RECCE ROOM

This story by request. Setting: Dyersburg, TN - June 1999. I have just been hired by Enterprise. Previously, I had worked for a rent-to-own place, so repossession was not foreign to me at all! My manager, Rich, learns this over lunch and he tells me that he wants me to help him repo a car. At the time, we didn't really go over details of why we did a repo or when. Rich explained that this was generally up to the manager of each Enterprise location, with a few broad guidelines. Rich also explained, as was his way, that there was really only one reason we would ever repo a car - only if the customer owed money. Made sense to me. I learned later, as Rich predicted I would, what circumstances generally happened leading up to a repo. But this day, I was wide-eyed and full of wonder. The vehicle was a nice Chevy pickup truck. The renter lived a bit of a drive away from the branch - 30 minutes or so. We drove to the house, and Rich taught me the 2 most fundamental rules of a re...

From a guy who was actually paid to repo cars. Man, I never knew they'd pay ya to do it - I always thought you got to repo just for the fun of it! Oh, and here's a post from " Failing Enterprise " too. I hold no ill-will toward ERAC whatsoever. Much the opposite. But the site is funny, and informative.

So often, we hear the left, and the gun-grabbers say that since certain firearms have "no sporting purpose," then they should be restricted. Often, they will say similarly, that firearms have been designed with features for military use. Or that the Founding Fathers never envisioned the weapons we have these days, and would, therefore, be accommodating of restrictions. There are several main problems with this line of thinking. 1. Many states allow these firearms for sporting purposes. For example, TN allowed the use of so-called "semi-automatic assault rifles" for hunting several years ago. Many other states allow the same, or substantially similar. 2. "Sporting use" is rarely defined well. And I think this is on purpose. The gun-grabbers will mention hunting - as if the Second Amendment is all about hunting - and use this as their de facto platform. Problem is, that the guns they wish to grab are often used in sporting events . 3. The Second A...

This from the files of the funny stuff: I was at an interview with a pharmaceutical company. The interviewer was set up in a small meeting room in a hotel. After he led me into the room, he received a call which he had to take. In taking the call, he stepped out of the room for privacy. Being a person geared toward preparation, I saw his interview manual on the desk. I moved quickly, and peeked at it. It was labeled "Behavioral Interview Guide" and it had 10 behavioral questions to ask, and the objective that each question was to determine. I thumbed through the questions at light-speed. By getting a feel for them up front, I would be able to have a moment or two more to give an answer that spoke directly to the objective behind each question. I put the manual down, and awaited the interview. In a few moments, the interviewer came back in, apologized for the interruption, and proceeded to conduct the interview... ...BUT... He never asked a single behavioral questi...

I can't believe it! This is a month of "firsts." Link to article . A liberal actually realizes that more gun control is not the answer.

This article - " 10 things your auto insurer won't tell you " - takes a look at some of the mysteries of auto insurance. This happens to be a specialty of mine - having worked for an insurer for many years. Here's my take on it: 1. "When I say this is a good policy, I mean it's good for me." This is true - but not to the extent that you might think. Auto insurance companies pay 10%-15%  commissions. Usually 13% - 15%. The agents getting the special spiffs are usually making no more than 2%-4% extra. That means on your policy costing $1000 per year, the agent will only see an additional $20 - $40. While it is worth possible risk of losing you as a customer if the rate and coverage with the higher-paying company are comparable, it is certainly not worth it if he loses your business altogether. 2. "Young drivers can't catch a break." True. And deservedly so. There is a strong, direct correlation between inexperience and likelihood of a c...

A California judge threw out an ammo ban for the state of California! Yes, you read that correctly. And here's the link to the story . The ban - which targeted online ammo sales - was ruled unconstitutionally vague.

Most employers, and most professions have very straightforward salary arrangements. Typically, there is a set pay per week, month, or hour worked. Sales is different . Salespeople want to be compensated based on effort and performance. Many companies do this. Some companies do not. Most companies talk about sales compensation in shades of gray. They hide behind words like "potential" or "top salesmen can make..." How does a candidate determine the actual compensation in a sales position? Sales people are familiar with the "80-20 Rule." Traditionally, this has meant that 20% of a salesperson's clients will generate 80% of his or her revenue, or similar. In salary translation terms, the "80-20 Rule" is different, and a bit more detailed. Basic Idea: You must find the range that the pay will be. The way to find this is to use the numbers the company gives, and translate that into true figures. To get the range, you need two numbers: -...

Discussing some recent and past "fun" I've had with tuxedo rental, and formal wear places with my newest brother-in-law, I've been urged to put down some thoughts, memories, and funny times. MJ, this one's for you! ABSTRACT Measurements: As I noted in my Guide for Groomsmen , a man should know his measurements . How does one come across his own measurements? Not by measuring oneself. Go to a professional and get measured. The Asian guy or lady at the local tailor shop that barely speaks English but gets your clothes right every time - good choice. The local "sales associate" at Men's Wearhouse (or similar chain store) - worst possible choice. Here's why: The local tailor has made a livelihood for the better part of two decades in making sure all his customers come back (because he does not get the benefit of $ millions in network advertising) will know exactly how to measure you correctly. The sales associate at a chain store has lik...

This is a guide for groomsmen. And for Best Men. And for Ushers. And to some extent for Grooms. Pretty much any male who is officially part of the wedding ceremony. This is sparked by the fact that earlier today, I was an Usher for my brother-in-law. This makes about a dozen weddings that I've been an official part of since 1998. A wise Groomsman will follow this advice to the "T" and, in so doing, will help make the wedding go more smoothly for the others. So here's the advice: Know your measurements.  A Wise Groomsman knows his sizes. Your jacket size, shirt size, pants size (the real size - not what you wish you were!), and shoe size. You should be able to call your sizes in without getting measured. To do so means you might first need to get professionally measured, but more on that later. Jacket - know the chest size, and arm length. Know how many inches exactly that the arm must be hemmed, if necessary. I am lucky - I wear a 52-Long: straight off the r...

Many "gun people" online will quote from The Chart when trying to help people pick an AR15. While there are some good intentions in so doing, there are also a lot of misleading points, and outright fallacies with the chart. Let's take them one by one: Bolt: I am going to observe on this segment as a whole. While many of the tests listed do promote a warm and fuzzy feeling for the consumer, the absence of testing does not indicate that the product is not up to par. One can properly stake his own gas key in a minute or two with a common hammer and screwdriver, or similar. AR15 vs M16 bolts only matter really if you have an AR15 capable of selective fire. Most people do not have a need for this. Barrel: The issue of testing every product vs. batch testing again does not indicate a poor product. Chrome bore is not an advantage to a High Power or other precision shooter. It is only an advantage to a novice gun owner not likely to clean the gun well or often. Tw...

As his first act, Governor Haslam has signed an executive order, eliminating the requirement that the Governor and top aides disclose how much they earn. Link to story . Folks, this is why I warned against voting for him - in the primaries, and in the general election.

Today, browsing on a job board, I found the position that was once held by my buddy, Rick - who passed away recently. Hope they find a good replacement, as I know he had to have been a top-notch employee.

These have got to be the two funniest quotes on guns by liberals that I've ever seen. I know I've posted them before, but they are worth repeating. People who wish to ban something should at least understand the fundamentals of that which they wish to ban. Case 1 In this clip , Representative Carolyn McCarthy wishes to ban barrel shrouds. Remember, barrel shrouds are the forward handgrips. These keep the shooter's hand from getting overheated when the barrel heats up. McCarthy suggests that a barrel shroud is "the shoulder thing that goes up." Case 2 Patricia Eddington appears (oddly enough, with Carolyn McCarthy) in this clip , speaking out against .50 caliber rifles, and against tracer ammunition . She makes two errant claims about tracer ammunition: First, she says it makes the bullet heat-seeking. This is a really strange claim. Second, she says it would cook a deer as it passed through one. Again, very odd. Tracer ammunition is designed to bu...

Link here .

From this thread , MCKNBRD gives several bad suggestions. He starts out by saying: " It amazes me how many experienced high-power shooters are humbled by the lowly AQT" Fact is,  High Power is where Fred's AQT started from. Also, it is well known that when actual HP shooters attend, they often shoot better than the instructors, despite occasionally using slightly different techniques. He continues with inaccuracy: "We highly discourage their [bipods'] use, as the loop sling is actually more stable in prone..." Fact is, bipods are much more stable.  Every Appleseeder I've talked to picks up 20 points or more on their AQT's when using a bipod. He adds to the lunacy: "Scopes are allowed, but they tend to be a hindrance to novice shooters..." Fact is, most shooters who earn the Rifleman patch do so with a scope. Sounds opposite of what he's saying, doesn't it? He gets ridiculous : "When you sling up, if...

Presidential Election 2012 has begun. The first conservative candidate is Herman Cain . He announced  today that he was setting up an exploratory committee to investigate a possible run for President. Although we are very early on, I would not lose a second's sleep if I voted for Cain. He is a conservative radio talk show host. Unlike our current President, he has real leadership ability - having been an executive at Pillsbury, and a CEO at Godfather's Pizza. In my estimation, Cain is far more conservative than other potential candidates such as Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney (Mitt is nowhere near conservative). Cain is also more likely to be able to rally support from traditional Republicans than Sarah Palin could at this time. Oh, and the left will absolutely hate this small fact... Cain just so happens to be black.

As more and more facts emerge on the Arizona shooting, we get to see more and more liberal talking points on why guns are bad, why certain things should be banned from the public, and various other absurdities. I want to use this post to keep a running tab on things we hear through the media that are false. I will document and link to proof as needed. Loughner was a right-wing nutjob.  Nope - check out my previous post - he was a left-wing nutjob. We need more gun-control so that he would have been barred from buying the gun. Again, I'll reference my previous post. This clown was barred from buying a gun, primarily under two parts - his mental stability was in question, and he had a history of illegal drug use. Both are disqualifying factors. Much of the gun-control talk has been coming from Representative Carolyn McCarthy . She is the same representative who, on the air, admitted she did not know what a barrel shroud is - even though she was wanting to ban them. She we...

I had lunch today with a friend from Sunday School. At the restaurant, I saw a sign banning things. This time, the thing to be banned was the plastic placemats for kids. Mrs. Usagi uses these things frequently, and has inspired many friends and family members to do the same. My friend and I discussed this, and figured the restaurant probably banned them due to the sticky parts of the placemats being difficult to clean up. Although I 've never seen such residue, I imagine that it could build up. Seems to me that the whole thing makes more work for their employees who clean off tables, and it likely turns away moms with kids. But perhaps that was their goal all along?

When I was writing this article , it struck me. There is a bit of irony in some of the arguments liberals use to try to sneak in more gun control. Specifically, when liberals argue that restrictions are "not" about hunting or sporting guns, but instead are about "assault weapons." Let's break that down. From the arguments made, the liberals are "fine" with guns that serve a "legitimate sporting use," or "commonly used for hunting," just not the "assault weapons." We are all familiar with hunting. Would it surprise anyone to know that one of the most popular hunting rifles available is the AR 15 and its variants? Of course, the AR 15 is the quintessential rifle targeted by liberals as being an "assault rifle." Here's an article about the Remington R25 - which is an AR chambered for the popular .308, .243, and 7mm-08 hunting rounds. Standard AR15's are often used, where legal, for hunting - typically ...

Who want to write about guns, and not sound stupid. Credit to Say Uncle for pointing me to the article. Link to article . My favorite part: "It’s true that many gun-rights enthusiasts are also hunters, but the “strong desire” to preserve gun rights stems from the need for self-defense, not for killing Bambi."

When it snowed on Christmas, the Mrs. and I had something funny happen. Traveling to her parent's house, to pick up the kids, some snow blew off the top of out vehicle. The car that was tailgating us honked their horn at us! Mrs Usagi: "Yeah, buster... like I have a button in here that launches snow at you!" We pondered how if the other driver had not been tailgating, he could have dodged the flying snow.

Pdb has made several blog posts about Appleseed. He has, in his own way, made some brilliant observations. Two posts, in particular, got me to thinking. So I thought I'd jot it down here, and make a record of it. Link 1 Link 2 Firearms Training BS Detection Checklist Link 1 is about detecting BS is firearms training. Much of it would also be a good checklist for martial arts training. For the sake of this exercise, a "YES" means that AS does demonstrate some BS. A "NO" will mean that there is no BS detected. Here is what pdb asks: Are They Selling Something Other Than Training?   Be suspicious of sales pitches delivered during training for items conveniently sold in their ‘Pro shop’. Not all pitches are for tangible goods; are they selling you on training, or a dogma or lifestyle? For AS:   NO Although many instructors sell slings, and RWVA merchandise, there was no focus on this. Perhaps there have been at some AS events, but I have yet...

Not all Appleseed instructors are created equal. It is a volunteer organization, and this can spawn some nitwits who will teach you all wrong, and they will leave you thinking they know better. Instructor "Mudcat" at my first Appleseed is an example of just that sort of thing. For the sake of documentation, here are the errors he passed on as being correct methodology. Sling too tight Mudcat advised myself and others to tighten slings - to the point of hands turning purple. He stated that we should loosen them between firing times, so as not to cause permanent damage. The correct method, is just taut. A sling, properly adjusted, can be worn all day with no ill effects. Over-tightening not only poses circulatory issues, but causes the shooter to have to muscle shots on target. This defeats NPOA and makes shooting accurately more difficult. Over-tightening also shifts the rifle's Point Of Impact (POI). On traditional wood-stock rifles, the effect is less pronoun...

This one is really quite simple, but it seems to elude the liberals, so I'll type it out really slow: All that government has (including money), it must first take from the people. When taken from the people, the money cannot be invested by those people or companies into other jobs. In fact, the reverse is true - it forces these people and companies to reduce the number of jobs, since they can no longer pay for more manpower. The government would have to be 100% efficient to simply break even - that is, to create one job for everyone it destroyed through taxation. Because nothing is 100% efficient - the government is scientifically unable to maintain the current job outlook through taxation of any sort. We all know the government is one of the most inefficient machines out there - meaning the TRUE effect is that the government must destroy a hundred private sector jobs to create a single public (government) job.

I'm in the mood to cook and eat a few sacred cows today. :) A recent thread with a friend on Facebook is the inspiration of this piece. The main quote that started things off was this: " When I was growing up I asked what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. In a nutshell I was told that Republicans were Christians and Democrats were Non-Christians. That is so funny to me now." The clear inference is that one party or the other aligns itself with Christian Beliefs more than the other. This person mistakenly believes that Democratic party ideals are more in line with Christian beliefs than Republicans. This is not true, so let's examine that: Democratic Party: According to Wikipedia, the Democratic party has traditionally favored liberal positions. However, the article also states: "In recent decades, the party has adopted a centrist economic and socially progressive agenda, with the voter base having shifted considerably. Toda...

In a previous article , I referred to a female member of the US Congress as a "Congressman." The popular style of the day is to refer to female members of the US House of Representatives as "Congresswoman" or "Congresswomen." To do so is linguistically incorrect. The term " Congressman " does not in any way signify gender - it is a title for a position held; like "Mayor," "President," etc. The term, like the term "freshman," can be viewed as an idiomatic term, but is more correctly referred to as a designation (from the link: "3. A distinguishing name, sign, or title"). One would never have a "freshwoman," and so there is no such thing as a "Congresswoman."  If this confuses you, please use the term "Representative." The only problem known with using that term is that so many "Representatives" do not properly represent those that elected them. But, that's ...

It's all over the news - AZ Congressman Gabrielle Giffords and Judge John Roll were shot today by an apparent lunatic with a GLOCK 9mm pistol. Link to the story . Of course, liberal media outlets are trying to find locals who place blame with the Tea Party, or conservatives, since the Congressman is a Democrat. The first problem is, this guy was just plain crazy. Here's his Youtube page proving it. The second problem is, he is a left-wing nutjob - or more correctly, a liberal, atheist, pothead . There is evidence out there that the shooter was dissatisfied with the Congressman for voting against Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader. There is circumstantial evidence (circumstantial and possibly too much "tinfoil") he was after Judge Roll, who was killed in the attack. The shooter is well read on Mein Kampf by Hitler, and lists the Communist Manifesto as a favorite, too. His quote from Youtube, and Myspace: "Books: I had favorite books: ...The Communist...

A judge in Massachusetts has come down on two banks that held mortgages, then foreclosed on them. Link to story . I have said for a long time that there were two major problems that led up to the housing crisis - banks knowingly lending to people that had no business borrowing money, and people knowingly borrowing money they knew they could not repay. Seems the judge in this case feels the banks should have to suffer their fair share for the mistakes made. You know the people that were foreclosed on have already suffered.

Idiots rob a convenience store. That's not the dumbest part. The dumbest part is that they robbed it while there were COPS in the parking lot. Link to story .

I have been contacted by literally dozens of people over the past several months, and they've asked me to give some thoughts on furthering their marksmanship training. It stems from people who have attended Appleseed events, and now wish to take things a step further. So let's explore this topic in detail for folks. The reason for this is simple. Appleseed is a program that has served as the first training that many shooters have had. This also accounts for why so many will defend the program to the death - right or wrong , even when it might make the program look bad , or make them look foolish . Appleseed was their first training, so it just has to be the best , in their minds. Those of us who've trained elsewhere, or have an in-depth knowledge of what teaching a topic is truly about, it is a valuable training source, that is a good platform from which to learn more about one's chosen craft. To make things simple, I will break my training suggestions down into tw...

Link to story . MSNBC tried to do an article about the Republicans getting sworn in to Congress today. The subheading was misleading: "Republicans take charge of House, ending 2 years of Democratic dominance" For the record, the House of Representatives was controlled by the Democrats since the 2006 elections (for which they were sworn in early January, 2007). Simple math tells me 2011 - 2007 = 4 . Dems have been in control of the House of Representatives for four years - not the misleading two. The misleading "two years" might be a reference to the past two years, when the House, Senate, and the President, were all Democratically controlled - but that was not stated in the article at the time I publish this.

In case you've ever wondered (like I did), here are the rules for dueling. Link.

With surprise tax bills of course. My brother put it best: "Thanks, Barry.  'EFFing' it up for everybody's income tax..."

Read a bit about Jack Hinson. Link 1 Link 2 Seems he was too old to fight when the Civil War started (nearly 60 at the time). Hinson remained neutral - keeping friends among the local Confederates, as well as General Grant himself. Until Union troops murdered his two sons. Then he snapped. By the end of the war, he had killed over 100 Union Soldiers and Sailors with his special-made sniper rifle. Once, a 500-man detachment was sent to get him - they and failed. He reportedly made 500-yards shots (this claim is of a dubious nature - muzzle-loaders today cannot replicate the feat). Hinson's family was decimated by the war - 7 of his 10 children died due to the hostilities or related events. Hinson himself survived the war, and lived until 1874.

A few days ago, Pops and I were speaking with an old Marine (retired) who was working the gun counter at a retail sporting goods chain. The subject went to the M1 Garand, and eventually to sling use. Both Pops and the clerk had been taught sling use in the military. I had learned some from Appleseed training , and more based on my own research after that. There is much information, and much misinformation out there about use of the sling, so I thought I'd take a moment to catalog the uses of the sling. What does it do? Everybody has a Natural Point Of Aim ( NPOA ). This is a position where the body is completely at rest, and still holding the rifle. This is important, because since the muscles are not holding the rifle, the shooter's "platform" is much steadier. The sling helps steady a rifle by assisting in the creation of a more stable platform from which the rifle is held. Typically, the sling is used in one of the four major shooting positions . Using th...

It seems, in Europe, where there is already socialized healthcare to bankrupt the nations, politicians are trying to make a play for the pensions held by the citizens. Link to blog article . Anybody who thinks Obamacare will not take us down the same path is fooling only themselves.