"It's Painful To Watch A Giant Tree Being Killed"

That's a comment recorded on an earlier post "Wildlife Photos", in response to a 1940-1950 era photo of two "lumberjacks" halfway through the onerous job of cutting down a tree with a diameter of over twenty feet.

The thing about my readership is that they are generally fine people with a truly droll sense of humor.   (I don't get a lot of readers who are tree huggers and PETA members, for obvious reasons.)

Anyway, it's not always easy to tell if a sensitive person might have stumbled on my website and made a SINCERE comment.

But I really liked that photo of two small men hewing mightily at a mighty forest leviathan.  Because my father was one of those brotherhood of manly men, and so were most of his brothers.   So I'm going to assume that someone who sincerely mourned the felling of a "Giant Tree" might have seen the photo, and might really have felt that that commercial act was a travesty of nature.

Or yadda-yadda something-or-other.

Anyway ....

Just like a bad neighbor, Microstamping is still there

"Microstamping" is a technique which will invariably, under all circumstances, positively stamp information about the gun which fired a specific cartridge (supposedly recovered at a Crime Scene) and thus lead the police to solve the crime.

The only problem is .. it doesn't work.

Other than that, it's perfect!

Here's the reason why Oregon NEEDS an ASSISTED SUICIDE law ..

Police say Oregon woman self-immolated, crashed car and jumped off bridge | Fox News:

 Police in Oregon say an apparently suicidal woman was being treated for critical injuries (she apparently lived through it) after she intentionally set herself on fire, crashed her car into a guardrail, and jumped 40 feet off a bridge Thursday. According to The Eugene Register-Guard, the 39-year-old woman had recently been reported missing by her family. The paper reported that a 911 caller first spotted the woman's car at around 12:30 p.m. local time. The caller told emergency responders that the interior of the woman's car appeared to be on fire, and she was driving recklessly. After the car crashed into a bridge guardrail, witnesses told police the woman jumped out — on fire — and began taking her clothes off as she ran to the edge of the span. Truck drivers tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers and another person tried to grab the woman, but she was still able to jump, police said.

-emphasis added-

... we're obviously too stupid to manage the job by ourselves!

Wildlife Photos

My friend, "Big John", is an avid shooter.  He competed in international rifle competition (I know there's a proper name for it, but it's a lot like HighPower) a couple of years ago.  He also surfs the net for wildlife photos. HERE is a link to an amazing series of photos from the Rivermen Rod & Gun Club.

Some of these just scream out for captions, so I'll include a small representative sample:

"You can take your "Task Completion Time" estimate and ...."

HillaryLove

Ready for Hillary dumps 'email poster' in 3 for 1 deal | WashingtonExaminer.com: Hillary Clinton's campaign in waiting, Ready for Hillary, is dumping its poster of the now infamous image of Hillary Rodham Clinton in sunglasses reading her Blackberry. An email sent today offered the poster, titled #Ready and that sells for $20.16, in a three for one deal for the very same price.

Where have I seen that picture before?

I'm sure .. oh, wait.  I KNOW!

Training, Practice, Experience. And now ... shame?

Tam had a good look at a loaded muzzle at a gun show, as recounted below:

View From The Porch: The Safety Dance: He mulled that over for a second as I turned away to see what was going on down Mike's way when, out of the corner of my eye, I see the cop unholster his sidearm. I got a real good look at the muzzle in my peripheral vision, and also took extremely good note of the fact that, even if his lack of muzzle discipline was appalling, at least his trigger finger was in register against the frame. Thank heavens.

One only assumes that this Uniformed Officer of the Law (you know, one of the "Only Ones") had been trained in gun safety practices and procedures.  Also that he was experienced.   So we can only conjecture about why he didn't actually PRACTICE safe gun handling.

My guess is a combination of things:

• The only time he draws his firearms is on the range, and
• he doesn't spend a lot of time on the range, and
• that time is not under the direct supervision of a Range Officer, and
• he just never got called on his shoddy skills, so
• safe gun handling was never made to be (in the words of our revered Vice President of the United States of America)  "... A Big F*CKING DEAL!"

I recognize this.   I train new shooters for USPSA competition, and I see a LOT of people who are supposedly experienced, competent gun owners.

They do some really stupid shit.  Like, keeping their finger on the trigger when moving, loading, unloading, or clearing a malfunction.  or waving their pistol around when they're distracted by non-shooting activity.  (One of the more common errors: reaching down to pick up a dropped magazine at the end of the stage without holstering their pistol ... possibly sweeping themselves.)   Or they forget that one of the primary rules is to always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

You okay?

There are four ways you can insure that people who are new to shooting guns have a 'bad experience', resulting in YOU voicing the hopeful question:

You okay?

If you hear yourself saying that, you have probably done something stupid.  And someone else will pay the price.  Either that 'other person' will never again think that shooting a gun is "a good idea", or they will think that continuing their association with you is "a good idea".

The first is problematic; the second is unquestionable.  You are a Gun Dork, and your friends will never be "OKAY".

Here are the four ways to absolutely turn your friendships .. and your prospective shooting partners .. off:

Teaching Pistol Safety: Knuckle-Duster Alert

Have you ever seen someone shoot a semi-automatic pistol with his/her thumb wrapped around his/her wrist?

I have .. and I have ALWAYS stopped it!   That's a good way to hurt yourself ... badly!

Here's how it looks (sorry, it's a staged presentation, It looks kind of crummy, but it DOES demonstrate the problem!)

Selfie Alert: It's difficult to get a good picture of your hands, when you've nestled your digital camera under your chin.  I'm sure you're all familiar with that situation.

Anyway ... looking at the user-end of a 1911 (here, 2011 EDGE from STI), you can see that the knuckle of the off-hand thumb is sticking up into ... or at least near ... the 'glide path' of the slide.

I've seen a LOT of 'new shooters' use this grip, and it's perfectly acceptable if you're a revolver shooter.

But if you're shooting a semi-automatic pistol of ANY brand, make or model ... using this grip is terribly dangerous.

A Day Late and a Shamrock Short

I'm Irish.

Well, a quarter Irish ... blame it on my Paternal Grandmother, who was a Dildine.  (That's an Irish name, trust me on this.)

And I failed to observe St. Patrick's day properly.

I was sober.

Sure, and I'm happy to drink my friends' Jameson's, but I actually prefer Canadian Whiskey (MacNaughton's) when I have to buy my own liqueur.  And that's just wrong, in so many ways.  On the other hand, I'm a quarter Scots, so perhaps that explains my moral error.

I feel I've let the Ould Sod down, somehow, by not getting stinking drunk.   I hope my family doesn't learn about this ... my daughter married an Irishman (hope that's not a racial term, like "Chinaman", which got a Fox News commentator fired) and I have enjoyed many a tipple while celebrating National Holidays.  You know, like Independence Day, and Friday?

Hopefully, my Irish brethren will forgive me for not making a public spectacle of myself.  I promise to be a better Irishman in the future.

Makin' Bacon .. the Full Auto Way!

How to Cook Bacon Using Automatic Weapons and Suppressors [VIDEO]:

Bacon. Suppressors. Automatic Weapons. These are a few of my favorite things. In what maybe the most American video ever posted to YouTube, Top Shot Season 3 champion Dustin Ellerman managed to combine all three and prevent trichinosis all in one awesome video.

Perhaps my destiny is to point my readers to quality content available on other blogspots.

But I'm not too proud to steal their videos!

Maryland Considers Bill To Confiscate Guns From 110,000 Registered Gun Owners - Bearing Arms

Bearing Arms Maryland Considers Bill To Confiscate Guns From 110,000 Registered Gun Owners - Bearing Arms:

 If passed into law, the new bill would require police to run a check twice a year in search of convicted felons with registered guns.

I was under the impression that the Supreme Court had decided that felons were not required to register firearms.  Something about self incrimination .....

PLEASE PROVE THAT YOU ARE NOT A ROBOT!

I've seen a lot of these comment approval gimmics showing up the last few months (usually on BLOGGER .. this is an improvement?)  And I just want to know?

Am I the ONLY one who can never correctly interpret th image-based text that you have to write in order to enter a comment?

I'm half blind and entirely clueless, and I think this is a monstrous conspiracy against the Farsighted Community.  Perhaps the OldAsTheHills Community, and certainly against the Clueless Community.

And I'm so tired of my computer saying "HUH?"

Luddites of the world, rise up!

When Pigs Fly: An 850 Round Burst From An M60 - The Firearm Blog

It's late at night in the jungle.

A column of patriots walk single-file down a jungle trail toward a known enemy position; this is war.

Usually led by a traitor who is familiar with the local jungle pathways, the follow each branch of the trail toward their objective: a South Vietnamese position which guards a strategic permanent encampment.

Their mission: to destroy the military position, the  Soldiers who occupy that position, and also the wives and children who live there with the husbands and fathers.  All must die, to make the point that there is NO safe place in Viet Nam.  There is no mercy; given the time, they will rape the women and slaughter the leaders of the South Vietnamese inhabitants, because Terror is their most influential weapon in this, their war on civilization.

Suddenly, there are a series of explosions .. claymore mines pour 700 rounds each of .32 caliber pellets at their cadre at the head of the line, killing the commander and the traitor who leads them as well as their most politically devote members.

And then comes the most fearsome treat: the Rat-a-tat-tat of the fearsome M60 machine gun which lays down a fearsome volume of fire which is so devestating, so profound, that there is no defense except to return a second or two of AK-47 return fire by the few survivors of the Point element .. followed by a complete route of the entire company.

For if you are not killed or mortally wounded by the initial directed-mine blast, you will surely scourged by the unfailing, if short-lived, machine gun burst.  The worst of it is that the ambushers will then pick up their machine guns and walk them through the kill zone, slaughtering all that linger there .. and then they will follow you into the night, for they are the devil incarnate and they have Hell at their fingertips.

I don't THINK so!

Magnetospeed: Obsoleting Convenional Chronographs - The Firearm Blog: Magnetospeed: Obsoleting Convenional Chronographs

Oh, that's so ... new!

So we now have a magneto-powered chronograph.  I'm so pleased.
 (What does 'magneto' mean?  sensors are rekatubg the framamjig instead of dependent on impinging light sources.  Now you know as much about it as I do.)

I do love high tech, but I gotta couple of  (okay, 3) questions:

(1)   What are the most common usages of chronographs?  I mean, in terms of number of guns/rounds per time?  Answer:  at major shooting matches where "power factor" is part of the equation, it's used to determine whether the gun is "Major Power" or "Minor Power".
(2)  How long does it take to install the thingamajig on each gun, and just how MUCH difference does it make how much difference the "... sensitivity to placement... " makes in determining the accuracy of readings ... especially when comparing one firearm to the next.
(3)  What happens when you're using the magnetospeed thingie to chronograph a compensated race pistol?

I've used 'conventional" (dependent on light source) chronographs a bit.  I even helped run the Chrono stage at the Area 1 USPSA match a few years ago at ARPC in Oregon.

The thing is, I think the greatest VOLUME of Chrongraph readings occur at competition matches, where "power factor" must be determined for each individual firearm.

Using the light-sensor style of Chronograph is problematical because (as the article states):

Conventional chronographs work by measuring the time it takes for a bullet to pass over two optical sensors. The problem with the conventional approach is that ambient sunlight affects the velocity reading. Other problems with conventional chronos is that they are big and bulky, require a tripod, need long cables and risk being destroyed by your bullets or shotgun wads.

I think that the implications inherent in that statement are perhaps applicable for the individual, but at a Major Match?  It's all bullshit.   I don't THINK so!

More on California Gun Microstamping Law from The Captain's Journal

The Captain's Journal: s Judge Upholds California Gun Microstamping Law:

A federal court has rejected a challenge to California’s gun safety law, possibly paving the way for a requirement that new guns mark the bullets they fire so they can be traced.

The Captain's Journal doesn't go far enough in describing the Ill Effects of the California Microstamping Law.

And there are some inaccuracies there.

In the first place the Microstamping does NOT encode the BULLETS, but the base of the fired cartridge.  That's an important difference.

(Scroll down for an explanation of "Encoded Ammunition", which is not the same as "Microstamping Ammunition" .. but still is almost as impractical!)

Korea: Draconean Gun Control Measures Inadequate To Keep Koreans From Shooting Each Other!

Oh my! In a Nation/State (Korea) which has such strict Gun Control Laws that a citizen cannot keep guns in their homes, people are still killing each other "In a Fit of Jealous Rage" (Pink Panther moment!)?  And the national solution is to generate even more strict Gun  Control Laws?

One cannot help but wonder how well Gun control Laws are working for them .. and whether similar laws should be applied in the U.S.

Shooting sparks call for stricter gun control:

2015/02/26:

 According to police, Kang, the shooter, who committed suicide after killing three in an act of revenge against his ex-girlfriend, used shotguns that were registered for hunting under his name at a police station armory as required by law.

H/T "Say Uncle (But They Have All That Gun Control)":

What the HELL is "Net Neutrality"

The FCC Just Voted to Regulate the Internet Like a Utility - Hit &; Run : Reason.com:

In a 3-2 vote today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to radically overhaul the way Internet service is regulated. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the commission’s two Democratic commissioners voted to move forward with the rules. The agency’s two GOP-appointed commissioners opposed them.

"Net Neutrality"

"Obvious Reasons"

I've watched this dialogue, and have NO idea what the issues really are.

Am I "The Only One" who doesn't understand the issues?

It seems to me that somewhere there must be a "Net Neutrality For Dummies" primer which gets past the jargon and actually describes the effect of one side of the dialogue vs the other.

And BTW ... what ARE the dialogue, the positions, and the roots of the controversy?

For myself, I just want to take advantage of the data-streaming provided by ... I don't know, Comcast?

That's my IP  (Internet Provider ... thank you for defining that small piece of jargon!)
... and I also like that I can stream movies, besides email.

Is that the crux of the controversy?  Is one "availability" (Broadband Streaming of Videos) contesting with another "availability"  (Email?)

Surely there's somebody who understands the issues, and can define them in terms which are not jargon-filled.

Someone?

Any one?

ISIS and END OF DAYS

Quotes of the day  Hot Air:  (allapundit)

But people don’t join ISIS, or the Islamic State, because they want better jobs with more benefits. ISIS is one of a long line of anti-Enlightenment movements, led by people who have contempt for the sort of materialistic, bourgeois goals that dominate our politics. These people don’t care if their earthly standard of living improves by a few percent a year. They’re disgusted by the pleasures we value, the pluralism we prize and the emphasis on happiness in this world, which we take as public life’s ultimate end…

The more I hear about ISIS, the more I want to re-read Tom Kratman's "A Desert Called Peace" series.

Again,

Corvair! The Love and the Bane of my life!

As "Unsafe at Any Speed" marks 50 years, Corvair values hit all-time high | Fox News:

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ralph Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed," in which the young Harvard-trained lawyer/activist did a serious hatchet job on what was a very interesting and unconventional American car. But the Chevy Corvair is clearly having the last laugh. Ironically, as the book turns 50, Corvair prices have reached an all-time high.

I owned a 1963 Corvair Spyder (the high-performance model) in College.

After I graduated, and after I came home from the Army, I bought a 1965 Corvair Corsa.  Also the high performance model.

Both were the convertible models.

Both were hot, sexy, and when they ran right they ran with the power of the Elk and the grace of the Gazelle!

Unfortunately, they didn't run that well, that often.

Both had the endemic problem of the rear-mounted engine:  when you pushed them too hard, it threw the fan belt and you had to stop RIGHT THEN and re-install the fan belt.

        If you didn't fix that RIGHT THEN .. in the words of RoboCop ... "...There Will Be Trouble!"



I carried a 1/2"  open wrench and a 5/16" socket wrench, which were the tools necessary to to loosen the idler wheel so I could put the fan belt back on track.

I also carried a spare fan belt, just in case; but it was never needed.  The fan belt was not damaged by the experience;  it just fell off into the rear-deck engine well.

The front end was the trunk.  In the winter (in the 1960-1970 period) in Oregon, we got some fearsome winters with snows six inches or more.  The snow lasted for weeks, to months.  The front of the Corvair was so light, I couldn't steer the car.  I had to put a hundred pounds or more of sandbags in the front-trunk of the Corvair so I could make it around a corner.

But I loved those cars!

162 Years In Prison For Owning A Cell Phone

Quartavious Davis, First-Time Offender With 162-Year Prison Term, Gets Appeal - NBC News.com

Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

What if you wrote to your girlfriend every day, and you were a thief, And what if the postmarks on your letters proved that you were in the towns where your thefts occurred on those days?

And what if those letters were seized by the police, and were used to convict you of crimes (of which you were certainly guilty although perhaps not provably), and you were sentenced to prison for 162 years on that basis?

Even though you had never been convicted of a crime before?

And what if the police didn't have a warrant to seize those letters?

Isn't that an infringement on the defendant's constitutional rights?