Policy?

I should point out, I am a jerk in replying to comments here.

I don't really mean to be most of the time, it's just how it comes out.

If I seem mean, I am not attacking you personally unless I toss in an insult.

If the reply starts out with something like, "listen up, Fuckbrain..." yeah, that's me hating you.

Recoil

Two of my rifles have muzzle brakes; both for cosmetic reasons.

The FAL has a short Belgian pattern brake because that's what a late-pattern Romat had.  Coincidentally, that's the brake that DSA put on the barrel at the factory.  In part that brake determined which FAL clone I was making.

Dottie has a Troy Medieval brake.  6.8 specific muzzle devices were thin on the ground when I made her and the Medieval is one of the even fewer that allows the use of a bayonet (another cosmetic item).

Neither brake is mounted because I was having trouble with the recoil.

From past experience with an FAL, my Entrèprise L1A1 clone, the brake is not really stopping recoil but managing muzzle climb.  The L1A1 flash hider and the it's-been-too-long-to-remember-the-brand brake felt the same on the shoulder, but I could get back on target a bit faster.

The short-Belgian brake is not timed or asymmetrical, so I suspect it's not helping with muzzle climb at all. Jasmine doesn't seem to have more "kick" than any other 7.62x51mm battle rifle I've ever fired.  She does seem smoother than an M1A, but that could have more to do with the renowned adjustable gas system than the muzzle device.  It could also be the design of the stock, the FAL has much better ergonomics.

Dottie kicks noticeably less than her 6.8 stablemate, Tabitha.  I attribute this to mass far more than the brake.  Dottie is 13 ounces heavier before you take into account the red-dot or the light.  The timed, asymmetrical Medieval brake definitely helps with muzzle climb, but fractions of a second faster shooting results, not huge gains.

Mass brings me to what brought brakes to mind.

I was reading on Arfcom where someone was asking about what the best brake for 5.56 was.  One respondent compared their SIG 556 SBR to a pencil barreled AR they used to own.  He noted that the SIG with a brake was much lighter in recoil than the AR.  Sir, I suspect that the two pound weight difference is why and not the brake.  The two guns compared have very different gas systems and stock design; both can change perceived recoil a great deal.

In short, don't lie to yourself about the effect of your muzzle device.

PS: Speaking of lies about muzzle devices.  Several places I have read about the flash hider for the M16A2 being developed as having a brake function.  BZZZZZZZT!  Wrong!  The reason that it has that filled in section on the bottom was to reduce the dust signature when firing from close to the ground and nothing to do with preventing muzzle climb.  If it does have a practical brake effect, it was serendipity and not intention that caused it.  Think about where most of the feature changes between the M16A1 and M16A2 originate; the USMC.  The Corps rifle philosophy is (was?) not about rapid fire and fast acquisition; it's about slow-fire at long range on known distance ranges.  If the Corps had not been lobbying the A2 would likely have been a more limited change.

ARRRRRRRRRR!

Today be talk like a pirate day!

Sing a shanty.

Shiver a timber.

Blow me.




Down.

I am pre-fashionable again

NFL goes TSA on the fans.

I got wind of this from Jay.

I agree, fuck the NFL.

But I felt that way about them after watching how they screw over all the local populace on stadiums. Never mind the overpriced every damn thing for sale inside.  Never mind the crime wave that follows a statistically significant percentage of the players.

All of that being on top of the fact that I never played the game and have absolutely no interest in watching others play.

The decision will have absolutely no impact on NFL's sales.  The kind of idiot who lives vicariously through the local (or not so local) professional sports team will gladly submit to any indignity to cheer on "their" team.

At least nobody can hijack a stadium and fly it into a building.

A subtext of this is, "If you continue to treat me like a criminal when I am innocent; what is my incentive to remain so?"  If I am to be treated like a criminal, why do I not begin to act as one?

Heartless

Read this heart-wrenching story.

Back?

Really makes her boss seem like the bad guy, huh?

There's a common misunderstanding about jobs.

The job does not exist for the employee.  The job exists for the employer.

The business has work that needs done that cannot be done as efficiently without an extra person.

In short, they needed Ms Rendon to show up for work.  Businesses don't make exemplary employees sign paperwork warning them that their job might not be there when they get back.  No business wants to be seen as Mr Scrooge; I am guessing that all manner of compassion was extended and a mile was taken where an inch was given.

I am guessing that Ms Rendon was absent a lot helping with a bad family situation.

I am guessing that her job performance suffered a great deal from the stress.

I am saying that Aviation Institute of Maintenance had a job that needed doing and she wasn't there to do it as agreed.  Ms Rendon's failure to show up to do the job as agreed is not AIM's fault.

Because jobs are not for the employee, the business doesn't owe you one.  Your salary and benefits are what they owe you; you exchange you skills and time for those.

Quote of the Week

"[E]verywhere civilization goes, so go those who would pull it down, for their God or for glory, for envy, loot or the sheer joy of making things go smash. It has never been otherwise; and that, that is what you should "never forget.""


Roberta X

Pop!

Ace has a link to "what do you call carbonated sweetened beverages".

My parents called it 'pop'.  Until I entered the Army, I called it 'pop'.  While in the military I changed over to calling it 'soda'; I still do.

This kind of falls in line with what I was talking about before.

I moved to where it's called soda from where it's called pop and I didn't insist that everyone else change how they talked.

Another regional study could center around where when you order tea if the waitress asks, "iced or hot" or "sweet or unsweet" of if they ask at all.

Relocating

I've moved around a lot.

Every two years from 1979 to 1991.

Most times a new state.

I lived second longest in Ames, Iowa.  I liked Ames a lot.  That was '81-'83, '85-'87, '90-97.  I was born in Iowa.  I have aunts, uncles and cousins there.

Iowa is an odd place.  It's what I call conservaliberal.  They tend to mix the extremes of both parties in the day-to-day politics.

Ames, on the other hand, is very liberal.  I guess it goes with having a land-grant university in town.  The creeping nannyism coupled with the lack of real jobs drove me out.

I scoped around for a new place to live once I had been talked out of killing myself.

I settled on Florida.

Not once have I ever attempted to make Florida into Iowa.  I figure there are reasons I don't live in Iowa, so why try to bring those reasons here?

I wish that people from New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts had the same consideration.  They all move here and all you hear about is how great "back home" was and how things should be that way here.  I always ask, "then why did you come here if back there was so damn great?"

"Huh?" they always say.

Then they start talking about all the things that are fucked-up "back-home".  So then I ask, "ever consider that some of those things are intertwined and you can't get one without the other?"

"Huh?"

Then we talk about how linked a lot of the good things are with the bad things.  It's quite surprising in some ways.  What really knocks many of them for a loop is how many of the "good" things are not really good when you really look at them closely.

I think I am making progress.

PS: People from NJ, NY, IL or MA: if you want to impress me with "you've nevers" you'll have had to have killed someone.  Except that I have (thanks US Army!).  Merely living in a large city will not impress me, because I lived for a while in Chicago.

Probulation Status

My probulation status is now "Pending".  Eleven business days faster than the last one and 27 calendar.

A point...

I'd like to point out that my Corvette is a pre-bail-out car.

That's important to me.

I am feeling so charitable lately!

Not only have I put my hat in the ring for the Kilted to Kick Cancer thing, I am at present driving in a road rally for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  Speaking of the Kilt thing, have you donated?

I've never done this before, but it looks like fun!

Delinking...

Well, I never linked in the first place, my blogroll is not a complete list at all.

I hate dropping someone from my daily read list.  There was a reason they got added to the bookmarks page and then they've gone and started spewing crap I can no longer stand to read.

It hasn't been a common problem.

When the posts are making me think, "take their dick out of your mouth" and not "wow, you've really explained your position rationally," it's time to stop reading.

Finality.

Something occurs to me about the violence prone unions.  In the past they fought the industrialists, who really did want them as workers, and the police, who really preferred to arrest them.

They've never started one of their little wars with anyone who doesn't give a shit about their being alive tomorrow.

One thing about a conceal carry permit is that it tends to focus ones mind on the legality of when I can or can't shoot.

I've read a great deal about labor's formative years.  Heard a lot about it too from Great Grampa (a labor organizer from Italy pre-Mussolini).  Self defense laws don't have a "unless it's a union mob" exemption.

I know how long I would last against an ax handle bare-fisted so I am not going to go bare-knuckle.  Besides; an ax handle is a lethal weapon so I am allowed to reply with deadly force.

The second focused mind part of the CCW was that I had to make the decision to shoot someone a long time ago.  The decision has already been made.  The idea here is that you don't have time to consider all the moral implications of using lethal force when it's time to do so.

I also just realized that I discovered the Tea Party through Gun Blogs!  What are the odds that a significant number of the people at a Tea Party rally are carrying?  In light of the now stated threat I think I might just carry a less comfortable option next time.

Ball's in your court, Goons.

One last thing for the union goon to consider, the rallies are not a majority of the people who'd identify themselves as Tea Party members.  Five Percent.  Five percent is a number you need to internalize.  That's the percentage of any group of fighters can take as casualties before becoming combat ineffective. That's been true going all the way back to ancient Greece.  Wiping out a Tea Party rally will not hit the 5% mark; but rallyists fighting back could readily get more than 5% of the membership of a union who are willing to commit violence against a person.

This just never adds up to a loss for my side.  It's the neat thing about being on the "right" side of history.

Double Quote of the Day

From inside the wonderful head of Jennifer

"Word to the wise, don’t nominate the guy your opponent most wants to run against. It’s a losing strategy. You’d think people would have figured that out last time around."

and

"Convince me that you will push for small government (Bye Newt), strong national defense (Bye Ron Paul), and staying the hell out of my business, bedroom, and gun safe (Don’t let the door hit ya, Mitt); and you’ll have my vote. It’s that easy."

One quibble, it's spelled "RONPAUL". 

Inured

I have become so inured to the safety warnings in service manuals that I remove the source of ammunition from my car and disconnect the negative battery cable on my guns before working on them.

GO/NO-GO

I have been accused of being a single issue voter.

My issue is apparently guns.

What the outside observer misses is that my list is a GO/NO-GO list.

If you encounter a NO-GO the check-list stops.

Guns is just the first thing on the list and astoundingly few candidates make it past item one.

I cast my vote for the candidate who gets farthest down my list.

Incite to Violence

Take Two.

Jimmy Hoffa (yeah I thought he was dead too) has called for violence against the Tea-Party.  He did so just before President Obama took the stage.  President Obama hasn't said a peep about it.

I fear that things will get interesting now.

I also fear that the police will choose "brotherhood and solidarity" over doing their jobs; since they are widely unionized.

I don't think the media will honestly report on instances where a union member instigated the violence and was killed in self defense.

Interesting times indeed.

Related to the "What-If" from yesterday.

I submit that if the press was doing their stated job and investigating all the candidates fully that EVERYONE would be happier with the process and the two sides would be far less polarized than they are now.

What If

The media is biased.  I think there are plenty of examples most everyone is aware of, so I won't present more here.

I posit that if the media had done as thorough a job of vetting the Democratic candidates as they do Republican ones we'd likely not have gotten President Clinton in 1992.  There would not have been a groundswell to create a third party, so Perot would not have been a serious candidate.

Two terms with George Bush Sr would have meant someone completely different would have been elected in 1996, and in 2000 I seriously doubt there would have been traction for George W Bush's campaign.

The press' job is to report!  I would not mind the bias so much if there were media as biased against the Democrats as the present media is biased for.  Then we could count on all the candidates getting their dirt exposed to public scrutiny.

What if...

Inciting to Violence CONTENT DELETED.

Meh.  Deleted because I reconsidered my angst.

USS Indepenence, LCS-2

She's docked in St Pete, so I took a pic.

EDIT: Wikipedia Entry on LCS-2

I think you have the causal relationship backwards.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032031/Ramadan-brawl-Rye-Playland-theme-park-Muslim-women-banned-rides.html

Head gear is banned from that ride.  You refuse to remove your head-scarf because God says not to, it's not the park's problem; it's yours.

Did they make everyone remove their hats?  Yes?  Then it's not discriminating against Moslems.

Did you use this universal policy as an excuse to riot?  Yes?  I think you can stop wondering why there's a general level of distrust from non-moslems about y'all now.

WE just never know when YOU are going to go off violently.  It seems the triggers are random and capricious.  Unpredictable.  Perhaps even malicious.

The reasonable way to handle this is to address park management about how the head-scarf is not a hazard to the rider and that it can be worn safely.  Then get a reassessment of the policy and open up the ride to people who are required by God to wear a head covering.  Likewise, if it's shown that wearing such a headdress will increase the chances of injury and death you should drop it.

It's interesting that you accept that God requires you to wear a particular item of clothing yet don't accept that your piety will also forbid you from activities were such clothing cannot be worn.  It is not the park causing the issue, it's your faith.  God just said, "No coasters because I require you to wear that scarf."

Six years!

Counting my LiveJournal, I have been blogging for six years.

Actually this is the sixth anniversary of the oldest post on my LiveJournal.  I had earlier entries but deleted them because of an attack of angst on my part.

On the 20th will be the first anniversary of my move to a "real" blog and my current location.

A Slightly Shinier Future

My Droid 2 just got updated to Android 2.3.3; so far I like it.  There are a few things that appear to have been changed just to have visual evidence that changes had been made.

Damn this want gene...

There are a ton of things I want.

Things I don't need.

Such is the nature of want.

I want an M1A.  I don't think it's as good as the gun it "beat", the FAL.  I own an FAL and I still want an M1A which I will not like as well.

It's stupid, but...

Kilted to Kick Cancer!

Ambulance Driver has a bit of a contest going (Including the rules and such).

Kilted to Kick Cancer

Click HERE to donate to PCF.

Click HERE to donate to Livestrong.  I've set a meager goal of $500 here.  That's like $15 per reader on average; easily attainable.

Me with a woman who is not my wife.

You knew with a name like McThag, I had a kilt.

Drinking.

Drinking does solve one problem without fail.

The "problem" of being sober.

That's a damn short list of problems that drinking will solve and the solution is pretty limited in its scope.

A matter of principle

If you hire me to do work, I will do it.

I expect you to compensate me for my work.

I will not ask a penny more than what was agreed.

I do the work correctly and on time, you pay.  It is not my problem that I am a subcontractor and the people that hired you have not paid you.  It is not my problem that you forgot to buy stamps.  It is not my problem that the check the people who hired you sent was held by the bank for five days.  It is not my problem that you "got busy".  It is not my problem that you are not going to profit from this job.

None of those things are my problem.  Those are your problems.  You strung me along and it felt like you lied from the very beginning.  I am especially unsympathetic about your failure to make money from the job.  That's mismanagement.  I made money on the job; I know what I am doing here and how much to ask for the work.

If you don't like these realities, you should not be running a business.

It is especially sad that you will likely be needing my services again and I will either decline to work for you or demand cash up front.

It is also especially galling that I took the job without a time constraint and you called every night asking if it had been completed; now you acted put out because I am called once a week to see why I didn't have my payment.

I was very patient with you about getting paid.  My end of the work was finished in June, 2010.  Near the end of October 2010 you told me that payment was eminent.  Goody!  Two weeks later I ask about a timeline.  You say soon.  Then you ask to confirm my mailing address.  I do so; thinking it must be soon.

So I wait 8 days (one day is a holiday).  You claimed to be out of checks and had no chance to get to the bank; but would be doing that the next day.

So I waited 6 more days, plenty of time for the bank to send you new checks and for your check to arrive here.  Nothing.  I ask, WTF!  You say that there was a five day hold put on the check they sent you.  Gee, that shouldn't have mattered since you said you had the money 6 days ago.  You claim to have gotten a money order drawn.

So I wait a week (on holiday day).  You tell me to calm down.  You claim you are at UPS "right now" and are overnighting it.  You claim you've been "busy".

I ask you, did your mortgage get paid?  Did your electric bill get paid?  Did your water bill get paid?  Did your sewer bill get paid?  Did your phone company get paid?  Did your cell phone bill get paid?  I am betting those all got paid because they don't take excuses.

Yeah, I got paid, but this was excessive.  I even waited nearly a whole year to post the rant about it to make sure I was still pissed off about it.  Yup.  Still mad.

Miss will do...

Remember when Barbara Boxer, junior senator to the state of California, demanded to be called "senator" instead of "ma'am"?

Allow me to retort.

Bitch, we don't assign honorifics to the fucking help.

And don't mistake it, you are the help.  The perspective might be temporarily skewed at the moment, but we will put you and your kind back in your place.

Rights

I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically endorse any plan that gives you the same rights I have.

I also wholeheartedly and enthusiastically oppose any plan that gives you more rights than I have, either by giving you more or me less.

In short, I am fine with being your equal, I will not submit to being your inferior.

This is regardless of nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation or religion.

What you do with the equality is up to you, but you don't get a position of superiority because you were once oppressed.

A little late...

It's not that the wheels are coming off our political process.  Those wheels are long gone.  It's the cinder blocks that the process was resting on are coming off.

Mice Guns

I kinda collect .25 ACP guns.

They are cheap and interesting.

I am not going to say they are an effective choice for self defense unless merely having any gun at all will do.  Heck, didn't we have a gun blogger choose using a cup of hot coffee over the .25 in his pocket?

Because I collect and accumulate, I tend to not shoot them right away.  It's not like I have to be in a big hurry to make sure they work before the warranty expires.  My newest .25 is the Beretta 950BS made in 1992...  The box and owners manual don't mention the name "Jetfire" anywhere but everyone calls this gun a Jetfire.  I like to think my gun predates the name.

Today I took that Beretta and my FN-Browning 1905 (1922 made) out to the range.

Both work, both print fist sized groups at 10'.  I am pleased!

All in all I don't like the Browning 1905 as well as it's close relative the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket.  JMB (PBUH) sold the design to each maker and they adapted them independently.  The Colt is just nicer.

Really, kill NASA.

I've been reading about our lifters.

Turns out there are a couple of proven heavies that could readily carry the Orion capsule.

They were not even considered because they were not man-rated.

They were not man-rated because NASA didn't want there to be competition with their jobs program, the shuttle.

Considering the epic cost to launch the shuttle we would have been better served with disposables.

Maybe someday...

NFA Update.

The news is there is no news.

Used to be they cashed that check the day it arrived.  Now, not so much.

Until the check is cashed, it can't go pending.

The very nice lady on the phone says they are averaging eight weeks from receipt to cashing and then another three months from that to approved.

There are a whopping ten examiners for the entire country.

She said that volume is up substantially since the beginning of the year.

I looked up some of ATF's stats.  Silencers are getting to be VERY popular out there.

Words Mean Something

You'd think with all the acrimony about the whole clip vs magazine issue that gun rags would be a little more careful about terms.

Mr David Bahoe of Special Weapons for Military and Police: .338 Lapua is not an intermediate round because it's roughly halfway between 7.62x51 and .50 BMG.

Intermediate rounds are halfway between battle rifle ammo and pistol cartridges.

.338 is a lot more sporty than bog standard 7.62 NATO thus going the wrong direction to be called intermediate.

Another possibility is the author is unaware of the term.  In that case he should not be paid to write for a gun magazine.

Drug Testing and Welfare.

Florida is a state that has decided that if you want to be on welfare you have to pass a drug test.

While I don't care if you're doing illegal drugs, if you can afford drugs you can afford food.  If you can afford food, why do you need welfare?

Quote of the Day

"Dad never let me play with incendiaries in the house. That's what the garage was for."


Dave H in comments to this thread at Jay's.

Customer Service

There's a hierarchy that an employee who deals with customers should follow.

In order of most important to least.

Helping a customer standing at the counter.
Helping a customer wandering the store.
Helping a customer on phone.
Stocking the shelves/cleaning.
Personal shit.

This is why the internet is kicking your ass.

For stores that don't really have an internet option, you are aware that you have competitors within a short drive from here, right?

If you make me wait longer than it takes to drive to the next closer store, why don't I?

A note...

You should probably take notice that Republican and Libertarian are not the same word.  Not even the same root.

If you are a libertarian and expect the Republican candidate to be a Libertarian, you should reassess your expectations.

If you want a Libertarian candidate, you do know they have their own party, right?

Let's not pull another Perot, huh?

Kfir

One of my favorite bloggers, Neptunus Lex, has scored a dream job!  He's getting paid to fly dissimilar air combat with a contractor.

As something of an homage, I fired up Strike Fighters 2 and took some screen shots of Kfir C2, very similar to the plane he's flying.  The plane he's shown pics of was with the Smashing Parrots squadron, and so is the plane in my shot (I got a different tail number, his is 820).

It's silly, but what the heck.  I didn't have the education or drive to pursue getting a set of wings in the military; so sims are all I have.  Prolly for the best, flying has no cure and only one treatment, I never caught the disease.