Behold, an amazingly good read on open and concealed carry in Atlanta, courtesy of Creative Loafing author Andisheh Nouraee.

If you intend to rob me, stab me or punch me in the neck because you think I looked at you funny, I recommend you glance at my waist before lifting the pull tab on that can of whoop-ass.

I may be carrying a handgun.

Nearly everyone in our state can legally keep guns in their home. I am one of the few, the proud, the Georgia Firearms Licensed – one of a reported 300,000 Georgians permitted to carry a gun in public.

Unlike the 9.2 million-or-so Peach Staters who do not possess firearms licenses, I'm legally permitted to carry a gun pretty much everywhere I go – walking my dogs, sipping a latte at my neighborhood coffee shop, buying deodoant at Target.

...

Even though I knew the place would be filled with people openly carrying guns, and that the restaurant welcomed them, I still walked in sheepishly with my gun hidden inside my computer bag. Until I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it was socially acceptable to openly carry a pistol into a restaurant.

The scene inside amazed me – 40 or 50 people, mostly men, casually socializing in a public restaurant and every one of them had firearms.

I didn't walk in expecting the Wild West, but I definitely expected more of a macho, sausage-party vibe than was apparent. As it turned out, I've been to bar trivia nights that were more menacing.

The closest thing to machismo I encountered was when gunsmith David McDonald sarcastically referred to the high-capacity, 27-round magazine in his semi-automatic pistol as, "the crowd pleaser." He joked that he almost wanted someone to attempt a hold-up of the restaurant that night: "There'd be 500 guns pointed at him, and he'd piss himself."

"There's no blood on the floor," Menkus deadpanned when I told him how surprised I was at the low-key tenor of the celebration. Menkus had a Glock 19 on his waist, and said he was happy about the new law. He believes an armed citizenry is essential to the preservation of civil liberties.

Steve Guldin, an engineer at Lockheed, took a more practical attitude. He carries a concealed weapon when he's not at work, describing it as an insurance policy. "People ask me sometimes if I feel more safe with a gun," he said. "I don't. My risk of being a victim of crime doesn't change if I have a gun concealed."

Having a gun, he said, merely gives him one more option in how he responds – along with fleeing, or calling the police – if he's targeted for a crime. He added that he's never been a crime victim.

Everyone I talked to said they've never attracted any attention from wearing a gun in public. Menkus suggested it's probably because they're mostly middle-aged white guys, and many times people assume they're police officers.

...

I had walked up to the restaurant concerned that something bad would happen because I was carrying a gun. I worried that I'd be confronted by someone, or that someone would call the police. At the least, I expected hostile or fearful stares.

Instead, nothing happened. I realized that I was more aware of my gun than anyone else in the restaurant. I was nervous and terribly self-conscious. My gun was easily visible to about 15 people during dinner. No one paid attention to it.

The only person who acted like it was strange to have a gun in a restaurant was me.

I have to admit, I am rather impressed with the reasonable tone and unbiased nature of the article... maybe there is hope for mainstream journalists after all.

Hat tip to Say Uncle.

... but this time, the good variety.

Earlier this week, I wrote a post on the shooting that took place at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. In it, I mentioned a Dr. John Bohstedt, who, in addition to being a Rhodes Scholar, graduating from both Oxford and Harvard, and teaching Modern British and Irish history and Riots and Revolutions in Western Europe and the United States (now that is an interesting class title) at UTk, was one of the heroes who succeeded in disarming and disabling the murderer in an amazingly short amount of time.

And, in an amazing stroke of randomness, Dr. Bohstedt dropped by to provide his comments on mine, as well as some of the thoughts going through his mind during and after the attack.

The crazy part, and the reason why I am writing this particular post rehasing everything? Both parties were civil, we exchanged our viewpoints and opinions without the discussion devolving or deteriorating, and, on some points, we simply and politely agreed to disagree. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how discussions and debates on the the internet and elsewhere should proceed, not with pointless namecalling, creative uses of four-letter words, or general-purpose rudeness. Sure, I do not think I changed his mind, but I have no illusions about my argumentative capabilities - the odds of me convincing anyone to do or believe anything are relatively small. But I think/hope I was able to present a good face for myself and other people who decide to carry firearms for self-defense, and we both learned a lot through the conversation (and hopefully will continue to do so, should it go on).

See, folks? People on opposite (or at least different) sides of the fence can still debate, exchange some interesting thoughts, and come away unscathed and still respecting one another. Rare and unusual I know, but it does happen, and it is a pleasure when it does.

You know, I have been vaguely considering changing my online pseudonym... And, amazingly enough for me, there might actually be a reason.

Years ago, my family and I happened to live in a little town called La Plata, MD. Wee town. About as middle-of-nowhere as you can get in Maryland. Had schools with "no smoking" signs surrounded by tobacco fields. We moved out shortly after I started college, and shortly after that, the town got pounded by an F5 tornado, to the point where most of the downtown section was destroyed - like I said small town. The miracle of the event was that no one was killed, for which everyone was thankful.

Next town I lived in, nothing happened.

Following that, I happened to move to a little place called Pascagoula, MS. Even smaller town. With a Wal-Mart that had a gun-supply section that would rival most dedicated gun shops. And more rednecks than you could shake an alligator at. Oh, yeah, and I moved there in early 2005. A few months before Hurricane Katrina rolled through. The area I lived in suffered a 15-foot storm-surge, but my saving grace was that my apartment was on the third story of the complex - everything underneath that, however, was a loss. Going back after the storm, I have never before seen destruction of that magnitude before or since. And, to this day, you have no idea how frustrated and annoyed I am at almost all of the focus and attention after the storm being directed at New Orleans - in reality, while that particular town was significantly damaged due to its levees failing, the brunt of the actual hurricane damage was inflicted on the Mississippi Gulf coast. They may have been rednecks, but they lost everything, and NOLA only got most of the attention because of idiotic politics. But, moving on...

Next town I lived in, nothing happened.

Afterwards, we moved to San Diego, CA. Hot (but dry), obnoxious people, really fraking stupid laws, traffic, high cost of living... the list goes on. Oh, yeah, and they have lots and lots and of dry, highly combustible plant material out in the scrub. Lots of it. And it burns. Quite well. Well enough to threaten San Diego sufficiently to convince millions of people (Better Half and I included) to find somewhere else to be. Oh, yeah, and they just had a 5.8 earthquake right up the road, and thankfully after I already bugged out.

Now we are in the next city, and I am really hoping the current trend continues and nothing happens. I just cannot move... ever again.

Either way, I am thinking "Stormbringer" sounds kinda cool... Not very original, I know, but still... (And, yes, I am joking about the name change, but that is one hell of a coincidence chain there...)

My website has been attracting a lot of page requests recently... to the point where my account was periodically crashing the shared server it inhabits back at DreamHost. Kind of amusing, I know, but also a Very Bad Thing (TM). Part of the problem was that the Googlebot spiders were getting lost in my domain, and page-requesting far too many times than was healthy for anyone, and the root of that problem seems to be a defective wiki install over at the TDZK Wiki I maintain. The solution to that is simple - block the Googlebots from the webpage. I suppose I could fix it, but I honestly do not know how, and do not care enough to try at the moment (after all, the game is defunct, and the wiki has not really been used in almost a year now).

However, another part of the problem is spam, and a whole frakking lot of it - my webpage receives between 1000 and 3000 trackback spams on a daily basis. Or, at least, it did.

See, the nifty new TypePad Anti-Spam I installed on my weblog was doing a fantastic job identifying spam trackbacks and filing them accordingly... but those trackbacks still get through to my server, count as a page request, and count towards the sum total of my webpage breaking things. Not good. So I have decided to augment it by reactivating MTAutoBan.

What that little plugin does is takes the IP addresses of anything marked as "spam", and then adds a "deny:" line to my webpage's .htaccess file for that IP. And now to interpret the technobabble - it takes the IP address, the unique identifier for any computer connected to the computer, and basically tells my webpage's server to not show that IP address anything. If that computer were to try and visit my site again, or trackback spam it again, or anything relating to my site, it would be confronted with a straight-up 404 error. Alternatively, I can sand-trap them (send them to a "go away" page), but I like the simplicity of a straight up 404 - yeah, it clogs up my error logs, but that almost gives me a warm fuzzy.

What does this mean to you? Well, if it has already affected you, you are pretty much out of luck anywise. But if, one day, you come to visit this site and it behaves like it is completely broken, unresponsive, or just gone, it means a comment or trackback from you mistakenly got filed as spam (the system does its own little automatic discrimination), and thus you are now banned. Drop me an email at "linoge - at - wallsofthecity.net" and I will do what I can to fix it (which actually is not that hard).

I really, really, really hate spammers. Curl up and die already.

So my primary reason for developing my concealed carry pistol spreadsheet was to help me determine what hardware to eventually carry when I decided to do so. However, I am not an entirely greedy man, and figured I may as well share all of that information with the world, especially since it was a little difficult to dig up and consolidate - or at least time consuming to do so.

Thankfully, the administrator of mouseguns.com graciously linked to the spreadsheet on his site. Granted, only some of the firearms on the spreadsheet could be qualified as "mouse guns", and I only touch on a very few of the "real" "mouse guns" out there, but I still thank him for his link. More information from which people can make educated decisions is almost never a bad thing.

1. I somehow managed to drag Better Half to a gun show this weekend, but to say it was a little disappointing would be putting it mildly - lots of antique stuff and war memorabilia, but even fewer modern firearms than could be found at gun shows in Southern Kalifornistan. Amusingly, a few folks on a forum complained that this particular gun show "only" had 200 tables, and, lo and behold, they were correct. Should have listened, eh? However, on the flip side, gun shows seem to be a bi-monthly event in this state, and other ones are supposedly better.

2. After visiting two gun shops and one gun show in person, and calling another shop, I was unable to dig up a Walther PPS to fondle. However, on the way back from the gun show, and on a complete and utter whim, I pulled into one of the oddest shops ever - a hybrid golfing and shooting store. On the one side, they had golf bags and clubs and balls and turf and gloves and shorts and shirts and hats and all that crazy stuff that guys with the short shorts and long socks need to go out and waste hours chasing around some little white ball. And, on the other side, hunting rifles, safes, shotguns, ammunition, pistols, and, amazingly enough, a Walther PPS - in 9mm, even. Yes, I fondled it. Twice.

I think I like this state. Where else would people complain about "only" 200 tables at a gun show (and be right), and where else could one find a store specializing in both golf and guns? Shiny...

First, the good (albeit greedy) news - Better Half and I were not at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church this Sunday, and thus were not part of the shooting that took place there. Honestly, I had no idea what a "Unitarian Universalist" church was before checking out their "we believe" page, and suffice to say that its beliefs are not exactly in concert with ours. That is neiither here nor there, just rambling.

Now for the bad news - seven people were wounded (two still in critical condition), and both Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger died. The latter died of her wounds at the hospital, and Greg McKendry died a hero, giving all by shielding others in the church with his body. Additional heroes, including Dr. John Bohstedt, were able to tackle the shooter to the ground after he was only able to fire three rounds.

This is a tragedy no matter how you cut it, and my prayers are with all of the people and families affected by this senseless attack. The news is reporting that the frakking moron who perpetrated this attack (and who will remain nameless on this weblog - murderers should not be remembered, only reviled) wrote some letter explaining his reasons for the attack (some idiotic dren about his unemployment and the evil of the liberal movement and more stupid-assed crap like that), but, honestly, none of that matters whatsoever.

This is the simple fact of the matter: There is no excuse, whatsoever, for walking into a church and attempting to senselessly murder tens, if not hundreds, of people. None at all. Period. It does not matter that he was frustrated over being unemployed, it does not matter that he does not like liberals... nothing he has to say matters in the slightest, smallest, tiniest bit. What he did was unconscionable, and without excuse. The shooter should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law (which, given the plethora of witnesses and video camera, should not be difficult), and granted the highest punishment available.

One thing is for certain - it is this kind of thing that only serves to solidify my desire to carry a firearm... if nothing else, it goes to prove that nowhere is safe from deranged and unhinged criminals - not "gun free zones", and not even holy places like churches. I am not naive enough to believe that simply carrying a firearm would ensure that I might come out of a similar situation alive, or that I could necessarily influence it at all. But I would rather have the opportunity available to me, the capabilities inherent in the firearm, the ability to do something to possibly level the playing field... than not. I congratulate and deeply thank Mr. Greg McKendry, Dr. John Bohstedt, and all the other people involved in bringing the shooter down, but I see no reason to not augment my own natural, limited strength with the tools that are available to us now.

Seen on the sign of a church down the road from me:

I created Chuck Norris.
- God

So, first up, my old spreadsheet of possible concealed carry firearms has been updated. The new spreadsheet is online and is replete with all new collections of models and specifications and details and suchlike. There are a few holes in the data, and if you happen to have the answers yourselves, I would certainly appreciate an email or comment. The discriminating factors for this spreadsheet (and I was discriminatory - deal with it) was semi-automatic, "carryable" (I was somewhat loose with that definition), and 9mm / .40 S&W / .45 ACP calibers. After that, it was just a matter of finding all of the pertinent information, condensing it, and sticking it somewhere.

So, my first request: Link to the spreadsheet (and this post, if you feel so inclined) as much as you can, and get its existence out into the world. This information is a pain in the ass to find (and took all manner of time that I probably did not have, and other people proably do not either), and now that it is in one, central location, a lot of people might be able to benefit from it. So, please, share.

And, in short order, my second request, which is really more of a question: What do you carry as your primary concealed carry weapon? I have been a law-abiding gun owner for about three years now, and a carry permit holder for about half that long. In addition to somehow failing to fly off the handle and murder someone (as some Brady Bunch morons would have you believe that all carry permit holders will eventually do), I have also somehow failed to actually purchase a carry firearm. I can be excused for about a year of that 1.5 years, due to living in Kalifornistan and having a remarkably limited selection of firearms at my disposal. However, now that I am firmly ensconsed in the "patron state of shooting gosse", that excuse is kind of... gone. And now I am looking for suggestions.

My current leanings? The top three are a Walther PPS, the Springfield Armory XD9 Sub-Compact, and, no surprise, a Glock 26 (ack, ick, poo... darned fanboys make me hate saying that word), all in 9mm. Why 9mm? Well, first, ammunition commonality with my current Baby Eagle. Second, ammunition commonality in general. Yeah, we could go into the whole .45 ACP vs. 9mm debate, but suffice to say that with current self-defense rounds, we can leave that debate for later. Why those guns? Well, for me, concealability is a big thing at the moment... This will be my first carry weapon, and I want to ensure I can actually, you know, conceal it. Also, these are known companies, with known (and generally positive) histories behind them. Additionally, the last two feel good in my hand, assuming I can get a finger-rest for the magazine of the 26. The first, I have not had a chance to try on yet, but hopefully I will soon. Finally, while the Kahrs are slimmer than even the PPS, their only real safety is your finger, which, granted, is all the safety you need, but I am not so sure about that kind of situation myself. Even an arguably-redundant trigger-safety gives me a warm fuzzy I need to be comfortable with the firearm, and comfort is one of the most important factors, as I understand it, for effectively using a firearm.

So, what do you all carry, and what do you propose I purchase? My Florida license is honored here in Tennesse, and Nashville is currently "renewing" it into a Tennessee one, so that is taken care of. Now it is just a matter of hardware, and the carry neophyte in me wants as much information as it can get before it goes and spends a substantial chunk of cash. Humor me, eh?

Update: Thanks to Chris' reminder, Kel-Tec pistols have been added to the spreadsheet. Also, XDms would as well, if their page did not keep crashing my computer.

Additionally, my entire site is misbehaving at the moment... I think something is wrong with Dreamhost, or their servers. I apologize for difficulties with posting comments, and I would ask you be patient (and if you already have been, thank you). If all else fails, just drop me an email (linoge funny-little-"at"-symbol wallsofthecity.net).

Trackposted to Rosemary's Thoughts, 123beta, Maggie's Notebook, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Cao's Blog, Leaning Straight Up, , Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Nuke's, third world county, Allie is Wired, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, DragonLady's World, The World According to Carl, , Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, , Dumb Ox Daily News, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

The first car I more-or-less owned (it was technically my parents', but it was "my" car) was a 1986 Honda Accord LXi, and was a remarkably decent car for a teenager with a brand-spanking new license. I had grown up with it (having been born only four years before it was produced), and I was trained on it for the aforementioned license. And, most importantly, it was a manual transmission.

I say "most importantly" for one primary reason - I like manual transmissions. I will be honest, though - I absolutely, positively, unequivocably hated it when I was learning to drive (especially around hills... or stoplights... or traffic... or parallel parking slots), but, over the years, I have learned to appreciate the pleasure that comes from really driving your vehicle. In addition to its manual transmission, the Accord also had the benefits of a sunroof, and a surprisingly sports-car-like handling, for being a four-door econobox. However, eventually, the Honda went to the great junkyard in the skies.

Next up for me was a Subaru Outback wagon - all-wheel driven, dual moon/sunroofs, and, of course, a manual transmission. And, again, semi-purchased from my parents (you can probably guess where my manual-tranny tendencies originate). Unfortunately, that particular vehicle took up scuba late in life, thanks to a girl by the name of "Katrina".

Finally, I now have a nice little Mazda 3 hatchback - and, yes, it has a manual transmission.

One of the byproducts (at least for me) of being raised with, training on, and owning manual transmissions is something of a disdain for cruise control. Much like an automatic transmission, I view it as another level of separation between the driver and the vehicle, and I like directly controlling my cars. Not to mention the fact that directly driving my car, rather than letting a computer decide when to shift and what speed to maintain, forces me to stay awake, engaged, and active, and possibly keeps me a better, safer driver.

All this said and explained, after driving somewhere around 800 miles straight yesterday, trying to manhandle a 12-foot Penske truck all the way, I would have killed for cruise control. I am not sure if my right leg is ever going to talk to me ever again...

Yesterday, I had the misfortune to fly into Philadelphia International Airport (*waves at Sebastian*). It has been at least a year, and probably two, since I have been in that particular corner of the world, but a few things stood out to me in the experience.

First, the Philadelphia airport is falling apart. I mean, I can understand some degree of wear and tear - after all, it is an airport, and many thousands of people go through it on a daily basis. However, when your toilets are, quite literally, falling off the wall, there is something wrong with the situation. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it, but suffice to say that it surprised and concerned me enough that the thought of a camera was the last thing on my mind.

Second, Philly is filthy, alliteration aside. No, it is not nearly as bad in the public, well-trod, highly-trafficked areas, as, no doubt, the city officials and workers are trying their best to put a good face on what is turning into a very problematic city. However, in the brushes with the outskirts of the city's underbelly that riding its trains afforded me, the true depth (in every sense of the word) of decay became apparent. This is not to say that Philly is the worst city or something, just that it is bad.

Third, rowhouses are dreary, drab, depressing, and, in some cases, disturbing. Yeah, they are better than the alternative for some people, but one would think that their residents would have sufficient pride in their abode to at least try and keep it from looking like it is about two months away from dissolving into the ground. I am certainly not asking for a complete remodel/repaint/rewhatever, but a little picking up after themselves would do their residences a world of good.

Fourth, I really do not miss the northeast all that much... In fact, you could almost go so far as to say that I do not miss the eastern seaboard all that much. I have spent enough of my lifetime in those locations already... it is definitely time for someplace else - and, oh, look, I am already there.

I guess it is time for another one of these. The general premise is that you are free to ping this post (and every other post in this category), as long as you link back to it. Consider it free Google PageRank inflation, or something.

I am not entirely convinced this is the best way to make use of my YouTube account (you know, the account I just rediscovered this evening, after apparently having it for a year and not remembering opening it), but here we go anywise.

Better Half and I decided to immerse ourselves in a little of the local... culture... this evening, and went to a county fair. Pretty standard stuff, but the one thing that stood out was the lawn mower races.

Yes, people race riding lawn mowers. Believe me. And it is just as scary as it sounds.

By way of proof, I offer you the following three videos: Part 1, part 2, and part 3. The quality was kind of shoddy, and a fair bit more was lost on the upload to YouTube, so if you all want the original *.avi files (God alone knows why, though), just drop me a line.

All said, I am not sure which was scarier: (1) the sheer amount of money that just had to go into the speed machines, or (b) the fact that drivers rode them with helmets, and not much else in the way of protection... no kevlar, no leather, no roll cages, nothing. And these little buggers, at least in some classes, went fast.

Well, not a lot as changed... at least in relation to the percentages.

Your results:
You are Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 90% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 85% Wash (Ship Pilot) 85% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 75% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 65% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 50% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 50% River (Stowaway) 35% A Reaver (Cannibal) 30% Alliance 30% Inara Serra (Companion) 25%

Honest and a defender of the innocent. You sometimes make mistakes in judgment but you are generally good and would protect your crew from harm.

I only wish I had a gun as shiny as his...

Just to screw with the Brady Bunch's attempts at maligning certain collections of words on Google, I thought I would do my (admittedly little) part to derail their plans. As such, behold how carry permit holders are actually more law-abiding than most. After all, we certainly do not want the world to know that law-abiding gun owners actually... you know... abide by the law and all.

Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, Right Truth, DragonLady's World, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, , Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Allie is Wired, Faultline USA, third world county, McCain Blogs, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, , , Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Better Half and I are in something of an interesting predicament at the moment... Thanks to her job, we have a fully-furnished temporary apartment at a rather nice complex. Additionally, her new employer moved all of our effects across the country - no small cost. However, to move ourselves, we elected to fly as opposed to drive... lower fuel costs, and it took considerably less time, though we were unable to embark upon another thoroughly interesting road trip (all road trips are, by definition, interesting). The real hitch with this plan, however, is that we were limited to one checked piece of luggage, one carry-on piece of luggage, and one backpack apiece. Sure, we could have checked another bag for $25 (Thanks Delta, you twits!), but we are cheap.

So here we are, in our quaint little temporary apartment, and we do not have a whole lot of stuff.

Unfortunately, this apartment has a very small water heater - about 38 gallons. To add insult to that injury, the shower head the apartment came with was, in no way, shape or form, a low-flow model. I am willing to wager about a full gallon went through the thing a second. So, the first thought that came to mind for extending our water heater's usefulness was to procure and install a low-flow shower head. Great. Except I could not get the current shower head off to save my life. At all. Period. Whoever put that thing on there did a damned good job of it. And, flying cross-country as we did, and limited by idiotic weight restrictions as we were, neither of us thought to pack a tool chest in our luggage.

One trip to Wal-Mart, a low-flow water head, and a nine-inch clamp-jaw wrench later, I was able to remove the old shower head and install the new one... Of course, as you can guess, I used the wrench for all of half a turn getting the old one off and half a turn getting the new one on - figures, does it not? But, without that wrench, and spending the $10 for it (bleh - especially when the new shower head only cost that much itself), I could not have made those half-turns, and we would still be dealing with a quick-to-empty-the-tank shower head.

I guess a similar situation happens with carry firearms... they are not cheap, getting licensed to carry them is not cheap, and the whole process can be rather time consuming and stressful... but when you need one (and you will probably only need it for a very short time), you really, really need one.

Now that the shower is fixed, I think Better Half and I are headed to the DMV tomorrow - after all we need to get new licenses, and register my car in its new home, and I need to move my Florida CFWL permit to a more-local one. Hopefully Tennessee's turnaround time will be as fast as Florida's was.

Home shopping can be quite interesting... you get to see large tracts of the land around you, the varieties, designs, decoration styles, arrangements, and features of all of the various homes can be quite intriguing, and there is all kinds of information to pore over, track, and monitor.

It is also a pain in the pigu, because finding a "perfect" home is, simply put, impossible.

Job shopping, on the other hand, is royal, unadulterated, unmitigated, heinous torture, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

This is going to be a fun few weeks... really... I am just bouncing off the walls with glee!

Oh, wait, no, that is just my head going through the drywall...

You know you are in Tennessee when the airport you fly into not only has a simulated veranda, but also a plethora of rocking chairs (all occupied, by the by) to go on it.

Better Half and I made it here in one piece and are getting settled, so no worries on those counts. More writing when I get the chance or inclination.

By the time you are reading this, Better Half and I should be on our plane and in flight over some state other than Kalifornistan (assuming no delays or other such problems). Furthermore, barring a momentary lapse of judgement when it comes to deciding on future vacation locations, or possibly (hopefully not) future job requirements, it is fairly safe to say that neither of us will ever return to this state of our own free will.

As such, GOOD !@#$%&* RIDDANCE! David is probably right, Kalifornistan is likely to be the front lines of some very interesting gun-rights battles in the near future, especially in light of the recent DC vs. Heller decision. However, gun-rights are only one aspect of the stupidity available in Kalifornistan - you also have your choice cars with lower horsepower than those sold in other states just because of emission requirements, state-sponsored scams in the form of a recycling program, state-sponsored scams in the form of a "smog check" (oh, but not for cars made before 1976... you know, some of the most polluting vehicles out there), absurdly high gas prices, absurdly high cost of living in general, house prices that, while they have burst, are still stratospheric, a Big Brother government that knows no bounds... the list literally goes on longer than I can remember and care to write.

I am definitely a gun nut at this point, but there are a lot of other elements that come into play in my and our lives, and we are quite certain that our lives will be considerably better and happier in another state. Any other state, really.

So, best of luck to everyone else who has either chosen to remain behind in Kalifornistan or is stuck here for other reasons... but as for us, we are tyen-sah out of here! Dong ma?

It is always interesting to see one's whole life packed up into tan-colored boxes and spirited away...

Posting will be light for the forseeable future, once again. Oddly enough, I am actually headed away from water this time, so I cannot blame my lack of weblog productivity on that. I think having my primary CPU in a crate far out of my possession is a fairly decent excuse, though...

And, just to stir the waters a little (especially since I already know my answer), was it racist of me to be very, very uncomfortable having loaders who almost exclusively spoke another language, and only spoke English in a broken and disjointed manner?

Pelican cases come with an extraordinarily good warrantee, especially these days. As quoted straight from their own webpage,

You break it, we replace it... forever. ... Pelican™ Products will continue to guarantee the product directly, against breakage or defects in workmanship. This guarantee does not cover the lamp or batteries in lights. The o-rings must be kept greased (and replaced if damaged) per product instructions. (Replace o-rings annually or when damaged.)

However, there is a second section of their guarantee that I did not really notice until my cases actually arrived in the mail. Below is a scan of their instruction manual, and, specifically, the page relating to the warantee. Click to enlarge:

It might be a little difficult to read at that size, but if you enlarge it, and look for the section I conveniently highlighted for you, the cause for this post will be come clear. Namely:

The guarantee does not cover shark bite, bear attack and children under five.

Not being a father yet, I guess I cannot quite fully comprehend, but it certainly is amusing that humans under five years of age are ranked with the most dangerous predator of the waters, and one of the more fearsome, powerful creatures on land. Of course, even more amusing is the probable fact that all three of those clauses are a byproduct of someone trying to get warantee work done after each of those incidents...

A standard, mark 1 mod 0 MasterLock will NOT fit a Pelican 1200 case.

That might have been useful to know. Suggestions (for something that is going to contain a reasonably nice pistol and should be secured appropriately)?

Thanks to some initiative and assistance from TexasFred, it would appear as though the Unorganized Militia Propaganda Corps blogroll is well on its way to expanding... possibly drastically.

So, to anyone interested, if you want to be added to this blogroll, simply insert it into your own website, and then drop me an email at "linoge (at) wallsofthecity.net". The code for the weblog is as follows:

Javascript:
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=0f962d4053d3a8a0f75f7de9988c84ac"></script>

RSS:
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/rss.php?r=0f962d4053d3a8a0f75f7de9988c84ac

OPML:
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/opml.php?r=0f962d4053d3a8a0f75f7de9988c84ac

PHP:
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display_raw.php?r=0f962d4053d3a8a0f75f7de9988c84ac

Once you add it to your own weblog, and I see it there, I will add your address to the roll, and everyone is happy. A quick thought, though... (and this is from Thirdpower, the originator of this whole shindig, and still the orchestrator of it all... mostly against his will, though) there will be no "racist crap", i.e. "'White Power', Rahowa, or any of that nonsense". If you want to blog about that kind of dren, go right ahead... but do not expect us to link to you.

As for other "membership" requirements... uh... we are still working that out at the moment. Something tells me that it would be safe to say that you should be pro-guns, pro-self-defense, pro-rights, and pro-America, though. Unsurprisingly, political affiliation does not matter to this particular blogroll... just an interest in ensuring the Constitutionally-protected natural rights of self-defense and self-preservation are continued and ensured.

And, on a lighter note, more traffic is always a good thing.

As I previously mentioned here, Better Half and I will be moving out to Tennessee sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, one of the difficult aspects of moving is what to do with certain items, such as firearms, ammunition, high-value items, and so forth. Thankfully, the firearm aspect has been solved (and the cases arrived today, and seem to work well... pictures when I can be bothered to take and post them), but something still had to be done for the few hundred rounds of 9mm and .308 ammunition I had kicking around, considering that moving companies will not take ammunition at all. I know, I know, I could go out and shoot it all, but, well, ammo is a bit expensive these days, and something tells me Better Half would not be too terribly happy with that situation.

After doing a little research into the matter, it would appear as though UPS is pretty much the only option for shipping ammo to myself at our new address, and since I recieved it all by UPS, it makes sense. I go and check their webpage concerning ammunition shipment, and I have to admit, it is not terribly useful, especially considering it mostly addresses shipping firearms. However, there were a few relevant tracts, as quoted below:

Ammunition may be accepted for shipment internationally provided it is shipped in accordance with the UPS Guide for Shipping International Goods.

Ammunition cannot be included in packages that contain firearms (including handguns). Ammunition must be shipped in accordance with the UPS Guide for Shipping Ground and Air Hazardous Materials, or the UPS Guide for Shipping International Dangerous Goods.

Small arms ammunition, as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 173.59, will be transported only when packaged and labeled in compliance with 49 C.F.R. § 172 regarding hazardous materials shipments.

Unfortunately, those guides listed are not hotlinked on their webpage, but the "UPS Guide for Shipping Ground and Air Hazardous Materials" is kind of documented on their webpage.... in a very confusing and unclear manner that does not address ammunition in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the only place ammunition is mentioned outside of the firearms webpage on the UPS site is under "Common Items that May Be Hazardous" (Ammunition is listed under "Camping Gear/Equipment" and "Hunting Supplies"... Me, I probably would have given it its own category.), "Verify for Export" (Which just goes into what can or cannot be exported outside the United States and in what quantities.), and "Express Critical Terms of Contract", as this search indicates. So, unfortunately, that leaves me right where I started - second-hand information procured through a variety of corroborating websites and forums, but still second-hand, or trying to wade through 17 miles of legalese in the Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 172. Righto.

And, so, I did what was suggested. Thankfully, the ammunition weighed in at 50-odd pounds, so the 30 kilo (about 66 pounds, for us Americans) limit was not a problem, and it was all in its original packaging, so securing it inside the box was not a problem (though, be aware - foreign milsurp ammunition comes in crappy packaging, that may require additional tape to really be considered "secure"). I printed out a sheet of ORM-D, Cartridges, Small Arms labels for the UPS people to stick on wherever they wanted, and I wrapped the sturdy, cardboard box in strapping tape along every major axis... repeatedly, in some cases. Finally, I went out of my way to find a UPS Customer Center, NOT a UPS Store or Alliance Location.

Better Half and I showed up at the Customer Center with package and paperwork in hand, and were almost immediately told by the floor clerk that UPS did not ship ammunition, at all. We pointed out this was not the case, and he called his superior, who reiterated what he told us - UPS does not ship ammunition. At least, supposedly. He went further to explain that if we were a corporation shipping to an individual, or we, as individuals, were shipping to a corporation, they would have no problems, and would ship it immediately. However, we, as individuals, could not ship the ammunition to another individual... even when that other individual happens to be me. Talk about failing a logic test... Anywise, we explained to him where we found the information (their own site), and what that information said, and what all of the other supporting sources indicated, and he called a different manager, who had no clue, and had to check with his next level up. After putzing around for 15 minutes, he called back, asked if I was "licensed", and when I responded in the negative (Ammunition shipping licensing? There is no such thing, in either Kalifornistan or Tennessee!), he again reiterated that UPS did not ship ammunition, and after one more trek down the logical fallacy of corporation-to-individual or vice versa, Better Half and I finally gave up and headed home.

Sadly, I did not follow the last bit of advice given when doing my research - I did not have the phone number for the UPS Hazardous Material Support Center with me during this process, otherwise, this would have been a whole lot simpler.

For reference, that number is: 800.554.9964. Definitely take it with you when you go to any Customer Center.

We got home, I called around to a few gun stores here in the Southern Kalifornistan region, and talked to a few people. I finally gave up and called the UPS automated system, pressed "0" repeatedly, and got to a real person (amazing, I know), who then directed me on to the UPS Hazardous Material Support Center (the standard UPS operator had no idea about ammunition shipping requirements either). After calling them, and spending all of five minutes on the phone, if even that, I got the honest-to-God, official answer:

Under 66 pounds.

In a sturdy cardboard box.

Marked as ORM-D, Cartridges, Small Arms

Smaller than .50 caliber.

Only Customer Centers will take it.

And if you meet all of those remarkably simple requirements, UPS will ship your ammunition. It really is as simple as that... contrary to what the floor clerk at our local Customer Center, his boss, and his boss all indicated to us. Good to know that UPS is educating their employees well.

The sum of all of this is Better Half are going to be headed to a different Customer Center tomorrow, this time armed with the Hazardous Material Support Center phone number, and hopefully those employees will be a little educated than the last bunch. Oh, and that number, just so you (and I) remember it, is 800.554.9964. Stupid me for not taking it the first time.

2032 08JUL08 Update: Better Half and I dragged the 53 pounds of ordnance to another UPS Customer Center in the area, plopped it down on the counter, explained that it was small arms ammunition, and asked to ship it. They asked if we had ORM-D stickers (they were out at that location, for some reason), and we handed them our sheet we printed out previously. A bit of tape later, and a $60-odd bill, and my package is on its way to... me.

We did not even have to break out the UPS HAZMAT Support Center phone number. There was a momentary pause as the clerk behind the desk asked us again what it was, but other than that... no worries at all. That is how the system is supposed to work.

Moral of the story: It depends on what Customer Center you go to, and always bring the HAZMAT number with you regardless - that way, if the floor clerks' heads start getting stuck in their asses, the HAZMAT reps can straighten them out again.

Two hundred, thirty two years and still kicking... Not too bad.

Better Half and I are off celebrating in a little town that does not do fireworks (this is Kalifornistan, after all), but I thought I would leave you all with the greatest invention known to mankind (at least in relation to the 4th)... Shows-in-a-box:

I cannot wait until I can live in a state where I can just chain these little puppies together, sit back on my porch, and be entertained for the whole night.

You know you might have watched too much Firefly when you see visitor hits from Beaumont, Texas, and accidentally read it as Beaumonde.

Yeah.... my coat is kinda a brownish color, actually.