Movie: Street Kings

Just saw the movie, Street Kings.  I know its been out for a while but I just got it from Blockbuster.

I thought the plot was awesome and I definitely didn't see any of the twists coming.  I thought the whole movie was awesome.  Keanu Reeves as Vice Special Sargeant Tom Ludlow was sweet.  The best way to describe Lud is how he describes himself-"A modern Gun fighter". 

Additionally cast included Forest Whittaker, Hugh Laurie, Terry Crews and Jay Mohr who all did fantastic jobs protraying their characters.

Story: The Enforcer

2008 News Brief

Prototype UH-60 Combat Rescue Chopper goes down in test.  All crew members dead.

Real Story

Prototype “Winged 8” Combat Rescue Chopper crashes due to equipment failure.  All 3 crew members would later be reported dead due to the fiery crash and inability to discern any remains from the wreckage.  Unknown to authorities the pilot escapes the crash, with minor broken bones and a head injury causing retrograde amnesia.    

2008

3 promising Marine officers are taken directly from their Officer training schools for a top secret project.  Pilot, Capt. Jack “Talon” Murdoc; Co-pilot, Lt. Jonas “Raging Bull” Kraven; and Navigator/Flight Technician/Field Medic, Lt. Karen “Texaco” Haviland.  Enhanced through “Super Soldier” program to improve body with enhanced vision, hearing, reflexes, and increased healing ability with decreased healing time. 

They are drafted and improved to become the crew of the Prototype Winged 8 Combat Rescue Chopper.     

  The Winged 8, nicknamed the “Goose” by its crew, was designed as a Stealth Attack/Combat Rescue Chopper.  Its mission is to be able to retrieve downed pilots in hot combat zones.  With multiple improvements in both its propulsion systems and its body the Goose is able sustain heavy fire, as well as return suppressing fire to accomplish its mission.    

Jack “Talon”

Left tattoos- USMC Talon

Right tattoo- the “Winged 8”

Age: approximately 25

Jack has hightened abilities, including decreased healing time, due to an unknown factor.  Due to a case of retrograde amnesia Jack does not know who he is or anything about his past.

2011

An unknown, under the name of Jack Talon, is enrolled in a test program for an unnamed government agency.

The Program puts the selected driver in a prototype crime fighting car, The Enforcer.  Due to significant upgrades the Enforcer can only be handled by an expert driver. Several professional drivers have already failed to control the Enforcer test cars. 

The final Enforcer is still in the Building stage.  Its base, a Black 2004 Pontiac GTO.  The Enforcer has been upgraded to be able to sustain direct gunfire, has the ability to hold and be controlled at ridiculous speeds, and is armed.  The biggest improvement being in its onboard computer system.  The Enforcer is outfitted with the SARA program.  SARA, standing for: Self-sufficient Artificial-Intelligence Roving Assistant, a highly evolved Artificial-Intelligence program incorporated into all the Enforcer’s systems.  Sara is to serve as companion and partner to the driver.  Her primary task being the monitoring of the Enforcers onboard systems, SARA also has the ability to obtain information wirelessly through item scans and a finely tuned ability to hack into any available networks.  Her highest achievement, the ability to project herself in a physical form by hologram.   

To prove himself to the program, Talon must take an Upgraded Suzuki GSX-R, Codenamed the Lobo, on a week-long test ride from Seattle Washington to a government compound at the Goose Lake in upstate New York.  The purpose of the ride from Seattle to the Goose Lake is to evaluate Talon’s ability to handle an overly fast vehicle.  The GSX-R, or the Lobo as it is named, has various performance upgrades, added sensors so that it can be monitored, and also the the base form of the SARA program installed to mesh with Talon and give him guidance on his cross-country trip.  

Somewhere in South Dakota, 11 p.m. 2 days later 

A man dressed in black riding gear wakes up in severe pain in a dark alley.  As he opens his eyes he sees and attractive woman dressed in tight fitting black leather standing over him.  She is surrounded by a weird glow.

            “Jack
"Jack!  Jack, are you okay?  You kinda crashed the bike.”  She says.   

“Where am I?  Who the hell are you?  Who am I?”  He responds. 

            “Oh man, not this again.” 

“You are in a dark alley after you crashed on that bike.” She says as she points to an upended crotch rocket.  “You kinda lost it in that puddle. Anyway, you name is Jack Talon. We think.” She answers.

            “And you?”  he mumbles. 

“I’m not done yet.   We guess you are about 25.  When you applied for the job we ran some tests on you and you’re some kind of super soldier, we’re not even sure Jack Talon is your real name.  Other than that you are an enigma.  Dude, you’re a freakin’ question mark.  Officially you don’t exist.  And I’m Sara.”

            “Whatever, can you help me up, Sara?”

“You really don’t remember any of this?  Jack I’m a hologram.  Tough for me to pick you up when I don’t have hands.  Sara stands for Self-sufficient Artificial-intelligence Roving Assistant.  I’m like you’re sidekick.  I’m sorta you’re bike.” 

“Wait.  What?  What the hell do you mean ‘you’re sorta my bike’?”

            “I am a visual representation of a computer program.  Basically, a fancy GPS unit.  Right now.  Installed on the Lobo is only my base program.  If you prove yourself, you’ll get to see all I can do.”    

Due to LED projectors placed on the Lobo, the bike, I can be shown within a few feet of the motorcycle.  Come on Talon, you have to remember some of this.  Geesh, you’re supposed to be some kind of super human with these extraordinary reflexes and you can’t even handle a little water.  You are being tested!  The test is for you to get that bike over there…” she points at the black motorcycle laying a few feet away.  “… From Seattle to the Goose Lake in the next 5 days.”

            “What?”

“Do you really want me to say all that again?  You really didn’t hit your head off that wall that hard.  Jack that bike, the Lobo prototype, is outfitted with sensors to see how you well you can handle it.  The test is to see if you are cut out to be their driver.  And you’re the only one who can ride that bike.  You have a bio implant in your neck that identifies you and allows the Lobo to be started, along with the implant also providing me information about your vitals.

Come on Talon, you remembering anything yet.  They’re testing you.  Quit being a baby and get back on.”

            “Who’s testing me?”

“Pick up you’re helmet and lets go.  I’ll tell you the rest after we get going.  I’ll show you whatever you want to know on the display in the visor of your helmet.”

            “Who am I working for again?”

“I can’t tell you that yet Jack.  You have to pass the test first.  Jack, these guys are trying to find out who you were.  They’ll have more answers for you when we get to the compound.  Now, LETS GO!”

            “Okay, okay.  I’m starting to remember.  And I feel a lot better.” 

“Finally.” Sara uttered. 

With that Talon picked up his helmet and put it back on, mounted the Lobo and pushed the started button to fire up the engine.  Sara started to walk over but disappear just before she got to the bike.   

            Talon heard her in his helmet, “You know I’m only here so you don’t go completely nuts riding across the country by yourself.”

“Yeah, thanks Sara.  I had forgotten.”  Talon then put his feet on the motorcycles foot pegs as he began to move forward.  When he hit the street Talon turned right and accelerated toward the highway.  Talon and his virtual sidekick were on their way again toward the unknown compound at the Goose Lake.

             

Story: Renegade-Test Drive

Time: the day after tomorrow

Place: Not too far away

A dark colored, supped up, 1970 Camaro screams down a deserted highway on a dark rainy night.  A deer steps out onto the rode just feet from the speeding Camaro.  In an attempt to avoid the animal, the driver over corrects and skids off the rodeway, rolling over an embankment.  When he comes to, a moment later, Jack Murdoc, the Camaro's driver, crawls out of the wreck with only a few minor scratches.  As he looks back into the upended musclecar, he can see his cell phone lying on what was the roof.  In pieces.  Seeing no alternative, Murdoc begins to walk down the road hoping to find a phone, or if hes lucky, someone to give him a ride. 

“Renegade Beginnings”

Murdoc wanders away from the remains of his vintage Camaro and wades through the woods down an overgrown path to an abandoned barn sitting eerily off in a clearing.  The exterior looks rundown covered in faded paint, with all the windowns boarded up, and lots of vegetation growing up the sides.

Trying to get some shelter from the now pounding rain, Murdoc slides the door open just far enough to slip by and ventures inside.

He finds the open space inside empty except for a long, tarp-covered shape, off in one corner.  Murdoc slowly lifts off the cover to find a forgotten prototype racer.  The paint is a grayish hue.  Their is both a spoiler on the trunk lid and a small one at the back of the roof.  The car has a boxy power about it.  As he nears the right side door an audible click is heard and the door pops open. Somewhat freaked he sits down into the driver seat.  He wipes a layer of dust off the gauges and finds a key in the ignition.  He turns it to on the dash lights flicker.  "What the hell," he thinks to himself as he gives it a shot.  Murdoc pushes in the clutch and attempts to turn over the engine but it only sputters.  He tries again with a little gas and the monster V8 roars to life.  Still in the cockpit Murdoc can feel the engine rumble through straight pipes.

As he puts his hand on the shifter knob he notices an odd red switch attached to its shaft.  He drops the transmission into neutral and reaches under the dash to pull the hood release.  Murdoc jumps out of the seat and slides the barn door open a little further to gain a little moon light.  He fumbles with the hood trying to find the auxiliary latch and lifts the metallic hood.  

 With the streaming moon light Murdoc can seen the belts spinning and hear air hissing into the engine.  Seated atop the intake manifold is a massive blower, which he notices is not running, and neither is its powerbelt.

Murdoc closes the hood and sits back in the drivers seat.

 He pushes in the clutch and shifts into 1st gear.  As Murdoc starts to give the car gas and let off the clutch, his foot slips off the clutch, because of the dust and water still on his shoes, and the beast leaps through the open bar door and down the path scraping along the plant growth.

Murdoc follows the path back out to the highway which is still empty of any traffic.  He stops along the empty moonlit highway for a moment just wiggling the stick back and forth soaking up the throaty roar of the musclecar V8.

He eases off the clutch and accelerates hard down the road leaving a cloud of dust and smoke as the tires strain to grip the road.  The acceleration throws him back in the seat as he power shifts into 2^nd and then 3rd.

Murdoc slams on the breaks and coasts back onto the shoulder.  He pushes in the clutch and rests his hand on the shifter deciding what to do.  A second or two passes before Murdoc reaches down and pulls the red switch on the shifter rod.  The blower comes to life and the boost gauge registers the hightened power.  He shifts back into first the horsepower monster can be heard throttling back up as Murdoc pulls back onto the highway and takes off at full speed.

He is one with the powerful prototype.  2^nd -3^rd- 4^th, 200-210-215. The two barrel down the road at over 220 Miles Per Hour. 

Car: BMW 325i

Ah the Beamer.  I recently "inherited" my brothers former 92 BMW 325i.  Although it needs some work to be in perfect shape, all things considered the car is in pretty good shape. The major advantage of having the Beamer, as I see it, is not only does it get a little better mileage than my Ranger, It is available.  This leaves a little more freedom to look around and try to fix things myself since I have the luxury of more than 1 night to fix any problems that may arise with either vehicle.

Despite the fact that it runs pretty well the Beamer does need some work.  The major things being an oil leak and a break squeal.  Neither of these problems should take more than a weekend to fix and shouldn't actually cost much in parts.  The minor fixes include fixing a door handle, rewiring/securing the head unit for the stereo, and possibly a new glovebox.  None of these problems should be hard to fix but may take a day or weekend just because they are all really troubleshooting problems

Once I fix the oil leak and break squeak I have some upgrade plans.  First the practical... The first being, replacing the current non-functioning sunroof.  Not even sure why it doesnt work.  Motor seems to work sunroof just doesn't move.  So if the panel won't move anyway I would like to replace it with a glass panel so it will atleast serve as a skylight.

The impractical upgrades are sorta dreams that I'm not sure if I will follow or even be able to do.  The first is ugrading the engine from the 2.5L V6 to a "Modern" M3 V8. This is possible but may be challenging.  The real difficult task is replacing/converting the transmission.  Mike and I would like to try to fabricate or replace the current automatic transmission with a manual one.

Gun: Firestorm 45 Compact

Its kinda funny.  Of all the guys I own, the Firestorm is actually my favorite. 

 I bought or received all my firearms for one reason or another.  My Sig Sauer P229 .40 caliber, I bought because I wanted a 40 that i would be able to use to improve my pistol skill and so I could carry it concealed.  And I really do enjoy shooting my Sig.  I actually compromised on my Sig.  Despite it is the most expensive gun I own, there are things I would do to change it.  Night sights being one of them.  Additionally although I bought it specifically for concealed carry... I rarely carry it because of its boxy frame.  It makes me feel like everybody can see it under my shirt.

My Beretta 96D Brigidier .40.  Really nice gun.  I wanted it because it is one of the firearms my dad carried on the job.  It is a really nice gun.  I would still change it.  Being that it is a double action only model, the trigger pull is really long and  I find it hard to shoot.  Personally I don't prefer a pistol that is designed for single action and converted to double only.  I am going to see if it is possible to convert it to DA/SA.

My Ruger Security Six .357 I wanted because my dad carried it and to hunt.  I decided not to even buy my hunting license last year because I haven't hunted in 4 years because it was difficult with school.  So aside from the 1 time I took it to the range it hasn't even left my gun cabinet.

And my Springfield Armory GI Champion.  Really nice classic 1911.  I actually traded it on a less expensive gun.  I bought the GI because I have always liked Browning's classic 1911 design.  I researched and looked around and decided on the GI because of its simplicity and close proximity to the original design.  Still wasn't perfect.  I could not shoot it.  Not only were the sights small and difficult to aim, the internal ejector had a tendency to flick spent shells right into my forehead.
  
So its funny that the Firestorm is my favorite for a few reasons.  First of all, it is the only gun I bought used.  And being used it needs some work.  The beaver tail safety doesn't work right and the trigger needs some adjusting.  Second, the Firestorm has no history for me.  I bought it because it was on sale.  I ended up only paying 100 dollars for it after trading the GI on it.  I decided to trade my GI because, to put bigger sights on it and adjust the ejector would have involved major changes to the slide that would be irreversible.  Third, the Firestorm is not what I would have thought I wanted.  I usually have an aversion to flashy guns.  My usual preference is utilitarian black coatings.  The Firestorm is a Tu-tone with a black slide and silver frame. 
I decided to buy the Firestorm because it is used.  Being not a top of the line gun I felt that I wouldn't cause me heart ache first of all if it blew up and secondly if it needed work to improve it in the future.

The things I want to "improve" are the grips, sights and finish.  I really like the Nighthawk "Golfball" grips and will probably upgrade to them.  Not decided on the sights yet.  Like the standard height 3 dot sights that are on it but might like night sights at some point.  The finish is not as important to me as I thought it would be.  I either want to "paint/beadblast" the whole gun and go with a black matte finish or just have the frame refinished to match the blueing on the slide closer.

 








 

Car: Mariokart Wii

Mariokart Wii

Yeah. I went there.  If you don't want to see yourself as a gamer but you need something to... Wii is the way to go.  I also have an Xbox 360 but the Nintendo Wii is way more fun for parties.  Especially Mariokart. 

The controls for Mariokart are really simple.  It just takes some skill to get on to them.  However, once you're on to it you could be a "contenda". 
Generally a fun game to play with your friends and just enjoy the evening. 

Gun: Holsters

Holsters

Originally this was going to be a post about holsters in general.  There are enough good posts out there that can give you a 10 page run down on any holster ever made.  I could cover all that again but felt that since these other guys had done such a good job already I wouldn't step on their toes.  I decided to just give you my opinion on the different methods.

Hip Carry

As a small guy I don't like the hip carry for concealed carry.  My big problem is that this has to have a jacket or sweatshirt worn over it to cover up the weapon.  No, its not a problem to add a sweatshirt or jacket to what your wearing, my problem is that you can't take the sweatshirt or jacket off without exposing your piece.  Hip carry however does have one big advantage... Speed.  Hip carry is without a doubt the quickest to draw.  This is how I carry my gun at the range, for simple ease of access.  My choice for the range is a simple pancake holster.  It is a versatile enough holster to at least loosely hold any of the guns I own right on my hip.  Speed and Ease of Access are the two big reasons this is how the police carry their guns.  Additionally, in a "Going to War" situation or "Zombie Apocalypse" as some call it, If your not trying to hide it this is the way to go.  I actually prefer this over a thigh drop holster for those situations because with the drop holster you lose a one pocket or with cargo pants both a side pocket and a thigh cargo pocket.  My favorite for open "war" carry is the Blackhawk Serpa holster which can be fitted for a pistol with a light/laser attached.  The Serpa has a custom molded fit to your gun with a retention button that is easily disengaged by the shooter.  With the retention system of the Serpa it can be used as hip, leg or vest holster.  For concealment on the hip I would choose a Raven Concealment holster.  I have heard nothing but good about these close to body kydex holsters.

Shoulder Carry

Not a fan.  For FBI and Detectives.  Again needs a jacket to cover the weapon.  Other than having to get the gun off your belt I don't like this style.  The advantage here is that you can carry even a huge weapon like a Desert Eagle concealed if you use a vertical rig.  In the "War" situation getting your gun off your belt gives you more room for ammo.

Small of Back

My favorite.  With little more than a light t shirt this is the easiest way for me to carry.  I will admit that with a jacket this is easily concealed.  However with heavy t-shirt untucked I feel you can still conceal in this position after you take off your jacket.  Just my opinion, I'm sure it can be debated but thats how I like it.  My favorite is a
left-handed In the Waist Band (IWB) in the small of my back.  Conceals real easy and its not too uncomfortable.