The Zombieslayer

I’ve been a gun show geek for decades now, going to gun show after gun show.  I’ve never seen anything like this.  You have to get there early or else the ammo for common calibers is all gone.

Usually, I’d get there right around the crack of noon.  Or later.  Depends how late I slept in.

Now, I actually have to get up.

You ask why? It’s because Obama got elected so people started buying guns like crazy.  Not only that, the types of guns buyers bought were handguns and “sporting rifles.”

In all my years of being a gun nut, no year comes close to 2009 when it comes to sales.  The numbers prove it so it’s not just the gun shows I go to.  Unfortunately, prices have shot up as well, but the buyers are still buying.  Almost wish I invested more in guns than the S&P 500 index.  I would have actually made money this decade.

So, with this mad buying of guns, the murder rate shot up.  Right? Right?

Nope.  Sorry anti-gunners.  Looks like you’re gonna need a new argument.  The murder rate dropped 10% in the first half of ‘09.

Things that make you go “hmm…”

–
Source - FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec09/crimestats_122109.html

Got back from vacation in Santa Barbara.  Most people don’t realize just how big California is.  San Francisco is about 340 miles from Santa Barbara.  That’s farther than New York City to Portland, Maine, and you’re crossing several states doing that trip.

We did all the tourist stuff, like hit several beaches, a really nice park on top of a hill, visited family and friends (I used to live down there), dinner on the Santa Barbara pier, etc.  We also hit two museums.  The latter one allows you to take pictures as long as you don’t use your flash.

Here are a pair or Roman statues.  I was unimpressed by the Greek ones for as good as the Greeks were with other aspects of art, their sculpture paled in comparison to the Romans.

The next 3 are French statues done in the 19th century. I thought these ones were excellent. The first two pics are Diana and the last one was something about a vanquished warrior. An angel carries away a dead dude. Pretty cool stuff.

Next are two Japanese guardians. I thought these were cool.

And lastly, I’ve always had a thing for Ancient Egyptian stuff. The first one represents a Horus falcon . The second one is a carving in stone. What’s really amazing is that these things are over 3000 years old and still in pretty good condition.

So it’s been quite a year. We’re in a recession. The “official” unemployment is at 10% but the real unemployment rate is over 17%.

My heart goes out to all the good folks that are unemployed, underemployed, or struggling to get by because they’re recovering from being unemployed or underemployed.

Now, stealing from future generations to bail out the current generations is stupid. I feel bad for future generations. Don’t get mad when they cut off your Social Security and put you in crappy retirement homes. Frankly, our generations deserve it.

Plus, I still don’t get why the guy got a Nobel Peace Prize.  We’re still in two wars, one of which we have no business whatsoever being in (and yes, I was against this war from the beginning).  If someone has the answer to that, I’m all ears.

I was just on Lime’s blog and decided to do a write-up of what I told Lime.  Since my last two posts were political, here’s a little story that isn’t.

Last night, Mrs. Z was having a horrible day. So she, my real estate agent, and I went down to the local bar we all used to hang out awhile back. Haven’t been there in months.

Now, they got a new bartender - a woman. And a dang good-looking one at that.

Which sometimes worries me. Good looking people, both men and women, tend to be shallow. I know that sounds like a jerk for me to say it but it’s true. I’ve always said that if you’re really good looking, you don’t have to have a personality. People will like you regardless. There are exceptions of course, but this generally holds true.

So to my surprise, she turned out to be really cool. Needless to say, we started talking. For those who know me in person, you’ll know that if I like you as a person, I won’t shut up. I can talk for days about anything. Politics, humor, pop culture, art, sports, whatever. I like to talk.

We started talking about college, then music, then it went to the subject of chocolates versus flowers. We all agreed that if you’re a man, and you piss off a woman, give her a box of chocolates. You can get her so angry that if you got her flowers, she’d just take those flowers and throw them.

A woman would never do that to a box of chocolates.