Oh Shoot

It's a tax if you don't need it, insurance if you do. Just like it's not a recession for you, until you don't have a job. But yes, of course doing business in any of the "first world" countries has a higher overhead, not just the US. This used to also translate into a quality level of product that justified the price, due to craftsmanship and engineering expertise. Worldwide access to affordable technology has changed that playing field. Essentially, the computer became the great equalizer. - OS

ONLY three? Are you afraid of knives or something? - OS

Driving? MD and NJ also NO. - OS

Good God NO! - OS

Please have an underling tech check out your keyboard, space key is broken. - OS

Have you shot both? One of the strengths of the Kahr is the rather amazingly low perceived recoil from such a small gun. HUGE diff between it and say, a Kel-tec PF9, which I have shot. Sorry to hear yer back is ailing, my sincere empathy. - OS

Not eaten there, but I consider Sticky Fingers quite the pedestrian fare. - OS

Well, yeah, it does. The basic drill is that the company does pay all of the unemployment insurance, both state and federal. During average or better economic times in US, the payments pretty much balance out unemployment collections state/nationwide, so yes, employers DO pay the unemployment, as a group. As long as the company stays solid, it will pay for insurance that is never collected by its employees, but other ailing companies' (ex) employees may receive benefits beyond what the company paid in. During bad economic times as now, especially with federal extensions, the overall national pay-out is higher than the pay-in, so difference must be made up out of general fund (your money). - OS

Wow is right. That Family Indoor Shooting Range must be one happening place, if he could steal that much over four years that wasn't even missed! (I'm sure this is poor reporting, as usual though). - OS

Yeah, even though I'm retired from everything, and wound up not even really needing my CDL for a living, I'm gonna keep it renewed; way things are, might have to re-enter the workforce and drive till I'm 101 or so. - OS

Conway is an example of a sought after company, like Estes, Averitt, Saia, Yellow, ABF, CF, Old Dominion, etc. Good pay, and regular home time, the two holy grails for most rank and file OTR guys. Generally no rookies, AFAIK, 'cept maybe for high staffs' nephews and the like. Matter of fact, with economy in such a depression, I imagine that all the CDL schools are doing booming biz, and that all the entry level companies are probably raping their newbies worse than ever. As always, I try to put a positive spin on things. - OS

If you mean delivery vans, average five year stint of loading trucks before you can even get a shot at driving. The entry level loading positions are highly sought too. You don't need CDL for that, though. No idea how the semi guys are hired on, but you sure aren't gonna step right into it out of driving school, that's a given. - OS

Actually, it was originally designed to be only cocked. Army made JMB add the lock. - OS

Don't even consider financing a truck (lease to own, whatever) from a company you drive for. One of the biggest scams in trucking. J.R. England and Prime are examples of the highest art of that ripoff. Beyond that, know that the highest sought after driving jobs don't hire rookies, so you'll have to pay dues for a while with one of the ones that do. Most all of those promise much and fulfill less -- pretty much expect to give up idea of "home". In my aborted start to go on the road again late in my work life (where I was basically a "rookie" again) , I was pretty favorably impressed with Star out of Nashville, compared to most of the mega companies that will take you. I'd reject US Express and Swift right off the bat, top of my head, unless they've made some remarkable transformation since I last had finger on the pulse. - OS

TGO doesn't store images, except your avatar. You must link to online storage somewhere. I always suggest learning to use your own ISP's free space, but most folks use PhotoBucket or similar. Btw, the Image button interface in posting dialogue box is broken in this version of vBulletin. Currently, AFAIK, the only way to do pics is to paste URL of your image and manually add tags on each end. To see what folks are using, just right click on a picture and choose "view image info" or similar depending on browser to see source of pic. - OS EDIT: I see you already sort of caught on to PhotoBucket. See my follow in your latest post in the Test Forum.

Didn't realize there was one out there, I've eaten at the one downtown. Interesting atmosphere there, and yeah, good menu. - OS

Guess I'll point out one nit: thread title is incorrect. Open carry is not legal in Texas permit or not, and bank is not advocating it. - OS

(recurring relevant comment): "The Soviet Union had a single, entrenched, systemically corrupt political party, which held a monopoly on power. The U.S. has two entrenched, systemically corrupt political parties, whose positions are often indistinguishable, and which together hold a monopoly on power. In either case, there is, or was, a single governing elite, but in the United States it organized itself into opposing teams to make its stranglehold on power seem more sportsmanlike." Dmitry Orlov Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century - OS

You can't carry a loaded rifle of any type, so could be illegal possession of a weapon, even though one has stamp and HCP. Max penalty Class A 'meanor. - OS

That one out of 50: was it just in middle of a mag, or first upon loading a new one, or what? If first round, are you using slide release to chamber first round? Keeping a good firm wrist on that little sucker? I'd consider 1/50 as a repeating statistic too high for any carry gun. - OS

Nothing comes out of your paycheck for TN unemployment insurance. SUTA and FUTA payments are from your employer. - OS

Yeah, FL gets you Washington, but other than that, why on earth have a PA, VA, or TX? - OS

Another way to look at it is as one of the great American success stories. And as a logistics professional, surely you agree that Walmart's brilliance in that area was key. It's become very American to reward failure and punish success nowadays. Was reading something recently where some of the top dogs in the country, among them founder of Home Depot, were saying no way could they crank those endeavors up in the present climate. - OS

Are you sure you understand inflation, or did you mean growth? The 90's were hot because most all economic indicators showed positive growth while inflation stayed steady but low. For various reasons, zero inflation is not necessarily a good thing, and moderate inflation can be an outcome of healthy growth in production, ie jobs, salaries, and GNP in general, but we may emulate Argentina of the 1970's sooner than we think as we keep trying to borrow our way out and then use QE (read "counterfeiting") for the payments. <sick but half serious sarcasm> Possibly we could go to a conventional war to help things out, but there's not anyone we can afford to crush that has enough assets for us to steal to make up the shortfall. Plus we have to pay the industrial/military complex with the same declining funny money. Plus plus of course, our policy is to spend more in reparations than it cost to crush a country in the first place. </sick but half serious sarcasm> Anyway, as always, that's the good news. - OS

DB is longer. Kahr is .1 inch thicker. Thats one tenth of one inch. You must have little munchkin hands and leprechaun pockets. Weight difference is most significant departure though, maybe 4-5 oz depending on whether DB's spec is with/wo mag. Then again, that's probably why the Kahrs work. - OS