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For those looking to make an upgrade as they switch plans, take a good look at the Nexus 5.  The reviews speak for themselves if you want to Google them.  This phone will do the same as any Apple or Samsung model that costs about 25-40% more.  Unless you are using it for your entire real and online life, this phone can last for years with software upgrades.   Plus, with the rumored release of Nexus 6, you can get the Nexus 5 for only $330 unlocked and ready to go with the carrier of your choice.  This is what I'm doing the day my current AT&T agreement ends, just switching to their prepaid plan on this phone.  No more paying for the phone through inflated charges in a two-year service agreement.

  I'm pretty happy with the service/coverage of AT&T.  I've never really had a connectivity issue where I could expect service to be.  But when my contract is up, I'm  going pre-paid.  Their rates for pre-paid aren't bad at all if you bring your own phone and pop in their SIM card.  You could meet your $40 a month, have 500MB of data and still keep the coverage zone of a major carrier, with the ability to change vendors if you want and not pay a termination fee.   You could probably get a cheap "older" model smartphone, perfect for your limited needs, off of eBay or a refurbishment site for less that $100-$150 and use it for three years if all you need from a data plan is to run a quick search when needs be.  Sounds like the only app you really need for your phone is phone.

  Mine came back at 33 days (7/10-8/12).  There are enough reports of 30-40 days for this to be a new normal for eForms it seems.  Cutting the wait time a paper filing via snail mail is worth the cost of setting up a trust, IMO. 

  So I just called these guys and think they will be where I have to go.  A bit of a drive for me, but obviously, I want this done right.  They seem very comfortable with firearms from the pics on their Facebook page, which counts for a lot.   They said their first method would be to sandblast the info on, but when I told her I would be using black model paint to cover up the exposed shiny metal, the sales rep said that might not work for me and I would need a real engraving to be sure.  Estimated turn around would be 2 days, which for a full time shop, I guess is to be expected.  I'm now thinking my hoping to get it done while I wait was a bit naive.   Since I'm still on break,  I'll probably go up there Monday and pick it up when it's ready. 

I'm glad Sheriff Clarke won this primary.  He's proof that there are pro-gun Democrats out there.  We need more of that, I think.       SCOTUS has already ruled that money equals speech in spending on pretty much any political donations unless they are to a candidate and a state party.  They even struck down the rule that capped the total number of donations making it legal for you to donate the max to every candidate, for every office, in every race.   My fix would be simple: if a candidate is not on your ballot, you can't donate money to the candidate.  I think there is a compelling interest in trying to regulate political donations to help fund only those who would serve and represent where someone lives.  PAC donations should be limited to only PAC's that are operated from the area the donor is from.  That way one PAC like Bloomberg's Independence USA PAC can't just set up a P.O. Box to collect checks and put that money into elections nationwide.

  A lower that I'm married to through the NFA laws...I would be pissed if that happened to me.  Nashville Armory seems to be off the list.   I guess I'll have to open up myself to a drive after all.  Any other places in Middle TN I could go?

Can't see the pictures in your post or the link.    I'm very interested in this since I bought a blemished upper from PSA that came with a BCG.  It looked fine and is shooting fine, but I like to learn from other peoples misery if they have to endure it.

  The DMV was about an hour and forty-five minutes from waking in to walking out.  Also, the outsourced fingerprinting company has no appointments in Murfreesboro until Next Tuesday.  Since I don't want to wait that long, it's off to Lebanon tomorrow for an appointment at their facility for fingerprinting.  Has me wishing I'd known about fingerprinting being done at a non-gov place and made an appointment for it when I signed up for my class and did my HCP application online.  Might have saved me some gas money and time.

Just ordered one for my Walther P99, I like the look of it a lot.  Hoping it will serve me as well as it has been some of you.

Bumping this up to see if anybody has recommendations for engraving in the Murfreesboro area.  I could do Nashville Armory if they could do it while I wait, but would rather stay local.

Any beer is always in the cab with me.  Looks like you've had a nice lesson learned without any bad results.  Good choice of brew, by the way.

  33 days for me.  Just got my Form 1 back today.

  Some of you are going to hate me...Form 1 approved and sent to me via email today. :D   33 days from submission to finish. 

  I'd say keep shooting your S&W until you feel that it isn't a thrill anymore and you want something a bit higher end.  If you are using it for home defense, your training and maintenance of the weapon will matter more than the brand it was sold under should worst case come to pass.  It's on you to make sure that gun can be put on target properly, go bang when required and not put anybody else in danger except the bad guy while doing so.   The day may well come where you feel you have outgrown your first AR.  You'll know when that time comes.  I wouldn't recommend an impulse purchase that could set you back like a high name brand AR can unless you have that much disposable income.  There is nothing wrong with buying a Colt, Daniel Defense or BCM to just go with three off the top of my head, but if you are comfortable shooting your S&W, have at it until you are ready to change brands.

So, I finally knocked out the Handgun Carry Permit class today. I didn't want to be out there with a class of 20+ on a weekend, so I waited for my break from school to do it on a weekday. I went with Dennis Mankin since his classroom was about 5 min from my house and he had good reviews. It was a professional classroom setting and Dennis took the time to make sure even the most novice shooter we had felt comfortable out on the range before we went hot. There was even a father/daughter pair in our class, very cool I thought. He has guns for rental if you need them and we shoot out at OK Corral Range. I'd recommend his carry class for anybody wanting to take it. He charges $50 for class & range fees and has eyes and ears if you need to borrow some at no extra charge and has guns and ammo available for use should you need them for a fee. Since I didn't need his guns or ammo, I didn't know how much he charges for that. He also runs other handgun classes and mentioned he does a ladies only HCP class from time to time. If you want to look at his website and check out his schedule, here it is. The class was good as a refresher and any chance you get behind a gun with live rounds is worth it if you take it seriously. I know this "qualification" isn't very rigorous, but remember, it's on the individual to continue their training to improve & maintain their skills. I think it's good that it isn't a competition like standard, because I think it would scare people away from getting out to do it. We all know that once you shoot that first time, you tend to want to do it again, and again, and again... So getting those who are on the fence about this to give it a chance with a very obtainable standard is a win in my book. My own shooting was so-so for my personal standards, but I didn't want to wait until it cools down in the fall to get this done and it was a hot one today. I obviously didn't have great discipline on my breathing, but even what you see below gets you a 97% for a score, and 70% is passing. So tomorrow, I'll be at the DMV to keep the process moving forward. At least I have a book I need to start on my tablet to help with the wait.

Condolences to his family and friends.  He'll be missed, that's for sure.   His talent was so multilayerd, I think the general public took it for granted.  He put a lot into his work and it showed when you saw him on the screen.  Great actor.

  I don't think the Kurds aren't as well supplied as you think.  Take into account what they are up against with how much territory they have to defend, and they could run out fast enough if nobody steps in.  We haven't been supplying them for a bit since the administration decided that might undermine the government in Baghdad.    The Kurds need heavier stuff like artillery rounds, RPG's and anti-armor weapons, not just small arms ammo if they are going to hold the line.  If they were good to go, we wouldn't have to drop bombs to help protect our consulate in Erbil, they wouldn't have lost control of the Mosul Dam, and airlines wouldn't be canceling flights into Erbil for security concerns.   The Peshmerga are the best troops I saw over there, but even the best troops need a decent supply chain to feed their heavy weapons with the kind of fighting that is going on right now.     I signed up for any lawful order given to me.  I didn't agree with our need to invade Iraq in 2003, but I was there and crossed the border when the order to move out was given to my unit.    There isn't a Soldier past, present or future who agrees with every order they get.  But if it's a legit order, they carry it out anyway because that's what professionals do.

Just my rotten luck.  I go off the net for half a weekend to attend a kids birthday party and I miss an asshat getting shown the door.    I wish TGO had a Hall of Shame forum to show how you can screw up and get tossed from a great online community.

  Actually, the Kurds have expended a lot of their munitions while holding their own.  Their stocks are so low, the Iraqi government gave them a resupply, which never would have happened if they weren't all but guaranteed to use it on a mutual enemy- ISIS.  The Peshmerga is the only military force in Iraq that will stand and fight under pressure.  It's a shame we haven't been giving the Kurds what they need since this started.        You've heard correct.  Kurds, as a generality, are the most western-like in their live and let live relations with other sects, religions and ethnic minorities than anybody else in that region.  Kurdistan was always a quiet AO.  The difference in driving from a city like Mosul to a Kurdish one was night and day.

  Here is my checklist to see if something should be accessible on the open market...   1) Do police officers have it for individual use? 2) Do Soldiers have it for individual use?   If the answer is yes to either question, then it needs to be available to the public as well.  Nothing should be exclusive for LE/MIL use only and no police officer or Soldier should have a quantitative arms edge over the public with their individual kit.

I learned how to use a sling for stability at some point in the Army (I can't remember if I managed to pick up the lesson in basic), but it was never stressed as any kind of fundamental like keeping my elbows on the ground while shooting prone or how to keep a sight picture the same every time like touching the tip of my nose to the charging handle.   Slings becoming a "cool guy" factor entered into things before long.  I was guilty of it myself, scumming to the three-point tacti-cool and putting it on my M4 during my 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 Iraq deployments.  They looked high-speed while snagging on my mag pouches, but I never felt like I could use it for stability.  On my last deployment in 2007-2008 and now on my personal AR, I only attach a two point from the buttstock to a mounted sling adapter on the side of a rail or the underside attachment point with some 550 cord to offset it to the side.  Sometimes it's quick adjust length, sometimes not, but it's really all you need.   They also issues those Grip Pod's Army-wide now (not sure about the Marine Corps, but I'd wager they use them as well).  Before I got out, there were only a handful in rotation, and of course, the supply folks managed to get some so they could put their M4's on a bipod in the chow hall.  But now, every troop in pretty much every combat brigade I worked with as a contractor in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan had one on the bottom rail of their M4's and some M249's.  Using a sling for stability isn't much of a concern when you can press a button and have a good enough bipod pop out for use.

I posted this on another forum...it applies to this discussion so I'll just pop it here as well.       Also, as bad as ISIS/ISIL is, I'm not opposed to having them around to keep Iran occupied.  The biggest strategic effect of us invading and overthrowing Saddam in '03 was that Iran no longer had a major nation on their border they had to account for in decisions.  Israel is too far away and only effective in their own backyard to be any legit counterbalance to Iran and the other Arab states don't practice any type of direct confrontation -a side effect of us doing the heavy lifting on their behalf for too long.  It's time we let them have a problem to deal with again.   I remember hearing about the Yezidi on top of Sinjar mountain from a friend who interacted with them in '03 on missions.  He likened them to the Amish, just wanting to be left alone to run their own lives and not bother anybody else.  What they have and will go through sucks, but life is often cruel in that part of the world. I would support most humanitarian efforts, but would need to look at the whole picture to see what we could or should do for them militarily.  Their location in Iraq leaves them at the mercy of whoever is in control of it since they don't have anywhere near the numbers or resources to defend any territory like the Kurds do.

I'm just starting to learn the basics of Android OS security after having a Nexus 7 for a year, but I'm slowly getting spun-up on it since I will have to ditch my current BlackBerry for an Android mobile phone at some point.  This is the kind of article people should read if they are worried about apps and the permissions they need. http://www.julianevansblog.com/2014/06/how-to-use-android-privacy-guard-on-cyanogenmod-11.html   iOS users are probably out of luck.  I don't own or use iAnythingâ„¢.

Only hit the upper thigh...I didn't know Darwin gave warning shots.

  That's the biggest threat to Bitcoin, IMO.  If/when they decide to clamp down on Bitcoin, they will say it's due to terrorists using them or something, but really, it will be because no central bank has control over Bitcoin as a regulating authority.