Monthly Archives: May 2007

Porn for Peace is getting support

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Thanks to David for bringing this to our attention. I named this plan Porn for Peace several months ago after Ry and I outlined the basics of it nearly three years ago.

That are lots of other implications for the data supplied in this posting. Think on this for a while:

Up to 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers’ mobile phones contain pornography, according to a study in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

The study quoted in Arab News focussed on the phones of teenagers detained by religious police for harassing girls.

…

The men of Islam are obsessed with sex beyond even the wildest imaginings of the Western male’s mind. And the obsession is far from healthy and even further from reality.

We frequently joke about men’s preoccupation with sex and female body parts in the West, but our fascination with “T&A” is nothing when you consider that the Muslim world is literally consumed by female sexuality and with their fear of it. It is ironic that both Muslim men and women are under the mistaken impression that Western society is oversexualized compared to them, when in fact, it is practically impossible to be more obsessed with sexual matters than they are in Muslim communities.

Quote of the day–Eugene McCarthy

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It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember.

Eugene McCarthy
[Giuliani and Romney come to mind as having not learned that lesson. And that most politicians have learned that lesson explains why I get a weird sort of frustrated anger after listening to them. They can talk for hours without say anything.–Joe]

Scope Eye (How Not to Hold a Rifle)

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Ouch!  It hurts just watching this, especially having myself fired the Safety Harbor 50 Caliber AR that Ry loaned us last summer.  The 70+ year-old who’s firing it didn’t get the buttstock on his shoulder, so it slid under his armpit from the recoil, causing the optic sight to clock him in the face.  That’s a heavy rifle moving back at him at a good clip.  He was OK, after he stumbled to his feet and I was able to get him to reply to questions.  Notice the image blur as the shock wave (usually referred to as “muzzle blast” but in this case I use “shock wave” as a more descriptive term) hits the camera.  Also notice the gravel being hurled back and to the sides from the high-pressure jets coming out of the muzzle break.

Firing the little .50 BMG “carbine” with a proper hold feels about the same as firing a magnum load from a 12 ga. shotgun.  Quite nice, really.  Its all about style.

Hello Gonzo!

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As I mentioned yesterday he stops by after I post a link to his website:

Domain Name   mindspring.com ? (Commercial)
IP Address   66.47.159.# (EarthLink)
ISP   EarthLink
Location  
Continent  :  North America
Country  :  United States  (Facts)
State  :  Illinois
City  :  Chicago
Lat/Long  :  41.8675, -87.6744 (Map)
Distance  :  1,478 miles
Language   English (United States)
en-us
Operating System   Microsoft WinXP
Browser   Firefox 2.0
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.3) Gecko/20070309 Firefox/2.0.0.3
Javascript   version 1.5
Monitor  

Resolution  :  1280 x 1024
Color Depth  :  32 bits

Time of Visit   May 30 2007 8:55:50 am
Last Page View   May 30 2007 8:59:45 am
Visit Length   3 minutes 55 seconds
Page Views   3
Referring URL http://technorati.co…arch/www.gunguys.com
Visit Entry Page   http://blog.joehuffm…I Know That Guy.aspx
Visit Exit Page   https://blog.joehuffman.org/
Out Click    
Time Zone   UTC-6:00
Visitor’s Time   May 30 2007 10:55:50 am
Visit Number   158,702

This could be fun

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Yesterday I quoted Robyn Ringler on her error in thinking the D.C. snipers used a .50 caliber rifle. Today she posted a correction. Although she had been informed of her error in the comments two days before that she didn’t correct it then. Yesterday she got additional comments about her error and then this morning she posted her correction.

Today she made another post and another error:

A guy walks into a gun shop to buy a gun. The gun shop’s employee performs a background check. The information from the background check which links the gun to its new owner and its origin (the gun shop) must be destroyed WITHIN 24 HOURS.

…

So, now, a crime is committed with a gun. Any record of where that gun originated has been destroyed. How do we trace it? How do we figure out where it came from? It is impossible to follow the gun’s journey when we destroy the records after ONE DAY.

The NICS check does not, and was never officially intended, to link a gun to it’s owner. That is what Form 4473 is for. The 4473 has been the law of the land since GCA68 was passed (1968). The 4473 is required by law to be retained for 20 years. There has not been any repeal of this records keeping requirement as Ms. Ringler believes. She is confused. But that’s not surprising, bigots confuse and warp the facts to maintain internal consistency with their world view.

I briefly mentioned in this post about the natural advantages and disadvantage on both sides in our “war” against the anti-gun bigots. As I mentioned then one of our advantages is that we have the facts on our side. Another advantage is that because we use, buy, and sell guns we know them and the laws governing them much better than the other side. Because of this lack of familiarity it’s easier for them to confuse and warp the facts. It’s also easier for them proselytize their bigotry to other ignorant people.

Ms. Ringler and other bigots have a very difficult time getting their minds around the concepts (thoughts about “small-minded bigots” come to mind here). The definition of a barrel shroud or a folding stock is likely to go right over their heads. But of course that doesn’t stop them from want to ban them. When they make errors like this we get to make them look stupid by pointing out their ignorance. In general they aren’t really stupid. They are just at a disadvantage because they don’t have the extensive contact with the subject matter that we do. That doesn’t mean that I think they should be given any slack. If they are honest people, and most of them probably are, as they become more and more aware of the facts they will have a more difficult time spouting their bigoted ideas in a sincere manner.

As Barb only too well knows, I enjoy pointing out the errors of others (I also like for others to point out my mistakes). Ms. Ringler promises to be a source of great fun for me.

Boomershoot photos and videos

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I found this collection of You-Tube/Google Boomershoot videos. Then Jason has his collection of videos I have previous linked to.  And he has some great pictures of Boomershoot 2007 as well. I like the following best:


Ry (on the right) and I in front of his fireball creation–“If you are going to do something you might as well overdo it.“


Xenia and John seen through the smoke of the unintentional fire created during “cleanup”.

I’ve been thinking about Boomershoot a lot recently. I’ve been working on the online entry program and am about to open up entries for Boomershoot 2008.

Quote of the day–Robyn Ringler

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The fifty caliber sniper rifle, for example. What purpose did it have besides killing people? The notorious Washington, D.C. sniper-killers used the fifty caliber sniper rifle to kill their victims.

Robyn Ringler
Let’s Ban the Fifty Caliber Sniper Rifle
[The D.C. snipers used an AR-15 type in .223. The .223 cartridge has a bullet that is less than one half the diameter and less than one tenth the mass. Facts are irrelevant to these types. Then there were all the people with .50 caliber guns at Boomershoot this year, they fired hundreds of rounds this year without killing anyone. Were those guns malfunctioning when they were fired without killing anyone?–Joe]

Hey I know that guy!

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Reading the worst of the nut case anti-freedom, anti-gun bigot websites I came across this:

That kind of sentiment is exactly what we need more of online. We definitely don’t need any more gun guys blogging– they’re full of venom and vitriol, cursing and overcompensating masculinity, and instead of providing insight on the news, they provide rehashes of decades-old NRA lies and propaganda. We definitely don’t need any more gun nuts coming up with (or, more likely, just parroting) NRA catchphrases or repeating nonsense about how guns are the only way you can protect yourself– the fact is that guns don’t protect you at all.

The “gun guy blogging” link is to Say Uncle. I spent quite a bit of time with Uncle at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous last fall. The above characterization of Uncle is completely wrong. Uncle is incredibly soft spoken and full of thoughtful insight. Overcompensating masculinity? Ha! But then bigots don’t really care about the facts. Stereotypes are their currency.

The owner of the anti-freedom, anti-gun site visits here (Hi Gonzo!) occasionally too. When I link to the “gunguys.com” site, even with the “rel=nofollow” attribute set, he checks out my posting within a day or two.

Memorial Day thoughts

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I support the war against the Islamic extremists who insist we must convert to their religion or die:

islam4kids.jpg

They are willing to die for their beliefs and I am willing to help them with the dying part until they are willing to leave us alone. But it’s tough when the cost of those convictions are brought home:

Jason01.jpg

An explosive device built in Iran (not really an IED) nearly killed our nephew Jason. He lost his right arm, the vision in his right eye, and his face, his buttocks, and his left arm were severely wounded.

Adam Plumondore was a Boomershoot Precision Rifle Clinic Instructor. He was killed by a car bomb in Iraq. His partner at Boomershoot, Walter Gaya, was injured a few months later by an explosive device in Iraq.

A friend of mine was shot in the leg while invading Granada. He never completely recovered from that wound. That and numerous other injuries suffered both in combat and training took him out of the Army and are now a permanent part of his life.

Growing up I just missed the draft for the Vietnam war by a few months. I knew people and relatives that participated in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Even by the time I graduated from high school I can only think of one person I knew who was even wounded in combat–a friend of my Dad that I only met a half dozen times. It was all “just numbers” in the history books and on the news. It wasn’t real. Reality is different.

I don’t think that teenage and early twenty-something males really have that good of grasp on reality. Certainly their judgement center is insufficiently myelinated. This causes them to take risks they shouldn’t and to have a high rates of organ donation compared to the general population. For the survival of our species this is a good thing. Young males are best fit to fight predators whether it be a man-eating tiger or the people trying to finish the job Hitler and his gang were unable to complete. They are better fighters and they are more likely to survive their wounds than women and older men.

For them to not really understand the risks makes it harder for me. I know the job must be done. I know we can’t let the predators have their way. Their way would be to go back to the dark ages. Because I know a little more about the risks, the costs, of defending or freedom my inclination is to keep our young men and women off the ground in the Mideast. I think, “Glass over the entire sandbox! Better that that lose another one of our people.” But that’s my emotions talking. That’s not the right thing to do.

It’s a tough battle with my emotions. Logically the right thing to do is much different that what my emotions are fighting for. It’s particularily difficult for me right now. Not just because it’s Memorial Day but because my daughter’s boyfriend, John, is shipping out next month.

XeniaJohn.jpg

John just turned 18. Good luck John. Please come back in one piece. Thank you, and all the others, for your service.

See also Xenia’s Live Journal post.

Question One Just

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Interesting. Tish Durkin, in essence, turned my Just One Question around. She took nearly 2000 words to say it but here is the essence:

In other words, the burden would not be on the gun control lobby to prove that there absolutely, positively would be fewer violent deaths if it were harder to get guns.

She overlooks, perhaps too conveniently, that the data already exists. She only need go look for it rather than imagine she knows the answer. But maybe she doesn’t want to know the answer. She admits she is very hard core anti-gun but she is far from stupid.

Boomershoot 2008 status

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I updated the Boomershoot 2008 web page today. I also added a page outlining some of the preparations already accomplished.

I have increased the number of shooting positions to 76 total.

The new online entry website is currently under test. If you would like to help test it let me know and I’ll send you the URL.

The date for Boomershoot 2008 has been set–April 27th. We will be accepting entries soon–probably by the end of the week. I already gave away two positions to King County Friends of the NRA. Staff and Boomershoot 2007 entrants will have first chance when it opens up. When I give the general announcement expect it to fill up within a month with the best positions filled within a couple weeks. If you think you might want to attend sign up soon then get a refund if you can’t make it.

PNNL layoffs

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Not because they committed criminal acts but simply because the lab didn’t have enough work for them

Nearly 60 employees at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have left their jobs in recent months mainly because of the “ebb and flow” of federal funding.

About 40 of the employees received involuntary layoff notices, said Greg Koller, spokesman for the lab run by Battelle for the Department of Energy.

I haven’t checked with my sources but almost for certain it didn’t include the people that should be facing felony charges. That will have to come later after I do some more work on the problem.

Quote of the day–Marcel Granier

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This has exposed the abusive, arbitrary and autocratic nature of Chavez’s Government, a government that fears free thought, that fears opinion and fears criticism.

Marcel Granier
Chief of RCTV, the country’s oldest broadcaster
May 28, 2007
Venezuelan TV channel shut down
[Chavez is just being true to his socialist ideals. Socialism, The Road to Serfdom.–Joe]

Too much information–Take 2

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Since my post on my colonoscopy last week was so popular (over 100 referrals in the last 16 hours) I thought I might bump the readership numbers still more by reposting something from UseNet from nearly 17 years ago. The details of my vasectomy:

From joe@proto.COM Wed Aug 15 11:59:07 1990
Path: proto!joe
From: joe@proto.COM (Joe Huffman)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Vasectomy
Summary: I am pleased with the results.
Message-ID: <1392@proto.COM>
Date: 15 Aug 90 18:59:07 GMT
References: <SCOTTP.90Aug14093250@bwdlh461.bnr.ca>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Prototronics; Sandpoint, Idaho
Lines: 110

In article <SCOTTP.90Aug14093250@bwdlh461.bnr.ca>, scottp@bwdlh461.bnr.ca
(Scott Pace) writes:
> I would like to hear from anyone out there who has experienced a
> vasectomy (or knows someone who has).

What do you want to know?  As a means of birth control it has been successful.
I got mine about 2 years ago and I haven’t got anybody pregnant yet.

The operation was relatively painless.  The doctor and I talked about
computer programming most of the time during the surgery.  I had some
slight internal bleeding in the scrotum area that left a bruise appearing
discoloration for about a week and a half.  This is normal.  The doctor
told me to take some pain pills before the novacaine wore off, go home put
a ice pack under my shorts and go to bed for the afternoon.
I got bored in bed and keep waiting for the pain to kick in after the
novacaine wore off but it NEVER did ache or hurt.  I finally got up and
went to work on my computer in the other room.  No orgasms allowed for
one week after the surgery (one of the toughest parts of the whole thing). 
No heavy physical activity allowed either.  It was a bit tender for a week
or two but no big deal as long as the kids didn’t jump on me.  A month after
the surgery it was nearly impossible to see the incision marks.  In 2 months
it was impossible.  I had to use other methods of birth control until I got a
0 sperm count.  That normally takes about 3 months.  My first count (at 3
months post surgery) was 2 dead ones.  A month later it came back 0.  So 4
months past before other methods were deemed unnecessary.

—–
>>>DETAILED<<< DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURE FOLLOWS
—–

The doctor had a pre-surgery consultation and advised me of all the risks.
The ones I remember were:
1) About 1 out of 200 fail and have to be redone.
2) Some number (I forget how many) develop a nodule at the point of
blockage.  This may get as large as 3/4 of an inch in diameter.  Usually it
is painless but sometimes it must be removed with surgery.  I think I have a
very small occurance of that on my right side.
3) It should be considered permanent.  Reversal rate is about 80% but it is
much more involved, more costly, and of course less successful.

This was our GP and I asked how many he had performed, he told me about
300.  I asked about complications that he had observed.  He told me that he
had one patient that had to be redone, he had done nothing different in that
case that he was aware of.  One patient was riding his motercycle about
three days later and ending up pushing it some distance when the engine
failed and he was bedridden for a couple days afterwards.  With one
procedure the guy was more nervous than most but made it through one side
without freaking out.  The doctor put in the stich on that side and said,
“Now we’ll do the OTHER side.”  At which point the patient did ‘freak’ for
a while.  🙂

He instructed me to shave the front of my scrotum the morning of the
surgery.  The surgery was to be at about 10:00 AM.  I went in a bit early
and they started early due to a previous patient canceling.   The nurse
(Viki, beautiful woman, but that’s irrelevent, or is it?) had me take off my
pants and lay down.  She draped my stomach -> thigh area with sterile
sheets with an opening for my scrotum and penis.  She complemented me on
the shaving I had done and said she wouldn’t have to do any more.  She then
scrubbed the front of my scrotum for (a timed) five minutes.  We had a nice
chat about how it had worked out for her and her husband (she was very
pleased and indicated he hadn’t had any problems with it).  She draped
that area and got the doctor.  He put on latex gloves and manipulated the
vas deferens to the front of the scrotum (it is normally near the rear).
He then used a clamp to hold it place near the surface while he got the
syringe in his hand.  He warned that this would hurt for a little bit.  He
poked the needle upwards skewering the vas deference lengthwise, this HURT
until he started injecting the material.  He then pulled the needle out of
the vas deferens, but not the scrotum, and repeated in the downward
direction.  He then made an incision about 3/8 inch long vertically above
the vas deferens between the jaws of the clamp where he had made the
injection.  He cauterized a few blood vessels that were bleeding and
pulled the vas deferens out of the scrotum so that about a 1 inch section
was exposed.  I could feel some tugging on my testicles but it was not
painful.  He ‘stripped’ the sheath that contains blood vessels from
around the vas deferens being careful keep damage to a minimum.  When about
3/4 inches of the vas deferens was exposed he tied it off in two places
about 1/2 inch apart.  He then used a scaphel to cut a section about 1/4
inch long from between the two places that were tied off.  This section
was set aside to be set to a lab for “identification”.  I asked if he had
ever had a lab report indicate he had made a mistake and he said, “No”
(then why do it?  I didn’t ask, but I suspect it is insurance against
lawsuits).  He then cauterized the two ends of the vas deferens.  This was
to seal the ends (in addition to being tied off).  He then put the severed
vas back in the scrotum and put in a single stitch.

Repeat for the other side.

Through all the surgery Viki would come in and ask how things were going
and chatted with us a bit.  The doctor had a mother cat that had kittens and
Viki had picked up one of the kittens a couple weeks earlier…

They gave me some pain pills (which I only used one doseage of), some gauze,
and instructions on how to care for the incision site.  No big deal, I was
to keep it dry for 24 hours, and change the dressing if it became blood
soaked.  I had some minor external bleeding for about 1 1/2 days and had to
keep the gauze pads in place to avoid bleeding on my underwear.

From the time I walked in until I walked out it took about an hour and 45
minutes.  Actual surgery was about 50 minutes or so.

I think it was about 4 days later I went in and had the stitches removed.

Anything I left out?

—
—
netcom!proto!joe
joe@proto.com

Quote of the day–John Stossel

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When everyone in politics jumps on a bandwagon like ethanol, I start to wonder if there’s something wrong with it. And there is. Except for that fact that ethanol comes from corn, nothing you’re told about it is true.

John Stossel
May 23, 2007
The Many Myths of Ethanol
[Remember when I wrote about ethanol a while back? My brother Doug did some quickie “back of the envelope” type number crunching and came to the same conclusions Stossel writes about.–Joe]

Hamilton wasn’t married

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All the early reports on the nut case known as Jason Hamilton that killed a bunch of people in Moscow last weekend said he shot his wife Crystal first. An email from Mike informs me that Crystal was his ex-wife:

The couple filed for divorce on Aug. 3, 2004, citing irreconcilable differences. Hamilton and Jones said in court documents they had no children. The couple had been separated since March 2004 and listed separate home addresses in Moscow.

There was no dispute over the division of assets or debts. The divorce was granted the same day it was filed, records show.

It looks to me as if she should have read How to be Invisible and then disappeared after the divorce.

If it bleeds it leads

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There is a phrase I have heard from people in the news business: “If it bleeds it leads.” The traffic on this site over the last week illustrates why:

Typically I get about 200 visits a day with the weekends being a little bit lighter. On Sunday (and here) and Monday (and here) Lyle and I reported about the nut case that shot up the Latah County Dispatch center and killed three people before belatedly removing himself from the gene pool.

Yes, there is media bias about gun control but part of that tendency is fed because of readership/money. If I had reported the nut case had shot at the dispatch center, the police showed up and arrested him without incident there probably wouldn’t have been a blip. If it had been a private citizen that had run him over with a car while he was reloading it would have been only a minor blip. But three innocent people were killed and two others were wounded so there was almost six times the normal traffic.

In this “war” we are fighting against the anti-gun bigots there are natural advantages and disadvantages for both sides. The bigots have the advantage of better media coverage for their viewpoint and much higher emotional content. We have the advantages of the facts, the numbers of dedicated activists, and our social networks. There are other advantages too, but that is a topic for another post.

Not my most flattering angle

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Yesterday I took off work early to get a guided tour of a place I’ve never been before. Actually a place no one has visited before. I’d been putting it off for a while now. I hadn’t had a physical for about three years now. The last time I did the doctor said that when you turn 50 it’s recommended you know. No physicals for me for a while since I didn’t want to be reminded. I turned 51 several months ago and had procrastinated as long as I could.

Tuesday night I had my last meal with solid food. No solids until after the procedure. Wednesday I had a few six ounce cans of apple and grape juice, and a can of Cherry Coke for my sustenance. I noon I took four little pills. About six that evening they were starting to work their magic and it was time for me to go home and spend some quality time with the porcelain goddess. I had four liters of some sort of stuff to drink that would clean me out from end to end. It did. It continued to clean me all night and I didn’t get much sleep.

Yesterday morning I had nothing but water for input. At noon I stopped the water. About 13:30 Barb and I drove to the to the medical center. I was required to bring someone with me to drive and receive my care instructions afterward. They were going to mess with my mind as well as my alimentary canal. Barb was joking with me about it. I tried to threaten her about “When it’s your turn” but she knew she would “get it” even if she was easy on me and didn’t let up. Yeah, she was right. She knows me too well after 33 years together.

I filled out the paperwork, took off my clothes and put on the hospital gown that opens, full length, down the back. They put me on a stretcher, put an I.V. in my arm and wheeled me in to a room with a T.V. monitor and some other instruments. I knew what was going to be on the T.V. monitor. It was going to be me. All me and nothing but me. The nurses hooked me up to the other instruments. Oxygen saturation: 100%. Blood pressure: 100 over 60. Pulse: 61 to 64. All very good. That was before the doctor showed up.

The doctor showed up introduced herself and a student who would just be watching. An audience–the two nurses, a student, and the doctor. The doctor started to give me the meds that would mess with my mind. She said, “This is very fast acting so you will start to feel it right away. I presume you want to not feel…” I cut her off before she pushed the plunger on the syringe. “Actually”, I said, “I would rather you go light on that stuff.” “Would you like to try it without meds?” she asked? “Okay”, I agreed. I think the audience all started smiling. Something different I guess. I was going to be their entertainment for the day. I couldn’t see the doctor. She was behind me–of course.

One of the nurses announced she used to work in OB/GYN and that I needed to focus on something and take some deep breaths. “Relax”, she told me, “And keep your muscles soft. This is going to be a lot like having a baby.” The doctor quipped that I wasn’t going to be doing any pushing though. At my suggestion they agreed there wouldn’t be an episoitomy either.

It wasn’t bad a first. At the turns the pressure increased. At the third turn I asked to doctor to stop for a moment. She offered the meds and I said I just wanted to relax a bit. It’s tough to keep your stomach muscles relaxed when there is a five foot long snake writhing around in your large intestine. Now I wonder what my blood pressure and pulse were. At the time I didn’t really think about it.

After a few seconds with my breathing coach praising me and putting her hand on my stomach to help focus on the relaxing of the muscles I told the doctor okay and she continued pushing the one eyed snake until it’s head reached the junction with my small intestine, my cecum, and appendix.

The trip out was much easier. And that was when we got to really see things. But they pumped me full of air, inflating things so the snake could get a better view of things. That air pressure caused some discomfort but not too bad. Especially compared to the pushing around those corners. I focused on the monitor and the doctor explained all the different things we were looking at. The student, with a great deal of glee said, “It’s rare we get to give guided tours.”

After it was done they all praised me. “Wow. That’s not something you see every day–no meds.” The student asked the doctor if I get a two for one deal next time. The doctor said they should have some gold stars to hand out for people like me. I was just glad to have the alien out of my belly.

Everything was normal. The doctor told me I didn’t have to do that again for seven years. And the question she wanted answered is if I was going to do it without meds next time. I said I didn’t know. I liked being able to see what was going on but there was a lot of discomfort.

They gave me pictures of the various places we visited. Sort of like those pictures you get at tourist attractions except these were much, much, more expensive. I’d post them but I don’t think the pictures were taken from my most flattering angle.