Range Report: Space Gun Fun

I went to Turners before the range so I could pick up a selection of .22 ammo to see if my new space gun preferred particular ammo. Unfortunately they were quite cleaned out (as they usually are), so I just picked up some CCI .22 LR JHP since I had read that they worked well in the G22.

I arrived about 30 minutes after the range had opened, so there weren't that many people there. When I showed up toting the Walther rifle case that came with the G22 I got some raised eyebrows from the employees there who had only seen me bring in pistols before.

"Got somethin' new?"
"Yep!"
"Walther? Got a G22 in there?"
"Yes sir!"
"I know a few people who have those. They love them. Great for plinking!"
"Yeah, it was kind of a hard sell. It's so impractical. But this particular model was discontinued so I got it at about $100 off."
"You mind me asking what model that is?"
"... Well, I'm a little embarrassed to admit..."
*opens case, revealing a Git-R-Done G22*
"Ha! For $100 off, I woulda picked up a pink one!... *pause* Well, maybe..."
"Yeah, I was thinking about giving it a paint job"
*At this point an older gentleman sitting on the bench got up, and walked over to take a peek*
"Hey, did you get that from Turners? I think I saw that one, I almost picked it up! Was that the one for (price)? Yeah, they had those in the corner for the longest time, and when I saw that one, I was this close to picking it up. Gotta love those .22s, you can go out for a day on $10, and you don't have to worry about any sore shoulders or ammo! Just great fun plinking all day!"
"Yeah, this is my first .22, so I'm looking forward to some cheap, fun plinking. You know, this is my first time out with it, so if you're interested in shooting it off a bit you're more than welcome."
"Oh, we're just leaving, but if I catch you again, I might take you up on that offer! *A woman walked in from the hallway to join the man* See, honey? This is what I was telling you about. No recoil, cheap to shoot, lots of fun!" *The man exits into the hallway*
The woman watches her husband disappear into the hallway, turns to us, and says flatly with a dry smile;
"The latest toy he's trying to convince me he needs."
*I smile broadly*

I smiled because it was exactly like a kid trying to convince his mom she should get the toy for him. Not so say she was in charge of him, but he was so much like a kid, excited about a new toy. When else can you see a late 50's Texan-looking guy in a cowboy hat truly excited about something?

But enough people-watching...

Loaded the magazines, set rear sight to the lowest setting, set the target to the minimum distance, took aim unsupported, and fired off five shots. The trigger was sloppy in all aspects, and it seemed to be shooting high. 40 rounds later I had the sight set to 5 with a 6 o' clock point of aim, dead on at 50(?) feet, and the trigger seemed less sloppy. Once settled in I tried to get my groups as small as possible. I fired off the remaining rounds supported on my elbows on the naval-high tray/bench (while sticking my ass out like an idiot). My groups got smaller but not as small as I would have hoped. When my 100 rounds were used up, I had two 2nd stage failures to feed. The rounds were half in the barrel straight, slight pressure to the bolt put them fully into battery (odd failure to feed). After the failures I realized that people found they needed to clean out their G22s, because they came from the factory with some kind of odd grease, and when I switched it from righty to lefty, I didn't take the opportunity to oil it (dumb).

Not too bad, all things considered.

I returned to the counter and asked what kind of .22 they had; the employee recommended some Remington Cyclone because they were pretty hot, and helped cycling problems. While I wasn't too concerned about the failures, I was interested in getting something hotter into my gun.

50 rounds of Cyclone got me my best group; 9 in one inch, and one flyer put me at one and a half inches. Pretty damn good for me. I found the Cyclone seemed to shoot more accurately through my G22 (might have just been me, but I'll find out when I pick up more CCI). One failure to feed, same as before; my baby needs oil.

Plinking is a new experience for me, since this is my first .22, and I can honestly say that it is a helluva lot of fun. There's just something different about it. Not worrying about recoil, flinch, or the cost of rounds is just freeing. Not to mention the ability to make some great groups! It's different. In a good way. (A very good way)

I should like to pick up an inexpensive scope to free me from the blurry target, and really find out what kind of accuracy I can get out of my funky plinker.

I really look forward to bringing my space gun back to the range.

Cigar Smokery Part 2! Revenge of Castro's Ghost!

I've been sniffing for long enough. Yesterday I pulled my larger-than-expected partially smoked Cuban cigar out of the brushed aluminum (looking?) cigar tube my girlfriend got me for Christmas, and fired it up.

I only puffed on it for a short while before putting it out and returning it to it's tube.

I suspect I got more enjoyment from the after-smell and after-taste than from the actual puffing. Perhaps I should have just limited myself to only enough to get the taste in my mouth and smell on my fingers.

The smell faded from my clothing rather quickly (much to my girlfriend's pleasure), but the memory and the taste would linger much longer.

Even now I remember fondly the spicy flavor, and smell.

I knew that I had an addictive personality, so I wanted to make sure that even if I longed for one, I'd be able to resist. No problems there. A few months without a cigar, while wanting the flavor a few times a week is pretty good for me. Good enough that I felt no guilt as I struck the match yesterday.

Last night I told my girlfriend that I had heard that cigars were not as bad for you as cigarettes. She said that she'd heard the opposite. So I hopped on the net today and looked around.

A quick Google search revealed that cigars were not only as deadly as cigarettes, but they also were MORE deadly. Additionally, one could expect a 10% shorter life span if one were to smoke a cigar, hold a cigar in ones' mouth, or be within 20 feet of a lit cigar. Further troubling news was discovered when I found report after report noting that cigars cause erectile dysfunction, minor blindness, male pattern baldness, ugliness, getting kicked in the shin, and makes your nipples fall off! Even minor cigar smoking causes paralysis, uncontrollable bowels, impotence, your fingernails to fall off, your retinas to detach, your limbs to fall off and attack you under their own power, and an assortment of voodoo curses to be placed on your children, spouse, extended family, coworkers, mailman, doctor, and people who owe you money. Also, you have to fight Metal Gear.

It seemed that I couldn't get a single straight answer. My research results were flooded with biased "studies" and interestingly-worded "findings". Then I remembered this. Guess it applies to cigars too.

While it may be that cigars have much of the same bad stuff cigarettes do, I don't think there's much risk in my incredibly infrequent smoking of a quarter of a cigar.

As for those idiots and their agenda; they can all go blow a goat. I'll smoke just to piss them off.

The Moonanites are Terrorists.

Favorite Penny Arcade Comic

Something reminded me of my favorite Penny Arcade comic, so I dug it up.

Claw Shrimp!

*sniff*

I almost played some Nethack this weekend. It just didn't seem right though. I'll wait until the 11th; give it at least a month.

*leaves flowers*

                       ----------
                      /          \
                     /    REST    \
                    /      IN      \
                   /     PEACE      \
                  /                  \
                  |      Velma       |
                  |       0 Au       |
                  | crushed to death |
                  | by an exploding  |
                  |    drawbridge    |
                  |                  |
                  |       2007       |
                 *|     *  *  *      | *
        _________)/\\_//(\/(/\)/\//\/|_)_______

SMS Service

Hmmm... It seems the SMS service I use in conjunction with my scripts was down or something. Sorry for not responding to your e-mails earlier!

Range Report; one-handed, weak handed, and jam testing.

Hit the range this weekend. I hadn't gone in quite a while (just haven't felt the drive for some reason), so I was a little worried that my 1911 groups would be teh sukk.

Managed to get my best grouping ever. 1" group of 6 shots, one flyer put the group at 2".

Not bad for me...

I also got to try my hand at some one-handed and weak hand shooting, and found I was... within tolerances... with my XD-9, but my shots with the 1911 were quite accurate.

I've been keeping my 1911 from being my go-to pistol because I'd had some jams with it. As with most 1911 jams, these probably can be attributed to the mag (cheapie springfield mag). The jams were kind of specific, so I started trying to get it to jam so I could find out what the situation was that was causing it. Turns out that if I have one in the pipe and one in the mag, and fire, 1/3 times it will jam feeding. It's less likely to do this if I fire off from a full mag (if that makes sense), but when loaded with just those two shots, it will jam very often. A rap on the back of the slide will bring it home, and to a full firing position. I've been keeping my eyes out for a good deal on some Wilson Combat mags, but I think I'll just have to bite the... bullet... (Sorry.) I'll be on the look out for them at the gun show next weekend.

I was also reminded of just how much I love how the 1911 feels and shoots.

The Internet is a Series of Tubes!

Give it a click, and discover why government needs to stay out of what it doesn't understand. (Which is just about everything.)

State of the Union

Is it just me, or is our President really "on" tonight?

My initial reaction is that this is a reach across the isle; not necessarily what he's always stood for, but he's showing that their issues are important to him too.

Browning's "Paradise Lost"

Josh recounts man's fall from grace.

A fun and a humorous read! Give him a click!

Of Course You Realize This Means War

David over at The War On Guns has a rundown of exactly how our unalienable rights became alienated.

"Became", not "Will become", "are sure to become", or "Will likely become"; "Became." It's already happening. If you don't believe me, give him a click.

He thinks it's time to get angry. I'm inclined to agree.

Read, link, e-mail, and forward. People need to know about this.

Maybe it's time to dust off that big R word.
The least we can do is prepare.

CountyComm Review

A friend of mine referred me to Botach Tactical to find a hard-to-find item. Once there, I looked around, and found a wide selection of cool stuff at great prices. After work I hit their site, and decided the time was right for a little bit of a late night/early morning spending! I began (as I usually do) by filling my e-cart with everything that piqued my interest, then realizing my total is $600, I get real and start whitling down the items. I was stricken with a sudden case of frugality, and most of the stuff I wanted wasn't an immediate necessity as it was for disaster preparedness (I know, I know...) and could stand a little triage. I knew I'd likely have plenty of time and paychecks to spread out my purchases out, so I took it easy and didn't spend too much.

After I completed my order with them, I was in the survival/tacticool kinda mood so I headed over to CountyComm, my favorite place for odd and seriously cool stuff. Their selection is not awe-inspiring, and their website leaves much to be desired; but these guys always have great products you can't find elsewhere, great prices, and great service. After a quick perusal I filled my cart (again), then after remembering that I'm supposed to feel frugal, and that I just spent a bit over at botach, I slim my cart down (again), and finish my order.

The next day I made my rounds catching up on e-mail, and realized that I hadn't gotten my confirmation e-mail from Botach. I sent them an e-mail letting them know I failed to save my order number to track my order, and that I hadn't gotten a confirmation e-mail. Then I opened up my e-reciept to countycomm, and realized that I must have accidentally chosen the wrong address for delivery (why do I even still have that address in there?). I drafted an e-mail to Nick giving him the proper address, and fired it off. A little concerned about the missing confirmation e-mail (which are usually automatic), I typed "botach review" into Google, and found an epinions page for them. Oh my. The only place they got high marks was in the process managed by their yahoo store. The reviews covered the gamut; losing orders, shipping wrong items, taking weeks for delivery, lying to customers, faulty products, the works. Just as I finished the last review and was in a state of minor shock at the bullet I dodged with my frugality, a message popped into one of my inboxes. I didn't recognize the name, so I thought to myself; "See? Nothing to worry about. That's probably Botach with my order number now." But it wasn't; it was CountyComm returning my e-mail. Now, this wasn't a; "YOUR REQUEST FOR HELP AND OR INFORMATION HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND PROCESSED BY ORDERBOT 3000. YOUR REQUEST FOR HELP AND OR INFORMATION WILL BE HANDLED IN THE ORDER RECEIVED. WE VALUE YOUR BUSINESS. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL OR WE WILL BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN." This was a friendly e-mail from a real person which briefly stated that my package almost went out to the wrong address, and it was sent 12 minutes after I sent my e-mail!

I thought about my previous dealings with CountyComm and remembered that they were always receptive to any inqueries I sent them, and that they always shipped very quickly. The only problem I almost had with them, was from them shipping my product TOO quickly! Ha! If only they all had that problem!

I knew CountyComm was really a military/commercial supplier, and that their website was likely only a small portion of their income, which usually spells poor service and speed of order. However any orders that I've sent to them have been processed and sent out quickly and efficiently. I just got so used to being treated well, that I just kind of forgot all those things the Botach customers experienced actually happened. Talk about good treatment.

I put CountyComm into the review website and found that it wasn't in there. It's a small shop, but it deserves at least one review! I signed up for epinions, and discovered that I couldn't "make" a new store to write a review. I sent an e-mail to them asking how I could get a store added (they haven't responded yet (HA!) ).

So, here I am, relating my experiences with CountyComm in the form of a review.

Ease of Ordering: 4/5 Space Pineapples
The ordering system works perfectly, and paying is a cinch, but the site can sometimes be convoluted, and has some broken links.

Customer Service: 5/5 Space Pineapples
You get small shop customer service, and attention to detail!

On-Time Delivery: 5/5 Space Pineapples
Never been a problem!

Selection: 4/5 Space Pineapples
They get a 3 for not having a huge selection of stuff, but they get a +1 because they carry a lot of unique items!

Overall: 6/5 Space Pineapples
That's right; six.

Give them a click, you won't be disappointed.

Book-By-Its-Cover moment

We had a bit of car trouble this weekend, and I called for a tow truck.

When the truck arrived, he pulled into the gas station across from us. "Uhh, that's the southeast corner, not the northwest corner, brain surgeon." After a bit of futzing, he made it to our spot and loaded the car onto the flatbed. He was a old, oddly dressed, white bearded man, with one of those knit hats that holds dreadlocks. After he was done, I signed the order, and my girlfriend and I packed into the cab of the truck.

As he started up the truck, I prepared myself for the small-talk that invariably accompanys a tow. I'm not really much of a talker anyways, and I'm even less of a talker when the talkee looks like a steriotype. For a while, he was quiet, and I noticed what was playing on the stereo; it was some kind of opera. As I listened to the beautiful music, I was tempted to ask him who he was listening to, but was afraid he would take that as an opportunity to strike up a conversation. The song ended, and a radio announcer called the song "Song to the Earth." Kinda hippyish, but still good. Why was this guy listening to his music? I eyed his headware and realized that it was very likely full of dreadlocks. Suprised, I tried to picture how he would look without the hat when he spoke.
"You listen to this station? KCRW? It's based in Santa Monica college I think."
KCRW was an independent station that played a very odd mix of music of different styles and genras, I rarely listened during the day but I used to listen to their late night electronica shows "Metropolis" and "Nocturna".
"Yeah, actually I do listen to KCRW."
"I listen during the day sometimes, but I usually listen to the music at night when they play trance."
Whoa. This guy's into trance? I love trance.
"Yeah, you listen to Metropolis? I love trance."

He talked for a while about some of the music from the seventies, and somehow got on Sci-Fi. He told us about an instrument called a Theremin (which is played without touching it) which made all those outer-limits UFO sounds. Interesting stuff!

We got back to music, and he told me that he picked up interest in trance after hearing it on an episode of Samurai Jack. (!!!) I LOVE Samurai Jack!

Crazy! This guy's awesome! It'll be quite some time before I judge a book by its cover again!

The space gun cometh...

Well, only 9 more days to go...
(guns; betcha can't buy just four!)


(cue Sci-Fi weapon sound) BZZZZOW! BZZZZOW, BZZZZOW!

Now Josh, before you get mad, you should know that there were extenuating circumstances...

102 of them...

I'd been keeping an eye on the G22 for a while, but couldn't see spending the money on something so bloody impractical. When I hit Turners yesterday, I checked out their lever guns (my latest fancy), then I noticed that they had a Kel-Tec SU-16CA. Somehow the guys on CalGuns are convinced that these were hard to find, and I was almost ready to pay a premium for it, but then I called up good old Ade's gun shop, and he told me that he had two new ones in stock, and for $100 less than Turners. Once I knew that I'd be able to find an SU-16CA, I was very relieved. I wasn't quite ready to buy a gun in the price range of the SU. I mean, I COULD buy it, but I would have prefered to prepare for the purchase.

I looked in the corner at where they kept the three G22s I'd been eyeballing for months. this time they were all laying out against the wall instead of crammed into the corner, and one of them had a red tag on it! Turns out that the G22 with woodland camo has been discontinued, and Turners through a brilliant marketing strategy (???) chopped $102 off of it. I could get the G22 easily.

Once I knew that I COULD, I tried to figure out if I SHOULD. Wanting a gun is one thing, but when it comes time to actually (fuck it, I'm going to say it) pull the trigger, you think more seriously about it. Which was particularly difficult in this instance, because this gun serves almost no purpose.

I mean, look at it. Should I ever need an expensive solution to engaging in close-quarters-combat with an elite force of varmints, I'd reach for the G22. Otherwise, it's purely for fun. Besides, my jaunts to the range lately have been lacking something. I wanted something to spice up my visits, and since I live so close to the (pistol calibers only) range, and so far from any wide open spaces I might shoot rifles at, I think the G22 presented itself at the right time. Even so, it still took me a while to convince myself to buy this completely impractical gun. Well, the bullpup design means I get the velocity of a 20" barrel without the extra space, and it can be switched from lefty to righty easily (important if you don't like bolts in the teeth!). The .22 round is useful only for varmits of various types, and killing paper. I guess it does have some points. (very few though)

As I was filling out the paperwork, (and being fingerprinted like a criminal) someone walked up and gestured toward the woodland camo'ed G22 on the counter between me and the clerk.
"Pickin' up a G22? Good choice. I've got one, and it's a lot of fun."
"Yeah... Kinda hard to rationalize though, right?"
"Oh yeah. But hey; fun's fun!"

Yeah. I guess fun is fun. This gun serves no practical purpose other than to go to the range and have fun killing paper. (maybe even with frikin' laz0rs!)

I'm happy with my purchase.

Introducing new shooters

JR was gracious enough to take some new shooters to the range to teach them important gun safety, and (as a bonus) an appreciation for firearms.

Learning to shoot can be one of the most important things you can teach someone else. The basics of firearm safety is something everyone should know, gun owner or not.

If you're a gun owner, it's your duty to keep your eyes and ears peeled for people who might be willing to go to the range with you. Teaching people (especially in blue states) that nothing bad happens when a gun goes off is an important lesson, and will bring fence-sitters to our side.

Could the S really HTF?

This is a favorite topic among gunnies, "When the Fit hits the Shan, where will you be? (and will you bring your towel?)" It refers to a total break down of social order and civilization, wrought with lawlessness and desperation. This situation is sometimes referred to as the Zombocalypse (though there are some who feel that word refers exclusively to the attack of the undead hoards), or TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) which seems more final than a simple SHTF scenario. There aren't really clearly defined differences between these ideas, but that's not important.

Whenever a SHTF scenario or TEOTWAWKI warning is posted on a gunner board, I suspect a majority of people simply chuckle to themselves and roll their eyes. I think this is because they think poster is referring to an incredible, unrealistic, world changing event. This does not have to be the case.
Unlikely Examples:
Will the army of the undead rise from the Earth to feast of the flesh of the living?
Probably not.
Will a rival superpower rise, and incite WWIII, leaving America a ravaged post-apocalyptic warzone?
It's unlikely.
Will the Red Chinese overtake America with sheer numbers, and claim the land as its own, forcing gunnies to fight for their freedom from the commies?
All signs point to No. (Hmm, that's actually possible.)
Will you awake from a sushi-induced coma only to find the populace of the city you live in have been infected by a highly contagious diet cola, turning them into bloodthirsty animals and you; armed only with your boomstick, chainsaw hand, and spleen are the only thing standing between the fanatical hoard of Islamic terrorist jellyfish and the destruction of the world by giant invisible pirate ninjas??? Also, you have to fight Metal Gear.
Er- What?!

The fact of the matter is that there are far more plausible possibilities that would result in the S H'ing TF.
Likely Examples:
Will there be an earthquake/fire/flood which knocks out power for 3 weeks.
It's possible.
Will there be a attack/mistake which contaminates drinking water for a month?
Very possible.
Will a serious tax hike drive the American economy into a depression?
Likely.

It wouldn't take much to throw the citizenry into a panic. Loss of food, supplies, or water will breed desperation in honest people. Even a minor disaster will render the police useless, and allow rioting, looting and lawlessness. It's happened before, and it didn't start with a bad plot from a B movie.

Lets give it a shot, shall we?

Perhaps at the very moment you finish reading this post, an important water pipe juncture will burst and be closed off for repair. But once that juncture is closed off, other junctures, unsuited for the elevated pressure, will burst in a domino effect. Suddenly the county is without water for an undetermined period of time. The news reports start up and needlessly frighten people (because it's good ratings). Citizens will check their faucets; half will panic, half will relax and wait for salvation. The panicking populace will rush to the nearest store to begin hoarding water for their family. Shelves are emptied within 12 hours, at night, stores are broken into for their goods. Days later, the less than scrupulous of the populace realizes that the police are preoccupied, and begin robbing, raping, and attacking at will. The relaxed half of the populace who thought this would blow over quickly begin to become frightened after the end of first week sees reports of repair delays. Freeways out of the county are congested to closure and filled with abandoned vehicles. Local government will set up stations to dispense a far too little water to far too many people. Those who are denied government water will mob up on those who did get water, many people will be beaten, and little water will make to homes. A serial arsonist realizes he has the upper hand. The governor will declare a state of emergency, and send trucks of water, but the truck drivers will not deliver the water after being shot at by gangs. Friends, neighbors, and family turn on each other to take what they so desperately need to survive. The police force disintegrates as officers stay home in order to protect their families and find supplies. A week later, the governor will enforce the supply deliveries by calling on the national guard to defend the trucks. De facto martial law will be put into place. National Guard will hold off desperate citizens who mob the supply trucks to maintain order; a shot will be fired, then many. Supply truck massacres will cause a media feeding frenzy, and lead to retaliation against the National Guardsmen. Lawlessness will become so bad that repairs on the water pipes will be postponed indefinitely. Then things start to get bad...

(Whoops, you just finished reading this post! Care to check the news?)

Glock thoughts

UPDATED

Let me begin by saying that I don't much care for Glocks.

I don't like the way they feel.
I don't like the way they look.
I don't like the way everyone has one.
(I've got a weird thing about liking popular things)
I don't like their triggers.
I don't like their grip angle.
I don't like their non-safety "safety".
I don't like the way it's only half-cocked when it's cocked.
And I definitely don't like Glock fanboys.

For all those counts against Gaston's ugly little pistol, it still has one thing going for it. But that one thing just might be enough to overlook all the negatives.

• Reliability

I'm not even sure there is any argument about this point. Glock attackers will frequently start their arguments "Well it is reliable, but..." as if there was any trait or characteristic that would matter more than reliability.

----------------------

A bit ago I was watching Ronin, and at one point Robert DeNiro is asked what gun he'd like. He replies that he'd like a 1911. Which, to a gunny, is just a few notches above asking for "One that goes boom." I wondered what gun he would ask for if he were more specific. A Springfield Loaded? A Kimber Custom something-or-other? A classic Colt? This was going to be a pistol that was expected to work in tough situations, not a chrome-plated target shooter that could afford to jam if you didn't feed it properly. What ammo could he expect to get? Then I realized that if the gun was new, it might have to be broken in. I don't think they were in a location that they could fire off a couple thousand rounds to get a new automatic working smoothly and reliably.

I thought what I would want if I were in that position. The gun would have to be something I would have experience shooting, something that could expect to act consistently like the other guns of the same model I'd used, something with few safeties and few points of failure, and above all ultimate reliability. I'd (unfortunately) have to choose a Glock. No matter where I get the Glock from or what state of usage I get it in, I'd be confident that it would act consistently as any other Glock that I'd handled.

But hey, it's just a movie.

Why not choose an XD? It's basically a Glock right? Well, even if time earns the XD the decades of reliability that the Glock has, the features that the XD sports seems to lend it to being a carry gun for casual (if any) use. The Glock is as simple as getting hit in the head with a brick, and made to take thousands of rounds down the pipe without flinching.

For now I'm content with my XD, which (after a break-in period) has yet to fail to function. Even when I poured sand into the opened action, and put two mags through it, there was no issue. It continues to function flawlessly no matter what I feed it (though I don't feed it anything other than mid-grade and white box). Should it somehow manage to fail in some way though regular use, I will likely have no choice but to buy a Glock.

The simple fact is that if someone walked up to me when I required a gun, and asked me what gun I'd like;

I wouldn't ask for a Matte Black Kimber Pro X4 Uber-elite Ultra6 with Wolf aftermarket springs, StickyFingers grips, Thompkins McAwesomeshooter barrel and bushing, with a Shooty McShooterson super-duper-feather-lite trigger job, Ninja Nite-sytes, with a tan lucky rabbit's foot attached to the lanyard loop, and a rail-mounted Surefire weapon light and laz0r, pre-broken-in with baby powder hand-ground by Tibetan monks, with 6 Wilson Combat 10 round mags, and 1000 rounds of Winchester Ranger .45.

I'd simply ask for a Glock 23, and be confident that my choice was the correct one.

Enlightenment at work

Coworker: "It's ok to lie about sex; I mean, It's not like it was important to national security that we know that Bill was getting a BJ..."

Me: "That is wrong because of one word. Blackmail. You now have dirt on the most powerful man in the world. You don't think that has national security implications?"

Coworker: "... Never thought about it like that."

Me: "Neither did any reporter during that scandal. Why do you think that was?"

Coworker: "Hmm..."

ENLIGHTENMENT DISPENSED, DEPOSIT $1 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL MINUTE.

No guns in schools? Try terrorists in schools.

JR over at A Keyboard and a .45 has a very sobering post about the prospect and the likelyhood terrorists attacking our schools.

I knew they would make a good target, but I had no idea that terrorists were actively training takeover and control methodology of schools, and obtaining blueprints for American schools. Or that they had a history of doing just that. Jesus.

This is more serious that people think. Reading what they've done in Russia in the past is truly chilling.

I'd recommend holding on to this link to enlighten the ignorant. Guns don't just murder, they also defend.

Workout music

For anyone who's interested in workout music, I thought I'd share the following nugget of wisdom...

Listening to the iPod of Dragonforce gives plus 10 to heartrate.

(if only I could find the gauntlets of strength)




.. Ok, that might have been too geeky.

Truth from Stouty

Stouty reminds us of some basic economics very eloquently.

This would be a good thing to share with your nearest and dearest liberal non-friend. The idea that a minimum wage is a good idea is a really popular belief in lefty circles.

The deep-seated idea that if you force eeeevil profit-obsessed business owners to pay their poor employees more, and not cause any negative impact is a liberal favorite.

The simple, undisputed law of economics that There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch just doesn't seem to phase the liberal mind.

Why not strike up a conversation with your left-leaning coworker, and casually bring up the latest democrat attempt at a minimum wage hike, and once they start filling their balloon with hot air, pull out your logic pin, and give them a poke! (insert evil grin here)

Give him a click.

David Codrea, Talkin' to America

David Codrea of WarOnGuns was interviewed on the JPFO's Talkin' to America show.

Codrea is bang on as usual. It's completely worth your time, and touches on a range of subjects you might not be privy to. If you're interested in your 2nd Amendment rights (and retaining them) you are required under threat of Charlton Heston to listen to this interview.

Farvel Velma the Valkyrie...

I'd been playing my Valkyrie very carefully for a couple of weeks, and my caution had paid off with a fairly complete kit for going deeper into the dungeon. There had only been one near-death experience wherein I was saved by my faithful Red Dragon, Trogdor. I was doing better than I'd done before, and I owe that mainly to changing playing style. Once I stopped playing Nethack like a game, and more like real life, I started to do MUCH better.

My kit for continuing lower into the dungeon was almost complete, and I figured now would be a good time to complete my side quest, and hope to find the stuff I was missing among the goodies.

As I entered the final level of my quest, Lord Surtur's stronghold, I saw something I'd never seen before. It was one of the more dangerous things in the Nethack's dungeon; a lowered drawbridge. The funny thing was that I didn't know why it was dangerous.

I had read in a few places that one should always be careful of drawbridges. When I started reading the messages, I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a player standing in the way of a drawbridge, and lowering it onto themselves. I couldn't imagine any other way they could be dangerous, but I still wondered why so many felt the need to mention being careful around drawbridges. This question rolled around in my head for some time; how many spaces would the drawbridge take up? Would you be able to lower it from a safe distance or at an angle? What about these drawbridges was tripping people up? I just couldn't figure out why drawbridges were so insidious.

So, I approached the stronghold (and drawbridge) carefully. I had no problem taking care of the monsters on this level, and felt brave. I stepped onto the drawbridge... I stepped further... And stepped off of it, into the stronghold. Ooooookay... I fought my way to Lord Surtur, who teleported away. I followed him outside (across the drawbridge), and dealt with him easily. Now my thoughts turned to the booty. I gathered most of the goodies from the level and left to complete my quest by returning the artifact, and resume my mission in the dungeon. After I got through identifying all my booty, I realized that I had somehow managed to leave 10 blessed +3 daggers on one of the quest levels! I was careful not to throw them in a direction where they could wind up in lava, so I figured I could find them easily.

I returned to the quest levels, and easily fought my way through to the lower levels with the help of Trogdor (who, by now, had been polymorphed from a Red Dragon into a Golden Naga by one of the dungeon's more malicious traps) and my Stone Giant. Both were quite strong, and very reliable. We made short work of the monsters who spawned more frequently here than in the dungeon. Easy experience, good chance of items; good times. We made our way to the bottom level with Lord Surtur's stronghold (and the drawbridge), and I spied what looked like my daggers inside the stronghold, next to two Fire Giants, who would be dispatched easily.

I stepped onto the draw bridge and looked through the opening into the stronghold, the fire giant was right in front of me, but with lava in front and behind him, I didn't want to risk losing any of my daggers. I took another step forward onto the base of the drawbridge within striking distance of another fire giant. "Come get a facefull of the Hammer of Thor!"

The fire giant zaps a wand of striking! --more--

"Go ahead." I say, "I'm magic resistant." and I hit the space bar for the rest of the messages.

The wand hits the drawbridge! --more--

"eh?"

You are blown apart by flying debris. --more--

Now on that last message, I got a little confused. You are blown apart??? Not, "Your shield is blown apart" or "Your bag is blown apart" It just says that I... was blown apart. What does that mean? How much damage does that do? That sounds dangerously final. If I land in the lava I can still teleport to safety... Will I get a chance to ask my god for help? Will my god help me automatically?
Slightly perplexed, I press the space bar.

Do you want your possessions identified? [ynq] (n)
(the message you get when you die)

*insert mild aneurysm here*

I stare at the message with furrowed eyebrows. I'm not mad or angry, just confused. It happened too fast. Surely my best character didn't just suffer an unknown insta-death. I stare at the screen for what must have been a few minutes. I'm in disbelief. I'm not sure what to think. I stare at the message for a bit longer, thinking that I must be misreading it, or it must be some kind of mistake. The cursor blinks back at me, waiting for my reply to the dreaded question.

Then, for some reason, I open up a text editor, and start saving my position, attributes, and score on the computer for future reference. I feel a bit numb as I record the dying qualities of my best character. I'd learned so much. I'd gotten so attached. Trogdor is masterless. Oh man. I can't believe it. Just like that. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200... Just dead.

I rifle through my accomplishments. Velma was a seriously tough bitch!... Obviously not tough enough. After 63371 turns... Brought down by an exploding drawbridge. Unbelievable.

I post the stats to my google notebook so I can pull them up later.






I don't think I'll be playing for a while...

                       ----------
                      /          \
                     /    REST    \
                    /      IN      \
                   /     PEACE      \
                  /                  \
                  |      Velma       |
                  |       0 Au       |
                  | crushed to death |
                  | by an exploding  |
                  |    drawbridge    |
                  |                  |
                  |       2007       |
                 *|     *  *  *      | *
        _________)/\\_//(\/(/\)/\//\/|_)_______

Farvel Velma the Valkyrie...

You were crushed in The Quest on dungeon level 6 with 362800 points,
and 0 pieces of gold, after 63371 moves.
You were level 14 with a maximum of 124 hit points when you were crushed.


Final Attributes:

You were the Hand of Elbereth.
You were piously aligned.
You were fire resistant.
You were cold resistant.
You were sleep resistant.
You were shock resistant.
You were poison resistant.
You were magic-protected.
You saw invisible.
You were telepathic.
You were warned.
You were displaced.
You were stealthy.
You could teleport.
You had teleport control.
You had slower digestion.
You were protected.
You were fast.
You had reflection.
You were extremely lucky.
You had extra luck.
Good luck did not time out for you.
You are dead.

1796 creatures vanquished.


The scene etched into my brain.

Dow closes at yet another record-breaking high.

I blame Bush.


Again...

OK, that's it.

For the love of god; STOP USING THE WORD "DEPLOY" IN PLACE OF THE WORD "RETREAT!"

I'm sick and tired of hearing how we need to "deploy" our troops to another country. CALL IT WHAT IT IS!

Living in Conditions

Most of the people in the world float through life with little attention paid to anything other than themselves.

A small percentage go through life acutely aware of everything that goes on around them; and prepared to take action if necessary.

When I started looking into getting a CCW permit, I found that it was a little more involved than simply jamming a pistol in your pocket. With great power comes great responsibility. The lives of innocents and loved ones around you are not instantly saved by the simple fact that you happen to have a gun on your person. You need to do more. Much more.

You have to be aware of how you appear and are perceived by other people.
You have to be perceptive of the people around you.

For most people, this means living in conditions.

In my eyes, there are only 4 conditions. This is kept simple for a reason, the differences between the four needs to be clear.

Condition White (or green)
Condition Yellow
Condition Orange
Condition Red

Condition White
At ease.
This is the lowest condition; this is sheeple mode. Very little attention is paid to your surroundings, and you are very relaxed. Some people argue that you should never be in condition white, and that the lowest you should go is some other condition between yellow and white. To those people I say, you must relax some time. Being in a constant state of alert and readiness will take its toll on you physically, and mentally. Don't do it. All that I ask about being in condition white is that you are prepared to escalate at a moment's notice. This is mainly a mental thing, but some equipment preparations are required.

If I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV or computing, I'm at condition white. But, I'll usually have my EDC knife on me or have a pocket knife on the coffee table in front of me (it's full of crap anyways), and I'll always be mentally ready to toss the computer, and bolt to the bedroom where firearms can be retrieved. Having this in the back of my mind doesn't really escalate my condition (I think), but not having it in my mind makes me unprepared.

Condition Yellow
What doesn't fit?
To me, condition yellow should be maintained whenever you are out of your house or around people you don't know. You are attentive to the strangers around you, how they're acting, what they're doing, what they're looking at, where they're going, and so on. At first this seems like a daunting (if not impossible) task, but once you get used to how the floating sheeple act in the areas you frequent, non-sheeple or people doing non-sheeple actions will we surprisingly easy to identify. This heightened state of awareness will likely net you a few people to keep an eye on. 99% of the time, these people will not be a threat of any kind, but since you're keeping an eye on them, you will be prepared should you be wrong. You just have to constantly ask yourself; "Whom here does not fit?"

If I'm walking through the mall, my eyes are constantly moving across the crowd in front and I'm constantly glancing behind me. Scanning the clothing, faces, body language, and movements of the people within 75 feet of me and my party. If someone is milling around or appears to be waiting in an odd area, I try to note where they're looking. Are they glancing expectantly at the parking structure, waiting for friends? Or are they scanning left, right, and behind them to make sure no one is coming? Is their body language tense or relaxed? If they don't fit, I probably won't deviate from my path or change the way I act; but I will be watching them.

Condition Orange
Something's wrong.
Condition orange is the realization that something is wrong. Odd or furtive movements by someone you're watching can escalate you to condition orange. Unfortunately I don't have a precise explanation of what defines condition orange beyond "Something's Wrong" (maybe that's a good thing). Sometimes condition orange can be attained by something as innocuous as a bad vibe you get from someone. Yellow and orange are very similar, but one important differentiator is that condition orange is the first stage of readiness and possible action. At condition orange you need to begin becoming physically and mentally prepaired to take action, and you possibly take avoidance action.

If while walking back from a resteraunt to our car I notice someone has been with us for a few turns, and is acting strange/differently, I will go to condition orange. At this point, I may place my thumb into my pocket and pinch my knife in a thumb and palm grip without removing it, but my primary concern is to keep from having to go to condition red. Since I'm beginning to suspect this person of bearing me ill will, I can no longer treat him like any other person (though he may still be). Hence, I am unable to take any overt action but must find a way to confirm or deny my suspicions. I may stop my party and feign forgetting something for long enough for him to pass. Someone with malicious intent may realize he has been spotted and walk on as if he was just another innocent sheeple wandering after his car. If this person sees us stop, and ducks behind something so we don't notice him following us or stops to innocently talk on his phone, it's time to go to condition red. If he was maintaining a distance, and begins to rapidly close the gap, it's time to go to condition red.

Condition Red
Possible threat, take action.
Strangely enough, condition red is not the final condition. Condition red is for confirming or avoiding the possible threat any way necessary. The final condition is the fight for your life and the lives of others, and need not be a condition. If you've made it to condition red correctly, your attentiveness will likely be rewarded by not having to go to the final condition. Once you've correctly identified a possible threat, you have the advantage of the first move. Usually this is finding/notifying security, calling the police, or if those are not viable actions, taking evasive action or turning the tables. If you've noticed someone acting strangely, and have positively identified them as a possible threat, fetching security will keep you from having to confront anyone. Likewise, if you're walking home, and notice some possible threats, you can call the police and ask that a unit drive by and talk to you for a short while to scare the threat away. Note that you MUST positively identify a possible threat before you do any of these actions. If you call the police and say that someone's walking behind you, they won't care. If you tell them you've walked in a circle, and have confirmed that someone is following you, they will (should). The last two possibilities are more dangerous. Taking evasive action can include ducking into a safe area (preferrably a room or building with lots of people), or just flat-out running (only if you've already called the cops or know where to run). There are better ways to deal with this than running, be smart about thinking up safe areas, don't rely on simply outrunning your possible threat. Note that if you start running and they give chase, you have a clear escalation to the final condition. Turning the tables is the last resort, as it is simply a confrontation. You turn around, step aside, and stare at your possible threat to let them know you see them and are ready for them. They may walk on, or they may take the chance on trying to take you in a ready state. This should usually only be tried when you have the advantage of numbers. This is NOT recommended. You can usually call, seek, or notify the authorities without letting your threat know that you are doing so. Your advantage is that you get the first move.
Remember that in this condition, you must be very careful NOT to corner yourself. If you were walking to you car or your home, you MUST go elsewhere, or pretend to be unaware in safe areas long enough for the authorities to arrive!
Remember that nothing is confirmed! At this condition it's VERY likely this person bears you ill will, but it is still possible for innocents to cause this condition! Preemptive attacks are assault and you WILL be arrested!

---

The most important thing about the conditions is not how well you identify them, but how cleanly and appropriately you switch between them. When your suspect is not making it clear if you should escalate, try to think of an action you can take to either confirm or deny the escalation without confrontation or letting him know you are aware of him.

Some people live with conditions but don't carry; some carry but don't live in conditions. Just because you don't have a weapon doesn't mean that you can't live in conditions or that conditions will help you and your loved ones stay safe.

Example of how conditions can help in a possibly bad situation.
Followed walking home.

Jake finished feeding his friend's dog, and started the 5 block walk home to get ready for his date. Jake was at condition yellow, and after a block-and-a-half he noticed that a couple of guys 50 feet behind him matched a couple of his turns. "No big deal," he thought "lots of people walk here." He walked on, but was alert of his surroundings, and aware of the two behind him. After they matched a few more of his turns, he began to worry. "I think they might be following me, but I have to be sure I'm not just being paranoid!" Jake spotted a coffee shop, and walked in to look around and see if they passed. After a few minutes he walked back out and casually looked where they were as he turned to continue his walk. They were there, talking to eachother and gesturing at a nearby car. When he resumed walking, they slowly began behind him. Condition orange. From here we will take a few journeys to possible conclusions based on Jake's actions.

Jake decided to walk in a circle along populated streets to make sure they were indeed following him. As he made the last turn he peeked over his shoulder to see if they followed. They never appeared. They realized that he walked in a circle, and knew they had been spotted. After losing the element of surprise, they moved on to easier targets.

Alternatively;
Jake picked a populated corner, and stopped to look at a newspaper in a coin-operated newspaper dispenser. When he did, he turned his head and made eye contact with the two briefly, before pretending to continue reviewing the paper through the plastic window. The two walked up, crossed the street, and walked on. They knew he saw them, but couldn't make a move on the crowded street corner.

Alternatively;
Jake walked in the circle mentioned in the first possibility; this time, they kept following him. Now he was sure they were following him. Condition red. He casually reached for his cell phone, and called 911. "911, what is your emergency?" "Two guys are following me, I think they're going to rob me. I walked in a circle to make sure and they're definately following me." "What is your location?" "I'm walking North on Main, I just passed 42nd, and I'm wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans." "We'll send a unit by, keep walking straight." Half a block later a police car pulled up next to him, and called to him. He turned to talk to the cop, and as he did, he saw the guys behind him had crossed the street and changed direction.

Alternatively;
The police did not arrive, and Jake was afraid they were going to realize that he was wise to them. Jake picked another crowded street corner, and turned around. He removed his hands from his jacket pockets, and stared at them. They hesitated slightly, and continued walking. "What are you looking at?" One of them said snidely as they passed him, and crossed the steet.

Alternatively;
The police did not arrive, and Jake was afraid they were going to realize that he was wise to them before the police made arrived. Jake looked around, and now found himself without a crowded street corner to use. He knew he would have to make the first move before they did since they outnumbered him. He also knew he shouldn't confront them since they outnumbered him. He glanced up and down the street and saw no police cars. When he returned his gaze foward, he looked down to the side and noticed in his peripheral vision that the two men had quickened their pace. He was losing the first move. He didn't want to confront them, but he didn't know the area well enough to run. He walked up some steps to the nearest alcove of an apartment building so he wasn't visable to the men. He heard their pace quicken. He turned to face the street, and put his hand behind him. He heard the men slow as they approached the alcove and come into view. He glared at them as they came into view, looking into the alcove for him. They paused, looked at his face, looked at his hand behind him on the small of his back, turned, and walked on. Shortly after, the police arrived and were nice enough to give him a ride to his apartment.

Had Jake walked home in a blissfully ignorant condition white, he might have found himself beaten in an alley, or the victim of a home invasion robbery putting his loved ones at risk. As we could see Jake could avoid the potential situation a number of ways without going to far as to pretend he was armed. None of this would have been possible had Jake not been aware of his surroundings.

The problem living with conditions.
If you make the decision to live your life in conditions, there really isn't any going back. You can either be aware of all things around you, and perpetually prepaired, or you can't. Living in conditions can be a source of headache for you and possibly your loved ones. Had I been in condition white in this situation, everything would have happened the same way, and everyone would have been fine. The contant awareness and (yes, I'm going to say it) paranoia can be a wear on you physically and mentally. When I was in Vegas, I wasn't used to how everyone acted, and I had a tough time identifying the sheeple. It was a strain just being there, around so many people.

Does everyone have to live in conditions?
Of course not. And I certainly wouldn't think poorly of you if you decided not to. Even if your condition white sense of security was shattered by an act of violence, you can still choose not to live in conditions. The simple fact is that most citizens can go their entire lives in condition white with no problems.

Some people don't have the capacity to live in conditions. However, those who DO have the capacity should think very carefully about the people who depend on them for safety.

For more information on this topic, I HIGHLY recommend reading Xavier's post Recognizing Threats.

Say 'non' to 2007!

I'd heard on the radio that the French were protesting the progression of time. They blamed the UN and demanded that they stop time.

???

I started looking around and found that this was really just a joke to parody their readiness to protest anything new.

I just thought they had gotten a little bit too much government subsidized wine! Seems they're more able to laugh at themselves than I thought!

Beautiful 3 Day weekend off.

This was a real weekend to remember (though, some parts I can't!). It was just what I needed to begin the new year fresh.

In order to relate how perfect this weekend was, I will be using the following smiley animation: as a bullet point image for each point.

Had my Birthday
Had a Birthday lunch of Thai from the best local Thai place. XXX Spicy Noodles if you care. (though I really wanted 5 "X"s)
Had a Birthday Dinner with my family with tons of (REALLY FRESH) sushi from a great sushi place And, I'm a total sushi snob.
Found a place that had my favorite sandals. My favorites broke a bit ago, and the place I got them from didn't sell them over winter. So I suffered with my backups until I couldn't find them, and tried to jury-rig my broken sandals. They broke the same day at a outdoor mall, and we went to some place to pick up some cheapies, and they were selling my favorites! I seriously love these sandals. Always buy extras folks!
Drank my way into my birthday with friends.
I got seriously F'ed up (since I so rarely do) on Wild Turkey and Coke (unlike 101, 80 proof sneaks up on ya!) on New Years with all my friends watching Season 1 of Robot Chicken.
I saw lots of Robot Chicken.
Played a bit of Xbox (Freedom Fighters; awesome game.)
Saw Pursuit of Happyness. (Loved it. But I'm a sucker for these kinds of movies.)
Played a metric ton of Nethack.
Didn't die while played aforementioned metric ton of Nethack. (bonus!)
Lost, then was reunited with my pet Red Dragon, Trogdor, in Nethack. (You have no idea how relieved I was when I found him!)
Not once did I do anything work-related.
Only once did I think about work. (Got a call that I shouldn't have, redirected it off, and quickly forgot about it)
Watched a ton of MASH on the MASH marathon on the Hallmark Channel. (which had hilariously stupid/silly commercials) I've known MASH was quality, but never had the chance to sit down and really watch it.
Had almost no responsibility the entire weekend.
The world lost one more monster to the gallows.

The only way this weekend could have possibly been any better would have been if Jack Bauer punched me in the face, which (I think we can all agree) would have been awesome.

The First Amendment according to Calguns

UPDATE 7/1/08: In the time I've continued to spend on Calguns, I've come to understand the reason for their decision. I may not have to like it, but I must respect it. Frankly Calguns has driven progress for gun owners in California more than any other organization, large or small. They're the reason I have a legal AR type, and they are currently in the process of challenging the AWB through a non-profit foundation.
Calguns is worth your time, and deserving of your money.

The original post follows below. Regard it with my above notes.
--------------------------

David Codrea felt the need to voice a dissenting opinion on Calguns, and joined up so he could make his opinion known.

He was politely warned that the forum had rules and that he should reword his post to make it more polite and respectful. He was banned for life for his first post with no warning.

The Calguns site owner replied to his post in the first comment, and explained why he had been banned, and the rules regarding the Calguns forum usage. Usually, this kind of information is sent via e-mail to someone who was banned for a week or a few days, or (more often) in a follow up post under the first.

Additionally, the person who claimed to be the owner of Calguns said that he wasn't familiar with David's politics, and knew nothing about him. This, I suspect, was an outright lie. If he really was so involved in "his" site to be the one who instituted the life-long-warningless-insta-ban, I find it hard to believe that he missed the many posts which reference David and his politics in a derogatory manner. Conversely, if he is going to claim ignorance for being a more "hands-off" owner, then why was HE the one who instituted the ban, and decided that it should last a lifetime?

I smell bullshit.

David IS a bit harsh around the edges, but his voice needs to be heard because he's saying things that people don't get from the big 2nd Amendment lobby. David Codrea will not accept anything less than a full, and unconditional surrender from the gun-grabbers, and we need to have that voice in our community.

I will no longer be supporting Calguns with my donations, and hope you'll do the same.

If you know any other Calguns members, share this information with them. They need to know about Calguns' backdoor censorship.

You fall into a pit!

"You fall into a pit!" "You land on a set of sharp iron spikes!" "The spikes were poisoned!" "The poison was deadly..." You have died. Do you want your possessions identified? [ynq] (n)"

DUDE! WTF?!

One of the many insta-deaths...

I hate loving Nethack.

Neck deep!

I'm neck deep in someone else's database. Actually it's worse, it's a large company's database which means all the parts can be as disjointed as they want. If it was just one idiot's code, at least it'd be consistent!

I've been digging through the database for two days now, and feel like that one guy on the movie Real Genius who's helping them get the laser working. In the middle of everyone quietly pouring over research, he just stands up and starts screaming and going nuts and runs away.

That's me.

Goodbye Eilom the Ranger...

I said in an earlier post that I wanted to start my own Ranger, well I did and he was doing great.

I didn't get too deep, but I wasn't trying to. I was playing the way the fellow from the story was, and I was collecting all (and I do mean all) the items from the nearby levels and putting them in my storage box on the mine town level in the Mars temple. On a side note; collecting everything is a good way to keep the monsters from attacking me with crystal plate mail or really nasty weapons. And when you can test if the items are cursed or not, and try them on safely, I found quite a few good items that brought my armor class waaaaay down! I think I'll be doing this from now on. I'm going to have to put my Valk through this process to see how low I can get her AC...

I'd just sacrificed a whole bunch of monsters to my god when he rewarded me with Stormbane. Stormbane is an awesome weapon, but it's intelligent, so it can be unwieldy. I was practicing with it to get my skill level up, and had returned to the temple. I walked toward my box, and the Priestess got in the way. Normally when you choose to attack a peaceful being you are asked if you are sure you want to attack. Since I was wielding Stormbane at the time, Stormbane attacked her before I had the chance to stop it. I was a pretty low level, and priests of temples are rather strong (not to mention that if I kill the priest of a temple the temple becomes haunted). I tried to be nice, and prayed to my god (who was still supportive of me), but the priestess was just too powerful for me and...

Goodbye Eilom the Ranger...

Damn. I was doing so well!

Oh well. No use crying over spilt Ranger blood! Time to learn from my mistakes and get back to the game! I started a Valk named Velma afterwards, and have been finding some good items. Somewhere along the way, I found a cursed ring and a wand. I zapped the wand at a corridor to see if it was a projectile launching or area effect wand and nothing happened. I figured it was a speed monster wand (as those are common early in the dungeon) and zapped it at my pet housecat. *POOF* Red Dragon. OMG I polymorphed my pet cat into a Red Dragon! Kick ass! Totally lucky! I looked at that cursed ring and thought it would be awesome if it was polymorph control, but that's just wishful thinking.

Nethack has traps for you to keep you from just trying on unidentified rings, amulets, or reading unidentified scrolls. You pick up an unidentified scroll, feel adventurous and read it. Whoops, your +4 shield crumbles to dust. Bugger. Or you toss on an unidentified amulet. "What harm could it do?" you think, "I'll probably find out what it does later, or by interacting with the dungeon." Whoops. It was a cursed amulet of choking. It chokes you for 4 turns and kills you, and since it's cursed, you can't take it off. Way to go. You put on an unidentified ring, "There are no killer rings, the worst it does is knocks my roll down a few points in some category. Eventually I'll get it off." Whoops. It was a cursed ring of levitation. You float to the ceiling. You have a weaker attack since you have no footing, and you fly backwards when you launch a projectile. Not too bad right? Oh wait. You can't pick up anything off the ground since you're on the ceiling, nor can you go down a level since the stairs down are on the ground. And you can't try to dip the cursed ring in a fountain to remove the curse because the fountain is (say it with me) on the ground. Better start reading some of those unidentified scrolls and hope one is a scroll of remove curse (and not destroy armor or punishment), otherwise you need to go up levels and hope to run into a nymph who will steal your stuff, and hope she steals your cursed ring. You can help her do this by removing and dropping all your inventory so that the ring is the only thing she can steal. Of course, once you drop all your inventory, it'll be on the ground... As you can tell, there are quite a few obscure ways to die in Nethack. So if you're character's kicking ass, or just barely getting by, that cursed amulet of choking will do you in. And if the amulet doesn't; the randomly generated monster wielding a wand of death is just waiting around the corner.

Nethack is the only game I know of that actively tries to kill you in any way possible. There's no coddling here; it's just straight, 100% doom. Whether you're three turns into your game or 30000, the Random Nethack God WILL throw you a curve ball (or eight) to try to kill you.

Crap, where was I. Oh yeah, wishful thinking. I didn't want to try on the ring for the aforementioned reasons, but there was a sink a few levels up. Sinks eat rings (just like in real life) and by dropping your ring into a sink, the sink will display the ability the ring endows thereby identifying it (if you can recognize the message). This, however, requires that you lose the ring down the drain. I tossed the ring into the drain, and cursed as it displayed "For a moment the sink looks like an erupting geyser." Which is the message you get when you drop a ring of polymorph control into the sink. Bugger. Go fig.

So my Valk missed the chance to have poly control and a wand of polymorph, but she still had a pet Red Dragon named Zippo! I forget where she is right now, but he's doing A-OK. I'm looking forward to playing her some more, but not looking forward to her assured demise at the hands of the Nethack God.

UPDATE: I had a great run, but Nethack got me...

Catching up (on nethack)

Howdy folks, just dropping you guys an update due to posts failing to make it out of the gate...

I've got three posts waiting to be finished, and four recordings waiting to be posts, but those things fell to the wayside in favor of something (presumably) more important.

Nethack.

I got a few false starts (IE, getting my ass kicked) and then got a good character started up. After I made it to the mine town, I got a little greedy and tarried a bit too long... Which allowed the Random Nethack God plenty of time to ensure my distruction. I died from a lucky shot from a sleep ray... Carried by a randomly nasty monster. Fux.

I started another character, and resolved to play this close to the vest. About 6 hours of total play time got me

Velkommen Val, the human Valkyrie, welcome back to NetHack!



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Val the Woman-at-arms      St:18 Dx:16 Co:18 In:10 Wi:12 Ch:9  Lawful
Dlvl:6  $:3524 HP:95(95) Pw:27(27) AC:1  Exp:10

My Lawful Human Valkyrie, just exiting the Sokoban mazes (first time I really tried the maze, and beat it for a possibly blessed Bag of Holding. Though I already had a BOH, I got some wands and rings. I'm trying to get good with some spells, and it's kind of hard because I'm not used to using them. Anyways, after completing the Sokoban, I was afraid I'd get careless if I continued, so I took a break, and planned my next moves.

It's amazing how attached you get to your character when you're given one life, and no save points. Those 6 hours could instantly be wasted by making the wrong move (or a stupid or aggressive one). The thing is; when you get in a tight spot, you usually have an escape opportunity. You just have to be smart enough to see it.

If you're low on health, and surrounded, you have a few avenues of escape, some obvious and some unobvious. You can pray to your god for healing (presuming you haven't done anything to piss him off), you can read a scroll of teleport (or just random unidentified scrolls, hoping one is teleport), zap yourself with a teleport wand, zap a wand of digging straight down to make a hole you can escape through, read a powerful spellbook you can't understand for a chance of the powerful magic teleporting you (there is a risk of injury or confusion when you do this), quaff unidentified potions and hope one's healing, or throw them at monsters and hope they're confusion, break a wand to release its magical energies (dangerous), drop a scroll of scare monster (or drop all your unidentified ones and hope one is scare monster), zap yourself with a wand of speed (or quaff potion of speed) drop your heaviest stuff and run, zap monsters with wand of slow monster to help you escape, rub all your lamps... Gee... that's all I can think of now...

The point is, you can do a lot in this game, you just need a combination of brains and luck to get through. Unfortunately, this game is notoriously evil. When you start playing you'll soon find yourself dying in very creative, imaginative, and downright murderous ways. That's why it takes people years of playing to beat it. Your first ascension (beating the game) is a very momentous occation.

But back to our story... I've been overworking myself lately, so the nethack was a welcome relief. And I really needed it.

Wow, I just spent almost 6 hours reading through a nethack story! I was looking up pictures to post for you guys, and I found some guy's chronicle of his first truly serious game of nethack! It's awesome! You can head HERE and read the first entry to get a pretty solid feel for what it's like to play nethack! Great story!

Head over there and read the first entry; it's not too long, and gives you a pretty good feel for how the game is played. It may seem a little corny if you haven't played before, but if you keep reading you'll realize that all this thought was necessary.

Yeah, I started this post at 8:11am today, so... yeah... Just got caught up in the story! Now I want to start my own Ranger!

Xavier hits the christmas target!

Xavier has posted gifts for gun nuts.

How to find just the right gift for the gun nut you're nuts about!

History repeats itself

Short, informative, and entertaining. The trifecta of youtube watchery!



HatTip to SayUncle

I guess it really doesn't make sense...

The video game market is an odd one to be sure...

dexter

Raise your hand if you were surprised by the twist on the season finale of Dexter last night.

ET raises his hand and looks around the classroom expectantly

I don't usually try to figure out the twists before they come, I prefer to enjoy sitting back and letting the show take me for the ride; but this twist had me genuinely surprised. (I feel inclined to point out that I WAS a little drinkded, and not entirely on the ball at the time)

Preaching to the choir?

David reminds us of the true meaning of a phrase we've all used (likely misused) at one point.

I know I'll think twice before I use it in the future.

Additions and removals

I've added a few blogs and removed a few blogs from my "Blogs I frequent" non blogroll on the right hand side of the page.

Unlike a blogroll; this is a list of blogs that I actually read on a regular basis...

New additions are Prepair to be Boarded and A Keyboard and a .45.

Both have become blogs I read regularly for different reasons. Give them a click!

Backhanded victim blaming.

Updated Please read comments.

An acquaintance of mine was the victim of a mugging and a savage beating. The story was related to me via a post on the blog of a friend close to him.

An apparently well meaning and rightfully angered commenter argued the following;

This is a class thing, not a race thing. The most desperate use the most desperate measures as these two pieces of shit proved. Their intentions will never justify their actions, especially when they hurt someone. But, on Average, I’d say such people, if rich, wouldn’t resort to such actions at all.

If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night. You’ll get mugged by the black man, raped by the hispanic, your car pimped out by the asian and murdered by the white serial killer.

(emphasis added)

While I took mild issue with a few of his points I took offense to his flippant statement. (Honestly, had he not used the word "simply" I probably would have ignored it) I added the following to my comment after expressing my condolences;

“simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night”
Blaming the victim is quite the spectator sport it seems...

To which he replied;

Existingthing, you, my friend, are a classic idiot. I like how you took out the first words of that sentence, “If one is fortunate enough to have a choice…”

Being a true bitch seems to be quite the blind-spectator sport.

Ah but say what you want. I’ll just consider the source.

Oh darn, was that a personal attack? Even so, I didn’t manage to reciprocate the shit you threw my way. Now lick your palms and pray to Jesus for forgiveness.

Misquoting IS a cheap trick; though, were it my intention I probably wouldn't have done it 1/8 of a page away from the original quote. I didn't use the full quote because I found it even more offensive in its entirety. I thought that including the word "simply" would make the intent of his statement clear. Clearly this was ignored.

A voice of reason requested that we not argue on such a tragic post, and I didn't post my reply there.

My reply to this fellow is below. I expect he will find it, as the only way he could attack me personally is if he knew me personally (he doesn't) or read my blog.
(I overlook one possibility; that he was just personally attacking me without knowing anything about me. In which case I could care less if he read this.)

----------------

"If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night."

This is backhanded victim blaming. You're having it both ways, and it's bullshit. You begin talking about choice; one always has a choice. "Hey man; that was a bad time to head home; why didn't you just sleep there? Rent a hotel room? Take a cab? Cower in an alley under some loose newspapers?" What, then, is the definition of NOT having a choice? I could argue that no place is safe; light or dark, quiet or noise, lower-class or upper. Crime can strike anywhere at any time. Does that make ANY victim of ANY crime at fault for "bringing it upon themselves"? Or are YOU the all-knowing, all-seeing final word in what's safe or not? And if so, why won't you impart your wisdom?

I took particular offense to the use of the word "simply". There is no street light indicator which lets people know when the streets turn from "safe stroll home" to "dangerous straits". Situations are constantly changing, and a walk home that was safe the other 261 times can suddenly becomes a life-threatening trek at any moment. Anyone who argues that there's anything "simple" about assessing potentially dangerous situations has clearly never been in one. No one walked up to the victim and said; "Hey buddy, tonight's walk home is going to be a life threatening one. Press 'A' to call a cab; press 'B' to walk home anyways." This wasn't someone who was "asking for it" or "tempting fate". This was someone who was just living his life.

More to the core of the issue, what if you DO have the choice and you choose to walk home at what some may argue was a dangerous time; or through what some may argue was a dangerous neighborhood? Two guys decide to break the law and your spirit by mugging you and beating you savagely. Would your argument be that this fellow got what he deserved? So, there's no blame on the bastards who attacked the victim? Or would you be so callous as to imply that there is shared blame? There's no gray area here. One party is innocent. One party is guilty.

Either way; it's bullshit. You ARE blaming the victim, and if you were not yet aware of that fact; you need to sit down and think seriously about how you view life's challenges, and the compassion you feel (or don't feel) for the others who face them as well.

I love Dennis Miller...

(but I'm not IN love with him)

The meaning behind Gutei's Finger

Someone came to this page from a google search for "meaning behind gutei's finger". The truth is that I cannot claim to know the true meaning behind this, but I know that the feeling it got when I first read it was something like enlightenment. It was a short burst of greater understanding and (at the risk of sounding like Moonbeam McStarchild) cosmic oneness. I know I would have extreme difficulty explaining it. But I'm not sure that it really can be explained. Just understood.

I've only experienced the feeling once before; the first time I read a poster of Albert Einstein that my parents got me when I was very young. It read, "Imagination is more important than knowledge". For a fleeting moment; everything made sense. I didn't know what the feeling was at the time, and tried to get the feeling back for literally years after that. Every few months I'd sit in front of the poster and concentrate on the quote and its meaning. I'd just wind up frustrated, and give up for a few months until I could try again.

I guess what it really means is only what you think it means.

bloody gun

Every few weeks I find a particular google image searches that links to my site. These recurring searches are for the query; "Bloody Gun" and link to one of my gun pr0n pictures (which is odd because I can think of at least one reason why that search query shouldn't find my gun :). The kicker is that all of these searches (over 15) originated from Canada (I think different parts; but don't remember specifically. I think I'd remember if it was the same place though) and took place rather randomly.

It's usual to see swells of odd searches that bring traffic to your site. For example; about a month ago for, some reason, people from france started searching for pictures of Mount St. Helens. I still have no idea why people are suddenly so interested in pictures of cockatrices or my nethack character. But this search wasn't a swell; this was consistent and sporadic. This was a persistent search.

I like to see what rank my pages and images bear for particular searches. I didn't want my guns to the first results for "bloody gun", so I ran the search myself and started clicking through pages and pages of the search results. I've tried it three times (weeks apart), and I think the farthest I've gotten was page 51 without seeing my gun. This means to be that these people were searching through over 51 pages of image results looking for a "bloody gun" to suit their use.

I sure do wonder why some folks from Canada would require pictures of bloody guns? Why not search for dirty gun? Or tasty gun? (Mmmmm...) Or (dun dun DUN!) safe guns? I suspect I know the answer...

I guess you'll always find what you're looking for.

"Hey! We did our job too!"

Feds Raid 6 Swift and Company Meatpacking Plants in Apparent Illegal Immigration Search

Imagine if they did their jobs for more than 1 day a year... All that needs to be said was said earlier.

Uh-ohs...

When you publish a post on blogger.com it puts your blog at the head of a queue that seems to be used in a number of locations. One of which seems to be the "Next Blog" button in the top right corner of every blogger.com blog.

After I published my previous post, I hit the sitemeter to see if people were sick of me not posting enough to stop showing up (not quite yet, I'll have to try harder!). I saw that the most recent view was referred from the following URL: http://onlinehelptoquitsmoking.blogspot.com/. Since there are no links to my blog on the site, the only way I could get a referrer from there would be for that person to hit the "Next Blog" button.

Sadly, this poor soul was researching how to quit smoking, and chose to view a random blog which happened to be one with a recent post on how I'm enjoying smoking cigars.

I'm doing the devil's work.

But hey; it's a free country, and it's your body. Should you wish to treat it badly you should be able to ruin it as you see fit! I'm merely a messenger.

Cigar Smokery

While in Mexico I picked up some Cuban cigars (how could I not?). I was never one for smoking, but couldn't resist partaking in what is explicitly verboten in the US.

I puffed and coughed and choked and generally had a miserable time. But I did it. When then time came to return, I can neither confirm or deny having returned with some.

Since then I've been slowly smoking them whenever I felt the compulsion, but never felt driven to do so. Only recently have I started craving the tobacco taste infrequently. Now that I've developed a taste for the cigars I find myself at the last few inches of my last one, and reluctant to finish. I'm even more reluctant to go to a cigar shop and buy more.

It's a bit of a vice, and I could easily give it up, but if I'm not doing it in excess, why should I worry?

I dunno. Lately I've been content sniffing the bit of cigar I have left, but am finding it increasingly difficult to be satisfied with just that.

Bugger.

I just had to use my inhaler. I was sitting in bed, catching up on the gun forums, so it's not like I was running 5 miles or anything...

I stopped using it after I got better, and haven't had to use it for months. I doubt this was an isolated incident... One more thing to worry about...

Sorry guys...

I truly wish I could tell you this story; but must regretfully relate to you that doing so would be of significant detriment to myself.

One may feel that something one is unable to share with others is scarcely worth doing at all. However, I'm of the mind that those things can sometimes be the most rewarding.

Unfortunately the only way to test this theory is to do something that I'm not willing to do; share. So I remain blissfully ignorant to the possibilities of greener pastures, and shall be content simply to chuckle to myself idly.

Hackers don't usually get to share their guilty pleasures.

(at least; the good ones don't.)

Need to stay up for Santa?

Need a Christmas Tree that'll keep you up all night?


Made entirely of Mountain Dew cans!

Defiant Infidel's hunting experience

Defiant Infidel has posted the second installment of his series in which he takes us on a hunting trip with him.

You will find that he is not simply narrating his experience, but sharing with you the details, thought, and planning that goes into a day of hunting.

A truly enjoyable read.

If you have yet to read the first installment; you may find it HERE. I highly recommend you read these posts, and check back for the completion of the series. They're truly worth your time.

Infinitely Amusing.

Kevin's back on the air!

Kevin over at Toast, it's not just for breakfast anymore, has cut his blogging hiatus short to air some grievances with the recent proposed RNC confirmation. Defiant Infidel commented, arguing that we should keep up the good fight, and things will change. Sadly, I don't share his optimism, and begrudgingly suggest a more radical solution.

The times; they are hard...

Bond's back, and his haircut sucks (finally).

Last weekend we saw Casino Royale with Stouty and his wifey. It was a lot of fun to watch, and was one of those movies that really made you feel what was going on. I don't usually like writing about movies but this is really more about a character, so I don't mind!

Daniel Craig is the antithesis of Pierce Brosnan.

Pierce Brosnan's Bond, (who took short breaks from boning anything with two legs, drinking martinis, wining and dining any vagina within 30 feet, and playing with his watch to save the world in under 5 minutes while holding his gun like the limp dick in a $300 haircut that he is) would get his shit ruined in 7 different ways by Daniel Craig's Bond.

Casino Royale's Bond was ruthless, cunning, dangerous, skilled, smart, tough as nails, and everything you'd think of when you thought of a top class secret agent. Seeing this take on 007 made me feel like watching the old Bonds. Casino Royale's Bond acted more like a secret agent than what Bond has become recently.

James Bond had become something of a comic book character. I compare this to the pre-"Batman Begins" Batman movies. Those Batman movies were cartoony, takes on comic books. Watching Mr. Freeze (Our Governator) call his raver, hip-hop, hockey team minions to attack Batman was directed to be something out of the comic book. The situations, characters, and plots were surreal, unbelievable, and just plain far-fetched. But there isn't much wrong with that, because this was a movie based on a comic book. Sticking to the comic's style just helped it maintain what made it popular in the first place.

007, on the other hand, is not a comic book character. Sure, the situations Bond deals with verge on surrealism. But, a giant ice castle? It's just an example of a number of unnecessary eye candy distractions to keep you from noticing the tired plot, played quips, and the same storyline that has been in every Bond film. "That entire place is made of ice! I'll bet that cost lots of money to do! I wonder if it's cold in there!" Shut up. No one cares. Go watch Mission Impossible 3. Bond became a comic book superhero who sleuthed around in plain sight in a full tuxedo with his fashion accessory Walther PPK, and used every gadget Q gave him at least once a movie, and at least twice to save his life from certain sharks-with-frikkin-laz0rs death. Lately, his car has even become a minor character; using all the gadgets Q gave him before he left to save the world, and boning female cars while we're not looking no doubt.

They took 00 agent number 7, who was a top notch, world class, kick ass spy, and turned him into James Bond; who was not. Bond became about gadgets, being suave, ordering martinis, introducing himself with his last name followed by his full name, puns, and boning anything within arms reach. Bond became an idealized version of a spy. He wasn't 007 any more, he was James Bond. 007 did spy things; and James Bond did, well, James Bond things. And even though he hit like a girl, he did have a great haircut.

Casino Royale got back to the original Bond. This Bond was a 00 agent. To me, this was the real Bond. Good to have you back James, hope you'll stay a while.

UPDATE:
It has come to my attention that Daniel Craig has expressed some very un-Bondly opinions. I should have made clear that the Bond I enjoyed was the Bond Daniel Craig was written, and directed by other folks. I'm not going to say that he added nothing to the character, because that's almost impossible, but I just want you to know there is a distinction between the actor and the character. Now dance, monkey! Dance!

Oh yeah, I just realized who this Bond reminded me of; Steve McQueen.

Groking Electronics

Sorry about the light posting, I've spent most of my downtime with my nose buried in webpages, books, and wires. This past week has seen most of my free time spent researching electronics in a renewed effort to understand some basic circuits.

I've been wanting to get into electronics for quite some time. I understand basic electronics (add battery to motor, make motor go; go motor, go), but didn't understand components, and circuits. I had a basic understanding of resistors, capacitors, relays, etc, but wasn't sure how to impliment them.

Last week I rediscovered my attraction to BEAM bots. Not having successfully learned electronics had always bothered me, so I resolved to get my nose back to the grindstone and not stop until I understood electronics to my satisfaction.

So, I dug up my old links, and books, and researched them for quite some time. I spent a lot of time finding out what I didn't know, so I would know what to research further. I eventually hit the wall I'd hit in the past, where I couldn't understand electronics theory. I spent a lot of time trying to find things that I could reverse engineer to understand, but only came up with more questions and confusion.

Suprisingly, the internet has a real gap of information on this topic. I picked my friend's brain who said that it took him a long time to truly grok the theory behind electronics circuits, and how components worked. This eased my frustration a little bit. I knew I could do it, and was willing to do the work.

I decided that if I couldn't research my way over this wall, I'd have to start playing with components, and learn on the way.

I picked up some components and a solderless breadboard, some basic components; a solar panel, a few motors, and a kit (for parts), and started messing around and recording my observations. (btw, a breadboard actually makes creating circuits easy and fun. It's a must have, and can be had for cheap.) After I started seeing how the components reacted with eachother and experimenting with different configurations, I began to understand.

It took a lot of time and work to get to this point, but I'm glad I'm making progress. I just wish I could have become impatient with the lack of information earlier.