Ads And Comments Policy

You want to advertise here you have two choices.

Email me and ask.  This has worked for everyone who's tried it so far!

Be Google and incorporate it into the Blogger interface.

Slipping links into the comments just gets you put into the spam trap.

Perhaps if the link to your commercial site had been topical to the post you were commenting on, I'd have let it slide.  Perhaps if your COMMENT had been topical to the post you commented on, it'd still be there.

Uneducated

I would say ignorant, but that carries some baggage.

I learned a long time ago that I didn't know everything.

I'm coming to grips, in some cases, that what I do know is either incorrect or obsolete.

Never stop learning!

The good news is, for the most part, the education I already possess allows me to understand what I am reading and lets me learn what I have read.

Many times understanding trails learning by a good margin.

The epiphany I had when I first noticed the difference between knowledge and understanding tossed my gyros.

Just as interesting is the odd fact that you can understand something without any actual knowledge of it.  Don't you just hate those people?

Who Was It?

I posted the disclaimer on that Brazilian Mauser and suddenly someone bought it!

I've been watching that gun get relisted for about a year now...

So it must have been one of my readers.

<shakes fist>

The Ammos

For what twist does to a given bullet weight in 5.56.

It really wouldn't be an issue except, like he says, small changes in mass make large changes in length on a 0.224" diameter bullet.

Pic taken from the above linked article.

Of note is two columns for 62 grain projectiles.

This is because M855 ball weighs 62 grains, but because of the steel penetrator it's as long as a 69 grain bullet with an all-lead core.

That underscores that bullet construction matters.

Some of the up and down from this table also relates quality.  M855 and M193 aren't match ammo.  They are bulk made ammunition for the military, where 3 MOA is just fine.  You can see it on the chart where 62gr lead and 69gr are more accurate.

I've made a couple of other posts on this...

Here.

The effect that changing weights can have on point of impact.

Unfair Comparison

And it's one I've fallen prey to from time to time as well.

This article on the new KC-46A.

They say that a KC-135A in 1957 cost $57.9 million in 2015 dollars.

This compares to the $188.2 million price tag of a KC-46A.  Oh, and that's also the same price as a cargo 767-300F.  Not like Boeing is ripping the DoD off here compared to commercial carriers.

Pretty damning huh?

Fine.

If Stratotankers are so affordable...

Build a brand new KC-135A.  Today.  Now.

Bet you it will cost more than $57.9 million per plane.

Why?

Because Boeing wasn't subject to even 10% of the regulations back then it's saddled with today.  Compliance with all manner of laws, rulings and regulation eats at the bottom line and adds to the final cost of everything.  There was no OSHA.  There was no EPA.  There was no EEOC.  Hell, there wasn't even an FAA yet!

Energy costs are never part of the official inflation calculations (or are severely discounted).  It takes energy to make anything.

So, Mr Bourdius, build it and they will come.  The USAF is actually quite happy with the KC-135R, it's got to the point where they can't be kept flying forever.  But with your production line open and cranking out 3 new KC-135 for every KC-46, why would they need to fix them?

Why Not Soldier

I am starting to really detest the term "warfighter".

It just tastes wrong.

It feels like something that a marketing firm came up with to assuage the feelings of someone whose panties binded up for being generically called "troops" and then launched into a three hour power point pedantically lecturing that "troop" is only properly used for horse-cavalry...

I am sure the guys in supply are all motivated now they're "warfighters" too.

How's about "Soldier", "Sailor", "Marine" or "Airman"?

I know they're archaic and lack the stylish flow of advertising buzzwords, but they're more accurate.

It's also always, "The warfighter."  Just one?  Why don't we call him by their name then?

The affectation of the imperial third person is probably what it really bothering me.

Well Hello There!

[WAVES]

I got an email from a Brandon at Ammunition To Go!

It's kind of cool to be noticed by someone with a gun business here on the shallow end of the gun-blog pool.  Even nicer that he appears to have actually read a couple of posts.

Lyrics

Hey, I hear the voice of a preacher from the back room
Calling my name and I follow just to find you
I trace the faith to a broken down television and put on the weather
And I've trained myself to give up on the past 'cause
I frozen time between hearses and caskets
Lost control when I panicked at the acid test

I wanna get better

While my friends were getting high and chasing girls down parkway lines
I was losing my mind 'cause the love, the love, the love, the love, the love
That I gave wasted on a nice face
In a blaze of fear I put a helmet on a helmet
Counting seconds through the night and got carried away
So now I'm standing on the overpass screaming at the cars,

Hey, I wanna get better!

I didn't know I was lonely 'til I saw your face
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better
I didn't know I was broken 'til I wanted to change
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better

I go up to my room and there's girls on the ceiling
Cut out their pictures and I chase that feeling
Of an eighteen year old who didn't know what loss was

Now I'm a stranger

And I miss the days of a life still permanent
Mourn the years before I got carried away
So now I'm staring at the interstate screaming at myself,

Hey, I wanna get better!

I didn't know I was lonely 'til I saw your face
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better
I didn't know I was broken 'til I wanted to change
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better

Better, 'cause I'm sleeping in the back of a taxi
I'm screaming from my bedroom window
Even if its gonna kill me

Woke up this morning early before my family
From this dream where she was trying to show me
How a life can move from the darkness
She said to get better

So I put a bullet where I shoulda put a helmet
And I crash my car 'cause I wanna get carried away
That's why I'm standing on the overpass screaming at myself

Hey, I wanna get better!

I didn't know I was lonely 'til I saw your face
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better
I didn't know I was broken 'til I wanted to change
I wanna get better, better, better, better,
I wanna get better

Cars And Guns Grammar

It's brake, not break.

Another Example

Considered by many as the best of the period military Mausers, the Brazilian model 1908 was made by DWM (actually this specimen is part of a subcontract let to Mauser by DWM - hence the Oberndorf address instead of Berlin on the side rail) and features a 29-1/4” barrel, tangent leaf rear sight graduated to 2000 meters, five round magazine, H style bayonet lug and quick detach adjustable sling. It is in original condition with all matching serial numbers including all bolt parts, bottom metal and stock. It retains a strong 95% original blue with the bright action being a fairly uniform silver-gray. The bore is smooth and shiny with strong, sharp rifling and the bolt face is clean and smooth. The stock is completely sound with a moderate amount of scattered light to moderate handling marks. The original sling is supple with no cracking or crazing. An especially nice example of one of the best Mausers of the period and a scarce version at that! If you have questions please email us by clicking on “Ask seller a question” under the flag above.Within 24 hours the buyer will be sent an invoice detailing all information necessary to complete the transaction. This was previewed on www.tangoyankee.com
A signed FFL or C&R (FFL for NJ - no C&R) is required and shipping will be $35 (that includes insurance) to the license address in the lower 48 (we DO SHIP to CA [if item is allowed there] - for AK & HI; please email for shipping).
15-37-12 14/775.13;14/775.14;14/750.11;14/750.11;14/725.119p7oLB177.193
Who We Are: The folks here at TANGO YANKEE have been dealing in good faith, with a flawless reputation for honesty and integrity, for over 50 years in the field of antique and modern firearms and firearms related items. Our experience was gained through retail sales since the early 1960’s, design and manufacture dating back to the early 1970’s, and association with the most prestigious firearms specialty merchants and auction houses in the U.S. from the early ought’s to the present. We are incorporated in the state of NH, hold a Federal Firearms License (FFL), NH Auctioneers License (6041, B. Pagano) & MA Auctioneers License (3170, B. Pagano), are fully insured, bonded to $350,000 and can provide references on request. 
Our Descriptions: While we may list multiples of the same item and duplicate much of the description copy, each description is tailored to the specific item in that listing. We bend every effort to describe items honestly, fully and correctly. Please check our feed back to see what our past customers have to say about our descriptions.
Our Photos: Our close up, high contrast photographs frequently reveal much more than you can see with the naked eye. Dust, lint, dried grease and minute flaws are magnified greatly making things look worse than they do “in person”. Please see our feedback where you will frequently find “better than pictured” and “better than described”. Also: The photos you see in a listing are of the actual item in that particular listing - we don’t use stock photos. 
Firearms: Check with your local FFL to see if the item is allowed in your area. No firearms have been tested and are strictly sold “as is” for collector purposes. All firearms should be checked by a competent gunsmith. Antique firearms can be shipped directly to the buyer once an Antique Firearm Buyer Certificate is signed and returned (we will send a copy with the invoice) except for NJ & MA where shipments must be made to an FFL. The successful bidder will be the recipient through an FFL local to him. We will not honor purchases for a third party.
Foreign Bids: We regret that we can’t receive bids from, or ship to points outside the U.S.
Our Terms: The successful bidder will be contacted within 2 business days with an invoice. Please pay by bank check or money order and provide any necessary paperwork within 10 days or the item may be re-listed. We will accept personal checks as well but there will be a 10 business day delay added to our normal shipping time. Tango Yankee will ship within 3 business days of cleared payment. 
Shipping: We will ship items that don’t require FFL processing TO YOUR ADDRESS OF RECORD WITH GUN BROKER within 3 business days of cleared payment. We will email the buyer a tracking number when the item ships (except for items shipped USPS 1st Class). We will combine items for you to minimize your shipping costs but you must let us know that you have won multiple items or are bidding on items not yet closed. Shipping insurance is usually included in the shipping fee but sometimes is optional or additional; please check the particulars noted just after the description. Generally: long guns will ship FedEx and pistols will go USPS Priority. Those items that require an FFL will be sent to the address shown on the FFL. When appropriate we will ship lighter items USPS 1st class in which case we will note a set shipping amount in the listing. A fee may be charged for special handling requests.Please see Ammunition section below for details concerning shipment of same.Please see Hi-Capacity Magazines section below for details concerning shipment of same.Firearm Shipping Insurance: In most cases we will insure the shipment of your firearm as part of our shipping fee. You must inform your FFL to have the driver delivering the firearm log that there is damage to the package if it is obvious upon receipt. In any case: all packaging must be saved. If packaging is not saved there is no possibility of a successful claim and Tango Yankee, LLC shall not be responsible for damages. It is the responsibility of the buyer to assure the receiving FFL is informed of these conditions.
Laws; Certification of Compliance : By making an offer on this item the buyer is certifying the following: he or she is legally allowed to purchase and possess this item; the buyer is certifying that there are no applicable Federal, State or local laws prohibiting the purchase or possession of this item; and the venue shall be in Merrimack County, New Hampshire for any legal action brought by the buyer or his or her representative. 
By participating in this transaction you are certifying that you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and that it is legal for you to receive and possess this item at your shipping address. Tango Yankee, LLC may require a copy of photo I.D. for certain items.
Warranty: All items offered by Tango Yankee are strictly “as is”, sold solely as collector's items, and are not warranted in any fashion, expressed or implied, as safe or functional. While recently manufactured items may be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty they are in no way warranted by Tango Yankee. Further: by making or accepting an offer for Tango Yankee merchandise the buyer certifies that he or she assumes all responsibility and liability for same. Buyer agrees to hold harmless Tango Yankee for any and all liability arising from the purchase, possession, use or application of all items purchased from Tango Yankee. 
Terms of Use Agreement: Tango Yankee, LLC does not warrant that a person may legally purchase, possess or carry the item or items offered above according to federal, state, or local laws. The buyer warrants and certifies that he or she is of legal age to purchase the item or items offered above and is under no legal disability. A person buying the item or items above warrants and certifies that he or she is an adult and is under no legal restrictions which would prohibit such person from ordering, owning, possessing, or transferring the item or items above under law. Further, a person buying this item or these items warrants and certifies that he or she is not a minor, convicted felon, convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic abuse, subject to a domestic violence restraining order, adjudicated mentally defective, or chemically dependent. 
Return Policy: Here at TANGO YANKEE we want our customers to be happy and have an almost un-conditional return policy. If you change your mind during the 5 day inspection period and wish to ship the item back to us – we will return your money, no questions asked (provided the item is still in the condition that we shipped it to you). We would appreciate knowing what the issue is but it isn’t necessary that you tell us. We won’t reimburse return shipping without giving approval first. For firearms: we can’t reimburse FFL processing fees.

Description of item in red.

I often wonder what circumstances lead to the seller adding all of this boilerplate to their auction.  Is every line the result of a bad experience?

This one is an example of one of the non-hostile and professional disclaimers and the size of it is outweighed by the 13 excellent pictures.  I've seen disclaimers that essentially proclaim how lucky the buyer is to be able to pay for the item presented with a single sentence naming the item and a blurred, tiny photo.

Because It Took Me This Long To Calm Down

I really, REALLY, hate guilt by association.

I've ranted about NFATCA before.  Several times.

On Facebook, on Tam's feed, I had a chance to confront the president of NFATCA about their role in getting 41P rolling.

He just doesn't see it.  That makes me sad.

One thing he did say in his reply was that he'd personally seen a forbidden person attempt to buy NFA stuff through a trust.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME AND MY TRUST??

That's exactly the same logic the gun banners use when they say "if just one life is saved".  Because to them since there's criminals breaking the laws with guns, we have to ban guns.

So since one person (and the only case I've ever heard of and only from the president of NFATCA) allegedly broke the law using an NFA trust, then everyone with an NFA trust is now suspect?  Every NFA trust was established with the idea of thwarting law enforcement?

Since the petition that got this ball rolling included the elimination of the CLEO sign off for individual manufacture and transfer someone there must understand the guilty until proven innocent nature of CLEO sign off.  One cannot help to think that they believe those of us with those trusts must be guilty and deserving of such scrutiny from our local chief law enforcement officer. 

With "friends" like this, we surly do not need enemies.

Before The War On Terror

Did you know that there were veterans before the war on terror?

And before the Gulf War?

A local photographer doing a rather neat art project didn't.

Someday the Cold War is going to be called "The Forgotten World War".

Reality Testing

One of the things that drew me to GURPS was that it used real units for most everything.

That meant that you didn't need to convert those real-world units into the game's units.

Where I start to lose my hair is when I have sources that disagree about things like weight.

Take the XM177E2, for example.

The stats from GURPS: SEALs in Vietnam are:

The weights as given in POMM 9-1005-294-14/1 (July 1967) are:

And my XM177E2 clone on the scale:

Sabrina should be a little heavy because she's semi-auto and has a solid rather than baffled moderator.  But 6 lb. 14.0 oz. is 6.875 lb. rounding to 6.9 lb.

So we go with the weight I've measured when I run SEALs in Vietnam.

I was a playtester for GURPS: SEALs in Vietnam, and I frequently bumped heads with the author about things like weight.  Considering how he'd dismiss several authors out of hand for making stuff up, I'd press him on his sources...  It was often obscure, expensive and rare.

His source for the weight of the XM177E2 seems to be Kevin Dockery's Special Warfare Special Weapons.  There the XM177E2 is 6.77 lb. with a 30-rounder and sling.  A 30 rounder is 1.02 lb. loaded and the sling is 0.40 lb.  Dropping the empty weight to 5.35 lb.  Add a loaded 20 rounder back on (+ 0.71 lb.) and you're at 6.06 lb. which will round down to 6.

I occasionally wonder if Mr Dockery was weighing an XM177E2 that had its moderator replaced with a normal flash-hider and aluminum stock replaced with a fiberlite® one.  That's half a pound right there (0.33 for the stock and 0.2 for the muzzle device)!  Hmmmmm, still short some.

My Comment On Banning Domestic Trade In Ivory

Banning the sale of existing ivory in the US is not going to have one iota of an effect on living elephants in Africa.
To be blunt, the horse is not only already out of the barn, it's past being put out to stud and now resides in a bottle of glue.
Never mind that bans on drugs have done nothing to eliminate them from being commonly available; all a ban will do is make what illicit ivory there is more valuable making it even more lucrative to poach what elephants remain.
A steady, legal, supply of ivory from trophy hunting and safaris ensures the conservation of the animals in the wild and drops the price of ivory well below the level required to make poaching worth the efforts and risks. Additionally, as can be observed where Cecil the lion was killed, now that legal hunting of lions by tourist hunters has been banned, the locals are actively wiping them out. There's nothing in it for them to keep a living apex predator around without the money coming in from hunters.
The same applies to elephants. Elephants are a monstrous burden on the residents of African nations, a burden that is mitigated and eliminated by the profligate spending of hunters willing to wade through the morass of licenses, transport and graft to go on a legal hunt.
Once again the government decides that it must do something and since an outright ban is something it decides it must do that; rather than rationally examining the problem at hand and doing something that would actually be positive for everyone involved except those already profiting from illegal ventures.
A better model to apply to the problem would be that of domestic hunting, there are more deer, ducks and other game in the US now than before Columbus landed. Despite thousands of hunters shooting thousands of deer every year, they are not in any danger of extinction, and in fact my be nearing overpopulation.
Additionally all of this ignores that the primary market for illicit ivory is not the United States at all, but Asia, where this ban will have exactly zero effect.

More here, including links to the rule's text and comment form.

Tough Shit

"SGT" Bowe Bergdahl too fragile for jail time?

How many cliches are there for this bullshit?

I guess, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime," is most apt.

OK, Bowe, you can't handle prison, I've a solution.

Step forward and the rope will catch you.

See how compassionate I am?  No jail time!

Everybody wins!

Boehner Stuns Congress

Thrills voters!

He's stepping down!

I need some champagne!

Of course he'll be replaced by someone equally milquetoast.  But I get to be happy for a couple hours.

Again Where Did The Time Go

The 23rd of this month marks my 18th year of living in Florida.

Holy Hanna.

I really aren't from Iowa any more.  I am from Florida now.

Bad Thought

I would be inordinately amused if little Ahmed's "invention" turns into a real bomb before meeting President Obama.

Is it illegal for me to say that?  I lost track.

Documentation

If I'd known that I'd need to prove I was doing what I did 25 years ago I'd have demanded some sort of documents.

Alas.

Until recently the only thing affected was my pride.  My pride is OK with people not believing me, but when I come to find out that if I had a shred of paperwork associated with those six months the floodgates of money and aid would open for me...

Just damn.

Ballerina Molester

Edit, title changed because new "technical" information was given me by Tam.  THANKS!

Willard has come into a Pistola Automatica C.11.25mm "Ballester-Molina".

Another almost an M1911A1 pistol...

The slide is very much a standard M1911A1.

The frame is much closer to a Star B.

There's even some parts interchange; most importantly to the Argentine military, the magazine is the same as the 1911.

It's interesting to me that HAFDASA (Hispano Argentina Fábrica de Automores SA) is the actual maker of the gun, but it's always referred to as a Ballester-Molina.

Many guns look alike; please claim your own gun.  Top to bottom: Springfield M1911A1, Ballester-Molina, Star Model B.

Update:

A neat article on the type talking about its relationship with KMS Graf Spee.

Thag The Evil Magic User

Carl Edward Cross Jr.

He's the guy who taught me one of my most important lessons about gaming.

A good GM can make the worst system fun.  A bad GM can make the best system unbearable.

Carl was a great GM.

I first met him because I was dragged along with Chris McKelvey to play Champions.  I was a waif and was barely reading comics when I was thrust into the world of comic book super heroics.

Carl also had an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons world.

In a nutshell, it was entirely a dungeon.  Completely subterranean.  Maybe...  Every level had an exit to the next one and that exit led down.

We mapped almost 11 levels going down.

The first level was nearly devoid of serious threats because it was where new people appeared from elsewhere and there was The Inn.

You could generate a standard AD&D character or you could play yourself.  Chris and I chose to play ourselves.  If you played yourself, you could bring in anything you could carry into Carl's kitchen.  Lots of 1984 gadgets are pure gold in a fantasy world, so we brought in lots of trade goods.  Additionally, if you were playing yourself your "race" was Iowan rather than human and conferred other benefits, like very easy multi-classing and no real requirement to adhere to an alignment.

We played the shit out of that world.

I gained levels and power quickly and started to be a force to be reckoned with in the game-world.  To the dismay of other powerful players and NPCs, of course.  But I was brutally pragmatic so very difficult to unseat.  Chris even made a character, Trillaine, just to antagonize me, and while he was very effective at it, I never quite teleported into his cleverly laid trap he'd created and tailored just for me.

My enlistment in the Army interrupted my playing this world, but when I came back to Ames, I wondered if we could play that world again.

Carl had divorced since then and lost his original notes, and we were more interested in playing GURPS anyways now.  GURPS 3e Revised.  He agreed to convert his world and we made ourselves as characters again.  Adding FuzzyGeff and Jonesy to the players while losing Chris.

When you made yourself you didn't have a point limit, but you had to justify everything on your character sheet.  Hardly a one of us came up to more than 100.

My character arc was similar in the new dungeon.

There were some notable differences.  I knew enough to recreate a Walker Colt and the formula for black powder.  I learned enough alchemy to get around how magic dampened powder and eventually learned enough blacksmithing and metallurgy to scale my cap and ball down to 1860 Army levels.

I ended with a total of 432 points, 165 in spells alone, before Carl stopped playing the world mostly because we'd begun to overpower the obstacles he'd place in our path.

Did I mention the Smurfs?

In both worlds drinking the blood of a Smurf gained you points towards your stats.  Brainy would get you IQ, Hefty would get you ST that sort of thing.  Genocide accurately describes what Thag the Evil Magic User did to the Smurfs.  I was an extinction level event to them.

SIGH

Not that I have any money, but I like to window shop.

Today's window shopping is for SKS's.

Because I have the Type 03 FFL, I clicked on the "Curio and Relic" category.

Nothing cements my conviction that if the disclaimers and requirements the seller assigns to the sale are longer than the description of the item in question, I don't want to do business with them.

For example:

Has matching number on stock, receiver, bolt, cover, mag and trigger guard. Has sling and cleaning tols are in butt. Bore is bright and shiny. Has its original Nationwide Sports shipping box. No markings on top of receiver. WE WILL NO LONGER SHIP HANDGUNS TO 03 C&R LICENSE HOLDERS REGARDLESS OF AGE OR STATUS. ALL FIREARMS SHIP TO FFL 01 OR OTHER DEALER TYPE LICENSE ONLY AND MUST BE SIGNED FOR UPON DELIVERY. WE WILL ONLY SHIP C&R LONGARMS TO TYPE 03 LICENSE HOLDERS IF WE HAVE LISTED THE ITEM IN THE CURIO AND RELIC CATEGORY. NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS ON FIREARMS No High Capacity Magazines to MA, IL, CA, NJ, MD, HI, CT, NY, CO, ETC. BLACK POWDER AND AIR GUNS REQUIRE COPY OF CURRENT DRIVERS LICENSE AND SIGNED STATEMENT- NO AIR GUNS OR BLACK POWDER FIREARMS WILL BE SOLD TO NEW JERSEY, PHILADELPHIA. NEW YORK CITY, MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN, BRONX, QUEENS, STATEN ISLAND, WASHINGTON D.C. ETC; Thank you for viewing our inventory and we look forward to helping you expand your collection.-VISA/ MC/ DISC/ AM EX* MONEY ORDERS* CHECKS* ALL CHECKS NEED TO CLEAR-NO PAYPAL . Buyer pays USPS costs {and 6% PA SALES TAX in PA}. Payment must be received within 7 days of auction's invoice. We do not test fire used weapons. All items sold as is where is-we make no claims as to the safety or serviceability of any item and offer no warranty or guarantee on used items. We strongly recommend that you have any used weapon inspected by a competent licensed gunsmith for safety before use Trigger lock is provided free of charge upon buyer's request. We strongly recommend that you follow only the manufacturers recommendations on loading and follow established safety and handling procedures. Safety guidelines and loading information can be obtained through the NRA, manufacturer's websites and ATF. Be sure you know your state and local laws pertaining to the item you are purchasing. We will not ship items prohibited in your locality- no exceptions. We gladly honor a 3 day inspection / return period for a refund of purchase price minus shipping costs. --

I highlighted the part in about the gun itself in red.  All caps in original.

I also love how he'll take it back, and let you pay shipping both ways.  And just because I've encountered this one in cars... if you say "as is, where is" then ship it then you've vacated that portion of your disclaimer by shipping it so now standard warranty assumptions are now in effect for the sale.

This is getting to be entirely too standard on Gunbroker.  And after taking the time to take pictures, they can't take the time to excise the parts of their standard form that don't pertain to the gun in question.

Dear Tobacco Free Florida

That gigantic list of awful compounds you list as coming with every cigarette...

Those are in lettuce too.

And spinach.

And cotton.

And watermelon.

And canola oil.

Traces of all of the listed compounds are going to be found in every plant grown on Earth.

Perhaps you could show they appear in dangerous concentrations as compared to lettuce?  The fact that you don't kinda tells me that they are well below the safe limits; because if they were well above you'd have been proclaiming the exact parts per million and comparing it directly to the FDA or OSHA limits on exposure.

Grenade Launching

The FAL combination device, otherwise known as a flash-hider can do lots of things.

First, it's a flash-hider.

Second, it's something of a muzzle brake.

Third, it's a bayonet lug.

Fourth, it's a mount for launching 22mm NATO rifle grenades.

Fifth, it's threaded to accept a blank adapter.

As shipped from DSA, this fourth feature is slightly disabled.  It's missing a small ring of wire that runs in a small groove at the rear of the device.  This wire is a spring that keeps the rifle grenade from slipping off the muzzle or sliding too far down the barrel.

A generous soul on FALFiles had several to spare and sent me one for the small price of two stamps.

Impressive, no?

All I need now is a couple of training rifle grenades and some ballistite cartridges to launch them!  The grenades can be had for about $50, the launching rounds are few and far between.

Respect

Something I've noticed several times about hot rods,

The passenger door is often all tore up on the inside, the latch is sprung or misaligned.

The driver's side will be pristine.

Almost as if the passenger doesn't give a shit about all the damage they can do without thinking about it.

VW

I notice that Volkswagen is not exactly denying they programmed their cars to activate the emission control systems only during emissions testing.

It makes me wonder if a careful review of the laws will reveal that cars only have to meet emissions while being tested and not under any other circumstance.

If that ends up being true then a TDI Golf becomes the equivalent to a post-ban AR!

I applaud the effort if so!

Oh Yeah

I was going to like what Ben Carson was saying about Sharia, but then I remembered that all white conservative male gun owners are racist and that contraindicated liking what he'd said on racial grounds.

Damn me and my constraining pigeonhole!

A -> B -> C

I might even pop some popcorn for this.

The media often slams on Christians for being backward and generally worthless.

President Obama has been "accused" of being Muslim.

"Oh no!  He's a Christian!" they say as they leap to his defense.

I wonder if they noticed they just elevated Christianity over Islam.

The ever more sensitive to ever smaller slights people most certainly will have noticed.

I wonder what they will do?

Mutinous

I'm reading "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk.

I might be re-reading it.  If I've read it before (and I think I have) it's been so long I don't remember what I'm reading.

One thing is standing out though.

Just how readable this book is.

Mr Wouk is simply narrating the story, he's not creating a new means of narration.  I've read far too many novels where the book was far more about HOW the story was being told than the story itself that it's refreshing to dig into one where the story takes center stage.

It's perhaps because Wouk didn't write in a world where there were hipsters controlling book reviews and awards.

Writing this also makes me realize that most of the worst books I've read were recommended by one person, and even if they don't realize it; they're a hipster: hilt deep.

Podcast Problem

I've noticed that quite a few bloggers I used to read, stopped writing as soon as they started podcasting.

Thus I have no idea what they are saying anymore because I generally cannot stand to listen to them ramble on and on.  Never mind their inability to filter background noise from their "studio".

It irks me because when I was reading them, they marshaled their thoughts well and made what I thought were good points.

Listening to them... yeah go with a script instead of attempting extemporaneous speaking.  The net effect is like recording someone's conversation at dinner.  It's interesting to the participants in the conversation and kinda tedious for spectators.

Also, I've noticed a "clubhouse" tendency with several of these things.  They have regular callers they interact with and defer to and brusquely snub irregular or first time call-ins.  I've even watched them dismiss one caller's position and affirm the same position ten minutes later when a regular caller expressed it.

Recalling Maths

Not really engineering maths...  That's calculus.  This is much simpler.

Statistics.

7.5 million guns with a "dangerously flawed" trigger made over a 70 year period yielding "dozens of deaths and injuries".

How many is "dozens"?

Let's call it 100.

1.43 per year?

75,000 rifles have no problem for every one that does?  Never mind that there'd be zero injuries and deaths if the 4 rules had been followed.

If the owners of all 7.5 million guns were to file claims, the court filings noted, it would cost Remington more than $487 million.

$64.93 per rifle.

So far only a microscopic fraction of owners have even bothered checking for more information.

Think Of All The Cooties

Special Forces, 75th Rangers Build 'No Girls Allowed' Club House.

Definitely 100% true, no need to fact check or verify.

Reputation

I was locally famous for being a deadly GM.

Unmerciful is more apt.

I also discovered a regional reputation as a killer player!

It was fun to go to GenCon (when it was still in GENeva) and introduce myself and have someone go "THE McThag?"

Standing Bear (an Ames gaming legend) was the GM for the incidents that had legs.

The first instance was my eradication of what became known as "The Force Sword Cult".  Three players found a loop-hole in the character creation limitations and they made what they called TL11 soldiers.  Armored with DR 30 reflex armor they were effectively immune to the weapons of a TL 3 fantasy world.  Armed with 8d(5) cut force swords, TL3 fantasy opponents were effectively unarmored against them.

I was exploiting a similar loophole and had re-treaded a TL8 Twilight 2000 character.

I don't remember exactly what set me off, but it included my losing my Barrett M82.

Remember my earlier post about research?  Yeah, that includes reading the equipment listings.  I realized something they'd missed.  Reflex armor doesn't include face protection.  A series of great rolls means a 3d-1 pi MP5 can kill your ass dead long before that sword is anywhere near in range.

Bear changed his limits, but I found another loophole to make a point he was making mistakes we could exploit in defining those limits.

The second time it was a Traveller Imperial Marine, Aulin Ramvinkilin, complete with battlesuit and FGMP-15.

In one sitting I'd killed a fellow player's character (a dragon) for eating the bodies of obviously sapient beings then killed another for being psionic and taking action against my psi-shield.

I'd also like to point out that I tried really hard for my character to not notice the dragon eating the orc corpses and the flagrant display of vile Zhodani mind witchery.  Bear had had enough of Vint's dragon and Angela's psi and I was the instrument of his divine retribution.

Those two stories are what actually happened.

The story that emerged and got spread was I'd total party killed my fellow players so hard that their next two characters died from it as well.

The saddest part of the story is the angst generated from my creating character who had codes of conduct and role-playing where that code would take me rather than ignoring it when convenient for the party.

And none of this touches on my time in Carl's dungeon setting with Thag The Evil Magic User or Earlbrand bok Blackmane.

Five Years As A Big Boy

This is my fifth Blogoversary at this location.

Amazing since I've nearly quit many times as I make missteps and embarrassing mistakes.

Heck, it's possible that this automatically generated post is the first in a very long time.

A huge problem with blogging for me is the things I want to talk about are very often handled so much better by others.  To the point where I definitely do wonder why anyone is reading here.

Gone In A Flash

When you're watching this the flash is prominent.

When you're filming, it's fleeting.

This is one frame on the video.

The slots are not illuminated in the frame before or the frame following.

Where Did The Time Go

It has been 25 years since I was separated from the Army.

Wow.

25 years with a limp!

I Go'eeda Alwaaxdiisa

Maanta waxaa la hadal sida maalin-badeed ah! Haddaba waa in Soomaali!

Spares And Wandering Conversations

Occasionally, as befits gun snob cognoscenti, Willard and I talk about what aught to be and how that compares to what is.

He's expressed in comments elsewhere and in person about the G36 drama and how since the guns kept going bang the wandering zero wasn't near the disaster its made out to be, because how much aiming is someone mag-dumping on full-auto actually doing?

His solution for the G36 problem is simple and pragmatic for the short term.  First time you get the chance after a firefight that gets the guns good and toasty, double check the zero, if the sights can't be adjusted far enough to rezero, replace the rifle from stores.

I mentioned that could be a lot of spare rifles to have on hand at the company level.

He countered reminisced that each company in 1 Rhodesian African Rifles had one spare FAL, because sometimes your rifle could be hit by enemy fire.

That led to talking about a common meme on gun fora.  What spares to have on hand.

He seems bemused at the lists people compile.  It seems clear that some fora insist on keeping replacement parts with you in the field because you never know, but this grossly overstates the frequency of those failures.

His anecdotal experience with the FAL has discussed a whole two failures from his time in Rhodesia -> Zimbabwe.  Both were from external damage rather than parts failure.  From a nation that was literally scrounging for small arms towards the end that's pretty redeeming.

Another Willard Kernel Of Truth:

The best rifle on earth is the one you took to war and didn't let you down.

Corollary: The worst rifle on earth is the one you took to war and failed you.

Prayers

Fingers crossed for FuzzyGeff.

He's come down with a detached retina and is going under the knife tomorrow.

On the plus side, bet he'll have to wear an eyepatch for Talk Like A Pirate Day!

If you can think of that as a plus.

Unreal

I'm encountering a feeling that the people on the other end of the computer screen aren't real at all.

They're becoming simulacra who only appear during normal business hours and disappear until the next business day.

It's as if someone is shutting down the computer running the simulation just before hitting the lights and locking the door.

In meatspace I am an astonishingly unlikeable person.  This is causing me to be left entirely too alone with my thoughts too often.  I'm the person at the party who is tolerated because I came with someone everyone wanted there not because I was invited.

My mind is certainly eating itself.

Not enough is eaten for me to not notice the process yet, hopefully soon though...

New Gun News

Willard's GAU-5A clone is finished!

My XM177E2 clone is on top, his GAU on the bottom.

Come a long ways since its baby pictures in April.

The Anderson Mfg lower's holes are just a bit undersized and Del-Ton's roll pins are just a bit oversized.  Grumble.

UPDATE:

Dell

I found a great tear down guide for Willard's laptop.

What they forget to tell me is the two short screws are to hold the hard drive I am replacing in place and that it will flop out of reach of those screws when you invert it on reassembly.

So out come the 16 long screws... undo the keyboard... undo the top cover...

Install the short screws while holding the hard drive down against the bottom cover so the screws can bite...

Then follow the otherwise fine guide!

Win7 Home Premium 64 is installing as I speak.  Dell was kind enough to send the OS disks free of charge too.

Gods Be Damned UPS

Willard's parts attempted to arrive today.

I was home at 1138.

Stupid adult signature required and UPS hiring ninjas meant I didn't hear them attach the "we missed you" sticker to the door.

I am really ticked by the timing of the delivery, because when it's an adult signature required C&R Firearm, they arrive at nearly 1800.

For fuck's sake, you drive a route, that should make you somewhat predictable.

UPDATE:

From http://gizmodo.com/5682587/your-packages-never-arrive-because-ups-employs-ninjas

Scandal

I was going to compare the scandals of the Bush II administration to the Obama administration and note how often Hillary Clinton is attached to them...

I can't do it.

About midway into it I realized, again, that the real problem is "our" government has departed from the Constitutionally limited reservation long, long ago.

Before my parents were born long ago.

Nearly everything both sides are bitching about is caused by this exceeding of authority.

Nearly everything both sides are bitching about is exacerbated by the legislative branch abdicating their legislative power to the executive branch via regulation.  The executive branch should have refused the power on constitutional grounds.  The judicial branch should have stepped in and said, "Not so fast!  YOU can't give it away and YOU cannot accept it."

Alas.

My mind whirls in a world of jurisprudence where the both butterfly effect of growing wheat for personal use is "interstate commerce" subject to federal regulation and where I cannot challenge the laws forbidding the manufacture of a new machine gun for private owner ship because I don't have standing.

The system is broken.

They were right and I was wrong, voting will not fix it.

See you in the cattle cars.

Speaking Of Rifle Grenades

Jasmine now has grenade sights.

Hard to see, huh?  Well they're meant to be out of the way when folded down.

To deploy them, you press the button on the side of the gas plug, rotate the sight 180˚ forwards, then rotate the entire plug 180˚ to close the gas port and finally raise the sight 90˚ up around the front sight.

The sight is actually rotated 270˚ total.

This is actually a REAR sight for the grenades.  You sight along the body of the rifle grenade and use the nose of the round as the front sight.  I don't have such a grenade to show off the geometry.

Also of note for fans of the "Assault" Weapons Ban, the combination device on a Belgian FAL, in addition to being a flash-hider and a bayonet lug, is also a NATO standard 22mm grenade launcher.

My combination device is missing the "grenade spring" which is a ring of spring wire that sits in the rear groove of the flash-hider and keeps the grenade in from slipping off the muzzle unintentionally.

If anyone has a NATO standard dummy rifle grenade they want to donate for photo purposes, please let me know!

Been Thinking

Remember this?

I might have figured it out.

Everyone forgets that the 40x46mmSR illum rounds have a black powder ejector charge.  ATF has been hard on black powder transportation and storage for a couple of years now.

This seizure could simply be sellers being unaware of the new regs and getting nailed for it.

I also wonder if the official specifications for M9 flake powder used in the rounds is technically an explosive as well.  I notice that nobody seems to carry it and there's lots of information for using common smokeless powders for reloading rounds.

Rifle Grenade

There's astonishingly little information about rifle-grenades out there on the internet!

So my Rhodesian mercenary gets three Energa-75's because I have stats for them.  I think the Energa is representational of several designs, if for no other reason, because it was widely copied.

Research

I've occasionally been chided for making characters with unfair advantages.

I say I've just done the proper diligence.

Because I was "the gun guy" in our group I was constantly able get a better weapon for the setting because I knew when the anachronistically good guns were introduced so I sneaked around the TL limitations whenever the GM set a hard date rather than TL.

Standing Bear was running a GURPS world where the starting wealth was 1,000.  But he defined it poorly.  1,000 in the game world was 1,000 silver pieces (or a pound of silver).  This was a wonderful limit on higher tech characters because $1,000 is not a lot to buy your equipment when normal starting wealth is $15,000.

So I started asking questions and gaming the system...  Starting wealth was fixed in silver, so I made a character from a metals poor world where silver was worth more dollars.

FuzzyGeff ran a nexus world where one of four gates led to a world where firearms and magic did not work.  Again, asking questions until I learned that it was fulminates and like reactions that didn't work there while gun powder still worked.  But electrical primers did work!  So I had a gun where nobody else did.

I made a character for a different nexus style world and not knowing what form it would take I wanted to have a good excuse to carry some precious metals.  So I made a Rhodesian who exchanged his pay for kruggerands whenever he could.  A G$ is $US in his home setting, and a kruggerand is $151.30 each (I looked up the 1974 exchange rates).  After buying equipment from the G$7,500 (struggling, unsettled) I had G$4,515.50 or 29 kruggerands and 75.62 Rhodesian Dollars (R$) at G$1.69 each.  That's 2.17 lb. of crown gold coins (1.99 lb. of pure gold if we melt out the copper from the alloy).

In a typical fantasy world where a pound of silver is G$1,000, a pound of gold is G$16,000; so I'd have G$31,817 in such a fantasy world.

In the US for much of its history a troy ounce is US$26, so I'd merely have US$754.  And that's in worlds where starting wealth is G$5,000 to G$10,000 and G$1 = US$1.  So having all that gold is a net loss in G$ terms.

It all depends on how the setting runs out.

Addendum

One reason you need to be innovative is the economic assumptions that are presently successful may not remain so forever.

The Colt Python is a wonderful example.

It was economical when it was introduced, but the intensive level of labor required for that luxuriously deep blue and the smoothness of the action became unsustainable as wages climbed.  Even without a union workforce, it would be unaffordable; it might be something you'd offer as a custom item, but you'd never sell enough to mass produce them today.

There's some parallel with the 1911.  Just looking at all of the parts that aren't made the way they used to be is instructive.  For people who like the old Gov't Model (like me!) it's fortunate that the design lent itself to being made via other processes.

The guts of a Smith and Wesson revolver show the same sort of process changes.

It Occurs

Playing with Willard's 39-2 made something apparent to me.

Colt and Smith and Wesson competed for the handgun market in the USA with everyone else being a very small percentage of the market.

I notice that Colt is in bankruptcy, again.

Smith and Wesson is a going concern.

So I started wondering about innovation.

S&W put that model 39 up for consideration to replace the M1911A1 in 1954.  It wasn't too long before the 39 got fatter and became a wonder-nine (The model 59 in 1971).

In the same time frame from Colt?  Well there's the Python... and military contracts for rifles designed by someone else and military contracts for machine guns designed by someone else and a grenade launcher designed by someone else...  Ouch on the innovation side of things.

It seems to me that S&W is a player and Colt is going away primarily because one company kept an engineering design department.

I remember Colt All American (another gun designed by an outsider) and even though the S&W Sigma is not well regarded today, it was still far better than Colt's 9mm double stacker.

Even teeny Ruger has made inroads on market share!

Every gun company that's doing well seems to have two things in common.  They're offering new products (even Glock is keeping it new enough) and they have embraced the commercial market.

There might have been a time where the police and military markets were bigger than the commercial market and you could ignore it...  Those days appear to be long gone.

Finally Some Good News For H&K

Heckler and Koch has been awarded an exclusive contract to supply the US Army with new M240G general purpose machine guns on an as required basis.

This Has To Stop

Tam is now claiming that a 1911 has fired 300 rounds without jamming or needing the extractor replaced.

I cannot take this any more!

What's next, a test where a Glock doesn't explode?

Two Many

Anglave sent me that.

Origins of the word two.

I noticed no Scots-Gaelic, and postulated that Scots can't count.  There's One then Many in their numbering "system".

Then it hit me...

"E Pluribus Unum" translated "One from Many".

The founders had a high percentage of masons...

Scottish Rite is a large branch of masonry...

Many is Scots-Gaelic for any number more than two...

We're on the other side of the looking glass now!

Try the chemtrails, tip your stewardess.

Everyone Should Own One

Something I've noticed about being a Corvette owner...

People walk up and ask, "what year?"

For the most part, corvette drivers wave at each other.

For the most part, we're geezers.

There's a fair number of trophy wives.

There's a fair number of really cool wives.

Those two groups don't overlap much.

There's a contingent of the younger owners who don't participate in the community.

I drove the 2008 power tour, did the long haul.

All along the route it was, "Corvette; wave."  Your arm gets tired.

People wanted to talk to me every time I got gas.  After finding out my car is a 2008, they'd often comment they missed their Vette.  Lots of sad tales there.

Got my share of people matching speeds and doing the rev-up-challenge-you-to-a-race thing.  I know how long my dick is, so I don't need to measure it in public; but I hope you got to tell your friends how you beat that Corvette like it wasn't even trying.  I am glad I could help you feel better about yourself and the work you did to your car!

People are baffled that there's 115,000 miles on my car.

I am baffled that there's so many Corvettes with less than 5,000 miles on them.

Lots of people say, "but there's no space in 'em," who are stunned when I pop the hatch and show them how much cargo space there is.

Lots of people ask what kind of mileage I get.  33 mpg if I can just cruise at 55 mph.  28 cruising at 70.  26 cruising at 80.  Lots of people don't believe it.  It's even funnier when I mention that the Z51 package came with lower gearing, a standard coupe gets even better mileage.

Everyone should own one!

Feed

Found something kind of interesting.

The Star B has many fewer misfeeds when fed Federal aluminum cased ammo (CAL9115).

I've read that the original magazine design assumed that the cartridges would be steel cased.

Brass has a lot higher lubriscosity against steel than steel has against itself.

This might explain why the rounds are nearly self-launching from the magazine when using brass cases.  If they're designed to be reliable with "sticky" steel cases, they're likely to not hold the "slippy" brass tightly enough.

The aluminum cases are stickier than brass, and work better.

Go figure.

I should test with some sort of steel case now.  It'd be odd if the polymer coatings make them act too much like brass, huh?

Love Reading Snobs

My problem with most conceal holsters isn't the cost.

No amount of money is going to fix this.

Nobody makes a comfortable holster that accounts for being fat that goes inside the waistband.  For anyone who wants to jump in and say "diet and exercise" here is invited to come down and I will induce all of my orthopedic issues with a hammer and you can lead the way by example on the exercise front.

I'm a couple of grand into the quest for a perfect holster.  I'm not just not going to spend any more money on holsters when they always put the gun in the exact same location.  The only difference is how firmly they hold the gun there.

I am also getting sick and tired of people from the upper mid-west or northeast ranting on and on and ON about open carry who've never spent even an hour trying to carry someplace where it's hot and humid like the south gets hot and humid.

That hot and humid you're claiming you're enduring?  We call that "winter weather".  Y'all can wear more clothes than we can and not die from it.  More clothes makes concealed carry a lot easier.  I know this because I avail myself of it when it cools off!

Likewise, I'll prolly never need the practical advice of how to get down to my gun under genuine winter clothing.

And to be honest, should open carry get legalized here, I'm still going to conceal carry.  The main reason I want open carry is because I hate the politicians who say I can't, and it hurts them if it's legal.

Who says my motives have to be practical and free of malice?

There might be a few times I strap on an OWB holster in open view... but they're going to be few and far between.

Back to conceal holstery...

Because of my sore, I just cannot wear an IWB holster on my strong side.  Because of clearance issues between the center console and seatbelt latch, strong side carry in my Vette is a literal pain.

How about a cross draw IWB?

Who makes one?  I know I've emailed several people who seemed very accommodating about lots of things who flat refused to even consider the attempt to make such an item.  I wonder why this is.

I'm left with crappy floppy soft holsters for carrying this way.

I have a feeling that we don't see more shoulder holsters and cross draws because of range rules about drawing from them.  Can't take them to the kilo-buck kilo-round class, what good are they?

Range Time

Willard asked if I wanted to go shootin'.

"But of course," I replied.

The "reason" was his new-to-him S&W 39-2.  If you find that you want a Model 39-2 and can't find one, it's because Willard is collecting them.  All of them.

Note the Hydra-Shok® 147gr JHP's (P9HS2).  Best ammo ever made, no improvement possible... (wink wink nudge nudge).

It shoots.  Unlike the double stacked 1st Gen S&W autos, the 39 feels right in my hand.  Trigger is nice, it doesn't weigh a ton, groups well...  What's not to like?  All you're really giving up is magazine capacity.  He found this one in a pawn shop for $350.

 Of course, this is 124gr Winchester 9mm NATO "For law enforcement use only not for retail sale" (RA9124N) that we bought from a retired cop who had cases and cases of it...  If you happen to live in Trenton, NJ we thank you for your tax money buying your cops ammo to sell to us!

I took the M&P 9 out to see if it shot differently with the Surefire X200 on it.

Nope, shoots just the same.  Point of impact was shifted a bit left because the sights are regulated for 115gr and I was shooting the 124gr.  Supposedly my revision M&P has the wrong rifling for heavy rounds, must mean heavier than this.  The shift is more pronounced with 135gr Hornady Critical Duty +P.

Yes, this whimsical target was fun to shoot at!  Just 7 yards, because... heck I dunno.

Tactical Sales

With Wal Mart discontinuing tactical gun sales I decided to ask a couple of the local gun shops what's selling.

Pistols are what's moving.

AR's not so much as before, but still some steady sales.  It's not reverting to the '80's where the military looking guns are a novelty item.

The flattest sales are scoped bolt guns.  One owner put forward that he thinks, "the good guns are really expensive.  The affordable guns aren't very good."  The gun makers are in a bind with that one, you've to to make something your customers can buy, but it also has to be something they want to own.

I note that Wal Mart doesn't sell but the cheapest model of any bolt-gun offering from any maker...  Couple that with their no-exchange no-return policy on firearms and I can see this having an active effect on people wanting a second hunting rifle.

I can also see the makers not wanting to sell to Wal Mart after customers send back a few rifles wanting inherent and unfixable flaws remedied.

Mix 'N' Match

I've mixed magic into historical gaming before.

Magic and pirates in the 1650's was natural.

Magic and cowboys didn't quite go so well, but that had more to do with mismanaged expectations.  I think the players were expecting more history and were unaware at how little advantage cap and ball gave over certain stone-age weapons (especially in situations were the older tech was at its best advantage.)

Magic and the roaring '20's worked wonderfully, but I wasn't the GM then.  We were detectives working for an agency in 1935 St Louis.

I've been watching Boardwalk Empire and I am thinking that bootleggers and gangsters in a world with magic could be fun.

Ruptured Cases

Something that shows up over and over while reading about old guns is the pathways given to vent gas in the event of a case rupture.

It's good to have a plan for such an event.

I've never, personally, experienced a case rupture.  Have you?  I'm curious.

I'm not advocating eliminating the gas vents, I'm just wondering if this kind of problem was a great deal more common on "balloon" head ammunition and has mostly been eliminated by production changes in how cases are made.

One reason this suddenly stood out is I recently bumped into a discussion where they mention the AR has no vent path in the event of a case rupture.

Big Pile Of Stuff

The Son Tay raid, or Operation KINGPIN...

From GURPS: Special Ops 3e.

For 56 men on the ground.

2 AN/PRC-41 radios
10 AN/PRC-77 radios.
24 AN/PRC-88 radios.
92 AN/PRC-90 survival radios.

2 M16A1 rifles.
48 GAU-5A (R630) carbines.
250 30-round magazines.
50 Singlepoint OEG scopes.
51 M1911A1 pistols.
4 M60 machine guns.
4 M79 grenade launchers.
2 Remington 870 shotguns.

213 assorted hand grenades (mostly Mk3A2).
11 demo charges.

56 combat knives.

19,637 rounds 5.56x45mm.
1,162 rounds .45 ACP.
4,300 rounds 7.62x51mm.
219 rounds 40x46mmSR grenades.
100 rounds 12ga.

11 axes.
11 bolt-cutters.
12 wire cutters.
1 hammer and some nails.
2 oxy-acetylene torches.
5 crowbars.
2 chainsaws.
17 machetes.
34 miners lamps.
1x 14' ladder.
6 pairs of handcuffs.
2 crash ladders.
5 bullhorns.
6 IR flashlights.
6 AN/PVS-5
6x baton lights.
2 cameras.
56 pairs of goggles.
56 pen-lights.
56 survival kits.
56 pen-flares.
62 strobe lights.
56 compasses.
56 pairs nomex gloves.
56 sets LBE.
56 camo-kits.
150 cans of water.
100 poncho-blankets.
100 survival meals.
100 sets of pajamas, robes and sneakers.
144 bottles of Heinz baby food.
18 M5 medical kits.

Baldric

I forgot to mention!

I got a baldric for my sword.

Even dug out the tactical kilt for the pic.

There's no natural way to stand that doesn't hide things, so...

Good Thing Too

It's a good thing Wal Mart is getting out of "tactical" guns.

The market for firearms is obviously cooling off.

Quote Of The Day

On Bronies, "There are definitely obnoxious and pushy fans, but so what?  If you could judge an entire fandom off the most annoying among them, sports and music would have been outlawed decades ago!"

From:

Uh... Wait A Second...

Reading this Car and Driver article.

That Weiand blower on Max's car...

It's a roots style blower, those are positive displacement.

That means if the rotors stop, so does the air; so that cute little switch on the shifter would kill the motor when it stopped driving the blower.

Maybe They're Related

60,000 endangered antelope drop dead for no apparent reason.

If you've a tendency to just fall over dead, I suspect there's a reason you're endangered.

Just sayin'...

Tools Are Investments

Once again the tool-box which seemed so expensive to two exes and occasionally Harvey has paid for itself!

The right front caliper had become stuck.

Number one likely cause on a GM B-Body caliper is the sliders.  The outside slides on the tips of the slider pin and the inside slides on a sleeve that the pin passes through.

Gave the pins a good cleaning and put some dry lubricant on the o-rings they slide against in the caliper.

Pumped the brakes up a few times, worked the caliper back and forth with a c-clamp a few times.

Put it all back together and it seems fine now.

No pull to either side whether I am off or on the brakes now.  When it got stuck it was pulling hard and there was a serious vibration as the rotor was forced through the pads.

Let's hear it for tools and Mechanic/TL8 (Automobile)!

Do You Think

Every time I find someone talking about a nazi Hi Power, I wonder if the gun is thinking, "Je ne suis pas un nazi, je suis de Belgique!"

And if the Inglis made gun replies, "Il est pas si mal, tout le monde pense que je suis britannique, eh."

We're Number One Forty

Pasco County, Florida is #140 out of 3143 for population in the US with 475,502 residents.  868 sq mi.  547.8 people per square mile.

To contrast, Story County, Iowa (my former home) is #629 with 92,406 people.  574 sq mi.  161 people per square mile.

With 3.4 times as many people stuffed in a given space, it's no wonder the houses here are packed hook to jowl.

Both are roomier than my early childhood home of Will County, Illinois.  #90 with 682,829 people stuffed into 849 square miles (804.3 per sq mi).

Anti-Cop

The police are upset at the anti-cop sentiment that's recently come to boil over in some communities?

They're really oblivious to the role they've been playing in creating and sustaining that resentment too.

It wasn't a big role.

They're not solely, or even mostly responsible.

But their small portion is why the resentment has legs and is running.

Bad cops exist and department after department has been observed closing ranks and sheltering them once too often.  It was a topic of conversation before Ferguson.  A heated conversation.

If the bad apples had been expelled as quickly as they'd been discovered, the resentment we're seeing today would not have gotten the toehold it has.

But y'all listened to the union instead of the communities you're supposed to be serving.  You made the decision that your fellow officers deserved more consideration than the citizens you're supposed to be protecting.

In short you betrayed the trust put in you and are now shocked that such betrayals have consequences that affect you personally.

The worst part of this is now all police are the police because there are definitely departments that have actively culled their bad apples and are paragons of virtue.

It wasn't the citizenry that adopted an us versus them posture first; but they did recognize it and are now responding to it.

Congratulations on sowing the wind, Officer.  Congratulations for tarring what is almost definitely most cops and most departments with your filthy brush.

The lion's share of the blame is sitting in city council and county commission chambers, and that dumps it back at the feet of the people most affected by inaction in their police departments by not voting them out.

Full circle.

And we could focus a great deal more on how they've managed to do this to themselves if it weren't for the "Thin Blue Line®" and good officers compromising themselves to protect the bad ones.  But now that the avalanche has begun, the pebbles don't get to vote.

Kilted To Kick Cancer

There's hardly a person who reads this blog who isn't reading someone else who's participating, donate through their team.

The same four people will rake in all of the prizes, again, anyways, so just donate to one of those four and all will be good with the world.

Me?  I'm sick of people complaining that PCF mails them letters because they donated once.

So combine no chance of winning with the complaints as if I was personally responsible for junk mail broke this camel's back.

Do donate!  It's a good cause!

You just can't donate through my "team".

It was also disheartening that only one donation last time came from someone I had not harangued personally via IM or vox.  Only got one mention from a non-participating blogger.

I didn't even get a stinking t-shirt.

For Future Use...

Derpy with a Glock.

Side note:  The listing at Build-A-Bear calls her Muffins.  I didn't know that was Derpy's official name, which makes her offer of muffins to Cranky Doodle in Slice of Life a joke I didn't get at the time.

Attack On Titan

It's an anime.

It's like a zombie apocalypse where the zombies are 5 to 20 meters tall.

Definitely a WTF Japan item.

Some have complained about all the whining two of the main characters do, but it's significantly less whining than some other zombie apocalypse shows.

Realizing that it's a zombie apocalypse show also made me realize why I generally dislike zombie fiction.

There's zero hope.

While the main characters may solve the immediate problem, eventually sickness, injury or infirmity will eventually let the zombies get them and win.

Real life is full enough of no-win scenarios that I don't want them in my fiction where I go to escape the no-win scenarios of my real life.

Gettin' There

I only have 2009 and nine months of 2010 left to transfer from LiveJournal.

If only the export function worked and I could just import it here, but no...

I have to copy-paste each post one at a time.

Lots of broken links and dead pictures.  I can fix the pictures.