I see we've made it more illegal to do an illegal act against someone because they are a member of a specific group.
Do
I get a shorter sentence if I murder someone out of love? Is it better
if I killed someone who was a member of a group I really respected?
Would that be called a respect crime?
I am all about individual
liberty. Hate crimes are crimes against individuals, not groups. Hate
crime laws are all about elevating the group over the individual.
Listening to the people advocating them I wonder if they care about the
ethnicity of the victim more than the fact the poor soul was murdered.
For
me, it doesn't matter that the victim was black. It matters that they
were murdered. The murderer should be punished. For murder. There are
several crimes that I think deserve capital punishment, murder is on
that list. I intend to execute the criminal, what more can we add to
that sentence? I am reminded of the execution of John Wayne Gacy. He
was convicted of killing 33 people. His lawyers attempted to delay his
execution by claiming that the evidence didn't support some small
portion of the convictions, like 5 of them, and a new trial should be
convened. The judge essentially said, "We will go forward on the
execution of the remaining, uncontested, convictions. Just one would be
enough."
He's a murderer! Execute him.
He's a murderer who hated the victim because they were gay! Execute him. Being a murderer was enough.
Preferably the waste of carbon will be ended by swift action of their last intended victim. Saves time and money.
A secondary thing that always bothers me about hate crimes is that it is also thought policing.
I
have every right to hate; that does not grant any right or power to do
anything against the object of my hate. If I hate blacks, women or gays
as long as I keep it to myself I am not hurting anyone. Literally.
We
should also consider that the enhanced sentencing provisions and the
controversy about them will cause some perpetrators to act where they
otherwise wouldn't because of the enhance notoriety that would come with
the crime. Punishing the perpetrators of crimes has two purposes,
removing the people who do such things from the general population and
to deter people from committing those crimes. To create a situation
where a criminal is encouraged by the law is irresponsible.
30 April 2009
26 April 2009
Rail Mount
Kevina has a place to mount a flash-light. This is the bottom half of the dual-rail gas-block that Geff once had on his rifle.
Withmy her new Surefire X300 mounted, we need to get her one of her own now.
With
SEALs In Vietnam Observation
In the process of making the 1/35 scale character models I have been reading about how the equipment looked and how it was carried.
The GURPS book has lots of equipment listed that, while it WAS used, was hardly ever used. It makes no mention of how scarce something is, just that it was used at all.
Most SEALs just used the same LBE as the Army and Marines were using. Players, however, gravitate to the things like load bearing vests and special carriers for the radio.
Players also gravitate towards the weird guns. The NWC China Lake pump-action grenade launcher, around 20 made, my group has one. The H&R T223, only ONE documented example of one ever being used In-Country, my group has one. The SEALs loved the M16. Most teams carried M16 or M16A1, the carbine variations were not used near as much, my group has several.
The Stoner Model 63 is famous for being used by the SEALs. There are three versions of the LMG listed in the game. The final version, the Mk. 23 Mod. 0, was the first version to have right hand feed. The right hand feed cured a stoppage called "spin back". The Stoner system, in rifle configuration, feeds from a magazine on the bottom and ejects out the right side, like normal. In the LMG configuration, the receiver is inverted; the ejection port is now on the LEFT side and the feed-way is now on the top. Most belt-fed GPMGs feed from the left, so the guys at Cadillac Gage did the natural thing and fed it from the left too. This puts the feed and the ejection port on the same side of the gun. Spin back is the ejected round hitting the feeding belt and spinning back into the ejection port and being captured by the bolt.
Enter the Mk. 23 Mod. 0; the feed is now on the right side of the gun. An extremely clever box system is developed to keep the belt clean and to make feed smooth. It takes much longer to load than the left side feed so the SEAL gunners convert their guns back to left hand feed by a ratio of TEN TO ONE! They far preferred the risk of spin-back to the seconds lost reloading the new feed-way! It wasn't until there was no longer a war on that the Navy managed to get all of the left-hand feed systems out of the supply chain.
My players are also survivors of the McThag Gamer Training Center where we teach that if there is only one example of a piece of equipment in the party, it will be broken as a plot device. This causes every single player to have an example of every essential item.
Like a lensatic compass. In the real world, just the officers had them, often meaning there was just one in the platoon.
Like a smoke grenade (or two, or three) of each color. Comms and colors were predetermined so that the team knew that red was the color so nobody carried yellow, green or violet.
Like carrying a star flare (or two) of every color...
Then they end up missing things like a couple of LAWS...
And no PC is EVER the machine gunner unless that's the ONLY job left open.
The GURPS book has lots of equipment listed that, while it WAS used, was hardly ever used. It makes no mention of how scarce something is, just that it was used at all.
Most SEALs just used the same LBE as the Army and Marines were using. Players, however, gravitate to the things like load bearing vests and special carriers for the radio.
Players also gravitate towards the weird guns. The NWC China Lake pump-action grenade launcher, around 20 made, my group has one. The H&R T223, only ONE documented example of one ever being used In-Country, my group has one. The SEALs loved the M16. Most teams carried M16 or M16A1, the carbine variations were not used near as much, my group has several.
The Stoner Model 63 is famous for being used by the SEALs. There are three versions of the LMG listed in the game. The final version, the Mk. 23 Mod. 0, was the first version to have right hand feed. The right hand feed cured a stoppage called "spin back". The Stoner system, in rifle configuration, feeds from a magazine on the bottom and ejects out the right side, like normal. In the LMG configuration, the receiver is inverted; the ejection port is now on the LEFT side and the feed-way is now on the top. Most belt-fed GPMGs feed from the left, so the guys at Cadillac Gage did the natural thing and fed it from the left too. This puts the feed and the ejection port on the same side of the gun. Spin back is the ejected round hitting the feeding belt and spinning back into the ejection port and being captured by the bolt.
Enter the Mk. 23 Mod. 0; the feed is now on the right side of the gun. An extremely clever box system is developed to keep the belt clean and to make feed smooth. It takes much longer to load than the left side feed so the SEAL gunners convert their guns back to left hand feed by a ratio of TEN TO ONE! They far preferred the risk of spin-back to the seconds lost reloading the new feed-way! It wasn't until there was no longer a war on that the Navy managed to get all of the left-hand feed systems out of the supply chain.
My players are also survivors of the McThag Gamer Training Center where we teach that if there is only one example of a piece of equipment in the party, it will be broken as a plot device. This causes every single player to have an example of every essential item.
Like a lensatic compass. In the real world, just the officers had them, often meaning there was just one in the platoon.
Like a smoke grenade (or two, or three) of each color. Comms and colors were predetermined so that the team knew that red was the color so nobody carried yellow, green or violet.
Like carrying a star flare (or two) of every color...
Then they end up missing things like a couple of LAWS...
And no PC is EVER the machine gunner unless that's the ONLY job left open.
25 April 2009
Kevina's New Clothes
The Lovely Harvey, with some prodding from me, decided that Kevina would be her SHTF and EOTWAKI rifle and we would be serious about her.
I changed out the M&A stock for a Magpul CTR-M and ditched the A2 pistol grip for a Magpul MIAD, both in Flat Dark Earth™. We're on back-order for a YHM-5000 Smoothie Carbine Forend, so I got a set of Cavalry Arms carbine handguards in Coyote Brown™.
Here she is without her EOTech 552.A65/1.
And with.
With her sister Cheyenne.
With her partner Dottie.
Because this is the ready-gun, it's more exposed to dust and stuff, so I got her some spiffy GG&G flip-covers for the EOTech.
Not just for Claymores anymore!
I changed out the M&A stock for a Magpul CTR-M and ditched the A2 pistol grip for a Magpul MIAD, both in Flat Dark Earth™. We're on back-order for a YHM-5000 Smoothie Carbine Forend, so I got a set of Cavalry Arms carbine handguards in Coyote Brown™.
Here she is without her EOTech 552.A65/1.
And with.
With her sister Cheyenne.
With her partner Dottie.
Because this is the ready-gun, it's more exposed to dust and stuff, so I got her some spiffy GG&G flip-covers for the EOTech.
Not just for Claymores anymore!
24 April 2009
WOW!
I ordered some tan 550 cord for The Lovely Harvey's SHTF carbine, Kevina.
I placed my order for just after midnight Wednesday, ship via USPS Priority Mail.
The order was in my mailbox at 3:30 this afternoon.
Optics Planet sent a notification that my package had shipped at 6:30 this evening.
That's NEGATIVE three hours shipping from time of notification!
Who says the post office is slow?
I placed my order for just after midnight Wednesday, ship via USPS Priority Mail.
The order was in my mailbox at 3:30 this afternoon.
Optics Planet sent a notification that my package had shipped at 6:30 this evening.
That's NEGATIVE three hours shipping from time of notification!
Who says the post office is slow?
Taxation Without Representation
I was reading that half of the US doesn't pay any taxes at all. I have
also read that almost all of the revenue is paid by less than 20% of the
population.
It seems to me that those 20% are not being represented very well at all and the bottom half are being represented quite well indeed.
It seems to me that those 20% are not being represented very well at all and the bottom half are being represented quite well indeed.
21 April 2009
The Difference...
I do come across as a Republican. I'm not really, but it's hard to show much of the time.
I've noticed in conversations with Libtard Lenny that I end up defending the Republican because Lenny's point is based on some aspect of the Republican that's patently not true. Then we end up having a debate about whether it's true or not and it's invariably some subjective perception of character. "Bush is an idiot." "Sarah Palin is a moron." are typical examples. It is a definite indication of his character that he never calls a Democrat an "idiot" or "moron" when they do exactly the same thing that he's using to justify his assessment of the Republican.
He's also called Rudolph Guilianni a Fascist. Mayor Guilianni never glorified the military, seized the means of production or any of a number of other tell-tales. He was extremely zealous in enforcing New York's laws. Strict is the word that Lenny is looking for. I would also like to point out that the laws are generated by the legislature, not the executive. The legislatures are the people to really blame.
I have a short phrase that sums up how I feel about the two parties. "The difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is the difference between being hit in the balls by a sledge hammer and having your balls ripped off. You definitely don't want either, but you damn sure know which you would prefer if you were only given a choice between the two."
I vote R because I think that we can recover from the damage done. I think that they tend to move slow enough that we can possibly even reverse the "progress". Despite his flaws, Reagan managed to reverse some of it. That's why he's remembered fondly. The Democrats move fast, with no thought to the consequences. They tend to make huge changes that are almost impossible to reverse.
Given a real choice, I would not choose either of the two ruling parties.
I've noticed in conversations with Libtard Lenny that I end up defending the Republican because Lenny's point is based on some aspect of the Republican that's patently not true. Then we end up having a debate about whether it's true or not and it's invariably some subjective perception of character. "Bush is an idiot." "Sarah Palin is a moron." are typical examples. It is a definite indication of his character that he never calls a Democrat an "idiot" or "moron" when they do exactly the same thing that he's using to justify his assessment of the Republican.
He's also called Rudolph Guilianni a Fascist. Mayor Guilianni never glorified the military, seized the means of production or any of a number of other tell-tales. He was extremely zealous in enforcing New York's laws. Strict is the word that Lenny is looking for. I would also like to point out that the laws are generated by the legislature, not the executive. The legislatures are the people to really blame.
I have a short phrase that sums up how I feel about the two parties. "The difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is the difference between being hit in the balls by a sledge hammer and having your balls ripped off. You definitely don't want either, but you damn sure know which you would prefer if you were only given a choice between the two."
I vote R because I think that we can recover from the damage done. I think that they tend to move slow enough that we can possibly even reverse the "progress". Despite his flaws, Reagan managed to reverse some of it. That's why he's remembered fondly. The Democrats move fast, with no thought to the consequences. They tend to make huge changes that are almost impossible to reverse.
Given a real choice, I would not choose either of the two ruling parties.
I Need A Geek Pic...
I was reading the comics online and discovered that Red Dwarf is back on
the air. I have not seen many episodes, but I enjoyed what I did see.
One of my favorite characters from Red Dwarf are the Skutters. They are little robotic maintenance drones.
Farscape has a similar bot called a DRD. They'll always be Skutters to me...
One of my favorite characters from Red Dwarf are the Skutters. They are little robotic maintenance drones.
Farscape has a similar bot called a DRD. They'll always be Skutters to me...
20 April 2009
Gunner's Mate 1st Class James "Taki" Jensma USN 1968
Dragon messed up the Stoner. This should be a left feed gun, not the mirror image right feed. The right hand feed drum is insanely rare, farm more common was left hand feed. This also represents an anachronism for the character since the right hand feed was not developed until 1969.
Home Improvement Continues Apace
I have a new, stylish, sink in my man-cave bathroom.
Here's Marv being cute with his propane torch.
Here's Marv being cute with his propane torch.
17 April 2009
Radioman Master Chief Petty Officer William Earl Emley USN 1968
Another NPC, he's 1st squad's RTO. I built this guy straight out of the box with the exception of using an M16A1 instead of the hush-puppy. I need to make an aerial for the radio, which reminds me... I need super-glue.
Check out that cord! What a pain in the rear, it's springy and only sits in one place.
Check out that cord! What a pain in the rear, it's springy and only sits in one place.
Woo Hoo!
My approved ATF Form 1 arrived today!
The timeline.
Forms Sent: 12/23/08
Check cleared: 01/06/09 (14 Calendar, 8 business days)
Pending Date: 03/05/09 (82 Calendar, 49 business days)
Approved Date: 04/13/09 (121 Calendar, 76 business days)
Forms Received: 04/17/09/ (125 Calendar, 80 business days)
Now I just need Bushmaster to unass the barrel I ordered.
I am now officially legal to make a GURPS LC2 firearm. How many other of you gaming geeks can say that?
The timeline.
Forms Sent: 12/23/08
Check cleared: 01/06/09 (14 Calendar, 8 business days)
Pending Date: 03/05/09 (82 Calendar, 49 business days)
Approved Date: 04/13/09 (121 Calendar, 76 business days)
Forms Received: 04/17/09/ (125 Calendar, 80 business days)
Now I just need Bushmaster to unass the barrel I ordered.
I am now officially legal to make a GURPS LC2 firearm. How many other of you gaming geeks can say that?
Machinery Repairman 3rd Class Mikolaj "Mike" Wodaszak USN 1968
I didn't like the pose I selected for my Mary Sue. So I dremeled off his kneeling legs and glued on some standing ones.
I Realized Something
Tyler Durden says, "In the world I see - you are stalking elk through
the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll
wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll
climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when
you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of
venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway."
In the lifestyle he's describing, he's right, leather clothes will last you the rest of your life. Not because leather clothing is so much more durable than cloth, but because the average lifespan in a hunter-gatherer society is 35. For a sufficiently short lifespan, pink taffeta could last a lifetime.
Oh, the American Indian replaced his clothing annually, or more often.
In the lifestyle he's describing, he's right, leather clothes will last you the rest of your life. Not because leather clothing is so much more durable than cloth, but because the average lifespan in a hunter-gatherer society is 35. For a sufficiently short lifespan, pink taffeta could last a lifetime.
Oh, the American Indian replaced his clothing annually, or more often.
File Under Best Come Back Is Always Too Late To Sting
Libtard Lenny is experiencing some buyer's remorse about his presidential pick.
While I got to say, "Told you so," about his fretting about gun control he retorted, "I didn't want to vote about just one issue!"
I got distracted by the rest of the goings on and I have thought of a come back. "Since I told you so, and you didn't just vote on gun control, can you shut the fuck up about the one thing I warned you about?"
I may yet get to say it.
While I got to say, "Told you so," about his fretting about gun control he retorted, "I didn't want to vote about just one issue!"
I got distracted by the rest of the goings on and I have thought of a come back. "Since I told you so, and you didn't just vote on gun control, can you shut the fuck up about the one thing I warned you about?"
I may yet get to say it.
16 April 2009
I Have Been Approved
I called BATFE today and asked about the status of my Form 1. The nice
man on the phone indicated that my application had been approved 13APR09
and should be in the mailbox real-soon-now.
GLAD!
I am officially in the GURPS LC2 weapon club!
All I need now is for Bushmaster to cough up a barrel.
GLAD!
I am officially in the GURPS LC2 weapon club!
All I need now is for Bushmaster to cough up a barrel.
14 April 2009
Nancy Pelosi And Gun Registration
Wasn't she just a month ago saying she didn't want any new gun control?
Here's the deal.
WIth registration, the government now has a list of all the guns registered and if you are caught with a gun that isn't you're going to jail.
If a future government decides to ban firearm ownership, they know where to find the registered guns.
If we left it there, it would be theoretical.
Time and time again, the registration lists precede the banning then confiscation of firearms. Most of the governments doing the banning have been less than savory. Quite often the government doing the banning is not the government that put the registration in place. The classic example here is Weimar Germany requiring registration and Nazi Germany banning.
I think a damn good rule of thumb for a government is to ask, "Did the Nazis ever do this?"
California and New Jersey both banned guns that had previously been subject to registration and used the registration lists to ensure compliance. Isn't Pelosi from California?
With a track record like this, why would an honest, law-abiding, gun owner be worried about registration?
Oh, and registration does not stop the sort of tragedy they say it will. Thomas Watt Hamilton murdered 17 people with three registered handguns. These murders were the justification to change registration to banning and confiscation in Britain. While there hasn't been a mass murder like Dunblane since, murders in general are on the rise. Even if the government doesn't go Nazi on you after the gun ban, you will still be less safe. Criminals, by definition, don't obey the laws.
When you counter-point the British experience with the US one it gets even sillier for Ms Pelosi. The US is adding MILLIONS of guns to private hands every year. Yet our murder rates are declining. MANY MORE guns and fewer murders. Conceal carry has gone from a novelty in a few states to being nearly universal; crime rates fell.
The "wild west" scenario never happens. (By the way, Dodge City, Kansas in the "wild west" days was much safer than south central Los Angeles today. Look it up!) Gun control in the old west was non-existent and crime rates were much lower than today, we likely have a perceptual problem because the old west criminal has been romanticized so thoroughly.
Comment:
Here's the deal.
WIth registration, the government now has a list of all the guns registered and if you are caught with a gun that isn't you're going to jail.
If a future government decides to ban firearm ownership, they know where to find the registered guns.
If we left it there, it would be theoretical.
Time and time again, the registration lists precede the banning then confiscation of firearms. Most of the governments doing the banning have been less than savory. Quite often the government doing the banning is not the government that put the registration in place. The classic example here is Weimar Germany requiring registration and Nazi Germany banning.
I think a damn good rule of thumb for a government is to ask, "Did the Nazis ever do this?"
California and New Jersey both banned guns that had previously been subject to registration and used the registration lists to ensure compliance. Isn't Pelosi from California?
With a track record like this, why would an honest, law-abiding, gun owner be worried about registration?
Oh, and registration does not stop the sort of tragedy they say it will. Thomas Watt Hamilton murdered 17 people with three registered handguns. These murders were the justification to change registration to banning and confiscation in Britain. While there hasn't been a mass murder like Dunblane since, murders in general are on the rise. Even if the government doesn't go Nazi on you after the gun ban, you will still be less safe. Criminals, by definition, don't obey the laws.
When you counter-point the British experience with the US one it gets even sillier for Ms Pelosi. The US is adding MILLIONS of guns to private hands every year. Yet our murder rates are declining. MANY MORE guns and fewer murders. Conceal carry has gone from a novelty in a few states to being nearly universal; crime rates fell.
The "wild west" scenario never happens. (By the way, Dodge City, Kansas in the "wild west" days was much safer than south central Los Angeles today. Look it up!) Gun control in the old west was non-existent and crime rates were much lower than today, we likely have a perceptual problem because the old west criminal has been romanticized so thoroughly.
Comment:
Obama Pizza Thing
He did indeed fly the chef from Pi Pizzeria to make him and his staff pizzas.
Telling me that he used his own funds does not change why I am ticked off about it.
What ticks me off is flying this guy in is exactly the kind of extravagance that he has said we should be avoiding. Lead by example, SIR. Set the standard by living it.
Otherwise it's do as I say, not as I do.
This goes quintuple for Al Gore.
A secondary irritation is knowing the media would be demanding Bush's head on a pike for such an act where here they insist that it's OK since Obama didn't use public funds.
By the way, since Obama hasn't had a job that wasn't public sector in a long, long time, he spent public money filtered through his paycheck.
Again, I am not upset he had pizza man come to him. I wish I could afford to bring down some Pizza Pit. What I am ticked off about is him and his party telling me I need to cut back on luxuries when he's not.
Telling me that he used his own funds does not change why I am ticked off about it.
What ticks me off is flying this guy in is exactly the kind of extravagance that he has said we should be avoiding. Lead by example, SIR. Set the standard by living it.
Otherwise it's do as I say, not as I do.
This goes quintuple for Al Gore.
A secondary irritation is knowing the media would be demanding Bush's head on a pike for such an act where here they insist that it's OK since Obama didn't use public funds.
By the way, since Obama hasn't had a job that wasn't public sector in a long, long time, he spent public money filtered through his paycheck.
Again, I am not upset he had pizza man come to him. I wish I could afford to bring down some Pizza Pit. What I am ticked off about is him and his party telling me I need to cut back on luxuries when he's not.
Customer Service Observation
I ordered a barrel for the XM177E2 project on December 2, 2008. Bushmaster said, at the time, that deliveries were running 6-8 weeks. That put delivery (at worst I thought) not later than January 27, 2009. When I called on the 29th they said that because of the panic that orders were really taking 8-12 weeks, sorry. Grumble. That put the delivery about February 24, 2009. I called then and they said, "about a month" left and I had read that five months was the actual wait, so I waited until today to call.
Guy on the phone says that deliveries are taking 18 weeks from time of order. I said, "Great, then it got here last week! Um, except it hasn't shipped yet, has it?"
"Well, sir, we've been swamped."
"I understand and you have my sympathies, but if you don't know, you should say so."
"It changes everyday because of cancellations and..."
"If you CANNOT know you should say so."
"It would take an hour per customer to..."
"You've spent more than an hour with me total now in four separate calls and I am thinking I am being lied to."
"We can cancel the order..."
"I want the barrel I ordered. I want you guys to be honest about it. I appreciate that you are swamped by the mass of orders since the election but the internet is telling on you. You've dedicated all your barrel production to M4 profiles and you're letting people who want something else dangle. Delivery time on an M4 is 6 weeks. I've read it over and over on the forums. I suggest you open up some non-M4 production before someone sues you. You're listing things on your catalog and website you don't have any intention of making in the timeframe you are promising. A clever lawyer could get me a free barrel that would cost you my (and your) legal fees. At the present rate, I am not sure that going to court would actually delay delivery!"
"We, uh, can cancel the order, we... I'm pretty sure we can get you your order by the end if the month. We're back-ordered on rifles by 180 thousand units."
"I totally understand that your system is overloaded. What I wanted was for you to say so and admit you have no way of knowing when you can fill my order."
"We don't have any way of knowing, with the volume, huge back-orders on our orders, back-orders from suppliers and cancellations how long an individual order will take. It appears that you should have your order by the end of the month."
"Thanks!"
13 April 2009
Lieutenant Tom Andrews USN 1968
This is Tim's character.
You may ask yourself, "Why such a big scope?" That's an AN/PVS-2B STANO 'Cat's Eye'. Yes, it's as big as and weighs as much as the rifle it's mounted to.
This figure took more fabrication than both of the other two combined. It was GREAT!
Mandatory group shot!
I'd like to mention that the reason all the figures are right handed is because they came that way. Being right handed, it didn't even occur to me that a character would not be. My bad.
You may ask yourself, "Why such a big scope?" That's an AN/PVS-2B STANO 'Cat's Eye'. Yes, it's as big as and weighs as much as the rifle it's mounted to.
This figure took more fabrication than both of the other two combined. It was GREAT!
Mandatory group shot!
I'd like to mention that the reason all the figures are right handed is because they came that way. Being right handed, it didn't even occur to me that a character would not be. My bad.
Ensign Carl Dietrich USN 1968
This is Geff's character from my SEALs game.
I think the H&R T223 came out really good. It's like killing your kids to have to do things like cutting the pistol grip off so that it fits the figure's hands. The "smoke" grenades are going to be made into 308-1 grenades, one TIARA marking and one napalm. Because they have identical bodies to the M18 smoke grenades, I decided (for Geff) that this character carries the smoke grenades in an M18 Claymore's bag.
Technically, I think his character was carrying a M1956 LCE Lightweight Rucksack, but I decided to have some fun with it and used a ruck from an NVA figure kit. This was really done, so I don't feel bad about it at all. The floppy hat is also an NVA item. Geff approved that change. Such hats were worn to show the enemy a "friendly" silhouette.
Check the S&W Mk 22 Mod 0 "Hush Puppy" tucked in there! I will add a lanyard made from fine wire as I get closer to finished.
I think the H&R T223 came out really good. It's like killing your kids to have to do things like cutting the pistol grip off so that it fits the figure's hands. The "smoke" grenades are going to be made into 308-1 grenades, one TIARA marking and one napalm. Because they have identical bodies to the M18 smoke grenades, I decided (for Geff) that this character carries the smoke grenades in an M18 Claymore's bag.
Technically, I think his character was carrying a M1956 LCE Lightweight Rucksack, but I decided to have some fun with it and used a ruck from an NVA figure kit. This was really done, so I don't feel bad about it at all. The floppy hat is also an NVA item. Geff approved that change. Such hats were worn to show the enemy a "friendly" silhouette.
Check the S&W Mk 22 Mod 0 "Hush Puppy" tucked in there! I will add a lanyard made from fine wire as I get closer to finished.
SEALs in 1/35
Here is my Mary Sue character; MR3 Mikolaj "Mike" Wodaszak. I am especially proud of the M3 OSS. The silencer is home-made and the stock is stolen from the M16 Family kit; it was supposed to be for an M231 Firing Port Weapon.
I am a member of the build then paint school because the glue adheres better with a plastic-plastic joint. My putty is all dried up, so I need to get more before filling in some of the gaps, especially the left shoulder.
Here is an R607 with the stock extended and a 20 round mag substituted for the 30 that came in the kit.
Edit: I just wanted to insert a pic showing what that R607 started out as. Adding the "extension" was a pain in the ass to get straight and the correct length. I also fixed the magazine's length. The Dragon kit comes with some "loose" magazines you can use as in a diorama or something to show ammo laying around or you can cut a section out and replace a 30 rounder with a 20 as I have done here. Problem is they are not real clear about where to cut and at what angle...
12 April 2009
It's A FACT
Did you know the word "democracy" does not appear in the Constitution of the United States of America?
Nor does any variation of the word, such as "democrat" or "democratic".
Interesting!
Nor does any variation of the word, such as "democrat" or "democratic".
Section. 4.That's the paragraph with the only mention of "republic" in any from.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.
Interesting!
11 April 2009
A Sore Subject
On the left we have a 'clip'. On the right we have a 'detachable box magazine', or just 'magazine'.
Clips feed the magazine; magazines feed the gun.
10 April 2009
I Give You Kevina and Cheyenne
Edit to add: Kevina and Cheyenne are The Lovely Harvey's carbines!
Kevina, top, is a Del Ton 1:7 chrome-lined 16" M4 barrel flat-top, Anvil Arms lower, M&A mil-spec carbine stock and a DPMS LPK with YHM folding sights and an EOTech 552/A65.1.
Cheyenne, bottom, is a complete Del Ton 1:9 chrome-lined 16" Lightweight kit on an Anvil Arms lower with a Magpul MIAD grip, Troy Medieval flash-hider and a late M4 mil-spec stock added.
Kevina, top, is a Del Ton 1:7 chrome-lined 16" M4 barrel flat-top, Anvil Arms lower, M&A mil-spec carbine stock and a DPMS LPK with YHM folding sights and an EOTech 552/A65.1.
Cheyenne, bottom, is a complete Del Ton 1:9 chrome-lined 16" Lightweight kit on an Anvil Arms lower with a Magpul MIAD grip, Troy Medieval flash-hider and a late M4 mil-spec stock added.
Macabre And Non-PC Observation
The gunman in Pittsburgh killed three and made a vegetable out of a fourth police officer.
CNN's narrative about the situation paints the shooter as someone who was convinced that the US Government was going to take away his guns so he went on a rampage to stop the confiscation.
That's a 4:1 kill ratio.
If Mike Vanderboegh is correct about the 3% being about three million people willing to shoot back, that means they're going to need about 12 million cops. That's bigger than the Army.
I also think that a good sized hunk of law enforcement and the military will not participate in enforcing a door-to-door seizure of privately held firearms. Oath-Keepers comes to mind.
Most of the 3% are familiar with this:
"During an arrest, you think since you aren’t guilty, how can they arrest you? Why should you run away? And how can you resist right then? After all, you’ll only make your situation worse; you’ll make it more difficult for them to sort out the mistake.
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say goodbye to his family?
"Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?
The Organs [government agencies] would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! We didn’t love freedom enough. Every man always has handy a dozen glib little reasons why he is right not to sacrifice himself."
I've said before, "Never make me choose if it's me or you who dies. I pick you every time."
CNN's narrative about the situation paints the shooter as someone who was convinced that the US Government was going to take away his guns so he went on a rampage to stop the confiscation.
That's a 4:1 kill ratio.
If Mike Vanderboegh is correct about the 3% being about three million people willing to shoot back, that means they're going to need about 12 million cops. That's bigger than the Army.
I also think that a good sized hunk of law enforcement and the military will not participate in enforcing a door-to-door seizure of privately held firearms. Oath-Keepers comes to mind.
Most of the 3% are familiar with this:
"During an arrest, you think since you aren’t guilty, how can they arrest you? Why should you run away? And how can you resist right then? After all, you’ll only make your situation worse; you’ll make it more difficult for them to sort out the mistake.
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say goodbye to his family?
"Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?
The Organs [government agencies] would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! We didn’t love freedom enough. Every man always has handy a dozen glib little reasons why he is right not to sacrifice himself."
I've said before, "Never make me choose if it's me or you who dies. I pick you every time."
09 April 2009
$5k 10 Guns 1 Hour
http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7297745&page=1
Not one law broken.
I really hate how they act like what Mr Samaha did was made illegal, but someone forgot to mention private sales at gun shows so while it's technically legal, it was supposed to have been banned when they made it a requirement to have an FFL.
Since he didn't fill out any paperwork it had to have been 10 private sales. If he'd bought from a dealer, he would have had to fill out an ATF form 4473, produce valid ID and wait for the FBI NICS check, and that's just the federal stuff, Virginia might have other requirements. Florida does. In Florida when you buy from a dealer you need to have a concealed carry license or you're waiting five business days to take a handgun home, or three business days for a long gun in some counties.
Private sellers are not bound by these laws. We don't pay sales tax on the sale either! Neener neener!
Some people have drawn some parallels between buying guns and alcohol.
I think that those are very apt.
I don't need a liquor license to hand out drinks in my home. I don't need to check ID. A bar does. They need a liquor license to sell drinks. Is this called the "living room loophole"?
Not one law broken.
I really hate how they act like what Mr Samaha did was made illegal, but someone forgot to mention private sales at gun shows so while it's technically legal, it was supposed to have been banned when they made it a requirement to have an FFL.
Since he didn't fill out any paperwork it had to have been 10 private sales. If he'd bought from a dealer, he would have had to fill out an ATF form 4473, produce valid ID and wait for the FBI NICS check, and that's just the federal stuff, Virginia might have other requirements. Florida does. In Florida when you buy from a dealer you need to have a concealed carry license or you're waiting five business days to take a handgun home, or three business days for a long gun in some counties.
Private sellers are not bound by these laws. We don't pay sales tax on the sale either! Neener neener!
Some people have drawn some parallels between buying guns and alcohol.
I think that those are very apt.
I don't need a liquor license to hand out drinks in my home. I don't need to check ID. A bar does. They need a liquor license to sell drinks. Is this called the "living room loophole"?
Time Travel
Every once and a while I contemplated time travel and gaming.
We've made ourselves as characters a few times, so I naturally considered what would be the best gun to have if I was 100 or so years in the past. That prompted me to go buy a Colt Anaconda in .45 Colt; just in case a GM dropped us in the Old West.
I've been thinking about it again.
I have some guns chambered in some pretty damn old rounds and some not so new.
I have:
.22 Long Rifle (1887)
5.56x45mm (1963) and I can use .223 Remington (1964) too.
6.8x43mm (2002)
7.62x51mm (1954) plus .308 Winchester (1952) works just fine as well.
.30-06 (1906) but I could use M1903 ammo.
7.62x54mmR (1891)
.303 British (1889 as a black powder round and 1891 as smokeless)
.25 ACP (1905)
.32 S&W (1878)
.32 S&W Long (1896) this can also chamber the .32 S&W mentioned above!
.32 ACP (1899)
.380 ACP (1908)
.357 Magnum (1934) but I can also use .38 Special (1902) and .38 Long Colt (1892).
.44 Magnum (1955) but I can also use .44 Special (1907) and .44 Russian (1870).
.45 ACP (1904)
.45 Colt (1872)
12ga 3" which can take 2", 2 1/2" and 2 3/4" rounds developed from 1866.
Also in the house there's guns that I don't own.
.243 Winchester (1955)
.357 SIG (1994)
.40 S&W (1990)
We've made ourselves as characters a few times, so I naturally considered what would be the best gun to have if I was 100 or so years in the past. That prompted me to go buy a Colt Anaconda in .45 Colt; just in case a GM dropped us in the Old West.
I've been thinking about it again.
I have some guns chambered in some pretty damn old rounds and some not so new.
I have:
.22 Long Rifle (1887)
5.56x45mm (1963) and I can use .223 Remington (1964) too.
6.8x43mm (2002)
7.62x51mm (1954) plus .308 Winchester (1952) works just fine as well.
.30-06 (1906) but I could use M1903 ammo.
7.62x54mmR (1891)
.303 British (1889 as a black powder round and 1891 as smokeless)
.25 ACP (1905)
.32 S&W (1878)
.32 S&W Long (1896) this can also chamber the .32 S&W mentioned above!
.32 ACP (1899)
.380 ACP (1908)
.357 Magnum (1934) but I can also use .38 Special (1902) and .38 Long Colt (1892).
.44 Magnum (1955) but I can also use .44 Special (1907) and .44 Russian (1870).
.45 ACP (1904)
.45 Colt (1872)
12ga 3" which can take 2", 2 1/2" and 2 3/4" rounds developed from 1866.
Also in the house there's guns that I don't own.
.243 Winchester (1955)
.357 SIG (1994)
.40 S&W (1990)
Folks That's A Bow
Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining when you claim that it's not a bow.
Bush bowed too.
Why the need to lie about it?
Comment:
Random Thought
Media bias.
They've certainly picked a side.
I think many people don't mind because it's their side.
I've heard more and more from people who I would never have thought were interested in politics ask, "When did the media stop reporting the events and start making everything an editorial?"
I can't really answer that. I noticed they were doing that somewhere in the Branch Davidian stand off. Wikipedia says that was 1993. That's where I noticed the media calling an M2A1 Bradley and an M728 CEV tanks. The Bradley is an infantry combat vehicle and the M728 is a combat engineering vehicle. The M728 is based on an M60A1 tank, but I know from watching them during the Gulf War that they have people on staff who know the difference between the vehicles used and tanks. Even using the term "armored vehicle" instead of tank would have been accurate. But they chose tank. It was inaccurate. It had to be deliberate. Why?
I've never found an answer to, "why?" that didn't scare me.
I also have to ask, "How come every time something that I know something about is presented, the media gets key things wrong?"
It's made it so I cannot trust them. They have a side and are advancing that side's agenda.
It must be older than 1993 though. Remember when Walter Cronkite declared the war in Vietnam unwinnable right after the Tet Offensive? We won that battle. We'd actually won the war. Congress (Democrat majority) voted to cut funding and end air-support for the South Vietnamese; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The North Vietnamese were still receiving material support from both USSR and China. Most people don't know that. The evacuation of Siagon took place almost two years after the last US combat troops had left. South Vietnamese troops, with US funding and supplies along with US air support had successfully repelled an invasion from the North the year before. So many people think that the evacuation of Saigon (1975) is DURING the withdrawal of US combat troops (1973). Gee, where do you think that this impression comes from?
Happily, the internet is combating this. A year ago there was little mention of the order of events at the end of Vietnam. Now there's Wikipedia! Prior to the internet it took some digging in military history sections to find this stuff; now it's online.
They've certainly picked a side.
I think many people don't mind because it's their side.
I've heard more and more from people who I would never have thought were interested in politics ask, "When did the media stop reporting the events and start making everything an editorial?"
I can't really answer that. I noticed they were doing that somewhere in the Branch Davidian stand off. Wikipedia says that was 1993. That's where I noticed the media calling an M2A1 Bradley and an M728 CEV tanks. The Bradley is an infantry combat vehicle and the M728 is a combat engineering vehicle. The M728 is based on an M60A1 tank, but I know from watching them during the Gulf War that they have people on staff who know the difference between the vehicles used and tanks. Even using the term "armored vehicle" instead of tank would have been accurate. But they chose tank. It was inaccurate. It had to be deliberate. Why?
I've never found an answer to, "why?" that didn't scare me.
I also have to ask, "How come every time something that I know something about is presented, the media gets key things wrong?"
It's made it so I cannot trust them. They have a side and are advancing that side's agenda.
It must be older than 1993 though. Remember when Walter Cronkite declared the war in Vietnam unwinnable right after the Tet Offensive? We won that battle. We'd actually won the war. Congress (Democrat majority) voted to cut funding and end air-support for the South Vietnamese; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The North Vietnamese were still receiving material support from both USSR and China. Most people don't know that. The evacuation of Siagon took place almost two years after the last US combat troops had left. South Vietnamese troops, with US funding and supplies along with US air support had successfully repelled an invasion from the North the year before. So many people think that the evacuation of Saigon (1975) is DURING the withdrawal of US combat troops (1973). Gee, where do you think that this impression comes from?
Happily, the internet is combating this. A year ago there was little mention of the order of events at the end of Vietnam. Now there's Wikipedia! Prior to the internet it took some digging in military history sections to find this stuff; now it's online.
07 April 2009
Chekov's Gun
There's a trope about what bugged me about "Atlas Shrugged".
The demonstration of the sonic goat death ray led me to expect it would be used on or at Galt's Gulch. That bothered me so much I couldn't really enjoy the pages and pages of speeches that come later.
The demonstration of the sonic goat death ray led me to expect it would be used on or at Galt's Gulch. That bothered me so much I couldn't really enjoy the pages and pages of speeches that come later.
06 April 2009
A Reminder
I would like to point out that not one of my firearms participated in the murder of those three cops in Pittsburgh.
And that this fucktard is still a fucktard: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2
Talk radio didn't make this guy do this. The NRA didn't make this guy do this. Barack Obama didn't make this guy do this. His dog pissing on the floor didn't make this guy do this.
I would also like to remind everyone that murder is illegal. Anyone who's bound and determined to break that law is not going to spend time worrying, "Does my magazine hold too many rounds?"
And that this fucktard is still a fucktard: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2
Talk radio didn't make this guy do this. The NRA didn't make this guy do this. Barack Obama didn't make this guy do this. His dog pissing on the floor didn't make this guy do this.
I would also like to remind everyone that murder is illegal. Anyone who's bound and determined to break that law is not going to spend time worrying, "Does my magazine hold too many rounds?"
05 April 2009
Some Details
I think about space and starships from time to time. Thanks Roberta X!
Since I look at things from a GM to Player perspective most of the time I like think about details.
Hatches.
Sliding doors and iris-valves are neat, but would be complicated. Think about the materials you need to use to prevent things like vacuum welding.
I have described sliding hatches that had double doors. Each face moves towards the center, away from the jamb so that in case there's pressure on one side and not the other, the vacuum side will be pressed more firmly in its coaming and cannot be slid into its pocket until both sides are centered.
Swinging hatches are likely to be more common. If you put a geared mechanism on the door, the pressure will not prevent it from opening or closing (nor will high g-loads). But what keeps a bone head from opening it at the wrong time?
I propose a simple diaphragm bolt. Springs hold it centered if there's pressure on both sides. If there's a pressure drop, the air pushes the diaphragm against the springs and the bolt slides into the opening mechanism and prevents it from opening. This same mechanism can also be used to trip the closing mechanism. I envision the slider looking like an emergency stop button. Slap it, the spring loaded door closes FAST. Vacuum pulls it, door closes. What if you need to open it? You pull it out, and hold it while the door opens. You could override the closure mechanism by wedging something under the button, there might even be something built in for that. No lights, you can feel for the button. If it's down you know the other side is in vacuum.
Since I look at things from a GM to Player perspective most of the time I like think about details.
Hatches.
Sliding doors and iris-valves are neat, but would be complicated. Think about the materials you need to use to prevent things like vacuum welding.
I have described sliding hatches that had double doors. Each face moves towards the center, away from the jamb so that in case there's pressure on one side and not the other, the vacuum side will be pressed more firmly in its coaming and cannot be slid into its pocket until both sides are centered.
Swinging hatches are likely to be more common. If you put a geared mechanism on the door, the pressure will not prevent it from opening or closing (nor will high g-loads). But what keeps a bone head from opening it at the wrong time?
I propose a simple diaphragm bolt. Springs hold it centered if there's pressure on both sides. If there's a pressure drop, the air pushes the diaphragm against the springs and the bolt slides into the opening mechanism and prevents it from opening. This same mechanism can also be used to trip the closing mechanism. I envision the slider looking like an emergency stop button. Slap it, the spring loaded door closes FAST. Vacuum pulls it, door closes. What if you need to open it? You pull it out, and hold it while the door opens. You could override the closure mechanism by wedging something under the button, there might even be something built in for that. No lights, you can feel for the button. If it's down you know the other side is in vacuum.
Comments Policy
I do treasure comments, but try to remember that I have stuck my own opinions out here to be flayed. I do have a personal stake in what I have said. This is ME that is here. There is a substantial emotional risk to stating one's opinion in public.
If your opinion differs, tell me in your own words. Use your own opinion, I used mine. Don't just link me to people who disagree. Don't just repeat someone else's words without sourcing.
If you find your reply is getting to be longer than the post you are replying to, you should really start writing for yourself on your own blog or Live Journal. Clearly you have something to say and deserve to say it where you make the rules!
I detest devil's advocacy when not prefaced as such. Remember, a devil's advocate does not subscribe to the position, he merely is taking it to help find flaws or illustrate the point. Unless you say you are taking the devil's position, you will the treated as if that is your own mind.
Do not quote the mainstream media and chide me for using biased sources.
Feel free to agree with me! When all one hears is people disagreeing all the time, one feels so very alone.
If you agree but think I said it poorly, then tell me! I want to say it well. I want the people on the fence to move to my side of the yard. I don't want to drive people to the other side.
Ask questions! Ask for clarification. Ask if I really meant it the way it was said. I am not a professional writer, I am an amateur.
I know there are more than three people reading this, but I rarely (if ever) hear from them.
If your opinion differs, tell me in your own words. Use your own opinion, I used mine. Don't just link me to people who disagree. Don't just repeat someone else's words without sourcing.
If you find your reply is getting to be longer than the post you are replying to, you should really start writing for yourself on your own blog or Live Journal. Clearly you have something to say and deserve to say it where you make the rules!
I detest devil's advocacy when not prefaced as such. Remember, a devil's advocate does not subscribe to the position, he merely is taking it to help find flaws or illustrate the point. Unless you say you are taking the devil's position, you will the treated as if that is your own mind.
Do not quote the mainstream media and chide me for using biased sources.
Feel free to agree with me! When all one hears is people disagreeing all the time, one feels so very alone.
If you agree but think I said it poorly, then tell me! I want to say it well. I want the people on the fence to move to my side of the yard. I don't want to drive people to the other side.
Ask questions! Ask for clarification. Ask if I really meant it the way it was said. I am not a professional writer, I am an amateur.
I know there are more than three people reading this, but I rarely (if ever) hear from them.
Freedom Of Speech
If there was really true freedom of speech, then conspiracy laws would be unconstitutional.
"Conspiracy to," is what makes a crime 1st degree, not the actual conspiring.
If I have freedom of speech, then I can conspire all I want as long as I don't actually commit the crime I am "conspiring" about. Literally, no harm, no foul.
"Conspiracy to," is what makes a crime 1st degree, not the actual conspiring.
If I have freedom of speech, then I can conspire all I want as long as I don't actually commit the crime I am "conspiring" about. Literally, no harm, no foul.
Creationist Screed
I am willing to concede that the universe was created by God if you are
willing to concede that He made it the way that it appears.
Hell, I will be willing to concede creation if you are willing to willing to take seven days and multiply them by 3.65x10^11.
I'll be willing to concede that abortion is murder if you'll concede that wiping the seed of families like The Shitheels off the face of the planet is a net good.
I'll concede that insulting Islam is wrong if you'll concede that they have to apologize for all the murders.
Hell, I will be willing to concede creation if you are willing to willing to take seven days and multiply them by 3.65x10^11.
I'll be willing to concede that abortion is murder if you'll concede that wiping the seed of families like The Shitheels off the face of the planet is a net good.
I'll concede that insulting Islam is wrong if you'll concede that they have to apologize for all the murders.
Gay Marriage
The problem with this is both sides presuppose that the government has the power to define and regulate who is, or can, be married.
I think that it's a religious matter and if your church forbids homosexuals to marry then be content that they will burn in hell for their sins, God even says that's how He wants things to run since the judgement is His alone. Read your Bibles! The atheist should not be the one pointing this out to you. If your church says Tom and Dave can love each other and be husband and, er, husband; then God will punish them if they are wrong. It's not my business.
You can easily make it a contractual thing. I think the reason we haven't is it would allow polygamy. Religion once again encroaching on the state.
Male-female marriage might deserve a special spot under law because it's a good idea for society to have its own kind breeding. "We are married and intend to reproduce, please give us our tax break for furthering our society." If we came out and said it and then did it so that the productive members of society benefitted from having kids then perhaps we'd see less of The Shitheel model of sloppy reproduction. Imagine if you got a 50% tax break for having an income above $35k and porked a child! Imagine no additional break if you paid no net taxes.
Comments:
04 April 2009
Comparing Red Dots
Today's comparison is between the Aimpoint Comp M4s and the L3 EOTech 552.A65/1 (Rev F).
First, the EOTech.
This is the right side of the unit. You can see the elevation (left) and windage (right) adjustments here.
Left side of the unit showing the mounting screw. A tool is really required to get the recommended last 1/4 turn.
Looking to the rear at the front of the unit. The battery compartment is plastic and kind of exposed compared to the sight window which is protected by an aluminum hoop.
The controls. Either square button will turn it on. The up arrow turns it on and sets the "time-out" for 8 hours, the down arrow for 4 hours. Pushing both arrows shuts the unit off. The up and down arrows also control brightness. The round button labeled 'NV' toggles the unit into a dim mode that is night-vision compatible. Using any control (except turning it off) resets the "time-out" clock. With two AA lithium batteries and set to the default brightness of 12, the battery should last for 1,000 hours.
The reticule. It's a 65 minute-of-angle (moa) ring around a 1 moa dot. It is also hard to get the camera to cooperate with this.
Now the Aimpoint Comp M4s. It's a variation of the standard Comp M4 that has the battery compartment mounted at 5 o'clock instead of 1 o'clock, as seen from the rear. The Comp M4 is issued to US Army troops as the M68 CCO.
Lens covers closed from the right.
Covers open. The windage and elevation are in the more traditional scope locations. The caps covering the adjusters are captured on rubber lanyards, as is the cap for the battery compartment.
Left side view. You can see the "QRP 2" knob here as well as the spacer (horizontal bar with the holes in it). Removing the spacer put the unit about 9mm lower, which causes it to no longer be lined up with my LaRue Po-Boy magnifier. The QRP 2 knob requires no tools to get correct torque.
Front view showing the kill-flash unit. This helps keep reflections from the lens from giving away the shooter's position.
The control. Shown here set to position 10. The first few clicks are very dim for use with night-vision. There is no "time-out" with the Aimpoint, if you forget and leave it on, it stays on until the battery dies. It is supposed to have several years (80,000 hours with lithium) of battery life on a single AA cell while left in position 12.
The reticule. A single 2 moa dot. I find that the one feature I really like better on the EOTech is the reticule.
First, the EOTech.
This is the right side of the unit. You can see the elevation (left) and windage (right) adjustments here.
Left side of the unit showing the mounting screw. A tool is really required to get the recommended last 1/4 turn.
Looking to the rear at the front of the unit. The battery compartment is plastic and kind of exposed compared to the sight window which is protected by an aluminum hoop.
The controls. Either square button will turn it on. The up arrow turns it on and sets the "time-out" for 8 hours, the down arrow for 4 hours. Pushing both arrows shuts the unit off. The up and down arrows also control brightness. The round button labeled 'NV' toggles the unit into a dim mode that is night-vision compatible. Using any control (except turning it off) resets the "time-out" clock. With two AA lithium batteries and set to the default brightness of 12, the battery should last for 1,000 hours.
The reticule. It's a 65 minute-of-angle (moa) ring around a 1 moa dot. It is also hard to get the camera to cooperate with this.
Now the Aimpoint Comp M4s. It's a variation of the standard Comp M4 that has the battery compartment mounted at 5 o'clock instead of 1 o'clock, as seen from the rear. The Comp M4 is issued to US Army troops as the M68 CCO.
Lens covers closed from the right.
Covers open. The windage and elevation are in the more traditional scope locations. The caps covering the adjusters are captured on rubber lanyards, as is the cap for the battery compartment.
Left side view. You can see the "QRP 2" knob here as well as the spacer (horizontal bar with the holes in it). Removing the spacer put the unit about 9mm lower, which causes it to no longer be lined up with my LaRue Po-Boy magnifier. The QRP 2 knob requires no tools to get correct torque.
Front view showing the kill-flash unit. This helps keep reflections from the lens from giving away the shooter's position.
The control. Shown here set to position 10. The first few clicks are very dim for use with night-vision. There is no "time-out" with the Aimpoint, if you forget and leave it on, it stays on until the battery dies. It is supposed to have several years (80,000 hours with lithium) of battery life on a single AA cell while left in position 12.
The reticule. A single 2 moa dot. I find that the one feature I really like better on the EOTech is the reticule.
03 April 2009
We Are Simon Jester
Original web page is dead. Quoted in entire.
We are Simon Jester.
We are not anarchists.
We are not Far-Right or Far-Left. We are the seventy percent in the middle.
We are not Capital “L” libertarians, although we do have sympathies with their platform.
We are neither bitter clingers nor conspiracy nuts.
What we are is a group of folks that think we see liberty and freedom eroding in our beloved United States. We see the policies and agendas of the hirelings in Washington D.C. heading toward an abbreviation if not outright abrogation of the Bill of Rights.
We think that the Federal government is grasping to consolidate power using the current crisis, since as Rahm Emmanuel said, it’s a terrible thing to waste. We think the Federal government, not just this administration, is more interested in self-serving personal, political, and party power than it is in actually doing its best to do the least.
This President didn’t make it this way. It has been heading along this path since Woodrow Wilson held political prisoners and FDR held four terms as president; since Johnson’s Great Society and Nixon took us off the gold standard; since Bush Sr. lied about no new taxes, Clinton desecrated the Oval Office, Bush Jr. rammed through the Patriot Act, and Obama wanted every high school kid to ‘volunteer.’
For almost a hundred years, our country has been heading towards becoming a Socialist, centrally planned, Nanny State where the Federal Government tells it citizens how to conduct business, what they could grow in their own gardens or on their own farms, and now even how much a private citizen is allowed to earn before punitive and illegal taxation takes it away.
Now is the time to make it stop.
The Constitution of the United States of America tells us how our government is supposed to operate. It tells us what powers they have been lent by its citizens. It even delineates what powers each branch of government is supposed to have. Our Federal Government, all three branches, has over-reached. Continually.
The Declaration of Independence told King George what we felt about the way he was treating the Thirteen Colonies. It also told the world what we as Americans believed were natural truths about how government should work, with the consent of the governed. It amazes us how many of the things the Colonies begged King George to address have raised their ugly heads in the present day. We are taxed without our consent for government programs we don’t want. We are told that our natural resources are not ours to do with what we would. We are even told that our property can be confiscated if the government thinks it can get a bigger tax base from a different owner. Our elections are swayed by huge amounts of dollars and the willing collaboration of the old media giants. More than that, our elections are influenced by unconstitutional law such as McCain-Feingold, communist groups such as ACORN signing up 200,000 illegal voters in Ohio, and terrorist groups like the Black Panthers staking our polling places such as in Philadelphia. And we, the legitimate voters of this country are forced to accept the results.
Our voice has been ignored, even to the point of telling the citizens of a state that a duly enacted and overwhelmingly voter-approved constitutional amendment would not be allowed to stand due to political correctness.
Our representatives have listened to us on occasion however; only to be overturned by a pen-stroke from the Executive Branch, like when we said we didn’t like the idea of bailing out the auto industry.
Our legislature has pretended to listen to us about our need to protect our country’s borders, but then come back and tried to tell us that they have changed their minds. All the while trying to curry favor to their own districts with pork projects.
We flood D.C. with calls and letters and emails demanding that the administration not burden our grandchildren with huge government debt that will necessitate huge tax increases, but are told that our thoughts on the matter have no bearing because some things are just too big to fail; only to hear the same legislators come back a few months later and demand punitive taxes on those companies it gave money to against our wishes.
The current administration has appointed all of these extra-constitutional “Czars” to oversee what they view as problems in our country and in our world, including an avowed Communist.
This administration, as well as far too many legislators, clings to a philosophy of man-made global warming that is far from settled science and has decided that “Cap and Trade”, regardless of the huge burden that will place on the consumers, is necessary to limit carbon emissions. The fact that it has been tried in Europe and FAILED to limit carbon emissions doesn’t matter because this program will generate huge tax dollars for the government while at the same time penalizing the consumers of energy in the form of higher energy bills.
Another thing that has failed in Europe and elsewhere is the idea of universal health care. Yet still our government is racing headlong towards rationed medical procedures, diagnostics, medicines, and preventive care because it is yet another way to control the population. It is very hard to tell the government “No” when you or your spouse, or your child, depend upon the government owned and run kidney machine, insulin shots, or cancer treatments.
And now our Federal government has asked for more power. It isn’t even trying to hide it anymore. They want the power to regulate to the point of confiscation the administration of every business in the United States, just for our own financial safety or course. They want to regulate our salaries and compensation. They want to bankrupt the coal industry, which provides eighty (80 !!) percent of all the power in this country. They don’t want us to be able to drill for oil or natural gas. But at the same time they don’t want to allow the transmission of power from wind farms or solar farms across the countryside because they say it will affect the natural beauty of the desert or they don’t want their view cluttered out past Martha’s Vineyard. They want control of the means of production, the type of crops we grow, and the structure and location of the buildings in which we live. And, despite their protestation to the contrary, they want to disarm us. Too much has slipped out about that for them to be able to deny it any more.
And yes, we repeat, they now are asking for more power. This isn’t just theft, it is a bloody strong-arm robbery with a knife in your ribs.
Now, here is where Simon Jester comes in.
This whole thing isn’t about the Democrats or the Republicans, because they are both taking us to the same place and they aren’t afraid of us anymore. It is about our Constitutional form of government. The Rights were there before the words were written, for they are inherent in all people. They don’t come from government; government, no matter how hard it tries, cannot dissolve them. Now, here we the people are, having all these Tea Parties, trying to show our government that we, the seventy percent or so of the country who is right smack dab in the middle trying to raise our families and give our children better lives than we had, are tired of this grab for power. These Tea Parties, where no one actually throws anything in the harbor, are getting hardly any coverage from the press. In fact, the TWO counter protesters at the March Tea Party in Orlando got as much or more local coverage than the under-reported thousands who attended the rally. So, short of actually committing acts of vandalism and felonious assault, how are we going to get noticed?
Simon Jester. A symbol, since “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” by Robert A. Heinlein was published in 1966, of dissent against authority. Let the press, and the government, and your neighbors know that you are paying attention to what the Federal government is trying to do. Let someone ask you what that little devil underneath the word “Citizen” across your chest means and then explain it to them. Explain to the one pool reporter who shows up at the next Tea Party that you and Simon have your eyes open and are watching as the government tries to control your life. Explain to your pastor, or your waitress, or your barista at Starbucks, that our government is power hungry and that you and others like you are trying to be heard.
We are Simon Jester. So are they.
And so are you.
We are Simon Jester.
We are not anarchists.
We are not Far-Right or Far-Left. We are the seventy percent in the middle.
We are not Capital “L” libertarians, although we do have sympathies with their platform.
We are neither bitter clingers nor conspiracy nuts.
What we are is a group of folks that think we see liberty and freedom eroding in our beloved United States. We see the policies and agendas of the hirelings in Washington D.C. heading toward an abbreviation if not outright abrogation of the Bill of Rights.
We think that the Federal government is grasping to consolidate power using the current crisis, since as Rahm Emmanuel said, it’s a terrible thing to waste. We think the Federal government, not just this administration, is more interested in self-serving personal, political, and party power than it is in actually doing its best to do the least.
This President didn’t make it this way. It has been heading along this path since Woodrow Wilson held political prisoners and FDR held four terms as president; since Johnson’s Great Society and Nixon took us off the gold standard; since Bush Sr. lied about no new taxes, Clinton desecrated the Oval Office, Bush Jr. rammed through the Patriot Act, and Obama wanted every high school kid to ‘volunteer.’
For almost a hundred years, our country has been heading towards becoming a Socialist, centrally planned, Nanny State where the Federal Government tells it citizens how to conduct business, what they could grow in their own gardens or on their own farms, and now even how much a private citizen is allowed to earn before punitive and illegal taxation takes it away.
Now is the time to make it stop.
The Constitution of the United States of America tells us how our government is supposed to operate. It tells us what powers they have been lent by its citizens. It even delineates what powers each branch of government is supposed to have. Our Federal Government, all three branches, has over-reached. Continually.
The Declaration of Independence told King George what we felt about the way he was treating the Thirteen Colonies. It also told the world what we as Americans believed were natural truths about how government should work, with the consent of the governed. It amazes us how many of the things the Colonies begged King George to address have raised their ugly heads in the present day. We are taxed without our consent for government programs we don’t want. We are told that our natural resources are not ours to do with what we would. We are even told that our property can be confiscated if the government thinks it can get a bigger tax base from a different owner. Our elections are swayed by huge amounts of dollars and the willing collaboration of the old media giants. More than that, our elections are influenced by unconstitutional law such as McCain-Feingold, communist groups such as ACORN signing up 200,000 illegal voters in Ohio, and terrorist groups like the Black Panthers staking our polling places such as in Philadelphia. And we, the legitimate voters of this country are forced to accept the results.
Our voice has been ignored, even to the point of telling the citizens of a state that a duly enacted and overwhelmingly voter-approved constitutional amendment would not be allowed to stand due to political correctness.
Our representatives have listened to us on occasion however; only to be overturned by a pen-stroke from the Executive Branch, like when we said we didn’t like the idea of bailing out the auto industry.
Our legislature has pretended to listen to us about our need to protect our country’s borders, but then come back and tried to tell us that they have changed their minds. All the while trying to curry favor to their own districts with pork projects.
We flood D.C. with calls and letters and emails demanding that the administration not burden our grandchildren with huge government debt that will necessitate huge tax increases, but are told that our thoughts on the matter have no bearing because some things are just too big to fail; only to hear the same legislators come back a few months later and demand punitive taxes on those companies it gave money to against our wishes.
The current administration has appointed all of these extra-constitutional “Czars” to oversee what they view as problems in our country and in our world, including an avowed Communist.
This administration, as well as far too many legislators, clings to a philosophy of man-made global warming that is far from settled science and has decided that “Cap and Trade”, regardless of the huge burden that will place on the consumers, is necessary to limit carbon emissions. The fact that it has been tried in Europe and FAILED to limit carbon emissions doesn’t matter because this program will generate huge tax dollars for the government while at the same time penalizing the consumers of energy in the form of higher energy bills.
Another thing that has failed in Europe and elsewhere is the idea of universal health care. Yet still our government is racing headlong towards rationed medical procedures, diagnostics, medicines, and preventive care because it is yet another way to control the population. It is very hard to tell the government “No” when you or your spouse, or your child, depend upon the government owned and run kidney machine, insulin shots, or cancer treatments.
And now our Federal government has asked for more power. It isn’t even trying to hide it anymore. They want the power to regulate to the point of confiscation the administration of every business in the United States, just for our own financial safety or course. They want to regulate our salaries and compensation. They want to bankrupt the coal industry, which provides eighty (80 !!) percent of all the power in this country. They don’t want us to be able to drill for oil or natural gas. But at the same time they don’t want to allow the transmission of power from wind farms or solar farms across the countryside because they say it will affect the natural beauty of the desert or they don’t want their view cluttered out past Martha’s Vineyard. They want control of the means of production, the type of crops we grow, and the structure and location of the buildings in which we live. And, despite their protestation to the contrary, they want to disarm us. Too much has slipped out about that for them to be able to deny it any more.
And yes, we repeat, they now are asking for more power. This isn’t just theft, it is a bloody strong-arm robbery with a knife in your ribs.
Now, here is where Simon Jester comes in.
This whole thing isn’t about the Democrats or the Republicans, because they are both taking us to the same place and they aren’t afraid of us anymore. It is about our Constitutional form of government. The Rights were there before the words were written, for they are inherent in all people. They don’t come from government; government, no matter how hard it tries, cannot dissolve them. Now, here we the people are, having all these Tea Parties, trying to show our government that we, the seventy percent or so of the country who is right smack dab in the middle trying to raise our families and give our children better lives than we had, are tired of this grab for power. These Tea Parties, where no one actually throws anything in the harbor, are getting hardly any coverage from the press. In fact, the TWO counter protesters at the March Tea Party in Orlando got as much or more local coverage than the under-reported thousands who attended the rally. So, short of actually committing acts of vandalism and felonious assault, how are we going to get noticed?
Simon Jester. A symbol, since “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” by Robert A. Heinlein was published in 1966, of dissent against authority. Let the press, and the government, and your neighbors know that you are paying attention to what the Federal government is trying to do. Let someone ask you what that little devil underneath the word “Citizen” across your chest means and then explain it to them. Explain to the one pool reporter who shows up at the next Tea Party that you and Simon have your eyes open and are watching as the government tries to control your life. Explain to your pastor, or your waitress, or your barista at Starbucks, that our government is power hungry and that you and others like you are trying to be heard.
We are Simon Jester. So are they.
And so are you.
Let There Be Light
I have procured a Surefire X300 Weaponlight. It is easily brighter than the 4-D Cell LED Maglite I have.
The house was completely dark when I took this!
