The "Curse You, Bruce" Meme...

Here's the skinny straight from Bruce:

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!

*sigh* How do I get myself sucked into these things???

Unlike Bruce, I'm going to include multiple listings from the same artist (but just a couple)... There's a distinct hard edge to my listings, which reflects my love of metal and punk music. I've avoided compilations for the most part (there is one sentimental favorite on the list), as it's really not in the spirit of the listing.

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So here goes...

1. Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon". As the expression goes, if I had a nickel for every time I listened to this album, I'd have a shitload of nickels... Seriously, I went through a period in college where I listened to this album literally every night ("Nu-nights with Floyd")...

2. AC/DC, "Back in Black". This is another one, I've listened to this album so much, I've worn out a cassette tape (remember those, you old farts out there?) *and* a CD... There is not a bad song on this album, and when you consider that this was Brian Johnson's first album with AC/DC after Bon Scot's untimely death, it kicks ass so much it should be titled: AC/DC "Chuck Norris"...

3. Van Halen, "1984". If there were a soundtrack to my mid-teens, this was it. Many nights were spent cruising around the local hangouts with this album jammed in the tape deck of my buddy Paul's Subaru...

4. Def Leppard, "Hysteria". This was to high school what 1984 was to Junior High. I've heard "Pour Some Sugar on Me" so many times that the words have lost all meaning {/Milhouse}. Used to cruise around in my buddy Joe's Toyota Corona wagon drinking beer out of a 5 gallon bucket filled with skating rink shavings to this album...

5. Guns 'N' Roses, "Appetite for Destruction". This was to college what the above two were to their respective epochs. I have "Paradise City" seared, seared into my memory, specifically of sitting on the ancient gas heater in Neil's apartment on 14 Clinton Street in Fitchburg, MA, listening to this song and playing air drums...

6. Metallica, "Black". Also came out when I was in college. Also listened to it several thousand times. Had a friend who could play the guitar riff note-for-note and we'd jam until like 3 in the morning...

7. Roger Waters, "Radio KAOS". This was Waters' second post-Floyd album, with a central theme that made it a kind of "serialized" album like Styx's "Mr. Roboto". Except that instead of creepy Japanese robots holding humans in check, "Radio KAOS" was about a paralyzed computer genius who had accidentally started WWIII... It worked, oddly enough...

8. Aerosmith, "Greatest Hits". Ah. This was the first album I ever listened to while making out with a girl. For that reason alone it makes the top ten, easily. Pam was the first - but certainly not the last - girl to rip my heart out of my ribcage, stomp on it with golf cleats, and walk out of my life. Not that I'm bitter or anything...

9. Van Halen, "5150". Yes, two VH offerings make the top ten, one with Dave, one with Sammy. 5150 is one of those "perfect" albums - not a single song on the album gets skipped over. And as a side note, I used to wake up my drunkard roommate in college with "Get Up" playing at 11...

10. The Cult, "Electric". I loved this album so much, I decorated my favorite pair of Chuck Taylors with "The Cult" on one sneaker and "Electric" on the other. Did a damn good job if I may say so myself. "Love Removal Machine" kicks total fucking ass when you've had your heart broken (again; see #8).

11. Run DMC, "Run-D.M.C.". Whoa. To a pasty white kid from suburbia raised on Kenny Rogers and the Beach Boys, this was about as far from anything I'd ever heard. Hooked instantly. It's like that, and that's the way it is...

12. Rush, "Moving Pictures". Even having a music teacher in eighth grade dissect "Tom Sawyer" line-by-line couldn't shake my unwavering love for this album. I amazed The Boy by playing YYZ for him and pointing out Peart's smokin' drum work...

13. Boston, "Boston". Despite nearly running my truck into a bridge abutment at 75 MPH while listening to "More Than A Feeling" (never listen to "I closed my eyes, and she slipped away" right after you got dumped, that's Jay's handy advice for the lovelorn teen...), I still love this album. To this day, I still get ready for a night out by listening to "Smokin'"...

14. AC/DC, "The Razor's Edge". This one makes the list purely on my undying love of "Thunderstruck", which I consider to be one of the finest songs ever written.

15. George Thorogood, "Move It On Over". Even though the title track has gotten me pulled over three times (I used to call it my turbo...), I love this album. "Cocaine Blues" is one of the few songs that I would consider doing in karaoke...

16. Iron Maiden, "Piece of Mind". Hell, most anything by Iron Maiden from the 1980s would be fine, but "Piece of Mind" has three things going for it: "Die With Your Boots On", "Sun and Steel", and a parody, "fuck you" backwards-recorded message poking fun at the holy rollers who accused them of Satanism.

17. Rolling Stones, "Tattoo You". It's not their best album, nor their best known, but "Start Me Up" is my favorite Stones song, bar none. Even selling it out to Microsoft for the abomination known as Windows 95 doesn't lessen my love for this tune...

18. Grateful Dead, "American Beauty". Oh, the stories I could tell about this album if this weren't a public place... "Truckin'", "Friend of the Devil", "Ripple"... every song on this album is a masterpiece.

19. Garth Brooks, "No Fences". "Friends in Low Places" was the song played for our wedding party, and it was intended as the highest of compliments. None of us are movers and/or shakers, captains of industry, or high society; however a greater group of people you would be hard-pressed to find. And "Unanswered Prayers" makes me cry every time I hear it (and yes, I had to find it on YouTube and listen to it again...)

20. The Ramones, "Ramones". The album's only five years younger than I am, and yet it's still being sampled today - how many times has the "Hey, ho, let's go" from "Blitzkrieg Bop" found its way into pop culture? I thought about one of the compilation albums, as "I Wanna Be Sedated" is my fave Ramones tune bar none, but their debut album stands out...

21. Anthrax, "Among the Living". Oh, speed/thrash metal. I used to grab a couple of Anthrax/Megadeth/Maiden tapes and head over to the library when the goons in my dorm were partying too loudly. I still get a wicked urge to outline the Krebs Cycle every time I hear "Efilnikufesin"...

22. Billy Joel, "Piano Man". Captain Jack will get you high tonight... Oh, man... There's another "nickel" song... I had a good friend in college explain to me what "feed your head" meant. And now, before Jay writes something that might get him in trouble...

23. Huey Lewis and the News, "Sports". Hey, I'm a child of the '80s. Had to toss in one of the most enduring '80s albums out there. From the Miami Vice-like sport coat over fluorescent T-shirt look favored by Huey Lewis to the brassy sound that went out of style after the 1980s, "Sports" is about the closest thing to a soundtrack of the 1980s there is.

24. The Sex Pistols, "Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols". Oh yeah, punk rock played a heavy role in my teen years. Think of it as "rap for white kids in Catholic school". You want a conference with the headmaster? Play "Anarchy in the UK" too loud on your imitation Walkman during study hall...

25. Creed, "Human Clay". Really, this one's about "With Arms Wide Open". This song was released in 1999, and coincides with my own journey to fatherhood. Another song I can't listen to without tearing up a bit (and, yes, it's playing as I type this). "Everything has changed". These are the truest lyrics ever written...

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So there are my 25 albums. Give me all 25 of these and I'll have enough music to keep me happy for a very long time. And I'll relive a good chunk of my youth as well... I'm not going to tag anyone specifically for this one, but if you want to play along, consider yourself tagged.

That is all.

Happiness Is...

...Getting the first, last, and only two boxes of .45 ACP at Wally World...

That little pokka-pokka sound as the ammo jiggles in the boxes when you jounce over frost heaves is the sound of freedom, mes amis...

That is all.

Blogroll Additions...

It's been a while since I've updated the blogroll. Got a handful of new blogs to add to the 'roll today, and will have plenty to add in following weeks...

1. Agg79 at My Two Cents - Declares in his "About Me" section to be: "Too old to start over, too young to retire. Over 50. Married 28+ years. One kid in college. No dog. One old project car." I can relate...

2. Jumblerant at the self-titled Jumblerant - a police officer in Israel. That's gotta be a tough gig, I must admit.

3. Olav at Firearms and Training - A former Canadian now living in CA and writing about firearms. G-d Bless America!

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And now, time for the standard disclaimer:

I run a reciprocal blogroll here at MArooned. If you like my insane scribbling writing enough to add me to your blogroll, tell me about it - I'm quite happy to return the favor. But I can't do it if I don't know about it! So leave me a note in comments; shoot me an e-mail (contact info's around here somewhere); catch me on Google chat or Facebook; heck, anything short of writing your blog name on a piece of paper and hucking it through my window tied to a rock works... :)

That is all.

Friday Fun Thread: Econoboxes, Part One...

Alternate title: The REAL reason Americans hate small cars.

I was struggling to come up with today's list - I was trying to put together a list of cool small cars, and got about halfway through and was just stumped for the remaining five. The more I thought about it, the more I started to realize I had an easy Top Ten list on the flip side: Crappy small cars. And then I thought about it some more - most of the cars on the list are American cars.

Think there's a correlation between Americans liking large cars and American small cars being crappy?

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Anyways, here's the list of Top Ten Crappy Small Cars. Enjoy!

1. Geo Metro - How do you go wrong with a car that gets over 50 MPG on the highway? You make it susceptible to implosion upon collision with anything larger than a hummingbird. Oh, and give it an odd number of cylinders, a number more commonly found on weird British motorcycles than in American cars.

2. Ford Fiesta - One of the first true American "econoboxes", the Fiesta put the "shit" in "shitbox". As would continue to be the case even today, in the late 1970s Ford took a European model, slapped a new name on it, and brought it to market in the US. This pathetic attempt at combatting the onslaught of small, economical cars from VW, Honda, Datsun, and Toyota was epic FAIL.

3. Dodge Omni - Mopar was not immune to the "ZOMG we must make crappy small cars" malaise that swept the Big Three in the late '70s when Japanese cars started making inroads. Much as Ford and GM did at the time, Chrysler grabbed a European offering, slapped a new name on it, and set it loose on Main Street.

4. Hyundai XL - Offering a low-cost, fuel economical car at a time of rising gas prices seems like it should be a winning combination. Throw in that the state of American car manufacture from the late 1970s through the 1980s was spotty at best, and people were willing to take a chance on the little Korean car. Problem was, the little Korean car started making people remember the crappy American cars fondly...

5. Ford Festiva - "It's a Ford! It's a Festiva!" Even the advertising jingle for this particulary craptacular POS was terrible. Ford, never one to shy away from taking bad idea and making it worse, took the Fiesta concept to the next level - this time, they didn't just take a European version and re-badge it for the US, they took a crappy Korean POS and re-badged it for the US.

6. Pontiac LeMans - and speaking of taking a crappy Korean POS and re-badged it for the US, Pontiac shat all over the sleeper muscle car LeMans (affectionally known in the early '70s as "LeGoat", as it shared many of the same features as the GTO) by rebadging a Daewoo as the LeMans in the late 1980s (Note: European version Opel Kadett shown in picture).

7. Renault Alliance - It's French {shudder}. It was partnered with AMC {shudder}. There was even a stretch-limousine available... Quality was about on par with the other lousy cars of the time, and it offered the same abysmal performance and shockingly marginal fuel economy as every other crappy econobox of the time. But we get to kick the French again, so...

8. Ford Aspire - Ford gets the dubious distinction of having the same crappy idea three times in a row with the Aspire. Following the rousing success of the Fiesta (cough) and the Festiva (cough), Ford tried one last time to re-badge a crappy car and sell it in the US. And, for the third time, they failed...

9. Yugo GV- "What country is this car from?" "It... no longer exists". This exchange, from the "Mr. Plow" episode of the Simpsons, was obviously aimed at the eastern European Yugo. Second only to perhaps the Trabant for lousy quality, the Yugo was known for whimsically breaking down while still on the assembly line.

10. Chevrolet Chevette - "Chevy Chevette, it'll drive you happy!" Err, um, no. About the only redeeming quality of the Chevette was that it allowed a whole generation of nerds to sidle up to the prom queen and ask "hey cutie, wanna ride in my 'Vette?"...

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Whoa. Serious crapitude there. So, tell me, what other crappy cars are there? Anyone have any good experience with any of these cars? (No, really, I'm serious. No, stop laughing. C'mon!). If nothing else, take this list as a cautionary example of how bad things have been in the automotive world...

That is all.

Oh Yeah, That's It...

Ban on photos of U.S. troops' coffins lifted

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Thursday it will lift an 18-year ban on coverage of the return of military members killed in war by allowing families of the fallen to decide whether the news media may photograph the flag-covered caskets.

Apparently Obama's game plan consists entirely of looking at what President Bush did and then doing the opposite - except, of course, when it comes to spending...

What really pisses me off is this bullshit:

Democrats tried to lift the ban that year but were rebuffed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said at the time that the ban was an attempt to "conceal from the American people the true costs of this war."

Are you shitting me? Because from where I'm sitting, the media has done everything except installing a "Dead Soldier Clock" timer that gives up-to-the-minute totals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We've had somber reminders at every thousand killed. We had daily updates on soldiers killed. We've had human interest stories about soldiers injured. There has been NOTHING concealed about the "true costs of this war". That is an outright fucking lie.

But then again, what would you expect from a man who obtained his Senate seat through fraud and chicanery?

That is all.

Friday Gun Pr0n #100

I wanted to do something special for the one hundredth Friday Gun Pr0n. I had originally intended to do some sort of group shot, either all handguns, or all Smith & Wessons, or all revolvers, or something, when inspiration struck...

My Favorites

Pump action shotguns and centerfire rifles,
Rimfire levers and shiny Colt autos.
Magnum revolvers that pack quite a sting,
These are a few of my favorite things

(with apologies to The Sound of Music...)

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Favorite Longarms

Shotgun: Mossberg 590. Since I'm neither a hunter nor a trap/skeet shooter (yet), my shotgun needs are simple: a large capacity pump-action with a short(ish) barrel. The fact that it will take a bayonet just puts the icing on the cake.

Centerfire rifle: Bushmaster XM15-E2S. In the year of the looming AWB and ever-rising prices on semi-automatic magazine-fed rifles, getting this for a decent price (and an excellent deal on 30-round magazines!) vaults it to the top of the list. Once I get my Garand, this choice will be much harder...

Rimfire rifle: Marlin model 39-A. There had to be at least one lever-action rifle on this list. The Marlin is just plain fun wrapped up in wood and blued steel, a 19-round-at-a-time plinker that can be shot all day long using the cheapest bulk ammo available. What's not to love?

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Favorite Handguns

Centerfire revolver: Ruger Security Six. This is the first firearm I ever purchased, approximately 35 minutes after getting my first MA permit (that's how long it took to get to the gun store). The tank-like Ruger construction means it's my go-to gun for first time shooters, as the longer barrel and extra heft tame even hot .357 Magnum rounds.

Centerfire semi-automatic: Colt Gold Cup National Match 1911. It had to be a 1911, of course. The Gold Cup is the natural choice, with accuracy that I can't match and fit and finish that is simply stunning. I enjoy shooting this gun more than just about any other, and everyone I've let shoot it has been quite impressed with its accuracy and reliability. And it's shiny...

Rimfire handgun: Smith & Wesson Model 17. Since I only have one (functioning) rimfire semi-automatic, it wasn't much of a contest, so I combined them into just rimfire pistol. The S&W gets the nod over the Colt, the H&R, and the NAA mini-.22LR for many reasons, but the first being that it is the first gun I give to a new shooter to start their journey. That's confidence right there...

CCW gun: Smith & Wesson Model 360PD. What's really great about the Snubbie from Hell™ is that it's such a versatile carry piece. It's chambered in the very manly .357 Magnum caliber, so it's got stopping power in spades; it's very light, so it gets carried a lot; and it's a Smith & Wesson revolver - as a wise man once opined, it's like a fork: You pick it up, it works.

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So there's Friday Gun Pr0n #100 - all of my favorites.

That is all.

Urge to Kill Rising...

Note to Norton: You suck. I hate you. I will not brake if I see you crossing the street.

Could you please possibly make your products MORE of a HUGE FUCKING PAIN IN THE ASS? Seriously? Like, maybe you could make it so that the only update options are "REMIND ME EVERY FIVE FUCKING SECONDS" or "FREEZE YOUR COMPUTER THE REST OF THE NIGHT"

Oh, wait, that's what you already do...

And then, as a coup de grace, maybe you could design it so the uninstall feature takes about as long as painting the goddamned Sistine Chapel. That would be so very user friendly.

In short, die motherfucker, die.

That is all.

QOTD...

From LabRat, in Gunblogger Conspiracy chat:

"BDSM is LARP with boners."

Heh. Remind me to add them to the blogroll, Pinky. Will do, Brain!

That is all.

BOHICA, Part II...

As seen, well, everywhere around the gun blogosphere, our new Attorney General (he of the "Americans are cowards about race" fame) Holder has hinted that Obama may very well make good on at least one of his campaign promises and reinstitute the ban on guns that look scary:

The attorney general also suggested that re-instituting a U.S. ban on the sale of assault weapons would help reduce the bloodshed in Mexico, where last year 6,000 people were killed in drug-related violence.

Because, you know, abridging the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding US citizens is going to help quell the incredible violence in Mexico fueled by drug cartels and corrupt Mexican military members...

So, that said, it's coming. I don't share Sebastian's belief that activism can stop this nor Countertop's insistence that this doesn't have the votes. The same things were said about the stimulus package - reports of calls against the stimulus being something like tenfold greater than calls for it, frex - and look where that got us. We're getting another ban. The only question is, how bad will it be?

Will it simply be a reinstatement of the 1994 ban, complete with sunset provision? Doubtful - at the very least, look for this to be permanent. The Obama administration has been pretty consistent that this will be a permanent ban. Will it encompass more arms than the 1994 ban? If HR 1022 or HR 6257 are any indication, yes, most certainly - look at the expanded lists of affected firearms. Notice, if you will, that lever- and pump-action rifles are now on the block.

Buy your high-capacity magazines and semi-auto rifles now. Buy as much ammo as you can, too - that's most certainly next in their sights. Fasten your seatbelts, folks; we're in for a nasty 4 years here...

That is all.

UPDATE: Forgot to add in my bleg. If you live in a free state and have any "pre-ban" magazines for the AR-15, AK-47, Sig Sauer P226 9mm, or Glock 21, I'm happy to buy you a brand new replacement magazine in exchange for the pre-ban...

The Art of the Draw...

After seeing Carteach0's excellent series on the home defense shotgun, I decided to try my hand at amateur video (no, not that kind, TD, sheesh...):

Drawing a S&W j-frame from a pocket holster.

(And yes, the video was taken yesterday, on Pink Shirt Day).

Not too shabby for my first attempt (the speedloader videos were significantly easier as I could look directly at the camera screen!) at self-videoing. There were a couple of things I didn't point out in the video, like covering the back of the hammer with my thumb so it didn't get caught on anything during the draw, but I think I got the major points covered.

(And if you look really hard, you can see my pile 'o' Heinlein - and 300 - as my "reading material"...)

That is all.

Cheap Bastard Bleg...

I know I've got some security gurus on the ol' blogroll.

I need to pick your brains for a moment (braaaaaaains!). What's the best free firewall and/or anti-virus software out there these days? On the old computer, I was running ZoneAlarm firewall and AVG anti-virus and they seemed to be pretty good, if not a little resource-heavy.

Are there better products out there that I should take a look at?

Additionally, I'd been running Ad-Aware and SpyBot Seek and Destroy for mal- and spyware; any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

That is all.

Teh Daily Awesome...

From today's Dilbert online.

Yeah. That's about right...

(found via Unc).

That is all.

More Random Riffs

Just some randomosity from around the round world today...

• Smith & Wesson recalls guns that could misfire - PPK and PPK/S models made in conjunction with Walther from 2002 to present. If you've got one of these guns, contact S&W for a return authorization stat...
• Bare-istas: Maine cafe pours topless cup of coffee - I dunno. I prefer my coffee be bottomless, actually.
• Leeches aid shark victim - File under E for eewwwww... Talk about headlines of the weird... How cool is it, though, that the surfer's hand was saved by leeches??? (As a side note, it's also kinda weird to hear medical jargon filtered through an Aussie accent...)
• Woman dies in T escalator accident - well, not exactly. Her clothing got snagged in the machinery and she suffered a fatal heart attack. What, a headline that bears little relation to the facts ot the story? Who knew?
• Angry citizens open fire on pols - Claire Wolfe, please call your office. Snark aside, this is a disturbing story on many levels, and it's a theme that I've seen popping up around the blogosphere. Let me state, for the record: I do not support nor condone such talk.
• In Debate on Climate Change, Exaggeration Is a Common Pitfall - WOW. A chink in the armor of the infallible Goracle? The NYFT is pointing out Global Warming hyperbole??? Guess the Carbon credit business is floundering worse than we thought...
• And lastly, in the news of the weird: Father Chains Girl To Bed To Stop Her Eating. Apparently it was to keep her in fighting form for Mixed Martial Arts fighting. Of course.
• UPDATE: New header pic. Goes with one of my favorite sayings: "A shotgun without a bayonet is like a day without sunshine"...
• UPDATE²: LawDog is celebrating his third blogiversary. Go wish him well, please - we want to do all we can to encourage him to post more!

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Okay, that's about all the news I can stomach for now. Time to go tend to my sick charge...

That is all.

Sick (Half) Day...

Home this morning with a sick kid. The Boy woke up at 4:30 this morning and promptly expelled the last remnants of dinner all over his bed (ah, the joy and glamour of parenthood). Check the forehead, he's a little hot (100.5º), throat's sore, etc. Clean up in Aisle 1, you wish, bring a sponge...

When your child is sick, it helps snap everything into focus. While I'm certain this is a minor stomach bug no doubt picked up at school (especially considering a girl in his class was out yesterday for the same type of illness), there's always a nagging little doubt in the back of your skull when your kid is sick. Oh, sure, part of the worry stems from the mundane, the myriad calls to make and people to alert (to the school for the sick call, to the neighbor to bring BabyGirl G to school, etc.); but there's always that little voice that reminds you of all the other possibilities, no matter how unlikely.

Get better soon, buddy, so daddy can breathe again...

That is all.

WantWantWant...

Okay. I mentioned the new short-barreled Smith & Wesson 1911 in my bleg last week. This afternoon, the USPS dropped off the latest issue of Guns & Ammo, with the SW1911 Sub Compact proudly festooning the cover.

It's official. I'm hooked.

Smith & Wesson SW1911 Subcompact .45 ACP

7+1 capacity.
24 ounces.
Scandium frame.
1911 carry gun goodness...

I've wanted to get a Smith & Wesson 1911 for a while now, and had been eyeing the Commander length variant, the lightweight scandium model, as a potential CCW piece. I'm a big fan of the 1911 platform, and would like to add a 1911 to the carry gun rotation for ease of carry (thin profile) and familiarity with operation.

Besides, there's always room in the armory for another 1911. Or three...

That is all.

Say What?

How many things can you spot wrong with this headline:

Heiress Nicky Hilton makes citizen's arrest at IHOP

I've got at least three...

That is all.

Life Imitates "Footloose"...

Sexy 'grinding' may get Exeter High dances banned

EXETER — Exeter High School may do away with school dances because of what officials call inappropriate dancing. The idea upsets students, who blame a generation gap and say there’s no way to change the dancing style they’ve grown up learning.

Principal Victor Sokul said he asked 19 students to leave a school dance on Friday, Feb. 13 after they were seen “grinding.” This type of dancing, in which two dancers rub their bodies against each other in a sexually suggestive manner, is not permitted per school policy, Sokul said.

And rock & roll is the tool of the Devil! It's corrupting our youth!

Since when did NH get taken over by friggin' Baptists? Kids are dancing provocatively? No shit, sherlock. They've been dancing provocatively since, well, humans first realized that you could make music and then dance to it. They're teenagers - basically bags of hormones with feet - that's what they do.

And, sadly, overreacting to it is apparently what "grown-ups" do these days...

That is all.

Word of the Day: Incorporation...

Judge tosses firearms charge against state police lieutenant

BARNSTABLE — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a requirement that guns be locked or disassembled when stored has convinced a Barnstable District Court judge to dismiss a firearms charge against a Massachusetts state trooper.

State police Lt. Richard Bolduc was charged last summer with illegally storing a large-capacity firearm in the presence of a minor. Bolduc's 12-year-old son took his father's police-issued handgun from a bureau in their Sandwich home, pointed it at a 5-year-old neighbor, and pulled the trigger, according to court records.

(The gun was not loaded, and the child was not hurt)

That's one lucky cop, one extremely lucky five year old, and one seriously uneducated 12 year old.

Here's the money quote:

Earlier this month, Bolduc's attorney, Daniel O'Malley, argued before Judge Joan Lynch that the firearms charge should be dropped based on the June 26 Supreme Court ruling.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court declared a Washington, D.C., gun ban unconstitutional and struck down the storage requirements because, the court decided, they violated a citizen's right of self protection.

Heller vs. DC being used against MA's "Safe storage" laws. Can you say incorporation? I knew that you could...

Now, granted, there are some other factors at play here:

• There was no actual ruling for or against the officer based on the Heller argument.
• Whether this case would have been dismissed against Joe Sixpack is another story entirely
• It's a loooong way from "A cop walks where an ordinary Joe would have gone straight under the bus" to "MA Safe Storage Laws Struck Down from Heller Decision"...

But this is certainly a start. On the positive side, the argument wasn't thrown out. Now, certainly, it could be the judge dismissed the case simply because the person in question was a police officer. Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last, either. It's also possible that the judge didn't want to push the issue for fear of her courtroom being the first shot in the Heller onslaught against oppressive states - is she ready to be that first domino?

I'll savor the (very minor) victory for now. We've got a precedent, a slim, flickering hope that maybe, just maybe, the Heller decision may be used to strike down some of the more onerous MA state laws. The funny thing, for me, is that it wouldn't change a thing if MA threw out the "Safe storage" requirements - I'll still lock my guns up as long as my kids are in the house, plain and simple. I'd rather train to get a gun out of a safe than worry about them or their friends having a moment of stupid like Officer Bolduc's son...

And as a parting shot, I shudder to think what my father would have done to me had I taken his service revolver and pointed it at a neighborhood child - I suspect I *still* would be unable to sit down...

That is all.

Remember the ???

Today is the 173^rd anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. Remember.

When asked about it, 90% of MA residents replied, "Alamo? Don't they rent cars?".

The other 10% thought that John Wayne died in the battle.

That is all.

The Rest of the Story...

Alternate title: G-d as DJ.

Yeah, there was more to yesterday's random '80s hair band music video... There's a whole sordid story of young teen-aged love and betrayal wrapped up in that five minutes of fluff. Let's put on the Wayback Hat™ and take a voyage to 1989 1990*...

I'm working at the local supermarket over the summer break, just having fun and hanging with my friends. There's a girl in the deli who smiles when I walk by, and I ask her out one Saturday night. We go to the beach, talk a walk on the sand, that sort of thing. Nothing heavy - yet - but I definitely get the feeling she's into me.

We go out a few more times, and she tells me that her cousin's parents are going away for the weekend. She tells me to bring along a guy friend for her cousin and we can have a little party. Sounds good so far, right? Well, at some point I stepped outside for a smoke. Walk back inside the house, and my buddy and my girlfriend are nowhere to be found. See where this is heading?

I walk through the house until I find them. Together. Lip-locked.

Talk about a punch in the gut, a betrayal of the unkindest sort. My best friend and my girl, behind my back, yadda yadda yadda. Had a helluva country song there, though. Well, I go back outside. I'm hurt, pissed, angry at the world. I get in my car, and realize that I can't drive home quite yet (we'd been, err, indulging in some of the cousin's family's "extra" beer), so I turn the key to kill some time listening to the radio.

And, yes, "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" was the very first song I heard...

Ah, yes. Just what I needed. A sad hair band power ballad about love gone wrong. Kill me now. I'm feeling sorry for myself, naturally, trying to pull the knife out of my back and put my heart back in my chest after it was so unceremoniously ripped out.

And "Love Hurts" by Nazareth comes on the radio.

WTF??? Okay, this is just plain wrong. Two songs in a row? Did the DJ suffer a similar heartbreak today or what? And then song #3: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones". Talk about YHGTBSM!

It's kind of funny. It's been almost 20 years since that incident. The girl's name has long been lost to the winds of time; a pretty face that at one time meant the world to me, now constrained to a footnote in my life. The friend, well, he and I patched things up (I nailed his girlfriend the following summer just to even things up) eventually and then slowly grew apart as life took us in different directions. I'm married, for nearly 13 years now. Two kids. House. Mortgage. All the trappings of respectable grown-up life imaginable. And yet "Every Rose" comes on the radio and I'm transported back in time to that fragile teenager with the mullet and the broken heart.

It's amazing what music can do, isn't it?

That is all.

*EDIT: I've mentioned telling time by the car I drove. It dawned on me that the car I was sitting in was my Buick, which I got in 1990...

I Can't Be the Only One...

...who shudders when they see the time stamp "9:22"...

(or am I getting too esoteric in my gun nut numerology???)

That is all.

A Preview?

Deval Patrick, the ersatz governor of Massa-fucking-chusetts, has been a staunch supporter of Barack Obama since Obama declared his candidacy. How close? Close enough for Obama to lift Patrick's campaign speechs. Perhaps a quick look at "Cadillac Deval"s tenure as governor of Mass will give us an idea of the direction Obama will take the US? In Deval's time as governor, he has proposed the following:

Gas tax increase.

Computer chips in state inspection stickers.

Tax on alcohol and candy.

Doubling gun permit fees.

Extra taxes for SUVs.

Grant in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens.

Collecting sales tax for items purchased out-of-state.

Yeah. Lots to look forward to, I know...

That is all.

Not For Nothing...

But it sure doesn't help a foul, gloomy mood to have cold, soggy rain melting the brown snow and making even more brown/black mush everywhere...

*sigh*

That is all.

Sunday Songs...

I really shouldn't listen to Sirius 23: Hair Bands...



And now you've had your weekly dose of '80s power ballads...

That is all.

A Glimmer of Hope

Steeling their courage

Eighteen-month-old Kristen Hoenshell has a rare and aggressive form of cancer. What began as a tumor behind her eye has led to surgery and 38 weeks of weekly visits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she receives powerful doses of chemotherapy that leave her weak and occasionally sick.

Yesterday, when she showed up for another round of treatment, she was greeted by something special. As her cousin Megan Souza pointed out the window of a third-floor walkway, ironworkers perched on the sixth floor of a partially constructed building nearby hoisted a massive I-beam into place. It was emblazoned, in bright pink spray paint, with Kristen's name.

Every once in a while, I come across something that gives me hope for our nation. This is one of those somethings. Each one of those workers gains nothing from this action other than the warm feeling of knowing that they helped a sick kid feel a little better. They're not looking for the 15 minutes of fame; they're not gaming the system; they're just taking a few moments out of their day to do something to help others.

Every child who looks out that window and sees their name on a girder will know that they will be a part of that building - that their names will be associated with another edifice dedicated to helping others, like them, get better. They'll experience the fleeting thrill of fame, basking in the Krylon glow of their name on the girder. For a brief moment, they can forget their pain and their struggle and just be little kids in awe of seeing their name writ large.

I hope I never, ever have to see my kids' names on a girder. I hope and pray with every fiber of my being that The Boy and BabyGirl G will outlive me by many happy years, living to see their own children and grandchildren grow and prosper. But if the unthinkable should happen, I'd be eternally grateful for the kindness of strangers as shown by these ironworkers.

Good job, guys. Good job.

That is all.

Lucky Number Seven

Well, not too lucky for the scumbag-du-jour...

Vegas police: Suspected burglar shot by homeowner

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police say a homeowner shot and killed a suspected burglar after coming home and finding the person in his home.

Short on details, long on dead goblin goodness... Oh well, we take what we can get. The story is both full of good:

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts says the homeowner likely would not be charged for the Sunday incident west of Nellis Air Force Base, but said the investigation was still in its early stages.

And bad:

Robert's says the homeowner's gun is registered.

WTF? A Google search for "Nevada Gun Registration" yields the following information:

Clark County (minus Boulder City) requires registration of handguns only. All other counties have no registration of any guns. For Clark County, the first handgun purchase includes a 72 hour "cooling off" period. A handgun registration card (commonly known as a "blue card" because of its light blued color) is issued for each registered handgun, and must stay with the gun. Examples: If you take the gun to shoot at the range, you must take its blue card also. If you loan the gun to a friend, you must make sure he has the card with it. You may register your handgun at any branch of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (bring it to them UNLOADED AND IN A SAFE MANNER). If you sell or give away the handgun, you are obligated to have the registration transferred into the name of the new owner. If you wish to purchase other handguns, your "cooling off" period is waived if you have your blue card present.

You need to keep the card with the gun? Holy hell, folks, this is worse than MA. I don't have to keep any "blue cards" with my handguns (which is a good thing, as I'd need yet another safe)...

Even in gun-friendly Nevada the GFWs have a foothold. This is bad. Very bad.

---

Dead Goblin Count: 7

That is all

Friday Fun Thread: Concept Cars...

Ah, the concept car. A chance for automobile manufacturers to pull out all the stops and truly wow us with their design prowess and visions of future automobiles. Here's a list of my personal favorites through the years...

1. 1938 Buick Y-Job. Considered to be the first concept car ever, the Y-Job pretty much set the stage for the concept car. The design of the Y-Job would influence Detroit's designs for the next 20 years.

2. 1955 Lincoln Futura. How can you not love the concept car that would become the Batmobile? While Lincoln never used this futuristic design, it wound up bringing plenty of publicity to Fo Mo Co., rating it as one of the concept car success stories.

3. 1988 Dodge Viper. It would evolve into the Dodge Viper, a car many credit with bringing Chrysler back from the dead in the early 1990s. The speed with which Chrylser moved the Copperhead into production as the Viper stunned many Detroit insiders, and the Viper quickly took over as the premiere American muscle car.

4. 1961 Mako Shark Corvette. Wild fins, "gills", and coloration taken (apocryphally) from a mounted Mako Shark in then-GM Design head Bill Mitchell's office; the Mako Shark Concept 'Vette would preview the C2 redesign two years ahead of the change.

5. 2008 Ford Interceptor. Okay, so maybe I'm a sucker for rear-drive, ridiculously overpowered sedans. Maybe it's the police tie-in (the "Interceptor" package was the code for the "cop motor, cop suspension..."). In any case, there's always room for a bad-ass RWD sedan...

6. 2001 Volkswagen Microbus. The only way this could have been retro-cooler would have been for it to have been a Westie. Volkswagen enjoyed crazy success with their retro-fabulous Beetle, so it seemed like a sure thing for the Microbus to see some sort of production. Then VW proved they were made of complete FAIL by making the new VW van a re-badged Caravan...

7. 2003 Cadillac Sixteen. 16 cylinder engine. 1,000 rumored horsepower. This would have been the Caddy di tutti Caddies had it seen production. One can only imagine how quickly a fleet of Cadillac Sixteen limosines could deposit Hollywood starlets...

8. 1963 Chrysler Turbine. Chrysler's attempt to bring jet-technology to the automotive world, the turbine-powered Chrysler had a three year test run. It was touted as the next generation in automotive powerplants, with instant-on starting (no more chokes!) and the ability to run on a wide variety of fuel (peanut oil! tequila!). Sounding like a vacuum cleaner on steroids was just a side benefit.

9. 1988 Pontiac Banshee. With a front-end that would be incorporated into the fourth generation Firebird, the Banshee looked like something that rolled off of a Hotwheels track. The swooping lines and acre of glass, however, did not make it into the final production car. Thankfully.

10. 1972 Ford Carousel. While it still wouldn't have beat the VW microbus, the Carousel would have pre-dated Chrysler's "minivan" by a over a decade had it made it onto the assembly line. What's interesting is the number of design cues that made it into the Aerostar, Ford's answer to the Dodge Caravan...

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Another week draws to a close, another automotive list to peruse and (hopefully) enjoy!

That is all.

Let Me Get This Straight...

Just so we can get things squared away, let's see if we can figure this out...

This is racist:

But this is not:

Or this:

or this:

---

Sorry, guys. You just spent the last eight years comparing the President of the United States of America to various primates. You have no fucking right to get all butt-hurt because the tables are turned. Crying "racism" because someone's poking fun at "your guy" diminishes the charge of racism itself - there's nothing racist about that cartoon except what you project in your condemnations.

Turning to "ZOMG! TEH EVIL RACISTS" every time someone criticizes The Annointed One does three things:

1. It shows you can't or won't refute the actual substance of the issue;

2. It cheapens the cries of racism in legitimate cases; and

3. It points out how Obama needs to bring down his detractors rather than address the issues.

You had your eight years of trashing the president. Don't be surprised when the shoe's on the other foot.

That is all.

Friday Gun Pr0n #99

Today's gun pr0n fits in, numerologically. I consider it a grave personal failing that I do not (yet) own a K-98 Mauser that could have been used for last week's picture, so this week I must atone for my shortcomings...

Good ol' Number 99

That, of course, belongs to a Smith & Wesson model SW99. I've pictured one previously, but that's not the only one I have...

SW99 fullsize .40 S&W (L) and compact 9mm (R)

I picked up the .40 nearly five years ago, not too long after I started getting back into the whole "gun thing". It was a perfect fit to my hand, and from the moment I picked it up I knew I had to bring it home... Turns out the full size was a little too big for concealed carry, so I picked up the smaller compact model in 9mm. I've had the 9mm for a little over 4 years, and in the time I've owned both guns I've put several thousand rounds through each. Both have run perfectly, digesting everything I've tossed through them from high-end Federal +P+s to 20 year old S&B range fodder.

This gun is a collaboration with Walther - Walther makes the polymer frames in Germany, Smith & Wesson makes the slides here in the states. The gun is a striker-fired double action semi-automatic, but it does have a decocker that allows for single-action shooting as well. The gun can be carried safely in double action model, but cocked with a slight draw of the slide to shoot in single-action mode if so desired. It's really a duty/fighting gun, so it's best to just live with the DA first shot and SA follow-ups IMHO.

I've been thinking of getting into some sort of action pistol discipline, and the full-size .40 S&W might be the go-to gun for that. I've got a good Galco pancake holster for leather and a Comp-Tac dual magazine carrier for gear. .40 S&W is more expensive than 9mm, but I'd rather shoot the full-size gun over the compact - at least for the first few outings, that is. All I've got to do is pick up a couple more S&W magazines, but those are relatively cheap these days - no one wants the neutered 10 rounders, so a lot of places have deep discounts even on factory mags.

Hey, we MAholes have to look on the bright side of living behind the Red curtain, right?

That is all.

Just When The Day Couldn't POSSIBLY Get Worse...

...I find out that the Neanderpundit is no more.

Fuck me.

Looks like I'm gonna have to ramp up the crapblogging to fill the (very large) hole in our collective blog experience...

That is all.

Random Riffs...

Hoo, boy, there's a lot of stupid out there today. Here are a bunch of stories that raised my blood pressure this morning:

Patrick considers higher fees for gas guzzlers

Governor Deval Patrick said today he is looking at a Hummer tax -- adding higher registration fees for gas-guzzling cars and offering discounts for those that do less harm to the environment. One industry opponent said it would be the first such fee in the nation on the state level.

The suggestion comes as Patrick prepares to unveil a fuller version of his much-awaited transportation plan on Friday. While he would not release details today, Patrick said at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce appearance that any gas tax increase would be coupled with a freeze on toll rates.

Let's think about this for a second, shall we? These "guzzlers" already use more gas than the average car, right? And gasoline has plenty of taxes levied against it as it is, right? And Deval's talking about a 29-cent increase in the gas tax as a way of shoring up state coffers, right? So isn't this plan just a double hit to those of us who drive larger vehicles?

And don't kid yourselves, folks. They pass this crap, it'll take about 3-4 months before any car larger than a MINI or SmartCar gets hit with this "fee". That part about not releasing details is a little frightening, too; especially in light of the 1,000+ page "stimulus" package proposed, voted on, and passed into law within the span of, what, two weeks? Apparently Cadillac Deval has learned from the master about ramming bad legislation through...

---

And to show that MA isn't the only New England state going batshit crazy, the last bastion of freedom here is giving up the ghost:

N.H. House backs seat belt law

CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire House on Wednesday approved a bill that would require all drivers and passengers to wear seat belts.

New Hampshire is the only state that does not require adults to wear seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Correction: Was.

Read the story. It's going to be a primary offense, meaning that the cops can pull you over simply for not wearing your seatbelt. That's not even how it is in the Volksrepublik - the officer has to have made the traffic stop on another violation to write a seat belt ticket. Now, I don't want to say this is all the fault of the newly minted NH democrats - oh, wait, yes I do - but buried in the story is the real reason for this last-in-the-nation change:

New Hampshire would receive $3.7 million in federal grants if it enacts a primary seat-belt enforcement law

Show me the money. Nice to see principles - Live Free or Die - go right out the fucking window when there's cash on the line. I can't really blame NH, really - everybody and their brother has their hand out these days, so why don't they get their piece of the action?

---

Lastly, this bullshit thoroughly and completely enrages me to the point of incoherence:

Holder: U.S. a 'nation of cowards' on race discussions

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a blunt assessment of race relations in the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday called the American people "essentially a nation of cowards" in failing to openly discuss the issue of race.

In his first major speech since being confirmed, the nation's first black attorney general told an overflow crowd celebrating Black History Month at the Justice Department the nation remains "voluntarily socially segregated."

Yeah. We really need to work on discussing race relations when we have Al Sharpton going balls-to-the-wall insane over a fucking cartoon, don't we? When the professional race hustlers stop crying racism over the most trivial of issues, then we can talk. Until then, do not lecture us on how we need to talk more about race. Until we can admit that racism exists on both sides of the issue, there's nothing to talk about.

---

Gah. Good thing I'm going to the range tomorrow...

That is all.

Fun With The Media...

Today's fun is going to consist of trying to pin down just what the media means when reporting on firearms. It's a herculean task, as the terms are nebulous and often used in a manner completely contradictory to reality. Below is my (quasi-) humorous attempt to decipher exactly what the media really means when they use a particular term with regards to firearms.

---

• Armor-piercing ammunition: Any round capable of penetrating tinfoil.
• Arsenal: A lot of guns. Can be as little as two or three, with no known upper limit.
• Assault weapon: Any firearm ever made, up to and including matchlocks.
• Background check: Absolute necessity that should ideally involve a body cavity search and complete psychological profile consisting of one question: Aren't you nuts for wanting a gun?
• Barrel shroud: That shoulder thing that goes up (I just HAD to get that one in!)
• Bullet: Cartridge. 99.9999% chance they do not mean the actual projectile.
• Cache: Usually less than arsenal, although the two are sometimes used interchangeably.
• Clip: Magazine. 99.9999% chance they do not mean a stripper, moon, or en bloc clip.
• Easily concealed: Any firearm smaller than a Yugo.
• Firepower: Any firearm of any kind. May even include air rifles, paintball markers, or Super Soakers.
• Fully automatic: Semi-automatic (99% of the time).
• Gun show loophole: Private sale of firearm.
• Gun trafficking: Ownership of a particular firearm changed hands. Potentially illegal, but not always a given.
• High capacity: Any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds. Sometimes 8 or 9.
• High-powered: Anything above .22LR.
• Illegal gun: Every firearm ever made. If we have our way.
• Machine gun: Semi-automatic (99% of the time).
• Military-style: Someone, somewhere heard from a friend that the weapon in question may have been based on a design that some country's military may have used at some point in the past. Or present.
• Semi-automatic revolver: We have no fucking clue what we're talking about, as the odds of us meaning the Mateba are about the same as us actually committing an act of journalism on the Light Bringer...
• Sniper rifle: Any rifle capable of firing a bullet more than 20 feet.
• "Straw man" purchase: Any purchase of a firearm. It just sounds scarier in quotes.
• Teflon bullets: See the start of Semi-automatic revolver; typically seen in op-eds and other scare pieces. Most often paired with "cop-killer" bullets, which we presume are more deadly than standard "human killer" bullets.
• Unregistered firearm: We are completely oblivious to the fact that the majority of states do not require that one submit a list of all the firearms one owns.

---

So, what terms have I missed?

That is all.

Apprehension...

Okay, so I go out and get the mail. There's a letter for me from the BATFE. Since I'm a C&R holder, this isn't as out-of-the-ordinary as it may seem. However, given the recent tenor of the new administation with regards to 2A issues, I was just a little apprehensive seeing the notice. As it turned out, it was simply this year's rules and regulations - only in CD form.

Any other C&R holders out there have a mild panic attack when seeing the letter from BATFE?

That is all...

Gunnie Bleg

Not for me this time but for my recent returning shooter. Jack sent me a quick e-mail asking my opinion of a couple of potential new firearms:

I have been looking at ads for 1911’s, what can you tell me about Kimber Crimson Carry 1911 and the XDM from Springfield Armory?

I know that Kimber and Springfield both make some mighty fine guns; however neither are on the MA Approved Firearms Roster {spit} so I don't have any personal experience with either. From what I've heard and read, there's very little chance you could go wrong with either offering; however I was wondering if anyone out there had any experience with either of these firearms?

Here are the guns in question:

Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry

Manufacturer's specs are here; here's a quick recap:

Weight: 25 ounces empty (about what my Glock G30 weighs; it's a decent weight, not too heavy for carry but not too light as to make recoil unmanageable)

Capacity: 7+1

Barrel: 3"

Sights: Low profile Novak, also Crimson Trace grips.

---

Springfield XDM (40 shown)

Manufacturer's specs here; breakdown as follows:

Weight: 32 ounces empty (9mm or .40)

Capacity: 19+1 (9mm); 16+1 (.40S&W)

Barrel: 4.5" (either)

Sights: 3-dot white sights

---

These are very different animals indeed. The Kimber is a devoted-carry 1911-style .45, whereas the XDM is a duty gun. The XDM is heavier and larger, meaning that carrying it concealed will be more problematic than the Kimber; the advantage of ammo capacity is all-but negated by the MA AWB - you're limited to 10 rounds in either caliber for the Springfield, as this is a new firearm and there are no pre-ban magazines available for it.

(Side note: Jack - did you perhaps mean something like the Springfield EMP? You mentioned 1911-style guns, is this the one you're thinking of?)

If ammo capacity is the deciding factor, a Glock 19/23 (9mm/.49 S&W mid-size) might be more the ticket. There are many pre-ban magazines available at reasonable prices; these guns have been in production for well over 20 years now so there's plenty of accessories available on the open market; and Glock has a pretty near bulletproof reputation (ha! get it? A gun pun!).

As for the Kimber, if you can get one, grab ahold of it - with the limited availability of these guns because of the insane MA laws, chances are good that you can sell it for at least what you paid at any point down the road. If you don't have a line on a Kimber, Smith & Wesson makes a similarly sized SW1911 that should be MA compliant (read: available) and on the market for considerably less than a used Kimber.

---

If anyone has any thoughts/experience with either of the two handguns Jack is interested in, we'd love to hear from you!

That is all.

Worth It...

It was worth baring my soul.

From the comments to my "True Confession Time" post, Dorothy in FL left the following comment:

I just wanted to let you know that your post helped out a new shooter. I have been shooting for about 4 months. I’ve been around shooters for about 15 years. I just got my first gun last December because of the election. Anyway, I was at our local gun range with my boyfriend when this couple walks in. The girl looks like she’s about to jump out of her skin. I went over and talked to them and found out it was her first time shooting and all that her boyfriend brought was a couple of 9mm automatics. I herded her over to where I was shooting and shared my little Ruger 22 with her. After a few rounds with that I loaded my Glock 17 with two rounds. I fired one so she would see what kind of bang it would make and then let her fire it herself. By the time my boyfriend and I were ready to leave she was back over with her man shooting his guns and looking much more comfortable. Thank you so much for all of your advice. It really made a difference.

People are going to wonder why I can't stop smiling today, but what the heck...

Thank you for your comment, Dorothy, but more importantly, thank you for stepping in to help that young woman. That's one of the things I really like about the shooting community - that willingness to help out a new shooter, to lend a hand (or a more-fitting firearm) to insure that a new shooter's first experience is fun, rather than frightening.

And now, a young woman who perhaps might have been put off from shooting entirely now has a completely different outlook on it. She would have otherwise just melt into the background, fidgeting and uncomfortable because guns are loud intimidating; instead, you took the time to cater to her, offering a better choice of first gun and some private tutoring.

Thanks, Dorothy. Thanks for leaving that comment. Thanks for helping that woman have a much better first time shooting. And finally, thanks for reading...

That is all.

Northeast Blogger Early Spring Meet...

As I mentioned in the first post about this meetup, the inimitable Ambulance Driver will be honoring us with his presence next month. He's going to be in the area Sunday, March 22nd and Monday, March 23rd, and has graciously consented to slum with us mere mortals. The plan as it currently stands is to get together at a restaurant/bar/brew pub on the evening of Sunday, March 22nd for dinner and drinks, then again at a range on Monday, March 23rd for a shooting event.

The general plan would be for the eating/drinking event to take place somewhere in the greater Boston area, and then for the shooting event to take place in northern MA/southern NH. This will (theoretically) allow for greater geographical diversity, meaning that those coming from the frozen NH north (cough, cough) will have an event close(r) to them, and those from the MA South Shore to have something down their way.

Bleg#1: What's a good place for a good-sized group of folks to get together in the metro-Boston area? I was thinking perhaps Boston Beer Works (the location off North Station), however if there's a Bruins or Celtics game that night it would be pretty crowded. The location should be fairly easy to find, have plenty of parking, and large enough to accommodate a group of 15 - 30 people in a private or semi-private area.

Bleg#2: Range event. My gun club only allows five guests at one time, so we'll need to find a larger range to sponsor us. I believe several members of Harvard Sportsman's have offered to host the event; for that we are very grateful (it's a great club; I only wish it were closer). Once we have a firm(er) number of attendees, we should be able to get something in motion for the club. Since the shooting event would be on a Monday, folks will need to make accommodations for work, etc., so please get a count together quickly.

However, New England in March, even later March, can be wildly unpredictable - I've woken up to 2' of snow on more than a couple occasions. In the possibility of inclement weather, we have several indoor ranges available - there's Bob's Tactical in Salisbury, MA (kind of small) or Manchester Firing Line in Manchester, NH (expensive, but they do rent machine guns...). I'd prefer to have the event at a gun club for greater flexibility WRT guns & ammo (most indoor ranges are limited to pistol-caliber arms); however if it's going to be snowing, pouring, or -10ºF that day, I'd rather we not subject our delicate flower of a guest to the worst of NE weather...

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In the comments to the first post, the following people have expressed interest in attending one or both events:

JD
MedicMatthew
Zeeke42
Andrew
Elizabeth
TOTWTYTR
Ross
Lissa
Weer'd Beard

Plenty of room for more attendees - sign up today!

That is all.

For Breda...

Given her admiration of and zest for bacon, I present the following: Mmmmm... Bacon!

Here's just how it starts:

To begin with, I cook with jalapenos and habaneros right smart too, and onions and garlic never do any damage to a recipe either. So… I coarse chopped three fat jalapenos, two habaneros and one medium 1015 (if you don’t know what that is, you’re a savage), and I minced a few garlic cloves. These I spread out on the sausage layer along with the cooked bacon.

I gained three pounds just reading that description. And felt my arteries harden...

That is all.

For Tam...

Who mentioned being dismayed whenever the news reports on an arsenal of guns seized from a home. Well, here's a story from Mass of all places that might be more what she's looking for...

Police Recover Second Weapons Cache In Auburn

AUBURN (AP) ― Investigators found 85 guns and 800 pounds of ammunition in an Auburn home.

Police say a 72-year-old Auburn man will face criminal charges after investigators found 85 guns and 800 pounds of ammunition in his home. Investigators zeroed in on Anthony Simulynas after a Worcester resident who was arrested for illegal possession of military-style explosives and assault weapons said he stole a powerful machine gun from the Auburn man.

Here's the picture from the link:

Not as impressive as some, but certainly better than the usual "arsenal" consisting of a pump shotgun, a tube-fed .22, and an old H&R .32 S&W...

That is all.

Unexpected Danger

There's apparently something new under the sun in the taxonomy of modern dangers: Chimpanzee attacks.

Woman's life in danger after chimp attack

(CNN) -- A woman has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after a pet chimpanzee attacked her at a friend's home in Stamford, Connecticut, police said.

Charla Nash, 55, had just arrived at her friend Sandra Herold's house when the chimp, named Travis, jumped on her and began biting and mauling her, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands, according to Stamford Police Capt. Rich Conklin, who said the attack was unprovoked.

Now, we here at MArooned wish the injured parties a speedy and full recovery, and are saddened at the destruction of the animal involved. However, we cannot help but think of the possible marketing tie-ins here:

That is all.

Respect for the Old Ways

I went to the range yesterday afternoon. It had been a while since I'd been shooting and even longer since I'd shot on the outside range. I brought three pistols with me for the day's shooting goodness, my SigSauer P226, my Glock G30, and my Colt Official Police .22LR. I wanted to do a little defensive practice with the G30 - as well as shoot a .45 of some sort, as it had been a while. I also had a bunch of Sig 15 round magazines that needed emptying - and what better way to empty a magazine than downrange?

I try to bring a .22 pistol with me every time I go to the range. It's cheap shootin' for starters - a $13 brick of copper-plated Federal bulk ammo will last several range sessions compared to the $10 box of 50 9mm rounds that's gone in three magazines in the Sig. It's good practice for double-action shooting - knowing there won't be a loud bang when the round touches off allows me to concentrate on smoothing my trigger pull. For that same reason, it's good for when I start flinching too much - switch to the .22, shoot a few cylinders' worth through it, and work through the flinch.

The Glock continues to surprise me. I shoot it fairly well, all things considered - it is a subcompact with barely enough room for two fingers on the grip and a short barrel. Even at that, it's good for COM work easy, and with a little concentration I can reliably hit a 3" stick-on target at 25' in a predictable manner. The Sig groups extremely well, a testament to the fine piece of engineering that it is; however I shoot it somewhat low most times. I think it might be time to benchrest it and see if it's the sights, or just me.

The Colt, though, is something else. It's got fixed sights: a simple rounded blade for a front sight - the only concession to target shooting being a small gold bead on the leading edge - and a simple groove carved in the top strap for a rear sight. But even with these simple sights, this revolver is frighteningly accurate. I was picking off parts of orange clays - which are 4" across when intact - at the 25 yard berm with minimal effort. Even shooting double action is easy, the traditional Colt lockwork operating perfectly after nearly 75 years (the serial number, which is BARELY 5 digits, dates the gun to 1935 for date of manufacture).

For some reason, this gun and I just mesh. Even though the grip isn't the most ergonomic and the sights are rudimentary, I can put all six shots in a tight group with alarming precision. I've tried to figure out why it's such a good fit for me, and as near as I can tell, it's got to be the Colt mystique... Maybe it's the age of the gun - maybe they were just made more accurate back then. Maybe I feel more at home shooting a wheelgun - for a long time, all I shot were revolvers, and seem to do better with a manually-advancing arm. Maybe it's the single-action trigger of the Colt - it's smooth, light, and breaks like a glass rod. Maybe it's the .22LR chambering - knowing that there won't be a loud BANG and snappy recoil means better concentration on the front sight.

In any case, this is the one gun that I can utterly rely on to shoot well. The S&W Model 17 is a close second - on a good day I can outshoot the Colt with the Smith. But for day-in, day-out shooting, for some reason this Colt just gets the job done. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I suspect that the craftsmanship of this fine old revolver, combined with my love of the wheelgun and the smooth shooting of the diminutive rimfire all contribute to the perfect storm of shootie goodness.

Plus there's a certain "old school" appeal to shooting a handgun made during the Great Depression...

That is all.

Even More "You Might Be A Gun Nut If"...

You might be a gun nut if you get a call from the NRA while you're cleaning your guns...

That is all.

How Can This Be?

Police say NH man hit woman with hammer

ROCHESTER, N.H.— Rochester, N.H., police are looking for a man who they say hit a woman in the head with a hammer.

The assault took place Sunday night and police said it left the woman bleeding from the head. Police are looking at 53-year-old Leo Gelinas of Rochester.

This happened in NH? Home of the Uzi-bearing trees, where guns just fall off the bush and lay around waiting for someone to bring them into MA? And all this dude could get his hands on was a claw hammer? (Side note: Does Caleb have an alibi?).

Obviously NH needs to enact Estwing control to go with the one-drink-an-hour law...

That is all.

Scrapin' Paint

British, French nuclear submarines 'collide'

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in an accident with a French submarine while on operations in the Atlantic Ocean, CNN has learned. Both vessels are understood to have been carrying nuclear warheads at the time and to have suffered damage.

There's no truth to the rumor that the French sailors were taunting the silly English kah-nig-its...

That is all.

Not What You'd Think...

Alternate title: Welcome to North Massachusetts...

NH's Liquor Enforcer Proposes 1-Drink-Per-Hour Law

MANCHESTER, N.H. (WBZ) ― There is a new bill proposed by New Hampshire's top liquor law enforcer that suggests a one-drink-per-hour limit at local restaurants and bars, according to a newspaper reports. SeacoastOnline.com reports the law is aimed at combating drunk driving.

State Liquor Law Enforcement Chief Eddie Edwards suggests that bar and restaurant owners would only serve one drink per hour, four at a sitting. According to the paper, Edwards defines one drink as an ounce of spirits, 5 ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer. "Here's the criteria - you can only consume so much alcohol," Edwards told the paper. "If I give you four, five drinks an hour, you should know that this makes someone intoxicated."

What did I say just yesterday? Oh, yeah, that the state views us as unruly children incapable of caring for ourselves that needed to be told what to do every moment of our day. And, less than 24 hours later, a gleaming example of this nanny-statism is dropped in our laps. In "Live Free or Die" New Hampshire, of all places. Guess they'd better think about changing that to "New Hampshire: You'll put your eye out" or "New Hampshire: Don't run with scissors" as the formerly free state looks ever more towards its neighbor to the south.

I'm waiting for (future) Congressman Bruce to introduce competing legislation mandating a swift kick in the 'nads to anyone introducing such vacuous and insipid regulations...

That is all.

Thought Question...

Now that Obama is flush with his "success" at ramming through the largest spending bill in US history, with concomitant fawning press, is he going to turn his gaze towards banning (certain) guns? With this spendulus bill he's come a hell of a lot closer to national health care than Bill Clinton ever came; isn't it conceivable that Obama would want to out-ban Bubba, too?

Especially considering the unholy shitstorm that's going to hit the fans around the country if President HopenChange's gasoline pissing unicorns don't show up post-haste to fuel everyone's car in this age of Socialism... They've already started downplaying the stimulus bill - it hasn't even been signed yet, and they're already hedging their bets. Any bets as to how many times Bush's name will come up when (not if) the stimulus fails to put the brakes on the failing economy?

I think I'm going to start a torch-and-pitchfork concession stand business - might be a money maker in coming days...

That is all.

Revelation...

My children are supposed to be cleaning their rooms this afternoon. Both of them have been coming to me the entire time, roughly 3-4 minutes apart, asking me what they need to do next. I have to break the task of "clean your room" into tiny manageable portions:

• Put your dirty laundry in the hamper
• Put your pillows & blankets back on your bed
• Throw out the trash
• Take the toys you got for your birthday/Xmas out of the bag you used to carry them up into your room and put them where they belong
• Oh, there's no room? Then pile up toys that you no longer play with so I can box them up and put them in the attic to be given to baby cousin later.

This has been going on most of the afternoon so far. They'll spend a couple of minutes "cleaning" (meaning hiding), then they'll come to me for more guidance.

"DA-DAHHHHH!"

"Yes [The Boy]?"

"I put all my clothes in my hamper. What do I do next?"

"Put away the new toys you got for your birthday."

[repeat ad infinitum]

---

Then it dawned on me. This is exactly how the government treats us: like children, who need (beg) to be told what to do every step of the way.

No one wants to take initiative or responsibility. We want to sit back, fat and happy in our rooms houses, and let the government tell us which toys to pick up next how to invest our retirement money. We can't - or won't - make the decisions we need to make to grow up into responsible adults.

And the worst part is, we're aiding and abetting this mindset seemingly every step of the way.

The media derided the Bush administration for coming into office with the mindset of "the adults are back in charge." They scoff, even now, at the button-down atmosphere of Bush & Co., preferring the laid back approach of Obama. It all fits together, the parent that desperately wants to be their child's friend.

But our kids don't need us to be their friends, they need us to be their parents.

And we don't need the government to be our friends, giving us everything we need to survive. What we need is a government that will, for the most part, leave us the hell alone. Sadly, enough of the American voting public wants a government that will pay our mortgage and fill our tanks with gas.

Without ever knowing or caring where the money is coming from to pay for the largess...

That is all.

Frustrating, To Say the Least...

I've been reading up on this so-called "stimulus", trying to articulate exactly what out of this monstrosity is the most offensive to a fiscal conservative point of view. It's a herculean task, as there's much in this bill to offend, well, anyone not feeding off the government teat (or deriving votes therefrom).

And the more I read into it, the more I just want to say "fuck it all" and go to the range.

That is all.

Overzealous...

Okay, so perhaps I overreacted in my "Touch of Grey" post...

Got a little trim-happy yesterday:

Heh.

That's what BabyGirl G calls "skin stripes". She saw me getting the clippers out (it was time for a trim of the ol' beard anyhoo), and asked if I was going to make "skin stripes" again (I did it for last year's King Richard's Faire).

Who am I to argue with daddy's little cutie on Valentine's Day?

That is all.

Eric Clapton, Look Out...

The Boy got "Guitar Hero III" for his birthday from one of his aunties. We've been playing it pretty much all afternoon and evening - so far, I'm the only one to make it all the way through a song without having the curtain fall.

Y'know, there's a certain... coolness about being able to totally kick your son's butt playing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"...

That is all.

My Influence Grows...

Went out for lunch yesterday with some friends. One's a buddy of mine who I've been friends with since high school, some 25 years now. The other friend I mentioned earlier, a high school friend who I recently got back in touch with.

Needless to say, with two gun nuts at the table, we started talking about firearms and such. Out of the blue, my long-time friend (who, BTW, is a staunch pacifist although not a leftist moonbat, he's just a real "turn the other cheek" sort) asks me,

"So, how hard is it to get my LTC?"

Not only that, but I was contacted by another friend about going shooting. She was impressed by my confession and wanted to go shooting for the first time. Looks like I'll be chalking up more new shooter in the coming months.

Makes the shitty week I had suddenly seem a lot better, I tell you what...

That is all.