Tues. Jun. 7, 2022 – no snappy title

Hot and humid.  Maybe a breeze, probably sun.   Got over 98F in my yard yesterday.  I know because I was out in it cutting the grass.   Poor planning on my part, but it needed to be done, and that’s when I had time to do it.   Made it in record time and it looks like it…  Today will be the same in all likelihood.  It was 78F when I went to bed, and the same when I woke up.

I’ve got several pickups of BOL and home stuff, and a couple of smalls for resale.   I’m hoping to pay for the rest with those items.  All part of the neverending list of stuff needed to furnish another home, especially when some of the stuff is duplicating preps.

The world continues on its way down.  Gas prices continue to rise.  Stuff continues to not show up in the stores…

WRT Russia and the Ukraine, well, the food they’d export is not being exported this year, and the food for next year didn’t get in the ground.   That shortage is now “baked in”.  It’s gonna happen, is happening.   Riots in Pakistan over food price increases have already started.   Lots of people in lots of places are going to be lots of hungry.   And angry.  And desperate.  Some of those places are even going to be here.   Tyrants have always used food as a weapon.  Take the steps you need to take to keep you and yours in groceries.

Some good discussion in yesterday’s comments.   Some more in today’s comments if I get to it…

Stack it up.  The life you save may be your own.

n

65 Comments and discussion on "Tues. Jun. 7, 2022 – no snappy title"

  1. Greg Norton says:

    “Climate Madness: Prince Charles Backs Face Masks For Cows In Bid To Tackle Climate Change”

    You have got to be kidding me.  

    The one person on the planet with a worse case of Mommy and Daddy issues than Gates.

  2. Greg Norton says:

    The “Windy” site https://www.windy.com is great to look at all things weather related, including sea temps (and rain and lightening and lots more). There is also a Windy app.

    I look at SpaghettiModels.com about once a week out of habit. I learned about the site from the weather geeks at the Faux News Station in Tampa during the bad storm season in 2004.

    I don’t miss having to sweat hurricanes.

  3. MrAtoz says:

    plugs, not content poking Russia and China:

    “Forceful response:” U.S. threatens North Korea over nuclear test
     

    All we hear about is how plugs is the master of foreign relations. All he does is fcuk stuff up. tRump isn’t a politician, had zero experience, and was a 100 times better.

    5
    1
  4. Alan says:

    >> I don’t miss having to sweat hurricanes.

    +1000

    Being personally impacted by Irma was the proverbial straw that eventually got us out of Tampa here to the desert. 

  5. Greg Norton says:

    Being personally impacted by Irma was the proverbial straw that eventually got us out of Tampa here to the desert. 

    Tampa hasn’t seen a real storm in 60 years and was on the “dry” side of Irma. 

    And anyone who lives in Florida and believes their property insurance carrier is solvent is dreaming.

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    86F and 71%RH this sunny day…

    Coffee is ready.   I’m not.

    Still gotta get busy.

    n

  7. SteveF says:

    ‘They planted explosives throughout the fields,’ he said.

    Just as surely as Saddam’s soldiers were bayonetting babies in Kuwaiti maternity wards.

  8. Rick H says:

    You might have noticed a bit faster page load speed here. The folks at DreamHost support moved the SQL server for these sites to a different location. This happened about 10pm PDT last night.

    DreamHost support says that the site server and data server were in different data centers – in their “US East” and “US West” data centers. This was probably caused by the move of the site server a couple weekends ago. That move got rid of most of the very slow responses on the host that were unrelated to the database queries that happen on every page load.

    Now, the site and SQL servers are in the same data center (“US West”), and the SQL server is apparently more “optimal” server.

    So, data queries that used to take 9-12 seconds or more, now take under 2-3 seconds. Much faster and the expected response time for a site, even one like this with a large comment database.

    10
  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    ‘They planted explosives throughout the fields,’ he said.

    mayhaps they were hoping for a bumper crop in the spring?

    – that definitely rang false to me, Putin wants the food, he wouldn’t destroy the growing areas.

    n

  10. lynn says:

    Arlo And Janis: Online Shopping Is Dicey

        https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2022/06/07

    So true, even with Amazon, I do not always get what I expected.

  11. lynn says:

    Look like the demand in ERCOT is going to hit 74,000 MW today.  The peak all time demand is 74,820 MW on Aug 12, 2019.  The cost is already running $100 / MWH.

        https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards

  12. Alan says:

    >> Tampa hasn’t seen a real storm in 60 years and was on the “dry” side of Irma. 

    And anyone who lives in Florida and believes their property insurance carrier is solvent is dreaming.

    Glad we weren’t on the “wet” side. They just keep building and building on both coasts of South Florida, seemingly oblivious to what will come eventually. Miami just got a taste from Tropical Storm Alex this past weekend.

    We were insured by one of the Citizens spin-offs and got paid quickly and fairly.

    ADDED: three seconds to add this comment – finally back to “normal!”

  13. Greg Norton says:

    We were insured by one of the Citizens spin-off and got paid quickly and fairly.

    Citizens is the only one which isn’t insolvent since it is essentially the state government, but you will pay big money.

    I wasn’t around with the spinoffs started. My last quote for Citizens in 2011 was $5000, but our realtwhore sold the house and we closed right before the end of 2010.

  14. lynn says:

    – that definitely rang false to me, Putin wants the food, he wouldn’t destroy the growing areas.

    Putin is a pretty smart guy, he knows the old adage “Civilization is just three meals away from anarchy”.

  15. Alan says:

    >> DreamHost support says that the site server and data server were in different data centers – in their “US East” and “US West” data centers. 

    Resiliency planning, huh. Calls for a bigger, faster pipe.

    Thanks @Rick H for the perseverance to finally get to the root cause.

  16. lynn says:

    “Triple digit heat likely for much of Houston later this week as ridge strengthens”

        https://spacecityweather.com/triple-digit-heat-likely-for-much-of-houston-later-this-week-as-ridge-strengthens/

    It is freaking hot out there.  I just watched the dumpster truck dump our two dumpsters, the six cubic yard and the eight cubic yard.  I was in my truck with the a/c blowing max and recirc on.

  17. lynn says:

    “Biden invokes Defense Production Act to boost domestic manufacturing in clean energy, grid sectors”

         https://www.utilitydive.com/news/biden-defense-production-act-solar-pumps-hydrogen-doe-dpa/625011/

    “The U.S. Department of Energy aims to build up domestic production of solar panels, electric transformers, heat pumps, insulation and hydrogen-related equipment under the Defense Production Act, or DPA, determinations issued Monday by the White House.”

    More wasted money by the USA.  And as Kim Dotcom wrote yesterday, the USA is broke, broke, broke.

        https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1533524778610348032

  18. paul says:

    We have tree trimmers today.  This is their second day and I’m pretty sure it’s not their last day.  We had a bit of rain and a branch that would make a decent tree all by itself broke off the big elm tree.  If it had just been in the bird pen… but no, across fences.  Crawling under to feed the bird wasn’t fun.  That’s gone.  Most of the rest of the tree is gone, too.  The dead and starting to lean post oak it gone.  It was hollow.  The dead pear tree is gone.  The hackberry by the back door is pruned well above the roof.  Same for the red oak on the other side of the house.  Today they are clearing out the brushy stuff and trimming hard the live oaks hanging near and over the power drop.

    One of the crew asked yesterday if he could have the tree stumps next to the patio.  Sure!  Take all of the tree stumps you want!  (psst, there’s a couple more over there.)  I want to watch.  They are live oak stumps dead ten plus years ago from oak wilt.   The small stump is about 18″ across and knee high.  The other is pushing two feet across.

    I need to check on the bird.  She seemed fine yesterday and was hiding in the back of her pen.  In the shade, it hit 104F.  I haven’t seen her today.  Just 97F so far.  A nice breeze helps a lot.  Not a cloud in the sky. 

  19. paul says:

    Resiliency planning,

    That’s what they called it when they opened the East data center.  If I remember correctly, the plan was to mirror almost everything.

    They moved my site east about 15 years ago.  I’m good with having earthquake protection.  

  20. Ray Thompson says:

    Resiliency planning, huh. Calls for a bigger, faster pipe.

    At one time my site was being hosted in Italy. A traceroute went through Knoxville, Altanta, Chicago, Frankfurt, then Italy with several hops in each city. I asked the hosting company if they could move it closer to the USA, such as actually in the USA. They did but it took a month. Last I checked it was still in the USA but takes about 15 hops around the country. Speed seems OK for what I need, which is minimal.

  21. Jenny says:

    @paul

    They are live oak stumps dead ten plus years ago from oak wilt

    Favorite childhood book was “My Side of the Mountain”.  I was fascinated when the boy used an oak stump for the tannin and as a bowl to tan his deer hide. I tan hides with salt / alum. Easy, good enough, not noxious, ingredients cheap and at grocery store. 
    I’d like to do an acid tan. Someday. 
     

    Glad the bird was ok. Glad you got the mess out of the way do you only had to engage in gymnastics once. 
     

    So far so good with the recently treated rained on too soon deck. Crossing fingers mfg cautions are extra cautious and that the rain won‘t ruin my efforts. 

  22. lpdbw says:

    I tried to replace a bathroom faucet Sunday and only got as far as trying to turn the water off.

    30 year old suburban Houston plumbing.  All I managed to do was create a leak from the corroded shut-off valve.

    So I called a plumber and he’s here now.  Over an hour and he’s not quite done.  He couldn’t get one of the old shut-off valves off and had to cut the pipe and solder an adaptor on.  He tried brute force, then heat from a torch before he gave up and cut it.

    He’s not really a happy camper.  

    I hate those old fashioned valves.  The quarter turn replacements are so much better.

  23. paul says:

    The quarter turn replacements are so much better.

    They seem to be.  So far.  I need to get the kitchen sink done.  Having a water softener helps.  And  so what if the new unit cost almost $700?  If it lasts 15 years, I figure my 80 year old butt can replace it.  And salt use is about a bag a month at (now) $6.50 per?  

    It’s nice that the shower and sinks and the various faucets don’t lime up any more.  It’s even nicer not needing to scrape the waterline in the toilets with a single edge razor blade.

  24. lynn says:

    I need to check on the bird.  She seemed fine yesterday and was hiding in the back of her pen.  In the shade, it hit 104F.  I haven’t seen her today.  Just 97F so far.  A nice breeze helps a lot.  Not a cloud in the sky. 

    How old is the emu now ?

  25. paul says:

    I bought a light switch for my old fridge from, of all places, Walmart.com.  Best price. 

    They should have sent a #18806 part.  I received a #16806 part.  Easy mistake if in a hurry and the font on the package could be better.  Yeah, it’s a switch, but for a Maytag dryer door. 

    I hit their site, submitted the contact form and half an hour later got a “sorry for the error” e-mail and then a tracking number.  That’s pretty cool.  I’ll get the wrong part in the mail sometime this week.  I’m not making a special trip to town. 

    I checked on the bird.  She’s not a fan of chainsaws and wood chippers.  She was in the far back of her pen where it’s shady.  I rattled the feed bucket and she followed me almost to the feeder.  She’s not a pet, never has been.  Some emu are like that.  Some emu will walk up and use your shoulder as a headrest.  She knows who feeds her and she’s cool if the dogs follow me into the pen.  That works for me.

  26. lynn says:

    I hate those old fashioned valves.  The quarter turn replacements are so much better.

    Plus they are compression fittings.  My plumber buddy refuses to sweat anything inside a house now, I am guessing that he set a house on fire early in his career. Some things you just don’t ask.

  27. paul says:

    How old is the emu now ?

    Best as I can figure, since I can’t get close enough to scan for a chip, she was hatched in 1993 or 1994.  Call it 28 years.  

    If she’s laid an egg in the last five years, the coons are faster than me.  

  28. Kenneth C Mitchell says:

    We had a real-world test of our generator today. The power went out a little after 1 PM, and the generator started right up. For some reason, my UPS didn’t pick up the load, so I need to figure out what THAT means.  I was calling CPS Energy, our electric service, when I got an automated call from them telling me that the power was out, and they estimated 90 minutes to restore service.

    Power came back up, and my generator shut itself down, about 20 minutes later.

  29. lynn says:

    “EIA: Global oil production returns to within 1% of pre-pandemic levels”

        https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/economics-markets/article/14277770/eia-global-oil-production-returns-to-within-1-of-its-prepandemic-level

    “Although crude oil prices remain high because of low oil inventories and significant geopolitical uncertainty, EIA estimates world production of petroleum and other liquids averaged 99.5 million b/d in May, within 1% of pre-pandemic levels.”

    Folks, that is a lot of crude oil.  B/d is barrels/day.  A barrel is 42 gallons.  So, 99.5 million b/d is 4.2 billion gallons/day of crude oil.  The world is humming along.  Pandemic, what pandemic ?

    “In its June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA estimates that US production of crude oil and other liquids averaged 19.9 million b/d in May, which was within 3% of January 2020’s record high production of 20.5 million b/d.”

    And WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures closed today at $119.95/bbl.  And natural gas is at $9.39/mmbtu (tripled since Joe took the office he stole).

  30. lynn says:

    “Pregnant Woman Used AR-15 to Drop Armed Robber Attacking Her 11-Year-Old Daughter”

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/pregnant-woman-used-ar-15-drop-armed-robber-attacking-11-year-old-daughter/

    I think that pregnant women should be able to get the three shot burst version of the AR-15.  You know, for the one or two extra humans that she is carrying.

    And yes, there is no such thing as a pregnant man.

  31. drwilliams says:

    “Pregnant Woman Used AR-15 to Drop Armed Robber Attacking Her 11-Year-Old Daughter”

    The perfect response for the next time some stupid flocker asks:

    ”Why do you need an AR-15 anyway?”

  32. Rick H says:

    “Pregnant Woman Used AR-15 to Drop Armed Robber Attacking Her 11-Year-Old Daughter”

    Wouldn’t a 9mm handgun accomplished the same result as the AR-15?  (Assuming the same availability of the 9mm in the house.)

    (Asking as a non-gun owner – hoping for reasoned responses, not a knee-jerk response.)

    And, according to my quick read ( I may have missed something, or the details in the references article weren’t clear), the assailant was shot running away, which diminishes the ‘protect the castle’ defense.

  33. Greg Norton says:

    I think that pregnant women should be able to get the three shot burst version of the AR-15.  You know, for the one or two extra humans that she is carrying.

    Hit a gun show in Miami.

  34. lynn says:

    Wouldn’t a 9mm handgun accomplished the same result as the AR-15?  (Assuming the same availability of the 9mm in the house.)

    (Asking as a non-gun owner – hoping for reasoned responses, not a knee-jerk response.)

    And, according to my quick read ( I may have missed something, or the details in the references article weren’t clear), the assailant was shot running away, which diminishes the ‘protect the castle’ defense.

    The AR-15 is easier to shoot than a 9mm handgun and way more accurate.  If, you have the room to shoot the rifle.

    My reading says that she shot the assailant in the living room with the AR-15 and he staggered away, dying 200 ft away in the ditch in front of the house.

    The comments says that the husband may have dealt weed on the side.  Sounds like two of his customers decided to rob him and were kidnapping the daughter when the mother came out of the back room with the AR-15.

  35. lynn says:

    “Converting between Windows FILETIME and Unix time_t without having to type the magic number 116444736000000000” by Raymond Chen

        https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20220602-00/?p=106706

    I am so glad there are people like Raymond Chen.  Because there is no way that I can remember the number 116444736000000000.

  36. Greg Norton says:

    And, according to my quick read ( I may have missed something, or the details in the references article weren’t clear), the assailant was shot running away, which diminishes the ‘protect the castle’ defense.

    Lithia, FL. The Hillsborough State Attorney isn’t going to seek an indictment.

  37. Greg Norton says:

    “Converting between Windows FILETIME and Unix time_t without having to type the magic number 116444736000000000” by Raymond Chen

    I am so glad there are people like Raymond Chen.  Because there is no way that I can remember the number 116444736000000000.

    The conversion may also be in Boost.

    Go back 10 years, and Microsoft was serious about WinRT being the future to the point that I was the only Unix developer in the C++ certificate program at UW that year. Everyone else was told to get up to speed on C++ or get out. C# was going to be a second class citizen.

    Sadly, when Windows 8 tanked the stock, Ballmer lost his nerve. Still, a lot of code got written and stuck around.

    Microsoft would have been a *lot* more dangerous split into two separate entities under the consent decree, with OS and Visual Studio at Campus 2.0 on the Issaquah Plateau. From what I understand, that group drove WinRT.

  38. SteveF says:

    And WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures closed today at $119.95/bbl.  And natural gas is at $9.39/mmbtu (tripled since Joe took the office he stole).

    Democrats are driving the country like they stole it.

    the assailant was shot running away

    A bullet entering more-or-less from the rear doesn’t mean much. It takes a fraction of a second to turn the torso, less time than it takes for a shooter to see him turning to run, process that sight, and countermand the “pull trigger finger” order given half a second before. That’s without adrenaline messing with one’s brain, which I assume was present here, and even without the shooter having to weigh the pros and cons of shooting a turning-away perp, which was probably also present.

  39. drwilliams says:

    @RickH

    Wouldn’t a 9mm handgun accomplished the same result as the AR-15?  (Assuming the same availability of the 9mm in the house.)

    (Asking as a non-gun owner – hoping for reasoned responses, not a knee-jerk response.)

    Lot’s of factors could come into it, Rick. What it boils down to is using the weapon that you’ve trained and are comfortable with.

    One factor that may be pertinent to this particular situation is that many women (the real XX chromosome type) find it difficult to rack the slide of a 9mm semi-automatic pistol:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwF7-kcW62M

    The general principle is that in an emergency you deploy with your best weapon:

    Rifle>Handgun>Knife

    so even if a handgun were available, the rifle gets the nod.

    If none of the above are available, a strong wrist and a twist can deliver lethal results with a #2 Dixon Ticonderoga, although myself I’d much prefer a #3.

  40. Alan says:

    the assailant was shot running away

    I read it same as @lynn… 

    My reading says that she shot the assailant in the living room with the AR-15 and he staggered away, dying 200 ft away in the ditch in front of the house.

  41. CowboyStu says:

    WRT to thief being shot in the back while running away.  We had that here.  Homeowner, heard noise one night at a kitchen window.  Went to the window with his rifle and thief saw it and started running away.  Hero went outside and shot him dead in the back several houses down.  When asked why by the cops as he was no longer in danger, he said that he figured the scum would do it again and he was protecting his neighbors.

    That comment made the local newspaper and was followed by citizen responses.  Then DA said that no charges would be files as he assumed no local jurors would vote guilty.

  42. lynn says:

    WRT to thief being shot in the back while running away.  We had that here.  Homeowner, heard noise one night at a kitchen window.  Went to the window with his rifle and thief saw it and started running away.  Hero went outside and shot him dead in the back.  When asked why by the cops as he was no longer in danger, he said that he figured the scum would do it again and he was protecting his neighbors.

    That comment made the local newspaper and was followed by citizen responses.  Then DA said that no charges would be files as he assumed no local jurors would vote guilty.

    We had one of those incidents here in the Houston area.  A guy saw two guys robbing his neighbors house, grabbed his shotgun, called 911 on his cell, and went outside to confront them.  He told them to stop and drop, they did not, so he shot them.  The DA charged him and the grand jury refused to indict him.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Horn_shooting_controversy

    and

       https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/pasadena-news/article/Joe-Horn-cleared-by-grand-jury-in-Pasadena-1587004.php

    I remember watching an interview with him and he claimed that one of the robbers said to him that they would be back tomorrow for his stuff.  So he shot them.

  43. Nick Flandrey says:

    And there is nothing wrong with shooting an intruder in the back.   If he’s in the house, the presumption is deadly force is appropriate.   Not to mention the whole armed and beating the husband thing…

    But yes, you misread, because the article says she shot at them and then they fled.*

    WRT if a “9mm lung buster” that “blows the lungs right out of you”  would have sufficed, that is a theoretical game of russian roulette.   Maybe.  Maybe not.   No one sane would want to re-run the event to find out.

    A pistol can be hard to aim.  The controls are smaller and more ‘fiddly’ than the typical AR controls.   AR has a big charging handle you can hook your fingers around, most semi=auto pistols you have to pinch the slide and pull against your other hand holding the gun in place.  A lot of women and some men have trouble racking the slide on a pistol.  There are ways around that, and Cornered Cat has a great technique, but generally, the rifle is easier to make ready to fire.  The longer barrel and longer sight radius make it easier to tell where it is pointed, and it’s far less likely to move significantly when you pull the trigger less than perfectly.

    The best argument though is that it’s like the best camera to take a picture with.   The best camera is the one you actually have with you.  Ditto for guns.

    WRT the guy dealing.   There are subtleties involved in the use of guns even defensively if used during the commission of a crime, but even dealers have a right to self defense.   The article says the gun was in the home legally, so not a prohibited person… if he wasn’t dealing or committing some other crime at the time of the attack, it’s still self defense ( or in the case of the wife, defense of others.)

    There are a couple of other interesting “meta” things to look at there.  In regard to our previous discussion of Grossman’s book and decades of false narrative, anyone think the two assailants would have difficulty actually killing the husband?    Did the wife have any difficulty pulling the trigger in defense of her husband and daughter?    I’m pretty sure the husband would have no issue pulling the trigger on the assailants either in that case.   FOUR people in the room all perfectly ready to kill another human, as is  HUMAN nature.   

    Another thing is RBT’s insistence that it takes a whole lot of training to successfully defend oneself with a gun.    We went ‘round and ’round at least once on the topic, with him pointing to his competitive shooting days, and me pointing to the almost daily reports of ordinary people defending themselves and others.  I assert that it does not, and a lack of access to training should not preclude someone getting and keeping a defensive gun.   The more training the better, but familiarity has proven to be enough time and again.

    n

    *forgot my note…. in Texas there are specific legal requirements to be met to shoot someone fleeing, but one is that you believe a felony was committed and the fleeing person would escape justice if allowed to flee. (paraphasing) And not that it applies in this case being FLA and an attack on people, but in Texas it’s legal to shoot someone in defense of property under some circumstances not just defense of life or person. May not be SMART…

  44. lynn says:

    One factor that may be pertinent to this particular situation is that many women (the real XX chromosome type) find it difficult to rack the slide of a 9mm semi-automatic pistol:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwF7-kcW62M

    Me too even though I am a 6’1″ 250 lb guy.  My wrists are severely damaged after 47 years of keyboarding.  I can only rack my semi-automatic pistols with great difficulty now.  I now only carry and shoot my revolvers.  I’ve got revolvers stashed all over the places I frequent plus an AR in my office.

    That lady in the video is freaking awesome.  Very articulate and very knowledgeable. Great trigger finger usage.

  45. MrAtoz says:

    And there is nothing wrong with shooting an intruder in the back.

    Ala Jack Reacher. Do you really want to give a crook the advantage or have a gun fight. 

    Know the Castle Law in your State.

    Concur with others on the weapon. Use what you know. You can get modern ARs that are compact. Good for home defense since you don’t have to holster it or carry concealed.

    And, of course, any time you carry a weapon be prepared to kill.

  46. RickH says:

    Thanks for the discussion. I am not very familiar with weapons, wasn’t raised in that environment. I only know what I see on TV – which I understand is not totally realistic. (For instance, why are the bad guys such poor shots? And the good guys are excellent shots?) 

    I once went with my son-in-law to a gun range to shoot his 9mm. It would jam on my first firing.

    Turns out my hands were bigger than his, and my grip was interfering with the reload/recoil thing, causing the jam. I accused him of having a ‘girly gun’.

  47. Greg Norton says:

    Thanks for the discussion. I am not very familiar with weapons, wasn’t raised in that environment. I only know what I see on TV – which I understand is not totally realistic. (For instance, why are the bad guys such poor shots? And the good guys are excellent shots?) 

    For the same reason that McGee’s laptop can crack AES256 in about an hour.

  48. Greg Norton says:

    All right, all right, all right!

    https://deadline.com/2022/06/matthew-mcconaughey-white-house-joe-biden-1235039832/

    McConaughey is dangerous because a lot of Republicans in this state harbor desires for legalization of weed rather than just decriminalization and see the actor as a “less bad” option over someone like Robert Francis sitting in the Governor’s Mansion.

  49. drwilliams says:

    @Rick

    The handgun vs. rifle question has been around for a long time. This video makes a historically relevant comparison at short range (albeit much longer than “in the house”) and also captures some of the enjoyment of the shooting sports:

    1911 vs. M1 Carbine

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSOUmHito4M&t=565s

    and for more fun with Ian and his carbine:

    M1 Carbine vs AKS74U

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN4e86O86WA 

    It has a name:
    https://www.gungoddess.com/blogs/fundamentals/what-is-limp-wristing-and-how-can-you-fix-it

  50. lynn says:

    It has a name:
    https://www.gungoddess.com/blogs/fundamentals/what-is-limp-wristing-and-how-can-you-fix-it

    My solution for limp wristing is that I moved back to revolvers.  I love my semi auto XDM .40S&W but it does not tolerate limp writing in the slightest. It will misfeed in a heartbeat.

        https://www.springfield-armory.com/xd-series-handguns/xd-m-handguns/

  51. lynn says:

    If velociraptors were house pets:

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwXgqrYqxd8

  52. lpdbw says:

    Barrels of ink and buckets of brain-sweat have been expended to answer the question “Which handgun and ammo combination is best for self-defense”.

    Spoiler:  The answer is none of them, and all of them.

    I state that from a data analyst point of view.  Greg Ellifritz did a study based on simple data collection, and when you graph the results, here are the obvious conclusions:

    1.   In real life, the choice is handgun vs. long gun, not caliber vs. caliber.  Handguns of all calibers are similar in effectiveness.
    2.   Regardless of handgun caliber, to stop an assailant usually requires more than 1 hit.
    3.   Any centerfire rifle hit is more effective than any handgun. 
    4.  Shotguns are more effective than rifles.

    Now, taking that one step further, I will opine  there are other factors to take into account.  Like familiarity with the weapon, follow-up shots, shot placement, ammunition design.  These improve your odds.  But… marginally.  Because handguns are marginal.

    So carry what you can shoot, and keep a long gun where you can get to it. AR-15 is an excellent choice, for the very reasons your enemies don’t want you to have one:  You might be able to effectively defend yourself, your family, and your nation against them and their allies.

  53. drwilliams says:

    Shotguns are more effective than rifles.

    The government makes silly rules to make both less effective.

    AR-15 is an excellent choice, for the very reasons your enemies don’t want you to have one

    In both cases caliber and load selection is important.

    And practice, practice, practice.

  54. Nightraker says:

    @NaN

    The assumption is in error.  A sad sack family is not a “militia”.  

    A militia is a collective of armed adults.  Presumably, any such collective could be called upon to repel a military invasion or insurrection to TPTB.   The Constitutional Government cannot tolerate any such organized competition to its authority, so there will never be a “well regulated” institution.  (I’ve also read that “well regulated”, to the Founders, meant well equipped.)  Ask Robert Lee, the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys how well that works.

    That leaves the natural imperative of any living thing to resist being prey, hence the operant phrase.  And the disgusting hypocrisy of any gun law, ever.

    I note also that more than a million firearms are sold each month, a wholly discretionary purchase.  Amazing in a time of general economic pressure on necessities.  With current events, I expect the continuation of shortages in the most popular man killing models and ammunition.

  55. Nick Flandrey says:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10894581/George-Soross-groups-spent-40-million-elect-75-progressive-prosecutors-decade.html 

    – but but but, I thought it was all just a conspiracy theory, and thus nonsense….

    George Soros-backed groups have spent $40 million to elect 75 progressive prosecutors over the last decade – meaning one in FIVE Americans now live in areas covered by his criminal justice reformers

    • The 91-year-old billionaire philanthropist has for the last 30 years given away huge chunks of his fortune through his Open Society Foundations
    • Soros’s networks have worked to support left-leaning district attorneys across the country, pouring significant funds into the races
    • Among the major recipients are the Los Angeles district attorney, George Gascon, and the Philadelphia DA, Larry Krasner
    • Jason Johnson, president of the pro-police action group Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), accused Soros in a new report of harming the country
    • He said the DAs were working ‘to quietly transform the criminal justice system for the worse, promoting dangerous policies and anti-police narratives’

    I’d like to know where ELSE Sorossssss has been spending money.

    n

  56. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    I assert that it does not [take a whole lot of training to successfully defend oneself with a gun], and a lack of access to training should not preclude someone getting and keeping a defensive gun.   The more training the better, but familiarity has proven to be enough time and again.

    I’d agree that “a whole lot” is not necessary, but “some” is:

    • Basic firearm safety
    • How to aim and make it go “bang” and keep making it go “bang”
    • A gun is not a magic wand.
    • “I was threatened with great bodily harm and I defended myself. I want my attorney.”

    YMMV

  57. drwilliams says:

    I’d like to know where ELSE Sorossssss has been spending money.

    and how is it that a foreigner  can spend money to subvert the operation of our government without the knowledge of the citizens of the United States?

    https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/06/07/da-gascon-defends-5-months-at-parole-camp-for-hit-and-run-n474695

  58. lynn says:

    I’d agree that “a whole lot” is not necessary, but “some” is:

    • Basic firearm safety
    • How to aim and make it go “bang” and keep making it go “bang”
    • A gun is not a magic wand.
    • “I was threatened with great bodily harm and I defended myself. I want my attorney.”

    I was taught at Frontsight to call 911, state there has been a shooting, ask for an ambulance, give the address, and hang up.  Don’t say another solitary word as you are being recorded.

    The ambulance is for you.  You may have been shot.  You may be having a heart attack.  The assailant can call his own ambulance.

    A Houston Police Detective told me that he showed up at a defensive shooting and he went to talk to the guy still standing.  He immediately dropped his officer friendly persona and became officer extremely concerned.  He went over to talk to the guy still standing and in the course of conversation noticed that the guy was holding his stomach.  He asked the guy why he was holding his stomach.  The guy looked down, moved his hand, and blood started coming out of the hole that he had been plugging.  The detective said he screamed for the EMTs and they ran over from the dead guy and ran the live guy to the hospital ER where he actually survived.

  59. Greg Norton says:

    Here, let’s talk “dangerous”. I invite any honest, reasoned responses to this comment. 

    Union Park. The Garden District of Orlando. No amount of gun control would have kept the Glock out of that couple’s hands.

    Dem stronghold — lots of community organizing, innovative policing, and social justice initiatives.

  60. Greg Norton says:

    I’d like to know where ELSE Sorossssss has been spending money.

    Houston. I suspect Austin too.

  61. nick flandrey says:

    Don’t say another solitary word as you are being recorded.  

    – the Baldwin shooting has also taught us that the body cams are always recording too.  And it’s all admissible. 

    n

  62. nick flandrey says:

    Scanner has the cops doing a narcotics buy op about 4 blocks from my rent house.

    Joy.

    n

    added- and not only a multi unit surveillance, but they have a “pole cam” that is watching the friendly and the drug guy in real time.

    Might have to drive by and see what a “pole cam” looks like.

    n

  63. drwilliams says:

    H/T to Ace for this one:

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/06/rethinking-second-amendment-dr-naomi-wolf/

    But she ain’t there yet:

    I also did not know, until I met responsible gun owners, that most of them do not in fact want mentally ill or unstable people to have access to arsenals at will; most support reasonable restrictions such as safety classes and background checks.

    Last week I read a comparison of the number of beds in mental health facilities 70 years ago vs. today, accompanied by the comment that two movies were largely responsible for the wholesale closure of mental hospitals. I’m sure one was Cuckoo, and I’m sure someone (Greg?) will immediately know what the other one was.

    So here’s the thing:

    AFTER the medical establishment in the United States has abandoned any pretense of public health except as a means of controlling the populace, and AFTER voters have spent generations blindly electing Democrats until they are brazenly open about their dedication to creating blue shiiteholes with criminals and crazies enjoying rights denied to citizens, and AFTER we have established that it is never appropriate for a civil servant to be expected to face consequences for not doing their jobs, and AFTER the First Amendment has been gutted by government, media, and universities, and AFTER it has been established by the data that “peoples of color other than pink” are disproportionately responsible for gun violence up to and including school shootings 

    we are supposed to ignore all of the aforementioned and allow the government that is imprisoning people who did not a damn thing on January 6 while letting firebomb making and throwing AOCOTP’s (Attorneys of Color Other Than Pink) off with less than they plea bargained for 

    to place restrictions on a RIGHT that is RECOGNIZED by our constitution, not GRANTED as so many PLT’s misquote

    because we have to “do something”?

    ADDED:
    “until I met responsible gun owners”
    Wonder how many “irresponsible” gun owners she met first. The hubris drips off and puddles on the floor.

  64. nick flandrey says:

    Y’all might have missed this.

    US car giant General Motors hit by cyberattack exposing car owners’ personal info

    US automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) announced that it was hit by a credential stuffing attack last month that exposed customer information and allowed hackers to redeem rewards points for gift cards. GM said that they detected the malicious login activity between April 11-29, 2022.

    The personal information of affected customers includes first and last names, personal email addresses, home addresses, usernames and phone numbers for registered family members tied to the account, last known and saved favorite location information, currently subscribed OnStar package (if applicable), family members’ avatars and photos (if uploaded), profile pictures and search and destination information.

    Other information available to hackers included car mileage history, service history, emergency contacts and Wi-Fi hotspot settings (including passwords). GM operates an online platform that assists owners of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles manage their bills and redeem rewards points.

  65. nick flandrey says:

    Scanner has the buy completed successfully, and they’ve watched the friendly leave, checking for counter surveillance.  Spotted none.

    House is pictured in street view, one year old imagery, kid toys on porch, horse trailer in driveway.  Neighborhood is gentrifying but slowly.

    I wonder what it looks like a year later.  

    n

Comments are closed.