Fallen Brother..

Here's a story of a Brother Firefighter who died in combat in Iraq.
Not much a person can say but "Thank You" for serving..

John Kulick was killed August 9th, while serving his country when stationed in Iraq. John was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, a Career Firefighter/EMT for Whitpain Township, and served as a volunteer for Hatboro, holding the rank of Deputy Chief.

John was also the president of the union. John was killed when he was ambushed when he was on patrol of the northern Iraq city of Beiji.

Hundreds turned out Thursday August 18th, to pay their final respects for a fallen brother. John received a full firefighter/military funeral in Hatboro. John leaves behind a young daughter.

Here is a photo of the Peace Arch made by the Ladder Trucks..


Rest in Peace.

Pin-Up Pic..

OK, so I was born and raised in Texas. I met my wife in Texas. I am a Dallas Cowboys Fan. I will ALWAYS have a very large soft spot in my heart for Texas women. So this weeks Pin-up should come as little surprise. Miss Anna Nicole Smith. HOWEVER, I love her photos of her BEFORE the marriage, weight gain and loss, failed TV career, and the rest of her BS. So, here is our first pic..

Oh my.. Now, a little about her..

She was born November 28th, 1967 in Houston, TX. She was.. Ah, who cares, here's another pic!

Damn... That girl has CURVES!

Ripped Off..

About a year ago, the wife and I had the gun collection appraised. We took them in to our trusted Gunsmith a few at a time, and he created an appraisal list for the insurance company. This was fine, until we got to this one particular shotgun..

Gunsmith: "You interested in selling this?"
Me: "I hadn't thought about it. I guess I could part with it. What's it worth and what ya got to trade."

At this point he tells me the gun is worth about $800 or so, and he would be willing to trade for the Springfield Armory M1 Garand I had been eyeballing for the last 6 months.

Gunsmith: "The shotgun and $200 and the rifle is yours."

I am thinking, "That's about an $1100 rifle, so I am getting a deal!"

We did the deal.

I found out last week.. He fucked me HARD! That shotgun was a classic, limited edition, Winchester 101 Pigeon Grade in .410, and was worth around $3500. One sold recently on a Gun Auction site to a guy back East for $8000.

Never, never, NEVER take anybodies advice on how much a gun is worth. Always do the footwork yourself.

On a bright side, I guess he has a guilty conscience, because he has re-built triggers for me, blued parts, and done other work, at no charge. But still.. DAMN!

Todd..

Oh Ya! We have a NEW Todd in the house!

Police Report - WSP: Teen did 90 mph in construction zone..

Short Synopsis: She did 90 mph, past a Washington State Patrol officer in a mark patrol unit, in a construction zone, while drunk, almost wrecked into another car, and she's only 17!

TODD!

Pin-Up Monday..

Oh Guys.. Did I find a honey or what!
This is an actual US Airman (or woman, as in this case..) serving in OUR Armed Forces..

If you'll excuse me, I am gonna go call my local Air Force Recruiter..

It's official..

I just went through yesterday's mail..

I got my Firefighter I Certification from the State of Washington. I am now an IFSAC Certified Firefighter.

Now if I could just get hired..

Here's a new one..

Well, I am a big fan of learning and training in the area of self defense. If your passion is hand to hand, CQB, or whatever, get some training.. But what happens when that training lands you in jail??

Here is a link where that very thing happened to a Tae Kwon Do class.
*Update* Since the link is screwy, I have posted the whole article here, it's very short..

THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM KOIN.COM

ALBANY, Ore. -- A self-defense drill landed the class and their instructor in handcuffs and jail earlier this week.

The class was practicing self defense moves against someone holding an air pistol in the alley behind the school when several people driving by were startled by what they saw and called police.

When police arrived they arrested the five-member class and their instructor and cited them for disorderly conduct. All of the charges have been dropped with exception of the disorderly conduct charge against the instructor. That charge is still pending.

"If I was a cop, and did not know what was going on, I'd probably do the same thing, the way they approached we have no issue with. It's just once they knew we thought it was a little overkill," Christopher Lund said.

Alrighty then.. Don't they make bright orange and blue "dummy guns" for just this sort of training? Sounds like the instructor needs to invest some money in better training aids! And what's with holding class in an alley? This story just sounds fishy. I would be willing to bet there is more to this than meets the eye.

PET PEEVE:
If you are going to spend money on training, don't nickel and dime it. Make the commitment, save up the money, and get quality training, especially if you are betting your LIFE on your training. I don't take as many training classes as I would like, because they are expensive. However, the ones I do take are super high quality, and are with instructors like Ken Hackathorn. My wife is currently training with Marty and Gila Hayes. Anybody in the NRA should recognize Gila's name. She is a well known writer, and both Marty and Gila are staff instructors for Massad Ayoob, another big name in the training field. Then, when she or I get home, we talk about what we learned, and then practice it together. This means we both learn, and reinforce the instructions she or I were given.

Semper Paratus - Always Prepared

Have a nice week.. I have a "bomb-shell" of a Pin-up tomorrow! You'll see!