Monday, August 9, 2010
My Disease Continues!
What I picked up is a 1987 Yamaha YSR50. For anyone not familiar with theme they are 50cc mini sport bikes made from 1987 through 1992. I always had wanted one just to play with when they were new but just couldn't justify the cost. Here are a couple of pics and the specs on these awesome little bikes.
The one I bought is a total basket case and will have to be completely gone through but it should be a fun project for my son and I to work on together.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BOYCOTT...California!
All Arizona residents should not do any business with, or in, the state of California until such time they change their policy to hurt our state's economy. That means to vacations trips to San Diego, no Sea World, no Disneyland, etc.
Come on people, let us send a message across the United States and even the world! Let us show them that we will stand together and weather the storm of their economic terrorism!
Gary Pierce of the Arizona Corporation Commission...You 'Da Man!
Anywho, Commissioner Gary Pierce of the Arizona Corporation Commission has threatened to fight fire with fire over the socalled boycott that Los Angeles has enacted against us. Here is a copy of the letter Commissioner Pierce sent to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles...
Here is also a news article from Fox News covering the response from L.A.:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/19/arizona-official-threatens-cut-los-angeles-power-payback-boycott/
Naturalized (former Mexican) citizen speaks out!
This vid is her addressing the Tucson City Council about whether to sue the state of Arizona over SB1070. All I can comment is that I'm proud to call her a fellow American!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
I support 1070!!!
So, forget illegal immigration. Let's talk about legal immigration. As things stand currently, it is a problem all by itself. Don't get me wrong as I am not against immigrants in any way. Some great Americans citizens came from other countries. I welcome all immigrants as long as they do it legally and that it doesn't hurt the U.S. However, I digress...
Here is a somewhat dated video on legal immigration and the problem it is causing for our great nation. If you haven't seen it before then you really should.
If the embedded player below doesn't work, here is a direct link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5871651411393887069
Sunday, May 2, 2010
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else. The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English- Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian- Americans, or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality than with the other citizens of the American Republic. The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American."
Theodore Roosevelt
October 12, 1915
Monday, April 26, 2010
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.
The author's website: http://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Now, today was a great day. I got to take my son out on his first official offroad outing. We didn't hit the hardcore trails as he isn't ready yet but it won't be long before his is. I swear, this kid is going to be way faster than me and a helluva lot more ballsy!
I'm thinking about going out to shoot ACTS this month. I'm actually starting to get the desire to go shoot again. We shall see...
BTW, a couple of cheap cell phone pics while we were out. He rides blue and I ride green.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Last Ride...
BTW, here is a crappy cell phone pic I took while taking a little breather. You can't tell in the pic but I'm at the top of about a 40ft hill with a wash below. This pic makes it look easy where I ride but let me tell you, it isn't!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
What is up with me?
I really like all the guys still running the group. Karl, the current match director, was the right man for the job and continues to prove it each month. Jake, Russell, and Aaron are still there helping to design stages and run things. The matches appear to better than ever, so, why don't I go?
The only thing I can think of is that I was more burnt out running things than I thought originally. That is the only logical explanation I can come up with. I think I'm just not going to worry about getting to a match for now. Just take this time to get away from it totally and wait until the desire finally comes back to me.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Know Your Rights!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
As if things are not rough enough...
I missed two days from work this week due to massive headaches, fever, nausea, dizziness, and aching. Everyone kept trying to tell me I had the flu but I knew better. (I haven't had the flu since I was a kid!) Went to the doc and confirmed it wasn't the flu but two serious ear infections. My right ear is so bad that the ear drum has torn away from the ear canal to relieve the pressure and the left one is ready to go. Doc said it is nothing to worry about since we are taking care of the problem with antibiotics and some medicated ear drops. He said it should heal up fine.
Man, I feel like I have been cursed lately. It seems every time I turn around I'm either getting hurt or sick. Yea, me. Eh, things will get better. I'm only two weeks away from (hopefully) being cleared to ride my bike again! (see previous post)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Been busy!
Anyways, been busy with the family for the most part. I haven't gone to an ACTS match in (I think) 3 months. I have been spending a lot of my time riding dirtbikes with my kids. They are growing up so quick and they will leave for college soon so I'm getting as much quality time as I can.
Unfortunately, I have been down for the past three weeks. I took a nasty spill on my KDX and broke a bone in my right hand along with two ribs on the same side. Bad thing was I was in the middle of nowhere and had to ride my bike out in excruciating pain. One thing I have figured out is that I'm not a kid anymore. Get hurt really sucks...BAD!
BTW, a few pics!
My street legal '90 Kawasaki KDX200...
My son's '02 Yamaha TTR125L...
My daughter posing on her '79 Honda XL75...
My son tearing up a friend's yard on the little Honda...
Man, I wish I could heal quicker. I have at least another 3 weeks before I can ride again. (sigh)