MacGyver

Telling the American public that you found consensus demands that you have the right people, and only the right people at the table to form that opinion.

I'll give the opposite view to Rusty's point - also as a small business owner.   But first, an explanation by a forensic analyst about what a credit score really is.  Your credit score is nothing more than a number that's assigned to you by an algorithm designed by the credit companies that lets all the other ones know how nicely you play in the system.  That is, it's about your relationship with credit.  You can think of them as a drug dealer grading their junkies on how likely they are to pay every week when they come around.  The higher your score, the better junkie you are.   Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, there is one purchase for which a good credit score is necessary - your house.  If it weren't for that, you could conceivably tell the bureaus to go screw themselves and be fine paying cash for everything.   If you cancel or pay off all of your credit accounts - your score will go down over time.  They also look at debt-to-income ratios.  Believe it or not, the people who have the highest score are actually the most highly leveraged (in debt), but they pay their accounts on time.  Lack of revolving accounts will mean worse credit scores which will impact your ability to borrow from the major banks.   Now, that said, as a business owner I can authoritatively say that I am in business today because I have not borrowed money to run my business.  An early mentor of mine taught me that you can do anything you want so long as you find someone willing to pay for it, and that's how we operate.  I got into business because I was tired of answering to the man - how ironic would it be to simply get into business to answer to another man - the bank.   I've been in business for myself for 8 years.  I'd like to think I'm a smart guy, but sometimes even the smartest of people get things wrong.  Being in debt as a business owner amplifies bad decisions in a major way.  Take this example:   We've worked with a few partners over the last eight years.  Maybe they've had great ideas, or great potential markets or both.  We've worked with several to explore those opportunities.  At several points in each of these cases, there's been optimism and the desire on behalf of our partners to go get funding and "make this thing big."  We've resisted every time, demanding organic growth.  That is, starting small, vetting opportunities and letting success be the driver for growth.  As good as ideas sound at the beginning, sometimes things don't work out like you planned.  The idea wasn't as good as you thought.  There was competition that beat you to market.  You didn't understand your market.  Whatever.  Sometimes you get it wrong.  My belief is that success is built on the lessons we learn from failures.  Failure is often necessary.  A business hitting a home run on the first pitch is the exception as opposed to the rule.  Businesses will very often get things wrong.    Being a small business in today's environment where the economy sucks, the administration hates you and not a single person out of the 536 elected representatives at the Federal level has a clue about what it takes to create a job is tough.  In fact, it's brutal.  Every day.  If you take on a bunch a debt, and make a bad decsion, you're done.  You cannot fail forward, get up and brush yourself off.  You simply fail.   Just my perspective.  But, I think there's a reason why debt has been viewed as evil - that's right, evil - throughout history.  It will own you.  You're not serving God, others or yourself.  You're serving it.  It owns you...

I know you take special pride in that.  Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Daniel.

Send a PM to MetalHead on the Secret Santa.  He can get you your recipient.   When you do get it, please PM me with the name.  I'm looking at a couple of issues with the exchange.

When we send you on vacation once, that's not an invitation to book another ticket.    Enjoy the revolution.  But please...do it from somewhere else...

He will be sorely missed.   Good luck.  Godspeed and Happy Hunting.

Appears to be real.  It's been vetted by media in both Kentucky and Georgia.   http://www.lex18.com/news/ky-man-found-shot-dead-in-ga   http://www.921wlhr.com/body-found-in-carnesville-identified-2/

An ESEE Izula might be a nice, yet economical starting point.  It'll take a paracord wrap nicely.

May be a little heavier, but they're generally dependable old work horses. I'd have no issues if that was all I could afford.

People like Stanley McChrystal and Wesley Clark are interesting studies in human nature, and perhaps offer some commentary on our modern culture of celebrity worship. McChrystal's career ended in disgrace, yet he became so enamored with the sound of his own voice that now he desparately needs a pulpit. It's too bad they can't recognize that the press is all to happy to give them that voice in return for being their monkies. McChrystal's already shown he suffers from poor judgement. What outcome did he possibly expect after calling the Vice President names in Rolling Stone?

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

When it comes to holographic sights, it's pretty much EOTech and "looks like an EOTech".  There is a real difference both in performance and longevity of the sight.  Since an EOTech uses holographic technology, if you can see any part of the window, then you can see the recticle.  That's important.  There are plenty of imitators, but they're pretty much just plain old red dots in a different housing.   However, if you've not used one before, it's worth finding someone who has one and trying one out.  They're not for everyone.   That said, I love mine.

That's gorgeous, Steve!  Tell me about those scales. 

Gorgeous old pistol!  I've always had a fondness for the classic Woodsmen.

I don't know why anyone still does business with Bank of America.  It's not just their anti gun stance.  Have they left any shadow of doubt in anyone's mind that they have total disregard for their customers by expecting them to bend over and take anything they dish out?   Seriously.  Why does anyone still do business with Bank of America.   Get your money out of there. 

They are definitely a survival tool and absolutely NOT a replacement for any type of sleeping bag - summer weight or otherwise. I do have a friend who probably owes his life to a space blanket and a tea candle that he used after an immersion accident while we got a fire going.

Space blankets are well proven survival tools. Personally, I like the emergency bivys made by Adventure Medical. It's a fist sized addition to your kit that can absolutely keep the reaper out of your business. http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=146 As someone who has probably consumed 100's of space blankets in my life, the Adventure Medical space blankets are so much better quality than any others on the market, they shouldn't even be in the same category. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001GAOISI

Oh, that's terrible. Life is so short...

Westinghouse M1891 Infantry Rifle.  Better known as the M91 Mosin Nagant.   Folks with way more knowledge in the area will be along shortly.

The rifle by itself can be had for around $800 if you look around. I really like the lightweight HS Precision stock. That was the selling point for me. It simply fits my frame better. I like a shorter barrel in .308. Mine is 18" vs. the 20" that they've got on it now. I don't really put much in the fluted barrel. I don't think I shoot it enough to take advantage of the cooling it might offer. I've got Leupold glass on mine, but nowhere near as nice a setup as is listed here. Mine's an easy MOA shooter. That is, the rifle makes it really easy for a guy like me to shoot sub-MOA groups. That said, I don't think there's anything that makes the LTR any more accurate than any other similarly equipped 700.

I've had a 700LTR for about five years. It's a great rifle.

There are a lot of things in life that can seem important.  There are only a few things that really are.  Community is one of them.   We are blessed with a great community here, and frankly, most of the moderating decisions we are forced to take come from people who are disruptive to the commuity at large.   The interesting thing about community is that every individual member has an impact on the rest, whether they are actively involved or only seldomly so.  All it takes is one member taking advantage of someone else to sour it for everyone else.   We've got a good thing here.  Don't screw it up.

Within a proper distance window, I'd have exactly zero issues going after a coyote with one of these.  They're little bullets, but I've never seen a coyote take more than a couple of steps even after being hit with a .17HMR.

Maybe other people's experience is different, but I can't see this as a squirrel gun. A great coyote gun for small game season like the OP suggested, but not squirrels. A 17HMR is explosive enough on squirrels. I can't imagine this thing leaving anything other than a red spot where a squirrel used to be. Neat cartridge, though. I've always had a soft spot for the .17 Remington Fireball.