We've established (via the courts) that a church putting a cross on top of a water tower owned by a city is a violation of the religious freedoms of national anti-theism organizations.
OK.
Is it a violation for a church to own the water tower and sell its services to the city?
I'm going to say no, it's not a violation, because there's been at least one notable case where the government attempted to sell the offending property to a group interested in preserving some crosses, and the anti-theistic organizations sued to stop the sale.
Remember, the goal isn't to make sure the Church and State are separated completely, it's to remove all mention of religion from public view. If it's owned by an individual or a church, then it's clearly protected speech to have whatever symbols they like on their property. This is why they fought so hard to keep Mt Soledad from being sold to a private entity.
So, Churches, start building your own water towers and selling water to the local municipality. Hell, give the water away! That way everyone wins!
You could even make the tower cross shaped!
I'm going to bet the next lawsuit from The Freedom From Religion Foundation will be to forbid via permitting and zoning the construction of water towers with religious symbolism.
Any takers?
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30 October 2015
29 October 2015
Subtitles
Watching "Hitting The Apex".
It would be greatly improved if the parts in Italian were subtitled.
The film clearly understands I don't speak it because they identify the Italian speakers with English titles with their names.
It would be greatly improved if the parts in Italian were subtitled.
The film clearly understands I don't speak it because they identify the Italian speakers with English titles with their names.
Credit Where It's Due
My sheriff, who will not sign off on a sound suppressor or short barreled shotgun for an individual...
Has come out supporting open carry here in Florida!
In opposition to the Florida Sheriff's Association no less.
Good on you, Chris Nocco!
Maybe there's hope.
Has come out supporting open carry here in Florida!
In opposition to the Florida Sheriff's Association no less.
Good on you, Chris Nocco!
Maybe there's hope.
Bone Tomahawk
Bone Tomahawk is a rather slow horror movie set in the Old West.
While slow it's very interesting.
Of note to my gun-trivia heart.
Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) is carrying a short barreled Schofield.
Arthur O'Dwyer (Patrick Wilson) is carrying a Merwin & Hulbert! He even does a quick reload that showcases the unique way it extracts and dumps the spent rounds!
It's always refreshing to see a western where it's not a Colt Peacemaker.
While slow it's very interesting.
Of note to my gun-trivia heart.
Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) is carrying a short barreled Schofield.
Arthur O'Dwyer (Patrick Wilson) is carrying a Merwin & Hulbert! He even does a quick reload that showcases the unique way it extracts and dumps the spent rounds!
It's always refreshing to see a western where it's not a Colt Peacemaker.
Someone Doesn't Know Jack
According to the US Department of Energy, my pumpkin causes global warmering.
So it decomposes into methane. Methane... what can we use that for? I mean it burns, why isn't the DoE capturing this "dangerous greenhouse gas" to use for energy? Because Government is the real reason. A secondary reason is the amount of methane produced is not commercially viable. One thing we did at the water company was to sell equipment that took care of the stench from wastewater treatment plants. The same stuff is also used on landfills.
The amount of methane captured and burned off would heat a house for a day every month when we'd burn off the capture. All of the decomposition from an entire town of 1,000 people generates enough methane to keep one family warm for a day a month. Good thing I live in Florida, huh?
If there was a useful amount of methane (useful can also be translated to mean significant) released by waste treatment, someone would be capturing it and selling it.
All of this assumes that I believe that the annual carving of gourds and their decomposition is actually contributing to something that has been so politicized.
Always remember IPCC is InterGOVERNMENTAL Panel on Climate Change. Not International Scientific Panel...
You'd have to believe that adding government makes a problem better. After all there's the shining successes of the war on drugs, war on poverty, the excellent schools from the Department of Education, the free electricity from the Department of Energy, the streamlined efficiency of the Department of Transportation, the immigrant free cities provided by the Department of Homeland Security... And on and on...
28 October 2015
Why Bubba Why
I know where there's a M-1898 Krag rifle. Cut down to carbine length and with a new front sight. The stock also has a pistol grip added, by cutting a square slot into the original stock and inserting the grip.
They want $175 for it. Unmolested it would be worth a lot more.
At a different pawn shop is an Ishapore 2A1. The barrel is stock length, but they cut the wood down just past the rear barrel band, with a hand saw. The metal has been "polished" with what looks like a grinding tip for porting heads.
$140 and it's yours! Admittedly, the 2A1 isn't worth a lot unmolested, but still... more than $140.
Over and over these old surplus guns are hacked on by Bubba.
Yet I have seen many modified by people who knew what they were doing. Krags done well are still holding $500 or more in value on Gunbroker.
They want $175 for it. Unmolested it would be worth a lot more.
At a different pawn shop is an Ishapore 2A1. The barrel is stock length, but they cut the wood down just past the rear barrel band, with a hand saw. The metal has been "polished" with what looks like a grinding tip for porting heads.
$140 and it's yours! Admittedly, the 2A1 isn't worth a lot unmolested, but still... more than $140.
Over and over these old surplus guns are hacked on by Bubba.
Yet I have seen many modified by people who knew what they were doing. Krags done well are still holding $500 or more in value on Gunbroker.
27 October 2015
Media Bias What's That
 |
| Picture from A War On Guns |
The first line of the story, though, is "A woman arrested for suspected drunken driving slammed her car into a crowd..."
She didn't even have a gun on her.
Fox News Story which is simply a repeat of the local TV news channel's story.
Slang
I'm thinking of a game setting.
Roaring 20's / Prohibition, with magic.
Recycling my Magic Returns mods to the magic system means that mages typically have a silver dagger on them until they get above a certain skill level with their spells.
The slang for lower level mages is "knife".
Higher level mages will tend to leave the dagger sheathed, but there are many advantages to using a wand, rod or staff to cast spells.
The slang for these mages is "stick".
Truly high level mages often dispense with these manual aids.
The slang for a mage who isn't using a dagger or something with the Staff enchantment on it is "hat".
Changes the meaning of the song, "Mack the Knife" don't it?
Roaring 20's / Prohibition, with magic.
Recycling my Magic Returns mods to the magic system means that mages typically have a silver dagger on them until they get above a certain skill level with their spells.
The slang for lower level mages is "knife".
Higher level mages will tend to leave the dagger sheathed, but there are many advantages to using a wand, rod or staff to cast spells.
The slang for these mages is "stick".
Truly high level mages often dispense with these manual aids.
The slang for a mage who isn't using a dagger or something with the Staff enchantment on it is "hat".
Changes the meaning of the song, "Mack the Knife" don't it?
26 October 2015
HR3799
I have a retro (HEL E4A) silencer design all drawn up and ready to cut metal.
I've been dithering on starting because I don't have the $200 for the stamp with so many other obligations staring me in the teeth.
Who knows how much the machining will cost me. Materials won't be more than $50 out of carbon steel. Who knows how much something fancy like Iconel would run...
But if sound suppressors become title one stuff, then I don't have to make it from super durable space-age materials. I can go with simple, and historically correct, carbon steel.
With all of the crap that goes with NFA, you don't dare make a suppressor that readily wears out.
Also, with the near zero interest in a not very efficient sound suppressor (even with all the retro interest out there) means this was always a DIY deal.
Heck, interest in this design could spike once suppressors are title 1 and I could even get to making them for a profit (with appropriate licenses of course).
Another bonus of deregulating suppressors would be that a more modern baffle pack could be developed to swap with the 1960's design giving a retro appearance with fewer decibels.
The sky appears to be the limit!
Of course the likelihood of HR3799 getting past Herr Obama is just a bit less than heavy snows in Miami.
UPDATE:
What I wrote to my Representative.
I've been dithering on starting because I don't have the $200 for the stamp with so many other obligations staring me in the teeth.
Who knows how much the machining will cost me. Materials won't be more than $50 out of carbon steel. Who knows how much something fancy like Iconel would run...
But if sound suppressors become title one stuff, then I don't have to make it from super durable space-age materials. I can go with simple, and historically correct, carbon steel.
With all of the crap that goes with NFA, you don't dare make a suppressor that readily wears out.
Also, with the near zero interest in a not very efficient sound suppressor (even with all the retro interest out there) means this was always a DIY deal.
Heck, interest in this design could spike once suppressors are title 1 and I could even get to making them for a profit (with appropriate licenses of course).
Another bonus of deregulating suppressors would be that a more modern baffle pack could be developed to swap with the 1960's design giving a retro appearance with fewer decibels.
The sky appears to be the limit!
Of course the likelihood of HR3799 getting past Herr Obama is just a bit less than heavy snows in Miami.
UPDATE:
What I wrote to my Representative.
"Considering that the nominally Republican sheriff won't sign off on a sound suppressor transfer to an individual and ATF Proposed Rule Change 41P will add a requirement for that signature to Trusts and Corporation transfers...
It makes the recent allowance to hunt with suppressed rifles in Florida rather meaningless if most people in the state cannot purchase one because of the refusal of a remote and capricious chief law enforcement officer.
Additionally, suppressors simply make good sense. They protect the hearing of the shooter and those nearby and also make shooting in general more neighborly and less objectionable. Nearly every complaint about a firing range I've heard about is over noise. I would like you to support this bill if it passes through any committee you sit on and vote for it, should it come to the floor. Thanks you for your time."
Sadly, even if this passes the House, my senators are worthless. Nelson is as anti-gun as you can get and Rubio is no longer bothering with being a Senator because he's put in his two weeks so's he can run for President.
Gots Some Blue's
Liberated in its entirety from Blue's Blog.
"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again."
(My personal gun philosophy, though borrowed, not original... "I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.")
The definition of the word Conundrum is: something that is puzzling or confusing.
Here are six Conundrums of socialism in the United States of America:
1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.
2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.
3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.
4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.
5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.
These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment:
1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics,
but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.
2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money,
but we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money!
3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our
army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.
"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." ~~ Plato
Stumped
This is the log we found and moved to the back yard.
With Kaylee for scale.
Not sure what kind of wood it is, but the ax makes a dent and bounces off rather than sticking into it. Ruined the first idea for a rustic picture...
With Kaylee for scale.
Not sure what kind of wood it is, but the ax makes a dent and bounces off rather than sticking into it. Ruined the first idea for a rustic picture...
Fire
Made a fire in our firepit out back.
What made this one unusual is we didn't use any gasoline!
Just a few pages of news paper crumpled into balls. Took some of the split logs we have around just for fires and split them further.
Made a teepee around the paper and lit the paper in a couple of spots.
Took off like it didn't know better.
Added larger wood later.
This simple task seems like a major accomplishment for me because I normally don't get a cheery bonfire. I get a smoldering smoke generator.
We also got a section of log to make splitting wood easier on the ax. Marv found it laying on the side of the road. It took both of us to get it into his truck. We're getting old. I'll add a pic of the log tomorrow.
24 October 2015
Wear And Tear
One down side to keeping a car forever is things wear out.
I've worn a small hole in the side bolster on the Vette.
Gee, with all the edges and sharp things that come with conceal carry, how could that have happened?
Luckily I had accidentally thought ahead on this.
I'd bought a set of expensive seat covers with the idea of protecting the leather. Actually, not much of these "leather" seats are actually leather. They're mostly naugahyde (including where the hole is).
I took those seat covers off because the added 1/4" of foam and neoprene made the seats kind of uncomfortable.
But I needed to cover the small hole and protect the rest from further wear, so I put them back on.
Well, first they needed cleaned since I'd stored them at Marv's and that meant being shoved in a corner of his back porch and getting covered in mud dauber egg cases.
Once cleaned I put them back on and I've discovered that 117,000 mile, 8 year old seats have been smushed down enough that the extra 1/4" is welcome!
Drove all the way out to Wesley Chapel and back to Citrus Park to participate in Red Robin's "Tip-A-Cop" charity donation to Special Olympics. No discomfort!
Huzzah!
I've worn a small hole in the side bolster on the Vette.
Gee, with all the edges and sharp things that come with conceal carry, how could that have happened?
Luckily I had accidentally thought ahead on this.
I'd bought a set of expensive seat covers with the idea of protecting the leather. Actually, not much of these "leather" seats are actually leather. They're mostly naugahyde (including where the hole is).
I took those seat covers off because the added 1/4" of foam and neoprene made the seats kind of uncomfortable.
But I needed to cover the small hole and protect the rest from further wear, so I put them back on.
Well, first they needed cleaned since I'd stored them at Marv's and that meant being shoved in a corner of his back porch and getting covered in mud dauber egg cases.
Once cleaned I put them back on and I've discovered that 117,000 mile, 8 year old seats have been smushed down enough that the extra 1/4" is welcome!
Drove all the way out to Wesley Chapel and back to Citrus Park to participate in Red Robin's "Tip-A-Cop" charity donation to Special Olympics. No discomfort!
Huzzah!
23 October 2015
BLM
Bureau of Land Management. Founded in 1946.
Black Lives Matter. Founded in 2013 as a Twitter hashtag.
When you use the same initials that have been in place for almost seventy years to refer to something that's not even two on Twitter...
BLM means Bureau of Land Management. Got there first, has a bigger budget, codified by law no less.
But for some reason I'm the one who needs educated?
I know you're pissed that Black Lives Matter are racists shit bags targeting your former occupation but you're lashing out at the wrong target.
I think you're too isolated from the rest of us to see what a fool your making of yourself now and also don't see how racist so many of the Cops Lives Matter posts have been against blacks.
Those posts are fueling the conflict, not defusing it.
Perhaps if cops were PEACE officers instead of Chekist Law Enforcement Officers, you'd see why the Cops Lives Matter people you're associating yourself with are simply mirroring.
PS:
Even if we discount the racists supporting Cops Lives Matter, we're still left with the mindset that breeds "professional" organizations like The Florida Sheriff's Association; wherein it's all about their needs, wants and safety and to hell with the people they're supposed to be serving.
Black Lives Matter. Founded in 2013 as a Twitter hashtag.
When you use the same initials that have been in place for almost seventy years to refer to something that's not even two on Twitter...
BLM means Bureau of Land Management. Got there first, has a bigger budget, codified by law no less.
But for some reason I'm the one who needs educated?
I know you're pissed that Black Lives Matter are racists shit bags targeting your former occupation but you're lashing out at the wrong target.
I think you're too isolated from the rest of us to see what a fool your making of yourself now and also don't see how racist so many of the Cops Lives Matter posts have been against blacks.
Those posts are fueling the conflict, not defusing it.
Perhaps if cops were PEACE officers instead of Chekist Law Enforcement Officers, you'd see why the Cops Lives Matter people you're associating yourself with are simply mirroring.
PS:
Even if we discount the racists supporting Cops Lives Matter, we're still left with the mindset that breeds "professional" organizations like The Florida Sheriff's Association; wherein it's all about their needs, wants and safety and to hell with the people they're supposed to be serving.
Pardon Me But
Cops Lives Matters is occupationist.
Fact. It promotes one job above all other citizens. It promotes a government employee's life far above the life of any ordinary citizen and is presently aping the KKK in its mannerisms and justifications for adding ever higher levels of fascist-like restrictions on the everyday person in the name of officer safety.
It fails to acknowledge that the biggest killer of cops in the US is not the common citizen or even criminals.
It is their poor driving skills and even with their bad driving, being a cop is not really that much more dangerous than a long list of other occupations. Not even in the top fucking ten most dangerous.
If you don't like that you're over coddled and over deferred to... and people are standing up to your special snowflake status now.
Stick your issue side arm up your pompous ass and pull the trigger as many times as it will go bang.
I just told you how to shoot yourself in the head you fucking moron.
Commonality
The thing that's in common with all that goes wrong around me, is me.
If there was a sure way to get rid of me, I think it should be considered.
If there was a sure way to get rid of me, I think it should be considered.
Wait A Second...
I'd like to support Ben Carson's candidacy, but I remembered that I was a racist who only voted against Obama because he was black.
Wait a second...
I'm NOT a racist.
I guess I'll have to listen to what he's got to say on policy and then decide if I want to vote for him, or not.
Paying attention and thinking are hard sometimes. But not as hard as the ossification to your thinking as being a racist is.
PS: For the record, I voted against Obama (twice!) because too many people have been murdered by the machine that socialists always build. A machine his administration is demonstrably assembling.
Wait a second...
I'm NOT a racist.
I guess I'll have to listen to what he's got to say on policy and then decide if I want to vote for him, or not.
Paying attention and thinking are hard sometimes. But not as hard as the ossification to your thinking as being a racist is.
PS: For the record, I voted against Obama (twice!) because too many people have been murdered by the machine that socialists always build. A machine his administration is demonstrably assembling.
Twas A Good Fight
It seems that The Florida Sheriff's Association, chaired by the anti-gun sheriff of Pinellas county will be opposing the open carry bill.
Since the Florida House of Representatives only seems to represent the Sheriff's Association, we're going to get screwed once it hits the floor.
It's getting to be a familiar pattern for gun rights.
The FSA opposes any loosening of gun laws, no matter what it is. Normally on the grounds that it will cause them to actually work for a fucking living.
The people I don't hear complaining are rank and file cops and deputies. They're closer to the problem children and see that the people this law is for aren't the people the FSA is claiming they're worried about.
Still... The Sheriff is an elected official. The house and senate are elected bodies. To listen to elected officials and ignoring the voters is bypassing the intent of the constitution. To lobby the state to avert the will of the people surely exceeds the scope of the office of sheriff as well.
But I appear to be the only one who complains in those terms.
Since the Florida House of Representatives only seems to represent the Sheriff's Association, we're going to get screwed once it hits the floor.
It's getting to be a familiar pattern for gun rights.
The FSA opposes any loosening of gun laws, no matter what it is. Normally on the grounds that it will cause them to actually work for a fucking living.
The people I don't hear complaining are rank and file cops and deputies. They're closer to the problem children and see that the people this law is for aren't the people the FSA is claiming they're worried about.
Still... The Sheriff is an elected official. The house and senate are elected bodies. To listen to elected officials and ignoring the voters is bypassing the intent of the constitution. To lobby the state to avert the will of the people surely exceeds the scope of the office of sheriff as well.
But I appear to be the only one who complains in those terms.
22 October 2015
Oh Really
I got reminded of the tizzy JK Rolling threw about all of the cast of Harry Potter being actual Brits.
Then I noticed what a lack of tizzy America threw about the cast of Blackhawk Down being mostly Commonwealth in origin; including two actors who played heroin addicts in Trainspotting.
Then I noticed what a lack of tizzy America threw about the cast of Blackhawk Down being mostly Commonwealth in origin; including two actors who played heroin addicts in Trainspotting.
Scandal
Is it cynical of me to think that the mere fact that the scandal of Ms Clinton's decisions about Benghazi are only being allowed on the air because they aren't going to matter?
I've yet to see any scandal actually affect a cabinet official with anything like criminal charges since... since... uh...
I've seen some golden parachute resignations. Calling that punishment is like saying you punished the pilot by allowing them to eject before the plane crashed.
I've yet to see any scandal actually affect a cabinet official with anything like criminal charges since... since... uh...
I've seen some golden parachute resignations. Calling that punishment is like saying you punished the pilot by allowing them to eject before the plane crashed.
Accuracy On TV
Everyone gives television crap for getting firearms stuff wrong.
So when they get it right, we should go out of our way to commend them.
Hats off to The A-Team!
Week after week they showed precisely how accurate a Ruger Mini-14 was!
So when they get it right, we should go out of our way to commend them.
Hats off to The A-Team!
Week after week they showed precisely how accurate a Ruger Mini-14 was!
21 October 2015
One Is None, Two Is One, Three Is Uh...
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| Top Left: S&W 39-2 Top Right: Walther P1 Middle Left: S&W 15 Middle Right Hi Power (one Browning one FEG) Bottom Left: Airweight Bodyguard Bottom Right: Model 10 snubbies. |
One is none and two is one. But that's one again, so it's none? So you need more!
How many is 12? SIX!
Willard buys guns in at least pairs. Top left is two of the shipping crate full of 39-2 that he appears to have.
Are You Ready For Halloween
Tested out a couple of Triple-K magazines for my Star B. 200 rounds since it was last cleaned and lubed!
Why do my groups suck?
Because the bitch takes a blood payment. There's a definite flinch factor.
20 October 2015
Complaining Just To Complain
I shoot the Finn mosin's better than Soviet.
Hey, FuzzyGeff! What are the angles at 100 yards? This is basic geometry, I can do this!
I've talked to someone who's the opposite. He opined that the Finn front sight is too wide for fine work...
This got me curious, so out come the measuring tools!
Finn Kiv/28-30. Front sight is 0.102" wide. Rear notch is rectangular 0.073" wide and 0.041" deep.
Soviet M91/30. Front sight is 0.087" wide. Rear sight notch is a half circle ø0.067".
Finn Kiv/39. Front sight is 0.095" wide. Half circle rear sight notch ø0.085".
Distance from my eye to the rear of a 91/30 is 13-15/16". The rear sight on the Finnish guns is 0.475" closer to the eye.
Distances between the sights are, Kiv/28-30, 22-5/8"; M91/30, 24-7/16"; Kiv/39, 22-5/8".
All in all, very similar sight pictures.
Let's Math! (rounded to 3 decimals). It's just a tangent conversion since we know two legs of the triangle in question (but not the hypotenuse) and none of the angles except 90˚ where our legs meet.
1/2 the sight width / distance from eye = tangent of the angle for half the sight.
Double that and we have our angle.
Same process lets us extend the range. Tangent of the half angle times distance gives us half the width at the target.
Why halves? Because it's easier to calculate that way. Trust me, I'm a draftsman.
91/30
Angular size of the rear sight notch is 0.275˚ That's 17.306" wide at 100 yards.
Angular size of the front sight is 0.130˚ (2.311 mil). That's 8.162" wide at 100 yards.
Kiv/28-30
Angular size of the rear sight notch is 0.311˚ That's 19.521" wide at 100 yards.
Angular size of the front sight is 0.162˚ (2.880 mil). That's 10.175" wide at 100 yards.
Kiv/39
Angular size of the rear sight notch is 0.362˚ That's 11.365" wide at 100 yards.
Angular size of the front sight is 0.151˚ (2.684 mil). That's 9.477" wide at 100 yards.
That's not much difference at all. Especially since shoulder to shoulder is about 24". This is also why you learn math, to shut people up about the huge differences in things when they're really quite small.
Drained
Got a sore throat.
Don't feel bad otherwise except for an utter lack of umfph.
Of course, unlike my younger self, I am more than willing to hit a cold with every palliative remedy known to American Marketing.
We love you Giant-Fucking-Q.
Don't feel bad otherwise except for an utter lack of umfph.
Of course, unlike my younger self, I am more than willing to hit a cold with every palliative remedy known to American Marketing.
We love you Giant-Fucking-Q.
19 October 2015
I Like The Story Better Than The Facts (Updated)
Charlie Storms was one of the best-known gamblers in the entire West and had, on several occasions, successfully defended himself in pistol fights with Western 'gun-fighters'...
Charlie Storms and I were very close friends, as much as Short and I were, and for that reason I did not care to see him get into what I knew would be a very serious difficulty. Storms did not know Short and, like the bad man in Leadville, had sized him up as an insignificant-looking fellow, whom he could slap in the face without expecting a return. Both were about to pull their pistols when I jumped between them and grabbed Storms, at the same time requesting Luke not to shoot, a request I knew he would respect if it was possible without endangering his own life too much. I had no trouble in getting Storms out of the house, as he knew me to be his friend. When Storms and I reached the street, I advised him to go to his room and take a sleep, for I then learned for the first time that he had been up all night, and had been quarreling with other persons...
I was just explaining to Luke that Storms was a very decent sort of man when, lo and behold! There he stood before us, without saying a word, he took hold of Luke's arm and pulled him off the sidewalk, where he had been standing, at the same time pulling his pistol, a Colt's cut-off, 45 calibre, single action; but like the lead villain, he was too slow, although he succeeded in getting his pistol out. Luke stuck the muzzle of his pistol against Storm's heart and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore the heart asunder and, as he was falling, Luke shot him again. Storms was dead when he hit the ground.
-- Bat Masterson
That's the facts as revealed by someone who was there.
The story, colorfully told by Mr Willard differs...
Luke Short, having a Colt Lightning, was a bit quicker on the draw than Charlie Storms; and shot Mr Storms right thumb off before he could cock his pistol. While Mr Storms was changing hands; Mr Short delivered the fatal shots.
From Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia.
Luke Short was a gunfighter, gambler and bar owner who had drifted down to Fort Worth from Dodge City, Kansas. While in Dodge City, Short had dabbled in gambling, and became friends with several other noted Old West figures, such as Bat Masterson, Jim Masterson and Wyatt Earp, who had also become friends with Courtright. In Fort Worth, he managed the White Elephant, a saloon/gambling house.
Some claim that Marshal Courtright was running a protection racket at the time, and needed to make an example of Short, who also had a sizable reputation as a gunfighter mostly due to an 1881 gunfight with gunslinger Charlie Storms at the Oriental Saloon in Tombstone, Arizona. Most historians believe that Courtright offered protection to the White Elephant and that Short informed him that he did not need his protection. The two men did not get along.
On February 8, 1887, at about 8:00 p.m., Courtright called Luke Short out of the White Elephant. When Short walked outside, both men walked up the street one block, until they were in front of bar and brothel owner Ella Blackwell's Shooting Gallery. According to reports, few words had been spoken, and the two men moved apart facing one another. Words were passed, and evidently Courtright, who had been drinking considerably, had made some indication about Short having a gun. Short assured Courtright he was not armed, although he was, of course.
Short moved slowly toward Courtright, saying that he could have a look himself, at which point he pulled open his vest. Probably mostly for the sake of bystanders and justification, Courtright said loudly "Don't you pull a gun on me."
With that statement, Courtright drew his pistol, but according to reports it hung for just a second on his watch-chain, and in that second Short produced his pistol and fired one shot, which took off Courtright's thumb on his shooting hand. As Courtright attempted to shift his pistol to his other hand, Short fired four more shots in quick succession. Courtright fell backward and died shortly thereafter.
Living Peaceably
Civilized people can't get on peacefully with good living as long as these nuts are out there with their guns. Period. All of you need to be forcibly disarmed. Carl Ostendarp, Professor at Cornell.
Actually, Carl, your absolute best chance at living peacefully with us is to let us the Hell alone.
You're actually living peacefully with us now.
Confiscation will rip the wheels right off.
When those wheels are off, there's a lot of otherwise peaceable gun owners who've got lists.
Lists of names, Carl.
Targets of opportunity they are sometimes called.
Because when the wheels are off, the main focus is almost certainly going to be shooting cops.
I think I mentioned a time or two just how perfectly the confiscations have to go for the government to win. The numbers don't favor the government.
They have to eliminate (kill, arrest or get compliance) something like six gun owners without losing a single officer, agent or soldier. That assumes that they get all of the cops and soldiers to play ball and forcibly disarm us.
When it comes down to submit or die, lots of us are going to submit. Openly and loudly. At least to all appearances.
How many guns do we have? Did you get them all? ARE YOU SURE?!?!
I mentioned lists.
Do you think, Professor Ostendarp, that someone who's just been "forcibly disarmed", but managed to retain a gun or two might remember you? Do you think you're safer before or after this person is "disarmed"?
Not "feel safer" but actually in less danger.
A clue for everyone who's advocating "forcible disarmament" should be how we gunnies reacted to the DC beltway sniper attacks. We all marveled at the astonishingly SHORT ranges. Like we all could readily have repeated the shots from much farther away...
Or...
You could let the sleeping dog lie.
Musical Whiplash
My play lists have occasionally been called musical whiplash.
I go from Sabaton's Carolus Rex (in Swedish no less) to Simple Minds Alive and Kicking without warning.
My tastes are broad.
I go from Sabaton's Carolus Rex (in Swedish no less) to Simple Minds Alive and Kicking without warning.
My tastes are broad.
Book Reference
Here's a chance to test your attention to detail and earn major Geek Cred®
What book do these guns refer to?
What book do these guns refer to?
17 October 2015
Spay And Neuter Your Pets
In a conversation with FuzzyGeff...
Talking about the various Traveller races and the expansive tendencies of the Aslan.
The Aslan have an ingrained cultural urge to obtain and possess real estate for themselves personally, and for their clan as a whole. Since nobody is making more land, they expand outward as populations increase.
They've been smacked back a few times as the expansion rubs against Humaniti's borders.
The discussion humorously centered on what to do about an unwanted Aslan enclave on your world.
Dropping rocks from orbit...
Nukes...
Tailored nerve agents.
"Where would you get a nerve agent tailored for Aslan?"
"From the Hivers."
"What would they know about Aslan, There's no Aslan in Hiver space!"
"Exactly!"
Talking about the various Traveller races and the expansive tendencies of the Aslan.
The Aslan have an ingrained cultural urge to obtain and possess real estate for themselves personally, and for their clan as a whole. Since nobody is making more land, they expand outward as populations increase.
They've been smacked back a few times as the expansion rubs against Humaniti's borders.
The discussion humorously centered on what to do about an unwanted Aslan enclave on your world.
Dropping rocks from orbit...
Nukes...
Tailored nerve agents.
"Where would you get a nerve agent tailored for Aslan?"
"From the Hivers."
"What would they know about Aslan, There's no Aslan in Hiver space!"
"Exactly!"
Ísafjörður Airport
Strike Fighters 2: North Atlantic is the battle for Iceland in a sort of Red Storm Rising c.1979 way.
The terrain is well done, including Ísafjörður airport.
It's not meant to be used by high performance jets...
But I manage.
Link to bigger version of the aerial shot.
There are two schools of thought about making your approach to 08. One is to fly 260 down the fjord and make a descending 180° left turn to the 08 threshold. The other is to come in low in that little valley that's north of the hill west of the airport. Either way you are in a pretty decent bank until just before you cross the apron to level off and land.
The terrain is well done, including Ísafjörður airport.
It's not meant to be used by high performance jets...
But I manage.
 |
| Taxiing back to the take-off end. |
 |
| With the winds in the game you predominantly land on 08 instead of 26. That hill is directly in the way of a normal approach. |
 |
| After take off, looking back down on the place on westerly heading. The 08 end is on the right and the 26 end on the left. |
There are two schools of thought about making your approach to 08. One is to fly 260 down the fjord and make a descending 180° left turn to the 08 threshold. The other is to come in low in that little valley that's north of the hill west of the airport. Either way you are in a pretty decent bank until just before you cross the apron to level off and land.
I've landed most of the flyable planes here. The Harrier GR.3 is, by far, the easiest. The F-104A is hardest.
Take-off on 08 is actually pretty easy. Spool up while standing on the brakes, let off and nose up when you can. Once you get the wheels off the ground bank a bit left to avoid that bluff there. Hold a heading parallel to the bluff until your wingmen all report airborne or they'll ram it trying to join formation on you. Stupid NPC's.
On the rare occasion you're using 26...
Landing is pretty simple. Parallel the bluff until you get to the end of the runway, snap turn to runway heading, flare, land.
Take-off is more sporting! You want to use that valley that goes left of the big hill at the end of the runway! Most fighters in the game just don't have enough energy to make the 180 and climb above the terrain for a right departure.
16 October 2015
Uh Oh
Say Uncle brings us this story.
I notice that the AR's in question are all equipped with suppressors.
"How could those idiots not know?" I asked.
So I hit Bing up for "how to make a silencer".
Lots of how-to. Most mention checking the legality, but a frightening number don't mention it until the very end.
ATF is quite clear about making and selling suppressors even if the how-to guides aren't. Maybe I've been around guns too long for it to have never occurred to me to check those laws before starting construction.
Also, the resale of guns you've made yourself seems to baffle many persons. There's a world of difference between assembling a working gun on a serialed part you bought (like an AR lower) and a part you made yourself when it comes to selling them.
ATF is a bit vague about what you need do to allow the sale of a serialed part you made yourself with answers ranging from you need a full-on manufacturing FFL to "just stamp it with your name, city state and a serial number and you're good."
The lowers in the pic look a lot like plastic 80%'ers I saw a while back. They definitely don't have the required information in either of the traditional spots.
I notice that the AR's in question are all equipped with suppressors.
"How could those idiots not know?" I asked.
So I hit Bing up for "how to make a silencer".
Lots of how-to. Most mention checking the legality, but a frightening number don't mention it until the very end.
ATF is quite clear about making and selling suppressors even if the how-to guides aren't. Maybe I've been around guns too long for it to have never occurred to me to check those laws before starting construction.
Also, the resale of guns you've made yourself seems to baffle many persons. There's a world of difference between assembling a working gun on a serialed part you bought (like an AR lower) and a part you made yourself when it comes to selling them.
ATF is a bit vague about what you need do to allow the sale of a serialed part you made yourself with answers ranging from you need a full-on manufacturing FFL to "just stamp it with your name, city state and a serial number and you're good."
The lowers in the pic look a lot like plastic 80%'ers I saw a while back. They definitely don't have the required information in either of the traditional spots.
Dammit He's Dead
If he weren't dead I'd recommend Hiro Onoda to the position of Administrator of Drug Enforcement Agency.
Isn't That Odd
Javascript is why your browser slams into a brick wall on some sites.
Good news! There's probably a plug-in or extension that lets you control which javascripts run.
For Firefox I like NoScript.
Recently I'd found myself favoring Firefox simply because NoScript was there and keeping all manner of pop-up, flashing ads and resource consuming reloads from occurring.
In general, though, I prefer Chrome for browsing; especially since I've ceded my privacy to Google and let it synchronize to all my devices.
FuuzyGeff recommended Safescript last night and it works much like NoScript. WIN! But for some odd reason it breaks Google for being a search engine. You get a second of https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl then the "aw snap!" failure page. Every once an a while, it just works fine for who knows why...
Bing exhibits no failures under Safescript... Go figure.
PS: nuking the file/image cache is supposed to cure it.
Good news! There's probably a plug-in or extension that lets you control which javascripts run.
For Firefox I like NoScript.
Recently I'd found myself favoring Firefox simply because NoScript was there and keeping all manner of pop-up, flashing ads and resource consuming reloads from occurring.
In general, though, I prefer Chrome for browsing; especially since I've ceded my privacy to Google and let it synchronize to all my devices.
FuuzyGeff recommended Safescript last night and it works much like NoScript. WIN! But for some odd reason it breaks Google for being a search engine. You get a second of https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl then the "aw snap!" failure page. Every once an a while, it just works fine for who knows why...
Bing exhibits no failures under Safescript... Go figure.
PS: nuking the file/image cache is supposed to cure it.
Corollary
Gell-Mann Amnesia is:
You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them.
In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.
The corollary is once you've spotted this effect you stop believing anything from a given "news" source, regardless of its veracity.
We've read so many lies about us in so many places I do believe that we conservatives/gun owners/etc... have simply written off the national media for everything.
Contempt is earned. I have to admit they did the work.
15 October 2015
The Reader Who Needs To Watch This Most Won't
It's not very long, really.
It does sum up the worry well.
People forget, but we're actively erasing lately as well.
14 October 2015
Go Ahead Wear That Strap-On
Waving a sex toy at me isn't going to get me to stop carrying.
It might get me to edge away from you and make sure I can see you until I'm well away from you.
Most likely it'll just get me to grin.
This makes your choice of protest completely ineffective.
What I am not is freaked out.
Not even by the trans person with the tickler egg in the center. Hey, she's rocking that shade of lipstick!
One thing they are doing is attempting to do equate gun ownership with penis envy.
I hate to go psychologist here, but this is called projection. It's not the gun owners who're envious of cock. Just sayin'.
It might get me to edge away from you and make sure I can see you until I'm well away from you.
Most likely it'll just get me to grin.
This makes your choice of protest completely ineffective.
What I am not is freaked out.
Not even by the trans person with the tickler egg in the center. Hey, she's rocking that shade of lipstick!
One thing they are doing is attempting to do equate gun ownership with penis envy.
I hate to go psychologist here, but this is called projection. It's not the gun owners who're envious of cock. Just sayin'.
This Is Why We Fail
The Shuttle wasn’t reusable. It wasn’t designed to be. It was
salvageable, and could be rebuilt to fly again; but it couldn’t simply
be refueled and take off.
Jerry Pournelle.
Jerry Pournelle.
Get Yours Today
Just under $8 million each.
That's some impressive stab.
Cheaper than an M1A2's $8.96 million.
Gods. I remember when an M1A1 was a mere $2.5 million. In 1990. Inflation is a bitch.
That's some impressive stab.
Cheaper than an M1A2's $8.96 million.
Gods. I remember when an M1A1 was a mere $2.5 million. In 1990. Inflation is a bitch.
Mauser 1914 In .32 ACP
If you're not watching C&Rsenal, you're wrong and you should feel bad.
Related to this video is one of the .25's that's in the "rare and/or expensive" category is the Mauser 1910. A lot of overlap there.
Amusing... I've got a Phoenix Model Raven 25. I've a line on a cheap Raven Model P-25. That just leaves Jimenez, Bryco and Jennings for shitty nickel-alloy .25 pocket guns. Altogether, likely cheaper than just the Mauser.
Unless some reader out there has a Mauser 1910 they'd just LOVE to part with for an insanely reasonable price...
Mixed Success
The parts for the MAB Modele C did not fit. Numrich sent the wrong firing pin altogether and the tumbler assy. was a 0.113" hole going on a 0.118" shaft.
While we could hog out that hole, Willard is going to attempt to RMA the parts first.
The mainspring housing swap on the PT1911 went much better! The part dropped in like it was supposed, but the frame needed to be beveled a little on the outside of the tail just a little to eliminate some razor sharp snag points.
We discovered that a Colt .22 conversion will not fit on a Taurus and confirmed (with my .38 Super) that such conversions will not work with Series 80 lockwork.
While we could hog out that hole, Willard is going to attempt to RMA the parts first.
The mainspring housing swap on the PT1911 went much better! The part dropped in like it was supposed, but the frame needed to be beveled a little on the outside of the tail just a little to eliminate some razor sharp snag points.
We discovered that a Colt .22 conversion will not fit on a Taurus and confirmed (with my .38 Super) that such conversions will not work with Series 80 lockwork.
Black Panther Party
Not the original.
Not the New Black Panther Party.
The Little Black Panther Party.
And he's armed!
Willard scored a Colt M16 bipod for me and Bear needed to be part of the photo.
Also suitable for turning your 11.5" barreled SBR into a sniper rifle!
Not the New Black Panther Party.
The Little Black Panther Party.
And he's armed!
Willard scored a Colt M16 bipod for me and Bear needed to be part of the photo.
Also suitable for turning your 11.5" barreled SBR into a sniper rifle!
Thag Lurn
I've been saying "wallah" for ages.
It's supposed to be spelled voilà.
Damned French loaner words, never spelled like they sound.
Like ron-day-voo...
It's supposed to be spelled voilà.
Damned French loaner words, never spelled like they sound.
Like ron-day-voo...
13 October 2015
Just A Damn Hamburger
That's all I am fucking asking for!
You'd think it was rocket science or something.
It's simple.
Some ground up cow, wadded into a ball, mashed into a patty, cooked on a griddle or in a pan or over a flame. How it's cooked doesn't really matter a great deal but the inside should be no grayer than bright pink. And no matter how red and bloody that center should be HOT.
Salt and pepper to taste.
The bun should be the same diameter as the patty. It should be firm and the crust should yield readily to teeth. This is so biting the bun doesn't squish out the filling while you're trying to tear the artisianal skin of the pretzel bun. I prefer an onion-kaiser roll here.
Toppings are also to taste, but raw veggies are fine. A leaf of iceberg lettuce, a slice of beefsteak tomato, raw white or red onion. And why is it so damn hard to find a firm, but soft, tomato that actually tastes like tomato?
Condiments are up to the eater too, but for fuck's sake THIS IS AMERICA BY GOD! Ketchup, mustard and (for us weirdos) mayonnaise.
Now we get to the most important part. Hamburger dill pickle slices. Not kosher (you give up on kosher the second that cheese hits the patty, never mind the bacon so why do the not salty enough pickle here when it won't save you from Hell?). Not, for the love of Edesia anything sweet. No spears of pickle or whole pickles.
The cheese should not be actual cheese. Remember this is America, we use American Cheese, and it had better be of the unnatural shade of Kraft orange also found in their Mac and Cheese. If you absolutely must be some sort of prevert, cheddar or swiss can be used.
Bacon is acceptable, but not essential (yes I said it) and it should be crispy, but not so overcooked that you break your teeth on it.
All of that above should not stack more than two inches. We are human beings, not snakes. Our jaws cannot unhinge to encompass much taller without destroying the equilibrium of the stack.
You'd think it was rocket science or something.
It's simple.
Some ground up cow, wadded into a ball, mashed into a patty, cooked on a griddle or in a pan or over a flame. How it's cooked doesn't really matter a great deal but the inside should be no grayer than bright pink. And no matter how red and bloody that center should be HOT.
Salt and pepper to taste.
The bun should be the same diameter as the patty. It should be firm and the crust should yield readily to teeth. This is so biting the bun doesn't squish out the filling while you're trying to tear the artisianal skin of the pretzel bun. I prefer an onion-kaiser roll here.
Toppings are also to taste, but raw veggies are fine. A leaf of iceberg lettuce, a slice of beefsteak tomato, raw white or red onion. And why is it so damn hard to find a firm, but soft, tomato that actually tastes like tomato?
Condiments are up to the eater too, but for fuck's sake THIS IS AMERICA BY GOD! Ketchup, mustard and (for us weirdos) mayonnaise.
Now we get to the most important part. Hamburger dill pickle slices. Not kosher (you give up on kosher the second that cheese hits the patty, never mind the bacon so why do the not salty enough pickle here when it won't save you from Hell?). Not, for the love of Edesia anything sweet. No spears of pickle or whole pickles.
The cheese should not be actual cheese. Remember this is America, we use American Cheese, and it had better be of the unnatural shade of Kraft orange also found in their Mac and Cheese. If you absolutely must be some sort of prevert, cheddar or swiss can be used.
Bacon is acceptable, but not essential (yes I said it) and it should be crispy, but not so overcooked that you break your teeth on it.
All of that above should not stack more than two inches. We are human beings, not snakes. Our jaws cannot unhinge to encompass much taller without destroying the equilibrium of the stack.
Zoom And Enhance
It appears that I'm the only one who caught the images being zoomed and enhanced in Bladerunner were holograms.
It's actually possible to do what's shown with a hologram and why would you believe that the insane resolution wasn't normal by the time the film is set given all of the other miraculous technology depicted?
By the time the film is set...
Four years from now.
Off world colonies and flying cars better get a move on.
I sometimes wonder, because every film with flying cars lacks smart phones if it's merely that we focused our energy in the wrong direction.
"Sorry about the flying cars, Son, here's an iPhone!"
It's actually possible to do what's shown with a hologram and why would you believe that the insane resolution wasn't normal by the time the film is set given all of the other miraculous technology depicted?
By the time the film is set...
Four years from now.
Off world colonies and flying cars better get a move on.
I sometimes wonder, because every film with flying cars lacks smart phones if it's merely that we focused our energy in the wrong direction.
"Sorry about the flying cars, Son, here's an iPhone!"
Rankled
I am all pissed off and wanting to argue.
Not pissed at anything or wanting to argue any topic in particular.
Just in a mood.
Maybe I need a nap?
Not pissed at anything or wanting to argue any topic in particular.
Just in a mood.
Maybe I need a nap?
Folding Veteran
Something that I noticed about veterans telling stories.
Everyone has an inspection story and how they got around being short on folding chairs; especially if the teller had signed off on the inventory.
Non-veterans tend to baffled at the hilarity of missing folding chairs and the literal musical chairs performed to make it seem like they're all accounted for.
Everyone has an inspection story and how they got around being short on folding chairs; especially if the teller had signed off on the inventory.
Non-veterans tend to baffled at the hilarity of missing folding chairs and the literal musical chairs performed to make it seem like they're all accounted for.
12 October 2015
Might Just Be Lazy
Had another click moment.
The story from Avatar is not markedly different from Disney's Pocahontas...
...and, in a lot of ways, the world, Pandora, is just the Skyrealms of Jorune with some set dressing changed.
Rock floating because of mysterious crystals/unobtanium? Check.
Primitive society that kind of resembles John Carter of Mars? Check.
It took me this long to put it together because I only played Skyrealms the one time and it was only slightly less obscure an RPG as The Empire of the Petal Throne by MAR Barker.
The story from Avatar is not markedly different from Disney's Pocahontas...
...and, in a lot of ways, the world, Pandora, is just the Skyrealms of Jorune with some set dressing changed.
Rock floating because of mysterious crystals/unobtanium? Check.
Primitive society that kind of resembles John Carter of Mars? Check.
It took me this long to put it together because I only played Skyrealms the one time and it was only slightly less obscure an RPG as The Empire of the Petal Throne by MAR Barker.
CMP Pistols?
I'd probably never get my ducks in a row to qualify to buy one.
But I wonder if "M1911A1 Cal .45 Pistol, 1005-00-726-5655, Serial # 1164935" will be one of the guns available for sale.
But I wonder if "M1911A1 Cal .45 Pistol, 1005-00-726-5655, Serial # 1164935" will be one of the guns available for sale.
It'd be nice to see her again.
Update:
I forgot about The Garand Collector's Association. Cheap and easy online membership that opens a gateway to a world more expensive than any drug addiction.
Update:
I forgot about The Garand Collector's Association. Cheap and easy online membership that opens a gateway to a world more expensive than any drug addiction.
Perspective
I don't have any.
The things that loom large to me tend to be the smallest things to everyone else.
I constantly find myself whining about things and how nobody CARES!
Everyone: "Nobody cares, you fucking dumbass, because what you've yourself worked up about DOES NOT MATTER."
Never did. Never will. Every so often I even get someone who, ever so gently, wonders how it is that I so consistently fail to notice how teeny an issue is. Of course when people do try to help, it's normally after I've embarrassed myself thoroughly and having what I'd gotten wrong explained to me in greater detail just adds to the, "may I go hide under a rock now?" feeling.
What I really need to learn is to spot the inconsequential before I become invested in it.
A good barometer might be that I'm willing to invest.
How many points was "Only interested in things of zero value to others"? I'd hate to think I've been making such a fool out of myself for a quirk [-1].
The things that loom large to me tend to be the smallest things to everyone else.
I constantly find myself whining about things and how nobody CARES!
Everyone: "Nobody cares, you fucking dumbass, because what you've yourself worked up about DOES NOT MATTER."
Never did. Never will. Every so often I even get someone who, ever so gently, wonders how it is that I so consistently fail to notice how teeny an issue is. Of course when people do try to help, it's normally after I've embarrassed myself thoroughly and having what I'd gotten wrong explained to me in greater detail just adds to the, "may I go hide under a rock now?" feeling.
What I really need to learn is to spot the inconsequential before I become invested in it.
A good barometer might be that I'm willing to invest.
How many points was "Only interested in things of zero value to others"? I'd hate to think I've been making such a fool out of myself for a quirk [-1].
Don't Matter
Ben Carson has suggested that if the Jews had been armed, the holocaust would not have happened, or at least been greatly curtailed.
Some have countered his suggestion that very few weapons were available to anyone in Germany, so even if Jews had been allowed to own them, there would have been hardly any armed Jews.
That's not a counter at all.
All that's saying is the groundwork to disarm them completely began by disarming everyone equally first.
The Warsaw Ghetto uprising puts lie to the idea that just a few guns are useless in the face of an army.
But the real proof that armed Jews would have stopped that National Socialist Final Solution shit right in its tracks is the Bielski brothers.
I swears that you're forbidden to learn any history and be a liberal.
Some have countered his suggestion that very few weapons were available to anyone in Germany, so even if Jews had been allowed to own them, there would have been hardly any armed Jews.
That's not a counter at all.
All that's saying is the groundwork to disarm them completely began by disarming everyone equally first.
The Warsaw Ghetto uprising puts lie to the idea that just a few guns are useless in the face of an army.
But the real proof that armed Jews would have stopped that National Socialist Final Solution shit right in its tracks is the Bielski brothers.
I swears that you're forbidden to learn any history and be a liberal.
It WAS Just Me UPDATED
Did everyone else get their code for free ammo for posting about Ammo-To-Go's Ammo Ambassador deal?
I didn't.
Wires uncrossed. Got my codes now!
Wires uncrossed. Got my codes now!
11 October 2015
If You Have A Corvette
Do not purchase anything from a company called Colorado Speed. No link for pricks.
There's a part that's a common mod for LS engines, an oil catch can that goes inline with the PCV system that recovers oil blow-by.
Colorado Speed offers just about every brand that's made. This would be a good thing, but...
Their web page merely copy-pastes the ad-copy of the manufacturer and the manufacturers are not very good at providing datums you can use to compare and contrast before making an informed buying decision.
They are also a vendor who spends most of their ad money buying supporting vendor memberships on Vette forums.
This is where it goes off the wheels.
I foolishly asked what differentiated the various choices.
I was told, "Those who actually read the post, they buy because they can read."
No, you fucking pricks, I read it and saw it wasn't anything I couldn't get from the manufacturer's web page. In fact, I also read that your prices are exactly MSRP, so why would I want to buy from you?
I'm not getting a better price than buying straight from the maker. I'm not getting any customer service in the form of guidance. I am being told I have poor reading comprehension, and for FREE!
In short, they don't want my money, and I don't think they want your money either.
There's a part that's a common mod for LS engines, an oil catch can that goes inline with the PCV system that recovers oil blow-by.
Colorado Speed offers just about every brand that's made. This would be a good thing, but...
Their web page merely copy-pastes the ad-copy of the manufacturer and the manufacturers are not very good at providing datums you can use to compare and contrast before making an informed buying decision.
They are also a vendor who spends most of their ad money buying supporting vendor memberships on Vette forums.
This is where it goes off the wheels.
I foolishly asked what differentiated the various choices.
I was told, "Those who actually read the post, they buy because they can read."
No, you fucking pricks, I read it and saw it wasn't anything I couldn't get from the manufacturer's web page. In fact, I also read that your prices are exactly MSRP, so why would I want to buy from you?
I'm not getting a better price than buying straight from the maker. I'm not getting any customer service in the form of guidance. I am being told I have poor reading comprehension, and for FREE!
In short, they don't want my money, and I don't think they want your money either.
Nine Is OK By Me
I didn't mean to confuse anyone when I accused Larry Vickers of being a shill.
He is. Accept it.
You might notice a more historical bent to many of my posts?
John Moses Browning's influence in firearms design is still being felt today.
Acknowledging that doesn't mean I am a irredeemable heathen worshiping at the altar of .45 ACP in the Church of Browning.
I've long held that 5.56 and 9mm were perfectly fine rounds. Ask anyone who played Twilight 2000 with me all the way back in 1985!
I bought my first Glock 17 in 1989. My second not long after (because I wasn't 21 and couldn't bring the first one back home from Europe). What caliber was the Glock 17 again? Correct! 9x19mm Parabellum/Luger/NATO.
Yes, I carried a 1911 in .45 for a while. I happen to like the 1911 and accept its limitations with regards to capacity and maintenance.
But if I was completely opposed to 9mm, I'd have never have gotten a 1911 in .38 Super! The fact is I shoot the 1911 well and I'm comfortable with it.
A level of comfort that's beginning to take hold with my S&W M&P 9. This winter I will be carrying that instead of a 1911 as soon as I scrounge enough money for a set of holsters.
He is. Accept it.
You might notice a more historical bent to many of my posts?
John Moses Browning's influence in firearms design is still being felt today.
Acknowledging that doesn't mean I am a irredeemable heathen worshiping at the altar of .45 ACP in the Church of Browning.
I've long held that 5.56 and 9mm were perfectly fine rounds. Ask anyone who played Twilight 2000 with me all the way back in 1985!
I bought my first Glock 17 in 1989. My second not long after (because I wasn't 21 and couldn't bring the first one back home from Europe). What caliber was the Glock 17 again? Correct! 9x19mm Parabellum/Luger/NATO.
Yes, I carried a 1911 in .45 for a while. I happen to like the 1911 and accept its limitations with regards to capacity and maintenance.
But if I was completely opposed to 9mm, I'd have never have gotten a 1911 in .38 Super! The fact is I shoot the 1911 well and I'm comfortable with it.
A level of comfort that's beginning to take hold with my S&W M&P 9. This winter I will be carrying that instead of a 1911 as soon as I scrounge enough money for a set of holsters.
10 October 2015
Panic Buying
I don't understand what's special about this time around.
Every purchase I make is a panic purchase.
I purchase; then I panic that The Lovely Harvey will find out how much I REALLY spent.
Every purchase I make is a panic purchase.
I purchase; then I panic that The Lovely Harvey will find out how much I REALLY spent.
WRONG!
Pandora cannot be orbiting a planet in the Alpha Centauri system.
How do I know?
Because the Na'vi clearly aren't the Fithp (or the race that preceded them).
How do I know?
Because the Na'vi clearly aren't the Fithp (or the race that preceded them).
Jaded
Larry Vickers comes out and says that 9mm is superior to .45 ACP.
All I can think is, "OK, who's paying him to say that?"
All I can think is, "OK, who's paying him to say that?"
Some Routine Expedition
Tam reminds me of Land of the Lost.
The original saturday morning version.
First things first, if you have fond childhood memories of the show: Do not under any circumstances rewatch them as an adult.
Childhood nostalgia is a fragile thing, like a soap bubble.
However, if you MUST watch them, they're actually not horridly written (it's the acting that kills them for adults).
Speaking of the writing... Larry Niven! Yes, THAT Larry Niven.
I'd really love to see a modern version of the show made that took it seriously. I don't think I can say "FUCK YOU" loudly and emphatically enough to Will Ferrell over his version.
Likewise, I'd like to see someone tackle the world and story from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. Upping the rating to PG-13 and remembering that your target audience isn't six would make it very entertaining. A couple of those episodes were very dark.
The original saturday morning version.
First things first, if you have fond childhood memories of the show: Do not under any circumstances rewatch them as an adult.
Childhood nostalgia is a fragile thing, like a soap bubble.
However, if you MUST watch them, they're actually not horridly written (it's the acting that kills them for adults).
Speaking of the writing... Larry Niven! Yes, THAT Larry Niven.
I'd really love to see a modern version of the show made that took it seriously. I don't think I can say "FUCK YOU" loudly and emphatically enough to Will Ferrell over his version.
Likewise, I'd like to see someone tackle the world and story from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. Upping the rating to PG-13 and remembering that your target audience isn't six would make it very entertaining. A couple of those episodes were very dark.
09 October 2015
Haphazard Application Of Purity Testing
I continue my refusal to enrich Christopher Titus.
The three specials he's produced since I stopped paying for them have confirmed something for me. (The material is readily available for free from many sources.)
When a dancing monkey crosses the liberal political rubicon, they're not coming back.
What's worse is the specials are decreasingly funny as time passes.
There's a couple of good laughs, but...
There's lots of things about me that I can laugh about, but too many comedians forget to put the joke on the comments about some things that matter to me.
The "I'm not anti-gun but..." rant about the NRA just wasn't funny. There wasn't a punchline attached.
Face it, Chris, you're a democrat and you're anti-gun and you should pay close attention to the people who're trying to tell you that one of your rants is nearly word for word out of Mussolini's mouth.
Dammit, you used to be funny! Now you're sad.
The three specials he's produced since I stopped paying for them have confirmed something for me. (The material is readily available for free from many sources.)
When a dancing monkey crosses the liberal political rubicon, they're not coming back.
What's worse is the specials are decreasingly funny as time passes.
There's a couple of good laughs, but...
There's lots of things about me that I can laugh about, but too many comedians forget to put the joke on the comments about some things that matter to me.
The "I'm not anti-gun but..." rant about the NRA just wasn't funny. There wasn't a punchline attached.
Face it, Chris, you're a democrat and you're anti-gun and you should pay close attention to the people who're trying to tell you that one of your rants is nearly word for word out of Mussolini's mouth.
Dammit, you used to be funny! Now you're sad.
This Could Get Exciting
Florida Statute 790.335 (1) (a) 4. "Law-abiding firearm owners whose names have been illegally recorded in a list, record, or registry are entitled to redress."
The pawn shop collected from me all of the information required if I was selling or pawning to them.
Chapters 538 and 539 don't require any paperwork beyond the Federal for the buyer of the gun.
Even more fun it looks like, if NPR required it, they're afoul of 790.335(2) (d) which forbids compiling and computerizing firearm records.
It took me all of an hour to look up this stuff. I'm not even a lawyer.
Shall I be a plaintiff?
Save The Nauga
Just in case you didn't know... Vinyl is sometimes known as naugahyde.
I am known to spin a yarn, from time to time.
Occasionally I hook someone who doesn't know enough to tell that the tale is constructed entirely of bullshit.
Having a confederate who will back your outrageous claims assists a lot in keeping the ignorant from losing their willing suspension of disbelief. Special thanks to FuzzyGeff and Mikhail Ronaldovich in this regard.
There was a burger joint in Ames, Ruttles, that was upholstered in shocking green vinyl. So shockingly green you were convinced that they asked the warehouse what was cheapest, got the green, and then decorated around it.
Decent burgers though.
Ames, being a college town, has a large population of young adults who've got absolutely zero miles on their odometers and are just starting to realize that their educations to this point, to put it politely, skimmed the available pool of data where it wasn't outright glossed over.
This makes them vulnerable to stories told with a straight face and conviction.
We were talking about what the attributes of the nauga must be and how the vinyl industry had hunted them near to extinction...
That's when some 19 year old at the next table asked us what we were on about.
So I started in on how the price of cow leather had gone up over the years and how substitute hides were introduced to fill demand in the auto industry, but the wild herds of nauga were nearly depleted and it was proving difficult to raise them in captivity.
When confronted with vinyl being an artificially made product, I just hit them with the conspiracy angle... with endangered species laws, wouldn't YOU hide that you were single handedly wiping a species off the map?
Mikhail provided supporting "evidence" of the scarcity by mentioning how you hardly see a car with vinyl seats, most going over to cloth now...
FuzzyGeff stepped in and noted that the prices Ruttles charged for a burger were likely to pay for the extravagance of upholstering in naugahyde, in its natural color no less...
They were hooked.
They left, ready to campaign to save the East African Nauga from poachers and certain extinction.
I am known to spin a yarn, from time to time.
Occasionally I hook someone who doesn't know enough to tell that the tale is constructed entirely of bullshit.
Having a confederate who will back your outrageous claims assists a lot in keeping the ignorant from losing their willing suspension of disbelief. Special thanks to FuzzyGeff and Mikhail Ronaldovich in this regard.
There was a burger joint in Ames, Ruttles, that was upholstered in shocking green vinyl. So shockingly green you were convinced that they asked the warehouse what was cheapest, got the green, and then decorated around it.
Decent burgers though.
Ames, being a college town, has a large population of young adults who've got absolutely zero miles on their odometers and are just starting to realize that their educations to this point, to put it politely, skimmed the available pool of data where it wasn't outright glossed over.
This makes them vulnerable to stories told with a straight face and conviction.
We were talking about what the attributes of the nauga must be and how the vinyl industry had hunted them near to extinction...
That's when some 19 year old at the next table asked us what we were on about.
So I started in on how the price of cow leather had gone up over the years and how substitute hides were introduced to fill demand in the auto industry, but the wild herds of nauga were nearly depleted and it was proving difficult to raise them in captivity.
When confronted with vinyl being an artificially made product, I just hit them with the conspiracy angle... with endangered species laws, wouldn't YOU hide that you were single handedly wiping a species off the map?
Mikhail provided supporting "evidence" of the scarcity by mentioning how you hardly see a car with vinyl seats, most going over to cloth now...
FuzzyGeff stepped in and noted that the prices Ruttles charged for a burger were likely to pay for the extravagance of upholstering in naugahyde, in its natural color no less...
They were hooked.
They left, ready to campaign to save the East African Nauga from poachers and certain extinction.
A Difference In Defintion
I can be a very patient person.
You tell me a month, I can wait a month.
You tell me a year, I can wait a year.
You tell me "a couple of days"...
I'm going to start agitating at about the one week mark.
At two weeks I call you a liar.
At a month I tell everyone I know to avoid you.
Why?
Because if you'd meant a month, you should have said a month!
Being honest doesn't cost you anyone you really want to associate with anyways.
You tell me a month, I can wait a month.
You tell me a year, I can wait a year.
You tell me "a couple of days"...
I'm going to start agitating at about the one week mark.
At two weeks I call you a liar.
At a month I tell everyone I know to avoid you.
Why?
Because if you'd meant a month, you should have said a month!
Being honest doesn't cost you anyone you really want to associate with anyways.
Time To Departure
Weer'd mentioned in comments that his average time from "I'll take it" to darkening the door on the way out is about an hour on buying a gun.
Around here it's been about 15 minutes, with most of them being spent with the FFL on hold to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to get the "instant" background check done. Some FFL's use the handy computerized system which takesa substantially shorter... uh... the exact same amount of time as using the phone system.
Fill out the 4473, wait for FDLE, ring up the sale, out the door!
Oft times, though, I loiter around being social far longer because I frequent gun shops with friendly staffs.
The hour I spent buying the Phoenix/Raven stands out in how much more burdensome the process was compared to other shops.
I am not certain why Fifth Avenue Jewelry & Pawn in New Port Richey, FL requires so much more information and a photo to make a pistol sale, but it substantially lengthens the process. And it's entirely their extra steps that make it longer.
I selected the nickel plated, toilet seat gripped POS .25 ACP powerhouse.
I fill out the 4473 and produce ID and CCW.
I answer all of the questions on the 4473 again to the sales clerk plus provide a phone number, eye color and have my picture taken. With long pauses between questions while their system absorbs the inputs.
Then the shop employee enters the 4473 into the FDLE online check system.
Approved and done.
The employee was borderline evasive about why they were doing all this extra shit in the middle, but implied that it was something that The City of New Port Richey required of pawn shops on every sale.
If it is NPR's ordinance that requires it, then they're afoul of the State of Florida's firearms preemption law. I think the courts have even held that you can't loophole around it by saying things like "all sales".
If it's just store policy to be so nosy, I don't think I will be buying anything there again. A quick check of the city ordinances reveals nothing requiring the level of scrutiny they demanded.
Around here it's been about 15 minutes, with most of them being spent with the FFL on hold to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to get the "instant" background check done. Some FFL's use the handy computerized system which takes
Fill out the 4473, wait for FDLE, ring up the sale, out the door!
Oft times, though, I loiter around being social far longer because I frequent gun shops with friendly staffs.
The hour I spent buying the Phoenix/Raven stands out in how much more burdensome the process was compared to other shops.
I am not certain why Fifth Avenue Jewelry & Pawn in New Port Richey, FL requires so much more information and a photo to make a pistol sale, but it substantially lengthens the process. And it's entirely their extra steps that make it longer.
I selected the nickel plated, toilet seat gripped POS .25 ACP powerhouse.
I fill out the 4473 and produce ID and CCW.
I answer all of the questions on the 4473 again to the sales clerk plus provide a phone number, eye color and have my picture taken. With long pauses between questions while their system absorbs the inputs.
Then the shop employee enters the 4473 into the FDLE online check system.
Approved and done.
The employee was borderline evasive about why they were doing all this extra shit in the middle, but implied that it was something that The City of New Port Richey required of pawn shops on every sale.
If it is NPR's ordinance that requires it, then they're afoul of the State of Florida's firearms preemption law. I think the courts have even held that you can't loophole around it by saying things like "all sales".
If it's just store policy to be so nosy, I don't think I will be buying anything there again. A quick check of the city ordinances reveals nothing requiring the level of scrutiny they demanded.
08 October 2015
Gun Buying Quote
FFL: "OK, just a minute and and we'll have your [NICS] check finished."
Me: "A minute? I thought this was supposed to be an instant background check!"
FFL: "Instant to government standards."
Me: "A minute? I thought this was supposed to be an instant background check!"
FFL: "Instant to government standards."
Glowy Inna Da Dark
The tritium in the Meprolight sights on my Glock 21 is long dead.
The still kinda glow, if you let your eyes adjust to total darkness for a while.
I am in a quandary about replacing them.
Even with dead tritium, they're still fine iron sights with three dots.
I've noticed that I can't see the dots at all in my TruGlo sights when I am running the flashlight, they're silhouetted so neither the tritium or the fiber optic does much good.
Are radioactive sights still stylish? Or have they become the skinny jeans of gun hipstering?
The still kinda glow, if you let your eyes adjust to total darkness for a while.
I am in a quandary about replacing them.
Even with dead tritium, they're still fine iron sights with three dots.
I've noticed that I can't see the dots at all in my TruGlo sights when I am running the flashlight, they're silhouetted so neither the tritium or the fiber optic does much good.
Are radioactive sights still stylish? Or have they become the skinny jeans of gun hipstering?
07 October 2015
Training Downfall
Sitting here on the sidelines and reading about it...
Once someone has been to about three big name, reputable classes...
Suddenly if you've never been, you might as well just shoot yourself since without TRAINING® you're dead anyways. Except you'd fail to shoot yourself properly because you don't have TRAINING®.
It's a pattern.
It's a bit of a tiresome pattern, really, because along with the I'VE BEEN TO TRAINING® T-Shirt comes the name-dropping TRAINED® BY NAME AT PLACE® with nearly no information of what was taught or why, unless you count TRAINING® MANDATORY as both what and why.
After a bit you notice they start dressing alike... Using the same gun, but not that readily available gun unless it's been to NAME GUNSMITHING® to be heavily worked over to this years fashion in DPI or stipple pattern and brand of sights.
Reminds one of hipsters right quick it does.
Update:
I am not referring to anyone in the sidebar. Just in case you were wondering.
Once someone has been to about three big name, reputable classes...
Suddenly if you've never been, you might as well just shoot yourself since without TRAINING® you're dead anyways. Except you'd fail to shoot yourself properly because you don't have TRAINING®.
It's a pattern.
It's a bit of a tiresome pattern, really, because along with the I'VE BEEN TO TRAINING® T-Shirt comes the name-dropping TRAINED® BY NAME AT PLACE® with nearly no information of what was taught or why, unless you count TRAINING® MANDATORY as both what and why.
After a bit you notice they start dressing alike... Using the same gun, but not that readily available gun unless it's been to NAME GUNSMITHING® to be heavily worked over to this years fashion in DPI or stipple pattern and brand of sights.
Reminds one of hipsters right quick it does.
Update:
I am not referring to anyone in the sidebar. Just in case you were wondering.
Degree In Rhetoric?
Unless your name is Joshua Chamberlain, people are probably not going to be impressed with your degree in rhetoric.
Even if that is your name, it's not his degree people are impressed with.
Just sayin'...
Even if that is your name, it's not his degree people are impressed with.
Just sayin'...
Finished With Frog Lube.
I used FrogLube to clean up my N Pieper model 1909 when I got it last year in June.
I took it out yesterday when I was rearranging the shelf in the gun cabinet to make room for the Raven 25. With the AD fresh in my mind I pulled back on the slide to check the chamber and it didn't want to move.
It took a LOT of effort to open the slide and get the magazine to drop.
So I took it apart to see if I could figure out why.
FrogLube.
Froglube turns into molasses if you let it sit on the gun. The little Pieper was near locked up solid from it.
A little Shooter's Choice solvent and a bit of LSA to grease it up and everything is working correctly again.
You don't know if something works until someone tries it, that's why I bought the FrogLube in the first place. Short term, it seems to work great. Long term it's no longer an L, but the P seems to work.
I took it out yesterday when I was rearranging the shelf in the gun cabinet to make room for the Raven 25. With the AD fresh in my mind I pulled back on the slide to check the chamber and it didn't want to move.
It took a LOT of effort to open the slide and get the magazine to drop.
So I took it apart to see if I could figure out why.
FrogLube.
Froglube turns into molasses if you let it sit on the gun. The little Pieper was near locked up solid from it.
A little Shooter's Choice solvent and a bit of LSA to grease it up and everything is working correctly again.
You don't know if something works until someone tries it, that's why I bought the FrogLube in the first place. Short term, it seems to work great. Long term it's no longer an L, but the P seems to work.
06 October 2015
Oooops
An honest to pete accidental discharge!
Willard bought himself an MAB Modele C in .32.
Everything seemed to be working correctly, so I chambered a round, pointing at my favorite strongest interior wall corner...
BANG!
The round hit the terrazzo and the lead splashed under the joists behind the drywall. In accordance with Rule 4, I aimed where there was a 6x6 to take the hit should something like this happen.
No finger on trigger or nothing, animals scattered to under the nearest beds.
With "snappy" cycling of the slide, we get about 1 in 5 where it lets the striker go. Riding the slide home it rarely drops the striker until you pull the trigger.
The striker is worn at the sear hook. The sear looks like someone tried to correct for wear at some point, or this could be an attempt at a trigger job by Bubba. Dunno.
New sear and striker on order from Numrich.
It's got a lot in common with a Browning 1910 except for the trigger mechanism.
Willard bought himself an MAB Modele C in .32.
Everything seemed to be working correctly, so I chambered a round, pointing at my favorite strongest interior wall corner...
BANG!
The round hit the terrazzo and the lead splashed under the joists behind the drywall. In accordance with Rule 4, I aimed where there was a 6x6 to take the hit should something like this happen.
No finger on trigger or nothing, animals scattered to under the nearest beds.
With "snappy" cycling of the slide, we get about 1 in 5 where it lets the striker go. Riding the slide home it rarely drops the striker until you pull the trigger.
The striker is worn at the sear hook. The sear looks like someone tried to correct for wear at some point, or this could be an attempt at a trigger job by Bubba. Dunno.
New sear and striker on order from Numrich.
It's got a lot in common with a Browning 1910 except for the trigger mechanism.
Needless And Tedious
And possibly illegal...
The Raven 25 I acquired yesterday might be the most tedious transfer of a firearm I've ever experienced; and I own NFA guns!
There was the normal ATF 4473, that's to be expected.
It was the battery of extra questions, photograph and waiting for the City of New Port Richey, Florida's system to kick in that became tedious. This took an hour.
We weren't waiting on the FDLE system, because the pawn shop owner didn't even start that until he'd managed to successfully enter the sale into the NPR system.
NPR might be afoul of the law by requiring pawn shops to take these extra steps, because Florida has a pre-emption law.
Who do I contact now that I have standing?
The Raven 25 I acquired yesterday might be the most tedious transfer of a firearm I've ever experienced; and I own NFA guns!
There was the normal ATF 4473, that's to be expected.
It was the battery of extra questions, photograph and waiting for the City of New Port Richey, Florida's system to kick in that became tedious. This took an hour.
We weren't waiting on the FDLE system, because the pawn shop owner didn't even start that until he'd managed to successfully enter the sale into the NPR system.
NPR might be afoul of the law by requiring pawn shops to take these extra steps, because Florida has a pre-emption law.
Who do I contact now that I have standing?
Free Boolits!
Be an Ammunition To Go Ammo Ambassador!
It's a race!
Click on this link!
Print the target you find there.
Take a new shooter to the range.
Take a picture of the new shooter smile!
Upload the pic to Ammo To Go's website and if you were prompt about it and are among the first 1,000 to reply; you get some free boolits!
Can't beat that!
Seems a win-win for everyone.
It's a race!
Click on this link!
Print the target you find there.
Take a new shooter to the range.
Take a picture of the new shooter smile!
Upload the pic to Ammo To Go's website and if you were prompt about it and are among the first 1,000 to reply; you get some free boolits!
Can't beat that!
Seems a win-win for everyone.
05 October 2015
Eject
Something I've noticed in a few .25's is the firing pin does double duty as the ejector.
Apparently John Moses Browning himself decided that whacking an unfired round in the primer while ejecting it is A-OK.
 |
| Raven 25 |
 |
| Colt 1908 Vest Pocket The FN 1905 Vest Pocket is the same. |
 |
| RG Industries RG42 |
 |
| Browning Baby |
Apparently John Moses Browning himself decided that whacking an unfired round in the primer while ejecting it is A-OK.
Super Broke
Willard attempted to take delivery of a Super B in 9x19mm today.
It did not go as well as hoped.
The first sign of problems was the crack running from just behind the magazine release cut out on the right side into the stock cut-out.
Then it wouldn't come apart. The release didn't want to swing and then the slide didn't want to come forward once the release was pivoted.
Discovered the culprit was the magazine disconnect. Split in half!
It's retained in much the same way as a 1911 magazine release, and it was very fiddly getting the halves lined up to get the retainer to rotate. Then the half stuck in the hole didn't want to come out.
Like many other disconnectors if it's simply removed, the gun doesn't work any more. This also is the detent that holds the disassembly latch in the assembled position.
AIM is being good about it, and sending an RMA to the gun shop to exchange it for a different one.
Ironically, Willard paid the extra money for hand select. Makes you wonder what the other four looked like since AIM does the best of five in hand picking.
It did not go as well as hoped.
The first sign of problems was the crack running from just behind the magazine release cut out on the right side into the stock cut-out.
Then it wouldn't come apart. The release didn't want to swing and then the slide didn't want to come forward once the release was pivoted.
Discovered the culprit was the magazine disconnect. Split in half!
It's retained in much the same way as a 1911 magazine release, and it was very fiddly getting the halves lined up to get the retainer to rotate. Then the half stuck in the hole didn't want to come out.
Like many other disconnectors if it's simply removed, the gun doesn't work any more. This also is the detent that holds the disassembly latch in the assembled position.
AIM is being good about it, and sending an RMA to the gun shop to exchange it for a different one.
Ironically, Willard paid the extra money for hand select. Makes you wonder what the other four looked like since AIM does the best of five in hand picking.
Made In The USA
Phoenix Arms Raven 25!
Top of the line of post-68 made in the USA .25 ACP handguns!
I appears to be unfired!
Six plus one shots of chrome plated faux ivory gripped terror!
By the way, this thing weighs a whole pound loaded. It's officially the heaviest .25 I've ever owned.
As an aside, why is it illegal to trade in the merely endangered ivory of the elephant but perfectly acceptable to trade in the ivory of the extinct faux?
And is the faux related to the nauga?
Top of the line of post-68 made in the USA .25 ACP handguns!
I appears to be unfired!
Six plus one shots of chrome plated faux ivory gripped terror!
By the way, this thing weighs a whole pound loaded. It's officially the heaviest .25 I've ever owned.
As an aside, why is it illegal to trade in the merely endangered ivory of the elephant but perfectly acceptable to trade in the ivory of the extinct faux?
And is the faux related to the nauga?
Believeable
Why is it that I am finding the statements of a foreign leader more plausible and accurate than those of the president of my own nation?
Especially when the foreign leader has every incentive to lie in their favor and at our expense?
Is it because I look at Putin and think, "he's probably lying," rather than when I look at Obama and think, "he's definitely lying"?
Especially when the foreign leader has every incentive to lie in their favor and at our expense?
Is it because I look at Putin and think, "he's probably lying," rather than when I look at Obama and think, "he's definitely lying"?
National Taco Day
Today was national taco day.
So we made tacos! No pictures because we inhaled them.
Today is also the first Sunday in October.
The day we decorate for Halloween!
The Lovely Harvey, loves this holiday more than any other.
So we made tacos! No pictures because we inhaled them.
Today is also the first Sunday in October.
The day we decorate for Halloween!
The Lovely Harvey, loves this holiday more than any other.
04 October 2015
It's Official
Trump's going to be president.
I just found an article equating him with Hitler.
Prepare for eight years of Trumphitler!
No word on if he has been compared to a chimpanzee or if he ever shirked his duties in the New Jersey Air National Guard.
I just found an article equating him with Hitler.
Prepare for eight years of Trumphitler!
No word on if he has been compared to a chimpanzee or if he ever shirked his duties in the New Jersey Air National Guard.
03 October 2015
El Colto
Just dead sexy this is.
Sistema Colt Modelo 1927. As close to a milspec M1911A1 as you can get without a United States Property roll-mark or a prancing pony logo.
This gun just sold on Gunbroker for $921. I remember putting two friends together so that $250 could be exchanged for one of these about 25 years ago. I can also remember them going for even less than $150 as well.
Sistema Colt Modelo 1927. As close to a milspec M1911A1 as you can get without a United States Property roll-mark or a prancing pony logo.
This gun just sold on Gunbroker for $921. I remember putting two friends together so that $250 could be exchanged for one of these about 25 years ago. I can also remember them going for even less than $150 as well.
Wrong FSA
When I heard that Putin was bombing concentrations of the FSA I was alarmed but happy.
How dare he attack America? On the other hand, we need to cull the herds of the Free Shit Army here...
Then I discovered FSA meant "Free Syrian Army"...
I stand corrected.
How dare he attack America? On the other hand, we need to cull the herds of the Free Shit Army here...
Then I discovered FSA meant "Free Syrian Army"...
I stand corrected.
Schism
No, you idiot, it is not inconsistent of Ted Cruz to condemn something The Pope said while also expressing his Christian beliefs.
Senator Cruz isn't Catholic.
The Pope is the head of The Catholic Church.
Protestants, like Southern Baptists, are free to ignore and criticize The Pope. He's merely the leader of a sect of Christianity that's already wrong in some way, so why expect him to be right about it now?
Senator Cruz isn't Catholic.
The Pope is the head of The Catholic Church.
Protestants, like Southern Baptists, are free to ignore and criticize The Pope. He's merely the leader of a sect of Christianity that's already wrong in some way, so why expect him to be right about it now?
Click
Something that may have just connected...
I'm an atheist. (How can you tell someone is an atheist? Just wait, they'll tell you.) I don't think there's a God. Full stop.
I could get all haughty and mock those who do believe there is a God (or Gods).
To what end?
What good comes of it?
But the connection that just clicked is many atheists demanding "freedom from religion". The demand is that they never, ever encounter any expression of Belief anywhere. The tools they use to achieve this goal are generally familiar, and are also used by those seeking tyranny or fascism. Gee, guys, can you think of any reason I'm suspicious of your motives?
But, here in America, we have this freedom of religion thing and it's in the same amendment as that free speech thing.
Because someone can say whatever they'd like, I'm going to be subject to hearing or reading it from time to time. Because someone can worship as they like, I'm going to be subject to seeing or hearing about it from time to time.
As long as they're not forcing me to worship as they do, my rights are not violated by their worship or advocacy. They can even proselytize at me, as long as they have to take no for an answer and leave me alone after that.
Crosses on hills and in cemeteries don't worry me. Not while we're blithely ignoring religions that will demand I convert and worship as they do or suffer a punishment. A punishment that may include killing me.
Jehova's Witnesses at the door are small beer compared to convert or die, no?
I'd also like to mention that I've seen an atheist meme quoting some dancing monkey atheist who says no God ever came out to help in a disaster, just people. While that is true, what it misses is how many religious organizations contribute to disaster relief and don't even demand a thank you, let alone conversion to their sect. The ones that do stand out in their exception.
I'm an atheist. (How can you tell someone is an atheist? Just wait, they'll tell you.) I don't think there's a God. Full stop.
I could get all haughty and mock those who do believe there is a God (or Gods).
To what end?
What good comes of it?
But the connection that just clicked is many atheists demanding "freedom from religion". The demand is that they never, ever encounter any expression of Belief anywhere. The tools they use to achieve this goal are generally familiar, and are also used by those seeking tyranny or fascism. Gee, guys, can you think of any reason I'm suspicious of your motives?
But, here in America, we have this freedom of religion thing and it's in the same amendment as that free speech thing.
Because someone can say whatever they'd like, I'm going to be subject to hearing or reading it from time to time. Because someone can worship as they like, I'm going to be subject to seeing or hearing about it from time to time.
As long as they're not forcing me to worship as they do, my rights are not violated by their worship or advocacy. They can even proselytize at me, as long as they have to take no for an answer and leave me alone after that.
Crosses on hills and in cemeteries don't worry me. Not while we're blithely ignoring religions that will demand I convert and worship as they do or suffer a punishment. A punishment that may include killing me.
Jehova's Witnesses at the door are small beer compared to convert or die, no?
I'd also like to mention that I've seen an atheist meme quoting some dancing monkey atheist who says no God ever came out to help in a disaster, just people. While that is true, what it misses is how many religious organizations contribute to disaster relief and don't even demand a thank you, let alone conversion to their sect. The ones that do stand out in their exception.
So Common
It's so common it's got to be hard wired into our brains.
I see comment threads over and over where the debate becomes about the meaning of a single word without regard to the context that the word appears in.
Especially true where the word appears in a context where its use is deliberately ironic.
A recent example is "policing for profit". This refers to the police having a strong financial incentive to emphasize investigations and arrests that lead to confiscation under civil forfeiture laws.
Honest to the Gods there's someone complaining that this isn't really profit because profit requires the voluntary exchange of goods.
This person is clearly a kind of Libertarian I encountered enough on L. Neil Smith's blog that I stopped reading The Libertarian Enterprise altogether. If you've libertarian leanings, you've met them, and likely screamed at the screen, "SHUT UP YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" while praying that they never get in front of a camera when the media wishes to show what kind of nut-case becomes a slavering anarchist Libertarian.
This side trip about the meaning of a single word completely derailed any discussion of the actual text of the post and after a few loops you have to re-read the original post to remember what the author was talking about before it started.
But, hey, we now know what the meaning of 'is' is.
I see comment threads over and over where the debate becomes about the meaning of a single word without regard to the context that the word appears in.
Especially true where the word appears in a context where its use is deliberately ironic.
A recent example is "policing for profit". This refers to the police having a strong financial incentive to emphasize investigations and arrests that lead to confiscation under civil forfeiture laws.
Honest to the Gods there's someone complaining that this isn't really profit because profit requires the voluntary exchange of goods.
This person is clearly a kind of Libertarian I encountered enough on L. Neil Smith's blog that I stopped reading The Libertarian Enterprise altogether. If you've libertarian leanings, you've met them, and likely screamed at the screen, "SHUT UP YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" while praying that they never get in front of a camera when the media wishes to show what kind of nut-case becomes a slavering anarchist Libertarian.
This side trip about the meaning of a single word completely derailed any discussion of the actual text of the post and after a few loops you have to re-read the original post to remember what the author was talking about before it started.
But, hey, we now know what the meaning of 'is' is.
Lack Of Understanding
Determining what twist is best for what bullet weight.
Take the bore diameter, bullet length and velocity and plug them into a calculus equation.
Walla! Done!
I can't do that. It's been near 20 years since I took calculus and I spent almost all of that time actively trying to forget it.
However, there's an easier way.
Rote memorization of "this loading goes with this twist".
You don't understand why, but you do know what.
That's actually enough.
Take the bore diameter, bullet length and velocity and plug them into a calculus equation.
Walla! Done!
I can't do that. It's been near 20 years since I took calculus and I spent almost all of that time actively trying to forget it.
However, there's an easier way.
Rote memorization of "this loading goes with this twist".
You don't understand why, but you do know what.
That's actually enough.
I Ain't No Crackah
I be a carpetbagger.
I was born up there in DamnYankeeLand, and moved south to exploit its riches.
FFS, get your stereotyping right!
I was born up there in DamnYankeeLand, and moved south to exploit its riches.
FFS, get your stereotyping right!
02 October 2015
Definition
Barometer.
A device used to measure the pressure exerted by a wight agains the walls of their barrow.
A device used to measure the pressure exerted by a wight agains the walls of their barrow.
Still Not The Point
Joe posts a quote.
For some reason I am reminded of David Brin and his idea of The Jefferson Rifle.
Mr Brin seems so close to getting it, but ultimately never crosses the line.
Like so many people he's wrapped around opening phrase of the 2nd Amendment.
You'd think that someone who writes for a living would understand sentence structure better, wouldn't you?
We don't need another amendment to fix things. We blatantly ignore the amendments already on the books now, passing a new one to "fix" the 2nd is just a form of "more, but harder."
I've only limited exposure to his fiction, just the books in the Uplift series and The Postman.
From what I've read of his opinion pieces is he's a liberal who thinks they're a libertarian with conservative leanings. Because he so misidentifies himself, he can't properly speak for the person he thinks he is or understand people who are actually libertarian/conservative.
For some reason I am reminded of David Brin and his idea of The Jefferson Rifle.
Mr Brin seems so close to getting it, but ultimately never crosses the line.
Like so many people he's wrapped around opening phrase of the 2nd Amendment.
You'd think that someone who writes for a living would understand sentence structure better, wouldn't you?
We don't need another amendment to fix things. We blatantly ignore the amendments already on the books now, passing a new one to "fix" the 2nd is just a form of "more, but harder."
I've only limited exposure to his fiction, just the books in the Uplift series and The Postman.
From what I've read of his opinion pieces is he's a liberal who thinks they're a libertarian with conservative leanings. Because he so misidentifies himself, he can't properly speak for the person he thinks he is or understand people who are actually libertarian/conservative.
Dear Wilson Combat
Any part for the AR that requires the removal of the front sight base and barrel nut for installation is not "drop in".
A Geissele trigger is drop in.
A free float forearm is not.
A Geissele trigger is drop in.
A free float forearm is not.
Dancing Monkey Strike
This time it's voice actors.
If they never record another voice over for animation or video game...
I still have food on the table.
The water still flows from the faucet.
My car still starts.
The range is still open.
My familystill barely tolerates loves me.
In other words, whether they work or not has almost exactly zero effect on my life whatsoever. Since their working, or not, doesn't affect my life I don't give a fuck how much they get paid.
Well, shouldn't give a fuck...
The fact is all forms of acting is really not that hard. It is a skill that can be learned, and like all skills some are naturally better at it than others. But it's a lot harder to acquire the skill of getting an order right at Chili's during lunch rush than to memorize some dialog and deliver those lines with feeling.
Pay actors minimum wage. Better yet, make them work for tips.
Actors are the gloss paint job on a hot-car. The thing that everyone notices the most, but matters the least.
Name an actor from ancient Greece. Can you? Now name an author.
Who starred in the first performance of Romeo and Juliet. Who played Juliet when it was performed for the queen? Bet you know who wrote Romeo and Juliet though, don't you?
Actors do not matter. Just ask Darrin Stephens and Becky Conner. More apt to a voice actor's strike, just look at how the cast of The Simpsons shrinks as people are fired and another begins to assume more voices. And those voice actors being perfectly willing to take the role for a small increase of pay and take someone else's job kind of torpedoes the entire union brotherhood portion of the argument.
If they never record another voice over for animation or video game...
I still have food on the table.
The water still flows from the faucet.
My car still starts.
The range is still open.
My family
In other words, whether they work or not has almost exactly zero effect on my life whatsoever. Since their working, or not, doesn't affect my life I don't give a fuck how much they get paid.
Well, shouldn't give a fuck...
The fact is all forms of acting is really not that hard. It is a skill that can be learned, and like all skills some are naturally better at it than others. But it's a lot harder to acquire the skill of getting an order right at Chili's during lunch rush than to memorize some dialog and deliver those lines with feeling.
Pay actors minimum wage. Better yet, make them work for tips.
Actors are the gloss paint job on a hot-car. The thing that everyone notices the most, but matters the least.
Name an actor from ancient Greece. Can you? Now name an author.
Who starred in the first performance of Romeo and Juliet. Who played Juliet when it was performed for the queen? Bet you know who wrote Romeo and Juliet though, don't you?
Actors do not matter. Just ask Darrin Stephens and Becky Conner. More apt to a voice actor's strike, just look at how the cast of The Simpsons shrinks as people are fired and another begins to assume more voices. And those voice actors being perfectly willing to take the role for a small increase of pay and take someone else's job kind of torpedoes the entire union brotherhood portion of the argument.
Position Shift
Because all of these mass shootings occur at gun-free-victim zones, I am removing my sympathies for the victims.
It's been clear for a long time this is where such events happen, and these people still disarm and enter them.
I've mentioned before that the victim is a participant in the selection process.
Because the risk is so much higher in those places, you're a fool to enter them.
Even if the no-gun sign has no force of law, don't go there. The murderer might not know that and go there anyways. You have a better chance there, because someone might be shooting back, but it's better to have no shooting at all going on.
It's been clear for a long time this is where such events happen, and these people still disarm and enter them.
I've mentioned before that the victim is a participant in the selection process.
Because the risk is so much higher in those places, you're a fool to enter them.
Even if the no-gun sign has no force of law, don't go there. The murderer might not know that and go there anyways. You have a better chance there, because someone might be shooting back, but it's better to have no shooting at all going on.
01 October 2015
Of Frog Lube And Light Strikes
July of last year I had my Glock 21 all apart and thoroughly degreased and cleaned.
I used FrogLube CLP as the LP when I put it back together.
A year untouched in the safe and the FrogLube now has the consistency of Karo syrup.
The pistol had three light strikes in 50 rounds using Federal Champion aluminum case 230gr FMJ RN (CAL45230). Ammo that had never given us any problems in other guns.
So I pulled the striker right there at the range, cleaned out the no longer green FrogLube and applied good old-fashioned LSA to the affected area.
No more light strikes.
I might not be able to drink it, but LSA never seems to stop being a lubricant, even dried out the pasty residue still acts like a grease.
Top right, getting reacquainted. Center, loaning it to Ian who'd never shot a G21 before and generally doesn't care for semi-autos. Left targets are one magazine each after cleaning the firing pin. 7 yards for all shooting. The embarrassing flier on the bottom left target I am blaming on the fans catching the target and blowing it up as I was pulling the trigger.
Yes. That's it.
I used FrogLube CLP as the LP when I put it back together.
A year untouched in the safe and the FrogLube now has the consistency of Karo syrup.
The pistol had three light strikes in 50 rounds using Federal Champion aluminum case 230gr FMJ RN (CAL45230). Ammo that had never given us any problems in other guns.
So I pulled the striker right there at the range, cleaned out the no longer green FrogLube and applied good old-fashioned LSA to the affected area.
No more light strikes.
I might not be able to drink it, but LSA never seems to stop being a lubricant, even dried out the pasty residue still acts like a grease.
Top right, getting reacquainted. Center, loaning it to Ian who'd never shot a G21 before and generally doesn't care for semi-autos. Left targets are one magazine each after cleaning the firing pin. 7 yards for all shooting. The embarrassing flier on the bottom left target I am blaming on the fans catching the target and blowing it up as I was pulling the trigger.
Yes. That's it.
Retro Tacticool
Think you're tactical?
Are you half a sock wrapped in duct-tape to make a twin 1911 magazine pouch tactical?
File this under, "If it's silly, but it works, it's not silly."
Keeps pine needles and other debris out of the magazine mouths.
Are you half a sock wrapped in duct-tape to make a twin 1911 magazine pouch tactical?
File this under, "If it's silly, but it works, it's not silly."
Keeps pine needles and other debris out of the magazine mouths.
Not So Obsolete
My insistence on possessing at copy of my media isn't as obsolete as some people made it out to be.
I was told that I didn't need to own a copy of something because I could always stream it from Netflix...
There's much rending of garments over the present round of expirations.
Since I got my music and movies on a mirrored RAID I've not lost a single song or film.
Of course, I can see the day coming where streaming will be your only legal option. I'm still old fashioned enough to want to control the file.
I was told that I didn't need to own a copy of something because I could always stream it from Netflix...
There's much rending of garments over the present round of expirations.
Since I got my music and movies on a mirrored RAID I've not lost a single song or film.
Of course, I can see the day coming where streaming will be your only legal option. I'm still old fashioned enough to want to control the file.
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