Chromed out

Since the early days of Mozilla, I had always been a supporter.  To the point of donating over 200 dollars to the foundation for further development.  I used to use the Mozzila suite, and finally converted to Firefox after that became the big thing…. And I faithfully used it… Until recently.
I found myself growing tired of Firefoxes bloat and memory issues and sudden tantrums and crashes.  So I once again looked at Chrome, and I looked at it hard.   No bloat. No memory leaks. No crashing. It just worked.
I found myself using Chrome more and more, and Firefox less and less… Then I realized that I don’t use Firefox anymore.
Looking foreward to Chrome for the Android.

The Gun Dudes and Goatees

I think the Gun Dudes are just awesome… But they don’t have Goatees.  It’s a well known fact that Goatees make a man shoot better.  At the MAG-40 Class, Carl was trying to grow one out.  But he started too late so he only had a Proto-Goatee.  Which wasn’t enough to help him.  We hope he continues to grow it out.  He’d had out-shot Gail if he had a full power Goat going on.

Check out the latest Gun Dudes Podcast here:
http://www.gundudes.com/Home_Page_ETY8.html
What’s awesome about this one, is that they have a great interview with Joe Chetwood, aka “Gundoc”, and the head honcho of CRUSADER WEAPONRY. These guys are having too much fun, you can hear it. Listen to this show, you wont be disappointed!

The GOP Front Runners

I have been asked which of the top three GOP frontrunners I favor.  Hmmm… This is kinda like asking “Which gun would you rather shoot yourself in the leg with?”

Herman Cain:  Looks pretty good, sounds pretty good, and I was even fond of his Pizza chain.  I like a good deal of what he’s talking about and agree with a lot. However, his 999 Tax Plan leaves me feeling rather uneasy. The more I learn about Cain, the more I like him.  He is not the slick, seasoned politician like the others… and to me, that’s a plus.  He says what he thinks, not what he thinks you want to hear.  He is the most genuine of the bunch and he is freaking out the Leftistas.  Janeane Garofalo says that if you support Cain, then you are a Racist.  Unlike supporting Obama, which isn’t, but opposing Obama is.  Thank heavens Madama Garafalo keeps this straight for us… Sheesh.  I get the feeling that the Liberal Democrats are the only ones who are actually Racist.  They are the ones that keep bringing it up.  Race has nothing to do for it.  I vote for ideas, for vision, for leadership.  Color has nothing to do with it.

Rick Perry:  At first, I really liked Rick.  Pro Gun… packed a gun and killed a Coyote with it while he was jogging.  Nicely done! But then like that hot girl with the long black hair you dated in College, the more you learned about her, the less you liked her.  It got to the point with Rick that I flat out don’t like him anymore at all and I don’t trust him.  If Rick gets the Nomination… it would be a very sad day.  The more he talks, the more he turns me and others off.  I don’t think he’s electable.  His statements come off as being ill-suited for a President.  He has a lot of bad history behind him and I think a Rick Perry nomination will mean a second term for Obama.  Perry is at best a “Blue Dog Democrat” with an “R” by his name.

Mitt Romney:  Talk about a guy with Baggage.  His Romney Care is one.  Being Mormon is another.  Both are huge issues.  One is justified.  Romney Care is going to continue to be a problem for him no matter what happens.  But “The Black Spot” for Mitt is his membership in the LDS Church… He’s offended many Mormons by trying to distance himself from the faith.  Then there are those that simply hate Mormons out of sheer bigotry – which shouldn’t be given any airtime, but the media loves it because it prevents the GOP from solidifying Romney as a Candidate.  Then Rick Perry’s man goes and bashes Mormons and Rick supports him?  Far from Presidential stuff, Rick.  Freedom of Religion?  His faith shouldn’t be anyone’s business. Rick Perry, Mike Huckabee, The Maverick McCain’s Mom… all Rabid Anti-Mormons… and never mind all the minions of hate that will do nothing but continue to attack Mitt and the Mormons from all sides.  It would be great if Mitt wasn’t Mormon!  I’d rather not have to talk about it!  I don’t need the negative attention on my Faith.  Because, yes, it is Negative.  Maybe I’m a little sensitive, but Mine is the only Religion in the USA that was under a Death Order from a State’s Governor.  Id rather us keep a lower profile.  Then there is the fact that Mitt is just a straight up Dillweed.  I don’t like him.  Not as a person, not as a candidate.  But there is a good point. The upshot to Mitt is that his Financial Experiences is there and it would be truly helpful to the nation at this time.  Romney’s skills in debate have become very sharp and he’s doing very well… he looks, sounds, and acts like Presidential Material.

When it comes to picking the Right Man for the Job – and not just a Candidate – it is down to Cain or Romney now. Other possibles have backed out and losing steam.  Cain or Romney would be a good choice.  It’s a coin toss at this time, but if I had to pick one right now, at this very moment… I’m going to have to hold my nose and give the nod to Romney. Haters are going to hate and it’s about hiring the man that can do the job, not picking someone that the Wacko Liberal Left is going to hate the least.

Another War?

It is being reported that the President is now sending “About a Hundred” US troops to Uganda.  This is great.  Because I was thinking we were running out of pointless wars… Iraq and Libya coming to ends, that would leave us with only one!  Afghanistan.  Now we don’t have to fret at all.  Military Advisers never gets us drawn in an escalation into a shooting war…

*looks at the history books and turns pages to Vietnam*

Never mind.

Uganda.  That’s great.  At least its not another shithole place like…

*looks at a Google Earth*

Never mind.

The Best SciFi Flicks

Sunshine.
Alien/Aliens.
Event Horizon.
Pitch Black.
The Matrix.
Dune.
Blade Runner.
Serenity.
Cowboy Bebop.
These are my favorite SciFi flix, all for the same reasons. They all have something in common.  They each create a new universe… Some, like Sunshine, do it in a very subtle manner… Others like Dune, do it overtly and hit you over the head with it.  I think if I was going to teach a class on Science Fiction, these movies would be foundational on “World Building”.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the end all of a movie list… These are just my favorites… And in my opinion, must see movies.  If you haven’t seen one of these movies, you are indeed wrong.  Clarification on Dune… It needs to be the Alan Smithee version.  The original director cut too much out. Aliens, has to be the extended version. And with Blade Runner, don’t get the Director’s Cut, get the Original, with Harrison Ford’s voiceovers.
I like the darker stories… That’s just me. Bright shiney ones, like the new Star Trek film… Just fine. But I prefer darker stuff.
I also like the SciFi to leave some things unexplained.  Like future technologies… Show them, but don’t try to explain it to the audience. Characters wouldn’t explain things to each other… Unless the tech was brand new to that universe and it being paramount to the telling of the story.
Give the technology some limitation.  See, SciFi has technology like Fantasy has magic.  I don’t want to see tech or magic being the answer for everything.  The future tech and universe is just the setting and framework a good story is written upon.

Less than ideal

.300 RUM, Elk, 225 yards, perfect side shot, well placed hit, Hornady GMX. Complete pass through with evidently no expansion.
I would say this is a perfect example of too much gun for the game/range. Well, specifically too much bullet.  Animal was tracked over a mile before it was located laying down… still breathing, still bleeding. The bullet had torn through both lungs and a ventricle of the heart, but not much actual damage. Without expansion, there was very little shock effect… almost no blood-shot tissues internally, and the exit wound looked like maybe a .40 caliber hole.  The hit was observed, clean, and animal was able to run away without so much as a limp.
Take the same situation, same animal, same range, same gun… and load the SST bullet instead of the solid, or a classic Sierra Game King, and I bet that beast would have been dead right there… because that’s what I’ve witnessed before. Bullets that open up faster will deliver more shock, and that is what’s going to put the animal on the ground. Roy Weatherby discovered this many decades ago, and evidently this is a lesson we are still learning.

Retextured Glock: Done

Sanding, grinding, filing, and then stippling… I reshaped and retextured the gripframe of my Glock.  Let me explain this from square one. I wanted to make my Glock 23 fit my hand better, and I wanted a new texture that would be grippy, yet not snag on my clothes like the RTF2 finish can sometimes do.

The first of the process was to identify just what I wanted to change to make it fit better.  These areas got attention with some very careful application of a rotory hand tool that is normally the bane of all would be weaponsmiths.  Then I used a hand file and some sandpaper to make it feel better in my hand.  This is where I have to warn those that would follow my example – I’m a Professional Ogre, so don’t try this at home unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences.  “Hello, Glock?  Yeah, I pooched my pistol.”

After the prep work, it was time to do the stippling.  I used a sharp pointed soldering iron that I used to use for repairing laptops back when I could tolerate doing such work.  I don’t do that anymore so don’t ask.  This soldering iron gets pretty damn hot, and probably a lot hotter than is necessary or a good idea for this purpose, because it could easily go straight through the frame.  “Hello, Glock?”  So I had to be extremely careful and use a light touch.   The resulting grip shape and texture accomplished my goal perfectly.  It might not be pretty, but it feels a lot better in my hand than the original.

If you want this work done to your Glock, but you don’t want to do it yourself… This can be arranged through Crusader Weaponry.  Send your gun to Joe, so he can do his magic to it… slick it up, trigger work, maybe even refinish into a new color… and if you want the grip frame retexured by the Ogre, I would be happy to do it at a very reasonable price.

Wall Street Protests.

There comes a point where the right to protest, free speech, crosses the line.  These protestors however are not calling for the peaceful resolution of grievances. They are actively seeking the destruction of the US Constitution. At this point, I would support/advocate a more active response. 
I suggest arresting those calling for the Marxist Revolutions, and see them prosecuted… For everything possible.  Lock them up.  Maybe even toss them some blunt weapons before the police get there, so you have some use of force justification and just pop them in the heads. 
Harsh?  That’s nothing.  Look at every communist revolution in history.  We let these guys get traction… America is done.

Understanding the Gauge

I find it very odd that so many shooters have such profound misunderstanding of the shotgun. I am constantly encountering experienced shooters who still thing that the shotgun remains a 25 yard device and is only good for shooting ducks. These are shooters who should know better. Some of these shooters who don’t understand the shotgun tack the tac that they are against the shotgun and even get insulting of those that elect to use them. They continue to pass on poor stereotypes of the shotgun:
1. Shotguns have brutal recoil.
2. Shotguns are for short ranges only.
3. You don’t have to aim a shotgun.
4. Just the sound of a pump action shotgun being cycled will send goblins running away in panic, soiling themselves along the way.
Unfortunately, none of these are true.
1. My 12 year old has no problem handling any of my shotguns, each one a 12 gauge. If my young kid is tougher than you are… Drop and give me fifty!
2. This is one of the shotgun’s advantages… You can go from zero to two hundred yards with one weapon. Most defensive shootings are within 21 feet. If you have a defensive shooting that extends past that, the further away, the more difficult the time will be for you to justify your use of lethal force. For military guys, sure everything can be a nail and your hammer is a battle rifle so you are fine… But for civilians, going out for three yard shots isn’t really a good idea. So range doesn’t matter much for shotgun justification.
3. At normal defensive distances, inside twenty-one feet, the spread of a typical shogun load from a typical defensive shotgun is shockingly tight. I daresay the pattern will be tighter than what you boast you can can do with your carry pistol. The groups are typically just a couple of inches at those ranges. This makes it easy to fire a dramatic miss. You still have to aim. Part of this aiming is knowing what your shotgun and load is doing at every range interval. Once you gain an understanding of just what your gun is doing… How it patterns… Then it helps you apply all that delicious violence that your shotgun can deliver.
4. Racking the slide does make a good sound. We all love that sound. But for a defensive situation your sound might not scare anyone away, and you might have just gave away your position or warned your adversary that you are getting ready to fire. You might not have time. Get your shotgun ready before the bad guy is close enough to hear it.