Government Card Fraud

I've seen this story about abuse of government cards on QandO and now at Kim's place. I've commented both places, but I'll leave a record here as well.

I'm a government travel card holder. I have to undergo regular travel card fraud/waste/abuse training. The training is mostly bullshit because using travel cards is common sense and abusing them is premeditated.

The reason people are pulling this crap is because they know they can get away with it. Their organizations are lenient or just don't bother to follow up properly and the kiddies using the cards know it. If they didn't know this in advance, they wouldn't be making the charges. Why? Because on a travel card, the card holder (me) is stuck with the bill not the government. I get permission to travel, but I'm personally responsible for everything on the card. The government simply reimburses me for the valid expenses before I get the bill. And that bill is due, payable in full, when it shows up at your door at the end of the month. Nobody is going to pull this crap if they don't know they can get away with it in advance, because nobody wants to get stuck holding the bill.

If you want to see this stuff stop, you just start leaving people with the bill for these abuses. If the auditors let them slip through, you fire them for not doing their jobs. The problem is that you need someone with the stones to implement this as policy. Crack down on this and you'll see it grind to a halt just like it did years ago in the corporate world.

Now That's a Troop Formation

That's 18,000 men at Camp Dodge, Iowa in 1918. Kind of makes the marching bands in the Rose Bowl Parade look lightweight doesn't it?

Nightime Cities From Space

John C. Wright brought this video taken by astronauts on the ISS to my attention:

It's interesting that you can tell what part of the world you're looking at by lighting color and city planning.

Learning from the Net

Huh, Taurus Bulba is reference to the Russian novel Taras Bulba. The novel is about Ukrainian Cossacks, not cows who are criminal masterminds.

I guess I can be excused for not know this. Wikipedia opines that "The reference is quite possibly the most obscure for any character in the Disney canon." It is sad that the cartoon character has a bigger wikipedia article than one of the most seminal works in Russian literature.

UPDATE: In other learning from the net escapades, I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of the ants in my kitchen. All the methods I'm finding are "all natural" and "environmentally safe." Like I care. As long as they're safe for humans and the cat, I'm all for the insect equivalent of WMDs.

The Problem of Fantasy

One of the big problems in modern fantasy novels is that the writers rarely do the necessary research to understand the state of pre-industrial societies. Law Dog gives an example of this with his discussion of grocers.

I offered my opinion that it was for the same reason that many cultures use a base twelve system -- 12 signs in the Zodiac, 12 inches to the foot, two x 12 hours in a day, five x 12 seconds in a minute, same number of minutes in an hour, so on and so forth -- twelve is the highest number that can be counted to using one hand, and 144 is the highest number that can be counted to using both hands.

He goes on to explain how you do this using your thumb and the bones on your fingers. One commenter explains how you can actually count to 16 on one hand using knuckles which might explain the difference between some archaic unit types (like US vs. Imperial measures).

12 also has the advantage that it is easily divisible without complex tools. It can be cut in half or thirds. You can cut those in half again to make fourths or sixths. With 16, you can get subdivisions simply by cutting it in half repeatedly. And people are pretty good at cutting things in half.

Nobody used base ten. Why? Because dividing things by five or ten is hard without using relatively modern tools. Most of the scientific equipment of the Renaissance is all base two. Fahrenheit was supposed to be base two with freezing water at 32 and body temperature at 96. This gave Fahrenheit 64 (2^6) graduations between his calibration points.

Many early units of measure also had very practical values. A foot or hand was based on anatomy. A barleycorn or poppyseed were length units based on the size of a common seed pod. A furlong (660 feet) was the distance plow team could work without taking a break. An acre is an area one furlong by a surveying chain wide, it is approximately how much land could be plowed in a day. A league (3 miles) was how about how far a person could walk in an hour. Very practical, but not very standardized.

Unfortunately most modern fantasy seems to stick with base ten. This is practical in that the readers can understand it, but unrealistic in that nobody with a medieval level of science and technology would actually be able to use such a thing. Similar things happen with sexual relations and religion. Far far too modern for the setting.

Really Classic Coke

Via Lawdog:

Folks, if you can find Coca-Cola that's been made in Mexico that particular bottle of Coke has been made with real sugar instead of corn syrup.

In other words, if you fondly remember the taste of pre-1985 Coca-Cola, go to your local Mexican grocery and find the Coke marked, "Hecho en Mexico".

Also, if you're up north of the Mason-Dixon line where you might be a touch shy of decent mercados, Coke will bottle properly-made sodas for Passover. Look for the yellow capped bottles in April.

Well that's interesting. I may have to look for that this week.

That Fickle Internet

I talked with a coworker about yard work this morning. He revealed that the most common entry link to his blog was from a "scotts patchmaster" search on Google. Especially this time of year when everyone with a patchy yard (like me) is looking for a solution.

I share his pain. The most common links to my blog were for pistol targets or for web searches using odd spelling mistakes. Such is like on the internet I suppose.

Oh and my coworker doesn't recommend PatchMaster. He didn't see any appreciable improvement over normal grass seed.

Military Make-A-Wish

QandO noticed a DefenseLink piece about soldiers helping make a 5 year-old leukemia victims wish. I really amazes me how caring the military can be sometimes. Given current events, these guys have every reason to be emotionally unavailable. They're probably seen guys in their unit get hurt or killed. Many have had to put the hurt on another human being as part of their job. But instead they reach out to kids like Gavin Cox. And this happens all the time and in all branches of the military. I'm not saying there aren't some stupid or callous soldiers out there, but our military services are just one hell of an organization.

My Last Week

From Chris Byrne:

Ever have one of those days where your back has decided that at some point you did something really nasty to it; but you can't figure out exactly what it is you did or when; you just know that moving is bad?

Yup. For about the last week my lower back has been really sore. Not sharp shooting pains, just constant aching. I don't know what I did, I just know that it hasn't been happy. I doubt moving around TVs for the last two nights has improved my situation either.

Helping the Economy

Amybear and I picked up our first HDTV at BJs yesterday. In addition to blowing over a grand of our tax refund on that, we're looking at blowing additional money upfront and monthly for HD content from DirecTV. I may also pick up a PS3 when GTA4 comes out.

The TV a 42" Philips unit. Getting it home was interesting. My little Mazda was not designed to carry objects of that height and width. After we failed to get it into the trunk, a nice passer-by volunteered to help load it into the back seat. I think getting it out again required Amy and I to warp the fabric of space time. But hey the box is in the living room now.

UPDATE: Well it's set up. Amy and I are watching our normal DirecTV feed on the new TV (nice) and then we watched a DVD (nicer). One minor annoyance is that the automatic aspect ratio utility on the TV seems to be crap. It seems to default to 16:9 which really deforms broadcast TV. So I have to manually switch between 4:3 and 16:9 instead of the set automatically figuring things out for me. This would be fine if widescreen DVDs didn't feature both video formats in different parts of the same disk.

Pockets! Power to the People!

The lovely Helen Smith discusses women's fashion and why she hates the handbag.

I never realized how much I hated carrying a purse until this week when a service person ripped off some money out of my wallet — about 200 bucks. ... The question was, what could I do to prevent it from happening again? The answer? Quit carrying a damn purse around, especially a Coach bag. It might as well have a big label attached to it: Take Me Now.

She goes on to describe what is like trying to live as a free woman and how it is fraught with its own problems. How do those guys do it?

It takes conscious planning and it also helps that mens clothes are designed around having useful pockets. Women’s clothes aren’t, probably because women carry purses. It also lets them make women’s clothes more form fitting and curve hugging than men's because they don’t have to plan for anything actually going in their pockets. Going against the flow must be tough. Many of my wife's pants don't have any pockets.

Here is my usual loadout:

• Right front pants - keys
• Left front pants - coin purse
• Right rear pants - Comb and maybe a few tissues
• Left rear pants - trifold wallet
• Breast pocket - business and security IDs

The pants pockets have been set up that way since before college. All the shirts I wear to work have a breast pocket to hold my security ID. All my work khakis are pleated because it gives me more front pocket room (mostly for the keys). All my casual pants are looser fitting cargoes because it gives me more pockets and comfortable pocket room. Cell phone, multitool, pens, pencils, flashlight, etc. went from backpacks in college to the current briefcase and car console system. If I felt like I needed to carry a phone all the time (or if I ever start carrying a gun regularly) I'll probably holster them on a good belt.

And on a different but related note, women's clothes sizing makes no sense. Women's clothes seem to come in 2 body types: petite and regular. The sum total of all variation within those categories is given by a single number. What a stupid system. It's like the designers saw all the possible body variations, created a category for short girls, and then just gave up.

I'm Pregnant

Since everyone seems to be pulling bad April Fools pranks, I thought I'd follow suit.

Oh and I guess I'm worth a lot in bed, just not as much as Glenn Reynolds.

Bowler Gate

And it today's utterly irrelevant political news, Barack Obama is a horrible bowler. 37. Wow. I can't wait to see how Hillary uses this moment of weakness in her campaign advertising.

Grand Re-opening

X-Ring Supply off 273 in Newark is holding their grand reopening today after losing their Federal Firearms License last year. We'll see what effect new management has on the old place. I'll probably be checking it out this afternoon.

UPDATE: It was a good event. Not only were they giving away free food and the usual advertising gewgaws, but they were also giving out Hoppes gun cleaning kits to anyone who wanted one. Their gun selection still isn't up to it's former glory, but I did get some price quotes for AR-15 scopes that are competitive with online retailers.

The new X-Ring also had a lot of women inside. This makes a lot of sense because the new owners are the sisters of the old owner. The old shop had a tendency to be a boys club in a very bad way. Amy was decidedly uncomfortable the last and only time she went in there. Hopefully the new one will be a bit friendlier and more open.

I Guess I'm not Emergent Enough

Test came by way of a bigger potty mouth than me.

The Shot Heard 'Round the Airport

You probably heard that a TSA certified pilot accidentally discharged his weapon in flight. News coverage of the event probably made you wonder what Captain Fife was doing playing Wyatt Earp in the cockpit when he should have been landing his plane. The answer of course is that he was most likely locking up his gun as required by the TSA whenever he leaves (or is going to leave) the cockpit. For some stupid reason, the method the TSA uses to secure a weapon in flight is to put a padlock through the gun's holster into it's triggerguard, while the gun is loaded and on the pilots belt. Think about the mechanics of that one. It's a really great idea, isn't it?

For those not in the know, you don't play with loaded weapons. You don't want to do anything that screws around near the trigger of one because if you pull the trigger the gun is supposed to fire. There is no reason to go near the trigger if your gun is in the holster. Most modern holsters cover the trigger guard for this very reason. In contrast, the TSA approved holster has a slot in it so you can stick a curved padlock shackle into the trigger guard and wiggle it around a bunch.

What idiot thought up that procedure and how can we get him fired?

On Compact Fluorescents

James Lileks has some commentary on them:

I hate fluorescent bulbs. I can’t stand the ghastly chalky light, the flicker, the slow warm-up, their incompatibility with dimmer switches. But it’s been a while since I investigated the situation; it’s possible they have bulbs that meet all criteria now. In which case I will install some, because they last longer, and I don't get enough mercury in m y diet. . Until then, however, I prefer the tone and quality of “Reveal” bulbs.

We have some CFs at our place. I replaced most the lights we use regularly with them because it makes the most sense. Some bulbs are good and some suck. We have two 3-way 150W torch lamps in the living room. One has a good bulb that gives warm light with no flicker and no warm up. The other does is it's evil twin and exhibits all the breeds failings. How annoying.

But the real reason we aren't using them more is that the compact fluorescents just aren't compact enough. Several of our fixtures (like the 2 3-way lamps upstairs) require bulbs of such size that you have the choice of CFs or a lampshade, but not both. We went with lampshades. Perhaps I'll rework the shades upstairs so we don't have this problem anymore at a later date.

Stuff Christians Like

I suspect that the items found at Stuff Christians Like are more typical of Evangelical Protestants than Catholics, but they're still amusing. My Current favorites are Metrosexual Worship Leaders, Subtly Finding Out if You Drink Beer Too, and Brand X Cookies. Via Thinklings.

Religion in Science Fiction

SF Signal is discussing the question "Is Science Fiction Antithetical to Religion?" with a panel made up of a number of different Sci-fi authors. John C. Wright acquits himself well with reasoning that could be true of conservatism or religion:

Criticism of religion is an SF theme, because it is speculation. If Jesus turns out to be a Martian, or the Bethlehem Star turns out to be a supernova, that is speculative. Defense of religion is not an SF theme, because the idea that our ancestors were right on this point is not disorienting. It is not speculative.

Let us not misunderstand this point. It is not that religion is unscientific ergo science fiction is irreligious. That argument is beneath contempt. It is that science fiction readers love the roller coaster of new ideas.

Adam Roberts brings up some interesting connections between the rise of Science Fiction and the Reformation. Individual authors pieces are mixed, but the whole is still worth reading.

WiiMote Coolness

Johnny Lee, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon. has whipped up some cool stuff, using only a Wiimote and some safety glasses with attached IR LEDs.

These videos have been floating around the web for some time. While I've heard about them second hand, I've somehow missed actually seeing them until now.

Of War Stories and Fairy Tales

Here is an old joke that seems increasingly related to criticism of the Clinton Campaign:

Q: What is the difference between a fairy tale and a war story?
A: Fairy tales start with "Once upon a time..." and war stories start with "This ain't no shit..."

Perhaps we should add "Back when I was First Lady..." to the list?

UPDATE: I guess I have to retract this bit of snark. I've found a copy of the actual footage on YouTube which clearly shows Hillary's courage under fire.

Over the Weekend...

Amy and I watched the Illusionist, I went shooting with a bunch of people from Delaware Open Carry, and we had Easter dinner at my parents place.

The Illusionist is quite good. It is a dramatic romance involving a duchess, a stage magician, the chief police inspector of Vienna, and the crown prince of Austria-Hungary (based largely on Crown Prince Rudolf). I can't write too much because the plot is fairly twisty and the story isn't told in a simple linear fashion. But it's good. I also love the setting. You just don't see a lot of movies set in Europe between the Napoleonic Wars and the Great War. When you do find one, it is usually set in the British Empire. Seeing the Austro-Hungarian Empire was kind of a treat and makes me wonder about the history of that part of Europe.

Shooting with the folks at Delaware Open Carry at Ommelanden on Saturday morning was also a treat. I tried out one person's XD9 and another's Bersa Thunder 380. The XD was pleasant to shoot with a nice grip geometry, good sights, and trigger safety that doesn't stab your finger (unlike every Glock I've ever shot). The trigger is kind of squishy which took some adjustment because all of my guns are crisp single actions. The Thunder is reliable with a nice trigger but small sights. The recoil was also lot snappier than I expected. The slap into the web of my hand after every shot was unpleasant.

Over all, I really wouldn't mind owning an XD9 or XD45. Since at least three people in the group were carrying them, I'm guess the group shares that opinion. I thought about buying a Thunder, but now I'm definitely going to reexamine that. I'm looking forward to our next trip because hopefully I'll be able to glean some rifle marksmanship pointers from the military and ex-military folks in the group.

Useful Lessons

The lesson found in this video applies not just to cyclists, but also to motorcyclists, scooter riders, and stupid college students that don't bother to look both ways before crossing Main Street.

So Not True

As someone who is married to a MMORPG addict, this happens all the time. Sorry Kurtz.

Happy Easter

Image Via Chris Byrne.

Gorbachev Comes Out of the Closet

The prayer closet. It seems the last Premier of the Soviet Union is also a Christian. Something Reagan figured out over twenty years ago. I think the blotch on his head looking like the Virgin Mary was a tip off myself.

Gorbachev credits "Christian morality" with why he didn't violently suppress the revolution of 1989 as others would have done before him. Go Mikhail and go Jesus.

Games People Play

Risawn has discovered Carcassonne, a game my mother is nuts over and my wife couldn't care less about. I can take it or leave it. The basic game is pretty fun, you lay down tiles to build roads, cities, or monasteries. You get points depending on what you build or lay claim to. Unlike some games (like Settlers of Cataan) it seems to scale pretty well between two and a few players.

The problem? Like Settlers of Cataan, there are a hojillion expansion packs. There is nothing wrong with that, but the more expansions you add, the longer the game takes. Add more than one or two and a fun game that takes less than an hour turns into a afternoon affair. Less is definitely more.

Denied!

I stopped by Rita's on my lunch break, but the shop wasn't open yet. Grrrr...

Important Events

Other bloggers are covering major events like the Heller argument or the death of Science Fiction great Arthur C. Clarke. Which leaves me to cover truly important local events.

In that light, don't forget that tomorrow (March 20) is the first day of Spring and therefore is Free Rita's Water Ice Day. Drive on over to your local Ritas for icy goodness. You can thank me later.

Suspicions Confirmed

LawDog saw 10,000 BC.

Allow me, Gentle Reader, to reach down deep for the exact words to properly describe this move:

Yack.

Yes, I think that fits the bill rather nicely.

In short, whomever wrote the movie obviously didn't bother to Google what life was like in 10,000 BC. Whatever that movie is supposed to represent, it surely isn't the Mesolithic period. And that doesn't even touch on the hackneyed plot.

The FetchBot 2000

This robot tennis ball slingshot is a neat way to keep your energetic dog busy. It is also really well engineered. Notice how the thing doesn't go off if the dog removes the ball.

But it wouldn't work for our cat. Why? Because cats don't fetch. They might bring their fresh kill to you, but they don't fetch it reliably. Milo likes to kill things like birds, mice, or bugs. Balls aren't on that list and don't hold his interest very long. Milo also wouldn't go near the thing because it makes too much noise.

Thankfully cats don't seem to have the boundless energy that dogs do. Milo will play for at most 15 minutes. Then he sleeps for the rest of the day until his next feeding.

Heller Goes to Court

The Supreme Court will be hearing the oral arguments for D.C. vs. Heller at 10 a.m. They should last about 75 minutes. Scotusblog is planning on live-blogging it via the delayed CSPAN feed and hosting links to the audio.

My prediction on the final outcome? I agree with the Geek. I think the individual rights case will carry the day and that complete bans on entire types of weapons (like handguns) will not be considered "reasonable." I also think the Supremes will dodge the issue of incorporation via the 14th amendment. Why? Because they can.

UPDATE: Yup, individual rights carried the day. See Scotusblog for the transcript. The real question is what, if any, standard of review will the Supremes will put on current laws (reasonable, strict, etc.) That is up in the air.

Gas Piston ARs

Look another one! I'm not a huge fan of the gas piston AR/M-16/M-4. They do make the gun run cleaner. Which is nice because cleaning an AR is a pain. They are generally billed as making the gun run more reliably. This is generally bunk. Why?

AR-15s are actually very reliable. The AR has a failure rate around 1% in pretty hard conditions like the Army "dust test". Once you are that reliable, proving another rifle is better in a statistically significant sense is practically impossible. You are so far down the tail of the statistical distribution that you need a huge number of trials to differentiate between the systems in a statistically definitive way. Nobody does that many. This is why all the AR-15 sand tests come back with answers like "the current rifle is good enough."

Jamming in the AR-15 is not generally caused by gas blowing into the action. Jamming is caused by the close tolerances used in the rifles to make them accurate. AR-15s don't jam in the desert because they "shit where they eat." AR-15s jam in the desert because they are full of sand because they are in the desert. Putting a gas piston on the upper does not make them less full of sand or loosen up the parts tolerances so the sand doesn't cause problems.

The reason the military doesn't use piston uppers is not because it is a new concept. Colt tested designs like these in the 1960s. The reason the military doesn't use them is that they aren't significantly better than what we have. Reliability doesn't change much. Accuracy, on the other hand, changes a lot with piston uppers being about half as accurate as a standard AR.

St. Patricks Day

Chris Byrne has a lot of St. Patty's material over at his blog.

For those who might be wondering, the kilt stayed in the closet today. It isn't Irish enough. And it was really cold this morning. If Stillwater ever gets their green wool heavyweight kilts back in stock in my size, maybe I'll pick one up and wear it next year.

Israeli Citizens Demanding THEL

I can't talk too much about this article because unfortunately I actually know something about the Tactical High Energy Laser. Let me just say that demanding your government put 8 trailers full of highly-energetic and highly toxic chemicals in the middle of your town is not very smart. It's not smart even if your town isn't being shot at with rockets and it's even dumber when you realize that your incredibly expensive laser defense system is worthless in less than ideal weather.

I mean seriously. What else in your town is worth $150 million dollars and will blow up nice and destroy or pollute everything around it? If your enemy manages to kill it they'll get bragging rights for years. If I were them, I'd aim for the stupid thing.

Democrat, Republican, or Southerner

I saw this joke over at the Delaware Open Carry Forum and made a few improvements...

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Kimber 1911 cal. 45 ACP, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

The Democrat Answer:

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
Does the man look poor or oppressed?
Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we run away?
What does my wife think?
What about the kids?
Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?
What does the law say about this situation?
Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?
Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted?
We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

The Republican Answer:

BANG! See the Free Market works!

The Southern Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click..... (Sounds of reloading)

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click.

Daughter: 'Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?'

Son: 'Can I shoot the next one!'

Wife: 'You ain't taking that to the Taxidermist!'

SpitzerGate

I don't have a horse in this race, but I have found a few quotes downright hilarious. Like Vodkapundit's:

Governor Eliot Spitzer: Cleaning up New York one prostitute at a time. Sometimes maybe even two at a time.

Or Suitably Flip's:

The Emperors Club reportedly arranged for female accompaniment at rates as dear as $5,500 an hour and also offered investment advice. Full service, indeed.

Sadly Flip doesn't know how to spell "schtupp." Must not be a good Jewish boy... But investment advice? What a great idea! It would be even better if they allowed you to bill their services in some way that is tax deductible. These might be the first prostitutes to make you money since Grand Theft Auto.

UPDATE: Ann Althouse has a roundup of late night monologues about Schtuppergate.

If anything this proves to me how stupid NBC is for taking their content off YouTube and backing Hulu (which is currently in closed beta). I can't watch the Leno and Conan jokes if I want to, but Comedy Central and CBS get free advertising.

UPDATE2: Amybear turned on Good Morning America this morning. One of the Governor's former service professionals had called ABC to defend him. The former prostitute (who had since moved into internet pornography) said that Spitzer was a great guy. He was kind and considerate and always tipped well. A model John. I suppose this is high praise indeed from the people who trade in the world's oldest commodity.

Big Defeat or Trouncing a Loser

Instapundit brought up that Denny Hastert's old House seat has changed party hands in Michigan. This may be a foreshadowing of November, where Republicans get ousted for becoming political fat cats. But I have to wonder if it isn't a more isolated incident. Why?

Oberweis has now spent nearly $9 million of his own money on six elections the last six years and still does not hold elected office.

The GOP ran a six time loser. Give it a rest already. This reminds me of Barbara Hafer who seemed to run for (and lose) every statewide office under the sun during my later school years in Pennsylvania. Or Mike Protack, who can't even seem to get through the primaries, but just keeps running.

Dishonest History

David E. Young takes 15 historians to task for an amicus brief to D.C. vs. Heller that isn't just poorly reasoned, but is actually factually inaccurate. He doesn't list the names of the professors involved, but they are:

1. Jack Rakove
2. Saul Cornell
3. David T. Konig
4. Bill Novak
5. Lois Schwoerer
6. Fred Anderson
7. Carol Berkin
8. Paul Finkelman
9. R. Don Higginbotham
10. Stanley N. Katz
11. Pauline R. Maier
12. Peter S. Onuf
13. Robert E. Shalhope
14. John Shy
15. Alan Taylor

I'm going to look into these people more later, but I already know that several of them are Brady Center affiliated.

Squirrelly Photographers

My brother sent me to a site featuring pictures of a cute pet squirrel name Sugarbush. The owners dresses up the squirrel in costumes as befits the latest news and then takes pictures.

The more I look at it, the more I wonder about her owner's mental health. Amy and I dressed Milo up once for Halloween. He was so mortified that I doubt we'll ever do it again.

Maybe this woman just doesn't have any children?

Not Just Cool Because It's Black

Major Brian Shul's piece about flying the SR-71 Blackbird has been making the rounds on various high profile blogs. Here is the opening paragraph:

In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist camps in Libya. My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111's had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a 'line of death,' a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra, swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph.

Bad Ass. There are some amazing aircraft that came out of the US in the 50s and 60s. Aircraft like the Blackbird or the Starfighter.

Pin the Label on the Feminist

John C. Wright brings up this City Paper editorial about prolonged adolescence. He correctly points out that this is what happens when sexual propriety is thrown out the window. Turns out that before feminists sought to revolutionize gender dynamics, they should have bothered to understand them first. Oops.

He doesn't mention that the whole article is a put down on the male gender. For example:

Single women in their twenties and early thirties are joining an international New Girl Order, hyperachieving in both school and an increasingly female-friendly workplace, while packing leisure hours with shopping, traveling, and dining with friends [see “The New Girl Order,” Autumn 2007]. Single Young Males, or SYMs, by contrast, often seem to hang out in a playground of drinking, hooking up, playing Halo 3, and, in many cases, underachieving. With them, adulthood looks as though it’s receding.

Can you see the double standard? Young women shop, travel, and dine with friends. But when young men do similar things they are described derogatively as "hanging out" or "partying." Men live in disgusting bachelor pads. Where do the women live? Moreover, who do you think these young men are hooking up with? Those guys can't all be gay. Why do all the shallow girls emulating the prolonged Sex and the City style of female adolescence get a pass? The answer is that this isn't the narrative the author wants to tell.

Frankly, I think the main reason for prolonged adolescence in both sexes is college. Once upon a time, you graduated from high school and were expected to start taking care of yourself, and act like an adult. Make plans to settle down with your high school sweetheart, etc. Not any more. Now most high school students have four more years of drinking still to go. There is no point to planning long term with your high school girl, because she probably won't be your college girl when you graduate. And is it surprising that men and women are living in apartments with their friends after they've been doing it through four years of higher education? No.

Subtle Hints

My wife sent me this article this morning. Perhaps I need to do more vacuuming?

Left Wing Religion

Physics Geek has a commentary on some of Barrack Obama's recent statements. I respect a man that uses scripture or theology as a punchline.

The Importance of Carry

Kim du Toit made me aware of this account of a man protecting his daughter from two would-be thieves. They wanted a Gameboy and since they couldn't steal one from Walmart, they marked two people who just bought one and tried to take it by force in the parking lot. They didn't plan on a .45 automatic entering into it.

Quite a while ago, John the Methodist asked me which one of my guns I'd use for carry. I own three handguns, a Browning Buckmark, a 9mm FN Hipower, and a .45acp RIA 1911. The buckmark is a .22 target pistol. It doesn't have stopping power or reliability. The RIA has stopping power, but isn't as reliable as I would like. This is mostly the fault of me buying cheap magazines. This leaves my hipower as my "go to gun" for carry. It is accurate, powerful enough if I use hollowpoints, and it has never jammed.

What I need now is a decent holster for it. My current holsters are a cheap IWB that snags on the sights and a surplus thumbreak that is better, but still doesn't fit quite right. Since I do not have a concealed carry permit, the former is unacceptable even without snagging problems. I really need to pick up a good open carry holster, a few more magazines, some magazines carriers, and decent carry belt.

UPDATE: By the way, one of the more annoying things about the hipower is that if they carry a "hipower" holster, it often isn't actually made for hipowers. Most "hipower" holsters are just 1911 government or commander holsters that are marked "and hipower." While the two guns are similar in shape, they aren't quite the same and the 1911 holsters often don't fit quite right. I already have a holster that is better than nothing. I want something that is actually good.

Losing a Wizard

Gary Gygax passed away yesterday at age 69 from unspecified health problems. He was the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons and as such shares the credit for revolutionizing modern gaming with the invention of the role-playing game.

There is no word yet about how the family intends to protect his grave to prevent tabletop gamers from cracking it open to recharge their dice. I'm betting on clay golems or masterwork-grade death traps. Perhaps a well placed Sphere of Annihilation. Those would be awesome.

Most of the blogosphere is mourning his passing including Chris Byrne (who moderated a newsgroup for him) and, oddly enough, Michelle Malkin.

Why You Use Two Hands

Lets say you have a Thompson Contender Encore single shot pistol chambered in 600 Nitro Express. This is a gun that fires a round with almost 5 times the muzzle energy of a .44 magnum. The cartridge is normally chambered in 15 pound double rifles used to stop charging elephants, not 6 pound handguns used to show off at your local range. So if you're going to shoot such a weapon and do so with people watching and recording the event for posterity, don't lay it across your wrist, hold on to the grips with both your frickin' hands! Otherwise you'll look like fatso here.

Rising Skepticism

Instapundit linked to this story about the rise of solar power. Here is a problematic excerpt:

"We also see an exponential progression in the use of solar energy," he [Ray Kurzweil] said. "It is doubling now every two years. Doubling every two years means multiplying by 1,000 in 20 years. At that rate we'll meet 100 percent of our energy needs in 20 years."

Except that an exponential rate of expansion is not generally sustainable forever. "If trends continue" is one of those phrases that should light warning signs and sound sirens. Especially when these trends must continue for over a generation. The growth curve for new technologies is generally exponential growth up to point followed by a decline in growth until they hit the market saturation threshold. I expect this to happen with solar power just like it has happened with everything else.

Why? Well among other things, roughly half the planet is dark at any given time. Even more is getting weak sunlight in the morning or evenings. Electrical power transmission is lossy and power storage technologies on an industrial level also stink. So you can't move the power around well or store it well. While I could be wrong, I don't see either of those things changing in the next 20 years because they haven't changed in over a hundred. When it is dark you need another power generation option. You also can't do electrical load balancing with solar. The sun is shining or it isn't. You need generators somewhere that you can throttle up or down to meet supply needs in real time.

The other problem is that outside of cities and suburbs, increasing solar electrical generation capacity will have to compete with arable farm land. Solar makes for a great bottom feeder generation technology in urban and suburban areas. It costs (or will cost) very little to throw it on the roof of your house or factory. Why not do it? But out in the country, most of the land is actually used for growing food. Which is important. Nature and agriculture are also solar powered.

I'm not saying that we aren't on the cusp of a solar power revolution. I actually think we are. New manufacturing processes are set to both drop costs and raise efficiency, but there is an upper limit to what we can achieve. A canna' change the laws of physics. I haven't seen any sort of analysis that realistically addresses that generation threshold. Kurzweil essentially just waves his hand and assumes the problem away, which is just sloppy thinking.

Facebook

Ah, so thats why I don't use it.

Glock in a Box

The guys at QandO think this video of the ultracompact prototype FMG9 is pretty cool:



It's a neat product, basically a Glock 18 that folds up into a compact package. But parts of the video do bother me. Did you notice how the guy showing it off is sweeping all creation with the guns muzzle in various parts of the video? Likewise, having a "flashlight" on a gun is only good if you don't mind putting a hole in what you light up with it. And you can't forget muzzle discipline just because it doesn't look like a gun at the time. I'd imagine that it would make a pretty decent PDW for vehicle crews though.

Third Party Candidates

If McCain and Obama aren't going to do it for you, then there is always the BadAss party candidate.

Yankee Candle They Ain't

About the only saving grace of most candle places is that they might have a few products that smell liked baked goods. For a while my air fresheners were vanilla or apple pie. Which is great but they do make you hungry. But Manterns sells an explicitly more male friendly selection. No word on whether they have any specifically designed for the bathroom though.

Congratulations!

John the Methodist and his wife are expecting their first child in September. Please go over there and suggest a baby name or else they'll probably use a Watership Down character. Because a kid named Thlayli "Bigwig" the Methodist would have a really rough childhood.

Cute Puppy

Jared at Thinklings is doggy-sitting a cute pooch named Bailey. She reminds me of Amy's old dog Misty. She looks like her and dresses in clothes like her and is on crack like her. Maybe it a small dog thing. His post includes the requisite adorable picture.

From AK to AR

In a move destined to incite flame wars across the internet the Iraqi Army is switching from the AK-47 to the M-16. The main reason for the switch is that most Iraqi AKs are from arms sales before the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. They're old and despite the AK's reputation, old guns that haven't been maintained or stored properly will have accuracy and reliability problems. Plus the Iraqi government probably has US military support funds that have to be spent on US equipment (just like Israel does). Buying rifles and pistols with it is a great way to go because Iraqi units are almost entirely made up of infantry.

A Day of Deceasing

Miss Anonymous, Paul Smith, and Ryan S. are lamenting the loss of William F. Buckley at age 82. Fewer have said anything about the death of legendary hot-rod customizer Boyd Coddington at age 63. Perhaps that is because Buckley was a consummate gentleman and Coddington was a a hotheaded jackass. Or perhaps we just aren't big American Hot Rod fans.

A Man With Vision

That explains exactly why I voted for him, but also shows Bush's greatest failings. His administration looks forward to the oncoming threat, but yet he is unable to articulate it's magnitude.

Attack Cat

There's a good psycho kitty.

Nerd Engineering

Starship Dimensions is a compilation of various spacecraft from all sorts of science fiction and anime series drawn to a common scale. Of course there are also a few things from real life thrown in (like building) so you can wrap your mind around the relative sizes. Its a real simple idea for a website, but you can spend a lot of time geeking out there.

The Decline of Golf

Hube is lamenting that his pastime has been in decline for 10 years.

I could never really get into golf. I had friends in high school and college that were golfers, (one even received a really bad head injury on the links) but it never clicked with me. Just like with coffee, I missed the crucial period when I should have acquired a taste for it.

I prefer the shooting sports. Target shooting gives you all the struggles with accuracy and consistency that a golf game does, but with the added fun of explosions and breakin' thangs. And some shooting skills are useful outside of the sporting context.

Let me shoot a golf game with, say, a small black powder howitser and then we'll be cooking.

Death by Blogging

John the Methodist thinks I somehow involved with two cases of death by blogging. I deny it completely. Those people obviously said something untoward about Chuck Norris and Chuck acted accordingly.

And you know what we say every time someone dies suddenly by roundhouse kick? It's good that Chuck did that, it's very good!

Fake But Accurate

I know that Barack Obama didn't actually write this editorial, but he could have. Or at least his functionaries could have. Funny stuff.

Perils of Healthy Eating

I've been trying to cut the empty calories out of my diet as much as possible. One of the things I've done is to start taking cups of applesauce to work in my lunch instead of candy. The problem? When I get ready to eat it I just feel like I'm about to snack on baby food. I'm waiting for some Brobdingnagian woman with a mammoth spoon to suddenly appear and make airplane noises at me. Maybe it has something to do with the consistency of the applesauce? I don't know but it's just weird.

On the Forthcoming General Election

Gary at Jokers has this to say about McCain vs. Obama election strategy:

1. Make this a foreign policy election. Talk about Iraq. Alot. I can't imagine when voters hear about McCain's insistence upon winning in Iraq versus Obama's insistence upon losing in Iraq that voters are going to want to vote for the candidate that wants to lose...

2. Talk substance. Let Obama talk about hope and about change, but remind voters (esp. independents) that while Barack Obama was experimenting with cocaine and other drugs, that McCain was the one that was fighting for change, for reform, and did actually achieve it...

My thoughts? I don't think the first one is a particularly good idea. The war is not popular even if we are winning it. Since McCain was one of the people Bush tasked with whipping up support for the war in the first place, this tactic open the door for Obama to point that out. He can link McCain to the Bush administration with it. McCain is better off presenting himself as being unaffiliated with the Bush administration's huge negatives as much as possible.

The second? Yes please. McCain has loads of experience. Obama doesn't. Use that. And his message of hope is largely a slogan. Obama's actual policies are all semi-socialist to completely socialist. Bring the real world crashing in. In the real world Obama is actually at Hillary's left. McCain should claim the political center and make Obama work to get it back.

He should focus his campaign on rooting out corruption, balancing the budget, and streamlining government. Essentially run like Clinton did in 1992. Confront Obama with how he intends to pay for his sweeping government programs (by taxing the rich). Use this policy to force Obama into the traditional Democrat class warfare posture which doesn't work for Democrats in general elections.

That's how I would fight it.

Closeout Bargains

LA Police Gear is blowing out Bates Boots. These are factory seconds, but are being sold at around 80% off. Most are GoreTex lined and probably quite comfy. So if you need something waterproof and purposeful, have at it.

Making the World Smaller

I just realized that my parents' house is on Google's Street View. For some reason that seems a lot more eerie than the old Terraserver picture I had of the old homestead in college. In the latter you can see the grainy outline of the house from space. In the former, both of their cars are parked in the driveway and you can see the make, model, and color.

It would be scary if the street numbering weren't all screwed up. If you actually put in my parents' address, you get pictures of our neighbor's houses instead. But nothings perfect.

UPDATE: Oh and if Street View is supposed to help you figure out where you're going, it fails miserably. Sure I can make out buildings, but it lacks the resolution to read most types of signs and I know the numbering is off. So I have no idea whether I'm actually headed to the right place.

Delaware Firearms Laws

Wynder in the Delaware Open Carry board has built a PDF containing a compilation of Delaware firearms laws. And by Delaware, I don't just mean state law. Those are useful but you could get them by searching the Delaware Code. What makes this a wonderful resource is that it also contains the local Delaware laws that are still in effect because they predate Delaware's preemption law (like Newark and Wilmington's ordinances). I don't know if this list is definitive, but he's working on making it as close as possible.

Reviewing the Rental

My car is getting brake work done, so I'm tooling around in a Chevy Silverado today. I like it.

Overall the Silverado is just more comfortable than the midsize Colorado. The seats are off the floorboards. The dash is still plastic, but the design is better so it doesn't feel cheap. The ride is trucklike but comfy. No worse than the sport suspension in my little Mazda. The truck is big, bigger than the Colorado, but unlike the Colorado its size isn't a problem.

The red crew-cab came equipped with a 4.8L V8. It isn't the biggest engine in the lineup, but I still feel like the truck has depths of power and torque that I just don't care to use. The smaller Colorado felt like it couldn't get out of its own way. I didn't have that feeling with the Silverado. I've had all the power I want and I still haven't taken it above about two thousand RPM. If I put my foot down, I'm sure it will respond with gusto.

I can see why someone might want to step up to the 5.3L though. The 4.8 is the "base" V8. It is a good solid engine, but doesn't have any frills. The 5.3 gives you more power and GMs intelligent engine management system that lets you drop cylinders you don't need when you don't need them. I'm willing to bet the 5.3 actually gets better highway mileage than the 4.8. I just don't know whether it would make enough of a difference to pay for itself. The equipment to do intelligent management doesn't come cheap.

It is a pain to park though. Not only does it take all of Newcastle County to turn around, but it fills up a parking space, side to side and front to back. When I pull through a parking space at the supermarket, I've found that I have to pull forward about a foot past where I'm comfortable before my rear end is out of the space behind me. And pulling into the parking spot in front of our townhouse requires backing up and pulling in again because our neighbors parked on the street.

So I don't know that I would buy one, but I can see why John the Methodist did. Now I have to go think about whether I need to buy anything that requires a 5 foot bed. If I've got it I might as well haul with it.

Friends: Good and Good for You.

43%

Via Hube

Update: If my score gets much higher, I might have a career in the Royal Navy or the RAF.

Delaware Gunnies

I stumbled across the Delaware forum at Opencarry.com this morning. For those interested in the specifics of Delaware Firearms law, it is full of good folks and good information. They cover open carry legality in specific areas like Newark and Wilmington. There are also first hand accounts of people jumping through Delaware's extensive legal hoops while working towards their CCW licenses.

Public Information on Private Matters

The Delaware State Police have started a new program called Tric-Tics in which pictures of Prostitutes and their Johns are posted on the DSP website. The program went live on the first of February and the first set of pictures are now available.

Oh and for those of you who have never watched COPS, none of these people look like Richard Gere or Julia Roberts. You might find someone that looks like Nick Cage if you wait long enough though.

Spending Your Refund

Amy and I discussed how we want to spend any forthcoming IRS refunds last night. It seems to be a popular topic on the net, so I thought I would bring it up.

Amy, who doesn't like to spend her money, is thinking about buying a new laptop. Her current unit is five years old and is giving us a little trouble because of overheating problems. If we can't fix it with a thorough cleaning, it will be time for a replacement.

Me? I want a .22 rifle so I can work on my marksmanship on the cheap. After that, some reloading equipment would also be a good idea. After that? Well I'm thinking it might be time to invest in another AR-15 and some high capacity magazines in case our next president decides to outlaw them. Or maybe a new kilt.

UPDATE: The recent foul weather has made me aware of another more pressing problem. My current bad weather coat, a parka similar to this one, has to go. It actually soaked through in two places while I was outside clearing off the front steps and cars this morning. Unacceptable, but understandable since I've had it for over a decade.

The coats main job is keeping me dry in bad weather and getting dirty at the range. It will tend to do more of the latter than the former. I'm thinking a field coat like an M65 (with liner of course) might be the way to go for a replacement. The only problem is finding one in a color that doesn't make me look like I'm playing soldier. Or this guy.

Anti-Gun Leadership

In cleaning out my inbox, I stumbled upon this article Miss AO sent me a few weeks back. It seems that a Los Angeles gun control organization, which was city supported to the tune of $1.5 million to help in anti-gang efforts, was being used as a front to run guns illegally to the founder's old gang. Say it ain't so!

There is something you need to realize about this case: most gun control organizations, even the big ones, are run by hypocrits. This is a widely known in the pro-gun community, but is often unknown outside it.

How so you say? Many leading anti-gunners own guns. Many of them take advantage in "loopholes" they rail against in public. Sarah Brady gave her son a rifle in 2000 using a private transfer, a technique she had fought to outlaw. Diane Feinstein, one of the most vocal anti-gun Senators, has a concealed carry permit and keeps a snubnose .38 in her purse. She's one of a handful of San Francisco residents with that privilege. Many of the others, like the Kennedy's, hire armed bodyguards. Rosie O'Donnell, a vocal anti-gun celebrity, employs a bodyguard with a concealed carry permit, but doesn't have one herself.

Are the rank and file this bad? Generally not. Most anti-gunners I know oppose gun ownership because they don't trust themselves with them. They think they might lose control and kill someone at the drop of a hat. Why they think that admitting to be psychopaths is ok and a good thing I'll never know.

I Licked My Neighbor Because Big Bird Said To And He's My Leader

For decoding instructions see Steve Lamp.

Inter-Holiday Shopping

Larry Correia, a long time gun forum contributor, is also a gun dealer. In order to get the next level of licensing from CZ USA, he's holding a one-time sale on all CZ merchandise at or near dealer cost that ends on February 21st. You have to contact him personally for further information and you can do that from this post on his blog. I don't know that I need another pistol, but I've heard CZ's 452/453 rimfire rifles are very nice.

Playing Catchup

I've been in training all week, so no access to a computer during the day means no new posts for you folks at any time. But this has been a busy week in the world:

• McCain is now the presumptive Republican nominee. Joy. I hated all the Republican front runners so I actually voted for Ron Paul on Tuesday. His foreign policy is ludicrous but at least he actually has consistent political principles and among them is a commitment to limited government.
• Mitt dropped out of the race today. Can't say I'll miss him.
• Tornadoes in Tennessee? Tennessee? Did they get lost or something? Did they miss the left turn at Albuquerque?
• The bread and circuses bill passed. People are calling this a token measure. Of course it's a token measure. It's an attempt by our elected officials to look like they're dealing with the problem. If any government entity is really going to make important changes, it's the Federal Reserve. But Congressmen and Senators don't get reelected by sitting back and letting the Fed do its job, now do they?
• Amybear and I hit Miss AO's place last night and took turns playing with her Wii. It really was quite fun, but required a bit more motor control than I'm used to from a video game. I'm thankful it was Miss AO's Wii we tried out, since talking about playing with a male friend's Wii would result in poorly suppressed schoolboy giggles.
• We netflixed in Stardust and watched it tonight. Amy thought it was strange, and it is, but I really really liked it. The whole story was novel yet classic. The fencing scenes at the end were also quite nice. Thankfully, I was able to keep from singing "Montage" from Team American while Tristan was learning to fence. I have got to get me a saber one of these days.

That should bring us about up to date.

The Perils of Global Warming

As if global warming wasn't causing enough problems, it will also lengthen the annual activity cycle of the living dead:

A new study by scientists has suggested that zombie attacks might increase if the current projections of global warming are realized. “If the earth gets warmer, it means longer springs, summers, and falls, and shorter winters,” said John Carpenter-Romero, Ph.D., a zombie-ologist who co-authored the study. “And shorter winters means more time for the undead to prey on the populace.”

That is unless it triggers a new ice age.

Via TransTerrestrial.

Update: On the topic of zombies, I picked up Walking Dead: Book One. It is a large trade paperback containing the entire first year of Image's Walking Dead comic. I picked it up for around $20 with a discount. If you're a fan of all things zombie, it's worth picking up.

Just Like Chef Used to Make

Sometimes my local vending machine has selections that, while potentially tasty, have made interesting marketing choices. Like Crazy 8s from Cloverhill Bakery. Because of how these chocolate donut holes are manufactured, two of them are stuck together looking like a number 8. Or like a part of the male anatomy. They look like the sort of treat that should be sold in the Non-Metal, Non-Mcfarlane section of Spencer's Gifts.

Oh and for those wishing to be multi-cultural, they also come in glazed.

School Violence

From an attack on the Makor Haim High School in Israeli Kibbutz of Kfar Etzion:

The attack took place in the library when the two terrorists, dressed in black, burst into the room and ordered everyone to raise their hands and stand against the wall. The terrorists stabbed two students before their counselors were able to draw their personal handguns and kill the terrorists on the spot.

I can't say that arming teachers and counselors is a way to avoid school violence. What the counselors did was certainly violent. It is however a way to keep the violence short and ensure that most of it is directed at the killers instead of by them.

Perhaps this is a lesson from the International community the Democrats can embrace? Oh wait, it's Israel. They don't count.

Via Kim Du Toit.

Ah Fatherhood

Dadcentric has some great advise for fathers of infants. Like this one:
Wow he's got his baby benching more weight than I can. Via Incoherent Ramblings.

Christianese

Christians regularly use words that don't see much use outside of Churches. Words like redemption or salvific or, uncommon even in Christian circles, propitiate. Paul Smith brings up one that is used in Catholic circles, but has taken on a completely different meaning in more worldly ones. With amusing results of course.

Crash

Amy and I netflixed the 2005 Oscar Winner this weekend. Crash is a series of intertwining character pieces centering on how race and racism can divide people. The film was well crafted and brilliantly edited. Its thesis is that things are f'ed up and the issues are complex. Well gee, that's helpful. In the end it lacks a defining moral and there are no answers.

Crash is like a brilliant portrait of a traffic accident; all wreckage, smoke, oil, and blood without any obvious order. You have no idea what exactly is going on, how things got this way, or what to do next. Just look on it in horror and thank God you aren't involved.

UPDATE: Rearrange, edit, there that flows a little better.

Spiritual Gifts

David Wayne critiques the modern practice of standardized Spiritual Gifts testing and John the Methodist adds his own two cents. Let me add mine...

1. Even within the Bible, spiritual gifts are not clearly and definitively defined. Paul covers the topic several times. The moral of each passage is the same; that God has given you abilities to use for his glory and the betterment of the Church. But each list he gives is different. Do you compile a test for all of them mentioned across the various epistles? The core gifts that appear in multiple lists?


2. Many of the gifts are charismatic in nature. Lots of denominations don't think people will start spouting Jeremiah style Prophecy, so they reinterpret it as "speaking God's truth" (e.g. scripture application). Is that correct? Maybe. We really don't know what the Old Testament College of Prophets looked like. Most of the prophets we have records for are not the everyday sort, they're the once in a generation world-changers. Demanding direct connection with God might be like saying everyone with the gift of Evangelism ought to be Billy Graham. Or it might not.


3. Theological issues aside, most of these tests are actually based on aptitude or inclination not spiritual ability. They're often little more than personality tests. You like to talk to people? Be an evangelist or a pastor/shepherd. You're bookish? Then teach. You like to help meet physical needs: you're a servant. But is that the gift God has given you? Not necessarily. Worse yet, the whole structure of the test is driven by your own perceptions of yourself, which may or may not be accurate. Think of all those American Idol contestants who really think they can sing.

I've seen these tests become crutches and stumbling blocks to many. Some things are jobs every believer should be able to do, like evangelism. If I had a nickel for everyone who used the excuse "that's not my spiritual gift" to get out of a jobing they don't want, I'd have a healthy donation to the church building fund. As if Christ said "Go forth and make disciples of all nations... unless you're a Servant, you guys just show up at church workdays."

If you want to use these things in your church, just call them what they are, aptitude or personality tests. Explain to people that they can help them figure out their talents so they can use them to better the Kingdom, but that they aren't some sort of definitive source for spiritual insight and they don't absolve them of spiritual responsibility.

Don't Feed the Bears

The thesis to LawDog's current post is an admirable one:

Evil is not defeated by submitting to it. Evil is not defeated by running away from it; nor is evil defeated by ignoring it.

Evil is only defeated by fighting back.

He discusses how giving thieves money when threatened is something that generally encourages them to be criminals. Which means they're going to go off and rob someone else. It essentially rewards a thief for having the balls to threaten someone with violence. This is not a good thing. For some reason people don't seem to understand this so let me use a non-crime related illustration.

When people go hiking in the woods, it isn't uncommon for them to run across wild animals. This isn't so much of a problem when they're bunny rabbits or even deer, but it is a problem if you're in territory with bigger predators like bears. Why? Because bears will occasionally eat people if they look tasty or do something they don't like.

As an answer to this, the government issued a recommendation that people run away from bears. Which doesn't work because bears see running as a sign of weakness and they're quite a bit faster than humans. This was then modified to "drop your pack/food and run away." The bears would then go after the food in your pack and you would get away safely. This largely worked. For a while. Then the injury rates started to climb again until they passed previous levels. Well, why would that be?

The answer is that by giving the bears a free meal with no negative consequences, this technique actually encouraged the bears to start hanging around hiking trails to scare hikers. Hiker hippies: "Like whoa, a bear! Like, drop your pack and let's go!" Bear: "Mmm brownies... I wonder what the next guy will give me?"

Since that time, the government recommends you carry bear spray in bear country. Bears don't like getting hit with bear spray. Experienced woodsmen often recommend carrying firearms with an eye for deep penetration, so a 12 gauge loaded with slugs or a rifle in .45-70 might be a better idea. Combined with the "Don't Feed the Bears" signs they put up everywhere, this will hopefully discourage bears from hanging around humans. Everyone ends up happy.

My question is, do you think people are dumber than bears? Bears figured out that a display of violent intent would get them a free lunch. Don't you think people will? The answer is not to drop your pack or wallet and run. The answer is to actively discourage the bears.

And this is also why gun control fails. In the short term, the criminals get scared, but they're rarely prosecuted and they forget. Then the easy buck wins out. And gun control always makes it harder for law-abiding citizens to get guns, which makes the easy buck even easier because honest men and women can't fight back.

That's Art?

No I'm not writing about a cross in a glass of urine, I'm writing about this wonderful site which covers the finer points of Rob Liefeld's art style. Good Lord, the man is a multi-million dollar earning comics artist and he can't draw feet. Or legs. Or human anatomy in general. Let the mockery commence.

So Easy a Bachelor Could Do It

One of my single male coworkers brought in some incredible chocolate-butterscotch fudge this morning. He says he made it based on this Paula Dean recipe from FoodNetwork.com.

A Rifle for the Wife

Amybear has a thing for Sanrio's Hello Kitty product franchise. So for my next rifle build, perhaps I'll try to build a Cute Pink Rifle (CPR) instead of an Evil Black one. Like these guys did:
That isn't a Photoshop, it is a rifle completely refinished by ArmoryAirbrush inside and out.

As a cat owner, I find this to be a very satisfying product on a philosophical level. Sure cats can be cute and fuzzy, but beneath that milk-lapping exterior there beats the heart of a household assassin, ready to dispatch any rodent, bird, or insect foolhardy enough to come within reach of his claws.

Doing What Ya Gotta Do

Such is the Clinton mantra about attack ads and using outright lies against their opponents. Unfortunately it isn't paying off very well in their primary battle against Barack Obama. I guess you can't do that sort of thing to other Democrats.

This morning I saw some actual journalism coming out of the mainstream media. What was it you ask? This morning's GMA showed clips of Hillary misrepresenting Obama alongside clips of what Obama actually said in those instances. They didn't match up at all. Then they did the same for Obama's claims about Clinton. Surprise, surprise he actually told the truth about his opponent.

Not that Obama got a complete pass. He was criticized for distancing himself from past political patron Antoin Rezko, who is currently under federal indictment. Obama claims he only did a few hours of work for Rezko, neglecting to mention that he's received $150,000 in political contributions from him over the years and Rezko helped him finance his house.

Stripping Shotguns

This post at Mr. Completely links to two videos (large and small) from Life, Liberty, Etc. showing how to disassemble a Mossberg 500. My 590 is more stoutly built but is essentially similar. The videos are good, but the resolution on the large video still isn't that hot. When you're taking guns apart, you often have to put parts in very specific places to get them to disassemble. The mossberg in the video looks like a big grainy field of black and I would have a hard time figuring out where those locations were if I didn't already know them.

They have similar videos on their front page and range bag sections which cover field stripping and detailed lower reciever assembly of AR-15s. Those would have been handy to have when I put Mabel together a while back.

And in Other News

Fred Thompson is out of the race for President, not surprising considering his performance. At this point the only Republican presidential candidate I can stand is Rudy.

Also, Heath Ledger died of a drug overdose this afternoon. Drugs are bad m'kay.

Flunking Out of Electoral College

Geek with a .45 has two posts about recent trends in Maryland and New Jersey to disenfranchise their own state by apportioning their electors according to the results of the national popular vote. This would break down the districting system created by the electoral college that forces candidates to campaign widely instead of narrowly.

It is a stupid idea. Fortunately, once Maryland and Jersey vote one way and the national popular vote goes the other, they will probably turn on their state legislatures and demand a return to some sort of state-wide apportionment system.

If you don't want to go all-or-nothing, then using Congressional districts is probably the only other serious option. I don't like it, because the President will tend to be of the dominant Congressional Party using that methodology, but it might work. The MD/NJ system is just foolishness.

UPDATE: NJ isn't as stupid as I though, their law is designed so it only goes into effect once the majority of electoral votes are determined through the national popular vote. Unfortunately, it also creates a multi-state agreement which, unless Consented to by Congress, is probably Unconstitutional. But hey, when did the Constitution stop New Jersey from doing anything?

Interview Questions

Hube reports the Democratic candidates answers to that most common of job interview questions, "What is your biggest fault?":

John Edwards: My greatest weakness is that I care too much, Tim. For 54 years, I've been fighting. I emerged from the womb with my dukes up, ready to do battle with every fiber of my day-old being.

Hillary Clinton: My greatest weakness is that I get impatient — impatient with people who don't care as much about children as I do.

Barack Obama: My greatest weakness? Sometimes I misplace stuff. I'm a little disorganized. It's probably a good thing I'm not in charge of my own schedule.

Wow nobody said they were a perfectionist or worked too hard? I guess I've been giving the wrong answer for that all these years. I'd better steal a page from the professionals.

Have you ever had an interview for a position you realized you don't want? If that ever happens again, I'm just going to make something up and see what the interviewer does. "My biggest fault? I'm a pedophile. But I only indulge myself on my regular trips to Thailand. I figure I'm only there to smuggle heroine back to the States so it doesn't really count." Or "I'm incredibly flatulent, especially in enclosed spaces like elevators and interview offices. Must be my diet or something. Oh, excuse me."

UPDATE: Actually, were I ever in a political debate, my answer would probably be: "Can I just say I'm a caring, impatient, perfectionist, workaholic like everyone else? Oh wait, I know what my problem is! I don't tolerate wasting my time very well."

The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I watched the premier on Sunday, but not the next episode that they showed on Monday night. It was pretty good, but not amazing. The writing just wasn't wowing me.

The woman playing Sarah Connor seemed too young and her character seemed too stupid. The Sarah Connor of T2 was smart and dangerous and she acted like it. She would wear pants in earth-tones, not pastels and mini-skirts. She would have had a password system so her son would have known whether they were talking to a killer robot or a loved one.

John had the same problem. Young John in T2 was a delinquent, but he was also smart and resourceful. Older John of Chronicles didn't have the same fire. He defers to his mother a lot and came of as a whiner not a doer. Hopefully this will change.

Summer Glau did a good job as she always does. It's nice to see her play someone who isn't crazy for a change even if her character is some sort of reprogrammed killer robot.

The show isn't perfect, but it is worth watching. Plus it is way better than reality TV.

Romney's Out of the Race

For me at least. I heard Mitt Romney giving a pander to Michigan voters on the drive home from visiting family in Connecticut. Romney's statements were something like:

"Michigan has been in a one state recession for years and the Federal government has done nothing for you, I intend to change that."

That statement is just every kind of wrong. If you have only one state in financial difficulty, then by definition you do not have an interstate problem. So by definition the Federal government aught not have a role in fixing it.

The thing that bugs me about bad politics and failed policy is that they act like viruses. It's bad enough that the refuge populations from states like New Jersey and California are setting up shop elsewhere and repeating old mistakes on new ground. When the higher levels of government step in to prop up failed governments, things get even worse. Why should they change when the state or federal government will just fill their coffers with other people's money from less foolhardy states?

If you're in a long one-state recession, that means your state is screwed up not the nation. Don't expect my tax dollars to enable your failed policies. Put your house in order!

UPDATE: Fred Thompson's response to Romney's promises:

He basically promised the federal government would come in and bail out Michigan when he got elected President – very conservative notion, don't you think?

You know I like him more and more.

The Band Meme

From Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease:

Here’s how it goes. You are about to have your own band’s CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. It’s fun and requires no thought at all. Go to……

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
   The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
   The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
   The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way.

I give you my debut album:


Sadly my album appears to be a James Bluntesque cheesecake pop piece. For alternatives see LawDog and Tamara.

The title is actually the end of this Thomas Sowell quote:

Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.

Great Quotes

This one comes from a poster over at Zombie Squad:

In most situations of female self defense, the woman isn't trying to kill an armed opponent an an act of mutual combat. She is trying to cause him to lose interest in her purse, or temporarily cause him to be unable to maintain an erection.

Very true. Most predators are actually cowards and opportunists. They're doing it for the easy score. Once they realize you aren't an easy score, they're going to lose interest very quickly.

UPDATE: There is another good quote about police response:

When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Unfortunately there are still crazies out there when presentation of a gun is not enough. Politics, Guns, and Beer is publicizing a YouTube advocacy piece featuring the audio track of a 911 call made when a crazed attacker was breaking into her home. I can't say it has a happy ending, because the nameless woman will probably see her attacker's face in her dreams for the rest of her life. But that is the only place she will see it. I guess that's a silver lining.

Be Prepared

A Boy Scout saves the life of his country's president. I hope that kid makes Eagle scout and his hand heals up ok.

Wars of Attrition

One of the most despicable legal tactics I know of is filing a mountain of motions in order to bankrupt your opponent. This is what has befallen Melody Byrne in her fight to retain custody of her children from her abusive ex-husband. Now she and her current husband Chris are out of money and need it in a hurry.

I wish they had come forward two weeks ago, I could have written them a generous check. Instead my church received it before the end of last year. Until I receive my next paycheck, anything I can give them will be limited. If you don't have this problem, please hit their tip jar with whatever you can spare.

This tactic is reprehensible and there should be work put into drafting laws to prevent it. Of course most of our politicians are lawyers or are financed by lawyers, so I don't see that happening any time soon.

UPDATE: I fixed the link to Melody's post. It's amazing what an extra set of quotation marks can do.

Bobby's Dating Suzie

Mainstream Baptist actually has something useful to say. It turns out Fox News has had the same man show up in several of their "random" post-debate focus groups. Dr. Prescott wonders how this could be. Perhaps the population size the draw from is very small or, more likely, these people are not random at all. Stupid, stupid Fox.

I've probably aired this particular bit of criticism before, but I want to like Fox News a lot more than I actually do. In theory, having a conservative news source to balance out the others is nice. I wouldn't call Fox balanced in and of itself, but it is more balanced than the major media and when taken with other sources its effect is at least balancing.

The problem is that Fox wanted to be be just like the rest only right-wing and it has done just that. Whenever I turn it on, it just seems like the televised equivalent of the New York Post. This is not a good thing. You see I don't want to watch garbage with a right-wing slant instead of a left-wing slant. Either way, I'm still watching garbage. No thank you.

At what point did the content of our major media outlets become indistinguishable from Junior High lunch tables? I don't care about Laci Peterson, Britney, or Britney's little sister. Can't we keep this stuff in the supermarket tabloids where it belongs?

Is He Living in My House?

Amybear and I have been playing Fairyland together recently. Mostly this was because I don't want her characters to get 'married' to other characters (and therefore other people) in game. I'm strangely possessive of my wife that way. When we play together we are in different rooms and different floors of the house because of the computer locations. We end up text messaging each other like we still live half a continent away from each other. It's odd really. I can't wait for the writers strike to be over so we can go back to prostrating ourselves before the one-eyed God in the same room. To whatever she wants to watch of course.