Archer - 2001:A Space Odyssey Mashup

I laughed so hard I think I peed a little.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Today's Dumbassery: Outlawed Research

Today's lunchtime Strawman argument-
The NRA forced the Gummint to OUTLAW studies regarding gun violence, blah blah blah.
Something something researchers forbidden to even LOOK at anything to do with firearms or lose 100% of funding.

Sorry- not true...
The gist of the matter is that the Dickey amendment to the 1996 Appropriations Bill basically said that “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”
Now- we all know that the Smartest Ones in their Ivory Towers have ten thousand ways of cooking their results- they can make night into day, make $10,000 dollars into a bent dime and tell you to go to hell in such a manner that you look forward to the trip.
BUT apparently they can't do an unbiased study that provides real data concerning guns - ANYTHING they do will be used by the Anti's for their purposes.

But isn't that JUST the CDC? And isn't that just spending Gummint funds?
If I recall correctly, doesn't Mickey B's Criminals Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Control Over Your Life have a great big ol' pile of cash to spend?
Why don't they fund the research?... Research isn't illegal, is it?
I think their problems is that the data will show guns=less crime no matter how they dress it up, and if they cook the books, the chicanery will be so obvious that they will lose what tiny smidgen of credibility they already have. Kinda like how the Red Light Camera statistics show a drop in accidents at intersections - IF you exclude rear-end collisions at RLC intersections.


I swear to Koeschi I am going to start eating my lunch crouched under a friggin' freeway overpass rather than deal with these mouthbreathers. At least I'd be enjoying the company of a better class of idiot than my current companions.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Engineers Explained

-This is not original content, just though some folks here might enjoy it.-


TL;DR: Engineers are weird, don't try to figure them out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

People who work in the fields of science and technology are not like other people. This can be frustrating to the nontechnical people who have to deal with them. The secret to coping with technology-oriented people is to understand their motivations.  I learned their customs and mannerisms by observing them, much the way Jane Goodall learned about the great apes, but without the hassle of grooming.

Engineering is so trendy these days that everybody wants to be one. The word "engineer" is greatly overused. If there's somebody in your life who you think is trying to pass as an engineer, give him this test to discern the truth.

Engineer Identification Test

You walk into a room and notice that a picture is hanging crooked. You...

1. Straighten it.
2. Ignore it.
3. Buy a CAD system and spend the next six months designing a solar-powered, self-adjusting picture frame while often stating aloud your belief that the inventor of the nail was a total moron.

The correct answer is "C" but partial credit can be given to anybody who writes "It depends" in the margin of the test or simply blames the whole stupid thing on "Marketing."

Social Skills

Engineers have different objectives when it comes to social interaction.
"Normal" people expect to accomplish several unrealistic things from social interaction:

• Stimulating and thought-provoking conversation
• Important social contacts
• A feeling of connectedness with other humans

In contrast to "normal" people, engineers have rational objectives for social interactions:

• Get it over with as soon as possible.
  
• Avoid getting dragged into something unpleasant.
• Demonstrate mental superiority and mastery of all subjects.

Fascination with Gadgets

To the engineer, all matter in the universe can be placed into one of two categories: (1)things that need to be fixed, and (2)things that will need to be fixed after you've had a few minutes to play with them.
Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems. Normal people don't understand this concept; they believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.
No engineer looks at a television remote control without wondering what it would take to turn it into a stun gun. No engineer can take a shower without wondering if some sort of Teflon coating would make showering unnecessary. To the engineer, the world is a toy box full of sub-optimized and feature-poor toys.

Fashion and Appearance

Clothes are the lowest priority for an engineer, assuming the basic thresholds for temperature and decency have been satisfied. If no appendages are freezing or sticking together, and if no genitalia or mammary glands are swinging around in plain view, then the objective of clothing has been met. Anything else is a waste.

Love of "Star Trek"

Engineers love all of the "Star Trek" television shows and movies. It's a small wonder, since the engineers on the starship Enterprise are portrayed as heroes, occasionally even having sex with aliens. This is much more glamorous than the real life of an engineer, which consists of hiding from the universe and having sex without the participation of other life forms. (TBG Note: Anyone who believes this is a moron. There may be a Trekker subset of Engineers, but it's not a universal trait. Any good Engineer will tell you that Absolutes are B.S.)

Dating and Social Life

Dating is never easy for engineers. A normal person will employ various indirect and duplicitous methods to create a false impression of attractiveness. Engineers are incapable of placing appearance above function.
Fortunately, engineers have an ace in the hole. They are widely recognized as superior marriage material: intelligent, dependable, employed, honest, and handy around the house. While it's true that many normal people would prefer not to date an engineer, most normal people harbor an intense desire to mate with them, thus producing engineer-like children who will have high-paying jobs long before losing their virginity.
Male engineers reach their peak of sexual attractiveness later than normal men, becoming irresistible erotic dynamos in their mid thirties to late forties. Just look at these examples of sexually irresistible men in technical professions:

• Bill Gates.
• MacGyver.
• Etcetera.

Female engineers become irresistible at the age of consent and remain that way until about thirty minutes after their clinical death. Longer if it's a warm day.

Honesty

Engineers are always honest in matters of technology and human relationships. That's why it's a good idea to keep engineers away from customers, romantic interests, and other people who can't handle the truth.
Engineers sometimes bend the truth to avoid work. They say things that sound like lies but technically are not because nobody could be expected to believe them. The complete list of engineer lies is listed below.

• "I won't change anything without asking you first." 
• "That's a simple fix. It'll only take me ten minutes."
• "I'll return your hard-to-find cable tomorrow."
• "I have to have new equipment to do my job." 
• "I'm not jealous of your new computer." 
• "I have read the terms and conditions and will abide by them."
• "I will write up the documentation for you over the weekend."

Frugality

Engineers are notoriously frugal. This is not because of cheapness or mean spirit; it is simply because every spending situation is simply a problem in optimization, that is, "How can I escape this situation while retaining the greatest amount of cash?"

Powers of Concentration

If there is one trait that best defines an engineer it is the ability to concentrate on one subject to the complete exclusion of everything else in the environment. This sometimes causes engineers to be pronounced dead prematurely. Some funeral homes in high-tech areas have started checking resumes before processing the bodies. Anybody with a degree in electrical engineering or experience in computer programming is propped up in the lounge for a few days just to see if he or she snaps out of it.

Risk

Engineers hate risk. They try to eliminate it whenever they can. This is understandable, given that when an engineer makes one little mistake, the media will treat it like it's a big deal or something.

Examples of Bad Press for Engineers

• Hindenberg.
• Space Shuttle Challenger.
• SPANet(tm) 
• Mars Climate Orbiter
• Hubble space telescope.
• Apollo 13.
• Titanic.
• Ford Pinto.
• Corvair.

The risk/reward calculation for engineers looks something like this:
RISK: Public humiliation and the death of thousands of innocent people. REWARD: A certificate of appreciation in a handsome plastic frame.
Being practical people, engineers evaluate this balance of risks and rewards and decide that risk is not a good thing. The best way to avoid risk is by advising that any activity is technically impossible for reasons that are far too complicated to explain.
If that approach is not sufficient to halt a project, then the engineer will fall back to a second line of defense: "It's technically possible but it will cost too much."

Ego

Ego-wise, two things are important to engineers:

• How smart they are.
• How many cool devices they own.

The fastest way to get an engineer to solve a problem is to declare that the problem is unsolvable. No engineer can walk away from an unsolvable problem until it's solved. No illness or distraction is sufficient to get the engineer off the case. These types of challenges quickly become personal -- a battle between the engineer and the laws of nature.
Engineers will go without food and hygiene for days to solve a problem. (Other times just because they forgot.) And when they succeed in solving the problem they will experience an ego rush that is better than sex--and I'm including the kind of sex where other people are involved.

Nothing is more threatening to the engineer than the suggestion that somebody has more technical skill. Normal people sometimes use that knowledge as a lever to extract more work from the engineer.
When an engineer says that something can't be done (a code phrase that means it's not fun to do), some clever normal people have learned to glance at the engineer with a look of compassion and pity and say something along these lines: "I'll ask Bob to figure it out. He knows how to solve difficult technical problems."
At that point it is a good idea for the normal person to not stand between the engineer and the problem. The engineer will set upon the problem like a starved Chihuahua on a pork chop.

(H/T - Note: This bit of foolscap has been attributed to Scott Adams. If so- Well done, sir.)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Trolling the Workplace

I could re-word this a bit and with the proper posting location,
I'll bet I could drive most of my coworkers to apoplexy.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Jargon, Hacker and Otherwise

The Perfect Child is home from school for the summer - She's working toward her degree in an obscure offshoot of the medical services field that has hooks in the CDC/DHS/Emergency Services industry.

Most of her studies have revolved around hospital operations and control/containment issues, and given that we both posses a somewhat macabre sense of humor, we have lots of fun playing 'What If?' games centering around disaster scenarios. I know- morbid and creepifying.


I have a penchant for etymology and time wasters, evidenced by the fact that I have long possessed a bound hardcopy of the Jargon File (a link to the soft copy can be found over at Borepatch's site here...). Knowing my interest in things of this nature, the PC sent me the following list of terms, which I figured I'd share with you Constant Readers.
(Caution: some terms may be considered extremely tasteless or crass. If you are easily offended, I suggest clicking THIS link instead of reading further.)

Anaerobe: a term borrowed from bacteriology used to refer to a patient with chronically poor lung function whose blood oxygen levels seem too low to be compatible with life, yet who seems to function normally nonetheless.

A.R.T: Assuming room temperature. A recently deceased patient.

Banana bag: an intravenous solution containing a liquid multivitamin that colors the fluid a bright yellow, used in undernourished or alcoholic patients.

Beans: kidneys. "Better watch that Gentamycin level — you don't want to fry her beans."

Bed plug: a low-maintenance patient occupying a bed that might otherwise be filled with a more difficult case.

Bright lights: surgery (also, "bright lights and cold steel"). "The meds aren't doing squat — sounds like this guy needs some bright lights."

C.T.D: Circling the drain. Description of a patient who is slowly deteriorating and likely to die.

Code brown: bowel incontinence that can be smelled throughout the ward. "Code brown on 3 East — better take the back stairs."

C.T.S.: Cut all to shreds. E.R. lingo for victims with multiple lacerations, usually MVAs with through-the-windshield trauma.

Deceleration Trauma: The patient/victim has jumped/fallen/been thrown from from a high location and impacted the ground with high delta-V.
"It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden deceleration trauma immediately thereafter."  (See also: Terminal Deceleration Syndrome)

Ditzel: a small, unidentified mass seen on an X-ray, usually benign by implication. "The CAT scan was fine except for a vague ditzel in the parietal lobe, probably a calcium deposit." (See also goombah.)

D.N.R.: do not resuscitate. Instructions allowing a patient to die undisturbed in the event of a sudden catastrophic event; no C.P.R., no respirator, no electric shocks.

Doc-in-the-box: an urgent-care walk-in clinic. "He's moonlighting at a doc-in-the-box downtown."

D.R.T: Dead Right There. Usually the recipient of some type of trauma (GSW, MVA) where the victim has succumbed and is A.R.T. prior to the arrival of the EMTs

Fascinoma: a very unusual or fascinating case. "They're presenting the fascinoma from 4 East at grand rounds this morning."

F/C/S/N/V/HA/C.P.: fever, chills, sweats, nausea, vomiting, headache, chest pain. A list of symptoms so commonly checked off in questioning that the savvy resident can "name that tune" with only one or two letters.

F.D.G.B: Fall Down, Go Boom - Patient (usually a child) in N.A.D. with an overly protective/concerned parent, arriving at the E.R. after a household fall.

Fleas: Internists, because of their constant attention to the minutiae of daily patient care. In a less complimentary light, as a patient's death becomes imminent, the consulting specialists will often sign off the case, which internists, as primary care doctors, are unable to do. So internists resemble fleas, which are — as the saying has it — "the last ones to jump off a dying dog."

Gomer: shorthand for "Get out of my emergency room." Any undesirable patient, usually one that is unkempt, demented, combative or any combination of the above. (The phrase is now sharply discouraged due to a new sensitivity to the image of doctors, in reaction to the uncaring image presented by H.M.O.'s.)

Goombah: a large unidentified mass seen on an X-ray, usually implied to be malignant. "He's got some kind of goombah in the left upper lobe on his chest film." (See also ditzel.)

GSW: Gun Shot Wound

Heme: blood, often used as a euphemism in the presence of conscious patients to avoid upsetting them. "A little suction, nurse. I'm getting a little heme at the biopsy site."

HIBGIA: "Had it before, got it again." Serial E.R. customers.

Hit: a new patient. "Better grab some dinner quick — we've got three hits coming up from the E.R."

Incidentaloma: an incidental finding noted on a radiograph performed for an unrelated purpose. "The M.R.I. of the C-spine was normal except for an incidentaloma in the thyroid."

I's and O's: intake and output — a daily count of the patient's total fluid intake and measurable output (urine, blood, wound drainage, etc.). An accurate tally allows assessment of the patient's hydration status.

K: the chemical symbol for potassium. "Mrs. Zilka's K was pretty low this morning — better give her a dose of K-phos."

L.O.L.: little old lady. (Oddly, there is no male equivalent.)

Lead Poisoning: Usually a victim of a GSW.

M.V.A.: Motor Vehicle Accident

N.A.D.: no apparent distress. The classic description of a patient in a state of well-being: "L.O.L. in N.A.D."

Neuron: neurologist. "Better get an M.R.I. before you get that neuro consult — the neurons don't go to the bathroom without seeing an M.R.I. first."

O sign: a persistently open mouth, as seen on a mouth-breathing sleeping patient, or on a demented conscious patient. "He's resting comfortably; positive O sign." (See also Q sign.)

O.C.: obsessive-compulsive. "Dr. Heller gets pretty O.C. about checking I's and O's on his patients."

PBS: Pretty Bad Shape - Kind of self-explanatory.

Pimp: to test the medical knowledge of an underling, usually in a public and unexpected manner. "The chief made rounds with us this morning, and I got pimped wicked about hepatitis."

Pleasantly demented: a standard description of a patient who, though deep in the throes of senility, can carry on an appropriate conversation and occasionally give the impression of having perfect mental capacity.

Q sign: an open mouth with a tongue dangling from it. "Looks like Mr. O'Reilly's not going to need his sleeping pills tonight — he's already got a positive Q sign showing." (See also O sign.)

Rock: a very stable patient, often used at sign-out, when one physician is turning over care to another. "Mr. Green on 3 South just had a hernia repair — nothing to do there, he's a rock."

Scut puppy: an underling, usually a third-year medical student, assigned to perform menial tasks like drawing blood and retrieving lab results.

Snake: to perform a procedure involving insertion of a fiber-optic scope into a body orifice; also, the instrument itself. "Mrs. Goldstein's ulcer seems to be acting up — we better snake her and take a look."

S.O.B: shortness of breath. "Mr. Hanson complains of three weeks of intermittent C.P. accompanied by S.O.B."

Tail-light sign: when a patient (usually elderly) is dropped off at an emergency room by relatives who drive away before an evaluation is complete, forcing the patient to be admitted to the hospital whether or not his medical condition requires it.

Terminal Deceleration Syndrome: Usually a victim of a MVA or Motorcycle accident.

Train wreck: a patient with multiple medical problems. "Dr. Jacobs can't come down right now — he's tied up with a train wreck in the E.R."

Veteran (variant: veteranoid): a grizzled, elderly patient, usually male, who has great forbearance with testing and readily agrees to any procedures that are advised; reminiscent of the type of patient normally found in a V.A. hospital.

Wallet biopsy: checking a patient's insurance or financial status before embarking on expensive procedures. "They were going to keep her a couple more days, but the wallet biopsy showed she could be treated at home instead."

W.N.L.: within normal limits, as in a lab or X- ray result; or, alternatively, "We Never Looked."

W.N./W.D.: well-nourished and well-developed. Standard opening shorthand in any physical examination: `W.N./W.D. female in N.A.D."

Zebra: an outlandish or unlikely diagnosis. A medical school aphorism holds, "If you're walking down Fifth Avenue and you hear hoofbeats, you think of horses, not zebras," meaning that a common diagnosis is more likely to be correct than a rare one.

- Most references by SHEILENDR KHIPPLE

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Avacadon't

Since last December I have been indulging in genus Persea, the Avocado.

Some time a little too much I think...
But- better to nosh on The Green than, oh, say, three Milky Way bars, an entire sleeve of Oreos or a pint of Ben & Jerry's.


For the last six months or so I have been learning how to indulge in the Alligator Pear, or rather, how to purchase, tend, evaluate, test, and -at the most optimum moment- enjoy the tasty innards of the Great Green Testicle...

It kinda goes like this:

Day One - Carefully prod and poke approx 300 under-ripe avocados at the store.
Choose one or two of appropriate size and relative ripeness.
Bring it/them home and place them on the window sill so they are not forgotten in the bottom of the 'fridge.

Day Two - Check for ripeness. Condition: not quite yet.
Day Three - Check for ripeness. Condition: not quite yet.
Day Four - Check for ripeness. Condition: Almost there.... Just a bit more.
Day Five - Check for ripeness. Condition: Completely rotten. Inedible.

Obviously, there is a tiny window of opportunity between 3 and 5 AM where you can actually enjoy the perfect ripeness of the avocado.

This is, of course, a bit of an exaggeration... But not too much.

How do I enjoy my avocado?
Mostly just sliced with a squeeze of lime or a bit of vinaigrette dressing...or just putting a  spoon of salsa in the hole left when the seed is removed and scooping it right out of the skin.

I did find something that looked interesting on the Intarwebs...



Warning- this was awful. I tried it a couple different ways- it was crap.
Avoid avoid avoid!

My favorite method of preparation?



Glockamole, of course.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Missing The Point

Watching one of the ever-present food shows on the Gluttony & Greed Network.

The dude with the spiked bleach-blonde hair is reviewing burgers around the country...

Every single one is piled high with an assortment of crap ranging from Mac & Cheese to beet slices to fried egg to cranberry mayo and everything between...

The other ever-present element to all these burgers is adore-mentioned "piled high" condition.

Especially with crap that drips, oozes, splashes and leaks all over the consumer and anyone within 10 feet.

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the sandwich?

Isn't the idea to be able to eat a meal with your hands and not look like you went three rounds with the salad bar (and lost).

TBG

Indigestion. I's Getting It

So, the Idjits that I occasionally lunch with are picking topics just to get on my nerves...
Like today.
"CEOs & Bankers, f'ckin' One Percenter Thieves" was MacGuffin-du-jour.

Apparently there is a story out where the average CEO makes 10 Million a year.
Kinda curious about their metrics- the "who" they are averaging...
I know a reasonable number of CEOs and none of them make anywhere near 10mil/year.

But my chicken-wing snarfing companion was going off on how the 1% are scum of the Earth because they make money off screwing the average man on a daily basis.

The consensus is, in a nutshell, that Bankers and CEOs make millions by stealing money from Average Joe, just outright thievery, and will never spend a day in jail.
From the Bank of America CEO, to Mr. Big Oil Spill, to Mr. Nabisco-Kraft, every single one is a Robber Baron, bathed in the blood of the average consumer and Gaia herself. And anyone in the One-Percent "didn't do that himself- he stole it!" needs to go to jail. End-of-story.

It was my opinion that the hate that was directed at the corporate earners seemed to be very one-sided, as opposed to more widespread hate for anyone who earns millions on the backs of consumers.
Ah, such dumbassery.

CEO-Hater was adamant that only BigBiz CEOs are the only ones that foster and benefit  from take-from-the-poor policies...

In my humble opinion, I found this to be a bit misleading or even completely dishonest.
I asked about the rest of the one-percenters- The GOOD ones that the 99% crowd forgets about when they are protesting...
Hollywood types. Politicians. Pro Athletes. Musicians. And the list goes on.

"But..but..but... Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Robert Downy Junior don't make millions through bullshit policies that fleece the Working Man!"
Wrong, Jocko. Big Entertainment/Sports CEOs pay these people this kind of money...
And who screams and shouts about song and movie piracy? And ticket sales? And royalties? And appearance fees? And just looooove to look like they are supporting the 99%... When instead, their greed is fueled by $15 cinema tickets, $300 concert tickets, $8 medium popcorn prices, and $28 for a new album release on CD (only $19 on iTunes though...).
And these are a tiny fraction of the so-called one-percent.
Ah- the One Percent-
Do you know who they are?
Not just the $30-million/year Hedge Fund Tycoon, but a shitload of others...
Basically anyone who makes over (about) $350,000 a year.
Which ain't a whole lot. It's a shit-tonne more than I make, but in the scheme of things, it's not that much. And when the Wealth Re-distributors come with their Wage Equity yardstick, they will be having a grand old time.

The Wealth Divide in the US (or the rest of the world, for that matter) IS a problem...
for whiny crybabies.
And it's a gorram shame that your spent your high school days in Homeroom 420 and took YOLO 101 instead of learning how to do something that you can get paid for.
And don't whine that you couldn't get a job like Hedge Fund Manager because you majored in Womyns Studies and you chose to live in Bugtussle Alabama.
Move your ass to a city with an ivy-league college, take every economics, finance and risk estimation course and get a Double Econ major. Do a couple years of internships and make business relationships.
Then you can be in the .01%.

But don't expect to share in the wealth of someone who has sacrificed the time and done all that work just because you're a crybaby and feel that the world (and the US economic system) owes you a living because you spent the last 10 years of your education drunk, high, or hungover.

Assholes.

Listen to your Uncle Dave Gardener: "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

I gotta find better people to lunch with...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

No Tongue

Yeah- they are cute and all...


Regardless of how adorable you find them...



...You may want to avoid the Kissing Booth at the Zoo...


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Lost Footage - Apollo 19

Bet you though they cancelled that one...


Wrongo, Champ.

Here's the footage.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

These Kids Today...

...with their Kongs and fancy-schmancy Chuckit balls...



...And I was happy to have it.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Quote of the Day

During today's lunchtime rant on politics and generalized stupidity of the American voter an interesting and oh-so-accurate quote was uttered...

One of the ODMQD* was trying to draw correlation between the fact that Obama is unable to tell the truth, and the fact he is so completely clueless about far is is in over his head when it comes to, well... everything.
Granted- it does help that you have a whipping boy like Carney to try to gloss over the lies, half-truths, and inept mutterings, but still.

So-
MQD1: "...then he says 'I learned about it on CNN'. Just like back in 2011- he only learned about Fast & Furious on the news."

Yours Truly: (always one to stir the pot) "That's pretty racist of you. Because... Uh..."
(Trying desperately to come up with a hook and not finding one) "... You're racist!"

MQD1: "See- that's where you're wrong. It is quite possible that the fact that he's black is the ONLY thing I DON'T hate about [him]. It's every OTHER [expletive] thing about him that I find so offensive."

YT: "Wow. I'm soooo blogging this. Truer words have never been spoken."


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
*Really. Don't ask.

From our "Unclear On The Concept" Department...

The asshattery is strong with this one....

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Private Dumbass on the Range

Wha...How...??

I think if you gave a magazine and 8 rounds to a typical journalist or politician you'd get this result about 95% of the time...

From Imgur - So then the Private says "Drill Sarn't, my gun won't fire!"TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

I Guess I Need To Update My List...

...of Rules for Responsible Gun Owners.
Over on my left sidebar a little ways down below the links and the archive, you'll find my "Exercise Your 2nd Amendment Rights" Section where I make an offer to take folks that are new to guns and shooting to the range as an introduction, and I also enumerate the 4 rules of gun safety...

1. Always treat a firearms as if it is loaded.
2. Never point a firearm at anyone or anything that you do not intend to kill or destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Know your target and what is beyond the target.

For the concise breakdown, please see Jeff Cooper's commentaries- Volume 6, Number 2.
It is definitely worth reading the original missive...

Now- It seems that this list needs to be updated.


Before I get into the meat of the issue, let me state I'm an Open Carry proponent. In Florida, however, open carry is not an option. There are times and places that I'd like to exercise my rights by open carry, and there are times and places where it would be impractical or perhaps downright foolish. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to do it if you so choose...
The guys at Florida Carry are doing a great job at trying to shift Florida's status to legalize open carry in an organized and gentle manner- fishing events coordinated with local LEOs etc (In FL you can open carry when you are hunting [duh], camping or fishing). Godspeed y'all.
One of the local Jacksonville TV stations did a piece on the monthly OC fishing event at the Jax Beach Pier... Not too bad of a hack job.

This all being said-
I need to add to my rules list- appending the following -

5. Don't be a dick.

Robb (Sharp as a Marble) has been tilting at this windmill for a long time and his views on it are must-read...
And example of such is the kind of stunt that has the Anti's panties in a bunch and forced Chipotle to issue a "Please don't do that" statement....

Really?

You think this is going to sway public opinion to be OK with OC?
Jeebus Pete- get a clue, will you? You're just giving Bloomberg and MDA fuel for their fires, and you are not helping the situation.

When your are carrying, either Open or Concealed, don't be a dick.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Free Advice, Worth Every Penny

Awhile back I put out some advice that I thought was pretty timely and useful-
"Don't take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night."
- The Zen of IDS, #20

Well- I was talking to one of the ODMQD on who offered a similar slice of warning... I told him he looked like crap on Sunday afternoon..

"Man... I was up all night. A friendly word of warning: Don't get your Ambien and your Cialis bottles mixed up." (rimshot)


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

How Did We Ever Survive...?

...the political incorrectness that we grew up with in the '70s?

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Borepatch & Friends

Always use the right tool for the job.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

I Thought We Went Over This...?

Fock it the nuck off, dammit.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Parsing - I Doesn't Has It

Is it just me or is HRC doing some massively vague rationalizations?

“When I left as secretary and passed the baton on to Secretary Kerry, we were positioned to really explore whether we had set the table well enough to see changes that were sufficient to meet our legitimate objections to Iran’s behavior and its future plans,” Clinton said, referring to her successor, John F. Kerry..

Dafuq does this sentence even mean?

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Oops!

There is a reason semis are prohibited from driving on New York State parkways...


Yikes


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The Argument For Concealed Carry

 Gummint releases hundreds thousands of criminal aliens.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released 36,007 convicted criminal aliens last year who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings, according to a report issued Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies.
The group of released criminals includes those convicted of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault, according to the report, which cites a document prepared by the ICE. . . .
According to the report, the 36,007 individuals released represented nearly 88,000 convictions, including:

•193 homicide convictions
•426 sexual assault convictions
•303 kidnapping convictions
•1,075 aggravated assault convictions
•1,160 stolen vehicle convictions
•9,187 dangerous drug convictions
•16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions

In effect, the administration has, as Bill Otis puts it, “unleashed its own crime wave.”


If this isn't a cause for people to embrace Second Amendment rights and get serious about concealed carry & personal safety, then you deserve to wait to 10-30 minutes for cops to show up after you make that 911 call.



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Master Chief? Darth Vader?

Sargent Smith?

Quite interesting new US Army headgear concept...
Comes with chem & bio filters...
Probably useful for piloting TIE fighters too.

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The Mission, Should You Decide To Accept It...

I got this one while I was still in Sochi...
I decided it would be prudent to avoid poking the KGB (or it's bastard stepchilluns) in the eye whilst still in-country.

(click pic for bigness)

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Gojira!

Opening today- at a theater near you!




I might have to go to see this one at an IMAX theatre..



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To Subdue Bad Soybeans?

.40 caliber SMGs.
Really. For the Department of Agriculture.
Here.

Dept of Agriculture wants the guns to have an "ambidextrous safety, semiautomatic or 2 round burts [sic] trigger group, Tritium night sights front and rear, rails for attachment of flashlight (front under fore group) and scope (top rear), stock collapsible or folding," and a "30 rd. capacity" magazine.

Wow. 30 round mags. And 2-round burst capability? True double taps, I guess.

I guess they're expecting some trouble with the Children of the Corn.

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Lunch With the Brotherhood

Lunching with a couple members of the ODMQD* we got to discussing politics (duh).
One of the Brothers had read my latest screed and brought (on his iPad) an email regarding the dangers of being opposite the Clintons and how it can be hazardous to one's health.

 Federal agents killed in the Branch Davidian raid in Waco, Tom McKeehan, Conway Le Bleu, and Robert Williams, were former Clinton bodyguards. (February 26, 1993)

    Attorney Paul Wilcher, who investigated drug and gun running out of Mena, Arkansas and their links to the Branch Davidians, died of undetermined causes three weeks after submitting a 99 page affidavit to Attorney General Janet Reno. (June 23, 1993)

    Four Marine presidential crewmen who escorted Clinton on the flight to the Carrier Roosevelt, Maj. William S. Barkley, Capt. Scott J. Reynolds, Staff Sgt. Brian D. Haney and Sgt. Timothy D. Sabel, died in a helicopter crash. (May 19, 1993)

    Others associated with Clinton's March 12, 1993 visit to the Carrier Roosevelt (the meeting aboard the Roosevelt figures prominently in the U.N. Bosnia-Serbia peace keeping plans) who died in aviation accidents within four months of each other, include: Maj. Gen. Jarrett J. Robertson, Col. William J. Densberger, Col. Robert J. Kelley, and five Naval Aviators.

    Vincent Foster, Hillary's former Rose Law Firm Associate and legal council to the President, allegedly committed suicide, using a non-traceable hand gun, built from parts of several guns. Shadows of doubt cast by reports of not finding a suicide note were addressed when a note was miraculously produced much later, torn into pieces, void of fingerprints. Missing was the piece where the signature would appear. (July 7, 1993)

    Paula Gober, who traveled extensively with Clinton as his interpreter for the hearing-impaired, was killed in a solo auto accident near Monticello, Arkansas. Her body was found 33 feet away from her overturned car. (December 9, 1992)

    Clinton's State Attorney General Susan Coleman, who allegedly had an affair with Clinton, was shot in the back of her head.

    Arkansas pornography and prostitution ring 'model' Judy Gibbs, a frequent sexual partner of then-Governor Clinton, burned to death in a fire inside her home following her decision to cooperate with police.

    Clinton strategist and Democratic National Committee Political Director, Paul Tully, was found dead of unknown causes in a Little Rock hotel room. (September 9, 1992).

    Clintons national finance co-chairman and operator of a telecommunication service used by international police, C. Victor Raiser II, and his son Montgomery Raiser were killed in a private plane crash. (June 30, 1992)

    Clinton fund raiser Herschel Friday, an attorney from Little Rock, was killed in a single-engine plane accident.

    Clinton administration advisors on health care reform Stanley Heard and Steven Dickson were killed in the crash of their rented plane shortly after takeoff from Dulles Airport.

    Jim Wilhite, a friend of Bill Clinton and a business associate of White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty, suffered fatal head injuries in a skiing accident. (December 12, 1992)

    The death of prominent attorney, developer, and Clinton fund-raiser, Ed Wiley, was ruled a suicide though no suicide note was found, nor was there an apparent motive for suicide. (November 30, 1993)

    Clinton¹s Chief of Security in Arkansas, Jerry Parks, was found along a roadside, riddled with bullets. Files kept in his office were missing.

    Dr. Ronald Rogers, believed to be on his way to an interview to reveal information about Clinton to a London Sunday Telegraph reporter, died in a plane crash. (March 3 1994)

    A witness for Paula Jones, Kathy Ferguson, the ex-wife of Arkansas State Trooper and Clinton bodyguard Danny Ferguson, was shot behind the left ear. The death was ruled a suicide. (May 11, 1994)

    Kathy Ferguson's fiance, Arkansas policeman Bill Shelton, who was critical of the Ferguson suicide ruling, died of a gunshot wound behind the left ear. His death was ruled a suicide. (June 1994).

    Jon Parnell Walker, a Resolution Trust Corporation investigator probing illegalities between the Clintons and Madison Guaranty S&L, allegedly committed suicide by leaping from the top of a 22-story apartment building.

    Stanley Huggin, an investigator into Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, was found dead in Delaware.

    Admiral Jeremy M. (Mike) Boords, Chief of Naval Operations, shot himself in the chest with a .38 caliber handgun a few minutes before her was to be interviewed by a Newsweek reporter. He was tipped off that he would be asked two questions: Did he know Jonathon Jay Pollard? And, was he Pollard's 'handler' at the Navy Department?

    Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, 34 American industrialists and flight crew aboard the Presidential plane Air Force-2 were killed when the Boeing T-43-A crashes into Sveti Ivan, Croatia, April 3, 1996. Air Force Stewardess Shelly Kelly, who is riding in the tail, sustains only minor cuts and bruises, and was able to board a rescue helicopter without assistance. She later dies at the hospital from loss of blood. According to journalist Joe L. Jordan, an autopsy later reveals a neat three-inch incision over her main femoral artery that was inflicted at least three hours after all her other cuts and bruises. Clinton hastily orders all bodies of the victims to be cremated.

    Maintenance Chief Niko Jerkuic, in charge of the radio beacon that guided Air Force-2 to the runway at Cilipi Airport, commits suicide by shooting himself in the chest. Cilipi¹s air traffic controller also commits suicide and the tapes of the control tower disappear

And the hits (heh) keep coming. (Benghazi, etc.)

I've seen this bit o' foolscap before, and it seems like it's going to be getting more life (heh) as the political seasons start to ramp up...

My man xbradtc over at Bring the heat Bring the Stupid opines that the most dangerous job in the world is to be an associate of the Clinton's...
Based on the proffered list, one might think so.
(The only more dangerous occupation/pastime for anyone, especially young urban males is "turning his life around")

Regarding the *cough cough* unfortunate circumstances *cough cough* of the demise of damn near everyone that pisses off or has dirt on the Clintons - I immediately head over to the bastion of debunking Snopes.com to look up the Clinton Body Count.
Sadly- the operators of Snopes are tried-and-true kool-aid drinkers of the Left, so you have to be a little careful with the "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" you get regarding anything damaging to Obama, the Clintons, or the Left in general.
In this particular case they give a quick handwave to all the items-
"it could happen to anyone, nothing to see here... move along"

Well... whether there is a Clinton Kiss of Death or not, things are going to get quite interesting in the next few months.

*Don't ask.
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Perception: See It For What It Is

Have you seen all the push for Feminism and Gender Equality lately?

Of course you have. How could you not?
MSNBC is rapidly shifting from "durr - stoopid Rethuglicans and Tea Baggers" and "Chris Christie is a big stupid poopy head" to "Fems Now!" and "Men Suck!" and the real MSM is not too far behind.

Figured it out yet?

I'm a dumbass and barely have two brain cells left from my sordid yoot in the Keys, but it sure looks to me like the Great Leftist Long-Con for 2016: Put Hillary back in the White House...
You know - the same method they used in 2007-2008 to hype up all your White Guilt and get Obama elected.

(There is a discussion if the same "guilt tactics" were invoked for 2012: "Well- I voted for HopenChange in 2008, and if I changed my vote now, I think that would make me racist."
Yours Truly, however, thinks this is incorrect- 2012 was the result of the longest (and definitely most expensive) re-election campaign in US History- Obama started running for re-election on November 5th, 2008.)

They (ah, the ubiquitous "they", those bastards) are humpin' and bumpin' to position Hillary as "The One" to heal all gender inequality and put men (especially white males*) in their appropriate place- kinda like Obama was supposed to do as we were regaled with tales of how he was going to bring about bipartisanship, transparency, racial healing, and that he'd roll back global warming, heal the break of dawn and bring temporary relief to nymphomaniacs.

And we can all see how that worked out.

Don't. Fall. For. It.

HRC and the Clinton Machine will be a mixture of Clinton 3.0 and Obama 3.0




Pay attention this election season- and in 2016.






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*Hmmm.
Food for thought:
Who developed the A Bomb? Who developed the Hydrogen Bomb? Who invented the gun and other automatic weapons? Who dropped the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima killing old people and children who were not soldiers but citizens who were not fighting? Who in WorldWarII annihilated 20 million Turks, retarded & deformed people, and Jews? Who was behind the mass murders of the Armenian people? Who is inventing and manufacturing most of the guns in the world? Who is developing GM foods and forcing us to eat them? Who is running the world from Germany and the UN? Who has most of the world's money besides the Catholic Church?What color is the Catholic Church's Hierarchy? What color are the Heads of Monsanto? What color are the people who own the car and gas companies that are actively destroying the natural resources of the world as we sit here now?What color are those who are trying to tap oil from the great Barrier Reef? What color are the scientists who are working night and day on chemical weapons and germwarfare? What color are most of the NWO and the NewGlobalEconomy? What color are the capitalists who move us by the millions, jacking up the prices of utilities and all merchandise? What color are the heads of companies who move their companies overseas leaving Americans broke and destitute after years of good loyal service?
What color are the heads of companies that get the ludicrously expensive contracts from our government? What color was the congress in 1860 who instituted a campaign that lead the American People to believe that the Native Americans were Godless, heathen people just because they wanted some free land? What color were the Robber Barons of the Train Industry? What color are the heads of companies in this country who have faked forms and information that allowed one water or land grab after another?

I'll give you a hint- It's the same guys that are HRCs business partners, advisers, consultants and major contributors.
The same ones that help Bush(s), Romney, Biden and the rest of the Washington crowd.
Wake up.

Let's See A Show Of Hands...

Who's up for a quick trip to Amsterdam to see if we can get arrested?
"...with a side-order of police brutality, please."
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Libations

My kinda place...

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Coincidence?

I think not....

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I'm Not OCD But...

...shit like this drives me outta my friggin' gourd.



(And what sadistic bastard decided that the acronym for something like obsessive/compulsive disorder would be okay to be out of alpha order?
Was it the same bastard who put an "s" in "lisp"?)


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Mother's Day

"Mom...Mom! Look Mom! Mom! I'm hungry Mom. Mom? Let's play, Mom! Mom! Mom, Can we go outside? Mom!"
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Biting the Bullet...

...As opposed to firing them.
(They are too damn expensive and scarce to shoot these days.)

So, I need to get back on the saddle and kick out some content...

(This being said after the third email I've received asking what was wrong, what's happened, why haven't you put anything up lately, etc.)

Truth is, I just haven't been motivated enough to cough up the words.
I have plenty of opinions, but writing up why the current political situation is so repellent to me, or why some or other social convention is so stupid is just not worth my time...

But- there are other observations to make, other stuff to share- so....


Let's ease back in to this... A little current events-

First- recent history-
I was up in Augusta at the nice golf course and things went passably well.
And... that's about all I can say about that.

While I was gone I sent the Japanese Space Vehicle into the shop for some much needed maintenance. The machine has been getting harder and harder to start, especially when the engine was warm- usually an indicator that a valve job is needed.
Flush and fill on the cooling system, oil change (which I'd usually do myself), and a valve job (which I can't do myself). $1,500 later I am back on two wheels.
It was a little steep, but lacking the time and talent involved in getting it done- screw it- I'll pay for it.
Let's see- what else...

Stuff I'm starting to get worried about: Smart Home Appliances...
I keep hearing about smart appliance that will be able to communicate different bits of information- the 'fridge texting you to say you're out of milk, etc.

This cannot be a good trend...















I'm really not ready for technology that is smarter than I am... Between the Woman, the Perfect Child, and the Dark Menace, I have enough of an inferiority complex as it is...

All right... I'll try to keep this thing churning as much as I can...

Some content from Daily Dot

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