New Year's Resolutions? Feh.

Not really much of a resolutions type guy, but Happy New Year to you just the same and may 2009 exceed your expectations!

What follows then isn't really a compilation of New Years Resolutions, but more of a long-term "2 do" list for 2009.

Secure FCC License to operate radios on GMRS frequencies

Re-up LTCF permits

Another spam can of .223 (5.56x45), 5.45x39, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54R

Acquire 2 Walther P22's

Get the Jeep rehabbed to reliable DD status

Get back into competitive shooting. (High power service class most likely.)

Cut my "discretionary spending" by 15% (which should pay for the above)

Teach 2 people to shoot

Teach 2 people to fish

Get 2 people to start "prepping"

Write 2 letters (either support or criticism) to one of my elected representatives, state, local, or federal.

Anything additional, is a bonus. Now it's off for a bit of bubbly. :)

Holiday Diversion

Just a few of my favorite commercials, courtesy YouTube and others.

Apple 1984 Commercial. To my knowledge this only aired 1 time during the 84 Superbowl. Still gives me goosebumps.

Nike Soccer Good vs. Evil. Another Nike Classic. Au revoir.

The VW GTI. Oh, Snap!

The Fed Ex classic fast talking guy.

Reebok's Office Linebacker, Terry Tate. Below...
"You kill the Joe, you make some mo'! You know that bay-bee!" (This is the unedited full length version)

Great VW Polo commercial - never aired in the US. I can hear CAIR starting to seethe already.

Adidas commercial from the 90's - This commercial is nothing without the music. In fact, this commercial turned me on to Fatboy Slim. The track is "Soul Surfing."

Joe Isuzu pimping a truck - "Pin-e-mele Iki-bo-bo."

These are a few that always make me smile.

Here's a video of a Mountain Dew commercial circa 1997 - very cool. Real Player only.

Oh, and TWINS!

Sunrise over the Appalachian Trail

Walmart treaure hunt....

The gun locker was looking a bit dreary so I figured a little light was needed to liven the place up. So me and the Mrs trekked off to Wally world in search of one of those tap lights "as seen on TV." After looking for a bit, I decided on a couple of these pictured above. Only 4.97 each + 4 AA batteries which weren't included. Each comes with 2 drywall inserts, 2 screws, and 2 Velcro stickies about 1"x1.5" in. square. Surprisingly, just one of these actually put off enough light to read by, and really brightened up the locker to the point that I'm saving the other one for...whatever else I might need it for. Always nice to have a spare for a lights out event. Don't know how long it'll run continuously with only 4 AA's but for inside the gun locker, I'm sure it should be more than adequate.

Now one thing to pay attention to...I picked these up in the "Fluorescent Light" section. (Item # 17428) 6" for $4.97 and the 12" was (Item #17429) for $6.24. Note the white packaging in the pic above. Now...if you're so inclined, you can pick up the identical units in the "Small Electrical" section in black packaging and pay $6.94 for the 6" (Item # 51000) and $9.88 for the 12" (Item # 50995). It truly pays to "shop" Walmart.

We also used this opportunity to test the Midland radios described in the prior post. On FRS frequency Channel 8, the range was a paltry 2 miles over light suburban and hilly terrain. Kind of disappointing. Might be getting an FCC license sooner than I thought to take advantage of the higher power channels which will hopefully increase Tx/Rx distance.

Santa Brings Preps.

So, Santa was especially generous this year. Along with the aforementioned AR-15, he also graciously provided a set of Midland FRS/GMRS radios. The radios/walkies are supposed to be water resistant, came with rechargeable battery packs, earphone/mouthpiece things, a car charger, charging base, and they'll also run off of regular AA batteries. (A nice plus as AA's are easily charged from a solar charger.) They've also got a direct NOAA mode that will access one of 10 different NOAA frequencies for weather type alerts. Overall, they're pretty cool and will round out our preps.

They're advertised as a "30 mile" radio, but I'm hoping for an honest 3-5 miles on the FRS channels. We'll see. There might even be some FCC licenses in our future to take advantage of the higher power GMRS channels.