Author Archives: Joe

First day at work

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Lots of little things went wrong but it went fairly well overall.

I got through big stack of paperwork in orientation without a hitch and arrived at the work-site one minute early.  The guy that walked in the door just ahead of me used to run the Tuesday night handgun league at one of the shooting ranges.  We probably haven’t seen each other in five years or so.  I chatted a bit with him as he picked up a temporary badge and I checked in with the receptionist.

The guy I was supposed to report to didn’t answer the phone and the receptionist sent him an email.  About 20 minutes later another guy I used to work with at Chromium Communications and one of my firearms students showed up to have a meeting with people at my new employer.  We chatted for about five minutes and the receptionist made attempts to find someone else to come out and greet me.  The guy I was supposed to meet finally showed up about 30 minutes late with the excuse that his phone was turned off or something.  Whatever… it doesn’t matter.  Just lead me to my office and computer.  Oh, the computer that has been on order for me for two weeks still isn’t here.  We had to scrounge for one.

I had a domain account and password but when I tried to set up my email the Outlook Exchange server said the account didn’t exist.  Checking with other people revealed some servers recognized me and others didn’t.  It probably will just take some time for the email alias to propagate to all the servers.  It still hadn’t made it to my server by 17:30 when I left for the day.

As various programs were installing I started reading up on C# and wrote my first “Hello world!” program in it.  That will be the dominate language in this new job.  It’s past time I learned it and it’s great they are paying me to do so.

Probably the most amazing thing to me is that just a few months ago both Ry and I were living in Moscow 300 miles from where we now work and now we are working so close to each other that we can easily walk to lunch together.  And there was no “intervention” by him to get me my job or vice versus.

Incoherent ramblings of an anti-freedom fighter

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Gun Guys put up this post about a lawsuit that may be dismissed because of the recent law passed by Congress on frivolous anti-gun legal actions.  I’ve read the post three times now and still can’t make sense of it.  The facts are that a lawsuit was in the works blaming the manufacture, the dealer, a gun show operator, and “others” for the shooting of one Daniel Williams.  The gun used by the “mutant” shooter was illegally purchased at the gun show by one James Nigel Bostic. The Gun Guys say:

James Nigel Bostic is a criminal, and his criminal negligence costed Williams and many other victims of violence many things, physically and financially. Williams was a star high school basketball player, and lost a scholarship because of the shooting. Because of Bostic’s criminal actions (Buffalo News documented his straw purchases in a previous article), Daniel Williams’ life is forever changed.

And yet, because of the gun immunity bill (now the gun immunity law, passed by Congress under the gun industry’s lobbying), James Nigel Bostic will likely never see a day in court with Daniel Williams.

…

Because of this law, hundreds if not thousands of illegal dealers like Bostic will never see their day in court.

What they don’t mention is that in the source article for their posting is that Bostic is in prison because of his illegal purchases.

So Bostic broke the law, went to jail for it and Gun Guys are whining that he won’t have a day in court for his crime?

I guess the post doesn’t have to make sense to their audience–it just has to arrive at the conclusion that makes them feel good.

Top Ten Reasons Why Homework is Better Than Sex

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[For my kids in school.]

10. You can usually find someone to do it with.
9. If you get tired, you can stop, save your place, and pick up where you left off.
8. You can finish early without feelings of guilt or shame.
7. When you open a book, you don’t have to worry about who else has opened it.
6. A little coffee and you can do it all night.
5. If you don’t finish a chapter, you won’t gain a reputation as a “book teaser”.
4. You can do it, eat and watch TV all at the same time.
3. You don’t get embarassed if your parents interrupt you in the middle.
2. You don’t have to put your beer down to do it.

and the number one reason is …..

1. If you aren’t sure what you’re doing, you can always ask your roommate for help!

Solving the worlds problems

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I was talking with a new friend the other night–“Solving the worlds problems”.  And his solution was two fold; 1) Sterilize everyone at birth, 2) Put a chip, with a GPS and radio transmitter, in everyone’s skull at birth.

His thinking on item 1) was that after people really wanted kids then they would be able to get the sterilization reversed (we are talking utopia here, not the reality that many sterilizations can’t be reversed).  With only wanted kids the quality of the childhood environment would go up drastically and crime, child abuse, gangs, drug use, etc. would drastically reduce and our looming exhaustion of natural resources would be relieved.  On item 2) it was his belief that this would almost completely solve all crime where the criminal planned/hoped to escape.  His biggest concern was how to deal with all the police, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, and prison personal that would be put out of work by his grand plan.

I think I bruised my jaw from it hitting the floor so hard.  Apart from all the unsurmountable technical problems, with both 1) and 2), his ideas fail my Jews in the Attic Test in the most spectacle fashion I have ever seen.  I outlined the test and said his ideas would usher in a police state and result in the deaths of millions.  His response was that he would get rid of religion too so there wouldn’t be any need to hide “Jews in the Attic”.

Yup.  There really are people like that out there.  I tell you…just don’t get weirded out when someone starts talking and they will tell you the most “interesting” things.

He’s a nice guy and I like him.  He’s very entertaining–but I don’t want him voting.

Quote of the day–Aristotle

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Neglect of an effective birth control policy is a never failing source of poverty which, in turn, is the parent of revolution and crime.

Aristotle
[This topic was brought up yesterday by someone I was talking to.  More details on the proposed solution later.–Joe]

Seein’ Spots e-Postal pistol target

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This was surprisingly tough.  The area of the targets is proportional to the square of the diameter.  Those small dots are tough to hit.  Click on the picture for the hires version.  If you put an overlay on the bullets near the 40 point dots on the upper right and the lower right the bullet did intersect the spot.

I know some interesting people

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I started my collection of quotes and things in ’84. I now have over 8000 of them.  A lot are jokes and “fortune cookie” type things.  And a lot are quotes of dead presidents and politicians, that sort of thing.  But also I have collected quotes of some of the more interesting people I know.  If you ask the right question at the right time it’s amazing what people will tell you.

I know a guy that, even though a multi-millionaire, considered himself failing in his quest for more money.  I asked him what he would consider rich, in his terms.  He told me:

I will consider myself rich when I’m standing on the moon with the sunlight reflecting of my visor as I’m looking at my initials carved into the soil. They will be big enough and deep enough that when people on the earth look up they can see I was there.

That was just his start.  He also wants to be immortal and be the first man to set foot on Mars.

Barb says that I seem to attract “interesting” (my word, not hers–she uses “different”, “strange” and “weird” a lot) people.  What is amazing to me is how people will open up to you and tell you things if you let them.  Just don’t get all weird on them if they start talking about things that are a little “different”.  For example, Susie:

I was driving around late one night and turned around in a motel parking lot. These two truck drivers asked me to have coffee with them … it was the first time I ever had sex with two men at the same time.  It was like being plugged into an electric circuit — I knew then I could never be in a sexually monogamous relationship again.

Susie
Member of a swingers club.
December 9, 1997

I’m going to branch out into the more “interesting” side of human sexuality here from time to time.  There are some people that read this blog (or might) that about now are probably getting a little “concerned” about the quotes I might attribute to them.  Stay calm.  If I decide to use some of your “interesting” material that you probably would prefer remain private I’ll strip out all the identifying material before publishing it.

Posted in Sex

More porn from Xenia

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Mostly cats with one porn shot.

Quote of the day–Dave Smead

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All the advances that mankind has made over his environment have been done using a formal system whereby man has hypothesized, “If I observe A then I can conclude B” and thereafter presenting the hypothesis and the formal system to the scrutiny of others.

Dave Smead
[I include political environment in this line of thought.  Anti-freedom bigots apparently use some other failed system.–Joe]

Tagged by the music meme

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Almost two months ago Ben tagged me with this post and said:

5) I’m passing this meme on to:

Kirk at Limpidity, as he hasn’t posted or emailed in awhile;

AnalogKid at RandomNuclearStrikes, as he is one of my favorites nowadays;

and Joe Huffman. I just can’t see him having a big Styx collection that he rocks out to on Saturday nights.

No Styx at all.  But at this minute on this Saturday night I’m listening to Ten Years After, A Space in Time.  A few minutes ago it was Uncle Bonsai, The Inessential Uncle Bonsai.

I didn’t really mean to wait this long before responding.  I had to think about it some.  Since we had our first kid, 21 years and nearly five months ago we pretty much stopped listening to music.  When the kid(s) were awake music would have just added to the din.  When they were quiet (asleep) we were so grateful for the quiet we just enjoyed the silence.  When driving alone I usually have some talk radio station on.  Music?  Hmmm… maybe when I’m cleaning house or something.

I’m in my new digs in the Seattle area now and feeling a little sad and alone.  I bought some decent speakers for my computer for the first time and after listening to some Boomershoot sounds put on some music to test them out.  It sounds good.  It helps bring the mood up a bit.  On the drive over I played music in the most geeky way I could think: I played Elvis, The Ventures, and Uncle Bonsai on the laptop computer running off the inverter, the laptop sound output went into a small FM transmitter which I either played into the FM receiver in my new cell-phone and headphones or through the car radio.  The laptop also had Microsoft Streets and Trips with the GPS unit running to track my speed, altitude, and of the course exact position.  Then there was the walkie-talkie on my arm to communicate chat with Barb and her sister in the Jeep.  They came over to catch a cheap flight to the D.C. area to visit Jason.

So… anyway on to the music meme (and Van Halen on the computer):

1) How much music do I have?

Probably 100 albums total.  About an even split between CD’s, cassette tapes (I used to see lots of eight tracks but never had one myself), and vinyl albums.  I haven’t listened to vinyl since Kim (or was it Xenia?) broke the needle on the turntable when she was just a toddler.  James broke it too and we replaced it only to have it destroyed again by one of his sisters.

2) What was the last CD I bought?

Probably the complete collection of Uncle Bonsai a few months ago.  I’m not sure.  I had a couple of their albums on a pirated cassette and really wanted it legit and in good quality.

3) What am I listening to right now?

You Really Got Me, Van Halen.

4) Five songs I listen to that mean a lot to me?

N/A is probably the best answer.  Music doesn’t doesn’t really have “meaning” for me.  It’s a pleasant distraction from boredom.  If pressed for something more than that I would say That’s What You Get for Loving Me, by Gordon Lightfoot.  I don’t listen to it very often, maybe once every couple of years.  But over 30 years ago Barb and I were listening to Gordon Lightfoot in the car while parked overlooking Orofino and the Clearwater valley.  I decided I would kiss her for the first time when the next song came on.  That was the song.  Then there was Having My Baby (You’re) that played on the radio immediately after another milestone in our relationship.  I can’t remember the last time I listened to that.

5) I’m passing this meme on to:

Whoever wants it.

Boomershoot queries

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Apparently there was a repeat of the Evening Magazine episode on Boomershoot.  I just received several queries about the next event.  Get your entries in early this year!

Reloading your own ammo

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I have my own reloading press and have reload 9mm, .40 S&W, .223, 30.06, and 300 Win Mag.  These days it’s mostly .40 S&W and I probably average few hundred rounds a month.  My guess is I’m on the low to mid range in terms of home reloaders.  Ry points out someone on the high end.

Quote of the day–Vaclav Havel

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People who falsify history don’t rescue freedom, they jeopardize it.

Vaclav Havel
President of Czechoslovakia
[In similar words, President Bush in a speech yesterday said, While it’s perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. — Joe]

Genetics and personality

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Kevin, over at The Smallest Minority reports on a book, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.  He has this to say about the book:

The Scots-Irish culture is a highly individualistic one, but one willing to follow a strong leader. It has a hatred of aristocracy, but a respect for accomplishment. It’s also an embracing culture – adopt its ways, no matter your background – and you’re an accepted member.

…

If you want to understand the portion of the populace that decides elections these days, I recommend you read Born Fighting. If you’re of Scots-Irish descent, you’ll find yourself nodding and agreeing. If you’re not, you’ll be shaking your head. But trust me on this: James Webb knows whereof he writes.

It turns out those attitudes and personalities are still very visible in the descendants of those people today.

Barbara Scott, my wife, is of Scot-Irish descent (with a last name like that you never would have guessed?).  Reading up on genealogy she found some interesting information on how the Scot-Irish immigrants and the German farmers (IIRC Huffman, a German name, means worker on a small farm.  I grew up on a farm.) who immigrated at the same time into Virginia interacted.  Also of interest is that Barb and I are cousins–about 5 or so generations back one of her relatives married one of mine in Virginia.  We didn’t know this until a couple of years ago.  Anyway the interactions and attitudes of those immigrants is not that much different from Barb and I.  Not hostile but not always cooperative either.  Our communication style is very different and we approach conflict MUCH differently.

Our children’s personalities reflect those differences too.  James is the German.  Kim is the hot-tempered Scot-Irish.  Xenia is mostly German in personality but loves the Scot-Irish culture.

Ry and I have had some all night discussions on the topic of genetics and personality and the results were far more disconcerting that we cared to believe.   Think about it some.

I wonder if their metric is valid

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In France they claim the situation is improving because:

Police said 463 vehicles were set ablaze across France, a slight fall from the previous night, but the number of vehicles torched in the areas around Paris rose from 84 to 111.

 “This confirms the downward trend overall, with some resistance in the Paris region,” national police chief Michel Gaudin told reporters. “This weekend we will exercise extra vigilance in the Paris region.”

Using that measurement they also could claim the riots are over when there are no cars left to burn.  Sort of like celebrating the end of the genocide in Darfur (via Clayton Cramer):

As my friend Johann Hari put it recently in the London Independent: “At last, some good news from Darfur: the genocide in western Sudan is nearly over. There’s only one problem—it’s drawing to an end only because there are no black people left to cleanse or kill.”

The same thing happens with the anti-gun bigots.  They celebrate when fewer people are killed or injured using guns but the murder rate went up.  And to top it off they almost always include justified and praiseworthy homicides and injuries on the negative side of their gun usage equations.

One shouldn’t be surprised.  It’s human nature to find reasons to believe what you want to believe.  It’s the job of scientists to encourage them to face reality.  I’m a scientist.  So you should believe me.  😉

What my readers are Interested in

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One of the feature of my blog software is the ability to track the number of click throughs on the links in my posts.  The link to Xenia’s Live Journal post about lesbian porn was very popular.  It was was over eight times as popular as a typical link.  And the link to the lyrics of Penis Envy was over twice as popular as the typical link.

And all this time I thought it was guns and explosives that were what you guys had on your mind when you came here.  I should have known better.  The Gun Guy and Random Nuclear Strikes are gun bloggers and have far, far more popular sites than my blog.  Now I can’t attribute it to just the better writing and having been around longer.  They have their (near) weekly display of female flesh too.

I’m tempted to make one post a day with some moderately high, but probably still work-safe, sexual content.  However I’d need to be careful not to betray the confidences of certain people that have confided in me.  Something like these quotes:

Concerning coeds: If all those sweet young things were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Dorothy Parker

Whoever named it ‘necking’ was a poor judge of anatomy.

Groucho Marx

I believe that sex . . . is one of the most beautiful, wholesome, wonderful things that money can buy.

Steve Martin

Or perhaps as daring as these:

Q: Do aggressive women like “sensitive new age guys?”

Lydia: Yes. For breakfast, with sliced strawberries and chopped pecans on top.

December 4, 1997
In the email forum for Society for Human Sexuality
Which was followed by:
    
And now I’m *hungry*…
    
Catherine

Docs are largely unprepared for people like us. New ones generally ask me what I’m doing for birth control. So I tell them: My girlfriend doesn’t come inside me, my boyfriend shoots blanks, and I don’t have a uterus. Next question???

Lydia
5/31/2001
From the Highteq email list

Saturday is my 51st birthday.  I’m going to the club and going to have sex with 25 guys, twice, then have sex with my husband for number 51.

XXXX at YYYY
September, 1997

Any thoughts on the idea of a new topic?

Quote of the day–Jean Baptiste Colbert

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The art of taxation consists of plucking the goose so you get the largest amount of feathers with the smallest amount of hissing.

Jean Baptiste Colbert
[Thinking of the election in Washington state on Tuesday. — Joe]

Help for a common mental disorder

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I’ve known for a long time there are a lot of people with some severe mental problem that they, their friends, and their families frequently are unaware of.  It’s called Hoplophobia.  Thanks to a posting by The Gun Guy I found this link to someone offering a cure for Hoplophobia.  What is Hoplophobia?  Glad you asked:

Known by a number of names – Hoplophobia, Fear of Firearms, and Fear of Guns being the most common – the problem often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences hoplophobia in their own way and may have different symptoms.

They claim good results too:

We have never met a case of Hoplophobia that could not be overcome using these methods. So please, whether or not you decide to work with us, make a decision to get over Hoplophobia now.

I can’t agree more.  Seek help if you have to, but get over it now.

Another one bites the dust

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From Bloomburg.com:

Suspected Bali Bomber Azahari Husin Is Confirmed Dead

Nov. 10 — Indonesian police said fingerprint tests confirmed Azahari Husin, an alleged organizer of the 2002 Bali bombings and one of Indonesia’s two most wanted terrorists, was among those killed in an ambush yesterday in Java.

“The fingerprints match those sent by the Malaysian police,” deputy police spokesman Sunarko Danu Ardanto told reporters in Jakarta today.

Indonesian authorities suspect Azahari and fellow Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top organized attacks in Indonesia including Bali that killed more than 240 people. Azahari and Top are suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda, which analysts say probably carried out yesterday’s attacks in Jordan that left 57 dead.

One other person, not two as earlier thought, died when bombs went off as security forces yesterday tried to storm the house where Azahari was staying in Malang in East Java, police spokesman Aryanto Danang Budiarjo said earlier. The other body is believed to be a man called Arman, who is wanted by police. The police found 30 bombs inside the house, Police Chief Sutanto said.

Just who is Azahari?  This should give you a clue:

Known as the “Demolition Man” for his expertise with explosives, Azahari bin Husin was a key figure in Jemaah Islamiyah, a terror network with links to al-Qaida that has been blamed for a series of deadly bombings as well as failed plots in Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.

The discovery of the bombs indicated Jemaah Islamiyah was preparing more attacks.

The bombs included small devices easily contained in backpacks _ similar to ones used in the July London Underground attacks and in last month’s suicide strikes on three crowded restaurants on the resort island of Bali, said police chief Gen. Sutanto.

He came to an appropriate end:

Police initially said Azahari blew himself up Wednesday to avoid capture when his hide-out in east Java province was raided, but Sutanto said Thursday he was shot as he reached to detonate his suicide belt. Another militant set off the device, sparking a massive explosion that ripped off the roof of their rented house.

Too bad for the owner of the house unless he knew what was going on in the house.

I’d prefer we had better options but killing and/or capturing the older ones does seem to be the only viable options we have.  On the younger ones I suspect capitalism, porn, gambling, and booze might be an effective weapon.

Update: Details on the raid and how they found him are now available: 

An elite FBI-trained police counter-terrorism unit, known as Detachment 88, encircled the Flamboyan housing complex in Batu.

According to the Paras Indonesia website, the police, using a loud-hailer, ordered the occupants of the house to come out and surrender.

Instead, those inside opened fire and threw up to 11 explosive devices. Detikcom online news reported that an exchange of fire between the two sides began at about 3.30pm (4.30pm Singapore time) and was followed by the two explosions at about 3.45pm, after which thick black smoke billowed from the house.