News you can use

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This might be useful in certain circumstances:

Scientists have known for more than a half-century that our pupils dilate whenever we see something we find sexually arousing. This is a non-voluntary response that is controlled by the autonomic nervous system—the body system that controls other automatic responses like heart rate, respiration, and digestion. As a result, it’s not something that people can consciously control, so it gets around the problems of people lying on surveys and faking genital responses.

For example:

a new set of studies published in the Journal of Sex Research finds that—among men—pupil dilation doesn’t just reveal the gender of the people they’re attracted to, but also their age.

…

when viewing images of children, no increase in pupil size was observed for men in any sexual orientation group. In fact, if anything, their pupils actually had a tendency to constrict when viewing kids. The results of all of these studies suggest that pupil dilation holds a lot of promise as a technique for measuring attraction based on both gender and age.

…

it could also be quite useful to forensic researchers who study pedophilia and other sexual interests that people are strongly motivated to conceal.

It’s not mind reading, but it might be close enough to make life safer for your kids in some situations.

Posted in Sex

Miss a deadline, lose your gun rights forever

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Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you no one wants to take your guns. The state of New York wants to:

The passage of New York’s so-called SAFE Act (“Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013”) drastically changed the landscape for lawful gun owners in the Empire State. Besides new restrictions on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles the state calls “assault weapons,” bans on magazines, and limits on the number of rounds that could be loaded into a gun, the Act imposed a requirement that handgun license holders be “recertified” every five years, with all licensees completing the initial recertification by January 31, 2018. The recertification form requires that the licensee disclose his or her “name, date of birth, gender, race, residential address, social security number, [and] firearms possessed by such license holder,” along with the listed identifying details (make, model, caliber, and serial number). (“Firearm” under the applicable New York law means a handgun or other gun of a size which may be concealed upon the person.)

A failure to recertify operates as an automatic revocation of the license. Possession of a “firearm” without a valid license is a criminal offense, and the revocation makes the person ineligible to apply for or renew a license. Once a license is revoked, state law mandates that every gun owned or possessed by the licensee be “surrendered” to a law enforcement agency. A New York State Police field guide on the SAFE Act, prepared by attorneys for the Division of State Police, unequivocally instructs officers that when “a licensee becomes ineligible to hold a pistol permit, the Safe Act requires the person to surrender all firearms to police, including all rifles and shotguns for which no license or registration is required.” (Emphasis in the original.)

Should the person fail to comply by turning in every gun, the SAFE Act (codified as NY Penal Law § 400.00(11)(c)) not only authorizes but requires that police officers confiscate such property: the guns “shall be removed and declared a nuisance and any police officer or peace officer acting pursuant to his or her special duties is authorized to remove any and all such weapons.”

Once the gun is deemed a “nuisance,” the owner loses the ability to reclaim or legally transfer it. State law directs that nuisance guns be destroyed without the need for a court order or other judicial proceedings, and courts have confirmed that a person has no “legitimate possessory interest” in firearms for which he or she has no license.

Even if you ignored the absurdity of having to get a license to exercise a specific enumerated right consider the following situation. If someone forgets about the renewal deadline, or are serious injured or sick and can’t meet the deadline, their specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms will be forever infringed by the state of New York.

This will come up at their trials.

Boomershoot Winter Wonderland

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Last week I posted some pictures of Kim’s and my adventure at Boomershoot earlier this month. I also posted a link to Kim’s video of our drive from the Boomershoot Taj Mahal to the tree line. Here is the dash cam video of the same drive:

I love the trees loaded down with snow and the dark ominous clouds.

Quote of the day—Josh Horwitz

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We expect our movement to grow. We expect to see a domino effect as one state after another passes common-sense legislation. We expect voters to make gun violence prevention a priority in the crucial 2018 midterm elections. And we expect legislators seeking re-election to take note and listen to their constituents. Gun violence prevention is no longer a secondary issue, and in 2018, policymakers’ records will be scrutinized. As the elections in 2017 have demonstrated, those who have pledged fealty to the NRA should be concerned.

Josh Horwitz
Executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
December 28, 2017
Enough Gun Violence: 2018 Is the Year Americans Say No to the NRA
[And children expect Santa will slide down the chimney and put presents under the Christmas tree late on Christmas Eve. Horwitz is very childlike in other ways as well. It’s time for him to grow up and face reality.

In the mean time we need to keep taking new shooters to the range and changing the culture.—Joe]

What about the background check?

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This week the gun shop I visit most frequently was in the news (see also here and here):

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says the surveillance video above shows thieves using a stolen vehicle to smash-in the door of the West Coast Armory gun shop in Bellevue early Tuesday morning — the day after Christmas — to make off with approximately 70 firearms.

The ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms industry — announced a reward Friday for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the December 26th  burglary. The ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000, matched by the NSSF for a possible reward of up to $10,000. To be eligible for the reward, you must contact The ATF at:

  • 1-888-ATF-TIPS (888-283-8477)
  • Email ATFTips@atf.gov
  • atf.gov/contact/atf-tips
  • Tips may also be submitted to ATF using the ReportIt App, or at reportit.com. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.
  • Online tips can also be given to Bellevue Police by CLICKING HERE.

I visited the range (connected to, but has a door between them) the following night. The gun shop was still closed and the door had this sign on it:

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You can see bits of broken materials at the bottom of the door and I could see people sweeping inside. I don’t know when it will be open for business again.

One of the first things that went through my mind was, “I wonder if they complied with the Washington State mandatory background check law?” Probably not. That law is just for suckers who think the government would never abuse that data to create a gun registration database for eventual confiscation.

Quote of the day—Dean Winslow

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I’d also like to, and I may get in trouble with other members of the committee, just say how insane it is that in the United States of America a civilian can go out and buy a semi-automatic assault rifle like an AR-15.

Dean Winslow
November 6, 2017
Trump Pentagon nominee on Texas shooting: It’s ‘insane’ that civilians can buy ‘assault’ rifles.
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Prepare for the next ice age

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I’ve often thought global cooling was far more threatening than global warming. Think of it this way: Which is worse, northern cities under 1000 feet of ice or 10 feet of water?

And that doesn’t even take into consideration the growing seasons for our food. With cold weather the seasons in the higher latitudes are shorter and food production decreases. Global rainfall also decreases with lower temperatures.

Hence, if humans actually can influence the climate they should error on the side of increasing the temperature rather than decreasing the temperature.

Do you need still more convincing? Here it is Bundle Up: Scientists Predict “Mini Ice Age” Will Hit Earth in Five Years:

scientists led by Valentina Zharkova at Northumbria University are arguing that we might be about to see the reverse occurring – instead of heating up, starting in 2021, the world is going to enter a period of cooling that’s being described as a “mini ice age”.

So, fire up those coal plants, rev up your V8s, put some logs in the fireplace, and save the planet!

Quote of the day—Maj Toure

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America would not have even been created without firearms. Some people say it’s a contradiction for me as an African-American man to have a position: “When they wrote the Second Amendment, they didn’t mean it for you.” I don’t give a fuck who they meant it for. It’s mine now.

Maj Toure
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 26, 2017
Why Black People Own Guns
[Actually, the Second Amendment applied to all free people. Maj Toure is not a slave. He is a free man. It always did and still does apply to him.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Carlton LeFlore

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I have a hammer for my home improvement. I have my gun for self-protection. They’re just tools to me. I don’t give them any power other than that. And I feel like most people give the gun so much power, but the gun can’t pull the trigger itself.

Carlton LeFlore
Winter Garden, Florida
December 26, 2017
Why Black People Own Guns
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—John Robb

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Over time, perhaps in as little as twenty years, and as the leverage provided by technology increases, this threshold will finally reach is culmination—with ability of one man to declare war on the world and win. Now, with every improvement in genetic engineering and nanotechnology (only some of many potential threats), we come closer to the day when a single individual will have the budget, the knowledge, and the tools necessary to make this future possible.

John Robb
2007
Brave New War, page 8.
[As Brett has told us:

Three weeks of utilities are all that separate us from savagery.

And also:

What people can do with what they buy at the gun store doesn’t bother me much. It’s what the brilliant molecular biologist who has gone sideways can do in his basement in mayonnaise jars that absolutely terrifies me.

I don’t see any insurmountable obstacles to Robb’s claim. And if he is correct then we are now 10 years or less from this prophecy becoming a reality.

I’m reminded of a t-shirt I have. On the front it says, “One man can change the world.” On the back it says, “With enough ammunition.” Perhaps the back should be edited to say, “With the correct type of ‘ammunition’”.—Joe]

A white Christmas in Bellevue

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Although there will frequently be one or more snowfalls per year in Bellevue Washington it’s rare that the timing and the persistence matches Christmas. This year it did. It started snowing on Christmas Eve about 3:00 PM. This morning we had about four inches of snow:

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Its not North Central Idaho, but it does feel a lot like an Idaho Christmas.

Boomershoot Christmas presents

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Daughter Kim and her husband Jacob gave Barb and I Boomershoot Christmas presents!

Customized range officer vests:

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From Daughter Xenia and her husband John gave me a rear shooting rest bag:

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From Barb’s daughter Maddy I got an earmuff and hearing protection carry bag:

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It’s protection for my ear protection.

Among other things Santa put 200 rounds of ammunition in Barb’s stocking (it’s a good thing it is a sturdy stocking!). She says, “It’s the good stuff!”

Quote of the day—Leah Libresco

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I can’t endorse policies whose only selling point is that gun owners hate them. Policies that often seem as if they were drafted by people who have encountered guns only as a figure in a briefing book or an image on the news.

Leah Libresco
October 3, 2017
I used to think gun control was the answer. My research told me otherwise.
[Leah Libresco is a statistician and former news writer at FiveThirtyEight, a data journalism site. The three months she and her colleagues spent analyzing the deaths of people who died via gunshot wounds arrived at conclusions most gun owners had arrived at decades ago.

So, why do the politicians propose such nonsensical policies? It’s about the control of gun owners.

See also Quote of the day—Ramesh Ponnuru.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dave Workman

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Perhaps the biggest “fake news” of all is that gun control has worked and will work even better if laws restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens are made stricter.

The consensus among firearms owners is that such nonsense – as opposed to common sense – takes a distant second, especially at this time of year, to believing in Santa Claus.

Dave Workman
December 20, 2017
‘Fake News’ Annoying, And Abundant from Anti-Gunners
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

It’s going to be a white Boomershoot Christmas

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When Kim and I were at the Boomershoot site last week there was some snow on the ground and occasionally in the air. We plowed some snow with my vehicle as we wandered around doing various things. We replaced the battery for the solar powered lights at the Taj Mahal, inspected the repaired driveway into the shooting area, removed snow blocking the weather station aerometer, removed snow from solar panels, and removed one of the webcams for the Boomershoot Live web page. The road webcam was just mounted temporarily with wire and I don’t think I have enough solar input to handle two webcams during the middle of winter. I removed the road cam until next spring and will have a permanent mount made by then.

Pictures below the fold.

Continue reading →

Crayon Boomerite

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About a month ago daughter Kim sent me a video of someone successfully making colored smoke bombs using “oil crayon”. I couldn’t find the type of crayons I think they were using in the video but I did find some cheap bulk crayons on Amazon and ordered them:

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We know that if we put several pounds of colored powder on top of an exploding target it will disperse the powder into the air and give some color to the explosion. But it would be nice if the explosive itself also resulted in colored smoke. I also ordered some colored corn starch powder from Amazon which I thought also might be worth a try:

Last Saturday, December 16th, we melted the crayons in an electric skillet.

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Then added the ammonium nitrate.

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Then we mixed in the other ingredients to make Boomerite.

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We also made a batch of Boomerite with a cup of the colored corn starch powder mixed in.

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We then took the targets out for testing. None of the targets resulted in any colored smoke.

I knew the additional ingredients would make detonation harder so I used 50 grain VMAX ammo in a .223 rifle with a 24 inch barrel to get the best velocity and expansion for a better chance of detonation. All the targets hit with these bullets, from 20 yards away, detonated. The velocity at the target was probably just over 3300 fps.

Hitting them with slower FMJ bullets, as fast as 3200 fps, just punched holes in the target. A slower expanding bullet once resulted in a small pop which destroyed the target.

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Although we didn’t get any colored smoke we did manage to blast away quite a bit of the little berm we were shooting into. In the picture below the small mound of dirt the target is sitting on use to extend parallel to the target across where the crater is now.

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Quote of the day—DebateChallenge

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If you care about saving lives than you should crack down on cigarettes. Cigarettes cause about 480,000 deaths per year, there are far more deaths by cigarettes than there are deaths by guns. And of those 480,000 deaths, about 41,000 of them are from secondhand smoke. So just secondhand smoke alone causes about as much, if not more, deaths than guns.

DebateChallenge
December 17, 2017
Comment to Should Hawaii become the model for nationwide gun-control?
[Good point. One could debate the numbers of deaths correctly attributed to secondhand smoke, but those who are anti-gun (control freaks) tend to be the same type of people who want to claim secondhand smoke is a serious threat as well.

While I think one can make a freedom/liberty case for unrestricted recreation drugs for consenting adults, including tobacco and alcohol, they aren’t a specific enumerated right and the push back against restrictions would have less constitutional standing.

So, when someone want to ban guns (such as “assault weapons”) “for the children” you can point out that if they really wanted to “save the children” they should be an advocate for banning tobacco instead of guns. They would have a much higher potential pay off with less constitutional resistance.

We all know it’s not about saving lives and if you point out their misdirected concerns they will come up with some rationalization to remain fixated on guns. But you can hammer them with their lack of logic and make it clear to everyone “in the room” the motivation for this person is not “saving lives”. It’s about control of people who would own guns.—Joe]

Quote of the day—James B. Jacobs

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The SAFE Act succeeded in making a big political splash. It generated widespread and intense protest by gun owners and mobilized Second Amendment advocates and advocacy groups. In 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo was reelected by a much diminished majority and Republicans regained control of the State Senate. This demonstrated that even in a very blue state like New York, gun owners are a significant constituency, one that punches above its weight because it includes so many one-issue voters. In the legislature, Democrats continue to introduce new gun control bills at the rate of about 50 per year, while Republicans regularly introduce bills to repeal or at least scale back the SAFE Act. Neither side currently has any chance of actually passing new legislation.

The SAFE Act’s impact on gun crime, suicides and accidents has never been seriously assessed, although both gun control proponents and gun rights advocates make extravagant claims. In truth, there seems little likelihood that the SAFE Act has had much, if any, effect since it has been only partially implemented, almost completely unenforced, and widely ignored.  Its various provisions are easily circumvented.

James B. Jacobs
December 19, 2017
Assault Rifles and The Impact of New York State’s SAFE Act
[It’s a very factual article with near zero emotional content. I like it.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Gavin Newsom‏ @GavinNewsom

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we ARE coming for your guns.

Gavin Newsom‏ @GavinNewsom
Lt. Governor of California and former San Francisco Mayor
Tweeted on November 14, 2017
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Charles C. W. Cooke

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Ed Asner, is a 9/11 truther. Given that, the quality of the work is about what you’d expect. Having proposed that Congress, the Supreme Court, and the majority of Americans “claim the Second Amendment is not simply about state militias but guarantees the unfettered right of everyone to own, carry, trade and eventually shoot someone with a gun” — ah, yes, the right to “eventually shoot someone with a gun,” so beloved to those of us who can read — Asner and his co-author, Ed Weinberger, proceed to offer up the most comprehensively illiterate and most embarrassingly researched example within what is, alas, a growing genre. As an example of Second Amendment trutherism, this one will likely never be beaten.

Charles C. W. Cooke
December 19, 2017
No, Salon, the U.S. Was Not ‘Founded on Gun Control’
[I’m skeptical of the claim that it will never be beaten. Human genius has limits but stupidity and evil do not appear to be so handicapped.—Joe]