Specifically the reelection of that incompetent guilty-of-manslaughter-through-negligence Nagin, I now officially say Screw New Orleans. Not in a good way.
Let's see, they bus people back to NO to vote, even though many of them had said they weren't moving back, etc., etc., from what I've heard LA politics in action. Pull the plug and drain that swamp.
Better yet, let it go BACK to swamp. A nice, productive, good-for-the-wildlife swamp with gators and water moccasins and so forth breeding again. And since those idiot levees- you know, the vitally-important ones they're building/repairing with ground up houses?- won't be needed anymore, some part of the Mississippi can go back to dumping silt where it belongs and building the Delta up.
About the ground-up houses: a while back I read a book called 'Rising Tide' by John Barry, about the monstrous floods along the Mississippi in 1927. There was a section talking about how levees were designed and built, and they were very careful to keep any wood- limbs, lumber scraps, whatever- out of the construction. They knew the stuff would rot and leave a weak spot in the levee, so fill brought in was inspected, including as it was added to the levee, to spot and remove anything of the type. And now these idiots are using ground-up houses, wood and sheetrock and metals(including all kinds of toxic-to-the-environment stuff) to build levees. I repeat, screw NO, let it go back to a nice, hunting & fishing-friendly swamp.
Also, for a different look at FEMA and their response, check out these comments at the LawDog, specifically the one from Thunder. I admit, I always expect things to get screwed up when some government agency is involved, but the some of the crap I heard about FEMA didn't make a whole lot of sense. Unless, of course, people wanted someone to blame(in particular, someone connected somehow with Bush). As I commented about Day Quayle, if you've got that many people looking for any/everything you do that can be used against you, Einstein will end up looking like an idiot and Mother Teresa like a runaway Nazi camp guard.
Enough of this crap. I had a nice day with my daughter, and I refuse to let a bunch of idiots in NO mess it up.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Doesn't matter how old your kids are,
they can go through .22's like a beaver through soft wood.
I took 400 rounds along today, and my daughter went through most of it. She'd have gone through all of it if a: her hands hadn't tired out and b: I hadn't left the red-dot on the Trailside turned on and run the !**^%#! battery down. In the past, with daughter and son both along, we've gone through more than a brick along with some other stuff.
Speaking of which, I need to stick the spare in and get some replacements. Assuming I can find the spare.
It had been a while since she'd gone out to put some wear on her rifle, took her a bit to get the hang of it back. Pistol she's fired much more recently, started off pretty good there. So I need to get another brick for next time.
Ever hear some idiot newsreader tell-with Great Concern and Emphasis- how some guy must have had something bad in mind because he had an 'arsenal' of three guns and 'at least' 300 rounds of ammo? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't think I've got LESS THAN 4 or 500 for any firearm I own. I know I've got at least 2000 rounds of .22, because a: it comes in bricks(there's a name for a new blog, hmmmm) and b: you can go through so much of it. I just number the bricks and use them up in order.
Friend of mine was in Britain about two years ago, about the time some poor bastards were busted by the police with the aforementioned 'arsenal'. They hadn't done anything, but in New Socialist Nanny-State Britain it was assumed that there was no good reason- in the opinion of the assholes in charge- for anyone to have such a HUGE supply of arms & ammo. He said something about how stupid that was and the folks he was with asked- he having mentioned having a couple of Enfields- how much ammo he had? When they heard "About 400 rounds of .303" they were shocked; whatever would you do with such a stockpile? Apparently 'shoot it at the range and then get some more' just didn't make sense to them. Let's see, last big gunshow I got a case of 800-something rounds to feed the Mosin sniper and the M38, and a 440-round can of 8mm and the last 500-round pack of 9x18mm the dealer had. They'd have had kittens if they'd heard something like that.
Let's see, today I fired about 30 rounds of 7.5 Swiss, about the same of 8mm, about 40 of 7.62x54r, and a box of .380. Daughter went through most of 400 rounds of .22's(taking her time; nice, slow day at the range). Gee, I guess that makes us some of those 'People Who Should Be Watched' according to the bedwetters. Who can kiss my ass.
Let's see, a brick of .22... need to get some .284 brass and 7.5 dies... batteries, of course(find out where has best price)... Things to see, people to do, but at least the guns are already cleaned.
I took 400 rounds along today, and my daughter went through most of it. She'd have gone through all of it if a: her hands hadn't tired out and b: I hadn't left the red-dot on the Trailside turned on and run the !**^%#! battery down. In the past, with daughter and son both along, we've gone through more than a brick along with some other stuff.
Speaking of which, I need to stick the spare in and get some replacements. Assuming I can find the spare.
It had been a while since she'd gone out to put some wear on her rifle, took her a bit to get the hang of it back. Pistol she's fired much more recently, started off pretty good there. So I need to get another brick for next time.
Ever hear some idiot newsreader tell-with Great Concern and Emphasis- how some guy must have had something bad in mind because he had an 'arsenal' of three guns and 'at least' 300 rounds of ammo? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't think I've got LESS THAN 4 or 500 for any firearm I own. I know I've got at least 2000 rounds of .22, because a: it comes in bricks(there's a name for a new blog, hmmmm) and b: you can go through so much of it. I just number the bricks and use them up in order.
Friend of mine was in Britain about two years ago, about the time some poor bastards were busted by the police with the aforementioned 'arsenal'. They hadn't done anything, but in New Socialist Nanny-State Britain it was assumed that there was no good reason- in the opinion of the assholes in charge- for anyone to have such a HUGE supply of arms & ammo. He said something about how stupid that was and the folks he was with asked- he having mentioned having a couple of Enfields- how much ammo he had? When they heard "About 400 rounds of .303" they were shocked; whatever would you do with such a stockpile? Apparently 'shoot it at the range and then get some more' just didn't make sense to them. Let's see, last big gunshow I got a case of 800-something rounds to feed the Mosin sniper and the M38, and a 440-round can of 8mm and the last 500-round pack of 9x18mm the dealer had. They'd have had kittens if they'd heard something like that.
Let's see, today I fired about 30 rounds of 7.5 Swiss, about the same of 8mm, about 40 of 7.62x54r, and a box of .380. Daughter went through most of 400 rounds of .22's(taking her time; nice, slow day at the range). Gee, I guess that makes us some of those 'People Who Should Be Watched' according to the bedwetters. Who can kiss my ass.
Let's see, a brick of .22... need to get some .284 brass and 7.5 dies... batteries, of course(find out where has best price)... Things to see, people to do, but at least the guns are already cleaned.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Gun show!
This weekend. Going Saturday. Two neighbors want me to try to sell something for them. One's a Dutch Mannlicher carbine, the other's a H&R .22 revolver. The Mannlicher is mechanically great, but the bore's pretty rough. It may be like the Mauser Kim cleaned up, but I don't have the time to soak the bore. So I scrubbed it out as best I could for now. If nobody offers enough to satisfy the neighbor, I'll do that next week.
The H&R is beautiful. 7.5" barrel, .22lr and magnum cylinders, in the original box. I'm halfway tempted to see if I have enough free and buy it myself.
It turned hot here very quickly. As in from highs in the 70's to highs in the 90's in about three days. So I stuck the window unit in the bedroom for sleeping comfort. The house has central(first house I've ever had that did) and I love it, but when I can just use open windows and a fan I do; lots of times I'm in & out to the garage or yard enough it's easier on me. Thus the window unit for sleeping.
Night, all.
The H&R is beautiful. 7.5" barrel, .22lr and magnum cylinders, in the original box. I'm halfway tempted to see if I have enough free and buy it myself.
It turned hot here very quickly. As in from highs in the 70's to highs in the 90's in about three days. So I stuck the window unit in the bedroom for sleeping comfort. The house has central(first house I've ever had that did) and I love it, but when I can just use open windows and a fan I do; lots of times I'm in & out to the garage or yard enough it's easier on me. Thus the window unit for sleeping.
Night, all.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
To return for now to firearms,
a few days ago had a chance to go to the range for a little while, and tried the Trailside/red-dot combo in daylight.
This sight has 11 brightness settings. 11 gave a nice dot easily visible on a partly cloudy day. I'd wondered about that, because the sight on the borrowed .22 I wrote about was fairly dim turned all the way up.
I had some clay pigeons and one of my scope targets set up at 50 yards, and this made it easy to hit both if I did my part. The dot covered the 2" square on the paper completely, so just centered the dot on the paper. It covered the center 2-3" of the clays, making it easy to hit them. Seemed that with this gun/ammo/sight combo it's dead on at both 20 yards and 50.
I'm really liking this setup. I'm going to try to take my daughter out shooting this weekend, I'll see how she likes it.
Speaking of the Trailside, it came with their oversized pakkawood 'target' grips. Very nice, but the plastic on the basic version actually fit my hand better. I've done a bit of rasping and sanding on these, and they're much better now. More comfortable, and easier to hold on target.
Now to try a red-dot out on a rifle...
This sight has 11 brightness settings. 11 gave a nice dot easily visible on a partly cloudy day. I'd wondered about that, because the sight on the borrowed .22 I wrote about was fairly dim turned all the way up.
I had some clay pigeons and one of my scope targets set up at 50 yards, and this made it easy to hit both if I did my part. The dot covered the 2" square on the paper completely, so just centered the dot on the paper. It covered the center 2-3" of the clays, making it easy to hit them. Seemed that with this gun/ammo/sight combo it's dead on at both 20 yards and 50.
I'm really liking this setup. I'm going to try to take my daughter out shooting this weekend, I'll see how she likes it.
Speaking of the Trailside, it came with their oversized pakkawood 'target' grips. Very nice, but the plastic on the basic version actually fit my hand better. I've done a bit of rasping and sanding on these, and they're much better now. More comfortable, and easier to hold on target.
Now to try a red-dot out on a rifle...
The 'free and universal' health care in Britain
apparently doesn't apply if you're offensive. Was over at Random Nuclear Strikes and found a link to this article:
"IT IS BAD enough that you can be refused medical treatment on the NHS for eating, drinking or smoking too much. Now it seems that you can be denied an operation for protesting too much in support of your religious or political beliefs.
This tells us that 1: British hospitals are staffed with a bunch of wusses with tender feelings, 2. Universal Health Care gives the government even more control over your health than you thought, 3: socialized medicine sucks.
Those are the basics, add more as they occur to you.
"IT IS BAD enough that you can be refused medical treatment on the NHS for eating, drinking or smoking too much. Now it seems that you can be denied an operation for protesting too much in support of your religious or political beliefs.
Edward Atkinson, a 75-year-old anti-abortion activist, was jailed recently for 28 days for sending photographs of aborted foetuses to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. That draconian sentence was not deemed punishment enough: the hospital has banned Mr Atkinson from receiving the hip replacement operation he was expecting."
No physical attack, no threats to blow up the place or shave some Noble Physicians' moustache without permission. Be offensive and go to jail AND be denied medical treatment.This tells us that 1: British hospitals are staffed with a bunch of wusses with tender feelings, 2. Universal Health Care gives the government even more control over your health than you thought, 3: socialized medicine sucks.
Those are the basics, add more as they occur to you.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
More on women
My experience with them, at least. The piece I posted a couple of days ago was written under the influence of booze and a certain amount of pissed-off, and I think it needs expanding on. No, I don't disavow a word of it; just expanding.
I don't hold #2 solely responsible for the mess; the way I put it to a friend was "I made one big mistake, I married her", which pretty much covers it. We went together for a little over two years before we married, and the warning signs were there, which is where my big mistake came in. She lied about having worked it out about #1 wife, and I let- or made- myself believe it.
Ever wanted something to work so bad that you didn't listen to that little voice in the back of your head? Not the one telling you to stay home and clean the guns, the other one. Said voice said to me the day before the wedding(and a time or two before) "This is not the best idea you ever had, and you shouldn't oughta do it", and I told it to shut up and ignored it. I really, really cared for her; I wanted her to have worked her jealousy out, I wanted it to work so bad I let her lie to me about it, I wanted it so badly I ignored my own knowledge of where this was liable to go. I never said I was all that smart.
And I ignored hints she'd thrown out before about my smithing and hunting. Mind you, being female she probably thought she was making blunt statements where all I heard was some vague mentions of the possibility of a problem somewhere down the line. This is where the 'do ALL women do this crap?' came in. I know all women don't; I've known of too many cases of it to think it's rare. In comments was brought up the saying "Men marry women hoping they never change; women marry men hoping they will", though in some cases it seems to be "planning" they will.
This whole mess led to me giving the kids a lecture that boils down to Don't expect someone to change from what they are. Barring something on the order of a religeous experience, it won't happen, and hoping it will is a path to big troubles.
Hell with it. I don't hold a grudge against Beth(#2), though occasionally a spark of pissed-off still flares up; I hope she's well. I just wish I had listened to the voice.
While back I ran across a site by a guy named John Ross, which has some real interesting columns. Some of which I wish I'd been able to read back when I was younger and single, the ones dealing with women, dating and marriage. I think he's got a lot of truth in them, which brings up a big problem for me so far as dating goes: I ain't gonna do it. Play the games.
Speaking of games, a while back there was a lady I dated who stopped answering the phone. I figured it was a case of not having the integrity or manners to say "I've changed my mind, I don't want to go out with you again". About three months after that a friend ran into a friend of the lady and asked what the hell happened; she said she didn't know, that the lady had been through a messy divorce and wasn't real stable(my word, can't remember exactly what he reported) about dating. Then about three months after that he ran into both of them, and the lady told him she'd lost her phone and didn't have my number anywhere else, and would he ask me to call her?
This was in town- he was here for a small fair and crashing at my house- so he decided to help things along and got the four of us together for a drink after the fair Saturday. It took her about half an hour to mention something along the lines of "I didn't want you to think I just stopped answering you", but really nothing beyond that. And implied she wouldn't mind me calling again. By the time it was over I was pretty sure this was a game; she didn't want to be the Bad Guy in this and it was her way of showing how really Caring and Nice she was.
Mind you, I'd liked her, and I almost called her four times. Twice I had picked up the phone and then put it down. If she'd actually given a crap about going out again she'd have been happier to see me, and would have said "Call me". Or so I think. In any case, it boils down to one reason I'm not doing too well on the dating front; I'm not going to play the damn games. Ross mentions a number of things to do to keep a woman off balance and interested, and looking back I can see how they'd work quite well. But I'm not going to do them. If I have to play games constantly to keep a woman interested, if I have to keep her off-balance to get her to go out again, Ain't Gonna Happen. All of which makes me wonder, how many women out there are demanding guys play these games, and spending nights alone because only the guys who care about screwing her and nothing else will play them? And bitching about how there are no good guys out there?
Yeah, I DO have a jaundiced view of this. Please prove me wrong.
I don't hold #2 solely responsible for the mess; the way I put it to a friend was "I made one big mistake, I married her", which pretty much covers it. We went together for a little over two years before we married, and the warning signs were there, which is where my big mistake came in. She lied about having worked it out about #1 wife, and I let- or made- myself believe it.
Ever wanted something to work so bad that you didn't listen to that little voice in the back of your head? Not the one telling you to stay home and clean the guns, the other one. Said voice said to me the day before the wedding(and a time or two before) "This is not the best idea you ever had, and you shouldn't oughta do it", and I told it to shut up and ignored it. I really, really cared for her; I wanted her to have worked her jealousy out, I wanted it to work so bad I let her lie to me about it, I wanted it so badly I ignored my own knowledge of where this was liable to go. I never said I was all that smart.
And I ignored hints she'd thrown out before about my smithing and hunting. Mind you, being female she probably thought she was making blunt statements where all I heard was some vague mentions of the possibility of a problem somewhere down the line. This is where the 'do ALL women do this crap?' came in. I know all women don't; I've known of too many cases of it to think it's rare. In comments was brought up the saying "Men marry women hoping they never change; women marry men hoping they will", though in some cases it seems to be "planning" they will.
This whole mess led to me giving the kids a lecture that boils down to Don't expect someone to change from what they are. Barring something on the order of a religeous experience, it won't happen, and hoping it will is a path to big troubles.
Hell with it. I don't hold a grudge against Beth(#2), though occasionally a spark of pissed-off still flares up; I hope she's well. I just wish I had listened to the voice.
While back I ran across a site by a guy named John Ross, which has some real interesting columns. Some of which I wish I'd been able to read back when I was younger and single, the ones dealing with women, dating and marriage. I think he's got a lot of truth in them, which brings up a big problem for me so far as dating goes: I ain't gonna do it. Play the games.
Speaking of games, a while back there was a lady I dated who stopped answering the phone. I figured it was a case of not having the integrity or manners to say "I've changed my mind, I don't want to go out with you again". About three months after that a friend ran into a friend of the lady and asked what the hell happened; she said she didn't know, that the lady had been through a messy divorce and wasn't real stable(my word, can't remember exactly what he reported) about dating. Then about three months after that he ran into both of them, and the lady told him she'd lost her phone and didn't have my number anywhere else, and would he ask me to call her?
This was in town- he was here for a small fair and crashing at my house- so he decided to help things along and got the four of us together for a drink after the fair Saturday. It took her about half an hour to mention something along the lines of "I didn't want you to think I just stopped answering you", but really nothing beyond that. And implied she wouldn't mind me calling again. By the time it was over I was pretty sure this was a game; she didn't want to be the Bad Guy in this and it was her way of showing how really Caring and Nice she was.
Mind you, I'd liked her, and I almost called her four times. Twice I had picked up the phone and then put it down. If she'd actually given a crap about going out again she'd have been happier to see me, and would have said "Call me". Or so I think. In any case, it boils down to one reason I'm not doing too well on the dating front; I'm not going to play the damn games. Ross mentions a number of things to do to keep a woman off balance and interested, and looking back I can see how they'd work quite well. But I'm not going to do them. If I have to play games constantly to keep a woman interested, if I have to keep her off-balance to get her to go out again, Ain't Gonna Happen. All of which makes me wonder, how many women out there are demanding guys play these games, and spending nights alone because only the guys who care about screwing her and nothing else will play them? And bitching about how there are no good guys out there?
Yeah, I DO have a jaundiced view of this. Please prove me wrong.
Taking the bad taste of 'Sen. McCain' out of my mouth,
I can look out at the garden. The tomatos have blossoms, as do the sweet peppers and squash; and there's one pepper about three inches long and several little squash. The roma tomatos aren't big enough yet, having been planted just two weeks ago, and the bell peppers just developed some buds. The habanero is about six inches tall, as I recall it won't really take off until it gets hotter. I need to plant a few more cloves of garlic to fill in the holes where some didn't come up.
I thought about expanding the garden a bit this year, but considering how little time I have to work on it decided not to. Ever bit into a tomato or pepper right off the plant? Beats hell out of hothouse stuff.
Last year I lost a lot of tomatos to birds, and some peppers to both squirrels and my idiot younger dog. I think I'll cut some poles and put netting over the tomatos; the birds did more damage to the them, and aside from fence and a .22 I can't do that much about the squirrels, the dog luckily seems to have learned that grazing in the garden gets her yelled at.
I thought about expanding the garden a bit this year, but considering how little time I have to work on it decided not to. Ever bit into a tomato or pepper right off the plant? Beats hell out of hothouse stuff.
Last year I lost a lot of tomatos to birds, and some peppers to both squirrels and my idiot younger dog. I think I'll cut some poles and put netting over the tomatos; the birds did more damage to the them, and aside from fence and a .22 I can't do that much about the squirrels, the dog luckily seems to have learned that grazing in the garden gets her yelled at.
Ref John McCain(Jackass/AZ)
Kevin has his opinion up, and I second it. He includes part of the oath McCain has taken more than once:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
This from the idiot who recently said "I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government." So if we didn't know before, we damn well know now what his word is worth.
I said it before: this man is as bad or worse than Al Gore in thinking that he deserves the Oval Office as his home address, that it's owed to him; and anyone with a mindset like that can be allowed nowhere near it. And I repeat, Arizona, get that recall petition started back up.
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
This from the idiot who recently said "I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government." So if we didn't know before, we damn well know now what his word is worth.
I said it before: this man is as bad or worse than Al Gore in thinking that he deserves the Oval Office as his home address, that it's owed to him; and anyone with a mindset like that can be allowed nowhere near it. And I repeat, Arizona, get that recall petition started back up.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Flint
One of the things I make is flint & steel firekits. Whole kit is a steel striker, a good flake of flint, some charcloth to catch the spark and a tin to keep it in. No problem to make except for the flint. Which you don't make, you find. And you need good enough quality flint that it'll strike a spark from the steel without breaking.
Lots of places to find flint(depending on where you are), and you can order the stuff. Dixie Gun Works carries both a bag of good flakes and flint nodules so you can try your hand at knapping. But I'd always wanted to go out and find some nodules and knock off my own flakes. No luck so far.
Then at Medieval Fair a gentleman came by to get a couple of strikers; said he'd lost the ones he got last year. Talked for a bit and found that he's an archeologist(retired) who knaps flint as a hobby and as a teacher for students at OU. When I mentioned I was about out of flint he said he had some pieces I could have.
So the other day finally got time to go by his place and get some. And he threw in a short lesson on flint knapping, and a short lecture on where in the state I could find some if I had a chance to go looking for it.
I'd bought a nodule from Dixie once before and tried knocking off flakes with, let us say, not the best of results. With a good hammerstone and his demonstration, earlier today I took one of the chunks and knocked off a number of good, usable flakes(as opposed to my earlier success in turning a flint nodule into sharp-edged gravel).
I get time I want to mess with this some more; try making some knives and arrowheads. Good flint or obsidian is brittle, but a flake can be unbelievably sharp. We're talking 'feel a tug and notice blood' sharp. Matter of fact, I've read that eye surgeons are using scalpel blades cut and polished from obsidian; the edge is smoother and sharper than steel, it can actually cut cells without tearing the edge is so fine.
He bet me a striker that within three months I'd want more flint to work on, said it's addictive. I need to make him a couple.
Lots of places to find flint(depending on where you are), and you can order the stuff. Dixie Gun Works carries both a bag of good flakes and flint nodules so you can try your hand at knapping. But I'd always wanted to go out and find some nodules and knock off my own flakes. No luck so far.
Then at Medieval Fair a gentleman came by to get a couple of strikers; said he'd lost the ones he got last year. Talked for a bit and found that he's an archeologist(retired) who knaps flint as a hobby and as a teacher for students at OU. When I mentioned I was about out of flint he said he had some pieces I could have.
So the other day finally got time to go by his place and get some. And he threw in a short lesson on flint knapping, and a short lecture on where in the state I could find some if I had a chance to go looking for it.
I'd bought a nodule from Dixie once before and tried knocking off flakes with, let us say, not the best of results. With a good hammerstone and his demonstration, earlier today I took one of the chunks and knocked off a number of good, usable flakes(as opposed to my earlier success in turning a flint nodule into sharp-edged gravel).
I get time I want to mess with this some more; try making some knives and arrowheads. Good flint or obsidian is brittle, but a flake can be unbelievably sharp. We're talking 'feel a tug and notice blood' sharp. Matter of fact, I've read that eye surgeons are using scalpel blades cut and polished from obsidian; the edge is smoother and sharper than steel, it can actually cut cells without tearing the edge is so fine.
He bet me a striker that within three months I'd want more flint to work on, said it's addictive. I need to make him a couple.
Carnival of Cordite #59
At Gullyborg. Actually up the other day, but being the organized sort I am, I'm just getting this up now.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Remember I mentioned K31's might be running out?
I just looked at the AIM site and they're not there anymore. The K31's, I mean.
And I'll wonder, did I have anything to do with maybe speeding up the disappearance? I'll never know.
And yes, I have been drinking. Just a little. And now I'm going to bed.
And I'll wonder, did I have anything to do with maybe speeding up the disappearance? I'll never know.
And yes, I have been drinking. Just a little. And now I'm going to bed.
Conversing with Og got me thinking about some things,
and sitting here having had a drink(ok, three), I have a question for the ladies out there who might read this: do most women want to change a guy they like, or is it just some of them? I don't mean "Stop leaving your underwear in the living room" or "Will you please stop telling Denise "I've got a little list, they'll not be missed"? I have to work with her, you know!" I mean big stuff, things that are important to you.
Once, a long time ago, I wrote about my second marriage and how it went down the drain. Two biggest factors in it; 1. I got along with my ex on friendly terms and 2. I forge.
As to the first, we went round & round on this once before the marriage question came up. Didn't matter if she was pissed about it or not, the ex and I had two kids- who were little at the time- and I was going to try to stay on friendly terms with her if for no other reason than to ease things on the kids. Went over it again when I asked her to marry and she assured me that she could deal with it.
On 2, she really liked the admiration and respect I had for my smithing, the blades in particular. One weekend she went with me to Texas to a Celtic Heritage festival and really enjoyed it, with the one exception being her mention of the fact that I smelled of coal smoke at the end of the day. I replied that that was what showers and washing machines were for and nothing else was said(no, I did not pick up the subtle female signs that she was pissed about it).
After the wedding(not immediately, but within a month) two things happened. First, she started getting really jumpy- sometimes nasty- about me talking to my ex about the kids. Second, she made it clear that although she hadn't really said so before, I really needed to get rid of the forge as the noise and smell didn't fit into the neighborhood I now lived in.
You can guess how this crap went. Especially after one somewhat memorable occasion when she informed me that the solution to needing to talk to my ex about the kids was to take her to court, get custody of the kids and not allow her visitation: "Then you won't ever need to speak to her!"
Can you imagine telling a judge that the mother should lose custody- and no visitation- because your new wife doesn't like her? My first thought was that any jurist with three working brain cells would say "Bailiff? Kick that man three times around the courtroom and throw him out of here for bringing such idiocy in here", and I'd agree with him. Second thought, can you imagine putting two kids through a shitstorm like that?
And the other, she KNEW that I planned on smithing for years to come. Not on a daily basis(had never had that) but when time & weather allowed. And now she made it plain that I needed to give it up.
Note: I really am clueless about some things. One evening she was bitching about my ex and, noting that one thing they did share was stubborn, I commented that one of the things that made this difficult was that in some ways they were much alike. Yes, I should have thought about that before saying that. No, I didn't realize how it would go over. Oh yeah, that really brought out joy in the evening.
The fact that I write about my second ex covers what happened in the end(those two things weren't the only factors, but they were big ones). And no dating since has gone on long enough for the 'changing you' factor to come out if it would have.
Well, ladies?
Once, a long time ago, I wrote about my second marriage and how it went down the drain. Two biggest factors in it; 1. I got along with my ex on friendly terms and 2. I forge.
As to the first, we went round & round on this once before the marriage question came up. Didn't matter if she was pissed about it or not, the ex and I had two kids- who were little at the time- and I was going to try to stay on friendly terms with her if for no other reason than to ease things on the kids. Went over it again when I asked her to marry and she assured me that she could deal with it.
On 2, she really liked the admiration and respect I had for my smithing, the blades in particular. One weekend she went with me to Texas to a Celtic Heritage festival and really enjoyed it, with the one exception being her mention of the fact that I smelled of coal smoke at the end of the day. I replied that that was what showers and washing machines were for and nothing else was said(no, I did not pick up the subtle female signs that she was pissed about it).
After the wedding(not immediately, but within a month) two things happened. First, she started getting really jumpy- sometimes nasty- about me talking to my ex about the kids. Second, she made it clear that although she hadn't really said so before, I really needed to get rid of the forge as the noise and smell didn't fit into the neighborhood I now lived in.
You can guess how this crap went. Especially after one somewhat memorable occasion when she informed me that the solution to needing to talk to my ex about the kids was to take her to court, get custody of the kids and not allow her visitation: "Then you won't ever need to speak to her!"
Can you imagine telling a judge that the mother should lose custody- and no visitation- because your new wife doesn't like her? My first thought was that any jurist with three working brain cells would say "Bailiff? Kick that man three times around the courtroom and throw him out of here for bringing such idiocy in here", and I'd agree with him. Second thought, can you imagine putting two kids through a shitstorm like that?
And the other, she KNEW that I planned on smithing for years to come. Not on a daily basis(had never had that) but when time & weather allowed. And now she made it plain that I needed to give it up.
Note: I really am clueless about some things. One evening she was bitching about my ex and, noting that one thing they did share was stubborn, I commented that one of the things that made this difficult was that in some ways they were much alike. Yes, I should have thought about that before saying that. No, I didn't realize how it would go over. Oh yeah, that really brought out joy in the evening.
The fact that I write about my second ex covers what happened in the end(those two things weren't the only factors, but they were big ones). And no dating since has gone on long enough for the 'changing you' factor to come out if it would have.
Well, ladies?
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The 'Big, New' NSA story
I've been reading and listening to various people saying sometimes very stupid things about this over the last few days. For what it's worth, here's what I think:
I am in no way comfortable with the government snooping into anything in my life. I don't like having to get government approval to buy a firearm or carry, I don't like that banks have to report certain types of transactions to the feds, I don't like various agencies having the power to screw you over that they do, etc. Overall I tend to agree with Reagans' comment that the most terrifying words you can hear are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help". Overdramatizing a bit, but sometimes not by much. Sometimes not at all.
I do understand that there are reasons for some of it(sometimes idiot reasons that aren't near good enough). And sometimes the reasons are good. This is one of those cases. From what I gather, this is not some spook or clerk listening to you tell your girlfriend what you have in mind for the weekend; they're looking for calls to and from certain places and numbers and if something matches up, doing the legal stuff to look further into it.
Am I real comfortable with it? Hell no! I am NEVER real comfortable with such things, the potential for abuse is too real and constant. I've mentioned having worked with some LE databases in the past; these things are necessary and do a lot of good, but the damn things are abused constantly by people who don't think/don't care/figure "I am the Law, and I can do what I want". Same thing with programs like this. Will there be abuses? Almost certainly. The key there becomes what happens when someone's caught abusing it. Will it be like the bullshit BATFE has been caught at multiple times, where they basically walk away from it(sometimes with praise from various idiot politicians), or will the hammer come down on them the way it should?
That's to be seen. Or, considering NSA, not seen but hoped for. I understand that we are in the First Terrorist War, and things have to be done. I do NOT give a blanket exemption to law on that basis; I do understand, as I said, that things have to be done.
Yesterday I clicked onto some lefty blog I hadn't seen before, and the writer expressed the opinion that the only reasons he could see that there was not widespread outrage among all people was that a: they hadn't heard the facts about this story, b: don't understand this story, or c: don't care about their rights being trampled. Not even registering was the possibility that d:, they heard about it, understand it, care very much about their rights, and understand this is looking for the enemy, not your grocery list/girlfriends bra size or whatever. With few exceptions NOBODY likes the government snooping around(I think the people who say things like "If you're not doing anything wrong, you shouldn't mind your car/home/records being searched" are fools); lots of people DO understand that we're in a fight for our national/cultural survival here, and this is one of the tools the fighting is done with.
I'm out of time, but that about covers it anyway.
I am in no way comfortable with the government snooping into anything in my life. I don't like having to get government approval to buy a firearm or carry, I don't like that banks have to report certain types of transactions to the feds, I don't like various agencies having the power to screw you over that they do, etc. Overall I tend to agree with Reagans' comment that the most terrifying words you can hear are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help". Overdramatizing a bit, but sometimes not by much. Sometimes not at all.
I do understand that there are reasons for some of it(sometimes idiot reasons that aren't near good enough). And sometimes the reasons are good. This is one of those cases. From what I gather, this is not some spook or clerk listening to you tell your girlfriend what you have in mind for the weekend; they're looking for calls to and from certain places and numbers and if something matches up, doing the legal stuff to look further into it.
Am I real comfortable with it? Hell no! I am NEVER real comfortable with such things, the potential for abuse is too real and constant. I've mentioned having worked with some LE databases in the past; these things are necessary and do a lot of good, but the damn things are abused constantly by people who don't think/don't care/figure "I am the Law, and I can do what I want". Same thing with programs like this. Will there be abuses? Almost certainly. The key there becomes what happens when someone's caught abusing it. Will it be like the bullshit BATFE has been caught at multiple times, where they basically walk away from it(sometimes with praise from various idiot politicians), or will the hammer come down on them the way it should?
That's to be seen. Or, considering NSA, not seen but hoped for. I understand that we are in the First Terrorist War, and things have to be done. I do NOT give a blanket exemption to law on that basis; I do understand, as I said, that things have to be done.
Yesterday I clicked onto some lefty blog I hadn't seen before, and the writer expressed the opinion that the only reasons he could see that there was not widespread outrage among all people was that a: they hadn't heard the facts about this story, b: don't understand this story, or c: don't care about their rights being trampled. Not even registering was the possibility that d:, they heard about it, understand it, care very much about their rights, and understand this is looking for the enemy, not your grocery list/girlfriends bra size or whatever. With few exceptions NOBODY likes the government snooping around(I think the people who say things like "If you're not doing anything wrong, you shouldn't mind your car/home/records being searched" are fools); lots of people DO understand that we're in a fight for our national/cultural survival here, and this is one of the tools the fighting is done with.
I'm out of time, but that about covers it anyway.
Friday, May 12, 2006
More on Britain circling the drain
Found this over at Alphecca, and it's bad enough on its own. But be sure to check out the comments for worse, including:
"Freedom of speech no longer exists. I cannot for example, legally praise the American or irish or Itallian wars of indepenance (i'd be supporting terrorism), I cannot stand up at a political meeting and say "that is untrue" as I would be protesting without permission."
"Freedom of speech no longer exists. I cannot for example, legally praise the American or irish or Itallian wars of indepenance (i'd be supporting terrorism), I cannot stand up at a political meeting and say "that is untrue" as I would be protesting without permission."
Further good news; food this time
(urp...'scuse me) Having found myself starving after a: getting off work b: mowing & edging c: finding it was now 8 p.m., I decided to try an Indian restaurant that opened not too long ago at 50th & May here. Wasn't(belch) bad at all, which is why I'm sitting here stuffed.
This brought back one of the reasons I'd have a hell of a time going on a no-carbs diet: naan. It's a flatbread, and I love it. God, I could make a meal out of a bunch of it and some butter. Or cheese.
Lamb curry and chicken something hot enough to make you sweat, good flavor, lots of other good stuff but that's what I ('scuse me again) had the most of. Soon as I can remember the name(mmmmm, good reason to swing by later) I'll add it to this.
This brought back one of the reasons I'd have a hell of a time going on a no-carbs diet: naan. It's a flatbread, and I love it. God, I could make a meal out of a bunch of it and some butter. Or cheese.
Lamb curry and chicken something hot enough to make you sweat, good flavor, lots of other good stuff but that's what I ('scuse me again) had the most of. Soon as I can remember the name(mmmmm, good reason to swing by later) I'll add it to this.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Aaron strikes back!
The jihadi weenies have hit him again, so to keep them entertained, he created this!
Mwahahahahahahahaha!
Mwahahahahahahahaha!
The red-dot strikes!
Or something like that. Over the last while I've taken notice of the shooting Mr. Completely does with red-dot sights, and wondered if they might be worth trying. However, being cheap conservative with money, never got around to it.
Last time I was at the range, there was a man there with two Beretta Neo pistols with new red-dots he was sighting in. I asked how he liked them and he handed me a couple of loaded magazines, pointed to one and said "Try it". Don't you just love gunny people? So I put two mags through, and it was great. And I've got the Trailside which has a 3/8" dovetail on the barrel... So, remembering Mr. having mentioned some inexpensive sights at Sportsmans Guide I checked them out and bought this one. It's a Barska 25mm, 11 brightness settings, comes with rings and a battery for fifteen bucks. Of course the rings that come with it are for a standard Weaver-type rail so I needed rings, so off to Midway and browse around. Yes! 30mm rings for a .22 receiver for a good price! 'Course while I was there I remembered something else I needed to check on, and one other thing(report later)... So rings were on the way. And it being from Midway, three days later they arrived. So the sight was mounted on the pistol:
Took it to the range tonight to sight in & try it out. It has click adjustments for windage & elevation like a scope, and just took a little shoot & adjust to center it, after which I tried it at ranges from about ten yards to 20.
And it's nice. Very quick to line up, doesn't add much weight and unlike iron sights the dot doesn't get fuzzy when my eyes get tired. I put a little over a hundred rounds through, and shot very well with it. I didn't run the target out to 25 yards because the targets I was using have a 2" bull, and at 20 the dot completely covered it. At ten you could place the dot in the center of the bull and squeeze off, at 20 hide the bull with the dot and fire.
Ok, I'm a believer. Now I want to get a forward mount rigged for a rifle and try it out on that; if it's as handy as this is- and I believe it will be- I'll be a very happy gunny.
Last time I was at the range, there was a man there with two Beretta Neo pistols with new red-dots he was sighting in. I asked how he liked them and he handed me a couple of loaded magazines, pointed to one and said "Try it". Don't you just love gunny people? So I put two mags through, and it was great. And I've got the Trailside which has a 3/8" dovetail on the barrel... So, remembering Mr. having mentioned some inexpensive sights at Sportsmans Guide I checked them out and bought this one. It's a Barska 25mm, 11 brightness settings, comes with rings and a battery for fifteen bucks. Of course the rings that come with it are for a standard Weaver-type rail so I needed rings, so off to Midway and browse around. Yes! 30mm rings for a .22 receiver for a good price! 'Course while I was there I remembered something else I needed to check on, and one other thing(report later)... So rings were on the way. And it being from Midway, three days later they arrived. So the sight was mounted on the pistol:
Took it to the range tonight to sight in & try it out. It has click adjustments for windage & elevation like a scope, and just took a little shoot & adjust to center it, after which I tried it at ranges from about ten yards to 20.
And it's nice. Very quick to line up, doesn't add much weight and unlike iron sights the dot doesn't get fuzzy when my eyes get tired. I put a little over a hundred rounds through, and shot very well with it. I didn't run the target out to 25 yards because the targets I was using have a 2" bull, and at 20 the dot completely covered it. At ten you could place the dot in the center of the bull and squeeze off, at 20 hide the bull with the dot and fire.
Ok, I'm a believer. Now I want to get a forward mount rigged for a rifle and try it out on that; if it's as handy as this is- and I believe it will be- I'll be a very happy gunny.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Wonderful! Another good reason to buy a gun!
Looked over at Mr. Completely and found this: Blogger-Buy-A-Gun-Anniversary.
Although my anniversary is months away... but what if I can't find The Thing then?...("Remember the budget, Luke")... how about?...
Dammit, like I needed this.
Although my anniversary is months away... but what if I can't find The Thing then?...("Remember the budget, Luke")... how about?...
Dammit, like I needed this.
Update on earlier post on the murdering dirtbags
the lefties and socialists want to win. Found a link to it at Michelle Malkin, here's the actual update at The Jawa Report.
"A gruesome beheading video delivered to the Sunday Times purporting to be of slain journalist Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded. That video is now being circulated on the internet as the "Atwar Bahjat" beheading video. The Jawa Report can reveal that the Times and Halal Jabar, the author of the article, are victims of a hoax. The video actually shows the gruesome murder of a Nepalese man by the Army of Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq from August of 2004. The man was one of 12 victims executed by the terrorist organization--the other 11 were shot"
"The Army of Ansar al-Sunna has murdered dozens of civilians in Iraq. The organization is an offshoot of the Army of Ansar al-Islam--a Kurdish Islamist organization. The group routinely murders those suspected of collaborating with the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Before the group murders their hostages they accuse them of 'apostasy', a crime punishable by death under Islamic law. They therefore justify their murders as 'executions' for 'crimes' committed against Islam."
The lady in question appears to have been shot by the terrorists, and for some reason the dirtbags used a copy of this hostage murder to say they had cut her head off on film.
I have a question: does any of this make what the murderers did any less repulsive?
I didn't think so.
"A gruesome beheading video delivered to the Sunday Times purporting to be of slain journalist Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded. That video is now being circulated on the internet as the "Atwar Bahjat" beheading video. The Jawa Report can reveal that the Times and Halal Jabar, the author of the article, are victims of a hoax. The video actually shows the gruesome murder of a Nepalese man by the Army of Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq from August of 2004. The man was one of 12 victims executed by the terrorist organization--the other 11 were shot"
"The Army of Ansar al-Sunna has murdered dozens of civilians in Iraq. The organization is an offshoot of the Army of Ansar al-Islam--a Kurdish Islamist organization. The group routinely murders those suspected of collaborating with the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Before the group murders their hostages they accuse them of 'apostasy', a crime punishable by death under Islamic law. They therefore justify their murders as 'executions' for 'crimes' committed against Islam."
The lady in question appears to have been shot by the terrorists, and for some reason the dirtbags used a copy of this hostage murder to say they had cut her head off on film.
I have a question: does any of this make what the murderers did any less repulsive?
I didn't think so.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Just to spoil your good mood
Assuming you have one. JPFO sent me a link to this transcript of a radio interview with Len Savage, a guy who's been going 'round & 'round with BATFE. Interesting reading.
One quote to whet your appetite:
Len: We now have some things documented that I would like to share with you. #1 We now know, and it is in writing, that the ATF is above the law. We have always asserted that they acted that way, but now they assert that they are. On April 4th an assistant director wrote me a piece of correspondence and specifically stated that the employees of the ATF are statutorily exempted from having to follow the NFA or GCA.
Check it out
One quote to whet your appetite:
Len: We now have some things documented that I would like to share with you. #1 We now know, and it is in writing, that the ATF is above the law. We have always asserted that they acted that way, but now they assert that they are. On April 4th an assistant director wrote me a piece of correspondence and specifically stated that the employees of the ATF are statutorily exempted from having to follow the NFA or GCA.
Check it out
This is why we have to stomp these shits NOW
Go to Mudville Gazette and read this. The account of the torture and murder of a woman- by slowly cutting her head off- by the semi-human assholes that the moonbats and socialists and leftists want to win.
And if the combined assholes have their way, these BPMs will be doing this in Europe, and in Britain, and finally here.
Do the letters 'FFC' mean anything to you, you shits?
And if the combined assholes have their way, these BPMs will be doing this in Europe, and in Britain, and finally here.
Do the letters 'FFC' mean anything to you, you shits?
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Why the term 'ivory-tower intellectual' is an insult
Over at Wizbang there's a post on a symposium held at Swarthmore College, 'symposium' being a place where intellectuals superior to all others(they'll tell you so) gather to decide just how the world should be run by either themselves or someone they select. Here's the quote that inspired my title:
"At the conclusion of the first session, after a rousing discussion focused on promoting hardcore redistribution of wealth in the world, Mr. Barber opined:
"At the conclusion of the first session, after a rousing discussion focused on promoting hardcore redistribution of wealth in the world, Mr. Barber opined:
The last point I want to make for now has to do with the nature of the discussion we've been having and what might be the political viability of the debates that we so-called "public intellectuals"engage in. When I try to imagine an African-American, unemployed guy from Detroit or Arkansas, an out of work (what did Howard Dean call him?) confederate guy with a shotgun in his pick-up truck, sitting here and listening to us talk, I realize that a number of the things we say in good faith and with impressive intellectual clarity and historical perspective are nevertheless politically unviable as ways of talking about the world. We haven't yet found a language that takes the vitally important, moral, philosophical and historical points we're making here and translates them into a language that ordinary Americans will understand."
I'll let that speak for itself, straight from the world of overeducated fools.Saturday, May 06, 2006
Touching back on the 'Commies for Illegals' day,
mASS BACKWARDS has a note on just what the nation of Mexico required from an American living in Mexico to get a work visa:
"During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from The St. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on earth" letter. It was fun to write. All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right."
But Fox & Co. are demanding that Mexicans be allowed to enter the U.S. and work at will with no restrictions.
I repeat, Fox & Co. can kiss my ass. And if our government doesn't get real serious about stopping this crap, then all of them- R's and D's both- need to be kicked the hell out of those offices and replaced with someone who will.
"During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from The St. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on earth" letter. It was fun to write. All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right."
But Fox & Co. are demanding that Mexicans be allowed to enter the U.S. and work at will with no restrictions.
I repeat, Fox & Co. can kiss my ass. And if our government doesn't get real serious about stopping this crap, then all of them- R's and D's both- need to be kicked the hell out of those offices and replaced with someone who will.
This is one of those "I heard it at the shop" things
Went into a local store (Outdoor Outfitters if you must know; nice place and nice people) and, having discovered they carry the Hornady TAP 12guage I wanted, wound up in the conversation with a gentleman looking at a pistol. He was looking for something for in the home and had little handgun experience, and was looking at a- to put it bluntly- POS semi-auto in .380 because it was inexpensive cheap. Talk went round about different pistols and I finally asked if he'd considered a good revolver? Talk turned to the good points of one and the counter guy pulled out a S&W hammerless .38 Special. Which the guy really liked. He was still looking around and didn't buy today, but I think he had a better perspective on what to look for.
During the course of all this the salesman mentioned what they'd been hearing about a "certain female politician" who, if winning the White House, had a New Brady Bill planned(he didn't say where the info came from and I didn't ask). Included in the plans were:
Any firearm with a muzzle velocity of more than 2200fps restricted to law enforcement & military only.
Any firearm with a magazine capacity of more than six rounds, LE and military only, handgun AND rifle.
If you wanted to keep your firearms at home you would have to have a government-approved(i.e. expensive and heavy) safe properly installed and inspected; and if this passed you can bet there'd be a note that the authorities could enter your home any time to 'inspect' your home for 'safe storage and compliance'.
If you couldn't afford/didn't want the above, you could only store your arms at a licensed gun club.
That's what they'd been hearing from people. I assume that also included in this would be some federal licensing scheme for gun owners(expensive and difficult as possible) and federal restrictions on concealed carry. Unless, of course, you're like Schumer and Feinstein and Boxer and company and are more important than common citazens and need a special permit to carry and keep at your home without the safe, etc.
I tend to believe it; it sounds like the kind of crap Clinton & Co. would like to ram down our throats. It also brings us something I was thinking about after this, which connects to the 'what is your trigger?' question. Lots of people have planned to have some no-paperwork firearms and ammo hidden away for dire emergency. I only have one problem with that outside of natural disaster/terrorist attack scenarios; if you're doing is so you'll still have a gun after a government ban? If you have a firearm or two hidden away but you're not able to shoot it or let anyone else know about it because the minions of government will show up with a SWAT team, then we're screwed. Not just gun owners, everybody. If it hits that point of control & intrusiveness, then the 4th Amendment as well as the 2nd and probably the 1st- at minimum- will have been trashed, and EVERYBODY is screwed. And we're into the real serious "Not is it too soon to shoot the bastards, but too late?" question.
And it will get very, very messy and nasty.
During the course of all this the salesman mentioned what they'd been hearing about a "certain female politician" who, if winning the White House, had a New Brady Bill planned(he didn't say where the info came from and I didn't ask). Included in the plans were:
Any firearm with a muzzle velocity of more than 2200fps restricted to law enforcement & military only.
Any firearm with a magazine capacity of more than six rounds, LE and military only, handgun AND rifle.
If you wanted to keep your firearms at home you would have to have a government-approved(i.e. expensive and heavy) safe properly installed and inspected; and if this passed you can bet there'd be a note that the authorities could enter your home any time to 'inspect' your home for 'safe storage and compliance'.
If you couldn't afford/didn't want the above, you could only store your arms at a licensed gun club.
That's what they'd been hearing from people. I assume that also included in this would be some federal licensing scheme for gun owners(expensive and difficult as possible) and federal restrictions on concealed carry. Unless, of course, you're like Schumer and Feinstein and Boxer and company and are more important than common citazens and need a special permit to carry and keep at your home without the safe, etc.
I tend to believe it; it sounds like the kind of crap Clinton & Co. would like to ram down our throats. It also brings us something I was thinking about after this, which connects to the 'what is your trigger?' question. Lots of people have planned to have some no-paperwork firearms and ammo hidden away for dire emergency. I only have one problem with that outside of natural disaster/terrorist attack scenarios; if you're doing is so you'll still have a gun after a government ban? If you have a firearm or two hidden away but you're not able to shoot it or let anyone else know about it because the minions of government will show up with a SWAT team, then we're screwed. Not just gun owners, everybody. If it hits that point of control & intrusiveness, then the 4th Amendment as well as the 2nd and probably the 1st- at minimum- will have been trashed, and EVERYBODY is screwed. And we're into the real serious "Not is it too soon to shoot the bastards, but too late?" question.
And it will get very, very messy and nasty.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
And some good news on 'Stand Your Ground'
This bill has been passed by the state Senate and is on the Governors' desk.
Had you heard about the miners trapped in Tasmania?
Tim Blair has been following this. Apparently when an earthquake caused a cave-in, these two were somewhat protected by a cage. They've drilled a hole to get food and water to them(and Ipods for entertainment) and they now have a boring machine cutting a rescue tunnel.
Deep-hole mining; that's a job I don't know if I could do, even without the threat of earthquakes.
Deep-hole mining; that's a job I don't know if I could do, even without the threat of earthquakes.
A friend sent me this,
and now I've seen it various places(curses, they beat me to it!)
As the friend said, "Look at his hat!"
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
May 3rd, seven years later
May 3, 1999, we had a bloody awful tornado outbreak. If I remember right there were seventy-some tornados in Oklahoma that day & evening with several big ones. The one that got the most attention, and still does, is the one that started near Chickasha in southwest OK, came northeast and just about wiped a couple of towns, turned east just south of Oklahoma City, went through Moore, then northeast again through(mainly) Midwest City, continued through a town called Stroud and finally broke up and went away.
One of the things that made it famous was it was the first time the National Weather Service stormchasers were able to get their doppler radar trucks(two of them) in position to get windspeed readings on a F5 tornado. Official reading 319mph. Of course they said there's a seven mph error factor, so it could have been as low as 312 or as high as 326. In any case, it was bad.
My family and acquaintances came through ok. Couple of people I know at work lived in the Midwest City area and took home damage; I and the ex and kids live in the northwest side and it missed us completely. I'd been at the forge most of the day, and in the afternoon I finally stepped back, stretched, got a drink and for the first time that day actually looked at the sky and felt the air. And decided I should put the fire out and turn on something to check the weather. Cut the fire off, put what I could away- some stuff had to cool off- washed up, turned on the tv and got a drink. I came out of the kitchen about ten seconds before the broadcast showed the monster touching down. Wasn't that big at first, but it grew. And grew. I called the kids to make sure they were ready just in case, and watched it progress. One of the things that made this much less lethal than it could have been was the fact that both on the ground and in the air the NWS and at least three tv stations and a radio station or two had chasers following the thing from the time it touched ground almost until it disappeared.
So people could listen to and watch the progress, and head for their holes or in the case of drivers get the hell out of the way. It was heading for southwest OKC when I called a friend who lived down there to make sure she was aware; she was, and getting her closet ready to hide in. Now, a regular closet wasn't going to mean a damn thing to this beast, but seeing as she was already worked up I didn't say that. I did tell her that I didn't think it'd hit her area; big funnels often make a right turn at some point, and I thought it might(my crystal ball was working that day). It skirted about 1.5-2 miles south of her- too damn close, she later told me in as close to profanity as I ever heard her get- and headed for Moore. Note: one of my forecasting aids was the dogs. They were scared to death of severe storms, and either hid or, if you were outside, stuck to your legs and wouldn't move away, but today they were in the middle of the yard playing.
So we watched it move along, video from ground and air both(one news chopper had been following it so long they had to land and refuel) as it got bigger. To give you an idea, at its' widest on the ground it was right at one mile across; on doppler radar the circulation in the storm creating it was six miles across. And the choppers followed it as it went through the cities like a vacuum through a dirt spill on the floor. Block after block of houses became clean foundation slabs surrounded by rubble, and right in the middle of this I got a phone call that I at first thought was a guy from work. Went like this:
"Are you ok?"
me "Yeah, I'm fine"
pause. " I think I got the wrong number. Where are you?"
"I'm northwest OKC"
"What's it doing there?"
"Little wind, little rain, that's about it."
"Well, I'm in Midwest City in the storm cellar with eight neighbors and three dogs, and it sounds like hell outside."
We talked a minute, then he said he had to call the one he'd intended to and hung up.
So it stomped and tore its' way through and left the metro area. Further out, a couple of guys from a radio station were in a hurry to get home; a wind gust blew them into the drainage ditch along the turnpike and both saved their lives and gave them a ringside seat as the thing destroyed the Stroud mall. And then it went away.
We lost some people, only a few; wasn't that long ago there would have been hundreds from a beast like this. Lots of property damage and lots of property destroyed. Bear safe company dealer had a picture he used for quite a while of a foundation swept clean except for the safe standing there; the owner had bolted it down properly and it hadn't budged. But most everything else in the path just went away.
And everybody came out. People looking for neighbors, people for miles around coming to help. People loaded injured in their trucks and took them to the nearest hospital, often on four flat tires from all the metal and glass in the streets. Very little in the way of looting reported, probably because the scum that would think of it realized that if they got caught the least they could expect was a royal ass-kicking.
About two weeks after I had to drive through the area on NE 10th street, and what it looked a lot like was some pictures I've seen of an area after either a major bombing attack or an artillery barrage that walked through; they damn sure couldn't have done any more damage.
Every time I think about this I remember that phone call.
Oh, and there's a severe thunderstorm watch area over most of western OK. It's that time of year.
One of the things that made it famous was it was the first time the National Weather Service stormchasers were able to get their doppler radar trucks(two of them) in position to get windspeed readings on a F5 tornado. Official reading 319mph. Of course they said there's a seven mph error factor, so it could have been as low as 312 or as high as 326. In any case, it was bad.
My family and acquaintances came through ok. Couple of people I know at work lived in the Midwest City area and took home damage; I and the ex and kids live in the northwest side and it missed us completely. I'd been at the forge most of the day, and in the afternoon I finally stepped back, stretched, got a drink and for the first time that day actually looked at the sky and felt the air. And decided I should put the fire out and turn on something to check the weather. Cut the fire off, put what I could away- some stuff had to cool off- washed up, turned on the tv and got a drink. I came out of the kitchen about ten seconds before the broadcast showed the monster touching down. Wasn't that big at first, but it grew. And grew. I called the kids to make sure they were ready just in case, and watched it progress. One of the things that made this much less lethal than it could have been was the fact that both on the ground and in the air the NWS and at least three tv stations and a radio station or two had chasers following the thing from the time it touched ground almost until it disappeared.
So people could listen to and watch the progress, and head for their holes or in the case of drivers get the hell out of the way. It was heading for southwest OKC when I called a friend who lived down there to make sure she was aware; she was, and getting her closet ready to hide in. Now, a regular closet wasn't going to mean a damn thing to this beast, but seeing as she was already worked up I didn't say that. I did tell her that I didn't think it'd hit her area; big funnels often make a right turn at some point, and I thought it might(my crystal ball was working that day). It skirted about 1.5-2 miles south of her- too damn close, she later told me in as close to profanity as I ever heard her get- and headed for Moore. Note: one of my forecasting aids was the dogs. They were scared to death of severe storms, and either hid or, if you were outside, stuck to your legs and wouldn't move away, but today they were in the middle of the yard playing.
So we watched it move along, video from ground and air both(one news chopper had been following it so long they had to land and refuel) as it got bigger. To give you an idea, at its' widest on the ground it was right at one mile across; on doppler radar the circulation in the storm creating it was six miles across. And the choppers followed it as it went through the cities like a vacuum through a dirt spill on the floor. Block after block of houses became clean foundation slabs surrounded by rubble, and right in the middle of this I got a phone call that I at first thought was a guy from work. Went like this:
"Are you ok?"
me "Yeah, I'm fine"
pause. " I think I got the wrong number. Where are you?"
"I'm northwest OKC"
"What's it doing there?"
"Little wind, little rain, that's about it."
"Well, I'm in Midwest City in the storm cellar with eight neighbors and three dogs, and it sounds like hell outside."
We talked a minute, then he said he had to call the one he'd intended to and hung up.
So it stomped and tore its' way through and left the metro area. Further out, a couple of guys from a radio station were in a hurry to get home; a wind gust blew them into the drainage ditch along the turnpike and both saved their lives and gave them a ringside seat as the thing destroyed the Stroud mall. And then it went away.
We lost some people, only a few; wasn't that long ago there would have been hundreds from a beast like this. Lots of property damage and lots of property destroyed. Bear safe company dealer had a picture he used for quite a while of a foundation swept clean except for the safe standing there; the owner had bolted it down properly and it hadn't budged. But most everything else in the path just went away.
And everybody came out. People looking for neighbors, people for miles around coming to help. People loaded injured in their trucks and took them to the nearest hospital, often on four flat tires from all the metal and glass in the streets. Very little in the way of looting reported, probably because the scum that would think of it realized that if they got caught the least they could expect was a royal ass-kicking.
About two weeks after I had to drive through the area on NE 10th street, and what it looked a lot like was some pictures I've seen of an area after either a major bombing attack or an artillery barrage that walked through; they damn sure couldn't have done any more damage.
Every time I think about this I remember that phone call.
Oh, and there's a severe thunderstorm watch area over most of western OK. It's that time of year.
And while I have a moment, before I leave my soapbox,
behold the bullshit ongoing in the Duke 'rape' case. I put it that way because at this point there is not one solid piece of evidence that I've heard of that proves these guys did it. Note: if they DID in fact rape her, they need to be hung up by the short & curlies for a while. For a start. However...
The 'They're accused, they're guilty!" crap has gone on far too long. Between feminist nutcases and the 'blacks are always victims' groups, it seems we should dispense with those little extras like 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'fair trial' and just get around to hanging them.
God, what a load of crap.
The 'They're accused, they're guilty!" crap has gone on far too long. Between feminist nutcases and the 'blacks are always victims' groups, it seems we should dispense with those little extras like 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'fair trial' and just get around to hanging them.
God, what a load of crap.
Darfur
has been a bloody mess for quite a while now. The 'official' notice of the ongoing genocide and general rapes, murders and slavery have been noted for what, three years now? Various people and groups have been screaming about it for that whole time, and basically all that's happened are words. LOTS of words. And, of course, the U.N. is right in the middle of it throwing words and hints of disappointment and so forth.
But now, it is a Cause! It has been Noticed! For George Clooney and Barak Obama have taken notice! And they're speaking out and urging Action! Right Now!
Which does bring up the question "Where have you been for the last couple of years or so, jackass?
Oh yeah, protesting Bushy McChimplerburton and his Evil War, yeah!
I've been sick of these clowns for a long, long time and they just seem to like making the nausea worse. There've been a number of articles in various papers and whatever talking about it, and urging 'action'. Usually unspecified 'action' but it needs to be done now! Oh, and who's at fault? Why, Bushy McChimplerburton, of course! Never mind that even most of these jerks admit he's actually tried to do more than anyone else in a national leadership, HE HASN'T DONE ENOUGH! 'Course, if he found a couple of divisions of infantry with nothing else to do and dropped them into the place with orders to clean it up, whatever it takes, these same jerks would be calling him a racist and a murderer, etc., for acting without(among other things) 'international agreement'. Which is code for "The UN should be in charge!", which would mean nothing would be done except the spending of lots of money and the exhalation of lots of greenhouse gases from many bloviating officials and politicians.
One of the various things that really pissed me off about the mess in Kosovo was a cartoon in some paper(from Europe somewhere, mind you) showing some guy reading the paper; the headlines were about the reported mass murders, etc., and this guy is saying "This is terrible! When are the Americans going to do something?" The God-cursed European powers wouldn't do squat, the U.N. blue helmets were basically acting as speed bumps for the idiots on both sides, but WE are supposed to take care of it. All under the wise guidance and control of the U.N. and European leaders, of course.
It's been mentioned before, but you know what would really set these people off? Arms. Get a boatload of small arms and ammunition and some people to train and send it to the people being murdered and raped and enslaved. Give them the arms and knowledge to protect themselves. The ANSWER commies and the 'peace activists' and the U.N. and all the usual politicians here would scream like a raped ape and give birth to masses of kittens. But something would get done. And the people being trampled would be doing it for themselves. Which is actually what would scare the above-noted usual suspects the most.
There is no easy answer for this, and the crap level is in large part due to the inaction of the U.N., etc., so far. Much better and easier to talk and talk and talk over piles of bodies and lines of people in chains than to actually do something, right?
But now, it is a Cause! It has been Noticed! For George Clooney and Barak Obama have taken notice! And they're speaking out and urging Action! Right Now!
Which does bring up the question "Where have you been for the last couple of years or so, jackass?
Oh yeah, protesting Bushy McChimplerburton and his Evil War, yeah!
I've been sick of these clowns for a long, long time and they just seem to like making the nausea worse. There've been a number of articles in various papers and whatever talking about it, and urging 'action'. Usually unspecified 'action' but it needs to be done now! Oh, and who's at fault? Why, Bushy McChimplerburton, of course! Never mind that even most of these jerks admit he's actually tried to do more than anyone else in a national leadership, HE HASN'T DONE ENOUGH! 'Course, if he found a couple of divisions of infantry with nothing else to do and dropped them into the place with orders to clean it up, whatever it takes, these same jerks would be calling him a racist and a murderer, etc., for acting without(among other things) 'international agreement'. Which is code for "The UN should be in charge!", which would mean nothing would be done except the spending of lots of money and the exhalation of lots of greenhouse gases from many bloviating officials and politicians.
One of the various things that really pissed me off about the mess in Kosovo was a cartoon in some paper(from Europe somewhere, mind you) showing some guy reading the paper; the headlines were about the reported mass murders, etc., and this guy is saying "This is terrible! When are the Americans going to do something?" The God-cursed European powers wouldn't do squat, the U.N. blue helmets were basically acting as speed bumps for the idiots on both sides, but WE are supposed to take care of it. All under the wise guidance and control of the U.N. and European leaders, of course.
It's been mentioned before, but you know what would really set these people off? Arms. Get a boatload of small arms and ammunition and some people to train and send it to the people being murdered and raped and enslaved. Give them the arms and knowledge to protect themselves. The ANSWER commies and the 'peace activists' and the U.N. and all the usual politicians here would scream like a raped ape and give birth to masses of kittens. But something would get done. And the people being trampled would be doing it for themselves. Which is actually what would scare the above-noted usual suspects the most.
There is no easy answer for this, and the crap level is in large part due to the inaction of the U.N., etc., so far. Much better and easier to talk and talk and talk over piles of bodies and lines of people in chains than to actually do something, right?
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
What's my trigger point?
Over at The High Road there've been a couple of posts over the last while asking "What is the point/what is the act that sets you off?", as in at what point would you tell the government rep that shows up at your door to go to hell?
I'm thinking about that because it hit me at the range yesterday. I was putting away the .30-30. It's an old Model 94, with damaged bluing on the right front and bottom front of the receiver. My parents gave it to me when I was 14. In the years since I've fired something on the order of a richeous buttload of ammo through it. I once tried out one of the side-mount scope setups, I fiddled with things to the irritation of my dad("It works fine now!") but it's always been mine. After all that, now it sits with the original rear sight removed and a filler block taking up the dovetail, a Williams aperture sight on the receiver and the front bead replaced with a post. When putting the post on, I tapped on the bead base and the whole sight came off; it seems there was a touch of solder at the very front and the very back and nothing in between, God knows why it didn't pop off while shooting at some point. So clean and tin and drag the torch in the house and resolder it... My son fired it a lot, starting when he was so light he had to put the rear beanbag between the butt and his shoulder, and had to move it back so he could reach far enough ahead to cycle the action all the way.
And it hit me as I looked at it; if someone came for it, I'd fight. Politician or some poor bastard in uniform, I'd fight. If the clowns in D.C. or the state capitol and their minions decided that peasants like me could not be trusted with such a thing and came to take it, that's it. The anger that washed over me at the thought was fearsome. There's a big difference between theoretical discussion of something and something grabbing you by the guts and saying "THIS IS IT".
This is not the only thing that would by the line for me; it's the thing that, in most recent history, has brought home to me that there is a line that cannot be crossed without violence. That is a fearsome thought; it makes hormones flow and emotions spike. And it should. It's like the rage I felt against the murdering shits that attacked us on 9/11 and have been murdering people around the world before and since. It's the fury at being told by some slimy politician- all too often grown up in wealth and privilege and never having had their hands dirty in work- that you don't know what's best for you, and "us smart people, those deserving of authority, will take care of the thinking for you. It's looking at what happened to some kid and thinking "If someone touched my kid that way, their only two choices would be prison or grave", and meaning every damn word.
This is a nation of laws, and yet we keep seeing politicians being and using people who think the laws don't apply to them; who think that the Constitution is something to be stretched and cut and folded and chopped to fit what they've decided is appropriate for the current world("After all, can't let that outmoded thinking get in the way of progressive ideas, now can we?"). I truly believe that the reason some people want the citazen disarmed is not because of crime concerns, it's because they fear trying to push some of their crap through if people have an actual way to draw a line and say "No. Step over this line and the Restoration War starts."
It's not a pleasant line of thought, and putting some of this down scares me a bit. Hell, it scares me a lot. But it's something that has to be looked at and dealt with.
And trying not to think about it won't work.
I'm thinking about that because it hit me at the range yesterday. I was putting away the .30-30. It's an old Model 94, with damaged bluing on the right front and bottom front of the receiver. My parents gave it to me when I was 14. In the years since I've fired something on the order of a richeous buttload of ammo through it. I once tried out one of the side-mount scope setups, I fiddled with things to the irritation of my dad("It works fine now!") but it's always been mine. After all that, now it sits with the original rear sight removed and a filler block taking up the dovetail, a Williams aperture sight on the receiver and the front bead replaced with a post. When putting the post on, I tapped on the bead base and the whole sight came off; it seems there was a touch of solder at the very front and the very back and nothing in between, God knows why it didn't pop off while shooting at some point. So clean and tin and drag the torch in the house and resolder it... My son fired it a lot, starting when he was so light he had to put the rear beanbag between the butt and his shoulder, and had to move it back so he could reach far enough ahead to cycle the action all the way.
And it hit me as I looked at it; if someone came for it, I'd fight. Politician or some poor bastard in uniform, I'd fight. If the clowns in D.C. or the state capitol and their minions decided that peasants like me could not be trusted with such a thing and came to take it, that's it. The anger that washed over me at the thought was fearsome. There's a big difference between theoretical discussion of something and something grabbing you by the guts and saying "THIS IS IT".
This is not the only thing that would by the line for me; it's the thing that, in most recent history, has brought home to me that there is a line that cannot be crossed without violence. That is a fearsome thought; it makes hormones flow and emotions spike. And it should. It's like the rage I felt against the murdering shits that attacked us on 9/11 and have been murdering people around the world before and since. It's the fury at being told by some slimy politician- all too often grown up in wealth and privilege and never having had their hands dirty in work- that you don't know what's best for you, and "us smart people, those deserving of authority, will take care of the thinking for you. It's looking at what happened to some kid and thinking "If someone touched my kid that way, their only two choices would be prison or grave", and meaning every damn word.
This is a nation of laws, and yet we keep seeing politicians being and using people who think the laws don't apply to them; who think that the Constitution is something to be stretched and cut and folded and chopped to fit what they've decided is appropriate for the current world("After all, can't let that outmoded thinking get in the way of progressive ideas, now can we?"). I truly believe that the reason some people want the citazen disarmed is not because of crime concerns, it's because they fear trying to push some of their crap through if people have an actual way to draw a line and say "No. Step over this line and the Restoration War starts."
It's not a pleasant line of thought, and putting some of this down scares me a bit. Hell, it scares me a lot. But it's something that has to be looked at and dealt with.
And trying not to think about it won't work.
New Orleans is officially the Stupid AND Corrupt City
Today we find that "Mayor Ray Nagin unveiled a new evacuation strategy for New Orleans on Tuesday that relies more on buses and trains and eliminates the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters."
You know, kind of like the plan they had BEFORE Katrina? The one that this corrupt, sorry clown threw out BEFORE the hurricane hit? The trains the mayors office TURNED DOWN the use of? The places the OLD plan said shouldn't be used as shelters? Etc.?
Several things here: That this clown was reelected; that the election pitted two faces of the same corroded coin; that the media seems to be letting him get by with this 'new strategy' crap; put all of it together, and I don't give a crap anymore how much of history is tied up in that damned city. If, after a disaster of this level, with the corruption and incompetence shown, they can't clean house by voting the bastards out, then to hell with the place. Not one more bleepin' dime of our tax money do I want to see wasted down there. Oh, and who's he facing in the runoff? "First, however, Nagin faces an election runoff. His challenger, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, got 29 percent to Nagin's 38 percent in the April election." Gee, 'Landrieu', where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah, his sister Mary.
God help the state of Louisiana.
You know, kind of like the plan they had BEFORE Katrina? The one that this corrupt, sorry clown threw out BEFORE the hurricane hit? The trains the mayors office TURNED DOWN the use of? The places the OLD plan said shouldn't be used as shelters? Etc.?
Several things here: That this clown was reelected; that the election pitted two faces of the same corroded coin; that the media seems to be letting him get by with this 'new strategy' crap; put all of it together, and I don't give a crap anymore how much of history is tied up in that damned city. If, after a disaster of this level, with the corruption and incompetence shown, they can't clean house by voting the bastards out, then to hell with the place. Not one more bleepin' dime of our tax money do I want to see wasted down there. Oh, and who's he facing in the runoff? "First, however, Nagin faces an election runoff. His challenger, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, got 29 percent to Nagin's 38 percent in the April election." Gee, 'Landrieu', where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah, his sister Mary.
God help the state of Louisiana.
Ref Commie Day for Illegal Aliens
Didn't go find any local marches or search out any of the weenies; went to the range, then took care of stuff around the house. According to local news, there were a number of mexican restaurants closed so their employees could go march.
Did hear an idiot with MechA on Sean Hannitys' show, basically saying the U.S. screwed up the northern & southern American continents, that's why people try to come here and it's OUR responsibility to make everything right; we are(of course) a RACIST NATION, etc., etc., and our borders should be open to ANYONE who wants to come here. Friggin' idiot.
Michelle Malkin has a collection of reports here, here, here; and notes idiocy by the NY state government here. Isn't it interesting that the media somehow doesn't 'report' on the anti-American and commie-loving actions of these clowns?
Enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Did hear an idiot with MechA on Sean Hannitys' show, basically saying the U.S. screwed up the northern & southern American continents, that's why people try to come here and it's OUR responsibility to make everything right; we are(of course) a RACIST NATION, etc., etc., and our borders should be open to ANYONE who wants to come here. Friggin' idiot.
Michelle Malkin has a collection of reports here, here, here; and notes idiocy by the NY state government here. Isn't it interesting that the media somehow doesn't 'report' on the anti-American and commie-loving actions of these clowns?
Enough to piss off the Good Humor man.
Monday, May 01, 2006
It's almost too bad the Germans didn't invade Switzerland;
There'd have been a hell of a lot less of them after the attempt
Range report, K31
To an extent you could sum it up by the above statement
First, let us sing the praises of range day! The sky was clear, the temperature cool, the wind light and the birds were singing. Including a mockingbird sitting on the range house tv antenna not ten yards from my position, who kept singing throughout. And there I was, with a sixty-some-odd year old military rifle in fine condition which, thanks to the Framers, I have the noted right to own. It's good.
Ahem. First a couple of notes. I was using the Swiss surplus ammo with, I believe, 174-grain FMJ bullets. Second, remember I said the front sight was set in a diagonal dovetail?
So windage means, instead of moving the sight left or right, you drift it forward or back. Why this method I don't know, but it works well. The muzzle crown is deeply recessed:
well-protected from getting dinged in the field. And it has an unusual trigger:
What you see is the trigger, the sear is the vertical bar and the horizontal link at the top both holds things in place and provides the pivot for the sear, and the coil spring provides the tension for the works. You pull the trigger, the trigger pivots on its pin at the bottom of the sear as the sear pivots on the pin with the link, which pivots around the pin at the back which is part of the receiver; the sear slides down to the first stage stop, then a little more pressure pulls it down through the second stage. Sounds odd, but it works very well.
I say again, very well. First, to see if the sights were roughly on, set up a target at 50 yards and fired three:
Ok, no complaints there, and no need for the second target I'd stapled up. So over to the 100 yard line.
First three at 100:
Ok, fire four more:
For me, with iron sights, that ain't bad a'tall. They grouped a bit to the left, so drifted the sight back(back means 'left' on this, remember), fired a couple, tapped it back just a touch more, and everything from then on was nicely centered.
I fired a little over thirty rounds, and very much wished this range allowed setting clay pigeons up on the backstop; this rifle would be a wonder at busting them. Last four I fired from a sitting position, elbows resting on knees:
The circled holes are the ones fired, the one real high and real low are from something else(no, I won't talk about it right now). The one out of the bull was a called flyer, sight drifted a touch just as I fired. If that's not good enough for you, shut up. For me, from a little-practiced position with a new rifle and iron sights? I'm pretty damn happy.
So, 1. good sights, easy to see
2. very good trigger; first stage long takeup, second breaks clean at about 3 or 3.5 pounds
3. I'd call it mild recoil, no worse than a .30-30 in a Winchester carbine
4. it looks a bit awkward, but it handles very well. I put my right thumb along the top of the grip behind the cocking piece, angle & thickness is such that I could not comfortably wrap it around
5. very good accuracy.
6. forgot to add earlier; Og, yes, it is as slick an action as you've heard. Doesn't show as well in just sitting and cycling it. But fire a shot and it's just pull-push and the next shot is ready. Very quick, very smooth.
If you wanted to scope one of these, there's one problem for a standard mount: it ejects like a Winchester lever gun, straight up and back, so a scope has to be offset to the side. Personally, I think I'd rather go with one of the 'scout' mounts that fit into the rear sight base. Stick a long-eye-relief scope in that and you're good to go. I think that would be a very good setup with this rifle.
Overall, Kim's right; if you don't have one of these, you should try to get one. I could wish the surplus ammo was not as expensive, but there are commercial loads out there with reloadable brass for decent prices, so if you planned to shoot a lot the stuff for reloading is available. This rifle, which(as previously mentioned) came from AIM Surplus, is well worth the money. There are a number of dealers with them, and no, I'm not listing all of them; buy a copy of Shotgun News and check it out. Or fire up the search engine of your choice and check around.
And now, I've got firearms to clean and a stock to prepare for refinishing. Or at least to take down and get ready for refinishing.
Range report, K31
To an extent you could sum it up by the above statement
First, let us sing the praises of range day! The sky was clear, the temperature cool, the wind light and the birds were singing. Including a mockingbird sitting on the range house tv antenna not ten yards from my position, who kept singing throughout. And there I was, with a sixty-some-odd year old military rifle in fine condition which, thanks to the Framers, I have the noted right to own. It's good.
Ahem. First a couple of notes. I was using the Swiss surplus ammo with, I believe, 174-grain FMJ bullets. Second, remember I said the front sight was set in a diagonal dovetail?
So windage means, instead of moving the sight left or right, you drift it forward or back. Why this method I don't know, but it works well. The muzzle crown is deeply recessed:
well-protected from getting dinged in the field. And it has an unusual trigger:
What you see is the trigger, the sear is the vertical bar and the horizontal link at the top both holds things in place and provides the pivot for the sear, and the coil spring provides the tension for the works. You pull the trigger, the trigger pivots on its pin at the bottom of the sear as the sear pivots on the pin with the link, which pivots around the pin at the back which is part of the receiver; the sear slides down to the first stage stop, then a little more pressure pulls it down through the second stage. Sounds odd, but it works very well.
I say again, very well. First, to see if the sights were roughly on, set up a target at 50 yards and fired three:
Ok, no complaints there, and no need for the second target I'd stapled up. So over to the 100 yard line.
First three at 100:
Ok, fire four more:
For me, with iron sights, that ain't bad a'tall. They grouped a bit to the left, so drifted the sight back(back means 'left' on this, remember), fired a couple, tapped it back just a touch more, and everything from then on was nicely centered.
I fired a little over thirty rounds, and very much wished this range allowed setting clay pigeons up on the backstop; this rifle would be a wonder at busting them. Last four I fired from a sitting position, elbows resting on knees:
The circled holes are the ones fired, the one real high and real low are from something else(no, I won't talk about it right now). The one out of the bull was a called flyer, sight drifted a touch just as I fired. If that's not good enough for you, shut up. For me, from a little-practiced position with a new rifle and iron sights? I'm pretty damn happy.
So, 1. good sights, easy to see
2. very good trigger; first stage long takeup, second breaks clean at about 3 or 3.5 pounds
3. I'd call it mild recoil, no worse than a .30-30 in a Winchester carbine
4. it looks a bit awkward, but it handles very well. I put my right thumb along the top of the grip behind the cocking piece, angle & thickness is such that I could not comfortably wrap it around
5. very good accuracy.
6. forgot to add earlier; Og, yes, it is as slick an action as you've heard. Doesn't show as well in just sitting and cycling it. But fire a shot and it's just pull-push and the next shot is ready. Very quick, very smooth.
If you wanted to scope one of these, there's one problem for a standard mount: it ejects like a Winchester lever gun, straight up and back, so a scope has to be offset to the side. Personally, I think I'd rather go with one of the 'scout' mounts that fit into the rear sight base. Stick a long-eye-relief scope in that and you're good to go. I think that would be a very good setup with this rifle.
Overall, Kim's right; if you don't have one of these, you should try to get one. I could wish the surplus ammo was not as expensive, but there are commercial loads out there with reloadable brass for decent prices, so if you planned to shoot a lot the stuff for reloading is available. This rifle, which(as previously mentioned) came from AIM Surplus, is well worth the money. There are a number of dealers with them, and no, I'm not listing all of them; buy a copy of Shotgun News and check it out. Or fire up the search engine of your choice and check around.
And now, I've got firearms to clean and a stock to prepare for refinishing. Or at least to take down and get ready for refinishing.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
My will
Was watching some show on some terrible disease with the wife the other night and I told her "If anything ever happens to me, I don't want to be kept alive like a vegetable, with some machine and a bottle keeping me alive. That ever happens, I want you to pull the plug."
So she got up, unplugged the tv and threw out my beer, the bitch
So she got up, unplugged the tv and threw out my beer, the bitch
Well, well, a variety of news
Found this over at High Road:
"On April 20, Governor Brad Henry (D) signed House Bill 2696, sponsored by Representative Trebor Worthen (R-87). This important legislation will eliminate any threat of restrictions being imposed on lawful uses of firearms or ammunition during a state of emergency. HB 2696 passed the House overwhelmingly with a vote of 94-1, and unanimously in the Senate with a vote of 46-0.
On April 25, HB 2615, the “Stand Your Ground Law,” passed the Senate with a vote of 39-5, and will now go back to the House for concurrence. HB 2615, sponsored by Representative Kevin Calvey (R-94), recognizes that the citizens of Oklahoma have the right to expect absolute safety in a place that he or she has a right to be.
So that's one down and one to go. I found out that my state Rep voted against 2615, and I have sent a note asking him why, we'll see if I get an answer.
Checked my rain guage this morning, and total from the time the rains started to then was a touch over two inches. That's the most rain we've had since late last October if I remember right. It won't get us up to norms, but it'll make a hell of a difference in lake and pond levels, and with the greenup this'll kickstart, should cut the wildfire risk for a while.
Thanks to Tex at Whacking Day, we have a wonderful illustration of something besides cartoons that annoys the hell out of islamist fascists:
And you jerks want to either kill someone like this or stick her in a burkha? You've got problems, boy.
Hadn't looked there in a while, but at IMAO they had an excerpt from Tony Snows' first press conference:
Also for the jihadi types, from Cowboy Blob:
I wonder if they're jihadis from New Orleans? They're living out of a trunk like the dickhead who cheated friends of mine out of money.
Oh well. I've got ammo loaded and targets packed, and I get to hit the range tomorrow to shake out the K31 among other things. Later, folks.
"On April 20, Governor Brad Henry (D) signed House Bill 2696, sponsored by Representative Trebor Worthen (R-87). This important legislation will eliminate any threat of restrictions being imposed on lawful uses of firearms or ammunition during a state of emergency. HB 2696 passed the House overwhelmingly with a vote of 94-1, and unanimously in the Senate with a vote of 46-0.
On April 25, HB 2615, the “Stand Your Ground Law,” passed the Senate with a vote of 39-5, and will now go back to the House for concurrence. HB 2615, sponsored by Representative Kevin Calvey (R-94), recognizes that the citizens of Oklahoma have the right to expect absolute safety in a place that he or she has a right to be.
So that's one down and one to go. I found out that my state Rep voted against 2615, and I have sent a note asking him why, we'll see if I get an answer.
Checked my rain guage this morning, and total from the time the rains started to then was a touch over two inches. That's the most rain we've had since late last October if I remember right. It won't get us up to norms, but it'll make a hell of a difference in lake and pond levels, and with the greenup this'll kickstart, should cut the wildfire risk for a while.
Thanks to Tex at Whacking Day, we have a wonderful illustration of something besides cartoons that annoys the hell out of islamist fascists:
And you jerks want to either kill someone like this or stick her in a burkha? You've got problems, boy.
Hadn't looked there in a while, but at IMAO they had an excerpt from Tony Snows' first press conference:
"First off," Tony stated, "I'm already a hundred times the journalist of all you hacks added together, so, instead of answering your moronic queries, I'm just going to state everything you need to know and you'll jot it all down and report that. Are we clear?" "Mr. Snow, we need--" a reporter started to say, but then screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. "Now, one thing you need to know," Tony said, "is that I can now shock you through your press passes. This wasn't my idea; it was done by Homeland Security. Now, on to politics. While there are many troubles in Iraq, it's going much better than you shills report. Progress is being made daily. With Iran, many options are being looked at, but nothing has been decided on. Finally, the Democrats are all morons and you waste time reporting on anything they do or say. I think that covers everything." "What about how Karl Rove will be--" A horde of screaming demons crashed through the ceiling, grabbed the reporter, and flew off. "It should be mentioned," Tony said, "that questions about Karl Rove will cause screeching demons to come after you. That's out of my hands." "And there are also reports that secret police are taking away anyone who questions the White House," a reporter stated. "What is your reaction?" Some men in black ran into the room, grabbed the reporter, and dragged her away. "Next question," Tony said in a bored voice
Also for the jihadi types, from Cowboy Blob:
I wonder if they're jihadis from New Orleans? They're living out of a trunk like the dickhead who cheated friends of mine out of money.
Oh well. I've got ammo loaded and targets packed, and I get to hit the range tomorrow to shake out the K31 among other things. Later, folks.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
As further proof that Oklahoma has its' share of idiot politicians,
I give you the statement of State Rep. Mike Shelton:
"During states of emergency, I think police need total control. They don’t need to worry who has guns and who doesn’t. If the governor calls for Oklahomans to relinquish their guns, the public needs to do so,”.
This was his comment on a bill that would prohibit the kind of confiscation order that happened in New Orleans. "Shelton said his battle is not over, and he intends not only to ask the governor to veto HB2696 but also to overturn the stand-your-ground bill."
Ok, it's sad to know that an elected rep of this state is such a statist asshat. Apparently he thinks that if someone threatens your life outside your home you should have to run for your life no matter what, only being legally able to use lethal force if you can't run any further. And from this we know that he thinks your 2nd Amendment rights should be cancellable by a stroke of the governors' pen. I may have to dig into it and see how this clown voted on the SDA and the Make My Day laws; if these are any indication, he was probably against those, too. Can't have the peasants thinking too much of themselves, now can we?
"That was the idea in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, when police confiscated guns from residents even if they were legal. This new Oklahoma law removes that power." Let's see, a bunch of citazens held at gunpoint and their property and means of defense stolen- property which the city of NO is STILL trying to avoid giving back- while security guards hired by the wealthy are walking around unmolested even though they've got AR or M16 rifles and sidearms... Awfully selective 'total control', wasn't it, Rep.?
As I say further proof that no state is without idiot politicians who worship at the altar of Power.
Originally found at Alphecca, further at Cam Edwards place.
"During states of emergency, I think police need total control. They don’t need to worry who has guns and who doesn’t. If the governor calls for Oklahomans to relinquish their guns, the public needs to do so,”.
This was his comment on a bill that would prohibit the kind of confiscation order that happened in New Orleans. "Shelton said his battle is not over, and he intends not only to ask the governor to veto HB2696 but also to overturn the stand-your-ground bill."
Ok, it's sad to know that an elected rep of this state is such a statist asshat. Apparently he thinks that if someone threatens your life outside your home you should have to run for your life no matter what, only being legally able to use lethal force if you can't run any further. And from this we know that he thinks your 2nd Amendment rights should be cancellable by a stroke of the governors' pen. I may have to dig into it and see how this clown voted on the SDA and the Make My Day laws; if these are any indication, he was probably against those, too. Can't have the peasants thinking too much of themselves, now can we?
"That was the idea in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, when police confiscated guns from residents even if they were legal. This new Oklahoma law removes that power." Let's see, a bunch of citazens held at gunpoint and their property and means of defense stolen- property which the city of NO is STILL trying to avoid giving back- while security guards hired by the wealthy are walking around unmolested even though they've got AR or M16 rifles and sidearms... Awfully selective 'total control', wasn't it, Rep.?
As I say further proof that no state is without idiot politicians who worship at the altar of Power.
Originally found at Alphecca, further at Cam Edwards place.
Remember what I said about John McCain?
Well, it gets worse. Or just more blatant. Saw this this morning and couldn't write 'till now, and the Geek beat me to it, but I need to say my piece anyway:
John McCain is a corrupt statist politician with no concern for anything but his personal advancement. This little jerk wants into the White House as occupant so bad he will sell out anything and everything, including the oath he's taken more than once. You know, the one about PROTECTING the Constitution as opposed to TRASHING IT?
""He [Michael Graham] also mentioned my abridgement of First Amendment rights, i.e. talking about campaign finance reform....I know that money corrupts....I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."
That, of course, is 'clean government' by his corrupt standards.
Arizona, you need to start that recall petition back up. Now.
John McCain is a corrupt statist politician with no concern for anything but his personal advancement. This little jerk wants into the White House as occupant so bad he will sell out anything and everything, including the oath he's taken more than once. You know, the one about PROTECTING the Constitution as opposed to TRASHING IT?
""He [Michael Graham] also mentioned my abridgement of First Amendment rights, i.e. talking about campaign finance reform....I know that money corrupts....I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."
That, of course, is 'clean government' by his corrupt standards.
Arizona, you need to start that recall petition back up. Now.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Some serious rain at last!
It's been dry for months here. Not just dry, damn dry, way below normal average. The state has had some relief over the last month or so, but mostly in the southeast and east; here in the central area rain would build to the west & southwest, as normal, then wind up splitting and moving around us. Frustrating as hell.
But today it all came together and some actual, good rain came in. And better yet, it's been what I think the Navajo call a female rain- no thunder & lightning except some rumbles in the distance, light to moderate rain with some breaks, the kind that has time to soak in and prepare the soil for what follows with less runoff than you'd expect for as dry as it's been. Absolutely wonderful.
The last round just moved through, some nice moderate fall. My rain guage showed about 1/4 inch when I got home from work, but the pecan has grown & leafed out enough it may have shaded it somewhat from the fall, so I moved it out into the yard; come morning we'll see what the total is. And it's supposed to give us some more overnight. Everything should green up wonderfully, and the threat of wildfires should be pretty much knocked on its ass for a while at least.
Speaking of my pecan tree, it's now about 7' tall, pretty green leaves all over. I mentioned a long time ago that I'd planted this the summer after I moved in, and sweated through that first winter wondering if it'd survive. It did in fine shape. And the blackberry I planted last spring is leafed out and has some blossoms; I may get some berries off it, if I can keep the birds and squirrels off long enough.
I think I'll sleep well tonight.
But today it all came together and some actual, good rain came in. And better yet, it's been what I think the Navajo call a female rain- no thunder & lightning except some rumbles in the distance, light to moderate rain with some breaks, the kind that has time to soak in and prepare the soil for what follows with less runoff than you'd expect for as dry as it's been. Absolutely wonderful.
The last round just moved through, some nice moderate fall. My rain guage showed about 1/4 inch when I got home from work, but the pecan has grown & leafed out enough it may have shaded it somewhat from the fall, so I moved it out into the yard; come morning we'll see what the total is. And it's supposed to give us some more overnight. Everything should green up wonderfully, and the threat of wildfires should be pretty much knocked on its ass for a while at least.
Speaking of my pecan tree, it's now about 7' tall, pretty green leaves all over. I mentioned a long time ago that I'd planted this the summer after I moved in, and sweated through that first winter wondering if it'd survive. It did in fine shape. And the blackberry I planted last spring is leafed out and has some blossoms; I may get some berries off it, if I can keep the birds and squirrels off long enough.
I think I'll sleep well tonight.
I'm officially sick of these 'immigrant rights' clowns
Huge problems with health care and law enforcement being run into the ground by illegal aliens, illegals who demand that driving tests and VOTING BALLOTS for Gods' sake be written in Spanish so they don't have to bother learning English(and the bastards shouldn't be voting in any case).
Now a bunch of sympathizers have rewritten our National Anthem- in Spanish, of course- to show support to the illegals(but that makes me a hatemonger, according to them; they're 'undocumented immigrants'). And various idiots in government, particularly in California(no surprise), are doing crap like this to help the clowns.
Got news for you people. Screwing with our Anthem does NOT give us sympathy for you. Telling us we're invaders and this is YOUR land just pisses us off. And waving Mexican flags while claiming you're loyal Americans just pisses us off more. And having a bunch of racist clowns like La Voz de Aztlan threatening a 'reconquest' and spreading shit like that in the 'press release' makes us want to add a strip of mines to the fence.
To borrow what someone else said, come here legally; learn English; and come to be an American and you're welcome. Come here illegally, demand we change to make you happy and threaten us, and you're cordially invited to get the fuck out of this country.
Now a bunch of sympathizers have rewritten our National Anthem- in Spanish, of course- to show support to the illegals(but that makes me a hatemonger, according to them; they're 'undocumented immigrants'). And various idiots in government, particularly in California(no surprise), are doing crap like this to help the clowns.
Got news for you people. Screwing with our Anthem does NOT give us sympathy for you. Telling us we're invaders and this is YOUR land just pisses us off. And waving Mexican flags while claiming you're loyal Americans just pisses us off more. And having a bunch of racist clowns like La Voz de Aztlan threatening a 'reconquest' and spreading shit like that in the 'press release' makes us want to add a strip of mines to the fence.
To borrow what someone else said, come here legally; learn English; and come to be an American and you're welcome. Come here illegally, demand we change to make you happy and threaten us, and you're cordially invited to get the fuck out of this country.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
That was unusual...
Couple of days ago a tornado hit El Reno, a few miles west of Oklahoma City. During all this, one of the chasers for KTOK radio said "I've seen kidney-stone size hail in this storm".
???
KIDNEY STONE SIZE? I dearly wished I had his phone number: "Hey, is that 'discomfort-size' or 'Oh Lord take me now and end it!' size?"
???
KIDNEY STONE SIZE? I dearly wished I had his phone number: "Hey, is that 'discomfort-size' or 'Oh Lord take me now and end it!' size?"
Well, that's done
The smiling FedEx man delivered the new rotors for the Vulcan this morning. Now have new rotors and pads in front, and new shoes in the rear. Let's just say there's a noticeable difference in slowing down and stopping. MUCH better.
Fired the forge for the first time in a while today, and got a bit done. Now I need to make a last pass through the yard and make sure I put everything up, as they're expecting some rain to move in late tonight. We're hoping. Hell, if I thought it would help pull it in I'd go out in the dark and wash the truck and the bike. And leave the truck sitting out in the open.
Meant to mention this the other day. There are two big holly trees- they're too tall to call 'bushes'- in the front, one on each side of the door. Went out the other day and heard buzzing. Looked closer, and both bushes were swarming with honeybees
Ever tried to take pictures of busy bees? Little bastards won't hold still. I've always liked these critters; my dads' father used to keep several hives, and when we visited I'd watch them going in & out and feeding on the clover in the field. Helped rob the hives once. Honey fresh off the comb, God that was good!
Speaking of forgework and metal, anybody starts talking about going all the way back to the 'good old days', kick them in the ass. I had to drill two holes through 3/4" hex stock, which with a drill press and a titanium nitride bit(with cutting oil, of course) took a couple of minutes per hole taking it easy. Doing that by hand? Not if I can help it.
Fired the forge for the first time in a while today, and got a bit done. Now I need to make a last pass through the yard and make sure I put everything up, as they're expecting some rain to move in late tonight. We're hoping. Hell, if I thought it would help pull it in I'd go out in the dark and wash the truck and the bike. And leave the truck sitting out in the open.
Meant to mention this the other day. There are two big holly trees- they're too tall to call 'bushes'- in the front, one on each side of the door. Went out the other day and heard buzzing. Looked closer, and both bushes were swarming with honeybees
Ever tried to take pictures of busy bees? Little bastards won't hold still. I've always liked these critters; my dads' father used to keep several hives, and when we visited I'd watch them going in & out and feeding on the clover in the field. Helped rob the hives once. Honey fresh off the comb, God that was good!
Speaking of forgework and metal, anybody starts talking about going all the way back to the 'good old days', kick them in the ass. I had to drill two holes through 3/4" hex stock, which with a drill press and a titanium nitride bit(with cutting oil, of course) took a couple of minutes per hole taking it easy. Doing that by hand? Not if I can help it.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Ok, it's a late BAG day buy; K31
I'd looked these things over a number of times, but always held off on buying one. Heard lots of good things about them: accurate, well-made. But kept putting it off, even though prices were good.
Well, when I was in Texas a couple of weeks ago I went by Military Gun Supply in Fort Worth to look around, and noticed a BIG area of one wall empty. That had been full of K31 rifles last time I was down. I asked about it, and the guy said a lot of people had decided to buy them all of a sudden. After I got home I checked around on some of the gunboards and read several references that the supply of them was running out.
So I checked a few places, and found that AIM Surplus had some for a hundred dollars listed as "Excellent bores, expect stock and finish wear". So I ordered one, and it came in today:
Swiss K31 in the(as Kim puts it) manly 7.5mm Swiss cartridge. Square-profile blade front sight, notch rear marked from 100 meters to 1500. That ring in the back of the bolt is the cocking piece and safety(such as it is); when cocked, pull it back and turn clockwise about 1/8 turn. And it's a straight-pull bolt, grab the handle and pull straight back; it unlocks, the body rotates to disengage the lugs and it slides back. Push forward to close.
Looked it over real good. First thing, not much grease on it. Second, there are a bunch of little dents and a few dings in the wood, but not bad at all. Third, crown is shiny; wings of the front sight worn shiny at the top; barrel just behind the sight has a slightly shiny patch; blueing on the receiver is quite nice; the usual worn edges on the trigger guard and barrel bands; overall quite nice condition. Now, even though AIM has done well for me in the past, comes the part that really makes me nervous: is the bore as promised? Open the bolt and look down, and yuck, it's icky in there. But it looks like mostly grease, so to the table.
Dry patch through, which came out nasty. Oily patch, then a dry patch and look again and shazam! Beautiful! Mirror bright, sharp rifling, you could use a picture of this to illustrate 'excellent bore'! Much relieved, I took the thing apart(surplusrifle.com has a section on the rifle in general and the bolt) and found the condition to be very good. Tight, fast working action. And on the barrel & receiver covered by the stock, the only worn area of the bluing is on the barrel where the front edge of the stock & handguard bear on it; a band a little over an inch wide. Otherwise, looks damn near new.
I mentioned the straight-pull bolt, three other different things about it. One, to adjust windage you move the front sight, but not side-to-side; it's in a diagonal track in the sight base. so you drift it back and it moves to the left, forward and moves to the right. Second, the magazine holds six rounds instead of five or ten. Stripper clips are available, made of metal and paper(I'll have to get a few). And the trigger mechanism is unique: trigger, sear and a link are fitted together as a unit with a coil spring with long arms providing tension. The link fits over a pin at the rear and the sear slides vertically. I'll try to take a picture of it later, it's a very nice design.
One last thing: I dry-fired it a few times, and wow! Long first-stage takeup, solid stop, then a clean break at- I'd guess- about 3.5 pounds or so. No drag, no creep. It's like the M39 I wrote about a while back, I've handled expensive new rifles with inferior triggers to this.
So now I need time to hit the range. I've got some ammo and it's cleaned, oiled and ready. After sighting in and testing, I'll kitty-litter the stock- it's got not enough grease soaked in to be a real problem, enough that it has that smell and feel to it- and do a little refinishing to it, but the metal I'll leave alone, it's quite nice as is. Range report will follow when circumstances allow.
Well, when I was in Texas a couple of weeks ago I went by Military Gun Supply in Fort Worth to look around, and noticed a BIG area of one wall empty. That had been full of K31 rifles last time I was down. I asked about it, and the guy said a lot of people had decided to buy them all of a sudden. After I got home I checked around on some of the gunboards and read several references that the supply of them was running out.
So I checked a few places, and found that AIM Surplus had some for a hundred dollars listed as "Excellent bores, expect stock and finish wear". So I ordered one, and it came in today:
Swiss K31 in the(as Kim puts it) manly 7.5mm Swiss cartridge. Square-profile blade front sight, notch rear marked from 100 meters to 1500. That ring in the back of the bolt is the cocking piece and safety(such as it is); when cocked, pull it back and turn clockwise about 1/8 turn. And it's a straight-pull bolt, grab the handle and pull straight back; it unlocks, the body rotates to disengage the lugs and it slides back. Push forward to close.
Looked it over real good. First thing, not much grease on it. Second, there are a bunch of little dents and a few dings in the wood, but not bad at all. Third, crown is shiny; wings of the front sight worn shiny at the top; barrel just behind the sight has a slightly shiny patch; blueing on the receiver is quite nice; the usual worn edges on the trigger guard and barrel bands; overall quite nice condition. Now, even though AIM has done well for me in the past, comes the part that really makes me nervous: is the bore as promised? Open the bolt and look down, and yuck, it's icky in there. But it looks like mostly grease, so to the table.
Dry patch through, which came out nasty. Oily patch, then a dry patch and look again and shazam! Beautiful! Mirror bright, sharp rifling, you could use a picture of this to illustrate 'excellent bore'! Much relieved, I took the thing apart(surplusrifle.com has a section on the rifle in general and the bolt) and found the condition to be very good. Tight, fast working action. And on the barrel & receiver covered by the stock, the only worn area of the bluing is on the barrel where the front edge of the stock & handguard bear on it; a band a little over an inch wide. Otherwise, looks damn near new.
I mentioned the straight-pull bolt, three other different things about it. One, to adjust windage you move the front sight, but not side-to-side; it's in a diagonal track in the sight base. so you drift it back and it moves to the left, forward and moves to the right. Second, the magazine holds six rounds instead of five or ten. Stripper clips are available, made of metal and paper(I'll have to get a few). And the trigger mechanism is unique: trigger, sear and a link are fitted together as a unit with a coil spring with long arms providing tension. The link fits over a pin at the rear and the sear slides vertically. I'll try to take a picture of it later, it's a very nice design.
One last thing: I dry-fired it a few times, and wow! Long first-stage takeup, solid stop, then a clean break at- I'd guess- about 3.5 pounds or so. No drag, no creep. It's like the M39 I wrote about a while back, I've handled expensive new rifles with inferior triggers to this.
So now I need time to hit the range. I've got some ammo and it's cleaned, oiled and ready. After sighting in and testing, I'll kitty-litter the stock- it's got not enough grease soaked in to be a real problem, enough that it has that smell and feel to it- and do a little refinishing to it, but the metal I'll leave alone, it's quite nice as is. Range report will follow when circumstances allow.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Ref gas prices and that idiot Arlen Specter
Apparently he's been sucking up to various Democrats and news weenies so long his brain has suffered from oxygen deprivation, so I've got two questions for him:
1. Do you remember a period in history we generally call "the Seventies"?
2. Do you remember Jimmy Carter and his 'Windfall Profits Tax'?
Yeah, that was just such a wonderful success, wasn't it? Did so much good, didn't it, you friggin' idiot?
Among the other 'wonderful' effects of this mess: there's a thing called a stripper well. It's a well that produces enough to make it worth keeping in operation(at the current prices; if prices go up enough, it's worth further development), just. Lots of people with some land in some states have a stripper well on it belonging to some oil company, who pays them a percentage every month for the oil that's pumped out. There was a lady at my employer who had one on her land, and every month it gave her & her husband about(as I recall) $70. Then the full effect of Carter's "punish the theiving oil companies" tax kicked in, and that month she displayed the check they'd received: fifty some-odd cents. All the rest taken in "Windfall Profits Tax". I kid you not.
So now, having either forgotten or not caring about the history of this kind of crap, this jackass, in company of the rest of the herd he's sucking up to, wants to do it again. So I wonder why a: Specter doesn't just change the 'R' after his name to 'D' and be honest and b: why the President and co. don't kick him in the ass for being the treacherous, untrustworthy little shit he is.
By the way, for some further background on the cost of gas, check out this at Wizbang, on how Specter and his greedy little friends have their prints all over the high price.
1. Do you remember a period in history we generally call "the Seventies"?
2. Do you remember Jimmy Carter and his 'Windfall Profits Tax'?
Yeah, that was just such a wonderful success, wasn't it? Did so much good, didn't it, you friggin' idiot?
Among the other 'wonderful' effects of this mess: there's a thing called a stripper well. It's a well that produces enough to make it worth keeping in operation(at the current prices; if prices go up enough, it's worth further development), just. Lots of people with some land in some states have a stripper well on it belonging to some oil company, who pays them a percentage every month for the oil that's pumped out. There was a lady at my employer who had one on her land, and every month it gave her & her husband about(as I recall) $70. Then the full effect of Carter's "punish the theiving oil companies" tax kicked in, and that month she displayed the check they'd received: fifty some-odd cents. All the rest taken in "Windfall Profits Tax". I kid you not.
So now, having either forgotten or not caring about the history of this kind of crap, this jackass, in company of the rest of the herd he's sucking up to, wants to do it again. So I wonder why a: Specter doesn't just change the 'R' after his name to 'D' and be honest and b: why the President and co. don't kick him in the ass for being the treacherous, untrustworthy little shit he is.
By the way, for some further background on the cost of gas, check out this at Wizbang, on how Specter and his greedy little friends have their prints all over the high price.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Stand Your Ground law in OK
House Bill 2615 passed in the House a few days ago. According to the article in the Sunday Oklahoman(not available online unless you buy an account, which I'm not doing) it's patterned after the law passed in Florida last year. In the article it says it expands the Make My Day law-which allows use of deadly force "to protect themselves from someone who breaks into their home, whether the intruder was using deadly force".
It also allows:
Drivers or passengers to use deadly force if someone is trying to car jack their vehicle.
Guests in a home to use deadly force to defend themselves and their acquaintances.
Ny understanding is that if attacked by someone using deadly force, you can use the same to protect yourself, "But the bill establishes situations where people can use deadly force to defend themselves even if the perpetrator isn't using deadly force."
No, haven't read the whole thing. Didn't even know it this bill was around 'till I saw this in the Sunday paper. It says the OK Association of Chiefs of Police have some concerns but don't object to the idea itself. From what I'm reading, I don't really understand their concerns, that a: "the legislation doesn't jeopardize the lives of plainclothes officers or officers trying to execute search warrants" and b: "wants to make sure officers can detain people after a shooting to determine whether a shooting was legal". ??? If an officer identifies himself to serve a warrant, the bill would not affect that that I can see. And they already have the power to detain people after a shooting; unless there's some wierd wording in here somewhere, that would not be affected.
There are the usual suspects unhappy about it, of course. The were only two House members who voted against it, Opio Toure(D) and Darrel Gilbert(D). I think Gilbert was, and I know Toure was one of the big opponents of the OK Self-Defense Act, the 'shall-issue' concealed-carry law that passed a few years back. And for the same reasons: "There will be bodies in the streets, blood running in the gutters, it will be like the Wild West all over again!!!" and so forth. No, that's not a direct quote, it does seem to sum their thoughts up. "Toure also is concerned the bill would give young people the idea using guns is the way to resolve conflicts", which I think was one of his objections to the SDA. And from Gilbert, "Gilbert said his objection is that anybody could use the law as an excuse to kill.
It's back to the good ol' West having shootouts in the street", Gilbert said".
Same objections, same fear-mongering. Same crap that hasn't happened anywhere such laws have passed.
So now to the Senate, and we'll see what happens.
Additional: unless I'm mistaken, Toure was the guy who, during debate on the SDA, said that if it passed 'more blacks will get shot' or 'be killed'. Been a while, so I don't remember exactly. It does give an interesting window into his thought processes, doesn't it?
It also allows:
Drivers or passengers to use deadly force if someone is trying to car jack their vehicle.
Guests in a home to use deadly force to defend themselves and their acquaintances.
Ny understanding is that if attacked by someone using deadly force, you can use the same to protect yourself, "But the bill establishes situations where people can use deadly force to defend themselves even if the perpetrator isn't using deadly force."
No, haven't read the whole thing. Didn't even know it this bill was around 'till I saw this in the Sunday paper. It says the OK Association of Chiefs of Police have some concerns but don't object to the idea itself. From what I'm reading, I don't really understand their concerns, that a: "the legislation doesn't jeopardize the lives of plainclothes officers or officers trying to execute search warrants" and b: "wants to make sure officers can detain people after a shooting to determine whether a shooting was legal". ??? If an officer identifies himself to serve a warrant, the bill would not affect that that I can see. And they already have the power to detain people after a shooting; unless there's some wierd wording in here somewhere, that would not be affected.
There are the usual suspects unhappy about it, of course. The were only two House members who voted against it, Opio Toure(D) and Darrel Gilbert(D). I think Gilbert was, and I know Toure was one of the big opponents of the OK Self-Defense Act, the 'shall-issue' concealed-carry law that passed a few years back. And for the same reasons: "There will be bodies in the streets, blood running in the gutters, it will be like the Wild West all over again!!!" and so forth. No, that's not a direct quote, it does seem to sum their thoughts up. "Toure also is concerned the bill would give young people the idea using guns is the way to resolve conflicts", which I think was one of his objections to the SDA. And from Gilbert, "Gilbert said his objection is that anybody could use the law as an excuse to kill.
It's back to the good ol' West having shootouts in the street", Gilbert said".
Same objections, same fear-mongering. Same crap that hasn't happened anywhere such laws have passed.
So now to the Senate, and we'll see what happens.
Additional: unless I'm mistaken, Toure was the guy who, during debate on the SDA, said that if it passed 'more blacks will get shot' or 'be killed'. Been a while, so I don't remember exactly. It does give an interesting window into his thought processes, doesn't it?
Sunday, April 23, 2006
The Lawdog speaks on the thieving bastards in NO
Specifically, the sorry excuses for law officers committing the thefts:After a lawsuit by the NRA and the SAF, plus contempt of court citations, NOLA jackasses reluctantly admitted that they were in possession of a thousand-plus confiscated firearms.
Thousand. Not 'tens', not 'hundreds'. Thousand.
ARE YOU BLOODY WELL ****ING ME?!
Those knuckle-dragging, nit-witted, mouse-dicked, pea-brained, lard-arsed, desk-driving, cork-screwed little dacoits with delusions of adequacy must have been running around stealing guns at warp speed!
Did they bloody well organize shifts for this? "You , you and you: loot Wal-Mart. You, you , and you: steal guns from any citizen who'll let you get by with it."
That's ... that's ... I really don't have words to express how I feel towards public servants (who are sworn to protect the citizens) stealing from those citizens their only means of protection. WHILE, I might add, LOOTING EVERY FECKING WAL-MART IN SIGHT. ON CAMERA.
Sweet evil Loki, y'all blotted your Eternal Copybook something fierce, I'm here to tell you.
You really need to read the whole thing here for the full flavor. It's noted in the comments that it wasn't just the LE clowns, but a bunch of National Guard also, including this:
"A close friend, "G" is an Army Guard officer who was on the ground in N.O. 4 days after Katrina. I spoke with him every other day or so for several weeks, and listened to him agonize about taking guns away. He's very pro-2nd. He was given lists compiled by the rescue and city people as to the address location of firearms, and detailed to go and get them. He was also ordered to confiscate ANY firearms he saw, anywhere. A week later, he was given part of one of the worst wards to control. He was relieved because he saw only criminals from then on, and had NO problem taking such down. The NRA contacted me around Katrina+25 to learn who "G" was, and would he be willing to talk to the NRA lawyers. Serving officer? No way!"
Two things in this. First, the 'rescue and city people' had lists of who owned what firearms and sent people to get them("No, the registration is not for confiscation, oh no! It's for public safety!"); I have to wonder if this was all city/state records, or did some dickhead call someone at BATFE and ask for records?
Second, at the time I read several comments at different places from military/former military stating that if a superior had ordered them to do this, their first response would have been to say, in proper language, "Sir, are you out of your mind?". Maybe some did and it kept the level of theft down, but it seems many, maybe most, did not; and they carried out their orders to steal the only protection people had.
I'm still so damn pissed about this it's terrible. I keep remembering that OKNG troop basically saying "it's terrible, but I've got my orders" while holding some homeowners at gunpoint so their home could be officially looted.
Thousand. Not 'tens', not 'hundreds'. Thousand.
ARE YOU BLOODY WELL ****ING ME?!
Those knuckle-dragging, nit-witted, mouse-dicked, pea-brained, lard-arsed, desk-driving, cork-screwed little dacoits with delusions of adequacy must have been running around stealing guns at warp speed!
Did they bloody well organize shifts for this? "You , you and you: loot Wal-Mart. You, you , and you: steal guns from any citizen who'll let you get by with it."
That's ... that's ... I really don't have words to express how I feel towards public servants (who are sworn to protect the citizens) stealing from those citizens their only means of protection. WHILE, I might add, LOOTING EVERY FECKING WAL-MART IN SIGHT. ON CAMERA.
Sweet evil Loki, y'all blotted your Eternal Copybook something fierce, I'm here to tell you.
You really need to read the whole thing here for the full flavor. It's noted in the comments that it wasn't just the LE clowns, but a bunch of National Guard also, including this:
"A close friend, "G" is an Army Guard officer who was on the ground in N.O. 4 days after Katrina. I spoke with him every other day or so for several weeks, and listened to him agonize about taking guns away. He's very pro-2nd. He was given lists compiled by the rescue and city people as to the address location of firearms, and detailed to go and get them. He was also ordered to confiscate ANY firearms he saw, anywhere. A week later, he was given part of one of the worst wards to control. He was relieved because he saw only criminals from then on, and had NO problem taking such down. The NRA contacted me around Katrina+25 to learn who "G" was, and would he be willing to talk to the NRA lawyers. Serving officer? No way!"
Two things in this. First, the 'rescue and city people' had lists of who owned what firearms and sent people to get them("No, the registration is not for confiscation, oh no! It's for public safety!"); I have to wonder if this was all city/state records, or did some dickhead call someone at BATFE and ask for records?
Second, at the time I read several comments at different places from military/former military stating that if a superior had ordered them to do this, their first response would have been to say, in proper language, "Sir, are you out of your mind?". Maybe some did and it kept the level of theft down, but it seems many, maybe most, did not; and they carried out their orders to steal the only protection people had.
I'm still so damn pissed about this it's terrible. I keep remembering that OKNG troop basically saying "it's terrible, but I've got my orders" while holding some homeowners at gunpoint so their home could be officially looted.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
One other thing about Med-Fair,
is the people you meet and see year after year. Speaking of such, I mentioned the folks who have Fenris, the wolf who likes to drink from my forge bucket. Meet Shelley
I have to tell you, this picture does not do her justice. Woof, in other words.
Yes, she's married. Large, formidable guy. Nice guy, too(see, Darren, I'm being nice!). Matter of fact, he sent me the shot. "Shelley, I need a picture of you in your fair outfit, I'll make you famous!"
Next time, she'll believe me.
I have to tell you, this picture does not do her justice. Woof, in other words.
Yes, she's married. Large, formidable guy. Nice guy, too(see, Darren, I'm being nice!). Matter of fact, he sent me the shot. "Shelley, I need a picture of you in your fair outfit, I'll make you famous!"
Next time, she'll believe me.
I WAS going to go out tonight,
to a bookstore or maybe to a bar for a drink, but after hearing
a: the 3-car crash(from the sounds) about two blocks away,
b: the near-crash right out front,
c: the two fire trucks, one ambulance and a PD unit going to a:,
I'm staying home.
a: the 3-car crash(from the sounds) about two blocks away,
b: the near-crash right out front,
c: the two fire trucks, one ambulance and a PD unit going to a:,
I'm staying home.
And now, for your daily dose of idiocy,
if you really, really need it, go here. Then read as many of the comments as you can stomach.
Ah, us corrupt, evil, baby-killing conservative types and the bloodthirsty, Armageddon-seeking President, how do we do it?
Ah, us corrupt, evil, baby-killing conservative types and the bloodthirsty, Armageddon-seeking President, how do we do it?
NOT how a criminal justice system is supposed to work
Looking around Stephen Pollard's place I found his post on and link to this :
"A WIDOW who was repeatedly raped and beaten during a “pitiless” attack by two teenage burglars spoke yesterday of her determination to rebuild her life.
"She was “crippled with terror” and suffered “horrendous” blows to the face before her young attackers fled with jewellery, cash and a mobile phone.
"Seven months later the grandmother was at Teesside Crown Court to see David Humphrey and Lee Beazley jailed for life yesterday." Hurray, the bastards are going to prison! For life(it ain't the noose they deserve, but...)! But hold on, don't cheer yet, for it turns out:
"They were told that they would serve a minimum of six years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. They were placed on the sex offenders register for life."
Six years. SIX STINKING YEARS of their 'LIFE SENTANCE' and they're elegible for parole. Oh, but we shouldn't be too hard on them, for they DO repent of their sins:
"Humphrey told police that he was sickened by his actions. Beazley, the court was told, regretted his “despicable and inexcusable” behaviour." AND they'll be on the sex offender registry, I'm sure THAT'LL be a problem for the little bastards, won't it?
"A WIDOW who was repeatedly raped and beaten during a “pitiless” attack by two teenage burglars spoke yesterday of her determination to rebuild her life.
The woman, aged 65, was alone at home when the 19-year-old men — high on alcohol and drugs — forced a window and embarked on a frenzied attack. Armed with a knife and screwdriver, they bound and gagged their victim, forced her on to a bed and raped her several times."
Ok, two scumbags who deserve to be tied up to a whipping post- for a start, anyway- commit a horrible crime. How bad?"She was “crippled with terror” and suffered “horrendous” blows to the face before her young attackers fled with jewellery, cash and a mobile phone.
The woman had passed out from the pain and regained consciousness to find that she was alone. She dragged herself to a telephone, called the police and was taken to hospital for trauma and severe facial injuries."
In this case, the two wastes of oxygen were caught:"Seven months later the grandmother was at Teesside Crown Court to see David Humphrey and Lee Beazley jailed for life yesterday." Hurray, the bastards are going to prison! For life(it ain't the noose they deserve, but...)! But hold on, don't cheer yet, for it turns out:
"They were told that they would serve a minimum of six years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. They were placed on the sex offenders register for life."
Six years. SIX STINKING YEARS of their 'LIFE SENTANCE' and they're elegible for parole. Oh, but we shouldn't be too hard on them, for they DO repent of their sins:
"Humphrey told police that he was sickened by his actions. Beazley, the court was told, regretted his “despicable and inexcusable” behaviour." AND they'll be on the sex offender registry, I'm sure THAT'LL be a problem for the little bastards, won't it?
Friday, April 21, 2006
Anybody else have this problem with Remington?
For the second time, I've bought Remington 12 guage #4 buck and found the crimp open just enough to leak the buffering material out. Which caused me to have to a: clean out the shotgun action and b: dump the buffer out of the other box and use some superglue to seal the shells.
Hey, Remington: not good, guys.
Hey, Remington: not good, guys.
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