April Thread

[Phillip Gross]

Here it is the 2nd and nobody has started the new month's thread? What gives???

I haven't posted much lately because I'm usually tired by the time I swing by to check in on what's going on. As you guys know, my business is feast or famine and we're heading back into a busy time. Now that I've depleted a lot of my account cushion, we get busy and I need funds to pay for increased overhead. And so the cycle continues...

The boys are in full swing in the baseball season and I've gotten to a place I never thought I'd be if you told me four years ago. I started last spring with helping out as second assistant coach on the team. I'm doing that again this spring albeit with a different head coach from last spring. I've stayed friends with the previous coach who also coa coached Seth in his first baseball season. He's a good guy and we've been trying to build relationship with him over the last few years to pull him back into the Kingdom. He was raised pentecostal, but fell away through the years. God has been really pulling on his heart and he's coming back around. On Easter Sunday, he sat next to me and wept nearly the entire service. Holy Spirit was reeling him back in! It's great to see fruit start to come from the seeds you've been planting and watering over the last few years.

I knew eventually Holy Spirit would draw him back. That's not the part that I didn't think I'd be in four years ago. I was always into racing and engines, etc., and never played organized ball growing up. When Seth wanted to start baseball I had nothing to offer him in that area. Heck, it sounds silly, but I had to learn myself how to properly throw and pitch balls. As a side note, it is intriguing to me about body mechanics and how subtle differences affect your throws and hits. It's amazing how God made the human body! Anyway, over the years I've come to understand the game more and appreciate the subtle nuances of game play on the field. My coach friend began talking about starting his own tournament team (some people call it travel ball) and wanted to know if I'd be involved. That's the part I never would have believed if someone had told me. Being somewhat involved in rec league stuff and then going to tournament league stuff is a whole new ball game. Pardon the pun.

So it's happening. The really neat part is that now that he is coming back to the Lord, his focus is on more than just baseball (where it's wholly been for years now). The plan is to use baseball as another Avenue of outreach to kids and their families. He's getting a Kingdom mentality back! He had a whole list of team names that he had written down, but was drawn to the name "Crusaders". It fits our goals.

I'm looking forward to having an additional area of outreach. So many times we get stagnant sitting within the four walls just waiting on new people to come in, but we were told to "...go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in...". We're on a mission, a crusade!

One last note of interest. It's amazing how the left has tarnished the crusades over the years and twisted them. Most people, even Christians believe it was an evil time for the church. I'm sure you can pick out negative points and instances from the nearly 400 years of activity, but we're facing the same issues today. Muslims are trying to take over the world and a lot of people are willing to sit idly by watching it. Even in America's infancy we were fighting muslims. Anyone remember what happened on the "shores of Tripoli", or why the Marines got the nickname "leather necks"??? Interesting stuff. Learn from history or you'll he doomed to repeat it...

[Phillip Gross]

Here's a pretty article about the Crusades for your Saturday morning reading enjoyment.

http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/04/like-most-people-president-obama-gets-the-crusades-wrong/

[joecool]

Even in America's infancy we were fighting muslims.

Excerpted from a warning given by John Quincy Adams: "The precept of the Koran is perpetual war against all who deny...The command to propagate the Moslem creed by the sword is always obligatory...The commands of the prophet may be performed alike, by fraud, or by force."

Even if only one-tenth of 1% of Muslims believe in "holy" jihad, that's close to one million jihadists. This will never be over until there's a return of ("kinder and gentler") Muslim strongmen. Though Mubarak, Gaddafi and Saddam had their faults, they kept things under control.

[Claymore]

Sometimes the best way to control the rats is to have a snake.

[RRCmdrBennett]

Obama said America was built by Muslims. He never lie to us

[joecool]

A news story says the Secretary of the Navy has run aground in his attempt to gender-neutralize his service. Apparently, there's a single issue that keeps him from proclaiming total victory. One of the enlisted ratings is called "yeoman", an administrative position that deals primarily with officer-related paperwork. Several reworks of the rating have been shot down by the Navy's senior enlisted man (bless his heart).

If there were only a Star Trek fan in D.C., they'd know that the future navy got past all that politically-correct stuff. Yeoman Rand was an important character in the first year. Right, Dan?

[Claymore]

Well, you will have a ship full of Politically Correct Sailors & Officers.

They won't be able to evade that Chinese Silkworm Missile coming at their ship, but they will be Politically Correct.

[joecool]

Tonight's NCAA championship game is why I much prefer college ball over the NBA. In fact, I haven't watched the "pros" in 20+ years.

[Phillip Gross]

What happened?

[joecool]

What happened?

Two evenly-matched squads populated with team-oriented young men who put it all out there for 40 full minutes. A game destined to be a top-3 classic. One odd thing, though. The TV producer seemed obsessed with the Villanova coach, putting him on screen as much as the players. The opposing coach got one screen shot towards the end.

[RRCmdrBennett]

A news story says the Secretary of the Navy has run aground in his attempt to gender-neutralize his service. Apparently, there's a single issue that keeps him from proclaiming total victory. One of the enlisted ratings is called "yeoman", an administrative position that deals primarily with officer-related paperwork. Several reworks of the rating have been shot down by the Navy's senior enlisted man (bless his heart).

If there were only a Star Trek fan in D.C., they'd know that the future navy got past all that politically-correct stuff. Yeoman Rand was an important character in the first year. Right, Dan?  

Ask Fleet Captain Mansfield he is the expert!  

A pretty face for sure but more eye candy than integral. Though she does reappear in several of the motion pictures and appears to have gone beyond Yoeman.

[Phillip Gross]

The boys had a good game tonight with their rec ball team winning 9-3. Phillip Jr started out on the mound (he usually catches instead) and did a great job for most of the game only allowing the three runs. He started to fade after four innings and was pulled after he walked a batter and the closeout pitcher finished up the fifth inning (it was over after 5 innings because of the hour and fifty minute time limit). After getting removed from the mound, he finished out the game in center field making a few good plays there as well. He also almost hit a home run on his first at bat. Hit the fence. Since he thought it was out of there he started trotting towards first base. Once he saw that it hit the fence he sped up, but only got a double. Could've been a triple if he'd sprinted from the start.

Seth played first base all night. He did well stretching out to get outs at first. He got a couple base hits, but no power slams. One funny mistake was a short hit while Phillip was still pitching. Phillip ran forward to retrieve the ball and launch it to Seth at first base. It was a low throw and Seth missed it. To be honest, it was an error on both of their parts. Either one could have made it an out. The funny part was the brotherly "what the heck" look that they both shot at each other.

[Claymore]

. The funny part was the brotherly "what the heck" look that they both shot at each other.

Good job. You'll keep that memory forever.

[Phillip Gross]

Happy birthday Dan!! How old are ya now?

[joecool]

Last night, along with 30 other civilians, I spent 3 hours with a city's High Risk Unit (SWAT). Great briefings, demos and the like. At one point, we were all in a large room, knowing an entry team was coming through any second. And when they did, the ladies still screamed. What a hoot!

[Claymore]

"POLICE OFFICERS! SEARCH WARRANT! ON THE FLOOR!"


We used to execute Dynamic Warrants. Our Detective Sergeant would start a stop-watch from the time that we went into the door, until the last floor was called as "CLEAR".

Using about 7 officers, we could do a 2-story, 2 to 3 bedroom city house with the basement in about 47 seconds. If it had a stairway to the attic, add about 8 more seconds.

And that included officers needing to "Peel off" to detain occupants and suspects that they encountered while clearing the house. The Team generally had about 2 or 3 officers remaining with "free hands" by the time that the house was cleared.

[RRCmdrBennett]

40

[Claymore]

40

No.

They called us, "FIVE-OH".

[Phillip Gross]

I'll just refer to you as "ol' Dan" now!!!

You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in dept.

[RRCmdrBennett]

I'll just refer to you as "ol' Dan" now!!!

You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in dept.

Debt. Get it right Junior!  Maybe I can get an ounce of respect from the upper crusty layer of RC. NAH!!!

[RRCmdrBennett]

40

No.

They called us, "FIVE-OH".

Funny Claymore. I was answering Philip's birthday question to how old I am. 

Since hou mentioned Five-OH why does it refer to police?

[Claymore]

From the T.V. Show, "Hawaii Five-O".

[Canadarangers]

LEAD16 audio is posted on royalrangers.com/lead

[RRCmdrBennett]

From the T.V. Show, "Hawaii Five-O".

I'm familiar with the show but is it based on something real?  Does Five-OH only apply to Hawaii cops?

[RRCmdrBennett]

I'm looking forward to seeing John MacArthur tonight he'll be in town from California.

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