto my lawn and getting dangerously close to some of my arborvitaes.

Roundup is good for its intended purpose, which is to kill weeds and grass in areas where you want nothing to grow. Read the instructions. Never use Roundup on anything you are not intending to destroy.

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Be they Republican, Democrat, third party, fourth party or beyond, make each candidate earn it. Vote NO MORE GUN LAWS!

'We the Politicians of the United States, in Order to avoid a more perfect Union, manipulate Justice, destroy domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common offense, promote general Warfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Progeny, do blaspheme and eviscerate this Constitution of the United States of America." ("Zack," circa 1966 -1970)
Please consider RECURRING UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS of ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL POLITICIANS (including but not limited to school records, acquaintances, employment history, Social Media, financial, drug, and psychiatric screenings). Please consider TERM LIMITS; political power corrupts.