John, The Head

One of the problems I always have is trying to remember which computer goes to which primary user.  It’s not uncommon for people to turn over faster than computers here, so I elected a naming scheme that did not involve user names.

This morning I put in a CNAME entry for all of the users in my DNS.  With the alias entries, things are a lot easier

John,

Hate to bother you.  I took your CHL class back in October 2006 and I have a few questions regarding ammo.

How long should you keep ammo in a clip?  Should it be rotated every so often?

When storing ammo is it acceptable to store in the original boxes it came in or is there a better method?  About how long is a good shelf life for ammo?

Again, sorry to bother and thanks for any information you can provide.

L**** G*****

Mr. G*****,

It’s absolutely no bother at all.

I generally rotate my magazines depending on their manufacture.  If I remember correctly, you purchased a Glock model 23.  Glocks tend to be insanely reliable.  Though I would not recommend it, I have had Glock magazines that were loaded in excess of 18 months and performed flawlessly.

I would say it is wise, with a Glock, to rotate magazines monthly.  I recommend rotating your carry load every six months.  When you rotate your magazines you should also inspect your rounds.  Check to make sure that the cases are in good condition and that the opening cavity of the hollow point is round, and not deformed.  Other weapons will vary slightly in when you need to rotate the magazines.

As far as the shelf life of ammunition and it’s storage, as long as it is stored in a cool, dry place, I would say that it will reliably store for several years.  When I was in the Marine Corps I fired a great deal of ammunition from the Viet Nam era.  Also, our primary rifle training ammunition was manufactured in 1986, by the lowest bidder, (this was from the period of 1998-2002) and I never experienced a misfire with that ammunition.

Storing ammunition in the original factory boxes is quite acceptable.  There are lots of sporting goods stores that sell nice plastic boxes that you can put ammunition into.  These are generally used by people who reload.  I, personally, have never found a need for this, especially since I go through, on average, 250 rounds per range session.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Thank You,
John

“The Marines I have seen around the world have, the cleanest bodies,
the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any
group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States
Marine Corps.”

-Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945

So, while at lunch today, actually when I was just leaving home, I noticed the power went out.  No big deal, I thought.  It happens.  So back to work I went.  As I was driving back to the office, I made the realization that my neighbor’s A/C unit was running, which meant the power outage was localized.  Odd, I thought…

So, I called the apartment complex, and talked to them.  I asked that they send someone over to check the main breaker, et cetera.  I get a call back stating that my breakers are fine, but there’s a red tag on my electric meter.  “What does that mean?” I asked.  “It means you were cut off…”

Uhm… Oooohh kaaay….

So, I begin to rack my brain…  Was it, like, two months ago that I paid my bill last or something?  Of course, I assumed, that the error was mine.  Indeed, I had erred, but my error was not in my accounts payable, but in assuming that I had erred.

A review of my account online showed that I DID have a past due balance of $0.09, and that my electric bill is due in two days.  Very well.  I was a little behind the power curve.  I refused to believe that I was cut off for a past due balance of $0.09…  So, I called them, not quite sure how I was off by $0.09.  It was less than 30 days past due anyway.  And it was less than a friggin dime!

So, I call, hold, select options, et cetera, until I get a live body.  I told them that it appears that I had been cut off.  I asked if I had been cut off somehow for a $0.09 past due balance that was less than 30 days old.  They pulled up my account and looked.  Indeed, I was 28 days past due on $0.09, but they showed no disconnect order.  “Would you like to take care of your past due balance today sir?”  I grinned.  “Sure, I’ll put it on my visa.”  I hope that they pay a per-transaction fee in excess of $0.09.  I digress.  I wanted to know why I had been cut off.  They had no answer because, in fact, they didn’t show an order to cut me off.  “We wouldn’t cut off for that small a balance, sir…”

After a bunch of screwing around, they insisted that my power hadn’t been cut off, that there was an electrical problem.  I explained that there was a red tag on my meter, which confused them.  Why would there be a red tag if I hadn’t been cut off?  EXACTLY!

So, after one thing and another, calling reiant, center point, reliant, center point, reliant, center point, et cetera, it was determined by center point that I needed to have reliant issue a reconnect order.  Reliant didn’t want to do it because I wasn’t disconnected.  I finally got some supervisor type person to force the system to take the order.  Then I was informed that I would be connected by 11:59 PM tomorrow evening.  To which I responded:  WTF?!?!  Why do I have to wait that long to get my power back on when it wasn’t supposed to be shut off in the first place?

“That’s just the policy, sir, I’m sure it won’t take that long.”

Yeah.  Right…  So, I waited a few hours, called Center Point, and they hadn’t received the work order.  Reliant.  Center Point.  Reliant again.  Center Point again.  Center Point informed me that work orders they receive after 2:00 p.m. are not likely to be filled the same day.  Great.  So, reliant is telling me they have submitted the work order, center point is telling me they haven’t received it, that it can take several hours.

Back and forth, back and forth, ice cream melting, cat panting, me taking my xanax (not yet, but probably soon)…

Anyone know much about poping open a meter to reconnect manually?  I would think that it wouldn’t quite be theft of service, as nobody can show intent to defraud or not pay.  I mean…  I gave those morons nine cents just today!  I guess I should call the D.A. or something, ask them. 

I think I’m going to pay next month’s bill $1.00 at a time.  Just to rack up their transaction fees.  They probably don’t pay any though, so it’s probably not really worth it…

In the end, I realized that there really are only two options.  1)  Sit back and wait/sweat/spend the night at the office, or 2) go find their call center and go postal.  Having the respect for the law that I do, I guess I’m going to be sweating tonight.

*sigh*