TripleDigitRide

I'm sorry that you're having a difficult week (which I had nothing to do with), and obviously having an even more difficult time engaging in what should be a civilized discussion/debate of differing opinions. Resulting to public name calling is more than just a little uncalled for, and I'll leave the debate at that. If you feel the need to make anything "easier", I'll leave that decision up to you. I enjoy TGO, and have no desire to leave on my own free will, so if you feel as if I'm no longer welcome here, I guess I'll have no choice but to stand by your decision. I hope this week turns out better for you.

Exactly how was I judging them? I said that I wasn't there, so I can't really have much of an opinion on the matter. On the other hand, you, who seems to be the knower-of-all, seem to have enough facts in this particular case to determine these guys are definitely nothing more than Scapegoats. You very well could have this right, but as I stated in my OP, there has been an awful lot of bad press regarding Blackwater, and I think it would be somewhat ignorant to assume there isn't at least a possibility of some shred of fact in the mix. I think it's safe to say that Blackwater is just like everyone else, in no way perfect. They make mistakes, and if making a mistake happens to be a criminal offense, they should be punished just like the rest of us. Our government passes these laws knowing full well what type of situations these guys could face, and just like us average citizens, tough times hardly constitute breaking the law with no repercussions. Tiimes are getting real tough for many families these days. There are many men who at one time lived a nice life and had the ability to provide for their families. Some are now having a very difficult time simply providing basic necessities like food and shelter. The fear of leaving your family homeless and hungry could seriously damage a man's mental well-being, and a man with a damaged mental well-being is more likely to do all kinda of crazy things. Let's say one of these men were desperate to provide for their family, and it just so happened that you and your family had what they needed and/or wanted. I guess because times were so tough, mentally, it would be perfectly acceptable for them to take whatever needed and/or wanted. And God forbid this man with a damnaged mental well-being kills your wife in the process, which he had no intensions of before choosing your family. Hey, extreme situations call for extreme measures. There is never an excuse to break the law. If you feel you must, then by all means do so, but don't cry about it when the hammer of justice comes crashing down right on top of you. I'm sure the men and women (assuming there are women) of Blackwater are dealing with some real s***y situations, but none of them are being forced to be there. They signed up on their own free-will, and are being paid quite nicely to do so. $450 and $650 per day, according to the Blackwater website. Just like they signed up for the job, they always have the option of going home to a situation which their mental abilities are better suited. The job is obviously not cut out for everyone. Again, there is NO excuse for breaking the law.

Not being there it's really hard to have much of an opinion on a story like this, but one has to admit, there sure are an awful lot of negative press regarding Blackwater. Seems as if there are far too many reports of "shady practices" by Blackwater for all of them to be void of truth.

I did not realize they weren't allowed to use full-auto weapons while in Iraq.

Hire a well-regarded inspector Ask to see utility bills Consider how the house sits on its plot (not in a hole) Ask about maintenance School System Property Value It's always best to make sure your home is not the most or least expensive in the immediate neighborhood. Number of similar families in the area Timing - It could be everything I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Suuuuuuuuure! "It's for the wife":bs:

Feet Sea Water

Tungy is right. Don't sweat it. It's a cake walk. My class had at least two women who very obviously had almost no shooting experience, and they passed the course with flying colors. You don't have to shoot perfectly, or even close to perfectly. Spend more time and effort on the safety factor. Best of luck. You can do it. Oh, once you get your TN HCP, you can carry whatever you want. Oh, Don't worry about anyone waiting on you. There will probably be others who'll have to reload as well. Oh, as far as safety advice goes, make sure your firearm isn't pointed at anyone or anything you don't intend on shooting.

I would suggest you invest in the Real Flight R/C Flight Simulator. It's as close to the "real deal" that I've been able to find. I would also locate an AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics/Aeronautical Modelers Association) Club in your area. Most clubs will have designated trainers, and often have planes/helicopters for training purposes. Get ready to spend some serious cash. Even when you're good, it's far from a cheap hobby. Enjoy.

12 to respond with a "+1" to a previous post. +1

Check with Guns and Leather, Hero-Gear, and always keep an eye on http://www.golsn.com/.

FWIW, XDGuys.com has the .45 compact magazines for $25. http://xdguys.com/index.php?cPath=36&osCsid=7e49262beb272004d5176e950e2cb586

I love my XD's. Not much of a fan for the compact versions,, but that's more because I have large hands. I never really understood the whole full-size gun with a short grip thing myself. That's unless you have smaller hands, and even then, I'm not sure that would matter a whole lot. As far as the XD line of guns go, I don't think you can go wrong. I love mine.

Thanks, Guys! I appreciate that. I know that thinking positive is nothing new, but sometimes it's easier said than done when times get tough. I know a lot of it is basic common sense, but sometimes your mind can get so preoccupied with everything else that's going on, and common sense sometimes get's lost in the shuffle. Not only that, but this film really gave me some ideas on how to channel that positive attitude. Some ideas for setting goals, too. Thanks again, guys!

I'm not sure how many of you folks would be interested, but I thought I'd share it just in case. As some of you may know, I've been dealing with some fairly rough personal issues as of late, and it's begun to put a damper on my attitude, outlook on life, relationships, etc. I'm usually a real happy-go-lucky kinda guy, but I've really let these issues get the best of me. Totally not my style, but it's happened. A close friend of mine suggested that I watch a documentary, The Secret. Basically, it talks about the Law of Attraction, and how positive thoughts attract positive events, people, etc, and how to really focus these thoughts. The documentary goes far deeper than what little I described, and honestly, some of it seems a tad far fetched, but nevertheless, I really think it will help. There was a lot of very helpful information that I haven't thought about in the past. I know we have several members going through some very tough times right now, and I truly think this documentary could help if watched with an open mind. I think it would be good for folks who are not going through rough times, too. Just in case anyone was wondering, no, this is not some crazy religion, nor do they suggest you replace your religion with it. It's more like an added bonus. I watched the movie online at http://www.thesecret.tv/. It was $4.95 (no tax). It's about 90 minutes long, and you can pause it if need be. I actually watched about half before I went to bed, paused it, and woke up this moring to watch the rest. If you're interested, you can watch the trailer by clicking on the link on the left side of the screen. The documentary is in very good quality. It's not some little crappy video. You can also rent the video from Nexflix, and Blockbuster. Some of the BB stores don't carry the movie, but it can be delivered kinda like Netflix does. I don't think the whole documentary is there, but I know the first 20 minutes is on Youtube. Of course it's not the whole thing (which is very important to watch), and the quality isn't even close to the real deal. I know times are tough for many TGO members, and if I could afford to pay the $4.95 for everyone who wanted to watch it, I would. Unfortunately, times are pretty tight for me, but that's how much I really enjoyed it.

He's probably already had a chance to read some of the Hi-Point threads. I'd say you'll be perfectly safe with the choices you've already made. At least none were a Glock!

That does look like fun, but it also sounds like an expensive hobby. Even moreso than guns.

He must have liked purple.

Welcome to TGO! http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12307&highlight=armed+guard

I just heard a plug for Guns For America on Michael Savage. I think they sponsored an ad for buying locally. I don't listen to Savage all that often, but he's really pushing his listeners to "go armed".

As someone who drives an 80,000 pound vehicle around all day, everyday (well, 5 days a week), I know where you're coming from. It's difficult to say what causes people to drive the way they do, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that so many people multitask (phone calls, radio, text messaging, etc) while they should be paying attention to their surroundings. Then you have those folks who are scared to death every time they climb behind the wheel. They suffer from tunnel vision. They are so focused on what's happening at the very end of their hood, they haven't a clue of what's going on around them. Of course there are a million different reason why people drive the way they do, so it's hard to pinpoint an exact cause. I generally try to make it easy on myself, and attribute their actions to being plain ole STUPID. That pretty well covers all the bases.

XM and Sirius are now one company. They have also merged the channels, so you're able to get XM channels on the Sirius radio, and vice versa. If you choose Sirius, and want to get a package that includes "the best of XM", you'll need to make sure your Sirius radio is compatible. If you do plan on going with such a package, you'll probably be better off buying an XM receiver. I prefer the Sirius, but that's probably only because I've been a Sirius subscriber for the last 4 or 5 years and never gave much attention to the XM equipment. I also listen to more of the Howard Stern channels than anything, and those are on the Sirius side. The last unit I ordered (few months ago), I did so online from the Sirius website. It came with the FM modulator and a card to have the unit professionally installed for free, neither of which I was expecting. The installer told me this was something new they were doing. With the recent changes to XM and Sirius, I would suggest you call their customer service line with all your questions. Since the recent merger, they have been making some changes to their programming, and I'd hate for you to buy something, only to find out you'll need something else. Either way, you can't go wrong with Satellite Radio. Since getting my Sirius 4 or 5 years ago, I haven't listened to 5 minutes of terrestrial radio. It sucks.

Everyone has a Black Friday sale, right?

Edit. That probably wasn't nice of me to say.

Special occasion, or just for the hell of it? Nice!