Fuck You, Sheriff Lee Baca

Just great...from the LA Times: Sheriff Lee Baca listens to inmate complaints at town hall meeting.

(Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times / October 2, 2011)

Very soon the state of California and the city of Los Angeles will be releasing criminals from jail because both the state and city are broke. And here is the Sheriff making sure that criminals have more rights while they're in jail than law abiding citizens who aren't in jail.

Hey, Sheriff Baca, who is going to protect us from the crime that will be perpetrated by the criminals that you will be releasing from your jails? We certainly can't protect ourselves because your office only issues permits to carry a concealed firearm to your friends, celebrities and donors. Will you and your office make us whole again should something happen? Probably not...

Besides, we know how questionable the Sheriff can be. Let's take a look at a few incidents while under Sheriff Lee Baca's watch:

L.A. County jail guards aid drug trading

Sheriff Lee Baca launched a criminal probe at request of fashion magnate

L.A. County sheriff's plan to send deputies to inauguration is questioned

Sheriff Lee Baca is like any other politician - only after power and money for himself.

Video of the Day

To fill the gaps between my inconsistent blogging, I'm going to be putting up videos to entertain you and myself. These could be music videos, funny videos or videos that I find interesting.

Here's the first...my favorite version of Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger." Enjoy!

The Weiner Hypocrisy

Let's play hypothetical. If Weiner was a Republican, the left would be crying for his resignation. But because he's a Democrat, we get the following:

Amid increasing calls for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says the decision should be up to the congressman and his New York constituents.

The former speaker said in San Francisco that she believes the decision should be made by "the individual member" and the people in his district.

Let's not kid ourselves any longer. Those elected to lead us have no interest in leading and doing what's best for the country. They're only interested in themselves, their party and protecting what's theirs. They could care less about us. We're just dumb ATM's - willingly paying taxes only to watch both parties run this country into the ground.

Discreet Rifle Case

After finishing my AR-15 build, it was time to find a rifle case. However, I didn't just want a regular case that screams rifle. I wanted a discreet case - one that I could carry to my car without anyone thinking that I'm carrying a firearm.

After much searching and missing out on a few cases at various online retailers and forums, I finally found one on Amazon.com that I liked. I ordered one of the last 2 cases and it arrived today.

It fit my AR-15 with room to spare. In fact, there's enough room for another rifle! Maybe a shotgun one day. :-P

What's also great about the case is that there is a front zippered section that has compartments to hold 4 magazines for the AR-15, elastic to hold 8 handgun magazines, and a holster to hold a handgun. Check this out:

So now, when I go to the range with the AR-15, I can also carry my handgun in the same case. No need to carry multiple cases, although my ammo will definitely be in a separate range bag.

Oh....and if I ever need to evacuate due to any emergency, the rifle case has shoulder straps so that I could carry the case like a backpack like so:

I'll have this on my back, emergency kit in my hand, and we'll be ready to go.

Building the Emergency Kit

After seeing the devastation in Japan (from the earthquake, aftershocks and tsunami) and the flooding in Mississippi, it was time for me to put an emergency kit together. While I had been buying items here and there for emergencies, I never did put everything together into a single unit.

So here's what I have in the kit:

• First aid kit
• Flashlight and headlamp
• Extra batteries (CR123's, AA's, AAA's, and CR2's)
• Radio
• Moist towelettes
• Hand cleaner and hand sanitizer
• Duct tape and electrical tape
  
• Matches
• Emergency whistle
• Emergency blankets/bag
• Water purification tablets
• Swiss Army knife
• Multi-tool
  
• Water bottle
• Dust masks
• Ziplock bags
• Trash bags
• Zip ties
• Safety glasses
  
• 3 person tent

Not shown in the above picture, but available as part of our emergency supplies:

• Water
• Canned food
• Over the counter medication (such as Tylenol, aspirin, etc.)
  
• Tool box
• Gloves
  
• Money
• Handgun and ammunition

I'll need to add clothing to the kit (at least one complete change of clothes) and copies of important paperwork.

I think that's it. Am I missing anything? Anything else you would suggest adding?

Vice President Joe Biden is Useless

Yes, the picture above is of our wonderful Vice President falling asleep during a speech by President Obama.

VPs are typically useless....unless, of course, some event propels them into the Office of the President of the United States (POTUS). But this is too funny, in a macabre sort of way.

Even terrorists agree that Joe Biden is useless. Per Osama Bin Laden's diary:

Don't bother killing Joe Biden as the Vice President is not important enough for assassination.

May I also add that Joe Biden is a buffoon - always has been and always will be.

I pray to God that Joe Biden NEVER becomes POTUS.

a-JAYS Four Earphones for My iPhone

The earbuds that came with my iPhone 3GS were on it's last legs. While the wiring still looked okay, the earbuds were quite beat up. They were cracked in multiple places and generally look worn down. I'm actually surprised they lasted as long as they did.

So my search began for a new set. I wanted something with good sound quality, has a microphone I can use it for phone calls, and be less than $100. Most of the earbuds that met my criteria for sound quality and a decent mic at the Apple store were over the price point I wanted to pay.

I didn't want to spend too much as I'm saving up for the new iPhone later this year. And knowing Apple could conceivably make changes to the headphone jack, I didn't want to take the chance that the earbuds I bought wouldn't work with the new iPhone. So I expanded my search and started looking on Amazon and various other forums that I frequent.

Then as luck would have it, I stumbled onto the Jays a-JAYS Four earbuds. They looked decent and had some good reviews online. I found a seller selling a LNIB pair and I jumped on them. They arrived yesterday.

The packaging is quite nice. While the box itself appears to be plastic, it's actually covered in a rubber material. It's a good first impression.

The earbuds and mic had a simple, clean design. There were silicone sleeves in various sizes from XXS to L so that you can fit them for your ear size. Once I found the proper fitting ear sleeves, I tested them out with the iPhone. If you look closely, you'll see that the cables are flat and tangle free.

While I don't have the ability to share a sound clip with you, I can report that the sound quality of the a-JAYS Four is quite good. Compared to the standard Apple earbuds, the a-Jays Four provided enhanced sound with good amount of bass and mid. I can hear notes that I previously couldn't hear on songs that I've listened to for years.

The mic has a remote that can be used to play/pause music, answer/hang up phone calls, skip songs forward or back, and change volume up or down. It's a nifty control that mimics most of the functionality that I used with the Apple earbud remote.

I'm very glad that I got these and would recommend the a-JAYS Four.

New Item for the Range Bag

I picked up a new item for the range bag. It's the Real Avid Gun Tool. It's basically a multi-tool for gun enthusiasts.

Now that I own handguns and a rifle, I figured that I would need to have tools handy for when things don't go according to plan. When I'm at home, it's not a big deal as I have a good set of tools - not necessarily gunsmith tools, but enough to get things done; however, I don't have anything as handy as this. And with it being so portable, it'll always be with me when I hit the range or have any type of emergency where I need to take my firearms with me.

The tool basically consists of:

• Claw-point blade
• Gun Pin Punch
• Choke Wrench
• Scope windage/elevation blade
• Torx drives
• Allen Hex drives
• Magnetic driver
• Screwdrivers
• Storage block to hold the drives
• EVA molded belt sheath
• Bore light

I probably won't need the bore light at the range, but it's nice to have for barrel cleaning after a day at the range.

Do you carry any tools in your range bag? Has anyone used something similar?

AR-15: Ammo, Magazines, & Wonder Wrench

I picked up the final pieces of my AR-15 build yesterday and I'm ready to call it done. Consider it a KISS build for my first AR. Here's a pic of what I picked up:

Although the picture only shows two magazines, I actually picked up four. Three of the magazines are C-Products 10-round magazines and one Magpul stubby 10-round magazine. Because I live in CA, I'm limited to 10-rounders rather than the 20- or 30-rounders available elsewhere. Maybe one day, CA will be a Free state and I'll be able to....oh who the fuck am I kidding? That will never happen! I have better odds of wining the lottery than CA becoming a Red state.

Along with the mags, I also picked up a single box of .223 Remington ammunition. I would have picked up more, but since I'm not hitting the range anytime soon I thought I would limit the ammo purchase for the time being. Why tie up funds when I don't have to?

One item that's not pictured above is a tool that I'll be using to drop the magazine from the AR. In CA, you can't have a magazine that is easily removable (or detachable) from the rifle if the rifle also has a pistol grip. If you do, it's considered an unregistered assault rifle and that is illegal here. To work around that, a bullet button was developed so that it creates an attachable-fixed magazine condition which is legal. Basically, a person wouldn't be able to manipulate the magazine with just a finger in order to release the magazine - the use of a tool is required. The tool I chose for this purpose is the Wonder Wrench.

Here is wonder wrench on the bullet button:

Not a bad looking build. I can't wait to hit the range and to take my first carbine class!

PS - There are actually 2 more items I would like to purchase - a discreet rifle bag (so that I don't freak anyone out when I take the AR-15 to the range) and a rifle sling. Anyone have any suggestions on what soft rifle bag or sling I should get? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Me Wants...

The iPad 2 and the upcoming iPhone 5 will be my next toys.

AR-15: Bolt Carrier Group and Rear Sight

With the lower and upper in my possession, I started looking for a bolt carrier group (BCG) so that I can get my new firearm to go BOOM and a rear sight so I could aim the firearm properly. Again, I perused the Calguns boards for weeks and contacted a number of sellers who were selling used BCG's and rear sights.

The BCG

As a reference point, brand new ones run about $130 to $150 for a standard quality BCG. The used ones I were finding for sale were running about $110. At this rate, I didn't believe I was getting enough of a discount to warrant buying used. I'd rather spend the extra $20 for new. However, as luck would have it, a seller who was offering to sell an "enhanced" LMT BCG showed up right as I was about to buy new.

The seller informed me that the BCG had an enhanced extractor (i.e., it was more robust than a standard extractor) and only had 150 rounds shot through it. He offered to sell it to me for much less than the other sellers were asking for, so I decided to purchase it from him.

Another key point that made me decide to purchase it was that the BCG was made by LMT. Given that my upper was from LMT as well, I felt that buying from the same brand would ensure that the parts would work well together. As this is my first build, I wanted to minimize any potential headaches.

The Rear Sight

As for the rear sight, I was initially looking to pick up a Magpul Back-Up Sight (MBUS). Don't hate me for saying this, but since the AR-15 had Magpul stock and handguards, I thought I'd round out the Magpul accessories with a matching rear sight. There were lots of people selling the MBUS; but after seeing them at a firearm shop, I decided to go a different direction.

MBUS sights are meant to be back-up sights (hence the name) and fold down to allow the shooter to use optics. With this being my first AR-15, I wanted to learn to shoot with iron sights first before considering optics. Besides, good optics run about $500 and that clearly was not within budget.

I changed my search criteria and started looking for a good dedicated iron sight. Much like the LMT BCG I acquired, I lucked into finding a LMT Tactical Rear Sight.

This sight typically sells for $120, but I was able to purchase it for less than half. In fact, it's a brand new sight, so I really scored a good deal.

I have to say that I've been very fortunate with my AR-15 build. All the parts that I've been able to purchase thus far have been from high-quality manufacturers...and I've been getting them at very good prices. I have a feeling that it's partly luck (I've been spotting these deals as they hit the forum board) and partly that people are selling off their firearms as they feel the pinch of the economy. In any case, I'm well within my budget for my first AR-15.

AR-15: The Upper

After purchasing the Noveske "blemished" N4 lower, I waited patiently and perused the Calguns forums looking for uppers. I actually missed out on a few - namely a new, unfired BCM lightweight upper for $100 less than retail. It came nearly complete as it included handguards, charging handle and bolt carrier group (BCG). The only thing it was missing was the rear sight.

I was bummed out that I missed the deal, but I continued looking. Then, a few weeks ago, I spotted a LMT upper that came with Magpul MOE carbine handguards and a LMT charging handle. It didn't include the BCG or rear sight, but the price was too good to pass up...and if I can find deals on the BCG and rear sight, I may end up paying less for this than the BCM upper I missed out on. :-)

In addition, I was thinking about upgrading the handguards to Magpul anyway, so getting them with this purchase turned out to be a bonus. Here is the upper and lower put together:

Of course, without the BCG (which houses the firing pin), my AR-15 won't be going "bang" anytime soon. Just as well, since without a rear sight, I would only be able to use it at very close range. Anything long range would be out of the question since I wouldn't be able to aim the AR-15 safely or properly.

Now it's time to find the BCG and rear sight! My AR-15 is coming along nicely.

Cashing in the Rewards Points

Does your credit card let you earn rewards points on your purchases where you can redeem these points for merchandise? If so, I highly recommend joining such a program (if you haven't already) or finding a credit card that offers it.

My wife and I have been using such a credit card and have used it for various items, including a free round trip ticket to Hong Kong a few years back. We recently decided to redeem some of our points (one item for my wife and one item for me) and the following items arrived today.

For my wife, she got the Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise Canceling Headphones:

This is in preparation for our next trip abroad. My wife has a difficult time sleeping on airplanes (as she's a light sleeper) and those 12+ hour flights take their toll. When we get off the plane, I'm okay since I was able to sleep; but not so much for my wife. Hopefully, with these noise canceling headphones, she can get some sleep and we can hit the ground running wherever we find ourselves vacationing.

For me, I selected the SureFire Saint Minimus Headlamp.

I currently have a cheapie headlamp that I use while working/fixing things around the house. While it works, it's not the best made or the brightest of headlamps. After having watched 127 Hours last week, I realized I needed something a bit more rugged and brighter. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand why.

Since I previously redeemed a SureFire E2D flashlight and think it's the best flashlight I've ever owned, I figure that I couldn't go wrong with another SureFire.

While I won't be rock climbing, I figured it'd be handy to have the headlamp for any chores around the house that require some extra lighting. You'd be surprised at how often you need both hands for something and can't really hold a flashlight while working. It'd also be another tool to add to the emergency kit.

AR-15: The Lower

The first purchase for my AR-15 build was the lower receiver.

I decided to purchase the lower first as this is that part that actually gets registered - meaning after purchase from a gun shop or private party transfer, I have to wait 10-days before being able to pick it up per CA regulations.

When deciding on the lower, I was choosing between a polymer/composite lower or a standard aluminum lower. The polymer lower would be lighter and less expensive than the aluminum lower. However, after researching various uppers and looking at their weights, I was afraid that if I went with a lower that was too light, I'd have an AR-15 that wasn't very balanced. Of course, I could go with a lightweight barrel to make the upper lighter, but I wanted something more standard for my first build. Given all these considerations, I decided to get an aluminum lower and proceeded to watch the Calguns Marketplace like a hawk.

After a few weeks of looking I found a Noveske "blemished" N4 lower from a private seller. It's a factory new lower (meaning that it had never been shot) but had a blemish on it that Noveske didn't want to sell as 1st quality. If you're familiar with clothing companies selling "irregular" clothes, this is much the same.

To be honest, I don't even see a blemish on the lower. I compared it to the non-blemished N4 lower that the seller had and could not tell the difference between the two lowers other than the different serial numbers on each.

The lower also came with the following already installed:

• Rock River Arms Lower Receiver Parts Kit
• Magpul MOE Mil-Spec Stock
• Prince50 Bullet Button
• Ergo Grip

I got this complete lower at really good price. However, it had another cost - I sold my Seagull S6 guitar (which had been sitting idle for the past 5 years) and used the funds from that sale to purchase the lower.

It's just as well. I bought the guitar many years ago with the hopes of finally learning how to play a musical instrument. I took a guitar class at the local community college for a semester but never progressed beyond that. So the guitar just sat, until my wife finally convinced me to let go of it this year.

In essence, I gave up on one hobby for another. Although I hope I never have to use my AR-15, I'd rather have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Building Myself an AR-15

With 2 handguns (the P99 and T3) in the family, I figured it was time to branch out to a long gun. The question was whether I would get a shotgun or a black rifle (aka AR-15).

I initially went shotgun since I was more familiar with shotguns than AR-15s. My first choice was a Benelli SuperNova Tactical. I started looking around the gun shops in the area and on the Calguns Marketplace. However, I couldn't find the exact model I wanted.

All the local shops had a ton of Remington 870 shotguns, but not the SuperNova Tactical. There's nothing wrong with the Remington 870, it's a fine shotty. However, it just did not fit me. I previously shot a SuperNova Tactical at the Raahuages Gun Show last year and it just felt right in my hands. Since I couldn't find it local, I decided to learn more about AR-15s just to keep my options open.

I did a ton of reading (this is my favorite) and watched a ton of videos on YouTube. Let me tell you, I learned a lot about the AR-15. If you're interested in the videos, I can recommend the videos by Midway USA and Brownells (see below for a sample).

What really appealed to me is that I could build my own - I didn't have to purchase a "complete" rifle. I could buy parts piece by piece and slowly put it together. And if I was able to find good deals on quality parts, I could comfortably put together a high quality AR-15 for less than what I would have spent on a complete rifle.

I was sold and decided to try my hand at "building" an AR-15. The next few posts will detail the parts I've acquired and the progress on my build. Stay tuned!