Duck Dice Ooh Ooh

 

Got my polyhedral set in it's decorative tin today!

Added my 6d6 from before and subtracted one d6.  We've a local coffee shop named "White Duck" and they have a collection of duckies on their drive through window.  We're going to give them a d6 for that collection!

For most of the dice, when a 1 is rolled, the duck is upright.

This is true for the percentile dice in a fun way.  The 0-1 die has it upright on 1, the 00-99 die has it upright on the 00.  Thus, 00 and 1 make a roll of one and both ducks are upright!

The duck is upright on 20 with the d20.

The duck is never upright with the d4.  He's upright with the 1 point facing down, so he's upside down on a roll of a 1.  I think they're saying that the d4 is just weird.

Metal

Who else has noticed that there's a few new pistols with metal frames?

SIG makes an aluminum frame for the P320.

S&W makes the M&P 9 with an aluminum frame and the all new CSX.

FN's High-Power is aluminum.

Is this a trend?

Especially since the aluminum framed versions compare favorably with their plastic polymer counterparts in mass.

The Future™ is an exciting place to be.

Tubby

Commenter JKing hit on something.

FN's High-Power isn't competing with the old Hi-Power.

It's competing with...  Every other 9mm being made, or ever made.

They specifically mentioned girth.

If your new gun is bulkier than a Beretta 92, you've kind of failed.

Your gun has to be as good or better than the gun to beat.

When the Hi-Power was introduced, it was the gun to beat.

Beretta did that with the 92, then it was the gun to beat.

Glock supplanted the 92...

The SIG 320 might be on its way to being the gun to beat with it in so many law enforcement holsters and its adoption by Big Mil.

Many designs reach equivalence to the gun to beat, they're real contenders, but they tend to be "also rans" than becoming the gun.  My M&P 9 is in this category.  It tends to be the striker fired polymer gun you get when, for some reason, you don't want or can't have a Glock.

The M&P almost made it to being the gun.  There was a lot of Kool-Aid being distributed by a lot of bloggers back when.  Then, one day... Back to Glock.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Glocks.  I tend to like them better than the M&P, but I got outvoted in the standardization meeting.

I am considering getting a new rig to pack Glock this winter.  The Glock 45 would be just dandy in a shoulder holster...

But I digress...

Something that often is forgotten about guns is they don't have to be brutally functional things.  They can exist simply to delight the owner.

Nostalgia fueled more than one purchase sitting in the safe.

Delight is why there's so many .25's in there too.

My M1873 Artillery model has no practical purpose than to make my happy neurons fire.

The new High-Power might not beat the best gun out there in any objective manner.  That might not be the goal at all.

Sadly, FN has an alarming tendency to make a good gun and then drop it after a very short period of time.  Kinda like a European Ruger in that regard...

Kilobuck pricing will keep my happy ass away from them.  It's why my OGHP is an ex-Israeli police gun.

I am most at risk of getting one of those new metal framed M&P's than a new HP.

There's even a small risk of me getting an M17 version of the P320.

But probably just be buying ammo and magazines (and holsters) what I already got.

Getting There

It's almost that time of year when the guns transition out of pocket and into holsters that can be hidden under a shirt you can now actually wear without heat stroke.

Living south of 35°N means that your carry options are severely curtailed, especially in Florida where there's no open-carry option.

I really want that open-carry thing to pass so we can get to a "semi-concealed" level of clothing where it's concealed but will occasionally be seen.

Think how a detective carries rather than a beat officer for what I mean.

I'm waiting for the people who live up where it snows to come down here and try their summer carry in OUR summer.

We call your summers "winter" here.

I Wanna So Bad

I ordered some of these:

While I have used real 3.5" floppies as coasters, these are silicone.

I am so tempted to mark them with really inappropriate stuff.

No, worse than that.

NO.  Worse than that.

WORSE.

You're still not there.

Can't Ice Cream Decorating

Sorry for the lack of free ice cream, we're doing Halloween decorating.

It got off to a false start yesterday because the people Harvey trusted to help her do tear down broke some treasured items.

She's no good at being mad at someone who's not present so when I hit a "walk away and calm down" moment, she got to target that anger on me.

We do this.

After a bit we calm down, find the real source of the angst and we press on.

That was today.

We have accumulated so much over the years that we're having to decide what doesn't get used and that means more actual thinking about what's going up.

Marv, as usual, was instrumental in getting things hung up.

We've got a theme going with spiders.

No Nail

I peeled off the hunk of nail that remained from the accident.

Should be normal again soon.

Gun Jeebus Makes Mistakes

He's human, after all.

The OG HP did not use any leaf springs.  They're all coil or wire springs.

Edit:

I make mistakes too!  The sear spring is a leaf spring.  Thanks unsigned anonymous commenter whose post is deleted for not following the instructions!

First Snowbird Sighting

Dear Damnyankee from Rhode Island at the corner;

Florida allows right turns during a red light if it is safe to do so.

When your car and my car are the only visible vehicles... it's safe to do so.

Gun Jeebus Explains It All

Hey, Gunwriters, was this so damn hard?

I Should Put Luck On My Character Sheet

Ian went well South of me instead of just West as predicted for days.

I'm looking at footage from during the storm and I am, once again, awed by nature.

We're high enough that the water wouldn't have been a problem, but the wind...

That might have been an issue for hunkering down.

We are, indeed, fortunate that we were missed.

Our decision to hunker, though, was colored by the predictions that if it had gone just west, it would have been greatly weakened once it was abreast of my locale.

Update: The last "Me" I made for GURPS was my Technomancer Coyote chimera, and he has Luck as one of his advantages.

Quite Happy

On a whim, I bought this:

30 ounce stainless tumbler.

I'd just been using it for water from the cooler and noticed that it kept things cool for a while.

But since our water delivery has been delayed, I decided to use tap water and the ice I laid in for the storm.

I filled it with ice and tap water at about 7pm.  Then let it set on the desk because I left to have a beer with friends.

There's still a lot of ice in it.  It's been 8 hours and there's still ice in it.

Not bad for a whim.

Sadly, I cannot find this design on their web page.

I bought mine at the local Ace Hardware, so it might be exclusive.  Might be discontinued.

Dunno.

Marv Confuses Me

Atlantic Firearms has police trade in SIG P320's in stock and he doesn't even want one.

Even knowing that they come with all three magazines they originally shipped with does nothing to entice him.

How can he be content playing in his own yard when the grass is clearly greener on the other side of the fence?

We Will Rebuild

The unproductive poblano tore its root-ball.

The very productive mad-hatter fell over again.  This plant has been trying to commit suicide for months.

This is the extent of the damage.

So Far So Good

Since it went so far south, we were spared.

My favorite local brewery was even open!

We still have some rain and they're expecting some more wind here in the wee hours, but I don't think it will be significant.

Here's hoping that my other fellow Floridian bloggers got off as easy as I did!

Yikes!

Ian looks like it can make it to Cat5 with just a little push.

The 8am update said sustained winds at 155 mph and 156 is the final category.

I've been reading a thread with people in great distress over their loved ones refusal to get out before the storm.

Hurricanes can be some serious shit.

I also read that every category 5 landfall recorded in the US has been in Florida.

We're speshul.

Right now we're on the northern fringes and not getting much of anything.

Fingers crossed.

Gonna Get Wet

The current prediction has us sitting pretty.

Sustained winds are predicted to be lower than Irma, which we weathered nicely, and from directions with wind-breaks.

Lots of rain expected, though.

I think we're going to be OK.

We have plenty of food and water.

Sufficient ammo.

Scotch, bourbon, whiskey, Long Drink and beer is set in.

70 lb. of ice in our two big coolers.

Devices are all charged.

We even have a deck of cards and a cribbage board!

Missing M Updated

Starting small.

Pistols
M1 is missing, but could be a 25mm Very Pistol Mk 4.
M2 is a 37mm flare gun.
M3 and M4 are missing.
M5 is a 10ga Very Pistol.
M6 and M7 are missing.
M8 is a flare gun.
M9 is the Beretta model 92FS.
M10 is missing.
M11 is the SIG-Sauer P228
M12 is missing.
M13 is a Colt Aircrew Revolver.
M14 through M16 are missing.
M17 is a SIG-Sauer P320 with a full size frame.
M18 is a SIG-Sauer P320 with a compact frame.

Carbines

M1 is the M1 Carbine!
M2 is a select fire M1 Carbine.
M3 is an M2 Carbine with a night scope.
M4 is a chopped down M16 with a collapsible stock.
M5 through M7 are missing.
XM8 is a tarted up H&K G36 with extra meltability.

Rituefels (fewer missing than I remembered)

M1 is the Garand.
M2 is an update redisignation of the M1922M2
M3 is missing.
M4 is a .22 Hornet H&R Survival Rifle.
M5 is a .22 LR subcaliber training device for a 37mm.
M6 is the Aircrew Survival Rifle .22 Hornet/.410.
M7 is a .30-06 subcaliber training device for M20 75mm recoiless rifle.
M8 is a .50 caliber spotting rifle for the M40 106mm recoiless rifle.
M9 is a .30-06 subcaliber training device for M40 106mm recoiless rifle.
M10 and M11 are missing.
M12 are .22 LR H&R M12, Remington 40X-S1 and Winchester 52.
M13 are .22 LR Remington 513T, Stevens M416-2T and Winchester 75T.
M14 is an M1 derivative.
M15 is a squad automatic M14.
M16 is the adopted AR-15.
XM17 was a semi-auto .22 LR
M18 is a 57mm Recoiless Rifle
XM19 is the AAI 5.6mm Flechette Rifle.
M20 is a 75mm Recoiless Rifle
M21 is a sniper M14.
XM22 is a Cadillac Gage / Stoner 63A in the rifle configuration.
XM23 is a Cadillac Gage / Stoner 63A in the carbine configuration.
M24 is a Remington 700
M25 is a sniper M14.
M26 is missing.
M27 is a 105mm recoiless rifle.
M28 is missing.
XM29 is the Objective Individual Combat Weapon.
M30 through M39 are missing.
M40 is a 105mm recoiless rifle (though designated 106mm).
M41 through M49 are missing.
M50 is the Ontos!  They gave it a rifle series number!!!!
M51 through M62 are missing.
XM63 is a 120mm recoiless rifle.
XM64 is a 155mm recoiless rifle.
M65 and M66 are missing.
M67 is a 90mm recoiless rifle.
M68 is missing.
XM69 is a 20mm spotting rifle.
M70 through M88 are missing.
XM89 is a 120mm recoiless rifle.
XM90 is a 15mm spotting rifle.
M91 through M104 are missing.
XM105 is a 120mm recoiless rifle.
XM106 is the Colt Automatic Rifle, an M16 derivative.
M107 is a Barrett M82.
XM109 is the Barrett 25x59mm Anti-Material Payload Rifle.
M110 is the KAC SASS.

East Now?

I love the wobble as the track firms up.

The track has moved from 8 miles west of my AO to 8 miles East.

I am OK with that, especially since it's way weaker this way.

Going to be a bummer for Pinellas county, though.

It'll prolly still go straight north to Cedar Key.

Next Campaign...

I recently hit upon a meme that asked, "Why are vampires always rich in the movies?  How do they make their living?"

The reply was the obvious one, "If you've been alive since 1892 and you're still broke, just go sleep in the sun."

I think I will have to incorporate this concept into my next world that has vampires whom could have been around since a hundred years ago.

Of course, this will not fly in settings where vampires are a recent thing, like Technomancer.

I Shall Pass

 

Should we end up intact, but without power, I think I'm going to break out the old paper copy of The Lord of the Rings and start re-reading it.

It's been a good long time since I've sat down and read it and if there's no power and no internet, I will have plenty of time.

To be completely honest, if circumstance align to make it so we can't cook, I will still survive.

Being a bit tubby fat will allow you to miss a few meals as long as you can get water.

We have water laid in.

We have food and a means to cook it, but...

In other good news: They keep shifting the landfall "east" which translates to SOUTH for us on the Gulf Coast.

Pinellas looks to be under the gun now instead of me...

OR it runs along the coast 4-6 miles out in the Gulf as it loses power and passes by as a Cat 2.

OR anything between...

The important thing is it losing strength as it approaches us and we've done that level of storm here before.

I need more scotch.

I think I will attempt to get a bunch of ice to fill some coolers tomorrow so I have cubes for the scotch.

Good News Bad News

The bad news is that it appears we're right in the path of the storm.

The good news is that it appears that it's going to dramatically weaken before it actually hits us.

Of course, the wobble could land it miles north or south even at this point in time.

Keeping my eyes crossed that it does drop down to a Cat 1 as it approaches.  We can handle that!

But looking at it being a Cat 4 just 24 hours before it's supposed to hit is unnerving.

Land Of The Lost Combined With Lost

Or should that be The Land of the Lost²?

The Lovely Harvey and I have been doing the MST3K thing with NBC's show "La Brea".

Oh my Gods is it bad.

Poorly written and badly acted.

We're slaughtering it and enjoying the together time.

Season 2 starts on Tuesday, but we're going to wait for all the episodes to be available because if you can't binge, it's just not worth it.

We keep waiting for Sleestak to come out of cave some place.

I'm A Sucker

Because they can come in a tin box with an etched wooden plaque, I ordered a polyhedral set of the duck dice.

I am weak!

Everything Is Just Ducky!

The Wizard's Vault sells rubber ducky dice in several colors and will sell you just 6-siders!

I got the 15mm 6d6 set in purple.

I'd been seeing these recommended on Facebook for a long time, but only as part of a polyhedral set, and I don't really need more dice at all, let alone poly's.

The Home Defense Debate

The comparison in picture form.

Val is 10.7 lb. and Brenda is just 8 lb. as shown not counting the sling.

I think either will suffice for the job, with Brenda being the handier choice because she's almost three pounds lighter.

Valentine, on the other hand groups a lot better at 100 yards with that 20" barrel.

The big question really is: Can you legally justify a shot at the distance where the differences in ballistics matter between the two?

Because the law will return after the disaster ends, and you WILL have to explain the corpses.

Though, I think a great deal of leniency was granted in the wake of the really bad hits in Florida.  I wonder where I could go to check on that before it becomes a make-or-break legal problem.

I think I will go with the handier option unless the looters are systematically burning houses up and down the block.

If that becomes true...

Reach out, reach out and touch someone...

Godless .270 Win will suffice all the way down the street.

PS: Do you know the distances to the landmarks in your neighborhood?

Even More Fun

Thinking I would get back to converting Star Frontiers to GURPS...

I just noticed that the Yazirians get a bonus to their smarts stat.

Because the designer is racist and the "monkeys" are supposed to represent CENSOREDS.

Speaking as someone who's delved into twisting racist stereotypes into a gaming environment...

One does not make the race you hate smarter than the race you favor.

It's a lot easier to make a case of Orcs being blacks because they conform to the bigoted mold of being less than the good people.

It's a case that falls apart with virtually any scrutiny, which is why I had to twist it to conform to the racial mores of 19th century America rather than it being pre-made for me.

Making the traditional fantasy races fit the Victorian social strata isn't simple.  It seems like it would be when you start, but it spirals out of control and makes some decisions more racist as others are locked in.

Ultimately, it ended up being unplayable and I lost my little statement against bigotry because I had to force fits that were just caricatures of caricatures.

While this stopped me, it's clear that it's not even slowing the people complaining about the Hadozee down.

Wait until they notice that, in Spelljammer, that Ithilid are very mercantile oriented while having misshapen noses...

Ready!

We spent Friday finalizing our preps for the killer storm that's guaranteed to hit us and kill us all. (Notaguarantee).

That amounted to almost nothing.

We've always overbought canned goods and rotate them out in a FIFO matter.

So when something like this threatens, we're already stocked up.

I might go out and get some bags of ice for the two big coolers if the track looks really threatening.

The guns are all zeroed, just in case we get the doom-storm and need to repel looters.

I have to decide if Brenda or Valentine is going to be the duty gun.

Val has 5x optics and a 20" barrel, but she's heavy.  Brenda is handier, but no magnification and less puissance.

Prolly nugatory.

I Should Not Have Done That

Considering that the KE Arms KP-15 lower is 1.6 lb. and the lower that I have on Dottie is 2.63 lb.

I should not have test fit Dottie's upper on Brenda's lower.

KP-15 come in the requisite OD green too.

I'd better leave this alone until we get the water leak fixed and definitely CAT 5 hurricane that's guaranteed to hit my house is gone.

Speaking Of Star Frontiers

One of the alien races in Star Frontiers are the Yazirians.

They look like simians crossed with a flying squirrel and are sometimes known as "monkeys".  The game makes no mention of this being a slur.

A female of the species.

The Yazirians are in the news lately because the race was recycled into D&D's Spelljammer setting as the Hadozee.

Hadozee have an in-world nickname of "deck-apes".  They look like apes and they commonly choose a life shipboard working up from the deck.  The game makes no mention of this being a slur until 3e.

Well, someone decided that "deck-ape" is code for CENSORED and thus they need to be removed from the game, or something.  Deck-ape is derogatory, therefore it must be an allusion to black people?

There's lots of derogatory terms which have nothing to do with black people and are still derogatory.

But if it's because they have a derogatory nickname and look like simians...

I don't think it's the game designer that's racist here.

I haven't been following it too hard.

But I've had these guys in several Star Frontiers settings and I never saw any racism associated with how it tells us the race behaves.  They are a warrior race with tight clan associations and a strong code of honor.

I read "wookie" into that not CENSORED.  But then, I don't get up in the morning looking to be offended.