I was on my first leave since getting my spiffy new sergeant's stripes.
I was flying space-available via military airlift command and there was a long wait to fly out of Rhein-Main AB.
So it was loiter upstairs, check the schedule downstairs, go back upstairs... lather rinse repeat.
On one trip back up stairs the stairway is choked with a bunch of guys in BDUs, untucked pants, unshaven, unkempt hair... And me being double frustrated with my travel situation and lack of sleep coupled with a burning desire to test out my new stripe...
There's a reason I have "Dangersense" on all of my GURPS characters depicting Me.
I didn't dress down these obvious slobs.
Who turned out to be a SEAL team.
Probably nothing more than laughing at the silly Army Sergeant would have come of it had I attempted to throw my helium balloon-like weight around. But ass kickings have their beginnings in sticking your over-officious nose where it doesn't belong.
Plus it would have made the flight in the Navy C-9B kinda awkward sitting with them all the way to Norfolk.
29 February 2016
Leap Day
In the 11 years I've been blogging, first on Live Journal and now on Blogger.
I'd never managed to post on leap day before today.
Third time's the charm!
I'd never managed to post on leap day before today.
Third time's the charm!
How Is That
I just noticed my local sheriff's department has a Facebook page.
They have a fugitive of the day post they make.
Every single one has a mugshot already.
Almost as if the doors of justice were revolving.
They have a fugitive of the day post they make.
Every single one has a mugshot already.
Almost as if the doors of justice were revolving.
28 February 2016
This Plastic Lower Is Garbage!
It doesn't fit in my M12 rifle rack.
Worthless.
Oh, wait... The stupid commercial stock is too long fully extended.
CLICK CLICK
All better!
Never mind.
Worthless.
Oh, wait... The stupid commercial stock is too long fully extended.
CLICK CLICK
All better!
Never mind.
Token Characters
How can you tell if the character is a token representative of their demographic?
Their demography is all there is about the character.
Including a demography for the sole purpose of having that demographic represented... that's tokenism in a nutshell.
OK, Mr Abrams, you're going to have gay characters. AND?
Considering there's actually a science fiction story with gay characters that has already set the bar pretty high for the portrayal... Star Wars is going to fail to make that bar.
Check out "You, Me and the Apocalypse" to see what I'm talking about. The gay characters are actually people first. You know, like people are? Their being homosexual is not their entire being and reason for existing in the story.
Their demography is all there is about the character.
Including a demography for the sole purpose of having that demographic represented... that's tokenism in a nutshell.
OK, Mr Abrams, you're going to have gay characters. AND?
Considering there's actually a science fiction story with gay characters that has already set the bar pretty high for the portrayal... Star Wars is going to fail to make that bar.
Check out "You, Me and the Apocalypse" to see what I'm talking about. The gay characters are actually people first. You know, like people are? Their being homosexual is not their entire being and reason for existing in the story.
All The Butter In The World
Here in my stretch of Florida there's a German restaurant.
Those are so rare, it's called The German Restaurant and nobody is confused.
Marv works for food when he helps with things like door installations.
So we went.
Because he'd decided on the same thing I had, I decided to use the German name for the meal instead of the English translation. Our waitress shifted gears into German and we completed the rest of my order there.
It wasn't until I looked at a slightly confused Marvyn that I realized that I'd shifted gears with her without noticing we'd been speaking German.
I don't claim to speak German, but I damn sure learned to order food while I was stationed there, and it seems that I still remember.
The Oberkellner Art is made with all the butter in the world, with a WONDERFUL garlic and onion wine gravy.
Those are so rare, it's called The German Restaurant and nobody is confused.
Marv works for food when he helps with things like door installations.
So we went.
Because he'd decided on the same thing I had, I decided to use the German name for the meal instead of the English translation. Our waitress shifted gears into German and we completed the rest of my order there.
It wasn't until I looked at a slightly confused Marvyn that I realized that I'd shifted gears with her without noticing we'd been speaking German.
I don't claim to speak German, but I damn sure learned to order food while I was stationed there, and it seems that I still remember.
The Oberkellner Art is made with all the butter in the world, with a WONDERFUL garlic and onion wine gravy.
27 February 2016
I Have Committed Carpentry
We replaced the storm door on the front of the house.
We're kind of in shock.
The instructions were clear and the installation agreed with them.
Very happy with Emco doors.
It's strange that it seals well enough there's suction when opening the front door.
We're kind of in shock.
The instructions were clear and the installation agreed with them.
Very happy with Emco doors.
It's strange that it seals well enough there's suction when opening the front door.
Shameless Promotion
A long while back, on Marv's advice, I bought a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.
It's been keeping my pocket knives sharp.
Today I remembered the DVD that came with it and the endless "But can the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker® sharpen a <insert item>?" Answered with a, "Of course can!" That a straight razor was one of the items was something I'd forgotten.
I managed to dull my straight razor with an ill timed strop and it's been that way for about nine months. I despaired of getting it sharpened because there's so few people still using them. Except well heeled hipsters who shave ironically and just replace the $300 thing when it wears out.
Wears out? These should last a lifetime and I ain't dead yet.
Turns out all I needed to do was remember the video and apply the knowledge.
My razor is once again razor sharp.
While I love my Harry's razors, I prefer a straight shave on my face. Harry's are wonderful for my pate.
This also reminds me, do you have the tools to maintain your tools? That's certainly something worth writing a prepper type article on concerning sharpening. Click here and here and here, because someone else already did!
It's been keeping my pocket knives sharp.
Today I remembered the DVD that came with it and the endless "But can the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker® sharpen a <insert item>?" Answered with a, "Of course can!" That a straight razor was one of the items was something I'd forgotten.
I managed to dull my straight razor with an ill timed strop and it's been that way for about nine months. I despaired of getting it sharpened because there's so few people still using them. Except well heeled hipsters who shave ironically and just replace the $300 thing when it wears out.
Wears out? These should last a lifetime and I ain't dead yet.
Turns out all I needed to do was remember the video and apply the knowledge.
My razor is once again razor sharp.
While I love my Harry's razors, I prefer a straight shave on my face. Harry's are wonderful for my pate.
This also reminds me, do you have the tools to maintain your tools? That's certainly something worth writing a prepper type article on concerning sharpening. Click here and here and here, because someone else already did!
26 February 2016
Security
I am pretty darn secure in my manhood and sexuality.
I cannot fathom why someone would want to cradle a set of nuts while shooting their rifle.
I just don't get it.
Maybe I just don't have that close a relationship with my rifle as others do.
I cannot fathom why someone would want to cradle a set of nuts while shooting their rifle.
I just don't get it.
Maybe I just don't have that close a relationship with my rifle as others do.
Really?
Al Sharpton will leave the US if Donald Trump is elected?
I finally have a reason to vote FOR a candidate!
I finally have a reason to vote FOR a candidate!
I Did Not Get Injured
Put The Lovely Harvey's upper on Lavender Linda and hit the range.
The ammo is full-tilt M855. H buffer. New Frontier Armory LPK from AIM surplus.
I fired ten shots slow, checking for cracks between shots.
Then I fired 20 shots in quick doubles.
Still no apparent damage.
While not a definitive reliability or durability test, it's at least not an epic-fail of a disappointment.
More experiment to come.
Round count: 30x M855 ball.
Genuine Plastic Don't Settle For Imitation
LPK installed.
Next step is the range. With a 5.56 upper. I don't think I wanna test it with 6.8 just because the ammo costs more.
25 February 2016
Day At The Range
Willard got his new-to-him Russian Coach Gun some trigger time.
I got The Lovely Harvey's Kevina zeroed to her new scope.
Next up was Dottie.
Dottie really likes Hornady 110gr V-Max. I think I'll buy more of it. Actually, I've been pretty pleased with Hornady in general for ammo. Plus the Z-Max line showed they had a sense of humor.
Update: Quote of the day from Marv, "You're wasting the whole rest of the paper shooting like that!"
I got The Lovely Harvey's Kevina zeroed to her new scope.
 |
| Walking the bursts! That's 32 clicks up and 16 right each time. With a final 8 right before... |
 |
| The ten shot confirmation group. At 25 yards, damn! I'm good with a rifle. |
 |
| That's a three shot group! |
 |
| Pressing my luck, I fired seven more in a group of five and a group of two (because I only had the 5-round magazine and had to reload.) |
Update: Quote of the day from Marv, "You're wasting the whole rest of the paper shooting like that!"
Commerce
I might have mentioned before that I think any business should have the freedom to refuse service to anyone for any reason.
It's literally the flip side of my freedom to refuse to patronize a business for any, or no reason.
HOWEVER!
One nice thing about being "immoral" is the people I'd refuse to do business with are a much smaller group than others choose to exclude.
If I was a baker, I'd sell cakes to gay couples.
If I was a burger stand, I'd sell sliders to cops.
If I ran a lunch counter seating would be first come, first serve; regardless of my customer's skin tone.
If I ran an auto repair shop, I'd charge the same regardless of gender.
I am selling X, and I want everyone buying X to buy it from ME!
Chaotic Greedy. NTTAWWT.
It's literally the flip side of my freedom to refuse to patronize a business for any, or no reason.
HOWEVER!
One nice thing about being "immoral" is the people I'd refuse to do business with are a much smaller group than others choose to exclude.
If I was a baker, I'd sell cakes to gay couples.
If I was a burger stand, I'd sell sliders to cops.
If I ran a lunch counter seating would be first come, first serve; regardless of my customer's skin tone.
If I ran an auto repair shop, I'd charge the same regardless of gender.
I am selling X, and I want everyone buying X to buy it from ME!
Chaotic Greedy. NTTAWWT.
Refused Service
Apparently a Krystal Burger refused service to a cop.
Must have been a white male cop or we'd be hearing about how he'd been discriminated against.
Must have been a white male cop or we'd be hearing about how he'd been discriminated against.
Special Interest
Just as the smallest minority is the individual.
An individual is also the smallest denomination of special interest.
An individual is also the smallest denomination of special interest.
24 February 2016
There Is A Trick
Since nobody was complaining about how hard it is to get the grenade-sight gas-plug out of an FAL, I figured I was doing it wrong.
I was correct.
I figured it out!
First, the button doesn't lock into the gas-block like the Austrian one it replaced and the Brit one I was more familiar with.
The ears on the grenade sight lock it to the block instead and the button lets the sight flip so the ears disengage.
The long side of that button slips readily above the barrel from the left side, but not the right. This is rotating it the opposite direction from the Austrian sight for removal.
DUR!
All better now!
I was correct.
I figured it out!
First, the button doesn't lock into the gas-block like the Austrian one it replaced and the Brit one I was more familiar with.
The ears on the grenade sight lock it to the block instead and the button lets the sight flip so the ears disengage.
The long side of that button slips readily above the barrel from the left side, but not the right. This is rotating it the opposite direction from the Austrian sight for removal.
DUR!
All better now!
Shockingly Painless
Willard's new machine is ready for delivery into his hands except for getting his files off his old hard drive, which has been removed from his old machine already.
I thought it appropriate to play "Band of Brothers" as the test of the DVD player.
I thought it appropriate to play "Band of Brothers" as the test of the DVD player.
Grappling With The Beast
Got Willard's new computer here and running updates.
SIGH.
Load. Reboot. Load. Reboot. Load. Reboot.
Also I've got to triple check that we're not going Win10 on him.
I sometimes wish that the maker of operating systems, in addition to learning about privacy would absorb that NEW SHINY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO DO THE SAME THING!!!!!
Is not a selling point to a great many people.
Honest to Pete, there's no reason that the old interface cannot be included just for those unable to shift their gears fast enough to learn SHINIEST NEW THING every two years.
SIGH.
Load. Reboot. Load. Reboot. Load. Reboot.
Also I've got to triple check that we're not going Win10 on him.
I sometimes wish that the maker of operating systems, in addition to learning about privacy would absorb that NEW SHINY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO DO THE SAME THING!!!!!
Is not a selling point to a great many people.
Honest to Pete, there's no reason that the old interface cannot be included just for those unable to shift their gears fast enough to learn SHINIEST NEW THING every two years.
Lost A Whole Week
Yesterday morning I set out the water bottles because the water guy comes on the 1st.
Tuesday, March 1st...
Yesterday was Tuesday. Got that part right.
It was not the 1st.
I skipped over a whole week!
Well, I guess I get to relive it!
What an opportunity!
I will use my powers for GOOD this time. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Tuesday, March 1st...
Yesterday was Tuesday. Got that part right.
It was not the 1st.
I skipped over a whole week!
Well, I guess I get to relive it!
What an opportunity!
I will use my powers for GOOD this time. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
23 February 2016
How Times Change
I recall that 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka is unsuitable for large game and long distance shooting. It was one of those "well known" things among the hunter types my uncles hung around.
6.5x55mm Swede is "like a laser" even if it's "too light" for anything but varmints.
6.5 Grendel, on the other hand is good for anything up to elk! Because sectional density!
I think they're missing something.
All three are tossing a similar weight bullet at about the same speed. What's different is Grendel does it from a shorter barrel and from an AR.
Of course, what this really means is these old, stuck in their rut hunter types have abandoned their bolt guns for AR's...
6.5x55mm Swede is "like a laser" even if it's "too light" for anything but varmints.
6.5 Grendel, on the other hand is good for anything up to elk! Because sectional density!
I think they're missing something.
All three are tossing a similar weight bullet at about the same speed. What's different is Grendel does it from a shorter barrel and from an AR.
Of course, what this really means is these old, stuck in their rut hunter types have abandoned their bolt guns for AR's...
It SAYS Ignorant And Stupid Over There On The Right
Yet, there's some stuff on the internet that I am educated and smart enough to see how freaking idiotic it is.
Nearly all of the ones I notice lately are getting cause and effect wrong.
It's almost as if we don't teach causality in schools anymore.
Nearly all of the ones I notice lately are getting cause and effect wrong.
It's almost as if we don't teach causality in schools anymore.
22 February 2016
Slush Fund
I have to make gun slush fund like I did for the tire fund.
Really an accounting notation deal.
Money in the fund gets marked as "spent" even though it remains in the bank account.
Then once the desired amount is reached, the bimonthly deductions can be deleted and the actual purchase recorded.
That and not spending my VA stipend on stupid stuff should mean I can stop looking longingly at gun related things and start buying them.
Assuming my ADHD acquisitive nature doesn't win out.
I do need a Kiv/27 and at least one bayonet for my Finns. Ain't gonna happen unless I squirrel some nuts away.
Really an accounting notation deal.
Money in the fund gets marked as "spent" even though it remains in the bank account.
Then once the desired amount is reached, the bimonthly deductions can be deleted and the actual purchase recorded.
That and not spending my VA stipend on stupid stuff should mean I can stop looking longingly at gun related things and start buying them.
Assuming my ADHD acquisitive nature doesn't win out.
I do need a Kiv/27 and at least one bayonet for my Finns. Ain't gonna happen unless I squirrel some nuts away.
Useless Click Trivia
I've now measured the movement of six sears in five different Hi-Powers during the "Click-Test".
Three different 1985 Browning made guns and two FÉG.
I measured:
A: From the top of the hammer notch to the top of the sear when fully cocked and engaged.
B: From the top of the hammer notch to the top of the sear after the trigger was pulled with the safety on.
The difference between these measurements is how far the sear moves.
C: From the top of the sear to the top of the hammer notch with the sear released. This plus the first measurement gives the total travel required for the gun to fire.
The difference in click movement and sear release is how much travel remains once you've pulled the trigger with the safety on.
Browning #1: A: 0.014"; B: 0.003"; C: 0.034". 0.011" click movement, 0.048" to release (0.034").
Browning #2: A: 0.016"; B: 0.004"; C: 0.039". 0.012" click movement, 0.055" to release (0.043").
Browning #3 (Old Sear / Old Safety): A: 0.014"; B: -0.006"; C: 0.031". 0.020" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.025").
Browning #3 (New Sear / Old Safety): A: 0.013"; B: -0.010"; C: 0.038". 0.023" click movement, 0.051" to release (0.028").
Browning #3 (Old Sear / New Safety): A: 0.014"; B: 0.014"; C: 0.031". 0.000" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.045").
Browning #3 (New Sear / New Safety): A: 0.013"; B: 0.009"; C: 0.046". 0.004" click movement, 0.059" to release (0.055").
FÉG #1: A: 0.011"; B: -0.003"; C: 0.033". 0.014" click movement, 0.044" to release (0.030").
FÉG #1: (w/ C&S Safety) A: 0.017"; B: 0.013"; C: 0.028". 0.004" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.041").
FÉG #2: A: 0.019"; B: 0.013"; C: 0.040". 0.006" click movement, 0.059" to release (0.053").
Three different 1985 Browning made guns and two FÉG.
I measured:
A: From the top of the hammer notch to the top of the sear when fully cocked and engaged.
B: From the top of the hammer notch to the top of the sear after the trigger was pulled with the safety on.
The difference between these measurements is how far the sear moves.
C: From the top of the sear to the top of the hammer notch with the sear released. This plus the first measurement gives the total travel required for the gun to fire.
The difference in click movement and sear release is how much travel remains once you've pulled the trigger with the safety on.
Browning #1: A: 0.014"; B: 0.003"; C: 0.034". 0.011" click movement, 0.048" to release (0.034").
Browning #2: A: 0.016"; B: 0.004"; C: 0.039". 0.012" click movement, 0.055" to release (0.043").
Browning #3 (Old Sear / Old Safety): A: 0.014"; B: -0.006"; C: 0.031". 0.020" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.025").
Browning #3 (New Sear / Old Safety): A: 0.013"; B: -0.010"; C: 0.038". 0.023" click movement, 0.051" to release (0.028").
Browning #3 (Old Sear / New Safety): A: 0.014"; B: 0.014"; C: 0.031". 0.000" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.045").
Browning #3 (New Sear / New Safety): A: 0.013"; B: 0.009"; C: 0.046". 0.004" click movement, 0.059" to release (0.055").
FÉG #1: A: 0.011"; B: -0.003"; C: 0.033". 0.014" click movement, 0.044" to release (0.030").
FÉG #1: (w/ C&S Safety) A: 0.017"; B: 0.013"; C: 0.028". 0.004" click movement, 0.045" to release (0.041").
FÉG #2: A: 0.019"; B: 0.013"; C: 0.040". 0.006" click movement, 0.059" to release (0.053").
21 February 2016
Gun Buy Back
Ever borrow a gun from someone for so long they forget and offer to buy the gun they loaned you?
Easy-Off
Makes optics dimming easier!
Added a glob of paint to the "OFF" position of both Primary Arms optics because they will spin 360˚ without a stop or detent to tell you when you've hit it.
The paint makes it easier to see.
The paint makes it easier to see.
20 February 2016
Backwards
The LaRue RCO mount I got for my PAC5X scope put it about on Picatinny notch farther forward than I wanted it.
It hit me today that the mount is reversible! So I reversed it.
Before...
After...
The RCO (oriented "correctly") is designed to put an ACOG a lot father back on the rifle and is intended to be used without a BUIS, so the contour of the "tail" matches the top of the charging handle boss on the upper receiver. That little tail interferes with the BUIS I've mounted if I wanted to put the scope where I wanted it.
Reversing the mount lets me put it where I prefer it and requires I go to the range and zero the rifle anew.
Darn! I have to go shooting!
It hit me today that the mount is reversible! So I reversed it.
Before...
After...
The RCO (oriented "correctly") is designed to put an ACOG a lot father back on the rifle and is intended to be used without a BUIS, so the contour of the "tail" matches the top of the charging handle boss on the upper receiver. That little tail interferes with the BUIS I've mounted if I wanted to put the scope where I wanted it.
Reversing the mount lets me put it where I prefer it and requires I go to the range and zero the rifle anew.
Darn! I have to go shooting!
Balkans
I learned the term Balkinization from Traveller.
It was never presented as a positive for a world to have a balkinized government.
Looking at the self same Balkans that lend their name to the term... I can see why. It does not bespoke stability.
I've a synonym for balkinized: diversity.
The US sure seems to be on the road to balkinization from where I sit.
Mostly it seems because every culture under the sun is deferred to in preference to our DIY from imported and unmatching parts culture we used to have.
There's no fire under the crucible any more and thus the pot doesn't melt.
This also keeps the slag from being separated and discarded.
What we're fast on the road to becoming is pre-fragmented. Pre-divided before someone comes along to conquer.
It was never presented as a positive for a world to have a balkinized government.
Looking at the self same Balkans that lend their name to the term... I can see why. It does not bespoke stability.
I've a synonym for balkinized: diversity.
The US sure seems to be on the road to balkinization from where I sit.
Mostly it seems because every culture under the sun is deferred to in preference to our DIY from imported and unmatching parts culture we used to have.
There's no fire under the crucible any more and thus the pot doesn't melt.
This also keeps the slag from being separated and discarded.
What we're fast on the road to becoming is pre-fragmented. Pre-divided before someone comes along to conquer.
By God They're Right!
The amount deducted from Harvey's check has remained about the same for healthcare.
I have to admit that Obamacare has indeed saved us money.
Before if she was feeling sick or had an injury it was a $50 copay and she went and got cared for.
Now the first $2,500 annual deductable is on us, plus a $200 copay per occurrence.
So now rather than just paying a few hundred a year on copays, we simply don't go because we don't have the $2,500 laying around.
I remind people that the rate they were taking from her check was profitable for the insurance companies before Obamacare, despite having to pay-out more per visit.
Even with our part costing much more, the profits are gone for these companies.
I have to admit that Obamacare has indeed saved us money.
Before if she was feeling sick or had an injury it was a $50 copay and she went and got cared for.
Now the first $2,500 annual deductable is on us, plus a $200 copay per occurrence.
So now rather than just paying a few hundred a year on copays, we simply don't go because we don't have the $2,500 laying around.
I remind people that the rate they were taking from her check was profitable for the insurance companies before Obamacare, despite having to pay-out more per visit.
Even with our part costing much more, the profits are gone for these companies.
Didja Know
Did you know that there's no actual mil-spec for the M1911A1 any more?
The M9 is MIL-P-48655.
The M11 is MIL-P-71012.
The M1911A1 pre-dates the mil-spec system and was given a number much later, that number was superseded at least three times.
There's a Federal Specification for the M1911A1, D-P-355a from 16Sep64 which superseded D-P-00255 of 07Dec61 which superseded MIL-P-1297B of 01Jan60 which superseded MIL-P-1297 of ??? It refers to a set of drawings made in 1928 and a number of later military standards and is very mil-spec in its format.
I don't have the measuring tools to check everything, but I am curious to see how many 1911 makers today adhere to those 1928 drawings.
D-P-355a 3.3.2 states, "Interchangeability. Unless otherwise specified on the drawings, all parts shall be interchangeable. Pistols and repair parts shall be capable of meeting the interchangeability tests specified in 4.3.3.4 and 4.4.4 (In normal assembly operations there shall be no objections interposed to preferential assembly of parts provided that all parts are dimensionally acceptable.)" Try that with a Colt and a Kimber!
4.3.3.4 and 4.4.4 are fascinating reading!
Of note is reliability. D-P-355a has two 2,500 round tests.
Zero failures for the entire 5,000 rounds are allowed for
Malfunction
Disconnector fails to function
Failure of sear to release
Failure to extract
Failure to close
Faulty trigger pull
Grip safety fails to function
Light blow
Magazine catch fails to function
Primers, setback
Safety lock fails to function
Slide stop fails to function
Uncontrolled fire
Breakage
Barrel lug, broken or burred
Extractor, broken or burred
Ejector, broken or burred
Firing pin hole, enlarged
Link, broken
Locking lugs, chipped or burred (barrel or slide)
Springs, broken or set
Magazine failures
Bent side walls
Bent or cracked lips
Inability to load seven rounds
Other magazine failures.
In the first 2,500 rounds you're allowed:
1 Failure to eject
1 Misfire
1 Pierced primer
2 Other malfunctions and nonacceptable conditions
1 Other broken part
In the second 2.500 rounds you're allowed:
2 Failure to close
1 Misfire
1 Pierced primer
4 Other malfunctions and nonacceptable conditions
1 Broken firing pin
2 Other broken parts
1 Failure to feed (due to follower)
1 Follower distorted
Thanks to Daniel Watters for the correction!
The M9 is MIL-P-48655.
The M11 is MIL-P-71012.
The M1911A1 pre-dates the mil-spec system and was given a number much later, that number was superseded at least three times.
There's a Federal Specification for the M1911A1, D-P-355a from 16Sep64 which superseded D-P-00255 of 07Dec61 which superseded MIL-P-1297B of 01Jan60 which superseded MIL-P-1297 of ??? It refers to a set of drawings made in 1928 and a number of later military standards and is very mil-spec in its format.
I don't have the measuring tools to check everything, but I am curious to see how many 1911 makers today adhere to those 1928 drawings.
D-P-355a 3.3.2 states, "Interchangeability. Unless otherwise specified on the drawings, all parts shall be interchangeable. Pistols and repair parts shall be capable of meeting the interchangeability tests specified in 4.3.3.4 and 4.4.4 (In normal assembly operations there shall be no objections interposed to preferential assembly of parts provided that all parts are dimensionally acceptable.)" Try that with a Colt and a Kimber!
4.3.3.4 and 4.4.4 are fascinating reading!
Of note is reliability. D-P-355a has two 2,500 round tests.
Zero failures for the entire 5,000 rounds are allowed for
Malfunction
Disconnector fails to function
Failure of sear to release
Failure to extract
Failure to close
Faulty trigger pull
Grip safety fails to function
Light blow
Magazine catch fails to function
Primers, setback
Safety lock fails to function
Slide stop fails to function
Uncontrolled fire
Breakage
Barrel lug, broken or burred
Extractor, broken or burred
Ejector, broken or burred
Firing pin hole, enlarged
Link, broken
Locking lugs, chipped or burred (barrel or slide)
Springs, broken or set
Magazine failures
Bent side walls
Bent or cracked lips
Inability to load seven rounds
Other magazine failures.
In the first 2,500 rounds you're allowed:
1 Failure to eject
1 Misfire
1 Pierced primer
2 Other malfunctions and nonacceptable conditions
1 Other broken part
In the second 2.500 rounds you're allowed:
2 Failure to close
1 Misfire
1 Pierced primer
4 Other malfunctions and nonacceptable conditions
1 Broken firing pin
2 Other broken parts
1 Failure to feed (due to follower)
1 Follower distorted
Thanks to Daniel Watters for the correction!
Well That Makes Sense
The State Senate Judicial Committee was locked up on pro-gun bills for campus carry and open carry by its chairman, Cockbite Rat-Fuck Son-Of-A-Bitch The Honorable RINO Miguel Diaz de la Portilla.
He explains why...
I translate.
Because he wants to keep his cushy senator job until he's term limited out or gets a higher office and his newly redrawn district ain't gonna elect no filthy republican, just Democrats, so he's got to be as Democrat as possible to pander to his new constituency.
Miami Democrats do be liking them some gun control. Maybe they left Cuba because they just don't like Castro personally, not because of his policies? I am going out on a limb and assuming it's the Cuban community being the primary demographic here since the last... forever... senators from this area all have Latino names. It's not racist to note demographics.
At any rate, this makes things make sense.
It's why he allowed a bill on making public restrooms all-gender through the committee, but stopped pro-gun bills.
He will pay no price from the Republican party which is more concerned about market share than the product it sells.
Here's a message for that party... If his redrawn district goes Democrat, he's gone. Once he's gone we get a different committee chair, with a different committee chair, our bills get read and voted on.
Why would we support a Republican in this race? A Democrat sitting in District 37 is better for gun rights.
He explains why...
I translate.
Because he wants to keep his cushy senator job until he's term limited out or gets a higher office and his newly redrawn district ain't gonna elect no filthy republican, just Democrats, so he's got to be as Democrat as possible to pander to his new constituency.
Miami Democrats do be liking them some gun control. Maybe they left Cuba because they just don't like Castro personally, not because of his policies? I am going out on a limb and assuming it's the Cuban community being the primary demographic here since the last... forever... senators from this area all have Latino names. It's not racist to note demographics.
At any rate, this makes things make sense.
It's why he allowed a bill on making public restrooms all-gender through the committee, but stopped pro-gun bills.
He will pay no price from the Republican party which is more concerned about market share than the product it sells.
Here's a message for that party... If his redrawn district goes Democrat, he's gone. Once he's gone we get a different committee chair, with a different committee chair, our bills get read and voted on.
Why would we support a Republican in this race? A Democrat sitting in District 37 is better for gun rights.
Fun With Super Macro
Messing around with the camera.
I am still taken that this 1926 made, rode hard and put away wet example of a Colt Pocket Hammerless is still smoother than the brand new, over $1,500 examples they're making today.
Plus, let's hear it for 90 year old guns that work as good today as when they were first made!
I am still taken that this 1926 made, rode hard and put away wet example of a Colt Pocket Hammerless is still smoother than the brand new, over $1,500 examples they're making today.
Plus, let's hear it for 90 year old guns that work as good today as when they were first made!
19 February 2016
Re-Engagement
Recall here and here.
Got the new sear from Midway today.
Installed without any drama.
There's still some slight movement, that means I need a new safety, and those are thin on the ground in park.
Still it's an improvement.
The old sear would move 0.023" and the new one moves 0.019"
The top of the new sear doesn't go past the top of the hammer notch when it moves and is 0.002" thicker. Even failing the click test the entire sear nose is still engaged with the hammer notch.
The new sear needs a total of 0.059" of movement to clear the hammer, the old one needed 0.060" so half the increased thickness was in the top of the nose.
Overall I am pleased with the improvement, and I will keep an eye out for a park'd ambi safety.
Got the new sear from Midway today.
Installed without any drama.
There's still some slight movement, that means I need a new safety, and those are thin on the ground in park.
Still it's an improvement.
The old sear would move 0.023" and the new one moves 0.019"
The top of the new sear doesn't go past the top of the hammer notch when it moves and is 0.002" thicker. Even failing the click test the entire sear nose is still engaged with the hammer notch.
The new sear needs a total of 0.059" of movement to clear the hammer, the old one needed 0.060" so half the increased thickness was in the top of the nose.
Overall I am pleased with the improvement, and I will keep an eye out for a park'd ambi safety.
A Wonder On Angled Sights
They seem pretty slick.
Optic goes tits up or can't be used because of magnification at short range, just rotate the rifle and you're back in the game.
Faster than hitting a QD on a rail mount and easier on the scope because you're not dropping on the ground. At least unless their un-folding mechanism is over complicated, which I've seen before in BUIS.
I've played with exactly zero sets of them in person, but I wonder about something...
Are they still aligned with the bore or are they offset to one side? If they're offset, you've got to pay attention to your zero. I bumped into this getting my Trilux scope zeroed.
The objective is offset to the left, so your point of aim has to be the same offset and so does the zero. If you don't then you're zeroed for exactly one distance and you're going to be off to one side at closer and to the other at longer.
As has been mentioned before, new-fangled optics are getting so darned reliable that back-up irons are nearly a cosmetic affectation.
Optic goes tits up or can't be used because of magnification at short range, just rotate the rifle and you're back in the game.
Faster than hitting a QD on a rail mount and easier on the scope because you're not dropping on the ground. At least unless their un-folding mechanism is over complicated, which I've seen before in BUIS.
I've played with exactly zero sets of them in person, but I wonder about something...
Are they still aligned with the bore or are they offset to one side? If they're offset, you've got to pay attention to your zero. I bumped into this getting my Trilux scope zeroed.
The objective is offset to the left, so your point of aim has to be the same offset and so does the zero. If you don't then you're zeroed for exactly one distance and you're going to be off to one side at closer and to the other at longer.
As has been mentioned before, new-fangled optics are getting so darned reliable that back-up irons are nearly a cosmetic affectation.
Worry Enhancement
Occasionally it's said that history while history doesn't exactly repeat, but it rhymes.
One should also no go looking for parallels too hard. It's easy to find things that aren't there when you look too closely for them.
I just read about the February Revolution while my gamer world creation circuits were engaged.
Wee hee! Paranoid conspiracy theories run rampant if you start attempting to make 1917 Russia and 2016 America line up in focus.
It's interesting reading though.
One should also no go looking for parallels too hard. It's easy to find things that aren't there when you look too closely for them.
I just read about the February Revolution while my gamer world creation circuits were engaged.
Wee hee! Paranoid conspiracy theories run rampant if you start attempting to make 1917 Russia and 2016 America line up in focus.
It's interesting reading though.
What Do I Want To Learn?
<Shakes fist in the direction of Indiana>
I don't know what I want to learn and I don't know what I don't know.
Who teaches THAT class?
Sitting here and marveling that I'd never thought to ask, "what do I want to learn?"
Formal education has always had the "get a degree" or "get a certification/license" as a goal rather than to learn any specific thing, and you learned everything thrown at you because required for degree.
Things that I've learned with an applied goal have typically surrounded a "well shit, that's broke" and a need to repair it. I autodidact readily and am a fair mechanic because of it.
What do I want from a gun class?
I do know that I don't want to spend a lot of money "learning" what I already know just to gain access to classes that teach something I don't.
I don't know what I want to learn and I don't know what I don't know.
Who teaches THAT class?
Sitting here and marveling that I'd never thought to ask, "what do I want to learn?"
Formal education has always had the "get a degree" or "get a certification/license" as a goal rather than to learn any specific thing, and you learned everything thrown at you because required for degree.
Things that I've learned with an applied goal have typically surrounded a "well shit, that's broke" and a need to repair it. I autodidact readily and am a fair mechanic because of it.
What do I want from a gun class?
I do know that I don't want to spend a lot of money "learning" what I already know just to gain access to classes that teach something I don't.
18 February 2016
Training Click
I'm at the plateau where I've learned enough to argue, but not yet enough to accept advice.
This is an AHA! realization.
OK, advisors... Who should I talk to about training. Bearing in mind that Pat Rogers told me to choke myself because I insisted that BLM means Bureau of Land Management.
This is an AHA! realization.
OK, advisors... Who should I talk to about training. Bearing in mind that Pat Rogers told me to choke myself because I insisted that BLM means Bureau of Land Management.
Ignorance Class
Being serious about looking for training (not the crap factories I've been not-linking to)...
A gigantic fear is to pay to learn something I already know and nothing I don't. I don't know how to ask them or how to respond if they ask me, "what do you already know?" I lock up the same way during job interviews after they ask, "tell us about yourself."
Next down the cascade is to learn something I cannot use.
It's like looking into the cake. Until you take a bite, what do you know? Only then it's too late.
Then comes the spending of the money on the class, ammo, travel and lodgings. Lest anyone think I am spending this money on guns rather than training because of the pictures I post, I mostly post pics of other people's guns. Where I am posting about an acquisition of late, there was a disposition shortly before.
Then, and this should really be first on the list; finding time to travel and lodge. It seems almost guaranteed that the class I'm looking at will be held in conflict with Harvey's work schedule or some essential appointment for The Boy.
A gigantic fear is to pay to learn something I already know and nothing I don't. I don't know how to ask them or how to respond if they ask me, "what do you already know?" I lock up the same way during job interviews after they ask, "tell us about yourself."
Next down the cascade is to learn something I cannot use.
It's like looking into the cake. Until you take a bite, what do you know? Only then it's too late.
Then comes the spending of the money on the class, ammo, travel and lodgings. Lest anyone think I am spending this money on guns rather than training because of the pictures I post, I mostly post pics of other people's guns. Where I am posting about an acquisition of late, there was a disposition shortly before.
Then, and this should really be first on the list; finding time to travel and lodge. It seems almost guaranteed that the class I'm looking at will be held in conflict with Harvey's work schedule or some essential appointment for The Boy.
Wanna Know Something I Am Not Doing
I'm not shooting at cops.
I rail about some issues involving the police and express disappointment and sadness that some areas of police standard really aren't befitting a free society.
But I still think the solution is political and getting back control of our nation from the true usurpers in government.
The blame is mostly in the governments we've voted in rather than the bottom rung police officer.
And the blame for that government is squarely in the hands of the voter.
The voters who don't bother to learn a thing about a candidate, then blindly vote for them because of some superficial aspect are to blame. Or vote solely based on party affiliation...
The portion of the electorate that doesn't bother because it's too far to vote, too much trouble to vote, it doesn't matter if I vote is getting the government everyone else votes for.
For your vote to count you must cast a vote to be counted.
The founders warned us, those two hundred and some odd years ago that an informed electorate was key to keeping a republic. It's why Ben Franklin said, "A republic, if you can keep it!"
We didn't keep it.
We got enamored with democracy at the expense of republicanism and federalism.
We slowly allowed more and more people who had no stake-hold in a republic the vote, and now look at where we are.
Reform would take decades if it were to start tomorrow. It's probably not going to start this decade.
Somewhere we have to remember that we value freedom more than security because liberty with the spice of some danger is far better. We have to recognize that we've traded that liberty, not for safety and security but simply added constraints that make us no safer.
Shooting at the po-po, even shouting obscenities, is not the path to fixing the problems we encounter with the police.
I rail about some issues involving the police and express disappointment and sadness that some areas of police standard really aren't befitting a free society.
But I still think the solution is political and getting back control of our nation from the true usurpers in government.
The blame is mostly in the governments we've voted in rather than the bottom rung police officer.
And the blame for that government is squarely in the hands of the voter.
The voters who don't bother to learn a thing about a candidate, then blindly vote for them because of some superficial aspect are to blame. Or vote solely based on party affiliation...
The portion of the electorate that doesn't bother because it's too far to vote, too much trouble to vote, it doesn't matter if I vote is getting the government everyone else votes for.
For your vote to count you must cast a vote to be counted.
The founders warned us, those two hundred and some odd years ago that an informed electorate was key to keeping a republic. It's why Ben Franklin said, "A republic, if you can keep it!"
We didn't keep it.
We got enamored with democracy at the expense of republicanism and federalism.
We slowly allowed more and more people who had no stake-hold in a republic the vote, and now look at where we are.
Reform would take decades if it were to start tomorrow. It's probably not going to start this decade.
Somewhere we have to remember that we value freedom more than security because liberty with the spice of some danger is far better. We have to recognize that we've traded that liberty, not for safety and security but simply added constraints that make us no safer.
Shooting at the po-po, even shouting obscenities, is not the path to fixing the problems we encounter with the police.
Take It, Carly!
You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you?
You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you? don't you?
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you?
Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Lear Jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you? don't you?
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you?
You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you? don't you?
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you?
Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Lear Jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and...
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? don't you? don't you?
17 February 2016
Tire Fund
Tires for hot-rods are expensive.
So you kind of have to save in advance to purchase them at the moment they're worn out rather than long after.
There comes a time when your little tire fund can now purchase replacement tires, but the tires aren't worn out yet.
Temptation to spend the money on other things starts to whisper in your ear...
Luckily! I've discovered "opportunity cost lock-up". Temptation says to buy... ONE of several things. The longer I cannot decide, the longer I don't spend the money, the more likely it is that I can still afford tires when the time comes.
So you kind of have to save in advance to purchase them at the moment they're worn out rather than long after.
There comes a time when your little tire fund can now purchase replacement tires, but the tires aren't worn out yet.
Temptation to spend the money on other things starts to whisper in your ear...
Luckily! I've discovered "opportunity cost lock-up". Temptation says to buy... ONE of several things. The longer I cannot decide, the longer I don't spend the money, the more likely it is that I can still afford tires when the time comes.
Event Horizon
There's something about sights mounted on an AR at an angle that just screams, "I've crossed the gun-hipster event horizon and I'm never coming back!" to me.
It doesn't even matter if they're a great idea, the people originally advocating them were such insufferable snobs it made you want to buy a Galil just to have everything they hated in one package.
It doesn't even matter if they're a great idea, the people originally advocating them were such insufferable snobs it made you want to buy a Galil just to have everything they hated in one package.
Living In The Past
It occurs to me that a problem with the electorate is we're living in another country.
"The past is another country."
There was once a time where our government was provably constrained in size, scope and power to the limits delineated in the Constitution.
I think a good many voters are still mentally in that time where the Federal government was nearly toothless to bite them. At that time, it was safe to ignore the government.
Sadly, it is no longer so.
I have a thought problem for y'all.
To ban alcohol, it required passing an amendment to the Constitution to grant Congress the power to pass laws banning the manufacture and sale. When another amendment was passed, revoking this power; all those laws became void.
To ban drugs, no amendment was passed at all; just laws.
Using precedent, all drug laws are unconstitutional.
Why then, do most police enforce the drug laws?
"The past is another country."
There was once a time where our government was provably constrained in size, scope and power to the limits delineated in the Constitution.
I think a good many voters are still mentally in that time where the Federal government was nearly toothless to bite them. At that time, it was safe to ignore the government.
Sadly, it is no longer so.
I have a thought problem for y'all.
To ban alcohol, it required passing an amendment to the Constitution to grant Congress the power to pass laws banning the manufacture and sale. When another amendment was passed, revoking this power; all those laws became void.
To ban drugs, no amendment was passed at all; just laws.
Using precedent, all drug laws are unconstitutional.
Why then, do most police enforce the drug laws?
Majored In Debate Did You
It really shows!
"You're wrong," is a statement. But it's not really a refutation of my position. You need to say more than that for it to be an argument.
A related stream from people who think they're making an argument is... Not sure how to succinctly say it...
I've put forth, at least a few times, that globull warmering is a huge hoax. It is at the least academic fraud. A part of the hoax/fraud is the media buying the argument as THE TRUTH®™ and both attacking people who disagree with THE TRUTH®™ and ignoring any science that refutes the THE TRUTH®™.
Burying me in quotes from that very same media does not refute my claim they are either lying to their own ends or simply misguided.
I know many gun owners have had a reverse Murry Gell-Mann moment with the press. We've caught them lying about guns so many times that we've started to wonder if they're telling the truth about anything; especially when they all agree so strongly. Particularly when they're advocating for changes to be made in lifestyles and laws.
Most of the people who do this don't really have a position of their own, they just like to win arguments. They don't care what your position is beyond showing you're wrong and will use anything at hand to "refute" you.
When you walk away and never talk to them again, they think they won.
"You're wrong," is a statement. But it's not really a refutation of my position. You need to say more than that for it to be an argument.
A related stream from people who think they're making an argument is... Not sure how to succinctly say it...
I've put forth, at least a few times, that globull warmering is a huge hoax. It is at the least academic fraud. A part of the hoax/fraud is the media buying the argument as THE TRUTH®™ and both attacking people who disagree with THE TRUTH®™ and ignoring any science that refutes the THE TRUTH®™.
Burying me in quotes from that very same media does not refute my claim they are either lying to their own ends or simply misguided.
I know many gun owners have had a reverse Murry Gell-Mann moment with the press. We've caught them lying about guns so many times that we've started to wonder if they're telling the truth about anything; especially when they all agree so strongly. Particularly when they're advocating for changes to be made in lifestyles and laws.
Most of the people who do this don't really have a position of their own, they just like to win arguments. They don't care what your position is beyond showing you're wrong and will use anything at hand to "refute" you.
When you walk away and never talk to them again, they think they won.
16 February 2016
New Eyes
Thanks to EOTech refunding the full purchase price of any scope they've ever sold...
Kevina goes from this:
To this:
It's a Primary Arms 3x Compact Prism Scope. They're verra niiice. I opted for the American Defense AD-B3 mount and it's also quite nice (as nice as the nearly twice as expensive LaRue mount I put on Dottie).
Harvey digs the reticule and thinks the ranging feature is kinda cool.
Kevina goes from this:
To this:
It's a Primary Arms 3x Compact Prism Scope. They're verra niiice. I opted for the American Defense AD-B3 mount and it's also quite nice (as nice as the nearly twice as expensive LaRue mount I put on Dottie).
Harvey digs the reticule and thinks the ranging feature is kinda cool.
Science Fiction Distances
On television anyways, the Mk I Mod 0 eyeball is far superior to any sensor you see them use most of the time.
Marv and I often joke on Firefly that the proximity sensor works on contact.
<KLUNK> *BEEYOOO BEEYOOO BEEYOOO*
Marv and I often joke on Firefly that the proximity sensor works on contact.
<KLUNK> *BEEYOOO BEEYOOO BEEYOOO*
Dougal MacConnor
Got him converted to 4e and reverted to a starting point value.
150/50/5.
Made a couple changes to match the character as I remember playing him rather than what was on his original sheet.
A quartermaster worth the confidence of the crew should have some points in accounting. Thanks to forgetting the huge bonus Absolute Direction gives to Navigation/TL4 I had the points to spare.
Dougal was a Catholic Scot, along the way he's lost his Faith.. From the mid 1600's. Not a popular fellow as the Scottish Reformation is going on. He's educated and lettered, but had no place to run.
While trying to decide where he could hide his faith, he "fell asleep" in a Glasgow pub. What happened when he woke up? He was at sea! And a sailor in the English Navy (don't call it Royal!).
Passing from ship to ship, learning all the while, and with captains of decreasing legitimacy... he eventually ended up in Port Royal and perfectly willing to fight for his own profit. His natural dislike of The Sassanach has been carefully nurtured to a burning hatred under English captain after English captain. He lives in a state of denial that Cap'n Rathburn is English, "Ain't Rathboorn some kinna Welsh name?"
Luckily, the Navigation Acts created a target rich environment and a ready supply of buyers for goods without tariffs attached to them.
On the approach he prefers to take pot-shots with a musket, but when boarding it's an edged rapier with a basket hilt and either a buckler or main-gauche depending on the level of resistance. He carries no less than six pistols and three daggers (for throwing) when he goes over the rail and thinks of himself as unarmed if the number of weapons on his person drops below three.
Uncharacteristically for the age, he wears a jerkin of medium leather in combat; calculating he's a strong enough swimmer that the extra weight won't drown him should he go over the side.
He's trusted by both Captain Rathburn and the crew of The Reaver.
150/50/5.
Made a couple changes to match the character as I remember playing him rather than what was on his original sheet.
A quartermaster worth the confidence of the crew should have some points in accounting. Thanks to forgetting the huge bonus Absolute Direction gives to Navigation/TL4 I had the points to spare.
Dougal was a Catholic Scot, along the way he's lost his Faith.. From the mid 1600's. Not a popular fellow as the Scottish Reformation is going on. He's educated and lettered, but had no place to run.
While trying to decide where he could hide his faith, he "fell asleep" in a Glasgow pub. What happened when he woke up? He was at sea! And a sailor in the English Navy (don't call it Royal!).
Passing from ship to ship, learning all the while, and with captains of decreasing legitimacy... he eventually ended up in Port Royal and perfectly willing to fight for his own profit. His natural dislike of The Sassanach has been carefully nurtured to a burning hatred under English captain after English captain. He lives in a state of denial that Cap'n Rathburn is English, "Ain't Rathboorn some kinna Welsh name?"
Luckily, the Navigation Acts created a target rich environment and a ready supply of buyers for goods without tariffs attached to them.
On the approach he prefers to take pot-shots with a musket, but when boarding it's an edged rapier with a basket hilt and either a buckler or main-gauche depending on the level of resistance. He carries no less than six pistols and three daggers (for throwing) when he goes over the rail and thinks of himself as unarmed if the number of weapons on his person drops below three.
Uncharacteristically for the age, he wears a jerkin of medium leather in combat; calculating he's a strong enough swimmer that the extra weight won't drown him should he go over the side.
He's trusted by both Captain Rathburn and the crew of The Reaver.
15 February 2016
Positive Outcome
A while back the dickheads who rented the house that got torn down across the street...
Loud music.
Unkempt yard.
And unruly kids.
The kids decided to shoot out our windows with a bb gun.
While we were home.
While I'm trying to figure out where the glass is coming from, The Lovely Harvey spots the miscreants running out of our yard across the street and into their house.
So we dial the cops.
We get two deputies who take pics of the damage, take our statements and talk to the neighbors.
Who deny that their angels even know what a bb gun is, let alone own one.
With a look of knowing that this is BS, but having not a thing to prove anyone's story, the deputy says loud enough so we can hear him from our porch, "I see from your plates that you're from New Jersey. Welcome to Florida, and it's different here. Florida is really big on what's called 'castle doctrine' and self defense. What that means, to you, is if you're pointing a gun at someone, then they can shoot you. Real gun, fake gun, staple gun, BB GUN it doesn't matter. If they point anything at those people across the street again, and I will have come back out here and remind you we had this conversation."
He then cited them for failing to get their cars registered to their new address, waved at us, and departed.
We never heard their stereo again and they moved within two months.
Loud music.
Unkempt yard.
And unruly kids.
The kids decided to shoot out our windows with a bb gun.
While we were home.
While I'm trying to figure out where the glass is coming from, The Lovely Harvey spots the miscreants running out of our yard across the street and into their house.
So we dial the cops.
We get two deputies who take pics of the damage, take our statements and talk to the neighbors.
Who deny that their angels even know what a bb gun is, let alone own one.
With a look of knowing that this is BS, but having not a thing to prove anyone's story, the deputy says loud enough so we can hear him from our porch, "I see from your plates that you're from New Jersey. Welcome to Florida, and it's different here. Florida is really big on what's called 'castle doctrine' and self defense. What that means, to you, is if you're pointing a gun at someone, then they can shoot you. Real gun, fake gun, staple gun, BB GUN it doesn't matter. If they point anything at those people across the street again, and I will have come back out here and remind you we had this conversation."
He then cited them for failing to get their cars registered to their new address, waved at us, and departed.
We never heard their stereo again and they moved within two months.
Something Else To Be Pedantic About?
I remember when "charging handle" meant something that didn't cycle with the bolt and "bolt handle" was something that did.
Worrisome
Weaponsman posted:
Those two paragraphs really say it all.
I keep circling back to this. I want to like and trust the police, but I know what's going to happen if we don't get our stupid asses to being a well informed electorate and unfuck our government. It won't be the people we can vote for knocking on the door asking if our papers are in order.
History is what I'm listening to when I worry about the police. We're presently building a police force with some terrible capabilities and being chided that they're great folks; no need to worry. But time and again, if Government can, Government IS! Or will if given time. The police, no matter how likable and friendly they are now: are the government.
Also, this remains true:
It pisses me off.
This trajectory began before I was born, so I got no vote in preventing it.
When I got old enough to vote, it seemed it was on terminal guidance already. I still tried and try to tell people that this arc leads to no-good. But they'd rather play video games and not even bother registering to vote (while complaining about how much their health care costs without seeing that they didn't even show up to try and stop WHY the costs shot up).
Second, don’t rely on Oathkeepers bluster (another word beginning with “b” also fits). They mean what they say now, but things will be different then. Police will have no problem cracking down on you because (1) most cops will follow any plausibly legitimate authority; (2) human beings are born to rationalize; and (3) you’ll be demonized long before you’re raided. They won’t whack you, they’ll be whacking your indescribably monstrous straw man evil twin.
Every totalitarian state in history made liberal use of the ordinary cops for its political roundups, and no police element has ever mutinied or walked off the job when faced with that task. For example, the Gestapo and SS did not need to round up the Jews in occupied France: the ordinary French beat cops were glad to do it. None of them was ever punished; they transferred their loyalty seamlessly and unquestionably from the 3rd Republic to Vichy to the occupying power to the 4th Republic. Likewise, the Weimar cops became Nazi cops, who in turn became East or West German cops, and now unified Federal German cops. Hitler? Stalin? Who cares, we can retire at 45 with a good pension, and no one will miss a few Jews.
Those two paragraphs really say it all.
I keep circling back to this. I want to like and trust the police, but I know what's going to happen if we don't get our stupid asses to being a well informed electorate and unfuck our government. It won't be the people we can vote for knocking on the door asking if our papers are in order.
History is what I'm listening to when I worry about the police. We're presently building a police force with some terrible capabilities and being chided that they're great folks; no need to worry. But time and again, if Government can, Government IS! Or will if given time. The police, no matter how likable and friendly they are now: are the government.
Also, this remains true:
The armed agents of the state have the same function in North Korea they do in the USA and vice versa. That is to intimidate those of questionable loyalty to the state. The goal is not to arrest or kill, it is to "keep 'em in line". When the armed agents have to arrest, club, kill, etc, etc, they have in a real sense, failed in their primary mission. The pivot point in the USA is that the definition of questionable loyalty has expanded, from a small minority of the population until it now includes just about everybody not a full time employee of the state. Therefore the armed agents must attempt to intimidate a wider and wider range of people, like those who cut down a tree in their back yard, or join a Tea Party, and so on, and on, and on. This requires an ever greater number of armed agents, who will fail (in the sense outlined above) ever more often. If the state finds it imperative to tax a single cigarette at thirty seven times its actual economic value the armed agents will have to arrest, club, kill, etc, the disloyal who act outside the states economic web (cf. NYC/NYPD). There it is. -W. Fleetwood
It pisses me off.
This trajectory began before I was born, so I got no vote in preventing it.
When I got old enough to vote, it seemed it was on terminal guidance already. I still tried and try to tell people that this arc leads to no-good. But they'd rather play video games and not even bother registering to vote (while complaining about how much their health care costs without seeing that they didn't even show up to try and stop WHY the costs shot up).
 |
| From: http://explosm.net/comics/4211/ |
Near Fetched
I read about how Venezuela has blamed the US for a riot.
At first I am like, "We wouldn't do that."
Then I consider how much stuff my government does at home that it's not supposed to, including lots of small, petty, dumb shit.
Suddenly the idea that some US agency is starting a riot in Venezuela isn't so far fetched.
I should make a documentary.
Edited to reflect the actual number of riot blamed on the US.
At first I am like, "We wouldn't do that."
Then I consider how much stuff my government does at home that it's not supposed to, including lots of small, petty, dumb shit.
Suddenly the idea that some US agency is starting a riot in Venezuela isn't so far fetched.
I should make a documentary.
Edited to reflect the actual number of riot blamed on the US.
Recreation
Recreating quartermaster Dougal MacConner...
At the 150/50/5 level a starting character should be, and prolly make an experienced version later one too.
It strikes me that I'd forgotten something in my assumptions running that campaign.
The articles.
A pirate who's gone on the account has a duty to the crew he's signed with.
Most articles of agreement have some sort of "breaking up their way of living" clause, meaning they can't leave their current crew until some individual financial goal has been met.
So you end up with an "Almost all the time" -15 point Duty that also has the -5 Extremely Hazardous modifier to it.
-20 points for everyone!
Except it's a campaign assumption... You don't get points for the assumptions.
Just as nobody gets the points for Enemies. Enemy, England, France, Holland and Spain; who show up quite rarely (6 or less). That's [-20] for a single nation hunting you. Some crews conspicuously avoided taking one nation or another's ships as prizes. Adding more nations is really just increasing the frequency, not increasing the power of the groups who're your enemies.
It's [-80] for all of them once they all collude to declare pirates hostis humani generis and start showing up on a 12 or less (because at this point there's no good graces for pirates anymore). That's when the last golden age of piracy ended, there was no place safe to unload the haul.
At the 150/50/5 level a starting character should be, and prolly make an experienced version later one too.
It strikes me that I'd forgotten something in my assumptions running that campaign.
The articles.
A pirate who's gone on the account has a duty to the crew he's signed with.
Most articles of agreement have some sort of "breaking up their way of living" clause, meaning they can't leave their current crew until some individual financial goal has been met.
So you end up with an "Almost all the time" -15 point Duty that also has the -5 Extremely Hazardous modifier to it.
-20 points for everyone!
Except it's a campaign assumption... You don't get points for the assumptions.
Just as nobody gets the points for Enemies. Enemy, England, France, Holland and Spain; who show up quite rarely (6 or less). That's [-20] for a single nation hunting you. Some crews conspicuously avoided taking one nation or another's ships as prizes. Adding more nations is really just increasing the frequency, not increasing the power of the groups who're your enemies.
It's [-80] for all of them once they all collude to declare pirates hostis humani generis and start showing up on a 12 or less (because at this point there's no good graces for pirates anymore). That's when the last golden age of piracy ended, there was no place safe to unload the haul.
14 February 2016
The Click Test
Take a Browning Hi-Power.
Cock the hammer.
Engage the safety.
Pull the trigger.
Release the trigger.
Pull back on the hammer like you were cocking it.
Did you hear a click?
If you did, then your pistol has failed the "click test".
You can also look into the back of the gun where the hammer meets the sear. If the sear moves when you pull the trigger, then you've failed the click test too; even if there's no audible click.
The field manual allows for zero movement of the sear with the safety engaged.
Here's what a new sear should look like:
Here's my sear:
The area of concern is here:
You might notice that the new sear has a tiny little step where I'm pointing my pointer. That's where the nub of the safety is supposed to be touching the sear when it's engaged. My sear has no step and there's evidence of someone filing there.
My gun is ex-Israeli police, so some parts mixing is guaranteed.
There's two accepted paths to fixing the problem. One is replacing the sear (and sometimes the safety too). The other is putting a glob of weld where the step should be and filing it back down for perfect engagement.
I'm going to try replacing the sear now that Midway has them in stock again. I opened things up to see how worn the lug was on the safety. It's never even touched the sear except for the times I've click tested it. It was a brand new safety when installed on an old sear... GO GO IDF!
There's still a lot of debate of whether passing the click test is mandatory, as long as the gun doesn't go bang with the safety on and doesn't go off when you disengage it, is there really a problem?
PS: Obsessively DOING the click test will wear the parts and cause it to fail said test. Check once in a blue moon only.
Cock the hammer.
Engage the safety.
Pull the trigger.
Release the trigger.
Pull back on the hammer like you were cocking it.
Did you hear a click?
If you did, then your pistol has failed the "click test".
You can also look into the back of the gun where the hammer meets the sear. If the sear moves when you pull the trigger, then you've failed the click test too; even if there's no audible click.
The field manual allows for zero movement of the sear with the safety engaged.
Here's what a new sear should look like:
 |
| Picture taken from: Midway USA |
Here's my sear:
The area of concern is here:
You might notice that the new sear has a tiny little step where I'm pointing my pointer. That's where the nub of the safety is supposed to be touching the sear when it's engaged. My sear has no step and there's evidence of someone filing there.
My gun is ex-Israeli police, so some parts mixing is guaranteed.
There's two accepted paths to fixing the problem. One is replacing the sear (and sometimes the safety too). The other is putting a glob of weld where the step should be and filing it back down for perfect engagement.
I'm going to try replacing the sear now that Midway has them in stock again. I opened things up to see how worn the lug was on the safety. It's never even touched the sear except for the times I've click tested it. It was a brand new safety when installed on an old sear... GO GO IDF!
There's still a lot of debate of whether passing the click test is mandatory, as long as the gun doesn't go bang with the safety on and doesn't go off when you disengage it, is there really a problem?
PS: Obsessively DOING the click test will wear the parts and cause it to fail said test. Check once in a blue moon only.
Applicability
I've put my finger on what's bothered me about several gun schools I've seen advertised.
How is what they teach applicable to the real world?
I've attended one that is sure to improve my times in a two gun match (and probably did), but having been there and done that: Shit they teach will get your ass killed dead on a two-way range.
I've attended one where MY goal was to prove my gun would last, but it was, for me, a rehash of what I'd learned in one-station-unit-training.
I've never failed to have fun at a gun school. A shitty day shooting is still a pretty durn good day.
I've called a couple of the pistol schools around here and the focus is on IPDA times with a veneer of self defense application.
I cannot help but think that one that's out of business now was sending students out to become inmates because they got real cagey when I started asking about legally applying what I would learn in a real situation.
A real elephant in the room with too many schools has been the physicality of them.
I've a bum leg. I'm not running anywhere. I'm not humping a ruck anywhere. I'm not sprinting.
Good thing there's a gimp league two-gun match twice a year! Have sundials, will record split times!
Advice about schools also hits the wall of funding. Give us $700+ and bring 2,000+ rounds of ammo some place that costs $300 to get to and another $250 in lodging to attend...
That's non-trivial for me.
I am old enough that I am just not going to be yelled at or publicly humiliated by someone I've hired to teach me. Employers don't get screamed at by their employees. Too many of these web pages appear to be offering thegirlfriend Basic Training® Experience; including screaming instructors and calisthenics. (If I shoot someone who screams at me that they will, "PT you until you fucking die!", is that self-defense?)
How is what they teach applicable to the real world?
I've attended one that is sure to improve my times in a two gun match (and probably did), but having been there and done that: Shit they teach will get your ass killed dead on a two-way range.
I've attended one where MY goal was to prove my gun would last, but it was, for me, a rehash of what I'd learned in one-station-unit-training.
I've never failed to have fun at a gun school. A shitty day shooting is still a pretty durn good day.
I've called a couple of the pistol schools around here and the focus is on IPDA times with a veneer of self defense application.
I cannot help but think that one that's out of business now was sending students out to become inmates because they got real cagey when I started asking about legally applying what I would learn in a real situation.
A real elephant in the room with too many schools has been the physicality of them.
I've a bum leg. I'm not running anywhere. I'm not humping a ruck anywhere. I'm not sprinting.
Good thing there's a gimp league two-gun match twice a year! Have sundials, will record split times!
Advice about schools also hits the wall of funding. Give us $700+ and bring 2,000+ rounds of ammo some place that costs $300 to get to and another $250 in lodging to attend...
That's non-trivial for me.
I am old enough that I am just not going to be yelled at or publicly humiliated by someone I've hired to teach me. Employers don't get screamed at by their employees. Too many of these web pages appear to be offering the
Every Once And A While
It's your job to realize that you've been offensive and apologize; rather than it being mine to get over being offended, forgiving you and pretending you gave no offense.
Not As Planned
The guy playing Cap'n Rathburn didn't always get the last word in our clever repartees.
Rathburn: Bos'n!
FuzzyGeff's Boatswain: Aye, cap'n?
Rathburn: Ye're a stingy bastard!
FuzzyGeff's Boatswain: Aye, thankee, cap'n; 'tis good to be noticed!
I am not sure where Jonesy was heading with calling Bos'n Geff stingy, but Geff derailed his train of thought for a whole minute.
Rathburn: Bos'n!
FuzzyGeff's Boatswain: Aye, cap'n?
Rathburn: Ye're a stingy bastard!
FuzzyGeff's Boatswain: Aye, thankee, cap'n; 'tis good to be noticed!
I am not sure where Jonesy was heading with calling Bos'n Geff stingy, but Geff derailed his train of thought for a whole minute.
Being A Gun Guy
Watching a film, Hyena Road, and (of course) noting the equipment.
Being a gun-nut means pausing the movie and trying to find out if Canada really issues Galco Miami Classic holsters.
Being a gun-nut means pausing the movie and trying to find out if Canada really issues Galco Miami Classic holsters.
Hey I Know That Guy
Happily stolen from: https://johnwynnehopkins.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/willard-chomps-fleetwood/
I've been told the story of how he became known as "chomps" but I don't recall it.
Talking to Willard is like drinking from a firehose.
13 February 2016
A Dark Time
RIP Justice Scalia.
Think that the Republicans will grow enough spine to hold off a replacement appointment for a year?
Think that the Republicans will grow enough spine to hold off a replacement appointment for a year?
Learning Curve
I am absolutely done with people who are only "available" during work hours and use "I'm working" as their reason to never actually be available.
Reason (Lost Count) To Never Step Foot In New Jersey
NJ comic's movie bit part backfires, results in gun charge..
Quote:
How many words in that sentence does NJ not know the meaning of? Even if an airsoft gun is a "firearm" it's not any more a fucking weapon than any other small blunt instrument.
Quote:
"Bellario was handcuffed, arrested and charged with weapons possession under New Jersey’s strict gun laws, which say any weapon that fires projectile - even if it is just a pellet - is a firearm."
How many words in that sentence does NJ not know the meaning of? Even if an airsoft gun is a "firearm" it's not any more a fucking weapon than any other small blunt instrument.
12 February 2016
Walnut Observation
Willard made not that putting walnut stocks on my Pocket Hammerless would seem to most people to make it seem less martial.
The thing is, the style stock I added is the style that goes on the military version.
Commercial guns got the hard rubber for the most part.
The thing is, the style stock I added is the style that goes on the military version.
Commercial guns got the hard rubber for the most part.
Gripping Tale
My Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless succumbed to a common problem.
Crackedgrips stocks.
Numrich lists a set of walnut replacements, with hardware! (Some fitting required).
Their hardware sucks!
So I harvested the escutcheons from the hard rubber grips, shaved a bit more off the inside step to better line up the holes and voila!
The sharp eyed will notice that I got the wrong escutcheon in the wronggrip stock, so the threads are on the left and the head on the right. Machts nichts.
The gun is nowhere near a perfect condition heirloom, so there's no loss in making it more of a shooter; and I did keep the hard rubber until they died.
PS: It sure is cool how some new walnut perks up how an old gun looks!
Cracked
Numrich lists a set of walnut replacements, with hardware! (Some fitting required).
So I harvested the escutcheons from the hard rubber grips, shaved a bit more off the inside step to better line up the holes and voila!
The sharp eyed will notice that I got the wrong escutcheon in the wrong
The gun is nowhere near a perfect condition heirloom, so there's no loss in making it more of a shooter; and I did keep the hard rubber until they died.
PS: It sure is cool how some new walnut perks up how an old gun looks!
How Did That Happen
With the announcement that 7th Sea is likely going to get a 2nd edition, Black Sails running a third season on Starz and a general interest in swashbuckling...
I decided it was time to convert my Mary Sue quartermaster to 4e from 3e.
My 1650's pirate campaign was a 100/40/5 game.
Dougal MacConnor has 230 points on his sheet.
Clearly the campaign ran longer and more successfully than I'd remembered.
Lots of fun memories from that group of players, and the combination was magic.
We had spectators watching us perform as our characters in the game.
Our captain, William Rathburn, often growled, "Right!"
This led to the rest of us replying, in unison, "Left!"
Then one day he says, "Up!" after we say "Left!"
So we say, "Down!"
He says, "In!"
We say, "Out!"
Triumphantly he shouts, "SPURT!"
The master gunner laughingly (and looking proud of himself) says, "Kinda premature, ain't it?"
The captain's player replies, in his gravelly Cap'n Rathburn voice, "Quit yer bitchin', I got some on ye, didn't I?"
And the crowd goes wild...
I decided it was time to convert my Mary Sue quartermaster to 4e from 3e.
My 1650's pirate campaign was a 100/40/5 game.
Dougal MacConnor has 230 points on his sheet.
Clearly the campaign ran longer and more successfully than I'd remembered.
Lots of fun memories from that group of players, and the combination was magic.
We had spectators watching us perform as our characters in the game.
Our captain, William Rathburn, often growled, "Right!"
This led to the rest of us replying, in unison, "Left!"
Then one day he says, "Up!" after we say "Left!"
So we say, "Down!"
He says, "In!"
We say, "Out!"
Triumphantly he shouts, "SPURT!"
The master gunner laughingly (and looking proud of himself) says, "Kinda premature, ain't it?"
The captain's player replies, in his gravelly Cap'n Rathburn voice, "Quit yer bitchin', I got some on ye, didn't I?"
And the crowd goes wild...
Wasted Time
Doing the payday running around errands...
Took a stop-watch with me.
In an hour of running around 20 minutes was stationary sitting at a stop-light.
With the snow-birds down, we never got near the speed limit before the next signal and getting to five under is cause for celebration.
Took a stop-watch with me.
In an hour of running around 20 minutes was stationary sitting at a stop-light.
With the snow-birds down, we never got near the speed limit before the next signal and getting to five under is cause for celebration.
11 February 2016
I Should Be Released
All charges should be dropped!
I am the victim of profiling!
Did the police arrest everyone?
No.
They arrested JUST the guy running, carrying a purse, chased by a screaming woman.
How is that fair?
I am the victim of profiling!
Did the police arrest everyone?
No.
They arrested JUST the guy running, carrying a purse, chased by a screaming woman.
How is that fair?
High Power Trick
If you kept the magazine disconnect in your Browning Hi-Power, you might notice that your magazines don't drop free.
With the slide to the rear, hit the mag release and pump the trigger a couple times. The disconnect will work on the front of the magazine like a ratchet and push it out.
With the slide to the rear, hit the mag release and pump the trigger a couple times. The disconnect will work on the front of the magazine like a ratchet and push it out.
Feedback
Remember back in December when I complained about not being able to get the OEM mount off that Primary Arms 5x?
Well, I complained about it in the customer review section too.
I see today that they've added, "NOTE: To remove the allen screws holding the base to the body, we recommend applying some heat directly to the screws in order to soften the factory thread locking compound. Several seconds with a lighter does the trick and the allen screws will come out much more easily." to the product description now.
I was not alone in my complaining about the difficulty in removing those screws.
I will say it over and over, slotted head screws are superior to all other interior drive screws in terms of how much torque you can apply. All others compromise that strength for size, to speed manufacture or to prevent the owner from removing them.
Well, I complained about it in the customer review section too.
I see today that they've added, "NOTE: To remove the allen screws holding the base to the body, we recommend applying some heat directly to the screws in order to soften the factory thread locking compound. Several seconds with a lighter does the trick and the allen screws will come out much more easily." to the product description now.
I was not alone in my complaining about the difficulty in removing those screws.
I will say it over and over, slotted head screws are superior to all other interior drive screws in terms of how much torque you can apply. All others compromise that strength for size, to speed manufacture or to prevent the owner from removing them.
Some Of Us Knew This Already
Look carefully at the slow mo. The G3 has THREE distinct "hits" in its cycle.
Absurd Objection
I've seen it a few times...
People who are morally opposed to filing NFA paperwork because of the onerous nature of the background check...
Who have a carry permit from a state that does a much more rigorous check.
This begs the question, "What is the real objection?"
People who are morally opposed to filing NFA paperwork because of the onerous nature of the background check...
Who have a carry permit from a state that does a much more rigorous check.
This begs the question, "What is the real objection?"
I Was A Tanker
Tankers are sort of Cavalry.
So I could use a horse pistol.
I wouldn't even violate my vow to never own a Beretta M9.
It would also scratch the nostalgia itch and remind me, "this is why I made the vow."
So I could use a horse pistol.
I wouldn't even violate my vow to never own a Beretta M9.
It would also scratch the nostalgia itch and remind me, "this is why I made the vow."
BTR-152 Addendum
This post makes it seem like it was near impossible to pop three guys dead right there in the back of the head from 4 yards.
If you line up the targets at the range, this is an easy exercise and you wonder how anyone could miss.
GURPS 4e default mode includes assumes some penalties that might not apply to some people.
You can get up to +10 to your roll in a non-combat situation, giving us a 20 for the first two shots and 18 for the third.
Being a cold blooded motherfucker means shooting at people is like a day at the range, so you should get bonuses to shoot at them. Combat Reflexes, Unfazeable and levels of Fearlessness should come into play to help, it's not explicitly said in the rules though. The GM has to make a leap of faith and apply it.
You've got to decide what alleviates the symptoms that cause the defacto -10 penalty to all combat shooting. The rules as written avoid stating the combination of advantages and disadvantages that fully eliminate the penalty because it's surely to be abused by the players. Leaving it up to the GM also means "The GM giveth and the GM taketh away."
If you get a player who goes all rules-lawyer on you, just direct them to B345 Task Difficulty.
If you line up the targets at the range, this is an easy exercise and you wonder how anyone could miss.
GURPS 4e default mode includes assumes some penalties that might not apply to some people.
You can get up to +10 to your roll in a non-combat situation, giving us a 20 for the first two shots and 18 for the third.
Being a cold blooded motherfucker means shooting at people is like a day at the range, so you should get bonuses to shoot at them. Combat Reflexes, Unfazeable and levels of Fearlessness should come into play to help, it's not explicitly said in the rules though. The GM has to make a leap of faith and apply it.
You've got to decide what alleviates the symptoms that cause the defacto -10 penalty to all combat shooting. The rules as written avoid stating the combination of advantages and disadvantages that fully eliminate the penalty because it's surely to be abused by the players. Leaving it up to the GM also means "The GM giveth and the GM taketh away."
If you get a player who goes all rules-lawyer on you, just direct them to B345 Task Difficulty.
10 February 2016
Useless Addendum
Why are the pro-gun orgs useless?
The state senator who's keeping the pro-gun bills from seeing his committee? A-rated.
The state senator who's not scheduling the house bill for a floor vote? A-rated.
The state senator who's keeping the pro-gun bills from seeing his committee? A-rated.
The state senator who's not scheduling the house bill for a floor vote? A-rated.
Old Joke
I've been known to tell some yarns.
At the end of some of them, I've been asked to prove it.
Well, duh, I made it up can't prove it...
But before admitting it was a tall tale I'd toss out a "well my records were destroyed in the fire."
I may (now) be old, but I am not THAT old.
What's astonishing to me is how many people have heard of that fire, but don't know when it happened or whom it affected. What's more, some who do can be mollified by saying, "no, the other fire."
I do try to get things to a point where I can say the story was bullshit... I'm so very trying.
But sometimes the point of the bullshitting is to see how much you can get the listener to eat.
I wish I could recapture the entire vellum shortage story. I had the audience's rapt attention as I spun that one. I had answers, told with conviction, to any question and there were subplots as I "clarified" the situation. But about half the people who heard this story live didn't hang around for the punch-line: That it was just a story.
They're either out there repeating the conspiracy or saying, "I knew this nutcase McThag..."
At the end of some of them, I've been asked to prove it.
Well, duh, I made it up can't prove it...
But before admitting it was a tall tale I'd toss out a "well my records were destroyed in the fire."
I may (now) be old, but I am not THAT old.
What's astonishing to me is how many people have heard of that fire, but don't know when it happened or whom it affected. What's more, some who do can be mollified by saying, "no, the other fire."
I do try to get things to a point where I can say the story was bullshit... I'm so very trying.
But sometimes the point of the bullshitting is to see how much you can get the listener to eat.
I wish I could recapture the entire vellum shortage story. I had the audience's rapt attention as I spun that one. I had answers, told with conviction, to any question and there were subplots as I "clarified" the situation. But about half the people who heard this story live didn't hang around for the punch-line: That it was just a story.
They're either out there repeating the conspiracy or saying, "I knew this nutcase McThag..."
Fucking Useless
Next pro-gun organization tells me I need to get out the vote or call my congress-critter gets punched in the throat.
First off, I can do that without a pro-gun organization existing at all.
Second, it does fuck all to alleviate the situation when nothing pro-gun will happen in the state senate because the senate president and the chairman of the judicial committee both have decided that no liberty will be expanded on their watch.
Andy Gardiner is from Orlando and as Senate President he could bring the bill the House passed to a vote, bypassing the judicial committee. Orlando... Orlando... Oh yeah, THE FUCKING MOUSE HOUSE. The anti-gun theme parks own a senator.
It could get to the floor despite him if it could get out of the judical committee. But the chairman of that committee is Miguel Díaz de la Portilla. Miami-Dade RINO.
So what it comes down to is getting a super majority in both houses, and a governor who's in the same party comes to naught because of two people. Two people who blithely ignore us because... what? You going to vote for a Democrat?
No. I'm going to stay the fuck home.
Why? Because that "pro-gun" super-majority that I was asked to get elected are why he's Senate President and why a Democrat in all but name is telling us to fuck off in the committee.
Pro-gun orgs want me back? Get the pro gun stuff on the constitutional amendment vote. Bypass them altogether.
First off, I can do that without a pro-gun organization existing at all.
Second, it does fuck all to alleviate the situation when nothing pro-gun will happen in the state senate because the senate president and the chairman of the judicial committee both have decided that no liberty will be expanded on their watch.
Andy Gardiner is from Orlando and as Senate President he could bring the bill the House passed to a vote, bypassing the judicial committee. Orlando... Orlando... Oh yeah, THE FUCKING MOUSE HOUSE. The anti-gun theme parks own a senator.
It could get to the floor despite him if it could get out of the judical committee. But the chairman of that committee is Miguel Díaz de la Portilla. Miami-Dade RINO.
So what it comes down to is getting a super majority in both houses, and a governor who's in the same party comes to naught because of two people. Two people who blithely ignore us because... what? You going to vote for a Democrat?
No. I'm going to stay the fuck home.
Why? Because that "pro-gun" super-majority that I was asked to get elected are why he's Senate President and why a Democrat in all but name is telling us to fuck off in the committee.
Pro-gun orgs want me back? Get the pro gun stuff on the constitutional amendment vote. Bypass them altogether.
Neglect
Nothing kills a car faster than letting it sit.
The Biscayne SS sits too much.
The lack of AC in the summer encourages you to use a car with AC...
This year I will get that fixed, put new tires on her, do the tie-rods, idler, pittman and center link and get her aligned.
Once she's a fully functional car again, then well see about making her pretty once more.
The Biscayne SS sits too much.
The lack of AC in the summer encourages you to use a car with AC...
This year I will get that fixed, put new tires on her, do the tie-rods, idler, pittman and center link and get her aligned.
Once she's a fully functional car again, then well see about making her pretty once more.
09 February 2016
Expand Your Vocabulary
Have you said
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Coast Guard (USCG), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol, Secret Service (USSS), National Operations Center (NOC), Homeland Defense, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Agent, Task Force, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Fusion Center, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Secure Border Initiative (SBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Air Marshal, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Guard, Red Cross, United Nations (UN), Domestic Security, Assassination, Attack, Domestic security, Drill, Exercise, Cops, Law enforcement, Authorities, Disaster assistance, Disaster management, DNDO (Domestic Nuclear Detection Office), National preparedness, Mitigation, Prevention, Response, Recovery, Dirty Bomb, Domestic nuclear detection, Emergency management, Emergency response, First responder, Homeland security, Maritime domain awareness (MDA), National preparedness initiative, Militia, Shooting, Shots fired, Evacuation, Deaths, Hostage, Explosion (explosive), Police, Disaster medical assistance team (DMAT), Organized crime, Gangs, National security, State of emergency, Security, Breach, Threat, Standoff, SWAT, Screening, Lockdown, Bomb (squad or threat), Crash, Looting, Riot, Emergency Landing, Pipe bomb, Incident, Facility, HAZMAT & Nuclear, Hazmat, Nuclear, Chemical Spill, Suspicious package/device, Toxic, National laboratory, Nuclear facility, Nuclear threat, Cloud, Plume, Radiation, Radioactive, Leak, Biological infection (or event), Chemical, Chemical burn, Biological, Epidemic, Hazardous, Hazardous material incident, Industrial spill, Infection, Powder (white), Gas, Spillover, Anthrax, Blister agent, Exposure, Burn, Nerve agent, Ricin, Sarin, North Korea, Health Concern + H1N1, Outbreak, Contamination, Exposure, Virus, Evacuation, Bacteria, Recall, Ebola, Food Poisoning, Foot and Mouth (FMD), H5N1, Avian, Flu, Salmonella, Small Pox, Plague, Human to human, Human to ANIMAL, Influenza, Center for Disease Control (CDC), Drug Administration (FDA), Public Health, Toxic, Agro Terror, Tuberculosis (TB), Agriculture, Listeria, Symptoms, Mutation, Resistant, Antiviral, Wave, Pandemic, Infection, Water/air borne, Sick, Swine, Pork, Strain, Quarantine, H1N1, Vaccine, Tamiflu, Norvo Virus, Epidemic, World Health Organization (WHO and components), Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, E. Coli, Infrastructure Security, Infrastructure security, Airport, CIKR (Critical Infrastructure & Key Resources), AMTRAK, Collapse, Computer infrastructure, Communications infrastructure, Telecommunications, Critical infrastructure, National infrastructure, Metro, WMATA, Airplane (and derivatives), Chemical fire, Subway, BART, MARTA, Port Authority, NBIC (National Biosurveillance Integration Center), Transportation security, Grid, Power, Smart, Body scanner, Porno scanner, Electric, Failure or outage, Black out, Brown out, Port, Dock, Bridge, Canceled, Delays, Service disruption, Power lines, Southwest Border Violence, Drug cartel, Violence, Gang, Drug, Narcotics, Cocaine, Marijuana, Heroin, Border, Mexico, Cartel, Southwest, Juarez, Sinaloa, Tijuana, Torreon, Yuma, Tucson, Decapitated, U.S. Consulate, Consular, El Paso, Fort Hancock, San Diego, Ciudad Juarez, Nogales, Sonora, Colombia, Mara salvatrucha, MS13 or MS-13, Drug war, Mexican army, Methamphetamine, Cartel de Golfo, Gulf Cartel, La Familia, Reynose, Nuevo Leon, Narcos, Narco banners (Spanish equivalents), Los Zetas, Shootout, Execution, Gunfight, Trafficking, Kidnap, Calderon, Reyosa, Bust, Tamaulipas, Meth Lab, Drug trade, Illegal immigrants, Smuggling (smugglers), Matamoros, Michoacana, Guzman, Arellano-Felix, Beltran-Leyva, Barrio Azteca, Artistics Assassins, Mexicles, New Federation, Terrorism, Terrorism, Al Queda (all spellings), Terror, Attack, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Agro, Environmental terrorist, Eco terrorism, Conventional weapon, Target, Weapons grade, Dirty bomb, Enriched, Nuclear, Chemical weapon, Biological weapon, Ammonium nitrate, Improvised explosive device, IED (Improvised Explosive Device), Abu Sayyaf, Hamas, FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces Colombia), IRA (Irish Republican Army), ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna), Basque Separatists, Hezbollah, Tamil Tiger, PLF (Palestine Liberation Front), PLO (Palestine Libration Organization), Car bomb, Jihad, Taliban, Weapons cache, Suicide bomber, Suicide attack, Suspicious substance, AQAP (Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula), AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), Yemen, Pirates, Extremism, Somalia, Nigeria, Radicals, Al-Shabaab, Home grown, Plot, Nationalist, Recruitment, Fundamentalism, Islamist, Weather/Disaster/Emergency, Emergency, Hurricane, Tornado, Twister, Tsunami, Earthquake, Tremor, Flood, Storm, Crest, Temblor, Extreme weather, Forest fire, Brush fire, Ice, Stranded/Stuck, Help, Hail, Wildfire, Tsunami Warning Center, Magnitude, Avalanche, Typhoon, Shelter-in-place, Disaster, Snow, Blizzard, Sleet, Mud slide or Mudslide, Erosion, Power outage, Brown out, Warning, Watch, Lightening, Aid, Relief, Closure, Interstate, Burst, Emergency Broadcast System, Cyber Security, Botnet, DDOS (dedicated denial of service), Denial of service, Malware, Virus, Trojan, Keylogger, Cyber Command, 2600, Spammer, Phishing, Rootkit, Phreaking, Cain and Abel, Brute forcing, Mysql injection, Cyber attack, Cyber terror, Hacker, China, Conficker, Worm, Scammers or Social media today?
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Coast Guard (USCG), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol, Secret Service (USSS), National Operations Center (NOC), Homeland Defense, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Agent, Task Force, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Fusion Center, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Secure Border Initiative (SBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Air Marshal, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Guard, Red Cross, United Nations (UN), Domestic Security, Assassination, Attack, Domestic security, Drill, Exercise, Cops, Law enforcement, Authorities, Disaster assistance, Disaster management, DNDO (Domestic Nuclear Detection Office), National preparedness, Mitigation, Prevention, Response, Recovery, Dirty Bomb, Domestic nuclear detection, Emergency management, Emergency response, First responder, Homeland security, Maritime domain awareness (MDA), National preparedness initiative, Militia, Shooting, Shots fired, Evacuation, Deaths, Hostage, Explosion (explosive), Police, Disaster medical assistance team (DMAT), Organized crime, Gangs, National security, State of emergency, Security, Breach, Threat, Standoff, SWAT, Screening, Lockdown, Bomb (squad or threat), Crash, Looting, Riot, Emergency Landing, Pipe bomb, Incident, Facility, HAZMAT & Nuclear, Hazmat, Nuclear, Chemical Spill, Suspicious package/device, Toxic, National laboratory, Nuclear facility, Nuclear threat, Cloud, Plume, Radiation, Radioactive, Leak, Biological infection (or event), Chemical, Chemical burn, Biological, Epidemic, Hazardous, Hazardous material incident, Industrial spill, Infection, Powder (white), Gas, Spillover, Anthrax, Blister agent, Exposure, Burn, Nerve agent, Ricin, Sarin, North Korea, Health Concern + H1N1, Outbreak, Contamination, Exposure, Virus, Evacuation, Bacteria, Recall, Ebola, Food Poisoning, Foot and Mouth (FMD), H5N1, Avian, Flu, Salmonella, Small Pox, Plague, Human to human, Human to ANIMAL, Influenza, Center for Disease Control (CDC), Drug Administration (FDA), Public Health, Toxic, Agro Terror, Tuberculosis (TB), Agriculture, Listeria, Symptoms, Mutation, Resistant, Antiviral, Wave, Pandemic, Infection, Water/air borne, Sick, Swine, Pork, Strain, Quarantine, H1N1, Vaccine, Tamiflu, Norvo Virus, Epidemic, World Health Organization (WHO and components), Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, E. Coli, Infrastructure Security, Infrastructure security, Airport, CIKR (Critical Infrastructure & Key Resources), AMTRAK, Collapse, Computer infrastructure, Communications infrastructure, Telecommunications, Critical infrastructure, National infrastructure, Metro, WMATA, Airplane (and derivatives), Chemical fire, Subway, BART, MARTA, Port Authority, NBIC (National Biosurveillance Integration Center), Transportation security, Grid, Power, Smart, Body scanner, Porno scanner, Electric, Failure or outage, Black out, Brown out, Port, Dock, Bridge, Canceled, Delays, Service disruption, Power lines, Southwest Border Violence, Drug cartel, Violence, Gang, Drug, Narcotics, Cocaine, Marijuana, Heroin, Border, Mexico, Cartel, Southwest, Juarez, Sinaloa, Tijuana, Torreon, Yuma, Tucson, Decapitated, U.S. Consulate, Consular, El Paso, Fort Hancock, San Diego, Ciudad Juarez, Nogales, Sonora, Colombia, Mara salvatrucha, MS13 or MS-13, Drug war, Mexican army, Methamphetamine, Cartel de Golfo, Gulf Cartel, La Familia, Reynose, Nuevo Leon, Narcos, Narco banners (Spanish equivalents), Los Zetas, Shootout, Execution, Gunfight, Trafficking, Kidnap, Calderon, Reyosa, Bust, Tamaulipas, Meth Lab, Drug trade, Illegal immigrants, Smuggling (smugglers), Matamoros, Michoacana, Guzman, Arellano-Felix, Beltran-Leyva, Barrio Azteca, Artistics Assassins, Mexicles, New Federation, Terrorism, Terrorism, Al Queda (all spellings), Terror, Attack, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Agro, Environmental terrorist, Eco terrorism, Conventional weapon, Target, Weapons grade, Dirty bomb, Enriched, Nuclear, Chemical weapon, Biological weapon, Ammonium nitrate, Improvised explosive device, IED (Improvised Explosive Device), Abu Sayyaf, Hamas, FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces Colombia), IRA (Irish Republican Army), ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna), Basque Separatists, Hezbollah, Tamil Tiger, PLF (Palestine Liberation Front), PLO (Palestine Libration Organization), Car bomb, Jihad, Taliban, Weapons cache, Suicide bomber, Suicide attack, Suspicious substance, AQAP (Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula), AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), Yemen, Pirates, Extremism, Somalia, Nigeria, Radicals, Al-Shabaab, Home grown, Plot, Nationalist, Recruitment, Fundamentalism, Islamist, Weather/Disaster/Emergency, Emergency, Hurricane, Tornado, Twister, Tsunami, Earthquake, Tremor, Flood, Storm, Crest, Temblor, Extreme weather, Forest fire, Brush fire, Ice, Stranded/Stuck, Help, Hail, Wildfire, Tsunami Warning Center, Magnitude, Avalanche, Typhoon, Shelter-in-place, Disaster, Snow, Blizzard, Sleet, Mud slide or Mudslide, Erosion, Power outage, Brown out, Warning, Watch, Lightening, Aid, Relief, Closure, Interstate, Burst, Emergency Broadcast System, Cyber Security, Botnet, DDOS (dedicated denial of service), Denial of service, Malware, Virus, Trojan, Keylogger, Cyber Command, 2600, Spammer, Phishing, Rootkit, Phreaking, Cain and Abel, Brute forcing, Mysql injection, Cyber attack, Cyber terror, Hacker, China, Conficker, Worm, Scammers or Social media today?
Shooty Tuesday
The Cobra CS25CP shoots like a laser... It bounces off paper.
I fired 34 rounds of the white box and 6 rounds of hollow point at 4 whole yards.
I experienced no failures to feed, but was consistently unable to fire a third shot without opening the action and clearing the chambered rounds. Despite constant double feeds, reliability was flawless!
Accuracy with the abysmal sights and atrocious trigger was... fair?
When it started warming up, extraction became tedious.
A far better performer was Willard's new-to-him Glock 19!
I goaded him into buying this yesterday and he picked it up for $300! I think he got a hell of a deal. Someone who at least listened to someone who gave good advice on upgrading your Glock once owned this pistol. The trigger is very sweet. Smooth predictable pull, sharp break, positive reset. I've got to see if I can pry it out of his clawed hands! He didn't want it, but the shop we were at is changing owners and the current owner is doing the "everything must go!" thing; so the deal on the Glock was somewhat contingent on the purchase of everything under the counter.
I fired 34 rounds of the white box and 6 rounds of hollow point at 4 whole yards.
I experienced no failures to feed, but was consistently unable to fire a third shot without opening the action and clearing the chambered rounds. Despite constant double feeds, reliability was flawless!
Accuracy with the abysmal sights and atrocious trigger was... fair?
When it started warming up, extraction became tedious.
A far better performer was Willard's new-to-him Glock 19!
I goaded him into buying this yesterday and he picked it up for $300! I think he got a hell of a deal. Someone who at least listened to someone who gave good advice on upgrading your Glock once owned this pistol. The trigger is very sweet. Smooth predictable pull, sharp break, positive reset. I've got to see if I can pry it out of his clawed hands! He didn't want it, but the shop we were at is changing owners and the current owner is doing the "everything must go!" thing; so the deal on the Glock was somewhat contingent on the purchase of everything under the counter.
What Did He Do?
XBradTC at Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid appears to have been suspended by WordPress for a violation of their terms of service.
It makes you wonder what the violation could be, but I note that their terms contain language that adds up to, "we can nuke your account if we have a pissy day and decide to take it out on you, and there's nothing you can do about it."
UPDATE:
From his Facebook page: "I'm having some issues migrating to a new provider and domain mapping. Literally working on it right now. "
It makes you wonder what the violation could be, but I note that their terms contain language that adds up to, "we can nuke your account if we have a pissy day and decide to take it out on you, and there's nothing you can do about it."
UPDATE:
From his Facebook page: "I'm having some issues migrating to a new provider and domain mapping. Literally working on it right now. "
GURPS Battle Of The BTR-152
A real gunfight.
Start with a Colt Commander.
You've made a successful Stealth roll to approach the vehicle from behind and weren't heard climbing up the rear bumper.
Peering over the top of the troop compartment you see three enemy soldiers sitting on the seats up front, facing the front of the vehicle.
You take a ready action to draw your pistol and take one round to aim...
Your Guns/TL7 (Pistol) skill is 16.
You gain 2 from Acc, but lose 2 for the 4 yards distance from the back of the vehicle to the front. You cannot brace or use two hands to fire because of your precarious position hanging off the rear.
You choose to shoot them in the skull to end the engagement quickly -7 and make it an all-out-attack (determined) for the extra +1.
Chance to hit the first guy is 10, then you lose the Acc bonus so 8 on the second and third guy each. One shot per turn, three turns total. And two whole turns for guy number 3 to turn around and shoot back if he recovers from being surprised.
Not great odds...
What if you could do it faster?
You can! Tactical Shooting p.17-18 Shooting at Several Opponents allows for engaging more than one target per second.
The Quick-Shot technique lets you buy off the -6 penalty.
This means that the first two targets are fired upon in the first turn, so the Acc bonus is retained, 10 each then 8 on the third guy while he's taking his turn to recover from surprise! Much better odds if you drop the [6] into Quick-Shot!
With ball ammunition you do 2d pi+. They're HP 10 mooks wearing Soviet issue steel pots which have DR 4 then another DR 2 for the skull itself. DR 6 total. If you roll an average hit of 7, then 1 will penetrate the skull and do 4 points of damage. But a maximum damage roll is 12 with 6 penetrating for 24 points of damage! Any roll of 8 or higher is a major wound and it's unlikely that the victim will remain conscious. Any roll of 9 or better and there's an additional HT roll to remain conscious. Any roll of 11 or higher results in a death roll too.
Pistols suck, but being knocked unconscious by a bullet to the brain probably means you're going to die from bleeding if nobody renders first aid.
Start with a Colt Commander.
You've made a successful Stealth roll to approach the vehicle from behind and weren't heard climbing up the rear bumper.
Peering over the top of the troop compartment you see three enemy soldiers sitting on the seats up front, facing the front of the vehicle.
You take a ready action to draw your pistol and take one round to aim...
Your Guns/TL7 (Pistol) skill is 16.
You gain 2 from Acc, but lose 2 for the 4 yards distance from the back of the vehicle to the front. You cannot brace or use two hands to fire because of your precarious position hanging off the rear.
You choose to shoot them in the skull to end the engagement quickly -7 and make it an all-out-attack (determined) for the extra +1.
Chance to hit the first guy is 10, then you lose the Acc bonus so 8 on the second and third guy each. One shot per turn, three turns total. And two whole turns for guy number 3 to turn around and shoot back if he recovers from being surprised.
Not great odds...
What if you could do it faster?
You can! Tactical Shooting p.17-18 Shooting at Several Opponents allows for engaging more than one target per second.
The Quick-Shot technique lets you buy off the -6 penalty.
This means that the first two targets are fired upon in the first turn, so the Acc bonus is retained, 10 each then 8 on the third guy while he's taking his turn to recover from surprise! Much better odds if you drop the [6] into Quick-Shot!
With ball ammunition you do 2d pi+. They're HP 10 mooks wearing Soviet issue steel pots which have DR 4 then another DR 2 for the skull itself. DR 6 total. If you roll an average hit of 7, then 1 will penetrate the skull and do 4 points of damage. But a maximum damage roll is 12 with 6 penetrating for 24 points of damage! Any roll of 8 or higher is a major wound and it's unlikely that the victim will remain conscious. Any roll of 9 or better and there's an additional HT roll to remain conscious. Any roll of 11 or higher results in a death roll too.
Pistols suck, but being knocked unconscious by a bullet to the brain probably means you're going to die from bleeding if nobody renders first aid.
Glock Vs Glock
Again in GURPS terms...
The Glock 19 is 0.1 lb. lighter (2 vs 1.9) and each magazine is 0.1 lb. lighter (0.6 v 0.5) than a Glock 17.
You lose a point of damage (2d+2 pi vs 2d+1 pi) and two shots per magazine (17 vs 15).
Average hit is 9 vs 8. Each magazine will do 153 for the 17 and 120 for the 19.
The 17 and two magazines is 18 turns of firing and six turns of reloading. Starting with one in the chamber it's 3-3-3-3-3-3-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-2-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-2.
The 19 and two magazines is 16 turns of firing and six turns of reloading. Starting with one in the chamber it's 3-3-3-3-3-1-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3.
For GURPS there's not much reason past saving 0.3 lb. and hoping being short 6 rounds and a point of damage per shot doesn't affect the outcome. In real life it's just enough smaller to be easier to conceal.
Is 2d+1 pi enough?
Ball does 3-13 (average 8) on an unarmored, clothed person.
Hollow points up things to 2d+1(0.5) pi+ giving 4-19 (average 10).
An average of 10 with hollow points is certainly enough to get a consciousness roll! Landing three in the torso is getting two death rolls too, and they're all major wounds.
That'll do for most gaming gunfights where a pistol will do.
The Glock 19 is 0.1 lb. lighter (2 vs 1.9) and each magazine is 0.1 lb. lighter (0.6 v 0.5) than a Glock 17.
You lose a point of damage (2d+2 pi vs 2d+1 pi) and two shots per magazine (17 vs 15).
Average hit is 9 vs 8. Each magazine will do 153 for the 17 and 120 for the 19.
The 17 and two magazines is 18 turns of firing and six turns of reloading. Starting with one in the chamber it's 3-3-3-3-3-3-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-2-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-2.
The 19 and two magazines is 16 turns of firing and six turns of reloading. Starting with one in the chamber it's 3-3-3-3-3-1-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3-reload (3)-3-3-3-3-3.
For GURPS there's not much reason past saving 0.3 lb. and hoping being short 6 rounds and a point of damage per shot doesn't affect the outcome. In real life it's just enough smaller to be easier to conceal.
Is 2d+1 pi enough?
Ball does 3-13 (average 8) on an unarmored, clothed person.
Hollow points up things to 2d+1(0.5) pi+ giving 4-19 (average 10).
An average of 10 with hollow points is certainly enough to get a consciousness roll! Landing three in the torso is getting two death rolls too, and they're all major wounds.
That'll do for most gaming gunfights where a pistol will do.
08 February 2016
Reasonable?
On the whole, I rather like the police.
Despite personal interactions with them being generally negative...
If I look hard enough it's the asshats standing out rather than cops in general being dicks.
Remember what I said about 5% of my issues being how the job attracts bullies? They're the dicks I'm ranting about when I'm hatin' on cops.
Someone has to do the job, and it's not gonna be me.
I just wish I had more better than neutral experiences from them personally.
The closest to positive I have is being let go with a warning when I was caught red handed. That's a mixed feeling because I richly deserved that ticket. Edit, I remembered a good one. Posted next week.
I am sure a large portion of my lack of positive stems from being the sort of person who never does anything that creates a situation where I have to interact with them. Being law abiding has its own set of rewards!
To have a positive experience with a cop, something bad has to have happened to me. I have to be the victim of a crime. Then the cops have to solve that crime in a really great way to offset the bad experience created by being made a victim.
All of my real negative about the cops can be better summed up with the police a society get is a reflection of that society.
Even if all the cops are good, a screwed up society will have them doing all sorts of stupid and often counterproductive things. Government mandates they do things that waste time and resources.
Even if all cops are good, there's a limit on how much good can be done because resources don't stop being scarce just because an organization gets guns and badges. I understand this is why so little gets done about some things. Spread too thin is one way to put it.
Even if all cops are good... well all of them aren't. All of them can't be.
But I earnestly believe that most of them at least have good intentions and really do work to make things less shitty out there.
Despite personal interactions with them being generally negative...
If I look hard enough it's the asshats standing out rather than cops in general being dicks.
Remember what I said about 5% of my issues being how the job attracts bullies? They're the dicks I'm ranting about when I'm hatin' on cops.
Someone has to do the job, and it's not gonna be me.
I just wish I had more better than neutral experiences from them personally.
The closest to positive I have is being let go with a warning when I was caught red handed. That's a mixed feeling because I richly deserved that ticket. Edit, I remembered a good one. Posted next week.
I am sure a large portion of my lack of positive stems from being the sort of person who never does anything that creates a situation where I have to interact with them. Being law abiding has its own set of rewards!
To have a positive experience with a cop, something bad has to have happened to me. I have to be the victim of a crime. Then the cops have to solve that crime in a really great way to offset the bad experience created by being made a victim.
All of my real negative about the cops can be better summed up with the police a society get is a reflection of that society.
Even if all the cops are good, a screwed up society will have them doing all sorts of stupid and often counterproductive things. Government mandates they do things that waste time and resources.
Even if all cops are good, there's a limit on how much good can be done because resources don't stop being scarce just because an organization gets guns and badges. I understand this is why so little gets done about some things. Spread too thin is one way to put it.
Even if all cops are good... well all of them aren't. All of them can't be.
But I earnestly believe that most of them at least have good intentions and really do work to make things less shitty out there.
Car Porn Magazine
I just realized that Hot Rod is simply porn.
Normal porn is people you will never met, in places you will never go, doing things you will never do.
Hot Rod is cars you will never drive, built with parts you will never afford, in places you will never visit.
$20 for three years sounds pretty good until I remember why I always let my subscription lapse.
I don't have near the funding to do half what I wanna do to the car I have, I don't need someone rubbing in there's stuff I never considered, and don't have 10% the funding to even start, let alone finish.
Normal porn is people you will never met, in places you will never go, doing things you will never do.
Hot Rod is cars you will never drive, built with parts you will never afford, in places you will never visit.
$20 for three years sounds pretty good until I remember why I always let my subscription lapse.
I don't have near the funding to do half what I wanna do to the car I have, I don't need someone rubbing in there's stuff I never considered, and don't have 10% the funding to even start, let alone finish.
White Male: Blonde Hair: 160 Pounds
When you're a gamer in and around Ames, Iowa you keep late hours.
When your girlfriend moves to West Des Moines, you move with her.
This leads to transiting Urbandale and West Des Moines late late late at... no early on Sunday morning.
If you look like me in your silver 1979 Camaro, you also look like a repeat offender wife beater, drunk driver and drug dealer in his silver 1978 Camaro. Yes, I looked like a scumbag.
Guess how many weeks in a row I got pulled over?
My doppelganger had no license... and warrants out.
My heart really goes out to the West Des Moines Police Department's officers because the "I've finally got him!" look fading when they can see I'm not the other guy is so sad.
Astonishingly for such a small department, it took 22 stops and a written complaint AND pulling up to a parked officer to give a helpful vehicle ID class on how to tell my car apart from scumbag. That friendly interaction led the "how do you know that?" question.
I know that because I was always looking for parts cars and there's an almost identical Camaro parked on <this street and block> a few blocks into Des Moines proper.
I think that led to Scumbag's arrest.
I am not at all bitter about this experience, when I tell it in person it's told to get a laugh.
I fit the description and wasn't really detained all that long. Of course a laugh and a "officer, I am sure you've heard this before... But you got the wrong guy!" helped a lot in keeping from being an asshat festival.
When your girlfriend moves to West Des Moines, you move with her.
This leads to transiting Urbandale and West Des Moines late late late at... no early on Sunday morning.
If you look like me in your silver 1979 Camaro, you also look like a repeat offender wife beater, drunk driver and drug dealer in his silver 1978 Camaro. Yes, I looked like a scumbag.
Guess how many weeks in a row I got pulled over?
My doppelganger had no license... and warrants out.
My heart really goes out to the West Des Moines Police Department's officers because the "I've finally got him!" look fading when they can see I'm not the other guy is so sad.
Astonishingly for such a small department, it took 22 stops and a written complaint AND pulling up to a parked officer to give a helpful vehicle ID class on how to tell my car apart from scumbag. That friendly interaction led the "how do you know that?" question.
I know that because I was always looking for parts cars and there's an almost identical Camaro parked on <this street and block> a few blocks into Des Moines proper.
I think that led to Scumbag's arrest.
I am not at all bitter about this experience, when I tell it in person it's told to get a laugh.
I fit the description and wasn't really detained all that long. Of course a laugh and a "officer, I am sure you've heard this before... But you got the wrong guy!" helped a lot in keeping from being an asshat festival.
But Not Rape
Apparently I'm guilty of a new crime.
Forcing Willard to buy guns and then attempting to claim innocence on the grounds that "He wanted it."
Well if he didn't want to buy those guns, why was he dressed that way in that kind of pawn shop?
Forcing Willard to buy guns and then attempting to claim innocence on the grounds that "He wanted it."
Well if he didn't want to buy those guns, why was he dressed that way in that kind of pawn shop?
Pro-Po
I've got a post in the works talking about how much I like cops and how we need them.
But it's got a lot of how things should be rather than how they are in it and I want to make sure that it doesn't turn into a scathing rant when that's not my true position or meaning.
In many ways the fact that the police are part of the government is insuperable from resentment towards the government in general.
It's very easy for me to start raging on my dislike of our government while expressing my thoughts about one part of it.
A bit of clue is how people change how they phrase things when they know someone is a cop. I've seen the language become more SELECTED, it reminds me of how there's a distinct change in tone when a black person or woman joins the table of the white males.
There's something wrong about that. It's hard to talk about and it's hard not to blindly assign blame.
An honest person shouldn't have to fear saying anything in front of a cop.
Someone who's not a racist shouldn't worry about talking normally in front of any minority
Someone who's not a sexist shouldn't worry about talking normally in front of any gender.
But we do fear, don't we?
I've watched it from the other end too.
Cops change their tone when I walk up. Language shifts when I join the black table. Topics change when I join the women's table...
The fear runs both ways, doesn't it?
Maybe that's the core of the issue. It's hard to like something you're afraid of and you can't ever be comfortable with it.
But it's got a lot of how things should be rather than how they are in it and I want to make sure that it doesn't turn into a scathing rant when that's not my true position or meaning.
In many ways the fact that the police are part of the government is insuperable from resentment towards the government in general.
It's very easy for me to start raging on my dislike of our government while expressing my thoughts about one part of it.
A bit of clue is how people change how they phrase things when they know someone is a cop. I've seen the language become more SELECTED, it reminds me of how there's a distinct change in tone when a black person or woman joins the table of the white males.
There's something wrong about that. It's hard to talk about and it's hard not to blindly assign blame.
An honest person shouldn't have to fear saying anything in front of a cop.
Someone who's not a racist shouldn't worry about talking normally in front of any minority
Someone who's not a sexist shouldn't worry about talking normally in front of any gender.
But we do fear, don't we?
I've watched it from the other end too.
Cops change their tone when I walk up. Language shifts when I join the black table. Topics change when I join the women's table...
The fear runs both ways, doesn't it?
Maybe that's the core of the issue. It's hard to like something you're afraid of and you can't ever be comfortable with it.
Narrow Focus
From Arfcom:
Private establishments should have the right to tell anyone they don't want their money. And I should be free to not spend it there. Let them put up their signs to tell me they don't want my business and we'll see how it goes for them. Panera already sees no business from me.
Technically the signs already have the force of law, the trespassing law. It would just change whether they have to inform you before calling the cops in.
People are already conceal carrying in ridiculously poor holsters (or not). There's more than a couple "lost gun" stories that stem from it. The main reason I don't think that this point is an issue is because it's not an issue in any of the states that allow open carry. It's another "might happen" that doesn't happen, right up there with "blood in the streets".
Then learn the cops how this works! The police are supposed to be operating in our world, we're not supposed to be existing in theirs. Any cop who feels they need to force the citizens to exist in their paradigm shouldn't work for government in any capacity. It's why I want it to be a lot easier to fire cops. We've a role reversal thing going on about who's supposed to be in charge of things with regards to law-enforcement/citizen that needs to get unfucked and it's wholly independent of any single law, but is fed from parts of many laws.
The police are already too damn trigger happy for my comfort level and the justifications for spraying and praying are entirely too specious. Remember what I said about role reversal? A cop draws down on me, I am required to suffer the assault of The State on my person. I draw down on a cop, he can open up on me with impunity because "officer safety" is paramount. This is a broken relationship between citizen and state. Notice that the reason for drawing has been omitted? Because it doesn't matter. The police don't have to justify drawing on me because there's never any liability to doing so; likewise there's never any legally allowed justification for a citizen to draw on a cop. If the situation wasn't broken the reasons for drawing and the penalties for doing it in error would be identical to both parties, with a bias against the police because a free society seeks to hobble government rather than enable it. We're living in a world where society is expected to work for the cops, rather than the cops working for society; which is odd because without society there's no cops and no need for them. Properly the police are members of the same society that they serve, with no more rights or privileges than anyone else. No more power either, they're merely the part of society who get paid to do the peace enforcement job and are expected to do it when they'd rather not. Just like I can neglect the lawn here at home, but expect someone I hired to cut the grass to do it regularly.
The issue of carry really boils down to whether the state was ever properly granted the power to say one way or another. Because we're a shitty electorate and have grossly neglected our responsibilities to inform ourselves we let The State assume powers it was not granted by the constitutions that were supposed to narrowly define the role of government and widely defend the liberties and freedoms of the citizenry.
We've allowed the idea that government can do anything unless specifically forbidden by a judge years after a law was enacted be the limitation on State power.
We've forgotten that our constitutions were written as a short list of "these things and nothing more". How do I know I have a right to drive a car? Because no power at all was granted to the government to determine how I might travel about. How do I know I have a right to carry a gun, openly or concealed? Because not only was no power granted by the constitution, such power is specifically forbade. How do I know I've interpreted this correctly? Because there are additional prohibitions written into the documents reminding everyone to not assume powers not listed or limit rights only to those specifically mentioned.
The matter at hand is much bigger than any single issue, and we're getting so focused on the trees we're forgetting there's a forest.
I'm not for or against OC, I think it will do more harm than good. I would have much rather seen more favorable CC legislation. Such as, remove pretty much every prohibited place, educate LE that accidental exposure or printing isn't against the law and provide funding for educational PR for CC and the benefits and protections that responsible gun ownership provides.This screed is why I am really growing to hate dealing with gunnies.
Why I think OC would do more harm than good.
-Establishments are going to not allow firearms in their business, then people are all going to get bent out of shape that a PRIVATE business is dictating the terms of service, which is kinda funny since most gun people are about personal rights. I will agree that if a business does not allow carry of any type they should be held responsible for your safety, but simply by them saying they don't allow guns that covers that standard, which is a shame.
-Some legislator with a D by his name is going to call for signs to have the weight of law behind them due to people scared by OC'ers. So now a CC carries a gun into a restaurant with a sign and boom armed trespassing.
-People especially at first are going to be open carrying a bunch of non-sense in some nylon holster they got for $5, or they're going to have some kydex that I could steal with two fingers. I don't know why you'd want that stress while you're standing in line at the WaWa. One reason I kinda hope it passes is to laugh at people with their ridiculous carry choices. I can see my FB feed now!:)
-OC'ers are going to get mad when they're detained by LE because someone called in and said theres a guy walking around with a gun looking shady. An active shooter, your'e to far away to do anything, you're fleeing with your family, then you get held at gun point which slows LE response to the real bad guy and puts you and your family in more danger. OC cops not in uniform get shot, a lot of LE not in uniform but working don't even OC.
-OC deters crime, uh I don't think so. The act of good guys stopping bad guys deters crime. John wants to rob WaWa, John is a felon, John has warrants, John doesn't want to go to jail. John sees you OCing, John either waits for you to leave, shoots you in the head or points his gun at you and takes your gun, then a CC'er saves you, haha:) Oh wait I'm sure every OC'er is a weapons retention ninja.
-People that choose to OC should IMO be in an extremely high level of alertness, while around crowds, Which is very tiring, I don't know why you'd want to stress yourself out like that.
These are just my opinions, again I don't really care one way or the other. I would much rather CC allowed more places, and CC encouraged by Gov. I do like the aspect of open carry promoting our rights which I'm all for, I just know we'll be saying "this is why we can't have nice things" in the future and I'm don't want OC to have a negative impact in the long term.
Private establishments should have the right to tell anyone they don't want their money. And I should be free to not spend it there. Let them put up their signs to tell me they don't want my business and we'll see how it goes for them. Panera already sees no business from me.
Technically the signs already have the force of law, the trespassing law. It would just change whether they have to inform you before calling the cops in.
People are already conceal carrying in ridiculously poor holsters (or not). There's more than a couple "lost gun" stories that stem from it. The main reason I don't think that this point is an issue is because it's not an issue in any of the states that allow open carry. It's another "might happen" that doesn't happen, right up there with "blood in the streets".
Then learn the cops how this works! The police are supposed to be operating in our world, we're not supposed to be existing in theirs. Any cop who feels they need to force the citizens to exist in their paradigm shouldn't work for government in any capacity. It's why I want it to be a lot easier to fire cops. We've a role reversal thing going on about who's supposed to be in charge of things with regards to law-enforcement/citizen that needs to get unfucked and it's wholly independent of any single law, but is fed from parts of many laws.
The police are already too damn trigger happy for my comfort level and the justifications for spraying and praying are entirely too specious. Remember what I said about role reversal? A cop draws down on me, I am required to suffer the assault of The State on my person. I draw down on a cop, he can open up on me with impunity because "officer safety" is paramount. This is a broken relationship between citizen and state. Notice that the reason for drawing has been omitted? Because it doesn't matter. The police don't have to justify drawing on me because there's never any liability to doing so; likewise there's never any legally allowed justification for a citizen to draw on a cop. If the situation wasn't broken the reasons for drawing and the penalties for doing it in error would be identical to both parties, with a bias against the police because a free society seeks to hobble government rather than enable it. We're living in a world where society is expected to work for the cops, rather than the cops working for society; which is odd because without society there's no cops and no need for them. Properly the police are members of the same society that they serve, with no more rights or privileges than anyone else. No more power either, they're merely the part of society who get paid to do the peace enforcement job and are expected to do it when they'd rather not. Just like I can neglect the lawn here at home, but expect someone I hired to cut the grass to do it regularly.
The issue of carry really boils down to whether the state was ever properly granted the power to say one way or another. Because we're a shitty electorate and have grossly neglected our responsibilities to inform ourselves we let The State assume powers it was not granted by the constitutions that were supposed to narrowly define the role of government and widely defend the liberties and freedoms of the citizenry.
We've allowed the idea that government can do anything unless specifically forbidden by a judge years after a law was enacted be the limitation on State power.
We've forgotten that our constitutions were written as a short list of "these things and nothing more". How do I know I have a right to drive a car? Because no power at all was granted to the government to determine how I might travel about. How do I know I have a right to carry a gun, openly or concealed? Because not only was no power granted by the constitution, such power is specifically forbade. How do I know I've interpreted this correctly? Because there are additional prohibitions written into the documents reminding everyone to not assume powers not listed or limit rights only to those specifically mentioned.
The matter at hand is much bigger than any single issue, and we're getting so focused on the trees we're forgetting there's a forest.