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The details of my life are quite inconsequential...born and raised in Memphis, a place I still have deep fondness for so back off haters, lol. Went to UT Knoxville, fell in love with the mountains and pretty girls, graduated and stayed. Been a System Admistrator ever since. Garufa was the name of a 45' sailboat I had the pleasure of living on for two weeks in the Bahamas and sailing back to the mainland a long time ago. It was a true adventure and great fun.

Grew up an AF brat and then went in myself after HS. After 22 months I received an honorable discharge and spent the next year working for AOL in Ogden, UT. I then decided to move back to where the family lived here in W. TN and spent a couple of years bouncing around IT and construction jobs before landing in retail and quickly working my way into management. Spent a dozen years doing that with the occasional bonus of getting to beat up shoplifters. Then my employer decided to reorganize its store level management structure and I was offered a buyout. I was ecstatic to take it. These days I drive truck OTR and can finally afford the type of toys I've drooled over when I was eking by in retail. I'm getting ready to buy my truck and take it semi-local as I look for the balance between work and family.

Well said. And STACK that $ away for retirement. My wife and I are saving about 17% of our income so that we can retire at a decent age. I'm not going to be chained to a desk at 60+.

Within my wide variety, I've been trapped. Couldn't afford or wouldn't take a pay cut. Most importantly, I was unwilling to relocate. Bigger is not better and more stuff is just, more stuff. Low debt, not high income gives more freedom and choice.

Grew up in NW Ohio, went to school in NW Indiana, got recruited out of school to work in research at Xerox in Western NY. Spent 37 years there most were fun but not all. Xerox has been in a death spiral for about 20 years now. I took good advice when I was young and lived below my means, invested my money and was ready to jump ship from about the time I turned 55. Turned down the first 3 offers to retire early then jumped on the 4th at 57 with a year severance and bridged medical. My only big mistake was I hung around NY for almost 10 years in retirement before moving to TN. Fought the good fight with the state gun organization trying to make NY part of the US again, including a couple of marches on the Albany and lots of money, but decided I would rather enjoy life instead and just moved to the US instead. Been loving life here in NE TN for 2 years now. Went back to NY for a wedding and visit some friends and was reminded why I left over and over. Did get to shoot a round of sport clays with a friend. Use to shoot clays with this guy a couple of times a month and neither of us had shot sport clays since I left. My over and under 12g Biden special was the only gun I thought was safe to transport back to NY. When asked why TN I tell them - Less: Snow, Taxes, Government - More: BBQ, Bluegrass, Sunshine.

I wouldn't feel inadequate with the life-experiences you have had. There are foks who spend their entire adulthood trapped behind a desk and never experience anything else that the world has to offer. Chasing the hot rod car scene? I mean, seriously, that is a dream for a lot of office-dwellers! I have come to realize that any time a door closed unexpectedly on me, no matter how much I disliked it at the time, later on I realized that I was so glad that it had. God's always taken care of me just as it seems he has you. There's a lot to be thankful for right there.

I needed one handgun to make my collection complete. Walked into a LGS this morning. "Looking for anything in particular"? "I like 1911s and CZ75Bs". "We just got a CZ75B in on consignment". Another employee was taking a gun out of the counter a few steps down. There in his hands was the Grail. Brings my 75B tally to four, plus a compact.

I was an electrician for 38 years and an electrical planner for the last 5. Now retired and spend as much of my time fishing for crappie - bass - trout, hunting, riding my 4 wheeler on 2 hunting leases as I possibly can.

Not a whole lot to tell here. I grew up working on the farm. I complained about it then, but I sorely miss it now. Did some time in a prison called a factory. I have worked sales for the "cold drank" industry. I have worked construction. I have driven a tanker hauling sulfuric acid (yes, it hurts), as well as a little bit of flat bedding. I have been a police officer for the last 22 years, and sometimes I love it, sometimes I just hate it. The thing I enjoyed most was the time I spent on the tac team with another agency. These days I'm also TRYING to learn sheath making and holster making. Hopefully soon I can slow down enough to actually learn what I'm doing with this leather. But in this I have found something that I am very passionate about.

Currently I am fortunate to work for Remington Firearms in Huntsville and I am a Technical CSR. Before that I ran couple Gun Shops, joined Marine Corps, Got my College Degree, and wouldn't change a thing. Got married and she is the better half of course. Finally I have an OCD kind of fascination with the AR15/AR10 platform and have done over 300 personal build and got range time on each one to record the data. Lived in Nashville and did shows for a while but now I am settled in Huntsville, AL.

I couldn't decide between 9mm and .45 so I got both.

Right. I've always tried to emulate and learn from people I consider my superiors. This has served me well thus far. Many of them, when they see a genuine interest, take this interest as a compliment and are happy to help point you in the right direction.

I would agree with @Sam1 on those points. If the CEO is bothered enough to comment on it and make your raise contingent upon it, then it is a big enough deal to get it done. CEOs don't normally worry about such things. So either the CEO has nothing better going on, or this is really a sore issue with him, and as a result it's something you need to get fixed. Always keep the C-People happy.

What a thread resurrection!

Amen to that. Some of my low level factory jobs, I was fired from (never on bad terms, typically temp job terminated) and got depressed and scared from no job but still have bills. Only to find a better job within a couple weeks. My last job I took a pay cut due to policy changes and started looking for a new job. Found one and now I make 1.5x what I did at the old job before the changes. I would have never tried looking without the pay cut. Seems like God has to knock me down a rung on the ladder to get me to start climbing again. Always works out for the better though.

You just admitted you work for Remington because you are too far away for all of us to start showing up at your house and being your best friend. Jokes on you....I am going to be in Huntsville in a couple weeks.

I work in corrections. I supervise some bad mofos. I've worked all the maximum security units where the baddest of the bad are housed. Right now, my post is Death Row. I call it the country club for killers for a reason. We have levels, A, B and C. A levels are able to walk around me free as a bird, no cuffs, shackles, nothing. We qualify with and carry weapons only outside on patrol, medical runs, transport to court, etc. But inside, we have nothing. Not a baton, mace, I mean nothing. If it goes down, all you have is a red panic button on your radio that sets off a body alarm in central control, and your hands, fists and feet. Well, I do wear a shank vest (looks like a bullet proof vest) and a face shield. Face shields worn on units 1 and 3. If you piss them off, they'll try to spit on you or sling ####/piss on you. knock on wood, I've not pissed an inmate off enough to get "#### out" as they call it. Shanks are found often. They have them, we don't. lol LEO's catch them, we CO's have to live with them. I just wanted to try something different. I actually like it. But I'll probably move in to some other branch of law enforcement before it's over.

You've no idea how wise you are! We live on my wife's paycheck, and haven't spent mine in years. I'd like retirement to be an option at 50. I'm not sure I'll want to, but it'll be nice to know I can.

I was thinking about posting the whole vid of his autobiography and just leaving it at that but felt like I had to share.

I encourage everyone to actually read the texts of the two bills under consideration, HR 38 and S 446. It has nothing to do with the Full Faith and Credit Clause or the 2nd Amendment. It uses the Commerce Clause to override state laws. Once you leave your state of residence, you engage in interstate commerce and your possessions and activities using those possessions can now be regulated by the federal government. At least, that's the argument these two bills make. It is the same argument many other federal gun control laws make, by the way, including the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and the Gun Control Act of 1968.

My first thought when I saw this was Officer Tackleberry from Police Academy getting ready to get the cat out of the tree

Just because it starts there, doesn't mean it ends there. Think about the changes made to your TNDL in the last few years to bring it in line with federal RealID standards.

I think kids back when many of us were growing up just had a lot more common sense than most young people or kids have today but it was only because our parents in stowed it in us because they cared about us being a useful part of the community and concerned about our future. It seems today parents want to allow the teachers and educators to raise their children and we can see almost every day on any news network how that is working out. Most children today almost cannot think for them selves because the teachers/educators never use common sense in their teaching anymore. Even back when I was kid going to school the teachers taught common sense in their classes..................JMHO

Well the Trace has been in the news a lot lately with the Volvo a-hole running over the biker.

If you had ever sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door-to-door, you might think differently. Though, I understand because my current position is a dead end on promotions and I am not where I should be on pay. I understand people being afraid of change and the unknown when they have a job already. I have been caught up in 2 lay-offs and a business closure in my work history. I worry if I jump to an unknown job, that it might not be as rosy as they sell it to be or they might close up shop 6 months later. With a family and mortgage, that would be rough. If it were just me, I can live in my car and be just fine. The family, not so much. I do keep my eyes peeled though awaiting that dream job to come along.

Same, except larger scale (and only work on virtualization) and I'm one of those engineers, not management (which is better than being responsible for subordinates imho lol). Oh, and working on my PhD... not sure what that will do for me other than a sense of self-accomplishment.

I often drifted off into YouTube land. It has been a HUGE distraction for me when I am laid up. YouTube convinced me I can do a lot of things I normally wouldn't have tried. Some people may not agree but the internet has advanced humankind more than anything else. It teaches millions of people something new every single day and things such as ideas are shared instantly.

Patch the parts you don't like the coat it using bed liner from the store. It dries to a pretty impervious shell and is pretty good a hiding minor imperfections.

Worked my way up through the ranks in the automobile industry. Purchased the Ford Dealership I had worked at for 10 years. Sold it 10 years later and semi retired. Started a photography company as a hobby. Built it into a thriving youth league sports and school photography business over the next 5 years. We were taking over 60,000 kids pictures a year. Sold that business and opened my own insurance, financial planning, business coaching agency. Been doing that the last 6 years.

Hmmm. 8 years active army most with 101st 19 years lLEO (16 SWAT) Got into the NG after an 8 year break in service. (Almost 20 years total service now) Shoot competitively for military and teach LR shooting and Sniper for a couple of companies. Have really been blessed getting paid to work in areas that go along with what I do for enjoyment. 6 years until I retire from police. Plan on staying in military until forced out or stop having fun.

I am adding the above to my resume...

Not surprised and am actually kind of happy about it. National Reciprocity sounds good in theory but in fact 1) takes away the right of States, and 2) would lead to federal control of licensing and permitting. Does anyone seriously want that?

So what are we going to use now? I looked at Imgur; it looked pretty lame, but I haven’t joined so I really don’t know. I didn’t like all the pop-ups on PhotoBuckets site, but they were the best I have ever seen for third party hosting. It looks like they just committed suicide; but I guess they have some kind of plan.

I agree and I look for their advertisers to start dropping like hail stones in a tornado blow.................jmho

And some duct tape to perform repairs in the field in case someone does hit the uprights.

The best part is that the boxes look the same, so I just don't keep them together. she still thinks I only got one new gun.

I predict this won't turn out to be a good business move for botophucket.

The "shall not be infringed" part has been entirely infringed. Otherwise a simple blanket statement guaranteeing our 2nd amendment right would cover it. While I agree the states shouldn't be run by the federal overlords, the states shouldn't suppress citizens of other states. Becoming a criminal because some misguided loony is ridiculous. It does keep me out of those places though which is ok with me.

I feel the same way. If I ever have kids I'm going to tell them to pick a career that will always be widely needed. I'm worried about technology replacing jobs too. My friend is a travel nurse. He can move anywhere he wants and make a good living. I sometimes wish I had gone that route.

I'm somewhat jealous of others who've done a wide variety of things through their careers and lives, as I feel somewhat trapped in my current position. The grass is always greener I suppose....

Just stick them together with no glue, it'll hold fine if you're thoughtful with where you put the joints. A layer of masking tape can help tighten up loose joints. It'll also be a lot easier to disassemble for easy transport.

Indeed.

I don't know what your viewpoint is on such things but if I was in your shoes and had that kind of time, I think I would partake of some of those online courses that Hillsdale College has.

Toolmaker by trade. I work in quality now mainly programming CMM’s for First Article inspection of aircraft parts. Ready to retire anytime. Started out in the Navy as a Machinist, got out and worked in some shops, did a few years as a Police Officer, went back to the shops, worked as an Applications Engineer for a Machine Tool Builder, wife wanted to move here, so I took a job as a Toolmaker, and then to where I am now.

Not a lot to tell about me, I am recovering from a old bout of misfortune & miscommunication < i.e. looking for work>. While the last few years I mostly serve my family & friends, in my former life I was a project manager in the defense nuclear industry ( and picked up a post-employment PMP certification). I have a real talent for mowing yards, running errands, and talking people out of stupid decisions (based on my own painful experience). My favorite quote is "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot - 1927 - 1956

Man, I know what I would do with 12 weeks of forced inactivity: https://www.coursera.org https://www.edx.org There are so many things I'm interested in, and so little time to dedicate to exploring. We're at this weird juncture where there's some really great information at availabile at your fingertips - for free. I've taken a couple of Stanford courses recently that were truly on par with graduate level courses I've taken. Between that and a free Amazon Web Services account I'd build something. Congrats on the retirement and it sounds like you're feeling pretty content about it. That's a pretty rare accomplishment these days.

I am not an attorney, but have attended seminars on this subject as well as availed myself to many instructors that speak to this as well. Pulling one's weapon is of last resort. Withdraw, whether on foot or by vehicle is almost always the best solution. Forget what the law says because there are no guarantees once the legal process starts. You can be as right as can be and if it goes to a jury there is still a 10-20% chance you can get hosed. Pulling your weapon whether you shoot or not can result in years in prison. As I mentioned before and as DaveTN said, call the police and get your story told preferably first if you do present your gun. In a road rage situation, if you feel threatened, keep driving and use your cell phone. In a situation I am familiar with they will generally have you drive to a location where an officer will meet you.

My latest Form 4 submission.