Master of none

Pseudephedrine

2012-02-27T19:18:00.003-08:00

It's might be easier to buy methamphetamine and use it to synthesize pseudephedrine that it is to buy it in the store.

From the Journal of Apocryphal Chemistry:

We have demonstrated here a simple series of transformations which allow pseudoephedrine to be obtained in a more straightforward manner than is the current norm. We expect that the simultaneous trends of restricting pseudoephedrine sales while N-methylamphetamine becomes less expensive and of higher purity will make the methods presented here increasingly attractive.

Simple to an organic chemist isn't simple to everyone but it's a start.

HT to Derek at In The Pipeline

$1000 question

2012-02-26T17:59:00.003-08:00

JayG put this up a while ago, If a friend is a brand new shooter and has a budget of $1000 to buy guns with what would you recommend.

First .22's because everyone needs .22's

1) A .22 rifle I'm going to say get a Marlin 795 new non sale price $159 you can find these on sale occasionally in the $120 range there are not as many after market parts as there are for the 10/22 but out of the box they are a better gun and they are about $50 cheaper for a base end gun.

Total $159, $841 left

2) A .22 Pistol a MKIII 22/45 new price $267 I don't think you can find a lower price .22 pistol that is good for tens of thousands of rounds.

For the .22's I'm suggesting that you just go ahead and buy new, they don't show up on the used market often and they just aren't that expensive to buy new.

Total $426, $574 left

3) A self defense hand gun, If you've got a strict budget for the firearms, you likely have a strict budget for ammunition also so the hand gun should be a 9mm. My suggestion is used a Glock 19 or 17 you can find them for $380 or so.

Total $806, $196 left.

This spot is more difficult there isn't enough left for a shotgun and a rifle unless you found good sales on the .22 or you managed to find them used.

4a) Shotgun you can find a used Mossberg 500 for $150 or so. Many of the store shotguns are re branded major makers My Coast to Coast MasterMag was built in Mossbergs factory with the same parts as any other 500, and I paid $150 for it at a pawn shop.

4b) Centerfire rifle A Mosin 91/30 $90 how can you go wrong with a gun that was used to kill Nazis?

Total $896 - $956 so there is some left over for a few bricks of .22 to get started with.

Hot Monkey Sex

2012-02-26T17:40:00.002-08:00

I was listening to Penn Jillette's new pod cast Penn's Sunday School and he was talking about this study where they taught capuchin monkeys to use money. Here's a quote for the New York Times article on the study:

During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind.

The first monkey to work for money did it on her back, there is a reason it is called the oldest profession.

Timmy

2012-02-06T18:37:00.001-08:00

I've started to make plans to attend the NRA annual meeting but life is trying to get in the way.

Friday my dogs eye was looking inflamed and not wanting to let an eye problem go we ended up taking him into the vet Saturday, The vet couldn't find a cause so he sent us home with antibiotics and a steroid eye cream, with directions to call Monday if it isn't getting better.

It looked the same or worse today so she called in and the vet wanted to recheck him, on her way there the transmission went out on her jeep.

The vet bills aren't all that much so far they are only about the same as 2 nights of hotel room, and well the jeep is a Grand Cherokee so the transmission failure was only a matter of time but I'm looking for a replacement vehicle and if the eye doesn't get better I don't know how much the specialist bills will be.

Minnesota GOP Caucus

2012-02-05T15:37:00.000-08:00

Tuesday is the GOP caucus in Minnesota some people don't like the idea of caucuses and would prefer a primary election. I would prefer that the government didn't regulate how political parties did their business, they are private organizations and they should be free to decide there own business but if there is going to be a required way or choosing delegates then I believe that a caucus is better then a primary.

Going to a caucus take some effort, you have to take some time and attend a meeting, and to make any real change you've got to be willing to put time and money into into going to other meetings and you've got to convince your neighbors that you are the best person to represent them at those meetings. A primary only take a few minutes to go to the polling place and check a box, no commitment and no reason not to vote in a different parties primary. I wonder how many of Romneys supporters have been people who are planning on voting for O in November?

So on Tuesday I'm going to be helping run my local caucus and get elected as a delegate to my county party convention in hopes giving Ron Paul the GOP endorsement. Of the field Paul is the only one that I think has any chance of beating Obama, and also the only one that would be any better than four more years of the the current reader in chief.

Contest at Glock Forum

2012-02-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

They are giving away a Glock 22, and I think I'm professional enough to handle it so I'm entering.

2012-01-31T06:21:00.000-08:00

I noticed this morning that I got a link on Tam's blog, if I had any content here I bet I could pick up some readers out of it.

Incompetent government union workers.

2012-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

I received a package today and it had a note on it:

Are they claiming it's not their fault that it's damaged? I know it was in one piece when the sender dropped it off, and it's torn up before it got delivered to me, but if the contents are damaged it's the senders fault? It's a good thing there was nothing in the box that was breakable, and amazingly everything was still in the box.

Picture of my fisrt holster

2011-09-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

Shooting with tech sights.

2011-09-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

I made my first range trip with Tech Sights on my 10/22 here's my target from 140 yards.

2011-08-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

I found this at Daddy Bear's Den:

All the cool kids are doing it
Ever one to jump onto a bandwagon, here's the NPR's list of top 100 SF and fantasy books. I'll bold the ones I've read.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien (I started it but never finished it, I need to finish the movies also.)
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
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(I saw the movie)
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, 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(I've also fallen asleep to the movie at least 3 times)
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 (I should read this)
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
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(see LoTR)
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman (I love Gaiman why haven't I read this?)
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke(Maybe? I don't remember)
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons (On the list of to read)
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (see other Gaiman)
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks (Also on the list)
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett (and all the rest of Pratchet including Good Omens with Gaimam)
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson(did anyone finish this series?)
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 (Saw at least two movies based on this)
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 (Why isn't this higher on the list?)
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
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
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle(Where is Footfall?)
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony (I've only read 30 or 40 so I'm guessing I missed a few.)
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

I've got some reading to do.

Canton PD isn't the only department with roid rage issues.

2011-08-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Last month Ohioans For Concealed Carry put this video on YouTube

I don't know who dubbed him Officer Roid Rage, but just about every blogger I read linked the video.

I found this news story the other day, apparently cops have been getting doctors to prescribe steroids and human growth hormone and they have been getting it free as part of their health care plan. After a few lawsuits it looks like New Jersey is going to try and do something about it. Maybe Ohio needs to looks at New Jersey's example.

"It is important that we strengthen oversight, regulation and investigation in order to discourage the improper use of steroids throughout New Jersey's law enforcement community and ensure the public's confidence,"

Edited to add this story Why Police Brutality? One reason: Steroid Abuse where I found this Quote

"It's going on everywhere," said Humphrey, who has advised about a dozen police agencies on the matter. Testing officers for the drug, he said, is "an issue that needs to gain momentum."

This isn't the hope you were looking for.

2011-08-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture over at Breda's blog

And I hear this in my head

2011-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

I ran across this quote today, from a guy who by his own admission is barely literate and didn't pay attention in high school.

"My feeling is this whole country is founded on the principle of 'if you are not hurting anyone, and you're not fucking with someone else's shit, and you are paying your taxes, you should be able to just do what you want to do.' It's the freedom and the independence."

Maybe we need more kids to ignore their public school teachers.

Quote of th week

2011-07-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

John McCain, like almost every other politician on the planet, is a piece of shit who cares only about maintaining or increasing the power he has over people

Reporting fail

2011-07-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

In a story on the Norway shooting there was a comment about the shooter using Dum-Dum bullets. This came from a quote by Dr. Colin Poole.

"These bullets more or less exploded inside the body," Poole said. "It's caused us all kinds of extra problems in dealing with the wounds they cause, with very strange trajectories."

So the odd term probably came from the doctor not the reporter, I'm guessing that the shooter used normal JHP bullets like what nearly all police use everywhere in the world.

The real fail is in the next paragraph:

Ballistics experts say the so-called "dum-dum" bullets also are lighter in weight and can be fired with greater accuracy over varying distances. They commonly are used by air marshals and hunters of small animals. Such characteristics potentially would have allowed the gunman to carry more ammunition and fire his weapons at varying targets without adjusting his sights.

Are the experts talking about Glaser Safety Slugs? They are lighter and the air marshals used them in the '70 and '80 but I've never heard of small game hunters who using them. If the rounds are regular JHP's the bullet weights are normally the same as FMJ, and either way the bullet weight would have little effect on how many rounds he was able to carry, and also little effect on accuracy. I don't know where they got their 'Expert' but they need to find a new one.

Letter to my Congressman

2011-07-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have just read about the "super Congress" that Reid McConnell, and Boehner are pushing, the idea is wrong and unconstitutional. Making congress more efficient and less accountable to voters is exactly the wrong policy and I hope you will vote against this if it comes up for a vote.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/23/super-congress-debt-ceiling_n_907887.html?ncid=webmail1

Seen on the side of the road

2011-07-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

The same farm has also had this sign up since 2009

My parents driveway

2011-07-05T08:34:00.001-07:00

We had a bit of wind here on Friday,

I went there on Sunday and cut for about 5 hours, and then again on Monday for 4 more hours of cutting, the drive way is now clear to drive down. We thankfully had a lot of help from neighbors who weren't hit as badly. It will only take about another 200 hours to clear all the trees that are down.

Doing my part to stop the plague.

2011-06-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

I found out from Tam's blog this morning that mouse food I use is going to be banned. So after work tonight I stopped at Walmart:

That's 20 boxes of .22 some 100 watt light bulbs and 4 packs of D-Con mouse food.

Overheard in the walmart

2011-05-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

We were getting some things that we forgot for dinner tonight:
Me: "Is this cheese good enough?"
my wife: "No get the fiesta blend."
me: "It's like a party."
wife: "Everyone likes a party in their taco."
I didn't make a comment I just snickered quietly.

9-11

2010-09-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

One more try at commenting at Joan Peterson's Blog

2010-09-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well My comment fell down the memory hole, so one more try. The original post http://www.commongunsense.com/2010/09/who-gun-guys-think-i-am.html

Shooter:
I think we can agree that dangerous prohibited people having guns is a problem. Who wants to be part of the solution?

If the prohibited people are to dangerous to be allow to have guns why are they allowed to have knifes, and cars?

I'm guessing that this one will not make it through moderation either.

Posted a comment on a brady staffers blog.

2010-09-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

From Weer'd, I got the link to www.commongunsense.com

I posted a comment on this post http://www.commongunsense.com/2010/09/who-gun-guys-think-i-am.html

Quotes taken out of context because that is how it is done on a anti freedom blog:

From item 4

"I am not personally coming to take his guns away by physical force. Little old me? Not a chance."

But you are advocating laws that will have government agents taking our guns by physical force.

From item 15

"It seems to me that guns for self defense don't need to be AK47s and AR 15s or even M1s."

So no one including the police should have AR 15's for self defense?

From item 22

"But we can't quibble about the fact that firearms are the leading cause of both homicides and suicides at all age levels."

If you believe that guns cause homicides and suicides, do you believe that matches cause arson? Or that cars cause traffic accidents?

From item 24

"we're talking the banning of LEGALLY PROHIBITED PERSONS ONLY from obtaining guns."

You are talking about adding regulations that will make it harder for private individuals to sell personal property. It is not likely that any of the legislation you are talking about will stop prohibited people from obtaining guns.

Banned by SlashNET

2010-07-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

I got kicked out of the Gun Blogger Conspiracy IRC:

(11:30:22 PM) zoklet.slashnet.org: (notice) *** You are banned from SlashNET (Botnet)

What am I going to do with my time now that I can't waste it on IRC?

2010-06-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

M.D. Creekmore at the The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated by LuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

D.C. Machine gun

2008-07-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

I keep reading about the D.C. Law that any firearm that can fire more that 10 shots (or 12 depending on the story) without reloading is a machine gun. Every time I see that I think of Oleg Volk's picture of a 20 shot revolver and that that would be an illegal machine gun in our nation's capital.

Photo from Oleg Volk

Heller commemorative Smith & Wesson revolver

2008-07-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

S&W is releasing a Heller revolver an alloy J-frame snubbie, according to Tom Gresham, "It's very lightweight, with rubber grips. It's a perfect self-defense revolver." I would agree that it would be a good choice for a self defense revolver, especially as a concealed carry piece. I don't think that it would be the ideal home defense weapon when you aren't allowed to carry it out side of your home the light weight and short sight radius requires more practice to shoot effectively and in a city with out any gun ranges you won't be able to get much practice shooting it. For a gun that is not going to be carried I would think a steel frame with a 4" or 6" barrel would be a better option. And remember the only hand gun that Heller is going to be permitted to have in his home is a .22, the city rejected his other handgun and without any gun shops in D.C. he's going to have a hard time buying anything else. Maybe Josh Sugarmann will do a transfer for him.

Ebay firearm policy

2007-08-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

I saw the new policy that Ebay is instituting this month and I wanted to send them feedback on it. I couldn't find a general complaint email address so I sent this to the account closing help email:

Message: I will be closing my account if new policy goes into effect:
http://www2.ebay.cm/aw/core/200707301000452.html

I didn't expect a response but I got one:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to closing your account.

We're sorry to hear that you've decided to close your eBay account. To
have your request processed as quickly as possible, please go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/closing-account.html

Follow the directions you'll find there.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Mervyn N.

eBay Customer Support

The standard RTFM response.

I couldn't leave that alone:

I would appreciate some response other that the standard form letter, but I have come to expect a great lack of respect for customers form the Ebay
family of companies

From that I got a what seems so be one of the standard form letters:

Dear Joat,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concern about the change in
policy for gun related items.

After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, eBay's Trust & Safety team along
with executives at the company felt it was important to re-examine our
existing policy and evaluate if it still met the needs of our
marketplace and our company. At eBay we constantly review and update
our policies and, after careful consideration, we determined that this
policy change was in the best interest of our marketplace and our
company.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Marv L.

eBay Customer Support

I read this at work and fired off a quick response, reading it again I don't like the way I worded it but it's a little late to change it now.

The killing at Virginia Tech was the result of a criminal it was not
caused by a firearm. Is Ebay going to stop selling cars? Automobiles
cause far more deaths that firearms in this country. How about pool
supplies and swimming related items many more children drowned every
year
than are killed by firearms. What the criminal's actions at Virginia
Tech
showed us is that the police can not be everywhere all the time and we
Can
Not rely on them to protect us. If one student or teacher would have
violated the government owned schools unconstitutional ban on keeping
and
carrying arms many needless and tragic deaths could have been avoided.

And the response I got was a longer version of the last form letter:

Dear Joat,

Thank you for writing eBay to express your concerns about the pending
changes to our Firearms policy.

While many everyday items can be used to cause harm to an individual,
most items we permit for sale on eBay are not designed with the intent
to cause harm or are not likely to be used to cause harm. In general, if
items are legal to buy and sell in an unrestricted manner, we allow them
to be sold on eBay. Many firearm-related parts that can legally be
bought or sold have historically been allowed on eBay.

However, after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, eBay's Trust and Safety
team along with executives at the company felt it was important to
re-examine our existing Firearms policy and evaluate if it still met the
needs of our marketplace and our company.

While no items related to the incident were purchased illegally on our
site, it was important to make some changes to ensure we do everything
possible to provide a safe marketplace. After careful consideration, we
decided to restrict listing any part that is required for the firing of
a gun.

We've decided that these types of items are not right for our
marketplace or our business. You can still purchase these items from
other businesses in the United States.

We appreciate the time you have taken to write to us and for your
contribution to eBay.

Sincerely,

Shea
eBay Customer Support

I've got to type a response to that but it's 2:00am and I need to go eat diner.

Another version of the letter from Xavier:
Letter to Ebay

2007-06-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm worth more alive than dead:

$4290.00

Mingle²

2006-09-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here's another link post. One of these days I'm going to write some origonal content, untill then:

One of the better essays on the right to Keep and Bear Arms.
In The United States, There Is No Such Thing As An Illegal Gun.

Gun Facts 4.1

2006-09-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Gun Facts version 4.1 is available now. They debunk all of the common myths used to promote ~~gun control~~ the unconstitutional violation of our Second Amendment rights

In case of zombie out break

2006-08-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

FBMG Zombie Loadout Kit

Lefty lexicon

2006-08-20T01:57:00.000-07:00

From Inigo Wilson he's a Brit but the leftys sound about the same on both sides of the Atlantic.
Lefty lexicon

Progressive - describes ideas generally thought up around 40 years ago – that still don't work.
Diversity - creating a workforce based on how people look rather than on their skills or aptitude
Community leader - someone plucked from obscurity to represent ‘the views of the community’ for the purposes of ‘consultation’. NB never elected to this position.

He lost his job for publishing this.
Orange, Inigo Wilson and freedom of speech

Airline security

2006-08-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

I've figured out how to secure commercial airline flights. First no carry on luggage on any flight, this would also have the effect of greatly speeding up the security screening process. While we're at it lets do away with checked baggage also the risk that someone could get some malicious substance through screening is to great. There are a number of shipping services that could transport suit cases and other baggage without putting hundreds of passengers at risk. No cell phones, wrist watches, laptop computers, I-pods or other electronic devices could be considered safe ether. Really to be completely safe we'd better not let in any outside clothing we'll have everybody ware those paper suits they give you in the doctors office. Security would be quick, Men to the left women to the right, strip, put every thing you brought with you except your boarding pass and ID card in a bag to be shipped home or dumped in the trash, a quick cavity search, and here's your paper modesty suit, and have a nice flight.

Maybe this would be a better idea:
FAA Considering Passenger Ban
Or this from Steve H.

My plan to streamline airport security

To speed up screening at airports, here is what we do. We have one line for the bulk of the populace, where you get probed, stripped, searched, and felt up. Then we have another line, where you walk straight onto the plane. IF you eat a piece of bacon first.

If you're a Jew, you can get around the bacon test by blowing your nose on a Koran.
Mmmmm… Bacon!

I don't think I'll be flying anywhere anytime soon, Mineapolis to Chicago is quicker to drive than fly, and anywhere that's less that 16 hours of drive time just isn't worth the effort to deal with security and shipping.