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This is a large part of an "an issue". Not "the" issue or "this issue" even, but "an issue". I'm 27, I don't know which generation that does or does not make me. I don't really care. I'm not defined by whatever that generation is, but I've been told by numerous people that I'm an "exception" to whatever "my generation" is. Ok, cool I guess, I just wanted to be successful so I've tried to do so over the years. However, know what? It isn't all my doing, in fact it wouldn't be fair in my opinion to say any of it is my doing. I was blessed being born in this country. In the "lottery of life", I could have been born to any third world country without electricity and running water; I doubt I'd be where I were today if that was the case. I'm not attempting to bring gender or race into this reply, but I will admit that being a white male has likely given me a lot of opportunities as well. Having two parents that are still married helped me out a lot as well. Having parents that were able to purchase a vehicle when I was 16 helped me out a lot. Heck, even learning how to drive helped me out a lot because apparently I've met a several people over the past couple of years that are my age but cannot drive and do not/have not had a driver's license. Their fault? To some extent. But if you were to consider their upbringing and situations, then I think you'd be able to dismiss at least some of it as not being their fault. Try to get a quality job (even with a college degree, as one of their cases) without a drivers license around here. Sometimes. I still consider myself "younger" at 27 (and am trying to hold on to that feeling for at least another 10 years). A lot of people I've met are indeed blind to many of these differences, but one thing I've noticed is that a seemingly large proportion of these people that are "open-minded" are only "open-minded" to people that agree with them perfectly. As an example, an extremely "open-minded" or "blind to differences" person may be 100% ugly towards a gun owner. Or, I will tread very carefully with the following but how often is it seen "extremely open minded people" that are in support of topics such as homosexual marriage but they lash out towards anyone that doesn't fully support their ideas and call these people bigots, etc? In my opinion, being open minded isn't a bad thing per se, but it goes beyond being accepting of the "hot topics" such as and not limited to: lgbt, race, religion, gender, etc. Being "open minded" means also accepting the people that may not agree with you on those issues as well. If someone's actions are filled with hate, then I understand not accepting them/their viewpoint. But if the sole issue is that someone isn't "as accepting" as you, don't hate that person just because they don't agree with you. I won't get into specifics, but over the years we've seen many, many posts and threads that are rather quite anti-gay, pro white, anti-muslim, etc and etc. We don't "need to know" any of those details about a specific member; if any of the members of any of those groups were to join TGO today and find many posts that were "against" them, I don't think it matters whether or not we know those details or not. That person is not going to feel included in our community. That is also why it is extremely important that the staff here at TGO shut threads like that down ASAP and try to prevent them going in that direction in the first place. Myself, living in eastern TN (Bradley County) with the neighboring Polk County, I will try very much to be extremely tactful in what I'm about to say. Wikipedia shows that Bradley County is 92.98% white. I'll let you do the math for the other people in Bradley County. As such, going to school I was generally limited in my exposure to other ethnicities, period. Once you consider the percentages of white people in our county, I suspect it is decently easy to extrapolate from that data the percentages of difference races at my employer. I myself attempt very much not to have prejudices against any kind against groups of people, but it is not as easy as simply trying. Due to the general environment and my upbringing, I'll admit that I have certain "biases". It is difficult to rid oneself of such biases. I think that the majority of people have certain biases, whether it be regarding race, religion, etc. I say all of this to say (in response to your question). Yes, I've been somewhere I felt that I didn't belong. My Wife and I were flying out of Atlanta, we know almost nothing about Atlanta. As such, we stopped at some Chipotle. As tactful as possible, I will simply say that out of a room of roughly 50 people, my Wife and I were the only white people there. Period. I can honestly say I think this was the first time in my life I had ever experienced something such as that. I firmly believe that some people would have turned around and left. I tried to use it as a learning experience. I wondered if the way I felt at that moment was what it was like to be any of the "other" races in my home county (oftentimes being the only non-white person in any group setting). We ordered and ate, and ultimately had a good time. Most people were friendly and not a single "bad experience", but the feeling was one as if we didn't belong. We don't want new members to either TGO or the firearm community as a whole to feel that way. Some people here at TGO get that, many do not I fear. To those completely clueless as to what this entire thread is "about", consider the following, all of which are just made up in my head by me. A homosexual person showing up into a gun-store for their first time, and then being bombarded with a poster on the wall stating "Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman" and overhearing the employees talk about "them faggots". Perhaps that person is there to purchase a firearm to protect their loved ones, knows nothing about firearms, and ultimately leaves because they didn't feel they were welcome. Any female that agrees to go to the range with one of their gun-guy guy friends and is in any way belittled over "being a woman" and any of the stereotypes that are typical when it comes to women and firearms. A Muslim whom shows up to take his (or her) class to get an HCP but is shown extreme prejudice during the class from the other students. How likely is it that any of these people dissociate from the firearm community as a whole? There are many people in the firearm community, many of you know someone like this and I fear that some of or members here may themselves be very close to this mindset, that simply do not care if other "groups" of people make their way into the firearm community and are accepted. Well, that is simply hurting the firearm industry as a whole. As a completely different topic, one thing I've been doing over the previous few months is reading articles on "The Root", which describes itself as "Black news, opinions, politics and culture". It has a very liberal bias. I do not agree with many of the articles. However, what is allows me to do is read directly from the source what the "other side" is thinking and feeling. I cannot discredit their thoughts and feelings. It allows me to consider things from their perspective. I have really enjoyed doing so, simply for the reasons stated above. https://www.theroot.com/

“Flipping” may not be the best term to use on a public forum if you are doing it for profit.

This is easily the best post that I’ve read on TGO. Being in my fifties, not a lot matters to me besides keeping my wife happy and attempting to maintain a stress free and peaceful mind. As for diversity, I realize that it’s difficult to change the mindset of older people unless they have deathbed conversions. It is what it is. What I’ve seen and love from the youth over my 31 years of being a parent is that they are trying to break the mold. They are trying to be inclusive. They are trying to be the melting pot that we claim America to be. The efforts of the youth aren’t perfect, but their efforts are better than the examples that my generation, and those older than me have set for them. I’ll give an example. My wife and I were fortunate enough, although at great sacrifice to be able to send our kids to the best private schools in Memphis. They were in safe Christian environments, and got superior educations. My kids were always a part of a very small handful of minorities. I watched as my son and two daughters had a diverse group of friends in lower and middle school. In high school, my daughters group of friends increased while my son’s group decreased. This is not to point fingers at anyone or make accusations, but the kids that my son had been around his entire life started to make racial slurs and distance themselves from my son. It seems to them, my son was no different than the riff raff that they heard about everyday at home or on the evening news. Though all the adversity, my son became an all star football player and a academic super star. The following opinion is based upon a small sample size, but based upon my life experiences, and those of other black men that I know. Our lives are a daily stress filled existence that leads to health problems and early death. Several members have given excellent examples of what it fills like to not feel welcomed in in gun stores and other situations. My favorite story was about the family outing to Chipotle. The feeling that the member had that day is the feeling that I have everyday. I don’t walk through life feeling like a victim, but I go out of my way to not be perceived as a threat or stereotyped. Everyday I’m conscious of my dress, my speech and my body language, and many times that still doesn’t exempt me from being treated poorly. I don’t whine about it. I just put on thicker skin and drive on, because I have young men watching me and I want them to navigate this life with the same strength, confidence and dignity. Finally, I’ve been a long time member of the NRA. I briefly gave up my membership when they labeled the ATF jackbooted thugs. As a government employee I didn’t think it was a good look. I carry my NRA membership card in my wallet daily, and I read The American Rifleman magazine that comes with my membership. That being said, I never feel like I’m the demographic that the NRA caters to. I view the NRA in the same way that I view labor unions. They are both necessary evils. The fundraising scare tactics are ridiculous, and get worse every election cycle. The one positive thing I can say about the NRA is that based upon the paranoia that I witness from many gun owners, they are getting their message across to those people they are trying to reach.

Do you have any of those home security projects you want to get done and intend to get around to one of these days. That always end up at the bottom of your priority list that never gets done, until a time comes when you had wished they were your top priority? Fortunately my recent home security experience ended well, but could have easily went South depending on the resolve of the home intruder. I'll try to keep my recent experience and thoughts as brief as possible. No one wants to experience a home invasion, especially when you're in bed and most vulnerable. Most don't want to have to use a firearm unless it's the last resort to protect your family and yourself, even inside your own home. This night I had wished I had done those home security projects I had intended to get to one of these days. I live in the country and things are pretty quiet around here except for the bugs, frogs, etc., especially at night. The wife and I were in bed and not asleep yet, and started hearing these loud metallic tapping / banging sounds coming from somewhere in or on the house and our lazy English Bull Dog starts barking from the living room where it normally sleeps at night. These sounds are obviously man made, as there can be no other explanation. My ADT alarm system has not gone off, I'm fully awake and coherent and grab by bedside handgun. I slowly proceed to the living room where the dog is and observe the dog to ascertain any threat that might be there. I have no indication or reason to believe anyone has made it to our living quarters based on my visual clearing, inspection and the dogs actions. I know the sounds we heard were man made and most likely someone trying to break into the house. I briefly consider calling the county Sheriff for a deputy to come out and check things. But reconsider based on my last experience of it taking :45 minutes for them to get here, and what good will it do anyway. I suspect whatever and whomever it was heard us and has probably left. My natural manly urge is to go outside to confront and / or to check the exterior to see what or who it is, and inspect the outside of my house. Using common sense and thinking about Tennessee Castle Doctrine Law, I fight the urge and remain in the house. I have a dead bolted door that leads to the basement, and the basement is next to an attached single car garage, separated by a flimsy hollow door with a dead bolt. One outside door that leads to the basement that has a locking door knob and dead bolt. The basement has a small window big enough to climb through with one of those flimsy thumb latches easily opened. The garage has three windows with the same type of easily opened thumb latches and are not alarmed. These are some of the areas I had intended to better secure but never got around to it. Eventually we went back to bed, and at first morning light I went outside to inspect my house and try to determine what the noise was we heard. Circling the house, the very last thing I got to and checked was the outside door that leads to the basement. Before I even got to the door I seen the damage from someone trying to Jimmie and pry the dead bolt and door knob. Damage to the door, frame and weather stripping. The thought occurred to me again whether to call the Sheriff and report an attempted home invasion. But I thought better as it would only generate a report and waste my and their time. I did inform all my immediate neighbors about the incident and be vigilant. The following two days I finally got around to beefing up my security to make it much more difficult for anyone to gain access into my home, basement and garage. At a minimum, it will take much more effort and noise to get through my additions. Something I should not have put off, the peace of mind and safety of addressing my know vulnerability areas. Just thought I'd share, and a reason to expedite any security additions your intending to get around to one day. My personal idea of security: To make my place as unattractive as possible, and as difficult to enter as possible. In the end, I win if it's very difficult to get in.

We have monitored security and signs posted on the 4 corners. 14 year old deaf alarm dog...if she sees a stranger, bark on. Asleep or looking the other way, you are good to go. Motion lights, 4 corners. No overgrown hedges, bushes, trees. Handguns strategically placed John Wick style. Not actually, I do keep most secured. Master bedroom can be defended with handgun; shotgun and carbine also at hand...it might really be John Wick. No kids, no reason to defend other parts of the house. Not SWAT trained to clear a house, so I'll wait patiently. From my perspective: 1. No one home, break in, I got insurance 2. Home, before bedtime, forced entry, I'm armed 3. Forced entry, after bedtime, hunker down and know if that BG comes up the stairs, we're going to need ServPro. Cameras would be an extra deterrent and for 'out of site of road' or more rural property owners, a nice doorbell. Added value, could help ID perp and/or vehicle.

@Dennis1209, I'd bet your lazy dogs barking might have been enough to scare them away which is good. It doesn't appear they were that determined to get inside. Thanks for sharing and giving a reminder to all of us so we don't get complacent.

Regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation, the Second Amendment is an acknowledgement of a base right that all people have to defend themselves against aggression. Last week, I had the chance to sit down with our very own @Tiffany Johnson and Aqil Qadir from @Citizens Safety Academy to talk about what it really means to be welcoming to more folks in the 2A Community. The voter demographic is changing dramatically in the United States. Even if you set aside partisan politics, you can see a change in the things that are important to the younger generations coming up behind us. Corporations hiring for jobs are already seeing the shift in values among Millennials and Gen-Z'ers, who care less about how much money they make and more about how much their employer does for the community and what social programs they support. These "kids" take those values with them to the voting booth and very few of them are being raised to appreciate and respect firearms. Many of them view guns negatively. A few might become supporters of gun rights after a negative experience opens their eyes, but others will be galvanized against guns as a result. Racially, the United States is visibly becoming less white. Is that blunt? YES. But the Caucasian demographic is no longer the majority the it was for the first 200 years of our nation's history. The failure to see that sets-up Second Amendment supporters for larger failures with significant missed opportunities and jeopardizes fundamental freedoms. If you have any doubt of that, consider how many of our nation's restrictive gun laws have origins in 1968 California where legislators began tearing away the right to bear arms because of the civil rights movement. Or how many laws in states like Illinois and New York and New Jersey hurt the inner-city residents the most. You know... the ones who statistically need access to firearms the most for their own protection. You might also be surprised to hear what role the NRA played in that. This is a pretty heavy subject and one that I suspect a lot of folks either (a.) assume we're already doing a fine job with, or (b.) haven't really given a whole lot of thought to. Tiffany and Aqil are hilarious, brilliant and fearless and are passionate about breaking down barriers and busting up stereotypes. I had a BLAST talking with them and think you all might enjoy listening to the conversation. At the very least, I hope that it challenges you. https://www.shootersnation.com/podcast/016-tiffany-johnson-on-widening-the-2a-tent-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-firearms-community/ PS: Yep, that's totally a spectrum of paracord for the background. Tactical Diversity.

Not to sound smug but, I don't NEED to sell A to buy B it's just I didn't want A as much as I thought I did.

They always have a great selection, but sometimes everyone except the guy behind the counter with the 1911s and revolvers behave as if you are bothering them. If I walk into a place of business I’m buying something. I don’t go into stores for fun. I’ve hate shopping, so I’ve usually know what I want when I walk into the business. Half of the guns in my safe came from them, but lately I’ve given Classic Arms and Arms Fair the opportunity to satisfy my needs. Arms Fair has the most polite people that I’ve met in the business. They don’t always have the selection, but I purchased my Sig MPX there because of their politeness. I also recently purchased a revolver and my second P365 from them, because I wanted to give them my business. I didn’t need either gun at the time. I was picking up a transfer.

View is from Unaka Mtn. (my back yard. LOL!) Yep, nice quiet lil' town and everyone knows everyone. No railroading in my blood, just moonshine running on my dad's side of the family, coal miners and share croppers from Va. on mom's side. National Forrest Shooting range is 5 mins from my house. Nice! lol!

I've converted plenty of fixtures and it's super easy. All you have to do is bypass the ballast and direct connect the power to the led tubes and you are done. Can be done in 10 mins or less and much cheaper.

good luck with it, used to be a guy locally that had several of them. Would set them out in his front yard to sell.

Glad it was mostly benign. I'd have my wife call it in immediately. They might not get to your house in time, but they might catch the guy at one down the road.

I had a Honda 90 hp on a pontoon boat for 10 years over 1000 hours. I now have a Yamaha 115 hp on another pontoon. Honda set the standard for four strokes years ago but I believe Yamaha is just as good. Mercury and Suzuki have a good reputation too.

There is a Lund dealer in Somerset KY. I think they make a pretty decent boat. May be worth a call to see what they have to look at. Not terribly far from you. https://www.lookoutmarine.com/s/search/inventory/availability/In Stock/brand/Lund/sort/best-match

Glad it ended well for you. I installed a door kit from Armor Concepts (TN Company) a couple of years ago and have been happy with it. https://armorconcepts.com But there is still more I'd like to do. Mostly, I know that a determined thief will get in no matter what so my focus now is going to be on cameras. I want to make sure that if someone does get in, I have as much video as possible to try and help catch them.

I have been very happy with my Milwaukee 18v tools. I've had them now for probably 6 or 7 years, and the original batteries are still going strong. I have some Ryobi tools too, and their batteries have long since been replaced. The Milwaukee tools feel good in the hand, and just feel like they are solid tools, where the Ryobi's feel like toys. Not saying Ryobi's are bad, they are great for the price, and for the occasional around the house job, the Milwaukee's just feel like a serious upgrade. The Circular Saw just keeps on cutting. I do keep a corded circular saw around and use it if I'm sawing a lot, mostly just to not use up the battery, or sometimes I just want the extra power. But 9 times out of ten, I grab the cordless. A cordless sawzall is a gift from Heaven. For demolition work, it can't be beat. My Milwaukee sawzall is really stout and feels like I could use it as a hammer if needed (I don't). The Impact driver is the tool I use the most. Can't imagine not using one anymore. It's lightweight and powerful. With the larger battery, it will run all day long. I added the belt hook to mine, and then to my hammer drill after I found how useful it was. That made it way more convenient for working up on a ladder. Can't tell you how many times I dropped my impact driver from a 6' ladder, and it's no worse for the wear.

Howdy and Welcome to TGO!!!

Yep house and shop are about 80-90% switched to LED. When I started the conversion 3 years ago I looked into direct bulb replacement for my 4 foot florescence and at that time fixture replacement was cheaper. I ended up putting about 3 times as much light in the work area of the shop and moved most of the displaced florescence to the storage area of the shop. As they go bad I will replace them with new LED fixtures. The fixtures I used were lower profile than the florescence fixtures and had the added feature of plugging end to end so one power run could power a whole long strip. Most of the of the house bulbs were just tungsten floods and lamp bulb replacement. I replaced the ones I used the most first, the rest are being replaced as they burn out or I fall in to great deals. Just pick the right color temperature for where they are being used.

I think Tracker gets knocked like entry Bayliner models in the recreation side. I think using them as a base line will help compare other stuff at similar price points. Is thicker aluminum / precision welding critical, motor brand / size, etc. We exited recreational boating about 5 years ago, if I did it again, I would definitely under need / want / desire balanced against usage.

Yeah. I had to kill a guy on that island once. Lopped his head off with my trusty Spyderco.

Liberals are hypocrites. Heck, at some point, most of us are hypocrites. Most libs I know assume they are much smarter than every other human. Sounds like your customer shares this line of thinking.

The dead give away for me are the guys dressed in various shades of tan and olive drab. Especially cargo pants/shorts, 5.11 shirt, and a fishing vest when it's a bajillion degrees outside. I just assume anyone dressed like John Goodman in The Big Lebowski is carrying.