Window Closes Door Opens

The Boy announced today that if I was banned from taking him to his school, then he would prefer to not attend there anymore.

We called his support coordinator and it turns out that the school he was attending is no longer the only choice in our area.

Additionally, there are "companion" programs with one-on-one education stuff that do a better job of keeping him engaged and give a less academic approach.

The funding he receives from the state, from the generous contributions of taxpayers like you, can be seamlessly moved from one service provider to the next.

I hope they appreciate what they've accomplished.

Someone else will be getting the money that was previously earmarked for them.

Being rude and unprofessional to a customer has consequences!

Yes.  Yes it does.

They're apparently aware that The Boy would make such an ultimatum, because they're all of a sudden very willing to cooperate on getting him transported by their van.

Something which wasn't even to be considered these past five years.

 

It's nice to have some power for a change.

Still One Of The Best Commercials Ever Filmed

Make sure you have your sound cranked.

I Thought That Body Shaming Was Wrong

There are two things that I own which seem to invite speculation about how large my penis is.

Any of my modern sporting rifles.

The Corvette.

I am told that owning these things is compensating for a lack of size in a way that says that I should be ashamed about it.

Being heterosexual, I have not done a great deal of size comparison with other males, so I'm actually unaware if I'm above, below or at the average size.

The Lovely Harvey says I'm a good size, but that's a lot like your mom telling you you're handsome.  It's a biased opinion.  She almost keeps that disappointed tone out of her voice...

I'm not vain enough to grab the tape-measure then hitting the internet with the measurement and comparing to stated sizes.

It's called being secure in ones own body.

The kind of security which is not so threatened that I need to compensate with a conspicuous symbol of virility.

I think the accusers are actually the ones who fell insecure about their equipment and seek to feel better about themselves through making someone else feel worse.

They are a fail at this station.

It Doesn't Work That Way

I've been banned from the grounds of The Boy's school.

On Friday they changed how they were going to do pick-ups again.

Bear in mind that the actual, published, rules have never changed.

They have not followed their own procedures in more than a year for picking him up, but on Friday decided that alles must now be en ordnung.

The person who's in charge of the afternoon parking lot apparently felt that directing traffic with angry, jerky motions and glares was sufficient to inform me that I needed to put a sign-out time on the clip board.

I was further informed of the reinstatement of this requirement by her shoving the clipboard into the passenger side and in front of my face and growling "YOU HAVE TO SIGN HIM OUT!"

I was not expecting to have a clipboard shoved in my face and reacted angrily with a "Fine!" and gave them an illegible scrawl.

This is not the first time this employee has been a jerk during pick-up and I decided I'd had enough and fired off an email to demand the actual rules so I could be in full compliance.

I gave a physical description of the employee and complained about her lack of basic respect.

This was deemed "disturbingly hostile" and my description was "defamatory".  Can't be too defamatory if the description got you to the correct employee...

That description?  "the blonde lady who dresses 20 years younger than she is."

Oh, the slander.  Oh, the libel.

So, in the world of special needs schools, demanding some common courtesy from an employee gets you banned from the property.

I think we're just going to withdraw The Boy from this school who've selected "be a bully" when an accurate enough to ID someone description wilts their precious fweelings.

Bullies are always bullies, and I don't trust these people with my son any longer.

Darn It

Ordered a TacStar steel heat-shield for my 870.

It will not fit with the MagPul handguard without removing about 1/8" from the top of the handguard.

Considering I've already removed material from that handguard to fit a heat-shield...

I think I will leave the plastic one on for now.

Is Binary

"Is there a riot?" is a binary question.

Yes or no.

There really isn't a "more riot" situation.

Either there's rioting or there isn't.

For there to be "more" rioting then you'd have to have riots in new places.

All of the places that will tolerate riots have riots.

All of the places that don't, have quelled the riots to nothing.

So how do you get "more" riots should Amy C. Barrett is confirmed?

You're already rioting every place where you won't be shot dead for doing so and you're not rioting where you will (mostly but the day's early).

You Weren't Using That Coccyx For Anything Anyway

Can I complain about the McClellan saddle?

It hurt my ass when I did a (very) brief stint doing ONE Civil War re-inactment.  The British Universal is a much more comfortable seat.

It's amazing how often the word "endure" or a variation on it comes up with the thing.

It endured in service until we stopped using horses for combat.

It's technically still in service because ceremonial units still have horses.

It's still being made today because of re-inactments.

It's definitely a saddle that either fits you, or doesn't and one size is all you have to choose from.

I'll bet it fit George's ass perfectly.  I'll bet that George's ass was 50th percentile at best.

One place it really shines, though, is it's easier on the horse than most military saddles of its day.  That's no small consideration.

It was also more affordable and easy to manufacture than the saddles it replaced.

If you put a gun to my head, I will be forced to admit that it would not have endured so long if it was really as bad as people complain it was.

Is It Sportsball Without A Ball

Because of a season of playing hockey in my sophomore year of high school, I rather like hockey.

Tampa (a place devoid of outside snow or ice) has a hockey team.

The NHL has been gratifyingly light with the honorariums towards dead felons, so it's been tolerable to watch.

But is it sportsball?

I'm thinking it still is because sportsball really means professional sports and isn't really a reference to the tiny thing chased around by millionaires.

It's Because Orangeman Won Isn't It?

I am curious why all the rules about voting need to be changed all of the sudden.

What changed?

The only thing I can make out is that Democrats started losing elections in places they'd thought they were safe from such things.

With no other changes, if one party suddenly starts losing elections, that's time for that party to check in with the voters and ask, "where did we lose you?"

And just to head off one "with no other changes" objection. Gerrymandering is part of the process. It's also a place where the Democrats are complaining that it's suddenly unfair now that Republicans are drawing the lines on the map instead of them.

This is a result of elections too. Win the voters back, and you can draw the lines again.

Rule Two Violation

Breanna Taylor is a monument to Niven's Rules.

Of which, rule one is "don't throw shit at an armed man."

Rule two is "don't stand behind someone breaking rule one."

She's also an example of laying with dogs gets you fleas.

So, once again, we're protesting the death of someone whose death would otherwise be a net societal benefit.

The riots and protests over felons and their criminal associates is getting damned old.

The Most Important Small Business Advice

“There is no other source of income for mom-and-pop places. There’s no financial backing, there’s no partners, there’s no corporate money to be funded in when you are short. The customers are their only source of revenue, so if they don’t come, (they) have no safety net.”

“You have to support ’em.”

Because if you don’t, they’ll be gone.

It's something I've tried to explain to several friends over the years.

I've also been told how unreasonable I am. 

The corollary to this is to not alienate the customers, because they will stop coming.

You Meet In A Tavern

How many RPG campaigns have started with that trope?

Aside

RPG or Role Playing Game refers to a tabletop game played with dice, pencils and paper.  The player informs the gamemaster or Dungeon Master what their character is trying to do and the GM tells them what to roll to succeed... or everyone plays their role and acts it out.  It does not refer to a video game playing piece mislabeled as a character where the only actions available are those which would be determined by a die roll.

End aside.

I know I've started a few that way.

It's a handy mechanism to get players who just met and have just completed character generation to introduce themselves and their characters to everyone else.

At this point in many (most?) games this is all the players know about the world besides the game system being used.

The GM then starts filling them in on things their characters should really already know (what with being born in the world after all).

Which is why I just laugh my fool head off at the numerous cases of reviewers and critics who didn't grasp the movie "Bright".

I got it.

Everyone I've ever gamed with and am still in contact with got it.

But critics and reviewers didn't.

I posit that they've never sat down and played good old fashioned D&D.

Another aspect that let me enjoy it, while they didn't, was the recurring situation where the GM only has a very small sliver of the world done when play begins.  The world expands as the players play in it.  Lots of things are presented without explanation, and they don't need explained, until the players head that direction.

And they won't if you describe it to them.

Things with descriptions are things the GM spent time on, and those are always traps.  Never go where the GM has details.  Go into the unknown, the gray space that's undefined.

The GM is your enemy and he is yours.

Let the mutual hate flow through you!

The people who wrote Bright didn't write it for critics or reviewers.  They wrote it for we who've rolled up a character and listened to the phrase, "You meet in a tavern..." and then proceeded to have the details of the setting applied as the GM made them up in real time while we interacted with and subverted their designs.

I look forward to the second module in that adventure.

Rat Proof

A constant problem of living in the citrus belt is fruit rats.

A fruit rat is just a Norwegian Black with a taste for Florida orange juice.

Which means that they revert back to being normal rats when the opportunity arises.

We renovated the back porch with a new roof and pulled the drywall down from the ceiling to give a more rustic, exposed rafter look.

At the house wall, though, the gaps above the house's cinder block wall where those rafters for the porch roof meet the house lead right into the attic.

A determined rat could penetrate the nylon screens on the porch and allow them access to all manner of places.

So we bought a pile of soffit vents and shaped them to fit in the gaps.

We did this 11 times.  The distance between rafters is not constant, so we had to make each one custom.

I also discovered that although it's 80˚ down on the floor, it's still 95˚ with your head up between the joists.

Howitzer, Cavalry, Pack Caliber .45

If there was any doubt that the Colt New Service .45 was a big gun...

On top: 1/3 of an Air Conditioner 6" Colt Anaconda in .45 Colt.

On bottom: 7-1/2" Colt New Service in .45 Colt.

It's a fookin' cannon.  2.9 lb. for the New Service, 3.3 lb. for the Anaconda.

The New Service feels much heavier.

The trigger on the New service is definitely much heavier.  14 lb. 12 oz. in double action and crisp 6 lb. 6 oz. in single.  The Anaconda has a very smooth 10 lb. 8 oz. in double and a telepathic 3 lb. 6 oz. in single.

I know the Anaconda shoots well, no idea on the New Service; the Wu Ping Cough induced ammo shortage has prevented much range time; and we have a stack of guns to see if they still work.

Stuff And Odds And Ends

Willard sends his greetings! He's home!

The Boy's school is creating drama.

I've committed home improvement.

Replied to a message from a long-ago post, hope that I helped!

Surgical Seat Cushion Removal

 

That's an extreme pucker factor!

Welp I Gave Him A Chance

MN Steel is a holocaust denier.

We don't cotton to that here.

He had a long winded, familiar, denial screed that I deleted.  He won't be commenting here anymore.

Here's one for you.

I've been to Oświęcim.  That took a lot of extra effort because it was 1989 and I was a soldier.

The Poles left Auschwitz-Berkenau almost as the National Socialists left it.

It's fucking real!

In 1989, when a Warsaw Pact nation had every reason in the world to disagree with NATO and the histories that the First World published... The Second World's histories agree.

That alone proves the assertion that it happened.

It's not the only evidence, which is in abundance...  Not least of which is period footage from Germans.  And all of the Allies made sure to document what they found.

Deniers seem to forget that thousands of Allied soldiers saw the camps and the victims.  Allies from both sides of the coming Iron Curtain.

I guess The Earth could be flat too.  Completely believable if you're a moron.

I Think I Can Get Behind This

 

It's a basic "fuck you rioters" bill.

Freedom!

California has mandated that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state from 2035 on will be zero emission.

With their war on electrical production, California has effectively exited the automobile market.

The automakers will be free to ignore what goes on in California.

What it really means for the rest of us is we can finally buy cars which conform to just the federal emissions standards instead of California's.

We're finally going to be free of being forced to conform to the whims of a government we're not allowed to vote for and have no grounds to sue because of residency.

Hey, I'm an optimist.

That's Your Problem Right There

To keep the nightmares down to a dull roar, I play a movie or a playlist of movies on a laptop to sleep by.

This morning I awoke and there was no movie running.

The screen was black, as if it'd gone to sleep, but the power button wasn't doing its cute little "breathing" thing.

Likewise the other indicator lights were dark.

A short push of the power button got a response like an initial boot, but it went back to dark.

Uh oh!

A long push got her to fire up enough to tell me that it was in critical battery mode.

I'd managed to unplug it from the power adapter somehow.

The plug was just barely not connected at the back of the computer.

Damn, that was scary.

Bad Night

You know it's a bad night when you wake up on the floor next to the bed cradling the FAL and thinking in Pashtun.

Willard! You need to get your ass out of therapy.  We need to talk.

Dear Fucking Foreigner

I think we need a law that says that we can kill any foreign citizen who inserts their opinion into our politics.

Because I'm sick of listening to people who're residing here with zero intention of becoming citizens telling those of use who are citizens how our elections and votes should go.

I have a bit of a clue for the Royal Family of England.

Way back in 1775 we formed an army to oppose that whole England thing.

By 1783 we'd won the war and the right to tell the Royal Fucking Family of Motherfucking England to FUCK RIGHT THE FUCK OFF!

For all goddamned time.

The debts incurred, and not repaid, from WW2 further cemented the concept.

Harry, you've no right to tell us what to do.  Your opinion is lessened by your heritage and proximity to the throne.  Your cunt fucking wife can shut her pie-hole too.

You think I'm being harsh?

Show up to my house and I will repeat it in person.

You want an opinion about American politics, you need to renounce and abdicate then become a citizen here.

Otherwise.

SHUT YOUR CUNT MOUTH AND TELL YOUR WHORE TO SHUT HERS TOO!

Spread The Word

An excellent analysis of the militia over at My Daily Kona.

Long, but well done!

Though I doubt that anyone reading here isn't already reading there...

Dimzi

An interesting fact that frequent commenter (and meatspace friend) Technomad pointed out to me in the distant mists of time:

Nazi was derogatory slang for NSDAP.

It played on a Bavarian pet name for Ignaz, which translates from German as "Cleetus" does in modern American.

Now that we're being confronted with an advanced case of fascism under several names, including Democratic Socialism; I propose a new name for them

Dimzi.  Dim because they are dim and because it's a homophone for Dem from democratic and Democrat.  Zi because it riffs off of the Nazi they so resemble.

Like the NSDAP, they will dislike the slang term.

I Think I Know Why

63% of adults under 40 do not know that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

The Florida Board of Education is meeting at The Holocaust Museum in St Pete to discuss what to do about that.

I think I know why kids don't know.

Because if you teach about The Holocaust, you have to teach them about The Nazis.

If you teach about the Nazis, you have to tell them where the name comes from.

Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Then you'd have to explain to the kids how National Socialism is somehow different from Democratic Socialism.  (Hint: They're not)

If you did teach these things, they'd see that the Antifa is just a different flavor of socialist agitation, communist opposition to the fascist national socialism.

They'd see that today's Antifa isn't opposing fascism, but taking the role of the Italian Black Shirt or the Nazi Brownshirt.

But we dare not teach the kids about the evils of socialism.  Otherwise they might also notice that trade unions have their wings dipped in the same red blood.

Hey, isn't Mrs Teacher in a union?

CLICK!

I feel like James Burke.

A Joke

Remember how we used to make macaroni art when we were kids?

I have an idea for something humorous, and I wonder if it could get me an invite to The White House.

Depends on Don's sense of humor.

Glue some rice to a piece of card stock in the shape of an 'N'.

Rice-N, get it?  Prolly best to frame it.

Then get a copy of "State of Euphoria".

Someone needs to break the damn mood.

I wonder if he'd think it was funny.

I'd love the headline to be, "Florida Man offers President Trump Rice-N and Anthrax, receives invitation to White House."

Wish me luck.

PS: There is absolutely nothing nefarious implied in this post.  The only possible way this could harm the president is if he's got a food allergy to rice or listens to the CD at ear-drum shattering volume.

Diversity

I'm starting to notice that conservatives and Republicans are gaining in diversity of thought as Democrats shove ever further left.

Yes, it does mean that Republicans are skewing more to the left as people shift, but the defectors are moving right to meet them.

I've noticed that I can still have a civil discussion with a staunch, red-winged, conservative, Christian abortion prohibitionist about abortion.  I don't change their mind, but they don't walk away wishing me dead.

It's because we feel that the proper course is to convince rather than force.  That we fail to convince each other isn't casus belli to begin to force the other to confirm.

Personally, I've walked away with fresh perspective.  It's where my statement that people who've a religious objection to abortions shouldn't have their tax money spend on funding them.  And because money is fungible, that means that no government funding of abortions would be allowed under the 1st Amendment and 14th Amendment.

Private funding would be available for the same reasons.  You cannot force your religion and its position on abortion on someone else with government.

You're free to convince them outside of government, and you should keep trying.

IMPORTANT NOTE: That was an example, not an invitation to voice your opinion on abortion or try to convince me to your side.  Comments along those lines for this post will be deleted with as much Ruth as the SCOTUS currently has.

But the fact that we can actually talk among ourselves about many of these divisive issues shows more diversity than the supposed party of diversity.

They only care about the superficial differences and visible diversity.

All must conform.

That's why their judges are in lock-step.  Conformity.

That's why our judges often piss us off.  Diversity.

It's why we're more comfortable with freedom.  We're independent, not dependent.

It's why when I was asked, "do you have any black friends?" I replied, "No.  I only have friends."

She'd Do

Amy Barrett would do as a proper replacement for Scalia even though she'd be replacing Bader Ginsberg.

It doesn't hurt a bit that she's relatively young.

She'd be on the bench a good long time and she's with us on the gun issue.

Smoke

I am surprised that the "Dunkin Donuts" logo isn't burning off the wall at Rogers Place in Edmonton like the Ark of the Covenant burned off the Nazi markings in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It's Canada, and that means Tim Horton's!

You'd Think There'd Have Been An Orientation

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, says that she will use impeachment to block President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

I am constantly astonished at the lack of civics knowledge in our elected officials, since it's those self-same civics which gets them elected.

But I will citizensplain it to Nance.

The president nominates candidates for the Supreme Court.

The Senate votes to accept or reject that candidate.

At no time does it go to The House.

But, let's say that Nancy wishes to impeach the President for doing something which he's required to do by The Constitution.

The candidate is not invalidated by impeachment.  The Senate may choose to reject the nominee, but there's nothing which demands they do if the President who nominated them is impeached.

This is all covered in a very basic civics class.

Again, Democrats, nothing you use to snag or keep power will be off limits in the future.

You're treading dangerous ground here.

I'll give you another scenario.

A Democrat, like Obama, gets elected when Republicans control both houses of Congress.  They decide to impeach and convict for shallow and partisan reasons.

It's all perfectly legal.  The Constitution was written by people who believed in a bit of honor and integrity.  When you chuck the integrity, and weaponize the civics, you don't get your way, you get chaos.

Chaos doesn't lead to any desirable outcomes and often bites those trying to direct it hardest.

OK

 Hey, Dems, all of your "great" ideas to grab power are ALWAYS used by the Republicans against you later.

You're screaming about adding to the numbers of justices on The Supreme Court.

You do realize that Trump has an excellent chance of being reelected, right?

You should be careful, you might convince him and Cocaine Mitch that expanding the court is a good idea.

Imagine if they added the entire list that Trump bandied about the other day.

The people are going to object if this goes on too long, and they will seek different representation.

It's happened before, and it's happened to Democrats.

Glee Becomes Despair

I've been comparing and contrasting the responses to the death of a Supreme Court Justice.

I remember the glee which the Left responded to Antonin Scalia's death and the unbounded joy they expressed that a conservative justice would be replaced by President Obama.

I remember all their demands, that the Senate stop stalling and install Garland.

I remember them all taking the position that waiting until after the election was wrong.  Including Ruth Bader Ginsberg herself.

I remember their despair when it was realized that the Republicans, not the Democrats controlled the Senate and they could sit on their hands over the appointment for as long as they'd like.

A lesson they'd hard learned from watching their Democrat colleagues.

Even more fun, for me, is the petard that is launching the Democrat's despair is their own.

Thank you Harry Reid!

Poof

This is not the post that I opened the composer for.

The idea that I had for the post evaporated the moment I had the blank surface exposed.

I'll try again later.

Another /5 Anniversary

Today marks ten years on Blogger!

We blame Weer'd!  Weer'd who doesn't even really blog anymore while his wife tolerates his shameless flirting with Erin.  We listen to ACP, we know.  (GRIN)

He convinced me to come out into the wider world of blogging and grew my audience from friends and family to at least six more people.

Three of them even kept reading!

There've been ups and downs, of course, conflicts and reconciliations...

But I'm still having fun and trying to put at least three posts a day to practice this newspaper of my life thing.

Three Oh

Today I have been out of the Army for 30 years.

Wow.  Where does the time go?

That's a long time to be gimping along on a improperly healed leg.

Yet, I'd probably do it again.

ARRRRRRRR!

T'day be "Talk like a Pyrate Day" in the "civilized" world.

Don' say we dinnae warn ye!

Don' be no lubber.

That's Counts As A Burn

Cocaine Mitch looks to have a spine over SCOTUS vote.

Chuck (boo hiss) Schumer says we should wait until after the election because, "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice."

 Mitch McConnell retorted, "By contrast, Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise."

That's as damn near as saying, "The American people do have a voice and they've spoken."

I know I have.

RBG Passed Away

 What else do I have to say?

 

Happy Birthday!

No longer the junior service, today the USAF is 73 years old.

Ain't they adorable?

Admit it, Airdales, it's kinda nice to look patronizingly at the Space Forces, isn't it?

Fixing It

 One if the great things about Lego is the ability to fix it if they get it wrong.

Kit 75283 Armored Assault Tank depicts an AAT from The Clone Wars TV series.

The gun is way too long.

The gun from kit 75080 is better proportioned.

To the parts bin!

I have the parts to make a very similar gun to 75080 which will install into the 75283 nicely.

Et Voila!

This checks against the images from the show much better as well.

One change I made from the initial build was to put the wing guns in upside down from the instructions.  The long barrel is on top in the show.

What Would He Know?

Mike Ditka has some choice words for the pamperati.

It's significant because Mr Ditka's career starts before the era of vast paychecks for players and coaches.

Again?

All cop shows must address police brutality!

The Lovely Harvey loves police procedurals.  It's her second favorite genre after horror.

I hate to break it to Mr Braugher but... 

There's been an episode in EVERY cop show since... at least CHiPs that's included something about police brutality.

And racism.

And domestic violence.

And drug use.

And sexism.

And homophobia.

The topics have been covered more thoroughly than, "a black hatted stranger comes to town," was in westerns.

It's Odd Because It's An Itch Already Scratched

I dunno why I want that retro version of the Mossberg 590.

I don't shotty.

I own my Remington 870 Express because a 12 or 20 gauge pump shotgun is on my list of guns every gun owner should own.

It's got almost all of the features of the Mossberg and is already paid for.  It's better than the 590 because it's got them spiffy Sage sights on it.  I could even put the wood back on if I've a mind to.

Something to keep in mind is it doesn't appear that one should own a Remington and a Mossberg shotgun.  Just as you shouldn't mix Glocks and 1911s or AKs and ARs.

I don't need to go retro, because I have vintage! The Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck is verra nice.

It even breaks down into an easily transportable size, plus I have a leather case for it.

 It also sits in the safe, unfired.

The wants, of course, are not bound by logic.

Even In Program Mode

 My Canon M50 is such grown-up camera compared to the old SX-20.

Even in program mode there are lots and lots of settings to play with whereas the Powershot had just a couple.

Things like being able to tell the camera where you'd like it to focus.

Things you only notice when you've got it set contrary to your desires and are cussing it for grabbing a object off to one side of the subject.  Operator error.

I should look up some YouTube photography tutorials and learn what all these settings do.

ETS Date

Today is the day United States Army Air Force exited the Army.

Thus ceasing to be in the military.

I know, I know, they talk like they're a branch... but when I ETS'd, I became a civilian.

Technically, I think they retired from the Army, it would explain all the golf courses.

I Sent Him To Die

JT has a Netflix account.

I had him take one for the team and watch "Cuties" so we don't have to.

His first impression is that it was a horrible film without considering the subject matter, and it's poorly dubbed in English over French.

The subject matter...

The entire endeavor is creepy.

It could be used by a pedo to get their rocks off, but is likely too mild for them.

The competition the girls are participating in exists outside the making of the film, that's the real nasty bit of the deal.

That these children do this, willingly or not, is abusive.

The situations depicted might have been orchestrated by the filmmaker for effect!!!!!

If the goal of the filmmaker was to shine a light on the darkness which is the pageants which sexualize children, the equivalent film to stop animal abuse is 2-hours of torturing puppies the filmmaker purchased for the film.

He does not recommend, but also says that it's not outright porn.

Slow Picture

 

The back yard with the new lights on.

I took the pic that same night, but got lazy about taking the card out of the camera and uploading the pic.

Thinking Must Be Painful

I've noticed that when I get a tad political on Facebook some of my friends get very upset.

I think the main problem is I'm pointing out that many of the things they do have consequences outside their temporary enjoyment.

Consequences they don't like.

Consequences they don't want to think are because they're doing what they're doing.

They always twist it into being my fault for pointing them to the dissonance.

But It Does Matter

I have never enjoyed football.

I find it tedious, repetitive and boring.

I solved my problem of not enjoying football by not watching it.

I ignored football as much as humanly possible in a nation where football is akin to religion.

I can't ignore the NFL any more.

Why?

Because they've decided to hate me.

Their hate of my country and my race has led me to double check if, in ignorance, I was supporting them.

For the most part I wasn't, but one place where I worry is my patronage of the local craft breweries.

Many of them were bragging about the return of the NFL to the TV and they would have the game on.

Just as they've always done.

But even as recently as last year, the NFL wasn't an active agent in hate.

That is no longer true.

What does a person of good conscience do in this situation?

Do I reward the breweries who brag they've got the games on?  Even though the channel carrying the game, the league sanctioning the game, the teams and the players have all advocated hatred of white people, arson, rioting, destruction and crime.

Do I stop going to breweries who've aligned themselves with this hate group or do I ignore it while their hate creeps up around my neck?

The support might be tangential, but tangential support is the easiest to withdraw.

Where Have I Been

 On a whim I grabbed a gun magazine off the rack at the grocery store.

It has a Mossberg 590 Retrograde model in it.

I kinda want one.

MSRP is quite affordable as well.

Update:

MSRP for the 590 model is affordable.  The 590A1 with the peep sights and thicker wall barrel is not.

Snopes Would Agree

It has been brought to my attention that I am a worthless piece of shit, devoid of value and without redeeming qualities.

When I agreed with this assessment of my character, who am I to disagree as a worthless piece of shit, devoid of value and without redeeming qualities, I got a private message which underscored that not only was I a worthless piece of shit, devoid of value and without redeeming qualities, but I was also unable to comprehend their simple, deleted, missive alluding to my objective value.

I am sad.

But worthless pieces of shit, devoid of value and without redeeming qualities do not deserve sympathy or compassion.

Be sure to kick me in the teeth for having the temerity to have bothered you with my existence.

But Is There One...

Citizen scientists locate a lot of brown dwarfs, including some which are quite cold.

But is there one about halfway between here and Barnard's Star?

If there is, beware of the UN passing a treaty in New York real soon now...

There Are People Whom Are More Wealthy Than I Am?

 No way!

I get a YouTube ad telling me that the richest people are 100 times more wealthy than the average person.

They blame Republicans and claim that Republicans want them to get richer.

The '80's called and want their talking points back.

The Democrat party is the party of vast, unaccountable wealth now.

Name a Republican billionaire.  Go on.

Name a large business that's backing Trump.

Hard to find, isn't it?

Now how much money is backing liberal causes?

George Soros isn't a conservative or a Republican and he's not donating to those causes.

Silicon Valley isn't pandering for a conservative renaissance and backing Republican candidates.

The "mainstream" media is not covering for the gaffes of Republicans.

Sports and entertainment are not making efforts to appeal to me and condemning people who aren't like me for excluding people like me from films, television and sportsball.

That's most of the richest people in the US right there.  The people that the Biden Campaign ad claims the Republicans are going to make richer if I don't vote for Joe.

Here's the thing, Joe, their wealth is included in that average wealth calculation.  The rising tide does lift all boats.  It's part and parcel of the invisible hand of the marketplace.

Heads Up Mr Grosskreutz

When Mr Rittenhouse is exonerated for shooting you, expect charges of assault with a deadly weapon to be leveled against you.

Expect to be convicted, because most of the discovery for your guilt will have been established by the defense in the Rittenhouse case.

Expect me to laugh my ass off!

Nothing To Say About Yesterday

 Going silent on 9-11 seems a better way to seethe than to post a picture or a video.

I don't feel like we got our righteous vengeance.

Until we do, I will not commemorate the day.  Not until it's over.

I do, however, think we're starting to punish those who funded it by killing the price of oil via fracking.

It's making them very compliant with other national interest items.

That's a good thing!

Pasco County Florida Department Of (Not-Really) Pre-Crime

 Tampa Bay Pravda published an article on Pasco's Intelligence Led Policing.

One thing I noticed was

In the past two years alone, two of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies have scrapped similar programs following public outcries and reports documenting serious flaws.

They don't name whom the two agencies are.  But most of the largest agencies are also in the places where there' no Republican option, and hasn't been for decades and have gigantic crime problems. 

Pasco County Sheriff's Department was, understandably, miffed at this article and they published a response to Facebook.

We are aware of a recent report by a media outlet in the Tampa Bay area that attempts to paint our Intelligence-Led Policing philosophy in a negative light.

While the media outlet was provided over 30 pages of factual information to disprove their theory of so-called “harassment”, it was extremely disappointing to see this fact-based information take a backseat to supposed “reliable sources”, who have lengthy criminal histories, or who are former members of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office that were held accountable for their actions.


For example, the “reliable sources” named in this report who were held accountable for their actions by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office engaged in conduct such as:

* One “reliable source” quoted by the article, leading up to their resignation from the agency, was under investigation for engaging in sexual relations with a confidential informant

* One “reliable source” quoted by the article had numerous, documented accounts of insubordination and failing to follow proper policies and procedures of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office

* One “reliable source” quoted by the article abandoned an extra duty detail without permission and went to a female subordinate’s personal residence while she was off duty without invitation

Sadly, one of these supposed “reliable sources” admitted in the article that he did not follow proper policies and procedures by not documenting prolific offender checks, though we are unable to verify this information. This failure to follow policy and procedure is exactly why the “reliable source” is no longer with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, along with several other policy violations.

It is dismaying to see the media demand accountability in law enforcement, something the Pasco Sheriff’s Office wholly supports and endorses as evidenced by our use of Body Worn Cameras as a small example, only to then use those who were held accountable as “reliable sources” with no consideration of their past actions or what led them to be held accountable. 


Let us be abundantly clear, the Intelligence-Led Policing philosophy works and has worked around the Tampa Bay area, as the same philosophy is used by numerous law enforcement agencies. It works because it reduced residential burglaries in Pasco County by 74.4% since it was implemented in 2011 and it works because property crimes are down 35.6% in that same time period. In fact, ILP was started in England in the 1990s and is hardly a new phenomenon or approach to law enforcement.

Contrary to the report, ILP is not a futuristic, predictive model where people are arrested for crimes they have not yet committed. Instead, the system is based SOLELY on an individual’s criminal history. Multiple studies have shown that 6% of the population commit 60% of the crime and that is what this model focuses on.

Let us, again, be profusely clear that this model is based SOLELY on an individual’s criminal history. It is nameless, faceless, ageless, genderless and removes ALL identifying factors of an individual, EXCEPT for their criminal history. This philosophy removes any chance of bias in law enforcement, which is something that should be celebrated.


For example, an individual who was arrested 15 times in the last three years is more likely to commit an additional crime, as evidenced by a documented propensity for committing crime, than someone who has never been arrested. As such, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office visits and provides resources to the person who was arrested 15 times to attempt to break the cycle of recidivism and better protect our community from crime.


This is not a judgment on an individual with a criminal history but, instead, a fact that cannot be ignored as we attempt to positively impact the criminal environment in Pasco County and keep our community safe.

That is what the ILP philosophy is, not a futuristic, crime predictive tool that arrests an individual for crimes not yet committed, despite the media report’s best assertion that the theory was taken straight out of fictional Hollywood movies like “Minority Report.”

Additionally, this media outlet appears to labor under the notion that both our ILP Analysts and STAR deputies exist exclusively to coordinate aspects of the Top 5 lists and Prolific Offender lists. In reality, these aspects are but a small subset of each parties’ job functions. As was provided to this outlet numerous times, ILP analysts work on nearly every case the Pasco Sheriff’s Office investigates, with the underlying, yet ever-present, goal of bettering the lives of the citizens of Pasco County through the reduction of crime. This includes cases such as the recovery of missing individuals and drug arrests leading to 435,000 lethal doses of fentanyl being removed from Pasco’s streets. Furthermore, STAR deputies are integral components of the search and successful safe recovery of missing Pasco children, both in and out of our county, among other daily activities wholly unrelated to making contact with prolific offenders.

We continue to be open and transparent with our community and those that we serve, which is why we want to ensure you, our citizens, had this information. 


It is sad that there are media outlets attempting to drive division between a community and law enforcement by relying on previous employees who were held accountable for their actions as well as individuals with lengthy criminal histories and ignoring the more than 30 pages of well-researched facts that the Pasco Sheriff’s Office provided. 


It is also sad that this same media outlet refuses to report on the good work of our Behavioral Health Intervention Team and the fact that our men and women recently took 435,000 lethal doses of fentanyl off of Pasco’s streets. This is selection bias at its worst and the reason we connect with our community directly on social media.

We stand with our community and we are deeply grateful that you continue to stand with us.

As we told the media outlet, we will not apologize for continuing to keep our community safe.

Thank you for your continued support.

 

 As a person who's been on the receiving end of some of Pasco's enforcement, I don't feel particularly persecuted.

You'd think that it would be more onerous because we have had to call them in to help with The Boy's elopement issues a few times since the charges were dropped.

Their interactions with and responses to The Boy thanks to the development and employment of their Behavioral Health Intervention Team have been excellent, and have gone from conventional screaming threats at a non-compliant subject to actually assessing that some people just cannot understand because of mental health issue not because they're being defiant.

Perhaps it's because I'm not one of the small percentage of the population that commits the most crime and the algorithm (Wouldn't Al Gore Rhythm Section be a great name for an easy listening band?) is good enough to see that?

Because the calls I've made since my arrest are the same as the call that led to my arrest.  I've gotten better at explaining the situation and they've gotten better at understanding the situation.

PS: Tampa Bay Pravda is the same periodical whom are pleased as punch that the Parkland Massacre Enabling Laws are being expanded in Hillsborough County.

Good News From The 11th Circuit

 Felons really do have to complete their entire sentence before their voting rights are restored in Florida. 

They also underlined the idea that states have the constitutionally guaranteed right to determine their own processes for deciding who gets to vote.

Good.

 The article has a quote mentioning that Amendment 4 was passed by 65% of the vote.

I'd like to point out that the wording on the ballot was deceptive AND the legislature passed several bills concerning being deceptive in the wording on future ballot amendments.

Isn't Shit Like This How We Got To Parkland?

 Hillsborough County to expand program that keeps juvenile offenders out of jail.

Rattling Their Bottles Of Adderal

 Apparently Antifa is counting on their site's obscurity being a proxy for security.

Guess what didn't work!

Cultural Appropriation

I am making Cuban Pernil Asado!

Appropriate to the political situation I'm using Goya's Mojo Criollo.

I started this way too late, it needs hours to marinade and about an hour and a half for the Instant Pot to do its magic.

So what I'm really making is Lechon Manana.

Dune Official Trailer

It looks well cast.  Wikipedia claims they're doing it as two movies because the source material is so dense.



Eyes crossed that it's done right!

What Did Greenies Use For Light Before Candles?

I am reading about how Californians are expected to shut down the oven and crank the AC to 78° at 3pm thanks to an electricity shortage statewide.

A shortage that's entirely the creation of idiotic greenie bullshit laws brought to you, not by science, but by government decree.

A topic that's gotten to the back burner lately has been the Aztlan shit and their demanding that California be given back to Mexico.

Irony washed over me when I realized that if we did hand Cali back to Mexico, the place would actually get better for many citizens because Mexico only pays lip service to all that environmental bullshit.

They'd just build power plants.

In a couple of cases, they wouldn't even have to build them, just fire them back up.

Diablo Canyon isn't dismantled, for example.

I Blame Looney Tunes

I have a problem with classical music.

I rarely find the the performance of the song I want, even if I can manage to figure out which song I'm looking for.

Romeo and Juliet: Act I, Scene XIII, Dance of the Knights long eluded me.  I knew the song, but not the title, composer or artist.

Turns out it's Sergei Prokofiev and the performance I like best is Valery Gergiev conducting The London Symphony Orchestra.



But recently I've been trying to find the performance of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 that I remember.  It's primarily piano, but has some orchestral backing.



Let's not even delve into how many versions of Toccata & Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) there are.  The one I wanted was the one from the end of Rollerball.  That is a fucking hard version to lay hands on.  I did eventually find it.

(This version is very close)



As kids, my generation was exposed to so much of this music, and many of us came to enjoy it, and it's really all because it was in public domain for Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbara to use in their animated shorts.

Unlike the cartoons themselves.

A Full Season Too Soon

Since Amazon Prime is letting me watch the remastered versions of Star Trek: The Original Series...

One episode (#15, Shore Leave) really stood out for something.

It's got a Chekov's gun!

Sulu finds a "an old police special" S&W Model 10 early on in the episode and Kirk takes it away; tucking it into his waistband.

A bit later, because the phasers are inoperative, he uses it to shoot a mounted knight.

I am giggling about all this because Pavel Chekov doesn't even appear in the first season.

It'd have been absolutely hilarious if it had been Chekov to find the Chekov's Gun...

"Missed it by that much," M. Smart.

This also illuminates something else.

George Takei (a known dancing monkey) is gay and has repeatedly insisted that Hikaru Sulu is straight.

Mr Takei is also anti-gun, Sulu is a gun collector.

Characters are not the people who play them, but so much of why people are enthralled by the "wisdom" dispensed by dancing monkeys is because of their portrayal of characters.

Do I Have This Right?

The strategy behind allowing the riots in blue controlled places is to demonstrate that Orangemanbad®™ so that the voters in these, already blue, areas vote blue?

You're letting your own cities burn to get people who normally vote for you to vote for you?

Because you're not convincing anyone outside your areas of control to do that.

I've talked to a couple now.

Something To Ponder

OK, Star Trek: Discovery writers.

Riddle on this.

Your series is set prior to the events depicted in the original series.

By the time Kirk assumes command of Enterprise, none of the LGBT stuff you're putting forward is in evidence.

What happens in the few short years between your show and the original to wipe it all out?

If you select alternate timeline, you validate the theory that your show is not and was never intended to be Star Trek.

The "toxic" fans win and rejoice.

A good sci-fi writer could explain it.

I, a middling GM, could explain it.  But USS Chicago is already running around as Voyager and I'm not handing you anything else for free.

I guess that bears some explanation.

While it could be just a case of parallel evolution, all my FASA Star Trek The Roleplaying Game stuff was left in Minnesota when I moved back to Iowa.

One of my players took possession of those materials, including the deck plans and drawings of the USS Chicago.  A destroyer sized ship armed like a Constitution class cruiser.

If you change the engine nacelles from original cast movie style to Next Generation style... she's Voyager.

My former player headed west and got a job working in several places including where Paramount got their ship models.

Coincidence?

Maybe, but a damned close one.

Honey The Internet Is Down

Mere weeks after buying a Roku for The Lovely Harvey these are words of terror.

So I go into troubleshooting mode.

Router shows the red "no intertubes" light, but a white "wifi good to go" lights.

Resetting the router does not restore intertubes.

Check the switch in the garage.

It's on battery.

When that thing goes to battery you get 15 minutes of internet then it goes to phone only.

That's why I had the switch plugged into a UPS.

Which is stone dead.

SIGH.

Plugging the switch directly into the wall restores intertubes!

All hail THAG!

New UPS ordered.

Technologik

OK.  Outside lights have changed man...

Yesterday we were shocked at how affordable LED floods were.

Today we added a light to the corner of The Inlaws house in the back to cover the shed.  They had a halogen fixture with a dead halogen bulb in it.  Those bulbs are a little spendy and the don't last for shit.

So we decided to replace the entire fixture.

We went and found a suitable housing that accepts screw in lights, went to the light section to get the same cheap lights we'd got yesterday and noticed that there's lights with the motion detection and dawn/dusk sensors built right in for just double what the cheap lights went for.  $20 instead of $11 for the lights.

But a housing for those lights with motion and dawn-dusk is $35.  $11 without the.

$31 for a cheap housing and motion light-bulbs.

$46 for a motion housing and cheap light bulbs.

Uh...

And, because of how it's placed, the motion sensor built into the fixture would have been masked by the gutter and not activated in a pretty big arc.  The sensors built into the lights have wider coverage and will activate individually.

Incidentally, we finally proved that the switch labeled "Do NOT Shut Off!" controls the light on the corner.

Let There Be Light

We now have a light that illuminates the back yard.

The ceiling fan on the back porch has been resecured to an actual fan mount rather than the light-only thing that came with the house.

Hilarity and comradeship successfully done.

They Called Me Mad

Ammunition Hoarding

Do you know what was on the shelves at Bass Pro yesterday?

.270 Winchester, 7.62x54mmR, .30-06 and .300 Savage.

3/4 are the mainstream oddballs.

Admittedly, they are mostly Fudd rounds, but a Fudd round will suffice for many situations.

They weren't cheap, but they weren't inflated either.

While you should stock the ammo for your AR or AK deep, have a rifle in a caliber that doesn't go out of stock in the panics too.

Shotgun ammo is still in abundance.  Don't forget to have a shotgun.

Astronomy Again

Watching Apocalypto.

The tribe of Jaguar Paw is brought to the Mayan sacrifice at the same time as a solar eclipse.  (Meaning that Earth's moon is passing between Earth's sun and Earth.  I never expected to have to explain that.)

His wife, trapped in a pit since the village was raided by Mayans, is shown to kill a monkey during a full moon.

That's two weeks difference from an eclipse.

Jaguar Paw is show to be chased by the Mayans continuously since he was "released".

Two weeks have not passed.

Eclipses occur during new moons, not full moons.

I Just Noticed Something

GURPS TL0 is stone age.

TL1 is bronze (approximately 3500 BC).

TL2 is iron (1200 BC)

TL3 is Medieval (600 AD)

TL4 is Age of Sail (1450+ AD)

TL5 is the Industrial Revolution (1730+ AD)

I am noticing that not many civilizations or cultures got past TL0 on their own.

Very few make it to TL2.  Even fewer make it to TL3.  Western Civ and maybe China make TL4.

Only Western Civ makes TL5, who then export and impose it on everyone it encounters.

I think that alone says that Western Civ is superior to all the other competitors.

And it's not the only reason.

Sow Division

This Chicago Times article has a telling line.

"I’d like to see open carry in public spaces by civilians of any age banned."

These are your people Mr Gonzalez.

Are you proud to be counted among them?

You might call people idiots for disagreeing with you, but look who you're agreeing with.

Shame is what you should be feeling.

Then He'd Be Dead And They'd Be Happy

Mr Rittenhouse, being 17, was clearly in possession of a dangerous weapon while being under the age of 18.

Without that dangerous weapon, the mob would have murdered him.

It occurs to me that, once again, an arbitrary limitation on possessing the means of self defense would have led to the death of someone obeying this unjust limitation.

Gee, just like when blacks were disarmed by Jim Crow laws.

It's like what the Pink Pistols have long said, "Armed fags don't get bashed!"

And they don't.

These limitations on the means for self defense are the root of the gun free victim zone.

Florida has even more stringent age limitations than Wisconsin.

It's always ironic that we allow children to start operating the most dangerous weapon in America as early as 14 years old, even letting them operate them unsupervised at 16 with appropriate education and training.

Cars.

But they have to start cold with guns at a much later age?  Some children learn earlier, if their families say, "fuck the law" and teach their kids to shoot at an earlier age.  In Florida you cannot carry any kind of firearm for self defense until you're 21 and only once The State has blessed you with a license.

They cannot buy a handgun or a modern rifle suitable for defense until they're 21 either.

Yet they can vote, serve in the military and sign contracts.

Making people wait until their older isn't the solution.

Let's do what the anti-gunners keep talking about.

Let's do it like cars.

Teach this in schools.

Create a legal way for kids to learn self defense, shooting and the proper, safe, use of firearms in a supervised manner.

Create a pathway, through skills and training rather than just a default age where they can obtain the permits earlier.

The entire point of these default ages is this is when someone is presumed to be mature enough to handle the heady responsibility of doing whatever it is that requires the age to do it.

You can get a driver's license at 16 if you've taken driver's ed.  You have to wait until you're 18 if you didn't.

For fuck's sake, the gorram LAW allows for someone as young as NINE to be tried as an adult!

Why is there no method that allows someone as young as 14 to prove they're mature enough to own and carry a gun?

This is something we should start demanding.

If this system of allowing younger people early access to the means of self defense saves even one life; I think it's worth it!

Army Poised To Catch Up With RPG Published in 1985

The M113 is finally being replaced with something "based" on the Bradley.

Twilight: 2000 had all manner of Brad variants in the US vehicle guide.

In 1987...

The US Army: 33 years behind GDW.

Worse/Better is the Brad based vehicles in T2K would have to have been developed and fielded before November 1997.  The better is the Army is just 23 years behind T2K here.  The worse is the vehicles in the Vehicle Guide are based on active proposals dating back to the M2's first fielding.

1981.

So it only took 39 years to get from the obvious concept to the troops hands.

Qu'est-ce Que C'est?

Am I the only one who hears "Psycho Chicken" by the fools instead of "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads?

Lego 75288 AT-AT

The newest iteration of the Lego AT-AT comes with General Veers.

It also includes a Luke Skywalker ascending on a line to toss a thermal detonator into an open maintenance panel.

I am sure many geeks screamed at this.

Luke didn't take out General Veers' walker.

Veers' walker was taken out by a kamikaze hit from a rebel Snowspeeder.

The Order Is Important

I read Dune a long time before the movie "My Own Private Idaho" came out...

The problem is...

Today...

I cannot think that "My Own Private Duncan Idaho" wouldn't make a damn good movie.

There should be pills for what's wrong with me.

Willard Update

Finally got to talk to Willard!

He's recovering.

Found out where the break was, very close to the hip joint on the femur.

Tough place for a break and complicated recovery.

Good news is he appears to be a typical Ranger and is bullheaded about getting better!

He's on a walker and being somewhat ambulatory.  Stage one.

He's got a couple other benchmarks to make before he can be released, and those will come as they come (and slowly) due to the location and severity of the break.

It was too noisy at the brewery restaurant to hear him well, so he's agreed to call back tomorrow.

Good Riddance

The suspect in the Portland murder of a Pro-Trump citizen has been killed by the police.

I sure hope that they had body cameras and got it from about a thousand angles.

Not just to make sure they're exonerated for killing this piece of garbage.

I Am Weak

But I am not THAT weak...

I asked The Wiley Heidi, since she's a Lipsey's dealer, if they could get a new Glock P80 in.

She said that Lipsey's is backordered, but would be happy to add my name to the list should one come in.

And I am going to leave it there.

I am not so weak to pay near a grand for one.

You can get a real Gen 1 Glock 17 for that.  $800, in fact, if you're willing to forgo the tupperware box and original magazines.

I have bid on a penny reserve auction for one of the Lipsey's guns.  With no expectation of winning, I am currently the high bidder at $77.  I'm the second bidder, so I didn't low-ball it as hard as the first guy!

A Midwest Thing It Appears

A friend has lost her father.

When a friend loses a loved one, we get to cooking the comfort foods.

She likes my chili and homemade mac-n-cheese.

So I made both and she was in utter disbelief that I'd made it all just for her.  Tears and everything.

New Blooger Still Sucks

Google is trying it's damnedest to force us to change to the new wasted space version of Blogger.

I keep stabbing the "Go back to legacy" button, but I know how this works.

They let us use the old way for a while, but then take it away after a bit.

Alphabet hires only the stupidest designers for this and it shows in every interaction they force upon us.

It Rings True

Willard has often said there are levels to humor.

1: Funny to anyone.
2. Funny only to someone who's been in the military, or someone who is very close to someone who has.
3. Funny only to someone who's been in combat.
4. Funny only to someone who was in combat with you.

I remember telling a joke that really offended the fiance of a friend.

A joke I thought nothing of because the color of military humor is BLACK!

Worried that I'd mistaken the situation, I told the same joke to several aviators and pilots, and one astronaut.

They all laughed.

Being a category 2 joke, she's never going to understand.

Now that I know that there's category 2 jokes, I don't tell them in mixed company any more.
I also cherish the day I was allowed to have a beer with my uncles and exchange category three stories.
And fuck! I'm the only one left.  How did that happen?

Sick Of This Shit

Watching vids on YouTube means commercials now.

Every once and while I see a commercial that has some interest and I click on the ad.

There's a company called IPA Tools.

They sell some nifty relay gizmos where a switch replaces the winding so you can activate it manually.

No, that's not right.

They DON'T FUCKING SELL THE COCKSUCKING THINGS AT ALL they list them and tell you to call or email them to get a distributor to contact you.

Um...

Fuck off.

No, really, fuck off.

While your gizmos are neat and would be handy, I know how to make a switched jumper from a toggle and some wire.

Making me jump through extra contact hoops means I'm not spending my hard stole earned on you or your distributors.

It's not 1975.  The internet changed the paradigm.  Get up to speed.

Uhhhhhhhh

1st Infantry Division (Forward) in '88-'89...  Just sayin'.

As A Matter Of Fact I Do Have Axiety Attacks

I Doubt I'll Get One

But I damn well want one!

Lipsey's has cajoled Glock into making a retro Glock 17 marked as a P80.

(And suddenly Thag connects the Polymer 80's name with the Austrian designation for the G17)

It's verrah kewl and I have a case of the wants real bad.

I'd definitely ditch the Gen 2 to help fund this.

The first gun I ever bought at the Patch Barracks Rod and Gun Club was a Gen 1 Glock 17.

My first pistol I ever bought as a civilian was also a Gen 1 Glock 17.

Nostalgia runs deep.

Race War!

Provocative title to get the click... done!

I don't want a race war.

Most of the people who're the same color as the people provoking a race war don't want a race war.

There's people of all colors provoking this war too.

But if it kicks off in earnest, it's going to be ugly with all capital letters.

As with all wars, the innocent will suffer with the guilty and the innocent always suffer more.

This will be regardless of race.  There's always more suffering to make sure it goes around.

If you're white, while this war will suck, you'll be sitting victorious at the end because of the numbers.  All of the "let's have a war" metrics support the white side of this affair.

Which means that if you're black; it's gonna suck.

Western Civ is slow to anger but always bring hate with the rage.

With rage comes vengeance.

With vengeance often comes injustice.

I can readily see a future where the surviving people of color, innocent or not, are held at third class citizenship... forever as far as the majority is concerned.

A place where compassionate people will say that this is unjust and they shouldn't be treated like that and a rational case can be made to continue the injustice honestly using the history that led up to the war to support why the boot should never come off their necks ever again.

There will be that much blood.

I've been doing my Cassandra thing for many years on this very topic.

Every day that goes past where we don't fix the problem is a day lost and makes it that much harder to turn the trajectory.

One of the problems that needs fixing is both sides aren't even looking at why things are fucked up.

They often get angry at you for pointing it out.

It's not helped that both sides have legitimate grievances.

It's not helped that both sides are pushing illegitimate slights to further their causes.

It can be stopped.

I have a great deal of hope that it will be stopped before it's too late because I've seen who's screaming, "Don't defund the police!  We want more police!" and it's not the grievance committee.

It's the people of color who've long been Americans trapped in a sub-culture enclaves.  Natives surrounded by colonists in a way.

I want to help my fellow Americans.  Being an American is something that transcends race, national origin, religion, gender, sex, sexual preferences and even entertainment choices.

Let's be Americans!  Let's be Americans together and stop trying to steal from one another and putting a righteous veneer on the crime.

Environmental Value

How many times have you read about the American Indian using every part of the buffalo, leaving nothing to waste?

The implication is that the White man wasted most of it.

Often this is accompanied with a picture of skinned bison carcasses left to rot on the prairie.

Very often it's impugned that the waste continues to this very day with cattle.

Except for the systematic eradication of the American Bison, such waste was uncommon even back then.

But why would someone use every part of an animal they've killed?

Those parts have value!

The list of things you can make from the carcass of a critter is nearly endless, but an Indian, being TL0, is going to have a different list of uses from an 1880's American, TL5.

Hardly anything goes to waste in a TL5 slaughterhouse.

What about the bison?

Professionals study logistics.

The goal was to force the Indians onto the reservations and as long as there were buffalo, they didn't need to go.  They could subsist readily on their own as long as there were enough buffalo to harvest.

Buffalo were the plains Indian log-train entire.

When the decision was made to kill as many buffalo as possible, the Army agreed to buy the meat and the hunters already had a market for hides.  But little else could be transported to where it could be utilized.

Remember, this is back in the days where cows were transported near to where they'd be used before slaughter because there was no refrigeration.

You really couldn't do a bison drive to a railhead and get them to Chicago to be used like a cow would be.

Even with the Army's units handy, there was more meat than they could use and no good way to preserve it for later in the quantities needed.

So the Army stopped buying the meat, but did keep paying a bounty on dead bison.