My trip started out well enough on Saturday when I left the house at 3:00 PM. I had an hour and 45 minutes before the scheduled flight to get to the airport and check my oversize luggage.
At 4:05 PM, just as we we about to board the flight to London, the Gate announced the airplane was being put out of service for electronic ‘fly-by-wire’ control issues.
Not to worry, I boarded another 777 at 6:45 PM and taxied on and, then off, the runway. An AC Converter malfunction put airplane #2 out of service.
Call up 777 number three!
At 9:45 PM we boarded and pushed back from the gate at 10:10 PM. It is now 7 hours and ten minutes since I left the house, and we had only traveled a few feet from the gateway.
Nine hours in the air and six time zones later I touched down in London to re-book the connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Two hours on the ground, two more hours in the air and one more time zone later, and easy-peasy, I land in Germany!
I caught the 7:54 PM (it’s now Sunday) high speed ICE train to Stuttgart, via Mannheim and we raced along at 241 kph to my destination. (Fare €59). A cab ride later (fee €20) and I’m here in just under 24 total hours!
Here’s a short movie clip from the train ride:
[29.3 Mb Video]
I was amazed how quiet it was. And yes, the trains did run on time.
Cheers from Germany.
The timeline above should explain my lack of recent posts.
This Texas Department of Corrections inmate came within 19% of the votes needed to knock Dear Leader Barry-Barack Hussien Soetoro Obama-llama off the West Virginia ticket in the Presidential DemocRAT party primary!
Sorry, what’s that?
That is that not his true legal name?
Well, then I’ll use the official Birth Certificate version … What’s that? It’s a forgery?
Very well, how about using his Selective Services card then.
What’s that? New document regulations were passed to allowed to it to be shredded the day after Sheriff Arapio announced an investigation?
Oh well.
I guess I’ll have to go with Barry-Barack Hussien Soetoro Obama-llama until it is proven otherwise.
Anyway …
Keith Judd applied to be on the ballot and never campaigned (probably because he is currently incarcerated in a Texas prison).
Keith won 41% of the Democrat vote againts 59% for ‘what’s his name’.
Darrel Issa releases document that explains issues for Committee Members to consider in making a decision about holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his Department’s refusal to provide subpoenaed documents.
Evidently, socialism still hasn’t worked anywhere it has been tried.
“Texas easily clinched the No. 1 rank, the eighth successive time it has done so,” the report said. “California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year.”
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
112TH CONGRESS
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
APRIL 30, 2012
Conclusion: Promises Broken
Just over three years ago, as the Obama Administration was entering office on a cloud of hope and change, Attorney General Holder testified at his Senate confirmation hearing that the Attorney General is the guardian of the Constitution of the United States. 52
He promised that under his leadership, the Department of Justice would be free from partisanship. He testified that in his tenure “law enforcement decisions must be untainted by partisanship.”53
He promised to respect the balance of powers established in the Constitution, and that President Obama and he would “carry out [their] constitutional duties within the framework set forth by the founders and with the humility to recognize that Congressional oversight and judicial review are necessary.”54
The reality has been different from the promise.
Rather than respect for the constitutional system of checks and balances, the reality has been disregard for Congressional oversight and contempt for judicial review.
Rather than law enforcement untainted by partisanship, the reality has been partisanship trumping law, even to the point of refusing to enforce laws that do not match the Department’s political agenda.
The Laughlin River Run is heating up. In Kingman, AZ, 32 miles away, I am seeing the influx of bikes from all around.
The Laughlin River Run is hailed as the largest motorcycle event on the west coast.
Come see Historic US Route 66 the way it was meant to be seen and turn back time as you ride the hills from Kingman to Oatman, AZ. Join us this year as we take Laughlin by storm April 25th through the 29th.
Bonus:
The Nuge is playing at 8:00 PM Friday, April 27. Call 877-344-1187 for ticketing information.
These three guys drove a van to all the ‘lower’ 48 States in just 97 hours and 7 minutes, starting from the Idaho and Montana border and ending the trip in White River Junction, VT.
I’d like to do a ‘road trip’ with the boys this summer. It would be pretty cool to beat a Guinness World record in the process!
Google Earth .kmz route suggestions would be most welcome.
No restrictions for Starting point or ending point, as long as the wheels touch each state.
Traction Control asks our 80 million gun owners to tell Bank of America to “find 80 million other customers elsewhere“.
It seems that the bailed out and now apparently subservient Bank of America is being asked to pay for the monies lent from the Federal Government with conditions that the Bank disavow any support for lawful commerce under the 2nd Amendment.
BofA looks like it accepted the deal.
As a soon to be former BofA customer, I say this:
“Align yourselves with tyranny and perish. These United States are still the land of Liberty in the hearts of Patriots.”
My quarter-million or so of deposits withdrawn from your bank may not make a big difference, but multiplied by millions of accounts? Bank of America has signed its own death warrant.
The “X” at the right of each map marks the approximate location of the Sooper Sekrit Shootin’ Spot.
Looks like we dodged most of the heavy rains just before noon today. The forecast for Saturday is Sunny, but there will be mud. Vehicle with high ground clearance will work best there.
The plan is to meet at the Texaco Station on the SE corner of Beltline Road and I-45, and proceed as a group to the shootin’ spot at 10:00.
I’ll plan to check at the locked (purple) gate for stragglers at 10:20, 10:40 and 11:00.
The entrance is on Beltline Road, just on the west side of the Trinity River bridge. Look for a turn-off area and a purple gate.
What to Bring: It’s Texas, and late spring, so bring lots of water. There’s likely somewhere near by for lunch, but I’m not sure where (you might want to bring lunch). Oh yeah – bring your guns and ammo.
Charity Raffle: We’re having a Blogshoot raffle to support our gunnie brothers and sisters trapped behind Enemy Lines in the People’s Soviet* of Massachusetts. Each pre-ban AR magazine you donate to the Cause will get you one chance to win. I’ll bring (mostly lame) prizes, as well as the obligatory stuffed children’s toy that we sacrifice to the Gunnie Ghods. Remember, these have to be pre-ban, meaning manufactured before 1994, or we can’t send ‘em to JayG and the Crew. Bring your old stuff – these are surprisingly hard to get in Massachusetts (which is the point). Stupid Mitt Romney and his “assault weapon” ban.
Obligatory Blogshoot Target: We have a HopeNChange™ unicorn to shoot. I hear that every time you hit it, you’ll get a rainbow Unicorn fart. Well, it’s what I heard.
Carpooling: The Texas Gun Blogosphere’s own community organizer, Southern Belle has generously agreed to help, err, organize. While carpooling is a commie plot to undermine the fabric of American society, at $4/gal it’s pretty dang expensive to do long road trips (ask me how I know!). We have folks in Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas – and points outside and in between). If anyone is thinking about NOT coming because of the cost of gas (or the hassle of driving), please leave a comment here or over
I currently list 22,197 hand guns with a retail value of $13,307,322, 14,271 long guns with a retail value of $5,027,478, and 687,306 boxes of ammunition with a retail value of $13,596,489 .
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