Picture(s) A Day(s) – 19 To 23 October 2010

Folks, it’s been a very long week full of all sorts of overtime.  I managed to get some decent pictures, I just didn’t have the energy to get ‘em posted.  Well, I’m still tired as all get out but I’ve got enough get up and go to put ‘em up today

19 October 2010 - 0649 hours - Leaving for work before sunrise

Having to leave early for the dentist has its benefits and its drawbacks.  The benefit is getting the heck out of work.  The drawback is that overtime is only paid for hours actually worked.  We had to work two hours of overtime on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I put in three hours on Tuesday to get two hours work paid at overtime rates.  Rather than work from 0800 to 2030, I showed up at 0700 which is way too early in my book to be functional

20 October 2010 - 0748 hours - Another beautiful morning in Las Vegas

I’m still not used to seeing clouds.  Oh, sure I’ll get used to it again later in the year, but right now it’s just a nice change of pace to see ‘em.

20 October 2010 - 0751 hours - Yep, more rain a couple of miles from home on the way to work

Rain on the roads here makes ‘em slicker than…  Well, I’m sure you can think of something

20 October 2010 - 0913 hours - Sometimes you do get rainbows at work

There’s times at work when I really like having a window seat

22 October 2010 - 0953 hours - Still more rain in Las Vegas

Another band of rain moved through a couple hours after we saw the rainbow.  I was lucky enough to get rained on when I went outside on my break just a short while later.  Yes, I really do enjoy being rained on – especially now that I live in the desert.  You don’t get the opportunity often and the smell of the wet earth, creosote, and sage is simply intoxicating

22 October 2010 - More cool guns at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

I headed on over to Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory after work on Friday because it’s comforting to hang out with friends   OK, so they have some really cool guns there, too   Three cool ones were conveniently displayed and I took full advantage of the photographic opportunity

From top to bottom we have a Chinese SKS, a Romanian PSL, and an Ithaca semi-automatic 10 gauge shotgun.  Yeah, I’m drooling over all three of ‘em.  Thankfully, I already have a PSL and I enjoy shooting it immensely.  Out of the other two, it’s a tough call as to which I’d rather own.  The SKS is a damn good rifle in a commonly available caliber.  It’s 7.62×39 just like most AK-47s and it’s pretty reliable from what I’ve heard.  The Ithaca on the other hand is raw power made tangible.  The 10 gauge is much more powerful than the 12 gauge and this being a semi-auto, well, it’s just downright impressive when you think of how much lead you can put downrange  in a hurry.  The downside is that 10 gauge ammo is expensive and not all that common.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the money for either one right now.  But it is nice to dream…

22 October 2010 - Glock 36 at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

22 October 2010 - Glock 17 at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

Glock pistols are known and renowned for their reliability.  They’re also a bit bigger in the grip than what I’m really used to.  I wanted to check out the Glock 36 which is a .45 subcompact with a single stack magazine.  I found that comfort wise, it didn’t do that much for me.  Your mileage may vary.  Really though, I’d rather have a Glock 17 with a standard 17 round magazine full of 9mm than I would a Glock 36 with six rounds of .45 ACP.

Speaking of the Glock 17, I got a pic of one of those as well 8)  This is the Generation 4 Glock 17 with the rough texture frame for better traction on your hand, interchangeable backstraps on the grip for different size hands, and a reversible safety for left handed shooters.  Cool stuff

22 October 2010 - Steyr HS 50 rifle at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

Another item that would be nice to have is this beautiful .50 BMG rifle   Yep, it’s one of the big bore guns that California won’t allow anymore.  If you want to shoot targets at really long range, this is one of the guns you’d go to.  Be forewarned, ammo is not cheap.   Expect to pay anywhere between $2.00 and $10.00 per round depending on who made it and who’s selling it.

23 October 2010 - Monster Hunter Vendetta on the shelf at my local bookstore!!!

Last but not least, I stopped by the bookstore to pick up a copy of Hong Kong by Stephen Coonts.  It’s one that I haven’t read yet but that was referenced in a couple of Mr. Coonts’ other books that came after that I had received as gifts.  I started reading this author back in grade school when Dad handed me Flight of the Intruder.  I’m only a few pages into it now, but it seems like another great novel so far.

The other book I picked up is the one you see above – Monster Hunter Vendetta by Larry Correia.  I read his first book, Monster Hunter International earlier this year and I was hooked.  Later, I got the Electronic Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book and finally I have the printed version.  The storyline of the Monster Hunter series (with Monster Hunter Alpha coming in 2011) follows a cast of characters who hunt monsters and cash in on government bounties through the Perpetual Unearthly Forces Fund which was set up by Teddy Roosevelt.  In the MHI world, werewolves, vampires, and anything else out of a horror movie is real.  So are orcs, faeries, pixies, and anything else you can think of.  The characters are great and the stories are engaging.  Both books are highly recommended

That’s it for now.  Have a great Sunday and I’ll catch y’all later