Blog post of the year?

Over at “A Girl and Her Gun” is a post that may be the best firearm-related post of the year, and we’re only a few days in. Sample:

Generally a group, any group, has an agenda. Stated or not. Conscious or not. No matter how well meaning, they almost always want something.

That something is usually steeped in power and control.

Politicians, religions, schools, the anti gun crowd, you name it. They want to bring you for what you can give them, which is often nothing more than a feeling of power and self worth for the leaders of the group.

They want to take something from you in order to gain something for themselves.

Not this group.

In the past 10 months, I have gained so much more than the ability to line my front site on the target.

This group has welcomed me when I had absolutely nothing to offer them.

Go read the whole thing.

A brilliant quote

Over on at Papa Delta Bravo there is an old blog post about the non-differences between various handgun calibers. In one of the comments (http://www.papadeltabravo.com/blog/?p=978#comment-129471) the Amazing Tam (her blog here: http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/ ) says this:

Caliber itself is bullshit. Capacity is bullshit. … Carry a gun that works. Carry the gun you trust and that you shoot best. Period fucking dot.

That really sums it up. Use the firearm (and the advice pretty much covers long-guns as well as handguns) you can use best.

Yes, it’s from 2009. But wisdom, or at least gun-smarts, can be perennial.

Self-defense and the Second Amendment

Fellow blogger Mike McDaniel has a nice blog-article you should read. The key item is this:

Most people too have heard the familiar aphorism: “When seconds count, the police are minutes away.”  Every police officer with a conscience winces whenever they hear it. They wish it were otherwise, but they know it’s true.

The lesson, for us all, is very simple.  It is a lesson most reading this blog already know and have long ago internalized.  Now you know—if you did not before—the reasons for that lesson.  The police cannot protect you; the police are not legally bound to protect you; you are truly on your own.

This is not the most significant reason for the paramount importance of the Second Amendment, but it is certainly one of the most important practical reasons.

No, not the most important reason for the Second Amendment, but it is important. You should have the tools and training that you are comfortable with and capable of executing, and it is your choice whether firearms plays into that.

 

The 100 Science Fiction Novels — my readings

The NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels with the ones I have read in bold:

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin (started)
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan-I’ve read all the ones written by Robert Jordan.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess – I haven’t, but I need to.
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher (started)
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson (started)
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

That’s 31/100 — it should be better, as many of those are on my “someday” list. It’s a better listing than several other 2A folks though, which is surprising to me.

Uh-oh…

Just saw this, the “Firefly Universe Online” MMORPG that is being set-up, and thought, “This might finally drag me into the time-sink…”

Libertarian Scoring

I just took the “Libertarian Purity Test” here, and scored an 82, which is described as “51-90 points: You are a medium-core libertarian, probably self-consciously so. Your friends probably encourage you to quit talking about your views so much. ”

If you are wondering “Am I even a libertarian?” or “What is my political position?, the best quick test is at the Advocates for Self-Government, the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.

How is this ‘evil’?

Saw a little silly bit over on Borepatch’s blog, and I thought I would give it a try.

My results:

This isn’t doing analysis of any meaningful sort — it is calculating the numerical value of words by the process of gematria. Even if there were value in this process in the original Hebrew, there is no applicability to English. Hebrew letters also carry numerical value, in some ways loosely similar to Roman numerals.

But it is kinda fun. H/T to Borepatch.

I agreed with someone

Over on the USACarry.org forums, there is a thread about the meaning of the Second Amendment. In one the posts there was a link to an article by J. Neil Schulman, originally from 1991. It is a detailed breakdown of the linguistic analysis of the Second Amendment by a Professor Copperud, and in it is this interesting statement:

To the best of my knowledge, there has been no change in the meaning of words or in usage that would affect the meaning of the amendment. If it were written today, it might be put: “Since a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged.’

Darned if that doesn’t look familiar. 🙂

Another ePostal match — for June

JP over at Eyes Never Closed has opened an ePostal target match for June. Since I can’t compete in the May one set by ASM826 over on Random Acts of Patriotism, I think I’ll give this one a try, since it’s for “any rifle” and/or “any pistol”. The Mini-14 should be good to go for this, and with a bit more practice I’m hoping the XD will be too.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip to the Range

Went to my local indoor gun range today (Sandy Springs Gun Range) and ran some ammo through my limited collection.

First up was my Glenfield 25, manufactured by Marlin back in the 1970’s. A nice little bolt-action .22LR rifle. This is what I learned one way back when.

Glenfield 25

The good news: she still shoots pretty well, as seen in the picture (Shot at 7 yards):

Bullseye closeup -- the Glenfield's shots are the six tiny ones in the red center and first back ring

The bad news — she still has a major failure-to-extract issue, so I won’t be able to participate in the e-postal match over on Random Acts of Patriotism (more info here and here). I had to use a small screwdriver to pull the spent casing from the chamber each time. I checked the bolt and extractor last weekend, and the extractor is pretty grippy, so either something is preventing the extractor from engaging, or I have a tight chamber.

Next up was my Springfield XD .45 ACP pistol. This was her first firing, and there are some shooter adjustments to be made. Here is the gun:

My Springfield XD .45

And here is the target (shot at 7 yards):

Target after lots of .45 ACP rounds

Low and left, so I need to work on my trigger-pull and grip.

Next up was my Ruger Mini-14, which I have also not shot before. Here is a picture of her:

My Mini-14

I was pleased with how well she shot, especially because I forgot to to use the hasty-sling to stabilize:

Overall Rifle Target, at 10 yards

The first group of five was quite nice:

Close-up of first five shots (the ones in the square; the ones to the upper left are from when I shot at that cross-hair

All in all, I enjoyed myself, and remembered how much more I have to learn.