Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.
Thomas Jefferson
[I was because this is true that the global warming hoax mongers were suppressing reason and opinions.–Joe]
The power of the things we build
Say Uncle wrote about our exobrains this morning then I went to work today and worked on the operating system for one. I fired off a build of the software and I happily noted that the CPU usage on the eight 3 GHz processors went to 98%. It pretty much stayed there for most of the two to three hours it took to do a build. The CPUs get some rest when it’s writing a bunch of stuff to disk but still it’s an impressive amount of CPU cycles being burned.
Then I wondered just how impressive is it? What does it really mean?
That computer can add 20 numbers together in the time it takes for light to travel one foot.
Eight 3 GHz processors are doing something on the order of 20 billion operations per second. And those “operations” aren’t exactly trivial. Each operation is something like an addition, subtraction, multiplication, reading or writing a number. And those aren’t just numbers like 0 through 10. The CPU can handle any number in the range from -2147483648 to +2147483647 just as easily as it can from -10 to +10. And while it is doing that it can keep up a running commentary telling me what it is doing at a rate that is far to fast for me to keep up.
Imagine you have every man, woman and child on this planet (about six billion) working on the same task they couldn’t even do the raw arithmetic let along the communication and coordination at a rate that is even 1/100th of what the little box under my desk can do. I have the brain power (for some tasks) exceeding the capacity of several earth-like planets complete sentient population at my disposal.
The exobrain of today is only about one 1/3 of a planets worth–but that isn’t a bad start on a budding cyborg.
Did I also tell you we are working on project SkyNet?
Update: Some of the comments about this post here are absolutely awesome. To completely appreciate some of them require having read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Also closely related.
They want this to be illegal
The TSA document I mentioned yesterday has raised quite a stir (via an IM from son James). They want to make it illegal to post the document.
This reminds me of a story about a psychology professor who asked his students to write down on a slip of paper and put in an box short phrases marketers had used that made the students one to buy a product. He then drew them out of the box to discuss them. The first one out of the box was “Under 17 not admitted without parent or guardian.”
They don’t want people to post it and they don’t want you to have it. What do you think that is going to accomplish?
Yeah, I thought so too.
Get it here if you don’t already have a copy.
Quote of the day–Dr. J. Gordon Edwards
In testifying and speaking in public, I frequently exposed the misleading references Rachel Carson had cited in her book, presenting her statements from Silent Spring and then reading the truth from the actual publications she was purporting to characterize. This revealed to the audiences just how untruthful and misleading the allegations of Silent Spring really were.
Now, nearly 30 years later, the controversy is still boiling about how truthful Rachel Carson was. I recently learned that a movie honoring Rachel Carson and Silent Spring is being made for television. Because I believe such a movie would further misinform the public, the media, and our legislators, I decided to type up my original rough notes from 1962-1963 and make them available. Here they are, page by page, starting with her dedication.
Dr. J. Gordon Edwards
The Lies of Rachel Carson
[H/T to David for the link.
I remember reading Silent Spring in about 1970. It made quite an impression on me as it did millions of other people. I think the copy of the book I read is still on the bookshelf of my parents house.
Reading Edwards notes I realize her half-truths were the same type of propaganda that the anti-gun people propagate today. What she did was not carelessness, ignorance, or a series of honest mistakes. She pulled tidbits out of references that clearly did not support her conclusions or the impression her book portrayed. She had to be doing that deliberately. The same is true of many of the anti-gun writings. When you check their references you find the source concludes something completely different or (as in the case of Michael A. Bellesiles) does not even exist.
The global warming hoax (H/T to Phil for the link), the ecology hoaxes, the anti-gun material and many others all come from the political left. Why is that? Is their desire for control over people so great they will do nearly anything? Sure we have lots of examples of leftists (Stalin, Pol Pot, China, and Nazi Germany for example) where they will do horrible things to consolidate and keep power political power. But even on a much smaller scale it seems to result in the same sort of thing–total lack of ethics, morality, and respect for human life.
I sometimes can’t help but think that “if it saves just one life” then people advocating leftists political beliefs should be imprisoned or exiled. But that would be using the very same warped ethical behavior as they do.–Joe]
Email from a TSA worker
A week ago I received an email from a TSA worker asking how to better be able to detect bombs and explosives. I considered the possibility that the person might actually be trying to get something by TSA rather than working for them. But as the conversation progressed it seemed less and less likely. I gave him a few links and apparently he read quite a bit on both my blog and others because he specifically mentioned Breda’s adventures with the TSA.
In one long email he defended the TSA and the job they were doing. I asked if he would like for me to post it so it could get a little more exposure and he said he would like that. I then said:
Before I post it I would like to ask you a few questions. Let’s start with:
So given that I’m pretty sure I could get a few cups of flour in my carryon bag, and an ounce or so of black powder and matches on via a body cavity if nothing else. You know that I can bring down the plane with it, right (https://www.joehuffman.org/FlashTek/06-FFFFgFlour.mpeg)?
So if you can’t stop that then what is the point of doing 90% of the other searches and tests?
He responded with:
[Stuff that was apparently identifying — so I deleted it.–Joe]
Obviously that doesn’t really answer the question–what is the point of TSA if there is an easy way to defeat it? Security is a like a chain. It’s only as strong as its weakest link.
I haven’t heard back from him and that was over two days ago. So, even though I didn’t get my questions answered I’m posting his defense of the TSA:
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 6:19 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Subject: Re: Hey JoeI’ve been reading through the blogs about TSA. A lot of it seems to be first-hand experience taken to another level with speculation about motives, means, and why we do what we do.
Like ammo, for instance, our ETD’s don’t detect ammunition or residue. Come to us after a week of shooting and making home-made ammo and you’ll only look dirty, but pass all of our security, as long as you don’t have the ammo or the gun. We just work harder every day with testing and training to detect prohibited items and IED’s, whether whole or in part.
Doesn’t feel so good to see a lot of crap posted about you and your job without people being there to understand, and like I’ve said in the past, the only fully secure air travel is none at all, but while Americans travel the skies we’ll be there to make sure they make it home to their families in one piece.
It is rewarding, because nothing blows up or goes down. Those kind of professions aren’t suited for everyone because there is no actual number to be put up for security, and at the end of the month you can’t see results unless you understand that the quiet is the result, however TSA isn’t perfect (which is an understatement, as threats evolve we must evolve to detect and deter) but while there have been no major, or for that case, minor hijackings, shootings, killings, etc, that I know of and no terrorists on flights what-so-ever, I can see results.
It may not be easy, but while there are people on flights to or from my airport, I’ll be giving 100% to make sure they get there safely. I could never live knowing something went wrong because I didn’t screen people doing everything according to the SOP and then some. And while you work with the traveling public who will you hear the most, people who are satisfied, or those who have a bone to pick?
Want to be pissed because you have to take off your shoes? Thank Richard Reid.
Want to be pissed because you can’t take your water? Thank those terrorists in England.
Most of what we can’t say isn’t because we don’t want to, it’s not that we don’t trust you or want to talk down to you like a parent, like no-answers or ‘because it has to be’ or ‘because we say so,’ it’s always a matter of security. Ask the troops where they are, what kinds of weapons they have and where they store them, how many people they have on guard at night, what the sensitive parts of the bases are, etc, and what will you get? Answers that don’t make sence or no answers at all. Same thing. If we have an open forum where all of what we do comes out, who wins? The Americans who whine and complain, and the terrorists who just got all of our methods, sizes, and modes on a silver platter.Doesn’t mean we don’t want to tell you everything, like why we have to screen your prosthetics, or what the ETD’s look for, or what types of metal alarm the MD, etc. It’s not up to us, and the ones who make the decisions say people will get hurt if we do talk freely, just like the military. We can’t be armed with weapons, so we’re armed with as much knowledge and electronic tools as the government can standardize and ship. Some of the best X-Ray and ETD machines in any country, and the world finest training for such a large force.
But, just when you hope we can do better, TSA accidently releases our Screening Management SOP, not ecactly how we do everything, but what to do with everyone. More like where the battles were and not how they were armed, but still damaging.
Should be hitting the web today or tomorrow, very not cool.
But anyways, I’m going to bed, try to have a nice day Joe.
Sincerely,
I’m almost overcome with the temptation to comment on and tear apart what he says but I somehow don’t see that as quite fair.
I think the question I posed to him about bringing down a plane with materials found in nearly every kitchen (substitute ground match heads for the black powder) is sufficient rebuttal in the present context.
What can you really say to someone that demonstrates how to defeat $2 Billion a year spent on security with $2 worth of materials you can find in grandmas kitchen?
Do they believe this crap?
Sometimes the anti-gun people are just so “out there” I’m not even sure they can believe the stuff they say. Case in point:
After the attacks of September 11, 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks on trains, Amtrak took steps to make their trains safer. But the gun lobby still continues to push guns into every corner of our society, even at the expense of public safety.
Nearly everything is wrong about this:
-
Guns were not involved, except they were forbidden to the victims, in the September 11 attacks and the following terrorist attacks on trains.
-
They may have “took steps to make their trains safer” that doesn’t mean they actually did make them safer. TSA makes planes less safe and almost for certain what Amtrak did does too. It’s all about Security Theater, not actual security.
-
The gun lobby isn’t “pushing guns into every corner of our society” any more than the ACLU is pushing free speech, the NAACP is pushing blacks, or the ADL is pushing Jews into every corner of our society. The right to keep and bear arms is a specific enumerated right guaranteed by the U.S. and most state constitutions. It is an inalienable right recognized by the people that wrote the constitutions and has been a part of our society since long before they wrote those documents.
I find it hard to imagine that even the anti-gun bigots believe the crap they say and write.
Sebastian rolls his eyes, so to speak, over the reaction from the anti-gun people too.
Dear Republicans
This is addressed to Pete Sessions, but it serves as an open letter to the Party. I don’t for a minute expect it to go anywhere, or make a difference if it did, and I could think of several ways to make it better after the fact, but someone has to say it.
Pete,
“The Obama/Pelosi agenda has been proven to be a failure…”
That’s true, but what exactly is the Republican agenda? Remember Bush’s prescription drug entitlement, TARP, and the fact that McCain supported TARP and the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) hoax? I sure do.
It is well and good to point out the Democrats’ mental problems and their anti American mindset, but I’m looking for some distinction between Dems and Republicans other than the message I’m getting now, which is, “Give us money—we’re not as corrupt as those other guys.”
In my lifetime the distinction has been, More Socialism Faster, verses More Socialism Slower. No thanks. I want to see your plan for;A) Dismantling socialist programs in the U.S. (going back to the Wilson Administration and un-doing the damage). This would involve the elimination of multiple government “departments” and laying off thousands of federal government workers (if they’re worth something, they’ll thrive in the private sector. If they’re not, they shouldn’t have been hired in the first place) so as to allow the markets to do what they do best—excel, by weeding out the poor performers and elevating the best performers.
B) Holding accountable those who have promoted or supported socialism (government intervention in the markets for the purpose of social engeneering, i.e. economic stagnation and the erosion of property rights) of any kind within the halls of government. That would include, but not be limited to, charges of fraud and/or racketeering and/or misappropriation of public funds against the perpetrators of the AGW hoax.
C) Restoring compliance with, and faith in, the U.S. constitution.
D) Cutting tax rates across the board to a small fraction of their current levels, thereby moving boldly forward in restoring capitalism and the liberty and prosperity that comes along with it.
The socialist/Progressive movement has been gaining ground in this country for over 100 years, and all that time the Republican Party has been there, either in idleness, in complacency, or themselves actively leading us down this rat hole. I have had enough. Do not ask me to take you seriously until you’ve demonstrated some seriousness of your own, plus some clarity, specificity and bold action with regard to the above points.Sincerely,
Lyle
I’m not supporting any squishy, cowardly Republicans and neither should you. There is no time for playing games.
Quote of the day–Frank
In a grim scenario we’ve seen all too often in the news, 20 year old college student Jason Hamilton reportedly burst into a classroom on Wednesday and opened fire at a small community college in Virginia. After two shots, however, his rifle jammed. Not only that, he missed both times. Not surprisingly, Hamilton’s father is furious.
…
In failing to check the bolt action of his brand new firearm, Jason Hamilton didn’t just let himself down, he let his community down.
Local news reporters were also disappointed with Hamilton’s performance on Wednesday. The event forced the cadre of journalists into the cold for a boring press conference about a crime that didn’t quite happen for a story that would only last a day at best. The story had all the elements of a barn-burner news meme: a stressed and mentally unbalanced college student, a link to the ongoing debate over gun control, and eerie proximity to the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. It had everything going for it. Everything but actual victims, that is. If he had managed to pull it off, they would be sitting on a goldmine: weeks worth of easy copy and the warm glow of the national spotlight. But no, it didn’t bleed so it didn’t lead. As it was, not a single cable news network bothered to send a satellite truck. Perhaps that’s why the headline in the local paper read, “Thanks for Nothing, Asshole.”
Frank
December 10, 2009
Father Deeply Disappointed in Son’s Failed Murder/Suicide
[There is more than a little truth in this satire but he left out references to the Brady Campaign, the VPC, etc. getting all dressed up for the dance in the blood and not finding any blood.–Joe]
Quote of the day–Lazarus Long
The phrase “we (I) (you) simply must -” designates something that need not be done. “That goes without saying” is a red warning. “Of course” means you had best check it yourself. These small-change clichés and others like them when read correctly, are reliable channel markers.
Lazarus Long
A character of Robert Heinlein in his book Time Enough For Love
[Challenging assumptions is sometimes surprisingly easy. It will make you stand out from others as being brilliant, crazy, or both. For practice apply it to global warming, health care “reform”, and gun control. Then expand the application of these tests to other political imperatives and even everyday life.
The appropriateness of Heinlein’s wisdom is probably endless.–Joe]
Quote of the day–The TSA Blog
TSA has many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe and to constantly adapt to evolving threats. TSA is confident that screening procedures currently in place remain strong.
The TSA Blog
December 7, 2009
TSA Response to Leaked Standard Operating Procedures
[See also this article (via email from Chuck): Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets–Online Posting Reveals a “How To” for Terrorists to Get Through Airport Security.
I received an email about it early this morning from a TSA agent but he asked me not to mention it until it become more widely known. I’m expecting to post an email from him on my blog about TSA in general within a day or so. We’ve been having a pleasant discussion for several days now.
In regards to the TSA statement I quoted above I would just like to say the Emperor has no clothes.–Joe]
Terrible irony?
Why don’t they get it? They can’t possible understand the issue if they think this makes sense:
The terrible irony is that where there are more guns, there is more opposition to gun control.
Just change “gun” to “mixed race marriages”, “homosexuals”, or “Jews”. Then tell me again about the irony.
Extrapolating the numbers
In Canada they spent about $2 Billion dollars for their firearms registry. For that $2 Billion dollars they registered about seven million guns. That is about $285 per gun. And they probably didn’t get more than about half of them. There was widespread disobedience.
In the U.S. there are about 300 million guns in circulation. Assuming the cost of registration per gun does not go up (and I have some novel ideas for increasing the cost that we came up with when the issue came in up Washington State back in ’97.) The total bill for firearm registration would be over $85 Billion.
Expect that price tab to be very, very conservative. Not only was the Canadian effort implemented nearly 15 years ago U.S. gun owners might not play nearly as nice as the Canadian gun owners did.
Interesting
I love the possibilities:
You can buy a car from an out-of-state dealer and pick it up there. You can buy a house in another part of the country, as speculators unwisely did during the real estate bubble, sight unseen. But even though the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms — and presumably to buy them — you can’t purchase a handgun while you’re visiting another state.
A gun rights group has sued the Justice Department to overturn this prohibition, which became law as part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the case is now in front of U.S. District Judge James Robertson in Washington, D.C.
But it should be no surprise that the anti-gun people don’t want to discuss the case on the merits:
While this may be an intricate legal question that only lawyers might fully appreciate, it offers a glimpse into how the legal system operates in practice. Courts don’t always reach — they’re often hesitant to reach — broad questions about a law’s constitutionality. Procedural rules are hugely important.
In this case, for instance, the Obama administration appears to have taken the position that there’s no way for anyone to challenge the 1968 Gun Control Act on Second Amendment grounds unless they’re arrested for violating it first. Any volunteers?
I also like it that the American Civil Liberties Union is on our side on this one.
Quote of the day–Suzanne Laplante-Edward
The gun-control law is a monument erected to the memory of our daughters.
Suzanne Laplante-Edward
December 7, 2009
Gun Control Issue Reveals a Changing Canada
Her daughter, Anne-Marie, was killed in the Montreal shooting in 1989.
[That explains so much. I wondered what that law was for.
Her daughter would have been far better off had she had a gun of her own and appropriate training on how to use it to defend innocent life. The $2 billion spend on the registry would have been better spend on arming and training people at risk of being victims instead of attempting to disarm more victims.
Update: And the next time you want to build a $2 Billion monument–use your own money and don’t hassle other people in the process.–Joe]
Appropriate ATF action
Most of the time the gun blogs and the gun rights community screams “bloody murder” when the ATF is mentioned. Sometimes I believe such claims are literally true.
While I am of the opinion that the ATF should not exist that is not a political reality. But it may be possible their behavior can be changed such that the very worst behavior is reserved for those that are more deserving. True criminals that use firearms and explosives to harm others or destroy property should be punished and the ATF does have that task in it’s charter. Changing their behavior can come about by “whacking them about the head and shoulders with a stick” via legislative action and criticism in public opinion. I wholehearted support such action on many occasions.
But there are occasions where the ATF and Federal prosecutors treat a situation appropriately. And if you want someone or an organization to change their behavior it is just as important to use the “carrot” as the “stick”. If they know there is nothing they can do to “make us like them” there is no point in trying. And they are our servants so they do have some motivation for pleasing us.
This is one of those cases where they should be given a “carrot”:
A Belgrade man was sentenced in federal court in Helena Thursday to two years probation for failing to register a silencer on his rifle with federal authorities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Brandyn Dean Stanbary, 33, had previously pleaded guilty to the charge of willful failure to supply information, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a prepared statement. Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell also ordered Stanbary to pay a $25 fine.
…
Gun owners are required under the National Firearms Act to register silencers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, providing their name and address, along with the name of the manufacturer and serial number of the silencer, and pay a registration tax.
After they found the gun, Belgrade police contacted ATF, which verified that Stanbary did have a silencer and had not provided ATF with the required information.
Stanbary “later admitted that he willfully failed to supply the required information regarding his shortened rifle and silencer to the ATF,” according to the statement.
While I am of the opinion that firearm should no more be taxed that churches or free speech it is, still, the law as it currently stands. As such the guy did fail to abide by the law but apparently without intent to cause others any harm. He is guilty of a crime where the only victim is the U.S. government which didn’t receive it’s $200 in taxes for the suppressor. The legal costs, the probation and the $25 fine seem appropriate to me under the circumstances.
Thank you ATF and Federal judicial system for doing the right thing.
Quote of the day–Florence Adams
Guns have only one purpose, to kill. Opposition to gun control is another participation in death.
Florence Adams
December 5, 2009
Recent church activities reminiscent of Inquisition
[It’s possible that in this particular instance this is sarcasm or part of rhetorical question. But it is consistent with a lot of other people and I’m certain nearly all anti-gun people agree with the sentiment.
This means we have a lot of work to do in gaining mind share in some area. The claim above is totally bogus of course but people are not rational and expecting them to be rational is irrational. For the same amount of work it will be far more productive to swing people in the middle to our side. This has the effect of isolating people who believe crap like the above. Isolation will create internal conflicts which will either result in their conversion or further irrational behavior on their part which discredits them. Either way we win.–Joe]
Quote of the day–Ingrid Peritz
[F]or supporters, the registry remains both a valuable tool and an article of faith – especially in Quebec, where support for it remains the highest in Canada, recent polls show.
Ingrid Peritz
December 5, 2009
Referring to the Canadian firearms registry in the article ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’ FOR VICTIMS.
[With emphasis on “article of faith”. Here is what a criminologist has to say about the gun registry:
[A]nalysts say there is no evidence to link the registry and drops in homicide. Irvin Waller, a criminologist at the University of Ottawa and founder of the school’s Institute for the Prevention of Crime, says the government could have invested the billions spent to set up the registry on more effective ways to combat violence against women. He said one method involves programs to educate teenage boys in high school.
The firearms registry, introduced by the Liberals in 1995, took years to get up and running and still doesn’t have full compliance, making it impossible to measure its effectiveness, Dr. Waller said. “It’s basically not been operational, so there’s no logic to assuming it would have any impact on anything,” he said, noting that homicides have been dropping in Canada since the 1970s, well before the registry was set up.
The last time I heard numbers for the number of crimes solved in Canada via the firearms registry (including the handgun registry which has been in place since the 1930s) the number was one. Not one per day, per week, or per year. But one in nearly 70 years. With numbers like that just what is it they think the firearms registry is good for? Sure, it will help some with confiscation. But if that is their goal then they should be open and honest about it. If that isn’t their goal then just what is the real reason for a firearms registry?–Joe]
Quote of the day–Ben Franklin
He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.
Ben Franklin
[This could apply to many of the things going on politically these days or almost any day. But on this occasion I’m thinking of the global warming/climate change supporters.–Joe]
Food Processing. Protein; Step One
It Was a Bright and Calm Morning…
My son and I both decided to hunt Late Muzzleloader season this year for a simple reason– there are far more does and “antlerless” bucks in our little hunting spot than antlered bucks, and this season allows harvesting of “three point minimum or antlerless” white tail deer. Hunting muzzleloader season gives us a high probability of harvesting deer within walking distance of home.
We have one functioning muzzleloader rifle (step one food processor) so Son was given the first watch at the tree stand. The second time out he took a decent young buck (small nubs for antlers) on Thanksgiving Day. He spotted it while climbing down the tree, and shot it with the rifle still tied to the cord we use for raising and lowering things from the stand. After that I started going out to the stand, but saw nothing in several days. That’s unusual, but a deer had just been taken right there by Son. Maybe they’re a bit spooked. Don’t know, but on the morning of the last day of this one-week season, I got tired of sitting in the stand (besides, it was cold) and decided to take a walk.
It was a beautiful morning, just after sunrise, so if I never got a deer, it would still be worth the nice walk along the top of the picturesque basalt cliffs above the Palouse River. There are always a lot of deer tracks up there, as it’s their only option for traveling between their feeding grounds (farmer’s fields) and their primary source of water. My trouble that morning was that if there were any deer, they’d be immediately alerted to my presence. Every 50 yards or so as I was walking along the ridge, a pheasant or two, or about 50 quail, would explode up from near my feet. I might as well have been blowing an air horn every 50 yards and carrying a boom box playing rap music.
There’s a place along that ridge that’s down in a depression, and has some flat land with 360 degree concealment. I knew in advance that if I was going to see a deer along the ridge away from our tree stand, it would likely be there. As I topped the rise, getting ready to look down into the depression, I went slowly, making no sudden movements.
Sure enough, there were two deer, and one of them was a very nice eight-point buck! About 200 yards away, he’s looking in my direction. The sun being directly behind me, I was casting a 100 yard-long shadow right in his direction. Pure stealth isn’t much of an option, but I was moving very slowly so as not to alert them too much. Whack-a-Whack-a-Thump-a-Thump-a-Thump!!! A pheasant exploded up at that moment about six feet away from me, so the buck got real nervous and trotted away. It’s been years since I saw a nice buck up there, and, aware of my presence, this one and the doe are now on the move away from me. Oh well. (but they didn’t bolt, as often happens)
I can either back-track less than a mile, cross the bridge for home and get ready to go to work, or I can go on, crossing another bridge about a mile ahead. That’s an easy choice– I keep going forward in the direction of those two deer. Wham, Slam, Whack!– quail and pheasants continue to announce my presence. This is getting hopeless. But it’s sure a nice day for a walk.
The deer never panicked, I guess, so what ended up happening was that I was dogging them. They’d put some distance between us, I’d close in, and they’d make some more distance. Repeat. Eventually they made a wrong move. Some more quail (announcing my presence, but not telling exactly where) must have startled them out of the thick brush and into the open field.
I did not expect that. They were in range, barely, but moving away fast. Too far away to attempt a shot on a moving target. No shot. What do you do in this situation? I whistled. Deer whistle (I guess it’s more of a fast hiss than a whistle) at each other as an alert message. Anyhow, it worked. They stopped, turned 90 degrees broadside and looked back at me. From that moment, circumstances dictate action. No time for kneeling, and that might scare them off, so standing it is. We’re all in the open. Lock to full cock. Backstop? Check (there’s a hill a couple hundred yards behind them). Front sight. This is a longish shot for this weapon with open sights from standing– about 80 to 90 yards (I’ve never fired this rifle at anything more than 100 yards distant – maybe that has to change, but I’m confident at 100 and this is a bit less). Some vacillating takes place for about a second. One shot, one chance. Too far? Wobble area looks good. Too far? They’re still standing there, stone still. This is a hair trigger. Sight’s right on the sweet spot, what’re you waiting for? Too far? Nope. Bang!
The two deer took off running. The usual question comes to mind; did I miss? They’re running fast and far. 200 yards and they’re out of sight over a rise in the undulating fields. Oh well. It’s a nice day for a walk. Should I reload? Maybe. Have to cover 200 yards to look over that rise and try to spot them. Better do that. There they are; waaaay out there and still running. I must have missed, though the let-off felt fine. Damn. But wait. The doe’s way ahead of the buck. Buck slows down and stops. Then he looks like he got tired and decided to have a little lie down. That’s odd. They only ran about 1,000 yards. No, it can only mean I got him.
He’s lying down with his head up. Better reload. I carry two reloads– plastic cartridges that contain a measure of black powder, a ball with lubricated patch, and a percussion cap. They’re nice because you can use the cartridge structure as a short ball starter. It’s easy– you just place the ball end over the muzzle and smack the other end, like so… Oops! Forgot to pour the powder in first. I have just dry-balled the gun and there’s an injured buck (I don’t know how injured) down there. He could get up and run away. I could lose an injured deer. This sucks. My chosen method of removing a dry ball is to seat the ball all the way down, remove the nipple and trickle a few grains of powder through the flash channel into the breech chamber, cap, then fire. Works like a charm. I have no nipple wrench. Who needs to remove a nipple in the field on a half-day hunt? (it’s coming with me from now on) The nipple’s seated tight– can’t break it free with the Leatherman tool. Damn, damn, damn. I eventually was able to pry the ball out at the muzzle, using the awl accessory (if I’d rammed it down I’d be hosed). Cool. Didn’t scratch the muzzle ’cause the patch protected it. That ball is toast, but I have one more reload.
Meanwhile, the buck is lying there, looking around…head up, head down, head up, head down again. Did he die? Head comes back up. Crap. I had to get close enough for a 100% sure CNS (Central Nervous System) shot. Walk slowly. 40 yards, take aim. No. Why not get closer? 30 Yards, kneel, full cock, put a shot through the neck at the base of the skull. He drops like a stone.
This is not a good place from which to pack out a large deer. Good net coverage. Kamiak Butte, with the cell towers, is only 6 miles to the southwest. I call Son on the phone. No answer. I wait and call again. No answer. I call my wife– she should be getting ready to drive to school. Maybe she can meet me on the Colfax highway a few hundred yards over a hill and bring me home to get the pickup. No answer. I’d also been dogging a coyote along the way, and I’d seen the ‘yote running along the same path as the deer. Can’t gut this buck yet. That’s just inviting that ‘yote in to come and mess up my deer while I’m gone. Leave it whole. I walk a couple miles home, get Son out of bed and drive back to the Colfax highway. We get permission to drive over a planted field to the deer. No dice. The frozen mud had thawed enough at the surface that a 4×4 with studded snows can’t get a grip to climb over the hill. We’re on foot. We go back home to grab a saw and a sled.
Below; the buck fell about a 1,000 yards from where he was hit, which was out of the frame to the upper right.
Looking closely, I find an entry wound in the deer’s left hind quarter. Odd. I could have sworn he was broadside to me when the gun fired, and I know I didn’t pull the shot that much. And there’s a ball, just under the skin behind the right shoulder, exactly opposite where I was aiming, but I can’t find a corresponding entry wound. Oh well, I’ll find it when I skin the carcass. Someone else must have shot this deer before me, which would explain the entry wound in the hip. That’s plausible, since I’ve been hearing shots in the area all week. Weird.
Hours later we had the big buck hanging in the garage after getting the workout of the year. Man, this hunting business is getting more like hard work. After gutting (in the field) and skinning the deer (in the garage) there was only the one entry wound to be found. The ball had struck the left “ham” at a shallow angle, passed through the intestines doing very little damage, passed through the stomach, blew a three-finger-sized ragged hole through the liver, punctured the diaphragm, punctured a lung, glanced off a rib and stopped just short of exiting the hide on the right side. I measured 25 inches of penetration, from a ~180 grain round ball that left the muzzle at ~1,920 fps. That deer ran about a thousand yards with all that damage.
My best guess is that the buck was all wound up tight, having spotted me, knowing that I’d been following him. The cow-sized cloud of backlit, white smoke that erupted at extra-sonic speed from the muzzle must have made him jump slightly, changing the angle of impact from broadside to less than 45 degrees. I calculate he had about a quarter second to move from the emergence of the smoke cloud. I dunno. Maybe he wasn’t so fully broadside to begin with as I’d thought. The “act of grace” neck shot did not penetrate more than three inches, but shattered the vertebra.
Here’s one reason to have children. They can pull your sled;
Observations on penetration and “stopping power”
Starting last season, we’ve shot three deer with the same exact load from the same muzzleloading rifle. The first shot penetrated an adult whitetail fully, straight through the ribcage, severing a rib fully on each side, from <30 yards. The same shot from Son hit a smaller deer broadside through the ribs, hit the heart and blew it completely apart, such that you could lay it out like a pancake, and did not exit the hide on the far side. Less than 14 inches penetration. Hitting the big buck in the heavy hip muscle from almost three times the distance, the ball went through 25 inches of animal, and the second ball (on the buck's neck) was demolished after about three inches. The same load (110 grains of Old Black pushing a ~180 grain .495" round ball) penetrated between 3 and 25 inches (a factor of 8.33) depending on shot placement. Sort of makes you wonder about penetration figures given for defense loads. It all depends and what's being penetrated, from hide, to muscle, to the liquid chambers inside the heart, to lung and liver tissue that doesn't explode like that heart did. And stopping power? Each one of these deer was hit with a 100% lethal shot, and they ran from eighty to one thousand yards after being hit.
We’ve had similar “stopping power” experiences using modern rifles, but never has a modern rifle load failed to penetrate completely, regardless of what it hit inside. I’ve been wondering whether the stories of recovered, modern hunting rifle bullets are just mythology, but if the differences in penetration can be so great with the muzzleloader they must be fairly large with modern systems too.
(With that I think I’ve outdone myself—- 2,000+ words. It’s my first nice buck. Can’t I prattle on and on about it?)
Below; Along the bottom, near that ditch behind the small rise is where the buck fell. Kamiak Butte is in the distance, top right in the frame.
Below; this .495″ (well, formerly .495″) lead ball traveled 25 inches into the animal. I’d not believe it if I hadn’t seen it. I bet I could load it again and kill another deer with it next year.
Enabling
I left my copy of Lethal Logic in Idaho this weekend or I would quote chapter and page but in essence one thing Henigan says, “Yes, the NRA is right, ‘Guns don’t kill people; people kill people’ but guns enable people to kill people.” And of course that is justification, in his mind, to restrict access to firearms.
What is overlooked, minimized, or deliberated not mentioned is that guns also enable the protection of innocent life and any roadblocks you put up to reduce access to “people that shouldn’t have guns” also reduces access to people that need guns to protect themselves and others. The reduction in access might be not be a complete blockage but any increase in the price of acquisition and ownership reduces the number of people willing to pay that price. Just being put on a government list has a chilling effect on any type of activity. Particularly when that activity has a history of increasing your odds of being put on a death list. Would you be willing to register with the government as a homosexual or Jew?
Another technology that enables both good and evil has been blogged about recently is something I have been working overtime on for The Borg recently. In fact my tester and I were exchanging IM as late as 11:33 tonight and I still have one eye on a build in progress.
Here are some of the blog posts I have recently read about cell phones being used for determining the location of the user:
- Law Enforcement GPS Cell Phone Tracking
- Sprint hands over GPS data
- Surveillance Nation
- It. Does. Not. Work. That. Way. (Roberta is absolutely correct here but she has a minor oversight I’ll address below)
I’m extremely busy at work right now on Windows Mobile 7.0. This is an operating system which will be used in millions and millions of cell phones. My team is the location team. We are responsible for determining the location of the phone and getting that information to applications that want it. I know as much about this topic as just about anybody in the company.
There are multiple ways of determining the location of a modern cell phone. In a decent environment (underground, or next to tall buildings are not good environments) the built-in GPS can obtain the device location with an accuracy of 10 meters or better. The other obvious way to determine location is using the cell tower you are connected to. As a rough estimate this can get you about 1000 meter accuracy. There is a third way that isn’t quite so obvious and Roberta didn’t mention it. High end phones these days have built-in Wi-Fi and by grabbing the BSSIDs* of the visible Wi-Fi access points you have pretty good odds of determining the location to approximately 100 meters.
This is an enabling technology. It can enable good things.
It can help you find your lost phone. 10 meter accuracy can enable turn by turn directions to get you to or from an unfamiliar location. 100 meter accuracy can get you all the pizza shops within walking distances. 1000 meter accuracy can get you a weather forecast or the cheapest gasoline nearby.
It can enable bad things.
That little application your ex boyfriend put on your phone when you were on good terms (or by hiding his own phone in the bumper of your car) might be Roberta’s transponder and he is using it to stalk you. It could be that the cell phone operator (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc.) has put the transponder application in all the phones or is able to remotely install one and is selling the service to the secret police tracking down dissidents, homosexuals, and Jews. The technology could be used to give credence to your stalkers alibi that he was 50 miles away when your house was set on fire with you in it.
I can’t directly speak to the acceptability of what Sprint did with the location information of their customers. I’m as skeptical of the morality of what happened as anyone but without more data it’s hard to say for absolute certainty they were slim-balls. I do know the amount of effort we at Microsoft put into protecting the privacy of our customers.
When I started on this project I had expected to be in fights over making the technology sufficiently “safe” without neutering it so much to make it useless. I figured I would get a reputation as a paranoid nut. I was wrong. There was never a scenario that I proposed as something to be guarded against which people didn’t take seriously and address. I don’t think I was even the most vocal advocate for privacy safeguards. I was exceptionally pleased when one program manager put his foot down over an issue and said it was because he didn’t want to get into the “police nightmare situation”. “What is that?”, I asked. His answer? “The police are constantly bugging us for location information. If we don’t store it we can’t give it to them and they won’t ask for it more than once or twice.”
Some of the solutions we are implementing to protect user privacy are:
- Store the minimum amount of data required to enable valuable customer services.
- Strip out personally identifiable information (PII) at every opportunity.
- Delete the PII data we do store within a few hours (or maybe a few days in the case of “Find My Phone”).
- Applications that access location information are required to ask you for permission (if your Windows Mobile Seven phone ever asks you this the dialog you see is one I implemented).
- Except “Find My Phone”, which requires a username and password, users can disable all location services with a single switch (again, I implemented the user interface for this).
The biggest problem we see is that all it takes is for the user to download the application called “StalkersHelper” and say “Allow” to the location permission question and all the work (I’m sure we have spent many 10s of thousands of dollars just on meetings to discuss the privacy issues) we have done has been bypassed.
The second biggest problem is that the mobile operators might bypass (intentionally or by neglect) our safeguards. Getting bad publicy like Verizon just did (and perhaps the threat of lawsuits) will motivate them to protect the privacy of their customers so I don’t worry about this nearly as much as the customer themselves inviting the wolf in the door.
With those risks is it worth it? How many lives have to be lost to stalkers tracking down their victims before the technology is banned? If it saves just one life isn’t it worth it to ban it? In another year or two will Microsoft be regarded as a “merchant of death” like Glock, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger?
My guess is the technology will be accepted and while there will be instances where the technology was used for evil and/or immoral purposes most people will recognize the benefits it enables outweigh the evil it enables. It’s really no different than cars, knives, and guns. There are rules to follow which reduce the chances of accidents and deliberate misuse must be dealt with by punishing the offender not by attempting the removal of the technology from society.
Now if only Henigan and company could follow the same line of reasoning.
*The Basic Service Set Identifier identifies each Basic Service Set (BSS). The BSSID is the Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the Access Point (AP) in the Infrastructure BSS networks, and it is generated randomly in Independent BSS or ad hoc networks. This means there are duplicates out there and there is ambiguity to be resolved in some instances.