Shia LeBeouf's rape...
I know what murder is.
I know what robbery is.
I am losing what rape means.
I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that unless there's express written consent, sex is rape. Andrea Dworkin wins on a technicality?
All my life rape has included rendering the victim, through threats, intimidation, and or physical or chemical restraints; unable to resist the assault.
But sitting there and letting someone assault you is so alien and inhuman to me that I can't conjure understanding.
It probably is rape. If she'd announced, "I am going to shoot you in the forehead," and he sat passively until she'd shot him there, it'd still be murder. Taking his wallet would still have been theft.
What I can't comprehend is letting someone rape, steal from or murder me. I'm going to resist in some manner. So would everyone I've talked to. That I might fail doesn't matter; you just don't let someone violate you.
Maybe the process of becoming a dancing monkey so breaks you that you're no longer truly human anymore.
30 November 2014
I Finally Get It
Most Youtube product reviews are for people who for one reason or another cannot or will not go to the manufacturer's web page and READ about the product.
Plus 90% of them would be better served just running an audio recording over a fixed image. A still life they reach into to pat the product lovingly from time to time while they drone on and on and on and on and on and on... doesn't justify making a video. What they're making is a podcast that takes up a lot of space on their hard drive.
Plus 90% of them would be better served just running an audio recording over a fixed image. A still life they reach into to pat the product lovingly from time to time while they drone on and on and on and on and on and on... doesn't justify making a video. What they're making is a podcast that takes up a lot of space on their hard drive.
29 November 2014
Go Go Black Friday
I have procured a replacement for the stolen M&P 357.
An M&P 9!
It's a 2008 made full size. No internal lock, no external safety, forgot to check for the magazine disconnect.
We were going to look for ammo and the price was too good to pass up.
$425 on the tag, but 20% off all used guns Friday only... $340 plus tax and background check!
It gets better. It appears to be nearly unfired, nothing missing from inside the factory hard-case.
The only snag is that we can't pick it up until the stupid 30 day hold on used guns expires.
Stupid policy, if you ask me, but... Actually I am not sure if it's store policy or some foolish county ordnance.
That's a dent in the finances, but we expect some return from the car insurance for the stolen gun as soon as we get a police report to send in to make a claim.
An M&P 9!
It's a 2008 made full size. No internal lock, no external safety, forgot to check for the magazine disconnect.
We were going to look for ammo and the price was too good to pass up.
$425 on the tag, but 20% off all used guns Friday only... $340 plus tax and background check!
It gets better. It appears to be nearly unfired, nothing missing from inside the factory hard-case.
The only snag is that we can't pick it up until the stupid 30 day hold on used guns expires.
Stupid policy, if you ask me, but... Actually I am not sure if it's store policy or some foolish county ordnance.
That's a dent in the finances, but we expect some return from the car insurance for the stolen gun as soon as we get a police report to send in to make a claim.
25 November 2014
The Federal Budget Issue
Well worth the 20 minutes of your time.
I think he's missed something though, IIRC insurance companies are specifically exempted from the anti-trust laws.
I think he's missed something though, IIRC insurance companies are specifically exempted from the anti-trust laws.
Pity Party
It just hit me that I have never, once, changed anyone's mind on anything.
I've shared my opinion, sometimes people have found that convincing, but only if they didn't already have an opinion on that topic, no matter what it was.
It bothers me that I lack any credibility at all.
Especially so since I've tried several times to be more credible only to discover that the effort always contains some fatal flaw that nullifies it completely in support of the argument I'm attempting at the time.
I quite often feel baited into venturing an opinion because I honestly think some of the people I talk to share the conversation with others as a sort of, "look at this idiot!" thing. I am sure the response is along the lines of, "wow, he thinks he's smart and he's too stupid to see you're playing him like this? Bravo!"
It's depressing because I really don't talk about things I don't give a shit about. To suspect that the things that matter to me are being used as a punchline really does kind of hurt.
I've shared my opinion, sometimes people have found that convincing, but only if they didn't already have an opinion on that topic, no matter what it was.
It bothers me that I lack any credibility at all.
Especially so since I've tried several times to be more credible only to discover that the effort always contains some fatal flaw that nullifies it completely in support of the argument I'm attempting at the time.
I quite often feel baited into venturing an opinion because I honestly think some of the people I talk to share the conversation with others as a sort of, "look at this idiot!" thing. I am sure the response is along the lines of, "wow, he thinks he's smart and he's too stupid to see you're playing him like this? Bravo!"
It's depressing because I really don't talk about things I don't give a shit about. To suspect that the things that matter to me are being used as a punchline really does kind of hurt.
Blaming The Victim
Part of the problem that come from "blaming the victim" is not so much the definition of blame, but whether there was a victim in the first place.
"You're blaming the victim," is intended to stop the conversation just like accusations of racism.
What I am seeing is too many SJW cases, there isn't really a victim.
That's what many of these debates are actually about, whether something that was previously victimless has become something that has a victim. I notice that victim status is something that's sought very eagerly by some and it never leads to anything good when they do.
"You're blaming the victim," is intended to stop the conversation just like accusations of racism.
What I am seeing is too many SJW cases, there isn't really a victim.
That's what many of these debates are actually about, whether something that was previously victimless has become something that has a victim. I notice that victim status is something that's sought very eagerly by some and it never leads to anything good when they do.
Responsible
A thing about date rape sex that would be consensual except one or both parties was drunk and then is later reported as rape that's bugging me. Edited to strike and add underlined portion.
I am responsible for everything I do while I'm drunk, including driving my car into a tree.
Why thenisn't a woman aren't people still responsible enough to say yes or no to sex while drunk?
That driving my car while drunk is a bad decision is why it's illegal; but being drunk doesn't let me blame the tree.
Whyare does it seem that woman exempt from the responsibility for saying yes to sex while drunk. Why just women? I really have never seen a story where a man has felt he was raped once he'd sobered up. Is this because such isn't reported because it doesn't fit the narrative? I really don't know.
There's lots of analogies that kind of illustrate something is amiss.
Except for awoman someone getting plastered and having sex she they regrets, we blame the person who got drunk for what happens later.
I get drunk, run over a pedestrian, I'm blamed.
I get drunk, wander into traffic and get run over, I'm blamed.
I get drunk, bet my mortgage payment on black. The casino is not blamed for the marble landing on red.
It's bugging me.
I am responsible for everything I do while I'm drunk, including driving my car into a tree.
Why then
That driving my car while drunk is a bad decision is why it's illegal; but being drunk doesn't let me blame the tree.
Why
There's lots of analogies that kind of illustrate something is amiss.
Except for a
I get drunk, run over a pedestrian, I'm blamed.
I get drunk, wander into traffic and get run over, I'm blamed.
I get drunk, bet my mortgage payment on black. The casino is not blamed for the marble landing on red.
It's bugging me.
Offensive
I have two posts battering around in my skull that really aren't meant to be offensive.
But every time I try to write out what I am trying to say...
Three edits later and I have it toned down to racist misogynism.
That's not at all what I am meaning, but it sure is how it's reading.
I'll keep trying. There's got to be a way to phrase this thought that doesn't come out wrong.
But every time I try to write out what I am trying to say...
Three edits later and I have it toned down to racist misogynism.
That's not at all what I am meaning, but it sure is how it's reading.
I'll keep trying. There's got to be a way to phrase this thought that doesn't come out wrong.
24 November 2014
Have You Seen This Gun
Smith and Wesson M&P357 serial DXW5180.
Stolen from The Lovely Harvey's glovebox between 0130 and 0630 this morning.
Because she works on a college campus, she can't carry at work, so it gets transferred from purse to glovebox and back a lot. With the hectic short work week and end-of-month crap she had about six times as much stuff to shuffle when she got home from work Friday and it was overlooked in the glovebox.
They took her iPod as well.
The car was locked, but it appears that The Boy may not have gotten his door latched all the way when they got home from running around Saturday. No damage to the car and not one print to be lifted.
Fucking thieves, may they burn in hell.
Not Dangerous
Geese are not dangerous.
They are aggressive and mean, but they aren't dangerous.
Their stupid bird necks break readily should they decide to get within opposable thumb range because not only are we smarter, we're faster and more coordinated.
What they can do might hurt, might even draw blood, but you're not likely to die from it.
The goose, very likely to die from what most any human can do to it.
They are aggressive and mean, but they aren't dangerous.
Their stupid bird necks break readily should they decide to get within opposable thumb range because not only are we smarter, we're faster and more coordinated.
What they can do might hurt, might even draw blood, but you're not likely to die from it.
The goose, very likely to die from what most any human can do to it.
Everyone Laughs
Everyone laughs at you for owning a broadsword.
But black friday rolls around and you've got the door-buster 75" flat-screen when you just drove to the store at opening time without camping out all night.
Who's laughing now?
But black friday rolls around and you've got the door-buster 75" flat-screen when you just drove to the store at opening time without camping out all night.
Who's laughing now?
Airsoft
G&P makes a Stoner Mk23 Mod 0 in two configurations.
This tickles my giggler so much!
$400 for a battery powered plastic bb launcher...
More than I got for such frippery, but it's amusing none the less.
This tickles my giggler so much!
$400 for a battery powered plastic bb launcher...
More than I got for such frippery, but it's amusing none the less.
Oh Gods Dammit!
See that line behind you Thag?
Yes I do...
Went over the line again!
Like the edge of a cliff in the dark, it's only clear once you're past it.
Yes I do...
Went over the line again!
Like the edge of a cliff in the dark, it's only clear once you're past it.
23 November 2014
Turn Of Phrase
I'm reading a Small Arms Review interview with Reed Knight.
He refers to the system in the AR as, "gas impingement," not "direct impingement."
That's veddy interestink.
Almost as if he considers them separate and distinct.
He refers to the system in the AR as, "gas impingement," not "direct impingement."
That's veddy interestink.
Almost as if he considers them separate and distinct.
Lawful Orders
It occurs...
That since the executive order on immigration exceeds his authority, that means that nobody is bound to follow it and those that do are culpable.
I was just following orders is not a positive defense.
It's high time we started enforcing on the enforcers.
I am at a complete loss as to what that would mean, but it feels good.
It seems that we have dereliction of duty at a minimum on many DHS officials, they live someplace and those places have law enforcement, someone should arrest them.
Not that it would happen since they tend to live places where the local law agrees with them.
That since the executive order on immigration exceeds his authority, that means that nobody is bound to follow it and those that do are culpable.
I was just following orders is not a positive defense.
It's high time we started enforcing on the enforcers.
I am at a complete loss as to what that would mean, but it feels good.
It seems that we have dereliction of duty at a minimum on many DHS officials, they live someplace and those places have law enforcement, someone should arrest them.
Not that it would happen since they tend to live places where the local law agrees with them.
22 November 2014
Important Disassembly Tip!
If you ever decide to take the stocks off your Baby Browning...
If the small pin at the heel starts moving with the stock, stop pulling!
That pin holds the magazine catch, magazine safety and the associated spring.
Getting everything lined back up for reassembly is a super fiddly job.
But should it happen to you...
The spring goes in first with the open part of the hook facing the magazine well and the main coil going into the recess in the butt.
The magazine catch has to go over the end of the gun first, if you line up the pivot hole first you can't get it all the way in. So hook it over the end of the butt, then push the pivot hole to line up with the pin hole.
This is harder than it sounds.
I used a 1/16" punch to line things up roughly.
Now that the catch is lined up with your punch, slide the pin in so it engages JUST one side of the magazine catch.
The magazine safety has a notch on the top that hooks the sear pin. Hook it then pivot it down between the legs of the magazine catch. The half circle's open side should be towards the magazine well.
Fiddle with it until you can drive the pin through all the parts.
See also this handy picture at Numrich.
If the small pin at the heel starts moving with the stock, stop pulling!
That pin holds the magazine catch, magazine safety and the associated spring.
Getting everything lined back up for reassembly is a super fiddly job.
But should it happen to you...
The spring goes in first with the open part of the hook facing the magazine well and the main coil going into the recess in the butt.
The magazine catch has to go over the end of the gun first, if you line up the pivot hole first you can't get it all the way in. So hook it over the end of the butt, then push the pivot hole to line up with the pin hole.
This is harder than it sounds.
I used a 1/16" punch to line things up roughly.
Now that the catch is lined up with your punch, slide the pin in so it engages JUST one side of the magazine catch.
The magazine safety has a notch on the top that hooks the sear pin. Hook it then pivot it down between the legs of the magazine catch. The half circle's open side should be towards the magazine well.
Fiddle with it until you can drive the pin through all the parts.
See also this handy picture at Numrich.
More On Stoner 63 Weights
What I cannot find is a complete break-down of what things weigh.
As I said before, I extrapolated the weights of some parts.
What would be nice is to have how much the common parts weigh so the intrepid player can have the parts for a different configuration in their pack.
Having the conversion parts at the ready is kind of a fool's errand.
There are three sight sets: rifle/carbine, belt feed and top feed. There are two handguards: rifle/carbine and belt/top feed.
The folding stock fits on the belt/top configurations, but will block the ejection port on the top feed and can't be locked folded on the belt feed because it hits the box/drum.
There are five barrels. Rifle, carbine, top feed (automatic rifle), short belt (commando) and long belt (LMG). Carrying a spare barrel makes some player character sense because it changes the bulk but the commando MG barrel has an increased chance for malf.
The real advantage that the design seems to have is the common core of the gun is the same, thus cheaper for the Army and simpler for the armorer.
I also discovered that M numbers were assigned thanks to wikipedia.
XM22 is the rifle, XM23 is the carbine, XM207 is the LMG. E1 is added for 63A and E2 for 1:9 twist barrels...
That last is interesting. We didn't start thinking in terms of 1:9 until the NATO ammunition trials in the late '70s; long after the Army had rejected the gun for service.
This has me thinking of another alt to add to T2K. While not simpler than the M16 to make, the Stoner is at least possible with more primitive tooling because it skips aluminum forgings. Instead of the M16EZ we have the M22...
As I said before, I extrapolated the weights of some parts.
What would be nice is to have how much the common parts weigh so the intrepid player can have the parts for a different configuration in their pack.
Having the conversion parts at the ready is kind of a fool's errand.
There are three sight sets: rifle/carbine, belt feed and top feed. There are two handguards: rifle/carbine and belt/top feed.
The folding stock fits on the belt/top configurations, but will block the ejection port on the top feed and can't be locked folded on the belt feed because it hits the box/drum.
There are five barrels. Rifle, carbine, top feed (automatic rifle), short belt (commando) and long belt (LMG). Carrying a spare barrel makes some player character sense because it changes the bulk but the commando MG barrel has an increased chance for malf.
The real advantage that the design seems to have is the common core of the gun is the same, thus cheaper for the Army and simpler for the armorer.
I also discovered that M numbers were assigned thanks to wikipedia.
XM22 is the rifle, XM23 is the carbine, XM207 is the LMG. E1 is added for 63A and E2 for 1:9 twist barrels...
That last is interesting. We didn't start thinking in terms of 1:9 until the NATO ammunition trials in the late '70s; long after the Army had rejected the gun for service.
This has me thinking of another alt to add to T2K. While not simpler than the M16 to make, the Stoner is at least possible with more primitive tooling because it skips aluminum forgings. Instead of the M16EZ we have the M22...
21 November 2014
Practice What I Carry
I pocket carry a J-frame.
It's a .357 S&W 640-3.
With pink grips!
That'n in fact.
I admit I was loathe to practice with it at all before I put in the Apex trigger kit (On the recommendation of the lovely Jennifer's Head.)
That made the trigger pleasant enough that shooting it wasn't a chore. The pink Hogue grips also made it so that shooting it wasn't painful. Deflagging it made it so that I wasn't worried about it locking up when I needed it.
It's just never occurred to me to not use the same loads in practice as carry. I'm still a hot mess reloading quickly, mostly because very few ranges around here allow for it during "free range".
I am getting a lot better. If I "aim" as fast as I can at the head I am making a nice group (5") right around the sternum at about 7 yards. Which is a lot better than it was, where if two bullets hit the silhouette I was good... Every time I run through 50 rounds the holes are getting closer to where I think I aimed.
Taking my time I can almost get all five to touch. Time I almost certainly won't have in a real situation, maybe. Opinion varies. I do notice that every 50 rounds of practice slow and sure has a noticeable positive effect on the speed round too.
It's like my old shotokan and kenjutsu classes are still applicable... Master the form, once you have form, speed follows, once you have speed, power follows; but it starts with form.
I practice with my .38 Super 1911 too, but that thing is so familiar and sweet that I have to sabotage something to get bad groups and even then they're not very large or off.
It's a .357 S&W 640-3.
With pink grips!
That'n in fact.
I admit I was loathe to practice with it at all before I put in the Apex trigger kit (On the recommendation of the lovely Jennifer's Head.)
That made the trigger pleasant enough that shooting it wasn't a chore. The pink Hogue grips also made it so that shooting it wasn't painful. Deflagging it made it so that I wasn't worried about it locking up when I needed it.
It's just never occurred to me to not use the same loads in practice as carry. I'm still a hot mess reloading quickly, mostly because very few ranges around here allow for it during "free range".
I am getting a lot better. If I "aim" as fast as I can at the head I am making a nice group (5") right around the sternum at about 7 yards. Which is a lot better than it was, where if two bullets hit the silhouette I was good... Every time I run through 50 rounds the holes are getting closer to where I think I aimed.
Taking my time I can almost get all five to touch. Time I almost certainly won't have in a real situation, maybe. Opinion varies. I do notice that every 50 rounds of practice slow and sure has a noticeable positive effect on the speed round too.
It's like my old shotokan and kenjutsu classes are still applicable... Master the form, once you have form, speed follows, once you have speed, power follows; but it starts with form.
I practice with my .38 Super 1911 too, but that thing is so familiar and sweet that I have to sabotage something to get bad groups and even then they're not very large or off.
Lemonade
I'm not a fan of the Real ID Act. If any of my more liberal friends had stopped the Bush=Hitler shit long enough I would have mentioned it to them. I've occasionally muttered to myself that it was a reason for the Democrat retaking of the Senate.
I think I've found a way to make lemonade out of this lemon.
There's a segment of illegal immigrants who don't cause any real problems and one could even make a solid case that their presence is a real benefit.
The huge problem is there's a larger segment that's merely devouring entitlement benefits without making any contribution.
My solution? You need some form of Real ID to obtain bennies and couple it with requiring such ID to vote. With the savings obtained from such a filter on services we could make the ID free to any citizen who has the accompanying paperwork to obtain such.
I think I've found a way to make lemonade out of this lemon.
There's a segment of illegal immigrants who don't cause any real problems and one could even make a solid case that their presence is a real benefit.
The huge problem is there's a larger segment that's merely devouring entitlement benefits without making any contribution.
My solution? You need some form of Real ID to obtain bennies and couple it with requiring such ID to vote. With the savings obtained from such a filter on services we could make the ID free to any citizen who has the accompanying paperwork to obtain such.
I Noticed Something
Last night I watched Big Bang Theory.
What I noticed was that I wasn't watching the president of Mexico, Barack Obama, stammer his way through an announcement he was taking greater steps to support his core constituency.
I can't think of another time when the networks blew off the president like this, can you?
What I noticed was that I wasn't watching the president of Mexico, Barack Obama, stammer his way through an announcement he was taking greater steps to support his core constituency.
I can't think of another time when the networks blew off the president like this, can you?
18 November 2014
Stoner 63A GURPS And Too Much Idle Time
The stoner system is modular, but nobody really breaks out the components.
Here we go!
Loaded aluminum 30-round magazine is 1.08 lb. 0.25 lb. empty.
Loaded steel 30-round magazine is 1.28 lb. 0.50 lb. empty.
Loaded plastic 100-round box is 3.31 lb. 0.21 lb. empty.
Loaded aluminum 150-round drum is 5.6 lb. 0.9 lb empty. This is what makes the malf 16.
Sling is 0.31 lb.
Bipod is 0.88 lb. (SEALs in Vietnam says they are 0.5 lb.)
Tripod adaptor is 1.875 lb.
Cleaning kit is 0.25 lb.
Fixed stock is 0.7 lb.
Folding stock is 0.75 lb.
Receiver with bottom magazine feed is 5.05 lb.
Receiver with top magazine feed is 5.92 lb.
Receiver with belt feed and box holder is 6.98 lb.
20" rifle barrel is 2 lb.
15.7" carbine barrel is 1.75 lb.
20" automatic rifle barrel is 4 lb.
20" MG barrel is 4 lb.
15.7" Commando MG barrel is 3.4 lb.
I extrapolated the feed/receiver weights from the manuals; same with the folding stock. I am not sure if that's the solid or wire version. Other weights are as taken from several manuals.
This gives the actually issued guns... No slings or cleaning kits.
XM207 LMG: 18.11 lb. loaded with bipod. SEALs in Vietnam says it should be 17.2 lb.
XM23 Carbine: 8.83 lb. with a steel magazine, 8.58 lb. with aluminum. SiV says 9.1 lb.
Mk 23 Mod 0: 14.39 lb. without bipod. SiV says 14.1 lb.
20" barrels will give 5d pi damage and 500/2,300 ranges.
15.7" barrels will give 4d+2 pi damage and 460/2,900 ranges.
Here we go!
Loaded aluminum 30-round magazine is 1.08 lb. 0.25 lb. empty.
Loaded steel 30-round magazine is 1.28 lb. 0.50 lb. empty.
Loaded plastic 100-round box is 3.31 lb. 0.21 lb. empty.
Loaded aluminum 150-round drum is 5.6 lb. 0.9 lb empty. This is what makes the malf 16.
Sling is 0.31 lb.
Bipod is 0.88 lb. (SEALs in Vietnam says they are 0.5 lb.)
Tripod adaptor is 1.875 lb.
Cleaning kit is 0.25 lb.
Fixed stock is 0.7 lb.
Folding stock is 0.75 lb.
Receiver with bottom magazine feed is 5.05 lb.
Receiver with top magazine feed is 5.92 lb.
Receiver with belt feed and box holder is 6.98 lb.
20" rifle barrel is 2 lb.
15.7" carbine barrel is 1.75 lb.
20" automatic rifle barrel is 4 lb.
20" MG barrel is 4 lb.
15.7" Commando MG barrel is 3.4 lb.
I extrapolated the feed/receiver weights from the manuals; same with the folding stock. I am not sure if that's the solid or wire version. Other weights are as taken from several manuals.
This gives the actually issued guns... No slings or cleaning kits.
XM207 LMG: 18.11 lb. loaded with bipod. SEALs in Vietnam says it should be 17.2 lb.
XM23 Carbine: 8.83 lb. with a steel magazine, 8.58 lb. with aluminum. SiV says 9.1 lb.
Mk 23 Mod 0: 14.39 lb. without bipod. SiV says 14.1 lb.
20" barrels will give 5d pi damage and 500/2,300 ranges.
15.7" barrels will give 4d+2 pi damage and 460/2,900 ranges.
Browning To Saive
FN Vest Pocket (.25 ACP), FN Hi Power (9mm Parabellum), and Browning Baby Browning (.25 ACP).
Hierarchy Of Customer Service
This is the abstract, not the paper...
Dear retailer... You help the customer in this order (barring emergencies).
Customer with product at the register, payment at the ready... before
Customer in the store looking for something... before
Customer on the phone asking questions... before
Stocking the shelves... before
Accepting deliveries... before
Doing your daily paperwork... before
Cleaning the store (unless its the aforementioned emergency).
Even in an emergency, the customers in the store are the priority; get them to safety first.
For the customers who are lower in the hierarchy, "I'll be with you in a minute..." goes a long way. You have to acknowledge that you've seen them and will help them. Try to remember that they can almost always go someplace else. Even someone set on buying a new Ford F-150 can go to a different dealer, so don't get to thinking that since only Ford sells them you're safe as a Ford salesman!
On reason you do things in this order is the level of commitment from the customer. Blowing off the customer at the register to dust the end-caps means that if they give up on the purchase they are giving up on more than someone price comparing on the phone. This makes them more likely to remember the experience and to let that color their next purchase.
Dear retailer... You help the customer in this order (barring emergencies).
Customer with product at the register, payment at the ready... before
Customer in the store looking for something... before
Customer on the phone asking questions... before
Stocking the shelves... before
Accepting deliveries... before
Doing your daily paperwork... before
Cleaning the store (unless its the aforementioned emergency).
Even in an emergency, the customers in the store are the priority; get them to safety first.
For the customers who are lower in the hierarchy, "I'll be with you in a minute..." goes a long way. You have to acknowledge that you've seen them and will help them. Try to remember that they can almost always go someplace else. Even someone set on buying a new Ford F-150 can go to a different dealer, so don't get to thinking that since only Ford sells them you're safe as a Ford salesman!
On reason you do things in this order is the level of commitment from the customer. Blowing off the customer at the register to dust the end-caps means that if they give up on the purchase they are giving up on more than someone price comparing on the phone. This makes them more likely to remember the experience and to let that color their next purchase.
17 November 2014
Not That Great
Every time I get sucked into the M14 was better than the M16A1 drama, for some reason I always forget what a disaster the roll-out of the M14 was.
While individual rifles might be fine guns, as a whole the manufacture, distribution and issue was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
Big enough to shut down Springfield Armory forever.
Big enough that every single project concerning general issue battle rifles was moved up and an outsider's proposition was considered... You know, that strange black thing the Air Force bought to replace their M1 carbines?
It's no wonder that there weren't really any export customers and those few made their own. Italy even went so far as to completely replicate the process of product improving an M1 Garand from scratch producing the similar in concept BM59, which served until 1990.
It's also telling that the supposedly harder to manufacture FAL didn't encounter such problems in production.
While individual rifles might be fine guns, as a whole the manufacture, distribution and issue was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
Big enough to shut down Springfield Armory forever.
Big enough that every single project concerning general issue battle rifles was moved up and an outsider's proposition was considered... You know, that strange black thing the Air Force bought to replace their M1 carbines?
It's no wonder that there weren't really any export customers and those few made their own. Italy even went so far as to completely replicate the process of product improving an M1 Garand from scratch producing the similar in concept BM59, which served until 1990.
It's also telling that the supposedly harder to manufacture FAL didn't encounter such problems in production.
That's Something You Don't See Every Day
The house across the street has been vacant for the past six years.
They're tearing it down today.
16 November 2014
Cleanin
I am somewhat betwixt it on cleaning after a range trip.
On one hand I know it's not really all that necessary for as few rounds as were fired.
On the other, cleaning doesn't bother me and the job is easier when the gun isn't so fouled.
On the gripping hand it is an opportunity to see if anything broke in the firing of the last round and to inspect the general condition of things. Plus a cleaning now, when I can, resets the round count. If the gun can go 500 rounds (to pick a number, it's probably much higher) without a filth related malfunction between cleanings I'll have 500 again before the next dirt jam.
Of course, I don't go for mil-spec levels of clean anymore either. Wipe things down with a solvent soaked rag, boresnake, oil... done. I no longer have the need to remove all evidence the gun was ever fired. I cringe thinking about all the damage I must have done to bores with my mil-spec cleaning rods and super tight patches on a jag to get every last bit of carbon out of the barrel.
Since several of my guns do nothing but sit in the safe until someone asks, "do you have a?" a good clean and oil means it's clean next time I remember it's there.
Yeah, I'm making rationalizations and justifying myself! Off to needlessly clean my guns!
On one hand I know it's not really all that necessary for as few rounds as were fired.
On the other, cleaning doesn't bother me and the job is easier when the gun isn't so fouled.
On the gripping hand it is an opportunity to see if anything broke in the firing of the last round and to inspect the general condition of things. Plus a cleaning now, when I can, resets the round count. If the gun can go 500 rounds (to pick a number, it's probably much higher) without a filth related malfunction between cleanings I'll have 500 again before the next dirt jam.
Of course, I don't go for mil-spec levels of clean anymore either. Wipe things down with a solvent soaked rag, boresnake, oil... done. I no longer have the need to remove all evidence the gun was ever fired. I cringe thinking about all the damage I must have done to bores with my mil-spec cleaning rods and super tight patches on a jag to get every last bit of carbon out of the barrel.
Since several of my guns do nothing but sit in the safe until someone asks, "do you have a?" a good clean and oil means it's clean next time I remember it's there.
Yeah, I'm making rationalizations and justifying myself! Off to needlessly clean my guns!
To The Range!
Willard's bud, Ian is in the US for a while.
Turns out he'd never shot a Garand.
Can't think of a better excuse to go shooting!
Because the op-rod can be bended by commercial ammo I was nervous about the gallon zip-locks full of "Yugo" .30-06 soft points.
They shot gentle in the 03A3, so when Marv wanted the M1 experience we loaded up a couple clips. Light loads wouldn't cycle the first two rounds per clip. They would eject, but not grab the next round. Rounds three to eight ran fine.
Greek surplus M2 ball ran fine before and after the Yugo... so... Hey, free ammo! Can't complain too much.
Everyone got a try on the Springfield and I confirmed that the magazine cut-off worked.
Ran a few rounds through Willard's No. 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine. The rubber pad seems to focus the recoil rather than absorb it because it's much smaller than the standard butt.
Tried ZQ1 M80 NATO in the FAL. First couple shots refuse to eject in typical undergassed fashion. Two clicks more gas and it ran fine. Finally shot my novelty Zombie Ammo. Jasmine really likes the 168gr from Hornady; might have to get more of that. Let Marv try her out with the ZQ1 and it starts choking again. Another click of gas and back to normal. Jasmine has run fine on MagTech and PMC and some corrosive surplus crap without touching the gas. I think ZQ1 is the problem here.
Marv even drug out his 6.8. We discovered it makes excellent groups with the XM6.8 85gr stuff Willard found, and it dislikes Remington 115gr.
Loads of fun! Marv even hung around and played some dominoes with The Lovely Harvey and me.
Turns out he'd never shot a Garand.
Can't think of a better excuse to go shooting!
Because the op-rod can be bended by commercial ammo I was nervous about the gallon zip-locks full of "Yugo" .30-06 soft points.
They shot gentle in the 03A3, so when Marv wanted the M1 experience we loaded up a couple clips. Light loads wouldn't cycle the first two rounds per clip. They would eject, but not grab the next round. Rounds three to eight ran fine.
Greek surplus M2 ball ran fine before and after the Yugo... so... Hey, free ammo! Can't complain too much.
Everyone got a try on the Springfield and I confirmed that the magazine cut-off worked.
Ran a few rounds through Willard's No. 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine. The rubber pad seems to focus the recoil rather than absorb it because it's much smaller than the standard butt.
Tried ZQ1 M80 NATO in the FAL. First couple shots refuse to eject in typical undergassed fashion. Two clicks more gas and it ran fine. Finally shot my novelty Zombie Ammo. Jasmine really likes the 168gr from Hornady; might have to get more of that. Let Marv try her out with the ZQ1 and it starts choking again. Another click of gas and back to normal. Jasmine has run fine on MagTech and PMC and some corrosive surplus crap without touching the gas. I think ZQ1 is the problem here.
Marv even drug out his 6.8. We discovered it makes excellent groups with the XM6.8 85gr stuff Willard found, and it dislikes Remington 115gr.
Loads of fun! Marv even hung around and played some dominoes with The Lovely Harvey and me.
13 November 2014
12 November 2014
Meme Time
You are a: Objectivist Anarchist Non-Interventionist Liberal
Collectivism score: -100%Authoritarianism score: -83%
Internationalism score: -33%
Tribalism score: 0%
Liberalism score: 33%
Take the quiz.
I got it from Silicon Graybeard who got it from Borepatch.
Standards
The Third Imperium, 11,000 plus worlds.
Considering that the US and Europe can't even agree on what kind of electricity to pump out the wall and Wal Mart will have about fifteen hunting rifle cartridges in the case (optimally) getting something to standardize and STAY standardized across that much space and population is a major undertaking.
For the Imperial armed forces, it's simpler. "Here are the plans, go for it." They have a pattern room sort of deal going and anyone who wants to make issue weapons for the Imperium must build to the exacting standard.
It will mean that changes to the armament of the troops will change very slowly.
Some things will become standardized and ossified out of practical reasons. You're going to be able to find Type A Free Trader parts just about anywhere because it's the most common ship. It's a risk to introduce a similar class of ship because there's no several hundred years of infrastructure already in place for it. (I used this as the limiter on the players concerning the Far Trader)
The gear you can find everywhere is going to end up being the most popular and cause it to be more available in a self-reinforcing loop.
Individual worlds might go their own way, some forms of planetary governments kind of encourage it too. There might not be standard 9mm Automatic Pistol ammo on such worlds! but the high port will have standard ammo, and will likely also carry the local stuff too (for collectors).
Considering that the US and Europe can't even agree on what kind of electricity to pump out the wall and Wal Mart will have about fifteen hunting rifle cartridges in the case (optimally) getting something to standardize and STAY standardized across that much space and population is a major undertaking.
For the Imperial armed forces, it's simpler. "Here are the plans, go for it." They have a pattern room sort of deal going and anyone who wants to make issue weapons for the Imperium must build to the exacting standard.
It will mean that changes to the armament of the troops will change very slowly.
Some things will become standardized and ossified out of practical reasons. You're going to be able to find Type A Free Trader parts just about anywhere because it's the most common ship. It's a risk to introduce a similar class of ship because there's no several hundred years of infrastructure already in place for it. (I used this as the limiter on the players concerning the Far Trader)
The gear you can find everywhere is going to end up being the most popular and cause it to be more available in a self-reinforcing loop.
Individual worlds might go their own way, some forms of planetary governments kind of encourage it too. There might not be standard 9mm Automatic Pistol ammo on such worlds! but the high port will have standard ammo, and will likely also carry the local stuff too (for collectors).
Vanity
Found out today that I'd be needing glasses.
That's not really unexpected since I was having trouble reading and I am on the downhill side of my 40's.
What is surprising me is how picky I suddenly am about frame style.
I'd been motoring along thinking that I didn't care so much, but now that I have to choose... Do these make me look [fill in the blank]?
I just know this is going to cost me because I'm going to fall in love with the most expensive frames, lenses and options...
That's not really unexpected since I was having trouble reading and I am on the downhill side of my 40's.
What is surprising me is how picky I suddenly am about frame style.
I'd been motoring along thinking that I didn't care so much, but now that I have to choose... Do these make me look [fill in the blank]?
I just know this is going to cost me because I'm going to fall in love with the most expensive frames, lenses and options...
Receiving End
Something I don't see cited much concerning the lethality of 5.56x45mm is that the Russians copied the idea.
Vietnam provided lots of data for them to see if their round was better or worse than ours.
In 1974 they adopted a new version of the AK in a new round. AK-74 and 5.45x39mm 7N6.
Because they're damn good at espionage, I suspect they had access to our data from Vietnam about the effectiveness of the 7.62x39mm M43 round. Their picture of the comparative effectiveness is more complete than ours, really, because of our ongoing frustration about the NVA removing their fallen from the battlefield.
5.56x45mm M193 is actually a proven killer. 5.56x45mm M855 works too. M855A1 should be even better from looking at the construction of the round.
They're all better killers than heavier rounds when you click it into our doctrines. Past a certain range, it is not a rifle problem, but an artillery one. Whether this is a sound doctrine is the real debate and if the range where the mortars take over for the rifles is longer, then something like 6.8 or 7.62x51mm would be more appropriate (depending on how much longer). The debate about doctrine has to include a discussion about whether we're going to have the riflemen engage at ranges where they're supposed to be letting the arty or CAS take it. Some of our anguish is being caused by taking shots at ranges the gun can't do the job at. Ranges where the old 7.62x51mm guns would be working fine; but I alluded to something in an earlier post, the average grunt with an issue rifle can't really wring out the performance we're asking of them here. A lot of the ineffectiveness of 5.56 can be safely attributed to didn't hit anything; and that grunt would miss with a heavier round too.
The Marines might be on a better track than the Army with universal issue of ACOGs and retaining the 20" barrels on their M16A4. Canada's C7A2 has magnifying optics and the longer barrel as well, and there's no controversy from The Great White North about their small arms choices.
But inside a certain range, a hit is a hit and dead is dead regardless of which NATO rifle round used.
Vietnam provided lots of data for them to see if their round was better or worse than ours.
In 1974 they adopted a new version of the AK in a new round. AK-74 and 5.45x39mm 7N6.
Because they're damn good at espionage, I suspect they had access to our data from Vietnam about the effectiveness of the 7.62x39mm M43 round. Their picture of the comparative effectiveness is more complete than ours, really, because of our ongoing frustration about the NVA removing their fallen from the battlefield.
5.56x45mm M193 is actually a proven killer. 5.56x45mm M855 works too. M855A1 should be even better from looking at the construction of the round.
They're all better killers than heavier rounds when you click it into our doctrines. Past a certain range, it is not a rifle problem, but an artillery one. Whether this is a sound doctrine is the real debate and if the range where the mortars take over for the rifles is longer, then something like 6.8 or 7.62x51mm would be more appropriate (depending on how much longer). The debate about doctrine has to include a discussion about whether we're going to have the riflemen engage at ranges where they're supposed to be letting the arty or CAS take it. Some of our anguish is being caused by taking shots at ranges the gun can't do the job at. Ranges where the old 7.62x51mm guns would be working fine; but I alluded to something in an earlier post, the average grunt with an issue rifle can't really wring out the performance we're asking of them here. A lot of the ineffectiveness of 5.56 can be safely attributed to didn't hit anything; and that grunt would miss with a heavier round too.
The Marines might be on a better track than the Army with universal issue of ACOGs and retaining the 20" barrels on their M16A4. Canada's C7A2 has magnifying optics and the longer barrel as well, and there's no controversy from The Great White North about their small arms choices.
But inside a certain range, a hit is a hit and dead is dead regardless of which NATO rifle round used.
11 November 2014
Scale Reference
I mentioned once that space is big.
With the sun scaled to a grain of sand, the milky way model fits just inside Pluto's orbit. I mentioned it before.
Another scale model!
Make the sun the size of a ball from a Bic pen (1.2mm). 8.62x10^-13!
Alpha Centuari is 22.11 miles away at this scale.
Pluto is 16' 7-5/16" (5.06m) from the sun. Earth is a mere 5" (and it's an infinitesimal 0.01mm in diameter).
With the sun scaled to a grain of sand, the milky way model fits just inside Pluto's orbit. I mentioned it before.
Another scale model!
Make the sun the size of a ball from a Bic pen (1.2mm). 8.62x10^-13!
Alpha Centuari is 22.11 miles away at this scale.
Pluto is 16' 7-5/16" (5.06m) from the sun. Earth is a mere 5" (and it's an infinitesimal 0.01mm in diameter).
HAPPY Veteran's Day
Veteran's Day is one of the few military holidays that's really not a somber occasion of remembrance.
Veteran's Day is the celebration of those who are still with us!
A "holy shit, we lived to be OLD!" day.
Hand me my walker, sonny, let's have a beer!
Veteran's Day is the celebration of those who are still with us!
A "holy shit, we lived to be OLD!" day.
Hand me my walker, sonny, let's have a beer!
It's About Time
Google finally remembered what country they're based in and put up an appropriate pic. Good job!
Bing continues a tradition of doing these days right... (Remembrance Day rather than Veteran's Day)
As always, find your favorite vet and take them to lunch, dinner, strip club, a movie, or buy them a drink. Listen to their old stories for the hundredth time like you'd never heard them before.
Remind a politician that there's a huge population of vets who are essentially abandoned for having the luck to serve where there was no shooting. I bring this up because that whole Berlin Wall going down 25 years ago, the Cold War Vets did that without firing a shot.
10 November 2014
Subtle Starfighter Tweaking
The F-104 is an included NPC plane in Strike Fighters 2. The CF-104A and F-104G are part of SF2 Europe and the F-104 and F-104C are part of a DLC.
In days of yore, there was an F-104 that came with SF1.
Through INI editing, you could place a cockpit in the plane's folder and make it a flyable plane.
Which worked, but there were some small issues. Not least of which was the wings roots were visible and not connected to anything. Plus the late F-104C has a refueling probe that was invisible from the cockpit.
Turns out the issue was solved with extra INI editing. You had to extract the data.ini file from the games .cat and .dlc files then change the "ShowFromCockpit=FALSE" to "ShowFromCockpit=TRUE" for both the nose and the fuselage.
While this makes the fuselage appear in the mirrors, it also left a double canopy frame visible.
Changing the nose back to false hides the probe, but lets the wings be attached.
It turns out that the old data in the cockpit ini file from SF1 puts the cockpit in the wrong place! Too high and too far to the rear.
So I changed it.
A little hard to see. This also has the effect of letting the cockpit model cover the "nose" model so I could have the probe be visible again.
As I said, it's subtle...
With cockpit in original position (before making any changes):
Cockpit in original position after making the fuselage visible.
Relocated:
In days of yore, there was an F-104 that came with SF1.
Through INI editing, you could place a cockpit in the plane's folder and make it a flyable plane.
Which worked, but there were some small issues. Not least of which was the wings roots were visible and not connected to anything. Plus the late F-104C has a refueling probe that was invisible from the cockpit.
Turns out the issue was solved with extra INI editing. You had to extract the data.ini file from the games .cat and .dlc files then change the "ShowFromCockpit=FALSE" to "ShowFromCockpit=TRUE" for both the nose and the fuselage.
While this makes the fuselage appear in the mirrors, it also left a double canopy frame visible.
Changing the nose back to false hides the probe, but lets the wings be attached.
It turns out that the old data in the cockpit ini file from SF1 puts the cockpit in the wrong place! Too high and too far to the rear.
So I changed it.
A little hard to see. This also has the effect of letting the cockpit model cover the "nose" model so I could have the probe be visible again.
As I said, it's subtle...
With cockpit in original position (before making any changes):
Cockpit in original position after making the fuselage visible.
Relocated:
09 November 2014
Diatribe
The top ten reasons that Libertarians talk down aren't nice to you has really put a burr under my saddle.
I am not sure where to begin.
I guess for openers, most "libertarians" are anything but. Most of the sites I used to read are anarchist sites (including the one linked notice the anarchy A in his tab-icon). While there's a lot of freedom in anarchy, the day I decide to keep you distracted while Harvey shoots you in the back means the anarchy is over and the tyranny of Thag has begun.
There's a clue there. When we band against you, we're stronger. When they band against me, they're stronger.
Anarchy falls apart at a touch and it's a shitty way to do things because it's might makes right.
Banding together against danger is a very simian way of dealing with it. Humans are simians.
Our tasty chess club brains and superior banding abilities allowed us to become superior tool users too.
The question I keep coming to about libertarianism is "who is the enforcer?" Who keeps me honest? Who keeps YOU honest? What happens when we both claim to have been cheated? What happens when we both refuse to agree about an arbitrator? Fight it out?
The non aggression principle is kinda neat, but... Lets say you cheated me in a deal. I'm pretty sure that's rated as aggression on most libertarian sites. What recourse do I have? What if you're too strong for me to take what is owed? What if I convince my neighbor to help? My neighbor you did not cheat or harm in any way. Is my neighbor now guilty of aggression?
Look, you're claiming both that you're smarter than I am and that this is simple; why can't you explain it to me so I understand?
Then it hits me! The person generating that ten point list is dishonest! They're at least lying to themselves and because they are unable to be true to themselves, they cannot be true to us.
#10: Ridicule only works if your victim is worried about what you think of them or that your words matter to someone else who matters to them. Ridicule primarily serves to mask a lack of position or standing on the part of the person being insulting. The main response to being ridiculed is an entrenchment of their position, not abandonment. By mocking people you are making yourself look foolish and making it harder to convince anyone.
#9: If you're not trying to convince anyone, why are you talking; always talking? Why is it that you're so ineffective at convincing the people who've no ideology already if you're not trying to convince someone like me who has one? You are literally conceding that any ideology is superior to yours by not attempting to change anyones mind.
#8: Then stop running candidates. Stop campaigning. Otherwise you're lying about winning or lying about convincing people.
#7: Back at you. If it didn't come from your team, the "great" libertarian theorists, you reject it out of hand. I did spend a lot more than ten minutes on this and YOU WERE FOUND WANTING! It showed me that you haven’t taken so much as 10 minutes out of your miserable life to even make the slightest effort to understand how people really work. I understand what you are proposing, what you're refusing to see is why it really won't work no matter how hard you wish it were otherwise. Yes, Virginia, there is no utopia.
#6: Why are there no answers to these questions then? "What if" is the damn near the most paramount question a person can ask and your response is "because choices"? Did you spend more than ten minutes on this?
#5: I can't teach you economics in 140 characters or less either. Oh wait, YES I CAN! "Supply and demand, that's it." 29 characters including spaces and punctuation. See how unsatisfying cop-out answers are? Actually studying economics really underlined the portion that I'd seen over and over in anarchist site after libertarian site. Libertarian economics is very selective about it, and a lie of omission is still a lie.
#4: I refused membership in Mensa. "Society of people who should have their IQ tattooed on their forehead" is a more apt description. What the tests for such organizations actually test for is an ability to learn. An ability that very few of them seem to apply to anything at all; or apply too narrowly. What good does calculus do when you need to change a tire? Besides, if you're smarter than me, why can't you manage to teach me? Why can't you formulate a convincing argument to get me to abandon my ideology? You're smart? Start proving it. By the way, exactly how valid is a universal moral philosophy that requires a minimum IQ that's three standard deviations above the norm?
#3: I will agree here. What's not justified is the smug sense of superiority. Especially since so very few of you are willing to live your morals. Paid any taxes once you became enlightened? If so, you've compromised your moral principles by the mere threat of force, no real force needed to be applied to you, did it? With all the compromises and concessions you've made, it's no wonder nobody takes you seriously.
#2: No, you're asking for everything. Yes you are. What you are demanding is the abandonment of a basic structure of human interaction that has been hammered into a working system since before we had a way to store knowledge outside of living memory. To ask people to abandon a flawed, but functioning, system requires you be very convincing. Your arguments need to be air tight, and account for all of the variables (including "what if?").
#1: While it's not something I'm proud of, it's human nature. Something that libertarians flat refuse to fully take into account. Sooner or later any system of interaction between people is going to resort to force and violence. It's because we're people. Divide and conquer works and if you come pre-fragemented you're not even making your conqueror work for the divide part.
I am not sure where to begin.
I guess for openers, most "libertarians" are anything but. Most of the sites I used to read are anarchist sites (including the one linked notice the anarchy A in his tab-icon). While there's a lot of freedom in anarchy, the day I decide to keep you distracted while Harvey shoots you in the back means the anarchy is over and the tyranny of Thag has begun.
There's a clue there. When we band against you, we're stronger. When they band against me, they're stronger.
Anarchy falls apart at a touch and it's a shitty way to do things because it's might makes right.
Banding together against danger is a very simian way of dealing with it. Humans are simians.
Our tasty chess club brains and superior banding abilities allowed us to become superior tool users too.
The question I keep coming to about libertarianism is "who is the enforcer?" Who keeps me honest? Who keeps YOU honest? What happens when we both claim to have been cheated? What happens when we both refuse to agree about an arbitrator? Fight it out?
The non aggression principle is kinda neat, but... Lets say you cheated me in a deal. I'm pretty sure that's rated as aggression on most libertarian sites. What recourse do I have? What if you're too strong for me to take what is owed? What if I convince my neighbor to help? My neighbor you did not cheat or harm in any way. Is my neighbor now guilty of aggression?
Look, you're claiming both that you're smarter than I am and that this is simple; why can't you explain it to me so I understand?
Then it hits me! The person generating that ten point list is dishonest! They're at least lying to themselves and because they are unable to be true to themselves, they cannot be true to us.
#10: Ridicule only works if your victim is worried about what you think of them or that your words matter to someone else who matters to them. Ridicule primarily serves to mask a lack of position or standing on the part of the person being insulting. The main response to being ridiculed is an entrenchment of their position, not abandonment. By mocking people you are making yourself look foolish and making it harder to convince anyone.
#9: If you're not trying to convince anyone, why are you talking; always talking? Why is it that you're so ineffective at convincing the people who've no ideology already if you're not trying to convince someone like me who has one? You are literally conceding that any ideology is superior to yours by not attempting to change anyones mind.
#8: Then stop running candidates. Stop campaigning. Otherwise you're lying about winning or lying about convincing people.
#7: Back at you. If it didn't come from your team, the "great" libertarian theorists, you reject it out of hand. I did spend a lot more than ten minutes on this and YOU WERE FOUND WANTING! It showed me that you haven’t taken so much as 10 minutes out of your miserable life to even make the slightest effort to understand how people really work. I understand what you are proposing, what you're refusing to see is why it really won't work no matter how hard you wish it were otherwise. Yes, Virginia, there is no utopia.
#6: Why are there no answers to these questions then? "What if" is the damn near the most paramount question a person can ask and your response is "because choices"? Did you spend more than ten minutes on this?
#5: I can't teach you economics in 140 characters or less either. Oh wait, YES I CAN! "Supply and demand, that's it." 29 characters including spaces and punctuation. See how unsatisfying cop-out answers are? Actually studying economics really underlined the portion that I'd seen over and over in anarchist site after libertarian site. Libertarian economics is very selective about it, and a lie of omission is still a lie.
#4: I refused membership in Mensa. "Society of people who should have their IQ tattooed on their forehead" is a more apt description. What the tests for such organizations actually test for is an ability to learn. An ability that very few of them seem to apply to anything at all; or apply too narrowly. What good does calculus do when you need to change a tire? Besides, if you're smarter than me, why can't you manage to teach me? Why can't you formulate a convincing argument to get me to abandon my ideology? You're smart? Start proving it. By the way, exactly how valid is a universal moral philosophy that requires a minimum IQ that's three standard deviations above the norm?
#3: I will agree here. What's not justified is the smug sense of superiority. Especially since so very few of you are willing to live your morals. Paid any taxes once you became enlightened? If so, you've compromised your moral principles by the mere threat of force, no real force needed to be applied to you, did it? With all the compromises and concessions you've made, it's no wonder nobody takes you seriously.
#2: No, you're asking for everything. Yes you are. What you are demanding is the abandonment of a basic structure of human interaction that has been hammered into a working system since before we had a way to store knowledge outside of living memory. To ask people to abandon a flawed, but functioning, system requires you be very convincing. Your arguments need to be air tight, and account for all of the variables (including "what if?").
#1: While it's not something I'm proud of, it's human nature. Something that libertarians flat refuse to fully take into account. Sooner or later any system of interaction between people is going to resort to force and violence. It's because we're people. Divide and conquer works and if you come pre-fragemented you're not even making your conqueror work for the divide part.
Be Honest
You bought the AK because ammo was cheap.
Be honest with yourself even if you're aren't to me.
Be honest with yourself even if you're aren't to me.
Happy Birthday Lex!
Never let it be said that we've forgotten him.
F/A-18A from VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet, which I think was Lex's first gig.
F-16N from VF-45 Blackbirds.
I don't have a VFA-192 Golden Dragons skin for a hornet...
F/A-18C from VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes, which I think he was CO.
His last ride and the one that ultimately did him in, dammit. Kfir C2 from the Smashing Parrots Squadron, I think this tail number becomes N404AX when ATAC puts it into service.
F/A-18A from VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet, which I think was Lex's first gig.
F-16N from VF-45 Blackbirds.
I don't have a VFA-192 Golden Dragons skin for a hornet...
F/A-18C from VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes, which I think he was CO.
His last ride and the one that ultimately did him in, dammit. Kfir C2 from the Smashing Parrots Squadron, I think this tail number becomes N404AX when ATAC puts it into service.
08 November 2014
Former Friend
Every once and a while I'll google people who've left my life.
Many times I am thankful they're no longer present!
Finding recent arrest records is getting to be depressingly common.
Many times I am thankful they're no longer present!
Finding recent arrest records is getting to be depressingly common.
History Repeating
I wrote in Nov 2006...
BAM! We have a Republican Congress.
What this does not indicate: A full-on endorsement of the American people of the Republican platform. What it probably indicates is that people were rejecting the current incarnation of the Democrat party and this was the only way to wake them up and get them to listen.
Which is a damn shitty way to make course corrections.
When you have only two viable parties, you create a situation where the rejection of A is a de facto endorsement of B. And when B acts like the got an endorsement, they tend to get nuked the next cycle.
As in 2006, people don't care who is expanding government into every aspect of their lives, but they've got so very little real choice about who gets to be in congress.
BAM! We have a Republican Congress.
What this does not indicate: A full-on endorsement of the American people of the Republican platform. What it probably indicates is that people were rejecting the current incarnation of the Democrat party and this was the only way to wake them up and get them to listen.
Which is a damn shitty way to make course corrections.
When you have only two viable parties, you create a situation where the rejection of A is a de facto endorsement of B. And when B acts like the got an endorsement, they tend to get nuked the next cycle.
As in 2006, people don't care who is expanding government into every aspect of their lives, but they've got so very little real choice about who gets to be in congress.
Sci Fi Vs Sci Fy
Fy isn't a thing, but I needed something...
This is science fiction vs science fantasy.
Niven and Pournelle provided the real distinction.
Science fiction is simply a fiction story with a novel setting which is internally consistent.
Science fantasy is a futuristic setting without such internal consistency.
Niven expounded on it a bit too, I'm going to paraphrase from memory about it. The advanced technology has implications to it. Internally consistent worlds simply allow the unwanted implications to happen and work with them.
"Safe at Any Speed" was written to express his disgust at how bad his miraculous technology had become in his "Known Space" setting. The full implications of the autodoc were explored in the last Beowulf Schaffer story too.
Contrast with Star Trek. How many miracles have been shown stemming from that damn transporter? Miracles that served the plot for one episode then disappear never to be mentioned again and never affecting anything or anyone else?
Internally consistent universes have rules. Rules that cannot be broken to serve the plot or the needs of the writers.
You can get away with a lot by simply not explaining things, but once you do you have to remember your explanation and stick to it.
This is how Traveller got its super crunchy reputation. The universe has rules and they are adhered to, if for no other reason than players and GM's hold each other tightly to such things to prevent themselves from being screwed by the other. Like an adversarial court system.
Things like looking at how light behaves and seeing how that limits the ranges of staple sci-fi items like lasers; then giving the weapon ranges in those limited terms. No matter how disappointingly short they seem.
Things like there being no hiding against the back-drop of space and despite this sensors not being much more effective than "there's something there in the right temperature range to be manned" until you're disappointingly close.
Things like deciding the energy density of your battery equivalent then seeing how big that makes the power-pack then concluding that a pistol sized laser is silly. Think Desert Eagle with a full fanny pack and a garden hose connecting them. That was LBB Traveller. GURPS Traveller's power cells are more dense, so the laser pistol is a thing there. I think that Mongoose Traveller has a laser pistol as well (when the laptop croaked it took my pdf with it).
But making a pistol sized laser practical made all of the rifle sized weapons either lighter and smaller or gave them a lot more shots compared to the original material. It's a decent example of expectation trade-off. The stats of the man-portable lasers from LBB Traveller were designed with game balance in mind not physics (although they did back-track the physics). GURPS had its own tech assumptions before they got the Traveller property and they hammered GDWs creation to fit. Each is consistent with itself, so still crunchy.
Oddly, Star Wars has played a fairly decent game of being consistent with itself (mostly because Lucas had a vision of how things should look and being consistent with that vision trends towards internal consistency). The writing hasn't always been great, but...
This is science fiction vs science fantasy.
Niven and Pournelle provided the real distinction.
Science fiction is simply a fiction story with a novel setting which is internally consistent.
Science fantasy is a futuristic setting without such internal consistency.
Niven expounded on it a bit too, I'm going to paraphrase from memory about it. The advanced technology has implications to it. Internally consistent worlds simply allow the unwanted implications to happen and work with them.
"Safe at Any Speed" was written to express his disgust at how bad his miraculous technology had become in his "Known Space" setting. The full implications of the autodoc were explored in the last Beowulf Schaffer story too.
Contrast with Star Trek. How many miracles have been shown stemming from that damn transporter? Miracles that served the plot for one episode then disappear never to be mentioned again and never affecting anything or anyone else?
Internally consistent universes have rules. Rules that cannot be broken to serve the plot or the needs of the writers.
You can get away with a lot by simply not explaining things, but once you do you have to remember your explanation and stick to it.
This is how Traveller got its super crunchy reputation. The universe has rules and they are adhered to, if for no other reason than players and GM's hold each other tightly to such things to prevent themselves from being screwed by the other. Like an adversarial court system.
Things like looking at how light behaves and seeing how that limits the ranges of staple sci-fi items like lasers; then giving the weapon ranges in those limited terms. No matter how disappointingly short they seem.
Things like there being no hiding against the back-drop of space and despite this sensors not being much more effective than "there's something there in the right temperature range to be manned" until you're disappointingly close.
Things like deciding the energy density of your battery equivalent then seeing how big that makes the power-pack then concluding that a pistol sized laser is silly. Think Desert Eagle with a full fanny pack and a garden hose connecting them. That was LBB Traveller. GURPS Traveller's power cells are more dense, so the laser pistol is a thing there. I think that Mongoose Traveller has a laser pistol as well (when the laptop croaked it took my pdf with it).
But making a pistol sized laser practical made all of the rifle sized weapons either lighter and smaller or gave them a lot more shots compared to the original material. It's a decent example of expectation trade-off. The stats of the man-portable lasers from LBB Traveller were designed with game balance in mind not physics (although they did back-track the physics). GURPS had its own tech assumptions before they got the Traveller property and they hammered GDWs creation to fit. Each is consistent with itself, so still crunchy.
Oddly, Star Wars has played a fairly decent game of being consistent with itself (mostly because Lucas had a vision of how things should look and being consistent with that vision trends towards internal consistency). The writing hasn't always been great, but...
06 November 2014
It's Funny
I don't particularly care for the M14.
But every time I watch Mars Attacks, I kind of want one.
It's amusing to me, as a retro AR person and as someone who likes historical guns that the desire to have an M14 clone isn't triggered by the same urges that made me want to make an early R604 and late R603.
 |
| Pic from: http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Mars_Attacks#M14 |
It's amusing to me, as a retro AR person and as someone who likes historical guns that the desire to have an M14 clone isn't triggered by the same urges that made me want to make an early R604 and late R603.
Novelty Beer
It's a gimmick, but I watch GoT, so it worked on me.
It's OK. Nothing to write home about. Like if Killians wasn't mass produced.
Da Fuzz
Slinking in the slime that is the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy that is ARFCOM (®Tam)...
Whenever the topic of "we the citizens don't want the cops doing x" comes up there's almost always a "when something happens you'll be on the phone begging for us to come!" response from some cop.
Well, they're right.
Should the dread moment come and I have to shoot and kill someone who's broken into my house it's illegal to NOT call the cops. I checked. At the very least it's illegal to dispose of the body on my own.
What our eager law enforcement apologists are missing about "we don't want you doing x" does not mean we don't want cops, that we don't like cops or want cops to do absolutely nothing.
There's gobs of things I want the cops doing. Owning APC's isn't one. Dressing like they're in Afghanistan isn't one. No-knock searches isn't one. Shooting anyone they want with impunity isn't one.
The cops who reply to these threads... Oy gevalt!
Weer'd recently gave us a list of occupations which are more dangerous than law enforcement. I will concede that none of the more dangerous occupations are expected to stay at work if things get lethal. Expected. Not required; because unlike a soldier, a cop can quit and walk off the job any time he wants with no more sanction on future employment than an accountant would encounter.
I am constantly astonished at the justifications for "officer safety" made to obtain armored vehicles, machine guns etc... The resistance to having their activities recorded and monitored is telling in and of itself. Aren't cops one of the first groups to tell US that if we've nothing to hide, we've nothing to fear?
Their radios are now encrypted "to prevent a criminal from listening in and avoiding arrest." Yet they resist having their comms recorded for later review, "criminals will learn our procedures". Bull.
Some of it I get, in the PC infested waters, you don't want to get nailed for saying something you shouldn't have whether you meant ill or not. Yet...
If the police do not answer to the communities they "serve" they aren't really serving are they?
And this is the place where citizen hostility to the police is born, nurtured and fed to hostility and obstinance. If we can trust you, Officer, why are you so adamant about hiding so much of what you do?
There will be more. I want to talk about the sense of entitlement and unionization next.
Whenever the topic of "we the citizens don't want the cops doing x" comes up there's almost always a "when something happens you'll be on the phone begging for us to come!" response from some cop.
Well, they're right.
Should the dread moment come and I have to shoot and kill someone who's broken into my house it's illegal to NOT call the cops. I checked. At the very least it's illegal to dispose of the body on my own.
What our eager law enforcement apologists are missing about "we don't want you doing x" does not mean we don't want cops, that we don't like cops or want cops to do absolutely nothing.
There's gobs of things I want the cops doing. Owning APC's isn't one. Dressing like they're in Afghanistan isn't one. No-knock searches isn't one. Shooting anyone they want with impunity isn't one.
The cops who reply to these threads... Oy gevalt!
Weer'd recently gave us a list of occupations which are more dangerous than law enforcement. I will concede that none of the more dangerous occupations are expected to stay at work if things get lethal. Expected. Not required; because unlike a soldier, a cop can quit and walk off the job any time he wants with no more sanction on future employment than an accountant would encounter.
I am constantly astonished at the justifications for "officer safety" made to obtain armored vehicles, machine guns etc... The resistance to having their activities recorded and monitored is telling in and of itself. Aren't cops one of the first groups to tell US that if we've nothing to hide, we've nothing to fear?
Their radios are now encrypted "to prevent a criminal from listening in and avoiding arrest." Yet they resist having their comms recorded for later review, "criminals will learn our procedures". Bull.
Some of it I get, in the PC infested waters, you don't want to get nailed for saying something you shouldn't have whether you meant ill or not. Yet...
If the police do not answer to the communities they "serve" they aren't really serving are they?
And this is the place where citizen hostility to the police is born, nurtured and fed to hostility and obstinance. If we can trust you, Officer, why are you so adamant about hiding so much of what you do?
There will be more. I want to talk about the sense of entitlement and unionization next.
05 November 2014
Media Response
One thing that ticks me off is how the media responds to the behavior of our elected officials.
You may notice that Obama continued a lot of policy from Bush. Or maybe you didn't because the screeching about how wrong and evil those policies were stopped the day O took the oath.
I predict that Congress will do what Congress normally does, but we're going to hear more about it because the "wrong people with the wrong party affiliation" are in the "leadership" positions.
This bugs me.
It bugs me because if doing something is wrong, then it doesn't matter who does it.
This is how we know the media are partisan cheerleaders.
Bush did it, BAD. Obama does the same thing, meh (at best).
You may notice that Obama continued a lot of policy from Bush. Or maybe you didn't because the screeching about how wrong and evil those policies were stopped the day O took the oath.
I predict that Congress will do what Congress normally does, but we're going to hear more about it because the "wrong people with the wrong party affiliation" are in the "leadership" positions.
This bugs me.
It bugs me because if doing something is wrong, then it doesn't matter who does it.
This is how we know the media are partisan cheerleaders.
Bush did it, BAD. Obama does the same thing, meh (at best).
04 November 2014
Funniest Two Things Today
First is the 10 Reasons Libertarians Hate Everyone.
Second is Lyle's response:
h/t to Uncle.
I am also fascinated that utopianists tend to self identify as smarter than everyone else.
I'd like to remind people that there's nothing in one of humanities most brutal periods of history can't be reconstructed in full compliance with libertarianism.
Second is Lyle's response:
It is a pretty arrogant list though. For one thing, if lib’tarians are the super, ultra geniuses of the world, you’d think they’d be able to come up with ways to convince more people.
One of the really big disconnects in the mind of a libertarian is the fact that liberty is a political AND moral concept and libertarians don’t believe in politics or morality. So the libertarian is a contradiction. A defeatist with a really good rationalization for it. It’s a way to go down to destruction at the hands of statists and feel good and justified while doing it.
It’s a belief system that makes you superior to everyone else around you, without your having to actually stand up for or do anything. All you have to do is talk, to anyone who’ll tolerate you, or to no one. Pretty convenient.
h/t to Uncle.
I am also fascinated that utopianists tend to self identify as smarter than everyone else.
I'd like to remind people that there's nothing in one of humanities most brutal periods of history can't be reconstructed in full compliance with libertarianism.
Inconceivable!
An F-35C made an arrested landing on Nimitz.
I read just a few months ago that this is impossible for various reasons.
I guess it's just the engineer in me that read the various reasons as making the solution more difficult than they would otherwise be, instead of making them impossible.
Over and over in the F-35 program we're encountering things that have to be the way they are for the VTOL F-35B making the other two variations harder to get finished with.
More difficult does not mean impossible.
I read just a few months ago that this is impossible for various reasons.
I guess it's just the engineer in me that read the various reasons as making the solution more difficult than they would otherwise be, instead of making them impossible.
Over and over in the F-35 program we're encountering things that have to be the way they are for the VTOL F-35B making the other two variations harder to get finished with.
More difficult does not mean impossible.
Voted
Got the gun vote out!
This is your most important act as a citizen. It's a right and a duty.
I am somewhat baffled by people who don't vote. By default a no-vote is a vote for whomever wins.
03 November 2014
How To Disassemble A Glock
Tam has indicated that she doesn't know how after being lectured on how to clean guns.
First you need a disassembly tool.
RCBS is preferred, but Lee will do...
Then make a disassembler insert with your disassembly tool. The manual that comes with the disassembly tool will indicate how much disassembly powder you should use.
It's full of typos, so you should use the .357 Magnum listing for .380, 9mm and .357 SIG; 10mm ACP for the .40 S&W, .41 Magnum for 10mm, and .454 Casull for .45 ACP.
Insert the disassembly insert as you would a normal round of ammunition, aim the Glock at something that can catch the bullet easily, such as a Ming Vase or Faberge Egg.
Your Glock will now take itself apart simply by pulling the trigger!
Some bruising and blood is a normal part of the disassembly procedure, but it's a sign you've performed the operation correctly.
First you need a disassembly tool.
RCBS is preferred, but Lee will do...
Then make a disassembler insert with your disassembly tool. The manual that comes with the disassembly tool will indicate how much disassembly powder you should use.
It's full of typos, so you should use the .357 Magnum listing for .380, 9mm and .357 SIG; 10mm ACP for the .40 S&W, .41 Magnum for 10mm, and .454 Casull for .45 ACP.
Insert the disassembly insert as you would a normal round of ammunition, aim the Glock at something that can catch the bullet easily, such as a Ming Vase or Faberge Egg.
Your Glock will now take itself apart simply by pulling the trigger!
Some bruising and blood is a normal part of the disassembly procedure, but it's a sign you've performed the operation correctly.
Plate
I was behind a Mazda with a DC plate today.
The motto area said, "Taxation Without Representation."
I get it, they pay taxes and their "representation" in congress is non-voting.
I wonder if they realize that most people don't know that.
The average denizen of West Pasco is going to see that as "this is what we in DC are doing to y'all."
The motto area said, "Taxation Without Representation."
I get it, they pay taxes and their "representation" in congress is non-voting.
I wonder if they realize that most people don't know that.
The average denizen of West Pasco is going to see that as "this is what we in DC are doing to y'all."
Travelling
A couple of epiphanies.
The first is my acceleration spreadsheet will also tell me how fast and how long a fall will take.
The trick to remembering what contragrav does is to remember that it nullifies the weight without affecting the mass.
Order Of Operation Matters
The TI matches the spreadsheet in both Open Office and NeoOffice (if you put it in as =6/2*(1+2))
I think my math teacher taught me to do parenthesis first, then multiplication/division left to right. That's six divided by two (three) then times three for nine.
I do recall seeing the order of operation that leads to the Casio answer, but I don't remember where I saw it or what circumstances they said it was the preferred method.
X VS Y VS Z
I don't particularly care for the M1A.
I think I've mentioned it before.
But...
Proponents of one 7.62 battle rifle or another tend to have the one we love and despise the others.
We have lists! Lists of all the things that our bestie does that the others don't.
A few of us love one because it stood us well when it mattered. Applied rather than theoretical.
A few of us hate one because it didn't work when it was needed. Applied rather than theoretical.
Some of us are flat wrong because they judge an issue weapon's capabilities based on the example set by a commercial model. Being wrong from this goes both ways.
Combat record matters to a degree, but because commercial guns are not the same as issue, it might not matter as much as some ascribe.
That my choice stood me well when it mattered, fared well for many in combat in varied environments and was widely issued matters not one whit to someone who's experience with one of the others matches mine.
In reality the M14/FAL/G3 debate is a debate about the margins. One is not particularly more reliable than the others under real conditions. One is not particularly more accurate than the others under real conditions with a typical infantryman on the trigger. They are all similarly heavy and powerful. They all have features that endear them to one individual or another. All of them can be made to fail if you abuse them enough. A system of abuse that lets one pass and the others fail can be devised for any of them.
I think I've mentioned it before.
But...
Proponents of one 7.62 battle rifle or another tend to have the one we love and despise the others.
We have lists! Lists of all the things that our bestie does that the others don't.
A few of us love one because it stood us well when it mattered. Applied rather than theoretical.
A few of us hate one because it didn't work when it was needed. Applied rather than theoretical.
Some of us are flat wrong because they judge an issue weapon's capabilities based on the example set by a commercial model. Being wrong from this goes both ways.
Combat record matters to a degree, but because commercial guns are not the same as issue, it might not matter as much as some ascribe.
That my choice stood me well when it mattered, fared well for many in combat in varied environments and was widely issued matters not one whit to someone who's experience with one of the others matches mine.
In reality the M14/FAL/G3 debate is a debate about the margins. One is not particularly more reliable than the others under real conditions. One is not particularly more accurate than the others under real conditions with a typical infantryman on the trigger. They are all similarly heavy and powerful. They all have features that endear them to one individual or another. All of them can be made to fail if you abuse them enough. A system of abuse that lets one pass and the others fail can be devised for any of them.
Missing Out
One of the things that sucks most about misophonia is not being able to listen to podcasts.
Because it's amateur radio hour, there's a lot of background noise to filter past.
Like whoever's playing with what sounds like a zip-tie the entire Squirrel Report... (It's probably a scroll wheel too close to the mic).
I can't listen to the talking because of the ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiiip. I hate it because it's clear that there's stuff I want to listen to and it sucks that I can't.
Heavy breathing and lip smacking noises are a close second and they show up in professional broadcasts too.
There's nothing to be done about it, just needed to vent.
Because it's amateur radio hour, there's a lot of background noise to filter past.
Like whoever's playing with what sounds like a zip-tie the entire Squirrel Report... (It's probably a scroll wheel too close to the mic).
I can't listen to the talking because of the ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiiip. I hate it because it's clear that there's stuff I want to listen to and it sucks that I can't.
Heavy breathing and lip smacking noises are a close second and they show up in professional broadcasts too.
There's nothing to be done about it, just needed to vent.
02 November 2014
Censor
The reason I'm bugged that the editing of Huckleberry Finn is we shouldn't remove controversy from children. We should teach them about it.
So that they learn context.
Manners too.
While I use the full word when I'm making a point, I would not use it to someone's face to describe them. That's rude.
But we should not shy away from using the words in question when talking about language and what's appropriate or not.
For a simple lesson just look up how arse and ass have phased in and out of being the polite phrasing of the other.
So that they learn context.
Manners too.
While I use the full word when I'm making a point, I would not use it to someone's face to describe them. That's rude.
But we should not shy away from using the words in question when talking about language and what's appropriate or not.
For a simple lesson just look up how arse and ass have phased in and out of being the polite phrasing of the other.
Forbidden Books
A near as I can tell, I've never read a banned book.
I did read Huckleberry Finn before the retcon changing CENSORED Jim to just Jim though.
Censoring is far worse than banning.
The reasoning as to why every instance of the word CENSORED (oh and we do no justice by dancing around it and saying n-word) was removed is that its very mention is so harmful that nobody should ever hear it or say it.
The people most harmed don't seem to have gotten the message, or noticed the mortal power of the word because they use it frequently in speech and song.
I will believe it does harm when the people claiming the harm stop doing the harm themselves.
The idea that people of one race are forbidden to use a word because it's a mortal insult while they are free to use it and when they do it's nothing... That's racist. If you can't see it as racism, you're probably a racist yourself.
That's the real problem, not a mere word.
I did read Huckleberry Finn before the retcon changing CENSORED Jim to just Jim though.
Censoring is far worse than banning.
The reasoning as to why every instance of the word CENSORED (oh and we do no justice by dancing around it and saying n-word) was removed is that its very mention is so harmful that nobody should ever hear it or say it.
The people most harmed don't seem to have gotten the message, or noticed the mortal power of the word because they use it frequently in speech and song.
I will believe it does harm when the people claiming the harm stop doing the harm themselves.
The idea that people of one race are forbidden to use a word because it's a mortal insult while they are free to use it and when they do it's nothing... That's racist. If you can't see it as racism, you're probably a racist yourself.
That's the real problem, not a mere word.
01 November 2014
An Out
Lieutenant, why is private Johnson dead?
Well, Sargent, he didn't want to wake up, so I told him he could sleep when he was dead. Then he shot himself.
Never give them a loophole, Sir.
Well, Sargent, he didn't want to wake up, so I told him he could sleep when he was dead. Then he shot himself.
Never give them a loophole, Sir.
Focus Focus Focus
Lasers.
Light is bound by inflexible rules.
Luckily, GURPS:Traveller is kind of miracle tech.
The standard TL10 turreted laser is 250MJ and X-Ray in frequency. The 1/2 range is listed as 17,000 miles with a max range of 51,000 miles.
Taking the mean of the frequencies (0.010 to 10 nm) a 1.5m lens gets us a 0.22m spot at 17,000 miles and a 0.67m spot at 51,000 miles.
We chose a 1.5m lens because most of the art-work shows a turret that's about 1.5m tall, so that's the largest lens we could honestly mount.
The discharge rate is one second, so our 250mJ is 250,000kW.
Our one second pulse puts 6,415.78 MW per square meter on the target at the 1/2 damage range.
That's a lot. Enough to get through 4" of steel (DR 280).
Taking it out to max range...
We only have enough energy delivered to punch DR 33. This is because we're putting the same energy over a larger area.
Oops, that's the TL10 turreted laser listed in GURPS: Traveller Starships. The TL10 laser from GURPS: Traveller (main book) is 360 megajoule. Its 1/2D range is 20,454 miles giving it a spot of 0.27m diameter. It plunks 6,381.94 MW per square meter and can punch four inches of steel in a one second pulse.
As an aside, changing the diameter of the lens to 1m changes a lot. For the 360 MJ unit that increases the spot size to 0.4m drops the beam intensity at the target to 2,836.42 MW per square meter and drops penetration to a mere 1.86" (130 DR) at maximum range the diameter of the beam is 1.21m and delivers enough power to penetrate 0.2" of DR 70 per inch steel (or DR 14). The 250MJ laser spot increases to 0.33m in diameter and drops to 2,851.6 MW per square meter and a bare 1.87" of penetration (131 DR) and less than 1/4" (14 DR) at the listed maximum range because the spot has spread to 1m diameter. Those numbers tend to line up better with the listed DR for ships and their dice (6dx50(2) for the 360MJ and 5dx50(2) for the 250MJ), the real difference is the the 360 gets 3,454 more miles.
Light is bound by inflexible rules.
Luckily, GURPS:Traveller is kind of miracle tech.
The standard TL10 turreted laser is 250MJ and X-Ray in frequency. The 1/2 range is listed as 17,000 miles with a max range of 51,000 miles.
Taking the mean of the frequencies (0.010 to 10 nm) a 1.5m lens gets us a 0.22m spot at 17,000 miles and a 0.67m spot at 51,000 miles.
We chose a 1.5m lens because most of the art-work shows a turret that's about 1.5m tall, so that's the largest lens we could honestly mount.
The discharge rate is one second, so our 250mJ is 250,000kW.
Our one second pulse puts 6,415.78 MW per square meter on the target at the 1/2 damage range.
That's a lot. Enough to get through 4" of steel (DR 280).
Taking it out to max range...
We only have enough energy delivered to punch DR 33. This is because we're putting the same energy over a larger area.
Oops, that's the TL10 turreted laser listed in GURPS: Traveller Starships. The TL10 laser from GURPS: Traveller (main book) is 360 megajoule. Its 1/2D range is 20,454 miles giving it a spot of 0.27m diameter. It plunks 6,381.94 MW per square meter and can punch four inches of steel in a one second pulse.
As an aside, changing the diameter of the lens to 1m changes a lot. For the 360 MJ unit that increases the spot size to 0.4m drops the beam intensity at the target to 2,836.42 MW per square meter and drops penetration to a mere 1.86" (130 DR) at maximum range the diameter of the beam is 1.21m and delivers enough power to penetrate 0.2" of DR 70 per inch steel (or DR 14). The 250MJ laser spot increases to 0.33m in diameter and drops to 2,851.6 MW per square meter and a bare 1.87" of penetration (131 DR) and less than 1/4" (14 DR) at the listed maximum range because the spot has spread to 1m diameter. Those numbers tend to line up better with the listed DR for ships and their dice (6dx50(2) for the 360MJ and 5dx50(2) for the 250MJ), the real difference is the the 360 gets 3,454 more miles.
Cold Snap
There's few things as amusing as listening to the snowbirds complain that they'd just left this "cold" weather.
It's right up there with the natives behaving like it's the apocalypse.
Yes, the high will be in the mid-60's. Yes, the low might get to the thirties.
Complain to someone in Iowa! Their "sympathy" might help keep you warm?
It's right up there with the natives behaving like it's the apocalypse.
Yes, the high will be in the mid-60's. Yes, the low might get to the thirties.
Complain to someone in Iowa! Their "sympathy" might help keep you warm?