Ever Do This

Start doing the calculations to prove a point, get it almost ready to SLAM the other guy's argument into the dirt like it deserves...

Only to discover you've overlooked an important variable or portion of the equation?

Thank goodness I had not hit publish...

The Rest Of The Story

This Is It We're All Gonna Die

The brutal storm clouds of Tropical Storm Emily.

I Have A Solution

Pilot Shortage On The Horizon.

I know why I'm not a pilot.  I cannot afford it.

Yet, I have food on the table and a roof over my head.

How is it that I manage the second, but not the first?

I don't need to be a pilot, but I do need food and shelter.

When it comes to something I need, I will find a way to fund it.

Seems to me the folks what need pilots are the airlines.  With this looming on their horizon, why is it still the prospective hire's job to pay the whole cost for licensing and training?

They need pilots, why don't they have training academies?

Why aren't there contracts where our newly winged fledgling has to either work for the airline what brought him up for a fixed number of years or recompense them for their costs?

I've said the same thing about shortages in other places.

Want to weld?  You have to show up already knowing how with certifications.

Same for machinists.

Same for mechanics.

I hear crying from businesses that need these people who can't find applicants.

Write a contract, train them!

It Doesn't Mean What You Apparently Think It Does

Minority rights does not mean rights that only minorities have.

Minority rights means giving minorities the same rights as everyone that are being, or have been, denied them.

It's not a zero-sum game.

Old Story But Told Well

Mock Up

As soon as replacement parts and tools arrive, this is what the AR-10 project will look like.

This configuration is a full 26 ounces lighter than how the original rifle came!

Update:

Here's what we're trying to evoke, a modernization of this:

Pic from James Julia Acution http://weaponsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Julia-AR-10-38-right.jpg

Oh Marv....

He is officially out of places to hang stuff.

Mystery Solved

There isn't a single G3 bayonet.

There isn't a single means for a G3 bayonet to attach to the rifle.

There's at least three main variations.

Early with the straight cocking tube.

10mm with adaptor and the tapered cocking tube.

20mm without adaptor and the tapered cocking tube.

Inside these variations are SUBvariations!

The Danish bayonet Willard bought is of the 10mm variety.

He'd bought an adaptor for a 10mm bayonet.

NOW we discover there's four subvariations of the 10mm depending on how the latch is clocked.

1 and 1A clock at 9.
2 clocks at 1:30.
3 clocks at 10:30.

Willard's adaptor is a 1, his bayonet is a 3.

Since the bayonets have become a $65 collector's item, I drilled the $15 adaptor for a new hole at 10:30.

Huzzah!

That Went Better

The latch hole for the bayonet was wrong for the Danish bayonet Willard scored for his G3.

Fixed!

Now I wonder if the German and Danish bayonet latches are clocked differently or if this one is made wrong.

Chatter Chatter BANG

Trying to drill front sight base for Willard's AR10 project.

Using a 3mm carbide end mill to do the initial hole because of the nitride coating on the barrel.

It's some brittle ass shit and when it went it took out the boss I was drilling into.

The barrel is unmarred.

Because I'm Geek And Nerdy

Marv's looking for holsters for the local 2-gun.

I comment that his choice doesn't allow for a light.

He asks, "You're going to use the light during 2-gun?"

I reply, "The night is dark and full of terrors!"

He says, "Not in the indoor range it's not."

My Reader Rocks!

Terrapod donated a nice 30gb iPod Classic to The Boy!

He officially rocks!

Note To YouTube

If you're not going to let a given channel monetize, then I will not sit through YOUR ads.

Reflexively stabbing refresh will eventually bypass the ad...

Blogging Is Dead

Long live the blog!

I guess the resemblance to a Norwegian Blue depends a great deal on what you're hoping to accomplish by blogging.

Me?

I need to say what I'm saying, someplace, or I go more nuts.

I'm not expecting to change anyone's mind about anything.  If someone is moved by what I've argued and changes their mind, so much the better; but I'm not ranting to get people to change their minds.

I'm ranting to save my mind.

I will rant, and have, when I knew there was nobody reading.  That was Livejournal...

Weer'd got me to come to Blogger.

My audience is small.  About 1,000 people a day stop by, with 240 or so being from France.

I don't get much for comments.

But I am not going away until Google nukes the platform, and even that won't nuke me completely.

Sooner or later the photo-hosting thing is going to drive me to host my own pictures.  That will likely drive me to spend the money on setting up my own server.  Once I've done that, why depend on Google for hosting the blog?

Or What Lindsey?

If Trump fires Sessions you're going to what?

Obstruct the bills that support his campaign promises?

Delay his appointments?

What are you going to do that you're not already doing?

2,000 Of 400

Five times the rated time on the battery.

OK, I'm impressed.

Perhaps Expected

I know that when I am punished for something I did not do, I have a strong temptation to immediately start doing it.

For how many months have we been hearing about how anti-LGBT President Trump is?

Perhaps he's just decided that if he's going to be treated like a bigot, he's nothing to loose by acting the part.

Besides, while the press is all focused on this "outrage" what's he slipping behind their backs?

If you can panic them by rearranging deck chairs, will they notice what you did in the engine room?

Oh Noes!

Hollywood is going to hate President Trump now?

Now?

Now?

Now?

NOW?!?

What was it before?

Edit.

Now we get treated to another round of LGBT bullying from Hollywood.

SIGH

Remember, if you're not stealing from Hollywood, you're paying them for this.

Identity

The problem isn't that LGBT people want to serve in the military.

The problem is far too few are identifying primarily as SOLDIERS.

When you identify as something else, you're not going to be a good soldier and that is a huge problem.

It's also not helped that the defacto spokesperson for transgender in the military is Chelsea Manning.  A traitor.

Look, LGBT people, you want to serve, then be a soldier first and everything else second.  Make it a distant second.

You want to know something odd, we military types honor personal sacrifice for honorable service.  Think on that.

For the record, the military has had crackdowns on Catholics for being adherents to their religion before their oaths as soldiers; don't feel too put out at being singled out here.

A Thought Occurs

With Eric Holder complaining that elections are rigged by Republicans...

I am starting to wonder if the Democrats were expecting a different outcome and their rigging failed.

Like they hired a veterinarian to dope the horse and got a placebo instead.

It fits the pattern of complaint.

This Hasn't Happened In A While

More than one B-29 in the air at the same time.

You Just Know He's Seething

I found that BM-59 and had nothing but silence from Willard today.

This is how he gets when he's checking magazine prices and availability.

Also, I have pains in the normal places from him sticking pins in his voodoo doll of me.

Information Bleg

Is there an A2 style upper receiver for a DPMS 308 AR out there?

I recall there once being such things, but cannot google my way to them.

I'll Be The One To Say It

Wouldn't it be better for everyone if Senator McCain were to succumb to his illness, rather than continuing on?

I would have said "to resign" but the DIABN just can't bring himself to do the right thing.

With a Republican Governor in Arizona, it won't even upset the numbers.  But it will upset the votes as a reliable traitor to his party would be eliminated.

Practice

Hard to get the tripod to settle down to get a centered shot at max magnification.

7.62x51mm Magazine Massathon

Well, weight because 'Mercia!

FAL 8.6 oz.

CETME 9.8 oz.

G3 (Steel) 9.9 oz.
G3 (Aluminum) 5.1 oz.

M14 (USGI) 8.3 oz.
M14 (Aftermarket) 7.5 oz.

AR10 (DPMS LR308) 7.5 oz.
AR10 (Magpul PMAG-20 LR/SR Gen M3) 5 oz.

The weight of 20 rounds of 7.62x51mm NATO is 17.6 oz.

Anyone got a BM-59 or a Type 64 magazine and a scale?

How about a real AR-10 magazine?

Poor WIllard

Poor, poor Willard...

He could have lived the rest of his life not knowing about this.

But here's a link to it anyway.

NATO Rifles

Everybody knows that when the NATO nations standardized on 7.62x51mm; everyone (except the US) picked either the FAL or G3... well mostly.

Belgium, Fabric National (FN) FAL.

Canada, Canadian Aresenals Ltd. C1A1, an inch version of the FAL.

Denmark, H&K Gv M/66 and M/75.  G3A3's made for or leased to, respectively, the Danish Army.

France, Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne MAS-49, in 7.5x55mm because De Gaulle was a staunch advocate of being a NATO member and ensuring equipment interchange, especially ammo... oh wait...

Greece, first the FN FAL, then the H&K G3A3.

Iceland, no army.

Italy, Beretta BM-59, a derivative of the M1 Garand using a detachable 20-round magazine.

Luxembourg, FN FAL.

Netherlands, FN FAL.

Norway, Kongsberg-Våpenfabrikk AG-3.  G3A3's made locally.

Portugal, both!  Fábrica de Braço de Prata m/961, a G3A3; FN m/962, an FAL; and Artillerie Inrichtingen AR-10.

Spain, Centro de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales (CETME) Model 58, definitely NOT a G3.  Or designed by Nazis.  No Nazis here.  REALLY!  Why doesn't anyone believe us?  Look in Argentina!

Turkey, FN G1, an FAL; and Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu (MKEK) G3A7 (G3A3 under license).

United Kingdom, Royal Small Arms Factory L1A1, a different inch version of the FAL.

United States, Springfield National Armory M14, a derivative of the M1 Garand using a detachable
20-round magazine (but totally different from the BM-59).

West Germany, they tried to do the FAL (as the G1) and SIG SG 510 (as the G2) but settled on a local design imported from Spain, the H&K G3.

Of the 16 15 14 NATO nations who adopted a 7.62x51mm battle rifle:

8 adopted the FAL and issued it.  1 never issued it.  2 made their own version.  2 later adopted the G3.

6 adopted the G3.

3 developed their own gun altogether; one of which was further developed into the the G3!

M80A1

Just for the record:

The 7d pi of standard 7.62x51mm ball ammo becomes 7d pi+ when you apply my newly created EPB modifier to it.

That changes the damage to 10-63 points (36 average).

One wonders which other rounds this tech will be applied to.

Love Hate

It seems there's little that H&K does better than polarizing people's opinion.

Their G3 is one of their first examples.

It's shorter and just as heavy (or heavier depending on the magazine) as the FAL that preceded it.  It replaces the FAL in many armies because while it's not as nice as an FAL, an FAL is not three times as nice as a G3.  And a nation-state ordering for their army got the volume discount and could buy three G3's for the price of a single FAL.

In the US civilian market, most of these 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifle clones are hovering around the same $1k price point, give or take a couple hundred.  It boils down to the one you like better.

The PTR GI shown above has a feature long missing from G3 clones.

A paddle magazine release.

It comes apart just like its more militant cousin:

The bolt head is just as @%#&#^^@%#&$##* (fucking) irritating as it's always been to get back on.  But I discovered a trick!

The handguard will fit the bolt head and give you that extra bit of grip and leverage to overcome that bear of a locking tab spring; plus it's always with the rifle!

It's Getting To Be A Problem

Before the internet, if something was widely read, it would outlive the author; nearly forever.

Now it lives until the payment on the domain expires.

Surplus Rifle is gone.

Hi Powers and Handguns is gone.

How many others?

Rebound

The AR-15 is a shrunk AR-10.

Modern .308 ARs aren't really more developed and refined AR-10s; they're enlarged AR-15's.

The trigger group is the most obvious place to spot differences.

The reason for this is pure economics.  Why reinvent the wheel?

Keeping parts commonality with the smaller AR-15 means you get to take advantage of the scale of production already established and you also get proven parts.  Win win.

It's a little amusing how most .308 ARs share parts with AR-15's, but except for those commodity parts, don't share parts between manufacturers.

Statting The M855A1

M855 from a 14.5" M4 barrel is 4d+2 pi.

Despite the steel penetrator, it's not considered armor piercing.

This is mostly because the 600m distance to punch the DR 4 of a steel pot is well within the 800 yard 1/2D distance of the 5d pi from the 20" M16A2 barrel and the 750 yard 1/2D distance for the M4.

The minimum damage from both an M4 and M16A2 penetrate that helmet.

The 1/2D for M193 from an M16A1 is 500 yards, the minimum damage from 5d pi won't penetrate now.

With me so far?

From the physical description of the M855A1 bullet, it conforms to how High Tech describes TL6 Armor-Piercing (AP) ammo.  That would change the damage to 4d+2(2) pi-.  The problem with this is M855A1 appears to perform no better against armor or barriers than M855 and is comparable to M80 ball in tissue.  pi- would be worse soft tissue performance than before when the reports are saying it's better.

7.62x51mm NATO M80 ball is 7d pi.

M855A1 fired from an M4 is reportedly doing comparable soft tissue damage to M80.

OK.  Giving M855A1 hollow-point status brings the damage to 4d+2(0.5) pi+.

7d pi does 7-42 points of damage.  24 average.

4d+2 pi+ does 9-39 points.  24 average.

That is comparable.

The niggling problem now is the (0.5) armor divisor for going hollow-point.  By all accounts, M855A1 doesn't behave differently than M855 against barriers or armor.  (0.5) would give unarmored targets DR1 and would double the DR of armored targets.

Thus 4d+2(0.5) pi+ shouldn't penetrate the, now, DR 8 of a steel pot with minimum damage.  Yet, it does.

The way the round appears to behave is 4d+2 pi+.  Not sure what generic label to apply to it here though or what it should do to the cost per shot, especially since it's shaping up to be not a lot more expensive than M855.

This going to matter because they're applying this technology to 7.62 as well in the M80A1 round.

One way to explain it can come from M855 being the US version of FN's SS109, which was developed in the 1970's, and is thus a TL7 round, 1980 being the cut-year between TL7 and TL8.  Thus M855A1 is a TL8 round.

There's only three TL8 kinetic energy bullet types listed in High Tech and they're all depleted uranium armor piercing rounds.

I think I shall call it:

Enhanced Performance Ball (EPB) (TL8)

This ammo is made from a hardened steel tip with a lighter metal core and is designed to cause more damage to soft tissues via tumbling and fragmentation, without sacrificing penetration against armor or barriers.

Change damage type: pi- becomes pi, pi becomes pi+, and pi+ becomes pi++ (no effect on pi++).  Multiply CPS by 1.2.  LC2.

7.62x51mm Showdown

I have no doubts as to which 7.62 NATO battle rifle is the best.

Just one of them served me without fail when it mattered.

None of the other contenders were present.

An unfair position to take?

Perhaps.

But...

One does tend to love one's first love forever.

I am not alone in my rather biased opinion.

Now that we've established which rifle is bloody best...

We will concede that the other contenders have their merits.

But they're not best, are they?

All These Years

Did you know that the gun on top of an M1, M1(IP), M1A1 or M1A1(HA) wasn't an M2HB?

I didn't.

Officially the tank mounted gun is an M48.  It's also been standardized since the M48 tank, where it was mounted in a cupola.  The M48 designation for both the gun and the tank is coincidence.

In essence, it's an M2HB without sights or spade grips with a charging cable instead of a handle.

It's What You Wanted

The Lovely Harvey has an ex-employee whose husband just got arrested for thieving from an elderly relative whom he had taken fiduciary responsibility.

The ex-employee, is also a man.

They rushed out to get married as soon as it was legal.

Now the ex-employee is fretting about how his accounts might be frozen as his husband's were against the near half million dollars that were allegedly embezzled from the elderly person's accounts.

"How can they do that?!?" he wonders.

Well, it's Florida, Jake.  Doesn't matter whose name it's in, you're married it's joint.

And if your spouse is accused of stealing or embezzling, your accounts are his accounts too.

Welcome to the big leagues!

Oh, wait, you just wanted the benefits of being married without the liabilities, didn't you?

I think we tried to warn you.

Sol

That's our local star.

It was cloudy today and I don't have the camera set up ideally.

Still learning.

That's a 95mm solar filter, on a 77 to 95mm step up adaptor, on a 58 to 77mm step up adaptor, on a 58mm to S5IS bayonet fitting adaptor.

Three Out Of Four

L -> R

DPMS LR308 with a HEAVY barrel.  12.55 lb. loaded as shown.  Drops to 12.39 lb. if you use a PMAG instead of the metal magazine that came with the gun.

Springfield Armory M1A "Loaded" with a Fulton Armory flash-hider so as to get a bayonet lug.

DSA SA-58 standard dolled up more like an FN FAL 50.00.

But It Might Explain A Lot

Senator McCain has brain cancer.

Can the tumor explain his RINOness?

Probably not, he was never really a Republican.

I'd be a lot more compassionate if I didn't have to watch him getting, for free, care that I could never even consider asking for because of the crippling financial costs.

After that diagnosis my next stop isn't a consultation with my doctor, but a trip to the gun safe.

Suck It Anglave

Hey look, they were lying and falsifying the data.

Just like I said.

You killed a friendship over this, are you proud?

Too Ambitious

Another project I'm abandoning is my HEL E4A suppressor.

I just don't have the tools to do the work and the eclipse fiasco has really rammed home that I don't have the time and money to travel where friends have the tools.

Never mind the costs of materials.

Pity I wasted the $200 for the damn stamp.

I'm just fed up with my home situation and I'm all bummed out about how dead ended my life is.

Not Going

I have never seen a total eclipse of the sun.

Now I never will.

Reservations are cancelled and I am not going anywhere in August.

It was a pipe dream to think I could actually be allowed to escape a 40 mile radius of home to see it and now that I've cancelled the room reservation, I feel nothing but relief.

PS: This is not an invitation for you to brag about how it's just a day trip for you to go see it.

Bleg

Do you have an old iPod that works, but you don't want/use any more?

The Boy loves his iPod, but it died.

You might note that new ones are both expensive and require the latest OS.

If I had money for a computer running the latest and greatest, I'd have money for a new iPod for him.

Portable music keeps him calm, and he knows how to work an iPod.

We had two complete fails in two days of his used units he's had for years.

A 5th Gen Nano (8gb) and a 5th Gen Classic (30gb Vid).

Thanks in advance if you've got something to help out with.  Leave a message in the comments.

I Can't Remember

There used to be a BobS, from Texas who blogged at http://3bxsofbs.infamousanime.net/

That site appears to be dead, and I dimly remember someone mentioning why...

But I can't remember what it was.

A Long Time Ago

FuzzyGeff related this conversation he had with his mother when Ted Kennedy was attempting to get the Democrat nomination...

At the end of a long, tedious debate about his candidacy she asked, "Well, what would it take for you to vote for him?"

"A personal endorsement from Mary Jo Kopechne," was his reply.

FuzzyGeff might not be hard, but he's cold.

Marketing

Back on Harley's problem attracting new customers.

I was riding before there was Evo.

The Evolution motor is what really let HD sputter along on life support.  Without that, they'd have died the death they richly deserved for the quality control they'd established.

What got them off life support was they stopped selling motorcycles.

They started selling a lifestyle, that a Harley Davidson motorcycle was an integral part of.

It was tailor made to sell to the baby-boomer demographic and like all such tailored sells, it doesn't much appeal outside its target market.

They failed to anticipate where the saturation point of this market was and create a second line of products for a motorcycle lifestyle that appealed to millennials.  Millennials, in general, already have a lifestyle they're happy with and lack the dissatisfaction common to boomers with their status quo that drives a lifestyle change and buying a new scoot.

It's a hard sell, to put it mildly.

Harley is going to have to learn how to sell motorcycles again.  To sell them without the baggage of the lifestyle they've been pitching for decades now.

It remains to be seen if they're agile enough.

Among Its Many Problems

Hollywood is apparently unaware that satire and mockery are not the same word.

To pull of satire, you have to love the subject you're making fun of.

For mockery, all you need is hate.

This is why Galaxy Quest works and Ricky Bobby doesn't.

Deep Subject

Our Man Willard has hit a bit of a snag.

His well pump has crapped out.

I dunno if he needs the money, but if you hit the donation button over there on the right, I will see it on to him.

He's without water at his house until they get it replaced.

Incentive Plan

I've an idea for police body cams.

If the things aren't turned on there's no qualified immunity for what ever happened.

I am fascinated to see how police shootings work when they've got to use the same set of laws and jurisprudence I have to.

Bury Him Deep

And Face Down.

George Romero has died.

Please take all due precautions with his corpse concerning its inevitable reanimation and undeath.

Is This For A Handgun

Bought some .45 ACP from Wal Mart.

The person behind the counter wanted to know if this ammunition was for a handgun.

I was honest and admitted that it was, then needed to produce ID to prove I was older than 21.

Next time I'm saying, "No, it's for my submachine gun." just to see what they do.

Runner Up

Did the bowling pin shoot again this month.

I got second place shooting my .38 Super Gov't Model and lost to someone shooting a Glock with a red-dot.

Adding up all the penalties, I was only about a second behind him at the end of three heats.

For the fourth heat we did a head to head and he got me by a pin.

It was a little amusing that the staff came down and congratulated ME for doing as well as I had.

I did much better with the rented M&P 9 last time than I did with my own gun this time.  It's been a while since I put .38 Super down range, I practice with my S&W a lot.

One guy brought a Llama in .45 and despite not doing very well with this new to him gun, never got down about it.  He was there to have fun, and enjoy himself; so he did.  Contagiously happy is a good way to describe it.

The staff asked us questions wanting our feedback and my suggestion that struck a nerve with them was classes.  Put the high-tech sights in their own class, for example.

They said what they want is something that's accessible to anyone rolling in off the street and to make it fun.  Being grimly competitive isn't fun.

What's Wrong With This Ad

This Should Be Good

F-35A and F-35B will be attending Red Flag this year.

Red Flag is noteworthy in that the adversary group is very proud of humbling the blue forces.

They do it with some regularity.

It would be illustrative to the haters of the Lightning II program if such humbling did not occur this year.

Part of the problem a lot of critics are having is they missed that the paradigm changed.

F-35 changed things as big as the change from bi-planes to supersonic jets.

The pundit world has yet to catch up.

It's still a swelteringly expensive program, but per-unit cost is coming down (as predicted and expected) and as long as Congress doesn't go full retard (like with B-2A and F-22A) that trend will continue.

Next fighter item we need to start working on is the replacement of the F/A-18E/F with something F-22A equivalent for the Navy's Hi portion of the Hi/Lo mix.  Perhaps we can even sell a version to the Air Force like back when the F-4B was ported to the USAF as the F-4C.

Maybe It Was The Impact

I'm not certain, but I think I am sick of seeing science fiction ships slam into the ground or mountains without sustaining any damage at all.

I'm not sure how much that has affected my care-o-meter about upcoming movie releases, but I don't care if they make any more Star Wars movies now.

I've noticed before that the divide between care and don't-care is pretty sharp.

I first noticed with Big Bang Theory.  One day I wouldn't miss an episode, even putting up with watching it on CBS's vile excuse of a website.  The next I didn't care and just didn't tune in anymore.

CLICK

I've noticed that while I own a TV and pay for satellite service, I'm not turning the thing on very often.

How odd.  I used to center my whole existence around that idiot box.

Why Would That Be

Millennials Not Buying Harleys.

It says they don't like riding motorcycles.

Gee, why not?

Because you can be taken out without warning by a tuft gray hair and two clawed, arthritic, hands showing above the dash?

While cars are safer than they've ever been, you are surrounded by those improved safety features.

Bikes... pretty much the same stuff as when I started riding is what's readily available.

Licensing has gotten downright retarded.

Iowa had a ridiculous requirement that you be able to turn the bike 180˚ inside a parking space without putting your feet down.  That was a situation that came up exactly zero times in near 15 years of active riding.

Requirements like that dissuades rather than encourages learning to ride.

Road congestion has also sucked all the fun out of riding.  It's why I hung up my jacket and helmet.  You just cannot sit back and enjoy the ride anymore.  With all the extra traffic density you have to keep your guard up and your head on a swivel.

Not to be discounted is the other riders.  Do you wish to be included in the curses from other drivers who are fed up with being stuck behind two bikers who flat refuse to accelerate promptly or threaten the posted limit?

Because that's most of the Harley riders around Tampa/St Pete.

Drop Back 15 And Punt

Willard's PTR-91 was supposed to arrive today.

A selling feature of the one he bought was the steel trigger housing and paddle release.

PTR calls this model the PTR G.I. (p/n PTR-100).

What arrived today was a PTR-405, in a box labeled for a PTR-100.

Poly "Navy" trigger housing and bullet button...

We think that it was misboxed at PTR since the serial number matches.

The seller is taking it back and sending a replacement.

I Still Want To Know

What is the do not exceed speed for the fan door on the F-35B?

What is the do not exceed speed for the hook doors on the F-35C?

AC Cleaning

It occurs to me that my compressor must be doing just fine.

It was managing to make the house 80˚ while sucking 110˚ air through the hole in the inlet duct with the sun and other things heating things up and an 1/8" of crud on the evaporator coil.

Today it's still blowing 58˚ at the duct, holding 74˚ at the thermostat and it's 100˚ in the attic where the air-handler is.

Three Very Depressing Words

Jimmy Carter recovering...

Dammit.

I shouldn't be surprised, lichs are tough.

I Have Had This Very Conversation

From here:

Having this conversation over and over with liberals has killed more friendships than I care to count now.

It's particularly true of people who feel that the Tea Party was founded by and for racists and people who're fully convinced that global warmering is something that people are causing.

Fe V Al

The H&K G3 and its derivatives have two milspec magazines to choose from.

Aluminum and Steel.

Empty the aluminum mag is 5.1 oz., the steel is 9.9 oz.

Loaded the aluminum magazine is 1.4 lb., the steel 1.7 lb.

Conventional wisdom says that the aluminum is less resilient than steel, but there's scant examples of actual failures being shown.  It's an "everyone says" thing.

The spring wire on the aluminum magazine is 0.064" in diameter, the steel is the same.

Just For The Record

Only one of these rifles is an Enfield.  That would be the one on the bottom.

It's a Rifle, Short (Magazine) Lee-Enfield Mk III* and was actually made at Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield in 1915.

The younger gun, made in 1917 at the Eddystone facility of Remington Arms Company, is not an Enfield.  The design comes from Enfield via a circuitous route, but RSAF didn't actually make any.

The M-1917 rifle came to be when the British realized that with an encroaching war they weren't going to be able to do two things: switch to .276 Enfield, or shut down production of Lee-Enfields to transition to making the P.13 rifle.

They did manage to get the design into production by changing it to .303 British and getting Winchester and Remington to make them, with Remington making them at two facilities; Ilion, NY and Eddystone, PA.  That is the P.14 rifle (technically Rifle Pattern 1914 Mk I and Mk I* with an initial of W, R or E for each factory).

Once the run of P.14 rifles was made the US found itself in a similar bind with regards to rifle production.  They were making all of the M-1903's they could and still needed more guns.  It was bad enough that they type standardized the Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 being made by Remington and New England Westinghouse as the Rifle 7.62mm M-1916 and left it in 7.62x54mmR!

Because the P.14 was derived from a rimless Mauser action in the first place, it was relatively easy to switch it to a different rimless cartridge, our .30-06.

This went into production as the Rifle, .30-caliber, M-1917.  It was, in fact, our primary service rifle for the Army in World War One; despite being a secondary standard.  It is also the finest six shot (6+1) turn-bolt rifle the Army ever issued!

New Motto

Nam vetus American bonum vitae: nam pecuniam, ad gloriam et ad amet ... maxime pro pecunia.

Is This Too Far Gone To Fix

Willard got this rifle today...

Finally Number One At Something Good

State Fiscal Rankings

This is because we made the hard decisions a long while ago and have maintained our government such that it keeps those decisions made.

It tends to make the governor unpopular, but you can't argue with success.

The roadblocks put in place are absolutely needed since so much of our population is imported from other states and are accustomed to irresponsible spending.

I've Had This Moment

From: The White Board Comic

Gun Peoples

The "People of the Gun" linkimage on the sidebar has been repaired.



It's also a little larger.

It's Happening

Willard and I are going to do a 7.62x51mm NATO recoil comparison!

I've a full length DSA SA-58 (50.00 configured FAL clone).

He's got a new PTR G.I. (H&K G3A3 clone), Springfield Armory M1A (M14 clone) and for the bonus round a DPMS LR-308 TAC 20 (sort of an AR-10 clone).

It's a battle rifle blast-off!

Because Willard and I are old school adherents of God's Own Cartridge (New Testament) we're going to rope a hapless victim eager volunteer in the form of a Marv to lend his shoulder to the testing.

We might even add a Garand and an M-1903A2 to the mix for sport.

Excuse Me While I Laugh My Ass Off

One sure thing about science is you MUST share your work so that others may repeat your experiment so that your conclusions can be confirmed or disputed.

Remember cold fusion?

Well, Michael Mann has refused to disclose his data.  Again.

Looks like this time it will cost him.

Always remember.

Any experiment which cannot be repeated, is invalid.

Any hypothesis which cannot be falsified, is invalid.

Operation Market Garden 2014 Renkum 19/09/2014

Not Quite 100˚ Up There

The AC at Casa de McThag has not been keeping up.

I found a giant rat-sized hole in the inlet hose Sunday and patched that up.

It helped to not suck 90+ degree air from the attic into the inlet.  But not enough.

Today I opened up the plenum and found the evaporator coils were clogged with dust that was sucked into the unfiltered hole from the rat.

Some foaming cleanser and a bit of brushing on the fins and we're getting 60˚ at the furthest outlet with 80˚ at the inlet vent.

Not too shabby.

The can recommends more than one application of the stuff spaced over several days.  Can't hurt.

Oh, and it's almost 100˚ up in the attic.  I am sure I lost weight.

And Who Invited Them?

Rob Reiner says that Russia has invaded the US.

Well, Meathead, I remember you from when the Cold War was simmering.

You and your ilk would have been tried for giving aid and comfort to the enemy if the war had gone hot.  You were THAT obvious.

When I Was Going To Be A Psychologist

I took part in an experiment as a test subject.

The thing is, we didn't know we were participating in the experiment when we volunteered to attend a seminar on the biology of race.

It was shortly after The Bell Curve had been published, so race stuff was all the rage on campus.

What the seminar "really" consisted of was just about everything Hitler had ever said, translated to English and substituting blacks for Jews.

The actor they put on the podium had perfect delivery and we were fired up to DO SOMETHING about the Black Problem.

All of us.

It was illustrative about how fast you can lose yourself to the crowd and adopt beliefs you thought were anathema to you.

Luckily we were intercepted from our plans to do Krystal Nacht Zwei by the second seminar, which showed us we'd just essentially attended a Nuremberg Rally.

It terrified me.

As does this.

Bid Shill

Willard is taking advantage of the buyer's market in evol brack ryetoofuls.

Since he got a couple, in contentious bidding from the same seller on Gunbroker, there's a bidder who surely thinks he's a shill bidder for the seller.

They're going to be disappointed if they're waiting for the relist.

Knowledge Is Power

There is an actual fish called a brown trout.

It's not just a euphemism for a floating turd.

I did not know that.

Now, can you imagine...

"What's for dinner?"

"Brown trout!"

"Uh...."

In Murcia They Speak Spanish!

Look it up!

¡Murcia!  ¡Joder si!

700 Round Break In

Break in, broken, what a difference a couple vowel changes and a space make.

The suppressor was well dead long before they got to 700.  I applaud them for continuing.

h/t XBRADTC

Old Joke

What's happening in France today can be directly attributed to it being too long since the US Army spent some time there.

It's like their genes get stale if an occupying army doesn't inject fresh material from time to time.

Things are bad enough now, we're going to have to send the Marines.

It's A Racket

If you drive a car on public roads you're required, by law, to have insurance.

The cost of the insurance is largely influenced, not by your driving record, but by your credit rating.

Mine sucks.

Why?

Because I don't have credit cards.

I was shopping for cheaper insurance and discovered...

The consumer reporting agency provided the following description of the credit factors that had the most influence on the price we quoted you: 

No open verified bank revolving trades with valid credit limit. Optimal value is utilization > 0% and < 1% on open bank rev trades. 

Months since oldest mortgage opened is greater than or equal to 60. Optimal value is 0 to 12. 

There are 0 bank revolving trades. Optimal value is 10 or more. 

There are no credit card trades with valid open date. Optimal value is 120+ months since most recent credit card opened.

 So... I don't have a credit limit to establish that I'm using more than none, but less than 1% of it.

I have one mortgage, that I'm paying on and have been paying longer than 60 months.  Notice that optimal is 0-12 months.

OPTIMAL IS GETTING A NEW MORTGAGE EVERY FUCKING YEAR!!!!!

I looked up revolving trades.  They want you to have a card, make at least 10 payments on credit you've received per year and have had the card for 10 or more years.

This is being fucked for being responsible.

The Man Has A Point

I note with disgust that CNN can quickly ascertain the identity of a post that is negative to CNN, but seems totally unable to find the identity of all the “anonymous” sources of information negative to our president. Communist News Network, Clinton News Network, “All the news that fits our agenda” OOPS, that’s the new york slimes, my mistake.

--Roger in comments here.

MPAA Guilt

Watching a DVD and they mention how many jobs there are associated with the making and distribution of the film.

Something occurs to me about this line of guilting people into buying a movie.

The movie is long paid for in many cases today.

The people who were supported by the creation of the film are long dead in quite a number of them.

So for a movie made in the distant past, no my purchase is not supporting that many people.  Especially so since they didn't have hundreds of people involved in the process back then.

Jobs And Unemployment

I read the breathless headline that unemployment numbers were up.

Then I saw that new jobs had exceeded expectations.

Did you know that this is actually consistent?

You are not unemployed unless you are looking for work.

So, if there's more folks who have confidence that the economy has recovered sufficiently for them to look for work than before, then unemployment numbers will spike as these people check the "no job, looking for work" response on the survey instead of "no job, not seeking employment" box.

More people looking for work is a sign of confidence in the recovery.

Fingers crossed!

Script Blocker

You truly don't know the internet until you run a script blocker on your browser.

Then you get to see exactly how much dross there is when you, say, encounter a twitter hosted video.

You get to see the expansive list of sites that are allowed to do... something so that you may view a 30 second long funny.

Speaking of twitter videos, did you actually read their cookie terms of use?  Yeah, fuck them.

Both Would Be Great Too

In addition to the SHARE bill we've got a SHUSH bill.

The Sportsman's Heritage And Recreation Enhancement (S733)which has incorporated Ye Olde hearing protection act and LOTS AND LOTS of good gun stuff.

If I had to choose between SHUSH or SHARE, I'd rather SHARE.

Silencers Help Us Save Hearing (S1505) has it's good points too, and it's a lot better than nothing.

Given my druthers I'd like to see both of them passed into law.

h/t Tam for breaking the news and being the first place I saw it.

I think she's right that SHUSH is going to draw fire while SHARE advances.  The anti-gunners might be forced to accept a silencer being treated like a normal firearm, they're never going be OK with them being the equivalent of any other muzzle device.

Wait, that's not true... a suppressor isn't a flash-hider so it'd be legal in places where a bird-cage flash-hider isn't!  Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Will You Hit Snooze

CNN has been busted.

They've all but admitted to making up news to fit a narrative.

Are you going to hit snooze and fall back into Murray-Gell-Mann amnesia or are you going to ask yourself what other narratives have they been tailoring "news" for?

I know it's scary for some of you to have to face the idea that you've vested a lot into those lies.  Especially when it cost you friendships and sometimes employment.

More On That Divide

One of the existential divides between "liberals" and "conservatives" (though neither really conforms to those labels anymore) is what they would have the other do.

Virtually every liberal proposal is a raft of things that I must stop doing (that they already don't do) and things that I must begin doing (that they are already doing).

I must change and will have the force of law over my head to ensure I do.

Most conservative proposals seek to remove that force.  Do it if you want, or not and we don't really care if you already are.

I am trying ever so hard to avoid the term modern here.

Modern liberals are not liberal at all.  They don't want more liberty and freedoms.

Modern conservatives aren't conserving, they're actively seeking changes, and not changes that revert to a better time.  Changes that should lead to a better time.

The modern liberal has more in common with an Italian Fascist than anything Jefferson wrote or said.

The modern conservative has more in common with Ayn Rand than

1,500 Of 400

Still trucking!

I wonder how far it will go!

I think that Energizer Ultimate Lithium batts might simply be better than whatever Belomo uses.

Racist Ancestors

“Happy white people proud of their racist ancestors day"

--Damon Wayans Jr.

Tell you what...

First off, nothing makes me happier than to be lectured by a multi-millionaire accusing my ancestors of being racists.

But lecturing me on July 4th of all days?

Name another nation where you could become a multi-millionaire telling jokes.  Now, can you do it if you're also black?

I know of only one for certain and it's this nation.

The nation who's racism so deep that over 300,000 men gave their very lives to end slavery in this country.  July 3rd is the day that most consider that the tide of that war turned against the CSA and it cost 3,155 WHITE lives to turn the tide at Gettysburg, black regiments had not yet been raised.

Ungrateful is what you are Mr Wayans.

My ancestors weren't racist, they were Republicans.

Pure As The Driven Snow

If you accept the snow as being driven in the back of the plow after being scooped off the road.

I am a participant in the "internet lynch mob".

I will hang you from the nearest convenient digital tree every time you volunteer to speak for me, then express opinions that are completely contrary to my position.

It's just like "how to not get shot in McThag's living room after breaking in".

Don't position yourself as my unappointed spokesman and you can say any fool thing that comes into your head.

Claim to be speaking for anyone but yourself and agreeing to express even the slightest anti-liberty bullshit, we have problems.

And I will vote with my wallet concerning your business too.

If I find someone offensive, I will say so.  I will even say it here if I want to.

I tire of the term "purity test" when it comes to my rights.

I tire of it because I see it too often when someone who should know better does something stupid and gets called stupid for it.  I tire of it because it's always used to condemn the people saying, "that was stupid," and never applied to the idiot who should have shut up.

Maybe it is time for some fucking purity when we're talking about our Gods given rights!

Being pleasant and nice about things got us exactly jack shit here in Florida.

I note that bucking the niceties and being utter pricks about it got both campus carry and open carry in Texas.

I remember being told they were doing it all wrong and that wasn't the way to achieve their goals.

Yet...  Look who has the changes they sought and look who doesn't.

I think I no longer give a flying fuck that someone is offended that I want my full rights restored.  I am offended that my rights are infringed, why is there no outcry about that?

Why do you not cluck about that?

I am pragmatic enough to concede that the elephant must be eaten one bite at a time, but we must begin eating or we will never finish.

Worrying the people of Vega will be offended we're eating meat gets us no nearer our goals.

Paying people who provide comfort and succor to our opponents is even dumber than anything those people say.

I am not fine with the situation as it stands.

I think too many people have gotten too comfortable with their chains and no longer truly seek liberty.

Catharsis

One positive, as it were, I guess about some of my super liberal former friends is how many friends I have who are former super liberals.

For many of them there's a moment where something happens to them where they suddenly see what the fuck I've been on about.

Once that event occurs, they're not liberal any more.

I remember mine.  I went from being liberal to suddenly understanding what the fuck FuzzyGeff was on about.

It's a matter of perspective.  Once you've seen things for yourself from that different angle, you can't go back to not knowing its there.

Something of a common thread among these friends was they finally left the liberal nursery of a college town.  Where they went and what they did outside that college town doesn't seem to matter much, but getting away from professors pushing liberalism and students who don't know anything else seems key.

Key To The Universe

Washington did't look like he was doing anything.  Dahve sat at her nav console, also doing nothing, but peering at his console.

The trader could only pull a single G loaded as we were, the patrol cruiser could pull nearly four.

We were boned.

"Any time you want to do what you're planning, go right ahead," I said.

"Shhhhh, maths," he replied and kept looking at his console.

The customs cruiser got ever closer to a firing solution.

"We've almost got him committed to something he can't fix, then we're out of here."

I looked at the display.

Washington was right, the coastie was inexperienced and he'd been chasing us straight down the well.  He'd never change his vector enough to catch us before we'd jumped and even a three G advantage wasn't enough.

Shoulders Of Pork And Ham

Spam turns 80 today.

Some cans might be of more recent manufacture.

Just Now Found Out

Loren K Wiseman, co-founder of GDW and one of the original authors of Traveller and Twilight: 2000 passed on in February.

Dammit.

Research For Willard

Not including shipping...

The AR-10 clone made to his specifications is just under $1,300.

It's gratifying that it can be done!  Disappointing that it must be done piecemeal like this.

4e Conversion

Finally converting the hoary old third edition GURPS: Traveller weapons to fourth edition.

4e changed a LOT about how damage is done, so the conversion isn't near as simple as GURPS: WW2 was.

Worse, the conceptualization of the weapons have changed quite a bit from 1977 to today.

Staying as true as possible to the 3e stats gives guns that are notably inferior to the 4e equivalents in Ultra-Tech.

GURPS: Interstellar Wars is 4e native and it just uses the weapons stats from the Basic Set, so there's a strong temptation to simply use Ultra-Tech and note that Weapon A from UT is Weapon B from Traveller.

If We're Gonna Brag

I have scored hits at 2,000m with both a rifle and a musket.

M68 rifle and M256 musket.

Happy Birthday America

Not really our birthday.

The fighting had already begun by the time The Declaration was written, let alone signed.

We'd not yet won that war in 1776.

The nation that was formed after that war was won did not stand long.  The dissolution of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union might be characterized as a coup, leading to the present Constitution.

March 4th is THIS nation's birthday.  We turned 228 this year.

July 4th is kind of the conception date.

Things You Didn't Know You Wanted To Know

A Little Black Book Traveller shotgun is 18mm, or 13 gauge.

I Have A Space Pen

The Lovely Harvey, for our anniversary, ordered me a Fisher Space Pen.

It's zombie green anodized and the case is a .375 H&H Magnum case!

17th anniversary is the shell one.

I got her some roses made from small conch shells.

How Did They Come To Be Separated

"In Italy, there's always chickens, but no eggs. In Africa there's eggs, but never chickens. Who separated them?"

-- D. Caravaggio

At Castle keep, there was an Astra 600/43.  At Deer Hunter there was a holster and spare magazine.  Who separated them?

Especially considering every gun shipped with two magazines and a holster.

That we found a holster with its spare magazine in a different, but nearby, gun shop than the gun makes us think that they were once a set.

A working theory is the original owner decided to sell his pistol and took it to Castle Keep.  Later, they stumbled across the holster with a magazine still in the side pocket and either couldn't remember where he'd sold the gun; or didn't want to admit to having lost the holster for a while to the first gun shop so he took it to Deer Hunter.

Happily, for Willard, neither the gun nor the holster have any waffenamts or markings tying them to National Socialist Germany.  Those little marks make the value skyrocket and price it beyond all but the serious collector's range.

Clean Power

Would you be shocked to learn that making solar panels generates more toxic waste than nuclear power?

I was, and I've been somewhat aware of the pollution generated.

But 300 times as much?!?!?!

Unglaubich!

You'd Think A Lawyer And Judge

You would think that a lawyer and judge would be more familiar with civics than the average rutabaga.

Judge Milton Hirsch has declared Florida's latest law defining what Stand Your Ground means is unconstitutional on the grounds that only the supreme court can draft such legislation.

No.  Really.

Buddy, the only branch of government empowered to produce legislation is the congress.  That's why they're called legislators.

Yes, Your "Honor", the legislature can demand its employees follow procedures as defined by law.

The several attempts at defining stand your ground and self defense limitations in Florida would not have been needed if prosecutors in a certain geographic portion of the state would acknowledge that "innocent until proven guilty" is one of the cornerstones of American jurisprudence.

The tendency to defer to making prosecutors jobs easier at the expense of the innocent citizens who've had to use lethal force to defend themselves has been rejected, firmly and forcefully by said citizens.

Empirical

A long time ago...

I took Sabrina out shooting.

Because she's a 1:9 twist and an 11.5" barreled AR, I'd decided that conventional 55gr FMJ was insufficient and had been using 69gr Sierra Matchking (SMK) ammo from Black Hills.  The SMK outperforms milspec ammo at most things from what I've read.

The down side is that it's expensive and not readily available on gun shop shelves.

Luckily I discovered that it shoots to the same point of aim as M855 and XM855 ammunition which is cheap and readily available.

Unhappily, most of the indoor ranges ban M855 because of the steel core.

So I was shooting my "war-stock" SMK at the range and having fun until I'd run out of ammo.

Because I wanted to keep shooting, I bought some PMC 55gr FMJ from the range.

This did NOT fire to the same point of aim as the SMK at all!  Like 9" different low and to the right.

Because of this graphic, I just assumed it was normal and vowed to not shoot 55gr in guns that were zeroed for SMK.  (but notice that low and LEFT is what you should get with a rifle zeroed for M855 shooting M193)

Erin, on Facebook, asked her more experienced friends for their experiences with different twists and different bullet weights and I related my range trip.  I was told my assumptions were wrong and something else must be to blame.  I promised to get back to the range and see if I could duplicate the experiment.

I am here to say that could not.

That's Federal XM193 55gr FMJ at the same 25 yards which gave a 9" difference before.  This is firing slow, off hand, supported and fast...  My eyes are making more difference than the bullet weight and twist.

So, what's different?

She's sporting a different barrel nut and flash-hider than before.  This is because she changed from being a GAU-5A to an XM177E2 and that meant changing uppers.  I ruined the barrel nut when I slipped while torquing it down.

I think that the old nut was out of spec because it'd always seemed to take too much torque to line up the gas tube.  The new nut lined up at about 50 ft-lb.

The old muzzle device was very open inside:

The new, and current one, is more closed:

Seventeen Years

'Round about this time of day, seventeen years ago, The Lovely Harvey signed her maiden name for the last time on a legal document.

Henceforth she's been Mrs McThag.

We're lucky to have each other as we really do make a complete whole together.

Since There's No Comments

When technology improves something, I tend to go for the improvement.

But it has to have actually improved.

An electric drill is much better than a brace and bit.

A battery powered electric drill is much handier than one with a cord, but the one with the cord has far superior endurance.

Plastic cases on these tools made them lighter and safer.

These improvements were made and adopted without a lot of thought about how you'd look for using the new tools.

We're surrounded by electric motors.

Just about the only engines we still encounter are in our cars and on lawn / yard maintenance stuff.

Look hard.

Most of us don't have a generator, because we don't live in places like Florida.  Hardly anyone I know has a pressure washer...  And I'm out of useful things that need an engine.

As a gear head, I like my engines.  Thag grok suck, squeeze, bang, blow.

The only thing holding electric from replacing internal combustion completely in cars is battery technology.

Humble gasoline has an energy density of 9,700 Wh/l or 12,200 Wh/kg.

Lithium-Ion Polymer has ≈ 300 Wh/l or a max of 1,200 Wk/kg, or 300 Wh/kg at worst.

By mass, at best you've got 1/10 the available power with lithium-poly, at worst you've 1/40.

For the same volume of energy storage you get more than 30 times the energy out of a gas tank.

Start looking hard at that.  I know, it's math...

Most cars are rocking about a 13 gallon (49.2 l or 477,340.4 Wh) fuel tank and are running (an amazing) 35 miles per gallon to get a range of 455 miles.

That same volume gives us a mere 14,763.1 Wh or a range of just 14 miles.  Staggering isn't it?

A Prius is rocking a 1.3 kWh battery, or 1,300 Wh at 46 Wh/kg.  The 38 packs displace 22.5 l for a density of just 57.78 Wh/l.  And you should halve those densities, because in real life you can only access about half of that before it kicks in the gas engine.

You can't get far on the battery and it takes a long time to charge it back up is the problem that electric cars face.

This is not as much of a problem for an electric drill, or a lawnmower.

As long as the battery can last the job, it's sufficient.  If the battery is small and readily replaceable, then using several batteries for the job is also sufficient.

If the tool is any of smaller, lighter, cheaper or handier while also being sufficient to the task; it's an improvement.

And Another Thing!

Eventbrite is the company doing the ticket sales for both the Tampa Comicon and Florida Supercon.

There's a terms of service that you must agree to before you can buy your tickets.

It's a binding legal agreement on YOU.  It is not a binding legal agreement on THEM, and even if it were, they can change the terms at will and it's your responsibility to check for updates, not theirs to inform you of changes.

Never enter into such a contract.

EVER!

Especially when they discharge all liability for any damages incurred to you by using their service.

The verbiage boils down to you have to pay, and if you happen to receive the service/product it's great, but if you don't, well we still have your money and we don't have to do anything else.

Get murdered or raped in their gun free zone?  Not their problem.

Fuck 'em I says.

Gun Free Zones Are Not Dedications To The Safety And Security Of Anyone

No Weapons Allowed at Florida Supercon Posted on June 18, 2016
Florida Supercon is dedicated to the safety and security of ALL attendees.
Use common sense and remember what seems harmless to you may appear like a threat to someone else. All attendees must adhere to Florida State Law at all times during the weekend of Florida Supercon, including laws regarding firearms and weapons. If it is illegal outside of the convention, it is illegal inside the convention.
Please read this entire policy before attending Florida Supercon. Failure to follow this policy may result in your removal from the convention without refund. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE FOR WEAPONS.
The following items are NOT ALLOWED at Raleigh Supercon
* NO Live firearms: This includes modern guns, hunting guns, historic guns, air soft guns, BB guns, cap guns, paintball guns and pellet guns – either functioning or de-commissioned.
* NO CONCEALED FIREARMS EVEN IF YOU HAVE A PERMIT.
* NO Realistic replica firearms: This includes reproduction, fake or toy guns that can be confused for functional firearms – either metal, solid resin/plastic/rubber.
* NO Functional projectile weapons: This includes blow guns, functioning crossbows, functioning long bows, silly string, slingshots, water balloons and water guns. No props or weapons capable of firing any projectile or powder charge of any kind.
* NO Sharpened metal-bladed weapons: This includes axes, daggers, hatches, knives, kunai, shuriken, swords, sword canes and switch blades.
* NO Dull metal-bladed weapons: This includes replica swords, replica knives, and other dull metal objects.
* NO Explosives: This includes firecrackers and fireworks.
* NO Chemical weapons: This includes mace and pepper spray.
* NO Blunt weapons: This includes brass knuckles, clubs and nunchaku.
* NO Hard prop weapons: This includes props made of metal, fiberglass and glass. LIGHTSABERS ARE OK.
* NO laser pointers. If you have a laser pointer in your prop or weapon, make sure it cannot function by either removing the batteries, or simply not bringing it.
* NO Items that cause excessive noise levels like vuvuzelas, grenade whistles and grenade horns.
* NO Whips.
* NO Aerosol mustard.
* NO Tasers

These policies, above all others, are why I don't even bother looking at conventions nine times out of ten.

You might also notice that there's no guarantee of safety from the organizers. You're not allowed to have a weapon to defend yourself, and you agree to hold them harmless in the case of any injury in the event something does happen.

Fashion Victim

If some of the stupid fashions that I've seen pushed lately catch on; I'm going to be thought of being a transvestite just for dressing like I have my whole life.

Men's clothes have been OK for women for a long time and this trend to push women's styles at men might mean another fashion inversion is coming.

It's happened before in history.

More than once in courtly society the women have progressively adopted male fashion cues and then the men's fashions have swerved a decidedly feminine direction.

Open Letter To The BATFE

To whom it may concern,

Why does it take almost a year to process a Form 1 or Form 4 when most states can process a conceal carry permit in less than a month.

It's the same information.

It's the same background check.

They have the same disqualifiers.

A Moment In Time

There's days...

Such a lovely sunset.

Living in the future is very cool.  Because there's cell phones, there's smart phones and thus cameras in them.  So I had a camera with me to take this picture.

Gods Damn You Ian McCollum!

Here I was, all happy with my conversion of Twlight: 2000 into GURPS 4e...

Then he reminded me of this:





In GURPS terms, it's essentially an armor piercing .25 ACP with expensive ammo.

Well, I added it to my conversion.  I feel better for not resisting the compulsion.

Marv's Pistol Skill

Round 1:

Timer goes off, aim for 1 second.  Judging from the pace, he aimed between shots too.
Shot 1: Skill -1, miss.
Shot 2: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 3: Skill -1, miss.
Shot 4: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 5: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 6: Skill -1, miss.
Shot 7: Skill -1, hit.
Shot 8: Skill -1, hit.

Round 2:

He gains +3 for knowing the speed/range now.

Shot 1: Skill +2, hit.
Shot 2: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 3: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 4: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 5: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 6: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 7: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 8: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 9: Skill +0, miss.

Shot 10: Skill +0, hit.

Round 3:

Shot 1: Skill +2, miss.
Shot 2: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 3: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 4: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 5: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 6: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 7: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 8: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 9: Skill +0, miss.

He still had a round left!

Round 4:

Shot 1: Skill +2, miss.
Shot 2: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 3: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 4: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 5: Skill +0, hit.
Shot 6: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 7: Skill +0, miss by 1.
Shot 8: Skill +0, miss.
Shot 9: Skill +0, miss.

Shot 10: Skill +0, miss.

Out of 27 rounds fired.  18 were hits at all, 10 missed by one.

Using the "bad damage roll" model that's a 66.67% hit ratio, or an effective skill around 11.

How Long Does It Take

Rodney Alcala has been sucking my precious oxygen for at least 38 years longer than should have been possible.

He's been convicted of lots of violent crimes.  Including Murder.

The oldest conviction is from 1980, and he's been in jail since 1979.

He's still being indicted on additional murders.

His first "conviction" was for attempted murder and rape; but he plead down to assault.  The crime took place in 1968, but the conviction was in 1971.

This could have been nipped in the bud right there.

I'm going to bet that this initial experience with the law taught him a he could get away with it and emboldened him.

Emboldened for perhaps 130 murders.

Add Astra

Add as in added an...

Additional Astra

The Astra Model 600/43 is a smaller, shorter, more powerful version of the Astra 400.

It's shorter, because it uses the 9x19mm Parabellum instead of the longer, weaker 9mm Largo.

It's my blog and I can make whatever claims I want!

But Parabellum really is shorter than Largo.

Arguably, when they changed round, the made the magazine release worse.  The teeny button doesn't have much positive travel and the little spur sticking out the side isn't easy to grasp.  The more conventional heel release of the 400 is just easier to use.

That said, if this was the only magazine release you'd encountered; it'd be simple to get used to.  It's not a bad way to do things, it's just odd and awkward to use if you're used to virtually any other way of doing it.

These things are built like tanks.  They're also machined to a high standard of tolerance and fit.  It's SMOOTH and tactilely nice to work the slide.