Nice Flight to Yankton

On Sunday, my dad and I took a little trip to Chan Gurney Airport.



We took off from the 1956 Cessna 172's home base at Norfolk Karl Stephan Airport, where I learned to fly.



The wind was a bit stiff, 12mph gusting to 25mph. The good news was that the wind was out of 190, right down the runway. This, more than anything else, determined where we would do our bathroom stop. Yankton's runway 19 (in the direction of 190) is a nice 3500 foot long runway. Just perfect for us.

I was in the left seat to begin with on this one, and since I had not been flying in a little while, mid August, we decided that I would do two touch and goes to get the hang of flying again. This is a common practice with recreational pilots. We need three landings every three months to remain "current," leagaly transport passangers, so many pilots do a few patterns to meet their requriement as well as to re-aquire the feel for their airplane... and it is fun.

After our preflight, and run up, I did the announcement that we were depearting runway 19, for touch and go. I hit 80 MPH and barely had to rotate and we were airborne like a rocket. Tons of lift on a windy day.
My two landings were good and off we headed to Yankton about 80 miles away. We were flying north so the wind helped us out tremendously giving us a ground speed of around 130 MPH. Nice and fast.

Unlinke Norfolk, Runway 1-19 is not the primary at Yankton, 13-31 is. On 13-31 they have their ILS set up and as we were flying in, we were in contact with another airplane that was shooting ILS approaches on the cross-wind runway. Not a lot of fun with this much wind. He was in a Cirrus aircraft:

and was a lot faster than were. He was in and out while we were inbound.

I made an OK landing at Yankton, I came in a bit low and slow, and I did not add power until it was a bit late. I put it down kind of hard...

Anyway we went for our bathroom stop and what was sitting on the tarmac than a Columbia 300!!!


Looks like it is going 200kts sitting still!!
After drooling over the Columbia for a bit we switched pilots and headed back to OFK. Against the wind we made about 70MPH with dad in the left seat. It took us about an hour to get back. Dad made a great landing, and we were home.

All in all we logged about three hours in the cockpit. Fun trip!

UFC 77 Recap

Matt Grice def Jason Black Decision
My Pick: Jason by armbar first round
Jason drops his second in a row... Maybe he is not as good as I thought.

Josh Burkman def Forrest Petz Decision (Split)
My Pick: Burkman by KO second round


Demian Maia def Ryan Jensen Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 2:40 rnd 1
My Pick: Jensen by KO second round
Maia got the single leg then got Ryan's back. We trained against the single leg, but I guess it wasn't enough... Hopefully Ryan will be asked back for one more fight, but I doubt it. Typically the UFC puts your contract on "hold" to let you get a few wins in the smaller shows after you loose two in the big show.

Yushin Okami def Jason MacDonald Decision
My Pick: Jason by decision
Okami surprises me with a dominating performance.

Alan Belcher def Kalib Starnes TKO (Doctor Stoppage - Cut) 1:39 rnd 2
My Pick: Kalib by RNC first round.
A hard knee and elbow puts a Marvin Eastman size cut on Kalib's noodle. Something about seeing skull was mentioned.

Stephan Bonnar def Eric Schafer TKO (Strikes) 2:47 rnd 2
My Pick: I say Bonnar by decision
The way that this fight played out was a surprise to me. It did not look like Bonnar was hitting Schafer very hard, but Schafer was looking for refuge as if it was Fedor hitting him... maybe Bonnar had little needles in is gloves or something.

Alvin Robinson def Jorge Gurgel Decision
My Pick: Jorge by ref stoppage from strikes from the mount round one.
Jogre got the mount and looked like he would be the easy winner in the first round... Then he became obsessed with a submission from guard. Jorge looses an easy decision to a guy he is clearly better than.

Tim Sylvia def Brandon Vera Decision
My Pick: Brandon by KO second round.
I am pretty sure that under Ohio law two people who hug that much are legally married. Tim did not look good. Vera looked vera bad.

Anderson Silva def Rich Franklin TKO (Strikes) 1:07 rnd 2
My Pick: Anderson by KO third round
After Rich saw that the majority of his punches were not landing, and those that were were not doing any damage, he gave up this fight. You could see his will to win just go out. Silva on the other hand played this fight exactly like the last one. Clinch knee knee knee. He is not a member of Chute Boxe any more, but Anderson sure showed their influence.

Who is next for Silva? Hopefully Dan Henerson will drop a few pounds to be at his more normal fighting weight of 185. Hendo vs Silva would be a PRIDE match up that we wanted, but we did not get to see. Ryo Chonan has signed a UFC contract and I am sure that Silva wants that rematch. Ryo won their last meeting with a flying heel hook after taking a beating. I am positive that Silva will not let that happen again. Who else??? Damain Maia maybe. I would love to see that guy get smashed.

I take a terrific beating in this show going 3 of 9.

UFC 77 Fighters Make Weight

Only Josh Burkman was the only fatty. He was given an hour to cut 1/2 pound more.

Anderson Silva (184.5) vs. Rich Franklin (184)
Brandon Vera (225.5) vs. Tim Sylvia (260.5)
Eric Schafer (203.5) vs. Stephan Bonnar (204)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Kalib Starnes (186)
Alvin Robinson (155.5) vs. Jorge Gurgel (155)
Jason MacDonald (184.5) vs. Yushin Okami (186)
Demian Maia (185) vs. Ryan Jensen (185.5)
Forrest Petz (170) vs. Josh Burkman * (171.5)
Donald Matthew Grice (155) vs. Jason Black (156)

Pope John Paul?? More Like Bruce Lee!!!

Pope John Paul?? Nah.



Bruce Lee??? You bet!!!!!!

Bruce Lee has returned!! What is your bidding your small sinewy-ness??

UFC 77 Hostile Territory

UFC 77 comes out with a good card, and MAMA's 5th figh in the big show!

Matt Grice Vs. Jason Black (Lightweight)
Matt Grice lost his debut by guillotine choke to Terry Etim. It was his first loss. Matt is a wrestler and wins his fights by G&P. He does need to work on his submissions...

Jason Black lost his much anticipated debut in the UFC by triangle to Thiago Tavares. Black was absolutely dominated in that fight, and he is looking for some serious pay back. Black is 24-3 coming in to this fight. He wins by all methods, but seems to favor submissions.

Matt Grice is nothing new to Jason Black. Jason trains with some of the best MMA wrestlers in the world. This should be a quick win for Black. Jason by armbar first round.

Josh Burkman Vs. Forrest Petz (Welterweight)
Burkman lost a decision to Karo Parisyan back in May. We all know Josh. He is a good wrestler with solid stand up. He uses his wrestling ability to lock on submissions or the KO win.

Forrest Petz won his last fight in the UFC beating Luigi Fioravanti by decision. Forrest has had so-so luck in the UFC going 2-2, getting his other win over Sam Morgan by decision, and dropping fights to Marcus Davis (guillotine) and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (decision).

I don't think that Petz will be much trouble for the People's Warrior. Burkman by KO second round.

Demian Maia Vs. Ryan Jensen (Middleweight)
Demian Maia is best know as one of the few men who have beaten Jacare in a gi match. He is currently 3-0 in MMA, his biggest fight a submission win over Ryan Stout. BJJ is, of course, his style. His stand up is not very solid from what I have seen.

Ryan Jensen is a friend of mine and a training partner. I have spent quite a bit of time with Ryan before this fight, and I can say he is looking very sharp. He lost his initial fight in the UFC, to Thales Leites by armbar.

The difference in this fight will be who has the best takedown defense and the better stand up. Maia likes to throw some wild punches then shoot for the single leg. Ryan knows how to defend the single leg and is a very strong stand up fighter. The only way Maia can beat Jensen is to get him down and try for a submission. I just don't see it happening. Jensen will be the best, most well rounded opponent that Maia has ever seen. Jensen by KO second round.

Jason MacDonald Vs. Yushin Okami (Middleweight)
Jason beat Rory Singer by KO in his last fight in the UFC. Jason is very good on the ground with 14 of his 17 wins coming by submission. Jason has been in there with some very good fighters too, beating Joe Dorkson by RNC, and Ed Herman by triangle.

Yushin Okami was dominated by Rich Franklin in his last fight in the UFC, but has performed well in the big show so far. He has beaten Alan Belcher (decision), Kalib Starnes (KO), Rory Singer (srikes submission), and Mike Swick (decision). All quality opponents.

Jason will give Okami the fight that he is most used to. A little bit of stand up, and a lot of ground. That is Okami's bread and butter... or gohan to sakana if you will. There is one big exception; Jason is bigger, stronger, and more athletic that anyone Okami has faced before with the exception of Rich Franklin. I think that Jason wins this one. Jason by decision.

Alan Belcher Vs. Kalib Starnes (Middleweight)
Alan Belcher beat Sean Salmon by guillotine in his last fight, but that is not the choke he is known for... no he is more known as the guy who got caught in a Kendal Grove Darce choke in the fight before that. Alan has good power, and decent submissions.

Kalib was the guy who walked out of the semi final match against Kendal Grove at TUF 3. He won his last fight, a decision over Chris Leben. Interesting win, I was sure that Leben would have stomped him. Kalib has never really impressed me, but he has heart and some very good submissions.

I think that Kalib wins this one. He has better submissions, and I really don't believe that Belcher deserves to be in the UFC. Kalib by RNC first round.

Eric Schafer Vs. Stephan Bonnar (Light Heavyweight)
Eric Schafer is well known for his dislike of Team Vaghi... That's us. Scott beat him up in a BJJ match once. Anywho, Schafer is a ground guy who lost his last fight by KO to Michael Bisping. Before that he won his last 5 fights by submission.

Stephan Bonnar won his last fight over the hapless Mike Nickels by RNC. He lost his last major fight by decision to Forrest Griffin. He then tested hot for steroids, and was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

This is kind of a tough call, because Bonnar really does not do well against guys who can grapple. Then again, Schafer does not do well against guys who can strike... I don't think that either one will get the finish. Stephan can only finish from the ground, and Eric is too good to get caught. Schafer rarely throws punches so he wants to go to the ground, and Stephan has been around too much to get caught there. I say Bonnar by decision.

Alvin Robinson Vs. Jorge Gurgel (Lightweight)
Alvin got finished by Kenny Florian back in July. He did not put up much of a fight. Alvin has fought some people we know, he beat Alonso Martinez and Luke Caudillo both by RNC way back in 2005. Alvin is out of Royce Gracie's Dever gym, and, as you would expect, he wins by submission or by nothing at all. His 8 wins are all by submission, and his two losses are both by strikes.

Jorge has had very little luck in the UFC. He has been fighting injured for so long, he probably injures himself before each fight so he can get ready. Jorge's last win over a quality opponent was over Jason Ireland by RNC way back in Feburary of 2005. Since then he was on TUF, with a messed up knee. He lost to Jason von Flue by decision. After that he messed up his other knee and lost a three round decision to Mark Hominick. With that same messed up knee he won a decision over Danny Abbadi. Then he fixed his knee, and beat Diego Saraiva with a sprained ankle. Not just a little sprained, twice its normal size sprained. Jorge says that he is 100% for this fight... We will see.

I think that Alvin is being served to Jorge so that he can win in front of his home town. Judging by the way Alvin was finished so easily by Kenny, I don't think that Jorge will have much of a problem. Jorge by ref stoppage from strikes from the mount round one.

Tim Sylvia Vs. Brandon Vera (Heavyweight)
Tim lost to Randy in his last fight. Before that he looked reasonably good winning a decision over Jeff Monson. Before that he looked downright crappy against Andre Arlofski, winning that one by decision. Tim is really tall and now fancies himself a boxer.

Brandon left the UFC nearly a year ago for greener pastures. Unfortunately, the other pasture was sold to the UFC, and Brandon was out of luck. The Truth returns to fight his biggest opponent in his biggest fight. Brandon is still very new to the fight game having only a record of 8-0. He has very heavy hands and quick explosive wrestling. He has won all but two of his fights by KO. He has one submission (Assuerio Silva guillotine) and one decision (Don Richard - I don't know this guy either, but he must be cool... he has two first names!!!).

I think that Tim has lost the edge and Brandon will do to him what Randy would have if Randy could punch like Brandon. Brandon by KO second round.

Rich Franklin Vs. Anderson Silva (Middleweight)
Rich was the champion. He has good wrestling and very good standup.

Silva is the champion. He took the belt from Rich by smashing his ribs with knees from the plumb clinch then smashing his nose. Siva has OK ground and phenomenal stand up.

Anderson demolished Rich in their last fight. He beat Rich so badly to the body that Rich didn't care to protect his face. Silva took an in shape monster like Franklin and inside of three minutes had him looking at the clock showing everybody how hurt to the body he was. Can Rich comeback from that kind of a beating? Anderson did look a little vulnerable against Travis Lutter. He looked like a killing machine against Nathan Marquardt. In his last seven fights he has only gone out of the first frame once. ONCE!! Against names like Rich Franklin, Jorge Rivera, Chris Leben, Curtis Stout, Travis Lutter, and Tony Furkland.

Silva does have a weak spot. He is rather easy to take down. In his three losses (compared to 19 wins) two have come by submission. One was the best flying heel hook ever seen in MMA, the other was a triangle choke by the less than stellar Daiju Takase back in 2003. If Rich can get Anderson down and get to a decent position, not guard, but half guard or side control, Rich might have a chance. If Rich decides to keep it on the feet, he is going to get mauled again.
I think that it will be more competitive this time, but the result will be the same. Anderson by KO third round!

CCW

I finally took the class for CCW. It was truly a waste of time. The class did not teach me anything that I did not already know... Scratch that, it taught me that there are other guys in this country a lot more crazy than I am.

The written test on the first day of class was incredibly easy... Nebraska is supposed to have the toughest requirements in the nation for CCW, I found the test to be a joke. I got all of the questions correct. What frightened me was that we had a couple of guys miss not one or two, but nearly fail the 30 question test with a score just above the required 70%.

On the range, I scored 100% again with the shooting qualifier. We had one guy almost shoot himself in the leg reholstering, and a woman who nearly failed... for the second time. I don't know if it was nerves or what, but wow. I thought that I might be a bit under qualified for the test, because I have not been shooting in a long while... I was one of the best shots there. Very sad.

I filed my application today with the State Patrol, and I am just a few weeks away from being able to pack heat... the problem is my pistol.

I own a Smith & Wesson 5906 9mm pistol:

This is a great weapon. Reasonably accurate, easy to clean, carries 15 rounds in my hi-cap magazine. The problem is, it is too big and heavy to conceal well. So, I need a carry pistol.

There are a lot of choices out there, but I have a list of specific requirements. It must be .45 APC. The rounds are cheap when compaired with the 9mm. The 9mm round is becoming more and more expensive as our military gets most of those bullets. Another thing is that you can knock down your assailant with the wind from a .45. If I am going to shoot someone on the street I want them dead dead dead. No coming back to sue me for medical bills. Dead as Dickens is how I like them.
Size is a HUGE issue. I want a pistol that I can conceal in a number of ways. On the hip, behind the back, ankle, in the waist band, fanny pack, in my back pack and in my pocket. That said, my 5906 weighs close to 40 grams with my high cap mag in. It is so heavy it pulls my pants down. Not so good for concealment if you are always pulling your pants up.
I don't want to break the bank either. I paid $500 for my 5906 and got a lot of gun. I figure if I am using a smaller gun I should pay a smaller price.

I have come up with three choices:
The Colt Defender:

Weight: 22.5 Oz
Capacity: 7 rounds
Length: 6.75 inches
Price: $775

The Taurus P145

Weight: 22.2 Oz
Capacity: 11 rounds
Length: 6.125 inches
Price: $298

The Glock 36

Weight: 20.1 Oz
Capacity: 6 rounds
Length: 6.77 inches
Price: $573

All are excellent pistols, but I think I am leaning towards the Taurus right now. Bigger capacity, better price and overall smaller frame.

Pentagram Choke

Interesting

I Laughed...

Funny

Wand Can Kick Hard...

Another Day Another Socalist Program

I know I am bashing Hillary in many posts, but come on!! The woman will not stop with the programs...

Here is the latest, she proposes that the Government set up a 401(k) for every person in the United States. I am OK with this, as long as the individual gets to choose where this 401(k) is placed. Let's move on: The US government will then match every dollar that the person puts in up to $1000, IF the person makes less than $60K a year. It should only cost $20 to $25 Billion a year.

Where does she propose this money comes from? An increase on death taxes. Currently, if a person who works hard their entire life, gathers wealth, pays every tax that the Government forces them to pay, their families will have to give up 50+% of their family member's wealth simply because they died.

There was a time when the crown confiscated the entire wealth of a person once they died. I thought that we fought a war to end that kind of thing... it was so long ago that I don't think anyone remembers anymore... Hillary is banking on it.

Quiz Time!!

See if you can guess who said the following:

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. Hillary Clinton

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. Hillary Clinton

3) "(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Jose f Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. Hillary Clinton

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own...in order to create this common ground."

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. Hillary Clinton

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. Hillary Clinton

6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. Hillary Clinton

Answers:

(1) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005


Courtesy of Neal Boortz

The Drugs

It was a busy month in MMA and with that we have all of the drug reports coming in:

Anthony Torres tested hot for steroids. He fought in the UK, so there will be no suspension or fine, BUT to the UFC's credit they tested guys anyway. This seems to be the first step in the right direction for the UFC in regards to getting the sport clean. Torres has been released from his contract for other reasons.

Adam Smith lost to Dewey Cooper at the Playboy mansion on Saturday. He tested hot for Cocaine and weed... These are not really going to help training or your performance. Why take them before a fight? Especially one in California where they test EVERYBODY in MMA? He was suspended for 6 months and gives up $1500 of his purse

As previously reported Nakamura tested hot for weed. He too was suspended.

Hillary - 5K For Your Baby

Recently Hillary said:

"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that
will grow over time. So, when that young person turns 18, if they have finished
high school, they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will
be able to put that down payment on their first home, or go into business."

This nearly made my head explode.
First the obligatory note that nobody cares about, seizing private money to hand to private parties is expressly forbidden by the Constitution. The Constitution only provides for private property to be taken only with just compensation and only for public use. This is not even addressed by people today, they just don't care that their private property (money) can just be redistributed around.

After barely thinking about the first point, I developed yet another migraine trying to get my brain around what the hell Hillary was proposing... an account that grows over time? A personal private account? Is this the same Hillary that said that private accounts in Social Security were "risky;" and that she would ensure that nobody ever tried to privatize it. She is on record as saying that people could not be trusted to invest Social Security money properly. So what is she talking about now? What is her angle on this?

After that I realized that she said EVERY baby being born in America... I will forgo the America comment, I know she really means the USA. Anyway, every baby? EVERY baby? Even the ones born to the evil rich? What about the fresh spawn of the uber geek, Bill Gates? Do they get their $5K? What about the brats of the Walton clan? Do they get their $5K to spend at Wall-Mart? Equality is against everything that Hilliary is for.

Then the Democrat Party people and the Hillary Handlers got a hold of it. First it was stated on Bill O'Riley's radio show that Hillary didn't mean EVERY baby. She only meant babies that were born to poor people. Those poor people also included all babies born to illegal aliens. No vote buying scheme there... On the same show the Democrat party person said that this would not be a private account, rather it would be an account similar to Social Security, i.e. Government controlled. This sounded much more like the Hillary we all know and love. Thinking up a clever way to levy a tax increase on the American People having them think it was for the children.

The polls that came out later that afternoon pointed out that the American People did not like the fact that the $5K wouldn't be private money, so Hillary's handlers came out again and said that the account wouldn't be like Social Security, it would be a savings bond!!! That way it can benefit the Government AND the baby.

The final point is that later on in her speech Hillary said that families have a lot to pay for, and wouldn't be nice if this was one less thing they have to worry about... This is true. Families do have a lot to pay for. For most people their biggest expense is not their house, their car, or even their food bill... it is taxes. Most families are in the 35% tax bracket. They hand over 35% of their income, not counting capital gains, directly to the Government. If Hillary really wanted to help out families, she would give them back their money.

This is simply more of the same from dear Hillary. Her proposed Hillary Care II would cost over $300 Billion. The baby vote buying scheme would cost another $20 Billion. Simply crossing out the Bush Tax Cuts will not support all of this spending. The favorite method of the Democrats to raise money is to raise taxes. This is, of course, counter productive. As taxes rise, people have less money to spend in the economy, this causes the economy to tank, driving down income, so people have less money than before. In every situation where taxes were raised, recession soon followed.

Hillary is not good for America.