You know, the world is a strange place when you can even plausibly have the thought "If you clean up your room, and are nicer to your brother, we'll see about blogrolling you."
Thanks Ricky!
Gotta love presents from da blogfaddah... Ricky saw this and just knew it had my name alllll over it. Not only does it match my age and favorite caliber, but my favorite revolvers, too... Appreciate the thought, love the gift man!
Think I'll wear it to the parent-teacher conference coming up... heh...
That is all.
ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar and Martin Scorsese have "demanded the immediate release" of fellow filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was arrested in Switzerland on a U.S. arrest warrant related to a 1977 child sex charge.
They were among 138 people in the film industry who signed a petition against the arrest.
Dorm rooms doubling as steamy love huts have Tufts University throwing cold water on sex on campus - at least when horny students let it all hang out in front of red-faced roommates.
“You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room,” tuts Tufts’ 2009-10 guest policy, newly revised in response to student gripes about rambunctious roomies and their raunchy romps.
The name recognition surely can’t hurt, but Joe Kennedy, a high-tech whiz kid who plans to become the next junior U.S. senator from Massachusetts, hopes to win voters over on his own.Joseph L. Kennedy, 37, of Dedham, a member of the National Libertarian Party collecting signatures to run as an independent, has established a Web site: JoeKennedyforSenate.com. He is not to be confused with Joseph P. Kennedy II, 57, whose decision not to run for his late uncle Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat left the famous family’s faithful wistful.
(CNN) -- Filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested on an arrest warrant stemming from a decades-old sex charge, Swiss police said Sunday.
The Academy Award-winning director pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, acknowledging he had sex with a 13-year-old girl, but fled the United States before he could be sentenced. U.S. authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in 1978
He was en route to the Zurich Film Festival, which is holding a tribute to him, when he was arrested by Swiss authorities, the festival said.
Fall may be New England’s most gentle season, with the weather just right, foliage bursting like fireworks, and only a faint foreboding of the coming winter gloom.
But in many parts of the region this time of year, particularly this year, the sky is falling - or at least it feels that way. Hard-shelled orbs are cracking windshields, thwacking gardeners, and tripping up joggers on their daily slog.
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- The United States, France and Britain have presented "detailed evidence" to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog that "Iran has been building a covert uranium enrichment facility," President Obama said Friday.
Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- all in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a G-20 economic summit -- accused Iran of intentionally hiding its nuclear facilities from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Obama has already said that "serious sanctions" are a possibility if Iran fails to adequately address the nuclear issue.
Model 13-3, Redux
The FBI special first displayed here is now sporting some Hogue Bantam monogrips and traveling in a Hunter Pro-Hide IWB holster. It's a natural fit for the Bianchi Speedstrip speedloader for back-up, as well. Now all that's needed is a Bianchi Pistol Pocket to be truly well-heeled, like a certain northward denizen...
For the days when the carry piece has to be old-school, natch...
That is all.
I have four extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel (son of Evil Knievel) Event at the Ford Center next weekend in Beaumont, Texas, if anybody wants them.
Robbie is going to try to jump over 1,000 Obama supporters with a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer.
Orange Glazed Pork
Serve over rice. 500 calories per serving (including rice). Makes four servings.
Enjoy your nomming!
That is all.
Governor Deval Patrick huddled with a small group of trusted advisers last night to finalize his choice for an interim US senator, with indications pointing to former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr., who has the strong backing of the immediate family of the late Edward M. Kennedy, as the overwhelming favorite.
A person with knowledge of the process said last night that former governor Michael S. Dukakis, considered a leading candidate for the appointment, was unlikely to be chosen. At the same time, senior Democrats in Washington told The New York Times that they were certain Kirk would be the choice.
Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, has weighed in, telling the governor that she prefers Kirk, according to a Kennedy family associate. Her views add further pressure to fill the interim appointment with the longtime Kennedy friend and former staff member, a man so close to the family he was chosen as master of ceremonies at Kennedy’s memorial service the night before the funeral last month.
The Globe reported yesterday that Kennedy’s two sons, US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island and Edward M. Kennedy Jr., have also told Patrick that Kirk is their first choice.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Carolyn Savage didn't know what to think, what to say, where to look as the ultrasound wand glided over her belly. It was supposed to be her baby inside. Not someone else's.
Yet here she was in her doctor's office with the baby's biological mother, both brought together by a terrible error at a fertility clinic. A doctor, they said, had given Savage the wrong embryo, and now she was carrying the other woman's child.
Embryo mix-ups at fertility clinics are extremely rare. In those few instances, they've degenerated into custody battles, ugly lawsuits and at least one abortion. But not this time. Savage and her husband decided that the right thing — the only thing — to do was to give the baby to the biological parents.
Now... I ordered one of the above. Which one?
That is all.
Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger has been hired by ACORN to conduct an inquiry into the organization on the heels of a video that appears to show employees advising a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp to lie about the source of their income to get housing assistance.
...
“I have been asked by the leadership of ACORN to conduct an independent and comprehensive inquiry and review of the management of its service delivery to communities,” Harshbarger said in a statement. “The CEO and board have also asked me to make a full report, including recommendations for restoring ACORN’s full capacities to carry out its mission on behalf of low- and moderate-income families.”
Mayor Thomas M. Menino surged to the top of the field and Councilor at Large Michael F. Flaherty Jr. grabbed second place in Boston’s preliminary mayoral race yesterday, setting up a general election that pits two former allies who have become sharp political adversaries.
Menino captured 50.5 percent of the vote, while Flaherty got 24 percent, beating out the other challengers by a comparatively slim margin for a spot in the final election. Councilor at Large Sam Yoon ended the day with 21 percent, and South End businessman Kevin McCrea got 4 percent.
J-Frame Madness!
L-R: Model 360PD, Model 38, Model 34
These three represent the three major metallurgical constructions of the Smith & Wesson J-frame "snubnose" revolver:
Model 34 - all steel frame and cylinder.
Model 38 - Aluminum frame, steel cylinder.
Model 360PD - Scandium frame, titanium cylinder.
Model 360PD
Model 38
Model 34
A quick caveat: The 360 and 38 are loaded with five rounds each whereas the 34 is empty. I figured that the extra weight of the metal cylinder in the .22LR chambered 34 would balance out the empty chamber.
The model 360PD is by far the lightest, a mere 13.9 ounces loaded. The model 38 is the next svelte, weighing in at a respectable 16.2 ounces loaded - a savings of only 2.3 ounces! The model 34, OTOH, checks in at 22.1 ounces, still lighter than most compact semi-automatics but on the heavy side for what is essentially a pocket gun.
So there you have it - a visual comparison of the weight differential in the different metals used for Smith & Wesson J-frame revolvers. Obviously, the most faithful test would be to have three identical frames (rather than the Bodyguard - shrouded hammer - mixed in with the Chief's Special - exposed hammer) and identical chamberings; however for a rough approximation it's pretty telling.
Open question: What would make an interesting comparison/item for weighing?
That is all.
NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors have charged a wealthy fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top Democrats in an alleged $292 million pyramid scheme that spanned more than a decade, saying he used some of the proceeds to support election campaigns.
In an indictment returned Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Iranian-born Hassan Nemazee is charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
He used some of the proceeds of the fraud to make donations to the election campaigns of federal, state and local candidates as well as to political action committees and charities, prosecutors said. They didn't name the candidates or groups.
RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- Former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards talked a campaign aide into claiming he fathered a child born to Edwards' onetime mistress, sources familiar with the issue said Monday.
Edwards admitted to his affair with Rielle Hunter in August 2008 after months of denials, but said he could not have been the father of Hunter's daughter, who was born the previous February. Former Edwards staffer Andrew Young has said he was the girl's father -- but has recanted and says he made it because he believed in Edwards, lawyers and others familiar with the matter told CNN.
Young was married with children when he claimed to have fathered Hunter's child. He never signed any affidavits or legal papers, however, and reversed his claim after Edwards, as one of the sources put it, dropped Young "like a hot potato."
As the makeshift memorial to the dead 18-year-old grew into a shrine, her mother remained in her Dorchester apartment, surrounded by friends and relatives who combed her hair and listened to her cry.
...
The shooting and a second about an hour later on Edson Street in Dorchester that left a 21-year-old dead and three others injured, punctured a relatively quiet summer.
“Some of these types of homicides are difficult to prevent, quite frankly,’’ said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department. “That said, officers are out there. They’re working hard and taking firearms off the street, as well as the people who use them.’’
CNN: President Carter said he thinks that a lot of the animosity directed toward President Obama is race related.
Dave Matthews: Of course it is! I found there's a fairly blatant racism in America that's already there, and I don't think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it's sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here -- I just see it everywhere. There's a good population of people in this country that are terrified of the president only because he's black, even if they don't say it. And I think a lot of them, behind closed doors, do say it.
I’m wondering if I can indebt myself to you again, and ask if you can put out a bleg for a trigger shoe for the Crosman 1377. The closest one I could find was in New Zealand for 10 pounds, not including the shipping.
With their advertising revenue drying up, newpaper publishers spent much of the spring and summer debating whether to cut off free online access to some of the material they run in their shrinking print editions. It looks like the talk will turn to action this fall, when some large newspapers are expected to put up Internet toll booths.
They'll be testing readers' willingness to pay for information and entertainment that mostly has been given away online for the past 15 years. That happened largely because most publishers could afford to subsidize their Web sites with profits from their print franchises. But now those profits have crumbled, just as the prices for online ads are tumbling, too.
(CNN) -- A legally insane killer who escaped in Washington state during a field trip to a fair was recaptured Sunday, the Spokane County Sheriff's Department said.
Phillip Paul, who was on the run for three days, had been planning the break for "at least the last several months," Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said at a news conference.
Sheriff's officials told CNN affiliate KREM-TV that Paul also escaped briefly in 1991
Paul had packed all his personal belongings in a large backpack before leaving on the trip
Knezovich also complained that hospital officials had not reported Paul's escape for two hours, which he said also hindered the investigation.
Rapid Fire
That's a "rapid" fire target (club limits shooting to one round per second, so double-tap practice is out (at least with company...) Taking the dropped shot at 10 o'clock out (which is 6 o'clock as the target was shot), that's 11 shots in a 2" circle...
How about slow-fire?
Slow Fire
Damn. Just damn. The biggest problem with this, of course, is that I no longer have an excuse for shooting my centerfire snubbies poorly... Any inaccuracy is coming from my flinching, not from the short barrel of the snubnose... That's a group of six shots at 25 feet that can (almost) be covered by a quarter... Now, granted, this came after a dozen or so cylinders through the gun, so I had started to get a pretty good feel for the snubbie by this time...
The model 34 is just a great little gun. It's all steel, so it's significantly heavier than the aluminum framed model 38 or the scandium framed 360 (weight comparison of the three guns later this week - I love having a postal scale!). Couple the heavier gun with the .22LR chambering and recoil is removed from the equation entirely. Not only that, but because it's a smaller gun overall than the model 17 or the Colt Official Police in .22LR, it's less fatiguing to shoot for longer sessions.
G30 Rapid Fire
29 rounds (one nine round mag, two ten round mags), all COM as fast as the range will allow. I'd like to see the overall grouping a little tighter, but for defensive point shooting I'll take it. This is overlaid on an NRA B-34 target, which is a 25 yard target - all hits are 7 ring or better.
All in all, an excellent day shooting.
That is all.
TheBoy
There's TheBoy in action, racing in to steal the ball away from his teammate so he can power his way through the other team's defense and score a goal. Or I managed to catch him in the rate moment he was actually paying attention to the game...
BabyGirl G.
And here's BabyGirl G. in a rare action shot, with her racing to intercept a player from the opposing team before she can score the winning goal. Well, before she can get within 20 feet of the goal, which is about as close as any of them got the first game...
In any case, they ran around so much they slept good last night, which is the real reason we signed 'em up...
That is all.
N-Framed Goodness
It's a Smith & Wesson Model 28-2 N-framed .357 Magnum revolver, 4" barrel, nickel finish also known as the Highway Patrolman. It is nothing short of pure .357 Magnum bliss in a large-framed package. We were blasting water-filled milk jugs to Kingdom Come using Glaser safety slugs kindly provided by Marko, and boy, you barely feel those Magnums in that big ol' revolver.
Thanks, ZerCool, for letting me put rounds through that gorgeous revolver!
That is all.
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Henry Gibson, who played roles ranging from loopy poets to vengeful Illinois Nazis and cranky judges during a 40-year film and television career, has died at age 73, his representatives said Wednesday.
