Don’t Need a Gun to Protect Your Kids

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Seems everybody is picking up on this video. Yep the Mom’s in the video could have used a bit more training in safe gun handling, yep whoever directed it was an asshole suggesting you shoot an AK in each hand up in the air.

Still I suspect most of the footage was done via remote camera, and I suspect blanks of some sort were used (Tho I don’t see star crimps in the brass).

Still I like the slo-mo, they picked some interesting guns to shoot, and they picked some non-standard figures to shoot them.

Yep older women, and minorities can shoot guns, and I recommend you try it.

Still what’s really gross is this isn’t a shooting sports or self-defense video. No its for the Amber Alert System, which is a government run alert system to alert Police and civilians about abducted children.

So here’s a scenario. Mom gets accosted by kidnappers (why take the $50 in her pocket when you can steal the kid and get $50,000 ransom?), instead she pulls her gun and kidnappers beat a hasty retreat.

Scenario 2 Mom gets accosted, unarmed Mom let’s kid get stolen. She gathers her wits and calls 911. Dispatcher sends an Amber Alert, child is eventually recovered after 3 hours with strange rough men.

Scenario 3, same as above, but kid is recovered 5 days later in 4 garbage bags in a shallow grave.

I see things like Amber Alert as being valuable, as parents can’t be around their kids 24/7, and shit happens. But don’t encourage stupid behavior that will put MORE demand on a system that is really a worst-case-scenario in the first place!

Posted in Guns, Politics, Self Defense | Leave a comment

Greenland Shark

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Off to the convention today, but I thought I’d mix things up a bit.

Got to reading about the Greenland Shark

Neat fish given that they’re Squallids (The same family as Dogfish) but HUGE!

Like the size of a Great White huge! But far more primitive. Neat little video here:

Unlike most sharks their meat is poisonous to eat, tho the denizens of Iceland found a way to make the meat “Edible” by fermenting and drying the meat in a bizarre food called Hákarl reading the descriptions of the ammonia tasting meat, I think the proper pronunciation of the food is Hot Carl

Strikes me as a food invented by those who are starving to death.

Still, neat fish, thought I’d share.

Posted in Biology | Leave a comment

Yep

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Weerd Beard


I couldn’t agree more…or laugh more.

Posted in Movies, Random | Leave a comment

A New Catagory

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Overall I see post categories as a way to aggregate like posts together, and allow people to read my archives based on their interests. I do the same with other bloggers, and I find it frustrating when bloggers feel the need to add a category for every little minutiae they write about. So you will get some goofiness here, like talking about gin drinks under “Food”, and dorky troll-bloggers making asses of themselves under “Politics”, but I see simplicity as a good thing.

So all that being said I’m adding this category. “Gun Death?” I think the objectives of this post might be something I want to focus on, and I want a category to aggregate posts for the sake of making an off-site argument. We have sites like The Armed Citizen to show people who say “People using guns defensively never happen!” In their defense, it very well might seem that way as most of the stories listed are only printed in local papers, so the average Joe reading the news will only see what happens in their individual news area, while events as close as neighboring states, or the far side of their own state won’t be reported.

So I’m going to be on the lookout for violent crimes committed WITHOUT guns. Multiple murders hold the most shock value. I won’t be publishing these stories to glorify criminal actions, or to make light of those who are dead. My purpose is to take people like the Brady Campaign’s Paul Helmke, or the Violence Policy Center’s Josh Sugarmann who routinely dance in the blood of victims of violent crime where the chosen tool is a firearm, but who also use the invented metric of “Gun Death” and “Gun Violence” some blood to rub their noses in.

My purpose is to create a view of what life might be like if these creeps get their way and ban all private firearms, and somehow manage to erase the basic human knowledge of how to create projectile weapons. The bottom line is guns, knives, bows and arrows, hands and feet, clubs, pipes, cars, and all other devices that are used in brutal crimes are not, in their existence, dangerous, and that people with violent intent are the real danger and concern for us all.

If you see a story that you think might add to my cause I ask that you send it to my email at weerdbeard gmail com.

I don’t think it will take very long to gin up a collection to put that foolish made-up metric to bed, and maybe we can all get to talking about making life SAFER for all, rather than babbling about restricting rights for negative gains.

Posted in Gun Death? | Leave a comment

Does this Sound Good to You?

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Buddy Zercool has a post up venting about a Local Murder Go over his way and read the whole post.

From the linked story, I’m taking away this

Village police allege that Bryan M. Ashline, 23, of Watervliet, near Albany, stabbed to death Trieste R. Clayton, 25, and their 3-month-old son, Xavier Michael Ashline, at 9 Mount View Road West in Bath late Sunday night.

Zercool has some other angles such as the woman calling 911 for help and having a protective order against her ex boyfriend to no avail.

What I will point out is that like in This Case The deaths are not “Gun Deaths”. “Gun Deaths” being the preferred unit of measure for gun control advocates. To them these deaths, can at best be viewed as “insignificant” at worse be viewed as “an improvement”.

To Quote Zercool

Many of the gun bloggers lambaste the Brady Bunch for “dancing in the blood” when a scumbag uses a gun to kill someone. I’m conflicted when I find us wrapping ourselves in the bloody mantle of righteousness and say, “If she had a gun, she’d be alive.”

I agree with him. If she had a gun that’s no guarantee that she would have been able to stop this. She would have had some better odds than just holding a telephone, and certainly she couldn’t have been any worse off.

Still I intend to dip the blood-dancer’s feet in THIS blood for a change. No, Mr. Helmke, this isn’t Gun Death, or Gun Violence So isn’t this a GOOD thing, since that’s what you’re always debating against! Isn’t it nice that this young Choir boy could settle his murderous rage without turning to a gun?

If they like that metric of “Gun Death” and “Gun Violence” then I fully plan to hang it around their wretched necks!

Posted in DGU, Gun Death?, Guns, Politics | Leave a comment

Packed and Ready to Go!

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Got my Bags packed, leave forms submitted, and I’m ready to go!

Off to work tomorrow, then home for dinner, then North to Portcon Maine! If there are any Anime or Video Game Dorks amongst you it might be a good time.

This is also my first year with the convention where I am not in charge of security. I stepped down last year to a simple security staff worker position for a little less stress. My least favorite part was getting the staff list confirmed and writing the security schedule. Not doing those things this year were great. I wonder tho, actually keeping the show running and overseeing security was the fun part, if I’ll miss it. We’ll see. I know one morning I don’t have a staff position until 1pm! I won’t sleep in half that much, but it’ll be nice!

Good times!

Arrrrrr

Posted in Random | Leave a comment

Irony

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Weerd Beard

So Linoge put up a post on Southern Beale’s Bigotry

I hadn’t read her blog in a good while as she was mostly babbling about the oil spill, and talking about “Alternative Energy” (but only as a concept as she doesn’t actually understand how things work) BORING!!!

Still the story Linoge links is amusing, also it appears she’s letting some pro-gun comments through her Reasoned Discourse moderation.

It got me reading her again and I found a Gem!

Tennessee Puts The Hate On-AGAIN
The anti-Muslim haters crawled out from under their rocks to oppose the Rutherford County mosque at a county commission meeting last week. Some of the statements that were made are shocking in their ignorance and intolerance.

She then tosses up some quotes that I’ll agree aren’t becoming. Of course like most “Progressives” she quickly gets more angry and more incoherent and I loose interest. Still first comment is from a classic rube Democommie

Well, I’m fairly certain of how to respond to KKKristians who love JEEBUS and hate everything he supposedly stood for; “fuck off”.

Damn those Conservatives getting their “Hate On”, thankfully we have tolerant “Progressives” out there to be against open hate. Well maybe he’s just a goofy commenter….oh wait she moderates her comments to select only the comments she approves of!

better yet, Ms. Beale doubles-down!

And as far as tolerance goes, I find it very amusing that right wingers tell us liberals we have to offer nothing but peace signs and rainbows and hugs and kisses to everyone otherwise we are hypocrites. They then turn around and call us weak-kneed tree hugging effetes.

You know what? Democommie is right, fuck off. Liberals don’t need to have right wingers tell us what we should believe and how we should behave to be a good liberal. Tolerance is not code for “doormat.”

Ahhhh, Ms. Beale may be nutty, and less-than-bright. Making for long-winded and boring posts. But she really does a good job at exposing the Irony of the “Progressive” tenants.

And of course “Progressive” being simply the modern code-word for “Marxist”.

I’m perfectly tolerant of them, as they tend to police themselves by exposing their own foolishness and bigotry, still I think we all know the dangers of allowing socialists to come to power.

**Side Note**MikeW. also takes advantage of the target-rich environment over at Southern Beale’s.

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

DGU, Two Good ones

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Both From The Armed Citizen

TAMPA – A home invasion victim fatally shot one of the invaders Sunday in Carrollwood, and investigators have since arrested two other people involved in the crime, Hillsborough County deputies said

Home invasion DGUs are a dime-a-dozen. Just read the Armed citizen or any of the other similar web agrigators and you’ll find lots of people who fend off violent invaders in their home with lawfully held firearms. I generally prefer to cover Conceal Carry stories, still this caugth my attention:

Though Dipaolo fatally shot Fernandez, two other home invasion suspects also have been charged with murder: Willie Goff and Katherine Schaeffer. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said they were charged because their involvement in the offense led to the fatal shooting.

Now that’s awesome! If you’re dumb enough to invade an occupied home you very well might get shot and killed. If you’re lucky enough NOT to get killed by the home owner who refused to be a victim, you might find yourself being held legally responsible for the death of your partner(s). I’ve seen several of these cases and I LOVE them. Its very easy NOT to break into a home. I’ve actually locked myself out of my own home twice and had to “break in”, and let me tell you, its not something that happens accidentally. You know what you’re doing, so anything that happens to you from then on is a good learning experience for others. DON’T BREAK INTO HOUSES! DON’T COMMIT VIOLENT CRIMES! YOU MIGHT DIE! IF YOU LIVE YOU MIGHT BE CHARGED WITH LOTS OF UGLY CRIMES AND GO TO PRISON!

OK story number two!

An unidentified woman shot and killed one of two pit bulls during a dog fight in South Los Angeles on Saturday morning, authorities said…A woman told officers that she was about to walk her basset hound when two unleashed pit bulls charged and attacked her dog. The woman and the owner of the pit bulls attempted to break up the fight.

“They were unable to break up the dogs so she ran to her apartment and grabbed her gun,” Thompson said. “She shot one of the pit bulls to stop the fight,” Thompson said, adding that he did not know exactly how many shots were fired. The second pit bull fled.

I really like these stories for DGU because most people only assume that a defensive arm is for defending yourself against violent people, especially in urban areas. I saw a Coyote just up the street from my house the other day, and there are dogs EVERYWHERE that might turn violent if not properly controlled. These animals can hurt and kill you just as much as a grizzly bear or a pack of wolves. Yep there are violent people out there, but its not the sole usefulness of a defensive arm. One other note:

Thompson said the woman handed the handgun to officers when they arrived. He said it was registered to her.

Good on her for playing by the rules, bad on the jerks who feel these rules are necessary and do any good at all. (FYI the same conclusion could be made by a simple NICS Check done at the scene by officers. Also there have been many times when I’ve been in lawful possession of a firearm that didn’t belong to me. So long as you can legally posses the firearm, and you have the expressed permission of the lawful owner of said gun, there is zero issue with possessing a gun that doesn’t belong to you, or is registered in your name)

So let’s repeal stupid laws, and lets let those people who want to carry their damn guns. They just might save your life.

Posted in DGU | Leave a comment

Gin Drinks

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Weerd Beard

Dixie gives references to several gin drinks here

Old and busted: Gin and Tonic. New hotness: Bitter Lemon. (Yeah, I don’t drink, so…)

Plus, the gin part of a G&T used to be to mask the quinine in the tonic water. Since most companies mask the quinine flavor anyway, the gin’s a bit… cliche. A better drink would be a Gentleman’s Weekend or a Lace Panties. (Hey, don’t look at me, the sober guy makes the best bartender.)

Links added to the quote as best as I could find them. Still I couldn’t find a gin drink called a “Lace Panties”, maybe Dixie could post a recipe?

FYI I didn’t drink until I was 21, but I tended bar on a tour boat at the age of 19. I never got any complaints on my drinks! That’s where I fell in love with gin. LOVED the smell coming out of that bottle. You see the woods behind my parent’s house where I spent most of my days were filled with wild junipers. Most times I’d come home in time for supper covered with needles and smelling just like a glass of gin. That juniper “Pine Tree” smell, smells like a fun day of adventuring in the woods to me. And its so clean and refreshing on a hot summer night!

Most of my gin consumption is on-the-rocks, often alone, but sometimes with a twist, or a dash of lime juice. Or in some form of a Martini or another. (The traditional gin and vermouth, but I also enjoy substituting Lillet Blanc for the vermouth, or subtracting one measure of gin for one measure of Curaçao and garnish with an orange slice. This gives a nice sweet orange flavor, while still preserving the full-bodied flavor of a true martini, and the color is to DIE for.)

For mixed drinks a Tom Collins is my favorite, followed by a Singapore Sling which I often make the lazy way with simply gin, cherry brandy, Collins mix, and a dash of vermouth. I also made an interesting twist to this sling and substitute Curaçao for the cherry brandy to make a Windex-colored concoction I call the “Caribbean Gin Sling”. Of course in the last post I mentioned the Gin Sea Breeze. I honestly don’t much care for the Gin and Tonic. I like gin straight, and I like tonic straight, but the two together doesn’t interest me much.

Oh, in college I concocted a drink from odds and ends that turned out very well.

Dead Priest (Named it after a scene from the Jim Jarmusch classic Night on Earth)

1 shot gin (adjust however stiff you want to make it)
Lemon Pepsi
twist of lemon
(If you don’t have lemon Pepsi or Coke, a dash of sugar can be added)
Rim a Collins glass with confectioner’s sugar (to make a white collar) and fill the glass with ice and add ingredients. Stir with bar spoon.

Not the best drink in the universe, but it also isn’t the type of drink you’d kick out of bed!

What drinks are your favorites?

Posted in Food | Leave a comment

Let him know what you think

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Weerd Beard

A brief moratorium on a personal rule of mine. Troll MikeB302000 is thinking about hanging up his blog.

I think we should all break whatever rules we may have set about feeding trolls, and go over and encourage MikeB302000 to do the right thing. You see “Sparky” as we like to call him is a Lying Criminal who hates freedom. He’s also Stupid and has great difficulty telling truth and falsity I also have suspicions that his life as an internet troll as based in mental illness

Still he does have decent taste in movies and music. As for guns and politics, he appears to have reached the end of his rope months and months ago, and now chosen to repeat the same posts over-and-over again with little need for thinking.

So yeah Sparky, your blog sucks, and most people don’t like you. So maybe you should change the format a bit to a subject that doesn’t require as much thinking that you refuse to do.

Yeah, I’m feeding the troll. I still think it would be amusing for his most popular post to be the one where he muses about quitting.

Don’t try to argue with him tho, he is immune to facts and reality, and you’ll find only dishonesty and slander down that road.

But I think he needs support from those of us who rightfully dislike him, and certainly as a troll he’ll appreciate the momentary traffic.

Posted in Guns, Politics | Leave a comment