<- Notice this is grumpy Troll as opposed to the geeky Troll in the previous post. :)

I have probably ranted about Tactical Reloads before but Tactical Reloads have always bugged me. What's a Tactical Reload? Well that it is, in a gun fight, reloading a weapon while retaining the partially used magazine in the gun for possible later use. Part of my angst for it comes from the draconian enforcement of it in IDPA competition. Part of it comes from my realization that in a real gun fight the likelihood of it being useful is slim and is something I would never want to try while suffering an adrenaline dump.

This YouTube video covers sever good reasons why I don't like it and when and why it might be appropriate to use, better than I probably can.

Until last week things at work where going pretty good. I was up to my eyeballs in some pretty gnarly multi-physics finite element analysis and was as happy as a pig in mud. Then starting last week all the unpleasant parts of being an engineer in a small company caught up with me.

I had to do an internal business plan presentation to upper management!? WTF why the business development guys couldn't do about 80% of that without me, is beyond me. Some good office politics there for sure. Then I have a presentation on that same project to a very likely new outside commercial partner this Saturday. I am still not happy with the presentation but don't have alot of time to work on it. In addition the Saturday meeting is going to make me miss the Hunter's match out at the club and riding miniature trains with Abby. :(

On top of that I have two DOD SBIR proposals due next Wednesday at 6:00AM. One I am writing on my own the other I am compiling for a colleague that is at a conference this week and on vacation next week. If he takes vacation again during SBIR proposal next time and thinks I am picking up the slack on his proposal he's going to get...

And just to make it interesting I have a progress report for an Army program that was due yesterday. And even better I expected that Army program's Phase II to kick-off in November or early December. Well the Army is on the ball and contract negotiations have gone quickly and that contract is probably going to start next week or at the latest the week after. It's good because it mean I have my full budget to throw behind the work but at this point it just feels like the biggest meanest dog landed on top of the already large dogpile.

I should be sleeping but I fell asleep on my should wrong and it hurts like hell. I think I end up pinching a nerve or something. The PC is grinding away with a virus scan and I can't sleep with the fan changing pitch at least not until the Advil kicks in.

Woke up with another strange dream about being back in college. I was sleeping in class, in the front row, as usual, and it was being taught by the "chick" that was my undergrad basic electronics lab partner. She was not doing a very good job. I never did get a date with her, despite the effort back then. Despite the effort now I can't even recall her name. Even in the dream I was trying to figure out why the hell I was back in college. Messed up dream.

That was most of last weekend.

Saturday I had the piston rod on my lawn tractor disconnect from the piston and come through the side of the crank case. If anyone has a line on a used 8Hp Briggs and Stratton vertical output shaft I'm in the market for one.

Sunday's pistol match was really rough. 5 rounds into the first stage the trigger bar on my XD-40 breaks. Had to shoot the rest of the match with my Production gun but as Limited-10 Minor. On my second run shooting Revolver I got five misses on my last stage due to serious meat-ware malfunction.

Yeah, painful to say the least...

-Friday took GFWTR out for a nice dinner while Na'nah watch Abby.

-Saturday me and Abby hung out all day. Went shopping in the morning and that afternoon tried out my big wheeled stroller I got for father's day with a little exploring off road at an old park near our house.

-Sunday was a USPSA match at the local club. Got beat in Limited-10 by 0.38% by a high-school kid. Good match the kid and I were squaded together and egging each other on all match.

-That afternoon did a little more shopping and out for dinner with both GFWTR and Abby.

-That even cleaned guns and watch Aliens, again. I forgot how good that movie was I hadn't watched it in nearly two years.

-Monday night GFWTR and I went on a double date with the new priest and her husband, went out to dinner and saw the new Star Trek movie. Overall it was enjoyable. Felt rushed at the beginning and weak on plot but I thought the new versions of the characters were pretty good. I especially liked the new Bones.

-Abby was up relatively early this morning.

-Off to the the Ohio BMV for a new drivers license. Service was surprisingly fast and friendly.

-No internet access at work and more detrimental to getting work done, no network server so I could not run my CAD software (network license) or access the main color printer.

-In the absents of real work progress:
--I made a stainless steel bushing for the clutch of my poor old lawn tractor
--I also fix a Co-worker's nephew's RC truck that has been sitting in my office for two months

-Left work early (since I was not getting any real work accomplished) and got a new set of Hankook tires put on the Element.

-Got home played with Abby when I could drag her away from the mother-in-law.

-Got Abby ready for bed and then washed bottles.

-Use above mentions stainless steel bushing and a few other parts to rebuild the failing clutch in my poor old lawn tractor.

-Cleaned all three guns from the 3-gun match. (Eugen Stoner is still a filthy engineer)

-Came upstairs to find an email stating that I have receive notice of award of my first Phase II program with the DoD (Army specifically) as PI!!!

-Abby is going to walk any day now. She has taken as many as three step on her own before converting back to linoleum lizard mode.

-The large aperture on a standard rear AR-15 battle sight does not work at 200 yards. This cost me second place at last weekend's three gun when I got a big fat zero on the long range rifle stage.

-My aunt is still using a broadcast TV signal, on a 46 inch 1080p capable TV. I installed the a new antenna to help boost reception of the new digital signal this weekend.

-I finished slogging through Charles Stross' Accelerando. It is a neat interpretation of the technological singularity. That said, my "Leave it to Beaver" childhood clashed severely with the painfully dysfunctional family that was the focus of the story. In addition my desire to shoot cats and drowned kitten was also accentuated, greatly. I can not recommend the book.

-The Ohio BMV does not send a reminder until after your driver's license has expired.

-The Element needs tires badly, almost 70K on the OEM ones. 215/70R16, any recommendations?