A gentleman arrived yesterday at Big Box Home Improvement Retail Operation to pick up his online order of a household appliance. Because it was paid for, all I needed to see was a valid photo ID.
The gentleman produced a motor vehicle operator license that expired in 2014. He could produce no other that was valid. He went away with no appliance, and with a pocketful of my sincere apologies.
On the one hand, it is somewhat heartening that an adult can go six years without having to cough up identifying papers to anyone. Here in the Western redoubt, if one keeps his head down and goes about one's business, one may never contact a cop.
On the other hand, it's a little disturbing that one can blithely ignore some responsibilities. Should a person so disconnected from the operations of the State be allowed to, say, vote? Is he keeping up his auto insurance? Had he been the subject of a mere traffic stop, I'm not sure what
humiliation he would have suffered. A traffic accident would have had
him at fault even if he had done everything right and some tweaker,
uninsured, or illegal had negligently rammed him.
20200213
20200207
An afterthought
Am I the only guy out here who thinks that DJT's one-line shout-out for the Second Amendment in the 2020 SOTU speech was an afterthought?
I would have appreciated at least a paragraph, and maybe a Presidential award for the man who saved a church full of Texans in White Settlement.
Maybe next year.
I would have appreciated at least a paragraph, and maybe a Presidential award for the man who saved a church full of Texans in White Settlement.
Maybe next year.
20200203
20200123
Screw it, imma . . .
cut down any 9mm Para cases I have laying about to 18mm, neck-expand them for 9mm Makarov, FL-resize them, and load .365" Hornady XTP in them over some Unique, Unique-ski, or AA#5.
The Radom P-64 will be fed something. The single-action trigger pull on my sample is quite crisp at 4 lbs.
The Radom P-64 will be fed something. The single-action trigger pull on my sample is quite crisp at 4 lbs.
20200120
QOTD
" . . what 'natural right' could border controls possibly be a defense of? The
obvious one is that they might be justified as a form of collective
self-defense. If you’ve got a peaceful, prosperous libertopia going,
you’d really prefer not to have a bunch of people who haven’t signed on
to your social contract walking in. Because you’re likely to have to
kill or expel a lot of them in self-defense, and who wants that
aggravation?
. . . I now understand that the core complaint of the anti-immigration Trump voters isn’t even about illegals low-balling them out of jobs, although that’s certainly a factor. It’s “I want to keep the high level of social trust I grew up with, and I see mass immigration – especially mass illegal immigration – eroding that.” They think the political elites of both parties, and corporations profit-taking in the labor market, are throwing away that intangible asset to plump up a bit more power and profit.
I now think that is a serious – and justified – complaint."
---Eric Raymond, A libertarian rethinks immigration
. . . I now understand that the core complaint of the anti-immigration Trump voters isn’t even about illegals low-balling them out of jobs, although that’s certainly a factor. It’s “I want to keep the high level of social trust I grew up with, and I see mass immigration – especially mass illegal immigration – eroding that.” They think the political elites of both parties, and corporations profit-taking in the labor market, are throwing away that intangible asset to plump up a bit more power and profit.
I now think that is a serious – and justified – complaint."
---Eric Raymond, A libertarian rethinks immigration
20200119
something else is bugging me about Gene Healy's article
Gene Healy's article . . . about how come we don't impeach Presidents more often.
In this we will include an ANG Major who, by the end of her six-month rotation to a sinecure in SW Asia, had not one but two members of our Group who demanded a witness to be in the room with them should they ever have to face her in private. One of whom was her own First Sergeant. Consequences to her? She received a decoration that was below the level expected of her rank. I can even visualize the C-5 pilot, who commanded the Group above her, grinning and saying to himself, "That will show her!" Had an enlisted man behaved that way, he or she would have been on a rotator back to the donor unit at about 45 days, and the donor unit would have been on the hook for a replacement.
The old-school regime of at-will employment is a myth.
Comments from my alter-ego Aubrey were left to that effect at the article.
While we're at it: "This is the country that pioneered the idea of firing people as entertainment. For 14 seasons of NBC's reality TV game show The Apprentice, Americans tuned in eagerly to see which contestants would be shown the door with the signature line 'You're fired!'"
Because that's probably the only place where ordinary blokes get to see genuine accountability. Don't confuse reality TV with reality.
(updated) After some reading, it seems that 'employment at-will' is legal shorthand for the opposite of prior English law, which supported seasonal employment, renewable for a year at a time. Even legal descriptions of the current state of at-will employment concede that employers can't fire without cause. 'At-will' is a misnomer.
“Almost alone among industrialized democracies, the U.S. hews to the old-school regime of employment at will, which means most of us can be frogmarched out of the building at any time—for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all.”What the fuck is he talking about? There are more than a few people I'd like to have seen fired---some firings that would have benefited me and my career, most that definitely would not---who could be removed from their positions only after painstaking cataloguing of their failures and fair warning that the cataloguing was going on. Most, of course, were never removed.
In this we will include an ANG Major who, by the end of her six-month rotation to a sinecure in SW Asia, had not one but two members of our Group who demanded a witness to be in the room with them should they ever have to face her in private. One of whom was her own First Sergeant. Consequences to her? She received a decoration that was below the level expected of her rank. I can even visualize the C-5 pilot, who commanded the Group above her, grinning and saying to himself, "That will show her!" Had an enlisted man behaved that way, he or she would have been on a rotator back to the donor unit at about 45 days, and the donor unit would have been on the hook for a replacement.
The old-school regime of at-will employment is a myth.
Comments from my alter-ego Aubrey were left to that effect at the article.
While we're at it: "This is the country that pioneered the idea of firing people as entertainment. For 14 seasons of NBC's reality TV game show The Apprentice, Americans tuned in eagerly to see which contestants would be shown the door with the signature line 'You're fired!'"
Because that's probably the only place where ordinary blokes get to see genuine accountability. Don't confuse reality TV with reality.
(updated) After some reading, it seems that 'employment at-will' is legal shorthand for the opposite of prior English law, which supported seasonal employment, renewable for a year at a time. Even legal descriptions of the current state of at-will employment concede that employers can't fire without cause. 'At-will' is a misnomer.
20200117
20200106
Reason Feb2020
"On a global scale, inequality is declining. While it has increased in the United States . . . "
Sounds like a long tail to me, and the sort of thing that a long tail entails.
Sounds like a long tail to me, and the sort of thing that a long tail entails.
---David R. Henderson, in Reason, The Truth About Income Inequality, February 2020 (not yet available online)
If you're bitching about the broad, 'unitary' power of the Executive, blame Congress
Gene Healy (same guy who I used to read in Liberty? yep) in Reason:
The unitary executive has grown excessively powerful because Congress has passed legislation that hands that power to the Executive. Congress should not bitch when that power is abused. Write legislation that the President can execute. By the way, do we yet have a Federal budget for FY2020? (Continuing resolutions do not count)
And be prepared to argue that legislation's Constitutionality when the Executive asserts its own power to decide what is Constitutional and what isn't, what is discretionary for the Executive and what isn't.
In the same article, he praises Nixon-era Congressional reforms that would limit future Presidents, including (ahem) "the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."
Wonder what Mr Healy thinks about FISA abuses, or whether he sees them as, in fact, abuses?
"the more fundamental problem is the office, not the man. The presidency has grown far too powerful to entrust to any one fallible human. Will the current impeachment drive do anything about that?"
The unitary executive has grown excessively powerful because Congress has passed legislation that hands that power to the Executive. Congress should not bitch when that power is abused. Write legislation that the President can execute. By the way, do we yet have a Federal budget for FY2020? (Continuing resolutions do not count)
And be prepared to argue that legislation's Constitutionality when the Executive asserts its own power to decide what is Constitutional and what isn't, what is discretionary for the Executive and what isn't.
In the same article, he praises Nixon-era Congressional reforms that would limit future Presidents, including (ahem) "the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."
Wonder what Mr Healy thinks about FISA abuses, or whether he sees them as, in fact, abuses?
Marketing study 403: Progressive presses
Dillon introduces a new press with the sole purpose of preparing cases for its other progressive reloading presses. I didn't read the article yet, but it reminds me of Cabinet Man's recent inquiries about my RL450.
It's a four-station press that has no separate powder-check station, which kinda concerns him. To be fair, those four stations don't reflect what I'd really want in a progressive press either. The first station is meant as full-length resize and decap, and priming. With GI brass, I have to decap separately and then swage the primer pockets, so I prep cases on a Rockchucker anyway. The Dillon's first station is used only to prime.
So if somebody wants to cleverly realign reloading functions for volume with GI brass, with resize, pocket swage, shoulder and case length checks on a separate platform, the four stations of an RL450 or 550 need to be rearranged.
I can't visualize one station that both drops a powder charge, and verifies that the case has received its charge. I also very much like seat and crimp as separate stations. So move the powder charge to first station, right after the primer is seated.
1: Prime and powder charge.
2: Powder check.
3: Seat.
4: Crimp.
The manual of arms changes from case-bullet-up-down-back-rest-rotate to case-bullet-back-up-down--rest-rotate so the case gets primed before the charge drops. Some mechanical warning that there's no primer in the seater plug might also be useful.
It's a four-station press that has no separate powder-check station, which kinda concerns him. To be fair, those four stations don't reflect what I'd really want in a progressive press either. The first station is meant as full-length resize and decap, and priming. With GI brass, I have to decap separately and then swage the primer pockets, so I prep cases on a Rockchucker anyway. The Dillon's first station is used only to prime.
So if somebody wants to cleverly realign reloading functions for volume with GI brass, with resize, pocket swage, shoulder and case length checks on a separate platform, the four stations of an RL450 or 550 need to be rearranged.
I can't visualize one station that both drops a powder charge, and verifies that the case has received its charge. I also very much like seat and crimp as separate stations. So move the powder charge to first station, right after the primer is seated.
1: Prime and powder charge.
2: Powder check.
3: Seat.
4: Crimp.
The manual of arms changes from case-bullet-up-down-back-rest-rotate to case-bullet-back-up-down--rest-rotate so the case gets primed before the charge drops. Some mechanical warning that there's no primer in the seater plug might also be useful.
20191223
If I were doing this for the money, I wouldn't be doing *this*
As my military career came to an end, I was noticing problems with memory. Forgetting meetings, not having a clear head for them, and tackling low-hanging fruit instead of going after the big, meaningful, change-agent kinds of things.
Now, it seems my memory is sound. I remember names, faces, situations, problems, solutions. There's still plenty of keyboard time, but none of it spend interpreting a regulation or explaining my actions to dim second-guessers.
My work keeps me on my feet and in front of people. I didn't realize that's what I needed.
I may also be losing weight. Now for putting the garage and the radios back in order . . .
Now, it seems my memory is sound. I remember names, faces, situations, problems, solutions. There's still plenty of keyboard time, but none of it spend interpreting a regulation or explaining my actions to dim second-guessers.
My work keeps me on my feet and in front of people. I didn't realize that's what I needed.
I may also be losing weight. Now for putting the garage and the radios back in order . . .
20191213
Update: Yaesu back on the air
Citizen Jed helped me find an Elmer willing to do the surface-mount work on my Yaesu. After some email exchanges, he inspired me to go back through the relevant circuits, and that reminded me of some work I had done in the power supply. It had developed an intermittent between the transformer and the rectifier.
The power supply was not putting out DC. When I went back in, I found that joint had broken again.
I cleaned up some soldering on the aftermarket RC battery pack also.
We're back in business.
The power supply was not putting out DC. When I went back in, I found that joint had broken again.
I cleaned up some soldering on the aftermarket RC battery pack also.
We're back in business.
20191202
SCOTUS transcript is up
Transcript of SCOTUS hearing on NYS Rifle and Pistol Association versus New Yawk is at Dave Hardy's place.
One observation of my own: New York seems OK with the prospect that 'continuous and direct' will be shaped by litigation---premises licensees being prosecuted and spending money defending themselves---rather than clear definitions beforehand that licensees can read, understand, obtain advice of counsel, and train to each other. How, and where in the court hierarchy, does Petitioner lodge that complaint?
Is there not a Constitutional principle that people can know what conduct is lawful before engaging in it? If one accepts that certain conduct requires a license, that license should include that sort of clarity. Those who argue that firearms should be licensed like automobiles owe it to explain just what time, place, and manner restrictions that license will prohibit.
Also: Petitioners' Counsel missed an opportunity to distinguish premises licenses from carry licenses, though I'm not sure it would have helped Petitioners' case. "We're not talking about the right of Petitioners to carry on person with a round in the chamber (yet), just the right to transport lawfully-owned property from one lawful place to another lawful place."
One observation of my own: New York seems OK with the prospect that 'continuous and direct' will be shaped by litigation---premises licensees being prosecuted and spending money defending themselves---rather than clear definitions beforehand that licensees can read, understand, obtain advice of counsel, and train to each other. How, and where in the court hierarchy, does Petitioner lodge that complaint?
Is there not a Constitutional principle that people can know what conduct is lawful before engaging in it? If one accepts that certain conduct requires a license, that license should include that sort of clarity. Those who argue that firearms should be licensed like automobiles owe it to explain just what time, place, and manner restrictions that license will prohibit.
Also: Petitioners' Counsel missed an opportunity to distinguish premises licenses from carry licenses, though I'm not sure it would have helped Petitioners' case. "We're not talking about the right of Petitioners to carry on person with a round in the chamber (yet), just the right to transport lawfully-owned property from one lawful place to another lawful place."
20191129
Adventures in retail
SMDH: a young woman in hospital scrubs visited Wednesday night while I was working my way back through paints, solvents, and abrasives. She said her patient, an elderly gentleman, wanted some sandpaper to sharpen his teeth, and needed my recommendation of what grit.
Though I asserted firmly that this recommendation comes best from a dentist, not a hardware store cowboy, she persisted. We settled on 220 grit after she touched the 3000 grit Wetordry and thought that her patient would think it isn't real sandpaper.
Though I asserted firmly that this recommendation comes best from a dentist, not a hardware store cowboy, she persisted. We settled on 220 grit after she touched the 3000 grit Wetordry and thought that her patient would think it isn't real sandpaper.
20191124
Transition
We have this year ceased to serve Uncle Sugar. Said Uncle having quantified in dollars the future value of our past Service to him, and our decision to no longer serve him, we have taken the Summer of 2019 quite 'off.'
A trip or two on the side have been taken, namely to the Mecca of Brownell's and a return to the sweet, sweet humid Central Wisconsin of 2003 or thereabouts.
Now we have accepted a position in retail, serving a new Uncle who hosts big-box home improvement operations. It appears to be, if not 'recession-proof,' at least 'recession-resistant,' and the new Uncle's Roth matching contributions are surprisingly generous.
What we would truly like to find are:
1) a skilled hand at surface-mount soldering, to repair a blown fuse in the battery charger circuit of our cherished Yaesu FT817 transceiver;
2) ranchers in the vicinity of Wheatland, Wyoming, who will host itinerant riflemen to cull their antelope.
3) parts kit to create an AR15 upper that will reliably chamber and fire 7.62.x25mm Tokarev ammunition, including handloads up to 150gr. The term in vogue is 'Moscow Match ammo.' Gotta burn up those tracers.
Strangely, (1) is the choice where we have no progress.
Come on, world. You can do better.
USAF Airman Battle Uniforms do quite well in this terrain and vegetation for (2) given that one launders that uniform in some detergent and equipment that do not deposit UV dyes on it. Though we admit that we see the world through eyes other than those of antelope or whitetail. The whitetail were none the wiser.
also: re point (1): a surface-mount fuse? are you fucking kidding me??? Ask me for an oxymoron, and this one is about 4th down the list, after Braille street signs.
A trip or two on the side have been taken, namely to the Mecca of Brownell's and a return to the sweet, sweet humid Central Wisconsin of 2003 or thereabouts.
Now we have accepted a position in retail, serving a new Uncle who hosts big-box home improvement operations. It appears to be, if not 'recession-proof,' at least 'recession-resistant,' and the new Uncle's Roth matching contributions are surprisingly generous.
What we would truly like to find are:
1) a skilled hand at surface-mount soldering, to repair a blown fuse in the battery charger circuit of our cherished Yaesu FT817 transceiver;
2) ranchers in the vicinity of Wheatland, Wyoming, who will host itinerant riflemen to cull their antelope.
3) parts kit to create an AR15 upper that will reliably chamber and fire 7.62.x25mm Tokarev ammunition, including handloads up to 150gr. The term in vogue is 'Moscow Match ammo.' Gotta burn up those tracers.
Strangely, (1) is the choice where we have no progress.
Come on, world. You can do better.
USAF Airman Battle Uniforms do quite well in this terrain and vegetation for (2) given that one launders that uniform in some detergent and equipment that do not deposit UV dyes on it. Though we admit that we see the world through eyes other than those of antelope or whitetail. The whitetail were none the wiser.
also: re point (1): a surface-mount fuse? are you fucking kidding me??? Ask me for an oxymoron, and this one is about 4th down the list, after Braille street signs.
20190930
20190704
resizing bottleneck pistol cases
all the cool kids say to resize rifle brass such that the shoulder is set back .001 to .003" for bolt rifles, and .003 to .005" for semiautos.
does the same guidance apply to pistol cases with shoulders? One assumes they headspace on the shoulder just like a rifle cartridge.
Asking for my Tokarevs.
does the same guidance apply to pistol cases with shoulders? One assumes they headspace on the shoulder just like a rifle cartridge.
Asking for my Tokarevs.
deactivating M25 tracers
We have a boatload of M25 tracer bullets. Sounded like fun and during the bugger-all of certain parts of the Obama presidency, there were no other milsurp reloading components to be had (at prices I was willing to pay). The tracers were priced attractively for the time, and everything is cheaper by the boatload. They weigh in the range of 138 to 142 grains.
To render them safe(r) for regular range use, they must be deactivated. One intert00bs writer suggested hot glue to fill the cavity in the tail. That writer might have had tongue in cheek, thinking that the hot glue would ignite the tracer compound. Nah, another writer said you really have to nail the cup with a prolonged propane torch to set them off. We filled about a hundred tracer tails with hot glue without incident.
Note: these aren't truly deactivated for purposes of range safety. We expect them to not ignite when fired from our rifles. But beat a few of these into the berm and leave them there, and somebody else can hit them with their bullets, and they'll start the grass fire that we didn't. So, not good enough.
Besides, one application for these tracers is in 7.62x39, but the M25 bullet is some 6mm longer than a 147gr FMJ, and that cavity full of glue takes up space that is needed for propellant. IMR4198's starting-ish charge of 24.5gr won't fit with the glue-filled bullet seated to magazine length.
We poked holes in the copper cups of another hundred with a masonry nail, and immersed the bullets in mineral spirits to contaminate the tracer compound. Some pale gray powder popped out of some with the nail. More was found washing around in the mineral spirits after the bullets were taken out. They air-dried for an hour then tumbled in clean walnut.
These fit with 27-plus grains of H4895 (compressing?), and plenty of room for 27-plus grains of WC844, in the x39 case. Two charge-weight ladders are ready for next range day.
 |
| Unaltered M25 tracer bullets, showing cavity and copper cup in tail. |
To render them safe(r) for regular range use, they must be deactivated. One intert00bs writer suggested hot glue to fill the cavity in the tail. That writer might have had tongue in cheek, thinking that the hot glue would ignite the tracer compound. Nah, another writer said you really have to nail the cup with a prolonged propane torch to set them off. We filled about a hundred tracer tails with hot glue without incident.
Note: these aren't truly deactivated for purposes of range safety. We expect them to not ignite when fired from our rifles. But beat a few of these into the berm and leave them there, and somebody else can hit them with their bullets, and they'll start the grass fire that we didn't. So, not good enough.
Besides, one application for these tracers is in 7.62x39, but the M25 bullet is some 6mm longer than a 147gr FMJ, and that cavity full of glue takes up space that is needed for propellant. IMR4198's starting-ish charge of 24.5gr won't fit with the glue-filled bullet seated to magazine length.
We poked holes in the copper cups of another hundred with a masonry nail, and immersed the bullets in mineral spirits to contaminate the tracer compound. Some pale gray powder popped out of some with the nail. More was found washing around in the mineral spirits after the bullets were taken out. They air-dried for an hour then tumbled in clean walnut.
These fit with 27-plus grains of H4895 (compressing?), and plenty of room for 27-plus grains of WC844, in the x39 case. Two charge-weight ladders are ready for next range day.
 |
| L to R, unaltered M25 tracer, tracer with glue-filled cavity, tracer with punctured cup and oil-wet tracer compound. |
20190617
Idea number 4024, pickup safari rack
The Family Truckster---'01 Ford F150 SuperCrew---has a bed so short as to be nearly useless.
Its uselessness is compounded by a fabric tonneau cover stretched over it, with aluminum tube staves that brace it across the bed from side to side. When rolling the cover out of the way, the staves get off track and tangle.
I've also wanted some structure that extends above the bed, for lengths of lumber or a place to attach an enhanced HF antenna.
So how about a rack that normally rests on that same surface where the tonneau and staves sit. One at front and one at rear, on hinges. Roll the cover out of the way, and hinge the two racks upward to form a rigid steel frame. Two braces pop in between the two racks for front-to-back stability.
There's almost enough room for these two racks to extend above the line of the cab and still fold flat, facing each other.
Its uselessness is compounded by a fabric tonneau cover stretched over it, with aluminum tube staves that brace it across the bed from side to side. When rolling the cover out of the way, the staves get off track and tangle.
I've also wanted some structure that extends above the bed, for lengths of lumber or a place to attach an enhanced HF antenna.
So how about a rack that normally rests on that same surface where the tonneau and staves sit. One at front and one at rear, on hinges. Roll the cover out of the way, and hinge the two racks upward to form a rigid steel frame. Two braces pop in between the two racks for front-to-back stability.
There's almost enough room for these two racks to extend above the line of the cab and still fold flat, facing each other.
20190210
Good idea #728.3
After having gotten a good look at the M-Lok attachment standard, it occurs to me that handgun makers should be abandoning the trend of putting Picatinny rails on pistols, and adopting M-Lok slots on them instead.
They look less obtrusive. If you don't want to rail anything on your pistol today, the slots won't get in the way, and will more cleanly conform to holsters, compared to the Pic.
And tomorrow, if you want to put the weapon light or the laser on your 1911's dustcover, you can. And when that doesn't work out the way you had hoped, the accessory comes back off and the pistol returns to its original envelope.
The accessories themselves would be a bit lighter and less clumsy too.
A 1911 or Gloock dustcover with slots would be barely noticeably larger than a dustcover with no doodads at all. Best if these slots were blind so all the junk in the world will not pass through them and interfere with the pistol's operation. Or the pistol ships with rubber slugs for each slot, which pop out with a screwdriver.
The standard slot seems to be about 32mm long, which could be hard to fit on a compact pistol. Maybe an abbreviated slot length could be had, if the accessories' toggles were closer together to match.
Hey Polymer80, get on this willya?
They look less obtrusive. If you don't want to rail anything on your pistol today, the slots won't get in the way, and will more cleanly conform to holsters, compared to the Pic.
And tomorrow, if you want to put the weapon light or the laser on your 1911's dustcover, you can. And when that doesn't work out the way you had hoped, the accessory comes back off and the pistol returns to its original envelope.
The accessories themselves would be a bit lighter and less clumsy too.
A 1911 or Gloock dustcover with slots would be barely noticeably larger than a dustcover with no doodads at all. Best if these slots were blind so all the junk in the world will not pass through them and interfere with the pistol's operation. Or the pistol ships with rubber slugs for each slot, which pop out with a screwdriver.
The standard slot seems to be about 32mm long, which could be hard to fit on a compact pistol. Maybe an abbreviated slot length could be had, if the accessories' toggles were closer together to match.
Hey Polymer80, get on this willya?
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