Simulated Filtration

The M50 has some neat features that don't come up very often, but I like to play around with.

For the old-timey guns I've always liked to put a sepia tone on things.

The M50's sepia is much less orange than the old SX20.

Color image:

Monochrome mode set to sepia without a filter:

Sepia with an "orange filter":

Normal black and white:

Black and white with a "red filter":

I'm having fun even if it's not interesting to read.

Tubby Model

Here I am modeling the M1894 Mills Cavalry belt, M1860 saber, M1881 holster and a representative Model P.

Through The Spook-Hole!

Got a holster for my M1873 to sit on my Mills' belt.

Binary

If it's racist for me to do something, then it's racist for you to do the same thing with the colors reversed.

If you can say a racial slur without causing harm because of the context of using the word, then context matters and needs to be considered before leveling a charge of racism against someone.

If a white person can't play a person of color, then a person of color cannot play a white person.

If a black person can call his buddy a [CENSORED] because of the context of being black means it's not a racial slur; then I should be able to quote him and use [CENSORED] in the context of being a quote.

We've got to drag back the lines of offense to "what is meant" rather than "how it was taken."

Why?

Because there's such a thing as an innocent mistake.

Because there's such a thing as being ignorant of an offense.

I have an example:  Great-Gramma Mikiko, born in Japan, learned that the word for black person was [CENSORED]!  She was not bigoted against black people.  She was not a racist, but she casually used [CENSORED] as a descriptive term.

We great-grand-children were fucking horrified at her casual use of the word and kept correcting her every time she used it.  It didn't take too many tries before she got it and started using non-offensive language.

Literally an innocent mistake on her part.

But what if we'd adopted a shun and isolate response to her mistake instead of an educative one?

What if we decided that how the language was received defined how it was meant to be transmitted?

Welcome to Canceltown.

I Noticed Something

During the initial panic to Wu Ping Cough you needed to show real symptoms of being sick to be tested for the disease.

Since this was happening right at the height of flu season, it was not too difficult to get in to be tested.

Positive tests averaged out to 5-6% of the total.

This held true when they opened up testing to anyone who simply wanted to be tested regardless of symptoms.

Lately positive results have spiked up to nearly 15%.

How did this happen?

I think we're going to find that it wasn't bars.  It wasn't even the protests where hardly anyone took any precautions.

I think we're going to see, and the CDC mentioned it in May, that we're including anti-body positives in the totals now.

I'm going to want to know why the anti-body testing was included with active virus tests.

Update PS:

The hospitalization rate and death rates are, and have been, completely decoupled from the infection rate for a while now.

I Can Play Too!

If only people of color can now voice characters of color...

Then only citizens of The United States may play characters who are Americans.

I am curious to see what happens to Hollywood if all these liberal Canadians and Brits are purged from playing US characters.

Not Really A Surge In Infections

CDC acknowledges mixing up corona virus test data. (May 2020)

The money quote for The Gunshine State, "According to reports, several states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and Florida, have also been combining the results of the two tests."

So it's all bullshit.

I suspected there would be something like this when they deliberately decided to not bother tracking recoveries.

Um The Conquered Are SUPPOSED To Feel Like That

Native Americans, hoping to set a new record for not accepting they lost the war, are upset that Trump is going to Mount Rushmore.

I will say it again, especially since I am researching the very war the Indians lost...

You lost the bloody war!

The losers get told how things are going to be, they don't get to make demands of the victors.

Common Refrain

I have been reading the feedback for the people selling Cimarron USV Artillery model revolvers on Gun Broker.

A common reason for an F rating has been the accusation that the seller did not have the item in stock when they listed it.

Which is bullshit on the seller's part if their model is "sell the gun, then order it from the manufacturer."

It doesn't inspire confidence.

Why Thank You

Despite being past its end of life...  my Windows 7 machine indicated it had an update available to download.

Windows Edge.

I clicked the "nah" button and saw that the shutdown button had the icon for updates ready.

Sure enough, next reboot I had Edge installed.

It put itself up front and noticeable on the taskbar, desktop, and start menu.

You know, M$, if I'd wanted your browser, I'd have downloaded it myself.

Now I am wondering if it's worth the effort to uninstall it.

Deputy Shooting

Local news reports:  Pasco deputy shoots woman, killing her.

Scant details for the moment, but this raises questions.

Obviously you loot before you burn.

Do you loot the liquor store before you loot Wal Mart?

I'm new to this social justice activism thing and I want to get it right.

It's Racist To Notice

The local news put up a map showing that largest increases in Wu Ping Cough in our area are where there's poverty...

Also, a certain demographic.

A demographic that was apt to be packed hook to jowl at the recent protests over George Floyd's death and not bothering with social distancing or masks.

A demographic which has been having block parties since April, again without social distancing or masks.

For fuck's sake!

This is exactly how communicable diseases spread.

There wasn't a big spread from ignoring it when you stuck to the same people who didn't have it.

Take no precautions when you gather in a large group and you bring it home.

Voila!

But we're not supposed to notice whom is most affected while they shut down the local bar.

Speaking of most affected, I've read more than once that this demographic is more likely to have symptoms and bad outcomes from Wu Ping Cough.  You'd think that would lead to them being more careful, not less, when it comes to exposure.

Those Inches Matter

The single-action Army in .45 Colt in GURPS.

The M1873 "Cavalry" model does 3d-2 pi+ with it's 7-1/2" barrel.  8 raw, 12 after damage type average.  1-16 (1-24) spread.
The "Artillery" model's 5-1/2" barrel does 2d+2 pi+.  9 raw, 13 after damage type average.  4-14 (6-21) spread.
The ubiquitous "Civilian" model with a 4-3/4" barrel does 2d+1 pi+.  8 raw, 12 after damage type average.  3-13 (4-19) spread.

Going even shorter loses the ejector and makes the reload 4i instead of 3i.

The "Storekeeper's" model and it's 4" barrel sends 2d pi+.  7 raw, 10 after damage type average.  2-12 (3-18) spread.
The stubby 2-1/2" to 3" barreled "Sheriff's" mode drops to 2d-1 pi+.  6 raw, 9 after damage type average.  1-11 (1-16) spread.

The official stats didn't deign to give us different ranges for these, all are shown with the default 120/1,300 from the 7-1/2" Cav gun.  We do get changes to weight and bulk.

But, WAIT! they get longer too!

The 10" gun has the same stats as a 7-1/2" except for weight and bulk.

The 16" gun gives 3d-1 pi+ for damage, also with and increase in weight and bulk.  9 raw, 13 after damage type average.  2-17 (3-25) spread.

Historically, there don't appear to be any 12" "Buntline Specials"!  It's such a staple of fiction too.

Using .45 S&W in any of these guns is a -2 to damage.  From 1875 .45 S&W is the issue ammo for all .45 revolvers, rationalizing the supply chain with the S&W No.3 M1875 "Schofield".

Normal .45 Colt ammunition was still found in the trooper's ammunition pouches because it could be bought from the sutler's station and other commercial sources, such as Sear's.

Electrum

The old-magic consumes silver and is nullified by gold.

But natural electrum can be used as if it were half its mass in silver without consuming it.

It needs time to recuperate after use, but it's better than being left with a handful of crumbling black dirt and then having to find more silver.

If you use electrum to alloy your steel in a magical heat using shape metal it comes out as a very-fine quality blade and the metal will be the green color described for Fowler's sword.

Saharan Dust

Florida has some dust blown over from Africa floating high above us.

Makes for pretty sunsets.

I'm Sure It's Just Me

Every time USPS tracking says, "In Transit, Arriving On-Time," that means it's going to be late.

I'm numb to it now.

Lemme See If I Got This Straight

In the past three days we've added 19,457 cases to the pile.

So they close down every establishment that makes more than 50% of its income from alcohol sales from consumption on site.

They're not closing the grocery stores.

They're not closing home improvement stores.

They're not closing restaurants.

They're not forbidding you from ordering alcohol at a restaurant as long as they only rake in 49.9% of their sales in booze.

Gee...  Sounds more like an excuse for the teetotalling temperance assholes who run the licensing department to try and kill people having any kind of stress relief.

Wu Ping Cough has an incubation period of 2-14 days.

The bars and restaurants have been back open for a month.

The current spike in cases started at about the right time to blame them for this.

But they were operating with social distancing and reduced capacity...  Just like the places allowed to remain open.

What else happened at the beginning of the month that could have spread the disease like wildfire?

Large crowds of people packed tightly, many without the useless masks, protesting and rioting?

NAH!  Couldn't be that.

I notice that they're being very coy about whom is getting sick in this surge beyond "young people".

Holy Shit I Knew That Guy!

Back home local news story.

I knew Jason (I notice they got his name wrong).

We hung out in High School and were part of the same crowd of gamers.

We joined the Army at nearly the same time and that's where I lost track of him.

Our paths had diverged so far that I didn't even think to reconnect on Facebook.

A mutual friend tells me he'd been having issues sleeping since getting out of the Army and booze was his sedative of choice.

He'd tried to stop drinking several times and attempted more than once to get help from the VA for the sleeping problem, only to discover he was in the "really bad side effects" group for the regimen they prescribed.

I'm left wondering if those side effects were in play in the hours preceding police intervention.

I don't know what I could have done to help, but I wish that I was able to.

Suspiciously Consistent

Looking on Gunbroker for my new Cimarron USV Artillery model...

Everyone seems to have 5 in stock.

I'm curious to see if they all drop by one if I order.

I wish I'd found one locally, I hate sending this much money into the void and hoping the person at the other end is honest.

Every vendor has a really pissed off customer in the feedback.  Such anger is how doubts are forged.

Most are warning that things are running very slow thanks to Wu Ping Cough panic buying.

Open Letter To Midway and Brownell's

I ordered a set of Single Action Army screwdrivers from Amazon Prime.

Why did I order from Amazon and not Midway or Brownell's?

First off, a search for SAA screwdriver set actually got what I wanted at Amazon and got the wrong result from Brownell's and no result from Midway.

Second, Amazon fucking NUKES the gun supply places with regards to shipping speed and that's before you consider that Amazon isn't charging me for it.

But mostly the first thing.

I looked at the gun places first and once I had a brand and model from Amazon to search for, found them readily.  They have the product I was after, but didn't make it so I could find it without knowing who made it.

Back on that shipping thing.  Using UPS or FedEx to take it to the USPS for delivery is a needless extra step that just delays delivery to no good end that costs more than just using USPS door to door.

Amazon just put it in the mail.

Lurn, my pretties.

New State Name

Let's change it from Rhode Island to Zimbab Land.

Seems more fitting.

Altered Model M1873

Counter Jockey asks, "So, silly question, this is the Artillery Model. We're there different M-1873s for each respective branch of the Army?"

A skimmed history and free-form high-points version:

First; no hyphen in the designations.  M1873.  Actually it's Model of 1873 but the "model of" gets shortened to M and the spaces deleted for time saving on the typing.

The original Colt Model P as adopted by the United States Army as the Revolver, calibre .45, Model of 1873 had a 7-1/2" barrel.

Some of these guns led a hard life being rode hard and put away wet repeatedly.

Quite a few went straight from Hartford to an Army warehouse.

In the early 1880's it was decided to modernize the handguns and that's the Colt New Army adopted as the Revolver, calibre .38, Model of 1892.

To call Congress stingy during this time-frame is a massive understatement.

The Army, having defeated the Indians for all time, was downsized aggressively.

This meant two things.  Not much money for new guns, and many guns were surplussed.

Not enough new guns to go around meant that the M1873 had to remain in service, but many desperately needed repaired.

The repair and refurbishment process included a shorter 5-1/2" barrel.

The new 1892 and 1894 .38's were prioritized to the Cavalry.  The altered M1873's were first issued to light artillery units... thus becoming the artillery model.  The older 7-1/2" barreled guns were prevalent in cavalry units until replaced by the 1892, so they become known as the cavalry model.

There's no "infantry" model because only officers were issued handguns in blue-leg units.  Those officers were issued the same gun as the cavalry.

I think the idea that there were separate models for cavalry, infantry and artillery comes from there being different swords for each of the fighting branches.

Even more fun!  The altered model was more widely issued to cavalry units than to artillery due to them being more widely available in the run-up to the Spanish-American War.  Then even more were issued for duty in the Philippines because a bigger hole was deemed necessary to stop Moros.

Old Versus New

Cimarron's own web page and pictures tell the story better than I can about the differences between the 1873 to 1895 production and the 1896 to 1940 (so called "pre-war") Peacemakers.

Ignore what they say about the grips.  That's their own model distinction, Colt sold a wide variety of grips in various materials.

I notice that nobody offers a gutta percha grip (or reasonable facsimile) in any of their catalogs.  I'm led to believe that such grips were quite common, especially on reworked Army guns.

Smooth walnut is period correct and I like it just fine.  Cimarron is a bit too shiny, I wonder if they lacquered them rather than just oil rubbed.

Read That Fine Print

In the ongoing quest for an M1873 altered model... aka Artillery model...

One of the local shops has an Uberti 1873 Cattleman El Patrón.  $600 and change.

It's so very close and has the advantage of being all tuned up for Cowboy Action Shooting.

And the damn grips are checkered.

It's enough to make one notice the post-1896 features like a half-moon ejector and spring-loaded axis-pin stop.

"Just replace the grips, Angus!"

Plain walnut, one-piece grips are over $100 and many require fitting and finishing.  I'm learning how to do wood, thanks to the checkering project, but I'm no where near doing a set of single action Army grips.

So... back to Gunbroker.

Cimarron makes the precise model I want.  Some are listed for the low-low price of $518.

Which brings us to the fine print.

3.5% credit card fee.  $28 shipping.  $564.13 to get it to the FFL.

That credit card fee is really common.

There's at least one place that's charging $578 no credit card fee, free shipping.  Almost worth the $13.87 for the honesty!

Taylor's makes a couple that are very close as well.

Post-'96 features, brass grip frame.  $509.38.  $25 shipping.  $534.38 to the FFL.

I think having all the correct features is worth the extra $33.62 and honesty!

Ah!  The angst!

Example Of Being Special

After a self defense shooting, a common citizen can expect to be arrested on the spot.

They can expect to need to front a large sum of money to make bail.

They can expect to spend further large sums to hire an attorney to navigate the legal system to show that they were justified in using deadly force.

What if you're a cop?

You get 24 to 72 hours to consider and think about the shooting to formulate your story at home.  Further, they're not prevented from coordinating with others at the scene and getting their stories straight.  A common citizen trying this gets hit with tampering with witnesses.

You are very likely to not even miss a paycheck.

You are unlikely to need to hire a lawyer, let alone pay a bail bondsman.

Police are objecting to a system of citizen complaints where they, "could be accused of all sorts of malfeasance without the benefit of knowing the charges or circumstances and be expected to answer questions with perfect recall, even if the accusations were total bullshit."

Gee, like us everyday citizens when we're held for up to 72 hours after arrest?

Cry me a river, Officer.

I want some reforms that make you more like me.  I think that if cops were MORE subject to the laws that affect the citizens around them, we'd see less of what I'm complaining about in the behavior of the police.

As An Outstanding Critic

I'm on record as being critical of the police and how they do things.

It sometimes makes me unpopular with other conservatives.

It should be noted, however, that I've never been an advocate of NO cops.

We the people, on our own, are not good at the policing job.

Lynching is the norm where there's no professional law enforcement in America.

Read that again.  Again.  AGAIN.

When there are no cops, then we won't HAVE to call them to deal with all the shit we see wrong around us.

Trust me, you want the cops to be between us.

Thus far it's been the police preventing a reckoning from civilized America.

I Grok

Reading about the Sioux and I'm suddenly overwhelmed with a familiarity.

They're Vargr!

Rather, the Vargr were based to a large extent on them.

This is going to be a lot easier to assimilate into how they think that I was worried it'd be.

It also makes clear to me why Western Civ had such huge problems dealing with them.

It also illustrates why how things ended in America is really the best-case scenario.  There are so many other worse cases that nearly happened.

Down To Two

There are only two (maybe even four) gun shops left to check for a local acquisition of a 5-1/2" barreled artillery model.

Both are inconveniently located and one is even a slog.

The one that's a slog is also one that's always felt somewhat "off" to me.

The vibe of the place is wrong in a way I can't quite put my finger on.

The easier to get to place was one I hit often and now...  Well they never seem to have anything I want when I have money; so I just stopped checking.

The two other 'maybe' stores are places where the gun I'm looking for might just wander in on its own; but it's a hit and miss proposition.

Racist?

FuzzyGeff relates a story of a mutual friend who went into teaching.

An interesting Bell Curve item about the IQ distribution among white males is the standard deviations are broader than the overall average.

The peak is still at 100, but the curve is flatter.

FuzzyGeff, after reading about this, asked him, "without naming names, think of your best student in your first class of the day.  It's a white boy, isn't it?"

Our friend agreed that it was.

"Again, without naming names, your worst student is also a white boy, isn't it."

Again, our friend agreed that this was so.

He also volunteered that this was true of all of his classes.

"So much for white supremacy if we occupy both extremes, huh?"

Buffalo Soldiers

The 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry regiments were "colored" regiments.

White officers, black enlisted and NCO's with a scattering of white NCO's to build a cadre.

Something interesting comes from this time period, where America was most definitely more bigoted than it is today.

It's repeatedly noted that the colored units were more capable and better disciplined than others.

Some of it springs from being handed more duty, thus getting more on-the-job use of the skills set.

Some of it also falls from their leadership, seeing they got more work, also did more training on the skills.

In simple terms, these four regiments knew the job better and thus performed better than (white) units which did little more than sit around post and rarely did anything productive in the field.

Illustrative of the bigotry is the contempt written about many predominantly Irish units by their very own officers.

Speaking of those officers.

There was a glut of them left over from The Civil War.

Many of them had taken massive cuts in grade from their service there, and many nursed grievances and grudges from that war and whom didn't get cut as far down the brevet list as they did.

There were Civil War generals who were serving as senior non-commissioned officers, and a fair portion resented that some of their former peers still held real rank and commands.

Being put in command of a black unit was seen as a punishment posting, so many of the officers felt compelled to excel so that they could be promoted out.  An odd compulsion, considering that one tended to serve an entire career in the same regiment, but solid and undeniable competence was the single ticket out of any regiment if one wished to remain in the Army.

I am not crediting the superior soldering of the colored units entirely to their officer corps.

This same pool of officers fed white regiments too, so the men deserve credit for being able to learn the trade and excel at it.

Probably Not Going To Stop The Idiots

The Magic Bus has been removed from The Stampede Trail.

Removing the landmark from the destination probably isn't going to keep people from trying to reach it.

Should have left it and let Darwin have his offering.

Prolly should have renamed the trail to Darwin Trail just to underscore it for the foolish and unprepared.

You're Sure Going To Show...

Whom are you going to show by not reporting for duty, Officer?

You're going to not go to work and show us how crime shoots through the roof while you're gone?

While that may, indeed, happen: that's not my take-away.

"Employee was a no show." means you-are-fucking-fired in every real-world job.

Something we keep complaining about is a general attitude from The-Thin-Blue-Lives-Matter crowd is you can do anything you want without repercussions.

I do notice a high-pitched whine, resembling that of a kindergarten playground, whenever anyone suggests removing immunity from such repercussions.

Qualified immunity is barely older than I am, dating from a court decision in 1967.

You act as if there's no possible way you can enforce the laws or keep the peace without such immunity.  How, pray tell, did law get enforced from 1788 to 1966?

I note, from looking up gun statistics, that crime was also generally lower for the first 178 years of America than the last 53.

So, being accountable for their actions didn't make cops worse at their jobs.

Your contracts and unions keep you from being terminated for this blue flue bullshit, but what you're really teaching us is we really don't need you when push comes to shove.

Think about it really hard.  A riotous looter in suburbia is not a neighbor, or a local, so nobody is going to give a fuck if said looter grows large holes in them.

Dead criminals have a 0.000% recidivism rate.

The right to defend self, hearth and property has been too long subverted by the forces who're supposed to be defending us from the lawless.

These rights were delegated, not abdicated, to professional law enforcement.

What you have been doing lately is telling us we need to recall our delegation and force you to seek honest work outside government.

Your constant resistance to reasonable reform tells us all we need to know about "good" cops.

When you leave us to hang out to dry, we don't give a fuck if you come home alive at the end of your shift.

Dante reserved the lowest ring of Hell for those who betrayed the public trust.  That's where you're headed.

Generations Of Unplanned Sloppy Sex

To all outward appearances, my buddy Newt (he's not getting better) is black.

Turns out, he's not.

23 and Me says he's just barely 47% Nigerian.

He's got Finn and Ashkenazi Jew in his family tree as well.

Some Welsh (36%) for flavor along with English.

He's Welsh-Nigerian (Nigerian-Welsh?) by genetic markers.

The Ashkenazi Jew thing is amusing because I've been telling him he looks Jewish for decades.

The joke was he was an Ethiopian Jew because of his intense dislike for MREs (Meal Refused by Ethiopians).

It's interesting how it parallels my family's stated genealogy.

Mom's side is 1/2 Italian (for generations) 1/2 English (also for generations).

Dad's side....  Bring on the hybrid vigor!

The Scotland to England path includes all the Nordic rape you'd expect from Viking raids.

German and Norwiegian on Grandma's side.

Don't forget Japanese in living memory (Great-Grandma Kiko) on Granpa's side!

The McThags are a rutting (literally) mess!

Race is actually a social construct.

We can interbreed with any human, and the result will be a fully fertile specimen.

Skin color is no different than eye or hair color, and it should matter exactly as much.

Not at all.

Aesthetics are a personal preference, but it's not racism to prefer blondes.

FFS, I like 'em downright fat.  Will weightism be next?

It's George Wallace's World We Just Live In It.

Segregation NOW!

I'd have preferred segregation NOT!

It would appear that I am not going to allowed a choice.

Losing Me

What happened to Mr Floyd was not right and I was with you in demanding justice.

Then there were the riots.

I supported the self defense claim of officer Rolfe, I watched the video.

Then 2/3 of the department walked off the job.

Blue Flu

Here's another way to read it:  Police Union has hissy fit when member treated exactly like an everyday citizen is when forced to fire in self defense.

"We're not special anymore so we're going to refuse to do our jobs!"

This is the ur-version of holding your breath until you turn blue (pun).

Some heroes you turned out to be.

Hey, Police Union, I remember your opposition every single time we tried to make legitimate self defense easier for the commoner.

How's the sauce, Mr Gander?

Attached Duty

I am thinking of sending the 25th Infantry Regiment to the expeditionary force.

I've a nascent scene brewing in the back of my imagination that has them holding against all odds.

It's a solid unit to give this role too.

Update:

I am envisioning a situation where the neanderthals are doing a human wave and the discipline of keeping up single fire by volleys, using the magazines for rapid pulses as needed by the 25th saves them where emptying the magazines early causes another unit to be overrun.

Discipline.

I Shouldn't Give It Mouth

CHAZ has demanded concrete barriers to replace their makeshift barricades.

Yeah... about that.

Some people are seeing this as a victory for Anitfa.

Changing from makeshift barricades to permanent barricades to walls wasn't a win for the Jews of Warsaw.

Just sayin'.

See also, "Escape from New York."

Y'all want walls?  We can give you walls.

Gates?  Nope, we're plum out.

Yikes Quote

You might have seen the following quote:

"To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."

It was uttered by an utterly charming fellow.

Kevin Alfred Strom.

I can see why people misattribute it to Voltaire now.

Racists are often like squirrels, they do find the occasional truth.

Sadly, because they're such reprehensible people you, basically, can't repeat anything they've said.

Even if, or perhaps especially, if it's true.

Premeditated?

The idea of that Winchester Model 70 XTR Sporter in .270 Weatherby Mag is working on my imagination.

It's tempered by the $81 for 20 price of ammo.

I worry, though, about having that kind of round in the house.

If I have to shooty the looty with this rifle, I'm going to make damn sure they're dead because I'll be furious about having to expend $4 a shot.

Does making this financial decision now change it from self defense to murder later on?

Such Small Things

The sway-bar end links on The Precious had become floppy.

What this meant, daily driving, was the car would move then the link would pull on the sway-bar.

This small amount of play made the car feel a little greasy and less sure footed.

Happily Moog sells an affordable, greaseable, version that should last even longer than the factory version... which made 170 thousand miles.

I'll admit, the Moog version was slightly cheaper and was available for all four corners.  I found two of the OEM part when I needed twice that many.

It was a bear getting the rears in, but simple getting at the fronts.

She's now her normal sure footed self.

Bright Spot

My buddy, JT, was talking to someone when asked about his being prepared for something and he included, "And I have a lot of guns!" in his list.

Marv, Willard and I all went, "Awwwwww, he thinks he has a lot of guns."

It's Not Going To Be A Good Week

I've periodic bouts of depression.

I've had them long enough to know when a good one is coming on and I'm on the cusp.

It's never anything substantial that triggers it.  Usually some small social interaction or miscue.

It will prolly affect the flow of ice-cream.  Or is that floe of ice-cream?

No It's Not Trump's Fault

No, I don't know who voted for or against granting cert for the recently dumped 2nd amendment cases.

Neither do you.

The court doesn't publish this information.

By asking if I knew the votes when I supposed that it was decades of RINO appointments rather than it being Trumps fault... it implied that you knew better but you didn't provide any additional information.

It takes four to grant cert.

Trump has appointed two justices.  Not enough to grant cert even if he was staunchly pro-second.

Obama has two.

W has two.

Clinton has three.

Bush has the one, and only Thomas.

W was a RINO, as was his dad.  That Thomas isn't a RINO is a fluke.

It seems likely that we have two situations for the failure to get cert on 2nd amendment cases and neither involves the current sitting president.

There just aren't four votes to get cert.  Thomas and the two Trump appointees don't add up to four (assuming they voted this way).  With RBG refusing to die what more can Trump do to change this?

There are four votes for the second amendment, but that's it and by not voting to grant cert they avoid a 5-4 defeat.

One good thing has come of this.

It reminded me how much happier I was without a Facebook account.

Alive To Tell The Tale

Here's something that a lot of people cannot say:

"I have been arrested and spent a night in jail."

The reason that this is important is this is also the amount of time that someone who's getting a DUI will spend in jail.

How is it that I am alive and Rayshard Brooks is dead?

When the cops told me I was under arrest I complied.

I didn't try to prevent them from cuffing me.

I didn't try to run.

I didn't snatch a weapon from one of the arresting officers.

The most resistance I offered was a request to sit down and have a moment to process what was happening.

If you think that the reason I wasn't shot has something to do with race, I'm afraid you might have diminished mental facilities.

Mr Brooks resisted being cuffed.

Mr Brooks ran.

Mr Brooks snatched a weapon from the officer who ultimately fired on him and killed him.

Chris Rock talked about this.

You're Kidding Me

Why did the Army decide on 5-1/2" for the new barrel length from the 7-1/2" M1873?

It appears so that it would fit the new holsters they'd recently ordered for the S&W Schofield.

Really!

That holster used a lot less leather and could be adapted to the Colt by just punching a second hole in the flap.

Much cheaper than new holsters just for a longer gun.

Uh...

I am honestly hoping that this isn't true, but...

Procurement has produced many stranger decisions that were completely true.

The Green Sword

For those of you scoring at home.

The Green Sword starts out as a very fine, French AN XI light cavalry trooper's saber that's had the guard, grip and pommel updated to modern 1860's US saber style.

The blade is enchanted with Conceal Magic (5), Loyal Weapon, Quick Draw, Penetrating Weapon (ignores DR), Defending Weapon (+3), Accuracy (+3), Puissance (+3), and Ghost Weapon.

Plus, Weapon Spirit and IQ 12 from a fencing master with all of his skills, talents and technique.

The green color is a side effect of using the Heat and Shape Metal spells to alloy the steel with electrum.

Sabers and... Snippet 8

It was over.

Fowler stood, gasping for breath.

The green sword throbbing with his heart beat.

Unstained by the blood.

Pulsing.  Alive.  Seeking more.

He felt used.

The sword had wielded him, not the other way around.

It had saved his life, his command.

The Cursed By God and all that was Holy savage Goo Goo would learn to fear this blade or they would all die by it!

I-Troop would take a new name from this.

Grass Cutters.

Nobody would mock or laugh at this moniker.

Not twice any way.

Due Diligence

I have searched the local major vendors for a 5-1/2" single action army appropriate for my 1890's stuff I've already accumulated.

None evident.

The closest was an Uberti El Patron, but that's got too many farbs, even for me.

To the internet!  Where there are no background checks!

Until it shows up at the local FFL...

Glad I Never Made An Account

A cartoonist I read posted this to his daily blog:

"Twitter has become unbearable for most people. In the early days it was actually useful for building a brand or getting your work noticed, but that is no longer the case. It instigates fights to increase user interaction in the most negative way, because angry people stay engaged longer. Until they leave. I didn’t delete it, so if you want to see my ridiculous puns, or whatever else I post there, you can still follow me. I’ll keep using it for the users who still pay attention to it, but I’m not comfortable promoting it as a platform, or whatever it’s pretending to be. At this point you’re safer not getting noticed on twitter because if you do a mob will dig through your entire life in an attempt to get you to kill yourself. That’s not the expressed goal, there’s never actually an expressed goal, but the general gist is destroying a person’s life as much as possible, not accepting any apology they make, which is essentially a laconic public execution."

From what I've seen, he's not far off.

Atlanta Is Burning

"Atlanta is burning?  It's been done."

W. T. Sherman

Bittersweet

The Biscayne is off to her new, loving, home.

Sold to a longtime friend who wants to make her whole; something I just never had the time and money for.

Happy Birthday

245 years for The US Army.

Though, technically, it wasn't the United States yet...

I'm often amused that the Army, Navy and Marines predate the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and The Constitution.

Fifteen Years Of Blogging

Holy crap!

Today is fifteen years since I fired up my, now defunct, LiveJournal account.

Aunt The Bat paid for it and I was in a small pre-Facebook community with several of my friends.

I made a couple of extra friends from Oleg Volk's linking to other LJ people too (Waves at Weer'd!).

It's been a heck of a ride and there are SO many people who're no longer doing this any more who used to be an everyday visit.

Including a couple who've crossed into the void.

I'm Not Karen

The house to the north is getting a new roof today.

My only objection is they started at 0700 on a Saturday.

This is very unusual for my area.

Why?

Because a new roof is a three step process hereabouts.

First is the tear down, which needs to be inspected.

Second is the tar-paper layer and wood repairs, which needs to be inspected.

Last is shingles, which needs to be inspected.

The inspectors don't work on the weekend.

I can hear them, three hours later, already installing shingles.

That means that the roof next door doesn't have a permit and the roofers are likely unlicensed.

They don't have their name proudly displayed on the sides of their vehicles.

Being unlicensed doesn't mean they're incompetent, just working illegally.

Outsmarting The Counter Monkey

It would help a great deal if someone who knows something about cars would program the data-base for the counter-monkey.

It keeps coming up.

If the computer can't find the part under the name for it that's in the gorram manual, your computerized system has failed the customer.

The customer should not be on the hook to remember every single synonym for the part, that's the "expertise" that supposed to come with standing behind that counter.

I've been to parts stores who've had those people.

Increasingly, those people have left for greener pastures.

Worse, and yesterday is a fine example, the system finds every part with part of the name you're looking for and doesn't give enough information to choose the right part.

That's how I got to see ten choices for the main-belt tensioner pully, five choices for the A/C belt tensioner pulley and two for the main-belt idler pulley.

And was asked by the counter monkey, "is this the water-pump/power steering/alternator pulley?"

NO!  Right belt, but if I admit that, you're going to try to get the pulley that's on the accessory you named and not the idler I need.  Bet a new crate motor that you'd go on to tell me that you can't get the pulley's for those accessories separately and try to sell me a complete water-pump/power steering/alternator too.

I am on to you!

So far the best look of panic I've seen on their faces is looking up the part I need on their web page, checking to see if it's in stock there and then going to the store and saying, "I need brand and part-number," then refusing to answer the make and model.  If really pressed, I say I'm making a sculpture or a mobile.

The Wisdom Of Clint Smith

Adventures In Idleness

Or how a ten minute job turned into a six hour ordeal.

A hissing was emanating from under the hood of The Precious.

My first thought was a vacuum leak, and I found one at the PCV catch can.  One more turn of the exit elbow and that leak was plugged.

Yet, the hissing continued.

I narrowed it down to the driver's side of the car.

Then to either the power steering pump or the idler pulley.

Idlers are easier than pumps, so...

Off to Autozone!

Where they sold me a tensioner pulley ($21).

Which I discovered by removing the bad pulley...  Which came apart in four pieces (more on that later).

Old part in hand, back to Autozone!

They don't have one on hand.  Nearest one is at the hub and 26 miles away and is $85!!!

Off to Advanced Auto!

They don't have one on hand either, but there's one at the next shop 5 miles down the road for $15.

Off to that location!

Where they try to sell me the A/C tensioner pulley...  Compare parts, not the same, try again counter monkey.

Figure out which one it has to be by eliminating every one which has air conditioning or tensioner in the description.

They don't have one on hand, but the hub, 15 miles back the way I'd come, did.

"Have them hold it for me!"

Off to the hub!

"Hi, I'm Angus, you have a part for me."

"Who?"

"The counter monkey from the other store called you..."

"Hang on!"

He looks on the hold shelf.

"It's not on the hold shelf, let me find the guy who took the call."

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Finds it on the hold shelf.

"Oh, it was right where set aside parts were supposed to be!"

Compare it to my pulley.

New pulley is one assembly, not four parts.

Buy new pulley ($41), endure rush hour, install...

The hiss is now gone!

Next project:  Sway bar end links.

Camera Shy

I've got a gorgeous adult male cardinal around here.

He's notoriously camera shy.

Especially when I have the M50 out.

Here's my best shot so far:

Getting a neat defraction-double image from shooting through the screen of the back porch.

He doesn't sit still for long.

Here's the reason why:

A juvenile male in HIS territory.

I didn't get any pics of them today, but got to listen to the war.  Cardinals are very vocal birds about territorial disputes.

Dear Police

Dear Thin Blue Line:

Did it ever occur to you that what's going on right now would have been a lot simpler to deal with if you'd just done some simple and easy reforms a while ago?

If you'd been more open about the processes?

If your unions had not been so apparently supportive of the worst of you?

If the "good apples" had spoken out against the "bad apples" instead of, at best, standing mute?

If you even gave half the appearance of working for your communities instead of entirely for yourselves?

In reality you aren't that bad at all.  But you suck ass at portraying yourselves as someone we want around when something happens on the margins.

Because you suck at this, you seem way worse than you are, and you and your unions steadfastly refused to let sunlight shine in so people could see you were working for them instead of against them.

You behaved like you had something to hide at every turn and now act surprised when people think you're hiding something from them.

Triple irony score because of the number of times you've used that trite, "if you have nothing to hide, you've nothing to worry about," line on we common, law-abiding citizens when we object to having YOU getting intrusive into OUR lives.

You helped make this mess.  I am happy to help you unmake it, but you're going to have to be the people I want you to be in return.

It won't be too hard, most of you want to be that person already.

Silly Reasons

My single-action army clone is a fine revolver.

The problem is, it's got a 4-5/8" barrel.

Not quite the same as the 4-3/4" civilian model, but very common (perhaps most common nowadays) nonetheless.

What I "need" is a 5-1/2" artillery model to go with the Krag and the saber.

Cimarron imports a nice example from Uberti for a reasonable fare.

Happily, my slut of a holster takes up to six-inches.

I could change gears entirely and try to find an M1892, M1894 or M1889 .38 Long Colt New Army and Navy...

Those are not near so common...  Nobody makes a clone of such an unromantic revolver, despite Teddy Roosevelt his-own-self packing one up Kettle Hill!

Besides, I'd need a different holster.

The NRA Is Fucking With Me

The annual meeting will be held in Springfield at the Springfield Expo Center.

Which state?

It's not like it's an uncommon name for a town.  Wisconsin has six of them, for example.

Boycott Fail

I notice that NASCAR is running without spectators.

I know, I know, how's that different from last year?

Other sports are, apparently going to play without the fans as well.

As if the fans attendance doesn't matter.

Not "as if", your attendance and support doesn't matter.

At least it doesn't matter yet.

At present the sports are being paid by others because they believe the advertising will pry filthy lucre from the viewers.  Physical attendance doesn't matter to this revenue stream.

But, eventually, it could.

What the fans need to do to get their chosen sport to cater to them instead of third parties who don't like the sport, or the fans, only the money; is to deny the advertisers the money.

They have to get letters explaining how you were a customer, and now aren't.

They (most importantly) have to see a dip in sales.

So you have to kill what you love to save it.

If it doesn't return... are you really out anything?

Street Rods

I appear to have accidentally started a Lego street rod collection.

I've had the first one for decades, in fact I made it from looking a picture rather than buying the kit.

The pick-up in the center came in a kit I got to get a particular mini-fig for a friend.

The new Blue one is a reissue/update of a 1995 kit.  One I didn't get back then.  I became aware of it because Lego gives you one for "free" if you buy $85 of other stuff at their site.  Or you can spend $15 on ebay!

Making Racists

When you take a moment where everyone was united and on the same side against racism then, literally overnight, make people regret that unity.

You're creating racists.

It hardly matters that a white Anitfa member broke the window to the store when all the media records and transmits into people's living rooms are black people carrying off loot.

Considering how black people behaving like uncivilized savages without the benevolent care and control of The White Man is a core tenet of idiots like the KKK...

You're making racists of normal people!

If you don't want more racists, you have to avoid being seen acting in the exact manner that the racists predict you will behave.

It's not a uniquely black problem either.

Gun owners are often depicted as wantonly and psychopathically violent.

LGBT people are often depicted as predatory pedophiles.

Where they both made headway in public opinion was to just be civilized and normal.

Being the uncivilized savages the racists claim you are makes them look like they have a point.

Look at the trap you've been caught in.

Remember that white dude who broke the windows and screamed "free stuff!"?  Wasn't he gone before the media showed up?

Did you ever consider you're being set up?

Are you familiar with the phrase, "Don't scare the white people?"

The riots, not the protests, are scaring the white people.

If you're unfamiliar with the phrase, you need to look up why you shouldn't scare the white people.

It's rarely good for the people doing the scaring.

Antifa should also take note of this, because more and more average people are seeing them for what they are and it's not reassuring them.

Overlapping Venn Diagrams

It is possible to be a person who is not racist while supporting the police.

It is possible to want reform for the police and support them.

It is possible to oppose Black Lives Matter and not be a racist.

Sabers And... Snippet 7

It was inevitable.

From the journal of William Fowler, First Lieutenant, Regular Army:

When the Indians bolted through their temporary gateways, the narrow spots between the worlds were left behind.

Hundreds of them.

General Crook tried to keep a lid on where the Indians had gotten off to.  But the thaumatologists from Harvard had spilled the beans both by publishing papers and talking to the newspapers about their breakthroughs.

It was, therefore, inevitable that some enterprising person would cast the gate spell fresh on that spot and try to settle on the far side.

Red Dog told us the tale.

While the Sioux were less than thrilled at the 77th's appearance; we at least had come through carrying The Word from Lieutenant General George "Nantan Lupan" Crook.

We'd also come armed to the teeth, not knowing how warm our reception would be.

These naive settlers, though, they'd come prepared to farm.

The Goo Goo hated us whites worse than the Indians.

The old stories about what the damned Redskins would do to a white captive paled to what happened to these settlers.  It was a fate so gruesome that Sgt. Jenkins had to threaten our photographer at gunpoint to record the grisly scene.

The Goo Goo had feasted that day.

If that weren't enough, the settler family appears to have been flayed alive and their near intact skins made into macabre banners flown over their homestead site.  Even the children.

The Goo Goo don't seem to take captives or slaves like the Indians would.

But You Weren't There

I'm reading a thread on arfcom where people are speculating why the M9 was disliked by people who were issued an M1911A1.

Then being told that the reasons I disliked it were wrong, and that I disliked it for other reasons.

Um.

When we were issued the M9, we were thrilled!  The M1911A1's we had were shot out and difficult to qualify with.  New guns meant we could get our 'expert' badges back.

And we did.

I shot it well enough to qualify expert, but it never felt right in my hand.  That's gotten better over the years, but at the time...

What we really disliked about them was the bastardized UM-84 shoulder holster set-up.  If you could snag it on something, it would snag on something in the turret.

But that was hardly the gun's fault.  I don't think Bianchi was told that their M13 rig would be worn over a PASGT vest.

George Crook

In our universe, George Crook fell over dead on March 21, 1890.

He was 61.

The Nantan Lupan died suddenly of causes unknown.

He was respected and feared by the Indians.

He also held an earned reputation for never lying to them.

In 1899 Maka Tanka, Crook is in charge of the off-world expedition.

He's alive and well.

A major general will have had access to a personal surgical mage.

He'd regularly be subjected to healing magic and that would head off most things that would sneak up on one.

I'm making the supposition that it was a stroke or aneurysm what got him.  There's spells that can fix that if he'd complained about headaches or other precursor symptoms.

A valuable general might even have access to halt aging or even youth, heading off the aging process is a dandy way to not die of old age.

Myth Parallel

GURPS Infinite Earths provides some useful concepts and terms to describe them.

Maka Tanka is an "high-inertia parallel" up until the Indians complete their gateways and abscond to Maka Tanka from Earth.

But after that...

Inertia is broken and changes start to stack up.

Some examples:

Before the decoupling, events in this world are very similar to our world despite the existence of something, like magic, that should be very disruptive and world altering.

You have to have answers to why Lincoln isn't president on April 16, 1865, despite effective healing magic.

Well...  In my world, Lincoln is alive.  He's no longer himself.  In effect, Wilkes-Booth's bullet crippled Mr Lincoln's brain.

Great healing restored all of his hit points, but didn't put his brain back the way it was.  Regeneration is the spell that's required and you only get one chance at that.  The surgical mage failed his roll and Mr Lincoln stopped being himself from then on.

He's still alive, and a completely functional person, he's just lost most of his memories and is no longer president.

This is going to come up again for the McKinley.  Rather than dying from gangrene days later, he's healed moments after being shot.  He is so shaken by the assassination attempt that he resigns at the behest of his wife and retires from politics.

Still Freaking

The local news is in full on screaming FIRE mode.

While there has been a spike in new Wu Ping Cough cases since we've opened up, there has also been a lot more testing.

During the peak we had 1,000 to 1,500 new cases per day and 10,000 to 20,000 new tests.

Now we're getting 1,000 to 1,300 new cases on 20,000 to 40,000 new tests.

New hospitalizations are down from peak and flat.

Deaths are down from peak and flat.

We're finding the asymptomatic we'd been skipping before because testing has been opened up to anyone who wants tested and not just people exhibiting symptoms.

Proven Non-Police Peace Keeping

Historically the only non-police system of keeping the peace and enforcing the law has been vigilance societies.

We already know how Democrats feel about those, because they smack of the well regulated militia referred to in the hated 2nd.

There are literally books on why the vigilance society model was discarded and the professional police model adopted.

Ironically, corruption was one of the key reasons.

The Mafia has its roots in Roman vigilance societies, for example.

Worst Genocide Ever

In 1840 there were about 300,000 American Indians.

In 2020 there are about 6,790,000 American Indians.

We sure suck at genocide, which is what Western Expansion is always called.

D+ 27,757

76 years ago were D-Day.

Change The System

Changing the system is the only way to get what they want?

It's not the system that's broken.

They're trying to eat soup with a fork and blaming the fork.

Then calling anyone who suggests a spoon a racist.

Sergeant William Harvey Carney

Sergeant Carney earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Fort Wagner.

The film, Glory, would have you believe that everyone from the 54th Mass. Volunteer Infantry was killed that day.

Sergeant Carney lived until 1908, dying at the age of 68.

I've not one thing negative to say about a man who escaped slavery, volunteered to fight to end it and then earned the Medal of Honor.

I am proud of him.

I am honored to be tangentially associated with him thanks to my own meager, volunteer, service in the Army.

I also notice that, like many others who've earned this award, he felt he was only doing his duty; as anyone would have.

If you ask the recipients, there's not a single one who deserves a Medal of Honor.

I do not hesitate to say they are, to a man, wrong.

Above and beyond the call they were.

It's Because They've Increased The Number Of Tests

The past three days there have been more than 1,000 new Wu Ping Cough cases here in Florida.

1,317 on Wednesday.
1,419 yesterday.
1,305 today.

That's about double the increases for the previous block of 3-days.

They also tested about double the number of people.

The percentage of new positives to the number tested is lower too.

The press is trying to spin this as the opening is making people sick...

But hospitalizations are flat.

Deaths are flat.  The CFR is slowly creeping down from a 4.45% peak to a 4.33% at present.

More people are positive, but not increasing the rate that are sick enough to get sent to hospital or morgue.

We're doing good, all things considered.

Hell, if the oft found 13.9% infection rate is true, the IFR is but 0.089%  That's flu territory.

Fucking Morons

Just in case you don't recognize it, that's the Col. Robert Gould Shaw memorial in Boston.

You know, the same Col. Robert Gould Shaw who commanded the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

A BLACK regiment from the Civil War.

They made a movie about them, for Chrissake!  Glory.

This memorial is the epitome of not-racist civil war memorial.

Shaw wrote home that his black troops were superior, and smarter, than the bloody Irish!

Shaw was from Boston, he'd know from Irish.

Six Hours

Florida's Department of Law Enforcement does the background checks on firearms sales.

Yesterday, at one of the pawn shops, we overheard that the background call was taking upwards of six hours to get done.

Two people were in to pick up their gun from the previous day and were informed that their check had not yet come back.

Florida is also a waiting period state if you don't have a carry permit.  The waiting period doesn't start until you've passed your background check.

Lots of people, first time buyers, are discovering they've been lied to by the media and gun-control pundits with regards to how easy it is to buy a gun.

You can also see the lights coming on, "What else have they been lying to me about?"

...And Name Him George

Ain't andrewsarchus cute?

I love how we "know" so much about extinct animals from scant information.

All we have of the critter is a single skull sans lower jaw.

Pic taken from this article on the finding of the skull.

Detailed information about the history of the science on it.

SIG-Sauer To Depart Germany

Link, hopefully translated, to article.

Link, original article.

In short, it says that SIG is being systematically eliminated from bidding on substantial contracts because they're not entirely within Germany.

Wait There's A Poem About This

LA is going to divert police funding to people of color.

Kipling wrote about this!

It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
To call upon a neighbour and to say: –
"We invaded you last night – we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you've only to pay 'em the Dane-geld
And then you'll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: –
"Though we know we should defeat you,
we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we've proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: --

"We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"

Sabers and... Snippet 6

"It's old-magic, Sir." the regimental mage explained.

Colonel Waller sighed, knowing with certainty that two things were coming; an explanation of what the mage meant and a headache from knowing the explanation wouldn't be very useful to him.

"See this piece of amber in the center and the elaborately braided leather holding it?"

"It's a genuine talisman!"

"Why are we excited about this, Major?" Waller asked.

"As everyone knows, civilized magic stopped using old-magic centuries ago.  Not even the Ancient Greeks or Egyptians still used it."

"It's just too wasteful.  It requires very specific materials and methods to make even the simplest spells work, often completely consuming the materials used.  Silver, in particular, is consumed in the making of these talismans.  This also means that Major Dawes is correct, those pits were mines."

"Old-magic cannot affect gold.  This is also why I suspect that the Goo-Goos, uh..."

"It's alright Major, we understand."

"...Um, yes.  Excuse me.  This is also why I suspect that they don't enter the area surrounding the Black Hills on the other side.  Anywhere there's a great deal of gold, their magic will not work."

"That's fine, Major, but you were explaining this talisman."

"Yes, sir.  It's a primitive version of a missile shield."

"That's a damn irritating spell, Major.  It forced a lot of engagements into hand-to-hand fights when we were fighting the Rebs."

"Yes, sir, I agree sir.  But this is both more powerful and less useful."

"The effect it has is any projectile projected at the wearer is turned into water."

"That's bothersome..."

"True, sir, but it also takes about half a second to work.  Ideal against the weapons they're accustomed to, such as slings and spears.  Useful, but not ideal against a bow at shorter ranges.  Nearly useless against a Krag at the ranges they typically can be seen to be fired at.  A 'bonus' here is the difference in density betwixt lead and water.  The expansion is nearly explosive and at 300 to 400 yards, it could have a deleterious effect on them."

Colonel Waller's headache never formed.

Sabers and... Snippet 5

"Bill," she said, holding up a long box, "my father sent this from Chicago.  He wanted you to have it before you left for... for... the other side."

Lieutenant Fowler took the box from his wife and opened it, knowing before looking what it had to be.

It was her father's sword.  The one he'd carried in Crimea.  The sword his father had taken off a French colonel at Waterloo.

The green one.

It's blade was more curved and heavier than the 1860 saber he'd been issued and the hilt and guard had been reworked several times.  But that's not what made it stand out.

It was the color of the blade.

It was green.  Green the way copper is red, not green like verdigris.  It was shiny and untarnished.

Despite its heft, it felt light as a foil in his hand.

Under the scabbard was a hand written note:

"Use it well.  Bring it back.  I loan it to you, I give it to my grandson."

"But we don't have any children," he muttered.

"We will soon," Emily Fowler said, "the doctor says I'm two months along."

Worth A Read

The Militarization of the Police.

I've long felt that elimination of the Clinton era 1033 program and Civil Forfeiture would go a long way towards healing the rift between many citizens and their police.

As far as guns and other weapons go, "If I can't have, cop can't have."  They ARE civilians, same as me, after all.

Let's Be Racist!

No.  Let's not.

But the local news is encouraging we do.

They say to support "wealth equality" by patronizing black owned businesses.

Presumably by not patronizing a white owned competitor.

Um...

Do they even listen to themselves?  <-- That's rhetorical.

Economics just doesn't work like that.

I like to shop local.  The brick and mortar location often pays dividends in service and expertise on a sale of many things that I won't get from online or big-box.

If that local retailer is a minority, bully for them, but that's not why I'm in the store.

While I like to shop local, let's be realistic and acknowledge that I'm not going to drive an hour to shop for...  Wait.  If I'm driving an hour I'm not shopping local anymore.

So.

Black business owner: You want me to patronize you, I will.  Give me a superior experience to the competition in some way.  Better prices, more knowledgeable assistance, friendlier service, more convenient location, etc...  I'll wealth equalize you all day long!

Local news affiliate: You don't understand economics so very damn hard.

Much of this is academic.  In most places I shop, I have no idea who owns the place.  I can't make a race based purchase decision without knowing who owns the place.

The places I do know, it's demographics not racism that has me shopping primarily at white owned places.

Always keep in mind that to have a successful business you have to have a product people want to buy.  Black Star Line Brewery didn't.  They went out of business.  I asked the important question about the place, the paramount question for a brewery, "Is the beer any good?"

Turns out, it was merely OK, and certainly not worth enduring the atmosphere of the place to get it.

But they didn't blame having a mediocre, at best, product in a cut throat market for their failure.

Their main failure was they marketed themselves as a brewery, but were really selling a political position.  You can get political positions for free, why pay for one?

What did they blame for their failure?  Certainly not a lack of product people wanted to pay for...

But if I follow the advice of the local Fox affiliate, I should go out of my way to patronize places like Black Star Line.  Apparently without regard of wanting, liking or needing their product, but just because of who owns the place.

Making my decision to shop someplace on the basis of race is the very definition of racist decision.

No, Sir.  I will not base my decision on race.

Good News Everyone

You can stop rioting, release those cops from jail and drop the charges.

George Floyd died of Wu Ping Cough.

I believe that's the agreed upon standard for the CCP Virus...

Newish Laptop

After repeated crashes and fails...

...and so many pestering phone calls...

JT offered me the motherboard out of one of his seldom used machines.

I accepted gratefully!

In essence, we swapped the hard drive, display, keyboard and top cover from my machine to his.

So far, so good.

Muted

No.

I am not going dark for a week to "let black voices be heard".

They can shout into the void along with everyone else.

Especially not over the likes of one George Floyd.

Several places have detailed his criminal history.

He was destined for a bad end, and got it.

I object to how he met his destiny and, with the information available to me at present, condemn the actions of the cop kneeling on him and the other officers for not checking on the welfare of their prisoner.

I voiced my objections.

But going dark to... what now?

Yield the floor to those who've already said enough by rioting?

What can they say?

Is there really something they can say, if I stay silent, that will mitigate or justify the wanton destruction of people's property and livelihood?

I don't think there is.

So I shall not silence myself to let them try.

They can speak in court to a jury and have all the attention they deserve.

Fuck Off Foreigner!

Seth Rogan (a known dancing monkey) says that if you're not with Bureau of Land Management Black Lives Matter you don't deserve his movies.

It's good to know that I'm finally forgiven for whatever I'd done previously to deserve those things.

Knowing that I no longer have it coming, I think it's time to tell this foreigner to fuck right off, eh.

Yet another liberal Canadian who's made it big here in America in a way that he'd never have managed in his home nation who sees fit to bad mouth us.

President Trump?  Are you out there?  I don't think we need Canadian Dancing Monkeys any more.

Can we put a tariff on them?  Deport them all?

Nothing that a dancing monkey does is essential, and they hate us anyway.

Fuck 'em.

Remember, if you're not stealing from Hollywood, you're PAYING for this shit.

In The Burbs, You’re The Gazelle.

A warning to rioters.

h/t Mike

It's Already Happening

Some of the violent protesters have already been arrested and charged.

Almost as if the resources of the justice department were being used in favor of the peaceful, law-abiding citizens they're supposed to serve.

Almost as if it's not a machine politician sitting in the Big Chair.

I'm hopeful.

Clutching At Straws And Or Pearls

It'd been doubling every two days in Florida these past few.

Click here to see the daily percentage of increase in cases.

1 on March 1st.
5 on the 5th.
23 on the 9th.
77 on the 14th.
100 on the 15th.
149 on the 16th.

First reporting of deaths.

216 (unknown tested) 7 dead on the 17th.  CFR 3.24%
328 (unknown tested) 8 dead on the 18th.  CFR 2.44%
432 (unknown tested) 9 dead on the 19th.  CFR 2.08%
563 (unknown tested) 11 dead on the 20th.  CFR 1.95%

This also marks the first time the news has mentioned more testing rather than more illness is why the numbers are going up so quickly.

763 (9,338 tested) 12 dead on the 21st.  CFR 1.57%
1,007 (11,270 tested) 13 dead on the 22nd.  CFR 1.29%  Darn it, the blip collapsed.
1,227 (13,094 tested) 17 dead on the 23rd.  CFR 1.38%
1,467 (16,046 tested) 20 dead on the 24th.  CFR 1.36%
1,977 (23,723 tested) 23 dead on the 25th.  CFR 1.16%
2,484 (29,114 tested) 29 dead on the 26th.  CFR 1.18%
3,198 (33,822 tested) 46 dead on the 27th.  CFR 1.44%
4,038 (43,071 tested) 56 dead on the 28th.  CFR 1.39%
4,950 (50,528 tested) 60 dead on the 29th.  CFR 1.21%
5,704 (56,702 tested) 71 dead on the 30th.  CFR 1.24%
6,741 (64,661 tested) 85 dead on the 31st.  CFR 1.26%  Did not double in three days for the second time!
7,773 (69,265 tested) 101 dead on the 1st.  CFR 1.30%
9,008 (80,356 tested) 144 dead on the 2nd.  CFR 1.60%
10,268 (95,835 tested) 170 dead on the 3rd.  CFR 1.66%
11,545 (107,313 tested) 195 dead on the 4th.  CFR 1.69%
12,350 (116,898 tested) 221 dead on the 5th.  CFR 1.79%  First day since this started that there weren't more new cases than the day before.  Taking more than five days to double now.
13,629 (126,048 tested) 254 dead on the 6th.  CFR 1.86%
14,747 (138,618 tested) 296 dead on the 7th.  CFR 2.01%  Six days to double now.
15,698 (144,570 tested) 323 dead on the 8th.  CFR 2.06%.
16,826 (156,852 tested) 371 dead on the 9th.  CFR 2.2%.
17,968 (165,686 tested) 411 dead on the 10th.  CFR 2.33%
18,986 (173,187 tested) 446 dead on the 11th.  CFR 2.35%
19,895 (185,520 tested) 461 dead on the 12th.  CFR 2.32%
21,019 (201,005 tested) 499 dead on the 13th.  CFR 2.37%

Rate of increase is (give or take) 5-6% a day.  Not great, not horrible.  Still tracking at about 10±1% of those tested.  There's a definite bias in the selection criteria for how we're determining who has it.

21,628 (205,413 tested) 571 dead on the 14th.  CFR 2.64%  Good day for new cases, bad for deaths.
22,519 (215,158 tested) 614 dead on the 15th.  CFR 2.73%
23,340 (225,736 tested) 668 dead on the 16th.  CFR 2.86%
24,753 (241,913 tested) 726 dead on the 17th.  CFR 2.93%
25,492 (253,183 tested) 748 dead on the 18th.  CFR 2.93%
26,314 (262,495 tested) 774 dead on the 19th.  CFR 2.94%
27,058 (273,552 tested) 823 dead on the 20th.  CFR 3.04%
27,869 (284,206 tested) 867 dead on the 21st.  CFR 3.11%
28,576 (290,476 tested) 927 dead on the 22nd.  CFR 3.24% I think we're getting close to the third peak on deaths and it going down from here if it matches the same curve as the confirmed infections.
29,648 (303,050 tested) 987 dead on the 23rd.  CFR 3.33%
30,533 (320,984 tested) 1,046 dead on the 24th.  CFR 3.43%
30,839 (334,974 tested) 1,055 dead on the 25th.  CFR 3.42%  No evening update at time of posting.
31,528 (346,365 tested) 1,074 dead on the 26th.  CFR 3.41%
32,138 (358,127 tested) 1,088 dead on the 27th.  CFR 3.39%  The number of new dead has dropped precipitously, fingers crossed that this is a trend!
32,846 (368.651 tested) 1,171 dead on the 28th.  CFR 3.57%  Still hoping for a downward trend and this is a blip.
33,193 (375,300 tested) 1,218 dead on the 29th.  CFR 3.67%  New cases are way down.  Deaths are not following the same curve as infections.
33,690 (384,153 tested) 1,268 dead on the 30th.  CFR 3.76%
34,728 (404,467 tested) 1,314 dead on May 1st.  CFR 3.78%  Big jump in testing, big jump in cases.  Corresponds to a couple of counties opening up testing to any resident who wants tested?  Dunno.
35,463 (417,762 tested) 1,364 dead on May 2nd.  CFR 3.85%
36,078 (429,970 tested) 1,379 dead on May 3rd.  CFR 3.82%
36,897 (445,995 tested) 1,399 dead on May 4th.  CFR 3.79%
37,439 (467,553 tested) 1,471 dead on May 5th.  CFR 3.93%
38,002 (482,005 tested) 1,539 dead on May 6th.  CFR 4.05%
38,828 (495,075 tested) 1,600 dead on May 7th.  CFR 4.12%
39,199 (514,017 tested) 1,669 dead on May 8th.  CFR 4.26%
40,001 (529,865 tested) 1,715 dead on May 9th.  CRF 4.29%
40,596 (539,630 tested) 1,721 dead on May 10th.  CRF 4.24%
40,982 (561,741 tested) 1,735 dead on May 11th.  CRF 4.23%
41,923 (580,316 tested) 1,779 dead on May 12th.  CFR 4.24%
42,402 (585,478 tested) 1,827 dead on May 13th.  CFR 4.31%
43,210 (609,574 tested) 1,875 dead on May 14th.  CFR 4.34%
44,138 (629,461 tested) 1,917 dead on May 15th.  CFR 4.34%
44,811 (630,795 tested) 1,964 dead on May 16th.  CFR 4.38%
45,588 (635,081 tested) 1,973 dead on May 17th.  CFR 4.33%
46,442 (677,710 tested) 1,997 dead on May 18th.  CFR 4.3%
46,994 (717,162 tested) 2,052 dead on May 19th.  CFR 4.37%
47,471 (772,669 tested) 2,096 dead on May 20th.  CFR 4.42%
48,675 (815,584 tested) 2,144 dead on May 21st.  CFR 4.4%
49,451 (837,132 tested) 2,190 dead on May 22nd.  CFR 4.43%
50,127 (858,112 tested) 2,232 dead on May 23rd.  CFR 4.45%
50,867 (872,916 tested) 2,237 dead on May 24th.  CFR 4.4%
51,746 (909,928 tested) 2,252 dead on May 25th.  CFR 4.35%
52,170 (924,920 tested) 2,259 dead on May 26th.  CFR 4.33%
52,634 (935,271 tested) 2,319 dead on May 27th.  CFR 4.41%
53,285 (953,321 tested) 2,364 dead on May 28th.  CFR 4.44%
54,497 (984,160 tested) 2,413 dead on May 29th.  CFR 4.43%
55,424 (995,886 tested) 2,447 dead on May 30th.  CFR 4.42%
56,163 (1,022,265 tested) 2,451 dead on May 31st.  CFR 4.36%
56,580 (1,041,318 tested) 2,460 dead on June 1st.  CFR 4.33%

The tiny numbers mean that the CFR will see seemingly significant swings which really aren't significant. 

Huzzah.

This post gets bumped to the top twice a day as new numbers are published.

An interesting, and dense, report that the CFR for Wuhan might be as low as 1.4% and not the widely reported 4.5%.  If that's true then Florida is doing pretty well even with the presently diagnosed cases.

Not doing so great with the CFR as more and more people are croaking and fewer new cases appear daily...

May 9, 2020:
The high CFR is apparently because Florida is God's waiting room and several of the spikes in the daily death count are from huge portions of rest home populations all going about the same time.  So much for no-visitation and social distancing.

May 11, 2020:
Fully one third to one half of all Wu Ping Cough deaths in Florida are in nursing homes!  That will explain the high CFR. 

May 20, 2020:
Testing is way up, but the number of new cases isn't much higher than before.  The number of new deaths per day seems to be fairly steady too.  Interestingly, neither new cases or new deaths per day is much changed from before we started to open back up.  That too is consistent with the disease being silently out there for longer than the official March 1st discovery.  I know of at least two people who were sicker than hammered shit in January and February and both were tested negative for the flu.  They got by on fluids, over the counter cold meds and rest.  If it was Wu Ping, how many people did they interact with while contagious in the time before they started feeling it?

June 1, 2020:
I think we can put a feather in this cap and stop updating this post daily.  With the riots going on, if there isn't a massive jump in cases from Anitfa spreading it to each other, this epidemic is over.

Victory!

The new AC is already having a positive effect on the electric bill!

April's bill was $223.

May's is $161.

This is significant because we've had the thermostat at 74˚ instead of 76˚ and it's been hotter outside.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to restoring life-support to Casa de McThag!

I, for one, will laugh my head off if we have a huge uptick in Wu Ping Flu cases in about two weeks in every place that has had riots and looting.

If there isn't an uptick, then we can just open up the economy because it will be proof the 'demic be done.

Getting Sporty Out There

All I know is, it wasn't US that started it.

We Were On Your Side

When the police break the rules and use excessive force, we're with you.

When that excessive force leads to a death, we're with you.

When you use the death as an excuse to riot, loot, burn and destroy?

Fuck you.

What really pisses me off about this is the offending officer was fired, arrested, and charged in less than a week.

Exactly the progression of events you fucking shit heads demanded last time an officer was accused of wrong doing.

And you rioted anyway.

Or did you?

There's a lot going on here that points to outside groups stirring things up and adding fuel to the smoldering, dry tinder.

The rioting, looting, arson and destruction happened too fast and too close together for there to be no coordination.  This did not happen at a "Did you see that? We should do something!" pace that naturally flows from shared videos, internet posting and news reports.

The reaction is too fast.  Too many people showed up at the same places at the same time in an inorganic way.

Someone else has pointed out that the NSA is sucking up every transmission for future use.

The coordination will be exposed.  That's not Hillary sitting in Die Großes Weißes Haus.

Frankly I'm popping popcorn and watching you sow the wind, because we're sick of your shit.

PS: I think we should go ahead a prosecute anyone who's funding these assholes and that would include offering to cover bail by Dancing Monkeys.