Not much yesterday as there was a gun show,

which turned out to be pretty good; lots to look at. And I noticed ammo prices at the show were down from the past, overall at much more reasonable levels. Couple of things to write about later, but for now I bring you my morning bitch and yell session.

First, from (fG)Britain, a whole collection in one article:
But when Mr Freeman asked the waiter for assistance, he was astonished by the response. 'He apologised but said he was not allowed to give me a toothpick for health and safety reasons,' said the 63-year-old. 'I asked him if he was joking, but he said it wasn't April 1 and there weren't any in the hotel. 'I told him it was nonsense and asked to speak to the manager for an explanation, indicating there were 14 very dangerous metal knives and forks on my table that had been unsupervised for at least two hours. 'The manager agreed it was ludicrous, but assured me there had been a directive from head office not to provide toothpicks because they are potentially dangerous.' ... Meanwhile, a seaside resort has cancelled its annual fun day after children were banned from riding donkeys due to health and safety. Organisers in Llandudno, North Wales, said they were worried they could be sued if a child had an accident. In November, fundraisers were banned from donating cakes to a hospital appeal for a similar reason. Hertfordshire-based Friends of Royston Hospital volunteers said they were unsure if all ingredients would be suitable for diabetics. And in June pensioners in Eye, Cambridgeshire, were banned from holding a coffee morning at a library in case hot drinks were spilled on visiting children.
Now that there's publicity about it, the hotel chain denied there was a toothpick ban, and suggested 'there were simply none available on the night'. Ok, so why wouldn't the manager say that? I smell aversion to ridicule.

And yeah, some places here in the US have gotten as bad. Disgusting, ain't it?


Oleg Volk's take on the campaign finance gag rules, from the other days Examiner:
Doesn't mince words, does he?


Codrea has more links on the aftermath of the Austin gun show BS. Also on the Montana case against the government, that may get downright interesting.


And a great big "Well done!" to the Marines:
The Marines formally handed over U.S. responsibility for Sunni-dominated Anbar, Iraq's largest province, to the Army during a ceremony at a base in Ramadi, the scene of some of the war's most intense fighting. Overall control of the province shifted from the U.S. military to Iraq in September 2008, but the U.S. continues to provide support for Iraqi forces.
Iraqi and American colour guards stood together at attention as both countries' national anthems were played by a U.S. military band.
As many as 25,000 Marines were in Iraq at the peak of the fighting, mostly in Anbar province. Fewer than 3,000 remain. All but a handful of those will ship out in a matter of weeks.


It seems the HillBuzz guys aren't exactly wilting at the 'RACIST!' bullcrap; wow, you falsely call someone that and they react by saying 'screw you' and looking for the ID of the clowns making the charge, would that be an 'unintended consequence'?


This is one hell of an interesting picture. I do have to wonder, did the people designing this not consider the problem?


And I'll end this with one of the bits over at Dr. Helen, call it "I'm Tired of Searching for Mr. Right". Observation:
With a lot of these women it seems to be not only "Mr. Right has to make more money than me", but "He has to make that money in a 'proper high-status' profession or it doesn't count. AND have at least as much 'education' as I."
I put the 'education' in that way because an awful lot of it nowadays, especially in some tracks a lot of girls take, has very little to do with education and an awful lot with indoctrination. Somebody who gets their hands dirty but makes damn good money doing it just isn't good enough for the princess, so she whines about 'no good men out there' and such. Unintended consequences, indeed.
Personal note: one of the things that turned out to be a big problem with second wife was my blacksmithing and metalwork; she loved the fact that people admired what I made, but she hated that I actually got dirty and smelly making those things; and it wasn't a 'suitable' way to act in a 'good neighborhood'. Mind you, every weekend with decent weather you could hear saws and whatever working all over, but my stuff? Too smelly and nasty, I should stop doing that. Well, ladies(I realize the ladies who generally read my stuff are quite aware of this), most guys see nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty taking care of things, and don't see it as a 'low status' matter; if you do, maybe you ought to reconsider what you find important.