Greybeards Gripes

With that arsenal tuneup coming this fall, here’s a couple of those rifled pieces out of the safe.

The first one: A Benjamin Model 317, in .177 caliber. It’s approximately 45 years old, and doesn’t really need a trip to the range to get tuned up. Dad kept it hanging on the wall near his back door, just for keeping varmits out of his garden.
Image: newspost_images/benjamin_020.jpg
It starting to show it’s age, but still shoots true and pretty hard. 10 pumps at 35 yards rips a hole in a steel Cambell’s soup can, and I was able to put around 15 rounds into an inch and a half circle, before I got tired of pumping it.

Next, a range candidate. Dad kept this one handy for varmits that were a little tougher, meaner, or harder to get close to. If one of his .22 long rifle guns wouldn’t do the trick, Stinger came out.
Stinger, is a Marlin Model 980 in .22 WMR (that’s magnum). Sighted with a 4X AllPro scope, it will reach right out and touch a medium sized varmit.
Stinger’s last victim, was a large and stinky Skunk that kept coming around Dad’s front door. The .22 mag, hollow point round made short work of mister skunk, pretty much turning his head into a red mist. Very little scent being released in the process.
Image: newspost_images/benjamin_009.jpg
It’s been a long time since I’ve put any rounds through this one, but I expect very good accuracy, out to around 100 yards. Unfortunatley ammo has probably went up a bit since Dad purchased the box shown in the picture, the price was 4 dollars, 20 cents, on the “Gambles” price sticker.

~~GB

As noted in previous posts, I’m (still) looking for a AR-15 style, 18 inched barrelled, .308 battle rifle, and a RWS model 48 air rifle, (in .20 or .22 cal.).
I haven’t been able to purchase either one yet, because I can’t find a local dealer that either stocks the item or is willing to order it for me at less than the full retail price.

Examples, the DPMS lists for 1300 bucks, but I can buy it online for around 850.
The RWS around 500 list, online with a scope, 375.

I have this problem; I just seem to want to hold the new gun in my hand, and possibly (gasp) even shoot it for accuracy, before I plunk down my hard earned cash.

Looks like, I’m going to be looking for a while yet.

~~GB , 416 hours to go.

I gleaned a bit more infomation as to why I’m being kept in the dark about the fate of the network I’ve build over the last ten year.

I learned this morning, that it will acutally cease to exist in it’s present form. The Dark Overlords have won!

My server room will be closed, and control of all network infrastructure will be turned over to the Dark Side. There will be -NO- real network adminstration done from our site.

This has been their plan all along, not just for my district, but for all K-12’s , libraries and Colleges under their dark wing. It appears that mine was the first to fall, solely because I’m choosing to retire, and therefore was the path of least resistance.

Why the upper management here should think I should be kept in the dark about this, I don’t know. They will likely soon find that my co-operation could have proved very useful to them.
With no concept of the plan, (if there is a plan) and no input, I couldn’t be helpful now, even if I was so inclined. I’m NOT!

424 hours to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

–GB

These and more compliments of Mr. Completely

Government True-isms:

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress….
But then I repeat myself. - Mark Twain

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man ….which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. - G Gordon Liddy

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. - James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. - Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

Working under a clickish, no account, air-headed, technology illiterate, upper management for the past few months has really got me to lookin’ around.

Bachelor�s Degree desired
Experience in troubleshooting Mac and Windows in large networked environments; demonstrated ability to upgrade, troubleshoot and repair workstation problems, both hardware and software; experience using enterprise tools such as ghost, vnc, and deepfreeze
Requires customer and team oriented personality
Requires excellent oral and written communication skills

I don’t have a Bach. Degree, but -have- had many employee’s with Degree’s and Cert’s, who couldn’t built or repair a networked PC to save their lives.

I wouldn’t allow a MAC on my network.
I BUILD large networked environments.
At one point I was part of a two man team, who built and maintained a network of over 1000 pc’s and 9 servers, for two years. (two people)
Ghost, VNC, DeepFreeze? EveryDay!

I’m fairly customer oriented, but it’s hard with STUPID people.
I don’t like teams, for the most part, beyond 2 or 3 I feel that the more people envolved, the slower it goes.
Oral, and written skills? Well I type pretty fast, and can talk well enough when I want to, (I’ll leave the other “oral” skills to others).

I guess what gripes me is, these desk jocky’s they have running things. They have no idea how to tell a good tech, from a no brain tech. wanna be, so they get together a committee, and after hours and hours of B.S., come up with these little lists. List’s that ensure that a person like me isn’t even considered for the job posting.

I suppose this type of thing is responsible for a lot of the problems in the world today. Talking Heads, forming committee’s to make up rules, for REAL people to follow.

BTW, I don’t need job.
–GB