walls of the city

Note: this will contain spoilers.

I am a big fan of Frank Darabont. His first feature film, “Shawshank Redemption” (1994) was robbed of the Best Picture academy award due to the popularity and mass appeal of Forrest Gump. It is one of my favorites, and quite possibly a perfect piece. After Shawshank, Darabont penned and directed “The Green Mile” (1999). Another great movie, and surprisingly true to the Steven King novel. He followed Green Mile with “The Majestic” (2001) which was very poorly received at the box office. Despite the lackluster ticket sales, I think The Majestic is a very strong piece, and one of Jim Carrey’s better dramatic roles. And then came “The Mist” (2007).

By the time Darabont does The Mist he has become known for his great adaptations of Steven King novels and novellas. His feature debut garnered him an academy award nomination, and he followed with a strong piece as well. Somewhere between the box office failure of The Majestic and the release of The Mist, things seem to have fallen to pieces. The Mist is a sci-fi tale of monsters being unleashed on earth through a portal to another dimension, that focuses on the characters and how they react to this situation. There’s a saying in the film industry that can be paraphrased to something like, “No matter how good your talent, director, and crew, if you don’t have a good script then you don’t have shit.” This movie has a bad script.

From the opening dialog the conversation between characters seems awkward and stiff. And once into the second act (if the viewer has made it that far) it gets worse as the situations get more intense. Any movie involving monsters requires a willing suspension of disbelief, and I am more than willing to set aside any disbelief in buglike monsters from other dimensions. The problem comes when we are exposed to the characters reactions to the bugs, which at times is unbelievably illogical and impractical, we the viewers are forced out of the fantasy and into a position of critical analyses. An example of this comes early on when the lawyer character Brent Norton argues with his neighbor (and main character) David Drayton over whether there was a monster trying to get into their building. He has already been told early on that something has killed one of his fellow townsfolk “from out of the mist” and now is confronted with a missing stockboy that was pulled from the grocery store they are holed up in. Drayton offers evidence of the monster just in the next room, but Norton refuses the visual evidence insisting his neighbor (and five or so others) are trying to make him look the fool. Rather than walk to the next room and see for himself, he ends up gathering a group to go out and prove there are no monsters, never to be seen again. At times it seems like the characters were written to do dumb things so they could be killed off, thus moving the viewer through the course of the film to its end.

The highlight of the movie is Marcia Gay Harden’s portrayal of a character named Mrs. Carmody. Unfortunately the wonderful acting is overshadowed by the poorly written script. The character is used by the director as a source of conflict in the store as the group tries to decide how to battle the bugs outside. She eventually takes over most of the “hostages” with a religious zealotry that much like other parts of the story, seems contrived. This twist forces the main characters to make a run for it from the sanctuary of the store, leading us to the movies dramatic conclusion.

Maybe it was because I had two friend’s who told me how much I would love the ending, (or maybe by the end I was just numb from two hours of bad dialog) but when it came I was neither surprised nor shocked by the groups actions. In what I understand to be a variance from King’s novel where the end is left ambivalent, the final scene leaves five characters in a stalled car, in the mist, with a revolver holding four bullets. Rather than survey their situation or try to find refuge, the group decides silently to have David put them out of their miseries, leaving him to fend for himself against the bugs. The finale comes with what was supposed to be a dramatic twist, as David exits the car as the mist slowly clears only to be rescued by a roving band of US troops with tanks and flamethrowers. “Audience is left in shock realizing that he just killed three friends and his son for nothing…” I guess.

This movie has decent special effects, and a good cast of competent actors, but the cliché filled script and bad dialog leave much to be desired. If you are flipping around the TV on a Saturday night with nothing else to do, it might be worth a watch, but I would pass on paying the cost of a rental on this one.

So over two months ago, Ron over at Reactuate tagged me with this meme, and I have not had the chance to sit down at a computer with a book up until... well... now. Life is a bear sometimes. Regardless, here is how it works:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Find page 123.
3. Find the first five sentences.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Well, here are my three sentences:

Microphones pointed like so many gun barrels toward the quick-moving animal. They heard more moans form the distant foliage. Obviously, a good-sized troop was here.

Hm. Well. That was significantly less-interesting than it could have been, given that it comes from Michael Crichton's book Next.

And now who to tag... Andy, over at Andy's Blog, oddly enough (if only to get him to start posting again); Dirtcrashr at Anthroblogogy; Rosemary at, strangely enough, Rosemary's Thoughts; David from Random Nuclear Strikes ; and, just for the fun of it, Uncle, writing from Say Uncle.

What is it with people and self-titular weblogs?

(Image borrowed from Call Me Ahab.)

Over the years of living with myself and realizing just how destructive I tend to be on things, I have slowly (unfortunately, probably too slowly) come to the conclusion that spending a little extra for something of considerably better quality and durability is probably worth it. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule, as there are with any, and there are certainly times when affording the higher-quality/durability item is not an option, but sometimes it all works out relatively well.

The good news for klutzes like myself, and other people who tend to be a little rough on their equipment, is that there is a growing number of companies like Blackhawk that not only make "tactical" (whatever that word has developed to meaning) equipment for military members, but they also sell this higher-quality, more-durable gear to, well, anyone with the money. Thanks to places like Brigade Quartermasters, you can procure BlackHawk Tactical Equipment for relatively decent prices, and feel comfortable with a 100% 30-day satisfaction guarantee, on top of a 110% guarantee if they mess up your order... Well, suffice to say, if you are looking for "high speed", you may as well go with a reliable product and ordering option that is backed up by a keep-you-happy warranty.

--- This post sponsored by Brigade Quartermasters, though I would honestly write a positive post about them without the sponsorship, too... ---

Well, crud, I did not even notice - my last post actually turns out to be this weblog's 500th.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this weblog has survived long enough to put up 500 posts of mindless meanderings. I guess the good news is that Shane wrote 19 of them himself, so I am not entirely accountable for the quality of material here, but I certainly share the majority of the blame.

Five hundred posts in a two-year-and-fourish-months of existence? A posting rate of a little more than a new one every other day? Yeah, that is a pretty poor showing, especially compared to some people. But, damnit, it is a milestone, insignificant or not!

So this is going to count as one of those linky-no-thinky posts I am having to resort to these days, however, this image definitely falls under the "too cool not to share" category. Definitely click on it to embiggen - trust me on this one.

Yes, it is real. And Snopes provides some information on it, by way of a reader whose great-grandfather is buried somewhere in that image:

The design for the living picture was laid out at the drill ground at Camp Dodge, situated in the beautiful valley of the Des Moines River. Thousands of yards of white tape were fastened to the ground and formed the outlines on which 18,000 officers and men marched to their respective positions.

In this body of soldiers are any hundreds of men of foreign birth — born of parents whose first impression of the Land of Freedom and Promise was of the world's greatest colossus standing with beacon light at the portal of a nation of free people, holding aloft a torch symbolic of the light of liberty which the statue represents. Side by side with native sons these men, with unstinted patriotism, now offer to sacrifice not only their liberty but even life itself for our beloved country.

The day on which the photograph was taken was extremely hot and the heat was intensified by the mass formation of men. The dimensions of the platting for the picture seem astonishing. The camera was placed on a high tower. From the position nearest the camera occupied by Colonel Newman and his staff, to the last man at the top of the torch as platted on the ground was 1,235 feet, or approximately a quarter of a mile. The appended figures will give an adequate idea of the distorted proportions of the actual ground measurements for this photograph:

Base to shoulder: 150 feet.
Right arm: 340 feet.
Widest part of arm holding torch: 12-1/2 feet.
Right thumb: 35 feet.
Thickest part of body: 29 feet.
Left hand (length): 30 feet.
Tablet in left hand: 27 feet.
Face: 60 feet.
Nose: 21 feet.
Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet.
Flame on torch.: 600 feet.
Torch and flame combined: 980 feet.
Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000
Number of men in torch: 2,800
Number of men in right arm: 1,200
Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000

Total: 18,000

Incredible as it may seem there are twice the number of men in the flame of the torch as in the whole remaining design, while there are eight times as many men in the arm, torch and flame as in all the rest of the figure. It will be noted that the right thumb is five feet longer than the left hand, while the right arm, torch and flame is eight times the length of the body.

I dunno about you, but that is pretty bloody impressive, especially considering the artists involved in it were able to get the foreshortening problem handled adequately. Of course, equally impressive is that many people, standing together long enough in that kind of heat, wearing those kinds of uniforms (in those days, probably made of wool to boot), for the picture to be taken. I wonder: Does something a quarter-mile long qualify as "visible from space"? Because that would just be awesome...

So one of my friends is in the process of trying to set up a web-based forum for a company he eventually intends on launching and running.... something about physical fitness and gyms and all that crazy metal-lifting stuff - being the scrawny twig I am, I kind of zoned out on the specifics. The point I am trying to make, though, is that finding a company to go with for your hosting solutions online these days is a little complicated.

Why? There are a lot of web hosting companies. An absolutely amazing number of them, actually. The good news for people new to the market, or people like me who have not been shopping for a while, is that there are a few websites out there to help us out, such as WebHostingChoice.

Just the front page alone is useful, given that it lists what it considers to be the top ten web hosters out there, and provides specifics as to the price, setup fees, disk space, data transfer (bandwidth, for you technical types), the year the company was established, and their overall rating. However, on top of offering a reasonably comprehensive database of hosting providers, it also has a decent learning center, providing explanations of various scams newbies might trip over, just what bandwidth is, and some other details good to know when shopping.

Me, I am happy with my current hosting solution, but I am certainly not one to disdain free, comprehensive information, especially since it might make the search process a little easier.

And, no, "cornucopic" probably is not a real word...

--- This post sponsored by WebHostingChoice. ---

From Military.com:

"Army Seeks WWII DNA Samples

Week of March 31, 2008
The Army is trying to locate more than 6,300 families to collect DNA samples for the purpose of identifying missing Soldiers from World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. The military maintains a database of mitochondrial DNA samples from family members of missing-in-action Soldiers in the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab. The DNA samples help the Army identify missing Soldiers' remains when they are uncovered so they can be returned to the families. Families with unaccounted-for Soldiers, or anyone who knows of a family with an unaccounted-for Soldier, should contact the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch by calling 1-800-892-2490 or sending an e-mail to tapscper@conus.army.mil."

If you know anyone who has a relative who is MIA, please forward this info along.

Been a while since one of these, no? Ladies and gentlemen, here are the open trackback posts found on my weblog. These are your chances to spread some of your better work, get it out to potentially a different crowd, and, if nothing else, get more links to your writings and weblog. Feel free to ping this post, so long as you also link to it.

One of the things that tend to get under my skin faster than most is people commenting about cultures of which they have absolutely no understanding whatsoever. This shortcoming happens to just about all cultures, and all time periods, and spans the full breadth and depth of both - historians are constantly judging the past using the current standards, and politicians, activists, and all kinds of other people are all about judging other countries by ther own country's rules. Please do not misunderstand - Americans are just as guilty of this as anyone - but it is still a significant problem, no matter who does it. Granted, there are certain things that remain constant across cultures and times... or, at least, pretty darned close to constant, but when uneducated morons start ranting and raving about the perceived shortcomings of other cultures, and expect their words to stand as gospel truth, unchallenged and unassailable... well, that is just one hell of a tempting target.

Unfortunately, SayUncle went and directed me to one such moron. Now, I am not one to visit another person's intentions, but so closely as I can follow his writings, the author does not understand American's "love of guns", and due to that lack of understanding, dislikes it, and believes it should not exist. Furthermore, due to that lack of understanding, he simply picks a cause out of the air - in this case, paranoia - and ascribes all of America's "love of guns" to it.

Surprisingly, at the time I wrote the below, his weblog post was still accepting comments, so I left the below:

It is "paranoid" to recognize, understand, and admit that crime does happen, to "normal" people like myself and my family, on a regular basis?

It is "paranoid" to recognize, understand, and admit that there are people out there who are larger, stronger, and faster than I am, and that using a small piece of equipment to try and level the playing field might be a good idea?

It is "paranoid" to recognize, understand, and admit that firearms will always exist everywhere, regardless of rules, regulations, and restrictions, and voluntarily stripping one's self of the capability to wield them yourself is tantamount to shoving your head in the sand and painting a target on your arse?

Well, hell, stuff me in a psych ward and call me Shirley, then. Of course, given your tirade and that I am one of those "gun nuts" you seem to disdain so very much, you probably would not mind the former... but that is neither here nor there.

As for why firearm owners own firearms... Well, I cannot speak for anyone except myself. My experience with them started out with air rifles in college, and joining the school's air rifle team on a whim and boredom. However, one trip to the range, and I was hooked on the focus, the attention to detail, and the control necessary to perform well - after all, trying to hit a pinprick at 10 meters is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. Once I was out of college (since they are, by and large, shooting galleries... er... "gun free zones"), I decided I would like to pick up shooting as a regular hobby for myself. However, after coming to the determination that an air rifle in the same class as the ones I had the privilege of using in college would cost more than a "normal" firearm, and be significantly less useful, I went for the slug-thrower, and the rest is, as they say, history. I started out with a pistol, have since added a carbine to the collection, and once I move to a state with a slightly better view on personal defense, I will be adding a carry pistol as well.

However, that was just the start of it. Since then, my understanding of the inherent right to self defense has progressed considerably. I am a free, independent, capable young man, and I am responsible for my own life - not the government, not the police, not some Joe Schmo down the road. In fact, now that I am married, I am responsible not only for my own life and safety, but also that of my Better Half (call me a mysoginistic twit for it, I will not mind). And I take that responsibility very seriously. In this day and age, the only effective and relatively reliable method to ensure one's own safety is to use the technology afforded to us, and since many, many criminals possess and utilize firearms (oddly, even in countries that have banned them... I wonder how that happens?), it only makes sense to level the playing field. Additionally, as I mentioned before, there are many people larger/stronger/faster than me, and the firearm provides an equalizing factor for that situation as well.

However, self-defense is not the only new reason either. Simply put, a right unused is a right lost. We Americans have the rather unique (as you have repeatedly and disdainfully pointed out) right to individually possess firearms for whatever reason we so desire, and if no one were to exercise that right, it would be lost, whether it was legally removed due to lack of interest and the "public welfare", or it simply was forgotten. Consider me a defender of the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution they were amended to.

And last, and probably least, in the grand scheme of things, I own firearms because it so disturbs and concerns hoplophobic pants-wetters like you. In fact, I purchased the specific carbine I did because the state I live in has outlawed "assault weapons", on the premise that they are dangerous and evil weapons (while still, somehow, being the firearm least likely to be used in a criminal activity). Well, that is all good and well, but my rifle, based off a still-used American military rifle, is perfectly legal in the state... while being, by and large, more powerful and at a greater range than most of the banned "assault weapons". Go change your undies over that.

Two random, unrelated, closing thoughts for you... First, America has a history of "bunch(es) of blokes with flano shirts and hunting rifles" turning back better-organized, -equipped, and -managed armies... just take a look at our War of Independence.

Second, I have always enjoyed this quote, for instances such as these:

Though it is a long step between being disarmed and being murdered - one does not usually lead to the other - but it is nevertheless an arresting reality that not one of the principal genocides of the twentieth century, and there have been dozens, has been inflicted on a population that was armed. - Daniel D. Polsby

Oh, and I was redirected here by SayUncle, who has a nice response for you, if you are man enough to read it.

However, after commenting, it came to light that he, in fact, went and shut down comments because he did not like how his argument was being perforated. Of course, a few hours after shutting down the comments, he went and wrote a stirring little post (which is appropriately dismembered here) about how his shutting down comments on that one post was all our fault, and how we are so stupid for continuing to comment on that post (even though he has not made it clear in that post that comments are closed - a common weblogger courtesy), and yadda yadda yadda... more of the standard projection habits of anti-rights individuals. Well, just to spite his spineless little ass, this post will exist as a testament that, sure, he can silence dissent on his own weblog... but that only demonstrates that he has surrendered the argument, admitted the shortcomings of his stance, and retreated to sticking his fingers in his ears and humming. Oh, and the simple fact of the internet that you can never silence dissent.

Rustmeister does a positively outstanding job destroying his guy's arguments, and I certainly will not try to steal his thunder. However, one last thought before I sign off.

Banning firearms will increase the firearm crime rate shortly, while the police crack down on those individuals who owned them before the ban, and refused to give them up. However, over time, the ban will decrease the firearm crime rate - that much goes without saying whatsoever, even though hoplophobic anti-rights activists will harp on that point incessantly. However, firearm-related crimes are not the only crimes out there, now, are they? What about all of the other numerous, sundry, and distasteful crimes out there? What happens to their rates when firearms are banned?

Well, considering the citizenship of the author who prompted this post, we will use Australia as an example: In their case, as with every other case of broad-spectrum firearm bans, the crime rate remains the same, continues its growth the same as before the ban, or drastically increases, depending on which crime we are talking about, and over what period (Source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4).

So, sure, Ken, go ahead and silence those who would point out just how flawed and specious your point of view is. We certainly do not mind. The fact is, the truth is out there, the information is out there, the trends are out there. And while gun bans may make you feel better, the simple truth is that they actually do the exact opposite, and sometimes with disastrous results. And that information will be out there whether you allow it on your weblog or not. Just try not to go around forcing your spinelessness on those of us who find it pathetic... we have no patience for that.

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary's Thoughts, Nuke Gingrich, Right Truth, Adam's Blog, The World According to Carl, Miss Beth's Victory Dance, The Pink Flamingo, CORSARI D'ITALIA, , Right Voices, Adeline and Hazel, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Growing up as an only child, the two largest influences on my life were my parents, and my books. And my LEGO's, but those were more expressional than educational (though they were that occasionally as well). Regardless, I read with a voracious appetite when I was younger, and still do when I have the time and the space... However, one thing has remained constant - my interest in the science fiction genre.

Robert Heinlein was really my first introduction to scifi, and I have always regretted that he went and died before I really got into his writings.

Well, unfortunately, I have not moved quickly enough on the guy who probably counts as my second look at scifi, and Arthur C. Clark went and died today. If Heinlein was my introduction, Clark solidified my interest, especially after reading through the entire series of 2001 and Rama.

On top of getting some gangly, underweight child/teenager hooked on science fiction, Mr. Clark went and predicted satellites before the first one was ever considered, did more for Sri Lanka than most people do for their own towns, helped create the idea of a global village ("internet", anyone?), and developed his own Three Laws (not to be confused with Asimov's):

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. Corollary: When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

2. The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture beyond them into the impossible.

3. Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Sadly, he did not live long enough to realize his dream of having extraterrestrials (in whom he firmly believed) contact us (so far as we know), but E.T. or not, he will be greatly missed by a great number of little Earthlings.

In October 2007 Kevin Baker wrote a review of the 2nd annual Gun Bloggers Rendevoux. Besides sounding like an all around good time, I was impressed with the presence of the NRA’s Grassroots Division Director at this event. In fact, I was impressed that the NRA has a Grassroots Division. To me, (and other opinions may vary), it signifies that the NRA is taking steps in the right direction, and makes me feel like my dues are going to more than just paying for a magazine subscription and regular mailers. In Kevin’s post he says:

“The NRA meeting was... interesting. Glen Caroline's job is to motivate the grassroots (that's us, and you, too) to be more active, to write our elected representatives, letters to the editor, to recruit, to basically be part of the voice of the defenders of the right to arms - not just $35 annual contributors.”

In general I don’t think it’s too hard to motivate most gun owners to get out and vote against the next anti-gun politician that is running, but the problem is that most people don’t ever write directly to their representatives. This can be a powerful means to assert your position, but few do it. I think the reasons for this are many, but it ultimately comes down to laziness. It can be hard to come up with the right things to say. In the end, it’s just easier to tell yourself you will get to it next time, or you hope enough others do it so you don’t have to. I am as guilty as the next person of being apathetic at times, and what I would like to do is try and find a way to make it a bit simpler.

Unfortunately simpler may not mean the ease of electronic mail. I have sent postal mail and email to both California Senators, my State Representative, as well as our Governor and the President. I have received response letters from all except the President to my postal mail, but never once have I received a response to an email to any of the above. Take this for what you will, but it seems to me that old fashioned letter writing, with a stamped envelope gets a better response. Now this doesn’t mean we need to break out the old typewriter or quill and ink.

Occasionally the GOA does an alert thing where they provide a letter you can cut and paste and send to your reps. It seems to me this is the best of both worlds. What I am going to try and do is post a regular letter that anyone can copy or modify, print, sign and mail. This at least will take out the most difficult step. My first stab is this:

Honorable Sen Feinstein

California Shane

Short, simple, respectful, and pretty easy. Please feel free to use this or future entries at your leisure. You may need to make a change here or there for your particular state or rep, you may have a way to say something better, or you may have the time to write it out rather than print (not mandatory, but I would think all the more effective). The more we let them know where we stand, and how we stand in numbers, the better chance we have of keeping our most basic of rights in the future. For us, for our children, and for the Republic.

John Stossel has a great article up at RealClearPolitics titled “Guns Save Lives”.

Choice quote:
“Gun laws are laws against self-defense.
Criminals have the initiative. They choose the time, place and manner of their crimes, and they tend to make choices that maximize their own, not their victims', success. So criminals don't attack people they know are armed, and anyone thinking of committing mass murder is likely to be attracted to a gun-free zone, such as schools and malls.”

California is considered a “May Issue” state. This means it’s up to the discretion of the local police chief or county sheriff for a normal* citizen to get a CCW. San Diego is one of the places where this is a rarity. Of the four items that CA law requires for a permit, item #2 “That good cause exists for the issuance” is the stickler. “Good cause” can mean whatever the local constabulary wants it to. Our current chief finds very few instances of “good cause”. But there is good news. From what I understand our county Sheriff, Bill Kolender is retiring, which means that sometime soon, we may get someone who is aware of the value of an armed citizenry, and allows permits on more of a “shall issue” basis. As this is an elected office, we’ll stay on top of who is running in hopes of getting a Sheriff who supports the Constitution.

*By normal citizen I mean a non-celebrity or someone not of the “political elite”.

When the topic involves guns, most politicians love to strike fear into the electorate and then promise a resolution (usually involving another law) that never seems to get the job done. We hear time and time again about how criminals obtain guns via the “evil gun show loophole” and if we don’t stop it countless children will be killed…

Click here for a Youtube video of the criminals preferred method, theft.

Now imagine what one citizen with a CCW could have done.

So I confess, I am not quite Southern enough to watch the Daytona 500. Ever. However, I did happen to catch the opening half-hour or so of it a few days ago, and I had a comment.

This year's National Anthem singer was Trisha Yearwood, and I admit, she did a fantastic job of it. However, while the camera was panning around the stadium, and specifically the racers, I noticed something a little unfortunate. Out of all the racers shown, and while they did not show all of them, they did show a few, only Michael Waltrip had his right hand placed over his heart.

This is, indeed, a small gesture, and potentially a smaller custom (with its origins buried away in the United States Flag Code), but due to its smallness, you would think that more people would take the little amount of time and effort necessary to observe it.

Mayhap I, myself, am from a smaller, older time... but should the cause ever arise for me to pick a Daytona racer for whom to cheer, Waltrip is currently at the top of the list.

People who know me personally will come to realize relatively quickly that I am not a terribly excitable person. You can surprise me, certainly, as you probably can any person, but that is a transitory and short-lived situation. But when it comes to true excitement, be it positive or negative, I am not terribly prone to it. However, when the situation arises that I do actually get actively engaged by or with something, it tends to be a full-force situation - kind of an all-or-nothing complex, that has caused me more than a few problems in the past.

One such item that has captured my attention is the realm of personal rights and freedoms, and especially self-defense. Honestly, I do not know why I have been on that kick for as long as I have been at this point, but it seems to be sticking, so I may as well ride it out, wierd looks or no. Anywise, one topic that comes up more often than not in discussions relating to self-defense is firearms, and the regulation/restricions thereof. On the one side, you have people like me, who think the current rules are a wee bit constricting (though that "wee bit" can range from "just a little, teensy bit" to "ohmigodwehavetogetridofthesenowtheyaresoatrociouslyhugely", depending on the person), and then, on the other side, are the people who believe we need more rules concerning the purchase and ownership of tools (and, again, the degree to which they believe this varies from person to person). Oddly, there are very few people happy with what we have now, and arguably in the middle of the debate... of course, that could be said for just about any argument.

However, one argument that rears its ugly little head way too often in these kinds of debates is a variation on the following theme: "None of these proposed rules/regulations/laws/restrictions would take your guns away, and no anti-gun organization is trying to take your gun away, so why are you not supporting this proposed legislation when it is for the [insert bleeding-heart cause here]?!" As I said, there are variations on this baseline, and sometimes things are added or subtracted, but that is the basic gist of everything. And, honestly, I have not bothered to check the veracity of whether or not there is any anti-rights organization out there publically and openly interested in disarming the American populace, but that is entirely and completely besides the point. Unfortunately, this particular argument has attracted my... excitement.

Robb Allen wrote an outstanding post a few days back, which brought to mind an analogy my father once taught me, which precipitated the theme for this post in general (along with the aforementioned argumentative ploy). The analogy runs kind of like this:

Cooking frogs can either be one of the easier things you can do, or one of the harder. See, frogs are not exactly the most intelligent of God's creation, but they are quick little rascals when they need to be. If you take a frog, and try and toss him into a pot of boiling water, he will jump out of that before you have the chance to react. Instead, you take the frog, and put him in a pot of room-temperature water, and then slowly, very slowly, raise the temperature on him until the water is good and boiling. The frog, being a frog, will not notice his impending doom, until it is a little too late.

So what relevance to do frogs have with firearms, especially since you generally do not use the latter to hunt the former (though I understand .22 rounds cause frogs to... well... expode)? Not much. Except that the ongoing battle against the latter has a lot in common with boiling the former.

I have to admit, conspiracy theory or no, it would be highly unlikey for any anti-guns, anti-rights, or otherwise hoplophobic organization to come out with a public and declared stance of banning all firearms throughout the country, privately owned or otherwise. The reaction of the gun-owners and rights-supporters around the country would be much like the reaction of the frog being dropped in boiling water - sudden, violent (metaphorically speaking, I hope), and very directed. Instead, all of those various organizations are taking the "how to eat an elephant" (yet another analogy... the answer being "one bite at a time") approach to firearms and personal rights.

The tactic is simple, and has worked for millenia. Take two polarly opposite people, on either side of a particular stance. Have both of them unwilling to meet in the center. Now, have one person of that debate be smart enought to realize that an all-out midway-point meeting is impossible, and instead start to test the waters on the little things. Maybe try banning something simply because it bears a resemblance to something the military uses to kill thousands of people with. Or maybe try requiring locks on something "for the safety of the children". Or maybe try instituting a national registry of something, because "law-abiding people have nothing to fear from the government having their name". But start small, and always, always have a good, emotionally-driven argument behind it - after all, the numbers do not have to be on your side if you can sway the heart of your opponent... or, even better, the hearts of your collective spectators. In fact, those spectators are often better targets for your tactics than your opponents, because if you can bring them to your side, you can add even more weight to the situation. Now, once you get the little things, start aiming for progressively larger and larger items - after all, momentum matters to more things than just rocks rolling downhill - and you can start getting a little more... "creative"... in your application of emotional arguments. Just because someone came by an item in a perfectly legal and aboveboard method does not mean that you cannot attack another perfectly legal and aboveboard method, using that someone's illegal and horrific actions as leverage, especially if you have waged an effective campaign to malign the second method as much as possible. Oh, yeah, and do not forget to play with words... Words have power, and when you frequently change the vocabulary of the debate, you change the very landscape that the fight is being waged upon, more often than not in your favor. Especially use common words, evocative words, things that people will remember and quote to their friends. If something is repeated often enough, it does not matter if it is true or not - people will still believe it.

But, above all, never get greedy. Never aim for too much, never go for the whole pie all at once. You may think you have the advantage, you may think there is just a sliver of your opponent left. But the second he gets the inkling that you are going for the gold, he will fight back, just to spite you. Instead, just keep whittling away... for who can say no in the face of crying children, senseless murders, the "common good", the safety of all, and all of the various and gut-wrenching emotional ploys you can come up with?

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what the various anti-rights organizations around the country are trying to do, have been trying to do, and will continue to try to do. No, none of them are foolish enough to come out and say, "Let's just ban all the guns in the country, alright?" The hue and cry from that would amaze even me, probably. Instead, they are aiming small, tyring to implant "reasonable restritions" into the equation, trying to attach negative emotions to morally-neutral hunks of metal with phrases like "assault rifles" and "high-capacity magazines" and all the rest of that, trying to demonize law-abiding gun owners by assocating them murdering gun-owners, trying to perpetuate lies by repeating them often enough that they become common knowledge, true or not. What is worse is many, many people, even individuals outside of those organizations, will welcome those "safety measures for the common good of the children" (did I use enough catchphrases?), not realizing what they are giving up until everything is lost.

And, yes, I honestly believe that the end, driving goal of 90%, if not all, of these anti-rights, anti-guns, hoplophobic organizations out there is, indeed, the abolishion of all privately-owned firearms in America, and the complete and utter vicimization of our populace as a result. Sadly, I have nothing in the way of proof to substantiate that belief (if you have something tucked away, feel free to let me know), but all of the indications, patterns, and directions certainly do support it. And, as I have said before, those people who would disarm law-abiding individuals in the face of certain, unavoidable criminal activity are no better, no less evil, no less monstrous than the criminals themselves, and are, in fact, helping those criminals in their heinous activities.

Evil is not going to show up on our doorsteps one day, dressed in red tights, wearing a big black hat, sporting a nice, thick, curled-up-at-the-corners moustache, with a glint in its eyes, scales on its back, and a big fricking neon sign on its chest proclaiming, "Hi, my name is EVIL." Instead, it will play out much like the scenario Shepherd Book described: "They'll come at you sideways. It's how they think. It's how they move. Sidle up and smile... Hit you where you're weak." It is incumbent upon all of us liberty-loving Americans to remain vigilant and watchful over the rights that some of our fellow countrymen seem so willing to surrender, lest we awaken one day and realize we have allowed them, or, even worse, ourselves to surrender all our rights.

Trackposted to Right Pundits, Rosemary's Thoughts, A Newt One- Shared News!, Right Truth, DragonLady's World, Cao's Blog, Leaning Straight Up, Big Dog's Weblog, Adeline and Hazel, Allie is Wired, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, A Newt One, Dumb Ox Daily News, Stageleft, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

So... on the year I was born...

Ronald Reagan is president of the US.

The space shuttle Columbia completes its first operational flight.

Yes, I am young. Stop snickering already.

Automobile manufacturer John Delorean is arrested and charged with possession of 59 pounds of cocaine.

More the shame, since that pretty much killed what few chances the DeLorean automobile had, so far as I understand it. However, also as I understand it, a reincarnation of the original corporation is offering sales of both used and new (yes, I said "new") versions of this very shiny (both literally and figuratively) car. Considering that the new ones start at $57,500, I might have to wait a while to snag one, though...

The Cable News Network, or CNN, is launched.

Well, I guess you can blame my birth-year for the mainstream news scene pretty much going to hell. Good to know.

Time Magazine's Man of the Year was for the first time given to a non-human, a computer.

The first computer virus, written by Rich Skrenta, escapes into the wild.

My generation has grown up with computers, virii, automation, digitization, CGI, and all the rest permeating their lives since the beginning... One has to wonder what the next generation's toy is going to be.

Kirsten Dunst and Elisha Cuthbert are born.

Was never terribly fond of the former, but, while Better Half is the hottest girl I know of, Cuthbert runs somewhere in the top five.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the top grossing film.

And still one of the better movies out there, despite being a little dated.

Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off of a live bat thrown at him during a performance, later hospitalized with rabies.

And, just think, all these years later, he has not learned a damned bit more of common sense. Certainly has made a lot of money being oddly stupid, though... There seems to be a pattern about that.

"I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts spends the most time at the top of the US charts.

[Insert a repeat of the comments concerning E.T.]

To quote the memorable Captain Reynolds, "Huh."

Found by way of Say Uncle.

I have kind of fallen off on these... a lot. But here is another go... Ladies and gentlemen, here are the open trackback posts found on my weblog. These are your chances to spread some of your better work, get it out to potentially a different crowd, and, if nothing else, get more links to your writings and weblog. Feel free to ping this post, so long as you also link to it.

As I mentioned previously, unless my CafePress store met a certain requirement, it would be cancelled, and new arrangements would be made. Unfortunately, this situation came to pass, and the store fell short by about $10, give or take a little.

What does this mean to you? Well, first and foremost, the old link to the central store no longer works. Secondly, it would appear as though you all lost all of your chances to purchase any People of the Gun, Philosophy of Firefly, or Elvish 42 products, as well as my book. I cannot seem to get the CafePress webpage to function properly on my current connection, and that connection is not going to get any better for quite a few months to come.

I will keep you all appraised as to when the stores are open again (and there will be multiple ones, sinmply because that is the only way I can get all of my designs online), but, for the time being... Yeah, we are just shut down cold.

Be forewarned, though - by the time the store opens again, I should have a new edition of "Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from Firefly" ready for publishing... we are already over 100 pages (from a scant 80) and have over 450 life lessons from Firefly. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

How does one get books "really" published?

So you, my probably-not-very-regular readers (not as though I am blaming you… I probably would not read this thing if I was not one of the writers) have probably noticed a decrease in my posting of “sponsored posts”. There are a variety of reasons for this, and most of them coincidentally correspond with the reasons why I am not posting very much in general right now at all. However, those are not the reasons about which I am writing this post.

Instead, I am writing about a continuing trend on PayPerPost. As you probably have realized, this is one of my primary referral methods of sponsored posts, and most of the stuff you see here comes from them. The problem, however, is that more and more of the people buying posts on their site are adding the caveat of “no in-post disclosure”, or “site-wide disclosure only, please have nothing in the post”, or some other comment like that. While there is no way of hardcoding this “no-disclosure” request into the PayPerPost requirements for the post (more the pity, otherwise I would filter them out), the moderators who look over your posts will disqualify it when they see disclosure within your post.

Well, as I disclosed not too long ago, I will always disclose, within the appropriate post, whether or not that particular post is sponsored. I just consider it something I have to do, even though I do have site-wide disclosure on top of that (enough uses of the word “disclosure” for you yet?). Why? I dunno. Personal integrity, blatant honesty, my promise to you, my readers, but it is something I have decided to do, and that is going to stick. Every man has his price, and while mine is lower than most, I still have a few things that stick.

Anywise, while I understand the driving forces behind this trend, I cannot say I am not disappointed by it… If a post is sponsored, it is sponsored, and leading other people to believe otherwise is… well… dubious at best. However, companies asking you to not disclose… well, that just strikes an odd chord with me. Regardless, I made my choice, and chose my side, and will be sticking to that. I am annoyed by the stupid regulations being imposed by companies too concerned about their Google Ranks, but I guess that is life.

PayPerPost never really made me a tremendous amount of money (and will now probably make me less, since it is generally the larger pay-offs that have the no-disclosure request), but at least it paid for two years of hosting. I can only hope that make that much money again for the page’s next two years.

Hey, I guess I might have to work more on the content of my posts, instead of just trying to sell the space. Good for you all, right?

So I am still in the market for a new computer system, given that my old one will be about 6 years old by the time I get around to buying a new one. Granted, the hardware works just fine, but it simply cannot keep up with modern demands, and while I have upgraded it whenever I can, I have just about reached its capacity – maxed out the RAM slots, got he biggest video card the motherboard could support, and there is really not much to be done for the chip, since the moboard cannot support a dual-core. And, of course, hard drive technology has not changed radically in the past 6 years (at least not to my caring), but the fact is they might fail at some point, and while I make backups periodically, that would still suck.

Well, apart from your standard computer companies, you also have the option of going out and collecting your own parts from a variety of online stores, and building the box from the ground up yourself. Well, an enterprising company has found the middle ground, and started offering PC Kits. Now, I am not sure about their pricing, but for the cost, you get a completely un-assembled computer, which you put together by your very own lonesome (I suppose you could ask for help… might be more fun that way), and ostensibly save yourself some money that way. Plus, you get to learn a fair bit about the inner workings of your new toy, and just how everything fits together (you would be amazed how few people actually understand how computers work).

Me, I am still shopping, but will keep this site in mind. That is, assuming I trust myself to put together my own box.

--- This post sponsored by Easy As My PC Kits. ---

As a quick refresher:
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I spend a fair amount of time researching and following articles about no-knock cases gone wrong and numerous violations of the fourth amendment. Via Kim DuToit I found this link to an article over at The Munchkin Wrangler that is spot-on when it comes to the militarization of our police and how this has led to blatant violations of the fourth. This is a nationally growing problem that needs to be addressed by the citizenry before it gets further out of control.

Money quote:
“When you dress like a soldier, carry the same equipment as a soldier, talk like a soldier, train like a soldier (and in many cases, alongside a soldier), and you're told that you're fighting a war, then sooner or later you'll feel like a soldier, and then you'll start acting like one.

The problem with that is that the mission of the soldier and that of the cop are fundamentally incompatible. The soldier is there to kill the enemy and break his stuff. The cop is there to impartially enforce the law with the least amount of force necessary for the job.”

If you have the time, read it in entirety as well as the comments below. There’s some very good analysis within.

When I was a kid I watched my dad rebuild the engine on his Chevy Chevelle. Years later in my pre-teens I bought an old broken down go-cart frame and two old lawnmower engines for fifteen dollars with four months of saved allowance. My dad taught me how to break them down, service them, and put back the best parts to make one good engine. That was a fun project, and led to an interest in doing my own automotive repairs when I came of driving age. A decent set of tools and a shop manual will allow anyone with a modicum of mechanical competency the ability to do simple repairs that would cost three or four times more if done by a professional mechanic. Along with the money savings, it is satisfaction in a job well done, and for me, insurance that the job has been done correctly. There have been enough times in my life when I had a job done by “professionals” and regretted it for one reason or another. I found the expression, “if you want it done right, you should do it yourself” to ring true, and have followed it in all but the most extreme cases.

Shortly after college I decided to get rid of my sporty car and get something more functional and appropriate for my camping hobby. I originally wanted a Jeep Wranger, but ended up opting for a Cherokee for the added cargo capacity. In January 1993 I bought what would become my commuter, off-roader, and all around workhorse. Over the years she has taken me through water, snow, rain, rocks and mud. Up narrow and steep mountain roads, rutted trails, and through ravines and canyons. She has hauled countless tonnage of cargo from San Diego, to Bremerton Washington, all over Oregon, and extensively in the South Western California and Arizona deserts. Ever since I handed my dad wrenches as I watched him rebuild his Chevy, I have always wanted to rebuild an engine. In July of last year I began the restoration project that turned out to be that and more.

With nearly 300,000 miles on a tired straight six, I had finally wore the cam lobes down so bad that the exhaust cycle was kicking back out the intake manifold. I was able to limp her home 200 miles from a desert camping trip and after a too long delay, finally cleared some time to pull the engine. After having the cylinders and crank machined, and a fresh coat of paint applied by a great bunch of guys at Rick’s Machine shop, I got back a powerplant that looks brand new. That was sometime in August. That engine sat on the garage floor for almost four months as I removed more and more till I eventually had the engine bay and body stripped down to the nub. It has been a “one thing leads to another” project that snowballed. Once all the years worth of oil, grime and grease were peeled away, I decided to put down some fresh paint. That led to repainting the suspension and that led to the decision to repaint the entire exterior. It’s taken far longer than I originally planned, but then again, what fulfilling project doesn’t. A week before Christmas a buddy helped me drop the engine back onto her mounts, and I hope this weekend to get the rest of the little bits back together so I can fire her up after a long dormant rest.

January 2008 marks the fifteenth year since I bough her. And April will mark her twenty-first birthday since she was built. She has been a great vehicle over the years, and when this is all done, should give me another solid fifteen years of service (providing that OPEC doesn’t continue to drive the gas prices through the roof). Maybe somewhere down the line I will be able to swap the engine out for a Mr. Fuison, or some other new fangled powerplant. In the mean time I have to thank my dad for making me into a wrench turner. Now I will be able to check off “rebuild engine” from my list. Next big one, “build own home”. That may take a bit longer to satisfy.

For the lucky owners of AK clones outside the Orwellian restrictions of California law, or for those here who own Ruger Mini-30’s or the venerable CZ-527 in 7.62X39mm, some Yugoslavian military ammo has become available here. It appears to be corrosive in nature, which of course is not best-case scenario, but by today’s standards is a pretty decent price for brass cased ammunition.

Consider this one of my few "linky no thinky" posts, and either keep moving, or take a gander.

First off, we have Ralph Peters, and most especially his most recent three articles (registration may be required, but there is always bugmenot). I especially like his remarkably blunt, no-holds-barred, this-is-what-I-think-and-you-had-better-just-deal-with-it attitude. Of course, the fact that those opinions of his are backed up by real-life facts and situations just make them all the better.

Secondly, we have Jeff Jacoby, and specifically his handling of the faulty Iraqi civilian casualties count, as reported by the Lancet in 2006. Of course, his handling of "global warming", the Clintons, and all the rest of his articles are worth a read as well.

Hey, since I am doing a piss-poor job providing you worthwhile things to read (though you should thank Shane for his efforts), I should at least make an effort to point you in the direction of people who still are writing interesting items.