Oh, damn!

Look at this! And this! And most of all, this!

Dammit, I need two things: first to know I'll win, then to buy a lottery ticket.

It's that time of year,

when God's vacuum cleaner starts dropping the nozzle about the place, and storms with a generally bad attitude start dropping chunks of ice on us. Some storms yesterday evening/last night out west, with some damage from tornados. Tomorrow afternoon/evening there's a fair chance of severe stuff in southwest OK, lesser chance here(about 30%); tomorrow night into Tuesday evening it goes up to 60% here. At least as far as the current forecast goes.

Ever had to wear a helmet to go outside to check for damage? It's an interesting sound, hailstones bouncing off it.

Next time someone starts the 'We should license guns

just like we license cars' crap, borrow the words of Lawdog. I've used some of these points in arguments before, but Dog covers just about all of it. Very well.

Once again, the UN proves what a bunch of

pains in the ass they are. Got this in an e-mail a couple of days ago:

SKS’S ARE SOON TO BE A THING OF THE PAST BASED ON TREATRIES BEING SIGNED BY YUGO AND THE UNITED NATIONS GET THEM NOW THIS LOT MAY BE THE LAST

Oh, joy.

Because, of course, it's MUCH better for the rifles to be sold on the black market and the money pocketed by politicians and UN officials the rifles to be destroyed, than that they be imported to these here United States and actually used by us.

Bastards.

The White Truck of Happiness came today

and left me something good.













Which when opened proved to hold smaller cans of happiness













Yeah, that'll last a while.

And unless the bad guys fit the 'proper' template,

horrendous crimes just don't seem to make the major media 'requirements' for broadcast.

Senator Harry Reid(Surrender-NV)

is a sorry, worthless, chickenshit, waste of oxygen. And if he actually had any ethics- GOOD ones, that is- would be so ashamed of himself he'd leave the Senate.

Fat chance, the sorry little scrote.

The Brady 'Let Us Ban Guns' Group lies

This has been noted before, but it's worth repeating, since they keep doing it. On their 'all the kids killed by guns' BS, check here.

Oh, and AP is pushing a 'the NRA is anti-semitic' BS. And(of course) some of the other major media picked it up.

I don't go by Riverdog's place often enough

Tonight I found this:What calibers/brands/bullet weights of ammo are lying on your desk at your blog station right now?

My computer desk is next to the worktable and on the opposite wall from the desk where the loading press is. Looking around, not digging,
Five rounds Federal .38 Special HydraShok, in pistol
Most of a box of Gold Dot 185-grain HP, .45acp
Couple of .30 Carbine, 110gr. ball
three Blazer 9mm ball Cancel that, just noticed about 100 rounds of Winchester, Monarch and Blazer ball in boxes.
Half a box of S&B .45acp ball
About 75 rounds of .30 Carbine handloads, some 110gr. hollow-point, some ball
About 300 rounds .45acp handloads, 230gr. cast ball
About 35 rounds 12-guage 00 buck handloads
Some Aguila SSS .22, about two boxes
Box of .455 Webley, 230gr. handloads
Box of 50 .30-06 handloads, 150gr. cast
Box of 7.5 Swiss handloads, 150gr. cast
Box of .380/200 handloads, 200gr. cast
Box of .45 AutoRim, 230gr. cast
Half a box of .357 Mag, 158gr. semi-wadcutter handloads
A couple of odd .303 Brit, a 12guage slug, some .303 plastic-bullet training rounds,and a couple of shotgun shells I can't decide on from this angle.

Damn, I've got a lot of crap I need to put away...

Hmmm, then he says For extra credit, list the knives or edged weapons lying on the blogstation (or within arm's reach)
Oh, Lord, I am a knifemaker, and sort-of collector. On the desk or table or the filing cabinet right here,
M4 bayonet
Swede Mauser bayonet
Six CRKT folders(hey, a guy had them on sale! Cheap!)
One CRKT neck knife(see above)
Small belt knife(2" blade)
and in the box on the end of the table, a dirk, a big sax-style chopper, about a dozen fixed-blades of different designs and about two dozen finished blades that need hilts.

I think that's it.

'Course, around the corner in the other room is the small fighting axe, the big axe and two swords...

Thoughts on people who fear other honest people

more than they fear the bad guys

I've been thinking about some of the noise being thrown off the last couple of days. My sympathies being where they are, most of what's irritated- in some cases enraged- me has been the 'ban the guns, you people who own them are evil,', etc. Compound that by the absolutely infuriating verbal sour manure vomited out by that brass hat at the university both belittling the student who wished he'd had his sidearm and working hard to cover his sorry ass.

Two things about it. One is the usual 'take the argument to the ridiculous extreme to discredit it' garbage. You say that someone who has a carry permit should be allowed to carry on campus, that becomes "You want to hand out guns to everybody!" Mr. Wiles says he did not like the feeling of having his safety entirely in the hands of others and wished for his sidearm, that becomes "You people would get killed by the police because you'd be running around shooting at anyone you thought suspicious! And before you were shot, you'd kill innocent people!" And, in the case of Asshat Hincker, "You seem not to trust the police, you think you need a gun to protect you from them!"(which, I repeat was either one of the stupidest things to come out of his mouth, or a coldly calculated effort to make Mr. Wiles look like a nutcase; in the first, Asshat Hincker is a fool, in the second he's a sorry excuse for a man). Heartily sick of this garbage and the dishonesty- in some cases flat stupidity- of it.

Second, I'm sure you've noticed the constant "People would be running around shooting at everything" marfi*. The 'I hate guns, just wait for the police' people just cannot seem to wrap their brain around the idea that an honest citizen with a gun just might act in a responsible manner. In this case, you've got three possibilities:
1. If the classroom is one with no window or other exit, teacher/student(hereafter 'T/S') gets everyone to move away from the door, blocks it if there's time, then takes cover behind what's available and guards the door. If bad guy comes in: Bang.
2. If there's a way to get people out, the T/S provides cover- covering fire if needed- while others escape. If bad guy doesn't show, they all get out; if bad guy shows: Bang.
3. T/S is heading for class and comes up against the bad guy. Outcome uncertain, depending on readiness/accuracy/etc. Worst case, T/S is wounded or killed without stopping bad guy. Middle/best case, T/S may be wounded or killed but bad guy is stopped.

I think part of the reason for the 'You people can't be trusted!' may well be that these people cannot or will not consider that someone would knowingly place themselves between death and someone else. They wouldn't do it, or have it firmly fixed in their mind that they're incapable so they shouldn't even try; so when someone says "If I have my sidearm, I can protect myself. And in such a case, protect others", they don't believe it. In fact they either flat hate it or- and in some I know this is it- they fear it. Whether because they've been trained to or don't think that they could do it(or know they wouldn't), they fear someone who would. So in their mind, you wanting the means to stop a bad guy makes you a bad guy. As Kevin puts it, they don't understand, or will not make, the differentiation between aggressive violence and protective violence; the difference between the rabid wolf and the sheepdog. So they fear the sheepdog as much, maybe in some cases more, than they do the rabid wolf, and want to castrate the sheepdogs and make them yappy little lapdogs.

Which, now that I think about it, means a lot of them think of the police as their partially-castrated wolves; they don't trust them, they wait for the chance to punish them if they do anything wrong/possibly wrong, but want them around on a leash to bite the rabid wolves when they show up. After which they'll be (sometimes metaphorically, sometimes not) locked up to decide if they are still usable wolves, or out of control types who should be gotten rid of.

If you carry, you know what I'm talking about when I speak of the "What would/could I do?" scenarios that go through your mind. You sit in a restaurant and look at what you could do if a robbery occurs, or someone pulls a weapon to attempt murder. You walk through a store and take note of places from which you could, from cover/concealment, fire on a terrorist or spree killer, or gang-banger careless about who he's trying to kill, who opens up on people. You know the responsibility of that weight you carry, and you prepare for it, both by trips to the range and by running these things through your mind. Which may be one of the things that scares some people so much; that we actively prepare for what may come.

The big factor, I think, is the Decision: that it makes some people very nervous, sometimes flat terrified, to be in the presence of someone who has decided that, if absolutely necessary, they will kill. As James put it:

Everybody who shoots knows what I'm talking about. You see it in their eyes, their expression. All of a sudden you're not a person but a dangerous beast that might suddenly lash out and kill everyone around you. A Deathbeast.

If you carry for self-defense or have a weapon in the home for the purpose, you’d damned well better have decided this; when you’re facing someone with a knife or club or gun, or just hands and a homicidal impulse is NOT the time to decide if you can/will do it. There’s a paper called ‘Survival Stress in Law Enforcement’ that says this:

Commitment To Deadly Force:

If an officer hasn’t already, he must take a serious look at the issue of having to take someone’s life. That thought alone will cause great levels of stress throughout a career, but if an officer is not convinced or has questions as to what he/she would do in a deadly force situation, they are endangering themselves as well as the lives of others. With all things considered, faith, religion, and murder vs. killing, must be weighed, but in this career a total commitment to deadly force must be adopted when this situation presents itself.

Exactly. And to those who are terrified of that decision, often refusing to even consider it no matter what, having made the Decision makes you something non-human, something to fear. They don't care that your fondest wish is that all the preparation will never be needed for real, they don't care that having to pull the trigger on someone is a nightmare you deal with: they sense the teeth, and see no difference between wolf and sheepdog, so they want to remove the teeth- and preferably the balls- of the sheepdog. Instead, they put their trust in the magical thinking of "If we pass another law, and this time we really, really mean it, this time, we'll be safe!"


I’d suggest reading the paper mentioned above, link found at Winds of Change.

*Marfi: Capstick described it as ‘what comes out of the south end of a northbound hyena'

Additional: just found this at Chris' place on the 'you're paranoid/leave it to the pros/etc.' viewpoint.

If you're thinking about compact flourescent bulbs,

Check this out.

Found thanks to Rodger

A bit of a roundup on the mass murder

All kinds of them out there, just a few pieces here I think good to see.
Mark Steyn on some of the attitude problems out there. He includes this, which I'd never read before about a school shooting in Canada:
Every December 6th, my own unmanned Dominion lowers its flags to half-mast and tries to saddle Canadian manhood in general with the blame for the “Montreal massacre,” the 14 female students of the Ecole Polytechnique murdered by Marc Lepine (born Gamil Gharbi, the son of an Algerian Muslim wife-beater, though you’d never know that from the press coverage). As I wrote up north a few years ago:

Yet the defining image of contemporary Canadian maleness is not M Lepine/Gharbi but the professors and the men in that classroom, who, ordered to leave by the lone gunman, meekly did so, and abandoned their female classmates to their fate — an act of abdication that would have been unthinkable in almost any other culture throughout human history. The “men” stood outside in the corridor and, even as they heard the first shots, they did nothing. And, when it was over and Gharbi walked out of the room and past them, they still did nothing. Whatever its other defects, Canadian manhood does not suffer from an excess of testosterone.

Junkyard Blog has a number of thoughts and links.

The Emperor links to two good pieces here. I'd like to call your attention to something from the second. It covers, among other things, a letter to the editor by Larry Hincker. You might remember him, he's the idiot mentioned here. Well, it seems a student who has a carry permit, but- obedient to the rules Hincker is so approving of- wasn't carrying, had the temerity to note that he did not like the feeling of being unarmed in the face of a spree killer running around(full letter in the post). I strongly urge you go read the full letter that Larry Hincker wrote; partly to get the full "I am an Elite, and therefore know better than you" attitude, and partly to witness the full level of stupidity and ass-covering in his words. In particular:
Wiles tells us that he didn’t feel safe with the hundreds of highly trained officers armed with high powered rifles encircling the building and protecting him. He even implies that he needed his sidearm to protect himself against the officers.

No, Mr. “I can’t believe he really wants to say that.” Larry Hincker, he does NOT 'imply' he needed to protect himself from the cops. And if you think he actually said that, then you're even more stupid and condescending than I thought. Since you're either too busy covering your ass to own up to it, or(quite possibly) too stupid and arrogant to see it, he's pointing out that the police got there after everyone was dead. They were not able to do anything except, at the very end, secure the crime scene and begin first-aid. Because, unfortunately, that's what usually happens, because the police are called either while the crime is being committed, or after it's over. So them showing up with rifles and shotguns and the bloody kitchen sink after it's over doesn't do much to protect you, now does it?

Two more bits:
The writer would have us believe that a university campus, with tens of thousands of young people, is safer with everyone packing heat. Imagine the continual fear of students in that scenario. We’ve seen that fear here, and we don’t want to see it again.

No, you haven't 'seen that fear here'; you had your little politically-correct pants-wetting at the thought of someone ready and willing to use force in self-defense. NOW you have fear there, and it's not because of honest citizens with firearms. And no, you brainless jackass, he didn't say 'everyone packing heat'(and don't you just love the way he phrases that? must have made him feel all street-wise). He pointed out that disarming people who have received the training and the carry permit, just because they set foot onto the Holy Campus, is stupid. There would be no 'continual fear' unless some neuter like you worked to stir it up, because they would not know; there's a reason for the saying 'concealed means concealed'.
and
Who among us thinks the writer of the commentary would not have been directly in harm’s way if he showed himself to those tactical squads while displaying a deadly weapon? Would he even be here today to tell us the story? Contrary to his position, the writer’s commentary actually gives credence to the university policy preventing weapons in classrooms.

And it doesn't mean they'd go chasing around after the bad guy. It means guarding the door so the murderer can't get in; if he tries, he goes down. It could mean giving cover to other students so they can escape. And when the cops make it in, you set your sidearm down.

I can't cover any more of this crap, the "I am the All-Knowing One" attitude is enough to make you break things. And since Mr. Hincker isn't handy, that wouldn't be productive. Just go to Gonzo's, he says it nicely.

Once again, honest people denied means of defense

because a bunch of jerks think criminals with murder in mind will obey the law.

HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died in subcommittee.

A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.

House Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was unavailable Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on the bill's defeat other than to say the issue was dead for this General Assembly session.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

Note the 'feel safe' part. Not BE safe, but 'feel' safe. Because honest people who carry are disarmed.

This was a horrible crime, committed by someone who knew there would be no armed opposition on the campus. Would it have stopped him if he had known that the moment he began shooting someone must might pull a sidearm and stop him? We don't know. We do know that he'd have been facing a fight instead of a school full of victims.

And the usual suspects are screaming to ban this and ban that and ban everything. Of course.

Dammit.

Smith & Wesson Model 57

I was thinking the other day about "Is there any firearm I particularly want?" Not just 'that would be nice to have', but "I want it!" And this came to mind

It's built on the large 'N' frame, and chambered for the .41 Magnum. I've wanted one of these since the day I first fired a Model 58; same gun with a 4" barrel and fixed sights. At about ten yards or so the five shots made one big, ragged hole and the recoil didn't bother me at all. Pretty much the same experience every time I've fired one.

So I've lusted after one of these for years. First, I couldn't afford one. Then I couldn't afford or find one. Now, I might be able to afford one, but I can't find one. You see, S&W stopped making this model some time ago. They still make a couple of .41 Mag revolvers, but one's the Scandium frame and the other's stainless, and I want a blued-steel Model 57.

Ammo for these tends to be expensive, but dies are available for handloading, so that's not a big problem. It's a powerful, accurate pistol with that old Smith quality. Maybe one of these days...

I'm not sure if this goes under 'separate but equal'

or 'some animals are more equal than others'. Because if a christian or jewish group went to a university and demanded separate dorms, separate gym hours, separate washing facilities and so on because being around kuffars unbelievers evil jews people of different beliefs "distracts them from their desire to become better Muslimsbelievers, and even draw[s] weaker Muslimsbelievers away from Islamtheir beliefs.", the university would lecture them about the need to 'experience other people and their ways' and so forth.

But for muslims? Hey, lets build separate but equal facilities and set things up to appease please them, because we want to be nice to them.

Arrant bullshit. At the least.

What's NOT getting taken care of

while Pelosi(Vile Harridan-CA) is running around kissing up to murdering dictators includes the funding for the military.

Remember that? The "It runs out on April 15"? The funding bill that the Democrats(Pelosi and Reid-Sorry Bastards) kept loading up with crap, and loading with 'we will get out by' bullshit?

Over at Q&O, back on April 1st, McQ posted this:
As acknowledged by the CRS report, money for the Army begins to run out exactly on the date noted. The report acknowledges that fact by pointing out that the only way the Army can continue to fight the war is to take money already obligated to other areas of Army operations, defund them and shift that money t
and
Oh, and all that blather about making sure units are fully mission capable before deploying? Well, unfortunately, to fund the war, we'll have to cut depot level maintenance on equipment necessary for the effort and that equipment won't be available to those deploying units. They certainly won't be able to "overhaul" equipment, increasing both their reliability and servicability. And putting the latest upgrades on the equipment, such as, perhaps, additional armor for troop protection, or the latest technological gadget which might help them locate and defeat IEDs? No go. Additionally, such transfers of money might, as the memo states, "slow down training".

Any more pissed than you already were? Well, on April 3 he noted this:
Said the commenter: "The troops will be "suffering"? Please. No one is going to notice any difference."

Don't you just love that sentiment? Real support from someone who obviously doesn't have a clue. Let me lay some things out here for you. As you recall (and if you don't, go to the link above) the Congressional Research Service said that if the Army began shifting funds from other areas to the Operations and Maintenance budget (i.e. the warfighting budget), it could continue its warfighting until the middle of July before it ran completely out of money. That was supposed to justify Democratic dallying with finalizing the supplemental to send to the President.
followed by some detailed information on what's being screwed up:
One of the many areas (facilities repair and upkeep, training, etc) that the CRS said would be effected is "depot maintenance". Now for those who don't know what that entails, that doesn't mean a whole bunch. So what is depot maintenence?

Well here's a short answer:

Army Depot Maintenance provides the Army with the industrial capability to repair, overhaul, and upgrade weapon systems and equipment; store and distribute ammunition, war reserve material, and other selected items; and provide tenant support to Army and other DoD Activities. Depot Maintenance Activities both compete and partner with private industry to deliver goods and services efficiently and effectively.

followed by more information on the support systems that money is being taken from.

The other day he noted this:
Those funding shifts being requested include:

* Defense Secretary Gates will soon ask lawmakers to approve the transfer of $1.6 billion from Air Force and Navy personnel accounts to cover the costs of Army operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* The Army already has had to reduce quality of life improvements, including upgrades to barracks and other facilities, Gates wrote.

* Officials also have reduced repair and maintenance used for deployment training and cut back on training exercises for non-deployed Guard and Reserve units.

If funding isn't approved by mid-May, look for this to happen:

* ... the Army will reduce the pace of equipment overhaul work at Army depots.

* ... curtail training rotations for some brigades scheduled for overseas deployment, and.

* ... delay transforming Army brigades into more modular units.

So while these slimy dictator-kissing little bastards are playing games, the troops and their families suffer. And it'll get worse unless they stop playing these damned games and push through a bill that funds the military and the war.

And if they don't? Then we need a bunch of pitchforks, torches, rails and tar and some pillows. Or some nooses; as the Emperor says, "Lamppost, rope, politician: some assembly required".

Bag Day

comes but once a year. I have to admit I picked this up a bit early; I was at Brigadoon Surplus and found this, and I knew this was one of those "If you don't get it now, you won't get it at all" deals. So, thanks to tax refund(and some help from the change jar) I present the Sistema Model 1927













Yes, it looks like a 1911A1; that's because it is(full rundown here). Short version, Argentina contracted with Colt to make 1911A1 pistols(in 1927) and then, in 1945, began producing them in Argentina. With small differences, they're identical to the GI model, and all parts interchange.

At some time in the past a set of wraparound grips were installed(no markings, so not a clue who made them); otherwise, it's as-issued. The crest visible in front of the slide serrations indicates it was a government issue pistol, not one made for the commercial or export market. The finish is best described as 'gone', some very light pitting below the slide on the sides. The bore showed worn rifling and some fine pitting, not unusual for these from what I've heard. They let me field-strip it, and close exam showed no cracks, rust or other 'forget it' findings on the inside. And the price was right, so...

Once home I detail-stripped it, and was very pleased to find no rust, pitting or other trouble on any of the internal parts(lots of old oil/grease/dust), and all were actually in very good condition. Cleaned and lubed, the action works smoothly and the trigger is actually pretty good, breaking clean at about 5 pounds.

Took it to the range a couple of days later and tried it with some S&B ball and handloads, and it functioned perfectly with all. Accuracy wasn't wonderful, part of it may well be the barrel but some of it is the !*)+##% sights being not the easiest things for my eyes to work with.

So, let's see, get a oversize firing pin stop and fit it, probably stick with these grips for now, maybe a new barrel to fit. I'm not sure about the arched mainspring housing, being used to a flat one, but a flat is easy to find if I decide to change it. And, maybe, some new sights; this would be a good carry piece, but for that I'd have to change them to something easier to pick up fast.

So here's my BAG Day acquisition. Hope you found something, too.


Addition: from what I've been reading, the last shipment of these came in about a month or two ago, and I do mean last; as in no more from Argentina.

In the news from Britain,

found at the Englishman's domicile, we have three pieces tonight.

First, we have this on the loss of freedom of speech:
the government’s exclusion zone that has banned spontaneous protest for a radius of one kilometre outside the seat of our democracy, the Houses of Parliament.

Next, the reaction to the national ID card scheme isn't exactly warm and fuzzy:
The government is predicting that some 15m people will revolt against Tony Blair’s controversial ID card scheme by refusing to produce the new cards or provide personal data on demand.
"What the Home Office is accepting in private, but refuses to accept in public, is that a massive number of ordinary law-abiding citizens simply will not go along with their scheme.”

Let's see, protests- even by one or two people- banned unless you get prior approval... millions of people saying 'screw you', more or less politely, to being told the police will have even more power to say "Papers, please; or else"... What could be the capper to this stuff?

Why, give the bailiffs who write parking tickets the power to invade your home!
More than a million motorists a year face having bailiffs force their way into their homes to collect unpaid parking fines under legislation before MPs.

Action could be taken even when the motorist is unaware that a ticket has been issued or that the debt has been pursued through the civil courts.

Now, I'm tempted to say that, in a way, this last piece of socialist bullshitgovernmental overreach is the real demonstration of how little of the old expected freedoms are left. When the government is thinking of letting a frikkin' meter maid force their way into your house over parking tickets...

Their current authority? Currently, their powers are limited to seizing a car or confiscating goods from the debtor's home - having gained entry by consent.

Confiscating goods from the debtor's home... over a God-cursed PARKING TICKET.

But there are safeguards, of course: Alan Clark, a bailiff and a member of the British Parking Association, played down the threat to motorists.

"These powers would be used very rarely. We would not seek to use them unless it was necessary.

Oh, of course it would be rare, only to be used when 'necessary'. Because minions of the government would NEVER abuse their authority.

Now would they?

Heroes

Kim has this post up on the subject, why we need them and why the major media & buttmonkeys seem absolutely determined to destroy anyone who qualifies.

Now, I'm going to post the citation for the award of the Victoria Cross to Private Johnson Beharry:
"Private Beharry carried out two individual acts of great heroism by which he saved the lives of his comrades. Both were in direct face of the enemy, under intense fire, at great personal risk to himself (one leading to him sustaining very serious injuries). His valour is worthy of the highest recognition.

"In the early hours of the 1st May 2004 Beharry’s company was ordered to replenish an isolated Coalition Forces outpost located in the centre of the troubled city of Al Amarah. He was the driver of a platoon commander’s Warrior armoured fighting vehicle. His platoon was the company’s reserve force and was placed on immediate notice to move. As the main elements of his company were moving into the city to carry out the replenishment, they were re-tasked to fight through a series of enemy ambushes in order to extract a foot patrol that had become pinned down under sustained small arms and heavy machine gun fire and improvised explosive device and rocket-propelled grenade attack.

"Beharry’s platoon was tasked over the radio to come to the assistance of the remainder of the company, who were attempting to extract the isolated foot patrol. As his platoon passed a roundabout, en route to the pinned-down patrol, they became aware that the road to the front was empty of all civilians and traffic – an indicator of a potential ambush ahead. The platoon commander ordered the vehicle to halt, so that he could assess the situation. The vehicle was then immediately hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades. Eyewitnesses report that the vehicle was engulfed in a number of violent explosions, which physically rocked the 30-tonne Warrior.

"As a result of this ferocious initial volley of fire, both the platoon commander and the vehicle’s gunner were incapacitated by concussion and other wounds, and a number of the soldiers in the rear of the vehicle were also wounded. Due to damage sustained in the blast to the vehicle’s radio systems, Beharry had no means of communication with either his turret crew or any of the other Warrior vehicles deployed around him. He did not know if his commander or crewmen were still alive, or how serious their injuries may be. In this confusing and dangerous situation, on his own initiative, he closed his driver’s hatch and moved forward through the ambush position to try to establish some form of communications, halting just short of a barricade placed across the road.

"The vehicle was hit again by sustained rocket-propelled grenade attack from insurgent fighters in the alleyways and on rooftops around his vehicle. Further damage to the Warrior from these explosions caused it to catch fire and fill rapidly with thick, noxious smoke. Beharry opened up his armoured hatch cover to clear his view and orientate himself to the situation. He still had no radio communications and was now acting on his own initiative, as the lead vehicle of a six Warrior convoy in an enemy-controlled area of the city at night. He assessed that his best course of action to save the lives of his crew was to push through, out of the ambush. He drove his Warrior directly through the barricade, not knowing if there were mines or improvised explosive devices placed there to destroy his vehicle. By doing this he was able to lead the remaining five Warriors behind him towards safety.

"As the smoke in his driver’s tunnel cleared, he was just able to make out the shape of another rocket- propelled grenade in flight heading directly towards him. He pulled the heavy armoured hatch down with one hand, whilst still controlling his vehicle with the other. However, the overpressure from the explosion of the rocket wrenched the hatch out of his grip, and the flames and force of the blast passed directly over him, down the driver’s tunnel, further wounding the semi-conscious gunner in the turret. The impact of this rocket destroyed Beharry’s armoured periscope, so he was forced to drive the vehicle through the remainder of the ambushed route, some 1500 metres long, with his hatch opened up and his head exposed to enemy fire, all the time with no communications with any other vehicle. During this long surge through the ambushes the vehicle was again struck by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. While his head remained out of the hatch, to enable him to see the route ahead, he was directly exposed to much of this fire, and was himself hit by a 7.62mm bullet, which penetrated his helmet and remained lodged on its inner surface.

"Despite this harrowing weight of incoming fire Beharry continued to push through the extended ambush, still leading his platoon until he broke clean. He then visually identified another Warrior from his company and followed it through the streets of Al Amarah to the outside of the Cimic House outpost, which was receiving small arms fire from the surrounding area. Once he had brought his vehicle to a halt outside, without thought for his own personal safety, he climbed onto the turret of the still-burning vehicle and, seemingly oblivious to the incoming enemy small arms fire, manhandled his wounded platoon commander out of the turret, off the vehicle and to the safety of a nearby Warrior. He then returned once again to his vehicle and again mounted the exposed turret to lift out the vehicle’s gunner and move him to a position of safety. Exposing himself yet again to enemy fire he returned to the rear of the burning vehicle to lead the disorientated and shocked dismounts and casualties to safety. Remounting his burning vehicle for the third time, he drove it through a complex chicane and into the security of the defended perimeter of the outpost, thus denying it to the enemy. Only at this stage did Beharry pull the fire extinguisher handles, immobilising the engine of the vehicle, dismounted and then moved himself into the relative safety of the back of another Warrior. Once inside Beharry collapsed from the sheer physical and mental exhaustion of his efforts and was subsequently himself evacuated.

"Having returned to duty following medical treatment, on the 11th June 2004 Beharry’s Warrior was part of a quick reaction force tasked to attempt to cut off a mortar team that had attacked a Coalition Force base in Al Amarah. As the lead vehicle of the platoon he was moving rapidly through the dark city streets towards the suspected firing point, when his vehicle was ambushed by the enemy from a series of rooftop positions. During this initial heavy weight of enemy fire, a rocket-propelled grenade detonated on the vehicle’s frontal armour, just six inches from Beharry’s head, resulting in a serious head injury. Other rockets struck the turret and sides of the vehicle, incapacitating his commander and injuring several of the crew.

"With the blood from his head injury obscuring his vision, Beharry managed to continue to control his vehicle, and forcefully reversed the Warrior out of the ambush area. The vehicle continued to move until it struck the wall of a nearby building and came to rest. Beharry then lost consciousness as a result of his wounds. By moving the vehicle out of the enemy’s chosen killing area he enabled other Warrior crews to be able to extract his crew from his vehicle, with a greatly reduced risk from incoming fire. Despite receiving a serious head injury, which later saw him being listed as very seriously injured and in a coma for some time, his level-headed actions in the face of heavy and accurate enemy fire at short range again almost certainly saved the lives of his crew and provided the conditions for their safe evacuation to medical treatment.

"Beharry displayed repeated extreme gallantry and unquestioned valour, despite intense direct attacks, personal injury and damage to his vehicle in the face of relentless enemy action."

I would think that anyone, in favor of or opposed to the war, would think that courage and determination like this should be noted. Except in England at the God-cursed chickenshit BBC:

For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict.

The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.

But what would they show? The Ministry of Defence recently expressed concern about Channel 4's The Mark of Cain which showed British troops brutalising Iraqi detainees. That programme was temporarily pulled from the schedules after Iran detained 15 British troops.

Like Instapundit once said, it's not a question of their patriotism; they're actually on the other side. So heroes are to be either ignored or, if possible, destroyed. And an awful lot of our media is following suit.

This is what murding jihadi fornicators of camels

really find after they die

My only comments about the Imus mess

First, "Imus? Who?" Never heard his show, remembered he's some radio show host in NYFC.

Second, nobody with a brain and/or balls would even consider offering an apology for 'racial insensitivity' to the 'reverends' Sharpton and Jackson. For more on Sharpton's lying, race-baiting career, see here. And Jessie 'hymietown' Jackson? The 'reverend' who was screwing women on the side, fathering a child by one and using company money to pay her off? These RWPP assholes demand apologies and ring-kissing? Bleah.

Third, the dumbass should have apologized to the team for making a stupid comment; I have to agree with Howard Stern who(I heard) said that Imus should have said "It was a joke. Screw you" to the above noted RWPPs, and never apologized to them. I think Imus is a standard shock-jock type from what I've heard; shock-jock said something offensive, this is a surprise?

Big friggin' mess(with media help, of course) that the above noted RWPP assholes are using to gain power and money. It's enough to make you start drinking.

I don't read Bill Whittle often enough,

especially since(in this case speaking of Rosie O'Donnell and other conspiracy idiots) he writes things like this:
"This is the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel," she said. This is a statement of such pristine and perfect idiocy that it surely must be emblazoned in stone across the entrance to the Physics Imbecile wing of the Moron Museum of Natural History. But mastery of physics and engineering requires some intelligence, some perseverance and some discipline: none of which are in evidence in this buffoon. Everything is a conspiracy to a mind this far gone. The 15 British sailors kidnapped at sea? All a plan by our evil (but incompetent!) government to get the next war it so desperately needs. “Gulf of Tonkin! Google It, people!” she said on national TV.

And I will, Rosie. I promise. As soon as I finish googling MAD COW DISEASE.

Hehehehehe.

I remember first hearing about this"A fire from an airplane couldn't melt the steel in the building!" crap from people who, for the most part, never tried working hot steel, let along melting(or burning, but that was an accident) it. Ignoring that tens of thousands of gallons of jet fuel, burning in a smashed up building that's now acting as a chimney to an extent, probably could flat melt it, the fact is it doesn't have to. Which is what I explained to someone at the time.

Take a steel rod that you can't bend. Light a torch and heat part of the center to a low red heat and then try to bend it; chances are you can, more easily than you might think. Heat-treated steel, whether structural or in a blade or spring, starts losing strength as soon as the temperature is high enough to affect that heat treatment. Get a spring up to 500 to 600 degrees(depending on alloy and use) and it's lost its ability to be a spring; that heat is enough to remove the internal stresses that make it springy.

So if you have steel beams supporting a huge weight, both of building and wind load and etc., and get those beams hot, they don't have to melt; they get hot enough and they lose so much strength that they can't support everything anymore. Add that to the damage of having a freaking jetliner crash into the building...

Part of all this mess, as Mr. Whittle so well points out, is one simple, glaring fact: you cannot keep something that big a secret. Remember that old saying that "Three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead"? But, according to these monster-level idiots like O'Donnell, hundreds- maybe even thousands- of people can keep anyone from finding any 'proof' that the gummint did it(let's not forget that among people like that, you'd damn sure find some who'd sell the story for enough money).

Oh, hell, just go read it; he covers it all very well.

I wrote a while back of the hostage situation

with the Brit Marines and sailors, and mentioned an old saying I'd heard: "Lions, being led by mice". Ran across this today from Michael Yon. Go read it. You really should.

Back? Here's what you usually have seen over the years from British military forces; competence and courage. Despite their government all too often screwing them over. Here, no air cover to both spot bad guys and suppress enemy fire from the rooftops. In the hostage incident, orders not to fire if attacked and, from the looks of it, insufficient training. The British Navy is about to have half of its ships trashed. In the past... remember early in the invasion when Brit troops had to borrow ammo, because they didn't have enough for a basic load?

Early on in this war there was an editorial in a British paper basically asking "Why is it that, despite the roadblocks put in his way, the squaddie delivers? We've sunk billions into education and the National Health System and we're getting trash back; the troops aren't paid enough and all too often don't have what they need and are looked down on by too many in the government, but they generally get the job done anyway." And they have, with a few exceptions.

And I don't doubt they'll continue. Unless the bastards like Blair & Co. finally screw them over so badly they either cannot fight, or they all stand up and say "Enough".

About those Carbine handloads

Thought I'd put up some more on them. The bullets were the Lyman 115-grain gas-check, cast of mongrel lead, sized to .309", lubed with Rooster Red and with a Hornady gas check on the base. I generally don't mess with a very specific alloy, as I cast for practice bullets and have always gotten the results I needed. If you're wanting to get the best possible accuracy from cast bullets you really ought to be fairly precise in the alloy you mix, especially if it's not in a gas-check design.

These were shot at 30 yards at an indoor range off a not-overly-steady rest, soon as weather and time allow I'll try the best at 50 & 100 yards. And use the chronograph to help get an estimate of the pressures.

I used 2400 powder for these. I like it because it works well in a number of handgun loads, it makes good light practice loads in .30-06, .30-30 and .308(I've used it for 7.5 Swiss, too), and it flows very smoothly through a powder measure(some, like Bullseye, can be something of a pain in the ass at times). All this means I can use it for a number of things, and I like a powder this versatile.*

DISCLAIMER: these loads worked for me, in my rifle, with these bullets/cases/primers: that doesn't mean they'll work as well for you. Start at the bottom and work your way up on powder charge, and don't yell at me if something doesn't work right.

I started at 11.0 grains























Not exactly breathtaking. Next load was a touch better at 11.2 grains, but I lost the damn target; so the next picture is 11.4:























Much better. Next up was 11.6:



















Just about identical results. So the last was 11.8. Remember I mentioned that a very slight change can make a big difference?























Opened up quite a bit.

I stopped there because the manual showed 12.0 grains as the max. Since these are intended as practice ammo I'm not worried about maximum possible velocity, just good accuracy and reliable function. These loads all cycled the action without fail, and two gave very promising accuracy, so I've got something good to work from.

What I'll do next is load up more of the 11.4 and 11.6 to try out from a solid rest at longer range. I've also got a box of Speer 110-grain hollowpoints to work with. I'd like to have some accurate soft/hollowpoint loads for this, and since Remington and Winchester run about $25-35/box of 50, and Federal about $15-18/box of 20...

As to the cast bullets: yeah, there's still a lot of milsurp 110-grain ball available for good prices, and I've got some. And commercial, too. I just like being able to make my own.


*I wish some of the manufacturers would make powders available, at least some of them, in 4 oz. bottles, so you could try a new one without having to buy a full pound. Or more: VihtaVuori starts in 2lb. bottles.

Sometimes you know the kids listened

Seen the trailer for Grindhouse? Including Rose McGowan with an M16 stuck on her stump? My daughter reported this conversation with a friend while watching it:
Friend: That gun on her leg is cool.
Daughter: But every time she takes a step she'll plug up the muzzle!
Friend: Shut up.

Just a tiny bit of powder

can make a big difference in a load. Black powder, generally speaking, isn't quite as touchy on small differences in a load(a grain or less). But with smokeless propellant, in a lot of firearms, just a fraction of a grain can make a big difference in accuracy.

Case in point: once worked up a load for .303 British using Hornady 150-grain softpoints. Started at the low end of the load range using IMR4064 powder, and got about 3" groups at 100 yards. Upped it by a half-grain, and a little better. At one grain higher the groups shrunk to 1.5-2" at that range. That last was close to two grains below the suggested maximum, and gave by far the best accuracy with that powder/bullet combination.

Went to the range tonight to try out a couple of things, one of them being a cast bullet load for the M1 Carbine. Again, started at the low end, went up by .2 grain increments. The first two gave about 2" groups at 30 yards; up it another .2 grain and I got one big ragged hole with one about a half-inch outside that. Another .2 grain, the same. Add .2 more and it opened back up to about 2". Guess which I'll be trying out at longer ranges?

Cases, powders, primers, bullets; they're all different. Usually. I've got an old 8mm Mauser I've mentioned before that doesn't shoot badly with any load I've tried, but with the one it really likes I consistently get 1" groups at 100. I've fired others that would only shoot well with certain loads; get just a little outside the parameters they liked and it started patterning instead of grouping.

There are times I think Kim is right to call handloading 'alchemy'; there've been times I'd swear that breathing the right way or muttering under your breath(in the right frame of mind, of course) made a difference in how a load worked out.

For more on Giuliani the Vote-Sucker,

read this piece, found thanks to Uncle.

Giuliani explained the rationale for the lawsuit during a June 2000 radio show: "We are dealing with a problem that is foisted on the city by the rest of the country 95 percent of the guns in New York City can be traced to someplace outside the city A lot of the problems in New York City are caused by very, very lax regulations outside the city." So much for letting each city or state go its own way on gun control.

Oh, yeah, ol' Rudy is a real, true friend of gun owners.

In a pigs ass.

I don't care how much Hannity and some others make excuses for him, Giuliani will not get my vote.

Remember, April 15 is BAG Day

As in 'Buy A Gun Day'. Pellet/BB guns and up, with more points if you buy something that makes Schumer/Pelosi & Co. wet their pants or have a stroke.

Preferably both.

I was reminded of this Holy Day by Cowboy Blob, weasel-wrangler extraordinaire. Who has a rundown of what various nice people are getting/have bought/planning for.

Added: and Uncle has this

And let due note be taken: Marooned had note of it, too

I hate to say this on such a holiday, Updated

but I am freakin' sick to death of these people.

While back it was the GFWs who wanted the rifle taken out of the hands of the Minuteman in MA. Now, it's a bunch of GFWs and 'we don't like the military' types who think a statue honoring a fallen American SEAL is a bad thing- especially anywhere kids will see it- because some neighbors are concerned about the children who will walk by it because Dietz is holding his automatic rifle in the statue. One of the neighbors would not go on camera, but sent an statement saying, "We encourage the community to carefully consider the appropriateness of the proposed location. This has been, and will remain our sole intent."

God, no, can't have that. Can't have a statue of an honest-to-God hero where kids might see it and consider his courage, his devotion to duty; they might come to think of him as a good man, and his actions as a good thing, and that would be flat disgusting, wouldn't it?

And for further roundup of this crap, go here:
"If I've got my 4-year-old at the playground, I feel it would be a threatening image that would frighten her," Fuchs said.

She said the ideal solution would be to place the statue at another location, but Dietz's family disagrees.

Got news for you, you idiot: the only reason your kid would see this as a 'threatening image' is because you taught her not to trust our troops, and taught her to be scared of firearms. If your kid asked about the statue and you said it was to honor a man who died fighting for his country, for her freedom, she wouldn't feel threatened at all; but you wouldn't want her to feel unthreatened by him, would you? Clowns like you are so busy blaming objects for what people do, and trashing our troops whenever possible, you've got to make sure your kids are scared of guns and contemptuous toward those in uniform. Because if they actually consider that there are people out there who'll fight like hell for, and if necessary give their lives for this country, they might think this country is actually worth defending. And that there might actually be good uses for arms. And then where would we be?

A hell of a lot better off, you sorry bitch.

Update: I just cannot stand this shit:
"We're not trying to hit kids over the head with this; we want them to have fun. We also want to bring attention to the fact that our munitions cause a lot of death and destruction to civilians, especially children."

Oh, no, not trying to hit the kids over the head at all.
Lying, sorry sack of dog crap.

At a "teach-in" yesterday at a Northwest Washington community center, Hennessey and others helped the children fashion the fake bombs, using balloons, tennis balls and brightly colored clay. The adults told the children they could write their names on the "bombs" and take them home after Monday's event. And they tried to explain what the concerns were all about.

"In these countries far away from here, kids find them and they look just like toys," said Radia Daoussi, a Vineeta worker, holding up a ball covered in swirls of orange, blue and yellow clay. "If you saw this, wouldn't you want to pick it up and play with it?"

!!*&#^%$#(****

Attention, useful-idiot surrenderpeace activists: cluster bomb submunitions tend to look something like this:
















They DO NOT! look like a fucking toy ball. OUR military does NOT do things like make bombs that look like toys so they'll kill or maim children. It was your socialist cohorts the Soviet Union that did that, in Afghanistan for instance.

If I were an atheist, with absolutely no religious beliefs at all, I'd still have to ask the Almighty for forgiveness for having the thoughts I am right now, on such a day as this, about these, people.

'National' vs. 'Local' news

Among the reasons I don't trust the major media:

John Stossel mentions this:Here's another example. What do you think is more dangerous, a house with a pool or a house with a gun? When, for "20/20," I asked some kids, all said the house with the gun is more dangerous. I'm sure their parents would agree. Yet a child is 100 times more likely to die in a swimming pool than in a gun accident.

Parents don't know that partly because the media hate guns and gun accidents make bigger headlines. Ask yourself which incident would be more likely to be covered on TV.

Of Arms and the Law finds this:Two young children and their father, found dead in the woods together, were hanged, police said Wednesday.
and
Tuesday's discovery came a week after a man and his four young children were found dead in a townhouse about 20 miles away in Frederick. In that incident, police said three young girls had been suffocated and their brother died from skull fractures. The father hanged himself from a bannister with nylon rope. The mother is still missing.

I guarantee if these people had used a gun- any gun- to do this, it would've been on the national news for at least a day, with various politicians using it to push a ban. But since they were only hanged, strangled and beaten to death, local news. Big deal.

Same as some kid is beaten to death or stabbed in school, local news; some kid brings an unloaded gun to school, national news and calls for 'something to be done'.

Senator Reid speaks to vets,

and gets his ass handed to him. Any bets as to whether the major media will have any mention of this?

Ever heard of Leslie Fish?

Among other things, she's a filksinger; someone who takes traditional tunes and makes lyrics- usually related to a sci-fi or fantasy story/movie- to go with them. She also composes her own stuff(a talent I'm somewhat in awe of). Here's one of hers:

Black Powder and Alcohol

Black powder and alcohol
when the states and the cities fall
When your back is against the wall
black powder and alcohol

Give me charcoal to the measure two,
sends the bullet where you want it to
Give me sulphur to the measure three,
make the powder gonna keep you free
Give me saltpetre measure fifteen,
sweetest shootin' that you've ever seen, remember

chorus

Give me water, yeast and veggie trash
leave it sittin' in the slurry mash
When it's ready put it in the still
if you can't heat it up the sunlight will
Draw the alcohol away and then
put the slurry back and start again

chorus

Booze'll clean your cuts and run your car
you can make it anywhere you are
Black powder in your cartridge shell
Will send your raiders runnin' clean to hell
You can make it if you just know how
so kids, remember what I'm teachin' you now

chorus twice


Here's a place with some of her stuff in mp3 form, check it out.

The Modern 'Liberal'

as Chris puts it. I'd heard of this the last week or so, but since it's a long video and my connection is slow(no, Og, I haven't gotten cable or whatever yet), I haven't watched it. But Chris has the transcript.

Why DO I do this?

Med-Fair, I mean? In some ways it's a bloody pain: load up several hundred pounds of stuff, some of it messy as hell, cart it to the site & set up, use it for three days(while talking yourself hoarse and getting either sunburned, frozen or drowned), then pack it all up and take it home and unload. Add in sometimes having to dolly all this crap a ways because you either can't drive onto the grounds or can't park close. And there's always the exciting possibility of of some freelance socialist stealing a tool or some piece you sweated over for hours to make.

Biggest reason? I really like showing this stuff to people. I like showing how people took whatever was available and made needed things out of it. I like demonstrating how this is done. I like answering a lot of the questions(excluding things like "Is that real metal? Is that real fire? Can I have that?*) I love it when some grandkid finds out that grandpa used to do this on the farm/ranch, and even has some of the tools back home still; you can see their face light up and "Wow!" go through their mind.

I like it when someone asks how to get started and I can tell them places to go for information and materials. I like it when someone shows up and asks "Can you fix/duplicate this?" and stands there watching while you do it. Pointing out pieces of history that someone's never heard of before, folklore about smiths in different cultures. And, on occasion, using a song they've never heard of(ever heard 'The Two Magicians'? Or 'A Lusty Blacksmith'?) Get to be the first to tell a kid interested in Irish history about Chu'hulainn and where his name came from.

One of the really nice things is to finish some small piece, and one of the merchants comes up and says "Can you make this stake/hanger/hook/support for me?" You get a description, figure out size, then pick out a piece of stock and make it, then deliver it or have them pick it up. And the folks watching get to see it all, just like a smith at a fair or town shop way back when.

Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass. But it does have compensations.

Crime in Canada and dhimmitude- and stupidity- in Britain

For the first, I present this thread I ran across at High Road which links to this article on crime rates. Interesting reading. The problem with something like this is that different countries figure the numbers differently(remember England figuring 'homicide' numbers so as to lower the stats?), and I don't have time to dig into this to check it out.

As to the second, Kim and others noted this piece of amazing dumbassery and cowardice:
Schools are dropping controversial subjects from history lessons - such as the Holocaust and the Crusades - because teachers do not want to cause offence, Government research has found.
I say cowardice specifically because of two points:
And one school avoided teaching the Crusades because its "balanced" handling of the topic would directly contradict what was taught in local mosques.
and
The report said the teachers feared confronting "anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils".
Both of which translate to "We're scared of the muslim community and don't want to upset them. And the government will screw us over if we do. It's all in the holy name of 'tolerance', you see." Etc. Just read the whole damn thing.

On what's happening with the British hostages

I found a link to this at Instapundit, and it reminded me of two things.

The first was an incident in India(I believe) of a British officer captured by whatever force they were fighting at the time*. He was basically given the choice to crawl and live, or die. He looked them in the eye and said "Do your worst". He was killed; and the people who saw it spoke of him with honor for the rest of their lives, and worried about a people who produced soldiers like that.

The other? With British sailors and Marines being held hostage- largely because the Brit government didn't allow them to open fire in self-defense- and the Brit government bitching to the UN and so forth, I remember a phrase I once heard. Compare this crap to the Royal Marines who strapped themselves onto the weapon wings on Apache choppers because it was the only way to try to rescue one of their own, and an old phrase rings true: "Lions, being led by mice".

The Fair, and the aftermath*

Fair's over, truck's unloaded, laundry's done. I'm just about done after this day, though not as badly as after closing Saturday & Sunday. Some stuff I forged needs to be wire-brushed and oiled(later), the forge has been oiled and covered, tools put back where I usually keep them. I hosed out the back of the truck to get rid of the dirt. And did laundry, and mowed(the back yard grows amazingly this time of year if there's rain)

I finally looked at my rain gauge this morning. Mind you, this was Monday morning, when the rain ended Friday night: 4.5". That's a lot of rain in a 72-hour period, and I think most of it fell Friday afternoon & evening in a series of what could be called downpours. Or that damn
cow being force-fed fluids as she was tied in place over us. Part of my garden in the back yard washed out, I think it'll take about three bags of topsoil to repair that. God, it was nasty that day; if I'd done anything to piss off Sondra, I'd think she'd cursed us with her lousy weather.

Friday started off cloudy, and had some occasional sprinkles, which was fine. Then the thunder started rumbling to the south. Which did give me enough warning to cool down the forge and get everything under cover before it hit. Friday evening is already described. Saturday I woke up and it seemed kind of dark, so I looked through the blind and crap! I couldn't even see the other side of the street it was so foggy. Except...(note to self: put on glasses and you'll be able to tell it's the condensation on the window, not fog). Turned out it had dawned with naught but a couple of clouds in the sky, and thanks to cooler, drier air from the north stayed clear and helped to firm up the ground; was almost chilly most of the day. Sunday was warmer and still clear, which helped a lot at breakdown since nobody was allowed to drive onto the grounds, which meant dollying everything out. Ever tried to dolly an anvil and stump, about 200 pounds, about 1/4 mile over ground? It ain't fun.

Met the gentleman who goes by Pagan Blacksmith Saturday, nice guy. Lots of people I haven't seen since last year























seen once again.

I can confirm that naproxyn can be your friend: I started on it Thursday and will keep it up for a day or so, and my hands and various troublesome joints have gotten along much better than expected.

Oh, the other folks from last year? Like Heather
























Natalie & friends?























Yeah, they were there. Also, meet Tullamore:













That's Mary, Mark and Rachel. Damn fine musicians and singers.

And, of course, Your Host at work:

























And now, I'm to a glass of something comforting and then to bed.


*Actually, it strikes me that that would be a good chapter title for a bodice ripper; but if you use it, I want royalties, dammit!

Will Rogers was the first one,

speaking of the weather around here, to say "You don't like the weather? Wait a couple of hours." As example, when last I took note of this it was bloody pouring and blowing like a hurricane. And, I found out today, radar showed a circulation that passed over the Fair site.

By 8p.m., the heavy had all stopped, just a few sprinkles. This morning just a few scattered clouds and downright chilly, at least compared to the last few days. Hit somewhere in the 60's today with nothing more than a few clouds and should be a bit warmer tomorrow.

The site had one shallow lake, a few small ponds and a whole lot of mud this morning, but conditions improved with both the sun, and the cooler, drier air that moved in last night. Should be pretty good tomorrow. With the exception of the lake disappearing, as my daughter noted a whole bunch of dogs today who saw the water and happily ran to the limit of their leash into it; the dogs'll be as upset about it not being there as their owners were about the dogs turning into used mops.

Ah well, to bed.

Texas Ladies Club

From a friend:
For those of you who don't live here in Texas with us ... and think we are a bunch of uncivilized ruffians ... not true! In fact, we even have ladies groups that meet regularly to discuss current events and develop needed home-skills.

Here is a photo taken at a recent "Say NO to Hillary" ladies group meeting here in Horseshoe Bay.

Current postal match is up

at Mr. Completely's place.

Assuming I- or the range- doesn't wash downstream, I should be able to give it a try.

Remember that cow and the flat rock?

Bossy's gonna die

The 'scattered thunderstorms' the weather weenies talked about seems to consist of the aforementioned cow turning most of the state into a flat rock. All at once. Scattered storms my ass.

Though this should make Algore happy, since this is Ma Nature balancing out last years dry spell. I can hear her now: "Last year was a bit dry, so I'll make up for it. IN ONE WEEK! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm half afraid to look at the rain guage; yesterday, over the last three days it showed 1.5". Today, there's street flooding all over the damn place and they closed Med-Fair about 2:30. Yuck.

You have to understand, the Fair actually being closed due to weather takes seriously nasty conditions. Like some guy with a beard looking for gopher wood and muttering about 'cubits' nasty. For a long time it was always either the first or second weekend of April- depending on Easter- and weather in this area can be, ah, 'variable' let's say at this time of year. It's been open when it was snowing, cold as hell, hot and wind gusting high enough to damn near tip the forge and anvil over and rain. So heavy enough rain, or threatening bad storms enough to close it, is Not A Good Thing.

I did have enough warning of the rain to get the fire put out and things under cover, so that's good. And from the current info, looks like this should end tonight. So tomorrow should be ok. Soggy ground, but that can deal with.

I repeat: yuck.

Once again, Ma Nature demonstrates

that she has little fondness for moderation. Last year was pretty dry, and there had been hopes for more 'normal' rainfall this year.

In response, I think in the last two weeks we've received as much- more in some areas- than we got in the last six months of last year. According to my rain gauge, in the last three days we've had a good two inches in Oklahoma City; most of it since 7:30 this morning.

I'm all for getting a bit more wet this year, but did it have to be now? And in one big damn swoop?

Balance of nature, my ass.

As to what Britain is becoming,

I saw something on this piece of horrible crap a couple of days ago, but had a hard time figuring out what words to use. Other than foul swearing. Kim has some words:It’s not often that I read something which fills me with horror to such an extent that I can truthfully say, “Words fail me.” This is one of those cases, and I’m not even going to try.

I'm going to have to take back the good things I've said about Tony Blair in the past. Not only does he push a horror like this, but the Iranians kidnap a bunch of British marines and sailors, and what does he do? Protest and run squealing to the UN. And note that the main reason they were grabbed is they weren't allowed to protect themselves. By Brit government orders. Mr. Free Market is right, it's Tony Bleah.

In case you were wondering, (Updated)

the possible tornado was northwest of here, and no apparent damage.


Update: That was the original report I heard. Turns out a lot of electrical lines were damaged/downed and a bunch of roofs damaged.

Oh joy, 'tis spring

It's been off & on raining since about 7:30 this morning, sometimes like the proverbial cow on a flat rock. And now, the tornado sirens are blowing.

Absolutely bloody wonderful.

I'm linking a lot lately,

but it's all good stuff. Like these two from Sebastian: Clayton Cramer whacking on the latest BS from the Brady Campaign to Ban Guns, and the Armed Canadian on the various and assorted reasons gun registration and licensing is bad.

As a followup to the

revolver post, something ammo-related comes to mind.

The lady in question had picked up some Winchester .38 Special +P hollowpoints some time ago, and they were a big part of her problem with being spooked by the pistol: the muzzle flash was bothering her. Big, impressive flash in the range, but that was Not a Good Thing in this case. With some different ammo, much less flash, much happier lady.

A lot of people don't realize it, but not only are the brand names and bullets different between brands, powder is. And some produces a lot more flash than others. The Gold Dot ammo I've fired has all had a minimal flash; this Winchester and some Remington hollowpoints the worst I've seen outside of some 7.62x25mm. And it is a real problem for some people.

So here's another point of ammo selection, if the stuff someone tries has to much flash for them to be comfortable with, try another brand. May be all that's needed to get them over the hump.

And through the good offices of Mugwug

We find this:
1. Make sure they are breathing. Yes? Good. No? Adjust head position. Don't worry about spinal injuries. If they ain't breathing, they don't care, so you shouldn't either.

Go, and read it all.

Some years back, while helping some friends pack to move, wife came over and said "There's been a terrible accident, you should go do something", or words to that effect. I went out back and Damn! she wasn't kidding. One vehicle rolled over in the (happily wide) median, one smashed up but upright. By the time I got there I found
The two people in the upright car were conscious, not bleeding, and sitting dazed,
The lady still in the overturned car was hanging in her seat belt(older car, no shoulder belt),
One kid had been ejected and was laying in the grass.

The kid wasn't bleeding and was conscious so I just shaded his eyes from the sun. Then two guys with a crowbar started prying the door of the car open to get to the lady. I started yelling "When you get it open, don't move her!" One of the said something about "We've got to get her out!" but someone else added in "He's right! Don't move her, wait for the ambulance!", and between us they listened. She was fairly solidly anchored by the belt so she wasn't going to fall out, so I didn't try to argue about the door.

Right after that was settled two ladies came over and wanted to put a towel under the kid 'so the grass won't itch'. I kept pointing out(far too politely; I should have said "God-dammit, NO!") that it would be a Bad Thing to move him around, and they kept insisting they needed to 'do something'. God knows how many people have been injured worse because somebody just HAD to do SOMETHING.

Finally the first ambulance arrived(amazing how long it seems with things like that going on) and the pros took over, and I got out of the way.

All this memory sparked by this line:It is perfectly acceptable to DO NOTHING most of the time...

As Oscar Poppa puts it,

The stupidity of some people is bloody amazing.

“For far too long we have ignored the relationship between bullets and gun crimes,” state Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), a former NYPD captain, said as he held a hollow-point slug. “We can no longer allow this item, this bullet, to be that silent partner.”

Adams said he was introducing legislation that would mandate the tracking of ammunition and force buyers to register the bullets they purchase.

My first thought on reading this is "It'll really screw with handloaders", since he only wants to 'register the bullets'. However, I then consider that he's one of the standard-issue Functionally-illiterate-on-the-subject GFW politicians, so he actually means 'ammunition'. And it appears he's either unthinking or actually stupid, too, as he says this:
“If David Garvin did not have - as we believe he did not have - a permit for the gun he was carrying, he shouldn’t be allowed to buy bullets,” Schneiderman said.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Oh yeah, Senator, just because he could illegally get a gun couldn't possibly mean that he could buy ammo, could it?

Actually, it could, but either you don't care or for some reason cannot comprehend the fact that the law you want to pass will be just as useless at stopping dirtbags like this as the disarmament laws already on the books. Or, maybe you just don't like the fact that someone might do something(anything?) without having proper approval from a government minion such as yourself?

Medieval Fair a'coming

and I'm not particularly ready.

Not really un-ready, but not looking forward to it as much as in the past. Aching joints do that to you.

I've got the big stuff gathered up already, and deciding what to wear isn't a problem(kilt, shirt, shoes). Need to figure out some munchies to take along and drinks. Probably soda bread and cheese, maybe some roast or something for meat.

And, there are some things to look forward to. So, getting prepared we go.

In the comments on the Portland demonstration

Windy said Btw, have you noticed that those of that political, philosophical and moral bent nearly always refer to such women as "ladies" and always refer to men as "males"? Denying men their humanity, there?

Which reminded me of something that told me just how rotted some people are on the subject of male-female: Few years ago I was watching 'Antiques Roadshow', the episode was from either Seattle or Portland. Two women had what turned out to be an extremely rare Inuit artifact their father had picked up many years before. In speaking of where he found it, one said "He bought it years ago, when he was a young m-", caught herself and changed it to "person."

Think about that. She was talking about her father, and couldn't let herself refer to him as having been a 'young man'. Just what kind of idiotic twists of mind are required to think that way?

If you haven't read of the 'peace march' in Portland,

go read this. I can't better his take on it.

Crap like this pretty much destroys the 'we support the troops' lies from these people. You do NOT burn someone in effigy if you support them. You do NOT burn the flag which stands for what they protect. And you do NOT drop your pants and crap on said flag.

That's just bloody amazing to think on. This idiot actually, on a public street in front of women* and kids, took his pants down and emptied his bowels on an American flag. What kind of absolute freakin' idiocy and self-indulgence does it take to commit such an act? And some of these idiots cheered him.

In case anyone who supports this kind of 'protest' happens by, let me state this flatly: I do not question your patriotism, I deny it. You don't burn troops in effigy if you actually support them, you don't burn your own flag(or, in this case, the flag of the country you live in) if you support them and give a damn about this country, and you don't cheer on and make excuses for those who do. If you do, you are not patriotic, no matter how many words you spill claiming you are.

You're the same kind of idiot who makes excuses for the Taliban. You're the same kind of idiot as the homosexuals who protest in support of the Palistinian Authority, and fools like Rosie O'Donnel who supports al Qaeda. And if you're one of the parents who let their kids watch this crap, you just plain suck.


*I will not refer to females such as these as 'ladies', for they most certainly are not.