This is the gun (with part of the serial number obscured) I have been shooting:

Custom guns just for us knuckle dragging gun bloggers! How cool is that?

I had some problems yesterday and finally figured out what was going on (with a simpler repro of the problem by JR). If the gun cycles, you let up on the trigger to the first click, squeeze (it will hit a hard stop without firing), then let up until the next click, then pull the gun will lock up. You have to manually cycle the slide (roughly the equivalent to a computer reboot) to recover. I mentioned this to Kerby, the Para USA guy, and he said, "Yes. It will do that. Don't do that. After the gun cycles move you finger until the nail touches the front of the trigger guard then do your pull." He went on to explain that this is because I've been shooting single action guns for a long time. Others that shoot double action or Glock type actions before using a Light Double Action (which this is) don't have this problem.

At Microsoft we call a bug that is easily reached and causes the program to crash a Priority 0 bug. Priority 0 bugs must be fixed before the product is shipped. Telling the customer, "Don't do that" isn't really an option for a released product.

Yesterday I had many failures to feed as well. After oiling the gun this morning those problems went away until very late in the day when the gun got dirty again. And after adapting my shooting technique to avoid the system lock up (and the required reboot) I did pretty well. On the last big "stage" at the end of the day with shooting on the move, shooting movers, and plates racks I had the best run of anyone (possibly even Todd who fumbled some reloads and had other problems) until Caleb shot the stage with a borrowed gun that had 18 round magazines. The rest of us used eight round magazines and I required five magazines to complete the stage.

At the end of the day several of us, including me, were able to hit the eight (?) inch plates at 35 yards half the time or better.

I have to conclude the gun works well as long as you don't run into that one bug.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether the gun (your version would look like this) is for you.

I learned more in the last three hours than I have since I've been shooting.

Say Uncle
August 22, 2008
Referring to instruction from Todd Jarrett while being taped for Michael Bane's television show.
[I had told him, several times, that professional instruction would make a big difference. Not that he ever disagreed with me. But it's nice to hear him confirm what I had been saying. This is not to say that his shooting was particularly bad. Just that you learn a lot from someone who knows what they are doing and how to teach.--Joe]

One of the things we talked about last night was how much harder it is for an anti-gun mole to penetrate the gun rights movement than the other way around. One of the reasons is it is much easier for us to speak their language than it is for them to speak ours. I've mentioned this general topic before but it's worth reposting the gun portion:

...I worked on a political campaign to oppose a anti-gun initiative (I-676) a few years ago.  The people on the phone lines would tell stories about the anti-gun people that would call and try to get information about our plans.  You only had to ask one or two questions and the anti-gun people would, figuratively, fall in heap on the floor.  If the lines weren't very busy then they would play with them for a few minutes and have more material for the story telling later that evening.  They would just ask something like, “What type of gun do you have?“  “What caliber is it?“  They would get answers like “Glock“ and “.357 Magnum“ (only revolvers shoot .357 Magnum and Glock doesn't make any revolvers).  Or “Shotgun, I'm not sure who makes it, but it's a 9mm.”  With a little bit of suggestive questioning you could get them to agree to the most incredibly outrageous things.  It was great sport making fun of the people that were trying to do us harm and now I realize that it can be more than just sport.

You can get a better hour by hour update on my Twitter account but here are some pictures:

Leaving the Norfolk hotel to get on the Blackhawk bus.

This is the Blackhawk bus. It's very nice inside.

Gun bloggers picking up their holsters, shirts, belts, and other super tactical stuff at Blackhawk headquarters. They have some very cool stuff.

Todd Jarrett doing some classroom stuff.

This is not something you want to see. The muzzle of Todd Jarrett's gun.

Say Uncle gets his two minutes of fame with Todd Jarrett, Michael Bane, and video crew. Sebastian and I also got a couple minutes with them.

End of the shooting for the day and we walked from the cafeteria to the Blackwater hotel.

Despite us bloggers being no smarter than chimps everyone has been treating us like royalty. This has been an awesome day!

Currently the vote is 81% to 19% for me to win the bet between Caleb and I. That must because they expect the "old age and treachery" cliché to have a grain of truth. I must set the record straight on a few items.

There is no truth to the suspicion I arranged a false positive on the explosive sniffer as he went through TSA security yesterday.

There is no truth to the suspicion I poisoned him this morning so he couldn't eat.

It is true that I shot him while on the range at Blackwater (splatter from the steel).

Update: Bitter created a logo for the poll on who is going to win the bet:

This is like Disneyland for guns.

Tamera K.
August 22, 2008
While touring Blackwater.
[A few hours later Caleb said, "This is like Disneyland for gun nuts." I asked if he had heard Tamara say something similar earlier. He had not. I think Sebastian also said something similar while on camera with Michael Bane. It's really can't be adequately described in less that 1000 words and/or several dozen pictures. Being less articulate I just say, "Awesome".--Joe]

Uncle and I talked and he sent the shuttle out to pick me up before I even picked up my luggage in Norfolk. I ran into Kevin Baker before I even checked in. I met up with Sebastian, Rob Allen, Caleb, JR, Uncle, and Kevin in the bar across the parking lot. We talked for an hour or so and Tam showed up. About 11:00 or so Rob was crashing and that broke up the bar party.

Read (almost) everyone's blog posting of people here on one web page.

Sebastian invited us back to his suite where Uncle, a local guy (a reader of Say Uncle) and I all talked until after 2:00 AM.

The bus leaves for Blackwater at 9:00 AM.

Xenia has a couple pictures and more to the story.

One of the more interesting things about working at Microsoft is the people I meet from all over the world. My officemate is from India, our PM is from Pakistan, my boss is from Sri Lanka, the new guy is from Australia, and a couple others are from Canada. We work with people in the bay area, China, India, and Dublin.

The guy from Pakistan is forbidden by his Entry Visa from touching weapons or explosives while in the U.S. and has to get "his fix" when he goes back to Pakistan once a year or so. A new member of the team in Dublin is here this week and I took him to the range last night. He had a little bit of experience with shotguns and clay pigeons but had never touched a handgun.

I started him out dry firing my STI then he shot a semi-auto .22LR pistol and then a .22 revolver. After he had gone through a couple hundred rounds I asked if he wanted to try the STI (chambered in .40 S&W). He did. I put just one round in it and he carefully aimed and fired. I could tell by the sounds he made and the expression on his face that it was a bit more than what he expected. I asked if he wanted to try another. There was some hesitation but he agreed. The second round didn't improve his attitude. He wanted to see me shoot it. I emptied a 16-round magazine in about half that many seconds with a group of about four inches at 15 feet. I did another five rounds at a much slower rate into a group about half that size.

If offered him the chance to shoot again and he chose the .22 semi-auto. We took turns shooting in the lane. I with the .40 and he with the .22. I finished up one box of .40 ammo and purchased another (I had accidentally left my handloads back at my bunker). The second box was a different brand and bullet weight and had a little less recoil. I offered him the .40 again and he fired about three or four rounds before saying he had enough. This is more tolerance for recoil than the previous guy from the U.K. I took to the range about 10 years ago.

I kept thinking there might be an application for the "9mm Europellet".

I'm waiting to board at SEATAC. You can follow my flight progress for the first leg to St. Louis here. The second leg to Norfolk is here.

Tomorrow I'll be at Blackwater enjoying the company of several other gun bloggers and the hospatilty of Para USA.

I'm really looking forward to settling the bet with Caleb.

Update: I forgot to mention I plan to update Twitter frequently during this trip.

Law enforcement?

TSA employee at SEATAC
August 21, 2008
After seeing my STI Eagle 5.1 with Kramer IWB holster, five full capacity magazines with leather mag pouches, electronic ear muffs, 200 rounds of handloads, and eye protection in a customized travel case.
[He must not know much about guns or he would have known that no police department would spend $2000+ on issue handguns for their officers. It irks me some that his inclination would be to believe that high end guns would most likely belong to "the special ones." Perhaps my telling him "No" will help correct that belief.--Joe]

The History Channel recently started running a program entitled, "The Works".  The host, Daniel Wilson, has a PHD in "Robotics".  I didn't know you could get a PHD in robotics, thus becoming what, a "roboticist" or a "robotologist"?  I'd have thought you'd need three degrees for that-- mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science, but I'm just a layman.  For all I know, there are degree programs for "Vending Machine Technology" too, you know, for those who don't quite feel up to the work load associated with a major in "Roboticism".

He did an episode on guns, which was pretty good.  It did however show an image of Superman flying "faster than a speeding bullet", and as per the cliché, Superman was shown flying right next to a fully assembled, metallic pistol cartridge.  I'm not sure how one is meant to propel an entire cartridge through the air at the velocity of a speeding pistol bullet (which the host correctly described as about a thousand feet per second) but I'm sure that where there's a will, there's a way, especially if you have a PHD in robotics.

Anyway, the program was interesting.  Though the host talked down to us a little more than required, IMO, I can forgive him-- he's young.  He obviously had a lot of fun with the various guns too, and wasn't afraid to show it.

Check out "The Works" on THC if you have the time.  I think you'll like it.  Oh and;

Congratulations, Dr. Wilson.  Keep up the good works.

This normally wouldn't be a story-- police departments need guns.  Can you say, "Duuuhhh"?  But it is a story over on WCBSTV (brought to our attention by Uncle).

Apparently, our police departments haven't gotten the loon's memo; "Violence never solves anything."
Or the other loon memo; "Having a gun is more likely to endanger you than to stop an attacker."
Or; "Arming yourselves will do nothing but 'provoke' the bad guys (sorry-- victims of American imperialism) and escalate the violence."

Then there's;
"It increases our range and our accuracy," Sgt. Brian Lyman said.

Uh...9 mm parabellum in a submachinegun = "range" and "accuracy"?  OK I'll play; compared to what?  I hope he's referring to an M-4 rather than the UMP mentioned in the article as an "assault rifle" (for those of you in Rio Linda; a submachinegun [or machine pistol] is not an assault rifle [the former was created decades before the latter] but given their level of education on controversial, hot-button political issues, we don't expect a single journalist in the U.S. to know the difference [UMP stands for Universal Machine Pistol, IIRC]).

"I think if they think they need [submachineguns], then it is good that they have them," one woman said.

OK, granted, so we can throw out all the silly arguments that say you must have criminal intent, or be paranoid and/or racist and/or a redneck drunken testosterone-poisoned yahoo, before you'd ever want a gun.  Glad we got that cleared up.

"When you have to wait, five, 10, 15 minutes... during that interim people could be dying..."

That one is the best.  I guess when a cop says it it's clear and sensible, but when we're talking about an armed citizen in the absence of any police, it's a totally different paradigm.  Five, 10, 15 minutes, or any amount of time for that matter, to wait for police to arrive after calling 911, is a perfectly acceptable amount of time for people to be dying.  Just ask any anti gun-rights organization.

"Many departments in Bergen County are using Homeland Security grants to purchase these weapons."

You mean more submachineguns are needed in the civilian population to secure the Homeland (police are in fact civilians, no)?  That makes no sense in light of the fact that, as we've been told, 9/11 was an inside job and there is no terrorist threat (I heard Mike Moore say the latter himself, so we know it has to be true-- he got an Academy Award didn't he) guns are more dangerous to their owners, violence never solves anything, and having weapons provokes your enemies.  Obviously then, the Homeland Security assertion is just cover for the "real reason" police are acquiring automatic weapons.

But I'm forgetting something-- the Left hate police almost as much as they hate liberty (remember; in the 1960s police were referred to collectively as "pigs") so I expect they'd go along with the above criminal-intent/paranoid/racist/yahoo theory to explain why police want guns, and let it go at that.

Rob and I had a nice chat with Caleb and Bonnie on Gun Nuts at Blog Talk Radio last night.

We mostly talked about the Para sponsored weekend at Blackwater. But we touched on Boomershoot just a little bit too.

We did talk about the bet between Caleb and I about who is the better shooter and how that bet came about. We didn't get the stakes of the bet nailed down but that may have been settled today in the comments of his post about our discussion last night. Rob and Bonnie have their own posts about last nights show too.

To answer the question that keeps coming up--the bet came about in the following email thread:

From: Say Uncle
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 6:40 AM
To: Sebastian; Ahab; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com; Joe Huffman
Subject: My dad can beat up your dad

 

http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2008/07/09/chicks-and-guns-17/#comment-203007

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 9:27 AM
To: Say Uncle; Sebastain; Aha'; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Almost for certain he can.

 

My dad is almost 85 years old and not thinking too clearly anymore.

 

How about between the two of us we see who shoots the best at summer camp? Aren’t you the betting type?

 

J

 

-joe-

From: Say Uncle
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 9:36 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Cc: Sebastian; Ahab; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

I am but I only bet on things in which I have a positive expectation. In this case, I'm guessing I don't have such an expectation ;)

In fact, due to my recent lack of time at the range, I'll put me at dead last!

From: Ahab
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 9:54 AM
To: Say Uncle; Joe Huffman; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

I'll take that bet, joe

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:02 AM
To: 'Ahab'; 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted @progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Name your terms and I'll think about it.

 

 

-joe-

 

From: Ahab
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:13 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Cc: Say Uncle; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Six pack of the winner's favorite beer?  Bottle of the winner's favorite booze, not to exceed, oh, I don't know...$30 bucks?

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:51 AM
To: 'Ahab'
Cc: 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted @progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

The number of beers I have had in my lifetime can be counted on my fingers (base ten, not base two). Beyond that the last drink of alcohol I had was the glass of wine at the NRA convention dinner. That said, because of my sweet tooth there is no such thing as something “too sweet” and I like ice wine.

 

But more important to me is how are we going to determine the winner? And what sort of handicap are you giving me? I’m probably at least 20 years older than you. I’ve had a couple surgeries on my left knee and my right leg and foot is still swollen from the ATV that landed on it at Boomershoot 2008. I’m overweight and my eyes take minutes to change focus from front sight distance to target distance.

 

And what caliber gun did you select? I’m going to shooting a .45. If we do the contest at the end of the weekend after shooting 1500 rounds in the heat and humidity my old muscles, ligaments, and bones will have taken a lot more damage than someone much younger shooting a 9mm.

 

-joe-

 

From: Ahab
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:54 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Cc: Say Uncle; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted @progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

I reckon determining the winner would be kind of challenging, and we would have to handicap because I picked the 9mm.

I don't know, let's turn it over to the posse to see if they have any ideas.  Well, everyone except for Robb, because his idea will involve jokes about sausage.

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 11:04 AM
To: 'Ahab'
Cc: 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted @progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

How about an El Presidente? Score it according to USPSA rules and that would take into account the 9mm versus .45. It would also test a number of different skills including the draw, the reload, accuracy and speed.

 

And you are forgetting the handicap I should get for my age and infirmities. J

 

-joe-

 

From: Ahab
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 11:07 AM
To: Joe Huffman; Say Uncle; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted@progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Yeah, but you've been shooting for a lot longer than me.

 

:)

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:08 PM
To: 'Ahab'
Cc: 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted@progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Ignoring a 100 rounds or so that I shot when I was living at home on the farm I have been shooting for about 15 years. Is that more than you?

 

Regardless, I might be willing to give up on getting that handicap if you agree to a shooting test that isn't too taxing on my aging body.

 

So, what are your thoughts on the El Presidente? Or do you just want to wimp out entirely on a contest?

 

 

-joe-

 

From: Ahab
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:10 PM
To: Joe Huffman
Cc: Say Uncle; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted@progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

I would shoot an El Presidente, that sounds good.  I've been shooting seriously since I was about 19, so that would give me 7 years, giving you a bit more experience.  Plus it's been my personal observation that experience and treachery defeat youthful enthusiasm most of the time. 

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:20 PM
To: 'Ahab'
Cc: 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted@progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Have you ever shot an El Presidente before? There’s not much treachery possible there.

 

-joe-

 

From: Ahab 
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:26 PM
To: Joe Huffman
Cc: Say Uncle; Sebastian; Bitter Bitch; Deleted@progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Fair enough, I've only shot one el presidente in my time, so if you've shot 10 or 12 that would count under the "treachery" category.  :)

But no, I am totally game for an El Pres as the deciding factor.

 

From: Sebastian
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:29 PM
To: Ahab
Cc: Joe Huffman; Say Uncle; Bitter Bitch; Deleted@progunprogressive.com
Subject: Re: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Sorry Caleb, but I'd put my money on Joe ;)

 

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:49 PM
To: 'Ahab'
Cc: 'Say Uncle'; Sebastian; 'Bitter Bitch'; Deleted@progunprogressive.com'
Subject: RE: My dad can beat up your dad

 

Ø  I am totally game for an El Pres as the deciding factor.

 

With all applicable USPSA rules applying (http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2008HandgunRulesindexed.pdf)?

 

-joe-

I can't find any further email on it but I think it was in comments on some blog post we did agreed to the contest as being the USPSA El Presidente classifier with all USPSA rules applying. The stakes will probably end up being 250 rounds of 180 grain FMJ .40 S&W ammo. That's higher stakes that I would really think are appropriate but we arrived at that after I suggested a case (typically 1000 rounds) was too much. [shrug] I can handle the pain of losing my first bet in 30 years and if Caleb is okay with taking that risk then I guess that settles it.

Just a couple more items of potential interest:

1. You will notice Caleb (Ahab) said " experience and treachery defeat youthful enthusiasm". Which was a nice way of saying old age and treachery.
2. Last night on the show I said I accepted the bet mostly because of his attitude. I have never seen him shoot (I have seen Say Uncle shoot and I'm pretty sure I can "take" him). I met Caleb last May and he had a slight attitude that was completely lacking in every shooter that I personal know and I know can beat me. Just a little too cocksure of himself. I explained this last night and in an email after the show he said, "that was the nicest way in which I've ever been called an arrogant bastard". That's me. Always the diplomat*.

* Diplomat: One skilled in the art of saying "Nice doggy" until he can find the right sized stick.

Women are at a severe disadvantage when confronting a likely stronger male assailant. In general, women simply do not have the upper body strength and testosterone-driven speed to effectively defend themselves without help. A firearm, particularly an easily manipulable handgun, equalizes this strength differential and thereby provides women the best chance they have of thwarting an attacker. Even more statistically likely, a firearm in the hands of a threatened woman offers the deterrence empty hands and an often unavailing 911 call do not.

M. Carol Bambery
Brief of amicae curiae 126 women state legislators and academics in support of respondent.
[They are at a particular disadvantage if they are 85 years old and the assailant is 17 years old. But if the woman has even a .22 caliber single action revolver then she can make the assailant dial 911.--Joe]

Whether we make it, or not, the human race has got to keep up its well-earned reputation for ferocity. If the slugs taught us anything, it was that the price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle, anywhere, any time, and with utter recklessness. If we did not learn that, well--"Dinosaurs, mover over! We are ready to become extinct."

"Sam"
Page 338 "The Puppet Masters" by Robert A. Heinlein
[Excellent book. And I think the above quote applies to more than just invading aliens who wish to have us as slaves. There are lots of terrestrial predators than periodically need to be put in their place if we are to keep our freedom.--Joe]

I attend an invitation-only forum of a few dozen people, many of whom it turns out are educators.  Someone started a thread on how to improve education (Joe, you know where this is going).  The discussion was proceeding as you might expect-- this person with experience was discussing details of education with another experienced person.  Someone suggested that compulsory attendance was a bad idea-- that if a kid doesn't want to be there, he can be a disruption, etc.. So I took the bait and posted a response.  Here it is, with some minor edits;

You're on the right track. Make attendance optional. The next step would be to make funding optional too, as in; if I choose not to send my kid to a "public" school, I don't have to pay a cent for it-- I can instead pay some other school. If I choose the grocery store on the West side of town, I don't have to still give 120 dollars a week to the grocery store on the East side. If the East side store wants my 120 dollars per week, they'll have to do a better job of serving my wants and needs, so as to entice me back. Hence the store which better serves the wants and needs of the community gets the "funding".  Further, we don't have to fight with one another over how to best run "our grocery store".

I point out to all here that we are not discussing the details of how Microsoft, Linksys, Apple, or Maxtor should be forced by the legislature to operate, yet we are using computers that only a few years ago would have been the subject of science fiction. We're not debating the policies of Wal Mart to figure out how the state can get them to sell at low prices and still make enough money to be self-sustaining, or Addidas shoes, or Coca-Cola Bottling Company, etc.. It's not as if we need to have legislators deciding how these companies should be run at all-- if one of them starts to do a poor job, there will be ten others to take its place. Besides, how many legislators have successfully run a school, or a software company, or a microchip manufacturing plant, or a bottling plant?

Poorly-run government programs go on and on and on for generations, sucking up more and more resources. In the case of schools, whole generations are getting ill-educated and it just keeps perpetuating itself.  Poorly-run businesses, on the other hand, fail, and pretty quickly, and then they are gone. Then someone else buys their assets and starts something better, all with zero participation from idiots in Congress, zero participation from the county commissioners, zero involvement from the loons in city council, and at zero cost to the taxpayer and zero coercion.

This is what was once known as a "Free Market", which is a system that has proven itself superior in every measureable way for many generations, though in this enlightened age, no one believes a bit of it.

Today, we all know perfectly well that if the government didn't provide shoes for our children, no child would have shoes unless they were lucky enough to be born into a rich family. So anyone who opposes full, compulsory, free shoes, is anti-shoe, or a shoephobe, and obviously hates both kids and shoemakers! These people are known as "conservatives" or "neo-cons" etc., and are absolutely terrible, evil people, who want all poor kids to go barefoot so their rich buddies can make even more money and won't have to pay their fair share in taxes.

Therefore, we should be discussing what our state and federal legislators are going to do to provide shoes (and computers and software) to all kids. We all know that that is why this country was founded and our constitution written-- so everyone would have everything they need, provided by the state, so they can all be healthy and happy, and think the right thoughts, and feel warm and fuzzy, and never have to be upset or uncomfortable or have to work too hard.

The post, by design, is rather incongruous with the rest of the thread, yet, I thought, to the very heart of the matter (two toddlers are concentrating on their game of catch at the edge of a cliff and you want to change the whole subject by striking up a discussion on subjects as ethereal and unrelated as situational awareness and the law of gravity?  Dude!  We're playing catch here?).

It's all been said before of course, by others more eloquent than I, but they are elephants in other people's living rooms.  This is your living room.

I expected at least someone to respond, but nothing.  They went right on, discussing the details of how this or that tweak would make things better in education.  Hello; this is the elephant in your living room speaking.  Socialism doesn't work.  It leads to stagnation and decay every time its tried.  It may look great on paper but it starts with the ignorance of how people actually interact in real life, and everything it tries to accomplish is founded on that ignorance.

And then there is the pesky little issue of rights (the right to choose where your education dollars go, for instance) but how dare I bring that up.  We're discussing public education here, after all.

Co-worker Kris recently arrived here from Australia. Saturday he rode his bicycle from the Mount Rainer park entrance to the Paradise visitor center and then back down the mountain. The elevation of Paradise is 5400 feet and the temperature was 95 F. He estimates he burned 4288 calories and consumed 5.8 liters (1.5 gallons) of fluids. He also got hit by a car on the way up.

And he says eating Vegemite demonstrates Aussies are tough.

It is just me, or does MS spell checker not recognize typos that come purely from proximity on the keyboard ("fat-fingering")?  Example; the word "and" typed as "ans"-- I don't get "and" offered as a correction option.  I find this sort of thing often.

OK, so I'm a whiner.

Well, not really "on the air" in the traditional sense.

Tomorrow night Rob Allen and I will be guests on http://blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts hosted by Caleb and Squeaky. The topic will be the Para sponsored training with Todd Jarrett at Blackwater this weekend. Caleb, Robb, and I (along with a bunch of others) will be participating. Caleb also wants to talk about our bet.

Listeners are welcome to call in so in addition to listening you should consider calling to tell me how silly it was of me to accept a shooting bet with someone I have never seen shoot.

Gun control extremists despise this kind of common-sense approach to the potential of school violence. But the time has come to challenge their head-in-the-sand philosophy. How many lives have been lost on public school and college campuses because of these insane victim disarmament measures? How many students and teachers might be alive today if only lawmakers and school officials had acted as responsibly as the Harrold administration?

Allowing armed staff and teachers will provide a last line of defense if other security measures at the school fail. No doubt the school board and Mr. Thweatt will suffer some slings and arrows, but if this decision one day saves the life of even one child, it will have been worthwhile.

Alan Gottlieb
Chairmain, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
August 15, 2008
HARROLD, TX SCHOOL OFFICIALS RIGHT ON CHANGE IN CAMPUS GUN POLICY, SAYS CCRKBA
["If it only saves one life" and "for the children". Nice, very nice.--Joe]

Last night we took Xenia to the Seattle airport to greet her fiancée John when he got off the plane. He just recently got back in the states from Iraq and was going home to central Washington state for a couple weeks.

Our first indication of something unusual was another passenger exiting the secure area asking, "Are you waiting for the soldier?" He informed us John was in first class and would be there very soon. John barely cleared security and was giving Xenia a hug and a kiss when strangers came up to him and wanted to shake his hand and say thanks. We got constant interruptions from others as we tried to exit the airport and find his parents who were in orbit in the pickup area.

This is in sharp contrast to those that were spat upon and unjustly called killers as they returned from Vietnam.

Nice. Very nice.

Welcome home John. We are glad you made it back safely and thank you for your service.

The pictures I took are on Xenia's camera and probably will be available in a few days.

Blowing shit up with rifles?  Come ON!  A MESS OF AWESOME AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.  LITERALLY.

Squeaky Wheel
August 17, 2008
I’m certified to build things that can blow other things up.
[It makes me happy to make others happy. Derek seems pretty happy for the same reason. There will be another batch of happy people later, it was just that I sent Squeaky and Derek's forms in at the same time as my Type 20 (license to manufacture high explosives) renewal. Forms from other people came in later.

I think Boomershoot 2009 is going to make me more happy than usual.--Joe]

The Pill makes women pick bad mates Ability to sniff out a compatible partner affected by taking contraceptives: 

While several factors can send a woman swooning, including big brains and brawn, body odor can be critical in the final decision, the researchers say. That's because beneath a woman's flowery fragrance or a guy's musk the body sends out aromatic molecules that indicate genetic compatibility.

...

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.

MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring's immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.

Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matchng-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.

"Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems," said lead researcher Stewart Craig Roberts, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Newcastle in England, "but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners."

So a woman is on the pill and is dating. She selects a mate, they marry, and then she goes off the pill so they can have kids. She then finds out her husband stinks and she is not only more interested in making babies with someone other than her husband but they would be better babies too.

Interesting...

Prostitution involves sex and free enterprise. Which of these are you opposed to?

Joseph A. Hauptman
Found at the beginning of Chapter 10 of Freehold.
[I'm not sure if this is a real person or a fictional character but it's a great question.--Joe]

Bonnie just got word the ATF trusts her to make explosives for me. Next April I will teach her--free of charge.

Doesn't that just give you the warm fuzzies? If we could only let them know I'll bet the Brady Bunch, the VPC, and numerous Cease Fire organizations would find their nightmares worsened.

Kris tells a little about working with me.

Thankfully, the Supreme Court has reminded city officials that the Constitution is more than a guidebook to be cast aside whenever it is inconvenient. If the city attempts to circumvent the Court’s opinion, then Congress, under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution can and should exercise its plenary power over all legislative matters in the nation’s capital. Home rule, arising out of authority delegated by Congress to the D.C. government, is not a license to violate the Constitution.

Robert Levy
July 14, 2008
District of Columbia v. Heller: What’s Next?
[And Congress is doing just that. I would rather the city officials responsible were to spend in some time in prison for violating 18 USC 242 as part of the "change" needed in Washington but we can't always get everything we want.--Joe]