RECCE ROOM

Out on a walk recently and observed something that made sense for a blog post. There was a part of the path where many wasps were flying around. As you know, wasps are ornery and will sting without provocation. Generally, my children would have made a mad dash to get out of there. However, I just strolled through without concern. The worst thing a wasp can do is sting me. But if it stings me, I will surely kill it. That's not a "fair" exchange: I feel a few moments of discomfort, but the wasp loses everything. A few days back,   Alpha Game   posted an article on why gammas marginalize. That reminded me of the wasps. The worst thing the gamma can do is cause slight momentary discomfort. Meanwhile, those whom he targets can end things for him; socially and likely enough physically if things ever degraded that far. Not ironically, my son, a 10 - year old natural alpha , no longer runs from wasps. In fact, if I'm out of town and learn when I get home that there was ...

My regular day job has me in the offices of insurance professionals. Once or twice a year, my boss will ride along with me. My current supervisor is close to my age, and worked for 10 years in an agency and 10 years as a rep like me. He has been in management for a few months now. We saw a client of mine a while back. One of the topics that came up was the subject of gay marriage. Now that it is the law, gay couples are eligible for married discounts the same as straight couples. My client, whom I've known for a decade, and with whom I cut up a lot, asked if there was a separate drop down box in our quoting system for married straight and married gay. My reply: "Simply one drop down - 'married' - then there is no cross reference with the insured's gender.  Now, in Alabama, there's another box marked 'married - sibling' and one marked 'married - cousin'." We had a good round of laughs and my boss used that one for the rest of the week.

A few days ago, my pastor uploaded a video (he does that most days) to Facebook. The topic was the number one problem in marriages today.   Here's a link  to his page so you can go see the video for yourself. I agree with Pastor Locke's assessment. And I'll take it a step further. Here's a look at the most prevalent reasons why we have so much divorce today. Popularity Divorce today is popular. People are herd animals. We go the way the herd is going. Television, movies, and social media glamorize divorce and single motherhood. Everybody else is getting one, so Jane wants a divorce, too. Not too long ago, divorce had an air of shame about it. You didn't broadcast that you got divorced. And it certainly wasn't celebrated. Easy One of the easiest contracts to enforce in America is the financial contract of divorce. Other contracts bear a burden of proof, but not divorce. In a divorce, either party can terminate the contract and set off a chain of events wher...

From a reader: How would [one] answer this? " Will you apologize to Mr. Smith for hurting his feelings? " Fantastic question. Let's use the   Alpha Game model  of hierarchy to gain insight. Here's how I imagine each would answer: Alpha : " Apologize??? For 'hurting his feelings'???" (Scoffs and nods a resounding "no!") Beta : " Mistakes were made and I regret that." Delta : " I'm sorry, bro. It won't happen again." Gamma : " If I've offended you, then I apologize." Omega : (either doesn't show up to the meeting or bombs the room when the question is asked) Sigma : " Nope. Won't apologize when I've done nothing wrong. " (Drops mike & walks off) Posted via Blogaway

  Stay alert,  you never know when there will be a notification sent out that your local PD is looking for a criminal. This happened in my town.... close. Not in my neighborhood, but between me and the Wal Mart mentioned in the article. Anyways, when the police (yet again) find themselves unable to apprehend a robbery suspect, they tell people to be on the lookout. They say they hope people will be wary so as not to get hurt. They also issue the warnings in hopes that someone will spot the criminal and notify them. Well, someone certainly spotted the criminal and notified the police. That same someone also held the criminal at gunpoint to make sure he didn't go anywhere before cops arrived. I wonder how long it actually took from the time the gun was first drawn and the call made, until the time the police rolled up in cruisers? Posted via Blogaway

Tennessee Senator Lamar! Alexander actually stood up for the concept of "innocent until proven guilty."   Link to article.   Posted via Blogaway

From a reader: For your   minuteman rifle , what sort of muzzle device do you employ? I use a muzzle brake. The reduced muzzle rise gets me back on target more rapidly. My favorite is the Strike Industries J-Comp that was purchased from Primary Arms. It looks too cool, seriously reduces muzzle rise, and doesn't blow out my eardrums when used on my SPR.   There are many other quality muzzle devices out there. Check them out! . Posted via Blogaway

Some days ago, on Facebook, a friend asked if anyone knew whether there existed urine proof flooring. She intended to put it down in her bathroom. She stated that between raising four boys and having their friends over, she was forced to seek alternatives to cleaning when they missed the toilet. Among the comments was a friend of hers with whom I am not familiar stating that she forces her sons to sit when they urinate. As a man, I find both statements repugnant. Why doesn't the first woman simply require that her boys not miss , and if they do miss, they clean up immediately? Why doesn't the second woman require the same? I'm sure if they simply asked their husbands, the men would be in agreement and would help them enforce. But no, they have to go looking for some oddball answer, or forcing feminine behavior instead. This is what's wrong with our society these days with regards to masculinity. Nobody is raising men .

Ok, so you really want a 16" M4 style AR15 for your minuteman rifle. Fine choice. Here are some suggestions. Free float the barrel. There's no reason not too. The benefits outweigh the marginal cost. Maximize the accuracy. Minimize thrown shots because of barrel pressure. Get a midlength. Again, no reason not to. Softer felt recoil and less wear on the bolt. Price is the same. Upgrade the trigger. This will be the best $200 you ever spend on the rifle. Get good glass. Most people would do best to get a red dot. Aimpoint or Eotech are your best bets. If you get a scope, go low fixed power or variable power with a 1x setting. .

Saw this recently and thought immediately that whoever crafted this has either never had children, or has never raised a socially adapted child. There's a huge difference between a swat on the bottom and hitting your child. A swat is never issued out of anger, it is only issued when the child does understand reason, cannot understand reason, or will not understand reason. Kinda like when you are a child and you touch a hot stove... you learn quickly not to do that again as pain is the most powerful motivator on the planet. Posted via Blogaway

I (used to) belong to a Facebook group designed to provide a forum for people to buy and sell their things. This specific one had an extremely odd rule about a specific set of code words that must be used to claim a listed item. You will not hear me claim that ignorance is an excuse... it's not. The simple fact was that I was ignorant of this rule in this group. No excuses offered. I researched the group's Terms Of Service and these code words were alluded to, but strictly mandated in one section. Another section stated they were mandatory. The concept was that if you were interested in purchasing an object listed for sale, you had to type the exact word "interested." Evidently, even though one part of the TOS clearly said that the interested party must state clearly that they are interested, the words "I'll take it if you still have it" are not taken as indicators of interest by the grammar Nazis on this group.  So what did I do? I didn't yell....

We have all had many online interactions. If that's not the case, then you likely aren't reading this blog post. One thing I've learned over the years is that people think if you reply to something - particularly more than once - then you are passionate about that topic. The natural next step, if one is passionate about a topic, is that this person gets upset over things they see posted. This would be a natural conclusion if this person continues to post replies. On a side note - this is how trolls work. Based on the presumption that the poster is passionate about the topic, the troll will deliberately mischaracterize the poster's comments in an attempt to illicit a passionate reply. The funny thing in all this is if a person is, by nature or by nurture, a fairly dispassionate person, then he will not be so easily moved to further posts. If however, the person has a strong sense of purveying the truth, then further explanatory posts will likely follow. And this woul...

Summary of thoughts on the debate: Trump is in the lead because he knows what the other candidates are not capable of understanding: he knows people, he knows what people want. Thanks to JJ on FB for that quote. Fiorina had moments of brilliance and moments of derp. It will be interesting to see how she polls over the next week as this debate is micro-analyzed. Carson shows his brilliance in the last debate was due to his personality. He is the most professional, polite person in this race. He's either genuinely a nice guy, or he is fully capable of killing every last motherfucker on that stage. Christie is desperate for a government job. To be fair, there's nothing else in this life he could actually do. Bush changed his approach. It is easy to see through, but time will tell if the voters fall for it, or see through it. Rubio showed well. I expect he will jump in the polls. Cruz did better than average, but not as good as Rubio. Hard for either of them with the extrem...

Lots of people ask me what I think about politics, hence the numerous political posts you'll see here. One of the regular questions is about presidential campaigns. Here are my favorites as of this week: - Ted Cruz He's just doing everything right for the situation. Mostly conservative, and mostly in favor of  liberty. I'll probably be voting for him in the primary. - Scott Walker Another who is mostly conservative and mostly in favor of liberty. I foresee the possibility of implosion by other frontrunner candidates and Walker being the last viable option. - Ben Carson He is appealing to the level headed voter who wants a non-politician in office. Like Walker, his best opportunity is to lie in wait for others to implode, then take the lead. - Donald Trump The Donald appeals to the passionate voter who wants a non-politician in office. He is clearly the alpha male of the entire race. He is saying what We The People are thinking. His stances have shifted to make him m...

The funny thing about a gamma is they will get mad if you call them a gamma . Alphas , betas , deltas , sigmas , and even omegas will knowingly accept their "label."  Gammas will get mad about it. They will lie, deny, and generally act out if referred to as a gamma . The funny thing is that within every gamma is the ability to make a positive change to a delta.. . maybe even a decent beta . But to make that change, the first step is to admit you are a gamma . And it's that admission that infuriates them. 

Readers here know how I feel about the growing problem of police brutality. Or is it that we have more cameras now and can document the abuse that's always been there??? Readers also know how I feel about entitlement - mentality DNBs. The spoiled feminist princess who is strong and empowered and can't make her rent without her ex-husband's  $2000 alimony and child support check. Well, here we have a clash of those cultures. You knew it was inevitable. A woman   threw dog feces  at a police officer because he wouldn't let her stroll through a crime scene. From the video, I'd say she was lucky she didn't get beaten worse than she did... but then, it was Australian police and not an American cop. So there you have it. Posted via Blogaway

From a reader: Why do you rail against antisocial behavior? I've often heard it said that's an indication of intelligence. Good question. I found a meme that gives the quote here. Let's dig in a bit, shall we? Intelligence The majority of antisocial people I've come across were more intelligent than "average." Not as smart as they thought they were, but definitely above "average." Now, the really intelligent people I've met were able to blend when they wanted to or needed to. Expectations Here's the "gotcha" moment. These slightly-above-average-intelligence antisocial people typically behave antisocially in social settings as a means of tying to obtain something.  Most commonly, they seek attention. In almost all other cases, they seek something gained only via winning at social interaction. In other words, they mix yellow and blue, and expect to get red . Gender The vast majority of females - from little girl...

It seems that some JBTs made a video about how best to survive an encounter with themselves.   Here's a link...   How many violations of your rights can you spot? Some of my "favorites:" "Papers!" (Nazi Germany) "Don't argue" (1st Amendment) "The driver's actions always dictate the officer's response." (This is almost never true) "Don't you acknowledge you ran that stop sign?" (5th Amendment) "It is the officer's determination whether the driver will have to exit the vehicle." (4th Amendment)

Recently, two high school football players leveled a referee who they felt made a bad call.   Link to article.   From the article, it would seem the ref had already ejected two players from that team in prior (back to back maybe?) calls. That may have been what the players were upset about. Unsure if the players have a legitimate beef or not, but I bet this guy keeps his calls fair in the future.   Video of the play.  

Normally, this blog's primary intent is not to beat a dead horse, but in this instance an exception will be made for the topic of red light cameras. State representative Andy Holt recently gave insight to the  damning truth  of these nanny state contraptions. They actually increase the chance of collision, and most of the revenue does not stay local. One of the two major red light camera companies in TN is based in Australia! Also, check out   this video  of the Rutherford County sheriff basically saying that the fine holds no legal weight. Good information to know.

A typical liberal: "where do you live that you feel a need to carry a gun with you everywhere?" Me: "in a country full of mentally ill liberals (but I repeat myself) who want to kill people." Most of these recent mass-murderers have been mentally ill liberals (again, I repeat myself). A good number of liberals don't want good people to have guns. They will knowingly try to exploit these tragedies so that guns can be taken away from others.  They know full well that it won't stop the next tragedy, but they still want the control. And that's what it's all about: CONTROL . It's the same when they knowingly vote for democrats, not because Dems support true liberal causes, but because they, the liberals, know they'll get free shit. Posted via Blogaway

Home schooling doesn't make you socially inept, it just makes you awesome enough to do shit people remember centuries later. ~ Frost7 (ar15.com) Well, some people shouldn't. My mother homeschooled us from my 5th grade year until my 9th grade year, and I still wish she hadn't. Now it's my in-laws turns. Yes, "turns" - as in, more than one of my in laws wishes to homeschool.   Sister in-law She wishes to homeschool her daughter, who starts kindergarten this fall. Her son, who is in 2nd grade this year, has been in public schools all throughout. Of course, he has some serious behavior issues, and sis-in-law doesn't like dealing with him. She has no intention of homeschooling her son, just her "baby." As it turns out, she enrolled her daughter in the kindergarten program at the same facility where she had been doing preschool. This institution only teaches preschool and kindergarten. She wishes next year to enroll her daughter in the public schoo...

From a reader: Dear author, Please rate a conversation I had recently. The situation was this - I was elected to my HOA Board of Directors. Another board member, a particularly obnoxious woman who describes herself as an Alpha-female, tried to ship test me at the first HOA activity. I wear a beard, as does another board member. She kept "acting" like she was mixing us up. In reality, she was angry at me because the board had named me President - a role she had been eyeing up. Anyways, she blurts out something about beards having more fecal material than the rest of the body (author's note -   read this  for source material) . My reply? "Of course beards have more fecal matter. It's a well-known fact that bearded men pull more tail than others. Where do you think your beard is when you are going down on your lady friend?" I was surprised she muttered a reply: "oh, you 'pull tail?' Does your wife know about this?" And my response: ...

It's been 3 years since my mother passed. Actually, at the time I'm writing this, it's just a few weeks since she passed, I just set this one to post way out in the future. The goal was to say nothing but positive about her for 3 years. Keeping positive is important in life. However, my mother was a flawed individual, too - as we all are. This post, and others like it in the future, will detail some of those flaws. Not for the purpose of being mean, but for the purpose of helping others. Every major flaw she had can be fixed, and so many people don't know how to fix their flaws. Other people just refuse to do anything about their flaws, but these folks cannot be helped until they decide to do something about it. Among my mother's greatest flaws was her health. This led, naturally, to other flaws. However, if you fix the root cause, you can often fix all (or at least most) of the symptoms. So I shall lead with this one: she used to tell us to try to eat vegetari...