. . . is my score today in competition with the M9 service pistol. Good thing I got that right contact lens replaced.
I've carried one in the discharge of my duties but had never fired one before. To date I've only been able to shoot the FATS version, with the inert-gas-operated slide to simulate recoil.
No, I don't like 'em. Too fat in the grip, can't hit any controls without changing my grip, and they have a bad, bad reputation for reliability.
20040716
Friday quick hits
On h0m0s3%ual marriage, I've posted some items on my Senate campaign blog. I don't have an animus towards such arrangements myself, and I am certain that with time, States will allow it and more of society will tolerate it. As I think I make clear over on the other blog, I am suspicious of many of the activists seeking to extend formal marriage to gays. Here's an alternative view that shares my Constitutional objections but not my suspicions regarding access to spousal benefits.
My limited experience with such arrangements is limited to three couples, two of whom I've gotten to know fairly well, though I remain in touch with only one today.
That relationship is badly broken, and kids are involved. I'm also confident, admittedly with limited knowledge of the relationship, that its failure was not traceable to the lack of a marriage license provided by the State.
* * * *
Much ado about the trial run of an in-flight-assembled b0mB on Northwest Airlines 327. I reassert: we have to make Uncle Sugar recognize that airline passengers are not an asset to be secured, managed, and protected but an asset to be trained, prepared, and informed, and most of all permitted to protect air travel. The biggest obstacle in the way of us protecting ourselves aboard commercial air is Uncle Sugar. First he can get out of the way, next he can actually offer help.
My limited experience with such arrangements is limited to three couples, two of whom I've gotten to know fairly well, though I remain in touch with only one today.
That relationship is badly broken, and kids are involved. I'm also confident, admittedly with limited knowledge of the relationship, that its failure was not traceable to the lack of a marriage license provided by the State.
* * * *
Much ado about the trial run of an in-flight-assembled b0mB on Northwest Airlines 327. I reassert: we have to make Uncle Sugar recognize that airline passengers are not an asset to be secured, managed, and protected but an asset to be trained, prepared, and informed, and most of all permitted to protect air travel. The biggest obstacle in the way of us protecting ourselves aboard commercial air is Uncle Sugar. First he can get out of the way, next he can actually offer help.
20040715
More on h0m0s3%ual marriage
One cause for activists on the political Right to seek a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is that the Defense of Marriage Act has not been tried in the Courts, and likely will fall. They say they must begin the long and arduous process of ratifying the amendment because the DOMA won't stand.
Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law School, on how the Defense of Marriage Act would fare in the Courts:
Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law School, on how the Defense of Marriage Act would fare in the Courts:
The Court did not clearly say or signal that DOMA was unconstitutional; the Court held that criminalizing sexual conduct [in Lawrence v. Texas] violated people's liberty, not that homosexual couples were entitled to equal access to the benefits flowing from marriage. And my sense is that most constitutional scholars (not all, but most) that have considered the issue believe DOMA would be upheld.
20040713
One step closer to the MP3-player-slash-language-trainer
I'll coin the term yoda to refer to a small device that one can clip
to oneself, and let it teach you something during times of stress. The foreign-language yoda I proposed isn't just already in development, it's in beta.
Hat tip: BoingBoing.
to oneself, and let it teach you something during times of stress. The foreign-language yoda I proposed isn't just already in development, it's in beta.
Hat tip: BoingBoing.
20040707
Quote for the day
The terrorists' motive, we dimly realize as we notice their targets (an office building in New York, a dance club in Bali, men standing in line to become policemen and protectors of their people). The fact that we would never call it genocide has little to do with our opponents' motives but much to do with their power. We can destroy them - if we wish to unleash our arsenal. Even restraining those lethal machines, our wars against the states that protect them are over in weeks. We have the ability to commit genocide; they do not. That is why we should be held to higher standards, but we shouldn't ignore their motives. We can become villains because of our power, but the terrorists are not victims because of their
impotency.
Ginny at ChicagoBoyz
20040706
Independence Day 2004
The Pundit Family were the guests of the Governor of Wyoming for fireworks at Cheyenne Frontier Park. For those of you familiar with the area, please enjoy.
M'selle Sklodovska, who normally dislikes loud noises so much that she wears earplugs for most busy restaurants, went without them for the fireworks display. She watched the display with slack-jawed wonder and applause.
Toad didn't seem to mind the racket either.
That racket, by the way, was not just from exploding fireworks. Thousands of cowboy boots were also thundering on the aluminum decks of the bleachers.
M'selle Sklodovska, who normally dislikes loud noises so much that she wears earplugs for most busy restaurants, went without them for the fireworks display. She watched the display with slack-jawed wonder and applause.
Toad didn't seem to mind the racket either.
That racket, by the way, was not just from exploding fireworks. Thousands of cowboy boots were also thundering on the aluminum decks of the bleachers.
20040701
World has gone to hell while I was away
We flew the entire family to Buffalo recently to celebrate the inlaws' fiftieth wedding anniversary. When Grandpa picked us up from the airport and brought us home, we saw that Grandma had a yellowish cast to her skin, and was exhausted.
They had hired a caterer, limo, DJ, and whatnot, and invited about 50 family and close friends to see them renew their vows, but Grandma looked and felt, well, bad. She usually calls it a night well after midnight, but the night we got there, she was conking out at 9PM. Not like her. She was worried that much of the last-minute preparations had yet to be done the next day but could not go on. She promised to see a doctor the following morning.
Bile duct blockage and a gall bladder to be removed, is what the doctor determined. She was hospitalized that evening. Barbaloot and her sister spent hours calling the guests, florists, caterer, DJ, limo, and hall, to tell them the event was off.
Not to be deterred, she and Grandpa renewed their vows in the chapel at Kenmore Mercy Hospital on Saturday evening, with all ten grandchildren in one place.
She's had her gallbladder removed, the day we flew back to Colorado. She's home too, and recovering well.
They had hired a caterer, limo, DJ, and whatnot, and invited about 50 family and close friends to see them renew their vows, but Grandma looked and felt, well, bad. She usually calls it a night well after midnight, but the night we got there, she was conking out at 9PM. Not like her. She was worried that much of the last-minute preparations had yet to be done the next day but could not go on. She promised to see a doctor the following morning.
Bile duct blockage and a gall bladder to be removed, is what the doctor determined. She was hospitalized that evening. Barbaloot and her sister spent hours calling the guests, florists, caterer, DJ, limo, and hall, to tell them the event was off.
Not to be deterred, she and Grandpa renewed their vows in the chapel at Kenmore Mercy Hospital on Saturday evening, with all ten grandchildren in one place.
She's had her gallbladder removed, the day we flew back to Colorado. She's home too, and recovering well.
Upgrades
The mission-critical G4 has received an improvement---its original 350 MHz processor has been replaced with a 1 GHz aftermarket processor. Noticeably faster, under $300. Installation was simple.
I had to backup a drive and update the boot ROM before installing, which took some time.
Barbaloot approves of the upgrade, after seeing a Harry Potter game spin up. Downside: the original HD, running OS 9.0, was upgraded to 9.2.1 so I could still boot the G4 with it after the CPU upgrade---the CPU is not compatible with OS earlier than 9.2.1. Now that the original HD is on 9.2.1, it won't mount the later (default boot) drive, where OS X sits. OS 9.2.1 asks whether I want to initialize (Apple for format) the later drive. So I might as well have not bothered with the OS upgrade on the older drive.
I had to backup a drive and update the boot ROM before installing, which took some time.
Barbaloot approves of the upgrade, after seeing a Harry Potter game spin up. Downside: the original HD, running OS 9.0, was upgraded to 9.2.1 so I could still boot the G4 with it after the CPU upgrade---the CPU is not compatible with OS earlier than 9.2.1. Now that the original HD is on 9.2.1, it won't mount the later (default boot) drive, where OS X sits. OS 9.2.1 asks whether I want to initialize (Apple for format) the later drive. So I might as well have not bothered with the OS upgrade on the older drive.
Toad at five months and some
He's eightieth-percentile height, thirtieth-percentile weight. In summary, he's just like his mother's father. He smiles generously.
It's getting closer for Walter and charming Mrs. Indenver to bring theirs home, isn't it?
It's getting closer for Walter and charming Mrs. Indenver to bring theirs home, isn't it?
20040629
Pack, not herd---call for papers
Interesting development at Winds of Change, a call to formalize distributed defense concepts.
What skills, tools, and organization do citizens need to respond, if we've proved that centralized defenses---like those that fumbled the WTC/Pentagon attacks---will fail? What's the TOE?
Don't forget search and rescue, optimized for building collapse (San Francisco earthquakes, NYC skyscraper collapses, NJ train wrecks).
What skills, tools, and organization do citizens need to respond, if we've proved that centralized defenses---like those that fumbled the WTC/Pentagon attacks---will fail? What's the TOE?
Don't forget search and rescue, optimized for building collapse (San Francisco earthquakes, NYC skyscraper collapses, NJ train wrecks).
20040625
Stragetic Hamlet: Pittsburgh
A delightful column recounts the early military career of George Washington in the land of my
youth, the Allegheny Plateau, and how it shaped American history.
youth, the Allegheny Plateau, and how it shaped American history.
20040616
To have a unique combat uniform, all USAF has to do is wait ten months
Now that the Army is adopting a new combat uniform (tip of the K-pot to Airborne Combat Engineer), there will soon be no other US armed service left using either the woodland pattern BDU or the three-color day desert pattern DCU.
Granted, the Navy will still use BDUs and DCUs in those ashore instances where they need a camouflage uniform, but work with me here. Besides, the Navy can work out a deal with the Marines to use their exquisite MARPATs.
USAF will have the BDU and DCU effectively to ourselves. Then we can just stencil the new USAF brand on the pocket and the cap and call it our own.
The Army redesign effort appears to have gone much farther out of the box in its thinking, run extensive wear-testing in theatre, and is already closed on the deal to the point that they'll begin fielding their new uniform at about the time USAF opens a website to Airmen for comments on their tiger stripes.
We at WUTT! called the following, which the Army adopted---but a bottle of Johnny Walker says USAF will not:
It merits mentioning: the Army's design team was run by NCOs.
Granted, the Navy will still use BDUs and DCUs in those ashore instances where they need a camouflage uniform, but work with me here. Besides, the Navy can work out a deal with the Marines to use their exquisite MARPATs.
USAF will have the BDU and DCU effectively to ourselves. Then we can just stencil the new USAF brand on the pocket and the cap and call it our own.
The Army redesign effort appears to have gone much farther out of the box in its thinking, run extensive wear-testing in theatre, and is already closed on the deal to the point that they'll begin fielding their new uniform at about the time USAF opens a website to Airmen for comments on their tiger stripes.
We at WUTT! called the following, which the Army adopted---but a bottle of Johnny Walker says USAF will not:
- Removable rank insignia centered on the jacket front, as on the Gore-Tex parka
- Angled jacket pockets, easier to reach into than horizontal
- Pencil pocket separate from the jacket pockets (though the Army put theirs on the sleeve)
- Tan undershirt, instead of solar-absorption-maximized black
It merits mentioning: the Army's design team was run by NCOs.
More on the male finishing school
I'm not alone in noticing a need for a men's finishing school, as proposed here at WUTT!.
However, the likely beneficiaries of this schooling (rather than the students) assert that most men don't realize they need it. Women will ask themselves, "What am I doing wrong?" but men just shrug and turn back to their ESPN. I assure you, Marilyn, this is not completely true. Some men are deeply introspective about their failures at romance.
It also prompts me to ask: why can't more women take up flyfishing?
However, the likely beneficiaries of this schooling (rather than the students) assert that most men don't realize they need it. Women will ask themselves, "What am I doing wrong?" but men just shrug and turn back to their ESPN. I assure you, Marilyn, this is not completely true. Some men are deeply introspective about their failures at romance.
It also prompts me to ask: why can't more women take up flyfishing?
20040614
Looking for a song
DavidMSC has been looking for a
song.
Well, so am I. "Get Around Girl" by Tommy Tutone. I'm not the best at looking for such things, but I can't even find cold trail on it.
song.
Well, so am I. "Get Around Girl" by Tommy Tutone. I'm not the best at looking for such things, but I can't even find cold trail on it.
"Wanna build that cloverleaf on I-25? Then push light rail."
From Volokh Conspiracy:
If this is the jurisprudence, then, how can the Federal government Constitutionally attach conditions on the grants of benefits to States? In particular, how can the Feds withhold highway funding from States that prefer not to lower their blood alcohol content threshold for DUI? "Wanna build that cloverleaf on I-25? Then push light rail." What gives corporations preference (other than, perhaps, the position of the
corporation as an individual compared to a State)?
In this case the term "benefit" is not even appropriate; the monies to which the Federal strings are attached should represent, for the most part, return of monies taxed from the citizens of that State in the first place, if not in this year's budget, then from last year's or next year's. There should be no net gain or loss over time between taxes taken from the State and Federal expenditures returning to it.
The usual rebuttal that "who pays the fiddler calls the tune" rings hollow. Granted, the quote above comes from a post about the rights of corporations, but I would assert that States have an even broader right to operate than corporations---States are not considered creatures of the Federal government, they are precursors to it who consented to its creation. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments guarantee that States will have a free hand in governing within their spheres, on the condition that individual rights are protected and the Federal government is held supreme in the enumerated areas given to it to govern.
Note, this is probably the only time WUTT! has ever, or will ever, discuss States' rights per se. I'm a States' powers kind of guy---islands of government power surrounded by a sea of individual rights and all that. But for a State to exercise those powers granted to it, it must have some right to operate without interference from other governments.
Woo-hoo! The VC post just below this one has more.
The Supreme Court, though, has long (and correctly) recognized that the government does not have a free hand to impose conditions on grants of benefits. When the government controls 25-30% of the GNP, and has vast regulatory power over the economy, imagine what it could do using conditions. "Want a tax refund? Promise not to spend in on anti-government activity." "Want to buy a chunk of federally owned land to build a home? Promise to let us search your house whenever we like, without any excuse."
"Want a corporate charter? Promise not to criticize the government."
If this is the jurisprudence, then, how can the Federal government Constitutionally attach conditions on the grants of benefits to States? In particular, how can the Feds withhold highway funding from States that prefer not to lower their blood alcohol content threshold for DUI? "Wanna build that cloverleaf on I-25? Then push light rail." What gives corporations preference (other than, perhaps, the position of the
corporation as an individual compared to a State)?
In this case the term "benefit" is not even appropriate; the monies to which the Federal strings are attached should represent, for the most part, return of monies taxed from the citizens of that State in the first place, if not in this year's budget, then from last year's or next year's. There should be no net gain or loss over time between taxes taken from the State and Federal expenditures returning to it.
The usual rebuttal that "who pays the fiddler calls the tune" rings hollow. Granted, the quote above comes from a post about the rights of corporations, but I would assert that States have an even broader right to operate than corporations---States are not considered creatures of the Federal government, they are precursors to it who consented to its creation. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments guarantee that States will have a free hand in governing within their spheres, on the condition that individual rights are protected and the Federal government is held supreme in the enumerated areas given to it to govern.
Note, this is probably the only time WUTT! has ever, or will ever, discuss States' rights per se. I'm a States' powers kind of guy---islands of government power surrounded by a sea of individual rights and all that. But for a State to exercise those powers granted to it, it must have some right to operate without interference from other governments.
Woo-hoo! The VC post just below this one has more.
20040613
Dream carbine
Galil parts kits are coming into the country. Such kits are made by dismantling selective-fire 5.56mm rifles, putting the parts into a bag, and cutting the receiver into bits. By US law, the receiver---the frame, if you will, to which all other parts attach---is the firearm. By selling a kit containing all the parts except the receiver, you're selling no firearm, just everything you need if you can get a domestically-manufactured receiver. Building one, though, has some legal complexities involved.
New receivers are being manufactured in the US, without the holes where the selective-fire parts would pin in. Take one of these, with its US-originated serial number, and substitute an arbitrary number of other US-made parts, and it's legal per the Assault Weapon Ban (that will, if we mind our Congress, sunset in just a few months). However, these receivers are steel and might be rather heavy.
Let's get somebody to make an alloy or carbon-fiber Galil receiver. Let's get somebody else to make a carbon fiber-wrapped 6.5mm Grendel barrel at about 18" length. That keeps the weapon's weight down to the range that a Grendel deserves, 'cuz the original Galil (milled steel receiver) was on the heavy side. The carbon barrel should also be immune to point-of-aim shifts as it heats up.
Open up the bolt face and reface the extractor so they take the Grendel's case head.
You might have to tweak the gas system. Emphasize might: the Grendel's developer claims that pressures were very close to those of 5.56mm military cartridges, so a gas system that's reliable with 5.56mm should need little tuning to make it hum with 6.5.
Replace the gas tube with a new one with Weaver rails on top. The front-mounted rails let you mount the modern gizmodified intermediate eye relief optics.
There's WUTT!'s competitor to the AR15 platform, in a damned rugged form factor, firing the most capable cartridge that will fit in that form factor. Fixed and folding stocks available. Tritium sights standard.
New receivers are being manufactured in the US, without the holes where the selective-fire parts would pin in. Take one of these, with its US-originated serial number, and substitute an arbitrary number of other US-made parts, and it's legal per the Assault Weapon Ban (that will, if we mind our Congress, sunset in just a few months). However, these receivers are steel and might be rather heavy.
Let's get somebody to make an alloy or carbon-fiber Galil receiver. Let's get somebody else to make a carbon fiber-wrapped 6.5mm Grendel barrel at about 18" length. That keeps the weapon's weight down to the range that a Grendel deserves, 'cuz the original Galil (milled steel receiver) was on the heavy side. The carbon barrel should also be immune to point-of-aim shifts as it heats up.
Open up the bolt face and reface the extractor so they take the Grendel's case head.
You might have to tweak the gas system. Emphasize might: the Grendel's developer claims that pressures were very close to those of 5.56mm military cartridges, so a gas system that's reliable with 5.56mm should need little tuning to make it hum with 6.5.
Replace the gas tube with a new one with Weaver rails on top. The front-mounted rails let you mount the modern gizmodified intermediate eye relief optics.
There's WUTT!'s competitor to the AR15 platform, in a damned rugged form factor, firing the most capable cartridge that will fit in that form factor. Fixed and folding stocks available. Tritium sights standard.
Most photos are now moved
There are a few photos located on other computers, that I have to upload to the Comcast site for relinking. But most of them are moved and the links are updated. Sorry for sharing a stupid learning experience with my dozen readers.
20040611
It doesn't sink in until I hear it from my own kid
I was explaining this afternoon to Firstborn why I was off work today, picking her up from a playdate instead of concluding an exercise working for a fighter jock who thinks he knows more about the CONOPS than I do.
I told her that a former President of the United States died recently, and today was the day that our government chose to remember him as his body was put to its final resting place. On such days, the government releases everybody from work so they can pay attention to that person and pay respects to him. I was one of the many people who were given the day off for that reason.
"He was a great person, wasn't he, Dad?"
"Yes, he was."
"People really liked him."
"Sure did."
"But some people hated him."
"Sure did."
"Did as many people hate him as they hate George W. Bush?"
"That's hard to tell. Reagan seemed to be able to deflect or simmer down a lot of the hate that was directed at him."
"A lot of people hate George W. Bush, don't they?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"My friend So-and-so from school says that George W. Bush wants to start six wars."
"Oh really?" This was a different So-and-so from another kid, whom Firstborn told me said that George W. Bush is the worst man ever and that he wants the world to end so he can have all the oil.
From this I conclude that Firstborn has two friends at school with holes bored through their skulls, so their parents can funnel hateful mush directly into their brain cases. Parents who, by the way, dropped Big Dollars to enroll these same kids into a Montessori education so they can figure things out for themselves. It's painful to contemplate.
"Yeah. He wants, uh, the other guy to win."
"Firstborn, how much of this do you think So-and-so actually believes, and how much do you think he just repeats from one of his parents?"
"Probably he's repeating his dad. He says his dad says George W. Bush wants to start six wars."
"Okay."
"And he says---his dad says that the newspapers are all full of lies. But So-and-so, reads the paper every day like his dad does. He wants the other ... guy ... to win."
"To win what?"
"President."
"Ummm humm."
"But George W. Bush already won once, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"Did George W. Bush start any wars?"
"There's one he didn't start. I fought in that one. There's another one, that I guess you could say he started. I haven't fought in that one, but I might. I don't think he started any wars without good reason though."
I'm going to be more proactive in figuring out the ideologies held by my kids' friends from now on.
I told her that a former President of the United States died recently, and today was the day that our government chose to remember him as his body was put to its final resting place. On such days, the government releases everybody from work so they can pay attention to that person and pay respects to him. I was one of the many people who were given the day off for that reason.
"He was a great person, wasn't he, Dad?"
"Yes, he was."
"People really liked him."
"Sure did."
"But some people hated him."
"Sure did."
"Did as many people hate him as they hate George W. Bush?"
"That's hard to tell. Reagan seemed to be able to deflect or simmer down a lot of the hate that was directed at him."
"A lot of people hate George W. Bush, don't they?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"My friend So-and-so from school says that George W. Bush wants to start six wars."
"Oh really?" This was a different So-and-so from another kid, whom Firstborn told me said that George W. Bush is the worst man ever and that he wants the world to end so he can have all the oil.
From this I conclude that Firstborn has two friends at school with holes bored through their skulls, so their parents can funnel hateful mush directly into their brain cases. Parents who, by the way, dropped Big Dollars to enroll these same kids into a Montessori education so they can figure things out for themselves. It's painful to contemplate.
"Yeah. He wants, uh, the other guy to win."
"Firstborn, how much of this do you think So-and-so actually believes, and how much do you think he just repeats from one of his parents?"
"Probably he's repeating his dad. He says his dad says George W. Bush wants to start six wars."
"Okay."
"And he says---his dad says that the newspapers are all full of lies. But So-and-so, reads the paper every day like his dad does. He wants the other ... guy ... to win."
"To win what?"
"President."
"Ummm humm."
"But George W. Bush already won once, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"Did George W. Bush start any wars?"
"There's one he didn't start. I fought in that one. There's another one, that I guess you could say he started. I haven't fought in that one, but I might. I don't think he started any wars without good reason though."
I'm going to be more proactive in figuring out the ideologies held by my kids' friends from now on.
20040609
Farewell to Ronald Reagan
All of the commenters on Reagan's passing away, to a person, smile as they recount their experiences with him. Those whom I cannot see, because they're on the radio, speak with voices that resonate with admiration for him. In a way they seem to be happy, both sharing in his widow's relief from the agony of watching him wither away, and sharing with each other the pleasure of having served or met him.
It is fitting that we pause from our lives and our affairs to pay last respects to him.
It is fitting that we pause from our lives and our affairs to pay last respects to him.
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