So-Called Religious Group is Dictating USN SEAL Training...

June 30, 2012
Please note, all text with quotation marks is taken from Kate Wiltrout's article in the Virginian-Pilot.

"The Navy will not use a target depicting a Muslim woman holding a gun at a new training range for SEALs in Virginia Beach.
The announcement came hours after the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the Pentagon to remove the target. A picture of the cardboard target, which shows a woman in a headscarf holding a pistol, was published in The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday. The image shows verses of the Quran hanging on the wall behind the woman, which also generated criticism from the group.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based council, said in the letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dated Friday that the target "is offensive and sends a negative and counterproductive message to trainees and to the Muslim-majority nations to which they may be deployed."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we the tax payers just spent millions of dollars to open a new training center for our special forces. Obviously, we would all want it to be as realistic as possible. But, that is not going to be.

"Naval Special Warfare Group Two, which oversees SEAL teams 2, 4, 8 and 10 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, has not yet put the $11.5 million facility to use.
The 26,500-square-foot building contains 52 interconnected spaces, including mock-ups of markets, a hospital, schools, a bank, a bus depot and two mosques. It will allow small groups of SEALs to practice enemy engagement at close range.
Many of the details were taken from actual raids over the past decade, Capt. Tim Szymanski, the commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 2, said during a tour of the facility Monday."

Religions of all stripes are continuing to push their tentacles into our government. They are ongoingly trying to change our laws and policies based on their so-called religious tenets. What the hell has happened to our society? I don't guess there's much else to say.

ROK Straps...A Replacement for Bungee Cords?

June 20, 2012
Recently bought four of these made in China ROK straps. Yes, I am still, it would seem, in the planning stage for what I might call, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, yes, my alluded trip to the mountains.
Actually, I have most likely spent more time in my planning than folks who are traveling the world. Will I ever make it to the mountains might be my mantra.
Anyway, back to the straps.
Prior to picking-up my bike at the dealership, I purchased an assortment of bungee cords. The ones I bought were strap-like and not the regular rope-like bungees that I remember from back in the old days. Anyway, they worked well and I use them to strap my rain suit to the passengers seat.
In previous posts I've shown snaps of my Ortlieb saddlebags and huge duffel that I have. If this trip ever gets off the ground, I have no plans at this time to use the duffel; however, if I do the ROK straps should work well.
The ROK straps differ from bungees in that they are actually two pieces with each end having a loop. The loop makes them easy to attach to just about anything, particularly the rear foot-peg brackets.
I think there are two basic seizes in the ROK straps. The ones I bought are the thin ones and have a range of 12" to 42", which should be fine for my purposes. The ROC straps have regular webbing, I guess I'd call it, with an elastic part of several inches that helps cinch down the straps. Yes, I did try them and they seem to work well. At least statically, hey...I ain't left the garage with them yet. And, so it goes.

Back To Motorcycling...Sort Of. Make Your Point...Carry Your Message Forward.

June 19, 2012
Do any of you folks have vanity or personal plates? Hmmm. Is there a message?
Actually, if you're passionate about a cause or you just want to make people laugh or smile, hey...your license plate is a good means.
I had thought about OLDSLO...but, this one will do fine and as far as I'm concerned aptly describes me. Actually, tried to get SKPTIC, but a fellow rider beat me to it.
Some plates I get, if you will, but wonder why. The ones that say TOMSTOY (car plates have seven numbers or characters), yes, it's a Toyota. BRADSVET, OK...Brad, we can see it's a Corvette. It just seems a shame or something to pay extra and waste the opportunity to carry your message forward.
Here are two of my favorites.
Eight or ten years ago I saw this plate on a 15-year-old battered Chevrolet....DOIOU2.
Another favorite, WIENER.
OK, folks, get creative out there with your plates.
My car is WN PGSFL. My last motorcycle was AXISII.
I paid a one-time fee of $10 for what Virginia calls a scenic plate and, an extra $10 a year to proclaim to the world that I'm a SKPTIK.

Don't Leave Home Without It! Can One Camera Do It All?

June 19, 2012
I should be somewhat embarrassed to admit that I have over 20 film cameras and...well, far-too-many digital cameras. In fact, I have several fairly pricey digital cameras that I've only used once or twice. My last purchase was a Pentax KX (?)...yep, two zooms, a 1.4 that I can't remember the focal length, and a pretty darn expensive Pentax prime lens.
And, with all of this camera power, what do I use? Yes, I use the Ricoh GR II. Even if I take one of my other cameras, which is rare, the GR is always along, and with few exceptions is the only camera I use.
I guess it goes back many years ago when my pal Eddie and I purchased the film version of this camera. At the time it was one of the few point-and-shoot type cameras that allowed you to select the aperture. Since that time, well...it's hard to not pickup the good old Ricoh. Frankly, though I know tons of photographic principles and stuff, I still basically haven't a clue as to how to adjust all of the stuff this camera will do. I keep it kind of simple as far as setting the controls. And, I follow through with doing almost no post processing.
If you look at this camera feature-for-feature, most of us would say it has nothing to offer. And, that may well be the conclusion you might arrive at.
It is a fixed lens. Yep, 28 MM and that's that. No zoom.......!
Wow, that's too wide angle for much of any kind of photography! And, you may be right.
All I know, is I really, really, like this little camera. It's small and is one of the few small digital cameras that you can get an optional clip-on viewfinder. Remember, if it ain't got no viewfinder it ain't no camera.
The Ricoh GR, the first digital camera is noted for its film-like black and white photos. Yep, about a year ago...I succumbed the the siren call of the original GR digital and bought one from a shop in England. Yes, that I did. OK, so, I have poor impulse control.
And, my pal Eddie, yes, a few months ago he bought the latest, the GR4.
I have several travel-type blogs that have tons of photos, yes, all taken with the GR.
I may go to an SCCA race this year. If I do, I think I'm only going to take my GR and see what I can do, if anything, with a 28 MM. And, yes, I'm going to leave my Canon 2.8 zoom at home....
BTW, all the snaps on this blog, except for the "three motorcycles" were taken with the GR. Well, the "doctor and nurse" photo was taken with the film version of the GR, yes, 28 MM. And, yes, taken many years ago....

A picture of my pup.... Her name is Sophie; however, I refer to her as The Moose. She's now 80 pounds (I think in the photo she may be 20/25 pounds) and a real challenge. Yes, taken with the GR....
And, so it goes.......

Yes, We're all Entitled to Our Fifteen Minutes, Aren't We?

June 16, 2012

You folks may have read about the horrible attack on the homeless fellow, described by the press as having his face eaten. Yes, the person who did this was shot and killed by a police officer after he refused to stop the attack.
In our Oprah Society, what happened next?
Yes, you’re correct. The attacker’s girlfriend just had to get her fifteen minutes. And, in typical fashion for us, yes, she needed an attorney. Of course, we might ask, why would someone need an attorney to spend a few minutes on TV to tell what they knew about the attacker?  Yes, you’re correct, there were of course no charges pending for this woman and of course there would be no way for any charges to be brought. But, yes…she needed an attorney.
And, of course, not just any attorney, yes, she needed Gloria Allred. You folks know old Gloria, don’t you? Yes, she’s like that whack-a-mole or what-have-you…in situations that are getting a little press time she pops up. And, in keeping with what you might call our junk society, what program does she appear on? Yes, good old Dr. Drew.
I guess we could ask whether knowing about her relationship with the attacker is news worthy. And, if it would actually give any insight into how something like the attack could happen, yes…it would be news worthy. Of course, we got no insight into anything.
How pathetic, old Gloria is in the studio with old Dr. Drew and the girl friend is across the country in another studio. Terrific. She surely didn’t pay Allred, so who arranged all of this?
Well, I guess this about sums it up; a hack lawyer who pops up whenever there is something out of the ordinary in the news, a doctor who should surely have something better to do than to interview the girlfriend of an attacker, and a woman who sought her fifteen minutes and got it. Was this the trifecta of bottom-of-the barrel pseudo journalism? Seems to be.

Why Would Anyone Want to Travel on a Motorcycle?

June 16, 2012
Good question. Over the past few weeks, after basically not having ridden a motorcycle for many years, I decided I would buy a motorcycle and go on a trip. Now, why would anyone want to travel on a motorcycle?
Let’s see, is it one with the wind, one with the road, one with the bike, or what?
I’ve lived in an environmentally controlled space, if you will, for years. In the winter, I turn the heat up, in the summer I turn the air conditioner down, and now, I’m saying I’m going to jump on a motorcycle and travel a few hundred miles out in the elements, with no control over the temperature and the weather? Does this make any sense? Nope, it doesn’t.
So, what could be my motivation other than some type of knee-jerk reaction to the so-called romance of motorcycle travel?
I guess one thing for a new rider is the challenge of learning to ride. Learning to safely go from point A to point B. Learning how to smoothly operate all of the controls, how to smoothly shift gears, learn about synchronizing RPMs with speed, and how to stop quickly and smoothly.
So, that’s where I guess I find myself at the moment. I need to get some more miles out there on the road. Lately haven’t been able to get out that much.
So, I guess time will tell whether this motorcycle purchase was another folly, if you will.

Hey, You Can't Do That...Danielle Harkins vs The Catholic Church...

June 15, 2012

Danielle Harkins, a literacy teacher, is now in jail. Her offense, she merely wanted to rid several teenagers of demons. At a gathering she held, she had the teenagers cut themselves so that the demons would come out. She then cauterized the cuts so that the demons couldn’t return.
Well, I would guess that the Catholic Church thinks that they have a lock on the old getting the demons out through exorcisms. Damn, I bet they were teed off when they found someone was trying to do exorcisms without being dressed in a tacky costume. And, yes, it's 2012.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/woman-arrested-on-child-abuse-charges-after-bizarre-cutting-and-burning/1234986