Archive for February 19th, 2024

Today is Presidents’ Day. How about some gun book crankery?

Monday, February 19th, 2024

I recall reading somewhere (I think in Mr. Gatling’s Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It) that Lincoln was a big gun guy. If any inventor showed up at the White House with a new or improved weapon design, they were pretty much guaranteed an audience with Abe.

How much of that was desperation to win the war, and how much of it was a fascination with guns and the mechanics of machines, I have no idea.

Short shameful confession: it has been a while since I field stripped a 1911 pattern pistol.

I wanted to break down and lube one of my Commander length guns (using the lubrication suggestions from Bill Wilson’s Gun Guy, and also his lube). I had forgotten what a complete and utter (word that rhymes with “witch”) it is to get the slide stop pin through both the frame and the barrel link. Every time, the link got pushed backwards and into a position where I couldn’t get the stop into place.

I finally got it, but it took me probably 45 minutes. Maybe I need more practice. Good thing I have three more 1911s that need the same treatment. And plenty of Wilson lube left…

After the jump, a few gun books for the discerning eyes of my readers.

(more…)

Posted in 1911, Books, Guns, History, Hoplobibilophilia | No Comments »

Net loss.

Monday, February 19th, 2024

Jacque Vaughn out as coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

The team is 21-33 this season, and lost their last game before the break to Boston by 50 points. Vaughn was 71-68 in “two plus” seasons, and 0-8 in the playoffs.

In not exactly firings related news that I don’t have another place to put, I didn’t pay a darn bit of attention to the All Star game, but I did read the stories this morning.

The Eastern Conference won, 211-186. Yes, one team scored over 200 points. Yes, Adam Silver is peeved.

“And to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points,” Silver said flatly. “Well … congratulations.”

And the players still aren’t taking it seriously.

Instead, it was another game with virtually no defense and with little to no life inside the building — to the point that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis said his most memorable moment was when the hype teams from the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers went through their dunk routines between the third and fourth quarters.
“I think the best [moment], we were talking about it, was the Bulls and the Pacers dunkers,” Davis said. “With the trampoline? They were very, very impressive.”

…

Then there was Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who admitted he wasn’t interested in playing all that hard in an All-Star Game, period.
“For me, it’s an All-Star Game, so I will never look at it as being super competitive,” he said. “It’s always fun. I don’t know what they can do to make it more competitive. I don’t know. I think everyone looks at it … it’s a break, so I don’t think everyone wants to come here and compete.

I actually have a three part proposal for improving the All Star game:

1. Eliminate the All Star Game.
2. Shut down the NBA.
3. Profit.

Alternative proposal: no rules, no penalties, no substitutions, and the teams play until only one man is left standing.

Posted in Firings, Sports | No Comments »