Picture Me This

iTheater | first STREET

I just want to say, would you rather have this look, or $500?

Tough choice, isn't it?

(It's a DVD player, with an earjack and two display screens .. one in front of each eye.)

Somebody please buy this, and let me know if it actually WORKS!

Wright's Reactive Targets

JerrytheGeek's Shooting Gallery: Wright's Reactive Targets (*R&R Racing*)

While at the 2006 Multi-Gun National Championships, I visited the vendor tent.

I didn't get past the front door, even though I was curious about the vendors because I helped set up the vendor tables while I was doing penance as Match Gofer.

As I approached the tent, I saw Bobby Wright ( R&R Racing) fussing with his target displays.

We had talked during the Match Set-up days, and he mentioned that he wanted me or somebody to write an article for the USPSA Front Sight Magazine about his business. He has been providing targets, free gratis, to various Major Matches in Area 1 (including USPSA National Champion Matches in Bend, and this MGNats match) for some time, and would like to reap the benefit of some advertising from his efforts and contribution.

I've been shooting at Wright's R&R Racing Targets (and tripping over the 'foot trap', which initiates reactive targets) for some years, and as a competitor I can say that they are very challenging and completely reliable. Whether or not I contribute to a magazine article, I wanted to take a look at the complete product line if only to see what deviltry Bobby has been up to.
More likely, to be completely honest, to see what fiendish device I'm likely to face in the coming competition season.

Of course, I had my trusty Geek Digital Camera on my belt; Geeks don't carry slide rules on their belts any more, they we carry cell phones, pagers and/or digital cameras.

I asked him if he had some free time to walk me through his display, and he did. As he showed me the target arrays he had built, I asked him questions and snapped pictures of the targets he was talking about.

When he finished, I said: "you know, if you just wrote down all that you said to me, you would have your Front Sight Magazine article and you could publish it yourself."

He replied: "I can't tell you what I just said. I can say it, but I can't remember it to write it down."

Sounds reasonable to me.


I don't know yet if I'm going to write an article for Bobby, but I did build a photo gallery album from the pictures , and I described the features of his various target arrays as I went along. you can see the entire set of photos as a sub-album of the Multi-Gun Nationals album.

A note of caution: the photos you see there are thumbnails, and easily viewed even if you have a dial-up connection with [boo] [hiss!] AOL. But the photos are also available full-size, at about 2mb per shot, and if you want to see them up close and personal it may take some time to download them. (And the two videos I shot, while interesting) are five or ten megabytes ... you want a high-speed internet connection to download them, if you don't want to time out on your phone line.)

I do this as a service to Bobby, so that if someone else writes an article about his wonderful reactive targets he can shop the accompanying images as well. I renounce all copywrights copyrights to the photos. as far as I am concerned, they are public property. I say this not because the photos are badly done, but because I want to encourage proliferation of these diabolic clever devices. EVERYBODY who competes in USPSA should such durable, inventave and challenging targets.

When you see the pictures, you'll want to buy the targets.

UPDATE: August 9, 2006
I received an email from Bobby today, with more information.

I have supplied two pistol nationals in Bend, all of the Area 1 3gun matches including the one in Marysville WA, and 3 gun nationals. My list of client's are the FBI, Department of Energy, First Group Army Special Forces, and lots of private ranges and law inforcement. My rifle selfsetters have been used in every major 3 gun match. When I build a product it breaks down for easy transport and lasts for years. My repeat customers buy more targets because they want more targets not because they wore out. I think that being a shooter helps me design a better target. I also supplied the 3 gun nats in Reno.

Small-L Libertarian?

I ran across a blog-comment dialogue on the website of my friend Rivrdog, based on a "Right To Die" post of his made during the period October 11 - 12, 2005. You can check the link to follow the discussion, but in a response Rivrdog referred to me as "a small-l libertarian".

This was immediately amusing to me, as I have many Libertarian (large-L Libertarian?) friends and I don't very much agree with the priorities they seem to espouse.

But then I started thinking, I don't really know what this man said. Maybe I should do some research, and perhaps I'll discover whether I should be flattered, insulted, curious or intrigued.

Right now, I am at "intrigued".

As a very first step, I did an Internet search on the term "Libertarian", and pulled up a ton of references. Well, maybe not a "ton" because that's a physical measurement. How about "a slew"? Does 2,130,000 results count as "a slew"? I think it does.

I immediately discounted the official website of The Libertarian Party, and instead chose to look at this link. The Institute for Humane Studies - What Is Libertarian?

At this point I have something to work with, and without forming an opinion or making other searches ... and with NO idea where this will lead, I offer the following monologue which seems likely to generate a Geek-Length Post.

You have been warned, and if you aren't interested in either social or pholitical philosophy, this would be a good time for you to find the links in the sidebar and go read LAWDOG or MICHAEL BANE or some other much more readable writer. (Hint: Eschew The Smallest Minority. I love reading Kevin; he is a much more elegant writer, he does better research, but his articles are at least as long as mine.)


Okay, for the six of you who get past this point in the article, I refer back to The "What Is Libertarian" for the following quote:

Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person's right to life, liberty, and property-rights that people have naturally, before governments are created. In the libertarian view, all human relationships should be voluntary; the only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have not themselves used force-actions like murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud.

The source is cited as David Boaz, Libertarianism: A Primer, Free Press, 1997.

I chose this quote because all the other quotes talked about how "everyone should be free to do as they choose", but they didn't really pay a lot of attention to the limitations which must necessarily be considered.

The first limitation which came to mind for me was pedophilia.
We've all read the about the recent spate of prosecutions against people who take advantage of juveniles (priests and teachers are the current targets), and while some of the charges ("possessing pictures" depicting children in sexual situations) might seem to some to be pushing the edge of legal definitions, I understand that the intend is to go after the customers of pedophiles who seek to profit from their predation on children.

Anyway, I don't want to talk about pedophilia because it disgusts me. I want to talk about WHY it disgusts me, and more specifically why I think this is an important limitation on any of the more glib interpretations of Libertarianism.

Well, no, I don't even want to do that. I just want to establish that "...each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses ..." is a valid statement of rights, but it is misleading without a balancing statement of acceptable limitations on human conduct.

Rape is a suitable exemplar, and that includes sexual activity with individuals who are not developmentally able to make an informed and rational judgement about acceptable behavior which others might inflict upon them. Enough said, we'll just keep this in the back of our minds so we don't go too far astray when we talk about what OUR rights are.

Getting back to the original question, why might I be considered a libertarian (small-l or Large-L)?

I suspect it's because I tend to be fairly independent, evaluating the appropriateness of my personal conduct on whether it meets my own moral code rather than that which might meet the moral code of someone else.

If I had to find a quick catch-phrase to summarize it, I would first be tempted to cite Gretta Garbo who, in the 1932 film "Grand Hotel" famously said "I want to be alone".

But that's not really true. I don't want to be alone. I just want to run my own life.

Which brings us to the Jonathan Edwards song "SUNSHINE", in which he sings:

Sunshine go away today,
I don't feel much like dancin'
Some man's gone, he's tried to run my life
Don't know what he's askin'

He tells me I'd better get in line
Can't hear what he's sayin'
When I grow up, I'm gonna make it mine
These ain't dues I been payin'

How much does it cost? I'll buy it.
The time is all we've lost. I'll try it.
He can't even run his own life,
I'll be damned if he'll run mine
Sunshine

"He can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine"!

Okay, that sums it up for me.

So what does that have to do with Libertarianism (or libertarianism)?

Dang, this is getting hard.
Let's go to the Politopia website ("The Land of Custom-Made Government") and take their quiz:

I haven't taken this quiz, so while you wait I'll take it now and see how I measure up to Big-L Libertarianism:

DURING THE TEST:
Like many tests, there are 5 levels of possible multiple-choice responses available. I'm not happy with all of them.

The war on drugs? Well, it's not working ... but I'm reluctant to say that the government should make all drugs legal, including Heroin. I chose "legalize Marijuana but maintain restrictions on (hard) drugs" such as heroin. I'm not comfortable with my decision, but I don't know what alternatives I would choose. I see that countries in Europe have removed all restrictions on drugs, and while citizens are shooting up in public parks and dying for it, other countries make drug use a capital crime and people are dying for it. What's the difference?

Welfare? Most of it seems to be "bread and circuses writ large", and should be abolished. Still, some people just can NOT earn their own living, and should we throw them to the wolves? Choice "D" instead of "E" (which I presume to be the Big-L Libertarian choice.)

Corporate Welfare? Governmental support of essential industries, forgiveness on violation of environmental regulations, are often necessary to maintain these industries. I'm looking at coal-fired plants which SHOULD incorporate the maximum environmental protections on pollutant discharges ... but if they did, they would be unable to continue providing vital products. Example: gasoline sells at three dollars a gallon now, and with the damage to off-shore oil refineries in 2005, or current fuel production is down from the 2004 levels although consumption is up. We are reduced to buying fuels from foreign sources. How many new oil refineries have been built in the past five years? Zero, zip, zilch, none, nada. This is the fault of the greedy oil industry? I think it's the fault of short-sighted governmental regulations which put too much emphasis on environmental regulations and not enough emphasis on providing affordable fuel to the truck which haul lettuce into New York City.

It's not a simple question, and the answer must fall somewhere between the extremes.


Obscene, indecent and discriminatory speech:
McCaine-Feingold restrictions on political commentary immediately before an election
vs
obscenities on television as my grandchildren are watching.

As far as I'm concerned, the grandchildren are going to hear it all on the schoolground. I would rather they watch pornography between consenting adults than watch "In Cold Blood".

I would prefer they see neither, but I consider sex less "pornographic" than casual bloodshed.
Remember the "keep this in the back of our minds" prescription I mentioned earlier.

Taxation: I'm surpised, given the alternatives, that I voted for maintaining the current level of taxation.
But given the alternatives, a zero-percent tax is just flat not acceptable. We have to pay for services guaranteed in the Constitution, which include homeland defense.
Yes, I think we pay too much in taxes. No, I don't know any other way to maintain military vigilence.

Immigration:
B: Increase regulations to allow only select few immigrants in the country.
I feel strongly about this subject. I DO want my country to pay close attention to who comes into my country, why, and whether they can contribute as much as they take out of The System.

This is probably the widest varient between Large-L Libertarianism and me.

RESULTS:

In a map which includes "Free Markets" in the North, "More Governmental Contol" in the South, "More Personal Freedom" in the West, and "Fewer Personal Freedoms" in the East, my Libertarian Quotient is:

NW-You would feel most at home in the Northwest region. You advocate a large degree of economic and personal freedom. Your neighbors include folks like Ayn Rand, Jesse Ventura, Milton Friedman, and Drew Carey, and may refer to themselves as "classical liberals," "libertarians," "market liberals," "old whigs," "objectivists," "propertarians," "agorists," or "anarcho-capitalist.

I have no idea what these catch-phrases mean.

I May Not Be Just Like NW:

On The Map, I find myself associated most closely to Drew Carey.

Who knows for sure what his politics are? (Well, you may know, but I don't watch a lot of television but I always liked his TV show and I strongly approve of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?".)

I'll reject the implication that I'm "Just Like Drew Carey", because I don't want to be "Just Like" anybody.

Ayn Ryan is up in Far NW Country. I remember reading her while I was in college, in the 1960's ... just before I graduated from college, and just before I was drafted and sent to Viet Nam. I discovered (two years later) that I didn't much care Who Is John Gault, as it seemed a sophomoric "in joke". I haven't changed my mind since then, because frankly too many of my classmates seemed to be letting Ayn (I can't even say that name) do their thinking for them.

Reading the website I linked to under her name, I find I don't necessarily agree to the embedded synopsis that "Ayn Rand was a truculent, domineering cult-leader, whose Objectivist pseudo-philosophy attempts to ensnare adolescents with heroic fiction about righteous capitalists."

Hey, she had some good things to say. I didn't believe in everything she espoused, but she presented some good arguments at the time and if I could remember what they were, I might even agree with them today!

Well, perhaps not ALL of them.



Let's look at who I am NOT like, for a comparison.

I am not just like NE: Rush Limbaugh.
Okay, I listen to him from time to time and (although I've never been able to sit through an entire show) he's a fine entertainer. I agree with some of what he says, I disagree with some of what he says, so perhaps that means I think for myself. Definately, I'm not willing to accept The Bush Administration at its word, although I suspect I agree more with official Bush Administration Policy than the average American.

I am not just like SW: Jesse Jackson
I do not like Jesse Jackson, Sam I Am. This makes me happy. I don't care about his race, I care about his apparant proclivity to use The Race Card to extort Corporate America. I feel much more affinity to Larry Elder than Jesse Jackson, and I think this makes me A Better American.

Surprisingly, Jackson is the only occupant of the Libertarian SW,

I am not just like SE:
Uh, well, the South East of Libertarian Country is occupied by some Not Nice People.

The Not Nice People in Libertarian SE include:
Stalin
Hitler
FDR
John Kerry

I'm not going to put too much emphasis on this quadrant of the Libertarian Map, because I suspect it was manipulated.

Hitler murdered milliions of his citizens, and citizens of other countries, for political (expansionist) reasons.

Stalin murdered millions of his citizens, and who knows how many citizens of other countries, for political (nationalist) reasons.

Franklin Delano Rosevelt was considered a Traitor To His Classby Robber Barons, Tycoons, Limosine Liberals of the 30's and 40's, and East Coast Elitists of the same era because he provided Federal assistance to The Little People (farmers, laborers) during that timeframe. He also led our country through most of the Second World War, when much of the East Coast Intelligentia would have preferred that he ignore the plight of the average citizen in Europe and The Pacific Rim, because his solutions included an imperative for The Moneyed Class to help the Little People survive The Great Depression. His methods may have been as arbitrary as Hitler and Stalin, but they served to alleviate, rather than promulgate, the starvation and other dramatic exploitation of a national underclass (in Stalin's case, both the Bourgoise and the Peasantry) which typified his apparent Fellow Travelers.

John Kerry is a dork. During his run for the Presidency, he provided no readily definable political platform. He said whatever he thought would be most readily acceptable to the Focus Groups which he used to define his political platform, and apparently even they didn't know what his position was on any given political agenda.

The most plitically believable website I could find in his favor was http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/

Translated, that is "john kerry is a douche bag but I'm voting for him anyway.com/

This isn't a vote FOR a political position; it's a vote AGAINST his opponent, for reasons of peronality.

Kerry lost. Apparently, his opponent had a personality (whether we like it or not), but Kerry's perceived personality was a non-runner.


Stalin and Hitler may possibly be appropriately placed into this quadrant of "SE" (fewer governmental freedoms; more governmental control of the economy) for a historical reason.

The inclusion of FDR into this quadrant seems a mix of "political expediency" and "just bad manners".

The inclusion here of Kerry may be a combination of "because he's a dork" and "we couldn't find a more evil quadrant, so he's right up there with Stalin and Hitler".

Until Libertarians present some kind of justification for the inclusion of FDR and Kerry with Stalin and Hitler, I'm assuming that they're just being rude to people they don't like so they're bunching them (FDR and Kerry) together with other people who NOBODY likes (Stalin and Hitler) in a fit of pique.

SUMMARY:

Libertarians are human, and are subject to subjective evaluations based on emotional reactions to circumstances which are filtered through their own belief systems. I don't know how "small-l libertarian" I am, but I'm glad that I'm not rated a "Large-L Libertarian" based on this egregious and arbitrary mode of evaluation.

Okay, so the Libertarian Test may not be a valid description of Large-L Libertarians.

I get that they don't like Stalin and Hitler.

I get that they don't like Kerry, although I hesitate to compare him to the Dynamic Duo (even though much more "centrist" than they.

The thing I do NOT get is that they equate Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who can only be defined as a strong leader in a time of Troubles (WWII, The Great Depression), as their equivalent.

As far as I know, FDR was not inclined to minipulate the slaughter by starvation or Death Camp of his fellow citizens. He was just trying to find work for those Americans who couldn't get a job.

And Kerry wasn't doing anything more than trying to find a opposing political position to Bush. Since Bush had the Moral High Ground pretty well wrapped up, Kerry was left with ... "I'm Against Bush!" It's a difficult political position to defend, and while I don't think Kerry was able to defend it, he was just trying to oppose a political position which included defending Amrerica against Islamofascist aggression. I can't imagine anything more that he could do, and it's a wonder that he performed so well in the polls.

He doesn't deserve to be compared to Stalin and Hitler, and including FDR in this same 'quadrant' is just displaying the other side of the same coin: FDR was a Strong Leader when one was needed, and since George W Bush is not included in the same Quadrant (in fact, the Libertarians seem to consider him just barely North of "Centrist"), anything south of his political position is entirely reasonable.

Well, perhaps not reasonable in abolutist terms, but reasonable in political terms. What choice had Kerry but to oppose Bush?

SUMMARY:
Perhaps I'm guilty of trying to see all sides to any political question, but if this Libertarian test is an approprate measure of Libertarianism, I reject it totally.
The test is biased, predictable, and the conclusions are very much weighted toward predetermined indices.

I have no choice to accept it as a valid measure of Libertarian politics, which might be an unjust evaluation. Still, I accept it.

I have no wish to be considered a "Large-L Libertarian", and not much motive to accept a measure of "small-l libertarianism".

Perhaps the Libertarians of the world find this test to be as egrigiously biased as I do, but until that becomes crystal clear to me, I can only express my "libertarianism" in the words of Faye Dunaway portraying Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest":

"Don't Fuck With Me, Fellas!"

Snakes On A Plane

Samuel L. Jackson has a message for me.

Sounds as if I had better pay attention. In the words of SWMBO: "I'm low on Estrogen, and I Have A Gun!"

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Moving along in this Flying Geek theme, Paramount Television is panting to sell you the U.S.S. Enterprise (USS 1701, if memory serves me correctly.) Either that, or William Shatner's boots, if you have six thousand British Pounds rattling around in your pocket.

--------------

I don't usually appreciate "bathroom humor", but I kinda chuckled at the story of the Council Bluffs, Iowa, woman who was glued to a toilet seat at the Mall of the Bluffs shopping center.

Maybe they'll rename it "Mall of the Buffs", 'cause (as the story quotes the victim):

"... the burns are painful and that the incident was one of the most embarrassing moments in her life.

I'll bet it was embarassing, sitting on the potty, panties around your ankles while all those fire-persons squirting fingernail polish remover to desolve the 'cement' which formed a bonding experience between her fanny and the toilet seat. That's gonna leave an embarassing welt, too.

I bet she shreiked and flew! (I would have.)

Maybe next time she'll consider using one of those paper gaskets hanging on the wall.

-----------------

Finally, in what may actually be a positive note in the U.S. Airline Industry, the Associated Press [hissssssss!] reports that "More Travelers (are) Getting Bumped Off US Airlines".

Why do I consider this a POSITIVE note?

In the wake of the 911 tragedy, most airlines were unable to fill all the seats on many domestic flights. Many declared bankruptcy, and we witnessed a drastic revision of schedules as 'feeder flight' routes and schedules were discontinued because the small airlines who serviced these routes were unable to continue flying between, for example, Spokane and Boise.

Civilian Airplanes were considered a good way to commit suicide (see my previous post), and passenger miles plummetted.

Now, it seems that potential passengers are no longer concerned that they will find themselves in a 12,000 degree bonfire inconveniently ignited in a New York Skyscraper. More pertinent, perhaps, to the day-to-day Frequent Flyer, we have become accustomed to the intrusive Home Security measures perpetrated upon the unwary air traveler.

We've lived so long with the Three Golden Rules of Air Travel (don't carry metal objects, don't carry cigarette lighters or sharp blades, and don't joke about bombs), we are no longer nonplussed by airport security procedures ... random invasive searches of your personal person when attempting to board an airplane on a domestic flight; the arbitrary confiscation of what may reasonably seem to be inocuous objects.

The air traveller has become blase' about all these things, and still wants to save time and money (especially considering the three-dollar per gallon toll at the gas pump) by flying rather than driving to visit Aunt Jane in Rancho Cucamonga.

Now that you and I are flying more, and driving less, the airlines are slowing down the convenience of air travel by continuing to book less flights. The resultant chaos, when people are 'bumped', is a fiscal boon to people who don't have to be 'there' on a schedule.

That will change.

Airlines hate to turn away customers, and they REALLY don't like to spend money (in terms of 'rewards', such as free tickets for a later flight).

This is a passing phase. You'll see.

Air Marshalls, Take Your Places.

911 Deniers?

Hot Air � Blog Archive � Video: “Loose Change” director chuckles over Flight 93



I've just spent an hour and a half looking at videos and reading commentary about people who are trying to make the case that the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and (include your personal favorite Washington DC Landmark, which attack was foiled when Flight 93 augered into Pennsylvania) were the intended consequences of (a) controlled demolitions, (b) an American Cruise Missile, and (c) the result of an attack on an American passenger plane by an F-16 out of Langley AFB.

No, I'm not talking about the French Twit who wrote a book shortly after 911 explaining how it was all a fabrication concocted by the Zionist Occupation Government and The Bushies. I'm talking about a bunch of American Twits who see a way to get a lot of attention and maybe a couple of bucks with their amateurish confrontational video journalism. (Think "Girls Gone Wild" with a political agenda.)



It wasn't my plan to address this subject quite so early. I thought I would at least get into September, perhaps nearer the five-year anniversary of 911, before I had to talk about this tragic set of Attacks on America. But the Conspiracy Theorists are ahead of the curve, so I'll make my obligatory comments now, just to bring your attention to Michelle Malkin's VENTs on HOTAIR.COM.

Most of the videos are on YouTube, which went down for scheduled maintenance just after I finished watching the 5-part (~50 minute) series which her article primarily links to.

But you should go "read the whole thing", and decide for yourself who makes the most sense. The NYPD Cops and FDNY firemen who are quoted by one side, who were at the scene at WTC, who lost friends in the attacks? Or a bunch of pimple-faced yahoos with an agenda.

Again, H/T to Michelle Malkin


UPDATE, August 04:
The news is filled today with stories of Conspiracy Theories. Here is one story which seems to disprove the "America Shot Down Flight 93" legend, in a very surprising twist. According to detailed analysis of audio tapes from NORAD's North East Air Defense Sector command, that plane augered into Pennsylvania three minutes before the US Military even knew it had been hijacked.

2006 USPSA MultiGun National Videos and Photos

While I didn't get to take as many photos and videos as I had hoped, I have a reasonably good collection on the Geek Video Shooting Gallery.

As nearly as I can tell, this is the worlds most comprehensive collection of multigun videos. Nobody else took as many pictures or as many videos of multigun (3-gun) national competition, although "Shooting USA" had a camera crew there. They mostly have video footage of The Super Squad, though.

They probably do an excellent job of depicting The Thrill of Victory. I doubt they will bother to show you The Agony of Defeat ... but I will.

You'll have to wait for months to see their film; here, you can see it right now.

No interviews here. Nobody wants to hear the winners crow about their achievements, and the non-winners would rather not talk about their foibles.

Here's the menu:

USPSA 2006 Multi-Gun National Championship Video Shooting Gallery Home-page.

Still Photos (sub-album including pictures of setup on Day 00, and stages where no videos are available.)

"The Stages" Album
Stage 01 sub-album (" Cakewalk" - CLOSE and FAR Rifle) - two videos (Main Range)
Stage 02 sub-album ("King of SAR" - Pistol, FAR Rifle, Shotgun) - one video available (Main Range)
Stage 03 sub-album ("Doors and Swingers" - Pistol 32 rounds) - no album. The stage had so much opaque vision barriers, you couldn't see the action. (North Range)

Stage 04 sub-album ("Perimeter Patrol" - Shotgun, CLOSE Rifle) (North Range)
Stage 05 sub-album ("Bunkerville" - Pistol and Shotgun) 1 video (North Range)
Stage 06 sub-album ("Pigeon Dinner" - Shotgun) (North Range)
Stage 07 sub-album ("Sands of Kandahar" - Rifle ) (EastRange)
Stage 08 sub-album ("Single UP") - Shotgun .. lots of videos! (EastRange)
Stage 09 sub-album ("Hot Potato") - Pistol, Shotgun - 5 videos (EastRange)
Stage 10 sub-album ("No Detour Allowed" - Pistol, CLOSE Rifle) - no photos available. (EastRange)
Stage 11 sub-album ("3 Ways" - Pistol, CLOSE Rifle, Shotgun) - no photos available. (EastRange)
Stage 12 sub-album("H L M" - FAR Rifle) - no photos available. (EastRange)

Oh Dude

I don't know about this one.

HT: GT

This video purports to depict an F16 dropping a bomb on Iraqi Insurgents in Fallujah.

Maybe so, maybe not.

From here, I can't tell if the "insurgents" are insurgents, nuns, women in Burquas, or penguins.

It is an interesting video, though, so I'll provide it for its curiousity value alone. I won't try to tell you what you're seeing, although I'll include the text that came with the video.

I won't include any "Hey, Dude!" commentary. I don't know what we're seeing here, so it's not my place to interpret.

Here's the commentary which accompanied the film:

You gotta love this one. Make sure you lock into the comments below before you lock into video. H
---
Our Air Force Brethren at their best -- Go Air Force.

This is a video from a F16 doing CAS during the recent fighting in Fallujah.

We have been bombing insurgent "safe houses" with some success recently. This F16 was on such a mission, to hit a building with an LGB.

After the weapon had been launched 30+ insurgents left the building en masse to hurry to a nearby engagement with US Marines. The fighting had been going on for hours.

The pilot communicates with the FAC either in the air or on the ground, and changes the flight path of the bomb while it is en route the target.

You can clearly see the "L" flashing in the MFD, and TGP is selected.

The high pitched "Darth Vader" sounds you hear are the pilot breathing. It is the pilot who says "I got numerous individuals on the road, do you want me to take those out?" The FAC says "Take em out!" By the way I love it when the FAC says "Oh, Dude!" at the end of the video chip.

Now I must put this in focus for you so you can get a glimpse into the complexities of the modern battlefield and the flexibilities of the modern U.S. war fighter.

You have a super-so nice high performance aircraft being driven by a single pilot who, under the tactical control of a FAC, launches a precision guided munitions (PGM) at a designated structure (building). The pilot uses the aircraft's laser guidance video display to guide the weapon to the target (precision). Remember, he is also flying the aircraft. The pilot sees the video on his heads-up display and notices a bunch of combatants leaving the targeted building, turning the corner and heading down the street towards an active firefight.

The pilot advises the FAC of the change in the status of the target requesting to target the combatants en route to the fire fight rather than hitting an empty building. Permission is granted and death and
destruction rain down.

Just in case the abbreviations are not part of your every day vernacular I have expanded them below:

CAS = Close Air Support
LGB = Laser Guided Bomb
FAC = Forward Air Controller
MFD = Multi Function Display
TGP = Terminally Guided Projectile

2006 Multigun Nationals on ShootingGallery.tv

UPDATE: Sunday, July 30, 2006

The match is completed. USPSA members can find the results on the MEMBERS website.

Division Winners:

Limited Ted Puente (23 competitors)
Open Michael Voigt (46 competitors)
Tactical Taran Butler (77 competitors)

Total 142 competitors


Photos from the MG-Nats can be found here. Includes videos from stages 1 and 2; more to be added as soon as I can get them edited down from 15MB to 2MB or 4MB formats.

Congratulations to all competitors.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The 2006 USPSA Multigun National Championship is being hosted by the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club .. 20 minutes from my front door in Corvallis, Oregon.

If you're going to put a National IPSC USPSA match that close to my home, you need to post armed guards to keep me from trying to participate.

I don't shoot Multigun (or 3-gun) for a variety of reasons, so I showed up the first day of the match as an Unofficial Volunteer. "Tell me what needs to be done, I'll do it" sort of thing, y'know?

I've just spent an entire day working as the Match Gofer. You know, gofer coffee, go fer lunch ... that sort of thing.

Turns out, I have a talent for it. I think I could spend the rest of my life working as a Gofer. Give up my day job. Spend all of my time working as the Unofficial USPSA Gofer. Yeah, works for me.

Until someone mentioned that, y'know, I don't get PAID for this job.

Okay, so maybe I'll keep my day job. Applications Systems Analyst work may be boring in comparison, and I'll be able to maintain my Farmer's Tan sitting in front of a computer, but the rent gets paid and I get to eat regular.

Still, there's nothing like running around a gravel-decked shooting range to make you re-evaluate your Career Decisions.


I've spent some time on the Machael Bane Shooting Gallery dot TV website talking about the night-before, and the RO Match stages of the match.

It's all background, you understand. Not much there about the match results, although I hope to get some videos after the Real Match (sorry, ROs) starts. Carl Schmidt wants some good photos, and I'll make an effort to catch some "Stuff That Doesn't Look Like A Pistol Match" type photos and videos. I'm not 'tasked' to do anything much, so I get to roam around the ARPC range and take photos, when there's something happening.

I'll keep this toward the top of the Blog, so it's obvious to everyone.

Take a minute or two, and go read the verifiably Geek Length Posts available so far.

And check back here again, to see the Next Exciting Chapter.

Nobel Peace Prize - "What is it good for?"

In an article which has somehow disappeared from The Australian (I'm glad I copied the page; too bad I lost the URL), a former Nobel Peace Prize winner declared "I could kill Bush".

The declaration was issued to a group of Australian school children ... who "clapped and cheered".

Although the original URL is no longer operative, here is the pertinent text of the article:

Peace prize winner 'could kill' Bush
Annabelle McDonald
25 July 2006

NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren.

Campaigning on the rights of young people at the Earth Dialogues forum, being held in Brisbane, Ms Williams spoke passionately about the deaths of innocent children during wartime, particularly in the Middle East, and lambasted Mr Bush.

"I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64.


"Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

"I don't know how I ever got a Nobel Peace Prize, because when I see children die the anger in me is just beyond belief. It's our duty as human beings, whatever age we are, to become the protectors of human life."

Ms Williams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 30 years ago, when she circulated a petition to end violence in Northern Ireland after witnessing British soldiers shoot dead an IRA member who was driving a car. He veered on to the footpath, killing two children from one family instantly and fatally injuring a third.

Frankly, we don't know how she ever got the Nobel Peace Prize either. Clearly her sentiments are not peaceful, and we wonder what the attendant children are learning in their Australian school, that they "clapped and cheered" when they were presented with the prospect of murdering a Head of State. One would think that they had been educated in Denver!

Her comments were paralleled by Suburban Islamic cleric Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who was also reported in The Australian as:

(wanting) to kill 1000 Australians to "please Allah" and had the support of a blond recruit who had pledged violent jihad during a meeting with Osama bin Laden.

A Melbourne court heard yesterday that a witness would reveal that Shane Kent, 29, received weapons and explosives training at the Taliban-run al-Faruq training camp for foreign jihadis in Afghanistan.

And at a meeting with bin Laden in that country, Mr Kent, from Meadow Heights in Melbourne's north, allegedly committed himself to violent jihad. The alleged Melbourne terror cell's spiritual leader, Mr Benbrika embraced Mr Kent as part of his clique, the court heard, saying: "He's good, and he doesn't talk too much."

You can't help wondering if Betty Williams read this article, and whether she noticed the similarity in bloodthirsty sentiments between herself and Abdul Nacer Benbrika.

[sigh]

If we could only see ourselves as others see us, would we change?

Oh. Well, of course I wouldn't.

On a Wing and a Prayer -- and 2 out of 3 wheels

Here's a film showing an F111 Ardvaark landing with no wheels ... no fire, and minimum of sparks. No injuries, and a lot of luck.

This lends some inadvertent legitimacy to this article, which suggests that "It's A Sin To Fly"*

*(But it's an Amazing Grace to land!)

July Blogmeat

I love the Internet. You find such interesting ... stuff there.

Like these two RKBA-related stories (included mostly in an attempt to remain "on theme"):

N.Y. Panel says Judges can Pack Heat
Yes, it's true. YOU can't carry a gun in a courtroom .. but the judge can!

The New York state Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics has ruled that it is permissible for judges to pack a pistol beneath their robes while on the bench.

''From an ethical standpoint, there is no prohibition . . . barring you from carrying a firearm while performing your duties on the bench,'' the committee said in a decision published in the New York Law Journal.

Judges would have to comply with existing laws to bring a gun into court.

The committee was asked by one of the state's 3,400 judges whether it was ''ethically permissible'' to carry a pistol into the courtroom. Although it ruled in favor of pistol-packing jurists, the committee warned that judges must ''be patient, dignified and courteous'' to those appearing before the bench and behave in ''a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.''

As Heinlien suggested, "Armed Society is a Polite Society".

Next, just a LITTLE bit over-the top, here's a story about the possibility of Isreal using Laser Rays to intercept missile, artillary and mortars. It's a expensive, though.:

Moving past armaments, let's talk about Blogging.

Why Do We Blog? Because we can.

But sometimes, we really shouldn't.

Let's talk about The War Against Terrorism.

Bush says, "Just Stop This Sh*t!"

Daniel Pipes, in the usually egregious LA Times, suggests ways that Isreal can do just that.

Saree Makdisi (whatever) in the same LA Times, has no plan but deplores Isreal's Outrageous Attacks!

Also in the times, Jonathan Chait says "You Can't Run A War On Horse Sense!"
The real title of the article asks: "Is Bush Still Too Dumb To Be President?" Apparently Jonnie is outraged that Bush prefers verbal briefings over reading summaries.

But the more we learn about how Bush operates, the more we can see we were right from the beginning. It matters that the president values his gut reaction and disdains book learnin'. It's not just a question of cultural style. The president's narrow intellectual horizons have real consequences, sometimes cataclysmic ones.

It's true that presidents can succeed without being intellectuals themselves. The trouble is that Bush isn't just a nonintellectual, he viscerally disdains intellectuals. "What angered me was the way such people at Yale felt so intellectually superior and so righteous," he told a Texas Monthly reporter in 1994.

Apparently, Jonnie considers himself an 'intellektule", and is miffed at being dissed by Da Prez.

In the meantime, The Chairman Of The Board (no, not Frank Sinatra; a relative lightweight named Kofi Annan who is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations) "Calls For An Immediate End In Fighting."
Kofi think it's all "Just Wrong", and wonders "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Perhaps he could answer his own question.

In 2000, Isreal moved all the IDf out of the Golan Heights area and away from the Lebenon Border. The UN-sponsored agreement was that Isreal would "demilitarize" their Northern Border, and Hezbollah (this part isn't crystal clear) would either disarm, or leave their entrenched positions, or both. The UN posted 2000 (two THOUSAND!) "observers" along the border to insure that this agreement would be carried out.

Well, Isreal DID move its troops ... they did their job. But six years later, Hezbollah not only did NOT disarm, did NOT leave, but they did a lot of Bad Things in the UN-mandated "down time":

• Entrench in 40-meter deep bunkers
• Re-arm
• Scatter their forces among the Civilian Lebonese population

Does this sound like a military opponent who was trying to minimize the treat of war? Or is it the actions of a military opponent who is using a 'temporary truce" (duration to be defined by .. themselves, alone) to re-arm and re-position their troops?

Considering that recently they have been attacking (killing and kidnapping) IDF forces, and when the IDF objected with force they began indiscriminate rocket attacks on the civilian Israeli populations, I'll take Door Number Two.

We don't know why Kofi thinks the Israeli's ought to listen to his advice, but you can bet the farm that Hezbollay really, really likes it.

What's with the Israeli bombing of Lebonese infrastructure?

If the Lebonese were in control of their own country, they wouldn't have allowed Hezbollah to entrench, rearm, and re-attack. They would have moved Hezbollah out of the country, as they agreed to do in 2000.

Why should they have done that?

Well, they agreed to do it in the 2000 UN accords. And they knew that it was Hezbollah who engineered the attack on the Beirut Marine Barracks which killed over 200 US Marines. Simply put, these are Bad Men, and anyone who holds such a serpent to their breast is inviting trouble.

It's here.

We deeply regret the Lebonese Civilian casualties in The Current Unpleasantness, but we can't help but wonder if Lebenon hasn't brought them on themselves, through their weakness.

I'm afraid I've delved too deeply into The Dark Side.

I have other things to talk about, but to tell the truth I'm too heartsick to continue.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll find something to lighten the mood. At the moment, it seems ... disrespectful.

Get 'er Done (2) - videos redux

Earlier I discussed the TCGC Classifier match, and linked to the videos I took on the two non-classifier stages (here).

(BTW, match results are available here.)

The second non-classifier stage, "Get 'er Done 2", is a 'mirror image' of the first stage, in that it is set up right-handed rather than left-handed: the first targets you would naturally engage are on the right side of the bay.

Just to make it fun, the steel targets are not Pepper Poppers; they are 10" steel plates.

Since we are encouraged to engage Pepper Poppers in the center of the big circle, it shouldn't be any more difficult to hit plates. That is obviously not the case in real life. Oh sure, some people actually aim and do well, but the rest of us have a lot more problems hitting a ten inch round plate than we encounter when trying to hit the 12" circle on a 42" high Pepper Popper.

In evidence, I offer my clumsy "dog's breakfast" attempt to knock down the plates.




Jerry the Revolver Guy did well, except that he missed the first plate and used one of the irreplacable (in a reasonable amount of time) six rounds in his revolver to pick it up. This video starts AFTER he has engaged the three IPSC targets at the start.




Roger, to keep the comparison with the dextro version of this stage, did a fine job of picking up the plates.




And SWMBO ... rocks!




If I haven't made it clear, the original non-YOU TUBE version of these videos are available on Jerry the Geek's Video Shooting Gallery under the 2006 TCGC matches for July. Click on the article title or click here, to go there.

The videos are 2mb or 3mb. I may have missed a couple of squad members because I can't spend ALL of my time filming (and other squad-members may have missed their opportunity to pick up the camera, too.) If I did miss somebody, I apologise. I am confident that I have at least ONE video of everybody in my squad on one or the other of the stages, though.

If you WERE on the same squad, and your videos aren't pictured here (Fred, Dan, Paul, Don), you should go to the Shooting Gallery and look at your videos. If you want an easy to download YOU TUBE version of the video, I will be happy to generate one so you can show your friends.

You looked good, guys.

Get 'er Done (1)

Tri-County Gun Club's monthly IPSC match today (Sunday, July 16, 2006) was officially a Classifier Match. That is, of the six stages presented, four of them were classifiers.

Ho. Hum.

Lots of people didn't show up, because (a) we had a Charity match in the Section yesterday, and (b) what fun is a classifier match?

Well, if you do it right, it can be a lot of fun.

We usually like to take a lot of pictures, but again .... B-O-R-I-N-G! Not worth the effort, unless you're the kind a guy who would shoot an unarmed man in the back (as Christopher Walken likes to say a lot in "Last Man Standing".)

Here are pictures of a few people, shot from the side, while they're shooting at Steel.

Go look at 'em (they're only 2mb files, very fast stages) while I jazz up this article with some Art.

Done? Good.

Here's scene 1 of four: Roger



Roger, you are now immortal!


Scene 2 of four: Jerry the Revolver Guy



(Great example of a fast revolver reload)

Scene 3 of four: SWMBO




Scene 4 of four: Geek

Squad 18 Photo Status: Area 1IPSC Videos

(Time and Date have been reset to keep this at the top of the page)

UPDATE:
Monday, July 10, 2006
The rest of the Day 2 videos have been edited and added to the Day 2 album, including the rest of Stage 12 ("Crazy Eights") and all of Stage 1 ("Tunnel of WHAT?").

Still to come: Day 3.
This will probably consist mainly of (the "Dying Cochroach Stage") Stage 4, because Stages 2 ("Triple-Tap the Movers") and 3 ("Stop-Sign Targets") aren't always that exciting. That is to say, I did poorly on these stages and I can't bear to watch it too many more times.

Yes, I did make up those stage names. I like them better than the official names.

--------------------------------------------


Wednesday, June 28, 2006 11:55pm
MORE photos and edited videos have been loaded to Jerry The Geek's Video Shooting Gallery.
(June 28): ALL videos from Day 1 have been edited and added here.

(June 29): Videos from Day 2 ... stages 9, 11 and 12 have been added here.

We now return you to the show in progress

--------------------------------------------

(June 27): Area 1 match videos for Day 1 (Stages 5, 6 and 7) have been posted on Jerry The Geek's Video Shooting Gallery.

Also posted there: the only existing video (maybe) of Stage 10: Dummy Enough. This is the stage which was thrown out of the match.

Now that I have fewer "other projects" to deal with, I plan to post 4 or 5 day's stages of videos per week, working Sunday through Thursday. All videos should have been completed by July 11.

Those are all edited photos. Stage 10 is a 6mb file, and stages 5 & 6 are 4mb. Stage 7 is represented by files of no more than 2mb, and the plan is to present stages 8, 9, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3 and 4 in files of no more than 2mb. The "Short Stages" (such as Stage 3 and 4) will probably be no more than 1mb each because most shooters required less than 7 seconds to complete them.

Just thought I should let you know. If you don't care about Area 1 videos ... don't read this note.

10th Annual Oregon Single Stack Tournament

It's over.

I didn't compete.

I really can't see those itty-bitty sights on The Beloved Kimber well enough to acquire an accurate sight-alignment in a competitive time, so for the first time in nine years, I didn't sign up for the Single Stack Match.

However 123 people DID, and 118 of them actually showed up to shoot.

Of course, I couldn't just ignore it, so I showed up at 8am, my cup of Dutch Brothers coffee in hand and a camera bag on my shoulder. One way or another, I was determined to shoot that match.

The FIRST thing that happened was that I stood in the Stats Shack to eat my Burger King Breakfast and watch the competitors go through the registration line to get their squad sheets, their t-shirts, their order slips for the deli-sandwich bag lunches, and their tickets for a post-match drawing of FIVE Springfield Single-Stack pistols.

The second thing I did, as soon as I dumped my breakfast bag in the trash barrel, was to wander into the path of Match Director Mike McCarter.

"Jerry", he said, "I wonder if you can help me out. We need someone with experience. Someone needs to set a few targets and then walk around the stage to see how it needs to be tweaked".

Okay, maybe I can't shoot worth a darn, but I still run a mean staplegun. I wandered over to Stage Two and found ... nobody. I did find a stage completely set up except for the targets, which were lying on the ground in front of the targets stands where they were suppose to be stapled. Picking them up, I noticed that they were all full-face targets: no hard-cover. Checking the stage setup instruction sheet, I found that 7 out of the 12 required hard-cover painting. I found Mac and asked him to unlock the paint-locker so I could get a can of black paint. He made a run, and I started using black masking tape to block out the hardcover areas of the targets.

While I was painting, Mark Kruger came into the bay and started helping. He grumbled a little when he discovered that the paint was still wet on the targets ... I was still spray-painting them as quick as I could. We finished the painting, stapled the targets as best we could (Range Master Tom Chambers stopped by long enough to mention that one of the arrays was to be engaged through a low port, so they should be set fairly close to the ground to prevent rounds directed at the targets from going over the berm.)

When we finished, we walked the course and found that the competitors could avoid stopping in at least two of the for designated shooting positions, because the arrays could be seen from the other two positions ... as well as the arrays in front of them. We dragged some more vision barriers onto the stage, until at least ONE target in each array could only be seen from each shooting position. Had we not, it's possible that someone loaded with a 10-round magazine could skip a reload. We knew that wasn't in keeping with the Spirit Of The Game.

Mark and I helped out with final setup on a couple of other stages, and then it was time for the Pre-Match Shooter Meeting.

While McCarter and Chambers addressed the shooters, I speed-marched back to my car to pick up my camera bag, folding field chair, tripod and water cooler. I made it back in time to not only film the crowd scene, but also to take photos of each stage as "establishing shots".

(IPSC stages are really boring without people in them; I hope I never need to use them. In fact, IPSC isn't much of a spectator sport and even the movies I filmed are probably of interest only to the people who were actually involved.)

After the shooting started, I wandered from stage to stage, filming at least one shooter in each stage. I didn't get all of the photos I wanted, but I got 1.5GB of still and motion pictures on most of the stages. The last of the 10 stages was a long-distance accuracy stage (a trademark of the Range Master), and I didn't bother trying to film anybody shooting it. I know a lot of people had problems with it, as you can see in the Match Results found here.

The first stage I watched was Stage 2: Setup Standards

I had wanted to film The Smurfette shooting Singlestack. I know how difficult it is to transition from Limited or Open Division to L10 or SS divisions, and I was looking forward to seeing her again because she is an entirely charming lady.

Unfortunately, the only stage I was able to film was not her best one. This video illustrates the problems when we are shooting an 'unfamiliar gun'. In fact, on this same stage, I witnessed another Master Class shouting "What's the matter? My sights are WAY off!" while he was shooting this stage.

The stage was a 26-round stage with four shooting positions, lots of targets, lots of hard-cover, and the first target array had four IPSC targets bunched around a "No-Shoot" Penalty target.

There are a lot of targets, awkward shooting positions, and most of the targets are severely restricted by either hard-cover zones painted on the targets, or penalty targets placed in close proximity. It was the first stage I helped set up at the start of the day.




The next video was somewhere in the middle of the match.

Stage 8, "Up You Go", required target engagement only from "The Ramp" or "The Platform". The competitor runs from the shooting box to a ramp, which leads to a platform. There are IPSC targets on both sides of The Ramp, and from the platform one must engage eight Pepper Poppers.

Rob does a good job on this stage, as is appropriate for a Local Hero. He wasn't entirely happy with his performance, and indeed his stage time was extended for a few makeup shots and he didn't get as many A-zone hits on the IPSC poppers as he would have preferred. But very few shooters managed this24-round stage in under 15 seconds, which included some non-productive travel time.



The final video was among the last I filmed.

Stage 2, "Triple Time" features a Texas Star and six IPSC targets. Every IPSC target must be engaged with at least 3 rounds

Since most IPSC stages only require engagement with two rounds, this is a 'play with your mind' stage. Throw in the Texas Star (I witnessed one shooter who used 3 8-round magazines to drop the 5 8" plates from the star"), and you have a lot of potential problems.

And then there is the matter of SS reloads ...

Rich (who drove down from the Seattle area to compete in this match --- we were squadded together in the Ice Cream Squad at the Area 1 match last month) encountered a common problem: the 10-round magazines often jam when reloaded in a SS pistol which has been shot empty. The slide locks back, the shooter rams another magazine into the gun, and the gun refuses to allow the slide to move forward to chamber the first round. It has happened to me many times, and it's always embarassing.



However, I've never managed to handle the situation with such penache.

If War Is The Answer, What Is The Question?

Knowledge Is Power

Sondra K, a PNW blogger of great power (and many good friends) posted a seven-minute YouTube video yesterday, depicting American Troops and Iraqi Children.

This video is work-safe, and kid-safe, so disregard the 'warnings'. It's a pleasant surprise, and a lovely film for people who see children as a better, more innocent "us".

Go, watch it. No, don't wait to read the rest of the article. You need these images in your head to understand what follows. Click on the link above. We can wait.

...

Done? Good.

On the other hand, here is a contrary viewpoint.

Vietnam War draft dodgers reunite in Canada

CASTLEGAR, British Columbia (Reuters) - Three decades after they fled the United States to avoid the Vietnam War, a small group of former draft dodgers gathered in Canada on Thursday, more convinced than ever that their anti-war stand was right.

Peace activist Isaac Romano, who moved to Canada from the United States in 2001, said he helped organize the conference to honor both the Americans who opposed the war and Canadians who helped them establish new lives.

I have some baggage when it comes to people who leave their country to evade the draft during time of war, and even more regarding those who have volunteered for military service and then refuse their movement orders because, they say, this is not the "right" war.

As a Vietnam veteran, I faced the same decision in 1968. When was drafted, I took the pledge at my induction without reservation.

And I decided not to criticize other should-have-been draftees who evaded the draft by taking up residence in Canada. I figured they were aware of the down-side to their decision, and if they were willing to pay it ... it was their decision.

I wasn't pleased when, in1977, then-president Carter granted amnesty to "Canadian Draft-Resistors". It seemed to me that they had lived when better, more honorable men had died for them. It seemed unfair to allow them to return to the country which they had betrayed.

Now these same ... people ... are celebrating their decision, in public, without shame.

Craig Wiester, who moved to Montreal in 1968 after being drafted into the military, said Americans have amnesia about the men who left their families rather than fight in a war that even some U.S. officials now say was wrong.

"Why are we still dishonored in American society ... those of us who said (the war was wrong) and knew it, and acted out our feelings on that," said Wiester, 59, who now lives in Minneapolis, Minn.

He said although his father, a World War Two veteran, personally hated the Vietnam War, he nonetheless reported his own son to the FBI after learning he was planning to refuse military service.

A personal note to the Wusster person: you are being dishonored because your actions did little to further the anti-war movement. What you did was to save your own precious self. You dishonored yourself. Instead of thanking God for saving you, and Carter for accepting you back to the bosom of your family, you continue to protest in your delusional concept that you acted out of honorable intent.

I hope you, and others of these physical and moral cowards, see that film clip if only to learn how men who are truly honorable conduct themselves.

It's probably too late for you to acknowledge how you have shamed your families, but perhaps a few of you will at least admit your own secret shame, if only to yourselves.

You have not redeemed yourself even as much as had Henry Fleming in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage.

You have not payed enough.

Buyer's Remorse

I bought another car this weekend.

Had to do it. The Geek Jeep was so decrepit, it would cost more to repair it than I could get in trade-in value.


I wasn't a smart shopper, though; the next day when I reviewed the paperwork, I found I had purchased a $2000 "extended warranty" (maintenance support contract) thingy, and I doubt I'll be able to get out of it. I didn't want it, don't need it, can't afford it. I just had an expensive Senior Moment, I guess.

Worse, I bought a [choke] Ford, after all these years of badmouthing Fords.

It could be worse.

While cleaning out the Geek Jeep for trade-in, I found an ISMI 170mm replacement magazine spring, three ISMI 140mm replacement magazine springs, four pounds of Vihta Vourhi, 300 rounds of reloaded .45acp ammunition with 200gr swc bullets and a case of Montana Gold .40/10mm jacketted bullets ... all of which I had stored in the Geek Jeep and forgotten about. So there is one more up-side to changing vehicles; it was the first reason I'd had to clean out the cargo area of the Jeep for a month.

Combined with the need for providing birthday gifts to my two children and one daughter-in-law this month, chances are good that my cash-flow concerns won't allow me to pay match fees for the 2006 SingleStack Tournament at ARPC next weekend.

But the value of the "found items" go a long way toward paying for the (hopefully unneccesary) extended warranty.

I'm thinking of having bumper stickers made up, reading:

Last Year I couldn't spell "Ford Driver", and now I are one!

Unless I'm unable to re-negotiate the financing on the new Geekish Land Yacht, if you're wandering around on foot in an Oregon IPSC range parking lot about a half hour before the next CCS Club Match starts, I want to warn you:

I have a working muffler now.

You won't even hear me before I run over your foot.

UPDATE:

Surprisingly, when I phoned the dealer Monday Morning, he agreed immediately to cancel the maintenance support contract and re-write the loan papers ... which he had not yet submitted to my credit union.

I went back to the dealership, where the finance manager had all but completed the new paperwork. We voided the maintenance support contract and the old financing paperwork (with my credit union) and activated the new one. Then, as frosting on the cake, he helped me find the key-pad-entry factory default code numbers so I could enter my own, personal code. In the end, he spent about an hour of his time to help me, at no cost to me at all. They didn't even charge me a fee for processing the extra paperwork, which I would have gladly paid.

I told him how much I appreciated his efforts to make me happy with the deal. I said I'd be back in a few years, and I would send everybody I know who was looking for a car to talk to him.

If you're in my area, looking to buy a car, look up G&J Auto Sales. Ask for Jeremy.

Dillon is my friend. I think

Several weeks ago I phoned Dillon asking to return the electronic ear protectors (which I had bought from them) for repair or replacement, on warranty.

I have had the muffs for 2 or 3 years; they were a gift from SWMBO. I liked them, but eventually the trunnions on both muffs (you know, the part that the hangers hook onto, with the little pin that keeps falling out) broke off. Not all of them, just one on each muff. That happened on the same day, I guess. I don't know. They were fine when I put them in my bag, but when I pulled them out at the match the were both broken.

I suspect that I caused the damage. I was running out of the little pins that keep falling out, so I used some Loc-Tite (red) to install my last two spares. I guess the plastic doesn't like loc-tite (red).

When I called Dillon, the helpful customer-service guy said they were running short on parts. He didn't know if he could repair them, but if I returned him they would take a look at them. If the had the parts to repair them, they would. If they didn't have the parts, they would keep my muffs for parts and sell me a new set for the low-low price of only $85.

The were worth zilch to me in that condition, so I said sure, you betch, sounds like a great deal.

I dithered for a couple of weeks, then I caught a bad chest cold and wasn't going anywhere for a couple of days. SWMBO came by to bring me cold medicine and asked if there was anything more she could do for me.

Such a caring, solicitous lady.

Quick to take advantage of her kindly nature, I said "Well, now that you mention it, there is one little thing."

I grabbed the unsealed box I had thrown the muffs into, along with the Dillon's catalog on which I had written the Authorized Return Number, explained what I was giving her and asked if she would please, PLEASE send them to Dillon for me.

She smiled sweetly ... well, what else could she do, she asked ... and said "why sure, honey. Anthing I can do to help a poor, sickly Geek."

Yeah, she calls me Geek, too. Well, not all the time.

I don't know how long those muffs laid around her house. I last saw them a couple of weeks ago. But today, when I got home from work, I found a little brown package from Dillon (via Fed-Ex) on my doorstep.

Anxiously opening the box, I found .... this.


What I had SENT them, was ... this.

Well, it was the black ones and they weren't nearly in such good condition. But it definately included two muffs, and headstrap and wires and hangers.

The single muff is worth a lot more than what I sent them (functional, except they wouldn't stay on my head), and I'm really grateful for their fast service and cheerful no-bullshit warranty.

It's just that I was kind of expecting to see an entire set of ear protectors in the box.

I don't mind paying for the replacement. But I'm a little confused about what they expect me to do with one, single, blue muff.

I'm a little apprehensive about calling them to ask that question. Maybe they know I'm a Geek. In that case, their answer might be a little ... physically unlikely?

But call them I will. I'm pretty sure they'll explain that it was a mix-up in the shipping department. A failure to communicate, if you will. Probably, somebody said "Ship an HP earmuff to The Geek", and they guy they were talking to thought "mmm, okay, an earmuf it is".

After all, that's exactly what I got.

I just hope that nobody calls me "Geek" while I'm talking to them.

It isn't easy, being Geek.


UPDATE:
I talked to Dillon, and there was apparently a missed communication between the Returns Department and the Shipping Department.

What they had intended to send me was a complete replacement set of HP1 earmuffs. Not a new set, but one mostly reconstructed from returned/functional components. I don't know, the single muff I received looked like brand new. They will send me the headstrap and the other muff (probably was shipped out last Friday, I may receive it by the end of the week). I'll have to hang the single muff on the other side of the head strap, but it's still under warranty and the cost to me was . . . nothing. Nil, zip, nada, not a single penny. Not even for shipping.

I guess Dillon IS Still My Friend!

Lawdog

It is with great pleasure (read: ROFLMAO) that I celebrate moving "LawDog" from "Places That I Recommend" to "Websites That I Read Every Day".

If I were to be completely honest, I would probably swap it with Scrappleface, but that's just me.

As much as I appreciate the ingenuity of Scrappleface, it doesn't stand comparison with the originality, the humor, the sheer exuberance of Lawdog.

Scrappleface is engineered humor. Lawdog is spontaneous and real to the point that nobody (even Doc Adams) can match.

If you're not reading LawDog every day, you're waiting too long for your daily quota of fun.

10 Annual Oregon SingleStack Championship

It's only two weeks away, so it's time once again to start touting the Biggest Little SingleStack IPSC Match In The World!

(Apologies to Reno, "The Biggest Little City In The World", and any other singlestack match that manages to get more participants than Oregon's match does.)

On July 8, the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club (ARPC), under the benign influence of world-class USPSA Section Coordinator Michael "Mac" McCarter, will once again host a match whose motto is "No Yuppie Guns".



ARPC Webmaster Brian Berkely has described the technical qualifications for match entry so well, I'll just quote him rather than try to improve on it:

If you haven't heard, this year's rendition of the Oregon Single-Stack Championship will be no different than the previous years. It will have more stages, and also recognize the Provisional USPSA Single Stack Division. If you have a pistol that meets Single Stack Division criteria, you can use that. You can use your traditional Limited 10 Single Stack Pistol in Limited 10. You can use your wide body STI/SVI in Limited 10 (unless you have a single-stack grip frame on it, you just compete for ribbons). You can shoot your polymer/tenifer Austrian wunder pistols in Limited 10 (compete for ribbons if using double-column mags). We are still giving away 3 Springfield Armory Stainless GI .45's. We have lots of other goodies from Springfield to give away as well. So, if you haven't sent in your match registration, hop to it! You don't want to miss out on one of these awesome shirts .......

If you click on the article title, you'll be taken to the ARPC IPSC website, which (among other information) includes links to the twelve (12!) stages which will be featured in this match.

You read that right. It's a one-day match, and you'll be shooting twelve stages.

You can get an entry form and match info here (match fee was $45 until June 15; it's $55 now) and detail match info here ... including much information already provided by Brian.

Last Year there were over 100 competitors. This year there are already 86 people pre-registered, and I don't know how current the competitor list is.

Will I be there? You bet your bippy; I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Will I be competing? That's another story. I've been whining for so long that I can no longer see Iron Sights, the people who have to squad with me at the weekly club match are beginning to lay sacrifices at the altar of Dave Skinner who is the latter-day father of Open Guns. (At least I have ONE gun I can still shoot, which cuts down on the whining except for this once-a-year-day.)

Actually, I was seriously considering a pass on the whole match. But at Area 1 I met the Blue-tiful Smurfette at a safety table and she asked me if I was going to the SS match. When I said I didn't think so, she admonished me severely. Well, if she's going, I'll be there. Whether I compete or not depends entirely upon my masochist-factor for that week. I've got the gun (The Beloved Kimber, which needs cleaning), I've got the bullets (I'm pretty sure there are 230 rounds in that 30-caliber US Army Surplus Ammo Can), I've got the money ($55 is pretty cheap for a Major Match with twelve [count 'em, 12!] stages that I don't even need to set-up or tear-down).

You're probably saying "So, Geek, what's the problem? You can't hit shit anyway with that big ol' Open Gun. You think you're going to embarass yourself any more shooting Limited 10 again?"

Well -- no. Actually, it might be GOOD to have a by-golly certifiable alibi going into the match.

Mac is famous ... or infamous, depending on how badly you were snookered at the last match where he was responsible for stage design ... for providing interesting, challenging stages. The club expanded the North Range this winter from 7 to 12 shooting bays, and I'm anxious to see what it's like to shoot on the five new bays dug into the East Side of Saddle Butte.

And it's worth the trip to watch the for-sure Vultures circling overhead during the match. You don't get that kind of aerial show at many other ranges in the world. Especially while there's shooting going on.

MMM --mmmm, I'm wavering here. I need a bit of arm-twisting.

Tell you what. If the competitor list tops 100 between now and July 8, I'll be there with bells on.

Which might just be sufficiently distracting to the other members of my squad to give me a slight competitive edge.

UPDATE: June 27, 2005

I just received an email from MD Mac, sent to CCS members. It has a few more details, you might be interested:

Hi All,

Just a last of the minute reminder that the 10th Annual Oregon Single Stack Championship is just around the corner, July 8th.

This year it is 12 stages (Iron Man Match) and 265 rounds in one day. There are over 90 people signed up for the match to date and more coming on all the time. We will probably cap the match at 120 people and 12 squads but we can go as high as 144 shooters.

We will be giving away 3 Springfield Single Stacks to competitors plus staff has a chance to win one.

The stages are up on Albany IPSC's and NASS website. It will be a shoot out at the top with 10 Master - Grandmasters including Lisa Munson from Seattle.

Come on out and play at one of the best matches on the West Coast.

Hope to see you,
Mike