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So I was trying to think of something to do with Tyler today while Monica went to her scrapbooking thing…  I have been telling Tyler stories about my fabled shooting abilities for years and decided we would go to the gun range, as Ty had never shot before.

When we get there I learned this is still a great country, as you don’t even have to fill out a form, just hand over your driver’s license and they’ll hand you and your 14 year old son a weapon and boxes of ammo, no problem.  They had just about every handgun I could think of, but since this was Tyler’s first time I wanted to get something reasonable.  I finally settled on a .357 magnum.  It’s a ridiculously overpowered gun, but it’s heavy which makes it easy to aim.

Pics show how we made out, two of the targets are from 50 feet, and Tyler is a natural.

Tags: Stories, Pictures by Martin
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The following email was sent to me today from my brother Rick:

Anthony and Madelyn are currrently having their first ever lemondade stand.  They have a little table and chairs; a nice sign (Lemonade, 25 cents); and Madelyn has been yelling “lemonade for sale” for about two hours to every car and every person she sees.

They have made over 15 dollars so far!

The best part:  I have watched two transactions so far.  Both times a dollar was given to Anthony; and he gave them a cup or two of lemonade.  No change was offered.

When I asked him about it he said;   “its okay, they didn’t want the change”.

I explained to him that it is customery to offer the change.

Anthony disagreed, saying “if they want the change, they should ask”.

Madelyn is in full agreement with Anthony on this.

I don’t know if they will have any repeat customers.

Tags: Stories by Martin
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As most of the people I talk to regularly know, I’ve had corvettes on the brain for a few years now.  Since I was a kid I’ve wanted to have one, and now I finally do!  I have been trying to talk myself out of it recently, because they are sometimes trouble prone and can be expensive to maintain, but my wife actually talked me into it.  Monica wants me to be happy, and she is so very tired of looking at pictures of Corvettes, hearing stories about Corvettes, hearing me mumble in my sleep about Corvettes, etc.  For the record, I bought a 1996, which is the last year they made the C4 model.  It’s has an LT1 engine, conservatively rated at around 300hp.  Granted, it’s a ridiculous car, it’s too fast, costs too much to own, uses too much gas, and I hereby thank Monica for practically forcing me to buy it.   :)  Click the below pic to see more.

Tags: Stories, Pictures by Martin
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As some of you may know, I’m a big believer in gift cards, especially gift cards that can be traded for hot dogs, gas or cigarettes. I have on several recent occasions wanted to buy someone a gift card to Wawa, because in the Philly area there is a Wawa roughly every quarter of a mile from wherever you are currently standing. Wawa, however, charges a ridiculous service fee to send someone a gift card so they can buy merchandise on which the average profit margin is about 7000%. Sheetz, however, charges nothing extra and ships the card for free! And on top of that they have Death Dogs, MTO’s, breakfast sandwiches, and generally a nicer atmosphere and selection than Wawa. Sheetz also started out in the great city of Altoona, PA, which is of course of paramount importance. (Warning, obscure reference in the next sentence.) Rocky would be astounded at the sheer number of beverages available in the typical Sheetz. The moral of the story? If you want to send someone a gift card to a convenience store (good for you!), send them to Sheetz.

Tags: General Information, Stories by Martin
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I attended day two of the Desert Shootout today and got to see some more of my favorite players. Mikka Immonen, Efren Reyes, Cliff Strickland, Johnny Archer and lots of others were there. The picture is of Corey Deuel, who was the 2002 US Player of the Year. (He won both of his matches today.)

Tags: Stories by Martin
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As some of you many know, I enjoy playing billiards. Today was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, I attended a billiards instruction session with Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer. It was a great time, and I definitely learned a thing or two. Both of these guys are world champions, and I had a blast learning from them. Archer is the guy in the red. These guys are both playing in the Desert Shootout this weekend, in case you want to see how the game is played by professionals.

Tags: Stories by Martin
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Every December people look forward to a special day.  It’s a day little kids dream of, having grown up with tales of wonder and glee.  On this day in December all of mankind are brothers anew.  Yes, I am referring to December 23rd, the day of the Annual Amkor Beer Pong Tournament.  This year there was a slight breach of protocol, with the festivities being hosted by George instead of Keeko, who was too tied up with some kind of family Christmas stuff to do the honors.  While Keeko’s betrayal will be remembered forever, the tournament was still a huge success thanks to George and his policy of allowing people into his home/bathroom.

Tags: Stories, Pictures by Martin
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