Range 30 Jan 2020

Rented a generic black plastic striker fired service pistol and this is three 15-round magazines at 8 yards.

First, the center.  Felt good.  Being fresh helped.  The flyers, I am pretty sure were called.  I couldn't see where the hits were while it happened, but I wasn't happy with three shots of the fifteen and there are 3 shabby rounds right there.

Next magazine, pleased with the first I did the usual thing and went right off the rails.  Like I lost all concentration and the trigger work suffered

Finally, calmed a bit and got more where I wanted them.

Also, the pistol didn't lock back at the end of the second mag, and the very next round stovepiped.  If this were my gun I'd clean it and oil it, inspecting the magazine and extractor tension and watching out for it for next time. 

Women? In OUR Club?!

That had been folks' concern in the gun rights movement since long before I got involved in shooting.  And there is a ways to go.

But I was thinking.

Since Cincinnatti, there ARE a LOT more women involved.  I mean, if you just look at side by sides of pictures of gun shows and NRA conventions.

It's slow, but the progress is most definitely present.

And not just women, obviously.  We are also recruiting a lot of overweight middle aged white males!

I kid, I kid.

---

And here is something from the Independent Women's Forum about Dems in Virginia.   We can only hope the gun grabbers have bitten off more than they can chew and the whole issue become poison, again, for the left

Who the F--- do I vote for?

For NRA Board of Directors?

Which of these incompetent moron chowderheads wants to make the NRA back into 2nd Amendment advocacy and Civil Rights group, and who is just a member of the Deep State using NRA to line their own pockets and those of their friends?

Yes, I am still angry.  Yes, I already think the fix is in.  Convince me otherwise.

Nobody on the internet has every really tried to.  At least in a way that reaches me in time.  Some resource that ISN'T in Fairfax.

$60M

"Everytown to spend $60 Million on 2020 elections"

Wow!  That's the same amount Wayne LaPierre is gonna grift out of the NRA membership to line his own pockets this year, too.

Prep

The time to prep is not DURING the panic.

You ordered mask a few days ago?  Well, good for you!  You beat the crowd  They aren't available on Amazon now.  TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF YOU.

Which may be good.  Them masks are probably made in China anyway.  Shoulda got your BEFORE the Umbrella Corporation in China had that containment breach of the Dos Equis Virus, or whatever it's called.

No, you need to get ahead of the panic.  Ammo and canned good are still plentiful.  Now. This week.  Too late to get a gun, legally, in Maryland.  By the time your paperwork goes through we'll be Beyond Thunderdome as the Kung Flu death rate continues to grow more than geometrically. 

After the ammo is gone, terlet paper (or phone books), and coffee beans and/or peppercorns.  No for you, you use thems as currency.  Gold wedding bands.  You can bribe checkpoint guards with those.  Don't bribe with a gold coin.  If you got one gold coin, that means you have more, and they will look for it.  But who has two wedding bands?

"What about you, T-Bolt?  Do you practice what you preach in the prepping predisposition?"

Do I?  I am up to my eyebrows in peppercorns, already.  My fingers look like Mr. T.

What you put in your mouf

What I'm eating for breakfast - bacon and eggs.

What I'm not eating for breakfast - bat soup.

See how easy it is to avoid a pandemic?

— Catturd (@catturd2) January 26, 2020

They blame bats or snakes in China for the pandemic.   EATING of those bats and snakes.  Like the fault lies in their weird diet. 

But the Spanish Flu started in Kansas.  Probably from pigs.   The Jews warned you about eating that weird 'pork' stuff way 4000 years ago.  THIS sort of thing is why. So go easy on the Chinese menus.

Also... China... Bats and snakes?  I mean, c'mon.

Man, some things on the internet...

いやそうはならへnなんでや！！！！！！！！！！！ pic.twitter.com/QEGmHuxROv

— ( 常) (@tumi0083) January 21, 2020

Millennial Leaders

"Research has shown that people’s experiences in early adulthood have the greatest impact on their lifelong political leanings, and Millennials, for the most part, have experienced an America riven by inequality, endless wars, a financial collapse, a student debt crisis, and inertia in the face of climate change. All that has made them distinctly more liberal than their elders. "

So why does that make them liberal?  You could say that all those things would make them strive for liberty for all, don't trust Democrats on economic issues that WANTED a 'Great' Recession and whose policies extended it, stop gov't subsidies of college that is driving the education costs into the stratosphere, and drop all the climate change nonsense that is all clearly a scam.  Their experience with President Droney McPeacePrize should inform them of what didn't work.

Nice personable guy, that Droney, but his policies were awful.  After making the country's health coverage SO MUCH WORSE than it was (it wasn't great before, but it wasn't this bad) I have no idea why we'd ever trust his party to touch that issue again. 

Why does Time magazine just conclude that Millennial leaders just want to double down on all that stupid?  Why does the Millennial arc have to curve toward the nightmare of socialism and not the other way to freedom? 

Apache Dance

No, not that kind.  La Danse Apache.  French.  Pronounces more like "Uh-Posh".

A violent looking number that I only picked up as a kid watching old cartoons on TV.  But this was a thing, pre-WWII. It gave me another excuse to beat on my little brother.



The things you pick up on as a kid. That folks don't pick up on nowadays.

Popeye and the Little Rascals and the Stoorges, all from the 30s. Bugs Bunny was from the 40s. I Love Lucy and Dennis the Menace and The Honeymooners were from the 50s. The Flintstones and Gilligan were from the 60s. All before my time, but I got the chance to absord them anyway.

Kids today don't. They abosrb other things. Differently.

Things I didn't pick up on as a kid? Clutch Cargo wasn't on my TV. Nor Sky King. Captain Kangaroo was, but it never held my interest. So, mostly absent from my cultural milieu. So it goes.

Yesterday

Was John Moses Browning Day.

I always forget, much to my shame.

Ugh... work is biting into my blogging inspiration time.  Sometimes, during downtime at work, I can dream up stuff.  No downtime.  Not lately.  Work work work.

I should be stockpiling canned goods.  For the Chinese Zombie Plague and all.  Tam is worried she might get this Szechuan Plague by taking a sip from someone's Corona bottle.  I worry too.  I'd hate to get a mouthful of thin Mexican yellow 'beer'.

Thanks to Bob, I think he might be right, and helped me out.  The movie I am thinking of is probably "The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton."  Of course it is hard to confirm.  Not copies available.

Zombacalyspe

"Coronavirus"

It's a good name.  Flows off the tongue.  

Yet another cover story for the zombie plague.  Don't worry gov't agencies are ON IT.  

The Zeds always start in China.  They think they've contained the Shamblors to just the one province, by locking it off.


And the mortality rate only doubles every week.  There is plenty of time.  Like 30 more weeks before the death toll top 9 billion.  Three dead the first week, six dead last week, up to 17 dead this week and it's only Thursday.  Doom!


And while outlooks on the topic of disease...  A head cold made the round here about a month ago.   And based on FB, it hit where you are too.  About the same time.  Nose flowing like a fountain but mildish.

Now, the flu, which is impacting people that got the season's flu shot, too, is hitting here.  And there.  This flu involves vomiting.  Great.   

Ok, I'm Listening

I talk about lack of action on one day and few days later, this bit shows up.  Concrete action of that sort, if it happens, could put Trump and the NRA back in my...  well better graces.  Maybe not good, but better.  Because it is still small ball.  More, I need more.

Import export restriction?   Gunsmith fees waived?  Small.

Now if you made May Issue states except out of state CCWs from Shall Issue states by citing Civil Rights enforcement under the Civil Rights Act and the McDonald ruling and let them 7 sue?  That'd be a Big.

US Medical Research Over Time

I am saving this as a record for myself.  No one believes me when I tell them that AIDS research zoomed under the Reagan Administration.  That's not the narrative, you see.  AIDS was a gay, male,  disease then and Reagan hated the gays and was criminally stingy about signing funding bills to study an ailment that might yield help for said gay men.  Historically, funding doubled every year early on, almost as soon as epidemic came to light. 

Well, it's nighttime

... in Richmond, when I wrote this.

All that hype from the media about white supremacists running wild and Anitfa causing trouble, and media stoking trouble?

Did not come about.  A huge event with thousands of like minded folks expressing their disappointment with the erosion of their freedoms and civil rights.  Good.

One Antifa goonette was warned a few times you can't wear a mask in a state that passed laws against that sort of thing because of terrist Democrats 50 years ago, also.  She didn't comply.  Went to booking. No bigs, and not one of the good guys.

Outside the assembly of Virginia pro-2a pic.twitter.com/pLnkJvCl6t

— Hunter Johnson (@flop_gen) January 20, 2020

Of course Northam's gun control will target the black community

All gun control is racist.  It always has been.  It's primary target is black people.  Duh.  Secondarily targeting white trash rednecks is an a more recent afterthought.

Bloomberg Blunder

Big Gulp Bloomberg is famous for saying and doing stupid things.  But AFTER he was in office.  When he was safely in place.  Not when he was trying to win.

So saying what he really thinks of reg'lar folks defending themselves and others against evil is a bit of a blunder.

You are gonna have to spend faster to overcome this, Mike. 

Lotsa Talk, Not Much Action

Of course the President is gonna say nice things about the Freedom response to Blackface Klanny Northam.  It's a movement already sympathetic to him because of judges, it's a mass populist movement that he is a big exploiter of, and it's making allies of his enemies look bad.

Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. That’s what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020

This is all presuming that agent provocateurs or some dumb ass from our side doesn't make the whole thing go pear shaped, today.  Then Trump might change his tune.  Might.  He could also double down his rhetoric and make that work.  I don't pretend to know how the man does it, it resists Poli-Sci explanation.

[Remember when you could get a degree in that?  Of course then Communism still outwardly seemed like a valid system to a lot of idiots.  Anyway...]

Like I said, Trump is throwing moral support behind the Second Amendment for his gain and ours using his words.

I'd love to see some actions.  Apart from judges.  Do some executive order thingy that will only be in place til the next Dem President tries to reverse it 5-13 years from now.  Which will entail some political risk to said Democrat.

What thingy?  I dunno, like I mentioned I can't predict how this New York real estate mogul works.  He's got the authorities to wind back LOTS of BATF regulatory madness without having to pass a law.  He can maybe send Barr after a State government for violating a gun owner's civil rights under the color of law.  (Barr would have to be on board with this, and who knows about him?) Lots of stuff Trump can stir up.  And I wish he would.  Like this, but more.

Zombacalypse

Now do Catastrophic Anthropogenic Greenhouse Warming, Mollie

There are consequences for peddling fake news, such as the dangerous Russia collusion hoax. One of them is that smart people don't trust the peddlers any more. It's as simple as that and anyone who pretends to not get that (or doesn't get that) is also not worth listening to.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 17, 2020

The same applies to the Climate Change kooks.  There was a HUGE raft of fraud and data manipulation by NOAA and CRU and other more than a decade ago.  And no climate 'scientist' has come forward and talked about how they are sorry about that or how they were going to now expurgate the lies from all the studies that descended from the fraudulent data or even acknowledge that the lies even exist.

Is there something to climate change science?  Maybe.  Hard to know at this point because since the 80s and certainly since 'hide the decline!' climate change science has been 99% politics.  Not science. It's ALL hogwash. Stop pretending it isn't hogwash. If you, the layman, heard about it?  That wasn't science.  Socialism is the answer and, here, Glowball Warmening is the problem.  Politics.  You are a fool to trust them.  They just want to put their hand in your pocket and make you do what they tell you to do. They have, and will, lie, cheat, and steal to get into that position of power over you. Don't trust 'em.

FOREVER!

"I want Trump to know that he is impeached forever!"

Yeah Nancy?  Coming from you, how much do you think that means to him?  Might as well excommunicate him from the Catholic Church while you are at it, it will be as impactful to him.  A man that isn't Catholic, by a Speaker that isn't the Pope, and also a lapsed Catholic.

Ban him from ever attending kindergarten again while you are at it.  That'll show him!

Ok... Help.

There was a movie I saw in the 70s.  And a sequel.  Maybe more.  The movie might have been made in the 60s.  Had a Brady Bunch look to it.  So you know the California color palette right there.

I might have seen it on a Sunday on the Wonderful World of Disney.

In it, there was a boy-genius type.  Engineer.  Maybe 13 or 14 year old  He made mechanical gizmos.  He had a tough older sister that was sort of the muscle.  He was always inventing stuff in his basement workshop and using mechanical schemes to foil the villain, with the help of the neighbor kids.  Often involving rolling old tires down hills.

To get into his shop you could use a slide or come down the stairs.  This is key.  Be careful coming down the stairs.  As there was a boxing glove on a spring booby trap that you'd activate with a pressure plate on the stair tread. 

Like this.  Well, sorta.  That's a lift jack with the same principal.



What I need from you....  What was the name of this movie or set of movies? Google hasn't helped me.

Some Folks are Worried

They are worried about the Virginia Lobby Day, this Monday.  Thousands will be there, concerned about their freedoms.

But, the thought goes, it would be trivial for some Bloomberg Antifa Stooge to pretend to be one of us and cause an outrage.

Or some Soros 5th Columnist might provoke a serious response from a good guy that is trying to outwardly display best behavior.

We already know how violent Bernie Bros can be.  Avoid anyone to the left of moderate squish Jeb Bush.  They are often quite violent.   And violence is bad bad optic all around, unless good guys somehow end up with martyrs.  And who in Christendom signs up for that these days?

It's a big event.  All eyes will be on it.  Something that puts the good guys in a bad light will be magnified tenfold.  And that would be a disastrous longterm setback for the cause.

But we can't just cede the ground.

Finger crossed, and hope the VCDL organizers have all their poop in one sock.

Speaking of Sci Fi

This is true of Star Wars, and is more justified there, but is true of PLENTY of science fiction.

For instance, Disney's Black Hole, 1979.  Most all the black and white stuff from the 50s

Why does everyone in a space vessel carry a side arm all the time?  Plenty of things on your spaceship do not react well to bullets, to quote a great mariner.  A negligent discharge is probably always damaging, and quite often a critical issue, or even catastrophic.

It's almost ubiquitous in the genre.  Being strapped.  One noticeable place it isn't is Star Trek.  They only seem to arm up if they are going planet side or are internal security.  For safety, certainly.  Makes sense.  Also, Alien.  Might have been handy for the Nostromo to at least have a few shotguns securied in the ship's locker, huh?

"I'll tell you why, T-Bolt.  See that second part?  The part that reads 'Fiction'?  That's why."

Right right, it helps move the narrative in your space story in exciting ways, but still.  And I only came to notice this recently.  Even on a space ships with no real risk of immediate mutiny, or being boarded at any moment by pirates, they drag around the equivalent of a service pistol everywhere but bed.  And if you were gonna be boarded, I'd want that holstered weapon on my space suit, anyway.  Jump into the suit as the bad guys secure the docking collar.  A pistol on my belt INSIDE the suit is sorta useless. 

Help for Virginians

Are you a Virginia county that is tired of the raft of crap emanating from Richmond?

Are you a county contiguous to the border of West Virginia?

West Virginia has offered to take you in if you want to secede.  The freedom and gun control regime is must better on their side of the line.  

Trying to come up with blog fodder

And all I can think of is...

The sizes of mid size ships in Star Wars are pretty useless.

Ok, Tie Fighters and X-Wing types are fine.  Perfect size for a what they are.  Hell, X-Wings have interstellar capability.  Awesome.

But the ship in the Mandolorian, and Boba Fett's before that, and the Millenium Falcon?  What is the point?  Cargo is limited to the equivalent of a few steamer trunks and a half dozen extra passenger, at most.

Light patrol and attack craft?   Nothing the light fighters like the X-Wing can't do more efficiently.  They call the Falcon a light freighter.  It can barely haul a load of good from a typical Costco trip here on Earth.  Just not a good use of resources considering how expensive these things must be.  If you are going to slap a hyperspace drive on something that little make it like a bus or a 737 for people moving with a crew of 2.  Or a tractor trailer or C-130 for goods.  But you'd do better with volumes like a 20th Century container ship.

I can't hand-wave the stuff away like I did when I was 8. 

Bloodymore Murderland

A particularly spicy weekend here in our State's largest city that isn't all gentrified like DC is.  12 shot in a weekend, 8 separate events.

Since massive gun control laws were passed on 2013 crime in Baltimore is way up.

But that is also coincidental with the trend of Democrat cities losing favor with the active policing policies, of the type that Giuliani put in place in New York in the 90s, that finally turned the Death Wish hellscape in that NY around.  Post Freddy Gray, Balitmore PD has pulled back and held back because leadership doesn't have their back.  Understandable, and the fault is in the leadership, not the patrol level.  Policy has changed, policing is purposely muted, so crime flourishes.

Don't visit Baltimore.  Not even the nice parts.  I used to routinely go to the city.  Not a good idea anymore. 

Gun Buying Permits

Gun Permits (to own, not to CCW) requests are up 1000% in NYC among the Jewish community

A rational response to the attacks against them and the authorities at the higher levels subsequently turning a blind eye and not prioritizing their patrol assets to address it.

But still... it's New York.  Instead of 10 it is now 100, maybe?  A drop.

Monday Blog Fail

And that XD post was the last of my recent ideas....

Lessee.

HUGE discussion among workmates last week.  74 year old man was walking his little dog.  Jack Russel?  That dog was set upon by a larger dog.  Lab, maybe?  Old man drew and shot the larger dog to protect his dog. Large dog owner then comes racing out of the house.  Old man shoot the owner as well.

Good shoot?

Absolutely, yes.  And most definitely not!  We don't have near enough details from this story.  It is impossible to send this case to the jury with those meager facts.

Protect your dog from another dog?  Yes, ok. But was the Lab acting playful?  Was it a Labrador or a snarling attack dog?  Did the own open the door and command the dog to "Go eat that azzholes little dog, Chomper!  Sick em!"  When the owner ran out were they attacking the 74 year old man, or irrationally rushing to the aid of their stricken pet?  Was the owner a 6 foot 5 linebacker type with a machete to hand?  Or a middle aged housewife?  Is the 74 year old an enfeebled disabled veteran?

These details were omitted from the story conveyed to us.  So, we can argue all day, but to no real effect.  We were ignorant. 

Most likely guess in my head?  74 year old over-reacted and now will get very cross-threaded with the judicial system.  He shot a person over a dog.  Even in the most favorable circumstances if I were the prosecutor I'd say "He shot a person over a dog," and garner a lot of sympathy with the jurors.

This whole circumstance does not cover us fellow CCW toters in glory.  Tarnished by association, and if I were a gun banner I'd exploit it to hurt the good guys. 

XD

When I first went shopping for a semi-auto, I was pretty much a rank beginner.  I had a bad trigger pull.  Flaws aplenty.

But you gotta start somewhere.

I tried out a lot semi-autos.  Generic black plastic striker fired pistols in 9mm.  A few magazines through each.  On more than one occasion.  M&P, Glock, XD, SIGs.  This was back in 2007 or so, so the SIG was probably metal.  The M&P was new on the scene.  Glock was Glock.

The pistol that, for me, grouped closest to the bullseye was the XD.  Glock was the worst.  I remember this distinctly.  If I reproduced this test now the results wouldn't look the same.  I might not be able to discern a difference now.

But back then, there was a difference.

And now I wonder why?

"I'll tell you why, T-Bolt!  The XD has a better grip angle than them dang Glocks.  That's why you shot it better!  Natural point of aim for you."

Yeah, I've heard that argument before.  But I'm not so sure it is the reason.  

Ironically, I never bought a generic black plastic striker fired pistols in 9mm.  My first 9mm was the Hudson!  Ha!  So, at least I do not have an XD to unload.

---

Ooo, I just remembered.   I have a Colt 1911 on consignment.  I should check to see if it sold.   Maybe I'll buy an M&P with the proceeds....

So what you been up to?

Lots of stuff.  One thing after another.  At least it hasn't been all at once.  But all things with a need to be done immediately, or because of a near term deadline.

• Get the end of year work compliance training done.
• Christmas cards
• Christmas visiting
• Get work badge renewed
• Five separate medical appointments (check up, eye doc, dentist, routine)
• That thing with the sink
• Organize the linen closet
• My drivers license renewal with RealID
• My Passport renewal after that happens

Stuff like that.  Accomplish one small life task and then turn my gaze to the next one on the list.  Check them off, as they come.  What else can a body do?  It's just living.

I mean it is sort of like life, lived responsibly and adhering to whatever duty places in front of ya, but regularity of the ongoing tasks feels like the ticking of a clock escapement.  And that regularity is kinda comforting in its way.  You know what I mean?

Eventually the drumbeat on this galley will get monotonous, and I will set down my oar, jump the gunwhale, swim a lap and then get back into the ship.  Just for fun and to shake things up.  Also, you know what I mean? 

I was late to the party

I was late to the party recommending to new shooters they get a generic black plastic striker fired 9mm service pistol.  Plenty of other folks that WERE fans of other platforms :cough:1911s:coughs: had figured out a generic plastic 9mm was prolly the way to go.  Why did it take me so long?  I didn't LIKE the plastic pistols.  Aesthetic prejudice, mostly.  It's a journey, this gun stuff.

Oh, I never recommended to folks to get a 1911.  Not as a first or only pistol.  I just recommended a specific beginner pistol that was inexpensive and chambered in a caliber with a '4' in it, and happened to be one I shot better that other similar pistols.  A Springfield XD.

 I know, I know.

I don't recommend the '4' part anymore.  My marksmanship with other plastic pistols is as good now.  And the price difference is only about 10% or less.  I don't hate on XDs like some, but I don't recommend them to new shooters anymore.

But I have changed my recommendation.  Because, really, an XD can be a generic black plastic striker fired 9mm service pistol.  Now I specify a little different.  A generic black plastic striker fired 9mm service pistol issued by a local gov't municipality.   Still not too expensive.  Local gov't is not known for luxury spending.  But the local still eschew things like Taurus, Canik, XD, and other also-rans. When you get a generic black plastic striker fired 9mm service pistol issued by a local gov't municipality you get a Glock, mostly, but also a M&P or a SIG or even an FN.  All fine.  The first three though are the way to go.  And Glock is the way if you want to restrict your choices to one. 

(I still can't bring myself to seek out a Glock.  It's still that aesthetic prejudice.  Prolly bite me in the ass eventually.)

You/I can change it up to make it simpler.

"Get a generic black plastic striker fired 9mm service pistol issued by a local gov't municipality"

"Just get what the local cops use."

No, not the local private investigators.  I've seen Wackenhut or Pinkerton types with Ruger revolvers.

"Just get what the local cops use."

"Michelle Obama Launches College Success Video Series for Millennials"

Why?

It's too late for them.  The youngest Millennials graduated high school last year.  If they didn't go to college right away, chances are they aren't going back to school in some future year.

You want to influence them?  Shoulda done it years ago for the current crop, and even longer ago for the ones that are already 38 years old.

You really want to help them?  In 2009 you shoulda influenced your husband not to take over the student loan system.  It's just a giveaway to the universities and they raised their tuition prices to capture his gov't subsidies, making programs supposed to make college affordable, in reality making is less so. 

Range 8 Jan 2020

Shook the cobwebs off.  Seven 17-round magazines of 9mm through a generic black plastic striker fired service pistol at 7 yards.

Here are the first one mag and two.

Ok, not bad.  Cold open.

The rest here, and you can see me getting tired as the head shots have a flinchy and the group spreads out a bit.  One off, and four I don't like.

What was I trying to accomplish?  Just competent, at a steady rate, plugging away, paying attention to trigger squeeze and follow through.  Good.  Another reason to seek out training.  To stretch my wings more and push the envelope out.  Challenge myself to get better.

I also have noticed that Tam usually uses a silhouette.  And just one, with a higher round count.  Her shooting is competent and confident enough to do that.  And she rarely has fliers or a spread like you see on mine.  I aspire to get more like that.  She doesn't need to shoot a single mag and analyze that as much as I tend to.  When she wants to critique her skills more closely I notice she puts in a 3 Dot Torture target up to play with.  But with a silhouette with two big ragged holes she can ask her self as she leaves how she shot and go, "Whelp 200 rounds and nothing off that center.  Not shabby."

Big ragged holes days are often work days when she is putting a gun through its paces for her work, and not putting her skill through their paces as a top priority.  Though, obviously, she doesn't flub that part either.   Different sessions, different purposes.

Yeah, yeah

The last two posts have been on the sparse side of on topic blog fodder.

And it's not like there is a paucity of gun news.  Virginia, Maryland, and Florida legislatures are all a bit rangey. 

On working on it!  It's the blahs!

I'd have a range report if it hadn't have called for snow yesterday.  Boring generic black plastic stiker fired service pistol, probably.  Well, when the pistol is boring, try to make the marksmanship somewhat interesting.  Maybe later today. 

It Snowed

Just a little bit.  First white weather event of the season.

And, like EVERY year, they don't prep the roads when that is forecast for the first event of the season.

It's like they have to forget.  Every year.  "Oh, RIGHT!  Snow happens!  I guess we shoulda had the salt trucks pre-positioned and sticky brine put down.  Oh well.  We'll be ready if it happens next week..."

And they will be.

Every year.  Every year this will happen in the DC area.  Traffic is snarled, too, of course, because of untreated roads and drivers that also forgot how this happens every year.

This is one of the reason I am retiring to Cleveland.  First, the land values are much less and I will make a tidy profit trading this house for one up there the same size in a nicer neighborhood.  But also I want to live in a municipality with serious, no-nonsense, competent, snow removal. 

What's wrong with that?

"40% of people can't fix a problem without Google"

You act like that is a problem?  Like something is wrong.

In the dark ages before Google do you know what happened to broke things for those 40%?  Stuff stayed broke.  Or they called a buddy that knew.  Ask the hardware store guy for tips when you got the supplies.

But I'm pretty handy.  I know a little bit about a lot of repair job.  Self sufficiency with lots of little jobs is a survival skill.  I know better than most computer geeks I work with.  I've never patched a hole in the dry wall but I know the principles and could get the job done right now.  But you know what I'd do if I had to patch drywall tomorrow?  Google it.  Review what I know, maybe pick up a new trick or two.  Nothing AT ALL wrong with that.

I myself had a real household repair this past weekend.  My bathroom sink wasn't draining.  Drat.  Been slowing down over time.  Did all the usual fixed with plungers and chemicals, but that was no longer cutting the mustard.  I am old, my knees are bad, I was not looking forward to this. Disassembled the drain pipes and saw what there was to see.  Lots of calcification, no easy clog to attack, and the iron pipe's threads were crumbling.  Well shoot.  I didn't want put the effort in anymore at this point.  Tapped out.  Called the plumber.

Now I KNEW 60% of that plumbing job.  Pipes in better condition?  I might not have needed to bring in the pros.  But.  The pipe needed snaking, bad, and I had no snake.  A specialized piece of equipment, to do it right.   The cheap homeowner quality snakes aren't that good.  And I needed about 21 feet of it, to do it right.  And that job is filthy.  I had no energy to hacksaw the pipe end, and I would have lost the usable threads I need doing the same.  Though that cut would have been an excuse to buy a Sawzall, and a new tool is always nice.  What I wouldn't have known, and youtube would probably not have helped, was what my plumber did.  Use PVC in the specific way he did.  I am unfamiliar with the doohickeys and connectors PVC offers that obviated the need for threaded iron pipe on this end.  So snake, and some glue and, voila.

But the sink drains so fast now I want to get a plumber to snake my shower drain, replace the terlet with another real one, after snaking that drain, snake the kitchen sink and replace the water heater.  For peace of mind, if not peace of bank account.

Good Point

McChuck brings up a good point.

The Maryland CCW people say they approve most applications.

But that's because people only apply when they know their 'good and substantial reason to exercise your human right in Maryland' is going to be approved.

I, for example, would never apply in Maryland unless I had police reports (plural) describing some Ornery Knob that had be threatening my life to point to on the application, or spent a lot of money on lawyers.  Why?  Because if my ducks aren't in a row and they turn me down I have to then check the box "Have you ever, in the past, applied for a CCW in any jurisdiction and been denied?"  That, here in Maryland, is often an auto-denial, right there.

I don't know if it is like that where you live, but that is the ecosystem here, and we rarely mention it, it is so ever present. 

You know why I am in a rut?

I haven't been to the range.  Maybe not since Thanksgiving.  All the hectic holiday preps and whatnot.

I need to correct that.  Getting itchy.

January is a month of doctor and dental appointments.  And my company cut way back on sick time.  Bastards.  Raise notifications are coming up.  Since they took 12 days away, let's see if they give 12 days back in the form of money.  If not, well, that is how resumes get polished up.  Plenty of positions out there, even for a broken down old keyboard jockey like me.

'Gun Deaths'

"There were 45 non-suicide gun deaths on New Years Day in the US."

How many of those 45 were justifiable self-defense, Scary Mommy?

That's important to know.  Well, when you aren't trying to propagandize to eliminate human rights.

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How many 'gun deaths' did you have a year before you banned guns?  About 50? Have you really DONE anything by banning them?  Now that you can't defend yourself, how does your assault or homicide, by means other-than-firearms, rate look like these days?  Careful!  Scotland Yard likes to under-report your country's crimes.  I'm waiting for that trend to catch on here.

USMC to allow conceal carry on base!

Way to go, Marines.

Wait... oh... they just mean off duty MP types.  I guess Shore Patrol types?  Whatever Marines call their police.  Marine base "Only Ones".  Codrea is prolly having a field day, lately

So, really not that many more people.  You could still say, statistically, no one is allowed to CCW, the percentage is so fractional.  Nothing-burger.

Still, better than the Air Force.

Flag Burners

For 41 years I have watched Iranians burn Old Glory.

Not all the flags look homemade.  Some look store bought.  And factory made even BEFORE China started making all flags for us. 

So this begs the question...  Does Iran have a flag factory just to make US flags to desecrate?

More often than not they even get the number and position of the stars and stripes right.  Like they have pride in their offending craftsmanship.  That's faithful devotion to their hate.   Impressive.

Texas Church Shooting part I don't like

The Mainstream media always stress that the the effective good guy shooter hero was still former Law Enforcement.  So, he, in their liberal eyes, is more legitimate.  An "Acceptable Gun Toter" so it don't count when arguing for my gun rights.  I'm not with the In Crowd, in their eyes.  Off duty cop, toting while worshiping, good.  Off duty accountant, toting while worshiping, HORRIBLE!

It's like the anti-gunners have tapped into the "Only One" motif.  "The ex-cop was the only one qualified to have a gun in church... everyone else should be forbidden." 

Others point to other good guys that muzzled his congregants.  Yes, that's not good.  Yes, he should do better.  But not maintaining a level of skill and practice also does not disqualify you your rights.  It's a good idea to get training and practice, of course.  But not a requirement.  Also, notice, no negligent discharges, regardless.  People get muzzled every day to no ill effect.  I am horrified when I do it or come close to doing it (thankfully SUPER rare.)  Fight like hell to never muzzle anyone.  But...  all's well that ends well.

Not that all is well in this Church thing.  The preceding time, and the awful 6 seconds of the bad guy shooting two people is not 'well'.  But then the battle ended at 6 in a definitive way.  It is now all 'well.'  And thanks goodness it did end at 6.

Could YOU have made that shot?

At the church shooting, could you have made that shot?

"Well, could you, T-Bolt?"

Yes, I could.  My marksmanship has improved enough that I could have made that shot.  I've done a lot of training.

"Double action, like a SIG or revolver, and to the head, at that range, with the target moving, just like that good guy Wilson, did, T-Bolt?"

I said yes, I definitely could.  But I also could have missed it.  Stress from the scenario, trying to hurry it, just a bad day.  I could have missed it, too.

And you know what?  So could have Mr. Jack Wilson.  He could have missed.  And I bet he'd tell you that.  It's no guarantee.  When it happens it's not like the range or the training class.  To start, it is always louder.

Wilson almost assuredly has had MORE training than me, and since he owns a range a lot more practice.  Even accounting for differences in age and when we both started shooting.  If you have to bet who has a better chance, bet on him.

So, he or I if I was there, flubs that shot.  Then what happens?  Well, follow ups.  The bad guy, Wilson, the 4+ others in the congregation.  Maybe more innocents are hit by bad guy or with friendly fire.  A bad scene.  No way to conjecture about different scenarios with surety.  One or more good guys would continue the fight until it was over.

One thing I do feel pretty certain about.  The picture in the bad guy's head about how the whole thing was going to go down didn't look like what actually went down.  I bet his head movie had a lot less response in it from his potential victims.  At least for a lot longer. 

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Responding congregants, good job.  Think more about muzzle control.   

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I have had hours and hours of training.  I need and want hours and hours more.  Hey!  New Year's resolution?

Standing?

21 OTHER States attorneys petition SCOTUS to get Maryland to go from May Issue to Shall Issue?  I'd like someone to explain that to me, how they have standing.

Oh it may be mere support of another case that does.  Oh, that's good then.  Oh THAT case.  Right.  Thanks for the moral support.

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Also, good luck Virginia, in not become Maryland with your gun bans.   You are gonna need it.  You are going up against Governor Klansman, and them types play rough.