Somewhere deep in the night, I saw the light...

1st Inning.

Uncle Jeremy...This week let's take a break from saving the nation and look at saving or preserving marriage.  As I close in on 15 years of marriage, I would like to take a moment and share knowledge I have gathered personally and through conversations with friends, family, and strangers.  That knowledge is regarding the challenges of married sex and I will keep this as PG as I can so bear with me.  You see prior to saying 'I do' you may experience a world of relations that could be equated to going to Disney World, but after those vows are said and after many years it can be equated to going to the county fair or playing a round of Fear Factor.  Those days before marriage are filled with nights of sexy cologne or perfume, lace and silk undergarments, and everything else that is an attempt at a perfect evening of relations with your lover that you have seen portrayed in movies or romance novels. But that will all change.  Below I will list situations or challenges or advice if you decide to take a stroll down that aisle.

• Farts--There will come a time when you or your partner will be gassy and it will take extreme focus and concentration, not on your partner but on not letting that fart escape during intercourse. Sometimes it will so be prepared.
• Holey underwear--If you were seduced by your lover while they were wearing sexy silk boxers or lingerie don't expect that to last.  The days of  'Religious' underwear/panties are on the horizon. I say religious because they will be 'Hole-y'.
• Hot chicken wings sauce--If you decide to chow down on some Buffalo Wild Wings and order any flavor equal to or above Caribbean Jerk then please go through a hazmat wash down.  You don't want fingers with hot sauce touching any of your nether regions. 
• Vick's Vapor rub--A follow up to the previous point.  If by some chance you are suffering from a cold and have been rubbing Vick's Vapor rub on your chest then save everyone some trouble and keep it in the bathroom and not on the nightstand where it can be confused with lover's lube in the darkness of night.
• Morning breath--There will be mornings where you roll over and are in a mood for doing it but unlike those days before marriage where you would jump out of bed to brush your teeth, brush your hair, put on deodorant then jump back into bed you will be faced with a Fear Factor/Survivor-like challenge. How long can you go without breathing on your lover?  I'm sure the only thing going through their head if you do is "When did he/she get up in the middle of the night and eat a shit sandwich?"
• Children surprises--Like those days when you were younger and trying to be sneaky about making out without getting caught by your parents or your lover's parents, your new challenge is to accomplish this task without the kids catching you.  Make sure your bedroom has a deadbolt because those kids are smart enough to pick simple door handle locks.  Oh, and practice that emergency roll over while keeping the covers over you.
• Darkness--If you have kids then prior to going to bed do a sweep of your bedroom floor to remove any obstacles.  The last person to get into bed turns off the lights in most households and if you are caught trying to cross that minefield of children's toys you can expect a Lego injury to kill the mood as your lover has to perform battlefield medicine to remove it.
• Pulling hair--There were probably times during pre-marriage relations where you or your lover liked to have their hair pulled in some lustful erotic way, but that all changes.  If you find yourself in the middle of intercourse and you happen to have your hand on your wife's hair while she is lying down she will go all honey badger on you and threaten to Lorena Bobbit you afterwards if you don't immediately remove thy hand.
• Muscle cramps--Finally, there will be times when you are in the midst of finally having a romantic, erotic, and spiritual event only to have it come crashing down when one of you gets a muscle cramp in the hip/foot/leg.  Then hopefully you are in the dark because if they jump up and try to walk it/jump it out, well a naked person doing that just isn't the best image.  

2nd Inning.

Random Facts about me (things found on my work desk)...I have both a Captain America and Wolverine mego-like action figure...I have a Daryl Dixon bobblehead...I have two pocket copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence...I have 21 pictures of my daughters on a desk bulletin board...I have a Scentsy candle...A commemorative plate of Len Dawson...A Mark Teahan autographed baseball...Three glass ball paperweights of different sizes...A picture of me and 3 of my fraternity brothers from a conference in Indianapolis...








3rd Inning.

Music...Lost Country Stars of the 90s Top Ten countdown. #1, Rhett Akins.  Back in the mid-1990s I was really getting into the new country music that was emerging from Nashville.  Thanks to folks like Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and Alan Jackson, a whole wave of new artists were getting record deals and radio play time.  But unfortunately many were 1-CD wonders, if not 2-CD wonders, only to be relegated back to the county fair circuit.  But sometimes they shifted into a different role in the music industry.  Over the next several weeks I will be reviewing my own personal Top Ten list of such artists.  This week's entry is Rhett Akins.  Rhett first hit the radio right about the same time as Kenny Chesney and they both seemed to have early success.  I would consider Rhett a 2-CD wonder with both CDs full of great songs.  From his debut CD, 'A Thousand Memories', came hits such as 'She Said Yes', 'That Ain't My Truck', 'What They're Talkin' About', and my personal favorite (as it was the easiest to play on guitar for me) 'I Brake for Brunettes'.  His follow-up CD, 'Somebody New', saw a few hits with 'Love You Back' and my favorite, 'Don't Get Me Started'.

Rhett ended up focusing mainly on songwriting and currently writes with two other guys as group called 'The Peach Pickers'.  They have written many hit songs recorded by other artists.  Wikipedia shows them as the following, "Put a Girl in It" by Brooks & Dunn, "Barefoot and Crazy" by Jack Ingram,"Gimmie That Girl" and "The Shape I'm In" by Joe Nichols, "All About Tonight", "Honey Bee" and "Boys 'Round Here" by Blake Shelton, "All Over Me" by Josh Turner, "Hot Mess" by Tyler Farr, "Farmer's Daughter" and "Take a Back Road" by Rodney Atkins, "Bait a Hook" and "Point at You" by Justin Moore, "I Can Take It from There" by Chris Young, "Parking Lot Party" by Lee Brice, "Hey Girl" by Billy Currington, "Wild in Your Smile" by Dustin Lynch, "It Goes Like This" and "Get Me Some of That" by Thomas Rhett and "Granddaddy's Gun" by Aaron Lewis.

He may not be headlining at the local sports arena these days but he is definitely leaving his mark in other ways.  Also, his son, Thomas Rhett Akins, Jr., is a country artist getting his own radio play time.  The video for 'What They're Talkin' About' is below.  Enjoy!



4th Inning.

Articles of the week...

• The Exorcist..."Forty years after The Exorcist scared the wits out of cinema audiences around the world, the Roman Catholic Church is training up a new generation of priests to meet a growing demand for exorcisms."  The power of Christ compels you!
• NY Guns and Ammo..."New York’s new gun-control law, the so-called SAFE Act, largely survived its first federal-court challenge on this past Tuesday. The more than 1,140 New Yorkers it’s made felons will remain so. But even the testimony of the state’s own expert witness failed to show that the law will cut crime."  John Lott talks common sense with facts once again when discussing the lack of intelligence being used in New York.
• Preppers Unite!...A cool pictorial on a unique fallout/doomsday/man cave shelter.
• (Shaking my damn head)..."Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday." After all the $billions spent on education in my lifetime and we still have people that are this clueless about some of the basics of science...
• Would you like fries with that?..."What liberals don't realize or alternately, just don't care about, is that their obsession with income inequality may make them feel good, but it actually hurts the poor in a number of ways." YOU can make your situation better NOT the government!
• Convention of the States..."Close to 100 legislators from 32 states met in Mount Vernon, Va., Saturday to discuss the possibility of adding amendments to the U.S. Constitution through a convention of the states." A great exercise in Constitutional government! For more info go here. Let's get this convention going!
  
• Sky-High Farming..."Imagine stepping out of your highrise apartment into a sunny, plant-lined corridor, biting into an apple grown in the orchard on the fourth floor as you bid "good morning" to the farmer off to milk his cows on the fifth." A great idea on how to better utilize crumbling downtown areas.
• Homeschooling to the rescue? "Logan Laplante is a 13 year-old boy who was taken out of the education system to be home schooled instead. Not only was he home schooled, but Logan had the ability to tailor his education to his interests and also his style of learning, something traditional education does not offer." A great video presentation from Logan on how education can be tailored so we don't have people like the ones mentioned above we are shaking out heads at.
• Killer programming..."Gamers who play for hours are prone to hallucinations and seeing distorted versions of reality, according to a new study."  I have this theory that the school shootings we have experienced in the U.S. could be the end result of prescription meds and heavy video game use as this article describes.
  
  
  
   

5th Inning.

American History Lesson...February 27, 1827, the beginning of Mardi Gras.  It is that time of the year for Mardi Gras celebrations leading up to Fat Tuesday on March 4th.  As this is a major celebration that takes place in the United States and in the city of New Orleans I would like to take a moment and inning to discuss the history of this holiday in America.  

Per History.com, "On February 27, 1827, a group of masked and costumed students danced through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city's famous Mardi Gras celebrations.  The celebration of Carnival--or the weeks between Twelfth Night on January 6 and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian period of Lent--spread from Rome across Europe and later to the Americas. Nowhere in the United States is Carnival celebrated as grandly as in New Orleans, famous for its over-the-top parades and parties for Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.

Though early French settlers brought the tradition of Mardi Gras to Louisiana at the end of the 17th century, Spanish governors of the province later banned the celebrations. After Louisiana became part of the United States in 1803, New Orleanians managed to convince the city council to lift the ban on wearing masks and partying in the streets. The city's new Mardi Gras tradition began in 1827 when the group of students, inspired by their experiences studying in Paris, donned masks and jester costumes and staged their own Fat Tuesday festivities.

The parties grew more and more popular, and in 1833 a rich plantation owner named Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville raised money to fund an official Mardi Gras celebration. After rowdy revelers began to get violent during the 1850s, a secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus staged the first large-scale, well-organized Mardi Gras parade in 1857.

Over time, hundreds of krewes formed, building elaborate and colorful floats for parades held over the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Riders on the floats are usually local citizens who toss "throws" at passersby, including metal coins, stuffed toys or those now-infamous strands of beads. Though many tourists mistakenly believe Bourbon Street and the historic French Quarter are the heart of Mardi Gras festivities, none of the major parades have been allowed to enter the area since 1979 because of its narrow streets.

In February 2006, New Orleans held its Mardi Gras celebrations despite the fact that Hurricane Katrina had devastated much of the city with massive flooding the previous August. Attendance was at only 60-70 percent of the 300,000-400,000 visitors who usually attend Mardi Gras, but the celebration marked an important step in the recovery of the city, which counts on hospitality and tourism as its single largest industry."

I have been to New Orleans twice while in college and both times the weekend after Mardi Gras unfortunately.  It is on my bucket list of things to do before I die so hopefully I will make it down there sooner rather than later (nobody wants to see an old guy throwing beads).  Below is a short video explaining the history and traditions of Mardi Gras.  Enjoy!



6th Inning.

Fantasy Baseball team game...

With teams starting their spring training workouts and the season on the horizon I started pondering on what my ultimate fantasy baseball team would look like if I had powers over the space/time continuum and could field a team that would obliterate any that it faced.  Below is my list.

1. First Base, Lou Gehrig. Bats-Left, Throws-Left. Career .340 Batting Average with 493 Home Runs. Over his 17 year career he struck out 790 times which is a 46.5 average per season.  To put that in perspective another famous Yankee by the name of Derek Jeter has averaged 92 strike outs over his 19 year career.  Oh, and Gehrig is the original "Iron Man".
2. Second Base, Frank White.  Bats-Right, Throws-Right.  Career .255 Batting Average with 160 Home Runs.  He was a 5-time All-Star with the Royals and won 8 Gold Gloves along with being named the 1980 A.L.C.S. MVP.  He is, in my opinion, the best defensive 2nd baseman to ever play the game and should be in the Hall of Fame.  
3. Shortstop, Honus Wagner.  Bats-Right, Throws-Right.  Career .327 Batting Average with 101 Home Runs (he played during the dead ball era).  Wagner won 8 batting titles in the National League during his career (tied with Tony Gwynn) plus leading the league in stolen bases 5 times.  Ty Cobb once said of him, "Maybe the greatest star to ever take the diamond."
4. Third Base, George Brett.  Bats-Left, Throws-Right.  Career .305 Batting Average with 317 Home Runs.  Arguably the best 3rd baseman of his era, Brett won 3 batting titles in 3 different decades.  He finished the 1980 season with a .390 Batting Average, the highest since Ted Williams.  Speaking of Ted...
5. Left Field, Ted Williams.  Bats-Left, Throws-Right. Career .344 Batting Average with 521 Home Runs. Williams won the Triple Crown in 1942 and 1947 and lost years during WWII which would obviously boosted his stats. He hit .407 in 1953 and was selected to 16 All-Star games. His career fielding % was .977 in Left Field. Hit it to left field and see what happens.
6. Center Field, Oscar Charleston.  Bats-Left, Throws-Left. Career .354 Batting Average with 157 Home Runs. Sadly, Charleston never got to play in the Majors but he has been described by many baseball historians to be the greatest ballplayer of the Negro Leagues. He is the all-time leader in stolen bases for the Negro Leagues. Buck O'Neil would always say about Charleston, "always said that while Willie Mays was the greatest Major League player he ever saw, Charleston was simply the greatest player he ever saw."
7. Right Field, Babe Ruth.  Bats-Left, Throws-Left. Career .342 Batting Average with 714 Home Runs. He is Babe Ruth so not much else to say about him, but did you know he was also a great pitcher? His career E.R.A. was 2.28 and he pitched 107 complete games and a win-loss record of 94-46.
8. Catcher, Josh Gibson. Bats-Right, Throws-Right. Career .350 Batting Average with 107 Home Runs. Another sad case of a great player not getting the opportunity to play in the Majors. An important note regarding the Negro Leagues players--they played many 'barnstorming games' as they were more profitable than league games. The stats I have included are just league games but if the other games were included the totals would be much, much higher. The only problem is they didn't keep good records of stats for the barnstorming games. The National Baseball Hall of Fame claims through their research that he probably hit 800 Home Runs during his 17 year career. Anyway, Gibson was called the 'black Babe Ruth' but others called Ruth the 'white Josh Gibson'. That's how revered he was in the game.
9. Starting Pitcher, Satchel Paige. Throws-Right. Rather than regurgitate Paige's stats, please refer to my prior blog post under 2nd Inning. American History Lesson for a good breakdown on what kind of player Paige was and why he is my #1 Starter.  
Starting Pitcher, Bob Gibson. Throws-Right. 251-174 Win-Loss record. Career E.R.A. of 2.91 and 255 Complete Games over his 17-year career. He was one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game during his era and had no problem brushing guys off the plate. Something I like to see in today's game since the emphasis has been put on the offensive side of the game.
10. Starting Pitcher, Nolan Ryan.  Throws-Right. 324-292 Win-Loss record. Career E.R.A. of 3.19 and 222 Complete Games over his 27-year career. Another hard thrower with 7 No-Hitters and still the all-time leader in Strikeouts with 5,714.
11. Starting Pitcher, Cy Young.  Throws-Right. 511-316 Win-Loss record. Career E.R.A. of 2.63 and 749 Complete Games over his 22-year career. Not many players have an award named after them.
12. Starting Pitcher, Bert Blyleven.  Throws-Right. 287-250 Win-Loss record. Career E.R.A. of 3.31 and 242 Complete Games over his 22-year career. Some claim that he has the best curve-ball there ever was.
13. Relief Pitcher, Mariano Rivera. Throws-Right. 652 Saves and 1,173 Strikeouts. Arguably the best closer ever.
14. Relief Pitcher, Rollie Fingers.  Throws-Right. 341 Saves and 1,299 Strikeouts. Had a great mustache and a great sinker!
15. Relief Pitcher, Dan Quiesenberry.  Throws-Right. 244 Saves and 379 Strikeouts. Five time American League Saves leader during the 1980s. Submarine delivery and great sinking fastball caused many hitters to hit grounders.
    
    
    
16. Designated Hitter, Edgar Martinez.  Bats-Right, Throws-Right. .312 Career Batting Average with 309 Home Runs. He made the DH position what it is today. 7-time All-Star and 2 A.L. batting titles.
17. Backup Catcher, Johnny Bench.  Bats-Right, Throws-Right. .267 Career Batting Average with 389 Home Runs. Ten Gold Glove Awards, Rookie of the Year Award, 14-time All-Star, 2 MVPs, and a World Series MVP. Some of said he is the greatest catcher of all time. Oh, and he had a tv show too!
18. Utility Infielder, Omar Vizquel. Bats-Both, Throws-Right. .272 Career Batting Average with 80 Home Runs. He is for defense with 11 Gold Glove Awards. Considered one of the best defensive shortstops to ever play the game.
19. Utility Outfielder, Bo Jackson.  Bats-Right, Throws-Rights. .250 Career Batting Average with 141 Home Runs. All-Star Game MVP in 1989. Bo can play any of the outfield positions and is, well, Bo 'freakin' Jackson. For a lil breakdown on him check out the 1st Inning of my blog post "March Madness Begins...".

7th Inning.

Firearms Corner...Same Caliber, rifle-handgun combos.  There was a time back in the settler days and the Old West where carrying a handgun and a rifle chambered in the same caliber was seen regularly.  Per Shooting Times.com, "Having a long gun and a handgun that shoot the same cartridge enables shooters to carry one type of ammunition, and load both guns from one box or cartridge belt. Running short on one type of ammo doesn’t happen; both guns stay in the game—or fight—until the last cartridge is gone."  With the introduction of many more carbine rifles shooting handgun calibers that don't resemble something John Wayne would have carried, your options are becoming plentiful when choosing a combo.  I don't have a combo yet but I am trying to get my hands on a Ruger Blackhawk chambered in .30 Carbine to complement my M1 Carbine.  I am also looking at a lever action in .44Mag and a Ruger Redhawk.  The Shooting Times article can be found here and features a slideshow of several combos as well as pros and cons for having a rifle/handgun combo.  Obviously with the plethora of .22LR handgun choices and rifle choices that would probably be the cheapest route for someone to take but you also have Keltec carbines that take Glock magazines so that feature ups the ante even more with the ability to use the same magazines between your rifle and handgun.  What is your rifle/handgun combo? 

8th Inning.

FFL Factoid...Getting your FFL.  Brandon Maddox of FFL123.com recently wrote an article that was featured on The Truth About Guns website. In it he answers some of the questions pertaining to the process of getting your FFL, particularly if you are a home-based dealer like myself. He also discusses the pros and cons of having an FFL. Below I will show some of his comments with additional comments by me explaining my personal experiences.

Q:Can I get a Federal Firearms License for only personal usage?
A: No, the ATF will not issue an FFL for 100% personal usage. Do you have friends you can help with FFL transfers from gunbroker.com purchases, etc? If so, your FFL wouldn’t be 100% personal usage . . This is true.  Prior to my application interview with the ATF Inspector I went through the process of creating a legitimate business (an LLC) through LegalZoom.  In the interview the topic was mentioned but with my full paperwork in front of the inspector it was clear I was not just doing this to enhance my personal firearms collection as per her words (and I'm paraphrasing) it would result in, "Immediate denial of application". 

Q: Do I need a storefront to get an FFL License?
A: Our research shows that over 64% of all FFL locations are from home or residential addresses. Federal laws do not have conflicts with residential addresses. Massachusetts has a state law about residential addresses, but a work-around exists for online-only FFL dealers. Home is a viable option. Nothing has changed as you may have read online from forums, etc.  This is also true due to the fact I have my FFL and I am home-based.  The inspector knew that during the interview and there were no issues.

PROS of getting a home based FFL

• Low cost and overhead to start.-Exactly and is how I can offer lower prices than storefronts.
• No safe or alarm system is required.-True but you would be foolish to not at least have one. I have a large gun safe with FFL guns labeled as such and private firearms labeled as such.
• Access to manufacturer direct and wholesaler pricing; ordering online 24 X 7.-Yep, and at first I could spend hours going through their inventories making wish lists.
• Many part-time niche adventures possible with gunsmithing, Dura coating, Internet transfers, hydro-graphics, class 3 silencer sales, auction sales, Internet sales, etc.-Utilizing the Internet, specifically Armslist.com and Facebook have helped tremendously with my sales.  I'm still trying to nail my niche though.
• Help friends get good prices on hard to find firearms.-As my friend about his Keltec PLR-16.
• You can also work gunshows to gain exposure.-But be aware that gunshows are a peculiar beast and you may not make any $$$ if you are a home-based dealer unless you have a wide variety of inventory.  You will be going up against private sellers that don't charge sales tax or require background checks and going up against storefronts that have an extensive inventory.
• All activities with this new adventure are often tax deductible; reduce your taxes.-Learning that as I do my taxes this year.
• No waiting periods, background checks.-Sort of true.  Since I have an LLC, I still have to run a background check on myself to transfer a firearm to me from the FFL inventory to my personal inventory.

CONS of getting a home based FFL

• Security – You need to only invite those you know and trust.-This can be a bit hairy when advertising online and the fact they have to come to your home to purchase the firearm and complete the background check.  I stress that up front when anyone responds to my ads and I let them know I am a FFL dealer. I, of course, am carrying a concealed firearm or two when they do show up. But be careful and up front that you are a dealer and will require paperwork and you should be able to weed out the bad apples.
• Paperwork needs to be kept for 20 years and kept well-organized.-Unless you are selling several hundred/thousand firearms a year this should not be a problem.  Just make sure to keep them in a locked cabinet or safe.
• Renewal is $90 every 3 years.-Not a bad price for all this fun!
• To make largest profits, eventually you will need to focus on a niche market or grow volume.-Still working on this.
• Inventory can sometimes be hard to find quickly with demand being so high.-Having my first full year doing this be last year I can say truthfully it was rough. Thankfully I was not relying on this income to survive.
• Shipping to home address can be tricky with a day job.-As I work at home for my fulltime job this has worked out very well.

If you are a gun enthusiast and have always thought about owning your own gun shop, I would highly recommend checking out FFL123.com.

9th Inning.

Baseball video...Royals top ten highlights over the years...This week's entry--Steve Busby's 2nd No-Hitter.