More Coffee in the 'Stan!

So to further the series of... imaginative (yeah, that's a good adjective...) coffees for the ECR (Evil Coffee Robot) we cracked open a K-Cup of Green Mountain Coffee's "Golden French Toast." Coffee and French Toast, sounds all breakfasty, and that should be pretty awesome, right?

In the "roaster's" own words-

Remember those lazy Saturday mornings when everybody slept in? About the only thing that would open our eyes (other than the smell of just brewed coffee, of course) was the mouth-watering aroma of buttery French toast and warm Vermont maple syrup.

And Fair Trade to boot!

This stuff was freshly mailed to us the other day, so there's no excuse of it sitting around from a year ago either.  Once the ECR stopped making strange noises (sure glad I had an M4 fully loaded with M855A1 ready) we were greeted with a strong aroma of Maple Syrup. It filled the entire office, and didn't smell bad actually.  Upon closer inspection, my nose picked up a hint of rather bland Robusto coffee and very slight notes of butter.

It did brew up nice and dark, and I couldn't see the bottom of the cup for once.

For smelling so sweet, it's amazingly bitter. Any "French Toast" flavor is quickly lost by... something.  In it's defense, there was much less "chemical" taste than other K-Cups I've tried.  Overall, it looked much better than it tasted, and really just seems like bad coffee they tried to cover with an even worse flavor.

As for SSG Moose, "It tastes like what I imagine the French Toast from the movie 'Road Trip' would."

This one scores one mangy goat out of five.

Want a Case of P-Mags?

Of course you do.  Magpul's given some away, so fill out the survey and try to win.

A-Stan Coffee Reviews!

So when we moved into the TOC here, we inherited a Keurig coffee robot (I still refer to it as a robot... I don't trust the damn thing, and I'm positive they never programmed The Three Rules into it) and a giant pile of K-Cups.  So, I figure it'll make for a good start for more coffee content from another continent (heh.)

Today my partner in crime, er S2/S3, SSG "Moose," who's actually a fan of the Coffee Robot(tm) decided to bust into the Pumpkin Spice from Green Mountain Coffee.  This is a seasonal flavored coffee, and no doubt left over from last fall.  The... roaster... describes it as "A delicious coffee enhanced by the creamy pumpkin spice flavors of autumn." Supposedly it's a light roast, and of unknown origin.

The coffee is indeed light, to the point that you can almost see the bottom of the cup.  I described it as "incredibly weak, with a dis-congruent aroma-to-flavor ratio, smelling quite reminiscent of a rich Spiced Chai Latte, and with the taste of a wet dishrag used to clean out a pumpkin pie pan, with only a hint of coffee.  It's only saving grace is a clean finish with only a minimal chemical preservative taste."

SSG Moose described it as "hot wet garbage."

We'll give this one a rating of a single goat (out of a herd of 10 or so.)

Temptation Has Two Wheels

And it's name is apparently CrossRip Elite...

With the ol' Autobot gone and an F150 looming on the horizon, I find myself contemplating a "serious" commuter bike... with gears and mounts for racks and fenders.  Of course I'm a fat-tire rider at heart, so the disc brakes and hint of knobs on the tires also attract me quite a bit.

Having cross levers on the flats seems like a wonderful idea for a commuter as well, since I like to be up and scanning at intersections, and hovering over the brakes; something that plain doesn't work if you've only got levers on the drops like the Red Beast has.  That's one of the handful of complaints I have about that bike.

Oh well, plenty of time to think and see how the reviews turn out as this one has some time on the streets (and trails.)  It's probably a good thing I'm not too keen on the color, otherwise I'd be awful tempted to tell Manda to go down to the LBS and order me one...

MHI Kickstarter

I'ma be that guy and mention it again... only $8,000 or so to go until there's MHI dice involved, and I wants me some MHI D6 goodness.

Go. Contribute. Get cool stuff.

New Travel Mug

Fits the theme around here pretty well.

Dirt Pusher's Journal: Ranger Coffee

Dirt Pusher's Journal: Ranger Coffee: Engineer Blend !  Will have to get some sent over when we hit country, it's only proper.

Two-wheeled Awesome

Rideable Penny Farthing replicas... want.

MHIEHBRPG Kickstarter is Live!

That's the Monster Hunter International Employee's Handbook and Roll Playing Game is live on Kickstarter.  Some of the mid-level packages are going fast!  I couldn't resist the patch, but really wish I could have shelled out the $500 for red-shirting.  Oh well, some day I'll achieve that.

Anyway, go support the Awesome!!

SKD Deal of the Day

If you're a gear whore aficionado like me, you may want to keep an eye on SKD's new "Deal of the Day" page. Just a heads up.

Want

Break-down 7.62x51 MOA Semi-auto rifle... that fits in a laptop case.  Sweetness.

Free Coffee Recipe Book

Free right now for your Kindle.

Oh Danny Boy...

All I can say is, well... I've heard worse.

It was, at least, the pick-me-up I needed this afternoon, and the man deserves some donations for that (I gave mine last night.)

YAR! (Pirate Name Time!)

My pirate name is:

Bloody Tom Flint

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Yar!

Almost forgot, tomorrow is a Holy Day! International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I'm Totally Reclassing

00-ABID

Tsai Steps Down

It is with deep sorrow that I announce I am stepping down as editor of Recoil, effective immediately.

It is very difficult for me to walk away from something I helped create, something that I loved doing, and something I firmly believed would appeal to a fresh new generation of gun enthusiasts, but I accept that the comments in my story in the current issue have made my position as editor of Recoil untenable.

With that said, Recoil is bigger than any one person, and if my departure will allow Recoil to continue to grow and engage gun enthusiasts, then stepping down as editor is clearly the right thing for me to do.

I accept I made mistakes, and I apologize unreservedly for calling Recoil’s support for Second Amendment rights into question.

While I understand the passions aroused over this incident, the deeply hurtful words from some of my fellow gun enthusiasts have been painful to endure. I hope now we can all move on.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who have supported me over the past few days. These are the people who know me to be at heart a passionate gun enthusiast whose dream was to make something bold and new in firearms media.

Jerry Tsai

I don't know how much of it was pressure from the publishers (you don't lose a giant chunk of ad revenue overnight and just ignore it...) but I think this is the right first move in trying to save a publication.

9/11

Obviously an important day, and one with extra meaning for the second time in my life. I'm not going to say to much, primarily because I'm at a vehicle gunnery range in the middle of the desert, and I'm amazed I have any signal.

I will, however, direct you to this post from Breach, Bang, Clear- A Different Take on Remembering 9/11

More Companies Pulling Ads from Recoil

Magpul Dynamics/Industries on their Facebook page.
Haley Strategic
ITS Tactical
Panteao Productions
Bravo Company USA

I'm sure there's more, but these are some pretty big names that definitely jumped out, especially Travis Haley, who was featured in the last issue quite prominently.

ETA: Better list from SSD

Tsai Speaks

He posted this morning on their Facebook page-

I’d like to address the comments regarding what I wrote in the MP7A1 article in RECOIL issue 4. First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for any offense that I have caused with the article. With the benefit of hindsight, I now understand the outrage, and I am greatly saddened that it was initiated by my words. Especially since, I am an unwavering supporter of 2nd Amendment Rights. I’ve chosen to spend a significant part of both my personnel and professional life immersed in this enthusiasm, so to have my support of individuals’ rights called into doubt is extremely unfortunate. With that said, I retract what I wrote in the offending paragraph within this article. It should have had been presented with more clarity.

In the article, I stated some information that was passed on to me about why the gun is not available for civilian purchase. By no means did I intend to imply that civilians are not responsible, nor do we lack the judgment to own such weapons, if I believed anything approaching this, clearly I would lead a much different life. I also mentioned in the article that the gun had no sporting purpose. This again, was information passed on to me and reported in the article without the necessary additional context. I believe everything published in RECOIL up to this point (other than this story), demonstrates we clearly understand and completely agree that guns do not need to have a sporting purpose in order for them to be rightfully available to civilians. In retrospect, I should have presented this information in a clearer manner. Although I can understand the manufacturer’s stance on the subject, it doesn’t mean that I agree with it.

Again, I acknowledge the mistakes I made and for them I am truly sorry.

Sincerely,
Jerry Tsai
Editor
RECOIL

I've got a class, so I'll get to my thoughts and reactions later.

More on Recoil

Very well written piece by Monderno.

Silencerco Pulls Ads from Recoil

Over the previously mentioned article.  Not looking good for Mr. Tsai.

Sci-Fi Gun Poster

Coolness.

Need...

TJRS (Tactical Java Retention System.)  Obviously this is high on the list of needed MOLLE pouches.

Via SSD

Done with Recoil Magazine

Unless Jerry Tsai gets fired...

I haven't seen the most recent issue yet, but there's apparently an article about the H&K MP7A1 written by the above editor, in which he writes-

"Like we mentioned before, the MP7A1 is unavailable to civilians and for good reason. We all know that’s technology no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on. This is a purpose-built weapon with no sporting applications to speak of. It is made to put down scumbags, and that’s it. Mike Cabrera of Heckler & Koch Law Enforcement Sales and veteran law enforcement officer with SWAT unit experience points out that this is a gun that you do not want in the wrong, slimy hands. It comes with semi-automatic and full-auto firing modes only. Its overall size places it between a handgun and submachine gun. Its assault rifle capabilities and small size make this a serious weapon that should not be taken lightly."

I haven't been able to verify, but there is a response attributed to JT that digs his hole even deeper on their Facebook page (in the comments on the photo of the gun in question, you'll probably have to dig a little.)  It pretty much reads as an excerpt from the Brady Campaign handbook with talk of "falling into the 'wrong' hands" and defending H&Ks decision to not produce a "civilian" version to keep military and police safe from such a tiny lethal device.

I don't want to buy a gun magazine that's going to preach anti-gun rhetoric at me, so until it's fixed and he's gone, they shouldn't expect me to be buying another issue (I am a little sad, the pictures and layout where nice...)

OTG Has You Covered

With their new "Dynamic Intervention Contraceptive Karrier."

Gimme Blog Fodder

As the handful of regular readers here know, I'm currently down in Texas/New Mexico doing Mobilization training for the Army, and will soon be heading into Afghanistan.  I've started another blog, Dirt Pusher's Journal, to document stuff as it goes on, and to help me try and keep a better form of a journal this time around.

Problem is, I don't know what kind of stuff people want to hear about.  So, if you can give me some ideas in the comments, and pass the word around, that'd be awesome.  It's often a lot easier for me to write stuff if somebody plants an idea in my head.  I'll do what I can, keeping with OPSEC and the standard rules and regs, but feel free to put whatever you want down there.

Glock Commercial

I've got to agree with Caleb, it's pretty decent.



Not my choice in guns (if you've spent any time around here, you've probably picked up on that... nothing against them, I'd even shoot one regularly if given to me, just not what I like if I'm paying.)

It's good to see a company stepping up their image though.

Awesome Warning

Is awesome.  I ordered a sling mount for my M4 from these guys and it came with this:

Look for a review in a couple months after some time to beat it up.

French Press

Decent instructions from Daily Shot.