My lens:
JT's Lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
It's subtle, but 300 is better than 250.
I've an ebay auction won on an EF 75-300 USM IS... Photography is as impulse buy susceptible as firearms.
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18 February 2020
Moar Zoom
JT brought his EF 75-300mm III lens over and I took a couple shots to compare with my 55-200 (seen here).
My lens:
JT's Lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
It's subtle, but 300 is better than 250.
I've an ebay auction won on an EF 75-300 USM IS... Photography is as impulse buy susceptible as firearms.
My lens:
JT's Lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
My lens:
JT's lens:
It's subtle, but 300 is better than 250.
I've an ebay auction won on an EF 75-300 USM IS... Photography is as impulse buy susceptible as firearms.
Double Alt
Harry Turtledove's "Guns of the South" is now a double alternate history.
The alternate Civil War being the obvious one, but I just realized that AWB traveled back in time from 2014.
Even the futuristic time travel portion of the novel is now alternate history.
Personally, I blame the development of the iPhone for this as well as the lack of flying cars.
The alternate Civil War being the obvious one, but I just realized that AWB traveled back in time from 2014.
Even the futuristic time travel portion of the novel is now alternate history.
Personally, I blame the development of the iPhone for this as well as the lack of flying cars.
17 February 2020
VR Fail
One of the local merchants of death has some interesting British military cap locks in.
To my embarrassment, I totally blanked on who VR was on the lock plate.
How the Hell did I forget VR meant Victoria Regina when there's an entire era named after her?
To my embarrassment, I totally blanked on who VR was on the lock plate.
How the Hell did I forget VR meant Victoria Regina when there's an entire era named after her?
Good
It appears the upper house of Virginia's congress just nuked an "assault" weapon ban.
The galleries were packed to capacity with pro-gun folks too.
It would appear that ignoring the "pro-gun" advice and rallying on the capitol steps had an effect, as did showing up to "harrrumph" from the balcony.
Good on you Virginians!
The galleries were packed to capacity with pro-gun folks too.
It would appear that ignoring the "pro-gun" advice and rallying on the capitol steps had an effect, as did showing up to "harrrumph" from the balcony.
Good on you Virginians!
Adapted Disappointment
Mom's lenses work via the adapter on the M50.
The camera is generally unhappy about it.
I'm not done playing with it and I think the "problem" is that being nearly completely manual lenses means that I will have to set the camera to totally manual mode.
The pictures taken outside looked fine in the viewfinder, but were washed out once taken.
Indoors, works like a charm!
The Minolta 50mm f/2.0 primary:
JCPenny 135mm f/2.8 primary:
Canon 14-55mm f/3.5-6.3 kit zoom:
The camera is generally unhappy about it.
I'm not done playing with it and I think the "problem" is that being nearly completely manual lenses means that I will have to set the camera to totally manual mode.
The pictures taken outside looked fine in the viewfinder, but were washed out once taken.
Indoors, works like a charm!
The Minolta 50mm f/2.0 primary:
JCPenny 135mm f/2.8 primary:
Canon 14-55mm f/3.5-6.3 kit zoom:
16 February 2020
Camera Resurrection
Marv's old Canon PowerShot S5 IS, after being repeatedly dropped, decided to add a blue filter effect to every photo.
It would clear up temporarily if you set a custom white balance, but it wouldn't stick.
Interestingly, video was fine.
Marv changed every single setting trying to find the combination to stop the filter and eventually gave up and bought an SX20 IS.
The other day while yapping about camera stuff I told Geff my reasoning for buying every single one of my cameras and Marv's camera story came up.
"Did you try a reset to factory settings?" he asked.
I indicated that he must have, because he said he'd tried everything.
Friday I asked Marv, "Geff asks if you tried a factory reset?"
"No...." he replied trailing off.
He tried it and his camera is back to normal.
Today's DURR moment brought to you by the letter H.
It would clear up temporarily if you set a custom white balance, but it wouldn't stick.
Interestingly, video was fine.
Marv changed every single setting trying to find the combination to stop the filter and eventually gave up and bought an SX20 IS.
The other day while yapping about camera stuff I told Geff my reasoning for buying every single one of my cameras and Marv's camera story came up.
"Did you try a reset to factory settings?" he asked.
I indicated that he must have, because he said he'd tried everything.
Friday I asked Marv, "Geff asks if you tried a factory reset?"
"No...." he replied trailing off.
He tried it and his camera is back to normal.
Today's DURR moment brought to you by the letter H.
Adapter Kit
For just $14 I have ordered a Minolta MC/MD to EF-M adaptor mount.
This lets me get some use out of my mom's old lenses she left me when she willed me her cameras.
The 50mm f/2 primary lens is one I wanna play with for certain.
Reading reviews... It would appear that people don't know the terminology or that there's several series of lenses in question here.
I'm also wondering what the crop factor becomes when using such an adaptor.
This lets me get some use out of my mom's old lenses she left me when she willed me her cameras.
The 50mm f/2 primary lens is one I wanna play with for certain.
Reading reviews... It would appear that people don't know the terminology or that there's several series of lenses in question here.
I'm also wondering what the crop factor becomes when using such an adaptor.
15 February 2020
Um, Wow
Dear all the photography reviewers complaining about the lack of on-body stabilization on the Canon EOS M50:
"Bite my shiny metal ass!" B. B. Rodriguez.
That's Venus zoomed all the way in at 250mm with a "dated" 55-250mm EF-S IS II lens. Autofocus and stab on and running through the EF-S to EF-M adapter...
It's not even particularly noisy in the full resolution image. There is noise, but nothing like it would have been with the SX20.
I feel so damn artsy with this camera.
It's good at catching the colors like they are too.
"Bite my shiny metal ass!" B. B. Rodriguez.
That's Venus zoomed all the way in at 250mm with a "dated" 55-250mm EF-S IS II lens. Autofocus and stab on and running through the EF-S to EF-M adapter...
It's not even particularly noisy in the full resolution image. There is noise, but nothing like it would have been with the SX20.
I feel so damn artsy with this camera.
It's good at catching the colors like they are too.
Getting On Without Me
I'm officially a shut in now!
But I did my duty as a friend to connect my other friends who only interconnected with me around.
I have successfully managed to get them to do things without the expectation that I would be there as well.
There's a measure of sadness, but also happiness that my absence isn't preventing them from enjoying themselves.
But I did my duty as a friend to connect my other friends who only interconnected with me around.
I have successfully managed to get them to do things without the expectation that I would be there as well.
There's a measure of sadness, but also happiness that my absence isn't preventing them from enjoying themselves.
It's Subtle
"What's the difference between Communism, Fascism, and Socialism?"
In theory: many differences with subtleties filled with nuance.
In practice: Who gets murdered first, who's next in line and how they got murdered.
In theory: many differences with subtleties filled with nuance.
In practice: Who gets murdered first, who's next in line and how they got murdered.
Now THAT Is Contempt
"That dude can jump out of a 3 story window and land on a bicycle with no seat on it in order to go fuck himself hard enough"
--JAG2955
The argument boils down to, "The military essentially keeps the troops disarmed, therefore civilians should be as well."
OK, MISTER Kaminar... Taste this for size:
Restrictions on and of government should always be far greater than on the sovereign citizen.
It should take the Army a thousand steps to get access to a rifle then another thousand to get ammo where the everyday citizen should be able to grab them as a casual afterthought.
Remember, the whole point they put the 2nd Amendment in there was not to have a strong standing army, but to make sure the citizenry was always stronger than any standing army Congress foolishly funded.
That you served 30 years with your attitude says more about the corruption of our society and the failure of the founder's vision than most anything else I can think of at the moment.
--JAG2955
The argument boils down to, "The military essentially keeps the troops disarmed, therefore civilians should be as well."
OK, MISTER Kaminar... Taste this for size:
Restrictions on and of government should always be far greater than on the sovereign citizen.
It should take the Army a thousand steps to get access to a rifle then another thousand to get ammo where the everyday citizen should be able to grab them as a casual afterthought.
Remember, the whole point they put the 2nd Amendment in there was not to have a strong standing army, but to make sure the citizenry was always stronger than any standing army Congress foolishly funded.
That you served 30 years with your attitude says more about the corruption of our society and the failure of the founder's vision than most anything else I can think of at the moment.
14 February 2020
Home Improvement!
Not my home even.
The in-laws, two houses north, needed their crank-windows replaced with something that actually keeps wind out.
So Marv and I did.
Bubba helped a lot too.
Unlike so many projects lately, it went smoothly with only a couple easily accommodated wrinkles.
The in-laws, two houses north, needed their crank-windows replaced with something that actually keeps wind out.
So Marv and I did.
Bubba helped a lot too.
Unlike so many projects lately, it went smoothly with only a couple easily accommodated wrinkles.
Diopter
You know, I can't even blame Canon for the blurry viewfinder.
Adjusting it is mentioned in the set-up instructions.
It's kind of a pain to adjust, but that also means it's probably not going to come unadjusted on its own.
Adjusting it is mentioned in the set-up instructions.
It's kind of a pain to adjust, but that also means it's probably not going to come unadjusted on its own.
OMG IFIOOMO LOL
There's lots of times, most of them actually, when I feel like everyone else is in on the joke.
I've been bumping into people quoting some person named ZCQOTD...
FACEPALM now that I figured it out.
Most things like this are entirely too obvious in hindsight and really impenetrable until you work it out.
Just in case you're outside looking in:
Zero Context Quote Of The Day.
I've been bumping into people quoting some person named ZCQOTD...
FACEPALM now that I figured it out.
Most things like this are entirely too obvious in hindsight and really impenetrable until you work it out.
Just in case you're outside looking in:
Zero Context Quote Of The Day.
13 February 2020
Birdshot VS Human
He ain't dead.
It doesn't look comfortable.
The thread I found the picture in estimates about 80 feet for range.
Call it 25 yards for GURPS purposes.
25 yards is outside the point blank range.
If it's one ounce of #4 each pellet should have done 1d-3(0.5) pi- and even an unarmored target gets DR1 against it. It's impossible to roll well enough in GURPS to hit with as many pellets as have obviously hit him. But small-shot isn't really the damage per pellet but the dice reflect the effect of several.
There's 134 pellets in an ounce of #4. That's a +6 to hit and 25 yards gives -7... Net -1.
So if you were trying for this with a skill of 12 you'd need an 11 or less to hit. A critical success roll of 3 would still just land 8 hits.
On average, that critical hit would do 0 points. But those zero point hits would still hurt and bleed.
Max damage for the crit hit is 8 once you add everything up.
The average to-hit roll only lands two hits. Still zero points on average with a max chance of 2 hits delivered.
There's Your Problem
My manually focused efforts with the M50 have all been blurry...
That's because the diopter for the viewfinder was not letting me see the view in focus.
DURRR!
That's because the diopter for the viewfinder was not letting me see the view in focus.
DURRR!
So Far So Good
Looks like S7028 has stalled.
There's nothing I like more than Mike Bloomberg wasting his fortune, but it's a huge concern that Republicans blithely accept the money and agree to press for gun control.
Eyes crossed!
There's nothing I like more than Mike Bloomberg wasting his fortune, but it's a huge concern that Republicans blithely accept the money and agree to press for gun control.
Eyes crossed!
More IR Filter Surrealism
The way the two cameras see things through the same filter is astonishing.
This round I set up on the tripod and except for the 15 second exposure with the 950nm filter for the SX20 and having to manually focus both cameras for the 950nm, the shots are as Program mode took them.
950nm:
850nm:
760nm:
720nm:
This round I set up on the tripod and except for the 15 second exposure with the 950nm filter for the SX20 and having to manually focus both cameras for the 950nm, the shots are as Program mode took them.
950nm:
 |
| M50, f.3.5, 15.0mm focal, 1 second exposure, ISO 6400. |
 |
| SX20 IS, f/2.8, 5.0mm focal, 1 second exposure, ISO 80. |
 |
| SX20 IS, f/2.8, 5.0mm focal, 15 second exposure, ISO 80 |
 |
| M50, f/2.5, 15.0mm focal, 1/15 second exposure, ISO 6400 |
 |
| SX20 IS, f/2.8, 5.0mm focal, 1 second exposure, ISO 80 |
 |
| M50, f/3.5, 15mm focal, 1/10 second exposure, ISO 6400 |
 |
| SX20 IS, f/2.8, 5mm focal, 1 second exposure, ISO 80 |
 |
| M50, f/3.5, 15.0mm focal, 1/5 second exposure, ISO 6400 |
 |
| SX20, f/2.8, 5.0mm focal, 1 second exposure, ISO 80 |
Here Comes The Sun
I screwed my homemade solar filter onto the 55-250 and took some hand-held shots of the sun.
There's high-level haze today, so I didn't expect much.
Still, decent enough!
There's high-level haze today, so I didn't expect much.
Still, decent enough!
Zoom
One feature of the PowerShot SX20 IS that's pretty damn epic is the 20x optical zoom. Canon says the lens is a 560mm equivalent cranked all the way out.
Here's a stop sign at 640' with the SX20:
Here it is again with the 402.5mm equivalent 55-250mm lens on the M50:
The thing is, I can crop it down to be near identical!
A huge improvement is color fidelity. The M50 takes pictures that are the same color my eyes see.
Here's a stop sign at 640' with the SX20:
Here it is again with the 402.5mm equivalent 55-250mm lens on the M50:
The thing is, I can crop it down to be near identical!
A huge improvement is color fidelity. The M50 takes pictures that are the same color my eyes see.
New Camera New Filters
Put the IR filters on the M50 because my ø49mm to ø58mm step-up adapter arrived a day early.
720nm filter:
760nm filter:
850nm filter:
950nm filter:
I'm going to redo these this afternoon from the same angle as the Powershot, the weather is supposed to be similar. I think I will also employ the tripod because the 950nm filter surprised me with almost a second of exposure.
Update:
Decided to take some pics with the old camera from this angle too.
720nm:
760nm:
850nm:
950nm with 1 second exposure:
950nm with 15 second exposure:
720nm filter:
I'm going to redo these this afternoon from the same angle as the Powershot, the weather is supposed to be similar. I think I will also employ the tripod because the 950nm filter surprised me with almost a second of exposure.
Update:
Decided to take some pics with the old camera from this angle too.
720nm:
12 February 2020
I Am Glad
My anger with Tam has faded somewhat with time.
I am glad I stopped by her blog the other day and restored her to the sidebar because she linked to something I was unaware of.
Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras can, with an adapter, use old (and cheap) SLR lenses.
I have three decent lenses from my Mom's old Minolta XG-A and they make an adapter from MD to EF-M. It's not even expensive.
I am glad I stopped by her blog the other day and restored her to the sidebar because she linked to something I was unaware of.
Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras can, with an adapter, use old (and cheap) SLR lenses.
I have three decent lenses from my Mom's old Minolta XG-A and they make an adapter from MD to EF-M. It's not even expensive.
Understanding Moving To Grokking In Its Fullness
I was so happy with my Powershot that I wondered what the deal was about "real" cameras.
Now that I've snapped a few pics with the M50, all I can say is, "Oh. I get it now."
And the M50 isn't even considered a REAL "real" camera with its APS-C sensor.
Manually Not Macro
With autofocus on, the 15-45mm lens will not take a picture closer than this:
With manual focus, I get get in just a teeny bit more...
...and have it be slightly out of focus!
It looked great on the viewfinder, but on a monitor...
There's much about this camera that's entirely familiar because I've been using the Canon Powershots for more than a decade and have absorbed Canon's way of doing things.
I am sure they set things up so that it was easy for people to move up the product chain.
With manual focus, I get get in just a teeny bit more...
It looked great on the viewfinder, but on a monitor...
There's much about this camera that's entirely familiar because I've been using the Canon Powershots for more than a decade and have absorbed Canon's way of doing things.
I am sure they set things up so that it was easy for people to move up the product chain.
Camera
The EOS M50 arrived today!
So, of course, I have to compare it with what I had already.
Mollie Bean was handy as a test subject.
First with the Motorola Moto Z3:
Next with the Canon SX20IS:
Finally with the Canon EOS M50:
You should be able to click the pics to get them to original sizes.
Even though it's not a macro lens, the 15-45 captures some nice detail up close:
So, of course, I have to compare it with what I had already.
Mollie Bean was handy as a test subject.
First with the Motorola Moto Z3:
Next with the Canon SX20IS:
Finally with the Canon EOS M50:
You should be able to click the pics to get them to original sizes.
Even though it's not a macro lens, the 15-45 captures some nice detail up close:
T+ 25
Trayvon Martin would have been 25 the other day.
If only someone had taught him that attacking someone with a carry permit in the gunshine state was tantamount to suicide...
He'd be alive today.
He'd also be in prison, judging from his character arc, but alive.
PS: His parents are the "someone" I refer to.
If only someone had taught him that attacking someone with a carry permit in the gunshine state was tantamount to suicide...
He'd be alive today.
He'd also be in prison, judging from his character arc, but alive.
PS: His parents are the "someone" I refer to.
It's Not Just Guns
It's not just guns that have Government addressing potential versus actual harm to the detriment of liberty.
11 February 2020
Yikes
Try to tell someone the difference between democracy and republic on Facebook and you find a massive whining bitch.
Anyone know a David Horvath working for the USDA in South Dakota?
Be sure to tell him that he lost the debate, but good.
He's sure proof that "former Marine" is a thing.
Anyone know a David Horvath working for the USDA in South Dakota?
Be sure to tell him that he lost the debate, but good.
He's sure proof that "former Marine" is a thing.
Gee, I Wonder What Happened
Watching a video about rare and strange planes and they mention a Grokhovsky G-38.
It was cancelled for "unknown reasons" around the time of "major Stalinist purges."
Uh...
I'm thinking those two dots kind of self connect.
It was cancelled for "unknown reasons" around the time of "major Stalinist purges."
Uh...
I'm thinking those two dots kind of self connect.
Photography Philter Phun
Going through my camera stuff and deciding what can go in the new bag with the new camera due to be delivered tomorrow...
I found a set of ø58mm IR filters FuzzyGeff gave me.
So I put the ø67 to ø58mm adaptor on the SX20IS and took some pics!
There's some artifacts from the shitty SX20IS to ø67mm ring adaptor...
Kinda freaky-deaky.
I found a set of ø58mm IR filters FuzzyGeff gave me.
So I put the ø67 to ø58mm adaptor on the SX20IS and took some pics!
There's some artifacts from the shitty SX20IS to ø67mm ring adaptor...
 |
| IR850 |
 |
| IR950 |
 |
| IR720 |
 |
| IR760 |
Kinda freaky-deaky.
Buy Then Read
Following with tradition, I bought the camera then read the reviews...
That's not really true.
I read a lot of reviews of mirrorless swapping lens cameras.
A couple of things stuck out reading reviews of most of them.
First: A real photographer will want a more capable body.
Second: The range of cameras I was most interested in is strictly for beginners, but said in a tone that implies that beginners should get the more capable body anyway.
OK.
The "perfeshunul" mirrorless body from Canon is the EOS R. Just three times the price.
It's pretty much better in every way than the M50 I settled on.
It's also almost exactly three times more money than I had to spend and I'd just have a body without lenses.
Both have adaptors that let you use the more common and affordable EF-S lenses, so if I restrict my glass purchases to said EF-S mounts I will have glass to upgrade to.
However "strictly for beginners".
That's what I am! A beginner!
Even though the Powershot S5IS and SX20IS that I have owned have a lot of features, they're just skimming the surface.
The M50, though a beginner's camera, is a genuine "real" camera.
Reading the manuals tells me I made the correct choice because there's things on the M50 which work the same way as the SX20IS. That should flatten the learning curve a bit.
Someday I might want an EOS R, but I don't think I'm ready yet.
That's not really true.
I read a lot of reviews of mirrorless swapping lens cameras.
A couple of things stuck out reading reviews of most of them.
First: A real photographer will want a more capable body.
Second: The range of cameras I was most interested in is strictly for beginners, but said in a tone that implies that beginners should get the more capable body anyway.
OK.
The "perfeshunul" mirrorless body from Canon is the EOS R. Just three times the price.
It's pretty much better in every way than the M50 I settled on.
It's also almost exactly three times more money than I had to spend and I'd just have a body without lenses.
Both have adaptors that let you use the more common and affordable EF-S lenses, so if I restrict my glass purchases to said EF-S mounts I will have glass to upgrade to.
However "strictly for beginners".
That's what I am! A beginner!
Even though the Powershot S5IS and SX20IS that I have owned have a lot of features, they're just skimming the surface.
The M50, though a beginner's camera, is a genuine "real" camera.
Reading the manuals tells me I made the correct choice because there's things on the M50 which work the same way as the SX20IS. That should flatten the learning curve a bit.
Someday I might want an EOS R, but I don't think I'm ready yet.
10 February 2020
Gone In A Flash
And I still have yet to buy a flash for the hot-shoe...
I will soon have a Canon EOS M-50, some power accessories, the EF-S to EF-M adaptor and a 55-250mm EF-S lens.
And that wipes out what I've saved for a camera this past... Long time.
It should all get here in time for The Boy's area games for bicycling!
Fingers crossed!
I also need to hit Wal Mart for a memory card.
I will soon have a Canon EOS M-50, some power accessories, the EF-S to EF-M adaptor and a 55-250mm EF-S lens.
And that wipes out what I've saved for a camera this past... Long time.
It should all get here in time for The Boy's area games for bicycling!
Fingers crossed!
I also need to hit Wal Mart for a memory card.
This Is Why I Don't Pay For It
Reading about the performances of the various Academy Award attendees...
I'm so happy I stopped buying tickets to movies.
I still contribute a bit through Amazon Prime, but the movie industry can't tell my contribution apart from the free two-day shipping I THINK I am paying for...
I'm so happy I stopped buying tickets to movies.
I still contribute a bit through Amazon Prime, but the movie industry can't tell my contribution apart from the free two-day shipping I THINK I am paying for...
Too Angry
Not sure if anyone's noticed, but the quantity of posts is down from my habitual rate.
Turns out my muse doesn't care for me when I'm seething in anger with my own team.
It also turns out that my reply to all of the "pro-gun" nonsense really should have been, "I can see what you're saying, but it hasn't worked yet."
Not once.
Not before I started paying attention to it, not after.
I dunno about a lot of the "pro-gun" crowd, but I've been here since before 1994.
I know I've met a lot of people that didn't start being pro-gun until 2008 and weren't really into guns before 2004 and never really dealt with defeat after defeat.
People who weren't around when you could be kicked off a range for bringing any gun affected by the Clinton AWB. Before William Jefferson Clinton was even elected president.
Playing nice and being the gun owners that didn't offend the gun-grabbers didn't work.
Kicking the people with the black guns to the curb didn't work.
Well, didn't work for us who wanted to keep our guns.
Worked great for the anti-gun side.
For something as important as a civil right, you'd think we'd stop backing losing strategies and look to try new things to see if they work.
You'd think we'd learn from the Fudds tossing the AR owners under the bus that we have to embrace the weirdos. Because today's weird is tomorrow's mainstream.
I cannot stress enough that there are lots of things about owning guns which freak the mundanes. The "pro-gun" side worries incessantly about freaking them out, but forgets that the mundanes are actually quite adaptable.
But you don't dare use the absolute best example of that freaking turning into acceptance; because the worst of the "pro-gun" crowd are also the most freaked by what I'm talking about. Homosexuals.
The LGBT crowd did not back down from freaking the mundanes, they embraced it. They won.
They tried novel strategies and abandoned those which were ineffective.
But we can't emulate "the fags" because... God says so, I guess. As if using the same methodology as the LGBT makes us gay as well?
The mundane aren't partisan. Not like the people on both sides of the gun debate. They, for the most part, don't have a side here.
When they freak, it can be alarming. But after a couple of fruitless freak outs, they notice that they didn't even get hurt, let alone die from what freaked them out and they begin to accept... But they won't start to accept until they've been exposed to things that will scare them.
What we need to be is aware of this and be willing to inoculate them with exposure.
We need to not reinforce the talking points of the anti-gun side by panicking that a mundane was exposed and freaked.
Turns out my muse doesn't care for me when I'm seething in anger with my own team.
It also turns out that my reply to all of the "pro-gun" nonsense really should have been, "I can see what you're saying, but it hasn't worked yet."
Not once.
Not before I started paying attention to it, not after.
I dunno about a lot of the "pro-gun" crowd, but I've been here since before 1994.
I know I've met a lot of people that didn't start being pro-gun until 2008 and weren't really into guns before 2004 and never really dealt with defeat after defeat.
People who weren't around when you could be kicked off a range for bringing any gun affected by the Clinton AWB. Before William Jefferson Clinton was even elected president.
Playing nice and being the gun owners that didn't offend the gun-grabbers didn't work.
Kicking the people with the black guns to the curb didn't work.
Well, didn't work for us who wanted to keep our guns.
Worked great for the anti-gun side.
For something as important as a civil right, you'd think we'd stop backing losing strategies and look to try new things to see if they work.
You'd think we'd learn from the Fudds tossing the AR owners under the bus that we have to embrace the weirdos. Because today's weird is tomorrow's mainstream.
I cannot stress enough that there are lots of things about owning guns which freak the mundanes. The "pro-gun" side worries incessantly about freaking them out, but forgets that the mundanes are actually quite adaptable.
But you don't dare use the absolute best example of that freaking turning into acceptance; because the worst of the "pro-gun" crowd are also the most freaked by what I'm talking about. Homosexuals.
The LGBT crowd did not back down from freaking the mundanes, they embraced it. They won.
They tried novel strategies and abandoned those which were ineffective.
But we can't emulate "the fags" because... God says so, I guess. As if using the same methodology as the LGBT makes us gay as well?
The mundane aren't partisan. Not like the people on both sides of the gun debate. They, for the most part, don't have a side here.
When they freak, it can be alarming. But after a couple of fruitless freak outs, they notice that they didn't even get hurt, let alone die from what freaked them out and they begin to accept... But they won't start to accept until they've been exposed to things that will scare them.
What we need to be is aware of this and be willing to inoculate them with exposure.
We need to not reinforce the talking points of the anti-gun side by panicking that a mundane was exposed and freaked.
Potential Energy Vs Kinetic Energy
"What is the difference between a brick sitting on a shelf 6' above the ground and a brick that's released from 6'?"
The brick on the shelf has potential energy and the falling brick has kinetic energy.
The value will be the same.
But it's not the same, that's why the labels are different.
The anti-gun argument typically boils down to treating the potential to do harm as actual harm done.
It was refreshing, for politics, that the pro-gun side focused on actual benefits and the lack of actual harm done by owning guns and shooting them.
Where we got speculative was in the "what happens in court if you used X to defend yourself" and not the same "what about the children" arguments used by our opponents.
Until lately that is.
Now I'm seeing the "pro-gun" what about the children argument with regards to safe storage.
It's a fucking minefield to talk about.
My guns are locked up because fucking thieves. They're locked because I want to keep my shit, not because I fear what a thief will do with them if they steal it.
The has the salubrious effect of also keeping small children's hands off the guns.
Where I'm getting upset from the "pro-gun" side is, once again, the insults and name calling towards anyone who doesn't practice safe storage exactly and precisely like they do.
When they're condemning anyone who doesn't lock up as they demand, they're presenting some tells of their other positions.
The theoretical, potential scenario is a pistol in the center console where a kid from another household was left unattended and found the gun and shot someone. Blame gun owner for leaving the gun.
Why not blame the gun owner for leaving the child unattended? Why not blame the parents of the kid for not teaching them to keep out of other people's shit?
An analogy to putting a latch on the kitchen cabinets was made.
I asked around, I know lots of parents with grown children.
You know what I found?
Nobody locked up the poisonous cleaning products. EVERYONE taught their kids to stay out of the cabinet and to not do the "drink bleach challenge".
Hardly anyone of that age locked up their guns either. Astonishingly, none of their kids shot anyone and none of their kids friends rifled through the house and found a gun to have an accident.
This brings us to another anti-gun parallel with the "pro-gun" argument. Blame the innocent minority and their potential harm for the actions of a small minority and actual harm. Citing an event where a child came to harm that affected you personally makes you no different from the anti-gun mouth pieces citing their own personal tragedies to effect political change. When it's them, you're against this tactic, when it's you... Oh, it must be different now?
Why aren't I worried about this horrible danger to children?
Because without the "pro-gun" nannies, gun accidents (including those with children) have been steadily declining for decades.
With steadily declining accidents, demanding in insulting terms that everyone change their behavior to suit the "pro-gun" and prevent a very rare event all it does it provide yet another "even the pro-gun people think everyone should do this" talking point for the anti-gun side to make leaving a firearm unlocked and unattended a crime.
There's a huge difference between pointing out the advantages of securing your guns and demanding that everyone adhere to your paradigm.
The brick on the shelf has potential energy and the falling brick has kinetic energy.
The value will be the same.
But it's not the same, that's why the labels are different.
The anti-gun argument typically boils down to treating the potential to do harm as actual harm done.
It was refreshing, for politics, that the pro-gun side focused on actual benefits and the lack of actual harm done by owning guns and shooting them.
Where we got speculative was in the "what happens in court if you used X to defend yourself" and not the same "what about the children" arguments used by our opponents.
Until lately that is.
Now I'm seeing the "pro-gun" what about the children argument with regards to safe storage.
It's a fucking minefield to talk about.
My guns are locked up because fucking thieves. They're locked because I want to keep my shit, not because I fear what a thief will do with them if they steal it.
The has the salubrious effect of also keeping small children's hands off the guns.
Where I'm getting upset from the "pro-gun" side is, once again, the insults and name calling towards anyone who doesn't practice safe storage exactly and precisely like they do.
When they're condemning anyone who doesn't lock up as they demand, they're presenting some tells of their other positions.
The theoretical, potential scenario is a pistol in the center console where a kid from another household was left unattended and found the gun and shot someone. Blame gun owner for leaving the gun.
Why not blame the gun owner for leaving the child unattended? Why not blame the parents of the kid for not teaching them to keep out of other people's shit?
An analogy to putting a latch on the kitchen cabinets was made.
I asked around, I know lots of parents with grown children.
You know what I found?
Nobody locked up the poisonous cleaning products. EVERYONE taught their kids to stay out of the cabinet and to not do the "drink bleach challenge".
Hardly anyone of that age locked up their guns either. Astonishingly, none of their kids shot anyone and none of their kids friends rifled through the house and found a gun to have an accident.
This brings us to another anti-gun parallel with the "pro-gun" argument. Blame the innocent minority and their potential harm for the actions of a small minority and actual harm. Citing an event where a child came to harm that affected you personally makes you no different from the anti-gun mouth pieces citing their own personal tragedies to effect political change. When it's them, you're against this tactic, when it's you... Oh, it must be different now?
Why aren't I worried about this horrible danger to children?
Because without the "pro-gun" nannies, gun accidents (including those with children) have been steadily declining for decades.
With steadily declining accidents, demanding in insulting terms that everyone change their behavior to suit the "pro-gun" and prevent a very rare event all it does it provide yet another "even the pro-gun people think everyone should do this" talking point for the anti-gun side to make leaving a firearm unlocked and unattended a crime.
There's a huge difference between pointing out the advantages of securing your guns and demanding that everyone adhere to your paradigm.
1/200
I've been watching a series of videos of a guy making 1/200 scale battleships with ALL the photo-etched details you can buy and gobs and gobs of research.
First was USS Arizona (BB-39) and currently it's a 1944 representation of USS Missouri (BB-63).
The Alpha to Omega of WW2.
What's really fascinating about the Arizona build is you can see several refits and rebuilds in the structure by how things go together.
With Missouri, you can get a sense of the why things are with the details in focus like they are.
Here's a link to the channel.
First was USS Arizona (BB-39) and currently it's a 1944 representation of USS Missouri (BB-63).
The Alpha to Omega of WW2.
What's really fascinating about the Arizona build is you can see several refits and rebuilds in the structure by how things go together.
With Missouri, you can get a sense of the why things are with the details in focus like they are.
Here's a link to the channel.
09 February 2020
Exposure
Stirring the embers with a 15 second exposure running.
It was worth being showered in the ashes.
Playing With The Camera Settings
The moon was really lighting up the wispy clouds and I was lucky enough to snag a good picture of it!
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