RECCE ROOM

A man in China, who was trapped in a mine for 17 years, was recently rescued from that mine. Story here . Seems he lived on an emergency cache of rice, supplemented by rats and moss. .

Was at the range recently with my cousin (a fellow lifelong shooter). Guys next to us had some tannerite . I've known about tannerite for a while, just never seen it live and in person before. They asked if we minded if they shot it. Ummmm.... I don't mind a bit! Few moment later: BOOM! Cue my inner "Butthead:" Hey, Beavis... that was cool! .

Never thought I'd say this: these guys are pretty good on the Cello.

My favorite professional baseball team - the Atlanta Braves - entered the current All-Star break with one of the best records in baseball. Not only that, but Braves catcher, Brian McCann, was named All-Star MVP last night. I hope all the magic lasts, but I am only cautiously optimistic.

Apparently, last night was the opening night for the latest "Twilight" movie. According to sources, the movie has earned over $30 million in its first night. Tom Cruise's "Knight and Day" opened 3rd last weekend, drawing 'only' $20 million all weekend. So let me get this straight... a romance/vampire movie makes more in one day than a Tom Cruise action flick made in a whole weekend? My, how times have changed.

I've been shooting for nearly 30 years. At this point, I can hit a target, like the man in this story , at a distance of 500 yards - a bit over a quarter-mile. The man in the story, Craig Harrison, hit his targets - Taliban terrorists - from a mile and a half away. He is a Sniper in the British military. So, at my current pace, I will be able to make that shot in about 150 years.

A bank robber in Florida picked the wrong place at the wrong time. Link to article . Specifically, what was cool was a 62-year-old off duty security guard was in the bank as the robber tried to hold the place up. The man then walked out to his car, retrieved his handgun (he had a Florida Concealed Carry Permit), and WENT BACK INTO the bank to confront the robber. The man held the robber at gunpoint until police arrived. That guy must have some skills, because so many other outcomes would have been so much more likely.

I have followed American Idol pretty regularly this year - more so than I have in the past. Contestant Crystal Bowersox is just plain impressive. Best contestant on the show by a wide margin. I usually don't watch much TV (outside of sports). And I have never watched much of Idol, or any other reality show. Even when I have caught a show here or there, I never have felt compelled to blog about it. But this time is different. I am really impressed with Bowersox. I predict great things in her future... if she doesn't derail herself like so many performers do.

Came across this video. Link . This guy has a revolver. He shoots it six times. Then he reloads it. Then he shoots it six more times. How fast can he do that you might ask? About three seconds. Folks, some say I'm pretty good. I cannot fire twelve straight times out of my GLOCK and hit the target every single time in three seconds. I'd probably be at about ten rounds, tops. And that is with no reloading (my magazine holds 15 rounds). This guy does it with a revolver. And a reload. WOW!

Tonight in Tae Kwon Do class there was sparring. As my son sparred, I called out to him as motivation: "if you kick your opponent in the helmet, I'll buy you a video game!" Eyes lit up. And wouldn't you know it. In front of everybody, and with much teasing all around, my son earned a video game out of the whole thing. They say these are the days - with my children being ages 5 and 2. I tend to agree.

In Japan, somebody found a crab. A giant crab. 10-feet tip-to-tip legs. Link .

WARNING - MATURE SUBJECT! I try to keep this blog family-friendly, but this story was just too good to pass up. You see, this story involves pregnancy without the pregnant party even having all of the "necessary equipment" to become pregnant. It stems from a knife fight. Yep, you heard me, a knife fight. And because I cannot think of any other way to describe it using what I consider to be acceptable language for the kids. LINK - WARNING, MATURE CONTENT .

Just because one is a redneck does not necessarily mean that one is an expert on guns. But, think of an expert on guns. That person is likely exhibiting several factors that point toward being a redneck. This is not a bad thing. I myself enjoy the moniker of being a redneck. I'd like to think I'm in good company. Here are a couple of rednecks whose ability with a gun landed them some recognition. Alvin York From Tennessee. York at one point killed 28 Germans and captured 132 more - all by himself. Armed only with an '03 Springfield (bolt-action) rifle and a 1911 pistol. York recalled of his action: "There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting… All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had." Source - Wikepedia Audie Murphy From Texas. The fictional John R...

This video is of a professional competition shooter... who also happens to be female. I'd feel sorry for some terrorist who might attack her. Even armed with old fashioned arms, she shoots faster and more accurately than most can with a semiautomatic. Link to Youtube video .

A man from Decatur, Illinois recently purchased a brand new Chevy Camaro . While that is not necessarily uncommon, the fact that the man was 101 years of age at the time of purchase is quite out of the ordinary. Link to article . Is it just me, or does Mr. Coffman look like he's in great shape for 101? Oh, by the way, Mr. Coffman is six months older than General Motors. No word on if he has had the same financial difficulties that GM has - probably not, given the fact that he just bought a $40,000 vehicle!

I usually do not post on sports. My Titans have given me some hope, but not enough, yet this year. However, I just watched the best game I've seen in my life. The Indianapolis Colts just beat the New England Patriots 35 to 34. Peyton Manning engineers two touchdown drives to bring the Colts back to win from 13 points down with 4 minutes left in the game. The Patriots were in control all night - most of the time they led by a two score margin. The Colts scored twice in the waning moments to take the lead when it mattered most - just as time was about to expire.

A few years back, a good friend of mine, Tim Sikes, set the world record for push-ups in one hour. I was one of the people priviledged enough to witness the event. In fact, I was one of several people called on to count the push-ups. As an added honor, my signature can be found on the official certificate of witnesses. Here is a link as proof for any of you skeptics of Tim's accomplishment. And another . And yet another . Page 16 of this newspaper, saved in Adobe Acrobat format. Tim was interviewed by All Things Considered . In case you are wondering, the record, as set by Tim, is 3669 push-ups in one hour. That works out to a little over 1 push-up per second for the entire duration of an hour. In case you are wondering, here's how he did it: - His first four sets were 75 push-ups each. He prepared as his son (the unofficial timekeeper) would count down a minute. He would drop into position and do 75 push-ups in about 25 seconds, then stand and rest and stretch h...

Professional basketball player, Manu Ginobili, punched a live bat as it flew past him during a game tonight between the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. As luck would have it, the flying mammal died of its injuries. Previously, the game had been delayed as the little critter flew around and frightened some of the other players. How exactly did a bat get into a modern NBA arena??? If you watch the clip in the article I linked, you will see why I put this under "just plain impressive." I mean, Mr. Ginobili's hand-eye coordination was absolutely superb. As luck would have it, the spurs mascot, a coyote, was sporting a "Batman" costume in honor of Halloween. And, of all nights for a bat attack - it's Halloween - the main night of creepy-crawly things.

... even when their parents are complete idiots. In Australia, a baby-stroller complete with infant, rolled away from the parents and into the path of an oncoming train. The stroller rolled under the vehicle. Amazingly, the infant was not crushed, but was straddled by the train. The baby suffered minor bumps and bruises, and the stroller was pushed over 100 feet. Here is a link to the story .

No, it is certainly not this blog. Not even close. However, the site "Box 'O' Truth" is a very interesting one. Even if you don't necessarily like guns. Particularly if you want to know if stuff you've seen or heard of is true. The summaries written are funny. Be warned - if you go to this site, you will get sucked in and likely be unable to pull yourself away! Box 'O' Truth.com