Category: Uncategorized

We’re listing the house in a few days. Been here a touch more than three years. We’re moving a little bit closer to work and to a much better school system.

The house we’re in now was a foreclosure, but it was in very good shape. There were a couple of things we wanted to do after we moved in, but apparently the normal process for these sort of things is this:

1. Buy House
2. Make list of improvements
3. Stuff list in drawer for 3 years
4. Start working on projects a month before you list

So now we’ve got a finished fourth bedroom, new landscaping, new carpet, miscellaneous items from original construction removed, and many other things. And a storage unit, which makes me die a little inside (but we have a storage unit to declutter and make the house look bigger, so there’s that).

And cleaning. Lots of cleaning.

This stuff is awesome if you’ve got a vinyl-siding house. It’s got bleach in it, so wear some clothes you don’t mind destroying. Also, you’re going to need about 3x the amount you think you do. And, while it technically will reach the second story, you basically have to be standing 6 inches from the house and pointing straight up. The delivery system is such that the solution won’t be applied if the angle you’re using is too extreme AND there isn’t enough left in the bottle. So do the high parts first, and use a ladder if you can.

Magic Erasers are basically made out of formica. Very abrasive stuff.

Super Glue works really well to repair that diffuser you broke when you can’t figure out how to change the #$#^*ing light bulbs in the kitchen.

Replacement diffusers are more expensive than new fixtures

A trashcan full of roofing shingles and planters (with the dirt still in them) is really, really heavy.

The Excursion is a Transformer. It transforms from “Minivan for Dads” into “Uhaul Box Truck” pretty easily.

Blogging about shooting, and any actual shooting, may be delayed for a while.

Rachel Lucas is blogging again.

She switched to Twitter-only there for a while, and I don’t get Twitter so I was deprived of her wit for a year or so. Glad to see she’s back (and that she has a precious mutt).

Looks like Marlin has decided to put out Project Appleseed edition 795’s.  Oleg has a post up about them here that includes close up pictures that would put anything my hamfisted attempts at photography could produce (there’s a reason he gets paid for his stuff, and I don’t).

The Appleseed edition is essentially the same setup as I took when I participated in it.  From the pictures, it looks like a stock 795 .22 semi-auto with Tech-Sights and a GI sling.  What I took differed only in that I used a different kind of sling that frankly didn’t work well as a shooting aid.  Oh, and mine didn’t come with a certificate good for one Appleseed shoot.

I know everyone loves the Ruger 10/22, but I’d wager that the Marlin 795 is just as good of a rifle (some say better out of the box), and costs significantly less.  The base 795 goes for around $150 these days, and it looks like the MSRP for the Appleseed edition is $299, which isn’t far off what it would cost to buy the base, Tech-Sights, sling, second mag, and membership to Appleseed.  For that money, you’re looking at not much more than a base line Ruger 10/22.

Of course, I’ve gone a little further in tricking mine out for the next time I head to Appleseed in hunt for that patch, but that set up will do great for most folks.

Part of the conventional wisdom for selecting a 9mm as your carry or even bug out gun is that 9mm is the most common round out there and you’ll always be able to find it.

So…. what was one of the first calibers to start to disappear from the shelves and is currently being rationed at many stores (when they have it)?  Looks like when the chips are down, everyone will be scrambling for the most common rounds.  It looks like the local gun shops are starting to recover their ammo stores, but only in the less popular rounds.  Of the popular handgun ammo, I noticed 9mm and .22 were the first to go, then .40, and .45 lasted a bit longer.  The local Academy had still had a few boxes of 10mm when just about everything else was gone.

Granted, this was “what can I legally buy,” not “what can I scrounge off of dead bodies and salvage from houses,” because that scenario hasn’t happened yet (and I pray it never does), but it does give me pause to rethink the idea.  I’m not saying that the argument isn’t still valid, just not as powerful as an argument as we’ve thought.  The advantage of having a less popular round is that less people will be fighting you over it.  I still wouldn’t recommend some random wildcat round that only 3 guns were ever made for, but my non-9mm pistols have become more attractive as of late because I can find ammo for them.

Actual headline: Shots ring out following case of road rage
UPDATE: Headline has changed to the equally misleading “Shots fired following north Nashville collision, driver charged”
Accurate headline: Hit and run victim stops fleeing suspect from running over, killing witness

Actual headline: Sen. Campfield asks mother: Have you ever thought about therapy?
Accurate headline: Local Democrat activist threatens GOP lawmaker

Actual headline: The NRA opposes background checks
Accurate headline: NRA opposes ban on private sales and the creation of a national registry

I could do this all day.

It’s been tried in some of the big cities (most notably New York City), and now it’s happening in Arkansas.  The town of Paragould has decided that the best way to fight their recent uptick in crime is to start deploying cops in SWAT gear, checking your papers, and asking for a good reason for you to have the nerve to be walking the streets.

According to Salon.com (I know, I know, but it was the first source a buddy of mine showed me), the town has cancelled two town meetings after the first one where this action was discussed due “public safety concerns,” and that the program was supposed to start sometime this month, but no one’s seen them wandering around.  The mayor may have wised up (or talked to a lawyer… any lawyer) and decided this was a bad idea, but it’s frightening that anyone in any place of power in the USA could possibly think that a wandering goon squad is a good idea and it didn’t get squashed until the public announcement.

Of course, as that article points out, this sort of thing has actually happened in US cities before.  They cite when Fresno did it, and New York has the men in blue randomly frisking people (even though any charges keep getting thrown out for being unconstitutional).

Ok, so some of you may not know my typical stance on taking old battle rifles and slapping after-market stocks on them.  I’m not a fan.  I’m not a fan to the extent that I bought an Ishipore Enfield off of Wizard in large part because he was planning on doing terrible and horrible things to it and completely bubba’fying it.  Granted, I told him that if he wasn’t going to buy it when we spotted it at the gun show, I would, but I also told him I’d buy it off of him when he realized that it wasn’t what he wanted (I think there might have been some violence threatened if he cut into the stock).

And yes, I typically have to grit my teeth and remind myself “it’s her rifle, she can do what she wants to with it,” and that there’s a zillion of them out there when I’m reminded what Erin has done to her Mosin-Nagant.  Yes, she’s made her rifle more comfortable, more accurate, and, to her, more fun to shoot, but… damnit…  It actually helps me that she’s written “Avada Kadavra!” one the side.  It’s kind of like saying “yes, I know this is ridiculous, but I’m doing it anyways.  Shut up!”

Of course, there are exceptions.  Apparently specifically for the Mosin.  There’s the bullpup stock that Linoge picked up a while back and then sold off.  Then there’s apparently a new stock coming from the Archangel folks.  I have to agree with Erin on this one.  It’s dead sexy.  I almost want to go buy a bargin bin 90/31 and get this stock.

But no… I’m not changing my M39 anytime soon.

Hung out with Wizard for a bit yesterday, and the topic of the idea that Taurus may try to buy the Freedom Group.

Wizard: I’m pissed off that Taurus is buying the Freedom Group

Me: Why?

Wizard: It’s… like Ford buying Jaguar

Me: um… That was probably the best move for Jag since Ford came in and told Jag that their cars needed to, uh, work.  Hell, even the Top Gear guys* have admitted that Ford did a good job with that.

Wizard: Ok… bad example.

*The Top Gear guys are well known for hating the American car industry.