The person you are trying to stop is smarter than you. Corollary: yes, even if they’re not yet old enough to smoke.
Long story short: age-verification cameras on cigarette machines in Japan can be fooled by showing the camera a picture of an older person. Seriously, did no one on the design team for that camera think “huh, let’s show it a PICTURE of an old person and see what it does . . .”?
Sorry, couldn’t resist the Zeppelin reference. The Ocean to which I’m referring, of course, is my Helio Ocean. Looks like Helio, the makers and service providers for said device, have been bought out by Virgin Mobile. They’re saying that the service and the contracts will remain completely the same, which is good. I’m rather a fan of my Helio. It’s got great coverage, fantastic features, and it pretty much Just Works.
Unfortunately, this means I owe a “You Told Me So” to my friend Paul, who was saying something about Helio being ripe for a buy-out just a week ago. I was, however, right when I contended that I my service will probably not be in jeopardy.
So anyway, Helio gets bought out. Effect to the end-user? Probably none. All in all, I’m pretty happy with that.
Looks like suits are already in progress to overturn other handgun bans around the country. Case in point: ChicagoGunCase.com
(via View from the Porch)
D.C vs. Heller is in. It’s 5-4 in favor of the 2nd Amendment being an actual right (as opposed to some sort of mythical “collective right” whatever the hell that might mean). Narrower than I was hoping and in more tepid language. Money quote from the opinion:
“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”
So we won, though narrowly. Within the next 21 days, the people of DC will be able to register a handgun and keep it in their home for protection. No provisions, of course, for carry or anything like that, but as Robb Allen says:
Now is not the time to relax. Enjoy your day, hit the range, buy some ammo or a new gun, but get ready for the upcoming battles. The(sic) will be small, but numerous.
This isn’t the end it’s the beginning. This opens the door for folks to strike down some of the more odious local anti-gun laws in the country, but it’s a victory which just allows us to fight more legal battles down the road.
Special thanks to Alan Gura who, in my totally-not-a-lawyer opinion, did a fantastic job arguing our side of it. I would congratulate my one very dear D.C. friend on getting some of her liberty back, but I have the sneaking suspicion that she doesn’t see it that way.
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Aw, what the hell: Congrats, Heather! If you ever want to learn how to shoot, the offer I made you lo those many years ago to take you to the range is still open.
These images taken from assorted Mars missions are absolutely stunning. Do yourself a favor and check out the full set.
So I’m trying to turn myself into a morning person. That means, among other things, not having any caffeine after 3pm. After not much sleep last night, and no caffeine since about 2, it’s 5pm and I’m already doing the jittery, headache-y withdrawal thing. This does NOT bode well.
For the record: my normal intake of caffeine for a weekday is somewhere around 150 ounces of diet soda and two or three cups of black tea.
We’ll see how I manage. I’m still hopeful despite the fact that I’m jonesing pretty bad at the moment for some diet pepsi.
One thing everyone who intends to survive the Zombie Apocalypse will need is a good gun. For that truly personal undead-slaying touch, however, you don’t need A gun, you need YOUR gun. Something uniquely personal. Something, preferably, you made yourself. This, of course, will require you to fill out the proper BATFE paperwork:
Please note that the BATFE acknowledges the inevitability of the Zombocalypse and, as demonstrated by their approval of the above form, accept “Zombies” as an acceptable reason for the manufacture of one’s own firearm.
Of course, it’s not enough to just make ANY firearm for zombie-slaying. No no, one needs the RIGHT gun for zombie slaying. Fortunately for all of us, a couple of readers of The High Road have pushed the envelope in anti-zombie firearm technology to bring us the Remington 1740.
Yes, ladies and gentleman, you are looking at Remington 1740, made by the union in functional matrimony of a right-handed and a left-handed Remington 870 shotgun. The resulting scattergun is the first pump-action double-barrel shotgun of which I’m aware. (The one in the Phantasm movies doesn’t count, since it’s a movie prop. . . Besides, I’m pretty sure it had four barrels.) Though unwieldy (each Remington 870 is, after all, about 7 or 8 pounds unloaded), it is sure to deliver plenty of undead-slaying power, not to mention hours of entertainment and good, safe fun between now and the inevitable rise of the undead hordes.
(Hat tip to Traction Control and The LawDog Files for images.)
Now, I don’t mean to belittle a man’s death, but does Tim Russert’s really warrant this much media attention, or is this just the press feting one of their own and assuming that the public cares as much as they do? I mean, I’m sure Mr. Russert was a fine, upstanding man. He was probably a good husband (if he was married), a good father (if he had any kids) and etc. But is his death news other than in passing? Do we really need articles dissecting “What Happened to Russert?“? (Hint: He passed away tragically from a sudden cardiac arrest. There, I answered in one short sentence what the Newsweek article mumbles on about for a full page.)
His death was, no doubt, a tragedy to his friends, family, and coworkers. And maybe this makes me a cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch, but I’m having a really hard time understanding why the rest of us should care enough for it to warrant round-the-clock news coverage.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Russert, but forgive me if I don’t lower my flag to half mast for you.
A few weeks ago, my friend Meagan and her friend Diana were up for the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival. (Which, by the way, was as amazing as ever.) We got back to Spokane afterwards and Meagan had an extra day to hang out. It’s a pity she only had a day, since a mere 24 hours is not enough time to get the full Spokane experience. But after a brief debate over what we wanted to do (Me: “Well, if you wanted, we could go to the range.” Her: “Okay!”) we grabbed eyes, ears, ammo, and guns and (after the obligatory safety lecture and mechanics lesson) headed off to Sharpshooter’s.
Turns out Meagan had never fired a gun before. Which is a bit of a pity, since she turned out to be a complete natural. I’ve had the pleasure now of introducing a half dozen people to shooting sports and she is by FAR the most capable of all the new shooters I’ve had the pleasure to work with.
Case in point (photo only shows 6 rounds, but 9 of 10 fired were on the target):
She got a chance to try my CZ-75 and my Marlin model 60. She definitely seemed to enjoy shooting both and did a fantastic job with them. She had no flinch to speak of. Well, that is to say, she didn’t have any when she wasn’t catching hot brass down her cleavage. (Note to self: next time with a female shooter, recommend high-collared shirts.) I will say, however, that she handled the hot-case-down-the-shirt situation admirably. Without being even having to be told, she display excellent muzzle control and guncraft. Finger went off the trigger and the muzzle stayed firmly downrange while she gyrated and picked at her shirt to get the case out.
Which was really sort of a theme for the afternoon; Meagan turned out to be a real natural. By the end of the afternoon, after having started at about 10 feet, we’d rolled the targets all the way out to the end of the 50ft lane and she was still putting the shots right where she wanted them more often then not.
A safe, fun time was had by all. Meagan seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself and she shot quite well. I hope to get the chance to take her out again some day. (Unfortunately, her prospects as a shooter are somewhat limited by her current state of residence. Meagan was up visiting from California. And with gun laws like those, I imagine getting into shooting sports in any serious sort of way must be significantly more difficult.)
Just a heads up that there’s a couple hundred new photos (of varying quality: I uploaded them all sans discrimination and will sort through them when I get a chance) up on my Flickr page. Topics covered include a trip to the range with my inimitable friend Meagan, Sasquatch! Festival 2008, and a day out on my brother Brian’s new boat.