A decent test to see if what that manager did at Starbucks is racism or not is whether he'd have allowed white people use the restroom or loiter without buying anything.
Should be simple enough to find out.
It's hard to discuss this without coming across as racist, but... here we go.
My culture, lily white that it is, sees "restroom for customers only" and buys something.
When asked to leave, we leave.
For a long time we've been cultivating this stupid multi-cultural bullshit. This is, unfortunately, reaping what was sown.
The two people who were "discriminated" against don't seem to be aware of how the cultural assumptions in play were supposed to work.
From what I've read, they asked to use the restroom, were denied its use then turned around and hung out for a period of time that was long enough for the manager to stick his neck out and ask if they intended to make a purchase.
They declined to make that purchase.
The manager, following Starbuck's procedures, called the cops and had them "trespassed".
Again, in my culture it would never have escalated to the manager having to ask me if I was going to buy anything. There'd have been a charcoal flavored coffee beverage at my hand already before I sat down to socialize with my friend.
This is not a case of racism, this is a clash of cultures.
The ultimate cure, really, is to educate these subcultures what the larger culture expects of them with regards to behavior. The ideal solution is a single culture... no wait, monoculture trends to stagnation.
I don't consider my ultimate cure as racism, because I am damn sure expected to be aware of what all of these subcultures find offensive and make great pains to avoid giving offense.
The time has come where they need to learn what offends me and start avoiding it.
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18 April 2018
And Willard Was There
1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana (a clear candidate for The Name Game)
as the country’s first President and Robert Mugabe as (more powerful)
Prime Minister. Freed of the shackles imposed by the white European
interlopers, Zimbabwe soars to new heights of prosperity.
17 April 2018
Much Tougher Camera
This is the chimera we were chasing that killed the S5IS.
SX20IS is tougher. Is Warsaw Pact tough!
In color too, because we have the technology!
SX20IS is tougher. Is Warsaw Pact tough!
In color too, because we have the technology!
The Loving Embrace Of Baker Act
The Boy has earned himself another trip.
I hate calling when he runs off.
If the cops can't talk him down he's off for 72 hours and the trip doesn't help even the slightest in the long term.
I hate calling when he runs off.
If the cops can't talk him down he's off for 72 hours and the trip doesn't help even the slightest in the long term.
16 April 2018
I Wholeheartedly Endorse This Event And Or Product
Give generously!
Only you can provide Miguel with thelavish lifestyle tools and funds required of the no-nonsense, zero-compromise advocate of the repeal of the NFA and Hughes amendment to The FOPA.
Only your generous and non-tax-deductible contribution will allowthe gravy train to slosh over and overflow my outstretched cup him to hire the skilled assistance required to achieve victory!
It is my rightful share of the graft!
He will need someone to help his tireless efforts!
Only you can provide Miguel with the
Only your generous and non-tax-deductible contribution will allow
He will need someone to help his tireless efforts!
Back From The Dead
This is my mom's old Minolta XG-A 35mm SLR.
I'd thought it dead and just couldn't bear to toss it because I remember telling me how expensive it was.
Turns out the death was from the silver cell batteries in her bag all being well past their use-by dates.
The MS76 battery turns out to be the ever popular 357 batt, and the camera actually powered up!
It doesn't need much power to run, but it needs SOME power to run.
I got some 35mm Kodak Gold 400 film and we shot up half a roll in wholly inadequate light. Mom's flash having been eaten by leaking batteries when I'd inherited the bag.
It's got three lenses total, one being telephoto from her birdwatching days. JCPenny/Pentax brand made just for Minolta cameras. Kinda neat!
15 April 2018
ISO
I misremembered which was the better ISO setting for my camera.
Low is less noisy.
Setting it to 80 instead of 1600 sure takes care of that!
I was getting concerned my new camera wasn't as good the dead one.
I also couldn't compare since you can't get past the "Lens Error" to see what the settings were.
Got some accessories coming so I don't lose my investment in filters.
Low is less noisy.
Setting it to 80 instead of 1600 sure takes care of that!
I was getting concerned my new camera wasn't as good the dead one.
I also couldn't compare since you can't get past the "Lens Error" to see what the settings were.
Got some accessories coming so I don't lose my investment in filters.
Pitchur Taychür
The glory that is ebay!
The Canon S5IS is dead. Long live the Canon SX20IS!
Phone versus camera... FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
The Canon S5IS is dead. Long live the Canon SX20IS!
Phone versus camera... FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
Ian And Karl Talk To VICE
The first segment is NSFW. Don't say I didn't warn you away from the ICK if you rewind to the beginning.
From The Desk Of Alex Garland
Dave, remember back in film school when were talking about shots we were going to do? You know, that whole shots that really belong in another genre discussion we had?
You, owe me a coke!
I just got my "shot through a glass of water on table focused on two lover's hands," into a FUCKING SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE!
And the best part, Dave, is the rest of the movie is pretentious twaddle! You compare this to 2001 and Kubrick seems like a documentarian explaining how to get toSaturn Jupiter!
Hell, his ending makes more sense!
The monkeys at the beginning of 2001 are more likeable and have more emotional range than I let my actresses get away with. Oh, and you've seen them in other projects. You know they can actually act, I DID NOT LET THEM!
I'm totally going to get an Oscar for this, and you owe me a coke.
--Alex
You, owe me a coke!
I just got my "shot through a glass of water on table focused on two lover's hands," into a FUCKING SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE!
And the best part, Dave, is the rest of the movie is pretentious twaddle! You compare this to 2001 and Kubrick seems like a documentarian explaining how to get to
Hell, his ending makes more sense!
The monkeys at the beginning of 2001 are more likeable and have more emotional range than I let my actresses get away with. Oh, and you've seen them in other projects. You know they can actually act, I DID NOT LET THEM!
I'm totally going to get an Oscar for this, and you owe me a coke.
--Alex
14 April 2018
What Dick's
Apparently Dick's Sporting Goods is planning on destroying their stocks of snowflake melting rifles; rather than returning them to the manufacturers for credit/refund.
The announcement did wonders for their stock value, losing 5.52% of value per share as it dropped from $34.97 (opening price and high price of the day) to $32.86 at closing Friday.
Even more "good" news for DKS shareholders is the stock is down from $52.31 in April last year.
They're not doing well overall and keep alienating a core constituency.
Something they need to start teaching in business schools is how to determine if the people complaining about your business and products you sell are actually customers or not.
Threats of boycotts from people who aren't customers matter little. Threats of boycotts from people whom aren't even potential customers matter not at all.
Telling customers they're wrong for wanting to buy something from you? Yeah, that matters.
Wells Fargo and Bank of America should probably take some notes. Delta and Citibank are contributing examples as well.
The NFL could not be reached as they were protesting something or other.
PS: The decision to destroy stock rather than return it is the maximum financial damage they can do to themselves here. They've paid for the rifles and now are going to pay more to have them destroyed.
PPS: While Dick's refusal to sell in the future affects future sales, their refusal to do the returns has the minimum damage to the gun makers. They got paid for those guns, or they will be paid if Dick's doesn't exercise it's no-sale return clause.
The announcement did wonders for their stock value, losing 5.52% of value per share as it dropped from $34.97 (opening price and high price of the day) to $32.86 at closing Friday.
Even more "good" news for DKS shareholders is the stock is down from $52.31 in April last year.
They're not doing well overall and keep alienating a core constituency.
Something they need to start teaching in business schools is how to determine if the people complaining about your business and products you sell are actually customers or not.
Threats of boycotts from people who aren't customers matter little. Threats of boycotts from people whom aren't even potential customers matter not at all.
Telling customers they're wrong for wanting to buy something from you? Yeah, that matters.
Wells Fargo and Bank of America should probably take some notes. Delta and Citibank are contributing examples as well.
The NFL could not be reached as they were protesting something or other.
PS: The decision to destroy stock rather than return it is the maximum financial damage they can do to themselves here. They've paid for the rifles and now are going to pay more to have them destroyed.
PPS: While Dick's refusal to sell in the future affects future sales, their refusal to do the returns has the minimum damage to the gun makers. They got paid for those guns, or they will be paid if Dick's doesn't exercise it's no-sale return clause.
Trite
It's an old, trite, expression.
In theory, there's no difference between practice and theory. In practice, there is.
Which is another way of saying that reality gets a vote. Reality also has veto powers.
I have a commenter who's taken the absolutist position that if I don't support complete "any weapon I can think of" rights then I am a gun banner.
Because I stated that I wasn't certain that the founding fathers meant artillery.
While also saying that privately owned cannon and warships were around when The Constitution and Bill of Rights were drafted.
I'm of an engineering bent, so certain means something different from when a political science student says it.
The framers of The Bill of Rights certainly meant small arms. We know this because they wrote extensively about it. We know from laws of the time that a personal rifle of the same type the standing army used was mandated, and that the citizen was required to bring it and a requisite amount of ammunition with them to their periodic militia muster.
We don't have similar conversations or laws on cannons or mortars.
I looked it up.
But from reading what these people left behind I do think that we probably have a right to heavier weapons. They certainly did not condemn the ownership of cannon or warships.
We can infer that we've a right to own a warship because Congress has the power to issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal. You don't write those for a standing navy, there's no need. Warships need to be better armed than a small-arms locker.
It stands to reason, but is not proven.
Part of the commenters' position is that our anti-gun laws only work because we betray each other. The way he's phrased it, I think he's accusing me of turning someone it... I can't really make it out.
I ask this: Are you obeying those laws, g1335361? If so, why?
I know why I don't own an M256 smoothbore. First off, I can't afford the mount. Secondly, there's none for sale. Every company that makes this gun doesn't sell to civilians. It's perfectly legal for me to own one too. Just plunk down the cash, fill out a Form 4 for a destructive device, pay the tax and wait for the approval process (and grumble about having to pay $200 and wait when my right to such things is encumbered with the reality of the process).
But it doesn't matter since nobody sells them, with or without the M1A1 that I'd definitely want to go with it.
Did you know that the companies who make tank guns and tanks aren't prohibited by any law from selling to me? They've made that decision on their own.
So having a right to own something that's also legal to own doesn't guarantee I will own it.
He mentioned owning nukes. The favorite anarchist pro-gun reductio ad absurdum.
Since he's taking the position of any weapon I ask, "what about any person?"
You OK with a felon owning a nuke after their release from prison?
Someone who's mentally incompetent? Someone who cannot understand what the shiny red button does?
Reality is stickier than theory. Practice must bow to reality in ways theory never does.
If admitting there's more going on than a simple theory makes me a gun banner; fuck off bitch!
Admitting that there might be a practical upper limit to what a citizen should own for weaponry doesn't mean I demand the banning of small arms.
But then, I am what the Anarchist/Libertarians call a "statist"... A statist, JUST LIKE THE FOUNDING FATHERS WHO FOUNDED A STATE WITH THE CONSTITUTION.
In theory, there's no difference between practice and theory. In practice, there is.
Which is another way of saying that reality gets a vote. Reality also has veto powers.
I have a commenter who's taken the absolutist position that if I don't support complete "any weapon I can think of" rights then I am a gun banner.
Because I stated that I wasn't certain that the founding fathers meant artillery.
While also saying that privately owned cannon and warships were around when The Constitution and Bill of Rights were drafted.
I'm of an engineering bent, so certain means something different from when a political science student says it.
The framers of The Bill of Rights certainly meant small arms. We know this because they wrote extensively about it. We know from laws of the time that a personal rifle of the same type the standing army used was mandated, and that the citizen was required to bring it and a requisite amount of ammunition with them to their periodic militia muster.
We don't have similar conversations or laws on cannons or mortars.
I looked it up.
But from reading what these people left behind I do think that we probably have a right to heavier weapons. They certainly did not condemn the ownership of cannon or warships.
We can infer that we've a right to own a warship because Congress has the power to issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal. You don't write those for a standing navy, there's no need. Warships need to be better armed than a small-arms locker.
It stands to reason, but is not proven.
Part of the commenters' position is that our anti-gun laws only work because we betray each other. The way he's phrased it, I think he's accusing me of turning someone it... I can't really make it out.
I ask this: Are you obeying those laws, g1335361? If so, why?
I know why I don't own an M256 smoothbore. First off, I can't afford the mount. Secondly, there's none for sale. Every company that makes this gun doesn't sell to civilians. It's perfectly legal for me to own one too. Just plunk down the cash, fill out a Form 4 for a destructive device, pay the tax and wait for the approval process (and grumble about having to pay $200 and wait when my right to such things is encumbered with the reality of the process).
But it doesn't matter since nobody sells them, with or without the M1A1 that I'd definitely want to go with it.
Did you know that the companies who make tank guns and tanks aren't prohibited by any law from selling to me? They've made that decision on their own.
So having a right to own something that's also legal to own doesn't guarantee I will own it.
He mentioned owning nukes. The favorite anarchist pro-gun reductio ad absurdum.
Since he's taking the position of any weapon I ask, "what about any person?"
You OK with a felon owning a nuke after their release from prison?
Someone who's mentally incompetent? Someone who cannot understand what the shiny red button does?
Reality is stickier than theory. Practice must bow to reality in ways theory never does.
If admitting there's more going on than a simple theory makes me a gun banner; fuck off bitch!
Admitting that there might be a practical upper limit to what a citizen should own for weaponry doesn't mean I demand the banning of small arms.
But then, I am what the Anarchist/Libertarians call a "statist"... A statist, JUST LIKE THE FOUNDING FATHERS WHO FOUNDED A STATE WITH THE CONSTITUTION.
13 April 2018
We Don't Really Have A High Horse Here
We, ourselves, used to call semi-automatic rifles what looked like select-fire military issue guns "assault rifles."
© MCMLXXXVI (aka 1986)
Hoisted by our own petard, we are.
Jack was still calling these guns assault rifles as late as 2004.
The thing is, it doesn't matter what they're called.
We could call them 28" Black Rubber Cocks and it would change neither what they are or that we have a right to have them.
It's not a matter of labels, it's a matter of rights.
Fine, it's an assault rifle, so?
And?
Semi-Auto military pattern rifle.
Modern Sporting Rifle.
Assault Weapon.
Assault Rifle.
Machts Nichts!
Hummer.
Blow-Job.
Fellatio.
Pick a synonym. It doesn't change what it is or what's going on.
The NFA should never been passed. The GCA should never have been passed. Without those we'd have never needed the FOPA and gotten the Hughes amendment to it.
It's all unconstitutional. A violation of our rights.
We've a right to own any small arm. We've probably got a right to artillery too, privately owned cannon and warships were a thing in 1789.
We've a right to have arms. For numerous reasons, or no reason at all.
PS: While we're getting pissy about nomenclature.
The first "assault rifle" the US adopted is properly referred to as "Rifle, 5.56mm, M16 (NSN: 1005-856-6885)" or "Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A1 (NSN: 1005-073-9421).
The earlier M14, which was an "assault weapon" in its M1A form, is still just "Rifle, 7.62mm, M14 (NSN: 1005-589-1271).
Real live MACHINE GUNS are just "rifle" when you talk to the military about it.
Hoisted by our own petard, we are.
Jack was still calling these guns assault rifles as late as 2004.
The thing is, it doesn't matter what they're called.
We could call them 28" Black Rubber Cocks and it would change neither what they are or that we have a right to have them.
It's not a matter of labels, it's a matter of rights.
Fine, it's an assault rifle, so?
And?
Semi-Auto military pattern rifle.
Modern Sporting Rifle.
Assault Weapon.
Assault Rifle.
Machts Nichts!
Hummer.
Blow-Job.
Fellatio.
Pick a synonym. It doesn't change what it is or what's going on.
The NFA should never been passed. The GCA should never have been passed. Without those we'd have never needed the FOPA and gotten the Hughes amendment to it.
It's all unconstitutional. A violation of our rights.
We've a right to own any small arm. We've probably got a right to artillery too, privately owned cannon and warships were a thing in 1789.
We've a right to have arms. For numerous reasons, or no reason at all.
PS: While we're getting pissy about nomenclature.
The first "assault rifle" the US adopted is properly referred to as "Rifle, 5.56mm, M16 (NSN: 1005-856-6885)" or "Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A1 (NSN: 1005-073-9421).
The earlier M14, which was an "assault weapon" in its M1A form, is still just "Rifle, 7.62mm, M14 (NSN: 1005-589-1271).
Real live MACHINE GUNS are just "rifle" when you talk to the military about it.
12 April 2018
Not Just Gun-Free
Public schools are also self-defense free zones too!
I've mentioned before that I was bullied.
Once I learned the lesson that the way out of being bullied was to fight back I also encountered the policy of punishing everyone in the fight.
Equally.
The bully was used to detention, so water off a duck's back.
Me? I felt it was an injustice to be punished for merely defending myself.
One instance of fighting back is never enough to convince the bully. You have to show them the power structure change is permanent.
Knowing that I would be punished for fighting back meant the the launch codes were entered and the keys were turned to the left.
It took all the restraints off my response to the bully.
I've literally seen the red curtain of rage and come back to myself with TWO teachers pulling me off my bully. Me, with one arm wrapped back around his head, teeth bared, going literally for the throat.
Explain to me, again, Liberal Education Person, how your anti-violence, anti-bully policies and programs prevent the people of a violent nature from driving a person who embraces the willow strategy over the oak to mindless rage and violence.
I didn't snap that day from the first instance of abuse.
School policy indicated, to me, that they weren't going to do anything to stop it and I was left to my own devices to find a solution.
Come to think on it, once it had gotten around that Thag was actually dangerous, Thag got left alone by the predators who'd just noticed that the apex was a bit uphill from where they stalked.
I've mentioned before that I was bullied.
Once I learned the lesson that the way out of being bullied was to fight back I also encountered the policy of punishing everyone in the fight.
Equally.
The bully was used to detention, so water off a duck's back.
Me? I felt it was an injustice to be punished for merely defending myself.
One instance of fighting back is never enough to convince the bully. You have to show them the power structure change is permanent.
Knowing that I would be punished for fighting back meant the the launch codes were entered and the keys were turned to the left.
It took all the restraints off my response to the bully.
I've literally seen the red curtain of rage and come back to myself with TWO teachers pulling me off my bully. Me, with one arm wrapped back around his head, teeth bared, going literally for the throat.
Explain to me, again, Liberal Education Person, how your anti-violence, anti-bully policies and programs prevent the people of a violent nature from driving a person who embraces the willow strategy over the oak to mindless rage and violence.
I didn't snap that day from the first instance of abuse.
School policy indicated, to me, that they weren't going to do anything to stop it and I was left to my own devices to find a solution.
Come to think on it, once it had gotten around that Thag was actually dangerous, Thag got left alone by the predators who'd just noticed that the apex was a bit uphill from where they stalked.
Cause Effect
Things like Parkland are happening because of the policies put in place, not in spite of them.
It's a simple line to throw back at someone saying we must do something!
In every mass shooting we have common factors. Reasons that the shooter chose that place and that time.
Reasons which are encoded into the laws, and are not addressed when we do SOMETHING!
It's a simple line to throw back at someone saying we must do something!
In every mass shooting we have common factors. Reasons that the shooter chose that place and that time.
Reasons which are encoded into the laws, and are not addressed when we do SOMETHING!
11 April 2018
The Picture That Killed My Camera
I bought a WBP laminated stock for Tonya.
I was trying to recreate this picture:
I don't think I did to bad recreating the scene, the problem is that the color pic was taken with my phone.
I set my camera on the nearby bench to set up the subject. Then when I picked up the camera, the strap snagged on the edge of the bench and snatched it right out of my hands. SMASH!
That's not an optical illusion, it's really at an angle.
Let us mourn the loss of a beloved camera. The Canon S5IS.
I wanted an excuse to buy a camera with replaceable lenses... Bet I can't afford it. Anyone got a Canon EOS 60D they don't want?
More Granularity
The original Twilight: 2000 has all of the Warsaw Pact nations using the AK-74. It was surprising considering it went to the effort of getting all of the NATO nations rifles right.
In point of fact, only The Soviet Union (AK-74) and East Germany (license manufactured as the MPi-AK74-N) had made the change of the nations listed in the default setting.
Poland sort of adopted the AK-74 in the form of the Tantal.
Czechoslovakia never even adopted the AK! Their adoption of 7.62x39 went with the natively designed vz.58.
Hungary stuck with an AKM variation designated AMM.
Of the nations not covered in the original game:
Bulgaria adopted and licensed manufactured the AK-74.
Romania adopted the Pușcă Automată model 1986 (PA md. 86) which, like Poland, is a sort-of AK-74.
Well, not all of NATO is mentioned...
The USA was given the, then new, M16A2. I've made the M16A4 and M4 available.
Canada was given the M16A2, I've changed that to the proper C7A1.
The UK was correct with the L85, I just updated the variant with L85A2.
West Germany was given the G11 and G3. I added the G41.
Not mentioned in default setting...
Austria should have the Steyr StG.77 (AUG).
Belgium should have the FN FNC.
Denmark should have the Diemaco Gevær M/95 (C7A1)
Greece would have both the H&K G3 and FN FAL.
Iceland uses the H&K G3 and Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk AG-3 (a Danish G3).
Italy uses the Beretta AR70/90.
Netherlands should have the Diemaco C7 and C7A1.
Norway bought Danish licensed built the G3 as the Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk AG-3.
Portugal would have the H&K G3 as the m/961 and the FN FAL as the m/962.
Spain would be limping their native CETME L along.
Turkey license manufactures the H&K G3.
France didn't rejoin NATO in the T2K timeline but is mentioned as rocking theSt. Étienne GIAT FAMAS F1.
In point of fact, only The Soviet Union (AK-74) and East Germany (license manufactured as the MPi-AK74-N) had made the change of the nations listed in the default setting.
Poland sort of adopted the AK-74 in the form of the Tantal.
Czechoslovakia never even adopted the AK! Their adoption of 7.62x39 went with the natively designed vz.58.
Hungary stuck with an AKM variation designated AMM.
Of the nations not covered in the original game:
Bulgaria adopted and licensed manufactured the AK-74.
Romania adopted the Pușcă Automată model 1986 (PA md. 86) which, like Poland, is a sort-of AK-74.
Well, not all of NATO is mentioned...
The USA was given the, then new, M16A2. I've made the M16A4 and M4 available.
Canada was given the M16A2, I've changed that to the proper C7A1.
The UK was correct with the L85, I just updated the variant with L85A2.
West Germany was given the G11 and G3. I added the G41.
Not mentioned in default setting...
Austria should have the Steyr StG.77 (AUG).
Belgium should have the FN FNC.
Denmark should have the Diemaco Gevær M/95 (C7A1)
Greece would have both the H&K G3 and FN FAL.
Iceland uses the H&K G3 and Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk AG-3 (a Danish G3).
Italy uses the Beretta AR70/90.
Netherlands should have the Diemaco C7 and C7A1.
Norway bought Danish licensed built the G3 as the Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk AG-3.
Portugal would have the H&K G3 as the m/961 and the FN FAL as the m/962.
Spain would be limping their native CETME L along.
Turkey license manufactures the H&K G3.
France didn't rejoin NATO in the T2K timeline but is mentioned as rocking the
Not AKM-R
Upon further consideration, Willard's not-Tantal isn't an AKM-R; it is a PMKM-Z.
Z for zregenrowany or re-manufactured.
The main difference between an AKM made into an AKM-R and one made into a PMKM-Z is the front sight and muzzle device.
The AKM-R keeps the same front sight and muzzle device the parent rifle came with.
The PMKM-Z gets a new front sight and the muzzle is threaded for and equipped with the same muzzle-brake / grenade launcher as the Tantal.
My Twilight: 2000 world gets finer grained all the time.
Z for zregenrowany or re-manufactured.
The main difference between an AKM made into an AKM-R and one made into a PMKM-Z is the front sight and muzzle device.
The AKM-R keeps the same front sight and muzzle device the parent rifle came with.
The PMKM-Z gets a new front sight and the muzzle is threaded for and equipped with the same muzzle-brake / grenade launcher as the Tantal.
My Twilight: 2000 world gets finer grained all the time.
There Is A Limit To The Abuse Someone Will Take
You probably know this couple.
She's a raging bitch. Constantly verbally berating her husband.
It goes on for years and he hits her.
He goes to jail for domestic abuse.
The only person surprised that she got punched is HER.
Was he right to hit her? No.
But do we understand why he did? Yes. There's a dissonance between someone asking for something and getting what they were asking for because replying to verbal abuse with physical abuse isn't proportionate.
I fear that we're going down a similar road with guns.
The pro-gun side has been quietly sucking it up for decades now.
The anti-gun side's abuse has gotten ever more vile and shrill.
Baseless accusations and seeking to punish the innocent, and often succeeding in getting people who've done no wrong punished.
Sooner or later the abused is going to retaliate. It will be disproportionate to the actual harm done.
It will not be pretty.
As final as that response might be for the people slinging abuse, you wonder why they are asking for it so damn hard.
She's a raging bitch. Constantly verbally berating her husband.
It goes on for years and he hits her.
He goes to jail for domestic abuse.
The only person surprised that she got punched is HER.
Was he right to hit her? No.
But do we understand why he did? Yes. There's a dissonance between someone asking for something and getting what they were asking for because replying to verbal abuse with physical abuse isn't proportionate.
I fear that we're going down a similar road with guns.
The pro-gun side has been quietly sucking it up for decades now.
The anti-gun side's abuse has gotten ever more vile and shrill.
Baseless accusations and seeking to punish the innocent, and often succeeding in getting people who've done no wrong punished.
Sooner or later the abused is going to retaliate. It will be disproportionate to the actual harm done.
It will not be pretty.
As final as that response might be for the people slinging abuse, you wonder why they are asking for it so damn hard.
Disproportionate
Earlier I stated that it's -2 to hit the "skull" or brain on a T-Rex.
That's because the "skull" hit location that gives the x4 damage for hitting the brain is normally a -7 to hit and a T-Rex is a big critter with a +5 to hit it.
The rules as written appear to have proportions as a constant built into them.
The thing is, despite being a LOT bigger than a human, its brain is just about the same size. Proportionately, it's much smaller. They're probably not as smart because a bigger critter does need a bigger brain just for housekeeping, so it's still a teeny brain. Though it might be smarter than thought just a few years ago because we're learning that avians have a different neuro-density and structure than mammals.
Because the speed/size/range table is in absolute sizes rather than relative sizes, it should be a -7 to tag a Rex in the computer. You'd also have to have learned where in the ginormous noggin the brain was located too.
Thanks Internet!
That animation also shows why an eye shot doesn't do the bypass skull DR to hit the brain too.
That's because the "skull" hit location that gives the x4 damage for hitting the brain is normally a -7 to hit and a T-Rex is a big critter with a +5 to hit it.
The rules as written appear to have proportions as a constant built into them.
The thing is, despite being a LOT bigger than a human, its brain is just about the same size. Proportionately, it's much smaller. They're probably not as smart because a bigger critter does need a bigger brain just for housekeeping, so it's still a teeny brain. Though it might be smarter than thought just a few years ago because we're learning that avians have a different neuro-density and structure than mammals.
Because the speed/size/range table is in absolute sizes rather than relative sizes, it should be a -7 to tag a Rex in the computer. You'd also have to have learned where in the ginormous noggin the brain was located too.
Thanks Internet!
That animation also shows why an eye shot doesn't do the bypass skull DR to hit the brain too.
10 April 2018
Telling The Wrong Story Again
"The newly signed law is clearly proving its worth to law enforcement and the public," Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said Monday after the announcement of Smith’s arrest. "We are thankful to have this valuable tool at our disposal to help keep deadly weapons out of the hands of individuals who demonstrate an obvious threat to themselves or others."
If it's coming from Should-Be-Unemployed-Not-Sheriff Scott Israel, then I am suspicious of the need.
But since it is coming from this worthless parasite.
Broward deputies sought the order in Smith’s case after he was arrested March 29 on an attempted murder charge for allegedly firing six shots into the back of a car being driving by his best friend, Jackon Lavon, 34.Did you know before that stupid law was passed that someone who was under indictment for a violent felony is barred from possessing firearms? It's almost certainly part of the conditions of his bond.
They didn't need the new law to get a warrant and seize his guns.
Another thing, as they breathlessly report seizing "hundreds of rounds of ammuntion,"
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| Lego Minifig and dollar bill for scale. |
If they came to most any gun-blogger's house that would read "thousands of rounds" and it's just not that many rounds when you think of how many shots get fired at a typical bowling pin match.
Heck, isn't hundreds of rounds what Tam shoots while she waits for her coffee to brew?
Non shooters think that's a lot of ammo.
09 April 2018
The Gnomes Return What Was Stolen
This has been driving me nuts for weeks!
Consequences
Glenn Reynolds via Erin.
I, for one, am sick of living in a world where the powers that be have forbidden me to protect myself and those that I love in so many places...
...assuming the mantle of being the only ones allowed to offer that protection...
...then refusing to provide that protection.
You can add in the courts who have created a doctrine that the people who've declared the monopoly of protective services cannot even be sued for failing to do the job they demand be solely theirs.
I, for one, am sick of living in a world where the powers that be have forbidden me to protect myself and those that I love in so many places...
...assuming the mantle of being the only ones allowed to offer that protection...
...then refusing to provide that protection.
You can add in the courts who have created a doctrine that the people who've declared the monopoly of protective services cannot even be sued for failing to do the job they demand be solely theirs.
Not A Tantal
From my GURPS: Twilight 2000 conversion:
Willard's gun is an AKM-R!
It's got a receiver that's more AKM than Tantal or AK-74. His stock and handguard are AKM pattern.
This is a fine example of an AKM-R made in a Polish arsenal.
I'll bet Willard thought he was safe from being sucked into my T2K silliness too!
Tulamash AKM-R (5.45x39mm): As the AK-74 supplanted the AKM in service, and the expanding war with China increased weapon losses, large numbers of AKMs were rebarreled and modified to fire the AK-74's 5.45mm cartridge to maintain standardization of supply while taking advantage of a mountain of surplussed rifles.
Willard's gun is an AKM-R!
It's got a receiver that's more AKM than Tantal or AK-74. His stock and handguard are AKM pattern.
This is a fine example of an AKM-R made in a Polish arsenal.
I'll bet Willard thought he was safe from being sucked into my T2K silliness too!
Six More Years You Say
There's several political seats where the incumbent is utterly despised.
Despised enough that you're just certain that they will be disposed next election.
Then you see whom the other party picks to run against them and you think, "well, they may be despicable, but they're sure better than Newguy™." And you watch this happen election after election.
I don't find many people who actually like Senator Nelson (D-FL), but I don't think Governor Scott (RINO) is going to unseat him.
Especially since I don't think the Republican party in Florida has really fully absorbed how pissed off gun owners are about our new gun control law.
Despised enough that you're just certain that they will be disposed next election.
Then you see whom the other party picks to run against them and you think, "well, they may be despicable, but they're sure better than Newguy™." And you watch this happen election after election.
I don't find many people who actually like Senator Nelson (D-FL), but I don't think Governor Scott (RINO) is going to unseat him.
Especially since I don't think the Republican party in Florida has really fully absorbed how pissed off gun owners are about our new gun control law.
Do You Own A Kel-Tec SUB-2000 2nd Gen?
Was is made in 2017?
Don't know when it was made?
Click this link and enter your serial number.
Don't know when it was made?
Click this link and enter your serial number.
ATTENTION
IMPORTANT SUB-2000 SAFETY RECALL NOTICE
We have recently identified an issue with the heat treatment of certain steel tubes received from a third‐party supplier from which the barrels for a limited number of Kel‐Tec SUB‐2000 rifles were manufactured. This could potentially cause the barrel to rupture when a cartridge is fired and could result in serious personal injury. The safety of our customers is our primary concern, so Kel‐Tec has voluntarily initiated this recall because of the possibility of a barrel rupturing.
This recall only affects a portion of SUB‐2000s that were manufactured in 2017.
All costs associated with the recall of your firearm shall be covered by Kel‐Tec.
To check if your firearm would need to be sent in for barrel replacement enter your serial number into the provided field below. Refer to the image at the bottom of this page to help locate your serial number. In addition, if you would like to view a list of all affected serial numbers, Click Here
08 April 2018
Bullet Gnomes Are Real
The mint vintage 20-round M16 magazine I use for pictures disappeared some time between Friday afternoon when I took a picture of it and this evening.
It wasn't in its place on the shelf.
I showed Harvey that it wasn't in its place.
I tore up the bedroom looking for it.
While cleaning up, I moved something around in the closet and there it was, in its place on the shelf.
Things like this really make me believe in the supernatural.
The gnomes were trying to load someone's AR with my magazine.
CHECK YOUR GUN!
It wasn't in its place on the shelf.
I showed Harvey that it wasn't in its place.
I tore up the bedroom looking for it.
While cleaning up, I moved something around in the closet and there it was, in its place on the shelf.
Things like this really make me believe in the supernatural.
The gnomes were trying to load someone's AR with my magazine.
CHECK YOUR GUN!
Is .600 Nitro Enough Medicine?
If you're hunting Tyrannosaurus Rex?
.600 Nitro-Express does a shoulder punishing 5dx2 pi++
A T-rex is an 18,600 lb. critter. That gives a ST of 2*((18,600)^(1/3)) or a "mere" 53.
HP = ST so 53 hit points.
Rex has DR of 2.
Minimum damage from a .600 Nitro-Express on the body is 16. Average damage is 66 (consciousness roll). Maximum damage is 116 (1 death roll).
With a HT of 15, it's likely going to keep making those rolls to stay awake and alive, but it's hurt.
The Tyrannosaur's closest living relative is Gallus Gallus Domesticus, so if one is familiar with chicken innards, one should be able to nail the vitals. It's a net +2 to hit them thanks to the large size.
Minimum damage to the vitals is 24. Average damage is 99 (still no death rolls). Maximum damage is 174 (2 death rolls).
The brain is the kill shot, but it's a -2 to hit.
Minimum damage, through the skull is 24. Average damage is 124 (death roll!). Maximum damage is 224 (3 death rolls).
The structure of the skull doesn't allow for an eye hit to bypass DR and strike the brain.
Yes, they're tough. But take heart, Troubleshooter! An elephant has 45 hit points and DR 4 and .600 Nitro just about cleared the continent of them.
.600 Nitro-Express does a shoulder punishing 5dx2 pi++
A T-rex is an 18,600 lb. critter. That gives a ST of 2*((18,600)^(1/3)) or a "mere" 53.
HP = ST so 53 hit points.
Rex has DR of 2.
Minimum damage from a .600 Nitro-Express on the body is 16. Average damage is 66 (consciousness roll). Maximum damage is 116 (1 death roll).
With a HT of 15, it's likely going to keep making those rolls to stay awake and alive, but it's hurt.
The Tyrannosaur's closest living relative is Gallus Gallus Domesticus, so if one is familiar with chicken innards, one should be able to nail the vitals. It's a net +2 to hit them thanks to the large size.
Minimum damage to the vitals is 24. Average damage is 99 (still no death rolls). Maximum damage is 174 (2 death rolls).
The brain is the kill shot, but it's a -2 to hit.
Minimum damage, through the skull is 24. Average damage is 124 (death roll!). Maximum damage is 224 (3 death rolls).
The structure of the skull doesn't allow for an eye hit to bypass DR and strike the brain.
Yes, they're tough. But take heart, Troubleshooter! An elephant has 45 hit points and DR 4 and .600 Nitro just about cleared the continent of them.
An Issue With What If
If I were to put a conventional Polish AKM stock on Tonya, she'd lose that iconic Tantal look. She'd start looking like just another AK-74; just look at Willard's.
But...
The wire stock is less than ideal, and she's supposed to be a Twilight: 2000 gun.
It's certainly within the realm of possibility for a person from that timeline to swap in a laminated wood stock for the wire folder for any number of reasons, including comfort.
The character from T2K would be getting a stock from a damaged and deadlined AKM or AK-74, essentially for free, rather than hitting the intertubes and buying one.
On the plus side, it's a readily reversible change in appearance. A couple of screws is all.
Stay tuned!
But...
The wire stock is less than ideal, and she's supposed to be a Twilight: 2000 gun.
It's certainly within the realm of possibility for a person from that timeline to swap in a laminated wood stock for the wire folder for any number of reasons, including comfort.
The character from T2K would be getting a stock from a damaged and deadlined AKM or AK-74, essentially for free, rather than hitting the intertubes and buying one.
On the plus side, it's a readily reversible change in appearance. A couple of screws is all.
Stay tuned!
Wiring Woes
The Precious is equipped with side airbags which reside in the outward facing side of the seat back.
The wiring for this feature appears to have developed an intermittent open where the wiring leaves the car's harness and enters the seat harness on the driver's side.
The light comes on, the light goes off. Seemingly at random.
I've found the four wires that it MUST be. Two for the airbag and two for the seatbelt pre-tensioner.
Now comes the fun of wiggling them in isolation until we find the portion of a wire that consistently causes and cures the open circuit.
Happily, these systems only fire when their two wires are shorted to each other rather than when the circuit is broken.
The wiring for this feature appears to have developed an intermittent open where the wiring leaves the car's harness and enters the seat harness on the driver's side.
The light comes on, the light goes off. Seemingly at random.
I've found the four wires that it MUST be. Two for the airbag and two for the seatbelt pre-tensioner.
Now comes the fun of wiggling them in isolation until we find the portion of a wire that consistently causes and cures the open circuit.
Happily, these systems only fire when their two wires are shorted to each other rather than when the circuit is broken.
Embarrassing Oversight
Summer carry is coming.
No more wearing clothes that cover a real gun for us Floridians, so smaller fare is in order.
I go to my ammo cans and I don't have a single round of .380 suitable for self defense from my P-238.
That has been rectified!
No more wearing clothes that cover a real gun for us Floridians, so smaller fare is in order.
I go to my ammo cans and I don't have a single round of .380 suitable for self defense from my P-238.
That has been rectified!
07 April 2018
Interesting Story About E Gary Gygax
Linky.
I know, from my own experience, that role playing games saved my life.
It offered inclusion into a group and some escape from being the other of a new kid in school.
I'd have gone down a much rougher road without it.
Gaming distorted my choices to some degree. Twilight: 2000 colored why I wanted to be a tanker, for example.
Gaming got me interested in math like no other thing. Not just probabilities which are the core of any rules system, but into the math that solves many science questions.
I know how to calculate a transfer orbit, for example. I learned that to answer a question at the gaming table.
I learned about Faraday cages.
That faster than light travel could be a time machine.
The difference between a spear, partisan and glaive.
I learned so much history!
I learned of cultures both real and imaginary (and imaginary made from the real).
I learned the difference between morality and ethics.
I made lifelong friends from gaming.
Gaming fueled my interest in guns and sorting the possible from the impossible with their employment and usage.
It showed me the perspective, via the encumbrance rules, to recognize that SLA Marshall was a genius!
It gave me experience in making an OK decision right away is often better than a perfect decision delayed.
It made me comfortable with making a decision and sticking to it, no matter where it led.
I know, from my own experience, that role playing games saved my life.
It offered inclusion into a group and some escape from being the other of a new kid in school.
I'd have gone down a much rougher road without it.
Gaming distorted my choices to some degree. Twilight: 2000 colored why I wanted to be a tanker, for example.
Gaming got me interested in math like no other thing. Not just probabilities which are the core of any rules system, but into the math that solves many science questions.
I know how to calculate a transfer orbit, for example. I learned that to answer a question at the gaming table.
I learned about Faraday cages.
That faster than light travel could be a time machine.
The difference between a spear, partisan and glaive.
I learned so much history!
I learned of cultures both real and imaginary (and imaginary made from the real).
I learned the difference between morality and ethics.
I made lifelong friends from gaming.
Gaming fueled my interest in guns and sorting the possible from the impossible with their employment and usage.
It showed me the perspective, via the encumbrance rules, to recognize that SLA Marshall was a genius!
It gave me experience in making an OK decision right away is often better than a perfect decision delayed.
It made me comfortable with making a decision and sticking to it, no matter where it led.
06 April 2018
The Agony Of 'What If'
The story of the Tantal is a long and torturous one, tantalian you could say...
What we know is every wz.88 that was actually made came with the abominable wire stock. We also know that it was replaced by the 5.56x45mm NATO Karabinek wzór 1996 "Beryl" before much production had occurred, around 25,000 guns over five years.
What if production had continued until that fateful Thanksgiving in 1997?
Would a fixed stock version have been standardized and widely issued? It's possible that the folding stock version got initial priority because motor-rifle units got the first issues with other units getting their guns later? Non-motorized units didn't need the folding capability.
Of course, every Beryl is a folder, so...
The Beryl came out in 1996, in time for the war, so the first model stock for the wz.96 could have replaced the abominable wire stock in T2K just before the war went nuclear.
I love the agony!
Update:
AK-Builder sells the appropriate laminated wood.
The original non-telescopic Beryl stock is thin on the ground in the USA.
Clearly We Need More Gun Control
A Tampa man was stabbed to death in a road rage incident.
The police promptly found the assailant and are charging him with 2nd degree murder.
Again, it's not the guns.
Notice the part of the story, "[Assailant] has prior arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment and battery.
Clearly he was never convicted, or that would be mentioned, but we had someone with a clear temper problem out there. It makes you wonder if the prosecutor should have tried harder when arrest became arrests for his violent nature.
Stopping this kind of thing is damnably difficult, if not impossible, while retaining freedoms we cherish. I think I'll take the risk to retain those cherished freedoms.
I'd hate there to be a joke that goes:
"What's the difference between living in the USA and prison?"
"In prison you don't have to pay rent!"
No word on if the assailant had a clear backpack or not.
The police promptly found the assailant and are charging him with 2nd degree murder.
Again, it's not the guns.
Notice the part of the story, "[Assailant] has prior arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment and battery.
Clearly he was never convicted, or that would be mentioned, but we had someone with a clear temper problem out there. It makes you wonder if the prosecutor should have tried harder when arrest became arrests for his violent nature.
Stopping this kind of thing is damnably difficult, if not impossible, while retaining freedoms we cherish. I think I'll take the risk to retain those cherished freedoms.
I'd hate there to be a joke that goes:
"What's the difference between living in the USA and prison?"
"In prison you don't have to pay rent!"
No word on if the assailant had a clear backpack or not.
05 April 2018
Engineer's Tee Shirt
My Vargr ship's engineer wore this shirt:
ThinkGeek should really bring it back!
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| https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/abd4/ |
Shooty Shooty
Willard's not-Tantal needed no adjustment.
Unsupported off-hand. 25 yards. TulAmmo 60gr FMJ.
The 105 year old Springfield/Colt hybrid M1911 still shoots too!
It strays to the left, so you have to hold right to hit center. I know I won't be doing this well when I'm 105!
Unsupported off-hand. 25 yards. TulAmmo 60gr FMJ.
The 105 year old Springfield/Colt hybrid M1911 still shoots too!
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