Alexandre Dumas was black?
I thought he was French.
Turns out he was just 3/4 French. Interestingly the 1/4 black thing wasn't such a massive deal in France in the early 1800's.
The crap you learn when watching exploitation movies that offend Spike Lee.
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31 January 2013
30 January 2013
Three Nine
My buddy Marv ordered a ten pack of USGI style magazines from Brownell's on 27Dec12. They were listed as backordered on the day he ordered.
They arrived today.
The magazines are all marked 3-09 and 4-09.
This makes me think that the "shortage" is not supply but throughput in the ordering system.
They arrived today.
The magazines are all marked 3-09 and 4-09.
This makes me think that the "shortage" is not supply but throughput in the ordering system.
Street View Nostalgia
I used to live here!
581 Sharon Way, Bolingbrook, IL
The window above the garage was my bedroom window. The one to the immediate right is the upstairs bathroom. We're looking west.
This is looking south. The kitchen window is visible just to the right of the garage. The tree in the foreground was about an inch in diameter when we lived there.
Looking kinda SE. On the ground floor there's the back sliding glass door into the living room and the window to the dining area. Upstairs is my sister's bedroom window on the southern side and the master on the north.
I am struck by how small the place seems.
581 Sharon Way, Bolingbrook, IL
The window above the garage was my bedroom window. The one to the immediate right is the upstairs bathroom. We're looking west.
This is looking south. The kitchen window is visible just to the right of the garage. The tree in the foreground was about an inch in diameter when we lived there.
Looking kinda SE. On the ground floor there's the back sliding glass door into the living room and the window to the dining area. Upstairs is my sister's bedroom window on the southern side and the master on the north.
I am struck by how small the place seems.
29 January 2013
Wrong Impression
Lest you get the wrong impression I am an atheist.
The religious symbols of people with imaginary friends do not bother me nor terrify me.
I do not feel oppressed by a display of a manger scene in the courtyard.
I am not offended by crosses at military cemeteries. By the way, if you're not a veteran you don't get a vote about this because you didn't pay the entry fee to the club.
I am mildly bored by invocations at school ceremonies.
I am comfortable in my lack of faith and it can survive a great deal proselytizing.
I ask to be left alone and I will return that favor.
Campaigning against organized religion is not leaving them alone and I would have to expect some push back. Note that first word in "organized religion". It's best to not rile them up. Also remember what their organizations look like to us when you consider making a counter-organization. Do you think we DON'T look like dicks when we mob up and demand religion be suppressed?
You don't feel like you have anything to lose because a ban on atheist displays of religion in the public square is, what? And if I am banned from using the public square, why should I be required to pay for it? Willing to shoulder that burden? 85%+ of the nation claims a belief in God of some kind.
The tyranny of the minority is the worst kind. You should really look hard at your tactics, you sound just like the race baiters. Many of the same allies, so it's not surprising that the methods should be similar.
I like freedom. I like liberty.
I refuse to fight to strip those things from others on the off chance that I might have paid for a fiberglass baby or provided a month of outdoor storage for it in December.
The religious symbols of people with imaginary friends do not bother me nor terrify me.
I do not feel oppressed by a display of a manger scene in the courtyard.
I am not offended by crosses at military cemeteries. By the way, if you're not a veteran you don't get a vote about this because you didn't pay the entry fee to the club.
I am mildly bored by invocations at school ceremonies.
I am comfortable in my lack of faith and it can survive a great deal proselytizing.
I ask to be left alone and I will return that favor.
Campaigning against organized religion is not leaving them alone and I would have to expect some push back. Note that first word in "organized religion". It's best to not rile them up. Also remember what their organizations look like to us when you consider making a counter-organization. Do you think we DON'T look like dicks when we mob up and demand religion be suppressed?
You don't feel like you have anything to lose because a ban on atheist displays of religion in the public square is, what? And if I am banned from using the public square, why should I be required to pay for it? Willing to shoulder that burden? 85%+ of the nation claims a belief in God of some kind.
The tyranny of the minority is the worst kind. You should really look hard at your tactics, you sound just like the race baiters. Many of the same allies, so it's not surprising that the methods should be similar.
I like freedom. I like liberty.
I refuse to fight to strip those things from others on the off chance that I might have paid for a fiberglass baby or provided a month of outdoor storage for it in December.
Some Days
It just doesn't pay to chew through the restraints.
Dottie is a chubby AR.
I did some research and have discovered I can knock 6.56 oz. off her by changing the handguard from the LaRue LT-15-9 to a Magpul MOE.
Yeah...
Changing over to the MOE itself would be about $60.
Adding a QD fitting to replace the one that I lose from the LaRue rails is $33 plus shipping.
Adding a mount for the flashlight that disappears with the rails adds around $20 plus shipping.
Probably $125 to get the new parts and the swivel and light mount will eat into the weight savings.
The LaRue is $230 new, so I am sure I can sell it for at least the cost of the parts.
Heck, I'd swap even up!
What I need:
Triangular Handguard Cap, 0.75"
Delta-Ring
Weld-Spring
Barrel Snap Ring
Magpul MOE mid-length handguards, Olive Drab
Mount-N-Slop QD Sling Mount
Magpul MOE Illumination Kit
If someone out there with a bit of vendor pull would like to donate them, I'd be happy to give a heads up review comparing them to a YHM 4-rail and the LaRue!
Dottie is a chubby AR.
I did some research and have discovered I can knock 6.56 oz. off her by changing the handguard from the LaRue LT-15-9 to a Magpul MOE.
Yeah...
Changing over to the MOE itself would be about $60.
Adding a QD fitting to replace the one that I lose from the LaRue rails is $33 plus shipping.
Adding a mount for the flashlight that disappears with the rails adds around $20 plus shipping.
Probably $125 to get the new parts and the swivel and light mount will eat into the weight savings.
The LaRue is $230 new, so I am sure I can sell it for at least the cost of the parts.
Heck, I'd swap even up!
What I need:
Triangular Handguard Cap, 0.75"
Delta-Ring
Weld-Spring
Barrel Snap Ring
Magpul MOE mid-length handguards, Olive Drab
Mount-N-Slop QD Sling Mount
Magpul MOE Illumination Kit
If someone out there with a bit of vendor pull would like to donate them, I'd be happy to give a heads up review comparing them to a YHM 4-rail and the LaRue!
28 January 2013
Old Time Religion
At the time of ratification, the Bill of Rights; like the Constitution itself was a Federal matter.
Except for the things that were specifically prohibited in the Constitution from the states were free to do what they would.
It's a damn short list.
Under the original Constitution and Bill of Rights an individual state could ban all but their pet religion, forbid the owning of guns, quarter the state militia in their citizen's homes et cetera.
It was courts constantly finding that concerning blacks which led to the passage of the 14th amendment.
Nominally the 14th applies the restrictions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
Now the individual states may not declare state religions, ban guns and quarter troops.
Like other massive changes to government recently, the 14th was passed in a cursed hurry.
That there could be a ruling such as Slaughterhouse says a lot about how ambiguous the text of it is.
That said.
There's another problem creeping in the background because of the 14th's application of the 1st.
Godless Atheists. (heh)
Or rather, militant atheists. Fucking fanatics as a matter of fact.
All that matters to them is to be free of seeing any expression of religion and they will damn sure enlist the government to spare their delicate sensibilities. So much so they are definitely dictating THEIR beliefs onto the religious freedoms of others. And no matter how tangentially the discussion brushes this topic, they have something to say with all the bitter and bile of a Klansman.
Haters are like that.
I sometimes wonder if an atheists lack of faith is so tenuous that they are worried they will become believers should they be exposed enough.
I've yet to hear a decent answer to this: What is the difference between the court ordered elimination of all religious display and state mandated atheism?
Except for the things that were specifically prohibited in the Constitution from the states were free to do what they would.
It's a damn short list.
Under the original Constitution and Bill of Rights an individual state could ban all but their pet religion, forbid the owning of guns, quarter the state militia in their citizen's homes et cetera.
It was courts constantly finding that concerning blacks which led to the passage of the 14th amendment.
Nominally the 14th applies the restrictions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
Now the individual states may not declare state religions, ban guns and quarter troops.
Like other massive changes to government recently, the 14th was passed in a cursed hurry.
That there could be a ruling such as Slaughterhouse says a lot about how ambiguous the text of it is.
That said.
There's another problem creeping in the background because of the 14th's application of the 1st.
Godless Atheists. (heh)
Or rather, militant atheists. Fucking fanatics as a matter of fact.
All that matters to them is to be free of seeing any expression of religion and they will damn sure enlist the government to spare their delicate sensibilities. So much so they are definitely dictating THEIR beliefs onto the religious freedoms of others. And no matter how tangentially the discussion brushes this topic, they have something to say with all the bitter and bile of a Klansman.
Haters are like that.
I sometimes wonder if an atheists lack of faith is so tenuous that they are worried they will become believers should they be exposed enough.
I've yet to hear a decent answer to this: What is the difference between the court ordered elimination of all religious display and state mandated atheism?
27 January 2013
26 January 2013
Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Losing
One of the reasons the right loses is we have a couple of issues that aren't related that are all "ours".
Abortion, Guns and Homosexuals.
Two of these things are religious issues and thus shouldn't be government issues because of the 1st Amendment.
Remember that one? It's right before the one we've memorized. Yeah...
What happens far too often when the gun people finally gang together and vote to preserve gun rights the other two factions march like they've got a mandate to impose their religiously derived moral codes on the rest of us.
Then there's a backlash.
And the gun grabbers get their power back.
Remember the contract with America? Remember how they promised to roll back Brady and the AWB?
I remember.
I notice that Brady is still law and I dare you to name a bill that repealed the AWB even if it didn't escape committee, because it damn sure never made the floor.
Christians, for goodness sake read your book! If abortion is murder, God has it covered and will be punishing the murderers. It's one of His jobs, He says so. You aren't supposed to force the sinners to be righteous, just to show them the way; they have to choose the path on their own. It's in The Book! Why is an atheist the one who knows that where you don't?
Also, the prohibition in the Bible about homosexuals reads far more like a prohibition on pederasty.
Abortion, Guns and Homosexuals.
Two of these things are religious issues and thus shouldn't be government issues because of the 1st Amendment.
Remember that one? It's right before the one we've memorized. Yeah...
What happens far too often when the gun people finally gang together and vote to preserve gun rights the other two factions march like they've got a mandate to impose their religiously derived moral codes on the rest of us.
Then there's a backlash.
And the gun grabbers get their power back.
Remember the contract with America? Remember how they promised to roll back Brady and the AWB?
I remember.
I notice that Brady is still law and I dare you to name a bill that repealed the AWB even if it didn't escape committee, because it damn sure never made the floor.
Christians, for goodness sake read your book! If abortion is murder, God has it covered and will be punishing the murderers. It's one of His jobs, He says so. You aren't supposed to force the sinners to be righteous, just to show them the way; they have to choose the path on their own. It's in The Book! Why is an atheist the one who knows that where you don't?
Also, the prohibition in the Bible about homosexuals reads far more like a prohibition on pederasty.
Problems
Is it just me or are there a plethora of problems that stop being problems once Mr Government is not running it?
Such as teaching creation instead of evolution in schools? It only matters as a first amendment issue if the government is running the school.
How many other things can you think of?
Such as teaching creation instead of evolution in schools? It only matters as a first amendment issue if the government is running the school.
How many other things can you think of?
25 January 2013
I Don't Believe You
OK, you're banning that huge list of guns.
But the rights of hunters and sportsmen will be preserved?
Well, I've noticed how in the pocket of the environmentalists and greenies you are.
How long until there's no hunting to protect some rare species of deer tick?
Well, then nobody will NEED a hunting rifle, will they?
Yeah, pull the other one, it has bells on it!
But the rights of hunters and sportsmen will be preserved?
Well, I've noticed how in the pocket of the environmentalists and greenies you are.
How long until there's no hunting to protect some rare species of deer tick?
Well, then nobody will NEED a hunting rifle, will they?
Yeah, pull the other one, it has bells on it!
Hate
I've been observing.
Hate is alive and well.
Unreasoning and irrational hate for the most part.
And it's surprising to find it in some of the circles where it is.
I'm not even talking about traditional hatreds of race or religion.
It's shocking the level of hatred engendered by some over another's liking of a television show.
I am talking about Bronies.
Once again I am confronted with watching someone hate someone else who is not hurting them in any way. So, why the hate?
I am thinking that because the normal racial and ethnic hatreds are not allowed and are unstylish that those who would hate, hate that which is allowed.
In 1960's south, they'd be hating blacks.
In 1930's Germany, they'd be hating Jews.
Today, they're hating Bronies.
It's a cancer on their souls and it's all about them and very little to do with the Brony.
Hate is alive and well.
Unreasoning and irrational hate for the most part.
And it's surprising to find it in some of the circles where it is.
I'm not even talking about traditional hatreds of race or religion.
It's shocking the level of hatred engendered by some over another's liking of a television show.
I am talking about Bronies.
Once again I am confronted with watching someone hate someone else who is not hurting them in any way. So, why the hate?
I am thinking that because the normal racial and ethnic hatreds are not allowed and are unstylish that those who would hate, hate that which is allowed.
In 1960's south, they'd be hating blacks.
In 1930's Germany, they'd be hating Jews.
Today, they're hating Bronies.
It's a cancer on their souls and it's all about them and very little to do with the Brony.
Prisoners
Reading Popehat...
Reading the comments too.
I want to comment there, but I'm a bit intimidated by the company.
About Gitmo...
We have a serious problem.
They were captured under arms.
If they're POW they sit in a prison camp until the conflict is over. For as long as that may be regardless of how many elections we have and who wins them. Geneva and Hague agree and was reinforced after WW2 when we got huffy about the Soviets NOT releasing German POWs.
If they aren't POW then they are non-entity and can be disposed of as we will. You may notice that not a single German was at Nuremburg for what happened to partisans?
The traditional method is to summarily to shoot them. Other methods have been employed to cow the local populace, but killing them outright is acceptable.
Keeping indefinitely in a decent by American standards prison is far less than death, so it's got to be OK.
Torture is another matter, but that's got little to do with holding people who were captured under arms.
Reading the comments too.
I want to comment there, but I'm a bit intimidated by the company.
About Gitmo...
We have a serious problem.
They were captured under arms.
If they're POW they sit in a prison camp until the conflict is over. For as long as that may be regardless of how many elections we have and who wins them. Geneva and Hague agree and was reinforced after WW2 when we got huffy about the Soviets NOT releasing German POWs.
If they aren't POW then they are non-entity and can be disposed of as we will. You may notice that not a single German was at Nuremburg for what happened to partisans?
The traditional method is to summarily to shoot them. Other methods have been employed to cow the local populace, but killing them outright is acceptable.
Keeping indefinitely in a decent by American standards prison is far less than death, so it's got to be OK.
Torture is another matter, but that's got little to do with holding people who were captured under arms.
24 January 2013
Took A Song
I occasionally wonder what the fuck I have gotten myself into with my my marriage.
Then I remember.
I am only half of something else.
As is she.
Then I remember.
I am only half of something else.
As is she.
Different
Weaponsman is fond of saying, "The Past is a different country."
Today I discovered, that my youth is a different person.
I've recently reread two books I've read before, but not since I was 18-20 or so. I know that the text has not been edited because they are literally the same books I read before.
With different perspective, they are not reading the same at all.
They are better.
I am glad I did not throw my books away like so many others I've seen.
Today I discovered, that my youth is a different person.
I've recently reread two books I've read before, but not since I was 18-20 or so. I know that the text has not been edited because they are literally the same books I read before.
With different perspective, they are not reading the same at all.
They are better.
I am glad I did not throw my books away like so many others I've seen.
23 January 2013
Pasco Set To Close The Gunshow Loophole
Two things stand out from the news article.
First. What gunshows in Pasco County, Florida?
Second. They say it will reduce gun crime in Pasco. What gun crime? Where?
And if you have a toter's permit, no wait for you!
First. What gunshows in Pasco County, Florida?
Second. They say it will reduce gun crime in Pasco. What gun crime? Where?
And if you have a toter's permit, no wait for you!
Theory Of Dryer Maintenance
Here's the theory.
My dryer is quite old.
The leads for the thermostat heater being plugged into the blower box thermal fuse may be thus.
When the thermostats die, they take out the fuse.
The thermostat and thermostat heater are part of a variable heat system in my dryer. What the little heater does is trip the thermostat. It's just a bi-metal switch in there. What this does is cycle the heating element off and on giving allowing the temperature to be adjusted.
My theory is the thermostat croaked, and took the thermostat heater and fuse with it.
Previous owner bought a new thermostat, but not the heater. He had wires left over and plugged the heater leads into the dead fuse and when things still didn't work, twisted the ends of the fuse leads together. Function restored! All better!
Bypassing that fuse is a common repair I've seen now.
It's also possible that the fuse was bypassed first and the heater was omitted later and the leads were just parked where it was handy.
My dryer is quite old.
The leads for the thermostat heater being plugged into the blower box thermal fuse may be thus.
When the thermostats die, they take out the fuse.
The thermostat and thermostat heater are part of a variable heat system in my dryer. What the little heater does is trip the thermostat. It's just a bi-metal switch in there. What this does is cycle the heating element off and on giving allowing the temperature to be adjusted.
My theory is the thermostat croaked, and took the thermostat heater and fuse with it.
Previous owner bought a new thermostat, but not the heater. He had wires left over and plugged the heater leads into the dead fuse and when things still didn't work, twisted the ends of the fuse leads together. Function restored! All better!
Bypassing that fuse is a common repair I've seen now.
It's also possible that the fuse was bypassed first and the heater was omitted later and the leads were just parked where it was handy.
Safer!
I was so concerned about the dangers of having a bayonet lug, I removed it from Kaylee!
There, all safer now!
h/t Jay G.
There, all safer now!
h/t Jay G.
22 January 2013
Trust
A while back I had a reason to think that my life specifically was in danger.
It turned out not to be true, but the reasoning was sound.
While the perception of the threat existed I put my Glock (unloaded) in a gun-rug and that went into my gaming bag.
While gaming at a friend's house I, being a good gun owner, let them know I had a gun and would leave if it bothered them.
They said it bothered them a bit, but it would be OK if we put the whole gun-rug in a cabinet behind the GM. Reasonably readily accessible if my fears turned out to be well founded.
We played our game, had a good time and while we were packing up to go home, I went to the cabinet to retrieve my pistol.
It was no longer there.
During a bathroom break my "friends" had hidden it further.
It was returned after asking, of course.
On the way out I said, "you will never be told I have a gun on me again."
They were genuinely confused.
"What would have happened if I'd needed it and it wasn't where YOU promised it would be?"
You lied. You betrayed my trust.
I stopped gaming with those people and eventually stopped being friends.
I got talked into gaming with them again later, but the GM made such a screeching deal about teh evols of assault weapons I offered him an experiment.
He agreed.
I took my Mini-14 with the folding stock, bayonet lug, flash-hider, pistol grip and 30 round magazine; attached the bayonet, chambered a round, put on the safety, popped open the bipod and set on the floor facing the basement wall.
The experiment was that the rifle would not shoot anyone as long as nobody touched it.
Guess how that turned out...
It turned out not to be true, but the reasoning was sound.
While the perception of the threat existed I put my Glock (unloaded) in a gun-rug and that went into my gaming bag.
While gaming at a friend's house I, being a good gun owner, let them know I had a gun and would leave if it bothered them.
They said it bothered them a bit, but it would be OK if we put the whole gun-rug in a cabinet behind the GM. Reasonably readily accessible if my fears turned out to be well founded.
We played our game, had a good time and while we were packing up to go home, I went to the cabinet to retrieve my pistol.
It was no longer there.
During a bathroom break my "friends" had hidden it further.
It was returned after asking, of course.
On the way out I said, "you will never be told I have a gun on me again."
They were genuinely confused.
"What would have happened if I'd needed it and it wasn't where YOU promised it would be?"
You lied. You betrayed my trust.
I stopped gaming with those people and eventually stopped being friends.
I got talked into gaming with them again later, but the GM made such a screeching deal about teh evols of assault weapons I offered him an experiment.
He agreed.
I took my Mini-14 with the folding stock, bayonet lug, flash-hider, pistol grip and 30 round magazine; attached the bayonet, chambered a round, put on the safety, popped open the bipod and set on the floor facing the basement wall.
The experiment was that the rifle would not shoot anyone as long as nobody touched it.
Guess how that turned out...
Guns In Schools
There used to be guns in schools.
I had one.
When I lived in Minnesota with my dad the high school had a biathlon team.
He constantly wanted me to get into sports, preferably football.
To be in sports in my school you had to try out for and successfully join TWO teams.
That's why was the hockey goalie (4th string benchwarmer).
Dad had mixed feelings about the sports I'd chosen, but his "son" had finally gotten into athletics. Never mind that I was taking karate and riding my bike twenty-five to thirty miles a day. I think he meant "team" sports.
There is no 'I' in 'Team' or 'Hockey', but there sure as fuck is in biathlon!
I'm a good shot. With the constant practice I became an excellent shot. I am not a great cross country skier, but my shooting almost made up for it. Almost.
But we had guns in our school. Locked cabinet in the locker room in the coaches office. I could even sign my rifle out for a weekend and take it home on the school bus, or slung on my back on my bike. And I did too!
Come monday, I'd take it back to school the same way.
Remember, I was a bullied loner gamer geek. I had a rifle, ammunition, anger and skills to hit a head at 50m after cross-country-skiing for a mile. Yet nobody ever died. Nobody even got aimed at. Heck, I never even visualized my bullies as my targets.
Why?
Grampa stressed the four rules when we were playing "war" with our toy guns.
The four rules were hammered home learning biathlon because we'd be spared five minutes of time trials skiing for each of the rules we could recite. If you've never skied like this, trust me; it's an incentive.
I was exposed to guns and taught correctly. That's 90% of it.
I had one.
When I lived in Minnesota with my dad the high school had a biathlon team.
He constantly wanted me to get into sports, preferably football.
To be in sports in my school you had to try out for and successfully join TWO teams.
That's why was the hockey goalie (4th string benchwarmer).
Dad had mixed feelings about the sports I'd chosen, but his "son" had finally gotten into athletics. Never mind that I was taking karate and riding my bike twenty-five to thirty miles a day. I think he meant "team" sports.
There is no 'I' in 'Team' or 'Hockey', but there sure as fuck is in biathlon!
I'm a good shot. With the constant practice I became an excellent shot. I am not a great cross country skier, but my shooting almost made up for it. Almost.
But we had guns in our school. Locked cabinet in the locker room in the coaches office. I could even sign my rifle out for a weekend and take it home on the school bus, or slung on my back on my bike. And I did too!
Come monday, I'd take it back to school the same way.
Remember, I was a bullied loner gamer geek. I had a rifle, ammunition, anger and skills to hit a head at 50m after cross-country-skiing for a mile. Yet nobody ever died. Nobody even got aimed at. Heck, I never even visualized my bullies as my targets.
Why?
Grampa stressed the four rules when we were playing "war" with our toy guns.
The four rules were hammered home learning biathlon because we'd be spared five minutes of time trials skiing for each of the rules we could recite. If you've never skied like this, trust me; it's an incentive.
I was exposed to guns and taught correctly. That's 90% of it.
All Better
Replaced the breaker panel for the drier and it's now on the other side of a fuse on the main fuse box. That means we can make it cold at will.
Once that was done, the dryer kept popping the (new) breakers and not running.
This drove us nuts.
I think I am a victim of bubba.
The leads labeled for the thermal fuse are wire-nutted together.
The leads that are plugged into the thermal fuse are labeled for a thermostat heater.
I think it's been a miracle it worked at all.
Unplugging the fuse restores normal function.
21 January 2013
FML
The now robust electrical system in the dryer has finally killed off the creaky old breaker panel feeding it.
The geniuses who wired the panel wired it straight to the mains buss bar!
That's not where it's supposed to be for a sub box.
Grumble.
The geniuses who wired the panel wired it straight to the mains buss bar!
That's not where it's supposed to be for a sub box.
Grumble.
It Pays To Be Handy
For the price of a multi-meter, two #2 phillips screwdrivers and a 1/4" palm ratchet and a 1/4" six point socket and a $40 thermostat kit I have restored function to our dryer.
And I had the tools on hand already, so we don't even count those as a cost to this job because they have become amortized.
A service call is $75 minimum plus parts.
I think I need a beer and a lap dance since I can now afford it!
Or just not spend the money and be prudent...
And I had the tools on hand already, so we don't even count those as a cost to this job because they have become amortized.
A service call is $75 minimum plus parts.
I think I need a beer and a lap dance since I can now afford it!
Or just not spend the money and be prudent...
20 January 2013
Sunday Gunday
It's a 1957 Ruger Standard, also known as the Mark I.
The stocks are genuine plastic, Franzite brand. I'd never heard of the brand, but they fit well and feel good. With a spare magazine that came in that original box.
Check the price on the box!
I get the impression that the previous owner was the original owner and he bought the magazine with the gun. Brand new in 1957 a Ruger Standard was $37.50. Wow.
It's a fine shooter and was utterly clogged with gunk and still functioned. Cleaned up now!
A .22 pistol is on my list of "guns everyone should own one of". I made that list decades ago when I first started shooting and I only just now got around to buying one.
Other items on that list.
Pump shotgun.
Scoped bolt action centerfire rifle.
Rimfire rifle.
Semi-auto rifle with a detachable magazine in a military caliber.
Service sized pistol.
That's the minimum. I note that I still don't have a scoped bolt-gun. I keep getting distracted.
The stocks are genuine plastic, Franzite brand. I'd never heard of the brand, but they fit well and feel good. With a spare magazine that came in that original box.
Check the price on the box!
I get the impression that the previous owner was the original owner and he bought the magazine with the gun. Brand new in 1957 a Ruger Standard was $37.50. Wow.
It's a fine shooter and was utterly clogged with gunk and still functioned. Cleaned up now!
A .22 pistol is on my list of "guns everyone should own one of". I made that list decades ago when I first started shooting and I only just now got around to buying one.
Other items on that list.
Pump shotgun.
Scoped bolt action centerfire rifle.
Rimfire rifle.
Semi-auto rifle with a detachable magazine in a military caliber.
Service sized pistol.
That's the minimum. I note that I still don't have a scoped bolt-gun. I keep getting distracted.
19 January 2013
Worse Than RINO
There's a class of Republican that's worse than RINO.
These are found in places that are VERY Democrat, like New York City, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
They are merely the not-Democrat party candidates and not recognizable as a Republican in any other way.
Most RINO are not actually Democrats with an R, these guys are.
That they keep trying to recruit these guys to run for president says a lot about how messed up the RNC is.
Chris Christie is such a Democrat in Republican Clothes. Mitt Romney as well. Scott Brown... The list goes on.
I like watching Gov Christie go off on the unions in his state, but name something else about him that's remotely conservative. Go on. He is a creature of NJ and that means that he's totally alien to how people think in all of Flyover and most of The South.
Nothing makes the distinctions more clear than when the topic of firearms comes up.
New Jersey has an AWB. New Jersey hashandgun registration police tracking of handgun sales. New Jersey requires a permit to purchase which is obtained in a process that is very similar to what most other states would call a shall issue carry permit, including the extensive background check.
And all that seems perfectly normal to Gov Christie.
Where he's anti-union but union goons working for the electric companies turned aside non-union linemen.
Where he's a budget fixer who demanded his share of the federal largesse with his arm around the President when his ill prepared state was found to be so. He at least wiped his mouth and dusted off his knees before getting on camera.
These are found in places that are VERY Democrat, like New York City, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
They are merely the not-Democrat party candidates and not recognizable as a Republican in any other way.
Most RINO are not actually Democrats with an R, these guys are.
That they keep trying to recruit these guys to run for president says a lot about how messed up the RNC is.
Chris Christie is such a Democrat in Republican Clothes. Mitt Romney as well. Scott Brown... The list goes on.
I like watching Gov Christie go off on the unions in his state, but name something else about him that's remotely conservative. Go on. He is a creature of NJ and that means that he's totally alien to how people think in all of Flyover and most of The South.
Nothing makes the distinctions more clear than when the topic of firearms comes up.
New Jersey has an AWB. New Jersey has
And all that seems perfectly normal to Gov Christie.
Where he's anti-union but union goons working for the electric companies turned aside non-union linemen.
Where he's a budget fixer who demanded his share of the federal largesse with his arm around the President when his ill prepared state was found to be so. He at least wiped his mouth and dusted off his knees before getting on camera.
What I Want
I want a pro-gun organization that lets me know what the heck is going on in terms more specific than "stuff."
You're asking for my money to fight "stuff"?
Specifics.
"The county you live in is violating your rights!"
Really? How about some specifics so I can take that to the county commission meeting and ask them about it. I'm not going to track it down and you've claimed discovery, how about you tell me what you discovered?
You're asking for my money to fight "stuff"?
Specifics.
"The county you live in is violating your rights!"
Really? How about some specifics so I can take that to the county commission meeting and ask them about it. I'm not going to track it down and you've claimed discovery, how about you tell me what you discovered?
Unacceptable
I keep reading, over and over, how a ban on normal capacity magazines might be acceptable.
No.
Why?
Because fuck you.
Why else? And your mother.
I've even posted how having smaller magazines doesn't really make much difference.
That's not the issue at all.
Once the idiots in government get the idea that they can dictate magazine capacity, then they will decide that ten is too many, then seven, then five...
They already believe this is the case and the do-nothing-don't-make-waves supreme court isn't helping.
No.
Why?
Because fuck you.
Why else? And your mother.
I've even posted how having smaller magazines doesn't really make much difference.
That's not the issue at all.
Once the idiots in government get the idea that they can dictate magazine capacity, then they will decide that ten is too many, then seven, then five...
They already believe this is the case and the do-nothing-don't-make-waves supreme court isn't helping.
Defective Special
I sent my Detective Special off to Cylinder and Slide to see if it could be fixed.
It can.
I got the estimate.
It's a good thing I have a couple months to save up.
It can.
I got the estimate.
It's a good thing I have a couple months to save up.
18 January 2013
Gun Free Zone
It just occurred to me, on 9/11, nearly all of the victims were in a gun free zone.
The passengers and crew of the aircraft, obviously.
We tend to forget that NYFC is a gigantic gun free zone.
Not that having a gun would have saved a single soul on the ground that day, but since the media is all about pointing out irrelevancies, why shouldn't we?
A gun on any of those four planes in the hands of the crew or a non-terrorist passenger might have saved thousands of lives.
Of course, the terrorists would certainly have gotten carry permits and had guns themselves, but that law abiding people might as well lowers the certainty of their plans considerably.
The passengers and crew of the aircraft, obviously.
We tend to forget that NYFC is a gigantic gun free zone.
Not that having a gun would have saved a single soul on the ground that day, but since the media is all about pointing out irrelevancies, why shouldn't we?
A gun on any of those four planes in the hands of the crew or a non-terrorist passenger might have saved thousands of lives.
Of course, the terrorists would certainly have gotten carry permits and had guns themselves, but that law abiding people might as well lowers the certainty of their plans considerably.
"Killer" App
I think I first read at Robb's (might have been Tam) about the "killer app" of the pro-gun side being that we have all sorts of fun things to do to show the new prospective gun owners.
We have the first time at the range grin.
It's been asked, what do the anti-gunners have to counter that? The no-gun show? The no-shooting range?
Their killer app is far more literal.
The murderous rampage.
We get people in onesies and twosies. They get people in groups.
Quite often we're successful in converting their captures though, it doesn't seem to go the other way very often.
We have the first time at the range grin.
It's been asked, what do the anti-gunners have to counter that? The no-gun show? The no-shooting range?
Their killer app is far more literal.
The murderous rampage.
We get people in onesies and twosies. They get people in groups.
Quite often we're successful in converting their captures though, it doesn't seem to go the other way very often.
Rant Chorus
Rev JD preaches.
I'm in the choir.
If we really do have a real conversation and do a full review of all the laws.
A small addendum I want to see added to the NFA.
Only firearms in their present form which violate the rules are grounds for violation.
Chuck the readily convertible. Chuck the requirement that we silver solder on flash-hiders.
Count something screwed onto the end of the barrel as part of the barrel because it's increasing the actual length.
If it doesn't go bang more than once per pull, then it doesn't matter that there's a hole drilled right above the selector. Or that there's a little tongue on the disconnector or a little hook on the hammer...
Or that there's a second sear on an FAL... (or a place to put it cut into the receiver.)
Let's talk about why licenses from the numerous states aren't given full faith and credit when talking about firearms.
Let's talk about how Federal laws trump local and state for everything but NFA items...
I'm in the choir.
If we really do have a real conversation and do a full review of all the laws.
A small addendum I want to see added to the NFA.
Only firearms in their present form which violate the rules are grounds for violation.
Chuck the readily convertible. Chuck the requirement that we silver solder on flash-hiders.
Count something screwed onto the end of the barrel as part of the barrel because it's increasing the actual length.
If it doesn't go bang more than once per pull, then it doesn't matter that there's a hole drilled right above the selector. Or that there's a little tongue on the disconnector or a little hook on the hammer...
Or that there's a second sear on an FAL... (or a place to put it cut into the receiver.)
Let's talk about why licenses from the numerous states aren't given full faith and credit when talking about firearms.
Let's talk about how Federal laws trump local and state for everything but NFA items...
Retaliation!
As everyone knows, a successful marriage is built on a solid foundation of deceit, lies and hate.
The goal is to never let your spouse win.
She bought me an NRA membership, fine.
I bought HER one too!
And used the Shooting USA link to save $10 doing it.
Ha HA!
The goal is to never let your spouse win.
She bought me an NRA membership, fine.
I bought HER one too!
And used the Shooting USA link to save $10 doing it.
Ha HA!
Entitlement In A Nutshell
Me: I'm going to buy Steve a new house!
Dave: Wow, that's sure nice of you!
Me: Here's the bill.
Dave: Why do I have to pay for it?
Steve: Woo HOOOOOO, NEW HOUSE! Now I need a car because my house has a garage!
Dave: I'm not paying for this.
Me: If you don't pay I'll lock you in prison.
Dave: You can't do this!
Me: I have guys with guns.
Dave: Who do I make the check to?
Dave: Wow, that's sure nice of you!
Me: Here's the bill.
Dave: Why do I have to pay for it?
Steve: Woo HOOOOOO, NEW HOUSE! Now I need a car because my house has a garage!
Dave: I'm not paying for this.
Me: If you don't pay I'll lock you in prison.
Dave: You can't do this!
Me: I have guys with guns.
Dave: Who do I make the check to?
17 January 2013
GURPS Massacre Revisit
The numbers here assume that the shooter merely looks down the sights and doesn't actually pause to aim (see Sighted Shooting, Tactical Shooting p. 13).
Aimed shots take an extra second to line up and add the weapons Acc to the roll to hit, you are also making an All-Out Attack (Determined).
Let's assume that Mr Glittershine has an average DX of 10 and his mom had taught him enough to get a point in his Guns/TL8 (Rifle). That gives him a skill level of 10. The rifle he used has an Acc of 5. The ranges were all less than 7 yards (-3).
So, what does that do to our round count?
A real live 20" barrel M16 has a RoF of 13, so only these first 13 benefit from the aiming. The number of shots gives a +3. So, 10+5+3-3. 15 or less to hit. Rcl is 2 and an average roll is a 10 on three dice so... 3 rounds tend to hit, ten are wasted. If he holds down the trigger and keeps shooting he loses the Acc bonus for the next round and the chance to hit drops to 10... 1 round on average, wasting 12. If he keeps the trigger planted until the mag runs dry, a squip of 4 shots comes out the last turn with a chance of 7 to hit, which he will likely miss. So, aim for a second, 4 hits out of 30 in three seconds. 3 second reload. Seven seconds per magazine.
If he reaimed after each second's fire he dramatically increases the number of hits, every turn of firing becomes the same as the first turn described above. And a tactical reload to ditch the 4 rounds left in the mag after every second burst. Aim, shoot, aim, shoot, reload. Seven seconds per magazine.
I've heard that the active shooting went for 10 minutes and not the entire 20 minute police response time.
600 seconds.
Full auto, dump a mag at each victim; 2,571 rounds could have been fired. On average, 342 hits in that time. But this is also one mag per victim, so just 86 people would be injured. Assuming he schlepped 86 pounds of ammo to the school. Which I don't think he did.
Full auto, reaim; 2,571 rounds could have been fired. 514 hits on 172 victims!
Semi-auto with a 30 round mag. Skill 10, Acc 5, Range -3. 12 to hit. Two hits on average per turn of shooting. He liked hitting each target with at least three so lets assume two rounds of shooting per target. Semi-auto gets a follow-up of 1/2 Acc for a second turn at the same target without reaiming (+2 or 9 to hit for the second turn and we'll get generous and assume it hits).
Six shots per victim, 3 hits (aim, fire, fire). Five victims per magazine. 3 second reload. 18 seconds per magazine. 1,000 rounds! 500 hits, 167 victims.
Ten round magazine. Six at one victim, three at the next, reload; Aim at previous victim, fire... 8 seconds per magazine. Five hits and two victims per magazine. 750 shots fired, 375 hits, 150 victims. The timing of the reload is making him aim more often so he's getting more hits per victim.
SEVEN round magazine. Aim, fire, fire, reload; repeat. One victim per magazine, 3 hits per magazine, 6 seconds per magazine. 700 rounds, 300 hits, 100 victims.
Notice that 1/4 the ammunition in the magazine doesn't translate to 1/4 the number of victims or even 1/4 the number of shots fired?
None of this accounts for the time spent moving between victims.
Lets say half his time is spent moving. Notice we can still get double the actual number of victims with just a seven round magazine?
This is why we laugh our fool heads off at the anti-gunners when they propose magazine capacity limits.
Also remember that the rules of a roleplaying game segment the world into neat and discrete turns, the real world is far more fluid and faster.
Mr Glittershine reloaded far more than he needed to, I've read estimates that he left almost as much ammo on the ground as he fired. If he'd been limited to ten round mags he would have reloaded as often, just with a whole magazine instead of dumping a half-expended one each time.
UPDATE:
I forgot the other guns!
Bolt-action hunting rifle. Acc is still five. RoF is just 1, so it's Aim, fire, Aim, fire... 15 seconds to reload. 25 seconds per magazine.
12 to hit with every round and on average every single round does.
120 aimed shots in our ten minutes. 120 hits. 40 victims if he does three per victim. Notice that we've still managed to kill more than was done with an AR in real life?
Aimed shots take an extra second to line up and add the weapons Acc to the roll to hit, you are also making an All-Out Attack (Determined).
Let's assume that Mr Glittershine has an average DX of 10 and his mom had taught him enough to get a point in his Guns/TL8 (Rifle). That gives him a skill level of 10. The rifle he used has an Acc of 5. The ranges were all less than 7 yards (-3).
So, what does that do to our round count?
A real live 20" barrel M16 has a RoF of 13, so only these first 13 benefit from the aiming. The number of shots gives a +3. So, 10+5+3-3. 15 or less to hit. Rcl is 2 and an average roll is a 10 on three dice so... 3 rounds tend to hit, ten are wasted. If he holds down the trigger and keeps shooting he loses the Acc bonus for the next round and the chance to hit drops to 10... 1 round on average, wasting 12. If he keeps the trigger planted until the mag runs dry, a squip of 4 shots comes out the last turn with a chance of 7 to hit, which he will likely miss. So, aim for a second, 4 hits out of 30 in three seconds. 3 second reload. Seven seconds per magazine.
If he reaimed after each second's fire he dramatically increases the number of hits, every turn of firing becomes the same as the first turn described above. And a tactical reload to ditch the 4 rounds left in the mag after every second burst. Aim, shoot, aim, shoot, reload. Seven seconds per magazine.
I've heard that the active shooting went for 10 minutes and not the entire 20 minute police response time.
600 seconds.
Full auto, dump a mag at each victim; 2,571 rounds could have been fired. On average, 342 hits in that time. But this is also one mag per victim, so just 86 people would be injured. Assuming he schlepped 86 pounds of ammo to the school. Which I don't think he did.
Full auto, reaim; 2,571 rounds could have been fired. 514 hits on 172 victims!
Semi-auto with a 30 round mag. Skill 10, Acc 5, Range -3. 12 to hit. Two hits on average per turn of shooting. He liked hitting each target with at least three so lets assume two rounds of shooting per target. Semi-auto gets a follow-up of 1/2 Acc for a second turn at the same target without reaiming (+2 or 9 to hit for the second turn and we'll get generous and assume it hits).
Six shots per victim, 3 hits (aim, fire, fire). Five victims per magazine. 3 second reload. 18 seconds per magazine. 1,000 rounds! 500 hits, 167 victims.
Ten round magazine. Six at one victim, three at the next, reload; Aim at previous victim, fire... 8 seconds per magazine. Five hits and two victims per magazine. 750 shots fired, 375 hits, 150 victims. The timing of the reload is making him aim more often so he's getting more hits per victim.
SEVEN round magazine. Aim, fire, fire, reload; repeat. One victim per magazine, 3 hits per magazine, 6 seconds per magazine. 700 rounds, 300 hits, 100 victims.
Notice that 1/4 the ammunition in the magazine doesn't translate to 1/4 the number of victims or even 1/4 the number of shots fired?
None of this accounts for the time spent moving between victims.
Lets say half his time is spent moving. Notice we can still get double the actual number of victims with just a seven round magazine?
This is why we laugh our fool heads off at the anti-gunners when they propose magazine capacity limits.
Also remember that the rules of a roleplaying game segment the world into neat and discrete turns, the real world is far more fluid and faster.
Mr Glittershine reloaded far more than he needed to, I've read estimates that he left almost as much ammo on the ground as he fired. If he'd been limited to ten round mags he would have reloaded as often, just with a whole magazine instead of dumping a half-expended one each time.
UPDATE:
I forgot the other guns!
Bolt-action hunting rifle. Acc is still five. RoF is just 1, so it's Aim, fire, Aim, fire... 15 seconds to reload. 25 seconds per magazine.
12 to hit with every round and on average every single round does.
120 aimed shots in our ten minutes. 120 hits. 40 victims if he does three per victim. Notice that we've still managed to kill more than was done with an AR in real life?
Marco Rubio
His response to email was tepid.
He's posted to his webpage though.
Since it's a press release and we bloggers are the new press; here it is in its entirety.
He's posted to his webpage though.
Since it's a press release and we bloggers are the new press; here it is in its entirety.
Rubio Reiterates Support for 2nd Amendment Following President's Gun Policy AnnouncementWashington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement reiterating his support for the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, in light of President Obama’s announcement regarding gun policy in America:
“As the father of four young children, I was deeply saddened by the murder of innocent kids at Sandy Hook. In the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, I expressed my hope that President Obama and our elected leaders would take a sober look at how we can prevent such heinous murders in the future. Doing so would require addressing the underlying causes of these evil acts, and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill without curtailing the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.
“Nothing the President is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence. Rolling back responsible citizens’ rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill. Making matters worse is that President Obama is again abusing his power by imposing his policies via executive fiat instead of allowing them to be debated in Congress. President Obama’s frustration with our republic and the way it works doesn’t give him license to ignore the Constitution.
“Guns are not the problem; criminals with evil in their hearts and mentally ill people prone to violence are. Rather than sweeping measures that make it harder for responsible, law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms, we should focus on the root causes of gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
“As a strong defender of the 2nd Amendment, I will oppose the President’s attempts to undermine Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.”
That's An Excellent Question Doctor
Do I own any guns?
Before I answer, what is your home address?
What's your security code to your house?
Do YOU own any guns?
What? You don't feel comfortable answering those questions?
And you're fully dressed, imagine how I feel!
Before I answer, what is your home address?
What's your security code to your house?
Do YOU own any guns?
What? You don't feel comfortable answering those questions?
And you're fully dressed, imagine how I feel!
Gang Oft Aglave
My vow to not rejoin the NRA has been derailed by the machinations of my wife, The Lovely Harvey.
Hard to be up on my high horse with a gift membership, huh?
Hard to be up on my high horse with a gift membership, huh?
16 January 2013
Full Godwin
Most of the mass shootings in the past few years have not used any kind of rifle.
In fact, most of the shooters have chosen to use a Glock.
Glocks are from Austria.
You know who else is from Austria?
HITLER!
I'm here all night, try the veal and don't forget to tip your server.
h/t my little brother.
In fact, most of the shooters have chosen to use a Glock.
Glocks are from Austria.
You know who else is from Austria?
HITLER!
I'm here all night, try the veal and don't forget to tip your server.
h/t my little brother.
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