Apparently, Tamara had a run in with Indiana’s blue laws (alcohol laws) yesterday, which believe me, I’ve struggled with for quite some time.
What kills me if that I’m going grocery shopping on Sunday (which is our usual routine) I can’t stock up on alcohol for the week that day, and have to make a special trip the next day.
Drives me nuts.
Apparently, today is “steal from Michael Bane day” around here. This article is actually quite interesting, talking about a quick study done on low-light shooting by Force Science Research Center at Minnesota St. University.
Essentially, it confirms a personal theory I’ve had that in a low-light situation under stress, the shooter is going to aim for the most visible part of the target, even if they’ve been trained to shoot center-mass on paper targets.
In his low-light experiment, by contrast, more than 80% of the shots across all the officers and all sets of fire hit in or immediately around the Triangle of Death simulated by the peek of white paper. In other words, Richards concluded, in low light they overrode their training and focused their shots on what was most vividly visible. All the officers confirmed in a post-shooting debrief that the patch of white had drawn their aim.
Go and read the entire thing, it’s a good read and well worth it.
From Michael Bane, I find this lovely link:
LONDON (Reuters) – A British company has developed a camera that can detect weapons, drugs or explosives hidden under people’s clothes from up to 25 meters away in what could be a breakthrough for the security industry.
The T5000 camera, created by a company called ThruVision, uses what it calls “passive imaging technology” to identify objects by the natural electromagnetic rays — known as Terahertz or T-rays — that they emit.
They say that the camera doesn’t “reveal body details” and that the scans are harmless. I guess they’re worried about pervy people looking through you clothes while they’re invading your privacy. With the way technology is advancing, it should does make totalitarianism a lot easier.
Now, I can actually see a legitimate use for this kind of technology, you could use it to screen people entering secured areas, and it would be a lot more efficient than the current method they use at airports. I could actually leave my clothes on instead of having to get half naked and then have some GED graduate hassle me about a bottle of vitamins in my carry-on. But I digress, because I know that these won’t get used just for screening at secure checkpoints.
I can hope that the American’s traditional resistance to invasions of privacy like this would kick in and prevent these from ever crossing the pond.
Marko offers some of the most choice quotes from my favorite novel. I loved Moby Dick the first time I read it, and I’ve enjoyed even more on each subsequent reading.
Honestly, Ahab is one of my favorite characters in fiction – hence the nickname.
The NRA is hosting a grassroots workshop during the annual meetings, Friday the 16th.
Your attendance at this year’s NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop in Louisville is critical toward ensuring the future of our gun rights. This Workshop has been a staple of NRA’s Annual Meetings for more than a decade. It is one of the most popular events of the week, attended by hundreds of freedom-loving NRA members.
Since I’m not arriving until Friday, I won’t be able to make it to the workshop, but I strongly encourage you to attend. I would also like to point your attention to an additional free panel session, which is being hosted by Sebastian. Correction: Sebastian is one of the panel speakers at the Saturday session, it’s being hosted by Glen Caroline of NRA. It’s what I get for typing while I was all excited for him.
Please also plan to attend the “In Their Own Words” Special Session. This session will consist of a panel of your fellow NRA Members discussing their personal grassroots experiences. There is no registration for the “In Their Own Words” Special Session, and as with the Workshop, it is FREE to attend! The “In Their Own Words” Special Session will be held Saturday, May 17, at 2:00 p.m., in Room B104, of the Kentucky Expo Center, located at 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, 40209.
I’ll definitely be in attendance for that.
All that nice stuff I said about the TSA when I flew on Monday? Well, I guess that DHS believes that no kind word should go unpunished, and as such I just had easily one the worst and most degrading experiences at the security checkpoint that I’ve ever experienced.
Figures. I bet those TSA spooks found my blag and decided to put the screws to me. /tinfoil hat
Where else but California? For a lot of you, this will be the first time I’ve ever really addressed the issue of homeschooling, because frankly it’s not something I talk about to a lot of people.
I was homeschooled, and homeschooled in California at that. Additionally, my three other brothers were all homeschooled as well. The thing about California is that there is very much an anti-homeschooling movement in the government and among a lot of the people there as well; so that when I was growing up we had a lot of hoops that we had to jump through so that my parents could legally homeschool us.
Now, California has ruled that unless a parent has a teacher credential, they will not be allowed to homeschool their children.
Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California’s home schooling families.
I need to make some extremely clear, because I do feel very passionate about this issue. Attacks on homeschooling are nothing short of tyranny by the state, because if the state says that you as a parent do not have a right to educate your own children as you see fit, they are one very small step away from deciding everything your children should be taught.
I don’t like making grand sweeping statements like that, but it’s true. Restricting homeschooling is a direct attack on the Bill of Rights, because the government in affect is telling you how your children should be educated. They are saying that you, the parent, unless you pass the state requirements to become a teacher, are not qualified to educate your child. You, the parent, unless you have the approval of the state, are not allowed to educate you child in your home.
I love this show, it’s one of my favorite shows on TV, which is why I’m so excited for the fourth and final season of Galactica, which premiers on April 4th.
Galactica appeals to me on multiple levels, the political intrigue, the military drama, and how the Cylon religion ties in with the Colonial religion are all big draws for me. If you haven’t been watching you could go out and pick up the first three seasons on DVD and watch them all before the final season gets underway here. It would not be money wasted.
Beyond the character drama, I LOVE the political aspect of the show, as you get to see the Colonial Fleet struggle and the government struggle with trying to balance the efficiency of totalitarianism against a desire to be free; and the difficulty that can cause in a military situation.
I’m excited for April 4th, the new, and final season of Galactica should be fantastic.
John Snow at the GunShots has an excellent lesson in why always practice safe gun handling and wearing proper safety equipment.
I had taken a bead on one clay out there on the hill and as I shot I heard an extra loud bang and felt a stinging sensation on my face. Looking down I noticed the rifle was no longer in one piece. The magazine had blown out of the stock and smoke was curling ominously from various points on the rifle.
Read the whole post, it’s definitely an excellent lesson on knowing both the capabilities of your firearm as well as using the proper safety equipment.
John in his post says he’s lucky that he was wearing safety equipment – that’s not luck, that’s being smart. Well done on his part.
(click to embiggenate)