Z Plan : A Book Review

Courtesy of Amazon

I loved this book. I thought it was pretty cool that an American soldier stationed in Iraq drew some inspiration out of war for a good ol' fashion  Zombie story. It's a story of humanity and survival in the midst of an "infectious outbreak" that is now world wide. The action is non-stop and I was engaged immediately. I read this book in 3 days! Book two should be out soon as the writing is complete. Can't wait!!

Book Description ~

Cale was sent to Iraq with the usual thoughts any Soldier going to war might have; being lonely away from his family, not wanting to take another human's life, and above all, the fear of never returning home. Although well trained, nothing could have prepared him for the horror he was about to face.

Cale never thought the thing that could keep him from ever seeing his wife and daughter again would be a zombie apocalypse. As he and a handful of fellow Soldiers escape their base after a massive zombie attack, becoming deserters in order to survive, he begins the long and unexpected journey home through the harsh terrain of the desert; a barren landscape now swarming with not only undead cannibals, but also the enemy he was originally sent to fight.

The newly formed group plans to travel west, find a boat and maybe, with a bit of luck, make it back to America. Cale is tested beyond his imagination and brought to the brink of insanity as he loses friends while fighting the flesh eating masses. He risks his life for weeks, focused on holding his wife and daughter in his arms again. It seems all hope is lost when he finds himself alone and adrift at sea ... but is hope really lost?
--------------------------
Harsh critics can surely find what ever flaws they like (say, like the one guy on Amazon did), but this is a zombie story so everything works for me. Never reading fiction with too tight an analytical eye, I really didn't question anything as I read...coz, ya know...it's a book about zombies!!! My view is anything can happen in a post-Apocalyptical world. Don't judge probabilities, again...zombies!!!

For a soldier serving our country I appreciate his service. I recommend this book to all my readers who dig a good and different point of view zombie story.

Well done Mikhail! Can't wait for the second book.

Mikhail Lerma - Author and defender of freedom

When Is This Going To Stop

Better question is how does it happen?

I am talking about the number of instances of babies and small children left to bake to death in a sealed up vehicle in the hot sun. This is not even conceivable to me as a possibility. How can anyone "forget" a child left in a car? No one I have ever known is that cavalier with the care of their child let alone the need to constantly know the child's whereabouts, especially babies. While the annual number is not large it is exponentially horrific as the only hope or help a child (baby) has is it's implicit trust in it's parents (or other caregivers).

So far in 2013 there have been 24 deaths of children left in hot cars. Well on pace to exceed last year's 33.

The latest was this four-month old baby in El Cajon, CA


Quick Stats:

STATISTICS

• Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2013: 24
• Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2012:  33
• Total number of U.S. heatstroke  deaths of children left in cars, 1998-present:  585
• Average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 37

Please check out this study of this tragic event:

 http://www.ggweather.com/heat/

I look in every car I pass when I am going into any store, restaurant, etc. I have gone in and told management many times about animals left in closed up cars.

Sadly, when you look at that link above, my state of Texas is the worst offender in the nation. It is not a secret it is really hot and sweltering here in the summer and late into the fall.

Get a grip people! Stop the needless death of our children.

Oh yeah, action on this would save more kids lives than any gun control crap! Oops, off-topic.

Help me keep an eye out.

Concealed Or Not...You Be The Judge

Is this a concealed handgun? A smart way to travel through Compton? A new contraption for the next Die Hard movie? Or James Bond trimming expenses.

You be the judge!

Looks like it is reversible for a lefty mount

I gotta tell ya...it would really be in the way for me, now if they had a console mount!!

The Weekend Graphs and A Milestone

Sorry about last weeks miss but today I am back on track and have reached a milestone that I would not have believed possible 3 years ago...this is my 600th post!




Curse you, Science




It takes a skilled hand




Leading cause of road rage




Why didn't I think of that!




Instant...




FAIL of the Week!! From the bad tattoo archives...

Call me old fashion, but this is way creepy...



Yeah, creepy.

The Weekend In Black And White

I missed the last couple weeks but I vowed to myself to make it happen today. And that almost didn't happen! It is amazing what I will shoot in B&W at a moments notice.

This is just a fun little shot I took at a Whole Foods in Dallas. Almost 60' of brew you never heard of in one aisle. I think if I could get $11.99 for a 4-pack of beer (Dark Truth Stout) I could quit my day job!

Anyway, the best part is the name chosen for each micro-brew. These weren't the best names but you get some idea. Check out a store near you for some entertainment of the ale-kind!

Strange Brew

Nothing of quality to comment on just a little fun photo

 

 Linking to The Weekend In Black and  White

Please don't drink and drive....

A Little Something Political

I don't very often espouse political rhetoric on this site. Mainly because I will have to admit to not following much of the sludge that passes for politics these days. But since one thing that affects many people of my generation either now or in the near future, I feel compelled to share something I read on my brother's Facebook page as I virtually wished him a happy birthday today.

The subject is Social Security. And if you read real close you might even discern my brother's political stance.

For your edification...

{I do not know the source so this remains uncredited}

------------------------

Lesson on Your Social Security Card

Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.

Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and
card were not to be used for identification purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.

An old Social Security card with the "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION" message.

Our Social Security

 Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,

No longer Voluntary


2.) That the participants would only have to pay
1% of the first $1,400 of their annual
Incomes into the Program,

Now 7.65%
on the first $90,000


3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,

No longer tax deductible


4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,

Under Johnson the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent


5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed
as income.

Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put away'
-- you may be interested in the following:

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the 'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

A: Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it! If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe changes will evolve.

 

 

A Scary Fourth Of July



Some of you may remember my sweet little pup Cornelia. With her super power split-vision she can watch both sides of a room at the same time. She just turned 3 at the end of the June so what better time to traumatize her Daddy than on July fourth.

 

Here is a picture of Cornelia in all her cuteness... adorable right?

 

 

 

So after waking from my well deserved mid-morning nap on the 4th, I walked to the kitchen and turn around to see her following me...looking like,

 

 

 

 

THIS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wife had left for work an hour earlier so being the dutiful Dad...I freaked out!! You can see how much her eyelids had swelled up. She had hives starting on her back and chest. My panic was due to the breeds notorious breathing issues and figuring she had got into something outside that morning on our walk. I try and pay close attention to the fire ant mounds as those guys can take down a horse given the time. (My other Boston, Caesar, likes to eat the mounds...story for another day). I am thinking her throat is going to start closing and I have only a short time to get her to the vet...who is closed because of the holiday...arghhhhhh!!!!!! I call my wife and do the verbal version of running around in circles. She tells me to shut up and get in the car and get going.

 

Finally I get her down to the car and we are headed to the animal emergency hospital about 15 minutes away. Now this is causing even more anxiety for me because it was I who rushed our 13-yr old Boston to this same building on New Years Eve 2007 and he passed away that night. It was devastating. So I am driving, and freaking, and petting Cornelia as she sat in the passenger seat. Thankfully she was very active and wanted to explore all over the new car (didn't happen). But at least she was breathing okay...she just looked like she had gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. And she was looking out the window at everyone when we stopped at a light. Nice. Probably gave everyone the impression I bred fighting dogs or something.

 

We get to the hospital and they take her in. The picture above is in the pre-exam room. The doc comes in and examines her and takes her back to the treatment area. A little while later she comes back and said they had given Cornelia a shot of Benadryl and a steroid shot. They wanted to keep her for the next 4 hours to watch for any respiratory problems. So I left to wait. 

 

 

My wife got off work at 3 on the 4th and we headed over to pick Cornelia up around 4 PM. By then the swelling in her face was gone but the hives on her belly and back remained. These shots are AFTER we got home...



 

The hives on her back actually got worse after we got home and we gave her another dose of store bought Benadryl before going to bed.

 

Sleep is a wonderful thing. The next morning I pulled back the covers to find...a pile of puke!!! Cornelia had thrown up all the food from the previous night. Good news....she was all better and not a hive left on her!

 

 

Hope you all had a happy and puke-free 4th!