He actually stuck the landing?

Thanks to NFO, I saw this post this morning.

I'm floored.  That guy's a spectacular pilot.  Go, read the post, watch the vid.

Confession time: national politics, and why I avoid most conversations.

I've never really had an interest in politics.

As a child I remember watching the adults in the family scream at each other about politics, and I never understood why they got so angry.  I never really wanted to understand.  I just wanted to run and hide...I hated the screaming.

I grew up with an aversion to politics and political discussion, and even now I find myself reluctant to self-educate when it comes to the federal government.  I honestly don't believe that we have any sort of control over who ends up in office...on a national level, anyway.  Why bother, if the guy who ends up in office really is pretty much the same as the guy before him?  This is the same reason I didn't bother registering to vote until a couple of years ago, and why I'm registered as an Independent.  I don't agree or disagree fully with either of the major parties, and refuse to pick a "side" when the loudest members of either "side" tend to be single-issue voters.

So I avoid the discussions...and I avoid the namecalling...and I avoid the crap.  It's exhausting, it's disheartening, and I'm sick of hearing and reading about it.  I find myself skimming more and more posts because I just don't have the heart to read about it.  It all sucks, it's not getting any better, and I think expecting things to improve might be a bit foolhardy.  I really don't think anything's going to get better without  revolution...and I don't know if that would actually make anything better.  I just see the country swirling 'round the bowl, and I wonder when we'll eventually go down the drain.

I know this post will anger more than a few people out there, and it may make some of you decide to stop reading what Chris and I have to say...and frankly, I don't care.  Call me whatever you will, but I'm just burnt out on all of it.

Call for suggestions - .22LR pistols for bullseye?

Chris and I have started shooting Bullseye at the club, and while he's shooting the Neos, I've been shooting the Rock Island.  This pistol is perfect for it, but ammo is pricey...so I'm considering picking up a .22LR semiauto.

I'm considering a Neos, S&W Model 22A, or a Ruger 22/45.  I already know a bit about the Neos, but I wanted to consider other options as well.

So...which of the above would you recommend?  If none of those, what WOULD you recommend, and why?

Thanks. :)

The Last Space Shuttle

I'm having a hard morning. I'm excited, proud, angry and sad all at the same time. Today was a triumph for America, but the country was also diminished in a very public way. Today was historic. Today was the last Space Shuttle flight, STS-135. Atlantis is now safely in orbit set to rendezvous with the International Space Station on Sunday. I'm very proud of and thankful for all the astronauts, crew, contractors and anyone else that made the STS program a reality. You did a great job!

When Atlantis lands and is prepped for the museum The United States of America will have no ability to send a person into space. Think about that when your kids pose this question to you. Hey Mom/Dad when you were a kid did a man walk on the moon or was there really a Woman in space? After your answer the next question will be, How come we don't/can't do that now? You'll be forced to say, well Russia and China still can, but not the US. How are you going to feel about that? Are you going to explain that the US government has no business in space exploration? That space is the domain of the private sector? That there are a few companies now that own the only means of space travel?

When NASA goes to space, we all go to space. Every single American Citizen, not Lockheed Martin or Boeing or Rocketdyne or even just the Astronauts, All of us. Every inch of space NASA travels into we're right there along for the ride. You can call NASA a matter of national pride, or even a charitable organization or our gift to the world if you want to, I don't care, but it needs to be there. The progress of civilization and the future of mankind need it to be. Americans need it to be, especially now. The space program was always the one thing that no matter what kind of shape the country was in, or what your ideas of greatness are, you could take pride in as an American. We put a man on the moon, we have a reusable space vehicle, we discovered other galaxies. Now it's, we used to be able to do that stuff. Maybe it's my age and remnants of of the cold war mindset I grew up in, but I don't like that feeling.

You can dog NASA and its government funding all you want, but the simple fact is without NASA there would be no private sector space exploration. NASA's astronomical budget (pun intended) is a result of those same private sector contractors you're cheering for. I'm not saying there shouldn't be private sector space exploration. I'm all for it, but NASA needs to be in front of, or right there with them. There is hope, and a bit of a future. NASA has joined up with SpaceX A private company that's hell bent on space exploration and getting to Mars. They are currenly testing a manned space capsule that has sucessfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere. BTW without NASA's help they would still be sitting on the launch pad. The CEO is claiming Mars in 2020. I hope I'm here to see it even though it won't be the same. We'll have to see what happens. Sticking with the Ameican theme all I can say is, Ok Private Sector. You're up, let's see what you got kid.

People Control Does Not Work

Jay over at MArooned turned me on to this article from CBS News in Baltimore that I had not seen, and as I read it I realized that it points out all the failures of Baltimore and Maryland's crime prevention and gun control policies.

At the 4th of July celebration in Baltimore's Inner Harbor area - one of the safest spots in town - there was a child hit by a stray bullet, a stabbing murder and numerous fights broke out. This is not unusual activity in Baltimore on a non-holiday weekend, but hundreds if not thousands of people that have fled the city and rarely come into town were there for the 4th of July celebrations. They saw anew what the downtown area is like. Most of these people never come to Downtown if they can help it, and ignore the news as they live in their suburb utopia. Now there is local outrage, because the Mayor and the Police Commissioner have been telling the citizens the downtown area is safe since a rash of attacks by packs of teens in 2009.

Maryland has some of the toughest gun control laws in the country. Among the existing hurdles, it has a regulated firearms list, a ballistics database requirement for new sales, a waiting period, and purchase time requirements. It's the 7th most restrictive state according to the Brady Gun Control Center. Maryland is also a "May issue" concealed carry state. Because of this, and the permit issue review board, that means you will not get a concealed carry permit. Citizens are told to call the police if you are attacked or need help. Baltimore has gone further than that to "protect" you while you're in town. They have installed surveillance cameras all over the city and they will be spending additional tax money to install more. The city also has instituted a curfew for teens in the city to combat the previous problems with attacks. Finally, the city also tested an acoustic gunshot detection system. It is unclear if it ever produced any results or was fully instituted.

While all these safegard laws are in place there were also about 600 police officers downtown for the 4th of july celebrations. Sounds pretty safe right?

The CBS article states "Police say they made 30 arrests and handled 20 curfew violations." "An all-out brawl broke out." "Several fights broke out," and "a 26-year-old from Alabama...died after he was stabbed in the neck with a bottle." "Chaos also erupted at Light and Pratt streets, where a 4-year-old was shot in the leg with a stray bullet."

The Police Commissioner responded with, “We had incredible deployments down there and literally feet away from where this incident occurred,” and the Mayor responded with, “This is absolutely ridiculous. People come down to the harbor to enjoy themselves,” The City Council President said, “Most people are out here for a good celebration and to have something like this, most people won’t come back next year.” Police also added "the camera located at the intersection did not capture any part of the shooting. Detectives did not recover any shell casings, either."

Wow! So what do we do now? The city leader's statements almost sound like they were saying,"But we tried so hard? Why did this happen to us?" An army of cops, high tech surveillance systems, the ballistics database, lawfully owned guns off the street, a legally unarmed and defenseless populace...all useless to prevent these crimes. Will we have martial law next? Perhaps we just can't have nice things. Should we call the TSA for grope-downs at all city events? More regulation and restrictions on law abiding citizens? Ban all bottles? More reactionary policing?

I'm dreading the new laws and restrictions that will come of this.  How long will it be before we have checkpoints every few miles?

Whatever happened to "The Free State?"

Is the Bunny Man Back?

WJZ Baltimore reports a man attacked a roadside speed camera vehicle with a hammer on the BW parkway yesterday. SWAT was called, they closed the highway and used helicopters, but could not catch the suspect. He vanished into the woods next to the highway after apparently brandishing a shotgun then beating the vehicle with a hammer while the speed trap camera operator was inside. There were no injuries and the police have no motive.

I would hazard a guess at the motive, the individual doesn't like speed traps. In any event this type of story causes me to raise an eyebrow due to my knowledge of local legend. You see the Baltimore/Washington area has an urban legend called The Bunny Man! This attack fits the story except for a missing bunny suit and an axe instead of a hammer. OK, OK I'm reaching a little, but perhaps the contractor in the vehicle was too ashamed or frightened to admit he saw a 6ft dude in a bunny suit. Maybe he mistook a hatchet for a hammer. A random vandalism attack and the suspect disappears? Poof! Who would believe him? Maybe he doesn't know about the legend? Maybe they're not releasing all the details so they don't start a panic. I can't believe all that police power and tax dollars were used to no avail in order catch any regular criminal, or that any regular criminal could evade such a manhunt so easily. It's just a bit strange.

It is nice; however to see real research into an Urban Legend and as the legend is more prevalent near Fairfax, VA a local librarian and archivist there named
Brian A. Conley, of the Fairfax County Public Library did some pretty in depth research to get to the bottom of the story. The Bunny Man Unmasked.

So you can accept Brian's in-depth investigation and conclusion or you can wonder if The Bunny Man is STILL AT LARGE!

Things on my brain.

Part Two of the weekend happened today - we went to the new local range with our guests.  We were there about an hour, killed some zombie (targets), and had an excellent time.  Well...excellent, aside from Chris's AR15's feed problems and a couple of feed issues with my (admittedly dirty) Rock Island.  UMC bulk pack .45 is some dirty stuff, since that's all I've shot through it for the past 100 rds.



I was going to be more chatty about the 4th, but Newbius covered it for me.  Go, read the whole thing.

I'm just in too good a mood for this trash.

I was going to write a lengthy response to this, but decided against it.  Presented without further comment.

Hoping you're celebrating our nation's independance appropriately...

Chris and I opted to take two out-of-town friends to Ft. McHenry, down in the city.  They had a small munitions demonstration (translation: THINGS THAT GO BOOM), and the weather was nice enough we opted to wander the grounds for a couple of hours, soaking in the history.

We were going to go to Antietam, but figured our friends would appreciate seeing Baltimore Harbor from the ramparts of McHenry.  It really is a nice view.

Because this is fitting for both this post and the holiday, have one of the better renditions of the Star Spangled Banner (thanks, Borepatch).

Hoping everyone else out there is having a lovely weekend!