I'm all CCWed up for the next five years. Very smooth and simple procedure, five minutes and $25, including running my name past NCIC. One of the pleasant things is the absence of restrictions. For instance, the mother-may-i no longer forbids carrying uncased long guns in the truck.
I was prepared to show the clerk a copy of the law requiring her to accept my DD214 in lieu of the highly comprehensive four-hour course on gun safety and responsibility. We had had the discussion earlier when she said she never heard of such a thing. This time she accepted it without a murmur.
Feb 17, 2011
Cheerio and Adieu
A few months ago I noted the proposed sale of one of our defense outfits to furriners.
It was a complicated deal for L1 Identity Solutions. CEO Robert LaPenta proved talented over the years at farting away shareholder money, but not making any. He ran the company into the ground and had to auction it off. To generate any bids at all he found he had to split it up, despite promises to the contrary.
Part of L1 is a spook shop, a set of mercenaries under hire by American "intelligence" agencies. That sale became final yesterday, to BAE, which answers to London, the professional home of Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five.
That clears the way for peddling the rest of L1, basically the biometrics-related chunk, to Safron which is not only French but partially owned by the rulers of the Fifth Republic, a nation which has still not quite forgiven us for getting their soil all bloody in the summer of 1944.
---
Oh well, the Limeys and the Frogs may not do much worse with their new spy toys and telescreens than we did.
It was a complicated deal for L1 Identity Solutions. CEO Robert LaPenta proved talented over the years at farting away shareholder money, but not making any. He ran the company into the ground and had to auction it off. To generate any bids at all he found he had to split it up, despite promises to the contrary.
Part of L1 is a spook shop, a set of mercenaries under hire by American "intelligence" agencies. That sale became final yesterday, to BAE, which answers to London, the professional home of Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five.
That clears the way for peddling the rest of L1, basically the biometrics-related chunk, to Safron which is not only French but partially owned by the rulers of the Fifth Republic, a nation which has still not quite forgiven us for getting their soil all bloody in the summer of 1944.
---
Oh well, the Limeys and the Frogs may not do much worse with their new spy toys and telescreens than we did.
Defunding the Art Nazis
If today's U.S. House budget votes occur as advertised, I'll be especially attentive to the proposed cuts for the National Endowment for the Arts, a credentialed batch of snooty federal busybodies whose job it is to elevate your sense of beauty.
Whatever else art may be, it is intensely personal to the artist and to his followers. Divergent tastes gave us Grant Wood and Jackson Pollock. Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali. Robert Frost and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Less happily, we also have the guy who took your money to support himself as he slaved to write a poem which, in its entirety, reads: "ligght."
Robert Mapplethorpe found success taking pictures of himself with a bullwhip up his butt and of a Crucifix soaking in urine. The NDEA took your money to support him, too.
If you wished to personify absolute evil vis-a-vis the arts, you would need two characters. The first is a government thug who refused Mapplethorpe permission to create or display his penetrated butt shot. The second is the government thug who can and does make you pay for them.
cf. Oceania, Minitrue
Whatever else art may be, it is intensely personal to the artist and to his followers. Divergent tastes gave us Grant Wood and Jackson Pollock. Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali. Robert Frost and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Less happily, we also have the guy who took your money to support himself as he slaved to write a poem which, in its entirety, reads: "ligght."
Robert Mapplethorpe found success taking pictures of himself with a bullwhip up his butt and of a Crucifix soaking in urine. The NDEA took your money to support him, too.
If you wished to personify absolute evil vis-a-vis the arts, you would need two characters. The first is a government thug who refused Mapplethorpe permission to create or display his penetrated butt shot. The second is the government thug who can and does make you pay for them.
cf. Oceania, Minitrue
Feb 16, 2011
No, Dan
The Washington Post is praising congress persons for going out in public despite their Tucson panic.
(Personally, if I was a congress person I would be reluctant to show my face in public, but for reasons of embarrassment, not fear of getting shot.)
The critters are looking for a little better home defense, too:
Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) wants another layer. An aide said Burton plans to reintroduce a bill that would enclose the House's public galleries in something like Plexiglas, the kind of arrangement that shields liquor-store clerks.
Dan, don't you understand that liquor clerks are different from you and your colleagues? They serve a useful social purpose.
.
(Personally, if I was a congress person I would be reluctant to show my face in public, but for reasons of embarrassment, not fear of getting shot.)
The critters are looking for a little better home defense, too:
Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) wants another layer. An aide said Burton plans to reintroduce a bill that would enclose the House's public galleries in something like Plexiglas, the kind of arrangement that shields liquor-store clerks.
Dan, don't you understand that liquor clerks are different from you and your colleagues? They serve a useful social purpose.
.
Feb 15, 2011
Folks Shouldn't Mess with Sam's Mom
I have my doubts about single-action revolvers as basic home defense guns, but in Bea's case I'll keep them to myself.
Bea weighs 110 pounds and keeps a .45 Black Hawk convertible handy around the house. She's proficient, and I'd hate to be the clerk who eyeballs her svelte frame bent over the handgun case and volunteers that she needs that lady-like .32.
It's a delightful read, over at Stranded in Iowa's place.
EDIT: In case you didn't follow the links (BAD Reader. BAD.Go to your kennel.) Bea happens to be 77 years old. When she needs a little more .45 ammo, she polices the firing line and reloads the cases.
Bea weighs 110 pounds and keeps a .45 Black Hawk convertible handy around the house. She's proficient, and I'd hate to be the clerk who eyeballs her svelte frame bent over the handgun case and volunteers that she needs that lady-like .32.
It's a delightful read, over at Stranded in Iowa's place.
EDIT: In case you didn't follow the links (BAD Reader. BAD.Go to your kennel.) Bea happens to be 77 years old. When she needs a little more .45 ammo, she polices the firing line and reloads the cases.
I'll clean the house when it gets cold again.
At least the new plastic Ruger 22/45 goes bang every time you pull the trigger, and the rounds hold in a couple-three inches at 50 feet from a semi-steady braced position. (Leaning on the truck is our bucolic version of bench rest shooting.) Thirty rounds of el cheapo 36-grain hollow points were fired. Not counting two trigger jerks, all but three or four of them punctured a beverage can of my choice.
The same trip to a piece of DNR land a couple of miles west of Camp J gave me the excuse to run New Dog Libby and see how she works the brome and cattails. Not bad, but she did let a winter-killed deer distract her.
It isn't spring yet, but the sun is becoming slightly more arrogant, and a chinook wind is aiding the illusion that winter at 43 North is tucking himself into the history books. It is a day when the Lords of Blast and Fire would not be denied.
The same trip to a piece of DNR land a couple of miles west of Camp J gave me the excuse to run New Dog Libby and see how she works the brome and cattails. Not bad, but she did let a winter-killed deer distract her.
It isn't spring yet, but the sun is becoming slightly more arrogant, and a chinook wind is aiding the illusion that winter at 43 North is tucking himself into the history books. It is a day when the Lords of Blast and Fire would not be denied.
All politics is local,
not to mention bloated.
The census snoopers credit Smugleye on Lake with 341 residents as of last summer.
My SOL neighbors and I are supervised by 21 local officials, elected and appointed. That's one superintendent for every 16.23 citizens. It works out to something like five houses per regulator, so they could check us all every day, just to make sure we aren't feeding the stray cat or replacing windows without a building permit.
---
*This doesn't count cops. We pay the county sherf to hold down crime in Smugleye.
The census snoopers credit Smugleye on Lake with 341 residents as of last summer.
My SOL neighbors and I are supervised by 21 local officials, elected and appointed. That's one superintendent for every 16.23 citizens. It works out to something like five houses per regulator, so they could check us all every day, just to make sure we aren't feeding the stray cat or replacing windows without a building permit.
---
*This doesn't count cops. We pay the county sherf to hold down crime in Smugleye.
Feb 14, 2011
Fancy that: Merchant of Death to Advise Obama
A veteran Ruger executive is about to join the Obama team.
The Ruger news release:
Kim Pritula, Director of Export/ATF Compliance & Security, has been appointed to the President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA).
Sounds okay to me. She's been with Sturm Ruger some 30 years, helping the bosses navigate the Kafka novels which make up ATF and other Washington rules about who can sell what to whom. But maybe it would have been better if the Ruger flack had ended the release right there, because:
“Kim has a very unique talent and passion for export regulation and plays a critical role in the Sturm, Ruger organization,” said Ruger President and CEO Mike Fifer.
Well, I'm pleased for you, too, Kim. It is a personal achievement. However the quote your PR guy made for President Fifer begs a point some of us find important. Is it actually a good thing to hold "a passion for export regulation?" We libertarian scallywags tend to think of regulation as, at best, a sometimes necessary evil to be treated about like a spitting cobra sharing your howdah.
It would be picky these less-literate days to sigh over your "very" unique talent and passion. Better we should spend our effort finding another word to mean the only one in the world -- a new one that will serve until public relations guys and advertising copywriters start loading it up with modifiers until it, too, deteriorates to just another word for "somewhat unusual."
Anyway, it's nice to know someone from the firearms industry is functioning in high councils of government, so congratulations.
(My spies tell me the Tune-In is still the most pleasant bar on Capitol Hill.)
The Ruger news release:
Kim Pritula, Director of Export/ATF Compliance & Security, has been appointed to the President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA).
Sounds okay to me. She's been with Sturm Ruger some 30 years, helping the bosses navigate the Kafka novels which make up ATF and other Washington rules about who can sell what to whom. But maybe it would have been better if the Ruger flack had ended the release right there, because:
“Kim has a very unique talent and passion for export regulation and plays a critical role in the Sturm, Ruger organization,” said Ruger President and CEO Mike Fifer.
Well, I'm pleased for you, too, Kim. It is a personal achievement. However the quote your PR guy made for President Fifer begs a point some of us find important. Is it actually a good thing to hold "a passion for export regulation?" We libertarian scallywags tend to think of regulation as, at best, a sometimes necessary evil to be treated about like a spitting cobra sharing your howdah.
It would be picky these less-literate days to sigh over your "very" unique talent and passion. Better we should spend our effort finding another word to mean the only one in the world -- a new one that will serve until public relations guys and advertising copywriters start loading it up with modifiers until it, too, deteriorates to just another word for "somewhat unusual."
Anyway, it's nice to know someone from the firearms industry is functioning in high councils of government, so congratulations.
(My spies tell me the Tune-In is still the most pleasant bar on Capitol Hill.)
And, speaking of morons
Roberta takes some of that class of vertebrates to task, specifically His Obamness with his plans to give us all free high-speed wireless internet. To make it happen, Washington will need to enact a new law of physics requiring five-pound pots to contain ten pounds of (euphemism). Otherwise it will be only sorta free.
If you liked him as Trapper John,
you'll love him as a businessman and occasional commenter on the way in which we permit ourselves to be misgoverned.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the "morons" in Congress crafted a financial reform bill Rogers says isn't worth the paper it's printed on. He's also extremely critical of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for helping the "too big to fail" banks, which are now bigger than ever and control a greater portion of the nation's assets vs. before the crisis.
Somebody should send him a "Klinger for President" tee shirt. He'd probably wear it.
Somebody should send him a "Klinger for President" tee shirt. He'd probably wear it.
Weasel words
It usually pretty tough to find something I agree with in the opinion pages of the Boston Globe, but a piece on using language to defeat meaning pushes my like button.
As a matter of respecting widespread sensibilities, it is all well and good to console a tyke who has fallen on his "tail." And that pretty thing over there is not "tail;" it is a woman. Law Dog has, to our amused profit, spread "wedding tackle" far and wide in libertarian Blogville. There's no particular harm in referring to the dead as those who have "passed away."
"But telling citizens that torture is “abuse” and mercenaries are “contractors” — or in Orwell’s words, that burning and bombing villages is “pacification” — is a different sort of enterprise. These euphemisms — the top-down terminology invented and deployed to serve the interests of the coiners — are the ones that give “euphemism” a bad name."
.
As a matter of respecting widespread sensibilities, it is all well and good to console a tyke who has fallen on his "tail." And that pretty thing over there is not "tail;" it is a woman. Law Dog has, to our amused profit, spread "wedding tackle" far and wide in libertarian Blogville. There's no particular harm in referring to the dead as those who have "passed away."
"But telling citizens that torture is “abuse” and mercenaries are “contractors” — or in Orwell’s words, that burning and bombing villages is “pacification” — is a different sort of enterprise. These euphemisms — the top-down terminology invented and deployed to serve the interests of the coiners — are the ones that give “euphemism” a bad name."
.
Feb 13, 2011
Egypt libre!
So the bread riots leave Egypt with no legislative branch, no constitution. We can be pretty sure that , in his heart of hearts, His Obamaness is insanely jealous.
Sioux Fall AAR
We walked into the show with respectable rolls of Benjamins safety-pinned to our skivvies. The two pals and I left with a total expenditure of less than $20. (Mine added up to $8 -- a factory extended magazine for the SW 59 and a sheath for the Camillus air crew "survival" knife.)
That is to say, the prices left us gasping.
M1 carbine prices seem to have stabilized at $750-$950, and that's the end of the good -- or non-horrifying, at least -- news.
There were dozens of 1911A1s. I didn't see one tagged at less than $2,000, and $3,000 would not have purchased the best Remington-Rand there.
The old Winchester lever guns and Colt SAAs were gold. Example: A fair-to-good Winchester 1892 in .25-20 at $6,500. It was easily possible to loophole a Peacemaker which appeared to be an outhouse dugup for $7,500.
If I were panicky about TEOTWAWKI I would go back today with every interesting old weapon I own and trade them for a few hundred Hi-Points.
On the other hand, domestic beer in Adrian is still just $3, but the ethanol subsidies may not yet have worked their way into that market yet.
That is to say, the prices left us gasping.
M1 carbine prices seem to have stabilized at $750-$950, and that's the end of the good -- or non-horrifying, at least -- news.
There were dozens of 1911A1s. I didn't see one tagged at less than $2,000, and $3,000 would not have purchased the best Remington-Rand there.
The old Winchester lever guns and Colt SAAs were gold. Example: A fair-to-good Winchester 1892 in .25-20 at $6,500. It was easily possible to loophole a Peacemaker which appeared to be an outhouse dugup for $7,500.
If I were panicky about TEOTWAWKI I would go back today with every interesting old weapon I own and trade them for a few hundred Hi-Points.
On the other hand, domestic beer in Adrian is still just $3, but the ethanol subsidies may not yet have worked their way into that market yet.
Feb 12, 2011
Head 'em up nd move 'em out
Westward, ho. This weekend's entertainment occurs in the prairie oasis of Sioux Falls. It a biggie, several hundred tables of delectable old stuff. Shake out your loopholes, buckaroos.
----
It will be interesting to see how new dog Libby gets along with the house sitter .
As in "Libbytarian." Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?
:)
----
It will be interesting to see how new dog Libby gets along with the house sitter .
As in "Libbytarian." Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?
:)
Lawyer stuff.
Some things make a guy question his assumptions.
1. The state of Iowa took away a woman's kids.
2. She hired a Waterloo lawyer to get them back.
3. Attorney and client spent some of their office conference time making two-backed beasts. (It is unclear who, if anyone, billed whom for those hours.)
4. Ms. Client had second thoughts and filed an ethics complaint.
5. About a month later, Ms. Client had third thoughts and married the guy.
6. Ms. Client or the esquire then had fourth thoughts and, in about six weeks, became divorced..
7. This week, the Iowa Supreme Court lifted his law license for 18 months.
There's no word in the news report about who gets the kids.
My anti-statist principles are shaken to their roots with the notion that, in this case, maybe the politicians and bureaucrats could serve the tykes better than mother, lawyer, or any friends the two are likely to have.
Feb 11, 2011
This will not end well
The Headline is:
"Pepsi Honors Women by Launching Skinny Cans."
The company marketing expert fleshes it out:
"Diet Pepsi has a long history of celebrating women through iconic fashion imagery seen in our infamous and historical campaigns, and we're proud to continue that tradition as an official sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today's most stylish looks... ."
Infamous? (giggle)
If I owned stock in Pepsico, I would sell it.
"Pepsi Honors Women by Launching Skinny Cans."
The company marketing expert fleshes it out:
"Diet Pepsi has a long history of celebrating women through iconic fashion imagery seen in our infamous and historical campaigns, and we're proud to continue that tradition as an official sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today's most stylish looks... ."
Infamous? (giggle)
If I owned stock in Pepsico, I would sell it.
Feb 10, 2011
So that's what I should call it
Police in Raleigh, N, Calinky, just hate whores. (If you don't believe me, Google.)
So word that some of the cops are renting horizontal girl time embarrassed the chief until he found just exactly the right words to characterize Officer Friendly's little lapses. He explained that
"...administrative violations may have occurred and that they stemmed from voluntary interactions between a small number of officers and non-departmental individuals,"
Reminds me I need to take New Dog to the vet to confirm that she's been immunized against voluntary interactions.
So word that some of the cops are renting horizontal girl time embarrassed the chief until he found just exactly the right words to characterize Officer Friendly's little lapses. He explained that
"...administrative violations may have occurred and that they stemmed from voluntary interactions between a small number of officers and non-departmental individuals,"
Reminds me I need to take New Dog to the vet to confirm that she's been immunized against voluntary interactions.
Damn, I thought all those guns spoke Gringo.
It's our politicians' article of faith that 90 per cent of all those guns murdering women and children in Mexico come from the United States. I mean, don't we hand an M16 to every high school kid in Texas and Arizona?
It occurs, however, that the politicians are wrong. Almost 90 per cent of the crime weapons confiscated by Mexican cops and Federales do not come from the United States. Their cradle language is more likely to be Spanish, Korean, or Chinese.
I post the source with a caution. It's somewhat long and full of number-crunching and other miscellaneous geekery. Admirably so, but you may want to wait until you have a few minutes, a cup of coffee, and an appetite for detailed analysis before clicking here, to STRATFOR.
A sample: According to the GAO report, some 30,000 firearms were seized from criminals by Mexican authorities in 2008. Of these 30,000 firearms, information pertaining to 7,200 of them (24 percent) was submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for tracing. Of these 7,200 guns, only about 4,000 could be traced by the ATF, and of these 4,000, some 3,480 (87 percent) were shown to have come from the United States.
That is, Officer Hernandez and his Jefe set aside their powdered enchiladas, look over last month's weapons haul (slipping the especially nice or salable ones into their personal tucker bags) and make two piles. One is for those guns which might have come from the north. The other one is for guns so obviously non-U.S. related that not even a BATF desk pogue would be fooled. They send the data on the former to Washington, salted with just enough possibly non-U.S-loophole weapons to create a veneer of credibility.
It would take only a C+ student of sixth-grade arithmetic to suggest that the 3,840 identified as U.S.-acquired be divided by the 30,000 seized to announce that 87 per cent of of the crime guns in that woebegone country were acquired from non-U.S. sources.
---
With 3,000 murders a year in Jaurez alone, doesn't that 30,000 total crime guns seized across the country suggest a certain relaxed attitude toward solving crimes down there? Manana, Senor Jefe
---
I'm indebted to my pal Alan for STRATFOR piece.
It occurs, however, that the politicians are wrong. Almost 90 per cent of the crime weapons confiscated by Mexican cops and Federales do not come from the United States. Their cradle language is more likely to be Spanish, Korean, or Chinese.
I post the source with a caution. It's somewhat long and full of number-crunching and other miscellaneous geekery. Admirably so, but you may want to wait until you have a few minutes, a cup of coffee, and an appetite for detailed analysis before clicking here, to STRATFOR.
A sample: According to the GAO report, some 30,000 firearms were seized from criminals by Mexican authorities in 2008. Of these 30,000 firearms, information pertaining to 7,200 of them (24 percent) was submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for tracing. Of these 7,200 guns, only about 4,000 could be traced by the ATF, and of these 4,000, some 3,480 (87 percent) were shown to have come from the United States.
That is, Officer Hernandez and his Jefe set aside their powdered enchiladas, look over last month's weapons haul (slipping the especially nice or salable ones into their personal tucker bags) and make two piles. One is for those guns which might have come from the north. The other one is for guns so obviously non-U.S. related that not even a BATF desk pogue would be fooled. They send the data on the former to Washington, salted with just enough possibly non-U.S-loophole weapons to create a veneer of credibility.
It would take only a C+ student of sixth-grade arithmetic to suggest that the 3,840 identified as U.S.-acquired be divided by the 30,000 seized to announce that 87 per cent of of the crime guns in that woebegone country were acquired from non-U.S. sources.
---
With 3,000 murders a year in Jaurez alone, doesn't that 30,000 total crime guns seized across the country suggest a certain relaxed attitude toward solving crimes down there? Manana, Senor Jefe
---
I'm indebted to my pal Alan for STRATFOR piece.
Feb 9, 2011
Stupid Brady Tricks
It isn't hard to debate a bill about a citizen's duty to retreat or right to stand his ground in the face of deadly threat. You discuss the tort-reform aspects of it. You consider the definitions of the important terms -- "deadly threat," "reasonable person," and so forth. You search for careful language to confirm the right without creating as many problems as you solve.
But don't waste your breath shooting for honest discourse with the flacks who take a Brady Campaign paycheck. They were all trained in the Jack Parr School of Disputation. "When cornered by logic, try crying and name calling. If that doesn't work, raise your voice, and never, ever, constrain yourself with the dictates of reason."
But don't waste your breath shooting for honest discourse with the flacks who take a Brady Campaign paycheck. They were all trained in the Jack Parr School of Disputation. "When cornered by logic, try crying and name calling. If that doesn't work, raise your voice, and never, ever, constrain yourself with the dictates of reason."
"It's just absolutely crazy," said Brian Malte, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence. "It's a license to just start shooting in public. You're basically giving permission to shoot almost anyone and shoot in the public arena and possibly kill or injure an innocent bystander."
I have read that little paragraph several times and can find only one statement of fact amidst the hysteria -- that Malte works for Brady.
-
I have read that little paragraph several times and can find only one statement of fact amidst the hysteria -- that Malte works for Brady.
-
It's morning in America
7:30 a.m -- Drastic oversleep. Become vertical. Pee and moan about achy back.
7:32 a.m. -- Attempt to read small outside thermometer. Gritty eyes decline to focus. Treat with Visine. Re-look. nine below.
7:34 a.m. -- Perfunctorily scratch dog ears.
7:35 -- Feed fire with oak logs, two small and one large.
7:37 -- Stumble to kitchen. Fire up coffee pot. Tell dog, "Hold it for another sec, eh?" (vulgarity in original statement here omitted)
7;40 -- Let dog out after stern warning not to go running off.
7:40:07 -- Dog goes running off. Step onto deck in stocking feet and "pajamas" and yell. Feel lungs seize up and other bodily parts shrivel. Yell again. Dog returns to deck area, decorates snow. Beats me through the door and to the hearth.
7:42 -- Steal cup of coffee from half-done pot. Spill some of same. Shrug; counter-top disaster anyway.
7:45 -- Slurp enough hot coffee to wash down one aspirin.
7:47 -- Log on to National Weather Service point forecast. Confirms nine below. Perform masochistic act and check Duluth, 200+ miles north, where kids are visiting. Only seven below. Remark the irony to dog who seems not to give a damn.
7:48 -- Slowly, slowly, slowly transform grim mouth-set to semblance of smile at seeing release date of tomorrow, when begins a warmup. One more arctic night, then more than a week of nothing even close to zero, daytime highs above freezing.
7:50 - present -- engage in decision-making process re when or whether to get dressed.
.
7:32 a.m. -- Attempt to read small outside thermometer. Gritty eyes decline to focus. Treat with Visine. Re-look. nine below.
7:34 a.m. -- Perfunctorily scratch dog ears.
7:35 -- Feed fire with oak logs, two small and one large.
7:37 -- Stumble to kitchen. Fire up coffee pot. Tell dog, "Hold it for another sec, eh?" (vulgarity in original statement here omitted)
7;40 -- Let dog out after stern warning not to go running off.
7:40:07 -- Dog goes running off. Step onto deck in stocking feet and "pajamas" and yell. Feel lungs seize up and other bodily parts shrivel. Yell again. Dog returns to deck area, decorates snow. Beats me through the door and to the hearth.
7:42 -- Steal cup of coffee from half-done pot. Spill some of same. Shrug; counter-top disaster anyway.
7:45 -- Slurp enough hot coffee to wash down one aspirin.
7:47 -- Log on to National Weather Service point forecast. Confirms nine below. Perform masochistic act and check Duluth, 200+ miles north, where kids are visiting. Only seven below. Remark the irony to dog who seems not to give a damn.
7:48 -- Slowly, slowly, slowly transform grim mouth-set to semblance of smile at seeing release date of tomorrow, when begins a warmup. One more arctic night, then more than a week of nothing even close to zero, daytime highs above freezing.
7:50 - present -- engage in decision-making process re when or whether to get dressed.
.
Feb 8, 2011
Get on the floor, bitch.
Do it NOW, cuz I don't think that breast pin is registered.
(And please, I am not being a copper bore this time either. I'm being a gold bore, merely noting in passing that copper today passed $4.60 and that your old copper cent is now worth a curly over three zinc pennies.)
The cops in Federal Way, Washington, are embarrassed at a rise in home burglaries. They blame Tim and Ben or whatever for making gold prices go so high. So they aspire to make it much harder to sell your grandma's ugly old cocktail ring if it contains gold, silver, or platinum. To do so you make the dealer take your fingerprints, require him to issue you a check rather than cash, retain the trinket for 45 days, and enter it on a police database.
The city fathers are pushing a state law to that effect, but legislative deliberation is much too slow for them, so they want to enact it locally. Me? I figure that if they get the job done there will be a boom in coin dealerships, pawn shops, and precious metal dealers just outside the city limits. If the state caves in, well, Idaho isn't all that far off.
But guys like us are probably just warped old cynics who have no sympathy for common-sense jewelry control.
Some of you are even worse. I mean you radical malcontents who look at this as a neat way for the gummint to keep track of your wedding band after the tipping point. The tipping point is defined as that instant during which you and I and the Chinese decide to quit going along with the gag that our currency means something.
(And please, I am not being a copper bore this time either. I'm being a gold bore, merely noting in passing that copper today passed $4.60 and that your old copper cent is now worth a curly over three zinc pennies.)
The cops in Federal Way, Washington, are embarrassed at a rise in home burglaries. They blame Tim and Ben or whatever for making gold prices go so high. So they aspire to make it much harder to sell your grandma's ugly old cocktail ring if it contains gold, silver, or platinum. To do so you make the dealer take your fingerprints, require him to issue you a check rather than cash, retain the trinket for 45 days, and enter it on a police database.
The city fathers are pushing a state law to that effect, but legislative deliberation is much too slow for them, so they want to enact it locally. Me? I figure that if they get the job done there will be a boom in coin dealerships, pawn shops, and precious metal dealers just outside the city limits. If the state caves in, well, Idaho isn't all that far off.
But guys like us are probably just warped old cynics who have no sympathy for common-sense jewelry control.
Some of you are even worse. I mean you radical malcontents who look at this as a neat way for the gummint to keep track of your wedding band after the tipping point. The tipping point is defined as that instant during which you and I and the Chinese decide to quit going along with the gag that our currency means something.
Feb 7, 2011
Achtung!
Apparently there is one -- perhaps only one -- difference between a blockwart and a Hitler blockleiter -- how they feel about rooting out Jewish people.
Each, according to Marko's excellent report, generated by Boston blockwarts, finds glory in using the laws, however trivial, to "behave like an obnoxious asshole."
Each, according to Marko's excellent report, generated by Boston blockwarts, finds glory in using the laws, however trivial, to "behave like an obnoxious asshole."
Weather-driven
This batch of Alberta is driving me indoors, probably for the entire day and more. Only the messy pile of firewood around the burner gives me cause to smile after looking at the thermometer (+2) and knowing this is about as good as it will get for at least three days.
I suppose this is as good a time as any to catch up on paperwork and get this cluttered cabin shaped up, but depressing self-knowledge suggests that the Master of Camp J will more likely start looking for a book which demands reading. Probably won't have any visitors anyway, especially fussy ones. They'll stay home and dust.
The other alternative is to (expensively) fire up the Knipco out in the shop and start repairing Ruger's work on the .22/.45.
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The efforts to locate the owner of Little Miss No-Name have yielded no results. We'll give it another day or two, then start dreaming up a name for her. I've been considering "Sarah." When a liberal chick asks, I can say she's named for the Brady lady. Otherwise Palin.
Naaah, probably not.
I suppose this is as good a time as any to catch up on paperwork and get this cluttered cabin shaped up, but depressing self-knowledge suggests that the Master of Camp J will more likely start looking for a book which demands reading. Probably won't have any visitors anyway, especially fussy ones. They'll stay home and dust.
The other alternative is to (expensively) fire up the Knipco out in the shop and start repairing Ruger's work on the .22/.45.
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The efforts to locate the owner of Little Miss No-Name have yielded no results. We'll give it another day or two, then start dreaming up a name for her. I've been considering "Sarah." When a liberal chick asks, I can say she's named for the Brady lady. Otherwise Palin.
Naaah, probably not.
Feb 6, 2011
Loopholing at it's finest
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Sometimes it's as important to know your dealers as to know guns. The two shooters here came from the FFL'ed friend who has what is, these days, an unusual business plan. He comes to the loophole shows bent on actually selling guns rather than tagging them with stupidly stratospheric prices and waiting and waiting and waiting for a well-heeled fool. He prospers because he knows how to buy guns. And because he's a knowledgeable and likable man. Decades ago Bubba got his hands on the Krag but showed a certain restraint. Perhaps it was respect for the pure Norhoovian heritage and the 6.5 x 55 chambering. Restoring this one to military is pretty much out of the question, dammit, but a man can live happily with her as is. The sharp rifling and excellent round might lead to braggable groups. We'll see. The .22/.45 is what it is, but I've been wanting one for a while, strictly for the design, and at $250 couldn't pass this one. The quality is pure latter-day Ruger, meaning a half-day in the shop with slip stones and crocus cloth to erase the burrs and the floor sweepings in the innards. The new reality is that you buy a NIB Ruger, work the action, dry fire it a couple of times, sigh, and remark, "I can probably save it." Elsewhere, three sturdy but unmarked Mini-14 30-rounders (Oh the horror.) for $35. A Browning Hi-Power mag for $5. A funky old $5 holster that will hold the Black Hawk, just in case some day I want to dress up like a real cowboy instead of Gene Autry. |
So far it's just a one-night stand
Heavily armed after the Armstrong loophole, I was a mile from K's country home, on lonesome gravel running though a wildlife area. At the top of the next hill she stood in the middle of the road, then politely retreated to the ditch as we neared. Something didn't look right. We stopped. She approached, cringing slightly but, before long, accepting an ear scratch. No question she was cold, hungry, thirsty, and lonesome, so we bundled her to K's house and began the usual found-a-dog calls and net posts. We flipped to see who would board her. I lost. She's here and demonstrating that's she's willing to be a Good Dog in return for chow, a soft place to nap, and a bit of affection.
Time will tell, though I suspect a dump. The bastards.
She's several months old and doesn't pee in the house. Forced to guess, I'd say a lab/weimaraner cross. Actually, they can be reasonably good bird dogs.
Feb 5, 2011
Teaser
Just too tired to write the whole scoop on the loop hole. In the morning, maybe I'll expose the loophole that barks in 6.5 x 55, another one that barks in .22 LR, and the third that just barks and is about to be evicted from my favorite horizontal surface.
The trip was lovely, coming and going. The Sioux Falls NWS guys get a D-minus for this day's work.
The trip was lovely, coming and going. The Sioux Falls NWS guys get a D-minus for this day's work.
Man against nature
It is in the nature of man to wish to be at a small show about an hour east of here this morning. It is typically a hotbed of loopholes. This is the one where, last year, yours truly loopholed an excellent .30-06 and a pocket full of other shooty trinkets.
Unfortunately, Nature's nature is to subvert such lofty motives, just to keep us humble I suppose. A sliver of warm front is passing, and with the following clipper, that means all kinds of potential road misery. Light freezing mist and fog are with us now. It's 50-50 whether it will let up or get worse.
My decision is to gather the troops and give it a try. After all, there's a substantial little city about half way. It boasts good ambulance service and a well-equipped emergency room. Yes, it's something like "Here. Hold my beer and watch this," but cabin fever and the prospect of five days of unbroken Hell-freezing is a powerful motivator.
We solicit your magic vibes, not only for an uneventful drive, but for several loopholes we can't refuse.
Unfortunately, Nature's nature is to subvert such lofty motives, just to keep us humble I suppose. A sliver of warm front is passing, and with the following clipper, that means all kinds of potential road misery. Light freezing mist and fog are with us now. It's 50-50 whether it will let up or get worse.
My decision is to gather the troops and give it a try. After all, there's a substantial little city about half way. It boasts good ambulance service and a well-equipped emergency room. Yes, it's something like "Here. Hold my beer and watch this," but cabin fever and the prospect of five days of unbroken Hell-freezing is a powerful motivator.
We solicit your magic vibes, not only for an uneventful drive, but for several loopholes we can't refuse.
Feb 4, 2011
The Peasants Speak
No, I am not being a copper bore again. I'm being a silver bore, merely noting in passing that copper has cracked the $4.50 barrier and that your pre-82 Lincolns are now worth just a curly under three cents.
The more dramatic expression of inflationary alarmism lies in the mint's sale of Silver Eagles last month, about 6.4 million of them, a record.
Wonder if Ben and Terry and Barack will have anything to say about this plebiscite on the green paper which they jokingly refer to as money.
There are votes and then there are votes, and it's hard to imagine a more sincere ballot than wholesale trading of paper promises for a pretty metal which rings nicely when you drop it on a counter top.
I'll stop at the WalMart today, hoping Sam's kids haven't received the word yet and are still peddling Federal 550 packs at $18.97
The more dramatic expression of inflationary alarmism lies in the mint's sale of Silver Eagles last month, about 6.4 million of them, a record.
Wonder if Ben and Terry and Barack will have anything to say about this plebiscite on the green paper which they jokingly refer to as money.
There are votes and then there are votes, and it's hard to imagine a more sincere ballot than wholesale trading of paper promises for a pretty metal which rings nicely when you drop it on a counter top.
I'll stop at the WalMart today, hoping Sam's kids haven't received the word yet and are still peddling Federal 550 packs at $18.97
Feb 3, 2011
Michelle Bachman -- getting serious about it
She's off to woo the Republicans in South Carolina who hold one of the South's earliest presidential primaries. If they should give her the nod, the shelling of Fort Sumter will regress to merely the second unhappiest event in that good state's history.
Maybe the worst thing about existing on the northern plains is the noticeable decline of one's brain power. For instance, I can't remember if the current arctic high pressure system is the fourth or fifth of the season. Or whether Al Gore invented global warming and Al Sharpton the internet or the other way around.
There are small compensations. As the neurons freeze, it takes less to amuse myself. I just ran a sunrise errand without carefully brushing all the new snow from the hood. "It will blow off on the highway, and that's very pretty."
The best thing is reading my friends down in the malarial zones. For instance, a Texas lady I know is writing that it may snow on the Rio Grande and using a full year's allocation of exclamation points, and that's almost as amusing as scratching designs on my frosted windows.
There are small compensations. As the neurons freeze, it takes less to amuse myself. I just ran a sunrise errand without carefully brushing all the new snow from the hood. "It will blow off on the highway, and that's very pretty."
The best thing is reading my friends down in the malarial zones. For instance, a Texas lady I know is writing that it may snow on the Rio Grande and using a full year's allocation of exclamation points, and that's almost as amusing as scratching designs on my frosted windows.
Feb 2, 2011
South Dakota: Turn 21 and buy a gun, or else
It's too bad they're not serious. A legislative proposal would require every South Dakotan to buy a gun upon reaching the age of 21 1/2.
The weapon would need to be "sufficient to provide for (the citizen's) ordinary self-defense"
The lawmakers are just funnin' with ya though. It's a spoof of the Obama health bill's requirement that you buy gummint-approved health insurance.
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Funny that it happened there, however. In the first place, South Dakota is a peaceful place where about 99 per cent of the folks go about their daily lives with a mind set on cordiality, courtesy, and minding their own business. And enough of that group already carry guns to be a real moderating influence on the other 1 per cent.
So they probably don't need it as bad as Kennesaw did.
The weapon would need to be "sufficient to provide for (the citizen's) ordinary self-defense"
The lawmakers are just funnin' with ya though. It's a spoof of the Obama health bill's requirement that you buy gummint-approved health insurance.
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Funny that it happened there, however. In the first place, South Dakota is a peaceful place where about 99 per cent of the folks go about their daily lives with a mind set on cordiality, courtesy, and minding their own business. And enough of that group already carry guns to be a real moderating influence on the other 1 per cent.
So they probably don't need it as bad as Kennesaw did.
All across these 57 states...
Do you feel as though you're surrounded by a cluster of dimwits?
Right you are, Johnny. Fewer than half of your fellow citizens -- ordinary folks -- know Jack Schidt about the country, its history, its government.
And since these Snooki watchers are entitled to vote, it comes as no surprise that their elected officials are even dumber.
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The test is a nice way to pass five minutes of the currentend-of-the-world storm global warming episode.
H/TKurt
Right you are, Johnny. Fewer than half of your fellow citizens -- ordinary folks -- know Jack Schidt about the country, its history, its government.
And since these Snooki watchers are entitled to vote, it comes as no surprise that their elected officials are even dumber.
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The test is a nice way to pass five minutes of the current
H/TKurt
Jan 30, 2011
Yes, Travis McGee was that good
And we have it on excellent authority, courtesy of the Harvard Business School Alumni Review. It offers a letter to John. D. from an admirer:
Dear Mr. MacDonald, Would you please send me Travis McGee?…. I have read all the books you wrote and I am desperate because there are no more….I am distributing your books here in Europe, and everybody is deserting everybody because nobody will sleep with anybody when they have a new book of yours.”
(Marlene Dietrich, 1975)
Younger readers may wonder, "Whoozat?"
(Marlene Dietrich, 1975)
Younger readers may wonder, "Whoozat?"
Jan 29, 2011
Hoplophobe hoot
This guy is news editor of the Grand View University newspaper in Des Moines. He is presumably unarmed, but terrifying. In a piece bemoaning the recent Iowa shall-issue law he writes:
So, Devlin, you don't agree officers should shoot when, for instance, they desire to inhibit a crack-rattled 250-pound thug coming at you fast with a Louisville Slugger?
Of, if a cop makes a mistake, that the unnecessarily dead should be comforted because the bullet in his brain was not fired by an untrained amateur?
I suppose it's possible to believe that I cherry-picked the item, looking for the worst possible paragraph. (We've all written some stinkers, haven't we?)
No, down a little further:
The exception to carry guns should rely solely in law enforcement and military because I have never heard of a purely positive outcome after one has been fired.
What's been fired? A lawman? A National Guard PFC? (See Wagner's advice to high school freshmen on making referents clear.) And, setting aside the tortured syntax, do you intend to spend your journalism career making universal pronouncements based on things you personally have or haven't heard?
Or what you hope, without actual thought?
I hope the clean background checks are enough to categorize people as sane enough not to incite a shootout with other gun carriers.
I see. You hope shootouts are limited to folks with guns shooting it out with folks who have no guns.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we all have bad days, and maybe Dev was suffering through one, manifested in marginal literacy and more than marginal incoherence throughout the piece.
On the other hand, we might be dealing with the error President Obama committed Tuesday night when he told congress and the world that every youngster "should have access to higher education."
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H/T to Between Two Rivers where, by the way, there is yeoman work in keeping track of local efforts to gut the shall-issue law.
Johnny, stop reading that. Right Now!
Crack history students at Westfield High School in Fairfax,Virginia, have a simplified task. They are to learn from teacher handouts, their private previous knowledge, and one, repeat one, book.
The teachers' rules are worth quoting. The reporter writes:
What did surprise some Westfield students and their parents was a sheet titled "Expectations of Integrity" included in the materials handed out by the three (advanced placement) World History teachers. Their No. 1 rule discouraged random outbreaks of curiosity:
"You are only allowed to use your OWN knowledge, your OWN class notes, class handouts, your OWN class homework, or The Earth and Its Peoples textbook to complete assignments and assessments UNLESS specifically informed otherwise by your instructor.''
Perish the thought of fertile young minds polluted by, say, a wander through Commanger's Documents of American History or Gibbons' take on the last centuries of imperial Rome.
Reporter Jay Mathews was taken aback and asked the boss about it.
Westfield Principal Tim Thomas told me he will decide soon whether these rules are okay. He couldn't say much on the record, but gave me the impression that the teachers, who did not respond to my request for comment, were only trying to be fair. Some students have more help and resources than others. They should not be allowed to use materials classmates cannot get.
We're indebted to the Tweaker at Where Sometimes Things go Bang for this find and for the pertinent "Just make sure no child gets ahead."
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I'm rather sure the publicity will move the teachers to hem and haw, "That's not what we meant." I will then suggest they surrender their licenses to teach until such time as they have successfully completed a remedial course in basic expository writing.
The teachers' rules are worth quoting. The reporter writes:
What did surprise some Westfield students and their parents was a sheet titled "Expectations of Integrity" included in the materials handed out by the three (advanced placement) World History teachers. Their No. 1 rule discouraged random outbreaks of curiosity:
"You are only allowed to use your OWN knowledge, your OWN class notes, class handouts, your OWN class homework, or The Earth and Its Peoples textbook to complete assignments and assessments UNLESS specifically informed otherwise by your instructor.''
Perish the thought of fertile young minds polluted by, say, a wander through Commanger's Documents of American History or Gibbons' take on the last centuries of imperial Rome.
Reporter Jay Mathews was taken aback and asked the boss about it.
Westfield Principal Tim Thomas told me he will decide soon whether these rules are okay. He couldn't say much on the record, but gave me the impression that the teachers, who did not respond to my request for comment, were only trying to be fair. Some students have more help and resources than others. They should not be allowed to use materials classmates cannot get.
We're indebted to the Tweaker at Where Sometimes Things go Bang for this find and for the pertinent "Just make sure no child gets ahead."
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I'm rather sure the publicity will move the teachers to hem and haw, "That's not what we meant." I will then suggest they surrender their licenses to teach until such time as they have successfully completed a remedial course in basic expository writing.
Egypt
It is a bread riot, period.
The street warfare is domestic reaction to domestic sin, namely theft of the nation's resources by Mubarak's apparatchik.
The Muslim Brotherhood is undoubtedly pleased at the prospect of a Cairo power vacuum, but when 10 million mothers are too malnourished to produce breast milk, it takes no cabal of turbaned Pat Robertsons to create a certain amount of anger.
Yes, it may contribute to four-dollar gas in Pleasantville, but there is nothing the inept American foreign policy machine can do about that. What Hillary, President Obama, and USAID can profitably do is shut up. Except for issuing a statement suggested by my buddy Joe in during a similar foreign goat grope some years ago. "We are sorry for your troubles and wish you all the best of luck. Have the last man standing send us a telegram. We'll be pleased to deal with him."
The street warfare is domestic reaction to domestic sin, namely theft of the nation's resources by Mubarak's apparatchik.
The Muslim Brotherhood is undoubtedly pleased at the prospect of a Cairo power vacuum, but when 10 million mothers are too malnourished to produce breast milk, it takes no cabal of turbaned Pat Robertsons to create a certain amount of anger.
Yes, it may contribute to four-dollar gas in Pleasantville, but there is nothing the inept American foreign policy machine can do about that. What Hillary, President Obama, and USAID can profitably do is shut up. Except for issuing a statement suggested by my buddy Joe in during a similar foreign goat grope some years ago. "We are sorry for your troubles and wish you all the best of luck. Have the last man standing send us a telegram. We'll be pleased to deal with him."
Jan 28, 2011
The January thaw is here. It began yesterday and will persist until this evening's dinner hour, topping out at 33 torrid degrees in mid-afternoon, then yielding to the next Canadian import. Tuesday and Wednesday night will be somewhere in minus-six range. Around here the rustics abbreviate that as OFAGDSF. That is, "Oh fooey, another gol-danged scrotal freezer."
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I have an inconsistent philosophy about weather moaners. When others over-gripe about a few little feet of snow and a bracing Alberta breeze, I'm often prone to huff that they should shut up or move to Arkansas. When I do it it I am merely exercising my First Amendment right to bitch. Use it or lose it.
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The firewood stash is much diminished but more than adequate for remaining season. It is no longer a neat stack, and I've used a little more than I planned, probably because some of the ash wasn't as dry as I thought. Still, I should carry over a couple of months' supply to the winter of '11 and '12. This is known as a budget surplus, and I usually have one, confirming my long-held belief that I am morally superior to those in or seeking public office.
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Being a somewhat weather-driven man, I naturally read the Washington Post reports of the end of the world yesterday. That led to a mischievous Bing search for the Capitol's fool-proof plan for evacuation in response to nuclear attack. If you need a giggle as badly as I did, do the same.
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This is the sort of thing you get from a fellow who feels compelled to write something but who has absolutely nothing to say. Please love me anyway.
.
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I have an inconsistent philosophy about weather moaners. When others over-gripe about a few little feet of snow and a bracing Alberta breeze, I'm often prone to huff that they should shut up or move to Arkansas. When I do it it I am merely exercising my First Amendment right to bitch. Use it or lose it.
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The firewood stash is much diminished but more than adequate for remaining season. It is no longer a neat stack, and I've used a little more than I planned, probably because some of the ash wasn't as dry as I thought. Still, I should carry over a couple of months' supply to the winter of '11 and '12. This is known as a budget surplus, and I usually have one, confirming my long-held belief that I am morally superior to those in or seeking public office.
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Being a somewhat weather-driven man, I naturally read the Washington Post reports of the end of the world yesterday. That led to a mischievous Bing search for the Capitol's fool-proof plan for evacuation in response to nuclear attack. If you need a giggle as badly as I did, do the same.
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This is the sort of thing you get from a fellow who feels compelled to write something but who has absolutely nothing to say. Please love me anyway.
.
Jan 27, 2011
Snort
Some news guy says, "They're getting rid of color terror alerts and replacing them with emoticons."
Fed Notes by the Number
...and with continued apologies to Ray Price,
"Troubles by the score...".
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Stocks scared us witless, so we took our serious money out of equities and parked it in good old gummint bonds. I mean, they're guarandamnteed by the feds, right?"
Yes, Ben warrants the fed numbers, but neither he nor Tim nor Barack will touch the question of what your bond proceeds will buy. The private money gurus are increasingly at pains to point that out, almost as a matter of daily routine. For instance:
"Troubles by the score...".
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Stocks scared us witless, so we took our serious money out of equities and parked it in good old gummint bonds. I mean, they're guarandamnteed by the feds, right?"
Yes, Ben warrants the fed numbers, but neither he nor Tim nor Barack will touch the question of what your bond proceeds will buy. The private money gurus are increasingly at pains to point that out, almost as a matter of daily routine. For instance:
Two reasons to be wary about bonds now is the inevitability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and the growing likelihood that some states may default on their debt.
Find what irony you will in another of Stacy's observations:
And, if you’re looking for an alternative bond investment, Lyndon points to corporate and utility bonds, which he feels, are “safer than treasuries and munis these days.”
That is, while the Government of His Obamaness and all of his plans for your prosperity are so much unicorn methane, that evil ol' private sector might just hand you a gas mask.
(I'll pass for now on commenting on that sentence about muni default. It's just too depressing. Besides, I don't own any bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the California Commission on Condor Restoration. Illinois, either.)
Find what irony you will in another of Stacy's observations:
And, if you’re looking for an alternative bond investment, Lyndon points to corporate and utility bonds, which he feels, are “safer than treasuries and munis these days.”
That is, while the Government of His Obamaness and all of his plans for your prosperity are so much unicorn methane, that evil ol' private sector might just hand you a gas mask.
(I'll pass for now on commenting on that sentence about muni default. It's just too depressing. Besides, I don't own any bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the California Commission on Condor Restoration. Illinois, either.)
Baby ballistics
The well-known instigator Tam has me sweeping brass from the living room floor -- .22 Super Colibri brass, to be exact. It is a way passing a few moments of dull winter.
The Calibiri, left, next to a .22 Long Rifle.
The box warns that you should fire these rounds only through a hand gun because, it says, the charge may fail to drive the bullet all the way through the rifle barrel. Then, if you fire a full-power round behind it you'll wind up with Elmer Fudd's barrel after the wabbit stuck his finger in the muzzle. I report this at the command of the TMR Legal Review Section.
As promised, I dug out the box I thought I'd filed in the "Miscellaneous" corner.
(There are four corners in this gun room. They are labeled "Will shoot," "Won't shoot," "Miscellaneous," and "Other." But I digress.)
I stuck one in the BL22, stepped to the deck, and let fly. Of such simplicity is fun created.
(There are four corners in this gun room. They are labeled "Will shoot," "Won't shoot," "Miscellaneous," and "Other." But I digress.)
I stuck one in the BL22, stepped to the deck, and let fly. Of such simplicity is fun created.
The Colibiri descends from the old BB and CB short "caps" for .22 rimfires. It's purpose in life is shooting in places where conventional wisdom, and sometimes the law, say there should be none.
It looks a lot like the defunct .22 Long -- a Long Rifle case stuffed with a 29-grain bullet. The small difference is that the Colibiri uses a 20-grainer. The big one is that there's no powder behind the bullet, just a hot priming compound giving you about 500 fps, a low pop instead of a bang, limited range and penetration. However, my lashup buried the bullet to its depth in soft wood 30 feet away, so the Four Rules apply.
--
--
The North Wind doth blow, so I plot for comfort. I will block the front doors open, fire out the door, over the deck, across some 20 feet of drifted back yard, into a target, using the shed as a berm.
The target? One of those ridiculous little shovels with a four-inch blade and a foot-long handle, sold in better WalMarts everywhere as "roadside emergency tools." (I gaze at it and speculate on my probable need, to, some day, inter a small budgie bird, at roadside, in an emergency setting, in soft earth. More is beyond its capacity. But I digress. )
Ram the handle into the snow and the blade makes a nice aiming point. Hit it and it moves a little. I make it move 20 times or so, bare-handed and bare-headed in January. Grinning all the way, even at something like eight cents a round, counting the tax.
I can't really comment on accuracy other than that, offhand, I got consistent minute-of-useless-shovel groups according to my examination of the hit marks -- faint smudges of lead.
I can't really comment on accuracy other than that, offhand, I got consistent minute-of-useless-shovel groups according to my examination of the hit marks -- faint smudges of lead.
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The Calibiri, left, next to a .22 Long Rifle.
The box warns that you should fire these rounds only through a hand gun because, it says, the charge may fail to drive the bullet all the way through the rifle barrel. Then, if you fire a full-power round behind it you'll wind up with Elmer Fudd's barrel after the wabbit stuck his finger in the muzzle. I report this at the command of the TMR Legal Review Section.
Jan 25, 2011
If you brought absolutely nothing to it, Obama's speech was a great one. He hit the buttons. It was inspirational and, just as his pre-address spinners promised, visionary.
If, on the other land, you listened with a bit of history in mind and a knack for translating poli-speak into English, you heard a call for a massive new public works program and tossing another few billions or trillions at the schools. You heard the patent absurdity that every American youngster "should have access to higher education." Meaning, among other things, that decent plumbers, electricians, and carpenters will be even harder to find.
But at least he wants us to "invest" in high-speed rail. I didn't understand whether that comes before or after we rebuild our "crumbling" bridges which, as you'll recall from the news, dump hundreds of Innocent Americans into our rivers and canyons every day.
More later, maybe. Right now I'm mostly inspired to get back to 1905 and see what else Bradley has to say about The Imperial Cruise.
If, on the other land, you listened with a bit of history in mind and a knack for translating poli-speak into English, you heard a call for a massive new public works program and tossing another few billions or trillions at the schools. You heard the patent absurdity that every American youngster "should have access to higher education." Meaning, among other things, that decent plumbers, electricians, and carpenters will be even harder to find.
But at least he wants us to "invest" in high-speed rail. I didn't understand whether that comes before or after we rebuild our "crumbling" bridges which, as you'll recall from the news, dump hundreds of Innocent Americans into our rivers and canyons every day.
More later, maybe. Right now I'm mostly inspired to get back to 1905 and see what else Bradley has to say about The Imperial Cruise.
An excuse in advance
It's almost time, and I'm warming up my electric teevee for the big speech. In preparation I read the CNN preview and came across:
"It's very much a thematic, visionary speech," said the senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak more candidly ahead of Obama's address.
Translated to ordinary English, this means the president hasn't much of a clue about what he will actually do.
"It's very much a thematic, visionary speech," said the senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak more candidly ahead of Obama's address.
Translated to ordinary English, this means the president hasn't much of a clue about what he will actually do.
... and you say tomahto
I was really pulling for the Illnois Supreme Court to stick it to Rham. Now I'm not so sure.
Running second is Carol Mosley-Braun. That would be former Senator C.M-Braun, D-Nigeria. I can't think of another Chicago pol who makes Emanuel look so acceptable.
Let's call the whole thing off.
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EDIT: (sigh) I just got called a racist for the NIgeria crack. Here's the reference, Braun cluelessly schmoozing Abacha and his kin.
Running second is Carol Mosley-Braun. That would be former Senator C.M-Braun, D-Nigeria. I can't think of another Chicago pol who makes Emanuel look so acceptable.
Let's call the whole thing off.
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EDIT: (sigh) I just got called a racist for the NIgeria crack. Here's the reference, Braun cluelessly schmoozing Abacha and his kin.
Battle of the Goodbods
Michelle finally has her name up in lights. All America gazes at the marquee. "Bachman Rebuts!"
Meanwhile, Sarah reloads.
It's an American Idol spinoff. Swimsuit and complexion judges will be required to award the relatively elderly Mrs. Bachman an eight-year seniority handicap.
It's going to be a strange primary season.
Meanwhile, Sarah reloads.
It's an American Idol spinoff. Swimsuit and complexion judges will be required to award the relatively elderly Mrs. Bachman an eight-year seniority handicap.
It's going to be a strange primary season.
Jan 24, 2011
Tomorrow evening's forecast
Windy with a 90 per cent chance of dingleberries.
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If anyone can recall a State of the Union Address which had the slightest effect on the way in which we permit The Regulators to misgovern us, I should be glad to hear about it.
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If anyone can recall a State of the Union Address which had the slightest effect on the way in which we permit The Regulators to misgovern us, I should be glad to hear about it.
Jan 23, 2011
That's where the tall corn grows
One of the nice things about Iowans is that we're quite a little holier than others, especially in keeping our boot on the neck of the rum demon.
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My first "important" by-line beat was covering the Iowa Senate. Like a good little journalist I was religious about getting to know all the senators, often over a beer at one of the lounges handy to the Capitol.
But not with one of them, a wizened little old Republican who always carried a Bible. We met in the cafeteria where I had coffee -- a drink he found suspect but tolerable for reporters, a notably pagan bunch, anyway. He sipped juice while I posed the usual questions-- main issues this session, his personal take on legislating, his political plans, and so forth.
It occurred that his senior priority was saving his fellow legislators from the evils of drink. Only then could they, without hypocrisy, begin bunging kegs and smashing bottles, dumping the whole alcoholic shebang into one of our deep rivers.
"Why," he said, "Jim, do you know that some of these fellows drink beer at lunch and then come back and vote on bills?"
I suppose I replied something like, "Do tell?" and stifled the impulse to note that I'd never seen much difference between a soused politician and a sober one.
He made a lot of floor speeches on the subject and didn't have many Capitol Hill friends. I lost track of him when I went east to cover other politicians, many of them also reliably tipsy, often entertainingly so.
When ever I thought of him I assumed he just was a final throwback to the Hoover days when the Methodists, Missouri Synoders, and the Farm Bureau unquestionably ran things around here. Silly me.
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Fast forward to 2011 and the latest from The Golden Dome down in Des Moines.
Democrat State Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D-Arlington) has introduced a bill that would make mixing any alcohol with caffeine a criminal offense. Simple possession of such drinks would land a person in jail for 30 days and bartenders who mix caffeinated cocktails would cost their employers their liquor licenses permanently.
It's about time. Who knows what sin is generated by that splash of Kahlua in your after-dinner coffee. And as everyone knows, it is the Tullamore Dew in a cup of Folgers which is responsible for the downfall of the Celtic race.
I don't intend to turn the TMR into an "Iowa" blog, but this one looks like fun, and I'll try to remember to report its progress. Meanwhile, I simply bask in the purity of thought surrounding me.
.
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My first "important" by-line beat was covering the Iowa Senate. Like a good little journalist I was religious about getting to know all the senators, often over a beer at one of the lounges handy to the Capitol.
But not with one of them, a wizened little old Republican who always carried a Bible. We met in the cafeteria where I had coffee -- a drink he found suspect but tolerable for reporters, a notably pagan bunch, anyway. He sipped juice while I posed the usual questions-- main issues this session, his personal take on legislating, his political plans, and so forth.
It occurred that his senior priority was saving his fellow legislators from the evils of drink. Only then could they, without hypocrisy, begin bunging kegs and smashing bottles, dumping the whole alcoholic shebang into one of our deep rivers.
"Why," he said, "Jim, do you know that some of these fellows drink beer at lunch and then come back and vote on bills?"
I suppose I replied something like, "Do tell?" and stifled the impulse to note that I'd never seen much difference between a soused politician and a sober one.
He made a lot of floor speeches on the subject and didn't have many Capitol Hill friends. I lost track of him when I went east to cover other politicians, many of them also reliably tipsy, often entertainingly so.
When ever I thought of him I assumed he just was a final throwback to the Hoover days when the Methodists, Missouri Synoders, and the Farm Bureau unquestionably ran things around here. Silly me.
---
Fast forward to 2011 and the latest from The Golden Dome down in Des Moines.
Democrat State Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D-Arlington) has introduced a bill that would make mixing any alcohol with caffeine a criminal offense. Simple possession of such drinks would land a person in jail for 30 days and bartenders who mix caffeinated cocktails would cost their employers their liquor licenses permanently.
It's about time. Who knows what sin is generated by that splash of Kahlua in your after-dinner coffee. And as everyone knows, it is the Tullamore Dew in a cup of Folgers which is responsible for the downfall of the Celtic race.
I don't intend to turn the TMR into an "Iowa" blog, but this one looks like fun, and I'll try to remember to report its progress. Meanwhile, I simply bask in the purity of thought surrounding me.
.
Just missed it
It takes a temperature of 20 below to trigger the B&B rule in this area. When invoked, B&B grants license to Bitch and Brag, that is, to bitch about the cold and brag about how comfortably you are surviving it because you're, like, real smart.
Officially, it's -19 the airport right now. Unofficially it's -17 at the homestead. So b'ing and/or b'ing would be wimpish.
Nevertheless, I am instructing the butler to add another log.
Officially, it's -19 the airport right now. Unofficially it's -17 at the homestead. So b'ing and/or b'ing would be wimpish.
Nevertheless, I am instructing the butler to add another log.
Jan 22, 2011
Guns and booze
One of the OMG arguments attending the new Iowa shall-issue status pits the pure of heart against the provision allowing concealed and open carry in bars and restaurants. It is not one of the easier areas of the debate.
I do my own drinking unarmed, and I confess I'd be a shade nervous about sharing bar space with an excitable woman packing a belly full of tequila shooters and a Lorcin in her cleavage.
I do my own drinking unarmed, and I confess I'd be a shade nervous about sharing bar space with an excitable woman packing a belly full of tequila shooters and a Lorcin in her cleavage.
It would be more comforting to be absolutely sure there are no weapons in the joint. (Say, isn't that a unicorn angel watching over us?)
However: I'm less concerned about a packing citizen who went through the CCW process. He, or she, has a clean background and has been exposed to at least a rudimentary education in firearms safety and responsibility. And if he values his CCW permit, as almost all of us do, he will be very careful not to abuse it.
The real worry is the thug with a rap sheet who walks in with a bad attitude and a stolen Glock in his boot. No change in the CCW law, or any law, will deter him because he is a criminal, and criminals, by definition, flip the bird at laws.
Just for the record, and for what it's worth, the new law allows you to have a drink or two while carrying, but when you hit .08 blood booze the permission stops.
Jan 21, 2011
Say, while he's up there schmoozing with Immelt, shouldn't the president bow to an honorable chapter in General Motors history?
Shouldn't he publicly thank the company for its millions of short-barrel, high-cap, assault weapons?
Shouldn't he publicly thank the company for its millions of short-barrel, high-cap, assault weapons?
Per capita, the great divisor
That previous post was, of course, based on today's news-cycle story as defined by Mr. Gibbs. Obama is heading for upstate New York to huff his pride in General Electric's $755 million contract with the Chinese.
The deal has been years in the making, but never mind that. If a little unearned credit sticks to His Obamaness, well, heck, that's okay with him, 2012-wise.
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A five-buck Chinese calculator is the most useful device in existence for analyzing political rhetoric. For instance, if Mr. Obama used one to divide $755 million by 308 million, he would discover the largess he sorta created amounts to $2.45 for every man, woman, and child in America. (Assuming of course that the whole shebang is pure profit.)
I don't know about you, but, by cracky, my Escalade is gonna be a white one.
The deal has been years in the making, but never mind that. If a little unearned credit sticks to His Obamaness, well, heck, that's okay with him, 2012-wise.
---
A five-buck Chinese calculator is the most useful device in existence for analyzing political rhetoric. For instance, if Mr. Obama used one to divide $755 million by 308 million, he would discover the largess he sorta created amounts to $2.45 for every man, woman, and child in America. (Assuming of course that the whole shebang is pure profit.)
I don't know about you, but, by cracky, my Escalade is gonna be a white one.
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