Daughter Xenia sent me a text message this morning with the following picture and text:
My art is in the Anchorage museum with the Alaska Positive show!
Here is info about the show. Here is the listing of all the exhibits.
I am very proud.
The Stars Came Back -001- Intro
Today I’m starting to publish a story here. It will be a (hopefully daily) series of posts that are a screenplay of sorts, though in the interest of screen-space it will not be in proper screenplay format. This is a sort-of movie script. It is somewhere between a proper movie and a movie-of-the-week or a series, or maybe a novel. Read it like you are seeing it on the big screen. It’s a space-western, in the Firefly genre. The story proper takes place circa 2655. FTL travel was discovered in the late 21st C, but not FLT communication, so star systems are still connected similarly to the 18th century days of sail, with message-drones and ships carrying data and people between stars, often taking days, weeks, or even months for flights.Explorers might be out of touch for months. Many star systems and planets have been explored, and some have been partially terraformed. A “local” supernova disrupted subspace so much, though, that FTL was shut down for several centuries, and each terraformed planet (and planets that were still very much “in process”) and colony had to survive (or not) on its own. This was known as “the long dark” or “the big blackout”, as well as by several other names. This takes place after things have quieted down a bit, and “the stars are coming back,” meaning FTL travel is once again possible in some places. But, FTL sub-space is like a stormy ocean, and “swirls” in it can make FTL flights faster, or slower, than normal, or even shut them down altogether.
Cultural note: the dominate cultures out among the stars are the descendants from former British Colonies, but there are scattered colonies from various other places as well.
If anyone in the movie industry sees its potential and wants to turn it into something “real”, I’d be more than happy to talk to them. Feedback from readers welcome, be it positive or negative.
OK, here we go:
The Stars Came Back, Part 001, Intro
So much for that “common caliber” meme
Random thought of the day
If the penalty for possession of a normal capacity magazine is greater than or equal to the punishment for murder of a law enforcement officer then what should be the expected outcome when the police attempt to arrest someone with low moral standards (or a highly principled Second Amendment advocate) in possession of such a magazine? Keep in mind that if you are, say, 60 years old, a seven year sentence means your life is essentially destroyed because you will be unemployable and probably with no means of supporting yourself when you are released.
I’m reminded of Lessons of the 20th Century.
Unintended consequences can be surprisingly harsh.
Boomershoot and the Vatican
Background:
And back to present day for a comment from Katy Zatsick on Facebook:
Barbara, don’t know if you remember when I asked Joe to help me get Pink Smoke? 2005. There is now a movie called “Pink Smoke over the Vatican” which is the herstory of our RC women priest movement (a movement for justice and authority in the most misogynist institution to exist). The Pink Smoke in Chicago is in it! I get to tell the story of how it came to be as I have shown the movie to 3 groups so far and it is scheduled to be shown here in SCC next Sunday! And it all came to be because of the boomer shoot.
If you watch the slide show here long enough you will see a pot of pink smoke. I helped make that happen.
Quote of the day—Robert Higgs
In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy’s mayhem is wholly conjectural; the state’s mayhem is undeniably, factually horrendous.
Robert Higgs
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Taking a step back
If the origins of American ideals of liberty were understood and widely embraced, we wouldn’t need to be defending the second amendment. Understand the former and the latter comes naturally.
ETA: I got that from my son, who seemed fairly miffed that I was talking so much about the second amendment. He is quite convinced that I don’t get it, and his evidence is that I talk about it so much. I’m finding that I cannot very well disagree.
Multiple failures
In December I noticed there was a small amount of snow dusting a table in the back end of the shipping container (aka Boomershoot Mecca) we use for Boomershoot target manufacturing. It had come in through a vent in the ceiling.
The vent is to keep it from getting too hot in the summer time. If the ammonium nitrate gets too hot it will undergo a phase change and change from prills to dust. We require prills for easy detonation.
I figured plugging the vent for the winter shouldn’t be a problem. So I plugged it and didn’t give it a second thought.
I didn’t count on a leak in the roof at the opposite end of the shipping container.
Even if I had imagined the leak I wouldn’t have thought it through.
What happened was the shipping container got a fair amount of water on the floor near the door. The shipping container gets pretty warm (maybe a 15 F increase above ambient on a windless sunny day) inside. This drove a lot of moisture into the air. The air probably stayed in the 80% to 90% relative humidity because there was no venting with the cool dry air from the outside. When the sun went down the interior temperature dropped and the air became supersaturated with water. It condensed on essentially everything. Not good.
I had thought things through enough when placing the container that I had about four inches of drop between the back end and the door. This meant the water drained toward the door rather than back to the cardboard target boxes and the chemicals. It destroyed one cardboard box that had stuff that was essentially immune to moisture like tie-wraps, wires, and bungee cords. But because of the lack of venting the water was migrating to all interior surfaces as the temperature cycled. All because I had not thought through the consequences of not having a vent in the winter simultaneous with a roof leak.
I think I caught it soon enough that it didn’t do any serious damage. One mixer was acting strange but I think I can fix it.
I fixed the roof leak and removed the plug from the vent. Then I put a tarp over the “drop zone” for the snow that might blow in through the vent.
I’ll inspect again when Barb L. and I go back for a visit later this month.
Charge imbalance
The contents of the cottage cheese container is Boomerite surrounding a cardboard tube containing glass frit around a copper bar. The bottom of the cardboard tube makes contact with the bottom of the cottage cheese container.
Take a guess which direction the bar will travel when the Boomerite detonates.
If you guessed slightly up and to the right you would be correct. See the red circle in the picture above.
The backstory is that Ry was trying to make a piece of art. It was mostly a failure.
Next time it will be a five gallon bucket instead of a three pound cottage cheese container. Oh, and we will be about 250 yards away so Ry won’t have to worry about it coming out of orbit on top of him.
BIPES
It started when I was a small child. I knew I was somehow different from many of the other children I played with. As I grew older, I sensed the difference – while other boys played football or dreamed about their first car, I’d collect my .22 and some ammo and stroll down to the rifle range on our farm to go plinking. When I became a teenager, my Dad’s gift of a .30-06 triggered a familiar tugging sensation. On my 21st birthday, when I received a Colt Trooper for a birthday present, I knew.
Like many millions of similar unfortunate Americans, I suffer from Ballistically Induced Penis Enlargement Syndrome (BIPES). Endowed with small penises (or in some cases, no penis at all) sufferers of this malady feel a psychological imperative to compensate for penis size by the acquisition of firearms.
Unfortunately, in a liberal world that enthusiastically embraces other sexual identity crises, those with BIPES find themselves the butt of ridicule and mockery. None would dare mock a member of the LGBTQ community – in fact, there are special hate speech laws that provide extra protections for this group. Taxpayer monies are spent to surgically correct the physical configurations of women who want to gain a penis, or men who want to discard a penis.
Yet, within this liberal Utopia of sexual identity empathy, victims of BIPES – a group that outnumbers the LGBTQ community manyfold – and even intersects it in some cases – are outcasts. How can liberals be so unfeeling? Why does this bigotry against such a widespread, yet innocuous medical condition prevail? No protections exist for hate speech against gun owners, who ironically have the skills and means to act upon violent threats efficiently and effectively, but patiently endure the threats and epithets. The treatment for BIPES victims is heavily taxed, restricted, and constantly threatened with eradication. And if, by some chance, a gun is used in a crime, the entire community is threatened with extinction. If a lesbian commits a sex crime, is there a liberal outcry to ban dildos?
It’s time for the tide to turn. BIPES sufferers need to embrace our affliction and demand our due. With gender-change operations costing tens of thousands of dollars, and the cost for AIDS treatments spiraling upwards, is it too much to ask for BIPES patients to also receive the treatment we so desperately require? With quarterly to yearly treatments, BIPES can be controlled. Many BIPES patients struggle to find funds for treatment. Some go without. In a nation where every other sexual malady has become a matter of public health concern, with funding available for treatment, the relatively low cost of treating BIPES should not be a concern.
Help treat BIPES, provide us with the treatment we need. Cease the mocking.
End the embarrassment and embrace us in your liberal fold.
A Barrett .50 is worth a year of compensation – please help.
A zombie outbreak in Moscow Idaho
Via email from Mike B. we have a letter from the mayor and city council of Moscow Idaho advocating for a kitchen sink full of gun restrictions including an “assault weapon” ban, magazine restrictions, ballistic fingerprinting, armor piercing ammo ban, explosives ammo ban, recording ammo sales, mandatory safe storage, waiting periods, elimination of private sales, restricting the number of firearms purchased in a given time period, and all guns be sprinkled with fairy dust daily.
It appears the zombie infection broke out far from the front lines. Don’t worry. We know how to handle it.
Gun cartoon of the day
The only thing demonstrated by this cartoon is the artist does not have a clue about the issue, nomenclature, or the scale of various firearms.
Quote of the day—Phelps
The fundamental difference between them and us is that we think they are stupid, and they think we are evil. Thinking we are evil justifies, in their minds, all the offenses and abuses they heap on us.
It’s been a good thing that this division existed, though, for a long time. I say that because when we think we have confronted evil, we destroy it.
Phelps
February 4, 2013
Comment to Quote of the day—Sebastian
[He has some very good points.—Joe]
Nobody is trying to take your rights
Never underestimate the stupidity or gullibility of people.
I’m not sure if Moan-ami thinks we are gullible or they are just incredibly stupid. But who could believe these two contradictory thoughts in their head at the same time? Let alone say them in consecutive sentences?
Nobody is trying to take away your gun rights. Just military style assault weapons and limiting magazine gun clips.
Those guns and features most subject to attack are those in most need of protection, and are protected, by the Second Amendment.
All you need to know
The anti-gun people keep changing the definition of an “assault weapon”. Is it two or one “evil features”? Does it have 10 or seven round capacity? Does it have to have a pistol grip or just a thumbhole stock?
All you need to know is what the ultimate definition will be. When RebelNOTRacist asked:
Please define for me what you mean by “assault weapon.”
Gail Cornelius candidly responded with:
Anything that is no[t] muzzle loaded.
Quote of the day—Ann Tinkham
If Freud were alive today, he just might contend that gun-obsessed guys in America never made it out of the phallic stage. With such a fun plaything, who would want to—right? If you substitute “penis” for “gun” in our national discourse, you’ll understand the gun thing. The right to bear a “gun.” Obama’s not going to take away my “gun.”
…
Gun owners contend that they should have the right to a concealed carry and should be able to stand their ground, in other words, whip it out whenever they feel threatened or whenever they feel like it period. Whip it. Whip it good.
If you’re reading this and you’re filled with indignation, you may just need a high-capacity gun to make up for your shortcomings. In the meantime, I’d recommend some good old fashioned Freudian analysis to move past the phallic stage.
Ann Tinkham
January 23, 2013
Freud and the Right to Bear Arms
H/T to timmytink (@timmytink) who, on January 30, 2013, tweeted:
If you substitute “penis” for “gun” in our national discourse, you’ll understand the gun thing. poplitix.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/fre…
[It’s another Markley’s Law Monday!
Amazingly enough there is a lot more in her blog post. What isn’t amazing is that my friendly comment congratulating her on becoming QOTD for a Markley’s Law Monday was in moderation for a while then deleted (Reasoned Discoursetm!). Anti-gun people are so predictable. It’s no wonder we have names for their behavior. I’ll bet evidence of Peterson Syndrome would be easy to find too.
She really gets into the gun equals penis thing. I started wondering if it was penis/gun envy or simple deprivation. It doesn’t really matter though. Dr. Joe’s cure for everything should solve her problems.—Joe]
It’s linear but does it scale?
Paraphrasing Ry as we discuss the fireball for Boomershoot 2013:
One pound explosives one gallon gasoline, no problem. 14 pounds explosives, 14 gallons gasoline no problem. The gasoline is damping the explosion and it’s not breaking any windows. It’s linear! So, 1000 pounds of explosives and 1000 gallons of gasoline should be fine. Right? What could go wrong?
As Barb L. said when Ry and I were leaving for Idaho, “I suspect that you and Ry together equal trouble, sort of like Ruth and me together equal trouble. And it is Superbowl weekend again.
Ry has a history with Superbowl weekend.
Quote of the day—Grimjaw5
Glock40.
Grimjaw5
January 26, 2013
Suggestion for the serial number of the first hand grenade built and documented using the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
[It’s an inside joke for gun owners but it is so funny I had to share.—Joe]
Quote of the day—Sebastian
Gun control advocates really do not understand the fire they are playing with, with much of what is being proposed. How many millions of Americans are you prepared to imprison? How many are you prepared to kill? What is the count of ruined lives, broken families, and ruin are you willing to inflict to try to achieve your rainbow farting unicorn utopia where every gun turns into a flower? Widespread disrespect for the law by millions of Americans is not going to bring that about, and in fact, may only serve to create larger unregulated markets, and far more willingness to engage in law breaking people would not be willing to engage in under normal circumstances.
Sebastian
January 28, 2013
Gun Control Requires Our Willing Compliance
[Another way to look at this is that people generally “play by the rules” as long as the rules are reasonable and the other side plays by the rules as well.
If the rules are unreasonable and/or the other side does not play by the rules people get angry and have a strong tendency to ignore the rules. They “play” rough and play to win by any means possible. The new New York State “rules” for gun owners are completely unreasonable. They were pushed through without input from those most affected and are a gross violation of the Second Amendment “rule”.
The other side in this political contest shouldn’t push us so far that we decide to play to win by any means possible. They wouldn’t like us when we get angry.—Joe]
Crazy talk
For a long time I never really understood battered person syndrome where someone would stay with, go back to, or find a new partner that also abused them. Why couldn’t they see what everyone else thought was obvious? How could they think that was normal?
I understand better now. Even though I’m not a psychologist I’ve dealt with a number of crazy people in my life and I’m getting pretty good at recognizing “crazy” when I see it and what to do about it. This book helped a bunch: Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder.
It turns out a close parallel can be drawn between those that tolerate and even seek abuse in their personal relationships and our current relationship with the anti-gun people and our governments.
Read this and look at the parallel:
Since the victim is not at fault and the violence is internally driven by the abuser’s need to control, this self-blame results in feelings of helplessness rather than empowerment. The feeling of being both responsible for and helpless to stop the violence leads in turn to depression and passivity. This learned depression and passivity makes it difficult for the abused partner to marshal the resources and support system needed to leave.
We are told that “gun violence” is our fault. We are abused for something we had nothing to do with. We are told we must change and tolerate yet another abusive act. But no matter how much we concede, no matter how much abuse we put up with they always come back and abuse us more.
It’s driven, as in the battered person syndrome, by the abuser’s need to control. It is not because of anything we have done wrong.
We are dealing with a form of insanity and we tolerate it.
You don’t think so? Let me give some examples (see also this blog post).
Goldilocks guns
The anti-gun people want to outlaw guns that are “small and easily hidden”. They want to outlaw “.50 caliber sniper rifles” that are large and powerful . They want to outlaw guns that are “deadly accurate”. They want to outlaw guns that can be used for “spray shooting from the hip”.
You would think that perhaps a gun that fires an intermediate cartridge and is of medium weight and is not easily hidden would be acceptable to them. Nope. Such a gun, when capable of full auto” was called an “assault rifle” by the Germans during WWII. The anti-gun people, utilizing their talent for twisting words and preying on the ability of the public to be easily confused, banned these type of guns as “assault weapons”.
These intermediate power, intermediate size, with intermediate rates of fire, semi, not fully, auto guns were called “assault weapons” and banned.
So some guns are too big. Some guns are too small. But no guns are “just right”. Some guns are too accurate. Some guns can be wildly “sprayed”. But there are no guns that are “just right”.
That’s crazy talk!
1000 round arsenals
To anti-gun people and the press even a hundred rounds of ammunition found in the trunk of a car or in someone’s home is cause for concern. If the police decide to search someone’s car or home the finding of a few hundred rounds of ammunition will nearly take the breath away from the talking heads in the media. If it was within a few blocks of a school they make sure the implication is that each one of those rounds could, and should, be translated into the intent of the gun owner was to kill at least that many children.
This fascination with the number of rounds of ammo reached the point that in 1994 the U.S. Congress was contemplating requiring an arsenal license for people that had more than 1000 rounds of ammunition. There was talk of something similar again after the Newtown Connecticut shooting.
If I am going to the range for practice it is about 400 rounds per handgun and 100 for a rifle. If I were to go to a regional match I would take at least 1000 per gun. If I were to attend a weekend class the minimum round count is typically about 1500.
1000 rounds and they want to require a special license? I can put 1000 rounds of .22 LR in my coat pockets. Do they want me to license my coat?
And even in the most horrific mass shootings only something on the order of 100 rounds are fired. How could a restriction on owning more that 1000 rounds possibly make any difference?
That’s crazy talk!
Registration of guns
Of what benefit is it for guns to be registered? I’ve blogged about this many, times before. It is exceedingly costly and contrary to what you see on T.V. and at the movies it has near zero impact on solving crimes. But still the anti-gun people insist on gun registration.
That’s crazy talk!
Safety
If there were a very clear correlation between highly restrictive gun laws and lower violent crime, suicide, and/or accidental injury or death by gunshot then we could have a meaningful discussion about the merits of firearm regulation. But despite over a 100 years of gun regulation in this country there still isn’t any conclusive data any of the gun laws have improved public safety in any of the instances where they have been implemented.
A decent case can even be made there is more violent crime where firearms are banned. Yet in response to a mass shooting in yet another “gun free zone” they demand still more “gun free zones”.
That’s crazy talk!
Background checks
I’ve blogged about this too. But the more succinct version can be expressed in two sentences.
Background checks to prevent some people from gaining access to firearms is like checking ID to prevent underage drinking and smoking. How long does it take your average high school dropout to find a way to light up while drinking a beer?
Yet even most gun rights activists and gun rights “leaders” don’t object to something that is expensive, time consuming, and open to abuse.
The anti-gun people want to expand a system that clearly doesn’t and can’t possibly work any better than ID checks for underage drinking and smoking.
That’s crazy talk!
One gun a month
Who needs to buy more than one Bible a month? Why do Bible owners get all upset about the minor inconvenience of restricting people to just one Bible a month? It would cut down on trafficking of Bibles from states with lax Bible laws to those with strict Bible laws.
Is that crazy talk? Yup. It’s also crazy talk when you substitute “gun” for “Bible” in that paragraph.
[If you want to claim Bibles aren’t “responsible” for killing people like guns are then substitute “Koran” or “Communist Manifesto” and reevaluate before you engage me in that debate.]
Waiting periods
The anti-gun people want waiting periods before someone can take home a newly purchased gun. When asked why, even in the age of nearly instant background checks, they said they wanted a “cooling off period” so people wouldn’t buy a gun when angry or depressed and used it to harm someone else or themselves without having a few days to think about it.
It that were true then why did they insist on waiting periods even for people that already owned dozens of guns?
That’s crazy talk!
Conclusion
It’s not going to get any better if we continue to tolerate this misbehavior. It’s not in the psychology of the individual that batters their partner and it’s not in the history of governments.
We are better than this.
We must do something about this bad relationship. We need to recognize we are enabling it and we need to place the blame where it really belongs. Only then can we have a normal, healthy relationship. But most of all we have to recognize we have made only feeble attempts at “couples counseling” (the courts) when we probably should be trying to “get out of the relationship”.