What is this?

What do you call this:

We had a rather energetic debate in my office about this, up to and including raised voices and thinly-veiled insults. I've always called them 'roundabouts' since that is how the locals called them in all the various places I've encountered them (mostly overseas). My opponents here are quite sure the name is "rotary."
What say you?

I won't even tell you how much taxpayer money was spent on this debate...

AR-15 Build Update - West Coast

Similar to James, I am also waiting on my upper to arrive. I spoke to the company 2 weeks ago and they said it would be another week or 2 before it shipped, so any day now I should see a large sum of money debited from my checking account.

Here is where I stand thus far:

* Mega .223 / 5.56 lower receiver
* Rock River Arms lower part kit
* Command Arms SRS Sniper Stock with folding monopod
* Buffer tupe, spring and buffer from Model 1 Sales
* Not pictured - (3) Magpul 30rd PMAGs and (2) 10/30 magazines


10 weeks ago I ordered the Stealth Sniper System LT011 complete upper from Larue Tactical located in the dead center of Texas. Estimated arrival....any day now.

In addition to the above, I recently scored 700 rounds of ammo from Wal-Mart. After reading James' previous post The Hunt for Ammo, I too began stalking every Wal-Mart I came across for a number of weeks before I actually scored. After about 5 weeks of constant browsing, I came a across a Wal-Mart that had 800 rounds in stock so I purchased 700 of them (I would have felt guilty if I purchased them all). Pictured below are 500 of the 700 rounds.




I'm still wanting a red dot sight and some cool laser shit, but that has been put on hold as I am in the middle of purchasing a home. So for now I will just order some regular ol' iron sights from LaRue.

As soon as I get my upper in, I will be sure to post some assembly pictures as well as a few pictures of this beast in action. Stay tuned....

Nunnrey, is there something we should know?

Nunnrey left his pen in my truck the other day.

When in Greece: Olympia Style

This is a picture from the cruise we went on in May. That's JT and me behind a pillar in the ancient town of Olympia, Greece. Yep, everyone else is taking in the magnificent relics from the early Olympic Games...me and JT...grab-assing as usual.

AR-15 Build Progress

Here is where I stand so far:

• DPMS .223/5.56 Lower Receiver & Lower Receiver Parts Kit
• Stock Extension Kit from PK Firearms
• Magpul CTR Carbine Stock
• Not pictured - I've also picked up two Magpul 30 rnd MagLevel PMAGs

Back in February I went ahead and ordered the 2HTL complete upper (left-handed) from Stag Arms. It is on back order and they estimated 25 weeks to deliver so that puts it getting here in the August/September time frame.

Michael, what's the status on your build?

San Marcos Wrapup

While y'all were working on Friday, Nunnrey and I went down to San Marcos to do some cleanup and repairs to our condo since the tenants had moved out. The guy with the tinfoil hat in the unit below is gone. That's good for us trying to rent this place out, but bad that we won't have any more stories about that guy.

I guess the old tenants didn't like smoke detectors.



If you can't tell, the jackass turned the battery around. At least he left that one in there, the battery was just missing from one of the others. We also braved the heat and played a round at Quail Creek Golf Club. Some nice scenery there.

Cleaning Out My Closet

Shey made me clean some crap out of the closet this weekend and I ran across a good memory. This is a little something I inherited when I moved into the Lil' Brown Crack House. Not sure if any additional explanation is necessary, but let's just say this is one of the many old school techniques used prior to widespread clearing of Internet browser cache/history.

And no, this was not one of the items I threw away.

JT's Reading List Review: Political-based Fiction

So, now to the fiction. As I mentioned before, I am not much of a reader of the non-fiction and my fiction preferences in general would fit my "engineer" persona. Before we get to the more geeky readings, here are some of the classics that I have read that some may find worthwhile. Of course, all of these have a very individualist point of view and are very anti-communist in nature, but that coincides with my own political leanings so I would recommend them to one and all.

Anthem (Ayn Rand)
If you have read 1984, then you will find this very similar (although published before 1984). This is a quick read about the results of collectivism thought and planning. The book is short, to the point, and worth the read. Definitely should read.

The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
Now this book was OK. If you are going to only read one long Ayn Rand book, I would point you to Atlus Shrugged. However, if you want to read both, I wouldn't discourage you. This book focuses on the individual to selfish desires. But, that is the point. Live for yourself and not for others. That is where true satisfaction and happiness reside. I recommend to read, but not if it discourages you from Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
This is one of my all-time favorite books. The story may seem over-the-top (by the way one of the worst movies ever) from a realistic point of view, but if you think back to the past 6 months, you may have heard a lot of the looter comments that Rand spoke of over half a century ago. I have read this one a couple of times and like to put it back on my list every couple of years. Some parts are preachy and tend to drag, but this book, in my opinion, is more relevant right now than it has been in the last 5 decades. Read it and enjoy. The minds of the world may still yet need to strike.

1984 & Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Both of these books would have been on your English reading lists back in high school. If you read them then, I swear you will appreciate them better today. Both are anti-communist books that speak against collectivism. I would recommend them for the stories and morals behind them. If you don't care for that, at least read them so when someone mentions something about "Orwellian speak" you have an idea of what they are talking about. Both are fairly short and if you have the time, have a read.



Coming next classic literature that I have picked up and read, recently. Following that, I will get into the thriller/mystery genre and finish up with some Sci-fi/Fantasy.

JT's Reading List Review Kindle and Non-Fiction

OK, so most of my time, outside of testing 9V batteries (look at profile pic) I do a lot of reading and a little of Call of Duty gaming (PS3).

I also know that others on here tend to do a little bit of reading, too. So feel free to recommend anything.

First, if you are an avid reader and especially a frequent traveler, then I would seriously recommend the Amazon Kindle. It is convenient for reading as well as looking up shit on the web for free. One of my coworkers has one and calls it his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I can almost agree with that. Speaking of, decent book, but not worth all the hype I had heard pryor to reading. It was a quick read and mildly entertaining.

Now to the books.

NON-FICTION (not my most-read genre, but worth the mention)

John Adams (David McCullough)
Spectacular story of John Adams. I won't get into any of the details, because you can check out better written summaries on the Amazon link. But, if you like American history, especially around the founding, this is one of those can't miss books. I would recommend this one even to those not too much into history becaue it reads much like a novel.

1776 (David McCullough)
This revolves much around the story of the first year of the revolutionary war and is pretty much all about George Washington. I liked it enough to finish and it read much like a novel as well, but if you are going to only ready either John Adams or 1776, I would go with John Adams.

A History of the American People (Paul Johnson)
It has been a while since I have read this one, but still recommend it to anyone interested in American History. I do remember really getting into it and loved how it focused on interesting people since the founding and tell the story of the USA. I have read that it tends to have a conservative slant to the our country's history, but that shouldn't sway you one way or the other. Worth the read.

Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell)
There isn't really much you can say about this book that isn't good. If you are not much on general economic theory and really don't care, then you may find this book somewhat useful. Read this and then tell me if you think the recently passed Carbon cap-and-trade/tax bill will really be beneficial to our country.

Up next: Politically motivated fiction (anti-commi shit)

Minnesota Weather

This is the only time of the year I can brag about the superior weather in the great-white north. Here are our projections for the upcoming week. We have our hot days from time to time, but this tends to be more like the norm.

It's Hot

Feel like I'm out at Michael's place in the desert. JT, keep those 9V batteries coming...we need all the A/C we can get down here.

Slow Play is Dangerous

Remember that mention of the slow players in front of us at Founder's Day? And I joked about speeding them up using my Red Ryder (as opposed to letting Crunk Craig yell at them). Well, some old man has taken that to the extreme here in Austin:

A 73-year-old man has been arrested for aiming a loaded handgun at several men after a golf game.

Edwin Dailey, who has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, got into a confrontation with three men at the ninth hole of the Lions Municipal Golf Course on Enfield Drive Monday afternoon because he thought they were playing too slowly, an arrest affidavit said. The argument continued to the 13th hole when Dailey told the men he would get his gun and “make them both equal,” the affidavit said.

You can read the rest at The Austin American-Statesman.

Chicken Fried Steak Review

We went to Randy's IceHouse in Taylor, TX yesterday. I'll begin with a seating tip. It was still pretty hot outside when we got there. There's a table in the back directly under a ceiling fan--sit there. Our table wasn't under a fan, and judging by the amount of sweat on James's forehead it was pretty hot in our little corner of the room. The food was good. The CFS wasn't hanging off the plate, but the menu does list the option of doubling the meat (single portion below).



The only bad thing I can point out is there were a couple of flies that were hanging around most of our stay, and you know I don't like bugs.

Operation Recycling

Before I tell the story let me preface by letting you know that I choose to pay extra money every month to participate in my city sponsored recycling service...and we actually use it. And furthermore, I even let John throw his recyclables in my bin so he doesn't have to pay the fee.

I work at a software company in Austin. Some of my co-workers would be classified as hippies that live by the Keep Austin Weird mantra. They also believe it is their duty to recycle (which again...I have no problem with). These same people have setup some separate bins near the trash can in our break room for cardboard/paper/cans/etc. There is not a pickup service for recycling at our office so several of the hippies have volunteered to take care of it.

As you can guess, this means nobody actually ever takes care of the recycling which means we end up with full bins and a bunch of 'trash' piled up around the bins. Some time ago my boss decided to take matters into his own hands. Each Friday afternoon, after most of the employees are gone, he takes the contents of the recycling containers and the crap piled up around them to our dumpster. I laugh every Friday when I see him doing this and two weeks ago I decided to ask him about it.

He said that those hippies are disgusting and don't take care of this crap so he will. We went on to discuss that they probably assume that one of the other hippies is always taking care of it so the disappearance of the 'recyclables' will never be questioned. Yesterday, my boss was out of the office and as I was about to leave I noticed the full bins and trash piled in the corner of the break room. So I went ahead and 'recycled' the stuff for the hippies by putting it in the dumpster.

My boss is happy there is not a rat nest in the corner. The hippies feel good that they 'recycled'. And I got to laugh to myself as I perpetuated the shadow operation. Everyone is happy.

Happy Juneteenth!!!

I can't believe I forgot today is Juneteenth. Looks like some of your states don't officially observe it (yet), but I'm sure we'll celebrate big here in Texas tonight. And I see North Carolina does observe it. Luke....

This one's for North Carolina! C'mon and raise up

Take your shirt off, twist it 'round yo' hand

Spin it like a helicopter

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Beauty Tip of the Week

C + AHA

You get all of the benefits of C and AHA in one bottle. No more wasted time applying these two separately. I've just boosted your productivity by 2%.

Master of my Domain

Today I talked to this married guy I've known for a while and we caught up on the regular chit-chat and then I asked him how his family was doing. It's worth pointing out that this guy is around our age group...so he's still relatively young. The family consists of a wife, young daughter and step-son (think he is eleven'ish). Apparently, the step-son is becoming a man...sort of.

Come to find out the mom has walked in on the son a couple of times to find him flogging the dolphin. In one situation, the son hadn't been home more than 5 minutes from school. The mom walked in his bedroom and saw the son completely naked on the bed taking care of business. Now that is a kid on a mission. Probably came running home from the school bus to release those inner demons as quickly as possible.

Anyway, now my buddy has had a sit down to discuss the new habit. His advice was to take care of business in the bathroom so he can clean up appropriately and not be hassled. And his advice to the wife was to knock before walking into the son's bedroom.

To you new dads...see what you have to look forward to one of these days? And if you knew this guy I'm talking about he is probably one of the last people on earth (except for maybe the naked leprechaun) I would want counseling me about my solo organ career.

Mississippi Ingenuity

Now I've been aware of noodling for some time now. James and Shey even bought me Girls Gone Grabblin' a while back. But I have to admit, I didn't know there was a group of people that made it a habit of grabbing snakes.

Well, there's a group in central Mississippi, that takes grabbing to a whole 'nother level, and there's only one other name for what they do - grabbing snakes by hand.

Under the Lights with Mississippi State Football

From mstateathletics.com:

In April, a camera crew from Fox Sports spent nearly a week behind-the-scenes with Mississippi State head football coach Dan Mullen and the Bulldog football team leading up to the Maroon-White Game and Super Bulldog Weekend. The finished product can be seen today as the show – “Under the Lights with Mississippi State Football” – will premiere at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on SportSouth.

Looks like they will also play on the mstateathletics.com at some point, but doesn't specify when.

What are your plans, Jeff?

Today I see the Ding special for Southwest is $38 one-way from Austin to Dallas. And as John pointed out in How many wings can we eat??? there is some work to be done to hit 20 Hooters in Texas.

The proposal:

Jeff, how would you feel about picking us up at the airport and driving us around for a Hooters marathon in the DFW area? By my count it looks like there are 14 locations in the region. My guess is we would not be able to hit them all, but I would like to put down a challenge to drink one pitcher of beer at each location and see how far we can get. Are you up for the challenge?

And happy b-day, Aaron H....when do you want to host us for the Houston marathon?

James = Ninja; John = Cheater

I had almost forgotten how much of an athlete I am. Today I pulled up my YouTube account to check out some account settings for something work related. Anyway, the only video in my account is the Dizzy Bat race from a minor league baseball game back in September 2007. I know most of you have already seen it, but damn I'm fast and it's always a good laugh to watch again

Once again, as mentioned in John Should Be Banned From Laser Tag...John is a dirty cheater. Look how many times he picks up his bat and he even fell down in front of me to trip me up. No amount of beauty cream will help John in a foot race against me.

How many wings can we eat???

Hooters is having another passport contest, but this time we can't lean on JT. It's Texas only. Can we get all the stamps in time? Will Nunnrey skip the reward again? These questions and more will be answered over the summer.

Backtoms: 1 Year Anniversary

Happy one year anniversary to Backtoms!

What have we learned in the last year?

• We are over 300 posts strong. That is a lot of crap!
• Guns and food definitely seem to top the list of things written about.
• Michael C. must have a serious girlfriend since we haven't heard from him much in 2009.
• We've had views on the site from 14 different countries
• Some of the top keyword searches that brought people to our site:
• backtoms
• starkville sweet tea vodka
• hattiesburg prostitutes
• little brown crackhouse
• hooters in mississippi
• hooters passports
• larue tactical stealth sniper system lt011
• tweeder drank beer
• If you have forgotten or never learned how to post it is quite easy. Here are some notes:
• What's It Gonna Take
• Blog Template
• Your name doesn't have to be James or John to post/comment on here (of course thanks to those of you that have participated)

Here's to another year!

iPhone Time Waster

Been playing FlightControl the past couple of days. I suck at it, but it's kind of addicting. It's pretty simple, drag a flight path to land the planes and helicopters on their respective landing strips (you can change the paths as many times as you want). Game's over when you have a wreck.

Let Me Post That For You: Chicken Fried Steak

From Nunnrey:

I think I just found the chicken fried steak for you... Just saw one delivered to a table with a 9-10 diameter.

He follows up with:

Unless that plate is a couple feet wide, and that's a 64 oz cup I'm not impressed.

Leaving One Day Early

Sitting here at the airport waiting on my delayed flight back to Austin. Just read about the Mississippi Picnic in Central Park at SunHerald.com. Too bad I'm not staying one more day so I could go enjoy some fried catfish and sweet tea.

Let Me Post That For You: Winna Winna Chicken Dinna

From Nunnrey's recent Vegas trip:

This pains me to write because I know the reaction that I'm going to receive...

The Vegas trip was pretty good, I think I calculated costs being between 400-500 bucks going into the last day of the trip (excluding airfare, including tickets to "Peepshow" and a couple room upgrades). At any rate, John and James, you owe me 25 bucks each for the gamblin'...which we'll call even because of the horseracing win you had last week ($33.00 profit) and because 4 hours before I got on the plane to come home on Saturday I hit $1800 on a triple wild cherry...

I've attached the pictures so you could virtually enjoy Vegas.... I didn't get in nearly enough gamblin', so I'll likely be ready again in a few months.

JT, I've added the additional pictures and audio for your entertainment... play yinyang.wav while viewing yinyang.jpg, it'll feel like you are there.

Few things:

• As I'm sitting in the hotel lobby I don't have an easy way to give you the audio file Nunnrey included, but it's some dumb (and racist) slot machine sound that is supposed to be an Asian sound effect.
• Not sure what reaction he was afraid of receiving...just give me my cut and we're good.
• Been chatting with JT/Nunnrey about the next Vegas trip. Will most likely be sometime later in the year. Been kicking around maybe spending Thanksgiving there if anyone is interested.

Pizza in NYC: Part II

Back up in NYC this week and since getting in last night I've hit two places (imagine that).

Last night I walked from the hotel and grabbed a slice over at Redstone Pizzeria. Not too shabby, but nothing to call home about. I would say it was better than the slice I had last time though. The crust was a little to crisp for my liking.

Today we had lunch at Piola. Now that was a good slice. I had the Honolulu which John wouldn't like because of the delicious pineapple on top, but why would you want to take pizza advice from a dude sharing beauty secrets anyway? I'll report more if I get the chance.

Slim Jim Plant Explosion

From FOXNews.com:

GARNER, N.C. — An explosion at a Slim Jim meat products plant Tuesday injured at least 38 people, including four who suffered critical burns, and left a toxic cloud around the facility as authorities searched for two people still missing.

Couple things:

• What delicious chemical(s) in my Slim Jim is causing the toxic cloud?
• If you were trapped in a room of Slim Jims could you eat your way out of it?

And joking aside, of course I hope the best for those involved.

Time Waster: NCAA Rules Test

Read about the NCAA rules test for coaches on The Blog last night.

I didn't actually take the time to do this yet so I don't have a score to share, but let's assume I'd fail.  You can access the test directly at http://bit.ly/pXcNm 

Share your scores.

Beauty Tip of the Week

Here's another product to keep you ahead of the curve. Use it after shaving.

Tend Skin Liquid

I think rubbing alcohol is a major component, as that's what it smells like.

Here we go Bulldogs...

As football season is getting closer here are a couple of links:

• Looks like we've got a signee in some trouble.  Read about it on Kyle's blog at clarionledger.com.
• New TV info for SEC games at al.com.  

Thanks Mom!

From KXAN.com:

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An Austin woman is charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony, after a hospital-surveillance video caught her putting feces into her 3-year-old child's feeding tube.

For bacon lovers

Figured you guys may want to spend some of your money on even more bacon crap. http://www.zazzle.com/bacon+gifts