- More range trips.
- More range trips with the younger set.
- Shoot more matches. I’d like to do a Steel Challenge match using the .22LR guns I have; another USPSA match would be fun, too.
- Go to a Project Appleseed shoot. They were doing shoots in Smithville late in 2011; that would have been an easy drive, but I couldn’t make their schedule work with my academic schedule. I’m hoping for another shoot somewhere close this year.
- Take at least one of the younger set with me to Project Appleseed (subject to parental permission).
- Get some nice gun leather. I’d like to get a good gun belt to start with. After that, I’m thinking something that will fit the Single Six and possibly the New Frontier: I wonder if I can use the same leather for both. (Galco has a holster for the Single Six, but does not list one for the New Frontier.) I’d also like to get a holster that will fit my S&W Model 29 and Model 25, which I think should be feasible; they’re both 6″ N-frame guns. As for sources, there was a guy in Wimberly but he’s apparently closed. I think there’s another guy in Lockhart, but I need to check on that. And I really want to order a 1911 holster from Dragon Leatherworks, too. I’ve heard Dennis on Vicious Circle, and he seems like a really nice guy. Plus every single review I’ve read of his work has been more than positive; try “ecstatic”.
- Do more research on gun leather before I buy anything. For example, when Skeeter Skelton talks about the “classic Tom Threepersons design“, it sounds cool. But what exactly does that mean, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of that over something like the “Austin” holster? (You know what I really need? “Gun Leather De-Mystified”. Or maybe “Gun Leather for the Complete Idiot”.)
- Get good optics on the Bushmaster and the M&P15-22.
- Get more magazines (including a drum) for the Thompson. If I can find a deal on vintage Thompson magazines, I do have a Dremel tool…
- Build out that AR lower that’s sitting in the gun cabinet.
- Figure out a way to discretely keep the Marlin 336 in my car during the work day. Tinted windows combined with a case, maybe?
- Either get one of the Ruger Scout Rifles (if I can find a deal), or do something about building one of the other .308 bolt actions out into a scout rifle.
Archive for December, 2011
New Year’s Resolutions 2012.
Saturday, December 31st, 2011A grand day out.
Friday, December 30th, 2011If you’ve got a week off, and you live in a relatively free state, why not schedule a range day?
And if you’re doing that, why not bring the middle nephew:
especially since he got a pair of Say Uncle endorsed active muffs for Christmas?
(I wanted to bring the two older boys, too, but for logistical and other reasons I wasn’t able to make that work.)
So we went out to Best of the West in Liberty Hill. I had not shot there before (though I’d been there once for LaRue’s Range Day). I was actually pretty happy with the range; everyone we dealt with was polite and friendly, and we managed to get an entire 50 yard bay to ourselves. (I only felt like we needed 50 yards, since all I brought with me was .22LR stuff for the novice shooter.)
One. Million. Dollars.
Thursday, December 29th, 2011That’s what the District of Columbia owes Richard Heller and his attorneys, including Alan Gura, in legal fees over District of Columbia v. Heller.
Actually, the figure is $1,137,072.27. The Honorable Mr. Gura and the other members of the legal team were asking for $3.1 million, while the city was arguing for $840,000.
Brain buckets.
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011I mentioned this in passing in this week’s TMQ thread, but for all of those who don’t read it: my sister has a new post up at the Park City Snowmamas site.
Of course, that’s just my paraphrase of what she’s actually saying. My sister never uses the word “f–k” in conversation. Except for maybe when one of her boys tries to sneak a box of Pop-Tarts or a case of Monster energy drink into the house….
TMQ watch: December 27, 2011.
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011We might as well get down to it. This week: the 2011 TMQ All-Unwanted All-Pros. After the jump…
Obit watch: December 28, 2011.
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011Don’t we all pretty much want to live our lives like that? Doesn’t that explain the appeal of “House”?
Edited to add: The Cheetah that died may not have been the real Cheetah.
Legal note.
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011The University of California and Dr. Patrick Harran, a chemistry professor at UCLA, have been charged with three felony counts of “willfully violating occupational health and safety standards”. Yes, you read that right: the University itself is being charged with felonies.
The charges stem from the death of Sheri Sangji in December of 2008. Ms. Sangji was employed in Dr. Harran’s lab:
She died 18 days after the incident.
I’m kind of hoping Derek Lowe will have some comment on this, and I’m willing to listen to arguments on the subject. My gut feeling is that the felony indictments are appropriate: Ms. Sangji should not have been working without a flame-resistant lab coat, and it isn’t clear to me that she was provided with appropriate equipment, training, or supervision. This is what trials are for, of course, and details may come out during the trial that will change my mind. But:
But the required corrective actions were not taken before the fatal fire, the records showed.
Edited to add: Many thanks to Chemjobber both for pointing us to Derek Lowe’s commentary, and for providing a link to an article from Chemical and Engineering News summarizing the incident in more detail.
Also, thanks to Lawrence for a somewhat related link, which we had missed: the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board report on the Texas Tech lab explosion in January of 2010. I swear that I covered the explosion at the time, or shortly afterwards, but I can’t find the link now. In any case, the report is pretty much what you’d expect: “the physical hazard risks inherent in the research were not effectively assessed, planned for, or mitigated; the university lacked safety management accountability and oversight; and previous incidents with preventative lessons were not documented, tracked, and formally communicated”.
(Short summary: the lab was working on a government project involving detection of explosives. Part of their work involved making something called nickel hydrazine perchlorate, which goes bang rather easily. The lab had been making small amounts (100 milligrams) but the students involved in the production of NHP that day decided, for various reasons, to scale things up and produce about 10 grams. The NHP went bang while one of the students was trying to break up “clumps” in a mortar and pestle.)
The Old Bag.
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011Back many thousands of years ago, when I was just a wee lad shooting photos with a Pentax K1000 and reading Popular Photography (rest in peace, Herbert Keppler), I kept hoping that PP would do an article or a series of articles or a column or something on “what’s in your camera bag”; basically, I wanted to know what real pros like Walter Iooss Jr. (warning: some photos, especially one in particular, may not be safe for work) and Eddie Adams took with them when they went on the road. I had ideas about being a professional journalist, one who not only did his own writing but also took his own photos.
Getting to the point, this piece at PetaPixel, showing what Umit Bektas packed in his camera bag for his stint embedded with a US military unit in Afghanistan, made my day today. That, in turn, links to a first hand account by Bektas for the Reuters Photography Blog, which goes into a little more detail and has some amazing photos. (Not of battle. You’ll know the ones I’m talking about when you see them. My God, look at that sky.)
My one gripe about these articles is that I’d appreciate some annotation. It looks like his backup laptop is an eeePC (a fine choice indeed), but I’m curious about what his primary one is. I can’t tell what his cameras are, either; the logo kind of looks like Canon, but again, I find it hard to be sure. I’m glad to see that he packed a GoPro (also the official choice of the Park City Snowmamas). And I had to look up “Bgan” and “Thuraya“.
But I still think this is pretty interesting, as is “A Glimpse Inside the Camera Bag of a Newspaper Feature Photographer“. More like these, please.
(Hattip: his Jim-ness on the Twitter for the initial link, and PetaPixel for the ones after that.)
(And of course, the most important thing about photography, war or otherwise, is: have a camera with you. I was so wrapped up in getting Christmas presents together on Saturday that I completely forgot to bring my camera gear, which ticked me off. I ended up having to resort to the Evo camera for photo purposes. Granted, between my sister and mother it wasn’t like we didn’t have multi-camera capability, including the ability to deploy a digital SLR if we needed it, but I was still ticked at myself.)
Administrative note.
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011I’m taking this entire week off of work, and using the time either to do stuff I’ve been wanting to do, hang out with family, or both. (If the weather holds up, we may try for a range trip this week.)
In the meantime, blogging is sort of on the back burner. There will be a TMQ Watch this week, but it may not go up until later this evening.
Side note: Apparently, I have been designated the “coolest uncle ever” on Facebook (I am unable to verify this for myself, since I don’t do Facebook) because I got this one:
one of these:
for Christmas. (At least, I think it was one of those: it was an H&K folder that McBride’s had on sale, cheap, but I didn’t make a note of the exact model. I know it was one that had the tanto point. If he still has the box, I’ll get the exact model later.)
Someone is about to start a new chapter in their life.
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011Chapter 7, that is.
There’s a rapper who calls himself “Young Buck” (real name David Darnell Brown). He owes money to people. People like the IRS. People like his baby mama. And people like 50 Cent and the G-Unit record label; according to the LAT, he owes them “more than $10 million”.
“Young Buck” originally filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, which, as you know Bob, allows one to reorganize their debts. But now the Chapter 11 has been turned into a Chapter 7, aka “total liquidation”.
The fun part? The name “Young Buck” (which is also trademarked) is an asset that will be sold off in the liquidation.
A couple of notes:
- How did he get that far in debt to G-Unit Records? According to the LAT, there’s some sort of contract dispute involved, but I’d really like to know more about what’s going on here. In a way, it is kind of reminiscent of Steve Wyrick: how do you get that far in the hole before someone pulls the trigger?
- Can we all agree that the phrase “peep the mad flow” does not belong anywhere in an article on a major daily newspaper’s website (except maybe as a direct quotation, in quotation marks)?
The street finds its own uses for things.
Monday, December 26th, 2011Things that say “Christmas” (part 1 of an ongoing series).
Monday, December 26th, 2011
Lord of the Rings PEZ dispensers
More Christmas related stuff later, maybe.
NFS: Not For Storage
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011The Unix-Haters Handbook (which I am proud to say I own a physical copy of) is now available for free download.
(Hattip: Unix tool tip.)
Is this a dagger that I see before me?
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011I’m linking to the HouChron and not the WP because the HouChron story contains an illustration of the daggers and the book. (“Chapter 2: Ninja Equipment”?)
Or, as we in the civilized world call it, “six inches”. About the length of a ballpoint pen.
The awesome power of the Internet.
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011I went over to ask a cow orker a question, and he had this up on his monitor. And I said “What?!”
List of animals with fraudulent diplomas.
So it isn’t quite “A Short, Incomplete, and Somewhat Random List of People Who Have Had Their Heads Impaled on a Spike on London Bridge“, but still fun.
But hey! At least the trains ran on time!
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011(By way of Balko, who calls this “The most vile thing you’ll read today.” It is still early, but we feel that we’re going to have a hard time arguing with that.)
(And by the way, the whole “trains ran on time” thing? Not so much.)
Important medical news.
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011This is why I only use single-malt scotch in my Neti pot. (Mixing it with Mountain Dew is optional.)
The OSU Sanction.
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011(I really liked The Eiger Sanction
(And I’m more than a little surprised that there’s been no FARK link yet.)
Quote of the day.
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011Indeed. In our studies of the history of technology, we have found that much scientific and technical advancement is motivated by that same principle.
Grand juries gone wild! On the next TMZ!
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011We have previously covered the grand jury investigation into the Harris County DA’s Office. We have not posted on this in a while, mostly because up until the past few days, there was not much going on.
The latest development is that prosecutor Rachel Palmer was summoned to appear before the grand jury and refused to answer questions.
This Lisa Falkenberg column contains a good summary of the most recent developments. And The Hon. Murray Newman is still all over this as well.
By way of Jay G.
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011Our first thought was “Dead rats? Not dead gophers?”
Our second thought was, “Is the gopher even indigenous to Massachusetts?”
On the first day of Christmas, the TSA gave to me…
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011So. Many. Jokes. So. Little. Time.
Edited to add: You know, I think I’m going to crowdsource this. Can you, my faithful and cheerful readers, come up with appropriate lyrics for TSA Christmas Carols? Leave them in comments. Just to make this fun, best lyrics submitted before December 31st (as determined by a committee consisting of myself, Lawrence, and Mike the Musicologist, pending the agreement of the latter two) wins a crappy prize, probably something I have duplicates of.
Edited to add 2: It doesn’t have to be set to “The 12 Days Of Christmas”, by the way. You can use any Christmas tune, up to and including “Fairytale of New York“. But unless you think we’ll immediately recognize the tune from your lyrics, please do make a note of it in the comments.
TMQ watch: December 20, 2011.
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011Oh, look! TMQ got us a Christmas present. To quote John Gruber (who is actually quoting Norm MacDonald): “Happy birthday, Jesus. Hope you like crap.”
After the jump, what we’ve been dreading all year…
Ah. Memories.
Monday, December 19th, 2011Remember Randy Adams?
Sure you do. Randy “Hire me to be police chief of Bell and approve my disability retirement at the same time” Adams. Yeah, that one.
It seems that the judge in the case of the “Bell 8” is wondering why Mr. Adams is not on trial.
The DA’s answer to that question is: we didn’t have enough evidence for an indictment. However, the city’s dealings with Adams are part of the charges against Robert “Ratso” Rizzo and Angela Spaccia. Not that there’s anything wrong with the DA picking the cases he feels like he can get indictments on. Just interesting that the judge is asking questions.
Obit watch: December 19, 2011.
Monday, December 19th, 2011Kim Jong Il, for the record.
All of the obvious jokes have been made (“Kim Jong Il downgraded to Kim Jong Dead.”) and I’m leaving the geopolitics to other, more knowledgeable people.