Glock 22P
Images stolen from this Gunbroker Auction
Of note: Glock has this listed on their web page as Law Enforcement Only.
Marv's reaction, "It lets you practice drawing without shooting yourself in the leg?"
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31 May 2019
P For Police?
Discovered something I didn't know existed.
Glock 22P
Images stolen from this Gunbroker Auction
Of note: Glock has this listed on their web page as Law Enforcement Only.
Marv's reaction, "It lets you practice drawing without shooting yourself in the leg?"
Glock 22P
Images stolen from this Gunbroker Auction
Of note: Glock has this listed on their web page as Law Enforcement Only.
Marv's reaction, "It lets you practice drawing without shooting yourself in the leg?"
Women And Minorities Most Affected
Alleged domestic assaulter ends up dead.
Looks like a good shoot so far, it's still early.
But stand your ground looks to apply.
Looks like a good shoot so far, it's still early.
But stand your ground looks to apply.
30 May 2019
Been There Done That
Weaponizing Child Protective Services
Euphemistically, The Boy is "special needs".
Accurately he's mentally retarded.
Yes, we're not supposed to say that any more, but as we get ever more sensitive and woke, we lose the ability to accurately describe psychological maladies. Even to the point that we cannot refer to many disorders as disorders.
Even the diagnosis of general mental retardation isn't accurate.
He's got The Boy Syndrome which is completely unique to him and his situation.
It became clear, very early on, that the public schools weren't going to be able to deal with his problems because he doesn't fit within any of the three paradigms they can actually work with.
He's not high functioning enough to do a normal, but simplified, curriculum.
He's not physically disabled, but still capable of doing the simplified curriculum.
He's not so disabled that you can drug him to compliance and dust occasionally.
When he became violent at school and their after-school daycare, they had no means to deal with it and "zero tolerance means zero flexibility" and giving him out of school suspensions didn't affect him a whit. All his pets and toys were at home.
A couple years of this and I said, "fuck it," because I was between jobs anyway as The Lovely Harvey's career was just taking off to the point of supplanting our old combined incomes.
So we pulled him out of school and I made a game attempt at home schooling. For the most part, I succeeded, for many things I was out of my depth but there was nothing I could do to change it.
Then CPS shows up a few years later demanding to know why he's not enrolled.
"Because I drop him off at 0800 Monday, get called to come get him for violence by 0830 and you suspend him for three days, then I drop him off on Friday at 0800, get called to come get him for violence by 0830 and you suspend him for three days..." It's not worth my time to bother driving him in for an hour of school every week.
"He has to be enrolled!"
"Or what?"
Paraphrasing, "Criminal charges unless you can shit a doctorate degree in psychology, masters in education and tens of thousands of dollars in certifications."
So we enrolled him. We got two years of excellent progress from an excellent teacher who really cared and took the effort to individualize what she was doing.
They. Fired. Her.
Then they moved the special education school to the extreme Northwest corner of the county, I live in the extreme Southwest corner, to a brand new school. We were assured that the best teachers had been hired and they were totally qualified to teach our special kids. See? Look at all the credentials!
"What about experience with kids like this?" we asked knowing that our teacher was not the only one fired from the special education department.
"CREDENTIALS!" they explained.
His outbursts returned. Then they pulled transportation. Then the total of an hour in class per week returned...
CPS started visiting regularly because outbursts are a sure sign of abuse and neglect...
In normal children, you idiots. The Boy doesn't work that way and you steadfastly refuse to listen to us or his doctors about what to do about it.
Two fucking years of this before the school finally admitted defeat and released their funding to the Adult Training Center he's attending to this day.
Euphemistically, The Boy is "special needs".
Accurately he's mentally retarded.
Yes, we're not supposed to say that any more, but as we get ever more sensitive and woke, we lose the ability to accurately describe psychological maladies. Even to the point that we cannot refer to many disorders as disorders.
Even the diagnosis of general mental retardation isn't accurate.
He's got The Boy Syndrome which is completely unique to him and his situation.
It became clear, very early on, that the public schools weren't going to be able to deal with his problems because he doesn't fit within any of the three paradigms they can actually work with.
He's not high functioning enough to do a normal, but simplified, curriculum.
He's not physically disabled, but still capable of doing the simplified curriculum.
He's not so disabled that you can drug him to compliance and dust occasionally.
When he became violent at school and their after-school daycare, they had no means to deal with it and "zero tolerance means zero flexibility" and giving him out of school suspensions didn't affect him a whit. All his pets and toys were at home.
A couple years of this and I said, "fuck it," because I was between jobs anyway as The Lovely Harvey's career was just taking off to the point of supplanting our old combined incomes.
So we pulled him out of school and I made a game attempt at home schooling. For the most part, I succeeded, for many things I was out of my depth but there was nothing I could do to change it.
Then CPS shows up a few years later demanding to know why he's not enrolled.
"Because I drop him off at 0800 Monday, get called to come get him for violence by 0830 and you suspend him for three days, then I drop him off on Friday at 0800, get called to come get him for violence by 0830 and you suspend him for three days..." It's not worth my time to bother driving him in for an hour of school every week.
"He has to be enrolled!"
"Or what?"
Paraphrasing, "Criminal charges unless you can shit a doctorate degree in psychology, masters in education and tens of thousands of dollars in certifications."
So we enrolled him. We got two years of excellent progress from an excellent teacher who really cared and took the effort to individualize what she was doing.
They. Fired. Her.
Then they moved the special education school to the extreme Northwest corner of the county, I live in the extreme Southwest corner, to a brand new school. We were assured that the best teachers had been hired and they were totally qualified to teach our special kids. See? Look at all the credentials!
"What about experience with kids like this?" we asked knowing that our teacher was not the only one fired from the special education department.
"CREDENTIALS!" they explained.
His outbursts returned. Then they pulled transportation. Then the total of an hour in class per week returned...
CPS started visiting regularly because outbursts are a sure sign of abuse and neglect...
In normal children, you idiots. The Boy doesn't work that way and you steadfastly refuse to listen to us or his doctors about what to do about it.
Two fucking years of this before the school finally admitted defeat and released their funding to the Adult Training Center he's attending to this day.
TMI
Getting old is not for sissies and that's because it comes with unexpected things...
Like rashes where you've never gotten them before because things... uh... lay differently now than when you were young.
Rashes on sensitive parts because a fold of skin is rolling over instead of wrinkling up.
You get no sympathy for a heat rash on your pecker from a wife with EE boobs, by the way. She will womansplain the proper application of corn starch to the affected area while saying she's been dealing with this shit since she was 14.
Like rashes where you've never gotten them before because things... uh... lay differently now than when you were young.
Rashes on sensitive parts because a fold of skin is rolling over instead of wrinkling up.
You get no sympathy for a heat rash on your pecker from a wife with EE boobs, by the way. She will womansplain the proper application of corn starch to the affected area while saying she's been dealing with this shit since she was 14.
Layoffs At Remington
For two months Remington will layoff 500 workers in New York and 200 in Alabama.
Gee, I wonder why.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard of someone interested in buying a .30-30 being told to check the barrel markings to make sure it was made by Marlin before the Remington take-over.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard of someone interested in buying a Model 870 and being told to avoid the affordable model or buy a used one from before X date.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard someone say to avoid the lower priced Remington bolt guns and even seen a Savage Axis recommended over anything Remington is making today.
How's that R51 coming along? Did it get fixed? It sure didn't help the bottom line to refund or replace the entire production run. Still having some issues from a search I just did.
How's the RP9 doing in a saturated market for polymer striker fired guns? MSRP of $418 and guns for sale for $330? That ain't good, especially since Brownell's is not known to be a low-price leader for gun sales.
They're probably still reeling from the Remington 700 trigger debacle.
The big problem for Remington, to me, seems that they don't make anything you can't get from someone else who isn't plagued by QC complaints.
Gee, I wonder why.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard of someone interested in buying a .30-30 being told to check the barrel markings to make sure it was made by Marlin before the Remington take-over.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard of someone interested in buying a Model 870 and being told to avoid the affordable model or buy a used one from before X date.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard someone say to avoid the lower priced Remington bolt guns and even seen a Savage Axis recommended over anything Remington is making today.
How's that R51 coming along? Did it get fixed? It sure didn't help the bottom line to refund or replace the entire production run. Still having some issues from a search I just did.
How's the RP9 doing in a saturated market for polymer striker fired guns? MSRP of $418 and guns for sale for $330? That ain't good, especially since Brownell's is not known to be a low-price leader for gun sales.
They're probably still reeling from the Remington 700 trigger debacle.
The big problem for Remington, to me, seems that they don't make anything you can't get from someone else who isn't plagued by QC complaints.
Checked The Check
I asked The Lovely Harvey about paying extra into the principle for our mortgage.
Being the smart little cookie she is... We already were.
One good thing about PHH is they've an entry box for paying extra into the principle and another for adding to the escrow.
I am now tempted to pay a lot more into the mortgage to service more principle.
Readily paid for by getting rid of the satellite TV we don't really use much any more, I just need to convince Harvey that losing the ability to watch reruns of Last Man Standing and Law & Order is worth it.
Being the smart little cookie she is... We already were.
One good thing about PHH is they've an entry box for paying extra into the principle and another for adding to the escrow.
I am now tempted to pay a lot more into the mortgage to service more principle.
Readily paid for by getting rid of the satellite TV we don't really use much any more, I just need to convince Harvey that losing the ability to watch reruns of Last Man Standing and Law & Order is worth it.
Hollywood Threatens To Leave Georgia
Alternate Headline: "Industry" with minimal economic footprint and impact threatens to leave and couches the argument that doing so will have massive economic consequences.
Except... The entertainment industry's own publications say there's not much economic impact to having film production in your state.
This is something I've read about before.
Disney-MGM Studios from the early 1990's in Orlando is such a tale.
In one of the few times Tallahassee has stood up to The Mouse they refused to grant or extend the tax credits demanded by the ex-pat branches of Hollywood.
Film production in Florida pretty much stopped.
Florida, as a whole, did not notice.
Much of the Florida production moved to the Atlanta area, where it's having the same economic impact as it did here, not much.
Why doesn't Hollywood's presence and spending have much effect on the local economy?
Because they don't pay for things they use so much of the time.
They demand to be charged no taxes, they convince businesses to donate rather than sell, they gather volunteers rather than employees... The money moves around incestuously among the companies dedicated to the production of films and television and rarely leaks back out to where you or I would see its effects. Gulfstream notices, but they're not based in Georgia, are they?
I am additionally amused by liberals condemning automakers for moving their business to The South for economic reasons related to taxes and not condemning Hollywood for doing much the same thing.
Except... The entertainment industry's own publications say there's not much economic impact to having film production in your state.
This is something I've read about before.
Disney-MGM Studios from the early 1990's in Orlando is such a tale.
In one of the few times Tallahassee has stood up to The Mouse they refused to grant or extend the tax credits demanded by the ex-pat branches of Hollywood.
Film production in Florida pretty much stopped.
Florida, as a whole, did not notice.
Much of the Florida production moved to the Atlanta area, where it's having the same economic impact as it did here, not much.
Why doesn't Hollywood's presence and spending have much effect on the local economy?
Because they don't pay for things they use so much of the time.
They demand to be charged no taxes, they convince businesses to donate rather than sell, they gather volunteers rather than employees... The money moves around incestuously among the companies dedicated to the production of films and television and rarely leaks back out to where you or I would see its effects. Gulfstream notices, but they're not based in Georgia, are they?
I am additionally amused by liberals condemning automakers for moving their business to The South for economic reasons related to taxes and not condemning Hollywood for doing much the same thing.
Doing It In House Seems Cheaper Now Doesn't It?
Salesforce tells retailers to stop using their software if they wish to continue to sell teh evol guns.
There's a parallel for these virtue signalling companies to consider.
Energy.
Once upon a time any industry that needed a lot of heat, picked what they were going to burn and that's all they could burn to make the heat they needed.
Then the price of that material increased drastically while other burnables were still affordable (or at least economically viable).
Now it's common to see systems which can be reconfigured to burn nearly anything. Coal gets too expensive, change to oil. Those are both too expensive, change to natural gas.
The multi-fuel system and the delivery infrastructure is more expensive than the single fuel system; but it's only more expensive once. If you're up and running with cheaper fuel than the competition, then you're winning and it doesn't take too long to make up for the investment in flexibility.
Salesforce's little pissing match is going to make a lot of companies rethink their relationships with the companies which develop the software they're using.
They are going to start to demand ownership of the package rather than "clouding" it because Salesforce just made them ask, "can our vendor shut us down?" The retailers are going to have their legal teams scour contracts for clauses which allow software vendors to shut them down.
Penalty clauses will be inserted.
New vendors will arise.
I also suspect that we're going to soon see software companies from outside the liberal bastions.
If you think that's going to be too expensive, remember that Detroit used to be where virtually all cars in the US were made.
When something happens that makes it impossible to do business with someone, they stop doing business with them.
There's a parallel for these virtue signalling companies to consider.
Energy.
Once upon a time any industry that needed a lot of heat, picked what they were going to burn and that's all they could burn to make the heat they needed.
Then the price of that material increased drastically while other burnables were still affordable (or at least economically viable).
Now it's common to see systems which can be reconfigured to burn nearly anything. Coal gets too expensive, change to oil. Those are both too expensive, change to natural gas.
The multi-fuel system and the delivery infrastructure is more expensive than the single fuel system; but it's only more expensive once. If you're up and running with cheaper fuel than the competition, then you're winning and it doesn't take too long to make up for the investment in flexibility.
Salesforce's little pissing match is going to make a lot of companies rethink their relationships with the companies which develop the software they're using.
They are going to start to demand ownership of the package rather than "clouding" it because Salesforce just made them ask, "can our vendor shut us down?" The retailers are going to have their legal teams scour contracts for clauses which allow software vendors to shut them down.
Penalty clauses will be inserted.
New vendors will arise.
I also suspect that we're going to soon see software companies from outside the liberal bastions.
If you think that's going to be too expensive, remember that Detroit used to be where virtually all cars in the US were made.
When something happens that makes it impossible to do business with someone, they stop doing business with them.
29 May 2019
Being Responsible
First off, it sucks.
We have to watch all the grasshoppers play.
In February we hit the halfway mark on our mortgage.
Fifteen years down, fifteen to go.
In some ways it's depressing to see that after making half the payments, we're just barely one third paid off. It's encouraging to know (because maths) the percentage paid off accelerates from here.
We didn't have a lot to put down. Just 5% and spotty credit.
We are the beneficiaries of the skullduggery going on in the early aughts with home lending.
We could have gotten a much "better" loan... Except it would not have been better.
Prime was 4% when we got our loan at 7.375%. But it was a fixed rate without balloon payments and we could afford the payments (nearly identical to what we were paying to rent it).
Mom actually congratulated us for doing something smart (for a change).
When we complained about it she mentioned that her perfect credit was only good for a 20.5% rate in 1981 and 9% in 1989. It's all relative.
The life of an ant, though, has its benefits. Our mortgage, plus taxes and escrow is about 60% what the identical house next door is renting for. In 15 short years, we get to stop paying 2/3 of that... the renters will be paying more. Double what they're paying now if the past 15 years are a guide.
We have to watch all the grasshoppers play.
In February we hit the halfway mark on our mortgage.
Fifteen years down, fifteen to go.
In some ways it's depressing to see that after making half the payments, we're just barely one third paid off. It's encouraging to know (because maths) the percentage paid off accelerates from here.
We didn't have a lot to put down. Just 5% and spotty credit.
We are the beneficiaries of the skullduggery going on in the early aughts with home lending.
We could have gotten a much "better" loan... Except it would not have been better.
Prime was 4% when we got our loan at 7.375%. But it was a fixed rate without balloon payments and we could afford the payments (nearly identical to what we were paying to rent it).
Mom actually congratulated us for doing something smart (for a change).
When we complained about it she mentioned that her perfect credit was only good for a 20.5% rate in 1981 and 9% in 1989. It's all relative.
The life of an ant, though, has its benefits. Our mortgage, plus taxes and escrow is about 60% what the identical house next door is renting for. In 15 short years, we get to stop paying 2/3 of that... the renters will be paying more. Double what they're paying now if the past 15 years are a guide.
28 May 2019
THIS Is What I'm Looking For In A CAR Magazine
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a27568778/alabama-anti-choice-politicians-automakers/?src=socialflowFBRAT&fbclid=IwAR2E3Wvp6OtdBzEdBBPHm0ModW-mtst-dEntP2TDXl8IWaTur38v1vEiOGc
I dunno about you, but when I crack open a specialty publication I cherish the content which has nothing to do with the specialty topic.
When I buy a gun rag, I want guns.
When I buy a car mag, I want cars.
When I buy a cooking magazine, I want food.
When I pick up an issue of Faberge Egg Collector, it'd better be about Faberge Egg collecting!
If there's political content, it'd better be about how it relates to the stated topic of the publication.
Car companies being liberal in one location and conservative or neutral in others? No. Out of bounds.
I dunno about you, but when I crack open a specialty publication I cherish the content which has nothing to do with the specialty topic.
When I buy a gun rag, I want guns.
When I buy a car mag, I want cars.
When I buy a cooking magazine, I want food.
When I pick up an issue of Faberge Egg Collector, it'd better be about Faberge Egg collecting!
If there's political content, it'd better be about how it relates to the stated topic of the publication.
Car companies being liberal in one location and conservative or neutral in others? No. Out of bounds.
Unexpected Package
The Boy's new bike will have new high-visibility features in the form of a light and a flag.
They arrived from Amazon this afternoon, much to everyone's surprise.
Thanks Miguel!
They arrived from Amazon this afternoon, much to everyone's surprise.
Thanks Miguel!
Wrong Route
The mortgage payment could not be processed becuase there's now something called an ACH routing number.
This is different from the routing number printed on the checks we've been using for years and years.
The new mortgage company's "how to find your routing number" guide tells me to use the number printed a the check in the same line as the account number...
But that will be rejected.
The routing number I needed was printed, very small, near my bank's name on the check.
The bank explained that we'd probably been using the newer routing number for a long time, it's just that existing accounts updated automatically when the rules changed.
Why did the rules change?
Probably something to do with Warren Drugs.
This is different from the routing number printed on the checks we've been using for years and years.
The new mortgage company's "how to find your routing number" guide tells me to use the number printed a the check in the same line as the account number...
But that will be rejected.
The routing number I needed was printed, very small, near my bank's name on the check.
The bank explained that we'd probably been using the newer routing number for a long time, it's just that existing accounts updated automatically when the rules changed.
Why did the rules change?
Probably something to do with Warren Drugs.
27 May 2019
For The Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
-- Laurence Binyon
Today is not about sales. It is not about summer starting. It is not about grandma.
It's is about those who served and have passed beyond the vale.
I want them all back.
To:
Bernie Canniff (Korea, in a car club together).
Carol LeFon aka Neptunus Lex (patiently explained both real world and flight sim military aviation to this tanker).
Davy McGuire (COB USS Whale, originally a friend of my Dad's, later me).
Fred Gabow (we served together, his wife hired someone to murder him).
Jerry Pournelle (you do read, don't you? Willing to be wrong and listened to my correction!).
Kevin O'Brian aka Hognose (our beloved Weaponsman).
Rabbi (Uncle Ben, another friend of Dad who got me a ride in an F-14A).
Rich (brother of my Father in law).
Robert (uncle by marriage to Mom's sister).
Standing Bear aka William Dawkins (WW2 and Korea, who taught me gaming).
The world is better that you were in it and worse that you have left.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
-- Laurence Binyon
Today is not about sales. It is not about summer starting. It is not about grandma.
It's is about those who served and have passed beyond the vale.
I want them all back.
To:
Bernie Canniff (Korea, in a car club together).
Carol LeFon aka Neptunus Lex (patiently explained both real world and flight sim military aviation to this tanker).
Davy McGuire (COB USS Whale, originally a friend of my Dad's, later me).
Fred Gabow (we served together, his wife hired someone to murder him).
Jerry Pournelle (you do read, don't you? Willing to be wrong and listened to my correction!).
Kevin O'Brian aka Hognose (our beloved Weaponsman).
Rabbi (Uncle Ben, another friend of Dad who got me a ride in an F-14A).
Rich (brother of my Father in law).
Robert (uncle by marriage to Mom's sister).
Standing Bear aka William Dawkins (WW2 and Korea, who taught me gaming).
The world is better that you were in it and worse that you have left.
26 May 2019
Rat Fucks
If you find your mortgage has been purchased by PHH Mortgage...
Burn your house down and collect the insurance.
Burn your house down and collect the insurance.
Thump Restoration
The Precious came with a 7-speaker Bose sound system.
One of the speakers in each door is a self-amplified and powered subwoofer.
Proprietary to Bose, self-amplified and powered subwoofer.
Retail price of over $200! MSRP of around $400.
Stereo shops remove all seven speakers when doing a complete system, so they're out there in little used condition for what amounts to a song from both stereo installers and salvage yards.
My driver's side woofer started making that torn-cone sound the other day.
Getting the door panel off and the woofer out is simple and easy.
The crackling distortion is now eliminated.
One of the speakers in each door is a self-amplified and powered subwoofer.
Proprietary to Bose, self-amplified and powered subwoofer.
Retail price of over $200! MSRP of around $400.
Stereo shops remove all seven speakers when doing a complete system, so they're out there in little used condition for what amounts to a song from both stereo installers and salvage yards.
My driver's side woofer started making that torn-cone sound the other day.
Getting the door panel off and the woofer out is simple and easy.
The crackling distortion is now eliminated.
Not A You Situation
Something that rankles about the entire "our bodies, our choice" line of thinking is it takes two to tango.
Once you're having sex the decisions are we and our decisions not my decisions.
Pregnancy is always a possible outcome to doing the deed.
At present the deck is stacked against men, regardless of what the feminist propaganda says.
Sex between two consenting adults with no intention of anything more than the pleasure of the act have sex.
This will be the last choice the man gets to make without the woman's consent.
If the sex results in an unplanned pregnancy gives men what rights and powers?
None.
The woman, alone, decides if the fetus will be aborted.
The woman, alone, decides if a child will be born.
The woman, alone, can decide if the father will be part of the child's life; despite the fact that she can also force him to financially support the child.
One side having all the power is a bad situation.
I would not support a reversal of the rights.
We need, as a culture, wake up about sex and what it can lead to and have a solid plan about "what if".
That's going to mean educating children when they reach sexual maturity even if they're years from legal adulthood. Biology does not give a fuck about legal lines in the sand concerning age. Biology demands that we do our damnedest to get our freak on and make babies, even if our brains don't really want the results.
Giving our brains the tools they need to avoid making a baby before they're ready to have a baby is a far better loss of innocence than discovering you're going to be a parent because nobody taught you how to avoid it.
Once you're having sex the decisions are we and our decisions not my decisions.
Pregnancy is always a possible outcome to doing the deed.
At present the deck is stacked against men, regardless of what the feminist propaganda says.
Sex between two consenting adults with no intention of anything more than the pleasure of the act have sex.
This will be the last choice the man gets to make without the woman's consent.
If the sex results in an unplanned pregnancy gives men what rights and powers?
None.
The woman, alone, decides if the fetus will be aborted.
The woman, alone, decides if a child will be born.
The woman, alone, can decide if the father will be part of the child's life; despite the fact that she can also force him to financially support the child.
One side having all the power is a bad situation.
I would not support a reversal of the rights.
We need, as a culture, wake up about sex and what it can lead to and have a solid plan about "what if".
That's going to mean educating children when they reach sexual maturity even if they're years from legal adulthood. Biology does not give a fuck about legal lines in the sand concerning age. Biology demands that we do our damnedest to get our freak on and make babies, even if our brains don't really want the results.
Giving our brains the tools they need to avoid making a baby before they're ready to have a baby is a far better loss of innocence than discovering you're going to be a parent because nobody taught you how to avoid it.
Hot
It's so hot out that 1:9 will stabilize a NATO tracer round.
It's so hot that an R605 cycles with Wolf ammo.
It's so hot that an R605 cycles with Wolf ammo.
Ending In Smiles
Some assembly required, with Godless Metric tools!
Thankfully I have a metric Crescent® wrench!
This...
Became this...
In relatively short order. There was a bit of a frustration where the aft two holes for the frame join were needed and the rear brake drum assembly needed to be removed to move the bolts into those holes. Then it was a fiddly, frustrating event to get that brake back on and functional.
But The Boy is VERY happy with his new wheels!
You can see how much smaller the old bike was and how much faster this new one will be!
He took it down the block and back with us being road-guides and it's definitely giving him more distance per pedal stroke. He didn't want to stop riding, but it was too dark for laps of the neighborhood.
Again, THANKS! to Damocles and Alpha for their generous contributions to this happy event!
Thankfully I have a metric Crescent® wrench!
This...
Became this...
In relatively short order. There was a bit of a frustration where the aft two holes for the frame join were needed and the rear brake drum assembly needed to be removed to move the bolts into those holes. Then it was a fiddly, frustrating event to get that brake back on and functional.
But The Boy is VERY happy with his new wheels!
You can see how much smaller the old bike was and how much faster this new one will be!
He took it down the block and back with us being road-guides and it's definitely giving him more distance per pedal stroke. He didn't want to stop riding, but it was too dark for laps of the neighborhood.
Again, THANKS! to Damocles and Alpha for their generous contributions to this happy event!
25 May 2019
The Dangers Of Falling Asleep With The Computer On Shuffle
I have a clear recollection of seeing a movie titled, "My Own Private Duncan Idaho," and I'm pretty sure that there's no such version of Dune starring River Phoenix.
Celebrate As Appropriate
While I'm being somber I was reminded in the comments that not everyone who's gone into the clearing would want to be mourned with sadness or contemplation...
They'd want you to light your hair on fire and charge the stage at the titty-bar!
Shouting their name, of course!
Some of the fallen can only be properly honored by seeing the judge Tuesday (and being honestly confused about where Sunday and Monday went).
Davy, Fred; the beer and titties are for you. (Innocent look) I would NEVER patronize such an establishment without such an honorable motive.
Aside:
The Lovely Harvey: "Where are you going, Thag?"
Me: "To the titty bar!"
TLH: "Why?"
Me: "It's Memorial Day!"
TLH: "OK, don't catch Hep-A..."
They'd want you to light your hair on fire and charge the stage at the titty-bar!
Shouting their name, of course!
Some of the fallen can only be properly honored by seeing the judge Tuesday (and being honestly confused about where Sunday and Monday went).
Davy, Fred; the beer and titties are for you. (Innocent look) I would NEVER patronize such an establishment without such an honorable motive.
Aside:
The Lovely Harvey: "Where are you going, Thag?"
Me: "To the titty bar!"
TLH: "Why?"
Me: "It's Memorial Day!"
TLH: "OK, don't catch Hep-A..."
24 May 2019
Tone
Memorial Day for me has long been a somber affair.
Once I learned the why of it.
There's a part of me that resents the sales and it marking the first weekend of summer vacations.
Resentment that's tempered with knowing that those small exercises of personal liberty are precisely why many of us served and are genuinely glad that people CAN be ignorant of what Memorial Day is.
Like many vets, I've a list of names of my fellows who're gone. Some older, some younger. Some died doing their duty, others just finally lost the race we will all lose someday.
That we remember them is what's important.
That we don't worry about the people who've gone and never served on this one day is also important.
Once I learned the why of it.
There's a part of me that resents the sales and it marking the first weekend of summer vacations.
Resentment that's tempered with knowing that those small exercises of personal liberty are precisely why many of us served and are genuinely glad that people CAN be ignorant of what Memorial Day is.
Like many vets, I've a list of names of my fellows who're gone. Some older, some younger. Some died doing their duty, others just finally lost the race we will all lose someday.
That we remember them is what's important.
That we don't worry about the people who've gone and never served on this one day is also important.
Ain't Dead Yet
Drove my ass the entire hour drive down to CW Bill Young VA Medical Center (formerly Bay Pines) to talk to the gastroenterologist.
The gastro intends to enter my ass with a camera and wanted to talk about it.
We went over my blood work.
I remain suspiciously healthy for someone of my lifestyle. Most indicators are a bit high, but not outside the desired ranges. Kidney and liver are happy organs.
Just gotta shove a camera up my kiester and look for polyps.
I've made a date to set a date for that because I need a responsible adult to take time off to drive me there.
The appointment confirmation for my range of motion study consult arrived today.
Another hour drive down to Bill Young to be forcibly manipulated to see if they will confirm I'm worthy of more than a mere 10% skeletal from my service connected.
The gastro intends to enter my ass with a camera and wanted to talk about it.
We went over my blood work.
I remain suspiciously healthy for someone of my lifestyle. Most indicators are a bit high, but not outside the desired ranges. Kidney and liver are happy organs.
Just gotta shove a camera up my kiester and look for polyps.
I've made a date to set a date for that because I need a responsible adult to take time off to drive me there.
The appointment confirmation for my range of motion study consult arrived today.
Another hour drive down to Bill Young to be forcibly manipulated to see if they will confirm I'm worthy of more than a mere 10% skeletal from my service connected.
Box O Bike
Got me a box-o-bike here in the dining room!
Thanks Damocles!
Prolly going to have to dig out the Godless metric tools again because it's a "Made in China, Assembled en de Los ¡Estados Unidos!" situation.
I think I will wait for the most oppressive of the day's heat to fade a bit before tackling this.
I also think I will phone a friend because this looks to be an awkward one-person and a fun two-person job.
Thanks Damocles!
Prolly going to have to dig out the Godless metric tools again because it's a "Made in China, Assembled en de Los ¡Estados Unidos!" situation.
I think I will wait for the most oppressive of the day's heat to fade a bit before tackling this.
I also think I will phone a friend because this looks to be an awkward one-person and a fun two-person job.
23 May 2019
"Free" Stuff
Marv just informed me that, as a disabled veteran, I'm eligible for a lifetime free pass into US National Parks.
This is tempered a bit by the closest place to apply in person is 2 hours from here at the Lake George Ranger Station.
Still very neat.
This is tempered a bit by the closest place to apply in person is 2 hours from here at the Lake George Ranger Station.
Still very neat.
Choice
There's nothing I can find in Roe v Wade that says that someone who has religious or moral objections to abortions should be forced to pay for them.
Despite my generally pro-choice nature; I feel we should eliminate Federal subsidy of abortion clinics and institutions like Planned Parenthood.
Taking our taxes and turning around and applying them to places which perform abortions is forcing people with religious and moral objections to pay for a practice they find abhorrent.
I also think that the celebrities who're talking about sex strikes have enough money to completely replace Federal funding. That is, if this really matters to them.
I think you will find that once it's no longer someone else paying for it, they will stop supporting it.
Despite my generally pro-choice nature; I feel we should eliminate Federal subsidy of abortion clinics and institutions like Planned Parenthood.
Taking our taxes and turning around and applying them to places which perform abortions is forcing people with religious and moral objections to pay for a practice they find abhorrent.
I also think that the celebrities who're talking about sex strikes have enough money to completely replace Federal funding. That is, if this really matters to them.
I think you will find that once it's no longer someone else paying for it, they will stop supporting it.
A-B-O-R-TION In The Summer Sun
Michael Z Williamson says, on Facebook:
Which, in a nutshell, says that the recent abortion laws in Alabama and such are going to get struck down and it's VERY unlikely that cert will be granted should it make it to the Supreme Court.
To strike down Roe, the pro-life side will need to prove that there is no fundamental right to privacy derived from due process and the 14th Amendment.
This is the same 14th Amendment we gun owners want to be stronger and more widely applied, by the way, because that increases our chances to get the 2nd applied to the states in the way that suits us best.
If I lived in one of the states that just banned first trimester abortions, I'd be pissed that my elected officials just committed to wasting my tax money in a sure defeat in court.
If I was liberal, I'd start worrying, hard, about the timing of these laws. The states which recently passed these 1st trimester bans have had Republican majorities and governors for years... why now?
Because New York legalized FOURTH trimester abortion. (Note: there's no fourth trimester).
It's a reaction to New York and, I think, an attempt to get a ruling that if a fetus can be a human, then it is a human; in other words a national third trimester prohibition. These state laws might just be a tactic to force the issue.
PS: The pro-choice side of this has been couched in "if you don't have a uterus then you shouldn't be allowed an opinion" language in several places I've been reading about it.
Dear women:
For millennia your only value to society was to punch out children, preferably boys.
This was wrong, but it is also true.
Somewhere along the line, the fact that it was wrong was realized and men conceded to the concept that women had more value than as incubators and were, in fact, people.
Men voluntarily gave up the power they held over women. The vast majority of us are on your side here and are sick of being treated like the enemy.
Feminists are using language that in any other context would be called sexist and bigoted.
Stop it! If you treat me like an enemy long enough you will find I've become your enemy.
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy" that protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose whether or not to have an abortion. However, it ruled that this right is not absolute, and must be balanced against the government's interests in protecting women's health and protecting prenatal life. The Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the three trimesters of pregnancy: the Court ruled that during the first trimester, governments could not prohibit abortions at all; during the second trimester, governments could require reasonable health regulations; during the third trimester, abortions could be prohibited entirely so long as the laws contained exceptions for cases when abortion was necessary to save the life of the mother. Because the Court classified the right to choose to have an abortion as "fundamental", the decision required courts to evaluate challenged abortion laws under the "strict scrutiny" standard, the highest level of judicial review in the United States.
Which, in a nutshell, says that the recent abortion laws in Alabama and such are going to get struck down and it's VERY unlikely that cert will be granted should it make it to the Supreme Court.
To strike down Roe, the pro-life side will need to prove that there is no fundamental right to privacy derived from due process and the 14th Amendment.
This is the same 14th Amendment we gun owners want to be stronger and more widely applied, by the way, because that increases our chances to get the 2nd applied to the states in the way that suits us best.
If I lived in one of the states that just banned first trimester abortions, I'd be pissed that my elected officials just committed to wasting my tax money in a sure defeat in court.
If I was liberal, I'd start worrying, hard, about the timing of these laws. The states which recently passed these 1st trimester bans have had Republican majorities and governors for years... why now?
Because New York legalized FOURTH trimester abortion. (Note: there's no fourth trimester).
It's a reaction to New York and, I think, an attempt to get a ruling that if a fetus can be a human, then it is a human; in other words a national third trimester prohibition. These state laws might just be a tactic to force the issue.
PS: The pro-choice side of this has been couched in "if you don't have a uterus then you shouldn't be allowed an opinion" language in several places I've been reading about it.
Dear women:
For millennia your only value to society was to punch out children, preferably boys.
This was wrong, but it is also true.
Somewhere along the line, the fact that it was wrong was realized and men conceded to the concept that women had more value than as incubators and were, in fact, people.
Men voluntarily gave up the power they held over women. The vast majority of us are on your side here and are sick of being treated like the enemy.
Feminists are using language that in any other context would be called sexist and bigoted.
Stop it! If you treat me like an enemy long enough you will find I've become your enemy.
22 May 2019
Might Be Worth It
Banning abortions will prevent New Yorkers from moving South?
I did not realize someone could present me with a compelling argument to become solidly Pro-Life that was so succinct!
I did not realize someone could present me with a compelling argument to become solidly Pro-Life that was so succinct!
21 May 2019
Racked
Some Assembly Required.
Godless metric tools required.
All put together.
It's alarmingly floppy until you start getting things tightened down.
When the bike gets here we've got to make some blocks to set it into the platform.
Mox nix!
Godless metric tools required.
All put together.
It's alarmingly floppy until you start getting things tightened down.
When the bike gets here we've got to make some blocks to set it into the platform.
Mox nix!
Drafting
There's several "draft" posts in my folder here on the blog.
Some of them I swear I've posted, but cannot find and cannot remember why it's in drafts.
Some I can tell I lost my chain of thought and thus the conclusion is missing.
Sometimes I read the draft and remember that the process of writing it made me realize I was mistaken in my assumptions, and saved it to get back to later when I wanted to address the issue... only to have forgotten I was going to get back to it.
Some of them I swear I've posted, but cannot find and cannot remember why it's in drafts.
Some I can tell I lost my chain of thought and thus the conclusion is missing.
Sometimes I read the draft and remember that the process of writing it made me realize I was mistaken in my assumptions, and saved it to get back to later when I wanted to address the issue... only to have forgotten I was going to get back to it.
Double Gift
The trailer hitch rack arrived today (THANKS! Alpha)!
It is "some assembly required" which means I get to play with my tools!
WOO HOO!
It is "some assembly required" which means I get to play with my tools!
WOO HOO!
19 May 2019
A Couple Of Observations
More than once now I've seen people who've retired from one public job, like fireman or cop, enter into another public job, like teaching complain about their tax burden and how much they pay.
Paying taxes well in excess of The Lovely Harvey's entire income.
You may cry me a fucking river about paying those taxes because that means your income is fucking substantial.
And gained entire from the taxes paid by everyone.
A common theme is complaints about how misunderstood their job is by the public which is paying for it.
Maybe it's them whom doesn't understand.
Poor baby, your second (third?) career actually adds up to an actual 40 hours a week when you add up all "on the clock" with the "off the clock" and continuing education?
Poor baby, it doesn't actually pay the statewide average because you have less time in grade than the more senior teachers who're "skewing" the average.
We've noticed that "despite" your "working" 40 hours a week, you sure are home a lot more than we are.
We've noticed that "despite" your "working" 52 weeks a year, you sure take more and longer vacations than we do.
We've noticed how difficult it is to get a shitty teacher, fireman or cop terminated.
We've noticed that lots of these terminations are really forced resignations which allow the teacher. cop or fireman to retain all of their accrued benefits, and can result in them getting paid for a year or more despite being "fired".
We've noticed that these terminations don't harm your access to the taxpayer funded retirement packages.
We've noticed these benefit and retirement packages that allow more than full pay retirement at as little as 10 years on the job.
We've noticed that there's not a few people on their third such career.
We've noticed that these benefits are becoming the majority of the budgets, paying lavish amounts to people who are no longer working or even living in our communities.
We've noticed over and over a reluctance to do the job we want done and demands that the job be strictly limited to just what you want to do.
We've noticed a trend where you demand we answer to your mores and create ever more barriers to being accountable to the community which is paying your check.
We've noticed your unions fighting against us on so many issues. This alone makes us despise you, even if you disagree with your union leadership. They're democratically elected, so why don't you fix that?
We've noticed how you band together to defend the worst of you regardless of how bad.
In case you haven't noticed, college educated, salaried positions are 60+ hours a week with continuing education requirements paid out of pocket and taken on ones own time. Health insurance and retirement is also out of pocket. You can be, easily, terminated for virtually any or no reason and are forbidden to form unions because of the exempt status that having a salary rather than hourly usually carries.
Paying taxes well in excess of The Lovely Harvey's entire income.
You may cry me a fucking river about paying those taxes because that means your income is fucking substantial.
And gained entire from the taxes paid by everyone.
A common theme is complaints about how misunderstood their job is by the public which is paying for it.
Maybe it's them whom doesn't understand.
Poor baby, your second (third?) career actually adds up to an actual 40 hours a week when you add up all "on the clock" with the "off the clock" and continuing education?
Poor baby, it doesn't actually pay the statewide average because you have less time in grade than the more senior teachers who're "skewing" the average.
We've noticed that "despite" your "working" 40 hours a week, you sure are home a lot more than we are.
We've noticed that "despite" your "working" 52 weeks a year, you sure take more and longer vacations than we do.
We've noticed how difficult it is to get a shitty teacher, fireman or cop terminated.
We've noticed that lots of these terminations are really forced resignations which allow the teacher. cop or fireman to retain all of their accrued benefits, and can result in them getting paid for a year or more despite being "fired".
We've noticed that these terminations don't harm your access to the taxpayer funded retirement packages.
We've noticed these benefit and retirement packages that allow more than full pay retirement at as little as 10 years on the job.
We've noticed that there's not a few people on their third such career.
We've noticed that these benefits are becoming the majority of the budgets, paying lavish amounts to people who are no longer working or even living in our communities.
We've noticed over and over a reluctance to do the job we want done and demands that the job be strictly limited to just what you want to do.
We've noticed a trend where you demand we answer to your mores and create ever more barriers to being accountable to the community which is paying your check.
We've noticed your unions fighting against us on so many issues. This alone makes us despise you, even if you disagree with your union leadership. They're democratically elected, so why don't you fix that?
We've noticed how you band together to defend the worst of you regardless of how bad.
In case you haven't noticed, college educated, salaried positions are 60+ hours a week with continuing education requirements paid out of pocket and taken on ones own time. Health insurance and retirement is also out of pocket. You can be, easily, terminated for virtually any or no reason and are forbidden to form unions because of the exempt status that having a salary rather than hourly usually carries.
That's Interesting
Two of my Colt branded 1911 magazines have funny looking followers.
They are marked Patented 6,560, 907.
Link to that patent.
It's interesting that there's still something to patent about a single stack, single feed 1911 magazine after 100 years.
They are marked Patented 6,560, 907.
Link to that patent.
It's interesting that there's still something to patent about a single stack, single feed 1911 magazine after 100 years.
Also Thanks To Damocles
Rather than dangling a sword by a hair, he's getting the bike for The Boy in lieu of "another 1911".
Damn!
Again, I am just overwhelmed by the support you people (what did he mean "you people"?) have shown and continue to show The Boy!
Damn!
Again, I am just overwhelmed by the support you people (what did he mean "you people"?) have shown and continue to show The Boy!
18 May 2019
Rack Ordered
Thanks to Alpha!
The rack to haul the trike is ordered!
I'm still constantly overwhelmed by the kindness of my readers who drop some of their hard earned money to help out me and my family!
If you're ever in Tampa, beer's on me!
The rack to haul the trike is ordered!
I'm still constantly overwhelmed by the kindness of my readers who drop some of their hard earned money to help out me and my family!
If you're ever in Tampa, beer's on me!
They Used To Make Them
I am still looking for a blued, arched mainspring housing with a lanyard ring for my .38 Super 1911.
To keep the pistol period, it's got to be grooved, not checkered.
I also don't want a cast one with the lanyard cast as part of the part.
It's looking more and more like I'm going to have to polish a parkerized vintage part and have it blued.
To keep the pistol period, it's got to be grooved, not checkered.
I also don't want a cast one with the lanyard cast as part of the part.
It's looking more and more like I'm going to have to polish a parkerized vintage part and have it blued.
Duration Conundrum
GURPS: Magic says;
Reading this strictly, that means that any healing done to you is undone when you enter a no-mana zone and it comes back when you leave it.
There's no time limit on this.
If you take a total of 11 times your HP in damage you're are so dead you cannot be resurrected.
Is the amount of damage healed cumulative and if your lifetime total of healing exceeds 11x HP, do you permanently drop dead if you make the mistake of crossing into a no-mana zone?
Or do you "heal" naturally at the normal rate and the amount of you being held together by magic slowly shrinks?
In a world with magic, they'd know the answer to this question.
Assuming you do heal up and naturally healed points replace magically healed...
Do you still heal past the 6x HP auto-death point? Do you become a kind of undead at this point, kept alive only by magic? Does the 11x HP accumulation of magically restored HP mean you cannot be returned to life?
Again, a world with magic KNOWS the answers to these questions and so would anyone who'd been born to the world.
Permanent spells create a magical effect that lasts indefinitely. Zombie is a good example: the magic force that animates the body persists until the body has been physically destroyed. A permanent spell, unlike temporary and lasting spells, does not end in a no-mana zone, but it is suspended until the subject leaves the zone. At that point the spell resumes.The duration of most healing spells is permanent.
Reading this strictly, that means that any healing done to you is undone when you enter a no-mana zone and it comes back when you leave it.
There's no time limit on this.
If you take a total of 11 times your HP in damage you're are so dead you cannot be resurrected.
Is the amount of damage healed cumulative and if your lifetime total of healing exceeds 11x HP, do you permanently drop dead if you make the mistake of crossing into a no-mana zone?
Or do you "heal" naturally at the normal rate and the amount of you being held together by magic slowly shrinks?
In a world with magic, they'd know the answer to this question.
Assuming you do heal up and naturally healed points replace magically healed...
Do you still heal past the 6x HP auto-death point? Do you become a kind of undead at this point, kept alive only by magic? Does the 11x HP accumulation of magically restored HP mean you cannot be returned to life?
Again, a world with magic KNOWS the answers to these questions and so would anyone who'd been born to the world.
Armed Forces Day
TODAY is the day we honor those still in The Uniform and actively serving.
Not Veteran's day or Memorial day; TODAY!
They're probably working right now.
Thanks dudes (and dudettes)!
I've a lack of friends on active duty any more.
If you've got someone close by who's still in...
Buy them dinner.
Buy them a beer.
Get them laid.
Not Veteran's day or Memorial day; TODAY!
They're probably working right now.
Thanks dudes (and dudettes)!
I've a lack of friends on active duty any more.
If you've got someone close by who's still in...
Buy them dinner.
Buy them a beer.
Get them laid.
He Was Still Alive?
Herman Wouk has passed away at the ripe old age of 103!
I had no idea he was still alive and kicking yesterday.
I enjoyed The Caine Mutiny in both novel and movie form. I am uncertain I've read/seen anything else he'd penned.
I had no idea he was still alive and kicking yesterday.
I enjoyed The Caine Mutiny in both novel and movie form. I am uncertain I've read/seen anything else he'd penned.
17 May 2019
Endless
Star Wars... endless and spotty quality.
Star Trek... endless and spotty quality.
Looks like we're getting Avatar forever too.
I want a new universe to watch.
How about an old universe, but one that's only made it to TV the one time.
Larry Niven's Known Space series is no longer technologically impossible.
CGI is finally up to the task of doing the Pierson's Puppeteer.
It's a rich universe that, I think, finally deserves film or HBO mini-series treatment.
The only thing standing in its way is Larry Niven being sane and not wanting to see his universe destroyed by Hollywood.
A Hollywood that would never agree to his "sandbox" rules.
Alas.
Star Trek... endless and spotty quality.
Looks like we're getting Avatar forever too.
I want a new universe to watch.
How about an old universe, but one that's only made it to TV the one time.
Larry Niven's Known Space series is no longer technologically impossible.
CGI is finally up to the task of doing the Pierson's Puppeteer.
It's a rich universe that, I think, finally deserves film or HBO mini-series treatment.
The only thing standing in its way is Larry Niven being sane and not wanting to see his universe destroyed by Hollywood.
A Hollywood that would never agree to his "sandbox" rules.
Alas.
Need A Better Bike
The Boy got one bronze and one 4th place.
We're proud of him!
What he needs is a better bike. His current 3-wheeler is a small wheel collapsible model which means he has to pump 3:1 against the competition.
For him to place 3rd and 4th means that if we get him better equipment for next year he'll be unstoppable!
The problem with these things is a 3-wheel bike is like three to five times the price of a regular bike.
Then there's hauling it... Can't put that in The Precious and might not even be able to fit it in The Nox. Trailer hitch mounting will need to be explored.
This is the bare bones option... The appropriately branded "Hollywood" trike rack is a lot more...
Almost As If...
"The average white score on the SAT (1,123 out of a possible 1,600) is 177 points higher than the average black score (946), approximately a standard deviation of difference."
It's almost as if the research done in The Bell Curve was done correctly.
16 May 2019
Light And Shadow
Getting The Boy's bike ready for the State level Special Olympic Games I was struck by the image...
I think it's just a wonderful picture.
Yes, that is moss on the Biscayne...
I think it's just a wonderful picture.
Yes, that is moss on the Biscayne...
Better Than An Oral Fixation I Guess
Now that I am accused of being fixated on the 1911... and it gives me something to blog about...
I guess it's time to specify that I only own two of the things; and the same number of Glocks.
The reasons for getting them have nothing to do with usefulness, though I packed the now-departed Springfield for a while.
I packed the .38 Super for a while too.
I shoot the 1911 very well, it fits me.
I got asked to stop bringing the .38 Super to the bowling pin shoots after winning five times with it.
The M1911A1 has a definite romantic nostalgia for me because I was issued one. I was in one of the last One-Station-Unit-Training Companies to be trained on them. The people who came in behind us got trained on the M9 only.
I was in the last Armor unit in the Army to turn in the old .45's.
I still feel cheated that veterans can't take home their issue gun at separation.
Over the years I've owned four .45 ACP 1911's. My dad's Remington Rand M1911A1 (which, if I'd kept the damn thing would have saved me tons of angst and money!), an AMT Hardballer, the Springfield M-1911 A1 USGI and now my Ithaca/Rem-Rand M1911A1.
That explains the M1911A1.
The Colt Government Model .38 Super is because of gaming and because we gamed in period settings. Frank Hamer packed one. It was the most powerful handgun you could buy until S&W dropped the .357 Magnum on the market.
The one I own shoots like a freaking laser! Plus it looks so damn choice with my pig-tooth powder "Ivory" grips
1911's have soul. The Browning High-Power has soul.
Glock has no soul.
I own two of them. A 17 and a 21. The 21 I've had longer than any other gun in my collection.
My daily carries, depending on season, are both souless 9mm plastic fantastics.
I don't shoot them as well, but I shoot them well enough.
All things being equal, having more shots is better than fewer. Plastic wonder-9's have plenty of beans to sling. Modern materials mean they'll endure being next to my sweaty carcass better than blued or parkerized steel and wood.
But that's getting off the point.
I buy guns I have no intention of using "for real" simply because they delight me.
Often times that delight has extended to and from the gaming table.
Sometimes that delight derives from the faux angst about what caliber or brand I've chosen.
Sometimes that delight stems from the tactile pleasure of having a piece of history in your claws.
Sometimes that delight is from recreating the history and feeling what the people who really used them in earnest must have felt.
If you made it this far, and really followed the blog closely, then you'd know that I'm actually fixated on .25 ACP.
I guess it's time to specify that I only own two of the things; and the same number of Glocks.
The reasons for getting them have nothing to do with usefulness, though I packed the now-departed Springfield for a while.
I packed the .38 Super for a while too.
I shoot the 1911 very well, it fits me.
I got asked to stop bringing the .38 Super to the bowling pin shoots after winning five times with it.
The M1911A1 has a definite romantic nostalgia for me because I was issued one. I was in one of the last One-Station-Unit-Training Companies to be trained on them. The people who came in behind us got trained on the M9 only.
I was in the last Armor unit in the Army to turn in the old .45's.
I still feel cheated that veterans can't take home their issue gun at separation.
Over the years I've owned four .45 ACP 1911's. My dad's Remington Rand M1911A1 (which, if I'd kept the damn thing would have saved me tons of angst and money!), an AMT Hardballer, the Springfield M-1911 A1 USGI and now my Ithaca/Rem-Rand M1911A1.
That explains the M1911A1.
The Colt Government Model .38 Super is because of gaming and because we gamed in period settings. Frank Hamer packed one. It was the most powerful handgun you could buy until S&W dropped the .357 Magnum on the market.
The one I own shoots like a freaking laser! Plus it looks so damn choice with my pig-tooth powder "Ivory" grips
1911's have soul. The Browning High-Power has soul.
Glock has no soul.
I own two of them. A 17 and a 21. The 21 I've had longer than any other gun in my collection.
My daily carries, depending on season, are both souless 9mm plastic fantastics.
I don't shoot them as well, but I shoot them well enough.
All things being equal, having more shots is better than fewer. Plastic wonder-9's have plenty of beans to sling. Modern materials mean they'll endure being next to my sweaty carcass better than blued or parkerized steel and wood.
But that's getting off the point.
I buy guns I have no intention of using "for real" simply because they delight me.
Often times that delight has extended to and from the gaming table.
Sometimes that delight derives from the faux angst about what caliber or brand I've chosen.
Sometimes that delight stems from the tactile pleasure of having a piece of history in your claws.
Sometimes that delight is from recreating the history and feeling what the people who really used them in earnest must have felt.
If you made it this far, and really followed the blog closely, then you'd know that I'm actually fixated on .25 ACP.
George Bush Already Did That
Kamala Harris will ban importation of AR-15's if elected.
Never mind that there just isn't any importation of AR's. Domestic manufacturers have got this market sealed up and locked down.
If she's referring to "assault weapons" in generic terms then it's been banned under the sporting purposes provision since George Bush Sr.
We're probably not too far from a court case where two and three gun shooting is shown to be a sport and anything short of something tripod mounted is sporty. Doubly so since the AR has been hunting for decades now.
Never mind that there just isn't any importation of AR's. Domestic manufacturers have got this market sealed up and locked down.
If she's referring to "assault weapons" in generic terms then it's been banned under the sporting purposes provision since George Bush Sr.
We're probably not too far from a court case where two and three gun shooting is shown to be a sport and anything short of something tripod mounted is sporty. Doubly so since the AR has been hunting for decades now.
15 May 2019
Rapidly Approaching
You own nothing.
We're rapidly approaching the day where we need jurisprudence that states that a contract which is binding only to one party because the other can amend it at will is not a contract at all and therefore not binding on any signatory.
We've long needed something that prevents the "take or leave it" EULA post-purchase. It's not like they're going to give your money back if you read the license agreement and say no, are they?
We're rapidly approaching the day where we need jurisprudence that states that a contract which is binding only to one party because the other can amend it at will is not a contract at all and therefore not binding on any signatory.
We've long needed something that prevents the "take or leave it" EULA post-purchase. It's not like they're going to give your money back if you read the license agreement and say no, are they?
State Of The Alternates
6.8x43mm SPC: 16 loadings listed from 5 makers. 15 available.
6.5 Grendel: 13 loadings listed from 5 makers. 10 available.
.300 AAC Blackout: 43 loadings listed from 16 makers. 28 available.
.300 Whisper: 2 loadings from 1 maker. 2 available.
.30 Remington AR: 1 loading from 1 maker: 1 available.
6.5 Grendel: 13 loadings listed from 5 makers. 10 available.
.300 AAC Blackout: 43 loadings listed from 16 makers. 28 available.
.300 Whisper: 2 loadings from 1 maker. 2 available.
.30 Remington AR: 1 loading from 1 maker: 1 available.
14 May 2019
Slippery Language
Read this TFB article.
Notice LAPD's language here, "[O]ne of the largest recoveries in LAPD history."
Recovery.
Not seizure.
Using terms like "recovery" when they mean seizure makes it seem like the owner doesn't have a legitimate claim to ownership at this early, innocent until proven guilty, stage.
Recovery is legitimate if the guns prove to be stolen. But notice the warrant wasn't for possession of stolen firearms, it was for suspicion of possessing, making and selling "assault weapons" (we've got the misleading terms just piling up here).
I'm adding this to "buy-back" for deliberate lies by government officials.
Most people don't even notice these subtle alterations of meaning.
Notice LAPD's language here, "[O]ne of the largest recoveries in LAPD history."
Recovery.
Not seizure.
Using terms like "recovery" when they mean seizure makes it seem like the owner doesn't have a legitimate claim to ownership at this early, innocent until proven guilty, stage.
Recovery is legitimate if the guns prove to be stolen. But notice the warrant wasn't for possession of stolen firearms, it was for suspicion of possessing, making and selling "assault weapons" (we've got the misleading terms just piling up here).
I'm adding this to "buy-back" for deliberate lies by government officials.
Most people don't even notice these subtle alterations of meaning.
Prove It
I foolishly clicked on an "article" from Cracked (no link on purpose) about how evil the NRA is.
One of their points "refutes" that a good guy with a gun stops mass shootings.
This should be an easy thing to prove.
Just give us a list of mass shootings that kept going once the shooter was actively opposed by gunfire.
I don't think I'll hold my breath.
One of their points "refutes" that a good guy with a gun stops mass shootings.
This should be an easy thing to prove.
Just give us a list of mass shootings that kept going once the shooter was actively opposed by gunfire.
I don't think I'll hold my breath.
Thank God That's Over
The ATI made Galil's are all sold out!
Temptation and angst removed.
AHHHHHH!
Just got to be wary of DSA's Hebrew Hammer FAL's now.
Temptation and angst removed.
AHHHHHH!
Just got to be wary of DSA's Hebrew Hammer FAL's now.
13 May 2019
Do I Want This?
While the topic is interesting...
Do I really want another expensive book on a topic that I'm barely interested in?
I expect, like Collector's Armory books, getting in for $85 is a hell of a deal.
I am not sure I want another $100 book without gaming to spur me to one-up players or a GM.
Do I really want another expensive book on a topic that I'm barely interested in?
I expect, like Collector's Armory books, getting in for $85 is a hell of a deal.
I am not sure I want another $100 book without gaming to spur me to one-up players or a GM.
Non Linear
I sometimes think that some trainers are very much like someone who's never been wet teaching swimming after reading about someone who has swum many laps.
They've never been in the water and teach you to swim and don't require you to get wet either.
But they based their lesson plan on the experiences of someone who has swum, so you're good to go!
Printed a certificate and everything.
But can you swim?
Others learned to swim by finding themselves in water over their head.
They sure as fuck can swim... now.
But they lack the credentials.
Think hard before you take advice from someone, especially if they want money for it.
Worry about advice from someone who's many times removed from the event you're preparing to deal with.
They've never been in the water and teach you to swim and don't require you to get wet either.
But they based their lesson plan on the experiences of someone who has swum, so you're good to go!
Printed a certificate and everything.
But can you swim?
Others learned to swim by finding themselves in water over their head.
They sure as fuck can swim... now.
But they lack the credentials.
Think hard before you take advice from someone, especially if they want money for it.
Worry about advice from someone who's many times removed from the event you're preparing to deal with.
History Rhymes
I am struck again at how history doesn't repeat completely, but does rhyme with what happened before.
Only the powerful may be protected by firearms.
Everyone must sacrifice and make changes to prevent climate change, except the powerful.
This has happened before.
Look up Sumptuary Laws.
Hear the rhyme?
Only the powerful may be protected by firearms.
Everyone must sacrifice and make changes to prevent climate change, except the powerful.
This has happened before.
Look up Sumptuary Laws.
Hear the rhyme?
Gone Silent
Remember this?
The person who got his permit revoked has not posted on Arfcom at all since March 15th.
Nobody has addressed the timeline not adding up.
TTAG has one update.
That still doesn't address the timeline not adding up!
Call me skeptical but I'm thinking that there's more here than bureaucratic malfeasance.
Or the entire story is as accurate as Dan Rather.
The person who got his permit revoked has not posted on Arfcom at all since March 15th.
Nobody has addressed the timeline not adding up.
TTAG has one update.
That still doesn't address the timeline not adding up!
Call me skeptical but I'm thinking that there's more here than bureaucratic malfeasance.
Or the entire story is as accurate as Dan Rather.
Dead Bulbs
All four dead.
I had four 194 bulbs in my organizer, so zero cost on the repair.
The service manual was next to useless for learning how to get at the bulbs. The actual procedure was obtained from a video from a company hoping to sell me their $435 LED conversion kit.
I doubt they died all at once, probably one by one until I finally noticed.
All better now!
PS: The caveman on the right-rear just powered the tabs into the retaining ring on the reflector rather than pushing it in another 1/32". Made it "interesting" to get back apart because they were deformed and holding in the slot where they should have just let go.
I had four 194 bulbs in my organizer, so zero cost on the repair.
The service manual was next to useless for learning how to get at the bulbs. The actual procedure was obtained from a video from a company hoping to sell me their $435 LED conversion kit.
I doubt they died all at once, probably one by one until I finally noticed.
All better now!
PS: The caveman on the right-rear just powered the tabs into the retaining ring on the reflector rather than pushing it in another 1/32". Made it "interesting" to get back apart because they were deformed and holding in the slot where they should have just let go.
That's Odd
Pulling The Precious out...
Hey! My front side marker light is out.
Get out to confirm.
Hey! All of my side marker lights are out!
Pretty much has to be bulbs or something really strange since the rear markers and front markers are working correctly and they all run on the same fuse and relay.
They've prolly been going out one by one and I just noticed.
Standard 194 type bulbs. I probably even have a stack laying around someplace.
Hey! My front side marker light is out.
Get out to confirm.
Hey! All of my side marker lights are out!
Pretty much has to be bulbs or something really strange since the rear markers and front markers are working correctly and they all run on the same fuse and relay.
They've prolly been going out one by one and I just noticed.
Standard 194 type bulbs. I probably even have a stack laying around someplace.
12 May 2019
Mother's Day
Call your mom. Kiss her if you can.
She won't be there forever.
Ask me how I know...
I miss you Mom.
She won't be there forever.
Ask me how I know...
I miss you Mom.
A Note To Texans
The first person to put beans in chili was probably neighbors with the first person to make chili.
Thus, chili with beans is as legitimate as without and just as "Tex-Mex".
It started as a "this is all we have to make food from" fare.
It became a staple of cattle drives because the ingredients are resistant to spoilage in the chuck-wagon.
Beans, likewise, were staple cattle drive food for the same reason.
It wouldn't and didn't take long for the cow-pokes to mix the two items, assuming the cook hadn't done it already.
Listening to "Texans" pontificating about chili sans beans reminds me of nothing so much as a hipster waxing poetic about some form of music that is "better" without an instrument which made the descendant of that music iconic.
Thus, chili with beans is as legitimate as without and just as "Tex-Mex".
It started as a "this is all we have to make food from" fare.
It became a staple of cattle drives because the ingredients are resistant to spoilage in the chuck-wagon.
Beans, likewise, were staple cattle drive food for the same reason.
It wouldn't and didn't take long for the cow-pokes to mix the two items, assuming the cook hadn't done it already.
Listening to "Texans" pontificating about chili sans beans reminds me of nothing so much as a hipster waxing poetic about some form of music that is "better" without an instrument which made the descendant of that music iconic.
And Then A Miracle Occurred
When I was doing the radiator on The Precious I misplaced my 1/4 drive 6-point 10mm socket and the 6" extension it was on.
This is normally a complete disaster because this is the rarest of tools.
The reason it's rare is it's the one that grows legs and walks off.
Notice I did not say that I misplaced one of my 10mm sockets...
10mm sockets are famous for disappearing.
Fudge.
I know I have a 1/4 drive deepwell in the bin, so I start digging. No socket there. But before I go looking in the other toolkit for it, I realize that the deepwell will need a 3" extension for when I find it.
Then the miracle occurs.
In the section of my bin dedicated to debris and extensions, bathed in a Holy light accompanied by the songs of Angels, there is a Craftsman 1/4 drive 6-point 10mm socket! Long thought lost, if indeed it had ever existed, by scholars.
Even better, with the Craftsman in hand, the Divine Light shone upon the missing Ichiban brand 10mm on the extension that'd been misplaced right where I'd left it.
This is normally a complete disaster because this is the rarest of tools.
The reason it's rare is it's the one that grows legs and walks off.
Notice I did not say that I misplaced one of my 10mm sockets...
10mm sockets are famous for disappearing.
Fudge.
I know I have a 1/4 drive deepwell in the bin, so I start digging. No socket there. But before I go looking in the other toolkit for it, I realize that the deepwell will need a 3" extension for when I find it.
Then the miracle occurs.
In the section of my bin dedicated to debris and extensions, bathed in a Holy light accompanied by the songs of Angels, there is a Craftsman 1/4 drive 6-point 10mm socket! Long thought lost, if indeed it had ever existed, by scholars.
Even better, with the Craftsman in hand, the Divine Light shone upon the missing Ichiban brand 10mm on the extension that'd been misplaced right where I'd left it.
Field First Aid
The "field" kit I've carried most is in my "junkyard" tool roll.
Wanna know what the most useful item in that kit has been?
The gallon bladder of water. 8 lb. of water is nothing when carting in 40 lb. of tools and that makes the 2 lb. of first aid supplies seem downright negligible.
Why?
When you're covered in grease and oil and see some blood it lets you wash shit away to see where the blood is coming from.
We also pack in a small bottle of Dawn® dishwashing soap because it does a great job of lifting the grease and oil off skin. The lemon stuff is also really good at finding small cuts from the burning sensation.
We haven't needed more than a gauze pad and some tape yet, but there's more in the kit just in case.
Band-aids are the most used item after the water and soap.
What we're really preparing for is something getting sliced off or pinned because something heavy shifts. We even have a flare gun in there. The EMTs arrive at the yard and... where are you again?
The bottle jack and block of wood that are part of the tools comes in handy for unshifting too.
Based on other preparedness blogger opinion, I should advocate that everyone carry a 750 lb. bottle jack at all times, no?
Wanna know what the most useful item in that kit has been?
The gallon bladder of water. 8 lb. of water is nothing when carting in 40 lb. of tools and that makes the 2 lb. of first aid supplies seem downright negligible.
Why?
When you're covered in grease and oil and see some blood it lets you wash shit away to see where the blood is coming from.
We also pack in a small bottle of Dawn® dishwashing soap because it does a great job of lifting the grease and oil off skin. The lemon stuff is also really good at finding small cuts from the burning sensation.
We haven't needed more than a gauze pad and some tape yet, but there's more in the kit just in case.
Band-aids are the most used item after the water and soap.
What we're really preparing for is something getting sliced off or pinned because something heavy shifts. We even have a flare gun in there. The EMTs arrive at the yard and... where are you again?
The bottle jack and block of wood that are part of the tools comes in handy for unshifting too.
Based on other preparedness blogger opinion, I should advocate that everyone carry a 750 lb. bottle jack at all times, no?
11 May 2019
Know Your Wizards
Angus The Evil Magic User: Impeccably tailored, finest silk embroidered robes. Rakishly groomed van-dyke. Flaming ebony staff. Colt Dragoon.
Grand Vizier Jafar: Impeccably tailored, finest silk clothing and cape. Turban with powerstone. Understated van-dyke. Snake staff.
Albus Dumbledore: Light blue robes. Sambucus wand. Pill-box hat. Well kept beard.
Cry Me A River
Fees for owning an electric car are climbing.
Tough shit, Smughole!
Your car doesn't pay at the pump to support the roads it's using.
Even worse, the low rolling resistance tires at 45 psi are harder on the roads than normal tires running 30 psi.
You're causing more wear and tear and paying less for it.
It's only fair that you pay more off the pump than I do to make up for the impact you're making.
Tough shit, Smughole!
Your car doesn't pay at the pump to support the roads it's using.
Even worse, the low rolling resistance tires at 45 psi are harder on the roads than normal tires running 30 psi.
You're causing more wear and tear and paying less for it.
It's only fair that you pay more off the pump than I do to make up for the impact you're making.
Cosmetics
Willard's badging has been slowly disappearing one letter at a time.
Now we have replacements!
Just need some 3M doublesided thin tape, a razor and a bit of time.
Posted here because he can be deucedly hard man to get a hold of.
The Secrets of Wootz Damascus Steel
All you need is crucible steel and a tiny vanadium impurity!
And some actual skill starting at the bloomery stage and going through the final polish.
I was surprised to learn that the secret wasn't lost until mass produced crucible steel was figured out in the 1850's.
And some actual skill starting at the bloomery stage and going through the final polish.
I was surprised to learn that the secret wasn't lost until mass produced crucible steel was figured out in the 1850's.
10 May 2019
Time To Cull The Herd
With the acquisition of the M1911A1, I no longer need the Springfield-Armory M-1911 A1 USGI.
The Springfield was purchased to fill the same nostalgia itch that the real-deal scratches much better.
The problem is that I am teh suxxor at selling things and getting their value out of them.
I'm excellent at selling low to just get them out of the clutter pile.
I'd go to GunBroker, but I know that UPS wants near $100 for their mandatory next-day shipping and that puts a $100 hit on the customer's perception of the value of the gun.
Do they want it bad enough to pay the fair price plus shipping, or do I have to discount it the price of shipping to get them to buy?
Unless I do a consignment, a gun or pawn shop isn't going to get me what it's worth either. Even then, I will lose a percentage in the consigning.
The Springfield was purchased to fill the same nostalgia itch that the real-deal scratches much better.
The problem is that I am teh suxxor at selling things and getting their value out of them.
I'm excellent at selling low to just get them out of the clutter pile.
I'd go to GunBroker, but I know that UPS wants near $100 for their mandatory next-day shipping and that puts a $100 hit on the customer's perception of the value of the gun.
Do they want it bad enough to pay the fair price plus shipping, or do I have to discount it the price of shipping to get them to buy?
Unless I do a consignment, a gun or pawn shop isn't going to get me what it's worth either. Even then, I will lose a percentage in the consigning.
09 May 2019
How Johnny Started The War
I am trying to find an image.
It's a comic that might even be period for the Civil War showing a Johnny Rebel and all the tons of crap he thinks will be useful, a panel of him being distressed by the load, a panel showing him giving/trading stuff away and a panel of him (looking much happier) with just the essentials.
I bumped into it in a couple of magazine articles in the way back days of defense magazines I'd subscribed to for T2K.
Now I can't find the magazine or the comic anywhere.
It's a comic that might even be period for the Civil War showing a Johnny Rebel and all the tons of crap he thinks will be useful, a panel of him being distressed by the load, a panel showing him giving/trading stuff away and a panel of him (looking much happier) with just the essentials.
I bumped into it in a couple of magazine articles in the way back days of defense magazines I'd subscribed to for T2K.
Now I can't find the magazine or the comic anywhere.
08 May 2019
Font Of Irritation
There's two fonts that seem to drive a certain group absolutely insane.
Comic Sans and Papyrus.
It's like nails on a chalkboard.
They're also the kind of people who're really fun to irritate because their objection to these fonts essentially boils down to them being popular among other groups.
Yup. Font hipsters.
It's never wrong to irritate hipsters.
Comic Sans and Papyrus.
It's like nails on a chalkboard.
They're also the kind of people who're really fun to irritate because their objection to these fonts essentially boils down to them being popular among other groups.
Yup. Font hipsters.
It's never wrong to irritate hipsters.
Gone Dark
I am glad I took the opportunity to archive it, because Weaponsman is showing the GoDaddy "Would You Like To Buy This Address?" page.
I am sorely tempted to buy the URL and put his work back up.
I am sorely tempted to buy the URL and put his work back up.
Uhhhh
I have no idea what's happening in this picture.
I am almost certain that I don't WANT to know what's happening in this picture.
I am almost certain that I don't WANT to know what's happening in this picture.
Need
I've come to the conclusion that I don't need to worry about the opinions of the clearly insane.
Paranoia is a form of insanity, just so you know.
The insane have advocated the purchase and everyday carry of so many things that you will, in all likelihood, never need.
So many things they even make videos about which backpack you should lug them around in.
The insane advocate the purchase of only the very top shelf of these things, because the cheaper model just won't... won't.... mumble mumble.
So "top-shelf" that you can buy a car before you've filled your backpack.
But I titled this about need.
How many knives do I need to carry? What will I need it for? How often?
To read some of these blogs and articles I've surely died a hundred times because I wasn't carrying a pocket knife, a locking knife and a fixed blade at all times. But, somehow, my little Swiss Army Knife got me through for 40+ years. Outside of camping, which gives you all kinds of notice it's going to happen, I've never needed a fixed blade knife and in that instance the hatchet I managed to forget would have been a better tool for the job.
I need a blow-out kit? On me? At all times? Maybe I'm just better at avoiding idiots with guns than professional gear advocates. Did your blow-out class include first aid, or was it entirely "here's how to use the kit we're selling/sold with the class"? If it's the latter, I think I can identify the moment you became convinced that you can't staunch an arterial bleed without a made-for-the-purpose item.
I need $100 khakis because they have better belt loops? Or someone will steal my belt? How does your belt work? Mine goes all the way around and is fastened to itself, it'll stay on me with someone pulling even if that was all I was wearing. The $100 pants have got to be 7 times better than the $15 pair from Wal Mart in every respect or they're not worth the extra dough. Sorry 5.11 but Wrangler does just fine.
And, after all this ranting about need and likelihood... Why do I carry a gun everyday?
The smaller non-locking knife will do for cutting but take longer. Sucks for a knife fight, but I brought a gun.
My belt and ripped up clothing will suffice to stabilize nearly any wound long enough for the professionals to arrive (I took a class too). This has come up in a car accident and the hospital did NOT return my belt.
The Wranglers wear out three times as fast as the 5.11's; but only cost 1/6 as much...
When you need a gun you need a GUN. The substitutes simply will not do.
Speaking of that gun... and the urge to buy boutique... No, I don't need a $600 SIG, the $250 S&W is doing just fine.
Again on that gun... In 25 years of carrying I've only managed to "need" a gun once and that was to show the person experiencing road-rage and gearing up for assault that I was carrying. It was a .380.
I've noticed that what I need to carry has oscillated so much since I started reading gun-rags that it's just noise. What are we at now? Full size 9mm with reloads, compact 9mm backup and reloads and a spare smaller caliber with reloads? In appendix, ankle and pocket? (Remember when the gun writers condemned the appendix carry they're now advocating?)
I don't want heat-stroke so I'm not carrying three pistols and enough ammo to shoot two IPSC stages for each.
PS: I own and know how to use all this stuff. It just resides in a bug-out bag rather than being lugged around all the time.
PPS: The expiration of shit in the IFAK pisses me off but also reassures. Better to have to toss it than use it, but it makes it hard to justify owning it after a decade or two. Yeah, I've had my kit together before the trendy IFAK name became trendy.
The Lovely Harvey has an epic rant building about the topic of emergency first aid and the average uncertified person packing all that gear. She's checking her notes and doing some research.
Paranoia is a form of insanity, just so you know.
The insane have advocated the purchase and everyday carry of so many things that you will, in all likelihood, never need.
So many things they even make videos about which backpack you should lug them around in.
The insane advocate the purchase of only the very top shelf of these things, because the cheaper model just won't... won't.... mumble mumble.
So "top-shelf" that you can buy a car before you've filled your backpack.
But I titled this about need.
How many knives do I need to carry? What will I need it for? How often?
To read some of these blogs and articles I've surely died a hundred times because I wasn't carrying a pocket knife, a locking knife and a fixed blade at all times. But, somehow, my little Swiss Army Knife got me through for 40+ years. Outside of camping, which gives you all kinds of notice it's going to happen, I've never needed a fixed blade knife and in that instance the hatchet I managed to forget would have been a better tool for the job.
I need a blow-out kit? On me? At all times? Maybe I'm just better at avoiding idiots with guns than professional gear advocates. Did your blow-out class include first aid, or was it entirely "here's how to use the kit we're selling/sold with the class"? If it's the latter, I think I can identify the moment you became convinced that you can't staunch an arterial bleed without a made-for-the-purpose item.
I need $100 khakis because they have better belt loops? Or someone will steal my belt? How does your belt work? Mine goes all the way around and is fastened to itself, it'll stay on me with someone pulling even if that was all I was wearing. The $100 pants have got to be 7 times better than the $15 pair from Wal Mart in every respect or they're not worth the extra dough. Sorry 5.11 but Wrangler does just fine.
And, after all this ranting about need and likelihood... Why do I carry a gun everyday?
The smaller non-locking knife will do for cutting but take longer. Sucks for a knife fight, but I brought a gun.
My belt and ripped up clothing will suffice to stabilize nearly any wound long enough for the professionals to arrive (I took a class too). This has come up in a car accident and the hospital did NOT return my belt.
The Wranglers wear out three times as fast as the 5.11's; but only cost 1/6 as much...
When you need a gun you need a GUN. The substitutes simply will not do.
Speaking of that gun... and the urge to buy boutique... No, I don't need a $600 SIG, the $250 S&W is doing just fine.
Again on that gun... In 25 years of carrying I've only managed to "need" a gun once and that was to show the person experiencing road-rage and gearing up for assault that I was carrying. It was a .380.
I've noticed that what I need to carry has oscillated so much since I started reading gun-rags that it's just noise. What are we at now? Full size 9mm with reloads, compact 9mm backup and reloads and a spare smaller caliber with reloads? In appendix, ankle and pocket? (Remember when the gun writers condemned the appendix carry they're now advocating?)
I don't want heat-stroke so I'm not carrying three pistols and enough ammo to shoot two IPSC stages for each.
PS: I own and know how to use all this stuff. It just resides in a bug-out bag rather than being lugged around all the time.
PPS: The expiration of shit in the IFAK pisses me off but also reassures. Better to have to toss it than use it, but it makes it hard to justify owning it after a decade or two. Yeah, I've had my kit together before the trendy IFAK name became trendy.
The Lovely Harvey has an epic rant building about the topic of emergency first aid and the average uncertified person packing all that gear. She's checking her notes and doing some research.
07 May 2019
Versatile
There was once a time when I thought that macaroni and cheese came from a box.
I learned better.
Something cool about home-made mac-n-cheese is it's versatile.
You can add lots of stuff to it and totally change the experience.
Tonight I added chicken and broccoli.
The Boy was finished with his helping before The Lovely Harvey even got hers to her plate.
I think this combination is a hit.
I learned better.
Something cool about home-made mac-n-cheese is it's versatile.
You can add lots of stuff to it and totally change the experience.
Tonight I added chicken and broccoli.
The Boy was finished with his helping before The Lovely Harvey even got hers to her plate.
I think this combination is a hit.
Multi-Nation Interchange
Romanian Type I on a PSAK(M) GB2, Yugo Type II on a Yugo M70B1N, Polish 6H4 on a Kbk wz.88n.
Three different nations AK, three different nations bayonets, two different calibers and they swap over. There's something to be said for picking a standard for the entire alliance and sticking to it.
Except Czechoslovakia...
Still Geeking Out
I just love the Monitor.
It's nice to have seen it in two Bonnie and Clyde films now.
I tend to agree with several pundits that this is what the M1918 should have become rather than what it did become.
C'est la vie.
Winter Beater
A phenomenon of winter in Minnesota was the "winter beater" which was a reliable car which you gave no shits about to endure the liberal use of salt and increased chances of accidents because of icy conditions.
Beaters were not new cars and were generally good for a couple of winters before the rust holes got so big you couldn't hold in enough heat to stave off hypothermia on your commute.
Then you sold it to a high school student... where their non-car owning friends envied their POS car!
I am thinking that Florida and much of The South is ripe to adopt this concept.
It's love-bug season.
These insect exhibitionists are hell on paint and absolutely LOVE to hover over roadways where any car going faster than 35 mph will spack into them and leave behind a smear of acidic entrails.
Acid which is now eating through the wax, clearcoat and basecoat.
So, twice a year, I think having a car whose finish is already gone to brave the love-bugs is a valid concept.
Beaters were not new cars and were generally good for a couple of winters before the rust holes got so big you couldn't hold in enough heat to stave off hypothermia on your commute.
Then you sold it to a high school student... where their non-car owning friends envied their POS car!
I am thinking that Florida and much of The South is ripe to adopt this concept.
It's love-bug season.
These insect exhibitionists are hell on paint and absolutely LOVE to hover over roadways where any car going faster than 35 mph will spack into them and leave behind a smear of acidic entrails.
Acid which is now eating through the wax, clearcoat and basecoat.
So, twice a year, I think having a car whose finish is already gone to brave the love-bugs is a valid concept.
06 May 2019
Maybe Running It Helped
The first full tank of gas I put through The Biscayne since I resurrected her got a mere 12.37 mpg.
Considering that 1995 Impala SS drivetrain that's in it should get 15 city and 23 highway (18 combined) it was clearly not getting the designed economy.
The most recent tank actually pulled an 18.51 mpg with mixed driving.
Right on the ball! Better than the ball, really because I'm running 275-40R17 tires instead of the taller 255-50R17 tires an Impala is supposed to have.
The most recent tank also got a can of Sea Foam run through it. The worst that Sea Foam has ever done me is to have no noticeable effect. Best case was with the Civic and curing badly carbon encrusted valves.
Considering that 1995 Impala SS drivetrain that's in it should get 15 city and 23 highway (18 combined) it was clearly not getting the designed economy.
The most recent tank actually pulled an 18.51 mpg with mixed driving.
Right on the ball! Better than the ball, really because I'm running 275-40R17 tires instead of the taller 255-50R17 tires an Impala is supposed to have.
The most recent tank also got a can of Sea Foam run through it. The worst that Sea Foam has ever done me is to have no noticeable effect. Best case was with the Civic and curing badly carbon encrusted valves.
I Think I Figured It Out
The thing that I've only been aware of subliminally about how the makers of OS's do things.
If they made cars, the upgrade would change the function of the accelerator pedal so that on-the-floor was idle instead of wide-open.
Even worse, they'd swap the brake and accelerator pedals back and forth.
The'd eliminate the turn signal stalk and replace it with a menu driven selection of 20 turn signal modes, and you'd still just use left, right and hazard in real life. There would be no way to restore function to the "hot-key" of the stalk.
And they'd do this two or three times a year.
I'm sick of these constant revisions in how something works. I'm not complaining about the shit under the hood, but the tweaking of how I have to use it.
Most recently with Android they changed how a menu item you can click to get more options looks. It looks like a list now, with no choices. I guess I was just supposed to KNOW that I was supposed to click on the text to see it do more. Not that it looks any different from text that does nothing when I click on it.
If they made cars, the upgrade would change the function of the accelerator pedal so that on-the-floor was idle instead of wide-open.
Even worse, they'd swap the brake and accelerator pedals back and forth.
The'd eliminate the turn signal stalk and replace it with a menu driven selection of 20 turn signal modes, and you'd still just use left, right and hazard in real life. There would be no way to restore function to the "hot-key" of the stalk.
And they'd do this two or three times a year.
I'm sick of these constant revisions in how something works. I'm not complaining about the shit under the hood, but the tweaking of how I have to use it.
Most recently with Android they changed how a menu item you can click to get more options looks. It looks like a list now, with no choices. I guess I was just supposed to KNOW that I was supposed to click on the text to see it do more. Not that it looks any different from text that does nothing when I click on it.
German Guns
I got a call from one of the local pawn shops...
They needed help ID'ing a Mauser 1910/1914/1934 and checking out a 1913 DWM Luger.
Kinda cool that they asked for my expertise on these old things.
The Luger turns out to be all matching and unrefinished. Dinged up a bit and chock full of old grease. The magazine is the only part that didn't match, but it was a wooden base model.
The Mauser is in typical shape.
They wanted to know if they were offering too much or too little for them.
They're on a 30 day pawn-hold now.
They needed help ID'ing a Mauser 1910/1914/1934 and checking out a 1913 DWM Luger.
Kinda cool that they asked for my expertise on these old things.
The Luger turns out to be all matching and unrefinished. Dinged up a bit and chock full of old grease. The magazine is the only part that didn't match, but it was a wooden base model.
The Mauser is in typical shape.
They wanted to know if they were offering too much or too little for them.
They're on a 30 day pawn-hold now.
05 May 2019
How Matters As Much As What
I've been reading several treatises on how opposing the ban on bump stocks is foolish and indefensible terrain.
That it is a setback, but it was a lost cause and our resources are better spent someplace else.
I think I would tend to agree except for how the national ban was imposed.
The president ordered ATF to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns despite more than one empirical test by the previous, and gun hostile, administration to the contrary.
To be sanguine about it is foolish. Assaults on our rights run on precedent.
To advocate not fighting this means you're OK with the next president declaring detachable magazines are machine guns.
Yes you are.
You are correct, the what (bumpstocks getting banned) isn't so bad.
It's how they were banned that's horrifying.
As mad as I am about Florida Carry not seeming to do anything about gun control in Florida, I am happy my contributions are going towards fighting this in court despite it having no effect on Florida because bumpstocks are banned by law using Feinstein's verbiage.
That it is a setback, but it was a lost cause and our resources are better spent someplace else.
I think I would tend to agree except for how the national ban was imposed.
The president ordered ATF to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns despite more than one empirical test by the previous, and gun hostile, administration to the contrary.
To be sanguine about it is foolish. Assaults on our rights run on precedent.
To advocate not fighting this means you're OK with the next president declaring detachable magazines are machine guns.
Yes you are.
You are correct, the what (bumpstocks getting banned) isn't so bad.
It's how they were banned that's horrifying.
As mad as I am about Florida Carry not seeming to do anything about gun control in Florida, I am happy my contributions are going towards fighting this in court despite it having no effect on Florida because bumpstocks are banned by law using Feinstein's verbiage.
No Aid To NK
No "humanitarian" aid to North Korea.
The reason they're starving is because their government is starving them.
Giving the people of North Korea food only allows the Kim dictatorship to remain in power and continue starving his people.
After watching the state of things for so many decades of Kims, I says let them starve and when they all have, South Korea can simply reclaim the deserted northern half of their nation.
Alternatively, Kim steps down and agrees for the north to be annexed by the south.
I note that South Korea isn't rationing.
The reason they're starving is because their government is starving them.
Giving the people of North Korea food only allows the Kim dictatorship to remain in power and continue starving his people.
After watching the state of things for so many decades of Kims, I says let them starve and when they all have, South Korea can simply reclaim the deserted northern half of their nation.
Alternatively, Kim steps down and agrees for the north to be annexed by the south.
I note that South Korea isn't rationing.
Deep Regret
This is getting out of hand.
Completely cleaning The Precious was more draining and painful than actually wrenching on her was to do the radiator.
UGH.
I have an appointment at the beginning of June to see the range of motion people and, if they fill out the paperwork as I'd like, then I stop at DAV to start scheduling hearings to get my disability upped to where it should have been from the outset.
My primary doc cannot believe how low my percentage is and feels I should have done this at least a decade ago.
I didn't because the doc in Des Moines told me there was nothing that could be done and I'd just have to suck it up.
Couple that with a massive cut in VA support (which was never huge for us not-Vietnam or earlier Vets) with the end of The Cold War...
The pendulum has swung back towards America loving us Vets, so the iron might be hot enough to strike.
Completely cleaning The Precious was more draining and painful than actually wrenching on her was to do the radiator.
UGH.
I have an appointment at the beginning of June to see the range of motion people and, if they fill out the paperwork as I'd like, then I stop at DAV to start scheduling hearings to get my disability upped to where it should have been from the outset.
My primary doc cannot believe how low my percentage is and feels I should have done this at least a decade ago.
I didn't because the doc in Des Moines told me there was nothing that could be done and I'd just have to suck it up.
Couple that with a massive cut in VA support (which was never huge for us not-Vietnam or earlier Vets) with the end of The Cold War...
The pendulum has swung back towards America loving us Vets, so the iron might be hot enough to strike.
04 May 2019
03 May 2019
Fundraiser Time!
The school The Boy attends is doing their annual fundraiser.
Click one of the finely crafted links and buy something if you are so inclined.
The Boy gets a reward for every $100 sold in his name, but using the link doesn't attribute it to him.
However, if you email me mcthag u+0040 gmail u+002e com and tell me what and how much you ordered I can tell the school to put it in his column.
Pampered Chef
Scentsy
Every little bit helps!
Click one of the finely crafted links and buy something if you are so inclined.
The Boy gets a reward for every $100 sold in his name, but using the link doesn't attribute it to him.
However, if you email me mcthag u+0040 gmail u+002e com and tell me what and how much you ordered I can tell the school to put it in his column.
Pampered Chef
Scentsy
Every little bit helps!
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