Afternoon Gun Porn: XD9 Subcompact and stuff

Just because.

That's the Springfield XD9 Subcompact, the Beltman Belt, and Blackhawk! "Leather Compact Askins Holster."

Books of 2010: Super John Ringo Edition

In the past two weeks I read four books by John Ringo, all in the Posleen War Universe:

1) Gust Front
2) When the Devil Dances
3) Hell's Faire

and the latest one in the series, set about 50 years after the original series:

4) Eye of the Storm

I last read the original series as it first came out. This time I didn't read the first book--Hymn Before Battle--because I guess I just didn't want to. So there. The original series is a quality "Military Sci-Fi/Kill all Aliens" collection of books. "Eye of the Storm," however, takes an interesting twist (sarcasm). After kicking the Posleen out of their arm of the galaxy, guess what happens? An evil collection of Alien races invade! Don't get me wrong, it was a fine book--it's just that the first third or so was going in one direction and then it seemed Ringo decided he needed a Deus Ex Machina to pull the story back into familiar territory.

I highly recommend the original Posleen War Series--I would give those books a 10/10. "Eye of the Storm," however, seemed just a little bit too contrived. It was also the first in a new sub-series, so maybe it will take off in the future. I would give it a 7.5/10, still perfectly acceptable, but not outstanding.

And that's four more books added to my total. Counting them up is going to take me a goodly bit when the end of the year gets here.

Music for Friday Evening: The Man's Too Strong

Don't know why, but I've been listening to a lot of Dire Straits today:

I am just an aging drummer boy, and in the wars I used to play
And I've called the tune to many a torture session
Now they say I am a war criminal and I'm fading away
Father, please hear my confession

I have legalized robbery, called it belief
I have run with the money, I have hid like a thief
Re-written history with armies and my crooks
Invented memories, I did burn all the books

And I can still hear his laughter
And I can still hear his song
The man's too big
The man's too strong

Well I tried to be meek, I have tried to be mild
But I spat like a woman and sulked like a child
I have lived behind walls that have made me alone
Striven for peace which I have never known

Well the sun rose on the courtyard and they all did hear him say
"You always was a Judas, but I got you anyway
You may have got your silver but I swear upon my life
Your sister gave me diamonds and I gave 'em to your wife"

Oh father please help me
For I have done wrong
The man's too big
The man's too strong

And I am now accepting interpretations as to how these lyrics fit into the current political landscape.

Breaking News

Am I a bad person that I laughed and smiled with joy when I read this?

MSNBC Suspends Olbermann for Political Donations.

Without pay. Company policy. Couldn't happen to a nicer wackjob.

Little known fact about me

I don't know if I should be saying this somewhere where people can, you know, actually listen, but I watched a lot of Bob Ross growing up. Sometimes on Saturday morning I would watch him instead of cartoons. Maybe that's why I liked this picture so much:

I also would watch a lot of cooking shows and british comedies in the afternoons. Good times...

A thought

Tell me what you think:

A progressive is one who expects the worse and prepares for the best. They think that my guns are going to go out all by themselves and rob banks and kill grandmas, but they don't ever think that it could be them who gets mugged.

A conservative is one who prepares for the worst and expects the best. They don't expect anything to happen with an inanimate object that is sitting in a bedside table drawer, but they keep it there just in case someone comes through the bedroom window at O dark hundred.