Random Rants

2011-11-11T01:17:00.000-06:00

Try and you effect of this pro_ducts.It is won.derful!!

Gwen Elizabeth Bramblett

2011-05-03T13:10:00.002-05:00

Born 5-2-2011 at 17:31. 9 pounds 6 ounces, 17.75 inches.

Ellis County needs something better to do.

2010-08-12T05:49:00.003-05:00

http://chipsea.blogspot.com/2010/01/you-are-under-arrest.html

Read the whole story; it's entertaining that they have so much time to spend on this, but last time I called in a driver who was all over I45, they couldn't get a deputy there in the time it took him to get all the way through the county.

A sellout by any other name

2010-06-18T02:25:00.002-05:00

From the NRA:

We didn't "sell out" to Nancy Pelosi or anyone else. We told Congress we opposed the bill. As a result, congressional leaders made a commitment to exempt us from its draconian restrictions on free speech. If that commitment is honored, we will not be involved in the final House debate. If that commitment is not fully honored, we will strongly oppose the bill.

In other words, "don't come after us, and we'll keep quiet." This from the organization that has circulated Martin Niemöller's words so many times:

THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

BP Oil Spill Live Cameras

2010-06-03T00:10:00.004-05:00

Need Internet Explorer for it, but it's worth a look if you have the bandwidth:

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/bp-live-oil-spill-cam.html

Tax dollars in space

2010-04-13T06:46:00.003-05:00

This image is a 20 minute exposure taken about 5 miles south of Stephenville, and looking east. To the right of the frame is normal night sky. To the left is tax money spent on light that does nothing useful. This is light sent off into the sky by poorly designed fixtures; up to 40% of the total light output of many of the streetlights and exterior building lighting in the city is wasted in this way.

This much shorter exposure looking north gives a much better idea of the total light waste. Remember that it's a clear night; that light isn't being reflected from clouds, just illuminating normal atmospheric haze. On a cloudy night, the glow can actually be enough to navigate by at this range.

Why does this happen? In order to define the problem, it is helpful to establish a few basic reference. As this image from Phillips/HADCO shows, there are multiple regions of illumination to consider with regard to the typical street lamp. The primary illumination area extends to a maximum of 80 degrees above the vertical line from the lamp to the ground. (It is worth noting at this point that most lamps do not emit enough light to provide useful illumination to this distance. In a typical streetlight installation, the angle is less than 70 degrees.) From 80 to 90 degrees, the light emitted is not useful for illumination at ground level, and contributes only to glare. Above 90 degrees, the light emitted becomes skyglow, as seen in the first two images.

Thus, a street lamp which emits light equally in all directions would waste 50% of its output as skyglow, and another 5% as glare. Fortunately, this would not be a typical streetlight design; the hood and overhead supports of most streetlights block most of the light from going directly upward. Unfortunately, this tends to be more of a design accident than an intentional and properly implemented approach to good lighting design.

This image from EVLuma illustrates the light output of a typical NEMA fixture, commonly used for street lighting in Stephenville, compared with a fixture retrofitted with their full-cutoff LED module. Note that in the normal fixture at left, there is a significant amount of light emitted both horizontally and well above the horizontal plane. This provides no useful illumination from an elevated fixture. The LED retrofit eliminates this waste light, but other methods, including reflective shields, are also available.

Taking, as an example, a typical 150 watt high pressure sodium bulb -the most common streetlight light source - and placing it in a reflector assembly to redirect the wasted light back into the useful area, we can then reduce the needed wattage by 40%, or 60 watts, without reducing the amount of useful light at all. Multiplying that by the 1,096 streetlights in Stephenville would give a savings of over 65 kilowatts of energy.

How well do full-cutoff area lights work? This photo of a local motel illustrates an excellent implementation of efficient, low-glare lighting. The parking lot is well illuminated, with very little light shining beyond the area of intended illumination, and no light going directly into the sky. Additionally, almost no light is directed into the rooms' windows, where it would serve no useful purpose, and would disturb the customers.

How can this problem be effectively addressed? Replacing all of the more than 1,000 streetlights in the city would be cost prohibitive. When New Mexico passed its lighting regulations, in 1999 all existing lights were grandfathered, but any replacements were required to be compliant with the new regulations. Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 425 requires that all new or replacement state-funded lighting comply with restrictions including that all light fixtures with output over 1800 lumens (roughly equivalent to a single 100 watt incandescent bulb) be of a full-cutoff design. As such, the city should adopt similar restrictions on at least its own outdoor lighting, and potentially on all outdoor lighting within the city.

Fort Hood

2009-11-15T01:44:00.002-06:00

I never met the shooter, don't know him, don't want to know him, and I'm tired of seeing his name and picture plastered all over the damn place. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't deserve a name, so he can just be "the shooter" from now on. Let's remember these names instead.

(The list of wounded is obviously not complete, specific injuries and ranks may be a bit mixed up, as some were listed differently from one article to the next. One might think the reporters could have the facts straight by now. If anyone has information on the other wounded, please comment, and I'll update the list.)

Wounded:

Spc Keara Bono: Wounded in head and back, already back to work and still hoping to deploy on schedule.

PFC Amber Bahr: Pass-through wound to back, dragged another wounded soldier out of the area and provided first aid.

PFC Justin Johnson: Wounded in back and foot. Was able to walk again within a few days.

Sgt Paul Martin: Wounded in back, leg, and both arms. Was carried out by an unnamed soldier during the incident. Expects to deploy late.

Sgt John Pagel: Wounded in arm and chest. Back at work.

Pvt George Stratton III: Wounded in shoulder. Recovering.

Sgt Joy Clark: Wounded in arm while rendering aid to another wounded soldier.

Cpl. Nathan Hewitt: Wounded in hip and calf.

Pvt Ray Saucedo: Wounded in arm. Back at work.

Spc Grant Moxon: Wounded in leg. Recovering.

PFC. Joseph Foster: Wounded in hip. Hoping to deploy on time.

Spc Matthew Cooke: Wounded five times in torso and head while helping another wounded soldier. Recovering slowly.

Maj Randy Royer: Wounded in arm and leg. Recovering.

Pvt Alan Carroll: Wounded twice in arm and once in side. Recovering and hoping to deploy.

Cpt Dorothy Carskadon: Wounded twice in hip. Recovering.

Sgt Chad Davis: Wounded three times in shoulder and back while moving to subdue the shooter. Recovering.

CWO Christopher Royal: Wounded three times in side and back, also while moving to engage shooter during a reload. Recovering.

Sgt Alonzo Lunsford: Wounded in stomach and head. Recovering.

Spc Logan Burnette: Wounded in hip, arm and hand. Recovering.

Sgt Shawn Manning: Wounded six times in chest, abdomen, leg and foot. Recovering.

2LT Brandy Mason: Wounded in hip. Recovering.

Sgt Patrick Zeigler: Wounded four times in torso and head. In neurological rehab, possibly paralyzed on left side.

Sgt Patrick Blue III: Wounded in side by bullet fragments while running to the scene. Back at work.

Deceased:

Sgt Amy Krueger

Michael Cahill, civilian contractor

Sgt Justin DeCrow

Cpt John Gaffaney

Spc Jason Hunt

PFC Aaron Nemelka

PFC Michael Pearson

Cpt Russell Seager

Pvt Francheska Velez

LtC Juanita Warman

Spc Kham Xiong

Maj Libardo Cavareo

Spc Frederick Greene

Revolver reload

2009-10-09T22:06:00.003-05:00

Some people have asked about my backwards reloading method with a revolver, (loading with the weak hand, while maintaining a more-or-less firing grip with the strong hand, as opposed to the "normal" method of transferring the gun to the weak hand, loading with the strong hand, and switching it back afterward) so I figured I'd try a video to clear it up a bit.

The casings coming out are fired and unsized, so four of the five do not drop free without the ejector. The speedloader is a Safariland Comp I.
What I find is that this method allows me to fire (or simply cover an area) one-handed while I get the speedloader out and ready, then reload quickly and get back into action without having to change hand positions multiple times.
The closing of the cylinder looks a bit more violent than it actually is, though I have yet to hear of anyone being particularly gentle with it in an actual encounter.

Multimedia message

2009-09-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

Nothing says "fire up the grill" quite like a bowl of raw beef swimming in bourbon.

What time is it?

2009-08-29T01:24:00.001-05:00

Nap time!

Another one worth watching

2009-08-06T00:31:00.001-05:00

Worth watching

2009-07-17T04:31:00.002-05:00

Ooops

2009-06-29T20:54:00.005-05:00

Thought I'd posted this one already. She dozed off playing with the elephant, and was so sound asleep even the flash didn't wake her.

Still working on crawling, though:

Libby update

2009-04-28T11:21:00.004-05:00

Two month checkup and vaccines this morning. 10lbs 5 oz and 22 inches, and hungry as usual.

She's learned that the elephant makes a neat jingly noise when it moves, and she can sit and poke it for hours.

Hat etiquette

2009-03-09T02:04:00.005-05:00

I'd like to raise a question, particularly to those who wear a hat as part of a uniform, but also to anyone who wears a hat on a regular basis: what rules of etiquette do you try to follow regarding your headgear?

For those with uniform hats, does your department publish specific rules regarding hat etiquette, and if your uniform includes multiple headgear options, (department ball cap, more formal brimmed hat, brimless knit cap, etc.) do they vary based on the hat itself? Are women in the same uniform hat expected to follow the same rules? Do you alter those rules to suit certain situations, or just flat out follow what your parents taught you regardless of policy?

For reference: Evil Swede's Guide to Hat Etiquette.

Sometimes film works best

2009-03-04T03:08:00.007-06:00

I probably could have gotten pretty much the same shot with digital, and I wouldn't have had to wait a couple days until I dug out the developing stuff to see what it looked like, but somehow this just feels right with black and white film. Besides, I feel safe in saying that the negatives will still be fine in 25-30 years when her kids will get to see this.

Well, that's the first part done...

2009-02-25T20:46:00.004-06:00

...just 18 years to go.

2009-02-25T18:37:00.000-06:00

Liberty Elaine, 7lbs 9oz, 1744 Central time. Posting from phone. Pics soon.

Tomorrow...

2009-02-24T22:16:00.001-06:00

...one way or another.

BP is back up, so she goes in at 5AM. If labor isn't progessing, they'll give it a little push as needed.

No change yet...

2009-02-19T16:06:00.001-06:00

...still having the occasional contraction, but no discernible pattern, and not particularly frequent. She doesn't want to go jogging, for some reason.

Today's update

2009-02-16T17:00:00.003-06:00

Blood pressure is down a bit, and the doctor doesn't expect to be inducing, but did confirm that she's pretty much ready to go into labor at any minute.

I was actually starting to look forward to having a set time, but they say inducing sometimes makes things a bit harder, so I'm sure we can wait.

Keep watching...may have some interesting stuff to post this week.

2009-02-16T03:22:00.003-06:00

We should know Tuesday if they'll be inducing labor Thursday due to the blood pressure issue. OTOH, she's far enough along that it could start on its own any time now.

Maternity Photos

2008-12-11T02:19:00.003-06:00

We'll probably do a few more, but here are my favorites from the first attempt.

The new house

2008-12-05T05:21:00.003-06:00

2-2, CH/A, slab foundation so no skunks can move in underneath. More than twice the space of the rental, a garage I can use half of for workspace and appliances that work right. (Except for the dishwasher, but we didn't have one at the rental, so even just having the space for it set aside is nice, and it may just be hooked up wrong.)

Moving soon...

2008-11-28T04:05:00.001-06:00

Well, we closed on the house Tuesday, and the sellers are expecting to be out by the first, though they technically have until the fifth if they need it. If I disappear from the net for a few days, I'll either be fighting with a new internet hookup, hauling stuff, or resting up from those tasks. We're paying the full month on the rental so we can take our time moving and cleaning.
Unfortunately, this house doesn't have all the extra rooms of the one we tried to buy before, so I won't get to have a dedicated studio/photo-work room, but it does at least have space for me to finally have a dedicated workspace for reloading, metalworking and woodworking.
The baby's due in February, and we plan to take advantage of the empty rooms to do a few maternity shots before we move most of the stuff in, so hopefully I'll have a couple of those posted as soon as things settle down. I bought a 9x10ft piece of muslin for a backdrop just in case, but I think we'll have enough blank white walls before we start hanging photos to not need that.

If you're bored...

2008-11-23T05:12:00.000-06:00

...try this site:
Photoshop Disasters

They're at it again

2008-11-01T05:42:00.002-05:00

Remember the last bunch of attention whores?

Well, they can't even be troubled to come up with a new story. Same old lights in the sky.

There's even yet another picture of a point source of light. Gee, can't find thousands of those on any given night.

Pics from the Sonogram

2008-10-22T05:20:00.004-05:00

I'd post the video, but I don't think I have any video editing software on here than can black out the personal information.

Heartbeat:

Face:

Arm:

Foot:

Appendage counts are all correct for a female, and proportions are within normal parameters, so it looks like we're in good shape so far.

Oh, by the way...

2008-10-22T00:58:00.001-05:00

...it's a girl. Unfortunately, my wife has the sonogram video and pictures stashed somewhere and I'm not waking her up to ask where, so you'll have to wait a bit for pics.

Let's get tacticool

2008-10-19T04:25:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, I picked up two Kimber LifeAct Guardian Angels, one for my wife, and one for myself. Mine have "Kimber Guardian Angel" on the clip, but for some reason, Kimber, as you can see at the link, has decided it should relabel the device as the "Kimber PepperBlaster."
I guess I won't be getting a couple more to keep in the cars, now, unless the older ones are still in stock at the shop where I got them before.
Now this was a nice discreet way to carry pepper spray; it looks like pretty much anything except a weapon. It could be a radio, garage door opener, PDA, phone, medical device, whatever. Now that they've stack a tacticool name on it, that advantage is gone.
Part of my reason for getting these was that they could be clipped to a pocket or bag, and carried discreetly in places like classrooms where I can't legally carry my gun. The shape and rather noncommittal name would prevent awkward questions from the anti-self-defense crowd, and allow it to even be carried in-hand in a potential confrontation without losing the element of surprise. Not only did they kill that capability, they also did it with a goofy-sounding name that belongs on mall-ninja gear, not a serious self-defense tool.

I've sent an email to Kimber requesting that they explain their logic. We'll see what their response is.

(Yes, I know I could just sand all the writing off the clip, but after paying $40 for a two-shot pepper spray device, it shouldn't be left to the user to modify it back to a more useful state.)

EDIT TO ADD: Thanks to EmergencyEm for reminding me: support SCCC and make this post less relevant.

What the hell?

2008-10-17T05:24:00.002-05:00

Does some manufacturer now make a cologne or body spray in a 2-gallon "single-use" size? I've had four people walk by in the last couple hours that made me dig out the air freshener. I thought maybe it was just me until I went to get a fresh can of Ozium from the cleaning lady and she knew exactly why right away.

It's rarely even a scent that would be good in normal quantities, either. There seems to be a strong preference for godawful cloying some-kind-of-fruit-rotting type stenches.

The Regency Bridge

2008-10-03T21:45:00.001-05:00

Now that's an out of the way landmark. Fun side trip, though.

Jumping on the bandwagon

2008-09-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

What the hell, I got curious about this thing.

You are a
Social Moderate
(56% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(88% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Capitalist

You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (24, 143)
modscore: (53, 34)
raw: (5132)

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid.com: Free Online Dating
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

The carnival's in town...

2008-09-20T02:14:00.006-05:00

It's gotten so small the last few years that they've stuffed the whole thing into a relatively tiny area with parking all around it. That makes it kinda tough to get photos without traffic in them, but it still makes for some interesting long exposures.

A couple more

2008-09-06T06:48:00.004-05:00

I know I'm taking forever with these...I'll get a few more of them up eventually.

Sell photos on photrade | By KD5NRH

Sell photos on photrade | By KD5NRH

Sell photos on photrade | By KD5NRH

Things are settling down

2008-08-13T19:10:00.002-05:00

Vacation's over. After a couple more days at the 12x7 contract, it's over, and I'm just covering a couple extra shifts so the guys that were having to work 12x7 at my regular contract during the other one can get some time off.

I've been slowly going through the photos from the vacation as time allows. I've got almost all of the B&W film developed and scanned, and it looks like about 600-700 shots total. Obviously, not everything turned out, and a lot are near-duplicates for exposure bracketing, but I'm guessing around 50-75 keepers by the time I get through adjusting exposure levels, touching up dust on the film scans, etc.

Here are a couple of my favorites so far:

Full set of the ones I've gone over so far at Flickr.

Tired...

2008-07-28T21:05:00.001-05:00

Sonogram001Crop
Originally uploaded by KD5NRH

I've been working 12+x7 for a while now, and vacation starts after tomorrow, so here's a baby picture to keep you entertained.

For those who haven't heard...

2008-07-05T02:31:00.002-05:00

..my wife's pregnant. First positive was 6-25 when she went in for gallbladder surgery. (Needless to say, that didn't happen.) I decided to hold off the announcement for a bit to make sure, and on 7-2 we went for the first OB/GYN appointment where they're pretty well convinced, though we're still waiting for the second test results.

Mom's coordinating the hand-me-down maternity clothes and assorted infant supplies from the rest of the family, and we're still trying to buy a house, since there's almost no chance we'll get anything built on our land in time, given the hassles of getting a construction loan right now.

Vacation is still on for August, since it doesn't look like we'll be getting one for a few years afterward.

What would the media say...

2008-07-03T16:45:00.000-05:00

...that the SWAT team found in your house?

Thinking back to the Lisa Nowak incident and the description of the contents of her car's trunk, I decided to look around the house a bit and see what the media could report on finding.

Multiple loaded firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines. Well, duh. There's at least one brick of .22lr, and several boxes of handgun ammo running around. At some point, I also got a good deal on 12ga #8 loads, and we keep finding boxes of them that have been moved out of the way. Let's not forget the military ammo, either; I still have some Greek surplus .30-06 and Russian 7.62x54.

Bottles of mixed chemicals, including one containing pentetic acid, which is used to treat radiation poisoning. Maybe, but I'm going to have to be pretty near death to drink T-Max developer and hope for any improvements from one of its minor ingredients.

Several knives. Gnawing apart a raw chicken isn't very appetising.

Professional-grade photographic equipment. Because terrorists would rather spend a few thousand on cameras than use Google StreetView to do their surveillance, no doubt. They're also so concerned with the quality of the images that they'd rather lug around a big obvious SLR and tripod than discreetly use a camera phone.

Books on combat shooting and survival skills. Another duh. The gun isn't much use if you don't know what to do with it, and a dead animal is going to be mostly wasted if you don't know how to butcher and cook it properly.

Highly accurate GPS devices. What good is a highly inaccurate GPS device?

Police scanners. Gotta have something for local news.

Encryption software. Yep. Make 'em work for it. Encrypt lots of boring stuff, even if you don't have anything good. They won't know until they waste the time.

Camouflage clothing, including parts of a ghillie suit. I don't know what *you* wear to hunt coyotes, but blinky-light sneakers and a propeller beanie aren't exactly my first choice.

There's probably a lot more, but I have to go feed the cats.

Yep, not much to say...

2008-06-30T04:26:00.003-05:00

...on Heller that hasn't already been said.

Start here at SCOTUSblog
Then Pagan Blacksmith.
And LawDog.
More discussion back at SCOTUSblog.
Don't forget MattG.

That ought to keep everybody busy for a while.

Is there really anyone...

2008-06-29T10:10:00.001-05:00

...so lacking in tastebuds that they actually Can't Believe It's Not Butter?

Just curious.

How not to win friends in law enforcement...

2008-06-07T09:05:00.003-05:00

Obama campaign stop demonstrates a serious lack of respect.

I'm not surprised to see a lack of coverage in the mainstream media, but I am surprised that so few bloggers have hit on this.

WalMart Customer Service

2008-06-02T02:11:00.003-05:00

Tonight I decided to stop by WalMart on my way to work. It's not my favorite place to shop, but there aren't a lot of places to get batteries at 11:30PM without paying $7.50 per 4-pack at the gas stations.
When I pulled in, there was a guy on crutches making his way slowly to the grocery side doors, no doubt looking forward to one of their little electric scooters to do his shopping from.
For those not familiar with WalMart's late night policies, in order to keep things from being too convenient for the customers, they lock the general merchandise side sometime after 9PM and everybody has to go through the grocery side. The two door sets have two automatic doors each, and are roughly half the width of the supercenter-size store apart, so if you're getting 50lbs of kitty litter and not planning to use a cart, you need to know which set will be open.
The guy got to the door, hesitated, and started to head back to his car. I still didn't think too much about it other than something along the lines of how much it must have sucked to go to all that effort only to realize that he has to go back to the car for something.
By this time, I was about halfway to the door. There was a roughly 2ft square piece of cardboard cut from a large box against the wall between the two sets of automatic doors, but nothing that looked out of the ordinary until I got within about 10ft of the door.
There was writing on that cardboard, in ball point pen, no less. "PLEASE USE OTHER DOORS," with an arrow pointing toward the general merchandise side.
Now, that's a pretty common message, and I'd bet there are plenty of companies out there that make nice big signs in sharply contrasting 3-inch or larger letters with that message on them that the guy could have read from the handicap parking space, but in ballpoint pen on brown cardboard, it was hard to read from just a few feet away, and didn't even look like a sign from the parking lot. Even a piece of white posterboard and a large black marker would have been readable from the parking spaces, but I guess WalMart doesn't know where to get such things.
It's not too bad of a walk for me to go to the other doors, and not too far to walk back to the car with the single bag I came out with, but for the guy on crutches, that would have been another 5-10 minutes of what certainly appeared to be painful hobbling. Is it too much to ask a company that spends millions on advertising signs throughout every store, to simply have one large black-on-yellow "PLEASE USE OTHER DOORS" sign made for each store?

Still clicking the other magic boxes...

2008-06-01T04:25:00.002-05:00

Been fiddling with cameras lately...some more results at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd5nrh

I think I've narrowed down the light edges on the scans to some curling of the negatives. The humidity changes between air conditioning and outside air leaking in are playing hell with flatness even on some older negs.

Looks like my next experimental film project will be home processing of color film. I might have to put it off for a bit, but it's looking more and more attractive since I can do the rest of the process (scan and print, except that I don't usually want prints of everything on the roll - I don't know what resolution they scan at for their prints, but the last bunch of photo CDs I got weren't exactly impressive) just as well as the local one-hour places. If I can get from exposed film to stable, decent negatives, I can not only save the processing costs, but avoid having a bunch of extra prints running around too.

My new scanner finally got delivered...

2008-05-21T23:26:00.005-05:00

...next door...two hours before I had to be at work. FedEx may be fast and a lot easier on fragile items than UPS, but they've only gotten one delivery to us in three years; everything goes to the neighbors despite the sign on our gate, clearly visible from the turnoff to the neighbors' house. Fortunately I spotted the truck on its way out and jogged over there to get it. I should have done a self portrait afterwards - it's been nearly 20 years since I was any good at running, and it was 93 degrees at the time.

I only got to play with it for a little while before having to get ready for work, but here are a couple of scans (scanned at 1200dpi so this laptop wouldn't choke on the adjustments, scaled and/or cropped for easier uploading via this cellular connection) from the bike race last weekend. I left it running some 2400dpi scans of the next couple of strips, and out of curiosity I tried 4800dpi on some color negatives...it's really slow, but the quality is worth the wait. I'm almost afraid to see how long it will take on 120 negs, but it ought to look really nice.

The bottom one is cropped somewhat, and starting to show the lost resolution of the 1200dpi scan. I'll have to retry that same crop from a 4800dpi run and see how it looks.

For those keeping score, these are from Tri-X 400 pushed one stop w/TMax Developer. As the sun came up a bit more and the thin overcast got thinner, I switched to Ilford Delta Pro 100. Looking at the negs, there's a marked difference in density, but it hardly shows on the scans even before tweaking in GIMP. As I get them scanned and edited, the workable ones will make their way to Flickr.

Update to Just Give Them What They Want

2008-05-16T01:09:00.002-05:00

By way of The War On Guns:
Store owner shot in robbery.

WTF?

2008-05-11T05:34:00.003-05:00

BEDFORD — College student Chris Brown, 19, defeated closed captioning editor Jim Wallace, 35, for the Place 6 City Council seat Saturday, according to complete but unofficial results.

People actually edit closed captioning? People actually admit to editing closed captioning?

No wonder he got stomped 4-to-1 by a kid.

They called it an improvement

2008-04-29T03:40:00.002-05:00

On the county road to my house, just outside of town, there used to be a little one-lane bridge about 20ft long that had stood up for decades. About a year ago, the county came to the conclusion that one lane bridges are bad. They therefore took out the bridge, put in a culvert pipe and dumped dirt over the whole thing, making about a 20-30 yard dirt section in an otherwise paved road. A couple of heavy rains later, and this is what we have:

Pics from the storm last week

2008-04-29T02:09:00.005-05:00

Digital shot back towards Stephenville from the fron tyard during a lull in the storm.

Water over the bridge in the park.

More water over the bridge.

Fortunately, the ducks just think it's cool that they can sit around in the road without getting run over.

Playing with the camera

2008-04-26T10:42:00.003-05:00

Testing Kodak BW400CN and the local one-hour processing places.

Unbalanced photo of an unbalanced kitty.

Road trip today

2008-04-22T23:04:00.003-05:00

Just a couple photos from today's road trip to Brady.

The aliens are pretty safe

2008-04-08T04:02:00.006-05:00

Well, here's the first attempt at Conservative UAW Guy's Postal Match with the .357 Blackhawk. I'll have to try this again with the .45 once my arms stop shaking from the gas weedeater and my hits (hopefully) get less random.

Those things are pretty small from 10 yards. OTOH, I also take comfort in a few common facts: 10 yards is the maximum range for the vast majority of defensive shootings, and those 8.5x11" sheets are roughly the size of the center-mass target area on most people.

Postal Match This Month

2008-04-07T04:02:00.002-05:00

In light of January's events, I've just got to give this one an entry from Stephenville.

Also, keep an eye on SurplusRifleForum.com's postal match forum.

Rights vs. Entitlements

2008-03-29T05:39:00.004-05:00

First off, let's call a spade a spade; if taxpayers are forced to fund some part of your existence that doesn't directly benefit them, you're on welfare. It doesn't matter what other names you might call it, whether you're getting a check or just receiving some kind of free service that someone else would have to pay for, it's welfare.

Nobody argues that the second amendment entitles anyone not actively involved in defending the country to have guns provided to them at taxpayer expense. Why then is it so hard to accept that you, and only you, are responsible for the cost of exercising your right to live?

Yes, you have a right to live; that means, with the notable exception of the extreme circumstances where deadly force is justified, you cannot legally be deprived of your life by any person or governmental entity except by due process. It does not mean that any person or governmental entity owes you anything for your healthcare costs unless such entity has directly caused your health issues.

Scalpel keeps beating and beating and beating and beating and beating the faint smudge that might once, long ago, have been a dead horse, and a lot of people still can't get it through their heads that they are entitled to precisely nothing they have not personally earned, no matter how much they need it. Assrot, though he's talking about illegal immigrants, pretty much sums up the welfare mentality as well.

UPDATE: A load of old shite also has a pretty good post on the topic.

Just give them what they want...

2008-03-22T08:25:00.003-05:00

Every time I see another bleeding heart telling people to just comply with criminals' demands, I dig up one of these articles for the response. I figured I might as well stack up a bunch in one place for convenience. Feel free to use the list in your own responses to idiots.

From reading the stories, none of these victims tried to fight back before being wounded or killed. If anyone has other links to news articles about compliant victims being killed or seriously injured, post them in the comments and I'll update the list from time to time.

Man beaten and stabbed during robbery. (Dead link, can't find a good one for this)
Unprovoked shooting of store manager during robbery.
Two guards killed during robbery.
Restaurant manager killed in robbery
Student robbed and killed
Robbery victim dies from head injury
Woman set on fire after robbery
Man shot in head after robbery
Store owner shot in robbery.

Even if they don't intentionally kill you, it may still not go well: Robbery victim suffocated by gag

Car Emergency Kit Idea

2008-03-16T07:44:00.002-05:00

Had a thought; I carry antifreeze premixed in the car, in a normal antifreeze jug relabeled in Sharpie. This takes up some trunk space, so I'm thinking I could increase its usefulness.

There's spraypaint out there formulated especially for painting plastic, and it comes in blaze orange. I also have some circular retroreflective decals for driveway marking and such. I'm thinking that if I remove the labels on the antifreeze jug and paint it orange, then apply a couple of the decals, it will not only serve when I need antifreeze, but it could double as a safety cone any other time I have to stop on the road.

Anybody used the plastic-specific spraypaint? I think I'll try this, and a couple other ideas I've had for improving the car kit, and maybe put up a detailed post about it as soon as we have nice enough weather to really dig everything out and update it all.

Home system working again...

2008-03-12T04:46:00.002-05:00

My desktop PC crashed for the last time a couple of weeks ago, and I'm finally back to being online properly instead of having to use the laptop through the cell phone. (Anybody got madwifi working properly with the current Debian? I don't have enough space left on its hard drive to unpack kernel source, so I can't even try compiling it myself on there.)

Given that I worked in the computer field for ten years (tech, sales, phone support, internet project manager, etc.) I initially didn't even consider looking at prebuilt stuff. Then I found out that the only place I could buy a motherboard in this town closed down last year.

I looked around a bit, and eventually settled on a Compaq SR5333WM. Not bad for $600, and I'm even starting to think Vista isn't quite as bad as I'd expected. I've got my old 200G hard drive in it now, and dedicated to Debian, but I haven't had time to hammer out all the bugs and get it all running again, so in the meantime, I appear to have Vista to the point where I can actually be somewhat productive on it. I guess we'll find out what wins once I sit down and play with Linux on it long enough to either get everything working, or at least decide what won't work.

The 19" widescreen LCD monitor rocks for DVDs, by the way. The actual movie view for anything in widescreen appears to actually be bigger than on our 21" TV, and the resolution and color are definitely better. It makes some web pages look a bit weird, though.

Another one I've missed...

2008-03-08T01:12:00.001-06:00

Not sure how Xavier avoided being on my link list so far, but this post is an absolute must-read. Don't miss the comments, either.

Preparedness

2008-02-24T08:52:00.005-06:00

Since EE asked what knife I carry, I got to thinking about all the stuff I have on hand in case of problems. I'll try to work in some pictures later, but here's the basic rundown.

On me whenever I'm wearing pants:

Benchmade Griptilian - the old model, with the 440C blade. I don't know how much of an improvement the 154CM and other steels they're using more these now are, but the 440C is excellent, and I've never heard of Benchmade going downhill on a product, so they're likely to be every bit as good if not noticeably better.

Monadnock Persuader with my car key. Not just a weapon, it also keeps the key handy so I don't have to dig it out of my pocket. Since I rarely need to get into the house in much of a hurry, the house key is in a key wallet with lockbox and bike lock keys.

Photon II Microlight. This is also on the Persuader's ring for some quick light.

RayOVac Xtreme 3 Watt LED light. Uses AA batteries, so it's cheaper to operate than the Surefire, and not nearly as bright, but better than a Mini Mag by leaps and bounds.

Butane lighters. Usually at least two. Beats the heck out of flint and steel.

P38 can opener. It fits in my wallet, so I might as well never be stuck without one.

In my Coronado vest:

Taurus 605 .357 Magnum. The smallest (overall size) of my carry guns. Sometimes replaced or supplemented by either a Taurus PT-99 9mm or a Colt Government Model .45ACP

At least two reloads for whatever I'm carrying. I sometimes cut back to one with the 9mm, since the mags are 15 and 17 rounders.

Surefire G2 flashlight with P61 reflector assembly. At 120 lumens and a 20 minute battery life per pair of CR123s, it's nearly as close as you can get to turning cash directly into light energy.

Notepad and pen. This comes in handy way too often to not dedicate a vest pocket to it.

Pocket Constitution. Just in case I ever need to prove that I'm one of those subversive types that think the Constitution really should be the supreme law of the land.

Earplugs. More often than not, just because I grabbed them in case I didn't have my shooting muffs with me, and ended up leaving them in the vest afterward.

In the car:

Full canteen and water bottles. I've owned problematic cars before, and in a rural area, I might have a long walk ahead from a minor problem. Besides, it's nice to be able to wash up anywhere I happen to get dirty. There might even be enough to top off the radiator in a pinch.

Canteen cup. There's usually tea or coffee in the car, so it's nice to have something to boil the water in.

Trioxane bar and matches. Vacuum sealed to keep the matches dry, this provides fire to boil the aforementioned tea or coffee, and a really hot firestarter if there's wood available.

Chlor-Floc water purification tablets. The ones sized for a canteen, in case I need a refill and there's only questionable water available. Considering the nature of some of the disasters ARES provides communications for, these are a good idea. Considering the area's tornado count in the last few years, they could turn out to be a lifesaver.

MRE. At least one. Sometimes I don't have time to get food on the way to work, and the stuff in the machines is not exactly real food.

Towel. One of those spiffy microfiber ones from the automotive section at WalMart that comes in a tube. Compact and works well on just about anything (or anyone) that needs to be less wet.

100ft of heavy rope and two 3500lb rated carabiners. I don't think I've ever bought rope with a use in mind, nor have I ever failed to find a use for it afterward.

Gloves. Necessary to use the rope in certain ways.

Various car repair and maintenance items. These vary by season and mood. Generally wrenches, screwdrivers, a quart of oil, gallon of premixed antifreeze and flares.

Two cans of evaporated milk. It's cheap, and helps disguise some off flavors in water. Besides, it's cheap.

Tarp. A small (8x8ft as I recall) one, mostly in case I need to crawl under the car while wearing something I want to keep clean, but it has a lot of other uses too.

Clothing. Rain gear, dry socks, extra jacket, etc.

CRKT M16-12Z. Not the best pocketknife I've ever owned, but durable as heck and good in a pinch when I've misplaced the Benchmade or just don't want to get it dirty.

Pelican M3 Xenon. 140lumens from three CR123 batteries. Much longer battery life than the Surefire, and bigger, but still fits easily in the odd little cubbyhole by the driver's left knee.

Box of green lightsticks. They were cheap, and could come in handy as path marker lights or something along those lines.

Extra ammo. Not so much intentional, but I think there's at least one reload for just nearly every gun I own rolling around in the car somewhere.

Slide rule. I was wondering where that got to.

Bag of miscellaneous food and first aid items. This just turned up one day. I think it was my wife's way of tidying up a few of the things that had been hiding under the seats.

A few cheap flashlights. Good for loaning to people who don't prepare for even the most basic emergencies. It makes them go away before I start throwing bigger things at them for not being prepared. Especially important when anyone says, "I don't carry those things because I can always borrow them from someone when I need them."

At the house:

6 gallon water jug. There ought to be a 7.5 gallon somewhere too, but it may have ended up in storage.

Various drink mixes. Stored water tends to taste funny.

Vacuum sealed matchbooks and dried foods. There's another box of trioxane bars around too, for heat.

More flashlights. I'm not even going to try to count.

Guns and ammo. Suffice it to say I'm pretty much prepared to turn any animal in the western hemisphere into something resembling food (or a godawful mess if it's attacking and I don't need to eat it) if necessary. Most of the ones in the eastern hemisphere too. That's not to say I'd want to eat some of them, but a lot depends on how hungry I get.

Batteries and charger. I have a lot of stuff that eats AAs, and in a pinch I can briefly run my transceivers off of enough of them. I keep any that aren't being used fully charged.

Radios. Everything from shortwave receivers to VHF/UHFham gear. Most of it isn't hooked up in the rental place, but in a pinch I can rig it up pretty quick.

Strike-A-Fire firestarters. Think firestarter blocks with built in match heads. These things rock for getting a campfire or grill going.

Tools of various types. Shovel, mattock, saws, and other stuff to make repairs, build firebreaks, clear brush or dig a latrine.

First aid kit. Probably a bit overstocked, and focusing more on major bleeding, but then if it's not major, I just tend to wrap it in a paper towel and cuss at it until the bleeding stops.

That pretty much sums it up off the top of my head. Of course, we have the typical items around too, like fire extinguishers in the house and car, but I consider those more or less normal equipment.

Useful Reading

2008-02-18T03:01:00.002-06:00

Apparently I haven't been visiting Don Rearic's site much lately, as he's snuck in some interesting articles I wasn't aware of.

His Kids' Stuff pages are good reading, as is the rest of the site. Set aside a couple hours and browse when you get the chance.

What happened to the good "young readers" books?

2008-02-16T07:03:00.003-06:00

My wife and I were in a local bookstore this week, (no, not the horsefeed place with a better nonfiction section than WalMart, the actual bookstore next door to it) and since we have friends with kids who are getting towards the "young readers" age, I did some browsing in that area.

Now, this store has the best selection overall in town, and yet I've still been pretty steamed at the lack of certain authors. Am I the only person on the planet who thinks there should still be some H. Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs in that section? I don't mean right in among the "Cat in the Hat" books, but there are a couple of shelves of teen books where the Allan Quatermain series would have fit in perfectly. There were a few good selections, and a lot of them might be good at keeping the kids' interest and making them better readers, but for the most part, there was a definite lack of the type of series that used to provide good role models for young minds. I have to wonder if "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and its recent companion "The Daring Book for Girls" are really a good idea without the moral lessons of the older stories. (I have nothing against those books in themselves, though, and would give them to properly raised kids without hesitation.)

I've noticed similar trends in other things; sure, I had educational toys, but most of them were of the sort that encouraged parent-child interaction, not the modern electronic babysitters. There were card games, outdoor activities, and field trips of all sorts. Both of my parents worked as far back as I can remember, and yet they found the time to take an active role in my childhood. When they couldn't, there were other family members who could.

One of the things that firmly etched into my mind is that children are damned inconvenient. You don't just stuff them in the back of the closet when they get in the way of your social life or anything else. That's one of the main reasons we still don't have any. I wonder if any of the pregnant high-school age girls I had to squeeze past in the aisles of the store had enough experience from the child's side of proper parenting to realize that.

Things you should have learned in Junior High or earlier...

2008-02-03T01:19:00.001-06:00

I'm just going to let Bob cover this one.

Now we just need an Elvis sighting...

2008-01-19T04:57:00.001-06:00

We have a plastic cow on the courthouse square.
There are more places in town to buy horse feed than nonfiction books. (However, even though they're all about agriculture-related topics, one of those horse-feed places has a much better nonfiction section than WalMart.)
Last year, the big story was the Klan rally.

This year, people are seeing UFOs.

Great; the news equivalent of a Camaro on blocks has come to town. It's even on Wikipedia already, appropriately right above the 1974 murder spree.

Let's examine the Star-Telegram article:

STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- In this farming community where nightfall usually brings clear, starry skies, residents are abuzz over reported sightings of what many believe is a UFO.

Clear, starry skies...well, sometimes. I've actually gotten a few good photos lately, but the light pollution is terrible in several areas, and as far as in town goes, there are places in Dallas where you can see more stars than most of Stephenville. "Abuzz" apparently means "the usual loonies are all over it, the rest of us are just making fun of them as usual."

Several dozen people - including a pilot, county constable and business owners - insist they have seen a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast. Some reported seeing fighter jets chasing it.

Several dozen seems to be up quite a bit from the five or six when the story first ran. Inflation, I guess.

"People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times," said Steve Allen, a freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide. "It was positively, absolutely nothing from these parts."

For values of "everyone" that only include the aforementioned loonies. "Nothing from these parts" just means it wasn't a tricked-out horse trailer.

While federal officials insist there's a logical explanation, locals swear that it was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane. People in several towns who reported seeing it over several weeks have offered similar descriptions of the object.

Hmm..."lower to the ground than an airplane," eh? What kind of plane is incapable of flying low? How many people can actually estimate things like these guys are claiming with any degree of accuracy? One of the first stories claimed it was travelling about three thousand miles an hour: I'm pretty sure I can't estimate Mach 4 by eyeball.

Machinist Ricky Sorrells said friends made fun of him when he told them he saw a flat, metallic object hovering about 300 feet over a pasture behind his Dublin home. But he decided to come forward after reading similar accounts in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.

Notwithstanding the fact that people were making fun of Ricky long before this, a flat metallic object hovering over a pasture isn't exactly the behavior I'd be looking for from a race of beings intelligent enough to develop interstellar travel.

"You hear about big bass or big buck in the area, but this is a different deal," Sorrells said. "It feels good to hear that other people saw something, because that means I'm not crazy."

Sure, big bass and buck hovering over pastures are pretty common.
Free tip; just because other people are crazy too doesn't make you not crazy.

Sorrells said he has seen the object several times. He said he watched it through his rifle's telescopic lens and described it as very large and without seams, nuts or bolts.

"Dunno what it is, so I think I'll aim a gun at it."

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, said no F-16s or other aircraft from his base were in the area the night of Jan. 8, when most people reported the sighting.

Lewis said the object may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. Lights from the aircraft would seem unusually bright and may appear orange from the setting sun.

"I'm 90 percent sure this was an airliner," Lewis said. "With the sun's angle, it can play tricks on you."

The other 10 percent in that equation being all sorts of normal things; reflections from satellites, meteors, hallucinations, made-up stories to get on Larry King Live, etc.

Officials at the region's two Air Force bases - Dyess in Abilene and Sheppard in Wichita Falls - also said none of their aircraft were in the area last week. The Air Force no longer investigates UFOs.

No doubt they quit investigating because they were tired of having to visit people who lived in old Airstream trailers full of white robes, bug zappers and Elvis commemorative plates.

One man has offered a reward for a photograph or videotape of the mysterious object.

As yet mysteriously unclaimed.

About 200 UFO sightings are reported each month, mostly in California, Colorado and Texas, according to the Mutual UFO Network, which plans to go to the 17,000-resident town of Stephenville to investigate.

Every time I see MUFON mentioned, I have to suppress a giggle at how much it sounds like a new STD treatment from the makers of HeadOn.

Fourteen percent of Americans polled last year by The Associated Press and Ipsos say they have seen a UFO.

Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan said that he first saw red glowing lights and then white flashing lights moving fast, but that even with binoculars could not see the object to which the lights were attached.

"I didn't see a flying saucer and I don't know what it was, but it wasn't an airplane, and I've never seen anything like it," Gaitan said. "I think it must be some kind of military craft - at least I hope it was."

Yeah, because if the aliens want to be subtle, they'll do it with flashing lights.

More Muzzle Flash

2008-01-15T20:03:00.001-06:00

It's really nice to have a place where I can go shoot a bit after dark. Since the closest neighbors are about 250 yards away on the other side of the ridge, I'm not sure how loud the shots are to them, but I set myself a 9PM cutoff on target shooting anyway. Mom's house is about 600 yards away on the same side of the ridge, and she can hear them, but says that only the rifles are very noticeable from inside the house with the TV on.

First up is the relatively tame CorBon PowRBall factory load in the Blackhawk.

Then my handloads; 16gr of 2400 over a CCI Magnum primer driving a 125gr Berry's plated bullet.

And finally, the redneck flash-bang; the same handload in the Taurus 605.

My late Christmas present to myself

2008-01-10T14:18:00.001-06:00

I put in some extra hours over the holidays, and had a bit extra on my paycheck, so I went looking for something in either a classic single action, or a good hunting handgun. This one was both, and a fitting big brother for my carry gun, so I just had to grab it.

It almost seems odd that they both use the same ammo. I've definitely gotten toughened up to the magnum loads from shooting the snub, though; the Blackhawk feels downright tame even with the hottest stuff I had on hand.

Shotguns and slings

2008-01-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

Why is it so wrong to have a sling on a shotgun? Granted, I haven't read through a Bible in a while, but I don't recall there being any prohibitions on it in there.

I can see not wanting sling swivels on some $10,000-plus Perazzi that will only be used for skeet, and carried to and from the line in its special fitted case, but for anything you're going to lug to the dove field or duck blind, why wouldn't you want to be able to sling it?

I got my wife a single-shot 20ga, and it came with sling swivels installed; they're great for carrying the gun, and reduce the chance of dropping it, (potentially plugging the barrel with mud or snow) or having an unintentional discharge due to a finger getting into the trigger guard while stumbling, etc.

My Mossberg 835 came with a magazine cap that has a post for swivel attachment, though no predrilled hole in the stock; that's fine, I can drill it easily, and someone else can have their stock unmarred by the hole.

My Norinco copy of the Ithaca 37 riot model came with Ithaca's annoying solution; predrilled holes, with an insert in the stock, both tapped in some fine, nonstandard thread. Finding posts for these has been rather annoying, but at least they were thinking along the right lines.

I see a lot of shotguns, though, that have no built-in provision for mounting the front swivel. To me, this is right up there with not providing a Weaver or Picatinny rail on a rifle that has no iron sights; why nickel and dime me to death to get the darn thing running right? I'll pay an extra $10 on the cost of the gun gladly to get something necessary from the factory, but I get really annoyed at paying $150-$500, then having to buy a bunch of $10-$15 accessories just to get it properly usable.

Hukt on Fonix

2008-01-05T02:54:00.001-06:00

This wouldn't be quite so bad except that it's in front of a school, and has been there for at least two years.

Special announcement for retailers

2007-12-28T01:40:00.000-06:00

Through careful investigation, I have determined that Christmas will fall on December 25th next year. Instead of stocking up on decorations and "gift sets" before Halloween, maybe you could use that information to work out schedules and make sure you have enough of those special hard-to-come-by items like Dr Pepper.

Geez, I know the bottling plant is a whole fourteen miles of treacherous dead-straight four-lane rural highway from here, but you'd think they could get in an extra load rather than have only one six pack left in the store by 9AM on Christmas Eve.

Even more annoying is to wander into the stores now, and see how many normal-stock items are still sold out, while piles of seasonal stuff are still taking up space as the prices slowly get lower. This is why I usually bury gift cards in my wallet until about March, when they've decided to restock the stuff I want. OTOH, this year, I was looking for some unusual enough items that I was able to get most of them right away.

Get down with the sickness

2007-12-23T01:25:00.000-06:00

I woke up Friday with what could have passed for Parkinson's tremors. Fortunately, it was just uncontrolled shivering. Then I looked at the thermometer and realized it was 75 degrees in the room. Great. Fever of 101, muscle aches, mild nausea, poor balance and alternating hot/cold flashes. No chance of getting an appointment that day, and I wasn't in the mood to go hang around the waiting room coughing on people and waiting for somebody to cancel or no-show, especially over something that doesn't usually hit me too hard. I took some ibuprofen and went back to bed, then picked up some TheraFlu on the way to work.

Last night, I woke up with the chill again, and decided to check...eep - fever of 103.6. Ibuprofen and aspirin brought it down to 102.8 within a few minutes, and after an hour it was down to 101.4. A couple hours into my shift now, and it's holding between 100 and 101, with most of the aches also nicely masked by the aspirin. Luckily, the job isn't generally too physically demanding, nor do I have to operate any heavy equipment.

What really sucks is that it picked Friday to start; nothing but the ER ($100 copay, but if the fever gets out of control again, I'll go) will be open until at least Wednesday, and even then everybody will likely be on vacation.

Fun with recoil and flash

2007-12-20T20:53:00.000-06:00

Full power .357 loads in my 2" Taurus 605.

Bad computer...

2007-12-18T04:13:00.000-06:00

For those wondering,my laptop's hard drive crashed a few days ago, and I've just finally managed to get the bluetooth connection to my cell phone working, and finish downloading the new Ubuntu install CD. (actually Xubuntu, in this case) At the moment, I'm running from a PuppyLinux LiveCD, and I'll be hanging on to the settings and the CD in case of future problems, but I'll probably be limping along for a couple more days until I get Ubuntu 7.10 installed and configured from scratch.

I know I could just do this stuff from the desktop machine, but I've put off updating it even longer than the laptop, so I can never remember where stuff is on it. Since it's got the printer, and that seems to die or develop new problems with every software change, I dread having to do any updates on that machine.

FWIW, I noticed that Staples is running the Sandisk Cruzer 2G flash drives with an instant savings that brings them down to $20. I think I know where I'll be backing up the PuppyLinux settings.

She started it...

2007-12-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

Emergencyemm posted a gun-related parody, so I'll throw my contribution in:

(With apologies to Frank Herbert)
I must not flinch.
Flinch is the group-killer.
Flinch is the little-jerk that brings total misses.
I will face my recoil.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will realign the front sight upon the target.
Where the recoil has gone there will be nothing.
Only x-ring hits will remain.

Maybe I should be passing this along as a challenge...hmmm...I bet Marko's busy with moving stuff...MattG's just sitting around sniffing stuff...Tam is probably still asleep...Don Gwinn (and yes, I was one of those people who didn't have to look up either of the references in his photo caption) doesn't look too busy...surely somebody out there must want to desecrate a literary work for the amusement of gun owners.

"Justice"

2007-12-08T08:25:00.000-06:00

Remember when Paris Hilton was picked up for probation violation and 70 in a 35 on a license that was suspended for DUI, and they were telling us how normal it is for anyone picked up on such charges to serve less than a week of a 40+ day sentence? (OK, in fairness, she actually had to serve a grand total of 22 days, but still not the 45 she was sentenced to)

So why is Keifer Sutherland getting shafted for the full 48 days? Maybe he should cry and come up with an "unspecified medical condition."

OTOH, IMO, if you get probation and then violate it, you should be locked up for the remainder of your original sentence, plus whatever they decide to tack on for the violation. You had your second chance and blew it, so stop whining and take your punishment.

Now, back to my usual not giving a damn about anything that has to do with Paris Hilton.

Texas laws

2007-12-02T04:38:00.000-06:00

MattG reminds us about Texas Health and Safety Code Section 822.013, allowing for the killing of dogs and coyotes harassing livestock, domestic animals, or poultry, but he leaves off before getting to some of the other interesting points of Texas laws when it comes to rural life.

Penal Code Section 28.03 lays out the law on criminal mischief, which encompasses damaging or marking another person's property. It's a misdemeanor if the damage is under $1,500, with the class determined by the monetary value of the loss, except that it's a felony if the property damaged is a habitation and the damage was caused by a firearm or explosive, or the property damaged is a fence that contains livestock or game animals. At night, any of it can get you shot.

Penal Code Section 46.13 makes it illegal to make a loaded firearm accessible to a child, unless you're "engaged in an agricultural enterprise" at the time, among other exceptions. No explanation is offered as to how weeding the beans makes it acceptable to be careless with your gun and child, but rushing your wife to the hospital doesn't.

Penal Code Section 31.03 defines theft, again a misdemeanor if the value of the property is under $1,500, unless you're stealing livestock, firearms, ballots, or
anything taken directly from a person, living or dead. Again, it can get you shot at night.

There are other interesting bits, so I may revisit this topic someday.

We serve no redcoats here

2007-11-25T06:36:00.000-06:00

Looks like the Brits aren't making any friends these days, even among their own soldiers.

A Time to Rant

2007-11-04T09:52:00.000-06:00

Well, I've let this thing set for a while, and it doesn't seem to be making my life any better. I guess now I'll try posting to it and see if that helps any.

What shall I rant about first? It seems that so many good topics are already taken, so I'll just tag on a few general comments on these topics, and go from there.

Illegal Immigration
Sure, they contribute to the economy, just like every other criminal. Next time you get a quick police response, thank a pedophile for keeping staffing levels up. EMTs save your life? Thank an IV drug user for his contribution to their funding and training. A quick count shows 15 body shops in this town of 15,000; how many would go out of business if not for the drunk drivers? We don't try to protect or justify any of those, so no more coddling of illegal immigrants.

Inappropriate Cell Phone Usage
I've actually seen a cashier so engrossed in her personal (and I mean personal in the sense of “things that shouldn't be discussed within earshot of anyone but your doctor or priest,” too) conversation that she never even realized I had gotten my phone out, and was chewing out her manager over her behavior while at the register.

Gun Control
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't even get started on that right now. Suffice it to say that my idea of acceptable gun control is a 10” group at the appropriate range for your weapon rapid fire, or smaller for slowfire.

Health Care
Right now, I'm seriously considering getting all my non-emergent needs taken care of in one fell swoop before things go to hell in a handbasket with more government control.

Police Brutality
Whatever works when it's needed. My preferred solution to high-speed chases would involve lobbying Ithaca to bring back the Mag-10 Roadblocker, and booting any CLEO that doesn't authorize its use immediately when a suspect runs...on foot or in a vehicle. Okay, maybe they can use rock salt for the ones on foot.
OTOH, I'd like to see all the dirty cops have their badges tattooed on their foreheads before being released into general population at the nearest prison.

The Droopy-Drawers Thing
Does this even need a rant? How can anybody think that wearing their pants at half-mast is anything but dumb-looking?

I'll have to get back to this later; I know I'm leaving out some good rant topics, but my mind is going blank.