Wheeling in Clayton Oklahoma

WOW! what a great weekend! Or at least most of it. You'll understand later.

Friday started off late as anticipated. The group was meeting at 9am to drive to Clayton together. It is about a 3 hour drive, and while it's always fun to be part of the parade of Jeeps running down the road, I had a few things to take care of that couldn't be done before 9am, so I left about 1030am. Samantha had to have MRI's done that day, so she couldn't join me. Not surprisingly, our daughter Jennifer was very unhappy with me for going out of town. So much so, she repeatedly requested to go with me. I briefly considered it, but I knew she would be cold and bored most of the time, therefore she wouldn't have any fun, and neither would I. So much to her chagrin, she needed to stay home and take care of Mommy.

Clayton is in the southeastern part of the state near Sardis Lake. It is very popular for Bass fishing, and there is a lot of hunting in the area as well.

I hit the road at 1040am after going through the drive-thru at McD's. After I reached the end of the directions provided by Google Maps, and I was not at my destination, I called the cabins and got further directions LOL. They were only off by about 7 or 8 miles. I stayed in a nice little cabin at Hickory Ridge Cabins. Actually, everyone stayed there. I got a small cabin to myself, one queen bed, without a kitchen. It did have a mini-fridge, microwave, and most importantly a coffee maker! The other guys were all sharing larger cabins, plus there were 3 that were tent camping! For those of you not on MySpace or Facebook who may not have access to my photo albums, I'll attach a few photos in here. Here is my cabin. It was really nice for one person or for a couple, but any more and it would be quite crowded. Also, it only had a shower, no tub. It was small enough that even with the heat off all day, it only took about 15 minutes for it to be nice and cozy. Most importantly, they were nice and clean. The only complaints I have about my stay are there were no paper towels for cleaning any possible spills, and the TV was not properly connected to the outdoor antenna. I checked the coax cable and found that there was no connector and the cable had simply been shoved into the hole on the back of the TV thereby providing only a picture of a polar bear in a snowstorm. I also suspect that it was not connected to the antenna correctly either. Oh well, I'm not on this trip to watch TV, and I have a cell phone to check the weather with.

So, I unload my gear, disconnect my front sway bar, and call Garrett to find out where they are. He and Slim agree to come back to town to get me and lead me into the wilderness. So I air my tires down to 18psi, and head for the store in town. I fill up with gas and they pull into the parking lot in Slim's mud-covered Jeep. The mud is not fresh, but Slim hates a clean Jeep. So we grab some snacks at the store, and head off into the woods. It may be a trail, but they are very rocky so it is slow going. Later I realized that this is not even part of the trails, this is just the trail to get to the trails. This is going to be fun. Right after we get in there, we meet two CJ-5's leaving. The first is a new guy who has broken a bolt in his leaf spring and has a gas leak, and the second one is another club member who has lost his oil pressure down to 5psi! Scary low! After wishing them well, we come upon or friend Fatty who is seriously stuck on a large boulder. He has a winch, but nothing in front to hook onto, and it's questionable if he could go further anyway. He was following larger more equipped Jeeps, and we all thought it best to pull him back out and take the other trail. So after hooking a strap onto the back bumper, and using a Hi-Lift jack, we managed to pull him back off the boulder. So, on we go further into the woods, when we catch up to the others, we find J crawling across some rocks and we arrived just in time for his left rear shock mount to break, and the coil spring to fall out on the ground. So I've been off road at Clayton for 15 minutes and I've seen a broken CJ, a mechanical problem with a CJ, a stuck TJ, and now a broken TJ. In retrospect, I should have thought, maybe this trip wasn't the best idea. But no, I'm having fun, wheeling with the guys. Sanity is nowhere in sight.

So after the field repair, which involved a length of rappelling rope tied around the frame and the rear end to act as a limiting strap, we soldiered on into the wilderness. We came to a fork in the trail and decided to stop and have a look. We concluded that to the left was a by-pass of sorts through the woods while the trial up to the right was the main trail. Up at the were stones that were no doubt leftovers from the great pyramids. So I decided the other route should be called "Little Jeep Left" So Slim led the way, I followed and Fatty was the caboose. As we were making our way through, I hear Fatty yell WHOA! So I stop and look behind to find him bailing out to inform me that I'm a little more off camber than I am aware as he swears my right rear tire was off the ground and downhill is to my left. Later we concluded it was only because I still have a rear sway bar, so the rear wheels are still connected to each other. Not as bad as we thought. So after we reach the end of the "Little Jeep Left" trail and it meets back up withe downhill portion of the main trail, we all head for the bottom. Almost done and I find myself high-centered. All four tires on the ground, but no traction, so Slim has to pull me off the ledge, then all is well. As we have been at it for a few hours, it's decided to call it a day as the sun sets in the mountains pretty early. Back to the cabins for a fun-filled evening of standing around the campfire freezing off our patooki's and telling lies LOL.

Saturday Morning...God Smiled!

So this should be a beautiful day. I had the best night's sleep I've had in ages. Asleep before 930pm on a bed almost as hard as a sheet of plywood. I woke at 730am refreshed and ready for a new day. I went into town seeking the aforementioned paper towels. While out, I took the photo to the right. An overwhelming sense of calm washed over me when I topped the hill to this sight.

For day two, we decided to go to a different place to wheel. On Friday we were at Slims's. Not to be confused with Slim in our group. Local Slim is a guru of all things mechanical as I will truly find out later in our adventure.

So we drive the opposite direction from town heading for Frieling's. The view from the ridge where the trails start is fantastic. Having never been here before, I had no idea there were places like this in Oklahoma. I decided that next time Samantha and Jennifer have to come with me. This is beautiful country. So we line up our Jeeps for the obligatory group photo.










Now back to the task at hand. Going where not every man can go. This is real fun. Drive a nice trial for a bit, then hit some more difficult obstacles, easy trails, more obstacles. Difficult climbs up very steep rock trails, and descents down into very steep chasms. This is living.

So we are all lined up behind Tanda in his bone stock yellow Jeep YJ who is hung up on a particularly tough rock climb. After a while, they manage to get him over the obstacle, and we slowly proceed one at a time being spotted through. Large rock ledges between boulders and trees. Every one's goal is the same, make it through without damage or breaking something.

Finally it's my turn, I obey the spotters instructions to the letter, and I make it up on the ledge to the sound of PointBlankOKC behind me to the right saying OUCH! He then speculates that perhaps my passenger door might not close correctly anymore. Apparently that rock ledge reached up and bit my poor little Jeep. Right in front of the rear wheel. It doesn't show up real well in this picture, but it took a pretty good shot. I HAVE to invest in some Rock Sliders to make sure this doesn't happen again. After all the joking about my Jeep finally looking like everyone else's, we got on our way. In lieu of my newly acquired trail damage, I'm still having a great time. We continue on more trails that are beautiful, technical and breathtaking in some instances. We drive on through the trees into a clearing in a very steep walled valley. Ahead I see our objective. There is a creek running across the bottom of the hill from right to left, you drive across the creek then hard left onto loose stone, almost as small as gravel, but who knows how deep it is. This is climbing at a very steep angle, then a hard right and straight up, or at least if felt like it was nearly straight up LOL. Petty much, as soon as you hit the loose stuff, maintain speed, do not stop, do not gas it. You do not want to slide, or stop or dig a hole as once you make that right turn, you are lined up to a Jeep swallowing canyon about 25 feet deep! Of course, we all made it easily. We drive Jeeps. Shortly afterwards we are taking turns through a technical area again. My turn comes up, I'm following the instruction of JeepinFever, my spotter, and he yells WHOA! and gives me the throat slashing motion and starts yelling "He's broke!" OK, I'm good with Whoa!, I'm fine with the throat slashing, but broke? Pass. He motions for me to back up, then more throat slashing. Jeepers come out of the woods, I climb out, and we all look under the front end. I find myself staring at my Jeep's steering drag link laying on the ground behind the driver's wheel. Um, shouldn't that be connected? Mud-Dog exclaims"Wow, I've seen them bent and twisted, but not broken right in two like that" It snapped off. Turns out Jeep went el cheapo on this part. It is a hollow thin-wall tube, instead of a solid rod of steel that is should be. Ironically, it is a solid bar on a Grand Cherokee. Who wheels Grand Cherokees? Well, my baby isn't going anywhere. There is no steering. I can turn the right wheel, but the left goes where it wants. The guys think that if we can turn it around, back downhill, we might be able to "drive" it back down to the main road where we can get a trailer to put it on. Mud-Dog ties up the left wheel with a ratchet strap in an effort to minimize it's movement hoping to get down the hill. Good idea, but the wheels determination to be free was stronger than the strap. So after many attempts to drive it through the woods with the left wheel flopping about, we are forced to abandon my Jeep in the woods on the side of a mountain in southeastern Oklahoma.
Tanda is kind enough to provide a shotgun seat back to the main ridge. There Mud-Dog and I climb in with Zach in his still leaking gas, CJ-5 to go to town. We drove 18 miles into Wilburton to O'Reilly's and guess what...not in stock. They can get one in on Tuesday. She is even so kind as to call AutoZone for me, but the closest one they have is in Ft. Smith Arkansas! We talk to another customer who works in a local shop and he comes up empty as well as the father-in-law of an employee who owns a salvage yard and he can't be reached. So back to the mountain we go. I call Slim to let him know we are almost there, and he tells me that they have put his Jeep on a trailer and taken the drag link off and that J and Ryan took J's Jeep back up the trail and are fixing mine to drive it out! WOW, what a great bunch of guys. So J and Ryan bring my Jeep out from the wilderness, and we head back to camp. There we pulled my Jeep onto Slim's trailer and plan for me to drive Slim's Jeep back home the next morning, and pull the drag link off of my Jeep and back onto Slim's.

After breakfast Sunday, I ask Ryan to drive me to Slims'(local shop owner, not club member) to see if he has a drag link laying around. Slim says he doesn't, but he can make me one that won't break. So we go back to camp, clear out, haul the Jeep to Slim's and give him the old one. He straightened the old one, took some measurements, welded it back together, then sleeved it with a huge steel tube and welded them together with the original inside the new one, re-attached the tie-rods, and even spray-painted it black. All this for the bargain basement price of $65. I gave him $80 and thanked him profusely for being available to help out on a Sunday. He seemed grateful that I recognized the inconvenience that I had placed upon him, and was willing to compensate, even if just a little. YEAH! I got to drive my own Jeep home! This trip has forced me to reconsider the priority of the different upgrades I have planned for my Jeep. Body armor is now right up at the top along with a little lift and undercarriage protection.

All in all it was a great weekend. In retrospect, I'm glad Samantha and Jennifer were not with me. I'd still like to bring them next time, but I'll have made some changes before then.

Special thanks to Mud-Dog, Tanda, Slim, J, Ryan, Zach, Slim and everyone else for all your help and support. Brews and Brats for all!

From Craigslist

A Craigslist posting

To The Guy Who Tried To Mug Me Downtown (Downtown,Savannah)

Reply to: pers-982078099@craigslist.org[?]Date:2009-01-06, 3:43AM EST

I was the white guy with the black Burrberry jacket that you demanded I hand over shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend. You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings. I hope you somehow come across this message.

I'd like to apologize. I didn't expect you to crap your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket. Truth is, I was wearing the jacket for a reason that evening, and it wasn't because it was cold outside. You see, my girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber 1911 .45 ACP pistol for Christmas, and we had just picked up a shoulder holster for it that evening. Beautiful pistol, eh? It's very intimidating when pointed at your head, isn't it?

I know it probably wasn't a great deal of fun walking back home with that brown sludge flopping about in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse since you agreed to leave your shoes, wallet and cell phone with me. I couldn't have you calling up any of your buddies to come help you try to mug us again. I took the liberty of calling your mother, or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, and explaining to her your situation. I also bought myself some gas on your card. I gave your shoes to one of the homeless guys over by Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all of the cash in your wallet, then I threw the wallet itself in a dumpster. I called a
bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell. They'll be on your bill in case you'd like to know which ones. Alltel recently shut down the line, and I've only had the phone for a little over a day now, so I don't know what's going on with that. I hope they haven't permanently cut off your service. I was about to make some threatening phone calls to the DA's office with it. Oh well.....

So, about your pants. I know that I was a little rough on you when you did this whole attempted mugging thing, so I'd like to make it up to you. I'm sure you've already washed your pants, so I'd like to help you out. I'd like to reimburse you for the detergent you used on the pants. What brand did you use, and was it liquid or powder? I'd also like to apologize for not killing you and instead making you walk back home humiliated. I'm hoping that you'll reconsider your choice of path in life. Next time you might not be so lucky.

If you read this message, email me and we'll do lunch and laundry. Peace!....

Wheeling!

I am so stoked! Here I go on another wheeling trip with Oklahoma Jeep Thing. Tomorrow we are going to Clayton, OK which is in the Southeastern portion of the state. About 3 hours from OKC.

Of course, I am feeling intimidated and I’m not even there yet LOL. The club went there in late 2007 and I’ve seen the pictures, and some of it is pretty intimidating, but I know Slim went last time and he was stock then, like I am now. Also, there aren’t any pictures of his Jeep in any of the really tough sections, so there must be some by-passes available. There appears to be lots of trail action with only a little bit of rock crawling. I am really looking forward to this run, it’s been 3 whole months, not counting the river trip. I’m excited about going somewhere new. I always like an adventure, even if there is some anxiety

trip, my lovely wife Samantha will not be joining me, nor will our angelic daughter Jennifer. Samantha has some prior commitments as well as having to take Jennifer to Tae Kwon Do class on Saturday. It’s still up in the air, but my best friend Jack might get to go on this trip.Originally, he was going to go, and then he thought he was going to have to help his sister move to Arkansas,then he got off the hook for that, then he had to have emergency surgery last weekend. So, all the bouncing and jostling might not be the best thing for him, so he is still up in the air.

I was hoping to make some mods to the Jeep by now, but those plans keep falling through. Every time I get some cash saved up, something happens and it has to go to something else. So, I guess I’ll have to start small. No more delusions of grandeur. I’m thinking maybe my CB and antenna, or maybe a steering box skid plate and some D-ring shackles for the front bumper, or the 1 ½” spacer lift. Decisions, decisions.

Well,Jack has backed out for sure. I didn’t really expect him to go, I hoped he could, but I knew he couldn’t. He just had surgery, and an off-roading trip would probably rupture something, and I’d just as soon not kill my friend.

So, here is an interesting situation I hadn’t thought of ever happening. One of the guys in the club called the other night, and there is a new guy that wants to go, but his Jeep is not ready. He’s offered to trailer someone else’s Jeep, in exchange for a passenger seat on the trails. Now that is a guy that really wants to wheel! Now, for a normal person, no biggie, but, I must admit I think I am a complete control freak when it comes to vehicles. I am the world’s worst passenger.If I had ridden shotgun with this guy, I'd have been a hypertensive nutcase after 3 hours on the road, even if he is a perfect driver. I don't think it has anything to do with driver ability. I can’t even ride across town with my wife without my blood pressure going through the roof. There is no rational reason for it either. I’m not over there fearing for my life; I’m not instructing where or how to drive, or even thinking that I should do these things.It’s just if I don’t have my hands on the wheel, I cannot relax…at all.Then, on top of all that, my Jeep is stock, which means some by-passes on the trails so if he is used to something a little more capable, it probably would have been a let down for him.

So, I’ll be solo on this trip, and someone else will be saving wear and tear on their Jeep and not spending money on gas on the ride down. Plus I’m sure they will enjoy a nice relaxing ride. I really wish I could relax in the passenger seat sometimes. We take road trips and Samantha wants to drive, but I don’t let her, and I know it frustrates her, but I’m such a bundle of nerves when it is over, it’s actually easier to fight with her over it than it is to give in. How psychotic is that? Oh well, lets not delve into this too deeply.

After checking the weather for this weekend, I’m wondering if I need to go buy a medium weight jacket. All I have are heavy leather jackets. It’ll be around 50 degrees late afternoon, but if I lose my mind and decide to take the top down, a jacket might be nice. I’d ask Samantha, but she’ll just say don’t put the top down. I wonder what jean jackets go for these days.

Woohoo,I just scored a Levi's Jean Jacket on eBay from someone local for$10.49! How sweet is that? They are $70 at Sears. Well, now if it stays a little chilly on Saturday, I can still put the top down and stay somewhat comfy! I'm such a little kid when it comes to these trips, I get so excited, like it's Christmas or something! Hee hee!

Thoughts on Home Defense

So, something has been weighing on my mind since last summer. Our next-door neighbor was burglarized. She was out of town on business, and her teenage son was staying with family for the weekend, so nobody was hurt, but still, it bothers me. They tried kicking in the front door, but managed to only dent the steel door. So they kicked in the side door to her garage. They were very particular thieves, and in no particular hurry. They carefully unhooked her flat screen TV, and her computer, and her son's Playstation 3. There was no cutting cords, no rifling through drawers, they left all her jewelry which was laying out in plain sight. They exited the house out the sliding door to the back yard and then around the side of the house, instead of through the garage where they came in. There were some strange things about this burglary. It appeared that there was possibly only one burglar who was not big enough to carry a 50" TV as there were drag marks in the carpet and in the grass outside. Taking the time to carefully unhook everything, even to the point of getting in her son's closet and boxing up the PS3. Anyway, the entire thing was very unnerving.

After this event, of course people in the neighborhood started talking. We found out that our neighbor across the street had been robbed as well in a similar fashion, through the side door. And there were others as well. There were descriptions of suspicious vehicles in the neighborhood, and suspicious people.

Our neighbors two doors down, Rodney and Elizabeth, had an incident which was even more unnerving than the break-ins. Someone rang their doorbell one morning, and when Rodney looked outside he could tell there was someone standing right up against the door. Well Rodney, you have to know Rodney. He's big, I'm guessing 6'3" 250? He's built like a football player. He's also an ex Marine. So he's big AND fearless. So Rodney opens the door, already stepping out toward the guy, and he has a .357 in his hand behind his back. He basically, with his body, shoved the guy back away from the door, and the guy backed away quickly mumbling something about the wrong house and split in a big hurry.

Two days later we hear about an older woman in the next housing addition who opened her door to have someone shove their way in and robbed her. They didn't hurt her, but still.

A few day later we hear that our neighbor John, who lives on the other side of Rodney, woke up to his dog barking in the house in the middle of the night. He just yelled at the dog, and then he heard his front door close. His brother-in-law had not locked the front door earlier, and apparently someone, had the cajones to walk into his house in the middle of the night, knowing, they were home. Two cars in the driveway and one in the street.

All has been quiet through the winter so far. Hopefully these crims have moved on to other housing additions, or they've been busted. We learned a lot about the thieves tactics. They most likely walk up, ring the bell, and wait. If there is no answer, according to one police officer, they turn their back to the door, and give it a good kick. If it doesn't open, they move on to the side or back door. Also, if the alarm goes off, they split, but they stay close enough to time the response, then go back and do it all over again as the alarm company will assume there is a malfunction and not dispatch the law. Then there is what happened to the older woman and Rodney, sort of, the old bum's rush home invasion.

A monitored home alarm is good, and home owners insurance can replace your stuff, but what stops a home invasion? Firepower, planning, practice, and training.

These guys have a lot of nerve. Our neighborhood is full of military families, lawmen, and good old fashioned law abiding gun owners. I'm a gun owner. Rodney has an arsenal and the military training to utilize it all. Across the street is a Concealed Carry Instructor, two doors the other way is the Chief of Military Police at the local military post. Also in the neighborhood are at least 3 police supervisors, a county sheriff and a state trooper.

So, I've been researching home defense. I stumbled onto a TV show one night called Personal Defense Television. as well as another one about home defense tactics. From what I've seen they seem to be full of sound advice. So, I've been looking at the layout of our home with an eye not toward interior decor and aesthetics, but defensibility. I've learned that you should devise a "safe room". Not like in the movie Panic Room, of course that would be great if you have the bucks to pull it off. But the standard Joe Plumber can't afford all that.

So they recommend arranging the furniture in a manner where you can safely take cover behind something like a bed. Now granted, in a gunfight, a mattress isn't going to stop much, but there is wood in the box spring, there are metal springs inside the mattress as well as a metal bed frame and maybe even wood head and foot boards. All of these can aid in deflecting any incoming shots. But hopefully it won't come to that.

They also recommend that you take into account the "kill zone" and what is behind your target. When you are in your safe room, in your safe place, what do you see? Are you looking straight down the hall at a window facing the street? If you miss the bad guy, chances are that shot is going down the hall, through the window and could hit an innocent neighbor. Is it facing a wall? Whats on the other side? Your child's room? A typical 9mm handgun round will penetrate 2 walls before losing enough energy to stop being effective .The last thing you want to do is hit an unintended target. So take this into consideration planning your safe room.

I once read a statistic that said the average in-home shoot-out is completed in 7 seconds or less and at a distance no greater than 7 yards. So, in the time it took you to read that sentence, it's all over. And the bad guy was less than 21 feet away. The typical 2-car garage is 20 feet wide.

But we really don't want it to come to that. So install steel frames and doors at all entry points to your home. Get an alarm system. Install a locking bar on sliding glass doors. Install a steel door and frame on your safe room. The longer you can keep them away from you the better. Give the good guys a chance to come to your rescue. But at the same time, don't be foolish, and count on them to save you. Remember that 7 seconds? There may come a time for you to act. Don't hesitate.

Take a gun safety course. There are any number of courses offered which will increase your ability to survive such an encounter. Practice, practice practice. Go to the local gun range, shoot targets, shoot two handed, shoot one handed, practice. I'm not saying become a psycho about it, but be prepared.

cha ryuht

From Thursday January 15 2009

To blog or not to blog…

Forgive my ramblings, for the topics will be far and wide over the next few days. I have numerous things floating around in my head. I’m sure at some point today this will become a soap box for something.

I’m thinking about my daughter’s attitude toward school, her Tae Kwon Do class, making modifications to my Jeep, hunting, archery, competitive handgun shooting (IPSC), home defense, getting my concealed carry permit, fishing, a possible spring break Jeep trip to Colorado, my health, etc. Wow, no wonder I can’t concentrate on anything. I need to get some things in order and resolved.Too much chaos!

Organize…relax…focus….old Bad Company playing on my iPod…Here comes trouble, walkin down the street…oh, not what I’m trying to get accomplished here.

At 4 years old she is giving me teenage grief about not liking school. I don’t want to go to school. School is boring. I don’t want to learn, I want to play. It’s making me nuts. She’s FOUR! I shouldn’t be hearing this kinda crap until way later in life.

I didn’t start to hate school until 4^th grade when the Lubbock Public School system decided that desegregation would be a good thing and bussed me across town for half a year.I don’t really think it was “desegregation” because that happened way before I was born, but they did load all of us students from Haynes Elementary onto busses and drive us all the way across town to another school which I cannot remember the name. I do however remember the physical school was very run down,stuff was broken, windows boarded over, lockers torn up, spray paint on the walls, broken playground equipment, etc. I have no idea what my teacher’s name was. I do remember that he wasn’t very nice, and he didn’t care. I remember that questions asked went unanswered, and even at age 8 I was aware, or maybe I was just made aware of the differences in the quality of teachers from one school to the next. As a result, I never cared for school again. We moved from Texas to Bethany where I went to Overholser Elementary for the remainder of 4^th grade and 5^th grade as well. I don’t remember which year, but it was in that year and a half that I started skipping school. Mom would go to work, and I’d just stay home, or I’d walk half way and decide I didn’t feel good and go back home. I don’t recall ever liking school again. I absolutely DO NOT want that to happen to her. And, I just realized I can remember the name of every school I attended except the one on the other side of town in Lubbock Texas I wonder if that means anything.

So, I have to admit that her attitude toward going to school has improved in the last week so I’m not sure if it is just taking a little time to get back in the groove from the long Christmas break or what.

Maybe it is the addition of her Tae Kwon Do classes. She just started last week and she is having a great time. Her best friend is enrolled and that is what got us in the door. When my wife was pregnant I joked that I wanted our baby to take some form of martial arts, and now thanks to our friends, it has come true. I am very proud of her. She is learning quickly,and pays good attention. At this age, they don’t focus so much on technical correctness, but more on basic understanding and following direction. In their program, they encourage “Black Belt Behavior” in all aspects of the child’s life.At the conclusion of each class they want to know from the parents if the student has done anything deserving of a star for their uniform, such as helping at home, doing well in school, showing positive behaviors etc. Of course there are some parents who want their kids to get a star no matter what, so they come up with some pretty lame stuff. More celebrations of mediocrity. In our household, it has been an ongoing battle getting her to pick up after herself. Since starting this class, she has cleaned the living room twice, and helped fix dinner twice, and her teacher at school sent home a note regarding how well she is following directions on her school work. All of this with zero provocation from us. So, it seems to be working, for now.

cha ryuht.....kyung nae.....kahm sa hamnida

The Second Ammendment

From Monday January 5 2008

The Second Amendment

Once again, I find myself plagiarizing something. I was researching some handguns online as I assume that the left-wing anti-gun nuts have their panties all in a knot since one of their own is being sworn in 15 days from now. The week prior to Christmas, I was in Academy Outdoors in the hunting department and I noticed that the gun counter had people standing 6 deep. I looked closer to see what was going on, and they were all filling out their paper work buying new guns. The manager was camped out and looking a little ragged from running from the counter to the gun storage safe and then walking the customers to the door. They are having great difficulties keeping handguns in stock. Bass Pro Shops is the same way, as well as Outdoor America. It would seem, oddly enough, beginning November 5th, there has been a steady flow of citizens buying handguns to the point that they can't keep them in stock.

So, I'm looking at buying a new Beretta 92 9mm. I've been to all the above listed stores locally plus a few others and am now resorting to hitting the pawn shops. Of course, they are in worse shape than the big stores. One I went to the other day, had 2 rifles, one shot gun and one handgun. That's all. Amazing. On November 5th, 49% of the us citizenry woke up angry. That almost half of the country is the armed half, and it would appear they are bolstering their personal protection options. Personally, if the great Obamessiah sees fit to bestow upon us another stimulus check, I intend to invest that money in an Italian handgun. Trying to form my own little united nations of firearms. Italy, Belgium, US, etc. LOL. Anyway, the following paragraphs were not authored by me. Scary stuff.

JOIN THE NRA, We need all the help we can get...

WAKE UP AMERICA: It is now closer to reality than you think...

You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom door. Half-awake, and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers. At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way. With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun. You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it. In the darkness, you make out two shadows...

One holds something that looks like a crowbar. When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire. The blast knocks both thugs to the floor. One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside. As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in trouble...

In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless. Yours was never registered. Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died. They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm. When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to manslaughter...

"What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask..."

Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing. "Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven."...

The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys. Their friends and relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them. Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims" have been arrested numerous times. But the next day's headline says it all: "Lovable Rogue Son Didn't Deserve to Die." The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters. As the days wear on, the story takes wings. The national media picks it up, then the international media. The surviving burglar has become a folk hero...

Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll probably win.. The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you've been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects. After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time. The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars...

A few months later, you go to trial. The charges haven't been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted. When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you. Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man. It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of all charges...

The judge sentences you to life in prison...

WAKE UP AMERICA: This case really happened...

On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk , England, killed one burglar and wounded a second. In April, 2000, he was convicted and is now serving a life term.

How did it become a crime to defend one's own life in the once great British Empire?...

It started with the Pistols Act of 1903. This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license. The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns...

Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns,,, Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerford mass shooting in 1987. Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed Man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw. When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead...

The British public, already de-sensitized by eighty years of "gun control", demanded even tougher restrictions. (The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.),,,Nine years later, at Dunblane , Scotland , Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school....

For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable, or worse, criminals. Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners. Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns. The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearm still owned by private citizens...

During the years in which the British government incrementally took Away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism. Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun. Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were charged while the real criminals were released...

Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying, "We cannot have people take the law into their own hands."...

All of Martin's neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences. Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars...

When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities. Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn't were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn't comply. Police later bragged that they'd taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens...

How did the authorities know who had handguns? The guns had been registered and licensed. Kinda like cars,,,Sound familiar?...

WAKE UP AMERICA, THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION...

"..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.." --Samuel Adams...

If you think this is important, please forward to everyone you know...

WAKE UP AMERICA...

White Guilt is Dead!

From Tuesday November 18 2008

White Guilt is Dead!

First off, I did not write this. I wish I did, but I didn't. It was written by Tom Adkins who is the publisher of CommonConservative.com.

White Guilt? Done; over; history
-Tom Adkins

There go my fellow conservatives, glumly shuffling along, depressed by the election aftermath. Not me. I'm virtually euphoric. Don't get me wrong. I'm not thrilled with America's flirtation with neosocialism. But there's a massive silver lining in the magical clouds that lofted Barack Obama to the presidency. For today, without a shred of intellectually legitimate opposition, I can loudly proclaim to America:

The Era of White Guilt is over.

This seemingly impossible event occurred because the vast majority of white Americans didn't give a fluff about skin color and enthusiastically pulled the voting lever for a black man. Not just any black man. A very liberal black man who spent his early career race-hustling banks, praying in a racist church for 20 years, and actively working with America-hating domestic terrorists. Yet white Americans made Barack Obama their leader. Therefore, as of Nov. 4, 2008, white guilt is dead.

So today, I'm feeling a little "uppity," if you will. For more than a century, the millstone of white guilt hung around our necks, retribution for slave-owning predecessors. In the 1960s, American liberals began yanking that millstone while sticking a fork in the eye of black Americans, exacerbating the racial divide to extort a socialist solution to the country's problems. But if a black man can become president, exactly what significant barrier is left? The election of Barack Obama destroys the validation of liberal white guilt. The dragon is hereby slain.

So today, I'm feeling a little "uppity," if you will. From this day forward, my tolerance level for having my skin color hustled is exactly ZERO. No more Rev. Jeremiah Wright's "God Damn America," Al Sharpton's Church of Perpetual Victimization, or Jesse Jackson's rainbow racism. Cornel West? You're a fraud. All those "black studies" programs must now teach kids to thank Whitey. And I want that on the final.

Congressional Black Caucus? Irrelevant. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.)? Shut up. ACORN? Outlawed. Black Panthers? Go home and pet your kitty. Black separatists? Find another nation that offers better dreams. To those Eurosnots who forged careers hating America? I'm still waiting for the first black French president.

No more quotas. No more handouts. No more complaining that "the man" is keeping you down. "The man" is now black.

It's time to toss that massive, obsolete race-hustle machine upon the heap of the other stupid '60s ideas. Drag it over there, right between free love and cop-killing. Careful, don't trip on streaking. Just dump it. And then wash your hands. It's filthy.

Obama's ascension also creates another gargantuan irony. How can liberals sell American racism, class envy and unfairness when our new black president and his wife went to Ivy League schools, got high-paying jobs, became millionaires, bought a mansion, and are now moving to the White House? How unfair is that? Now, like a delicious O. Henry tale, Obama's spread-the-wealth campaign rendered itself moot by its own victory! America is officially a meritocracy. Obama's election has validated American conservatism.

So ... Wham!!!

That's the sound of my foot kicking the door shut on the era of white guilt. The rites have been muttered, the carcass lowered, dirt shoveled, and tombstone erected. Dead and buried.

The Rat Pack

From Wednesday November 12 2008

Well last night I attended the play/show The Rat Pack at the OKC Civic Center. I really enjoyed it, but then I like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

So, my wonderful wife scored the tickets from her boss who apparently did not want to go or had other commitments. Anyway, she is a season ticket holder, and has great seats. Orchestra level about 1/2 way back, center section. Perfect view.

I haven't decided if this was a play or a stage show. It was essentially a fictional show done by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. at the Sands Hotel. They had the band on stage, and the conductor/pianist, and it opened with Frank singing a couple on songs, and he mixed in a little narrative and some jokes, and then Sammy Davis Jr. came out and performed, then a trio of ladies, I forget their "names" and then Dean Martin performs and they mix it up like that for a couple of hours. They performed all the great hits from all three, mixed in a lot of drinking humor with that increasing as the show progressed to give the illusion that they were getting drunk while performing. They didn't really look like the real Rat Pack, beyond costumes and hairstyles. The performer playing Frank, kinda looked like him in the face in his later years, but performed as a younger Sinatra, the guy playing Sammy occasionally looked like him with some facial expressions, and the guy playing Deano didn't look like him at all, but, they did a very good job with the mannerisms, and the voices, and the performances in general.

Last night was opening night and I think the show will be here for a week. I highly recommend attending if you are at all interested. It was a really good show!

River Wheelin'

From Sunday November 9 2008

Wheelin' at MayDaze on the river.

Yesterday I met up with a few members of okjeepthing.com at a place called Maydaze on SW 149th and I-44. As usual, I was all in a rush, thinking I'd be late.

My lovely wife was working a Craft Fair with her Mom at church, and she had my camera, so I had to stop off there on the way. Of course I had to say hi to everyone, no need to be rude LOL

Since we were meeting at noon, I thought I had it timed just right. Went through the drive-through at Burger King, and hit the highway. About halfway there, I realized I forgot to grab some zip-ties from home. Having never been to this place I wasn't sure what kind of wheeling to expect. If I needed to disconnect my front swaybar, I would need at least one. So, I had to go on into Newcastle to WalMart. Yes, on a Saturday. So being the smart guy that I am, I drove around back and went in through Automotive, which is where I needed to be anyway. So I find what I need and head for the register. Not only is there nobody in line! There is nobody behind the counter either. Don't they know I'm in a hurry? So after a few minutes, some dude on a cell phone walks up and drops a load of stuff on the counter in front of me, gives me a look like he's going first and walks off. WT? Tired of waiting, I head back into the store to electronics where there is actually someone working the cash register so I buy the bundle of 2 gazillion zip-ties for 6 bucks, and head back out, past the jerk on the cell phone still waiting and I'm off to the river.

I pull in the parking lot and I see PointBlankOKC is already there. He and I haven't met yet, but I know who he is from the club website. He drives a very cool black TJ with green flames, lifted on 35's. He also owns pointblankokc.com. He makes custom Harley stuff and Jeep stuff. Eventually I want one of his roll cages in my Jeep. So we wait around for a while and chat, of course, talking about Jeeps etc. Next to arrive is Slim in his dark green TJ. His is closest to mine in size. I'm on stock 30's and he has 31's. So if he can go through somewhere, I should be able to as well, maybe lol. Next up is Mud-Dog's brother in his Tahoe pulling a trailer full of ATV's and the Mud-Dog shows up in his white TJ lifted, locked, and running 33's. Slim's parents came as well. They brought a very cool NRA edition camo Kawasaki UTV. Like a 4-wheeler but the seats are side-by-side, 4-wheel drive, lockers, lots of cool stuff. Then I see a very large silver TJ pulling in. I've never seen this one before. Turns out it's Debs. She has the biggest Jeep there, sitting on 37's, around 10 inches of lift, lockers, all the goodies.

As this is all that's expected, we're off. Unlike the last trip, there is not a rock in sight. Sand, sand, and more sand. Right off the bat, PointBlankOKC got high-centered on a sand pile and Slim had to pull him off of it. Then it was off to play in some mud, climb some sand hills etc. Then we started off down the river, across sand bars, through shallow water, across "quicksand"through very deep water and back to dry sand. We stopped and waited for Mud-Dog and his crew to catch up on their ATV's but found out they couldn't traverse the deep water we'd been through, so we headed back to them. I looked in the rearview to see Slim making a 180, then I see where he's going. PointBlankOKC is nose down in a hole in the middle of the Canadian River! After a couple of minutes, PointBlankOKC backs out of the hole and continues on to where we are. Slim pulls up and tells us we're headed for dry land as PointBlankOKC has broken a front axle. Time for a field repair.

They pull off the wheel, and brake rotor. Then re-assemble after removing the axle. Thereby effectively making his Jeep 3-wheel drive. PointBlankOKC decides to call it a day and announces he's never coming back. Apparently he was there last weekend and caught his Jeep on fire! Bad karma or something. He's been there twice and broken twice!

So the little Jeeps go play some more! Under the bridge there were a number of washed out areas leaving ledges for us to climb up and down, then we decided to head west, up river. Slim warns me, that when we hit the white sand, gas it and do not stop, it's very soft and I will sink. So, brainiac that I am, I follow in Slim's tracks, gassing it all the way until I stop moving! So now I have what appears to be a low-rider Jeep! Buried up to the frame! See the photo album for the pic! Along comes Mud-Dog to the rescue. Not only is his Jeep lifted with nice aggressive off-road tires, but he also has a winch. So he goes around, turns around and hooks on to my tow hook and promptly pulls me right out. No sweat. I have got to buy some recovery gear of my own!

Now that I am once again free, we head west, through some mud holes and down the beach, but not too far, the sand runs our and we are looking at very deep, fast moving water, so, back to the east, we try to make a new route with Slim's parents leading the way on their UTV. Next thing we know, it is stuck, they are bailing out of it since they are now sitting in the icy cold river. Slim jumps out of his Jeep and grabs the tow strap, Dad jumps out of the UTV and is standing in almost waist-deep water. The strap is too short, and if Slim pulls in to close the gap, in all likelihood, he'll be stuck too. So we get another strap from Mud-Dog and his wife and extract Mom, Dad, and the UTV which after a couple of minutes partially submerged, starts and runs just fine. However, they are ready to call it a day, I'm sure they were nice and cold.

Oddly enough, Slim's Jeep starts running really rough, even though he hasn't been in any deep water in at least an hour. Then it smoothed out, very strange. So off we go to play some more, through the mud holes and the sand dunes. I took off up a dune and along the crest with Slim following, I go around a downed tree and then back down to ground level. The drop is about as tall as a Jeep is long and very, very steep. I ease it over the edge, then as the front wheels hit the bottom, I gas it and hook it around to the right so I can stop and get a shot of Slim coming down (last 2 pics in the album). After he comes down he has a very relieved look on his face. Turns out, when I went over the edge, he was still behind the downed tree and thought I rolled my Jeep! He thought I dropped down, and then end-over-ended it! Glad that didn't happen. Shortly after that, Slim's Jeep started running rough again, so we called it a day. All in all I think it was a good time, of course, I didn't break either so. Anyway, I look forward to doing it again. It's nice to have a place to legally wheel close to home, 20 minutes instead of 3 hours. WooHoo!

Political Prose

From Tuesday October 28 2008

This morning, my lovely, conservative wife forwarded an email from a co-worker. Keep in mind, my wife works for a very large, evil, profitable oil and gas exploration company. So, this email contains a link which takes me to a page like youtube.com and begins showing a video entitled "The Vet Who Did Not Vet"

So, long story short, it is a "jibjab" type video production with verbiage done semi-Seuss-like, basically trashing John McCain and Sarah Palin. It contained all the typical crap, pro choice, save the polar bears, don't shoot a moose, no experience, stole money form the bridge to nowhere, etc. etc. same old same old. The weirdest thing about it though, was it came from an employee of the previously mentioned evil oil company. Hmmm, maybe they should do a little more vetting. So, in retribution, I have attempted to write a bit of prose. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it, LOL.

What a load of left-wing bleeding-heart tree-hugging liberal crap.

What they all need is an 8-day nap.

Save the Polar Bears they all cry.

But smart Conservatives know it's all a lie.

They say they want to improve our health.

But really they want US to share OUR wealth.

They're telling us it's for the greater good

Funny, on that is where Marx stood.

Bill Ayers is just a guy in my hood.

And Rev. Wright's sermons, I never understood.

Of America my wife never was proud.

Until I spoke to the unemployed crowds.

With their hands held out they think I'll send them to the bank

But if you question me, you'll end up in a standoff against a tank.

Look how wonderful things are in China

I'm stealing votes in Ohio, Texas, Nevada, and North Carolina.

I'll not see my daughter punished with a child

Killing babies is nothing to get you riled.

I'll take away your shot gun that you use to hunt duck

Come on everybody, lets stand up for Chuck!

Say it ain't so Joe, didn't you know?

Only the Obamessiah can get the crippled to get up and go!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with whom I would meet.

From a tiny little country, no threat to life on my street.

Castro, Chavez and Putin, lets be friends.

When I get through with America, it will be just like that country of Lenin's

I've talked a big game about change and hope.

Only conservatives know, I'm less qualified than a plumber named Joe.

Vote McCain – Palin '08

Oklahoma Jeep Thing

From Tuesday October 21 2008

OK Jeep Thing!

WOW!

That's all I can say. What a great time. I am uploading pictures to myspace right now. We met up with a couple of other club members, CodeMonkey, Mud-Dog, and Kerry, for the drive to Disney (at Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake O' the Cherokees), of course we managed to leave later than planned, but mission accomplished, we got there before dark.

Most of the club stayed at Hogan's Campground or Roger's Rock Cabins. We thought it too cold at night to camp with our 4 year old, and the cabins were sold out, so we stayed about 3 miles away at a B&B/Cabin. Of course, they were quite pricey, and as it turned out, left a little to be desired. The cabins, were in fact just gussied up single-wides, and small ones at that. We had the "Honeymoon" cabin as it has a hot tub on the back deck. That was my idea, I assumed all the bouncing around, might cause my wife some back pain, and knee pain and the hot tub would alleviate that. She didn't complain about pain so much, but we loved the hot tub, as did our daughter. So that part was great, but finding the previous guest's personal lubricant and light up adult "toy" were sort of a cause for concern. Yeah, they were verrrry apologetic, and attributed this to "new staff" and even tossed out there that another couple in another "cabin" had found undergarments and pills. However, the previous evening, my wife spoke with the owner and she apparently told her that it was just her and her niece taking care of everything. Hmmm. new staff or lazy owners? They offered us a significant discount next time we stay with them though. We found a much nicer place for less money that we'll stay at next time we are in the area. It's farther away from the off-road area, but it is so much nicer. So, I'd recommend staying away from the Southern Oaks Resort in Langley, OK. Here is where we WILL stay next time. The Pine Lodge in Ketchum, OK.

So, Saturday morning, it was up early, eat, coffee, clean, dress, and hurry to be on time to the "driver's meeting" at 8:30. Yeah, no wheeling until after 10am LOL. They do stuff like we do hehe! Right, so, we started the morning on the rocks. Literally. There was one area, sort of a boulder field. One guy compared it to driving on bowling balls, except the stones were much much much larger. In a stock Jeep, this was the most unpleasant part of the day. After this, we went to an area where I and others thought it was best if I not attempt it. So we just hung out and had lunch while they climbed Lil' Blue which is a series of stone stair steps and waterfalls. With some winching help, I'm sure we could have made it as well, but the likelihood of damage was a little higher than I was willing to face. And admittedly, my confidence level was not that high either. Maybe with a little lift, and larger tires, but not this weekend. LOL

While the rest of the group settled in for lunch back at camp, I took the wifey and kiddo back to the "cabin" for nap time. I dropped them off and went back for the afternoon trail run!. Talk about a blast. The rocks were pretty cool, but I thought the trails were great! There aren't nearly as many pictures from the afternoon as it was a little difficult to take a good picture and make sure I didn't drive off a cliff! But it was sooo cool. I loved the steep climbing on loose gravel-like stones and dirt which at times seemed as though you were actually travelling straight up, and the insanely steep descents winding through trees that threaten to reach out and grab a fender, and roots allowing the dirt to slide away beneath your tires in an effort to toss you into a ravine. Even on the level ground, there were the smallest of fallen saplings to rocker panel crushing logs laying across, jutting up into our paths. Good Times! I can't wait to go again.

The guys in Oklahoma Jeep Thing were great, They were always right there to help if needed. I'd been four-wheeling many times in the past, but this weekend brought a more technical side to it, and they were always there prepared to help out the new guy if needed. I am very proud that not once did I need winching, or pulled up or out of anything. I managed not to get stuck even once. There were only a couple of places where I sought an alternate route. The first was Lil' Blue which I'm still not convinced that my un-modified Jeep would make it without breaking anything, and then there is the hill that only J managed to make it, and I think he was winched the last 15 yards or so (I tried twice, but only made it 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up before losing all traction!), and last was the hill where Slim tore his tire off the rim. So yes, I'm proud of my little Jeep!

We managed to escape the weekend with no damage, except my American flag front license plate. It was destroyed about 15 minutes into the day. Of course, flimsy aluminum is no match for solid stone.

Join Me in Welcoming Your Oklahoma City Thunderrrrrrrrrr!

From Tuesday October 14 2008

Monday evening my lovely wife calls me on her way home from work. Bonehead that I am, left my cell in the bedroom when I got home so I missed the message. Later, when she finally reached me by other means, she tells me to check my voicemail and call her back. We've all seen Bocephus and his commercials for Monday Night Football, and we all know one line from the song. "Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!" Anyway, I check my voicemail and I hear her voice scream "Are you ready for some BASKETBALL?!?!" She won tickets to the pre-season home opener against the LA Clippers!

We went to several Hornets games when they were here for the two years after Katrina and loved it. Her company has a suite at the Ford Center and her department got to use the suite for one game and that just rocked! Well now that we have our own team, and not just a loaner, I'm really excited. I wanted to buy season tickets when they were first made available, but you had to buy 4 seats which is way more money than I was willing to part with. A full set of the cheap seats will set you back $1640. I, personally would rather just go to a handful of games and have much better seats. Of course in this situation, free seats are the best seats! And these were club level, so we had easy access to real food and full bars as well. Of course we still have the standbys too. Our personal game favorite philly steak sandwiches and a Mountain Dew. Nothing better at a basketball game.

So the former Sonics...hang on, I have to address this. Let me be perfectly clear. I do NOT like the new team name. Personally I think it sounds like a soccer team and I'm not a fan.(No offense intended! I've never been to a game, match?) Soccer teams, sorry, clubs, traditionally have singular titles, United, Galaxy, Fire, etc, or at least the ones I've heard of LOL. I don't know them all, so I could be a complete fool here. So now Oklahoma City has joined ranks with the Jazz, Magic, and the Heat. Just my two cents, Clay Bennett should have kept the team name. Oklahoma City Supersonics sounds so much better than Oklahoma City Thunder. Next, they'll start calling the Ford Center the Thunder-dome! That's right, I said it first, remember this date. Oh well, he didn't ask me. So, we have the Thunderrrrrr!

So, back to the game, the team didn't look too bad. They looked like a starting five that was not used to playing together. They looked a little tired too. Sloppy ball-handling, absolutely no offensive rebound attempts. As soon as the ball left hands in 3-point territory, all five Thunders...of the Thunder...players were across half court ready to play defense. Sorry guys, 27.3% from 3-pt range does NOT mean everybody plays D. 3 out of 4 times you missed. Get the rebound and settle for two! Here's an idea, practice those 3-pointers and rebounding. Bring that percentage up to the 45.5% that the Clippers hit, and you would have beaten them by 3, get 50% of the rebounds on the missed 55%, and boom, you've beaten the Clippers by 9 .The Clippers are not really a championship contending team, but they did appear more cohesive, and alot more aggressive on defense. From my club-level seat, the Thunder didn't really look like a team, but more a group of guys shooting hoops. Or, they could have just been tired. They had just finished, I think 5 games in 6 days or maybe 5 in 7. Oh well, who am I? They didn't ask me. Anyway, even though the home team lost by 2, we still had a great time. Renee and I are really looking forward to the next game.

Next week I'll take a good long look at the schedule and try to map out which games to go to. I really want to see the Hornets again, and it would be cool to see some of the other high caliber teams. It should be an interesting crowd when the Hornets come to town. OKC really fell in love with them, and they were happy here. Stupid George Shinn, stupid sense of honor. (as spoken by Homer Simpson)

Go Thunderrrrrrrrr!

Bumpety Bump Test Run.

From Monday October 13 2008

So, since we have an entire weekend of off-roading ahead, we though it wise to give our daughter a little taste of what is to come. As she has never experienced anything of the sort, we thought it best to find out if she likes it or not before dragging her 175 miles from home for 2 straight days of going bumpety-bump in Daddy's Jeep.

We went out to a local place by the lake with some ditches, trails, and hills to climb. She thought it was fun and laughed a lot. It also gave me an opportunity to gather a little info as far as how my Jeep feels in certain off-road situations. We had a really good time. We drove through things in two-wheel-drive that our past four-wheel-drives wouldn't have made at all. Jeeps rule! We managed to customize my paint a bit too. We went across a ditch that actually required 4wd and then down a wooded trail which got very narrow and after about 100 yards it actually seemed to close off in the woods. So we turned around in the wide spot at the end and drove back out. My nice pretty Jeep now has minor scratches on every side including up the middle of the hood as well as a few really deep scratches that may or may not buff out. Oh well, it's a Jeep right? Anyway, after more thought about that trail, I have concluded that it must have been an ATV trail which would explain why it closed off in the woods.

After a while our daughter started complaining that her back hurt, and the sun was getting lower in the sky so we called it a day. Apparently, her car seat somehow managed to cause her a little grief. When we got home we found a red mark in the center of her back which went away after about 20-30 minutes. So, I'm guessing that a full day off road would probably result in a big nasty bruise and a very unhappy little girl. So we'll be switching car seats. The giant, super-padded bright pink one will go into my manly Jeep, instead of the sleek black one that is there now.. I'm sure it will be a big hit. But hey, she has to be comfortable, and a Daddy has to do what a Daddy has to do. Keep her happy. If she isn't happy, nobody is happy. Funny how kids are like that huh?

I just can't take it anymore.

From Friday October 10 2008

On any given day, I have my computer tuned to KTOK AM1000 OKC, listening to Glenn Beck from 8-11, then Rush Limbaugh from 11-2 and Sean Hannity from 2-4 and local guy Mark Shannon from 4-430 and then in the Jeep until I get home. This morning, I closed the window. Upon hearing the breaking news that 6 minutes after the opening bell the Dow is down 678.91. A quick check and I see that our stocks are all below 50%. At that point, according to the news, the only stock on the exchange that was up, was GE, and only by a few cents. Our economy is falling apart. The world's economies are all swirling down the toilet on the heals of the collapse of the american mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the stupid bailout of both of them and AIG and apparently any other industry that Congress would like to get their hands on. Of course, the liberal media spins this a as being caused by a lack of government oversight on the part of Bush. Puleeeze! Below, there is a link to a youtube video which shows the Democrats LYING about the actions inside Fannie and Freddie. This footage is from 2004 when Republicans, including George W. Bush, were investigating and calling for reform and regulation in the activities of Mae and Mac. Of course, the controlling majority democrats refused to do anything as it would interfere with their underhanded financial deals.

Lying Democrats

I was in the midst of a big, long, rant about this and the state of our economy. Then it hit me. It's a little like me listening to Glenn, Rush, Sean , and Mark. We are all on the same side. I'm in the choir and they are all preaching to me. Almost everyone that might read this is in the choir as well. The last thing you need is me preaching to you. Those of you who are not in the choir, I'll not name names, you know the truth. I think you are over there just because you are fed up with the way things are, and you want to believe that one man can "change" everything, and make it all better, but he can't. And you know this. Deep down inside, you know that McCain/Palin are by far the lesser of the two evils we have to choose from.

There is no way I would ever vote for NObama. Period. Back early in the campaign, I sat down and watched one of his rallys. About 10 minutes into it, the following thoughts went through my head. "Wow, this guy knows how to work a crowd. He hasn't said anything though. Change, what is he going to change? How is he going to change whatever it is? Hope? What am I hoping for? This guy is nothing. He's an empty suit. His mouth is moving, sounds are coming out, but he isn't saying anything." Then later his policys started becoming public.

Lets have a quick look at a few. My thoughts are in italics.

OK to kill infants, even if the abortion is botched and the baby survived, he is in favor of killing the already born baby. Hmmm, if a teenager gives birth in a toilet, and throws the baby in the trash can and it dies, it's considered murder, but Obama thinks it's ok for a doctor to do it.

Yank our troops out of Iraq whether they can stand on their own or not. Iran would invade and take over within 12 months of the US departure.

Increase taxes on the rich. The rich own the companies the rest of us work for. If their taxes are increased, their profit margins will decrease. When profits are down, raises are smaller if they exist at all, and the same goes for bonuses too.

Penalize the Oil companies because they made record profits. Oh, you made money, shame on you. All of you know that my lovely wife works for an oil company. They have been doing very well the last few years. She has gotten many good raises and bonuses, and their benefits get better every year. Thanks to those reecord profits, we have a nice house, two nice cars, our daughter goes to a Christian private school, we wear nice clothes, we travel, we spend that money that Renee earns working for that big evil profit making oil company. This year, I actually paid a college student to care for my lawn for me. Shame on you big oil, you're evil profits have touched many many lives.

He wants to ban guns. Look at Chicago's crime rate. He helped to pass a measure outlawing law abiding citizens from purchasing firearms. From May 26th- September 1st, there were 123 people shot and killed in the city of Chicago. During that same time period, there were 65 American shot and killed in Iraq. This is not an effort to insinuate that Iraq is safer than Chicago, but one to show what an abject failure gun bans are. Ban guns, and violent crime skyrockets. I won't take the time to site the fallen foreign powers who banned guns across the populace.

I'll stop at this point, no sense beating a dead anything. These were just a few of the amazingly obvious reasons not to vote for NObama. Tell him to Keep the Change.

I think I'm going to strive for a no politics/economy weekend. I just don't know how much I can take.

Boomer Sooner! Beat Texas!