Docwagon

I was standing at an "altar" at a chapel in Vegas. How she's managed to put up with me for five whole years is beyond me, she's an angel that lady. Best thing ever to happen to me was meeting my wife. If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead, in prison or rehab.
 
We're not doing a big anniversary thing this year, we've instead committed ourselve sto getting debt free and buying a house so we're just chilling with some films and I'm going to cook a nice dinner for the two of us tonight. Might sound boring but we rock every day so it's no biggie
 
 
Cheers!

No problem, I'll keep pecking away at it, too much good stuff to lose.

USS Enterprise encounters Miley Cyrus
 

USS Enterprise encounters Miley Cyrus
 

I love your threads Doc, always well informed and you shed light on things I wouldn't even consider.

USS Enterprise encounters Miley Cyrus
 

....must...resist...temptation....
 
Self-control.....fading.....ARGH!!!!!
 

WTF is a learning curb?  That cartoonist probably also thinks it a mute point.
 

Ah, the relationships built in a gaming forum.
 
 

 
I like this place.

I think we're on the border of "I don't know" and "almost hicks".  Sounds about right.  The further south you go in Indiana, the more hicks you find.

Today I want to talk about a boring but important topic, range safety equipment.  I realized I probably should have lead with this, but its so ingrained in me now that I really don't think of it any more than I think of telling people to buy ammunition before going to the range.  This is a failing on my part, as this is very important and I shouldn't take it for granted that people know.
 
1) Ear protection.  Your ears can "blink" (seriously, Google it) and a few gunshots won't damage your hearing long term.  However their "blinking" mechanism gets tired pretty rapidly, and then repeated exposure to loud noises can start to bend the little hairs inside your ear that you use to hear with.  They don't repair themselves.  Hearing loss is permanent.  WEAR QUALITY HEARING PROTECTION.
 
Basic muffs can be had for under $10.  Throw some of those foam inserts into you ear, put a set of $10 muffs on over them, you're good to go.
 
If you're going to be spending a lot of time at the range, want to be able to talk to friends at the range without doffing your muffs, are taking classes where you need to hear the instructor, or are using a shot timer and need to hear the beep, then its time to step up to electronic muffs.  E-muffs will automatically shield you from harmful sound levels but will still let you hear normal sound levels, such as conversation.  You can adjust how loudly you hear the conversation, etc.
 
These are a great basic pair of electronic muffs:  http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O
 
More expensive versions will have better stereo hearing, better amplification, etc.  That's great if you want them for hunting.  For range use, mostly irrelevant.  For hunting use, you want more realistic amplification so that your own footsteps in the leaves don't sound as loud as a squirrel jumping on a branch.
 
2) Eye protection
 
Especially when shooting at close distances, fragments from the backstop, bullet, or target can fly back at you.  A tiny sliver of lead hitting your t-shirt is no problem.  The same sliver hitting your eye can ruin your day.  Also, guns are machines and can malfunction.  Fragments from a ruptured barrel or breaking slide can blind you.  The odds are low, but the stakes are high.  Wear your eye protection.
 
I like these:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Pyramex-Unlimited-Shooting-Eyewear-Anti-Fog/dp/B000LVJ2TS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379176134&sr=8-1&keywords=duck+dynasty+shooting+glasses
 
They don't fog up very easily, the case lets them be put in your range bag without getting all scratched up, and it the bag doubles as a lens cloth for cleaning.  They also adjust easily to fit with ear muffs, a plus over regular sunglasses.  The different color shades are nice to have for different lighting levels.
 
If you have eye protection that starts to fog up, use a motorcycle helmet visor treatment on them, such as Fog-X, to restore anti-fog ability.
 
Also, the basics of range safety:
 
1) Muzzle is always down range, if you slip and fall that's ok but keep your gun barrel pointed down range as best you can while falling and then when standing back up.
2) Finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
3) Semi-auto handguns CAN fire by simply closing the slide.  Its a rare malfunction, but it can happen.  Use a sand barrel or at very least point it at the ground or down range when closing the slide.  Again, its not the odds as much as the stakes.
4) Follow all range instructor's commands immediately.
5) Everyone is a safety officer.  If you see someone down range or something else unsafe, call a cease fire.
6) If shooting with others on a line, realize that you may occasionally get pelted with hot brass.  It sucks.  Don't dance around like an angry chicken, holster your gun or safety set it down, then get the brass off of you.
 
and of course, the 4 general rules of firearms safety
 
All guns are always loaded. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

....must...resist...temptation....
 
Self-control.....fading.....ARGH!!!!!
 

I ran across Spiderbait a few years back completely by accident.  I was looking for "Black Betty" and realized their version kicked the shit out of Ram Jam's version.  Spiderbait's drummer doesn't play the drums as much as he assaults them.
 


 


 
We're all here, drinking beer
Drinking beer without a care
Drinking beeeeer...without a care

On Sept 13th, 2004, a man who had fled to a war zone to save himself from himself was able to marry a woman who was brave enough to go against her family and her culture in the name of love.
 
In the summer of 2003 the man had an epiphany.  For reasons that are irrelevant to this story, he realized he needed to start over before his behaviors destroyed him.  He remembered the last place he'd been happy was the military, but with his fucked up knee he'd probably not get far in trying to reenlist.  He also wanted more freedom than an enlisted man had.  So he became a security contractor, moved half way around the world away from all influences and alcohol, and before Christmas of that year he was in a foreign country watching the sand blow around.
 
She was living with her parents, as is the custom of her land for unmarried women, and working as a pharmacist.  She'd had an arranged marriage planned, but it had fallen through when the man had immigrated to another country before they were actually married.  She was young, beautiful, and with a respectable career.  She had no shortage of suitors, she had taken to wearing a ring and pretending it was a wedding ring because she got so many proposals in a day.  Wealthy men, men of local fame from the media and the government services attempted to catch her eye.  None did.  She originally thought he was Lebanese, as he was sundark from working in the desert heat and dressed in local fashion.  He spoke Arabic poorly, though, and he was in fact an American.  She had nothing against Americans, she'd lived in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion, and like the native Kuwaitis remembered US soldiers as liberators.  Still, Americans were an unknown quantity, often looking for a short term relationship that would destroy a woman's reputation and chances of a respectable marriage.  She initially was leery of the American, but finally relented and went out with him for dinner and a beach visit.  He invited her to his upcoming birthday party, she agreed to attend.  They would have their first kiss.  Love would blossom.  They would consider marriage.
 
Her father initially agreed, but due to pressure applied by the brothers for reasons that are unimportant to this story, withdrew his consent.  This made marriage impossible in the country they were in, as his signature was required for a legal marriage.  They created a plan that was both simple and devious.  She would say she wanted to fly to Jordan, where they maintained a home, to forget about the American.  He would fly to Jordan with all of the required paperwork.  Jordan did not require the father's signature because of the earlier arranged marriage, he had already signed stating she could be married and Jordan didn't require him to say WHO she could marry, just that she could.  Over the course of weeks she brought clothing and documents, he took them and stored them in his house.  She flew out on the 8th of Sept.  He flew out on the 10th.  Her father would fly out on the 14th, which would greatly limit her movement, as he would want to spend the time with her.  On the 9th he received a call from a lawyer in Jordan he'd hired to research and was told he needed many more documents than what they'd already gathered.  The details are unimportant to this story, but he was hard pressed to gather them and there were some shady dealings, but he got it done.
 
The plan was almost destroyed due to bureaucrats and a religious holiday.  They were unable to marry on the afternoon of the 10th, as had been the original plan.  He hired a fixer.  The fixer, The Chechnyan was very resourceful, drove them to multiple embassies to get required documents and stamps.  He stole court documents, he may have kidnapped and/or bribed a sheik to do the ceremony, it was never quite clear which.  Like I said, Jordan's not real picky as long as the right people get paid.  The details are unimportant to this story.  For the price of a lawyer who thought he could get it done in a few months, months they didn't have, he made it happen for the couple on the Express plan.  They were married on the 13th of September, 2004, in the living room of a man they'd known for all of 3 days, in front of witnesses he'd hurriedly gathered from his neighbors.  There were no pictures.  They were in a hurry, she needed to return before her cousins grew suspicious.  He had not thought to bring a camera, his nerves were raw.  She returned to her home, he to his hotel, to await their marriage certificate.
 
The Chechnyan went to the court to get the certificate, knowing there were "irregularities" in the packet of documents but also knowing how Muslim cultures work he said this was best.  He told them we'd already left on our honeymoon, which they would understand to mean if they revoked the marriage she would be unable to find a proper marriage again.  The Chechnyan returned with the certificate, legally binding in any Muslim country and with it, one could get a civil certificate binding in the US.  In gratitude, when The Chechnyan refused to take any additional money, he bought a mattress and box spring. He knew that the one The Chechnyan and his wife slept on was worn out and they suffered from back pain because of it.  The Chechnyan had no choice but to accept, as he knew it would go to waste if he did not, and his honor was not impugned by accepting the gift.
 
He only had to get his bride away from her family to spirit her away.  He was now familiar enough with Muslim culture to know there were places that unescorted women could go that no man could enter, such as a hair salon.  He told her to make sure she had her passport and to go get her hair done.  Sure enough, her father dropped her off with the understanding he would pick her up again in 3 hours.  The Chechnyan pulled up, she came back out of the hair salon, and he drove her to the hotel where her groom was waiting, not willing to risk the father seeing him if he went to pick up his bride.  The Chechnyan took the couple to the airport, where they would fly back to Qatar.  He gave his cell phone to The Chechnyan.  Just before the plane closed its doors and the no electronics message was read, she sent a text to her father telling him not to pick her up, that she was with The American in a private cab on the way to Syria to be married.  The false trails were laid.
 
The Chechnyan would call him a few days later and say that yes, the father had called the phone.  Yes, he'd told him that he'd bought the phone from an American at the airport in Damascus for a very good price because he was flying to the USA with his new bride.  The false trails were complete.
 
In an abundance of caution, they would fly to Cyprus two months later and get married again in a civil ceremony.  The documentation was cleaner, it was in English, it would be a much easier presentation for her visa to move to the US with him.  They would continue to celebrate the 13th as their anniversary, though, because that's when they knew that the law, her family, and the culture couldn't keep them apart any longer.
 
The couple had a son.  Once his contract was up, they moved to the US and built a life.  It wasn't always easy.  There were adjustments, there were misunderstandings, there were some tough times and some hard work, but they built a life.
 
He was forever changed.  His anger subsided, he adjusted, he learned moderation.  He had, quite frankly, been a gigantic dick for much of his life.  He realized that she was much too good for him, and he strove to be who she deserved.  He failed.  He backslid.  He still does, but he's a much better human being for the trying.
 
She is, he believes, happy.
 
God send that it remains so.

^ F that!
 

 

That doesn't help me in the slightest.  I honestly can't tell if this is satire or if this is a serious thread.  The whole post reads like "brony" is a substitute for "gays".  In the closet?  Tolerant as long as they don't force it on me?
 
Is this like when one of the Teletubbies was supposed to be gay?
 

My point very much was that MLP is not over sexualized.  Hell, I went and watched an episode just to see for myself.  Its as sexed up as the Smurfs or Fraggle Rock, as in 0%.  The fact that a certain subset of fans makes porn out of it doesn't make everyone who likes it a deviant, and CERTAINLY doesn't mean the official show is over sexualized.  Welcome to the Internet, people make porn out of everything.
 
Hell, I'm going to google Cars porn right now.  They are freaking cars, and I bet there's porn out there.  Ok, NSA, if you ever wanted a Google search to blackmail me with, here it is.
 
Ok, wow, don't do that.  Googling 'cars porn' reveals a picture of a dude with his dick in a tail pipe.  Not a drawing, a real photo.  Changing it to 'disney cars porn' does in fact reveal "fan art" that is porn.
 
Which is why I asked, which is sexualized, Datte's nose art drawing or the "official" cheetara pick you posted.  Why this incredibly wrought conversation about a totally asexual cartoon that's fetishized by some at the expense of its other fans? 
 
Now, let's all forget that I googled Cars porn and not put this in the out of context thread.  Dicks.

My point very much was that MLP is not over sexualized.  Hell, I went and watched an episode just to see for myself.  Its as sexed up as the Smurfs or Fraggle Rock, as in 0%.  The fact that a certain subset of fans makes porn out of it doesn't make everyone who likes it a deviant, and CERTAINLY doesn't mean the official show is over sexualized.  Welcome to the Internet, people make porn out of everything.
 
Hell, I'm going to google Cars porn right now.  They are freaking cars, and I bet there's porn out there.  Ok, NSA, if you ever wanted a Google search to blackmail me with, here it is.
 
Ok, wow, don't do that.  Googling 'cars porn' reveals a picture of a dude with his dick in a tail pipe.  Not a drawing, a real photo.  Changing it to 'disney cars porn' does in fact reveal "fan art" that is porn.
 
Which is why I asked, which is sexualized, Datte's nose art drawing or the "official" cheetara pick you posted.  Why this incredibly wrought conversation about a totally asexual cartoon that's fetishized by some at the expense of its other fans? 
 
Now, let's all forget that I googled Cars porn and not put this in the out of context thread.  Dicks.