Current Events

So... the original plan for July was for Pete and I to take off on our motorcycles on July 1st for a one-month cross-country extravaganza, stopping (and trying to avoid arrest) in Biloxi, Baton Rouge, Austin, Taos, Las Vegas, San Diego, Ensenada, Nogales, Houston, New Orleans and then back home.

First, I had that little fairing-breaker at the end of June, then the kitchen remodel.

So instead of a relaxing trip with Pete,  I've been in Phoenix, Boston, Austin, and Durham NC...

On the whole, I have probably been fortunate that work-stuff has been cropping up.
(Except that my left leg looks like it fell into a wood chipper, but that's a different story.)
Not sure I wanted to traverse the desert on a motorcycle twice in one month. In July.
(I know, I'm a big pussy. Sue me.)

The fair and lovely DH just shot me a txt basically implying I've gone radio silent again...

To tell the truth I've just been busy as hell and things aren't slacking off...

For instance...
I was in Phoenix a couple weeks back-
While there, I got a command performance to help do an install near The Mothership in Durham NC. The project has been bandied about for weeks- but someone finally pulled the trigger.
It went something like this:

Boss: "The moved up the install- has to be done by the morning of the 25th. Just go straight to RDU from Phoenix."
TBG: "Gah."
Project Manager from The Mothership: "Oh, By the way- we can only work between 7:00pm and 7:00am to do the install."
This he says a day before I leave Phoenix to go to NC.

So, we lose a day of install, plus we have to change phase to do the install.

Once on-site in NC time doesn't stand still while I am trying to sleep through the housekeeping staff banging on my door- ignoring the DND sign AND the instruction to the front desk NOT to clean the room.
No... I get emails and phone calls all through the day...
Most notably-

Slaw: "Hey- can you go to Toronto next week?
TBG: *sigh* "Sure."
(Slaw wouldn't ask unless he's in a bind. So I'm heading to Toronto next week.)

And-

Boss: "Hey- we need you to go to Singapore to do a site survey."

 AYFKM?

 Boss: "They want you to go in mid August..."

 I have issues with this...

1. Singapore in August- For Constant Readers who are geographically challenged, Singapore is right (and I mean like 1.3 degrees) off the equator.
I think I'd probably rather be on the motorcycle in the desert.

2. Mid August is The Perfect Child's 21st Birthday.
I have already been assigned Designated Driver and Protector of Virtue for The PC, The Woman and the Gaggle of Celebrants who will be in town for the festivities.
Word around the campfire says that St. Augustine is ground zero for a weekend of overindulgence. Film at 11.

3. I also have a gig lined up in the Canary Islands for Aug 24.


Well... Someone else (Hector the Connector) can do the Canary Islands.
And I got them to push back off the from the Weekend of Debauchery in St Augustine.

But I'll have to bring a towel 'cause I'm going to perspire like a R. Kelly on a playground as I do this survey...

So... Back to the Mothership-

We're working in a small gymnasium, installing cable and equipment -
Everything going to plan... All cables and hardware work right the first time.
(Very unusual.)
I'm running extra cables for additional hardware and make a misstep and put my left leg  knee-deep into a air handler plenum. The kind that is constructed out of the metal studs that are lined with broken glass and fish hooks...

So it looks like I have been a chew-toy for a Great White, leaving pools of blood randomly around the site...
We finally finished, clean up and head out around 4 am on Friday.
I get a couple hours sleep then start driving back to Jax.

And the phone rings-

Slaw: "Hey- WTT needs someone to go to..."

TBG: "Just so you're not surprised - I've not had a whole lotta sleep in the last week and I'm about 2 quarts low on blood. Before you ask- see if you can find someone else to do whatever it is you need. If you have absolutely NO OTHER OPTIONS, I'll do it-
But it will cost you."

They found another option...

While I was away my new fairings arrived from Guangzhou! Yay!

So I've been spending a blissful couple days at home working on the FJR, doing the fit-up on the new fairings, rewiring the lights, installing new farkles and generally cleaning up the old girl before buttoning up the new Tupperware on her.

Between that and attending meetings about Singapore (Really? You're booking me on Malaysian Air? You're shitting me, right?") and NBA stuff, all is right with the world.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Undressed

She's not very pretty when she's naked...

Subtle. Very Subtle.

Whoever did this is evil.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Stop Bitching and Do Your Job

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Never Mind The Cat Scan

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Walk of Shame

Enjoying watching the Flight Attendant making people do the walk of shame on my flight...
The FA is has called out 4 people for stowing bags in the overhead in the front of the plane then walking to the back...
She catches them and loudly makes them go back and get their bags and take them to their area.
Good on ya, USAir FA.

Another Day, Another Flight

Yay. Air Travel.
Again.

I think OldNFO published this pic a while back... That this could happen scares the bejeebers out of me. It's one (of many) reasons that I don't sit in window seats, and if for some reason I DO wind up in a window seat I never look out the window.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Comprehension Test

Guess what state this WalMart is in.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Welcome to Phoenix

Here's your tequila.


(Click pic to embigginate)
Have a nice day.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Need Help With Your Paperwork?

Here are some nice forms for you...

I particularly like the Formal Apology.
I use it quite often.
(Double Click for bigness)















TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Well, There Goes The Neighborhood

Ingress has been released for the iPhone.

Prepare to see leigons of Fanbois hacking up the scenery.

*sigh*

TBG - 107 degrees today. Ugh.

I Guess It IS In The Right Section of the Bookstore

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

They Are Trying To Kill Me.

So...
The Woman and Perfect Child have taken up kayaking...

They went out offshore Jax Beach yesterday morning, and I figured I'd go check on them before heading to the office.


Click to Engorge
That little tiny speck left of the umbrella and above the surfboards, way the @#$% out toward the horizon... That's them.

I didn't call the Coast Guard...
I DID think about it...
But- they both have cell phones.  They'd call if they have issues.

Besides-  I thought how much crap I'd get for weeks and weeks about overreacting, and the number of stupid things I do that they just take in stride and don't start calling the local hospitals or the highway patrol.

-Hint-
When you are 48 hours overdue and have not called to warn the SO of your delay, arriving home exclaiming:
"Don't pay the ransom! I've escaped!" will not have the desired comic effect.
Listen to your Uncle Jay, it's a ticket to 6 nights in the doghouse.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Notice to Mouth-Breathing Cousin-Humping Idjits:

THIS is NOT a drone...


This is a friggin' quadcopter.
It takes pictures. It's range is line-of-sight to the operator.

THIS is a drone.

It can fly 460 miles, stay on station for 14 hours, then return to base.
It has AGM-114K Hellfire missiles that travel at 1.3 Mach and can smoke your ass from 5 miles away.

Flush out your headgear you morons.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Gah.

I Hate You, CNN

CNN is of the opinion that Dick Cheney is in a tiny minority when he (Cheney) says that the problems Iran and the Middle East are Obama's fault.

CNN talking head: "How do you respond to the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans who don't think this is Obama's fault?"

Overwhelming majority?

Are you f'ing kidding me?

Have you spoken to any one outside the CNN Offices or the White House?

Morons.

-----

And CNN treats H. Cankles Clinton being on a late-night comedy show as news?

I guess compared to CNN, The Daily Show IS a hard-hitting news show.

-----

I have to get one of those universal remotes that can turn off these f'ing on-concourse TVs in the airport.

Although now that I look at it, there is a free HDMI port... I could plug in a Chromecast unit and punch up some Rule 34 porn. Or maybe just some footage from a range trip...

TBG

Early Morning Flights

5:45am flight, sooooo... Leaving for the airport at 4:20? Ugh.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

The FJR's New Clothes

Oh yeah...
The new fairings are on the way!

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Teh Stupid is Strong With This One

Overheard in the diner this AM...

The Hipster was dead-serious, not joking, not ironic. Just a complete and utter moron.

"I consider myself a Socialist...
Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram...
I use them all."

The urge to beat the idiot senseless with a day-old waffle was nearly overpowering...

TBG - suffering fools on a daily basis

Damn Yankees

I'm not implying that EVERY SINGLE PERSON in Boston is an asshole ('cause I personally know a few who are not) but it seems like everyone on US1 and at Logan Airport was a complete and utter moron.

Like the see-you-next-Tuesday on the way to the airport, driving the early '90s Nissan with all four corners damaged...
All that energy she expended with obscene gestures, shaking fists and yelling at me could have been avoided by a different effort- use that turn signal, honey- that way I'll know to get outta your way...
And I see why your car is crumpled like an old pack of Camels...
You drive like you're from Florida fer chrissake.

TBG - Pre-Checking! Woo boo!

Ghetto TV Truck

Man, I've seen some pretty rudimentary TV Production trucks and cabins in my tenure as a Sports Technology Manager, but this is the most low-rent production I've seen...

The Penske Suite on the shall-remain-nameless tennis tour.

Pretty shady setup in there- and it feels like about a 20 degree list to starboard in there...

TBG - on the home stretch...

Quick Hits - 7/8/14

A couple for this AM whilst reading USA Yesterday at breakfast...

A "Voices" writer (R.Jervis) continues to trumpet the tired prevarication about how high the deportation rate is under Obama...
He doesn't bother mention how they are cooking the numbers by classifying anyone turned away at the border during a normal border crossing as a "deportation".
Morons.

-+-+-+-+-+-

DeWayne Wickham had a great idea for what to do with all the kids that are coming across the border...
Instead of sending them off to Great Aunt Maria's in Sioux Falls with a strong admonishment " You better come back when we call you.", he says send 'em all to Gitmo.
Seriously- great idea.
Infrastructure in place, space, control, and incentive for repatriation to original country.

GIMF: Wickham Deportation Guantanamo

more later-

TBG

Quick Hits - Manchester MA

Overheard at the Site:
"Women... Can't live with 'em, can't leave them on the street corner where you found 'em."

=×=×=×=×=

Massachusetts still bites.
(Even the parts that aren't Boston.)

=×=×=×=×=

Strike Zone?

Is this the spot where I'm supposed to hit this thing with a hammer?
&#@%*ing Dell laptops...

=×=×=×=×=

First, we got the Nanny State.
Now we have the Nanny Car Rental Company.

Me no like.
If I need to go, I need to GO. Now!
I wonder it this is a new Avis policy, or was this some other rental customer screwing around with the "cool" features of the car...

TBG - On the road again...

Quick Hits - 7/4/2014

Too many times I let thoughts go unblogged because it takes too much time to write up all the background and embed links to the source data.

No more- 

I'm going to start doing quick notes, forgoing some of the embellishments, in hopes of getting more content up on the 'blog; Quantity & Brevity over Infrequency & Verbosity.

Lets see how it works...

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Happy Fourth of July, America.

Lots of the Really Cool Kids are expounding on the Declaration of Independence and the current Criminal-in-Chief in the oval office.

After a short perusal of headlines and reflecting on the shit ton of scandals by the administration, I can only think: "What the fuck happened?"

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

No Faith in White House Statistics

Sadly, I have reached the point that if a spokesman for the current administration came out and said the "The sky is blue." I would walk outside expecting any other color from the Crayola box except blue.

Hence- when I hear the WH crowing over dropping unemployment percentages, and the Progressive faithful carrying the buckets of putrid water, I just wonder how they are cooking their figures.

I KNOW they're lying, I'm just not motivated enough to research it... 

(Hint: If you give up looking for a job, you're no longer unemployed.)

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Major home improvements have been underway at the Humble Abode.

A new roof- the old one was 18+ years old.

A mishap with a unbonded lawn maintenance guy trimming a tree necessitated repairs.

(Lesson learned.)

One more repair has been needed for years- new kitchen counters.

We shopped, bargained and did a lot of our own work...

Old stuff

Ready for new stuff, black lab included for scale.

New counters in, new tile installed, new electrical & plates.

TWWKMT working on caulking the counter & backsplash.

Sweet caulk lines!

We finished plumbing the sink last night...

It came out pretty good.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Next project-

New fairings for FJR.

Can't ride in the rain due to the missing fender, and the gaffer's tape is holding all the cracked pieces together. 

I ordered a new fairing kit from a plastics company in Guangzhou...

It will be in red and silver... This blue was nice too, but domestic tranquility trumps aesthetics.

Quite the jigsaw puzzle for me to work on when it arrives in mid-July.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

More later

TBG

Expensive Weekend

TL;DR
My shits f'ed up, yo.
Working on correcting it.


Longer:


The weekend started well- the Friday night Ingress get-together was good right until the end when I tried to do an equipment drop with Steve from Houston...
I couldn't get my Samsung S2 to synch up and behave enough to do the swap.
This should have been a harbinger of Things To Come. 

(I hear you saying: What?! An S2? No one uses the S2 anymore. This is 2014, Dumbass. 2010 called, they want their phone back.)

Saturday started a bit late, but good- I met up with the crew for breakfast and we got to work. Good times, good times.

Checking messages during the day, my phone was still acting up- never a good sign..
Worse- it felt like it was running hot... Well- hotter than usual.

Well- screw it. No time to worry now-the project waits for no man. I'll have to do with what I have. 

As we were knocking off for the day, my smartphone dies.
Like dead.
Completely dead - screen black.
And hot? Holy crap it's burning hot.
Like can't-hold-it-without a 2d6 damage roll.

Power?
No- it's on the external battery. 4 blue lights.
It is vibrating now and then, just slightly. Like a mackerel laying on the dock- twitching occasionally as it slowly expires.

Great. What the hell else can go wrong?

Everyone has taken off- so I head back beach-bound...

I missed my turn off one street heading for the bridge out of downtown (not paying attention, wound up in wrong lane, dumbass move 1) and just figured I'd circle back by going around the block. (Typical 'downtown' layout, lots of one way streets.

This is when it really got fun. And expensive.

Coming up to a stop, Soccer Mom was in front of me in her MiniVan- taking the right on red...
I'm looking left after seeing her pull into intersection- all still clear so I start to roll on the throttle and look back right....
Soccer Mom was only halfway into the intersection and I was .000002 inches from her bumper.

BANG! Ow!

Oh. Shit.

F'ing lovely...

She pulls up into the parking lot...
I push my FUBARed bike up to the curb.

Bike's not rolling anywhere anytime soon. Left fork is mangled, front fender is in 4 pieces, cracks in faring. Front left brake is toast.

Personal physical harm... Yeah- there's damage.
Deceleration trauma where my cojones hit the gas tank as the bike impacted the back of Soccer Mom's car.
There is going to be some swelling... And not the good kind.

Damage to Minivan- a bare scratch in the vinyl of her back pseudo-bumper.
Virtually nothing.

Me- I'm screwed...
And it hits me... I am in Dark Territory. No cell phone. No camera to document damage.
Shit... no contact list (it's on my phone) of people to call.

Soccer Mom lets me use her phone-
"But only for a minute- I have to go pick up the kids!"

I find an old receipt with the number to the bike repair place in my case on the back of the bike...
I call them, explain the situation and ask them if they can send their truck and bike trailer to pick up my heap of twisted metal...
No- truck is out on another pickup. They'll send a wrecker.

Great.

I got Soccer Mom's info and she took off.
I'm on the curb, pissed.

It was especially frustrating as I have no way to alert anyone as to my predicament...

Have you noticed a dearth of payphones now days?
Used to be one on every corner.
Now you can't find them for love nor money.
Besides- even if there was a phone, I didn't have any numbers memorized, they're all on my contact list on my phone... (Or my iPad back home.)

I'm screwed.

90 minutes (or thereabout- I was about to pass out from the heat)
the tow truck showed up.

We wrestled my FJR up on to the flatbed and strapped it down, then headed off to the cycle repair shop in Atlantic Beach.

On arrival I realized Dumbass Mistake #2 - I hadn't latched my "trunk" on the bike. it had blown open and all my shit was strewn along I-95 & Atlantic boulevard...
Things like my riding glasses, gloves, some of my tools, and my bike manual.
Just #$%@*&^!ing lovely.

At the shop, The Mechanic looked at the remains of my bike as one would a bad cheese.

"Yeah, well- the one fork we can fix with new seals.
That other fork and brakes- pretty sure I can get those used locally.
Prolly gonna be 500 in labor and parts. Git it back to ya on Wednesday.
The fender and the other plastic- yeah- that's really gonna cost ya.
Gonna be around 1500 for the new fender & farings.
Lucky the headlights and lenses are ok- that's grand right there."

Lucky?

That's my middle fucking name today.
Lucky.

I left the bike at the shop (duh) and got a ride home from The Mechanic. It was almost 5:30.
Had a looooong chat with Captain Morgan, with an icepack on my crotch the rest of the day and most of the next.

I didn't leave the house again until Monday morning.

Epilog:
Wednesday AM. I am mostly phoneless...
The S2 screen is FUBAR as are some of the comms features- I can plug into it into my laptop and see the device - so it looks like the data is intact.
It can't make or recieve calls.

I've moved my SIM into an old Samsung phone our Phone Maven had on hand for emergencies.
I'm eligible for a new phone (according to our corporate package) in July...
I've already been assigned a new Galaxy S5.
(Phone Maven: No choice- you'll get that one and you'll like it. Or you can go buy your own.)

Picked up my bike Wednesday AM-
Cosmetically, it's bad - duct taped fairings, missing fender, etc.
But I'm back on two wheels, and the swelling has subsided enough that riding is not uncomfortable.

The new farings are ordered and will be here in 3 weeks.
Yay.

So-
Between parts, labor, taxes, towing, etc...
About a $2500 weekend for me...

The Moral of the story:

PAY FUCKING ATTENTION WHEN YOU ARE ON THE ROAD.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Not Really a Surprise

Friggin' Interweb quizzes...



What about YOU?
Click here to find out.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Chicken Fried Steak

-or-

Overindulgence in Tomball Texas

When I go to Texas there are two things I always try to do...

The first thing is to avoid Bill Miller.

No, not that one.

This one:


Yep- some of the most mediocre BBQ in Texas...
Yuck.

The second thing is to see if KX59 and Belle are available for a sit-down and chat...
It happens now and again...

I tried to hook up with them on in inbound side and they weren't having any, so we settled on the outbound- arranging for a Saturday lunch of Americanized Wiener Schnitzel - the famous Chicken Fried Steak at Goodsens in Tomball.
(A few weeks back KX59 had a post about CFS- I took it as an affront that I hadn't been back to Houston in a while to partake, and I left a nasty comment to let him know I'd been offended.)

Holy mackerel- I should have done my homework... Or at least re-read my blogpost from the last time we went there.
1.) Unless you're REALLY #@$%ing hungry, order the SMALL chicken fried steak
(Because the large is basically a battered and fried, bathmat-sized, drooping-over-the-edges-of-the-plate behemoth.) (No, no pics - no wide-angle lens on my cellphone.)

2.) If you order the SMALL, you will have room for the amazing desserts
Like this:

(pic by Belle)
OMFG.

3. If you are truly a glutton- and you HAVE the large CFS, AND you order the banana pudding for dessert, the mandatory 90 minute digestive-processing chat with KX59 and Belle will be invoked- because it was going to be almost impossible to trundle my bulk out to the car and head to the airport afterward.


Conversation ranged far and wide- family, blogging, work, politics-
We were able to shame Belle back into posting on her blog, KX and I discussed IT mentality and traded stories about the architectural trade...
Good times- good times...

All good things must come to an end- I headed back to Jax.
This phase of the day was even worse- trying to squeeze into an Embraer 125 is nearly an impossibility  for me on a good day-
It was a disturbing Matryoshka flew to Jacksonville that day... Iced-tea soaked chicken fried steak, wrapped in banana pudding, inside an ogre, inside a airplane the size of a toothpaste tube...
(If a turkey + duck + chicken = Turducken, I don't want to contemplate what you'd call CFS+pudding+ogre+airplane.  Eww.)

KX59 and the Lovely Belle - they headed off to do what Texans do... Basically desiccate in the 110-degree heat, and uphold the fine Texas tradition of Bad Mouthing Every Other State In The US Because They Aren't Texas.
God love 'em.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Texas, By Ghod. Texas Women & Repression

Last week I was in Texas...
San Antonio, via Houston to be exact.

When I booked my ticket, the San Antonio Spurs had just won the NBA West Conference Finals and were going to be playing the Miami Heat.

I had checked the tickets the day before (to see what it would cost to go to Oklahoma City, in case the Thunder won the West) and the tix were an oh-so-reasonable $419.

The following morning the tickets were $1000+.
Fucking Air Pirates.
It was more economical to fly into IAH and rent a car for a day to drive the 4 hours to San Antonio (and the same going back) - full size rental was $71 and gas was $29.
Was it worth the time? Probably.
(What was my choice? A connection in IAH, and another 40 minutes in the air and claiming my bags in SA, and a $60 taxi ride to downtown?)


After a week of Tex Mex & BBQ, a bomb scare, a heavenly burrata, and a close encounter with a clueless security drone, it was time to head out...

But not before telling stories of a couple more interesting encounters...


First- during the bomb scare I headed a couple blocks away and found a bar to cool my jets in while waiting for the all-clear.
(Because standing across the street [like the 50 or 60 other displaced people like me] from a building that may or may not have a bomb in it is, in my opinion, a stupid idea.)

It was a small, dimly-lit little wine-and-cocktails place with a snotty bartender- unimpressed when I asked for iced tea rather than a $10 mojito or a $12 Pinot Grigio.
There were 4 women also at the bar- looking a little more "In town for a business conference" than "Ladies Who Lunch" or something more social...

Since there was only about 8 seats at the bar I was relatively close to them and could hear the gist of the conversation, I gathered a) they were from a conference at the hotel and they were also displaced by the Drama Therein and b) they were Texas Women and that means trouble.

I did my best to become part of the scenery and was mostly successful, in that I did not intrude in their conversation, neither was I drawn into any interaction, but merely observed the species in the native environment- where I got to see the Texas Transformation...
Things were relatively calm: chatter regarding alcohol, fashion, the Drama at the hotel and upcoming business plans- mundane stuff- until one of the girls mentioned another's Ex.

Holy Mother of Ghod- one of them, a stereotypical big-haired blonde of statuesque proportions went from Zero-to-BatshitCrazy in .005 seconds.

This woman went from reserved and elegant to fire-breathing cast-iron bitch in a heartbeat. I've never seen such a shift in personality so fast...

"ThatfuckingbastardIshouldacuthisfuckingballsoffthefirsttimethatfuckercheatedonmeI'llkillthatbastardnexttimeiseehim..."

Whoa. Check please!

I got the hell out before I became a target of convenience...

-------

My work location in San Antonio was in a conference room populated with a few Yankee females that seemed somewhat humorless and probably not willing to Put Up With My Shit...
(My Shit= That's What She Said, Firearm Humor, Conservative Commentary, and Southern Colloquialisms)
They spent a reasonable amount of time on the phone and I had to repress a huge number of opportunities to TWSS the comment, which would have ended with a phone call to, or an email from Human Resources.
I also had to repress the urge to preface or close every conversation with Honey, Sugar, Sweetheart or Darlin'... Again... HR would be involved, aspersions cast, ogres chastized for insensitivity.
Nope, don't need none of that.
I was afraid, however- those comments and quips have to go somewhere, and repression like that would be detrimental to my alimentary system- you know: if it doesn't come out one end, it will probably come out the other...

But I survived without offending my co-workers- neither by my language or by repression-caused flatulence... Thank Ghod.
(Because a steady diet of Tex Mex doesn't make that kind of good manners easy.)

Next: Wiener Schnitzel Chicken Fried Steak and Good Company

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Confiscate All Guns - Just Like Australia!

...'Cause it's working out so well for them.

POLICE are seizing guns at an unprecedented rate amid deep alarm at the number of illegal firearms in the hands of criminals.
The rate of people caught illegally carrying and using guns in Victoria has jumped by 30 per cent in the past decade as black marketeers cash in.
The .338-calibre Savage Arms rifle held by Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana (pictured) is just one example of the kind of firepower generating concern.

But..but...but... Australia is so safe because 'No Guns!'...
WTF, Mate.

Capable of firing a bullet over a distance of more than 1km, it was found by the police’s Santiago organised crime taskforce.
In recent days, guns have been seized from members of the Finks and Outlaws motorcycle gangs. Police confiscated eight guns after a raid sparked by a drive-by shooting at a Lalor house at the weekend.

A drive-by? I though that only happened in gun-crazy USA.

Mr Fontana said drug dealers were a key part of the market in trafficking illegal guns. He was speaking before Operation Unification, a two-week nationwide crackdown on illegal firearms, which starts next Monday.
Mr Fontana said a major priority for police was trying to ensure licensed firearms owners and dealers properly secure their weapons.

Illegal firearms? Goodness me!

“There is … a concerning trend in Victoria around firearm theft from rural properties, with some of these stolen firearms finding their way to criminals connected to the drug trade and organised crime,” he said.
Mr Fontana said he was concerned at the common use of guns in drive-by shooting attacks and road rage. “The risk is that someone is going to be killed … an innocent person (or) a police officer,” he said.
“We’re responding to so many shooting incidents now. We’ve got road-rage incidents where weapons are produced.” Mr Fontana said guns were increasingly being used in kidnappings where victims were taken to retrieve a debt.
“Some (victims) have been shot and they’re still uncooperative,” he said.
Mr Fontana said bikies were major players in the illegal guns world.
“We know they’ve got some really nasty weapons. They’re moving them around all the time.”

Mr Fontana said public help was crucial in getting guns out of the wrong hands and anyone knowing of people keeping firearms illegally should come forward.

“Information from the public about illegal firearm activity could save a life or prevent someone in the community being seriously injured,” he said.

Yep. That's exactly how it would work here...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Food: San Antonio

So after being in San Antonio for a couple days, I have been inundated with TexMex and Bar-B-Que.
This I have no problem with...
But Man does not live by Carnitas & Rib Tips alone...

I heard about an Italian place in North SA that needed looking into.
Dough - Pizzeria Napoletana

"When they thought about what type of pizzeria they wanted the restaurant to be, they focused on Italy, specifically Naples, Italy. They knew they wanted to bring the oven from Italy, the menu to be focused on Southern Italian cuisine and the wines - all Italian. Whether people grew up in Italy, traveled there, or just love Neapolitan style pizza, they wanted to make Dough everyone's go to place for their pizza craving!"

(from their website)

Man! Winner.
They make their own burrata, a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture.

I had the Burrata Napolitana.
It. Was. Amazing.


If you are in the area, go.
'Nuff said.

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And another little slice of hell I found at a CVS while on walkabout during the bomb scare this afternoon...


Really, Nestlé?
Why are you so evil?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE