Moon

With digital zoom and some cropping.  On a tripod in my driveway.

Seafoam

Seafoam has been around for decades.

It's an additive that mechanics have been using just as long.

There's a technique to remove carbon and oil deposits from the positive crankcase ventilation system from the intake.

Get the car to operating temperature.

You find a handy vacuum line leading into the intake, like a brake booster line, then pour 2/3 to 3/4 of a can SLOWLY into the intake with the car revving at about 2 grand.

Then dump the last 1/4 to 1/3 in quickly and shut off the engine.  This part is terrifying!  The engine will run on for several seconds to a minute.

Wait at least 30 minutes.

Restart.  It will run rough and cough white smoke from burning the Seafoam and deposits that were liberated.  Keep it running until there's no more smoke.

Viola!

I'm seeing better throttle response and it's picked some lost miles per gallon back up.

Drive Your Vette To Work Day

I don't have a job to drive to...

But I went to help a friend with his Vette, and drove home.

That counts, right?

This Is Great

This movie really hit my mom hard.

I was like, "Mother, that's D&D, we're playing Traveller.  That's a space game, like Star Wars."

Fuck Off Eh

Canada is feeling big for her britches.

I hate to break it to you, but your authority ends at your borders.

New York City has this same idiotic idea of jurisdiction.

I'm thinking Google should just shut down all their stuff for Canada.

"We're sorry but you cannot access your gmail account..."

Redirect google.com to excite!  Or Yahoo! from any Canadian ISP address...  Or send them to Bing!

I am curious what grounds Canada would have over the termination of free services.

What About The Children

White Guy War Movie

If the movie Dunkirk offends you because of all the white faces...

I can think of some WW2 movies with minority staring roles.

How about "The Rape of Nanking"?  That'd be almost an entirely Asian cast!

Update:

Did you notice that they're not complaining that the Nazis are not being portrayed by minorities?

The Day I Lost Interest In Chess

I had a friend who was really into chess.

I knew the rules and enjoyed friendly games, so decided to accept the challenge to play him.

He mopped the floor with me.

This happened several times.  Many times.  I never came close to winning.

I asked how to improve my game.

He loaned me a book on chess.

Winning at chess is best described as rote memorization and pattern recognition.  Then an if/then chart from there.

It's why computers can finally beat people, they have enough memory to store every combination and run the if/then too fast for the human to access the same information.

If you've an excellent memory and an eye for the patterns, then you're going to win.  Every time.

It's hard for me to think of it as strategy any more.

Quote Of The Random Interval

Maybe we should expand the Court to 15, so as to ease the workload on its older members. You’d only need a simple majority in both houses to do it. And there’s Democratic precedent. . . .

-- Glenn Reynolds

Settled Science Denier

Maybe the reason I doubt Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Climate Change so hard is...

I am old enough to remember...

The Population Bomb.

I've watched the date for peak oil come and go so many times I've lost count.

I've calculated the "there is X oil and we're using Y oil per year" several times and watched the "that's it, all gone!" date slip past several times as well.

So call me skeptical when the same people who've been pressuring me about the above topics add a new one with the same solution set.

It's not that we deny science, it's that we can recognize a narrative and agenda when we see one and are aware that narrative and agenda do not a falsifiable hypothesis make.

The most gracious I can possibly be about those agenda is to concede that they are potential crises.

You might note that the solutions to the problems never do come from conforming to the agenda and narrative.

I'll take the green revolution over draconian birth regulation and famine.

I'll take fracking over energy rationing.

Why?  Because the people who push these agendas are never affected by the outcomes of their plans.

How many palatial homes does Al Gore own again?  It's off topic, but how many millions of dollars has Socialist Bernie Sanders accumulated?

They're lying to your face about everything and you suck up as fact because it's been sanctified by a media that's increasingly controlled by a smaller and small pool of billionaires who will also be insulated from the effects of these policies.

You've nothing to lose but your chains, Comrade!  Cast them off!

Choose science.  Choose capitalism.  Choose LIBERTY!

Record Temperatures

102 years ago, in Fort Yukon, Alaska, a record high of 100° F was recorded.

Today's expected high is 73° F.

While the weather isn't the climate, this is what we, in the intelligence community, call an indicator.

Tab A Into Slot A

Straight folks not into sex with trans folks.

It's a plumbing problem.

Again.

I'm surprised that it needs pointed out, but a straight man is looking for a vagina.  If their partner lacks a vagina, then the sex is not heterosexual, and that matters.

A straight woman is looking for a penis.  If their partner lacks a penis, then the sex is not heterosexual, and that matters.

I'm very open and accepting of LGBT issues, but like so many things championed by the liberals; there has to be an allowance for the "baseline" norms.

Demanding that straight people have gay sex because the person with the incompatible plumbing identifies as someone with compatible plumbing denies the straight person the right to choose their own sexual partners.

I remember when that was a core tenant of LGBT activism; the right to love whom you love and not be forced into relationships "unnaturally".

As an aside: even if the person depicted in that photo had compatible plumbing; they're still not sexually attractive to me.  Personal taste will always be part of the equation, and it needs to be accounted for.

Lebensraum

Dear Media...

For President Trump's foreign policy to be that of Nazism, there'd be some mention of conquering territory for our own use.

Everything we're doing in Syria points to us handing it to the people who already live there when we go home.

If our policies were that of National Socialist Germany, Mexico and Canada would be taking the roles of Poland and France, respectively.

It Will Describe An Arc

Indianapolis People

There's a B-17 in your hood this week!

Worth the coin for the ride if you've never.

Just sayin'!

Minimum Wage

In 1938 the Federal minimum wage was set at $0.25 an hour.

That's $4.34 in today's dollars.

In 1938 an ounce of gold was $35.

That's $607.49 in today's dollars.

Today the Federal minimum wage is $9.20.

That's $0.53 in 1938 dollars.

Today an ounce of gold is $1,241.60.

That's $71.53 in 1938 dollars.

In 1938 the fedmin was 0.71% an ounce of gold.  Today it's 0.74%.

0.71% of today's gold prices is $8.87 an hour.

See, the minimum wage has kept pace with inflation!

Addendum:

$15 an hour today is $0.86 an hour in 1938 dollars.

It's 1.21% an ounce of gold today, 2.46% an ounce of gold in 1938.

It's important to remember that an ounce of gold has about the same absolute buying power today as it did in 1938 for many key goods.  It's astonishing how steady its value has been, actually.

Double Down

During Jim Crow, although you couldn't get a Klansman to admit that racism was wrong, he'd at least acknowledge his position on the matter and tell you about the hows and whys.  They knew they were racists (though they did not use the term), were proud of it, and felt it was right.

Today's racists also do not admit that it's wrong.  The new part is they don't even admit their position.

They don't know that they're racists.  They sure think they're right and exhibit pride in it, but have become convinced that the racism they exhibit is no such thing.

And it's always so very refreshing to hear how my paycheck to paycheck household is oppressing a millionaire.

Perhaps It's Time

I am thinking it's been entirely too long since I've had yellow curry or masamune.

I know of a place that's got them both that's very good.

I Should Amend My Support

Or rather rescind support.

No, actually it's no change in support.

I don't support you if you're living here and you hate America.

There's a whole world for you to flee to.  Go!

You want to burn the American flag in the name of LGBT rights, I'm not hating on you because you're gay.  I'm disliking you because you hate me and my country.

It's trite, but the list of nations where you can, with impunity and the protection of law, burn the national flag while professing openly you're LGBT is very, VERY short.

The list of nations where doing that will get you killed for one or the other is pretty long.

There's an old saying, "don't shit where you eat," ponder that.

No Two Gun Today

I didn't want to go alone and everyone else ended up busy.

Happens.

Maybe next month!

Broke

What the internet needs is a subroutine for news sites that removes the BREAKING from the headline once the news is long broke.

Thinking Two Gun

The 25 yard indoor range we go to most often has a 2-gun tomorrow.

Bowling pins were fun!

Two gun has been fun for me before, but the place that I shot them at is a LONG ways away and I'm not very spry.

With the much smaller space to do the match in, it could be a lot more fun.

I'm thinking it'd be hilarious to run an M16A1 clone with an M1911A1.

Or my XM177E2 clone.

With my M1951 web gear.

I'd score style points, I'll bet.

You Know You're A Car Guy When

The first thing you notice in this picture is the truck has a flat and is missing two lug nuts.

And the gas tank has been relocated...

Still Better Than A Mosin

The $100 Rifle has returned from the range again.

I confirmed that the ammo that Willard gave me in the Winchester box was definitely HOT.

The stuff in the Remington box was much easier on the shoulder, made much less flame and, most importantly, didn't swell the brass so the action was as hard as a dirty Mosin to open.  Hardly a sign of pressure on the primers either.

Marv just got an Apex Tactical forward reset trigger kit for his M&P 9.  It's very nice, mimics a 1911 trigger very well.

I doesn't make me shoot any better than the stock trigger in mine.

I'm trying to speed up my shooting a bit, so I did some Mozambique drills.  I'm still not quick, but I'm getting faster.

The shots aimed at the 1 in the target's left shoulder were done left handed.  My left eye has less correction on it and hardly any astigmatism compared to the right.  Seeing better helps, but I really REALLY had to focus on the fundamentals shooting sinister.

RISE Again

RISE replaced Marv's RA-140!

They explained that it was one of their earliest made units and obviously they had not yet mastered the heat-treating.

Marv is a happy customer, but has not yet installed it in anything.

Nobody Died

But gun-free zone strikes again.

Gun free zones are honey-pots of felonious activity where criminals know they can ply their trade with impunity.

Lots Of Jet Fuel Into Noise

A normally loaded B-1B just barely out accelerates a max-takeoff-loaded Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Each of the four engines on the Bone only makes a bit more thrust in burner than each of the two engines on the Max 9.

Of course, the B-1B can outperform 737 in several other ways.  It just looks so sluggish taking off.

Poor People

I found a rather snobby "habits of poor people" on youtube.

I'll save you some time.

If you do anything BUT increase your material wealth, you have poor people habits.

Becoming rich to the exclusion of all else is the way to get rich!

I submit that they're missing a great deal of life while they amass their fortune.

Bowling Pins With GURPS

My best run, round 4, was a whopping 6 seconds.

That's six turns in GURPS.

Let's look at the givens.

The range was 5 yards; -2 to hit.

They're smaller than a torso and skinny; let's say -7 to hit.

All-Out Attack (Determined); +1.

No risk to self; +1.

No risk to others; +1.

Moderately well lit indoor range; +3.

-3 to skill in the first round.

We add an additional +3 for later rounds because now the range and speed are known (determined by seeing what missed and what hit).

-0 to skill for rounds 2 through 4.

Of course, we have no idea what my Guns/TL8 (Pistol) is.

And we don't know if a hit that knocked a pin over, but left it on the table is a function of damage or a missed hit.  It could be represented as a miss by one, or it could be just a crappy damage roll.

Let's call knocked over a miss by one.

In round one I fired 9 shots, two misses and two missed by ones.  Five of the shots were slow enough that I should get the +2 for the pistol's Acc (first shot and last four).

Timer goes off and I aim for 1 second.
Shot 1: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 2: Skill -3, miss by 1.
Shot 3: Skill -3, miss.
Shot 4: Skill -3, miss by 1.
Shot 5: Skill -3, miss.
I slow down start aiming between shots.
Shot 6: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 7: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 8: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 9: Skill -1, hit.

In round 2 I fired 6 shots 8 seconds.

Again I aim before my first shot.

Shot 1: Skill +2, hit.

Shot 2: Skill +0, miss by one.

Shot 3: Skill +0, hit.

Shot 4: Skill +0, hit.

Shot 5: Skill +0, hit.

I pause to aim.

Shot 6: Skill +2, hit.

Rounds 3 and 4 are about identical.  5 shots, 6 seconds.

I aim before my first shot.
Shot 1: Skill +2, hit.
Shot 2: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 3: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 4: Skill +0, hit.

Shot 5: Skill +0, hit.

What are the probabilities and statistics?  Hey, FuzzyGeff!  You're good with stats!

I have 25 shots fired.  No misses at from 4 at +2 to hit.  One miss by one and 11 hits at +0 to hit.  5 hits at -1 to hit and two misses by 1 and two misses with a -3 to hit.

Update:

If we count the knocked down, but not off as bad damage rolls, my Guns/TL8 (Pistol) skill is 15.

Now I wonder what my DX is!

Champions Of Free Speech That They Are

I think it helps to keep a long memory of petty offenses.

Do you remember way back when?  When Tipper Gore was in charge of the Parental Music Resource Center (PMRC)?

Remember who chaired the hearings?

It was Mr Ozone himself, Al Gore!

The actual effect of the warning labels the PMRC managed to get attached "voluntarily" to music with "objectionable" content DID have a censoring effect on the music, how many stores stopped carrying music with such labels?

I know Wal Mart did.  Wal Mart had the market share to force non-objectionable versions to be made.

So much for artistic integrity.

Yet, Democrats are thought of as the ones who're for free speech and expression.

Speaking of chilling expression by limiting the market...  Jack Valenti, former head of the secretive MPAA and their rating system, Democrat.

They're consistent, you just have to pay attention and REMEMBER.  And hold grudges, they do.

My Paradigm Was Shifted

My Remington 341 does hold 22 rounds of .22 Short.

You just have to accept that the last round will not be below the loading port before you shove the magazine's inner tube and follower down on the rounds.

1997 Was A Busy Year

I just noticed that 1997 was a busy year for nuclear war.

The Terminator series picked August.

Twilight 2000 picked Thanksgiving.

Both are 1984 releases!

Both have become alternate history.

War On

Tam's post about Ohio's overdose deaths reminds me...

We declared war on poverty... there's still poverty.

We declared war on drugs... there's still drugs, and how.

We declared war on terror... OH FUCK.

With a track record like this, maybe we'd be better off if the government declared war on something we want.

Lern Maffs

It's occurred to me that in many of the tiresome cartridge debates that many of the most obnoxious advocates of one or another round simply cannot do math.

Or can't do math past a very simple point.

While that might be true, what many of them are lacking is scientific method.

They've no means to state an hypothesis, conduct an experiment and make a conclusion.

Bowling Pins

Bowling pins are a lot easier than biathlon, you're not gasping for air!

Since we'd gone to the range to confirm that Marv's SBR was repaired and to play with subsonic ammo, we'd not brought a suitable gun for the match with us.

The gun we shared was the range's M&P 9, because we're both familiar with the model.

It had a noticeably better trigger than mine, and I asked about that.  Just lots and lots of rounds smoothing out the burrs.

I apologize to Marv for taking away the. "it's the gun" excuse.  But this is illustrative of how mechanical zero and personal zero can differ.  The sights were dead on for me, Marv felt they were shooting low.

I've seen this before.  Sights that are dialed in for me shoot left for Willard.

Why Did I Love It So?

Babylon 5 was chock full of great lines.

One I use frequently is, "If you cannot say what you mean, you cannot mean what you say."

But another line that might have meaning soon, "The avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote."

Is London Fighting Back?

I have to wonder.

Is this the first shot in reply to Islamic violence where Great Britain used to be?

Interesting that the driver chose the same methods used by the Islamists in other attacks.

Of course, nobody hates Muslims like other Muslims so it could very well turn out to be an attack of one sect on another.

Subsonic Testing

The normal 5.56 is Silver State Armory M193.

The subsonic is Beck Ammunition Silent Operator™ 52gr JHP.  Advertised at 1,010 feet per second from a 16" barrel.  Marv is using a 10.5" barrel here.

Take The Skin Head Bowling

The rules for this match were 10 shots per round.  1 second penalty for knocked-down but still on the table, 2 second penalty for still standing.

I'd never done one of these before and it was happenstance that we signed up.





Actually round 2, round 3 got lost because Marv's phone decided to take a vacation.



I won the match with an average of 9.055 seconds.

Marv did not do as well... :(









16.320 seconds average.

Also Known As An Indicator

My fugue is clearing somewhat about my arrest.

A clue, in case you did not know, that you're about to be arrested is when the officers start getting your pockets empty of potential weapons.

This is when you need to shut up and not say things that taken out of context create probable cause for them to finish arresting you.

A long expensive road later applied context to what I had said, but the arresting deputy isn't required to sort through that shit.

There's yet more expense on the horizon from this adventure in getting my name cleared and the records sealed and expunged and my happy face removed from the "look who got arrested" web pages.

That's another thousand buck that goes away because the county I live in has basically made the near boilerplate pro se application into a "you need a lawyer" hearing process.

M16 Bayonet Collecting

For M7's I have:

BOC - Ninth rarest (≈ 1.8 million made), also most common.
Milpar.  Eighth rarest (≈ 650 thousand).
Conetta.  Sixth rarest (≈ 130 thousand).
and
Gen Cut.  Fifth rarest (≈ 127 thousand).

What I am missing:

Colt made green handled 62316 marked on blade.  Rarest of the issued models (≈ 20 thousand).

Imperial Knife Company made, black handled, 62316 marked on blade.  This is the one that Apex wants $100 for.  Second rarest (≈ 30 thousand).

Frazier Manufacturing Company "FZR US M7".  Third rarest (≈ 40 thousand).

Ontario Knife Company "ONTARIO US M7" marked.  Fourth rarest (≈ 58 thousand).

Imperial Knife Company unmarked.  Seventh rarest (≈ 350 thousand).

Ontario Knife Company "ONTARIO US M7" marked, solid hard rubber handle M7-B.  Not sure if ever actually issued, but cheap and readily available.

Update:

Added quantities.

The hardest one to find an actual example of is the green handled Colt.  The FZR marked one is neigh impossible to find, despite twice as many made as the Colt.

At one time the Conetta was the most desirable and expensive version.  I really regretted giving one to Marv before I realized there was an actual difference in value for different makers.

Astonishing

I find it amazing that a man so full of hate as Mr Takei has the temerity to call someone else bigoted.

Have A Bowl Of Spoo

Vir Cotto is gone.

As is the actor who played him.

The Babylon 5 reunion show is going to be pretty lightly attended.

Forgot To Take This Pic

The Lovely Harvey's Cheyenne, being a registered evil baby killing assault short barreled rifle with a 14.5" barrel, can accept any bayonet made for an M16.

Being a carbine build based on the movie Platoon, an M7 is the most appropriate for the photo.

I've taken stock of the bayonet supply here and I am short three bayonets for available lugs.

Since two of them are FuzzyGeff's I am not too worried about the lack.

It's also a warning about how easy it is to ease into having a collection...  At one time an M7 bayonet was to me, the same thing as it was to the Army, a bayonet.  Then I started checking to see who made them...

Turns out they've become collector's items.  Imperial Cutlery made, Colt's marked, M7 bayonets are $99 each from Apex Gun Parts.  $58 for an M8A1 scabbard.

Snagging a BOC or Conetta with a scabbard for $35 each seems a real deal anymore!

It also seems that, to save money, buying a new-made USMC bayonet is the better plan than vintage.

...For A Man Will Buy Revenge With His Soul

It may do nothing at all.

But I've closed what doors I can networking with what friends whom will.

For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!

Eddie Slovak Cannot Be Reached

We're going to start sitting a jury for Bowe Bergdahl in October?

OCTOBER?!?!

I know the wheels of justice turn slow, but damn.

1,036:15 Of 400

The PK-01VS is still trucking along.

1,036 hours, 15 minutes out of a rated lifetime of 400 hours.

It's nice when things work better than expected.

Implications Abound

In the Michelle Carter case, she texted her ex to kill himself, even talking him out of aborting the attempt that led to his death.

She's been convicted of manslaughter.

Celebs had better take note of what they're exhorting people to do, because it sure appears that we've got a precedent here.

Fake News

Nobody seems to have considered that the motive of the baseball shooter might have been accomplished.

The entire goal might have been to cause the Republican team to lose the next day.

If so, that's mission accomplished.

If you think that sounds far-fetched, just hit a sports bar and listen to the hue and cry of the fans root, root, rooting for the home team.

Do They Listen To Themselves

Being pro-Moslem and pro-LGBT is a lot like being a pro-slavery abolitionist.

They simply do not go together at all.

Irony

Starting to notice the violence of the left.

There's something deliciously ironic about the Democratic supported hard left mobs attacking another violent creation of Democrats, The KKK.

I also wonder how long before antifa becomes labeled as a right-wing creature.

It seems to happen over and over.

Not Completely Original

Not my original thought, but I think it's not being said so plainly.

Pandering to the mob is not speaking truth to power.

Can You Think Of Anything More Cynical

Than a throwing star painted camouflage?

Those things disappear into the underbrush when they're chrome plated.

Might as well throw them at the garbage can, because one throw and they're disappeared for good as if you had thrown them away.

There's Always An Inlet Or A Fjord

File under "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, thrice is..."

I cannot help but notice that every time we start making headway in Congress, some nutter goes off and derails it.

The nutter always seems to be of Democratic bent.

FFS this is getting to be too damn consistent.

I don't like conspiracy theories for serious, but the seeming consistent timing is sure stressing Occam's Razor and random nutter.

Is It Close Enough

Is UPS close enough to USPS to call it a postal shooting?

Another 7.62

7.62x51mm is superior to 5.56x45mm for most things.

Reaches out farther, superior wounds...  about 30% more range and 40% more thump.

UGH.  But it's HEAVY.

My beloved right arm of the free world, the FAL, can't quite have two spare magazines for the same weight as an M4gry.

The loaded rifle is 10.9 lb. and the loaded magazines are 1.6 lb. each.

The basic load for an FAL was 4 spare magazines, 100 rounds total.  That comes to 17.3 lb.  You could carry 300 rounds with your M4gry and still be carrying less weight.  7.62x51mm is not 3x as effective as 5.56x45mm... as much as it pains my romantic bones to admit.

The basic load for an AKM (8.7 lb. loaded) was 3 spare magazines, 120 rounds total.  That's 14.1 lb.

The basic load for an AK-74 (9.1 lb. loaded) was 3 spare magazines, 4 stripper clips, 180 rounds total, but only 120 quickly available.  16.3 lb.!

An argument can be made that 7.62x51mm can do things that 5.56x45mm cannot, and can do everything that 5.56 can.  If you need more range and thump, you need it and how.

But if you don't need the extra range and thump... it's useless extra mass and a greatly reduced number of rounds.

A SCAR-H loses some of the better performance because of a shorter barrel, but the rifle is a bit lighter (8.8 lb. loaded with 20 rounds).  The magazines weigh the same.  So with 100 total rounds it's "just" 15.2 lb. or more an M4gry with 240 rounds...

No That Is Incorrect

Repeat after me.

7.62x39mm is not vastly superior to 5.56x45mm.

Not in Vietnam.

Not now.

Not ever.

Your prejudices are showing.

They're remarkably similar in wound ballistics actually.  We've got years of data to compare them now and 5.56 has not been shown to be inferior to x39, vastly or otherwise.

5.56x45mm has an edge in exterior ballistics because it's going faster so the bullet is arcing closer to the point of aim.  This shallower arc also lets it get hits farther out.

7.62x39mm would have an edge with heavier bullets being a little less affected by crosswinds, but since they're slower there's more time for the wind to act on them so it's a wash.

The AK has not been proven to be a vastly superior rifle to the M16 series either.  If anything, the M16 has proven superior to the AK over the years.  Mud test, anyone?  The sights on the AR series nuke the standard AK sights too.

While the AK might be more tolerant of extreme abuse, aren't you calling yourself a rifleman?

The kind of abuse you're worried about a rifleman doesn't subject his weapon to; an untrained conscript does.  Are you conceding that you're untrained?

While we're on this topic, that AK gains its durability at the price of mass.  Everything about the AK is heavier than an AR.

A 16" AK will tare around 8 lb. without a magazine and a loaded 30 rounder made from plastic will add 1.5 lb.

An M4gry with a 16" barrel tips the scales at under 7 lb. and adds just a pound when you add the magazine.  The M4 profile isn't the lightest available either, you can brush 6 lb. with a "pencil profile".

A "basic load" for an M4 is a loaded rifle carbine and six spare magazines (210 rounds total).  13.7 lb. using Harvey's M4gry (7.7 lb. loaded) as an example.

Willard's Yugo (9.3 lb. loaded) will only get two spare steel magazines (90 rounds total) under that weight benchmark (12.9 lb.) and almost gets three loaded PMAGs... but not quite.

My PSAK (8.8 lb.) does get three PMAGs of spare ammo (120 rounds total) for a total of 13.3 lb.

I also want to bring up another dirty little open secret about the AK and 7.62x39mm round in the form of a question.

IF 7.62x39mm IS SUCH HOT SHIT WHY DID THE SOVIETS DEVELOP A REPLACEMENT THAT EMULATES 5.56 RIGHT AFTER THEIR EXPERIENCE IN VIETNAM?

Go ahead, take your time replying.

Shooter From Illinois?

Gee, that Firearms Owner ID really slowed him down, didn't it?

Illinois has a form of mandatory background check too.

Never mind that shooting at people is illegal in Virginia.

Crossing state lines to commit a felony is illegal.

If he didn't have a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit (Virginia accepts Illinois' permits) it was illegal for him to have had a centerfire rifle with a magazine that would hold more than 20 rounds because the shooting was in Alexandria.

One gets the impression that these laws don't really affect behavior.

Update:

According to his own Facebook page, he was a Bernie supporter.  (Who knows how long that link will be live)

242

Today, in 1775, the Army was born.

It wasn't the United States Army, for there were not yet a United States.

At this point it was just an authorization for Infantry.

Two days later it was found necessary to add an Adjutant General Corps...

When thinking about this, consider that a medical corps wasn't added until July and artillery wasn't added until November.  They needed lawyers before they needed cannon and horses.

Grunts, what can you do?

You Can't Buy This

But enter to win...

Well, I can so buy that.

You list who makes the bag and the entire contents; and you give me what the MSRP of buying the bag and contents would be.

So, yes, I can buy that.

What is more likely is that I cannot win that.  I don't win.  Never have, never will.

Lack Of Excitement

Now that Yahoo! has ceased to be an independent entity, it seems apt to mention Excite's long, slow decline.

Excite was once my home page.

It had a useful news aggregation gizmo and the TV listings were shown at the bottom.

Over time the news categories became less useful, or were eliminated.

At the beginning of the month the last feature I used routinely was eliminated, the TV listings.

I've not been this bummed about an internet thing since the "Mindspring Minute" ads stopped running on the radio.

Well Fuck

I hope that Representative Scalise, Mr Barth, Mr Mika, and agents Griner and Bailey make full recoveries.

Now we wait for word on the gunman's motives.

I read one story where someone was quoted that the shooter had asked if it was Republicans or Democrats on the field before the shooting began.  That's a rumor at this point.

Since it's been about a couple of hours and the FBI has not issued a statement telling us that it isn't terrorism, I think we can safely assume that it's not Islamic Extremism this time.

Fingers Crossed

Legs Crossed.

Eyes Crossed.

Hot Buns Crossed.

Sebastian reports:

My biggest piece of advice for the GOP is to sit in their damn seats until the thing is passed and sealed up so we don't get another rat fuck bastard from New Jersey inserting shit in under questionable circumstances.  Like we did with FOPA.

Trollslayer

I remember Warhammer Fantasy Role Play.

I wonder if Lego knows they issued a Trollslayer...

I Could Watch This Stuff All Day

Skill Check

Shooting at 25 yards, -7.

Aiming for the 8" diameter -0 circle at the center of the target, -6.

Aiming, +4.

No rush, no fuss, safe at the range, +10.

Net modifiers +1.

Now, I managed to get all 20 rounds into a 2" group.  2" is a -9 to hit, so we can figure I made my to-hit roll by 3 for all 20 shots.

What should my Guns/TL6 (Rifle) skill be?

Hmmm...

Well 10 or less is a 50-50 chance to hit.  Half of my rounds fall out of a 1" group.  1" is -11 to hit.

If I accept that 1" is the threshold where I get a 50-50 chance to hit it...

10 = Skill + 4 (acc) + 10 (no pressure) - 11 (size) - 7 (range).
10 = Skill + 14 - 18.
10 = Skill - 4
14 = Skill

To hit the 2" circle that I never missed, is a 12 or less.  With a skill of 14 I should have had about 25% of my shots outside the 2" circle.

To hit the 8" circle, which I also never missed is a 15 or less.  One shot should have been outside the circle.

My skill might even be higher since I was peering over my glasses at the front sight and the target was pretty blurry.  I do have the Bad Sight - Farsighted (Mitigated) [-15]. disadvantage.  Because the front sight is within 1 yard there's a -3 DX penalty... but I don't think that's quite it since without my glasses I can see the front sight fine, the rear sight is indistinct and the target fine.

If all that is true, my skill would be 17 or so...  But I don't think my vision is actually to the point of qualifying as Bad Sight, yet.

Depending on my DX, I've put a lot of points into shooting.  If my DX is 10 and my skill is 14 that means I've put 12 points into Guns/TL6 Rifle.  But wait... again!

I learned to shoot on TL8 firearms, so I have Guns/TL8 (Rifle) not TL6.  That's a flat -2 penalty to shoot the older gun, which would give me a skill of 16 and if I have a DX of 10 that means I spent 20 points learning to shoot a rifle.

Based on how well I tend to shoot a pistol, I think I am running off the -4 default from my rifle skill.

Grampa Gun

When my mom's father died, I inherited his old .22.

It's a 1930's made Remington 341A Sportmaster.

Tube loaded, bolt action in .22 Short, .22 Long or .22 Long Rifle.

20 rounds of CCI 29gr CB .22 Short, 25 yards.

.22 Short CB is marked as "Sub-Sonic, Low Noise" right on the box with an advertised velocity of 710 fps.  It is definitely low noise.  It's just a bit louder than dropping the striker on an empty chamber and you can distinctly hear the sound of impact over the sound of the shot.

Long ass barrel and subsonic ammo; who needs a suppressor?

15 rounds of CCI 40gr Mini-Mag .22 Long Rifle, 25 yards.

Still hits minute of rodent after near 100 years.

My Aimpoint Became Official

I bought an Aimpoint Comp M4s a long time ago preferring the lower location of the battery compartment to that on the Comp M4.

It appears since then that the military has adopted the Comp M4s as the M68 Close Combat Optic (CCO).

Not to be confused with the M68 CCO or M68 CCO.

You see, the Army doesn't distinguish between the three different models of Aimpoint.

Aimpoint thinks they're three different models.

The Comp M2 is NSN 1240-01-411-1265 and was added on 17MAR95
The Comp M4 is NSN 1240-01-540-3690 and was added on 16MAY06
The Comp M4s is NSN 1240-01-576-6134 and was added on 07AUG09 (after I bought mine).

Personally I'd have called them M68, M68A1 and M68A2...

Well, not even.  The only difference between the M4 and M4s is the location of the battery compartment, so mounts and operation are identical.  But some differentiation should be made because of batteries between the Comp M2 and the later two!

RISEing To The Occasion

Marv has been in contact with RISE and they have told him they are sending him a shipping label for the malfunctioning trigger group.

Marv reminds me that he had no problems with this trigger before he put a can on the gun and another is giving no problems in his 6.8 either.

This very well could be an outlier.

I'll report on what happens.

Down Select

Marv's RISE Armament RA-140 was apparently not up to the rigors of the increased bolt velocity from adding a can to it.

The nice sharp edge on the back of the hammer is a well radiused edge and the disconnector doesn't want to grab it anymore.

Getting fairly consistent hammer follows.

Bang Pop Pffft

22/45 and suppressor testing at the range today.

First, unmuffled:



Second, the dedicated .22 suppressor



Third, the 5.56 suppressor.



Bare it shoots center and low, the .22 can a little high and right.  The 5.56 can fires dead center.

Full Suppression

The 5.56 suppressor has the same threads as the miniature one.  Once you've done the first round pop, it's nearly silent with .22 Blanks.

As Softwarejanitor noted in comments, this more effective model is VERY nose heavy and ungainly.

Inconsistent

Why is it that there's people who are A-OK with Rachel Dolezal being "black"; but if a black person is "too white" then they're Uncle Toms or Oreos?

These identity games run both ways.

Not As Suppressed

Marv's second Form 1 suppressor is ready for its debut.

The original plan was to use a clamped on muzzle device on a Ruger Mk II, but that didn't sit concentric with the bore.

So Marv bought himself a spiffy, threaded barrel, Ruger Mk III 22/45.

With some .22 blanks, he did some sound checks.

It's nowhere near as good as the 5.56 model he made for his AR.  It noticibly reduces how loud the pistol is, but it's hardly quiet.

Cultural Misappropriation

I just realized that by buying a 1911 in .38 Super I committed appropriation of Mexican culture.

Especially since I dressed it up with the ivory grips.

Update:

I realized when Beerd chided me for not being cocked and locked that I posted a pic of the pistol with the hated long trigger.  So you get a bonus pic with my preferred trigger and it's on safe, as is preferred.

2017 You Can Stop Sucking Any Time Now

Adam West has passed on at the ripe age of 88.

For many of us, he was the defining Batman for years and years.

His turn on Batman the Animated Series as The Gray Ghost was outstanding, he essentially played himself.  Interestingly, the part wasn't written with him in mind at all nor was the character based on the older version of Batman.

Time Saver

There!

I've just discovered that I was holding Ian to too high a standard about accuracy in his videos.

I've been informed (not by Ian) that I should not have made any comment to him getting a bit of gun trivia wrong.

Therefor, I will no longer darken his door with my clicks so as to not give the white knight who jumped to his defense any more things to complain about.

This will save everyone time.

I've a long standing policy of not doing something for entertainment past the point it stops being fun.

The internet is rapidly approaching the point where nothing is fun anymore.

Moar Maffs

We "established" in AWB Math that a 9x19mm handgun did more damage than a .45 ACP because you had more ammo and 11 times 90% is more than 8 times 100%.

This is true, if you don't miss any shots and have the time to deliver them.

The normal rate of fire (RoF) for a semi-automatic handgun in GURPS is 3 per second (or turn).  Yes, you can shoot faster and there are rules for that but they have penalties we don't want to introduce here because I don't wanna (though I might anyway).

A .45 ACP Colt Gov't Model has an Acc (accuracy) of 2 and Rcl (recoil) of 3 with a ST (strength) of 10.

A 9x19mm Glock 17 has an Acc of 2, Rcl of 2 with a ST of 8.

ST won't be a factor so we can skip it from now on.

The average person has a DX (dexterity) of 10 and, to be honest, zero training with a handgun.  Default skill level for the average person with Guns/TL7 or TL8 (Pistol) is a whopping 6.  A person who's attended enough class to gain a point in the skill gets a 10.  A 10 on 3d6 is a 50-50 chance with no penalties.

Always remember that GURPS has harsh penalties built into the combat rules, a person at a range can get up to +10 in bonuses because of the lack of stress from being not in actual combat.

In GURPS 3e a point was 200 hours of study and practice.  4e is less well defined.  It gets murkier when you consider that the skill is used for things besides shooting too.

Traditional pistol range is 7 yards, or a -3 penalty.

The untrained person firing without aiming needs to roll a 3 or less at 7 yards to hit a torso.  Here .45 is better because there's literally no chance of getting a second hit.

The minimally trained person's skill of 10 gets a 7 or less chance to hit with the first round without aiming with either gun.  With .45 a roll of 4 or less lands two rounds.  With 9mm a roll of 5 lands two and a roll of 3 lands three!  Potentially 9mm is better, but those aren't good odds, especially considering that a 7 or less is a mere 16.20% chance; but you are more than twice as likely get two hits with a 9x19 than a .45 (4.62% vs 1.85%).

If you take the second to aim first, the +2 to hit does help a bit.  .45 hits on a 9, 6 and 3 now; 9x19 on a 9, 7, and 5.  9 being ten times as likely to get three hits as .45!  Bearing in mind that a 4.62% chance is not that large...

However, are two shots of .45 as good or better than three of 9x19 since the odds are similar.

On average, the .45 will do 20 points of damage and the 9mm 27.

Again, this is against the Torso.

If we were trained to aim-small, miss-small and we aimed as small as possible on the torso, we're really aiming at the vitals.  That's an additional -3 penalty.

Now .45 hits on a 6, 3 and can't.  9mm hits on a 6, 4 and can't.

Average damage for two hits is now 42 vs 54...  This is because there's no difference between pi+ and pi when you hit the vitals, skull or eyes.  Odds are you're wasting two shots from either gun at full RoF at this range/skill level though.

A range of 7 yards might be a tad unrealistic, an assailant is probably charging you.  Probably with a move of 6 yards per second if you include sprint bonuses.

That means all the fun happens at one yard!

Another "odds are" statement.  With a charging assailant, the untrained person is probably going to open up on the bad guy at 7 with all three rounds, then fire again at 1 yard with all three rounds.

Chances to hit are 3, can't and can't at 7 for either gun and 6, 3 and can't for .45 or 6, 4, and can't for 9mm.

The trained person aims at 7 and only gets to fire once the range has closed to 1.  -3 for aiming at the vitals, 0 penalty for range and +2 for Acc.  Chances to hit are 9, 6 and 3 for .45 and 9, 7 and 5 for 9mm.  Just going for the torso changes things to 12, 9 and 6 for the .45 and 12, 10 and 8 for 9mm.

So, yes, in GURPS terms you want to use a 9mm and not a .45.

But wait!  That's all ball ammo!  What about hollow-points?  Same progression with narrower margins on the torso, same margins on vitals.

Found On Facebook

Pat MacNamara Supports Waiting Periods

That's from a Facebook exchange that someone screen shotted from Facebook or Twitter, tmacsinc being Pat's login.

The video referenced also appears to show him supporting universal background checks (but that could be clever editing unlike his confession on Facebook).

A couple things, Pat...

No three any number day waiting period has been shown to correlate with any reduction in crime at all.  The few times it's come up in court the existence of a waiting period upgraded the charge to first degree murder because once you'd done the waiting period, you'd clearly planned on doing the crime.

In a burst of spontaneous passion I decide to murder everyone who lives in my home...  I can take my pick of several guns I already own.  A ten year waiting period isn't going to affect me, let alone three days.  However, since I have not decided to murder anyone, a waiting period is an unjustified delay to an exercise of my inherent rights.

In actual crimes of spontaneous passionate murder, "blunt instrument" is the preferred tool.  Look it up!  There was also a brief period of time where the preferred blunt instrument was a Bell rotary phone.

Now, let's talk about universal background checks (UBC), shall we?

UBC is registration, full stop.  Anyone who supports it is anti-gun and not our friend.  Do not give them your money.

PS: See how I did that UBC acronym?  Saying "universal background check (UBC)"?  That's how you avoid confusion now that every three letter set is the initials of at least three things to know that I am not talking about the University of British Columbia or the University Bike Center.

Hasselblad

I've a certain fascination with photography even if I'm not a photographer of any note.

I remember when Hasselblad was an impressively WOW brand of camera.

Now it's a phone accessory.

And I WANT one.  I don't have the phone it attaches to, but I'm willing to upgrade the phone.

Verizon Wireless is practically giving the things away.

It's Crap Like This

Reason # uncounted for campus carry...

LINK

By the way, we don't hide the faces of Fascists here.

Pic from: http://imgur.com/H0e8jOc

PS my little violent snowflakes... It was not difficult at all to find an unpixelated version of that picture.

I Do Love A Good Conspiracy Theory

What if the reason for stripping all mention of The Civil War from the public square is to grease the ways for states to begin nullifications of their own.

We've seen it already for enforcement of immigration law.

We're starting to hear noises about it about playing nice with environmental laws.

Without knowledge of the previous attempt at secession, perhaps people will buy into it better this time around?

Not The Same

Last year was the 75th Anniversary of Brownells.

This year is the 75th Anniversary of Midway!

It Is All In How You Say It

If I were to say that for millions of years there were no documented instances of the sun coming up, would you believe that the sun did not rise every morning?  Or that it never had?

Yet, it's true.  For millions of years there was nobody around to document the sunrise, and for thousands of years after there was, they had not developed any means of recording the event.

Yet the sun kept coming up every morning.

Pay attention to how the media says it, "no documented cases of voter fraud."

They're not saying that there isn't actual fraud, they're saying that nobody's recording it.

That's important.

Eeep

Scandium Oxide ≥99.95%, spot price of $4,200 per kilogram.

Scandium Metal 99.9%, spot price of $15,000 per kilogram or $6,803.89 per pound.

Even if the entire 1.17 lb. of the gun was made from scandium alloy (and it's not) that's (at most) $39.80 worth of that super rare metal in it.

Swung The Scythe

My long suffering LiveJournal has been deleted.

I had not posted there since I started up this blog, and had kept the thing so I could make comments at two friends who'd kept on there.

FuzzyGeff discovered that the terms of service had been updated, agree to login...

The terms seemed unobjectionable until he got to the "this is a translation, non-binding in English."

What language is it translated from and binding in?  Русский, товарищ!

Since he doesn't speak Russian, he declined to agree.

I had not yet been given the new terms of service, so I just deleted my account before I had to agree to their terms to login to delete my account.

Wrong Politcian

Ms Reality betrayed The United States (allegedly) not the Clintons.

That makes it substantially less likely she'll disappear or end up dead.

Much Harder Than It Needed To Be

Changed the air filter and belts on The Precious.

There's simply not enough room between the pulleys and the stuff in front of them to let this simple job actually BE simple.

But if you did your own air conditioner belt change on a C6, you can put a star in your bonnet, because you did something worth bragging about.

Tick Tock

I just realized that I've shot on the clock far longer than I remembered.

Biathlon is a timed event!

How long you take to traverse the course is timed and the clock keeps running while you're shooting.  Additionally there's time penalties for missed targets.

Because of limited track space we did the minute penalty per miss rather than running a penalty loop.

I watched several people get all ten minutes of misses added to their times for missing both five-shot strings completely.

I've often said my shooting almost made up for my skiing.

I didn't hardly miss in competition and could calm down and get shooting faster than most of my peers.  But I never really got fast at the skiing part.

It was fun though.

AWB Math

7+1 of .45 ACP or 10+1 of 9x19mm?

.45 ACP is 2d pi+.
9x19mm is 2d+2 pi.

.45 does 3-18 (10 on average) against the torso.  6-36 (avg. 21) against vitals.

8 shots times the above: 24-144 (avg 80) on the torso and 48-288 (avg. 168) against vitals.

9x19mm does 4-14 (9 on average) for a torso hit and 12-42 (27 average) for vitals hits.

11 shots times that is: 44-154 (avg. 99) for torsos and 132-462 (avg. 297) for vitals.

For damage, the 9mm is slightly better, on average, because of three more rounds mostly.

You're more likely to land hits with the 9mm because its got Rcl 2 instead of 3.

Also, never mind that even with a 17 round magazine the Glock was almost a pound lighter than the 1911 and is even lighter with a retarded magazine capacity (2.8 vs 1.8 loaded).

But nobody uses ball ammo for self defense unless they're bound by law to do so!

.45 ACP changes to 2d(0.5) pi++ and 9x19mm changes to 2d+2(0.5) pi+.

This moves .45 to 4-24 (14 average) on the torso, but doesn't change vitals.  8 shots becomes 32-192 (112 average).

9mm goes to 6-21 (13 avg.) on the torso, no change to vitals, for 11 times... 66-231 (143 average).

Again, it's the extra beans that makes nine average out to more damage.

+P ammo buys us another 10%...  .45 ACP +P hollow points are 2d+1(0.5) pi++, 9x19mm +P hollow points are 3d-1(0.5) pi+.

The big bullets are now 6-26 (avg. 16) on the torso and 9-39 (avg. 24) on the organs.
Little bullets change to 3-25 (avg. 13) for torso and 6-51 (avg. 27) for vitals.

8 of 11.43mm +P HP gets 48-208 (avg. 128) for torso and 72-312 (avg. 192) for vitals hits.
11 of .36 Euro-Pea gets 33-275 (avg. 143) on the body and 66-561 (avg. 297) for squishy bits.

So... even in the dark days of the AWB it still wasn't quite the best plan to dump your 9mm for a .45.

Yes, shot for shot, .45 does more damage, but the extra capacity of the nine makes up for it, as long as you're hitting the target; which is also more likely with the smaller bullet and lighter gun.

Sick Of Being A Hat Are We?

Canada can no longer rely on US for global leadership.

Canada used to have its own aerospace industry.

Canada used to have aircraft carriers.

Perhaps they're remembering.

Oh Noes

The Russians intercepted a B-52G over the Baltic?

Like they did like every week for over thirty years?

I guess if you didn't grow up during the Cold War this seems novel and scary.

Uniform Trivia

Would a WW1 German officer wear both a Blue Max and an Iron Cross around his neck?

Can't Be All Bad

A day which contains the phrase, "Use The Force, Katniss, to save Hogwarts from the Daleks."

D+ 26,663

People born that day are old.

Those who fought that day are even older.  How few remain.

Speechless

Wallace is without a voice.

Godspeed Mr Sallis.

Will The Dog Bite Man

Multiple fatalities in Orlando.

Will it be man biting dog and the shooter turn out to be anything but a Moslem or Left Wing Savage?

I am sad that this is my first thought.

That they have become so very reluctant to label the shooter, makes me think my first thoughts are somewhat justified.

Update:

Man appears to have bitten dog.

Disgruntled employee, as yet unnamed.

PLEASE OH PLEASE

Do NOT throw me in the briar patch, Brer Dancingmonkey.

I don't think I could stand for you demonstrating just how unnecessary you are to everyone's lives.

People might start talking to each other or something!

Fake News?

We all fell for it too.

I know it for a fact, now, that the stabbing attack in London could not have occurred.

England has knife control as well as gun control; therefor nobody could have been stabbed.

Either that or a knife-free-zone is as effective as a gun-free-zone.

Mostly Beer Can

Doing some reading up on scandium.

Turns out the "scandium" frame S&W revolvers are really a scandium-aluminum alloy.

That's a whopping 0.1% to 0.5% scandium by weight.

But it really does magical things to the mechanical properties of the alloy!

SCIENCE!

Real Religion Of Peace

If a religion really espouses an ideal of peace, then it's most radical adherents will be the most peaceful, not the least.

Just sayin'.

I don't think I've ever seen the words Anabaptist suicide bomber before I typed them just now.

It Doesn't Easily Come Back

Run!  Hide!  Tell!

Is what you're left with once you lose...

Draw!  Aim!  Fire!

Eagerly Awaiting

I sit here on pins and needles waiting for confirmation that it was a conspiracy of Quakers, Mennonites and Amish who did the stabbings in London.

I suspect them because of the use of knives instead of complex machines like firearms.

Petit Pussiance

The Savage 93F in .22 WMR does 3d-1 pi-.

Raw roll of 2-17, with an average of 9.

Ball Ammo Against:

Vitals; 6-51, average of 27.
Skull; 0-60, average of 28.
Eye; 8-68, average of 36.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 1-8, average of 4.
Arm and Leg; 1-8, average of 4 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 1-8, average of 4 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

Hollow Point Ammo (and most .22 WMR is a hollow point for GURPS purposes) becomes 3d-1(0.5) pi giving:

Vitals; 6-51, average of 27.
Skull; 0-52, average of 20.
Eye; 8-68, average of 36.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 2-17, average of 9.
Arm and Leg; 2-17, average of 9 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 2-17, average of 9 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

Remember our HP 7 Coyote from previous examples?

7 or more gets a consciousness roll and 14 gets the first death roll, 42 is instant death without a roll.

I've often thought about survival adventurer type characters who carry a light rifle with light ammunition for most things and an assault rifle for more serious work.  .22 WMR appears to be stout enough to get most game.

My original idea was a Remington 341A which does 1d+2 pi- with common ammo.  Much less effective.

Raw roll of 3-8, with an average of 5.

Ball Ammo Against:

Vitals; 9-24, average of 15.
Skull; 4-24, average of 12.
Eye; 12-32, average of 20.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 1-4, average of 2.
Arm and Leg; 1-4, average of 2 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 1-4, average of 2 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

Hollow Point Ammo becomes 1d+2(0.5) pi giving:

Vitals; 9-24, average of 15.
Skull; 0-16, average of 4.
Eye; 12-32, average of 20.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 3-8, average of 5.
Arm and Leg; 3-8, average of 5 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 3-8, average of 5 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

Just to give some perspective, 5.56x45mm NATO from a 14.5 or 16 inch long barrel is 4d+2 pi.

Raw roll of 6-26, with an average of 16.

Ball Ammo Against:

Vitals; 18-78, average of 48.
Skull; 16-96, average of 56.
Eye; 24-104, average of 64.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 6-26, average of 16.
Arm and Leg; 6-26, average of 16 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 6-26, average of 16 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

Hollow Point Ammo becomes 4d+2(0.5) pi+ giving:

Vitals; 18-78, average of 48.
Skull; 8-84, average of 48.
Eye; 24-104, average of 64.
Torso, Face, Neck and Groin; 9-39, average of 24.
Arm and Leg; 9-39, average of 24 but damage over 1/2HP is lost and limb is crippled.
Hands and Feet; 9-39, average of 24 but damage over 1/3HP is lost and limb is crippled.

The main reason for looking at the lighter rounds is weight.  100 rounds each of .22 LR, .22 WMR and 5.56 NATO come in at 0.77 lb., 0.79 lb., and 2.7 lb. respectively.

The downside of the scoped Savage 93F is that it's 6.3 lb. with a mere 5 rounds loaded; 6.4 with 10 rounds.  That's 237 rounds of 5.56...  More than a basic load.

It would become worth the effort is military rounds are extremely expensive in the game setting and rimfire rounds aren't.

That Was Kind Of The Point

A while ago, back when being a king or queen meant near unlimited power to govern or rule... The United States came into being with a rather radical idea about how to decide whom would govern and how they would do so.

It was decidedly different way of doing things and many nations since then have emulated the experiment.

Emulated, but not duplicated.

This is why they become confused when they bump into the finer points of how our system works.

When they send their executive out to sign a treaty, they've got the full authority to do so and their nation is now bound by that treaty's terms.

They often lack the ratification process required by our Constitution and are baffled that our head of state is actually only signing a, "I promise to give this to our Senate," not, "we're fully committed."

What makes our "exit" from the Paris Accords interesting is President Obama, after agreeing to it, never actually submitted the thing to Congress.

We never even started more than the most preliminary steps to begin the process of entering into a treaty.

Because Congress never received anything to vote on, then The President, whomever they are at the time, can freely withdraw from any agreement to agree.

As loathe as I am to point out when an opponent is making an error, it occurs that if President Obama was serious about that "treaty" he'd have gotten his butt in gear and submitted it to The Senate for ratification.

Or did he realize that it would never have gotten 2/3 of the Senate to agree to an economy crippling agreement such as Paris when the national economy was already staggering from blows already delivered from 8 years of his governance.

A Hard Won Title

Watching Trainspotting again.

"The Worst Toilet In Scotland"

That, dear readers, is a title that is hard won.

It's not something that happens by accident, you've got to earn it.

Missing

Willard left his Model 386PD here for me to take pictures for the blog.

Unfortunately, there was an open window and a slight draft blew it away.

Hopefully it can be located soon... you know before an ant carries it off.

Tighter Than A Tight Thing Known For Exceptional Tightness

The Gunfighter stock is/was super tight.

So tight it was nearly impossible to move once completely collapsed.

Fortunately, the latch could be removed so you can obsessively slide it back and forth until the plastic wears down some and it becomes merely bothersome to move.

Not that I ever actually adjust my carbine stocks once I have them where I want them...

But it's supposed to move.  So, dammit! it will!

Massive

When you get used to an AK, a 14.5" AR feels light as a feather!

At Some Point You Have To Admit You LIKE The Pain

The S&W 386PD in .357 Magnum, seven shot L-Frame loaded that weighs LESS than its five shot J-Frame cousin.

Yeah... This is going to hurt.  But Willard must stick the fork in the light socket.

503

Five hundred three.

What's significant about that number you ask?

That's the average fuel burn rate of a Gulfstream G650, in gallons per hour.

It is about 3,300 nautical miles from Bel Aire, California to Paris, France.

That's around 8 hours in the air, or just over 4,000 gallons of Jet-A.

Assuming that I fill up The Precious once a week with a full 18 gallons of premium...  It would take me 4 years 3 months to consume as much fuel as this plane... one way.  8 and a half years for the round trip.

My gas guzzler Corvette also doesn't spit out its emissions at 51,000' MSL, meaning my pollution does less damage.

Mr Musk, I will start taking this crisis seriously when you do.

Never Heard Of It

The news headline on Facebook tells me that Netflix is cancelling a sci-fi series by the Wachowskis.

Sense8 was its name.

EVERY article linked from that headline talks about the diversity of the cast and crew and story.

Wanna know what they aren't talking about?  The content of the story and the plot.

You get the impression that the raison d'être of the show wasn't to entertain, but to virtue signal and preach.

While Nexflix doesn't discuss ratings, it seems pretty clear that only a devoted and small group was actually watching it.

The fact that I'd never heard of the show, despite actively casting for science fiction entertainment, probably speaks volumes towards its wider appeal.

I'll bet there's a distinct lack of piracy of the show as well.  Isn't odd that we live in a world where someone stealing your product is better treated as a loss leader than a crime?  No piracy demand, no buzz.

I also note that the articles that show a picture of the cast from the show look more like a pic of a crime drama or police procedural than something science fictiony.

I Should Have Learned Latin

I learned a great new phrase today though:

'Cessante ratione legis cessat et ipsa lex' When the reason of the law ceases, the law itself also ceases,

Worth A Share

Draining the Swamp is Messy.

Our home is in a community of 2,000 homes located on the intercoastal waterway in North Carolina. Everything lives here. Alligators. Water Moccasins. Rattle Snakes. Sea Hawks. Egrets. Giant Blue Herron. Mosquitoes, Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes.

We’ve watched from our back porch as dolphins chased sail boats and motor boats up the intercoastal waterway and watched the moon rise over the ocean to cast its glow over the water..

When the community decided to drain the swamp it was a big deal. Draining the swamp was messy. The swamp was about 10 football fields, about 6 feet deep, with lots of creatures living in it.

It was a dangerous swamp. Not one that you would wade or swim in. You would not dare sit next to it in the dark of a moonless night. If not the snakes, then the mosquitoes would eat you alive.

As the water level decreased, the creatures were exposed. As the water level disappeared all that was left was 3 feet of yucky black mud and the roots of dying cypress trees.

The fish, snakes, frogs, rats, and birds were all stranded in the yucky mud. Those creatures of the swamp fought for their lives as the swamp disappeared. The fish flopped around in the black mud looking for some water for life.

The frogs croaked incessantly all night while their young pollywogs were stranded lifeless at the top of the black mud.

Snakes slithered in every direction in the black mud in search of food. The rats that live in hollows all along the water abandoned their nests while the birds that feed off the swamp creatures also abandoned the area.

Finally, the mud dried out. No more snakes. No more rats. No more fish. No more frogs. No more mosquitoes. And no more birds that feed off those creatures of the swamp.

That same thing is happening to the Political Swamp in America. Trump is draining the swamp. His cabinet picks are all swamp drainers. Yeah, 3 are from Goldman Sachs. 3 of 23. Practically all of his cabinet have executive experience [military, or government, or private sector]. And it is the executive branch, now isn't it?

The mud is becoming visible as all the creatures who live in the swamp are fighting for their lives. Government employees at the IRS, EPA, and Education are flapping in the mud like dying fish.

The lobbyists are slithering here and there looking for government funds like the snakes in the mud -- especially those who wrote Obama Care. The liberal media cartel is chirping and croaking all the time like frogs trying to reverse the draining.


The Tax and Spend Politicians are dying off like the blood-sucking mosquitoes. The political appointees of Obama are fleeing DC for other jobs like the birds who lost their meal tickets.

And the information-leakers like Comey and Lynch are looking for new places to nest like the rats that left the swamp. Soon, all that will remain will be the dying institutions like public education as the dying cypress trees of our society.

Everyone who lived off the swamp is praying for rain -- Election Rain so Democrats might win some elections from Republicans since the Democrats suffered such horrible defeats during the 8 years of Obama.

Impeachment Rain so the professional politicians can get rid of Trump as the swamp drainer.

Low Approval Rating Rain so the media can claim they were correct about Trump.

Virtual Rain, Fake Rain so pundits can claim that Trump is not making any progress -- even though the results say the opposite.

Draining the swamp is messy and muddy. But the mud will soon dry.

Democrats just lost special elections in Arkansas and Omaha after sinking millions into them.

Democrats might grab an election here or there in places like Georgia where the demographics are changing to black communities, but not without millions and millions of campaign money.

Democrats cannot afford to do that for all the elections in 2018. Democrats must defend 23 Senators in 2018 as compared to 10 for Republicans and Democrats must win 25 seats in the US House from Republicans and then win back 900 state legislative seats and 14 governorships. If Georgia is an example, that will cost Democrats hundreds of millions to try.

SCOTUS will be rendering its decisions about Trump executive orders just before the 2018 elections. More than likely, SCOTUS will rule against the Obama-appointed judges who live in the lower court swamps.

SCOTUS will help Trump. Comey is gone. Lynch is in trouble. Clinton is back in trouble. The Clinton Foundation donors are talking.

Clapper and Yates both said that there is no evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russians.

Schumer is gasping for rain like one of those stranded fish. His Republican Swamp Buddies like McCain will abandon him as he dies -- a rat leaving the swamp, even though they shared an apartment together. Schumer’s Wall Street Swamp Buddies can’t help him.

The Washington Post and The New York Times, CNN and NBC are all trying to seed the clouds. But none of it is producing enough rain to help Schumer stop Trump from draining the swamp.

Draining the swamp is loud. Listen to all the hysterical liberal media cartel who are trying to make it rain in order to save the swamp where they live -- Chanting. Lies.
Rain Dances but no real rain is coming, only Fake Rain. The swamp will soon be dry. And when it is, then the next task is to Make America Great Again.

________________________________________
May 14, 2017 By Michael Master [author of Save America Now, Rules for Conservatives, The Birth Famine].

Woo Hoo!

Gonna have beachfront property by the end of the year!

We're out of the Paris accords, I can feel my skin blistering from the catastrophicanthropogenicglobalclimatechange™®© already!

Ocean levels will probably be up by 12 feet by the end of the week, making MY house ultra-valuable beachfront real estate!

For a week before it rises another 60 feet drowning us all.

Or not.

Probably no affect at all to the weather will happen.

But it does mean we're not going to piss near a trillion a year complying with it and that's a good thing for our economy, not so much for, say, China.

Shhhhhh Don't Tell Them

I'm an amateur mechanic... not a professional.

Nickels And Dimes

The downside to "old" cars is you've got to spend some money on maintenance.

On a V-8 that means twice as much on some things because there's twice as many holes in the block.

New sparklers and wires today.

I'd been getting a bit of a stumble at the low end under load, often an indication of the plugs and wires getting a bit tired.

Slow Response

To date there has been no FEMA response to a dam failure and catastrophic flooding in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

This is because Trump hates black people or something, I think.

h/t Cajun

Trite Pablum

The primary difference between a liberal and a conservative is:

A conservative just wants to get on with their life.

A liberal just wants to get on with your life.

Oh Look History Was Right

Genetics shows ancient Egyptians weren't sub-Saharan blacks.

I've had conversations about this before.

The saddest part about this entire debate is the Afro-centric argument is essentially based on treating Egyptian research as a prehistoric discipline.

The thing is, it wasn't prehistoric at all.  Writing from the time survives, and writings from the same time periods from other cultures survive.  Those all pointed to the same conclusions that the genome research just confirmed.

This genome research's conclusion shouldn't be controversial at all, but wait for it.