Categories

Apparently, sometime in my two-month absence my del.icio.us tagging system went screwy. I'll fix it later, but for now, be warned.

As if anyone cares, or for that matter, reads this tripe, but hey, I'm anal-retentive about this stuff.

Ah, not this S**t again

When I read the Fark.com headline:

"Pimp my commode"

I'll admit, the first thing I thought was "Don't be Georgia, Don't be Georgia." [clicks link] ah, damnit:

ATLANTA -- A national plumbing products company is trying to get hip to the younger generation by giving away a home-entertainment toilet in Atlanta.

While sitting on this "pimped out" toilet, you can take care of business while notching a new high score on your PlayStation.However, video games are just the beginning. This toilet sports a DVD player and a even a beer tap. Everything is at arms length, including a Velcro strap for all of the remote controls.

Were I still capable of tears, I'd weep for our future.

(Although the beer tap sounds pretty sweet, to be honest.)

Saturday Gunblogging: Summer Love

"Saturday Gunblogging" posts are posts with which I indulge myself by talking about (usually) the equipment of the shooting sports. These are often topics extensively covered elsewhere in the gun world, but whatever; I like talking about 'em.

Yeah, I know, it's Sunday, but being in the stands for an SEC football game (see below) is, I believe, a daggum good excuse for being away from the computers. Better late than never, eh? Anyway, lately I've been thinking about a new, preferably brand-new, summer/lightweight/smallish concealed-carry handgun. Yeah, I know it's November, but hey, no time like the present to start thinking about these things.

Living in Georgia forces a major, unalterable, and rather glaringly obvious, condition into my concealed carry choices: it's too hot and humid to easily wear clothing suitable for concealing any sort of large or medium framed handgun. I'm a pretty big guy (6'1", 240, big shoulders) but my preferred carry gun, a Colt Commander (see the end of this post) is just a bit too large to easily carry unnoticed under an un-tucked polo, golf shirt, etc., especially since I like to carry it outside the waistband. So when conditions force me to go a bit smaller, I've been using a semi-borrowed (long story) blued aluminum-framed S&W 2" barreled J-Frame loaded with either .38 Special +P 125 or 158 grain. It's a nice piece that's loaded fairly well, but it's really TOO small, better suited as a backup gun or for those times when carrying a piece is socially verboten, like a wedding (unless you're the father of the bride, but then you really should be carrying a shotgun for the sake of tradition), church, etc. I could carry something bigger for those events, but I'd feel a little guilty sitting next to, say, the 80 year old aunt of the groom while packing a Colt .45 under my suit jacket. Events like that are perfect for a snubbie. Besides, that sub-2" barrel doesn't do much for accuracy out beyond 5 yards, unless I put about a million rounds down the practice range.

No, what I need is something between a full/service-sized pistol and a tiny little revolver. It's not like there's a dearth of medium-framed autos or revolvers out there, but I'm a bit discerning in my tastes, so here's my criteria:

1)It has to be reliable, without question,
2) It has to conceal fairly well,
3) It can't be too heavy, but it shouldn't be so light that I can't use full-power loads,
4) It has to be chambered in a reasonably-powered centerfire cartridge,
5) It has to have some style, look good, etc. (that takes GLOCK's out of the equation)

So with that in mind, I put my gunny thinking cap (seriously, it's a hat with the logo of my "home" range/gun shop) on and started going through my choices, narrowing it down to two semi-automatics and two revolvers. . . kinda.

Auto #1: Kahr K40
I've loved this little pistol since the Father of Garm bought one awhile back for exactly the same reason that prompted this post. Wonderfully comfortable grips, beautifully finished stainless steel, just the right amount of heft, but not enough weight to bother while carrying. It's chambered in .40 S&W, which, while having a little bit of "pop" in the hand, has plenty of street and lab proven power downrange. Accurate? You better believe it. The first time I shot it, I was frankly amazed at the accuracy (the polygonal rifling in the barrel is the main factor for this), and even now when F.o.G. let's my dirty mitts touch the K40, it's a little amazing how well fitted and accurate it is. The trigger is very smooth, with the same length of pull on every shot, no creep, and a slight tightening toward the end of the pull. Think about a really smooth old S&W revolver DA trigger; that's about where the Kahr is, especially once it gets broken in. Durability? Well, it's still fairly new (the gun world often measures model longevity in decades), and I have heard of a few incidents, but they were with the polymer-framed versions and besides, I always take internet complaints with a rather large grain of salt. Sorry about the picture quality, by the way, but it was a quick n' dirty find.

Auto #2: SiGARMS P229 SAS
I've liked this little guy for quite awhile. One of the latest versions of the venerable SiG 220/226/229 series, which means it has quite a bit of "real-world" reliability testing behind it. Plus, it's a SiG, so you KNOW it's accurate. Also chambered in .40 S&W, I have nothing to concern myself with in the power category. I've only had the opportunity to dry-fire, but it does have a pretty nice trigger pull, though things do change when there's a round in the chamber. I love the two-tone stainless finish, and the "melted" treatment on the frame and slide make it both easy to conceal (hard edges "print" through clothes more than rounded edges) and more (to my eyes) aesthetically pleasing. Plus, wraparound wood grips! SWEET! It's only slightly more expensive and, in my opinion, somewhat better looking than the Kahr. However, this 229 is slightly wider than the K40. I think if my choice came down to these two, it'd really depend on what kind of deal price-wise I could get.

Revolver #1a: Ruger SP101 (KSP-331X)
This is one of those handguns I keep coming back to when thinking about a summer gun. Reliable without question, the timeless beauty of a stainless-steel six shooter, and a lower price than the two autos above. It's chambered in the venerable .357 Magnum, though of course .38 Special (standard, +P, and +P+) can also be loaded, as full-house Magnum loads are a bit stout. It's accurate, it's weight and balance are just about perfect, and it's fairly easy to conceal under a shirt, especially as I can carry one of these inside the waistband comfortably. I love Ruger revolvers; you just can't break the damn things. I'm really leaning toward one of these. However, there is Revolver 1b to consider:

Revolver #1b: Gemini Customs SP101 (third item down)
I lust after this pistol. There's no other way to say it. It's the same SP101 as above, but customized into a work of art: hard chrome finished, ported barrel (aids in recoil reduction), gorgeous grips, action job (stock Ruger triggers are consistent and creep-free, but a tad on the heavy side), a bobbed hammer (which I really like, as a hammer has the potential to snag on a shirt at a very bad time), and a bunch of other custom touches. This is one beautiful custom. I want one. Badly. The price tag of $550.00 (not including the gun itself; that's 550 for the custom work) is a bit steep for a small/medium frame revolver, but damn, it's worth it, and really isn't that bad, as custom guns go. I don't know if I'd be able to afford it before next spring/summer, but I'll sure be pinching pennies in a valiant attempt. Even if I can't get one anytime soon, this bad boy is on the "Must-have-before-I-die" list.

Although I'd be well-served by any of the above pistols, hopefully that custom SP101 will find a home on my belt when the weather warms up. Whichever way it turns out, it looks like I'll be giving a range report on a new summer carry piece next spring. Stay tuned, keep 'em in the X, and be safe.

Auburn 15 - Georgia 37

I was at Jordan-Hare for this debacle (section 104 on the East Upper) as I try not to miss the yearly Auburn-Georgia meeting. As long as they aren't playing each other, I'm a fan of both the Dawgs and the Tigers. When they do play each other, I'm a rabid Auburn fan, so it was pretty heartbreaking to see Auburn get dominated yesterday afternoon, to say the least.

What can I say? Georgia showed up to play, Auburn didn't. As I told Father of Garm last night, there was NOTHING (zero, zilch) in Auburn's game to point to as being remotely good. The Defense was dominated (zero sacks on a freshman QB), the Offense was horrid (INT, INT, INT, ah screw it), and the Special Teams were lackluster, to say the least (seriously, did you see those punts? gah!). I don't know where the collective head of Auburn was at. . . yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition. Anyway, Georgia came to play; after all, they had something to prove after their losses this season. Auburn didn't, and now they're out of the SEC Championship game. Oh well, hopefully they'll be better next season.

In the meantime though, we got Bama coming up, and a win on them will erase all my criticisms and make me feel so much better about life in general.

BEAT BAMA!
WAR DAMN EAGLE!

(by the way, I just want to say that I didn't talk to any Georgia fans, either in Auburn or back home while I was shopping after the game, who were obnoxious, annoying, etc. They were all gracious in their victory and quite polite about it. [not that they have that much to brag about this season, but still...] I appreciate that, and hope that Auburn fans, myself included, display similar levels of good sportsmanship next year when we kick y'all's ass.)

OK, I'm back (again for like the 8th time)

Yeah, another unexplained absence. Sue me. Wait, no, don't sue me; I'm broke. Suing me would waste the time and money of everyone involved and the judge would laugh at you after seeing my financial records. Seriously though, sorry for the extended absence; it was unintended and unavoidable. Besides, let's face it: this a pretty low traffic site (I don't do it for that reason) and sometimes life gets a little large and some priorities have to pushed to the side a bit. Hopefully I'll be around awhile this time. If (when) an absence must occur again, I'll endeavor to learn some manners and let y'all know.

In the interest of fostering those manners, I suppose I should let loose the reason for my internet vanishing act:

If you have a dog with a proclivity to make HALO jumps into the lap of his doting master while said master is sleeping or otherwise unaware and unprepared for the impending canine Fallschirmjäger assault, for all that is holy in this world, keep his frightfully, unaccountably sharp nails trimmed and buffed into slightly-less-painful dullness. Otherwise, you might find yourself curled into the fetal position on your bathroom floor clutching a handful of paper towels and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in white-knuckled hands, all the while petitioning JesusAllahBuddha for sweet death to take you away from the alternating waves of nausea, the sharp, tearing pain, and the sight of what is rapidly becoming a blood-covered crotch.

Just an FYI.

(Am I being facetious? Is that really what happened? Only I know.)

Oh, God No!

Beer drinkers beware: 4 percent of U.S. hops crop burns. Not only tragic, but this may cause rioting in the streets if the beer supply is cut. If people can't drink away their feelings about high gas prices because beer prices are too high. . . well, this could lead to a situation that shakes this nation to its very core.

There will be a moment of silence as soon as the sun dips below the yardarm.

Want to get freaked out?

These Human medical experiments occurred right here in the U.S. Here's a sample:

(1896) Dr. Arthur Wentworth turns 29 children at Boston's Children's Hospital into human guinea pigs when he performs spinal taps on them, just to test whether the procedure is harmful (Sharav).

(1943) In order to "study the effect of frigid temperature on mental disorders," researchers at University of Cincinnati Hospital keep 16 mentally disabled patients in refrigerated cabinets for 120 hours at 30 degrees Fahrenheit (Sharav).

(1967) Continuing on his Dow Chemical Company-sponsored dioxin study without the company's knowledge or consent, University of Pennsylvania Professor Albert Kligman increases the dosage of dioxin he applies to 10 prisoners' skin to 7,500 micrograms, 468 times the dosage Dow official Gerald K. Rowe had authorized him to administer. As a result, the prisoners experience acne lesions that develop into inflammatory pustules and papules (Kaye).
[. . . ]
The U.S. Army pays Professor Kligman to apply skin-blistering chemicals to Holmesburg Prison inmates' faces and backs, so as to, in Professor Kligman's words, "learn how the skin protects itself against chronic assault from toxic chemicals, the so-called hardening process," information which would have both offensive and defensive applications for the U.S. military (Kaye).
[. . . ]
Professor Kligman develops Retin-A as an acne cream (and eventually a wrinkle cream), turning him into a multi-millionaire (Kaye).

(1953 - 1957) Eleven patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are injected with uranium as part of the Manhattan Project (Sharav).

(1951 - 1952) Researchers withhold insulin from diabetic patients for up to two days in order to observe the effects of diabetes; some test subjects go into diabetic comas (Goliszek).

(1955 - 1957) In order to learn how cold weather affects human physiology, researchers give a total of 200 doses of iodine-131, a radioactive tracer that concentrates almost immediately in the thyroid gland, to 85 healthy Eskimos and 17 Athapascan Indians living in Alaska. They study the tracer within the body by blood, thyroid tissue, urine and saliva samples from the test subjects. Due to the language barrier, no one tells the test subjects what is being done to them, so there is no informed consent (Goliszek).

Here's my favorite (for lack of a better word) if only for its "what the hell" factor:

(1919 - 1922) Researchers perform testicular transplant experiments on inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California, inserting the testicles of recently executed inmates and goats into the abdomens and scrotums of living prisoners (Greger).

There's plenty more, including some of the .gov's Greatest Hits, like Tuskegee, MKULTRA, and the CDC vs. gay men. Whenever I read things like this, I just get a warm fuzzy feeling all over regarding doctors, the government, and my fellow man in general.

Parental Apathy

Children left behind. . . by their parents. This is the kind of stuff that makes me bang my head into walls:

[School officials] sent letters to parents in English and Spanish, notifying them that under the federal No Child Left Behind act of 2001, their children were eligible for free tutoring.

Parents, the letters said, could choose from a list of state-approved tutoring companies. The district, the letters said, would spend up to roughly $1,000 and tutoring would be provided by private companies such as Catapult Online or PLATO Learning.

More than 650 families were eligible. A few parents called with questions, but when the sign-up period concluded, "none of our families took us up on that," said Cynthia Davis, a district coordinator.

Wait, what? Students aren't doing well. Federal dollars (from the much-derided No Child Left Behind Act) are made available to parents of those students in the form of free tutoring. NONE of the parents took advantage of the program. I could understand (maybe) if the parents weren't made aware of the program, but they were. The article cites Colorado educators stating that the low response to the program has to do with things such as notification letters being "confusing or filled with technical jargon" and lack of transportation to extra-curricular programs. I understand the latter; parents have to work or take care of other children. What I can't understand is the former: if you can't understand something you get from your child's school, why can't you request clarification from the school? I can also understand if some parents don't take the offer of free tutoring when their children are already involved in another after-school program, but NO parents signed up for the program in the school district?

That's just (a)pathetic.

Technical Difficulties

Don't you hate it when you're gone for the weekend, return home, and find that your cable tv/internet is out? Yeah, so do I. Posting to resume as normal now that everything's fixed.

Football; Not happy, not sad

Army 14 - Rice 48

Meh, I'm not at all surprised. I'll be happy if Army breaks even for the season and ecstatic if they finish above .500.

Auburn 24 - South Carolina 17

Damnit Auburn, get it together. This is why AU hasn't gotten any national championship lately; they have great teams, but they either A) play too many teams that aren't nationally ranked and/or B) they don't score enough. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they won. After all, I've hated Spurrier for as long as I can remember, so beating any team he's the coach of is a good thing, but they have got to start scoring some points.

Georgia 14 - Mississippi 9

pending Good, but I'm tired and going to bed now.

Exact Karma

Feel good story for gunnies, or in my perfect world, anyone:

At age 8, Terry Jackson gave up his prized .22-caliber Winchester short-barrel rifle to get his grandmother a washer. Recently, the 57-year-old got the gun back through a series of chance encounters and conversations.

How cool is that? A good dead that didn't go unpunished for once. The rifle, which he bought with his own money, was the only thing of value he had and his grandmother couldn't afford even a manual clothes washer, so he did what he thought was right by giving up his prized possession.

Fast-forward 49 years: it turns out that someone in the town still owns the rifle, heard the story, and gave the .22 back to Jackson, saying, "That was a really nice thing he did for his grandma."

Gawd, family- and small-town values of the best (non-political) kind. . . and a gun? This sounds like the kind of story that the writers of The Andy Griffith show, the publishers of Guns and Ammo, and the Hallmark channel would produce if they ever got together. I love it.

Saturday Quick Hits

I'm sure you know about Mark Foley's resignation, but here's an example of his hypocrisy. From his (soon to be not his) official House website, regarding sex offender legislation:

“For too long our nation has tracked library books better than it has sex offenders. That day is coming to an end,” said Foley. “Senator Hatch and Leader Frist have been resolute in keeping this legislation on track. We are closing loopholes that sex offenders and pedophiles have used to prey on children.”

Idiot. If you really want to, you can read some of the instant message conversation between Foley and the 16 year old here (pdf file, sexually explicit) I'm not about to play partisan politics with this, though I'm sure some who are further left than I probably will, claiming that this is yet another example of "Republican hypocrisy." It is hypocrisy, but both parties are filled with hypocrites.

Moving on, doc Russia has a good, and in my view, correct take on Howard Dean's (somewhat bizzare) pledge to take back Texas. . . and to do it before tackling other states:

Unfortunately for the DNC, I find it highly improbable that they will suddenly turn about, divorce themselves from the nanny-statists, militant atheists, and proffessional beureaucrats that penetrate the warp and woof of their party. If you want to play politics in Texas, you can be a tough old grandma, a Jewish cowboy, or common republican, as long as you at least intend to leave a persons liberties and properties alone.

Read the whole thing.

Here's some random 1911 gun pr0n. . . extra kinky, since the Springer's stripped.

Finally, never take whiskey from the Irish, they might explode. Really.

On the Road

I'm driving down to GenieJunkie's (for the first time in God knows how long) for the weekend. I'm still planning on posting over the weekend and today, just not this morning.

This will be the first time his dog and my dog will meet. Should be interesting, to say the least.

Update: Well, the meeting of the dogs actually went better than I'd hoped. There were a couple of tense moments when Genie's dog didn't appreciate the over-curiosity of my dog, but both were well-supervised, behavior (of both) was immediately corrected, and all was well.

Filed in:

• Site-Admin

Dayummm

W.T.F.

Filed in:

• Miscellanea

More on Jeff Cooper

Guns and Ammo posted their Jeff Cooper Tribute, a collection of some of his quotes. The amazing thing is that the list is only a fraction of Cooper's total publicized output; love him or hate him, the man was prolific. Here are two more of my favorites regarding violence and aggression, and exemplify part of why I attempt to train my mind and hands in effective defensive shooting techniques:

One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that 'violence begets violence.' I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure--and in some cases I have--that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.

And:

Fight back! Whenever you are offered violence, fight back! The aggressor does not fear the law, so he must be taught to fear you. Whatever the risk, and at whatever the cost, fight back!

Damn straight.

Filed in:

• Gun-Stuff

Unintentionally Funny

OK, maybe my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, but I think this is the funniest unintentional line I've read this week:

Soldiers are afraid of third parties stirring things up after the coup, so we had to make sure they were harmless.

Can't imagine why, after taking over the country, they'd worry about someone, uh, trying to take over the country. Also:

The army appears determined that the carnival atmosphere following the country's first coup in 15 years does not detract from the serious business of power. Yesterday, it banned go-go dancers from flaunting themselves near tanks and troops.

Why can't we have a war there?

Filed in:

• Miscellanea
• Politics-Global

Be nice if Bush did this

All we get from Bush and others in the Administration is "Islam is a Religion of Peace" and "it's just the extremists who are to blame," etc. Looks like some members of the Australian government are calling a spade a spade:

The Howard Government's multicultural spokesman, Andrew Robb, yesterday told an audience of 100 imams who address Australia's mosques that these were tough times requiring great personal resolve. Mr Robb also called on them to shun a victim mentality that branded any criticism as discrimination.

"We live in a world of terrorism where evil acts are being regularly perpetrated in the name of your faith," Mr Robb said at the Sydney conference.

"And because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem.

"You can't wish it away, or ignore it, just because it has been caused by others.

"Instead, speak up and condemn terrorism, defend your role in the way of life that we all share here in Australia."

Mr Robb said unless Muslims took responsibility for their destiny and tackled the causes of terrorism, Australia would become divided. [emphasis mine]

Substitute "U.S." or even "the entire world" for "Australia" in that last sentence and that's exactly what I want to hear our leaders say, verbatim. Yes there are many "moderate" Muslims, Muslims who believe that violence is not the way, that violent conquest, retribution, and overreaction is antithetical to modern civilization, and those Muslims are all over the world, and some do speak out. Unfortunately, too few of those Muslims, the ones who dislike seeing their brethren burning effigies, taking misguided and violent retribution for unintended insults, rioting, etc., over ancient feuds, cultural misunderstandings, or just words, rarely, if ever, speak out against, much less actively work against, the more violent elements in their society and faith.

It'd be good to see them do so. . . and for Bush & Co. to call them on not doing so.

ETA: I also like what Angela Merkel said yesterday:

I think self-censorship does not help us against people who want to practise violence in the name of Islam. It makes no sense to retreat.

Filed in:

• Politics-Global

Gone Fishin'

On a deadline, so very light to no posting today. Hopefully I'll get some things posted, but I don't know yet.

Filed in:

• Site-Admin

Two steps forward

Good news in our state-level war on drugs: The number of crystal meth labs being discovered in Georgia is down, which is a very good thing.

In 2003, 800 home meth-labs were dismantled in the state of Georgia. Law enforcement officials predict they may not even dismantle a hundred clandestine labs this year.

I know for a fact that my county Drug Task Force has pushed virtually all, if not every one, of the meth producers out of the county. I'm thankful for that, as I've been a first-hand witness to both the drug's effects on its users and what happens when a meth lab explodes. It seems that last year's law forcing all drugs containing pseudoephedrine behind the pharmacy counter and limiting the per-purchase quantity of those drugs has helped to a large degree as well.

There's a catch though: crystal methamphetamine use is not down, nor is the supply on the street. Why?

On August 30th, David Nahmias, the United States Attorney with the Northern District of Georgia said, “Atlanta is an epicenter for [crystal meth]. Not only just the use, that is continuing to grow in North Georgia, but more the distribution throughout the east coast of the United States.”

Nahmias made that statement after Federal, State and Local law enforcement agents seized a record amount of the drug. But it was not home-made. It was shipped from Mexico.

The importing of methamphetamine has grown as substantially as the home labs have decreased. It is changing the focus of the fight for people like Phil Price [Special Agent in Charge, GBI].

“The imported meth is so readily available that it’s not cost effective to make your own,” Price said.

In other words, were it not for our sieve-like southern border, the supply, and thus the use, of one of the worst and most widely available drugs to ever hit Georgia would be severely curtailed. So thanks FedGov for nullifying the efforts of my state lawmakers and law enforcement personnel, not to mention your own anti-drug agencies. Yeah, I saw the money Congress recently set aside for a bit of a wall on the southern border, but what kind of success could my state have had in our fight against meth had you secured our national border 5 years ago, or 10, or 20, or even last year, when the raw material supply of our in-state meth producers was heavily restricted? So Georgia take two steps forward, and one giant step back.

Filed in:

• Law/Crime
• Politics-Georgia
• Politics-U.S.

Thank You Col. Cooper

Michael Bane reports that LTC Jeff Cooper has passed away. If you don't know, Cooper can easily be considered the founder of all our modern handgun techniques, not to mention his work with combat rifle techniques. In his books he, often eloquently, described and codified the how, what, when, who, and why of shooting, melding both the art and the science of the many shooting genres. Most modern training courses, if not all of them, take something in varying degrees from LTC Cooper's writings and Gunsite, one of the first and still among the best of the "modern" firearms training programs.

In the gun world, this man is a legend.

Here's a link to The Jeff Cooper Bibliography, which should give interested shooters some idea of what to read by the Colonel. Here's one of my favorites of his sayings:

The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized.

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.

Godspeed, Semper Fi, and thank you, LTC Cooper.

Filed in:

• Gun-Stuff