“Our love affair with guns has nothing to do with tyranny, or militias, or self-preservation. Just ask any NRA member the following: If Jesus Christ himself were to come down off the cross and grant you one wish, would you opt for a world without guns — or the one we live in now? If every gun owner truly feared for their life and liberty, the answer would be obvious. But it’s not about life and liberty. It’s all about the sheer hard-on of owning a gun.”
Quentin R. Bufogle

“If you’re one of those delusional 2nd Amendment types who believes you and your trailer park ‘militia’ might need to take on the Army, the Navy, the 101st Airborne and SEAL Team 6; not only should you be denied the right to bear arms — but the right to your belt & shoelaces as well … ’cause you’re stark, ravin’ batshit!!!”
Quentin R. Bufogle

There’s no such thing as a good gun. There’s no such thing as a bad gun. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a very dangerous thing. A gun in the hands of a good person is no danger to anyone except the bad guys. Charlton Heston

Well for me it has been a good couple of weeks since the last post. I have been doing some work on the house, finishing up the deck, painting the exterior, doing the framing of a back patio to add a little square footage, working on a water feature, or at least thinking about it, etc…. For a few months each summer besides tending to the front yard garden and other landscaping, I do house renovation projects. Last years major project was to redo the deck over the garage. This turned into quite the task, as I eventually installed a roof over the deck. Which required a lot of effort on my part to plan, design and complete. This year I have some major projects planned for the house but less involvement on my part, if possible. Lol. Our house is always in a stage of renovation or light construction. I know that this would probably drive some people crazy but for me it is just another form of art. And something, if done right can tie Art and Life together. Take framing as an example. It sounds pretty straight forward on the surface, but I see it as a functional form of sculpture. You are building the bare bones frame work for the house. The feel of the hammer, the drill, and the saw can be likened to the feel of a chisel on stone . And when you are finished, unlike a beautiful piece of art that is there to look at and ponder its significance, the house can be lived in as if it was living sculpture.

Marvin has been good. Training is going well. I had forgotten how much work it takes to train a puppy from scratch. Lots and lots of patience and repetition. We finished puppy class and now we are in basic obedience. Working on sit, down, come, stay/wait, heel, etc… All the usual dog commands. Plus we have continued with the socialization. Going to Old Town, hitting the dog park at least once a week, car rides, all kinds of things that you and I take for granted but are new and potentially scary for the dog. He goes for about an hour walk everyday with the opportunity to get in the water. And I have to say that is improving quite a bit. As a puppy he would not even get his toes wet, but now routinely gets in up to his chest. Lol. Still no swimming yet. He has gotten bigger. And we have the tendency to think of him as a adult dog but really he is quite the puppy still at just 6 to 7 months.

With the time required for the work on the house and the time required for the care and training of Marvin, I have not been able to do a lot of long distance running. I should have seen this coming with the time commitments but I didn’t or maybe I just ignored it. So with that said I am not sure if I will get in any Ultra distances this summer. But to some degree I am OK with that. I have started to ride my bike more at night, it is cooler and that is when I have the time. Lol. I do a lot of walking and some running with Marvin. He is now up to about 5 miles at a time. I do not want to take him too far too fast for fear of causing joint damage.

Well another two mass shooting at the first of this months. I find it hard to put it into words. Just awful. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be a family member of one of the victims. From the above quotes by Quentin R. Bufogle and Charlton Heston. You probably figured I would talk a little about this. Let me say up front that I am a supporter of the second amendment and our right to bear arms. But what I am not a supporter of is the insane right for Joe Blow citizen to own Assault Style weapons. As the YouTube video so aptly shows, I do not think that our founding fathers had any idea that weapons would advance to the point where they are today. How could they? There have been technological advances that even the smartest minds at that time would not have been able to fathom yet alone conceptualize what it would make possible. This is the same for all generations. A single discovery, new tool, etc…. leads to all kinds of possibilities that we would not even have the ability to imagine until said invention occurred. So with that, when they put down the second amendment the weapon of choice was a musket and/or musket like pistol. No comparison to modern day weapons. The designers of the Constitution would not have conceptualized the modern-day AR-15.

In my opinion these types of “Mass destruction” weapons should not be in the hands of private citizens. I know that some of you may disagree and if you do. I have one question. Where do you draw the line? A flame thrower, a bazooka, an atomic bomb of some kind? We can all suffer from what is known as “Temporary Insanity.” A job loss, a relationship break up, a death of a loved one, organic brain disease, etc…. The list could go on and on and on. It is not a matter of if, but when will it occur. And if you have access to something like an AR-15, well history speaks for itself now, doesn’t it.

The other issues with the gun control and I can see it coming down the line, is an increase in mass public surveillance. Which in and of itself I find ironic when you talk to some of the hard core gun rights advocates. Especially when they are worried about a “Tyrannical Government” controlling their lives and why they need an assault rifle. I hate to tell them but to some degree it is already here. If the defunct company Cambridge Analytica in conjunction with Facebook can come up with 5000 data points on each American Voter to target specific ads for controlling an election, how tough would it be to create a data set that would spot would be shooters before they act? Or control them so that they never act?! Weird! Like something out of the movie with Tom Cruise – Minority Report. What was yesterday’s Science Fiction is today’s re-imagined reality.

Bottom line you will get to keep your assault rifle but you will be giving away more of your privacy. And increasing the ability for powerful governmental and corporate entities to control more of your life. I guess this is already to some degree more of a reality than I care to admit. But I see it increasing and the powers that be using the resistance to “common sense gun control” as a fulcrum to deepen the current level of surveillance and manipulation. I don’t find this necessarily a problem except for “who” controls the technology? That could make all the difference. Some in the gun rights group would say that is the reason we need Assault Rifles in the first place but I beg to differ. In the past, control of large populations was done through brute force and terror. Today it is different. Increasingly your mind and thoughts can be subtly shifted without firing a shot or throwing a spear. So the very thing the gun rights people think might keep them safe ( their assault rifle) is the very thing that will be used against them….

Well enough of that depressing line of thought. I guess it is inevitable as technology advances. Hopefully in the future there will be laws on the books that will prevent this kind of misuse of power. Can you say 1984 and George Orwell? Scary!!

Lots and lots of things to write about. Just not enough time. Lol. Take care my friends and I hope to see you out there!! Adios amigos!!