Alright Got A Shed

Got a bed too!

This is the bed part.  The head-pier is coming just before Thanksgiving, should take up the whole wall.

Repeated In Its Entirety

I Am NOT a Conservative.
or "Language Manipulation" is a Very Old Tool

Since the last couple of major posts have been, at least partially, about the comment threads here at TSM, I want to make what I feel is an important point that is glossed over by the modern vernacular. As I noted previously, when I find someone who says something better than I can, I let them, so the majority of this post will be other people's words - but they're important words.

The first is a quote from the introduction to David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America:

We Americans are a bundle of paradoxes. We are mixed in our origins, and yet we are one people. Nearly all of us support our Republican system, but we argue passionately (sometimes violently) among ourselves about its meaning. Most of us subscribe to what Gunnar Myrdal called the American Creed, but that idea is a paradox in political theory. As Myrdal observed in 1942, America is "conservative in fundamental principles . . . but the principles conserved are liberal, and some, indeed, are radical."

I think Myrdal was on to something there.

The second quote will be a long one. It is from the introduction to Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom, first published in 1962. Note the date of the quote contained within this excerpt:

It is extremely convenient to have a label for the political and economic viewpoint elaborated in this book. The rightful and proper label is liberalism. Unfortunately, "As a surprise, if unintended compliment, the enemies of the system of private enterprise have thought it wise to appropriate its label" (Joseph Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis New York: Oxford University Press, 1954, p. 394), so that liberalism has, in the United States, come to have a very different meaning than it did in the nineteenth century, or does today over much of Continental Europe.

As it developed in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the intellectual movement that went under the name of liberalism emphasized freedom as the ultimate goal and the individual as the ultimate entity in the society. It supported laissez faire at home as a means of reducing the role of the state in economic affairs and thereby enlarging the role of the individual; it supported free trade abroad as a means of linking the nations of the world together peacefully and democratically. In political matters, it supported the development of representative government and of parliamentary institutions, reduction in the arbitrary power of the state, and protection of the civil freedoms of individuals.

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, and especially after 1930 in the United States, the term liberalism came to be associated with a very different emphasis, particularly in economic policy. It came to be associated with a readiness to rely primarily on the state rather than on private voluntary arrangements to achieve objectives regarded as desirable. The catchwords became welfare and equality rather than freedom. The nineteenth-century liberal regarded an extension of freedom as the most effective way to promote welfare and equality; the twentieth-century liberal regards welfare and equality as either prerequisites of or alternatives to freedom. In the name of welfare and equality, the twentieth-century liberal has come to favor a revival of the very policies of state intervention and paternalism against which the classical liberal fought. In the very act of turning the clock back to seventeenth-century mercantilism, he is fond of castigating true liberals as reactionary!

The change in the meaning attached to the term liberalism is more striking in economic matters than in political. The twentieth-century liberal, like the nineteenth-century liberal, favors parliamentary institutions, representative government, civil rights, and so on. Yet even in political matters, there is a notable difference. Jealous of liberty, and hence fearful of centralized power, whether in governmental or private hands, the nineteenth-century liberal favored political decentralization. Committed to action and confident of the beneficence of power so long as it is in the hands of a government ostensibly controlled by the electorate, the twentieth-century liberal favors centralized government. He will resolve any doubt about where power should be located in favor of the state instead of the city, of the federal government instead of the state, and of a world organization instead of a national government.

Because of the corruption of the term liberalism, the views that formerly went under that name are often labeled conservatism. But this is not a satisfactory alternative. The nineteenth-century liberal was a radical, both in the etymological sense of going to the root of the matter, and in the political sense of favoring major changes in social institutions. So too must be his modern heir. We do not wish to conserve the state interventions that have interfered so greatly with our freedom, though, of course, we do wish to conserve those that have promoted it. Moreover, in practice, the term conservatism has come to cover so wide a range of views, and views so incompatible with one another, that we shall no doubt see the growth of hyphenated designations, such as libertarian-conservative and aristocratic-conservative.

Partly because of my reluctance to surrender the term to proponents of measures that would destroy liberty, partly because I cannot find a better alternative, I shall resolve these difficulties by using the word liberalism in its original sense - as the doctrines pertaining to a free man.

Friedman doesn't come out and say it, but what he described was the co-opting of a term by the forces of socialism. This co-option was described by Friedrich Hayek in The Road to Serfdom in 1944, Orwell in his 1984 in 1949, and Eric Hoffer in The True Believer in 1951. But the point of this post is that Friedman was right. "Conservatism" isn't a satisfactory alternative. I am against the War on (Some) Drugs™, against the criminalization of abortion, in favor of gay marriage (but less sanguine about adoption into such pairings). I am unconcerned about what two (or more) consenting adults do sexually in the privacy of their own homes, and even less concerned about any devices those adults may use to stimulate their sexual organs, but I think pedophiles should be shot and their bodies disposed of in the nearest dumpster. I think far too many "environmentalists" in actuality hate humanity, and are disillusioned socialists looking for another attractive mass movement to attach themselves to. So too for far too many animal "rights" activists.

I am NOT a conservative. And "liberals" are NOT liberal. Nor are they "progressive," except as the term pertains to income tax rates.

My Granpappy's Guns

Grampa seems to have collected top break .32 revolvers.

The larger gun is a Harrington and Richardson "Automatic" six shot in .32 S&W Long.

The smaller is an Iver Johnson Safety Hammer "Automatic" five shot in .32 S&W.

Both are nickel plated. The Iver Johnson uses a transfer bar, the H&R has a spur hammer.

My mom's sister got his Hopkins and Allin Police Safety, I am attempting to find enough parts to return it to service. Not having much luck, it's missing a lot of parts and I can't figure out if it's a large or small frame gun.

Triumphant Return

After the heartbreaking decision to sell my 4" .45 Colt Anaconda to pay the bills, I had always wanted to get another.

The new one is a 4" Anaconda in .44 Magnum.

P.S. I am still looking for a 6" Anaconda in .45 Colt. If you spot one, buy it and I will reimburse you. And all transfers will be legal! Transferring from your FFL to one near me is not that hard. Prison is hard.

Lyrics Corner Song Virus Edition

Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

The world was on fire
No one could save me but you.
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No, I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
No, I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
With you
[This love is only gonna break your heart]

What a wicked game you play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say
You never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do
To make me dream of you
And I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
And I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]

World was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart
No I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
No IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
[This love is only gonna break your heart]

Nobody loves no one

I can't believe that Rhonda didn't give me this song with that hard drive.

Interesting

Has anyone else noticed that the "cat" names for Apple's OS X are going in the same order as World War Two and beyond German tank names?

To Receive Tolerance You Must Extend It

And this is not it.

I am officially declaring that I will no longer bother avoid offending those that are going out their way to be offensive to me.

So, do something about your hate filled organizations.

My son has a mom and a dad. I have a wife and Harvey has a husband. These are real terms describing real people in a real situation. Harvey being a mother and a wife and me being a husband and a father do not in any way affect my feelings about homosexuals; or rather, it didn't. Since you have decided that those terms are offensive, seemingly because you don't have equivalent terms, I will no longer avoid using terms that offend you.

One of the glorious things about being a white, straight, male is once I no longer want to take the effort to be egalitarian, I can just pick the hate group that matches me best and start marching. How many people have joined such organizations because of just such a small slight as this?

And before anyone gets on their high-horse about me being part of the Fundamentalist Christian Right, I am an Atheist. God doesn't enter into the discussion.

Get your hate under control and I will return the favor. Continue this bullshit and keep offending me for doing NOTHING to you, I will just be compelled to do something in return.

Oh Gee!

Thanks for this meme, Muk.  Maurice freaking Gibb and the Unibomber?

I feel like blowing up things with a synthetic beat and falsetto voice.

The Lovely Harvey's Family Ring

Our birth stones.  Mine and Harvey's framing The Boy's.

Did I Forget To Mention

That I finished The Lovely Harvey's Recce Carbine?

We dub thee Cheyenne.

16" Lightweight Del-Ton kit with a MagPul MIAD grip and Troy Medieval flash-hider.

The happy owner!

Compared with Kaylee.  Same barrel length, Kaylee is just a heavy profile with a different flash-hider.

Granpappy's Shotgun

Way back in February we sent in The Lovely Harvey's shotgun in to have the stock repaired.  We finally got it back!

Look at that wood!  The finish is like four feet deep too!

Let Us All Welcome The New Hotness

Thanks Mom. :(

Tomorrow At Noon

The Corvette will pass into my hands tomorrow at noon!

Woo HOO!

Lyrics Corner (Remember This? Edition)

"Don't Change"

I'm standing here on the ground
The sky above won't fall down
See no evil in all direction
Resolution of happiness
Things have been dark
For too long

Don't change for you
Don't change a thing for me

I found a love I had lost
It was gone for too long
Hear no evil in all directions
Execution of bitterness
Message received loud and clear

Don't change for you
Don't change a thing for me

I'm standing here on the ground
The sky above won't fall down
See no evil in all directions
Resolution of happiness
Things have been dark for too long

Don't change for you
Don't change a thing for me

Huh?

Al Gore is the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses?

Quick, someone get a generator hooked to Alfred Nobel's feet, he's got to be a spinning pretty much non-stop.

It's Been Built

"Your order number MHBJ87:
Your car was produced on 10/10. It was inspected and bayed for shipping on 10/11. As of today (10/12) it has not yet shipped. Your VIN ends with CENSORED."


So that means my new car sits in a huge parking lot in Kentucky until they find a truck to haul it here. I am getting excited!

I was going to post a generic pic of the assembly plant, but they don't seem to have one.

I am GIDDY!

Can You Think Of Anything More Embarrassing

Than dying in a plane crash while wearing a parachute?

New User Pic

It's a screenshot of my uncle Ben's personal bird I created with Wings Over Vietnam.  It's an F-8E armed with four AIM-9B Sidewinders and four 20mm Mk.12 cannon.  Last of the Gunfighters, indeed!

One Of Us One Of Us

The Lovely Harvey is now the proud, but reluctant, owner of a 15.4" MacBook Pro, 2.4Ghz!

Just like mine, in fact.

We welcome her to the hive.

Home Improvement Update

The drive is now officially finished. The epoxy has set and we can park cars there now. There was a bit of drama last week because with all the rain we'd gotten, the coating had no chance to harden. The contractor came back out and repainted it. We got three hot sunny days to help it cure and none of it peeled up when we parked on it today! Wooty woot!

Yesterday we hired the next door neighbor, who is a laid off contractor, to repair the eave over the front porch. Wendel is good! He's gonna paint it Monday. That hole has been there since we moved in, it's extremely nice to have it fixed!

We're getting lots of compliments on the improvements from the neighbors walking by; and more than a few thumbs up from people driving!

Strike Is Over

They are going back to work. Bowling Green will back to making Corvettes tomorrow.

My target production week is 08OCT07. Anticipated delivery is 14-15OCT07.

I have an order number now. I would post it and get the status number, but I worry that with posts on reality and economics and the unions that my car would get sabotaged.

On Unions

The mental disconnect that far too many people have about businesses is that a business exists to provide jobs to the workers. This is not true.

Businesses exist to provide a profit to the owners.

Jobs are a side effect of a successful business. Think about it. How many entrepreneurs started out as just them and hired workers as their business grew? Most of them. The second most common cause of business failure is from growth and the entrepreneur not being able to make the jump from doing to managing the doers. Yes, success can kill a business.

Everything in running a business comes down to a costs benefits analysis. No matter how many columns are in your accounting ledger, they all add up to one thing, is it an asset or a liability? Income or loss? Plus or minus?

Which brings us back to the price of labor. If I am forced to pay twice what my competition does for labor, and about the same price for everything else, my competition has an advantage over me. He can make his stuff cheaper than I can. That means he can sell his product for less than I can and still make a profit. If my product is interchangeable with his in the eyes of the customer, then he's going to sell more than me. To compete with him, I have to convince the customer that there's something about my product that makes it worth the extra money.

This is where the appeals to emotion begin. I cannot cite facts that my product is truly better, it just costs more because I had to spend more to make it.

If I cannot get my labor costs down to the same level as the competition, I have to find other ways to reduce the cost to make the product. Like cheaper materials. Like designs that are cheaper to make and don't last as long. This path often leads to my product being both more expensive and inferior to the competition. This situation leaves me with only the customers who have fully bought into the emotional appeals.

Remember, a business exists to make the owner money. As a side effect, workers have jobs and earn money too. If the company becomes unprofitable, for any reason, the owners will not be making money. If the owner is not making money, why keep the doors open?

No Vette For YOUUUUUUUU!

UAW is on strike.

I think I will should cancel my order and do something sensible with the money.

Finished But For The Curing

Tomorrow evening we get to park on it!

The pile of dirt is gone, and we still have to get the mailbox back up.  Need a post hole digger for that.

Almost Done

Just gotta remove their pile of dirt and get the mail box back up.  We have to give a couple of days for the decorative part to cure.

A Day Late For Shoot Like A Pirate Day

Wednesday's Progress

Driveway

Here's the driveway's progress.

Monday:

Today:

Heroes

I must admit, the ad campaign, "Save the Cheerleader, save the world," turned me off.

I have the DVDs now.

It's very nice to see science fiction treated as if adults will be watching it.

Major Capital Improvements

Tomorrow (today actually) begins the expansion of the driveway.

Getting a pad on the south side to park a car more or less permanently and a whole drive to the north for everyday use. We will have room for five cars outside without parking on grass!

The quote includes the slab for the back porch too. That's like phase 1 of the office expansion. First we need a slab, then a screened in lanai for it (phase 2) and then changing the current lanai's screen walls to real walls and adding carpeting. We've had a quote for $14,000 for that. That one will be on hold until The Lovely Harvey is working again.

Thanks For The Guilt Trip Bat

I see you have become your mother.

Congratulations.

The check will be is in the mail Monday now.

Bye.

One Of Us One Of Us One Of Us

I got The Boy a new computer.

It's a 20" iMac, 2.4GhZ, 1gb RAM.  I got the 2.4GhZ because it has 256mb of video instead of the 128 like the 2.0GhZ machine has.

So far he's really happy.

Home Again Home Again Ziggity Zig

We made it!

Rudy If It Isn't A Crime Why Is It Called Illegal

As an attorney, he should know better too.

I say again, no votes for New Yorkers.

Are the Republicans even running a candidate this time? Looks like I have Democrats on both sides of the ballot.

I still want a "none of the above".

Well That Sucks

Thanks to Chris Underwood for ruining gaming for me.

Chris, it's not cute to irritate people just to see them irritated.

I apologize to anyone looking forward to gaming with me while I was in Ames, but Chris ruined it.

Tremble In Fear

I will be leaving for Ames in a few short hours.

I should arrive Friday evening, I have one planned stop.

Please quit your jobs and hang out with me for the week I will be there.

New Portable Electronic Difference Engine

I purchased a 15.4" MacBook Pro, 2.4GhZ.

Pretty damn cool so far.

OS 10.4.10 has a lot of little differences from 10.3.9 that I was running on the dear departed CRT iMac.

Still getting things moved over from one side to the other.

I Do So Love Gun Leather

Triple K brand; Model 1890 holster.

New Child In The House

It's a Ruger "New Model" Blackhawk, .357 Magnum, 6.5" barrel.

I bought it from a member of the car club who's further down on his luck than I am.

Fuck YOU Wal Mart!

For the umpteenth time, the security sensor went off as I exited Wal Mart.

For the first time, I kept walking.

"Sir! I need to see your receipt!"

Keep walking.

"Sir! I need to see your receipt!"

Wave it in the air, "Here it is, can't you see it?" keep walking.

"Sir! I need to see your receipt!"

Stop, "Here! Happy?"

"Thank you, sir, shop at Wal Mart again soon."

"Thank you, asshole."

"Thank you, sir, shop at Wal Mart again soon."

I sure hope greeter man didn't like being called an asshole, because I sure don't like being called a thief. Their damned counter clerks routinely screw up the arduous task of "wave the product over the anti-theft device deactivator" and I get to be accosted on my way to the car.

Every couple of years, you'll see a report about shoplifting. Shoplifting is 13% of theft from a retail store, guess who steals the remaining 87%. The employees. While greeter man is demanding to see my receipt, the lumpers are loading their cars at the loading dock!

Fucking idiocy.