Servant of a Dark God (review)

Ok... Larry made an offer, and I accepted.

He offered a free copy of John Brown's book Servant of a Dark God to anyone willing to do a review. I got my copy a few days ago.

Those who know me, know I almost ALWAYS have my nose in a book: it's my One Great Weakness. My preferences are for fantasy and sci-fi: pure escapism.

I cut my teeth on Tolkien and Howard, and have since amassed a fairly eclectic library. Point of fact, most of the shelf space in our apartment is taken up with books.

So... how does Servant stack up?

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First off, Brown manages to avoid what is (to me) one of the biggest problems with most fantasy today: "religion in the imaginary world". Most writers seem to just ignore the concept totally (which rings kinda hollow), or they pop accessories onto Jehovah. Neither idea really works. Brown crafted an entire religion for this story, and made it a central theme (without ever getting preachy). That alone is worth a bravo!

The meat of the story flows well. For those looking for typical sword & sorcery, check elsewhere: this isn't the standard "knight rides in, swings his sword around, and rescues the damsel". Instead, we have what feels like a retelling of the Crucible in a fantasy setting. But he does it without plodding, which makes the book fly by (three days is all it took me, cover to cover).

The character introductions are a bit confusing at first, but it doesn't take long to sort out who's who. Plot twists well (there were some "obvious" things that turned out differently than expected, which was refreshing). And what action is there, is handled fairly tightly

One thing that IS obvious at the end of the book: this is more of a prequel than anything else. Based on it, the rest of the series should be worthwhile!

Of course, now comes the biggest problem with new authors: the wait for "the rest of the story"!

Score one for common decency!

Caught this on a kilt-wearer's board, and thought y'all might enjoy it. Original thread is here.

Last week I walked into the local Market that I grocery shop at. I'm on friendly speaking terms with the folks that work there, never miss a chance to flirt with the checkout girls, or give the guys some teasing...

Anyway, so I walk in. There's a young woman near the front of the store, oblivious to everything, yammering at the top of her lungs on her cell phone. You've seen people like this on the street, in stores, and generally around. They are so wrapped up in their terribly important telephone conversation (they probably had another one, upon which the fate of the world rests, five minutes ago) that they're totally unaware of their surroundings.

So I walk in, wearing boots, camouflage kilt, t-shirt and so on. I was sweaty from a throwing workout. I grab a shopping cart and pass her. About fifteen feet down the aisle I hear her say....and you can just imagine the tone...

Oh My God, a guy in a skirt just walked in here! That is so ****!!

insert word that starts with "g" that we don't use on this forum, into the space where I left the ***.

So I stopped, put my glasses in my cart and walked over to her. I gently, but firmly removed the phone from her ear, held it up to my face and said ... ***"Oh My God, there's a really nasty girl here in the grocery store. She is so RUDE!"***

...and then I handed the phone back to her and went on with my shopping. I have no idea what she did after I handed her phone back to her, but you know, I'm totally OK with that. I noticed that the checker, name of Kim, was laughing her head off as I turned away, though...

Even if you don't wear a kilt, tell me you've never wanted to do something like this!

HERESY!!!!!one111eleventy!!!

Tamara steps up and comments about the Loaded Chamber Indicator here, in typical Tam fashion.

Needless to say, she's not a fan of that particular widget.

Jay G agrees with her here, and offers some other items that he thinks are useless "features".

I agree more with the rest of Jay's list.

The LCI, to me, is one of those "that could be slightly helpful" items. Not to take the place of Col Cooper's Rule 1 (All guns are always loaded), but rather as a nice "on the fly" check ("Did I remember to chamber a round when I got dressed?") that doesn't require an actual press-check.

Not to say this particular widget is always well executed: I've seen some that had the utility (and aesthetics) of tits on the proverbial boar. But others (thinking of the Beretta 92 and Walther PPK here), it was unobtrusive...

Now, some of the other things mentioned (mag disconnect???), are true travesties and sins in the eyes of the lord...

Another year gone...

Marko the Munchkin Wrangler hit's another milestone: 38.

Or is it millstone? I get those two confused.

Go forth, and wish him a wonderful natal day. I won't suggest spankings (although I'd be perfectly willing to send his wife my whip, if she'd like)

Sad news, and a bleg

A few days ago, I lost a brother.

Patch, from the Bear River chapter in Utah, was injured in a motorcycle accident on 09 Oct, passing away the following day.

Now usually, when a member passes, the Nation is informed and messages of condolence sent. This time, someone has created a website to solicit such messages, with the intent that his wife Sara should receive a letter every day.

From the website:

Letters to Sara are words of love, friendship, sincerity, sympathy, encouragement and compassion.

The purpose of the project is to spread our love and support over time. One letter to Sara will be mailed out every day. The more letters we get - the more time we will cover. I'm hoping to get at least 365 letters - enough for at least one year's time.

So here's the bleg. I'm asking that this get sent far and wide.

Here's the website. Please take a minute, and write your own letter to Sara. If you have a blog, post a link.

So many of my readers have commented on how wonderful you think what we do in BACA is. Now, someone in BACA needs two minutes of your time.

This won't make her pain go away. But at least it might help ease it a bit.

Why are you here?

What are you doing looking at my blog? It's time for BACA Nation!

Go ye here. Click the "LIVE" button. Enjoy the show!

And from the "better half"

Spoon, sitting here reading AD's post about Peter's status:

"So... did AD comment on our Teleprompter in Chief getting a Noble doggie treat?"

"Doggie treat?"

"Doggie treat, Scooby Snack, whatever the fuck you want to call it now"

reminds me of why I married her...

When did the Nobel Peace Prize become a kewpi doll?

So... our Teleprompter in Chief has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wait... what?

A man who had only been in office for eleven days when the nomination deadline hit has won the prize? What the hell?

The biggest laugh out of the whole deal? Even HuffPo is unhappy about this turn of events:

Whatever one might feel about Obama, he has not earned this singular award.

And that's from an Obama supporter!

Yep... the inmates really ARE running the asylum...

I don't do this often...

But sometimes, a suggestion for prayers IS necessary.

Peter of Bayou Renaissance Man is having some heart trouble.

Please spare him some prayers, to whatever Deity you send your requests through.

Update!

Good news.

Well... heard from Ye Olde Man. He made it, safe and sound, back to the Land of Smiles.

Actually gonna miss him. But he's happier there.

I'd like to introduce you...

... to Tim Fischer.

This gentleman was sexually abused by a member of the clergy at age 11. He created the linked blog to tell his story.

Go. Read. Learn to spot when someone in a position of authority over your child is preying on children. Don't let it happen to yours.

sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!

Sunday night, so again it's time for BACA Nation!

Hit the link, click "live", and join in on the chat!

Full Circle

Ya know... lo those many moons ago, shortly after I first started this blog, Dad came home. With a projected 3-4 weeks to live.

That was over two years ago. Man's pretty spry for a two-year-old corpse.

Today, we put him back on a plane, to head back to the land of smiles. Hopefully, he'll enjoy whatever time he has left (I have suspicions...)

Celebrities: some animals are more equal...

As a society, it seems we've become quite accepting of the fact that some of us are "more equal" than the rest. Every day it seems, we hear about another case where a celebrity is let off with a lighter sentence for a crime, or is granted a "priviledge" denied to the rest.

But when is enough, enough?

Appearantly, the line is NOT drugging a 13 year old, forcibly sodomizing her , pleading guilty, then skipping out of the country.

Roman Polanski arrest: Hollywood unites in his defence (from guardian.co.uk)

The most relevent part (to me me, anyway):

Polanski fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to the unlawful sexual intercourse charges and faces up to 50 years in jail should LA County prosecutors commence proceedings and choose to request an extradition.

Salon probably has the best take on the whole thing here. But for those not willing to read the whole thing:

...let's take a moment to recall that according to the victim's grand jury testimony, Roman Polanski instructed her to get into a jacuzzi naked, refused to take her home when she begged to go, began kissing her even though she said no and asked him to stop; performed cunnilingus on her as she said no and asked him to stop; put his penis in her vagina as she said no and asked him to stop; asked if he could penetrate her anally, to which she replied, "No," then went ahead and did it anyway, until he had an orgasm.

Sorry for the imagery, but that's what the grand jury heard. And (at least partially) what caused Polanski to plead guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor...

Now, it's been my experience that a guilty plea (usually to a lesser charge) is a way for a guilty party to avoid a finding of "guilty" on the more serious charges. The fact that this case went before a grand jury suggests to me that Polanski intended to fight the charges, and his lawyer (hearing the prosecution's case) advised him to take a deal. After which, he skipped the country...

Personally, I don't care. Some have said he's suffered enough (after all, he wasn't able to personally accept his Oscar)... I don't see it. When you commit a crime, regardless of how "important" you are, you should do the time. Pleading guilty then skipping out before the sentencing should (in a sane world) result in enhanced sentencing.

Not in Hollyweird elites rallying to your defense.

Friendly reminder...

If you're in or near Louisiana and you need to purchase a new scoot, or have your current ride worked on, you might want to skip Cycles and More.

Just sayin'...

Hey... did you...?

How many of y'all knew that I'm still writing? I mean, other than here?

Anyone?

The magazine gig from last year went belly up: got tired of busting my hump to line the publisher's pockets. Literally, wasn't getting paid for all the work I was putting in. So I bailed, along with the guy doing layout.

The layout guy (Dub) has another couple projects coming out, and I'm involved in those. I'll give y'all more info when they are actually on the stands )or at least, on the net). But I got another one...

Contacted Concealed Carry Magazine, to see if they'd be interested in a piece on the CCW fight here in Wisconsin. Check out the result.

Blu update

OK... been using the e cigs for close to three weeks now. Things I've noticed:

-NO "smokers cough". It's very rarely I start coughing any more

-no ash or burns on clothing. This ised to be a bit of a problem (Spoon was always joking about me "making an ash of myself". Not anymore)

-My sense of smell is returning. Point of fact, I have to smoke a regular cigarette if I'm going to be around smokers, so I don't smell them.

-My tongue's turning black. Yes, this is a downside: gonna check, and make sure it isn't just the atomizer going bad. And I'm willing to deal with a black tongue for the benefits compared to a regular cigarette...

-These things last forever. Right now, I'm running about 1 a day

If I notice anything else that becomes a problem, I'll let y'all know...

Today, eight years ago

Eight years ago today, 2974 people lost their lives to senseless brutality, at the hands of 19 who thought they could bring us to our knees.

I can't speak for others in the nation. But here, you are not forgotten.

Something sweet

Seems my brother Mr Fixit had something to say to someone important...

I don't actually remember my wedding day. But we'll get into that another time...

Shameless capitalist that I am...

Since French and Spanish shipping has been kinda sparse lately, we here aboard the Privateer have been forced to look into "alternative means" of securing income.

For the observant readers, there's a link over on the sidebar for the e cigarettes that I mentioned a few posts back. Yes, if you click that link and place an order, I gets moneys.

For the smokers in the crowd, I have to admit that these things ARE nice. Still smoke a "real" cig every once in awhile, but most of the craving is dealt with via Blu. So if you're thinking of giving them a try, hit the link and help me out at the same time... ;)

Hey... what's today?

Verbatim conversation:

Me: "Hey... is today Wednesday?"

Spoon: "Yeah... for another couple hours yet"

Me: "Shit!" *grabs her Kimber from the nightstand*

Me: "You! Take gun... go stand over there! Point it at the evil mandolin!"

Spoon: "Can I put a bra on?"

Me: "No"

Spoon: "Can I at least brush out my hair?"

Me: "NO! have to get the pic for Humpday Hardware! Go... aim at the wouldbe rapist mandolin!"

Spoon: "sigh"



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Contrary to what you might think, this is NOT her first (nor only) handgun. Her first was a USP Compact, that she ended up not really liking. It ended up being "sold" to a friend that owned a coffee shop.

This one, we got off Guns America. Only thing *I* don't like about it is the full length guide rod: to me, that's a sin.

Point of interest: this piece is the one that most women seem to gravitate to (until they see the Automag). And everyone claims it's grip is slimmer than my Colt, although I can't see a difference.

She's happy with it though. And not all that bad with it either: she tends to develop a flinch if she hasn't been on the range in awhile, but it's only enough to lower her POI roughly 12". Since she aims center mas, I'm fine with that "miss".

Here's a better shot of it:



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Next week, Spoon goes cowboy!

Someone snarking at Tam?

Cruising around some of the blogs I haven't been keeping up on, I found this little gem.

Now, I remember Tam commenting on this study. But, for the sake of fairness, decided to go take a look at the actual report to see if the snark was warranted...

From what little I could find, it was.

To recap what others have said: A Dr Wintemute went to several gun shows, along with a hidden camera. What he saw there led him to conclude that gun shows are THE leading source of "crime guns" in America (actually, all of North America). This is in direct opposition to the FBI's findings, that only 2% of guns used in crimes come from gun shows...

Let's actually look at what Tam was snarking at: the concept (and it's rampant in our society) that having a bunch of letters after your name makes you an expert in EVERYTHING.

Unless you've been studying guns (and gun laws), and have vision so good you can differentiate between an actual select-fire m-16 and a semi-only AR* at a distance, you have no basis to judge whether or not a transaction is legal. Telepathy would be another good thing to have here. Allow me to explain.

Judging the difference between an illegal gun and a legal gun, without handling the weapon in question, is impossible. The things that can make a gun illegal (full auto, silencer, size**) can NOT be determined just by a quick glance. Measurements are needed, fake "silencers" were all the rage for awhile as a cosmetic thing, and FA would require a working knowledge of the weapon's inner workings. So simple observation doesn't work for that area if illegality...

Maybe he's talking about illegal activities?

Let's see... I suppose straw purchase of a weapon would qualify. Actually, that is THE only activity that I can think of that you could "guess at a distance"***. Problem being, how do you tell? If my wife wants to get me a Glonkulator 2010 for my birthday (which would be perfectly legal), but wasn't sure what I was talking about, she might go to a gun show with a friend of mine, and ask his opinion. From a distance, this would look like a classic straw purchase (but would still be entirely legal).

Very much in the same way a father picking up his teenage daughter from a teen club might look like someone soliciting a prostitute.

So yeah... Tam's snark (as usual), is warranted in this case.

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But what about Mike's assertion that "pro-gun folks resist these intelligent and highly educated men so aggressively? Why is it necessary to attack them on their expertise as well as their veracity? What's wrong with simply discussing the issues?"

He's referring to folks who are vocal anti-gun supporters (including the illustrious Paul Helmke). Still, I think I'll address this one.

Mike... if you're reading this, it's not that we're "resisting these... men so aggressively". We're rejecting their findings, as they do not match the evidence that we have seen time and again. Almost every claim made by the anti side has been refuted, fairly completely. They've been caught in lies so many times that we (on the pro-gun side) have simply gotten to the point that we don't even bother checking.

Honestly, if Paul Helmke came up to me and told me I was on fire, I would doubt him. Despite the sense of heat. It's gotten that ingrained in us now.

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* Unless you actually opened the weapon up, or manipulated the selector switch, you can NOT tell any difference. Hell, I have a friend with a lower that's semi-only, but marked for FA.

** Full auto capability, minimum length, and silencers are all regulated by the Federal government. Each requires a tax stamp and paperwork. And it's always possible that someone could be taking legal possession of such at a gun show

*** There are other activities that would be illegal. But how the hell could you tell if someone was falsifying info on the 4473, or was handling weapons as a prohibited person?

*Giggle-snort*

I always wondered what Law Dog meant when he used that phrase. Now, I understand.

Arizona Rifleman has a classic up. Check it out!

Random thoughts, late at night: Where are we going, and what's with the handbasket?

Damn... I hate insomnia...

Anyway... I had mentioned the stupidity of the sin tax on cigarettes. Allow me to steer this ole' girl into some treacherous waters, and ramble on for a bit...

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Ok. Now, I'll never claim that tobacco is "healthy", or "safe", or any such nonsense. I think there've been enough studies and experiments to prove that nicotine (not to mention all the other chemicals in cigarette smoke) is a poison. I get that. I also tend to believe that, in a free society, adults should be allowed to do whatever they wish within certain limits*.

The joke our society has become says otherwise. Or rather, takes "certain limits" and defines them as "anything we wish".

We are rapidly approaching the level of Demolition Man. For those not familiar, let me quote the relevant exchange. Went something lilke this:

-You, get me a Marlboro.
-Yes, of course.
-What's a Marlboro?
-It's a cigarette. Any cigarette.
-Smoking is not good for you.
-Anything not good for you is bad
-Hence, illegal. Alcohol, caffeine,
contact sports, meat--
-Are you shitting me?

Yes, folks: that's where we're heading. Don't believe me? How many of you remember wearing a bicycle helmet as a kid?

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But what does this have to do with taxes? Well, that's a fun one.

See, Wisconsin has been using a "sin tax" on tobacco for awhile now. It was never all that big, and it was always described as "an attempt to make it too expensive to smoke".

Of course, what they failed to mention is that nicotine is one of the most addictive chemicals we've got. And despite their claims ("we want to reduce smoking"), every year they figure on the take from the sin tax as part of the budget.

Yes, you read that right: they project what their "take" on that tax will be (remember, the one that's supposed to reduce use of the product?), and figure that amount into the budget. Anybody see a problem?

And isn't it funny how Wisconsin's budget is #11 in deficit, with a 2.3 billion shortfall.

Want another joke in there? Anybody remember the tobacco lawsuits? Guess where all THAT money went? Here in WI, it was used to balance the budget... temporarily...

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Sorry about the rant, there. It's late, I'm probably not very coherant. But this is getting worse and worse. And I keep asking myself, "Where IS the breaking point?".

No, I'm not suggesting that we should all start putting on web gear and shooting police and politicians. But the nation as a whole DOES have a point where violence will start up. How far away from that point are we?

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And for those saying "we've passed that point, and should start hangin' folks now!": the next "civil war" in this nation is going to make the previous one look like a pick-up game of paintball. It's not gonna be "you'n's over thar, and usn's over heah". It's going to be a wild ride of "everybody against everybody", with the fate of the nation in the balance. Watch the end scene of Reservoir Dogs: that's the next American Civil War in microcosm.

So think of hitting the aforementioned paintball field, with several hundred of your closest friends. The field is the city you live in. Each and every one of the players has a different goal to achieve to "win". And each is completely convinced that there can be only one winner. Sounds like it'll be a nice clean game, doesn't it?

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Hey, while all the "manly men" are off fighting each-other, how about we take a minute and think about the future. No, not the "Want to help me eliminate Ed?" future of tomorrow, but the "What do we replace the current system and critters with?" future.

I've heard many plans of how to take over the government, overthrow them, run them out on rails, and (my favorite) dress them as clowns and use them as live fire targets. Great: "we" somehow manage to remove these folks and their bloated system. What do we replace it with?

We can try using the Constitution: it was goo for a couple hundred years, before a reset was needed. Right?

Take a look at the US Code sometime. Not in-depth, just a glance at how much is there. Is it ALL junk, that needs to be discarded?

No? Then who decides what to keep and what to toss?

Oh... while we're playing that game, remember that we DO have enemies, and there WILL be people here in the states that are gonna try and steer us back to the nanny state we're in. How much time do we have to get everything figured out and in place, before the Madagascar Expeditionary Force decide to invade?

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Sorry 'bout the rambling. I got to thinking, and that's NEVER a good thing...


* "certain limits" means direct impact on another.

Just about that time again...

Yes it is... Sunday night, and just one hour until BACA Nation!

What... you haven't caught the show yet? Shame on you!

Go to www.bacanation.com, and click on the "live" link at the top.

Then, get yourself into the chatroom, and have a blast!

even old pirates...

... can learn new tricks!

No, your eyes DON'T deceive you: I FINALLY figured out how to size pictures in this bloody thing!

Applause not necessary, just throw money!

Trying something new to beat da man

Ok... not sure how many of you are aware, but I'm a smoker.

Like many a smoker, I've resigned myself to living my life as a pariah: even joke about it when I enter the designated smoking area at a social function. "Ahh... HERE'S the rest of the social lepers!". And I was ready for this state of affairs to continue, with our legiscritters and goobernor deciding that Wisconsin should be "smoke free". Then I made a discovery...

What I found was the "electric cigarette". Sounds silly, doesn't it? Ran into someone with one at Faire, and thought "this might have it's uses". So I did me some research, and found one that didn't break the bank (I chose the Blu Cig). Good timing on my part.

Last night, while buying chocolate for Spoon, I noticed that the tax hike on cigarettes has gotten out of hand. The pouches of loose tobacco I use to roll my smokes has doubled in price (I'll have a rant about the sin tax and associated stupidity later this weekend). Thankfully, my "e-cig" starter kit was already on it's way.

Point of fact, it arrived today.

So I'm giving this thing a test-drive. So far, my impressions are good.

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First off: when I placed my order, I was warned that it might be 4-6 weeks due to backorder. Now, I don't know if this is the "Scotty Ploy", or I just got lucky. But the package showed up in roughly a week.

Here it is, just opened up:



I was actually impressed with the packaging: I had ordered one of the less expensive "starter kits", but this thing was nice.

The starter kit comes with 2 batteries, the "pack" (which is a combination carry case and mobile charger), USB and wall charger units, and a "carton" of cartridges. That's 5 packs of 5 each. Looks like this:



And yes, that's a quarter for size comparison.

Got the batteries all charged up, and started using the silly thing. And again: I'm impressed.

It's not like smoking a normal cigarette... not quite. There's no ash, no real odor. And no sense of smoke invading your lungs. Just a nice clean delivery of nicotine to my system.

Managed to go through one cartridge (actually trying to finish off the second while I type this). Since I usually average between 10 & 20 cigarettes a day, that isn't all that bad. And my usual "smoker's hack" just hasn't really been there...

So tentatively, we're going to give a Privateer Seal of Approval to Blu Cigs as an alternative to actual burning tobacco...



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Gonna add in here: smoking IS stupid. It amounts to willingly putting poison into your body. But that's one of the great things about freedom: we CAN choose to do these things.

The day our society actually works like the one in Demolition Man, I'll become a hermit...

Hey Kiel!

Ok... since asshat got me checking Sitemeter, I noticed someone from Kiel checking me, fairly regularly.

Hey... Kiel! Drop an email: I'll treat for coffee, or something!

I'll make that a standing offer, for anyone who drops in around the NE Wisconsin lakeshore...

Change to Comments

Sorry about the posting: work's been interesting.

Some may notice a change to the posting permissions aboard here: I'm no longer allowing anonymous comments. There's a reason.

Take a look at the first comment about Squeaker's baby. Looks VERY much as if this douche followed me back from Holly's, and a post she made about "childfree people". And felt the need to take a shot here too.

Now, I'm all for freedom of speech. And I have no trouble with someone wanting to take a shot at me: folks have tried everything but actual gunfire, and I'm still standing. But asshats making snide comments behind the anonymity of their computer screen shouts out "coward". And I'll not abide cowardice here. ESPECIALLY when it's aimed (however ineffectually) against a child.

So... new Privateer policy: if you're going to say something, you're gonna have to own it. If you can't, or don't want your name attached to whatever you're spewing, then piss up a rope.

As promised

Here's the promised picture of the new baby. Please remember, it's a pic off a phone: if people want better, they'll have to wait.

UPDATE

Well, she did it.

At 0236 Central time, my Treasurer Squeaker gave birth to one Rowan Robert Burns W. 6lb 9oz, and 20" long. Both child and mother are doing fine.

Congratulations, girl. Looking forward to teaching him the finer arts of throwing lead downrange (and other sundry ways of causing mayhem)!

Pics to follow when I get them. Y'all will likely have to wait until Monday.

Well FINALLY

Some of you may remember some drama for me a year ago. About a girl named Squeaker.

You may even remember me mentioning that she had earned her patch, and was now a member of BACA.

What hasn't been mentioned is that, after leaving, she went and got herself pregnafied, with a due date sometime last week. Unfortunately (for her), the son she's been carrying has shown itself to have the same streak of stubborness that his momma tends to exhibit.

For those NOT getting the picture there, she's been wandering around for an extra week or so, looking decidely beachballish.

JUST got a text from her: she's gone into labor. Will post an update when I hear that she's finally squeezed the boy out into the world...

Return of Humpday Hardware (Far East segment)

As promised: Humpday Hardware: Far East!

Now, like many other folks with sharp things in their collection of Ways to Damage Humanity, I used to have LOTS of "eastern toys". Now, the long blade portion of the arms locker only contains 2 visitors from the East: these two have been with me for awhile now.


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On top, is a Noble Collection tachi. I've always loved the design of the tachi, even moreso then that of the traditional katana. It just seems to flow in the hands, making draw cuts easier and even more western style slashes simple...

Here's a little bot of historical info.

I picked her up shortly after leaving the Navy. Point of fact, she was a gift from mom...

Of course, Samurai Cat Kage had to get in on the pics...



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The bottom of the two is something of an abortion: a piece that was rebuilt by the brother of a friend, and sold to me because he needed cash. Fairly typical cheap katana blade, with a completely home made hilt and scabbard. But it IS a nice piece for practicing live, and the long hilt suits me.

Again, with Kage...



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That's it for this installment. Next week, I'll either wander into the Long Guns, or maybe even discuss Spoon's methods of keeping me in line... ;)

Just had to share this one

Yes, I know I was going to hold off posting until Wednesday. But this one is important.

Caught word of an app for the iPhone, that allows you to look up the locations of registered sexual predators in your area. Now, you CAN do this via the FBI's website, but that's not always easy on the fly. This app allows you to see, quickly and easily, those who are in your immediate area.

So I went and checked: it's not only available for the iPhone, but for the Crackberry, Wordpress and Facebook.

Needless to say, I've got it on my Crackberry now. Only cost $3, which I'd say is a bargain.

You can learn more about it here. I know I'll be making good use of this in the future!

technical difficulties

Due to circumstances not beyond my control (if I possessed two brain cells to rub together), posting has been on hold. This will continue to next Wednesday, when I'll return with my previously promised Humpday Hardware (the Far East installment).

Sorry folks: I did something stupid, which I should've known better than to do. Lesson learned.

By the way: anyone out there with an older Mitsubishi Eclipse: buy a replacement crankshaft pulley as you approach 30K miles. And a spare jack. Trust me on this.

Stranded on a deserted isle...

Sorry about the derth of posting.

Read MHI, then had to run to the Faire to help my sis. Was ready to come home, and the crackshaft pulley on my engine came apart. Now I'm waiting for the part to come in, stranded at Faire until then.

Life sucks sometime. Regular posting to resume sometime next week (when I should actually be at home)

Humpday hardware delayed...

Sorry folks, something came up (again) to delay Humpday Hardware: the arrival of Monster Hunter International.

HH will be posted tomorrow, along with a review of MHI (yes, I read it in one day)...

Saturday fun (even if it didn't go right)

Well, I'm about to hit my rack here, mainly because we had a chapter fundraiser Saturday that took a LOT out of me.

Someone came up with the bright idea of a bikini bike wash. I figured this would be cool. I put one of our boys in charge of it, to see if he could pull it off. For the most part, he did.

Although plans for a bunch of girls turned into just 2 showing up, those two had almost too much fun.

A member of another organization I'm part of, the US Forces Veteran Riders offered service as DJ for this. And a couple members of ABATE came out to show support.

Here's a group shot from the day. From left to right: Spoon, Reign (Bikini Girl 1), me, Tinker, Miney, Scary, Chumley, Darb (our DJ from USFVR), Holly (Bikini Girl 2), and Mike (from ABATE).



Squeaker was present for a little while, but had to leave for work. We also had another potential SSM (Jazz), and another ABATE member (Schnieder), as well as Mike's wife (who took the pic)

Now, understand: I knew the girls were going to be fairly relaxed about being ogled (they're dancers). But I wasn't kidding when I said they had too much fun:



And here's how they spent the day (when they weren't getting into water fights):





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Financially, the event was (pardon the pun) a wash: not enough advertising, and not enough girls. But we learned some valuable lessons, and (just maybe) will get another member or two out of the deal.

When you can do that while ogling beautiful ladies, I call it "win-win"... :D

Oh gawds, I almost forgot to post this!

A few weeks ago, a video was brought to my attention. It's my big brother, Chief, giving a speech at the Healing Fields in Utah (click the link for more info).

I really don't have much to add to what he has to say...




Any questions?

well THAT was bad...

Ok... this week's netcast of BACA Nation was... problematic. Damnit: what I heard of it was great, but they had problems with the broadcast from the remote... :(

I'll remind everyone next week again: they should have problems worked out...

Something to do, 1900-2200 hrs CST

You... yeah, you!

The one reading this. Why are you reading blogs? You should be listening to BACA Nation!

Click the link, then click on "Live". Listen to the show, watch the Four Horsemen (I think they're on remote tonight). Join in in the chatroom.

Have some fun, and learn something in the process!

See y'all there!

(Belated) Humpday Hardware

Ok... yes, I know I missed last week's installment. And this week's is a lil' behind schedule. Apologies: we have a busy weekend ahead of us (including our first bikini bike wash), so time's been... sparse.

So anyway... without further ado...

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Here are two of the toys we use for "up close and personal" aboard the Privateer.

As you may know, fighting aboard ship (or in the confines of a building) requires a different style, and set of equipment. This was summed up best back in high-school, playing D&D: a 6' greatsword doesn't do so well in a 5' wide passageway. It also wouldn't do well on the deck of a sailing vessel: LOTS of ropes hanging here and there, just waiting to get accidentally cut. So smaller weapons were generally employed.

Although this pair probably never was used in such a fashion, they ARE a couple of my favorite archaic weapons.

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The short sword is a basic kris design blade, made out of I don't know what. I DO know that she's been used to shave a 440C blade before, so she is NOT your garden variety wall hanger.

I first saw her at one of my first SCA events, on the hip of a new friend. The joke being, he wouldn't let me hold her: she had developed a reputation, you see. The original seller had been cut a couple times by her, as had the maker of the sheath she was riding in, AND my new friend (when he first put her in said sheath, she was a touch longer that everyone though).

Fast forward several years: friend needed some cash, and remembered that I had liked her. So, she got passed on to me...

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The spear, SHOULD be fairly recognizable: it's the Cold Steel version of the assegai.

In the Privateer's Condensed and Misremembered History Tome, the assegai is (correctly) attributed to the Zulu. However, the story goes a bit different from what most have been taught...

Back in the day (before the British came to make movies in Africa), African tribal warfare was a simple game. You would get 20-30 lads together on a hill over there, and I'd get some of my lads together on a hill over here. We'd all have long spears to throw, and shields to block thrown spears (if they got too close). Then we'd start talking smack about each-others' mothers. Eventually, one group would lose their temper, and throw their spears. Which would be blocked, and then the second group would throw. Rinse & repeat, until one group said "Uncle".

I'd like to think that actual deaths were rather rare, back in these "better days". Unfortunately, the Zulu had a guy named Shaka.

And Shaka couldn't throw a spear.

I can see him in my mind's eye, being teased by the other Zulu for just not getting it. "He throws like a girl!", they'd taunt. Until one day, he finally snapped... the haft of his spear in two. After the dust had settled, he came to some realizations, and an empire was born...

Now, I don't actually use the assegai as was originally intended. Instead, I got it as a curiosity, and started playing with it a bit. This is when I found out that, combined with certain eastern forms, it's Hell on a Haft: think "jo staff with 18 inch blade"... >:)

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That's it for this week folks. Next week, we'll showcase some of the Far Eastern collection. And we'll also have pics from the weekend (Saturday is going to be a LOT of fun).

Since it's only Tuesday...

... and I don't actually OWN one of these, I figured I'd show folks the answer to "what is the most powerful handgun in the world".




Yes, that's a revolver chambered in .600 Nitro Express. A round designed with the express purpose (pardon the pun) of killing an elephant.

Read more about it here.


And why would I want one?

Because I've heard WAY too many people at cowboy matches, telling someone using a .38 "you should be using a MAN'S GUN". Usually meaning, it's caliber should start with a "4".

Let's see the gurlymen play with something starting with "6"...

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Tomorrow, implements for (quietly) repelling borders...

Humpday Hardware: Goin' Out

Some pieces in the Privateer arms locker are more for show or special occassions (see last week). This week, we feature a pair of workhorses...






Here are two that have been constant companions: the Colt 1991A1 chambered in (of course) .45acp, and the Cold Steel Culloden

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The Colt is the gun I've had the longest of all. Picked it up a short time before meeting Spoon, when my "collection" consisted of a Walther PPK, a Ruger P-89, and an SKS. All three of which have gone the way of the Dodo.

I still remember when the Colt was new: picked it up while taking Mom to therapy after her stroke. Kinda threw her off when I loaded it up while driving (I was young: sue me). Since that day, she's had several different holsters (she's on #5, a Milt Sparks VMII). She's served as protection, and as a comp piece. Looking at the wear marks is interesting: I've done so many draws from leather with my finger indexed straight, that I've mirror-finished that side of the trigger guard.

It's had mods over the years: high-ride beavertail, new hammer, new trigger, extended ambi safety, extended slide release, extended mag release. One day, she'll be sent out to have the beavertail blended in to the frame, the slide dovetailed for new sights (thinking something like the XO Xpress), and a nice deep hotblue. But that's mostly cosmetics: as she is, she serves quite well.

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The Culloden is something of an oddball: one of only 4 single-edged fixed blades in a large collection. It was purchased many years ago as, of all things, a "pocket knife". A job at which is does surprisingly well: the sheath is small, and it just disappears into a front pocket. 99% of the time, it's on me somewhere.

And the niceset thing about it? Due to the serrated blade, it has NEVER been sharpened. I've used it for pretty much every possible cutting chore you can put a knife to, and it's still just as sharp as ever. Probably one of the better investments I've made...

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That's all for this week. Next week, we'll discuss more of the toys for repelling boarders...

Ok, something happier

Found this via AD (who still owes me pictures, damnit!).

Go and read: What One Man Can Do.

Nice to find a GOOD story, once in awhile...

Seeing Red

Ok... sometimes, in the course of life, something comes along that makes one see red. Having that issue right now.

SMP over at The Ultimate Evil got an email from a supposed pedophile. I'm gonna post it here, for the world to see.

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ILoveLGLB said...

Dear SMP - Your site is very informative and thorough. You have done your research. My favorites are the blogs about symbols and the car decals. I say my favorites because I laughed until my stomach hurt. You are asking yourself why. Because dearheart you think people care and pay that much attention. Because dearheart you think you and the antis can really stop us. Because dearheart you think parents really pay that much attention and society gives a hoot about your so called awareness. We both know you're right. What do you do when no one cares, though? Do names of children on cars help me find my next little friend? Names on cars help me put a name to the child I photograph and masturbate to for weeks to cum. Names and school stickers and sports decals help me to find that child again for newer photographs. Who knows? If the fantasy becomes a favorite, I may decide to make the encounter real, and because mom and dad gave me all the information I need to find Jenny or Johnny, I know that if I want to make fantasy become reality, it will be easy as pie. I know I won't have to try hard like I might with the other kids I photograph. I keep these kids in a special folder marked "someday." Grooming you and your friends talk about is the next step but you don't mention that it's the most entertaining. We are masters at the game and when we win it makes the lovemaking with our new little lover sweeter. Where did you find the information on the symbols? I am impressed at how thorough you were but you didn't mention that we have our symbols in places people use every day. We do not adhere strictly to the shapes you posted. We can modify them slightly and still recognize other girl and boy lovers. I am sure you have seen the new necklace designed by Jane Seymour. You probably have a pendant of your own. The ladies like them. So do little girls and little girl lovers. When asked about mine and why I wear a bit of woman's jewelry, I say it is a reminder of my dead wife and child. Don't you know, people don't like talking to widowers because it is a sore subject. They would rather change the subject fast, and so I escape further prying into my necklace that signals other girl lovers that I am a GL. For my BL attraction, I don the wiccan triple knot. I know too of GLs who use the Roxy surfer girl heart logo and BLs who use the pagan vaulknot. These are both variations of the GL heart logo and the BL triangle logo but the public will never know the difference. See dearheart you and your firends will never make a difference. We are everwhere. We use everything. For every one child you claim to "save" we add another 100 to our list. You should join Peta where your work will have more value. People care about abused animals. They don't care abut abused kids. Haven't you figured that out by now? If people cared you would hear about it on the news and in movies. You would see it in papers. You would hear it on the radio. Your biker friends don't do any good with their little show that only a few people listen to. Your Absolute zero friends only piss and moan, maybe take credit for some pedophiles they expose but they are only thinning out the herd. If they are a weak link, they deserve to be caught. It exposes those among us who cannot be trusted and depended on. Antis make it so easy for us. Society makes it even easier. The more you antis cry about sex with minors, the quicker society turns away from you. Nobody wants to hear that shit. They want to know about celebrity gossip and the ozone layer and how Obama is going to save us from our own stupidity. You posted about Obama's choice for deputy attorney general. That didn't tell you t hat you are in a losing battle? Our own president doesn't see anything wrong with child love. He picked our defender to control the rules you antis want enforced to cram your morals down peoples throats because he knows you're ignorant and behind the times. People are coming to our side by the thousands. People make fun of Chris Hansen and his catch a predator series because sex with children is acceptibale and idiots like Hansen and you are thinking in the past. Everybody wishes they could have expereinced love the way we give it to children. Admit it. You fantasize about being a virgin again. All women do. It's in all of the romance novels. You fantacize about being a virgin and being taken by older, stronger men. The heroine struggles at first but when its over she loves him and is devoted to him. There are no virgins over 13 anymore, so our AOA has to go lower every year. Some do it for virginity. Others do it for the youthful body. I do it for both. If hair has begun but the body is still to my liking and it is a virgin, I help my little lover shave and encourage him or her to keep it smooth. More proof society accepts child love. Shaving the pubic area is reminiscent of pre-puberty. Men who enjoy women only when they shave are admitting to their attraction to pre-pubescent girls. Women, in kind, who prefer shaved men. All the more popular adult porn movies feature clean shaven stars. They shave their pubic area, their legs, their chests, their rear ends, their arms, their faces, their arm pits. They have no hair to speak of other than that on their head. This is pre-puberty and this is what people crave. I bet you are shaved and your husband prefers that. You are such a hypocrit. Your man wants a child in his bed and you give that to him. All you antis are child lovers who haven't admitted it yet but you will. When you do and you act on it, please take pictures. You know where to find us. We'll be waiting because we will never go away. Society won't make us go away and there is nothing you can ever do to stop us.

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First off, the author is right on some things. most people DON'T want to know about this problem: it doesn't fit into their concept of life being just swell all the time. Folks go to extreme lengths to avoid knowledge of how vile things can get, and shun those of us trying to force their eyes open.

But I'll deal with that. I have no problem accepting the revulsion people feel when they ask a question about child abuse, and I answer them. I smile with pride when someone asks me, full of incredulity, "How do you DEAL with this stuff?". And I'll hold my head high, when someone like this slime states "Your efforts are wasted".

A wise man once said that all that is necessary for Evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Now, I wouldn't exactly call myself a "good" man: like the Captain in Firefly, I'm only "ok". But I will, whatever it takes, be there for my little brothers and sisters when they're in need. And I won't quit fighting until five minutes after the first shovelful of dirt hits my casket. And on that day, my place will be taken by another (or three), because we are the plague on those who would abuse children



Just in case there's a ped that catches this, here's a warning: you may get away with your crimes. You may even make some people believe your lies that you only want what's best for children. But one day, I or someone like me will be there behind you. You may not see us, may not hear us. We may wear the colors of BACA, or a suit, or bell bottoms and a tie-dye shirt. We'll know what you are, we'll find the opportunity... and you'll never hurt another child again.

To anyone who reads this, who has a blog: please spread the message. Don't be one of the "good men who does nothing". Our greatest weapon against child abuse is knowledge in the hands of parents...

Via AD...

... something to make your blood boil in sympathy with the author...

'Bout all I can say at the moment.

New content: "Humpday Hardware"

Ok... I had promised 2 things that I haven't delivered yet. First was a bigger version of the "size matters" pic, second was more posts about the hardware aboard the Privateer.

So I'm doing both at once: ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Humpday Hardware":



That's a TDE .44 Automag (one of the prizes of the Privateer's arms locker), and a Seecamp LWS 32 (about the smallest thing in the locker).

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I had always had a lust for an Automag: I think anyone growing up reading Mack Bolan does. Happened upon this one at a local gunshow, for FAR less than I was seeing them on Guns America. Spoon looked at it (and the price), looked at me, and said "You'll be kicking yourself if you don't". And folks wonder WHY I married her? ;)

This was a gun made primarily for hunting: it's simply way too big to carry (although I've got a holster for it, and it came with a shoulder rig). Throws a 240gr @ 1250fps (and they weren't joking: won't cycle right at 1249 or less). The designer, Harry Sanford, had commented on folks hotloading his pistol "If you want a rifle, buy a rifle". Hotloads pushed through 'Mags resulted in many hitting the scrap bins.

Unfortunately, the 'Mag never really caught on. Which is really a shame: there were plans in the works for a .45acp version (which is mentioned in the sales flier that came with mine).

One day, I'll manage to get a couple more magazines for it. Then, I get to show the IPSC boys what "major" REALLY means (power factor on the .44AMP is 300)...

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The Seecamp is just a neat lil' pistol, although no fun at all to shoot. I think I've put a total of 2 mags through it. It's meant to be an absolute last ditch "fat is all the way in the fire" tool, a job at which it excels. Thing will disappear ANYWHERE: pocket, waistband, sporran, Spoon's bra...

Picked this one up simply as a neat backup and "go anywhere" gun. Had a bit of a fight over it with Spoon, actually: she wanted to keep it as hers...

Now, folks talk about different companies and their level of customer service. Seecamp takes it right out to the limit: you can go peruse the Seecamp Forums, and find the answer to almost any problem with these lil' gems. If you can't find it there, the owner has been known to post his personal number for you to call, so he can make things right. You can't get better than that!

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So... that's this week's installment of "Humpday Hardware". More next week!

If it has tires or tits...

In this case, the problem is with the former. Or rather, the big thing under the hood that moves the tires.

Y'all every hear of an "interference engine"? Seems that there are a bunch of cars out there with 'em. Guess it's a good design, although it has a teeny lil' drawback: if the timing goes, bad things can happen. Like this:



Just in case you can't tell, that's a hole in the cylinder, with the valve actually welded in the hole.

The other cylinders don't have holes. Hmmm...

Betty's getting a new heart put in, even as I type this. Which is sad: I probably could have gotten a new bike for what that transplant is costing me... :(

I'm almost kinda famous!

Ok, here's the deal: a mailing list I'm on had someone post, asking for people to answer a simple question for him, as research for a blog post. I figured "What the heck", and responded.

What I was NOT expecting, was to suddenly have my words carried in the same article as some fairly big names in the pagan community.

If you're a part of that community, go here. Read. Enjoy!


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I'll be doing some blog maintenance over the next couple days: cleaning up the blogroll, removing some things, maybe adding others. I've got two posts in the pipe, and they'll be up this week...

Sitting at my inlaws...

Ok... since we live in a lil' bitty apartment, I end up at my inlaws quite regularly (for things like laundry and suchlike). Dad actually lives here, too (have I mentioned that my inlaws rock?)...

So I'm sitting here, surfing the net and waiting for the latest load to be finished. Father-in-law is working on the new kitchen accoutrements (like completely new, hand made kitchen cabinets). This project also involves playing with the plumbing of the kitchen sink, which has resulted in LOTS of water on the floor. The last leak (as of a couple minutes ago) resulted in the following exchange:

FIL: "But I didn't think it would leak out of the hose"
MIL: "And THAT is why we have three children"

Followed closely by a bellow of "That better not make it on the blog!"

Who, me? Would *I* blog about something like that? >:)

Another fighting the good fight...

So... hopefully y'all have checked out the Ultimate Evil blog I listed awhile ago. If you haven't, go read now at The Ultimate Evil.

Back now? Ok...

So... last night on BACA Nation, Jade got her mentor to join in: Sue runs another blog, and is involved in the fight against child abuse. Again: go, read Warriors for Innocence.

Please... pass these links far and wide. If you're a blogger yourself, please post these links: these girls are doing a tremendous job, getting information out there.

Remember folks: all that's necessary for Evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.

Dear Teacher...

I try to stay FAR away from politics on this blog: I figure there are LOADs of better commentators out there, that have already said anything I'd want to say and done a better job than I could. But sometimes, something manages to work it's way past my filters. This is one such instance. The meat of it:

While he answered her father's question about health care, he gave Kennedy a note, excusing her absence from her last day of fourth grade at Aldo Leopold Community School in Green Bay.

"It says 'To Kennedy's teacher: Please excuse Kennedy's absence. She's with me. Barack Obama,' " said Kennedy.

Now, I still don't like Mr Obama. I consider his policies nothing more than socialism. I truly think that he's leading us down the garden path to our own destruction. And I will continue to think of him as our "Teleprompter in Chief". That said...

This one move showed a load of class that is refreshing. This is something that little girl will carry until she passes on: "the day the President excused me from school". And I'll give our TOTUS some credit for that...

Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

There's been a huge kerfufle on conservative and libertarian boards about the dichotomy between the coverage of the murder of an abortion doctor and the murder of a soldier at a recruiting station. I tried addressing this on APS, but decided it would make a good blog post.

To make sure we're all working off the same page here: we have one crime (A) committed by a member of the uber-right, who murdered someone he felt was killing innocents*. In the other crime, we have another murder (B), committed by a jailhouse Islamic convert, opening fire on a recruiting station (killing one and wounding another). Everyone with me so far? Good.

So... two serious crimes, both high profile, and both happening fairly close together in timeframe. One (A), the President has gone on record condemning, and calling for a major conspiracy investigation on. The other (B), our Teleprompter-In-Chief merely called "regrettable". This dichotomy, of course, has the Right up in arms. But there are things to think about here.

First off (and the one that got me right away): the crimes have one major difference between them. One, the victims were soldiers: not a major constituency of the Left. The other, the victim was heavily involved in a "cause" that the TOTUS has gone to extraordinary lengths to back (look up Obama's record on abortion). So we have one crime the Left can decry, and one they would feel ambivalent about (if not outright condone). Yes, it's terrible, but it's also life. But let's look at it from the other direction for a second...

Many on the Right have expressed the feeling that, although they wouldn't have pulled the trigger themselves, the abortion doc's killing was just "a murderer being murdered". While they haven't gone so far as to say the shooter should get off, you can get a feeling of a certain tacit approval from some.

I hate to be the one to point it out, but the shooter in the recruiting station case COULD make a similar claim for his actions: "I was just trying to protect innocent Muslims from American agression".

In crime A, we had someone with strong convictions against a legal activity take the life of someone involved in that activity. Oh, wait: the same COULD be said for B. Hmmm...

Here's an idea: how about we look at the crime committed, ignore the possible motives (beyond checking for self-defense) behind it, and actually condemn the murderers as such? Drop the rhetoric of "terroristic** acts", and simply punish the criminals for the actual crime they committed (without having to go into panty-shitting hysteria)?

One other difference between the crimes: with the soldiers' attacker, I haven't heard of anyone else being implicated. At the same time, the doc's killer has said that there will be more killing, implying that there are more people out there willing to take the life of an abortion doctor. Given that, I guess I can understand a conspiracy investigation...


*NOT going into the debate on abortion here: not now, not ever.

** I have to giggle at the fact that spellcheck tags "terroristic" as a mispelling. Says something, doesn't it?

Don't drink and... drive a sub?

Heh... I had to chuckle.

Seems a Chinese sub collided with a sonar array towed behind the destroyer USS John McCain on Thursday. Why the chuckle, you ask? Because I know something about the "rivalry" between those destroyers (Arleigh Burke class) and subs.

See, when the were originally designed, they were meant to kill subs. During a wargame back in the 90s,, the Burke herself pinged, locked, and "fired on" a fast attack sub... all before the sub in question could lock on the Burke.

Until the Arleigh Burke, subs considered surface ships "large, slow targets". When the Burke hit the waves, that assumption changed.

What does this have to do with the story? Well, there were a couple people who seemed a little worried that this might have been intentional: some form of the Chinese "testing" us. Not likely.

Had that sub actually wanted to "play", there would now be another big steel cylinder resting on the ocean floor near Subic.

As for my title: I just get a giggle out of the image of the "driver" being drunk, and the skipper yelling at him as he tries to stammer "but it was just one beer!"

Slightly new coverage here...

I've been giving it some thought, and decided to add some more political content aboard the Privateer. Nothing too extreme, but I'd like to cover some of the "local scene" here in the land of Cheddarheads...

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Dave Zweifel. He's the editor emeritus at the Capitol Times in Madison. And he just wrote this , er, interesting piece. Some snippits:

He figured -- correctly, as it turns out -- that he would be able to get his amendment attached to the credit card bill with help from his Republican colleagues and a handful of Western state pro-gun Democrats. That would then force the members of Congress who favor some control on guns to either kill the long-awaited credit card reforms or approve them along with the completely unrelated provision to allow guns in the parks.

Likewise, President Barack Obama would have to live with the amendment unless he was willing to veto the credit card reforms.

This practice has a LONG history in legislation. It's usually called a "poison pill". Gun owners have gotten them shoved down their throats (or up other orafices) many times in the past...

But it has left a bad taste in the mouths of not only many members of Congress, but citizens who believe this isn't the way democracy ought to work. If you want to allow guns in the parks, then vote on it. If you want credit card reform, vote on it. What kind of parliamentary system allows two completely unrelated matters to be joined?

And how many times, laddy-buck, have we seen unrelated "progressive" measures attached to unrelated legislation? Sauce for the goose, no?

The irony may come when the NRA puppets in Congress succeed in adding a pro-gun amendment to whatever health coverage reform legislation eventually emerges this year.

I'm hoping for the machinegun registry to be reopened, myself.

Go forth, read the whole thing. Wow, how they whine when one of their favorite tactics is used against them!

Filler, but funny...

Just read some of the obituaries from Car and Driver magazine. Some choice snippits:

Rest in Peace

HUMAN MEMORY
After a famously long career spanning more than 200,000 years, human memory died this month. For millennia, memory had been considered an invaluable evolutionary tool, preventing, as it did, Homo sapiens from committing the same stupid mistakes eight to 10 times in a row in front of their spouses. Memory’s slow and sad decline was first noticed when U.S. drivers could no longer remember when to use fog lights and thus left them on always. In the summer of 2008, memory suffered a second—and fatal—blow when North Americans, in the space of 120 days, could no longer recall $4-per-gallon fuel and went back to buying pickup trucks for style’s sake.

Human memory is survived by knee-jerk reactionaries and blowhard radio talk-show hosts, who have promised to fill in.

In Passing

RENTAL-CAR ABUSE
A national survey conducted by Hertz, National, Alamo, Dollar, and other rental agencies revealed the heretofore unannounced death of gratuitous rental-car abuse by white males under the age of 30.

“We were shocked when we analyzed the data,” said a Hertz spokesman. “But it’s increasingly clear that young men just aren’t putting the transmission into reverse at 50 mph, aren’t redlining engines for very much longer than five minutes at a time, and aren’t using the headliner as a napkin anymore.”
The rental community had previously assumed that abuse could be kept moderately healthy by automotive journalists. In lieu of flowers, friends of rental-car abuse are asked to make donations to the Aamco family.

Go to the link, and read the rest.
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I promise there will be more posts soon: life caught me this past couple weeks. Maybe Sly will return with news about how his oldest son has been grounded until after the end of the world...

It's good I don't have kids...

Because of things like this. The story:

BARLETT, Kan. -- There's controversy at a Kansas school after a teacher shaved the head of a 6-year-old boy because of his haircut.

Derby McReynolds had his hair cut in a short Mohawk.

Bartlett school officials said that was unacceptable, and sent him home.

His parents trimmed the boy's hair to what they said resembled a military cut.

The next time Derby went to school, the principal had a faculty member shave the boy's head.

"They said we were being unfair to Derby, by letting him cut his hair cut that way. He wanted it that way. If you ask me, they were being unfair to Derby by not allowing him to keep his hair the way he wanted it," said Casey Sandusky, the boyfriend of Derby's mother.

"The school district in general is always trying to balance that student's individual right of expression with the expectations of the building of each of the teachers, of parents and other students," Labette School Superintendent Dr. Chuck Stockton said.

His parents said Derby is wearing a hat until his hair is long enough to cut into a Mohawk again this summer.

Reminds me of a case here at home, where the daughter of a friend of the family was overheard telling a friend she thought she might be pregnant. Word got back to the guidance counsellor, who took it upon himself to restrict her to his office until she took a pregnancy test.

Now I don't know about y'all, but if a child of mine had something like this happen, I'd be looking for some time alone with whichever school drone was the perp. And chances are, they would think long and hard about EVER doing something similar to another kid.

Yes, children don't enjoy the same set of rights as adults. But things like this go way beyond what's acceptable. The sad part is, parents don't fight back, to keep the admins in check.

Kinda like how we let the gooberment keep getting away with stuff...

H/T to Jay G

New blog: go, read, send the link to others!

So... was in the BACA Nation chat room Sunday night, and a blogger was mentioned. A blogger who, surprise surprise, blogs about child abuse (primarily sexual) and ways of combating it.

Y'all go over and check out SMP's work at The Ultimate Evil. Worth not only a read, but I'd appreciate if anyone with a blog picked up the torch and posted a link: more exposure is a good thing in this case!

Customer service

Don't know if I have any readers (other than Peter) down in LA, but I thought I'd post a link to AD's latest "experience" dealing with a cycle shop. Go here to read what customer service isn't...

Sticky: BACA Nation

So yesterday, I was watching the live broadcast of the BACA Nation Radio Show, and I noticed a lil' button that said "embed". And that got me to thinkin' (never a good thing). So I thought "Hey... why don't I embed the show in my blog!".

Want to "tune in" live? Show's on from 7-10 Central time. If you can't catch it on your radio, check it at www.bacanation.com (where there's a chatroom with the hosts, and a webcam of the studio). Just click on the link at the top of the page that says "live"...

Here goes nuthin'

Well... just sent my first piece off to a real-live publication. Hopefully, they'll like it enough to give me the occassional piece (for real-live money)...

Y'all may have noticed that I've dropped the Freedom Roads banner off the top of the page. That's because they've gone Tango Uniform. But the experience gave me a bit of a bug for writing, so we'll see how the title "freelance writer" works out for me...

Pirates

If there's anything a privateer hates (other than those customs bastards), it's a pirate. Especially a pirate that picks a fight with a major naval power:

"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."

Now, it's been a fair while since I was actually out to sea, but I remember my shipmates (both those in blue and those in camo). And I KNOW what their response would be to this: come get some.

Read the article here. What do y'all think the response is going to be from Washington (and our Appeaser in Chief)?

Caught this @ Liberty Girl

Ya know, sometimes you just have to step up to the plate...

These folks want you to join their network, and report any "anti-Obama Activity".

Tell y'all what, Cupcakes: I'm reporting myself. Since your Messiah is an avowed (though unadmitted) socialist, I am completely against him and what he stands for.

Hope y'all have fun with your little project...

Multiple good things (for once)

So... it's been a good week aboard the Privateer. In multiple ways...

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Obviously, got my computer working again. When Windoze got lobotomized, I decided to try Ubuntu. So far, I have to say I like it...

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With the return of warmer weather, has come the return of two-wheeled transportation. This has been a mixed thing of late: haven't been able to replace the infamous Hondapotomus yet. To make matters worse, she would NOT start, not for anything. However, replace the battery, and she's again on the road (which makes Spoon happy: means I'm not stealing HER scoot anymore).

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Something to file under "News of the Unexpected": a couple years back, I taught Nancy (my mom-in-law) to shoot a handgun. This last few weeks, she decided she had to "prove she was serious about it": she went out and took (and passed) the NRA Basic Handgun Course. Came as a supprise to me: she's a good shot, but I had no clue that she was taking the class. And she's already considering the idea of concealed carry (if we ever get it in this Gawdsforesaken state)...

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Now maybe, just MAYBE, we're off the rocks and can start sailing forward again!

Dating Advice for Bikers (and similar folks)

I had meant to publish this in the Feb issue of the magazine. Things got in the way, but I figure it might be fairly timely now...

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Ok… some of my more astute readers may have cottoned to the fact there are… women… in my life. And, in talking to these fair folk, it occurs to me that some of the Y segment of the population could use some gentle advice.

Let me translate that for y’all: I’m gonna give you some ideas, so that I don’t constantly feel the need to apologize for the failings of my gender.

First off: if you wouldn’t do it to your mother (or would be irritated if it was done to your gal), don’t do it or say it to a girl you see in a bar. “Hey, you have nice titties!” just isn’t the show-stopper pick-up line you think it is. Ditto walking up and grabbing the aforementioned pieces of a lady’s architecture. You MIGHT, if you’re VERY lucky, be able to do that later in private. But those aren’t what you shake on someone when you first meet ‘em.

Next item: maybe, drop “bitch” from your vocabulary. Most women don’t like the term, and get cranky when referred to as such. Stick words like “whore”, “slut”, and any similar in the trash too. Not only do they usually not work for you, but they make life damn difficult for the next few guys out there.

And one of the big secrets, which most completely miss out on: it’s the little things that matter. Yes, that diamond ring, new Sof Tail, or similar extravigence might make her “drop her panties” immediately, but it’s the little things that will have the longest effect. I’m talking about just sending a random text message, to let her know you’re thinking of her. Or picking up a flower “just because”. Out on a ride with the guys? Most gas stations have little things that, if you think about it, your gal would just melt over. One of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen on Spoon’s face (other than at a machinegun shoot) was when I presented her with a lil’ stuffed “biker monkey”. Why, you ask? Because it showed that, while I was away, I had thought of her.

I can hear y’all now: “Strings, you just don’t know how to deal with women!”. Yeah… that’s why, if you ever meet me in person, there are usually two gorgeous ladies with me: because I don’t know what I’m talking about. Trust me guys: these three pieces of advice will take you VERY far!

Frelling computers

So... while Sly was posting about his awesome news, I had a lil' glitch: basically, I ended up with a virus that resulted in a couple important windoze files going walkabout.

Did you know that dll files are necessary? For things like windoze running, and suchlike? Woulda thunk it?

So... scramble for the last week or so was to find someone with a decent XP disk, so I could rebuild the machine. Of course, the closest I could find was my old Win2K disk (and several folks with Vista disks *shudder*). What IS a poor blogger to do?

Why, load Ubuntu, of course!

For the foreseeable future, I'll be banging away on a machine that has a different OS than Bill Gates' monster. And so far, THE only problem I've had with it is not being able to get iTunes set up on the damn thing (but I have hopes).

Oh... as a result of my question, I'll be giving my camera a lil' bit of a workout: once a week, I plan on posting a piece out of my safe, along with whatever personal history it has and such. We'll see how long that'll last for... ;)

Second Chances

OK... OK... I'm Posting already..... Its only been a few minutes......er.... days.........ok too damn long since I posted last. As to date my posts have not been anything that is really about me and who I am, no substance of how deranged is Slytly Deranged. This will be no different....

A lot of changes around here since my last post, I now have custody of my 16 year old son. I am overjoyed with this. I could write about it all day long and still never get out my feelings about him or how happy I am to have him. I could......but I won't. Two reasons....1.) If I did, this post would be different from my previous posts and I have already mentioned that this post would not be much different.....2.) I would rather you see his words about how he feels about being here.
I pulled the following from his myspace blog. These are his words, copied and pasted, no editing on my part:

A new school, a new home, sounds like an everyday thing in my life at this point huh? Well, this time it's different. I now have a place where I'm staying. I have a house and a school I don't have to leave anymore. It feels good to finally have some stability in my life. I get to have friends here that I won't leave two months from now, or just jump up and move without even saying good bye to them. I finally have a place where I can be me, but also I have a place I can care about. I used to not really care what anyone thought of me because I knew sooner or later, I'd be gone, far away from that place and probably never coming back. Granted, what I did to get here was nothing short of bad, I pretty much killed my mother with heartbreak. But when I think about how much better I'll have it here, I know I had to do it.... Here.... I don't have to worry about college tuition or a job or anything like that. Here, I can have everything I want because I now hold the tools I need to get them. When I was there, I was so un-happy all the time because all I would worry about was my future, here, I have another chance to re-write my future to a better ending.... My second chance in life.... Maybe one day you will all get one yourself.

Opinions wanted about content...

As I'm reading through my "daily blogs", I realized most are, in one form or another, "gun blogs".

Now, I've made no secret of the fact that the crew and command of the Privateer are all VERY much in favor of our country's Second Amendment. But I haven't really said much about guns here. No range reports, no real gun pron, no discussion of the BS we put up with here in the Land of Cheese...

So... I figured I'd let the two of you decide: want to know about what the crew of HMS Privateer uses in our forays?

Ye gawds!

Damn... missed most of a month!

Been busy: working, getting bikes up and running (had Spoon's Kaw out a couple times, but the 'Potomus is still arguing with me). Getting things ready for Child Abuse Awareness Month (having a kick-off party for it next saturday at the Moose: I'll post details monday). Generally, trying to keep life from spinning out of complete control... ;)

Not sure how much posting will be done this coming month: April is always brutal aboard the Privateer. We'll see how it goes!

Passage of crew...

Well, another "crew member" here has passed away: one of the cat's health took a nose-dive the last couple days, culminating in a lifeless body a couple hours ago.

Tinker had been doing a tremendous job of attempting to fill Squee's position as "mommy's kitty". And now, she's gone.

Yet another that will be missed... :(

college?

Peter posted an interesting list of courses offered (for credit) at some universities. Here's the quick rundown:

* Arguing With Judge Judy: Popular 'Logic' On TV Judge Shows
* Underwater Basket Weaving
* The Joy Of Garbage
* Zombies In Popular Media
* Cyberporn And Society
* Far Side Entomology
* Myth And Science Fiction: Star Wars, The Matrix, And Lord Of The Rings

He goes on to ask readers if they'd be willing to pay for their children attending such classes. I'm gonna take a slightly different track...

Was discussing the whole college thing with Spoon. Seems a college degree doesn't mean as much, anymore. Hell, I dated a girl that got a degree in Spanish & Latin American Studies... then got a job teaching english in Japan!

We've all heard of folks that get a degree in (insert whatever major), only to find out that for it to mean anything in the job market, they need further education. Not to mention the number of kids in college that seem to dual major in "Binge Drinking" and "Promiscuis Sex".

I'm gonna advance a theory here: I think college has become overly pushed on society. And there are a couple reasons behind this.

First off, we've been given a sense that everybody should be an executive (or similarly physically non-taxing position). What we've failed to take into account is that there are only so many such positions out there. Nobody wants to be a ditch-digger, but SOMEBODY has to do it. Yet, thinking back to high school, the huge push was to go on to "higher education*" to make something of yourself.

Second issue here: many college kids today seem to treat the (however many) years of college as an extended adolescence, with mommy & daddy footing the bill for the search for more excess.

Could it be that, courses such as those listed, MIGHT just point to a needed revamp of our whole education system? That, just maybe, the whole "well rounded education" might not be as good a thing (or as necessary for everyone) as once thought?

Just sayin'...

Admit

In the interest of sanity,
I must admit, I am insane.
In the interest of lunacy,
I must admit, I am mundane.

If I am to be honest and fair,
To those who know me best,
I must admit I am not great,
That I am flawed at best.

Jason "Slytly Deranged" Carroll
3/1/2009 4:59 am



This has been rolling around in my head all day, thought I would get it out.

Sigh...

No rest for the wicked, right?

Spent most of the day helping one of my members move.

Left there, to drive 2 hours to a biker get-together: supposed to meet some people there that want to form a new BACA chapter.

Tomorrow, I have to go to one of the other chapter's meeting, to explain the state's new phone system. Then maybe to Milwaukee to help my sis with something.

I might, at some point, get a chance to breathe.

Greetings and Salutations

Greetings and Salutations, or Gruntings and Salivations, if you prefer.

I am Slytly Deranged and I will be guiding you through this maze of twists and turns and dizzying loop-de-loops I commonly refer to as My Life.

I am not, nor will ever be a polished, polite, pretensive individual. If you are looking for "Oh-my-that-warms-my-heart" type of blogging, take this opportunity to click the back button on your browser now. It will save the both of us some time and you some disappointment. However, if you are looking for a good laugh, a strange time, or at times a thought provoking blog, hang out, take a look and feel free to comment.

I am sure that there will be posts I make that you will not agree with. By all means, call me out on them. Comment and tell me that I am a stupid idiotic moron. I welcome the debate. Debate and disagreements, when debated and disagreed to their full potential, are how minds are changed.

If we can change minds we can change the world.

I am under no illusion that my blog will directly result in any great change in the world. I am no greatly respected writer or politician. I am not from a family of "Old Money". I am not a great philosopher who will be quoted and studied eons after my death.

There will be no universities with departments set up to analyze my musings and rantings. There will be no great dinners held in my honor or memory. There will be no earth shattering revelations contained in my blog.



Im just another asshole with a blog.

A blog that you just read.

SD

New crew on the Privateer...

Heh... talking to my brother Sly (y'all got to read one of his pieces awhile back), and he mentioned having some songs he's thinking of writing. I offered him a slot on the crew aboard here, and he said "yes".

He isn't the brightest, is he?

So y'all welcome my brother by another mother, Slytly Deranged. I guess he can be ship's powder monkey, or something.

Just so long as he keeps that damn 'shine to himself!

Holder, Pelosi, and the AWB

Ok... so everyone knows about Eric Holder's comments regarding the new administration wanting to reinstate (and make permanent) the now-gone Assault Weapons Ban, right? So I don't have to rehash the whole story?

And y'all know that Nancy Pelosi (C, CA) made a statement about how that's not on the agenda right now? We're up to speed on that too, right?

Good... I hate having to rehash everything.

So... I'm gonna make a lil' prediction here. We WILL be seeing a reintroduction of the AWB, sometime between 8 months and a year from now. And it'll be an AWB on a combination of acid and steroids: bigger, meaner, and completely divorced from any concept of reality. I fully expect it to include wording making it illegal to touch anything from the flint-lock on up. And it'll have one other major difference from the previous ban.

This one won't be meant to pass. It's gonna be complete smoke & mirrors.

The Dems remember '94. They remember passing the previous ban, and how bad it backlashed against 'em. And they're hearing all the talk of what happened then. So I'm thinking Holder's comments were meant to start setting the stage. One of the CA folks will intro the bill (my guess would be Feinstein), and it'll be a HUGE battle. It'll be defeated, but only through the help of the newer, "pro-gun Dems". And it'll be enough of a distraction to help keep a Dem majority in both the branches of our legiscircus through the '10 elections.

The "real ban"? That'll come up immediately after the '10 elections, and will probably cruise right on through...