…you’re giving a presentation at a hacker con on 3D printed guns and a guy wearing an ATF hat walks in and sits down.

Turns out he was actually someone deeply involved with the TFA and decided to give me shit.

Oh, and there may be video later so you guys can make fun of me.

So, apparently the state of California recently passed a bill to make it illegal to carry a gun on school campuses.  I wouldn’t have known this except that a lot of my friends on both sides of the fence posted this image:

Of course, my pro-gun friends commented on the fact that they pretty much used a jack boot for the image, but that’s not the message I see here.

The anti-gunners are crowing about a win in California.  Not only a win, but a pretty easy win that aligns Cali’s gun laws with the laws in most of the other states.

Let that sink in.

They are that desperate for a win.Let’s keep putting the screws to them.

I think the video is a wonderful hour long history of the 2nd Amendment.  Tom did a similar talk at Phreaknic last year, which I saw making the rounds among gun bloggers and can be found here.  I probably should have been one of the folks posting it considering that I’ve been attending and/or helping run that con for a good while now.

This time, he’s talking at Dragoncon, and focusing more on how the 14th Amendment had a big impact on the application of the 2nd (not to mention the rest of the Constitution).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp0-g-cjxmM&w=560&h=315]

I think that a *lot* of folks need to sit down and watch at least one of these videos before they open there mouths to argue the Second Amendment, and gun rights in general.  I know Tom personally, and he’s a good guy that tends to do serious research before talking about something.  He has had several “drunken rants” at Phreaknic that were honestly more informative and thoughtful than many “serious” talks I’ve attended.

By the way, if you’re into computer security (or computer geekery in general), Phreaknic 19 is coming up the first week in November in Nashville.  I am the director of gaming again this year, and will also be giving a talk on 3D printed guns and other homemade firearms.  We’re going to have better/more professional speakers there as well.  Come on down, say hi, maybe play a few games, drink a few beers, and take the opportunity to heckle me in person!  I might even be persuaded to make a trip to the range with you if you twist my arm hard enough.

Sad news for folks on the Illinois side of the border near St. Louis.  Apparently, the budget fight that the state’s legislature is currently having that has made news because they’re refusing to pay out lotto winnings (which, yes, has resulted in lawsuits) has spread to closing of state run venues.  Specifically, the World Shooting and Recreation Complex near Sparta, Il.

I will admit that I’ve never stepped foot onto this complex, but that is merely due to me living a couple states away.  According to its website, it supports trap, skeet, cowboy action shooting, archery, along with a boat load of standard pistol and rifle shooting lanes.  It also has camping and RV facilities, a restaurant, boat ramp, and a shooting sports hall of fame.  It also has the home to  the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship.  I’m not into trap shooting, but I’m assuming that’s a big deal.

Of course, the big problem comes down to money.  According to the article, the complex costs the state $3million a year to run, and has only been bringing in $1.1million.  Of course, I’m guessing that most of that is getting sunk into the restaurant, which will remain open (they’re only closing the shooting ranges and RV park).

Sounds to me like it’s a similar ploy to when the state of Tennessee decided to close a bunch of state parks “due to budgetary reasons” when the true cost was to send a guy out every couple days to change the trash bags at the start of the trail.  Of course, the real reason was to make people upset so they could pass a tax increase.

Before I get into it, I want to remind people why I’m doing this.  This month is Prostrate awareness month, and I’m participating in Kilted to Kick Cancer.  Last year, we raised $13,000 for research, and want to beat that this year.  If you’ve got some extra cash, please follow that link and tell them that Team Oddball sent you.

Wow… it’s almost the end of the week, and I forgot to post a picture (I blame Dragoncon), so… here you go!

Why yes, that is a gallon sized flask

I figured this year I’d discuss the basics of wearing kilts.  This being the first post, I might as well start off with the simple stuff and discuss the different types.

There’s basically 3 types, starting from newest to oldest:

• The utility kilt:  This is what I’m wearing above, made by one of the first companies to make them (Utilikilt).  These are a new idea that basically didn’t exist until they and Alt.kilt came around in the early 2000’s.  Now it seems like everyone’s making them.  I’m sure everyone reading this blog is familiar with 5.11’s attempt at making them.  I’d also point to UTKilt as a good manufacturer for cheap ones.  There are some companies that have made them in various tartans, but, for the most part, you’re looking at solid colors.  The biggest benefit these have over the more traditional styles is pockets.
• The small kilt: This is what most folks think of when you say “kilt,” and has been standard for formal events/uniforms/etc for a couple hundred years now.  These are almost always made using fabric with a tartan/plaid pattern on it, but can be found with solid colors (or if some crazy person decides to make one out of hawaiian print fabric).  Traditionally, they’re made of wool, but you can get them made out of acrylic, rayon, and various other fabrics.  While some companies do offer some with hidden pockets (notably, Sportkilt), if you’re wanting to carry anything, it’s going to have to be stuffed in your sporran (that pouch in the front), or other pouches hanging off your belt.  Oh, and if you’re not hanging things off your belt, the belt is purely for decoration, and many kilts of this type don’t have belt loops.
• The great kilt: The great kilt is the oldest of the types.  It’s basically a large piece of fabric (typically wool) and a belt.  The cloth is laid on the ground and pleated on top of the belt.  The wearer then lays down on the cloth, wraps it around him, and then secures it with the belt.  This garment serves multiple purposes as outerwear, a hooded cloak if needed, and a bed roll (a 60″ by 6-9yard piece of thick wool will keep you pretty warm, even on a cold damp night in the highlands).  If you’re going to go this route, be warned that it is expensive.  There’s no way to get around the price of that much fabric.  Obviously, there are no pockets, although I’ve seen folks gather the excess fabric as makeshift pockets.

One last thing, the flat panel of the kilt should be facing forward, not the pleats.  I would think that this is obvious, but I’ve seen folks on TV wearing the damn things backwards.

Hold on… It’s already the 3rd?  How did that happen?

Well, I’m sitting here in Atlanta for Dragoncon, so I’ll make this brief.  As you probably remember from previous years, September is prostrate cancer awareness month, and I will be once again participating in Kilted to Kick Cancer!

Last year, we raised $13,000 to the Prostate Cancer Research and Education Foundation.  Hopefully, we can beat that this year.

And to start the month of with something festive, here’s a kilt that I may or may not be allowed to wear again that I wore to a luau at Hypericon.

Don’t be too mad at the guy in red. He went to Ohio State and doesn’t know better.

Don’t you love how you have to spend the first part of the argument with a left winger arguing that yes, Obama and the Democratic party as a whole wish to ban guns.

I had a rather lengthy Facebook thread where that was the argument.

Looks like someone decided that shooting folks at the movie theater is cool thing to do, and did so down the road from me.

This is still a “developing story.”  At this time, we’ve got cops surrounding the place, and there’s reports that the SWAT team is responding.

Here’s what we do know:

The shot(s) happened around 1:15.

The mall and ice rink next to it have also been lock down.

I can confirm that the theater has no nifty little “no guns” stickers on the doors that protect us all.

This happened in a neighborhood called Hickory Hollow… which is well known for gang activity and many stores have left because of the crime rate (the mall died once because of it, and reopened with a completely different name in hopes of avoiding the stigma of being in Hickory Hollow).

I do, indeed, live damned close (it’s the next freeway exit) to this shopping area, and actually used to live in easy walking distance to this theater.  There’s a very damned good reason why I will go out of my way to go somewhere else.

Based on what little we know, I’m thinking that this guy wasn’t looking to rack up the body count.  Middle of the day at a theater isn’t usually a “target rich” environment.  Given the nature of the area, I’m going to guess that this will turn out to be thug on thug violence.  Obviously I’ll be watching this one closely.

*update* Local news is reporting that the shooter is dead (probably shot by the cops).  The only other injuries that are being reported are 3 people that got pepper spray in the face and one person that had a cut on his arm (sounds like it was minor) from a hatchet that the shooter was also using.

*update 2 [wizardpc]*…Aaaaand the locals are now reporting he had an airsoft pistol and no real firearms.