Blog Errors on IE

Mr Completely said...

The photo is messing up how your blog displays when you are viewing with Internet Explorer. No problem with Firefox. I had the same problem. If you want to know how I solved it, hit me with an email. No point filling up your comments with this...

.......Mr. Completely

12:44 PM

Dear Mr. Completely ...
... you're right! (Of course, you already knew that.) And thank you for pointing it out to me, so I could fix it. I post in NetScape, which handles the situation a bit differently, so I wasn't aware of the problem until you mentioned it.

The reason it doesn't didn't load right in IE is that the blog template doesn't translate photos which are too wide for the text area, and therefore overlay the sidebar. That is found in both the "London Blitz" article (showing EMTs racing to the hospital with a bombing victim) and the "Every Little Movement" article (showing a Stephen Pastis "Pearls Before Swine" comic strip).

I should have realized this myself, and much earlier, because I had fought the same problem LAST month and thought I had fixed it permanently by changing my techniques. Unfortunately, I hadn't changed them for ALL photos, and these two appeared to be marginally acceptable on my browser.

I've corrected this by replacing those two full-size photos with thumbnails from ImageShack photo hosting.

If you or anyone else notices future errors of this sort, I would appreciate your bringing it to my attention ... again. I've been on the job for eight months, by know I should know what works and what doesn't.

Thank you for your assistance, your courtesy, and your patience.

The Night Before: 9th Annual Single Stack Championship

The Single Stack Championship match in Albany starts tomorrow (Saturday, July 9) at 9am. I remain phlegmatic about my expectations. SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) is bouyant with encouragement which sounds to me much like wishful thinking. I don't know. I just spent six hours helping set up the stages, and it is a gruelling (very challenging) set of courses of fire. I would love to shoot it with my Open gun. Trying to hit the targets while using a gun I can't see the sights of, however, is discouraging.

SWMBO has promised to take a lot of pictures at the match. I'll post the best of them Saturday Night on the blog.

The weatherman predicts nice weather.

We'll see.

In the meantime, over 100 people have signed up to shoot the match. Eight stages, about 200 rounds ... should be interesting. Chances are that the match will ultimately fill up with the 120 slots available.

For those who don't regularly participate in IPSC matches, 120 competitors is a VERY reputable turnout. Heck, anything over 60 people is a Major Match. We've had National Matches in USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association) which attracted less than 400 shooters. This number of competitors is VERY respectable for a local match which recognizes only single-stack 1911-type equipment.

If you're in the area, consider coming out to watch the match (starting at 9am, running until about 1pm.) So far, we have only one Grandmaster signed up for the match ... but we have several Master Limited 10 shooters signed up, which represents a significant percentage of the best Single Stack shooters in the World.

You won't see this on CNN. But you'll see it in Oregon.

Single Stack competition is the best of a dying breed, and illustrates the way IPSC competition was originally designed to be played.

It's a GAME, folks!

London Blitz, Part II

Yes, I am not unaware of the latest terrorist attack, this time targeting London.

I need Edward R. Murrow to tell me what is happening.

Every other blogger in the world is talking about London tonite. I will not. When extremist assholes knocked down theTwin Towers on September 11, I was in a virtual coma for days ... I didn't even go to work that day. I went to work today, and when the campus at Oregon State University suffered an hour-long power outage, I expected the worse. This should give you some idea about how subsceptible we are to threats.

So I'll continue to talk about inconsequential things, and ignore the important news of the day.

This does not mean that I am not aware of it, or that I don't care.

Bandwidth

I've been hearing about "Bandwidth" for ... eons. Since computer chips were made out of dirt, because Man hadn't yet discovered Sand.

I use to get a lot of crap (another possible base material for computer chips? I have heard that Apple was going to start using Intel ... naw ... never mind) from The Unofficial IPSC List, complaining that I was using precious "bandwidth" with my Geek-Length Posts. Bandwidth, on a mailing list? Perhaps I'm not the only one unclear on the concept. Funny thing, after I started writing a Blog, I received a couple of posts from IPSC-list members suggesting that I should write the comments directly to The List rather than to write it on my Blog and provide links to The List.

Can't please everyone. I'm liking the private blog, even if nobody reads it. Well, not "nobody", exactly. I just topped the 8,000 hits milepost in the seven months since I started my hit-counter. (I've been blogging for a bit over 8 months now, but it took me a while to get the statscounter going.)

Anyway, one of the things I've discovered is that a blog is useful for a lot of things besides writing my opinions for people to read or ignore. One thing I can do here is present the results of a LOT of research. Some of my posts are the results of 5 or 6 hours research, finding different references and choosing those which are worthy of being linked.

The trouble is, it takes FOREVER for my AOL-based (56 Baud modem) to return the results of a search, and then I have to look at all of those hits to find a website containing quotable content. This takes time, and I'm getting tired of playing Hearts and MineSweeper while I'm waiting for the websites to load. Besides which, modem-accessed AOL has this cute little trick of dropping the landline right in the middle of something interesting.

I know, I've mentioned this more than once. I've been looking at Comcast, but you have to subscribe to Cable TV FIRST, and then you have to buy the broadband connection on top of that. I haven't had Cable TV for 8 or 9 years, because it's a time-waster and I can't sit still through an entire movie ... let alone the insipid dreck that passes for Network TV. (Not everybody loves whatshisname; I cut off Cable TV when Grace Under Fire was dropped by the networks.)

I also looked at telephone-based broadband. Specifically, I looked at QWEST, which is my landline provider. It just happens that I detest talking on the telephone, as my family and my Sweetie will attest, so I have an ingrained disinclination to throw more money their way. Actually, the only reason I continue with my QWEST subscription is that I can access the internet via the modem, via AOL, which is an entirely different grumpy monologue.

I'm now looking at WiFi, which (I'm told) stands for Wireless Fidelity. There's a local WiFi provider called Alyrica which has been advertising on the radio lately, and I wrote them to ask what's the deal-io. They claim they can sell me the receiver for $345, and charge me access fees of $45 a month.



I'm already paying about $30 a month for AOL, and $50 a month for QWEST even though I never call on that line except for the AOL thingie. So I've got $80 a month to get on the Internet anyway. I can cut my monthly 'connection' bills nearly in half, and pay for the receiver in about a year. I have a Verizon cell-phone that I already use for all of my personal calls, so this is looking pretty good.

I emailed Alyrica yesterday, and they replied with the above numbers today. They're going to come out to my house and check the signal strength, but they already have a customer on my street and I'm in a two-story townhouse so chances are good they can put up a receiver on top of the house and give me reliable reception.

The installation ... including making sure that all of the connections between the receiver and my desktop work ... is free. I'm liking that.

Here's the good part, which makes it worthwhile for me to move to WiFi.

Fast data access.

I may forget how to win bit at Hearts, how to find all those stinky Mines in Minesweeper, because I have more interesting things to do with my time of an evening.

Better yet, they have webhosting for another $10 a month, which includes 1GB of data hosting. That means I will have a place to put my more interesting MPG files, which are usually stages at IPSC matches to share. I've been looking for THAT since I bought my digital camera as my birthday present to me in February.

If this all works out, my email addresses may change in the months to come. I can get rid of the QWEST landline (no loss!), and my AOL connection & email addresses on an unreliable, slow landline (net gain!), and do the computer things I really want to do at a lower cost to me by this time next year.

And I'll still be here next year, posting interesting RKBA and IPSC-related topics as well as this kind of really boring personal crap. But then I'll be able to offer digital MPG files of movies taken at IPSC matches, which includes Candid Camera moments that are worth the price of the ticket all by themselves.

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

Set Phasers at STUN

US aims Star Trek ray guns at nuclear sites - vnunet.com

Yup. They're really gonna do it.

The GuvMint plans to build handheld 'energy weapons', and issue them to American troops.

Don't let 'em fool you. If they can make ray guns for special purposes ("Nuclear Sites") they can make them any purpose they decide is worth the development and production costs.



Is this A "NON-LETHAL" weapon? I don't know, they're not giving out too many details yet. My best guess is that it is designed to cause pain, but the descriptions available don't tell you if they actually do damage to skin, nerve endings, whatever. But I suspect that an energy projector (for lack of better terminology) that causes stimulation of nerve endings 1/16" below the surface of the skin will cause permanent blindness if directed toward your eyes.

I'm telling you, if this is a prototypical phaser, you WILL see it in riot control situations within twelve months after its distribution to "nuclear sites".



What I want to know (getting back to my IPSC roots) is ... what is the Power Factor for a Phaser?

THIS WILL MAKE YOU PROUD

THIS WILL MAKE YOU PROUD
[Hat Tip to Dale W., of the Unofficial IPSC List]

Sergeant York, 21st Century Version.

Okay, he's not a Sergeant ... he's a Captain. And he's not Army, he's a Marine.

But Sergeant York would be proud of him.

Last year, he busted up an ambush that "Iraqi Insurgents" laid on an American column, and fought a battle "in the best traditions of the Service".

The Main Stream Media (MSM) gave him, and others like him who were involved in the same battle, little or no credit. But the Internet has HUNDREDS of entries recounting the action of this man.

Glorious? No, not really. There's Glory to be had in the 'after-action' reports and the awarding of medals, but there's no Glory involved at the time.

Heroics? Sure, you and I would consider his action heroic. But I'll give you nine-to-five and a ten-point spread that if you asked Brian Chontosh about that day, he'll just say he was doing what needed to be done, and anybody would have done it.

His fellow Marines (including the Marine Commandant) award him the Navy Cross, and say ...

Ooh-Rah!

Ninth Annual Single-Stack Championship

Next weekend, I will be competing in a Single-Stack IPSC match.

This is a match in which the competitors are expected to use a single-stack 1911-model pistol.

(Other pistols which meet the qualifications for USPSA Limited 10 Division will be allowed to compete, but they will be eligible only for ribbon awards, not for trophy awards.)

You can see the competition rules by clicking on the title of this post. For applications, go here.

I missed the first match. I don' t know how but stuff happens. However, looking at my Trophy Wall I see that I took 2nd "C" in 1998. This isn't likely to happen again.

Those of you who know me, know that I switched to Limited Division with the acquisition of a new STI Edge around this time. Even though I qualified as B-Limited using my Kimber Custom (fixed sights, Kimber-Krap finish), after switching to the STI Edge I ignored my Kimber. As a consequence, I have not been able to shoot the Kimber at the B-level.





A couple of years ago, I noticed that my eyesight had deteriorated to the point that I was unable to easily see iron sights clearly. I started shooting Open Division in February of 2003, and am now shooting it at a mediocre B-Open level of competence.

Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that Growing Old is acceptable only in comparison to the alternative ... which is grim.

Accordingly, I dragged the Kimber from the Gun Safe last week with some trepidation.

It was well deserved.

I hadn't shot the Kimber since the last Single Stack Championship, last year. Somehow, I had failed to clean the gun after I used it, which is a violation of some Ethical Rule by which all right-thinking people abide.

There was some rust on the trigger-adjustment screw, and a little surface rust under the grips. Mostly, the gun suffered my abuse with little complaint. So I took it to the range, where I scrubbed off the accumulated powder reside on the slide rails and frame rails, and the chamber ramp, before I started shooting it.

Every other round missed the target. I don't know if it was my grip, or my trigger-finger, but when I tried to shoot double-taps the second round went invariably low and to the left. I know, you're saying things like "Jerking the trigger" and "It's your GRIP, man, you're putting too much Left Hand into it!"

You're probably right, no matter WHAT you're thinking. I was doing everything wrong.

This practice session was using old ammo which I had loaded last year ... which is not as much a pathetic attempt to blame the ammunition as it appears, but merely a lead-in to the next paragraph.

I realized that I was going to have to do a LOT of practicing, and I only had a couple hundred .45ACP bullets to load with. Using the Internet, I order one thousand 200gr LRN bullets from Laser-Cast.

That was last Wednesday. UPS delivered the bullets on Saturday, which was a shock to MY system because I had no idea that they delivered on weekends. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Monday was Independence Day, and they delivered Saturday rather than have to deliver Monday. Whatever the reason, I had plenty of bullets to reload all of the old (dirty!) cases sitting in cans on the shelf.

Wuff! No alibi about being unable to compete because I didn't have ammunition. Bummer, man!

SWMBO came down on Friday, and Saturday, Sunday and Monday she helped me reload about 1300 rounds of ammunition for the Kimber. (I had a partial box of Laser Cast bullets left over from last year.)

We got a bunch of bullets (about 500) loaded up on Saturday, and took 'em to the range. I shot about half of the loaded rounds, and couldn't hit the target at any useful speed at all. I don't mean I wasn't getting A-zone hits regularly (which I wasn't), but I was demonstrating a deplorable tendencey to miss wide left/low.

(Sunday was not much better. We used the video camera to record the process, took it home and watched it on the computer. Nothing was obvious, except that my grip seemed to slip frequently, and I was seen to be re-adjusting my grip every now and then. The slim single-stack grip was too small for my hands, and while I don't believe it is the primary reason for the misses it was still something I need to work on.)

My friend Gary the Fish joined us for the end of the Saturday session, and on Sunday he actually did some shooting. He kicked my butt all day, and I can just see how it's going to look NEXT weekend when we shoot for score.

Monday, we loaded up all the rest of the Laser-Cast 200gr LRN bullets. We marked 400 of them for the match, and I set aside the rest of them for practice.

Then, after all of the reloading was completed, I took a look at the pistol. I had intended only to give it a thorough cleaning (which I did), but during the process I realized that I had not replaced the recoil spring since 1998!

The recoil spring was about 8-1/2" long. A new recoil spring is about 10" long. (Eye estimation ... if I'm wrong in the precision of the spring lengths, it's because I'm half blind. Accept the stated differences as 'proportional', not exact.)

Take a minute to appreciate the singularity of the original Kimber pistol design. It doesn't use the same barrel bushing as the standard Cold 1911; it uses the same barrel bushing as does the Colt Commander.

And the slide is just a little bit shorter, too. When I replaced the recoil spring in 1998, I found that it was too long. I discovered this the first time I shot it after replacing the spring. The overly long recoil spring tried to stop the slide before it reached full recoil, and consequently blew the ears right off the barrel bushing. Bushing parts, spring, recoil spring-guide ... everything that wasn't glued down ... went down-range.

But still I decided that I needed to replace the recoil spring. I had two 18-pound 1911 recoil springs which I had bought from ISMI in 1998, along with installation instructions. I followed the instructions (a first for me!) and determined that the spring was somehow NOT too long for the gun. Still, I dutifully cut off a coil on the assumption that I had never measured anything correctly before, so I probably screwed up again. Besides, that 18# was REALLY heavy.

Here's my theory:
If I didn't cut enough off the recoil spring, the first time I shot it I would lose the barrel bushing, the spring-guide, and maybe even the spring. I have replacement parts, but I've never actually fitted them to the gun. I have no idea if they will fit.

When I test-fire the gun, it may happen that the parts will break or be lost, and the replacements may not fit. Since the earliest I could order replacement parts would be Tuesday, chances are they wouldn't arrive in time to be fitted to the gun and be tested before the match on Saturday.

If THAT happens, I could legitimately claim a broken gun, and instead of embarassing myself on the rage (remember, I still can't see the sights very well), I'll end up sitting in front of the air conditioner and making up statements for later publication bemoaning my 'lost chance' to shoot the Kimber in at least one more match.

I put the parts in on Monday, Independence Day, and was just to darned tired to drive to the range to test the gun. Instead, I tried it out after work today ... Tuesday.

The darned thing worked just fine, and it even shot better than it had over the long weekend. Wouldn't you know it. I will be competing at the Single Stack Championship this weekend, and making a damned fool of myself in public.

I remember how much I use to enjoy shooting a Single Stack in IPSC competition, glorying in how I could beat the Open Gunners who hadn't shot a Single Stack with iron sights for at least a year.

Now I find myself on the OTHER end of the stick, and I must tell you that it smells terrible!



There's no avoiding it. This weekend, I WILL be competing at the Ninth Annual Single Stack Championship at the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club in Albany Oregon. If you want so see something REALLY scarey, show up and see history in the making.



I do have a slight edge, though. After cleaning the gun, I painted the fixed sights with bright orange fingernail polish. You can see them suckers from a mile off. (I can't see them from the furtherest length of my extended arms, but never mind that.)



SWMBO has declined my invitation to compete, which is at least one fewer person who will beat me. But she has promised to take pictures.

Maybe she'll start her own blog, and post 'em.

For damned sure, you won't see them HERE!

Independence Day!

Last night (Sunday, July 3, 2005) I was sitting in my living room, chatting with SWMBO, when I heard a series of small explosions outside. SWMBO asked "What's That!?" I replied that they were 'ladyfinger' firecrackers, and thought it shouldn't be a concern even though it was after midnight (illegal under local ordnances AND at this time of night doubly illegal under local noise ordnances), but as they continued they became increasingly irritating.

Finally, I got up from my comfortable couch-potato position and threw open the front door.

I saw a 'big guy' walking toward a set of three rocket fireworks, in the center of the cul-de-sac in which my townhouse apartment is located. There were a half-dozen small children sitting enthralled along the curb.

Having no appreciation for the esthetics of the moment, I loudly suggested that they "wait for tomorrow, or at least make all this noise before midnight!"

The figure hesitated, then instead of igniting the ground flares walked over to the sextet of expectant children and began to explain why he couldn't continue with the early fireworks show.

It wasn't until after I had slammed the door in disgust that I realized that the fireworks guy was . . . my landlord.

I really liked living here.

Okay, I'm stil resident in my apartment. And I like fireworks, and kids. It's only that Indepence Day Fireworks bring out the worst of my Vietnam hangups that I was such a cranky bitch.

I saw my landlord out in our shared driveway today, and he was kind enough not to mention the incident.
But I have to say, I was a real jerk last night. Tonite, when folks start shooting off fireworks (which should happen any minute), I plan to keep my tater trap SHUT.

Okay, it helps that I installed my window air-conditioner today, and I have turned it on in hopes that the 'white noise' from the air conditioner helps drown out the street noise.

I really don't like being the cranky dude in the hood.

But somebody has to do it.

Or am I just Wrong?

What do you think?

UPDATE:
Hey, it WASN'T my landlord .... it was my landlord's family.

When they started shooting fireworks tonite (Fourth of July) I was front & center with my camera, and I love the display.



I wished I had gone to the fireworks stand and bought more rockets for them to shoot off. But I didn't. They were producing a fireworks display for their kids, and it was glorious .... but short.

I could have contributed, but I didn't.

Just one more reason why old folks should be very careful about asserting themselves.

I learned from this, but too late to do any good. You may use this lesson to your benefit.

Or not.

As Heinlein suggests, age does not confer wisdom. Experience might.

Red Shirt Friday

I've been checking around, and there are a LOT of causes out there in the Wide Wonderful World of the Internet which encourage you to wear a Red Shirt on Friday.

Snopes reports a general email effort to get you to wear a red shirt on Friday to "support the troops".

Angelfire reports an effort from September 6, 2004, to wear red in order to support apartheid in hawaill (identify Native Hawaiians).

The American Heart Association wanted you to wear red to emphasize the heart disease risk for women.
(Community Dispatch wanted you to wear a red dress on February 4, 2004, for the same reason. I probably wouldn't have have gone for this, even if I had known about it at the time, 'cause I don't have the legs for it. Their red pin looks kinda swanky, though, and Laura Bush was kicking off American Heart Month .... Saint Mary's Hospital in Michigan was also pounding the drums)
Even the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians bought into this.
The University of Southern Mississippi thought this was a great idea, and mentioned that Daryl Hannah was the national spokeswoman for the campaign. I always liked Daryl Hanna, except for the Clan of the Cavebear thingie. But that's just me. I never liked movie dialogue that consists primarily of "OOG" and "Og" and "Whatever happened to foreplay, you Neanderthal!" I get too much of that in my personal life.

Some peacenik org wants Redshirt Friday (May 21, 2004) to encourage bringing our troops home. No word here on whether they should leave in the middle of a battle, but I'm sure their heart is in the right place.
In 2003, "Breaking the Chain" had the same idea, in support of the Special Forces Administration.

On the other hand, somebody nicknamed Sultan In the Spriit of Cyrus the Great wants us to wear red on Friday "... until we have peace in Iran...". I can get behind that.

The Witherspoon Society ("for progressive presbyterians") thinks this would be a good idea to protest the current Norweigan government's policies. This was a device used in 1940 to protest the German occupation of Norway.

Whew! That's a lot of links, and a lot of research behind it.

But most of the causes are a little dated, and I figure that the basic premise is up for grabs. So here's MY suggestion for Red Shirt Friday:

I live in Oregon ... generally acknowledged to be a "Blue State" because the socialist welfare people (who knew they voted?) folks in the major metropolitan areas, and the towns with big socialist universities (including Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, where I live and work) voted DemocRat in the last election.

Don't you think it would be appropriate to register a quiet protes once a week?

I do.

Here's the concept:
Whether you live in a Blue State or not, if you voted against the DemocRat/Socialist ticket in either of the last two Presidential Elections, or in the 2002 elections for U.S. Senator ... wear something red on Friday.

It doesn't have to be a shirt. It's enough to prominently display something Red on Fridays.

That will tell your friends and co-workers that you don't agree with their Liberal DemocRat views, that you DO support a more conservative approach to government, and that HEY! They voted for the wrong guys!

This is a lot easier than hanging a sticker that says "THANK ME, I VOTED FOR BUSH!" on the bumper of your Porsche.

Every little movement has a meaning of its own

(photo courtesy of The Analog Kid)


I love the Internet. You can find such INTERESTING things there!

Each of these are worthy of a complete article, but I think I'll just throw them out there so you can judge for yourself. Taken together, they form a commentary on not only the American culture, but perhaps our World Culture.

In America:

FIFTH AMENDMENT
A company which objected to the recent SCOTUS decision undermining private property rights has petitioned the Towne of Weare, NH, to condemn the home of Supreme Court Justice David H. Soutus so they can build a hotel on the property. No, it doesn't ask that an entire neighborhood be taken, just . . . that . . . one . . . lot, and only BECAUSE it belongs to Justice Soutus. The hotel, if the project should unaccountably go through (fat chance), would be named the Lost Liberty Hotel.
(H/T John Hurd of The IPSC List. Image, again, stolen from the Analogue Kid))



UNTIL THEN
On the "War Front", a company named "GCS" (I have no idea who they are) has provided a 'flashdance' all their own, composed of images from Iraq. (H/T John "Big Dog" Weill)

This takes a while to load via a modem, but it's do-able even though the music comes across better on broadband. Click on the link to get it started, then come back and read the Geek archives.

REMEMBER ITHACA SHOTGUNS?
... they've shot their wad.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
A few days ago, I responded to a Meme Tag which asked me about my reading habits. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the answers I gave, but that's only because I hadn't been doing enough Internet reading lately.

I'm glad that Stephan Pastis had a graphic demonstration about just how MUCH reading dominates my life. Apparently, I'm not the only one who is sufficiently "Type-A" that bathroom time translates directly to reading-time.




(the strip doesn't fit my format, so you can go here to see the 'hole thing'.)

Not VOODOO
In Barbados, they're reporting the possibility of witches as if it were a real human-interest story.

NOT YER VIRGIN ISLANDS, BUT I GOT YOUR VIRGIN RIGHT HERE, PAL!
JamesTaranto, over at Opinion Journal, links to an article which wonders, if male suicide bombers get 72 virgins as a heavenly reward . . . what's in it for the female suicide bombers?

No, I'll save you the download time: The Telegraph at Girls Gone Wild suggests . . .

Fundamentalist Muslim mythology has it that terrorist "martyrs" are greeted in heaven by 72 virgins. With Palestinian Arabs increasingly making use of female suicide bombers, we've often wondered what they get in heaven. Now we have the answer, thanks to a report in London's Sunday Telegraph from an Israeli prison:

One of the inmates, Ayat Allah Kamil, 20, from Kabatya, told me why she had wanted to become a martyr: "Because of my religion. I'm very religious. For the holy war [jihad] there's no difference between men and women shaid [martyrs]."

According to the Koran, male martyrs are welcomed to Paradise by 72 beautiful virgins. Ayat, as with many of the women she is incarcerated with, believes that a woman martyr "will be the chief of the 72 virgins, the fairest of the fair."

That is to say, the highest aspiration for a fundamentalist Palestinian girl is murder, suicide and prostitution. Has there ever been a more depraved culture?

COBOL meets SHOCKWAVE

Got Shockwave?

Get this!

H/T Ghost of a Flea and SondraK.

Even do-able with Modem access, if you have a few minutes to spare.

Not at the office? Turn up the volume. Rock out!

The Lion Sleeps Tonite (or) Run Through The Jungle

Chehalem Valley Shooters Club, home of Dundee Practical Shooters, hosted an IPSC match today (Saturday June 25, 2005). Unlike the match at Tri-County last weekend, this was not six but SEVEN big stages, including . . .

... The Jungle Run!

Yup, the Jungle Run is back. It's open for business and it's looking great.

I have a ton of pictures to show you. Well, as many as ten pictures, if I get all of 'em downloaded. So sit back, shut up, and wait for the pictures to download.


One interesting incident, during the match we had some hobo wander in from the nearby park and offered to Brass for Food. We fed him, but we soon learned to NOT brass behind him. Gassy, y'know.




Some people had their backs turned. Well, that's the nature of IPSC phogtography. But in this instance, Tim is having some problems with his Glock in 9x19 Major.




On the other hand, speaking of "view from the Back, Big Dog resents having his face displayed.
And he's not above showing his displeasure.




We had some 'new guys' shooting the match.




Okay, so Charlie isn't exactly a "NuGuy", but he's new enough that it's fun to watch how his skills progress from match to match. Here, he's shooting a field course fast enough that we can see the brass spinning out of the chamber between shots.

The last stage of the match was the "Jungle Run". This will be a feature of both the Columbia Cascade Section Match on august 6, 2005, and the "Croc Match" over Labor Day Weekend.

Here's the first view of the Jungle:


Understand, this isn't necessarily the way the Jungle Run will look at any other match besides the June Dundee Match. But it's typical of the stages which will be designed for the milieu.

In THIS stage design, you're presented with a single IPSC target as soon as you start the stage. There are a bakers-dozen IPSC targets in the stage, including three US poppers at the end. This stage requires a minimum of 23 rounds to complete, as the best two hits are scored on all IPSC targets.

After you engage the first IPSC target, you make a turn uphill to the right, and there are three IPSC targets partially obscurred by the ferns (soft-cover) and also partially obscurred by a no-shoot target (serious hard cover!)



The fifth IPSC target (to the left and far downhill of the 3-target array shown here) is so hidden by foliage that we never did get a good photo of it. But targets 6 and 7 are uphill, and on the other side of a log which crosses the trail. You have to hop over the log before you can engage these two targets. Some of the competitors engaged T5 - T6 in mid-air. Well, okay, the only one who did that (and did it successfully) was the hobo who wandered onto the range. But I have to admit, he got good hits from his unorthodox approach!.



Having successfully engaged T6-T7, the competitor moves on down the muddy trail, threading between trees, bushes and ferns, until T8, T9 and T10 are in clear view. They can be engaged before reaching the fault line which marks the safe distance to engage the three US poppers.



After all is said and done, there's only one conclusion to reach:

It's a jungle out there.



Can you handle it?

Meme Tag

Thanx to Tyler over at .45 Caliber Justice, I've been tagged.
Here's the 'survey', which is not quite like the ones out of Cosmopolitan that my ex use to make me fill out all the time:

1.) Total number of books I own:

Counting the boxes in the garage, the boxes in the upstairs hallway, surrounding my bed, in the bookcases, in my briefcase, in the 'reading room' (bathroom), in my car, in boxes on the living room floor, in every closet and every room at home, in my desk at the office --- who the hell knows? I figure, if you have any IDEA how many books you own, you aren't a serious Reader. Thank GOD for used book stores, which enable me to clean out a couple hundred books a couple of times a year and trade them in for ... more books!

2.) Last Book I Bought:

The Service of the Sword, by David Weber

3.)Last Book I Read:

The entire (13-volumes, so far) "PREY" series, by John Sandford

(I don't read books one at a time, folks, so get use to this 'cause you're gonna see a lot more 'series' and "collections" and "every thing ever written by" in the next category.)

4.)Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me:

1. The entire collected works of Rudyard Kipling and Robert Heinlein
2. Everything David Drake ever wrote.
   
3. Also, everything ever written by John Ringo, S.M. Stirling, Eric Flint, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, William C. Dietz, Mike Resnick, Rick Shelley, Elizabeth Moon, John Dalmas, Lois McMaster Bujold, Leo Frankowski, Terry Pratchett ... never mind, too many to list.
   
4. Everything ever written by Stephen Hunter, Robert B. Parker, Michael Connely, James Patterson, Donald Hamilton, Edward S. Aarons, John D. MacDonald ...
   
5. The entire collected works of Alexandar Kent ("Richard Bolitho" - 27 volumes) and C. S. Forrester ("Horatio Hornblower" - 11 volumes plus "The African Queen")
   

And my list (of folks who are 'tagged' to respond to this meme) is as follows:

1. Wadcutter
2. Rivrdog
3. Gullyborg
4. Publicola
5. Cowboy Blob

Hump Day is Blog-Meat Day!

I've been VERY proud of myself lately.

For several weeks I've managed to post content-specific articles without once resorting to "blog meat" specifically. (For the uninitiated, the term "Blog Meat" refers to an article which contains a lot of links to articles and events which I find generally interesting, but doesn't necessarily have a single cohesive theme.)

This is the kind of article which is typical of diary-type Web Logs ("blogs"), and I usually consider it a lazy way of blogging for people who don't really have anything to say. But for someone who spends as much time as I do using the internet as a primary information source, its tempting. Very tempting.

Tonite we have a mish-mash of articles I found interesting, incidental information that I would share, and stuff I just want to say.

Let's get started:

House Approves Move to Outlaw Flag Burning
I don't like this.
Sure, I'm a conservative kinda guy, but the idea of putting some weirdo in jail because he burns a flag in the streets just strikes me as wrong.
Sure, I was in the army. I fought for causes my country thought were right ... in Vietnam we fought the "Domino Theory" , to keep other countries from falling to "Godless Communism". What I thought we were fighting for, though, was to prevent other countries from falling to oppressive governments.

This business of making a holy icon out of the national flag goes too far when it results in jail-time. The ACLU is not my favorite people, but they serve to make us really THINK about what we're doing. They say flag-burning is protected under the First Amendment, and in this case I think they're right.

If you want to burn a flag, that's your business. I do suggest that you don't come to MY house, tear down MY flag and try to burn it in MY street, because I'll kick your ass. But that's just me, exercising My First Amendment freedom of expression. I don't need no stinkin' Constitutional Amendment. I got your amendment right here, pal.

- - -

The other day I mentioned Pro-Gun Bloggers in the PNW. One of the people I mentioned was Rivrdog. He was kind enough to write back and tell me that I missed the fact that he has more than one blog going, and he specifically mentioned Paratus, which he typifies as "The How-To and Why-For of Preparation for Conflict".

Being a curious kinda guy who uses the Internet to learn things I never knew before, I moseyed over (moseyed ... is that a real word? Well, it is now) to Paratus and started reading.

I'm not done reading. This guy has threads to threads, and they're so darn well-written that I can't finish one before I switch to the next. I'm like a kid in a candy shop when the counter-man steps out for a smoke; I grab a handful of this, and before I can head out the door I see some other goodie and I go back for a handful of that. The analogy breaks down (as all analogies must) when I realize that I don't have do drop any of THIS to get some of THAT ... it's all there, just waiting for me to get around tuit. Basically, it's SHTF (translation: "Shit Hits The Fan") stuff that we don't really expect to ever need, but ain't it kewl to know this stuff?

Makes me want to type faster, so I can get back and see what else he has to say.

- - -

Fight or Pay your Parking Ticket
What a concept. A website that promises ... no, GUARANTEES! ... it can prevent you from having to pay your parking ticket.

I'm not silly enough to provide the information they require to thoroughly research this website. But if you get a parking ticket, I strongly encourage you to use this website to fight it, and send me a report on how much you saved by fighting it 'their way' vs just paying the freakin' ticket.

As the DemocRats are so fond of saying ... Move On!

- - -

Speaking of DemocRats, Dick Durbin now has a new nickname: Dick Turban.
While I think his original comment was shocking egrigious a partisan piece of shit, I don't think the Republicans are advancing their cause by these sophomoric tactics of name-calling. I know the DemocRats are trying to show the Bush administration in the worst possible light with their tactics (I don't for a minute think that Durbin is acting on his own), and the Republicans are trying to show how ugly it would be if THEY used the same tactics ... but ultimately, the Reps ARE using the same tactics, and the whole thing ends up looking like a bunch of spoiled children squablling in a sandbox, you should excuse the expression.

If these politicos don't quit fighting for bragging rights, and start working together, you and I will suffer the consequences. This BS is tearing the country apart. We can't afford such dissension.

The closest we have ever come to a 'popular' war was WWII, where our country was clearly attacked by an aggressor nation. Now we have been attacked, but the aggressors can't clearly be clearly associated with a national entity. (Afghanistan was an easy target, but getting rid of the Taliban obviously didn't remove the threat.)

Where we go to counterpunch? How do we respond? How can we put pressure on the people who attacked us?

I didn't like it when Bush attacked the political leadership of Iraq, but I think I understood what he was doing, and why.

He (Bush) moved the focus of conflict from the American soil, and goaded the Islamist Extremists to attack us on THEIR ground, where every American who was a target was armed and trained. We've suffered grevious casualties ... every American killed is a tragedy, but we've lived through that before ... and the CIA may be right when they say that IRAQ has become a training ground for terrorists.

Fine. Bring 'em on. We have seen that we will have to fight them somewhere. Better in Kabul than in Kansas City. We've suffered casualties before in the fight against aggression. We don't like it, but sometimes it is necessary.

In the meantime, getting back to Dick Durbin, we have a bunch of terrorists in Guantanamo who are NOT fighting us. Good place for 'em, I think.

- - -
Finally, for the coup de gras ...

Family: Bush's America killed loved one

A 53-year-old Arizona man died this month due to the stress of "the stolen election of 2000 and living with right-winged Americans," according to a death notice published by his family.

Corwyn William Zimbleman, of Tucson, was an accomplished artist, the notice said, and an "avid atheist, he studied the bible [sic] and religion with more fervor than most Christians."

The notice then reads:

He had strong political opinions and followed Amy Goodman's radio broadcast "Democracy Now." Alas the stolen election of 2000 and living with right-winged Americans finally brought him to his early demise. Stress from living in this unjust country brought about several heart attacks rendering him disabled.

I have so MANY punch-lines here, I'm bleeding out of my mouth from biting my tongue.
Why should I inflict such pain on myself? Here's a list of possible responses, you choose the one that works for you:

• He has gone to a better place; there are no right-wingers where he's going ... either way.
• It's WORKING!
• If only we could get rid of the Far Right, this would be a perfect socialist country
• My nose precedes me by 15 minutes. (Sorry, that's a quote from Cyrano de Bergerac)
• If you thought Bush was bad, how did you survive Reagan?
• When did obituaries become a political forum?
  
• Is this a Leftist-thing?
• We hope that his bible studies prepared him for his Final Exam.
• Maybe Amy Goodwin's listeners will pray for him. Oh, wait, that's not gonna work.
• One down, 58,999,999 to go.

But wait, there's more!

In another politically charged death notice, the family of 71-year-old Sally Baron, who died in 2003, reflected her apparent disregard for the president.

The Aug. 21, 2003, notice in the Capital Times of Madison, Wis., stated:

Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working for the removal of President Bush.

An article in the Capital Times the same day as Baron's death notice said her children had no question she would approve.

"She thought he was a liar," Baron's daughter, Maureen Bettilyon, said of the president. "I think his personality, just standing there with that smirk on his face, and acting like he's this holy Christian, that's what really got her."

Joe Baron said his mother "just didn't trust that a big corporate guy was going to be doing what was best for her. She just really didn't trust him."

Well, you know, these "holy Christians" are ... wait a minute, he's "a big corporate guy".
Was he 'a big corporate/Christian guy' to her, or what? Did she object more that he was a "Christian guy' or that he was a 'big corporate' guy, whatever that means.

Apparently, even her own children didn't know her.

Are you surprised?

Neither am I.

Anti-Gun Campaigner gets screwed

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Anti-Gun Campaigner Attacks 'Heavy-Handed' Police

See, here's one of many reasons why Pro-Gun people hate gun-control laws. It doesn't matter how well-intentioned you are, sooner or later the anti-gun laws will turn around and bite you in the rear.

In Scotland, a long-time anti-gun campaigner talks a gangbanger out of his gun. (Don't ask how, just suspend disbelief long enough to accept the basic premise, okay?)

Said Anti notifies the Scots police that she has a gun, and wants an amnesty deal to turn it in.

The Scots police wig out and tell each other "Omigod, Anti has a gun in her closet. Let's bust her arse!"

Well, what did she expect?

“They took my house apart searching it and even arrested my daughter.”

The mother of three said she called police at around 1.00am on Saturday to report interrupting an attempted burglary at a neighbour’s home.

She said she told them she had the weapon and invited officers to collect it.

Mrs Eccleston said she was given the gun by a young gang member she refused to identify and kept it, while awaiting a police weapons amnesty.

When police arrived she was taken to Longsight police station where she was kept overnight in a cell.

She said: “It is disgusting. How do the police expect people to feel comfortable handing in guns when this is what happens to someone known as being against gun violence.”

She was released on police bail until August 18 while forensic tests are carried out on the shotgun.

Her son, who was also known as Marcus, a 24-year-old father of two was shot seven times at close range in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, in October 2001. The gunman has never been caught.

When they arrest Anti for possession of an Evil Gun, Anti gets all bent out of shape because ... after all ... they should have realized that her intentions were good.

Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing the cops. I just think that Anti got what she deserved asked for, the reaction she has been campaigning for all these (four) years. It's a double-edged blade (illegal in the UK).

Do you think she will have learned anything from this experience?

Naw, I don't either.

IPSC in Oregon: June, 2005

Last Sunday I attended an IPSC match at Tri County Gun Club (TCGC) in Sherwood, Oregon.

This is notable for four reasons.

First, for some reason I was ON. It was probably the best performance I have ever turned in, and at my age probably the last time I will ever shoot as well, in the 22 years I've been competing in IPSC.



Second, I managed to catch a couple of great snapshots of SWMBO.



Third, SWMBO was running the camera when one of the competitors ("Fish") got hung up on a spike which was used to fix a obstacle (a plastic barrel) to the ground, and he took a tremendous spill. Thanks to years of practice, Fish managed to keep the muzzle pointed down-range and finished the stage with an excellent time, considering that he spent half of it rolling in the dirt. (Sorry I can't find a host for the *.MPG file.)



Fourth, it was only FIVE stages instead of the usual SIX stages. TCGC is in the midst of a major restructuring of their range ... blowing up rock outcroppings, making over their bays and expanding their parking lot in readiness for the Columbia Cascade Section (CCS) Tournement. They only had five bays available, so the match was a lot shorter. Perhaps this explains why I did so well, as we had 83 competitors (as opposed to the usual sixty-some) and we had a lot of sitting-around time between stages. Plenty of time to rest up.

Maybe this is why this old man managed to look good in the final standings; I often run out of steam before the last stage, and this time they took OUT the last stage.

I say, let's have some more five-stage matches.
Okay, so let's not say that. I like shooting, and the more I get to shoot, the better I like it -- even if I don't do as well.

(I'm a liar, I LOVE shooting a hot match well!)


Man, I sure wish you could have seen it. It was a good match with a good mix of stages.

Did I mention that I did good?

Pro_Gun bloggers in the PNW

I mentioned the other day that I planned to support other Pro-Gun Bloggers in the Pacific North West.

I received in return a very nice note from Mr. Completely, who mentioned some other Pro_Gun Bloggers (note the differnence in terms: replacing the hyphen with an underscore is a deliberate action, the purpose of which is not clear even to me) .

I've only had the opportunity to take a cursory look at these blogs, but I've included them in the sidebar for your personal evaluation.

I'll include a few comments here, just so you'll have the (dubious) advantage of my own initial impressions. Don't put too much importance on what I say; I would rather you form your own opinion. I hope you'll spend a little more time than I expect to spend, late on a Sunday night, but these small summaries may serve to at least adquaint you with the general tone of each blog. I won't bother to put the links in this article; they're all available on the sidebar.

The first (presented in no particular order) is GullyBorg, of "Resistance is Futile!" He's a law student (pre-law?) in Eugene, Oregon. He is the sometimes host, and the originator of the Carnival of Cordite. Every Friday, he or some alternative host provides links to the RKBA-applicable article most highly prized by the author, all over America. This provides a delightful cross-section of pro-gun information which is often more inclined toward a humorous look at the Shooting Sports, but very often includes some serious RKBA commentary on legislation, etc.

Next (as a courtesy) is Mr. Completely. His blog features a template which is as butt-ugly as mine ... in fact, he uses the same blogspot template as I do. You gotta like him, right off. He presents an eclectic mix of photos, references to GullyBorg & the Carnival of Cordite, thought-provoking questions, bitching about blog-relates software, legislation, personal observations, and whateveryouwannatalkabout. One of the best recommendations I can cite is that he claims to have "... shot at Custer ...", which implies that he plays the IPSC game. Best of all, of all, of all ... he has a lot of links to HoserCam. Anyone who is impressed by Nolan Smythe is okay in my book.

Jason's Blog is more introspective, more like the traditional format of a personal diary. He talks about his high-school reunion in Tumalo, and goings-on in Seattle. Likes Skeet & Trap. He has been blogging for over 3 years, which beats my unimpressive 7-month tenure so he must be doing something right.

Random Nuclear Strikes is an obvious fan of Benjamin Franklin, as evidenced by his inclusion of "Don't Tread On Me" flags in his masthead. (O'Shea, don't make something of this term which isn't there!) He seems to be a rifleman by inclination, has posted for over three years, and isn't afraid to talk about legislation in Washington. Funny, isn't it, how legislation introduced in Washington seems so often to be mirrored in Oregon ... most frequently by the awful Ginny Burdick? Recently, he has talked about the egrigious Kos, Gulags, PETA, Cops in Canada, 80's music, and a miscellany of popular topics. Displaying a creative collection of photos to illustrate his subject, you can usually find something startling to start your morning.

Rivrdog (no clue about why he has eschewed the obvious "e", but I bet it makes a good story), tends to be more ... ah ... SERIOUS about his choice of topics. Though they're often humorous, there's an underlying message of alarm running through it. (Apologies for dated pop-culture references here.)

For example, in a recent post he suggests a similarity between he Holloway Aruba situation, and the Jon Benet Ramsey case. It would never have occurred to me.

He includes refs to MJ and OJ, to the OSU Beavers winning, and a deep and thought-provoking discusion of Liberals and Genocide. Sure, he'll tickle you with Oregon issues and pop culture, but he'll turn right around and stab you in the heart with RKBA-based articles that will make you sit up and say ... huh?



I haven't mentioned Brian, from ARPC, who isn't regularly 'blogging' in the generally accepted sense. However, Brian is the webmaster at the Albany (Oregon) Rifle & Pistol Club and usually manages to include his personal observations when describing IPSC matches at the club. If and when Brian decides to generate a regular blog which he wishes to include here, he'll appear on the sidebar as well.

There's a reason for including a new sidebar-entry which links to PNW (Pacific North-West) based bloggers.

I think we can provide a much richer mix of perspectives and information-based discussion of the issues by providing a cross-section of observations region-wide. My hope is that you are encouraged to visit other forums/blogs, see what THEY think is important, and gain a broader viewpoint by benefiting from their evaluation of what is the important issues of the day.

The usual reason for providing links from one blog to another is that the other blog will reciprocate, and will improve your OWN traffic. Nothing wrong with this; if we didn't think we had something significant to say, we wouldn't be spending evenings sitting in our pajamas in front of a computer, chipping away at the Main Stream Media (MSM).

But there's more to it than trying to go one-better over the MSM. Those "real" reporters will write one or two poorly researched articles, and then their editors will tell them "get me something new" and they're off on another subject.

Bloggers don't do that. They get their teeth into an article, and they blog the sh*t out of it. We saw it right here in the article about BB-guns not being acceptable to the Mass. Science Fair because they (BB guns) are dangerous.

Bloggers get the bone between their teeth, growl like junkyard dogs, and spend an inordinate amount of time demonstrating that there is something rotten in the information you're getting from 'other sources'. Dan Rather saw that happen to him. John Kerry hates the Swift-Boat Veterans becasue of that. Other examples are easy to find.

We don't expect that THIS 'harmless blog' is going to have the same international impact as these examples, but maybe if you have ready access to a number of regionally related sources you can find the best examples of perspective on a number of issues which affect you, personally.

So much for the 'cross-polinization' reason for linking between regional bloggers.

The best reason, and perhaps the truest, is that these people represent a group which have intersting things to say, and I want to share their collective wisdom with you.

No, that's a damned lie.

Really, I want to get them involved as a group, and see what happens. If nothing else, maybe they will allow us all to get to know them better, and perhaps someday they'll show up at a local shooting match so we can ALL meet & greet them.

I just think they're an interesting group, and if I play my cards right I could meet them all and spend some range time with them.

What do pro-gun bloggers talk about when they meet on a range?

I figure, they just put as many rounds down-range as possible in the time available, and have a helluva good time.

That's what I'm talkin' about!
zzz

IPSC Rules Question: How Many Penalties?

Last weekend I attended an IPSC match.

Nothing new in that; I compete in IPSC matches at least three times a month, year-round.

However, I've been paying more attention to the way individual stages are designed lately. I've observed that the current rules aren't always clear about what a competitor can and cannot do while shooting a stage. I've paid particular attention to the penalties which accrue for infractions of the stage procedures.

Specifically, I'm concerned about infractions which incur a "Per-Shot" penalty, as opposed to those which incur a "Per Occurrence" penalty.

During the match last weekend, competitors were required to engage targets through a low port, which essentially required them to assume a prone position. A shooting box was placed behind the port, and they were admonished in the published stage procedures to remain within the shooting box while engaging the targets visible through the port.

Here's how it should have looked, from the perspective of a bystander:




A few of the competitors, for whatever reason, lost track of the (fully legal) fault lines which comprise the shooting box, and had a foot OUTSIDE the shooting box.

A controversy arose as to whether they should be penalized for "per occurrence" violation of the stage procedures (one 10-point penalty) or "per shot". This last ruling would have exacted 8 procedural penalties, for shooting two scoring hits per each of the four IPSC targets visible from that port. The difference in the ruling would be ten points penalized or eighty points penalized, so you can imagine that the discussion was vehement.

The rule book states:

10.2.1 A competitor who fires shots while any part of their body is touching the ground beyond a Fault or Charge Line will receive 1 procedural penalty. However, if the competitor has gained a significant advantage while faulting, the competitor will be assessed 1 procedural penalty for each shot fired while faulting, instead of a single penalty. No penalty is assessed if a competitor does not fire any shots while faulting a line.

I won't confuse the issue by revealing how the Match Director ruled on this question. Instead, I will pass it on to you.

How many penalties should have been applied in this situation?

(NOTE: this is not a test. Until the National Range Officer Institution [NROI], in the person of the Chairman of the NROI, has ruled, there IS not right answer. I'm just interested in what YOUR decision would have been. Please quote applicable rules.)

(NOTE 2: Okay, so maybe this IS a test!)

PNW Bloggers

Adding a regional element to this Blog, I've decided to begin adding "Bloggers in the Pacific North West" (PNW) to my sidebar.

If you are a blogger in the PNW, or if you know a blog which promotes RKBA & the shooting sports, and whose host lives in the PNW (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana ... any other suggestions?), please email me at jerrydgeekblogs at aol dot com and I'll take a look.

I'm especially interested, of course, in Oregon bloggers. I've not included range-related websites as they aren't blogs, and besides I've already included most of those of which I am aware, either directly or as links to links I've included.

Blogs which provide a link to Cogito Ergo Geek, of course, are already linked in the sidebar. However, if you find a website which links to me I would appreciate notification so I can include them, regardless of their regional origin.

OTHER BLOG NEWS:
In case you haven't noticed, I've returned to weekly archival. I had originally archived monthly, but it was FAR too long for convenient loading via modem. I couldn't, in good conscience, provide much large-file content (such as photos and action-GIFs) because they took so LONG to load.

There was a period last month, when BlogSpot had hardware problems, when I went back to monthly archiving in an attempt to help alleviate bandwidth overloading. (It seems odd to me, that I am becoming increasingly concerned about bandwidths. Members of the Unofficial IPSC List may recall that I have offered sarcastic comments in the past about 'bandwidth' in regards to mailing lists. Believe me, the concern is much more immediate in a Web Log.)

However, now that the BlogSpot problem seems to have been resolved, I am implementing all measures available to make access much more convenient for those of us who connect via modem.

SPEAKING OF MODEM ACCESS:
... I am looking at BroadBand access for my home computer. The 56KB modem I'm currently using is adequate for many purposes, but it is inconvenient when I am researching an article. Recently I have received some criticism for having performed inadequate research to support an article. This spurs me to place a higher priority on access speed.

I don't have cable, so Comcast (the dominant cable provider in Oregon) which seems a logical first choice) is not attractive. I not only have to pay for broadband internet access, but also for TV cable subscription as well.

I have QWEST as my landline provider (used almost exclusively for AOL dial-up ... I have Verizon Wireless for my most commonly used telephone access), but their broadband access is not attractive. PEAK.COM has some attractive support, but QWEST already takes too much of my monthly bill-paying time and my preference is not to support a vendor which has proven to provide less than stellar performance.

I've been advised to use WIFI, because many people in my immedicate geographic neighborhood are using WIFI and it has been suggested that I 'piggy-back' on this immediate availability. However, my research shows that they may not be sufficiently secure, and 24/7 access depends largely on whether a transient bunch of college students are reliable providers.

Phone, Cable TV, unregulated and quasi-anonymous WIFI time ... all present drawbacks.

Has anyone a suggestion to an alternative provider of broadband access? I don't much like the idea of spending over $100 per month for Internet access convenience, and of course it must be secure ....

Carnival of Cordite is UP!

Technogypsy

What is this? Is it the 14th or the 15th Carnival of Cordite?

Never mind. Read this.

Excellent links to bloggers involved in both RKBA and shooting sports are included. Gullyborg has special content for Oregon readers regarding the latest bill from Ginny Burdick.

Weapons Retention

As an ostensibly IPSC Competition-related website, its necessary from time to time for me to host firearms-related context.

Join with me now as we examine the consequences of failure to demonstrate basic firearms-handling skills in a real-world scenario.

June Cooper-isms

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries for June, 2005, are ...
UP!

I'm delighted to report that this month The Colonel discusses the current state of IPSC competition.

---

It seems that the practical element in Practical Marksmanship has suffered drastically due to the lack of variation in the types of courses used in competition, both here and abroad. When the program was started back in California in the 60s, we insisted on each course of fire being radically different from that held during the previous month or session. This called for distinct variation in ranges, firing positions, conditions of readiness and all such matters. However when the movement took off abroad, it turned out that too many jurisdictions called for artificial consistency in course type or course design. In certain places this meant that ranges would always be about the same, the condition of readiness would be the same, and scoring systems would be the same. Note that in Europe today, most major contests require the shooter to start with his weapon resting on a table just within reach, and that spare magazines be presented in specific fashion for each firing string. This means, of course, that speed on the draw has ceased to be a significant element in performance. It is possible that draw speed was overemphasized in the early days, but that does not mean that the idea should be abandoned.

---

The matter of power, of course, has been lost completely, largely due to the fact that pistol power is very difficult to measure. The Europeans insist that the 9mm Parabellum cartridge of 1908 has all the power which may be called for, whereas time has proved that this cartridge is distinctly inferior as a means of stopping fights.

The upshot is that practical pistol shooting in the competitive sense has pretty much lost sight of the element of practicality. If a given course of fire did not replicate the conditions of an actual pistol confrontation, it was not a measure of practical skill. Over here and abroad, however, practicality is now viewed askance by a lot of people who really ought to know better. If the show gets too close to an actual street fight, it becomes sort of "antisocial" and thus should be disallowed in polite competition.

All is not lost, however. Competitive practical pistol shooting may not be everything that it should be, but it is immensely better than it was half a century ago. By better I mean more useful. The service handgun is a fight-stopping device, and its practice should reflect its fight-stopping capacity. A serious pistolero must commence with the proper attitude, and build both his equipment and his annual skill upon that. There are those who might ask what need there is for a serious pistolero, and I cannot answer that question. If one does not know why anyone should be able to defend his life and family and property against felonious aggression, he should move to Britain where self-defense is now illegal.

---

After 85 years, he may not be able to hunt but he has lost none of his Vinegar.

The Case for Curling Iron Control

Armed robber gets extreme makeover

The old adage about the First Rule of a Gunfight use to be: "Bring A Gun".

That's old school.

Today, if you're in Shreveport LA, be sure you have a curling iron handy.

An armed robber brandishing a revolver and some tough talk entered Blalock's Beauty College demanding money Tuesday afternoon.

He left crying, bleeding and under arrest, after Dianne Mitchell, her students and employees attacked the suspect, beating him into submission.

They didn't resist when he cursed them, threatened them, made them lay down on the floor, or when he stole their money. But when he started to take one of them into the back room, they decided they had had enough.

The owner of the beauty shop tripped him, causing him to lose his gun. When she yelled "Get That Sucker!" they attacked him with curling irons, chairs, a table leg ... anything can be a weapon when you're determined to defend yourself.

Blood and urine splattered from the victim; stains adorned the white paints worn by many of the beauty school students.

Crying in pain, the robber tried to crawl away from the students, Mitchell said.

"I grabbed his legs and wouldn't let him go. I pulled him back. He wasn't going to get up out of here and tell everyone he robbed us. When he came in here, he knocked down a beehive and sent the bees flying all over."
(...)
Sharon Blalock, owner of the school, said she couldn't be prouder of her students and employees. "They just whooped the hell out of him."
(...)
"It's like we were saying in class, we have to stay together as a team," Mitchell said. "You can tell any prospective students, Blalock's Beauty College has got your back."

(Geek Note:
Rumors that I plan to move to Louisiana and start a new career as a hairdresser have been exagerated.)

Massachusetts Eighth-Graders Told Science Project Involving BB Gun Too Dangerous

Massachusetts Eighth-Graders Told Science Project Involving BB Gun Too Dangerous

What IS it with these liberal air-head PC-based 'educators' today?

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - Two eighth-graders who spent months working on a science project to prove how dangerous BB guns can be were disqualified from the state middle school science fair. The reason for the dismissal: BB guns are too dangerous.

Uh .... well, that was sort of the point of the project.

Nathan C. Woodard and Nathaniel A. Gorlin-Crenshaw spent seven months researching and testing their hypothesis that BB guns can be deadly and should not be used by children.

It's not as if their project was a simple matter of putting a couple of BB guns on a board for people to view. They actually tested the penetrating power of BBs as a means of demonstrating that they COULD cause harm. And they ponied up the money so they could perform scientific testing under controlled conditions to prove the point of their thesis.

The students spent about $200 on ballistics gelatin, which has the same density and consistency as human flesh, to use during their tests.

How can a display of tests results be dangerous?

Nancy G. Degon, vice president of Massachusetts State Science Fair Inc. and co-chair of the middle-school fair, said fair rules prohibit hazardous substances and devices.

"The scientific review committee does not consider science projects involving firearms to be safe for middle school students," Degon said.

Excuse me ... "firearms"? A BB gun isn't a firearm. Where's the fire? Don't these pedantic pedagogues understand the English Language?

<>

These are firearms:



This is a BB gun:




Or is it that they are so desperate to cleave to the letter of the law that they are willing to ignore the spirit of the event, which is to give young people the opportunity to learn by performing their own scientific research?

The boys were invited to present their findings to some judges and receive a certificate of accomplishment, but they rejected the offer because they were not allowed to compete.

"I was really disappointed," Woodard said. "We had a good point to prove.

I think they did, too. This is especially surprising in that the point is entirely in line with the political bias of the silly-putty education system.

I'm not the only one who was outraged by this news story.
Our friend Jeff sent me a copy of the letter which he sent to the Science Fair board and the editor of the largest paper in Massachusetts ... The Boston Globe. I'm not sure they'll recognize satire when they read it, but I thought Jeff made his point clear.

Massachusetts State Science Fair Folk:

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for disqualifying those
two young miscreants, Nathan C. Woodard and Nathaniel A.
Gorlin-Crenshaw from the Massachusetts Middle School State
Science Fair!

As you know, in the 1960s (when I grew up), only 58% of
all elementary students and 31% of all Junior High
School students survived the dangerously permissive
official education policies of the day.

Several of my fellow students were killed daily from
shooting BB guns, carrying pocket knives, having photographs
of firearms in school, taking aspirins brought from home
without the supervision of a Board-certified Registered
Nurse, unsupervised play in woodlands, listening to radios
that plugged into the dangerous AC mains, and wearing
T-shirts expressing controversial ideas. The bodies
littered the gym floor. It's a miracle that any of us
lived to reproduce!

Thank God that today there are people like you to protect
the children from parent- and police-supervised study of
BB guns!

By the way, I see an oversight in your official rules.
While you state that the Middle Schoolers may not do a
project that involves "Nonhuman vertebrate animals", the
rules do not prohibit projects involving "Human (presumably
vertebrate) animals". I can see a project involving Human
Sexuality, in which two Middle-schoolers have sex in
alternate weeks and determine the exact moment of conception,
with video documentation. (A second pair of students will
use condoms, perhaps, as a control). This doesn't seem to
violate your published rules: perhaps a "no sex" rule is
called-for? Of course, you'll need to define what "sex" is,
in very explicit terms, so that the children will know what
you are prohibiting.

http://www.scifair.com/middle/manual.pdf

Please enhance your protection of the children, and keep
up the good work!


(By the way, please tell Nancy G. Degon that a BB gun is *not*
a firearm. She sounds stupid when she says that.)

Jeff M. [last name deleted by the Geek]
Powell OH

middleschool@scifair.com
mmroth@scifair.com
editor@boston.com

NOTE:
If you aren't convinced, you can read the Massachusetts State Science Fair rules.

The only mention of "firearms" is included in this section:

Controlled Substances

Controlled substances, including DEA-classed substances, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco, must be acquired and used according to existing local, state and federal laws. Student researchers must adhere to all regulations governing controlled substances. Production of alcohol is federally regulated and students must contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for regulations and permission. Students under 21 years of age are prohibited by federal laws from purchasing and or handling smokeless powder or black powder for science projects.

This obviously does not apply.

Why was this project rejected?

Could it be that the Ms Degon had her own political agenda?

We can only wonder what 'the children' learned from this, other than that people who have authority often abuse their authority.

Kalifornia Bullet-Coding Scheme IV: Citizens Revolt!

In response to bills which were introduced this year to both the California Assembly and the California Senate, which would impose unworkable and unreasonable restrictions on both firearms and ammunition, a California gun club has banned use of their range facilities for training purposes to staff of the California Department of Justice which support these proposed laws.

The Folsom Shooting Club (FSC), owners/operators of the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (SVSC), on June 5, 2005, sent a letter to Bill Lockyer (Attorney General of the state of California) stating that ...

"... the Department of Justice staff, while acting in their official capacity, are suspended from using the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center. The (Board of Directors of the Folsom Shooting Club) is concerned that your staff will further your efforts regarding AB352 and SB357 while using our facility...."

As has mentioned earlier in this Blog, SB357 would require that every bullet sold in the state of California, whether sold as an individual reloading component as part of a complete pistol ammunition cartridge, would be engraved with a serial number which is consistent within every other bullet or cartridge within the 50-round package in which the component is purchased.

We previously reported (June 8) on the AG's endorsement of the bill, and before that (on June 5) on the California Senate's approval, and before that (on April 27) on the bill's preliminary discussion and advancement through the Senate. In fact, the bill was originally introduced in early February of 2005.

Another bill, AB352 (not previously mentioned here), would require that new firearms sold in California after a certain date would automatically stamp each cartridge case with the serial number unique to this firearm. Parenthetically, we should note that this constitutes ipso facto registration of every new pistol sold in California, because the purported purpose of this measure is to aid in criminal investigations whenever a firearm is used in the commission of a crime.

In order for '... (automatic stamping of) ... each cartridge case with the serial number unique to this firearm..." to be effective, ALL applicable firearms must be registered.

So much for the 2nd amendment.

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In response, and in protest to these bills, FSC has retaliated in the only meaningful manner they could enforce: they refused access to their private property for the AG office agents.

Here's how it looks in the press, as interpreted by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Gun Enthusiasts Get Ugly in California Legislative..."

To: National Desk

Contact: Amanda Wilcox of the Million Mom March, 530-432-2171, Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign, 202-898-0792

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A shooting range here has announced a ban on use of its shooting facilities by employees of the California Department of Justice because the Department is supporting two bills in the State legislature that the club opposes.

The bills represent groundbreaking new ballistic identification systems which would give police new crime solving tools. Each would set up systems for markings on gun ammunition in California that would help law enforcement investigators track down the perpetrators of shootings that might otherwise remain unsolved. One bill (AB 352) would require handguns to include a device that stamps a specific number on bullets that are fired by that handgun, while the other (SB 357) would require that ammunition manufacturers mark ammunition with a serial number for potential tracking.

The bills have the support of the California DOJ. No California law enforcement organizations oppose the measures. In a letter to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Thomas S. Hause, President of the Folsom Shooting Club, which operates the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center outside Sacramento, wrote "The Board of Directors of the Folsom Shooting Club (FSC) has directed me to advise you, in writing, that Department of Justice staff, while acting in their official capacity, are suspended from using the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (SVSC). The FSC is concerned that your staff will further your efforts regarding AB 352 and SB 357 while using our facility."

("Gun Enthusiasts Get Ugly" ????)

And The Brady Campaign thinks this is A Bad Thing ... why?

Leaders of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March are urging the club to drop the policy immediately. "It is offensive that the owners of this shooting range would rather side with criminals than with law enforcement and victims, not to mention that they are discriminating against people simply because they have a different view on legislation," said Amanda Wilcox, State Council Leader of the Million Mom March. "It is also very troubling when it is law enforcement agents who are using the facility for training purposes."

"What's next - should police who support sensible gun laws have their firearms taken away? This is un-American, and these guys ought to have their heads examined," said Jim Brady, chair of the Brady Campaign.

The Brady Bunch wouldn't want a bunch of ignorant private citizens to protest against governmental intrusion into their Second Amendment Rights because it may offend a government agency. They consider the action to be "(siding) with criminals", and apparently think that the private club should accomodate governmental agencies rather than to exercise their right to protest publically, and to refuse governmental agencies to occupy their property whether or not the owners wish to host them.

There go the First and the Third amendments.

Brady has no respect for the constitution. They have their own agenda, and it is NOT about the rights of private citizens.

They characterize the actions of private citizens as "ugly", but probably would not accept that their own propaganda is "ugly" in the eyes of the same private citizens.

They publically question the sanity of anyone who does not agree with their agenda.

Those of us who respect the constitution, and view it as our protection against intrusive Federal govenmental actions, consider such intrusions as are suggested by the Brady Campaign to be repugnant and anti-constitutional.

If you would like to protest the Brady Campaign's attempted infringements of our private rights, and their vile censorship of reasonable and legitimate protests, you can contact them directly via their website.

Further news and comments on this intrusion upon American rights are available across the Internet, including:
The Keep and Bear Arms Gun Owners page