Quote of the day—Scott Adams

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In nearly every scenario you can imagine, the person experiencing an unlikely addition to their reality is the one hallucinating. If all observers see the same addition to their reality, it might be real. But if even one participant can’t see the phenomenon – no matter how many can – it is almost certainly not real.

Scott Adams
October 19, 2016
I Wake You Up for the Presidential Debate
[His ultimate point is:

If you see something unlikely – such as a new Hitler rising in the midst of America – and I see nothing remotely like that – I’m almost certainly right and you’re almost certainly having the illusion. I say that because the person who sees the unlikely addition to reality is the one experiencing the illusion nearly every time. Trump as Hitler-in-America is an addition to reality that only some can see. It is a pink elephant. It is a classic hallucination.

I’m not trying to say I’m smarter than anyone else. I just don’t see the pink elephant. Nor do perhaps 40% of the country who prefer Trump as president. And when that many people don’t see a pink elephant in a room, you can be sure it isn’t there, no matter how many do see it.

Another symptom of hallucinations is that when confronted by a doubter the believers have a strong emotional reaction and offer little or no evidence to support their claims.—Joe]

Ace of Spades handgun postal match

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Jim, Sunk New Dawn, Galveston, TX suggested I participate in the Ace of Spades “easy, fun handgun Postal Match”. I’m not sure where the postal part comes in but I participated.

I made a video of the shooting. But it was indoors and my video glasses have dark lenses. I couldn’t see the X-ring without an orange dot on the target.

Here is my entry (click for a larger view):

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And zooming in:

IMG_7693Cropped

I used my Ruger 22/45 Target Model pistol which helped at the beginning. Near the end (I also fired 170 rounds in practice) the muscles around my shoulders got tired. They started getting numb and I was shaking. I think the flyers in the image above were probably from the last magazine.

IMG_7694

I used Federal, American Eagle, 38 grain copper coated hollow point ammo.

Here is the video to show that I fired all 50 rounds at the required range in the required time (30 minutes max, I used less than four):

DNC Schemes to Bully Women at Trump Rally

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Aaron Black, the deputy rapid response director for the DNC is caught on camera bragging about his involvement with the Chicago Trump protest that turned violent in March. In this video he schemes about getting men to bully women at a Trump rally, saying “That is what I’m going to do. That is the hit.”

Rigging the Election – Video II: Mass Voter Fraud

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In the second video of James O’Keefe’s new explosive series on the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign, Democratic party operatives tell us how to successfully commit voter fraud on a massive scale. Scott Foval, who has since been fired, admits that the Democrats have been rigging elections for fifty years:

Rigging the Election – Video I: Clinton Campaign and DNC Incite Violence at Trump Rallies

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Last night at dinner with daughter Jaime she strongly requested I watch two Project Veritas Action videos. Very powerful stuff. Here is the first one. There will be several more before election day:

The first two videos have resulted in the firing of two people in the videos. My guess is the people were fired because they were stupid enough to talk about the illegal activities they have been engaged in for years. I’m certain it is not because they haven’t been doing the jobs they were paid for by the DNC and the Hillary campaign.

Quote of the day—Brett

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The problem today in large enterprises… Death by MBA.

Brett
October 10, 2016
[He provided many examples but I’m sure you can supply your own.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Bob Dylan

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People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed

Bob Dylan
2000
Things have changed. Lyrics and music.
[By random chance my phone played this song on my way to work yesterday. The quote above is the chorus. This does a decent job of capturing my attitude about the political climate right now.—Joe]

Christmas in D.C. via the Huffman family

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From my sister-in-law Julie:

I did it!  I finished the 11 foot tree skirt!!!  It was pretty intense and I had to let a few things go by the wayside and had LOTS and LOTS of interruptions, but it’s done!  This will go to the USDA building in Washington D.C. as part of the Capitol Christmas Tree project.  This years trees are coming from Idaho and my cousin is in charge of the over 8,000 ornaments and tree skirts needed for 70 trees.  She asked me to make a tree skirt and this is what I came up with.  It’s my original design.

IMG_0033ChristmasTreeSkirt

I also took a picture when I Barb and I were in Idaho last time just before Julie completed it:

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Smokeless powder basics

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Widener’s has a web page and video Guide to Smokeless Powder (via email from Anne Taylor at Widener’s where I buy some of my reloading supplies). The basics are explained at a superficial but useful level:

Smokeless powder may be the most important component for any shooter who is reloading ammo and it’s probably the most complicated as well. With different characteristics and a ton of variables, gunpowder needs to be fully understood before you attempt to reload ammunition.

This guide will take you through the basics of reloading powder, show how all smokeless powder is not the same and demonstrate how the different characteristics of powder can make your reloads more effective depending upon your intended purpose.

I liked the video in particular (but check out the web page as well) because I have had people insist smokeless powder in open air will go up in a flash from a spark. My experience attempting to use it for recreational purposes in such a fashion was quite disappointing. This video is consistent with my experience. It’s tough to even ignite smokeless powder and, in open air, it burns slowly.

Markley’s Law Monday bonus

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This isn’t quite an example of Markley’s Law because it doesn’t appear in the context of a debate about gun owner rights. But it’s close enough to be on topic:

VGKids Sticker Template

Via email from Jeff on Saturday who said:

Saw this on a car today in Kitsap county…

Kitsap county is just across Puget Sound west of Seattle.

That they think hunting has anything to do with male genitalia conclusively demonstrates they have crap for brains.

Quote of the day—YouWildman‏ @youwildman

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@JJVP10 @micahsgrrl @DavidRGreen_ @Mimi_ftw @wallsofthecity THE NEED TO IMPREGNATE SOMEONE W/ THAT TINY DICK YOU MEAN? YOU WON’T-NO WORRIES!

YouWildman‏ @youwildman
Tweeted on February 8, 2016
[It’s another Markley’s Law Monday! Via a tweet from Linoge.

Bonus follow up:

@youwildman @JJVP10 @micahsgrrl @DavidRGreen_ @Mimi_ftw @wallsofthecity And 15 MILLION women are compensating for ?

15MillionWomen

Dan Roberts ‏@DRoberts556
Tweeted on February 8, 2016

@DRoberts556 @JJVP10 @micahsgrrl @DavidRGreen_ @Mimi_ftw @wallsofthecity same thing; tiny white penises

YouWildman ‏@youwildman
Tweeted on February 8, 2016

I find it very telling that we have tens of millions of people exercising their specific, enumerated, right to keep and bear arms, supported by SCOTUS decisions, and our opponents are fixated on their delusions regarding genitalia.—Joe]

Why are progressives so violent?

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In North Carolina:

A North Carolina Republican Party office was firebombed overnight and threatening words painted nearby, party officials reported Sunday.

According to the Charlotte Observer, the attack occurred in the party’s Orange County office in Hillsborough. An explosive device was thrown through a window of the office, causing some damage. The words “Nazi Republicans, leave town or else” were also painted on a nearby building.

In Iowa:

The front windshield and top window were busted out of a Trump/Pence vehicle sitting at the Iowa campaign headquarters.

And don’t forget the assassination attempt on Trump in June.

Why are progressives so violent? Because it’s in their nature. It’s their political currency.

Update: This is encouraging:

An online campaign reportedly set up by a group of Democrats to help rebuild the firebombed Republican Party headquarters in Orange County met and surpassed its $10,000 goal in only 40 minutes.

The GoFundMe account had raised $13,117 as of Monday morning.

It was set up by a group of Democrats who said they hoped to make a statement against such tactics, which the state’s GOP leaders have called “political terrorism.” Leaders of both parties nationwide have condemned the burning.

…

Democrats behind the GoFundMe page referred to the spray-painted message as “an abhorrent threat.” The group said its online campaign is aimed at helping the office reopen as soon as possible. The campaign is not an official effort of the Democratic Party, but rather the work of a group of supportive Democrats.

Email leaks: Hillary on guns

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If you ever had any doubt about Hillary Clintons intentions toward gun ownership the most recent email leaks should remove all doubt:

Of particular note is an October 4, 2015 email written by Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon, which detailed the campaign’s intent to share with reporters the types of gun control proposals a President Clinton would support. The email stated:

Circling back around on guns as a follow up to the Friday morning discussion: the Today show has indicated they definitely plan to ask bout guns, and so to have the discussion be more of a news event than her previous times discussing guns, we are going to background reporters tonight on a few of the specific proposals she would support as President – universal background checks of course, but also closing the gun show loophole by executive order and imposing manufacturer liability.

Note that, in her mind, no legislative action is required. Stroke of the pen, rule of law as was said during the first Clinton presidency.

I also find it “interesting” how the media works with Hillary Clinton in preparation for their encounters. It’s all orchestrated. There are no surprises or challenges to her position. Glenn Reynolds says, “Just think of the MSM as Democratic operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.”

Quote of the day—Aaron Ben-Zeév

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Women who sell their sexuality for money are regarded as whores, while women who give their sexuality for free are sluts.

…

In order to be considered a “nice girl,” women are more likely to understate the number of people they have slept with, whereas men typically boast and exaggerate their sexual history. Indeed, embedded in our culture and language are opposing attitudes to women and men who have had sexual relationships with many people. Thus, while the term “slut” is defined as “an insulting word for a woman whose sexual behavior is considered immoral,” the corresponding male term “stud” is defined as “a man who is admired for being sexually attractive and good at sex”

..

The difference may well be due to the man having to risk rejection by females, thus his ‘success’ is valued by other females as social proof of his value as a sex partner. In contrast, the vast majority of females risk very little when propositioning a man, yet even so that same vast majority of females actively disguise their intentions so as to maintain plausible deniability of their interest in a man, thus risking less than nothing. Thus there’s nothing to value (and much to disvalue) in such female behavior and the connotations of the word ‘slut’ reflect that.

Aaron Ben-Zeév
Ph.D.
September 21, 2016
Women’s Right to Say YES to Sexuality: Respecting and enhancing female sexual performance
[I found the article fascinating.—Joe]

Me? Obsessive?

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300 rounds of .40 S&W after I ran them through the case gauge:

WP_20161015_16_17_06_Pro

I’m probably not quite as obsessive as you might think from the layout of the rounds on my desk.

I use a case gauge that holds 20 rounds:

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This speeds up the gauge testing and allows me to count the rounds easily by organizing them into groups of 20 before I put them loose into an ammo can.

Mushroom time

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Each year about this time Barb and I go hunting for chanterelle mushrooms. Today we came home with the biggest haul yet:

IMG_7687Adjusted

It wasn’t without some minor obstacles. There were weather warnings about high winds and heavy rains and as of yesterday we had mostly talked ourselves out of going today. But Barb looked out the window after getting up and said she wanted to go. There wasn’t much wind or rain at the time so we were on the road by 8:50. We had our rain gear and although the trees and branches we had to step on and over were slick we made it in and out of the woods by 10:30 with no injuries and only minor cold and dampness.

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Sandy Hook lawsuit against Bushmaster dismissed

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I understand the desire for some sort of justice in the wake of an atrocity like the Sandy Hook massacre. But it’s not justice when people and companies who had nothing to do with the actions of the criminal are punished. That is what the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was to prevent. And that is what it did:

A Connecticut judge has dismissed a lawsuit that families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims had filed against a gun manufacturer.

In her decision granting the company’s motion to strike the case, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis invoked a federal statute known as PLCAA, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

    The law prohibits lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors if their firearms were used in the commission of a criminal act.

    The families had sought an exemption through a claim of “negligent entrustment,” arguing the maker knowingly marketed and sold the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle to civilians despite knowing it posed a risk when used outside “highly regulated institutions” such as law enforcement or the military. Remington is the parent company of Bushmaster.

    Bellis said the “criminal misuse of a weapon” by Adam Lanza means the action “falls squarely within the broad immunity provided by PLCAA,” adding that the arguments presented by the families do not fit within the definition of negligent entrustment.

    Joshua Koskoff, an attorney for the families, said in a statement that his clients plan to appeal.

    Hillary Clinton has explicitly said this law should not exist. It is my opinion that Hillary Clinton should not have a political existence.

    Those who need to know already know what the following means. If it’s not crystal clear to you then don’t worry about it. It’s not for you. It’s more fun and games for the NSA:

    jyrBnULUnDqq6F3iPRCbhFNeZUaFhHVYgE60KiCr5fSIQifvJet1Ly72x2K0qXrIwy9VcEHY
    5ingcX2p63fya8dDLOadFhalAh0ezScWWIplBCPS121+mEV+8L+VJfStyWg4TAauHv1Cq7b
    AJGWk3p9z3wbxdwjkgduPgMAT8jyZeErMCmgp011Nz+BA+eAfPE7PY8miSuLhZovSG8QHDO
    qc1Ocj+vyzGR7tY5ydv3HuiFpHLWMCXndQet0aMnNKwx9uRe8Y8ZNAhZfg4vN4UcNxrFNtU
    bUwQmwRDZE6ZjgRj2pbJixe+BSmPZ97r0LDy6f+w0tMBUXI53Xw/qcGgLVi6yryVvY1Fqja
    9dT6B8Ucu990uuBF1YwVYx3qUDrn

    Quote of the day—Chindit13

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    Hillary is a lit match in a room of dynamite.  She, like many of the self-important, thinks her very existence is a favor to the rest of us.  She epitomizes the absolute worst of what America has become.  Above the law, wealthy not through accomplishment, but through influence peddling only, and a bull in a china shop in terms of her effect on both the country and the world.

    Chindit13
    October 14, 2016
    The Elite “Have No Idea” – Society Is Near The Breaking Point
    [I have nothing to add.—Joe]

    Pushed out the Overton Window

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    The Overton Window is the range of “acceptable thought” in ordinary public life. One of the goals of the left is to simply push any ideas they don’t like outside the Overton Window. They do this by Bowderizing books, by harassment, name-calling, shaming, and double standards. But most importantly by using language; by declaring some words or phrases  “beyond the pale,” and as such, anyone who says, uses, or believes them is likewise beyond the pale, is a common tactic. (ever wonder where “Pale” was, so you’d know where to avoid? (first meaning)).

    To the left, words, and feelings of the moment, are far more important than actual actions, logic, or consequences. they are in a surreal place where your perceptions define reality. They really think that it does depend on what the meaning of “is,” is. And they feel it’s totally OK to redefine it on the fly, and differently for different people. So, to leftist followers, simply an assertion that someone is racists / sexist / whateverist is grounds for shunning and more.

    Anyway, we now see this is full force in the all out media-assault against Trump. They are scared, and see this election as do-or-die. Continue reading →

    Quote of the day—Gretchen Gardner

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    I’m at the breaking point.

    …

    It’s not because I don’t like paying taxes. I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city better. But now I can’t afford to live here anymore. I’ll protest my appraisal notice, but that’s not enough. Someone needs to step in and address the big picture.

    Gretchen Gardner
    May 2014
    Surge in property tax bills spurs push to reform tax appraisal process
    [I’m not sure I’ve seen a better case for the “Crap For Brains” category.

    As Margret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” But this bimbo can’t seem to comprehend this even when she is the one running out of money.

    The big picture is that people this stupid shouldn’t be allowed to vote.—Joe]